I really hope this isn’t as a bad as I think it will be and it doesn’t ruin one of my favorite films from my childhood, nostalgia does cloud our opinions though, if I remember the film rightly it seems kind of cheesey to me now, but as a kid I remember practising that kick in my back garden for days! The Karate Kid is not meant to be a remake it “will borrow elements of the original plot, wherein a bullied youth learns to stand up for himself with the help of an eccentric mentor.”

Directed by Harald Zwart (The Pink Panther 2) and written by Chris Murphy and Steven Conrad (The Pursuit of Happyness). The Karate Kid will star Jaden Smith (Will Smith’s son) as Dre, a skateboarding video game buff who is forced to move to China after his single mother (Taraji P. Henson) is forced to transfer to the China for work. Of course, unable to speak Chinese, Dre finds it hard to settle in, and gets beat up by the local bully. Jackie Chan plays Mr. Han (the Mr. Miyagi character), a maintenance man who spots Dre’s black-eye and offers to teach him both martial arts and Chinese, so he can defend against the students of Li Quan Ha’s Fighting dragon school of Kung-Fu.

The Karate Kid is in cinemas June 11th 2010

I really like the look of this, I’m a big fan of Jake Gyllenhall. Reviews have been trickling in all with positive feedback.

Apart from Hurt Locker (one of my films of 2009) I haven’t enjoyed any other films based on, or around the Iraq and Afghanistan conflict, they have seemed to care more about preaching and the politics around the two wars than giving the audience a good honest story, which would have a greater impact in my books, it’s like they’re preaching to the converted, the high majority of people around the world are against both wars. I’m a big fan of war films Apocalypse Now, The Thin Red Line, Platoon, Saving Private Ryan and Full Metal Jacket are amongst some of my favorites

BROTHERS tells the powerful story of two siblings, thirty-something Captain Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire) and younger brother Tommy Cahill (Jake Gyllenhaal), who are polar opposites. A Marine about to embark on his fourth tour of duty, Sam is a steadfast family man married to his high school sweetheart, the aptly named Grace (Natalie Portman), with whom he has two young daughters. Tommy, his charismatic younger brother, is a drifter just out of jail whos always gotten by on wit and charm. When his Black Hawk helicopter is shot down in the mountains Sam is presumed dead and the Cahill family suddenly faces a shocking void. Tommy tries to fill in for his brother by assuming newfound responsibility for himself, Grace, and the children. In the grief and strangeness of their new lives, Grace and Tommy are naturally drawn together. Their longstanding frostiness dissolves, but both are frightened and ashamed of the mutual attraction that has replaced it.

But Sam is not dead; he and a fellow soldier have been captured by Taliban fighters. In Afghanistans harsh, remote Pamir Mountains, Sam is subjected to traumas that threaten to rob him of his very humanity. At the same time that Sams sense of self is being destroyed overseas, Tommys self-image is strengthening at home. When Sam unexpectedly returns to the States, a nervous mood settles over the family. Sam, uncharacteristically withdrawn and volatile, grows suspicious of his brother and his wife. Their familiar roles now nearly reversed, Sam and Tommy end up facing the ultimate physical and mental challenge when they confront each other. In the shifting family dynamics, who will dominate?

Directed by six-time Oscar® nominee Jim Sheridan (IN AMERICA, IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER), BROTHERS tells the compelling tale of how two brothers come to terms with issues of love, loyalty, and manhood—and with the woman caught between them.

Coming to US theaters December 4th, 2009 and the 22nd of January 2010 in the UK

Paramount Pictures has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to Area 51, director and writer Oren Peli’s follow-up to the low budget hugely successful indie Paranormal Activity, which has become the most profitable independent film ever made.

I really enjoyed Paranormal Activity, it didn’t scare me particularly, probably due to me being desensitized by watching so many horror films, yet at the press screening everyone else seemed to be sh*tting themselves, there were loads of gasps and I had noticed there was a record number of people going to the toilet, the woman sitting next to me screamed at the last scene, Hollywood damsel in distress style, I was embarrassed for her.

Oren Peli filmed Area 51 last month in Utah with three virtually unknown actors - Reid Warner, Darrin Bragg and Ben Rovner. The film was shot for just under $5 million. Area 51 which has been described as a “claustrophobic terror”, centers around “three teenagers whose curiosity leads them to the legendary and mysterious Area 51 Air Force base deep in the Nevada desert.”

