Rama's Screen

Just when we’re about to say hello to 2009, The Weinstein Company gave the world a belated Christmas Gift. Via Comingsoon, joblo and tarantinoarchives, it is now official that August 21st, 2009 will be the day that Quentin Tarantino’s WWII Drama INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS hits U.S. Theaters nationwide everywhere.

However, Universal that handles the international distribution hasn’t decided on when the movie might be released in other countries.
The movie will first premiere at Cannes Film Festival next year and I think August is a wise choice. If it were to open early in the summer, it wouldn’t stand a chance going against Wolverine, Transformers 2 and other blockbuster movies and I got a feeling this Tarantino bloody graphic movie isn’t quite Oscar worthy enough to open in the late fall season.
Happy New Year, you Basterds!

Most WWII drama would have the Jews on the victim side, DEFIANCE is one that has The Jews level the playing field. It’s a deep, emotional, and riveting tale a true story that deserves to be told. Director Edward Zwick (Glory, The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond) once again returns to… Read the rest of this entry »

How STAR WARS Should’ve Ended

Have you ever watched a movie, any movie, and stopped to wonder ‘man, that would’ve been so much better if the ending had been totally different!’. The awesome folks at howitshouldhaveended.com come up with crazy videos that re-imagine the endings to some of our favorite movies. Here I’ve posted just three that I think are hysterical. STAR WARS, SPIDER-MAN 3, and THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Especially Spider-Man 3, we all know that it had the potential to not suck the way it did, so this clip shows some of those necessary fixes, if you will. Just check ‘em out. And see the rest at the official website or the Youtube Channel.

How SPIDER-MAN 3 Should’ve Ended

How THE LORD OF THE RINGS Should’ve Ended

Via Movie City Indie, here’s an old, old footage of an interview between the late eccentric artistAndy Warhol and the master director Steven Spielberg. The 1970s Fashion Icon Bianca Jagger was there as well. Why the three of them were in Spielberg’s hotel bedroom is beyond me but I doubt threesome was what happened afterward.
And anybody who think Andy Warhol was out there and just super weird, this vibrant video proves that Spielberg can be so visionary, even he talks like an alien himself, especially his fascination with the ghosts on the TV set.
Check out Warhol’s bewildered face throughout the whole interview.

As part of their “I can’t wait for 2009″ segment, ABC News recently  featured a Behind-The-Scenes featurette clip of the upcoming controversial thriller, ANGELS & DEMONS based on one of my favorite Dan Brown novels of all time. You can watch it using the media player below. Here we can see Tom Hanks with his not-so-weird hairstyle, showcasing his talent as an actor but the video also mentions the obstacles that the production went through and it ends with a Catholic priest who’s so uptight, he likes to judge a book by its cover and then toss it into the fireplace.

SYNOPSIS:
When Langdon discovers evidence of the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati – the most powerful underground organization in history – he also faces a deadly threat to the existence of the secret organization’s most despised enemy: the Catholic Church. When Langdon learns that the clock is ticking on an unstoppable Illuminati time bomb, he jets to Rome, where he joins forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and enigmatic Italian scientist. Embarking on a nonstop, action-packed hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra will follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that mark the Vatican’s only hope for survival.

ANGELS & DEMONS opens May 15th, 2009

The promo teaser for CRANK 2: HIGH VOLTAGE hit the web via Intralink and it’s got lots of cusses, nudity, F this and F that, o and did I mention Nudity?! Plus Amy Smart’s nipples censored with black tapes. In this high-octane sequel, hitman Chev Chelios’ (Jason Statham) launches himself on an electrifying chase through Los Angeles in pursuit of the Chinese mobster who has stolen his nearly indestructible heart.
I’m not a big fan of the first installment, but I think directors Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine want to make sure that this sequel is faster, badder, and more electrifying than what the fans will expect. It’s actually pretty damn interesting. I’m all cranked up!

