There's a scene in the movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice where Batman and Superman duel high above the ground. Batman is clinging to the side of a building while Superman is flying straight at him, eyes blazing with a blast of heat vision. Batman swings and with the use of his Bat harpoon gun, avoids getting fried.
The scene is quick but it's in the trailer and for the fans of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns graphic novels, it should be familiar because if you freeze the frame wherein Batman hangs by one hand while holding the harpoon gun in the other, the still actually reflects the pose of Batman on the cover of the graphic novel on which the movie is based on.
The images speak for themselves. There are of course, slight differences, but the layout and the all the other visual elements, down to the similarity of the cabling and the lightning on the cover, undeniably point to that particular scene as a nod to the cover artists' (penciler-inker Frank Miller and colorist Lynn Varley) work.
A scene from Star Wars: The Force Awakens with a desert backdrop that looks like the flank of Mt. Sharp on Mars.
Science-fiction movies are getting closer to reality. In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, panoramic scenes on a desert planet similar to Tatooine seems to have been designed taking into account photos taken by NASA's rovers on the surface of Mars, specifically images of Mt. Sharp in Gale Crater where the Mars Science Lab, Curiosity has been doing science work, allowing people on Earth to see what it's like on another planet. You can compare the scene from the movie above where there's a fallen Star Destoryer, to the actual photo of Mt. Sharp on Mars below and you will see similar visual elements. The sunset photo at the bottom was taken by the rover Spirit on another part of Mars. See how the hue of the atmosphere is similar to what's depicted in the scene.
The flank of Mt. Sharp as photographed by the rover Curiosity on Mars (color-corrected for Earthling eyes).
The artists behind the planet backdrop of Tatooine did, and are, doing a good job in depicting what could possibly be the actual look of Tatooine from the surface, taking cues from the environs of Mars. With the help of actual photos from the surface of the red planet, Tatooine becomes more real and plausible. So, what the filmmakers need to do now is find photos of planets to match the environments of the planets Dagobah, Hoth, and Endor.
An actual sunset on Mars as taken by the rover, Spirit. See how the blue hues match what's in the Star Wars scene?
There's a movie called Sanctum executive-produced by James Cameron, that promises to play your deepest fears. It's about getting trapped in the belly of the earth surrounded by suffocating cold water. Sanctum is a movie about explorers - cave divers to be exact - who go on an expedition into the deepest and most inaccessible cave system in the world (can't have it any less). The opening if this fictional cave is huge and goes straight down. Base divers jump off the edge and into the darkness below just for kicks. But there's more to this cave that goes deeper into the earth, where a labyrinth of tunnels and caverns awe the imagination and earn the respect of the most experienced explorers!
The story of Sanctum is pretty simple, and the usual group of people who end up forced to make life-saving decisions and sacrifices is used. Of course, some of the members of this group will die with the last few getting into a conflict that brings out the worst (or the best) in them. Usually in such movies, at least one of the characters will opt for self-preservation and abandon the group. But since this post is not about story spoilers, you better just watch the movie.
As a movie about extreme adventure, Sanctum is a must-see movie because it will take you to a place few people get to experience. It can be expected to be visually grand and breathtaking. It's being filmed in 3D is perhaps one good reason in itself to see this film. There's actually a real cave similar to the one shown in Sanctum. It's called the Cave of Swallows (left) and has the world's deepest cave shaft. It's so deep the whole of the Empire State Building can be slid inside easily. It's found in the middle of a rain forest in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. You'd think that the producers of Sanctum would shoot inside this cave, but they wanted it to be easy, so they made cave sets at Warner Roadshow Studios with one making use of Warner's $2.1 water tank.
Sanctum, set in Papua New Guinea, is actually based on a true-to-life story that involved the film's producer and writer Andrew Wight, who was trapped with fourteen other people after the exit to a submerged cave system in the Nullarboor Plain of Australia, collapsed during a storm. A documentary of that event was made and now that drama has become the basis for this feature film, Sanctum. Wight has worked with friend Cameron before in Ghosts of the Abyss.
