In a post on Eonline it is stated that 20th Century Fox may block the release of Warner Brothers’ The Watchmen.

20th Century claims they were working on a film of the comic book and that Warner Brothers never acquired the rights. They would rather block it than try and get some money out of it?!

Check the story out here and here.

According to News Askew Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier will sit down with the MPAA, watch “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” and then argue/defend why their movies should get a R rating. Kevin has already made cuts to the movie and I hope he doesn’t have to make anymore. Scott(Mr. Movie Geek) and others have wondered how the donkey scene and all the dirty talk of going @$$ to mouth only got a R for “Clerks 2″ I loves me some Kevin Smith but even those 2 items made me quite uncomfortable. So this weekend while you are out and about keep in mind Kevin and Scott will be fighting for you and for your cinematic enjoyment!

Also check out the Zack and Miri site for some cool pics and a screen shot from “Entertainment Weekly” that has a small tid bit o’ dialogue.

DreamWorks Animations CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg has apparently said that George Lucas will re-release the Star Wars films in 3D! Now I am a Star Wars geek so this is pretty neat. � In spite of my geeky-ness I am a little tired of all the re-releases and edits he has made in the past. � I already have episodes 4 through 6 in the original theatrical on VHS and DVD and special edition VHS and DVD’s and episodes 1 through 3 on DVD ( my brother has 1 on VHS.) Now I will have to buy them all over again in 3D! � Either way I am still excited. I remember watching “Return of the Jedi” at my friends house right after he got surround sound back in ’98 and being amazed and the sound of the TIE fighters flying around me. � Now imagine hearing them flying around me and then seeing them coming right at me!! Sweet! It will be even better on the big screen! The lightsabers! The explosions! The Wookies!

I read about it here.

With the recent flick “Speed Racer” flopping and the unexciting news of an “Akira” remake this story gets my blood a boiling!! They are talking about making a live action “Cowboy Bebop”!!!! If you have not seen the greatest anime to come out of Japan you are missing out! The story, the animation, the music! Oh god the music is phenomenal!!! As long as they keep the story, or write a good one, use the music from Yoko Kanno and the Seatbelts and have some great effects this movie will be fan-double-tastic! It may not be the most popular anime from Japan so it may also flop at the box office. I hope that it will expose this great anime to more people and it will become more popular. If they are going to make a Dragonball and Speed Racer flick they have to make movies of far superior source material. Erwin Stoff is the producer and he also worked on “A Scanner Darkly” and “Constantine” so he is familiar with Keanu. I like Keanu, I have no problems with him… I just don’t see him as Spike Spiegel. I just wonder who will play Faye!

If you have not seen “Cowboy Bebop” I urge you to check it out. For just a taste of the music check out the opening title sequence. “Tank” is the name of the tune.

This picture is similar to the first, but this one has a little more “action.” Either way, he looks sweet! Ray Park has usually played cool action packed characters … maybe not so much Toad from X-Men, but everyone thinks Darth Maul is a bad ass!

I thought these might be interesting to share. I found some earlier but these should be better quality. Thanks Scott!!!

From left to right and top to bottom: Storm Shadow, Baroness, Breaker, Destro, Duke, Hawk, Heavy Duty, Rip, Scarlett and Snakeeyes.

Is this the new Enterprise pre tell?

I was browsing through some of the Tumblr blogs I have been following and noticed a post about Captain America casting news.

It appears Matt McConaughey is the leading candidate for the leading role! The flick is not due to be released until 2011 which means filming won’t start until 2009? maybe 2010? and Matt’s name is already being thrown around? This is some really early speculation but the site claims to have a reliable source. They also mention his physique could be Captain quality and he is popular with the ladies so they could draw in a slightly different demographic than the Cap usually draws.

What do you think? Good choice? Would someone else be better? Did anyone ever read Wizard magazine back in the day when they had the Casting Call section? They would “cast” a movie version of a comic book picking the best thespians for the roles. I picked Patrick Stewart to play Professor X and I was right! My friend and I thought Bruce Willis would have been a great Wolverine.

What do you think? Matt McConaughey as Captain America? Who else could/should play the role?

By now you should have seen Iron Man and you should know to stay till after the credits. At the end there is a great cameo by a great actor. You should also be able to point out the cameo by Stan Lee.

