Sci-Fi Movies Friday: Transformers 3, Thor, Iron Man 3, The Hobbit, The Dark Knight Rises, Alien Prequel, X-Men: First Class, Buffy Reboot + more December 10, 2010
by Rosario T. Calabria , Filed under: Sci-Fi , trackback
In this week’s Sci-Fi Movies column has lots of looks at Summer 2011 movies including Pirates of the Caribbean 4 images, and teaser trailers for Tranformers 3 and Thor. We also have plot details for X-Men: First Class, casting info for The Hobbit, updates on the next Batman and Alien movies, and more. Plus more, including the latest casting bites, images and videos.
GENRE MOVIE NEWS
Transformers: Dark of the Moon — First trailer + New Details
Paramount has released the teaser trailer — or as director Michael Bay is referring to it as…the announcement trailer — for "Transformers: Dark of the Moon". Check it out below.
Bay also screened additional footage and sat down with reporters for an informal Q&A session / interview that lasted nearly two hours. Here are some bites and excerpts of the interview courtesy Collider and AICN (You can also check out the two sites’ video impressions of their visit with Bay in the embed posted below):
- Buzz Aldrin is involved in the movie and appears during present day.
- Bay says about 70% of the movie was shot in 3D, with the rest to be converted in post: "…[W]e shot most of my close-ups with faces with anamorphic film, cause that stuff’s easier to convert and it’s just more beautiful than the digital."
- Principal photography lasted six months.
- New addition / Megan Fox replacement Rosie Huntington-Whitely works "as kind of an assistant" at the British embassy in Washington D.C. and will speak with an English accent.
- The Ferrari is Bay’s favorite new car and will have an Italian accent that has to be cleared by Fiat: "And Ferrari will have to approve the voice. They just want it to be not cheesy Italian. They want it to be something that fits the car."
Bay acknowledged there were issues with "Revenge of the Fallen":
“We tried to learn from the second movie. On the second movie we got burned. We had a writers strike, we had to agree on a story in three weeks, and then we knew they were going on strike. It was a fucked scenario all the way around, it wasn’t fair to the writer, it wasn’t fair to me, it wasn’t fair to anybody. It was still an entertaining movie, but I think we failed on certain aspects. What we did with this movie is I think we have a much better script, and we got back to basics. I think there’s some really cool action on this movie, there’s some very cool conspiracy, there’s great robot stuff in this that people were missing in the second one, you’ve got great robot conflict. So I’m excited about this movie. It’s more serious. I got rid of the dorky comedy, I mean we’ve got two little characters, that’s it, but the dorkiness is not there. Dork-free Transformers. It’s much more serious. It’s still entertaining, it’s big looking.”
On this being his last Transformers movie and on the question of whether this movie brings the story to a close:
"I think this has gotta be it. I think someone else will take the torch from here…There’s a couple of things that are left open. I think you’ll see some finality to this, you know we’ve made it very clear that when things die they die now. They’re not magically being brought back."
Be sure to head on over to Collider and AICN for more. "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" is scheduled to hit conventional and 3D theaters on July 1, 2011. The teaser poster is included below.
Marvel releases Thor trailer
Another high-profile trailer release this week comes courtesy Marvel, who has set forth the first official theatrical trailer for Kenneth Branagh’s "Thor", starring "Star Trek’s" papa Kirk Chris Hemsworth. The trailer mostly features footage previously seen at Comic-Con — and in the leaked video — but there are a couple new scenes. Check out the trailer below courtesy Yahoo! Movies (and below that is a new poster release from Marvel).
Check out some set visit reports: CBR | Collider | SuperHeroHype | JoBlo. "Thor" is scheduled to hit conventional and 3D theaters on May 6, 2011.
Jon Favreau says Iron Man 3 will be a sequel to Avengers, Thor and Captain America
Continuing with Marvel…"Iron Man" / "Iron Man 2" director Jon Favreau told MTV that "Iron Man 3" — which already has a release date of May 13, 2013 — will serve as a sequel to not only "Iron Man 2", but also to Joe Johnston’s "Captain America: The First Avenger", Kenneth Branagh’s "Thor" and Joss Whedon’s "The Avengers":
"In theory, Iron Man 3 is going to be a sequel or continuation of Thor, Hulk, Captain America, and Avengers."
Cate Blanchett to reprise her role in The Hobbit; Is Orlando Bloom next? + More casting news and 3D news
Cate Blanchett will reprise her role of Galadriel, the Lady of Lothlorien in Peter Jackson’s two-part "The Hobbit". The studio has also confirmed that Sylvester McCoy has joined the cast (he’ll play the wizard Radagast the Brown). Other cast additions announced by the studio include Ken Stott, Mikael Persbrandt, Ryan Gage, Jed Brophy and William Kircher have joined the cast. Stott will play the Dwarf Lord Balin, Mikael Persbrandt will play the shape-shifter Beorn, Gage will play Drogo Baggins, Brophy will play the dwarf Nori and Kircher will play the dwarf Bifur:
Peter Jackson welcomed the news of Cate Blanchett’s return to Middle-earth “Cate is one of my favorite actors to work with and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have her reprise the role she so beautifully brought to life in the earlier films” On the casting of Scottish actor Ken Stott, Jackson commented “Fran and I have long been fans of Ken’s work and are excited he will be joining us on this journey.” Jackson also welcomed the addition to the cast of Swedish actor, Mikael Persbrandt “The role of Beorn is an iconic one and Mikael was our first choice for the part. Since seeing him read for the role we can’t imagine anyone else playing this character.”
In other casting news, Deadline is reporting that Orlando Bloom is close to reprising his role as Legolas. Although the character doesn’t appear in "The Hobbit" novel, the site notes that his return would be for more than just a cameo. Surprisingly, talks are still ongoing with ‘LOTR’ stars Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Andy Serkis (Gollum) and Hugo Weaving (Elrond) which Deadline notes have "been arduous". Meanwhile, Ron Perlman has confirmed that he will not be appearing in the films. The actor had been rumored for a part when Guillermo del Toro was attached as director. In related news, the MGM/WB/New Line and RED have announced that Peter Jackson will shoot both films in 3D using the EPIC camera:
"I have always liked the look of Red footage.” Peter Jackson said, “I’m not a scientist or mathematician, but the image Red produces has a much more filmic feel than most of the other digital formats. I find the picture quality appealing and attractive, and with the Epic, Jim and his team have gone even further. It is a fantastic tool, the Epic not only has cutting edge technology, incredible resolution and visual quality, but it is also a very practical tool for film makers. Many competing digital systems require the cameras to be tethered to large cumbersome VTR machines. The Epic gives us back the ability to be totally cable free, even when working in stereo.
