Miller & Rodriguez on Sin City

Frank Miller's Sin City directed by Robert Rodriguez! Man, that news is just too good to be true.

Frank Miller's a genius. Daredevil... Ronin... The Dark Knight Returns... 300... and my personal favorite, his Sin City series.

Robert Rodriguez is the man behind El Mariachi, Desparado, Once Upon a Time in Mexico and the Spy Kids Series... 1, 2 and 3D.

Now Rodriguez is teaming with Miller to bring Sin City to the big screen. And when I say, "teaming," I mean as co-directors.

According to Harry at Ain't It Cool News the screenplay will pull from Sin City, That Yellow Bastard, The Big Fat Kill and possibly Booze, Broads & Bullets.

The only thing cooler than that is how Miller and Rodriguez got together.

The Bride is Back

After seeing "Kill Bill" I left disappointed.

I felt that the hospital scene was excessively gross... even for a movie which thrived on excess and went down from there.

Yet, I will probably return to see the conclusion in Kill Bill 2.

I've heard that it is more like Tarantino's other films. I sure hope so.

Well... if it's half as good as the latest advance poster, then I'll leave happy.

[For a larger look, click HERE.]

New Punisher Trailer

A new trailer for The Punisher is online.

I think that the movie will probably do okay at the box office...
but it could go either way.

If the younger crowd gets behind it, it could do pretty well. If the reviews are good and it's advertised to reach the baby boomers, it'll do even better.

But it could just as easily sink. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

The Rock is Walking Tall

One of the biggest suprises to hit Hollywood in recent years is Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

The Rock took a bit part in The Mummy and in just a small role showed an amazing amount of screen presence and charisma. Last year's The Rundown was one of my favorite movies of the year. It had just the right blend of action and drama.

Next up for The Rock is Walking Tall, which I have to admit sounded like a bad idea to me. I did change my opinion after seeing the trailer. The Walking Tall web site is now open. Look around and see what you think.

Old vs New Dawn

That's the new Dawn of the Dead poster above and the original below.

I guess the new one is scarier but I still love the look of the old one.

The real question is will the new movie be as good as the original?

Mel Gibson, the Man

I've always liked Mel Gibson. I'm talking about Mel Gibson, the actor.

Gibson could have went the easy route after the runaway worldwide success of The Road Warrior. But he didn't. Instead he took chances... movies like Hamlet, The River, and The Year of Living Dangerously.

Then Mel Gibson, the actor, took an even bigger chance and became Mel Gibson the director. He soared to even greater heights with Braveheart and The Patriot. Gibson hedged his bets somewhat since he was the star of both of these megahits. But with The Passion of Christ he has put it all on the line.

Gibson co-wrote, directed and funded [to the tune of $30 million or more of his own money] The Passion of Christ. The movie is subtitled since the actors speak the original languages. And Gibson's face never appears on screen. Talk about taking chances. All of this has added to my admiration of Mel Gibson.

Last night after watching his interview on ABC's Primetime I was even more impressed. Gibson spoke openly and honestly about his crisis of faith and how his beliefs have saved... even redeemed him. He answered the charges that he was anti-Semitic. And he refused to answer anything about his father other than to say that he loved him. Mel says that message of The Passion of Christ is "faith, hope, love and forgiveness." It was refreshing to see a celebrity be so open and revealing. And while I may not believe everything in the same way as Mel I can honestly say that I've never liked him more.

I'm talking about Mel Gibson, the man.

30 & Dark Days

30 Days of Night was one of the best vampire stories in any medium in recent years. The fact that it was done in a comic made it all the more impressive.

I mean, how many people pay attention to comic books? [Thankfully the number seems to be on the upswing.]

Steve Niles then followed up 30 Days of Night with the sequel Dark Days. Surprisingly [well, not so surprisingly if you follow Niles' writing], it didn't seem like a forced sequel. And it was good, really good.

If you missed out on it, or if like me, you like a trade edition for the bookshelf, then click HERE.

Red Rocks

While we're on the subject of cool comics, Red / Tokyo Storm Warning is another trade paperback that you may want to check out.

Red / Tokyo Storm Warning is actually two comic book comic mini-series for the price of one, both written by fan favorite Warren Ellis.

Red alone is worth the price of admission. Drawn by Cully Hamner [check out his take on Sly!], Red is the story of retired CIA assassin Paul Moses who finds himself the target of a hit... by his own government! This would make a great movie and you just know who I'd love to see play Moses.

Tokyo Storm Warning [drawn by James Raiz and Andrew Currie] imagines a world where Tokyo, not Hiroshima, was nuked in WWII. Now American test pilot Zoe Flynn must help turn the tide against massive monsters!

Coming soon to a comic shop near you... or better yet place your pre-order HERE!

