It was only a couple of days ago that we got the teaser poster for Sam Mendes’ next instalment in the Bond franchise Skyfall and now we get to see some actual footage of the film in this teaser trailer.

Whilst the trailer gives nothing away about the plot it sure does look good.  Skyfall has now jumped up my most anticipated list to #29.

Skyfall opens on November 9th and stars Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes and Albert Finney.

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First teaser trailer for SKYFALL HollywoodHubbub

Written by: Erich Hoeber & Jon Hoeber
Directed by: Peter Berg
Genre: Action, sci-fi

Battleship is an epic-scaled action-adventure that unfolds across the seas, in the skies and over land as our planet fights for survival against a superior force.  Inspired by Hasbro’s classic naval combat game, Battleship stars Taylor Kitsch as Lt. Alex Hopper, a Naval officer assigned to the USS John Paul Jones; Brooklyn Decker as Sam Shane, a physical therapist and Hopper’s fiancée; Alexander Skarsgård as Hopper’s older brother, Stone, Commanding Officer of the USS Sampson; Rihanna as Petty Officer Raikes, Hopper’s crewmate and a weapons specialist on the USS John Paul Jones; and international superstar Liam Neeson as Hopper and Stone’s superior (and Sam’s father), Admiral Shane.

First off, can there be any doubt that Battleship is the most calculated film/product tie-in in history.  A summer blockbuster based on a game that no-one plays anymore featuring a ridiculous story and a host of young fairly poor actors.  I’m absolutely certain this film was only made because of Transformers and the Hasbro connection.  How could anyone think this would turn out well, it’s Independence Day + Armageddon + water, and at the end they add in a little Space Cowboys for good measure.

The entire first act is both boring and a waste of time because it plods along introducing all these paper-thin characters in the hope that the audience will somehow become attached.  It’s a dumb action movie.  I don’t care about the characters, I want explosions and spectacle and a little comic relief, not character growth.

Taylor Kitsch does what he was hired to do, speak his lines and look somewhat tough.  Brooklyn Decker adds nothing and could of been replaced by any number of hotter blondes and the film would have been better.  There’s an attempt to make Sam have some semblance of a story, she’s a physical therapist who’s new patient has no legs and has lost all hope.  The thing is, she doesn’t do anything other than drive a jeep down a hill and crash it.  Even her role as the “love interest” is uneventful because she’s really not involved with the action.  At least Megan Fox did something in the Transformers films besides just looking hot.

Alexander Skarsgård is there for a bit and then dead, with his role as Stone apparently only existing as a means to get Alex to join the Navy.  Likewise, Liam Neeson is given very little to do as Admiral Shane other than act as another hurdle for Alex to overcome.  Never mind that that hurdle is mostly a fear of asking for Sam’s hand in marriage.

Once the action kicked in, even though it took about 40 minutes, the film did improve thanks to some solid special effects.  But then came the inevitable references to the game and the whole film got boring as hell again with everyone sitting around watching a grid on a screen and trying to bomb aliens.

Then came the even worse third act with the ridiculous idea that the surviving crew could take out an old decommissioned battleship that was docked and acting as a museum, and take on an alien ship.  Not only that, they also rounded up a bunch of retirees to crew the ship, conjured up a shit ton of ammunition that would never have been there, defied the laws of physics by power drifting a battleship, and then stole the Titanic sinking scene where the ship goes nose down.

And on top of all this stupidity, I don’t even think the aliens came to Earth to cause trouble.  We sent a signal, they responded, and when they crashed into the ocean on their visit we tried to shoot at them with fucking Navy destroyers.  Every time they attacked the humans it was in response or defence to an attack directed at them.  The aliens cut off access to the area so they wouldn’t get bombarded with more attacks and then set about trying to contact their home planet to explain that Earth wasn’t so friendly and maybe try and get a lift home.  And why was it so important for the humans to stop the aliens from making their call.  They’ve already arrived.  They know where Earth is.  They can come back any time they want, but considering the lack of hospitality they received that’s probably not gonna happen soon.

