good and bad news came out of the sky captain camp today. cinescape and aicn both reported today that the premiere for sky captain and the world of tomorrow has been pushed back to september 17th, from its original release on june 25th. while the movie looks very coo, the studios didnt want to pit sky captain against the release of spider-man 2, which was set to open just 5 days after its original release date. so…poot, an extra three months wait.

the small consolation prize however was that along with the news came a new set of images from the movie. they feature alot of large stills from the movie of sky captain (law), franky (jolie), dex (ribisi), and polly (paltrow), as well as new images of bai lings character, the sky captains p-40 warhawk, and one of the futuristic flying attack ships. very swish.

> sky captain (via cinescape)
> sky captain (via aicn)
> sky captain official website

three cin3matic news bits for today. first, aicn got a scoop about kill bill. even tho kill bill v2 has been out for less than a week, tarentino mentioned that the full movie (v1+v2) has already been cut and will be shown at the cannes film festival this year. the guy works fast yo. they didnt mention whether some of the cut scenes were edited back in tho, including a fight between bill and michael jai whites character that was glimpsed back during harrys set visits in china.

HERO
and speaking of chinky things, a brief mailbag session on ign mentioned that zhang yimou’s hero will finally be released in america on august 20th (eenteresting). better late than never i suppose. quick plot synopsis for those unfamiliar…ancient china, three assassins are taken down by a humble lawman and is granted audience with the emperor and talks about how he took them down. jet li’s the lawman, btw. there ya go…word.

STAR WARS TRILOGY SET
and a bit of a belated news…the specs for the upcoming dvd release of the original star wars trilogy was released yesterday. the movies themselves were of course sharpened, digitally remastered, blah blah blah. the fourth disc however…thats what im looking forward to. the fourth disc accompanying the set will befilled with a number of coo features that should thoroughly wash away the bad taste of the prequels…the most notable of which is the two and a half hour documentary on the making of the saga (woo), with never before seen footage from the first three films. the other features on the fourth disc will be laid out in list form, because shit is it long…

– ep3 behind the scenes preview: the return of darth vader | self explanatory…covers anakins fall towards the dark side, with a first look at the new vader costume in ep3.
– the birth of the lighsaber | swish!
– the characters of star wars | a look at some of the weirdos in lucas universe.
– the force is with them: the legacy of star wars | how star wars influenced a new generation of geek filmmakers.
– star wars battlefront trailer and playable demo | a preview and demo for the upcoming xbox game.
– star wars ep3 making the game preview | self explanatory.
– original trailers and tv spots | coo beans.
– never before seen production gallery | word.
– posters and print campaigns | yay verily.
– exclusive dvd-rom content | porno gallery, maybe?

ADDENDUM
an article on cnn mentioned that the donnie darko re-release will premiere at the seattle film festival on may 29th, and then released nationally sometime in the summer. the re-release will feature some new effects and new music, and is said to be closer to the version originally shown at the 2001 sundance festival. for those unfamiliar with donnie darko, it was an overlooked movie back in 2001 that grossed just $515,545 at the box office…but went on to sell more than $10 million on dvd. which is fitting, because the movie is ridiculously good.

> kill bill news (via aicn)
> hero release date (via ign)
> star wars dvd set specs (via ign)
> donnie darko re-release (via cnn)

yay for allergies. at least its nice to know that spring is “officially” here…by my sinus’ account anyway. time to break out the claritin.

im still waiting impatiently for the prisoner of azkaban to come out on june 4, but in the meantime at least, more promotional posters have appeared on the net. the hpana has the four character posters from germany for the new movie, featuring harry, hermione, ron, and sirius. they compliment the international poster nicely, with a similar design scheme and color palette. and definitely check out their link to the coo character posters from the last movie, the chamber of secrets, via veritaserum.

