Check out the trailer for Gareth Evans’ Merantau starring the amazing Iko Uwais. Uwais is a master of the Indonesian martial art Silat and Merantau is his first film. Looks like a winner to me. What do you think? Can he take Tony Jaa’s place?

Blood! Crazy ass warrior chick played by the impossibly hot Olga Kurylenko and one badassed Dominic West! I’m sold! This movie is going to be awesomeful!
Thanks to IGN for the trailer.

A young police officer (Ryan Kwanten) must survive his first day’s duty in a small country town.
Trailer for Patrick Hughes’ Red Hill has got me pretty excited.
Check it out below and let me know what you think. Thanks to both Twitch and Quiet Earth for the linkage.

The Plot:
Extreme Prejudice is the story of tough as nails Texas Ranger (Nick Nolte) and his fued with a drug kingpin (Powers Boothe) who just happens to be his childhood best friend. The feud is complicated when an army of supposedly dead mercenaries come into town and it’s unclear where their loyalties lie.

The Cast:
Prejudice is chock full of 80′s movie icons and bit part players. The supporting cast includes: Michael Ironside, Tiny Lister Jr., Rip Torn, William Forsythe, Clancy Brown, Larry B. Scott, Matt Mullhern, and Maria Conchita-Alonso, it’s a smorgasbord of 80′s goodness.

Best Line:
Powers Boothe as Cash Bailey has the classiest line of the film when he tells Serita Cisneros (Maria Conchita Alonso) to quit whining and “show us some tit if you want to be useful”.

Bottom Line:
This is more than your typical 80′s action flick. It’s a bloody bullet filled homage to Sam Peckinpah’s “The Wild Bunch”, and it’s a damn good one. In the final showdown between Cash and Jack, Hill makes his most obvious nod to Peckinpah and he does so with amazing style. His action sequences spurt blood and break bones with lightning speed. The cast, particularly Rip Torn, turn in great performances. It is the film’s story that is its weakest point. Every twist and turn is telegraphed, but by the end of the film you’re having such a good time watching Benteen dispense justice to baddies that you won’t care. Extreme Prejudice, despite it’s minor flaws, holds up as a fantastic action/western that shouldn’t be missed.

Yes it’s a lot of the same footage that was shown at Comic-Con 2008, but it’s all cleaned up and pretty! I can’t begin to explain how excited I am about this movie. The cast includes Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, and John Hurt. It will be released in 2010 in 3D as well as IMAX. Get your geek on below.

Want to play Tron Light Cycle game on your Mac or PC? Go here! It is, however, incredibly addictive. You’ve been warned.

Back in October we found out that a live action World of Warcraft movie was in the works. Most of us feared the worst, Uwe Boll. Thankfully, that is not the case. Instead Variety is reporting that Sam Raimi will begin work on the film immediately following Spiderman 4. This is good news and bad news. For most of you nerds out there it means you’ll get to see your favorite MMORPG brought to the big screen by one of the most talented directors around. Sadly, it means Evil Dead 4 is that much further away. WoW is reportedly budgeted at 100 million and should begin by mid 2010.

1. The Haunting in Connecticut
After a family is forced to relocate for their son’s health, they begin experiencing supernatural behavior in their new home, which turns out to be a former mortuary.

What’s good about it:
Zero. There is not a single shred of originality, entertainment value, or style in this film. It’s like an episode of Full House, but with ghosts.
On the upside there are no Olsen twins!

What’s bad about it:
See the above statement.

Bottom Line:
Director Peter Cornwell vomits this celluloid waste on to the screen with, what seems like, zero regard for the genre of horror. Avoid at all costs.

2. The Horsemen
A recently widowed detective still grieving over his wife’s death discovers a shocking connection between himself and the suspects in a serial killing spree linked to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

What’s good about it:
Strong performances by Dennis Quaid and Ziyi Zhang. Zhang is particularly creepy (and hot) as Kristen. Director Jonas Akerland has a strong visual style that keeps the Horsmen afloat for most of its duration, and the film’s gore is very well done.

