Some upcoming Christmas movies

Here's some new movies coming our way for Christmas this year.

'The Eye' remake

Below is the creepy poster for 'The Eye'.


This is the remake of the 2002 Hong Kong horror movie. Jessica Alba takes on the role previously played by Anjelica Lee as the recipient of a cornea transplant who starts to sees ghosts. This sends her on a quest to find out what really happened to the eye's original owner.

The movie is scheduled for a October 2007 release, and is written by Sebastian Gutierrez (”Snakes on a Plane”) and co-directed by Frenchies David Moreau and Xavier Palud.

Shah Rukh Khan tops Diwali box-office

HOLLYWOOD (19 November 2007) - When "Om Shanti Om" star Shah Rukh Khan vowed that his pic would open bigger than rival "Saawariya" during the Hindu holiday of Diwali, many Bollywood fans thought he was just talking smack.

"Diwali is all mine," the Bollywood star -- nicknamed King Khan -- boasted at a Nov. 8 event in Mumbai.

"'Saawariya' may be a wonderful film, but I have not been sitting on my hands these past 17 years," he said, reminding listeners that his films took the top spot at the B.O. during prior Diwali weekends.

And when the numbers were tallied, Khan was proved right.

His Eros Intl. release took the top berth at the overseas box office last weekend with $17 million -- beating Sony's "Saawariya," which collected $15.5 million, and even topping Tom Cruise's "Lions for Lambs," which came in third with $10.3 million.

'Saawariya' is a Bollywood film released by Sony Pictures Entertainment, and has thus become the first Indian movie to be co-produced and distributed by a Hollywood production house. The story tells of a lonely guy who spends his days and nights locked in his apartment. He gets a new lease on life when he meets a mysterious woman on one of his rare sojourns outside. Over the next four nights, the couple meet up and quickly fall in love.

'Om Shanti Om' is the latest Bollywood film directed by Farah Khan. n the 1970s, Om, an aspiring actor, is murdered, but is immediately reincarnated into the present day. He attempts to discover the mystery of his demise and find Shanti, the love of his previous life.

Alien + Predator = Predalien

USA Today has just published some incredible shots of the infamous 'Predalien' - an alien and predator hybrid - from 20th Century Fox's upcoming movie 'Aliens vs Predator: Requiem'.

In this sequel, a Predator scout ship crash lands in Colorado town. The Aliens on board escape and kill all the Predators except one. The last remaining Predator must now destroy all the Aliens as well as the Predalien that was spawned in the first AVP movie. Meanwhile the towns people are helplessly caught in the middle of the ultimate face-off between these two creatures.

Some new Korean horror flicks

Continuing from my post yesterday, here's some new horror flicks from Korea.....

1. Black House

An insurance surveyor looks into a murder case that the police have confirmed as a suicide. The story revolves around his struggle with a psychopath whom he encounters on the crime site.


2. Someone Behind You

Ga-in is singled out as the next in line to die from a curse that has one person in each generation die at the hands of two people close to them. Ga-in searches for the truth about the curse with Suk-min, a boy who always lingers around her, and her boyfriend Heon-joong.


3. The Cut

On the first day of anatomy class, a beautiful female cadaver awaits 5 medical students in the laboratory. Soon after their encounter, a string of accidents and unexplained deaths befalls their classmates, and the students' lives spiral out of control as they begin to suffer from unexplainable hallucinations and delusions.


4. For Eternal Hearts

An ordinary college boy Su-young meets an extraordinary girl named Pippi on campus. After he witnesses her suicide, bizarre things begin to happen.

Some new horror movies.....

Here are some new horror movies which may or may not come to our local screens.

1. Seed

After 3 attempts to electrocute, complete with boiling blood that steeps from his eyes, he's still alive. The executioner, Warden Wright and the doctor collectively agree that the breathing Seed be pronounced dead. He is bound and buried alive. After biting and clawing his way to the surface, Seed, the bloodsoaked, enraged madman, is now bent on vengeance.


2. The Mist

Based on a story by Stephen King, the story tells of a freak storm which unleashes a species of blood-thirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole-up in a supermarket and fight for their lives.


3. Pathology

A group of medical students devise a deadly game: to see which one of them can commit the perfect murder.


4. The Echo

Recently paroled Bobby Reynolds attempts to make a new life for himself by getting a job, reconnecting with a former girlfriend and moving into his mother's apartment, vacant since her untimely death. Upon arrival, he is soon plagued by strange occurences in the apartment and bizarre encounters.


