The STARSTORE Blog...

NEWS ON SPIDER-MAN'S RETURN TO THE BIG SCREEN

It looks like the machines are warming up to set the next two Spider-man films in motion. Sony are apparently to film the fourth and fifth films in the web slinging Marvel Comics franchise back to back, and the shocker is that, as rumoured, there’ll be nobody returning from the first three. Tobey MacGuire, Kirtsen Dunst, Sam Raimi and pretty much everyone else is going to be replaced by a whole new team, which is going to be interesting to see the results of. I must admit I'€™m wary of it all though, as Raimi and co did such a great job with the past three films (despite Spider man 3'€™s problems), and audiences are so used to seeing Tobey as Peter Parker/Spidey now. That said, I do remember him saying he wasn't really interested in a fourth outing as Spider-Man, which I can understand as it has taken over so much of his life and career for so long.

Where these two new films are starting to sound interesting is with the actors the team are looking at to take over. At the top of their list as Spider-man/Peter Parker is Patrick Fugit, who certainly looks like a Peter Parker to me, but it does raise the question as to whether this new pair of films is going to be the start of a reboot? Are the studio aiming for an Ultimate Spider-Man feel to these films, or are they a continuation of the series that has been such a hit already? I sincerely hope it is going to be the latter, as the last thing we need is yet another origin story. Something set a few years into Spidey'€™s career would be much better, and allow for more of a story to be told, as well as some decent signs of character development.

The new Incredible Hulk film would be a good reference point, actually. That isn'€™t a complete reboot, more a continuation of the franchise from a different angle. Don'€™t restart the whole Spidey universe from scratch- just use those first three films as a starting point and come up with something new and vibrant that still rings true with the events and the characters of that trilogy and the comics. I'€™m not sure how these new Spider-Man films are going to pan out, but it is something we'€™ll watch with interest. Here'€™s hoping Venom gets to return for a proper outing. And Hobgoblin. And Carnage. And and and and... Mmmm, Spidey.

HIGHLANDER REMAKE- WHY, EXACTLY?

What? A Highlander remake is on the way? Seriously, didn’t the film community get the message with the reception Highlander: The Source got? If ever there was a movie that DID NOT CALL FOR A REMAKE, its Highlander. The first movie is pretty much perfect for its era, and is very much a product of the 80s. Fusing elements of the 80s fantasy boom with a few touches of cyberpunk, it struck a chord with moviegoers in a way that none of the four sequels have managed to achieve. That first film was spot on, with Christopher Lambert giving the performance he’ll always be remembered for, along with a great performance from Sean Connery and a great villain in the ultra theatrical Kurgen. It doesn’t need a remake. What I’d suggest is leaving it alone for ten years or so and then bringing back the concept with a new cast, but not a remake! Why redo what has already been done so well previously? Why not just clean up the original, improve the effects and the score, and re-release it as a special edition? That way the legend of that first film isn’t sullied any further. After four sequels, a cartoon series, an anime movie, and two spinoff TV shows (remember the criminally underrated Highlander: The Raven? That was fantastic), it really is time for the mythos to take a break. Then again, if you could secure a great director, Christopher Lambert (despite his character having died in Endgame), and a script that didn’t make viewers cringe in every scene, maybe you’d have a chance. That ain’t going to happen though, so please, just leave Highlander alone and try to think of something new. After all, thanks to the sequels, the Highlander name is already pretty damaged.

STREET FIGHTER: FIRST PICTURE OF KRISTEN KREUK AS CHUN LI?

Capcom have released this image (Click for a larger version), apparently the first official picture of Kristen Kreuk as the title character from the forthcoming Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li movie. Seriously, as gorgeous as Kreuk is, couldn’t they offer us something a bit more exciting than this? A costume shot of Chun Li would be the perfect thing to get the fans hyped up for the movie. The scars left by the 1994 big screen movie are still yet to heal for many people, and thus we could really use something a bit more interesting in order to drum up some buzz for the flick. Don’t get me wrong, I think this is going to be a great film (certainly compared to the previous live action one), but I think audiences at large are going to need more convincing beyond ‘Its got Kristen Kreuk in it, isn’t she pretty?’ Yes she is, but there needs to be more to this movie than just eye candy. There needs to be something of a compelling plot inbetween the set pieces and lingering shots of her doing the spinning bird kick. I do honestly think this film has the potential to reinvigorate the Street Fighter franchise beyond just the animated movies and games. The Chun Li Vs Vega battle that is being shot for the movie sounds pretty cool, and has the potential to be something that will draw people in if it is glimpsed in the trailer. I hope we get to see a teaser soon, or at least a costume picture, or even an official logo for the movie (the one on the movie site looks…well… very 1990s straight-to-video). There’s potential here. I hope it doesn’t get wasted.

