Hey, I’m going to start playing with the blog designs now so expect some graphical changes every now and then. First up is the easiest, the header. Also, to save myself from writing lengthy reviews, I’m going to follow the same format, cutting the useless stuff and adding interesting stuff at the end. Here goes…

Battle in Seattle (2008)
*ing: Charlize Theron, Ray Liotta, Michelle Rodriguez, Jennifer Carpenter, Woody Harrelson
Directed and Written by Stuart Townsend
Script: Well written and well executed, the story is obviously a documentary becoming a movie but nevertheless keeps you interested until the end.
Direction: Townsend has assembled a decent cast has managed to make a powerful movie. Editing is excellent.
Score: Nothing out of this world, but Fake Empire by The National at the end fit in well with movie.
Acting: Liotta and Theron own the movie and Carpenter gives a surprisingly excellent performance.
Noteworthy: Decent film and definitely gets the message across. Although few people will hear it, something ironically, it informs us about during the film.

Splinter (2008)
Plot: A couple and the man who has taken them hostage must fight for their survival when they stop at a gas station only to be attacked by splinter-like parasites that transform their hosts into bloodthirsty hosts.
Script: Nice idea, but nothing in the scripts goes past the obvious.
Direction: Pretty decent shot. The director manages to make a suspenseful and interesting movie all set within a gas station.
Noteworthy: Nice juicy effects and fans of gore will not be disappointed. The creature effects are also pretty good. Within a river of messy, cheesy horror movies, this one really stands out.

Eagle Eye (2008)
*ing: Shia LeBouf, Michelle Monaghan
Directed by D.J.Caruso
Plot: A single mom and a university dropout recovering from a recent loss are thrown together in a adrenalin-filled chase through the country when they both receive calls from a mysterious woman. Chasing them are half the security forces of the country not to mention the fact they have no idea who is on the other end of the phone.
Direction: Caruso did a great job with Disturbia but somehow didn’t approach this project with same enthusiasm. The chase scenes are great but seem eerily familiar to Die Hard 4.0, in fact the whole movie seems like a fresher better version of John McClain’s last outing. The idea was good, but the script was average and the whole plot-line’s been done before over and over.
Acting: LeBouf and Monaghan did a great job. The chemistry between them seemed genuine but I’m biased on Monaghan, been in love with her since Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang

Surveillance (2008)
*ing: Bill Pullman, Julia Ormond
Directed by Jennifer Lynch
Script: Her first movie might have sucked but her latest (and the only one in 15 years) movie was a great debut (more or less) made off a fantastic script. The writing was good, the casting was excellent and the movie kept me at the edge of seat throughout and I didnt see the ending coming (which is very, very rare for me)
Acting: I’ve been a huge fan of Ormond for ages, ever since First Knight and Legends of the Fall, and was dissapointed she never got any major roles. Even though this one doesn’t qualify as a “major” role, she fantastic here. Pullman, as usual, is excellent.
Noteworthy: Nail-biting thriller, nice twist at the end and a twisted black script is definitely worth checking out.

Last year Diane Lane starred in Untraceable, a drama-mystery set around an FBI team tracking down a killer who posted his kills online and directly shared his kill with millions of loggers. The movie is more than a mystery. It not-so-subtly points out what we have become. Looking for a quick fix, searching for a bit of thrill, becoming uglier than those we root against.

Three days ago a boy commited suicide on justin.tv. People saw it happening, they cheered him on and some even said someone should call the police. Of course no one really did until it was too late. He over-dosed on sleeping pills and sat there slumped near his webcam for hours before the police came. You can read all about it here and here, you can read how a guy tried to help and response he got here.

Last year, a man in Britain hung himself on the webcam. In 2003, a boy in Arizona met a similar fate while many chatters watched and even egged him on. So what have we become? Do we know the impact of the words we type? Can we ever look away?

In the Diane Lane’s movie, every time a vicitm died they camera zoomed up on the comments people kept posting. The following two excerpts are from the chatroom during the time these two deaths (mentioned above) were taking place.

Kevin Whitrick. Died March 21 2007, Shropshire

Shyguy_17_1 (Whitrick): I’ve had it, you think I am full of s***, not this time.

- F****** do it, get on with it, get it round your neck. For F***’s sake he can’t even do this properly.

- Oh my God, this is serious. Someone should call the police.

