Filed under: Fandom, Exhibition, From the Editor’s Desk

Tonight is a really big night for Paramount and Cloverfield? Why? Well, in just a few hours Cloverfield will be screening for critics across the country. Additionally, a number of private sneak previews are being held in various cities. If I can get out of my apartment in time, I’ll be attending one of those sneak preview screenings, because I’d rather watch a film like this amongst fans over watching it with the press. There’s just a different vibe when you’re with the fans, and I want to swallow that in. If critics and fans alike walk away from tonight’s screenings all jazzed up (as Harry Knowles was recently), then you can bet your ass the buzz could potentially carry this film a very long way. When it’s all said and done, will Cloverfield become the highest grossing January release in history?

Sounds crazy, I know, but it doesn’t have go too far to take that coveted spot (if we’re talking films that were specifically released in January). You’ve got A Beautiful Mind which racked up roughly $170 million, but that was technically released in December, as were a bunch of other high grossing films like Traffic and Black Hawk Down. The online buzz did practically nothing for last year’s Snakes on a Plane, but that movie sucked. If Cloverfield is half as good as some people are making it out to be, the buzz from this week could provide that much-needed jolt the film will need in order to cross over into $100 million territory. It’s cold. There’s nothing else out right now that could damage this film box office-wise, so if it rocks, the people will come. If I make it to the screening tonight, I’ll definitely let you know my initial reactions before we present you with our official review later this week. Big night tonight. And by tomorrow morning, after all the internet writers run home and write something up, we’ll finally know whether Cloverfield was well worth the wait.

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Filed under: Action, Drama, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek

I recently attended a press junket for Sylvester Stallone’s amazingly violent new Rambo (in theaters January 25th). There, he was asked about his plans to remake the 1974 Charles Bronson classic Death Wish. Peter told you a bit about the new Death Wish in November, when Variety announced that Stallone would direct and star. The film will be scripted by Michael Ferris and John D. Brancato (The Net, The Game, T3: Rise of the Machines). Stallone says he thinks Death Wish, done today “would be volcanic.” And despite the lack of success for recent revenge thrillers like Death Sentence and The Brave One, I think he might be right. Below is what Stallone had to say about his take on the material:

The idea in the original of Jeff Goldblum as a mugger who breaks into an apartment seems very simplistic. It gives you an idea of how bad the elevation of violence has become. I want to focus on defense attorneys, on the people who are really allowing this crap to happen. Not so much the guy out in the street, but who permits it? What if it happened to you? What if your daughter down the hall was grabbed and her eyes were put out, would you want to defend that guy? There’s moral questions here that are being presented that have not been asked in 30 years. So it’s not the pacifist. This fella I see, and I’m giving you a little hint here, he was a very violent human being. An ex-convict who walked the walk, was accepted back into society, did everything he could to be clean. When the incident happens, he reverts back, and it’s like “My God.” Now you’ve unleashed a man who really understands the world of violence. He isn’t burdened with this passive-aggressive conscientious objector thing that’s been done. It’s really what happens when the wolf in sheep’s clothing goes back to the wolf.

What do you think? Does Stallone’s Death Wish sound like something you Wish you could see?

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Filed under: Action, Fandom, Movie Marketing, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, Images

Lucasfilm has released a brand new photo from the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. From the looks of it, that’s Indy himself (Harrison Ford), Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) and I believe that’s Mac (Ray Winstone) in the background. All three seem to have stumbled into an ancient temple of some sort, with statues and cobwebs galore. I don’t know about you, but that set is definitely vintage Indy — right down to the fire torch in Indy’s hand. Why are they there? What’s in front of them? And will LaBeouf wear that cruddy leather jacket for the entire film? All of these questions (and more) will be answered when the much-anticipated sequel arrives in theaters on May 22.

Note: Shia Labeouf’s name in the film is apparently Mutt Williams. Do you get it? Mutt? Like his father, who was named after the dog. Cute, huh?

[via MTV Movies Blog]

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Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Newsstand

You better start getting used to a new Smith family member showing up in huge, big-budgeted flicks. The Hollywood Reporter tells us that Jaden Smith (who plays Will Smith’s son in real life) has signed on to co-star in the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still for 20th Century Fox. And yes, he’ll be doing so without Pops in the scenes with him, as we saw last year when both Smith family members starred opposite one another in The Pursuit of Happyness. This time, Jaden Smith will play the 8-year-old stepson of scientist Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly). HR confirms that Kathy Bates and Jon Hamm will also star off a script written by David Scarpa, while Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose) directs.

