AintItCool has some great, exclusive information on the upcoming Gaiking movie. For those who didn’t have the luxury of playing with Gaiking toys as a kid, we pity you. Here’s a quick read on Gaiking courtesy of Wikipedia. For those who are looking for a quick explanation, Gaiking is a giant mecha robot who kicks the asses of an invading race of aliens.

Gaiking Teaser Trailer

Take a sneak peak at the Gaiking teaser trailer. It looks pretty amazing to me, although it’s really just a creatives teaser as of now.

Gaiking vs. Transformers

The real reason I’m rooting for this movie is because it’s the first time we may have a mecha movie done right. And by right, I don’t mean the crapfest that was Transformers. While I’ll admit the movie was at times entertaining, the focus on the human element seemed to detract from the rich history and development of the Transformers themselves. Some people might say that we should be focusing on humans to connect to the machines, but the truth is we’ve already connected to them emotionally through the television series, and that worked just fine. In short, there was no need for Shia or Josh Duhamel, but I’ll leave Megan Fox alone (since this is Guy movie review and we don’t want to blaspheme against the Fox).

Take a look at the intricacies and attention to detail in the shots, and notice how polished the whole concept is. That’s what’s lacking in Transformers, which arguably has much richer source material than the Gaiking series. The developers are even talking of creating life-size robots for their shoots – now that’s commitment! Eat your heart out Michael Bay, because if this movie ever gets made you’ll be exposed and I’m actually a fan of some of your movies.

What did you think of the Gaiking teaser?

If you haven’t heard of J.D. Shapiro, you’re not alone. If you’re hoping to forget the scifi flop Battlefield Earth starring John Travolta doing his best Bob Marley, you’re definitely not alone. In case you haven’t figured it out, Shapiro was responsible for writing the screenplay adaption of the L. Ron Hubbard book Battlefield Earth. I wanted to share this fantastic read with you that really details just how far great scripts can be ruined by warped by ignorant executives.

>>> Read the humorous and insightful article HERE.

It might be long, but it’s well worth reading. I ended up liking Travolta and Shapiro a whole lot more than I did previously. And yes,  I did read all 1000+ pages of the book.

What did you think of all the Scientology talk? Kind of freaked me out a little bit.

News: Zack Snyder, director of Frank Miller’s epic comic 300 is in talks with Warner Bros. to re-release the movie in 3D. Warner apparently showed Snyder a 10 minute clip that they had converted to the 3D format, and according to the director the full movie could be done soon. Also, Snyder is working on a sequel to the movie and is waiting on all original material from Miller himself.

[source: SuperHeroHype]

Would You See 300 in 3D?

I’m just curious to see how many people would be willing to pay for another ticket to see the same movie in 3D. I know I would be since I rewatch the movie often enough that adding the novelty of 3D would be worth it. How about for you? Avatar was my first 3D movie experience ever, and I’m not ashamed to say that I’d watch anything in that format – as long as it’s a Guy movie. I can’t wait to see how 3D changes the way directors tell their stories onscreen. Can you imagine how great The Hobbit or even a converted Lord of the Rings trilogy would look? Count me in.

300 Sequel Directions

I’ve read a lot recently about the sequel to the 300 movie, and it’s safe to say that no one really knows what to expect. Some have mentioned the 300 live on and battle in Hades while others have suggested the movie will actually be a prequel. I feel that the movie itself was a great launching pad for a movie with a grander scale. Leonidas mentioned that he wanted everyone to know what happened at his last stand, and how few stood against many. Snyder could easily build upon this, take a step back and show how the actions of the 300 Spartans united the Greek nations in repelling the Persian Empire. The last battles of that war are epic in scope and scale, and only that kind of vision will do justice to the more myopic themes touched on in the original film.

300 Apples

For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, here’s on of my favorite spoofs from the 300 movie. Makes me laugh every time I see it.

Where do you think the next film should go? Before you speak, know that at Guy Movie Review everyone, even a king’s messenger, is responsible for the words of his voice. Now, what message do you bring?

Sherlock Holmes is easily one of my most anticipated movies of 2009, although the year is almost done. The film will be released December 25, 2009 – Christmas Day. It should be a great movie for the entire family. Judging by the trailer, there seems to be a bit of everything: humor, intrigue, mystery, sex and action.

The movie stars Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Rachel McAdams (one of my favorite actresses today).

Plot: Detective Sherlock Holmes and his partner Watson attempt to foil the plans of a mad man, Lord Blackwood (played by Mark Strong) with supernatural elements of involved.

