"TWILIGHT is like soccer. People run around for 2 hours, nobody scores, and its billions of fans argue that you just don't understand."

TOY STORY 3... I watched Pixar’s latest movie last week, and despite the fact I only saw parts of the first two Toy Story films, the new installment was really good. Two of my co-workers mentioned that I should’ve seen the first two Toy Story flicks in their entirety, so that the moment where Andy drives off to college at the end of Toy Story 3 would’ve been more emotional. I disagree with that. The ending was already very emotional without me having to see the two previous films. Pixar does a wonderful job of conveying friendship, loyalty, a sense of loss and even betrayal in Part 3...which was more than you can say for Shrek Forever After (which was a decent film, but still... Give this franchise a rest, Dreamworks).



In terms of Pixar making sequels to its other hit films, a follow-on to The Incredibles would be pretty cool. And so would a sequel to Finding Nemo or Monsters, Inc. as well. No wait... Pixar is already making a sequel to Monsters, Inc. It's scheduled for release in theaters in 2012. Awesome.

THE KARATE KID... Two days ago, I saw the new remake of the classic 1984 film. Needless to say, this is one of those rare occurrences where the remake actually makes a lot more sense than the original movie. In the classic version, Ralph Macchio’s character has to deal with bullies (Caucasian bullies, that is) in his new hometown of Reseda in the San Fernando Valley. For those of you who have been to this part of Southern California, you’d know that it’s kinda odd (but obviously not uncommon) that white dudes in this area would be proficient in karate. In this latest incarnation, Jaden Smith’s character needs to confront bullies near his new residency in Beijing, China. Let’s see... Chinese kids who know karate? Or at least kung-fu? That sounds just about right. Stereotypical, but right.

What the new Karate Kid has going for it is that Will Smith’s kid is apparently more acrobatic than Ralph Macchio was in the original flick. It also doesn’t hurt that the training scenes for Smith’s character took place in beautiful Chinese backdrops. I have the sudden urge to travel to China (if I had the dinero) after watching this film, and am in the mood to get into a staring match with a cobra at a mountaintop temple if I went. If you saw the movie, then you’d know what I’m talking about. This particular scene also ties in with the kung-fu move—which nicely replaced the 'crane kick' that Macchio did in the original movie—that Smith does at the climax of the new film. Overall, the Karate Kid was a good movie. A bit long...but not long enough to prevent the audience from clapping and cheering loudly after the film ended at the screening I went to.

I also watched The A-Team this weekend. It was a fun film...though not as fun as the TV ads made it out to be. The cast was awesome (District 9’s Sharlto Copley was cool as Murdock)...though there were times when I couldn’t understand what they were saying because of their rapid-fire delivery with some of the dialogue. I give FOX props for not revealing any part of the climax (which takes place at the Port of Los Angeles) in the trailers or TV commercials. In terms of who won the battle of the 80s remakes (for me, that is), The A-Team was entertaining, but The Karate Kid was waaay better.

SPLICE... I saw the sci-fi/horror flick yesterday, and all I have to say is... That was some pretty F**KED UP S**T right there (to quote Stan Marsh from South Park). The scientist played by Adrien Brody must be a real sick horn dog if he’s gonna bone a creature, named Dren, that was conjured up in a lab, despite the fact he has a main squeeze (played by Sarah Polley)...who herself must really dread giving birth to a regular kid since she was the one who spliced human DNA with that of several animals to create Dren.



Special effects wise, Dren looked pretty cool... A nice blend between animatronics, CGI and prosthetics were no doubt used to realize this creature as it developed from restless fetus to a murderous um, hermaphrodite (you’d have to watch the film to know what I’m talking about) by the end of the movie. The two other creatures named Fred and Ginger were pretty cool too... They both reminded me of the Brain Bug from the 1997 film Starship Troopers. That was a cool movie. Would I watch Splice again, you ask? Um...nah.

TRANSFORMERS 3 Update... For those of you who regularly visit my Blog and noticed that I haven’t said a thing about the third film in the Giant Alien Robots franchise recently (even though I posted a gripload of entries about Transformers 2 back when it filmed in 2008), it was intentional. I was focused on typing about the launch preparations for the Akatsuki-IKAROS spacecraft (which lifted off for Venus 11 days ago)...and didn't want Transformers 3 to be upstaged by the space-related news.



Anyways, there are LOTS of things to mention about Transformers 3...namely the fact that it is very unfortunate that Megan Fox dropped out of the third film. In all honesty, the main reason why I was looking forward to seeing Transformers 2 after watching the first one back in 2007 was because I wanted to see the relationship between Sam Witwicky (played by Shia LaBeouf) and Mikaela Banes (played by Fox) develop. I’m one of the few people who actually liked how these characters were written in the first film, and even liked how their relationship was expanded upon (so to speak) in Revenge of the Fallen.