Oh, and that Army dude fought dirty.  Taking off the alien’s mask so that he couldn’t see is like gouging someone’s eyes out.  It’s cheating.

CONCLUSION
Special effects and some decent comic relief can’t save this dud of a film.  Battleship is as ordinary as everyone expected it to be.

RATING: 4.5/10

FLICKCHART RANKING: 845 of 1513

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BATTLESHIP review HollywoodHubbub

Here’s the first poster for the next James Bond instalment Skyfall starring Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem and Ralph Fiennes.

I’m a bit hesitant about getting excited for Skyfall just because of the letdown of Quantum of Solace after the very enjoyable Casino Royale.

After much delay Skyfall is due to open on November 9th in the US following an earlier release across Europe.

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The first teaser poster for SKYFALL starring Daniel Craig HollywoodHubbub

Two new poster for The Amazing Spider-Man have been released and they continue with the moody look of the others.

The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field).  Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today.  Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets.

As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), his father’s former partner.  As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

I’m still not sure how I feel about this film because even though they’re trying to sell the audience that it’s not a reboot/remake, everything I’ve seen so far certainly points in that direction.

I don’t see how another origin story can help this franchise even if they’re trying to introduce Andrew Garfield as the new Spider-Man and Emma Stone as a better Gwen Stacy.  Still, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t at least interested in how Garfield does because whilst I thought Tobey McGuire was good when I saw the original, I began to dislike him more and more as the franchise went along.  Also, after watching The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus I think Garfield will do well with Spider-Man’s quippy dialogue much better than McGuire did.

I guess we’ll all know how the film turned out one way or the other come July 3rd.

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THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN continues with the moody posters HollywoodHubbub

Holy shit.

The Raid looks really fucking cool.  I have no idea what it’s about, but it looks cool.

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US trailer for THE RAID HollywoodHubbub

The title says it all.

In Time, starring Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Olivia Wilde and Cillian Murphy, looks pretty decent.

Hopefully the final product will match the trailer.

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Strangely, IN TIME looks quite good HollywoodHubbub

You know what, I want movies to be good, I really do.  I’d be happy if every film released was good to great.

But they’re not.

No.  We get mindless dumb shit like Battleship.  Liam Neeson should know better.

It’s due out on May 18th 2012, just so you know to stay away from the cinema.

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The BATTLESHIP trailer is dumb HollywoodHubbub

Written by: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely
Directed by: Joe Johnston
Genre: Action, comic, war, sci-fi

After being deemed unfit for military service, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) fights for a place on a top secret research project run by Colonel Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) and Dr Erskine (Stanley Tucci) that turns him into Captain America, a superhero dedicated to defending America’s ideals.

I should start by saying that whilst I’m not American I do love America.  I grew up in England and now live in Australia but ever since I first visited the US in 1984 I’ve felt a love for the country that simply isn’t there for my native land.  I’ve been back seven more times since then and long for the chance to move to the US on a permanent basis.  All this is a kinda gooey, hokey way to say that I’m not one of these people who dislike America for it’s storybook ideals and “we’re number 1″ attitude.

The most disappointing thing about Captain America: The First Avenger is that it’s going to be (or already is) number 1 at the box office not because it’s a particularly good film, but because it plays to that phony rah rah attitude of American superiority.  I know America is awesome, I don’t need to be hit over the head with nostalgic patriotism.

As for the film as a whole, I found that the first act was my favourite section of the film because we actually got to spend some time with the characters, whereas Joe Johnston sped through the story in the later acts just so he could get to the next action sequence.  I know it’s a delicate balance when it comes to the pacing of a film, you don’t want to skip ahead too quickly or linger too long, but with Captain America I feel that the whole campaign against Hydra begun, proceeded and concluded far to quickly.  Yeah, he’s Captain America, but that doesn’t mean he can’t encounter some kind of obstacle or setback.  We all know he’s gonna win in the end, the hero always does, but the protagonist needs to face an obstacle.  That’s screenwriting 101.

