Today's News: still behind schedule

It's gonna take me a while longer to get back on track in regard to commenting on the bits of news I posted. As usual, time is against me:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157503/nieuwe_character_posters_hobbit_3

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157522/meer_characters_posters_hobbit_3

Wow, those are some bland posters. Just the faces of some of the protagonists, that's all we have to work with. Rather disappointing, as this is the last Hobbit movie, if not the final Middle-Earth movie (ever?), so you would think they'd go out with as much of a bang as the movie itself (though I may be assuming a little too much here, I doubt this trilogy will end on a boring note). We already know what the characters look like, so we would have liked to have seen a bit more of the environment they inhabit. A grand and elaborate banner (think the Bayeux Tapestry, but its Tolkien equivalent) was released last month that did a far better job of promoting the movie, capturing our imagination and firing our desire to see this film than this dull posters would ever do. The advertising art for both predecessors too looked much more appealing by comparison. Guess the promotional execs think it's all a matter of the little things. Assumptions from the characters' facial expressions are all we are left with, which is a pointless guessing game for those who have read the book. Why does Gandalf look so disheveled? What's up with Galadriel's determined gaze? And is Bilbo finally going to go berserk with that little sword of his? We'll have to watch the movie to find out. But then, we were planning to do so anyway, and these posters at the very least won't discourage us from doing so.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157443/eerste_teaser_pixars_inside_out

Finally, a new Pixar movie that's not a sequel! I'm not entirely sold on the concept though. It's intriguing, but hardly novel. However, Pixar usually tends to make such outlandish premises work just fine, and I'm hoping post-Brave Pixar won't do any different. You won't get any clear indication of the story just from watching this teaser, which only hints at the overall story (not that much info on that has been released so far, anyway). Not to mention it does a solid but sentimental job referencing all the Pixar greats - and some less great, too - we remember oh so fondly. This teaser is playing mostly on the past emotions of pleasure we experienced watching all the company's classics, as well as stimulating a strong emotion not characterized in the film: curiosity. But there's also plenty of room left for doubt, make no mistake. Which begs the issue, how come there's only five emotions in the girl's head? What happened to the rest of them? A philosophical debate about the nature of emotions and the way they rule our mind seems to be in short order. Though it's likely Pixar still has some surprises left on Inside Out's plot and the questions this teaser throws in our path about the logic of it all.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157465/logo_daredevil_serie_onthuld

Well, at least they got the logo right. That's straight off the comic books' covers, that is. Though the usual subtitle 'The Man Without Fear' is absent, but this works equally well. A return to the comics' greatness (on-again/off-again, honestly) is sure in order after the Ben Affleck version, which showed little of that. Currently, New York Comic-Con is in full swing and so far the Daredevil panel was by far the most fascinating occurrence. The concept art looked pretty neat, the first released pictures gave some pretty sweet glimpses, except maybe for the titular character's costume. Though I have a sense it's not the final piece, but more like Daredevil's initial stab at a costume (á la Spider-Man's ludicrous wrestling attire in Sam Raimi's first movie). It would be a bit of a downer if this series' superhero ran around with a black handkerchief for a mask for the whole show. I guess Marvel has to find ways to cut the budget somewhere...

