Fans of the Jurassic Park franchise have had to suffer through a lot—first there was the so-so sequel (The Lost World), and then the just plain bad one (Jurassic Park III), then 15 years of nothing but rumors before solid plans for a Jurassic Park 4 became a reality with Safety Not Guaranteed director Colin Trevorrow .  And then the project got delayed for another year, so that Universal and Trevorrow could best ensure the sequel isn’t terrible.  And now, in case you Jurassic Park fans weren’t nervous enough, comes news that the film could be a reboot.

/Film notes that in a recent profile of Sam Neill (who played paleontologist Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III), Neill was asked if he would be returning for the new film, and had seen the 3D version of the original:

As well as confirming that he is unlikely to be a part of next year’s Jurassic Park 4 (“I’m told it’s a big reboot, a total re-jig”), Neill confesses he hasn’t seen the new version of the original.

While Neill is asserting a “total re-jig” of the franchise, it’s hard to believe that  Trevorrow and company would actually restart the entire Jurassic Park franchise with some new actor showing up to stutter his way through the role of Ian Malcolm.  More than likely, it will be the first film to not contain any of the old characters, and will be the beginning of a new series of films (just as parts I-III loosely form a more or less interrelated trilogy via recurring characters).  Just do expect any of the old gang to be limping their way through Isla Nublar.

What do you think of the JP news?

We’ve fallen into the age where digital platforms, such as Amazon and Netflix, have turned into the new wave of go-to television. There are plenty of other companies that fit the profile that want to take part in the latest craze, but the newest one to join the ring may surprise you. What makes this news even cooler is what video game they’re turning into a live-action series and who’s one of the fine people helping put it together.

Following the announcement of Microsoft‘s new XBox game system XBox One (which, personally, sounds like a really boring title for a new console), they brought out Steven Spielberg to deliver the big news. The world famous filmmaker revealed to everybody that he’ll be directing Xbox’s first official live-action television series which is based off the Halo video games. Now this may not be the big bad movie that a lot of fanboys/fangirls have been dreaming of for years, but to be able to have Steven Spielberg on board handling the whole thing sounds pretty wonderful.

For the time being the show will be released exclusively on XBox Live, unless they say otherwise at a later date. It’s no surprise that Microsoft eventually went down this route, especially since they have been letting many other digital platforms like Hulu or Netflix strut their stuff on their own system. The question is will this Halo television series look anything as cool as the Halo Reach trailers? Here’s one of them below in case you’ve forgotten about them.

Do you want to see a live-action Halo television series or movie?

Source: Slashfilm

In the first U.S. poster for Edgar Wright‘s The World’s End, Simon Pegg raises a toast to, you guessed it, the end of the world. Along with this new one-sheet, Focus Features released another UK banner. The new posters feature Pegg, Nick Frost, Paddy Considine, Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan and Rosamund Pike, and offer the new slogan, “Barmageddon Begins.” Check them out below.

The third installment of Wright’s Three Flavors Cornetto trilogy (the others being Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz), revolves around a group of friends who, twenty years after having attempted an epic pub crawl, decide to head back to their old stomping grounds to try it again–when they discover that the town has been overrun by a world-threatening menace. The film also stars Chris O’Dowd and Rashida Jones.

Below you’ll see the first American poster, along with another U.K. banner:

In other World’s End news, Edgar Wright took some time to reply to fans’ questions about the movie. He talked about everything from his inspiration to the look of the “invaders” to cameos. He even gave tips to aspiring writers, directors and storyboard artists. (He said, “Get out there and make mistakes. You are your best teacher. Experiment!”) You can check out the whole thing at Yahoo!.

The World’s End opens in the U.S. on Aug. 23, after opening in the UK in July. Sadly, the people overseas will get to see the film before us.

What do you think of the new poster? Are you excited for The World’s End?

[via /Film]

Well, here’s the fourth trailer for Disney’s The Lone Ranger, the mega-budget film (estimated at $250 million) that cost just about as much as Disney’s John Carter film did last year, and has had nearly as many behind-the-scenes snags and production issues (it’s almost as if the universe is trying to prevent these movies from being made, and the Mickey Mouse people just won’t listen).

