Man, things do not look good for your movie if you can’t convince a has-been like Keanu Reeves to star in it. And now “due to amicable creative difference” the Akira live action movie is now losing it’s director Albert Hughes, who helmed movies such as The Book of Eli and From Hell. Here is the studios plan on finding a new director and actors for the two lead characters of Tetsuo and Kaneda according to Deadline:
As for Akira, the intention of the studio is to keep the picture on a fast track, which means they will find a director quickly. The studio has been wrestling with the approach on the film for the past year. Last March, Warner Bros put together a short list of up-and-coming actors after getting a strong rewrite by Steve Kloves that set the film in a rebuilt New Manhattan, where a leader of a biker gang saves his friend from a medical experiment. At the time, Robert Pattinson, Andrew Garfield and James McAvoy were given the script for the role of Tetsuo, and Garrett Hedlund, Michael Fassbender, Chris Pine, Justin Timberlake and Joaquin Phoenix were courted for Kaneda. The two leads were expected to come from that group of actors. Then, the studio had a change of heart and, given the budget, wanted to have an established box office star in the movie. That led to a flirtation with Keanu Reeves that ended recently.
Warner Bros is back to the other plan, and will likely go back to that list of actors in hopes of making the picture later this year or early next.
I hope that when they say “find a director quickly” doesn’t mean they just hand the movie off to any hack with a directing resume’ that may come along. To me this movie could go either way right now, they may produce a total piece of garbage based on quick they are trying to get it moving or it will be an okay movie. I really wish they could have held onto Albert Hughes as a director because he did so well in a futuristic world with Book of Eli. But on the other hand I’m certainly glad they didn’t pick up Keanu because that would have been a catastrophe, especially when they have a pretty good group of young talent to choose from to fill both the Tetsuo and Kaneda roles.
I wasn’t thrilled with the way things were shaping up with the Akira movie before, but I’m of the mind set that if they’re going to make it then they at least need to not make a total joke of the story that it is derived from. And also if everything falls through and it ends up going back into development hell or not being made at all you won’t see me shedding a tear.
So let’s hear it in the comment section below from all you Keanu lovers about how he would have made the best Kaneda ever!
Mr. Remender still manages to keep me on as a regular reader of this new Venom title. Issue three is a vast improvement over the last one which I still enjoyed. Mainly because we are now out of the Savage Land and there is no more Kraven the Hunter. Oh yeah, also Jack O Lantern is back! It would seem that the Crime-Master (The guy behind the antarctic vibranium) knows Venom’s secret identity, so he sends Jack-O-Lantern to pay Flash Thompson’s girlfriend Betty Brant a visit while our sort of-hero Venom is frantically fighting permanent bonding with the Venom suit and closing in on the shipment of vibranium.
Not only do you get to see Venom kicking major ass against the henchman known as… the henchman, but there is also a small appearance by our friendly neighborhood Spiderman who finds Betty’s apartment totally trashed. His searching for Betty makes for huge complications and a cliffhanger that will having wishing you could time travel to next month for issue four!
I give this issue a four out of five bears. It was nonstop with the action, a good and non petty excuse for a Spiderman appearance and seriously a cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers. I doubt either will happen but you almost wonder how the two possible deaths at the end can be stopped. Unfortunately we have to wait awhile to find out. And I’m really digging this version of Jack-O-Lantern, whom I at first thought was a little corny. He was only used for a few pages in this issue but you can foresee than he and Flash will be throwing down once more very soon… maybe for the last time.
Back in 1996 Micheal Bay was and up and coming Director, with only the 1995 credit Bad Boys to his name, and pension for blowing things up. He had not yet sullied his name with predictably bad sequels like Bad Boys II or the Transformers movies. In fact, the movies he did in the 90’s, though now a bit cliché, were some of the decades best action epics.