"The Hobbit" films are being targeted for release in December 2012 and December 2013.
Christopher Nolan confirms The Dark Knight Rises will be his last Batman movie
Director Christopher Nolan has reiterated that "The Dark Knight Rises" will be his last Batman movie, telling Entertainment Weekly it’s "the last chapter of our Batman saga." The Dark Knight himself, Christian Bale, recently expressed similar sentiment:
"The thing is that this will be, I believe, unless Chris says different, this will be the last time I’m playing Batman."
Nolan also said that after the enormous success of his original project "Inception" — which grossed $825M worldwide for Warner Brothers — the timing couldn’t be more right to move into the third film:
“I must say that I’m glad — I’m very, very glad — to be embarking on the last chapter of our Batman saga without any sense of obligation or duty to the studio. They did very well with Inception. So I’m able to go into finishing our story in a very enthusiastic way.”
In other news, Nolan debunked rumors that the late Heath Ledger’s Joker would cameo in ‘TDKR’: "That’s all wrong," Nolan told IndieWire. "The Dark Knight Rises" is scheduled to hit conventional and IMAX theaters on July 20, 2012.
Alien prequel not called Paradise and won’t be two films
Fox communications VP Chris Petrikin was forced to take to Twitter to debunk a recent story by Vulture related to Ridley Scott’s "Alien Prequel". Petrikin said that the film won’t be called "Paradise", as reported in the article, and it won’t be two films as has been previously reported:
"I don’t know where to begin to correct what is being written about a certain Ridley Scott project," he tweeted.
Petrikin promised answers will be forthcoming soon. The film is expected to hit theaters in late 2011 or 2012.
X-Men: First Class official synopsis released + Ray Wise joins cast
20th Century Fox has released the official synopsis for Matthew Vaughn’s "X-Men: First Class":
X-Men: First Class: “Charts the epic beginning of the X-Men saga, and reveals a secret history of famous global events. Before mutants had revealed themselves to the world, and before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Not archenemies, they were instead at first the closest of friends, working together with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop Armageddon. In the process, a grave rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor X’s X-Men.”
In the casting department, Ray Wise has revealed that he will be playing the US Secretary of State in the film. "X-Men: First Class" is scheduled to hit theaters on June 3, 2011.
Set images [Comic Book Movie]
Buffy reboot moves forward; Joss Whedon responds + Casting rumors
Atlas Entertainment recently announced that they are moving forward with a reboot to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" with Warner Brothers set to distribute.
Whit Anderson is writing the script after she approached Roven and others with an idea how to update Buffy. “While this is not your high school Buffy, she’ll be just as witty, tough, and sexy as we all remember her to be,” an insider says.
The project will be written by newcomer Whit Anderson and is being targeted for release in 2012. Joss Whedon is not involved in the project, but reacted to the news via a somewhat humorous e-mail sent to E! Online’s Kristin Dos Santos:
"…This is a sad, sad reflection on our times, when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths—just because they can’t think of an original idea of their own, like I did with my Avengers idea that I made up myself.
Obviously I have strong, mixed emotions about something like this. My first reaction upon hearing who was writing it was, “Whit Stillman AND Wes Anderson? This is gonna be the most sardonically adorable movie EVER.” Apparently I was misinformed. Then I thought, “I’ll make a mint! This is worth more than all my Toy Story residuals combined!” Apparently I am seldom informed of anything. And possibly a little slow. But seriously, are vampires even popular any more?…" [read the rest of the letter here]
Despite the tone of the letter, Whedon actually wasn’t kept in the dark at all. Heat Vision | THR reports that Whedon was approached last year about the project but turned it down:
According to studio insiders, he was approached last year after Buffy rightsholder Fran Rubel Kuzui and husband Kaz Kuzui began developing a remake with Vertigo. After presented with the opportunity, Whedon decided he’d rather work on other projects (he’s making Marvel Studios’ The Avengers). Producers then began searching for a writer and late last year hired actress-turned-scribe Whit Anderson. The unknown Anderson, with only bit film appearances to her credit, came up with a take on the Buffy myth that was strong enough after a couple of drafts to lure Atlas, which partnered with Vertigo to set it up at a studio.
In the rumor department, MovieWeb is reporting that "Glee" star Heather Morris has been rumored as one of potential actress the play the role of Buffy.
PREVIEW Videos & Images
The Adjustment Bureau
Movie posters [IMP Awards]
Apollo 18
Movie poster [IGN]
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Movie posters [Teaser-Trailer]
Cowboys & Aliens
International poster [IMP Awards]
Dredd
Set images [more at Mania and Bleeding Cool]
Final Destination 5
Promotional still [Rope of Silicon]
Ghost Rider 2: The Spirit of Vengeance
Set images [more at Libertatea via Shock Till You Drop]
Green Hornet
Promotional stills [more at HeyUGuys]
Green Lantern
Peter Sarsgaard as Hector Hammond [The Daily Blam via /Film]
Gulliver’s Travels
TV spot [YouTube]
I Am Number Four
Movie posters [MovieWeb and YourEntNow]
Movie trailer [Yahoo! Movies]
Mars Needs Moms
Movie trailer [YouTube]
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Promotional stills [more at Stitch Kingdom]
Real Steel
Promotional stills [more at /Film]
Movie trailer [YouTube]
Rio
Movie poster []
Movie trailer [YouTube]
Sucker Punch
Mini-clip [YouTube]
Watch more mini-clips via Screen Rant
Sherlock Holmes II
First look at Noomi Rapace, Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law []
Space Battleship Yamato
First two minutes [YouTube via Blastr]
Spider-Man (2012)
First look at Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy [more at SuperheroHype and Just Jared]
Super
Promotional stills [IGN]
Super 8
Rumored concept art of the monster [via Movies.SpoilerTV]
Superman Lives
More images/storyboards from the short-lived Tim Burton project [more at Steve Johnson FX | Facebook via Screen Rant]
TRON: Legacy
Music video for Daft Punk’s "Derezzed" [MTV]
Behind the scenes footage [Collider]
Clip: "Sam meets Castor" [YouTube]
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn
First look tease [Bill Condon | Twitter]
Vanishing on 7th Street
Movie trailer [Yahoo! Movies]
X-Men: First Class
Set images [Comic Book Movie]
MOVIE BITES
- Lionsgate has re-titled the Marcus Nispel-directed / Jason Momoa-starring remake "Conan 3D". The film will be called… "Conan the Barbarian". Yes, it’ll share it’s title with the 1982 original. "Conan the Barbarian" will be released on August 19, 2011. [Box Office Mojo]
- Hans Zimmer has debunked recent rumors that he will writing the music for Zack Snyder’s "Superman" movie: "Let’s just be absolutely straight here: I have never in my life met Zack Snyder. I think I need to give him a ring. … You know, I can’t even remember ever talking about Superman. It’s a little bit, you know, it’s a little bit like ‘guilty by association’ isn’t it? … How can I say it: My heart belongs to Batman. I wouldn’t even know how to go and give voice to it. I haven’t thought about it." [Heat Vision | THR]
- Sony Screen Gems has given a tentative title for the next installment in the "Underworld" franchise: "Underworld 4: New Dawn". [Bloody Disgusting]
- Check out script review for Shawn Levy’s "Real Steel" at io9.
