I’ll be damn if the new Dreamsworks CGI flick “Monsters vs. Aliens” doesn’t look like it has all the makings of another major international hit for the company. I’ve always thought that “The Incredibles” by Pixar was one of the best CGI movies I’ve seen, and although I’m not sure if “Aliens vs. Monsters” will approach that other movie’s many levels of pure entertainment, it could come close. Or at least, it’ll be really funny. Although I think the title should probably be, “Monsters vs. Alien”, as from this trailer for the movie, all I really see is a bunch of monsters fighting one alien dude in an indestructible ship. But hey, I guess “aliens” sounds better. In any case, “Monsters vs. Aliens” hits theaters March 2009 according to the voiceover guy at the end of the trailer.
Now I don’t know if this is true or not, but the people over at TFW2005 says it’s true, and says that they’ve confirmed it, and being that they’re the premiere authority on all things Transformers at the movies, I’m going to go with the assumption that it’s true, but with a caveat: if it turns out not to be true, then, er, you know who to blame! Having said that, there is a major SPOILER concerning one of the female characters in Michael Bay’s sequel to his hugely successful “Transformers” movie. The sequel will be called “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”, and returns most of the original cast (humans and robots), as well as introduce new ones (yes, more humans and robots). 
If you saw Clint Eastwood’s “Changeling” and didn’t glance at the credits, I doubt you would know that J. Michael Straczynski, creator of the sci-fi opus Babylon 5, was the screenwriter of that movie. But that’s JMS for ya — the man is an incredibly flexible writer, and he can do anything, from comic books to sci-fi TV to period dramas. But JMS is returning to a familiar world with the announcement that he’s been tapped by Warner Bros. and uber producer Joel Silver to write an updated adaptation of the sci-fi classic movie “Forbidden Planet”. Robbie the Robot, we assume, is giddy over the news.
Behold, the wonders of a wooden Keanu Reeves as he plays the role he was born to play — an alien humanoid devoid of personality! Marvel at the crappiness of a totally CGI Gort as he shoots laser beams out of his cyclop eye at attacking fighter jets! Wonder at the inherent fascism of alien beings that threatens to destroy the human race if we don’t conform to their beliefs and pick up our garbage! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, here’s a 5-minute trailer for the upcoming “The Day the Earth Stood Still” remake, which, if nothing else, really brings the point home that environmentalists can be fascist douche bags sometimes.
Oh, those rascals at The Asylum. If you don’t know who The Asylum are, then you’ve probably never seen one of their rip-off movies like “Transmorphers”, “Snakes on a Train”, “100 Million BC”, or “The Da Vinci Treasure”. Basically, the Asylum’s M.O. is to scan the trades for a big-time Hollywood movie that’s due to come out soon, then rush their own similar-sounding copy into videostore shelves before that big-budget movie to capitalize on the free publicity. You can probably guess what “Transmorphers” and “Snakes on a Train” were trying to crib. The Asylum’s latest is “The Day the Earth Stopped”. Gee, I wonder which soon-to-be-released Hollywood movie this one’s trying to crib?
I’ve been hearing about Paul McGuigan’s “Push” for the longest time, and have wanted to see it for just as long. The whole idea behind “Push” is the sort of stuff that I just love and can’t get enough of, although the idea behind the movie seems to have changed a bit since I first heard about it. Originally, I think the movie was supposed to be about a bunch of American expatriates with powers who ends up doing a heist in a foreign country; now it’s more generic-sounding, with people with powers fleeing an evil organization that, no doubt, wants to harness their abilities for evil deeds. It makes this sound like a Sci Fi Channel Original Movie of the Week, and let me assure you, that is NOT a good thing.
Ironically, a day after Summit made us take down the plot synopsis and image for their new sci-fi movie “Pandorum”, Entertainment Weekly has posted two exclusive images from the movie over at their site as part of their first look gallery. The images feature stars Dennis Quaid (looking scared) and Ben Foster (in one of those futuristic sleeping pod whatchamacallits), on their site, along with a very brief plot outline for the movie. 
Homer’s “The Odyssey” … in outer space? That seems to be the idea behind this latest Warner Bros. announcement, which has them adapting the Greek poet Homer’s legendary “The Odyssey”, about the legendary Ithacan warrior Odysseus, who goes on an arduous journey trying to get home to Ithaca back to his loving wife and son after the events of the 10-year Trojan War, as chronicled in Homer’s other masterwork, “The Iliad”. But don’t expect swords and sandals here, because Warner Bros. has hired George Miller (”The Road Warrior”) to adapt and direct the futuristic take on the Greek tale, with Brad Pitt set to produce and probably star in.
The boys and gals at Entertainment Weekly have gotten themselves a very nice, long, detailed article in an upcoming issue about J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek 11″, including the stunning (?) revelation that Abrams wasn’t even much of a Trek fan growing up. This may, if you will, explain Abrams’ reaction to William Shatner’s demands to appear in the latest Trek movie (aka the reboot). The article also has a ton of new images from the movie, including our first real look at Eric Bana as Romulan bad guy Nero, and the U.S.S Kelvin starship.