Harry Potter Trailer Arrives!

Easily the darkest Harry Potter we’ve ever seen, the most epic as well.

This is the final instalment of the Harry Potter franchise, and unlike its predecessors this one will pack more expelliarmus than it does quidditch.  

In this instalment Harry and Voldermort finally come to the death match what they have been destined for ever since the fateful night Harry was scarred and Voldermort was vanquished.

Many die, some live, we see things we’ve not seen before.  Also, you see Ron being a bad-ass and Voldermort with incredible PA system.  But this knowledge is from the books alone and may not transpire to the film itself.

Boil the kettle, get some biscuits, enjoy this mighty trailer!

Ben Doran

Arnold Schwarzenegger will be in Terminator- its official he’s back.

Have we not suffered enough?  Did the Governator cartoon in production not wet enough whistles to keep the t-500s at bay?  Is this James Cameron mocking us, grinning in the background saying ‘you need me for this, don’t you?’  Well thanks very bloody much.

But at least we can see the original terminator back in action, but the problem is Arny is now in is f-ing 60s.  He’s old.  He’s in peak condition but dammit it just isn’t cool to watch an OAP ex-governor of California go around shooting people up with sawn-off shotguns and riding round on Harleys. Wait a minute what the feck am I saying?  It’s the most god damn coolest thing this side of planet Earth!  Yeah baby.

The problem about all of this is of course how they plan on dealing with the series.  With Arny back it could mean that they can use him as a catalyst to finally bring the current saga to an end.  We already know judgement day hasn’t come so maybe it’s time to start a new judgement day and let Arny and the army of t-500s win or lose.  

In the third film they made Arny look younger with CGI, and the likely scenario will be that they’ll do the same this time around too.  The possibility of this completely breathing new life into an already beaten to death brand is nill however.  Without James Cameron, the original director and creator of the series it’s essentially a name what is there to reinvigorate another name what will put bums in seats.  

Arny is old now too, and jobless less we forget.  This will be a class move where he’s cashing in, and if anyone knows how to cash in an embrace it without seeming blantently money hungry it’s Arny.  So fair play on him.

Don’t expect this to be the thing the Terminator franchise needs though. Remember T3 was awful, and do was Salvation.  Let’s hope this one at least is a bit tongue and cheek about the whole affair and doesn’t take itself too seriously for once, and doesn’t get too involved with its own mythology like so many before it has.

If they follow these easy guidelines provided by MovieCake then you will hopefully see a kick-ass summer blockbuster movie what will make us forgive the monstrosities what have gone before it.  We may even go out and buy them on blu-ray!  Or maybe not. Hell, if it makes me want to pick up T2 again without the need to watch it to ‘cleanse the pallet’ then it can be called a successful job. 

Ben Doran

Hmm Zorro? Post-apocalyptic Zorro!

What do you do with a brand and a franchise what has been done more of than any over brand of franchise and has been around since the 1920s? You send him into the future! The post-apocalyptic future!!!

Yes they have redone and rehashed the Mexican vigilante in black so many times MovieCake as lost count (although the first person who can tell us wins a free cupcake).

This time expect less Antonio Bandares swash buckling and whip slapping and more electronic laser-beams and abandoned robots being found in derelict graveyards found the a ‘Z’ embodied on them.

Or maybe it’ll be ‘ZoPAF’ as in Zorro of the Post-Apocalyptic Future, just to avoid confusion. I for one was never really a fan of Zorro. It was a vigilante who didn’t seem to have the charm it took for a lower-middle class white boy like my-self to really adhere to his seemingly rough and gallivant charms.

However the premise looks good. And for one, can’t get enough of post-apocalyptic films regardless of the cringingly-bad factor which they may possess.

Stay tuned for more on the ZED.

Ben Doran

Batman beaten up by Bane picture online

Looks good doesn’t it?  And how often do we want Christian Bale to be beaten up, even if it is just done by make up?  

This is a make-up test what has just appeared online.  The picture from speculation is Bruce Wayne after being beaten up by his latest enemy Bane.  Whether this is an old test from Terminator Salvation or another one of his more recent films is yet to be said.

Enjoy.

Amazing Spiderman, plot and spoilers (Hidden bottom of page).