The brightest spot on his resume has to be The Rock. This was a movie about a group of Marines who steal 15 chemical weapon powered rockets. They then threaten to launch said rockets against the city of San Francisco from Alcatraz Island, where they are holding 81 hostages. His demands require that all the men that has died under his watch, on Black Ops missions, be recognized as heroes and their families be rewarded a million dollars a piece from dirty money seized from weapons sales. His motives are actually noble which sets him aside from most antagonists in the genre. An honorable man pushed too far, the character is relatable and for that this movie is more than your run of the mill Dwayne Johnson/Vin Diesel movie. So in a joint operation, the FBI and a group of Navy SEALS must get onto the island and squash the threat. In 1996 I was all of 13, and when I walked into the theater I found my self thoroughly entertained for the entire 136 minute ride. Here we are now, 15 years later and the movie still holds up.
Our old buddy Nic Cage is our hero. He plays a chemical weapons specialist with the FBI named Stanley Goodspeed, and Sean Connery is basically an old James Bond. Ed Harris and David Morse play our missile thieves, and there are a slew of other recognizable faces as the movie goes on.
When we met Goodspeed, he is in the lab with Todd Louiso (High Fidelity, Snakes on a Plane) and Xander Berkley (24, Terminator 2) attempting to disarm a poisonous gas bomb. After succeeding he goes home to then learn that his girlfriend is pregnant, which only adds to his desperation to survive later on.
General Hummel (Harris) then makes the threat to launch the stolen rockets into the Bay Area. It is then that Goodspeed is called to San Fran because of his knowledge of the VX Gas used in the rockets. Once he arrives he meets John Mason (Connery), and we learn that Mason has been held, nameless and with no trial for over 30 years. Because however, he is the only man to ever escape Alcatraz, he is to be sent in with the SEAL team to guide them through the tunnels of the former prison. He is however told nothing of the rockets.
Once on the island, the SEAL team is led by none other than Michael Biehn(The Terminator, Aliens, Navy Seals, Tombstone) who promptly get his entire team killed. Nice job Mike! You can see Hummel takes no joy from having to kill more soldiers, but some of his men don’t seem to share his pain. With the destruction of the SEAL team, this leaves only Mason and Goodspeed to diffuse the rockets. And it’s only after Mason is let in on the real threat that he decides to help Stanley complete the mission. Thus truly begins The Rock as Connery delivers one of his greatest quotes ever…
So Mason and Goodspeed continue on in hopes of saving the day and are able to disable 12 of the 15 rockets before the John C. McGinley(Platoon, Se7en, Scrubs) led Marine team interrupts them. Things don’t end well for Dr. Cox however, as Mason lights his ass on fire. Booyah.
General Hummel then announces over the Island PA system that if the guidance chips removed from the rockets are not returned, he will execute a hostage. Upon hearing this Mason sends Goodspeed after the rockets and he heads to confront Hummel. This is the first time either of our heroes come face to face with the General, and it is not a battle of fists, but of minds as Mason and Hummel banter…
After this Goodspeed is able to take out only one of the remaining three rockets before being taken into custody. This now leaves Mason and Goodspeed prisoners, with the Marines still controlling 2 rockets.
Mason however did escape once, as it turns out, he still remembers how and they free themselves from their cells. Not in time however to stop the launch of one of the rockets. Luckily Mason’s instinct was right and Hummel is not a mad man, thus refusing to kill innocents. He diverts the rocket so it detonates underwater and causes a mutiny among his own men. The revolt, let by Tony Todd (Candyman, 24, Platoon) results directly in the deaths of Hummel, Major Baxter (Morse) and Crisp (Bokeem Woodbine). From here its a race to the last rocket and a question if Goodspeed can signal in time to call off the impending Air Strike. He does of course win the race and signal in time.
After this he is able to give Mason a give – his freedom. Goodspeed informs FBI Director Womack (John Spencer) that Mason has been vaporized. A lie that is helped along by Special Agent Paxton (William Forsythe). So Mason is free and all is good in the world.
I don’t feel that it would be a stretch to call this one of the best action movie of the last 20 years. I think this is before Michael Bay became so self-aware and you’re reminded of how he built his name. The pacing is good, really no lulls. The cast is great, and the dialogue, though often simplistic, is both powerful and memorable enough to quote. It’s a shame Bay hasn’t done anything of this quality in so long, but this is one of the movies that helped redefine the genre for the 90’s.
