Is Harrison Ford Fit Enough to Play Indy One More Time?

I love Indiana Jones, but I am wary of Harrison Ford reviving the role. He recently told comingsoon.com:

"I can't tell you anything about 'Indiana Jones,' but I think you've just seen a film in which I perform physically to an extent [that will be] sufficient for 'Indiana Jones.'"

Now, I haven't seen Firewall, the movie he's talking about, but I have seen the trailers and when I see them my mind says two things: Where has Ford been? and Damn, he looks old!

I for one am ready for an Indy 4, but maybe, like Bond, it is time for a new hero to take the reigns. Why is it that American franchises have such a hard time switching actors for starring roles? We have accepted it for years when it comes to Bond. We get excited when we hear there is a new one, but American heros can't be replaced like that. I say replace Ford and hit us with a young Indy movie. With Spilberg and Lucas attached it would do wonderful and breath new life into a great story.

Book Review - Christopher Paolini's Eragon

I know that I am a late comer to Eragon. When I first saw the novel on the shelves, I had heard little about the young author, Christopher Paolini or the plot. I was drawn to the wonderful image of the dragon on the cover. In my head I conjured Eragon as a young dragon and the novel itself was about a dragon in a world where dragons ruled. Then, when I read the synopsis of the story I was let down to find that it was the same clichéd fantasy that we see in so many Tolkien clones.

So, I put off reading Eragon until I found the audio-book sitting on my local library shelf. I travel a lot. So, I listen to a lot of books on cd, and when I get a chance to listen to fantasy I take it.

All the clichés are here. The hero of mysterious birth, the older teacher, the kingdom that is on the edge of doom unless an ancient order of dragon riders comes back to save them. The races of dwarf and elf along with man fight the evil forces in a shaky alliance that could falter at any moment.

Overall, I enjoyed the reading, but felt the story was a little too formulaic. Paolini has a lot to learn about finding his own voice, but he also has lots of time to do it. The one gem of the story is the dragon, Saphira. Paolini writes her character very well, making her not just a tool of the humans, but a fully-fledged player in the plot of the novel. She is big, a little scary, and makes it clear that no one but her will control her actions. She is at once the most vicious character in the novel and the most loving. If Paolini builds on these traits in his new book, Eldest, it might be worth the read.

Narnia DVD Info Released

The Chronicles of Narnia DVD will hit stores April 4th! SciFi Wire has coverage of the release date and what will be included in the:

Both one- and two-disc versions will include the 140-minute epic film, based on C.S. Lewis' beloved book, as well as audio commentaries by director Andrew Adamson and the movie's production staff and child stars. The first disc will also have a "popup" play mode with facts about the books, the film and author Lewis.

The special edition will also feature 10 hours of extras on a second disc, including a bloopers reel, behind-the-scenes featurettes, features on author Lewis, video on the film's characters and creatures, a 3-D explorable map of Narnia and concept art, a booklet and special packaging.

The "popup" play mode sounds interesting. More movies should have a popup video styled feature. It would be fun and informative.

Firefly Season 2?

An independent production company is seeking to raise funds to make another season of Firefly.

They are asking for fans to fill out a survey.

Good luck with that, guys!

via Looking Closer Journal

X-Men III Pictures

Get 'em here.

Also, the third movie will probably be called "X-Men: The Last Stand".

News

Interesting. Arch-rivals UPN and the WB are going to merge to form a new channel, the CW.

Both UPN and WB had struggled to compete against larger rivals in the broadcast TV business, including Walt Disney Co.'s ABC, News Corp.'s Fox, General Electric Co.'s NBC and CBS Corp.'s CBS.

The new network will launch in the fall, the executives said, and both UPN and WB will shut down.

Both the UPN and the WB have hosted great fantasy/horrow shows such as Angel and Buffy. Veronica Mars is on UPN , and although it is out of the scope of this blog, it is worth mentioning because it shows that the little networks can give some fans great television. Maybe the TV shows that come out of the partnership will be even better and stay longer on TV.

Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth Finds an American Distributor

Sci Fi Wire is reporting that Guillermo del Toro's dark fantasy, Pan's Labyrinth has been picked up by Picturehouse for North American release. Good news for us del Toro fans. I loved his Spanish language, The Devil's Backbone and Cronos. Pan's Labyrinth looks both scary and fantastic in the short trailer. Wood goblin like creatures, a horned man (like Auberon from Gaiman's Sandman and others), and creatures with eyes in their hands abound.

See the Trailer

Aintitcoolnews has a review of the new Stephen King

Not much action as I surf today, but Aintitcoolnews has an early review of the new Stephen King novel, Cell that makes it sound like one to read. I have loved King since I was little and really got into books like Desperation, Salem's Lot, and Gerald's Game. I also love the Mist, so according to Quint's review this one is right up my alley.

Check out the review.

Production Journal Video for Frank Miller's 300

Superhero Hype has a video from Frank Miller's 300 movie up and it looks really nice. I was a fan of the comic and the story from the beginning. Sitting through movies like Troy and Alexander I hoped that someone would make 300 and do it justice. It looks like it might be happening.

Check it out HERE

Our New Poll - How would you Like to See the Firefly Franchise Continued?

Look over in our sidebar and vote in our new poll. It's fun, it's free and you know you have an opinion!

"This Car is a Horcrux" Stickers on Their Way

Well, the poll is over and This Car is a Horcrux beat out the three other stickers as the next one for us to make. I have placed the order and the stickers are on their way. Keep watching this site and our Ebay Auctions for your chance to pick some up.

And, don't forget to check our auctions for a bunch of cool stuff.

Silent Hill Trailer

The trailer for the new video game movie Silent Hill hit the net a few days ago and I have to say it looks impressive. I have never played the game myself. I was always a fan of Resident Evil and never strayed to other horror games. The trailer makes me want to hit Ebay and see what I've been missing. Ghosts, zombies, strange looking nurse-like creatures and deformed humans-all look scary as hell. Radha Mitchell, who was great in her small part in Finding Neverland, looks pretty convincing as the mom whose daughter is linked to the town in some evil way.

Check out the Trailer

Harry Potter and the Security Gaurd's a Loon!

Why is everyone in Hollywood rehashing old plot lines, making sequels, and ruining comic books when life keeps handing them gems? For example, the story of the security guard who was just sentenced in Britain for stealing two copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince before the release date and then trying to frame Bloomsbury, asking for money not to reveal all the secrets of the novel?

That in itself is cinematic genius, but then he held a starting pistol on one reporter and fired it at others. On top of it all, his lawyer stated that “use of bodybuilding drugs had affected his behavior and personality.”

I would pay top dollar to see this play out on the big screen. It sounds like Adaptation on crack and I love it.

Oh well, I guess I’ll watch Transporter 2 and wish they were smuggling Potter books instead of whatever tired crap they are peddling.

Octavia Butler Interview

The inimitable Octavia Butler is promoting her new novel (in forever), Fledgling. Here's a short interview with the author. It touches upon her writing, her new novel, and of course, politics. I don't agree with most of Ms. Butler's opinion on politics, but in the long run, we both have the same interests at heart. Her books are rich, fascinating science fiction. Don't miss them.

Hoodwinked - Review and News

Did you go see Hoodwinked over the weekend? I did, and I thought it was a decent animated movie. It poked fun at fairy tales but the filmmakers suceeded in not spilling into Shrek territory.


Pros:
-Funny
-Clever
-Most awesome goat ever to be shown on screen
-The set up of the movie was interesting. We saw the same event from different viewpoints, and each subsequent viewpoint made the story richer (and more hilarious).

Cons:
-Shortest. Movie. Ever. I wouldn't spend $9. Wait for the DVD.
-Okay, it really wasn't that difficult to figure out whodunnit. Then again, it is a kids' movie.

There is also going to be a Hoodwinked sequel.

Hood vs. Evil will find a teen Red training in a distant land with a mysterious, covert group called Sisters of the Hood. She is then called upon by Nicky Flippers -- head of the Happily Ever After Agency -- who teams her with the Wolf to investigate the disappearance of Hansel and Gretel. The character of Granny, and the rest of the "Hoodwinked" gang, also return and are joined by new characters.