- Disney has reportedly begun the early process of planning for a fifth and sixth film in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, with the studio planning to shoot the two films back-to-back (just like they did with ‘Dead Man’s Chest’ and "At World’s End’). [HitFix]
- Alex Proyas will produce, and potentially direct, an adaptation of Daniel H. Wilson’s near-future science fiction novel "AMP". The novel is set in "a world where the technology designed to make the disabled whole, turns them into supermen." [Deadline]
- Liam Neeson has confirmed the title of the "Clash of the Titans" sequel: "Wrath of the Titans". Directed by Jonathan Liebesman, "Wrath of the Titans" returns Neeson as the Greek god Zeus along with Sam Worthington (Perseus), Gemma Arterton (Io) and Ralph Fiennes (Hades). James Franco and Javier Bardem are reportedly in talks to play Poseidon’s son Agenor and Ares, god of war, respectively. [Belfast Telegraph]
- "Piranha 3DD" will hit theaters on September 16, 2011, while Andrew Niccol’s "Now" (formerly titled "I’m.mortal") will hit theaters on September 30, 2011. Also, Summit Entertainment has moved up the release of Duncan Jones’ "Source Code" two weeks to April 1, 2011. [ComingSoon.net]
- [Vulture]
- "TRON: Legacy" director Joseph Kosinski admits that the special effects in the film, particuarly with regards to the young Clu, aren’t perfect: "I feel like … um, honestly I feel like Clu, I don’t think he’s at 100 percent in 100 percent of the shots. But I feel like there’s a couple glimpses in there, especially during Clu’s speech in the Rectifier, [that] I’m really happy with. For a moment, you buy this thing as a real character, which to me is exciting. I just don’t think that’s been done before."… [Vulture]
- …In related news, IMAX corporation has revealed that 43 minutes from the film will utilize the large-screen format. [THR]
- "Inception" director Christopher Nolan may have begun work on a video game set in the world of the film, but he doesn’t rule out the possibility of a film sequel: "As for [movie] sequels," he said, "It’s not something I want to say no to, but it’s not something I’ve given a lot of thought about." [Inside Movies | EW]
- IFC has set an April 1, 2011 release date for James Gunn’s black comedy/superhero movie "Super". [Beyond Hollywood]
- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the 15 films that have been selected as semifinalists for Achievement in Visual Effects for the "83rd Academy Awards"…
- …They are: "Alice in Wonderland"; "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader"; "Clash of the Titans"; "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1"; "Hereafter"; "Inception"; "Iron Man 2"; "The Last Airbender"; "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief"; "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time"; "Scott Pilgrim vs the World"; "Shutter Island"; "The Sorcerer’s Apprentice"; "Tron: Legacy" and "Unstoppable". [AMPAS]
- "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" writer Stuart Beattie has revealed that when he wrote the story for the film, he initially wrote the character with Hugh Jackman in mind, hence the name Captain Jack Sparrow. [Fox News]
- Edgar Wright is still attached to the "Ant-Man" movie and Marvel Studios President, Kevin Feige revealed that he’s "already working on the next draft."[Hero Complex | LA Times]
CASTING BITES
- Halle Berry has revealed that she has been cast in the Wachowski’s sci-fi project "Cloud Atlas". The actress also noted that Natalie Portman and Tom Hanks may be involved in the project, which she says they’re shooting in the summer. [NataliePortman.com via Cinema Blend]
- Djimon Hounsou continues to hold out hope at playing T’Challa in a live-action "Black Panther" movie. [io9]
- French actor Gilles Lellouche has been cast in Guy Ritchie’s "Sherlock Holmes II": "I’m thrilled, and I’ll play a nice bad guy," Lellouche said. [THR]
- Ray Wise has revealed that he will be playing the US Secretary of State in Matthew Vaughn’s "X-Men: First Class". [IGN]
- Sony is reportedly looking for "young male and female actors aged 18-30" for roles in "Ghostbusters 3". [FFA via What's Playing]
- Mark Wahlberg says that he will not be starring in "The Crow" remake: "We never committed to making the movie…They talked to me about it and there was a director attached who I was a fan of, and he’s no longer doing it. We just thought about it – ‘is there something cool to be done there?’ But we’re not committed to making the movie." [Cinematical]
- Teresa Palmer, who was at one time attached to play Talia al Ghul in director George Miller’s proposed "Justice League of America" movie, says she still wants to play the character and would love to do so in Christopher Nolan’s "The Dark Knight Rises": "It is the longest shot in history for sure but I’ve put my name out there with my agents and things. So we’ll see who ends up doing that role…" [MovieWeb]
- Chris Zylka will play Spider-Man admirer / high school nemesis to Peter Parker, Flash Thompson in Marc Webb’s 3D "Spider-Man" reboot. [The Wrap]
You can follow Russ on his website at Your Entertainment Now and on Twitter at Twitter.com/YourEntNow.