There's this movie called Splice which stars Adrien Brody. The movie explores the possibilities in genetics technology, particularly how genes from one life-form can be transferred or combined with genes from another to create hybrid plants and animals that have characteristics unknown before on Earth. Such ideas of combining animal and plants together in a human body has been explored before in horror/science-fiction films of the past. In ancient history, there's the Chimera which is a creature with the features of different animals combined. In genetics, the term chimera refers to the manifestation of two or more different populations of genetically distinct cells that come from different zygotes.
Characters in movies have been changed into plants, snakes, etc. before. but it's only now that the once-fictional idea is a possibility. Yes, genetics science has inserted genes into plants and animals to produce something new like glowing tobacco plants and fast-growing fish. The technology can be helpful especially in food production, but it's something that you as a person won't like to experience. It's really horrible to think that you can get animal or plant characteristics. But what if you were born as a hybrid with genes form different lifeforms? This is what Splice is all about.
The idea in Splice isn't really new with the story premise already used in movies like Species, but it can still be disturbingly entertaining. It's not so much about the horror but more to do with what an innocent being, Dren (played by Delphine Chaneac), must face in world that does not accept it and where it must exercise it's natural tendencies and urges borne of it's genetic makeup. Oh, the problems Adrien Brody's character faces in the movie!
The Expendables ensemble action movie from Sylvester Stallone features a number of old actions stars past and present. Based on the response from screenings, it's expected to be a big hit. After problems with casting, story rewrites, and a neck injury sustained from a mock fight, Stallone is ready to rake in the dollars this year. Promotion for The Expendables has been steady but rising.
This is the poster of The Expendables. It's full of guns and knives and the skull in the middle is kind of reminiscent of art from a Guns N' Roses album. But there's no rose in the expendables, at least not the flower that you would expect, the closest thing to a rose there is actress Giselle Itié of Mexico.
Here's another one from Robert Rodriguez! It's a spin-off from a bogus Grindhouse trailer and inspired by powerful characters in his previous movies like Desperado. It stars Danny Trejo as the lead character who we've seen before in other character incarnations with knives under his coat. In this movie, he carries machetes - lots of them! They're big, too! We can only imagine what he's going to use them for.
Machete also stars Jessica Alba who plays Sartana. She gives the estrogen in this movie opposite the testosterone of craggy-faced Trejo. But with that gin in her hand, she might as well give the adrenaline. This movie is all Rodriguez as we remember how his early movies were. Like Desperado, this one makes the best of Latin American culture, imagery, and sensuality, which can only be described as hot as salsa. It should be deliciously addictive.
There's a new Wolfman in town and his name is Benicio del Toro (left). This versatile actor slips into the shoes of the original 1940s Wolf Man, Lon Chaney Jr, giving the character a more rugged and deeply disturbing look. Since the 1981 movie An American Werewolf in London, there has never been a wolfman movie that actually bites into the consciousness of the viewers - well, there's the Gingersnaps series, but then when audiences have seen too many werewolves, they all start to look the same and the horrid idea of changing into an animal loses its... well... horror.
Now, director Joe Johnston and Benicio del Toro team up to make a remake of the original "The Wolfman" werewolf movie to do a fresh take and to deeply bite into your primordial fear of losing your humanity to something more savage. This version also stars Sir Anthony Hopkins as Sir John Talbot, who horror fans know as Van Helsing in Dracula. He's a logical choice for The Wolfman as his craggly looks and cracked voice lend life to a lost era when superstition was the norm.
Audiences will be treated to more bone-wrenching special effects that will leave some cringing as del Toro's character, Lawrence Talbot, changes into a wolf. Special effects wizards never seem to lose ideas to show how a man changes into a wolf. In this new wolfman movie, you will see del Toro's face extend into one of a canine's and hands that twist and contort into manners that will rival Mister Spock's "live long and prosper" hand greeting. The Wolfman 2010 also stars Emily Blunt as Gwen Conliffe (left).
This is The Wolfman, and how actor Benicio del Toro would look if he's turned into a wolf. It's perfect for your bookshelf at 12-inches and with 13 points of articulation! Click here or on the image to place your order.
Spider-Man 4 may not turn out the way we expect it, starring our old favorite Peter Parker, Tobey Maguire. After issues with the script and story were thought to have been resolved, Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios announced that it will be doing a revamp of Spider-Man, opting to make a prequel (kind of) film instead that focuses on Spider-Man in high school. Think Smallville and you have an idea on what to expect - Parker would be going about his superhero deeds without the costume.
