Worst. idea. ever. – Buffy, Rebooted… WITHOUT Joss Whedon
Buffy being remade
*sigh* we posted about this over a year ago, and I was hoping it would stay just a rumour. But unfortunately not…
The WB have announced they are ‘rebooting’ Buffy the Vampire Slayer – WITHOUT Joss Whedon.
Atlas Entertainment’s Charles Roven and Steve Alexander will produce the feature film alongside Doug Davison and Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment (The Ring, How to Train Your Dragon, The Departed). Whit Anderson is writing the script.
Okay… first major thing to piss me off in the official press release:
“Warner Bros. Pictures optioned the rights from creators Fran and Kaz Kuzui.”
NO. no no no NO NO. They were just the producers. Joss created the Buffy we all know and love. If fact, the one time Fran actually got to go anything ‘creative’ with the franchise was when she directed the original, and dreadful Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie (if your a Buffy fan and have never seen it, it really is fascinating to see Joss’s script mangled so appallingly.) Unfortunately, due to the deal that was made when that movie was green lit, the Kuzui’s retain the rights to resell Buffy…
Next bit from the official press release to annoy me:
“There is an active fan base eagerly awaiting this character’s return to the big screen.”
Yes and no… We’d love to see Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy on the big screen, maybe continuing some of the awesome work Joss and the Mutant Enemy alumni have been doing on the comic books. What we’re not eagerly awaiting is someone to come along, unsanctioned by the show’s creator and rape its memory!
What Joss Says
See, all the ill will now pouring out from that ‘active fan base’ could have been easily avoided if someone had at least had a conversation with Joss about it, and try and get some sort of blessing from him. As you can tell by the following statements, Joss himself is less than impressed, saying “This is a sad, sad reflection on our times, when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths – just because they can’t think of an original idea of their own…”
What the Cast Say
David Boreanaz's response on twitter to the news.
The ex-cast are also less than impressed with the news. Here’s a roundup of the cast comments from Twitter:
Eliza Dusku (Faith) says “Joss made the “Buffster” & w/out him… I just don’t trust the girl. Or the world.”
Juliet Landau (Drusilla) added “Buffy movie reboot without Joss. So uncool. :(“
Emma Caulfield (Anya) – “Buffy reboot? ahahahhaha..”
Amber Benson (Tara) had the rather more lighthearted “I told [Joss] that asking to play the title role would frighten the Studio Execs.”
Maurissa Tancharoen (wife of Jed Whedon, and co-writer of Dr. Horrible) – “Yet to comment on this Buffy reboot sans #Whedon because I can’t find the words. And the words I have so far are NSFW or for being a lady.”
David Boreanaz (Angel) also responded on twitter (see pic) when told by his Bones producer.
Review: The Karate Kid
I’m old enough to remember the original Karate Kid movie, and although there are an awful lot of similarities between this screenplay and the original, The Karate Kid remake manages to make itself a distinctive film in it’s own right.
Jaden Smith takes on the lead role of 12 year old Dre Parker. A Detroit kid who, due to his mother’s latest career move, has ended up in Beijing, China. Whilst in the park he spots, and falls for classmate Mei Ying, although this draws unwanted attention from class bully, the Kung Fu kicking Cheng. After a fight between Cheng and his gang is broken up by the rather more experienced Kung Fu kicking Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), Parker begs Mr. Han to train him to fight. Although reluctant at first, when Han sees the sort of Kung Fu Cheg’s master is teaching, he agree to train Parker to fight in Cheg in the upcoming Kung Fu tournament.
Chan and Smith, spar off each other well, both literally and figuratively. Jaden (son of Will Smith) proves he’s very much a chip of the ‘ol block, and puts in a solid lead performance as Dre, as well as some pretty impressive moves in the fight sequences. Equally Chan gets to show he can act, rather than just do kick ass moves with jokes.
The Karate Kid is a fairly slow paced film, which is not what you’ve necessarily expect from a movie with Karate in the title. This does drag a little in places, but also gives more time to get engaged with the characters. The tournament sequences are executed, and the Mr. Han fight sequence is perform with pure Jackie Chan brilliance.
