THE FINAL POST OF 2011... Just thought I’d end this year by posting a couple of cool random movie stills (that I found on the Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki website) from the second highest-grossing film of 2011, Transformers: Dark of the Moon. (Did I really need to mention the title since you could've obviously guessed it from these pics?) Dark of the Moon earned $352.4 million domestically (collecting a total worldwide gross of $1.1 billion), while Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 took in $381 million in the North American box office (with a worldwide gross of $1.3 billion). In terms of DVD sales, Dark of the Moon ranked No. 10 for 2011 (as of December 18)...selling 2.6 million units for a total gross of $44 million.



Despite being a Transformers fan, I think that Harry Potter deserved to go out on top since Deathly Hallows, Part 2 was the final movie in the Hogwarts series. Presumably. One thing’s for sure, the Transformers film franchise will continue—with or without Michael Bay and Shia LaBeouf (movie critics be damned). Though bring back Megan Fox (Not bloody likely. I still think you're hot, Rosie) and Steve Jablonsky to compose Transformers 4's music score.

Have a great 2012, everyone!

Photo by Kerry Brown – © 2011 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

PROMETHEUS... Check out the new teaser trailer for next summer's Alien prequel, which is directed by Ridley Scott and being shot in 3-D. Prometheus stars Charlize Theron, Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce and Idris Elba...and will be released in theaters nationwide on June 8, 2012.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL... I saw the latest installment in the 15-year-old spy movie franchise last Saturday, and needless to say, it was pretty good. Directed by Brad Bird, who helmed the Pixar animated hit The Incredibles in 2004, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol conveyed a nice blend of humor, action and drama in its storyline...which was about four renegade IMF (Impossible Missions Force) agents trying to stop a terrorist from launching nukes after he blew up the Kremlin in Russia. Simon Pegg, best known for Shaun of the Dead and being a source of comedy relief in 2009’s Star Trek, also provided a sense of humor as the computer analyst named Benji Dunn. Paula Patton, as the lovely IMF agent named Jane Carter, had a score to settle with a sexy assassin (played by Léa Seydoux, who was also in Ridley Scott's 2010 version of Robin Hood) who killed a fellow IMF agent that was also Carter’s love interest. Jeremy Renner, as the IMF chief analyst named William Brandt, kicked as much ass as Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt did...though Brandt carried a painful secret that involved Hunt and the events that transpired after 2006’s Mission: Impossible III.



As shown in its theatrical trailer and TV ads, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol did not disappoint with the action sequence that took place at the Burj Khalifa skyscraper (the tallest building in the world) in Dubai. It’s amazing to hear that Tom Cruise was actually hanging along the side of Burj Khalifa and doing his own stunts...though it’s safe to say that substantial harnessing attached to Cruise during this scene had to be removed during post-production. I won’t spoil the ending for y’all, but I must also wonder how there could be so many nice and exotic sports cars in the Indian city of Mumbai. (Pardon my ignorance since the farthest country I’ve traveled to was the Philippines—more than 20 years ago). If you’ve already seen M:I:4, then you’d know which scene I was talking about.



Brad Bird gave Ghost Protocol's story and characters as much depth, energy and excitement as he did with The Incredibles. It would be awesome if he directed a Mission: Impossible 5 in the future. And as the rumors suggest, it would also be awesome to see Jeremy Renner take the reigns from Tom Cruise if he’s done with this franchise. But if the final scene of Ghost Protocol is any indication, we may see Dunn, Carter, Brandt and Hunt working together again in M:I:5. That would be cool.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, EVERYONE! This is kind of film-related...

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES... Check out the newest theatrical trailer for next July’s mega-blockbuster (it’s safe to presume that the movie will become one next summer). The trailer was officially released online yesterday, though you can also see it on the big screen in front of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows at the cinemas right now.



As per tradition whenever I post an entry about a film I am totally excited about, check out screenshots of the trailer that I posted below.

