New image from "Hercules the Thracian Wars"

Courtesy of star Dwayne Johnson, this image from director Brett Ratner’s mythological musing is extremely easy on the eye in an otherworldly way. That alone puts this project on the map for me.

Look for "Hercules the Thracian Wars" next July.

The top 10 movies for the weekend of September 27 - September 29, 2013

1) Cloudy w/a chance of Meatballs 2	$34 Million
2) Prisoners	$10.8 Million
3) Rush	$10 Million
4) Baggage Claim	$9 Million
5) Don Jon	$8.6 Million
6) Insidious Chapter 2	$6.5 Million
7) The Family	$3.7 Million
8) Instructions Not Included	$3.4 Million
9) We're the Millers	$2.8 Million
10) The Butler	$2.4 Million

The number one movie a year ago this week was Sony's "Hotel Transylvania" which debuted at number 1 with $42.5 million in box office receipts.

(Green indicates new release)

Off the beaten track trailer of the day: "Clay Pot Curry Killers"

I'll never look at curry quite the same way again.

A note for our visitors

We've been a little slow with the updates lately because we're helping our good friends at Shadow Productions put together their first feature film entitled "The Shadow Sea". Once principal photography wraps things will get back to normal here at 21st Century Films.

In the meantime take a minute and visit the movie's facebook page and drop a like on it.
www.facebook.com/theshadowsea

Thanks,
Gigi and Chris

Featurette for Alfonso Cuaron's "Gravity"

In this roughly 4 minute feature the director makes the case for seeing his latest effort in 3D. And it's a pretty good case. Check it out.


"Gravity" hits theaters October 4th.

Comic-Con teaser for "The Avengers: Age of Ultron"

A few thousand people who were on hand a couple of months ago at Comic-Con got to see it and now you can too. Admittedly it's a bunch of audio snippets from A1 married to a fancy-pants new graphic but hey, we'll take what we can get. Have a look.


As the teaser says look for "The Avengers: Age of Ultron" in the summer of 2015.

New TV spot for "Thor: The Dark World"

This one has a few snippets not seen in the trailers and is free of the trailer's semi-comical ending.


"Thor: The Dark World" opens November 8th. Can't wait.

"Dom Hemingway" - trailer

Jude Law stars as a gangster recently released from prison who receives a nice cash bonus for keeping his mouth shut and doing the time only to somehow misplace all the cash. Is it a spoiler to say he's not happy about that?


"Dom Hemingway" opens stateside in April 2014.

The top 10 movies for the weekend of September 20 - September 22, 2013

1) Prisoners	$20.8 Million
2) Insidious Chapter 2	$13.8 Million
3) The Family	$7 Million
4) Instructions Not Included	$5.3 Million
5) Battle of the Year	$4.6 Million
6) We're the Millers	$4.5 Million
7) The Butler	$4.1 Million
8) Riddick	$3.6 Million
9) The Wizard of Oz 3D	$3 Million
10) Planes	$2.7 Million

The number one movie a year ago this week was Open Road's "End of Watch" which debuted at number 1 with a $13.1 million haul.

(Green indicates new release)

Ahnuld the Avatarator?

A strange little rumor popped up a few days ago that had Ahnuld being cast in "Avatar 2" as one of those evil humans who enjoy making such a mess out of Pandora. It made a certain kind of sense I suppose as Schwarzenegger and Cameron are such good buddies. Still, it was a disturbing thought (for me anyway) on more levels than I care to mention.

Now, however, Fox has come out and in no uncertain terms put the kibosh on the rumor with a studio rep stating in no uncertain terms: “No truth to this”. Whew! For the record "Avatar 2" is currently in the casting stage with production set to start next year with release set for 2016.

Head's a-poppin' in this new red-band trailer for "Machete Kills"

Apparently RR pushed back release of his "Machete" sequel to allow a little more time for the special effects teams to perfect the look of someone being sliced and diced by helicopter blades. And I must say, "Well done!" Probably NSFW unless you work in a slaughterhouse.


"Machete Kills" opens October 11th.

