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June 30, 2008

Elite Squad (Tropa de Elite)

Film Four Stars
I'd heard about Elite Squad aka Tropa De Elite before, mainly because of the controversy it was raising over its presentation of the Brazilian police force and in particular the showing of the squad that deals with the drug gangs in the slums. The film portrayed the police as thoroughly...

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Oldman's Christmas Carol roles

Robert Zemeckis is making A Christmas Carol using his performance capture animation. We knew that Jim Carrey and Bob Hoskins were starring in it , and that Gary Oldman was joining them. Now we know which multiple roles he'll be playing. I'm not sure why Zemeckis has turned to performance...

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Anderson wants Resident Evil 4

Paul W.S. Anderson has said that he's keen for another Resident Evil film, and that he's actually approached Sony to start talking about a fourth film. Of course he says it all depends on getting a great idea for the fourth script, considering Anderson wrote the first three I'm not...

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Kingsley says Hollywood exploits young actors

Ben Kingsley has been speaking out about the Hollywood practice of pulling young people into acting who aren't really cut out for the life and then tossing them aside when they fail. Frankly he has a good point, Hollywood does do that, although to be fair they don't toss them...

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300 sequel a definite?

Last week the news was that a 300 sequel may be in development. However as the three producers interviewed may have been sampling the free champagne they get at these gigs, it was hard to take seriously. But more news has leaked that makes it look like a 300 sequel...

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Quantum of Solace trailer online

The trailer for James Bond's latest adventure, the oddly named Quantum of Solace, is now online featuring Daniel Craig in all his Bond goodness. The trailer looks superb. Really. It's going back to the days of Timothy Dalton when Bond has his license revoked, but more than that it looks...

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Could Terminator Salvation be good?

Could Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins aka Terminator Salvation aka Terminator 4, or whatever it's going to be called when it's finally released, actually be any good? Well the addition of Helena Bonham Carter, if that rumour does turn out to be true, and the latest words from Christian Bale...

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del Toro on Frankenstein and The Hobbit

At a premiere for Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Guillermo del Toro has been talking about two upcoming projects. He spoke about the plans for The Hobbit, and also who he imagined as Frankenstein in his version. Frankenstein will be on hold until after The Hobbit but it hasn't stopped...

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Stalked: Matthew Fox, Bonham Carter

Matthew Fox could be Billy Smoke. Helena Bonham Carter could join Terminator 4....

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June 29, 2008

Filmstalker's Week 23rd to 29th June

This week sees a new feature on trailers spoiling films. There are loads of reviews from the EIFF including Elegy, Red and The Wave. We have trailers for Eagle Eye, RocknRolla and Repo! The Genetic Opera. In the news there's a lot of sequel talk including 300 and Superman. Jason...

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EIFF 2008 winners announced

The award winners have been announced at the slightly earlier than normal, 62nd Edinburgh International Film Festival, and unfortunately none of them are films I saw and therefore would have voted for. I'm sure if I had seen them I would have voted for them! One of the most important...

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The Omen series on Blu-ray

The original The Omen is getting a Blu-ray release, and not only that but the entire series is coming with it. Furthermore the best news is that there are some films from the series that won't be making an appearance. Thankfully there's not Omen IV: The Awakening, however the Blu-ray...

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War Heroes becoming a film?

Another one of Mark Millar's comic book could be turned into a film. War Heroes is the next one to be getting attention from studios. Mark Millar says he's has a few offers to turn it into a film. With Wanted already out, and talk of a sequel already, Millar...

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Are Trailers ruining films?

I've been growing more and more tired of trailers, and indeed all marketing materials of late, particularly trailers though as they seem to be giving away more and more of the main feature. There seems to have been a real drop in the intelligence of the creation of trailers, and...

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Spiegel to direct Hostel 3?

Recently we heard that Eli Roth wouldn't be directing Hostel 3, and now the rumour is that one of the producers of the first two will be directing. Scott Spiegel was an executive producer on the first two, and it looks like he'll be writing and directing the third. I'm...