- His face is turning purple. This guy is dead.

- His face is turning red. OMG (Oh My God).

- Is this real?

Brandon Vedas, 21. Died January 12 2003, Arizona

Ripper (Vedas): Tonight is a (good) night fellas…klono, methadone, restoril, inderal, weed. bottoms up.

- Dude you just drank it. Ripper: Yeah.

- Eat more . . . that’s not much . . . I wanna see if you survive or you just black out.

- Eat more Ripper: Righty hoe.

- F****** eat it. Ripper: Ripper has perished.

- You’d better not go to sleep

- Breathe

- Man don’t die

I have a nightmare. I mean I have a lot of bad maybe-gonna-happens but this one is related specifically to television. In my nightmare every night on television is the same. The faces are different, the shows are different but it all starts and it all ends after one hour. Yes, in my nightmare, procedurals rule the waves. Story-oriented shows don’t exist anymore. When I tell my friends about a time long when show’s used to air with story arcs, they don’t understand.

Four days ago, television lost two fantastic wonderful shows (and one average show). We all knew Pushing Daisies was in trouble but the cancellation still hurt. Specially since it came together with the cancellations of Eli Stone and  Dirty Sexy Money. Stone, according to most (including myself) was giving us the best episodes of it’s short life. This news came soon after the cancellation of the excellent My Own Worst Enemy, a new high-budget spy show that barely had any time to attract viewers.

This is simply bad news for television. It makes me worry for Whedon’s upcoming Dollhouse. I’m a huge fan of Whedon and his history with  FOX is less than re-assuring.

So do you think it’s possible. Five years from now. After Hiro sacrifices himself to save humanity. After the last housewife ODs on sleeping pills. After the Walkers discover yet another illegitimate brother. Will we have nothing else to watch except CSI:Alaska and the like?

So I ended up buying a PSP last month. As usual nothing went as planned and I ended up spending a lot more than I had saved up. Apparently a day or two before I went into the shop, SONY had decided to shut down production of the PSP phat. I had planned to buy the older PHAT version simply because it was much cheaper than the better looking and lighter slim version. Of course since the old one was not avalaible anywhere (except the bubble-gum pink version) I had ended up spending pretty much all my savings on a black slim version (with the obvious additions of a screen protector and travel kit)

So what can I say about the new PSP? The games are great. The ports might be nothing special but the exclusively made for PSP games (Chains of Olympus, Frantix, Crisis Core, Killzone Liberation) are astonishingly good. Now I’m not nearly well-off enough to buy a game so obviously I download. However I had to install a homebrew custom firmware and quite a bit of other stuff so I though I’d write a small guide on getting the most out of you’re PSP.

Watching Videos: For me, watching movies and shows when the lights went out (a phenomenon that happens very often and quite regularly. Think of someone making a joke in the paper that ended with tagline death, taxes and load-shedding and you’ll get a fair picture). First off, you’ll need a good coverter. I found SUPER converter to be the best one. Not only does it have a PSP profile in it, but it also supports almost every format in the world and it’s free . If you’re using anything above 3.50 (fw-wise), place you’re files into the MEMstick ‘\Video’ folder and you’re good to go.

Homebrew Firmware: There are basically two groups out there releasing reliable firmware. Out of these two, Russian-based M33, is easily the superior one. I’d reccomend going for the latest firmware homebrew, something in 5.0-5.3 range. This is a great guide for installing Firmware 5.00 M33-3 (the -3 means installing it with updates(3) as well). However, while you’re fooling about, make sure to follow all instructions accurately or you can brick you’re PSP (goes dead and might or might not be recoverable). Also for those taking it slow, here is a guide for installing 3.90 M33

Playing PSP Games: After installing the firmware, it’s easy. After downloading a game, it’ll either end up an ISO or as a CSO. It’s reccomended you convert the CSO into an ISO before uploading it to you’re PSP. It’s a very simple procedure. After conversion just palce you’re ISOs (or you’re CSOs) into you’re ‘\ISO’ folder of you’re MEMSTICK DUO and you’re ready to play.