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Comments»
Bay acknowledged there were issues with “Revenge of the Fallen”
YEAH, IT WAS RUBBISH LIKE THE FIRST. THE THIRD WILL BE A PILE OF ****
NO RISE OF THE APES THIS WEEK? GUTTED !!!
FIRST ???
I get that it’s a trailer but…why is the Apollo Service Module missing a panel a la post-accident Apollo 13?
The service module was plated all the way around during standard flights. One side panel was blown out during Apollo 13 but that was an accident.
If I just trim all the Tron Legacy clips that are on the net, I can see the movie for free!
@CAPAirSAR; Like you said, it’s just a trailer–2 minutes of film. Nothing to really pick apart in order to find the meaning of life…I’m sure they’ll correct that in the final film.
If you start nitpicking and pulling out the checklist, you’re no longer watching the film.
Of course, no one is holding a gun to anyone’s head to see TF3. But I still find it hilarious that those who hated the first film and swore up and down that the second film would suck (add whatever body part you choose)…still went and saw the second film. And now, they’re screaming about how the third film will suck, and that Michael Bay is–well, the descriptions are colorful, I guess. I wouldn’t be surprised if they went and saw the third film anyway. Oh well–I guess people have to moan and groan about something rather than trying to do better themselves.
Rant off.
On Stranger Tides looks good.
Thor looks pretty good.
That poster for The Adjustment Bureau is fugly.
@4:
Right on. I actually kind of liked the first Transformers…but haven’t seen the second because of all the negativity.
I should maybe correct that. What could it hurt, really?
I liked Transformers 1. 2 was okay, but a little too long. I’ll see 3 because I like the characters.
2… No, the later Apollo flights (the J-series beginning with Apollo 15) had an instrument bay in one quadrant of the Service Module. “Apollo 18″ would have as well. Google “Apollo 15 CSM” and the first image clearly shows the bay that held the mapping camera and Particles and Fields Subsatellite.
The J-series Apollos had higher performance, letting the CSM carry extra equipment and giving the Lunar Modules more payload, which was mostly used for the Lunar Rovers.
Warner Bros. producing and distributing the Buffy movie reboot instead of 20th Century Fox, eh? I thought 20th owns Buffy, but it was Joss Whedon who actually owns Buffy. Oh, well.
Apollo 18 sort of smacks of Capricorn One in reverse…..
The entire premise is fairly lame, however. It assumes that absolutely everyone can keep the secret, kind of like the nimrods who believe the US Government was behind 9/11…..
Real Steel looks interesting. I suppose it was just a matter of time before Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots was made into a movie. ;)
“Thor” looks interesting. Got to wonder if Marvel is oversaturating the market though.
I’m not surprised that Chris Nolan will not direct a fourth “Batman”. He wants to end on a high note. And by the way, he’s no longer producing the new “Superman” film.
As for “Inception”, not sure we need a sequel. Like “The Matrix”, it’s a movie that works best as a standalone story that doesn’t have to have everything revealed. The two “Matrix” sequels became convoluted and self-absorbed and I don’t want to see the same fate befall “Inception”.
Though Christopher Nolan has proven he can do a great sequel that is better than the first (”The Dark Knight”).
I saw the first “Transformers” and thought it sucked. I didn’t bother with the second and will see about the third.
As for “Pirates Of The Carribean”, it looks like Disney is planning on milking the cow dry. I enjoyed the first two, but the third sucked.
The trailer for Thor looks pretty bad. Chris Hemsworth seems totally wrong for the part. No charisma at all. Couldn’t they find someone who DOESN’T look like a Venice Beach reject with only two acting classes under his belt?
Sooooo let me get this straight. Legolas is going to be in the Hobbit even though the character was never in the book? Oh Geez, please do not let this turn into an excuse to be a “Lord of the Rings” reunion. The Hobbit doesn’t need Legolas. He wasn’t in the book, should not be in the story.
Inception is one of the most overrated movies I’ve ever seen. Please, no sequels. One is enough.
16.
Couldn’t agree more….just watched it tonight. No big deal.
@ 2 and 9,
This has to be the only site where I read most of the comments. I love this site! Two guys nitpicking/clarifying/learning new stuff just gave me a flood of warmth and love for my fellow Trek fans.
Long live TrekMovie.com!
@ 15,
I know, right ?!! What is this inflating into? I sincerely hope for a light tone on this, the last thing we need is for one of the greatest kids novels of all time to get spun into a dark, all-star war romp. We’ve seen that already, and while it was good, I would like to see the other side of Tolkein. No one should even mention the words ‘One Ring’. I don’t want to see LOR: the prequel, I want to see The Hobbit, singing, talking spiders and all.
@15
Well Legolas was the son of Thranduiel who was the king of Mirkwood forest. Bilbo and co pass through Mirkwood of course, so it seems logical for Legolas to make an appearance. Admittedly I thought it would have been just that an appearance.
I like the Trailer for Transformers and I love the idea that apollo 11 found something on the moon and the fact that Buzz himself is in the movie is great. I did like the first 2 and the second was not as good as the first. I think the 3rd Transformers movie will be the best and better then anyone on Trek Movie will expect. Can’t wait to see Tron Tonight. So many good movies coming up. Still think they should get Tom Welling for Superman.
#14—WTF??? He did pretty well as George Kirk…
and as for the Buffy reboot… I have a BADDDDDDDDDDDD feeling about this:S
Looks like the creators of Yamato took a scene from Trek 09!
#23 –
I was thinking the exact same thing! What a ripoff of the first scene from Trek 09!
#10
The original Buffy film was distributed by Fox but the Kazuis actually own the rights, unfortunately, which is why we’re getting a reboot movie with no Joss. I find it ethically questionable to say the least, since they had *no* hand in creating the character (and clearly had no grasp of what she was about, as can be plainly seen through their direction in the first Buffy movie).
Thankfully, Joss owns the rights to other original characters like Willow, Angel, Giles, etc., so they can’t screw them up.
@#7 Third: Give it a look. I did not like it as much as the first one, but it certainly isn’t the worst POS film ever made. Obviously, a lot of people liked it, hence the high gross numbers the film earned.
@16 and 17: Well, I wouldn’t call it overrated, but it certainly received waaayyy too much of a c-suck from overzealous fans. I liked the film; it was good, but it was not the “greatest thing ever made.” Frankly, Satoshi Kon’s PAPRIKA covered the same territory much better than INCEPTION did.
