The Coolest ‘Pacific Rim’ Trailer Yet

Here’s a trailer for Pacific Rim that makes it look truly epic — both for the robots and the humans inside them.

I love the way that Idris Elba’s big speech is intercut with the scenes of destruction and how Rinko Kikuchi’s heavy breathing conveys nervousness and fear. Put that human element together with impeccable visual effects and we could have a real blockbuster on our hands.

Of course, Pacific Rim does face something of an uphill battle at the box office because one of the very few big-budget summer movies that is not a sequel, so the general public has to want to take a chance on it. I really hope they do, in this summer in which the name-brand films — Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness and Man of Steel — have stumbled so badly.

Pacific Rim opens July 12.

Man of Steel (2013)

It turns out there was a very good reason that this movie is called Man of Steel instead of using some variation of Superman in the title: There’s barely any Superman in it. Sure, the main character comes from the planet Krypton and wears blue longjohns and a cape — but he only very rarely behaves like Superman.

The movie opens on Krypton — which has been reimagined as a hybrid society of Game of Thrones and The Matrix, where liquid-metal robots exist side-by-side with dragons a man can ride to his high-tech cave — a doomed planet where scientist Jor-El (Russell Crowe) wants to save the planet’s genetic information from destruction, and General Zod (Michael Shannon) decides to stage a military coup even though the planet is falling apart around him. Defeated, Zod and his forces are exiled to the Phantom Zone just minutes before Krypton is destroyed. But not before Jor-El sends his newborn son to Earth (along with the Codex, the genetic that could one day rebuild Kryptonian society).

Jim Carrey ‘Cannot Support’ the Violence of ‘Kick-Ass 2’

This past weekend, Jim Carrey announced that he cannot “support” Kick-Ass 2, the comic book movie in which he plays a major role as Col. Stars and Stripes, because of the level of violence in the flick. (See the NSFW R-rated red-band trailer here.)

This change of heart came about following the Sandy Hook massacre, according to Carrey, who Tweeted:

I did Kickass a month b4 Sandy Hook and now in all good conscience I cannot support that level of violence.

I meant to say my apologies to others involve with the film. I am not ashamed of it but recent events have caused a change in my heart.

Now, Carrey is totally within his rights to change his mind about how he feels about a job, and his position as a Hollywood gun-control advocate is fairly well-known.

However, I hope he realizes that Kick-Ass 2 is a work of fiction that has nothing whatsoever to do with the real world. I also wonder if he’s putting his money where his newfound enlightenment is and donating his entire salary from the project he “cannot support” to a Sandy Hook victims fund or anti-gun violence group?

I would respect that a heckuva lot more than his refusal to promote the film.

Teaser for Missing Episode Set for ‘Zygons’ DVD?

“Terror of the Zygons”

This week kicks off with a colorful new rumor about the reputedly recovered missing DOCTOR WHO stories: Footage from “The Enemy of the World,” a lost Patrick Troughton Second Doctor episode, will be included on the September DVD release of “The Terror of the Zygons” as a way to announce/ promote the return of the 90 presumed-destroyed episodes.

If true — and we know how big an if that is — this would be very exciting and sure to boost sales of the Zygons disc far beyond what is already expected to be a popular release. But how credible is this particular rumor? Of all the rumors swirling around this issue (and they are all unsubstantiated), this is not very believable to me. The DOCTOR WHO DVD packages are very impressive, packed with content that clearly takes months to put together, so I have a problem believing that something so significant as a teaser for a returned story could be kept a complete secret during that process. I would like it to be true, but it seems like a reach.

Enter the Dark Dimension With Doctor Strange!

At last, Marvel Studios is getting around to putting my favorite character on the big screen: Doctor Strange!

The Master of the Mystic Arts (and one-time sorcerer supreme) has been confirmed as a key player in Marvel’s upcoming Phase 3, which will follow the release of The Avengers 2 in 2015. Phase 3 will kick off with director Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man in the fall of 2015, so I (and you) can look forward to the release of Doctor Strange sometime in 2016.

A Live-Action ‘Gatchaman’ Movie Is Coming… to Japan

I didn’t even know this was in the pipeline: a live-action version of the classic anime Gatchaman — or, as it was known here in the USA in its twice-rebooted forms, Battle of the Planets and G-Force.

