The Legend of Zelda

Check out this great fan made trailer for the movie adaptation of the video game The Legend of Zelda.

Really impressive stuff!

Lion Cop

Another fine Black20.com production!

Uwe Boll - Contra

Well official trailer from the awesome guys at www.Black20.com.

And for those that don't know;

Uwe Boll is a terrible German director who found a loophole in Germany's film funding system where he is guaranteed a load of money even if his films flop. All his work so far consists of awful video game to film adaptations which fit nicely into the category of 'so bad its good'.

Contra (a.k.a Probotector in Europe and Gryzor in Japan) was originally an awesome side scrolling 2D arcade blaster from the 80's which has since spawned several sequels.

Monsters vs Aliens (2009)

As reported back in March 2008 (albeit with not much info at the time), Monsters Vs Aliens is a new Dreamworks animation out in 2009. The trailer looks pretty good.

Terminator Salvation (2009)

The new trailer for Terminator Salvation is out and it looks fantastic! Check out the trailer links on the official website and click here for the really cool "motion" poster.

The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008)

Why on "Earth" was this huge Christmas blockbuster so bloody awful? I haven't felt so angry after watching a film in ages (well... not since the new Indiana Jones movie)! Avoid at all costs, just watch the 1951 original.

Oh yeah, I just read this on IMDb;

In an old-fashioned publicity stunt, 20th Century Fox plans to beam The Day the Earth Stood Still to Alpha Centauri, the nearest star, via a satellite communications network in Cape Canaveral, Fl. Daily Variety commented today that the stunt will result in "the widest release ever -- if you count outer space." (It noted that by the time the signal reaches the star, it will be 2012, not exactly an Earth/Alpha Centauri simultaneous premiere.)

That's not really the smartest of ideas. Its an open invitation to alien invaders to come to Earth for a free lunch!

Astroboy (2009) Trailer

As a fan of the cartoon series, I really like the look of this!

Quantum of Bonds

More hilarious trailers can be found at the excellent site www.BLACK20.com, go check it out!

Captain America (2011)

Filmmaker Joe Johnston will take the helm of the eagerly anticipated Captain America movie.

The Jurassic Park III director has signed a deal with Marvel Studios to bring the comic book superhero to the big screen in 2011.

It is the third Marvel film in the pipeline, including Thor and the Avengers, after Robert Downey Jr.'s turn as Iron Man earlier in the year proved a huge success with superhero fans.

Although Johnstone has signed the deal, it is unknown who will take on the patriotic U.S. role.

Comic book creator Stan Lee has given his backing to Will Smith to wear the red, white and blue suit, although other insiders have suggested Matthew McConaughey may land the part.

* Pinched from IMDb, 10/11/2008

Saw School Musical

More hilarious trailers can be found at the excellent site www.BLACK20.com, go check it out!

The return of Buck Rogers?

A while back, it looked like comic book guru turned movie director Frank Miller had his eye on Buck Rogers, and then there was a lot of silence on the line. Miller has been working on The Spirit, and there's constant talk of Sin City and 300 spin-offs, and the Buck Rogers talk died down.

But IGN has checked with Miller's camp following an announcement made at the Scream Awards about a classic sci-fi hero he wanted to focus on next, and it turns out that apparently it is Buck Rogers that's on the director's radar.

The idea will be based mostly on the Flint Dille graphic novel from the 1990s, but will retain the campy attitude (and dazzling production details) of the NBC show that aired in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Therefore, a $40 million budget is just about right.

* Article from getthebigpicture.net


He had better get a super hot chick to play Wilma Dearing, thats all I'm gonna say!

The Spirit (2009)

OK, how the hell did I not know about this? Another very interesting looking Frank Miller film.

Marc Ecko Star Wars Collection

Check out these awesome Marc Ecko 'Star Wars' hoodies.



Unfortunately they're limited editions and incredibly hard to find at a decent price. Most, if not all have been bought only to be resold on eBay for (at least) three times its value. I really hate the bastards that do that!

