Review: A VERY HAROLD AND KUMAR 3D CHRISTMAS

Here is once again another example of a great franchise (yes, the Harold & Kumar franchise is great) ruined by the insistence that it needed one more sequel… even worse a Christmas Special. The previous installments drew their strengths for being desire-driven comedies. In the first movie Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) had the munchies and they desired White Castle sliders; in the second movie they wanted to get to Amsterdam; both times, their weed induced trips and NPH (Neil Patrick Harris) got in the way. This time what they need is a Christmas tree, they are surprisingly sober most of the movie, and NPH actually saves the day (sort of). Is it just me, or are the stakes not high enough this time (no pun intended)?

Watch the Premiere of THE HANGOVER: PART 2 (Live)!

Avatar 2 & 3 Release Dates Announced

That's right lovers of Pandora. You can currently expect to return to Pandora and the world of Avatar on Christmas 2014 and then again on Christmas 2015. Let's hope the journey is a little more original this time.

 

The Wachowskis Return to The Matrix..... again....

Remember this marvelous franchise? Wait, let me rephrase. Remember when a fantastic film came out in 1999, and then got way too caught up in itself with two later sequels? The Matrix Trilogy. And according to star Keanu Reeves, it will soon become The Matrix Quintilogy.

 

Review: HAMLET 2

This summer is beginning to look a lot like last year’s; this means that we are probably going to get one good movie, Toy Story 3, and everything else will be an incomprehensible blur of flashy explosions accompanied by a deafening soundtrack. Maybe Nolan’s Inception might save the summer, and Sorcerer’s Apprentice might not be that bad, but in a summer which had Prince of Persia as its middle point, chances seem slim. Thankfully, we have other means of watching films outside the box office. Although it is still the best way to watch them, iTunes rentals are still possible and we can post reviews like this one.

How to Train Your Dragon sequel set for 2013

Well, I hope you all enjoyed How to Train Your Dragon a lot, because a sequel has just officially been announced for 2013. Hopefully it will retain the quality of the first.

I suppose we shall get a good idea if that will be or not when Kung Fu Panda 2: The Kaboom of Doom is released next year.

Thoughts on the sequel? Remember, the film was based on a book, and there are more in the series, but it was heavily adapted for the big screen.

Snicket Sequel Still Possible?

It's been about 5 years now, but it still might be possible to see a sequel to A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Brad Silberling, who will be premiering Land of the Lost soon, has expressed interest in the sequel for some time now, and said recently that a sequel is still on the horizon.

Also, this may one of the only sequels Jim Carrey ever does, as he expressed interest in returning to the character of Count Olaf.

Good thing too, because no one can do it like he can.

EDITORIAL: Marvel's Movie Magic: Is Everyone On The Same Page?

Marvel comics is easily the most successful company that ever went from making comic books, to then producing movies about them. In the past few years alone we have seen amazing movies such as Spiderman 1&2, Iron Man, X-men 1&2, Blade 1&2, and The Punisher (among others).

But like any film 'series' they have also had their less popular films, Ghostrider, Hulk, X3, Spiderman 3, Daredevil, and Fantastic Four (among others).

But that seems to be a good track record. Now, here is my problem.

Marvel does not seem to treat film as different art from the art of comic books. This is their downfall, because the two forms of expression are very different. Here are the two comic book tenants, that I think should not apply to their film counterparts.

1. When an artist leaves... get a new artist! The character will change a bit, but everyone knows that it is the same guy.

When a characters artist changes in a comic book, people either like or dislike the new designs, but eventually they get over it and keep reading. The art may have changed, but the character is the same and it is good enough for the readers.

In a film though, if an actor leaves and is recast after making one popular film already as the character, people will have a lot more trouble accepting the new actor in the sequel.

In Iron Man, Terrance Howard played Jim Rhodes, Tony Starks best friend, with many hints that he will return as another hero in the sequel. Ironically, he won't. Well, Rhodes will, but Howard has been recast with Don Cheadle.

Edward Norton already said he will not be reprising his role as Bruce Banner in the upcoming avengers movie, making one wonder how they will recast a lead character with out everyone complaining about continuity.

Back in 2004, The Punisher was played by Thomas Jane, and now in the sequel, he is being played by Ray Stevenson. Once again, the lead actor quit and someone new came on.

