2008... Another Great ESCAPE???

Hey neighbors! Well, first off I have to say that I'm totally amazed at how much of a spike I get on my site counter whenever I post something about Venom or Spider-Man 3. I suppose it's a hint at just how much people are looking forward to that flick. Well, today there isn't any Spider-Man stuff. Nope, rather I'm gonna invite you to jump in my trusty DeLorean time machine and take a little journey back to the age of excess, the 80's. It was a glorious time. Arnold ruled the world with his preposterous brand of action movies, the nerds showed those punks at Alpha Beta frat what real "coolness" is, and a strange man named John Carpenter introduced us to an even stranger man named... Snake Plissken.

Now, I'm sure a few of you (the younger ones) are scratching your heads right now. See, Snake was a man who could never quite get a break. A man who spoke through actions rather than words. He was also... Kurt Russell! In an eye patch! Warning everyone not to @!#% with him! The film was Escape From New York and it was a brilliant concept. See, the future of 1997 is a post-apocalyptic war-zone (God I love that term!) and a bunch of no-good punks kidnap the president (Donald Pleasance) after his plane crashes on the penal colony of Manhattan. Yep, that's right! Manhattan is now a veritable stew of the criminal and the psychopathic. The government implant former soldier turned bank robber Snake with an explosive device timed to go off in 22 hours and drop him in Manhattan. He then has 22 hours to find the president, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, and return to safety, where the device will be deactivated.

Now, I suppose most of you are telling yourselves: "Yes, I'm aware of this! Why are you wasting my time telling me about a movie I saw 26 years ago?" Well, because next year you'll be seeing it again! Only this time it won't be a grungy low-budget film. Nope, this time they're starting from scratch with a big budget and a rising new action star named... Gerard Butler (He of 300 - Pictured)!

WHAT? Gerard Butler ain't Snake Plissken! Only Kurt Russell can play his royal Badness! Yes, I know. But hear me out and keep an open mind. We may just have a potential diamond in the rough here.

Now, I don't know how many of you have watched Escape From New York lately, but it has not held up well. While they may have terrified the world in their hey-day, the punk rocker villains of the film don't exactly inspire fear in the hearts of modern viewers. Rather, they inspire laughter. Unfortunately the age of irony has taken this once pure, visceral film and relegated it to the land of 80's cheese. I know Isaac Hayes as the Duke of New York (Pictured) was hardcore, but many don't agree anymore. And I feel Plissken deserves another chance to shine (Outside of the less than spectacular 1995 follow-up Escape From L.A.).

When it was announced today that New Line had snatched up the Butler remake rights I was optimistic. I usually despise remakes, but this one has real promise. Why? Well, the character of Snake Plissken is classic, on par with Clint Eastwood's "Man With No Name" from the Dollars trilogy. And while Russell will always be Plissken, I feel Gerard Butler will do the character serious justice. Having seen 300, I think that this guy has the stuff to really bring back the type of gruff, no-nonsense, menacing qualities that have long been forgotten in this age of dull action heroes.

I also think that this film's look could seriously be improved with some modern set design ideas and cinematography. John Carpenter, God bless his crazy soul, was never a particularly gifted director when it came to visual novelty. My hope is that they get a bright new director who completely grabs hold of this project and runs with it as far as they can. I want someone with new ideas to completely redefine what this world is and how we can view it. Basically, I'm hoping for a complete reimagining of the world as opposed to a lifeless retread.

So join me in my optimism and let's hope that they get this one right! This is a great concept that deserves the attention of a new generation of film-goers. Plus, if nothing else, it may just inspire them to revisit the original film. And frankly, I can't think of anything wrong with that. ___________________________________________________________________

Now, my B-story today is the A-story of every entertainment news pundit out there right now. Casting has finally begun in the long gestating yet-untitled Indiana Jones IV. While we were bombarded with news that young Shia LaBeouf (Constantine, the upcoming Transformers) would play Indy's son (which is still unconfirmed and looking like more of false rumor), there was a neat little casting decision being finalized. That of the film's female lead...

Well, it was announced last night that the very talented Cate Blanchett (Babel, Notes From A Scandal, The Aviator - Pictured) would be tackling the role. Now, details on the project are so heavily guarded that there is nothing to really say regarding her role in the film. At this point in time it is unknown whether she'll be playing a friend or foe...