At least it's for charity, I guess

Now you too can have a little piece of Shatner.

WB and All of Us Here Ready for Spike TV Movie

There have been some rumors about possible Buffy the Vampire spin-off movies or a miniseries, but now David Janollari, president of entertainment at The WB network has joined in the wishing. Scifi Wire announces that Janollari is only waiting for Whedon to have time and say the word. Of course, they don't need Joss to make a good Spike movie. There were ton of great writers on the show that could be in charge and Joss could pop in while filming Wonder Woman or Goners. Just a suggestion.

Browncoats Ask For Donations to Fund a New Season

UPDATE: The Site is already down and they are returning all donations, stating, "We came up against insurmountable odds and legal issues launching our fund-raising drive"

Firefly fans have a created a new website asking for donations to fund a new season of Firefly. Their Strategy.:

It is estimated that it costs $1 million to create an episode of Firefly. To produce a complete season, it would require $24 million to make this happen. If 500,000 fans donate $2.00, we could produce one (1) episode. Raising the money to produce one episode will not be enough, so we need fans to donate $25 or $50 to resurrect Firefly for a complete season.

As we have posted on here before, Whedon doesn't believe that Firefly will ever exist as a series again, but if they succeed, more power to them. If you donate, leave a comment and tell us about it.

Here is the Website - Browncoats Rise Again. com

1Up has their Top Ten WTF Moments in Video Games for 2005

A collection of the strangest video game stories they reported on in 2005. There are some interesting ones, but none greater that # 6 - A Whole Bunch of People Game Themselves to Death.

Thank God I haven't gotten into Online gaming yet, I would probably one of their starved number.

Check out the List HERE.

Ultraviolet Trailer Hits the Net

UGO has the trailer for the new Milla Jovovich movie Ultraviolet. It looks pretty standard fare. Blade meets Kill Bill with a little sci-fi mixed in. Of course, I love it. Why does it look so much cooler than Aeon Flux? Well, it does to me anyway.

Check it out HERE

Whedon states again that a Serenity TV Sequel could happen! and Whedon's new movie Goners

Maybe we are just running this into the ground, but (our master) Whedon talked to Empire Magazine stating

if not a theatrical encore, that leaves... yes, you guessed it, a possible return to the smaller screen. "As long as I was able to service the characters with integrity and had enough money so that I wasn't hampered, then I would love to return Serenity to TV. I love that universe; it continues and those characters live on. There could be a series, there could be a miniseries, there could be all sorts of things. I'm not ruling anything out.

Read the whole Story HERE

In Empire's related news they talk about Whedon's new movie Goners. When asked about the plot Whedon says

"I'm keeping it all pretty close to my chest at the moment," "I'm something of a blabbermouth. What I will say is that it ventures more into the horrific than I normally tend to. I love horror movies but I looked back on Buffy and I was like 'Oh, we forgot to make it scary.' It was occasionally scary but I got so wrapped up in the emotions and people and things that I missed the horror aspect. Goners comes back to that a little bit."

Read that Story HERE

Happy Friday the 13th

via: savage chickens

News - Narnia and Serenity

• Narnia Web has uploaded a fan-based script to The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe.

• From SciFi Wire, hopes of a Serenity sequel: "Whedon and his crew are waiting to see how well the DVD numbers go before proceeding with a Serenity sequel, Peristere said. "We really hope to return to this work," he said. "We love the characters. It's fun storytelling, and we all love using our talents. ... It all depends on Joss. He's not giving up on the characters. He had incredible writers who had a million stories to tell, and we're all just hanging out and seeing what the world has to give us, and given the opportunity we'll make more.""

Dabel Brothers Productions to produce a comic book adaptation of Orson Scott Card's Red Prophet

I haven't read this series, but Card is on everyone's best list here at No Blasters. I just got done reading Ender's Shadow and it was amazing. This adaptation looks great. According to Newsarama,

The novel will be adapted into a six issue miniseries by writer Roland Bernard Brown (who was hand-picked by Card), and artist Renato Arlem.