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157499/toch_een_iron_man_4

And one reason the studio has to do just that involves the exorbitant pay cheques demanded by its star performers these days. Robert Downey Jr. is by far the most expensive of the lot of them, as his salary for Iron Man 3 amounted to no less than 50 million (!) dollars, reportedly. So small wonder Marvel is looking for way to dodge such excessive costs on future projects. One way to get rid of Downey Jr. would be to quit making Iron Man films. The man is still contractually obliged to assume the character's mantle for two more Avengers flicks, but they could end it there by using those films to find a narrative way to replace him with another character to fill his iron shoes. It's not like that sort of thing isn't constantly happening in the source material. Remember Thor is currently a female in the comics? Which would only entice audiences more strongly to find out what the heck is going on. Of course, that would mean spectators will have to get used to an Iron Man without Tony Stark (no way they are gonna recast that character, considering how beloved Downey Jr.'s take on him is). I have no qualms with that. The Marvel Universe is so much larger than just one popular guy, and the movies have still barely scratched the surface. I'm all for a new Iron Character if it saves Marvel from bankruptcy so they can keep on making highly enjoyable superhero movies. I doubt we're going to see an Iron Man 4 with Robert Downey Jr. in the starring role again (and he himself apparently doubts it very much as well, considering his conflicted reponses to the 50 million dollar question), and if that be the case, I don't mind. There's various ways to deal with that in compelling storytelling (in fact, the matter has already been explored in both Iron Man 2 and 3), and I have confidence that the House of Ideas will pull it off once more. Iron Woman sounds like a wonderful notion, so bring it on!

Today's News: am I gaining on myself or getting further behind?

With new movie news being posted on nigh a daily basis, I'm gonna be hard-pressed keeping the topics current. Today's news items too admittedly aren't all too fresh, being nearly a week old by now.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157417/nieuwe_trailer_horrible_bosses_2

I gotta admit I still had a few laughs watching this trailer, even though I'm against the whole notion of doing sequels to Hollywood comedies, since they're nothing but blatant cashcows and creativity is usually not their forté. The idea of three nitwits formerly screwed over by their employers starting a business of their own is at least a narratively logical construction, though otherwise all the predictable story ingredients from the sequel are in place: the inaptitude of the protagonists, the rich bastard conning them for his own gain, the crime that is to be their revenge but backfires on them, etc. Many of the supporting characters return, even though not all of them seem genuinely warranted to do so - read: gratuitous appearances galore - to provide a familiar face for people who are off-set by all those newcomers (not that there's that many of those though). Surprises are not likely to be found here, looking at the story. A decent joke or two, most likely. Will this be as good as the predecessor? Let's consider the sequels to similar recent succesful comedies. Can you name one that was anywhere near as good as its forebear? I certainly can't. So I doubt this will prove any different.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157415/dominic_cooper_toegevoegd_aan_marvels_agent_carter

Not exactly a surprising bit of casting, but a welcome one nonetheless. Gotta love the consistency between the TV branch of Marvel Studios' enterprise and its theatrical counterpart. It also provides a good example that television and cinema are getting increasingly intertwined as actors known mostly for their movie roles have no qualms appearing in series, a situation which was once stated to be a signal of their career's demise. These days, the opposite seems through: actors that stick to one medium are old news, it's the ability to switch between media which keeps them hot and interesting. Though the show's star, Hayley Atwell, certainly is no stranger to the small screen (Pillars of the Earth, for example), Dominic Cooper's television career by comparison is still in its infancy. It recently kicked off with his portrayal of 007 creator Ian Fleming in Fleming, so it's off to a good start. And for Agent Carter, Cooper's recent brush with espionage is all the more convenient, as that's exactly what the series deals with (though with the necessary Marvel twists). In temporal regards the latter could almost be considered a follow-up to the former, as Agent Carter takes place shortly after the period in which Fleming is set. No wonder the studio was so eager to get Cooper back to reprising Howard Stark, he seems a perfect fit and for his own benefit, he could use a bit more of the television treatment.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157442/joaquin_phoenix_niet_in_doctor_strange