5. Sisters

A pair of Siamese twins are separated and one is forced to live a sheltered existence under the watchful eye of a controlling doctor


.....more to come in future posts.

New Iron Man poster

Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof sucks

Am I the only one that thinks Quentin Tarantino's 'Death Proof' is crap?

Originally released in the US theaters as part of the second half of the GRINDHOUSE double feature (shared with Robert Rodriguez' 'Planet Terror'), Death Proof has received good reviews and has a rating of 8 stars in IMDB.

The first hour of the movie consists of four women chatting away in a bar. Then they get killed by a mysterious guy called Stuntman Mike. That's when the action begins.....and lasts for like 5 whole minutes! Then cut to few months later where another group of women starts to talk nonsense. Then Stuntman Mike appears. Another 5 minutes of car chase action. Then the movie ends.

This movie is supposed to be a spoof on the 70's B-grade camp movies. However it turned out to be one of the most boring movies I've seen in my life!

This is such a pity coming from the director of 'Kill Bill', 'Reservoir Dogs' and 'Pulp Fiction'.

Michelle Yeoh to receive French honor

The following article is taken from Variety:

HONG KONG (Sept 10 2007) – Seems Michelle Yeoh, one of Asia 's favorite actresses, is also a hit with the French cultural elite.

The Malaysian-born actress who attained fame as the Hong Kong film industry's top female action star in the 1990s, is to receive the Legion of Honor (Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur), a French civil honor.

The medal will be presented to her at a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 3.

Yeoh, whose credits include "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Tomorrow Never Dies," most recently starred in the Asik Kapadia-helmed "Far North," which preemed last week in Venice . She will next be seen in Roger Spottiswoode-directed "The Children of Huang-shi" and French director Mathieu Kassovitz's " Babylon A.D."

3:10 To Yuma

This is the number one movie in the U.S this week. It has been a while since a western hit the number one spot. The last critically acclaimed film of note in that genre was 1992's "Unforgiven," starring Clint Eastwood.

The movie stars Russell Crowe and Christian Bale.

In this remake of the 1957 movie, Bale plays a small-time rancher who has to deliver a murderous outlaw, played by Crowe, to theboth of them tries to square off against each other physically and psychologically.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

After months of anticipation, Shia LaBeiouf has finally spilled the beans on the title of the new Indiana Jones movie.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Shia announced the title during the MTV Video Music Awards yesterday.

The movie will open on May 22 (Memorial Day) 2008.

Pavarotti dies at age 71

Just received this sad news from Associated Press:

ROME (Sept 6 2007) - Luciano Pavarotti, whose vibrant high C's and ebullient showmanship made him the most beloved and celebrated tenor since Caruso and one of the few opera singers to win crossover fame as a popular superstar, died Thursday. He was 71.

His manager, Terri Robson, told the AP in an e-mailed statement that Pavarotti died at his home in Modena, Italy, at 5 a.m. local time. Pavarotti had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year and underwent further treatment in August.

The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life. In fitting with the approach that characterised his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness," the statement said.

Read the rest of the story here.

Heroes Season 2 - Promo Poster

Christian Bale is Bob Dylan

Here is a picture of Christian Bale starring as Bob Dylan in biopic 'I'm Not There'.

The film reflects the life of musician Bob Dylan. The iconic singer-songwriter will be depicted through six distinct stages of his life by six different actors (Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger and Ben Whishaw).

'I'm Not There' will premiere at the 64th Venice Film Festival later this year. A limited US release is schedule for November 21.

Special photo shoot of Keira Knightley

The following are some pictures of Keira Knightley from a special photo shoot to promote the upcoming movie 'Atonement'.

Keira Knightley reunites with 'Pride & Prejudice' director Joe Wright in a film version of a novel by Ian McEwan.

In the summer of 1935, 13-year-old Briony Tallis observes a flirtation between a servant's son, Robbie, and her older sister, Cecilia (Keira Knightley), that she childishly misconstrues. Briony's misunderstanding leads to a terrible crime whose consequences follow them through World War II.

(unfortunately I have been requested by the distributor to remove the pictures!)

Daniel Radcliffe in new movie

Daniel Radcliffe, in his first dramatic role since the Harry Potter series, plays John "Jack" Kipling in the television drama 'My Boy Jack'.

