A sad day... Robert Downey Jr. OUT from Cowboys & Aliens

I knew it was too good to be true. Robert Downey Jr. has pulled out of Cowboys and Aliens. He's just too damn busy. He can't keep up with the Iron Man franchise, the Sherlock Holmes franchise and The Vampire Chronicles franchise. What's weird is, he worked so hard to get Jon Favreau on board as director, only to drop out? Well, either way, Dreamworks is moving forward with their plans. What I think happened is this: Sherlock Holmes 2 is on the fast track (check out the next post), and that franchise is on solid ground. So Robert Downey Jr. had to decide between a POSSIBLE franchise, or a solid franchise. I would have done the same thing.

Green Lantern villain cast... Peter Sarsgaard?

Peter Sarsgaard in a superhero movie? Umm... yeah, I like it. Peter Sarsgaard is in talks to star opposite side Ryan Reynolds in the DC Comic classic, Green Lantern.

He wouldn't play the famous villain Sinestro, but rather Dr. Hector Hammond. Superhero movies are coming up! They're being taken more seriously; and casting is definitely improving. Sarsgaard has done such films as Jarhead and Kinsey. And was nominated for a Golden Globe for his work in Shattered Glass.

I talked about the improved casting just the other day. We told you about Blake Lively's addition to Green Lantern, and I expressed my dislike in the move. This makes up for that a little bit. I like Sarsgaard and I think he will add a lot to this movie.

You know what's a good movie?

Hello devout readers! FattMatt and I decided to try something new today, play a game of sorts. It's called, "You know what's a good movie?". For the next few days, we're going to talk about movies that are connected in some way. Maybe they share a director, maybe they share a starring actor or actress, or maybe there is a common plot? We're going to start with a very obvious movie, because we honestly don't know what movie we're going to discuss tomorrow, until tomorrow.

So.... You know what's a good movie? Forrest Gump. The movie that won every Oscar there is to win was an amazing piece of film history. Tom Hanks plays Forrest Gump; a man who lives an incredible life filled with some of this country's greatest moments in history. It co-stars Robin Wright Penn and is directed by Robert Zemeckis.

FattMatt and I have discussed over and over. We've tried explaining this to people numerous times; the movie is based on the notion of coincidence or chance. Yes, indeed, the character of Forrest is lovable and charming. The special effects that placed Tom Hanks in the pages of history were breath taking. The love story sub-plot was reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet, the star-crossed lovers that could not be. But the fundamental idea of the film is that anyone, from anywhere can do great things. In Forrest Gump's case, it was all by chance.


By chance he was a college football star. By chance he was a ping pong champion, a Vietnam War hero, a shrimp boat Captain phenom because a hurricane took out every other boat in the area. This made for an amazing adventure through the life of someone who was so pure, so innocent, he couldn't hurt a fly.

Tom Hanks played it perfectly, one of those performances we rarely get to see. Where an actor BECOMES the character, not simply plays the part. Few actors have ever accomplished this. Off the top of my head, the only other two that come to mind... Denzel Washington in Training Day and Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight.

Robin Wright Penn played the troubled love of Forrest Gump, Jenny. And Penn delivered! She expressed pain, confusion and hurt that so few actresses could ever pull off. Jenny was abused as a child and that lead to many, many wrong decisions. The one constant in her life was Forrest. Her and Forrest, again, by chance, stay in each other's lives. Penn was terrific.

Robert Zemeckis won the Oscar for Best Director and deserved it. The movie was well ahead of its times as far as visual story telling and special effects. Forrest Gump had an amazing soundtrack that played to the times in the film. Looking back, there are movies today that still can't convince you of Zemeckis did years ago. That Tom Hanks shook hands with the presidents of past? Amazing. Keeping the theme throughout the film convincing must have been a difficult task.

Forrest Gump will forever be talked about. It's one of those "movies for the ages". It's one of the few that I can think of from the 1990's that has stayed with the times. Truly an amazing film.

Check back tomorrow for the next installment of "You know what's a good movie?".

Quickie: Avatar breaks 1 Billion dollar mark

Was there really any doubt? I'm not posting because the picture did well... I'm posting because James Cameron IS as good as I thought. FattMatt and I had an "AtD" moment a few months ago when discussing Quentin Tarantino.

I accused him of kissing Tarantino butt, he accused me of the same when it comes to Cameron. Well; let's look at it this way. Cameron is the only director in history, to have TWO films top the 1 billion dollar mark. I haven't seen the film, FattMatt has; so I will not review in anyway; I'm just stating facts.

The movie is doing well, the same way Cameron's other billion dollar blockbuster did, Titanic. It's consistent and has taken the number spot for 2009 away from Revenge of the Suck. This movie could reach The Dark Knight and Titanic proportion. We'll have to wait and see.

Quickie: Blake Lively cast in the Green Lantern

Blake Lively has just been cast as the Green Lantern's leading lady, Carol Ferris (who eventually becomes villain Star Sapphire). I know all the men are excited about this news, but I'm not. Maybe I'm the only one in the world that cares about acting ability. There's a notion!

A beautiful face is great and all, but really? Really? Acting ability should come into play. I've seen her work in Accepted starring Justin Long and Jonah Hill, as well as her work on "Gossip Girl". I have to say I'm not thrilled.

Plus, does this make sense alongside Ryan Reynolds? I don't think they match well. But who am I? Just a lowly blogger who loves movies, and comic books. I think Reynolds is too old for it to be believable. I think studios need to look at Jon Favreau's technique and start casting some Oscar caliber actors.

Gwyneth Paltrow is an Oscar-winning actress who did great in Iron Man. You believed she was in love with the Tony Stark character, but knew she couldn't do anything about. I don't know what else to say. The other actresses there were up for the role include some amazing actresses including Eva Gree, Keri Russell and Diane Kruger. Who do you all think should have been cast? I'm going with Kruger!

THE A-TEAM TRAILER!

This-looks-awesome!

REAL Quickie: Funny People is...

I just want to share that I'm watching "Funny People" and it's bloody awful. Seriously, what the hell happened? Judd Apatow was on a freakin' roll, so was Seth Rogen. I can't stand to finish this movie, I'm an hour into it and I'm ready to turn it off.


Let's hear it... Who agreed to disagree? This movie sucks!

UPDATE: Ok I forced myself to finish it and it was worse than I thought it would be. What the flip man?! Judd Apatow was on a roll man, he lost it. This movie was so bad; I think I lauged twice in a long and dragging two hours. Wowzers.