Playing PSX Games: Getting a chance to play you’re favourite PSX games from the old days is a massive advantage of owning a PSP as well. However playing them is a bit tricky if you’ve got any FW past 3.40. If you’ve got an old FW, just place the Folder of the game you downloaded (with a .EBOOT file) into ‘\PSP\Game’ folder. However if you’ve got a spanking new FW, you’ll have to install a POPSloader. This is the tricky part. Now you’re POPSLOADER will depend on what verision custom firmware you have so can’t really hit you with links there.

Homebrew Softs: You can pretty much turn you’re PSP into a monster if you’ve got the right softwares. Everything from reading comics and books to entering you’re computers wirelessly to turning you’re PSP into a universal remote control. This is a list of the top 10 homebrews for the PSP. Enjoy!

Wallpapers: You’ve got a PSP. Now make it look nice. With it’s LCD screen and small resolution, wallpapers look fantastic. Can’t really help with links here as my collection came from all over the place including my friends.

Hey guys, I know I’ve been absent since my Top2007 post. That’s it, I can go on and on but I just don’t feel like it. Family life’s been getting progressivley harder, I’m barely making it through my classes and I’m running around trying to get my credits shifted because I’m tired of living in this God-forsaken country.

So instead of commiting to a lot of posts that probably won’t come I though I’d try and be honest and follow a one-post-a-month patter that will update (whoever is still into the blog) to what I’ve been reading, watching, listening to and playing while if something strikes me way hard I’ll post anyways.

So without further ado, the November post

Wanted: The main factor that propelled me to write this post. I absolutely hated it. Words are not enough to describe how they took Millar’s sinful twisted story and gangraped it until it resembled this “movie” that I wasted two hours watching. Angelina Jolie is the only redeeming factor the film has and even that failed after a while. Avoid at all costs, in fact I hated the movie so much that now I’m boycotting Bekmambetov’s Night Watch trilogy even though I had planned on watching it.

True Blood: I’m loving the show. The sex scenes might be overdone and completely needless but the writing is decent and the premise had me hooked even before the show had aired. The cast leaves a lot to be desired (I mean A LOT) but the arcs come hard and fast and the characters grow on you. C’mon guys, it’s Alan Ball, you have to at least give it a chance.

How To Lose Friends and Alienate People: Anything with Kirsten Dunst in it is pretty much a guaranteed win with me and having Megan Fox flaunting her slender figure around didn’t hurt the movie either. In fact it was pretty much a great watch. More realistic than Devil Wears Prada and hell of a lot funnier, the film boasted a powerhouse cast (at least in my book) and looked just as sharp and shiny as the posters promised.

Life: The series is back and it’s better than…well…the one season it did air. I love the surreal-philosophical environment of the show and it’s even weirder this season. Plus put Damien Lewis, Adam Arkin, L-word hottie Sarah Shahi and Brent Sexton in a noir-ish co drama set in L.A. and there’s no way you can go wrong. Although the fact that it’s paired up with Knight Rider can’t be helping it’s chances.

Worst Week: I’m loving the new sitcom. Sure it’s no replacement for Scrubs but it’s still a nice way to spend twenty minutes every week.

Grey’s Anatomy: Yes I’m one of those people who depsite the awful season 4 are still secretly hooked on to the show. And I’m glad, the last episode to air was the best writing I’ve seen since season 2. I’m finally digging Lexi and Melissa George just signed on to be a recurring character. If life (and I mean my life) didn’t suck, I’d probably be happier.

Dead Space: One of the scariest games I’ve ever played, right up there with Silent Hill 3. The monsters are gruesome, the sound effects scare the shit out of you and the visuals are crisp and smooth. The best thing…Massive boss fights with huge beasts. In fact, I’d love it a lot more if Fallout 3 hadn’t shown up right alongside it.

Which brings us to the highlight of the month besides my girlfriend (don’t be mad H). Fallout 3 came in fast, being carried by tremendously good previews and many, many promises. Turned out, it delivered on all of them and more. Completely redefining the term “Freedom” in a 3d world, the games gives you a massive chunk of the post-nucleur American continent (D.C. and quite a bit of the area around it) to go about as you please. Settlement spring up right and left, made in the ruins of what once used to be a thriving nation. The story is great, the gameplay addictive and the world so massive, I don’t think I’ll ever really explore it all.

Anyway, look for me next month with the Decemeber post. Although the load-shedding’s coming back so don’ really know what I’ll be doing next month.

