The Terminal (2004)

Many years ago, when the blog wasn't even a remote idea, I was on a Tom Hanks watching spree. I don't know why, but I wanted to watch all of his movies. The Terminal I kept avoiding because I thought it was about someone terminally ill —no, I didn't read plots back then either. Today, after seeing it was from Spielberg, I decided to check it out. And quite frankly, I'm shocked Spielberg made such a film as it is so different. In a good way. 

The film is about Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks), a man from the fictional Eastern European nation of Krakozhia who becomes stuck in the terminal of New York's JFK Airport as his country has been taken over in a coup, the US does not recognise the new nation and the borders of Krakozhia are closed. Forced to stay in the International Transit section until the war cools down, Viktor makes the airport his home and develops friendships with the people who work there.

As you can tell, the plot to The Terminal is far from being believable and realistic —it is indeed so far-fetched it could be classified as science fiction. It doesn't make a lot of sense either as it's often illogical, and there's a romantic subplot —actually, there's two of them— that makes the film quite confusing as it's hard to understand whether the story is supposed to be about immigration or just a love story. Despite this, despite the level of corny and cheesy it reaches, the thin and lighthearted story is an engaging, heartwarming one with a lot of cut and funny moments, one of those stories that make you laugh and cry and feel good.

And that happens because The Terminal cares more about its characters than the story it tells. Well-written characters with a nice characterization and development you won't find in here as pretty much all of them are stereotypes with no depth or realism whatsoever. However, there's something charming about them that makes you care about them and feel sympathy for them.

Especially toward Viktor who is beautifully portrayed by Tom Hanks. While it's not an Oscar-worthy performance, Hanks is totally believable as the naive, extremely trusting and always full of hopes man who finds himself in a limbo, accent, mannerism and all. He doesn't have a very good chemistry with Catherine Zeta-Jones, which is why the romance between their characters doesn't work, but he comes across as such a nice guy you feel hurt when he feels hurt.

DreamWorks Pictures

As for the rest of the cast, they are okay. Stanley Tucci, however, deserves a mention. He plays Dixon, the asshole/temporary customs director who tries his best to prevent Viktor from leaving the airport. Essentially, he is the villain. And he would be just a villain if it wasn't for the layers added to the character by Tucci's performance.

JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM Opens WIDE! 3D Recommended. No Spoilers!

I saw JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM last night in AVX 3D and had a great time. Definitely a popcorn movie and certainly with horror elements to it, which any dinosaur movie worth any measure should be. I will say that I KNOW there will be some who hate the movie (50% Tomatometer) for reasons I can't into right now without spoilers - but I, for one, love popcorn movies sometimes.

JWFK made $15.3m in Thursday preview showings and is expected to take a $140m bite oout of the box office this weekend. It has already made $450m overseas where it has already opened.

The 3D is good and certainly did not detract from the movie whatsoever. The production is a 3D conversion meaning it was shot with conventional 2D cameras and converted in post. The depth added immersion for me and I actually jumped a bit during one shot - which is rare for me. You'll love it!

Director J.A. Bayona pays significant homage to Steven Spielberg's original with this outing and loved every second of those scenes. You'll know it when you see them :-)

There are a couple of mindblowing twists in this movie toward the end so be prepared for shocks.

Here's the movie's storyline:
Three years after the destruction of the Jurassic World theme park, Owen Grady, and Claire Dearing return to the island of Isla Nublar to save the remaining dinosaurs from a volcano that's about to erupt. They soon encounter terrifying new breeds of gigantic dinosaurs, while uncovering a conspiracy that threatens the entire planet.

Cast:
Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rafe Spall, Justice Smith, Daniella Pineda, James Cromwell, Toby Jones, Ted Levine, B.D. Wong, Geraldine Chaplin, Jeff Goldblum, Robert Emms, Peter Jason, John Schwab, Sam Redford, Charlie Rawes, Patrick Crowley, Ronan Summers, Daryl Kwan, Eric Kofi Abrefa, Ben Peel, Mark Griffin, Gil Kolirin

Directors:
J.A. Bayona

Producers:
Frank Marshall, Patrick Crowley, Belén Atienza, Thomas Hayslip, Colin Trevorrow, Steven Spielberg

Writers:
Colin Trevorrow, Derek Connolly, Michael Crichton

JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM is now playing.

