Movie News and Views July 24, 2009 Poster Edition

 

– David Goyer (“The Unborn”) is set to write and direct a sequel to “The Invisible Man,” where the character’s nephew will discover his uncle’s formula for invisibility and be recruited by British Intelligence for WWII.

– Cher and Christina Aguilera are set to star in “Burlesque,” a movie about a girl from Iowa who goes to California… you know the rest.

– “Taken 2” is now in the works.

– Christian Bale will star in “Fighter,” based on the real life story of boxer Dicky Edlund and his brother. It will also star Mark Wahlberg and Amy Adams and will be directed by David Russell.

– The Oscars will now have 10 Best Picture nominees. No word on how many of them will be movies that didn’t come to your town.

– Frank Miller us rumored to be working on a sequel to “300.” Really? Do we need one?

– Watch for “Hitman 2.” Or not.

– “American Werewolf in London” is looking to be remade.

– “Let the Right One In” is being remade for American audiences.

– “Twilight: Eclipse” will begin filming in August.

– The “Nightmare on Elm Street” reboot will be a trilogy.

– Justin Timberlake and Jason Statham are set to be in Guy Ritchie’s “Guys and Dolls” remake.

– Watch for a Michael Jackson movie.

– Brandon Routh’s “Superman” contract has expired. The WB is working on a second Supes movie, but no word as to whether Routh will be back.

– The View-Master, the thing we got when we were kids that had the 3-D picture reels, is getting a movie.

– The 1987 “The Gate” movie will be remade in 3-D.

– “T.J. Hooker” is headed for the big screen.

– Porn movies will no longer have storylines.

– “MacGruber,” the SNL-skit based on the “MacGuyver” TV series, will begin filming in August.

– The WB must make another “Superman” by 2011 or else give money to the Siegel family.

– Lindsay Lohan is stepping back from acting to produce and direct her own stuff.

– “Tron 2” details: “TRON is a 3D high-tech adventure set in a digital world that’s unlike anything ever captured on the big screen. Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), looks into his father’s disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same world of fierce programs and gladiatorial games where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin’s loyal confidant (Olivia Wilde), father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous.”

– Natalie Portman has been added to the cast of “Thor.”

– Renee Zellweger will pack on the pounds again for “Bridget Jones 3.”

 

That’s it for now, folks!

Movies on DVD Review: Ice Station Zebra

 

Not much of an ice station…

Stars Rock Hudson, Patrick McGoohan, Jim Brown, and Ernest Borgnine. Directed by John Sturges.

Story: Nuclear sub Commander James Ferraday (Hudson) receives notice that him and his men must travel to the North Pole and escort a guy named “Jones” (McGoohan) to a civilian camp for Top Secret reasons. Seeing as the paperwork comes from so high up the command chain he would get a nosebleed, he accepts. “Jones” is a mysterious character who knows more about what’s going on than the Captain and lets him know it. On their trip North they stop and pick up Vaslov (Borgnine) a Russian defector and Marine Captain Anders (Brown). Vaslov is affable and friendly, but uncomfortably pokes around the sub to learn more about it; he’s also good friends with Jones. Captain Anders is dry, hard-nosed, and by-the-book. When prepping a torpedo tube leads to sabotage and the death of a crewmember, the Captain tries to find the saboteur. Is it Anders, Vaslov, Jones, or even one of the crewmembers themselves? When they break through the Northern ice and get to the civilian camp they find half of the people barely alive, while others were shot before being burned in the fire. The hunt is on for a secret canister of film that both sides (American and Russian) want because it contains satellite intel on every base operated by them.

First off let me praise the WB for having an extremely clean print of the film. I watched in on DVD in HD and it’s clean and clear; no grain that stood out. This film was well taken care of.

Secondly, it’s an intriguing film to watch. If you decide to watch it do yourself a favor and view the trailer before seeing the movie because it essentially has the “backstory” you may need to understand what’s going on. Just a helpful hint.

Does the movie hold up to now? Well, it’s a good story. A little dated (it was a Cold War movie) but it’s still enjoyable. The only thing that seems somewhat “stilted” is when the Russians paratroop onto the ice to close in on the base; it seemed a little “hokey” for my tastes. As well as the Russian MiG flyovers.

Why should you watch this movie? Cold War allegory beside, two reasons to watch: Patrick McGoohan and the cinematography. I enjoyed “The Prisoner” (McGoohan’s spy series) and he made this movie in the middle of doing that. If you’re a fan, ya gotta check this one out.

The cinematography was incredible and a good portion of that was because of John Stevens. Stevens was the Second Unit Director who shot the sub under the ice scenes, as well as the crashdive and aerial views. If you love camerawork and what can be/has been done in movies, the scene where the sub is under the ice is enough alone to warrant renting this one. There is a featurette on the disc called “The Man Who Made a Difference.” It talks about Stevens and how he worked on this as well as “Grand Prix” (another good movie, especially for cinematography). Do yourself a favor and check him out on IMDB to see what other Second Unit work he’s done; you’d be surprised.

The story is okay, the acting is good, the music works, and the cinematography is the cherry on top.

My grade: B (solid)