"When Gotham is...ashes, you’ll have my permission to die." – Bane in The Dark Knight Rises

MEN IN BLACK 3... Check out the new trailer for next May's third installment in the sci-fi comedy film franchise. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones return in Men in Black 3 as Agents J and K, respectively, while Rip Torn reprises his role as MIB boss Zed. New to the cast is Alice Eve (Entourage), Emma Thompson (of the Harry Potter films, The Prisoner of Azkaban, Order of the Phoenix and Deathly Hallows, Part 2), Bill Hader (Superbad) and Nicole Scherzinger (of TV's The X Factor). Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (of Milk, W and True Grit) also shows up in MIB 3, as a young Agent K.

Men in Black 3 gets released in theaters nationwide on May 25, 2012.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES... The teaser poster for next July’s highly-anticipated final chapter to Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy was released this weekend. Don’t forget to check out Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (which will feature the next theatrical trailer for The Dark Knight Rises) and select IMAX screenings of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (which the 6-minute prologue that opens the next Batman film will play in front of) at the cinemas this Friday. Can’t wait.

A STARSHIP TROOPERS REMAKE...REALLY? I found out last week that one of my favorite movies of 1997 will be given the reboot. The screenwriters of X-Men: First Class as well as the sci-fi TV shows Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Fringe will pen the script for the new version. While the last X-Men movie and Fringe are awesome, I need to re-ask this question: Really? Couldn’t the studio just make a decent sequel to Starship Troopers that didn’t head straight to DVD? Oh well. It’s already been 14 years since Paul Verhoeven’s movie debut in theaters... The Amazing Spider-Man, another reboot, will be released in cinemas in 2012—only 5 years after Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 played on the big screen.

Another question needs to be asked... Will any of the cast members from the original film make a cameo in Starship Troopers Redux? Preferably, it would be Dina Meyer or Denise Richards...though Neil Patrick Harris seems the most likely. His character, Colonel Carl Jenkins, seemed destined to become an evil Federation dictator by the end of the original film. Let’s see what happens.

TITANIC (IN 3-D)... For those of you who saw the flick a dozen times after its debut in theaters in late 1997 and were stoked when it beat out L.A. Confidential, Good Will Hunting and As Good as It Gets for Best Picture at the Academy Awards in 1998, you can watch Titanic a dozen more times once it sets sail on the big screen again in April of next year. April 6, 2012, to be exact. (The actual disaster occurred on April 15, 1912.) The only difference this time is, you’ll get to see Propeller Guy (the poor sap who falls off the stern of the Titanic as it rises out of the water, only to slam into a giant propeller blade before he splashes into the icy Atlantic in that memorable shot of the movie) and Kate Winslet’s um, bedroom modeling scene in 3rd dimension. Yes, you can wonder whether or not it’s tasteless that James Cameron is applying the technology he mastered in Avatar to a film about 1,500 folks who perished on the Unsinkable Ship almost a century ago, but oh well. It’s all about the nostalgia factor. Well that— And earning more $$ at the box office.

With The Phantom Menace being re-released (in 3-D as well) in theaters this February and Titanic returning to the multiplex two months later, it’s gonna feel like my high school senior year and first year in college all over again. Sort of. Good times...

More on THE DARK KNIGHT RISES... Empire posted an excerpt from its upcoming magazine article that focuses on the highly-anticipated movie, which gets released in theaters nationwide on July 20 of next year. In the article, director Christopher Nolan mentions that The Dark Knight Rises will take place 8 years after the events of The Dark Knight, and that instead of relying on 'venom' that gave him strength to break Batman’s back in the comic books, Bane will instead use gas emitted from his mask to make him impervious to pain and be virtually invincible. Good stuff. Click on the link above to read more details about the film.

Below is the cover that will only be on issues sent to subscribers of Empire magazine. Everyone else will have to deal with the other kick-ass versions posted in my previous Blog entry. Carry on.


Courtesy of Superhero Hype

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES... Empire recently unveiled two alternative covers for an upcoming magazine issue that will focus on next July’s mega-blockbuster (yes, it’s safe to assume that The Dark Knight Rises will become a box office hit). Both are awesome...though I’d have to choose the Bane cover to be published first because he has a cool menacing glare in this one. That, and I obviously don’t know what that gadget Batman is holding on his cover. Either it’s a fancy flashlight, a high-tech taser or his own radar gun used to gauge how fast drivers are speeding down the city streets of Gotham. A high-tech taser is the likeliest of the three.

