Author: Jason Zingale (Page 77 of 154)

If there’s one studio that might have been better off following Paramount’s footsteps and sitting out this year, it’s Lionsgate. The studio best known for the “Saw” series doesn’t exactly put out the kind of material that the Comic-Con crowd eats up, and though they did dial it back a bit by moving to a smaller venue, none of their upcoming films really grabbed my attention. I expected as much from the new “Punisher” and “Saw” films, but I was really disappointed to discover that Darren Lynn Bousman’s “Repo: The Genetic Opera” might not be as cool as I was initially hoping it would be.

Punisher: War Zone (guests: producer Gale Anne Hurd and stars Ray Stevenson and Julie Benz)

For many, Thomas Jane was the perfect Punisher. He had the look, the talent, and most importantly, the love of the source material. So why isn’t the actor returning for the second film? Quite simply, because the script sucked. Or so says Tom Jane. This prompted Lionsgate to switch things up a bit, and instead of following up the first film with a sequel, “Punisher: War Zone” is now being referred to as a reboot in the same vein as “Batman Begins” and “The Incredible Hulk.” Producer Gale Anne Hurd describes this latest version of the Punisher as “ruthless, violent, vigilante justice,” and while that may be true, it doesn’t exactly make it good. From the footage that was shown, “War Zone” is definitely ruthless and violent, but it also looks a little campy. Ray Stevenson may physically embody the Punisher from artist Tim Bradstreet’s covers, but he also looks like a giant tool that deserves to get punched in the face just as much as the guys he’s brutally killing. Furthermore, Dominic West’s Jigsaw was also prominently featured in the new trailer, and all I can say is: Schumacher Two-Face. Yes, it’s that bad, so here’s hoping that West (who was phenomenal in HBO’s “The Wire”) delivers a good enough performance to detract from his silly appearance. Stevenson may be God in the eyes of “Rome” fans, but he’s got a lot more work to do before he convinces me that he‘s even half the Punisher that Jane was.

Saw V (guests: director David Hackl and stars Tobin Bell, Julie Benz, Costas Mandylor and Scott Patterson)

When all is said and done, this might just be the most pointless panel of the entire weekend. Seriously, does anyone even care about these movies anymore? I sure as hell don’t, especially now that the franchise has become so saturated with D-list actors that it’s impossible to take seriously. Add to that the fact that none of the cast members would dare say a thing for fear of incurring the wrath of the studio, and you have yourself one boring panel. Some people might be okay with watching the same movie over and over again, but I’m not one of them.

Repo: The Genetic Opera (guests: director Darren Lynn Bousman and stars Alexa Vega, Paris Hilton, Bill Moseley and Ogre)

“Repo” is one of those films that I’ve been dying to hear more about ever since director Darren Lynn Bousman briefly discussed it during the panel for “Saw IV” at last year’s Comic-Con. I’m not a particularly big fan of musicals, but I have a few favorites, and “Repo” looked like it might easily fit into that group. The fact that Anthony Steward Head was playing one of the lead roles also helped, but with his absence from the panel on Thursday night, all attention was turned to Paris Hilton, who not only crushed most preconceptions of herself in the media with a genuine and dare I say humble presence, but also showed that her existence in the film was more than just stunt casting. Of the three musical sequences shown to the audience, Paris’ bit with co-writer Terrance Zdunich was by far the best of the bunch. She isn’t a better singer than Head, or even Ogre from Skinny Puppy, but she definitely holds her own in a performance that may surprise more than a few people. She also earned the biggest laugh of the night when she responded to a reporter inquiring about her visit to San Diego with the following comment: “I love Comic-Con. It’s hot.”

Among other things discussed were the film’s runtime (which was cut from 145 minutes to a more economic 95 minutes) and Bousman’s eventual plans for the discarded segments, which he claims should show up on the DVD release. Though my impressions of “Repo” weren’t quite what I’d hoped, I’m still weary of passing judgment on a film that can’t properly be criticized without seeing it in its entirety. And with that, I’ll say this: “Repo: The Genetic Opera” is definitely different, but whether or not it’s any good remains unclear. I’m really hoping that seeing the film in its finished form will change my mind, because this is exactly the kind of film that Hollywood needs.