2007 was a great year as far as movies were concerned (and a lousy one in my calendar, but then again, every year is lousy for me). Movies however, burst forth, went to places they had never gone before (The Mist) and showed things usually not so widely shown in cinema (Gone Baby Gone). I had fun (Hot Fuzz), I laughed (Charlie Wilson’s War), I peed my pants (The Orphanage) and I cried (The Orphanage, again). I’m not gonna wimp out and give you a top-15 list or a top-20 list, there’s a reason “The Top 10” matter because it’s not only about the movies but the writer as well. So instead I mention all the movies that were fun, fantastic and gave me so much to talk/write/think about but were not included in the top ten: [REC], The Kingdom, My Blueberry Nights, There Will Be Blood, 300, Breach, Planet Terror, Black Snake Moan, Perfum: The Story of a Murderer, The Good German, Death Sentence, Disturbia, Ratatouille, 3.10 To Yuma, The Painted Veil, Gone Baby Gone, Lust Caution, Hallam Foe and 13 Beloved, There Will Be Blood. If you’re a serious movie watcher, I implore you watch at least half of the above mentioned.

3 movies need to be placed in a higher category and than the rest and if I had made a top 13 list these three would definitely be included: Hot Fuzz (oodles of fun, top-class brit comedy), Charlie Wilson’s War (the immortal Aaron Sorkin writes a politically-charged black comedy that made me like Tom Hanks again) and Southland Tales (all-hail Richard Kelly for following up Donnie Darko, which I consider essential viewing, with a funny, twisted ensemble piece that just might be the cult-favorite of out generation. As predicted, no other movie made me think more). So finally, here are the top 10 movies of last year that made my go to places none of the others did (except maybe Kelly’s edition).

10. The Mist (Darabont) – Darabont hasn’t really done much good since The Shawshank Redemption, but ever since he was announced as the director to SK’s chilly little open ended horror story, everybody had good expectations. More so than anything else, he promised us closure to the story, something I was against. I preferred the open-ended ending. However, once the movie was over I sat there shocked and still. When I finally did move, I cheered for Darabont. He has given us quite possibly, the most twisted ending in the history of horror films. Add to this some great creature effects and a stunning vibrant steamy look that compliments the atmosphere of the movie perfectly. This gets on the list based solely on its brilliant ending.

09. Michael Clayton (Gilroy) – Tony Gilroy (better known for writing every single one of the Bourne movie) writes and directs this little gem. A poorly predicted Oscar-favorite, this corporate thrilled chronicles the end of an attorney-cum-fixer’s career and possibly his life. Clooney plays the lead character, an attorney for one of the top law firms whose tiny job description seems to be taking care of other people’s messes. The film also boasts a fantastic cast (Clooney, Wilkinson, Swinton, Pollack are all brilliant) as well a wonderful score. The movie’s pacing is great and while Gilroy’s script might not be original, it’s certainly well written and entertaining. Wilkinson and Clooney astound with their lines while Swinton just does an ok job, it was a little surprising she walked away with the Oscar. I’ve always been a fan of corporate thrillers (I ate up last summer’s Damages), but even Gilroy outdid himself with this one.

08. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (Lumet) - I knew I was going to end up loving this movie as soon as it was announced. I mean, Hoffman, Hawke, Finney and Tomei with Lumet (Dog Day Afternoon and the all-superior Network) directing, how could I not? Turns out, I did. The movie is slow, heavy and dark. The editing is great, using flashbacks has become quite popular these days (e.g. the horrible Vantage Point) but in this case it works in favor of the hard-hitting script. Hoffman and Finney blew me away with their characters. I loved seeing Hoffman’s Hanson freak out as his world falls to pieces around him. I loved the pacing, loved the scoring and loved Tomei’s hot nude scenes (she’s 40!). The film’s like a bitter cup of coffee, a jolt and a shock that you slowly take in. Simply fantastic.

07. Sunshine (Boyle) - The script is penned by Alex Garland (novel writer responsible for The Beach and The Tesseract as well as the script for 28 Days Later and the upcoming Halo). Boyle on the other hand directed 28 Days Later (quite a nice job, much better than it’s “sequel”) and a little known gem, Millionaires. Both are great at what they do, so I expected a nice decent sci-fi. What I didn’t expect was how the movie toyed with my emotions, how it made me care of the characters and how graceful it was in its delivery. Knowing you’re going to die has never been translated more honestly that it was in this movie. The cast gave it their best and even though the movie received quite a lot of bad reviews, I fell in love by the end of the first viewing. The scene near the end, “the jump”, took my breath away. Rose Byrne’s line seemed to summaries everything I loved about this movie, “Thinking that you might die and knowing you will are two very different things”. Red-tanned visuals and a decent cast ensemble accompanied Garland’s well-written script, making this one a must-see recommendation.