Kelsey Grammer joins "Expendables 3"

With Nicolas Cage out Sylvester Stallone has decided to fill the gap in his seasoned cast with the former "Cheers" and "Frasier" star. While some may balk I would point to Grammer's agreeable turn as a heavy in the recent (though short lived) "Boss", where he certainly held his own. Grammer's character in E3 is apparently someone named Bonaparte, a veteran mercenary who enables Stallone and his fellow geriatric malcontents.

The top 10 movies for the weekend of September 13 - September 15, 2013

1) Insidious Chapter 2	$40.2 Million
2) The Family	$14 Million
3) Riddick	$6.8 Million
4) The Butler	$5.5 Million
5) We're the Millers	$5.4 Million
6) Instructions Not Included	$4.8 Million
7) Planes	$3.1 Million
8) This is Us	$2.4 Million
9) Elysium	$2.1 Million
10) Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters	$1.8 Million

The number one movie a year ago this week was Screen Gem's "Resident Evil: Retribution" which debuted at number 1 with a $21 million haul.

(Green indicates new release)

Off the beaten track trailer of the day: "Escape from Tomorrow"

Shot on location at Disneyland this study in guerrilla film-making tells the tale of a middle-aged guy who loses his job and tries to escape all that implies by whisking the family off for some theme-park therapy. Unfortunately the theme park becomes little more than a launching pad into mental and emotional oblivion for him as it has been for so, so many others. Enjoy.


"Escape from Tomorrow" with hit VOD on October 11th.

Two new posters for "Thor: The Dark World"

The first poster is all about Odin, the biggest kahuna in Asgard played to noble perfection in Kenneth Branagh's masterful "Thor" by Anthony Hopkins, who will reprise his role here. The second poster has Tom Hiddleston's Loki breaking free of his prison and facing the world with an appropriately twisted expression. If I were the god of thunder I'd think long and hard about asking this guy for help.

Liev Schreiber is living out "The Last Days on Mars"

Decades of exploring Mars have made it clear the red planet is about as exciting as a walmart parking lot but that doesn't stop (whatever)wood from trying to mine it for box office gold. "The Last Days on Mars" is banking on bacteria to deliver the chills and create plausible havoc in this very "Alien" looking trailer. Newcomer Ruairi Robinson directs.


Look for "The Last Days on Mars" on VOD October 31st.

J K Rowling goes back to Hogwarts for new film

J K Rowling and Warner Brothers have announced that the Harry Potter author will write the screenplay for a new film to be based on the character Newt Scamander. As well as being a former headmaster of Hogwarts Scamander is also author of the fictitious Hogwarts textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Scamander first appeared in the first Potter book and has popped up briefly in subsequent chapters of the tale. Warner's initial idea was to have someone else write the screenplay but after some thought Rowling decided to handle it herself. It's expected that this new narrative vein will lead to a new series of films though no specifics regarding how many or when they'll be released have been determined yet.

Here is Rowling's full statement:

“It all started when Warner Bros. came to me with the suggestion of turning Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them into a film. I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of Fantastic Beasts, realized by another writer was difficult. Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt. As hard-core Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood. As I considered Warners’ proposal, an idea took shape that I couldn’t dislodge. That is how I ended up pitching my own idea for a film to Warner Bros. Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for 17 years, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world. The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt’s story will start in New York, 70 years before Harry’s gets underway. I particularly want to thank Kevin Tsujihara of Warner Bros. for his support in this project, which would not have happened without him. I always said that I would only revisit the wizarding world if I had an idea that I was really excited about and this is it.”

"Elysium" - 2013 - movie review

Its shocking how bad "Elysium" is. Shocking not because its worse than say "Transformers 3" but shocking because Neill Blomkamp's first feature film was so good. How do you go from transcendent to trash so quickly? It can't be easy that's for sure.

