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Dan Owen reviews

DAN'S   MOVIE   DIGEST

I s s u e   # 7 3

0 9   J a n u a r y   2 0 0 4

Movie News
Trailers
US & UK Top cinema listings
In the Pipeline

** MOVIE NEWS **

Cover Welcome to the first issue of 2004! I'm sure this is going to be another year of (potentially) great movies, such as: Spider-Man 2, Sky Captain & The World Of Tomorrow, Hellboy, Thunderbirds, Scooby Doo 2, Kill Bill Volume II, Van Helsing, Chronicles Of Riddick, Garfield, The Village, Troy, Son Of The Mask, Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban, Resident Evil 2, Alien Vs Predator, and many more...

Enjoy!

LEON 2

Rumours have begun that Jet Li may star in a sequel to Luc Besson's Leon (aka The Professional), which starred Jean Reno, a young Natalie Portman and Gary Oldman.

Well, now Natalie Portman has addressed some of the rumours, telling 'People' magazine that the project is a possibility: "When [Star Wars] Episode III finishes? I don't know. To tell you the truth, I'd like to just relax for a while. Kick back with some friends. If anything, it might be something with Luc Besson; a follow-up to a film I did when I was younger called Leon."

"The script's really great, and near worth delaying a vacation for. The only problem would be that I would have to hit the gym again - and at the moment I can't even envision tying my own laces up."

BOND

The 'Chicago Sun-Times' interviewed Ewan MacGregor about continuing speculation that he may become the next James Bond: "I think about this the same way I thought about the rumours that I might do Star Wars. I always said with that one, too, that I'd have to wait and see if they really wanted me and how I felt about it at the time."
"What would worry me about Bond is that it does seem to require an enormous commitment in the same way that Star Wars doesn't because those movies were so far apart, whereas Bond seems to be closer together..."

"I also notice Pierce Brosnan spending a lot of the year promoting Bond films. So, I would worry about that because I'd have less time to do other films."

Cover

VAN HELSING

The first photos of Dracula's three brides have been released (see right), together with a poster of Hugh Jackman as Van Helsing himself. (see below-right)

KILL BILL - VOLUME II

'The Quentin Tarantino Archives' has revealed that a new teaser trailer for Kill Bill Volume II will debut online very soon, but that the movie's release is likely to be pushed back from 20 February.

KillBill.jp (the official Japanese website) has a Volume II trailer already up - subtitled The Love Story.

Cover Volume II is rumoured to be released on 16 April now - a date mentioned by star Uma Thurman herself.

PREDATOR 3

Arnold Schwarzenegger has revealed tentative plans to resume his movie career, but in a much smaller capacity.

He also spoke of plans for a third Predator movie, saying: "The studio has wanted a third one for quite some years. It didn't interest because what was appealing to me about this films I did after was that I had a chance to play a totally regular guy, the way I am at home with my family... where if there's a problem, they don't just come in like a steamroller and say 'I'm action man, I can take care of job'."

"I like the family men; I like characters close to myself. I always enjoyed movies where you see a little more about the person... I think maybe more so now than maybe 15 years ago, because we change... fifteen years ago, I was looking forward to 'How big is the explosion?' and the action, and how many people do you wipe out?"

"The studio [Fox] are talking about doing a third Predator movie and another Alien movie after they see how the new Alien versus the Predator movie does go. We shall see then. If it reads good, and time allows, I could always do a smaller appearance. That would be fun. From what I hear, The Rock is going to star in it if it ever happens - and a new Terminator possibility - which he should, he is fantastic. He's a great actor, a fun presence to watch. Fantastic. We could share the screen sometime possibly."

THE VILLAGE

This is the new title for Sixth Sense creator M. Night Shyamalan's latest movie - previously known as The Woods.

TRAILERS

Troy

Oooh, oooh! I did this at school! The Trojan Horse, right?
Exactly. The famous historical story finally gets a Hollywood movie devoted to it with Troy; starring Brad Pitt, Eric Bana (Hulk) and Orlando Bloom (Lord Of The Rings).