Area 51 is due for release in 2010

After Martin Scorsese announced he is set to direct a biopic based on the life of Frank Sinatra a bunch of questions were raised around which aspects of Sinatra’s life the film show, he was an extremely complex man. It will be hard to fit everything into one film, will it just show his career in music and film – which in itself was legendary and lasted over 50 years, will it include his childhood, his Mob ties, his depression, his family life, his varying political activities and changing beliefs and the question I will covering in this feature, which actor will have the daunting task of playing the man himself? Playing an Icon as big a star as Frank Sinatra will be no mean feet.

In a recent interview with New York Magazine Scorsese said of the film ‘ it spans his life from being a young child to his twenties, his thirties to his late seventies, inter-cuts everything throughout time. ‘ This could mean he uses a number of actors to play Sinatra or he goes The Curious Case of Benjamin Button route and gets one actor to play the different ages. One thing that won’t be necessary for the part is the singing voice of Sinatra, reports have said Peter Guber and Cathy Schulman, the producers from Universal Pictures and Mandalay Pictures have secured rights to use Sinatra’s original recordings in the film from Frank Sinatra Enterprises — a joint venture of the Sinatra Estate and Warner Music Group. During Sinatra’s life he worked with and was friends with some of the biggest names of the 20^th Century so expect a huge ensemble cast. This looks to be EPIC!

James Franco

James Franco is my personal favourite for the part, he looks a lot like a younger Frank Sinatra, he’s a great actor and I personally think having someone who isn’t the biggest star playing such a huge star would be more beneficial to the film, you would focus more on the character than a star playing a star, I can see the tagline’s now – ‘Johnny Depp IS Frank Sinatra’ too me that takes a little bit away from the man as a character, I think the role of Sinatra will be a great step for his burgeoning career as well

James Mardsen

I had a little look online to see what the movie community is saying about the role, a number of people brought up Marsden, which to be honest I hadn’t even thought about, he is a very good young actor who’s career is building with every film he’s in, he does also have the look for Sinatra – maybe a bit too pretty boyish.

Leonardo DiCaprio

If I was a betting man I’d put my money on Leonardo DiCaprio he’s appeared in Scorsese’s last four films (including Shutter Island which is coming out Febuary 2010) and is his current muse. For me he doesn’t have the look down at all and I think him being such a big star himself will take away from Frank Sinatra. I can see him playing another part in the film though, possibly John F Kennedy (he looks like him).

Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp looks like he’s’ the studio bet for the part, he’s currently the most popular and arguably the most famous actor and would bring in his huge audience, he’s a great actor so it could definitely work and he does resemble him slightly (not as much as Franco and Mardsen though). The draw back for me is like Leo, I’m not completely confident in having a mega star play a mega star, I could understand if he was playing someone less commercially known, like Robert Di Niro did with Jake Lamotta in ‘Raging Bull’ but he’s not. Depp is great for the tortured soul sort of rolls but to me he’s not that masculine.

Christian Bale

Christian Bale is my dark horse for the role, he doesn’t’ look particularity like him, but out of all the younger actors today he is possibly the best at playing complex characters, I dunno if he’s be interested in playing another iconic roll though – he’s already been Batamn, John Connor and Bob Dylan (kind of)

Harry Connick Jnr

Harry Conner is the modern day Frank Sinatra and has got the crooner click your finger and sing in a tux roll on lock! I definitely wouldn’t be mad at him being cast, he has acted in films before, I don’t know about him carrying a whole film by himself but he’d definitely be a good choice.

Other possibilities include George Clooney, who Tina Sinatra, Frank’s daughter, has said she would like to play him. I can only see him playing an older Sinatra. Robert Pattinson has threw his hat in the ring himself, I would HATE to see him play Sinatra, whats he gonna play a moping around emo version of Frank

Sinatra is set for realease 2011

Below are some new images from Sylvain White’s film adaptation of the Vertigo label comic book ‘The Losers’ which stars Zoe Saldana, Idris Elba, Chris Evans, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Columbus Short and Jason Patric. I really hope this is more Sin City than The Spirit (it was extraordinarily bad). Syvain White’s last film Stomp The Yard was a bit cliche for me, I really hope this add’s something to the ever growing number of Comic  adapted film’s.