On the actor side of things I think Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving and Tommy Lee Jones did a decent job, but Haley Atwell as the sexy 1940s pinup-like  officer was a real negative for the film.  I realise they can’t cast some skinny blonde bombshell but my complaint isn’t entirely based on Atwell’s looks.  I think she gave a somewhat OK performance with the material she was given, but that whole romance between her and Captain America was completely manufactured.  There was nothing natural or organic about their relationship, and the “meet in one week” conversation as his plane was going down was laughable.  I’m very hopeful given the way the film ended that Atwell won’t be returning in any form in either The Avengers or the likely sequel.

And speaking of how the film ended, I hope they explain how a guy can be buried in ice in the Antarctic(?) for 70 years and neither age or die.  That seems ludicrous even for a comic movie.

RATING:  6/10

CONCLUSION
I think Captain America: The First Avenger works best as an origin story which sets up Joss Whedon’s upcoming The Avengers.  The first act is decent but the rest feels rushed and paced far too quickly.  Chris Evans is a credible Steve Rogers and Hugo Weaving once again does a good job as a villain.  The special effects are OK and the film is passable.  I wasn’t expecting to be blown away and Captain America: The First Avenger met those expectations.

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CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER review HollywoodHubbub

I really really really don’t want to watch another origin story, especially considering that the first Spider-Man film only came out in 2002.

That being said, I am a fan of Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, so this reboot does have something going for it.  Plus it’s never really a bad thing when you can get a new Spider-Man film.

Here’s the non-bootleg teaser for The Amazing Spider-Man.  Due for release on July 3rd 2012 in spectacular 3D.

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Here we go again, the teaser for THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN HollywoodHubbub

Written by: Ehren Kruger
Directed by: Michael Bay
Genre: Action, 3D, comedy(?)

The Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the Moon, and race against the Decepticons to reach it and to learn its secrets.

It’s worth noting right from the outset that Transformers: Dark of the Moon suffers from not having Megan Fox it in.  And I fucking hated the lame ass jokes/asides concerning the absence of Mikaela.

As for the film, it is what it is, and you’ll enjoy it just as much as you expect.  Nothing’s really changed since the first film and if you go in on the understanding that the film is simply a dumb summer blockbuster then you should come away feeling OK about the money you’ve just spent.  I will say that I enjoyed the 3D and despite the notoriously “busy” special effects of the franchise I found that I didn’t suffer any kind of eye strain or headache from watching the 157 minute film.

New transformers are introduced, as they were in the second film, with the notable one being Sentinel Prime.  I found it to be pretty distracting watching a transformer that clearly looked like Leonard Nimoy who spoke with that unmistakable cadence, but he was pretty bad-ass when he was kicking Optimus Prime all over the place.  A scene of particular note which is a fantastic display of special effects is the one featuring Shockwave (who I think is new to the franchise) tearing a whole building apart whilst the good guys are inside as it breaks in half and crashes against a neighboring building.  Really fucking cool.

Comic relief is provided by LaBeouf, Witwicky’s parents played by Kevin Dunn and Julie White (although they’re not in it nearly enough), John Turturro, the legendary Ken Jeong, and Alan Tudyk (who makes his first appearance in the franchise).

Not much more to say about the film beyond that.

RATING: 6.5/10

CONCLUSION
Transformers: Dark of the Moon is a dumb action film just like the first two and just like everything else Michael Bay makes.  But if you go in wanting and expecting that, you won’t be disappointed.  I take some points off because it doesn’t have Megan Fox in it but I add some because it does feature the comedically flawless Ken Jeong.

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Megan Fox > Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. My review of TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON HollywoodHubbub