b_arterburn | Geekscape

Here’s Why Ron Perlman Doesn’t Want To Make ‘Hellboy 3’, But Will Anyways

by b_arterburnAugust 3, 2015

You might surprised that Ron Perlman doesn’t want to make Hellboy 3 considering he’s been one of the biggest cheerleaders for the film getting made. His constant tweeting and rallying for support of the film at conventions such as Comic-con make it even more baffling that he doesn’t actually want to do it. His reasoning? Check out the quote from a recent interview Perlman gave after a TCA panel for his Amazon series Hand of God:

“Let me make the record clear,” Perlman said. “I don’t want to do Hellboy 3. It’s a pain in the ass to put that makeup on and take it off. But I feel we’re obligated to finish the story. That’s it. End of conversation.”

At 65, Perlman has every right to groan at the thought of hours and hours of make-up being applied every morning. He may not have to worry though as both Universal and Columbia have both passed on the project and the director of the first two films in the franchise Guillermo Del Toro has also stated finding financing for the film has been a challenge.

The Hellboy films are solid action flicks in my opinion. I really enjoyed the action sequences and practicality of the effects in Hellboy 2 but found little joy elsewhere in the film (It should be noted that The Dark Knight came out around this same time and ruined all other movies for me for at least 87 weeks). I, like Ron, could do without another film in the franchise but would most likely see it if hit the big screen so I can keep my geek card. Aside from not being a huge fan of the franchise, I would like to see Del Toro tackle more original properties such as Pacific Rim and move forward with his career rather than revert back to what feels like an old fashioned franchise at this point.

The ’13 Hours’ Trailer… Does It Mean Redemption For Michael Bay?

by b_arterburnJuly 29, 2015

Over the last ten years, Michael Bay has blessed us with not one, not two, NOT THREE, but four Transformer movies. Aren’t we lucky? If it’s possible, each one less successful than it’s predecessor (this coming from a Michael Bay fanboy). So, when news broke that Bay would be handling a story based on true events in Benghazi, Libya titled ‘13 Hours’, my interest was piqued because it was finally something different (yes Pain and Gain also came out in this time period, but it was typical Michael Bay flash with no substance). Now that the trailer has dropped for his new film, my interest has skyrocketed! Check it out below:

The film based on true events follows a team of “security operators” who attempt to repel a terrorist attack on the United States embassy in Benghazi, Libya in 2012. You can 100% tell from the trailer that it is a Michael Bay film based on the cinematography and score alone, but this looks to be a more sophisticated and reserved director who doesn’t look to be leaning on comedic elements like he often does in his films.*crosses fingers*

The film much more resembles Black Hawk Down, Lone Survivor or Zero Dark Thirty than it does any of Bay’s previous work. Granted this is just a two minute snippet of a two hour movie, but this first look, and Jim Halpert looking yolked, is extremely promising. ‘13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi’ is set to be released on January 15, 2016.

New ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ Photos!

by b_arterburnJuly 24, 2015

X-Men: Apocalypse news has been popping this past week! Today new photos of the characters have been released by 20th Century Fox and we are getting our first good look at Nightcrawler, Cyclops, and Jubilee! Check out the new photo’s released below:

Boy do these pictures look 80’s (the decade Apocalypse will take place)! And I absolutely love it. The punk Storm look, the attention to detail on Nightcrawler, and Sansa Stark, portraying Jean Grey, not being covered in bruises all add up to a lot of awesome. X-men: Apocalypse hits your local theater May 27, 2016.

New ‘Spectre’ Trailer! Bond Is Back

by b_arterburnJuly 22, 2015

The first full length trailer for the new James Bond movie, Spectre, has dropped! Thanks Sony! This is the latest installment in the franchise following up 2012’s Skyfall.

The trailer has everything you would want in a Bond movie trailer: the classic score, Daniel Craig being a badass, new gadgets, one liners, awesome Sam Mendes (who has now directed the last two films) direction, AND CHRISTOPH FREAKIN’ WALTZ. Sadly there is no Roger Deakins cinematography this time around which was the best part of Skyfall (that Shanghai rooftop fight, yowza) but this movie looks to be trying to emulate that look and looks to be doing a pretty dang good job at it. The film is set to be released in the U.K. on October 26, 2015 and in the U.S. on November 6th, 2015.

Are you excited for ‘Spectre‘ or has Bond fatigue set in?

‘Star Wars,’ ‘Jaws’ and Others Included in BBC’s List of 100 Greatest American Films

by b_arterburnJuly 21, 2015

It’s that time again! Every once in a while an outlet or website will release a top, or best of, list of films that the internet will argue over. BBC Culture is the culprit this time and has complied a list containing the 100 Greatest American Films as voted on by film critics from across the globe. Each critic was asked to submit a top 10 and each slot was weighed. The usual suspects (not THAT Usual Suspects, sorry Bryan) are of course on the list- Star Wars, Jaws, Back to the Future, The Godfather, Citizen Kane (number one on the list), etc.