[source: IMDB]

Sherlock Holmes Official Trailer

Sherlock Holmes Official Poster

And here’s some Rachel McAdams in case you’re not convinced.
The Cinema Source

Thanksgiving Weekend Box Office Results

And here are the top 10 results in from Turkey weekend:

1. Twilight Saga: New Moon $42.9 million
2. The Blind Side $40.1 million
3. 2012 $17.7 million
4. Old Dogs $16.9 million
5. Disney’s A Christmas Carol $15.8 million
6. Ninja Assassin $13.3 million
7. Planet 51 $10.2 million
8. Precious $7.1 million
9. Fantastic Mr. Fox $7.0 million
10. The Road $1.5 million

Vampires Beat Out Ninjas

The flashy Ninja Assassin got beat handily in theaters this weekend. Korean popstar Rain (Bi) was no match for the combined drawing power of Edward, Belle and Jacob. Both movies had similar critic ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, with Assassin at 28% and New Moon at 30%. The difference between the earning power of the two is that the Twilight has a book franchise behind it, more marketable actors and a PG-13 rating.

Rain for his part did a phenomenal job in the role of Raizo despite the lack of any real plot and a director who insists of blurring past the action (the major selling point of the film?).

Road to Nowhere

Viggo Mortensen’s The Road performed even worse than Ninja Assassin, and it’s box office pull was nonexistent. This is sad for me to see as the film is based on a terrific, Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Cormack McCarthy. Even if the book read more like a long poem, the makers of The Road were able to capture it well and receive high critical praise despite its lackluster revenues opening weekend.

It just goes to show that you can’t ignore the buying power of young, fawning females aged 15-30. C’mon men, let’s get The Blind Side to number one this weekend! Who else is upset that The Road and Ninja Assassin didn’t make more money?

Leaping out of my childhood, we return to 2009 where Hollywood is churning out remakes like there is no tomorrow. What number Shrek are we on again? There are no more original ideas, and every last piece of quality source material (including books, video games, and comics) are being made into movies. How will the adaptation stack up?

Will Wild Things Be Tamed?

I’m not one of those “OMG, they ruined my childhood types,” but I will say that this movie is important for a similar reason. I understand that you cannot take a 20 page children’s book with no dialogue and convert it into a 2-hour Oscar winner, but the elements that are important to the book must remain the same. The book was so simple in its plot and themes that it became complex. Any and every type of criticism could be applied to it, and psychologists would have a field day with the material now. But in truth, the story is about one thing and one thing only: imagination.

Imaginary Friends

Where the Wild Things Are is a story of a boy and the friends he creates (which was considered normal until recently). Max’s imagination is as wild as the beast themselves, and his creativity is unwavering and accepted. It is essential that the movie captures that aspect, and inspire kids to continue to be kids. My biggest fear is that children will become fans of the movie and track down a copy of the book, only to be met with disappointment as there is no dialogue, no special effects and no fun. In short, a movie adapted from a book about imagination will actually kill it.

So far though, I have not really had a cause for concern as Spike Jonze has indicated in his interviews that he has every intention of staying true to the beloved book. You can read more from his exclusive interview with Collider here. The creatures and special effects look fantastic, as does Max. We can only hope that Hollywood does not ruin a beautiful piece of art for the sake of ticket sales.

How faithful do you think Hollywood will be to the book, given their track record?

[Source: Collider]

“If you play a part that gets an awful lot of attention,” he explained, “forever after you’re being asked by directors to play the same part in their movie. But I played the best wizard, and I’m happy to revisit him, which I shall do in The Hobbit with Guillermo del Toro.”

Why does this matter to you? Well, if you’re a fan of the Lord of the Rings series, this is an early Christmas present. Gandalf was done justice on the big screen by McKellen, and fans would not stand for another actor to step in for the role.

Too Much Gandalf?

But while this is wonderful news for the production and fans, a new question arises: How much of Gandalf will we see?

Gandalf is not a character that would need an introduction due to him already being a major character in 3 LOTR films, so he should not become a major focus of the film. It would be entirely mundane if for the second time, he gathers and leads another group on an implausible mission. While the stakes are lower (Smaug the Dragon versus Sauron?), we certainly don’t want to see a rehashed version of The Trilogy again.

Focus for the Hobbit

The story should instead focus on three things:

1. Tying in Bilbo’s legacy with the Shire
2. Smeagol/Gollum
3. Dwarves, Dwarves, Dwarves!!!

I would love nothing more than a movie that fully (and respectfully) explores the history and lore of the dwarves. Too much was said of the elves in LOTR, while the dwarves got the short end of the stick. Indeed, it seemed like Gimli was only used for comic relief.

However the movie turns out though, director Guillermo del Toro is a master of imagery and imagination and can only succeed under the direction of producer Peter Jackson.

How much Gandalf do you think we’ll see?

[source: RottenTomatoes]