Regardless, Blanchett is a great choice to have aboard. She's a proven A-level talent that will bring a lot to this troubling project. While I have yet to wave the flag of enthusiasm for this one, I'm intrigued none-the-less. I just hope that the final product matches the tone of the previous three. Only time will tell. Stay tuned, more Indy IV casting decisions will likely be coming down the pipeline in the very near future.


Okay folks, that's all for me today. Have a great weekend, and if you have some time go out and rent the original Escape From New York if you haven't seen it. It's worth a visit.

I'll be back sometime next week, hopefully with my best of list. It's a work in progress.

-Cam

SPIDEY Watch: Venom Returns!

Ola' guys. Just gonna drop a couple quick facts on ya that I've been alerted to. As you all know, I've had a lot of fun keeping up on developments with the character of Venom is Spider-Man 3. Duh, I know. But, it's been a hoot and I can't wait for the Batman Watch: Joker tangents I'll be going on about in the near future. So, since this isn't gonna be a great big essay (Yesterday's 300 review took a lot outta me I suppose.) let's get to it!

Tonight Sony posted up some new photos on their Spider-Man 3 website. These photos gave us plenty of generic shots: Peter Parker in Spider-Man body suit showing concern, Harry looking bitter, Kirsten Dunst appearing forlorn, Sandman being angry, Bryce Dallas Howard (Pictured) as Gwen Stacy looking hot, etc, etc. Well, they tossed in a couple that give us some details regarding our favorite symbiotic psychopath Venom.

The first shot shows a meteor coming to earth near Parker's moped. This is obviously a hint regarding the explanation for the symbiote's (aka the black alien suit)entrance. Wisely scrapping its original origin (For a long breakdown see my other Spidey 3 write-ups) and instead reworking the Spider-Man: Animated Series entrance. Only they've rid of the whole symbiote stowing away on John Jamieson's space shuttle mumbo-jumbo. I tells ya, I like this simplified version and think it's save the film unnecessary exposition. So hear hear Raimi! You've maneuvered through the gauntlet of absurd Venom origins and found a good compromise.

The next shot is the real kicker though. Here's a shot of Venom in the background choking Spidey with his alien webbing. This shot will lead into the final shot of the current trailer, with Peter reaching out for help. From who? My guess is Harry. So there ya go, kids! More Venom! I can't recall the last time there was so much uproar over a film villain... I don't recall this much insanity over Scarecrow in Batman Begins, Dr. Doom in Fantastic Four, or Blackheart in Ghost Rider (HA!). Even the hype surrounding Silver Surfer in this summer's Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer has been positively placid. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to wait till the first shot of The Dark Knight's Heath Ledger as Joker leaks and it will be pandemonium all over again. And I'll be here. Rejoicing like the geek my sister tells me I am. ___________________________________________________________________

Speaking of The Dark Knight, there's been a swirl of activity around that film this last week also. As you may or not know, Katie Holmes declined to reprise her role as Rachel Dawes. Seems she'll be too busy filming a comedy with Queen Latifah. Yeah... (I'm not gonna waste your time or mine by making snide comments regarding Tom Cruise or whatever. Those bottom-feeders over at Pink Is The New Blog can take that route... add nauseum.) At any rate, the machine must roll on and so the role has been recast. And it has gone to none other than...

Maggie Gyllenhaal. Yeah, I know. This is hardly "Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent" exciting, but it's something. Frankly I wish they'd just written the character out of the series. Is Rachel Dawes really that important to the series? I guess I shouldn't argue, as Chris Nolan has a flawless track record with me. It is important to mention that Ms. Gyllenhaal (Stranger Than Fiction, Mona Lisa Smile) is a very talented young actress who I'm sure will handle the role wonderfully. She may even prove better than Holmes (Though it must be said that they look eerily similar.) who many felt was a lightweight. I had no real problem with her so my opinion is pretty unbiased. At any rate, like Begins, The Dark Knight is shaping up to have a pretty amazing cast. Still, its unfortunate Philip Seymour Hoffman turned down the Penguin gig. That'd been killer. Ah well.

Peace out!

Film Review: 300 - THIS! IS! SPARTA-CULAR!