An explosive tale of double cross and revenge, “The Losers” centers upon the members of an elite U.S. Special Forces unit sent into the Bolivian jungle on a search and destroy mission. The team–Clay, Jensen, Roque, Pooch and Cougar–find themselves the target of a lethal betrayal instigated from inside by a powerful enemy known only as Max. Presumed dead, the group makes plans to even the score when they’re joined by the mysterious Aisha, a beautiful operative with her own agenda. Working together, they must remain deep undercover while tracking the heavily-guarded Max, a ruthless man bent on embroiling the world in a new high-tech global war.

Source: http://www.omelete.com.br/

This is certain to make a zillion $$$$$$$’s when it comes out next year. Pixar know how to make animated filoms like no other. The fact that the first Toy story came out 14 years ago makes me feel really really old though. Toy Story 3 is set for release June 18, 2010, in the United States.

Andy is departing for college, and his toys, including Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz (Tim Allen), are going to be put in the attic. Before they can be put in the attic, they are accidentally thrown away and are picked up by the garbage men. The toys find themselves at a local day-care center, where they must try to survive the playful but careless pre-school children. Woody attempts to save his friends and find themselves a new home, but matters are further complicated when Buzz is damaged during an escape attempt. The toys try to reset Buzz, but end up causing him to revert to a Spanish version of his delusions of being a space ranger, much to Jessie’s delight and the other toys’ discomfort.

After The Taking Of Pelham 123 this film looks like a return to form for Denzel Washington – who 90% of the time is involved in a good movie. Gary Oldman is always great as a villain as well – True Romance, Leon, The Firm (TV Movie), Bram Strokers Dracula ect

The Book Of Eli is a post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man – Denzel Washington looking like a badass, fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind. Book Of Eli is directed by the Hughes Brothers (Menace 2 society, Dead Presidents, From Hell) and also stars Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Malcolm McDowell and Ray Stevensen. Look out for it in cinemas 15th January 2010

The good people over at Undergroundrepublik (my cousins site check it out!) recently interviewed John Woo (Hard Boiled, Face Off, Mission Impossible 2) while he was promoting Red Cliff in Canada – Red Cliff is definitely one of my top 10 films of 2009. Check out some of the results below, you can read the full interview here.

Why did you decide to make a film about this specific battle and how did the novel ‘the romance  of    the three kingdoms’ influence it?

John Woo: I grew up with the story and admired many of the heroes, I’ve wanted to make this movie for over 20 years. It’s one of the most famous battles in China’s history and the story is a very inspiring one. The battle shows how a smaller army can defeat a larger and more powerful enemy through the combination of teamwork, intelligence and courage, so I think it could be made into a very encouraging movie. I’ve been studying this part of history since I was a kid and I have learned so much from it. There are quite a few characters, like Zhou Yu, the one who is saving a little baby in the middle of battle, that soldier was so brave, so loyal and he was a great warrior, since I admired him so much, I decided to use it in the final scene of Hardboiled when Chow Yun Fat is admist all the gunfire and saving a baby(laughs). The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a very old novel from China and it is fiction but it is a great story that I have known since I was a child and it is very well known in china, it is a beautiful piece that inspired me heavily.

What advice can you recommend to young film makers?

John Woo: Just to keep making films, never stop and you must be yourself, I am so excited to see new film makers and I love all the new styles that are coming out. The most important thing is to believe in yourself.

What’s your next big project?

John Woo: I am working on so many projects, one is called Flying Tiger, it’s going to be a big Hollywood movie. It’s about the friendship between the Chinese and American pilots in World War 2 and how they helped win and it’s going to have lots of action. We are still working on the script and want to film it next year in both China and America. I am also working on a remake of Melville’s “Le Samourai” then also I’m working to make The Killer as a producer. I think it’s going to be directed by a Korean director, John Lee, a very talented young director. It’ll be an American movie, all in English, and I also want to do a Marco Polo movie.

I am looking forward to this, negative reviews have slightly put me off but it still interests me, what red blooded male doesn’t like ninjas!!!! Check out the new Red Band Trailer below it’s got a lot of blood. This film is out today in the states but not until the 8th January 2010 in UK.