The plot is simple, Christina Ricci wakes up to find herself on the mortician's (Liam Nieson)  table, being prepared for her funeral. Problem is, she doesn't believe she is dead and Niesen is the only one that can see, hear, or feel her....or is he?

Fresh rumors out of Hollywood say that Marvel comics may have found their Red Skull to counter Captain America.

Marvel is rumored to be in negotiations with Hugo Weaving, who played Agent Smith in The Matrix trilogy, Lord Elrond in the Lord Of The Rings, and also the title character "V" in V For Vendetta, to play the nefarious Nazi super villain. For those of you who want to learn more about the Red Skull, you can view his character profile here at Marvel.com.

Needless to say, throwing in a verbose, yet stoic character actor like Weaving into the role would be a nice shot in the arm for a film that has had some debate over the casting of Captain America himself, with the last rumors pointing at the awkward casting of John Krasinski of The Office as the first Avenger.

Speak up, what do you folks think of Agent Smith taking on the Red Skull?

I'm not going to say much more than "really?!"

For those of you who may not have watched the telecast last night, the web is abuzz with the news that Farrah Fawcett, the recently deceased Charlie's Angels star, and Golden Girls actress Bea Arthur were omitted from the Academy Awards annual "In Memoriam" tribute that honors those stars and filmmakers that lost their lives in the past year. 

Yet, they found a place to honor Michael Jackson and Brittany Murphy?

When reached for comment, the Academy could only add, "Every year, it's an unfortunate reality that we can't include everybody." Well, if you can't honor everybody, should you honor anyone? It seems like a fairly glaring omission from the last chance to pay tribute to the fallen stars of the silver screen, and to pass it off with a shrug that says nothing more than, "shit happens," well, that's just disgraceful.

Today, Warner Brothers acknowledged that they will in fact remake the 60's television series, Gilligan's Island into a live-action film. Adding insult to injury, producers close to the film are said to be eying Michael Cera, of Superbad fame, to play the movie's title character.

So much for originality. Cera would seemingly be a suitable fit for the role of Gilligan, originally played by Bob Denver. Then again, it shouldn't say much for Cera's resume or his acting ability if his ideal role would be playing a marooned and aloof sailor who's real claim to fame is he's best buddies with a guy named skipper.

Once again, Hollywood is leaving the real movie fans stranded on the island, with no return in site.

I'm not normally one for remakes, especially on movies where there really wasn't a need to remake it. The original Nightmare On Elm Street terrified me as a kid, right up until they decided to make that third one, which undid it all for me when they used that shitty Dokken song as the theme song.

Still, I'm always up for a good horror movie. Add to it the use of Jackie Earl Haley, fresh off his role as Roschach in Watchmen, as the infamous Freddy Krueger, and well, it may actually get my attention.

However, for those of you who just want to wax nostalgic and let the classics lie, here's a little reminder of the good old days.

Kick-ass has to be the movie I'm most anticipating this summer, even more so than Iron Man 2. It's quirky, but damn, it's got something that other comic movies just don't seem to have.

Attitude and wit!

Whether those two things translate into box office success, or at the very least captures the hearts of fanboys everywhere, its hard to tell. 

But are you going to let it pass you by?

Strong will line-up opposite Ryan Reynolds, who will play Hal Jordan, the pilot turned interplanetary law enforcement officer also known as Earth's Green Lantern. Strong has recently turned heads after his performance as Lord Blackwood in the Sherlock Holmes movie. He'll also be featured as a villian in the upcoming Kick-Ass adaptation.

So with that in mind, I was slightly amused by the spots that ran during the Super Bowl. I was actually anticipating The Last Airbender trailer because I was curious of how well M. Knight Shamalan would adapt a screenplay rather than concoct his own. Unfortunately, I was left feeling like I was watching the second coming of Mortal Kombat, which in its own right falls under the third given above.

That leaves us with the Prince Of Persia spot. My first thought was again, "hey, I've seen this movie", only this time it was called The Mummy. It has all the makings of being a wait until video.

So that said, here's the clip. You can make your own call.

The final nominations for the 2010 Academy Awards were posted today. I went all the whole effort and highlighted my personal favorites in Red:

Oh, and don't spell out for me the irony of John Cusack starring in a time machine movie that takes him back to a cheesy 80's ski flick.

Still, it looks to be pretty funny, and if nothing else, the trailer is great.

Daybreakers was an okay movie at best. It didn’t break any new ground and it won’t have you screaming that it was the greatest vampire movie ever made. It can be best described that as “it just is”, meaning it is there to see, but there’s nothing special here. It’s likely worth a rental or waiting for cable, but you’re better off avoiding spending much on viewing it.

