Sunday Discussion: How Spoiled Do You Want to Be?

Over the last few days I've received countless e-mails from people sending in the alleged Harvey Dent / Two Face photo from The Dark Knight that is supposedly official. Yes, I've seen it, yes I know what it looks like, but no, I am not going to post it. Why? Because I prefer to keep not only myself, but all of you, as spoiler free as possible. But thankfully these submissions have allowed me to pose this question today - how spoiled do you want to be? I prefer, as an avid moviegoer myself, to remain as spoiler free as possible simply because I believe the experience is enhanced when going in to see a movie with as little knowledge as possible. However, it seems that some of our readers really prefer to see or hear every last juicy spoiler from a movie themselves. What gives?

Matt's Over / Under Column Discontinued

You should be seeing an Over / Under article here on Running Scared (pictured above) today. However, we have officially decided to discontinue Matt Goldberg's retrospective series indefinitely. Due primarily to numerous complaints and other internal decisions, we have decided that the Over / Under articles are not suited for FirstShowing.net and thus will no longer appear on the site. I know a lot of people were not too fond of Matt's writing anyway, but I want to make it clear that we truly appreciated his contributions and his opinion and it was simply an internal decision that we made for the betterment of the site and the consideration of our loyal readers.

Sound Off: Speed Racer - What Did You Think?

Now that you've seen it, what did you think? We're now officially two weeks into the summer and that means the competition is really heating up. The Wachowski Brothers are back for the first time since finishing The Matrix Revolutions in 2003. This time they're sharing with us another visually remarkable creation - Speed Racer. Did it live up to your expectations? What was your reaction to its PG rating and cartoon feeling? Was it visually profound or visually confusing? Did you sit back and enjoy it or struggle to appreciate it? Sound off below, leave your thoughts, and let us know what you thought of Speed Racer.

Donnie Darko Getting an Unnecessary Sequel?!

When I wrote about the rumor of Matthew McConaughey being considered as Captain America a few days ago, I really thought there was nothing worse that I could ever report. I was wrong. Today we've come across some news courtesy of Screen Daily announcing the development of a sequel to Donnie Darko titled just S. Darko. Why is this so bad? The original films creator, Richard Kelly, is not involved in any way, shape, or form, and it's being developed entirely on its own by a completely new creative team. While I wouldn't have a minded a sequel if Kelly were to be doing it, this is a disaster in the making. There is really no way anything good can come of this! Right?!

Pirates' Gore Verbinski to Direct BioShock Movie!

In a very exciting announcement today, Universal Pictures has officially signed on Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy director Gore Verbinski to direct and produce an adaptation of the video game BioShock. We've talked about it a lot before, including mention of Guillermo del Toro's interest, but now the movie has ended up in the hands of Gore himself. I can't even begin to tell you how overjoyed I am to hear this news! It is believed to be the biggest Hollywood deal for a video game movie since the Halo adaptation fell apart a few years ago. Be prepared to see the city of Rapture come to life soon enough. This is definitely going to be a defining moment for video game movies!

Rant: So THIS is Why New Line Cinema Went Under!

This will probably the one-and-only time you'll ever hear me talk about Sex and the City, but that's because it's a worthwhile discussion. We all know that New Line Cinema "went under" or, should we say, fell apart back in February, and in turn was folded in under Warner Brothers. Leading up to that official announcement, I kept speculating about its demise, including a specific article back in December titled Is This The Death of New Line Cinema?. In it, I claimed their terrible marketing was why their films have continued to fail and yet again we have another prime example of their incompetence. Although this new marketing campaign for the Sex and the City movie might actually be handled by Warner Brothers by now, I'm utterly confused by their idiocy when it comes to poster design! The movie will still succeed - but can they seriously be this blind?

Frank Miller's The Spirit Slides to Christmas Day

Lionsgate has decided to movie the release date of Frank Miller's adaptation of Will Eisner's The Spirit up from January 16th next year to December 25th - Christmas Day - this year. While this news normally isn't too exciting, this time I think it's actually an interesting choice that's worth discussing. By now we've all seen the first teaser trailer for The Spirit. Lionsgate's president Tom Ortenberg decided to change the release date after they saw the reaction at the New York Comic Con, where the trailer officially debuted. All I know is that the reaction I typically hear when the trailer plays is along the lines of "is this Sin City 2?"

