Who's who in 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine'

Although everybody is tight-lipped on plot details, the cast of the upcoming movie 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' keeps getting bigger, featuring “a good bit of cameos of new and familiar mutants.” Reprising his role as Logan aka Wolverine is Hugh Jackman. Set 17 years before the X-Men trilogy,the movie will focus on Wolverine's violent and romantic past, his complex relationship with Victor Creed, and the ominous Weapon X program. Along the way, Wolverine encounters many mutants, both familiar and new, including surprise appearances by several legends of the X-Men universe.

The film is directed by Gavin ('Rendition') Hood and written by David ('The Kite Runner') Benioff.

Here's a look at the characters which will make their appearance in the movie:


Sabretooth (aka Victor Creed) will be played by actor Liev Schreiber. Both Sabretooth and Wolverine were victims of the supersoldier program called Weapon X. Sabretooth possesses bestial superhuman physical abilities, most notably a rapid healing factor, razor-sharp fangs and claws, and hyper senses. He is a vicious killer responsible for numerous deaths both as a paid mercenary and for his own, personal pleasure.


Silver Fox (aka Kayla Silverfox) will be played by fairly unknown actress Lynn Collins. Silver Fox is a member of the Blackfoot Native American tribe. She formed a serious relationship with Wolverine when they met in the Canadian Rockies.


William Stryker will be played by actor Danny Huston ('30 Days Of Night'). Stryker is a religious fanatic, with a military history which has connections to the Weapon X project


Agent Zero (aka David North aka Maverick) is played by American-Korean heartthrob Daniel Henney ('Seducing Mr Perfect'). Agent Zero, who has the power of absorbing kinetic energy through impact, was one of the mutant operatives that Weapon X experimented on. Agent Zero is also an expert tracker with lethal marksman skills.


John Wraith will be played by Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am. Wraith's power is teleportation. He also has a life-extending serum in his blood, due to his involvement in the Weapon X program


Gambit (aka Remy LeBeau) will be played by model and actor Taylor Kitsch ('The Covenant'). Gambit is a Cajun thief who is able to turn any object he touches into kinetic energy, forcing it to explode.


Beak (aka Blackwing aka Barnell Bohusk) will be played by Dominic Monaghan ('Lost'). Beak started developing his powers at puberty. His body changed into that of a humanoid-bird form. Beak wears an advanced body suit that gives him the ability to fly, superhuman strength, and energy blasts, as well as giving him enhanced protection.


Deadpool (aka Wade Wilson) will be played by Ryan Reynolds, better known for his role in the sitcom 'Two Guys, A Girl and A Pizza Place'. Deadpool is a sarcastic, scheming hero known for his wisecracks and black humor. Deadpool's abilities are man-made, derived from samples of Wolverine's mutation, but expanded to an almost limitless degree, allowing him to regenerate entire body parts, and even his entire body, making him effectively immortal.


The latest addition to the cast is Kevin Durand who will play The Blob (aka Fred Dukes). The most dominant physical trait of The Blob is obviously his size. The Blob possesses an extreme amount of pliable body mass, which grants him superhuman strength. He mostly uses his powers for petty crime.

***UPDATES***

Tim Pocock will play Scott Summers aka Cyclops.

Scott Adkins will play Weapon XI. Weapon XI will be featured in the end sequence fight scene against Wolverine. Scott Adkins is a British-born martial-arts actor who has appeared in movies like 'Unleashed' and 'The Medallion'.

Troye Sivan will play young Logan.

'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' is due for release on May 1, 2009.

And the winners are.....

Here are the winners of the 80th Academy Awards:

BEST PICTURE
No Country for Old Men

BEST ACTOR
Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood

BEST ACTRESS
Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

BEST DIRECTOR
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Diablo Cody, Juno

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men

BEST FOREIGN MOVIE
Fälscher, Die (Austria)

BEST ANIMATED MOVIE
Ratatouille

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Atonement, Dario Marianelli

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Once ("Falling Slowly")

Where in the world is Osama bin Laden?

'Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?'

I wrote about this movie a while back in one of my post. Here's the trailer which has just been released. Very hilarious!

