HANCOCK (2008)

Hancock centers on a tortured superhero (Will Smith) who crash-lands in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, and tries to transform himself by romancing an alluring housewife, causing chaos in the city.

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HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort's defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, the well-connected and unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry finds himself more and more drawn to Ginny, but so is Dean Thomas. And Lavender Brown has decided that Ron is the one for her, only she hadn't counted on Romilda Vane's chocolates! And then there's Hermione, simpering with jealously but determined not to show her feelings. As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.

And yet...

As in all wars, life goes on. Sixth-year students learn to Apparate - and lose a few eyebrows in the process. The Weasley twins expand their business. Teenagers flirt and fight and fall in love. Classes are never straightforward, though Harry receives some extraordinary help from the mysterious Half-Blood Prince.

So it's the home front that takes center stage in the multilayered sixth installment of the story of Harry Potter. Here at Hogwarts, Harry will search for the full and complex story of the boy who became Lord Voldemort - and thereby find what may be his only vulnerability.

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Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay is the sequel to Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. The film is planned for release on April 25, 2008 with John Cho and Kal Penn returning as the duo of stoners and Paula Garcés as Harold's love interest Maria.
Sources confirm the film production began the second to last week of January 2007 in Shreveport, Louisiana, and finished in March.[

The premise of the movie involves Kumar Patel, the Indian American protagonist of the original film, being mistaken for a 'bomb carrying terrorist' while the pair are trying to sneak a bong on board a plane in route to Amsterdam. They are incarcerated in a Guantanamo Bay detention camp but manage to escape.
The movie follows their adventures as fugitives from the United States Department of Homeland Security as they travel through Miami to Texas and ultimately find themselves in the ranch-house of President George W. Bush.

New additions to the cast are comedian Jon Reep and former Daily Show correspondents Rob Corddry and Ed Helms.[1] Others include David Krumholtz, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Jack Conley, Roger Bart, Danneel Harris, Eric Winter, Adam Herschman, Richard Christy and Brandon Routh.

Via:  wikipedia

Meet the spartans

After successfully skewering Hollywood's scariest movie (as two of the writers on "Scary Movie"), romantic comedy franchises ("Date Movie"), and Hollywood blockbusters ( "Epic Movie"), writers/directors/producers Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer now set their sights on "300." The heroic Leonidas, armed with nothing by leather underwear and a cape, leads a ragtag group of 13 - count 'em, 13! -- Spartans to defend their homeland against the invading Persians (whose ranks include Ghost Rider, Rocky Balboa, the Transformers, and a hunchbacked Paris Hilton).

Via: movieweb

The Incredible Hulk 2

 
The Incredible Hulk is a 2008 superhero film based on the fictional Marvel Comics character the Hulk. It is directed by Louis Leterrier and stars Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth and William Hurt. Norton also wrote the script, after a draft by Zak Penn. Penn said the film is a sequel to 2003's Hulk, but it will be different enough to also be considered a reboot. The Incredible Hulk has a target release date of June 13, 2008.
Premise

Bruce Banner is on the run from the United States Army and General "Thunderbolt" Ross, trying to avoid capture long enough to cure the condition that turns him into the Hulk.[3] Meanwhile, a soldier named Emil Blonsky repeats the accident that gave Banner his powers, but as he is unable to change back to human form, he blames Banner and seeks his revenge.[4]

Louis Leterrier said that he planned to show Bruce Banner's struggle with the monster within him.[5] Producer Avi Arad has also said that the Hulk would be more strongly portrayed as a hero than in the previous film,[5] while producer Kevin Feige added the film would explore "that element of wish fulfillment, of overcoming an injustice or a bully and tapping into a strength that you didn't quite realize you had in yourself."[6] Arad also said the film would be "a lot more of a love story between Bruce Banner and Betty Ross."[7]


