Man, things do not look good for your movie if you can’t convince a has-been like Keanu Reeves to star in it. And now “due to amicable creative difference” the Akira live action movie is now losing it’s director Albert Hughes, who helmed movies such as The Book of Eli and From Hell. Here is the studios plan on finding a new director and actors for the two lead characters of Tetsuo and Kaneda according to Deadline:
As for Akira, the intention of the studio is to keep the picture on a fast track, which means they will find a director quickly. The studio has been wrestling with the approach on the film for the past year. Last March, Warner Bros put together a short list of up-and-coming actors after getting a strong rewrite by Steve Kloves that set the film in a rebuilt New Manhattan, where a leader of a biker gang saves his friend from a medical experiment. At the time, Robert Pattinson, Andrew Garfield and James McAvoy were given the script for the role of Tetsuo, and Garrett Hedlund, Michael Fassbender, Chris Pine, Justin Timberlake and Joaquin Phoenix were courted for Kaneda. The two leads were expected to come from that group of actors. Then, the studio had a change of heart and, given the budget, wanted to have an established box office star in the movie. That led to a flirtation with Keanu Reeves that ended recently.
Warner Bros is back to the other plan, and will likely go back to that list of actors in hopes of making the picture later this year or early next.
I hope that when they say “find a director quickly” doesn’t mean they just hand the movie off to any hack with a directing resume’ that may come along. To me this movie could go either way right now, they may produce a total piece of garbage based on quick they are trying to get it moving or it will be an okay movie. I really wish they could have held onto Albert Hughes as a director because he did so well in a futuristic world with Book of Eli. But on the other hand I’m certainly glad they didn’t pick up Keanu because that would have been a catastrophe, especially when they have a pretty good group of young talent to choose from to fill both the Tetsuo and Kaneda roles.
I wasn’t thrilled with the way things were shaping up with the Akira movie before, but I’m of the mind set that if they’re going to make it then they at least need to not make a total joke of the story that it is derived from. And also if everything falls through and it ends up going back into development hell or not being made at all you won’t see me shedding a tear.
So let’s hear it in the comment section below from all you Keanu lovers about how he would have made the best Kaneda ever!
Back in 1996 Micheal Bay was and up and coming Director, with only the 1995 credit Bad Boys to his name, and pension for blowing things up. He had not yet sullied his name with predictably bad sequels like Bad Boys II or the Transformers movies. In fact, the movies he did in the 90’s, though now a bit cliché, were some of the decades best action epics.
The brightest spot on his resume has to be The Rock. This was a movie about a group of Marines who steal 15 chemical weapon powered rockets. They then threaten to launch said rockets against the city of San Francisco from Alcatraz Island, where they are holding 81 hostages. His demands require that all the men that has died under his watch, on Black Ops missions, be recognized as heroes and their families be rewarded a million dollars a piece from dirty money seized from weapons sales. His motives are actually noble which sets him aside from most antagonists in the genre. An honorable man pushed too far, the character is relatable and for that this movie is more than your run of the mill Dwayne Johnson/Vin Diesel movie. So in a joint operation, the FBI and a group of Navy SEALS must get onto the island and squash the threat. In 1996 I was all of 13, and when I walked into the theater I found my self thoroughly entertained for the entire 136 minute ride. Here we are now, 15 years later and the movie still holds up.
Our old buddy Nic Cage is our hero. He plays a chemical weapons specialist with the FBI named Stanley Goodspeed, and Sean Connery is basically an old James Bond. Ed Harris and David Morse play our missile thieves, and there are a slew of other recognizable faces as the movie goes on.
When we met Goodspeed, he is in the lab with Todd Louiso (High Fidelity, Snakes on a Plane) and Xander Berkley (24, Terminator 2) attempting to disarm a poisonous gas bomb. After succeeding he goes home to then learn that his girlfriend is pregnant, which only adds to his desperation to survive later on.
General Hummel (Harris) then makes the threat to launch the stolen rockets into the Bay Area. It is then that Goodspeed is called to San Fran because of his knowledge of the VX Gas used in the rockets. Once he arrives he meets John Mason (Connery), and we learn that Mason has been held, nameless and with no trial for over 30 years. Because however, he is the only man to ever escape Alcatraz, he is to be sent in with the SEAL team to guide them through the tunnels of the former prison. He is however told nothing of the rockets.