The director of the trilogy, Sam Raimi (above) won't be on board for this one as well as Tobey Maguire (left), who earlier announced that he was happy with the way things were going with the preproduction talks. But that was getting ahead of the executives. The real reason for the new Spider-Man isn't clear but the other Marvel movie, Thor, came up and it may be because this Marvel hero movie's release date coincides with what was planned with Spider-Man 4, although that does not seem to be a good enough reason for a revamp.
Thor also had production problems with actor Stuart Townsend calling it quits after creative differences arose. Joshua Dallas replaced him as Thor's ally. News about the Spider-Man reboot will come out soon, according to producers. The first thing fans would like to know is who will be cast as the young Spider-Man.
Tobey Maguire may not be Spider-Man anymore in the fourth Spider-Man movie, but you know that he will still be Spider-Man for a lot of fans for many years to come! So, why not just get this Original Minicell Special Edition of Maguire as Peter Parker looking out the window to an uncertain future from Spider-Man 2 for your collection. Click here or on the image to buy! Cheap Visitors is for your web business. Read more and register today!
Vanessa Redgrave (above, on the set of Letters to juliet) is a veteran actress and is one who we should see more of in movies with her return after a hiatus following the passing away of her daughter Natasha Richardson. In Letters to Juliet, Redgrave returns as a grandmother who goes on a quest to find a love she left behind as a young woman back in 1957.
A letter Redgrave's character had written and hidden in the Romeo and Juliet lovers' wall in Verona, Italy is found by Amanda Seyfried's character who goes out of her way to find her, leaving her boyfriend behind. In her journey, she befriends the old lady and falls in love with her grandson. In the end, the two girls of different generations discover what they had been searching for. It's a happy movie that will make you leave with a smile on your face and more romance in your heart.
Redgrave certainly played her part well in the movie as a woman taking a tentative dip into her past - a move that is triggered in the story by the appearance of Seyfried's young woman. The writers, Jose Rivera and Tim Sullivan, made the story like the fates worked together to find a way for the two women to meet and allow them to go on a journey to find what's missing in their respective lives.
Redgrave's role in this movie is a comeback of sorts and we can bet that she will become a more common sight in more movies to come. There are roles for senior actresses that only a few can fill and Redgrave is one veteran who can certainly fill roles like those brought to life by other actresses like Maggie Smith of the Harry Potter series.
Do you remember the first Prince of Persia video games? The first one (Prince of Persia) came out in 1989 and was developed by Broderbund for the Apple II. Prince of Persia 2: Shadow of the Flame came out in 1994, also by Broderbund.
In 2003, Ubisoft took over production and came up with Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Prince of Persia: The Warrior Within. The pervious one is where the prince takes a new look. From the turban-wearing figure, he became a more real character rendered in 3D. The character-rendition for The Warrior Within took criticism for making the prince too heavy metal.
The original Prince of Persia was created by Jordan Mechner, who was inspired by scenes in George Lucas's Raiders of the Lost Ark. That's the reason why there are lots of caverns, traps, and jumping in the game. Instead of a whip, though, the prince uses a sword. Mechner used rotoscoping to match the actual movements of his younger brother who he asked to perform the actions the prince has to do in the game. That is why the prince's animation in the original game is so smooth and realistic.
Prince of Persia came out on many platforms, including DOS, Amiga, Atari, and SNES, among the early ones. The 3D versions work in the X-Box. With new motion-capture technology, the game may soon use the player's own body movements to make the prince jump, crawl, dangle, and do all manner of acrobatics in the game. The later versions of the franchise give a new look to the prince, who used to wear a turban, a vest, and loose "Sindbad" trousers. He didn't really have a face in the game. Now, he's done away with the turban, sports straight, cropped hair, and has a goatee. He's the epitome of the ancient Middle-Eastern swashbuckler.
There's a good future for the Prince of Persia franchise and now there's a movie based on the game using the character design of the 3D versions. The movie, The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan. He partners with a rival princess Tamina (played by Gemma Arterton) to stop an evil vizier from unleashing the power of the sands of time and dominate or destroy the world. The quest is a tough one and the prince also has to deal with the princess who's more than a handful.