CRANK 2: HIGH VOLTAGE opens April 17th, 2009

It’s not the 6th of the month but a new WATCHMEN Featurette has hit the web via MySpace and it’s director Zack Snyder explaining the movie and the cast and the characters they play. Is it just me or everything about this movie is becoming more and more appealing. It looks like their typical monthly video journal. Nothing on the whole nasty battle between WB Vs. Fox and I doubt any of its upcoming featurettes will have that as the headline. By the way, Eugene Novikov of Cinematical strongly believes that WB will pay up to keep the movie’s theatrical release date the same without any delays, which is what Fox wants. Let’s hope his prediction is on target.

SYNOPSIS:
A complex, multi-layered mystery adventure, “Watchmen” is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the “Doomsday Clock” – which charts the USA’s tension with the Soviet Union – is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed-up but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion – a ragtag group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers – Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity…but who is watching the Watchmen?

WATCHMEN opens March 6th, 2009

Rediff has this first look of a Bollywood production film titled KAMBAKKTH ISHQ (it means “Incredible Love” in English) and as you can see in the image, the girl that Bollyood star Akshay Kumar is romancing is none other than Denise Richards. I guess it’s a fair trade, since Hollywood has borrowed Bollywood hottie, Aishwarya Rai for a couple of times (The Last Legion, The Pink Panther 2).
It’s been 10 years since Denise Richards was proclaimed a sex symbol in the movie Wild Things (let’s forget Kevin Bacon’s ‘johnson’ shot, shall we) and now she’s doing gigs like this but she’s not the only one.

KAMBAKKTH ISHQ also features Sylvester Stallone and Brandon Routh (Superman Returns).
Back in June, it was reported that both Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger were going to sign on to make an appearance in the project but Schwarzenegger decided not to, probably because he’s got his Guv’nah job to do.

The reason why they needed those two names because the film is about a stuntman, who does stunt doubles for Hollywood actors. But things eventually worked out anyway with just Stallone, Richards and Routh participating.
According to the website, they did eight days of shooting with Denise Richards who has an important, substantial role. While Stallone only has approximately seven to 10 minutes of screen time so it was only a three-day shoot with him.

After the horrible, tragic terrorist attack in Mumbai not too long ago, I sure hope Bollywood industry would still prove to be a powerful force to be reckon with and show the world that those terrorists did not win.

The Teaser for Disney’s upcoming CG animated family movie produced by Jerry Brukheimer, G-FORCE, has hit the web. It was originally attached the movie Bedtime Stories this past weekend. You can watch it in better quality at the official website, but why would you?! This thing looks like a cross between Cats and Dogs and Spy Kids. And I can’t believe they’re actually releasing as a summer movie. I’m not sure if this is a smart move by Bruckheimer.

SYNOPSIS:
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer brings his first 3-D film to the big screen with “G-Force,” a comedy adventure about the latest evolution of a covert government program to train animals to work in espionage. Armed with the latest high-tech spy equipment, these highly trained guinea pigs discover that the fate of the world is in their paws. Tapped for the G-Force are guinea pigs Darwin (voice of Sam Rockwell), the squad leader determined to succeed at all costs; Blaster (voice of Tracy Morgan), an outrageous weapons expert with tons of attitude and a love for all things extreme; and Juarez (voice of Penelope Cruz), a sexy martial arts pro; plus the literal fly-on-the-wall reconnaissance expert, Mooch, and a star-nosed mole, Speckles (voice of Nicolas Cage), the computer and information specialist.
Directed by two-time Oscar®-winning visual effects master Hoyt Yeatman—”G-Force” takes audiences on a high-octane thrill ride, proving once and for all that size really doesn’t matter.

G-FORCE opens July 24th, 2009

EAGLE EYE hits DVD this week and for those of you who’ve seen the movie, you know that (SPOILER ALERT!) the ending had Shia Labeouf miraculously survive the gunshot wounds he sustained while interrupting a national anthem so that a bomb won’t go off and kill the President of the United States, the next scene had him visiting Michelle Monahan and gave her son a Guitar Hero Rock Band game.
Some guy video-tape the DVD and posted on youtube, the alternate ending which you can see in the clip above. All I can say it, thank God they didn’t go with that one, it reminds me of how stupid the ending to Dakota Fanning’s thriller HIDE AND SEEK was.
I still think EAGLE EYE deserves to be in my top 5 list of Best thrillers of 2008 but I think it would’ve been even better if Shia got killed instead of a happy ending or the silly alternate one.