But did you notice the rock guitar god know as Tom Morello playing ‘insurgent #5″ Apparently he is one of the “baddies” that enters the cave after the door explodes and one of the first to get pummeled by Iron Man. How did I miss that?! ( I also cannot find a pic) Tom has a small acting rà �sumà � but one of those rolls was in Made with Jon Favreau.

While checking the web for more Iron Man and other Marvel movie news I came across a few articles that stated Hillary Swank also had a cameo in Iron Man. I missed that also and cannot find any pictures. IMDB does not list her in the flick. Does anyone recall seeing her? Have any pictures?

Now we have to wait till 2010 for more Marvel movie madness? Hulk is later this summer and that will be great but 2 years until another Iron Man?! Really?! 2 years?! You tease us with War Machine foreshadowing, allude things about the Avengers, theorize about Thor and capture our attention with Captain America but make us wait 2 years?!?

Two of the new Marvel Comics movies have some small updates.

Iron Man: You can view the “hi-res” trailer on Marvel’s site. �Is it just me or does this gooey warmth flow through you when he says “… lets throw some hot rod red in there.” and Audioslave starts to kick in followed by kick ass action shots? no? just me? oh well.

Wolverine: just some pictures, one above and both here on Marvels site again. Nothing big but cool to look at. Some casting/character news has already been announced so we know Weapon X will be covered but I wonder if they will go all the way back to the beginning? Did anyone read the Wolverine Origin mini-series? If not you should check it out! Gorgeous art and a cool story.

So I was checking the “intar-webs†� and I came across some View Askew News updates. You should know about the silly videos from The Jimmy Kimmel Show where Sarah Silverman sings about having “relations†� with Matt Damon and then how Jimmy and Ben Affleck are intimate but have you seen this?

Updates and new info:

~ Film is set in Monroeville, PA
~ Will be shot in a 1:85 aspect ratio.
~ Filming began on Jan 17th.
~ Kevin shot his first snowfall and a Black Friday(day after Thanksgiving) mall scene (what?! A mall??! But not the mall. That’s in Eden Prairie, MN)
~ Over an hour of movie has been shot and the trailer may debut with Pineapple Express and maybe a Sept or Oct release date??
~ Test screening in April or May? In LA?

As much as I love Kevin Smith I need to get that Clerks II donkey show out of my mind!!!!!

Trevor:

I hate musicals. Despise them. Even for a very amateur “musician,†� music lover and one who appreciates movies I have never enjoyed a musical. The lyrics never seem to fit with the music, the music always seems synthesized and fake and how does everyone all of a sudden know the words and choreography? For me, I just don’t get it. Even the classics and most famous of musicals I have trouble watching, I’m talking to you Andrew Lloyd.

However, Across the Universe I loved. Now I admit, I love the Beatles and everyone knew the words and dance steps and spontaneously broke in to song. The difference for me though was the music and imagery. One has to admit there is a difference between popular rock music and show tunes and this flick uses the former very well unlike other movies that fail spectacularly like Moulin Rouge (Worst. Movie. Ever.)

The songs were remade for the movie, which as a Beatles fan, I thought was great. I didn’t like Sadie’s throaty version of Helter Skelter so much but enjoyed Eddie Izzard’s half spoken/half sung version of Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! All other songs were used to help tell the story or enhance the drama.

The story centers around Jude who travels from Liverpool to America to find his father who was a U.S. soldier. He finds dear ol’ dad working as a custodian at Princeton where he meets Max. Jude and Max become friends and Jude falls for Lucy, Max’s sister.

Eventually we get to New York where we meet a myriad of characters with more names from the Beatles song book. All of this is course told during the turbulent 60’s when the Vietnam War (sorry, conflict) raged and students across America protested and minorities struggled for equality. Lucy gets involved in the war protest movement while Jude hangs back and works on his art which begins to drive Lucy and Jude apart … oh, did I forget to mention the love blossoming between the two? Max, now a college dropout, gets drafted and sent to Vietnam and during a protest Jude gets arrested and deported. At the end Jude comes back to the U.S. and meets up with Lucy†� I hope I didn’t ruin for you.