The Sugarland Express (1974)

Genre

Crime | Drama

Director

Steven Spielberg

Country

USA

Cast

Goldie Hawn, Ben Johnson, Michael Sacks, William Atherton, Gregory Walcott, Steve Kanaly, Louise Latham

Storyline

A woman (Goldie Hawn) attempts to reunite her family by helping her husband (William Atherton) escape prison and together kidnapping their son. But things don't go as planned when they are forced to take a police hostage on the road.

Opinion

Before "Jaws" made him famous, Steven Spielberg made his feature film directorial debut with "The Sugarland Express", a film that may have flopped at the box office, but that is totally worth checking out.

In fact, the film is a unique, very funny but also very sad road-chase kind of film that engages from beginning to end.

With the help of the screenwriters - whom later would win at Cannes -, Spielberg brings to a simple yet true story the realism needed, but also manages to keep it fun and to give the film that sense of adventure. Watching this, it's pretty obvious what influenced films like "Thelma and Louise".

The story is about two not that bright criminals running from the law, putting a lot of lives at risk. Along the way there are tons of people celebrating and hoping they will manage to get their son back, and the characters are so well written and portrayed, it'll feel like it's a duty to care for and take the couple's side.

And like I just said, the cast does a great job. A young Goldie Hawn gives a great performances as Lou Jean Poplin, the woman who can no longer distinguish fantasy from reality. She is funny and very entertaining, but she is more tragic than comic. The other great performance comes from Ben Johnson as Captain Harlin Tanner, the crusty police officer who leads the pursuit of the two escapees. William Atherton does a fine job as Clovis Michael Poplin, the submissive husband and he's well paired with Hawn. Michael Sacks does okay as the junior patrol officer who is taken hostage by the couple. 

3D Movie Review: JURASSIC WORLD: 8.8 Stars - 3D Box Office Explodes!!

This review is a bit late getting out I know, but I wanted to ensure I saw it again and I did - 3 times now (recently took the family)! It is indeed that great a movie and the 3D is well worth the extra surcharge at the box office. I personally guarantee it - and I've used my exclusive review format for you.

JURASSIC WORLD is continuing it's stellar success with 3D box office as audiences respond to the jawdropping 3D immersion in the movie. 47% of the box office continues to be 3D. Keep in mind that 3 out of the top 5 movies are 3D - including the top 2, and 5 out of the top 10. Massive numbers for 3D! As of yesterday JW sits at $981.3 million after just over a week in release - it WILL pass $1 billion today (~11 days). Stellar performance - and ANOTHER record as that bounty beats FURIOUS 7 (17 days) for fastest to $1 billion.

I'm astounded with the naysayers out there that continue to try and defend their positions on the movie. They say the CGI is rough, 3D isn't needed, poor character development, blah, blah, blah. I could go on. First of all I haven't seen the movie in 2D and won't until I get it on blu-ray. 3D is how to see it in theaters and if you don't you are truly missing out on the spectacle. Perhaps the CGI in 2D is not as impressive - that has happened before with me: I thought that the effects in a past movie viewed in 2D were unimpressive and not real enough, but when I saw THE EXACT SAME SCENES IN 3D - I was floored! Yes, sometimes visual effects are immensely better in three dimensions and that could be with JW because I see nothing wrong with the CGI performance. 3D does help with suspension of disbelief and in the case of JW - it's almost required.

The 3D conversion is not perfect, but certainly great enough to have a very good time at the show for 99% of audiences. I know what to look for as I have said many times before but for the masses it's perfectly fine. And as I say, 3D is required viewing for the movie - especially as it amps up the visual effects and let's face it, we're going to see dinosaurs here so the CGI and suspension of disbelief is very important. Native 3D still would have been a better choice by the filmmakers. One conversion error was trying to draw the audiences eye to the two boys in the massive crowd as they enter the main park building - they started far too early doing that so the boys appear to float above the others temporarily. Also it highlights the fact that the child actors were waiting for a cue to action before moving within the crowd (my interpretation anyway). So that brought me out of the movie. HOWEVER, other times the conversion seemed to take the time to do things right - like the close attention to detail when the screen was divided many times by thin lines (wires or plant branches) - usually in cheap conversions you can see ugly distortion there as automated conversions can't handle it. These JW scenes definitely had human hands touch them, to clean that up - well done!

