FilmRoar

A trailer for the new I, Robot movie has finally been released and it looks rather impressive. How true they stay to Asimov’s book remains to be seen. You can download a QuickTime of the trailer from Dark Horizons: Trailers

DarkHorizons posted casting details on the new Batman Begins (2005) movie (previously known as “Batman: Intimidation Game”) which started shooting last week in Iceland and will soon move to the UK. The current lineup looks something like this:

Christopher Nolan - Director / Writer
David S. Goyer - Writer
Christian Bale - Batman
Michael Caine - Alfred
Morgan Freeman - Lucius Fox (an executive at Waynecorp)
Katie Holmes - Rachel (Harvey Dent’s assistant)
Cillian Murphy - Dr Jonathan Crane (Scarecrow)
Liam Neeson - Henri Ducard (a French investigator)
Ken Watanabe - Ra’s Al Ghul (the main villain)
Gary Oldman - Lt. James Gordon

Readers in Iceland can find a map of the shooting locations at Latino Review. The new movie has a $150 million budget and has a story that ignores the previous Batman movies starting the franchise ‘fresh’. Many more details on the new movie can be found at the Dark Horizons story details and other Dark Horizons pages.

There is nothing new or interesting about the story of an alien mistreated by his own government calling the interpretation of the prime directive into question. However the execution and detail for the episode The Hunted is a great deal of fun. By this point in the series the power of the starship Enterprise and the skill of her crew have been well established which makes it particularly sweet to see escaped prisoner Roga Danar confuse, evade and frustrate Captain Picard and the senior staff as he toys with them in a game of cat and mouse. The end of the episode allow allows us one of those rewarding moments where Picard, while still obeying the protocol of the federation gets to (essentially) tell a head of state where he can stick it.

A new trailer for The Day After Tomorrow shows a lot more of the upcoming special effects extravaganza. The quality of the story remains to be seen but the visuals do look to be very impressive. Watching the trailer I am reminded of the lesson learned from Independence Day (1996), Armageddon (1998), Deep Impact (1998) and their ilk: when “the day” comes get the hell away from the statue of liberty, the Eiffel tower, the coliseum in Rome and other world landmarks because they are all getting destroyed first.

An article on Dark Horizons gives us an update on the planned movie based on Joss Whedon’s (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) short lived Sci-Fi show ‘Firefly’

Well with “Buffy” and “Angel” gone, Joss Whedon fans will be happy to know that at last the rumours are true - his defunct western/sci-fi “Firefly” series is coming to the big screen in movie format

Retitled “Serenity” to differ/space it from the show, Whedon confirms he will direct and all the original cast of the TV show are set to reprise their roles when filming begins in June for a 2005 release through Universal. The story will be set six months after the show when two passengers come onboard ship and cause trouble for the crew.

Whedon is quick to point out that the film is being designed primarily for audiences who haven’t seen the show - “It was important that people understand that the movie isn’t the series. The movie is bigger, more epic than anything you can do in a series. You’re not going to bring people into a movie if you’re explaining all the time what happened before”.

A great plot idea brilliantly executed The Defector is one of the true gems of the third season. The episode raises the Romulan threat introduced earlier in the show and gives opportunity for some great actors to show their worth. We not only get to see Patrick Stewart get Shakespearian and authoritative but are treated to a superb performance by James Sloyan whom many will recognize from his return to Star Trek as the Klingon K’Mtar in the Alexander coming of age story TNG: Firstborn, and as Doctor Mora Pol (the scientist who raised Odo) in the Deep Space Nine episode The Alternate. The tension of the episode feels real and comes to an exciting end when Romulan Commander Tomalak gets to offer the Enterprise a choice between surrender and annihilation. Picard’s calm and calculated response shows the quality of his character. The episode not only helps to forward the Romulan story arc but also shows the Romulan struggle over duty versus loyalty with clarity reminiscent of Sophocles’ (or even better Jean Anouilh’s) Antigone.

Bad moves are good for funny reviews. Here are a few lines from the New York Times review of Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004):

They like the male lead (”he shouldn’t be too embarassed”) even though he has just learned English (in real life) and had to deliver “lines that sound as if they were spoken by Dirk Diggler in the “porno-movies-within-the-movie in “Boogie Nights.”"

It “seems like an episode of “American Dreams” written by Pepe Le Pew”.

“Its one of those rare films for which a blooper reel would be redundant.