A loan officer (Lohman) ordered to evict an old woman from her home finds herself the recipient of a supernatural curse, who turns her life into a living hell. Desperate, she turns to a seer to try and save her soul, while evil forces work to push her to a breaking point. [imdb]
Paramount Pictures is moving forward with development on a Star Trek sequel, hiring Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof to pen the screenplay. Lindelof produced the first film but has been brought on to reteam with Kurtzman and Orci, with whom he is currently co-scripting DreamWorks’ Cowboys and Aliens. Kurtzman told Variety that they will wait to see what fan reaction is to the first film, which hits theaters on May 8th, before proceeding.
“Obviously we discussed ideas, but we are waiting to see how audiences respond next month,” he said. “With a franchise rebirth, the first movie has to be about origin. But with a second, you have the opportunity to explore incredibly exciting things. We’ll be ambitious about what we’ll do.”
They are hoping to have a completed script by Christmas, which would likely mean a summer 2011 release. No decision has been made yet on whether JJ Abrams will return to direct, but he will at least produce.
Of course, the writing deal announcement doesn’t guarantee a green light. If the film somehow underperforms, the sequel won’t happen. It seems like Paramount thinks they have a huge hit in their hands. The studio is holding the film’s premiere more than a month before the film’s domestic release, which is certainly a vote of confidence. [/film]
A Las Vegas cabbie enlists the help of a UFO expert to protect two siblings with paranormal powers from the clutches of an organization that wants to use the kids for their nefarious plans. [imdb]
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, Cheech Marin
Directed by: Andy Fickman
NZ Release Date: 9th Apr 2009
When I first went to see Mongol at the cinema I was a little disappointed; the film’s trailer had lead me to believe that it was going to be a movie about big, bloody battles, with plenty of action, choreographed beautifully to immerse the viewer in the hectic reality of horse bound warfare.
Mongol however turned out to be quite different; though there were some brutal battle scenes, this was more a story about love, faith and the birth of a legend.
Mongol kicks off with 5-year-old Temüjin (a young Genghis Khan) going on a trip with his father to choose a wife. Headstrong and stubborn, Temüjin chooses a wife from the wrong tribe, which brings problems to his fathers tribe, and ultimately to himself. This is to be typical of Temüjin’s life, as hardship helps strengthen him and gives him a reliance on faith in a higher power.
One of the most remarkable things about Mongol is how beautifully the whole movie is shot. With a paltry budget estimated to be around $20 Million, Sergei Bodrov seems to have squeezed as much as possible out of the resources given, enabling him to produce a historical epic that puts big budget Hollywood affairs to shame.
Historically, Mongol takes some liberties, with Mongol history being oral; Sergei’s main inspiration for the film came from The Secret History of the Mongols, and he freely admits to filling in the blanks with his interpretation of what happened. The movie does take a couple of leaps of faith, but taken in the context of the spirituality of the movie, these leaps fit into the storyline and add to mystique to the legend of Genghis Khan.
If you’re after a sprawling historical epic that actually works, one that has some great family values as well as an interesting look at faith and beliefs, and you don’t mind a bit of graphic, stylised violence, then Mongol is the movie for you. If you’re a little bit squeamish, you’re going to find some scenes a little hard to take, but the overall story more than makes up for a little blood letting.
Reviewed by: Jonathan Read
Rating: R16 – Contains violence
Released on: February 12th, 2009
Year of Original Release: 2007
Stars: Asano Tadanobu, Khulan Chuluun, Honglei Sun
Length (Minutes): 124
Media Format: DVD
Languages: Mongolian
Subtitles: English
Director: Sergei Bodrov
Studio: Roadshow
According to MTV Movies Blog, David Cronenberg is in the early stages of planning a sequel to his 2007 film Eastern Promises. Viggo Mortensen is on board to return, as are screenwriter Steven Knight and producer Paul Webster. Cronenberg fans will know that this is the first time he has shown interest in directing a sequel; although both The Fly and Scanners spawned sequels, he had no personal involvement. Here’s what Cronenberg had to say about Eastern Promises 2:
“It’s the first time I’ve ever been in a situation where I actually want to do a sequel to something… I’ve never had the desire to do that before. But in this case, I thought we had unfinished business with those characters. I didn’t feel that we had finished with Nikolai and we had done a lot of research that was more than we could stuff into that one movie.”