STAR WARS: WHY THERE SHOULD NEVER BE AN EPISODE 7

The rumours are still persisting that a seventh entry in the Star Wars feature film saga is to be made, despite the repeated statements from Lucasfilm, Fox and even George Lucas himself that it won’t happen. Look, there’s a new Clone Wars film on the way, and a TV show, so hopefully that will calm the rabid fans a little. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see another big screen outing for the Stars universe, but there is already so much that has been revealed about it, so many stories, books, games, comics, and everything else that any more films would simply be overkill. There’s the original trilogy, the prequels, the Clone Wars cartoons and the new CG movie and series, and no doubt more will come along, but there should really never be an Episode 7 of the Star Wars saga of films. The six that have been so successful are self contained enough.

 

The loose ends have been tied up. The saga, as stated in the trailers for Revenge of the Sith, is complete. The novels have told the story of what happens for decades after the movies end. Literally. The first of the novels, The Truce at Bakura, begins mere seconds after the final scene in Return of the Jedi, and from there fans were treated to all manner of new threats, from cloned Emperors, the Yuuzhan-Vong, the Imperial Remnant and more besides. The Star Wars universe has been explored in such depth that going much further would spoil the movies.

 

Some would argue that the prequels did that themselves, but I disagree. The prequels were a necessary tool to bring the Star Wars universe not only to a new audience of youngsters that had only seen the originals on TV screens, but also to a jaded generation of moviegoers that thought they’d seen everything. The prequel trilogy has more than its fair share of faults, but it does what George Lucas set out to do with it- it fills in the blanks, and proves to us that a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Anakin Skywalker was actually a pretty nice guy before Palpatine got in the way. Enjoy them for what they are- a complete and rounded story of journeys made from good to evil and back again.

 

We must also take into consideration how much work, money and time must go into creating these films. Yes, they have made George Lucas and Fox an incredible amount of money, but after 30 years, wouldn’t you want to have a go at something different? The Star Wars films paved the way for all manner of advances to be made in special effects and movie making, and aside from the thrilling stories, that is how they should be remembered and appreciated. Fans sometimes need to know when enough is enough. Sure, the expanded universe can continue to expand, but as far as live action movies go, I think we have all we need. The Force will always be strong with them, and would only be diminished by yet more films. We have the set now. Lets enjoy them shall we?

Something creepy seems to be Happening

Rich takes a look at the latest from the man who brought us The Sixth Sense…

The cinematic trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film, The Happening, has had audiences scratching their heads for a few months now, with the original trailer ramping up a palpable sense of danger yet withholding any clear indication of what the film was about, save for hints at some kind of pandemic spreading across America. Now, the Red Band trailer has been released (Red Band being a trailer with no content restrictions) and having watched it, I must say that this is looking seriously creepy. Gone are the ums and ahs of the original trailer, replaced with graphic scenes taken from the movie. The pandemic previously mentioned appears to be a suicide virus, with victims seemingly sub-consciously committing suicide in a variety of creepy and graphic ways. Although, we all know the director is famous for the twists in his tales, so don’t quote me on anything right now!

This movie looks to be a return to form for Shyamalan, reverting back to his darker movies after the damp squib that was The Lady in the Water. Now I’m a massive, massive fan of the director, but the auteur just went a bit too far with his previous film, to an extent that it lacked any recognisable form and made sense to few people other than himself. It was film making at its most self-indulgent. The Happening will hopefully rectify this and echo the director’s otherwise highly impressive line up. By the look of this trailer the film promises to be extremely eerie and, in a first for Shyamalan, quite gory. So through my unbreakable belief in the director, and the signs of things to come in the trailer, my sixth sense tells me this will be one awesome movie.