Cool. So this'll be 2004's Gladiator.
Perhaps. The trailer is certainly very promising - with the expectedly high production values and some stirring sequences of old-fashioned war-mongering. The opening "money shot" featuring hundreds of ships sailing into battle is startling to behold - like an Ancient World's D-Day landing.

Trailer: Click here
TRAILER RATING: 3/5
CHANCE OF SUCCESS: 4/5

The Chronicles Of Riddick

Riddick, I know that name...
If you've seen Pitch Black, then you'll know that Riddick is the name of the lead anti-hero played by Vin Diesel.

Ah, yes! That's it! So this is a sequel?
Yes, The Chronicles Of Riddick is the first of a proposed trilogy of sequels to Pitch Black focusing on Riddick's character.

So, Chronicles is The Lord Of The Rings to Pitch Black's The Hobbit?
Got it in one. But if the first movie underperforms, don't expect Part 2 and 3 to materialize. A lot rests on Vin Diesel's increased popularity in the wake of The Fast & The Furious and xXx.

Does the trailer look good?
It looks... okay. Writer-director David Twohy keeps describing Chronicles as Star Wars' evil twin - but it looks more like a darker version of Dune. The effects look okay, but the general atmosphere and design is quite old-fashioned.

But Twohy is an unsung hero of sci-fi, isn't he? Remember The Arrival, and didn't he also write the first Warlock movie. That was good.
Yes, Twohy can take somewhat clich�d scenarios and breath fresh life into them, so we'll reserve judgement for the final movie. But he also wrote Waterworld, G.I Jane, Critters 2 and Imposter!

Everyone has skeletons in the closet...
I'm not saying Chronicles looks bad, because it doesn't. It just looks like everything we've seen hundreds of times before - particularly if you love the opening full-motion videos for PC games...

Trailer: Click here
TRAILER RATING: 2/5
CHANCE OF SUCCESS: 3/5

Garfield

Garfield - seriously? Isn't this movie about 20 years too late?
It would seem that way. Garfield was a marketing phenomenon, particularly in the mid-80's (remember those suction-cup Garfields in car windows?), but his popularity waned in the 90's.

And now a lot of kids don't really know who Garfield is!
There is that, yes. So the studio is obviously hoping the film will stand on its own - to a degree.

Does the trailer work?
Hmmm, no. To be fair, all it does is give you some snippets of Garfield in action and an idea of the humour (Garfield doing an Elvis impression in front of the mirror, etc). Only it's not very funny. Garfield doesn't seem lazy enough and there's no sense of sarcasm from Bill Murray's vocal talents.

Bill Murray! Well, that seems like a good choice.
It does, but the trailer doesn't do justice to him. And, of course, the trailer reveals the cardinal sin of this Garfield movie. The thing that's going to blow the whole thing for Garfield fans...

Do tell.
Well, Garfield has been brought to life as a fat, orange piece of CGI, right?

So far, so predictable...
But, erm, Odie (and doubtless any other animal encountered in the film) aren't CGI. They're just regular animals... and not even lip-synced!

What?!
I know, I know. Obviously the budget would only stretch to having a CGI lead character - so interaction with Odie is going to be very one-way.

Oh dear. Chances of success?
Unless the film is rip-roaringly funny (which I doubt) to overcome its animal/CGI problem... Garfield looks set to become a massive turkey that will forever tarnish Jim Davis' rather excellent cartoon strip. Shame.

Trailer: Click here
TRAILER RATING: 2/5
CHANCE OF SUCCESS: 2/5

Hellboy

Sounds scary.
More action-packed than scary, really. Hellboy is the movie adaptation of the successful comic-book series about a red-skinned demon summoned by Nazi's in World War II, but who now works for a US paranormal agency.

Hmmm. Never heard of it.
It's successful in the same way Spawn is successful. Hellboy may not have mainstream identity like Spider-Man or Batman, but there will be a lot of fans desperate to see this film do justice to Mike Mignol's revered comics.

I'm sure. But for the rest of us what is there to recommend?
C'mon, it's directed by Guillermo Del Toro (Blade II), stars badass actor Ron Perlman (Alien Resurrection), and features mechanical Nazi's, Rasputin, giant tentacled monsters, demons, and a stack of special-effects stunt-work.

