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Dan Owen reviews
I s s u e # 9 12 3 M a y 2 0 0 4
MOVIE NEWS STAR WARS – ORIGINAL TRILOGY DVD
The original Star Wars trilogy is coming to DVD soon and ‘Ain’t It CoolNews’ released a screen-grab of a new sequence, featuring Hayden Christensenas the “Jedi Ghost” at the end of Return Of The Jedi with Yoda and Sir AlecGuiness as Obi-Wan Kenobi. (see right).
What other treats (or abominations?) has Lucas ordered be done to hischerished triplet of classics?
HELLBOY 2A sequel to Hellboy has been confirmed, with Guillermo Del Toro likely toreturn as director with Ron Perlman reprising his role. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN II & IIITwo sequels to Pirates Of The Caribbean will definitely be filmedback-to-back and released 6 months apart in 2006.
Coming Soon.nethas also revealed that Rolling Stone Keith Richards hasagreed to star as Captain Jack Sparrow’s father. Fans will already know thatJohnny Depp admitted he based his Sparrow character on ex-rocker Richards!
CHARLIE & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORYJohnny Depp’s young co-star Freddie Highmore in J.M. Barrie’s Neverland hasalso been cast alongside Depp in Charlie & The Chocolate Factory. (seeright)
Highmore will star as one of the children invited to the factory by Depp’sWilly Wonka. Personally, I think he’s the perfect Mike Teevee!
SHREK 3 & 4The first sequel to ‘DreamWorks’ original Shrek is due soon, but story ideasare already being worked on for a further two sequels! SPIDER-MAN 3Strong rumours have surfaced concerning the plot to Spider-Man 3, which willbe set-up as a cliff-hanger in Spider-Man 2.
SPOILER ALERT! During Spider-Man 2, Mary-Jane will marry J.J Jameson’s son,who’s an astronaut. In Spider-Man 3 Jameson’s son will head into Space, butwill become infected by an alien organism that will transform him into Venomafter returning to Earth.
THE RING 2’DreamWorks’ featured an advert in ‘Variety’ announcing the start ofprinciple photographer on the Ring sequel. (see right) ULTRAVIOLETMilla Jovovich is filming a futuristic vampire film called Ultraviolet. Themovie, directed by Kurt Wimmer (Equilibrium) concerns a tough vampire(Jovovich) who finds herself the protector of a 9-year-old boy targeted fordeath, set during a 21st-Century civil war between humans and a subcultureturned into vampires.
WEBSITES Alien Vs Predator
Not long now. Just a few months and U.S audiences will finally get to seetwo of modern cinemas most iconic monsters slugging it out. Alien puristswill bemoan the entire blatant cash-in… but will they resists seeing thisspectacle for themselves?(Website link)
TRAILERS Catwoman – Teaser 1
Uh-oh, I’ve heard bad things about this one…
Yes, Halle Berry’s Catwoman has caused plenty of upset amongst the onlinecommunity thanks to a terrible script review and a dodgy design forCatwoman’s costume.
But does this teaser redress the balance?
Well, it’s not bad. So that’s a bonus. Berry, despite the iffy costume,certainly looks the part and feels like a decent 21st-Century Eartha Kitt,and the footage has a certain style that appeals – courtesy of visionaryFrench director Pitof.
So, we should be hopeful?Let’s wait for the full trailer, shall we? Most crap films can be editedinto a decent teaser… but, yeah, this doesn’t look like the train wreckmost are expecting. But things will become clearer in the months to come…
Constantine – Teaser 1
Trailer link – Hi-res
Trailer link – Med-res
Trailer link – Lo-res
Hey! Another comic-book adaptation, right?
Very good. Yes, comic-book heroes are in vogue right now and evenlesser-known properties are getting in on the action – no doubt bolstered bythe recent success of Hellboy.
But I’ve heard bad things about this one.
Hmm, well, after Catwoman I think Constantine is the second most deridedcomic-book movie in production right now.
Why so?
Well, because they’ve Hollywood-ized the original comic. The character,created by Alan Moore during his Swamp Thing tenure, is a working-classScouser living in London. In the movie, he’s Keanu Reeves living in LosAngeles.
Ah.
Exactly. Comic-book purists are up in arms.
But does the teaser look good?
Yes, actually. There are plenty of good CGI-enhanced scares – including somewinged demons and a fabulous sequence where Rachel Weisz is pulled screamingthrough a skyscraper backwards.
Hmmm, but what about the story?
The teaser doesn’t reveal much – just shows off some of the early effectswork and how devilishly handsome Reeves is, blah, blah. But it looksvisually interesting and should find an audience – even amongst fans of theoriginal UK-flavoured comic.
The Incredibles – Trailer 1
The Village – Trailer 2
Wow, three in a row!
What?
The Village is another movie I’ve heard misgivings about.
True. A leaked script of the latest M. Night Shyamalan movie didn’t do downvery well, particularly regarding the “twist in the tale” ending.
Well, I trust Shyamalan. I even liked Unbreakable.
This second trailer is much better than the first and gives us some newinsights into the mythology of Shyamalan’s world – where a 19th-Centuryvillage is surrounded by a wood inhabited by strange created. Thankfully,both have co-existed for decades by adhering to some rules. But all that isgoing to change…
Cue some typically suspenseful Shyamalan moments.
Exactly. This looks like good, solid, suspenseful stuff. Yes, perhaps thetwist will infuriate some people… but hopefully Shyamalan will make itwork on film. The trailer does look promising.
US TOP 10 (CINEMA)All figures are weekend box-office gross.
- 1. Troy ($46.9m)
- 2. Van Helsing ($20.7m)
- 3. Mean Girls ($10.2m)
- 4. Man on Fire ($5.1m)
- 5. Breakin’ All the Rules ($5.0m)
- 6. 13 Going On 30 ($4.1m)
- 7. New York Minute ($3.8m)
- 8. Laws of Attraction ($2.0m)
- 9. Kill Bill Vol.2 ($1.6m)
- 10. Envy ($1.0m)
UK TOP 10 (CINEMA)
- 1. Van Helsing (£2.40m)
- 2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (£0.41m)
- 3. Kill Bill Vol.2 (£0.33m)
- 4. The Football Factory (£0.20m)
- 5. Laws of Attraction (£0.19m)
- 6. Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (£0.16m)
- 7. Secret Window (£0.15m)
- 8. 50 First Dates (£0.14m)
- 9. Troy (London-only) (£0.08m)
- 10. Main Hoon Na (£0.07m)
** IN THE PIPELINE **All dates are U.K release dates, and are subject to change.
Email Dan Owen
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.