Harry, if anything, watch PAPRIKA and compare/contrast the film with INCEPTION. Granted, PAPRIKA is animated, but it’s a fantastic film nonetheless.
@21: Couldn’t agree more. I’ll certainly check it out.
@11: That’s why these two films are _science fiction_. And yeah, I cannot stand the 9/11 conspiracy crowd anymore.
#13-Sorry to disagree with you, but I felt the 3rd movie was outstanding. It was the 2nd film that disappointed me. I’m really looking forward to this one and I’m so glad to be rid of the whiny characters of Will and Elizabeth. Time for Captain Jack Sparrow & company to spread their wings without the confines of Will and Elizabeth trying to save each other constantly.
I didn’t care for the first Transofrmers movie…but took it for what it was…a movie based on a toy and both geared towards the kiddies. I literally kept falling asleep during Transformers II despite all the explosions and clangs of metal. However, I think the trailer for the third installment is more enticing that any scene I saw in the first two movies.
As far as a new Buffy movie is concerned…why doesn’t Hollywood just kick Joss Wheadon right in the man jewels? Geez, this guy is one of the most talented and original thinking writers, producers, and directors to come down the pike in ages and it just seems Hollywood doesn’t give him the respect or opportunities he truly deserves. His series have been consistently good and consistently short-lived. And now to take his original blockbuster and “re-do” it? I don’t get it. Well, actually, I do. Hollywood isn’t about original thinking and true creativity…it’s just a 3-D bean counter.
And, speaking of 3-D…not EVERY freakin’ movie that is released needs to be in 3-D. A gimmick does not a good movie make. :-)
@23 + 24
nevermind ST09, isnt that Yavin behind them?
Thor looks a lot better than I expected. Either way, watching Anthony Hopkins chew scenery is always welcome.
Buzz Aldrin’s in Transformers 3? I guess it has to be good, else everyone involved will be on the receiving end of an epic old man smackdown.
(Seriously though, that trailer is oddly enticing. More like this, please.)
I have a modest proposal for the makers of Gulliver’s Travels, if you know what I mean….
Ok is it just me, or does the Vanishing on 7th Street look like a knockoff of the Doctor Who episode “Silence in the Library”? Seems like the same plot to me.
22.
Oh, puh-lease, when someone has a small role in a film, you give them enough takes and even Tom Cruise can look good!
32
I have to totally disagree on all of your posts! Especially about “Inception”. That one is a classic. Very smart. Something we don’t see enough in many of today’s “sci-fi” movies. And Chris Hemsworth was great as George Kirk in his few minutes in “Star Trek”!
Tom Cruise is a terrible actor. NO ONE has the ability to make him look good in terms of acting. He always sticks out like a sore thumb!
@31 Yeah. But, the trailer has the one thing I found remarkable what happens early in the background when the lead heads out into the street: Everyone talks about planes crashing, but few… erm, oh wait. FLASHFORWARD already did this.
gulliver’s travels will bite..im gettin burnt out on jack black…not lookin forward to the ‘kungfu panda’ sequel…doesnt need one…
i dont care for the animation tech for “mars/moms” as i didnt for “polar express” coming from the same people…to close to realism. same type of crap from ‘avatar’ which i could only sit thru the first 20 mins before i became nauseous…
but ‘rio’ will definitely go with my other animation blu-rays when it is release in that format
I really liked all three of the PotC movies, and I’m cautiously optimistic about the fourth, but I think Disney might want to wait and see how it goes before firming up plans for two more.
When The Hobbit movie project was first being discussed, the plan was to have two movies: one for the novel itself, and a second to “bridge the gap” between it and LotR. Those plans have changed to spreading the story across both movies, but that’s still a lot of screen time for a book probably only 1/6 the length of its sequel. I still expect we’ll be seeing a lot of stuff that happens off-page in the novel, like the White Council (incl. Galadriel) dealing with Sauron at Dol Guldur, etc.
@11 and 26
RIGHT!
cos everyone knows that conspiracies do not exist. Especially conspiracies involving the whiter than white American government.
I admit there are some bat shit crazy conspiracies out there but the evidence against american involvement in 9/11 is meagre compared to the vast evidence for involvement in both 9/11 and Londons 7/7.
Buildings do not come straight down at near freefall speeds without some sort of controlled demolition.Theres some pretty basic “laws of physics” to back this up. The list goes on…
If you say to your self enough times “it just aint so”, close your eyes and cover your ears you can probably convince yourself of just about anything
Nothing can detract from how tragic these attacks where but when people bury their heads in the sand and go along with the bullshit cover-up makes it more so.
oh yeah, Inception (meh), Tim Burtons Superman (thank f**k) and X-Men First Class is going to ROCK, oh yes ROCK it shall.
FREE PRESS! FREE ASSANGE!
Yamato is such a cool story. Although this production already looks a little on the cheeserific side. If Japan messes up this Harmony Gold, I hope Hollywood swoops in and does a great live action version of Captain Harlock.
LOTR was The Hobbit turned dark. Please don’t “foreshadow” the evil aspects of the ring. It just makes Bilbo invisible so he can be a better thief. That’s all it has to do here. Was the lady Galadriel in The Hobbit? Wiki says no, and I don’t remember her there. I love Cate Blanchett, but c’mon! Tolkein’s work is nearly letter perfect. Why go messin’ with what works so well?
Zero interest in the next Pirates. Ditto Transformers, although that one clip is cool. Stupid, but cool.
#37. You are Incorrect on 9-11 and that’s all Im going to say.
@ 9
You’re right! I’ve read an awful lot about Apollo but I guess not enough
There were a lot of overrated movies last summer. Looking forward to some good ones next year.
not trying to sexist in any way, but why are they replacing megan fox at all? her character is worthless and brings nothing to the table… and i expect more of the same with her replacement.
i have no problem with women, i’m just sick of “hot but otherwise pointless” female characters in every film. bring on the smart 6s and 7s, and ditch the bimbo 9s. (at best)
who’s the modern day ripley? lara croft? give me a break.
back on topic, bay should have stuck with the spike and spark plug combo from the cartoon.
oops,
*to BE sexist*
Am I the only one who wonders what anyone sees in Jack Black? The only thing I have seen him in that wasn’t bad was Jackson’s “King Kong”.