As a nice segue to the former topic, even the mighty Marvel can't get every actor they would like. Joaquin Phoenix proved too headstrong and too gung-ho for contractual independence for the House of Ideas. Probably for the better, as Phoenix has shown little interest in doing big studio productions over the last decade. Small independent features are his preferred territory, and it seems to work well for him, so why would he succumb to the restrictive studio system? It would likely only have hurt his performance. Though it could still have been a great one. Doctor Strange was probably the character best suited to Phoenix, considering he's in an offbeat niche all his own in the Marvel universe, namely the mystical one. The physical resemblances would only have been a bonus. Strange however has had little issues joining others in bigger ventures, as he's been a member of almost every big super team from Marvel's comics over the years, from the Defenders to the Avengers. Such joint enterprises really aren't Phoenix's cup of tea, and I'm not surprised and only slightly disappointed he didn't bite. I'm still hoping for Viggo Mortensen to take the part, though he's very much of the same mind and is at least as unlikely to accept, if not more so.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157414/zombieland_2_niet_langer_dood

Another Hollywood comedy sequel I'm not eagerly anticipating, though I admit this one offers more diverse story telling possibilities than most. I got the general idea with the first Zombieland though, which I found only moderately funny. I guess I prefer my zombies without comedy (like the far superior The Walking Dead, duh!). The studio seems adamant to make a franchise out of this one though, even though they already failed on telly in that regard, as the series didn't get beyond the pilot stage (I didn't bother to see it). Undoubtedly the studio sees something in this that I don't: money. I think most people however just watched the first film, had a few laughs and simply moved on, largely putting the title out of their mind (which would be hard to do with The Walking Dead, a far more gripping viewing experience). Zombieland simply doesn't seem compeling enough to prove a lasting franchise, but the studio insists on trying regardless. They're welcome to try, but if it doesn't work out again, don't say I didn't warn them.

Today's News: falling behind

I can still find time to post news on MovieScene, but not enough additionally to comment on it here. Which doesn't stop me from trying, but it makes some of these news items older than usual, a situation which will stay that way if I can't find a balance again soon.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157391/william_shatner_benaderd_voor_rol_star_trek_3

Well, this is just a bad idea. If they wanted to have Shatner and Nimoy return as a pair, they should have done it years ago in that first dreadful Star Trek reboot vehicle. Now Shatner is just late for the party and would feel even more like a gratuitous addition/story cop-out than Nimoy's appearance in the previous two installments already does. Besides, what is there to gain for the rebooted franchise by itself if they keep leeching off the classics, thus refusing to let the new movies stand on their own merits - of which, to my mind, they have few to begin with - by dragging iconic characters into the mix? Just let go off the past and let Nimoy and Shatner enjoy retirement, they said their farewells twenty years ago back when we still cared. It's bad storytelling to keep them from recurring next to their hip and cool modern counterparts Pine & Quinto. Contemporary audiences will only get confused by the oldies, while real Trekkies don't give a damn about their involvement, as the faithful and sensible fan community members among them have stopped bothering with the reboot franchise (and the rest of them isn't worth considering). It's not their Trek, goes for both the fans of the real Kirk and Spock and the actors portraying them. Abrams and co., please go write something original rather than milking the original ad nauseam just because you have no idea how to proceed otherwise.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157407/eerste_trailer_tak3n

Why wasn't Liam Neeson in any of The Expendables flicks? He's making more action movies than Statham and Stallone put together these days. Granted, they're all interchangeable and Tak3n (or Taken 3, if you prefer, which I do) doesn't seem any different. Somebody not too smart screws Neeson over, he goes berserk and hunts down the perpetrators, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake for our enjoyment. Tak3n is said to be the final installment in the Taken saga, a franchise that few people would have thought would become one judging from the first film, which was just so surprisingly successful more of them had to be produced. The trailer seems to indicate it ends on a dramatic note, not the least of which is provided by disposing of Famke Janssen (why would you do such a thing?!). From the looks of it, there is a very real chance Neeson's character himself might not survive this one either. Probably for the best, so Neeson will soon be free to start doing redundant sequels to all those other action flicks he has starred in over the last few years. Or maybe join the cast of The Expendables 4, where he will fit right in.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157416/tetris_film_in_de_maak