If you've played Prince of Persia before, you definitely have to watch this movie. It's from Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer, so it has to be just as good, and maybe even bette,r than Pirates of the Caribbean.
Who would have thought that former wrestler turned bankable actor Dwayne Johnson would star with veteran actress Julie Andrews? They're from two different worlds and appear in contrasting movies. We can't expect to see Andrews in The Scorpion King and we can't imagine Johnson to be in Princess Diaries. But as fate would have it, they are now in the same movie which makes good use of Johnson's spectator sports background and Andrews's appeal as a star of musicals with fancy costumes.
In the comedy movie, Tooth Fairy, Johnson get's in touch with his less masculine side as a tooth fairy with Andrews serving as his superior. It's his punishment for being a scrooge and he has to learn how to be a tooth fairy and a better person at the same time. Only problem is that he's a misfit as a tooth fairy and practically misuses his fairy powers. How that would sit with Andrews's character remains to be seen in the movie, but it's likely Johnson's tooth fairy will have to act on his own to redeem himself and right what he did wrong. Click here to read about an sfx effects blooper in Tooth Fairy.
Solomon Kane is a hero brought to comics life by the same man who created Conan the Barbarian in the early part of the 20th century. The writer is Robert E. Howard, a genius of the 1920s and 30s who was ahead of his time like H.G. Wells was when it came to fantastic ideas. But while Wells carved a niche in science-fiction, Howard's made a name with fantasy characters that were said to have given birth to the sword and sorcery genre. In fact, he's been compared to J.R.R. Tolkien, creator of the Lord of the Rings stories.
Anyway, back to Kane. This pulp-fiction magazine/comic book character is a loner in the 16th century who basically lives to banish and destroy evil wherever he goes - basically Europe and Africa and anywhere in between. You can consider him to be the undertaker of evil. Howard gave him a mentor and friend, an African shaman who gives him a mystical staff that turns out to be the staff of Solomon. He uses this as a weapon along with his two pistols - an unlikely combination of spiritual and modern tools, but Howard made it work in his stories.
Way back in those pre-World War 2 days, Howard gave Kane a dark profile with a look that's mysterious with a black cloak and wide-brimmed hat. The character's depiction in the movie reminds us of Hugh Jackman's Van Helsing (left). Some fans say the Van Helsing look was "inspired" by Howard's idea. It is a fact that the Solomon Kane "look" was envisioned well before the young costume designers of the Van Helsing movie were even born. Nevertheless, Solomon Kane still remainds us of Van Helsing.
Solomon Kane is directed by Michael J. Bassett with James Purefoy playing the lead character. It also stars Rachel Hurd-Wood who we've seen in other period films.
Before Solomon Kane was a movie, it was in the Weird Tales magazine. Here is a Dark Horse graphic novel which takes you to the good old days of pulp-fiction. It's got bonus stories of Conan the Barbarian and more! It's definitely a Robert E. Howard collectors' item! Click here or on the image above to place your order now.
There's never a dearth of vampire movies. They just keep coming out and it's likely it's never going to end. Since the old-fashioned Christopher Lee movies, viewers have become harder and harder to please and the younger generation are always looking for something new. There's not much viewers can do about the classic tale of Dracula, so what filmmakers do is present it in a fresh light and in a different genre. In Transylmania, it's another comedy that sort of follows the footsteps of Mel Brooks's Dead and Loving It starring Leslie Neilsen.
Transylmania takes a group of college kids (it's usually teenagers, you know) into a school semester for an exposure trip to Romania. The picture-perfect holiday suddenly turns less rosy as the darkly hilarious presence of an undead vampire reveals itself. Usually, if the movie is a serious horror picture, the youngsters would be picked off one by one (especially those who "misbehave") until only a handful remain alive. In Transylmania, it's never going to be serious because it's a comedy from start to finish.
You don't need to see any critic's film review of this one. You just need to watch it and try to enjoy it. Guys would like to see this one just for Jennifer Lyons (top) who plays Lynn, the same name given to her in her role in Dorm Daze. The girl in leather (at left) is Musetta Vander who starred in the Hamm Stroker's Suck My Blood "episode" of the Son of the Beach tv series and Mortal Kombat.
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