I realize I’m a little bit late in getting this discussion going, but no one can resist box office predictions so I just went ahead and posted anyway. Every weekend from now until the end of August has a major blockbuster (or sometimes two) attached to it, and while there aren’t as many sequels as last summer, there are still plenty of familiar faces expected to bring out audiences in droves. With this many movies competing for attention, it seems unlikely that all of them will meet expectations. Iron Man has already delivered way above expectations, while Speed Racer is currently tracking significantly lower, for example.

So which movies will rise to the top? To kick things off, I thought I would offer my best guess as to what the top 5 highest grossing movies of the summer will be:

1. Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
2. The Dark Knight
3. Hancock
4. Iron Man
5. Sex and the City

I can’t say there was a ton of thought behind it, but I’m going out on a limb and saying that Indiana Jones 4 won’t crack the top 5 (although it will be close). I don’t know, I just feel like the younger generation may not embrace it for some reason, but I could be totally off base. Also, I know some people feel that Sex and the City may not perform well, but I think women will band together and find refuge in it from all the men in tights.

Wall-E, Get Smart and You Don’t Mess with the Zohan will also probably do quite well. Some other possible wild cards are Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Mamma Mia! and Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. So now it’s your turn. What do you think will be the biggest hits and misses at the box office this summer? Give us your thoughts here on Open Forum Friday.

It may sound like a cruel joke, but according to Screen Daily, it’s the truth. There’s a Donnie Darko sequel in the works, and a U.K. company called Velvet Octopus will reportedly be shopping around the rights at Cannes. The movie is apparently called S. Darko, and will focus on Donnie’s younger sister Samantha seven years later. Daviegh Chase has already signed on to reprise her role, and will be joined by Ed Westwick, Briana Evigan and Justin Chatwin. None of the other original cast members are expected to make an appearance.

Now before you make any accusations about Richard Kelly returning to the well after the poor reception of Southland Tales, know this: he’s actually not involved at all. Nope, if this news story is to be believed, S. Darko is a complete cash-in on the name and success of the first film. I don’t know how these people were able to land the rights to the “Darko” franchise, as it were, but I think I’m not alone when I say it sounds completely false and ludicrous. Kurt over at Row Three is dead on with his comparison to Blair Witch 2: The Book of Shadows. This just has “bad idea” written all over it. Thoughts?

The Promotion is an indie flick that garnered some decent reviews at SXSW this year, and with a cast that includes John C. Reilly, Seann William Scott and Jenna Fischer, I think it’s probably worth a look. Basically it’s a workplace comedy about two guys at a grocery store who are competing for a promotion. Writer/director Steve Conrad previously wrote The Weather Man, which is a hugely underrated flick in my opinion, so I am definitely on board. (He also wrote Will Smith starrer The Pursuit of Happyness.)

I will say that the trailer is somewhat hit and miss (the “black apples” line was pretty funny), but it strikes me as a movie that may rely more on the performances than witty one-liners. Seann William Scott’s resume has a lot of crap on it, but I do think he’s funny regardless. What’s with Jenna Fischer not getting billing in the trailer though? Talk about a slap to the face! The Promotion is currently scheduled for release on June 6th, and should provide a welcome alternative to Adam Sandler’s You Don’t Mess with the Zohan.

We’ve been hearing rumours for months about the possibility of the smash hit video game Bioshock getting a feature film adaptation, with names like Guillermo Del Toro even showing interest in directing such a project. Well, it looks like Universal Pictures and Take-Two Interactive have indeed found a big name director to helm the flick, although it may not be quite the person you’d expect. Gore Verbinski, the man behind the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, The Ring and The Weather Man, has signed on to direct the film from a screenplay written by John Logan (Gladiator, Star Trek: Nemesis, The Last Samurai).

Verbinski had this to say: “I think the whole utopia-gone-wrong story that’s cleverly unveiled to players is just brimming with cinematic potential… Of all the games I’ve played, this is one that I felt has a really strong narrative.” I have to agree that this game has both a creepy atmosphere and an intriguing story, and the art deco design doesn’t hurt either. But will it be enough to buck the trend of terrible video game movies? I’d say either this or Prince of Persia have the best shot right now, although in both cases the screenwriters still have their work cut out for them. Are you excited about a Bioshock movie?

Well it’s the second week of the summer season, and already people are predicting the first major dud of the year. Speed Racer seems to have been getting a lot of mixed reviews, and the marketing has a lot of people divided, but while I will admit that it’s very possible Iron Man will continue to dominate the box office this weekend, I am still very curious to see what The Wackowski Brothers have in store for us. The romantic comedy What Stays in Vegas starring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher is also likely to do some decent business, while David Mamet’s Redbelt may pick up some stray viewers as it expands to a semi-wide release. In select theatres this weekend we have the controversial film The Babysitters, about a teenager who turns a babysitter business into a call girl service for married fathers, and The Fall, Tarsem Singh’s fantastical follow up to The Cell.

The Babysitters (limited)
Before the Rains (limited)
The Fall (limited)
Noise (limited)
Redbelt (expanding)
Speed Racer
What Happens in Vegas

Treknobabble is a continuing series of columns written by uber-Trekkie Reed Farrington in anticipation of the upcoming J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie.

