Thursday, August 19, 2010

It's Movie Time!

I've some movie news and reviews for you!

First, two short reviews...

Jade Warrior
I’d read good things about this foreign film, inspired by the Finnish epic, The Kalevala. The hero is a poor blacksmith recently dumped by his girlfriend. When she disposes of some of his artifacts, the shopkeeper discovers this smith can open an ancient Chinese metal box. He instructs the smith to create a machine called a Sampo, and as the smith does this, he at last recalls his previous life as a warrior destined to slay a demon. The movie is told in flashbacks between present day Finland and ancient China. It’s a slower paced film with some great visuals and a few surprises. And (spoiler) in the tradition of Chinese love stories, there is no happy ending. Scratch China off your list of places to seek true love, because apparently it never works out!

The Crazies
A remake of Romero’s 1973 film, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this zombie-virus flick. The story follows a town sheriff and his wife as they attempt to survive both the crazies and the military trying to stop the spread. It was entertaining and contained some good suspense, along with just a few too many narrow escapes. As with any horror flick, the characters split up on occasion, and put themselves in dire situations as a result. I promised my wife that if we have to flee from zombies, I wouldn’t tell her to “Wait here.” Not a great movie, but better than expected.

In other movie news…


Kate Beckinsale is definitely appearing in Underworld IV! Selene will be kicking butt in her sexy black leather outfit in 2012. Visit HOLLYWOOD SPY for details. I am one happy guy!


Hellboy III is on hold – perhaps permanently. Director Guillermo del Toro reports that Ron Perlman is happy doing Sons of Anarchy without six hours in a makeup chair. So no more Hellboy movies until Perlman changes his mind. Bummer, huh?

Heard any wild movie rumors or seen a good film lately? Watched any of the Quiet Movies I recommended? Wonder if after Sharktopus debuts on SyFy this fall they will consider doing Snarktopus…

51 comments:

Old Kitty said...

Oh I hope Hellboy 3 gets made!! Come on Mr Perlman - can't they just ooh I don't know get some digitalised special effects or something! LOL! Fingers crossed it gets made!!!

Kate Beckinsale is not my fave actress but she does look good in a black rubbery wet suit thingy and emotes very well in Underworld... LOL!

Awwww Chinese Ghost Story ends happily-ish - go see that!!

Take care
x

Jules said...

I did not know you were a fan of black leather? :) I too hope Hellboy 3 is completed.

Ohhh, that Sharktopus again...:D

Have a good one.

Jules
Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

T. Powell Coltrin said...

I'm not a morning person and yet you made me laugh at--not going to China to seek true love. I hope this laughing doesn't ruin my day. :)

I know you want a Hellboy III, but I can't even imagine that many hours in makeup. Seriously, twenty minutes of makeup is too long to for me. With HB we're talking serious makeup.

Great post!

Jeremy [Retro] said...

hellboy 3, maybe the kid can be the star... suped up hellion. yeah on anything kate... the crazies is not what i thought, i enjoyed it.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

I saw "Jade Warrior" four years ago, and I thought it was visually striking, yet very uneven. Alex, did you know this is the first ever Finish martial arts movie?:)

I expected more from "The Crazies", but wasn't very impressed with the result. Pretty watchable though.

I adore Kate! Last week I watched the extended version of the original Underworld movie and fell in love with her... yet again! :) I know she's your girl, so I might should have kept my feelings for her in secret :P

Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman rule! Hellboy as well! Can't wait for HB3!

Hannah said...

I will definitely be adding Jade Warrior to my list. Thank you!
I didn't care for Hellboy 2 so I'm not complaining. I do love Ron Perlman though.

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

I always enjoy reading your reviews and this one was no exception. I see you mentioned Kate Beckinsale are you an admirer if hers by any chance,

Thanks for the visit also for your support It was an expereience that have occurred over the months and yesterday was the final straw, having said that I am putting it all behind me and look to the future.....I have decided to do another book.

Yvonne.

vic caswell said...

i only saw the first twenty minutes or so of the crazies... that bit was quite good!

Unknown said...

The Crazies sounds like my kind of film -- or at least what I'm in the mood for today! Thanks for the recs!!

Unknown said...

I'm not too much of a fan of horror but the cover of the first film looks fascinating. I've never heard of it but it intrigues me.

CD

DEZMOND said...

