Monsters vs Aliens 3-D

Dreamworks have rallied up a hilarious cast for their "ultimate 3-D" B-movie.

Dreamworks has announced the cast for their upcoming 3-D B-movie spoof Monsters vs Aliens. Reese Witherspoon will play the animated film's lead role as a 49-foot woman who must fend off an alien invasion. Joining her in the fight is Hugh Laurie, Seth Rogan, Kiefer Sutherland, and Will Arnett. Rainn Wilson will lend his chords to the alien villain and Stephen Colbert will voice the President.



Monsters vs Aliens will also be the debut of what Dreamworks' animation chief Jeffrey Katzenberg is calling "ultimate 3-D". The animated film is the first to be shot in natural 3-D and will be digitally projected in theatres across North America come 2009. Dreamworks has also announced that, moving forward, all of their CG-animated movies will be shot in natural 3-D.

While I'm not normally a fan of computer-animation I am slightly interested in this project. I'm a sucker for 3-D on the big screen and Monsters vs Aliens looks like it could be a fun experience.

Monsters vs Aliens doesn't come out until March 27th, 2009. MediaZEALOT will have more information on the film leading up until its release.

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Alone in the Dark: Tech Demos

Atari and Eden Games have released two videos showcasing the next-gen Alone in the Dark.

As a huge fan of survival horror games the upcoming Alone in the Dark has been on my radar for quite some time. I've been a fan of the series since Jack is Back on the Playstation and have been dying to play a next-gen release of the series.



Recently Eden Games and publisher Atari have been releasing what they are calling "Real World Rules" tech demos for Alone in the Dark. The videos showcase the game engine as well as some of the title's key features. Check them out below.


Alone in the Dark: Real World Rules Episode 1


Alone in the Dark: Real World Rules Episode 2


These tech demos looks absolutely amazing and have really gotten me excited for this June release. I love how the game's focus is on object combinations and strategy rather than the size of your arsenal. It looks like the title will be very open to different play styles and it will be interesting to see what possibilities arise in different scenarios. The jacket equip menu looks very cool and moving objects with the right stick looks very intuitive. I am, however, a bit skeptical about the overuse of sticky-tape.



As cool as these videos are they don't delve into mentioning the feature that will put this game on the map; episodic play. Alone in the Dark is structured around quite a few 30-40 minute episodes that allow you play the game as if you're watching a TV show. Whenever you load a save file the game will play a video summarizing previous accomplishments and plot points. Also, to stay true to the television feel, each episode will end with a teaser for the next adventure. It's a cool idea and could potentially lead the way to downloadable episodes as bonus content.

Alone in the Dark looks to be leading the way for a few interesting survival horror video games. The Atari release will be followed by EA's Dead Space in October and Capcom's Resident Evil 5 sometime in 2009.

Alone in the Dark will be released for the Xbox 360, PC, Playstation 2, and Nintendo Wii on June 3rd. It will not be released on the PS3 until 2008. Click HERE to pre-order the game at Amazon.

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Charlie Bartlett Review

Editor-turned-director Jon Poll delivers a haphazard yet enjoyable experience in his feature film debut.

I, for the most part, enjoyed Charlie Bartlett. I love high school dramas and this film feels like a return to form for the genre. While the film isn't without its flaws it does deliver quite an entertaining tale. Browse the list below for a more detailed perspective.



The Good:
-Actor Anton Yelchin reminds me of a young Michael J. Fox.
-Robert Downey Jr is excellent as always and a force in every scene.
-Almost all the characters are well rounded and develop somewhat naturally throughout the film.
-Hope Davis is great and Kat Dennings (Catherine Keener's daughter in The 40-Year Old Virgin) is pretty good.
-The return of the high school drama?
-That Indian dude from those Rogers My5 commercials.



The Bad:
-The Film has a hard time defining itself and changes its identity throughout.
-Takes risks in an attempt to be original when simply telling the story would provide a better film.
-Some characters are exaggerated to unlikely extremes.
-The film's message is a bit off; is selling prescription drugs really the giant leap to popularity in high school?
-There was a mouse in our theatre.



Charlie Bartlett feels a lot like a Patrick Dempsey high school flick from the 80's. I enjoyed the film quite a bit. However, I'm not sure it was due to its quality or my craving for more high school dramas.

One Sentence Review: Fun and enjoyable, albeit quite flawed. | 7.2/10

Have you caught Charlie Bartlett in theatres? Post a comment and tell me what you thought of it.