No, 44, you’re not the only one. I mean, in my book, Jack Black is but one step away from “Mr. Rosanne Barr,” that guy, I forget his name, that was once wildly popular for some reason, goodness knows why, and possibly because he was married to the TV comedienne/superstar. Oh yeah — his name was Tom Arnold.
Sometimes I wonder why Hollywood is known for promoting less than stellar talent, and then I realize that in many cases, it’s because the “stars” in question are simply uniquely good at promoting themselves, and for no good reason. I can think of a certain trio of people whose father was famous for having counseled a certain notorious former football player who is now in prison in Nevada, whose talents themselves, apart from from the pulchritudinous, are not really apparent, and yet who continually make the pages of TMZ and other such luminous pages of similarly gigantic import. I have no idea why anyone would want to “keep up” with such people, but, apparently, much of America does.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is America, and we can stew in our own stupor if we want. and for as long as we want. Or, at least, until we lose our place at the very top rank of academic accomplishments. (… Or have we already? Hmm…..)
I was thinking about the horrific puns that could be spun regarding Thor’s box office once released:
Sample:
If boffo box office: “THOR SORS!”
If box office poison: “THOR STICKS OUT LIKE A “THOR” THUMB”
Etc.
;-)
Am I only one who will def NOT be going to see Transformers 3?
First one was tolerable to a point and second one is God awful
I actually think Thor looks pretty cool. I think this will be good. Had doubts but looking forward to seeing it. ” I say unto thee.” (still wishing they were talking like that though)
#46. Funny.
44+45
I agree about Jack Black. When he’s trying to emulate Chris Farley, he’s annoying. But when his performances are nuanced like in “Kung Fu Panda”, “School Of Rock” and Peter Jackson’s “King Kong”, he’s actually pretty good. He needs the right material.
46
If the movie sucks, it’s guaranteed to be a “Thor”-n in the sides of audiences!
They should release the film on a Thursday just so they can call it “Thor”sday, since Thursday was named after Thor!
My two cents? :)
I thought Transformers 1 was pretty good. Much better than I expected. I enjoyed it quite a bit.
The second one was just terrible. The story made no sense. There were so many plot holes it was hard to tolerate. And the forced, 3 Stooges type humor was just so over bearing that by the end of the movie I didn’t care who lived or died.
The parents were turned into such cartoon characters, that when they try to be serious at the end of the movie, it just seems so fake and insincere. I really couldn’t wait for the final battle scene to end so we could leave.
Everything I’ve read about Transformers 3, and this trailer make me think this one will be alot better than the 2nd one. I think this one will be much better.
I don’t care what anyone says. I love Transformers. I think the first two were absolutely awesome despite the obvious flaws, but the third one sounds and looks like it’s going to blow them out of the water. I’m totally pumped.
look forward to Thor… Chris Hemsworth brought extreme depth to the role of George Kirk in Star Trek 2009 in just minutes worth of film, so I believe he can act! It looks fantastic from the little I’ve seen.
@ 46
“‘Thor’ Hammers it Home”
Apollo 18 was the Russian/American Apollo Soyuz test project.
There was no mystery Apollo 18. I wish the writers of these things would do a little homework. And the reason we didn’t go back to the moon was because of an apathetic public (just like nowadays; some things, sadly, never change…). Once the US ‘beat’ the Soviets to the moon, science for science sake just wasn’t a good enough sell to the taxpayers (again; too bad)…
And I’m a little (no, a LOT) surprised that real-life moonwalker Dr Buzz Aldrin (whom I’ve met twice) would lend himself (image and all) to a Transformers movie. “Dancing with the Stars” wasn’t degrading enough??
I hope the money was awful good….
#55
Apollo 18 and Transformers 3 are just summer popcorn flicks. Hopefully, the people who see them (mostly kids and teens) will know this and not take them as fact. And if watching them does get young people interested in Project Apollo (more importantly interested in a return to that amount of investment in the space program), then I think it would be well worth a little “degradation.”
well I am definitely not going to see Transformers 3.
Transformers 2 is one of the worst films ever made, can’t believe it’s in the top 50 highest grossing films of all time.
Then again the only reason more recent films are in t he highest grossing films is because of inflation in ticket prices. Not a good way to say which are great films.
#56
Good point. It takes fertilizer to grow flowers, I guess. ; )
I’d sit through Transformers 3 before I’d pay money to see Harry Potter ant the Never Ending franchise.
#59
I didn’t much care for Harry Potter in the beginning, but once they reached Goblet of Fire the series made vast improvements with every film. They’re quite good now, really.
23 “Looks like the creators of Yamato took a scene from Trek 09!”
24 “I was thinking the exact same thing! What a ripoff of the first scene from Trek 09!”
If you guys refer to the “red shirt” being sucked into space, that happened a lot in the anime back in the 1970´s/1980´s… ;)
Aside from the Terran fighters, these scenes recreate perfectly the beginning of the Yamato´s first series.
It looks like they’re building a replica of a crashed SR-71 Blackbird in those set images from X-Men: First Class. Any other aviation geeks out there?
Many I’ve never seen such a rash of horrible remakes/sequels and associated crap in my life. TF3 taking the cake of course, Michael Bay is scum.
63. “Michael Bay is scum”
Hey, what’s Michael Bay doing in my bathtub???
No, ALL of the Harry Potter films are bad. They don’t have any beginnings or endings, and they’ve been stretching it out for 10 years. And yet, they always get free passes from the critics.
64
“Hey, what’s Michael Bay doing in my bathtub???”
Sitting in it naked, awash with a huge pile of $100 bills!
66.
So much for being called filthy rich!
Michael Bay: Thanks for owning up to TF2.
With TF3, please let ILM, etc. integrate the robots with the backgrounds properly instead of insisting that they be over-sharpened. It truly looked like all their hard work was diminished because of it. (In other words, it looked like shit.)
And my God, make sure of the script this time!!
Please let every movie next summer be better than Kick Ass.
@#62: Yep, looks like like the wreckage of an SR-71…if FIRST CLASS takes place during the early to mid-1960s, it makes sense….
@#56: Agreed. And let’s be brutally honest–a lot of people today know jack s*@t about the Apollo program, much less the Apollo/Soyuz mission from 1975.