Get Your Goon On!

Without a doubt one of the most enjoyable comics going today is Eric Powell's The Goon.

Dark Horse says The Goon "is a hilarious blend of pulpy horror and slapstick comedy following the ongoing misadventures of the man they call the Goon and his spastic sidekick Franky as they battle the legions of the undead!" Yeah, that pretty much sums it up!

I've been buying and loving the Goon since it was a little self-published comic. Now that it's one of the most popular comics going today, I'm still pumping it up. Although I've posted this link before, here it is again in case you missed it... read The Goon #1 for free by clicking HERE.

Then if you're so inclined check out the first and second trade paperback and here's a link for the third which is just now being pre-ordered. [That's the cover for it to the left.]

More About Mel

The last ZONE piece that I did on Mel Gibson brought in a lot of e-mail, so I thought that many of you would be interested in another Mel Gibson update.

Mel is featured on the cover and is the subject of a lengthy article in the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly. Mel will also sit for an interview that will air on ABC's Monday "Primetime." Mel also has an interview in the March issue of Reader's Digest. You can read excerpts HERE.

Finally, the Ransom Special Edition dvd will be released on March 23rd. It'll have a commentary track by director Ron Howard, extensive deleted scenes, a "What Would You Do" making-of featurette, and more.

If you have a passion [sorry, I couldn't resist] for Mel Gibson movies, then February and March are going to be a lot of fun!

Rundown and Get a Copy

The Rundown, one of my favorite movies last year, will be out on dvd on March 23rd. Presented in a widescreen anamorphic format, it'll contain deleted scenes, featurettes and more.

The Rundown had a great mix of action, comedy and adventure. On the 23rd you ought to Rundown and check out a copy!

"The Rundown" rates an A

New DOTD Pics

The new Dawn of the Dead premieres on March 19th and he buzz just keeps getting better and better.

JoBlo just posted several new pics from the movie and I'm more jazzed than ever for it.

Take a look at 'em at see what you think.

Gibson's Passion

I've been a Mel Gibson fan since I first saw The Road Warrior at a drive-in movie theater over twenty years ago. It's been cool following Mel's career... and even cooler to discover what a talented director he is. Braveheart and Lethal Weapon are two of my all-time favorite movies.

Mel's been taking a lot of heat for his latest movie, The Passion of Christ, but I have a feeling that, while it may not be a crowd-pleaser on the level of The Patriot, it is going to be very well done, moving and impressive.

If you want to read what Mel has to say in an interview posted at Dark Horizons then click HERE.

Everybody Loves Hellboy

Everyone loves Hellboy. What's not to love?

He's one of the coolest characters in comics. Each mini-series is always highly anticipated and then goes on to become a best selling trade paperback. Hellboy short story collections and the art of Hellboy books have been winners as well.

But could Hellboy be made into a good movie?

If you believe what Nick over at Chud has to say, then the answer is a resounding, "YES!"

But I'm not surprised because everyone loves Hellboy!

The Kennedy Assassination

I've always been interested in The Kennedy Assassination. I've followed the different theories from a single gunman to Cuban assassins sent by Castro, to the CIA, or the Mafia, to even someone in the limo shooting President Kennedy.

I've come to believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, but my mind is still open. One of the most intriguing theories was that Vice President Johnson was somehow involved in the assassination of President Kennedy.

The History Channel has assembled a panel of historians to "examine the credibility" of theories. The results of their study will become the basis of a History Channel Special which will premiere later this year.

And while I doubt there will be any definitive answers, I am sure I'll tune in.

Walking Dead Interview

Without a doubt, my current favorite comic is The Walking Dead. I've been singing its praises since the first issue. Robert Kirkman [writer] and Tony Moore [artist] are a great team.

If you want to know more about The Walking Dead, check out this interview with Tony Moore.

You may then want to find a source for all of the comics. You probably won't find any first printings since each issue is selling out despite printing more!

But don't buy it because it's a hot title, buy it because it's a great read!

Eye on I

Although it's not yet on my "must see" list, I'm keeping my eye on I, Robot which stars Wil [Bad Boys II] Smith and is directed by Alex [The Crow] Proyas.

It's, of course, based on the classic Isaac Asimov story of the same name. Dark Horizons has posted several new pics from the film HERE.

Cast for Assualt Named

On January 27th I posted that talks were underway to re-make John Carpenter's classic Assault on Precinct 13. According to The Hollywood Reporter and JoBlo.com, Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne have signed on to co-star in the retelling.

This is interesting casting. Ethan Hawke surprised me with his excellent performance in Training Day.

It'll be interesting to see how Fishburne plays the cool, ruthless killer Napoleon Wilson [a character that I would have loved to see Sylvester Stallone take a shot at].