Sadly, there are no subtitles for the trailer yet, and the cinematography is strangely dark, but we can get a general sense of what’s going on: an alien threat and strife within the team. And no 7-Zark-7…

If you read Japanese, you can check out the film’s official site.

Archivist Denies ‘Holding’ Missing DOCTOR WHO Tales

“The Reign of Terror”

If it’s Thursday, then the worm must have turned again in the saga of the purported recovery of 90 “lost” episodes of DOCTOR WHO. The rumors are giving birth to rumors that are being countermanded by other rumors. But remember: Everything here is unsubstantiated, whether it’s a claim for or against the treasure trove’s existence. Nothing is verified.

When last we looked, the preponderance of evidence was weighing in on the “true” side of the controversy after favoring “false” just one day earlier. So naturally, in order to keep the ying-yang form of this story going, today’s installment seeks to pour cold water on the hopes of Whovians everywhere.

The archivist said to be at the center of the recovered episodes brouhaha is one Philip Morris, who runs Television International Enterprises Archives Ltd., and he has finally issued a statement (caps are his):

A BRIEF STATEMENT.

T.I.E.A DOES NOT HOLD ANY MISSING EPISODES OF THE LONG RUNNING DR WHO SERIES. THE ORIGINAL VIDEO TAPES WERE WIPED SUBSEQUENT FILM COPIES WERE EITHER RETURNED TO THE BBC AND SENT TO LANDFILL ODD FRAGMENTS HAVE SURFACED TWO EPISODES ON 16MM FILM BUT THATS IT. THE PROGRAMMES IN QUESTION LIKE MANY OTHERS WERE DESTROYED AS THEY HAD NO FURTHER COMMERCIAL VALUE. THEY ARE NOT MISSING BUT DESTROYED THE END.I am sorry if this upsets some people but these are the facts. I have also become aware of the tracking of some of our clients shipments these are local cultural materials sent to us for migration to a modern format as the playback equipment in the country of origin no longer exists and as such is the best road to preserve international cultural heritage .I will be making no more statements on this subject.

Philip MORRIS Executive director T.i.e.a

Second ‘Kick-Ass 2’ Poster

This Kick-Ass 2 poster opens up the story canvas a little bit by teasing Jim Carrey’s Col. Stars and Stripes and Christopher Mintz-Plasse’s Motherf—er in addition to Chloë Grace Moretz as Hit-Girl and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the title character.

I like it.

Check out the latest trailer here.

Kick-Ass 2 will be released Aug. 14.

Maybe Those DOCTOR WHO Episodes Really ARE Real…

“The Celestial Toymaker”

The zigzagging story of the alleged recovery of 90 lost episodes of DOCTOR WHO missing since the 1960s has zigged again — this time solidly in favor of the “Yes, it’s true!” camp. Then it zagged away again — or did it?

It is paramount that you keep in mind that everything surrounding the supposed cache is rumor, with nothing to substantiate it beyond other rumors and conjecture.

First the latest concrete fact — one of the few in the case so far: Philip Fleming, head of Communications, Brands, Content & Digital, BBC Worldwide, told Bleeding Cool website:

“There are always rumours and speculation about Doctor Who missing episodes being discovered, however we cannot confirm any new finds.”

Notice the language. This is not a denial of any find. Fleming said, “we cannot confirm.” Maybe because the news is being kept secret by the BBC? This sounds more like a coded message to fans, saying, “I am not allowed to confirm it.” I know it sounds like wishful thinking (and let’s face it, it is), but I really thing that on a topic like this, the BBC would be better off tamping down fan expectation than allowing it to simmer and thrive on half-truths and conjecture. A flat-out “no” would serve the Beeb’s interests much better. And in this case there is more than mere conjecture to go on. Much more.

Second ‘Kick-Ass 2’ Trailer Ups the Action

There’s a lot of new footage in this latest trailer for Kick-Ass 2 — starring Chloë Grace Moretz and Aaron Taylor-Johnson — and it looks like a lot of fun!

It would appear the movie earned its hard R rating, as the content advisory lists “strong violence, pervasive language, crude and sexual content, and brief nudity.” See the NSFW red-band trailer here.

Kick-Ass 2 opens Aug. 16.