Review: MARGIN CALL

The film “Margin Call” is marketed as “based on a true story” though the film adamantly, even awkwardly, refuses to be about specific people in a specific place at a specific time. Even terms like “Wall Street,” “New York,” “politicians,” “crash” “2008” and “recession” are erased from the characters’ dialogue even though such distinctions are as clear in the audience’s mind as the filmmakers intended. The movie is not so much based on a true “story,” but rather based on true ideologies and motivations. Yes, people like these character existed—and still exist—but I’d say most movies contain such realistic characters, though other movies have the theatrics to put said characters in extraordinary circumstances. Fortunately, all the dads in America can breathe easily knowing “Margin Call” is not a 109-minute rant on the immorality and un-sustainability of unchecked, rampant capitalism. Nor is this even an Occupy Wall Street-geared movie. This is a re-enactment for those who don’t read books of how and why America’s, and thus the world’s, economic system seems to collapse every ten years. Granted, “Margin Call” may be based on a true story, but at what cost?

Review: MILK

My name is Mark Donica and I want to recruit you.

I want to recruit you to see this film. As a Californian, this movie hits close to home. As a human being, this movie will pull at your heartstrings.

Review: TINKERBELL

Let me address your either vocal or mental, "No he didn't!" with a very real, yes. Yes I did.

Now don't get me wrong, everything leading up to this movie led it to look like a crappy Disney knockoff.

It wasn't. In fact, this film was more than just watchable, I actually enjoyed it. The music and the voice acting definitely helped with the sometimes hokey jokes. Tink has never talked before, so giving her a voice in general seems like a bad idea, but for you Avatar fans out there, it actually works for this film. Mae Whitman, voice of Katara in Avatar, voices Tinker Bell in the movie. Her fairy friends are played by familiar faces as Raven Simone voices Iridessa the light fairy, America Ferrera voices Fawn the animal fairy, Lucy Lui voices Silvermist the water fairy and Kristen Chenowith voices Rosetta the garden fairy. Each fairy has their own quirk that will probably be expanded upon further in the rest of the Disney Fairies series, and it doesn't look like they'll be uninteresting. Rob Paulsen of Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, etc. voices a fellow tinker named Bobble who is one of the fairies that Tink first becomes friends with. Anjelica Huston, Madame Morticia Adams, plays the Queen of all the fairies, whose entrance is very beautiful and showy, but not condescending in any way, it's just right.

The story was essentially a Tinker Bell finding her place in Fairy Glen and realizing that using what you have been given is more important than trying to be something you're not. There is a good character arc with Tink and even an appearance by someone from the main story at the end. It's pretty fast paced, clocking in at a whopping seventy minute running time, they had to get a lot in quick. The 3D animation in this film is very soft and fantastical, just what one would expect from a film about fairies. Disney definitely put a good chunk of time, money and effort into this film and it really shows. If more of Disney's direct-to-DVD offerings had calibur like this, they wouldn't be as kicked down as they have been.


The score was written by Joel McNeely, who has done other Disney films like Mulan II and Return to Neverland, but this score is possibly one of my favorites of any Disney Film. McNeely found a violinist named Mairead Nesbitt to play a classically styled, yet strong Celtic piece after seeing her on PBS (Thanks to viewers like you). In a word, beautiful. It portrays a sense of wonder and curiosity that one should have in a movie about self discovery. It did it's job of keeping me in the movie at points where I may or may not have cared less. If a CD of the score exists, I will buy it and won't be ashamed of it.

Overall, this film succeeds in furthering the amazement with Tinkerbell. With a new meet and greet coming to Disneyland and more, the folks down in Burbank are going to milk this thing for all they got. With that in mind, and despite John Lassetter's intervention, I actually want them to make a direct sequel to this movie. Now that we know how she came to be, a lot of questions start popping up. How did she lose her voice? How did she meet Peter? Anyway, I suggest finding a little cousin or sister that has this movie to give you a reason to watch it.

Review: MAX PAYNE

Allow me to get this out of the way: if you have not played any of the Max Payne video games you can't appreciate this movie or get into it.

That being said, if you have played the games you will find this movie amazing.

Keeping this in mind, it is irrelevant to explain the premise of the film - either you have played the games and should know the story, in which case you should see it as soon as you can. Or you haven't played the games, don't already know the story and the meaning, and should not see the movie.

