Some News Type Thing (01/09/12) The Third Hobbit Movie Has A Name! and The Rocketeer Gets A Reboot

Sorry about this post being late, had a few things going on recently, but here its is, this weeks edition of Some News Type Thing.

The Hobbit 3
You may remember a while back that I posted about 'The Hobbit' related domain names that were being bought up around the time that the third movie was announced. In case you don't, they seemed to revolve around two names, 'Riddles In The Dark' and 'The Desolation Of Smaug'. I guessed that the second one would be the most likely, and it looks like I was right, kind of.

As it stood, we had 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' set for December 26th 2012 and 'The Hobbit: There And Back Again set for December 2013. Well as it stands now, the first Hobbit hasn't changed, but the second one has now been renamed 'The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug'  and the third movie, which is set to be released July 18th 2014, so not long after the second movie, will be named 'The Hobbit: There And Back Again', which is due to start production next year.

The Rocketeer Gets A Reboot
The 1991 film 'The Rocketeer' celebrated its 20th anniversary last year and apparently Disney is interested in rebooting the film. For years people have tried to gets sequels to this film made but with no result, it looks like Disney think they can handle the film better.

Personally i haven't seen 'The Rocketeer', I have heard that it is extremely cheesy, but is a fun time to watch, so I will probably get round to watching it sometime in the next few weeks.

That's all for this week, I will try and get next weeks edition out on time. Until then look forward to my Weekly Blu Ray Review where I will be reviewing blu ray of 'Starship Troopers: Invasion' and maybe 'Pulp Fiction' which arrived today. I'm not sure if I will be able get the film and the special features watched by Sunday because I've heard they're quit extensive.

Review of Total Recall

'Total Recall' is a 2012 American science fiction film remake of the 1990 film of the same name, in turn loosely based on the 1966 short story "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" by Philip K. Dick. Unlike the original film and short story, the plot does not include Mars and exhibits more political overtones. The film blends Western and Eastern influences, most notably in the settings and dominant populations of the two nation states in the story: the United Federation of Britain, and the Colony. 'Total Recall' was directed by Len Wiseman, written by Mark Bomback, James Vanderbilt and Kurt Wimmer and stars Collin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, John Cho and bill Nighy.

This film really doesn't deserve the terrible reviews it's getting. As a big fan of the original I was skeptical going into the cinema, but to be honest, it is a very enjoyable movie. I'm going to start with what I liked about the movie. For starters the story, it has the same elements as the original film, but at the same time it was totally different. The main parts of the story are the same, but if you played the two films alongside each other, they're hardly recognisable. Which is what I liked, it wasn't just a rehash of a popular film, it was a true reinvisioning. The film felt like a cross between 'Total Recall', 'The Bourne Ultimatum' and 'I,Robot', which to me is a pretty good combination. The story is a lot more political based, and i like how they added robots into the mix, and the problem of their not being enough space and resources for humanities large population, it creates a setting, a future, that could well be a reality one day. It's about as different from the 1990 film as 'The Amazing Spiderman' was to 'Spiderman' (that's very different). To anyone who hasn't seen the original, the story can be quite confusing, and can take a while to work out what is going on, but it is gripping, and it keeps you interesting all the way through. Now I'll move onto the action and chase sequences. The action is good, if not slightly repetitive. We are given lots of shooting and a taste of some futuristic weaponry. The chase sequences feel very Bourne-ish, which isn't a bad thing; the chase scenes are all really good, even if they do drag on a little bit. By far the best chase seen is the car chase, the cars look fantastic and the whole thing is really well thought out and looks good on screen.

Now to what I didn't like, the cast. I like Collin Farrell, but for some reason, I just didn't connect with his character in this film. His character is annoying and for some reason he just doesn't work as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger's version of the character. Also the two leading ladies, Beckinsale and Biel, look far too alike. Seriously there are some scenes where you have to look at what they're wearing to tell them apart, in all fairness they use this pretty well in a certain scene near the end of the movie, but most of the time, it's annoying and there isn't nearly enough character development. They spend all their time on Farrell's character so no one else gets a chance. I found myself knowing hardly anything about any other character, even Nighy's character who should be a major part in the story, but we find out next to nothing about him.

I hate to say this, but the dialogue for me doesn't work as well in this film. What I mean by that is the one liners. Collin Farrell cannot pull them off as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger. Also the film has a few gaping plot holes, some of which aren't as obvious as others but if you know your science then some of it will annoy you because since a lot of what is involved in this movie is well thought out, but then they go and make stupid mistakes.

All in all it is an enjoyable film, it could have been much better but believe me it could have been so much worse. I really like they adapted it from being set on Mars to being set on Earth, it works really well and gives the film a much more realistic vibe. I like the story, the action and the chase sequences, even if they do drag on. The main thing that kills it is the way the handled the cast, it really ruins it for me. Plus a few other nit-picky things but I would still recommend seeing this film. I am going to give 'Total Recall' a 7/10.

