As it has with tons of movie bloggers, I have remained confused and confounded over the fact that this year’s The Karate Kid remake is stubbornly holding onto its classic, audience-dumbing down friendly title, especially – as sites such as Nuke the Fridge have wisely pointed out – the movie’s latest trailer makes a very clear point that Jackie Chan’s character Mr. Han will be teaching his young ward kung-fu and most certainly not karate.

But I think I’ve figured out why the filmmakers not only kept the title, but never actually considered updating it in the first place. It’s because we would constantly make fun of them:

Tags: jackie chan, kung-fu, movie, nuke the fridge, one-sheet, the karate kid

Ok, clearly my kids I need to get a bit more creative with my Lego-play, because I never would have conjured up anything close to this level of wonderawesomeness:(image via Sad Old Biker on Flickr; found on the awesome Distracted by Star Wars)

Of course, there are eighteen dozen movies coming out this summer, and some of them I’m excited to see – most notably the likes of Inception and Iron Man – but without a doubt Toy Story 3 has to be my most anticipated. I even took my boys to see TS and TS2 in their 3-D double feature re-release late last year. What a blast.

What’s your most anticipated movie coming this summer? And doesn’t it seem like summer’s going to start sooner than ever this year? Clash of the Titans and Kick-Ass are both scheduled for April at this point, which seems quite a bit earlier than in the past.

And no, I will not let this post go by without including the new Toy Story 3 trailer:

(here’s a nitpick-y note about that trailer. Does the bit where Mr. Potato’s arm sag bother anyone besides me? It’s not really that original of a joke – but what bugs me is that the Toy Story toys have always been bound by the rules of the physical world, haven’t they? Their batteries run out, they get scuffed and beaten up, their parts break off. So why would Potato’s arm suddenly sag like a Popeye cartoon-era noodle? If my faith in the Pixar screenwriters proves true, there’ll be a story-based explanation not seen in the trailer. Just seems out of place here, no?)

Tags: darth vader, Movie marketing, Movies, star wars, toy story 3

GREAT news, fans of wacky secret agent rom-com movies: Hollywood plans to slake your greedy lust for action comedies in the summer of 2010 with not just one, but TWO not-at-all derivative, high-concept, would-be blockbusters. Take a look:

But maybe I’m being too harsh. Clearly these two movies have a lot to differentiate them:

	Killers	Knight and Day
Title critique:	Awful	Awful. And jokey. But mainly awful.
Release Date:	6.4.10	7.2.10
IMDB synopsis:	A vacationing woman meets her ideal man, leading to a swift marriage. Back at home, however, their idyllic life is upset when they discover their neighbors could be assassins who have been contracted to kill the couple.	An action-comedy centered on a fugitive couple on a glamorous and sometimes deadly adventure where nothing and no one – even themselves – are what they seem. Amid shifting alliances and unexpected betrayals, they race across the globe, with their survival ultimately hinging on the battle of truth vs. trust.
Synopsis analysis:	Written by a Lionsgate marketing intern, directly after being asked to Photoshop eight dozen Katherine Heigl promo pictures in order to make them look “less bitchy”.	Written by committee, following eight meetings, 15 rounds of revisions, five script re-writes, vetting through Tom Cruise’s phalanx of lawyers, and a three-day debate over “glamorous and sometimes deadly” vs. “deadly and sometimes glamorous”.
Lead actress character name:	Jen	June
Years since lead actress was seen in a tolerable movie:	Three (Knocked Up, 2007)	Nine (Vanilla Sky, 2001)
Lead movie roles in that time span:	Two (but it feels like 10)	11 (includes 14 appearances in Shrek-related crap properties)
Primary plot convention:	He’s a secret agent, she’s clueless	He’s a secret agent, she’s clueless
Not-at-all cliched meet-cute moment:	Lusty staring upon elevator doors opening	Literally bumping into each other
Original screenplay by:	Guy who wrote something called Taco!	Guy who bit-parted in at least two John Cusack movies.
Level of lead actress’ wacky ineptitude in an action scene:	Moron. She’s shown as incapable of firing a gun, then screeching and accidentally shooting something something something.	Imbecile. She’s shown as incapable of counting down to three, then screeching and cowering and oh please someone end my life now.
Wacky ineptitude seen previously performed by:	Jamie Lee Curtis, True Lies, 1994	Danny Glover, Lethal Weapon, 1987
Is the lead actor shown believably threatening with a large weapon?	No.	Oh sweet baby Christmas, no.
Late third act plot spoiler guess:	Heigl learns what’s important in life, lightens up and falls in love.	Diaz is really a secret agent, too.

Tags: ashton kutcher, cameron diaz, katherine heigl, killers, knight and day, Movie marketing, Movies, tom cruise, trailer

Spectacular. Can’t wait. Wish it opened today. Writing like I’m on twitter. Need to go remember how to write an entire sentence now.

(via DisneyPixar on twitter)

Tags: ken, michael keaton, Movies, toy story 3

This is such extraordinary creativity. This guy known as “Pogo”* can apparently recut an entire music video using only the sounds from a movie and its soundtrack. The finished piece is a kind of dance music/movie mashup that pays impressive homage to the movie’s sound effects, visuals, dialogue and aesthetic, while at the same time presenting it as something completely new and amazing.

Here’s one he did for Terminator 2: Judgement Day:

And here’s one for Up:

*Follow the link to Pogo’s website where you’ll see an interesting story of how Disney contracted him to create the Up video – but at the copyright-infringing expense of some his earlier works that got him noticed by Disney in the first place!

Tags: Movies, music remix, pogo, skynet symphonic, terminator, up, upular

I haven’t seen Up In the Air yet – and I’m starting to feel fairly desperate to do so – but I saw this video the other day at roughly 8900 websites and wanted to include it here.

This is a terrifically cool piece that director Jason Reitman put together following the press junket tour for his movie. Essentially it’s just a fast-paced look at the bizarre press rituals filmmakers go through to promote their films. I love these kinds of behind-the-scenes bits, especially when we get to see them during the film’s theatrical run. What exactly did we do before we were blessed with internet to give us these wonderful goodies?

Enjoy:

Tags: jason reitman, lost in the air, movie, Movie marketing, press junket, publicity, up in the air