Set during World War One, the true story looks at how Rudyard Kipling used his influence to get his 17-year-old son Jack a commission with the Irish Guards, despite his son's poor eyesight. Jack went missing in action during the Battle of Loos and his mother and father carried out an ardent search for him, spanning many years and many miles of soul-destroying discovery.

The television movie will air later this year on in the UK and US.

Simpsons: Some interesting facts

Following the success of 'The Simpsons Movie', I have managed to dig up some interesting facts on our favourite TV family:

• The Simpsons began life as a series of 30-second cartoons on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987.
• It is America's longest running prime time show and is also seen in another 60 countries, including most of Europe, Latin America and Asia.
• President George Bush blamed them for society's ills, famously claiming that American families should be less like The Simpsons and more like The Waltons, while First Lady Barbara Bush described the show as the "dumbest thing" she ever saw.
• Homer's middle name is Jay.
• Bart's middle name is Jo-Jo and his head was inspired by a paper bag. Bart is voiced by woman, Nancy Cartwright. The show was really going to be based 100% on Bart at first. Matt Groening picked the name Bart by rearranging the letters in the word brat. Bart is an anagram for "brat."
• Bumblebee guy's real name is Pedro.
• There are 121 Springfields in the US. Matt Groening picked the name for the city because it was so common and well-known. They are a blue collar family living in the average town of Springfield.
• The president of 20th Century Fox's licensing and merchandising arm, Al Ovadia, has said he believes most people in the US own a Bart Simpson T-shirt. In 1991, Bart topped the British charts with Do the Bartman which was written by Michael Jackson.
• On the opening of every episode Maggie is listed to cost $847.63 at the cash register. It's the same amount that raising a baby costs in a year in US.
• One episode takes about 9 months to do it. They are working 7-8 episodes different episodes at same time. One episode costs about 1.5 million dollars.
• In Los Angeles about 100 animators work on the show. Animator of The Simpsons uses soft pen to sketch the scenes. There are also about 120 animators who work for the show in South Korea.
• The "couch gag" sequence is frequently used to help show staff make the show longer or shorter, depending on the length of the episode itself. Most couch gags last only about five seconds, but the longest one on record lasted 46 seconds.
• An Adelaide brewery got into big trouble when it started manufacturing Duff beer, Homer's brew of choice. Fox, owners of The Simpsons, took the brewery to court in 1996 and forced them to stop making it.
• Around 2,000 people took part in the survey which decided that rather than having an incompetent in charge of the USA, they would like Homer Simpson to take the role.
• The Simpsons currently holds the Guinness Book of World Records titles for "Longest-running Primetime Animated Series" and "Most Celebrities Featured in an Animation Series."

Rome's McKidd is Thor

Latest news from IESB on the bigscreen adaptation of Marvel's Thor:

Just days after Matthew Vaughn was announced as director of the Thor adaptation over at Marvel Studios, a name has started floating around industry circles as a potential lead.

Looks like there may be another superhero coming out of HBO’s Rome. First it was Ray Stevenson who was announced as the new Punisher. Now, Kevin McKidd, Rome’s Lucius Vorenus, is being rumored as the new mighty Thor!

The Thor script was penned by Mark Protosevich and is said to very origin heavy. Origin of Norse Gods, origin of the Uru Hammer, origin of how Thor came to be basically, which makes a lot of sense considering the last time most saw Thor on the big screen was in Adventures in Babysitting!

McKidd is currently shooting Made of Honor with Patrick Dempsey and finished up Dylan based on the life of poet Dylan Thomas.

The IESB has not been able to get full confirmation on this casting as of yet, we'll keep you updated!

Marvel Studios is looking to start shooting on Thor by this winter in order to stay one step ahead of the looming writers’ guild strike.

Incidentally director Matthew Vaughn is currently enjoying box-office success for 'Stardust'.

Raimi and Jackson on 'The Hobbit' movie

I came across this story at IESB this morning:

All indications from our inside sources are saying that while Raimi was seriously considering the Titans offer, he has a much bigger fish to fry and has possibly chosen to go in the direction of Middle Earth instead.

While we are being told that negotiations are still underway for the prequel and final deals won’t be reached immediately, Raimi is leaning towards directing The Hobbit as his next big project.

Where does this leave the legendary Peter Jackson?