So Indiana Jones is Even 'Gramps' in the Movie, Too!

As we near the May 22nd release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the marketing saturation is beginning to pick up and the hype continues to build. I know each and every day I get more and more excited. I'm hosting my own Indiana Jones marathon this week and will be going all out in the next few weeks in preparation for Indy's triumphant return. One aspect that so many people can't get off of their minds is how old Harrison Ford looks. He's now 65, but that doesn't mean he still can't kick ass. I stumbled across this brand new TV spot this morning and discovered that even in the movie, Shia LaBeouf calls him "gramps!" I've heard other people call him that on their own, but apparently it's actually a joke in the movie, too! Enjoy the new TV spot below.

Sunday Discussion: This Summer's Worst of the Worst

I'm currently basking in the glory that is Iron Man and Speed Racer - two great movies to kick off the this summer. And as much as I wish I could sit back and enjoy every last movie that'll grace the glorious big screen over the next few months, alas there are some nasty duds coming up. I'm not one to really nitpick the big ones, but this time there are at least five movies that really stand out. Partially inspired by Kevin Carr's Eight Summer Movies That Are Sure to Suck Ass article and partially inspired by the thought that every movie so far has been great is too good to continue, I've decided to look at this summer's worst of the worst today. Watch out though - some of these movies have really gotten under my skin and it's rare to see me let loose on these utter piles of cinematic crap.

Over / Under: The Boondock Saints

For an introduction to this weekly retrospective column titled Over / Under written by Matt Goldberg, please visit the first post in the series.

The Boondock Saints is a cult movie for people that crowd around crappy movies. It's like they passed by all the good cult movies and staked out a claim on a piss-poor imitation that should have been forgotten in the dust-bin of Tarantino imitators. When people mention Pulp Fiction-wannabees, Boondock Saints should be Exhibit A. And yes, it came out in 1999, but it was actually picked up in 1997 by, who else, Miramax. There's hardly anything that isn't derivative, sloppy, and half-baked in Troy Duffy's first and only film.

Since When is Jackass an Acceptable Word in Trailers?

Not that I have a problem against using the word jackass, but I'm wondering since when has it been actually allowed in "Approved for All Audiences" trailers?! I was just watching the new Hancock trailer again and I noticed that "jackass" is used twice in that trailer alone. And then I remembered last night before Iron Man I saw the (awful) trailer for The Love Guru twice and remembered hearing the cute little Verne Troyer saying "put me down jackass" at some point in that one as well. I thought a few years ago even a hint of profanity was kept far and away out of trailers. But now jackass is acceptable? Since when did the MPAA get so soft?!

Twilight's First Official Photo and Why I'm Passing

I'm sure today feels like Christmas for many a teenage girl, since we now have the first official photo of the cast for author Stephenie Meyer's upcoming adaptation, Twilight. Isn't it simply dripping with adolescent enchantment and tension? Okay, maybe that's a little gruff. But since first writing about the film's progress and the overabundance of the term "sensation" and J.K. Rowling references that seem to follow Meyers and her books, I'm still not converted. In fact, I can safely say now that I'm really not into it at all. I can just hear the clank of earrings being taken off as the throngs gear up for a fight. Take a breath and hear me out.

The Wackness Official Poster Debuts - Really?

Are you kidding me? This is the official poster for The Wackness that is supposed to stand up next to other heavy-hitting summer posters like this one and this one? While I'm sure Sony Pictures Classics is saying to themselves, any publicity is good publicity, this time they're going to get a mouthful. This is pitiful! They just took the original design from Sundance, which I wasn't very impressed with any way, and threw an ugly out-of-focus drawing in the background. We knew it from the start - this is going to be a disaster of a release all because Sony Pictures Classics does NOT know what to do with The Wackness!

Sound Off: Iron Man - What Did You Think?