Where in the World is Osama bin Laden? : Trailer

The 'American Idol' controversy

As the 24 final contestants of American Idol Season 7 was announced last week, a new controversy has come to light.

Irish singer Carly Smithson (the one with the tattooed hand) is basically a professional singer. She recorded an album called Ultimate High with MCA Records in 2001 under her maiden name Carly Hennessy. Apparently MCA spent millions to promote the album, which turned out to be a complete flop. The record only sold 300 copies!

The latest news is that Carly was signed to MCA Records during the same time period that Randy Jackson was the senior VP. Carly was at MCA in 1999. Randy started at MCA in 1998 and was there for 4 years. The question on everybody's lips is whether she has been 'planted' by the producers.

(Closer to home, even our own Malaysian Idol, Jaclyn Victor, mentioned during a press interview that she was 'asked' by 8TV CEO Ahmad Izham Omar to enter the competition.)

The sad part is that Carly is not an exception this year. There are other contestants who are have failed careers.

Aussie Michael Johns (the one who brilliantly sang Bohemian Rhapsody during Hollywood Week) was formerly the lead singer of a band called The Rising and a band called Film. He also changed his name from Michael Lee. Michael was signed to Maverick Records with Film, and they were supposed to release a debut album in 2003. But according to reports, Michael allegedly screwed the band by stealing their songs and passing them off as his own.

Kristy Lee Cook (the kick-boxing gal) was previously "discovered" by Britney Spears. In 2005, Kristy Lee Cook released her debut CD “Devoted” under Ren-Hen Records. In 2007, Kristy got out of her contract with her manager Marty Rendleman (who formerly managed LeAnn Rimes) so she could be eligible to join American Idol.

Was anyone bothered that she sang 'Amazing Grace' during both the audition and the 2nd round of Hollywood week, and during the time when she sang some other song, the judges were not impressed. So basically she can only sing one song, and yet the judges put her through. Is she also one of the 'planted' contestants?

(Notice how the producers always portray the contestants as innocent, unprofessional singers living in a farm, working two jobs to support a family etc, but nobody thought to emphasize that they have already cut record deals before.)

Robbie Carrico (the blonde haired rocker with the beanie cap) is one of the four singers from the pop group Boyz N Girlz United. The band opened for Britney Spears and LFO before disbanding, and he was even one of Britney's first boyfriends. Robbie now fronts the band Missing Picket.

David Archuleta and Alexandrea Lushington were contestants in Star Search. David won the Junior Singer category of Star Search in 2003 when he was 12 years old. During Idol's first season, David met all of the finalists and even sang for Kelly Clarkson and the gang. A few days later, David met with a host of record labels and producers with connections to the show.

***UPDATES***
David Archuleta's dad, Jeff Archuleta runs a company call Arch Music Group which has "spent the last 5 years working with American Idol and Star Search performers as well as young up and coming singers and songwriters who want to compete in the top 40 arena." As if David didn't already have the previous connection where he met with Idol producers during season one, now his dad has been working with show contestants.

The latest news is that Syesha Mercado has appeared in a recent Ford Sync commercial. And of course Ford is one of the sponsors of American idol! Is there a connection there?

By the way, did anybody notice that a handful of the contestants have practically no exposure in the previous episodes. The producers managed to get through four long weeks of auditions and three whole hours of Hollywood Week without showing a single minute of Jason (Dreadlocks) Castro, Luke Menard, Garrett Haley, and Jason Yeager. Are they just selected as 'fillers' for the other contestants?

Of course there are contestants who have recorded albums and performed professionally before. But the question is whether these singers have been courted by the producers to participate in the show and probably got a free ticket into the final 24. Is it fair to the other contestants who had to go through the grueling 2-3 days audition process?

American Idol Season 7 Top 24 - Unmasked

Back Row L-R: Alexandrea Lushington, Robbie Carrico, Jason Castro, Danny Noriega (striped shirt), Brooke White, Amanda Overmyer, Michael Johns, David Cook (bandana), Luke Menard and Carly Smithson (standing far right).

