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Dan Owen reviews

DAN'S   MOVIE   DIGEST

I s s u e   # 1

1 9   J u l y   2 0 0 2

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** MOVIE NEWS **

'BATMAN' VS 'SUPERMAN'?

"Batman Vs Superman" has been given the officially go-ahead, with director Wolfgang Petersen ("The Perfect Storm") at the helm. "The plot is structured in a way that these two very different sides basically of the same coin have to clash at some point because they handle situations totally differently," Petersen told MTV.com.

"For a large portion of the thing they are at each other's throats. But then, of course, because they are both crime fighters, they join forces again and fight evil. First of all, the dynamics are different because if they are in one movie together it changes a lot of things and it gives you a new perspective on superheroes. You have also the look and feel of Metropolis, the bright golden city, and the feel of Gotham, which is a shadowy, sinister city, in the same movie. This is Superman/Batman of the time after September 11th, also. It takes place in today or tomorrow's world."

Petersen also belayed fears from comic-book purists by stating he wants actors with real ability to play the leads, sighting Matt Damon as an example of the type of actor he will be looking for.

'BLADE 3 - ARMAGEDDON?'

Screenwriter David Goyer, who penned both "Blade" and "Blade 2", has given some hints about what fans can expect from "Blade 3". "Well, we're going to make a third one, but I don't know that there will be a fourth one. We'll see, but having successfully done two, you never know how many you're going to have," Goyer said. Until now, both Goyer and New Line have spoken as though "Blade 3" would be the third and final film.

"It can't last forever, and also for Wesley [Snipes], they're physically grueling. At a certain point, he just won't want to do it anymore which I don't blame him."

Interestingly, it's said that Goyer has set his original idea for "Blade 3" back 20 years, to feature an apocalyptic event that could give Vampires the opportunity to conquer the planet. So, some sort of permanent solar eclipse then.?

Sadly, "Blade 2" director Guillermo Del Toro is now far too busy with his film adaptation of comic-book "Hellboy" to return for the third movie of the vampire franchise. His successor may be German director Oliver Hirschbiegel - director of "The Experiment".

'ID4-2'

"Independence Day 2"? Okay, I'm sure the studio would love a sequel from 1996's Summer hit starring Will Smith, but where can they possibly go with the idea? Well, according to producer/writer Dean Devlin, plans for an "ID4-2" are in place: "Since September 11th, [director Emmerich] and I did a lot of reflecting on the movie," Devlin said in an interview while promoting his latest film, "Eight Legged Freak"s.

"It started because people were asking us about images that were fantasy images that then looked so frightening real in the [wake of] horrible events that took place." Regarding the movie's inspiration theme post-alien attack - "after the great attack, everyone comes together who had been at odds, and we kind of watched our world do that," he said.

"The one good side, I think, of something horrible is how people come together and band together. And through those discussions we started talking about the other parts of "Independence Day" that we actually liked the most, and that led us to a new story."

Well, call me a cynic, but the pulling power of "ID-4" was the prospect of watching aliens destroy major cities in a realistic fashion - something I doubt the sequel will do again (post September 11th) and which wouldn't make much sense anyway - you can't blow up Washington D.C twice!! Watch this space for more news.

'MATRIX' CHOPPER ACTION!

Producer Joel Silver has let slip the climax to "The Matrix Reloaded", currently shooting in Australia for a 15 May 2003 release. Silver says they are now filming a climactic 14-minute long action sequence with a helicopter flying low to the ground through empty city streets.

What's most interesting is Silver's claim that the effects-packed finale will set a new benchmark for visual effects in movies, and it should take years for a movie to supersede the effects work being done - owing to the huge amount of time they have to polish the visuals. It's said that the principal photography shoot alone will take two months for the 14-minute running time!

Cover 'SPIDER-MAN' SPINS AGAIN?

Sam Raimi will direct the sequel to his box-office behemoth "Spider-Man", which will again star Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. It's expected to feature Sam Neill ("Jurassic Park") as head villain Doctor Octopus, although nothing has been confirmed.

Co-star Kirsten Dunst is said to be expecting a rival love interest for Peter Parker's affections next time around, and there's a rumour that The Lizard may take henchman duties in the sequel - as his alter-ego was mentioned in the first film. Christopher Walken's name has been mentioned as a possible candidate to play the cold-blooded creature. "Spider-Man 2" is expected to start production in 2003 for a Summer 2004 release date.

'STAR TREK' BEAMS UP? With "Star Trek Nemesis" being advertised as 'The Final Adventure' for The Next Generation crew, fans will obviously flock to see the latest instalment of the ongoing Trek franchise. However judging by the cash-driven ethics of Paramount, is this really likely? According to Vice-Chairman of Paramount Rod Friedman, "The new TV show "Enterprise" is strong, video sales are strong, and the movies are performing in the $80 million to $100 million range." Will they really let the cast disappear after just four movies, with no obvious replacement following the lack of cultural impact made by spin-off shows "Deep Space Nine" and "Voyager"?

