Movie news: April 1st 2009

Ok, in more serious news that you may not have noticed today I saw that Calvin Broadus, best known as Snoop Dogg, has joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Snoop Y. I would say I am shocked, but then again, its all Fo Shizzle My Nizzle, as he would say.

Also in the news today is the fact that The Hobbit will soon be in brought to fans across the world. But unlike what most have been lead to expect, Peter Jackson has been contracted to make the JRR Tolkein novel into a musical play. There is no news on who will play the vital role of Bilbo Baggins, but so far Paris Hilton has been confirmed to play Gollum. This may be the first role that I think Hilton is thin enough to make look good.

In yet more news that I just cannot fathom I have heard that Denzel Washington is in talks to take the role of Blondie in Spike Lee's remake of The Good The Bad and the Ugly. The Lee Van Kleef role is already confirmed as going to Benicio Del Toro, with the likely role of Tuco the Rat going to either Eddie Murphy or Martin Laurence. I suppose either of the 2 will have to gain weight or wear a fat suit for the role. Still I find it unsettling that the revisioned film, which I generally dislike, will be filmed in modern day Los Angeles with gangs substituted for the Civil War factions. So far Clint Eastwood has denied any comments.

Still I have to say that the Howard the Duck remake is the biggest news of the day. I am amazed that anyone would take on this idea. Stephen Speilberg may be a genius, but I continue to think this is beyond him. I remain against this remake, even as I have learned that several movie studios are jumping at the script. It has to be the fact that somehow Speilberg got Tom Cruise to say yes to play Howard. I never thought there was enough money in the world for that. But at least Cruise will not need an accent.

Given that today is All Fool's Day, I'm taking all this news with a pound of salt, at least. We can all only hope that tomorrow we will wake up and know that this has all been a big joke. Really a big joke.

Hints on the movies of 2009

So since I was recently talking about the start of the summer movie season I thought I might also mention a few movies that will be out in a year or so. Luckily there are 2 that should be interesting, though I’m not sure if that means a good movie or not.

The first is news that the sequel to The Lord of the Rings (in fact it’s actually a prequel and the first book about Middle Earth), The Hobbit will be directed by Guillermo Del Toro. He’s a great director and has a very unique vision. His movies are usually quite entertaining, and he gets a lot out of his actors.

As good as he is, and the bonus that he is one of the very few Hispanic/Latino directors in Hollywood, I have reservations. The bar was set extremely high by Peter Jackson’s version of Lord of the Rings. His ability to translate the words of J.R.R. Tolkien into the visual experience was remarkable and believable. I severely doubt anyone’s ability to duplicate that, even if Jackson were still at the helm.

Yet one positive for the film is that Sir Ian McKellan will be returning in his role as Gandalf the Grey. Well at least they are talking about the pay, so excluding the studio getting cheap, he’s in. Another bit of good news is that Peter Jackson will be producing the film.

Now what other people will be involved is unknown. There are many dwarves and men in this film. And of course there is who will be Bilbo – the original Hobbit on the go. And then there is a huge amount of work for the CGI team in trying to bring to life the central character of Smaug. And a return of Gollum.

The challenges will be daunting. But we will see once the trailers start appearing in about a year and a half or so.

In other movie news there is this other item.

The Terminator is back. But it won’t be the Guvernator on the screen. This time out the story will be advancing to new territory. Or more accurately traveling further into the post-nuclear Skynet controlled future.

In this new movie expect to see Christian Bale and Moon Bloodgood (that has to be a stage name – who would name their kid that?). I have no idea who Bloodgood is, but some may recognize the name from the television series Journeyman. I never saw that so it doesn’t help me. As for Bale, well he has done exceptionally well as the Dark Knight and several other movies so that gives me hope.

And of course there is the other side of the news. It’s a big negative too. The director at this moment is McG, the same person responsible for Charlie’s Angels. That was a horrible television show to movie creation. While it may have made money because of Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore (Carmen Diaz is just not cute and way too skinny) it was a miserable film. Be honest, you know it was.

Considering the news for the upcoming films in 2009 it’s anyone’s bet on what will be worth the time. Until that time there are a few good things to keep you entertained. As I’ve already mentioned, Iron Man is definitely the movie to see. The new Hulk film with Ed Norton looks appealing and should erase any memory of Ang Lee’s version. WANTED looks to be a major hit with Angelina Jolie, and Morgan Freeman.

The Take with John Leguizamo, Tyrese Gibson, and Rosie Perez sounds like it will make it straight to DVD – a shame since I like Leguizamo and think his ability as an entertainer is severely underestimated.

War, Inc. looks to be the first anti-war movie that will do well and be entertaining. Unlike every film so far that has been a poster-child for the ultra-liberal left wing loons (all 10 of them that collectively went to those films), this film uses humor and a well rounded cast. John Cusack leads the film in a role similar to his hitman in Grosse Point Blank (a really fun film). His sister Joan is also in a similar character. There is a bunch to say about this, but I will wait til I get the trailer. Oh, Ben Kingsley has a small role, and the scary part is so does Hillary Duff.

Of course Indiana Jones is going to be a hit. So far trailers look great and I have to imagine that Harrison Ford doesn’t need the money, and his reputation doesn’t need a flop, so it should be good if not very good.

I’d avoid Speed Racer, and Hellboy might be worth the cost. And the Love Guru seems like it will redeem Mike Meyers for doing The Cat in the Hat.

More on those movies and the rest soon.