Ahoy-hoy! I'm back with another review of another comic-book property turned film. This week I'm reviewing Zack Snyder's take on Frank Miller's graphic novel 300. I'll start out by stating that the film is worth every cent of your admission ticket and is not only a great adaptation, but a great movie as well. 300 is also further proof that you can embrace your source material and people will still show up (70 mill opening weekend!). On top of all that, it's also the complete antithesis of that schlock-fest Ghost Rider. I don't want to dwell on that one anymore; it's just that 300 makes it even clearer how much that film screwed up...

BUT FIRST THE EXPOSITION! 300 is an imaginative retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C, one of the greatest and earliest recorded military victories. The film tells the story of the brave Spartan king Leonidas (Gerard Butler - pictured), who, upon hearing of an imminent invasion by the Persian army ignores council orders and gathers three hundred of his best men to stop them. Unfortunately, the Persian's are a little larger in numbers... By roughly a million men. So, Leonadis and his soldiers, which include Captain (Vincent Regan) & his son Astinos (Tom Wisdom), Stelios (Michael Fassbender) and the film's narrator Dilios (David Wenham), soon find themselves wildly outnumbered and yet not outfought. This infuriates the Persian king Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), who suffers from a serious God complex. Outside the bloodbath, Leonidas' wife Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) attempts to persuade sleazy politician Theron (Dominic West) into sending the Spartan army to assist in the efforts.

Yeesh. These names are tough to keep straight. Anyhow, while the film's description may sound a bit confusing, 300 is an extremely simple film. It actually reminded me of Mel Gibson's brilliant Apocalypto in the sense that both films are very minimalist in dialogue and plot. Instead, they rely on action to tell their story. In 300's case, we are presented with one of the most visually exciting films I've seen in many a moon.

To see trailers or previews for 300 on TV is not enough to comprehend what an accomplishment the film is. This is a movie that is an absolutely perfect example of what film can do better than any other medium. We are presented with a beautifully constructed artificial world that is enthralling to witness. Every second of the battle is lovingly rendered to have the highest possible impact. From the breath-taking landscapes to the Miller-esque sprays of blood, 300 is a film obsessed with even the smallest details. Battle scenes of this type of magnitude can often seem confusing or too frenetic (My biggest problem with Gladiator) since everyone is dressed similarly. Director Snyder joyfully slows everything down so we can linger on individual moments. He's not content to have two or three great money moments. Rather, every scene is constructed on an epic scale with truly captivating style.

I really have to hand it to Zack Snyder (Pictured). I admired the opening to his Dawn Of The Dead remake, but felt the film quickly fell to mediocre status. Here, however, Snyder delivers the goods and establishes himself as a director to look out for. I love seeing a hungry young director really grab hold of a project and give it their all. With 300, Snyder has done that and every bit of his enthusiasm washes over the audience. This guy wasn't content to deliver the umpteenth Troy/Kingdom of Heaven/Alexander variation. No, he had to go and do something completely different... And blow us all away. Take a bow, dude.

The acting is solid across the board. Part of the problem with this type of film is that it's told on such an epic scale that there is little room for subtlety. The characters are very broad and have little emotional depth. It's forgivable here, however, due to the story-telling parameters. This isn't a historical re-enactment, it's a legend. Thus, each character is larger than life and performed to match their mythic status. In the case of Leonadis and his men, the Spartan warriors prefer to speak through their actions. Gerard Butler's dialogue mostly consists of rousing battlefield speeches played out at full volume. Butler (Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life, The Phantom Of The Opera) is extremely effective and deserves credit for maintaining a consistency that prevents his heroic king from slipping into parody. The same goes for Lena Headley (The Brothers Grimm, The Cave - Pictured above) who delivers her grave warnings and philosophic statements regarding the nature of war with regal authority. I was particularly impressed with David Wenham's (Faramir in the Lord Of The Rings) narration. His voice is note-perfect for this material. Plus, I have to give a shout-out to the villains. Dominic West (The Forgiven, Mona Lisa Smile), in full on sneer mode, really gives us an A-grade scumbag that we truly despise. His moment of come-uppance is a true crowd-pleaser. As Xerxes, Rodrigo Santoro (TV's Lost - Pictured left) provides the film's strangest performance. His God-king is an androgynous whack-job who hypnotizes the audience every time he pops up.

