Quick Thoughts - June 23rd 2008

Hey guys. As you can see I’ve renamed the “Around The Web” feature to “Quick Thoughts”, since that’s really what these daily posts are going to be… my quick thoughts on the various movie news items floating around the web that I didn’t think needed their own posts.

	INDIANA JONES 4 ON TOP OF INTERNATIONAL BOX OFFICE AGAIN – After falling out of the top spot for a couple of weeks the man in the hat is back on top after opening in Japan. The film has now made over $650 million world wide. Can you even imagine how much it would have made by now if the movie was… you know… good?
	GET SMART DESTROYS LOVE GURU AT BOX OFFICE – Well most of us predicted that Get Smart would out perform The Love Guru… after all the trailers for Mike Myers new film looked beyond horrible to say the least, but I don’t think many people thought it would more than DOUBLE what Guru would make, or that Guru would make under $15 million opening weekend. OUCH! So where does Mike Myers go from here?
	SPIDER-MAN 4 IN 2011 – Sony is now talking about Spider-Man 4 hitting theaters in 2011 which raises 2 questions. 1) Considering they don’t have a script, a director or a cast yet… why are they even talking about this? 2) Does anyone want a Spider-Man 4 so soon? I mean come on… after that train wreck called Spider-Man 3?
	FANDANGO BUYS MOVIES.COM – As if we didn’t all see this coming from a mile away. Disney sells the site which marks the end of their failed (and stupid) attempt to branch out into areas well beyond its core competencies. To be fair, they aren’t the only ones. In an attempt to develop their own online distribution models the other studios have taken total financial beatings too.
	JESSICA BIEL COMEDY “NAILED” SHUTS DOWN FOR FOURTH TIME – OUCH! With just 2 days of shooting to go, production of the new Jessica Biel and Jake Gyllenhaal flick has been shut down because of money issues. Seems the crew missed a pay check and the union order them not to show up to work. I don’t blame them. This is the fourth shut down due to money troubles for the movie. It’sa tough business man… it’s crazy how much money even these indie films need to get finished. I’m all for anything that has the words “Jessica Biel” and “Nailed” in the same sentence.
	BEAUTIFUL LOSERS WINS AT CINEVEGAS – When we attended the SXSW festival earlier this year, one of the films I was really looking forward to seeing was Beautiful Losers. Sadly I got sick the last couple of days and missed it, but Doug saw it and said it was just fantastic. It’s nice to see this little film getting some props. Can’t wait to see it for myself.
	UMA THURMAN JUMPING TO TV FOR NEW BRITISH SHOW – Well this is a bit surprising. Thurman has signed on for a new BBC drama they’re calling “My Zinc Bed”. I remember how surprised I was when Steve Carell, who had a ready-to-explode” film career going, signed up for the US version of “The Office”, but this shocks me even more when you consider how established Thurman is… and it’s not like she’s washed up yet. Will we see more movies stars, still in their prime, making the jump to TV soon?
	TEASER POSTER FOR DISNEY FILM “BOLT” – Meh, it’s a teaser poster that shows a lightning bolt. Whooppie. Oh wait… at the top it says “John Travolta” and “Miley Cyrus”. Well damn… you just KNOW it’s going to be quality then! (Please note sarcasm)
	BUNCH OF IMAGES FROM “EAGLE EYE” – This movie looks damn sweet to me, and I’ve got to say I’m liking Shia LaBeouf more and more every time I see him. This kid is the next Tom Hanks (I didn’t think he was a good fit for Indy 4, but that was more the character than the actor). If you don’t know what Eagle Eye is: “Shia LaBeouf reteams with “Disturbia” director D.J. Caruso playing a young slacker whose overachieving twin brother has died mysteriously. When the young man returns home, both he and a single mother find they have been framed as terrorists. Forced to become members of a cell that has plans to carry out a political assassination, they must work together to extricate themselves.
	DARK KNIGHT IMAX TICKETS ALREADY ON SALE – For those of you who just can’t wait to get your hands on them, the IMAX showings of The Dark Knight in 18 theaters are already on sale. There is a lot of speculation going on about how much money this film will make. The answer is an ass load… but will it make as much as Iron Man? Hmmmm… not sure about that. The non-family friendly tone may hurt it that way. But who cares… it’s still going to be amazing and make truck loads.
	BORING GREEN HORNET LOGO UNVEILED – This is the first movie I’ve seen coming down the pipe that has Seth Rogen attached to it that I’m dreading. This is so wrong on so many levels… Seth Rogen writing and staring in The Green Hornet? Dumb. What’s even more dumb is releasing a boring ass logo 2 years in advance. If you’ve got nothing to show us, and it’s still 2 years away… then don’t show us anything.
	CHRiSTIAN BALE NOT ROBIN HOOD AFTER ALL – There were several reports going around that Christian Bale was going to re-team with his 3:10 To Yuma co-star Russell Crowe for the new film Nottingham. Crowe is going to be the lead character (The Sheriff) and Bale was supposedly going to be Robin Hood. Well, that seems to have been just a rumor. Too bad. The chemistry between Bale and Crowe in Yuma was just amazing (If you haven’t seen 3:10 To Yuma yet, get your ass in gear and go rent it… it’s bloody fantastic.
	ROKU NETFLIX SET TOP BOX REVIEWED – It is the future we’ve been talking about for the last couple of years. A simple little box you attach to an ethernet cable and to your TV, and BOOM, you have streaming access to movies on Netflix right on your TV instantly. The only downside most reviewers are sighting right now is that selection is a little limited at the moment… but that selection will grow. I’m going to get one of these right away and try it out… I’ll let you know what I think about it once I do.
	HOSTEL 3 MOVING AHEAD WITHOUT ELI ROTH – To me this is good news for a couple of reasons. First of all, I think Roth has a creative mind with a lot of potential, and sticking around in the same old franchise will hurt that creativity (see George Lucas). Secondly, Hostel 2 was a giant bag of shit beyond all reason. Horrible movie, and so I’m glad Roth isn’t there for the third. Thirdly, another Hostel film (probably straight to DVD) has the potential to be a fun little (even if forgettable) horror flick, so why not?
	STALLONE AND SCHWARZENEGGER TOGETHER AT LAST – IN A BOLLYWOOD MOVIE – Some people are still pretty slow to accept just how huge the Bollywood film industry is. Well, people are going to notice now. According to this report, the long awaited on screen appearances of Stallone and Schwarzenegger is happening, but not in a Hollywood film… but a Bollywood film. Probably just as well… the window for the teaming of these two cinematic giants being relevant has long since closed. Apparently Arnold’s role is going to be a small one too.
	TRANSFORMERS 2 CHARACTER GUIDE – A guys has put together a nice little character guide for the upcoming Transformers sequel. Listen, you all know how much I loved the first Transformers. It was amazing. However, I’ve got to admit I’m quickly losing faith in this new movie. I looks like instead of building on all the good things in the first film, Bay has chosen to build on all the bad things. This movie is looking more and more stupid with each new bit of information and press release. I hope I’m wrong… but I’ve got a very bad feeling about this movie.