Now, you know I'm down with Kevin Smith. Sure, this flick isn't written by the most verbose of screenwriters, but with Smith behind the camera. Its bound to be at least halfway decent, right?

Basically, Kick-Ass is just the unbridled fury that years of television and video games have created in kids.

Enjoy!

Now, those who read my site or my other writings around the web will know first-hand; I love lists. They are a great way to convey your thoughts on any number of topics. Sure, a lot of people will say that a list blog is taking a shortcut in writing a genuine post, but if you think about the amount of time that has to go into researching a list in order to do it justice, it really isn’t a shortcut at all.

 That said, at this time of year, there are a number of list blogs posted that coincide with the year end. Add to that the end of the decade, and it can be a little overwhelming at times. So in the spirit of not overwhelming anyone, or getting lost in the crowd, I’m simply going to cast my opinion on a couple of lists I’ve perused over the last week or so. Make sure you check them out and appreciate the effort that these folks put forward.

-         Rotten Tomatoes has compiled a couple of ardent Best Of lists to do with movies. In particular, a couple of items jumped out at me that I thought were fairly brave. First, their pick for best Super Hero Film of the Decade was The Incredibles. Given that the decade was pretty much the coming out party for the comic book crowd, this is a well, incredible selection. The Incredibles was an amazing film with a great story. Personally, I would have liked to see V For Vendetta get one of SpiderMan’s slots, but hey, its not my list.

Second, I loved the fact that Shaun of the Dead (Top R-Rated Comedies) and Kung Fu Hustle (Top Martial Arts) got love in their respective categories. They didn’t take home the top prizes, but they showed that a spoof film could still be well made without resorting to cheap jokes.

Finally, there was the category of Best Disaster Movie, which in my opinion, was a complete disaster. Their choice of Steven Spielberg’s War Of The Worlds was horrible. Personally, I thought The Day After Tomorrow was a better film, but if you expanded the category a bit, you could have topped that list with Children of Men. Trust me, a film about an infertile society is about as much of a disaster as there can be.

-         Of the various sites with Best Movie Trailers of the decade, there is a pretty wide variety of choices put forward. Everyone seems to be in love with Where the Wild Things Are, but in my personal opinion, a trailer should leave the viewer intriqued and wanting more. For me, no film did that more than Cloverfield, which gave a hint at what was to come, but left the audience absolutely wanting to see the movie. Judge for yourselves.

-         Top 10 Reviews has a compiled list of the Top 10 Actors and Actresses of the 2000’s and it is an interesting list to say the least. The most interesting selection of course is the inclusion of Emma Watson, who played Hermoine Granger in the the Harry Potter films, as the number 2, ranking her above George Clooney and Matt Damon. Clooney deserves his mention in the top 3, as he’s compiled a very solid litany of work over the decade. Don’t  even get me started on the criminal charges that should be brought up for not including Denzel Washington in the top 10. And who thought it was brilliant to place Catherine Zeta-Jones in the top 5?

- Finally, we have Moviefone’s compilation of the Best Movies of the Decade. Ranking The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King as number one is auspicious at best, as it isn’t even the best movie of the trilogy. The top film actually resides as far down as 30, in Pan’s Labyrinth. Simultaneously telling a story of fantasy and a war torn countries demise was breathtaking to behold and heartbreaking to witness.

Iron Man 2...do I need to say anything more? Well, if you're going to force my hand, there's also:

- Mickie Rourke as Whiplash

- Scarlett Johannson as Black Widow

- Oh, and did I mention that Roadie dons the War Machine suit?

Like I said...enough said!

Zack Ward, IMDB.com

This film deserves some serious viewing consideration, but not for the reason most are giving it. As know, this is of course the film that Heath Ledger was making when he suffered his untimely demise, so that alone will draw an audience to the movie. But there's more here than meets the eye.

First, consider what had to be done to complete it, including the employ of Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell to take up the reigns of Ledger's character in order to complete the film. An interesting plot twist is sure to unfold to say the least just to pull off that feat.

Then of course, we have the Terry Gilliam factor. His visual presentations alone are a feast for the eyes, and are more than worth the admission price. From Time Bandits, to Brazil, to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, to the Monty Python collections, there is very little outside of The Brothers Grimm that hasn't received Midas's golden touch.

Shaun of the Dead was perhaps the most brilliant horror movie, spoof or not, to be released in the last decade, and single-handedly reinvigorated the zombie craze. All hail Shaun…