I have to also mention that I was truly pleased that the folks behind 300 gleefully earn their R-rating. This is a film made for adults, and I appreciated that they treated it as such. You can tell that the studio and Snyder put their full confidence in Frank Miller's work and knew there was an audience out there. They didn't feel the need to throw in lousy jokes or A-list actors to draw the dull-witted folks in. So, my biggest thanks goes out to the studio for not condescending to the material or the public.

Finally, let me just say that it's imperative for you to see this film in a theatre. This is not a lazy Saturday night in front the TV movie. It has been designed to be seen on the biggest screen possible (I saw it in IMAX) with the best sound system. Snyder and co. have created something that simply won't be as astonishing on a television at home.

So, there you go. Save those Ghost Rider (Or God forbid Norbit) dollars and head over to 300. You'll be thrilled and mesmerized and won't regret it. This is what a night out at the movies is all about.

4/5

P.S.: Now I can't wait for Snyder's next film: an adaptation of the beloved Alan Moore graphic novel Watchmen. Stay tuned.

Film Review: GHOST RIDER: Failing To Ignite, This RIDER Stalls.

I generally have a rule about writing movie reviews on here. I usually don't like to write reviews for films that have been released for a week or over. I figure no one cares by then. Well, I'm going to break that rule today because I'm annoyed. Let me tell you why. Last night I finally got to see the eagerly awaited Ghost Rider. It should have been a good experience. It wasn't. Instead, I witnessed a perfect example of how to make a lousy comic-book adaptation.
But first, the required exposition. Ghost Rider (incompetently) tells the tale of stuntman extraordinaire Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage). As a lad Johnny made a deal with the devil Mephistopheles (Peter Fonda) to save his father, Barton Blaze, from cancer. The devil took Johnny's soul in exchange for allowing his father to be cured of cancer. As Johnny found out though, the devil is a slippery bugger and his father died soon after in a motorbike stunt gone awry. Flash forward 25 years. Johnny is a stuntman of rock star proportions, surviving crashes that would make Super Dave Osborne cry. It's at this point that the devil comes a-callin'. Seems, Mephistopheles' emo son Blackheart (Wes Bentley) has escaped hell and is looking for a poorly explained scroll that will somehow make him a ruler of Earth. Johnny then becomes the Ghost Rider, a flaming skull-headed creature of the night, using a flaming chain and ghastly stare to stop evil dead in its tracks. The poor dumb sap then has to defeat Blackheart and his clown-shoe minions and fight for the love of vacant-eyed news reporter Roxanne Simpson (Eva Mendes).

Whew. While that paragraph may seem like sheer nonsense, it is far better laid out than anything you will witness in Ghost Rider. This is a film in which the filmmakers examined the source material, underestimated its potential, and decided to make a lowest-common denominator B-movie. Director Mark Steven Johnson (Who I thought did a pretty good job with Daredevil) surveyed the comics-to-film landscape and decided to steer away from films like Batman Begins, Spider-Man or Superman Returns, and instead aimed for Elektra and Blade: Trinity territory. It's harder to fail when you try to accomplish so little, I suppose.

Past comic adaptations have lived or died by the strength of their characters. Ghost Rider deserves an award for assembling the most poorly written cast of characters perhaps ever in comic-land. Nicolas Cage is an actor who is brilliant when given good material, but frightening when given bad (See The Wicker Man - "KILLING ME WON'T BRING BACK YOUR GOD-DAMNED HONEY!!!"). Here, he plays Johnny Blaze as being completely devoid on any real human characteristics. He's one-note and not the slightest bit interesting. There is never any feeling of a man living with a curse, only an actor wading through bad material and trying not to look too ridiculous (He fails). It's never good when a CG flaming skull head with a demonic Darth Vader voice has ten times more on-screen charisma and personality than you do...

As the love interest, Eva Mendes is bottom of the barrel. Her Roxanne is possibly the stupidest woman to appear in a comic-book film (That's saying something after Elle Macpherson's acclaimed performance in Batman & Robin). There is no depth to the character. She's merely in the film to wear clothes usually reserved for escorts, and to be kidnapped. Eva Mendes is not good... But then it's hard to excel when you're playing a blank slate.