BBC Cultures Top 100 American Films:

100. Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder, 1951)
99. 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013)
98. Heaven’s Gate (Michael Cimino, 1980)
97. Gone With the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939)
96. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
95. Duck Soup (Leo McCarey, 1933)
94. 25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2002)
93. Mean Streets (Martin Scorsese, 1973)
92. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955)
91. ET: The Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982)
90. Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
89. In a Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray, 1950)
88. West Side Story (Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, 1961)
87. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
86. The Lion King (Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, 1994)
85. Night of the Living Dead (George A Romero, 1968)
84. Deliverance (John Boorman, 1972)
83. Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938)
82. Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981)
81. Thelma & Louise (Ridley Scott, 1991)
80. Meet Me in St Louis (Vincente Minnelli, 1944)
79. The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011)
78. Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg, 1993)
77. Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939)
76. The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980)
75. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977)
74. Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis, 1994)
73. Network (Sidney Lumet, 1976)
72. The Shanghai Gesture (Josef von Sternberg, 1941)
71. Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993)
70. The Band Wagon (Vincente Minnelli, 1953)
69. Koyaanisqatsi (Godfrey Reggio, 1982)
68. Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock, 1946)
67. Modern Times (Charlie Chaplin, 1936)
66. Red River (Howard Hawks, 1948)
65. The Right Stuff (Philip Kaufman, 1965)
64. Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 1954)
63. Love Streams (John Cassavetes, 1984)
62. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)
61. Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick, 1999)
60. Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986)
59. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Miloš Forman, 1975)
58. The Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch, 1940)
57. Crimes and Misdemeanors (Woody Allen, 1989)
56. Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis, 1985)
55. The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967)
54. Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950)
53. Grey Gardens (Albert and David Maysles, Ellen Hovde and Muffie Meyer, 1975)
52. The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1969)
51. Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958)
50. His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1940)
49. Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978)
48. A Place in the Sun (George Stevens, 1951)
47. Marnie (Alfred Hitchcock, 1964)
46. It’s a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946)
45. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962)
44. Sherlock Jr (Buster Keaton, 1924)
43. Letter from an Unknown Woman (Max Ophüls, 1948)
42. Dr Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
41. Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959)
40. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid, 1943)
39. The Birth of a Nation (DW Griffith, 1915)
38. Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)
37. Imitation of Life (Douglas Sirk, 1959)
36. Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977)
35. Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944)
34. The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939)
33. The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
32. The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 1941)
31. A Woman Under the Influence (John Cassavetes, 1974)
30. Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959)
29. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)
28. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
27. Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 1975)
26. Killer of Sheep (Charles Burnett, 1978)
25. Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989)
24. The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960)
23. Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)
22. Greed (Erich von Stroheim, 1924)
21. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)
20. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)
19. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)
18. City Lights (Charlie Chaplin, 1931)
17. The Gold Rush (Charlie Chaplin, 1925)
16. McCabe & Mrs Miller (Robert Altman, 1971)
15. The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946)
14. Nashville (Robert Altman, 1975)
13. North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)
12. Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974)
11. The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles, 1942)
10. The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
9. Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)
8. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
7. Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952)
6. Sunrise (FW Murnau, 1927)
5. The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
3. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
2. The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
1. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)

With these lists, it’s always interesting to me how many modern films are able to claw their way on. On this particular list, only six films made the list from the past 15 years- Dark Knight, 25th Hour (GREAT damn movie if you haven’t seen it), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Muholland Drive, Tree of Life (eat that haters!), and 12 Years a Slave. I don’t disagree with any of these choices but there are several films from the 2000’s that I find worthy of a list like this such as The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, No Country for Old Men, and so on. For some reason, critics see it as a stigma if modern movies pop up on lists like these and I never understood it.

Speaking of No Country for Old Men, where are the Coen brothers on this list? Ace in the Hole, 12 Years a Slave? These are great films but there are several Coen brothers movies I would slot above those (Millers Crossing, No Country, Blood Simple). Also, no love for Paul Thomas Anderson? Perhaps the best filmmaker working today? I love Eyes Wide Shut, thought I was one of the few but guess not- see you guys in therapy, but I would much rather see Magnolia or There Will be Blood on this list.

Besides those caveats, and that fact that animated films were shafted other than Lion King, there really isn’t too much complain about with the list. Is there any film you were disappointed to see didn’t make the list?

