MOVIE NEWS:TERMINATOR GETS A REBOOT

With highly anticipated movies set for release in summer 2015 such as Star Wars sequel, The Avengers 2, Pirates of the Caribbean 5, The Smurfs 3 and Independence Day 2 among others, its obvious that the summer of 2015 is set to be one of the biggest blockbuster seasons ever.

Making the 2015 summer more enticing for movie buffs is the reboot of one of the greatest sci-fi movies ever made. Terminator fans, your favorite cyborg killer will be back!

Paramount has announced it will not only reboot the popular sci-fi franchise with a new movie which was formerly scheduled to hit theatres on June 26, 2015, but the studio also revealed it's making a whole new stand-alone trilogy!

After several years of legal wrangling to iron out the rights, Paramount confirmed its joining forces with Megan Ellison's Annapurna Pictures and brother David Ellison's Skydance Productions to make the pictures. The siblings, of course, are the sons of billionaire Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, who've been making a big mark in Hollywood helping to finance a slew of blockbusters and critically acclaimed films.
Annapurna  won the rights to James Cameron's epic apocalyptic series pitting humans against nasty robot killing machines at an auction two years ago and initially attached Fast and Furious 6 helmer Justin Lin to direct, with Arnold Schwarzenegger reprising his role as the T-800. Thor: The Dark World's Alan Taylor is set to helm the film.

However, the 65-year-old actor shortly thereafter put his participation on hold after revelations surfaced that he had fathered a child out of wedlock.

According to reports, the studio has opted to change the release date for the upcoming Terminator reboot from June 26, 2015 to Wednesday July 1, 2015. While it's only a five day shift, it's an interesting one, as the title is going from a weekend without competition to one that already has two other big movies scheduled for release. In doing so they will be going head-to-head with both Roland Emmerich's Independence Day 2 and an untitled project from the folks at Illumination Entertainment, the animation studio that has produced hits like the Despicable Me movies and The Lorax. It's worth noting that Terminator currently has a two day jump on both of those films, as the other titles are dated for July 3, 2015, but it's hard to say if that will make a difference from this far out. 

Paramount's attempt to take over the Independence Day weekend may also come from the studio's success in that time frame in recent years. In the last decade they have had three major hits land on the holiday, with Transformers, Transformers: Dark of The Moon and War of The Worlds all managing to make a bundle of cash in their respective release years. 

Latino Review says that Terminator 5 is tentatively titled Terminator 2012 and“involves time travel to the present day.” The implication is that the film will feature an older version of Sarah Connor who is still alive in the year 2012 – a move that would literally invalidate the events of both Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Terminator: Salvation, as well as the even more convoluted timeline for The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Linda Hamilton would be the most likely “original cast” member to return for the fifth Terminator flick as Sarah Connor – and Edward Furlong could also be in line to appear as an older John Connor, even though he isn’t technically an “original”Terminator star.
The studio could not confirm whether Schwarzenegger will star in Terminator 5, but it's more than likely he'll appear considering he's professed interest in reprising the role that made him a star.

Also unclear is whether the film will be a reboot of the 1984 original, or whether the trilogy will continue the storyline of the mediocre fourth installment, Terminator: Salvation, which left off with Skynet having launched its war against humanity.The script is being written by Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island) and Patrick Lussier (Drive Angry).

The four Terminator movies have grossed over more than $1 billion cumulatively at the worldwide box office since Arnold first uttered those immortal words, "I'll be back."

MOVIE NEWS: "THE GUBERNATOR MEETS AVATAR"

Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Cameron go way back, from when Cameron reportedly tried to find a reason not to cast Schwarzenegger in The Terminator until he was so charmed by him that he gave him the role that would change both of their careers. The two haven't worked together since 1994's True Lies, mainly because Schwarzenegger was busy running a state and Cameron was making gigantic movies that took about a decade apiece, but is there finally time for the two of them to reunite… and on a planet far, far away?

According to Latino Review, Cameron is planning to take his old buddy Schwarzenegger with him on his next journey to Pandora, casting him as one of the bad guy humans who return to the alien planet in their never-ending quest for that sweet, sweet unobtanium.