Once on the island, the SEAL team is led by none other than Michael Biehn(The Terminator, Aliens, Navy Seals, Tombstone) who promptly get his entire team killed. Nice job Mike! You can see Hummel takes no joy from having to kill more soldiers, but some of his men don’t seem to share his pain. With the destruction of the SEAL team, this leaves only Mason and Goodspeed to diffuse the rockets. And it’s only after Mason is let in on the real threat that he decides to help Stanley complete the mission. Thus truly begins The Rock as Connery delivers one of his greatest quotes ever…
So Mason and Goodspeed continue on in hopes of saving the day and are able to disable 12 of the 15 rockets before the John C. McGinley(Platoon, Se7en, Scrubs) led Marine team interrupts them. Things don’t end well for Dr. Cox however, as Mason lights his ass on fire. Booyah.
General Hummel then announces over the Island PA system that if the guidance chips removed from the rockets are not returned, he will execute a hostage. Upon hearing this Mason sends Goodspeed after the rockets and he heads to confront Hummel. This is the first time either of our heroes come face to face with the General, and it is not a battle of fists, but of minds as Mason and Hummel banter…
After this Goodspeed is able to take out only one of the remaining three rockets before being taken into custody. This now leaves Mason and Goodspeed prisoners, with the Marines still controlling 2 rockets.
Mason however did escape once, as it turns out, he still remembers how and they free themselves from their cells. Not in time however to stop the launch of one of the rockets. Luckily Mason’s instinct was right and Hummel is not a mad man, thus refusing to kill innocents. He diverts the rocket so it detonates underwater and causes a mutiny among his own men. The revolt, let by Tony Todd (Candyman, 24, Platoon) results directly in the deaths of Hummel, Major Baxter (Morse) and Crisp (Bokeem Woodbine). From here its a race to the last rocket and a question if Goodspeed can signal in time to call off the impending Air Strike. He does of course win the race and signal in time.
After this he is able to give Mason a give – his freedom. Goodspeed informs FBI Director Womack (John Spencer) that Mason has been vaporized. A lie that is helped along by Special Agent Paxton (William Forsythe). So Mason is free and all is good in the world.
I don’t feel that it would be a stretch to call this one of the best action movie of the last 20 years. I think this is before Michael Bay became so self-aware and you’re reminded of how he built his name. The pacing is good, really no lulls. The cast is great, and the dialogue, though often simplistic, is both powerful and memorable enough to quote. It’s a shame Bay hasn’t done anything of this quality in so long, but this is one of the movies that helped redefine the genre for the 90’s.
Here is a movie that totally snuck under the radar when the poster came out, because well…it looks like some shitty Rom-Com. I mean, better than the average Rom-Com based just on the presence of Jason Segal and Chris Cooper’s name, but still a chick flick. The movie title reads ‘Green With Envy’ and makes no mention what-so-ever of out beloved Muppets…
So, keeping true to form, once you watch the trailer, you realize that Jason Segal doesn’t really do a lot of shitty movies. The hard part is not turning the trailer off before the 0:51 mark…
So a new Muppet movie, and Jason Segal actually wrote it. That’s good news, and keeping with tradition, this one will also be filled to the brim with celebrity cameos that include Zach Galifianakis, Jack Black, Donald Glover, and Danny Trejo just to name a few.
For those few who are unfamiliar with the Muppets, what’s wrong with you? Fix this immediately. >>> CLICK HERE
For everyone else, you may remember when Disney acquired the rights to the characters back in 2004, but since had done very little with them, save a couple TV specials and some YouTube videos…
It’s nice to see them coming back to the big screen, and come November, I’ll be at the theater to see the newest addition to the Muppet Movie catalogue.
Here at Grizzly Bomb we love Horror Movies, both good and bad. Here are a few that are so bad they’re good. Get it? Good.
#10. Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers (1988)
Prostitutes, chainsaws, and Leatherface… what could be better? In Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface from the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre) plays he leader of a cult. Basically, the cult consists of hookers who love to cut up their Johns-turned-Victims with chainsaws. The group is discovered by a detective searching for a runaway, leaving for an interesting story and some fantastically horrible, but very sexy acting.
FUN FACT from Wikipedia:
The film begins with the disclaimer “The chainsaws used in this motion picture are real and dangerous! They are handled here by seasoned professionals. The makers of this motion picture advise strongly against anyone attempting to perform these stunts at home. Especially if you are naked and about to engage in strenuous sex.” The film ends with the promise of the sequel “Student Chainsaw Nurses”, which was never made.
#9. Rabid Grannies (1988)
This movie…is ridiculous. A nice big family out in the country gets together for their two grandmothers’ birthdays to celebrate. One of their grandchildren is a boy who worships the devil. They open his gift, and become cannibals, who need to eat all of their loved ones. This film is mostly ridiculous, but the gore is phenomenal. It was originally released as Les Mémés Cannibales in France. It is absolutely hilarious, and you will never look at your sweet old granny the same.
