Star Wars (3-D) Update... In case you haven't heard yet, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith will be theatrically re-released within 3 weeks of each other next year. Star Wars: Episode II will open in 3-D at cinemas nationwide on September 20, 2013, while Episode III will come out in 3rd dimension shortly thereafter on October 11, respectively.



Personally speaking, I'm not surprised that Lucasfilm is re-releasing the last two Star Wars prequels back-to-back on the same year (like what was done for the 1997 Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition). The Phantom Menace, whose visual effects were totally awesome to see on the big-screen again, in 3-D, last February, grossed only $43.5 million at the box office more than 6 months ago (while Disney's The Lion King made $94 million when it was re-released in 3-D last year)...and that can be attributed to the fact that Jar Jar Binks and the performances of most of the actors (specifically Jake Lloyd and unfortunately, Natalie Portman) in Episode I are as painful to watch now as they were back in 1999. And it doesn't help that Attack of the Clones is even more excruciating to watch than The Phantom Menace because of the bad romantic dialogue Lucas had Portman and Hayden Christensen say in the movie. It's almost safe to say that Attack of the Clones would've most decisively been a 3-D flop next year if Revenge of the Sith wasn't scheduled to immediately be re-released after it.



I'm definitely looking forward to seeing Episode III in 3rd dimension next year. The opening space battle above Coruscant... General Grievous confronting Obi-Wan Kenobi with 4 friggin' lightsabers, simultaneously, on Utapau... The Battle of Kashyyyk sequence... Darth Sidious and Yoda dukin' it out in the Galactic Senate chamber on Coruscant, while the epic lightsaber duel between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan takes place on Mustafar... Revenge of the Sith should hopefully be more welcomed than Episode I was when it returns to the big screen in 2013. Sith is, after all, the best film in the prequel trilogy. That's not saying much, but it's all good.

Image of the Day... I'm sure that some of you have already seen this meme (at least the version where Tony Stark is a bit more um, profane, in his proclamation as Iron Man) if you're a Facebook user— It just comes to show you how much of a bad-ass Stark is. Though the Hulk was also awesome in the movie, Iron Man is the superhero who really made The Avengers worth watching last May.

The Rocketeer...Remake? Last week, one of my friends posted a comment on Facebook about Walt Disney Studios planning to reboot The Rocketeer. There haven't been much details as to who Disney would tap to play the jetpack-strapped hero played by Billy Campbell (unless Campbell himself returns to the role of Cliff Secord, the film's protagonist), but I did read that Joe Johnston (who directed The Rocketeer and last year's Captain America: The First Avenger) wouldn't mind helming a sequel to the 1991 flop-turned-cult classic. Even though The Rocketeer didn't do well at the box office when it originally came out in theaters 21 years ago, I totally enjoyed the movie (I just finished 5th grade when it was released in June of '91... Not to show how old I am).



The sight of a red and gold-clad hero flying around Los Angeles on a jetpack is cool (though one might think that I'm talking about Iron Man here as well), and so is Timothy Dalton as the villainous Nazi agent (I'm aware that 'villainous Nazi' is an oxymoron, hah) Neville Sinclair. And Jennifer Connelly? Let's put it this say: I had a HUGE crush on Kim Basinger back when Tim Burton's first Batman movie was released in 1989. Basinger was promptly replaced as my dream girl when Connelly made her first appearance on-screen as Jenny when I watched The Rocketeer. Would I mind Connelly returning in the reboot, you ask? Of course not. Would be cool if she had a scene that was close to something you'd see in say, The Hot Spot, but this is a Disney film...so that's highly unlikely. One last thing I'd like to point out is that James Horner's film score for The Rocketeer is awesome. Seeing as how this is a reboot though, I wouldn't be surprised if Hans Zimmer composed the music for the would-be remake. Or Danny Elfman. Carry on.

The Expendables 2... I saw the sequel to the 2010 mash-up of 1980s action heroes earlier this week, and all I can say is, it was bloody good fun! I'm not using the word 'bloody' here because I'm trying to sound British (leave that to Madonna ), but because of the fact The Expendables 2 is a lot gorier than its predecessor...especially in the first 10 minutes of the film. What's surprising, though, is that the movie has a couple of memorable lines in it. One alludes to the fact that Chuck Norris is AWESOME, and the other is true in real life:

Sylvester Stallone to Chuck Norris (after Norris comes to the Expendables' rescue in Albania): "I heard you once got bitten by a king cobra."

Norris: "Yea. It was 5 days of pain and agony." (Pause) "And then the cobra died."

Clearly, whoever wrote these lines (whether it was Stallone or one of his co-screenwriters, or Norris coming up with this quip on-set) was inspired by Chuck Norris Facts online. On a more serious note, Stallone also had this memorable quote when one of his team members gets shanked early on the film:

"Why is it that those who want to live the most end up dying? And those who want to die just keep on living?"

So true. Not just in Hollywood flicks but also in the real world.

In terms of story, there's nothing worth nothing about it in The Expendables 2. Jean-Claude Van Damme plays the movie's main villain (named, um, Vilain), and the reason to see this film is to watch Rambo, The Terminator, John McClane and Walker, Texas Ranger team up to defeat the Universal Soldier and his goons. What makes The Expendables 2 enjoyable to watch (unless you despise on-screen bloodshed) is the fact you clearly see the actors having fun being in this flick. Terry Crews and Bruce Willis make Terminator remarks to Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Schwarzenegger makes a Die Hard comment as Bruce Willis leaps into action in the film's climax. And clearly, Schwarzenegger enjoys poking fun at the fact he isn't the same muscular persona who filled the big screen more than a decade ago after completing his stint as the Governor of California last year. In the final scene of the movie, when Stallone is offered a new plane by Bruce Willis after Stallone sacrifices his Grumman HU-16 Albatross to rescue those Albanian miners, Stallone comments that the new aircraft (a decrepit twin-prop plane) "belongs in a museum." Schwarzenegger, standing nearby, dryly responds with "So do we." Talk about being a good sport.



So all-in-all, The Expendables 2 is worth watching if you're in the mood to relive the 1980s a la The A-Team, The Karate Kid (both of which were also released in 2010, along with The Expendables) and even this year's Ted [if you're a fan of Tom Skerritt (Top Gun) and/or Tom Jones (Flash Gordon)]. It's too bad that Chuck Norris reportedly won't return in The Expendables 3, though... I wouldn't have been surprised if his character talked about how he got bit by a black widow, a rattlesnake and stung by a scorpion—all at once—and lived to talk about it. To quote Ben Stiller from 2004's Dodgeball: "F**kin' Chuck Norris." He's da man. That is all.

Ted... In honor of the Curiosity rover successfully landing on Mars more than 2 weeks ago, the cuddly trash-talking teddy bear wants to become the first guy to toss an empty beer can onto the Red Planet's surface. Nice.


Courtesy of Facebook

Iron Man 3... Apparently, this young fan of Tony Stark didn't watch Iron Man 2. Otherwise, he'd know that kids wearing Iron Man costumes in a room filled with robotic suits probably isn't a good idea...

All jokes aside, this is a cool pic. Props to Robert Downey Jr. for making a surprise visit to the fans at San Diego's Comic-Con last month.


Courtesy of Facebook

Tony Scott (1944–2012)... Among my all-time favorite films that he directed are Top Gun, Crimson Tide, Deja Vu and Enemy of the State. Rest In Peace, Mr. Scott... So sad that the life of one of Hollywood's most exciting filmmakers would end on a tragic note.