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I am a HUGE Mad Max fan. I enjoy Mel Gibson as well. He made Max what every fan enjoys, a tough-as-nails rogue that takes the law into his own hands (with some hard earned juice bargained on the side too).
The first two installments, Mad Max and The Road Warrior, are my favorites. Beyond Thunderdome was OK, but it lost me in places.

There is no doubt that the supporting cast helped make TRW and BT great material, but the franchise’s fourth installment still has casting loopholes and there is no word on whether Mel will be making an appearance in the movie. It would be nice to have a “story-telling” memoir segment at the beginning of the film, to incorporate Mel as Max. Then the main story can have whatever leading man the producer can get. Sam Worthington (Clash of the Titans) is rumored as the favorite at this point. Charlize Theron has already been cast, along with Teresa Palmer (Bedtime Stories) and Tom Hardy.

The release date has not been solidified yet, but it is scheduled for sometime in 2012.

Rated PG-13 for fantasy action violence, some frightening images
and brief sensuality. 1hr. 46min.

My wife and I took my brother to see this for his birthday. I find it a little depressing when critics and review sites slam a good movie. Sure the original flick is campy and some would rather say it has a fair amount of cheese in it. The new Clash of the Titans has some humor, some romance and a good amount of action.

I think what helped sell the movie for me was watching it in hopes of seeing some things and fears of seeing other things. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the CGI for the Pegasi (plural for Pegasus) and glad that the robot owl that I found irritating in the original only had a brief cameo and that got a good laugh out of the audience! (I wasn’t the only person there that had seen the original)

I can honestly say that I think not seeing it in 3D was good for me. I have been consistently having blazing headaches when coming out of a 3D movie and that always taints my perspective on retrospect. Most review sites were saying to forget it anyway, since the 3D was more an afterthought for this film and really does more to detract from the picture quality and doesn’t really add anything in the WOW factor. Continue reading »

Well, who here has ever heard of the Argo (Yamato)? If you were a child who watched cartoons in the 70′s and 80′s, then you know what I am talking about. Anime had its television beginning in America with Speed Racer in the 60′s. It was soon followed by the likes of Star Blazers, Battle of the Planets (G-Force), Mobile Suit Gundam, and Voltron (GoLion and Dairugger XV). There were three seasons of the cartoon that were fueled by the release and success of four theatrical movies and one television movie.

Now (in 2002) after many years of wrestling in the Japanese court system, rights to the franchise have finally been given to Yoshinobu Nishizaki, the show’s original producer. He has not been idle these past few years either. There is a new movie, Yamato:Rebirth, to be released in Japan on December 12! The US release is set for straight to DVD in spring, 2010. There is even a live-action release (already in production) planned for the holiday season of 2010! Now it is speculated that this live movie will only be released in Japan, but I doubt it will take very long to be brought to the states.

One might cringe at the thought of a live-action movie to be a great way to destroy the franchise, but I was pleasantly surprised at the recent G.I. Joe movie. So who knows, this may be the “rebirth” of something great? Well for now, enjoy the extended trailer. It is in Japanese, but the CG-anime is awesome!

Life sucks. That truth, along with death and taxes, are inevitable and the mainstay of any pessimist. Any real optimist will tell you that bad things happen to everyone and things will get better. I don’t believe things get better for good. I believe that we all go through times of good and bad. Unfortunately, I feel my life has seen more bad than good. I’d like to believe that I will finally be going through some good times here soon.

If any of us were to list all the bad times, or bummers in life, one could easily become depressed to the point of considering suicide. But the good times don’t always happen to us specifically, they tend to happen to those around us. These occurrences can also have residual side effects to those of us who happen to be around those that the good things happen to. It’s kind of like having “good luck” rub off on you! But we can make our own luck, to enjoy some good times.

I am prepared to make my own luck, and good times, by living my dreams through my children. I have worked to try to provide the best for them and give them the things and stability I haven’t always enjoyed. One of the things I have always wanted, was to take Martial Arts. Well this last month, my oldest daughter started taking Mixed Martial Arts (mainly Japanese Karate). The really scary thing is, she’s already pretty good. She may only be a white belt, but all of her instructors are already complimenting her on her form and expertise. I can even see her ability and potential. She’s picking it up so fast.

But now my youngest is to begin gymnastics in September and she is ecstatic. Continue reading »

I never thought I would see the day, that there would be a really good remake or reboot of a classic movie (or series) that was good or just plain makes sense enough to spend the money on. The Friday the 13th series has made an attempt, along with Holloween and the Chainsaw Massacre. All duds to be honest. Star Wars 1,2 & 3 have had mediocre reception at best. Star Trek however has broken the mold with a truly fantastic reboot! But will this trend of excellence continue? Let’s hope so. To get to the point however, I remember (as recently as this past Christmas) watching Tron on the idiot box. I looked then for rumors of a sequel, or reboot of the cult classic. No such luck.

I even remember reading blog posts about fans who had recreated the light suits and guys who had built custom low-riders to look like the light-cycles. No news of another movie though….until today. Has this been the web’s best-kept secret? The most sought after cyber-trek remake has been filmed and set for a release date of next year! There is rumored to be the dreaded plot hole the size of a galactic fissure in time-space, but will it make an impact on the original’s baseline to this movie?

All I can say, is that the story seems quite plausible (for fiction of course) and the effects are tremendous! The cinematography is definite eye-candy that even the most critical viewer should find an enhancement and not a distraction, like unto the CG upon CG effects of King Kong. This continuation of the original story is a recipe for a solid release with generally good acceptance. Jeff Bridges reprises his role as Kevin Flynn, but with what seems to be a bit of a twist. Let’s just hope the process is on the money and doesn’t bury a digital shard into the spine of another one of the great sci-fi adventures of all time!

While we wait for the release, watch the trailer and try to contain your excitement!

TRON: Legacy

Rated PG for some mild rude humor and peril, 1hr. 34min.

The family and I just got back from seeing this movie in 3-D. Blue Sky just keeps getting it right with the Ice Age franchise! When other filming houses are pumping out toilet humor and swearing-lite flicks, it is a joy to see a movie that may have a wee bit of subtle innuendo (for the adults) and nothing more. If it weren’t for the subtleties and the copious amounts of peril, this film would easily be granted a G rating.

This movie revisits our friendly herd of misfits, Diego, Manny, Ellie, Sid and the ‘possum brothers. All original actor voices have been retained and it is nice to see (or is that hear). Without giving too much away of the movie, I can tell you that it has a strong theme of relationships. Primarily family, with a focus on parenting. The peril I mentioned before, is that Sid and the gang are “hunted” by a meat eating dinosaur that is larger than (and feared by) a Tyrannosaurus Rex! The herd has a few new members added, even if only temporarily, and Scrat even gains a love interest that becomes a full-scale love triangle with an acorn! Just be prepared to laugh……a lot!

Our first venture into the digital 3-D world, was with Bolt. Now Ice Age has really solidified (in my mind) that this is a new version of an old idea, that is here to stay. What a very beautiful and cool way to watch the movie. The bummer is, that the theater charges $3 more for the 3-D; but it is well worth it.