What Max Payne achieves as a movie is what all video game inspired films should strive for. The game(s) are a legend amongst the gamer community for their groundbreaking storyline, character depth and style. The first game was a representation of how an awesome video game could have an amazing story behind it as well, and the movie has done the same.

This movie was perfect in its adaption of Max to the big screen, from Mark Wahlberg's mantastic portrayal of Max himself to the aesthetically perfect environment around him. Yes, there are little things that were staples of the games that were missing from the film (such as painkillers, aww) but they were things that would have made the movie un-movie like. Similarly, director John Moore (Flight of the Phoenix, Behind Enemy Lines) did a magnificent job of taking the "gameplay" so to speak, out of the action without ruining the action itself. What follows are some beautiful gunfights staged within scenary that is almost directly out of the game. The result will have fans in the audience shivering uncontrollably and urgently button mashing a game controller that isn't there. One scene in particular, when Max enters the Rag-Na-Rock club for the first time and moves down the hallway shotgun raised, made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

Now the film itself was beautiful. The art direction of this movie had my inner cinematographer nearly soiling himself. Issues that the audience will find will almost certainly center around performances by the actors. For one thing, Mila Kunis's character of Mona was completely lacking in substance. Of course, the film makers obviously chose not to develop Mona or make her very important except as a guntoting, female badass. As soon as that became apparent I stopped paying any attention to her, which is what Moore must have been going for because it was remarkably easy. Beau Bridges as BB was terrible. I firmly believe that had this role been filled by a more talented and engaged actor most fan members in the audience would have a very difficult time finding anything else wrong with this movie.
(on a side note, Ludacris was surprisingly good as Lt. Bravura - much better than his other rapper-turned-actor contemporaries)

I personally felt that the script was well written, with some fantastic lines that are dropped every once in a while. The biggest issue I had here was the almost complete lack of humor and rarely seen over-the-top action dialogue that made scenes from the games so engaging. But again, I think that if BB had been a more exciting character and was focused on more than Lupino was, these lackages would have been a minor annoyance.

The final verdict stands: I really enjoyed this movie. I appreciated its ability to stay true to the material without making a stupid, gunfight polluted debauchery of a movie and I absolutely loved the way it was shot. Again, I don't think that anyone who hasn't played the games can appreciate this movie. If you fall into that category, spend your money seeing Sex Drive or save it for Quantum of Solace. If you played the games, see this movie for no reason other than it captures the most important parts of the games you so dearly love without being stupid.

Review: ROLE MODELS

Spoilers May Occur (but not major ones)

Role Models is the story of two energy representatives Danny (Rudd) and Wheeler (William Scott) who, after a over stimulating day, find themselves faced with the option of prison or joining a child mentorship program known as 'Sturdy Wings'. Paired with Augie (Chris Mintz Plasse {Superbad}), a shy nerd obsessed with a real life role playing game known as L.A.I.R.E, and Ronnie (Bobb'e J. Thompson {That's So Raven}), a young boy with an obsession for breasts and foul language. Danny and Augie get caught up in a crazy world of L.A.I.R.E, headed by the fictional/proud King Argotron (Ken Jeong {Knocked Up}), and Wheeler exposes Ronnie to a players life of sex, drinking, and women. But raising someone else's kid's is harder than it seems, and soon, to Danny and Wheeler, the idea of 30 days in jail does not seem that bad.

Voice Acting Legend Dies At 68

Don LaFontaine is one of my biggest inspirations when it comes to getting into the entertainment industry. The tone of his voice is so immitated, but never duplicated. Hell, I have movie trailers up on my YouTube account where I mimic the “LaFontaine form”. I found out about his passing this morning and I’ve been down all day. This man single handedly changed the way American movie trailers or any sort of promotional voice over work was handled. He made the phrases “In a world”, “A one man army”, and “Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide and no way out” famous and a part of the regular vernacular.

A little background of the man with the world famous voice, he started his career doing a voice over for “Dr. Strangelove: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Atomic Bomb” in 1962. As a result of that, he started a two-man operation with friend Floyd Peterson. Due to a spot being freed up for a movie called “Gunfighters of Casa Grande”, MGM gave Don LaFontaine his first professional job as well as his next 16 year/several thousand spot portion of his career. In 1976, he started LaFontaine Productions and began his independent career with “The Godfather Part II”. In 1978 he spent three years being Paramount Pictures “trailer man”, but returned to being independent in 1981 and stayed that way until the end.

