Vin Diesel is back in his role as the Furyan antihero of the Riddick film series. Check out below the trailer for the third installment of the series! ‘Riddick‘ is the latest chapter of the groundbreaking saga that began with 2000′s hit sci-fi film Pitch Black and 2004′s The Chronicles of Riddick. 

Movie Review: Star Trek – Into Darkness

I’m no Trekie, but 2009′s Star Trek movie was a nice surprise. While not flawless, it succeeded in accomplishing multiple tasks. It was a reboot that was both faithful to the original incarnation’s core premise therefore not pissing off any hardcore fan boys and fresh enough for new fans to jump on the decades’ old bandwagon. Now we have the sequel “Into Darkness” which keeps the cast of the last flick and director JJ Abrams who will also be directing Disney’s Star Wars reboot (therefore making Abrams the king of sci-fi remakes) and adds plenty of things to make veteran trekkers pee in their pants. It’s got space travel, familiar names, the Enterprise and (gasp!) Klingons! While the movie will definitely please it’s REALLY old fan base will new fans still be able to CLING ON (yeah I went there) to it?

Minor spoilers ahead:

Once again the bond between Captain Kirk and Spock (played by Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto respectively) takes center stage. Now though, instead of being rivals they’ve become awkward friends. The chemistry between Pine and Quinto was great in the last movie, but it’s nothing compared to how it is now. The pair play off of each other through humorous banter and brotherly moments that will affect you emotionally (or if you’re from tumblr it has plenty of touchy feels). Individually both are still rather impressive. Pine shines as Captain Kirk with his shameless bravado and witty comebacks, but he can also handle the serious moments really well. He’s also gained some weight, I’m not sure if that’s laziness in Pine’s part or dedication to the role since original Trek actor William Shatner never really had abs of steel either. Quinto’s Spock continues to be the highlight of the franchise as he sells his cold demeanor and inner struggle with his emotions to perfection.

New to the franchise is Benedict Cumberbatch from the popular tv show Sherlock. He plays as antagonist John Harrison, but is actually another character so important to the Trek mythos that I wouldn’t dare spoil it (admittedly if you’re one of the newer fans like me you wouldn’t care, but hey let’s be nice!). Cumberbatch is perfect as far as villains get; his voice commands attention (and can move mountains), his facial epressions are phenomenal and his acting saves his character. I say that because the character is pretty generic; he’s egotistic and boastful which is delightful, but his goals (which I won’t spoil) aren’t clear. Admittedly that blame goes to the script since Cumberbatch truly gets the most out of his character.

The other characters are mixed as some get needed screen time and development while others are ignored. Simon Pegg’s character Scotty gets more attention this time around and he does a tremendous job being both the comic relief and the heart of the movie while Karl Urban continues to be smart, charming and funny as Dr. Bones. The ladies don’t get the same treatment sadly; Alice Eve’s charcater Carol Marcus is essentially a very pretty plot device who only does like two things and then gets her leg broken while Zoe Saldana doesn’t really do anything as Uhura except yell, kiss and comfort Spock. To be fair male characters Sulu and Chekov don’t do much either which is a shame as John Cho and Anton Yutchin play their roles well, they just don’t matter to the plot.

Speaking of the plot it is a MESS. I’ll admit that it’s not horribly written, but it feels like the writers wanted to cram as much stuff as they wanted into 2 hours and it shows. It starts as a black ops mission then becomes an intergalactic military conspiracy theory which uncouthly transmissions to a framed for not following the orders style story which THEN roughly turns to an expected betrayal arc, still with me? Good, because there are TWO MORE PLOT TWISTS AFTER THAT. I understand that any good script needs one or two twists to make a story interesting, but this is just ridiculous. The pacing is also incredibly off. The laughs, tears and punches are balanced well for the first hour then everything turns to bananas thanks to plenty of explosions and drama for the sake of putting the cast in danger, but without any breathing room to let everything sink in it all feels Empty. The prime example of this is near the end where Spock and Kirk have an astonishingly touching scene that was built up perfectly from the beginning with the actors truly pulling on the heart strings of the audience and is then followed up with MORE EXPLOSIONS AND – I sh*t you not- A CHASE SEQUENCE.

Despite the faults I still give “Into Darkness” a full recommendation. It might have too much explosions and unnecessary drama for it’s own good, but at least the explosions are pretty to look at and the drama is well acted by everyone in the film. In the end despite a mediocre journey to venture through the actors’ performances shine through the darkness. Yes I went there as well. WATCH IT!

Special thanks to our friends from SOLAR-UIP for the Imax tickets and the opportunity to watch this awesome flick!

Here’s the newest photo of Anthony Mackie as the Falcon  (thanks to our friends at Newsarama.com) in Captain America: The Winter Soldier - in cinemas April 4, 2014 – and it really looks like he’s going to be based on the Ultimate version of the high-flying African hero. The lack of wings most likely means that he’ll have them post-CGI. The REAL question here is whether or not he’ll have his trusty pal Redwing flying around with him.

