Wil Wheaton is something of a fanboy favorite for the people. He’s a former child star, best known as the lead in the Rob Reiner adaptation of Stephen King’s Stand by Me, and also as Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation. He’s done tons of other stuff along with these two better-known titles, but the best thing about him is that he’s grown into a regular everyday guy and fan of many things geek, which puts him high on our list of coolest celebrities in the universe.

One thing that we didn’t know about Mr. Wheaton — and you probably didn’t know it either — is that he was actually in J.J. Abrams‘ Star Trek. That’s right, Wes Crusher of Next Generation was in the new Trek.

On the official Wil Wheaton blog, the actor and writer shared the whole story yesterday, and it is quite the amusing tale indeed. [...]

In yet another announcement regarding a classic cartoon character, it appears as though there is a Yogi Bear movie in the works, and it’s actually set to begin filming next month. Naturally, this will be another hybrid movie that will mix live-action humans with the former cartoons getting their CGI makeover.
This comes [...]

Star Trek is coming to DVD, Blu-ray, and digital download on November 17, 2009.

Like with many big-name summer blockbusters, Star Trek is getting a few retail exclusive releases at select stores like Target and Best Buy. I don’t usually concern myself too much with different versions of DVDs, unless an exclusive strikes my interest. In this case, J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek was my absolute favorite movie of the year (not surprising, since I’m a Trek fanatic), so naturally, I know how to think carefully on which version of the home entertainment release I’ll be choosing.

Check out the list of retail exclusives for the U.S. and Canada here below and feel free to help me decide which I’ll be getting! [...]

It seems like every post these days has a list-off of all of the toys and board games being made into movies, so we’re not even going to worry about it here. Now it’s being reported that Sony Pictures have acquired the rights to Hasbro’s strategy game, Risk, and will indeed be turning it into a movie. The game was created in 1957 by French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse. Who knows, maybe they can go to war with Universal’s Battleship movie! (Read: ‘Hancock’ Director Peter Berg To Helm ‘Battleship’ Movie; 2011 Release).

Once again, there isn’t really a storyline to Risk, so you have to imagine that this will ultimately just become some kind of a war movie in which nations battle for world domination. Two scenarios are most logical: in one, they could go back in time and create the movie within one of the first two World Wars; in the other, they could go futuristic and make a movie about World War III, which is probably the most likely of paths. [...]

Law Abiding Citizen
Director F. Gary Gray
Starring Gerard Butler, Jaime Foxx, Colm Meaney
Rated R
Release date: October 16, 2009

I love stupid mindless revenge movies. Man on Fire, Payback, Taken; pretty much any movie where a guy is driven to kill as many people as necessary in the name of some kind of justice. Most of these movies are not what I would call great movies, but when done well, they’re all fun, and they appeal to a certain part of me that wishes that the kind of uncompromising justice portrayed in these films would work in the real world. The realistic part of me understands that it wouldn’t, but who wouldn’t like to see righteous justice handed down to those who deserve it. Law Abiding Citizen is now resides in a warm place in my heart along with the rest of these films. Is it perfect? Hardly. Does it have plot holes you could drive a truck through? Definitely. Is it going to win any kind of awards? Certainly not. Did I have a fun time watching it? Hell yeah! And sometimes, that’s enough for me.

In the film, Gerard Butler plays Clyde Shelton, a man who is forced to watch his wife and daughter brutally murdered in front of him, and then sees the justice system break down as the man who actually killed his family is given a reduced sentence so that callous District Attorney Nick Rice, played by Jaime Foxx, can keep his high conviction percentage. Unfortunately, Shelton is a very driven man who has the skill, intelligence, and determination to see his revenge through to the end. From there, we get the standard game of cat and mouse, as Clyde continually shows that he is smarter than Rice, as the bodies keep piling up in brutal fashion [...]

While on the set of his new movie, Steve Guttenberg spoke to WENN and dropped a mega-bomb on the unsuspecting world: Disney is developing a third movie in their Three Men and a Baby franchise called Three Men and a Bride. Wait, wait — it definitely gets better. Guttenberg also claims that, he Ted Danson, AND Tom Selleck are all set to reprise their roles. Oh, thank you…thank you, God.