Yes character development was not that great, but we're here to see dinosaurs so I cut Trevorrow significant slack in this department. We cared about the kids and they were the linchpin in this movie just as the original JURASSIC PARK. And the story was geared around the dinos again - so whatever. It's a popcorn movie, not freakin' GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS.

Probably the best thing about the movie was the Sound / Score. I thought it was perfect and a further tribute to the original movie. Plenty of "easter eggs" in JW referring back to JP - I won't spoil them, but keep an eye out! And they're not silly references either - some play a key role. Others are just meant as a smile as you nod your head.

Definitely see this movie in 3D and on the largest screen you can. These dinos are meant to be HUGE. Don't make a mistake and just see it in 2D - the world agrees; 3D is how to see it. If you have any questions about the movie before seeing it - the comments are open! :-)

JURASSIC WORLD is NOW PLAYING.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Genre

Action | Adventure

Director

Steven Spielberg

Country

USA

Cast

Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Ray Winstone, John Hurt, Jim Broadbent, Igor Jijikine, Joel Stoffer, Neil Flynn, Alan Dale, Andrew Divoff, Pasha D. Lychnikoff, Dimitri Diatchenko, Ernie Reyes Jr.

Storyline

After being forced to leave Marshall College under dubious circumstances, Indy (Harrison Ford) joins forces with rebellious, young Mutt (Shia LaBeouf), who believes he knows the whereabouts of one of the most spectacular archeological finds in history, the Crystal Skull of Akator, a legendary object of fascination, superstition and fear. 

Opinion

19 years after "The Last Crusade", Steven Spielberg and George Lucas come back with a new film of the franchise, starring an old Indy, still more pleasant than a 007 Agent sipping Martinis for the whole time.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a solid adventure film, entertaining, and with some fun, that still delivers the thrills, and does not damage the reputation of the Saga.

Written by George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson, the story is pretty good, but there's a problem with the characters. First of all, Oxley, Indy's friend. He looks like he's on acid, but then he heals, unfortunately it happens only at the end of the film. 

Now the villains. Cate Blanchett's Irina Spalko is not that intimidating, and the Russians are out of place. I'd rather have the Nazis back.

The action is good, and the jungle chase is ok. Only there are way too many, and implausible stunts - not a Bruce Lee's film, right? -, there's an overuse of CGI, and a pointless nuclear explosion scene.

The acting is ok. Harrison Ford still is the same, and old charismatic Indiana Jones. Shia LaBeouf is quite good to be honest, and not much annoying. Karen Allen is back as Marion, but she smiles and laughs for most of the time. John Hurt does what he can with his annoying character. Cate Blanchett is definitely wasted to play the "villain".

Quotes

Mutt Williams: You know, for an old man you ain't bad in a fight.

Indiana Jones: Thanks.

Mutt Williams: What are you, like, 80?

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Genre

Action | Adventure

Director

Steven Spielberg

Country

USA

Cast

Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Alison Doody, Denholm Elliott, John Rhys-Davies, Julian Glover, Michael Byrne, Kevork Malikyan, River Phoenix, Alex Hyde-White, Robert Eddison, Vernon Dobtcheff, Alexei Sayle, Michael Sheard

Storyline

When Dr. Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery) goes missing while pursuing the Holy Grail, an art collector (Julian Glover) approaches Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) with a proposition to continue his father's search. Once accepted, Jones must find his father and stop the Nazis.

Opinion

Definitely the best Indiana Jones film yet, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is more comedic, emotional, and spiritual than its predecessors, still plenty of superb action and thrills.