> new character posters (via hpana)

since todays the opening nite of kill bill volume 2, i thought id point out this insightful article from the ny times. for anyone who just cant keep up with tarantino flinging references left and right, dave kehr provides nice cliff notes for the myriad of eastern and western movie references found in the two kill bills. while i couldnt point out all the eastern movie references myself, im at least more familiar with those than the spaghetti western references prevalent in the second chapter. westerns fly right over my head. some of the coo references kehr points out:

sonny chiba | streetfighter! this guy is diesel…he’ll punch your head and make it explode. its all the more funny then that hes played for comedy in kill bill.
pai mei (white eyebrows) | a mainstay of a ridiculous number of old shaw brothers movies. all kung-fu masters have long beards and extended eyebrows yo.
o-ren ishii | potentially a reference to lady snowblood, a japanese movie about a young woman who swears revenge on her familys killers.
stylized killing | shit, any samurai chambara film yo. kehr points out specific movies like lone wolf and cub, and zatoichi.
budd (sidewinder) | is a reference to budd boetticher, a protege of john ford and a pioneer of westerns.

kehr also nicely pointed out how both eastern and western movies have influenced each other for decades now. their genres have in fact been entertwined since the days of kurosawa borrowing from john ford westerns to make the seven samurai, which in turn was adapted back into a western as the magnificent seven. and tarantino is merely following in their footsteps. so for those who bitch about how hackneyed he is, go and watch the first star wars…then go watch the hidden fortress…

> charting the tarantino universe (via ny times)

[ current selection | ayumi hamasaki – connected (ferry corsten extended mix) ]
[ feelin’ | sunny…woo! ]

yea, so i wasnt really feelin’ it yesterday. it was probably a combination of the shite weather and my grogginess from crappy sleep. but today tho, sun! which is supposed to stick around for the entire weekend as well. hi of 70s…rock on.

AZKABAN
the third harry potters just around the corner, and the mpaa finally decreed that thou shalt be rated of the pg variety, resultant thus from “frightening moments, creature violence and mild language.” righty-o. its guaranteed now that ill be surrounded by little kids clucthing their wands and glasses on premiere nite…wooha! two new international posters for azkaban have just been released too, and one in particulars pretty coo. tho id disagree with igns assessment that they put the american version to shame. the american version looks more in line with the moody and ominous tone of the film, while the new international version is very fantasy-oriented. which is coo too. anyhoo, check them out. oh, and if you gave a shit, theres a new lemony snicket poster out too…but it sucks.

BATMAN BEGINS
and one last bit of movie news for now. theres apparently a new image going around purporting to show bale in his new batman costume…short ears and everything. its still unconfirmed at the moment whether the picture is authentic or not, but it does seem to correlate with the descriptions of it that have circulated around prior. personally, i thought they were moving away from the rubber suit look of the first 3 movies…maybe i just misread. the costume looks quite similar to the older costumes, sans the nipples…and with shorter ears. still looks coo tho, if its real that is. check it out here.

> azkaban rated and new posters (via ign)
> batman costume? (via aicn)

[ current selection | fatboy slim – love island ]
[ feelin’ | yogurty ]

there seems to be alot of cin3matic rumblings today…woo. ign posted today about the new villain for the third star wars movie, general grievous, whos been added recently to the star wars databanks. hes described as a part non-humanoid alien, part custom droid…and looks either really sad or really mad. poor dude. they also linked to the concept sketches by joe corroney thats gives a better look at the villain.

HOWLS MOVING CASTLE
ign also posted a coo article on hayao miyazakis next movie, howls moving castle, which is loosely based on diana wynne jones’ book of the same name. the story revolves around sophie, a girl who, after being cursed by a sorceress and becomes an old woman, takes refuge in a giant walking castle belonging to a wizard named howl. the walking castle is actually powered by a fire demon, calcifer, who resides in its hearth and is bound to howl. when the demon meets sophie, he makes a deal with her…he’ll break her curse if she can find a way to break his. the visuals look pretty crazy (check the castle), and it is miyazaki…who can do no wrong (except for that movie about tanukis and their balls). ign also has a link to a short teaser for the movie on online ghibli, which briefly shows the moving castle in action. craziness. the movie is set to be released in japan this fall…and with any luck, maybe the u.s. as well.

I, ROBOT (STILL SUCKS)
theres a new trailer up for alex proyas’ movie adaption of isaac asimovs i, robot. more action, more will smith-talk, more of those bulbous white robots with the freaky freaky faces. i still dont like will smith, and the robots definitely still look like gelatinous poo. no good, no good.