What’s ironic is the fact that if I DO end up losing interest in watching (or even typing about) Transformers 3, it’ll be because Michael Bay made the mistake of having that Victoria’s Secret model who was supposedly casted to take Megan’s place, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, play Mikaela...and not because of those two ill-conceived Autobot twins Skids or Mudflap, or because of testicles being added to Devastator, the Constructicon. Much like how Don Cheadle replaced Terence Howard as James Rhodes in Iron Man 2, and Maggie Gyllenhaal replaced Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight, I find it annoying when actors are dropped from movies after they had a substantial role in them.



Don’t get me wrong, Cheadle and Gyllenhaal did excellent jobs in those two hit comic book films, but character-wise, it would’ve been a better pay-off to see Terence Howard don the War Machine suit after he makes that "Next time, baby" remark (upon glancing at the Mark II suit in Tony Stark’s lab) in the first Iron Man film. Rachel’s death in The Dark Knight would’ve had a more emotional impact had it been Katie Holmes tied near those explosive-laden oil drums. People who didn’t watch Batman Begins wouldn’t fully realize why Dawes’ death had a strong impact on Bruce Wayne in the second film...especially with the character being played by two actresses in the Chris Nolan-directed movies. Anyways, back to topic...



Even though it sucks that Megan Fox is out, it’s still interesting that Michael Bay cast big-name actors like John Malkovich and Frances McDormand in TF3. I’m crossing my fingers that the character played by Ken Jeong (from Knocked-Up and last year’s The Hangover) won’t be TOO offensive in the movie, and that Alan Tudyk will be as amusing in this flick as he was playing Steve the Pirate in 2004’s Dodgeball and being a villain in the now-cancelled Joss Whedon TV show, Dollhouse. Patrick Dempsey (from TV's Grey's Anatomy) is in Transformers 3 as well...though I wonder if his rumored role as Mikaela’s boss will be rewritten since Mikaela is (hopefully, since she won’t be played by Fox) gone from the film.



Transformers 3 began principal photography around two weeks ago, and the locations where it will film include Chicago, Detroit, Moscow, Washington D.C., Texas, Africa, China and...Florida. It’s been confirmed online that Bay will be shooting parts of TF3 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (where he also filmed scenes for his 1998 blockbuster flick Armageddon) and other areas in the Space Coast. Bay will be filming at KSC in September...around the time that space shuttle Discovery is set to launch on the penultimate flight STS-133.



If you’ve read my fanfic synopsis for Transformers 3 that I posted last year, you’ll notice that the locations and rumors for TF3 kinda mesh with what I typed in that entry. In my synopsis, I mentioned that Sam is now out of college and about to start a new job, which is what he’s gonna be doing in the actual film. Not only that, but I also stated that his new job would be at NASA (namely at Kennedy Space Center)...and lo and behold, the movie will actually be filming at NASA’s premiere launch site. However, I also mentioned in my entry that Mikaela dies during the latter half of the movie. Looks like this won’t happen anymore...unless my fear is realized and a hot supermodel who doesn’t have acting experience indeed replaces Fox as Ms. Banes in TF3. Sorry for sounding like a broken record— I just can’t get past this bad news.



Oh, and there’s gonna be a new Autobot character whose vehicle mode will be a Ferrari 458 Italia. Hot Rod, anyone? I’ve also read online speculation that the final title for TF3 may be Transformers: Day of Reckoning. Sounds like a cool title...but it’s just rumor for now.

30 YEARS AGO TODAY, the Star Wars saga continued on a truly awesome note when The Empire Strikes Back made its debut in theaters across North America. To this day, The Empire Strikes Back (a.k.a. Star Wars: Episode V) is still considered the best film in the 6-episode movie series...and I agree with this assessment. Return of the Jedi and Revenge of the Sith (overlooking some of the clunky acting and dialogue in this one) would be my next two favorite Star Wars films.



It would actually be pretty cool if George Lucas showed the original Star Wars trilogy in 3-D, especially with The Empire Strikes Back (obviously). Seeing the Battle of Hoth and the Millennium Falcon’s flight through that asteroid field as it evaded those TIE Fighters and Star Destroyers in 3rd dimension would totally kick ass. No pressure there, George... I’d prefer if you convince Lucasarts to re-release the original X-Wing video game so it could be played on Windows XP (which I still have) or Windows 7. That is all.

AY DIOS MIO... Here are a couple of sexy pics (obviously an understatement) showing Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow in Iron Man 2, which comes out in theaters a week from today in case you’re not a film or comic book buff, haven’t been to the cinema for the past year or so...or haven’t watched TV for the past month or so. For more images (actually, there are only two that weren't included in this entry) of Black Widow looking bad-ass , go to this website.