The Day the Earth Stood Still is a remake of the 1951 flick carrying the same name, and it revolves around an alien who arrives on Earth with a giant robot to learn about the planet and spread a message. In a part that suits him more than perfectly, Keanu Reeves will be playing the alien (who goes by the name of Klaatu), while Connelly will play the woman who first comes into contact with the extraterrestrial. As HR points out, “Smith’s Jacob and stepmother Helen get caught up in Klaatu’s mission, coming to understand the ramifications of his being a self-described “friend to the Earth.” Fox will shovel this one out on December 12, making it this year’s big flick to see while struggling to afford Christmas presents. Anyone else think Keanu Reeves is actually an alien in real life? Dude is so … odd. Perfect role for him, and I’m looking forward to this one.

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Filed under: New Releases, DVD Reviews, New on DVD, Home Entertainment

In the haze of a New Year and the Christmas rush a recent memory, you can’t expect many really great DVDs to hit the stands. So, I’m going to cheat a little and give you one great spoof, and the lesser of a few evils.

Family Guy — Blue Harvest Special Edition

One of the best spoofs of recent years came by way of television screens rather than movie screens. Last September, Family Guy started off their sixth season with Blue Harvest — a spoof of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, using the fake working title for Return of the Jedi. The power goes out at the Griffin’s home, so Peter begins to tell a story, which just so happens to be one uber-famous space flick. You really can’t ask for much more in spoof — Lois as Leia, Quagmire as C-3PO, and the best — Stewie as Darth Vader. It’s also got lots of pop culture references, as the show is apt to do, from the fourth Doctor Who, to a cameo by the famous Griswolds, played by Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo.

As far as DVD features go, you can get the wimpy, plain edition, or the super-jam-packed Special Edition. Believe it or not, this edition has features that include a commentary by Seth MacFarlane, a conversation with George Lucas, a “Making of” featurette, animatics, a Something, Something, Something Dark Side teaser, Star Wars clips, and Blue Harvest’s fight scene in 3D, PLUS — a t-shirt, 3D glasses, trading cards, and a booklet.

Buy the Special Edition DVD

Mr. Woodcock

On the plus side, this flick stars the likes of Billy Bob Thornton, Seann William Scott, and Susan Sarandon. On the negative side, the flick was ravaged by critics, getting a paltry 14% rating. (Which is still much better than another film out this week — Good Luck Chuck — which got an abysmal 3%.) As the story goes, John (Scott) was a chubby kid tormented by his junior high gym teacher, Mr. Woodcock (Thornton). Much to his horror, years later he discovers that his single mom is going to marry the ball-wielding bastard. The strangest thing about this comedy — it was directed by the same guy who helmed Lars and the Real Girl – Craig Gillespie. How he can have such polar opposite examples of success at the very same time is beyond me.

As for the DVD, it isn’t bare-bones. You’ve got a couple of specials to feast on — deleted scenes, a “Making of” featurette, and “P.E. Trauma Tales.”

Check out Scott Weinberg’s Review | Buy the DVD

Other New DVD Releases (January 15)

Persuasion
Good Luck Chuck
The Naked Prey — Criterion Collection
Saving Sarah Cain
An Affair to Remember (50th Anniversary Edition)
Alex Haley’s Queen
Post-War Kurosawa Box - Eclipse from Criterion
Suburban Girl

Check out Peter Martin’s Indies on DVD and for even more new releases.

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Filed under: Music & Musicals, Disney, Fandom, Family Films, Movie Marketing

Well, you can all breathe easy now. After all the hubbub over whether the entire cast of Disney’s remarkably successful High School Musical franchise would return for the third film in the series, all the main cast has finally signed on to come back one more time. Variety reports that all six leads — Zac Efron, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman — have signed on to return for High School Musical 3, which will hit a theater near you on October 24.

There was concern over whether Vanessa Anne Hudgens, who plays female lead Gabriella, would be back for the third film after some nudie pics she sent to boyfriend (and High School Musical heartthrob) Zac Efron leaked out onto the internet. Then there was concern over whether Disney would fork over enough cash to entice Efron himself to return (and sorry, but you just cannot have High School Musical 3 without Efron asTroy — the tween girlies of America would unite against that in a hurry), given all the big screen success he’s enjoying as a result of his High School Musical fame. Efron had a decent turn as Link Larkin in Hairspray (where he finally got to sing all on his own) and has been in talks on several projects, including upcoming pic Seventeen, (kind of a reverse of Big, one of my favorite movies ever — remember how young and cute Tom Hanks was in that?) in which he will play a man who returns to being a high school student.

I don’t know about you, but I’ll sleep easier at night knowing the continuing adventures of the Wildcats gang are coming this fall. I can’t think of a better way to come down off the headiness of all those serious films at Telluride and Toronto than to hit a screening of High School Musical 3, and find out what happens when Troy and Gabriela head to different colleges. Oh, boy! The possibilities (and opportunities to randomly break out into song-and-dance numbers) are practically endless. If you’ve got a tween in your life, you’d better start practicing your cool dance moves, and get ready to have more annoyingly-perky-yet-catchy tunes stuck in your head.

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