What Do Ant-Man’s Box Office Numbers Tell Us?

by b_arterburnJuly 20, 2015

I’m seeing widespread panic this morning because of Ant-Man’s conservative take at the box office this past weekend. That conservative amount? $58 MILLION DOLLARS. Which was enough to give Marvel its 12^th entry to debut at number one. Early projections had the movie tracking at around $65 million, so $58 million is a tad under Disney’s expectations, but not enough of a reason for Marvel President Kevin Feige to start shopping his summer home in Malibu. “Superhero Fatigue” is the buzzword spreading around the internet this morning like a wildfire. So, let’s all take a step back, breathe, and analyze what happened at the box office this weekend.

First and foremost, Ant-Man had some HEAVYWEIGHTS competing with it at the box office for your money. Minions, which was only in its second weekend, is still taking over the world one IHOP commercial at a time. Trainwreck, had great marketing, a well known director in Apatow, and legit recognizable faces in Schumer, Hader, and even Lebron James. Also, Inside Out and Jurassic World continue to pull in solid earnings given the fact they were released weeks ago. I believe, because of extremely positive word of mouth and reviews (79% on Rotten Tomatoes and 8.1 on IMDB), Ant-Man won’t see a huge dip in its second weekend. A $35 million second weekend would be exceptional. Add in the overseas box office and it will already be in the green on its modest (for a Marvel film) budget of $130 million.

There’s enough newness on the horizon in the superhero genre to keep it fresh and keep audiences engaged. Suicide Squad looks like nothing we’ve ever seen before, Deadpool is going for a hard R rating, and Marvel getting their hands on Spider-man may finally be the jolt the franchise needs to give us the Spider-man movie we’ve been craving (Raimi ALMOST did it for me but not quite). So all of this talk of Superhero Fatigue is just lazy internet writing, because when you look deeper, we have so much to look forward to in this genre. I for one can’t wait! So sorry Alan Moore, who recently made his biggest contribution in years saying that superheroes are a “cultural catastrophe”, this genre is here to stay and I could not be happier with where it is heading.

Who Should Play The New Han Solo? We’ve Got Some Ideas!

by b_arterburnJuly 8, 2015

Replacing Harrison Ford in any sense is going to suck. Nailing that comedic/badass/slightly insecure Han Solo as portrayed by Ford is going to be next to impossible. It’s going to sting, it’s going to hurt, as the man has machismo and charisma in spades like none other. Lick your wounds though, because this Lord and Miller Han Solo anthology film is a comin’.

So, if does HAVE to happen, who should play young Han? I don’t want to go over the obvious choices, (like Chris Pratt) but some of the possible dark horse candidates. None of these are probable, but here are a few names that I find intriguing.

Nathan Fillion

Maybe a bit of an obvious choice. I found it interesting that when this news broke, everyone’s immediate reaction was that “young” Han Solo had to be in his 20s, which Nathan Fillion is not. I personally thank Fillion would be an excellent choice. He has basically already portrayed a Han Solo type character on Firefly (R.I.P.). He is right at home in those comedy moments, but you never believe for one second that he is not a bad ass. It’s a trait that a young Harrison Ford had and how we remember our Han. I don’t think the studio is going to go this way (slightly too old, slightly too Castle-y), but the Fillion fan boys will be out in droves chanting his name in your local streets. Be prepared.

Shia LaBeouf

I’ve been riding the Shia bandwagon since Even Stevens. He is such a talent. Do you know why you enjoyed the first Transformers (2007) film? BECAUSE OF THE BEOUF (I stand by my positivity on that first one). He turned an awful script into an enjoyable film (in my opinion). Now just imagine what he could do with a great script and talented filmmakers (RE: Guide to Recognizing your Saints)! He clearly can nail the comedy and dramatic aspects and I also believe he has the action chops. Again, he is unlikely because he’s gone cuckoo for Coco Puffs recently but I honestly would watch the hell out of a Shia LaBeouf as Han Solo movie. Sue me.

Jake Johnson

Fresh off Jurassic World, granted, where he had a small role, Johnson is now bigger than ever. He’s done smaller things like New Girl, Safety Not Guaranteed and had smaller roles such as in Jurassic World, but he hasn’t had that breakout role yet. I think he posses all of the qualities we would need, specifically the comedic timing. I think he has a great look and has the potential to leave that dweeb persona behind and become the ultimate bad ass as Han Solo. Lord and Miller probably don’t want to go for to high profile of an actor (Abrams did the same for Episode VII) so they can mold their own Han, so Johnson would be a nice fit since he does have some notoriety but isn’t a household name yet.

Josh Hutcherson

With Hunger Games finally coming to a close soon, he will be a free agent for a big franchise. He played second banana to Jennifer Lawrence in the role as Peeta, so becoming Han would be a great way to announce his arrival into ultimate superstardom.

Other Names Considered:
Timothy Olyphant, Michael B. Jordan and Jeremy Renner.
These are just a few of the names I find intriguing. It’s going to be fascinating to hear who is in the running.

Who do you think should be cast as the young swashbuckling smuggler in the upcoming film?