If anyone has a spare £100 or more and want to get me something unique for Christmas these two hoodies will do nicely!

Eagle Eye (2008)

© Volare Dez, 2008
Epic Fail

When an attempt at creating an entertainment product fails so badly it incites anger and/or unintentional comedy.

Update

Sorry for not writing anything for a while, I've been totally busy! Anyway, here's a update on what I've been upto.

CINEMA

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS - This was quite funny. The story is about pot-smoking Seth Rogen on the run from a drug gang, accompanied by his dealer friend James Franco. Its stoner humour throughout which I don't mind. There's a load of gay undertones, that was strange.

TROPIC THUNDER - After seeing the brilliant trailers for this I was expecting great things, especially with the amazing cast. Unfortunately, whilst funny through most of the film it didn't quite live up to hype. The trailer showed the funniest moments which totally took away the laughs when seeing the same parts in the film. Robert Downey Jr. was hilarious as the white Australian actor playing an African-American soldier!



TAKEN - This film was awesome! It took me by surprise, who would have thought 56 year old Liam Neeson could kick so much ass! Just think Bourne Identity action mixed with Rambo (2008) violence and you're in the right area. Its a great revenge movie.

DEATH RACE - This remake/update of the Roger Corman film Death Race 2000 isn't quite as ambitious as the original, with the races confined to an offshore prison rather than the open roads of America but its still remains entertaining and is actually quite good fun to watch. Its always good to see Lovejoy (Ian McShane) on screen, he plays the stereotypical wise man prisoner and part of the pit team.


DVD

DEADWOOD - I recently watched the first season of Deadwood whilst on holiday. Originally aired in 2004 on HBO this is the story of a lawless town in its very early days, just weeks after the killing of General Custer and at the height of the American gold rush. Its dirty, filthy, gritty but real and captivating. If you're offended easily, this isn't the show for you. The swearing is hardcore, no swearwords are left out of this one but I found it all adds to the overall realism. It has some brilliant characters, best of all has to be Ian McShane's - Al the saloon owner. He's a nasty piece of work! I will definitely watch the other two seasons.



TV


THE WRONG DOOR - Found on BBC3, this obscure sketch show is certainly original and features some amazing computer generated special effects, the like you would expect to see on a science fiction show but never in a comedy. Its really funny when they get it right. A couple of good episodes featured Train Pirates (with the brilliant Brian Blessed as the Captain) and a James Bond spoof with clowns, trying to stop Ninjas (with Burt Kwouk as the Ninja Master) evil plan to increase the price of a cheese and tomato sandwich on one of the London train lines. Crazy!

KNIGHT RIDER - I've now watched episode 2 and I'm still enjoying it. The latest episode was similar to the first Fast and The Furious film. I doubt this series will last very long though.


HEROES - Wow, season 3 is looking really good so far. There are a lot more villains this time round which should make things very interesting.

TERMINATOR : THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES - Although its certainly not perfect, I'm enjoying the storyline at the moment. It's creating a lot of back story for James Cameron's apocalyptic future and hopefully the new film, Terminator Salvation won't ignore all of it. I'm still not sure why Shirley Manson (from the band Garbage) was cast as the T-1000 style Terminator however.


GAMES

ROCK BAND - This is still my most favourite game and with weekly song downloads available its not likely get boring any time soon. I currently have 130 songs in total, quite a lot of strange ones from bands I've never heard of and some classics including several from Rush (awesome progressive rock band!).


CONDEMNED 2 - Although I'm not playing this myself, my friend Ned is working his way through it at the moment and I've seen it in action. Its just as good, if not better than the original. Its extremely dark and scary and shouldn't be played on your own at night with the lights off!

Sorry!

You may be noticing that this site isn't looking too great at the moment. It’s due to the apparent monthly over-use of my web address popcorn-monkey.com which seems ridiculous to me. Some of the pages images are hosted on that site which is why the graphics seem missing.

Anyhoo, things will be back to normal by the end of the week (hopefully!).

Update: Yay, things are back working again. I think I've sussed out the problem so hopefully the graphic loss won't happen again!