Bottom Row L-R: Chikezie Eze, Colton Berry, Asia’H Epperson, Kady Malloy (seated, black dress), Joanne Borgella, Ramiele Malubay, David Hernandez (seated, front), Amy Davis, Alaina Whitaker, Syesha Mercado, Jason Yeager, David Archuleta (seated), Garrett Haley and Kristy Lee Cook.

Pictures and info courtesy of justjared.com.

American Idol Season 7 Top 24

Here's a teaser pic of the Top 24 contestants of American Idol Season 7. All of them are holding up Simon Cowell masks.


For those of you who can't wait for the results tomorrow, here's the list:

Top 12 Guys: Chikezie Eze, Colton Berry, Danny Noriega, David Archuleta, David Cook, David Hernandez, Garrett Haley, Jason Castro, Jason Yeager, Luke Menard, Michael Lee Johns and Robbie Carrico.

Top 12 Girls: Alaina Whitaker, Alex Lushington, Amanda Overmyer, Amy Davis, Asia'h Epperson, Brooke White, Carly Smithson, Joanne Borgella, Kady Malloy, Kristy Lee Cook, Ramiele Malubay and Syesha Mercado.

For more info on the contestants, you can visit the American Idol link here.

'Star Wars' is back!

Good news for all 'Star Wars' fans, 2008 will be seeing more of the series. This is the recent article from starwars.com:

A new era of Star Wars entertainment begins in 2008 when Star Wars: The Clone Wars, from creator George Lucas, premieres as an all-new feature film in August, followed by the television series debut in the fall, in a partnership announced today between Lucasfilm Ltd., Warner Bros. Pictures and Turner Broadcasting System Inc.

Produced by Lucasfilm Animation, Star Wars: The Clone Wars takes audiences on incredible new Star Wars adventures, combining the legendary storytelling of Lucasfilm with an eye-popping, signature animation style. Star Wars: The Clone Wars will open in North American theaters Friday, August 15. International release dates will be announced soon.

The theatrical debut of Star Wars: The Clone Wars is only the beginning of all-new Star Wars adventures that continue in the fall when the long-awaited television series premieres on Cartoon Network, followed by airings on TNT. Details regarding international broadcasts will be announced shortly. Star Wars: The Clone Wars showcases an entirely new look and feel to the galaxy far, far away -- combining the expansive scope of the Star Wars Saga with state-of-the-art computer-generated animation. Each week, viewers will see a thrilling, 30-minute "mini-movie" created by the talented artists at Lucasfilm Animation.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars is set during the 3-year time period in which the Clone Wars occur — between events of Episode II and Episode III. The 'Clone Wars' is the name given to the major galactic conflict fought between the Galactic Republic (the bad guys) and the Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS) (the good guys). The war was named after the clone troopers utilized by the Republic against the battle droid forces of the CIS.

Unbeknownst to most, the conflict was manipulated by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious (aka Senator Palpatine), whose ultimate goal was the transformation of the Republic into the Galactic Empire with him as Emperor as well as the eradication of the Jedi Order. The conflict would lead to the Sith Order becoming the dominant galactic government once again.

Happy Chinese New Year

Wishing all my readers a happy and prosperous Chinese New Year!!
May the new year bring lots of joy, peace and good fortune....
...and Happy movie-going :-)

Colin Farrell is a hitman

Colin Farrell stars as a hitman in the new comedy 'In Bruges'.

Bruges, the most well-preserved medieval city in the whole of Belgium, is a welcoming destination for travellers from all over the world. But for hitmen Ray and Ken (Farrell and Brendan Gleeson), it could be their final destination; they have been ordered to go Bruges to rest and lay low after a hit gone horribly wrong. Very much out of place amidst the gothic architecture, canals, and cobbled streets, the two men fill their days living the lives of tourists. They find themselves in weird encounters with locals, tourists, violent medieval art, a dwarf American actor shooting a European art film, Dutch prostitutes, and a potential romance for Ray in the form of Chloe, who may have some dark secrets of her own.


The movie comes out in April 4 2008.

Justin Timberlake is selling Pepsi

Justin Timberlake is appearing in a new commercial from Amazon.com and Pepsi. It's pretty cool and funny.