Trailer Watch: Whiteout

It seems a new trailer for Whiteout has recently been released. Its been called the official trailer. So wait...what was the trailer we saw a few weeks ago? A teaser? Hardly I thought, it was almost just as long...hardly teases anymore right ;) Though I have to say, I kinda prefer the first trailer, it showed more of the environment, the harsh conditions, which I find all very interesting. Just to think people actually live in such unforgiving environments.

In this new trailer, though, we get to see more of the actors and the action scenes. All good still. So when is the movie coming out. Oh yeah...September. In the mean time, I'm reading the graphic novel. So far, enjoying it.

Twilight / New Moon, Picture of the Volturi Members

I saw this pic at Empiremovies.com. I haven't seen this at the official sites yet, nor at Twilight Lexicon, one of the major Twilight sites...so I can't say for certain its the real deal. But its looks real enough eh? The way Dakota's hair is tucked in the hood, and the colour of the robe itself looks very much how we saw her costume was, from some of the on set pictures.

The style of the Volturi...very much it seems a mix of the Underworld coven and the vampires in Interview with the Vampire (but maybe without frills in their costumes)...yeah very old world Vamps. We will probably get to see the full promos of the Volturi soon and actually see how they are all geared up.


Pic: [Source]

Twilight / New Moon Dolls and Action Figures

I check Cooltoyreview.com (you should too) from time time to check out, well the cool toys and see their galleries...They currently have tons of pictures of figures and dolls of our favourite movie/comic characters that were showcased at Comic-Con. And among them are from the Twilight series.

Neca and Tonner had their Edward and Bella figures and dolls and I had been wanting to see them churn out the other charaters too...to which they have, and we finally get a sneak peak at them at the Comic-Con.

Tonner Dolls now have the Nomads to add to their Twilight collection...I would have thought we would get the Cullens first. Not thoroughly impressed with these dolls though.

Neca...they have a few don't they? And these are from their New Moon collection I'm guessing? Bella looks pretty toned...is that muscles on her arms. Alice is cute. Edward...I almost mistook him for Wolverine...The hair, the wide neck...too stocky and brawny...isn't he supposed to be taller. Jacob with shirt on and shirt off. I prefer the shirt off...not because he looks hot...hardly. Its just shirt off looks more like Jacob. Once again I find, like Edward, Jacob's shirt on looks overly stocky.

Twilight is pretty hot property pretty much anywhere. I wonder if any stores in Singapore have started to sell some of their figures and dolls.

Pic: [Source]

Twilight, New Moon Comic-Con Clips

Comic-Con San Diego is currently ongoing. Its like what, in its the third day now. There so much movie related Comic-Con stuff on all the movie sites...I haven't been able to keep up with most of it...but it all looks terribly exciting to us movie geeks.

One thing I've checked out is the new, New Moon clips (I have yet to check out the interviews though...I would need to brave myself through all those squealing and screaming). There's two of them. Check them out yourselves below. Quality isn't great...and the screams and squeals are annoying but bare with it.

And heres what I think of them. The 1st clip we have Bella and Jacob bike riding. Granted that the angle of this is weird, I find the particular shot where Bella is getting the feel of the handle/clutch when the camera kind of swings around Bella a bit before she hears Edward, I kinda get the feeling that the landscape is fake, that Kirsten and Jacob is actually in front of blue screen for that particular shot. And maybe they did...but...does it suppose to appear so? Its suppose to look natural right? And must they focus on the hand touching...its so cliche...they're friends before they were anything else...the hand touching wouldn't carry as much weight. And I did not like the taking-off-shirt-thing...its so contrived and soo obviously for the fangirls. And from the sound of it they do love it.

The 2nd clip was better, it was a Volterra scene...finally we get to Italy. Now did Bella run through the water fountain in the book...nah...I guess they add it to the movie for dramatic effect. And they ended the clip at just the right spot, as Edward is about to emerge from the alley.

Looking forward for more stuff to come.

Trailer Watch: Dorian Gray

If you have been following my blog, you might know that this is one of the movies, the developments of which I'm following closely. The book is one of my favourites...And as I usually love watching adaptations or at the very least curious about them, this one no doubt I'm eagerly anticipating.