06. Atonement (Wright) – Ian McEwan’s best novel comes to the big screen with riveting force and a unique intensity not found in any other period film. If the story, the backdrop and the ending doesn’t take your breath away, the powerhouse scoring will. The film more or less follows the novel that came (three years?) before it, starting out in the quaint English countryside, putting you at ease. Then it propels itself into betrayal, rape, lies and the casualties of war. I’m a big fan of doomed love stories and this was one of the best. The director toyed with us till the end and the truth is those who have read the book will probably not love this movie as much as those who came into the theatre completely unaware. I hated the fact it didn’t get the Oscar I wanted it to. No Country For Old Men didn’t even get near it’s scoring, script or plot. I’m sure everyone has already seen (and enjoyed) this so I’m not going to spend a lot of time telling you how good it is,

05. Eastern Promises (Cronenberg) – I hated The Fly but I loved eXistenz, History of Violence and Spider, so like Kevin Smith, I have a love it or hate it opinion for Cronenberg’s work. Naomi Watts I’ve always enjoyed and these two were my main reason for picking this DVD up. I can honestly say no other film this year was this much of a pleasant shock. I didn’t expect it to rattle me so much or keep me at the edge of my seat during the last fight sequence. The movie quickly gained critical approval, the fight scene at the end was the flagship scene most referred to. I didn’t fall in love with that, I did however, fall for the cold script, the hard-edged politics and the superior acting talents of Mortensen, Watts and especially Mueller-Stahl. Cronenberg outdid himself with this one and although there’s quite a bit of wait till his next project, I wait with eager anticipation.

04. Juno (Retiman) – First-timer Diablo Cody penned the script (and won an oscar for it), Jason Reitman (whose quick-witted Thank-you For Smoking was a nice treat) directed and a whole bunch of fantastic actors acted. Normally I wouldn’t go through the whole cast, but that cant be missed with a cast like this one: Ellen Page (who scared the shit out of me before winning me over in last year’s Hard Candy, you can find it in my Top Ten 2006 list), Jennifer Garner (needs no introduction….I love her!), Allison Janney (Sorken’s best work yet The West Wing), J. K. Simmons (The Closer, Spider-Man), Rainn Wilson (The OFFICE!!!) and last but not least Jason Bateman and Michael Cera (both of Arrested Development fame) all come together to create a wonderful little coming-of-age-cum-cautionary-tale black comedy the likes of which I haven’t seen in a while. The dialogues are fantastic, quick and sharp like acid. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if (along with Kelley’s Southland Tales) this gem of a movie garners a massive cult following and the dialogues are quoted for years to come. It’s mainly the script and the fantastic cast that won me over but beneath it all is a warm fuzzy movie you fall for as you watch it. Recommended to absolutely everyone out there but chances are they’ve already seen it.

03. Orfanato, El (Bayona) – In the footsteps of last year’s Pan’s Labyrinth (yes, it’s there on my top ten) comes Spain’s latest entry in the supernatural department and I’m not joking here, it scared the shit out of me. I don’t scare easy. The last movie before this to scare me was the original Japanese Dark Water, what I believed to be the last great ghost story that hit you with chills instead of mindless gore. I was wrong there. The Orphanage starts out simply enough, but then somewhere in the middle I realized I was scared out of my mind (the knock knock game) and near the end I was surprised to find myself tearing up. The ending was fantastic, like Pan’s Labyrinth it gives you a supernatural as well as a more logical version of events and the choice is left to you, to believe either one. Of course the directors always leave clues as to which version actually happened (Del Toro confirmed the supernatural storyline with the flowers blooming at the end and if you watch closely, Bayona has given us clues to confirm the chillier supernatural version as well). Another great choice was the casting of Belén Rueda, she was perfect in the role and Bayona should be applauded for not going with a young hot blonde like most horror directors these days do. At the end, it was a story of a mother who would do anything to be with her son again, and it was the perfect ghost story I had been looking for since the past few years.

