
On another note, the sequel has been moved from it's original Halloween release date to a more familiar August release to mirror the first film. I guess they figure they'll get more revenue from the summer crowd than the Halloween crowd.

George Lucas is better written and a lot more fun than the last three films. As a kid, I was always mystified by the Clone Wars when Obi Wan mentioned them in "A New Hope". Were the Jedi fighting against the clones? Was the war over the ethics of Cloning? Who knew? Finally our questions would be answered in the prequel trilogy and they completely skip over them! This series finally shows it in all it's droid, clone, and jedi butt-kicking glory. First, this isn't kid stuff. Sure its premiere was the most watched series premiere in Cartoon Network's history, but it's rated PG. There is a surprising amount of violence in this show, people get blown away, run through with light sabers, and clone troopers get mercilessly sucked out into the vaccume of space. Also, this show doesn't just focus on Obi Wan and Anakin, (By the way, the animated Anakin is a much better actor than Hayden Christensen!) many Jedi are spotlighted like Plo Koon, Kit Fisto, some guy named Yoda, and there is even an episode focusing on a group of Clone rookies! And yes, one episode did feature Jar Jar Binks, but just one! And with 10 episodes aired that's a pretty good ratio. Also, I gotta say I am a big General Grevious fan, and we didn't get to see nearly enough of him in the films. In the series he is pretty much the central bad guy, and he is a great villian with one of the coolest voices ever. Cartoon Network has been showing Clone Wars marathons during the holidays, a great way to catch up when the new episodes start in January, so check it out already!
It was the movie they said would never get made, and now it looks like it may be the movie that never gets seen. With it's March release date looming, there's a chance that the Watchmen movie may not see the light of day until 2011 or beyond. The Warner Bros. property (DC Comics is a subsidiary of WB) has switch hands from Fox, to Universal, then Param
ount where it is finally being produced together with Warner Bros. and during that whole time not a peep came from Fox. In fact, Zack Snyder had signed to helm the project and the film was deep into production when bits of the movie started showing up online and causing quite a buzz of excitement. It wasn't until that point, when the movie was all but completed and fans were primed to finally see Watchmen that Fox called foul claiming that they still held certain proprietary rights to distribution of the film (that WB wasn't even aware of). Now Fox has taken the matter to court and apparently is less interested in settling than they are keeping the film from being released at all. To complicate matters more, on Christmas Eve the court ruled that Fox did in fact hold certain rights the film, but all of that was between Fox and producer Lawrence Gordon who brought the property to Fox in the first place. It's Gordon and not WB that is liable here, but he refused to testify in the initial hearing and now the judge, Gary A. Feess has ruled that any information that Gordon has that would go against the judge's ruling is not allowed. That means that if it turns out that WB is within their rights and all wrong doings are between Gordon and Fox, that will no longer matter. In fact, the man who took the property from Fox to Paramount (Gordon) isn't even a defendant in what's going on. The person responsible and who cashed in on the deal is not liable. Yeah, that sounds like justice. In actuality, the judge even decided to rule in favor of Fox without a hearing. When laywers for WB protested the lack of due process, the Judge Feess stated that he planned to move on to the question of remedies rather than fight the issues again. The problem with that is that if WB is within their rights to distribute this film, which is the main issue, then remedies are incidental. There is a court date set for January 6, 2009 to try to get this settled before the March 6th release date, but Fox has no intention at this time of letting this film see the light of day and Judge Feess has stated that the release of the film could very well be blocked if the dispute isn't settled in time. So, Fox decided not to make a film, they were cool with it going to Universal, they were cool with it going to Paramount, they were alright with Warner Bros. (who actually owns the property)/Paramount finally making a film out of it, but when it was clear that this film could be lucrative they decide that they still have the distribution rights to the property. They're like a little kid who doesn't want a toy until they see someone else enjoying it. Of course, I can't blame them since Fox is notorious for not being able produce a blockbuster movie anymore. Fox claims it never fully relinquished story rights from its deal made in the late 1980s, and sued Warner Bros. in February. Warner Bros. contended Fox isn't entitled to distribution. Warner Bros.' attorney said Monday he didn't know if an appeal was coming, but thinks a trial is necessary and a settlement unlikely. In my opinion I believe that 20th Century Fox thought that if they waited until Warner Bros. had already financed the film and production was all but complete to stake a claim that they would have WB in a corner and gain incredible leverage, which at this point seems to be the case. So, now what do they want? You know, Fox has been begging WB for the rights to distribute the old Batman TV series for years, maybe they can just trade distribution rights straight up. Hey, a guy can dream, can't he?
