The Famous Starstore Blog

Kick Ass is getting a lot of press right now, and quite rightly so. The hotly anticipated adaptation of the Mark Millar/John Romita Jr comic book looks set to be THE comic book movie event of the year alongside Iron Man 2. But why is this title, with unknown characters and an 11-year-old fouth mouthed assassin generating so much interest? Quite frankly, because it’s a really cool idea.

The KICK ASS movie looks about as close to the comic as you could get without drawing outlines around the characters onscreen, and with a sharp sscript and some very tight direction, the film looks set to be every bit as good as the latest trailers suggest.

The KICK ASS comics themselves are a blast to read, and even from just a single issue, you can see why it’s been made into a movie. Aaron Johnson is note-perfect as Dave/Kick Ass, and I think that the guy is going to be the element of the film that draws in most of the non-comics fans. Reallly looking forward to this one.

Technorati Tags: Comics, kick ass, kick ass comic, kick ass film, kick ass movie, Movies

Woo hoo! Avatar, James Cameron’s stupendously incredible science fiction epic, has now grossed more at the box office than Cameron’s previous mega hit, Titanic. This officially makes the Avatar movie the biggest grossing film of all time, and it’s still going strong!

Is this a product of the film’s marketing? Y’know, for once I wouldn’t say that it is. While yes, it has had a massive amount of hype from the media, it hasn’t been advertised into oblivion and the film has become a hit due to the quality of the product itself and the sheer volume of public opinion surrounding it.

It fills geeks like me with a warm glow to know that the biggest film of all time is an epic science fiction movie with ten-foot tall blue Thundercat/Smurf hybrids in it. Like many genre fans, I’m raising a glass to a job well done.

James Cameron’s Avatar, despite its huge similarities to other properties, is a massive achievement that has worked wonders for new cinema technology and the science fiction and fantasy genres. It has emerged as a genuine game changer, which has seriously upped the ante of things to come. I have a feeling that this may very well be the start of a new golden age of genre cinema.

Technorati Tags: avatar, avatar biggest movie of all time, avatar movie, james cameron, titanic

The Fox TV network has let slip that it is developing an American version of the UK’s hit series Torchwood. The US version of the Doctor Who spin-off is being developed in conjunction with BBC worldwide.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Russell T. Davies is on board for the scripts, and Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner (also from the UK crew) will be executive producers on the project.

The US incarnation of the Torchwood series will feature a wider storyline rather than the UK-centric tales of the original, and may well feature John Barrowman reprise his role as Jack Harkness.

Here’s hoping that this is going to be a new team and not a remake of what we’ve already seen. At least that way some scope could be added to the Torchwood series canon, rather than everything happening in Cardiff all the time.

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Find Torchwood: Children of Earth on Blu Ray

Technorati Tags: Torchwood, torchwood children of earth, torchwood series 4, torchwood us

Great news for fans of the Ghostbusters movies! This finally surreal concrete news from Ghostbusters 3. Ivan Reitman, who in recent years has been more of a producer and director, told MTV that he would in fact be returning to the director’s chair for Ghostbusters 3.

Ivan did of course direct the first two films in the Ghostbusters series; the first in 1984 and the much maligned (but actually rather fun) sequel in 1989. This chalks up another member of the original team coming back for the long-awaited new Ghostbusters movie. All four of the original Ghostbusters, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson and even Sigourney Weaver are all on board for this latest instalment now.

As previously reported, Ghostbusters 3 will see the introduction of a new generation of Ghostbusters, who are being trained by the original group. Bill Murray’s character of Peter Venkman is set to spend much of the film as a ghost. The director confirmed that Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky finished the first draft of the script for the film recently, and are setting about a second draft so that the film can start being shot sometime in the next year. Who you gonna call? Erm, Ivan Reitman, it would seem.

Technorati Tags: ghostbusters 3, ghostbusters movie, ivan reitman, Movies

GREEN LANTERN

Actor Peter Sarsgaard is in talks to play Dr. Hector Hammond, one of the villains in director Martin Campbell’s forthcoming Green Lantern movie. The DC Comics adaptation also stars Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively and is due to hit cinemas in June 2011. But where’s Sinestro?

THE MIGHTY THOR

Kenneth Brannagh’s adaptation of the Asgardian Thunder God’s comic adventures is now in full swing. The Mighty Thor movie has now started production, with names like Anthony Hopkins, Rene Russo and Natalie Portman appearing alongside Chris Hemsworth, who is playing Thor himself. Stuart Townsend has been replaced in the role of Fandral by Joshua Dallas.

SPIDER-MAN 4/SPIDER-MAN REBOOT

More details are emerging surrounding the proposed reboot of the Spider-Man franchise following on from the recent news of Sam Raimi and Co leaving Spider-Man 4. The new film is said to be following on in the footsteps of the Ultimate Spider-Man comics series, in which we will see a young Peter Parker become Spider-man (again…*sigh*) while dealing with modern issues. Rumours are also emerging regarding the integration of this new Spider-Man franchise into the Marvel Movies universe, which of course would then lead into the Avengers movie.