Elysium is everything I hoped it wouldn't be: ponderous, self-serious, contrived, hilariously sincere and just plain bor-ing. From the opening human vs robots sequence that lost any meaning when the impersonal machines were given LA cop personalities to the uninteresting subplot of an attempted power grab in space, from the man dying of radiation poisoning who can somehow withstand having dozens of industrial screws inserted into his skeleton and walk around without any indication of discomfort or pain right through to the idea of Sharlito Copley as some sort of ultra-badass nothing about Elysium clicks, nothing resonates.

The story revolves around what is undeniably the central social issue of our day: the separation that the haves are orchestrating between themselves and everyone else as we move toward the big crunch. In Elysium that separation has been completed with the haves safely ensconsed in their artificial nirvana orbiting high above the open sewer that civilization has become. What could have and should have been an important piece of work ala "District 9" instead devolves into triteness and syrupy platitudes, stereotypes and Hallmark sentiment to such a degree that by the end I didn't care about the injustices on display, I just wondered why Jodie Foster felt the need to overact to such an outrageous degree, why William Fincher was even in the film and why someone like Matt Damon - who has such a hard time relaxing in front of the camera - is one of the most famous people in the world.

I could get into the particulars of the story but what would be the point? Let's just say the synopsis should read something like this:

Earth 2154. The poor are sincere and supportive of one another, the rich are horrified they have to ever interact with the poor, the puppetmasters execute their global conspiracies in hidden corridors and modern medicine took sides a long time ago. 

About the only point "Elysium" makes that it makes well is the one which speaks to the phenomenon, well underway, of average people earning their daily bread by creating the means of their own future oppression. It makes this point well because it doesn't beat us over the head with it as it does with everything else. It's the only grey in a sea of narrative black and white. 'Nuff said.

Verdict: ★☆☆☆☆

"Jurassic Park 4" has a title and release date

The Steven Spielberg produced, Colin Treverrow directed 4th installment will officially be called "Jurassic World" and be released in the very crowded summer of 2015. The title is brimming with ominous overtones though nothing has been said publicly about the actual story as of this writing, and while the later-than-expected release date is a bit of a letdown it was probably unrealistic to think they'd have this baby ready to go next year, as many were hoping they would.

"Riddick" - 2013 - movie review

"Pitch Black" was a great sleeper hit back in 2000. Though it had Alien DNA all over it it nonetheless managed to carve out enough original territory to stand on its own. The followup "The Chronicles of Riddick" was what happens when studio suits intervene and declare that its time to ramp things up in hopes of cashing in big time. The hoped-for windfall never materialized though because the character of Riddick got lost in a barrage of boring, barely coherent intergalactic politicking and gross over-conceptualization. In the aftermath of their misplay the suits shelved the character and it took years of real world politicking on behalf of one Vin Diesel to convince the suits to let him have another crack at it.

Working with a drastically reduced budget Diesel and writer/director David Twoey went back to basics for the new film, returning the character to his simple badass roots and kicking the politics to the curb unceremoniously. Nearly 10 minutes go by before a word is spoken in Riddick. That alone tells you we're going in a different direction from episode II. When Diesel finally does open his mouth its in VO during which he explains how and why he's now free of the Necromancers and stranded on yet another uber hostile alien world. Apparently he incurred the wrath of the Necromancers when he declined the advances of numerous hairless nubiles (gotta give the boys something to look at) intent on progeneration while he was King of the Universe. They got pissed at this cultural slight and tossed him to the wolves after promising him they'd take him back to Furia.

Once the explanations of why the previous narrative lines have been scrapped are out of the way the film gets down to business with our anti-hero trapped in a kind of natural cage guarded by some very very nasty t-rex/alien hybrids. He escapes of course to the greener pastures (literally) of an abandoned mercenary station where he decides to call for help by turning himself in using the local, interplanetary drop-a-dime box. Two teams respond to his call. A ragged one and a polished one. The ragged one led by a guy named Santana (Jordi Molla) arrives first intent on bringing in their quarry quickly and getting out of Dodge. They don't work quick enough though and soon the second team arrives full of uniform vigor and in possession of a full-blown chain of command. They're told to stay out of the way by Santana and his squad and they oblige, sure in the knowledge that they'll be needed soon enough. And of course they are.