Throughout the movie we are occasionally taken a strange journey using music and imagery. There are a few trippy scenes where I am not exactly sure what’s going on and have never been good at deciphering symbols. Nevertheless, they are all enjoyable to watch and the music is great to listen to. I usually enjoy a good Beatles remake and a large majority of these remakes are true to the original. I already mentioned Helter Skelter but I think Come Togetherfell a little flat even though Joe Cocker was singing. All the other actors perform well on their respective tunes and The Secret Machines show up with a rockin’ version of Flying.

All around this is a great flick for music and movie lovers.

(4 out of 5)

Zac:

Trippy would be one way to describe this movie, and unfortunately it is not a good trip. That’s not to say the movie is horrible by any means, its just nowhere near being great, maybe, just barely good, the production values of the film probably at least grant it good status.
The movie is crazy to look at and visual stunning most of the time, don’t let the early and awkward crashing waves fool you otherwise, but that alone doesn’t make a movie.
The songs, all Beatles classics, are good for the most part as well, with a couple of odd choices along the way, and the singing is adequate most of the time, so what holds this movie back?
First, the actors. They are just not able to perform at the level this movie wants to be. No one is horrible, but know one is that great either, Lucy’s brother, Max, played by Joe Anderson doing a Jude Law impression, is the most likable and interesting character but sadly he disappears for most of the last third of the movie, to Vietnam, and we are left following the standard and predictable story of Jude and Lucy; like in the songs you know, how clever!
The story here is the biggest problem, about half way through it stops making sense, doesn’t even try too, people just are singing with loose parallels between the songs and the story and it is really hard to stay interested; save the Revolution number.
Any who, if you like the Beatles you will find enjoyment at all of the little references, if you like musicals you might like it because they are singing, but creativity can’t save this film which lacks a well rounded presentation with everything firing on all cylinders, so if are looking for greatness, or even good entertainment, you might best be suited seeing something else this weekend.

(3 out of 5)

[rating: 3.5/5]

DVD Features:
Extended musical performances
Deleted scene Commentary with director Julie Taymor and music producer/composer Elliot Goldenthal
5 behind the scenes featurettes
Photo gallery

Tonight during Lost there will be a new trailer for the Iron Man movie. There is also a new poster for the film, pictured above. Marvel has created a site dedicated to the movie here.

Today at work someone made a reference to the first 2 rules of Fight Club. I tried to then remember the rest of the rules which I couldn’t. I happen to have the book on my desk and I thumbed through it quick but did not locate the rules. I cheated and Googled them.

So my question to you: What are the rules of Fight Club?

Everyone knows the first 2. No cheating! Just put your answers in the comments.

Now I know what you are thinking.. “This is movie geeks and Dana Carvey was only on SNL and not in many movies and those movies were just long SNL skits.” OK, you got me but wasn’t he great in Wayne’s World? You will always remember him as Garth playing second fiddle to Mike Myers as Wayne. And Trapped in Paradise was a fun movie with Nicholas Cage and Jon Lovitz.

So lets start from the beginning and plagiarize from Wikipedia. Dana was born in Missoula, Montana and moved to the Bay Area in California. He got a drum set young so that explains the Church Lady rockin’ the skins and Garth proclaiming, “I like to play.” His first movie roll was in Halloween II a flick I have not seen … sorry, not a horror fan. He was then in a sitcom with Mickey Rooney, Nathan Lane and Meg Ryan and had a small roll in This is Spinal Tap which now makes me want to go watch that for the fact I don’t remember it was Dana Carvey!

In 1986 he joined SNL and performed some great skits and created some great characters that he will be remembered for for a long long time. We all know The Church Lady, Hans and of course Garth. This is where his career peaked and overshadowed by Mike Myers. I hate to say it but since SNL what has he done? and what has Mike Myers done?!! These two guys were pretty equal in terms of popularity on SNL yet Carvey was always Garth to Myers’ Wayne, always second banana, the sidekick

After SNL Carvey had a show….what? he had a show??! of his own? what?! it was named after him?! That’s right! In 1996 there was The Dana Carvey Show and I do not remember this at all! I wish I could write more about this but i have nothing.