Cast
Edward Norton as Dr. Bruce Banner / The Hulk: A genius scientist who, because of exposure to gamma radiation coupled with childhood trauma, transforms into the Hulk when stressed or enraged.[3] Eric Bana turned down reprising the role, as he viewed the first film as a one-off opportunity.[8] Norton was a fan of the character, particularly his first appearances in the comics as well as the TV show and Bruce Jones' run on the comic.[9] He had expressed interest in the role for the first film.[10] The filmmakers were interested in Norton because he reminded them of Bill Bixby, who played Banner in the TV series.[11] Lou Ferrigno, who played the Hulk with Bixby, stated that Norton reminded him of the actor, as "he has a similar physique, [and a] similar personality."[12] Zak Penn also compared Norton's character in Fight Club to that of Banner.[13]
Liv Tyler as Betty Ross: Bruce's girlfriend, whom he is separated from due to his condition. Tyler replaced actress Jennifer Connelly, who portrayed Betty Ross in the 2003 film Hulk.[14] Tyler was attracted to the love story in the script, and was a fan of the TV show, because of the "humanity and what [Banner] is going through".[9] She said filming the part "was very physical, which was fun for me. I got to do a whole bunch of action stuff I'd never done, [like] running in front of tanks."[15]
Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky: A soldier who exposes himself to gamma radiation to gain the Hulk's powers. Unable to change back into human form, he seeks his revenge on Banner.[4] Roth described playing the role as fun, and making the film was about pleasing his sons. He stated, "Pure, on set, all I'm asking is, 'Okay, this has got to be a cool shot for my kids, all right? Am I going to look cool in this shot?' It's truly about that for me, completely about that."[16] The character is known as the "Abomination" in the comics, but Zak Penn considered this name too silly, and he will only be referred to as Blonsky on screen.[13]
William Hurt as General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross: Betty's father, who has dedicated himself to capturing the Hulk.[17] Sam Elliott stated he would have liked to have reprised the role, noting it was odd seeing someone take his role, "but I'll be looking forward to seeing this one".[18]
Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns: A scientist.[19]
Ty Burrell as Doc Samson.[20]
Lou Ferrigno has a cameo in the film.[12]

Production


Development
The Incredible Hulk is more tonally similiar to the TV series of the same name

At the time of the release of Ang Lee's Hulk, screenwriter James Schamus was planning a sequel, featuring the Gray Hulk. He was also considering the Leader and the Abomination as villains.[21] On January 18, 2006 producer Avi Arad confirmed Marvel Studios would be making the film, with Universal distributing.[22] Marvel felt it would be better to deviate from Lee's style to continue the franchise.[23] Louis Leterrier had expressed interest in directing the Iron Man film adaptation, but Jon Favreau took that project, so Arad offered him the Hulk.[1] Although he liked the first film, Letterier concurred with Marvel for a less cerebral tone.[23] As a child, he had enjoyed the TV series, and read Hulk: Gray by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale to get into the mindset of directing.[24]

Screenwriter Zak Penn said the film would follow up Hulk, but tonally the film will be more similar to the TV series or Bruce Jones' run on the comic. He compared the film to Aliens, which was a very different film to Alien, but still in the same continuity.[10] Peter David's run is also referenced in the film.[24] Penn wrote three drafts, before departing in early 2007 to promote his film The Grand. Actor Edward Norton, who had rewritten previous films he starred in, wrote a new draft, which pleased the director and the studio in establishing the film as a reboot.[25] Norton explained, "I don't even like the phrase origin story, and I don't think in great literature and great films that explaining the roots of the story doesn't mean it comes in the beginning."[9] He also added Doc Samson and made references to other Marvel characters.[26] Letterier stated, "We don’t go against anything that the first one established, but it’s brand new, a fresh start."[24]

Marvel chose the Abomination as the villain because he was the most famous enemy, and because he would be an actual threat to the Hulk, unlike General Ross.[23] The film modernizes the character from the comics, when he was a KGB agent. Instead, Letterier created a plotline of someone who was the opposite of Banner: a soldier "realizing that he was at the end of his career, physically" and taking the power Banner did not want so "he could go one-on-one against him because he had nowhere to go". The Leader, in his human form Samuel Sterns, was also introduced to set up a sequel.[24]