It seems Disney is really, really banking on the fact that people will see Johnny Depp and a bland blond guy zipping around in CGI representations of the antiquated past and remember how much fun that had watching the exact same thing with from the same director Pirates of the Caribbean (Gore Verbinski), rather than note how the film looks like a weird mash up of The Wild, Wild West and John Carter.

But hey, the trailer has a lot of boom-booms and bang-bangs, and Johnny Depp is all twitchy and odd, and the combination of those elements tends to generate millions in box office.  So, trailer:

So there you have it—it’s Pirates of the Caribbean in the old west; if that sounds like your thing, go have some fun on July 3.

What do you think of the trailer?

It’s hard to get a read on whether or not the upcoming The Wolverine is any good after the horrendously dull disaster that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine—there are moments in the new trailer that look genuinely great or entertaining or thrilling… but that sour taste from X-Men Origins just keeps popping back up.  Maybe viewing The Wolverine in its entirety will be the antidote.  We’ll see.

But hey, look, a new trailer.  This one doesn’t add much in the way of plot to what we already know, but it does carry with it a ton of new scenes—likely the most talked-about will be the dream sequence intro, in which Logan/ Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is haunted by the memory of Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), whom he killed at the end of the also-terrible X-Men: The Last Stand.  It’s a nice continuity bridge to the earlier films, but also a cold reminder of the awful ending to the original trilogy.

Elsewhere, the trailer hits the plot points that have already been established—Wolverine is called to Japan, where a rich old man (whose life Wolverine once saved) offers the near-immortal mutant a gift: mortality.  And then a bunch of ninjas with swords show up and there’s a mutant version of the train fight from the first Mission: Impossible movie.

Directed by James Mangold, The Wolverine is set for a July 26 release.

What do you think of the trailer?

Source:  /Film

This week offers a number of this year’s earlier films, most of which failed to make much of an impression at the box office. This was sad for Arnold Schwarzenegger, and for Warner Brothers, who thought they might have the next Twilight/Harry Potter on their hands. There’s also a ton of cool older titles hitting DVD and Blu-ray this week. Check them out…

New:

• The ABC’s of Death: This omnibus horror films is like most omnibus horror films. Some sections are good, others are crap. Twenty six chapters of people dying are presented here in short films made my filmmakers and well selected amateurs. Eh.
• Beautiful Creatures: Warner Brothers thought they might have a franchise with this one. They were wrong.
• The Last Stand: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return to the big screen was met with yawns. Word is that it’s actually a pretty good action movie, but now that it’s on home video it might find an audience.
• Parker: This third attempt at bringing Donald E. Westlake’s character Parker to the big screen (after Payback and Point Blank) at least was derived from a different novel. This was mostly sold as another Jason Statham vehicle, and was dinging for being too plot heavy.
• Side Effects: Is this Steven Soderbergh’s last theatrical feature film? Who’s to say, but just in time for his Liberace bio-pic, this film hits home video. Channing Tatum and Rooney Mara star in this mystery thriller that is Soderbergh’s take on a more Brian De Palma-esque movie.
• Stand Up Guys: Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin star in this barely-released and barely-seen dramedy about a man who’s released from prison, and his old friend, who’s supposed to kill him the next day. Do you think they follow through on their orders?
• True Blood: The Complete Fifth Season: Get your naked vampires on.

Classics:

• The Burning, Captain America, The Town That Dreaded Sundown: The latest from Scream and Shout factory are two horror movies, and the terrible 1990 version of Captain America. The Burning is one of those films that has always been hyped as something, but actually isn’t that good.
• Howl’s Moving Castle, My Neighbor Totoro: Two Hayao Miyazaki films are beign released on Blu-ray, and if you need to be sold on picking them up, I don’t think I can help you.
• Medium Cool: Haskel Wexler’s semi-documentary put Robert Forester in the midst of the 1968 democratic national convention, which was interrupted by violence. It’s a fascinating curiosity, and definitely lives up to Criterion’s goal of releasing important movies.
• National Lampoon’s Vacation, National Lampoon’s Vegas Vacation, Sommersby, The Ultimate Gangsters Collection Classic (Little Caesar, The Petrified Forest, The Public Enemy, White Heat), The Ultimate Gangsters Collection Contemporary (Warner Brothers): The latest catalog dump from Warner Brothers includes some great classic noir/gangster movies. Of them, the best is easily White Heat. There’s are also the Vacation movies, if that’s your thing.

