What's really going on with Fated

Over the past week a lot has been going on with Fated. First, I said I was going to finish it in Utah. Then I said that I was canceling it altogether, but now I have some good news for Fated fans. I am shortening the story a little bit into a trilogy. When all 3 episodes are finished, I am combining all 3 episodes into one movie, and making a DVD release with an alternate ending. Also, I'm entering the movie into the Reel Teens Movie Contest in new York. So, will Fated be an award winning movie? I guess we'll find out!

If that didn't make any sense to you, here's Larry King and Sarah Palin clearing everything up:

Important News Concerning Fated and my upcoming projects

Since you all know I'm moving to Utah, the second episode of Fated cannot have the actor Andrew Johnson, so instead I'm considering the first episode a prequel to the upcoming movie. Its been renamed "Fated Origins". Also, I have had some complaints about some lines being too hard to hear, so subtitles are being added immediately. I might actually hold off a while on because of my new sci-fi action thriller project, "On the Run". More details about my next film will be released soon, but I'm telling you, this is gunna be one of my best films yet.

Iron Man 2 Review

Iron Man 1 was a huge success, critically and with the box office. It was a no-brainer to create a sequel. The only question is, is there any possible way to make it better than the first one?

This time around we have a new villain. Mickey Rourke, who plays the character/villain Whiplash, does an excellent job at playing the evil russian. His greatest scene was when he sliced Tony's car in half, but I'll get to that later. RBJ as always preforms top notch. An interesting plot element added to Iron Man 2 was actually Tony growing as a character. Yeah. you never thought you'd hear me say that! Tony Stark is still the rich billionaire hotshot at the end of the first film, but this time its a lot more personal when he learns about his dad's involvement with S.H.I.E.L.D.

Tony's dad, while only seen in video recordings from 1974 that Tony finds, plays a huge role in Tony's character. He grew up all his life thinking his dad hated him, but he learns thats not true when he finds hidden secrets about a new type of element within a Stark Expo scale model. This leads to Tony getting a new triangle heart, but thats all I'm gunna say about that.

Another role that Tony's dad plays in the plot is (like I said) S.H.I.E.L.D. As you've probabaly heard, theres a bunch of upcoming Marevl movies coming up:

Thor: 2011 (stay after the credits at Iron Man 2 to see a secret scene relating to "Thor")

Captain America: 2011 (Cap's shield is in a small scene in Iron Man 2, but I'll leave that up to you look for)

The Avengers: 2012 (Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, and Thor are to be the main characters of this movie)

Iron Man 2 is a great lead-in for these movies, mainly because of the subtle references to each of the heroes. It making this Marvel project seem a whole lot more real. Anyway, the point is, Tony's dad has an important part in Tony's growing of character, but also a big part in Marvel's big picture.

With all that said about the Avangers films, that wouldn't mean anything unless the movie was actually good. The thing about Iron Man (1 & 2) is that it a super hero movie done right. No one could really ask for more. Its got the action for the teenaged guys like me, its got the romance for the girls (maybe some guys like that kinda stuff, not me of course), and overall it is just plain fun to watch. Iron Man 2, while not as good as the first movie, is an excellent start to this years summer movies, and I am ANXIUOSLY awaiting Marvel's next movies (except the Spider-Man reboot, cause come on, who actually think that will be good?).

A-

Smallville Season Finale Trailer

By the way, my Iron Man 2 review will be up tomorrow asap.

Sherlock Holmes Film Review

Over the past few years, Robert Downey Jr. has earned his place on my top my favorite actors. He plays the smart, but just a little to crazy character he is always likeable. He showed his great acting in Iron Man, and he shows it in Sherlock Holmes, too.

Serlock Holmes is about, well, you know who he is. But this time around, instead of being just a sleuth, he's also an action hero. Kinda hard to get used to at first, but it ends up being a perfect blend of action and smart humor.

The special effects are great in this film. The action scenes are near perfect. There wasn't a single part where I was thinking, "Hey, James Cameron could do it better". The bleached lightning effects add to the eerie puzzling plot that make the movie's cinematography outstanding. In English, the movie's style is very artistic.