Don LaFontaine’s career spanned 46 years before his untimely passing. He did hundreds of thousands of spots for movies, car companies, television, radio, award shows, insurance companies and more. There is definitely going to be a gap in the entertainment industry that will have to be filled, but for now let is try to live “In a world where people are saddened by the loss of a legend, one man will live in on the hearts and minds of us all. This fall, Don LaFontaine is: ‘Missed’”. He will be truly missed.

-Mark Donica

What They Smoked in "Pineapple Express"

Ever since the trailer for "Pineapple Express" came out, people have been wondering left and right, what did they actually smoke on set of the film.

Obviously, they did not smoke real marijuana, because that would have severely hampered the amount of takes they could shoot a scene, but now, it has been revealed what they really smoked.

It is a marijuana look-a-like / act-a-like known as 'Wizards Smoke', which is a legal alternative to marijuana. It produces the same amount and type of smoke, and also looks very similar in plant form. Apparently this has much less of a mental effect on the body than actual marijuana. According to James Franco "You can buy this at any smoke shop."

The case is closed on what Rogen and Franco smoked in both the film and at the MTV 2008 movie awards, as pictured above.


Ironically, Rogen was almost kicked out of the MAXIM party (San Diego, during Comic-Con 2008), which was a party honoring the Pineapple Express cast. Apparently, people noticed that Rogen's cigarette was laced with more than just normal tobacco. He was told to extinguish the cigarette or leave immediately.

Should have saved some of that 'Wizards Smoke' from the shooting. I'm sure there was plenty left over.

Siggraph 2008 - New Information Revealed!

Another Siggraph has come and gone. For those who do not know, Siggraph is a convetion devoted to Film Technology, Animation, Special Effects, and other Film Media. This year it was held in Los Angeles, at the LA Convention Center. Many studios and effects houses were in attendance, including, Laika, LucasArts, Walt Disney Feature Animation, PIXAR, Image Movers Digital, Blue Sky, Autodesk, and many many more. Each had its own booth full of displays and demos, ready to show to the masses and line up some incredible stuff for the coming year.

Motion Capture technology is moving away from the little suits with balls on them, to suits with bend-proof metal straps that allow the user to capture motion to a computer with absolutely no cameras, and easily trackable data.




Robert Zemekis' "A Christmas Carol" looks absolutely fantastic. Many of the sets are more epic than Beowulf, and the graphics are even more astounding. Jim Carrey plays Ebenezer Scrooge, a crotchety old man who hate everything except money, as well as plays the three ghosts that help him change his life for the better. As more images are released, they will be posted here.



3D Stereoscopic projectors are the future of film. Or so I was told. Or so I was shown. Starting next year, 99% of animated films are going to be created in Stereoscopic 3d, meaning it will feel like you are in the movie. With a pair of open/close 3D glasses, films will take you into an immersive world where you are a player and not just a critic. It seems that this will soon roll over to normal film and then (hopefully the industry says) to home viewing, where you pop in a game to your PS4 or Blue Ray player and instantly are a part of what before you could only see. The projectors I was shown were dual-HD meaning that you can see HD in each eye and through each lens. Also, the 3d creates itself in a way that it does not require someone to throw something at the camera to show you the effect. With a projector like this, and a set of surround sound speakers, I think this may be the coolest idea for gaming and film viewing ever... at least, so far.

Disney had lots of people demoing drawing and showed many clips from Bolt, which has already been covered by this Blog. Russ Edwards (animator) came in and animated a scene for the upcoming "Princess and the Frog" (see previous post) and then Andreas Deja (animator), dropped by to draw some pictures, give a history lesson of his life, and sketch out the Character of "Mama Odie" who he is animating for "Princess and The Frog". Very exciting stuff indeed.

Andreas Deja draws a frame of 'Mama Odie' from the upcoming Disney flick "The Princess and the Frog". Read more about "The Princess and the Frog" in the previous devoted post.


Siggraph 2009 will be held in New Orleans. See You There!

Tropic Thunder Premier Protest!

Yesterday at the world premier of Tropic Thunder, the new Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black film, which chronicles actors who are dropped into a live war zone to film a war movie guerrilla style, the stars walked the carpet (which to their surprise) to not cheers from fans, but boo's of protest from angry protesters.