It's funny. Just the other day I lambasted Tommy Lee Jones' Two-Face for being the worst villain ever in a comic-book movie. Well, not anymore. Blackheart, played by Wes Bentley (The video-camera pervert in American Beauty - Pictured center), has the charisma of a peanut. When not pouting and looking like a Hot Topic reject, he's making unconvincing threats and mincing like a boy-band member. He makes the actors around him seem like the cast of a Scorsese or Altman flick. And in this film, that's an achievement. He lacks any menace, and makes Jim Carrey's flamboyant Riddler from Batman Forever seem like Leatherface or Michael Myers. Even Blackheart's big transformation scene is almost a complete carbon copy of Stephen Dorff's climactic moment in the first Blade. A host of spirits flying around and through him? Check. Red eyes? Check. Cheesy sneer? Check. Cool death? Whoops.

The rest of the cast does what they can, but ultimately fails due to the material. Peter Fonda has the silky charm, but his lines are so terrible that his devil isn't very interesting. Donal Logue, as Blaze's best friend, disappears for long stretches at a time, popping up randomly and for no real purpose. Sam Elliott (Pictured), as the mysterious Caretaker, is the only actor who's effective, but then when is Sam Elliott ever not effective. He's wasted here.

The film is a cut-and-paste hack job from beginning to end. Scenes seem random and without any gravity. The film is filled with dramatic scenes stripped of weight and lousy "comic relief" moments. I don't mind humour in these movies, but the jokes here are painfully hokey. Even the action scenes are lifeless and unexciting. The only area in which the film is a success is in the area of special effects. The Ghost Rider himself is glorious to behold. The CG flame is dead-on and he has real weight as a character. He is interesting to watch and his scenes are the only moments in which the film takes flight.

I can't call this film a complete failure, as it nailed the Ghost Rider. But it's a cinematic bomb of characterization, plotting and structure. While it's never boring, it's complete lack of ambition and inventiveness prevents it from being anything but watchable trash. I truly hope Marvel snatches this franchise away from Mark Steven Johnson for the inevitable sequel. Giving it to a director with ambition and an original vision would do wonders for this material. Maybe then the Rider will truly get his due.

1.5/5

Finally, A Dent In The BATMAN Franchise Worth Celebrating!

Wow, long time since I updated this old warhorse, huh? Yep, I've been lazy. Well, lazy and adjusting to a new school schedule which didn't leave me as much time to jump on here. But enough excuses, let's get into it! So, after 2+ months, what breaks the silence you ask? Well, I'll tell you! Two-Face, baby! This post was looooooooong in the planning stages before the first post I ever did and I'm finally getting to do it. So, buckle up and let's take a little trip to the wonderful land of Christopher Nolan's Batman universe. It's good to be back.

Now, news broke a few days ago (pre-Oscars) that Nolan, the genius who reinvented the Caped Crusader's world with Batman Begins, has finally filled the role of Gotham City D.A. Harvey Dent (who later becomes Two-Face) in the eagerly awaited The Dark Knight. And that actor is... AARON ECKHART!!!

Who is Aaron Eckhart, you ask? Well, Aaron is currently most recognized for his great portrayal of a tobacco company spin control expert in last year's Thank You For Smoking (Rent it!). He's also popped up in gems such as Any Given Sunday, Erin Brockovich, Nurse Betty, The Pledge, and The Missing (Hey, I Liked It!!!). His luck in big blockbusters has been limited thus far to The Core (A guilty pleasure of mine) and Paycheck, but Nolan's gonna change all that. See, Eckhart's big breakthrough role was in a dark, uncompromising indie called In The Company Of Men (If you haven't seen it, get out there and find it. It's worth your time). Anyone who has seen that film knows how well Eckhart can play men who are consumed by narcissism. I'm guessing Nolan had that film in mind when he gave him the role of Harvey Dent.

Just to jog your memories, Harvey Dent was, as I mentioned earlier, Gotham's D.A.. Was that is, until a crime boss threw acid on him during a trial. Harvey managed to shield one side of his face, but the other was horrifically scarred. The emotional damage caused by his disfigurement led to a split personality. One side, Harvey - a good man, and friend to Bruce Wayne and Batman. The other side, Two-Face - a sadistic criminal. What makes Two-Face interesting is his Achilles Heel. He has to flip a coin constantly to make decisions. One side leads to good decisions, the other to criminal decisions.