Given that Stephen Lang was essentially playing a Schwarzenegger type in the first Avatar it's not hard to imagine Arnold stepping into the role, especially now that he has no connections to politics that might keep him out of it.

Avatar 2, and soon to be Avatar 3 & 4, is finally, actually moving forward after years of promises, with the first sequel set for release in December 2016. Cameron's been setting up shop in New Zealand for the production, and back in July screenwriter Josh Freidman was brought on board to work with Rise of the Planet of the Apes writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver as well as Shane Salerno, who both wrote Armageddon and directed the recent documentary Salinger. Cameron, who is a complete genius when it comes to directing, is not writing the script this time. 

The biggest question about this giant bunch of Avatar sequels we're getting isn't Schwarzenegger's role or really anything to do with the humans onscreen; it's whether the motion capture and 3D effects from the first Avatar can be as dazzling seven years and many technological advances later. Since Avatar came out in 2009 we've had Martin Scorsese and Sam Raimi make stupendous 3D movies, and all-CGI characters like The Hulk and Caesar the ape who felt even more believable than Avatar's Na'vi. If there's anyone likely to raise the bar on technology it's Cameron, with his unlimited money  and passion for the next big thing. But the competition is a lot fiercer than it used to be… and Schwarzenegger alone won't be enough to get Cameron past them.

MOVIE NEWS:TOKYO DRIFT STAR FINALLY RESURFACES IN FAST AND FURIOUS 7

When it came time to make The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift in 2006, Universal Pictures couldn't get Vin Diesel or Paul Walker to sign on, so they instead turned to Lucas Black. That ended up being the only movie in the franchise for the Alabama-born actor, as Diesel, Walker, and other original cast members ended up returning to the series in 2009's Fast & Furious. But it's been announced that Black is ready to make his triumphant return - and in a big way.


There are reports that the Tokyo Drift star, who played a character named Sean Boswell, is going to make his comeback in James Wan's Fast & Furious 7, but that's not all. According to the site's sources, the actor will become a "regular in the series" and that he has signed on for at least the next three movies, meaning that we will also get to see him in Fast & Furious 8 and 9. At this stage its not been disclosed how Black will be introduced into the plot and united with the rest of the franchise's cast.

In Tokyo Drift, which is actually set after the events of the three most recent films, Sean Boswell was portrayed as a 17-year-old loner and street racer who is forced to move from the United States to Japan to live with his father when he gets too many strikes on his record. After the move he becomes a good friend of Han (the character played by Sung Kang who says he used to be a member of Dominic Toretto's gang) and is introduced to the world of drift racing. At the end of the movie Vin Diesel had a cameo as Dominc, reintroducing his character to the franchise, but outside of him Boswell has no other connections within the movie universe.

As revealed with the film's first set photo - which was just published on Diesel's Facebook page - production on Fast & Furious 7 is already underway, with Diesel, Walker, Johnson, Tyrese Gibson, Jason Statham, Djimon Honsou, Tony Jaa and Ronda Rousey all signed on. The seventh film is set in Los Angeles. 

Universal Pictures has announced that the movie will be in theaters on July 11, 2014, which is just a little more than a year after Fast & Furious 6. 

MOVIE NEWS: AFFLECK REACTS TO BATMAN HATE REMARKS

When it was announced that Argo star Ben Affleck would play Batman in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel Batman vs. Superman, the internet became a place of panic, overreaction and outrage. But what was this crazy time like for Affleck? After some strategic radio silence, he’s risen from the Batfleck cave to make an appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to share the early highs and lows of being Batman, as you can see in the video below. 

Affleck- “It’s so awesome, man. I’m so excited,” Affleck told Fallon as the pair tackled the topic of his newly acquired role. “Zack Snyder’s directing it and he has this incredible take on it. Obviously you can’t do what Chris (Nolan) and Christian (Bale) did, those movies are amazing. So he wants to do something different but still in keeping with that. So I thought, ‘This is a brilliant way to do this, and I really know how to hook into this.’ And I said, ‘Okay I want to do it.’ And people from the studio said, ‘We’re thrilled, we’re so excited, da da da da.’ Then they said, ‘Listen. We want to talk to you because people go through this process and it’s a little bit you know, it can be trying.’” 