The 1987 original movie was a hugely popular hit back in its day. It followed a trio of friends who are living the bachelor life in a sweet bachelor pad before a mysterious baby shows up at their door that supposedly belongs to one of them. Hilarity ensues when these completely unfitting fathers attempt to care for the baby and of its glorious baby habits. The film spawned a sequel entitled Three Men and a Little Lady in which the mother comes back and plans to move the kid to London. [...]

The Weinstein Company is incredibly giddy that their juggernaut Scream franchise is being revived for a new trilogy. Scream 4 is just gaining some good speed with a script in the works from Kevin Williamson and some of the core cast members locked in to return. This hasn’t stopped the Weinsteins from trying to get all of us giddy-ized (word invented — stamp it!) right along with them, though; the company has created an ultra-basic new teaser poster to check out (Click to go big). All the poster is a our first face-to-face with the infamous Ghostface, and a tiny little promise of some new rules being thrown into the chaos.

As you may or may not know, this is a project that the Weinsteins have been begging Williamson for for a long time now. He finally broke down and got to work developing it as a whole new trilogy. Stars David Arquette and Courteney Cox were pretty much instantly-confirmed for the return, but there was a little drama when it looked like their lead, Neve Campbell, would not be coming back. This, however, did not last long, as it was later confirmed that she too was returning for the ride. The one huge missing link still, is whether Wes Craven will return to direct. [...]

We’ve certainly seen the story before: high technology machines and robots evolve, rise up, and take over the world of men. Whether it’s Battlestar Galactica, the Terminator franchise, or a movie like I, Robot, people love being scared by the thought of man-made machines turning on us and killing us all. If this trend is kept up, the robot apocalypse could become a genre in itself like zombies, but that isn’t stopping DreamWorks, who are on the verge of acquiring the rights to an unpublished manuscript entitled Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson.

So what makes this project so attractive? What makes Robopocalypse different from the other movies that we’ve seen? Well, it’s realism. Wilson is an actual Ph.D. in robotics, and he has injected a massive level of realism into his tale of man vs. machine, which is what immediately grabbed DreamWorks’ attention. Over the past few years, there have been some terrifying videos of actual man-made robots that are so freaky-realistic, you almost expect them to evolve and slaughter mankind. [...]

Just last week, we learned that last year’s Academy Awards host, Hugh Jackman, would not be returning for the job (Read: Good News Everyone: Hugh Jackman NOT Hosting The Oscars; Who’s Next?), leaving us wondering who would get the gig and if it would be worth caring about in the slightest. The NY Times is now reporting that the annual show’s producers have made not one choice, but two. That’s right, the next Oscars will have two hosts, and they are none other than comic legend Steve Martin and greatest actor ever to live, Alec Baldwin.

The plan this year to to have the wild and wacky antics of Martin contrast Baldwin’s calm, dry delivery. We know that both are very much capable of some great comedy, so it is easy to declare that this could be a phenomenal production. The two actors are also appearing together in master of the romantic comedy Nancy Meyers’ (What Women Want, The Holiday) It’s Complicated, where they will battle each other for the love of Meryl Streep. [...]

A group of trenchcoat-wearing, boombox-lifting Lloyd Dobler look-a-likes took to the streets of New York City today in celebration of the 20th anniversary release of Say Anything on DVD and Blu-ray.

The Doblers, which called themselves “Mobler,” began their adventure at Penn Station and make their way around the city to Washington Square Park and Union Square before ending their journey at Times Square, where the indie band Lloyd Dobler Effect put on an acoustic performance of Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes.” [...]

A Serious Man – *1/2
Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
Starring Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Sari Lennick, Peter Breitmayer, Fred Melamed
Release date: October 31, 2009

The Coen Brothers‘ catalogue of films displays verification, in the grander scheme of things, of how meager and unimportant human life actually is. Verification also of our incompetency as humans to realize what awaits us. To quote a line from the Coens’ film No Country for Old Men, “you can’t stop what’s comin’.”

