Category: Movies

Academy Award Predictions

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Nominations for the 76th Academy Awards were announced today. Here are the nominees for the major categories and my predictions on who will win…

Best Picture: “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” / “Lost in Translation” / “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” / “Mystic River” / “Seabiscuit”
My prediction: Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Best Animated Feature: “Brother Bear” / “Finding Nemo” / “The Triplets of Belleville”
My prediction: Finding Nemo

Leading Actor: Johnny Depp in “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” / Ben Kingsley in “House of Sand and Fog” / Jude Law in “Cold Mountain”/ Bill Murray in “Lost in Translation” / Sean Penn in “Mystic River”
My prediction: Bill Murray

Leading Actress: Keisha Castle-Hughes in “Whale Rider” / Diane Keaton in “Something’s Gotta Give” / Samantha Morton in “In America” / Charlize Theron in “Monster” / Naomi Watts in “21 Grams”
My prediction: Charlize Theron

Directing: “City of God” Fernando Meirelles / “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” Peter Jackson / “Lost in Translation” Sofia Coppola / “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” Peter Weir / “Mystic River” Clint Eastwood
My prediction: Peter Jackson

Best Supporting Actor: Alec Baldwin “The Cooler” / Benicio Del Toro “21 Grams” / Djimon Hounsou “In America” / Tim Robbins “Mystic River” / Ken Watanabe “The Last Samurai”
My prediction: Tim Robbins

Best Supporting Actress: Shohreh Aghdashloo “House of Sand and Fog” / Patricia Clarkson “Pieces of April” / Marcia Gay Harden “Mystic River” / Holly Hunter “Thirteen” / Renée Zellweger “Cold Mountain”
My prediction: Renée Zellweger

Original Screenplay: The Barbarian Invasions” Denys Arcand / “Dirty Pretty Things” Steven Knight / “Finding Nemo” Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson and David Reynolds Original Story by Andrew Stanton / “In America” Jim Sheridan & Naomi Sheridan & Kirsten Sheridan / “Lost in Translation” Sofia Coppola
My prediction: Sofia Coppola

As I said, these are just my predictions and not in every case the person that I would like to see win. The Academy Awards will be presented on February 29th… tune in and find out who wins and how good of a guesser I really am!

Blade 3 Stock Rises

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Blade 3 Trinity has a 50-50 chance of being really good.

I say this partly because I didn’t care for Blade,  but loved Blade 2.  This will be the third director for the third movie.

At least Wesley Snipes keeps coming back. Chud.com has a couple of new pics from Blade 3.

After seeing the pics I think Blade 3‘s odds have risen to 55 – 45. ; )

Random Movie Thoughts 2004

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Here are some random thoughts on Movies Coming Out This Year…

  • “Alien vs Predator” could be like when the two baddest guys in school fought… it wasn’t pretty but ya just had to go watch.

  • “Catwoman” starring Halle Berry should have been a winner. The buzz on it is terrible and looking at her outfit you can see why.
  • “The Stepford Wives” doesn’t do much for me, but then again neither did the original. Maybe it will surprise me but I’m not counting on it.
  • M. Knight Shyamalan‘s “The Village” is getting a mixed reception so far, but it’s still early and Shyamalan‘s past track record is excellent. I hoping for really good things.
  • “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of…” –– I’ve yet to see the others, so this one is below my radar.
  • “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” is the movie I’m most anticipating at this point. [Well, except for “Shade”… and “The Chronicles of Riddick”]. This could be the surprise hit of the season.
  • “Collateral” teams Michael Mann and Tom Cruise. This should be excellent, but the story doesn’t thrill me… or maybe it’s the casting of Jamie Fox.
  • “I, Robot” has potential… Will Smith in a movie based on an Issac Assimov story directed by Alex [“Dark City” and “The Crow”] Proyas? Yeah, count me in.
  • “Kill Bill, Volume 2” is said to be more like the Tarantino of old. I’ll be there hoping that’s true.
  • “Troy” is hoping to live up to “Gladiator” [not to mention Homer’s “The IIiad”] and Brad Pitt is leading the way. Ya just gotta support the gladiator revivial. ; )
  • “Ladykillers” teams the Cohen Brothers and Tom Hanks. This one looks strange. Well, what’d ya expect?
  • “The Chronicles of Riddick” is the movie I’m most anticipating at this point [Well, except for “Shade”… and “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow“]. Hmmm… where have you heard that before.
  • “The Incredibles” is from Brad [“The Iron Giant”] Bird and Pixar. You just know it’s going to be fun.
  • “Starsky and Hutch” looks like fun, but I bet I’ll wait for a rental.
  • “Spider-Man 2” looks to be the box office champ. The buzz is even better than the first.
  • “The Manchurian Candidate” is an updating of the cold war thriller and stars Denzel Washington and Meryl Strepp. When was the last time I was looking forward to a Meryl Streep movie?
  • “Shrek 2” – I guess I should see the first one first.
  • “Alexander” -[Ya just gotta support the gladiator revivial. ; ) ] and this one stars Colin Farrell and is directed by Oliver Stone!
  • “King Arthur” – remember what I said about gladiator movies? Well, this one isn’t one!
  • “Dawn of the Dead” is a retelling of the George Romero classic. I’ll be there, but still wonder why Romero isn’t doing another…
  • “Hellboy” is the movie I’m most anticipating at this point [Well, except for “Shade”… and “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow“.. and… aw… nevermind…]
  • “Van Helsing” will be out soon. It has sooo much potential…. but then again so did Halle Berry in “Catwoman.”

The Rock Can Walk

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Ok, I admit it. I was wrong.

I thought that The Rock starring in a remake of Walking Tall was a bad idea.

The Rock was, pardon the expression, on a roll.

Think about it… great reviews for his small role in “The Mummy Returns.” Then a prequel about his character “The Scorpion King.” And then The Rock totally wows everyone with the very good and very underrated “The Rundown.”

But The Rock starring as a backwater sheriff who carries a two-by-four to fight Southern Mobsters?

No way that could work. Right? Wrong.

The trailer looks good and they’ve updated and changed the story to fit The Rock. And with his charisma, I think it’ll work.

Check out the trailer and let me know…

… am I wrong?

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.