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June 28, 2008

Update: Repo! The Genetic Opera trailer in HD

A full trailer for Repo! The Genetic Opera is online. The rock opera/horror, features a future where organ failure is rife. Some people pay for replacement organs, however if they miss a payment they are in trouble. This film looks insane, but a good kind of insane. I might have...

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Will Smith/Tom Cruise to team up?

Will Smith has been a popular guy in Hollywood over the last few years. And while promoting Hancock, he brought up the possibility that he would team up for a film with his friend Tom Cruise. It looks like they've been thinking about it seriously. There must be a studio...

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EIFF 2008 running scores

There's still a lot of reviews to be written up from the list of films I watched at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and a few that have already been done, so I thought I would give you a round up of the films reviewed to date, and some initial...

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Hellboy 2 trailer and anime online

There's a new trailer online, the third trailer, for Hellboy II: The Golden Army online along with an animated prologue that tells the story of how The Golden Army came to pass. The trailer has lots more action that we haven't seen yet, and managed to tie in the first...

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June 27, 2008

McGowan as Red Sonja

Rose McGowan is going to play Red Sonja in the remake of the film which saw the still amazing Brigitte Nielsen play the character for the first time. The film will not be directed by Robert Rodriguez as some would expect, instead it will be a long term associate of...

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Clash of the Titans remake director

The Clash of the Titans remake has a director, and frankly it's a bit of a surprise and promises that the film is going to be filled with huge amounts of action and some big set pieces. It also suggests that there's going to be way more CGI than stop...

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Short teaser for Quantum of Solace

The full teaser trailer for Quantum of Solace, starring Daniel Craig will be released on Monday. However you can have a look at a short part of the teaser just now. Looks like great stuff so far. Sure it's only ten seconds, but it'll tide you over until Monday. Head...

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Eastwood does Dirty Harry U turn

Clint Eastwood had said that he wouldn't return to the role of Dirty Harry. But now he has said he isn't ruling anything out, and with the right script he might just make a return. I suppose they could write something that has Dirty Harry coming out of retirement as...

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June 26, 2008

Video from Transformers sequel set

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, that's right they have dropped the 2, is currently filming. And there are a couple of videos online of filming taking place. The first video shows a scene being filmed with a rather unscary looking robot. I'm sure once it's finished it will be suitably...

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Rodriguez/McGowan for Red Sonja

It's been over two years since we first heard that a Red Sonja remake was a go. Now it looks like real life couple Robert Rodriguez and Rose McGowan, will be bringing Red Sonja back to life. The two were originally working on a Barbarella remake too, but the writers...

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Stalked: Sequels galore

Kung Fu Panda already has a sequel being developed. The Host is also getting a second film. Mark Wahlberg has been talking about the prequel/sequel to The Departed. And Guillermo Del Toro says he'll do a third Hellboy film....

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The Wave (Die Welle)

Film Five Stars
The Wave, or Die Welle, is a film that is based on the novel The Wave by Morton Rhue, aka Todd Strasser, which itself is a fictionalised account of the events that took place in a Californian high school in April 1967. A teacher there, Ron Jones, conducted an experiment...

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Red

Film Four Stars
Brian Cox drew me to this film and the fact that the write up by the EIFF sounded interesting, interesting but not exciting. Well how undersold that was, and what a great surprise I was to get. The first was that Stephen Susco wrote and produced the film, and for...

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Playstation video network in summer

Sony have revealed that the Playstation 3 video network is to go live this summer, and to follow that they are to start distributing films direct to Sony devices across the Internet before they hit DVD, and the first to do this? Hancock in November. Although it's great that there's...

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300 sequel in development

While we're talking sequels to great films, what about a 300 sequel or prequel? Well that doesn't sound so far out, especially as the producers are talking with Zack Snyder and Frank Miller. Now calm down as they are pretty much talking complete nonsense to start with, but they do...

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Cloverfield sequel on hold

Well it looks like the people behind Cloverfield are struggling to find something to do for the sequel, and no surprise really since they've already done everything haven't they? According to Matt Reeves, the director of Cloverfield (Filmstalker review), the project is on hold and they are struggling to find...

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Chris Carter has secret film

The X Files I Want to Believe is out soon, although it hasn't exactly been heavily advertised. Turns out Chris Carter has something else up his sleeve, a film he's been working on that no one knew about. I would have though it's quite difficult to keep a film secret...