The great story, written by George Lucas and Menno Meyjes, begins with an introduction to a younger Indy, that finally gives the audience something about his background, such as the roots of his taste for adventure, the determination to put artifacts into museums, his fear of snakes, and, less important, how he got the chin scar. Back in 1938, the story is related to God in a beautiful way, without disrespecting religion - thing that happened in The Temple of Doom. 

The introduction of Indy's eccentric father, played by Sean Connery - couldn't really get any better than that -, is one of the highlights of the film. Most of the fun is delivered by him, and along with Ford, he also provides a great father-son dynamic.

Having most of the action of the film, Harrison Ford is amazing and charismatic as Indy. New entry Sean Connery does a wonderful job in portraying Indy's father, making a perfect duo with Ford. John Rhys-Davies is back as Sallah, and he is wonderful as ever, so is Denholm Elliott, returned as Marcus Brody. Alison Doody does a good job with her interesting character. Julian Glover is probably the best of Indy's villains so far. 

Quotes

Fedora: You lost today, kid. But that doesn't mean you have to like it.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

Genre

Action | Adventure

Director

Steven Spielberg

Country

USA

Cast

Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Jonathan Ke Quan, Amrish Puri, Roshan Seth, Philip Stone, Roy Chiao, David Yip, Raj Singh, D. R. Nanayakkara, Pat Roach

Storyline

After arriving in India, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone. He agrees, and stumbles upon a secret cult plotting a terrible plan in the catacombs of an ancient palace.

Opinion

As a prequel, it should have some coherence with the Raiders of the Lost Ark, but I'm not quite sure that happened. I understand the absence of Willie, as is common practise to change the hero's woman in each film, but what happened to Short Round? Wasn't he Indiana's sidekick in this one? Is he dead in 1936?

Having said that, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a great, entertaining, too dark for some, adventure film, filled with thrilling scenes, nonstop action, and some fun.

Written by George Lucas, the story is good, but it also provides a negative portrayal of India and Hinduism. At least, this time, Indy has a point in the film as he manages to fulfill his mission. The character of Willie, though a little annoying, was hilarious, and you have to love Short Round.

Harrison Ford is amazing and charismatic as Jones, and gives a better performance than earlier since the character requires more humanity. Kate Capshaw struggles to get close to Allen's Marion. Jonathan Ke Quan is good as Short Round and adds something to the story. The villain, though not very interesting, is well-played by Amrish Puri.

Quotes

Short Round: I keep telling you, you listen to me more, you live longer!

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Genre

Action | Adventure

Director

Steven Spielberg

Country

USA

Cast

Harrison Ford, Paul Freeman, Karen Allen, John Rhys-Davies, Ronald Lacey, Denholm Elliott, Wolf Kahler, George Harris, Anthony Higgins, Vic Tablian, Don Fellows, William Hootkins

Storyline

Archaeologist Henry "Indiana" Jones Jr. (Harrison Ford) is hired by the US government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis.

Opinion

I bet most people who gave this film a 10 out of 10 didn't consider the film itself, but the fact they loved it as a child. Personally, I really thought that a collaboration between George Lucas and Steven Spielberg would produce something better than this.

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark is a quite entertaining action/adventure film, with some fun and thrill, but it surely is not the best of all time.

Written by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman, the story is fairly good, but unfortunately Indiana Jones, the main character, doesn't add anything to the story, and indeed take him out of the story and nothing changes - the Nazis still find the Ark, open it, and die. Furthermore, there Nazis weren't in Egypt in 1936, and how Jones survived the ride on the submarine is a mystery.

At least, there is not an overuse of special effects, which are actually good for the time, although they look fake nowadays - lightnings in particular. And the musical score fits the film.

Harrison Ford is charismatic as Indy - although Han Solo is a more likeable character in my opinion - but he should have worked on his acting better. Paul Freeman is decent as Belloq.

Quotes

Belloq: All your life has been spent in pursuit of archaeological relics. Inside the Ark are treasures beyond your wildest aspirations. You want to see it opened as well as I. Indiana, we are simply passing through history. This, this *is* history.

JURASSIC PARK 4 Has Its Director!

