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Terrific Trailers: Miami Vice

Filed under: Action, Drama, Universal, Fandom, Remakes and Sequels, Trailers and Clips, Scenes We Love


Michael Mann's latest crime opus has already hit theaters, and like most of his devoted fans, I was there opening day. Granted, my desire to be first in line for Public Enemies mainly had to do with my preoccupation with pretty boys in nice suits, but trust me, there were some loftier ideals at work. One of the reasons I love Mann's films is that he finds new ways to tell relatively traditional stories...which brings me to Miami Vice. Vice definitely wasn't one of Mann's most popular films, but I always defend this flick, and here's why: growing up, I watched Miami Vice, and I might have loved it, but even at the tender age of 10 I knew it was kind of silly. I had always wondered what the series would have looked like if the show had a little less cheap humor about Crockett and his alligator and a little more 'dignity' -- fast forward to 2006, and that's exactly what Mann did.

Gone were the over the top white suits and wise cracks (I mean, thank god I didn't have to watch Colin Farrell yucking it up with 'Elvis'), and instead, Mann replaced them with a darker, meaner, and (dare I say it?) more realistic Miami Vice. But just because Mann brought Vice into the present, didn't mean that those traditional touches were gone, and the teaser was proof. That first trailer had it all -- the music perfectly timed with every shotgun pump, speedboats, helicopters, guns and hot girls...and you can't get more Miami Vice than that.

After the jump; the teaser and a reminder of Vice on the small screen..

Guinew Moon -- Piggy 'Twilight' Spoof

Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, Remakes and Sequels, Trailers and Clips

Did you watch the New Moon trailer and wonder if wolfy Jacob would've been any more scary if he could morph into a little guinea pig?

You may have noticed that little hairy beasts are fighting their way to the big screen later this month with G-Force. To help kick off the film, which opens on July 24, Electric Spoofaloo has been holding a contest. Viewers pitch ideas for spoof trailers featuring the little hairy beasts, they're voted on, and then the site makes the pitches come to life.

There's a faux Harry Potter that isn't all that funny, but Spoofaloo really hits the nail on the head with their take on the New Moon trailer (which you can see after the jump). It works so well that it seems like Stephanie Meyer's world was just destined for guineadom. There's the dramatic kiss, and then Bella's cataclysmic paper cut that sends her whole life into upheaval. (Whoever knew that paper could be so destructive? Good thing no one ever got one at school during the few years Jasper went to Forks High.)

From beginning to end, it's all there, right down to a ridiculously beefy guy filling in for Taylor Lautner and exploding into a guinea pig -- one that looks just as frightening as that big, fluffy wolf. How sad is it when your menacing animal can be easily replaced by a hand-held pet? I mean, I have a tendency to think lots of scary animals look cute, but that's the least menacing movie wolf I've ever seen!

Michael Bay Trashes Megan Fox, Talks 'Transformers 3' and 3D

Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels



Seems like a small war is starting to brew between Michael Bay and Megan Fox, after the latter said some unflattering things about Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, telling the Early Show recently that she still doesn't understand the movie and that it's apparently made for geniuses. Bay, of course, is not one to take criticism lightly -- especially from some girl who was nobody until he dropped her into the first Transformers movie.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal about the situation with Fox, he says, "Well, that's Megan Fox for you. She says some very ridiculous things because she's 23 years old and she still has a lot of growing to do. You roll your eyes when you see statements like that and think, "Okay Megan, you can do whatever you want. I got it." But I 100% disagree with her. Nick Cage wasn't a big actor when I cast him, nor was Ben Affleck before I put him in "Armageddon." Shia LaBeouf wasn't a big movie star before he did "Transformers"-and then he exploded. Not to mention Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, from "Bad Boys." Nobody in the world knew about Megan Fox until I found her and put her in "Transformers." I like to think that I've had some luck in building actors' careers with my films."

We shouldn't worry whether this war of words will hurt either person's involvement in a third Transformers movie because according to Bay that's not happening anytime soon. On a third Transformers film, he says, "I just want to take some time off. It's been almost three years that I've devoted myself entirely to this world of robots. At some point, enough is enough-and I literally carried this movie on my back. ... I don't know who [would] want to take on my shoes with this franchise. We might just take a year down."

Go, Stark Industries Racer, Go!

Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Paramount, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, Images



Here's a bit of geeky fun for your Fourth of July weekend. (And frankly, anything Jon Favreau is Re-Tweeting is worth posting.) Road and Track Magazine caught a spy photo of Tony Stark's stylish racecar sitting all by its lonesome on the Iron Man 2 set. The magazine reports that they've recreated the Grand Prix de Monaco on a very elaborate set that copies the Monaco circuit.

I know what you're thinking "A racecar? That's ok, I guess." It's not news that they did a scene set in Monaco either. But what you might have forgotten is that this is where Mickey Rourke's Whiplash makes his first appearence, undoubtedly shocking the wealthy racing fans with his prison tats, reactor whips, and overall terrifying demeanor. Also, Road and Track reveals a hint as to how that showdown gets underway, because with Tony Stark being the sort of dashing billionaire he is, he isn't just attending the race -- he's driving that very car in it. Something tells me it gets stopped by a big Russian ex-con ... and since this is Iron Man, the car probably explodes in the ensuing battle.

I know, it isn't much, but it's something to build on. San Diego ComicCon is only a few weeks away, and this dry spell of hints and glimpses will be forgotten.

Rodriguez Picks His 'Predators' Director

Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, 20th Century Fox, Remakes and Sequels

Lots of movie geeks (yes, like us) have been abuzz with the vague discussions regarding the Predator remake / reboot / sequel / whatever. All we really knew was that the generally kick-ass Robert Rodriguez was on board to oversee, as the producer, but now we have confirmation have Robert's good pal that the director has been named. And that name ... is Nimrod.

Nimrod Antal, to be precise, who fest-goers will know from Kontroll and thriller fans will recall from Vacancy. Harry's got a whole bunch of cool info on the project right here, but I've chosen a small segment that makes me particularly happy: "It involves a very intense group of people stranded on a Predator planet discovering unspeakable horrors." Yes! Plus Mr. Rodriguez shares some enthusiasm from a Fox colleague: "No one is going to talk about AVP again after this movie. I stake my life on it."

Hell, just give us a knock-down, drag-out Predator fest with a few meaty characters, a whole lot of action, and maybe a few storytelling hooks. That'll make a whole lot of people happy. Speaking only for myself, heck, I thought both of Antal's films were darn good, so I've no reason to doubt RR's call on this one!

Matt Reeves Talks 'Let The Right One In' Remake

Filed under: Foreign Language, Horror, Casting, Deals, Scripts, Remakes and Sequels

As much as I enjoyed the shaky-cam mayhem of Cloverfield, I'm pretty bummed about the idea of Matt Reeves helming a remake of the 2008 vampire film, Let the Right One In. Even before the original film had hit theaters stateside, there were deals in place for Reeves to remake the film for U.S. audiences -- and that's what has me worried. Whenever something is remade for North America, what it usually means is that a little 'sanitation' is in order. For better or for worse, audiences tend to react badly to seeing children in a decidedly non-childlike way, and that's what made The Right One so memorable. But I guess I better get used to the idea, because Reeves recently told the L.A. Times that he's been scouting locations and that a second draft of the script has already been completed and now has the new title, Let Me In.

Let the Right One In was the story of Oskar, a young boy living in the suburbs of Sweden who begins a friendship with a vampire child named Eli who has moved in next door. For Reeves' remake, he's kept the time period in the 80's, but relocated the story to Regan-era Colorado. Most importantly, he's promised that he won't be making his Oskar and Eli any older in an attempt to appeal to the 'Twilight Crowd', and the success of his remake will all come down to who Reeves casts for his two leads. The director has already started working with Avy Kaufman to try and find the perfect cast, and luckily, Kaufman has experience when it comes to casting 'creepy kids', having been the casting director for The Sixth Sense and The Ice Storm.

After the jump: the original film's director and screenwriter give their two cents...

Guy Pearce Tells Katie Holmes 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark'

Filed under: Horror, Independent, Thrillers, Casting, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels, Miramax

Guy Pearce just doesn't do enough movies for my liking. It's not as though he's vanished, but he seems to maintain a fairly low profile every time he blows everyone away with a big, meaty part like L.A. Confidential or Memento. But he has a lot of great projects coming up (the most exciting of which has to be The Road), and he's added a very intriguing one to his slate: the remake of 1973's telepic Don't Be Afraid of the Dark.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Pearce and Bailee Madison have joined Katie Holmes in Troy Nixey's remake. It's a fairly loose adaptation of the 1973 original, which was centered around a couple, Sally and Alex, who inherited an old mansion from Sally's grandmother. Sally accidentally uncovers a hellish portal that allows a bunch of demons to escape and wreck bloody havoc. Naturally, no one believes her, and is convinced she's having a nervous breakdown thanks to all that home repair. Because it was the 1970s, it didn't even end well for Sally who just wanted a new fireplace. For those tired of seeing "remake" tacked onto everything, and for fans of the original, you'll be happy to know that the new Dark isn't so much a remake as a story "inspired by" those demonic creatures of old.