Images courtesy of Marvel Characters, Inc. / Paramount

KICK-ASS... I saw the satirical comic book flick this weekend, and all I can say is...Kick-Ass kicked ass! I could care less about what people are saying about Hit-Girl, she f***in’ rocks! One of my co-workers who I watched the movie with yesterday pointed out how some people are objecting to that scene where she’s dressed up as a schoolgirl (since Hit-Girl is around 11-years-old in the movie)...because it makes her look like a sex object. Um, really? Hit-Girl says the word c**t, uses profanity left-and-right, stabs people left-and-right, and blows people’s brains out with a Glock left-and-right, and the schoolgirl outfit is what people are taking issue with the most? Um...okay.



A lot of you will probably be asking why I think Hit-Girl is awesome despite her doing the despicable things mentioned above, but that’s what makes Kick-Ass an amusing film. The title character of the movie is portrayed as some douchie punk teenager who constantly gets his ass kicked whenever he dons his green superhero outfit, and yet here comes this little girl clad in bulletproof attire, using night vision goggles during a gun battle and fights in a way that would remind you of The Matrix or a number of Japanese anime that The Matrix was ripped off from. Oh, and her dad (Big Daddy) is what Chris Nolan’s Batman would be like if he actually decided to use guns (and made an intentionally poor but hilarious Adam West impersonation). It just comes to show you that someone can become a superhero in the real world if they had the right equipment (RE: firearms and body armor) and amazing fighting skills. Haha. Of course, the short answer for why I find nothing wrong with Hit-Girl is that Kick-Ass is a friggin' dark comedy. Get over it.



Will I buy Kick-Ass on DVD? You bet. Will I buy the Kick-Ass film score (I don't care what my co-worker thinks, the music was cool)? If it was available on CD—yes. Do I think Lyndsy Fonseca is as hot in this movie as she was in the recent film Hot Tube Time Machine? You bet again. Oh, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse was as much a dork playing Red Mist as he was being McLovin in 2007’s Superbad. That was a compliment. Later.

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE... I saw the new comedy flick today, and if you like movies like this one and She’s Out of My League, then you’ll enjoy it. I happen to like these kinds of films, so I enjoyed it! Haha. Craig Robinson (of NBC’s The Office) and Rob Corddry (of...Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay) crack me up, and John Cusack plays his usual role as the level-headed goofball who still happens to get the hot chicks. Speaking of hot chicks, there were many in Hot Tub Time Machine: Lyndsy Fonseca, Lizzy Caplan (of Cloverfield and...HBO’s True Blood. Nice. Google ‘Lizzy Caplan True Blood’ to know why this is nice), Collette Wolfe (who was also in last year's Seth Rogen film Observe and Report), Crystal Lowe (who was in an episode of TV’s Supernatural), Julia Maxwell and Amy Esterle. In case you’re wondering how I know all these names in the film, thank the person who invented IMDb.



If there’s one lame little gripe I have about the film, it’s that why would Craig Robinson and his friends go into that hot tub when it was in dilapidated condition moments before? Wouldn’t they have found it odd that after finding a dead raccoon in the empty Jacuzzi upon arrival at that ski resort, it’s suddenly filled with warm, bubbling water? And they nonchalantly enter the water without questioning this abrupt change? Hmm. Anyways, as I said before...this gripe is lame. It’s like pointing out why Ricky Ricardo didn’t leave or bitch-slap Lucy after all those screwball moments she had in I Love Lucy, or how Ben Stiller didn't feel that, um, piece of bodily-fluid land on his ear after "floggin’ the dolphin" in There’s Something About Mary. Because they’re freakin’ comedies! That is all.

UPDATE (April 1): Actually, here's a more specific I Love Lucy example: In that episode where Lucy (after getting into a huge fight with Ricky over who forgave first in a previous argument) is wrapped up in bandages inside her bedroom to pretend she was hit by a bus, and Ricky and Fred Mertz stage a fake fire in the apartment so that Ricky can come in and rescue Lucy, and all will be well between them... Wouldn't Lucy have asked a loud "WHAT THE F**K?" when she exits the bedroom, only to see that the apartment was completely unscathed? Wait to think things through on your plan, Fred. And by Fred, I mean the show's scriptwriters.

PREDATORS... Check out the newest trailer to this Robert Rodriguez-produced flick...which is the latest installment in the classic sci-fi action/horror franchise. I first saw this preview in front of Repo Men last Saturday. Speaking of Repo Men, Alice Braga—who was Jude Law’s main squeeze in that movie (and also the gal who both saved Will Smith's life and almost got him killed in 2007's I Am Legend)—will also be in Predators. So will Topher Grace, Laurence Fishburne and Adrien Brody. Interesting cast... Well, except for Grace. This film looks like it has potential. I never saw any of the two Alien vs. Predator movies, FYI. I'm pretty sure I'm not missing out.

Predators comes out in theaters on July 7.