Posted on Monday, November 30th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Goodie Bag has created a fantastic video called “Hollywood vs. New York”, featuring four decades of celluloid New York annihilation distilled into one musical montage. Watch the destruction now after the jump.
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Posted on Saturday, January 17th, 2009 by David Chen
A month ago we posted details of what an I Am Legend prequel might look like. Now, SciFi Wire has an interview with Lawrence in which he discusses what he is hoping to achieve with the prequel. Lawrence explained:
That was the real reason I wanted to do the movie in the first place, really, was the idea of ‘What does that world look like, what does it do to you when you’re by yourself? … What does it do without people, without companionship and sound and the loss of your family, without anybody to talk to? I think that’s really what people connected to, and so the tough thing is, how do we do that again and in a different way?
Posted on Tuesday, December 9th, 2008 by Adam Quigley
This Week in DVD is a column that compiles all the latest info regarding new DVD releases, sales, and exclusive deals from stores including Target, Best Buy, Circuit City, and Fry’s.
Please don’t take the commentary on the movies and TV shows too seriously, as they’re meant not to be reviews but rather previews that include the general thoughts and ramblings of a twice-committed DVD addict. The categories represent solely the author’s intentions towards the DVDs at hand, and are in no way meant to be a reflection on what he thinks other people should rent or buy. So if he ends up putting a movie you like in the “Skip it” section without having seen it, please keep in mind that the time you could spend leaving a spiteful but ultimately futile comment could instead be used for more pleasant things in life. Like buying DVDs.
THE DARK KNIGHT
(Available as single-disc and 2-Disc Special Edition)
A spectacular, mesmerizing film experience, The Dark Knight managed to do something that other Hollywood blockbuster sequels of late haven’t been able to: not disappoint. Recently, audiences have started becoming accustomed to high expectations being greeted instead with an activation of their gag reflex, whether it’s with Spider-Man 3 or Indiana Jones 4. Leave it to Christopher Nolan to craft a movie that not only doesn’t disappoint, but actually exceeds expectations in every way, making it not only one of the best movies of the year (if not the best), but also a major international success. It garnered unanimous praise amongst critics, is currently rated as the #4 best film of all-time on IMDB, and earned a box office gross that ranks #2 on the all-time domestic scale and #4 for all-time worldwide. I think at this point, it’s only fair to assume the DVD release will continue the film’s streak of breaking records, and if the Academy Awards were even the slightest bit relevant anymore, they’d be sure to nominate it for Best Picture. Can I get an amen?
Blu-ray? Yes.
Notable Extras: 6 action-packed IMAX Scenes (’Prologue’, ‘Hong Kong’, ‘Armored Car Chase’, ‘Lamborghini Crash’, ‘Prewitt Building’, ‘Final Montage’), a Gotham Uncovered documentary, featurettes (’Batman Tech: The Incredible Gadgets and Tools’, ‘Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of The Dark Knight’), 6 episodes of Gotham Cable’s Premier News Program, and more.
| BEST PRICE* | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Target | Best Buy | Circuit City | Fry’s |
| $14.99 | |||
| Amazon – $14.99 | |||
*Does not include 2-Disc Edition, which costs $22.99 at each of the listed stores (excluding Amazon, where it costs $20.99).
Also available (exclusively on Blu-ray) is this Limited Edition set…
EXCLUSIVES: For an in-depth look at the various store exclusives available with The Dark Knight, see THIS POST.
LOST (SEASON 4)
There are people who have given up on Lost, claiming the show asks too many questions without providing any answers and that the writers don’t know what they’re doing anymore. I’ll be the first to admit, around the early episodes of Season 3, I was starting to become one of those people. But I was wrong, and so are they. This can be observed best by watching the show on DVD, where instead of experiencing the frustration of constantly waiting for a single scene or two from every episode that was briefly shown in the “Next Week on Lost” preview from the week before, you can simply enjoy episode after episode at your own pace. Do this, and it’s clear that Lost is as good as it ever was, and you shouldn’t let how antsy you are to figure out the mysteries behind the show’s intricate weavings affect your enjoyment of what’s going on with the characters right now. Because, believe it or not, the show does answer questions, and if you watch Season 4 again without acknowledging that, you clearly aren’t paying close enough attention.
Blu-ray? Yes.