Apparently, in the film, somebody calls Ben Stiller's character a 'Retard', which is apparently a word you can't say in modern cinema. With movies like Superbad, Soul Plane, Borat, and Epic Movie, constantly lampooning gay people, as well as people of other nationalities and religions, you would think that anything said in a film is alright, as long as a film is given a proper rating to keep out the lil' kids.

I think this is ridiculous because retard is a word that people use all the time in real-life, and it is a film that is a comedy and is not meant to be taken seriously in any degree. Secondly, if you know it is happening in the film and don't approve, just don't see it.

This reminds me of back when Horton Hears a Who came out earlier this year, and was met by protests of people who took the line "A Person's a Person No Matter How Small" quite literally as to a anti-abortion statement. Due to protesters in the theaters with the industry people and the stars, at Tropic Thunder, they took nothing with a grain of salt. Everyone who was not industry was locked out of the main theater, and sent into the one across the street. The red carpet was blocked off, and security was increased, making it no fun for anyone.

Maybe next time people can realize that a film is just a film, and will be gone and forgotten sooner than it will with out them performing antics that will make this a day to remember, and promote the film quite well. Remember, even bad publicity is still publicity.

Siggraph 2008

I will be attending SIGGRAPH 2008 for the next 2 days with a full report when I return.

When I return I will give a full report as well as:

ROLE MODELS 1st Ever Screening Review!

TROPIC THUNDER Review

Celebrity Interviews

and much much more!

Upcoming Film: Beverly Hills Chihuahua

Beverly Hills Chihuahua tells the story of a Chihuahua (Drew Barrymore) who gets seperated from her family on a trip to Mexico and must find her family with the help of hr new friends before the dog catcher catches her and uses her fur to start a fur factory.


This movie seems... uh lacking... for a few reasons. 1) It seems to be an excuse to have lame Mexican stereotypes in a movie because they are all seen in dog form. 2) Who the hell uses a "Chihuahua", one of the smallest dogs with ridiculously short hair to start a fur factory. It literally makes no sense. I think I'd rather go to the store and rent "101 Dalmatians 2: Patches London Adventure".

What are your opinions?

Check out the Trailer Below!




Beverly Hills Chihuahua Hits Theaters October 3, 2008

RIP: Bernie Mac

This morning, Legend and King of Comedy Bernie Mac died. He was 50 years old and suffered from sarcoidosis, which is a lung disease where lumps of cells grow on the body's organs. In early 2005 it went into remission, but on August 1st he was admitted to the hospital for Pneumonia. Several days a rumor was stated that he had passed, it turned out to be false, and all was thought to be well until he passed earlier this morning.

To quote Wikipedia for a quick biography of Bernie Mac:

Mac was born in Chicago, Illinois, and was raised by a single mother, Mary, who died of cancer when Mac was sixteen.[1] Mac attended Chicago Vocational Career Academy. Mac started his career during high school, when he would put on shows for neighborhood kids in Chicago's South Side until moving to Tampa. During his 20s he worked in a variety of jobs, including furniture mover, UPS agent, and a bread delivery sales rep.
Career