I’d like to see a comic adaptian of the Tim Burton Superman concept.
#65: You are aware that those movies are adapting a series of seven books and that the next movie, several months hence, will be the last? It’s not as if the suits at Warner Bros. just got together after each film and said “Hey, let’s try milking it for another one!” I heard cited a critic who declared that the series was crap because each installment has basically the same plot structure. I have to wonder if the guy complained similarly about classic Star Wars: “Hey, all of these movies are just about the Rebels trying to defeat the Empire! What a rip!”
Harry Potter is a terrible series of movies, and a boring book series. The movies always open big and then free fall at the box office. Terrible.
TRANFORMEEE!
Harry Potter, and the gosh, these movies are stale!
I’m terribly sorry folks but if STXI is anything to go by Chris Helmsworth will be awful if he is given more than 4 minutes of airtime.
In the scene he was in in STXI he was appalling. The great tension, etc of the scene more than made up for his inadequacies though…
e.g “…Tiberius…that’s the worst….”
…more like “…my acting…that’s the worst…”
Thor will probably be Poor.
but I suppose we should give the boy a chance. There is no point knocking it before it’s even been released.
Lets hope it’s a good ‘un.
Good luck Brannagh, you old thesbian you!
Can anyone tell me what the Transformer movies are like? I’ve never has the compulsion to view them. Are they worth it?
#18 lol–I agree, love the spontaneous discussion of “obscure” Apollo detail. I, too, like to learn from these folks.
What?! Andy Serkis as Gollum is NOT a lock? I’ll be bummed without him or McKellan. I’d have been bummed about the lack of New Zealand scenery as well.
Legolas makes sense, in a retrospect canon way. Of COURSE he was alive and around when those dwarves trooped through Mirkwood.
But Cate Blanchett? A distraction and a stretch to put Galadriel in The Hobbit…
The reason Cate Blanchett is in The Hobbit is because it she and the other cast members from LOTR are there to bridge the second movie witch will be another prequel to LOTR.
Glad to see some Apollo nitpicking here! I’d like to pile on. In the footage of “Armstrong” stepping onto the moon:
1. The MESA panel on the lunar module is closed. That’s what held the camera that beamed the images of Armstrong back to Earth during his famous footstep. No open panel, no camera, no footage.
2. Armstrong didn’t leap off the ladder as in the preview; he climbed down to the footpad, then stepped off, carefully.
Also, it looks like both the astronauts are missing the antennae on their suits that allowed them to communicate with Earth. The antennae should be sticking off their backpacks.
Some of these film series are just becoming big-screen TV series with two-hour episodes every two years or so, or — in the case of “Twilight” — every two weeks.
Thanks for the update nonetheless, Rosario!
Or in the case of Harry Potter, every other month!
Yeah, I don’t get all the praise for Inception. I thought they really fell short with what can be done in dreams. It was all plot and shallow characters, slickly done and packaged neatly, but it was a mostly empty package.
They did a second Transformers movie?
I love these very detailed sci-fi updates. They are better than aintitcool, blastr, etc. Thanks!
81 – Yes, exactly. By now, they can make the next one by editing cut and stock footage from the first eighteen of those.
And they’ll still look like big-budget “ABC After School Specials.”
WTF where is Galadriel or Legolas in The Hobbit!??!? I have read that book 4 times and I STILL can’t find them!! For goodness sake this is NOT LotR!!!! lord I hate it when they regurgitate old charaters and try to stuff them into movies that they DO NOT belong in!!!
If they simply must have Galadriel or Legolas back, PLEASE keep them in this “second prequel” thing and not The Hobbit itself. Already had to deal with one of my favorite fantasy movies being screwed up this week. Please, please, don’t screw up The Hobbit I beg you…
and they better not make the ring “all evil” in The Hobbit because the book gives absolutely no indication that it is. All it does is make Bilbo invisible. Keep Tolkien’s work as Tolkien’s work.
19. I completely agree with you! I read somewhere that Tolkein originally started The Hobbit as a story for his kids…its different than LotR, still good, still the same world, but definitely giving off a completely different feeling.
If they want to get super-dark again why not just make The Silmarillion instead of this “second prequel”…? bad idea? well it makes more sense than making some second prequel that Tolkien didn’t even write….but whatever… but, holy crap The Silmarillion was dark :)
I am soooooooooooooo glad they didn’t proceed with Tim Burton’s Superman re-boot. That looks absoultely horrible! Ugh! Superman Returns was actually a pretty good movie. I thoroughtly enjoyed it. But I guess that’s because I’m a hughe Superman fan and I loved the original Christopher Reeve movie. I would rather see a sequel to Superman Returns so we can find out how he handles his new son, and Lois. That would be interesting.
86 — “Keep Tolkien’s work as Tolkien’s work.”
Hear! Hear!
Was the screwed-up film “Voyage of the Dawn Treader”? I haven’t seen it yet, and I hope they haven’t taken too many liberties with Lewis’s book.
Re: #87
“If they want to get super-dark again why not just make The Silmarillion instead of this “second prequel”…? bad idea? well it makes more sense than making some second prequel that Tolkien didn’t even write….but whatever… but, holy crap The Silmarillion was dark :)”
I’ve always thought that the rise & fall of Numenor followed by the rise of Gondor would make a really spectacular movie (or a trilogy of movies, more realistically). It would also help place the LOTR movies into their proper wider “historical” context for the benefit of people who haven’t read The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales.
After all, within the overall story arc there is actually far more going on than what appears to be the case in the LOTR films in isolation, especially Aragorn’s connection to Atlantis along with who & what Sauron actually is.
And yes, all that is very, very dark stuff ;)
Did I miss the part of the article where anyone said they were planning to “get super-dark” with the Hobbit movies?
Some facts:
1. The idea of doing the novel storyline in one movie and making the second a “bridge” movie between The Hobbit and LOTR was ditched quite a while ago. Both movies will cover The Hobbit along with stuff Tolkien kept “offstage,” particularly the White Council dealing with Sauron in Mirkwood.
2. Galadriel is on the White Council, so if they’re in the movie, then she needs to be. Saruman is part of the Council as well, but Christopher Lee has said he doesn’t want to travel to NZ long-term at his age. It remains to be seen what will happen with Saruman.