Now, sure, if it was animated, nobody would care. Lots of people can do the same character voices, and pull of the character convincingly, but when it is a full actor who must bring his character to life, every actor will do it differently. I can guarantee that each of these new actors will not play the character in the same way as the first actor originated the role.

Bringing me to...

2. Don't make a film with a sequel in mind.

Why? Because unexpected stuff may happen! If any of these films were made to be standalone films, then there would not be an issue. If they just planned on making a Hulk movie, and then later the producer said "let's make a sequel", and the lead actor said 'I don't want to...' then they could just drop the film and move on to the next one... because face it... Marvel has tons of characters, and would probably love to make a film for each and every one.

But... if you really want to make a sequel... then you need to GUARANTEE that all the original actors (unless they are incapacitated) will be in it. How? By outlining how long you want the franchise to run and then getting all the actors to sign 'multiple film agreements' before starting the first film.

I like Marvel films, but I wish each one didn't have to be it's own trilogy. The first (and usually the second) ones are usually great, but by the third they just push the stuff way to far in a bad direction. I don't want Spiderman 4 after seeing Spiderman 3, as much as I loved the first two, and I don't want to see an avengers movie with half a cast from the prequel, and half 'all new replacements'.

What do you think?

Editorial: Unnecessary Movie Sequels

by Guest Contributor: Mark Donica

Well hello everyone, this is going to be a little more of a rant, but it deals with a subject that is near and dear to my heart. So I was walking through the Target the other day when to my surprise I saw that there in fact exists, a sequel to one of the greatest movies of my childhood, “The Sandlot”. You know, I didn’t mind all of the crappy Disney sequels that have been put out (including the upcoming prequel to the Little Mermaid), but when you start messing with live action movies I grew up with, you’ve gone too far.

It got me to take a look at the entire trend of doing straight to VHS/DVD sequels and sequels in general. Obviously, it’s to make more money, but it has to get to a point where the studios question the purpose of their lives. The Disney generation that lived through the “Renaissance” is a gifted group. The best that Disney had to offer came out while we were kids and we have the opportunity to show those classics to our children. Now the only passable sequels were the first. The first were, of course, “The Return of Jafar” and “Aladdin and the King of Thieves”. These being the first, we didn’t know what to expect. “Jafar” was good enough, it had most of the cast returning, but of course the most notable member did not return, Robin Williams. Luckily he did for the final installment of the Aladdin series. Disney’s constant returning to the dried out well of story is thankfully coming to an end thanks to John Lasseter, so we can forget about movies like “Atlantis: Milo’s Return” and “Cinderella III: A Twist in Time”. Bad sequels to good movies are one thing, but terrible sequels to bad movies have no excuse, but Disney has turned into a money grubbing company that doesn’t care about a child’s happiness.

My point is this, what is creative about doing a sequel to a fully fleshed out stand alone film if you can’t get the same (voice) actors or even crew for that matter. The Disney sequels are a good example, but a more recent example would be “Mummy 3: The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”. It lacks several aspects of the first two films, most notably, Rachel Weisz, Arnold Vosloo and, I think, most importantly Steven Sommers so that already marks it down to maybe a 70%. Starting the movie at that percentage doesn’t leave it with that good of a chance to be very good. Even with Brendan Fraser attached to the film, the fact that their son has aged dramatically since the last film makes the film look confusing, especially since the new actor for the son is only a few years younger than Fraser. The movie couldn't overtake The Dark Knight, so it didn't have too much of an impact on the moviegoers who seem to be more interested in seeing The Joker blow up Gotham.

Sequels in general aren’t usually a good idea with original story ideas or even with some preconceived ideas. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not opposed to sequels, they can make good series’ even better, ala this summers Dark Knight to Batman Begins. As a matter of fact, tomorrow I will be giving Batman geek review of the Dark Knight. Now I’m sure you’ve read plenty of reviews of the film, but I’m just going to show what I enjoyed and certain things to watch for in the next movie, whenever it may come out. In terms of sequels, do we really need a Madagascar 2, or a Shrek 5, or a Star Wars 2.5? It is in this moviegoers opinion that no we do not. Let some stories alone so we don't have to get our hopes up with another "Spiderman 3" or "Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull". Let the nostalgia, no matter how recent, live on in the minds of the moviegoer. Most people would gladly double dip on a DVD that has more special features then see their favorites get butchered. Seriously, don' even get me started on X-Men 3.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy what's to come.