Bottom Line:
Wait for cable. Horsemen will pass for slight entertainment for fans of the genre, but its cliched characters and ending will leave most of you disappointed.

Blu-Ray Releases of Note

1. The Towering Inferno

At the opening party of a collosal, but poorly constructed, office building, a massive fire breaks out that threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it.

Absolutely one of the best disaster films ever made! Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Paul Newman, Susan Blakely, Richard, Chamberlin, Fred Astaire, and Robert Wagner! You can’t really go wrong! This film is a must own.

This BD contains a plethora of special features. The full list follows:
Commentary by F.X. Feeney, film historian
Scene-specific commentary by Mike Vezina, special effects director on ‘X3′
Scene-specific commentary by Branko Racki, stunt coordinator on ‘The Day After Tomorrow’
32 extended and deleted scenes
Alternate opening sequence
10 featurettes:
Inside the Tower: We Remember
Innovating Tower: The SPFX of an Inferno
The Art of Towering
Irwin Allen: The Great Producer
Directing the Inferno
Putting out Fire
Walking on Fire
Still the World’s Tallest Building
The Write Stirling Silliphant
AMC Backstory: The Towering Inferno
Six storyboard comparisons
Vintage promotional materials:
NATO presentation reel
Two original 1974 featurettes
Irwin Allen 1977 interview
Trailer farm:
‘The Towering Inferno’ teaser
‘The Towering Inferno’ trailer
‘The Poseidon Adventure’ trailer
Interactive galleries:
American Cinematographer article
‘The Towering Inferno’ and how it was filmed
Photographing the dramatic sequences for ‘The Towering Inferno’
“Action Unit” lives up to its name while shooting ‘The Towering Inferno’
Stills galleries:
Shot compositions
Publicity
Behind the scenes
Conceptual sketches
Costumes

2.Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon / Curse of the Golden Flower / House of Flying Daggers Box Set

The Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Blu-ray will feature the following bonus materials:

Three visually arresting martial arts epics in one blu-ray box set. I just wish that they offered a bit more in the way of special features. I’ll likely wait until they are released separately with all the extras these films deserve. You should do the same.

Audio commentary with Ang Lee and James Schamus
A Conversation with Michelle Yeoh
Unleashing the Dragons: Making Of Featurette
Photo Gallery

The Curse of the Golden Flower Blu-ray will feature the following bonus materials:

Los Angeles Premiere Featurette
Secrets Within: Making Of Featurette

The House of Flying Daggers Blu-ray will feature the following bonus materials:

Storyboards
Creating the Visual Effects Featurette

3. Death Trance


Living in an undisclosed time and location, a master samurai known as Grave is on the constant lookout for a battle worth his energy. He finds this fight in a quest for a coffin from the Tougan Temple, a journey that puts a young woman from the temple grounds on Grave’s path.

I’m not sure how well this will turn out in HD, but I’m willing to give it a shot. While Death Trance is not a great film it certainly is visually stunning. I haven’t been able to find any specs or extra features information online so if you’ve bought the disc or have a link to the info drop me a line.

I don’t know if there is a movie I’m more excited about right now. Sure, I’m looking forward to watching G.I. Joe in state of inebriation and having what I’m sure will be a good chuckle. (Damn you Stephen Sommers of raping my childhood) But District 9 looks like the real deal. The story revolves around an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth who suddenly find a kindred spirit in a government agent that is exposed to their biotechnology. District 9 releases August 14th. It is produced by Peter Jackson and directed by Neil Blomkamp. The two previously worked as co-directors on the short Crossing the Line, which used Oakley’s new high tech HD camera The Red One. Check out the new trailer below that gives you more of a look at the action and special effects.

