Universal and Gore Verbinski Redo The Host

Universal Pictures and Gore Verbinski will remake the 2006 Bong Joon-ho directed Korean thriller "The Host," with commercials director Fredrik Bond making his feature helming debut and Mark Poirier ("Smart People") to pen the script.

Story follows a town terrorized by a giant mutant squid like creature hatched by toxins that flow into a nearby river from a military base. When the creature grabs a little girl, her dysfunctional family must band together to rescue her.

Bong Joon-ho who directed the Korean version had this to say about the remake.

"Maybe three or four years down the line, if The Host [remake] comes out, and there's a cool director who takes it on and makes it a real great film, then I'd be very happy," Bong said in an interview, through a translator. "On the other hand, if it's just crap, I think I'd be happy, too, because then people would be like, 'Oh, yeah, Bong's original was really good.' So, for me, it's a win-win situation. But Universal has a tradition of doing horror and creature films, so I anticipate that they will do a great film."

Verbinski will produce with Vertigo's Roy Lee and Doug Davison, along with Paul Brooks. Bond has directed campaigns for Nike, Adidas and Levi's. He and Verbinski had been looking for a project to do together, and Bond said he embraced the opportunity to mix a larger-than-life monster with a heartfelt family drama.

Verbinski set up the project through Blind Wink Prods., the company he formed at Universal, where he is developing to direct an adaptation of the videogame "Bioshock."

Thoughts:

Seeing as how I haven't seen the original, I don't know what to think of this. I probably should see the original since its been getting some big praise by fans of the movie. Ill probably end up watching the remake to see how the movie turns out, but Hollywood is seriously running out of ideas.

20th Century Fox Goes Through With X-Men: First Class

20th Century Fox has hired "Gossip Girl" creator Josh Schwartz to write X-Men: First Class. He'd also been offered a chance to direct the film, but declined.

Schwartz, the creator and executive producer of The CW's hit as well as Fox's "The O.C." and NBC's "Chuck," is expected to inject a next-gen sensibility into the superhero series.

The studio has been leaning toward using the younger characters introduced in the previous films in future installments --teenagers with powers taught at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning.

Resulting film would likely draw from elements of the Marvel Comic of the same name, launched in 2006, and enlist such characters as Iceman, Rogue, Angel, Colossus, Jubilee and Shadowcat, who have appeared prominently or made cameos in prior pics.

Lauren Shuler Donner, who produced all three "X-Men" pics, as well as next summer's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, is producing "First Class" alongside Mr. & Mrs. Smith scribe Simon Kinberg.

Thoughts:

Oh man, I have a bad feeling about this. Looks like Fox is just going to milk this franchise to death.

Universal Getting "Nutty" Again?

Universal and Imagine Entertainment are in the early stages of developing a new "Nutty Professor" movie, in what would be the third installment of the remake of the 1963 Jerry Lewis vehicle. An open call is out to writers for their take on a potential third entry.

Although it has been eight years since the last "Nutty" came out, executives are interested in a new version that would follow "The Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps."

The sequel to 1996's "The Nutty Professor," "Klumps" had a less corpulent box office gross than its predecessor, earning $162 million worldwide vs. the $270 million of the first installment. Still, the franchise has proved profitable, and a third installment could prove attractive for Universal.

Murphy is not attached to the new movie, but his involvement would be contingent on the writer, director and other elements. Murphy's comic versatility was seen as key to the success of the two "Nutty" movies, and it seems unlikely that a third installment could go forward without him.

Thoughts:

I enjoyed the first Nutty Professor movie and thought the second one was somewhat funny. I'm not sure about a third film, but It would definitely put Eddie Murphy's career in a somewhat better position than it already is. His last film Meet Dave was a huge commercial flop and maybe this film could be the one that brings him back on top. I don't know, too early to call.

New Writers for Schumacher's Inland Saints

Scribes Damian Shannon and Mark Swift have been tapped to do an overhaul on Paramount's urban crime drama "Inland Saints," which Joel Schumacher is attached to direct.

Project, formerly called "Fix" and set up at the studio last year based on a pitch by Kurt Sutter, had centered on the leader of a dangerous street gang who meets and falls in love with the daughter of the detective hired to bring down the gang.

Shannon and Swift are taking the project in a new direction. It is now described as an action horror pic set in a small-town desert wasteland gripped by drugs and gangs, with plot details still being hashed out.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura is producing via his Par-based shingle alongside Eli Holzman. Erik Howsam is exec producing.

