Is Nothing Sacred?

Thanks to The Hollywood Reporter (THR), it has been brough to my attention that "The Neverending Story" has a possibility of being re-made. Nothing is official as of right now. Warner Bros. pictures has the rights to the film, and is in talks to revive the franchise. THR says that

"The Kennedy/Marshall Co. ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button") and Leonard DiCaprio's shingle Appian Way are in discussions with Warners about reviving the 25-year-old franchise with a modern spin. The studio recently acquired rights to the property, clearing the way for a potential remake."

So this, along with the news of the second "Alvin and the Chipmunks" film and the Yogi the Bear movie, makes me wonder if anything is really sacred. But the truth is that I will still go see it no matter what. Just because I feel like I have to. They can take my cartoons, and The Neverending Story. But I swear, they better leave the Dark Crystal alone.

Umass Lowell is getting excited for Watchmen

On March 6th Watchmen, one of the most critically acclaimed graphic novels of all time, will hit theaters and buzz is building. Here at UMass Lowell there are very few people who are not aware of the release of the film. Even better, most of the people who know about it know that it was originally a graphic novel.

Free Giveaway Cup

With hype building towards as we grow closer to the release, the standard debate of whether to read the original novel first or to see the film first. “I plan to read the comic before I see the movie, I want to see how it is before the movie tells me.” said George Merdkhanian.  This debate is enhanced by the movie's marketing as a comic book adaptation as well as a new groundbreaking film.

Watchmen is the story of a group of ragtag superheroes forced into retirement by the government, and the trouble they go through when they realize they are needed again to stave off the apocalypse. It is a tale of love, hate, murder, and destruction. These are all the ingredients necessary for a great story. The original graphic novel was written by Alan Moore and drawn by Dave Gibbons. The graphic novel itself is very proud to tell you on its front cover that it is one of The Times' 100 best-selling novels.

Not everyone shares Merdkhanian’s point of view. “I have known about the comic book for a while, but haven’t had a great desire to read it. But I am very excited to see the movie.” said Jeff Hill.

Guests Filing in for Providence Screening

Zack Snyder is the director of the film version. Snyder is a self-proclaimed fan Watchmen, which is a comforting fact to hear when someone is at the helm of an adaptation. Snyder made himself noteworthy with his adaptation of 300. From glimpses given in the trailer, he seems to be continuing to perfect his style of sped down action scenes and computer generated image enhanced backgrounds and colors. If the response from 300 was any tip, then this movie will go far.

Kenny Sunnerburg, who has read Watchmen already, said “I am very excited, it seems like it is going to be pretty truthful to the original comic.” said a fan who had already read the graphic novel, Kenny Sunnerburg.  Just from the trailers it is easy for someone who is familiar with the story to place the scenes and see their transformation to film, or to get someone who knows nothing about the story very excited and interested in the film.

Watchmen comes to theaters on March 6th in theaters across the country. View the Trailer Below.

Friday the 13th Review up at JHM

"In an age where the "Saw" movies have kind of redefined horror in Hollywood, where does a Jason Voorhees fit into this new terrain? Are today's audiences really ready to embrace an old-style slasher flick? Where there are no gruesome but ironic twists to this tale, but -- rather -- just a big scary man with a hockey mask and a machete?"

The Friday the 13th reboot review I wrote is up at Jim Hill Media (JHM). Friday the 13th was a decent movie with a lot of good production value and good photography.

JHM is where I am interning to get some real world experience in the world of being a movie critic. I am getting experience in the journalism world. Be sure to scan the archives to see the review I did for Jim Carrey's "Yes Man" from December, and keep a lookout in early March for my "Watchmen" review. Post comments here or there on what you think of my reviews.

Transformers 2 Devastator and Fallen Images

I was surfing around earlier and found images of The Fallen and Devastator from the upcoming Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Now since this is my first post here I shall state that I am a huge transformers fan, going all the way back to G1 (the original 1980's TV show) and was pleased with the Transformers movie that came out a few years ago. Though my love for it has gradually decreased the more I watch it.

But so far I am very excited for the sequel and had been having my doubts. I had seen the Superbowl TV Spot for the movie and had gotten confused about who the Giant transformer that rolls around on one wheel was. And was fearing it was Devastator. But thanks to the wonderful people from Superherohype and ACToys we have images of both.

The Fallen

Devastator

These both look fantastic to me. And I am glad to see that Devastator is not the weird one wheeled robot from the Superbowl Spot. He may not look a lot (or anything really like) the original Devastator from the cartoons. But he does have the key components and enough to entertain me.

Also, if you go to see Friday the 13th look out for the new trailer for Revenge of the Fallen. Or look for it online on Monday.