1.Knowing

In 1958, as part of the dedication ceremony for a new elementary school, a group of students is asked to draw pictures to be stored in a time capsule but one mysterious girl fills her sheet of paper with rows of apparently random numbers instead. Fifty years later, Professor John Koestler (Nicolas Cage) makes the startling discovery that the encoded message predicts every major disaster of the past 50 years. As John further unravels the document’s chilling secrets, he realizes the document foretells three additional events—the last of which hints at destruction on a global scale and seems to somehow involve John and his son.

What’s good about it
The special effects…maybe.

What’s bad about it
Where do I begin? This movie was almost too painful to finish. The films mixed religious overtones were ridiculous and confusing, and the ending may induce riotous laughter. What happened to director Alex Proyas?! He did Dark City! And The Crow! I tried to forgive him for I, Robot. But seriously this film should be filed under Atrocity. I would rather welcome a documentary on Nicholas Cage’s ever changing locks. Now that would be entertaining.

Bottom line
Do I really need to say it again?

2.The Unborn

In this supernatural thriller, Casey, (Odette Yustman) is plagued with nightmares and a demonic force that haunts her during her waking hours. Her only hope to break the debilitating curse is spiritual advisor Sednik, played by Gary Oldman.

What’s good about it:
Not a damn thing. Unborn offers absolutely nothing new to the genre. Director David S. Goyer leeches from far superior source material and defecates all over it. Thanks Mr. Goyer.

What’s bad about it
Not even the presence of the mighty Gary Oldman can save this complete waste of celluloid. There is nothing of any value to see here.

Bottom Line
Don’t rent it. Don’t buy it. Avert your eyes at all costs.

3. Push

Director Paul McGuigan spins this sci-fi action tale about a group of super powered paranormal operatives. A telekinetic “mover” (Chris Evans) teams up with a future seeing “watcher” (Dakota Fanning) to steal a billion dollar secret. But to outrun the government agents after them they must enlist the help of a mind controlling “pusher” played by Camilla Belle.

What’s good about it
Director Paul McGuigan proves that he can put together some good action sequences, and most of the cast turns in credible, if sometimes hammy, performances.

What’s bad about it
Chris Evans. Does anyone else feel like he’s a second rate Ryan Reynolds? The script does a decent job of explaining the universe that these supernatural beings live in, but ultimately it’s too convoluted and the characters are too thinly drawn.

Bottom line
Rent it if you’re in the mood for brainless action science fiction, but don’t expect too much.

Yes. The idea of remaking Predator is complete bollox. That is unless Robert Rodriguez is the guy behind the lens. Much to my dismay that is not the case. A few months ago when it was first reported that Rodriguez’s Troublemaker studios would be responsible for rebooting the now classic action flick there was much speculation that Rodriguez himself would direct. Now that’s an idea I can get behind. Sadly that wet dream was cut short when Rodriguez himself announced that director Nimrod Antal (Vacancy, Kontroll) had been chosen to helm the reboot. Below is a bit of what Rodriguez had to say when AICN caught up with him:

“First of all, on a personal level I found him to be an outstanding presence, a great communicator full of ideas, and upon meeting him you can immediately understand how he is able to wrangle cast and crew and get the best out of everyone. I always loved “Kontroll”, where he proved himself to be a very resourceful and original filmmaker. When I saw “Armored”, I could tell he’s also great with action and has a keen eye for casting. He reminded me of Quentin with how he was able to work with a group of very strong, singular actor talents and make it look effortless. I know he’ll be able to get the most out of what we want to be an outstanding cast. We really want to go with a character driven action movie, because that’s what we all remember about the original “Predator”, and we want to take it even further with this.”

Let me start by saying I really enjoyed Kontroll. Vacancy didn’t make me want to jump for joy, but I didn’t want to spoon my eyes out either. But what the fuck is Rodriguez thinking? Has he been too busy making kids movies (Spy Kids, Shorts) to put any actual thought into who should direct this film? Antal is a competent director. Better than most, but he is not fit for a Predator reboot. Perhaps I’m wrong. Maybe with Rodriguez’s guidance as a producer Antal will turn in a great movie. I doubt it. What do you guys think?
Check out the trailer for Armored, Antal’s latest, below.