South Park has been an institution for so long that it sometimes is lost on us how well they have their finger on the pulse of pop culture and the world. It never ceases to amaze me the different directions they take with the boys and how they can approach a touchy subject and mix it with both subtle and over the top humor to keep us entertained. However, it is safe to say that the season has been somewhat inconsistent, and just like Darth Saeris, I was looking forward to seeing them jump into a rhythm in the season. What we have here was a good, but not great episode with up and down moments of hilarity.
It starts off with Stan and Kyle watching TV and then getting interrupted by those infamous Sarah McLachlan commercials that take the mood down like a SNL Gilly sketch. This time, instead of the animals, she’s jumped on the train of crack babies, and the atrocities they encounter in life but most importantly, JUST LOOK AT THEM!
Kyle and Stan try to resist, but it’s too late. The tractor beam of manipulative images has them by the throat and the only way Kyle can shake it is by volunteering at the local hospital.
Kyle stops by the crack baby ward to do what he can to help the children. He then runs into Cartman in a nice shirt and tie and a video camera. Kyle is suspicious and asks Cartman why he’s there to which the reply is to help the children. Kyle, hilariously, asks again why he’s there. He knows he’s up to no good and follows Cartman to his new office where he’s gathered with his “firm” and is editing tapes together to his most brilliant money-making idea to date: Crack Baby Basketball League. Those four words are enough to make Kyle walk away.
That was my second favorite moment of the episode, and obviously was Comedy Central’s because they put that in the promo. The concept is that they put a crack ball in the middle of the crack babies and watch them go after it. A fairly simple idea to exploit with the wonders of YouTube and the internet. But as outrageous as the idea is, it’s brilliant because if Break.com, or any attention seeker on YouTube can gather fame doing the most asinine things, why not the South Park kids? Regardless, Kyle’s needed for the idea because they need a bookkeeper and duh, the Jews know their accounting. All it takes is a trip to Denny’s and the glory of ‘Baconalia’ to get Kyle to sign up. Kyle is assured that this is what the babies want and in the long run, this will benefit them. After all, it’s about the kids right?
We see Butters and Cartman on a recruiting trip to a pregnant crackhead’s house to try to recruit her ‘in the womb’ kid to play in their league. She wants the money, but of course, it’s against Cartman’s rules that he set up because no babies can get paid but she does not see the point and putting her kid with the league. Kyle pops in later after Stan rebuffs him by telling him he sounds like Cartman, concerning the stupid ideas and justification with concerns about the crack babies financial welfare. Cartman is just dealing with the fact that he needs Slash to perform at halftime and he’s just nowhere to be found. Kyle needs a reason to stay though. Cartman offers that in a hot tub of KFC gravy and McDonald’s french fries. Who wouldn’t stay for that?
However, now with a member of his own team questioning the money distribution Cartman must seek the answers to find a loophole and then gets to University of Colorado – Boulder to find out how they are able to make money off of their slaves, ahem, excuse me, “student-athletes”. Now, this is what I love about the show. Obviously NCAA violations about paying the athletes are front and center what seems to be a weekly basis. It’s always interesting to see the colleges that receive money for endorsements, ticket sales, merchandise and even the NCAA that get the money from EA Sports games to put these “student-athletes” into the game with no concessions. What’s really the difference in the exploitation of these crack babies versus the administrators or agents that take in kids in order to have dollar signs embedded in their eyes? But enough of deep thoughts, let’s get back to the story. I will say the great part of this act was seeing Cartman dressed as a southern plantation owner type trying to find a loophole to protect himself.
Kyle can’t shake that the babies still have nothing so he devises a plan with the EA Sports money they are going to get: build a crack baby orphanage. Cartman sees his loophole, declares his love of Kyle’s Jewish ingenuity and it’s his “university” for his money-making plan. Also, Slash can’t be found. He in Colorado and Russia in the same afternoon. Something is off…but Cartman sends his minions to the post office to gather information on Slash. But guess what? Slash isn’t REAL. He’s basically a Dutch Saint whose legend began in a fable and now has taken the world by storm. Because seriously, the dude is everywhere.
It actually makes more and more sense the more I think about it. Parents basically dress up as him a la Santa and rock the axe whenever needed. Again, makes more and more sense as I think about it. Great moment of the episode by the way, at least until the Denny’s sequence where it’s revealed to all the Slash isn’t real. The reaction is hilarious by Cartman especially when explained that it was his parents that performed at his 8th birthday and probably their parents that performed with Guns and Roses. Stan gets the best exit line because he knew all along and now knows how gullible his friends truly are.
