FIRST, it was the recent Red Riding Hood which looked totally asinine.  Now, I hear of not one but two updates of Snow White.  Finally today no less, I learn that “the boy who never grew up” is getting a new adult makeover.  Pan is going to revolve around Captain Hook and his partner Smee  who are on the lookout for the title character, a serial killer who preys upon young children… .  DEPLORABLE!  I mean, this story could just as easily been named something else, the names changed to protect memories of childhood gone by.  No… I do not intend to watch any of these masterpieces but when I hear that classic tales which millions of children have grown up on are skewed into such utter trash, then I think it is worth a post!

I just have to wonder who the intended audience is for this rubbish.  Certainly not the toddler set who have been read these tales for years.  I would think that the wise (?) adult movie-goer would be turned off.  Maybe it is the Twilight-obsessed teenage female set?  I just have to shake my head at the very thought of such travesties.  I thought the Jim Carrey Grinch movie was a disaster… at least that presented some resemblance of the classic Dr. Seuss tale.

Is this Hollywood’s attempt to bring originality to the big screen?

the AMERICAN way.”  In Action Comics #900, the Man of Steel renounces his U.S. citizenship to embark upon a more global “neverending battle”.  Quite a milestone in the 72 year life of the superhero who was sent to Earth from a doomed planet, raised in America’s heartland by a kindly midwestern farm family who would instill within their adopted son the morals and ethics which would become his greatest weapons, and finally become the World’s Finest while disguised as a mild mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper.  Flight, near invincibility, X-ray vision, and all the rest could be used for other things than engaging the likes of Lex Luthor, Doomsday, and Bizzaro if not raised in a loving environment.  Yes, I know that opinion could be debated infinitum but still…

In other Super-related news, Brandon Routh (rhymes with south) and Sam Huntington who played Superman and Jimmy Olsen, respectively in Superman Returns are teaming up in a new zombie-hunting film.  Routh plays detective Dylan Dog in the aptly titled Dylan Dog: Dead of Night.  Judge for yourself, but it looks like the curse may have claimed its latest victim.

Here is… the official trailer for the most anticipated movie of the summer.  While there will be other blockbuster films this summer (Thor and Green Lantern are also on my list so far) none of been as long awaited as the final chapter in  the Harry Potter series.  The closing of the first part of The Deathly Hallows only increased my excitement.  The Blu-Ray disc features an opening scene of the finale.  The trailer premiered last night on television and previewed some of my favorite scenes from the books and they look amazing.

Seriously, how many different groups  must we listen to in order to determine what is the best film of all time?  We already have the periodic AFI specials.  Tonight we had another group telling us which was supposed (I believe) to take the popular vote into account.  One of several genres I caught was “Best Musical.”  Of course, I had to comment on that one.  I took umbrage with the five choices and their placement.  Now we have “Best Kiss?”  OH< PLEASE!  Back to the topic at hand…

Best Musical:

• West Side Story (1961) I don’t believe that there has ever been a more celebrated movie musical… winner of 10 Academy Awards.  The Romeo and Juliet story told amidst the backdrop of gang infested New York City.  Elvis was offered the lead role of Tony; however, turned it down because he thought it would tarnish his image if he were associated with a film that dealt with violence.  Fascinating, since one of his earliest films, King Creole, dealt with just that.  I, personally would have placed this one higher.
• Singin’ in the Rain (1952) Classic, CLASSIC, CLASSIC! Gene Kelly dancing and singing with a 103º temperature while being drenched by a mixture of water and milk (because water alone did not show up well enough).  My favorite scene, Donald O’Connor’s “Make Em’ Laugh” song and dance.
• The Wizard of Oz (1939) WHAT!!!!  Totally missed out on this one! Especially when you look at the next two.  One tidbit I was not aware of:  at times, Judy Garland could not stand working with Toto because his breath was so awful.  Help me out, Taylhis… have you heard THAT one?!
• Grease (1978) While I do enjoy a viewing from time to time, this one gets on my nerves.  Maybe it is from all the times my siblings and I were allowed to stay up past our bedtimes to watch it on a school night… maybe it was the drama of a certain community theatre’s production.  Definitely voted too high… should have been #5 at best.  Well… at least the horrendous Dirty Dancing was not in the top 5.  I guess there are some who consider it a musical.
• The Sound of Music (1965) The most profitable movie musical of all time.  With inflation taken into account, it has made over $1 billion placing it third all time behind Gone with the Wind and the original Star Wars. I would have a hard time deciding between this and Oz as the top musical.  Both are personal favorites.

At least they got the “Top Action Film” correct.  Raiders of the Lost Ark.  No bloody Indiana Jones and the… placed before the title.  When did they add that, anyway?  I dunno… would anyone be game for a fifth installment?  Harrison Ford would be if the story was right.  Just do away with Indy’s son.

