Movie Mania

2008 is going to be a huge year for movies. Amongst the new releases planned this year are the new Bond film, The Sequel to Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe: Prince Caspian, some movie with an archaeologist in a hat and Star Trek the redux.

Some Highlights:
For me, prominently near the top of the list is Star Trek. (Star Trek XI as numbered by fans of the franchise) I have voiced elsewhere how excited I’ve become about the new Trek movie. Trek had soured for me over the last few years with the Rick Berman era. This new film promises to be excellent (we hope) and even if you’re not a Star Trek nerd [or if you know nothing about this movie] at least visit the imdb page to see the cast, director and crew.

Incredible Hulk is also getting a makeover which I’m also oddly excited about. They’ve decided to ignore the crappy Ang Lee version and instead are going with a reinvented Hulk with a script by Edward Norton. He also stars. The movie will more closely follow the events and feel of the 70s TV show. They’ve even procured the rights to “The Lonely Man” theme heard in the end of every episode from back then. William Hurt and Liv Tyler are in the supporting cast. Expand your knowledge with the Wikipedia link.

Jumper also looks to be a good movie. Although after seeing the Star Wars movies one would swear Hayden Christensen couldn’t act his way out of a paper bag, this movie looks like it may have potential.

Cloverfield is out today. I know virtually nothing about this movie except that it’s a big thriller that you never see the monster in. Supposed to be very scary and I’m very interested in seeing it.

Speed Racer is being done by the Wachowski bros.–You know, those crazies that brought you “The Matrix”? See the trailer–decide for yourself. It promises to be an entirely new way of filming as well as include classic elements from it’s anime legacy. I must see this! (P.S. If you can, try and find an HD copy of the trailer. Wow!)

Batman and Bond! What more can one ask for in the same year?

Oh yeah, you can ask for the friggin’ RETURN OF INDIANA JONES, that’s what!!!

One more honorable mention: Iron Man. I’ve been watching the trailers so long now you’d think it was out already. Robert Downy Jr. is always fun to watch and this looks like another solid entry for Marvel from the comic book world.

Here is my (mostly) must-see list for 2008:

JANUARY 2008

January 18
-Cloverfield
-U2 3D (Imax Apple Valley)

January 25
-Rambo

FEBRUARY 2008

February 14 (Valentine’s Day)
-Jumper (Definitely not seeing this one on V-day but I do want to see it)

February 22
-The Signal (eh.. possibly)

MARCH 2008

March 7
-10,000 B.C. (Actually this looks only visually good to me–I’ll have to wait and see a review)

MAY 2008
May 2
-Iron Man

May 9

-Speed Racer

May 16
-The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

May 22 (Thursday)
-Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

May 30
-Sex and the City: The Movie
-Starship Dave

JUNE 2008
June 6
-Kung Fu Panda (Dreamworks, Jack Black)

June 13
-The Incredible Hulk

June 20
-Get Smart
-Wall-E (DEFINITELY seeing this one)

JULY 2008

July 11
-Hellboy II: The Golden Army
-Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D

July 18
-The Dark Knight (Awww YEEEEAH)

July 25
-The X-Files 2 (Awww YeeAH)

AUGUST 2008

August 1
-The Mummy 3 (no way)

SEPTEMBER 2008

September 26
-Death Race 3000 (If this lasts more than a week in the theater I’ll go)

NOVEMBER 2008

November 7
-James Bond 22

DECEMBER 2008

December 12
-The Day the Earth Stood Still

December 25 (Thursday)
-Star Trek

We’ll see how many I actually make it to or if I end up seeing ’em on video.

The Arrival – Revisited

Have you ever seen “The Arrival? It came out the same time as ID4 aka Independence Day. The movie did not have as large a budget or the star power that ID4 did–but was a story of evil aliens coming to the planet. Roger Ebert, whom I often agree with–gave it a favorable review. It did not last long in theaters but of the two movies out that summer, I like this one better. (Bill Pullman’s one world speech about makes me throw up every time I see it.) It’s not to say Independence Day is terrible… it’s just not as well told as The Arrival.

The Arrival was directed by David Twohy who also directed:

-Pitch Black (2000)
-G.I. Jane (1997)
-The Fugitive (1993)

Though he’s not always an A-List director, he’s had his moments and The Arrival one of them.

Anyway, they made a sequel (direct to video thank God), The Second Arrival aka Arrival II on DVD, and it actually cheapens the first. It has Patrick Muldoon and a host of other B-List and C-list actors. The story, writing and delivery are as high caliber as the actors. It is shot in Canada on a shoestring budget with no extras. It has one of the worst film scores evah! Special Effects? Re-used and cheaply produced at best. It’s bundled with the first movie on DVD now. If you haven’t seen it, you might not want to bother–unless you’re drawn to watching crappy movies like I am. Here are some funny quotes regarding Arrival II. Some of my favorites are:

“Weak Dialog, Characters Make This Sequel A Loser”
— ccthemovieman-1 « IMDb

“Deliciously awful”
— paulhoog-1 « IMDb

“lame, lame, lame”
— eah51 « IMDb

“One of the worst movies of all times…”
— gbozoki « IMDb

“Wall-Mart had a sale” ***My personal favorite.***
— Jennifer « IMDb

“bad sequel to a great film”
— Jonas Kyratzes « IMDb

“What a POS”
— David Hamm « IMDb

I write this now as I watch The Second Arrival and try to understand why they made a sequel. Anyway, if you’ve not seen The Arrival. I highly recommend it. Charlie Sheen is great as the protagonist and the movie is a personal favorite of mine in the sci-fi genre. I’m tempted to write a third screenplay that omits and/or corrects the events of the second.