500 days of SpiderMan ???

Marc Webb, the director of the romantic-comedy "(500) Days of Summer" has been appointed the director of the next "Spider-Man" movie.

Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios made this announcement yesterday following the departure of Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire, the director and star who worked on the previous three Spidey films. The fourth installment is set for a 2012 release and will focus on a younger version of the superhero.

Webb said in a statement he was not taking over the series from Raimi but instead wanted the "opportunity for ideas, stories and histories that will add a new dimension, canvas and creative voice to Spider-Man."

Maybe we will get to see 500 days in the life of Spider-Man?

Happy New Year 2010

Wishing all my readers Happy New Year 2010!!

I would like to apologise for the lack of postings. I started a new job recently and has been really tied up. I hope I can find some time at night to write some more.

Happy Moviegoing!!!

Wolverine Hidden Endings

For those who watched "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" I bet you started walking out to the exit once the credits start rolling.

For your info, there are some hidden endings during and after the credits. And to top it up, there are different endings on different prints. This means that, depending on which cinema you watched the movie in, the ending will be different.

** SPOILERS ALERT **

The hidden scene which I saw features Logan aka Wolverine drinking shots of whiskey in a bar in Japan. The female bartender asks him if he’s American. Wolverine replies "Canadian…I think." She asks if he’s drinking to forget. "I’m drinking to remember" he says.

Comic buffs would know that Wolverine will meet and marry a girl named Itsu in Japan and they have a son, Daken. This ending could be the teaser for a possible sequel.

The other hidden ending features Deadpool. Out of the rubble of the tower, Deadpool's blade begins to retract back into his arm. His hand reaches out from the rubble to find his decapitated head. The eyes pop open and with his, now open, mouth he looks at the camera and says “Ssssh”.

This could be a prelude to the upcoming Deadpool spin-off movie.

For more hidden endings, see my other post Here.

Watching movie online - the legal way

Forget bittorrent, limewire etc. Forget about going to your local video store to buy or rent DVDs. Now there's a convenient and legal way to watch and stream movies online. iReel.com is a new portal which lets you watch movies online using iReels's own player. No plugins or installs required.

iReel's movie database is slowly expanding and includes movies from the early 1950s to recent Hollywood blockbusters such as The Uninvited and Iron Man.

Most importantly to know is that this site offers a legal service and without any threat of viruses or spywares.

Note: unfortunately iReel service is currently still not available in Malaysia. Hopefully it will be made available to us soon.

Winners of the 81st Academy Awards

Here are the winners for some of the key awards in the recent 81st Academy Awards

Best Motion Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Sean Penn for Milk
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Kate Winslet for The Reader
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best Achievement in Directing: Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire
Best Original Song: Slumdog Millionaire: A.R. Rahman, Gulzar ("Jai Ho")
Best Animated Film: WALL·E

A good movie for Valentine's Day

"Nights In Rodanthe" is one of those romantic little movies that are aimed at touching your heartstrings. Seeing that the movie is based on a Nicholas Sparks novel, you can probably tell what the story is about. Yes Nicholas Sparks is the same guy who wrote "Message In A Bottle", "The Notebook", "A Walk To Remember".


Anyway, this is not a movie to shout about. It's just a simple movie to watch while cuddling with your partner on the couch. If you're a guy, this is the movie that would make her cry on your shoulder.

The story is about how Richard Gere and Diane Lane met in a deserted beach house while a storm is brewing outside. While trapped inside the house, both of them falls in love. But like all Nicholas Spark stories, tragedy happens. Telling you anymore would spoil the story.

One great thing about the movie is the beautiful scenery and cinematography. The beach house which is central to the movie looks fantastic. And not to mention great acting by the two leads. Gere and Lane have perfect chemistry and they can still captivate the audience after all these years.


My only complain is that the movie tend to focus too much on the romance between Gere and Lane, and too little on what happens afterwards. The flashback at the end of the movie was too quick.

All in all this will not break any box office, but definitely worth watching on Valentine's Day tomorrow.

Review: Punisher: Warzone

If you are looking for lots of gore and violence, this is the movie to see. "Punisher: War Zone" has lots of over-the-top action which sometimes make it unintentionally funny.

