Filmsy - Movie Reviews Blog

GI Joe sequel reportedly in the works

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gi_joeLet me tell you a secret.

I’m on a one-man mission to tell anyone who would listen that GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra sucked. It sucked ass so majestically that I’m using the DVD (Bluray’s too good for this movie) as a pooper scooper for my dog. Seriously. GI Joe was such a major disaster that even my five year old son, who loves his fair share of whiz-bang special effects blockbusters (he adored Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen), would rather tend to his virtual farm in Harvest Moon. It was that bad. And I whimper everytime I say this because Christopher Eccleston — my fave actor — is in this insult to good taste.

I really hoped that Stephen Sommer’s suckfest was the last we’ve seen of it. But apparently, the decent $300 million take GI Joe got was enough to actually merit a sequel (barf bag please).

According to rumors, a scriptwriter was already hired to write the script for the sequel, which signifies Paramount Studio’s serious intent for a sequel. The scriptwriter will be working on what Sommers and his team have already thought up for a sequel, which was already available even before the first movie was released.

I’m pretty sure a lot of people will be excited about news of a GI Joe sequel. Count me out though.

Sam Mendes to direct new Bond movie?

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MendesOne thing I hate about Hollywood is its insistence on rehashing the same old tired properties in the hope that the core audience who used to flock to the theaters to see it will still be there. They also hope that rehashing an established property will pull in a new generation of fans who will drool over the battle-hardened characters of these properties much like their parents did.

A case in point is the James Bond series. The James Bond movies is now more than twenty movies old and it’s still the same old grizzled character that Hollywood is trying to milk. Okay, I think the “reboot” of the character with Casino Royale seems a little inspired but really, aside from the more chiseled body of Daniel Craig, we’ve seen it all before, right?

What the James Bond franchise really needs is a change in vision. And if there’s any kind of left-field kind of change happening to the franchise it would be the news that Sam Mendes is in negotiations to direct the next Bond sequel.

The director, who made a mark with American Beauty, and followed it with such works as Road to Perdition and Revolutionary Road, is an intriguing choice. Although Mendes directed Jarhead, he hasn’t really made an action movie. I, for one, will eagerly anticipate this new Bond installment if Mendes does get to direct it — the first time I’m actually excited about a Bond movie.

Sherlock Holmes

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Sherlock Holmes and Watson — one of literature’s most well beloved “couples” — are about to break up. Or so the movie begins, with Watson just about to move out of Baker Street and leave the life of crime investigation to settle down with a proper English lady.

Then a case opens, and Holmes tries to woo back his partner. So starts this comedy adventure. It’s your usual winning formula of villain on the quest for world domination + lovable hero + loyal sidekick + romantic sideplots. The movie also tops into the latest trend of witch craft and magic. Hmm. Sherlock meets Lord Voldemort.

The fight scenes are decent, with moments of genius. Watch for the scene at the shipyard. Unfortunately, Director Guy Ritchie tends to overedit some of the best sequences. Even the musical score has some great moments. Nothing to win an Oscar, but quite good for an action movie.

You get the feeling, after watching the movie, that the producers are gearing you up for a sequel. It may actually be a good idea. Robert Downey Jr. does a pretty good job of giving the Sherlock Holmes of classic lit a modern, sorta-sexy/sorta-funny vibe (the way Johnny Depp made being a pirate cool). And considering the Holmes-Watson tradition, there’s a deep well of possible story lines and a deep fan base who’ll follow the pair in whatever crazy adventure they get themselves into. (It may also turn the new generation towards the classics, and help them rediscover Sherlock Holmes and actually read the book!)

Greengrass walks away from fourth Bourne movie

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Bourne
The Bourne series of action movies is noteworthy for being one of the few intelligent products that have come out of Hollywood. It’s a cerebral series of action movies that pay close attention to plot and acting as much as to action setpieces. After a contentious production for Bourne Identity because star Matt Damon and director Doug Liman couldn’t see eye-to-eye, which still resulted in a quality movie, the series really began to hit its stride when Paul Greengrass assumed the director’s chair for Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum.

With plans for a fourth Bourne movie underway, everything was running smoothly, until news came out that Greengrass has reportedly “walked away” from the sequel. This will put the production of the fourth movie in jeopardy because Matt Damon is extremely close to Greengrass and this could make Damon decide to leave the production as well as a show of solidarity with his friend.

The problem seems to have originated from the producers’ decision to hire another writer to work on another script when the first script by George Nolfi (who wrote Bourne Ultimatum) was not universally liked. Greengrass seems to have taken exception for not being consulted in hiring the new new writer.

With the new Bourne movie looking like it’s in limbo, it will be a few more years before we see another intelligent action movie coming out of Hollywood. Believe me, Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables, one of the hotly anticipated action movies in production, won’t win any awards for cinematic intelligence.

The Playlist does add that walking away might be a “typical Paul move” and that he possibly could be back on the project in a few months.

Rambo V takes “new” direction

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The planned First Blood Sequel, Rambo V, has taken a different course again. According to Sylvester Stallone, they have changed their mind about the story for the new movie.

According to him, the story about hunting “the man/beast” will now be told through another character. Rambo, in the main story, will be going “across the border” to go to a violent city and speculations are rife that he will be battling human traffickers this time.

What’s interesting about this latest development is the fact that the original sequel storyline was actually the one with the human traffickers. It was changed at some point, but it looks like its back to the original concept again. I kinda get why the original storyline was chosen. Human traffickers as the bad guys would mean the body count will be so much bigger — and that’s what action fans want.