On a side note, it’s also worth mentioning there isn’t actually any Karate in The Karate Kid – It’s all kung fu… Although i can see why they didn’t got for The Kung Fu Kid, as it does sound like an 80′s straight to video ripoff!
Overall, The Karate Kid is a very sweet film, mainly due to the great rapport between Smith and Chan, which help you see past it’s few faults.
The Karate Kid is out now on Double Play (Blu-ray + DVD)
7/10 – An adorable kung fu movie.
Review: The A-Team Blu-ray
The A-Team: Extended Explosive Edition
The A-Team Plot Synopsis
The A-Team follows the exploits of a group of unlikely friends, who, after spending years as one of the military’s most trusted Special Forces units are sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit…
With no other choice, the team goes ‘rogue’ and utilises their unique talents in an attempt to find the true culprits and clear their names. Liam Neeson (Taken, Batman Begins), Bradley Cooper (The Hangover, Yes Man), UFC Champion Quintin “Rampage” Jackson, and Sharlto Copley (District 9) are “The A-Team’!
The star-studded cast also features Jessica Biel (The Illusionist, Powder Blue) as Capt. Charissa Sosa, Patrick Wilson (Watchmen, The Switch) as the mysterious CIA operative, Lynch.
Review: The A-Team
Being old enough to remember watching the A-Team on tv as a kid, and given the fairly mixed reviews the movie got on it’s theatrical release, i approached this film with some intrepidation. Thankfully, my concern was unfounded. Yes, it’s a big silly action movie, but I really have no problem with that. What else would you expect from an A-Team flick!
The cast work really well together, and are a good match for their TV counterparts. Neeson’s Hannibal is a bit more ‘gung-ho’ than George Peppard’s, but it works as part of the movie. Sharlto Copley, who I loved in District 9, is a perfect fit for Murdock, as is Bradley Cooper as Face. And Rampage Jackson manages to navigate the iconic role of B.A. without it coming across as a bad Mr. T. impression.
The A-Team always had a rather comic book action towards it’s action and violence, and the movie picks up on that. Not to the point of the TV show – where you’d get a bad guys car flip over into a ditch after being shot up by the team, only to cut into a close up of the bad guys climbing out and dusting themselves off – but there’s very little blood or gratuitous violence shown on screen. It’s very much in keeping with the essence of the original show.
The plot twists and turns nicely, and the effects, whilst over the top, work in the context of the movie. Even the infamous ‘flying tank’ scene didn’t seem quite so ridiculous as it really should have.
Overall, if your after a great, fun, big budget, Saturday night action film, the A-Team is well worth a watch.
DVD/Blu-ray Extras
The A-Team: Extended Explosive Edition contains the Blu-ray, DVD and digital versions, 4 character postcards, and over 90 mins of additional content including:
- The Devil’s in the Details: Inside the Action with the Director
- Deleted Scenes
- Gag Reel
- A Team Theme Mash Up Montage
- Plan of Attack
- Character Chronicles
- Visual Effects Before and After
The A-Team: Extended Explosive Edition is out on the 29th November 2010.
8/10 – Great big explosive fun!
Fry and Laurie Reunited on Gold
Fry and Laurie Reunited on UKTV Gold
Here’s something well worth setting your Sky+ for. On Weds 24th of November, UKTV exclusively reunites Stephen Fry & Hugh Laurie on television for the first time in 15 years in ‘Fry and Laurie Reunited’, a one-off special programme to celebrate 30 years of Fry & Laurie’s relationship.
Thirty years ago Fry and Laurie met for the first time at Cambridge, introduced by their mutual friend Emma Thompson and comedy history was made.
Stephen is a national treasure and the epitome of a polymath with his staggering output ranging from acting (Wilde, Kingdom, Blackadder, Bones) to directing (Bright Young Things) to writing (The Liar, Making History) to voicing (the Harry Potter books) to presenting (Stephen Fry in America, Qi, Sorry I haven’t a Clue) and he is now of course Twitterer supreme. Hugh Laurie stars as Gregory House in the global hit TV series House, as well as finding time to fit in Hollywood movies, voiceovers for major cartoons, comedy, music and to write best selling novel The Gun Seller.