This movie is sort of a sequel to the 2004 movie which starred Thomas Jane as the The Punisher. In the 2004 movie, Frank Castle's entire family was murdered and goes on to take revenge on the mob family who did it. In this movie, Ray Stevenson takes over the lead. And he's still being as vengeful as ever.

In the opening sequence, Punisher infiltrates a local mob dinner, and during the course of the massacre, he hideously disfigures gangster Billy Russoti. Rusotti re-surface as Jigsaw seeking revenge on Castle.

The story wasn't bad at all. But I felt that the Punisher was being portrayed too much as a mindless, violent, un-emotional killing machine. At least in the 2004 movie, the background of the character was shown to us and we sympathize with him. And give me a break with the Jigsaw character. Was he trying too hard to be like The Joker?

Overall this is just a cheesy B-movie action flick. I give it 5 out of 10 stars.

Man Shot For Talking in Cinema

Have you ever been annoyed when people start talking to each other or answering the handphone in cinemas?

Sat December 27, 2008 (CNN) - A man angry that a family was talking during a movie threw popcorn at the son and then shot the father in the arm, according to police in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

James Joseph Cialella, 29, was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and weapons violations, a police report said.

Cialella told the family sitting in front of him in the theater on Christmas Day to be quiet, police said.

An argument ensued while others at the Riverview Movie Theatre watched "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Cialella then approached the family from the left side of the aisle and shot the father, who was not identified, as he was standing between Cialella and his family, according to the police report.

The victim was taken to Jefferson Hospital with a gunshot wound to his left arm, police said.

Cialella was carrying a Kel-Tec .380-caliber handgun clipped inside his sweatpants, police said. He was arrested and taken into custody.

Nominees for the 81st Academy Awards

The following are the nominees for some of the major awards for the 81st Annual Academy Awards:

Best Motion Picture of the Year
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Christian Colson

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Richard Jenkins for The Visitor
Frank Langella for Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn for Milk
Brad Pitt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie for Changeling
Melissa Leo for Frozen River
Meryl Streep for Doubt
Kate Winslet for The Reader

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Josh Brolin for Milk
Robert Downey Jr. for Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman for Doubt
Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon for Revolutionary Road

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams for Doubt
Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis for Doubt
Taraji P. Henson for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei for The Wrestler

Best Achievement in Directing
Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry for The Reader
David Fincher for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard for Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant for Milk

Best Original Song
Slumdog Millionaire: A.R. Rahman, Gulzar ("Jai Ho")
Slumdog Millionaire: A.R. Rahman, M.I.A ("O Saya")
WALL·E: Peter Gabriel, Thomas Newman ("Down to Earth")

Best Animated Fim
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL·E

Golden Globe updates (4): Slumdog wins top honor

"Slumdog Millionaire" has lived up to its underdog theme at the Golden Globes, sweeping all four of its categories, including best drama and director for Danny Boyle.

The movie also won best screenplay and musical score.

Featuring a generally unknown cast in a story set on the streets of Mumbai, the movie follows a young Indian man who appears on a game show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" and exceeds people's expectations, raising the suspicions of the game show host and law enforcement.

Golden Globe update (3): 30 Rock sweeps TV comedy awards

TV series "30 Rock" gained awards for Best Comedy, Best Actor (Alec Baldwin) and Best Actress (Tina Fey). The series won in all three of the categories in which it was nominated.

Golden Globe updates (2): Wall-E is best animated film

Disney/Pixar's "Wall-E" has been named Best Animated Film at Golden Globes. The movie beat off competition from "Kung-Fu Panda" and "Bolt."

Other winners so far include:

1) Sally Hawkins (Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy): Happy-Go-Lucky
2) Heath ledger (Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture): The Dark Knight
3) Kate Winslet (Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture): The Reader
4) Slumdog Millionaire (Best Screenplay - Motion Picture)
5) Waltz With Bashir (Israel)(Best Foreign Movie)

Golden Globe updates (1): Ledger wins award

Heath Ledger won Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globes Sunday night. Kate Winslet won the first Golden Globe of the night for her supporting role in "The Reader".

'Ghajini' breaks box-office

The Bollywood movie "Ghajini" became the only Indian film to earn one billion rupees (RM71.9mil) at the box office across the country in less than a week of its release on Christmas.

