Tag: Gritty Reboots (11-20 of 29)

Jun 3 2011 11:00 AM ET

PopWatch Dictionary: 'Preboot.' (Example: 'X-Men: First Class')

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magneto

Image Credit: Murray Close; Attila Dory

Everyone knows what a sequel is. Everyone unfortunately knows what a prequel is. Everyone who doesn’t know what a reboot is will feel very confused at the multiplex next year. But in the nightmarish franchise laboratory of modern Hollywood, the Boys in the Back Room have created a horrific new subspecies that harnesses the power of the fourth dimension to pump new energy into a fading film series. The name of this monstrosity? The preboot (noun, origin unknown unless someone is stupid enough to claim it). Like the common prequel, the preboot takes place chronologically earlier than previous films in a series. But unlike a prequel, the preboot is not intended to lead directly into those earlier films. Instead, a preboot purports to restart a franchise in an entirely new direction. READ FULL STORY »

Apr 27 2011 05:15 PM ET

'Terminator 5': Can this franchise (and Arnold Schwarzenegger) be good again?

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terminator-2

Image Credit: Everett Collection

Here’s something you might not remember about Terminator 2: It was practically the last good movie Arnold Schwarzenegger made before exploring a career in politics. Consider: In the five years before Judgment Day, Schwarzenegger made Predator, The Running Man, Twins, Total Recall, and Kindergarten Cop; post-T2, he had one legit film (True Lies), but there was a lot more of Junior, Eraser, Jingle All the Way, the historically awful Batman & Robin, and the arguably-more-awful Last Action Hero. Meanwhile, the Terminator franchise also struggled to repeat the historic highs of the first two films. The James Cameron-free Terminator 3 descended into fluffy self-parody, and not even the presence of a Schwarzenegger digital-puppet could rescue the laughably gritty Terminator Salvation. As EW reported last night, Schwarzenegger is currently slated to revisit the franchise in a new film, pending his approval of the script. So, the question is: Can a Schwarzenegger-Terminator reunion return the film series (and its star) to onscreen greatness? READ FULL STORY »

Apr 25 2011 01:48 PM ET

Nintendo will release a new, post-Wii console in 2012

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super-mario

Image Credit: Nintendo

Remember the GameCube? The cutest widdle videogame console, which sported a Spyro-purple paint job that made it look a little bit like an overgrown steampunk SweeTart? The GameCube debuted in 2001 and looked deliriously out of place in a moment when the videogame world was trending towards badassery (the XBox), epic swagger (the PS2), and the ability to actually play DVDs. Thanks to the GameCube, the iconic gamesmasters at Nintendo spent the first half of the decade lost in the wilderness. What a difference a generation makes: Nintendo debuted the Wii in 2006, igniting a revolution in casual gaming that paid off with an estimated 86 million devices sold worldwide. (By comparison, both the XBox 360 and the PS3 have only just sold 50 million.) Now, Nintendo has officially announced that it will debut the successor to the Wii in 2012. READ FULL STORY »

Apr 4 2011 02:42 PM ET

'Thundercats' reboot: WonderCon trailer shows some epic animal warfare

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The rebooted version of Thundercats will arrive on Cartoon Network in July, but you can check out an extended look at the series in a new trailer that was presented over the weekend at WonderCon. I didn’t watch the original Thundercats and am generally skeptical about shows that feature talking cat-people with spiky hair, but at least based on the trailer, the show looks pretty nifty. The animation has a bright anime sheen, and there are plenty of epic sword-vs.-robot battle scenes, complete with an awesome war cry: “Fight like cats! For our ancestors! For the pride!” (Fun fact: Larry Kenney, the voice of Thundercats protagonist Lion-O in the original series, is back in the new show as Lion-O’s father.) Check out the trailer after the jump and let us know what you think about the newer, shapelier, epic-er Thundercats in the comments. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 29 2011 05:32 PM ET

'X-Men' movie round-up: Producer teases upcoming 'Deadpool,' 'Wolverine,' 'X4,' and 'X5' projects

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Do you love the X-Men? I mean, really love the X-Men? Would you be happy living in a world where approximately 40 percent of all films released in theaters was some sort of X-Men sequel/prequel/spinoff/reboot/remake/spinboot? Then, my friend, the future belongs to you. Lauren Shuler Donner, the producer of the X films, has an extended interview in the new issue of Empire magazine in which she teases a host of upcoming X projects. Of course, the X-Men comic books have been a spin-off factory for decades now — in the ’90s, essentially every X-Man had their own solo comic series, even X-Man, who wasn’t really named X-Man, but that’s another story I wouldn’t dream of boring you with. Given that the last couple of big-screen X projects have featured a veritable carousel of potentially spinnable characters (Hi, Gambit! Bye, Gambit!), it’s unsurprising to see that there are a few different projects currently in the planning stages.