AZKABAN AND GOBLET OF FIRE
there was a mention on cinescape of the abc azkaban special on may 9th that was posted about yesterday. they did however throw in that the fourth potter movie, goblet of fire, has an anticipated release date of november 18th, 2005. wooha…thats just about a year and a half after azkabans release. wow, fast-track.

WILDCATS
and this last bit of news isnt movie-related, but i still thought it worth noting. wildstorm comics has announced that they are cancelling the comic series wildcats. while i want to say that this is poo, i havent really followed the series…or comics for that matter, in a long time. for those who arent familiar with wildcats, it was one of the flagship comic books released by image comics in 1992 (along with spawn, youngbloods, shadowhawk, and the savage dragon) after its founders broker away from marvel. its artist and creator, jim lee, was (and still is) in my mind, probably the best american comic book artist ever. i still have issues 1 thru…something, of the original wildcats…when it was still just your typical superhero ass-kicking comic. its since evolved into a covert ops-themed comic geared primarily towards adults…and jim lee hasnt drawn for wildcats in a long time. but itll still be missed.

> general grievous info (via ign)
> howls moving castle (via ign)
> howls moving castle clip
> new i, robot trailer (via cinescape)
> azkaban special and goblet release date (via cinescape)
> wildcats cancelled (via cinescape)

and yes, ive been slacking a bit when it comes to movie news. and its not even because theres too much to cover. quite the opposite actually…theres been fewer movie items that pique my interest these past few weeks. so as a result, i make less effort…whups. ill play a little catch-up then.

CATWOMAN
theres a new poster for the train-wreck-in-waiting movie catwoman. the posters not bad actually…but its like drawing a happy face on a bag of shit.

PHONE REMAKE
focus features just acquired the rights to remake the korean horror movie, the phone. while the premise was slightly ringu-esque, the movie still held its own for one reason and one reason only…that absolutely freaky little girl. so theyd better cast her juuuuust right in the remake.

NEW SPIDER-MAN 2 TRAILER
a rockin’ new trailer for spider-man 2 was released last week…and it looks absolutely amazing. absolutely. do i use that word too much? absolutely. anyway, like i stated before…i never bothered with the first spider-man, but the sequel looks great. it has my attention.

HARRY POTTER CLIPS
and there were new clips from the prisoner of azkaban on the hpana, but they seem to be poot at the moment. update: they were originally from the daniel radcliffe site, so thats still up. the tv clips have the kids of harry potter talking about the television premiere may 9th of the sorcerer’s stone on abc, and about the 10-minute preview of azkaban that will accompany it. wooha!

theres also another post for a taiwanese azkaban teaser that was on the bbc in the past with a few scenes not shown in any of the other trailers.

BAAF 2004
ok, this isnt movie news, but i thought id toss this in here. the 2004 big apple anime festival has been cancelled due to conflicts with the republican national convention. they will instead focus their efforts on the 2005 baaf. fucking republicans!!!

> catwoman poster (via killer movies)
> the phone remake (via killer movies)
> new spider-man 2 trailer (via killer movies)
> harry potter tv clip (via hpana and danradcliffe.com)
> taiwanese azkaban teaser (via hpana)
> no baaf 2004 (via aicn)

[ current selection | rage against the machine – renegades of funk ]
[ feelin’ | woo ]

i noticed this morning some black squirrels roaming tompkins. theyre usually spotted over in stuy town, but not tompkins. hmm…i wonder if they have an arrangement with the pigeons or something. ok, i dont really know how to segue that into movie news. the segue has failed. *shrug* so anyway, a torrent of reviews have been flowing into aicn for a number of forthcoming movies. heres the breakdown, for those too lazy to wade thru them.

the alamo > flawed movie that had potential. music score supposedly sucks. paul clinton over at cnn called it an epic tho. and while i want to believe him, paul clintons an idiot. review

the punisher > good film, but not great. and not not completely true to its source material. reviews

kill vill v2 > people love it. and for differing reasons than v1. while v1 was all style, v2 apparently has alot more depth…and grittier fight scenes. reviews | reviews

van helsing > toss up. one guy loved it, another thought it blew. its by the same director as the mummy, so im going to guess that its an entertaining action movie that lacks any depth whatsoever. review | review

shaun of the dead > everybody loves it. funny, yet still scary. but definitely funny. review | review | reviews