At a time when every industry is hit by recessionary trends and Bollywood did not fare quite well at the box office, the film starring lead actor Aamir Khan broke all the previous records and set the cash registers ringing within a few days of its release.


"Ghajini" is a remake of a Tamil film of the same name. The film is a romantic action thriller that explores the life of a rich businessman who suffers from 'anterograde amnesia' following a violent encounter. With the aid of Polaroid Instant camera images and permanent tattoos on his torso, the man tries to avenge the murder of his girlfriend, Kalpana, who has been murdered.

However, to all those who have been calling the movie a remake of Christopher Nolan's "Memento", actor Aamir Khan says the movie is just inspired from the Hollywood flick and is not a copy or remake of it.

Besides, raking in huge profits in domestic markets, "Ghajini" has done well in the overseas market as well. The movie opened with $0.92 million in the Middle East, followed by North America with $1.4 million and Australia with $254,000.

The 15 Big Movies Coming in 2009

Here is Entertainment Weekly's list of "15 Big Movies Coming in 2009":

1) Public Enemies
2) Terminator Salvation
3) The Ugly Truth
4) Where The Wild Things Are
5) Watchmen
6) Taking of Pelham 1-2-3
7) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
8) Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience
9) Julie & Julia
10) Up
11) Obsessed
12) Year One
13) Land Of The Lost
14) X-Men Origins: Wolverine
15) Angels & Demons

10 reasons why I hate 'Quantum Of Solace'

I believe 'Quantum of Solace' is one of the worst Bond movies that I've seen. I will tell you why.


10) Daniel Craig is not a bad actor, But can we see a smile once in a while? And what's with the disheveled look? Where's the tuxedo? And there's no humour and one-liners either.
9) What happened to the gun barrel sequence at the beginning of the film? Maybe the director does not want to remind us that we are watching a Bond movie. Instead the gun barrel sequence appears at the end of the movie.
8) The title song sung by Alicia Key and Jack White is possibly one of the worst Bond songs ever. The tune is so monotonous and boring. Give me Shirley Bassey or Sheena Easton anytime.
7) The opening car chase sequence made me nauseous. The poor shooting and editing of the scene made it look like an MTV video.
6) Bring back Moneypenny and Q! What's a Bond movie without the gadgets and the firtations.
5) Dominic Green must be the worst villain in Bond history. There's nothing evil about him at all. While the villains in the other Bond movies plan to destroy earth or detonate nuclear bombs, Greene's crime is stealing water! And in the final fight scene between Greene and Bond, did you notice how Green keeps squealing like a girl.
4) And what about the henchman?! With a name like Elvis, who could be afraid of him? He looks like a sissy with his toupee. Remember Jaws and Oddjob?
3) Even though it's a supposed to be a sequel from 'Casino Royale', must Bond keep reminding us of how sad he is of losing Vesper? "Boo-hoo, Vesper is dead, and I'm so sad. Boo-hoo-hoo." Get over it, dude!
2) There's no chemistry between Bond and the female leads. Rolling Stone magazine calls Camille "perhaps the dullest Bond girl ever." Whatever happened to the final scene where Bond always nails his leading lady?
1) James Bond is NOT Jason Bourne! QOS is trying to imitate something which is not meant to be. And like Jason Bourne, who has forgotten his identity, had Bond or maybe the producers acquired amnesia too?

Nominations for the 66th Golden Globe Awards

Here are the nominees for the 66th Golden Globe Awards. Winners will be announced on Sunday January 11th 2009.

The biggest surprise of the list is Tom Cruise who earned a Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 'Tropic Thunder'. Personally I'm disappointed that 'The Dark Knight' was not nominated for Best Motion Picture, and neither was director Christopher Nolan nominated. Anyway my prediction is that 'Benjamin Button' will sweep the awards this year with Best Motion Picture (Drama), Best Actor (Brad Pitt) and Best Director(David Fincher).