Fun fact: The DVD version of this movie had too much gore, and a lot of the gross stuff was taken out. The bonus features of the DVD show all of the previously removed content.
This is one of my favorites on the list. This genius plot would touch any P.M.S.-ing woman’s heart…. an ice cream mogul trying to save the business. In “The Stuff”, a white foamy, creamy substance begins bubbling from the earth. FOR SOME REASON someone sees this substance and thinks… hmm… I’d like to taste that! It tastes so delicious that it becomes addictive, and people go crazy over it. Little do they know, it is parasitic and starts to seep into their brains. The people turn into zombie-like creatures. This plot has deeper holes in it than a Britney Spears love doll…. but it is fantastic just the same.
Fun fact: The scene in the motel where the Stuff comes out of the mattress and pillows and attacks the man on the wall and ceiling was shot in a room that could turn upside down, allowing the Stuff to move up and down the wall. It was exactly the same room used in A Nightmare on Elm Street when Johnny Depp’s character is sucked into his bed and his blood is regurgitated back out onto the ceiling.
#7. Howling 2: Your Sister Is A Werewolf/Howling II: Stirba – Werewolf Bitch (1985)
This movie has been called “breathtakingly awful”, and deservedly so. The Howling II is unfathomabley silly. Karen, the heroine from the first movie of the series, has died and they are now having her funeral. Evidence surfaces that she is a werewolf. Because of this, the character Stefan goes to put a titanium stake through Karen’s dead body. While trying to do this, two other characters Ben and Jenn, along with Stefan are attacked by Werewolves. They go on a quest to find Stirba… the Werewolf bitch… the SEXY werewolf bitch with huge jugs. This is an action-packed waste of a Thursday night if you are looking for a good horror flick. Then again, it is SO bad that it makes it good again.
Fun Fact: The movie is mentioned in the Yo La Tengo song “From a Motel 6” in the line “I climb where I can see – you’re close but I won’t reach. Blank stare at the TV- THE HOWLING II’s on Channel 3 I drift off to sleep, while the snow falls on the screen”.
#6. Critters (1986)
Critters has a huge cult following. Why, I do not understand. I thought this movie was ridiculous and annoying. Since it is widely received as a greatly bad horror flick, I must include it.
The Plot: “A massive ball of furry creatures from another world eat their way through a small mid-western town followed by intergalactic bounty hunters opposed only by militant townspeople.”
BASICALLY, little demonic Furbys and bounty hunters from outer space make for a movie with some laughs and little to keep me interested. The cow-eating scene was gross. UDDERly disturbing. Get it? I’m funny. LAUGH AT MY JOKES!
Fun Fact: The Critters movie series has a total of four movies. That is correct… THEY MADE SEQUELS, and one of them stars a young Leonardo DiCaprio. :/
#5. Microwave Massacre (1983)
Every guy has probably thought once or twice about shoving your woman in an insanely large microwave…. and eating her legs? This movie is phenomenal. In this movie, Donald plays the husband of May, a snooty woman who tries to be classy and is in fact no better than her bologna-eating neighbors. She buys a comically huge microwave one day to help her prepare her terrible food. After arguing one night, a drunken Donald decided to beat her incessantly with a pepper grinder and push his wife into a microwave. After finding her body in the large appliance the next morning, he is horrified…. but not for long. He decides for some reason to begin eating his wife. He packages her meat and stores it in his fridge. He does the same with her sister, who comes looking for her. He has a heart attack, and his wife’s head is found in his fridge. His friends realize he has been giving them May-sandwiches. I loved this movie. Top notch.
#4. Vampire Hookers (1978)
The best motto of any sexy vampire movie: “Don’t let them bite…or they’ll suck you dry!”
Orgies, vampire fapping, and vampires who tan. This is seriously amazing. I have never seen such little attention paid to detail. In this movie, John Carradine (Young Frankenstein) is an aged vampire who has a bevy of vampiric beauties who lure many of their customers back to his lair. It was filmed in the 70s, so I was glad that the drawn-out orgy scene didn’t show any 70s mega-bush.
Vampire Hookers was a hilarious movie with a very Scooby-Doo-like comedy to it (FOLLOW THAT CAB!)
#3. Slugs (1988)
This is one of the scariest movies on my list.
The creepy-crawly feeling you get when you see a centipede crossing your bedroom wall… you get that feeling a lot in the movie Slugs.
It is quite ridiculous, but totally worth watching. In this movie, people keep suffering gruesome and unsuspecting deaths.
Mike Brady (Not the dad from the Brady Bunch), a doctor, develops the theory that this is the work of slugs. After being laughed at a whole lot, his theories are proven by the “slug professional”.
