Ang Lee’s new film Life of Pi is an adaptation of the best selling novel of the same name by Yann Martel. A fantasy adventure story, it centers around the plight of a young boy who finds himself alone at sea with a Bengal tiger, hyena, zebra and orangutan after he survives a shipwreck in the Pacific Ocean.
The trailer looks simply beautiful and stunning! The location and sets seen in the trailer look so serene and magical; even the animals, especially the tiger, look so majestically pretty. I have always been wanting to read the book but never got down to doing it, I better stop procrastinating and pick up that book before its November 21st release!
Manga fans rejoice! One of japanese manga and anime’s most beloved stories Rurouni Kenshin, is being adapted into a Live-Action film. Also fondly known as Samurai X (because of the scar on his face) and Battosai the slasher in the english versions of the anime and OVAs (original video animations), Rurouni Kenshin follows the story of a former assassin during the Meiji period of ancient Japan. He later becomes a wanderer cum protector of the people, who now lives by the rule of not killing. Kenshin tries to carry this out by wielding a reverse edge sword where the cutting edge is on the inwardly curved side of the blade, making it almost incapable of killing. Japanese actor Takeru Satoh will be donning the lead role of Himura Kenshin in the film.
I still have fond memories of my childhood where I would stay glued to the TV screen, mouth gaped open in awe at the amazing sword fighting scenes and combat action happening inside the anime. At the same time, I would also be laughing my ass off at the funny effects and expressions that are a familiar presence in Japanese cartoons. Besides the funny side of the anime and the intense and detailed sword fighting and combat scenes, the story of Kenshin also features a backstory of his dark past that is oh so bittersweet. Though I love the manga and anime very much, I have no idea what to expect from the movie and have doubts about whether it can deliver the same way the comics and cartoons did. I guess only time will tell. Rurouni Kenshin is slated for an August 25th release in Japan.
The Anime
Below are 2 clips from the anime. The first shows an intense fight scene between Kenshin and Saito, while the second shows the funny and lighthearted side of the anime, hope you enjoy it:]
VIOLENCE ~ LUST ~ INTENSE SCENES of BLOOD and GORE…
If these factors thrill you and are what you seek out in a movie, then The Man With The Iron Fists is definitely one film that will set your movie radar on red hot alert! Featuring RZA in his big screen directorial debut, produced by his film mentor Quentin Tarantino and co written by Eli Roth, The Man With The Iron Fists looks like one big martial arts fiesta infused with the raunchiness and evils of sex that exists within this crafty and violent quest for power and survival. Set in ancient China, the story revolves around a blacksmith who must come to the defense of his fellow villagers and ends up entangled in a web of assassins and warriors during his quest.
The film boasts a stellar international cast which is fronted by Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu and also stars Vietnamese kick boxer Cung Le. To be honest, I am a huge fan of Lucy Liu and she’s one of the main reasons that I’m gonna see this show:) I always found her jolly and tickle-ly personality rather charming, and I really loved her movie Lucky Number Slevin , which I thought was very underrated and deserved more credit than it got. If you have not seen it I would really recommend you to check it out! [A thrilling story that weaves in and out of a world of crime, murder and revenge with twists and turns that will make you catch your breath – sprinkled with a dash of humour that adds a nice blend of lightweighted-ness to it – Lucky Number Slevin is one rollercoaster ride you won’t regret! Also stars Josh Hartnett and Bruce Willis.]
The Trailer
The caption seen at the end of the trailer “They put the F-U in KUNGFU” certainly does fit the film perfectly. The phrase manages to sum up the gist and essentiality of the film for me, which I feel pays a pleasant tribute to the kung fu classics. It would no doubt appeal to Kill Bill fans as I am definitely reminded of elements of the movie’s violence and fight characteristics while viewing the trailer. After taking in all the action and stunning gore infested visuals, I just got to say that my heart is racing and my adrenaline is pumping on overkill. Now all I can hear is my mind screaming for The Man With The Iron Fists to hit the big screens fast and furious!
Directed by Zack Snyder (Watchmen, 300), produced by Christopher Nolan (Inception, Dark Knight Trilogy) and screenplay by David S. Goyer (Batman Begins, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance), the new reboot of the Superman movie franchise certainly looks promising.
The new film entitled Man of Steel stars Henry Cavill (Immortals) in the titular role of SUPERMAN. This reboot will signal one of the world’s most beloved and iconic super heroes’ return to the big screen since 2006, when Superman Returns failed to live up to its great expectations.
The first clip for The Bourne Legacy has been released! It shows its star Jeremy Renner performing a rooftop rescue to save Rachel Weisz. Though just 1.21 minutes long, it already has my adrenaline pumping and excited!