Cartman and gang arrives to EA Sports only to find out that they have signed over all the rights to the Crack Baby Athletic Association. They are told thanks and you’re welcome for the lessons learned now get the hell out. Nothing like the exploitation of the helpless for capital gain huh? But what the hell, Slash ain’t real? Forget the kids, that’s just…too much to handle. Episode ends with Kyle and Stan finding out that someone built the Crack Baby Orphanage after all and…what’s this? Slash’s hat and guitar? It must be a November Rain miracle!
As I said in the beginning, no one is better than South Park in taking situations in the real world and throwing their spin on it. The exploitation tactics that are employed and the hilarity that ensues in this episode shows that. There was not too many laugh out loud moments for me but I still laughed a lot and dug this episode. It definitely had its fair share of moments and although not spot on consistent throughout the whole episode, it’s definitely in the above-average grade of episodes. Here’s hoping this momentum keeps going and the season hits its stride now.
3.5 cracked out grizzlies out of 5 should suffice.
The comic-turned-TV show The Walking Dead season one premiered on AMC, Halloween night 2010. The six-episode first season ended December 5th. I however, just recently got hip to this show, and watched all of the episodes. It is difficult to find a word to describe my excitement… so I will make one up. I am STUPENXCITED for the next season!
The Walking Dead is set in Georgia, but the group begins making their way across the U.S. in hopes of finding other survivors or a safe place away from the “walkers” (the undead). The main character is Rick Grimes (I call him “Grimey”). He is a cop who was left in a hospital and hooked up to life support when the undead attacked. He awakens find few survivors, but they search for their family and friends together.
For so many reasons that you MUST see for yourself, this show made my stomach do back-flips. Some of the images I saw during the duration of season one will be burned into my brain forever. This show has everything… blood, severed limbs, bigots, zombies, and sexy drama.
We saw a lot happen in season one. Officer Grimes and his wife Lori were eventually reunited, but not before we find out that she had been hooking up with his best friend Shane. Granted, Shane and Lori thought that Rick was dead, but still. Shane was Rick’s partner on the force, and helped Lori take care of her son Carl.
We saw the racist hick Merle get handcuffed to the top of a building, and after the key was dropped, get left there to be eaten. We later saw that he cut his own hand off and got out, leaving his brother Daryl to find only the hand.
There were also some very sad moments on top of all of the drama and gore. Andrea, one of the survivors, was forced to shoot her sister Amy after a major attack of the undead on the survivors at their camp. Amy was bitten and died on her birthday. And the last major moment was the group meeting up with the man from the CDC at one of their labs. He gave them food and shelter to remain safe from the walkers. When the CDC building power generators run out of fuel, there will be a two-stage explosion to blow up the place. Everyone from the group but Jacqui gets out in time. She decided to stay and suffer the explosion with the man who took them in.
The Walking Dead recently signed on for a second season which will contain 13 episodes. They are said to begin filming June first… my birthday! And since they haven’t released an official one yet, here is a Season 2 Fan Trailer:
There are already about a dozen potential spoilers about the new season online. However, I absolutely hate when people ruin things for me like that, so I will leave you to find those out on your own. All I can say is that there may be some involvement from Stephen King and or Lindsay Lohan. Also, we are supposed to find out what Jennifer whispered to Rick. I accidentally read a couple of spoilers and am very angry about it! They are juicy, so don’t seek them out unless you are prepared! Season 2 will air later this year.
The real question for fans of the books though: When is Michonne gonna show up with her Samurai Sword?
Hard Knocks on HBO was one of the most entertaining sports series I have seen. In a world where T.O., OchoCinco, and Lamar Odom can make their mark on reality television, the show is a great way to have comedy, drama, and some good ol’ Rex Ryan to keep you happy throughout the NFL preseason. Obviously with the uncertainty clouding the current season, it seems everyone is skittish about being the next team chronicled on the premium channel.