Disclaimer: Each Star Trek convention offers a unique experience that depends on a variety of factors. I think the four major factors are who is organizing the convention, where the convention is taking place, who are the guests, and what type of person you are. Your experience will probably differ from the account that I will be describing. Names have been changed to protect the innocent. (Besides, I can’t remember the names.) Some of the events may not have occurred chronologically as recounted. (Once again, because my memory has blurred the events together.)

Over the years, I have been to a handful of conventions. My main reason for going was to acquire merchandise, not to see the guests. I’ve only been to conventions held in Toronto, Canada and Buffalo, U.S.A. So I’ve never gone to one far from home.

I haven’t been to one recently and not because Star Trek’s popularity has waned in the past decade. I usually had to attend alone, and I’m not the type of person who can easily strike up a conversation with strangers. So Star Trek conventions have been lonely experiences for me.

There was one convention from which I’d like to describe an experience, because it was a rare aligning of the stars that enabled me to have the courage to approach a woman! But I’m getting ahead of myself, so let me tell you a bit about the convention first.

Read the rest of this entry »

Video game publishers, much like movie studios, enjoy giving themselves a big pat on the back after a job well done. Despite rampant speculation that the release of Grand Theft Auto IV might somehow cut into the box office attendance for Iron Man, Iron Man went on to notch a mind-blowing $101 million opening weekend. So clearly the reverse scenario must have been in effect… Iron Man prevented people from buying GTA, right? Nope, not true either. Grand Theft Auto IV sold 3.6 million units in its first day alone, eventually going on to score $500 million in first week sales. They are calling it “the largest launch in the history of interactive entertainment” and, indeed, the biggest opening week for any entertainment product ever.

Clearly video games and movies can co-exist and thrive, even at a time when the U.S. economy is in pretty rough shape. Something tells me no one will be able to use a video game release as an excuse for a box office bomb again, like they did last year when Halo 3 was blamed for the failure of The Heartbreak Kid. Here’s the real question though… will the release of GTA IV cut into sales of the newly released Iron Man video game based on the movie??? Uhh… yeah… that explains it! Sure.

Don’t be fooled by the trailer for the upcoming computer animated film Igor… even though the art design seems at least partially influenced by Tim Burton, he had absolutely nothing to do with it. The truth is, after watching more than a few seconds of this preview, you’ll begin to notice that the premise and the general tone seem a lot more reminiscent of, say, Shrek, than Corpse Bride or The Nightmare Before Christmas. It just so happens that they went with a classic monster story for their inspiration instead of fairy tales.

The movie is not, however, being developed by Dreamworks or Blue Sky Studios either. Instead, it is the first CG flick under Exodus Productions, with former Disney employee Anthony Leondis (Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch) in the director’s chair. Although the voice cast looks decent (John Cusack, Steve Buscemi, John Cleese, Jay Leno, Molly Shannon, Eddie Izzard and Jennifer Coolidge, among others), I can’t say the trailer did much for me. Igor seems destined to be just another middle-of-the-road family-friendly CG film. Check out the trailer below; Igor hits theatres on September 19th.

Now that Blu-ray has officially vanquished its sworn enemy from store shelves, there are more and more distributors deciding to take the plunge and bring their releases into the world of high-definition. This week one of the most revered names in the biz, Criterion, have confirmed that they will also be bringing their pristine Criterion Collection catalogue to Blu-ray starting this fall.

Here is an excerpt from the latest Criterion newsletter announcing their plans:

“Our first Blu-ray discs are coming! We’ve picked a little over a dozen titles from the collection for Blu-ray treatment, and we’ll begin rolling them out in October. These new editions will feature glorious high-definition picture and sound, all the supplemental content of the DVD releases, and they will be priced to match our standard-def editions.

Here’s what’s in the pipeline:

The Third Man
Bottle Rocket
Chungking Express
The Man Who Fell to Earth
The Last Emperor
El Norte
The 400 Blows
Gimme Shelter
The Complete Monterey Pop
Contempt
Walkabout
For All Mankind
The Wages of Fear”

And did you notice Wes Anderson’s Bottle Rocket listed among the first batch of titles? I assume this means we can probably expect it to come before the end of the year. I’m totally stoked for that. Now all I have to do is find a way to stop buying all the massively discounted HD-DVDs and spend my money on a Blu-ray player instead! (Thanks to Michael for the heads up.)

Poor Matthew Vaughn… the guy just can’t seem to hold down a comic book movie. A couple of years ago the British director was on board to direct X-Men 3, but eventually parted ways due to creative differences (”I didn’t have the time to make the movie that I wanted to make” is his official statement on the matter). He went on direct Stardust instead, a movie that a lot of people really liked (I wasn’t one of them) but then it was announced that he would reteam with Marvel again, this time on their upcoming Thor movie. Now this week we get news that he is no longer attached to direct this film either.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Vaughn is off the project because his “holding deal expired December”. It’s unclear whether this means his contract could be extended or whether he could be re-hired for the project. It seems like this time around it wasn’t his decision, but rather Marvel’s fault for taking too long to get the wheels in motion. What a way to go… first he gets burned by not having enough time, then he gets burned for having too much time! Do you still want to see Vaughn direct Thor, or is there someone else you’d rather have at the helm?