Best Motion Picture - Drama
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Burn After Reading
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges
Mamma Mia!
Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Leonardo DiCaprio for Revolutionary Road
Frank Langella for Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn for Milk
Brad Pitt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie for Changeling
Meryl Streep for Doubt
Kristin Scott Thomas for Il y a longtemps que je t'aime
Kate Winslet for Revolutionary Road

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Javier Bardem for Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Colin Farrell for In Bruges
James Franco for Pineapple Express
Brendan Gleeson for In Bruges
Dustin Hoffman for Last Chance Harvey

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Rebecca Hall for Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Sally Hawkins for Happy-Go-Lucky
Frances McDormand for Burn After Reading
Meryl Streep for Mamma Mia!
Emma Thompson for Last Chance Harvey

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Tom Cruise for Tropic Thunder
Robert Downey Jr. for Tropic Thunder
Ralph Fiennes for The Duchess
Philip Seymour Hoffman for Doubt
Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Amy Adams for Doubt
Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis for Doubt
Marisa Tomei for The Wrestler
Kate Winslet for The Reader

Best Director - Motion Picture
Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry for The Reader
David Fincher for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard for Frost/Nixon
Sam Mendes for Revolutionary Road

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Eric Roth, Robin Swicord
Doubt: John Patrick Shanley
Frost/Nixon: Peter Morgan
The Reader: David Hare
Slumdog Millionaire: Simon Beaufoy

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
Bolt ("I Thought I Lost You")
Cadillac Records ("Once in a Lifetime")
Gran Torino ("Gran Torino")
WALL·E ("Down to Earth")
The Wrestler ("The Wrestler")

Best Original Score - Motion Picture
Changeling : Clint Eastwood
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button : Alexandre Desplat
Defiance : James Newton Howard
Frost/Nixon : Hans Zimmer
Slumdog Millionaire : A.R. Rahman

Best Animated Film
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL·E

Best Foreign Language Film
Der Baader Meinhof Komplex (Germany)
Maria Larssons eviga ögonblick (Sweden/Denmark)
Gomorra (Italy)
Il y a longtemps que je t'aime (France)
Waltz with Bashir (Israel)

Best Television Series - Drama
Dexter
House M.D.
In Treatment
Mad Men
True Blood

Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Californication
Entourage
The Office
30 Rock
Weeds

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Bernard and Doris
Cranford
John Adams
A Raisin in the Sun
Recount

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Ralph Fiennes for Bernard and Doris
Paul Giamatti for John Adams
Kevin Spacey for Recount
Kiefer Sutherland for 24: Redemption
Tom Wilkinson for Recount

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Judi Dench for Cranford
Catherine Keener for An American Crime
Laura Linney for John Adams
Shirley MacLaine for Coco Chanel
Susan Sarandon for Bernard and Doris

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock
Steve Carell for The Office
Kevin Connolly for Entourage
David Duchovny for Californication
Tony Shalhoub for Monk

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Christina Applegate for Samantha Who?
America Ferrera for Ugly Betty
Tina Fey for 30 Rock
Debra Messing for The Starter Wife
Mary-Louise Parker for Weeds

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama
Gabriel Byrne for In Treatment
Michael C. Hall for Dexter
Jon Hamm for Mad Men
Hugh Laurie for House M.D.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers for The Tudors

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama
Sally Field for Brothers & Sisters
Mariska Hargitay for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
January Jones for Mad Men
Anna Paquin for True Blood
Kyra Sedgwick for The Closer

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Neil Patrick Harris for How I Met Your Mother
Denis Leary for Recount
Jeremy Piven for Entourage
Blair Underwood for In Treatment
Tom Wilkinson for John Adams

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Eileen Atkins for Cranford
Laura Dern for Recount
Melissa George for In Treatment
Rachel Griffiths for Brothers & Sisters
Dianne Wiest for In Treatment

Bolt Caption & SMS Contest

Mittens talking to Bolt: "Have you ever wonder how he does his business in there?"

Astro Boy teaser trailer

How many of you remember Astro Boy? This Japanese anime is currently being made for the big screen and will be released in 2009.

The story tells of a young robot created by a brilliant scientist in the image of the son he has lost. Unable to fulfill the grieving man's expectations, the robot embarks on a journey in search of acceptance, experiencing betrayal and a netherworld of robot gladiators, before he returns to save Metro City and reconcile with the father who had rejected him.

The movie will feature voices of Freddie Highmore, Kristen Bell, Nicholas Cage and Nathan Lane.

Will the world end in 2012?

With the Mayan calendar ending in 2012, it is believed that the world will end then. This movie is based on this prediction. See the trailer below: