Epic Games' top-teir shooter hopes to hit the silver screen with New Line Cinema.
Apparently New Line Cinema, led by Robert K. Shayne and Michael Lynne, have bought the rights to the best selling Xbox 360 title Gears of War. The production company, which won the rights to the Escape from New York remake earlier this month (read my casting scoop HERE), has hired Stuart Beattie to pen the script. Beattie's resume features all three Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Derailed, and Collateral. He also wrote the screenplay for James Mangold's remake of 3:10 to Yuma, a film I'm really looking forward to seeing.
I like the idea of a Gears of War movie. I love the game, and the characters that are a large part of the property, and I think an all-out action epic film adaptation would completely rock. My one concern though is that New Line might try and turn the movie into an intellectual experience. Now, while I'm all for intelligent movies, Gears of War shouldn't be one. The video game is far from smart; dumbed down to the lowest notch and focused completely on action. The plot is flatter than the prairies, the characters don't develop, and everything is turned up to 11. The movie should be done similar to the recent 300, putting action ahead of everything save style. But hey, that's just my opinion.
New Line hasn't yet announced directing or casting choices, but I'll keep you posted as they occur. I just hope this video game adaptation doesn't attain the infinite hiatus status as the Halo movie did.
Cheers.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
FILM: New Line Wins the Rights to Gears of War
FILM: Pirates: At World's End Trailer Hits the Net
The trailer for the third installment of Bruckheimer's cash cow looks to pack a punch.
The trailer for Gore Verbinski's, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer's, Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End has gone live on Dinsey's site. Click HERE to journey there and watch the trailer.
From this preview it looks like the conclusion to the trilogy will be more of what was found in the second film, which could be either a good or a bad thing. I personally didn't enjoy the second movie as much as I hoped I would but I'll give the third installment a fair shot before I pass judgement.
What do you guys think of this trailer? What about the Pirates franchise as a whole? Post a comment and share your opinion. Thanks.
Cheers.
Monday, March 19, 2007
FILM: 300 Sequel in the Works
Frank Miller has already begun work on the screenplay to a sequel to the box-office success 300.
300 has made almost $100 million at the box-office in just under 10 days, setting a March record. Warner Bros. That kind of cash is hard to ignore, so hard in fact that Warner Bros. have already hired comic writer Frank Miller to write a sequel to the Spartan flick. Apparently, if the second film is made, it won't be a direct sequel rather another tale from mythical Greece.
I really don't like this idea. While I loved 300 (read my review HERE), and crave for more of the same, I don't think that the current Frank Miller would be able to pull it off. Miller's writing abilities have been dropping off since the mid-90s and I don't think he has the creativity to create a new plot from scratch. Sure, 300 didn't have the most complex dialogue or story structure, and duplicating its style for a sequel wouldn't be as tough as it would with a different genre of film, but I don't think Miller has it in him. Maybe I'm wrong though, I just really haven't liked Frank Miller's comic work as of late.
There has been no word whether or not Zack Snyder will return as director.
What do you guys think of this? Should a sequel to 300 be made? Post a comment and let me know.
Cheers.
Friday, March 16, 2007
FILM: Cate Blanchett Joins Indy 4
The oscar-nominated actress will adventure with Harrison Ford in Lucasfilm's next epic.
The extremely talented Cate Blanchett has been cast in Indiana Jones 4. Blanchett isn't a stranger to franchise films, appearing in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and has worked in a handful of recent successes such as Babel, Notes on a Scandal, and The Aviator. She also acts in the upcoming Bob Dylan bio pic I'm Not There along with Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Adrien Brody, Julianne Moore, and others. Blanchett will most likely play the powerful love interest in Indy 4.
I appreciate this casting choice. While Blanchett certainly wasn't my first choice for the role, I think she will be great in the part. She has a sense of power that is absent with most actresses in Hollywood and she really transforms into every character she takes on. Cate Blanchett may not be playing Galadriel or Katherine Hepburn but you can be certain she'll will find a way to twist the role in her favour. 
What do you guys think about this casting choice? Does Cate Blanchett have what it takes to beat Alison Doody, Kate Capshaw, Karen Allen, and all the other love interests from previous Indiana Jones adventures?
Check back here for more news on Indy 4 as the film develops.
Cheers.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
VIDEO GAMES: Halo 3 in September?
Sources say the high-profile shooter will ship two months earlier than expected.
An annonymous source has told IGN that Bungie and Microsoft plan to ship Halo 3 in September hoping to beat the holiday rush. If this is accomplished the game would be able to establish a large market (like it doesn't have one already) at least two months before Sony or Nintendo would be able to return fire.
This is great news if true. I can't wait for the next Halo and the sooner it releases the better, as long as it isn't rushed. I have been yearning for the third installment of the series for ages and I can't wait to get it up and running on my 360. 
Bungie is also putting out their Halo 3 beta this spring, giving gamers a chance to test out a portion of the game well-before it ships. I'll post my impressions of that experience as soon as I'm able to play it.
Cheers.
Grifter & Midnighter #1 Review
Two of Wildstorm's top-guns collide in this six issue mini-series.
I am a HUGE Grifter fan. I don't know what it is about the character but he is just awesome. Now, that being said, I had really been looking forward to Wildstorm's Grifter & Midnighter mini-series. The only other Grifter book on the shelves is the main WildC.A.T.S. title (which has been months in-between issues) and I wanted more of the masked assassin's comics to read. Grifter & Midnighter had the potential to fill that void. Unfortunately the premier issue didn't give the best first impression.
One of my complaints with this first book is the writing. Chuck Dixon has really been around the block when it comes to comics, and usually does a fairly decent job, but this issue felt really cheesy and dull. Most of the dialogue spoken between characters are throwaway one-liners and cliche phrases that don't even apply to the scene. The story is a very simple one but it's handled in an extremely messy fashion. Plot points are convoluted and sloppy and Dixon molds the characters flat as paper, making it hard to care for them or the conflict at hand. I felt myself gagging reading some of the material in this issue and I was tempted to put the book down at times, eventually gaining enough courage to force my way through it.
Another problem I have with the book is that Grifter is nowhere to be found. The character gets a few panels here and there but is generally absent from the issue. Even in the five or so pages where we see him, he's just chilling at a table. What's cool about that? I want to see Grifter rocking the socks off of some baddies, not taking a lunch break. I guess they are just saving the guy for later issues, building the reader's anticipation for the character.
One highlight of the issue though is the art. Ryan Benjamin does a fairly good job with the characters he's given and manages to bring life to the otherwise static scenes with his expressions and gestures. Hopefully this guy gets hired to do a big project after this mini-series because I really like his stuff so far.
The first issue of Grifter & Midnighter was a letdown. While the art is good, the writing of Chuck Dixon is piss-poor, reminding me of a really bad B-movie. The issue is also all about Midnighter and, while he is a cool character, I'd much rather have the spotlight focused on Grifter.
Am I being too harsh with this opinion on the book? Tell me what you think, post a comment.
Cheers.