Thoughts:

The first idea sounded more better than the second idea. Still not sure about this. Damian Shannon and Mark Swift wrote the 2003 horror flick "Freddy vs. Jason" which got alot of negative buzz from people. Than again, Schumacher is directing this so It will still probably end up like crap.

Leaked Pic of Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter

Johnny Depp is playing the Mad Hatter in a Tim Burton version of Alice in Wonderland. A photo reportedly of Johnny in costume and makeup has been leaked online. His hair stands out in curly coils from the side of his head and Depp’s face is white with red streaks on his cheeks and around eyes. Talented at playing nearly unrecognizable, eccentric characters, Depp will bring his unique take to the role.

Alice in Wonderland also stars Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, and Crispin Glover. It will be part Beowulf-type live action CGI and part live footage. Alice is due out in theaters in March, 2010 and given how far away the release date is this seems like a genuine photo leak and not an attempt to drum up publicity for the film.

Thoughts:

Looks pretty interesting. I always enjoyed this story when I was little and I'm a big fan of Tim Burton. Its going to be interesting to see what creative things Burton is going to do with the film. I cannot wait.

REVIEW: Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace

Year: 2008
Director: Marc Forster
Starring: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
MPAA: Rated PG-13

After the successful reboot that was Casino Royale, fans couldn't wait for the next installment in the famous 007 franchise. Seeing as how the last film turned out surprisingly good, I couldn't wait for the next film. However, my confidence soon turned for the worse when MGM announced the films title. I thought it sounded pretty stupid and aliitle weird for a Bond title, but I soon got over it. Than I got some what cautious when they announced that Marc Forster would be taking over directing duties from Martin Campbell who directed the last film, Casino Royale. This worried me alittle because Forster hasn't directed anything like this before. The final nail in the coffin was when I found out the film's running time. Being the shortest Bond film in history definitely had me wondering "whats going on over their". I knew because of all of this that this film wouldn't end up better than Casino Royale.

Plot Outline:
The film takes up where Casino Royale left off. James Bond (Daniel Craig) is still recovering from the loss of his girlfriend, Vesper. Setting out for revenge, he struggles to contain his feelings as M (Judi Dench) orders Bond to investigate the mysterious organization behind Vesper's betrayal. He soon discovers that Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) is a big player in the group and uncovers a plot to destabilise the existing government of a Latin American country. But he isn't the only one tracking Greene, he crosses swords with a beautiful foreign agent called Camille (Olga Kurylenko) who is also out for revenge.

Plot:
Quantum of Solace is the first Bond film to be a direct sequel. It was essential to finish off what they started in Casino Royale, but here's the part where Quantum of Solace really disappoints in. The films script just isn't as interesting and satisfying as the one for Royale. It can also be somewhat complex to fully understand. I don't know who's idea was it to make M have way more lines than Bond when the film is clearly suppose to focus on him and his revenge. Quantum of Solace has a running time of about 1 hour and 40 Min's, making it the shortest Bond film in history. This isn't enough time to explain every little thing and just makes the film seem really cramped. Director Marc Forster is also part of the films problem. For Casino Royale, we had Martin Campbell (GoldenEye, The Mask of Zorro) who is no stranger to action films since he has done some before. Campbell opted not to return for Quantum of Solace forcing Sony and MGM to go after another director such as Marc Forster (Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland). The problem with Forster is that he hasn't directed any action films in the past. His movies although great, are mostly drama films. So the action scenes that we get in Solace are essentially chopping and badly edited. They are still pretty cool to watch, but just not as stable and impressive as the ones seen in Casino Royale. With all this said, Quantum of Solace can still be a somewhat entertaining film if you don't go in expecting a successor to Royale. Its got an intense car chase scene followed by good performances.

Cast:
Daniel Craig returns once again as the famous MI6 agent, James Bond. He delivers a solid performance that is slightly better than the one he gave in Royale and one that fans are going to enjoy. I still prefer Pierce Brosnan and Sean Connery as Bond since I enjoyed them alittle more, but Craig still delivers a good Bond. I just wish he had alittle more dialogue than M. Olga Kurylenko plays as Bond's female partner, Camille. She does a decent job here, but holds no candle to Eva Green's Vesper from Casino Royale. I'm also surprised on how Bond manages not to sleep with Kurylenko's character. I mean does that still make her a Bond girl? Mathieu Amalric plays as the main villain of the film, Dominic Greene. I don't know who decided to go with Amalric, but the guy seriously looks like a cat in many scenes. He just isn't as smart and convincing as Mads Mikkelsen's Le Chiffre. No offense to Mathieu Amalric, but I would have went with someone else. Judi Dench returns as M and shes really good in the film. Its nice to see her having more lines this time compared to Royale, but I don't know why she has more lines than Bond. She still delivers an M that we all know and love by now.