According to the Detroit Free Press, PFT/NBC Sports, and CBS Sports, so far the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Denver Broncos, Atlanta Falcons, and even Dr. Kronner’s beloved Detroit Lions have all rejected offers to be the next ‘Hard Knocks’ team. (PFT’s Poll for who the fans want out of the NFC) A lot of the speculation goes with the lockout ongoing with no real end in sight, there’s no point in having a TV crew document a training camp that may or may not happen. There’s no drama in watching coaches sitting in a room hoping their players get through their playbook while running their player workouts at some random high school. There’s no comedy in watching trainers and other employees at their facilities getting laid off, or stadium workers struggling to find another job to make ends meet. Heck, even Rex Ryan’s Jets want no part of it and I would watch a show with him any day of the week (unless it’s about feet. That’s just…no).
So who’s the next team they ask? Looking at the list of the Bucs, Lions, Broncos, and Falcons, they are looking for the team that is about to take the next step and has intriguing storylines. With the Bucs, can they carry over their momentum, and can Josh Freeman establish himself as an elite QB? Can the Lions finally break the streak and protect Matthew Stafford? Can the Broncos with Elway in charge, rebuild on the fly with John Fox and Tim Tebow? Could the Falcons and Matty Ice lead the Dirty Birds back to the Super Bowl? Here are some suggestions of teams that they can go to:
Seattle Seahawks
Pete Carroll loves him some attention and having turned around the ‘Hawks into a playoff team (albeit in the NFC West) after the year before should garner some good attention. They have a solid young D, a charismatic coach, and a crazy person in Marshawn Lynch. That’s solid television right there. Add in a Carson Palmer trade? That’s gold.
San Francisco 49ers
Jim Harbaugh should get chronicled as well as he makes the transition into a NFL gig. You have an under-achieving team for the last couple of years under Mike Singletary (who also, is a golden candidate for this show) ready to shake things up and turn it all around. With Frank Gore, Vernon Davis, and Patrick Willis to anchor the team, they can turn a few heads. Plus Patrick Willis is possibly the best damn linebacker in the game right now. I would love for them to pick his head on the show and break down his process.
St. Louis Rams
I’m aware that I’ve picked all NFC West teams and there’s a reason for this: They all can win the division (except Arizona, the curse of Kurt Warner remains) and they all have great young talent. Sam Bradford has the look to be a great QB and with Stephen Jackson behind him and James Laurinaitis securing the defense in the middle, they have a good shot to have teams circle them on the schedule. And the rumors of Chad OchoCinco going to the SL? It’d be a shame if his VH1 show was the only reality show in the area.
Baltimore Ravens
Set camera down. Put Ray Lewis in front of it. Record. That’s all you would have to do. They did it once before and they set the tone of the series. It’d be cool to have them bring it back with Ray-Ray in his final years, Flacco trying to make the jump, and just to see that defense in their meetings and on the practice field. You have to wonder why they’ve been able to stay so consistent year after year. They would be a prime candidate for sure because they are also waiting to take that next step and jump over the Steelers.
Philadelphia Eagles
Michael Vick is a polarizing figure. You either hate his guts (deservedly so) or want him to claw his way back to the top and root for him (also deserved since he’s passed through the system). Chronically him alone would make for great television as you see him emerge as the go-to man on his second team and to see if he cracks under the pressure. Just like he did in the playoffs. Can he rebound? Does Andy Reid really know what he’s doing? Can they add Nnamdi Asomugha with Asante Samuel to form the scariest corner tandem of the year? Can their defense rebound with yet another new defensive coordinator? These are answers we must know and they must be on HBO!
To close, I did not include the Steelers, Colts, or Patriots for a bunch of little reasons and one big reason. The big reason is they wouldn’t allow it. No team wants cameras pointing at them especially if they like to keep their secrets their own (as Belichick learned a few years ago) and let’s face it, the Patriots and Colts would be boring as hell. There’s no drama there. The Steelers would be intriguing, but you know darn well the Rooney family would not expose themselves like that. Especially since that team relishes the chip on the shoulder attitude, and having the spotlight on them would seem to go against their gritty demeanor. Either way, I hope one of the teams does do Hard Knocks. It truly is great insight into a training camp through the veterans, the rookies, and those struggling just to make the team. As much as reality television annoys the hell out of me, I cannot help but yet sucked in by the human condition and their struggles and triumphs.
Grizzly Bomb 