The MTV Movie Awards have announced their 2006 nominees, and among those up for the coveted Best Frightened Performance is Paris Hilton, for her groundbreaking work in “House of Wax.” We can only hope that an upset is pulled off by, um, anyone else. (Actually, I’m rooting for Dakota Fanning for “War of the Worlds.”)
Category: Movies (Page 468 of 498)
In what one can only presume is J.J. Abrams’ desire to fulfill a personal dream, the creator of “Alias” and “Lost” (and let’s not forget “Felicity” and “What About Brian?”) has signed on produce and co-write the new “Star Trek” flick…
…and all I can say is, it’s about freakin’ time someone at Paramount got their head out of their arse and assigned someone to a “Trek” project who might actually successfully revive the franchise.
I mean, I’m a “Trek” fan from way back…ever since I saw “Who Mourns For Adonais?” (the episode where the crew of the Enterprise meet the god Apollo) at my cousin’s house in Roanoke, VA, when my age was still in single digits…but the last feature film, “Nemesis,” was crap. And it didn’t have to be, man. They had John Logan, the guy who wrote “The Aviator” and “Gladiator,” do the screenplay…but, then, director Stuart Baird decided to make it into an utterly lame action flick. Dude, it’s only a little about the action, and a lot about the characters.
Fortunately, Abrams and his “M:I 3” co-writers, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, are teaming up again to do the “Trek” script…but no-one seems sure what it’ll be about. Initial reports said the script “will center on the early days of seminal Trek characters James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock, including their first meeting at Starfleet Academy and first outer space mission,” but that claim seems to have fallen by the wayside. (At the very least, it’s not mentioned on the official Star Trek website.) But lord knows Abrams has a universe of material to work with; in addition to the original series, he’s got “The Next Generation,” “Deep Space Nine,” “Voyager,” and “Enterprise” at his disposal…and with someone of his reputation at the helm of the film, it’s very reasonable to suspect that he could get just about any member of the “Trek” illuminati to return if the script utilized them well.
Whatever J.J. and his compatriots come up with, I’m already laying odds it’ll be right up there with “Khan.” And that’s a hell of a limb for me to crawl out on, since “Khan” is my favorite movie of all time…
…Or should I say, Vinnie Barbarino Vincent Vega Ewing and Jenny J Lo Fly Girl from the Block Ewing?
Any chance they can shoot Sue Ellen Ewing instead of J.R. this time around? Because, I mean, we already know who shot J.R. (Kristin), and who shot Vincent Vega (Bruce Willis)…but I might actually be persuaded to shell out the cash for a ticket to see this train-wreck-in-the-making if the producers could guarantee me that I would not leave the theatre without seeing Jennifer Lopez take a bullet between the eyes. I’m just saying.
It’s been a long time coming for moviegoers to witness the next great class of comedies, but with any luck 2006 might just be our year. Following on the heels of last month’s political satire “Thank You For Smoking,” the pop culture satire “American Dreamz” delivers another dead-on pop shot at the state of this country.
Of course, you could always go see Jack save the world (again) in “The Sentinel,” or experience the cinematic destruction of another classic video game with Roger Avary’s “Silent Hill,” but why bother? “American Dreamz” is the kind of film just about anybody could enjoy, and you will… immensely. Let’s just say that I’m already counting the days ’til this hits DVD.
Universal released “Serenity” on HD-DVD today; it represents the studio’s first title in the new high-def format. The studio will release “Apollo 13” and “Doom” next week.
Warner Home Video released three HD-DVD titles as well, with “Million Dollar Baby,” “The Phantom of the Opera” and “The Last Samurai” hitting shelves today. Warner plans to release a dozen more titles in May. The first titles in the format have a MSRP of $29-$35.
But before you rush out and buy one of the $500 HD-DVD players, be warned that there is a format battle brewing, and it’s not unlike the Beta/VHS war in the ’80s. Blu-ray is HD-DVD’s main competitor and it’s unclear which format will win out. Sony and Pioneer have backed Blu-ray, and once the Playstation 3 hits shelves, the format will get a big boost. The two formats are identical in picture quality, but Blu-ray boasts 67% more capacity and that may put the format over the top. If you remember, Beta actually had a better picture quality, but was limited to two hours of recording time. VHS tapes were capable of recording up to 6 hours, and the picture quality was “good enough” for consumers, allowing the format to ultimately win out.
One thing hindering Blu-ray’s progress is the lack of available players and the initial cost of those players once they are available. Toshiba has a HD-DVD player for $499 but the first Blu-ray player from Samsung will cost $1000. It is doubtful that the PS3, which will double as a Blu-ray player, will have a price tag this high. LG and Samsung each plan to release a player that will play both formats.
These HD discs will be an improvement over current DVDs, but with the uncertainty in the marketplace, I’m going to stick with my trusty progressive-scan DVD player for now.
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