What are you picking up this week?

Poor Ghostbusters 3.  Not only is it the sequel to a classic film (and another, crappy sequel) that absolutely no fan is asking for—it’s also a film that seems permanently trapped within its own personal rung of development hell.  As we’ve noted in the past, “Bill Murray was in, then he was out,  then he was back in, then he was back out, then it got a new writing team, then another, then director Ivan Reitman threw his hands up and just considered rebooting the entire franchise.”  Then the film was set for a summer 2013 shoot, and now it’s not.  But the one man who seems bound and determined to make Ghostbusters 3 happen—Dan Aykroyd—says the film will be coming next year, because of course it is.

During a recent interview Larry King (who had a cameo in the original film), Aykroyd stated that the film will shoot in 2014.  And he has a plot synopsis and everything:

“It’s based on new research that’s being done in particle physics by the young men and women at Columbia University. [...] Basically, there’s research being done that I can say that the world or the dimension that we live in, our four planes of existence, length, height, width and time, become threatened by some of the research that’s being done. Ghostbusters — new Ghostbusters — have to come and solve the problem.”

Aykroyd also noted that a number of characters will be returning from the original film, but Murray will not be among them; however, he promises a place will be made for the recalcitrant actor/ comedian should he decide he does want to shoot Ghostbusters 3 after all.

You’ve got to hand it to Aykroyd—he’s certainly determined to give the world the Ghostbusters 3 sequel that no one but him seems to be all that excited about seeing.

What do you think of the Ghostbusters 3 news?

Source: /Film

There hasn’t been much talk recently about David Fincher‘s big screen interpretation of the famous novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and for good reason. The picture has been delayed once before, and will be again thanks to some more holdups with the overall production.

The major problem the picture seems to be facing is casting, particularly that of our picture’s leading man. There’s been talks that the likes of Brad Pitt and Channing Tatum would take on the starring role, but no actor has stuck to the role as of yet. Since there’s been no additional movement on the casting front, it looks like Disney decided to scrap the whole project until next year. Will we be seeing 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea by 2015? Perhaps, but that all depends on whether or not they can assemble the rest of the cast together in time.

Now one wonders what else could be the hold up on Disney’s front–are they afraid to put too much of a gamble in this project? It wouldn’t be too much of a surprise, considering the big financial hit they took last year for John Carter. But then again, what studio hasn’t suffered in the box office?  Or, perhaps they may be waiting to see if folks will be interested enough to invest their money in a monstrous blockbuster movie like The Lone Ranger. The general reception of the trailers so far is mixed, but maybe there’s some good old fantasy western magic in there to lift Disney’s spirits enough to invest more time in 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.

Do you want to see another adaptation of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea?

Source: Slashfilm

In director Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ new film, The Kings of Summer, three teenagers (Moises Arias, Gabriel Basso, and Nick Robinson), run away from their respective families (which include the perfectly droll Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally of Parks and Recreation, and Alison Brie of Community) to build their own house over the course of one summer.  And if the red-band trailer (for language) is any indication, it has the makings of a cult classic.

The trailer does a lot to showcase Offerman’s brand of world-weary, man’s man cynicism, and Mullally has a nice but quick moment.  But the trailer really belongs to Arias, Basso, and Robinson, and their escapades in the forest in which they build their home away from home, and play with a bunch of giant swords:

In all, it seems like a charming and modern take on the nostalgic rite of passage film genre that did so well with films like Stand By Me and The Goonies (both of which are double featured with The Kings of Summer this month in L.A.’s New Beverly Cinema), but with worse language and more Nick Offerman (always, always a good thing).

The Kings of Summer is set for a May 30th release date.

What do you think of the trailer?

Last night, Mad Men returned to the world of shared drug use. “The Crash” saw a motley crew from the still unnamed agency indulge in illegal medical enhancement. Through the rose colored glasses of influence, our dark heroes enchanted us with their stories.

