Category: Movies

Even Another New Dawn

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If you’re excited about the re-make of “Dawn of the Dead, you’re really going to love this…

Steve Niles [30 Days of Night] and Chee [Wake the Dead] are teaming up for a three issue comic adaptation of the original “Dawn of the Dead” to be released in April.

Niles says the only liberties that he’s taking will be where the film makers were hampered by budget constraints.

Niles said that when he was asked about doing the adaptation, there was no trepidation. “I’m so excited that I’ve been asked to do this. This was such an important movie in my life.”

If you’re a fan of Niles‘ comics and novels, then you know that’s true… and will serve to make the adaptation even better.  The the “Dawn of the Dead” mini-series starts in April.

A New Dawn

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One of my all-time favorite movies is George Romero‘s “Night of the Living Dead.”

In fact I enjoyed all his “… of the Dead” series [“Dawn of the Dead” “Day of the Dead”], including the remake of “Night of the Living Dead” that he didn’t direct.

While none were near the classic level of the first, they were all still a lot of fun.

That’s why I’m looking forward to the “Dawn of the Dead” remake starring Ving Rhames. The trailer was pretty cool and the poster is as well. And I’m thinking that while it may not be a classic, I’ll bet it’s a lot of fun.

"Must See" DVD

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Alright, since we’ve looked at the theatrical releases for 2004, why not take a look at dvds coming out in January?

The collector’s edition for Alien Resurrection finally makes its premiere and will find a home in my collection. I’ll also be picking up The Wind and the Lion with a director’s commentary by John Millius and down the road I’ll add The Shield‘s second season, Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Since I didn’t catch them on their theatrical releases, I’ll rent Out of Time, Open Range and House of the Dead before deciding if they’ll make their way into my collection.

January 2004 looks to be a good month for dvd collectors… and who knows what the other 11 months will add? You will if you keep reading the ZONE!

Must-See Movies 2004

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As the first day of 2004 winds down I find myself looking at what new movies the year will bring.

January has three potentially fun movies Torque, Mindhunters and The Butterfly Effect. None of these are on my “must-see” list, but all look like an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours.

In February there’s only two movies that may draw me out, and they are Kill Bill Vol. 2 and The Passion of Christ. It’s pretty strange that these would open in the same month and that they’d both make my list, since they’re on opposite ends of the spectrum. I’m really hoping for great things for Mel Gibson and The Passion.

Dawn of the Dead, and The Ladykillers will fight it out in March. My nod, at this point is to see the zombies first.

Shade is set to open sometime in the Spring and you just know I’ll be there on opening day! The buzz has been very positive on this one, so I hope that its given an opportunity to live up to the hype.

Hellboy premieres the first week of April and I plan to see it that weekend. Another movie based on a comic, The Punisher, opens later that month, but the buzz on it isn’t nearly as good… still one can hope. The Alamo might be a winner… at least it has a better chance than the real folks who fought there. The movie to beat in April, at least at this point, is probably Man on Fire. The buzz on this one is, pardon the expression, hot.

May gets us ready for the big summer films, so it’s approrpriate that both Van Helsing and Troy open. Both of these could be huge. As could The Day After Tomorrow.

June has just one must-see movie for me and that is The Riddick Chronicles. Oh, how I hope this lives up to Pitch Black!

July has the fireworks and Spider-Man Two [which by all accounts is even much better than the first!], I, Robot, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Village. Spider-Man 2 should bust all kinds of box office records.

August has the title match of the century [at least until Rocky returns to the ring] with Aliens vs Predator. Blade: Trinity opens and I’m hoping for it to be more like Blade 2 than Blade.

There’s no definite release date yet for Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, but I can tell you that I plan to see it the opening weekend whenever it premieres.

Things really slow down in September — there’s nothing at this point on my list!

October is only a little better with Michael Mann and Tom Cruise teaming up for Collateral.

Things pick up again with two movies in November. Oliver Stone directs Colin Farrell in Alexander. Brad Bird’s The Incredibles also premieres.

December finds Oceans Twelve, The Aviator, and Meet the Fockers all competing for our viewing dollars.

With all of these movies coming out… I’d better get some rest. It looks to be a busy year.

Do I Have Your Confidence

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I finally got a chance to see “Confidence” which is directed by James Foley and stars Edward Burns, Rachael Weisz, Morris Chestnut, Luis Guzmán, DustinHoffman, Andy Garcia, and Robert Forrester.

“Confidence” is the story of some mid-level grifters who accidently rip-off a mobster. When they discover their mistake, he’s already on to them. Their only hope is to get him his money back by pulling off a major scam under the watchful eye of the police, the mobster, and a special agent hot on their trail.