Hands up who have read the Spiderman comics past and present! (ME!).

But to those who haven’t and want to know what we can expect in Marc Webb’s reincarnation of Spiderman I shall tell you.  Then and only then will I drop the potential spoiler.

Before I Start the following information is from comics alone and may not be what appears in the film at all.  The new Spiderman will rely heavily on the new Ultimate Spiderman comics which reinvent Spidey for a modern audience.  Instead of being a photographer for the Daily Bugle he is a web designer.  For the most of it (as far as I have read anyhow) he is in high school, and will be kept there.

What I know about the comics and the film show that they’ve not entirely lifted from the comics. 

To not go into too much detail however, I’ll just tell you that the love interest in this will be Gwen Stacey not Mary Jane, which is from the original comics rather than the new ones.  In the original comics Gwen dies and returns as a clone which then transfers into a more epic saga.  In the new ones she lives with Peter and his Aunt May, with Peter going out with MJ while this is going on and no sexual connotations involved.  Why does she live with Peter and his Aunt May?  Well that is part of the spoiler.  Highlight below.

In the comics Gwen’s dad is a police captain who dies after a Spiderman imposter robs a bank.  This may result in Gwen hating Spiderman but going out with Peter at the same time which could cause a lot of conflict and interesting drama for the screen.

However, also in the comics Mary Jane is shown Peters secret very early on.  Like from the start.  So this may result to Peter switching from Gwen to MJ.  But that’s just speculation.

The real spoiler bit is this.  Although we technically know Captain Stacey dies in action we don’t know when or to what relevance it will have on the plot or the sequel.  In a passing with MTV Denis Leary the actor playing Gwen’s dad said this:

“I’m not allowed to say anything about the ending of ‘Spider-Man’ — or the ending of ‘Rescue Me,’ ” he told us at the opening festivities for the Tribeca Film festival. “It’s verboten! I can’t tell you!”

Yes we can read into it, even if it does sound elusive.  But MovieCake believes that he will die in the film, and potentially quite near the end which will leave a lot open for a sequel (which they will be).

There you have it.

Any thoughts?

Ben Doran

Lights, Camera, Effects! Green Lantern given $9m to boost effects.

Yep, it’s true.  The studios are concerned that the mask of the Green Lantern aren’t up to spec so they are injecting some extra cash in to improve the entirely CGI suit of our hero.  The catch?  Well they’ve only 2-3 months until the film is released.

This isn’t particularly unusual for films.  Captain America has had to shout up to the 11^th hour to get in some final scenes, and they’re still going now according to the rumour mill. 

The consequences of all this however is in the fact that the last minute touch ups are showing concerns about the films graphical capabilities.  Remember for a moment if you will that the Green Lantern will largely be green screen, with next to little real life images and in a lot of scenes the only thing none CGI will be a naked Ryan Reynolds.

This means that it could fall into the now benchmark of horror touch-ups as Clash of the Titans. Whose last minute 3D addition invented 3D-phobia for the 21^st century, but of course this isn’t 3D. This then brings to light the catastrophic horror that was the first trailer for the Green Lantern what the studios eventually apologised for. 

Past lessons have taught us that when there is this much last minute tinkering it isn’t usually a good sign.  Though the latest trailer shows more confidence graphically, there has been concerns about the mask.  This could be all it is, just the mask.  Yet then again, the mask could be the cover up to much more seep seeded issues.

Green Lantern is a space epic.  It isn’t just your average super hero film.   It’s also a risky business to add things in last minute.  The likely hood of all these events will be brought about in its summer release.  We can hope for now that the end product wows us, and if it does it will secure another franchise the DC universe can capitalise on, and if not the DC may think twice before rushing post-production again. 

Ben Doran

Bill and Ted Script Finished. Excellent!

The much anticipated third instalment is officially script ready. According to Alex Winter (Bill of Bill and Ted) who has Tweeted:

“@antmaurizio: Bill & Ted 3, less than 6 weeks away and counting? Movie is gonna kick some ass.” > Just got the script. And now to read…

You know what that means? It means we can actually have a kick-ass Bill and Ted movie. It means that we’re finally going to get to watch an aged Bill S Preston Esq and Ted ‘Theodore’ Logan reform as the Wyld Stallyns. EXCELLENT!

