Just getting caught up on a few DVDs that have been stacked in my office waiting for a review. ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ was released in several versions last year: Two-Disc Blu-ray with Digital Copy, Single Disc DVD, and Two-Disc Special Edition DVD with Digital Copy. The people who put these out must go nuts trying to keep up with all the new technologies. Glad I’m not them.
Let’s talk about the Two-Disc Special Edition DVD. This has a bunch of bonus features: 

Trailers: Night At The Museum 2, The Marine 2, Family Guy Presents: Something Something Something Dark Side, …read more

“Surrogates” hits DVD and Blu-ray on Jan. 26, 2010. I missed this in theaters and just watched the DVD last night. I love Bruce Willis movies, and this one delivered the goods.
He stars as FBI agent Tom Greer who lives in a world where robotic surrogates stand in for people. The idea is that if you stay home and send your surrogate out into the world, you’re safe from all harm, i.e. violence, illness, aging, what have you.
I got to thinking, though, since there’d be no one out in the world to eat or do other human …read more

Here’s an interesting turn of events. Marc Webb, who directed the Golden Globe-nominated Best Picture “(500) Days of Summer,” is set to direct the next chapter in the “Spider-Man” franchise. I’ve heard that this next installment will be more of a reboot than a sequel to the previous three films.
So how will Webb, known mainly for directing “Summer,” as well as several music videos (Green Day and 3 Doors Down, among them), fare after Sam Raimi’s work on the previous three “Spider-Man” movies? Webb has an interesting take on it.
 
“This is a dream come true and I couldn’t …read more

I’m not really sure how I feel about “Avatar” winning for Best Picture (Drama) at the 2010 Golden Globes. There’s no doubt it’s a fantastic movie – I saw it twice – but Best Picture? And in the drama category? What about “The Hurt Locker”? Or “Up in the Air”? Those seem like better candidates for this win, for some reason.
Here’s the cast of “Avatar” following the 67thAnnual Golden Globe Awards held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 17, 2010. From left are Sam Worthington, director James Cameron, Zoe Saldana, producer John Landau and Sigourney Weaver (I love …read more

If you’re a fan of the great B-movie king Roger Corman, you’ll love this news. Shout! Factory is re-releasing a whole bunch of Roger Corman films on DVD and Blu-ray. More than 50, to be exact, and some of those have never been available on DVD or Blu-ray.
And it gets better. Shout! Factory is also producing a wide range of bonus content for special editions and double features. Collectively, it’ll be known as “Roger Corman’s Cult Classics” home entertainment series.
The first titles include the original “Piranha” to go along with this summer’s 3-D remake, as well as …read more

Movie: The Book of Eli * Official Site
In Theaters: Jan. 15, 2010

Runtime: 118 minutes
Directed by: The Hughes Brothers

MPAA Rating: R for some brutal violence and language
Gecko Rating:

I saw “The Book of Eli” last night with my 15-year-old son. It’s rated R and has a few scenes of gore and violence, so if you’re at all squeamish about that stuff, be forewarned.
The story takes place after some sort of apocalypse. We know that “30 winters have passed since the flash,” so it sounds like some sort of nuclear explosion. 
Denzel Washington takes center stage as a guy …read more

“The Wolfman” will be menacing theater-goers on February 12, 2010, but director Joe Johnson is already talking about his next film, “The First Avenger: Captain America.”
He says it’s not going to be the Captain America that you expect. It’s influenced by the comic book, but apparently goes off in a very different direction.
“It’s basically the story of how Steve Rogers becomes Captain America,” said Johnston. “The great thing about Captain America is he’s a superhero without any super powers. Which is why this story, among the hundreds of superhero stories, appealed to me the most. He can’t fly, he can’t …read more

I often wonder what it must be like for grown men to play comic book superheroes. I mean, it’s probably really fun, but on the other hand, you wonder if they’d rather be doing a more dramatic, serious role. Or not.
Warner Bros.’ "Green Lantern" is on track with Martin Campbell directing, and now the film has a villain in Peter Sarsgaard. Most recently, he starred with Carey Mulligan in “An Education” (see image below). That was a more serious film!
 
Ryan Reynolds is starring as Hal Jordan, the test pilot who finds a downed spacecraft with a dying alien …read more

I’ve been wondering why there are so many movies about the apocalypse lately. Any thoughts on that? Do people know something we don’t? Is the end of times near? I certainly hope not!
I saw “The Road” a while back and found it utterly depressing. Maybe “The Book of Eli” will be a little more hopeful. That’s a tough challenge when you’re talking about the apocalypse, but it’s got Denzel Washington and Mila Kunis going for it.
Washington stars as a man fighting his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind. The …read more

Whoever is running the publicity for “Daybreakers,” the thriller about a population of vampires forced to suck peoples’ blood for survival, is doing a pretty good job.
In a “man on the street” thing, they asked people to say whose blood they’d like to suck if given the opportunity. Sarah Palin, George Bush, the cast of “Jersey Shore,” and Halle Berry (say what?) topped the list.
“Daybreakers” sinks its teeth into theaters this Friday Jan. 8, 2010. It’s directed by Michael Spierig, and Ethan Hawke is one of the players. Rated R for strong bloody violence, language and brief nudity.