Attention video game fans: "Bioshock" is being turned into a MOVIE!!!

YES!!! Anyone who's played the game knows that it's fully deserving of big screen treatment. While there's plenty of action, there's also a compelling (and eerie) story with a mindblowing twist at the end. The story is complimented brilliantly by the decaying, art-deco metropolis in which the game takes place. Also promising is that Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski will direct, with screenwriter John Logan (Gladiator, Sweeney Todd) penning the script! For those who haven't played it, here's the basic story: A man (I think his name is John...??) in the 1960s is taking a transatlantic flight, when suddenly the plane crashes. When John regains consciousness, he sees he is the only person alive, and that, oddly enough, sitting in the middle of the Atlantic is a tall stone tower. He climbs in, gets into a small pod like device, and is soon in the midst of a massive underwater city. However some thing's not quite right.....

The ARTICLE

Here's a look at how the film's opening scenes will look (this is footage of someone playing the game):

first picture of Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Banks in "Bush" (2009)

I was left in shock when I heard that Oliver Stone was going to direct a film about our most recent president. How....HOW could the same man who screwed up Alexander the Great's story be allowed to touch someone so controversial as Dubya? Having read a few early pages of the script, it's hard to tell whether the film is supposed to be serious (uh oh), or a "Charlie Wilson's War" type black comedy (it could actually work this way). Here's the cover of Entertainment Weekly with Brolin and Banks as George and Laura. I have to admit, the makeup is impressive....

Next podcast for "Australia" is out!

MTV destroys my faith in my generation yet again.....

Did you think Awards Season 2007 was over? Then you'd be wrong! We still have the MTV movie awards, which are what the Oscars would be if they had "hip" categories like "Best Kiss" and "Best Fight", and were mainly geared towards representing commercial success. The nominees are....

BEST MOVIE
Juno
Transformers
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
I Am Legend
Superbad
National Treasure: Book of Secrets

I can understand all of these making it on here except National Treasure. How did The Bourne Ultimatum not get in here of all places? I could see Juno winning, but given how much MTV pimped out Transformers at last year's ceremony, I'd say it has this one locked up.

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE
Will Smith -- I Am Legend
Shia LaBeouf -- Transformers
Denzel Washington -- American Gangster
Matt Damon -- The Bourne Ultimatum
Michael Cera -- Juno

I'm surprised that Johnny Depp didn't get in for Pirates 3 after he won this award for the first two films. Everyone save for Michael Cera is predictable (damn you Will Smith!!).

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE
Ellen Page -- Juno
Keira Knightley -- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Katherine Heigl -- Knocked Up
Amy Adams -- Enchanted
Jessica Biel -- I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry

I'm confused as to how Jessica Biel got in here, but congratulations Ellen Page.

BEST VILLAIN
Johnny Depp -- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Denzel Washington -- American Gangster
Angelina Jolie -- Beowulf
Topher Grace -- Spider-Man 3
Javier Bardem -- No Country For Old Men

While I'm thrilled to see that they were cool enough to nominated Bardem, Grace and Jolie are just laughable.

BEST COMEDIC PERFORMANCE
Johnny Depp -- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Adam Sandler -- I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
Jonah Hill -- Superbad
Seth Rogen -- Knocked Up
Amy Adams -- Enchanted

How on earth did Ellen Page NOT make it in here of all places?

BEST FIGHT
Matt Damon vs. Joey Ansah -- The Bourne Ultimatum
Tobey Maguire vs. James Franco -- Spider-Man 3
Hayden Christensen vs. Jamie Bell -- Jumper
Sean Faris vs. Cam Gigandet -- Never Back Down
Chris Tucker & Jackie Chan vs. Sun Ming Ming -- Rush Hour 3
Alien vs. Predator- Aliens vs. Predator -- Requiem

did anyone even see Alien vs. Predator...?????