The sequel brings to question 2 things. 1, what will this film be about? And 2, what will the film be called?

The first has already been semi-answered by Keanu Reeves who has said that they are the same characters in the present day but they’ve not wrote the song that is meant to change the world for the better. Through frustration and lack of answers they somehow go back to their old time machine.

Personally, I’m expecting some deep life issues to be touched upon like we should always be excellent to each other.

The name? I think it should be called Bill and Ted’s Gnarly Suburban house. It could be about the adjustments of being a middle aged white man still trying to be cool in an ever changing social climate and they adjust to their place in the world by using the time travelling phone booth to visit other middle aged rock stars that should of died young- looking at you Mick Jagger. Just an idea, although they’d probably just need to catch a train rather than time travel. Meh.

Lastly, this is a personal favourite for me. It’s a film from my childhood which has shaped and personified me, dude. I would be in no way shape or form be any way as cool as I am today without the help from Bill and Ted, and robot Bill and Ted, and the alien things. And Death. Death definitely need to return. I miss Death.

Ben Doran

MovieCake has Rudd Love with his new film Our Idiot Brother.

My brothers can probably relate to this, as unfortunately there is one in every family and in mine, it’s me.  So that’s one reason why this film looks appetising, but it is also very tasty for two other reasons.  1, it is directed by the people who brought us Little Miss Sunshine.  The fantastic film what made most of feel so engrossed in a movie we all wanted a broken yellow van at the end of it.  And 2, it stars Paul Rudd, the man who MovieCake loves so much we may ask to have his children one day (even though there are no woman as of yet as MovieCake, we’d find a way).

Our Idiot brother is about a dude who ends up living back at his parents after selling weed to a police officer then needing a place to stay when he comes back home.  Obviously hilarity flows through the film, and it looks like there is no need for the comedy to be fuelled by character chemistry alone.  By the looks of it Rudd seems to have the comedy covered, my favourite sketch in the trailer is the fingers in the door gag, awesomely funny.

Also Paul Rudd sports the long-haired beard look quite well.  So much so we would like to offer him a job a MovieCake, he’d fit straight in!

On another note, the trailer is below.  It’s funny.  And also doesn’t seem too sucky.

Ben Doran

Somewhere over the Rainbow... is another Wizard of Oz remake. This Time its Sam Raimi, and he Knows his Witches.

There have been many, many, many Wizard of Oz remakes/reimaginings/sequels/alternative universes/plays/late-night-drinking-sessions-turned-into-a-sing-along-of-Wizard-of-Oz-because-your-girlfriend-was-drunk-and-said-she-wouldn’t-put-out-unless-you-sang-too-and-also-you-were-pretty-drunk-yourself-moments.  However, this time Sam Raimi wants a piece of the Wicked Witch.

And who is the most wicked witch you could ever imagine, ever conjure upon the darkest of thoughts!? It’s none other than Hilary Swank.

Why Swank? Why else.  She’s hot.  So she’s got that kinky naughty side to her and also she’s a credible actor winning two Academy Awards.

BUT! The studios want the also hot, but obviously inferior (she has NO Academy Awards- the studios can do math!!) Michelle Williams to fill the curly toed shoes!

Raimi has walked away from a project before because of the suits interfering in his movies when push comes to shove.  The last time he did so was with Spiderman 3 in which they wanted something he didn’t, and tried again in the forth Spiderman, which resulted with that project being booted and a remake/reboot of Spiderman without Raimi. 

Yep movie making is a bitchy industry, man.  The more reason these guys should chill out with a slice of cake. Why cake? Why not.

Seriously though, the potential Raimi Oz does have great possibilities.  Expect a bizarre slapstick and horror filled journey if it gets made and Raimi doesn’t jump ship, or get thrown overboard.  And if the actors chosen are the ones by Raimi then he’s going for broke and it could be an epic affair. 

FYI.  This will be called Oz, the Great and the Powerful.  Or as MovieCake calls it- Oz 10,000: Return of the Green Witch Dude.

Ben Doran

Avengers finally getting Revenged!? (With Avenger Character Bios!)

I’m sorry for my pun.  I just the only one I could think of and I’m not in a creative mood this morrow I’m afraid!