Stephen Fry says: “I am delighted to be given the opportunity to retread the 30 years Hugh and I have known each other and worked together. It was a great joy reminiscing about our times together and I hope GOLD viewers enjoy watching us grow older and older…”
Throughout the programme, Stephen and Hugh open up, revealing fascinating insights into their friendship and their careers, and take a look back at their sketches, interspersed with hilarious clips from their work.
Filming revealed some funny insights into the pair; Fry and Laurie have different versions of how they met although they both concede they were introduced by Emma Thompson.
The pair are great friends and their careers have intertwined frequently over the years from Jeeves and Wooster to Blackadder to their joint comedy showcase, A Bit of Fry and Laurie which ran on BBC1 and BBC2 for four series between 1989 and 1995. They started working together as students in Cambridge at Footlights, and their Footlights May Week Revue – The Cellar Tapes, won the first ever Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival in 1981. The show was subsequently recorded and transmitted by the BBC in 1982. From there they worked on a number of shows together including Saturday Live and Blackadder and of course A Bit of Fry and Laurie which ran for four series from 1989 – 1995.
The ‘Fry and Laurie Reunited’ one-off special will air on GOLD – November 24th, 9pm.
Find GOLD Sky channel 110, Virgin TV channel 126, and Top-Up TV channel 17.
Green Lantern Trailer in HD!
Green Lantern Synopsis:
Bringing the enduringly popular superhero to the big screen for the first time, “Green Lantern” stars Ryan Reynolds (“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”) in the title role, under the direction of Martin Campbell (“Casino Royale”).
In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, a small but powerful force has existed for centuries. Protectors of peace and justice, they are called the Green Lantern Corps. A brotherhood of warriors sworn to keep intergalactic order, each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him superpowers. But when a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of their newest recruit, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan.
Hal is a gifted and cocky test pilot, but the Green Lanterns have little respect for humans, who have never harnessed the infinite powers of the ring before. But Hal is clearly the missing piece to the puzzle, and along with his determination and willpower, he has one thing no member of the Corps has ever had: humanity. With the encouragement of fellow pilot and childhood sweetheart Carol Ferris (Blake Lively), if Hal can quickly master his new powers and find the courage to overcome his fears, he may prove to be not only the key to defeating Parallax…he will become the greatest Green Lantern of all.
UK Release: 17th June 2011
Director: Martin Campbell
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong
Competition: Win 1 of 5 UNSTOPPABLE Goodie Bags!
Another week, and we’ve got another competition for you! This time you can win 1 of 5 Unstoppable goodie bags, which include a keychain, beanie, and T-shirt! All you need to do to enter is read the instructions below. There are 3 ways to win, and you can enter all 3 to TRIPLE your chances of winning!
Synopsis:
Inspired by actual events, “Unstoppable” is an adrenaline rush fueled by director Tony Scott’s signature mark of propulsive action rooted in the reality of ordinary people placed in extraordinary circumstances. A veteran train engineer (Denzel Washington) and a young conductor (Chris Pine) race the clock to stop an unmanned runaway train – effectively a missile the size of a skyscraper — and prevent disaster in a heavily populated area.
- UK Release: Wednesday 24th November 2010
- Cast: Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson
- Director: Tony Scott
- Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
3 ways to win an Unstoppable goodie bag!
COMPETITON IS NOW CLOSED
1. Retweet this post using the Retweet button at the top of this post - 1 entry.
2. Register on the GeekTown forums, and leave a message in the UNSTOPPABLE Competition thread. You can also really up your chances by posting some posts and starting other threads in the forum. Posts don’t need to be about UNSTOPPABLE, just be constructive, and post about movies, tv shows, games, and any other of the usual geeky stuff we like – We’re rewarding active forum users! – 1 entry.
3. Leave a comment on this post, and tell us why you should win a goodie bag! - 1 entry.
The competition closes on 24th November 2010 and is open to UK residents. There will be 5 winners picked from entries on geektown.co.uk and Twitter. By entering this competition, you are agreeing to the rules of this competition. Full rules can be read here.
