Entertainment Today and Beyond

Never Met a Zombi I Didn’t Like…

And Beyond… X-Files: I Want to Believe & more Aliens on the horizon?

X-Files

X-Files

I don’t know if it’s just me but it seems like 20th Century Fox’s X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE has almost no buzz surrounding its release on July 25th. It’s hard to believe it has been 10 years since the first big screen movie in this popular TV series played in theaters. That film, titled X-FILES: Fight the Future, pulled in a solid 189 mill worldwide. It’s hard to say if the shows once popular fan base will show up for this 2nd big screen launch as a decade is a long time inbetween outings. Personally, if I was Fox, I would have waited and released this new X-Files film at the back end of August and no where near WB’s The Dark Knight.  

Aliens

Aliens

According to an interview with OK magazine in the UK, actress Sigourney Weaver said she’s game for another Alien movie. She said, and I quote, “I would definitely do another one if I had a director like Ridley Scott and I and he had a good idea. Ridley is enthusiastic about it.” Personally I have mixed feelings about the possibility. While I liked Ridley Scott’s original Alien, I absolutely love James Cameron’s sequel Aliens. I think it’s not only one of the great action films ever made but it’s a landmark movie in its genre. As we know, Weaver went on to do two more watchable, but not overly memorable, films in the franchise and the studio produced two Alien vs. Predator movies, which were straight out of the B movie school of filmmaking. Is there a story out there compelling enough to get excited if it were ever green lighted? I think it would have to be mighty good with Ridley Scott or James Cameron attached as director to get the old fan base excited again, myself included. 

I have to send out a plug for the HDNET cable channel as they continue to be one of the very best things on TV if you have a high definition television set. Just this month they have aired Dirty Harry, E.T. and In the Line of Fire and all looked great in the original aspect ratios in the high definition format. If you don’t have this channel ask your cable company to get it. Here’s a LINK to the website with their schedule of movies on tap.

July 8, 2008 Posted by Entertainment Today & Beyond | And Beyond - Trailers & News | , , , , , | Leave a Comment

Hulk shows us the Green…

The Hulk

The Hulk

Now that Marvels THE INCREDIBLE HULK is starting to wind down its theatrical run, one has to wonder what future the character will have up on the big screen. At this point, this newest Hulk film has pulled in 124.9 mill in ticket sales after 4 weeks of release. At its current pace Universal could get another 12 mill out of it which would give it a final domestic take of 136 mill. Overseas, the film has done 85.1 million to date. How do these numbers compare to the 2003 Ang Lee version? Well that film grossed a total of 132.2 mill in the U.S. and 113.2 overseas for a total of 245.4 overall. It appears that when all is said and done the overall totals will be very similar. While critical reaction is about the same for both versions, the general audience response has been much stronger for this newest reboot. Edward Norton is the perfect actor to build on in further installments but it appears to me that the overall audience for any Hulk movie is somewhat limited and it’s unlikely that the property will ever blow the doors off the box-office like a Spiderman film can.

So where does that leave Marvel in regards to future Hulk films? Remember, while Universal released this new film, Marvel fully financed it, to the tune of 150 mill. That’s a lot of GREEN. They have already announced an Avengers movie for 2010 and Iron Man 2 a year before that. We know that the Hulk will be in The Avengers but will we see him back on the big screen in his own movie? I’d say the odds are 50/50 at best at this point. If not, it’s highly unlikely Edward Norton would be involved in The Avengers film if there are no sequels to come in a standalone Hulk franchise. Maybe this picture will become clearer if The Incredible Hulk performs really well on DVD but my gut feeling is Marvel (who doesn’t have pockets nearly as deep as Universal) won’t jump the gun anytime soon announcing a new sequel featuring the big green guy! Only time will tell.

July 8, 2008 Posted by Entertainment Today & Beyond | And Beyond - Trailers & News | , | 1 Comment