Now, um, I’m off back to the village. 10 points to anyone who can see what I did there.

Rich

(We’d post the red band trailer for you to check out, but it’s a bit unnerving for such a family oriented site… ;P)

SAW V: CAST AND PLOT DETAILS REVEALED

Lionsgate have released some info on the next instalment in the relentlessly violent SAW movie series. The cast of SAW V is now set to include Julie Benz, Carlo Rota, Greg Bryk, Mark Rolston, Meagan Good, and of course, Costas Mandylor as Hoffman. Following the last person to carry on the legacy of the Jigsaw killer, all the loose ends must be done away with when his work is threatened. Once again, Scott Peterson and Betsy Russell are also back in their familiar roles of Agent Straum and Jill. Directed by David Hackl, the film has been given a provisional release date of October 24th. This is bringing up some questions. Firstly, is this just going to be a bridging movie to set up the sixth (and apparently last) SAW film? Secondly, why is everything being set up as a damn franchise these days? Some standalone horror films wouldn’t go amiss every now and again. That said, I guess a sequel isn’t a remake, which fans are also tiring of. With remakes of Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Hellraiser and loads more in the works, it really is looking like Hollywood is losing all of its faith in creating original horror. For want of a better phrase, horror is becoming much too safe, and that is a much more terrifying prospect than even Jigsaw could come up with…

VIDEO GAME MOVIE ROUNDUP

Let's take a look at a selection of forthcoming feature films based on popular video games titles. The genre has come on a bit since the dark days of the Van Damme Street Fighter and turkeys like Double Dragon and Super Mario Bros, and the next batch of films looks set to be a departure from the recent spate of films such as the Resident Evil series and Tomb Raider films. Here’s some of the big ones that are on the way…

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li

Currently being shot, this stars Smallville’s Kristen Kreuk in the lead role, and is set to (spinning bird) kick off a whole new series of films based on the massively popular Street Fighter games franchise.

 
Biosphere

The Biosphere movie is moving forward now that it has both a writer and director attached, and looks like it is going to be something very special. This one looks like it will be the one that breaks the mould of games movies.

 
Halo

The long awaited Halo movie is in a state of flux at the moment. Peter Jackson was set to direct at one point, and WETA were going to do the effects. Right now though, it appears that there’s nothing going on with it whatsoever. Anyone heard anything more?

 
World of Warcraft

The world’s biggest online game is set to arrive on the big screen in the next couple of years. There’s little news on who or what will be in it so far, or even if it will be live action or CG, but we are assured there will be a WoW film one day. Maybe.

 
Mortal Kombat

The 3^rd Mortal Kombat movie is set to be a reboot for the series, but is still said to be featuring Christopher Lambert as Lord Rayden, reprising his infamous role from 1995’s surprisingly watchable action fest.  Its working title is Mortal Kombat: Devastation

 
Resident Evil: Degeneration

This is a curious one. A fully CG’d film based closely on the games and their characters, it was made in 2005 and only just edging towards a release. The trailer was premiered on the DVD of Resident Evil: Extinction, and looks fantastic. The game fans are going to lap this one up.

American McGhee’s Alice in Wonderland

Hmm. From the research I’ve done I can trace this one back as far as 2000, when it was first announced. Currently, the rights to the American McGhees Alice movie are held by Universal and Collision Entertainment, who have been prepping the film since some time in 2007. I think we’ll still have to wait a while for progress on this, basically down to the subject matter and the associated rights. When it does hiot though, its going to be a huge event.

Assassin’s Creed

The first film based around the Assassin’s Creed game is still apparently due this year, but I’d say this is going to be pushed back to 2010, for the simple reason that shooting appears to have, erm, not started yet.

 
Devil May Cry

A movie based around the huigely popeular Devil May Cry games has recently been announced, but without any details of a director, writer or star. I think this one would work great in live action, but it would be difficult to cast someone who could pull Dante off well.

 
Gears of War

This has been given a provisional release date of late 2009, and like the Bioshock movie, I’d say this is going to be one of those genre-defying movies that brings a great deal of praise and will make people take a second look at the genre. Very promising.

