RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES review: He Said/ She Said

Directed by:  Rupert Wyatt

Written by: Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, and
based on the novel "Le Planete Des Singes" by Pierre Boulle

Starring: James Franco, Andy Serkis, John Lithgow, Freida Pinto, Brian Cox,

Tom Felton, and David Oyewolo

First look at Catwoman from THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

You knew it was a matter of time.  Earlier this week, photos surfaced of Bane from the upcoming Batman movie.  Now, Warner Bros officially released our first photo of Selina Kyle aka Catwoman.  This revamped Catwoman's costume was described earlier as "more tactile, like the comic book and less sexy than the Michelle Pfeiffer or Halle Berry's Catwoman costume".

How can she move in that?

A little too Halloween-y for me

Check it out after the break.

Because Why Not? TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON Trailer With Food

Not much can be said, I just enjoyed this funny little clip.  I especially enjoy Shia LaBeouf as a whiny banana. This was found courtesy of /Film's Page 2.



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First look at Henry Cavill as Superman from Zack Snyder's MAN OF STEEL

When Superman is mentioned to the common minion, like myself, I think of the clean cut, bright-colored suit wearing, all-American Superman:

Illustration by Alex Ross

However, the new Zack Snyder reboot, MAN OF STEEL, is not your grandmother's Superman.  We are still a little less than two years away from the release of MAN OF STEEL, but that doesn't stop Warner Bros from releasing the first picture of Henry Cavill as the new Superman to get the the buzz going.

Bias: Comparing Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows and Transformers: Dark of The Moon

The Boy Who Lived Isn't Perfect!

About a month ago, the final entry in the Michael Bay's Transformers saga was released to the world, and as expected, people completely hated it.  Obviously, after the atrocity of TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN, critics especially had a reason to be skeptical whether the third chapter would be any good.  When it came out, the results were not so stellar.  Like Jonesy and I said, DARK OF THE MOON was a big disappointment of a movie, even though it got some brownie points for trying to reach a lot of higher than its predecessor.  From the get go, people were ready to pounce on this movie no matter how good it could have been.  And since I'm the one with a Decepticon tattoo, I can admit when things I like aren't that great.

Now with HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2, there was the culmination of over a decade and a generation's worth of people lining up to finish up the franchise. There was a lot of emotion going into these final parts. What I found interesting was the decision of having the last book be split into two for the purpose of putting as much of the book as director David Yates could and having the final battle be the most epic thing ever.  And yet, after I left the movie, I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed by the overall experience.

Then  I started really thinking about DEATHLY HALLOWS, and a few of the things began to bother me, especially during the Battle of Hogwarts sequences, and I realized they were the same issues I had with TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON. Yet the more I read around on the Internet, the more I saw people dismissing if not out right praising those same faults in DH while completely shitting on DOTM.  The point here is not to say necessarily that DOTM is a misunderstood movie, or that Harry Potter was worse, but more that it's interesting that the "fanboy/fangirl" aspect really clouds people's judgement.  A lot of people, who are better writers than myself, fall into this category, but I can admit when something I'm very fond of has major problems.


(Please know there are totes spoilers after the break.)

AMC Giving Trouble To Breaking Bad Producers

They want to mess with this guy?

It's amazing how quickly things can go to hell.  A year ago, the cable channel AMC was one of my favorites. They had Breaking Bad, the amazing show starring Bryan Cranston about a drug dealing chemistry teacher, they were coming out with The Walking Dead, a TV show about zombies, and they showed good movies even if they were awkwardly censored. Fast forward to today, where we have Walking Dead show runner Frank Darabont quitting the show, the new series The Killing had a critically despised first season, and now it looks like the last season of Breaking Bad might not even be coming back to the network due to budget issues

Thanks to LA Times, it has been reported that there have been issues with the network demanding the supposedly final fifth season be cut down to 6-8 episodes instead of the regular 13.  Representatives for the show have been shopping around the show to other networks should talks with the network fall through.  What really pisses me off is that the big reason for the budget cuts that are causing these issues is that Mad Men creator Matt Weiner got a really nice (i.e. expensive) deal to stay on with AMC with the show for an additional two season.

I obviously have issues with this.  Breaking Bad is a great show unlike many that we see even through this "Golden Age of Television", but I can't even think how a show that wants just one more season could be successful at another network.  And I can't think of anything more disappointing than this show not having a proper ending.  Either way, what it seems that we have here is AMC putting all of their eggs in one liquored up basket. Either way, with Darabont leaving supposedly because of these budget cuts, and this Breaking Bad business, I'm very worried for the future of both of these shows.  Stay tuned for more information, and let's hope that both parties come to an agreement that lets this show finish on a creative high without network politics messing with it. 

AMC's Breaking Bad airs every Sunday at 10 PM ET/ 9PM CT.
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There Better Be Some Funk Music In This: Lars Von Trier to direct NYMPHOMANIAC

Might be crazy but he's got swagger

Director Lars Von Trier's MELANCHOLIA has been one of the top movies I've been looking forward to.  Cannes shenanigans notwithstanding, it seems to be a fairly interesting drama about the end of the world, starring Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsborough.  Well, the movie has not yet gotten a wide release and we already started to hear about Von Trier's next movie that will shoot summer 2012; NYMPHOMANIAC courtesy of ScreenDaily.