The plot is very thought out and very fun to watch what happens next. It kinda reminds me of if Scooby Doo and The Prestige (thanks uncle Cameron for recommending that movie) combined into on plot line. This provides fun, edge-of-your seat suspense that never slows down.

Like I said, RBJ is great as he always his with acting. His partner (name slips me) is also funny and well-played. There isn't anything groundbreaking here, but it certainly is enjoyable. The villain is also a good actor, and he seems pretty scary.

An unexpected pleasant surprise was the amazingly composed music. Hans Zimmer does a great job, with odd and quirky yet just plain awesome music that fits Downey's personality incredibly well.

With all that said, that doesn't mean there isn't drawbacks. The first, maybe 15 or so, minutes of the film drag on a bit too long, with not much progression in the story, but it starts to pick up after that. Other than that, there really isn't any flaws with the film.

Overall, this is a great action flick. Its smart when it needs to be, action packed when it needs to be, and just outright hilarious when it needs to be. The film will be a fun Friday night for anyone looking for some smart action packed humor.

Most Anticipated Games for May 2010

Video Games | Lost Planet 2 | Preview

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Video Games | Prince of Persia: TFS | Preview

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

2 different Lost Planet 2 demos are out now, I would suggest trying both of them, they are completely amazing (Especially 4 player co-op)

Ghost Rider Extended Cut Blu-Ray Review

I never saw this when it came out in theaters or even on DVD, for reasons I honestly don't know. I decided to get this on Blu-Ray from Netflix when I heard they are making a sequel. Here's what I thought.

Marvel has proved that comic book movies can be great blockbuster films, with the Spider-Man trilogy and the recent Iron Man series. I had never heard of Ghost Rider since the movie came out, but from what I've read, there seems to be a big fan base for the character. I just think it's odd that Ghost Rider gets a movie instead of better known Marvel heroes like Captain America (its a good thing Cap is getting his own movie next year).

Anyway, I'll start with the acting. It's outright atrocious. Remember when I made fun of Nick Cage in Knowing when he drops to his feet when his child gets taken away by the aliens? Well, when he turns into the flaming skeleton, its even worse. It almost looks like he's having a seizure, and if I was the director, I would have called an ambulance. The girl thats in it (don't know her name, she's from Will Smith's Hitch, though) does a pretty bad job as well, making a lot of the scenes painfully awkward when Ghost Rider tries to implicate a love story into it. But by far the worst is the actor for the villain, Blackheart. They couldn't have picked a worse actor for the antagonist. They basically picked a really nerdy guy that makes you want to laugh instead of scared. His cheesy one-liners make it all the worse, and I found myself actually lauging out loud when he said something like "You'll pay for this!". The acting in this film brings it down a lot.

I think the plot is alright. Its the standard cheesy comic book story that I think a lot of fans would appreciate, but regular film reviewers frown upon. Theres nothing incredibly exciting here, with not too many plot twists or surprises, but us comic book movie fans are used to that and we except the fact that we're here to watch the cool stunts and effects, and this is where Ghost Rider really shines.

Considering this is 3 years old, the effects are pretty good. If this movie came out today, I might compare it to Avatar and say that special effects are backtracking, but for its time its pretty cool. I really like how the character himself was done, and man, that bike was flippin sweet. My favorite part of the whole film is when Ghost Rider jumps right off the building, and we get an awesome slo-mo sequence. But the visuals of Ghost Rider can't save it entirely.

So overall, Ghost Rider isn't anything that special. Its acting is terrible, but the light plot that doesn't take itself too seriously and the fun visuals make Ghost Rider a decent movie, but not one you will be watching over and over again. I would not recceomend the Extended Cut, as the movie seemed to drag on a little to much, especially in the last scene. I will be looking forward for the sequel, but I don't think there's anyone who will be counting the days until the release date. Ghost Rider is decent, and if your in the mood for some cheesy comic book action, this wouldn't be a terrible choice.

C+