Notable Extras: Lost Bloopers, Audio Commentaries, Deleted Scenes, Lost on Location, Freighter Folk, Transforming Hawaii, Gun Tracking, and The Music of Lost.
| BEST PRICE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Target | Best Buy | Circuit City | Fry’s |
| $37.99 | $59.99 | $36.99 | |
| Amazon – $36.99 | |||
EXCLUSIVE DEAL:
What? Free $20 Target GiftCard with purchase of both Lost (Season 4) on DVD and any season 1-3 DVDs.
Where? Target.
EXCLUSIVE DEAL:
What? Save $20 when you buy both Lost (Season 4) and any previous season of Lost on DVD or Blu-ray.
Where? Best Buy.
THE WIRE (THE COMPLETE SERIES)
In celebration of this week’s beautiful release of the full series of The Wire, the /Filmcast gang decided to record a special episode discussing everything we could possibly fit in regarding what’s easily the greatest television show ever made. Be sure to check that out when it gets released later this week, likely tomorrow. Since I’ve already stated time and time again just how much I love this show, allow this to be my final word: The Wire is not to the TV world what The Godfather, Citizen Kane and Casablanca are to the film world. It’s just not at their level. It’s beyond it. Those movies have nothing on The Wire, a show that may just be the finest piece of entertainment ever produced, and one I can’t wait to experience again and again.
Blu-ray? No.
Notable Extras: The extras are the same as they were for the originally released DVD season sets.
| BEST PRICE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Target | Best Buy | Circuit City | Fry’s |
| N/A | $134.99 | $164.99 | N/A |
| Amazon – $134.99 | |||
EXCLUSIVE DEAL:
What? Free Exclusive The Wire soundtrack CD.
Where? Best Buy.
MAN ON WIRE
Completely unrelated to The Wire, this aptly-titled documentary chronicles Philippe Petit’s 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of New York’s World Trade Center. By all accounts, it’s supposed to be an excellent film, as proven with its absolutely stunning 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (as well as an incredibly strong 8.3 out of 10 on IMDB). Man, this sure has been a year filled with fantastic documentaries.
Blu-ray? Not until December 30, 2008.
Notable Extras: An audio commentary and deleted scenes.
| BEST PRICE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Target | Best Buy | Circuit City | Fry’s |
| N/A | $19.99 | $21.99 | N/A |
| Amazon – $18.99 | |||
HORTON HEARS A WHO!
(Available as single-disc and 2-Disc Special Edition)
Fun, funny and harmless, Horton Hears a Who! is a respectable but ultimately forgettable affair. It’s the type of family film geared more towards the kids, yet one that at the same time still allows parents to be entertained enough to not fall asleep or, worse, feel the immediate desire to smash their head into the coffee table. The only thing that almost ruins it is Jim Carrey, who feels consistently out of place with his blatant improvising and repeated attempts at wackiness (that end up coming across as more obnoxious than anything else). This is unsurprising since he did the exact same thing in another Dr. Seuss adaptation, The Grinch. As did Mike Myers in The Cat in the Hat. How’s this for a new rule: stop casting “wacky” comedians to star in Dr. Seuss adaptations.
Blu-ray? Yes.
Notable Extras: The single-disc includes a director’s commentary and a new Ice Age short called “Surviving Sid”. [Editor's Note: Huh?] The 2-disc set adds to this deleted footage and animation screen tests, That’s One Big Elephant: Animating Horton, Bringing the Characters to Life, Meet Katie, Elephant Fun: The Facts, Our Speck: Where Do We Fit In?, A Person Is a Person: A Universal Message, Bringing Seuss to Screen, The Elephant in the Room: Jim Carrey, and We Are Here! Game.
| BEST PRICE* | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Target | Best Buy | Circuit City | Fry’s |
| $14.99 | $16.99 | $14.99 | $19.99 |
| Amazon – $16.99 | |||
*Does not include 2-Disc Edition, which costs $22.99 at each of the listed stores (including Amazon).
EXCLUSIVE DEAL:
What? Deluxe ($22.99) has exclusive packaging, Dr. Seuss classic art puzzle and digital copy of the movie.
Where? Target.
EXCLUSIVE DEAL:
What? Free Exclusive Limited Edition Dr. Seuss Print when you buy any version of Horton Hears a Who.
Where? Best Buy.