Yes, Tetris is getting the unasked-for and unneccesary Battleship treatment. Don't ask me what the story will be about, the producers are not commenting on that aspect so strongly the likelihood of there not being a story as of yet must be strongly considered. They found something for Battleship, feeble though it was. That too ended up as what could be described as a 'science fiction epic', which is the route the producers of Tetris say it will take. It'll probably involve an alien invasion again. But this time, rather than fighting them off with ancient WW II battleships, we'll rain down digital blocks on their heads! That'll teach them! Or stuff. I wouldn't expect too much, to be on the safe side. Except for the appearance of that darn catchy game tune, which is so iconic they'll have to keep it in or people will call shenanigans on this film. Maybe that's how the aliens will be defeated? Though that would mean stealing a plot point from Mars Attacks. I'll stick to the game on my old Nintendo GameBoy. It's the only console I have (if that term is eligible for use in this regard, I dunno) and the only game that came with it. Or I can play it on my digital calculator, which is what got me through high school (though without it, I may have gotten through high school quicker, admittedly). For some reason, playing Tetris never gets old. So why do we need a motion picture about it at all?

Jurassic Park III: Poseable Spinosaurus

Year of release: 2001

Description: this other large Spinosaurus toy sports yet again a typical Hasbro Spino paint job, being mostly brown. This time however, almost the entire animal is coloured in the same type of brown instead of some extra tints of brown being mixed in. The underside of the creature is mostly grey, except for some parts of its limbs: more grey is located on the flanks and upper legs of this animal. The sail on its back sports a somewhat different paint job this time round: a shiny reddish brown colour adorns the top and also runs over most of the top part of the tail, while white and shiny blue stripes run over both sides of the sail. At the base of this sail a pattern of white stripes, somewhat reminiscent of lightning, is found. The head sports a mostly grey and brown paint job with some gold on top. This creature has tiny green eyes, as well as a black JP III logo on its left leg.

The “skin” of this creature is made out of a material resembling rubber (though I’m not sure whether it is rubber or not). This Spinosaurus’ proportions are off unfortunately: the tail is too short, the arms are way too long and thin (with the characteristic large sickle like claw on each hand missing), and the legs are positioned to far towards the end of the creature’s body and its feet are also too small: the arms however are positioned too much near the base of the neck. The head is quite duck like, with a large flat upper jaw. The mouth can’t be closed. The creature is not in any way poseable either.

Interesting side comment: it’s not generally accepted this toy is an actual part of the regular JP III action figure line. Though it is clearly a Jurassic Park III toy, it does look somewhat out of place next to the other JP III Wave I figures. Some collectors consider it to be non canonical in regard to being an official JP III action figure. Another aspect which supports this is the fact that no other JP III figures are portrayed on the back of this model’s box, unlike with the other figures. And of course there is another “poseable” toy, a Raptor, which is certainly not a part of the JP III action figure line, because it is much too big. However, since this Spino’s size is relatively accurate compared to the human figures, and given the fact that this toy is less fragile than the Animatronic Spinosaurus, it is often used to play alongside canonical JP action figures. Therefore it gets a review.

Analysis: don’t get your hopes up with the “poseable” part of this sculpt, because it’s nonexistent. This Spinosaurus is not poseable at all. It hasn’t got bendable limbs or body parts if that’s what you’re expecting. That is, the arms are somewhat bendable, but they move right back. The jaws can’t even be closed, though you can clamp figures between them. The model is largely anatomically incorrect: like noted above, many of his body parts are either too small or too large, with the most notable example being the arms. They look nothing like the arms of the JP III Spinosaurus we’re familiar with, and even have a bit of a humanoid appearance to them.

