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Hancock

There are heroes, there are superheroes, and then there’s Hancock (Will Smith). With great power comes great responsibility - everyone knows that - everyone, that is, but Hancock. Edgy, conflicted, sarcastic, and misunderstood, Hancock’s well-intentioned heroics might get the job done and save countless lives, but always seem to leave jaw-dropping damage in their wake. The public has finally had enough - as grateful as they are to have their local hero, the good citizens of Los Angeles are wondering what they ever did to deserve this guy. Hancock isn’t the kind of man who cares what other people think - until the day that he saves the life of PR executive Ray Embrey and the sardonic superhero begins to realize that he may have a vulnerable side after all.

Facing that will be Hancock’s greatest challenge yet - and a task that may prove impossible as Ray’s wife, Mary insists that he’s a lost cause.

In Theatres
July 2nd, 2008

Gere:
Comedy, adventures

Starring:
Will Smith
Charlize Theron
Jason Bateman
Eddie Marsan

Directed by:
Peter Berg

The Incredible Hulk

The Incredible Hulk assumes that audiences already know the character and his back-story: following an accident involving gamma rays, scientist Bruce Banner becomes the raging super-powered, green-skinned monster The Hulk whenever he gets angry. Of course the U.S. military in the guise of the corrupt General Ross (William Hurt) - who also happens to be the father of Banner’s girlfriend, Betty - is interested in getting their hands on the Hulk and using his blood to manufacture a new breed of super-powered soldiers. Banner becomes a fugitive, hoping to find a cure for his condition before Ross and the U.S. military industrial complex can get their hands on him. In that sense it is more of a sequel than a remake than some of the “let’s give it another shot” talk may have let on.

The story kicks off in Brazil where Banner works as a manual labourer at a bottling plant, trying to find a cure and learn Portuguese in his spare time. (One of the film’s funnier lines involves his broken Portuguese.) Soon however crack U.S. commandos led by Tim Roth with a permanent five o’clock shadow (do they allow this sort of thing in the U.S. military?) are on Banner’s case. He escapes – narrowly – in an exciting foot chase on top of rooftops in a densely populated Brazilian slum, an interesting and exotic choice that makes a change from your standard Hollywood action movie locales.

Things must come to a head however. Banner must find a cure and he soon finds himself back in the States where the Hulk faces off against the U.S. military in a thrilling show-off on a university campus that may lack the scope of a similar fight in the first movie, but which is emotionally more involving.

This time Roth’s character has however been injected by super-soldier juice and is well on his way to becoming The Abomination, an over-sized monster against which the Hulk faces off in a no-holds barred epic battle at the movie’s climax. This final battle in New York streets replete with flying cars, lots of stuff exploding and fleeing bystanders actually outclasses the final show-off in the recent Iron Man by the way.

Except for one or two quiet moments shared by Banner and his girlfriend while on the lam, Incredible Hulk doesn’t waste a single frame on dull talky exposition. It is all plot-driven and action-filled. In fact, unlike the much-hyped Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Incredible Hulk never runs out of steam. Put simply: this is the movie which audiences wanted to see back in 2003. No dull existential angst and weird split screen film techniques. No mutant poodles either. Instead we get some nice comic asides, including another cameo by Stan Lee and a riff on those mega-stretchy purple pants Banner always seems to wear.

Distributor:
Universal Pictures

Release Date:
2008-06-13

Starring:
Edward Norton (Bruce Banner), Liv Tyler (Betty Ross), Tim Roth (Emil Blonsky), William Hurt (Gen. “Thunderbolt” Ross), Tim Blake Nelson, Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark)

Directed
Louis Leterrier

Written by Zak Penn

With The Incredible Hulk Marvel has done it again. Like the recent Iron Man, Incredible Hulk is a definite Saturday matinee crowd-pleaser. Kids – and their parents – will love it. Unfortunately the only thing standing in the way of Incredible Hulk becoming the summer hit it deserves to be will be audiences’ negative memories of the 2003 original. Well, forget about all that: The Incredible Hulk may ultimately be as brainless as its main character, but it really is “incredible” this time around. And Hulk smashes stuff too . . .

Wall E

After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, Wall-E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) discovers a new purpose in life (besides collecting knick-knacks) when he meets a sleek search robot named Eve. Eve comes to realize that Wall-E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet’s future, and races back to space to report her findings to the humans (who have been eagerly awaiting word that it is safe to return home). Meanwhile, Wall-E chases Eve across the galaxy.

Also Known As:
Wall E
Walle

Production Status:
Released

Logline:
A young robot looks for a home in outer space.

Release Date:
June 27th, 2008 (wide)

MPAA Rating:
G

Distributors:
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Raiders of the Lost Ark

This is my favourite movie when I was a child

Archeologist and university professor Indiana Jones must retrieve the mythic Lost Ark of the Covenant before it gets into the hands of Adolf Hitler who plans on using its power to guarantee his global conquest.

Production Status:
Released

Logline:
An archeologist is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis.

Genres:
Action/Adventure, Romance and Thriller

Release Date:
June 1st, 1981 (wide)

MPAA Rating:
PG

Distributors:
Paramount Pictures

Iron Man

Tony Stark is a billionaire industrialist and genius inventor who is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating weapon. Instead, using his intelligence and ingenuity, Tony builds a high-tech suit of armor and escapes captivity. When he uncovers a nefarious plot with global implications, he dons his powerful armor and vows to protect the world as Iron Man.

Also Known As:
Iron Man (Marvel)
Ironman

Production Status:
Released

Logline:
Billionaire industrialist Tony Stark leads a double life as an iron-plated crime fighter.

Genres:
Action/Adventure, Science Fiction/Fantasy and Adaptation

Release Date:
May 2nd, 2008 (wide)

MPAA Rating:
PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and brief suggestive content.

Distributors:
Paramount Pictures