This Friday, summer's first big blockbuster film comes out in theaters. Can't wait! I'll probably watch it in Imax on opening night like I did with 300...and then the next few screenings will be at regular theaters. Hey- This is the only movie series besides Star Wars where I'm willing to watch a film more than once at the cineplex (with some buddies, of course). Then again, I only watched the first Spider-Man once in theaters when it came out in 2002, but that was because I was wasting my dough on Attack of the Clones. Jango Fett rules.

SPIDER-MAN 3: The final trailer... Go HERE to watch the last preview to this May's upcoming blockbuster film. Venom is finally shown in this trailer, as well as some cool footage of the aerial battle between Peter Parker and Harry Osborne on the glider. You'll notice that there aren't that many shots of Sandman in this video, but that's because his story was already featured in the teaser and the first full-length trailer. Anyways, sling on! Or whatever one would say to, um, Spidey.

"There’s no reason why we can’t be civil." Funniest line in the movie, if you know what was going on in that particular scene. Anyways, I watched 300 on Friday (in IMAX, I might add), and in terms of what I thought before my opinions were slightly tarnished by the reviews I read on RottenTomatoes.com, that movie kicked ass! Excuse me for sounding like a sadistic SOB, but the way that all the slaughtering of the Persians were portrayed on screen, was pure masterpiece. Okay, I may be exaggerating a bit...but the Battle of Thermopylae sure looked awesome! The biggest highlight took place during the first clash between the Spartans and the Persians. There was a long, continuous shot of King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) mowing his way through the enemy, and in slow motion we watched him easily dispatch Persians left and right on his path (see pic above). Again, excuse my sadism (and cheesiness...as well as repetitiveness), but it was poetry in motion watching the Persian hordes getting slice-and-diced so effortlessly by Leonidas and Company. Pure masterpiece. And I’m sorry, but the movie wouldn’t have rocked as much if we didn’t see soldiers getting impaled by spears so clearly on the big screen. Thank you, visual effects. The actors playing the Spartans were actually jabbing at nothing during filmmaking (obviously)... The unlucky Persians who felt the wrong end of the spear were added digitally during post. And don’t forget that earlier shot in the movie where we see those Emperor Palpatine lookalikes—err, Mystics—watching that Oracle (Kelly Craig) gyrate while predicting the fate of Leonidas’ army, if it confronted Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and his forces. Did you know that shot was filmed underwater? Awesome. 300 made $70 million in North America alone on opening weekend (while the film itself cost 'only' $65 mil to make)?? It’s a masterpiece, I tellz ya. So what is my opinion now that I read some of the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes? I forgot.



EDIT: Did anyone watch tonight’s episode of The Simpsons? That Lord of the Rings spoof with Bart and Lisa in that cardboard castle was pure, um...masterpiece. Might as well overuse that word before I end this entry. Later.

BLACK SNAKE MOAN... I saw the film last Friday, and it was actually pretty good. Especially if you're a Christina Ricci fan, haha. Kinda interesting how Justin Timberlake went from being a member of a defunct boy band group to becoming a respectable actor (while Britney went from a pop sensation who made irritating songs to a mom trying to impersonate Sinéad O'Connor). And was it intentional that Samuel L. Jackson did a second film in less than one year with the word "Snake" in the title? Maybe not. And you're not watching a real Sam Jackson movie if he doesn't say "motherf--ker" at least once in the film (unless it was a Star Wars prequel). Black Snake Moan continues the tradition. This Friday, prepare for glory! The movie 300 comes out that day.

The 79th ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS... Congratulations to Martin Scorsese for finally winning the Big One (or Ones) by taking Best Director and Best Picture for The Departed. Great film, great film. I'm thinking about going to Best Buy tomorrow to replace my DVD copy of the Oscar-winner...since it freezes and becomes pixelated during the end credits. Not that I plan to watch the end credits again when I view the movie a second time. But I sure wouldn't mind having a clean copy of the film, eh? So where was I? Oh yea... American Idol was once again rendered irrelevant with Jennifer Hudson winning Best Supporting Actress for Dreamgirls, Eddie Murphy lost out to Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine in the Best Supporting Actor category (because of Norbit?), and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest took home the Best Visual Effects Oscar (though that movie blew). Can't wait to see who gets nominated for Visual FX next year (since it's really the only other category I care about besides Best Picture...and Best Original Score if John Williams or Hans Zimmer is in the running. I dig their music)... Spider-Man 3 should be a shoe-in...and perhaps Transformers and 300 will get nominated as well. Or how 'bout Ghost Rider, which was once again No. 1 in the box office this weekend? Probably not likely with that one. We'll see.



UPDATE: Just checked online, and The Departed won for Best Editing?? If there was one flaw the film had, it was with that particular production aspect. Click here for more details.