I AM LEGEND (ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION)
I’m pretty sure we’ve already covered this ground thoroughly with the 300 (Limited Collector’s Edition) a few weeks back. The difference here though, is that this edition comes in Blu-ray, so that may provide people some incentive for the upgrade. Otherwise it’s just not worth it. Aside from new special features (listed below), here are the goodies that come with the set: an exclusive 44-page concept sketch book, a lenticular lucite commemorative piece featuring imagery from the film, and six collectible art cards.
Blu-ray? Yes.
Notable Extras: The new content consists of four animated comics, 12 never-before-seen deleted scenes, and more than two hours of all new extras. The rest is the same as the previous 2-disc release.
| BEST PRICE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Target | Best Buy | Circuit City | Fry’s |
| N/A | $37.99 | $36.99 | $38.99 |
| Amazon – $36.99 | |||
Other noteworthy DVDs available this week…
Deadwood (The Complete Series) – Sex and the City: The Movie (The Wedding Collection Ultimate Collectors Edition) – Happy Days (Season 4)
NOTE: Some deals may be in-store only.
$17.99 – Seinfeld (Season 8 or 9)
$19.99 – South Park (Season 11), 30 Rock (Season 2), Family Guy (Vol. 1 – 6)
$22.99 – Heroes (Season 2), Chuck (Season 1)
$4.99 – Batman Begins, X2, Batman: Gotham Knight, Transformers (with bonus collectible Optimus Prime mask), 3:10 to Yuma, Shooter, The Matrix, American Psycho (Killer Collector’s Edition)
$14.99 – Scrubs (Season 7)
$19.99 – Dexter (Season 2)
$24.99 – My Name is Earl (Season 3)
$34.99 – The Shield (Season 6)
$9.99 – It’s a Wonderful Life (2-Disc Special Edition), Elf, A Christmas Story, A Christmas Vacation, The Polar Express, and more…
$17.99 – Pushing Daisies (Season 1)
$19.99 – It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Season 1 – 3), Family Guy (Vol. 1 – 6), Californication (Season 1), Dexter (Season 1 – 2)
$21.99 – South Park (Season 7 – 10)
$24.99 – The Simpsons (Season 11), 24 (Season 1 – 6), Burn Notice (Season 1), Chappelle’s Show (The Series Collection), Prison Break (Season 1 – 3)
$34.99 – The Wire (Season 1 – 4), John Adams
$36.99 – The Sopranos (Season 1 – 6, part 2), Deadwood (Season 1 – 3)
$7.99 – Flags of our Fathers, Hustle & Flow, Jackass Number Two, Coming to America, Spider-Man 2, Four Brothers, The Longest Yard, Mean Girls, Anchorman, The Warrior, The Last Dragon, House of Flying Daggers, Kung Fu Hustle (Axe-Kickin’ Edition), Starship Troopers, Ghost Rider, and more…
Posted on Saturday, December 6th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
At Comic Con, filmmaker Francis Lawrence revealed that he was working to develop an I Am Legend prequel. Then came rumors that the prequel was actually a sequel, and somehow Will Smith would still be involved. It really didn’t make much sense. Thankfully our friends at Collider got the chance to clear up the rumors while talking to Will Smith at the Seven Pounds junket — It’s a PREQUEL.
“We’re still trying to work through a couple of bumps in the story,” said Smith. “It’s essentially the fall of the last city – the last stand of Manhattan. The movie would be… within the body of the movie D.C. and then Manhattan would fall as the last city. It’s a really cool idea trying to figure it out… there’s a reason why we have to take a small band and we have to get into D.C. So we have to make our way from New York to D.C. and then back to New York.”
A couple days ago we were talking about how World War Z might be the first large scale zombie film, but it now looks like Smith and Lawrence are planning the same type of thing. It spans two cities! How cool is that?! Sure, we know where Smith’s character is likely to end by the time the credits roll, but it might be a fun roller coaster ride. And for those wondering, Smith also confirmed that the dog would return, but as a puppy.
According to a scooper at AICN, the I Am Legend prequel might no longer be a prequel. The original idea was for the film to take place “several years before the original film” and follow Will Smith’s character Robert Neville as he fails to save a small pocket of survivors. I’ll admit, I was never a huge fan of the prequel idea, because we know where it will eventually end up. But Warner Bros was insistent in making the movie with Will Smith, and that was the idea he developed. But now rumor has it that the film will be a direct follow-up to the original film. Problem is, [possible spoiler alert] Smith’s character is killed at the end of the first film. So how would this be possible?