Check out the rest of the story at The Horror Squad

'American Werewolf in London' Will Howl at Moon Again

Filed under: Comedy, Horror, Deals, Remakes and Sequels

It looks like wolves won't be sharing the spotlight with vampires much longer. While our moon-led friends pop up in the likes of Underworld and the upcoming New Moon, a werewolf frenzy has taken over Hollywood, and there are no signs of it stopping, and no corner it won't touch. Less than two weeks after Teen Wolf was set to get the remake treatment, The Hollywood Reporter posts that Dimension Films is looking to remake John Landis' An American Werewolf in London. (Confirming a tip from Bloody Disgusting on Sunday.) Because apparently, no one is interested in making a new wolfy story.

This whole plan is still in the early stages, but per usual remake plans, Dimension wants "to make an elevated genre picture that will keep the fun comedy elements of the original as it seeks to be relevant to contemporary audiences." Relevant how? The wolf loves a girl in love with a vamp, and then finds an uber-creepy way to stay in her life?

Most remakes bring, at best, apprehension, but I really wish companies would stop with the cult classics. Or, at the very least, not all foam at the mouth to remake them. Dramas, action, horror -- these genres can often get remade well, because most of the success relies on quality and craft. But comedy and cult? It's as much about the time and place as it is about the talent involved.

Fine. Take our excellent Landis wolves and remake them. Make them "relevant." But whatever is done, I bet it won't be a cult classic, nor worthy of the name An American Werewolf in London.


Watch Cinematical's Todd Gilchrist Debate Devin Faraci On G4!

Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Paramount, Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, Summer Movies, Trailers and Clips



Optimus Prime's entire life has been leading up to this moment ... no, none of that Revenge of the Fallen stuff, but having Devin Faraci and Todd Gilchrist debate his latest installment on G4's Attack of the Show. Michael Bay's latest robotgasm has been at the center of a lot of debate and controversy all over this great Internet, and while CNN may ignore this crisis of fandom, G4 is right there to report on it.

As you know from hanging around Cinematical, Gilchrist liked the film (and was quoted by Roger Ebert in his review). Faraci hated the film, and was one of the first to really call foul on the racist robots with his scathing Little Black Sambots piece. I know from reading the comments pouring into our 1-10 poll that our readers are divided right down the middle on the film's quality and whether or not its employing questionable racist stereotypes. Therefore, you may pick one of these men as your champion, and decide who (if either) comes out victorious, before realizing Transformers' massive gross doesn't care what you think.

Watch the video after the jump

Monday Night Poll: Why Did You See 'Transformers 2'?

Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Paramount, Fandom, Dreamworks, Movie Marketing, Remakes and Sequels, Polls

Megan Fox in 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'The numbers are in. Moviegoers worldwide voted with their hard-earned dollars (and euros and other monetary currencies) and elected to go see Michael Bay's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Box office receipts placed the sequel at the top of this year's heap o' blockbusters, and by the time all is said and done, the film could rank among the top box office earners of all time. But why did so many people go buy tickets? Why did you?

As pointed out by Eugene Novikov, Transformers 2 "received the most hysterically negative reviews of 2009." Only 21% of reviews by critics at Rotten Tomatoes were positive. (Surprisingly, it fared better at the pickier MetaCritic, with 36% positive.) Eugene acknowledged that it's the kind of movie that defines "critic-proof." So, obviously, critical opinion had no bearing on the box office. Why did this movie hit so big? In his analysis, industry observer David Poland felt that producer Don Murphy and director Michael Bay should be celebrated, the former "for truly believing in this concept being a big home run" and the latter "for understanding the images that will draw massive numbers of people based on 2 minutes or less of images." So was it all about the concept and the trailers?

Marketing obviously plays a huge role in determining how a movie opens, as does, to a somewhat lesser extent, the cast and director. But what was it about Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen that pushed your button(s), elevating it to "must see" status? Take our poll and let us know!

Why did you see 'Transfomers 2'?

 

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