In 1997 a tragedy occurred. He had a botched heart surgery which left him close to death. The surgery was for a blocked artery (I suppose he wasn’t eating well and NOT chopping broccoli). He sued, like you do in America, won and donated the money to charity. He must be doing pretty well if he can donate $7.5 million! I bet it’s from all those Hollywood blockbusters… what? no blockbusters? huh? no movies period?! That’s right, he hasn’t done a movie since 2002 when he was Pistachio Disguisey in The Master of Disguise. I know it was a kids movie and I am not a kid but this thing was bad! It was cheesy with extra cheese. I wish I had something good to say about it. I wish I had an update for you and could mention another movie but according to IMDB.com that was his last movie. Dana Carvey was so great on SNL and at the same time this movie came out his old cohort Mike Myers was raking in the dough making blockbusters left and right.

So at this juncture I think it would be prudent to wish Dana Carvey the best of luck and may he grace the silver screen, or small screen, again some day soon.

sorry the last 2 are small, check them out in a larger format here.

With mixed emotions I report on this weekends activities. There is good new and bad news. The Patriots finally fell thus avoiding a historical, yet controversial, 2007 winning season. The Giants pulled it out and for 2 years in a row a Manning was Super Bowl MVP. Now for the bad news, Hannah Montana won the top spot at the box office. This is truly a sad day for movie goes around the world. Apparently with the big game this weekend no one but “tween girls” went to the movies which pushed Hannah to the top. Who would have thought that in 2008 a Cyrus would be at the top of anything. (Sorry to all those hearts I might have caused to be either achy or breaky.) With a grand total of $29 million it swept the competition leaving The Eye at a distant 2nd with only $13 million. 27 Dresses, Juno and Meet the Spartans round out the top 5. Hannah Montana? Miley Cyrus? Best of Both Worlds? Really? Seriously?
And we wonder why the rest of the world hates us…

Zac:

This period drama and Oscar hopeful delivers on multiple levels, at varying times, but meanders occasionally leaving us a bit unfocused at times. Now, I will say I do want to see it again as the theater environment I saw it in was anything but ideal, not to mention it is hard to focus when you feel like you are in an oven, but either way, back to the movie.
The movie is told from the perspective of Briony Tallis most of the time and she allows for an interesting perspective on the proceedings that happen through out this film. Briony is played by both Saoirse Ronan and Romola Garai and both do pretty good jobs, giving the edge to Ronan in this one. Ronan plays the smart rich pompous girl to a T while also nailing the curiosity and naivety of a child as well. Garai deserves credit for making the age jump feel like the same character, a bit more mature but continuing the characters curiosity on life from a different angle.
Now, just because we see the story through Briony, doesn’t mean she is the main character. Those roles would belong to Cecilia and Robbie, our lovers whom this story is about; these rolls are filled by Keira Knightly and James McAvoy respectively. They both do some excellent work and if it comes across weak at all it is usually do to the bit of melodrama that creeps in occasionally. Robbie is an educated potential doctor, which is doing gardening in the meantime. He has had his eye on Cecilia, the older sister to Briony, for a while now while as he works at their manor.
The opening hour of the film follows the events over a couple days at the Briony estate and we see how it all unfolds in a very intriguing and interesting way thanks to some excellent work by director Joe Wright. We see a few events first from Briony’s perspective and see her reactions, followed by the actual events that unfold. It is an interesting story telling device that works very well for this film.
After the events unfold for the first half the second half is what leaves us a little lost some times. Robbie ends up in the military and for about 2o minitues, the focus of the film wavers a bit as he retreats and looks for safety with a couple other soldiers. We lose the double perspective narrative, but still have time jumps and the new flow of the film takes a moment to get used too. Luckily a third of this adjustment period is spent on one single take, that is absolutely amazing, involving hundreds of people, special effects, and is one of the highlights of the film.
Briony become the focus of the film for its final act and the movie re-gathers itself as it regains its focus. Briony is seeking redemption and finds herself as a nurse in London taking care of soldiers as the return home for battle. We get to see her grow and mature as she tries to come to grips with what her past and eventually find out how she repays the story’s lovers.
After writing this review it has helped me to grow some more favor with this film then what I had originally thought, which is a very good thing, and I think that subsequent viewings will do this film well. People might take issue with a jump towards the end of the film but any awkwardness from that is easily forgotten with a superb final scene, which ends the film wonderfully.