A funny thing happened after the Disney panel for “Race to Witch Mountain” – the lights went down and an announcement was made about a secret trailer for a film that no one else would see footage of for at least another year. (It’s official release date will be sometime in 2011.) That film just so happened to be “Tron 2,” a movie that not only looks to have benefited from the technological advances of the last 20 years, but also marks the return of Jeff Bridges in one of his most popular roles.

Most of the trailer revolved around a Light Cycle chase between a man in a blue battlesuit and a faceless man in a yellow battlesuit. When the blue rider crashes into the yellow rider’s Light Cycle trail, he admits defeat, but the yellow rider clearly has plans of his own. The trailer then cut to the real world where you see a much older Kevin Flynn (Bridges) rise from a meditation position with something in his hand. Back in the game world, the yellow rider’s helmet visor reveals Flynn’s face, and when his defeat opponent exclaims “But it’s only a game,” Flynn replies, “Not anymore.” I’m not exactly sure if this means that Bridges will be the villain in this second film, but he’s clearly not the good-natured computer programmer from the original. Let the speculation begin, but one thing is clear: “Tron 2” is going to be badass.

For their first year at Comic-Con, Summit Entertainment may have brought three films to present, but the crowd only cared about one: “Twilight,” the much-anticipated adaptation of Stephanie Meyer’s novel about a normal teenage girl who falls in love with a centuries-old vampire. That particular panel was so popular, in fact, that 20th Century Fox actually benefited from preceding it, yielding nearly twice the audience they would have attracted had the thousands of teenage girls and middle-aged women not camped out for primo seating. Of course, Comic-Con is all about waiting, so the best was saved for last, while the rest of the audience was subjected to sit through presentations for two of the most unoriginal sci-fi movies ever made.

Push (guests: director Paul McGuigan and stars Chris Evans, Camilla Belle and Djimon Honsou)

Paul McGuigan’s “Push” desperately wants to differentiate itself from the pack as a sci-fi actioneer about psychics living in the real world, but if there’s one thing I learned from watching the opening sequence and listening to the cast talk about the film, it’s that movies like these are rarely good. When you add to that the fact that Djimon Honsou had absolutely no interest in talking about the film (let alone even remembered anything about the character he played), and you have to ask yourself: if the actors themselves aren’t interested, how the hell is the audience supposed to get excited? Thank God for Chris Evans, then, for doing his absolute best to explain everything he possibly could about the movie’s complicated plot, as well as serve as the comic relief. Dakota Fanning was late to the panel, and therefore was unable to offer up her two cents (which might have been helpful, since she is the protagonist of the film), but I don’t think even she could have helped matters. The crazy “Twilight” fans had only one thing on their mind, while the rest of us simply couldn’t wait to get it over with.

Knowing (guest: director Alex Proyas)

Director Alex Proyas is probably best known for making one of the most underrated films of the past decade (“Dark City”), so why does his latest movie look so bad? A sci-fi tale about a mathematical cipher that has correctly predicted every major disaster of the past 50 years (cue obligatory reference to 9/11), there’s something so eerily familiar about the set-up of “Knowing” that it’s hard to imagine it took Proyas so long to work out the specifics of the story. The movie feels like a hybrid of “A Beautiful Mind” and “Déjà Vu,” but with Nicolas Cage hamming it up as a man who is convinced that the cipher really works. Cage appeared in a similar movie just last year (the pre-cog film, “Next”), and it really makes you wonder why he signed up for something so similar so soon. The trailer (which has been available on the web for weeks) is pretty unimpressive, but the movie just feels like a disaster of its own. It would have been nice to learn more about the story, but because Proyas was so hush-hush about the plot, it seemed almost pointless that he came to present anything at all.

Twilight (guests: director Catherine Hardwicke, author Stephanie Meyer, and stars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Cam Gigandet and Taylor Lautner)

Sitting in Hall H during the “Twilight” panel was like attending an N ‘Sync concert in Japan during the height of their popularity. (Some fans had been waiting in line since 1:30 PM on Wednesday). Women screamed like Elvis himself had just been resurrected in the room, and as a result, the participating cast and crew had no idea how to react. Apparently, the actors didn’t have a clue as to just how rabid the fanbase was, and between the uncomfortable questions from the crowd (“What’s it like playing a super sexy vampire?”) and the uncomfortable answers from the panelists (“Ummm…”), the following 30-odd minutes were less than productive. Director Catherine Hardwicke introduced some promising footage of a major sequence from the end of the film, but I think fans were expecting much, much more. I mean, the movie is scheduled to open in less than five months, and with very little CG, it’s hard to imagine that more footage wasn’t compiled in time. Of course, the fans couldn’t have cared less. All they came for was to gawk at Robert Pattinson in all his messy-haired glory, and, well, he delivered. I’m not exactly sure how the British-born actor (best known for his role as Cedric Diggory) managed to cull such a large fanbase since his controversial casting as the film’s lead vampire, but whatever he’s doing has clearly worked.