Although New Line’s Bob Shaye and Jackson had a much publicized dispute over “the green,” the LA Times recently spoke with Shaye and he had this to say,

"Eager to move ahead with "The Hobbit," New Line has quietly been trying to mend fences with "Rings" filmmaker Peter Jackson, who has sued the company over his share of profits from the first "Rings" films. When asked if it was true that company insiders had been in talks with Jackson's reps, Shaye replied, "Yes, that's a fair statement. Notwithstanding our personal quarrels, I really respect and admire Peter and would love for him to be creatively involved in some way in 'The Hobbit.'"

All sources indicate that although Jackson won’t be back to direct, our source is telling us that Raimi is looking to helm The Hobbit with Peter Jackson attached to produce. Raimi has said in the past that he would not take on the project without Jackson’s blessing. Well, looks like he may have it!

Review: Disturbia

Having stayed in the No. 1 spot in the US box-office charts for 3 weeks, I had high hopes for this movie. I was greatly disappointed as all I got was a disposable teen comedy in disguise.

Shia LaBeouf plays Kale, a teenager who has been put under house-arrest after he assaulted his teacher. Getting bored at home, he starts to spy on his neighbors. Soon he starts to notice some strange behavior going on with Mr Turner who lives across the street, and suspects that he could be the serial killer who has been stalking women recently.

Shia is not a bad actor. I can see why he's currently one of the most popular young stars around. Unfortunately there's not much script for him to work on.

The first hour played like a Disney channel movie, which might not be too bad if you are a teenager. The suspense and thrills only picks up in the last 30 minutes or so. Whoever said that this is a remake of 'Rear Window' is out of his mind! Anyway, if you're a teenager, chances are you've never heard of Hitchcock. So that's ok because this movie was certainly made with that target age in mind.

Review: The Last Kiss

'The Last Kiss' is about four male friends in their late twenties (3 unmarried, 1 married) who are on the brink of 'growing up' and realizing that their lives are not what they have expected it to be. Michael (Zach Braff) is a 29-year old architect who has everything he's ever wanted. He learns that his girlfriend is pregnant and they will probably get married. Then Michael starts getting cold feet and wonders what life will be like now that there are no surprises left. When he meets sexy Kim at a friend's wedding, Michael's uncertainties lead to an unexpected affair. Finally Michael is forced to deal with the consequences of his actions and has to choose between the two women.

Zach Braff ('Scrubs') sheds his goofiness and grows up in this dramatic comedy. In fact, calling 'The Last Kiss' a comedy is bit disingenuous because the movie deals with a very serious subject - commitment and the 'thirty' crisis of growing up. Although the movie starts off a bit slow, the second half was very engaging and touching.

Overall, the film is watchable - a good cast and a realistic storyline. One of the reviewiers on IMDB said this "this film is not a feel good film, it isn't a happy film, it really isn't a sad for feel bad film. this film is honest".

Hellboy 2

Director Guillermo del Toro is finally back with the sequel to Hellboy. Take a look at the teaser poster of Hellboy 2 that debuted at Comic-Con '07 recently.

The mythical world starts a rebellion against humanity in order to rule the Earth, so Hellboy and his team must save the world from the rebellious creatures.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army will open in August 2008.

Indiana Jones 4 group photo

Shia LaBeouf, Steven Spielberg, Ray Winstone, Karen Allen and Harrison Ford greet fans at Comic-Con International from the set of the new "Indiana Jones" movie on Thursday, July 26, 2007.

Many of you may remember Karen Allen as Indy' old flame in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'. She is reprising her role as Marion Ravenwood in the new movie.

The upcoming "Indiana Jones" adventure is planned for worldwide release on May 22, 2008.

Spice Girls Reunion

It seems like a lifetime ago (11 years to be exact) when we first heard the Spice Girls singing 'Wannabe'. Six years after their break-up, they are finally getting together to perform a series of concerts worldwide.

Here are some pictures of Geri Halliwell, Melanie Chisholm, Melanie Brown, Victoria Beckham and Emma Bunton. The Spice Girls Reunion tour will start in Canada on December 2 and ends on January 24, 2008 in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, covering 14 cities in total. They have just added 4 new shows including Vancouver, San Jose, Beijing and Shanghai.

Their long-awaited Greatest Hits album will be released in December 2007.

The Simpsons Movie soundtrack in a donut

To coincide with the release of 'The Simpsons Movie' on July 27th, the soundtrack has been released in this limited edition cool donut packaging!

Tom Cruise as a German officer

Tom Cruise is starring as a German officer in his new movie 'Valkyrie'. The movie is directed by Bryan Singer ('Superman Returns', 'X-Men').