Knight Rider - 1st Season Premiere

I'm probably the only person that liked the recent pilot for Knight Rider and I'm probably the only person that's going to enjoy the new series!

I've just watched the web exclusive premiere episode of the new Knight Rider, not due to be screened in the US until 24th September.

From the "Get Go!" its full of car chases, explosions and exiting life-or-death action. Its definitely influenced by action cinema and in comparison does an impressive job considering the show is made on a much smaller budget to its celluloid cousin.

There's a whole load of CGI which a lot of the Knight Rider purists don't agree with but I don't mind, the show should keep up with todays technology and if CGI is the way forward "go use the hell out of it!". Using the new FX tech, K.I.T.T can do lots of extra things including Transformer esque transformations into other vehicles, it looks totally awesome.

Mike Tracer/Knight (played by Justin Bruening) has an interesting back story as an Iraq war Vet with a healthy dose of amnesia! I expect this will follow Mike through the rest of the series in a Wolverine/X-Men way as he tries to understand his past and the people he had dealings with.

The rest of the characters in the cast seems pretty standard for the genre but features enough eye candy with a nice amount of humour to keep me entertained. Val Kilmer is still the voice of K.I.T.T which was quite a surprise, I thought an unknown but similar sounding person would have taken over after the pilot episode.

Roll on episode 2!

'Another Way To Die' - Quantum of Solace

What do you think of the new James Bond theme?

Mass Effect - The Movie!

"Mass Effect" has started its journey to the big screen. Numerous sources have confirmed that producer Avi Arad has optioned the rights to Bioware's sci-fi RPG from the developer's parent publisher Electronic Arts.

Turning "Mass Effect" into a movie, or at least trying to do so, is pretty much a no-brainer. Even those who didn't love it would have to admit that it has a lot more meat to its narrative than most games. You've got a hard-ass protagonist, a crusty bureaucracy trying to hold him back, a motley supporting cast, a hugely diverse (if a bit similar looking) bunch of settings, and an alien invasion fueled by technology that nobody but our hero fully understands.

Those are certainly a lot of standard elements for a science-fiction movie. Though Mass Effect, rather intriguingly, has a main character whose look and personality and even gender can, to some extent, be shaped by the player. So the makers of a movie will have to figure out just who exactly Commander Shephard is.

>>> Click here to read the full article from the Variety website.



I've also heard Warner Bros are in talks with the Japanese games company Capcom to produce 'Lost Planet' into a movie.

Happy 80th Adam West

Adam West, 80 today. Happy Birthday old dude!

Hasselhoff in "Beverly Hills Ninja 2"

Beverly Hills Ninja 2, with David Hasselhoff - need I say anymore?


I hope you like the 'WELL OFFICIAL' poster I made!

Spider-man 4 & 5 confirmed!

Yes, you heard right. Both the 4th and 5th installment of the Spider-man films are due to begin shooting next year back-to-back reports the Times Online with Tobey Maguire back in the Spidey suit after signing a deal which will earn him a total of $50 million!

The rest of the cast at the moment is unconfirmed as well as the story and more importantly, the villains.

Sam Raimi is down to direct both the films, lets hope they'll be better than the third movie.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Season 4

Yay! The fourth season of one of my most favourite comedies has just started.

For most of you who haven't even heard of 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia', its a hilarious sitcom based around four crazy loser friends (and Danny DeVito) who own and work at an Irish theme bar in Philadelphia. Yeah, that sounds pretty bad but its actually a seriously decent show and the comedy is at my level of 'wrong'.



Ninja Video have all the seasons to watch online if you're interested. I highly recommend it to all that are not easily offended!

New Disneyland Movie

Disney bosses are hoping to cash in on the success of the Pirates Of The Caribbean movie series - by taking another theme park attraction to the big screen.

The swashbuckling adventures started life as a ride at Disneyland, California.

And movie executives have headed back to the magical kingdom, this time to create a movie based on Tomorrowland, a futuristic section of the same theme park.

According to Daily Variety, Dwayne Johnson - aka The Rock - is being lined up to star in the space-based movie.