I have also been meaning to check out Dabel Brothers Productions' other fantasy novel adaptations: George R. R. Martin's THE HEDGE KNIGHT and Richard A. Knaak's DRAGONLANCE: THE LEGEND OF HUMA, and the forthcoming Raymond E. Feist's MAGICIAN: APPRENCTICE.

David Fincher (FightClub) has signed on to Direct Torso

Good news for those of us who love Brian Michael Bendis' older (less superhero oriented) writing. David Fincher has signed on to direct a film adaptation of Torso, the Elliot Ness starring crime trade paperback that Bendis co-wrote with Marc Andreyko.

I saw on E (yes, I watch it sometimes) that Hollywood is playing it safe by making only sequels, bestseller, and strong comic book movies this year. I was a little disappointed, but books like Torso will look good on the screen.

Via: The Beat

Transformer leak is a Fake, but a Nice Fake

Aint it Cool News says that they talked to Bay who said that:

The tests that they are doing right now are far more complicated and detailed... it isn't about the transformations so much as it is about getting the Transformers to act and to emote, cuz that'll be the deciding factor on whether or not this movie gets made.

Read the whole post HERE.

Of course, it still looks great and make me think that the will pull it off when the time comes.

Lost Colony Book 1 Trailer from First Second Books

First Second Books has created a cool trailer for GRADY KLEIN'S new Graphic Novel THE LOST COLONY Book 1: The Snodgrass Conspiracy. It looks right up my alley:

A MYSTERIOUS ISLAND unknown to the rest of the world, in nineteenth century America.

ITS CITIZENS: a colorful and outrageous band of capitalists, inventors, hucksters and freemen, who jealously guard the island's fantastic wealth from the prying fingers of the outside world, even as they attempt to conceal its captivating secrets from one another.

Check out The trailer HERE.

via The Beat

Transformers (possible) leaked ILM test footage

Even if this footage turns out to be a fake it looks awesome and gets me hyped for the live-action Transformers movie that is coming next year.

Check out the footage HERE

Read more about it here.

EDIT: Read about the movie here.


UPDATE: Prodecer Don Murphy says "Sorry, IT IS ALL A FAKE. In some cases a very good fake. But a fake nonetheless." over at his fourm

Does that mean that it is? Maybe, but a lot of times it seems they leak stuff and then don't take credit just to keep the hype up. If it isn't then they better hope theres looks better cause that looks damn good.

Frakking Toasters is Hilarious

Jeanette Atwood has a monthly web-comic that plays with the Battlestar Gallatica crew in some pretty funny ways.

Check it out HERE

J.K. Rowling Interview

J.K. Rowling gave a rare interview Tuesday in which is said that her mother's death at age 45 of MS largely influenced the Harry Potter books.

"They open with the death of Harry's parents. There is Voldemort's obsession with conquering death and his quest for immortality at any price, the goal for anyone with magic.

"I so understand why Voldemort wants to conquer death. We're all frightened of it."

Story here

Part of the reason the Harry Potter books are so great is that they aren't afraid to tell children that bad things happen and innocent people die. Kids need to know that bad things can be overcome even if the actions of the wicked are irreversable. The Harry Potter books give children that hope.

Clerks II Trailer on the Net

Though it's not sci-fi, I had to post a link to the Kevin Smith's new Clerks sequel simply for the hilarious Lord of the Rings reference at the very end. Wait for it. The preview is mostly little sight gags and Rosario Dawson dancing around (Why?).

See it HERE.

Walden Media announces that Narnia Sequel will begin Production Next Year

Scifi Wire reports that work on the script for Prince Caspian has begun, but a director has not been chosen. The movie makers are playing their cards right by not making a movie of each book in the series (Prince Caspian is the 4th book). A Horse and his Boy (Book 2) has gotten some major fire over being anti-Arab. I would think the major problem would be the actors and if they don't work hard to keep a schedule their cast will grow too old to play their roles as convincingly as they did in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Book Review

One of the best books I read in 2005 was Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. A high fantasy, it avoids many cliches that plague the genre today, such as being set in a medieval society.