Universal today announced that Colin Trevorrow will be directing JURASSIC PARK 4 which is also being executive produced by Steven Spielberg. Trevorrow opened eyes with his SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED and its outstanding character development / story.

Here's the press release:
UNIVERSAL CITY, CA, March 14, 2013 — Colin Trevorrow has signed on to direct Jurassic Park 4, the highly-anticipated fourth installment of the blockbuster franchise that has grossed $1.9 billion at worldwide box office since the first film was released in 1993.

The Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment production will be produced by Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley with Steven Spielberg as Executive Producer. The script was written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (Rise of the Planet of the Apes).

Trevorrow directed Safety Not Guaranteed for FilmDistrict and Big Beach Films starring Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass and Jake Johnson. The critically-acclaimed film debuted at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival where screenwriter Derek Connolly won the prestigious Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. The film also won Best First Screenplay at this year’s Independent Spirit Awards, where Trevorrow was nominated for Best First Feature.

On a related note, JURASSIC PARK 3D opens on April 5.

Spielberg Hopes TINTIN 2 Will Release In 2015

We have been waiting for some sort of confirmation of the release year for the TINTIN sequel that will be directed by Peter Jackson and produced by Steven Spielberg. Well the later just confirmed that 2015 still is the date that everyone is aiming for and hopefully they can swing that.

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN went on to make $374 million worldwide so one can see why a sequel is in the works. Clearly the overseas market is the driver here with that box office totaling almost $300 million itself.

Here's what Spielberg had to say:
"Peter Jackson is directing the next one, I’m producing. We have a script and we’re going to start performance capture probably at the end of this year. Don’t hold me to it, but we’re hoping the film will come out around Christmas-time in 2015. We know which books we’re making, we can’t share that now but we’re combining two books which were always intended to be combined by Herge."

Can't wait to hear about the first details of the followup. Which books do you think they will be using? Good question! 

Source: Indiatimes via The Film Stage

JURASSIC PARK 4 Coming in 2014! Spielberg Directing??

With Steven Spielberg enjoying the fruits of his labor on LINCOLN and his 12 Oscar nominations (1 more than Ang Lee's LIFE OF PI) and news that he has back-burnered ROBOPOCALYSE and Christopher Nolan taking over the reins on INTERSTELLAR - what was left for the master storyteller?

How about JURASSIC PARK 4 in 3D? Potentially. He is already inked as producer so if he has time freed up he could conceivably consider joining as director. Further, the movie is being fast tracked in native 3D. Universal has stated that JP4 is pegged for a June 13, 2014 release.

With the original and best JURASSIC PARK being re-released in 3D on April 5, it's likely to build up a healthy appetite for more dino-mite storytelling! You see what I did there? :-)

Source: Variety

Watch: New JURASSIC PARK 3D Trailer Is Here!

Man do I have fond memories of seeing JURASSIC PARK in the theaters - loved that first scene when they encountered the giant plant eaters out in the SUV and of course the first T-Rex scenes.

I saw this trailer pre-roll in 2D in front of SKYFALL in IMAX on Wednesday night (midnight). Looked AMAZING.

With his remastering of the epic into a state-of-the-art 3D format, Spielberg introduces the three-time Academy Award-winning blockbuster to a new generation of moviegoers and allows longtime fans to experience the world he envisioned in a way that was unimaginable during the film's original release. Starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Samuel L. Jackson and Richard Attenborough, the film based on the novel by Michael Crichton is produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Gerald R. Molen. 

Universal Pictures will release Steven Spielberg's groundbreaking masterpiece JURASSIC PARK in 3D on April 5, 2013. ENJOY!! And check out JURASSIC PARK 3D's poster right here.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer!

Does STAR WARS: EPISODE VII Have It's Writer? Spielberg To Review Treatment??

Things are developing fast to get STAR WARS: EPISODE VII fully written and in the hands of would-be directors. Apparently Disney and Lucasfilm have found a writer they have confidence in to at least be involved in fleshing out the full storyline, if not the main writing contributor. Using George Lucas' existing material of course.