* Taken from IMDb, 18/09/2008


Damn, I was really hoping for a stupid Space Mountain movie when I saw the headline!

Darth Vader being a smartass

Follow the links below for more funny Darth clips.

Vader Sessions - This was made using lots of James Earl Jones voice clips, its quite funny especially the radio bits at the end.

Vader Plays The Blues - Darth on the harmonica, classic!

Man On Wire (2008)

I've been wanting to watch 'Man On Wire' ever since hearing about it on the BBC Breakfast News a few months ago but had to wait until last week to catch a one-day-only performance at my local cinema.

The film is a brilliant documentary about the French performance artist, Philippe Petit who in 1974 tightrope walked between the newly built twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York. It was totally illegal and had to be planned meticulously (over six years) like a heist, not too different to the 'Oceans 11' movie but this actually happened!

Throughout the film all the various members of Petit's team talk about their roles in planning the event, aided with lots of film footage and photos from the time. Each person gave their own perspective on what happened, some of the stories were really funny.

The way the documentary was put together gave it a really exciting feel but for me, the heist element of the film was the most interesting.

They had to wear disguises to gain access to the buildings, work in two separate teams, avoid detection from the security guards and under the cover of darkness shoot wire between the two towers and anchor it without causing attention. And on top of that, Petit then did the famous walk between the towers, not once, but eight times over the space of 45 minutes.

These moments are brilliantly shot, black & white reenactments mixed with original footage and narration from Petit and the others involved.


Its fantastic, funny and totally overwhelming. I recommend it to everyone to watch, preferably at the cinema to get a better sense of the shear scale of everything.

Click here to listen to a 2006 BBC Radio Nottingham interview with Philippe Petit.

The only piece of criticism I have for 'Man On Wire' would probably be down to the reel of film my cinema had. Since it was just a one day only screening and for it to cater to all that wanted to see it the version I saw included subtitles for everyone and also audio descriptive subtitles, e.g; "Radio noises", "Bells ringing". That did distract me from viewing the film at times as I found myself reading the subtitles for the English speaking parts. I'm hoping the DVD release will have these as options to be turned on or off.

Heroes Season 3 - starts 22/09/08

Just to remind everyone that the third season of Heroes starts on Monday, 22nd September. Be sure to check out Ninja Video on Tuesday to watch it, I'm sure it'll be there by then.

Hopefully this one will be a full season (no writers strike please!).

When did Ninja's become funny?

So when did ninjas become light hearted comedic characters in modern day movie culture? Lets start from the beginning with a quick bit of history.

The ninjas past is covered with quite a bit of secrecy, according to Wikipedia (not always the best source of reliable info!) the earliest recording was written in the 15th century. They were used for selective strikes, espionage, assassination, and infiltration of enemy strongholds.

The actual look of the ninja is a bit unclear. Some believe that they original wore suits of armour similar to that of the samurai's. Ninja's probably didn't wear all black as commonly associated. In the old Japanese Kabuki theaters actors portraying ninjas would wear black costumes to give the audience the impression of being invisible but a real ninja would have probably worn colours similar to the environment he/she was around, to blend in easily. Apparently dark blues, even reds were more effective at night than black for invisibility!

That's the insulting history lesson over, I'm sure if any real ninja are alerted to this I'll have a shuriken coming this way real soon!

So how did ninjas get into the pop culture of today? Although they have been depicted in many books over the years (I'm sure) and in the last century in Japanese films, it was probably the 1967 James Bond film, 'You Only Live Twice' that really introduced ninjas to the majority of the world. They were used as deadly assassin's but not too deadly since James Bond had to inevitably kick their asses being the lead.

America in the eighties saw a huge boom of ninja on screen, often with Sho Kosugi donning the black costume in various roles. Used as cannon fodder, wave upon wave of ninja would appear in these movies, solely for the purpose of being killed easily by the main American actor. Lets not forget the crossover, 'American Ninja'. This film marked the moment it was actually kinda cool to be a Ninja and introduced the idea you didn't have to be Asian to become one.