3. Tolkien did conceive The Hobbit pretty much as a story for his children, but in the course of writing it, he tossed in references to his existing mythos (Gondolin, etc.) to give it a bit of depth. In LOTR, he combined the two fully–he thought of LOTR as being a sequel to the (then unpublished) Silmarillion as much as it was a sequel to The Hobbit.
4. In The Hobbit, the Ring was just a convenient plot device enabling Bilbo to get out of and into various situations, but Tolkien himself retconned it otherwise later on. After the Ring became Sauron’s artifact of doom, Tolkien knew that the original conception of Gollum’s freely offering the Ring as the prize in the riddle game didn’t make sense, so he had Bilbo in LOTR state that he lied about that part in his memoir to make the Ring seem legitimately his. Tolkien also changed the scene in the revised edition of The Hobbit to reflect this different conception.
Tim Burton’s Superman? The guy peaked with Batman. All his other movies have been crap.
The problem with ALL of the Chronicles of Narnia books is that they’re not long enough to make feature films out of. The problem with this one in particular is its episodic nature. I can’t imagine bouncing from one island to the next would play any better with 10 year olds than the unusual (for a children’s book) narrative structure of Prince Caspian would.
The Narnia books are classics, but those movies are boring. Just another example of “trying too hard”.
You made my men look like some minimum wage mall cops? Come on, no one thought about an obvious reference to TSA …cops, agents, hall monitors, or whatever they are?
oh God, Superman Lives is gonna be shit.
I wonder why it’s so hard to make a good Superman movie. Get some comics and read them and do some studying. Then make it. He’s a comic book character. It shouldn’t be this hard.
Prince Caspian the book was the most boring of them, and I honestly can’t remember the film though I saw it. I DID like Voyage of the Dawn Treader on film–opportunities for CGI, best CGI dragon I’ve ever seen. Their use of camera angles and light/dark are very fresh, and it moves at a good clip.
In fact, I found myself missing a “contemplative” scene a la the Beaver home in Wardrobe. And yes, they DID find a coherent narrative for the film, with the seven swords and Caspian’s recognition of his true duties as a King/daddy issues.
97.
I’ve been saying the very same thing for YEARS!
@39…
…and who, may I ask (since you obviously know so much but still refuse to enter into a discussion about it) who IS correct? The 9/11 commission?
‘tard!
Ok so, Yamato looks… Well, exactly like star trek! Complete with woman being sucked out
Transformers 3 looks amazing, which was absolutely unexpected. Apollo 18 seems an interesting concept
But Tron is the film I am most looking forward to. Really hope it lives to my expectations. Looking forward to TDKR and Superman… In Nolan I trust
@89. Yes! The Voyage of the Dawn Treader! I really, really don’t want to dispoint you or anything, or make it so that you don’t go see the movie, but yes, a lot of things were screwed!
Shall I explain?….(don’t read this if you haven’t seen it yet)
1. They have this stupid green mist to represent evil, like we cant recognize evil when we see it for goodness sake
2. Edmund is a gold-obssed insane jerk all of a sudden (if you have read the book you will see that it was Caspian getting excited about the magic-gold-turning pool, NOT Edmund, in the book Edmund tells caspian that he can’t do whatever he wants. I swear there’s some crazy pro-caspian ass on set because they did this in the last movie too: in the book caspian wanted to raid the castle, Peter made them stay because he is High King and it was a stupid idea (reverse situation in the movie).
3. They named Ramandu’s daughter “Lilliandil” which sounds SO LotR, and sounds like Lilith (ancestor of the white witch), and she’s not wearing blue, and she’s not and exotic beauty, she’s midly cute.
4. Did I mention they completely changed the plot?
5. Douglas Gresham had to FIGHT with Michael Apted to keep certain lines from the book in the movie
6. lord, Repicheep is so cheesy. The scene where he chanlenges Eustace to duel, he looks and sounds like he’s taunting him, contrary to the book where he is dead serious about it.
7. Lucy is suddenly a skeptic who say with a smirk “do you even think Aslan’s country exists?” (wtf so not her character)
8. Blue glowing swords. (ring a bell anyone? LotR maybe?) This really makes me angry because Mr. Apted accused the last two movies of being “LotR cash-ins”. He is busy slamming Andrew Adamson while completely ignorant of the log in his own eye.
9. And the White Witch is back again. what was I saying about regurgitated characters?
I better stop :(
*sigh* I may sound like a Narnia-purist, and have to agree I am, and I deest all-things-Michael-Apted now. He does NOT understand what Narnia is, what each character stands for, why certain indiviuals say certain things and others do not, why Mr. Lewis had things the way he did, etc.
But the movie was made well, good CGI, good filming, good action, blah blah blah (still not going to stop me from making a list of worst Narnia-villians and adding Mr. Apted as #1) But my point is if you are one of the people who don’t care too much, its a great weekend movie, you’ll love it.
But it just doesn’t do justice to poor Mr. CS Lewis, who is probably turning over in his grave right now.
@102 crap. damn typos.
I am not sold on the hobbit til Ian M signs to play Gandalf.
No Ian no Gandalf.
They recast the role and i walk as a fan.
I was already pretty close to boycotting the film when i heard they were not shooting on film and using bad HD video 3D garbage.
Wow, Yamato really looks interesting. Granted, the trailer shown on YouTube was essentially a re-hash of the Trek VFX (gotta love the energy weapon blasts from the bad guy ships, though). But there was another five minute segment that showed a clip from the movie – a section where Yamato rises from the earth and then they use the big gun (I forget what it’s called), and even though there’s a Trek feel to it, there’s also some BSG thrown in, and the effects look pretty rockin’. I’d like to see the English-subtitled version when (if?) it comes out.
Since Yawn Treader bombed, let’s hope there won’t be another Narnia movie.
@106. no. Let’s hope their WILL be another Narnia movie, because The Silver Chair is what they’d do next, and it has a lot more of a story line, making it way easier to film. But with a different director. Definitely a different director.
Yamato lifting a scene from ST09 is fine with me since ST3 lifted a whole subplot from Yamato 2. This is the scene where Kodai is forced to Steal the Yamato because it is considered obsolete, while the new prototype ship that was designed to replace the Yamato is ordered to chase it. Does that sound familiar? I think turn about is fair play.