UNDERWORLD 4 is not coming in 2011 but in 2012, that's why I've put the news yesterday in my place for you Alex :) to inform you that the movie is being pushed back to January 2012 which is kinda a bad thing, because January is usually a time of cinema flops :((( So, either they don't have a good enough script so they made it a smaller project with that premiere date or they just don't know what to do with it.
The one thing's sure - Beckinsale will look smokin' in Selene's costume again :)

Matthew MacNish said...

Lots of great news! Thanks Alex.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Kitty, I'll look for that one.

Jules, black leather only if Kate's in it!

Journaling, glad I could coax a smile so early.

Nebular, it was uneven but interesting. Certainly no Hero, but worth a watch. My expectations for The Crazies was really low, so it was better than expected. And back off, man - Kate is mine! Okay, in my dreams anyway.

Just move on and ignore the heckler, Yvonne.

Dezz, I'll fix that. Sorry, overeager! And a couple of the Underworld movies came out during the dead times of January and September and did well.
I'm still trying to convince my wife she needs an outfit like Selene's. So far the answer has been no...

Anonymous said...

Looking forward to seeing Kate and her tight black outfit again. And Snarktopus has potential. Maybe Ron Howard will pick it up.

Stephen Tremp

Will Burke said...

Indeed, Kate could make a potato sack look sexy! Jade looks promising!

Helen Ginger said...

I went to see Inception last night. Great, great movie. So glad my son went with me. On the way home, he explained one part to me that I didn't understand. I'd like to go back and watch it again.

Carol Kilgore said...

Haven't seen these. In fact, haven't seen a movie at all in a few weeks. Been too busy.

Jemi Fraser said...

You must be in heaven :)

Yeah - splitting up when zombies and axe murderers are chasing you never ends well. We should all make a pact to stick together!

Arlee Bird said...

Has anybody have a date for Sharktopus yet? I've gotta see that trainwreck.

Recently saw the 70s version of The Crazies and it was pretty, well 70s, with some really bad sound recording. I'm looking forward to seeing the newer version. Need to check my Netflix queue and make sure it's on there.

Lee
Tossing It Out

Pat Tillett said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Pat Tillett said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Pat Tillett said...

Will see the Crazies for sure.
thanks for the review Alex!

As luck would have it, shortly after your "quiet movie" post, I happened to see "No country for old men" again. I love that movie. Everytime I see it, I like it even better...

Charles Gramlich said...

I liked the Crazies quite a bit.

Angela McCallister said...

OMG, OMG, OMG. I cannot wait for the next Underworld. I love the series, and I'm not afraid to admit it!

I have The Crazies on board my ship, and I've played it several times for the crew, but haven't got to see it yet. I'm wondering if I should see the original first?

Thanks for the good news (didn't realize UW IV was on its way). You made my day.

Southpaw said...

Jade Warrior sounds cool. I like the Underworld Series and I'm glad to hear a new one is coming.

BStearns said...

Can't say I'm to thrilled to see The Crazies, but glad you enjoyed it. As for Underworld, now please don't hate/ kick me out, but I have never seen it *cowers in fear* but I've heard good things. I read that Hellboy III is on hold for many reasons, and one of them is being that since the first two didn't make too much money there isn't much studio interest in it, and that del Toro wants to kill Hellboy in the 3rd installment but the creator of the comics doesn't want it done in the movies before he's done it in the books. Wow, long post heh.

DEZMOND said...

"I'm still trying to convince my wife she needs an outfit like Selene's. So far the answer has been no..."

ah, my son, maybe you should first put on a sexy Dracula outfit on yourself and then she might join you in Selene's costume ;) If you can't beat them you should join them.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Helen, glad you got to see Inception!

Lee - Sharktopus is September 25 on the SyFy Channel. Mark your calendar now!

Bryan, I haven't read that money is involved, but the comic book creator doesn't want Hellboy to die as he's still writing the comics. And dude, rent Underworld NOW!!!!

Dezz, guess that means two no's in this household...

Cheeseboy said...

Oh, I saw that new Michael Cera movie and that it pretty much rocked.

Like that Spy Guy - he is pretty cool and up to date on stuff.

Tabitha Bird said...

Gosh, I need to get out more. These movies sounds great.

It was awesome to find your blog. Congrats on the book coming out :)

RaShelle Workman said...

Hey Alex - Jade Warrior sounds totally awesome except for the unhappy ending. I may have to write a similar story WITH a happy ending just so it can BE AWESOME. Gggrrrr (at least in my eyes). =D And I'm totally with you on Underworld IV. YAY!!!!

Powdered Toast Man said...

