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Dan Owen reviews
2 0 0 6 R e t r o s p e c t i v eP a r t F o u r
What goodies await us in 2007? Well, my personal picks of stuff to lookout for are as follows:
Transformers - the 80s cartoon and toy franchise about robots able totransform into various vehicles gets a Michael Bay facelift. Expect plentyof very loud explosions and eye-popping visuals.
Spider-Man 3 — the most successful comic-book movie adaptation returns witha full plate: a new love interest and three new villains. Audiences will beclamouring to see Green Goblin #2, the Sandman and, of course, theanti-Spidey himself… Venom.
Shrek The Third - perhaps the only CGI animation held in the same regard asToy Story, the phenomenally successful Shrek canon gets a third member. Thevisuals don’t seem to have improved that much since Part 2, but the laughsseem to be intact judging from the trailer.
Pirates Of The Caribbean: The World’s End - okay, so the first sequeldivided discerning audiences, but it still did massive box-office and theDVD flew off the shelves. Part 3 will continue the story, with moresumptuous scenery, gorgeous actors, amazing effects and Johnny Depp hammingit up for all he’s worth.
300 - it’s another adaptation of a comic-book utilizing the samegreenscreen techniques seen in Sin City. Zack Snyder takes the helm on thishistorical actioner based on a true story about 300 Spartans defeating anenemy of 1 million soldiers. The visuals look magnificent: a potent blend ofSin City, Lord Of The Rings and Gladiator. Early US screenings in 2006 metwith near fanatical joy.
Fantastic Four 2: Rise Of The Silver Surfer - the first movie proved to bea big disappointment for comic-book nerds, but Joe Public got behind it andso the inevitable sequel arrives. FF2 will see WETA handle the visuals ofThe Silver Surfer (imagine an air-surfing T-1000), while director Tim Storywill hopefully deliver something with more substance than before.
Hot Fuzz - the Shaun Of The Dead crew are back, and this time they settheir comedy sights on the action genre. Imagine Bad Boys being mixed withyour typical episode of Miss Marple. Sit back and watch the fireworks andjokes fly.
Rocky Balboa already released in the States to amazing success and someremarkably positive reviews, Part 6 of Sly Stallone’s boxing franchise seemsto hit the spot. Fans are calling it the true sequel to Part 2 in spiritand, despite some flaws, it does exactly what you want and expect. The bestPart 6 ever?
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - another piece of 80s nostalgia alongsideTransformers. Those heroes in a half-shell return in CGI form, but with anaesthetic that’s closer to the dark comic-books they came from and not theprimary-coloured cartoon series. The trailer looks like a lot of fun, butare modern audiences bothered about the TMNT?
Grind House - Quentin Tarantino doesn’t make movies very quickly, so it’samazing his next film is coming out just 3 years since Kill Bill 2. GrindHouse is the most “out there” movie-going concept of 2007 as it’sessentially TWO movies for the price of one. Robert Rodriguez directs PlanetTerror (an zombie actioner featuring a stripper with a gun for leg) whileTarantino directs Bullet Proof (a slasher film about a stunt driver with afreaky car). Add to that some fake trailers from directors such as Eli Roth(Hostel) and Edgar Wright (Shaun Of The Dead) and you have the most bizarrerelease of the year. But, hey, check out the trailer and your jaw will be onthe ground too.
Evan Almighty - yes, with Jim Carrey back in drama territory, it’s left tohis Bruce Almighty co-star Steve Carrell (The 40 Year Old Virgin) to takethe lead in the sequel. This time God, Morgan Freeman again, instructs Evan(Carrell) to build an Ark before another flood hits the planet. Cue lots ofanimal jokes and slapstick, but it looks to have retained that good-natured”what if?” energy of the original. Check out the funnier-than-you-expecttrailer for the beard shaving gag.
The Simpsons Movie - true fans will know that The Simpsons TV show hasn’tbeen very good for about 7 or 8 years now. The sheer number of repeatsclouds the quality downturn, but everyone is hopeful the Simpson family’smove to a feature film will hit big. Promising signs? Some early sketchanimations released on the web were funnier than most entire episodes thesedays, and the show’s “Golden Age” writers have all hammered out the script.Fingers crossed…
Harry Potter & The Order Of The Phoenix - it’s the weakest book in theseries, so will the film improve on things? Apparently the screenplay hasbeen able to hack away a lot of dead wood and should deliver another fineslice of magic and peril. Even if it doesn’t match the giddy highs ofAzkaban or Goblet, can you seriously see this one flopping? Me neither.
Live Free Or Die Hard - it’s not just Sylvester Stallone who’s polishingoff his ’80s characters… Bruce Willis is back as indestructible andunfortunate cop John McClane. It looks like the filmmakers have ignored therestrictive nature of Part 1 and 2 and have expanded the danger toincorporate all of America. Director Len Wiseman cut his teeth on theUnderworld movies and the trailer certainly seems to have a lion’s share ofsome stunning stunt sequences. Should be the guilty pleasure of the summer.
Number 23 - Jim Carrey continues to move away from comedy with thispsychological drama with an intriguing concept. Basically, Carrey plays aman who begins to realize the number 23 is all around him, woven into hislife… and then stuff really gets weird…
2006 Retrospective Part One –2006 Retrospective Part Two –2006 Retrospective Part ThreePage Content copyright © Dan Owen, 2007.
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Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.