There are few stories that have a more interesting life span than Little Shop of Horrors. Beginning it’s life as a low-level B horror film in the 60′s it has managed to gain increasing popularity by bouncing back and forth between screen adaptations and broadway musicals ever since.

Considering the last popular version of the tale was a Broadway revival, it seems like it is time to bring it back to the big screen, and according to the LA Times, some people agree:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Warner Bros. are in talks for a movie remake of “Little Shop of Horrors”  — with the help of some Broadway heavyweights behind the scenes. In addition to developing the film, Gordon-Levitt could star as Seymour, the lonely, lovable florist’s assistant who raises a giant alien plant motivated by sarcasm, song and human blood.

Now most of you probably hold the 80′s film starting Rick Moranis and Steve Martin in high regard, and think that this is just another in a long line of needless re-makes. For this particular tale I have to disagree, a new telling with an actor as talented as Joseph Gorodn-Levitt is exactly the next logical step for this story.

Of course that said, we all should pray we get a mostly practical Audrey 2.

The young career of Chloe Moretz has been stellar. Every project she has taken has been interesting and varied, and at the young age of fifteen she already has shown more range than a few of her Oscar winning elders.

So when Deadline reports she is joining the cast as the lead in an all new adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie you know there is a good chance the movie is going to be good.

She’s expected to play the shy high school student Carrie White, who is raised by a nightmarish religious fanatic mother, and comes to grip with devastating telepathic powers just as she reaches puberty. She eventually uses those gifts for lethal means when fellow classmates use the prom as an excuse to humiliate her before the entire school in a parable about bullying.

We have already seen young Ms. Moretz dazzle in a moody horror role, but to take on the lead in Carrie can take her to the next level. Another interesting angle on this story is that Chloe is currently a little younger than a typical high school senior would be.

Usually these sorts of roles are filled with 20 somethings, so perhaps the younger looking Moretz will have an even larger visual difference between her classmates to punctuate her outsider, lonely demeanor.

There is a troubling trend brewing in the wake of the current influx of modern reboots. That trend is the incessant and entirely predictable whining about every detail that is released.

Today brings a brand new detail for the internet to get up in arms about. We will be able to see into Robocop‘s eyes through his visor.

This detail was unveiled at MTV by Joel Kinnaman the star of the upcoming remake:

RoboCop is going to be a lot more human… The first movie is one of my favorite movies. I love it. Of course, Verhoeven has that very special tone, and it’s not going to have that tone. It’s a re-imagination of it. There’s a lot of stuff from the original. There are some details and throwbacks, but this version is a much better acting piece, for Alex Murphy and especially when he is RoboCop. It’s much more challenging. 

It’s not going to be jaw action. They’re still working on the suit and how it’s going to look, but the visor is going to be see-through,” he said. “You’re going to see his eyes.

I appreciate that they understand the Verhoeven tone and are not trying to recapture it, instead use the cornerstones of the original and make something new. As for the see through visor, that is more up in the air. It could make RoboCop much more relatable, or it could be like Snake Eye’s mouth in GI Joe, unnessecarry and distracting.

2012 is going to be a big year for stop-motion animation, with three high profile stop-motion animated features invading cinema’s throughout the year. The most notable of this bunch is Tim Burton’s next feature, Frankenweenie, which is a feature length, animated adaptation of Burton’s own 1982 short film.

Frankenweenie tells the tale of young Victor, a boy who loses his beloved dog Sparky and reanimates him with the power of electricity. If it was not obvious up to this point, the film is an homage to the Frankenstein movies and novel.

One thing that the poster clearly presents, but is still probably lost on most people, is that the film is shot in black and white. This is a bold creative decision for any film, and one Burton used to great success once before in Ed Wood.

However, it is still a tremendous risk for a stop-motion animated film, a genre that is usually noted for it’s ability to present vibrant and extraordinary visuals. Even Burton’s own Corpse Bride used color to great effect in illustrating the differences between the world of the living and the world of the dead.

The film is set for an early October release, just in time for Halloween! You can see the full poster after the jump.

Continue Reading →

It is in fashion right now to bash on remakes and reboots. That line of thinking may or may not be warranted, but you should hear none of it when talking about the upcoming Evil Dead reboot.

