Well first we got the news of a fairly new star becoming RoboCop (Joel Kinnaman), and from that the opinion was that this was going to be a bit of a new cast for this remake. But since then we have had big star after big star being announced for the main roles, first we got Gary Oldman as the scientist, then Samuel L. Jackson as the TV mogul and now it’s looking like we will have Hugh Laurie playing the ‘Dick Jones’-type villain role in this remake.
So for a recap on what we know about the film so far and who is playing what, then please check our previous articles, links below:
Hugh Laurie to play the main villain in the new version of Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 sci-fi action classic, According to The Hollywood Reporter, Laurie will play “the evil and ultra-rich CEO of Omnicorp, the company that makes Robocop.
Well it’s about bloody time! With the finale of House it looks as though the many talented English star Hugh Laurie is finally going onto more serious film roles, and the roles don’t get more serious than the evil and ultra-rich CEO of Omnicorp (well not for nerds anyway).
Thanks to House we know that Hugh Laurie can be the bad guy, but the real question is can he be as evil as Ronny Cox’s character of the same role in the original film? Of course he can and we will be saving the date for release when we get one. 9 August 2013 is the current date, but we imagine this will change.
Now since there is no more news on the film we have the original trailer for RoboCop (1987) to tide you over until we have more news for you. They don’t make them like this anymore…
The international trailer for Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained has been released. It’s mostly the same as the US trailer, with a few extra shots of difference, most notably, the inclusion of Samuel L. Jackson as a billed star in the film.
While the movie does look like it’s definitely going to be well crafted, I still can’t help but hold reservations on it. The James Brown soundtrack doesn’t work for me, but I understand it’s attempting a melding of the Spaghetti Western/Blaxploitation genres. What does work for me, is seeing Quentin Tarantino actually having a TRUE homage, with the final shot of the trailer, showing Jamie Foxx sitting with Franco Nero, who some may recognize as the original star of Sergio Corbucci’s Django. Even though that shot is included in the US trailer, I imagine it’ll play quite well with international crowds, where Sergio Corbucci’s name is more well-known. It would seem QT is continuing the long tradition of having a western revolving around a character named Django, even if he isn’t THE Django, from the original film. There are over 30 unofficial sequels to the original Django, as Italy has a long history of its filmmakers “borrowing” character and movie names to help a knockoff films chances at the box office. Tarantino seems to be falling right in line with this idea, only he is celebrating that character and tradition, rather than looking to make a quick buck off a name brand.
That’s Franco Nero on the right, the OG Django. He doesn’t look happy.
I always hold fast to the rule that you should never truly judge how good or bad a movie is until you see it, (see: Battleship), so I’m trying to stay positive with my feelings about Django Unchained. Maybe I’m just being overly negative, but Death Proof was really bad, and Inglorious Basterds was such a self-aggrandizing mess, it’s taken away the immediate optimism I used to have for Quentin Tarantino’s films. Regardless, like all of his films, I’ll end up seeing them no matter what, because for better or worse, nobody really makes movies like Tarantino. He has an undeniably unique voice, and is accomplished at doing what he sets out to do. [Ed. Note – Death Proof andInglorious Basterds are both awesome.]
As I mentioned last time, I don’t give a damn about the Resident Evil movies. Why am I writing this article then? I have no idea. Maybe because I actually make good on my promises?
To be honest with you, I feel the movie franchise has already ran its course. It has strayed too far from anything remotely resembling the video game storyline. In attempt on reminding us, the viewers, of how the movies are supposed to be based on the game, in every single Resident Evil film, we get multiple characters originated from the games forcefully crammed into the movie’s universe. This time round, the new additions are Leon S. Kennedy (of RE2, RE4 and RE6 fame), Barry Burton (the Jill Sandwich guy) and Ada Wong (femme fatale who follows Leon around, also has a thing for wearing high heels in tactical situations). Unfortunately, we don’t get to see much (if any) of them in the trailer, other than maybe a couple of scenes featuring Ada Wong.
In case you have forgotten who Barry Burton is.
Here’s the trailer.
After watching the trailer, I must say I’m fascinated.