Picture:
The visual look of Quantum of Solace is great. The film is on the same level if not better than that of Royales. The movie was filmed with mostly HD cameras resulting in a smooth image with hardly any film grain. Colors are vibrant and very pretty to look at. Their are a good amount of scenes that are outside mainly in the desert and these all pop with wonderful color saturation. Black levels are also very strong and hold up very well in some of the darker scenes. Flesh tones are spot on and also hold up pretty well. Detail is somewhat strong especially for a Bond film. It isn't as great as some other titles in the same genre, but its still very good. Close up shots show a good amount of detail on people's faces and is something worth watching for. Environments also look nicely detailed and are pretty to look at.

Sound:
I thought the theme song in Casino Royale was pretty good, but just not right for a Bond film. The one we have for Quantum of Solace is simply atrocious. I have never heard a Bond theme this bad before. The song is sung by Jack White and Alicia Keys. The theme is just all over the place and never synchronized. Its like White is singing with Keys following through a second later. It also just has an annoying beat that doesn't come close to what a Bond song should sound like. The film also doesn't feature as much music or sound effects as Casino Royale did. That said, just like Royale, Quantum of Solace features a bombastic bass. Their are many sequences such as the car chase earlier on that just rumbles with good bass. Every gun shot is heard in crisp and clear sound. This is a good reference bass that should easily meet the expectations of those hardcore sound fanatics.

Conclusion:
Quantum of Solace is a big disappointment compared to Casino Royale. The films writing just isn't as clever and interesting as it was in Royale. The films action scenes although cool, are very choppy and all over the place. They also made Bond too much like Jason Bourne. Bond is Bond and I hope the writers realize that for the next film. That said, the film is still somewhat entertaining. The cast is mostly great with almost everyone giving out solid performances. The visual look of the film is nicely cleaned and pretty darn detailed. The soundtrack is mixed bag with the film having a horrible theme song, but a damn well strong bass. In the end, I thought Quantum of Solace was a pretty good film, but just one that fell short of the great-ness of Casino Royale. The films run time just doesn't warrant enough time to do all these things. At least the story that started in Royale is finished so the next film can start from scratch. Fingers crossed for Q and his lovely gadgets in the next film.

Grade: C

Weekend Boxoffice Numbers

In Order

Quantum of Solace
Studio: Columbia Pictures
This Week: $67,528,882
Last Week: -
Total: $67,528,882
____________________________________________________________
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
Studio: DreamWorks Animation
This Week: $35,017,301
Last Week: $63,106,589
Total: $116,905,195
____________________________________________________________
Role Models
Studio: Universal Pictures
This Week: $11,150,030
Last Week: $19,167,085
Total: $37,577,245
____________________________________________________________
High School Musical 3: Senior Year
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
This Week: $5,656,162
Last Week: $9,159,523
Total: $84,169,216
____________________________________________________________
Changeling
Studio: Universal Pictures
This Week: $4,254,080
Last Week: $7,252,940
Total: $27,631,772
____________________________________________________________
Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Studio: The Weinstein Company
This Week: $3,146,312
Last Week: $6,274,530
Total: $26,465,482
____________________________________________________________
Soul Men
Studio: MGM
This Week: $2,350,141
Last Week: $5,401,605
Total: $9,370,925
____________________________________________________________
The Secret Life of Bees
Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures
This Week: $2,338,279
Last Week: $3,089,467
Total: $33,627,359
____________________________________________________________
Saw V
Studio: Lionsgate
This Week: $1,767,405
Last Week: $4,067,071
Total: $55,380,488
____________________________________________________________
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
This Week: $1,579,080
Last Week: $2,518,049
Total: $90,878,127

Thoughts:
Good opening for Quantum of Solace. It beat Casino Royale's opening numbers, but fell alittle short of The Bourne Ultimatum. The film is probably going to stay on top next week too, but its going to need some strong word of mouth if it wants to reach The Bourne Ultimatum's numbers. We should have a review go up for it sometime today or tomorrow. Role Models is still going pretty strong along with Changeling. Soul Men is continuing to go down. Its a real shame, this will probably be the last film from the late Bernie Mac.