From there the studio shared with Affleck some of the past reactions of superhero casting to prepare him for the inevitable onslaught that becoming Batman would bring his way. Still, Affleck thought he could handle it. “I’m a big boy. I could handle the Emmy snub, I can handle anything,” he joked. Still, the studio warned, stay off the internet for a couple of days. 

Undeterred Affleck exclaims, “I handle shit!”, and promptly looked at the comments section of one website’s announcement. “The first comments just goes, ‘Noooooooooooooooooo!’” he tells Fallon, adding he stopped looking any deeper into the rabbit hole of comments. 

Considering some of the reactions regarding the casting call, turning away from the web at that point was definitely a wise move. But Affleck seems to be in a good place with all this mania. He comments on how you can’t really determine a person’s performance in a movie before its even been shot, and that some of the actors who fans initially revolted against ultimately turned in brilliant performances. (Consider Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight or even Michael Keaton in Batman!) So, despite this very rocky start, Affleck doesn’t seem to shaken, and while he can’t tell us why he thinks he’s so right for this part, he’s clearly confident he can pull it off. The rest of us will just have to wait and see.

MOVIE NEWS: "EDDIE'S BLAST FROM THE PAST...BEVERLY HILLS COP IS BACK!"

The long-awaited "Beverly Hills Cop" follow-up, "Beverly Hills Cop 4" is finally in the works. After original "Beverly Hills Cop" star Eddie Murphy signed on for the reprise in July, original producer Jerry Bruckheimer is in talks to return as well

Having already lured Eddie Murphy back to the part of Axel Foley,Beverly Hills Cop 4 could be about to bring another old name back on board in the form of Jerry Bruckheimer.

Bruckheimer helped create the original film alongside the late Don Simpson, and there have been reports that he has entered discussions with Paramount over potentially producing the sequel.

It had initially been thought that the Beverly Hills Cop franchise would be revived as a TV series, but the initial pilot was apparently enough to convince the studio that there is mileage in another film.

Meanwhile, Bruckheimer still has a number of other irons in the fire in terms of sequels, with claims that he still hopes to make Top Gun 2 and Bad Boys 3. Beverly Hills Cop 4 might just have been added to that list…

MOVIE NEWS: "JURASSIC PARK IV GETS NEW TITLE AND RELEASE DATE!"

The much-delayed fourth instalment in the staggeringly successful Jurassic Park series finally has a title and a release date: "Jurassic World" which indicates a fresh new start from the original dino trilogy will hit cinemas on June 2015, studio Universal has revealed. 

The movie is being directed by Colin Trevorro and he joins Rise of the Planet of the Apes' Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver to work on the Jurassic World script.

The new title tallies with rumours that the fourth instalment would see John Hammond's dream of a fully functional Jurassic Park finally reaching fruition, with tens of thousands of visitors arriving each year on the island of Isla Nublar. Trevorrow, however, recently shot down suggestions that the film would feature tame dinosaurs performing for humans.

Jurassic Park IV has been significantly delayed, with the franchise languishing in development hell for more than a decade. One famously barmy abandoned script was due to eschew the format of the first three films in favour of a story centring on hyper-smart dino-human hybrids with guns who are created to rid a dinosaur-infested north America of the giant reptile menace. Concept art for the canned film, which would have been written by The Departed's William Monahan and Lone Star's John Sayles, emerged in October last year.

Safety Not Guaranteed director Trevorrow takes the reins from Captain America's Joe Johnston, who directed the last instalment, Jurassic Park III, in 2001. Steven Spielberg, who directed 1993's Jurassic Park and 1997's The Lost World: Jurassic Park, will once again be an executive producer.

The film series based on Michael Crichton's novels about prehistoric beasts brought back to life through gene technology is one of Hollywood's longest-running sagas, with more than $1.9bn at the global box office thus far.