Believe it or not, Lee Van Cleef (from 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly') played the lead ninja in the TV show 'The Master' back in the eighties.

I'm not going to pretend that these films were any good. Although I get my own enjoyment watching them I class them as cheap, bargain bucket throwaway films. They were so bad they became funny. Its a combination of terrible scripts, cheesy acting, crap stunts and poor funding that does it for me.


Once it gets to a comedy level it then becomes easily accessible for children. Dumb down the violence a bit and its perfect for kids to enjoy. 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' (one of the most ridiculous concepts ever although one I got fully absorbed into as a kid) was a really popular franchise and I'll assume the '3 Ninjas' films were too although I won't admit to watching any of them.

In answer to my original question, "When did Ninja's become funny?" I'd have to say it was the eighties although it was probably unintentional.

New Site Design

Hi everyone!

I decided to give this site a lick of paint but in doing so, lost all my many many links ("d'oh!").

If you know of any decent links and you know my email address please send them this way.

I hope you all like the new look, it may take a while to get used to!

Help the Homeless Ninjas!

Full Time Ninjas is a new comedy desperately looking for funding. If you have any spare cash wing it their way, like a deadly shuriken!!!

Chucky invades Time Square, NY

"...wanna play?"

Ghostbuster 3 - cast rumours

Recent reports suggested bosses at Columbia - the studio behind the first two movies in 1984 and 1989 - were lining up Seth Rogen, Steve Carell and Paul Rudd to join original stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson in a new movie.

* Taken from IMDb news, 05/09/2008



At last, Ernie Hudson finally gets his name mentioned! He never seemed to get any acknowledgment towards the Ghostbusters films from the press/media.

I like the idea of Rogen, Carrell and Rudd joining the cast. They all seem to have the right mindset to become decent Ghostbuster characters in my opinion.

Ghostbusters 3 'in development'

Two writers from the US version of The Office have been recruited to write a third instalment of Ghostbusters, according to trade newspaper Variety.

Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky's hiring is seen as a sure sign the long-mooted comedy will finally be made.

Ghostbusters and its 1989 sequel saw Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis as bumbling scientists who rid New York of paranormal threats.

It is hoped the new film will reunite the original cast.

Columbia Pictures has declined to comment on whether a third Ghostbusters was in development, Variety reported.

But director John Landis, who worked with Aykroyd on The Blues Brothers and Trading Places, has said the film would definitely be made.

"I'm not involved but I know it's happening," he told the BBC News website at the Venice Film Festival.

Eisenberg and Stupnitsky recently collaborated with Ramis on the script for his new film Year One.

Last year the original Ghostbusters cast signed up to lend their faces and voices to a computer game based on the hit film series.


The game's storyline was being written by stars Aykroyd (Ray Stanz) and Harold Ramis (Egon Spengler), who also scripted the first two films.

But the game's future was thrown into doubt when publisher Activision announced it would not be releasing the finished product.

Developers Vivendi insisted the game had not been canceled, and that it would be published by another company.

* Pinched from the BBC Entertainment News site, 05/09/2008

Film trailer voice-over king dies

Don LaFontaine, who voiced more than 5,000 movie trailers, has died in Los Angeles aged 68.

During his 33-year career he provided the voice for films including The Terminator and Dr Strangelove.

He was best known for his catchphrase used on several trailers that began with the words "In a world where..."

LaFontaine died in the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Monday from complications caused by an ongoing lung-related illness, his agent said.

For the full story click here.

* Taken from the BBC Enetertainment news site, 03/09/2008



Film trailers won't ever be the same!

Batman Shows Joker How to Properly Lift Heavy Objects

For more 'Tips for Healthy Living from Batman and Joker', click here.

Happy 50th Mahoney!

Happy belated 50th Steve Guttenberg, you crazy bastard!

(his birthday was yesterday, 24th August)

Film Update 23/08/2008

I haven't written anything for ages although I've been watching loads of stuff. I've been distracted by playing the excellent Bionic Commando Rearmed and of course my most favourite game ever Rock Band on the Xbox 360.

