Cinema Gaslight

the end is (probably) here

2008-10-02T22:22:10Z

I know it’s been forever since I’ve posted, despite plenty of newsworthy things happening. But due to circumstances beyond my control, the amount of time I have to spend on this site has been drastically reduced. I can’t really devote the time and energy needed in order to keep up with all the latest news. I really enjoyed the time I spent here and it was a very fun endeavor. At this point, I’m not going to shut anything down. But unfortunately, there won’t be many (if any) new updates. I want to thank everyone who ever took the time to check out this site, and especially those who were kind enough to come back. Thanks again. And in the words of the incredible band The Bouncing Souls…

Anchors aweigh my friends, I’ll see you another day
I’m going away, experiences have to come
and the past has got to go
back into our dreams
back into our dreams

Anchors aweigh my friends
Everybody understands that good times,
that good times they come and they go
and together we will always flow
back into our dreams
back into our dreams

And our troubles, we can’t leave them behind
but the wind blows, and blows them all away
and the road goes… and takes them all away
back into our dreams

comic book movie news

2008-09-10T02:04:54Z

I moved this past weekend, and things have been kind of crazy. There was a fair amount of comic book news and non-news recently. So, first of all, the news. Tobey Maguire will be back in the tights, along with director Sam Raimi, for at least one, maybe two more Spider-Man films, according to Deadline Hollywood. The two films would begin shooting possibly back-to-back in the fall of 2009, so there’s still probably a while before we hear anything from the studio in regards to anything else. Let the villain speculation begin.

Next, there was a rumor from MTV that fell as quickly as it rose of Will Smith playing Captain America. Despite this sounding like a rather odd choice, in 2003 there was a mini series of comics entitled Truth: Red, White & Black. The story focused on a group of African-American soldiers who were forced to take part in experiments trying to reproduce the lost super serum that had been used on Captain America. Isiah Bradley was the lone survivor of the experiments, and became known as the “Black” Captain America. Despite Smith’s box office prowess, it’s not likely the route they would take with such a famous character, and the rumor was quickly debunked by Aint it Cool News.

And finally, Michael Caine was quoted by MTV as saying that he had spoken with someone at Warner Brothers who said that they had signed Johnny Depp as the Riddler and Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the Penguin for the next Batman film. While these parts have been widely rumored, absolutely nothing will be determined until Nolan signs on. Since that hasn’t happened, we still have to wait. Hoffman himself has already debunked the rumor right here, even going so far as to say “I don’t know if I’d be a good Penguin”. (Although I think he would.) So for now, we’ll just wait and see.

news on Harvey Dent’s return

2008-09-04T17:54:19Z

First of all, spoiler alert. But really, if you haven’t seen The Dark Knight yet, shame on you. The fate of Harvey Dent/Two Face was left pretty ambiguous at the end of the film. Yeah, we saw him fall and they had a funeral for him. But, Sal Maroni and Batman himself fell from higher places and came out alive. And we all know that Jim Gordon wasn’t really dead. So, speculation has run rampant on the internets as to Two Face’s fate. Personally, I figured he would still be alive, just hidden away in Arkham Asylum. I think this could have brought up some really interesting points in the next film, whether he’s the main villain or not. Even after reading the script, which is excellent and very close to the final film, I wasn’t completely sold. (Check it out here, courtesy of Joblo.com) It reads as follows: “Dent lies at the bottom of the hole, his neck broken. DEAD.” (Emphasis not added) To me, the key was the use of ‘Dent’, instead of ‘Two Face’. But then again, they explicitly say his neck is broken. And that whole ‘DEAD’ thing. But still… Well, Superherohype recently spoke with Aaron Eckhart, and it sounds like that might have been the last we’ll see of Two Face. He had this to say, “No. I asked Chris [Nolan] that question and he goes, “You’re dead” before I could even get the question out of my mouth. “Hey Chris, am I?” “You’re dead!” Alright, cool.” He goes on to say, “No, I’m not coming back. I think unfortunately, Heath [Ledger] was supposed to go on and that didn’t work out. I’m nobody. I’m a cog.” He’s far from being a nobody or a cog in the movie, but to me this sounds pretty final. Who knows though. Since Nolan has yet to sign on and therefore nobody knows what’s in store for the next installment, there’s a slim chance he could return. Head over to Superherohype for more from Eckhart. Also, Aint it Cool News spoke with Eckhart and he pretty much repeats his story, with some additional stuff. So check that out too.