The paint job is very unimaginative, and largely the same as with the other JP III Spinosaurus figures. The only positive part of the paint job is the sail, which is coloured somewhat differently this time. If you believe in the theory that Spino’s sail was used to attract mates during mating season you might say this one is doing a good job. Or it’s of a different gender, you decide for yourself. The figure stands in a neutral position, which is a good thing because it increases playability options. However, this sculpt has so many downsides that it doesn’t really matter much. This Spinosaurus is about 30 centimetres in length and stands almost 20 centimetres tall, making it the second largest figure of the JP III toy line: it’s smaller than its animatronic counterpart, yet slightly bigger than the Ultra Rex.

Playability: very limited, though its name suggests otherwise. But like stated above, it’s not poseable at all, and I think it’s very devious of Hasbro to suggest otherwise. The figure does stand in a neutral pose though, and not in some crazy attack mode like most of Hasbro’s smaller dinosaur models. This model does have one advantage over the Animatronic Spinosaurus (which is superior is almost all other respects though): it doesn’t feature electronics and thus is less fragile. Since it can take quite a beating, this model is good to play rough with (or at least more rough than with the other JP III dinosaurs). But other than that it’s just not a very good figure.

Realism: due to the disproportionate body parts of this toy it certainly isn’t paleontologically correct, that’s for sure. It is however unmistakably a Spinosaurus, if we look at the sail and crocodile like jaws. But the Spinosaurus in JP III also didn’t have such a short tail, long arms, etc. And the paint job also differs from its movie counterpart.

Repaint: no. This model would not be repainted either.

Overall rating: 4/10. It’s not a very good figure. I’m particularly vexed about the lack of poseability, when it’s clearly labelled a ‘poseable’ Spinosaurus. However, since it does fit in a bit with other JP toys in regard to size and can hold figures between it’s jaws it’s not a complete loss. The fact that it isn’t as fragile as the Animatronic Spinosaurus also helps. You may consider getting this figure if you don’t dare play with your Animatronic Spino, but do want to own a large Spino model to play with. However, it’s not that easy to find, so if you really want one you’ll definitely have to search for it: if you aren’t willing to do so, or if it turns out to be on the expensive side, don’t bother.

Today's Column: the boring months of fall

Opening the month as usual is a column of mine:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157377/column_de_cinefiel_in_herfstslaap

Unintendedly my column sparked some controversy on Twitter, I've been told (as I don't use Twitter myself). Apparently someone took umbrage against my statements that there aren't many good films released in arthouse theaters in the months of September and October. I do agree in hindsight that I came off a bit harsh in that regard, since there are a fair number of decent titles available for our viewing pleasure (and I did acknowledge the few gems among them by name, like Winter Sleep, though that is a matter of taste). Nevertheless, I do stand firm in my opinion (which of course is all a column ever really is) that though these titles are certainly good enough, they are far from memorable compared to the films generally released in the months of November up till February, when 'good enough' is replaced by 'great'. If the current titles truly are as strong as the distributors would have us believe, I'd say more people would bother to attend. The really good stuff is being kept until later this year, as it usually is.

Looking at this column now, I really feel I ought to have stuck to my ranting against the cowardly release strategy of the commerical distributors and studios only, since they're the ones that really fall short and cause these months to be so depressingly dull. Most of the titles released in your bigger theaters are simply meant to at least give us new titles, any titles, regularly, but arguably movies of good quality are few and far between. Thus audiences tend to visit a select number of titles en masse, while the rest receives lukewarm attendance at best. Currently, the only movies people bother to visit at my work are The Maze Runner and The Equalizer, while the rest of them is euphemistically lagging behind, drawing only barely adequate numbers of spectators at best, and at worst, none at all. October doesn't seem set to break that pattern from the looks of it; things won't get more exciting until November. So we'll be sitting on our elbows for a whole more month on the job (except for that darn fall school recess, when parents and kids flock to theaters in great numbers hoping to escape the cold and the rain, though decent family movies too are a rarity: however, kids don't care about that, since anything that moves and makes a lot of noise, for which they have to leave the house is exciting and worthwhile to them). Special discount events don't seem to persuade audiences to attend, as there's simply too few movies that spark their interest. That is why the National Film Days didn't do as well as the industry had hoped for: there just weren't enough movies to entice people to visit theaters at all, even at half price. And this is basically how it goes every year, a tedious situation I'm kinda fed up with, which is why I call for distributors to reconsider their shying away from decent releases in the fall, as they seem to have for the spring months which in recent years have become much more eventful since the blockbuster season is seemingly expanded, now starting as early as March rather than May. Seeing as to how well that works financially, I'm hoping studios and distributors will risk the gamble and keep some of their summer hits back for the fall. I'm sure that would sit well with people sitting at home bored wishing for good movies to be released, of which I reckon there are fair numbers available.