 
Tekken

Woo-hoo! Now, this isn’t going to be anything but an hour and a half of action is it? I hope this movie is as dumb and pointless as the game, and just as much fun. This too is due in 2009, and is to be directed by Dwight H. Little, from a script by Alan B. McElroy. I bet the script largely consists of ‘They fight. They fight some more.’

ALIENS Vs PREDATOR 3: Dear Hollywood…

Thoughts on AVP3

The two AVP movies (Alien Vs Predator and Aliens Vs Predator: Requiem) have proven to be successful, but only commercially. I know that’s really the point of the exercise, but think of the original Alien movies: Successful at the time of release, and constantly popular for decades afterwards. Now look at the first two AVP movies. The first film is now languishing in every DVD shop’s bargain bin for a fraction of its original price. The second will go the same way after an initial rush of interest. The films are fun and please a section of fandom, but they seem to be lacking that spark that has given the originals such longevity.

It is known that a third AVP movie is on the way, and I’d like you to consider letting some fans of the originals have a go at writing it. We have the basics- it needs to be set in space, and needs both the Predator(s) and an Alien or two.

What it doesn’t need is another cast of characters without depth or motivation. The previous two films have had some decent characters, but for the most part they have come across as cannon fodder. What I’d love to do is offer up some more characters along the lines of the crazies in Alien 3. Not many of them. Just two or three human characters, a derelict spacecraft, a pair of Aliens and a Predator loose on board. Back to the very basics of the genre that these creatures created.

Some fans are also of the opinion that a third AVP movie would work really well with less dialogue and more tension. A bit more art house. The seats will be filled on the reputation of the series alone, so there’s no need to worry about that. The trick would be to add an extra dimension of creativity and tension, like the first Alien film, to ensure that the film would have a life beyond the first year, and also help the series attract back those fans that the more popcorn styled films have alienated (pun very much intended). So I put it to you, Hollywood types, let us, the fans, write the next movie. See what happens. Oh, and this time, try not to give the whole movie away in the trailer, eh? Cheers.

Stan Lee: Thank you- You are indeed 'The Man'.

After watching the recent iFanboy video interview with Stan Lee, I feel moved to write a little something regarding Stan ‘The Man’ Lee. Think of it as an open letter to him, from a pair of fans that have grown up on the characters and the stories he created and continues to create. This letter is written by staffers Andy (29) and Chris (19).

Dear Stan…

The Bullpen Bulletins and the ‘Stan Lee presents’ blurbs are the first memories I have of coming across your name, and the Bullpens in particular struck a chord. I’ve always admired the way you talk to your audience on the same level, involving us in everything you work on in the same manner whether we’re nine or ninety. I also really admire the amount of time you have for your fans, and I can’t begin to imagine what it must feel like to have parents and children enjoying your creations together. You’ve created some of the biggest names in modern culture and you still come across as a genuinely nice guy.

You come across as one of us, a dreamer with a head full of stories to share. Add to this a relentless sense of humour and a distinct air of a shrewd businessman, and you too are a hero amongst men. No wonder your popularity has endured for so long. You’re our friend, a storyteller, and a legend to all of us. Stan mate, I salute you. Thanks for the characters, the adventures, and for not giving up on them, or indeed, us.

THE DARK KNIGHT- WARNER BROS RELEASE THE FULL TRAILER

Ladies and Gentlemen, I think we have something truly momentous here. The full, final trailer for this year’s Batman extravaganza THE DARK KNIGHT is online now in high-def Quicktime and Flash versions. The media has been full of declarations that the film is incredible, and that the late Heath Ledger’s portrayal of The Joker is nothing short of definitive, and on the strength of this trailer alone I think we can all agree that is most certainly the case.

The Flash version of the trailer is the quickest to download, which you can check out at this location, and it has been making us whoop with joy even more than that extra scene at the end of Iron Man! It seems that this continuation of Nolan’s Batman series is every bit as dramatic and gripping as the first. The one problem I have with the trailer is that it most certainly gives too much away in one respect- the transformation of Harvey Dent into Two-Face. Not only does the trailer show the start of his transformation, but there’s even a shot where you catch a glimpse of his face post-scarring. Its only brief, but it does act as a massive spoiler for what will be the driving plot behind the third film.

 

That aside, the trailer looks fantastic, and this summer is looking very fun indeed. So hey, Why So Serious?