Of all the horror franchise that have been revived in the last decade, none more than the Evil Dead series is more malleable. The franchise has always reinvented itself with each new installment, so a new, modern reboot shouldn’t cause immediate concern.

The movie is going to begin filming in a few months and Bloody Disgusting has the scoop on the first bit of casting:

Bloody Disgusting has learned exclusively that Lily Collins (The Blind Side, Priest, Mirror Mirror) is in final negotiations to play “Mia” in FilmDistrict’s reboot aiming for release on April 12, 2013.

In this version, the story centers on five friends (David, Natalie, Eric, Olivia, and Mia) holed up at a remote cabin where they discover a Book of the Dead with a demonic force unleashed possessing each until only one is left to fight for survival.

Lily Collins is a great young actress who shined in The Blind Side and even in the otherwise horrid Priest. We don’t know which of the characters is going to be the “Ash” archetype, but rumors have bubbled up that Raimi wanted a girl to fill that role. Could that be Lily Collins’ Mia? Only time will tell.

Two summers ago, Activision announced the rerelease of one of the most popular first person shooters ever with Goldeneye 007 for the Nintendo Wii. With updated graphics (for the Wii…) and control, there was still something missing from the experience: players.

While the Wii has been a focus of the casual gaming market, the hardcore fanbase who would care most about the Goldeneye name had grown up and moved away from the Nintendo systems and their waggle controls and instead found their way to the XBox 360 or PlayStation 3. Enter San Diego Comic Con 2011 and Activision lets us take a peek at actual gameplay of the revamped Goldeneye 007: Reloaded. Business is about to pick up.

Gameplay:

It’s hard to review a reimagining of a title without looking at the original inspiration at the same time. The most noticeable difference is gameplay. In the early days, people didn’t really know what a shooter should play like on a console and the gameplay compensated for the limited control scheme with the Nintendo 64′s single analog controller. Now, Goldeneye 007: Reloaded feels and plays like a standard twin stick shooter.

New to the series is the disappearance of health packs since the emergence of regenerating health which has become the industry standard in shooters since the initial release. What is nice though for the Goldeneye “purist” (if those even still exist) is that players can opt for the Classic difficulty setting which takes away regenerating health to give the game a more old school feel.

Continue Reading →

When Goldeneye: 007 was released for the Wii late last year, gamers who had since moved on from the N64 for their first-person shooter needs were clamoring for a wider release. On November 1st, their prayers will be answered in the form of Goldeneye 007: Reloaded, a high definition redux of the 2010 title for Wii.

With the release date fast approaching, the developers at Eurocom Entertainment have revealed eight minutes of in-game footage focusing on the stealthier aspects of gameplay.

Not only will Goldeneye: Reloaded feature a redesigned version of the campaign from last years title, it will also include additional game modes such as the Mi6 Ops missions, similar to the Special Ops of Modern Warfare 2 or Deniable Ops from the latest Splinter Cell, as well as online multiplayer for up to 16 players (in addition to the classic four-player splitscreen).

Check out the video below for all the super-sneaky spy action of Goldeneye: 007 Reloaded, available on XBox 360 and PS3 November 1st, 2011.

Continue Reading →

Something has been lost in translation in this ill-advised and disappointing remake of  Arthur (1984). The original featured the late comedic talent Dudley Moore, and was nominated for four Academy Awards. It’s a pretty safe assumption that this film won’t be picking up any trophies come awards season.

Russell Brand plays Arthur, a perpetually drunk playboy suffering from a chronic case of arrested development. He lives in a fabulous highrise building in New York, and surrounds himself with gadgets, toys, and booze.

His sole companion is his live-in nanny Hobson, played by Helen Mirren. Hobson has played the role of surrogate mom since Arthur’s birth. She accepts Arthur unconditionally, and serves as his confidante, nursemaid, and cook. Arthur also pals around with his driver Bitterman (Luis Guzman) on any given night.

The first night we see the two step out on the town, they are dressed as Batman and Robin, and Bitterman drives a Batmobile through the streets. Naturally, they get arrested, which seems to be a common occurrence for the two.

Mere moments later, Arthur has posted bail for everyone in the slammer, and all is good in the world. Arthur lives the life of unfettered hedonism, with no obvious consequences to any of his actions. It’s the life of Riley.