That was basically the discussion I had hoped to ignite, on Twitter or elsewhere. But since I made the generalizing mistake to throw arthouse and commercial releases in the mix together, that backfired on me, and I do regret it. I wonder what they're tweeting about my column. But not enough to sign up on Twitter.

Jurassic Park III: Animatronic Spinosaurus

Year of release: 2001

Description: this large carnivore, the biggest dinosaur sculpt in Hasbro’s toy line, measures a good 40 centimetres in length and stands about 20 centimetres tall. As far as the paint job is concerned, this dinosaur looks the same as the smaller Spinosaurus figure from this toy line. The overall colour is brown, with some darker tones mixed in to give it texture. A large white stripe runs across each flank from the back of the head to the upper legs. A smaller curly white stripe runs under the sail on his back, also on both sides of its body. From the nostrils to the very end of the tail (and over the top of the sail) a semi-golden stripe is found, most notably on the head and neck. Seven purple stripes adorn each side of the sail, along with small white specks. All of its claws are black, while the (somewhat small) teeth strangely enough sport a golden paint job (though an irregular variation with regular white teeth also exists). The throat and upper part of the belly are greyish blue and its eyes are green. A yellow JP III logo can be located at the base of the tail on its right side.

This creature’s skin is largely made out of rubber, including the head and the sail. This is done to accommodate the animatronics. Only the legs and arms are made of the regular plastic material the other Hasbro toys are composed of: these limbs are also moveable. The animatronics’ functions can be activated by pressing three buttons under the rubber skin, all on the right flank of this model. The first is located under the JP III logo, and produces an attack roar. The other two buttons are concealed under the exposed dino damage wounds (no larger Hasbro dinosaur would be complete without them unfortunately), either the large wound on the belly with the ribs sticking out, or the smaller one on the neck which shows muscle tissue only. Both of these produce a shrieking roar, as if the animal yelps in pain. Pressing any of these buttons activates the animatronic features, which make the creature move his head either up or down and open its mouth. While doing so, the inner mechanisms unfortunately make a rather annoying sound. (Note: the particular model used by the reviewer isn’t in the best condition. The reviewer isn’t sure whether the tail is also meant to move: in his case it doesn’t.)

Analysis: this model looks impressive, especially for Hasbro standards, but has some downsides unfortunately. The paint job is nothing special, and of course very similar to that of the smaller Spinosaurus figure, so not much points for originality can be given either. The green eyes and gold teeth, something the smaller Spino didn’t have, aren’t an improvement. It’s a good thing this sculpt has a formidable body mass and doesn’t appear skinny like that model though. The body proportions of this model are quite good, though the tail might have been a tad longer. This Spino also suffers from Hasbro’s dino damage curse, with a wound that can’t be covered up and looks quite fake. Also a shame is the fact that the underside of the feet are plain smooth, like they forgot to make it have a dinosaur feel.

