According to Rian.ru Director Timur Bekmambetov is currently preparing for pre-production on the sequel to the 2008 box office hit Wanted. Timur Bekmambetov confirmed that he is looking to get started in July so he can begin shooting around Winter time. Angelina Jolie and Kostya Khabenskiy’s characters may also return for the sequel, despite their character demises, while Bekmambetov also said that new characters will be introduced. The film will also be shot in America, India, and Russia.
This weekend the fourth installment of the Terminator franchise Terminator Salvation was released, but has received an extremely negative response. The film is currently tracking at 34 percent over at Rotten Tomatoes. Skeptics have been calling it “dumb” and they say it lacks “depth”. If you’ve read my review then you know that I rather enjoyed it and found many aspects of the film to be quite impressive, most notably and surprisingly McG’s direction. The lackluster response not just from critics, but also a few members of the fan-base comes off illogical and hypocritical.
By Dan Mecca
Upping the adrenaline-fueled ante of its cult-hit predecessor,Crank: High Voltage wastes little time early on setting up anything like plot or conflict, focusing more on the blood, bullets and octane of Jason Statham, who returns as the unstoppably awesome and improbably tough Chev Chelios.
The film is directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, a pair of young creative minds with the attention span of a 12-year old, Moutain Dew-addicted gamer. And it makes sense, because, after all, this thing is essentially the Grand Theft Auto free play mode released at feature length to silver screens.
Any ridiculous moment from the first Crank, and there are many, is topped in this sequel.
by Jordan Raup
In honor of Crank: High Voltage hitting theaters this weekend here is a rundown of the Most Over-the-Top Action Movies of the Decade. Some of these are actually decent films that hold their own (Transporter, Kill Bill Vol. 1) and others are awful, but over-the-top worthy (Rambo, Punisher: War Zone). I will try and be as spoiler-free as possible when describing the scenes, and include YouTube clips if available. Check out the full list and below:
Why It Is On This List: This visually astounding, but narratively overwrought film features more bloodthirsty half-naked men running around in slo-motion that anything else on the list.
Most Over-the-Top Scene: The decapitated head flying through the air is good but the scene below fulfilled my over-the-top action fix for the year:
American Violet is based on the true story of Dee Roberts who is a single mom who struggles to make ends meet in a small Texas town. When the cops arrest her in a drug sweep, she insists on her innocence. Refusing a plea bargain that would allow her to avoid jail time, Roberts decides stands up against a corrupt law enforcement and judicial system. The film stars Nicole Beharie (The Express), Tim Blake Nelson (O’ Brother Where Art Thou), Xzibit (Gridiron Gang), Will Patton (Remember the Titans), and Michael O’Keef (Michael Clayton). Anyway, I was lucky enough to have a sit down with the film’s star Nicole Beharie and the writer/producer Bill Haney. Here’s the result:
How did you get attached?
Nicole Beharie: That’s weird (laughs), I auditioned for the part. I got like a stack of scripts from my agency and I read a whole bunch of them, and quite frankly some of them were garbage. This one I was just moved by enough so that I actually had a dream about it. So I called my agency and asked if I could go in for the part, and when I went in I was moved by Bill and Tim, and what they said about there investment and how they had actually been to the town and they’ve been working on it for like six years. So I knew I wanted to have a part in this regardless if I played the main character or whoever. I wanted to have a part in it, because I thought it was important and then from there I got the part (laughs) which is kind of amazing.
In a recent MTV interview with Eli Roth (Hostel, Cabin Fever) has revelaed he’s planning to shoot an $80 million action epic this fall and then, three weeks later, shoot a feature length version of Thanksgiving for $5 million. He described the project a little bit:
It’s going to be something that is really fun with lots of mass destruction. I wanted to do something along the lines of Transformers or Cloverfield that was a little more science fiction-based, and with lots of chaos and mass destruction.
AICN has pointed out that A Pizza Hut and Terminator Salvation tie in website is showing that Terminator Salvation has officially received a PG-13 rating. Right next to the Halcyon logo is the official MPAA Rating: PG-13. Not to long ago McG (Charlie’s Angels) stated that he was fighting with Warner Brothers for an R rating so he could keep a topless scene with Moon Bloodgood (What Just Happened?) in the final cut.
Fast & Furious is the fourth installment in an already lackluster series. Looking back at the series, the first one is truly the only enjoyable. Where does this rank with the other Fast and Furious films? It’s undoubtably better than the terrible 2 Fast and 2 Furious, but it’s not even on level with the somewhat decent Tokyo Drift. It’s a forgettable action movie that isn’t even entertaining in the realm of “dumb fun.”
Not sure what is coming out this month? Here is my rundown of my most anticipated films coming out:
Plot: As he is released from prison, Brian O’Conner teams up with Dominic Toretto work with the feds to bring down a heroin importer by infiltrating his operation.
Why You Should See It: I’m actually not sure if this is a film to watch or avoid. The first one was enjoyable and it looks like a return to the original. I’ve heard early buzz that it is a decent popcorn flick.
Variety reports that Sony International Motion Picture Co. is set to back Ricky Gervais‘ next film The Men At The Pru. The project started as a TV pilot, but it is now a feature film. It tells a coming-of-age tale about a group of men working at an insurance company in the 1970s. Gervais is co-writing, directing and producing with longtime creative partner Stephen Merchant. Production is set to begin this summer.
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