Continue Reading →

Fantastic Fest 2010 was host to the first public screening of  I Spit on Your Grave: Unrated (2010.) The film is a remake of the shocking, iconic 1978 movie sometimes known as Day of the Woman.

A lot of people argue that there was no need to remake the film, which to this day is considered one of the most disturbing movies of all time.

So, does the update do the original justice? Quite simply, it does, and then some.

(Female) producer Lisa Hansen came out to introduce the film to the audience, and she also participated in a Q & A session following the film.

She indicated that over 100 cuts had been made to the movie to try to placate the MPAA, but finally distributor Anchor Bay threw in the towel and decided to release the movie as unrated. This is a ballsy movie nowadays, as many large chains won’t even book an unrated film, so that may be why you have a hard time finding the film in a theater near you. Kudos to Anchor Bay for sticking to their guns, and director Steven R. Monroe’s vision.

The premise of the movie has remained almost identical to the original. A fresh scrubbed writer type from the big city has sought out the peace and quiet of an isolated cabin in the woods, hoping to get a jump on writing her second novel.

Continue Reading →

The remake of 1978 film I Spit on Your Grave (aka The Day of the Woman) is imminent, and we have a brand new clip to show you. When the original  film was released, it was one of the most audacious films of its time, for many reasons.

The movie was about a woman who was brutally assaulted and raped by a group of men who leave her for dead.  She extracts her revenge on the men by tracking down the men one by one and torturing them in horrific ways.

The violence and brutality of the film was shocking on its own, but this was also considered a feminist film by many.  It was very rare to see women commit such atrocities on film at the time.

In this scene, Jennifer (played by Sarah Butler) encounters her tormentors  for the first time at a gas station.  She was hoping to spend some quiet time in the country to finish a novel, but it looks like her plans get derailed rather quickly.

The film also stars Chad Lindberg, Jeff Branson, Daniel Franzese, Rodney Eastman, and Tracey Walter, and is directed by Steven R. Monroe.

I Spit on Your Grave: Unrated is scheduled to be released on October 8 in limited release, but first it will be making a stop at Fantastic Fest. Since we have some staff members attending the festival in Austin, we’ll be able to give you some early thoughts on the film.  Stay tuned.

Until then, watch the clip after the jump.

Continue Reading →

I defy you to find an 80′s child who doesn’t recognize it when someone poses for the “Crane Kick.” The move was made legendary when it was used to win the “All Valley Karate Championship” at the end of 1984′s The Karate Kid. The film was the beginning of a franchise that became an institution for tons of teens during that decade, and now they’ve gone and remade it.

The reboot stars Jackie Chan as “Mr. Han” and Jaden Smith (The Day the Earth Stood Still and Will Smith’s son), as “Dre Parker.” It’s an updated story that takes the setting from Southern California to Beijing. Mr. Han will be teaching Dre karate (or maybe it will be kung-fu – most American audiences don’t know the difference) and putting him through workouts that might strain Jean Claude van Damme.

The movie also features Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) as Dre’s mother and has Harald Zwart (The Pink Panther 2, One Night at McCool’s) in the director’s chair. I have to admit there are a couple of cute and funny moments in the trailer, all involving Chan’s interaction with Smith.

There’s even a nice nod to the fly-catching scene in the original film. The only problem I see so far is that the “Crane Kick” seems to have been replaced with a high-splits kick – which just isn’t as cool.

Check out the trailer and let us know what you think.

Continue Reading →

The Crazies, a remake of the 1973 George Romero film of the same name, has gotten it’s second theatrical trailer and it ups the creepy factor. The first trailer set up a great mood of unsettling psychosis that pervades a town; even if it might have given a little too much of the movie away.

The story is, “a small town in Iowa, starts seeing it’s inhabitants go crazy, after a mysterious toxin infiltrates their water supply.” The new film stars Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, written by Scott Kosar (The Machinist) and Ray Wright (Pulse), and directed by Breck Eisner (Sahara).

The second trailer, lives up to the name of “crazy” as there’s psycho laughter; crazed, zombie-looking people, and the always great black and white fade out freeze frame. One of the best parts of the trailer is towards the end, when I actually jumped out of my own seat – if you’re a guy, you’ll probably know which moment I’m referring to.

Overall, though, I’m pretty interested in seeing this when it comes out in February of 2010. All I can say is, this is why I only drink Diet Coke.

Continue Reading →