Welcome to the Film School Rejects Archive

First came the rumors, then came the confirmation and now we have the trailer to prove it; the Silver Surfer can talk and his voice is going to be provided by Laurence Fishburne. Today a brand new trailer has hit the web. And I have to say, this may just be one of the more badass trailers we have seen for any summer movie. Catch the full trailer after the jump…

It has already begun. On April 13, SuperHeroHype began reporting on the fact that Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film The Dark Knight, the follow-up to 2005’s Batman Begins, was to begin filming in Chicago. Since then the internet has been a buzz with TDK here, TDK there and rumors flying everywhere.

What do you get when you cross The Sixth Sense with Ghost what do you get? Well, probably something that looks like The Invisible, but stars Bruce Willis and Whoopi Goldberg. You know, that probably would have been a better movie, instead we actually get The Invisible, a dullard of a film populated with a cast that is easy not to like. There were a number of things to like about the movie, but with characters that I did not care for, it was hard to be entertained. Now I don’t need a movie to have likable characters, but some movies need them, you need someone to identify with, and this one failed to deliver.

I couldn’t stop grinning after seeing the trailer for 28 Weeks Later for the first time. I loved 28 Days Later, and saw it as not only one of the best horror films in years, but also one of the best films I had seen in years. The new film from Fox Atomic continues 28 weeks after the first film left off. I know what some of you might be saying,and that is a long time. Have no fear, Fox Atomic has come to the rescue.

From the brilliant team behind Shaun of the Dead, comes this new genre mash up. Following the successful reinvigoration of horror/comedy, they have turned their eye on the action/comedy. The results are spectacular. The approach to making a successful spoof of the action genre is to play it straight. A plot involving murder in a small town is approached with deadly seriousness and the comedy just builds from there. It is such a brilliant comedy that blends subtle and wildly over the top comedy within a story that is actually well developed and much more than what you would expect from what is, essentially, a movie that makes fun of buddy action conventions.

SuperHeroHype clued us in on some very cool videos that are circulating around the web this afternoon. The videos are captures from a Behind the Scenes feature of Spider-Man 3 last night on Starz. Check out all three parts after the jump…

There have been tons of doctored photos of Heath Ledger as the Joker in The Dark Knight and the following may very well be just another in the long line of fan fakes, but there is no doubt that this has to be the best to date. An FSR fan named Matt sent this over this afternoon. It is supposed to be a shot of what Heath Ledger will look like as The Joker. To me, it appears to be just another great Photoshop job. I will let you decide…

Everyone is waiting for Spider-Man 3. We knew that. But we really didn’t expect that the box office estimates would be terrible this weekend. Then we found out that Next, The Condemned and The Invisible were all throw-away flicks. So while most major releases took a bath on the last weekend before the unofficial start of the summer movie season, the only winner was Disturbia, which maintained its top spot for a third straight week.

See Results after the jump…

How far is too far? Reality television isn’t going away, and with everyone looking for the next way to shock an audience, how far away are we from a show that introduces a real battle to the death? The things are going, it does not seem to be that far removed from a possible reality. From the ratings that shows like American Idol and Survivor generate, combined with the wall to wall, twenty four hour coverage of such tragedies as the recent Virginia Tech shooting, Columbine, and the ongoing war in the Middle East, I would not be hard pressed to believe that there is some unscrupulous producer concocting a scheme to inject a little more shock and awe over what is presently acceptable for prime time television. It is this very subject that The Condemned seeks to contend with, sadly, they don’t hit the broadside of a barn.

Peter over at /Film has hooked everyone up with a first look at Natalie Portman in My Blueberry Nights, a film about the trials and tribulations of love being directed by Wong Kar Wai.

See the full pic after the jump…

More and more lately, studios have been shying away from screening their movies for critics. On one hand, I feel empowered. After all, if they are purposely not screening movies, they must be scared of us, and that means we are significant.

On the other hand, it ticks me off. They’re leaving us out of the equation. They’re not playing fair. And they’re showing their hand before it gets played. After all, it’s like running from the cops. If they don’t screen a film, it’s gotta be bad, right?

Stephen King once pointed out in his book “Secret Window, Secret Garden” (which was subsequently made into the stinker film “Secret Window”) that the ending of the film is the most important thing. It’s too bad the folks making “Next” weren’t aware of this. While “Next” is a mediocre run-of-the-mill sci-fi thriller through most of its 96-minute running time, the ending is a real disappointment.

I will always have a special place in my heart for “The Year of the Dog.” It’s not just that I love dogs, although I do. But rather it’s because “The Year of the Dog” is about my sister.

Oh, it’s not written about my sister specifically, as I doubt that Mike White has ever met her. However, after seeing the movie, he must have known someone very much like my sister because this film tells her story very well.

Welcome to edition #2 of the Weekend Warrior. Every week I am dedicated to delivering the need-to-know info around what is coming out, what you should be going to see and what you should pass on by. This week seems to be one of those “looking forward to next week…” weekends with a few lame duck releases whose studios want to make a quick buck before Spider-Man swoops in for the kill next week. Don’t expect to be wowed this week, rather expect disappointment — unless of course you are going to catch up on some films from last week.

This week Kevin and Neil talk about tons of movies that only Kevin has seen (fortunately) and Neil bashes on The Condemned. Kevin also has a chance to sit down and talk with the Director of The Condemned, Ohio native Scott Wiper. Then all hell breaks loose as the gruesome twosome joke about Jack Valenti, the hotness factor of Helen Mirren and the directorial talents of Michael Bay. Hide the women and children…

Listen to the Fat Guys after the jump…