Anyway, at the cinema I've seen the following films;




WANTED
A totally retarded action film (based on a graphic novel) where James McAvoy is an unknowing descendant of a super hit man and has the ability to curve bullets! After being initiated into Angelina Jolie's gang he gets assigned missions to take out randomly generated "bad" guys for the greater good. Its really really stupid and far fetched but also quite fun if you ignore physics and other broken laws. Morgan Freeman also stars.

HANCOCK
Quite a nice idea to have a flawed superhero but ultimately the story wasn't strong enough and it ended up getting far too unnecessarily complicated. It would have been loads better if there was an actual point to the story and for it to end on a cliffhanger. Also superhero films need both the 'superhero' and an equally balanced 'supervillain', there wasn't any strong bad guy characters. Overall it felt a bit flat.




KUNG FU PANDA
This was a really nice CGI movie. Jack Black and the other voice actors (including Jackie Chan as the monkey) were great. However the best bit about the whole movie was the brilliant dream sequence at the start which was portrayed as a traditional cartoon. It reminded me so much of Samurai Jack, my most favourite cartoon of all time - thats certainly not a bad thing in my opinion!

WALL.E
This together with Speed Racer is one of my most favourite films of the year. I wasn't expecting too much from it, well - I was expecting it to be good since it was made by Pixar but if far exceeded my expectations. It has a truly lovely story and a underlying point about the environment today. All the characters are brilliant and lovingly created in glorious CGI. The visuals were so strong that there wasn't much need for dialogue which is just as well as most of the robots just bleeped.




THE DARK KNIGHT (see review on 28/07/2008)

HELLBOY II - THE GOLDEN ARMY
Guillermo del Toro proves to cinema goers he has what it takes to become one of the future great directors in my opinion. OK, Hellboy 2 wasn't brilliant although it was thoroughly entertaining but the vision of the director and the new scale/budget seemed to compliment each other. I cannot wait to see what del Toro makes of the Hobbit in 2011.

MUMMY - TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR
More of the same shenanigans, nothing really new here. Jet Li was wasted as a bad guy, Brendan Fraiser was alright however since Rachel Weisz has left the project American actress Maria Bello was cast in her role. Her English accent was on par with Dick Van Dyke's in Mary Poppins. It was entertaining but probably would have been better if it was released a few years ago and had all the original cast.




YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN
Yeah OK, I had a few hours free and this was new at the cinema. The advert looked kinda funny. It was alright overall, maybe could have done with more jokes but I think as long as you're not Israeli or Palestinian and don't know too much about the conflict you could probably enjoy this. I definitely think Hacky-Sack should be a recognised sport in the 2012 Olympic Games now after watching this.

STAR WARS - CLONE WARS
Originally meant for the small screen, George Lucas apparently saw how good it looked and decided to release it as a feature film. Its entertaining but doesn't quite have that Star Wars feel to it. The baby 'Hutt' will make you laugh/cringe.




GET SMART
Its been a while since I saw the original sixties TV show (created by the brilliant Mel Brooks) so I can't really comment on the similarities. This big screen adaptation is however totally crap. If you've already seen the trailer you've already seen most of the jokes, well... situations. Its incredibly dull, Steve Carell should be doing better films really. On the plus, Anne Hathaway was really hot! Oh yeah, look out for Bill Murray's pointless cameo. I'm sure there are lots of cameo's from the original cast in this too like the old man who crashes his car, he's got to be someone from the sixties show.

Bernie Mac & Isaac Hayes RIP

Comedian Bernie Mac has died after losing his battle with pneumonia.

The 50-year-old Ocean's Eleven star passed away on Saturday morning (August 9th) at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, a week after being admitted to the medical centre.



Musician Isaac Hayes has died. He was 65.

Hayes passed away on Sunday morning (August 10th) at a Memphis, Tennessee hospital. The cause of death has yet to be confirmed.

According to reports, the songwriter was rushed to Baptist East Hospital after receiving a call from Hayes' wife who found him lying near a treadmill in their home.