I was wondering about The Crazies. I haven't seen the other 3 underworlds I need to jump on that.

I'm posting my director dirty dozen this morning.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Cheeseboy, not sure it's my type of movie, but Michael Cera is funny.

Thanks Tabitha!

Rashelle, you should do that!

Powdered, I need to catch up!

Talli Roland said...

Thanks for the reviews, Alex! I was curious about the remake of The Crazies.

I finally got around to seeing Inception. It was great!

Susan Fields said...

Your comment about not telling your wife to "wait here" reminds me of how, with our first two babies, when we got to the hospital my husband dropped me at the front door and told me to "wait here" while he parked the car. He was trying to be nice, but I hated sitting there in agony while sympathetic strangers stared at me as they passed by. With the third, I told him, "Don't tell me to wait here - I'm coming with you." I hope if we're ever chased by zombies, he'll show the same consideration. :)

Mary@GigglesandGuns said...

OMG. I've missed a lot in the sci-fi field. I'm going to have to start checking these out.
Thanks Alex!
Mary

Copyboy said...

I actually bought the Crazies DVD the other day. I know, right – who buys DVDs anymore. But still, your review makes me feel a tad better that I totally didn't waste my $18.76.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the reviews... I've been curious about The Crazies... guess I should pick it up now :)

Zoe C. Courtman said...

Saw THE CRAZIES recently - and while it was harrowing, I definitely agree with you. Why must horror movies always hinge on people doing stupid things? Aside from Olyphant telling his wife to "wait here" in the diner, what wife, frightened out of her wits, is gonna let her husband wander off without jumping up, clutching his arm and being like, "don't you leave me!" Sigh. What I really want is a new great space horror, which are always my favorite. Paging Ellen Ripley...
And, dude, did you see SCOTT PILGRIM? I can understand why critics didn't get it, but if you're a gamer and into music, you'll dig it.

Cruella Collett said...

Huh. Ancient China meets Modern Finland sounds like such a clash that I seriously consider watching it for that alone. Plus I've been fascinated with Kalevala since before I knew it was Tolkien's inspiration for LOTR.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Talli I knew you'd dig Inception.

Susan, I'm sorry. He was probably thinking logically rather than emotionally. We guys tend to do that.

And thanks for the follow, Mary!

Copyboy, I still buy certain movies on DVD.

Zoe, we are in need of some space horror! It's been ages since Event Horizon. And I'll probably catch Scott Pilgrim on NetFlix. Michael Cera is a funny guy.

Cruella, it's not without flaws, but I think you'll find it fascinating.

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

Where do you find these movies? You must have special connections :P

I'm sure men everywhere are rejoicing about Kate Beckinsale's return to Underworld. And who could blame them?

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I vaguely recall the original Romero movie...

TS Hendrik said...

It's weird cause I thought I was already following your blog. Then it occurred to me I hadn't seen it in the blogger dash. I can be a little slow sometimes.

That's too bad about Hellboy but really it's not like Guillermo del Toro would even have the time with as many projects as he's loaded himself up with.

Ricky said...

Perlman owes Del Toro !

Lola Sharp said...

I was totes wondering about the Crazies. IMDB didn't rate it high, so I skipped it so far. (even tho I loves me some zombies)
Now I'll give it a whirl, and just keep my expectations low.

I think I'm going to go see the Expendables this weekend. (Jason Statham = YUM)

Happy weekend,
Lola

BStearns said...

I refuse! You cannot force me to rent it! However, you may be able to force to to watch it as my brother owns it.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

As long as the Crazies doesn't have a lot of gore, it sounds like it should be ok. I chuckled at the "wait here" reference. ;)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Carolina, I just dig my movies!

TS, del Toro IS a little busy right now.

Lola, I still have to catch The Expendables.

Bryan then get thy butt over to your brother's and watch it!

Lynda, it is a zombie movie, but the gore was not excessive.

Patricia Stoltey said...

Jade Warrior looks like a good one. I'm adding it to my list.

Patricia

Anonymous said...

HOT DIGGITY FRAGGIN' KATE BECKINSALE! Oh my hell, I <3 the Underworld movies so hard. Awesomesauce that they're making another one with her in it! (Though, I confess, I did kinda like Rhona Mitra in Rise of the Lycans. I may have sniffled a bit when she crisped.)

Also, I'll get working on a Snarktopus screenplay. It'll probably have something to do with a blog challenge, and kidnapping, and having to drink and snark my way back across the country with the help of fellow bloggers and Kate Beckinsale. Yes. *nods*