The news on the desk this morning is that the Avengers have finally started filming.  Joss Whedon (the guy who directed Buffy- the good one) will be taking helm, and as reported in his mighty blog yesterday:

“Tomorrow we start shooting (I THINK I’m legally permitted to say that). Day one. That’s right. We’ll be shooting the pivotal death/betrayal/product placement/setting up the sequel/coming out scene, at the following address:” 

Yes, the long awaited, long anticipated, and strongly led cast will finally be setting their powers to ‘avenge’.  Not that we’ve ever been sure just who the Avengers are exactly avenging, but that’s for a different day.  Is it not?

So today the Weed himself will be in the director’s chair with the ensemble of Thor, IronMan, Captain America, the Incredible Hulk, Hawkeye, Nick Fury, Black Widow.  All of whom you should know of but it case you don’t...

Thor is the film about a God banished to Earth, which may I add is in all good cinemas today.  It has mostly good reviews and his fronted by the rising Chris Hemsworth.

Iron Man is about a rich dude who builds a mechanical suit and goes round saving people, usually drunk; played by the usually drunk Robert Downey Jr.

Captain America is about a soldier in the 1940’s who is injected with super serum making him super strong.  He’s all patriotic and stuff and will be frozen in time to act as our fish out of water, played by the comedy and action able Chris Evans.

Hulk is a scientist who accidently transforms himself into a big green erm ‘hulk’.  He’ll be played by a different actor for the third time since the movies have begun again.  This time the man in green will be Mark Ruffalo.  Usually found in more ‘indie flicks’.

Hawkeye will be played by Jeremy Renner of Hurt Locker and will be the new ‘Bourne’.  Hawkeye doesn’t technically have any real powers but his good with arrows.  Not the coolest dude.

Nick Fury is a badass played by a dude who can play a badass- Samuel L Jackson.  Nick Fury ishead of S.H.I.E.L.D; an organisation in the Marvel comic universe that keeps tags and usually tells the superheroes where they are at and what to do.  These dudes are responsible for the ‘avenger initiative’.

Lastly we have Black Widow.  She briefly appeared in Iron Man 2 and will be played by Scarlett Johansson. One word- damn.

Wicked yo.  Expect a shit load of action.  Also coherent and well developed character arcs, seeing as that is exactly what the Weed as built a reputation for in the past 10 years.

Ben Doran

Serious Slice: Ben and Chris Discuss Movie Remakes

Ben and Chris are getting a bit fed up remakes and reboots.  Do we need another Crow movie?  How many times can a Terminator ‘be back?’  Do apes make good wives?  Find out in today’s Serious Slice.

Chris: OK let's begin. Have you watched any reboots recently?

Ben: The last one I remember watching was Terminator Salvation.  I have to say, I wasn't very impressed.

Chris: Indeed, it hardly lived up to T2. Hell it didn't even live up to T3.

Ben:  It's one of the main examples why reboots should just be banned entirely.  It was definitely a project that had a lot of hard working people behind it but it just didn't feel like it had the same sort of love as the James Cameron ones.

Chris: And T3 had a female sexbot in it.

Ben:  Ah yes the Mostow directed one. I mean the idea of a sex bot always sounds great on paper. Then when they get loose and are never sexually satisfied...

Chris:  I agree, again we bring up Cameron but it's hard to deny he puts everything into his films.

Ben:  No you're right.  But his hand in modern effects are easily some of the most influential in modern times are they not?

Chris:  It could be argued that while the first Alien film was Ridley Scott's, it was Cameron who turned it into the franchise.

Ben:  My point is, maybe the name alone shouldn't be the life span of the film.  Maybe without the original creative minds the sequels/reboots should just be laid to rest

Chris:  Forget the effects, I'm just saying that great directors craft these great films and their memories spawn countless remakes and reboots made by lesser filmmakers.

Ben:  Not always.  Look at the original superman films.  They were classics.  They were then to be followed on, ‘sequalised’ from the originals years afterwards but with a different actor, different director.

Chris:  They were originals though

Ben: A competent one Bryan Singer who brought us X-men.

Chris: I'm talking about reboots and the reboot of Superman was a big pile of poo.