Police at The Shelby County Sheriff's Office are investigating the star's death, but do not believe foul play was a factor.

A funny Steven Seagal story

This is hilarious and apparently true, it comes from a good source.

Once upon a time on the set of a Steven Seagal action film, the main man Seagal was boasting at how extremely awesome and tough he was and that no one could ever choke him. Up for a challenge his stunt double (a judo master) steps in, seconds later Seagal is passed out on the floor.

However this wasn't the end of his shameful embarrassment, oh no! Mr Seagal had unfortunately not been to the toilet that day and the sudden loss of consciousness had a tragic effect with his bowel control. You get the general picture.

I like to think he didn't bring any spare clean underwear and I also like to think something like this happens on ALL his films hence why he always walks like a complete tool!

Man On Wire (2008)

'Man On Wire' looks like a really interesting documentary and has had standing ovations at recent screenings.

Not only did Philippe Petit walk between the two towers of the fated World Trade Center - he made the cross over 8 times in the space of 45 minutes! Incredible.

Dark Knight Parody

Very funny and true. It was one of the bad points of the film, Batman doesn't sound very well.

Who gave Dark Knight a 5 out of 10 by the way? Explain yourself please.

The Dark Knight - my review

OK, first things first... I have a confession to make. It was me who scored The Dark Knight a 9 out of 10, I'm very very sorry! After a second viewing this afternoon I have now retracted my 9 to be replaced with a 10 as it rightfully deserves.

I think the reason I gave it a 9 originally was because its quite different to Batman Begins. That to me was my perfect Batman movie and the fact that it was almost entirely shot in Britain gave me a sense of patriotism when watching it.

I loved the mythology behind 'Begins', it was so well done. This made the Batman character (Christian Bale) seem believable, a step away from most comic book adaptations. Director Christopher Nolan did such a fantastic job that Batman's past no longer needs to be covered, a refreshing step away from the films of the 80's & 90's.

The Dark Knight continues very close to where it left off, with Batman doing his usual unorthodox heroics. Saying that however, Batman isn't really the main character in The Dark Knight. Don't get me wrong, he's there doing his stuff but the focus seems to be on the other characters through the majority of the story like detective Gordon, the Joker & Harvey Dent/Two Face. This works well and on my second viewing I really appreciated it.

Dark Knight is a lot "darker" than Begins. For example the interrogation scene between Batman and the Joker is really brutal.

The late Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker is absolutely brilliant. He's totally crazy and psychotic! All the reports of praise are true, he does deserve that Oscar nomination.

Harvey Dent (played by the excellent Aaron Eckhart) is again a different portrayal of the character I was expecting to see. Throughout the film he is seen as the main hero. His transformation into Two Face is brilliant and the FX on his half mangled face looks incredible.

The rest of the cast are great, featuring many recognisable faces just as simple extras. I guess since the Batman re-imagination lots of actors now want work in a Batman movie as its more than just a crappy kids action film, it has credibility!

The end of the film is not at all what I was expecting. Original in every way, what happens next I haven't got a clue but I'll be looking forward to it. In the meantime I'm sure the internet will be rife with rumours/suggestions!

***RUMOUR ALERT*** Johnny Depp as the Ridler, I heard that today (01/08/08). Hmm...?

The Dark Knight trailer... in LEGO!

This one's going out to my good buddy Ned, I'm sure you'll like it!

Burt Reynolds next movie should be...

Thanks to all who voted on my most recent pointless poll. It was inspired by Mr. Reynolds website from a few years back, which gave visitors the chance to vote for the preferred genre of film Burt most suited. I abused the hell outta that!

Burt Reynolds next movie should be (according to this site) a sci-fi epic involving LAYZORS (correct spelling) and a real-time courtroom drama. I will be sending the results off to Burt immediately together with these mock ups I quickly put together in Photoshop.





I personally think The Space Prospector sounds like such a good idea that I expect the idea pinching bastards known as the Wachowski brothers to steal it as their own, with the film out in cinemas summer 2010!