So I'm thoroughly excited that we finally have the trailer. Have a look below.

Initial thoughts...I have a few. Lets break it down.

I like the initial view from the top, the colours look great, The tinge of midnight blue...adds to the eeriesness as we zero in to an alley from which Dorian emerges only slightly very much covered in the darkness.

Cut to a daylight scene and we see Dorian once again, this time in a train station. Wait is he wearing a school boy cap?

And as I had feared Ben Barnes as Dorian Gray...much too old... Good looks does not equal to youthfulness. Dorian Gray's age was never explicitly cited in the book I believe...but I have always seen him as being no more than 21. Ben Barnes does not look 21.

Lord Henry, who can be said as the corruptive mind, behind Dorian's mortal demise...Colin Firth does not seem to capture him. Now when I think about it...a young John Malkovich would do him well...or someone of the like. He has such a magnetic, entrancing voice, one that I'd imagine would...what do you call it? bewitch Dorian...affect Dorian in the way that it did.

For now I don't think I like how the trailer seem to indicate how the story is being told. It seems to be an explosive Victorian era horror flick, with the swirling of cameras and even an explosion at the end of the trailer...very Hollywood-esque movie...I remember somewhat of the same was said of the new Sherlock Holmes movie, though I haven't watch the trailer myself. I had hope Dorian Gray was this little movie reeking of silent eeriness, that thoroughly surprises those who have not read the book the horror of what Dorian eventually becomes, in a quiet unseeingly manner.

Then again, this is only a trailer. The movie itself can be quite different.

Pic: [Source]

True Blood Season Two starts on August 22 on Max

Well my post title says it all. I didn't expect it to arrive quite so early here...only what?...some two months after the US premiere. I'm psyched. Love season one of the series...word is season two continues to be as good.

Pic: [Source]

Posters Galore: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Fame

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Empire Magazine has the new Prince of Persia posters. We have Jake Gyllenhaal all geared up as Prince Dastan. You know what? The slight tinge of greyness of the poster and that red sash tied around Dastan's waist reminds me of 300...just in terms of the choice of colour scheme and costuming. I do think though this would be a very PG movie, along the lines Pirates of Carribean, this is after all Disney. And wait...I've only played the game once...but didn't Dastan fought the undead in it...slashing them...though not thoroughly explicit...blood did splatter...how would those little tiny details translate in the movie? Next to it, is what seems to be one of the character posters. And its of Gemma Arterton as Tamina. She kinda looks like, Carly Pope...remember that girl in Popular or that girl who played the lead in Fantaghiro (does anyone remember that series?).

Fame

They have a bunch of new posters up. The first series of posters (see left) looks very much like a Coke ad...and now the new series (right) of posters looks like an ad for American Idol. Anyone looking at their posters would be thoroughly confuse at what exactly they're trying to sell.

Pic: [Source],[Source]

Mashable's List of Top 10 Great Social Sites for Movie Lovers

I love movies...so I'm always looking for great movie related sites to satisfy my movie fix. Social sites are the rage now, what with myspace, facebook and friendster. Well we movie geeks have a few of our own too...and Mashable has compiled a list of ten of the more popular ones. I'm currently registered with three, IMDB, Flixster and Flickchart and I hardly consider IMDB a social site...its more of a movie database, like its name suggest. Anyhow its always fun to check out new ones out there...and see if they're any good. Here's a link to the list, so click away.

Random Thought: Vampire Diaries, Love Sucks Promo Banner

Since the Vampire Diaries is a teen drama on the CW, I assume it is a pretty PG (actually rated PG?) show right? I just find it a tad odd, well maybe not odd...but interesting, that the promotional stuff that they have released thus far is more sexed up and provocative as compared to True Blood.

True Blood a show pretty much laden with nudity and sex...I mean wasn't Jason Stackhouse in it just to sleep with all the female characters? Then again its hardly surprising of CW, when you see the Gossip Girls promo...I guess sex sells especially when you're targeting teenagers, with raging hormones. Even more than adults?