Ben:  But he failed because ultimately he wasn't the original talent behind the originals.   Yeah because the original creative talent wasn't there anymore, it stunk harder than Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes.  And that's saying something

Chris:  Not just that, it loses the magic of the original, as we've seen it before.  At least that film had sexy Helena Bonham Carter.  I've never looked at chimps the same way since.

Ben:  That was just the norm for me.  Who wouldn't want an ape girlfriend?  You'd never have to worry about farting in the room ever again.

Chris:  Yeah, I think farting would pale in comparison to the shit slinging. Tron annoyed me a bit, almost a clone of the original. But wait, it was in 3D!

Ben:  Let's not go into this again...

Chris:  Oops sorry.  It even had the main character being transported into an arcade ala the original.

Ben:  At least they tried something different and kept at the roots of the originally by bringing something visually creative.  Even if the plot was poor.

Chris: They could at least have updated it by having him sucked into an Ipad. That would also have metaphoric relevance.

Ben: Or a game phone..  They're popular now aren't they?

Chris:  They're just a Game Boy reboot if you ask me.

Ben:  And something's wrong with that, because?

Chris:  The main point of a reboot or remake is that they save the studios time and money.

Ben: The Crow reboot has me concerned....  I mean Juan Carlos Fresnadillo as competent a director as he is, he isn't exactly Chris Nolan.  He's a heavy back catalogue of shit to deal with and may well just be adding shit upon an already rotten shit.

Chris: Or a shit mountain if you will.  Let's not delude ourselves in thinking they're providing what the fans want. 

Ben:  Well it's about branding most the time though.  Rarely is the fans consideration taken into account.

Chris:  But do we need a Crow remake?

Ben:  Unless the film well and truly flops.  Then they suddenly start listening. And no, we need a good Crow remake or none at all.

Chris:  But do we? I was happy with the original.

Ben: If someone doesn't have some new amazing way to deliver it then they should leave it alone.

Chris:  Exactly.

Ben: It was brilliant.  It still stands the test of time if you ask me.

Chris:  Unless it's a new and better interpretation then what's the point?

Ben:  It's a money maker that's why they’ve been so many 'sequels'.  It's the one film I'd wish they'd leave alone.  It was so original at the time, being the youngster I was then I as well I was utterly taken it by the mood, the story, and the characters. And ever since then they just made cheap versions of that first film

Chris:  We need to raise the point that for every rubbish remake, the money spent could have been used to finance an original production. So they're also stifling creativity.

Ben:  They seem to forget that there was a graphic novel what it was based on.  But is there enough creativity out there? Better yet is there enough faith to put behind creativity?

Chris:  There could be a superb script out there that was nearly greenlit but instead the studio chose to go with Son of the Mask.

Ben:  From a studio's perspective, why put money behind a creative maybe when you can finance a generic money earner?

Chris:  And they do that because the studio heads are wimps. They're like grandmas at the betting table, only willing to risk very little and always going for the sure thing.

Ben:  They have to.  There's more money at stake...

Chris:  But remakes don't always bring in the cash.

Ben:  They do more than some creative originals, unless a director has made a name for himself somehow there's no chance.

Chris:  It's just that the studios are more likely to fund something that has already proved itself at the box office. But a remake also saves time in story/script development because they just copy the old version.

Ben:  It's a recognisable product the customer can relate to.

Chris: Exactly it's a product,  not a piece of artistic entertainment.

Ben: You can't say Hollywood isn't green.  They do like recycling.

Chris: And that's the problem. I'm hoping the next time Tron is remade, I might be able to actually enter the digital world myself. 

Ben: Think Nintendo are working on that So what's our solution?

Chris: One solution would be to stop paying to see remakes. Don't give money to studios for playing it safe. Give the original storyteller a chance. And for God's sake, don't buy Tron, which is out now on Blu-ray & DVD at all good stockists.

Ben: And definitely don't get it on Blu-ray to take advantage of its ground breaking visual effects!! We've established that they want to keep with recognisable names.  I think if a remake is made they should at least have a credible director involved i.e. Chris Nolan, albeit it doesn't solve anything.  Look at MCG and Terminator Salvation.

Chris:  At least Terminator Salvation continued the story arc of Terminator. It was more a sequel really.