It's safe to say the difference between Jurassic Park and Jurassic World will be much like the difference between Disneyland and Disneyworld: One is bigger and more expensive, but either way your kids leave crying.

Culled from the website the guardian.com September 11, 2013

MOVIE REVIEW: "BECOME A BADDIE FOR 12 HOURS WITH THE PURGE!"

Imagine! Imagine you are given 12 hours free pass to commit any crime, especially Kill! The thought may seem delightful for most of us who have horrible bosses because I am sure they will be the first persons we would hunt down if given the opportunity. But actually, the concept has repercussions on anyone as you may not know who has some beef with you.
That's what they tried to preach in the movie that had Ethan Hawke play the major role as James Sandin, a home security salesman whose family is held hostage for harboring the target of a murderous syndicate during the Purge, a 12-hour period in which any and all crime is legalized.

The film is set in the year 2022 when the United States has become "a nation reborn", with crime and unemployment rates hitting an all-time low, due to the government having instituted an annual 12-hour period called "the Purge" during which all criminal activity (including murder, theft and rape) becomes legal. The only rules during the Purge are that government officials of "ranking 10 or higher" must remain unharmed and usage of weaponry above "Class 4" (such as WMDs) is forbidden. The Purge is designed to act as a catharsis for the American people, so that they may vent all negative emotions and repressed urges however and on whoever they desire. The idea of "The Purge" is very similar to the Krypteia tradition every autumn of ancient Sparta.

James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) is a wealthy home security salesman who lives in a nice neighborhood in the streets of San Francisco, California. James has made a fortune selling home security systems that are specifically designed for the Purge. His family is the envy of all as neighbors gossip that the extension on the Sandin family's house was financed by the security systems which her husband had sold to the whole neighbourhood in the first place.

On the day of the annual free crime event, an Emergency Broadcast System message appears on television, telling America the rules of the Purge and that all police, fire, and hospital aid will be shut down for the 12 hour period. Tornado sirens start blaring outside, commencing the start of the annual "Purge", which is a period when all crime is legal and emergency services remain suspended.

At their heavily-fortified house, the Sandin family watch the events of the Purge unfold via the video monitors in the lounge. After a while, Charlie, James Sandin's son, is left alone and notices a bloody stranger outside the house pleading for help. Charlie deactivates the security system and lets him in. 

Later, a group of masked vigilantes led by a sadistic young man who wears a suit and is known as "Polite Leader" arrive at their home, having found where the bloody stranger is hiding. The leader emphasizes that James' family and the "Purgers" have common interests in the Purge, and that they have no desire to hurt "their own people". The leader reveals that the stranger's homelessness made him in a good candidate for purging, and that James should not impede their right to purge. The leader suggests the family give them the stranger or else they'll kill everyone inside.

The movie was brilliant in concept but failed to have it properly actualized. When something like a purge is universally accepted as an event, highly revered and sought after, the movie should try at least to broaden the scenes of the movie beyond a home or a neighborhood. The movie becomes tiring to watch as one would easily predict what would happen next, and guess what, the predictions comes out right. But one thing is true, the movie has potential and would have been one of the best movies of the year if the film makers had put in enough time to create scenes that best depicts their imagination when the concept was created.

The Purge received mixed to negative reviews from critics. As of August 27, 2013 Rotten Tomatoes recorded an aggregate rating of 38% based on 126 reviews, with the site's consensus stating "Half social allegory, half home-invasion thriller, The Purge attempts to use thriller formula to make an intelligent point—but ultimately only ends up sinking in numbing violence and tired cliches". The film held a score of 41/100 on Metacritic based on 33 critics, signifying mixed or average reviews. The film received a "C" onCinemaScore.

On its opening weekend, The Purge topped the box office with $16.8 million on opening day and $34.1 million through the entire weekend. The film has collected $84,552,035 at the worldwide box office, with a production budget of $3 million.

Due to the success of the first film, a sequel is in development by Universal and Blumhouse.