The most promising aspect of this model are supposed to be the animatronics. They are an interesting new feature and original as well, since no other JP dinosaurs had animatronic components. Unfortunately they don’t work all that well: the movements the animal makes are pretty slow and artificial, and the mechanism inside the model makes a rather irritating sound when the animatronics are in use. The worst part however is that these animatronics are quite fragile and break easily; if you want to keep the animal in working order, it’s better not to play with it at all. That’s really a shame, because this is the only large carnivore toy of all toy lines that isn’t a Tyrannosaurus and thus would make a worthy opponent for a large sculpt of one of those. But having a neat dinosaur battle with this Spinosaurus is definitely out of the question if you want to keep it intact. This model is better for dioramas than it is for actually playing with it. And that’s a real waste for such an impressive looking model. Overall, it looks better than it is.

Playability: depends on what you intend to do with it. Like stated above, it’s not done playing with it if you want to keep the animatronics working. Still, the animal stands in a neutral position and has poseable limbs, which would make it superior to most of the other Hasbro toys qua playability. Since it’s such a cool looking toy I reckon most people are very tempted to play with it. Best solution for the collector seems to buy two of these: one to keep mint in box and thus in perfect condition, and one to play rough with it like everyone wants to.

Realism: it would be hard to mistake this creature for something other than a Spinosaurus. The sail and crocodilian jaws are a dead giveaway. It looks a lot like the main carnivore in JP III, thought the paint job is somewhat different. For one thing, the Spino in the movie didn’t have gold teeth (and the teeth he did have were a good deal bigger and sharper as well).

On a paleontological level this sculpt looks a lot like an anatomically correct Spinosaurus (thinking pre 2014 at least, considering the current radical change in scientifically accurate Spinosaur depictions) as well, though the tail was a little longer in reality. In comparison to the human figures from this toy line, the size is more or less accurate.

Repaint: no. This model wouldn’t be repainted either.

Overall rating: 7/10. Granted, the animatronics aren’t very appealing (at least in my case, maybe they look better with a mint model). But it’s still one of Hasbro’s better models, especially because of its unique size (at least unique for this toy line and particular species). Even though it sucks the animatronics are so fragile which makes playing with it hard, and despite minor paint job flaws, it looks great and shouldn’t be excluded from any JP fan’s collection. It’s not always easy to find though: it’s relatively common in the USA, but in some other territories (like my native country Holland, where this particular model remains unreleased and is much sought after, often fetching high prices) it can be a real challenge to get your hands on one. Nevertheless, I suggest you give it a try.

Today's overdose of news

It's been a busy week for posting movie news after all:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157368/nieuwe_trailer_jupiter_ascending

Jupiter Ascending is back with a vengeance. We've had zero word on the project since it was postponed a few months back, but it's certainly set to be the big film of February 2015. Which seems an odd time to release such an ambitious and expensive title, but at least it ensures there's not a lot of competition to go up against. In terms of visual effects and atmosphere it seems this is going to be quite a thrilling piece, but I have my doubt about the plot, which marries an element or two from Dune to bits and pieces of The Matrix and of course mixes the epic qualities of Star Wars in as well. Then again, I kinda dig the notion of humanity simply being bred as a resource for an extraterrestrial imperial dynasty's vain pleasures. It doesn't seem to emphasize the moral and existential 'specialness' such Sci-Fi films inherently attribute to our species, usually portraying them as the great wonder of the galaxy. Here, humanity is just a big herd of dumb sheep, ignorant to the bigger picture. Of course, this fairly rebellious notion is sure to be shattered by the character played by Mila Kunis. And speaking of Kunis, I'm not convinced of both her and Channing Tatum's ability in terms of acting to carry such a big blockbuster movie. At least there's a decent cast of supporting characters (Sean Bean, yay!) to make up for it if they fall short.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157333/game_of_thrones_acteurs_gecast_in_pride_and_prejudice_and_zombies