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Spielberg gets 39 clues

Steven Spielberg is a busy man these days, and he's not letting up. His Dreamworks Studio has bought the film rights to the multi platform adventure series The 39 Clues, and he'll probably be directing as well. Spielberg has plenty of films in various stages of production, no rest for...

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Jason Bourne 4 in 2010?

The on again off again saga of the fourth Jason Bourne film is currently on. Matt Damon had originally said there wouldn't be another, but the producers seem to think it's happening. I'd watch another Jason Bourne film, if they could calm down on the shaky cam stuff though that...

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Stalked: Tilda Swinton, Sarah Jessica Parker

Tilda Swinton has joined The Ghost. And Sarah Jessica Parker could be joining The Ivy Chronicles....

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June 25, 2008

Superman sequel starts 2009?

News on a sequel to Superman Returns has been a bit on the slow side. But Brandon Routh tell us plans are still going ahead for filming to start next year. He also tells us what's happening with the Justice League of America film, although I think we can guess....

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X-Files: I Want to Believe clips online

The X-Files: I Want to Believe has a couple of film clips that have just been released online, and they give little away about the film, but are probably going to be deadly exciting for the X-Files fans out there. For me I was a bit unimpressed. I'm really not...

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Hopkins to play Lear

Yes Anthony Hopkins is returning to the big screen to play King Lear in a film version of the Shakespearean tragedy appearing with a pretty big cast. Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Watts and Keira Knightley are reportedly going to be starring as Lear's daughters, and there are more big names to...

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RocknRolla trailer online

The trailer for Guy Ritchie's RocknRolla has finally appeared online, and it's really a trailer of two halves. There are a couple of cool moments though, there's the incredibly fit Gerard Butler showing off his six pack, and later tied to a bed with a gag in his mouth -...

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New Eagle Eye trailer online

There's a new trailer for Eagle Eye online, the film from D.J. Caruso starring Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Billy Bob Thornton, William Sadler and Michael Chiklis. In this trailer we see a bit more action and a bit more of Monaghan's character's story. The two are seemingly innocent...

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Watchmen commercials online

You'll remember a little while ago I wrote about how you could film television adverts that would be included in Zack Snyder's Watchmen adaptation? Well now the winners have been chosen and you can see the footage that will be used for the Veidt commericals right here. Funny and retro...

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Cage,Brosnan in The Ghost

Late last year Roman Polanski took on a film adaptation of the novel The Ghost. Now we know who will be playing the two main roles, none other than Pierce Brosnan and Nicolas Cage. Off the top of my head, I don't think they've been in a film together yet....

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June 24, 2008

Máncora

Film Three Stars
Máncora began beautifully, poetically and violently with a few great looking and sounding opening scenes. It's a film that has some strong and great looking leads, complex relationships, and some very real world views. This Spanish film has a few surprises, particularly with the appearance of Enrique Murciano from Without...

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Tarantino on Inglorious Bastards

Quentin Tarantino has been hard at work on the script for Inglorious Bastards for quite some time now. But he says he finished it last week, and he's happy it's done. We seem to have been waiting for a while for him to get round to Inglorious Bastards, but it's...

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Elegy

Film Five Stars
You know I wasn't going to go and see this film because I'd been put off by the trailer and pre-release marketing that was all making a big play of the fact that Penélope Cruz was going to be naked in it, and I was thinking so what? Is that...

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Mark Millar on Wanted sequel

With Wanted near release date we had already heard about a potential sequel being planned. I was wondering at the time what Mark Millar would think about it. Now the man who wrote the comic has confirmed the news. They're obviously confident of success when it's released. And Mark Millar...

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Cameron's Avatar script reviewed?

Now I'm really not sure how accurate this is, but there's a script review of James Cameron's Avatar online. Personally I'm not so convinced that if they're being so secretive about the project they would let a script get out to be reviewed. Actually it's not so much a script,...

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Fast and Furious official photos

Now I don't normally go after publicity photos or posters, but I do know how much the Fast and the Furious fans are looking out for the fourth installment, Fast and Furious, starring the old crowd headed up by Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. So I'm posting this photo (in...