Now, I figure most of you are aware of all that having likely seen Joel Schumacher's 1995 perversion Batman Forever, where Harvey's complex nature was steam-rolled into a screeching, hysterical, one-note performance by Tommy Lee Jones. I just wanted to make it clear that there's more to the character than a stupid screaming maniac with hokey neon purple makeup and tiger-striped clothes. Now, I don't blame Jones, I blame the script (And Schumacher), but it was perhaps the worst comic-book villain performance of all time. It raped the character of all that made him cool and turned him into a pathetic, mentally challenged copy of Jack Nicholson's great Joker. Jeez, it still angers me to this day...

This is where Nolan comes in. Nolan equals quality. From his breakthrough film Memento, through Batman Begins and the recent The Prestige, the guy damn well knows how to make great movies. I have so much trust in this dude, that I KNOW I'll finally see Two-Face done right.

It is important to note that Two-Face will likely only be popping up in the later parts of The Dark Knight, as the majority of the film will likely be dominated by Heath Ledger's Joker. Still, the way this project is shaping up, I flat-out can't wait. July '08 can't come fast enough! Aaron Eckhart is the best possible choice and I know that this film is going to be something incredible. ___________________________________________________________________
I have fond memories of the Don West TV show Get Smart. I fondly recall watching the show with my friend Dave as a youngster and reveling in the crazy adventures of Max Smart and Agent 99. To me, Don West so embodied Smart that when I heard news of a film a-brewing I was concerned...

...Until casting began, that is. When it was announced that Steve Carell (40-Year-Old Virgin & NBC's The Office) was playing Smart, a sigh of relief was let out. I can't think of a better actor for the job. As the rest of the cast came together -The Rock, Terrence Stamp (Superman II, The Limey), and Anne Hathaway (Devil Wears Prada & Brokeback Mountain) as Agent 99, I began to become excited for the damn project. Chances were that my childhood fave wouldn't be bastardized!

Well, today they cast The Chief (Memorably played by Edward Platt in the show). And who better than Alan Arkin, fresh off his Oscar win for Little Miss Sunshine! I think this choice is as inspired as Carell. I know now that I'm not the only one eagerly anticipated their performing of the Cone of Silence routine. So, Get Smart is off to a good start! With a crew like this it's gotta be cooler than Miami Vice, and light years better than The Dukes Of Hazzard...


That's all folks. I plan on posting my year end list of favorites and most despised. I always do these lists in March because it takes me longer to see a big enough sample of the years films. Unfortunately I don't have enough time to get to the theatre every week; though lord knows I'd love to. So, look for that the next couple days.

My fondest thanks go out to any who read this, and are still checking out this blog. I promise not to let another two months go by again. See y'all soon!


-Cam


P.S.: Nolan, if you're reading this: Please give us a cool Riddler, then I can really die happy!

Will A Resurrected TMNT Bring In The Green?

I have returned! I know I promised I'd be back on track in my last post (2 flippin' weeks ago!!!), but I lied. But now I've finished the last of my exams and am here now to jumpstart this old warhorse back into fighting shape. Speaking of restarting something archaic... This April, children of all ages (Actually males aged roughly 22-28) may be stampeding into the local movie house! Why? 'Cuz the Turtles are back, that's why! Yes, as the 80s continues to be recycled to fit into modern mainstream pop-culture, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back in the spotlight with a brand-new CG flick titled, appropriately enough, TMNT.

Now, it must be said that I was a HUGE Ninja Turtles fan as a kid. I watched every episode of the original cartoon series dozens upon dozens of times.I had the majority of the action figures (Why couldn't they ever make a decent looking Shredder?). I bought almost every issue of the Archie brand comic book (Including the epic issue The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Meet Archie). The TMNT video games exposed me to frightening amounts of TV radiation. The milestone, however, was my first viewing of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie which was nothing less than a powerful religious experience... And that effect was never diluted over the next 100 times I watched it. I was also enthralled by its sequel Secret Of The Ooze, although I wasn't as pleased by the toned down violence...

By 1993, however, Turtle mania was dying for me, as well as the general public. I was one of the few that made the trip to see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, and although I was mildly charmed, its cheap production values and hokey humor officially marked my departure point from the franchise.