Or maybe not so creative idea.  It seems that ABC and Selma Hayek are combining forces to create a magical miniseries which is based on a popular novel which was based upon a beloved classic movie which was based upon another book.  The popular novel was also the basis for a megahit Broadway musical which is (the last I heard) is being turned into a big-screen production.  Whatever happened to an original, creative idea.

The miniseries in question is based upon the novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire.  While the musical may be a blockbuster, one of Maguire’s newer “Fractured Fairy Tales” was made into a telefilm.  Anyone remember Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister?  That’s ok… neither do I.

I think I will stick with the Fractured Fairy Tales as ready by Edward Everett Horton as seen on The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.  For your enjoyment, I have chosen a classic Mr. Know-It-All segment.

Yes, yesterday found our first major storm of (the not even started) winter.  Saturday night’s forecast said not to expect any white stuff until the afternoon.  Well… as I was walking to work at 7:50 AM, there was already a dusting and more falling.  After work at 2, I walked home and spent the afternoon watching some holiday classic specials which have been DVRing faithfully awaiting the time when we could share in their viewing.  Later, we watched one of Mom’s favorite holiday movies, White Christmas.  Old sentimental fluff but I must admit that it puts me in the holiday mood every year.  Tidbit… several people think that the immortal Irving Berlin tune originated in this movie.  However, it really debuted in an earlier Bing Crosby classic, Holiday Inn.

Today, since schools were all closed (and even delayed last night), my brother decided to take his kids to the third Chronicles of Narnia feature, Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  Since a more local multiplex did not have a matinee, we decided to brave the blowing blanket of white for the big city.  Until we got on the Interstate, the going was rather rough.

The movie itself was wonderful.  I have it on good authority that it the movie is once again very faithful to the novel.  The seven Narnia books are each quite a bit shorter than the Harry Potter installments so I was not really surprised. The thing which surprised me was the switch from Walt Disney to Fox 2000 studios.  Apparently, the last film in the series (Prince Caspian) fell quite short in box office expectations and the Mouse House backed out of the remainder of the movies.

I have not read the book for some time so I did not know fully what to expect.  I knew the basic plot but little of the details.  But it was very good!  I can’t say what my favorite is because it is a series and definitely cannot stand on its own.  If you have seen or read any of the installments, you know that the series is a thrilling allegory.  Yet you do not have to be a devout Christian to appreciate the story.  Just going in and expecting a thrilling adventure is really all you need.  Growing up reading and re-reading all of the books,  I did not take the time to note every Christian symbol.  I could spend hours detailing C.S. Lewis’ theological mind… but I won’t.

Hope everyone enjoyed and was safe during the first winter storm of the season.

Last Easter prior to watching the first 3D movie I have seen since Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (but of course it wasn’t), I saw the trailer for part the first of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  As the summer swept by, I kept seeing television and movie ads proclaiming the same.  About a month ago whenever a promo came on the air, I noticed something missing… no mention of the 3D concept.  Finally, this morning, I did a bit of research.  As I had feared, the penultimate chapter in the cinematic adventures of the wizarding world would only be shown in two dimension.  I look at it this way: if the movie is going to suffer from a lackluster 3D experience, sacrifice the gimmick for quality of the overall experience.  I have been for the most part, quite pleased with the transfer of the tale from the printed page to the big screen and cannot wait until Saturday afternoon to see the newest extravaganza.  However, the article I came across promised that the climax would indeed be shown with the added dimension on July 15, 2011 (a few short days after someones celebrates their birthdays)



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October 10th, 2010 by Castina

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Harry Potter and his pals won’t be using magic to combat evil in 3D after all.

On Friday, Warner Bros. Studios announced that the first part of the film in the blockbusterHarry Pottter film franchise will only be released to standard and IMAX theaters in 2D — not the eye-popping 3D technology as was originally planned.

Hollywood bosses say they simply don’t have enough time to convert the film to 3D before its Nov. 19 release date. Warner Bros. had hoped to be able to transform the film into 3D format, but trashed the idea after taking inventory of their timetable.

“We will not have a completed 3D version of the film within our release date
window,” read a press release issued by The WB last week. “Despite everyone’s best efforts, we were unable to convert the film in its entirety and meet the highest standards of quality. We do not want to disappoint fans who have long-anticipated the conclusion of this extraordinary journey.”

“This decision, which we completely support, underscores the fact that Warner Bros. has always put quality first,” says director David Yates.

At least there’s one bright spot: The studio says Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 will still be released in both 2D and 3D on July 15, 2011.