I just love Rachel Weisz, she’s forever charming in my eyes ever since I first saw her play the lovable Evelyn in The Mummy Series. And now, after seeing him produce some fine performances in The Hurt Locker, Mission : Impossible – Ghost Protocol and The Avengers, I’m just falling in love with Jeremy Renner.
If it doesn’t load, click the watch on youtube button:]
Tonight I’ll be watching the FINAL installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy – The Dark Knight Rises. As I bid farewell to this incredible series of work, the only one that has succeeded in making me actually grow a liking for Batman, I present to you the growth of Batman over the ages.
Here are a picture and video of the evolution of the batman logo spanning from 1941 to 2007, stuff that I find by randomly prowling through the worldwideweb ;] Enjoy!
My faves are the Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan designs:) I find the first one hilarious!
What made me first take notice of this game was the number of A-listers who were onboard as voice talents for the game’s characters. Seeing names like Tom Wilkinson (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), Lucy Liu (Ally McBeal, Kill Bill), Emma Stone (Easy A, The Amazing Spider-Man) and Edison Chen (Infernal Affairs, Initial D) made my eyes light up and I just had to see what was so attractive about this game that drew these amazing people to come onboard.
Looking at the trailers, the graphics and animation look decent but what draws me is the concept and gameplay adopted for Sleeping Dogs. I love how it is an open world concept surrounding the world of crime and triads in Hong Kong. Being a seasoned Hong Kong drama fan, I can honestly say that the stories and action surrounding the triads in Hong Kong can be very interesting and blood racing with tons of twists and turns at every corner, to the extent that it can cover storylines about undercover cops and moles who are double even triple crossing that sometimes you cannot tell which side one is on. See Infernal Affairs and Turning Point. So yeah, that’s why I am pretty excited about Sleeping Dogs as it is set in Hong Kong and focuses on an undercover cop sent to infiltrate the triads.
What makes a good story driven game is when the characters are complex and compelling enough to earn your interest and attention, and that makes you really become immerse in the game as the character. Hence, seeing that there are many distinct characters voiced by the many famous voice talents gives me an inkling that the developers of the game have given alot of effort in forging each character and creating a decent storyline.
According to wikipedia, previewers have compared and praised Sleeping Dog for its free running aspect, melee combat system, slow motion shooting and mission structure to games that have been tried and test and labelled as proven formulae (assassin’s creed, Batman: Arkham city, Max Payne and grand theft auto series). Max Payne and GTA are two of my favourite games so I’m pretty psyched up to see what Sleeping Dogs can deliver when it is released this year on August the 14th!
Warner Bros. Pictures has released a new poster banner of their upcoming filmGangster Squad. The poster features 4 of their leading cast looking both slick, suave and sexylicious! Take a look at the gorgeous foursome of Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Sean Penn.
Today marks the official opening of Christopher Nolan’s final installment of his batman trilogy in Singapore cinemas. The Dark Knight Rises has received mostly positive reviews from critics so far and looks set to dominate the box office this weekend. Below is a video to remind us all how THIS all begun…
Here we see the training that turned Bruce Wayne into Batman!
At the recent 4 day Comic-Con which ended on Sunday, Disney released the first trailer for Oz The Great And Powerful. Directed by the guy who brought us 3 Spider-Man movies, Sam Raimi’s adaptation of the classic story (The Wizard of Oz) looks very aesthetically inviting what with all the colours and animation effects used to create the fantasy world of Oz as seen through the trailer. Boasting a stellar cast which includes the likes of James Franco (Young Wizard of Oz), Michelle Williams (Glinda, The Good Witch), Rachel Weisz (Evanora, The Wicked Witch of the East), Mila Kunis (Theodora, The Wicked Witch of the West) and also Zach Braff (Frank / Finley[voice]), this looks set to be one giant magical ride!
I love the fun touch that Raimi added through the transition of black and white to colour between the beginning and the rest of the film. I think this little touch adds layers to the film as it looks like it is paying homage to the classical aspect of the story and its history while also highlighting the majesty and awe of the fantasy world when the colour segment seeps into the film. The 3 lovely actresses look stunning as the 3 witches and I just can’t wait to see what brilliance each of them can bring to their interesting characters.
Disney has also released a few still images of the film, all of which are taken from the trailer. Even so, the stills capture more vividly the details of the amazing aesthetics of the world of Oz, and presents the audience a clearer image of the prettiness that is to come from the film.
[Pic source: To see the rest of the images and to view the synopsis go here –> collider.com]
Scheduled to be released on 8th March 2013, I sure hope this film does not disappoint! As quoted by Franco’s character in the film, the young Oz says “I don’t wanna be a good man, I wanna be a GREAT one!”. And if that is anything to go by, this film better not just be a good one, it sure as hell better be a GREAT one!!!