A note to fans of the 1990 film. There are some really good references to the original that you will simply love. Plus here's a warning, the three boobed woman is in this movie, and she looks hot (duh) but she doesn't really fit into the world that has been created, you'll get what I mean when you see it. Although she can be explained, it isn't, and you don't any evidence or cases similar throughout the rest of the movie.

Quote Of The Week 29/08/12

Another new weekly post. Sometimes a single line by a good actor can make a film memorable. So every Wednesday I am going to post what I think is a great line. One important thing to note is that I will never quote a movie which is currently our in the cinemas. That wouldn't be fair to those that haven't seen the movie yet. I have to say, it'll be difficult not to quote 'The Expendables 2' every week.

So here it is. This weeks quote of the week: From 'Batman Returns' (1992)

The Penguin: (Whilst being bombarded by food) "Why is there always someone who brings eggs and tomatoes to a speech?"

Which Paul Verhoeven Film Remake Are You Most Looking Forward To? (Poll)

Paul Verhoeven is responsible for three iconic films from the late eighties and early nineties. These are 'Robocop' (1987), 'Total Recall' (1990) and 'Starship Troopers' (1997). They're are all iconic in the world of science fiction and are all getting the remake treatment. The first being 'Total Recall' which comes out in cinemas in the UK this Wednesday.

So which of these are you most looking forward to? Personally I'm worried about all of them. They're probably going to be more mainstream, and the violence will be majorly toned down, but that doesn't mean that I'm not interested in seeing the new adaptations.

The poll is to the right hand side of this post. Let me know which of those three remakes you think won't suck as much as the other two.

Movie Recommendation Of The Week (27/8/12): Total Recall (1990)

'Total Recall' is a 1990 American science fiction action film, loosely based on the Philip K. Dick story We Can Remember It For You Wholesale. It was directed by Paul Verhoeven and it stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside and Ronny Cox. Naturally I have selected this film to be my Movie Recommendation Of The Week because the remake of this classic film comes out on Wednesday. The remake so far has really bad reviews but out of respect for the original I will be going to see it on Thursday. I want to see what they have done to one of Arnold's best films.

What is reality when you can't trust your memory? An Earthbound construction worker keeps having dreams about Mars. A trip to a false memory transplant service for an imaginary trip to Mars goes terribly wrong and another personality surfaces. When his old self returns, he finds groups of his friends and several strangers seem to have orders to kill him. He finds records his other self left him that tell him to get to Mars to join up with the underground. The reality of the situation is constantly in question. Who is he? Which personality is correct? Which version of reality is true? Sounds pretty good doesn't it. This film is filled with suspense, drama, cheesy one liners and some great action. It has everything that is needed from a Schwarzenegger action film.

I'd recommend this film to anyone, it has something to satisfy every audience, but it does have its faults, like some of the cheesiness it much more noticeable during certain parts of the film, and some of the dialogue is just awful (and some of the acting isn't that good). Luckily this is overshadowed by memorable action sequences, great special effects (for the time) and a good story (its rare to find an action film with a decent story).

The original 'Total Recall' gets a 9/10 from me. The remake will never be as good as it, I'd recommend that you go and see the remake before you watch the original, then you will truly appreciate how good it is, because I fear that because I love the original so much, that the remake doesn't have much of a chance to impress me.

Weekly Blu Ray Review: Batman & Robin

I finally got round to it, this week (commencing 20/8/12) I forced myself to watch the final film in the Batman Anthology blu ray collection, 'Batman & Robin'.Also I know I told you all that I would also be reviewing the blu ray copy of 'Starship Troopers: Invasion', but with me doing The great North Bike Ride today, I just haven't had time to watch the special features yet.

Batman & Robin (1997)
Surely by now you all know how I feel about this movie, so it pains me to say that the blu ray copy isn't that bad. This will just be a quite review by the way, since a lot of the special features are the same as what there was with the other Batman films in the anthology collection. The picture quality is the film is quite good. It seems to look better during smaller scenes, like the ones where the main characters are conversing, whereas the larger scaled scenes don't really look that special. At least there aren't any badly grated scenes. The sound quality is the same as it has been with the other three Batman movies, it seems to switch from quite quiet during the talking scenes, to really loud with the score blasting. They never worked out a good medium when it came to sound. The special features again are the best part, especially the 'Shadows Of The Bat'. This is the final part of a documentary which has carried across all four films in the boxset, and I think it is really interesting. This one is particularly good because everyone involved basically apologises for how bad the movie was (I'm being serious, Schumacher even apologises for the Bat-Nipples!). Along with that we have commentaries, a TV special on the making of the movie, little pieces on the making of the sets, the costumes ect. We are also given one deleted scene, which is nothing special, doesn't really give us anything new to think about, the usual piece on the heroes and villains in the film and finishing off with the galleries. So you get a lot for your money.