The Players:

• Director: Michael Uppendahl
• Writers: Jason Grote and Matthew Weiner
• Cast: Jon Hamm, John Slattery, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones, Christina Hendricks, Elisabeth Moss, Robert Morse, Rich Sommer, Aaron Staton, Kiernan Shipka, Jessica Parè, Kevin Rahm, Christopher Stanley, Jay R. Ferguson, Mason Vale Cotton, Ben Feldman, Nancy Linsky, Linda Cardellini, Shaun Rylee, Alexander Michael Helisek, Harry Hamlin

Episode Title: “The Crash”

An unexpected visitor causes trouble for Don, while Peggy searches for inspiration.

The Good:

• Shots of Speed: Jim Cutler’s answer to an injury, Frank Gleason’s demise, and the threat of another dismissed Chevy campaign was the cocktail shot into the buttocks of himself and his cohorts. Blame whatever unusual rhythm on the illegal influence. This isn’t the first time Mad Men’s used substances as an excuse to play with the framework of an episode. To the same effect, Don’s lost a handle on time before, and it’s always coincided with an impaired mindset.  Surely this will be as contentious as the other conceptual shows, but we can’t help but admire the model.
• Flashback Fever: Don’s hacking coughs while haunting the office preceded this week’s round of flashbacks.  Throughout the series, the flashbacks have centered on his childhood. Each one ending with another crippling realization about his painful upbringing. This season’s has focused on his mother problems. “The Collaborators” shed light on his overbearing mother substitute’s bedding by his uncle. Never knowing his young prostitute mom and being abused by his father and step-mother was damaging enough. But during his stay at the whorehouse, one of the girls nursed him back to health when he was ill, only to take his virginity as soon as his fever broke. One of Don’s semi-lucid moments echoed the sentiment that constantly plagues him: “Does someone love me?”
• Manic Depressing: Don’s plea for Sylvia to reconsider ending the affair should have been a warning. He’s not handling the termination of his most recent tryst well. Dr. Hecht’s shot was meant to inspire creativity in the quest to please Chevrolet, but it just informed Don on how to get Sylvia back. It seemed like he was working on a new idea for the car company. But as the 72 hour trip wore on, it was obvious he was planning the acquisition of Mrs. Rosen’s heart.  The sight of his family and the news of his children’s plight killed his desire with one fainting spell. Here Mad Men displays its panache for silences again; the quiet during Sylvia and Don’s shared elevator ride and his curt response to her effectively closed that door forever.
• Grandma Ida: When Sally awakened to a parentless apartment with a disheveled mature African-American woman rifling through her father things, confusion was immediate. Though her presence was suspicious, like Sally’s explanation of ignorance to her father’s history, we weren’t sure the woman was an impostor. Parenting’s never been a properly shepherded post for anyone on Mad Men; Glen Bishop was so forgotten only Betty remembered him. Her cold manner was reserved for her own children, but she gets points for at least trying. Side note: Bobby distinguished himself again; his quick, “Are we Negroes,” at the insinuation that the robber was their grandmother was a welcomed chuckle during a tense scene.
• Needs: The loss of his cousin overwhelmed Stan whilst in the throes of that mystery shot. Already drowning in drink and drugs, Peggy’s doctoring prompted him to go in for the kill—the kiss. She responded at first; even a bearded brother type is irresistible when it’s Stan. Ultimately, she didn’t sink to the level of everyone else in the office. Instead, she gave him some amazing advice, the exact opposite of Don’s to her in Season One. He needs to deal with it head on without clouding the loss with sex and drugs. Stan ignored her and slept with Gleason’s daughter while Jim looked on. Her moral compass isn’t exactly due north. We wonder what happened behind closed doors while she comforted the grief-stricken Ted.
• Merger Woes: Ted had no idea what he was signing on for with this merger. Returning to the office after mourning his loss, Don declared himself only an advisor the Chevy account. Considering the internet has already determined the car their working on the failed Vega, we wonder if Don’s lack of involvement will be attributed to its lack of success?
• The Extras: On Mad Men, everything has a literal and metaphoric meaning, including the episode title. For a few seconds, it looked like Ken’s life was claimed by a car crash due to the drunken antics of his Chevy team. To assuage our fears he not only reappeared in the next scene, but tap danced under the influence of that wonder shot ( it’s already been parodied). On the home front, Betty is skinny again. She’s not at her waif weight, but she’s blonde and thin again, without any acknowledgement. That’s worrying considering the fuss that was made during entirety of the Fat Betty plot.  But yay Betty!