And that writer is Oscar winner Michael Arndt (TOY STORY 3, OBLIVION, THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE,  LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE) a so-called STAR WARS expert. Further, Arndt's 40-50 page treatment that he has supposedly already churned out will be read by none other than Steven Spielberg (on our list already), Brad Bird (an interesting potential choice) and J.J. Abrams (I really have to say I hate this idea).

All this speculation comes from Vulture and it's all the more powerful as they do collaborate our exclusives that are already out there, namely Spielberg's interest and that the studios want the top line cast from the original STAR WARS to return. FirstShowing seems to back up Arndt as the guy too.


Hit the jump to read what Vulture's source had to say:



"Sources also tell Vulture that the studio’s brass want to bring back the three central characters of the original Star Wars: a much older Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo. No deals are in place with any of the original actors, though our source did say it had high ambitions to sign up Mark Hamill, and EW recently reported that Harrison Ford was open to the idea of returning."

Exactly what we reported last week.


Personally I think this might be the guy to take the existing material from Lucasfilm and George himself and flesh out Episodes VII and perhaps onward. He seems to have the chops (Oscar winner for LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE and nominated for TOY STORY 3), the connections (Pixar, owned by Disney) and the passion (an expert on the STAR WARS dogma). I guess the real question is why would Arndt NOT be a good candidate?

And please, no Abrams on this thing. In fact, it doesn't even make sense that Vulture's source lists him. He's already entrenched in STAR TREK - a competing universe to STAR WARS - and it always has been. It's treacherous to talk about him even in my mind.

CLICK HERE for ALL of our STAR WARS coverage and watch this space for more exclusive info!

...AND if you are in the Brad Bird camp (#GiveItToBradBird) - you'll get a kick out of this video:

New JURASSIC PARK 3D Poster - Trailer Drops Tomorrow

Check out the new poster for Steven Spielberg's classic JURASSIC PARK, coming soon in converted 3D.

I've been waiting for this conversion for a long time now and even though this may be the only Spielberg movie to get a conversion other than potentially CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, I can live with that. For now.

What a great way to introduce a new generation to Spielberg and this amazing adventure! The movie will celebrate it's 20th anniversary next summer.

"If I may... Um, I'll tell you the problem with the scientific power that you're using here, it didn't require any discipline to attain it. You read what others had done and you took the next step. You didn't earn the knowledge for yourselves, so you don't take any responsibility for it. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could, and before you even knew what you had, you patented it, and packaged it, and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox, and now [bangs on the table] you're selling it, you wanna sell it. Well..."

Be sure to watch for the trailer for JURASSIC PARK 3D that's coming out tomorrow on Yahoo! Movies.

Can't wait for this. How about you?  :-) JURASSIC PARK 3D is coming to theaters on April 5, 2013.

Spielberg Eyeing IMAX and 3D For ROBOPOCALYPSE!

"Good so far" news coming directly from Steven Spielberg on what options he's investigating for his next movie, ROBOPOCALYPSE.

Says Spielberg: "I'm going to do an IMAX camera test, [both] a 2 and 3D test for my next movie 'Robopocalypse,' and I haven't decided whether I'm going to use the IMAX cameras, and I haven't decided whether it's going to be 2D or 3D yet, but I am in September going to start doing some tests."

Shooting will reportedly take place in Montreal (Mel's Cité du Cinema Studios) with a very healthy budget of $200 million. The studio's owner, Michel Trudel broke the story to the CBC back in November.

Here's the storyline from the best selling book:
In the near future, an increasingly robot-reliant society faces extinction after a computer scientist accidentally unleashes a sentient artificial intelligence named Archos. After failed attempts at making the AI less intelligent, Archos becomes self-aware and immediately takes steps to stop the Earth's destruction. Since humans have been polluting the Earth (determined to be the only source of life in the galaxy), Archos makes them his prime target. By infecting all devices that are chip controlled (cars, elevators, robots, etc.), Archos begins a systematic attack on the human race. Small bands of survivors find ways to circumvent the eradication and survive without the modern technology. This is a story of those survivors in the months and days leading up to and following Archos' date of attack, Day Zero.

Personally, I think ROBOPOCALYPSE is begging to be in 3D and of course IMAX 3D too. C'mon Steve!