In other news, ComicBookMovie.com reports that the newest issue of EW features Iron Man 3 stars Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow on the cover, and also (somewhat) confirms the recent rumor that mutant superheroes Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver will be added to The Avengers 2‘s roster. Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige remains tight-lipped on the topic, though, stating that he is “[neither] confirming [nor] denying. The draft could change six months from now.”  Honestly, at this point we’d really rather get Ant-Man and Wasp, but the possibility of a “Cap’s Kooky Quartet” sequence with Pietro and Wanda joining Hawkeye and Captain America on perhaps a stealth/reconnaissance mission excites us, too!

Here’s a look at the Iron Man 3-themed EW cover:

How do you feel about the Falcon in Cap 2? Would you rather see other Avengers such as Black Panther or Ms Marvel in the sequel? Drop us a line in the Comments section – it’s absolutely free, and we won’t bite! (Most of the time, anyway!)

Warner Bros. Pictures has shared the new trailer for Pacific Rim which is directed by Guillermo Del Torro. I wanted to ask a couple of questions pertaining to this new questions and maybe get you guys to solve the riddle.

1. Who are the new Jaegers?

We’re all familiar with the first batch like Cherno Alpha, Striker Eureka and the jaeger that Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi pilots which was Gypsy Danger. So who are these new guys? It looks like the film still has more secrets that it doesn’t plan on revealing until July 11.

2. What is Ron Perlman’s role?

If you ask me, the man who played Hellboy could be the boss of the whole operation. Actually this is the first time we’ve seen him in any of the trailers. Originally I was assuming that Idris Elba was just a pilot but it looks like he got bumped to a commander or something.

3. Flying Kaijus

So we’re seeing flying kaijus now which makes me wonder what are the other ‘specialized’ kaijus we might be seeing here in this epic movie. Also, it’s interesting to note that this might just be a throwback to an old Godzilla foe called Rodan.

4. Who are they fighting in Space?

So not only is Pacific Rim about giant robots fighting giant monsters, it looks like the fight might be brought to outer space as we can see in this. But who are they dealing with? What kind of Kaiju has the capability to fly off to space, let alone carry a giant mech along with it.  Sounds interesting.

With the release of the first trailer for Elysium, fans of District 9 are excited what’s in store for them from Neil Blomkamp’s second sci-fi movie. With regards to a District 10 movie, here’s what he got to say about it on a recent interview:

“My goal is to do it. I already have a story and it’s pretty cool. At least I think it’s cool. The problem is when I’m going to do it. I want to make a comedy. After I’m done, what comes next? You don’t know. I feel like doing District 10, but I’m not sure.“

A lot of people have been waiting for a sequel for years, and if Elysium gets a hit, maybe it would be enough for Blomkamp to start D10. Another project that Blomkamp is working on since last year is Chappie, in which he said it was a “sci-fi with some hilarious situations“. Nevertheless, we’ll all wait for what he has to offer especially if its sci-fi.

If you’ve watched IRON MAN 3, then you’d probably be wondering how rich or what is the cost of being Iron Man in the 3rd movie. Well, here’s an infographic showing us how much it will cost if we suddenly want to become Iron Man!

SOURCE: MoneySupermarket

Golden Globe winner Hugh Jackman, has stated that he will use his Twitter on May 2 to answer fan’s questions about the much awaited movie – The Wolverine. The chat will begin at noon ET, in which Hugh Jackman will respond to questions via video.

For those who want to join in, you can tweet questions using hashtags #AskHugh and #TheWolverine before and during the Q&A. You can follow the answers on the @RealHughJackman or @WolverineMovie accounts.

Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson have been recently spotted in the set of ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’.

Scarlett will reprise her role as Black Widow while Sam Jackson will be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the SHIELD director Nick Fury.

Meanwhile boys, here’s more of ScarJo!

MANILA, April 25 – Tony Stark rewrote the record books, as Marvel’s “Iron Man 3” debuted yesterday to a stunning P62.6-million – the biggest first-day gross ever in Philippine history, foreign or local film.

This was announced today by Victor R. Cabrera, Managing Director of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Philippines, which distributed the movie.

“`Iron Man 3′ flew off the box office chart, soaring past the stratosphere to break the country’s all-industry, all-time Opening Day records,” said Cabrera. “P62-M in one day is previously unheard of. What a boost to the industry!”

The third “Iron Man” installment surpassed the opening day record of “Spider-Man 3” at P58-million which was achieved on a May 1 Labor Day holiday back in 2007.

“Iron Man 3” now also owns the biggest Wednesday gross ever in history, the biggest Marvel/Disney opening day ever, beating “Marvel’s The Avenger’s” record of P56-M last year.

To put this further in perspective, the opening day gross of “Iron Man 3” is double that of “Iron Man 2.”

Marve/Disney projects “Iron Man 3” to continue doing outstanding box-office business towards the weekend.

Marvel’s “Iron Man 3” pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy’s hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

Based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book Super Hero Iron Man, who first appeared on the pages of “Tales of Suspense” (#39) in 1963 and had his solo comic book debut with “The Invincible Iron Man” (#1) in May of 1968, “Iron Man 3” returns Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, the iconic Super Hero, along with Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Don Cheadle as James “Rhodey” Rhodes, Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian, Rebecca Hall as Maya Hansen, Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan and Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin.