After pulling out of Comic-Con last year, the suits over at 20th Century Fox must have gotten a mouthful from fans looking forward to the studio’s 2007 slate of films. It only seems fitting, then, that Fox chose to make their grand return as the first presentation at this year’s Con, offering up previews for two of their more geek-friendly films, as well as an unexpected surprise that might just be the highlight of the entire weekend. More on that later, but first…

The Day the Earth Stood Still (guests: director Scott Derrickson and stars Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connolly)

I’m not exactly sure if anyone was hunkering for a remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic, but from the response in the audience, it might just have a chance come this December. Updated with an A-list cast and special effects that obviously weren’t around 50 years ago, director Scott Derrickson seems adamant that his version can bring in new fans without losing any old ones. In order to do this, he had to be careful not to remove any of the essential elements that people loved about the original, and yes, that includes Gort. The director spoke in length about the creation of the infamous robot (including some pre-production sketches that featured him in human form), but from the little footage that we did see, it appears that Gort hasn’t changed much at all. He looks a little bigger in size, but his trademark, Cylon-like visor remains intact.

The spaceship, on the other hand, has been given a complete overhaul, and while I can’t exactly describe it in full, I will say that it looks a lot like a rotating planet. As for those involved, well, Keanu Reeves should definitely add to the campiness factor. His Klaatu doesn’t seem to be very different from past roles, and his vapid appearance onstage only seems to confirm that while he may seem like a great choice to play an emotionless alien, it doesn’t exactly help with the credibility of the project. This is one of those films where, after seeing some footage, I was neither intrigued nor put off, and while that doesn’t exactly denote that the film will be bad, it didn’t seem like the best way to kick off Comic-Con.

Max Payne (guests: director John Moore and stars Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges)

Everyone knows about Hollywood’s bad reputation of taking good video games and adapting them into bad movies, but for once, “Max Payne” looks like it might actually be good. For starters, it’s got a great lead in Mark Wahlberg, who has a great track record when it comes to choosing scripts. Second, it’s got Mila Kunis – one of the hottest (and more talented) young actresses in the industry. And finally, the movie looks bad ass. From the two clips and sizzle reel that were shown, “Max Payne” looks like a mix between “Wanted” and “Sin City” – a crime drama that isn’t afraid to kick ass and take names, but also has a solid story for a backbone. Director John Moore also spoke about a new camera system that was implemented in an attempt to create a new kind of bullet-time effect for the film, but I was more impressed with his ability to seamlessly integrate a first-person view into some of the fight scenes. This is exactly what “Hitman” should have been, and though it’s not the biggest movie coming out in the second half of the year, “Max Payne” could very well be a hidden pleasure in a season packed with Oscar bait.

Wolverine (guest: star Hugh Jackman)

Just when we all thought Fox’s time had run out, Wolverine himself, Hugh Jackman, made a surprise appearance to chat up his new solo film, unnecessarily titled “X-Men: Origins – Wolverine.” He claimed that shooting had just finished a few weeks ago (a similar claim was made by at least one person on every panel throughout the day), but wanted to show off some rough footage to his legion of fans. As you can imagine, Jackman’s appearance alone brought down the house, but the mention of an exclusive first-look was the cherry on top. Along with featuring a look back at Wolvie’s past (his days in WWII with Victor Creed AKA Sabertooth), his recruitment by a young William Stryker, and his forced participation in the Weapon X program, the sizzle reel also showed why there were so many damn actors cast as mutants in the movie. Among those spotted include Gambit (finally), Deadpool (played by Ryan Reynolds, no less), John Wraith, a terrible-looking Blob, and either Silver Fox or Emma Stone. May 2009 is going to rock.