Dragonball Z images

2008-09-03T18:11:13Z

I had a roommate once who was super into Dragonball Z. He would get really annoyed and defensive if we called it ‘Dragon Ballz’, so I think we stopped. But now that I really think about it, we probably didn’t. Maybe that’s why he stopped letting everyone use his PS2. Anyway, I watched the cartoon a few times and could never really get into it. It seemed like they were always just standing there sweating and yelling at each other, saying how much they were going to beat each other up, but without really doing much. Maybe I just caught a few of the bad episodes, but I still have no idea what a Dragon Ball is or why it’s important. In case you hadn’t heard, they’re making a live-action movie based on the cartoon, simply called Dragonball. Despite it starring Chow Yun-Fat, I don’t have a lot of faith that the movie is going to change my opinion of the series. But my ex-roommate is probably pretty excited. DBthemovie has a bunch of stills from the film, as well as a poster with Emmy Rossum, who plays Bulma. Click on the thumbnails to see them bigger, and head here for a few more.

The Dark Knight passes $500 million

2008-09-02T21:06:09Z

This is a bit late, but I was enjoying the weekend. Hopefully everybody else was too. This news isn’t exactly big or unexpected or anything, but it is very cool. For only the second time in history, a film has grossed over half a billion dollars in the U.S. alone, and I couldn’t be more happy that that film is The Dark Knight. It achieved the landmark number this weekend, and now stands at $504.7 million. (and $921.7 million worldwide) While it most likely still won’t take over Titanic’s top spot of $600.788 million, it should still add another $30 million or so to its total. Very, very impressive. Once again, congratulations to all involved. And thanks for the great film.

More Hulk DVD details

2008-08-28T01:15:19Z

We had the artwork the other day, but now we’re getting all the details on the DVD release of The Incredible Hulk. While it looks like there isn’t an extended version of the film, we do get deleted scenes and a bunch of behind-the scenes stuff. The film will be released as a once disc, a three disc, and a two disc Blu-Ray edition. Click down below for the press release and full specs. The DVD hits shelves October 21.

Superman to reboot, other DC news, my rant

2008-08-22T21:55:41Z

There have been quite a few rumors lately about Superman and the rest of the DC characters. Why aren’t DC and Warner Brothers pushing ahead with more characters? Why is Batman the only successful comic movie franchise they have going? Why were they pushing so hard for a Justice League movie at the risk of alienating fans? It looks like it took the success of Iron Man and The Dark Knight to finally get them headed in the right direction. Iron Man, because it showed how successful a somewhat lesser-known character can be, and The Dark Knight, because it showed everyone just how huge a comic film that hits on all cylinders can be. There’s a really interesting article in the Wall Street Journal that discusses some of what DC and WB have in store for their characters. My own little rant on all of this is below.

WALL-E DVD info

2008-08-22T00:23:10Z

Is three discs the new two disc? Maybe so. First, The Incredible Hulk will be released in a three disc version October 21, then a month later on November 18, WALL-E will hit stores with four different versions. The first will be a two disc edition. It will have a director’s commentary, Presto and BURN-E animated shorts, deleted scenes, a sound design featurette, and ‘WALL-E’s Tour of the Universe.’ Then there’s a three disc edition, which will contain all of that, as well more deleted scenes and featurettes, some Buy N Large shorts, the very cool ‘The Pixar Story’ documentary, ‘WALL-E‘s Treasures and Trinkets’, the ‘Lots of Bots’ storybook, and a DisneyFile digital copy. Whew. They’re really going all out on this. It makes me wonder why Cars and Ratatouille only got one disc editions. Maybe now that the format war is over, Disney has decided to let us regular DVD owners have a bit of the fun as well. I wouldn’t be surprised to see special editions of those films coming down the road. Additionally, there will be two disc and a three disc Blu-ray releases of the film. The two disc contains all of what’s on the three disc regular edition, as well as Cine-Explore, BURN-E picture-in-picture, Axiom Arcade, Geek Track and the BD Live feature. The three disc has all of that plus a DisneyFile digital copy. Thanks to DVDizzy.com for the information, via UpcomingPixar. Click on the thumbnail for a better look at the Blu-ray cover art.

Nightmare behind the scenes clip

2008-08-21T19:06:52Z

The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of the greatest films ever made, in my opinion. We have a tradition of watching it every year around Halloween, and each time I’m captivated by the story and the characters. The film is now getting a double disc and Blu-Ray edition, coming next Tuesday. They’re also releasing a very cool ultimate collector’s edition, which you can see a picture of to the right, and check out at Amazon. There aren’t a whole lot of new extras that weren’t on the last dvd, but if you’re a big fan they’re probably worth getting. Also, the fact that it’s been digitally restored and remastered makes me want to get it. There are a few instances in the film where the illusion is broken for me, namely strings on the bats and a bit of fuzz in the upper corner of one shot. Hopefully those have been taken care of, and I’d love to see it in HD too. So we’ll see what Sandy Claws brings me this Christmas. Comingsoon.net has a clip of some of the new material. Check it out below. Shock till You Drop has three more clips as well.

