The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Poster Release)

Robert Ford joins Jesse James' gang, only to become resentful of the legendary outlaw and hatch a plan to kill the fastest gun in the West. The film delves into the private life & public exploits of America’s most notorious outlaw, Jesse James.

Grade: A +
Teaser HERE
Trailer HERE

Smokin' Aces (Poster Release)

In these interlocking tales of high stakes & low lifes, Mob boss Primo Sparazza has taken out a hefty contract on Buddy "Aces" Israel, a sleazy magician who has agreed to turn state's evidence against the Vegas mob. The FBI, sensing a chance to use this small-time con to bring down big-target Sparazza, places Aces into protective custody-under the supervision of two agents dispatched to Aces' Lake Tahoe hideout. When word of the price on Aces' head spreads into the community of ex-cons & cons-to-be, it entices bounty hunters, thugs-for-hire, smokin' hot vixens & double-crossing mobsters to join in the hunt. With all eyes on Tahoe, this rogues' gallery collides in a comic race to hit the jackpot & rub out Aces.

Grade: C
Trailer HERE
Teaser THERE

Castlevania (What to Know) UPDATED: 7/23/09

"Castlevania," a film based on the popular video game franchise by Konami, is now in the early stages of production. The movie, budgeted at $50 million, is expected to become the starting point in a successful franchise for Rogue Pictures, which has agreed to distribute the flick domestically & in a few other markets. The video game, which has long been noted for its eerie visuals & music, looks at the early beginnings of the legendary character of Dracula. The film will be set mostly in the 15th century & has been called as a sort of "Dracula Begins" in the vein of the "Underworld" & "Blade" movies. Writer-director, by luck, Paul W.S. Anderson is no stranger to these types of adaptations having helmed "Mortal Kombat," "Resident Evil," & "AVP" in the past, need I say more.? He & his producing partner Jeremy Bolt are currently scouting locations in Hungary& Romania and are looking to start shooting next spring. The castle interiors will be constructed in Budapest. My fingers are crossed, really crossed.

(Update: 6/14)

Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard) has been set to direct "Castlevania," a live-action adaptation of the Konami vampire video game. Pic will shoot late fall in South Africa and Romania to be released late 2008.While White has deals to develop "Static" at Columbia Pictures and the Frank Miller graphic novel "Ronin" at Warner Bros., "Castlevania" will be the next film he directs.Scripted by Paul W.S. Anderson (Alien vs. Predator), the drama begins as a Transylvanian knight leads his men into a gothic castle to seek refuge from the Turkish army. The knights soon discover the castle is controlled by the original vampire.Anderson wrote the script with the intention to direct, but stepped aside to helm the remake "Death Race." White will work with Anderson on a rewrite.

(Update: 7/23/09)

Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard) & Paul W.S. Anderson have both been replaced & the once dead Castlevania movie is back on track with Saw franchise co-creator & director of Dead Silence & Death Sentence, James Wan, now signed to co-write & direct.

Aronofsky to Make Biblical Epic Next (What to Know)

Writer-director Darren Aronofsky has revealed to sources that he will next attempt to make a biblical epic, though he was sadly mum on details. He further added sadder news, that he is no longer to direct Lone Wolf & Cub, because Paramount Pictures never bought the rights, retarded. The film would have been a live-action version of the Kazuo Koike created samurai graphic novel series masterpiece of the same name.

Evan Almighty (Movie Watch)

The last time we saw Evan Baxter, he was being tormented by rival Bruce Nolan onscreen, live from their Buffalo TV station. But as time passed & Evan has made up with Bruce, he's gone onto bigger & better things. Newly elected to Washington D.C. as a congressman, Evan has left Buffalo in pursuit of a greater calling. But that calling isn't serving in the illustrious ranks of American politics but being summoned by the Almighty himself, who has handed Evan the task of building a new ark, much as Noah did before. With time passing by & his family belittled by Evan's newfound realization, Evan will have to do the work that God has given him in what promises to be an unusual adventure for a man who just wanted to serve his country, might actually be serving humanity.

Trailer HERE

Dali & I: The Surreal Story (What to Know)

Andrew Niccol is attached to direct Dali & I: The Surreal Story, a film from Room 9 Entertainment about Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dali, played by Al Pacino. Our sources have found that Room 9 originally acquired "Dali" as a spec written by John Salvati, based on Stan Lauryssens' autobiographical book "Dali and I." Niccol will do a rewrite of the script & the company is eyeing a shoot next spring. The film will cover the life of Dali through the eyes of Lauryssens, a young art dealer who knew Dali & wife Gala. The movie will span the 1960s-1980s, covering Dali's later period when most of this great work was behind him while he became more flamboyant, focusing more on a mentor-protege relationship between Dali & Lauryssens.

Be Kind Rewind (What to Know)

Photos from the set of the new Jack Black comedy, "Be Kind Rewind," which is currently shooting in New Jersey, have been leaked. The pictures were taken by a couple of fans & primarily feature Black riding the streets as a train conductor.

In "Be Kind Rewind", Black plays a junkyard worker who attempts to sabotage a power plant that he believes is melting his brain. His plan instead creates a magnetic field that accidentally erases all of the videotapes in a local video store where his best friend Mike works. To keep the store's most loyal renter, an elderly woman with signs of dementia, the two men set out to remake the erased films, which include "Back to the Future," "The Lion King," "Rush Hour," and "Robocop."

The project will be the latest offering from playful director Michel Gondry ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "The Science of Sleep") with New Line Cinema hoping to release the flick sometime next year. The sooner the better, I say.

Grade: B +
Trailer HERE

Soap (Movie Watch)

32-year-old Charlotte could have it all, but she doesnt want any of it. When she moves away from her boyfriend, she happens to become the upstairs neighbor of the transsexual Veronica. Veronica prefers to keep to herself with her little dog and a romantic soap show on TV, while Charlotte gets through the nights with one-night stands.

Trailer HERE

28 Weeks Later (Movie Watch)

28 Weeks Later begins seven months after the Rage virus has spread throughout the city of London & the British isles. The United States Army has restored order and is repopulating the quarantined city, declaring that the war against infection has been won with the reconstruction of the country in mind. In the first wave of returning refugees, a family is reunited, but one of them unwillingly carries a terrible secret. When a carrier of the Rage virus enters London, the virus is not yet dead, and they unknowingly re-ignite the spread of the deadly infection, wreaking havoc on the entire population.

SIDE NOTE:
Fox Atomic Comics & publisher HarperCollins announced that they are publishing a graphic novel titled "28 Days Later: The Aftermath" in spring 2007 to bridge the gap between 28 Days Later & 28 Weeks Later.

Grade: A -
Teaser HERE

Killer Instinct & Public Enemy No. 1 (What to Know)

Vincent Cassel Gangster Pics Back on

Our French sources have shared interesting news on French producer Thomas Langmann reviving the ambitious two-film project about notorious French criminal Jacques Mesrine, with Vincent Cassel starring. Pathe has boarded the pics, taking French distribution & handling international sales on Killer Instinct & Public Enemy No. 1, directed by Jean-Francois Richet. Marion Cottillard & Eva Green are attached to play two women who were Mesrine's loves & also partners in crime at different points in his life. The script was written by Abdel Raouf Dafri. The Mesrine pics will be shot simultaneously in Canada and France over 30 weeks starting in May. The story of the two-parter's journey has twists & turns worthy of the colorful life of Mesrine -- who robbed banks, kidnapped people & escaped from prison eight times, until French police gunned him down in 1979.