Posted on Sunday, August 3rd, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
Not that anyone really cares, but the Teen Choice Awards apparently took place tonight. I mean how can you take any award show seriously that has a category like “Choice Bromantic Comedy” and where Step Up 2: The Streets can win Best Dramatic Film of the year?! The show will air on Monday at 8:00pm et/pt on FOX, but we have the list of movie related winners below.
Action Adventure: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Drama: Step Up 2: The Streets
Chick Flick: 27 Dresses
Bromantic Comedy: What Happens in Vegas
Comedy: Juno
Horror/Thriller: I Am Legend
Action Adventure: Hancock
Summer Movie Comedy: Get Smart
Actor - Drama: Channing Tatum, Stop-Loss
Actress - Drama: Keira Knightley, Atonement
Actress - Action Adventure: Rachel Bilson, Jumper
Actor - Comedy: Ashton Kutcher, What Happens in Vegas
Actress - Comedy: Ellen Page, Juno
Actor - Horror/Thriller: Will Smith, I Am Legend
Actress - Horror/Thriller: Jessica Alba, The Eye
Villain: Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd
Breakout Female: Ellen Page, Juno
Breakout Male: Drake Bell, Superhero Movie
During Comic Con, filmmaker Francis Lawrence revealed to Shock Till You Drop that he is thinking of making a prequel to the Will Smith sci-fi thriller I Am Legend.
“Yes, yes, absolutely, we’re actually trying to crack that, Francis told Shock. “We’re trying to figure out some ideas for it.”
The original film has made over $580 million worldwide, and who knows how much on home video. Even Smith’s recent critically slammed Superhero comedy Hancock went on to gross over $380 million worldwide. And Lawrence believes that Smith would reprise his role of Dr. Robert Neville for the prequel, which would pretty much guarantee a green light. I mean, if you ran Warner Bros, would you say no to guaranteed money?
But the real question is, would an I Am Legend prequel have a story that is worth telling. I thought Legend was one half a great movie, and one half a bad movie. The elements I liked involved Smith alone in a post apocalyptic New York. The parts I hated were the more scientific elements of the plot and the entire third act. It seems to me that a prequel would be more of the latter, but who knows… The first film focused on a character who had already figured everything out, knew to stay indoors before dark and was hardened by the whole experience. It might be interesting to watch the moment where everything went wrong, and see how Smith’s character had to adapt to the changes, and the mistakes he made along the way.
Movie Scenes Recreated in GTA4 by Mentok
The Pitch: Mentok recreated famous movie scenes in Grand Theft Auto 4. Films include Godfather, Goodfellas, Reservoir Dogs, I Am Legend, American History X, and Fight Club.
Video of the Day is a daily feature of /Film showcasing geekarific video creations. Have a video we should be feature on VOTD? E-Mail us at orfilms@gmail.com.
It was big news that I Am Legend went through a series of reshoots. One of the big changes was the film’s ending, which was reshot to give the film a more commercial conclusion. The special edition DVD hits store shelves on March 18th, and the alternative ending has been leaked onto YouTube.
I’d be interested to hear what you guys think, so please post your thoughts in the comments. I feel that this is a much better conclusion, aside from the voiceover driving sequence which book ends the footage. Also, can anyone please explain to me how they drove out of Manhattan if all the bridges were destroyed… Am I missing something? It’s also worth noting that a few seconds of this alternative ending was included in one of the early trailers. I was really weirded out when I didn’t see it on the screen in December, as it seemed like a rather creepy sequence.
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Over the weekend we got a ton of emails from readers who saw I Am Legend. You see, during the opening sequence in an abandoned Time Square, a huge billboard is visible advertising a Batman vs. Superman feature film which will hit theaters on 05-15-10. Fans have started to speculate that this could be the Justice League movie. As we’ve told you before, director George Miller recently announced that the Justice League film was still on the fast track, but would be released under a new title. And rumor has it that a fight between The Dark Knight and The Man of Steel is a main focal point of the Justice League script.
But don’t get too excited, producers are saying that the poster in the movie is a completely fictional creation. The sight gag was an addition to the film by screenwriter/producer Akiva Goldsman, who was originally attached to a Superman vs. Batman screenplay that never got produced. So calm down - there isn’t going to be a Batman vs. Superman movie just yet. A very cool easter egg indeed.
photo: Tuna