Okay, sounds fun - but what's the trailer like?
Great. It plays like a cross between Men In Black and Ghostbusters, mixed with the dark comic-book style of Blade II. The make-up and effects look fantastic, so this should clean the floor with the competition in spring and pave the way for Spider-Man 2 in the summer.

Trailer: Click here
TRAILER RATING: 4/5
CHANCE OF SUCCESS: 4/5

Cover

Sky Captain & The World Of Tomorrow

Cool title! Or very silly!
Previously know as just The World Of Tomorrow, this could be the Flash Gordon of our times: a rollicking B-movie adventure with 21st-Century effects, but with 1930's-style sci-fi technology.
(DVDfever Dom: "I was going to say the 'Biggles' of our times." :)

Even better. Who's in it?
None other than Jude Law (AI) and Gwyneth Paltrow (Seven) - both outfitted in some retro-30's fashions.

This all sounds like good, dumb fun - but will it just be dumb?
The script has been reviewed online and been given a big thumbs up. The sheer originality of the movie (despite its mix-and-matching of past genres) should ensure SC&TWOT definitely grabs audience's attention next year.

Great. I'll keep an eye out.
But of course, there's always doubt...

Go on...
This trailer certainly piques the interest, but the effects are very heavily stylized to give the impression of pulp fiction comic drawings - so most of the effects look like animation, which may prove irksome when combined with the live-action cast of the movie. Oh, and it didn't help that they used the StarGate theme tune in the trailer, but that's another matter...

Trailer: Click here
TRAILER RATING: 3/5
CHANCE OF SUCCESS: 3/5

Spider-Man 2

Already?
Yep, no sooner had Spider-Man demolished box-office records in 2002 and ushered in the likes of 2003's Daredevil, X-Men 2 and Hulk, than a sequel was fast-tracked into production.

This should be good then.
All the signs are very positive, yes. The same cast are back, as is original director Sam Raimi. Even more promising is the fact they have Alfred Molina playing the villainous Doctor Octopus.

Doc Ock - cool!
Undoubtedly he's Spider-Man's most famous villain, and unlike the Green Goblin he won't be hidden inside a silly costume!

So early word is strong?
Oh, yes. Footage revealed to a comic-book convention drew gasps of appreciation - as the Octoupus' tentacles take on Spidey with all the adrenaline rush of Raimi's famous Evil Dead camera trickery. By all accounts, the sequel is set to be a little darker and meatier.

Excellent - so Spidey 2 will be 2004's big earner?
It's a very strong possibility that Spider-Man 2 will break its own records next year.

Trailer: Click here
TRAILER RATING: 4/5
CHANCE OF SUCCESS: 5/5

Son Of The Mask

What took them so long?! The Mask was a fantastic movie, I thought.
It was certainly very entertaining and an unsung pioneer for integrating CGI into movies. The Mask also remains one Jim Carrey's best films. Sadly this belated sequel (10 years later, no less!) doesn't star rubber-limbed Carrey.

Oh. Right. So, who's replaced him?
Jamie Kennedy.

Who?
Jamie Kennedy. From TV's The Jamie Kennedy Experiment?

Er...
The ginger-haired buffoon who played Randy in Scream?

Oh, yeah... right.
Anyway, Kennedy plays a cartoonist who finds the Mask, wears it, and goes to bed with his girlfriend, only to find 9 months later that their newborn baby has inherited the powers of The Mask.

Oh. Hmmm.
Exactly. The sequel will also feature Alan Cumming (X-Men 2's Nightcrawler) as the Norse God Loki - whose mischievous spirit is said to inhabit the titular Mask.

Right...
And a review of the script says there's a crazy car chase sequence towards the end of the movie that (if pulled off) will be a mind-blowing mix of cartoon violence and real-world stunts.

Well, that sounds good.
It's about all that does...

So isn't the trailer worthy of merit?
Er, no. It's just a teaser featuring an acrobatic baby. Not very promising, as the effects look a little strained.

Oh dear.
The Son Of The Mask hits cinemas next year.

TRAILER RATING: 1/5
CHANCE OF SUCCESS: 2/5