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Kunis Cast in Max Payne

The That 70's Show star has been cast opposite Mark Wahlberg.

Twentieth Century Fox and director John Moore have cast actress Mila Kunis in the upcoming film adaptation of the video game Max Payne. According to Variety Kunis will play an assasin who teams up with Wahlberg to avenge the death of her sister.



Kunis may be a video game nerd but I don't think she's right for this role. The actress has done voice-work for Halo 2 and Saints Row but is best known for her role on That 70's Show and as Meg Griffin on Family Guy. While I look forward to seeing what Kunis can do in the upcoming Forgetting Sarah Marshall I don't think she can carry a large portion of the weight in a film like Max Payne. Some will say the Ukrainian-born actress deserves her shot at a big role. Go watch American Psycho II: All American Girl; Mila Kunis will only hurt the production of Max Payne.



I really enjoyed both Max Payne games and it will be interesting to see where this project goes. I really like Mark Wahlberg as Payne and if the adaptation shares the same dark, gritty, and over-the-top tone as the video game it could work. However, the flick could easily come off as a simple run-of-the-mill shoot 'em up. I'm having a hard time accepting Kunis in this role but you never know, she could be a perfect fit.

Check back to MediaZEALOT as we'll keep you up to date on the Max Payne film adaptation.

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Dark Tower: The Long Road Home #1 Review

Gunslinger Roland Deschain is back in another Marvel mini-series.

The first issue of Dark Tower: The Long Road Home is more of what was found in the Gunslinger Born mini-series. With the Big Coffin Hunters hot on his tail and his lover Susan Delgado dead, Roland and his ka-tet must flee into the desert.



As much as I want to enjoy Marvel's Dark Tower comics I just can't bring myself to do so. Peter David has written these books in such a distanced perspective that completely removes me from the characters and story. It's so hard to fall into the universe and allow yourself to be swept off your feet when you feel like you're watching the action from above. Plus, I can't feel for any of the characters in the book because they are all fairly underdeveloped. I need a book that I can connect and relate to and it just seems impossible to do so with Dark Tower.

I do, however, love Jae Lee's visuals. The Korean-born artist is the only reason I continue to purchase and read this book. His pencils are so clean and refined and he uses negative space better than any artist I can think of.



Many praised Gunslinger Born as one of the best mini-series of 2007. Quite a few have also claimed to really enjoy the first issue of The Long Road Home. I am in no way claiming that it is a bad book. However, it is not for me. I've tried countless times to give it another chance but it doesn't grow on me.

One Sentence Review: Not my cup of tea. | 7.1/10

Are you a fan of Dark Tower who thinks I'm totally off my mark with this review? Leave me a comment.

The second issue of Dark Tower: The Long Road Home hits shelves on April 30th.

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Spectacular Spider-Man's Saturday Morning Debut

Ultimate Spider-Man: Animated.

I woke up early, well earlier than normal, on Saturday to catch the first two episodes of The Spectacular Spider-Man on the Kids WB. The show, which is being produced by Culver Entertainment, features a young Spidey on a timeline similar to that found in Ultimate Spider-Man. It also happens to be pretty good.



From what was shown in the first two episodes it looks like The Spectacular Spider-Man is going to stick around for the long haul. This is mainly because of aspect; connectivity. There seem to be quite a few subplots running through and fusing together each episode. Even after only an hour of animation I felt as if enough seeds had been planted to feed another three or four future stories. We may have only seen Vulture and Electro in action but Eddie Brock, Kurt Connors, and Dr. Octavius have all been established thus far. The one thing that bothers me the most with a show like this is when each story is self-contained. It looks like that won't be a problem with The Spectacular Spider-Man.

I'm also quite a big fan of the action scenes in the SSM. You really get a sense of movement when Spidey is in action as the camera swings and cuts quite a bit. The feeling is very cinematic and sets itself apart from other Saturday morning cartoons.



If I have one complaint about The Spectacular Spider-Man it's that it can get rather cheesy. Both episodes seemed to have a morale message tacked on that didn't really tie into the story. There's nothing wrong with sending a good message, I just felt that it was situationally unnecessary in both episodes.

Did any of you guys catch the first two episodes of SSM? What did you think? Post a comment and share your thoughts. If you haven't you can check them out on YouTube.

The Spectacular Spider-Man airs Saturdays at 10:00am on The CW.

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