*awkward silence*
*bursts into laughter*
You bought that? You believed for a second I actually care about the movie after watching the trailer? SYKE!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! The movie doesn’t look distinctly different from the last one. We’re still living in apocalypse, with Wesker still planning to destroy the world, or something. Can’t remember. The trailer starts off depicting Alice’s previous life, in which she’s a part of a happy family living the suburbs. Her husband is horny and her daughter capable of making quirky remarks at the age of 8. Sounds like the American Dream to me. Then zombies show up and eat her husband’s face off. Alice and her daughter escapes. The 5-0 shows up, though I’m doubtful they’ll be able to do anything. Then the camera cuts to Alice lying on the Umbrella logo, with Ada Wong narrating how her memory was fabricated by Umbrella. A bunch of mindless action scenes set across the world later, the trailer ends.
It is noteworthy (if you actually care about the live-action motion picture) that Paul WS Anderson has decided to bring back Rain Ocampo and Carlos Olivera, both of whom were supposed to be dead. They return in the form of clones. There will be a “good” version and a “bad” version of each replica. Yea, because it makes so much sense to keep good, thoughtful clones around if I’m in charge of a pharmaceutical company trying to take over the world. We also get to catch a few glimpses of Jill Valentine with aRE5-inspired mind-control device hooked to her chest area, making an already ridiculous idea look even more stupid.
I didn’t get it in RE5 and I still don’t get it now: how do you control someone’s mind by sticking a red thingy to her chest?
The movie is shaping out to be just fine. It’s still predictable. There are still characters from the game thrown in simply for the sake of it. The movie will certainly be bad. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not that promiscuous hippy with interesting fashionable sense who watches only artsy fartsy crap and criticizes any movie that doesn’t have deep undertones. I like action movies which don’t require much thinking. I just prefer my stupid movie to make some sense. This movie will be so corny, the US government will stop subsidizing corn farmers, since the movie alone is enough to supply the world’s corn demand for the next 25 years. Yes, it will be even more cringe-worthy than the joke in the last sentence.
Currently in the final funding stages is a documentary titled BURN: One Year on the Frontlines of the Battle to Save Detroit. In the film they explore the relentless fight against the seemingly endless rash of arsons that have plagued the city for years. Original home of “Devil’s Night”, where the city would burn annually, Detroit has always had a history with fire. This is the story of some of the men and women who fight these fires…
This comes from the movie’s official website:
“WE HOPE FOR BETTER THINGS; IT SHALL RISE FROM THE ASHES.” – FATHER GABRIEL RICHARD, WHO WROTE DETROIT’S MOTTO AFTER FIRE NEARLY DESTROYED THE CITY IN 1805
Detroit is an iconic city. Go anywhere in the world, say “Detroit,” and it strikes a set of images — Motown. Hockeytown. Chrysler, Ford, General Motors. Eminem, 8 Mile … Also crime, foreclosures, poverty, white flight, race … and fire.
But these are mere snapshots, glimpses into a deeper, more complex panorama.
Once the proud center of the American industrial machine — its cars gleamed, its culture was rich, its future boundless. Now, it is an omen, a ghost of America’s future. No one understands this better than the people literally putting out the fires, battling every day in an uncertain war.
BURN is a character-driven documentary about Detroit, told through the eyes of Detroiters who are on the front lines, trying to rescue and rebuild it. BURN will follow the firefighters, the men and women charged with the thankless task of saving a city that many have written off as dead. We’ll also look at the educators, the reformers, the activists, the enthusiasts — those who have the vision and the heart to bring a forgotten American dream back to Detroit.
The Detroit Fire Department is one of the oldest, proudest fire forces in the world, and certainly one of the busiest.
Every day, these firefighters face injury, disablement, illness, death. But still they come back, day after day, resolved that they can make a difference.
The city’s future is uncertain — record foreclosures, unemployment, and a struggling auto industry have made it ground zero of the floundering American economy. But there’s still life here. And people are listening. These firefighters and a cast of visionary citizens argue that it’s worth saving, and they’re fighting the battle with unparalleled commitment and a remarkable sense of humor.
BURN will embed with Detroit firefighters and follow a rich tapestry of other Detroit stories. We’ll explore human struggles, hope and personal courage in the face of overwhelming odds.
Until now, no one has properly explored the city with the depth and detail it deserves.