First up: The long-rumored Ryan Reynolds Deadpool project, a non-spinoff spinoff to X-Men Origins: Wolverine. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 16 2011 02:38 PM ET

'Daredevil 2': A reboot we can believe in. But who should replace Ben Affleck?

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daredevil

Image Credit: Marvel Entertainment

The news that David Slade is helming a new Daredevil movie should bring joy to the hearts of little boys and girls everywhere. Daredevil has a hallowed history in comic books, and, if nothing else, he deserves another go-round at the big screen. (The best thing you can say about the 2003 film was that it was better than 2005′s Elektra, although not by much.) And Slade might be the right director for the job — he helmed a low-budget horror gem and gave the Twilight series a healthy dose of adrenaline in Eclipse. Even better, The Hollywood Reporter claims that the sequel/reboot/whatever will adapt the iconic Frank Miller-David Mazzucchelli “Born Again” storyline. Fox wouldn’t confirm the “Born Again” rumor, but given how heavily studios court the fanboy vote nowadays, it’d be surprising if Daredevil 2.0 didn’t do a deep-dive into the character’s iconic story arcs. But there’s still a big question mark at the center of the new film: Who should be the new Daredevil? READ FULL STORY »

Mar 14 2011 06:25 PM ET

'TRON 3': How to make it better than 'TRON: Legacy'

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olivia-wilde

Image Credit: Disney

When TRON: Legacy hits Blu-Ray early next month, it will arrive with a ten-minute long bonus video which teases a potential TRON threequel. The video has hit the Internet, and it’s mostly a feast for mythology-heads, taking the form of a pseudo-documentary which traces the fall of ENCOM, the rise of a Banksy-esque band of rebel hackers, and a cameo appearance by one of the cast members of the original TRON. (Check out the full video below.) The teaser, titled “The Next Day,” is definitely intended as a soft set-up for TRON 3.0.

Now, Legacy wasn’t exactly the box office bonanza that Disney was expecting, but it did well enough to possibly justify a sequel. From a qualitative standpoint, the movie was far from perfect — EW’s Owen Gleiberman gave the film a B — but to me, that’s an opportunity. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 8 2011 02:55 PM ET

'Tomb Raider': Who should be the new Lara Croft?

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kunis-arterton-wildeImage Credit: Chris Hatcher/PR Photos; Solarpix/PR Photos; Peter Kramer/AP ImagesIt’s easy to be cynical about the just-announced reboot of the Tomb Raider film franchise. Angelina Jolie’s turn as skimpily-dressed treasure hunter Lara Croft was incredibly iconic — it’s a big reason why she’s basically the only go-to action heroine left in Hollywood — and it’s hard to imagine a younger actress stepping into the role. Still, it’s worth pointing out that neither of the original Lara Croft films were all that great. And considering that, Sucker Punch excepted, female-driven action movies are few and far between, a Tomb Raider reboot could actually be a great way to kickstart the career of the next great female action star. But who should play Lara Croft? Mila Kunis seems like an obvious choice. (She even played a younger Jolie in Gia.) Olivia Wilde and Scarlett Johansson have both had some action-film success. My personal pick would be Gemma Arterton — hey, why not cast someone who’s actually British this time? Vote for the next Lara Croft in our poll after the jump, and let us know in the comment boards if we missed your personal pick. READ FULL STORY »

Feb 28 2011 04:49 PM ET

'Thundercats' reboot: Check out the trailer

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Cartoon Network just debuted the trailer for the network’s upcoming rebooted version of Thundercats. The beloved ’80s cartoon has been given a serious anime makeover, which basically means that the already-bright color spectrum of the original show has been turned up to an insane, disco-rainbow, Lady-Gaga-unfiltered neon explosion. I didn’t watch the original show, but I’ve always been intrigued by Thundercats‘ mix of fantasy, sci-fi, and cute animals wearing badass space armor, and although there isn’t any dialogue in the trailer, the look of the new series is certainly interesting. Check out the trailer below: READ FULL STORY »

Jan 26 2011 11:55 AM ET

'Thundercats' Cartoon Network reboot: Check out the cast's new look

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thundercats1Image Credit: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Even by the high standards of ’80s cartoons, Thundercats was pretty bananas. Mixing futuristic science-fiction with sword-and-sorcery fantasy, the fondly remembered series also featured an intriguing central plotline, in which the last survivors of a dying civilization flee to a mysterious planet called Third Earth. (Think Battlestar Galactica as re-enacted by the cast of Cats.) Cartoon Network will relaunch the show later this year, and the first official image of the new-look cast has now been released. READ FULL STORY »

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