New "Wrath of the Titans" TV spot

While I wasn't a huge fan of "Clash of the Titans" from a couple of years ago I have to say that, like Gigi, I am stoked for this sequel. The trailer is awesome as is this new TV spot. I only hope they did a decent job on the 3D this time around.

"The Godfather" to return to cinemas for one day March 1

Salvatore Corsitto, James Caan and Marlon Brando in "The Godfather" - Paramount Pictures

A restored version of Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece "The Godfather" starring Marlon Brando will be returning to theaters for a single day on March 1st. It won't be in wide release, instead it will be shown on 55 Cinemark XD auditoriums nationwide.

It's not a 21st century film but it's so good it deserves mention. If you've never seen it on the big screen and you have a chance to catch it this time don't miss it.

Russell Crowe in talks to join Aronofsky's "Noah"

Multiple sources are reporting that Russell Crowe is in talks to join the cast of Darren Aronofsky's biblical epic "Noah" in the title role. Aronofsky's take on the bible tale will have Noah as a sort of ancient environmentalist disillusioned with mankind's stewardship of planet earth and determined to save its animal life. Should be interesting.

Off the beaten track trailer of the day - "Helter Skelter"

Take one part Japanese director Mika Ninagawa ("Sakuran" 2006) add one part comely Japanese eye candy (Erika Sawajiri) and throw in a plot about addiction to plastic surgery and you have "Helter Skelter". Don't know exactly what they're saying but it sure looks great.

The top 10 movies for the weekend of Feb 24 - Feb 26, 2012

1) Act of Valor	$24.4 Million
2) Good Deeds	$15.5 Million
3) Journey 2: The Mysterious Island	$13.3 Million
4) Safe House	$10.9 Million
5) The Vow	$9.9 Million
6) Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance	$9 Million
7) This Means War	$8.4 Million
8) Wanderlust	$6.5 Million
9) Gone	$4.7 Million
10) The Secret World of Arrietty	$4.3 Million

The number one movie a year ago this week was Warner Bros's "Hall Pass" which debuted in the top spot with $13.5 million.

84th Annual Academy Awards: Winners

Here is a list of the winners in all the major categories from last night's 84 annual Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

Best Picture
“The Artist” - The Weinstein Company

Actress in a Leading Role
Meryl Streep - “The Iron Lady”

Actor in a Leading Role
Jean Dujardin - “The Artist”

Directing
Michel Hazanavicius - “The Artist”

Actor in a Supporting Role
Christopher Plummer - “Beginners”

Actress in a Supporting Role
Octavia Spencer - “The Help”

Short Film (Animated)
“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”

Documentary (Short Subject)
“Saving Face”

Short Film (Live Action)
“The Shore”

Screenplay (Original)
“Midnight in Paris” - Woody Allen

Screenplay (Adapted)
“The Descendants” - Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash

Music (Original Song)
“Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets” - Bret McKenzie

Music (Original Score)
“The Artist” - Ludovic Bource

Visual Effects
“Hugo” - Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann, Alex Henning

Animated Feature Film
“Rango” - Paramount

Documentary (Feature)
“Undefeated” - Spitfire Pictures Production

Sound Mixing
“Hugo” - Tom Fleischman and John Midgley

Sound Editing
“Hugo” - Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty

Film Editing
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” - Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall

Foreign Language Film
“A Separation” - Dreamlab Films - Iran

Makeup
“The Iron Lady” - Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Costume Design
“The Artist” - Mark Bridges

Art Direction
“Hugo” - Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo

Cinematography
“Hugo” - Robert Richardson

New "John Carter" clip

In this clip from Disney's upcoming sci-fi flick John Carter must do battle with the dreaded Martian White Ape. Personally I think this clip looks like it could have been lifted right out of "Attack of the Clones", but that just me.

"John Carter" arrives in theaters March 9th.

New image from the set of "Star Trek 2" shows new villian

The photo below from the set of the upcoming Star Trek sequel reveals an actor not previously reported to be attached to the project portraying an unknown villain. The actor turns out to be none other than Benedict Cumberbatch ("War Horse", "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy") though exactly who in the pantheon of evil he is portraying is still not known. This photo, posted over at E, shows Cumberbatch succumbing to the power of Zachary Quinto's Vulcan Death Grip or Nerve Pinch or whatever its called.

Photo: Eric Ford/On Location News

"Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" - 2011

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is assigned to track down and stop a ruthless Russian scientist who's decided it's time for a global housecleaning. The wackjob in question wants to start a nuclear war in order that the world might come back stronger in it's aftermath. While infiltrating the Russian state archives in search of vital information Hunt is framed for blowing up the Kremlin and spends much of his subsequent time avoiding arrest by the bumbling Moscow police. He chases the rogue Rooskie scientist from Moscow to Dubai (where we get a pretty spectacular sequence on the outside of the Burj Kalifa) and from Dubai to Mumbai while the countdown ticks down to worldwide obliteration.

That's the basic premise of the newest installment in the Mission Impossible series. It's strengths are the strengths of any decent modern action movie: high production values, fantasy tech, well modulated action sequences, exotic locales and Bond girls, or Bond-type girls. It's weaknesses are the weaknesses of many a modern action movie: poorly crafted characters and extreme implausibility. Because of a surplus of the latter Ghost Protocol never really got off the ground for me and belongs more in the company of recent eye-rollers like "Columbiana" than alongside what I am increasingly coming to believe is the gold standard for 21st century actioners: Martin Campbell's "Casino Royale".

That movie proved once and for all that you can tell an implausible tale in a way that almost seems plausible and thereby allow the audience to relate to (and by extension care about) the characters. Achieving that plausability is a matter of knowing when to let up on the miracles and when to pull one out of the hat. Campbell understood this. Ghost Protocol director Brad Bird seems to have missed the memo. If Campbell's Bond didn't have this or that invaluable piece of tech handy he simply broke down the door and beat the crap out of whoever was on the other side. Not the MI team. Even when they're disavowed and the entire MI program shut down they still don't have to improvise, they just access a completely tripped out rail car in the middle of Moscow loaded with everything they'd ever need to do anything. Maybe I was the only one in the theater who groaned when this happened, I couldn't tell because my groan was so loud it drowned out just about everything else.

It's because of this kind of bullying of my suspension of disbelief that I was never able to invest in either the story or the characters. I just knew that when the chips were down they were never really down. Just wait a second and somebody will pull something no one has ever concieved of before, some situation-specific super tech, out of a briefcase and all will be well.

So I sat through the movie enjoying my popcorn a lot more than the story, appreciating the quality of the cinematography, appreciating that Jeremy Renner has a presence Tom Cruise can only dream of and trying to concentrate on the technical wherewithal required to pull off a scene like that which occurs on the exterior of the Burj, though I really didn't care one way or the other if Ethan Hunt plunged to the ground.

New "Wrath of the Titans" trailer

Perseus (Sam Worthington) ventures into the underworld to rescue Zeus (Liam Neeson) from the rampaging Titans.
In my humble opinion this looks absolutely awesome.



"Wrath of the Titans" is due in theaters March 30.