Cool Pics Tomorrow

The Day After Tomorrow is one of the movies that I'm really looking forward to based mainly on the cool trailer.

This can be dangerous, because many times movies fail to live up to their trailers.

Empiremovies.com has posted some cool pics which give us additional hope that the movie will not let us down!

Troy's Official Site

Troy's official website has opened up a flash section with a ton of photos, cast bios and info to get you up to speed on Homer's The Iliad [which is the basis for Troy].

Wolfgang Peterson has directed some of my favorite movies [In the Line of Fire, Shattered] and I have hopes that Troy will join that list!

Drew Struzan's Hellboy

They just don't make movie posters like they used to.

Drew Struzan is the king of movie posters. Drew is so good that sometimes his posters are even better than the movies he makes them for!

Well, can you guess who created the movie poster for Hellboy? That's right, Drew did! In fact the picture to the left is a small version of it. If you want to see the larger version then head over to Chud.com.

But before you go, let me give you the bad news. The Drew poster will NOT be the official poster for Hellboy. Seems the people in charge of promoting the film decided that the photo poster is better.

Man, they just don't make movie posters like they used to... or maybe it's just that they don't use them.

Season Ends for Playmakers

If you were in charge of programing and had a new show that not only received critical praise, but also drew in five times the number of viewers than the network had during the previous year, what would you do?

Let me make it easy. I'll give you three choices...
Would you A] Celebrate B] Give everyone a raise C] Cancel the show

If you answered C, you'd be right.

ESPN just cancelled Playmakers which was critically praised and did indeed bring in five times the number of viewers. Playmakers wasn't just one of the best shows on ESPN, it was one of the best shows on TV. Period.

I'm hoping that another cable channel will pick it up. If not, I wish everyone who worked on it the best... because their work on the show was.

Con Man's Daughter

I think I've found a great character for Sly to bring to the big screen!

Ed Dee Dee introduces ex-cop, ex-prize-fighter Eddie "God help me... I love a brawl" Dunn in his latest novel, The Con Man's Daughter.

Dunn was a decorated NY City Detective who was forced to resign in disgrace and then worked for a Russian mobster. Now in his mid-50's and retired, Dunn must return to the mean streets of New York and go toe to toe with a variety of the worst that the city has to offer in order to save his kidnapped daughter.

If you like hard boiled heroes and stories that keep you guessing, then this one is for you... and Sly!

Sky Captain Set Visit

The second part of Chud.com's on set visit for Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is up and it's a great read.

Man, I can' t wait to see this movie!

Kurt Russell's Miracle

I think that Kurt Russell is one of the most under-rated actors in Hollywood.

I loved him as Snake Plisken in Escape From New York and Escape From LA.

And while not every Kurt Russell movie has been a favorite, I can truly say that even the bad ones have been made better because of him.

Kurt's latest is Miracle.

And while it's not high on my must-see list, I did enjoy this interview with Kurt brought to us by the good folks at JoBlo.com.

The Potential of Troy

Another movie that I'm really looking forward to is Troy.

It's a classic story that I loved as a kid and recently re-discovered as I helped my son with some Greek mythology assignments.

Wolfgang Peterson is the director. Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom star. Sounds like a team that could put some people in the seats.

Still not convinced? Check out the trailer and then tell me what ya think!

Van Helsing: Lookin' Good

Van Helsing is a movie that has a lot of potential. Any movie that has Frankenstein, the Wolfman, and Dracula has to be pretty good, right? Right.

The Van Helsing Super Bowl ad didn't do anything to change my opinion. You can see it HERE and see if it changes yours.

An Exciting Superbowl

Well, it was an exciting Superbowl.

Despite the fact that last night's victory by the New England Patriots over the Carolina Panthers, was one of the best Super Bowl games ever, more people are talking about the half time antics than the game itself.

At the end of the half time performances, Justin Timberlake pulled off part of Janet Jackson's costume exposing her breast. The NFL is upset. Both CBS, and MTV have issued apologies. Justin Timberlake called it a "wardrobe malfunction."

Whatever.

At least it wasn't as bad as the guy who made it down on the field, stripped off all of his clothes and began to dance. He than ran around as security attempted to catch him. Patriots linebacker Matt Chatham did was he does best and tackled the streaker who was then taken away by security personnel.

Well, it was an exciting Super Bowl... and the game was pretty good too!

Survivor All-Stars

While the majority of the world is looking forward to the Super Bowl [myself included], there is another sporting event today which pits the very best competitors against each other.

That's right, Survivor All Stars premieres tonight after the Super Bowl.

It's a Zablo family event each week to gather around the tube and cheer for our favorite competitors. Often we don't agree on who we want to win... but I'm willing to bet that this time we'll all be pulling for Rupert.

Now if I could just get Big Beatty to take the Panthers even...