Pic: [Source], [Source]

Rachel Getting Married (2008)

Rachel Getting Married was the indie movie last year that had gotten Anne Hathaway and Rosemarie DeWitt a lot of praise for their performance in it and the movie bagged several nominations and awards in the indie and critics awards. So of course I was curious as to how I would find the movie myself.

Basically we have Kym a messed up girl with a myriad of problems which includes drugs, who is returning home for a few days from some rehab place to attend her sister Rachel's wedding. She come home to a strange place,bustling busy for the wedding and filled with strangers she doesn't know. Her father is being overly cautious with her movements demanding he knows where she is at all times, horribly afraid she'd step over the edge at any time. And to add to this, she finds that she is not the maid of honor for her sister's wedding. You can only imagine the tension in the air due to the wedding and brought on even more by Kym's homecoming.

I find Anne Hathaway effective as Kym, this messed up druggie. She's grimy, totally unglamorous, unpredictable and brash ...the way you'd expect her character to be. She definitely pulled a better bad girl in comparison to the one in Havoc. And I think that's where anything good I have to say about this movie ends because suffice to say I did not enjoy the movie.

First there's the camera work. They have the amateur style of camerawork going on that's pretty shaky...which I'm not a terrible fan of...it works for some movies...not this one. Second, we have a mixed grab of people at the wedding that no matter how much dialogue, jokes thrown in, still appear to be strangers, even though they are suppose to be family or friends at the very least. There is no chemistry at all among the minor characters. The worst scene, was the dinner rehearsal...where the attendees would stand up and give anecdotes and such about the bride and groom...and I'm like what...am I suppose to believe one bit that you know these people. Lastly, the whole basis of Rachel being this messed up person because of a family tragedy. Apparently we learn later she was a disaster before the tragedy. A slight bit of the sympathy and understanding of the characters and their tragedy evaporated as their actions are no longer excusable due to this revelation. I felt that the lack of guilt of the other family members as result of the tragedy is puzzling...maybe its just me.

Anyhow, I do not enjoy attending weddings personally, and this was no different, from the very moment Kym stepped in that house, I wanted to run and leave. I'm not against marriage or anything like that, I'm just not inclined to like the frivolous ritual that weddings usually are. I mean dinners where the guests give a toast to the bride and groom, how did it become a full blown testimonial on the good character of the bride/groom. A lot of faking and bull usually happens. And like I had said...we had the very scene in the movie too and not a very convincing one either. Overall I think the whole drama, where the story is hinging on the tragedy is misplaced or at least not thoroughly thought through. So anyway that's basically it...not a movie I like at all.

New Movie Pics Around the Web: New Moon, Iron Man 2 and Prince of Persia

New Moon

The Los Angeles Times has a new picture of New Moon on their site. We have Bella and Jacob in a car looking quite cozy together. Jacob putting his charm on and playing the protector role in Edward's absence.



Entertainment Weekly's July 24th issue has Iron Man 2 on the cover and we get a first look at Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow. Online they have also released a new picture of Jake Gyllenhaal in Prince of Persia.

Iron Man 2


Oh what big hair she has doesn't she. It looks so heavy on her, so unnatural, it can't be real can it?

Prince of Persia


Err...can't quite believe him as the Prince of Persia from this picture. Sure he's beefed up for the role...but he doesn't quite have the action hero quality about him.


For high quality images of the pictures, click on the respective links below.


Pic: [Source],[Source], [Source]

Random Thought: Jane Eyre

I love watching period films and enjoy those BBC miniseries. I've recently bought and watched the 2006 Jane Eyre miniseries...I'm not exactly in love with it, but I enjoyed it, it was good but I shall not go into a review or anything like that now, maybe another time. Anyhow, it just made me think. We live in a time where media and society in general are obsessed with and worships beauty and youth. And Jane Eyre is a story of a young plain girl falling in love with a much older man who is supposed to be equally plain. The book has had several adaptions. Two of which I've seen. The miniseries and the the 1996 movie starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and William Hurt. Now I wonder if the people who made the adaptations were racking their brains on how to sell it to the general audience, those that are not familiar with the book at all. Sure its a love story...but its a pretty dark love story and they are no pretty pictures to sell it with. Anyway just thinking...


