Tuesday, January 29, 2008

GI Joe movie continues to cast questionably

This will likely be my first AND last post on this wretched movie...

With the recent rumored casting of Arnold "the Mummy" Vosloo as Zartan and Dennis Quaid as General Hawk, I can say there's now at least two things I think casting has nailed. As a potential third, I'll throw out the no-name guy rumored to be cast as Destro, too. (It's not the Cowardly Lion. That would have brought things UP a notch.)

I'm neutral on Ray "Darth Maul" Park as Snake Eyes as well as the guys who will play Breaker and Heavy Duty. But those last two are gimmes that don't make or break the casting. They could have cast Peter Dinklage as Heavy Duty and it wouldn't have shattered the story of GI Joe (in fact, it would have made not only a great bit of ironic casting for that role, but added some addtional interest on my behalf!)

But the rest of the abominable vomitfest of casting and the fact that the GI Joe mythology has been completely jettisoned to make it a EUROPEAN-based force seems like an overt signal that this production is turning out to be "GI Joe-in-name-only". Channing Tatum is way too young and too much of a "pretty boy" to be Duke (reported here) and Marlon Wayans just shouldn't be here at all. (I saw a clip of Dungeons & Dragons.) At this rate, the film is sounding worse than the name of the new forthcoming Bond flick.

Although I generally like Joseph Gordon-Levitt's work, if Stephen Sommers casts him as a lead villain, I won't be surprised. Hopefully he'll end up as another Joe, but at this point, does it really even matter?

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

It's No Joke: Heath Ledger is Dead!

Read it for yourself. He was found dead this afternoon in his New York apartment. Although the source indicates that his death may have been drug related, keep in mind this was less than 3 hours ago, details are still emerging, and likely will continue to come out over the next few days. But the fact that they mention finding "pills" sounds like it could be an accidental overdose.

Tragic news coming less than a week after the death of Brad Renfro. My thoughts and deepest sympathies to Heath's friends and loved ones.

Why So Serious?

2/15/08: I "<3" Indiana Jones!

Yes, it's official.* We finally get the first trailer for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull at 12:01am the day after Valentine's Day. Head over to CHUD for more details and to see the "Valentine" they swiped from somebody on the Amphibatron message boards. I wonder what movie it will show in front of in February? Spiderwick Chronicles?

Also, be sure to check out the new video on the official site for a behind the scenes look at Indy's house.

* Ok, it's still technically rumor as the Official Site has made no mention of it and the only "confirmation" comes from an entertainment tabloid show, but I'm getting my hopes up anyway.

Friday, January 11, 2008

BrandedInThe80s.com

HAPPY BELATED NEW YEAR!
If you're as big a fan of the "Me" decade as I am for all its pop culture moments, please stop by BrandedInThe80s.com for a radical trip down memory lane. Shawn has quite a collection of late-70's and 80's memorabilia to share. Just recently he posted this great one with Saturday Morning Cartoon Ads.

"We Got The Jazz!" Looks like Hulk has gas, though.

I have very vivid memories of this one. Funny that Mr. T always ends up next to the Smurfs.


I don't remember this one with "Pryor's Place", but Richard's face looks like he was just subjected to listening to Howie Mandel do "Baby Animal's" voice for an hour straight.


Saturday Supercade kicked ass!