WB head speaks to Potter fans

2008-08-21T18:31:03Z

Last week it was announced that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince would be pushed back from a November release to a July 19th 2009 date. This prompted other studios to do some shuffling, as both Disney’s Bolt and the teen vampire flick Twilight pounced on the prime November 21st spot vacated by Potter. The main reason for the Potter move was blamed on the writer’s strike leaving a gaping hole in next summer’s slate for Warner Brothers. Well, fans are none too pleased with this decision, since they will have to wait almost eight months longer to watch the next installment of the franchise, a film that will be finished far before it’s released. Warner Brothers, fearing that the fans will decide not to show up, and thus ruining their whole scheme, are trying to placate the fans. WB president and COO Alan Horn has released a statement explaining things. Though it doesn’t offer much in the way of apology, hopefully for WB’s sake it will be accepted by the fans and will make them come out in full force for the film. The statement is below.

Adams as Earhart in Museum 2 photos

2008-08-21T18:07:35Z

Night at the Museum was sort of an unexpected hit, so of course when the studio saw all that money rolling in, they decided to go ahead with a sequel, subtitled Battle of the Smithsonian. Though I haven’t heard much about the next film, apparently Ben Stiller has a bit of a fling with a (wax?) Amelie Earhart, played by Amy Adams. (Not to be confused with the Hillary Swank starring biopic.) The Bad and Ugly got their hands on a bunch of shots of Adams in her flygirl getup, and I have to say she looks pretty good. Click on the thumbnails for a better look, and head here for some more.

Congrats. Dark Knight is #2 all time

2008-08-18T21:59:20Z

With its box office take of $16.3 million this past weekend, The Dark Knight became the second-highest grossing film of all time, pushing it to a $471 million domestic total. While it still trails Titanic, which holds the top spot with just over $600 million, it’s still an incredible feat. I really thought it was going to be the top film of the summer, and probably even the year, but I wasn’t anticipating this. Though I’m sure it’s due in part to Heath Ledger’s passing, it’s also due to the fact that it’s a very, very well-made film. The actors were all excellent in their roles, the plot was engaging and thought-provoking, the score was excellent, and the direction and cinematography were amazing. There’s been plenty of talk about Ledger being nominated for an Oscar, and I agree. His Joker is the most unique and captivating character since Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow, and it would be a shame if he wasn’t recognized by the Academy. In fact, hopefully the film will be nominated for other categories too. Is the film a masterpiece? Maybe, maybe not. I think we still have to give it some more time, let the hype and the circumstances die down and view it with fresh eyes. Is it the best comic or superhero film ever? Without a doubt, and it will resonate and influence many future films to come. In the meantime, it will continue its steady march towards $500 million. Congratulations to all involved.

weekend box office 8/18

2008-08-18T21:58:49Z

The Dark Knight was finally dethroned, but it only fell one notch this weekend. After opening Wednesday, Tropic Thunder earned $25.8 million this weekend, bringing its total up to $36.8 million. The Dark Knight came in second, grabbing another $16.3 million. Worldwide it has now earned $799.6 million. Star Wars: The Clone Wars came in third, with $14.6 million. Fourth place belonged to the new horror film Mirrors, with $11.1 million. The Pineapple Express took the fifth spot with $9.8 million. Additionally, Wall-E took over the top animated film spot, and now stands at $214.1 million, ahead of Kung Fu Panda’s $211.9 million. Full weekend chart at Box Office Mojo.

Incredible Hulk dvd artwork

2008-08-14T22:12:17Z

Though no release date or specs have been released yet, today DVD Active has the first look at the cover art for the 3 disc (!) edition of The Incredible Hulk. I’m glad they’re throwing so many extras on there. I wonder if there will actually be a longer cut of the film, the one that Norton and Leterrier were pushing for. Who knows, but in the meantime, the cover looks cool, if a little bit video game-ish. Click on the thumbnail to see a bigger version. More info as it comes. Update! According to DVDizzy.com, The Incredible Hulk will hit shelves October 21.

Coraline featurettes

2008-08-13T03:14:55Z

I am a huge stop-motion animation fan. I’ve always been impressed with the process and the unique look that the medium gives. Henry Selick, director of The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, is hard at work at the next stop-motion film to hit theaters, Coraline. I haven’t had a chance to read the book by Neil Gaiman yet, but I’m told it’s a good read. Today, RottenTomatoes.com has two making-of featurettes for the film. The more I see, the more excited I get. The film comes out February 6th, and I think it’s going to be awesome. Check the videos out below or head to RottenTomatoes.com to see bigger versions.