Sources: Yahoo | CBC

New Release Dates For Universal's 47 RONIN And JURASSIC PARK 3D

Universal has changed the release schedule of a couple of their 3D movies - namely 47 RONIN and JURASSIC PARK 3D.

Everything we've heard and seen from Keanu Reeves new samurai movie 47 RONIN looks like it's really going to impress. The movie has been moved from February to Christmas 2013 (and it was originally slated for a November 2012 launch). Director Carl Rinsch probably has some fairly intense visual effects that need to be perfected and thus the time shift. An argument can certainly be made that the move wasn't done as a defensive maneuver as Christmas is a much more crowded market than February.

Further, Universal has pulled up JURASSIC PARK 3D from July 19 to April 5, 2013. Generally this move is being seen as simply a better marketplace for revisiting Steven Spielberg's dinosaur classic - now sporting a modern new 3D conversion.

Looks like these moves make a lot of sense, so I'm happy in the end...

Exclusive Confirmed! Reitman Attached To Produce BAYWATCH!

Jim here. Nope! I am not talking about watching Michael Bay and his 3D soft-shoe show.

But I AM kinda perturbed. Risky Business blog over at THR would like you to believe that they are breaking this story - they aren't. We had this story out in the open back in September of 2007! Modern journalists are amazing aren't they?

But they did fill in some blanks that were missing - so thanks, I guess! I had not heard anything further about the story since I broke that Ivan Reitman was attached. Originally Spielberg had a hand in this too - perhaps he still has.

The new update is that Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka have been tapped to write the screenplay and apparently Paramount wants to move forward with a 2011 release window.

From Risky Business: ...Insiders place the “Baywatch” adaptation in the context of a TV revamp like “Charlie’s Angels” rather than “Starsky and Hutch,” which indicates that female-driven action is also on the menu.

RB makes no mention of the original intent to shoot this in S3D, so we will remain cautiously optimistic at this point as I have not heard anything further. I think I will ping my sources again on this one. Certainly the worldwide following of Baywatch makes this an interesting project.

Rumor: JAWS Remake In The Works? In S3D... With Tracy Morgan!?!

Jim here. According to Cinema Blend, the classic Spielberg thriller JAWS may be rebooted in stereoscopic 3D for today's audiences. They have a source at Universal who says that they are "strongly considering a remake".

The source goes further and claims that Tracy Morgan was at one point being considered for Richard Dreyfuss' part of Matt Hooper.

That one threw me for a loop. Tracy Morgan? Well, even if they were going for a comedic touch on this one there are plenty of other comics I think I would choose in his stead. Bradley Cooper for example. HEY! Cooper... Hooper! Planets are aligning, I can feel it.

I hope they get it done actually. The last 3D attempt with JAWS failed miserably (even though I sat through it twice in theaters). More when I get it!

Know Motion Builder? Weta Looking For TDs For Tintin

Steven Spielberg and Weta are looking for applicants who know Motion Builder for the motion capture based movie TINTIN:

Weta Digital is looking for LA-based artists with experience in Motion Builder for a limited period shoot (Tintin). Immediate start. Applicants should be technically competent and comfortable working within a team that is processing a high-volume of data (that's an understatement!).

The position involves:
Integrating post-processed motion capture data and into virtual environments.
Developing motion-montages for virtual camera work (Experience using the Story tool is a plus)
Generating and checking rendered media.

Please contact:
Ben Murray (bmurray@wetafx.co.nz)
Meredith Meyer-Nichols (mkmn@wetafx.co.nz)

So if you have the creds - what are earth are you waiting for?

Confirmed: The Serkis Is Coming To Town Again!

It's confirmed. Andy Serkis, known for his excellent performance capture work as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and as the big ape in King Kong will now turn his sights towards the new 3D Peter Jackson / Steven Spielberg trilogy Tintin. He will NOT play the lead role of Tintin however. I will let you know more as I get it.

It is great to hear he is aboard. He is obviously the master actor you think of when performance capture is mentioned! As if it were even possible, that trilogy in development just rose up a notch in my books.

Source: Variety