“The Boat That Rocked” is an ensemble comedy in which the romance takes place between the young people of the ’60s and pop music. It’s about a band of rogue DJs that captivated Britain, playing the music that defined a generation and standing up to a government that, incomprehensibly, preferred jazz. The Count, a big, brash, American god of the airwaves; Quentin, the boss of Radio Rock — a pirate radio station in the middle of the North Sea that’s populated by an eclectic crew of rock and roll DJs; Gavin, the greatest DJ in Britain who has just returned from his drug tour of America to reclaim his rightful position; Dave, an ironic, intelligent and cruelly funny co-broadcaster; and a fearsome British government official out for blood against the drug takers and lawbreakers of a once-great nation. [imdb]
Yahoo has released a list of the 100 Movies To See Before You Die. Ominously missing is The Dark Knight, but also, despite all three Lord of the Rings films as one entry, Star Wars is listed as an individual movie and not as a trilogy. Other suprising omissions include: David Fincher’s Fight Club or Se7en, Once Upon a Time in the West, North by Northwest, Taxi Driver, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Spirited Away, and Aliens. Like a lot of lists, Yahoo is afraid to praise recent releases. Aside from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, only one movie on the list was released in the last 8 years, which limits the number I will have seen (indicated in bold):
12 Angry Men (1957)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
The 400 Blows (1959)
8 ½ (1963)
A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
The African Queen (1952)
Alien (1979)
All About Eve (1950)
Annie Hall (1977)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
The Battle of Algiers (1967)
The Bicycle Thief (1948)
Blade Runner (1982)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Blow Up (1966)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Breathless (1960)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Casablanca (1942)
Chinatown (1974)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Die Hard (1988)
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Duck Soup (1933)
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Enter the Dragon (1973)
The Exorcist (1973)
Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982)
The French Connection (1971)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather, Part II (1974)
Goldfinger (1964)
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1968)
Goodfellas (1990)
The Graduate (1967)
Grand Illusion (1938)
Groundhog Day (1993)
In the Mood For Love (2001)
It Happened One Night (1934)
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Jaws (1975)
King Kong (1933)
The Lady Eve (1941)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
The Lord of the Rings (2001,2002,2003)
M (1931)
M*A*S*H (1970)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
The Matrix (1999)
Modern Times (1936)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978)
Network (1976)
Nosferatu (1922)
On the Waterfront (1954)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Paths of Glory (1958)
Princess Mononoke (1999)
Psycho (1960)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Raging Bull (1980)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Raise the Red Lantern (1992)
Rashomon (1951)
Rear Window (1954)
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Rocky (1976)
Roman Holiday (1953)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Schindler’s List (1993)
The Searchers (1956)
Seven Samurai (1954)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
The Sound of Music (1965)
Star Wars (1977)
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
The Third Man (1949)
This is Spinal Tap (1984)
Titanic (1997)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Toy Story (1995)
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Vertigo (1958)
When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
Wild Strawberries (1957)
Wings of Desire (1988)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
The World of Apu (1959)
According to the blurb, this is the third ripping instalment of The Librarian – the action/adventure series that has taken the DVD world by storm! Of course, with the title being The Librarian 3, I kinda figured it would be the third one. Having not seen any of the previous ripping instalments, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but with a cast that included ER’s Noah Wyle and being part of a straight to DVD series that looks like a campy knock off of Indiana Jones, the one thing I was expecting was some very B-grade fun.
And B-grade it is. Noah really hasn’t learnt much in the way of acting skills through ER – though I still think ER is one of the best TV shows around – and his supporting cast isn’t exactly Oscar worthy, but judging this movie on it’s acting, plot, or production would be missing the point; this is meant to be B-grade. You’re not supposed to take it seriously. It’s just a bit of candyfloss fun.
If you’re in a serious mood, then stay away, but if you’ve got a bottle of wine and some good friends and all you want is to relax and have some fun, then The Librarian is the perfect choice.
Reviewed by: Jonathan Read
Rating: M – Suitable for mature audiences 16 years and over.
Released on: March 18th, 2009
Year of Original Release: 2008
Stars: Noah Wyle, Bob Newhart, Stana Katic, Jane Curtin, Bruce Davison, Dikran Tulaine, Joe Knezevich, Jason Douglas
Length (Minutes): 90
Media Format: DVD
Aspect Ratio: 1.78 : 1
Languages: English
Supported Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
Brand: The Librarian
Director: Frakes, Jonathan
Studio: Beyond Home Entertainment
There is something about me..