02. 30 Days of Night (Slade) – David Slade hit the film industry in 2006 with the fantastic drama Hard Candy (go here to find my review). This year his choice might seem a lot more commercial and safe, but he has fun with it and gives us a bloody treat as well. Based on Steven Niles claim-to-fame graphic novel (of the same name), the movie chronicles a month in a remote Alaskan town where the sun doesn’t come up for 30 days. Some vampires decide it would be the equivalent of a one-month-long buffet and hit the town head on. You can find an earlier review of the movie here, complimenting the breathtaking cinematography and Slade’s many, many good direction choices. The movie makes it to the near top of my list simply for being what it is: Not a cheesy, campy or even average flick about vampires but being a tale of brute force that wipes everything in it’s path and a small band of survivors that try their best to stand up to it. I can’t wait to see what the fiery little director has in store for us next (right now he hasn’t signed on for anything).

01. Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Burton) – Ahh Burton is back. I discovered Burton quite a few years ago, having discovered gems like Edward Sciccorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sleepy Hallow and Big Fish. However, with the good comes the bad (Mars Attacks) and these past few years I saw his release a horrible series of movies, each worse than the last (Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride) and I thought he had lost what talent he had. I’m glad to see I was wrong. The film had everything I had come to love about Burton’s work. The atmosphere was dark and gloomy, the visuals sharp and lush, his London was gothic, oppressive and congested, just the way I liked it. This is not my favorite movie by the director (Long live the headless horseman) but it certainly came close.

Meanwhile, Burton’s blue-eyed boy Depp gave the performance of his life but I agree, Daniel Day-Lewis did deserve the Oscar for his performance in There Will Be Blood. Some of you may be weirded out at the fact that TWBB wasn’t in my top ten, the truth is it almost made it. Here’s my review of the movie. Getting back to the point at hand, Sweeny Todd was the movie all Burton-fans were waiting for and I’m pretty sure he’ll never be able to top it.

That’s it for last year’s top ten. As usual delayed but finally here. Comment please.

Back with a post. Have spent last month working on the top-ten list (as well as living, studying etc.) and it’s ready. Just needs some editing and then I’ll post, prob in a day or two. Until then here’s a small review of The Incredible Hulk as well as an update on what projects Marvel has green-lit for production. First with the review.

The film is a reboot, not a sequel. I’m sure you all know this much. My major problem comes from the fact that the whole paternal conflict, the whole storyline was shelved. And the movie has no script. It’s simply, the comic story told as simply as possible. Nolte and Bana’s scenes in the first film was the only saving grave of the whole movie and I like the conflict

Louis Leterrier (Transporter 2, Danny the Dog) directs so I already expected some great action sequences and sharp visuals. The movie impressed me a lot in that department and I’m sure fans who were looking for a more action-oriented Hulk the last time around, will be pleased. However the weak script was problematic for me. Sure, I enjoyed it and it was definitely worth the ticket price but I would’ve preferred a more complicated script or even just the inclusion of Nolte’s storyline from the last film (without the weird poodles). The movie was fun, enteretaing and had some great climax moments. But at almost two hours, I would’ve preferred more action sequences (there are only 3), especially since the dialogue and the storyline they were focusing on was nothing special.

Cast-wise, Norton was nothing special and physically unfit for the role while Tyler was just not the Betty Jennifer Connelly was. Hurt’s Ross was a complete asshole in this movie and there was no measure of salvation possible for him while Tim Roth was surprisingly pleasant and actually looked better in the action sequences than the Hulk did. I think Leterrier did a great job and I would love for him to do the followup, as long as someone other than Zack Penn is writing the screenplay (which doesn’t seem likely).

On to the marvel Projects (in chronological order).

2008 – Punisher Warzone: Ray Stevenson (Rome) stars as the lead while Dominic West is Jigsaw. The plot seems good as Castle end up in the middle of organized crime in New York, bad blood and crime families. Julie Benz (Angel, Dexter, Rambo) in the mix as well as (hopefully as the baron of the Italian family or maybe the daughter). The plot seems perfect for the Punisher (reminiscence of Ennis’ dark script of the comics) but the trailer didn’t impress and I’m not sure Stevenson is well suited for the role. Lexi Alexander (Green Street Hooligans) directs.