Mac started as a stand-up comedian in Chicago's Cotton Pickin' Club. He won the Miller Lite Comedy Search at the age of 32, at which point his popularity as a comedian began to grow. A performance on HBO's Def Comedy Jam thrust him into the spotlight. He opened for Dionne Warwick, Redd Foxx and Natalie Cole. He also had a short-lived talk show on HBO titled Midnight Mac. Later, Mac also began acting in minor roles, and received his big break as Pastor Clever in Ice Cube's 1995 film Friday. Following that role, Mac would also work in many other movies, and some television appearances, including Booty Call, How to Be a Player, Life and What's the Worst That Could Happen?. Mac was one of the few African American comedic actors to be able to break out of the traditional "black comedy" genre, having roles in the 2001 remake of Ocean's Eleven and becoming the new Bosley for the Charlie's Angels sequel Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. In 2003, he also turned in an impressive performance in a small but important role as Gin "The Store Dick" in Bad Santa. He also starred in Guess Who?, a comedic remake of the film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. He also made an appearance in the 2007 movie Transformers as the car salesman Bobby Bolivia.
In 2000, Mac returned to his stand-up comedy roots, touring the country as one of The Original Kings of Comedy, along with Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer and D.L. Hughley. The comedy act was filmed by Spike Lee and was included later in the movie The Original Kings of Comedy.
In 2001, Fox gave Mac his own sitcom called The Bernie Mac Show, somewhat based on his own life. In the show, he suddenly becomes custodian over his sister's three children after she enters rehab. It was a success, in part because it allows Mac to stay true to his stand-up comedy roots, breaking the fourth wall to communicate his thoughts to the audience. The show contained many parodies of events in Bernie's actual life. However, the show was not renewed after the 2006 season. Viewers were left without a conclusion for the series, and no ending to the storyline where Bernie and Wanda were trying to have a baby. His character on The Bernie Mac Show was ranked #47 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" [June 20, 2004 issue].
In 2004, Mac had his first starring role as a retired baseball player in the movie Mr. 3000. In the 2003 NLCS, Mac sang "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" at Wrigley Field with the Cubs leading the Florida Marlins in the series 3-2 and up in Game Six 3-0. Instead of saying "root, root, root for the Cubbies" Mac said, "root, root, root for the champions!" The Cubs would go on to lose the game and the series, with some fans claiming that Mac helped to jinx the Cubs. Mac later admitted that he has hated the Cubs his whole life, is a die-hard White Sox fan, and was seen during the 2005 World Series at US Cellular Field.
Mac was number 72 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of all time. On March 19, 2007 Mac told David Letterman on CBS Late Show that he would retire from his 30-year career after he finished shooting the comedy film The Whole Truth, Nothing but the Truth, So Help Me Mac. "I'm going to still do my producing, my films, but I want to enjoy my life a little bit," Mac told Letterman. "I missed a lot of things, you know".[2]

Mac married Rhonda McCullough in 1977. They had one daughter, Je'Niece (born 1978), who attended Xavier University of Louisiana, where she received both her bachelor's degree in Psychology and master's degree in Mental Health Counseling. She has been married for three years and has one daughter, Jasmine.

One good thing about him being an actor is that he will never be forgotten. Later this year and in the next, there will 3 films with him in solid roles (Old Dogs, Soul Men, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa), there was to be another TV series starring him, but it is assumed that will either be recast or scrapped entirely.

R.I.P Bernie Mac. You will be missed.

Upcoming Film: Role Models

Role Models is the story of two energy drink sales representatives (Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott), who after some bad judgement calls find themselves forced into a child mentorship program. Danny (Rudd) is assigned Auggie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), a dungeons and dragons / medieval obsessed kid, and Wheeler (William Scott) is assigned Ronnie (Bobb'e J. Thompson ), who seems to be a 8 year old version of Dave Chappelle, who no 'Role Model' has ever been able to tame. Hilarity ensues as they take care of these kids and presumably learn a little about themselves along the way.

Directed by David Wain (The Ten). Written By Timothy Dowling, Paul Rudd, Ken Marino, and David Wain. Also with Jane Lynch, Elizabeth Banks, Nicole Randall Johnson, Nate Hartley, Ken Jeong, and Joe Lo Truglio.

Role Models hits theaters November 14th.



Catch The Trailer Below

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS NOW IN THEATERS

THIS REVIEW IS A RE-POST. IT WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED IN THE MAY SECTION OF THIS BLOG.

Lets get to it. Pineapple Express. The most highly anticipated film of the summer for people who like Judd Apatow, Weed, Seth Rogen, Actions, and Comedy. Trust me, Pineapple Express fulfills all those desires. Reuniting for the first time since the short lived television series "Freaks and Geeks" (1999), Seth Rogen and James Franco pair up for the first time on the big screen, and Franco reminds the world that he can be funny as hell if people let him be.

(Spoilers May Occur, but not Major ones)
The film starts off in a World War II era where a unit of the military is deciding if Marijuana should be legal or not, and after an interview with Private Miller (Bill Hader) it is decided that the drug will be permanently illegal. Flash forward to the future, where Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) a process server with an 18 year old high school girlfriend (Amber Heard) drives over to his drug dealers house to get a new batch of weed. The drug dealer is none other than Saul Silver (James Franco), who sells Dale some rare weed, Pineapple Express, because he desperately wants to be friends with him. The weed is so rare in fact that Saul is the only one who has it.

Long story short, Dale witnesses a murder, drops his joint on the scene, and since the weed is so rare, the biggest drug dealer around (Gary Cole) sends his two hit-men (Craig Robinson & Peter Lewis) after him, believing he is working with the other drug lords known simply as 'The Asians.'