Interestingly, the announcement was made a month ago.  I am surprised that it has not been better publicized.  Perhaps in order to not detract viewers who would rather see the 3D even if it is done in less than spectacular fashion.  Wonder if the PTB will continue to perfect it in time for a re-release next summer.

Well… since I do not have a play to be in this holiday season, I will try to hit a few of the blockbusters coming to the multiplexes in the next few weeks.  I have already mentioned the runaway train movie that I CAN NEVER remember the title of but it stars Denzel Washington and Chris Pine.  Denzel always seems to be at the top of his game.  Does anyone know of a less than great performance he has delivered?  Also curious to see if Mr. Pine can go beyond his role of Captain James Tiberius Kirk (that is the first role I have seen him in)  UNSTOPPABLE! THAT’S IT!  Opens Friday, November 12 (my day off, hmm).

Also Opening up this Friday is Skyline which looks like an entertaining alien invasion flick.

Next week’s major opening is a definite must see!  In fact, I have already made plans to see this next Saturday (it is my week to work Friday night).  If you have not read/seen book/movie 6 in the Harry Potter series… may I suggest hunting out one of the two before heading out to see the first part of the final chapter.  I have always thought that The Half Blood Prince was more of a transition to The Deathly Hallows.  Although, I found the previous film to be somewhat of a letdown, there are some elements that I recommend discovering before going into what I anticipate will be GREAT!

TRON:Legacy will probably be best experienced on a good cinema screen and hopefully, I will be able to make a viewing.  Twentysome years is an awfully long time to wait for a sequel.  However, with the technological advances made since 1982(?!), I’m sure it will be spectacular!

The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader opens in December, too.  I really was not aware that this had been completed until I saw a preview a few weeks ago.  This is the third movie based on C.S. Lewis’ classic 7 book series.  I really enjoyed the previous installments…primarily since they were some of my favorite tales growing up.

I think that is about it!  It almost seems like summer with all of the action-packed popcorn movies opening up.  I thought the last few months of the year were geared toward the Oscar worthy features.  Maybe someone thinks that Yogi and BooBoo will be “contendahs” 😀 or the return of the Fockers?

So… hopefully with all the hustle and bustle the holidays bring, everyone can take a few hours and escape.

I could never, ever put the last 10 years down!  I have been in 17 (soon to be 18) stage productions and met the most amazing group of people anyone could hope to meet.  They really are my best, dearest friends!  Today, I went to my first professional call back.  I had absolutely no idea what to expect so I made sure to get a decent night’s rest (after watching the best season premiere of Smallville in its ten years… what a way to start off the final season) and eat something this morning.  I was a little nervous but a LOT MORE excited.

As I entered the call back space, the receptionist acted like I was from outer space. Not far off but after learning that I was the first to arrive (big surprise) she invited me to sit in the sitting room and wait so I had more time to read through my sides.  Only three other perspective actors arrive… two of whom I have had the pleasure of working with before… and one already professional from Indianapolis who has appeared in a commercial with a certain Colt.

After waiting the arrival of the producer (who ran a bit late as his car was attacked by a horde of rampaging wildebeast), we were subjected to horrors too gruesome  to describe on this little, family-friendly blog.  I must tell you that I have never seen such horrors.

Following the torture, we were given “the acting is not all peaches and cream speech”.  Even after the fearful events we were put through, I thought that it could not get any worse.  And I have heard the same speech more than once.

And the outcome of all the horrors!  EXCELLENT!  I am forbidden to say anything more.  But I am just a bit more excited than I was when I left this morning 😀

I wonder if I get to rid myself of the “scruff” after October 17.

One of the most difficult tasks in filming Superman: The Movie was the casting of the Man of Steel, himself.  The list of possible candidates was a veritable who’s who of 1970s top box office draws.  Everyone from Burt Reynolds to Paul Newman to Dustin Hoffman… even Muhammad Ali?  That one is even stranger than the candidate I was going to blog about.  Can you possibly imagine “The Greatest” in the role.

Another contender for the dual role of Superman/Clark Kent was an actor who had (and still has) close ties to Warner Brothers Pictures.  Clint Eastwood had already established himself as a different kind of action-hero.  Can you imagine Dirty Harry rescuing a fluffy white kitten from a tree.  He would be more likely to growl at the little girl and send her running in tears to her mother. Instead, we got an excited little tyke exclaiming to her mother that a man swooped out of the sky and rescued Frisky.  Her reward… a slap for telling more lies.

As for Mr. Eastwood’s take on the offer made nearly 35 years ago:  “it’s not for me.  It’s meant for someone, just not me.”  Thank goodness for that.  He did agree that Christopher Reeve nailed the role.  Incidentally, Clint was also offered the role of another iconic character back in the day.  Read this to find out which one.