The story is about a group of high ranking German officers, led by Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (played by Cruise), who hatch out a plot to assasinate Adolph Hitler, and sieze power of the military in order to end the war.

The movie is set to hit theaters August 8, 2008.

Torture Porn

Don't get your juices all worked up. 'Torture Porn' has got nothing to do with pornography! 'Torture Porn' is the term given to movies with extreme violence and gore, often featuring naked or near-naked women in extreme degradation and peril. 'Torture Porn' became big box office with the release of movies like 'Saw' and 'Hostel'. Soon many other clones came out lke 'See No Evil', ' Wolf Creek' and the recent 'Captivity'.

Hollywood, movie fans shy away from "torture porn"
Fri Jul 13, 2007
By Bob Tourtellotte

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Torture, it seems, doesn't pay at movie theater box offices like it used to.

In recent years, films dubbed "torture porn" have been the darlings of many a Hollywood producer looking to make a quick buck. The latest such release, "Captivity," opens in theaters on Friday.

But the popularity of movies like blood-and-guts thriller "Hostel: Part II" and zombie flick "28 Weeks Later," appears to have waned, prompting some to wonder if the trend is on its way out.

The answer is yes, depending on the type of movie and whether that genre includes the latest box office hit or miss.

"The horror genre has had more ups and downs over the years -- maybe only musicals have more," said Paul Dergarabedian of box office tracker Media By Numbers. "I think what happens is subgenres like (torture) become popular, then play out.

Dergarabedian noted the old Universal Pictures' monster movies such as "Frankenstein" were hugely popular in the 1930s, but eventually died off. In the 1950s, horror was represented by alien invasion flicks such as "The Thing from Another World," but these went the way of the graveyard, too.

This current wave of horror films seems to have begun in 2004, when Dergarabedian tracked 19 of the movies that raked in more than $1 billion at U.S. and Canadian box offices. The figure was roughly double the $525 million from 13 movies in 2003.

Hits in 2004 included "Freddy vs. Jason," at $82 million, and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," at $80 million, both from New Line Cinema. In 2005, Lionsgate Entertainment's "Saw" hauled in $55 million and spawned two sequels.

'Hairy' Potter!!

Daniel 'Harry Potter' Radcliffe recently appeared on the cover of Details Magazine looking all scruffy and unshaven. Where is the little wizard boy that we all loved?

D-War

D-War (short for Dragon War) is the new monster movie from Korean director Shim Hyung Rae. The movie was made at a whopping cost of US$70 million, which reportedly makes it the biggest budgeted South Korean film of all-time! This is also the first English language movie to be produced by a South Korean production company. The trailer is available at the following link:

D-War trailer

The story is based on the Korean legend which tells of the dark lord, Imoogi who can transform himself into a dragon, who comes to present-day Los Angeles to wreak havoc.

10,000 B.C.

'10,000 B.C.' is the latest movie from director Roland Emmerich, the guy who directed 'Independence Day' and 'Godzilla'. The movie is set in prehistoric times and follows a young man's journey through uncharted territories to secure the future of his tribe. Sounds very similar to 'Apocalypto'.

The trailer can be viewed at the following website. The special effects looks very good, especially the giant mammoths!

http://www.10000bcmovie.com/

After a few postponements, the movie is now slated to be released in March 2008.

Spider-Man 4 villains

According to sources, Spider-Man 4, which will only be released in 2009, will feature The Lizard and Carnage.

The Lizard is actually Dr. Curt Connors who decides to experiment with nanotechnology. Connors' experiment goes wrong when he starts mixing nano-bots with the DNA of a lizard.

The Carnage story focuses on a serial killer called Cletus Kasady who comes into contact with some of Eddie Brock's symbiote goo while they're both in prison.

There are also rumours that Black Cat might be in the movie too.

Transformers rip-off!

I went to the Pasar Malam the other night, I saw this guy was asking the DVD vendor about this movie, thinking that it's Transformers. This was like 1 week before even the Transformers movie was released worldwide! The DVD vendor said the copy is very clear blah, blah, blah....and the guy believed him and bought the copy. So warning to all you guys out there....don't get conned!


Anyway, this movie is released by Asylum, which is famous for its cheap rip-offs which are usually released a couple of weeks earlier than the original counterpart to cash in on their success. Their movies include 'Pirates Of Treasure Island', 'Snakes On A Train', and 'Da Vinci Treasure'!