WOLVERINE 2

The second Wolverine solo film, set to take place in Japan, is slated to go into production next year with an eye on a mid 2012 release date. Hugh Jackman is returning for his fifth film in the role. Hopefully this next film, following on from X-Men Origins: Wolverine, will also feature a plot, a script, and some finished effects…

Technorati Tags: comic book movies, green lantern, spider-man, superheroes, thor, wolverine 2

Breaking news? Possibly! The saga of the troubled next Spider-Man movie has taken a sharp turn- the fourth film has been cancelled altogether and the studio is intending to reboot the franchise! This should all be confirmed shortly.

The trouble with the film was being well documented online, with news of trouble between Sam Raimi, the writers and the studio over the direction that the new Spider-man movies should take and the villains that should appear.

While in the last day there had been the ‘confirmation’ that John Malkovich was to play the Vulture in the new movie, now it seems that new movie is off altogether and a new series will begin, possibly from the start once again.

Of course, many of you will remember the furore around Spider-Man 3, and now it seems that the studio are going to go with a new cast, crew and direction. We’ll bring you more news on this as we find it!

The best Spider-Man Graphic Novels

Technorati Tags: Movies, spider-man 4

The fourth flick in the Spider-Man film franchise, tentatively entitled SPIDER-M4N (Jeez, really?), does seem to have hit some setbacks. It was recently reported that the studio, the writers and Sam Raimi were at loggerheads over the villain for the film- Sam wanted Vulture, the studio wanted someone more well-known.

I can understand both sides of the argument, really. However, I have to side with Raimi on this one- a lesser known villain would have more potential than another big namer like Venom. Venom’s inclusion in Spider-Man 3 always felt tacked on. Raimi wasn’t a fan of the character, and it did show.

Now, if Venom had been the main villain instead of just an afterthought, maybe it would have worked better, I dunno. The point is, it’s time for the series to take some chances again. Vulture would be cool, but I’d love to see Kraven or the Rhino in the mix somewhere before Sam Raimi and Tobey MacGuire bid the series farewell.

I’m glad they’re not rebooting the franchise just yet (or are they?), but it’d be nice if we could get some concrete news that the film is actually going to get made. There are doubts as to whether it will meet its proposed release date of May 2011 (the THOR movies has been moved to that date just in case), and the drama continues to unfold. Here’s hoping it all works out.

The Best Selling Spider-man Graphic Novels

Technorati Tags: marvel comics, Movies, sam raimi, spider-man, spider-man 4

SPOILERS AHEAD.

The story of the tenth Doctor is complete- David Tennant’s swansong as the legendary Time Lord has aired, and soon we will be entering the era of the 11th Doctor, Matt Smith. So how was this highly anticipated episode? Part One had its issues, which had made me fear for the remaining episode, but this super-extended episode (73 minutes!) managed not only to tie up all of the loose ends from the first part, but also tie up the entire Russell T Davies era of Doctor Who in magnificent style. I would imagine that, viewed back to back with part two, that shaky first episode will work much better.

We certainly got the epic pay-off that Davies promised. David Tennant played the part perfectly in tonight’s episode, with the right balance of energy and gravitas. Bernard Cribbins was about as perfect a companion we could have hope for, John Simm finally felt like the Master, the return of the Time Lords was stunning (if somewhat less epic than expected), and despite the odd cop out here and there, such as the manner in which the Master’s plan was reversed, ‘The End of Time‘ was one of Doctor Who’s finest hours since the show returned.

If I may fly my geek flag for a moment, one thing I did take issue with was Timothy Dalton’s Time Lord character being referred to as Rassilon. In the continuity of the series, Rassilon is long dead before the Time War even started (we saw his massive tomb and ghostly consciousness during the special episode ‘The Five Doctors‘ during the eighties). It grated on me that this highly revered character would be shown as a madman. That aside, I was most pleased with Dalton’s powerful delivery and much needed presence as president of Gallifrey.

The process of the Doctor coming to terms with his time running out during the episode is played out beautifully, and the revelation of who actually brings about the Doctor’s regeneration was a surprise. I thought I’d got the ending sussed, but no, RTD took me by surprise and did us all proud.

It was those final minutes, in which the Doctor revisits each of his most beloved companions, that was the most wonderful part for me. Seeing Martha and Mickey as freedom fighters, Sarah-Jane Smith and her son, the Captain Jack cameo, Donna’s wedding and finally that trip back to before the Doctor met Rose were gorgeous glimpses at stores we never got to see. The brief exchange between the Doctor and the younger Rose was something special.