The Bad:

• The Others: Yet again, Peggy and Don seemed to be the only ones making progress in their story arcs. We love Peggy and are dedicated to the dark prince Draper, but everyone deserves to advance. Joan made no appearance this week, and Pete’s was ever so brief. It’s fitting, neither is likely to indulge in ridiculous office antics or a three day drug binge. Still, let’s see someone shine.

The Quotable:

•  Betty: Where did you get money for that skirt?” Sally: “I earned it.” Betty: “On what street corner?”
• “The timbre of my voice is as important as the content. I don’t know whether I’ll be forceful or submissive but I must be there in the flesh”—Don
• “I’ve had loss in my life. You have to let yourself feel it. You can’t dampen it with drugs or sex. It won’t get you through.”—Peggy
• “I asked her everything I know and she had an answer for everything. Then I realized I don’t know anything about you.”—Sally

Overall:

“The Crash” was a resounding, albeit off-putting success. Watching it once simply won’t do. The deep layers made it an episode to be buzzed about for a while. We’ll be the first to love it unabashedly. But we still want to see someone else’s drama unfold as well.

Rating: 9/10

Mad Men airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on AMC.

What did you think of the episode?

There are a few things happening on the Star Wars front, both concerning Episode VII and not. Rumor has it that NBC’s new Dracula, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, is in talks to join the upcoming film. Also, Disney has just announced a new animated series titled Star Wars Rebel, that would premiere in the Fall of 2014.

Latino Review‘s El Mayimbe has a good track record when it comes to scoops; he was the first one to announce that Harrison Ford was coming back for the seventh film. Now, he’s heard that Meyers is in talks to star in Star Wars: Episode VII.

As /Film points out, Meyers is best known for his TV work (The Tudors, Elvis), but he has appeared in one other franchise before, and it just so happens that it was J.J. Abrams‘ Mission: Impossible III. This puts the actor in good standing with the director, making the rumor more true than not… but we’ve got yet to hear an official word from the studio.

The other news is from Disney. The studio has announced a new series called Star Wars Rebels, which would chronicle the events between Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Episode VI: A New Hope. Here’s a more detailed summary, from /Film:

The new series chronicles “the toughly two-decade period between Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Episode VI: A New Hope, during which the Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy and hunting down the last of the Jedi Knights as a fledgling rebellion against the Empire is taking shape.”

Though some of you many be dissapointed that The Clone Wars isn’t returning for another season, you could find some relief knowing that the show’s supervising director Dave Filoni will also serve as executive producer on the new series, along with Greg Weisman (Young Justice, Gargoyles). Also on the team is Episode VII producer Simon Kinberg, who will pen the first episode as well. There’s no word on who will be part of the voice cast yet.

The show is scheduled to premiere next fall on the Disney Channel. After that it’ll move to Disney XD permanently. Here’s a sneak peek of Star Wars Rebels:

What do you think of the news? Would you like to see Meyers in Episode VII? Are you excited about Star Wars Rebels?

There’s been a lot of talk about the casting of Inherent Vice, Paul Thomas Anderson’s cinematic adaptation of reclusive author Thomas Pynchon’s latest novel.  So far, the auteur has managed to grab Joaquin Phoenix, Owen Wilson, Benicio Del Toro, Martin Short, Reese Witherspoon, and Jena Malone—a rather auspicious cast thus far for a rather auspicious project.  But seeing how the novel has just about 20 major characters, don’t expect the casting news to die down anytime soon.  Today’s case in point: Sean Penn.

According to PTA fan site Cigarettes and Red Vines, Sean Penn is now in talks to join the cast of Inherent Vice.  No character was mentioned, though the site surmises Penn may be playing Adrian Prussia, “a powerful loan shark known to get violent when not compensated properly.”

Inherent Vice is Pynchon’s typically labyrinthine, hilarious, and ingenious take on the shaggy dog detective story.  And, given Paul Thomas Anderson’s love of Robert Altman, we’re hoping that his film version of Inherent Vice would make the back end to a nice double feature with Altman’s own The Long Goodbye, another deconstructionist take on the Raymond Chandler world of smartass detectives, dangerous women , and overly complicated plotting.

What do you think of the casting news?