And guess what, I just stumbled upon this, it seems another film adaptation is in the works by BBC Films. And who is to be Jane Eyre? Ellen Page. You read right.How concrete is this? Who knows? Its been a while since the news broke (you can read it Here), maybe several changes have been made including the casting. But I certainly can't picture Ellen Page in a period flick, she just seems too contemporary. I'm skeptical she can master the English accent. But who knows? Maybe she'll surprise us all. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing this in the future.


[Source], Pic [Source]

Tonner Doll's San Diego Comic Con Exclusive, the Hungry Edward Cullen Doll

Yeah, Tonner has a new Edward Cullen doll...called the Hungry Edward from Twilight. Does anyone else find the name funny? Anyhow, there's only 200 of this doll and its only available at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. Now the doll's page at Tonnerdirect states that if any of the dolls remain and are left unsold it will be made available at TonnerDirect.com for purchase. But seriously, I doubt so...it will be pretty much snapped up by the end of Comin-Con.

The doll...I see very little difference from the first Edward doll they released. The eyes are a bit darker (thats where they get the name Hungry from I guess). He's without his coat this time and he's wearing different shoes. Other than that the get up is still the same. And must all the these doll/action figure manufacturers produce two Edward Cullen doll (NECA has two too)? Seriously? And if they have to...do they need to produce one that looks pretty much like the first one they made? Whats the point of having clones?...Oh wait I forget the part where everyone seems to be in love Edward Cullen. And where's the other characters that they've somewhat promise...I'm still waiting.

Pic: [Source]

Random Rant: The Prestige at 10pm Today on Okto

Yes they're screening The Prestige tonight. Thats good. At its something they have yet to air. Really liked the movie, I even did a spoiler-filled movie rant of it almost two years ago. I've always been wanting to pick up the book ever since I saw the movie...but the cover they had at the local bookstore was U-G-L-Y. The cover was nothing more than printed word saying that its was soon to be a motion picture...or something of the like...I don't even like movie tie-ins in the first place...but this was ridiculous. Anyhow I had actually recently listened to a past /filmcast podcast where they briefly talked about the book, so now I'm pretty convinced to actually sought out and read the book. Maybe I should order an edition online, one that was printed before the idea of a movie was ever conceived. Yeah...I guess I'll do that.

Pic: [Source]

Random Rant: Okto screening Away From Her again?

Okto screening Away From Her again? Like next Saturday. Didn't they just aired the movie like some 3 months back? I mean seriously?

Pic: [Source]

Trailer Watch: Assassination of a High School President

This is one of the movies that was in my list to watch in 2008. 2008 came and went...no release and so it got on my list of to watch in 2009...And well finally we have a trailer. As for a release? Who knows...there's some legal issues involved, it may be quite awhile before we actually get to see the actual film, a theatrical release or maybe even only a dvd release. Regardless, early buzz and reviews for the movie were pretty good...I just want to see it.

The trailer serves its purpose. We get the high school set up. The players and the basic plot. And it does kinda seem vaguely similar to some other movie trailer with the whole mapping on the blackboard. I just can't seem to remember which.

Star Wars and Twilight USB Flash Drive

First saw these awesomely geeky stuff at Cinematical (You can read their post
here). I love it. Two of my favourite Movie series...Star Wars and Twilight. The Darth Vader and Storm Trooper are soo cute. The Twilight one is disappointing...though I can't imagine them doing one of any of the characters...it would just be too corny. Now I wonder if any of these are available in Singapore?

Pic: [Source, Source]

Posters Galore: Daybreakers

Another movie about vampires. This one set in the very near (alternate) future. I recently saw the trailer and thought it was awesome...I'll probably do a Trailer Watch post on it later. Suffice to say...I'm pretty excited to see the actual movie.

Now the poster. The first time I saw it...yeah...I thought it was the poster for the sequel for 30 Days of Night. Look it doesn't it? The use of red and black. The monstrous vamp right in the middle, right down to the blood splattering texture...or should I say effect that they have going on. I have to say...the two jarringly obvious white fangs there are pretty funny. Reminds of the fangs in True Blood.

Pic: [Source]