The regeneration, when it came, was much more spectacular and moving than we’ve ever seen in the show previously. This was a final goodbye not only to the tenth Doctor and David Tennant, but also this magnificent era that has seen a cancelled and much derided TV show about an odd time traveller in a blue box come back and redefine British family entertainment. There have been a few less than classic episodes along the way, but on the whole it has been exactly what was promised- the ride of a lifetime.

How does Matt Smith seem? From the brief scene following the regeneration and the clips from the teaser, he seems superb. I already love the new catchphrase. He comes across as excitable, odd and distinctly Doctorish from the word go, or rather, “Geronimo!”

The teaser for the next series looks superb too, and carries what I can only describe as a distinctly old school feel to it. While the production values are light years away from those of the classic series, there seems to be a similar energy to those brief shots we saw. After all of the worries that David Tennant leaving the show would spell disaster for it, I am most pleased to report that it looks like the TARDIS is in safe hands.

Goodbye David. Hello Matt.

Technorati Tags: 11th doctor, 11th doctor regeneration, David Tennant, Doctor Who, Dr Who, end of timee, matt smith

Today will see the airing of the final episode of Doctor Who to feature David Tennant as the tenth Doctor. The End Of Time Part Two will see the legendary Time Lord dealing with the Master’s diabolical plot along with the return of the Time Lords themselves, but as we all know, he won’t get out of it alive… at least not in this body. We’ll be bringing you a full review of the episode as soon as we can, but until then here’s a couple of things to keep the wait bearable!

Time Capsule: An Unofficial Doctor Who eBook

This is the free ebook we created when the ‘Planet of the Dead’ Doctor Who Special was shown, and it contains full reviews of every episode of series four and more Doctor Who features besides. Written by our resident Doctor Who fanatic, it’s a great overview of the fourth series of the show, which was so very momentous. Check it out below!

Time Capsule: An unofficial Doctor Who Book

A new Doctor Who eBook containing reviews of all of the 2009 specials will be released soon!

Doctor Who: The End of Time Part Two Scene

A special scene was released by the BBC following the first episode being shown, which you can check out here. It takes place at the end of the Time War (before the ninth Doctor met Rose) and sees the high council of Time Lords arguing about how to deal with the Doctor…

Official Doctor Who Merchandise

The BBC Doctor Who Store

2009 draws to a close with a bang thanks to James Cameron’s epic Avatar movie doing huge business around the world, but there have been a number of milestones this year that have seen the geek community rejoicing (and flaming each other, as ever). It has been a pretty good year for genre entertainment as a whole, and the recession hasn’t slowed down people’s need for entertainment all that much. In fact, in some areas, such as science fiction and fantasy publishing for example, numbers have actually seen an upturn.

The big movie events of note this year, for guys and girls like us anyway, have been movies like Zack Snyder’s Watchmen adaptation, JJ Abram’s Star Trek, UP, Coraline and the aforementioned Avatar. These films have been powerful reminders of just what genre cinema is capable of. There has also been a large number of duds too, with films like the disappointing (yet hugely successful) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Dragonball: Evolution, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li and the bizarre mish-mash that was X-men origins: Wolverine.

The Twilight phenomenon continued to grow, and fever pitch arrived in November when the second movie in the series of adaptations, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, opened to derision from critics and a gush of fan love from the Twilight addicts. Twilight did maintain its stranglehold on the publishing world too, and a huge range of other romantic vampire novels filled the void left by Twilight once fans had read the four books in Meyer’s series.

Harry Potter returned to our screens too, with the sixth film in the series. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince saw a shift in direction as well as a much darker tone, which has left us curious as to how the two-part adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will turn out.

Two genre films in particular must be noted in any review of 2009, namely the awe-inspiring District 9 and the terrifying Paranormal Activity, two films that reminded us that a good story and a powerful execution of it can be much more satisfying than a vapid blockbuster. This is something that the industry needs to take more note of in coming years, especially as movies with lower budgets mean more in the way of profits and more chance of recouping their costs of production. That’s not to say studios should scrimp on genre projects- just be a bit more creative with them.

The Comics scene had some notable titles too, including the Green Lantern tale ‘Blackest Night’ and the continued chaos following Batman’s ‘Death’. Marvel brought us Wolverine: Weapon X, Nomad: Girl Without a World and great runs of Iron Man and the Amazing Spider-Man. TV hits we loved included the Doctor Who special ‘The Waters Of Mars’, certainly the best out of David Tennant’s final year as the Doctor, the spectacular end of Battlestar Galactica and the impeccable Torchwood miniseries ‘Children of Earth’.

It’s been a good year for science fiction and fantasy fans on the whole, and our genres have seen an increase in both popularity and respect amongst the general populace. 2010 will see brand new Doctor Who, iron Man 2, Caprica and more delights than we could possibly list. We’ll be continuing our mission to bring you news and opinion on the very best of them. The future is coming, and it’s looking like fun.

Happy New Year to all of our readers from everyone at Starstoreblog!

Technorati Tags: 2009, avatar, Comics, Doctor Who, Movies, review, Transformers, TV