2009 – X-Men Origins: Magneto: This movie which could be quite enjoyable focuses on magneto’s life in prison camp and how he came to be the fearful mutant the X-Men fight in almost all three movies. Unfortunately, David S. Goyer (Blade Trinity) directs.

2009 – Ghost Rider 2: After the horrid first film, there might be doubt over bringing Cage and Steven-Johnson back but currently there are no details except this release date.

2009 – Silver Surfer: Spin-off from the Fantastic Four movies, the movie will be directed by Alex Proyas (the excellent Dark City and the average I, Robot) which seems like a perfect fit for the punk sci-fi this film could be. Doug Jones might star as the surfer. Color me extremely interested.

2009 – The Hands of Shang-Chi: IMDB states the plot line as “Based on the Marvel Comics hero, a young Kung-Fu master learns his father is the world’s worst criminal”. Never heard of the comic and the director hasn’t done anything I’m interested in.

2009 – X-Men Origins: Wolverine: Gavin Hood (Rendition) seems an odd choice to direct but Jackman is back as Wolverine and brings with him a bunch of mutants I was dying to see (Reynold’s Deadpool, Beak and finally Gambit). I’m a huge fan of X-Men and am looking forward to this one.

2010 – Nick Fury: No director attached and the plot seems to be an origin story but unless Samuel L. Jackson is cast as Fury, I don’t care much for this project. I doubt it’s going to come out anytime soon anyway.

2010 – Iron Man 2: Jon Favreau might not return. Robert Downey might not return. And while, Maguire was Spider-Man and Cage was Ghost-Rider, Iron-Man was Robert Downey. The movie will not work without him and probably should’nt even be.

2010 – Ant-Man: Seriously? Aren’t they getting a little carried away with the movies just so they can do a complete Avengers lineup? Edgar Wright (the unbelievably good Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead) directs and although he’s a perfect choice to direct the Scott Pilgrim movie (slated to be out the same time), I’m not so sure about him doing a serious superhero film. No actors attached.

2010 – Thor: Mathew Vaughan (Stardust) seems like a very bad choice since Stardust was a horrible “fantasy” movie. I like the idea of a fantasy epic but why not do a God of War movie? Thor is they gayest marvel character, not to mention in need of a serious language and wardrobe update. Any choices for the lead?

2011 – Spider-Man 4: No director and no actors attached. No script out yet either.

2011 – Captain America: Nick Cassavetes (John Q, The Notebook) directs and the choice to make this a period peice seems like a good one. Rumors of Gerard Butler in the lead are hopeful. Unfortunately Zack Penn is writing the script.

2011 – The Avengers: With a date like July 2011, we all know we’re in for a long wait. I like the concept of introducing all the heroes in individual movies and then making the Avengers one. Seemingly Hulk might be one of them and Iron Man is definately on board. Thor, Cap and Ant-Man and if they play their cards right and follow the New Avengers path, Wolverine might join as well. But the concept of all these actors coming together seems too good to be true not to mention extremely expensive. Again the horribly simple Zack Penn writes.
Well, there you have it. All projects marvel has in production. I’ll be back in a day or two with the entry I’ve been working on for over a month. See you then.

Who is Brian K. Vaughan? Superior comic writer who’s now slowly transitioning into television and film. His claim to fame comic series Y – The Last Man (the male population of the world dies off in one day leaving a world run by women looking for answers and the only surviving man. No, it’s not as perverted as it sounds) ended a few months ago which frees him to follow up on other projects such Ex-Machina (politically charged drama about the New York mayor and his “power”) and episodes of Lost (the recent comeback episode that logged the attack on the Losties was penned by Vaughan and Goodard). He is also responsible for creating Marvel’s critically acclaimed Runaways (now being not so successfully run by Joss Whedon).

Who is Drew Goodard? His recent script for Cloverfield has gained him a few minutes in the spotlight but this talented writer has been around for quite a while. Goodard was quite active writing some great episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (such as the fan favorite Conversations With Dead People) and Angel. Look for his current arc on Buffy’s Season Eight (Dark Horse), episodes on Lost and probably on Joss Whedon’s new show, Dollhouse, premiering in the fall.