Now playing across the Philippines in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D and regular theatres, “Iron Man 3” is presented by Marvel Studios in association with Paramount Pictures and DMG Entertainment. The film is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Studios
Philippine Release Date: April 24, 2013
MTRCB Rating: GP
130 minutes 

You’ll neverrr see meee comiiing.

The trailers have made it quite apparent that Ben Kingsley’s Mandarin is fond of lessons, often showing him dishing them out in his menacing, selectively slurred drawl. Here’s one more for you, then, and this one’s on the house: Iron Man 3 is a moderately successful,  albeit somewhat forced, attempt at turning a blockbuster superhero film into a political statement, one that is relevant now more than ever due to recent events. “Evil bears the face we choose to attach to it” is perhaps its strongest message, offset by smaller lessons about morality, trust, patriotism, and the ever-looming peril of corporate greed.

Respect for the source material, while adequately present, gently gives way as the film progresses in order to create a near-seamless transition between intersecting storylines. Elements taken from various points in the Armored Avenger’s comic book career work together in order to bring an action-packed adventure that avoids the “third movie curse”, by a margin of about the same width as that of last year’s The Dark Knight Rises.

In stark (pun intended) contrast to the previous installment in the franchise – essentially an explosive setup film for The Avengers, at its core – Iron Man 3 brings Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) back to his roots, teaming him up with his best friend James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) to stop a terrorist threat seemingly hell-bent on destroying the United States. Simultaneously, Tony finds himself dealing with ghosts (and sins) of his past as old acquaintances Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) and Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall) reappear.

New York’s invasion also took quite a toll on our hero, and as he struggles to cope with his near-death experience, he might even be unknowingly pushing Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) away, further complicating their relationship. Opting to tackle everything head-on, Tony goes through what just might be the most dangerously high-stakes ride of his solo career, resulting in much uncertainty for the hero as well as the franchise.

Most of the film’s best scenes involve RDJ being himself; his unique spin on Tony Stark has indeed, at this point, become definitive. Attempting to give viewers something that transcends the tired “big superhero fight” trope, Iron Man 3 capitalizes on Stark’s extensive armory in the comics, showcasing the most creative applications of Stark’s genius as manifested in his various immediate-response suits. Notably, director Shane Black has managed to do with Mandarin what Sam Raimi was unable to do with Venom in Spider-Man 3: use a character he has no particular fondness for, while giving him a unique and interesting spin (whether the comics-reading crowd appreciates it or not).

Despite the film’s success in the aforementioned aspects, other things about the film could have been improved. A bigger role could have been given for War Machine/Iron Patriot, whose combat abilities were unfortunately even less showcased here than they were in the previous film. Revealing some crucial plot points in the middle of the film made the ending feel a bit rushed, predictable, and anti-climactic. In some scenes, the excessive use of humor actually detracted from the emotional weight, significantly lessening any impact that certain…tragic events could have had. Not a single one of his Avenging allies seemed ready to help him out, either, and while that was definitely expected (as this is Iron Man 3 and not The Avengers Assemble Again), a more credible explanation would have been great. His technology, in fact, should have been more than enough to handle his villains, but for some reason, despite the creativity I mentioned earlier, the more practical applications of his armors seem to have been either ignored or completely forgotten here.

All in all, Iron Man 3 is a satisfactory end to the trilogy (assuming that this really is the last film in the Downey-era of Iron Man solo movies) and about as reverent to the source material as TDKR was. Here’s to more movies with RDJ as Tony Stark; as someone who was initially apprehensive about his take on Stark in the first film, I am now unable to picture anyone else in the role.

Also, try to resist the urge to read the first letter of every sentence in the actual body of this review.

VERDICT: 3.5 out of 5 Jack Daniel’s bottles

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Thank you, cosplay.ph (like their Facebook page HERE!) and SM Cinemas (like their page HERE!),  for the special screening of Iron Man 3!

Known to a lot of fans by the name of Gatchaman, Battle of the Planets and G-Force. This oldschool anime is now being adapted to a live action movie written by Yusuke Watanabe (20th Century Boys) and starring Tori Matsuzaka (.hack//The Movie), Go Ayano, Ayame Goriki, Tatsuomi Hamada and Ryohei Suzuk. The Nikkatsu produced film is scheduled for release in Japan on August 24, 2013.

Let’s just hope that like Rurouni Kenshin, Gatchaman comes to theaters here in the Philippines.

Synopsis:

SOURCE

X-Men: Days of Future Past director Bryan Singer shared another first look from the set of the mutant movie this time featuring returning actress Halle Berry who played Storm in the first three X-Men movies.

As you can see, the new costume is so different from the previous costumes that Ms. Berry has worn in the past X-Men movies. Her hair is also visibly shorter but still retains the trademark white hair. Oh and bonus props to the wardrobe team for coming up with a costume that keeps Halle’s baby bump hidden.

Speaking of pregnancy, there are rumors swirling around that Halle’s Storm will have lesser action scenes which is a direct effect of carrying a child. This could also mean lesser flying time as it would be difficult to place her on wires.