(4.5 out of 5)

Trevor:

Last night the Mrs. and I watched Atonement and I must say, it’s not exactly what I expected. From the commercials it makes it appears to be a British romance drama set during the time of war. However, in the end, it is a tragedy with a “Sixth Sense” kind of twist. I hope I didn’t ruin it for you.

I did like the film and the interesting way it flashed back and forward. If you do see it don’t get confused with the flashbacks, just keep watching and it will all make sense in a minute. The music was very interesting as well with the typewriter being used as a percussion instrument throughout. The cinematography was very good and impressive, especially the long uncut shot on the French beach when the soldiers are getting ready to go home. Just keep watching it and see how easily it follows the different characters.

As for the Oscar nominations, all 7 of them, I agree pretty much with all of them. I didn’t read the book so I dont know about adapted screenplay. However, Art Direction and Costume Design were great, usually period films excell in this but this film covered a few different places and scenes where they had to dress a lot of extras. The war, the hospital, a weddding, downtown London, all of them looked like a snapshot from the 40′s come to life. The music I mentioned already, I keep hearing that typewriter. The actress Saoirse Ronan got a nod for Best Supporting Actress and I must say she does a good job of making you hate her. And last but not least, Best Picture. Best Picture? I don’t know about that. I guess I enjoyed the flick but it didn’t move me like a best picture…but that’s just me, I’m a geek, I like more ‘splosions anyway.

(4 out of 5)

Rachel:

This film caught my attention immediately. It is based on the British romance novel by Ian McEwan. The begining of this movie is very intense and grabbing. I am a sucker for romantic films!

The couple: Cecilia Tallis played by Kiera Knightly, and Robbie Turner played by James McAvoy give strong efforts to fill the demands of these roles. The passion between the two characters is brought out very well; especially through the scenes that feature Knightly and McAvoy together. The lack of music during a particular scene between Cecilia and Robbie made me blush. This film offers a steamy love scene, some foul language, and a well-rounded cast. This film is full of passion, sadness, guilt, betrayal, and lacks forgiveness. The sadness of the story still lingers in my mind; wishing it had a fuller ending. All-in-all this film was well written and the scenes are beautifully shot.

Keep an eye out for this one during this Oscar awards season. It should capture a few.

(4 out of 5)

[rating: 4.25/5]

Hey Kevin Smith fans!

The supporting cast for Zack & Miri make a porno has been announced.

You will be glad to know Jay and Jeff Anderson are back…but what about Brian O’Halloran? Come on Kevin! Bring back Brian!

Other new additions are porn stars……yeah…porn stars? Traci Lords and Katie Morgan will be in it…playing porn stars i bet!

Craig Robinson from the Office and Ricky Mabe. Kevin made a guessing game out of some small pictures before the announcement and some of the speculation was correct, mainly jay and jeff.

Production is set to begin today, January 16, 2008, in Pittsburgh, PA(where Dogma was shot I believe) I can’t wait for a new Kevin Smith flick! I need to get the bad taste of Clerks II’s donkey show out of my mind and replaced with witty dialogue in a food court! Or more Smith penned comics would help as well.

“…give credit where credit it due..” http://www.newsaskew.com/2008/01/15/zack-miri-supporting-cast-revealed/

 �

I have a geeky question. I ask this question because I have a dilemma and need advice…and I want to be a good father. My wife and I are expecting a little one at the end of July and I want to make sure I do the right thing…Question:

In what order should I show my children the Star wars movies?

Episodes 4 through 6 then back to 1 through 3? Or 1 through 6 straight through? As for 4,5 and 6, which versions? Original theatrical? Special edition? Extra special edition with official Wookie fur case? If you go 1 through 6 then how do you explain the sudden regression in the quality of special effects to a kid in the year 2015 (estimated date my kid will be able to appreciate these flicks) that back in 1983 they didn’t have fancy computers so they used a bunch of Muppets instead?

Since I don’t have the interneting know how and stuff I am not going to post any buttons to click on or anything. Just go ahead and leave a comment with your opinion and suggestions.

…and may the force be with you…and with my unborn children, they are going to need all the help they can get!