Ben:  It shouldn't have been a sequel though.  I think that's the one time it should have been rebooted

Chris:  It's remakes that are carbon copies of the original I despise.

Ben: They've got carried away in their own mythology like the Matrix did

Chris: Take Nightmare on Elm Street.

Ben:  I enjoyed the sequels, even if they were camp.

Chris:  Freddy Kreuger must have been turning in his grave at that one.

Ben: The remake was okay if you ask me

Chris:  The sequels were good. But the remake was terrible.

Ben:  It just wasn't brilliant as it should have been.

Chris:  It was confused and just a lesser version of the original, never mind the fact that Robert Englund wasn't in it.

Ben: Nah, it was just a film what couldn’t be original anymore; it used up all its originality.

Chris:  The only reboot I want to see is Evil Dead. Oh yeah baby.

Ben:  No! Without Bruce Campbell? Are you mental? And no Sam Raimi? No way ho-zay.

Chris: Obviously Sam Raimi would be making it.  And Bruce Campbell would be in it, if he'd stop pretending he's too old.

Ben: You know they actually are remaking it, don't you?

Chris:  Yeah for the last seven years.

Ben:  Bruce Cambell is producing, they've been recent developments on it!

Chris: I was still in nappies when they announced that, damn incontinence.

Ben: So here's the question: should reboots and remakes be given the boot?

Chris: I think they should if Hollywood keeps producing modern updates of the original which are just simply an update. If the filmmaker at least attempts to put their own spin on it and it lives up to the original then I'm all for it. I like the idea of bringing classic films to a whole new generation but they should reflect the new generation and not just be a celebration of the original, which is what a lot of reboots seem to be.

Ben: And they need to have a good amount of time between them, unlike Scream 4.

Chris: Again the studios playing it safe.

Ben: I think a story rarely needs to be retold or carried on. And some just need to be left alone completely, Planet of the Apes being one, Dawn of the Dead being another.

Chris: You wouldn't see a book being rewritten would you? Let's have the Bible rewritten by JK Rowling.

Ben:  Jesus did have magical powers, didn't he?

Chris: Jesus defeats Satan with an Expelleosis. Expelleamus?

Ben: Don't you mean Jesus defeats 'he who shall not be named'?

Chris: What about Pride and Prejudice rewritten by Tom Clancy. Mr Darcy wouldn't be such a wet blanket in that one.

Ben: 1984 written by Darren Shan? That would be a cool one. 
I think reboots shouldn't be given the boot, but more a new pair of socks.  Or maybe some sandals?

Chris: Interesting analogy.

Ben: I try.

Chris: The problem is that they're the same boots but they've stood in dog shit. I thank you. So, there's no definite conclusion here is there?

Ben: I think there is.

Chris: Go on then dude, the floor's all yours.

Ben:  I would say to not just remake a film because it's a brand you can make money off. Because the money may go completely if people lose faith of the brand. Studios need to take faith in the creative industry.  Make money by cutting costs not originality, if they want recognisably brands then create them, if it's anyone job, it's theirs.  There's so much untapped potential out there.

My last word: Creativity.  It's compromised.  It's undiscovered.  It's also the future of film.

Chris:  I think there needs to be more risks taken in the film industry. It seems to be just remake after remake at the moment. And if it ain't a remake, it's a sequel. And if it ain't a sequel it's an adaptation. It is certainly not a golden age for original screenplays.

Ben: There are a few good films, but it seems very rare when we see them.

Chris: I once watched a TV programme about Hollywood execs.  Even when they are presented with an original screenplay they need to have another film to compare it to.  Say like Under Siege was obviously pitched as Die Hard in a submarine.  And that's what they like to hear. They only like originality if it is comparable to something which has gone before, preferably something that was a box office hit. Creativity is the only loser here. And if the money isn't put behind creative film projects then I can't see the remakes stopping anytime soon.  Maybe it's about time we saved Hollywood.

Ben: Two men mission?  Right here on MovieCake.

Chris: I'm ready.

Ben:  Let's do it. And I've been Ben Doran.   Stay classy MovieCake fans!

Chris: I've been Chris Curry. Have a good Easter everyone. And remember to watch Prince William's wedding, which is a reboot of Princess Diana's wedding.

Ben: A spiritual sequel to the Queens wedding.