"I feel a lot better now that I know I’m the Devil’s bounty hunter." Though much of the dialogue was laughable (the Nicholas Cage line quoted above is laughable, but in a good way), the villains were weak, and the actress (Raquel Alessi) who played the younger version of Eva Mendes’ character is a lot prettier than Eva Mendes herself (though she’s still bangin’), by God Ghost Rider himself kicked ass (along with that cowboy Rider with the awesome horse)...and the movie itself was still enjoyable. It was a lot more entertaining than Mark Steven Johnson’s (a film school alumnus who, like me, went to Cal State Long Beach. Go 49ers!) last comic book flick, Daredevil. Though if there’s one thing Ghost Rider lacked that Daredevil had, it was a cool hit song by Evanescence. Oh well. Darn the critics... I give this flick thumbs up.



I also watched the film Breach this weekend. Good movie...but um, the FBI did remember to retrieve the package that Robert Hanssen (played by Chris Cooper) left underneath that bridge after he was apprehended, right? Or was that part fictional? Of course the FBI picked up that package. If there’s one thing a U.S. government agency is best known for, it is its utmost competence. Just ask FEMA. ‘Nuff said.

UPDATE: Six years ago today, the real Robert Hanssen was apprehended in Foxstone Park in Virginia. Irony? Or did Universal intentionally release this film near the anniversary of his arrest?

APOCALYPTO... I saw Mel Gibson’s new bloody (not bloody new) film last night, and needless to say, it was, um, bloody. But actually pretty good. It had as much graphic violence as The Passion of The Christ, but this time, the violence was okay because the Maya people were actually that brutal (thank God I didn’t live during that time...and was an unlucky enemy warrior who was a heartbeat away from getting my heart ripped out as sacrifice to the gods). Admittedly though, throughout much of the movie, I was thinking what if a modern-day soldier (RE: Navy SEALs or any other Special Forces commandos) suddenly emerged out of nowhere to take on those Maya who invaded that village in the beginning? I wonder: Would only four SEAL commandos be able to wreak havoc on those temples ‘Jaguar Paw’ and his buddies were taken to? Just detonate a few well-placed satchel charges, make sure there’re enough ammo for the MP5s and grenade launchers, and BAM, modern-day (American) might defeats the primitive Indian. Like how I mention the most random and facetious things in my Blog? I have a sudden urge to buy the video game SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs for my Playstation 2 now.

More on SPIDER-MAN 3... Last night, FOX aired the ‘world broadcast premiere’ to 2004's Spider-Man 2, and during most of the commercials, showed brief clips from the newest trailer to next year’s third Webslinger installment. Right before the movie started, however, there was a promo to these sneak previews, and a quick shot of Venom from the film was shown for the first time! In the words of Eric Cartman from TV's South Park: "Kiiick. Ass! Kiiick. Ass!" Thanks to the folks at SuperHeroHype.com for providing a video that combines all clips from the sneak previews. Word.

SPIDER-MAN 3 Trailer... Check out the newest preview to the third Spidey flick on iFilm.com, and in front of the next Bond flick Casino Royale...which comes out this Friday. Hopefully, a downloadable version of the trailer will be made available online once Royale is released. By the way, there's no sign of Venom in this preview (except Topher Grace playing Eddie Brock...Venom's human alterego). Sam Raimi is trying to keep the character under wraps, eh? Hopefully, Venom will look awesome when we finally see him on the big screen next May. That is all.

"Kazakhstan is the greatest...country in the world..." So I saw Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan on Saturday, and what did I think? In the words of Mr. Sagdiyev himself (that’s Borat’s last name, in case you didn’t know yet): HIGH FIVE! The movie was hi-larious! From pointing out the town rapist in his home village at the beginning to trying to kidnap Pamela Anderson at the end, the movie was a non-stop crackup! Sacha Baron Cohen is one devoted comedian...considering he was willing to have a naked fat man (Azamat, Borat’s producer in the film) sit on his face and pretty much ‘69’ him during that hotel room wrestling scene, poking fun at his Jewish heritage (C’mon now... Who won’t admit they found guilty pleasure in laughing at him trying to pay off those two ‘Jewish cockroaches’ so they wouldn't kill him? Or videotape the Running of the Jews in his village? It’s good, satirical fun... Mel Gibson should be amused), commenting on the current US and A political climate ("We support your war...of terror. May George Bush drink the blood of every man, woman and child in Iraq.") and even mingling with a couple of male participants at a gay pride parade. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprise if he brought "Not" jokes back into popularity again. And one phrase I’ve never heard of that I'll probably incorporate into my own screenplays is the term "Make romance explosion on her stomach." If you don’t know what that means... Well, you haven’t watch enough pornos then, haha.



All in all, Borat delivered. Though I don’t know about buying it on DVD since, once again, that now-infamous wrestling scene doesn’t lend itself to repeat viewings (unless you like fat and skinny, butt-naked Kazakh reporters). This is similar to what I said about the last Sacha Baron Cohen flick, Talladega Nights. Anyways... Since I (and millions of other people who contributed to the movie’s $26.5 million opening weekend) watched the film, does that mean Borat will no longer be execute? If so... HIGH FIVE!