Who is Jane Espenson? Extremely talented writer who found her spotlight on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Her imdb clocks her on 23 episodes of Buffy, 2 episodes of Angel, an episode of Firefly and 4 episodes of Battlestar Galactica,

Who is Matt Fraction? Extremely talented comic writer, could very well be this generation’s Warren Ellis. He’s responsible for the brilliant Casanova as well as his co-renewal of Iron Fist in the critic-favorite The Immortal Iron First and his new highly-anticipated series, The Invincible Iron Man.

The Alien franchise has a place in my heart only second to the Scream trilogy. While the latter has thankfully remained untouched, the Alien franchise was destroyed with the cheesy, shallow and pathetic Alien vs. Predator by the horrid Paul W. S. Anderson. In the process, he not only made the superior alien creatures something to be laughed at, but also defamed the Predator franchise as much as possible. I had very little hope for the second part in the franchise but the trailer made me feel better. It seemed (at least on some account) to be better than the first movie. And the truth is, AvP: Requiem was exactly that. The Strauss Brothers haven’t been responsible for a lot of good cinema but they are the reason aliens and predators found a small place in my heart again.

• The fantastic creature effects. Instead of horrible CGI, the aliens were back to wearing suits and slathering themselves with slime, something I completely approve of. In addition, the predator seemed to be decent (instead of it’s obese counterpart in the previous film) and the predAlien wasn’t half bad.
• The gore and brutality. A kid gets his chest blown apart and the waitress…well, let’s just say you have to see it to see it. I’m glad the directors didn’t wimp out like Anderson and gave us a wimpy PG-13 creaturemania.
• The scoring. The strongest point, by far. The Strauss Brothers made the very wise choice of using the original Alien scoring (if you’re a fan, you’ll know what I’m talking about) in some sequences, later in the film.

It’s not a great movie by far, but it brings back those great memories, makes you think of Ripley again.

So I’ve been absent for quite a while. Papers kept me busy and then the heat kept me down (still is). I saw a bunch of stuff (Brothers&Sisters s2, Bones s3, Eli Stone and some other stuff) as well as quite a few movies. However most of them were too horrible to bother with (Bordertown, Eye of the Beast, Numb, Meet the Spartans, Horton Hears a Who) and the ones that were ended up going to my top10 (Expect to see The Orphanage on my top 2007 list, coming soon and Cloverfield on my top 2008 list, due out almost one year from now). However, the above two were excellent and almost made it to last year’s top ten so I thought they deserved individual reviews.

Frontier(s)

American horror bores me now. Movies like Lake Dead and Nightmare Man make my laugh and remakes make me wish I had picked up a doc instead. So imagine my surprise to discover some great foreign horror movies like Rec (Spanish, review out soon), The Orphanage (Spanish, in my top ten 2007), Inside (French, absolute horror to watch) and this one. Due to civil unrest, a pack of thieves escape Paris to head for the border. They decide to meet up at an inn near the border which just happens to be run by a cannibalistic nazi family run by “father” and who happen to be looking for their new “mother”, a role that Yasmine (a muslim character, imagine that) happens to be perfect for.

Blood, guts and gore ensues as the quite countryside becomes the site of a massacre and quite possibly the dirtiest, grittiest and most carnal version of TCM out there. I was horribly surprised to find out this masterpiece was directed by the same guy who made such a mess out of Hitman. No taboo is left unattended and no line is not crossed and the small band of thieves and this deranged family go head to head. I know most people will label this under torture-porn and it probably should be, but for those who have not problems with the genre should have no problem enjoying this.

There Will Be Blood

For the record, I did not enjoy No Country For Old Men and it’s not because I didn’t get it’s symbolism (C’mon guys, it wasn’t all that deep. Yes, new world is ruthless), I just wish they had gotten to it in a better fashion. Paul Thomas Anderson does not make that mistake. At first glance, this does not seem like PTA movie at all. Punch Drunk Love was romantic neurotic, Magnolia was an essay on erosion of people and Boogie Nights, was just plain out fun. TWBB is quieter, deeper and has a fantastic point which it slowly drives into you’re brain. The oil well explosion was an epic scene but it had little to with the narrative, which is why the most powerful sequence was Daniel’s baptism (and of course, Eli’s follow-up confession years later). It didn’t give me satisfaction and not a lot of closure. I loved it for what it was, but what it was couldn’t find a place on my list. If you can only watch one oscar-nominated film, watch….Michael Clayton, and after that watch Sweeny Todd but after that watch There Will Be Blood.