The Shining: A Family Film

If you have seen The Shining, this will be hilarious. If not, you won't get this at all.

Shyamalan Contemplates Unbreakable 2

So I think we can all agree that M. Night Shyamalan’s movies have not all been as successful as The 6th Sense. And his last offering, The Happening, was pretty much dreadful. However, I still have faith in Shyamalan. I stood by him with The Village, and I defended the artistry of Lady in the Water. But my favorite Shyamalan movie is Unbreakable. I know it wasn’t a huge success at the box office, but I think it was his best script so far, and it had more emotional depth than The 6th Sense. Well, Shyamalan told MTV news last week that he might be contemplating a return to the story of the physical and ideological opposites Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) and David Dunn (Bruce Willis).

Originally, Shyamalan had planned Unbreakable as a three-part story, but once he got to writing it, he realized that the first part (the origin story) was a whole movie on its own, so he never really got to the other two parts that he was planning. He says in the MTV article that while filming Unbreakable he talked with Jackson about where his character would go in the sequel if it ever got that far. And Jackson has expressed interest in working with Shyamalan again.

I, for one, would be extremely excited to see Shyamalan return to his glory days with some of the most excellent characters he has created so far. I think he’s extremely misunderstood as a filmmaker and the studios tend to market his movies in completely the wrong way (i.e., both Lady in the Water and The Village were marketed as “horror” movies, which—as anyone who has seen them can tell you—they are not). To me Shyamalan is an art-house, inde filmmaker trapped in the body of a blockbuster director. It’s too bad he was reduced to dwindling on the gratuitous bullet wounds of victims in The Happening in order to seem more “horror.”

I’m also looking forward to Shyamalan’s next project, a live-action screen adaptation of the popular cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender. I hope, when he is working with material that is not his own, he can finally hit one out of the park and prove to audiences and the studios that he is the great director he proved he could be with The 6th Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs.

What do you think of Shyamalan’s moives? Do you want to see Unbreakable 2? Leave a comment.

Marc Guggenheim writing Green Lantern Script

Although DeNiro’s departure from the latest Mel Gibson movie caused a bit of a halabaloo in the blogosphere, I would rather talk about a lesser talked about bit of information from Marc Guggenheim who is, apparently, the writer for the upcoming Green Lantern movie. At comiccon.com you can read an interview with him and he mentions that he’s been working really hard on the Green Lantern script and that it is “an incredibly faithful rendition of the character” and that they are approaching it “from a fan's perspective.”

The Green Lantern is one of my most favorite comic book heroes ever. To me the most interesting thing about Hal Jordan and the other GLs is that their rings’ strength is based on their own willpower, which is deeply psychological: You’re only as strong as you believe yourself to be. I think there’s some really deep and interesting things to explore with Hal Jordan.

My only concern is that any GL movie will get bogged down in all the space stuff and the aliens, etc.—All the special effects stuff—instead of focusing on Hal Jordan’s inner battle with his belief in himself. In fact, the Green Lantern movie could potentially have the same psychological complexity as The Dark Knight. But we’ll see. Please Hollywood, don’t mess this one up.

Are you looking forward to a big screen adaptation of the Green Lantern, too? Leave a comment.

The Dark Knight: 1966

Just a little fun for Friday. What if The Dark Knight had been made in 1966? What would it look like? The result is pretty cool.

BATMAN: The Dark Knight 1966 Trailer (BATMAN!) from gurgledurr on Vimeo.

Batman 3: Rumors and Speculation

Probably the biggest news going on right now is speculation over the plot and cast of the next Batman movie. For the past few weeks rumors have been flying around concerning Johhn Depp or Brian Austin Green as The Riddler, Cher as Catwoman, and Verne Troyer or Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Penguin, not to mention the pictures of Kristen Bell dressed as Harley Quinn. In fact, Michael Caine caused a raucous earlier this week when he announced that he had a conversation with a studio head who told him that Depp and Hoffman would be playing The Riddler and The Penguin respectively. All this despite the fact that Nolan has already said he has made no definite plans for the next Batman and is going to make one or two other movies before returning to the franchise.

Well, Depp responded that playing the Riddler would be a “cool gig”; Hoffman said he didn’t think he would make a very good Penguin; and I’m guessing that no one even remembers Brian Austin Green (Beverly Hills 90210, anyone?). But in the end, know that any Batman casting speculation is just that, speculation. Not only is Nolan taking some time off, but he’s also said that he’d rather focus on some lesser known Batman villains in the future rather than retreading villains used in previous movies.

Personally, I’d love to see Bane on the big screen or maybe the Mad Hatter. As well, the Verntriloquist would fit in well with the mob undertones of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. I’ve also read about a lesser known villain named Mr. Zsasz who is essentially a serial killer who uses knives to kill his victims and then cuts himself to mark each kill on his own body, so he’s covered with scars. That kind of darkness would fit right in with the tone of the movies so far.

What villain would you like to see go up against Bruce Wayne in the next Batman movie? Leave a comment and let me know.

Michael Cera Denies All Knowedege of a Possible Arrested Development Movie

A little while ago (a few months, that is) Jason Bateman hinted that an Arrested Development move was in the works, based on the critically acclaimed but ratings-challenged TV show of the same name (MTV). And it wasn’t just an “I’ve been talking with some people about the possibility” kind of a thing, but a “Michael Hurwitz has a story and all the actors have agreed to do it” kind of thing, like “just waiting on scheduling.” But the National Post just released an interview with Michael Cera (who played Jason Bateman’s son) for his upcoming comedy, Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist, where he denies any knowledge of an Arrested Development movie, and, in fact, sounds downright unenthusiastic about the possibility. He says “I don't think I would want to see a movie of the series if I was a fan, anyway, [...] and I don't really see a need for it if you can get the three seasons on DVD” (National Post).

Well, I don’t know about other fans, but I’d line up right now for an Arrested Development movie. Where is the faith, Michael Cera? I know that the show was on the verge of cancellation for its entire three season run, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some very dedicated—and rabid—fans out there wanting more. In fact, I don’t know any other type of Arrested Development fan but the rabid and obsessed. If done right, as Bateman hints to in the MTV interview mentioned above, an Arrested Development movie might bring joy to millions of fans whose loss of the Bluth family has left their daily lives dull and depressing.

Do you want to see an Arrested Development movie? Leave a comment and let me know.