Joel and Ethan Coen love to show their characters being submissive to the realms of evil; accepting what is coming to them regardless of the outcome. The perilous paths they travel down usually have connotations resembling desperation, greed and envy, all of which can lead to death. Acting against these overt connotations becomes imperative to the characters, almost to a point where discerning them becomes a natural instinct to ensure the longevity that life offers us. By not taking any action against these explicit sins a logical story cannot bloom, leaving an audience in dismay at what they just watched.

Stiffened in the fate that causes him to question his entire being, Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a middle-aged man married with two children in suburbia Minnesota circa 1967, is falling through a portal of infinite darkness, plunging full throttle into this pool of black and not possessing the slightest will of halting this bleak voyage [...]

It’s quite likely that 99.9% of you have already decided that you will not be seeing either of the movies discussed here based solely on the title of this post. Sadly, you are perfectly fair to judge so quickly, and you are not alone in your disdain for these and other childhood characters (liked or not) being made into feature films.

First up, it’s being reported that Owen Wilson has signed on the dotted line to voice the role of Marmaduke, a giant clumsy CGI dog based on the 1954 comic strip of the same name. The movie will do the same as all of these movies do in mixing CG and live-action. The plans for a Marmaduke movie have apparently been around for a while now as it has a cast of known names that will surely regret ever agreeing to appear in it down the road. The names include William H. Macy, Judy Greer, and Lee Pace as live-action characters, while Steve Coogan, Emma Stone, Damon Wayans, George Lopez, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Marlon Wayans, and Fergie will all voice CG characters. You might as well call it Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2: Honey, I Blew Up the Chihuahua. Marmaduke is set for release in June of 2010 — get excited. [...]

If it’s true that a movie can become so over-hyped that it affects our view of the film, then James Cameron’s massively-pre-praised Avatar is going to have to really be amazing to live up to our expectations. Already we’ve seen many people let down by our first glimpse of the movie in its debut teaser trailer, but now we have a full-length theatrical trailer to watch and really see whether excitement blooms or skepticism rules on. Once again, all of these trailers won’t be able to fully present the IMAX Digital 3-D format the movie is specifically being built for, so you have to imagine it as big as big can be and as personally enveloping as movies can get.

The trailer has a lot of things we’ve seen before, but with an extra minute or so of footage, you’ll certainly see some new goodies. It seems the real concern is still the Na’vi and if you love or hate their look, but overall, imagining in the above-stated IMAX format, you can see how this will without doubt be a dreamscape of never-before-seen visual treats. If the movie hits on all entertainment levels, then we really are looking at an amusement park ride of a movie-going experience. [...]

I’m so not a morning person (maybe it goes with my vamp obsession…hmm) but oh, Twifriends, this morning, I was one happy ass chik! Why? Because I have in my hot little hands, so to speak, the latest New Moon vid — all of which you can watch right here below!

The Twilight Saga – New Moon Volturi Featurette offers up a peek at the special effects used to create the fight between the Cullens and the Volturi, as well as some oh so delicious interviews with cast members including Rob Pattinson, Michael Sheen (Aro), and Jamie Campbell Bauer (Caius) – umm….yum…I’m just sayin’.

Also, there’s Anya Marina’s haunting New Moon soundtrack tune, “Satellite Heart,” which features lots of Edward and Bella clips from the movie. This is my current favorite song on the soundtrack — of course, that changes daily, because I’m a fickle vamp girl and it depends on what mood I’m in but, as usual, I digress, just go watch the vid [...]

Disney/Pixar’s latest animated features comes to DVD and Blu-ray on November 10, 2009. In celebration, the studio has released 8 retro posters created for the film.

Check them out here below (and click for larger, full view), along with details on the DVD/Blu-ray bonus features.

Synopsis
Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios take moviegoers up, up and away on one of the funniest adventures of all time with their latest comedy-fantasy. Up follows the uplifting tale of 78-year-old balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen, who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America. But he discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed away on the trip: an overly optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell. Their journey to a lost world, where they encounter some strange, exotic and surprising characters, is filled with hilarity, emotion and wildly imaginative adventure. [...]