Overall I'd say it's an alright blu ray, not the best picture and sound quality wise, but special features where the director and cast apologise for for an awful film, definitely worth the money. I am going to give 'Batman & Robin' on blu ray a 7/10.

I'd highly recommend getting the Batman Anthology boxset if you can, I have it on DVD, I've borrowed my friends blu ray boxset because I think it was HMV exclusive and was only limited edition. I can't find it anywhere else, but I think you'll get similar, if not the same, special features with the DVD boxset.

That's it for this week, these posts seem to be getting smaller and smaller. Next week I promise that I will be reviewing 'Starship Troopers: Invasion'. Hopefully 'Pulp Fiction' will arrive. Which I can wait to watch and review because apparently the blu ray of it is really good.

Review of Starship Troopers: Invasion (Direct-To-DVD)

'Starship Troopers: Invasion' is a 2012 computer animated science fiction film directed by Shinji Aramaki. It is the fourth film in the series, and will be released on 27th August 2012 as a direct-to-DVD title. A distant Federation outpost Fort Casey comes under attack by bugs. The Team on the fast attack ship Alesia is assigned to help the Starship John A. Warden stationed in Fort Casey evacuate along with the survivors and bring military intelligence safely back to Earth. Carl Jenkins, now head of the Ministry of Paranormal Warfare, takes the starship on a clandestine mission before its rendezvous with the Alesia and goes missing in the nebula. The film stars Luci Christian, Justin Doran, David Matranga and David Wald.

We haven't had very much luck when it comes to 'Starship Troopers' sequels. None of them have been seen as good enough to make it to the big screen. From how I see it, they gradually got worse until this one. This one I actually quite enjoyed. It the first CGI film in the series and depending on how well it is received, others may be on the way in the future. Which would be good because then we'd have the series we love running alongside the remake which I have a feeling will be terrible.

I'm going to start with what is good about the film, for starters the animation is pretty good. The bugs look incredible, so does the troopers armer and the fight scenes are brilliant. I think they put all of their effort and concentration into making the action/fight sequences look awesome. I will admit that certain aspects don't look very good, but you can't have everything. Since I've already mentioned it I might as well continue talking about it: the action, it isn't as big a scale as 'Starship Troopers' or 'Starship Troopers 3: Marauder', but when the troopers start shooting bugs, it's brutal. Bullets are flying everywhere, bugs are exploding, troopers are getting hacked to pieces, it's what we watch the films for. Another good aspect is that although many many aspects of the film are cheesy, it carries with it some of the gems from the original movie that made it so good, e.g. violence, nudity, cheesy one liners and the main characters. At one point the film even makes fun of the series, which I quite like ("Would you like to know more?"). Three of the original characters do return in this film, but they are not voiced by the original actors. Casper Van Dien, who played Rico in the first and third movie, is attached as executive producer.

Now onto what isn't so good about this film. It is paced pretty poorly, you feel like you're waiting ages for the action sequences and the down time scenes just aren't interesting enough for you to pay attention. That takes me onto the story, yeah the story for the original isn't great, but it is filled with very little down time, and lots of action which makes a good balance. Whereas this story is very weak, the whole thing feels very small. Also troopers seem to pop up out of no where. We don't really see any character development apart from a small group of troopers, but when they're rescuing the lost ship, somehow there are a dozen more troopers than I though, and with there new armer (which I think was inspired by the novel, and used in the film to set it apart from the other movies), you can't tell whose who. The only way you can tell one trooper from another is by the name printed on their chest plate, but in amongst the action you never have time to read it. Also it's cheesy, I like my cheesy movies, but I think it's time for them to take 'Starship Troopers' to a new level, which this film was supposed to do. On a final note, the Marauder programme does make an appearance, but I really don't like the new Marauders, they looked awesome in the third movie, in this one they just look stupid, which is a shame because they have potential. At the end of the third movie you feel like they could make things bigger and better with the Marauder programme providing the troopers with enhanced protection and a vast array of weapons.

So all in all, the film is enjoyable, but they haven't quite made that special sequel that competes with the original yet. I'd recommend giving it a watch, because it has some good violent action sequences and some good nostalgia moments. I'd say it's better than third movie, and on par with the second (personally I think the second had a decent story, but that's all it had going for it) and still no where near a good as the first film. I wouldn't complain if they made more of these, it has potential. This film feels like a cross between 'Starship Troopers', 'Gears of War' and 'Aliens', which isn't a bad combination if done right. I know I've kind of ripped into this film, but if you are a fan of the series then definitely give it a try, but if you are new to the films, don't start with this one. I am going to give 'Starship Troopers: Invasion' a 6.5/10. Sadly quite a low score.

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