But this being Riddick that they're all hunting even these additional professionals are not enough and it all seems like its going to hell until Santana kills Riddick's pooch and the Furian comes out of hiding long enough to be tranquilized and captured by the local dyke (Katee Sackhoff  doing her topless best to keep the boys in the seats). Riddick, though, has one more ace up his sleeve because he's aware that a storm is approaching and that the rain that will accompany it is going to have the effect of animating a lot more of those previously mentioned t-rex/alien hybrids that have been lying dormant just below ground waiting for water; like those south american frogs. As soon as the rain starts falling the shit really hits the fan and well, I'll let you see the rest for yourself.

There are times when watching "Riddick" that you would swear you were watching "Pitch Black" but maybe that was necessary in order to put the train back on the tracks again. Diesel does his perfunctory best to appear uber menacing at all times and the supporting cast all do a creditable job. Most of the dialogue sounds like was written by first year film students though and the CG is in places laughable. Then again once the storm sets in the action does a serious ramp up and the visual quality of the film ticks up a several notches.

Bottom line is that there's nothing new here but it may be one of the few occasions where retreading an old tire was the appropriate course of action. It's worth a look but what I really want to know is where will Diesel and Twohy go from here, now that they've got their character back.

Verdict: ★★★☆☆

The top 10 movies for the weekend of September 6 - September 8, 2013

1) Riddick	$19 Million
2) The Butler	$8.4 Million
3) Instructions Not Included	$8.1 Million
4) We're the Millers	$7.6 Million
5) Planes	$4.1 Million
6) This is Us	$4 Million
7) Elysium	$3.1 Million
8) Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters	$2.4 Million
9) Blue Jasmine	$2.34 Million
10) The World's End	$2.31 Million

The number one movie a year ago this week was Liongate's "The Possession" which held on to the top spot for a second week with a $9.3 million haul.

(Green indicates new release)

Finally, some news about Max Max Fury Road

The news is decidedly mixed, but news is news. This project has been in production since Eisenhower was president. It was on, it was off, it was rained out of Australia and assumed to be off, then it surfaced in Namibia of all places and was on again. Shortly thereafter Charleze Theron was seen cavorting about with a shaved head and everyone, especially me, got very excited ("It's really going to happen!). And then... nothing. Followed by more nothing and many (including myself) feared the worst. But its hard to keep a road warrior down and at long last in the past few days we've had two bits of info from the George Miller et al.

First the bad news. Most everyone thought that when the production wrapped in Africa some 92 years ago that we'd have a half year of post and then blessed release. Turns out that African wrap wasn't such a wrap after all. Sketchy reports that are circulating state that the production is now scheduled for 6 weeks of re-shoots though there's absolutely no indication exactly what or who is involved. So someone behind the big desk is not happy with what was turned in and is cracking the whip. As long as they get it right I suppose... but it means we most definitely won't be seeing this movie this year as had been expected.

Tom Hardy as Max. Spot on.

And now the good news. As a way of talking some of us back from the ledge the production has released the first ever image (that I'm aware of) of Tom Hardy as Max himself and it looks like, if nothing else, they got that right. Let's see, grizzled? Check. Weather-beaten? Check. World-weary? Check. Distraught but determined? Check. Armed to the f***ing teeth? Check. Alright!

Now if George and Co can get their act together and get this thing up on the screen we'll be cookin' with gas!

Paul Greengrass: killjoy

Couple of weeks or so ago word started circulating that Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass were in talks to return to the Bourne franchise. "Oh happy day!" cried Bourne fans the world over. Now however director Greengrass has surfaced to pour a could bucket of water on those rising expectations. When asked by empireonline to comment on the reunion rumors and their origin Greengrass replied “I’ve absolutely no idea...I’m not being funny but, no, that’s just a figment of someone’s imagination.”

