Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Now that I’ve heard more about the storyline and have started to see production photos, I say, Bring it on!
This must be Riddick day… and here I thought it was just Wednesday!
Dark Horizons has posted up some shots from “The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury“, an all-new animated trip into the Riddick universe which will be released on dvd on June 15th!
[If you’re going to order on-line and use the link provided above the SZ gets a small percentage and it doesn’t raise your price!]
The trailer for The Chronicles of Riddick surprised me. I knew that Twohy and Diesel were going for something huge, but I still was surprised at the scope of their plans. I’ll admit I was a little worried, but more than willing to go along.
Now that advance reviews are coming in I really can’t wait to see this film. I think that we’re going to be in for the kind of surprises that Pitch Black gave us.
And that’s a very good thing.
The production company didn’t care at all for the footage turned in by original director Paul Schrader who had created “a creepy psychological thriller sans the gore.” So Renny Harlin was brought in to reshoot the entire movie. Harlin recast roles and went to work. Harlin‘s version will hit big screens later this year.
The cool thing is that fans will get to see both versions once the dvd is released. And I’ll be willing to bet that a good portion of fans will prefer the version that was never released to theaters!
The first is called Shaun of the Dead [gotta love that title!] which is a comedy from the UK. It looks like a lot of fun!
The second is called Undead. Man, I’m still not sure what to make of this one. I watched the trailer… and I’m still not sure what to make of this one…
I had an interest in the movie since Will Smith [Bad Boys II] seems to pick good projects [not counting Wild, Wild West of course], it’s based on the classic short story collection by Isaac Asimov, and being helmed by director Alex Proyas [Dark City, The Crow].
I really like the feel of this trailer. If the movie can match it we’re in for a great couple of hours.
One of the many movies that ZONErs have been looking forward to opens this week. That’s right, Hellboy comes blasting into theaters across the country this Friday.
Chud.com has a nice interview with Hellboy director, Guillermo Del Toro, who talks about changes he had to make to get Hellboy to the screen, why he sees Hellboy as an emotional teenager, and much more.
Ron Pearlman gets the interview treatment over at JoBlow.com. Pearlman talks about Guillermo, the hardships of playing Hellboy, what his next project will be and more.
If this movie is half as good as the comics, then we’re in for a real treat!
Alien vs Predator is one of those movies that sounds cool, but just as easily could turn out to be a dud.
Predator and Aliens are two of my all-time favorite sci-fi movies. I also really liked Alien, Alien Resurrection, and Predator 2, but couldn’t stand Alien 3.
I happy to say that the new stills posted over at Dark Horizons indicate that Alien vs Predator will at least look really cool… and that’s half the battle.
Dawn of the Dead has one of the best opening sequences that you could ask for. It stays true to the original, even giving a nod to one of it’s most talked about scenes, and yet clearly shows us, this ain’t your dad’s zombie movie.
Remaking Dawn of the Dead was a risk. Romero is considered the Zombie God for his trilogy and all three movies have a core following. When Night of the Living Dead was remade, it wasn’t greeted with open arms despite being a very good film. I’m happy to say that the remake is not only being critically praised [Entertainment Weekly‘s critic gave it an “A”], but kicking butt at the box office [coming in at #1]. And rightly so, since the new Dawn of the Dead is a very good film all the way around. Acting, screenplay and directing all hold up well.
Is it as good as the original Dawn of the Dead? Yeah. Maybe even better.
And make sure you sit through the credits…
Rating:
The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Gabriel Byrne and Brian Dennehy have joined stars Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne for the remake of John Carpenter’s “Assault on Precinct 13.”
The script has been changed slightly. It’s still set in a police precinct building that’s about to be shut down. Only now it’s New Year’s Eve, and a mobster (Fishburne) has been temporarily incarcerated there. As a rogue gang tries to free him, a cop (Hawke) must take command of a few policemen and prisoners to defend the station. Byrne plays a cop who has his own agenda, while Dennehy is a cop on the verge of retirement.
About a year ago I had the good fortune to attend a special screening of Equilibrium, written and directed by Kurt Wimmer. Mr. Wimmer was in the audience and took questions afterwards. One of the questions was about his next project.
Mr. Wimmer said it would be called “Ultrviolet,” and it would star Milla Jovovich. The story involves a woman who finds herself the protector of a boy targeted for death against the backdrop of a civil war between humans and vampires. Mila is a vampire! Behind the scenes
pics are available here.This is another project worth watching.
Man on Fire could turn out to be a really cool movie.Man on Fire stars Denzel Washington and is directed by Tony Scott. Denzel plays a the bodyguard who is shot and left for dead when his client, a child, is kidnapped. Denzel recovers and goes after the kidnappers.. doing what he does best. Killing anyone who gets in his way.
If the movie lives up to the latest trailer, we’re in for one fun ride.
When I first heard about the remake of Dawn of the Dead and that George Romero was not directing it, I was very disappointed. The I heard about that Ving Rhames was heading up the cast and the fact that it wouldn’t be a scene for scene remake and my interest picked up.
Now that the official Dawn of the Dead website is up and running, I can’t wait to see it.
Frank Miller‘s Sin City directed by Robert Rodriguez! Man, that news is just too good to be true. Frank Miller’s a genius. Daredevil... Ronin… The Dark Knight Returns… 300… and my personal favorite, his Sin City series.
Robert Rodriguez is the man behind El Mariachi, Desparado, Once Upon a Time in Mexico and the Spy Kids Series… 1, 2 and 3D.
Now Rodriguez is teaming with Miller to bring Sin City to the big screen. And when I say, “teaming,” I mean as co-directors.
According to Harry at Ain’t It Cool News the screenplay will pull from Sin City, That Yellow Bastard, The Big Fat Kill and possibly Booze, Broads & Bullets.
The only thing cooler than that is how Miller and Rodriguez got together.
After seeing “Kill Bill” I left disappointed. I felt that the hospital scene was excessively gross… even for a movie which thrived on excess and went down from there.
Yet, I will probably return to see the conclusion in Kill Bill 2.
I’ve heard that it is more like Tarantino‘s other films. I sure hope so.
Well… if it’s half as good as the latest advance poster, then I’ll leave happy.
[For a larger look, click HERE.]