This project was brought to my attention by one of Detroit’s Bravest, my uncle, David Kronner, who has been with the department for just shy of 24 years. And while Uncle Dave isn’t directly involved in the movie, he respects the message behind and it. To get that message out however, they’re still in need of some funding. PBS fronted the cash to produce this 9 minute trailer here. Take a look…
I’ve spoken with the filmmakers, who hope to have the movie done by late summer/early fall, but that will only be possible through additional donations. To help out…
And while we plan to keep you updated on the progress of the production, you can visit the official website at DETROIT FIRE FILM, and you can follow them (obviously) on Facebook and Twitter.
2007 – One season of Spiritualism, Transcendence, and Pure WTF sauce.
David Milch is a curious show creator. He is most famously known for his HBO series Deadwood,Luck, and ABC’s NYPD Blue. One of his most ambitious series, that was never much appreciated in its time, and even outright loathed by many, was John From Cincinnati. It only had one season, and its first episode debuted with a huge lead in from The Sopranos Finale. This may or may not have hurt its chances right from the outset, as many Sopranos fans were upset by that shows controversial ending, and were not ready at all for the slow-paced, heady, and very confusing pilot that was John From Cincinnati. Even I’ll admit, its pilot, while intriguing, wasn’t necessarily good. It was the definition of what you’d call a rocky start, and was really coasting on its Milchian pedigree.
John From Cincinnati is about a famous family of surfers, who all befriend a mysterious stranger named John. The Yost family are all highly dysfunctional, and barely stand each other. Mitch Yost, the elder and most famous surfer is overbearing, self-centered and distant from his wife Cissy, and his own son Butchie. Butchie is a formerly famous surfer too, now washed up and addicted to drugs. The only thing keeping them together is Butchie’s son, Shaun Yost, a surfing/skating prodigy, who is in the custody of Cissy and Mitch. All of them harbor deep psychological issues and baggage they are holding onto, be it guilt, regret or some unfulfilled promise. John’s presence, the moment he enters their lives, slowly begins to change that, in ways they never could have predicted, and in ways that nobody could possibly understand at first. It’s these changes we first see, with Mitch Yost, ironically and literally floating inches into the air, mysteriously hovering, against his own will. These changes continue, with Butchie, the previously mentioned drug addict, who has gone broke, and can no longer afford his fix, but finds himself not suffering heroin withdrawal. John himself is a simple looking, plain clothed man in his early 20’s who has a habit of parroting speech back at whoever speaks to him, but still manages to communicate with intonation, body language, and the select few original words he speaks, all with a sense of gravitas and meaning to them that is mystifying and entirely logical at the same time. Now that’s just the Yost family, and John continues to help and change every single person who comes into contact with him. The show features a huge ensemble cast of characters, all with their own unique problems that John, in turn, one by one, begins to help in his own special way.
It’s a show that is nearly impossible to sum up in a single sentence, but in my many attempts to tell people why the show is great, I’ve found a way to effectively communicate what the show is about, and what its audience should expect to get from watching it. JFC is about transcendence. It’s about very real, very damaged characters, with borderline unsolvable personal issues, finding the means to heal themselves, mentally and sometimes physically, with the very presence of John arriving. He is a conduit to our own self discovery, and shows us, literally with our own words, the way to a new level of being. The shows title sequence alone hints at its spiritual and extraterrestrial nature.
The show also has an amazing soundtrack.
In no way am I a spiritual person, in fact, I am just the opposite, but I’d recommend it to anybody who would be willing to watch it past episode 2, (titled, ‘His Visit, Day Two’), and tell me they are not the slightest bit intrigued as to what happens next. It is simultaneously arresting and obtuse, confusing and entirely logical, difficult and intuitive, and it is not in any way a simple show. It is not a show that you can kick back and relax to watch. It demands your attention, it demands your thought, and most of all it demands you reflect on it’s meaning.It demands you find your own issues that are plaguing you, to question them yourself, and to assess your life’s amount of baggage, and judge if it is necessary to still carry it. It’s a show that is NOT for everyone, as many will watch it and just be confused, or see it as a meaningless David Lynch style ripoff. For those willing to give it a chance, it just might literally change your life. It’s not a perfect show by any means, but it IS an important one.
I can only hope reading this has made you want to watch it, because something like it doesn’t come along too often, and I’d argue that out of all the brilliant television David Milch has made, it is his personal best.
Grizzly Bomb 