Hilarity and non-stop action ensues.

(Spoilers End Here)

The film is successful in every aspect it sets out on, though the relationship between (Gary Cole) and crooked cop (Rosie Perez) is very weak and remains questionable and undeveloped. Seth Rogen plays the same character as always, a delightful stoner, who pulls through in the end, but is is fun as ever to watch him and his improvisational talents. James Franco delivers an excellent performance, full of comedy and wit, and you feel each emotion he throws at you. Of the two leads, Saul Silver is the easiest to identify with.

Danny McBride, new Apatow regular since Drillbit Taylor, plays Red, another drug dealer, who is very much like Fogell from Superbad. He steals the show every scene he is in, but the character has way to much spirit for the way he is treated. However, this always creates a laugh, because he reminds me of the role of Mustafa from Austin Powers (The role that started Will Ferrell's career), in that whatever happens to him he is always alright.

Its nice to see Craig Robinson in a larger role than he has on NBC's "The Office" and that he had in "Knocked Up." The role he creates is hilarious and it can be seen that he created much more for his character than was written in the script.

Essentially this is the exact same script as 2007's "Superbad," also written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, but if you replace the alcohol with weed, Cops for Drug Lords, then you have the same movie down to the last shot in the action. But Pineapple Express has more layers of jokes, which will probably lead to a more re-watch-able DVD.

Joe Lo Truglio (The Creepy Guy at the Party in Superbad) has a delightful cameo as Angie's Teacher in the high school, while Ken Jeong (The Gynecologist in Knocked Up) plays the head assassin for the Asians, which was another nice surprise.

The budget is the highest of Apatow's, probably even higher than "Walk Hard" , and it shows. Each action scene gets better and builds on the last, and when it comes to directorial style, no one makes this film better than David Gordon Green, with very creative cuts and edits, often showing two scenes on screen at the same time.

Disney's BOLT

BOLT

Bolt is the next animated feature from Walt Disney Animation studios, and is set for release this November. After a Q&A with the Directors, and being shown 20 minutes of footage, I am ready to give a preliminary report of this film.

It is well known that this film has been going through crazy 'Development Hell'. It was conceived by Chris Sanders (The creator/director of "Lilo and Stitch", and was shuffled around when Pixar's John Lasseter took over the studio. Now Sanders is over at Dreamworks, and Bolt is being helmed by Byron Howard and Chris Williams.

The film tells the story of a movie star dog and his friends as they try to get across the country from New York to Hollywood, with the dog, Bolt, thinking he actually possesses the superpowers that he uses onscreen. Slowly he learns he does not have powers, and learns who he really is.

For the visual style of this movie, Disney has 10 patents pending on a software that allows them to have what seems like had painted brush strokes on all the sets and locations, making the whole movie seem more handcrafted and stylish. The style is a nice noticeable change, and is probably the same software used in Tarzan's tree surfing sequences, and will probably be expanded again for Glen Keane's Rapunel due to hit theaters in 2010.

Look forward to this, it may not be what many people expected, but will be a nice movie, and probably very enjoyable none-the-less. Also, the primary voices are done by Miley Cyrus and John Travolta, so it can be expected to be a major hit.

TERMINATOR: SALVATION

TERMINATOR SALVATION

Director McG as well as Moon Bloodgood, Sam Worthington, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Common took the stage to discuss "Terminator: Salvation", the next in the Terminator Franchise, starring Christian Bale as John Connor. It is interesting because this film is a reboot, a prequel, and a sequel. Set after Judgement Day, this film will show the world that the other three movies have only hinted at. Swarzenegger will not appear, since his model of the T-800 has not been built at this time, but McG hinted that when the time comes to show the T-800, the character will not be recast.

It is not clear if the film will have a new Terminator as the villain, or if the villain will be a human, but it was noted that this is the time of the crummy latex skin terminators, so we can expect a few of those, also many other machines that have been created to kill the humans before Skynet has fully established itself.

A three minute trailer was shown and it looks simply fantastic. Plenty of action, and a very good representation of the world that Terminators have expected to see. James Cameron was consulted along the whole process, and all the models were built by Stan Winston studios before Stan died, so it should be just what we are looking for.

Comic-Con 2008

I AM BACK FROM COMIC-CON. PREPARE TO BE INFORMED.