When the property sprung back up in the 90s, with the atrocious live-action series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, it was further proof that the green machine was dead... But then a small rumble started...

In 2003, another animated series sprung up. It was closer to the tone of the original Eastman & Laird comic books (from which the franchise sprung), and gained a steady fan base. I only saw a couple episodes, but appreciated the fact that TV was keeping the beloved foursome alive. Now, I'm pleased to say, that they are not only quite alive, but looking to worm their way back into our collective hearts. The newest trailer has gone up, and it looks pretty radical.

(Check it here: http://media.movies.ign.com/media/150/150340/vids_1.html).

Now, I'm pretty rusty on my TMNT knowledge. From what I have been able to absorb from other sites, this film picks up after the second live action film (Hopefully no Keno the pizza boy references though!). It seems the Turtles have grown apart, and must reunite to battle another evil threat. Nope, not Shredder. Apparently, his time in the franchise ended with the pathetic Super Shredder death in Turtles II. Rather, this time the main foe is an evil industrialist named Max Winters who is plotting to take over the world with an army of ancient monsters. That ain't all though! They fearsome foursome will also have to take on a reformed Foot clan, which is under the power of a female ninja named Karai. Apparently Karai is a pretty big character in the newer animated series, but remains unknown to me... At any rate, the Turtles are assisted once again by reporter friend April O'Neil (Sans yellow jumpsuit) and masked vigilante Casey Jones (Their blossoming romance will also carry into this film).

Whew. Well, you can color me interested. While I was hesitant about the film being in CG, the trailer has changed my mind. I really like the appearance of the protagonists as they look closer to the original comics. CG is also ideal due to the fact that it removes the encumbering weight of the suits used in live-action. They can move quickly and fluidly, and truly display their martial arts skills in the way that they should be presented.

I'm also really pleased that Casey Jones is back. Elias Koteas' (pictured) portrayal of the character in the original film was a major highlight. I was always bitter that his character wasn't in the second film... Stupid Keno... And it was a REAL kick-in-the-face when they brought him back in the third film and only used him as dopey comic relief... Damn, it still angers me... At any rate, I'm giddy as a schoolgirl that he's back, and hopefully kickin' ass.

Now, I'm not overly pleased with the whole monster aspect of the film. I would have preferred something a little less fantastical (...In a movie about four giant turtles...), however the presence of the Foot clan eases this minor negative. Hopefully, the whole monster thing isn't played too much for laughs. We don't need another Tokkah and Rahzar situation, thank you very much.

Regardless, you can count me as one ticket sold. There's few things are entertaining as seeing a childhood favorite brought to the screen... Unless the movie sucks, in which case it's abnormally painful... I have a feeling TMNT may be a keeper though, and will hopefully lead to a bright future of further installments. Maybe then I'll get to see Krang or Slash (pictured) show up... That would be tubular... ___________________________________________________________________

Okay, you people know that I can't get enough of Bruce Campbell. I said it just a few entries back! His performances in the Evil Dead trilogy, Bubba Ho-tep, and Xena: Warrior Princess are classics, as are his cameos in the Spiderman films. He also has written some hilarious books: his autobiography If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B-Movie Actor, and the riotous fiction novel Make Love The Bruce Campbell Way.

Well, he's back, and ready to reclaim his throne as cult-movie king (Though did he every lose the title?). This time he's directing and starring in a quirky production called My Name Is Bruce, and it has hit written all over it... Well, cult hit that is...

The film centers on Bruce being mistaken for his heroic Ash character from the Evil Dead films, and being recruited to fight a monster in Oregon. The rest is hijinx with a side-order of wackiness.

I know I'll be there... Providing it doesn't go straight to DVD that is, in which case I'll rent it... And I urge you all to go out and familiarize yourselves with Campbell's oeuvre. For a full listing of Campbell's finest, check out his website www.brucecampbell.com. In time you too will hail to the king...baby!

H'okay! This entry is done. I promise it won't be 2 more weeks before I post again. The plan is to get back to my three or four times a week schedule.

Anyways, now that I'm in Ninja Turtle mode, I'm gonna go rock out to their Coming Out Of Their Shells album! Walk Straight is badass!

P.S.: Continue sending questions to camspcepisodes@hotmail.com. I haven't forgotten about it, and I plan on answering one in my next entry! So write monkeys! Write!