Filming

Filming began on July 9, 2007.[11] The Canadian shoot included Toronto, Hamilton, Ontario, CFB Trenton,[27] Vancouver and Belleville, Ontario.[28] Afterwards, there was a week-long shoot in New York City and two weeks in Rio de Janeiro.[27] The Incredible Hulk joined Toronto's Green-Screen initiative, to help cut carbon emissions and waste created during filming. Producer Gale Anne Hurd hopes the film will be a symbol of the drive to encourage less pollution from film productions. Norton used a hybrid vehicle on set.[29]


Effects
Concept art for the film's incarnation of the Hulk. The director aimed to make the monsters in the film look scarier and grittier

The director said of the special effects in the first film "that there was no weight to [the Hulk]. He was flying around and it was very poetic, but our movie is grittier. [...] I want everything to be gritty, darker, even a little scarier. Frankenstein, King Kong, these monsters are pretty scary. They’re not smooth-looking, fluorescent-green-looking characters. They’re pretty dark and, still, within, there’s a tenderness and a humanity that you can see through them."[24] Leterrier planned to use make-up and animatronics in combination with computer-generated imagery that had solely been used in the previous film.[30] Leterrier hired Rhythm and Hues to provide the CGI, because of their skills in character animation. Industrial Light & Magic worked on the 2003 film.[31]

The Hulk is not directly modelled on Edward Norton as he was cast after the designs had begun. After they had approved the main look though, they added subtle elements of his features, such as a scar on his cheek and a mole on the right side of his mouth. They were careful to make sure the character's hair did not look like a mullet.[24] Stylistically, the filmmakers chose a darker shade of green from the previous film,[32] and decided to not make him as large.[22] His size does not increase as he becomes further enraged, staying at a consistent height. Norton had indicated he will provide motion capture for the character.[9]

The Abomination's look deviates from the comics as befitting his new storyline. His pointed ears are kept, but the reptilian scales were left out because Letterier felt it made no sense. "There was no reptile mix in his origin", he said, "so I just changed it and made it like the 'über-human'. It’s a human that was injected in the wrong places with something, and these places are growing differently. It still has the general shape of the Abomination, but there’s something realistic that I wanted to put in it." His designs had been taken back during animation as they were becoming too ugly.[24]
Music
Marvel has bought the rights to "The Lonely Man" theme from the TV series. The piano piece was composed by Joseph Harnell and was used over the end credits to represent Banner's never-ending search for inner peace.

Via:  wikipedia

Arnold Schwarzenegger Will Not Be in Terminator 4!

Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins producer Moritz Borman told Empire Magazine that Arnold Schwarzenegger will not be in the fourth installment of the franchise, according to The Sun. The movie takes place before the famous fighting machine has been built.

"We're keeping the script under very tight security" Borman said, adding "And one of the reasons is that we have a huge twist at the end, which we're being careful not to reveal. Like with the last Terminator -- we kept that under tight wraps so not even the crew got the last six or seven pages. I can tell you this much -- this is the story everybody has been waiting for. Namely, we're in the future. The part of it where Arnold's character has not yet been built but is on the drawing board. And in the next two episodes we'll get to the point where time-travel is more in the foreground. It's the war against the machines, the start of Skynet taking over the world."

Borman hinted that Californian governor Schwarzenegger could be featured in two subsequent movies and commented that He knows the material and is very supportive of what we're doing. There might even be hints of his character in this one."

Borman refused to be drawn on rumors that Christian Bale is set to play John Connor and added "Everyone is assuming there is a John Connor and a Terminator in the script. Connor is in there along with another figure, but who is that figure?"

Via:  movieweb

The Dark Knight

The follow-up to the action
hit "Batman Begins," "The Dark Knight" reunites director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who reprises the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne. In the new film, Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the city streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as The Joker.