BEST KISS
Shia LaBeouf and Sarah Roemer -- Disturbia
Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey -- Enchanted
Daniel Radcliffe and Katie Leung -- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Ellen Page and Michael Cera -- Juno
Briana Evigan and Robert Hoffman -- Step Up 2 The Streets

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Zac Efron -- Hairspray
Seth Rogen -- Knocked Up
Jonah Hill -- Superbad
Michael Cera -- Superbad
Chris Brown -- This Christmas
Nikki Blonsky -- Hairspray
Megan Fox -- Transformers
Christopher Mintz-Plasse -- Superbad

again...WHERE IS ELLEN PAGE?

Official release of The Dark Knight trailer in High Definition!

here's a youtube version:


and HERE is a link to a great high definition version.

No wine(house) for James Bond.....damn....

according to an article published today, Amy Winehouse has officially dropped out of recording a theme song for the upcoming 007: Quantum of Solace, because she is "not ready to go back to work". Really a shame, considering the article linked at the bottom of the posts states that she had started some work on it. Oh well....there's always Bond 23....if Amy is still alive by then....

ARTICLE

Iron Man - REVIEW

Superhero movies are a tricky thing to pull off. They need to balance the suspension of the disbelief with enough reality to still make everything feel believable and human. Iron Man, though not a top tier super hero in the vein of Spidey, Batman, or Superman, gets a surprisingly wonderful big screen first outing that puts him on the same level as the above mentioned heroes. The story begins with Tony Stark, a billionaire weapons designer nick-named "the merchant of death", who is in Afghanistan demonstrating his latest invention. Soon after the demonstration he falls under attack by militants, who take him captive and force him to replicate some of his designs. Instead, he builds a suit of metal which he uses to escape before being rescued and taken back to America. Once he returns, he announces his company will no longer be making weapons, which causes the stock to plummet 40 points, much to the dismay of Board member Obadiah (Jeff Bridges). In his mansion, Stark begins to create an updated version of the metal suit he used in Afghanistan, and plans to use to to destroy the weapons that had fallen into the hands of the terrorists. However, what makes Tony Stark different from most superheroes out to fix the world, is that he's so wildly different from the mould. In his early 40's, an alcoholic, a gambler, a party boy, he's everything that superheroes typically aren't. This actually makes him more interesting, mostly due to Robert Downey Jr.'s wonderful portrayal of Stark, combined with the script's smart and funny dialogue. Downey also has great chemistry with co-stars Terrence Howard (as a close friend in the military), Gwyneth Paltrow (as personal assistant Pepper Potts), and Bridges. Howard, though a bit underused is good (and there's a major hint that he might get his own suit in a sequel), but of the supporting roles, Paltrow and Bridges dominate. Paltrow is strong and funny- a perfect romantic foil for Downey-, while Bridges transforms from a sycophant into a menacing rival. The special effects blend so seamlessly that I never once thought of them as effects; they were as realistic as any of the people. Perhaps the most interesting thing about Iron Man though, is how little "action" is put into the 2 hour running time. Despite this, the film is still immensely entertaining because it has a good story to tell. My only complaint is that the climactic battle isn't quite as exciting as it could have been. It's not a crushing disappointment, but after Transformer's robot smack down or The Golden Compass's bear fight from last year, it doesn't feel just right (can't the hero just defeat the villain out of sheer strength/wit as opposed to getting someone else to help him for once in these movies?). However, for the most part Iron Man is a hugely entertaining, smart, and well acted big budget movie that should bump this second tier hero up a notch or two in the Marvel hierarchy.

Grade: B+

Current Nominations: Best Picture(#2), Best Director - John Favreau(#2), Best Actor - Robert Downey Jr. (#1 WINNER), Best Supporting Actress - Gwyneth Paltrow (#1 WINNER), Best Supporting Actor - Jeff Bridges (#2), Best Adapted Screenplay, (#1 WINNER) Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing (#1 WINNER), Best Visual Effects (#1 WINNER), Best Sound Editing/Mixing (#1 for both)

Number of 2008 films seen: 5