Now that you've seen it, what did you think? The 2008 summer movie season has officially kicked off with Iron Man - the latest superhero flick from Marvel courtesy of director Jon Favreau and actor Robert Downey Jr. Did it live up to the hype and your expectations? How did it deliver? Is Iron Man really the right movie to kick off this year's summer movie season? And the best question yet - does Iron Man kick Spider-Man 3's ass when it comes to the first week in May? Sound off below, leave your thoughts, and let us know what you thought of Iron Man.

Update On The Descent 2 and It's Not Looking Good

When I learned that a sequel to 2006's The Descent was in the works, I was immediately excited - not because of continuing the story, per se, but because the original was just so good. But when I heard that Neil Marshall wouldn't be returning to direct, my enthusiasm withered. And with the plot details revealed today, I'd have to say that even my interest is waning at this point. Cinematical brings us a number of interesting details, which if you've seen the original brings about a number of disappointing realizations. Warning: the are some spoilers below if you're ready to continue.

Clint Eastwood is Grumpy Old Man in Gran Torino

As I suspected back in March, the cloaked news of Clint Eastwood's new movie, Gran Torino, is not the next installment in the Dirty Harry franchise. While the car harkens back to the time of Harry Callahan, it is in fact the prized possession of Eastwood's aged character - in the film. The December movie revolves around a kid who tries to steal it as part of a gang initiation. Apparently, despite what you might think, this isn't another Million Dollar Baby-type film, in which Eastwood begrudgingly imparts his elderly wisdom on someone wayward and younger; it's, seemingly a comedy of sorts — "a witty, coming-of-age, buddy comedy." Yeh, are you going, "huh" too?

Jonah Hill Cast in Transformers 2 as Shia's Sidekick?! Updated - Nope!

Although everyone is 100% focused on the upcoming summer movie season, including Iron Man due out in theaters starting tomorrow night, we can't forget the following summer of 2009. We all know Michael Bay is working his ass off trying to get Transformers 2 made by June of next year and I'm guessing a handful of fans are pretty damn excited, myself included. The latest bit of news to come out regarding the highly anticipated sequel surrounds a new cast member - Jonah Hill. The gurus over at EW.com are reporting that the Superbad and Forgetting Sarah Marshall star is "in early negotiations" to co-star with Shia LaBeouf as his sidekick. Uh oh!

Five Movies to Get You in the Mood for (More) GTA IV!

Grand Theft Auto IV is finally here! Today officially marks the release of one of the most highly anticipated video games of the year. Where are you on this historic occasion? Are you at work counting the hours until you are released to race home and spend the next 12 hours glued to the tube, basking in the glow of GTA IV? Perhaps you are one of the millions of employees who used a precious vacation day so that you could be there at midnight to buy it, take it home and play non-stop for the next 24+ hours? Or are you one of the unfortunate ones who can't afford it yet and are going to have to hear from your friends about all of the enormous amounts of fun they're having? No matter who you are, we here at FS.net want to give you a little gift to help you survive this landmark in video game history.

Mel Gibson Acting Again in Edge of Darkness

Alleged anti-Semite Mel Gibson is returning to the big screen! Well, the 52-year-old is of course known for more than just insulting Jews; but since he hasn't acted on screen since M. Night Shyamalan's Signs in 2002 and infamously declared in 2006, "Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world" whilst getting arrested for drunk driving, I can't help but have that as my free-associate for the seasoned Aussie. Gibson will face the camera again in cooperation with the BBC for a film titled Edge of Darkness, based on the British TV series of the same name. Director, Martin Campbell of the Bond installments Casino Royale and Golden Eye, will fittingly helm the project, since he also directed the original series.

First Look: Denzel Washington in The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three

I was pretty excited to learn that James Gandolfini had been cast as the political heavy in Tony Scott's upcoming remake of the 1974 Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three. With John Travolta attached, along with Denzel Washington, this project is shaping up to be quite cool. And with just over a year until its theatrical release, Just Jared whets the appetite a bit with some early shots of Washington looking a bit like a really pissed off crossing guard.