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New Dark Knight TV spot

A new TV commercial is online for Batman: The Dark Knight, starring Christian Bale and Heath Ledger. It shows some new footage of Heath Ledger's Joker. I never get tired of watching footage of Heath Ledger as The Joker, looks like he really went to town....

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Favreau names The Avengers

The Avengers film is still three years away, and no one has been given the job of directing it yet. But Jon Favreau has spilled the beans on the characters that will appear in The Avengers film. Considering how close it's release is to Iron Man 2, Jon Favreau may...

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Stalked:Winslet,Duff

Kate Winslet is aging for The Reader. And Hilary Duff is joining Stay Cool....

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Stalked: Internet porn film, Brian Clough

George Gallo will write and direct a film about internet porn. The Brian Clough bio-pic has more cast members....

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Disaster Movie trailer

The trailer for Disaster Movie is here, although you may wish it wasn't. Yes, the people responsible for bringing us the Scary Movie films and Meet the Spartans have turned their attention to the disaster genre. I've never found these films funny, doesn't look like this one is any different....

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June 23, 2008

Anna Faris on Lovelace film

When a film was announced that would tell the story of Deep Throat actress Linda Lovelace, not many people would have picked Anna Faris for the role, she's got it though and has been giving a little update on the film. Considering she's more renowned for her comic roles, it's...

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To See if I'm Smiling (Lirot Im Ani Mehayechet)

Film Four Stars
I'd heard about To See if I'm Smiling, or Lirot Im Ani Mehayechet, some time ago as it gathered both positive and negative comments, and not too surprisingly either. The film focuses on female soldiers who have served in the Israeli Defense Force within the occupied territories. The women who...

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Schwarzenegger joins Stallone

We reported over a week ago that Sylvester Stallone was going to play himself in a Bollywood movie. Well now Arnold Schwarzenegger will join him in Incredible Love. I'll admit it's not quite how I imagined the two of them being on screen together, but should be interesting none the...

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Moderating comments

Hi everyone. Quick apology to all those using Gmail email addresses in the comments, I've had to temporarily moderate all of these. So if you post a comment and enter a Gmail email address it will be held until I publish it. The problem is that there's a rather annoying...

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Carter of Mars, live action or CGI?

The film version of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars, has been ongoing for a while, and recently gained a writer in Andrew Stanton. He has written Wall-E and a number of other Pixar films. But it's still up in the air as to whether is will be a...

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New Eden Log trailer

Eden Log has a new trailer online, and I wish I could say it was all a lot clearer, but it isn't really. It does look like a pretty good science fiction thriller, but details are a bit sketchy from the trailer. It has a bit more to it than...

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S.Darko changes Donnie Darko

The sequel I'm pretending isn't happening is moving on regardless. S.Darko is the sequel to cult hit Donnie Darko, and will follow Donnie's sister and her best friend on a road trip. Turns out though, they plan on changing some of the things that happened in the original. Could I...

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Stalked:G.I. Joe, Nailed

The G.I. Joe film has a new title. And Nailed is shut again....

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June 22, 2008

Filmstalker's Week 16th to 22nd June

This week there is a new feature, and loads of review from the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Trailers include The Wackness, Mummy 3, Wall-E and Taken. In the news you could help choose the villain for Hulk 2, Quentin Tarantino has plans for Inglorious Bastards and plenty of rumours for...

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Roth says no to Hostel 3?

Since Hostel 2 was completed we have been waiting for news on Hostel 3. The latest news says that the studio has begun official talks on Hostel 3. However, it looks like Eli Roth will not be coming back for more. I really liked the first, but thought they missed...

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Vaughn's Kick Ass film moving

The last news we heard on the film adaptation of Kick-Ass was that Matthew Vaughn was going to direct. Mark Millar wrote the comic book as well as Wanted, which has been adapted and hits cinemas shortly. At a premiere for Wanted Mark Millar gave an update on the film...

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The Happening

Film Three Stars
There's been a lot of hype about The Happening and indeed M. Night Shyamalan, but I wanted to try and put that to the side before reviewing the film. I've made no secret of the fact that I'm not one to leap on the Shyamalan critical wagon, screaming about twists...