There's enough pride & prejudice in the Lannister family to be siphoned off by other projects for sure. Game of Thrones has also witnessed its fair share of zombies, too. Any excuse to get Headey and Dance showing off their considerable acting talents, on their own or together, is well worth the effort. Dance should have plenty of time on his hands, now that he's not likely to do much more work on GoT (and boy, will we miss him!). The cast for this movie grows ever more impressive, perhaps more so than its decidedly silly premise deserves. It's a clear sign all these grand actors, who usually deal with heavily dramatic performances, need a break at times, something lighter to keep from going insane. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies may be just what Headey and Dance need, to keep their mind of all the political intrigue, backstabbing and murderous family squabbling they've had to endure in recent years. It'll be great to see them bounce off such frustrations on the mindless hordes of the undead.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157366/game_of_thrones_acteur_wordt_booswicht_maze_runner_2

Here's another GoT actor who has time to spare for a big genre movie. Considering the series has progressed as far as the books with Littlefinger's particular story line (or Sansa's, to be more precise), I wouldn't be surprised to see he was used only sparingly in the next season. Which gives Gillen time for other things, like playing another villain (come, on, that's what Littlefinger is and you kow it!) in a hugely popular dystopian teen franchise. I have no doubt he'll excel at playing the part of the character called the 'Rat Man', even though, considering the pace with which The Scorch Trials is being produced (the deadline ends in less than a year from now), it seems he has very little time to prepare for the role. Good thing his experience on Game of Thrones comes in handy then.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157335/nieuwe_trailer_laggies

Oh hey, they made a movie about my lack of a career! And Keira Knightley is playing me. Odd choice, but I'll take it. But seriously (if ever), this movie is just made to reflect on the many millions of people lagging in their lifes, of which I am only one. Hopefully it'll also provide a solution out of this mess that is my existence, other than the generic resolves of embracing adulthood and responsibility. Which wouldn't help me any further, as I do believe at least the latter element is perfectly honed in my case. But from the trailer it at least appears as if I would leave the theater in a cheerful mood, as the sizzling levels of feel-good juice are dripping off my computer screen when it's playing this preview of Laggies. Whether the movie will have the same effect, or whether I'm in for a painful confrontation with the hard, merciless truths of life remains to be seen. It's starring Keira Knightley, so the latter scenario seems unlikely.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157350/neeson_en_freeman_in_ted_2

More actors in for a change of pace and genre. These days, Liam Neeson is either starring in a slick but forgettable action thriller, or a comedy cannibalizing on his persona of a slick (and forgettable?) action thriller star. The latter was the case in Seth MacFarlane's previous zany comedy, A Million Ways to Die in the West, in which Neeson made quite the badass desperado. Seems both parties enjoyed their collaboration well enough to go at it again, though one of them is resorting to doing voice work only again (and it's not Neeson). Freeman is still wandering around completely at a loss as to providing any sensible exposition of what exactly went down in the unintelligible Lucy, and apparently hopes to do a better job explaining the still somewhat fuzzy science behind a living teddy bear. Probably easier to do than providing the many answers that come with a woman unlocking her mind to the max and turning into everything there is. Or stuff. I dunno. And neither did Freeman. No freckle added to his face for a job well done on that one, that's for sure.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157371/nieuwe_trailer_big_hero_6

Well, this looks simply adorable. And also quite un-Marvel for what is in essence still a Marvel movie. The subject matter obviously lends itself better to a regular Disney animated film, or so this catchy trailer would suggest. It does make for a less complicated Marvel movie that refrains from tieing into other Marvel movies for a change, diversifying the Marvel properties under Disney's control. Yet it remains faithful to the source material in keeping the (fictional) Japanese type of setting, though the characters don't seem all that South-East Asian, except for the robot himself which seems to come straight out of a Studio Ghibli film. This movie seems to do a great job of marrying the younger side of Marvel to the traditional Disney style, yet ensuring there's enough to enjoy for the adults in a way more reminiscent of Pixar. But what's up with keeping this one in the fridge for Dutch theaters for four months? That's just asking people - not me, I must say - to start downloading illegally! I thought Disney had learned their lesson on Up. Though waiting four months instead of six admittedly is a kind of progress.