Regardless, buzz about "Nemesis" is slowly building, with test screenings delivering far more satisfied movie-goers than the tragic "Star Trek Insurrection". Rick Berman, Trek's foster father since the death of Gene Roddenberry, has even said, "I don't want to start talking in ridiculous superlatives, but fans are going to get one hell of a movie. There are immense space battles and a good deal of humour, but there are also some extremely terrifying elements to the story." Actor Tom Hardy, who plays Shinzon, the titular enemy of "Nemesis" has also come in for some praise from test audiences and Berman himself. "He'll go down as perhaps the greatest "Star Trek" villain ever, right up there with Ricardo Montalban's Khan."

Cover 'TOMB RAIDER 2' UNCOVERED!

Well, the screenplay's almost done, and now the project has a director - Jan De Bont; the foreign guy behind "Speed" and, er, "Speed 2". But is Angelina Jolie still involved? Let's hope so, as the screenplay is significantly more meaty this time (how could it now be when compared to the anorexic original?!) "Lara Croft & The Cradle Of Life" concerns the search for the legendary Pandora's Box, which Lara discovers the co-ordinates to from a sphere hidden inside a sunken temple. The film's antagonist is Chen Lo, an oriental villain with martial arts skills.

The action sequences are said to be excitingly staged and faithful to the computer games (with Lara even getting into some skintight wetsuits). The opening sequence apparently takes place in an underwater temple (inside a convenient air-pocket), which is also tilted at a 45 degree angle, with thousands of swords dangling down from above. Hair-raising stuff!

'SIGNS' OF THE TIMES

M. Night Shyamalan's latest movie, "Signs" could become a surprise hit of the Summer if the latest word-of-mouth can be believed. Shyamalan, writer/director of "The Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable" has chosen crop circle formations as the topic of his latest supernatural pot-boiler. "Signs" stars Mel Gibson as an American farmer whose crops become curiously, er, flattened.

If that doesn't sound particularly frightening, the tense trailer should perk your interest, and a number of test audience members have begun likening to impact of the movie to Steven Spielberg's "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind". High praise indeed. And it seems the rumour of Disney's crop-circle marketing trick is more fact than fiction, as this picture proves!

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US TOP 10 (CINEMA)

1. Men In Black II ($52,148,751)

2. Mr Deeds ($18,411,597)

3. Lilo & Stitch ($12,636,421)

4. Minority Report ($12,556,624)

5. Like Mike ($12,179,420)

6. The Bourne Identity ($9,156,240)

7. Scooby Doo ($7,022,624)

8. The Sum Of All Fears ($3,715,435)

9. The Powerpuff Girls Movie ($3,583,114)

10. Divine Secrets Of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood ($2,814,943)
UK TOP 10 (CINEMA)

1. Minority Report (£4,506,315)

2. Spider-Man (£1,452, 348)

3. Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron (£719,681)

4. Murder By Numbers (£376,311)

5. Star Wars Episode II - Attack Of The Clones (£318,345)

6. Big Fat Liar (£220,835)

7. Birthday Girl (£120,683)

8. Unfaithful (£112,867)

9. Snow Dogs (£108,421)

10. 40 Days & 40 Nights (£98,732)

** TRAILERS **

Cover AUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER - can lightning strike three times? Mike Myers hopes so! Although judging from this trailer, the laughs look to be significantly reduced as franchise fatigue weasles in...
Austin Powers: Goldmember trailer

STAR TREK NEMESIS - tenth (and final?) outing for the Star Trek film franchise? Get a look at this tasty theatrical trailer from Paramount, and marvel at how much it looks like a proper MOVIE and not a glorified TV 2-part episode. Well, it is an even numbered Trek sequel - so it's preordained to be worth your money ;0)
Star Trek: Nemesis trailer

xXx - Vin Diesel. His name screams action movie star, so now the bald-headed gravel-voiced hard-nut gets his own movie to headline. Forget voice-over duties in "The Iron Giant", and marvel at James Bond as an extreme sporter!
xXx trailer

SPY KIDS 2 - overated first movie, yes, but can the sequel deliver for people over the age of 10 this time? To be fair, the trailer looks gorgeous, but then.. so did the "Spy Kids" trailer...
Spy Kids 2 trailer

THE LORD OF THE RINGS - THE TWO TOWERS - what will you be getting for Christmas this year? A ticket to see Lord Of The Rings 2? Let's hope so! The trailer seems to be "more of the same" despite Peter Jackson stating the opposite - but is that a bad thing, anyway?
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers trailer

Cover THE HULK - Ang Lee directs next year's big hope in the superhero renaissance, kickstarted properly with "Spider-Man". Can the man who brought foreign language chopsocky action to the world with "Crouching Tiger..." make people believe in a big green radioactive brute? We'll see next year, but this modest teaser hints at the possibilitites...
The Hulk trailer

REIGN OF FIRE - surprise Summer hit alert! Rob Bowman throws aside his "X-Files" director trappings to direct a Summer blockbuster with story and characters to back up some rather impressive CGI dragon action!
Reign of Fire trailer

DAREDEVIL - before "The Hulk" dominates 2003 (in the superhero stakes, anyway) audiences will first get to see Ben Affleck as the blind lawyer with bat-like sonar, together with Michael Clarke Duncan, Colin Farrell and TV's Jennifer Garner ("Alias") as Elektra. Could be good, but the trailer looks average, and the world beyond America may not view a movie version of "Daredevil" as anything to get excited about...
Daredevil trailer