It’s been a long time coming, but the first official movie trailer for Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer’s video game adaptation Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time has been unveiled by MySpace.

The trailer certainly makes its intents known immediately, and it’s pretty clear that movie-goers are either going to love it or hate it passionately. What really stands out is the visuals, which are without doubt very beautifully done. The big concern lies within the cast, which started the very moment that Jake Gyllenhaal was cast as a Persian prince. This now has secondary concerns attached to it because Jake is also going to be attempting an accent, as you’ll be able to tell, and also because it appears that he and his co-star Gemma Arterton don’t look like they have very convincing chemistry together. With a supporting cast that includes Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina, there is hope that these things can be overlooked, but Prince of Persia has a little mountain to climb if it wants to start winning our hearts and wallets. [...]

OK, I’ll admit it: this isn’t really news. But in a world where Twilight is everywhere you look and read, stuff like this is needed to keep everyone (me, me!) sane.

Basically, our favorite sibling assassins with hearts of gold, the Boondock Saints (Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus), stopped by MTV recently to talk about their long-awaited sequel, Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day. While there, they were prompted to take part in a small Big Buck Safari challenge. If you do not know what Big Buck Safari games are, if you’ve ever been in an arcade, you’d recognize them as a hunting simulation in which you hold an orange plastic gun and try and hunt for the best deer.

This isn’t the amusing part of the day, though: before leaving, the Saints made sure that they set their superior status in stone by taking a stand-up of The Twilight Saga: New Moon star Robert Pattinson and giving it the true McManus brothers treatment for those who have sinned against mankind; that’s right, two shots to the back of the head. All we need now is some audio of them saying their prayer beforehand and some pennies for the eyes and all would be well in the world. [...]

We’ve been hearing a lot from Robert Zemeckis in the past few months in regard to a potential sequel to Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, his classic live-action/cartoon hybrid. We’ve heard some good news, like that the 2-D animated characters will remain 2-D, though some new 3-D characters could be introduced (Read: SDCC 09: Director Robert Zemeckis Says 2D Characters Would Remain That Way In A ‘Roger Rabbit’ Sequel). We’ve also heard bad news, such as Bob Hoskins saying that he wouldn’t be able to come back and do a sequel if it happened (Read: Bob Hoskins Says ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit 2′ Won’t Have Eddie Valiant? I Call Shenanigans!).

To add to all of that, Zemeckis recently spoke to MTV and shared some new news that will get fans really excited: not only is he serious about wanting to make Roger Rabbit 2, but he already has the original movie’s writing team of Jeffrey Price and Peter Seaman developing a script right this moment. [...]

We’ve all seen it before, whether it be on purpose or while flipping thorough channels: a daytime TV show has a holiday special where they present fun and helpful tips on decorative ideas, crafty party/hosting tricks, and unique food and snack recipes.

The Today Show held one of these special shows recently (which you can see much more of in our recent post) for Halloween, and they went all out, complete with a full Star Wars theme. Hosts Al Roker and Ann Curry dressed up as Han Solo and Darth Vader, and they even brought in a couple of little Ewoks to set the perfect mood! Unfortunately, this backfired on them a little; it didn’t take long before the Ewoks took over the show. It starts off light with a little playful talking, food throwing, and stealing the Halloween cocktails, but the more reactions they got, the more they feed off of it, and that prompts them to start dancing and moonwalking, fighting each other, and humping Mr. Roker’s leg. Yes, you read that right: an Ewok humps Al Roker’s leg. [...]

Every year, After Dark does their part to bring the world a collection of new horror movies. Their 8 Films to Die For are custom built for the die-hard horror fan, with none of that PG-13 crap — no, no, these are real horror movies that are graphic and completely unapologetic.

Being a big fan of horror movies, I jumped at the opportunity to not only take a look at one of the third annual collection’s offerings, but to swim around in all eight of these demented and twisted tales. My happy dreams may now be permanent nightmares, but really, what fun would it be to just review one part of what’s mean to be an entire collection of pure horror good-ness?

From here on out, I’ll do my best to review each of the eight films so movie fans and horror buffs alike can decide whether they want to see just one or if they want to see them all over and over again. [...]