#2. Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987)
After his older brother (psycho Santa) gets slayed at the conclusion of the first film, Ricky, psycho Santa’s baby brother, has an ax to grind with the naughty and continues to spread the family brand of holiday fear. He goes through killing innocent townspeople in horrible ways dressed as Santa.
Now, I hadn’t seen the first movie of the series, which ended up being just fine because of all of the flashbacks, they show almost all of it in here.
In fact, the movie ends with a dream sequence, involving scenes shot from the first movie. When you combine the awful acting, the shoddy cinematography, and the eyebrows… this movie is so bad it becomes good again.
Thank you to the big boss man for this suggestion.
#1. S.I.C.K. (Serial Insane Clown Killer) 2003
S.I.C.K. will always be on the top of my hilariously bad yet fantastically great horror flicks. I love this movie for several reasons, not the least of which is the acting. Oh my, the acting. It is very bad, despite how hard they are obviously trying to make it good. The plot: The main character, Brandon, invites some of his work friends and their women to his uncle’s cabin to spend the weekend. When eerie things start happening, like doll heads in the fridge (Dexter?) and finding what looks like a human butcher shop in Brandon’s uncle’s shed, they FOR SOME REASON do not suspect Brandon or his uncle to be doing these things. You’d figure that they would, considering when the power goes out Brandon says “MY UNCLE has a flashlight here” and when they can’t get a hold of anyone he says “MY UNCLE has a CB radio!”… followed by “MY UNCLE has a tool shed”. The “My Uncle” thing becomes sort of a running joke. My little sister Jessica saw this one with me, and we still say that to one another to get a laugh. The group travels out to the woods by the cabin and a killer clown chases them to kill them. You’ll never guess who the killer clown ends up being. It is worth watching ten times over. Everyone should see this spectacularly horrid film.
I hope you enjoyed my compilation of the ten best of the worst horror movies of all time. I realize that there are two different hooker movies in here. Guest writer Tim says that “It is because hookers make for great horror movies because no one cares if they die”. Zing. “And awayyy we go!” (If you watch S.I.C.K. you will get that joke).
In what one can only describe as a serious lapse in judgment, or just a classic bonehead move, Vin Diesel will return to our movie screens next as The Machine: A top secret military weapon buried and deactivated only to be reactivated at a later date by… a kid. Ohhhh boooooy. In even worse news, it is described as an action-comedy.
The scribes of this family friendly film are the same guys who brought us the Night at the Museum movies and The Pacifier. For those of you who have not seen The Pacifier, it another family movie that Vin Diesel did back in 2005, which resulted in us not seeing Diesel in anything worthwhile until 2009’s Fast and Furious. The Pacifier follows a Navy SEAL charged with protecting five kids of a deceased government scientist from his enemies: A Navy SEAL babysitter basically.
Could he be heading down the same road in doing The Machine? It just seems odd that he would try to capitalize off of the huge success of Fast Five in the past month to tackle another action franchise.
Domo’s Thoughts on The Machine
He could easily have returned to the xXx franchise as Xander Cage, or even do a Riddick movie right this time around while his name is still warm from the heat of Fast Five. But no, we get the Iron Giant rip off. Maybe Pacifier 2: The Hunt for Osama Bin Laden will soon follow. Are there any Vin Diesel fans out there that think otherwise? Is The Machine a pretty good career choice for the Diesel?
Read anything about Uday Hussein and you’ll find that he was indeed one sick bastard. Not only that, the little scum bag lived lavishly his whole life up until the U.S. military ended his sorry ass. He owned hundreds of cars, having them painted each day to match the suit he was wearing and even passed a law making it illegal for anyone to import a Lamborghini into Iraq because he wanted to be the only one in the country with that type of car. He used his position as Saddam Hussein’s son to murder, rape and rob all those around him, so understandably he’d have a lot of enemies and people wanting to kill him. (Rightfully so.) So he took a page from his demented father’s book and found an ex-classmate who resembled him and forces him to be his body double.
The Devil’s Double shows what that life may have been like for the double named Latif Yahia and to remind us of what pieces of dog shit the Husseins were. Check out the trailer below:
Even though I don’t want to give the Hussein family a second thought, I have to admit the film looks intriguing. The guy looked as if he was trying to be an Iraqi Scarface times ten. Dominic Cooper seems to be giving a wonderful double performance as both Uday and Latif that begs the question if he’ll be nominated for any awards. To me that is a complex part to play with two characters who are so different, but one of them may start to like the life that he is forced to take. Perhaps at one point in the movie he truly will be Uday’s brother before trying to find a way out of his predicament.
Grizzly Bomb 