Doug Jung‘s excellent script is full of twists and everything in this movie worked for me; the direction, the acting, the music, the cinematography… everything. Special mention should be given to Dustin Hoffman — he’s just perfect in his role as the mobster who was swindled and Rachael Weisz — she’s perfect for her role as well and has never looked more attractive.

You ought to check out this film. It’s really good. Trust me, I wouldn’t con you.

“Confidence” rates an A

Art of Hellboy

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As most of you know, I’m a big fan of Mike Mignola‘s Hellboy. The comics, novels and short stories [including the spinoffs] and even the calendar are all above average to excellent each time out.

Despite Big Beatty‘s complaints about Hellboy‘s voice, I’m really looking forward to the movie as well. Mignola has had a hand in almost every aspect of getting it to the big screen. Guillermo del Toro [“Blade II,” which I loved] is directing and he and Mignola seem in sync. They’ve got Ron Perlman [their first choice] as Hellboy…

So what could make the anticipation for “Hellboy” the movie even greater?

How ’bout a Hellboy: the Art of the Movie hardback for less than eighteen bucks?

Mindhunters

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Renny Harlin is one of those directors that fans either love or hate.

Val Kilmer seems to get a similar reaction from fans for his acting.

Combine the two of them and throw in LL Cool J, Christian Slater, and a screenpay about eight FBI profilers stranded on an island with a serial killer…

And we end up with a movie called “Manhunters” … one that fans will either love or hate. [And for the record… I don’t love the poster, but did enjoy the trailer.

 

Denzel is on Fire

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“Man on Fire” looks to be a winner. Denzel Washington stars as an ex-government operative who reluctantly agrees to bodyguard a child. When she’s abducted, his rage is unleashed on those responsible…

Works for me… especially since the screenplay was written by Brian Helgeland [“Mystic River,” “Payback,” “L.A. Confidential“], directed by Tony Scott [“Revenge,” “The Last Boy Scout,” “True Romance“] and co-stars Mickey Rourke and Christopher Walken. Check out the trailer and let me know what you think.

Keep An Eye Out

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Every now and again a movie will sneak up on me.

I just discovered the “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”. Check out the trailer and I’ll bet you’ll agree – this movie looks to be a cross between the old Fleischer Superman cartoons, The Iron Giant, The Shadow, The Rocketeer and all of those old movie serials that Bill Black loves!

The movie is written and directed by Kerry Conran [the name’s new to me] and stars Jude Law as the Sky Captain, Gwyneth Paltrow as reporter Polly Perkins, Angelina Jolie as the eyepatch wearing Capt. Franky Cook, and Giovanni Ribisi as Dex.

I’m, let’s hope Angelina Jolie will excuse the phrase, keeping my eye out for more info on the film and will post it as I get it!

That Kind of Scary

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Most of the you regular ZONE readers know that I love a good MONSTER movie. Obviously the key to a great monster movie is, well, a great monster. The really cool monsters are the ones that scare the crap out of ya before they actually get their paws, claws, or mitts on you.

The creatures from “The Lord of the Rings” movies are that kind of scary.

Maxim Goes to the Movies

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If you love movies, then you owe it to yourself to try and find tthe latest issue of Maxim Goes to the Movies, which is on newstands now.  I picked up a copy and enjoyed nearly every article in it

It features a nice interview with Billy Bob Thorton, a sneak peak at “Spider-Man 2,” pieces on the new “Starsky and Hutch,” “Big Fish,” “Paycheck,” “The Alamo,” interviews with Uma Thurman and Quentin Tarantino about “Kill Bill Volume II;” “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King,” a Michael Madsen interview, a long “Hellboy” preview, and so much more.
Why are you still reading this? Go out and get the magazine… you won’t believe how good it is!

QT Has a Plan

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Michael Madsen is one of those under-rated actors who makes a movie better every time he shows up. For nearly a decade fans have hoped that Madsen, Quentin Tarantino and John Travolta would get together and make “The Vega Brothers” based on their characters from “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction.“
As the years passed the project seemed doomed to never happen. Although Madsen says that Tarantino has a plan that could make it work…

Riddick Returns!

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One of the movies coming out next year, that I’m really looking forward to, is “The Riddick Chronicles.” This sequel to “Pitch Black” [a movie that I loved] reteams Rob Cohen and Vin Diesel.Riddick is a role that Diesel was born to play and I have high hopes for the proposed trilogy. Unfortunately the movie doesn’t open until next year… still there’s the trailer coming out Monday and several cool things happening before the movie is released!