The book centers on the city of Elantris that was once great and whose inhabitants were worshiped like gods. However, whatever gave the Elantrans their power ceased to work some ten years before the story unfolds, so that to become an Elantrian was to be cursed rather than blessed. The story follows Raoden, prince of the neighboring city of Kae, as he awakes one morning to find himself an Elantrian. He is thrown into the city where he must fight to keep his sanity and eventually make friends and allies. The story is also about Raoden's fiancée Sarene who arrives in Kae a week before her wedding only to find that her betrothed is considered dead. Sarene sticks around and her talent for getting herself into political situations makes her an enemy: Hrathen, the leader of a dangerous religious sect that seeks to impose their ways upon the people of Kae. Can bloodshed be avoided? Will Raoden find a cure to whatever is causing the Elantrians to be sick?

The book’s set up rather interesting; the viewpoint character alternatively rotates every chapter so that we start off with Raoden’s viewpoint, then Sarene’s, then Hrathen’s, and then back to Raoden’s.

Sanderson has interesting things to say about welfare, euthanasia, and religious fundamentalism. I also appreciated that characters’ motivations were well-explained. Sanderson isn't afraid to show is that things aren't necassarily as they seem, so this was very important.

The book is isn’t perfect; there were a few times when it seemed like things fell in to place a little too easily, and also there was one character's viewpoint that I didn't enjoy as much, so when the viewpoint rotation would get back to them I would inwardly sigh. However, those flaws do not stop the book from being both important and highly entertaining. This is Sanderson’s debut novel and I look forward to his future works.

Sanderson has a website packed with information and resources about Elantris, including commentary of every chapter (and more) of Elantris. Check it out here.

Battlestar Galactica Music Video

I came across this awesome music video made from Battlestar Galactica footage on YouTube. Great way to get yourself stoked for the second part of the new season. Great choice of She Wants Revenge for the song too.

The Amityville Horror wasn't such a "horror" after all

Because I am dedicated to this site and (more truthfully) I will watch any horror or sci-fi movie that I have in front of me, I watched last year'r remake of The Amityville Horror.

I have to say that it was worth the watch. My expectations were low and they were exceeded. There were some good scares and, though it is very different from the original, I liked the new ideas. Ghost movies now rely on the audience seeing what the characters can not and the images that the Amityville house was showing were pretty freaky. Though I love that we only see the eyes in the old movie, the ghosts in the remake had a real sadness that made the movie even more terrifying.

The only let-down was the ending SPOILER:

Don't show us someone die in a freaky scene and then have it all be a quick vision of what the ghost is telling the husband to do. That is cheating the audience.

END of SPOILER

In conclusion, when The Amityville Horror makes it to the dollar bin in your dvd rental place pick it up.

The Trailer for The Hills Have Eyes Remake is Up at Apple.com

The trailer looks pretty cool. Emilie de Ravin, who play Claire on Lost looks great. These remakes of old scary family kills outsiders movies are always a little poor, but I still love them. It wont be as good as The Devil's Rejects but hopefully better than the needless Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake

Anna Protests Mal's censored butt on todays Sci Fi Firefly marathon

New Superman Images up at Sci Fi.com

Bryan Singer's Superman Returns keeps looking better and better. Sci Fi.com has new images including one of Kevin Spacey as Luthor!

Duh: Whedon says No More Firefly!

Sci Fi Wire reports that Joss Whedon talked about the fact that his wonderful show Firefly is over and wll not be brought back as a tv show. Haven't we heard this from the beginning? Whedon has always said that he will make movies about the Firefly crew, but the show is gone. Serenity was awesome! Buy the dvd and hopefully will get a sequel (tv movie or theatrical: either one!)

Narnia Drops out of World Trade Organization Talks

A fake press release from the claimed the country of Narnia had walked out of the World Trade Organisation talks in Hong Kong fooled many news agencies.

I wish Narnia was a real country. I would be heading over there to hang out with Aslan!