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The Kreutzer Sonata

Film Three Stars
The Kreutzer Sonata comes from the director Bernard Rose who brought us Snuff-Movie (Filmstalker review), a film that I thought was utterly terrible and gave it no stars at all, so I wasn't exactly on fire about this film, but once again I was attracted by the star name of...

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New Robin Hood rumour

Yesterday it was Christian Bale who was rumoured to be Ridley Scott's preferred choice for Robin Hood. Now a new rumour is out about who Russell Crowe wants to star opposite him in Nottingham. I would have thought that Ridley Scott would have the final choice, but maybe he's more...

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June 21, 2008

Spiderman 4 in 2011

There hasn't been much concrete news on Spiderman 4 for a while. The orignal release date was rumoured to be 2010, but one of the producers says they are aiming for a 2011 release date. Sony renewed their option to make Spiderman 4 and 5, and since then we've been...

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Weinsteins make films into musicals

The Weinstein Company are planning on bringing films to Broadway. They have been producing award winning plays for a few years now, and they are planning on making musicals out of some of their films. The other week Richard and I were joking about a musical of Escape from Alcatraz....

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New Taken trailer

Taken stars Liam Neeson as an ex spy, who has to use his skills to save his daughter from being sold into the slave trade. A new trailer is online, and features some new footage. I wouldn't have thought that Liam Neeson as a lethal ex spy would work. Looks...

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Christian Bale for Robin Hood?

Casting rumours come in twos apparently. This rumour says that following his role as The Caped Crusader in Batman: The Dark Knight, and then the saviour of the human race in Terminator 4, Bale could be playing Robin Hood. What a nice guy he is. Ridley Scott is putting together...

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Donkey Punch

Film Four Stars
Donkey Punch is British backed film that showcases some younger talent with a Hollywood beating style that is visible through the writing and the filming. A few flaws later on in the film do cause it to falter, but a strong script, good performances, and some reality and style see...

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June 20, 2008

Josh Brolin to Escape From New York?

The Escape to New York remake has been kicking around for over a year now. But the latest rumour to hit the internet is that Josh Brolin could be the man to play Snake Plissken. For anyone unaware Kurt Russell played Snake in the great original. But as usual these...

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Terminator 4 teaser described

Terminator 4 is currently filming with Christian Bale as John Connor. The teaser trailer for the film is due to premiere in front of Batman: The Dark Knight, on July 18th. And a member of a focus group who has seen the trailer has sent in a description. Usually I'm...

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Mummy 3 new trailer

A new trailer for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor has been posted on Rob Cohen's blog. Brendan Fraser and John Hannah are back for more, this time up against Jet Li as The Dragon Emperor in question. The trailer doesn't look drastically different to the previous films, apart...

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Juno blamed for US pregnancy pact

I was just watching the BBC news - a station that I once believed fought for non-sensationalised news but of late has been heading further and further towards the tabloid news style - and I heard the upcoming news bullet point where they ask if Juno is to blame for...

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Final WALL-E trailer online

The final WALL-E trailer has appeared online, and I'm getting a lot of hassle from my wife over this. I'm getting to see a screening at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on Thursday 26th and she's dying to see it. Oh well, she'll have to wait a little longer, as...

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Conan heads for rewrites

The remake/reboot/re-invisioning of Conan the Barbarian is plodding along the road to development. It's already moved studios and now there are problems with the script. The two writers are now having another go, and the studio also plan to nail down a director once the script is sorted....

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Inglorious Bastards will be two films

Quentin Tarantino has long been planning Inglorious Bastards, and at Cannes confirmed that it would be his next project. Now the film that's based on Enzo Castellari's original has grown wings, and it will be turned into two separate films. He's also been talking about his casting method for this...

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Burn After Reading teaser trailer

Burn After Reading is the Coen Brothers return to comedy. A great cast is involved including Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Frances McDormand. We've seen the red band trailer, and now it's the turn of the teaser trailer. I couldn't help having a smile on my face watching this trailer....

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Stalked:Bacon,Mangold

Kevin Bacon has joined My One and Only. James Mangold will direct The Archive....