21 JUMP STREET... Check out the trailer for next March’s (comedic) adaptation of the 1980’s TV show—which set Johnny Depp down the path to stardom. Speaking of Depp, he’s apparently going to make an appearance in the movie (despite hearing stories that he actually hated being on the TV show), which stars Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ellie Kemper (of NBC’s The Office), Dave Franco (the brother of Oscar-nominated actor James Franco) and Ice Cube.

It seems like the trailer (unsurprisingly) gave away almost every funny moment in the film, but if you’re still going to check it out, 21 Jump Street gets released in theaters throughout the U.S. on March 16, 2012.

RED TAILS... Check out the trailer for next January’s World War II action flick, which is produced by George Lucas and chronicles the real-life exploits of African-American fighter pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Red Tails, which stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard and...Method Man, is the first Lucasfilm production since 1994 to not be connected with Indiana Jones or the Star Wars saga. Radioland Murders was the last movie Lucas worked on before he focused on the 1997 Star Wars Special Editions and the prequels.

Red Tails gets released in theaters nationwide on January 20, 2012. I’ll watch this flick...though what’s up with the 300-style letter font for the movie’s title? Zack Snyder might not be pleased.

A VERY HAROLD & KUMAR 3D CHRISTMAS... I finally got around to seeing the third installment in the stoner movie franchise yesterday, and story-wise, it was decent. Kal Penn took a break from working for President Obama at the White House to reunite with John Cho and go on another wacky weed-related adventure...this time looking for the perfect Christmas tree instead of the perfect White Castle burger. Neil Patrick Harris once again steals the show when he makes a cameo as a gay-dude-playing-a-straight-guy-who-poses-as-a-gay-dude in Harold & Kumar 3. The lovely Paula Garcés and Danneel Harris—err, Ackles (she’s now married to Jensen Ackles of the hit CW TV show Supernatural in real life) also return, with Garcés' character Maria now married to Harold...and Vanessa, played by Ackles, thinking Kumar is an immature pothead despite him escaping from Guantanamo Bay in the second flick to win back her love (with some help by George Dubya Bush). A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas also stars Patton Oswalt (from the CBS TV show King of Queens), Danny Trejo (a.k.a. Machete), Eddie Kaye Thomas (who worked with John Cho on the America Pie flicks, including next year’s American Reunion) and Elias Koteas (of such movies as Let Me In, Shutter Island and the Oscar-nominated film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button).



3D-wise, Harold & Kumar 3 looked good in the format. The film was clearly poking fun at this gimmick...but it actually had some cool shots which included an Asian dude (not John Cho) getting bombarded with eggs by a bunch of Wall Street protesters in New York City, broken window shards flying towards the camera after Harold and Kumar throw a burning Christmas tree through it, and numerous scenes where smoke from lit joints and even cocaine powder fly around the room. The movie makes good use of a toy robot ("Wafflebot") that’s able to both make waffles and incapacitate bad guys with hot syrup at the same time. And of course, Santa Claus shows up to help Harold and Kumar get through their wacky ordeal despite Santa getting a shotgun wound to the head earlier, courtesy of Harold. There’s also a funny claymation scene that’s as bloody as anything you would see in an Eli Roth horror flick. Well, sort of.



All-in-all, A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas is good fun. It has the usual brand of gratuitous nudity and penis jokes (and some blasphemous takes on Jesus and the Catholic Church...but I’m not a fanatical God-boy so I’ll let them slide), but what else would you expect from the popular stoner comedy? Harold & Kumar 3 (it’s too much of a hassle to always typing the actual title) makes up for this by showing what a dude would do to make his wife happy and earn the respect of her father. I’m talking about Harold and Maria, of course. Kumar is the immature pothead. But yes, he wins back Vanessa at the end as well. That is all.

I wonder if something like Wafflebot is actually sold in stores? Probably not.