SAMUS ARAN
and following on wednesdays news about john woo acquiring the rights to metroid, ign posted an article today postulating who could potentially fill the role of samus. i personally think itd be interesting if they found a relatively unknown to fill the role, because itd be a potentially big way to be introduced to the world…forever seared into peoples minds that you are samus aran. the actress they choose could also be dependent on how theyre going to treat samus in the movie. is she going to be in her power armour the entire movie? or will there be adequate screentime without her armour? itd be tricky, because her power armour is the definitive image that people have of metroid. otherwise they could really just cast eye candy, and then have a man run around in the suit as she dubs the voice. so anyhoo, onto igns nominations…

naomi watts [ 2/10 ] i dunno. im not really feeling this one. shes a great actress and all, but i dont think this roles for her.
rebecca romijn-stamos [ 3/10 ] im not feeling this one either. too model-like? if thats possible. samus aran is a badass, not a model.
kelly preston [ 2/10 ] john travoltas wife? i dont think so. are they just arbitrarily picking blondes?
natasha henstridge [ 8/10 ] hmm…i actually quite like the idea of henstridge playing samus. shes got that badass streak in her, and shes done sci-fi in the past.
gwyneth paltrow [ 1/10 ] what? no…sorry. samus aran does not drink tea and fold doilies. she would break.
maria bello [ 6/10 ] hmm…cute, relatively unknown…but shes kinda petite. shame.
charlize theron [ 7/10 ] i wouldve thought her too princess before. but if she signed on to do aeon flux, id give her a chance. aeon flux is a badass too.
angelina jolie [ 5/10 ] i dunno about this. im not really sold on jolie as samus. and shit, tomb raiders already seared into our minds. for her to take on two iconic video game heroines? seems like pigeon-holing.
uma thurman [ 4/10 ] i dunno about this either. umas not exactly the person i had in mind when i think of metroid. tho i do think itd be funny if she stole the power armour and went back to re-kill the viper squad again. samus vs. go go yubari…bwahaha…

> samus aran candidates (via ign)

ok…im gonna make this (relatively) short, just because my brain is in no mood to cognate…things…or whatever. yea. see…what did i just say? with yesterdays release of the final matrix dvd (woo matrix!) ugo went about trying to answer some of the more debatable items the movie posits in their hack the matrix special. they also got the architect to guest review the dvd. i think he puts it quite succinctly…

“Perspicacity aside, the sagacity of demarcating an ambit for vaulted impresarios denuded its nub and betokens inveterated as unfeigned. The gregarious clan that emprised this pedantic consecution of photoplay espied that renumerating a voluminious scad of wampum would abrogate a demiurgic impecuniousness. However, a fictive exiguity assayed a pestiferous antiphon to the quondam quixotism that was the Matrix. Recusant proclivities rejoined that suppositious presentiment.“
word archie…i hear ya.

ad&d
second news brief. theres been rumors that there might be a sequel to the craptastic dungeons & dragons movie. they probably felt bad that the first one was a flaming bag of rabbit turd. so with the success of the lord of the rings, the studio that produced the first one is linking up with joel silvers production company to reboot and make a not-embarrassing sequel. gerry lively (darkness falls, the guardian) is set to direct.

mother brain yo
and one final holy shit news bit for today. cinescape reports that john woo has optioned the movie rights to adapt nintendos metroid. metroid and john fucking woo…how coo is that? the movie will focus on samus arans original adventures in the first game…with her battle against ridley, kraid, and the mother brain. theyre planning on having the movie ready by 2006, which by my estimates…isnt fast enough. i wonder who theyll get to play samus aran. technically, samus is blonde. so in regards to the prior news about charlize theron playing aeon flux, she mightve been a better fit here, and shannyn sossamon should be aeon. word.

> hack the matrix (via ugo)
> dungeons & dragons sequel (via ign)
> metroid movie (via cinescape)
> metroid database