although visually breathtaking, has nothing else to offer. The story is empty. The acting is flat. But, man, is it pretty! And for that reason many people will hear how extremely bad this movie is and they still won't be able to stay away. Don't say you weren't warned. I guess the best part about all the negative reviews is that now people have a better chance of walking into the theater expecting Batman and Robin and come out feeling like they saw The Dark Knight (well, maybe Batman Returns). Unfortunately, I did not have those expectations. I couldn't wait to
see this film. I couldn't understand why it was going to be in black and white when Will Eisner's classic stories consisted of vibrant hues and colorful suits, but I thought, "Frank Miller knows what he's doing. Look at Sin City. Even if it ends up more like another entry in that series, I'm cool with that." Well, it turns out that it was Robert Rodriguez who knew what he was doing with Sin City. Don't get me wrong, Miller can paint quite a pretty picture and tell a heck of a story, but when it comes to getting the most from his actors...did I already mention that he paints a pretty picture? The only real kudos for this film would have to go to cinematographer Bill Pope for delivering a film that is actually more enjoyable with the volume off. Miller originally refused to direct this picture when he was approached at his good friend Will Eisner's funeral. Even when accepted he had no desire to make this film, he just didn't want anyone else to because he didn't want anyone screwing it up. I guess he wanted to save that embarrassment all for himself.
release. Returning will be Taylor Mane as the man himself Michael Myers, and the Laurie Strode character, but whether Scout Taylor-Compton will reprise the role or not is still in question. Zombie, who I just met last week, said that at least one character will be played by a different actor and that it would be an 'acceptable change' for fans. Could he be going a few years into the future for the follow-up story featuring a more mature Laurie as opposed to the original sequel that picked up the same night as the first film? There are also some changes currently being made to the mask. Hopefully not as drastic as the changes the mask went through in the original series (some of the masks just got on my nerves), maybe they just needed to add the bullet holes from the first film for some continuity. Whatever the case, you can expect plenty of Rob Zombie regulars to grace the screen, as usual, but for Zombie fans this recent change of events has many people asking, "Are we EVER going to get a Tyranasaurus Rex film?" If you don't know what that is, don't worry, apparently you're going to have some extra time to find out, now. The sequel is currently being titled "H2" as to not be confused with Halloween 2, because having an H2 and an H20 is much less confusing to people who don't know any better.
n for the critically-acclaimed movie at this year's Golden Globes. Whether or not The Dark Knight and Heath himself have garnered enough Oscar buzz has yet to be seen, but I think it's safe to say that another Best Supporting Actor nomination is more than likely in the wings. The hit comedy Tropic Thunder actually has two nominations for BSA themselves, Robert Downey Jr. in his amazing performance as Sgt. Lincoln Osiris and Tom Cruise in his amusing performance as Les Grossman sporting the bald cap and fat suit (Really? Golden Globe-worthy?! Are you serious?). Oddly enough, James Franco is also nominated for his role as a stoner in Pineapple Express as opposed to his dramatic performance in Milk. Even if they more than likely won't win, it's nice to see comedies getting some well-deserved respect. You know what they say, "As an actor it's easier to make someone cry than it is to make someone laugh." I believe that Ledger should win the Golden Globe hands downs, but then again stranger things have happened. The Golden Globes are scheduled for January 11, 2009, just eleven days before the Oscar nominations are announced.