Paul and Matt Greendamongrass love shootin' down rumors

Asked if there's been any serious discussion recently between himself and Damon regarding the Bourne franchise he replied: “Quite a while ago... We might have a laugh about it, but a serious conversation? Not for a long time.” And when asked if he harbored any secret desire to return to Bourneville at some point in the future Greengrass said: “Um... listen, I loved the Bourne movies... I loved making them but it’s like anything in life, you’ve got to move on and do different things."

This could be posturing on the director's part but it sounds more definitive than that to me. Sounds to me that, if you're a Bourne fan, you should probably get used to the name Jeremy Renner.

Alan Taylor will direct the new Terminator film

Until recently Taylor was most well-known for turning tv's "Game of Thrones" into something watchable, that was before he was hired to fill Kenneth Branagh's shoes and take on the "Thor" sequel, which is due to hit theaters this November and is looking good so far (if trailers can be any indication; which admittedly they not always are - cough - Prometheus - cough).

The news has taken some in Hollywood by surprise as they assumed Justin Lin would be helming "Terminator 5". That bit of assumption was always skating on thin ice, though, as Lin distanced himself from the project as much as 2 years ago and never gave any indication he was going to change his mind.

So Alan Taylor it is.

Production should begin early next year with a mid 2015 release date. About the only other thing known about the project is that The Impregnator will make an appearance of some sort and that Patrick Lussier and Laeta Kalogridis are writing the script. As far as what kind of film it will be it it seems pretty safe to assume that with Taylor on board we'll be seeing lots of big screen spectacle rather than the kind of tense, claustrophobic action that made the original such a thrill. But perhaps it'll all work swimmingly. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

"And then the terminator rises up out of the explosion..."

First trailer for "Robocop"

This new version of the 80's sorta-classic stars Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman and Michael Keaton (Michael Keaton? Yes, he's back! sorta) and looks to take full advantage of the advances in special effects technology made over the past quarter century. Will it work? Who knows? Here's the trailer.


"Robocop" opens February 7, 2014.

Blood thirsty psychopath doesn't take rejection well

If you detest film violence then this is definitely not the video for you. Probably not safe for work because of all that gratuitous violence but that may depend on where you work. Probably a good thing I don't understand what he's singing about too.


I bet she'll think twice before tossing flowers back in his face again.

Full trailer for Alfonso Cuaron's "Gravity"

Though the film stars two of my least favorite actors on planet earth and the space program hasn't been exciting since they replaced test pilots with scientists, the movie is directed by one of my favorite directors so I'll be giving it a look when it comes out.


"Gravity" opens October 4th.

New international trailer for "47 Ronin"

I don't know what they're saying but I love the way the lady in the green wrap is sayin' it.


Look for Keanu Reeves latest to hit theaters this Christmas.

The top 10 movies for the weekend of August 30 - September 2, 2013

Note: These figures reflect the box office for the 4 day Labor Day weekend.

1) The Butler	$20.2 Million
2) This is Us	$18.4 Million
3) We're the Millers	$16.2 Million
4) Planes	$10.8 Million
5) Instructions Not Included	$10.3 Million
6) Elysium	$8.4 Million
7) City of Bones	$7 Million
8) The World's End	$6.5 Million
9) Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters	$6.1 Million
10) Getaway	$5.6 Million

The number one movie a year ago this week was Liongate's "The Possession" which opened in the top spot but was only able to conjure up $21 million in ticket sales over the extended holiday weekend.

(Green indicates new release)

First clip from Terry Gilliam's "The Zero Theorum"

It's been an excruciatingly slow month (or so) for things movie-related ever since WB and DC basically threw in the towel on Batman for the foreseeable future. Thank god Terry Gilliam's latest is beginning to stick its head above water and give us some anticipatory love. In this first clip from the film Christoph Waltz has a bit of an existential crisis brought on by trying to go about your business in what looks like your average 21st century city (except that the traffic is actually moving).

Shot in Bucharest the clip tries to speak to Gilliam's assertion that "The future has come and met us, we actually don’t live in the present anymore, we live in the future because it’s happening so quickly." Sounds about right.


The film still does not have a US release date though it'll be debuting in parts of Europe around the end of the year. We'll keep an eye on it.