Total Recall: Director's Cut Headed to BD, DVD

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will bring Len Wiseman's remake of Total Recall to Blu-ray and DVD December 18, 2012. The expensive and generally unwanted remake (review here), starring Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Bryan Cranston and Jessica Biel, proved a costly failure this summer, grossing a mere $58 million in the U.S. The film did, at least, make some bank overseas, where it grossed nearly $120 million.

The film was infamously hacked up shortly before release, with roughly 17 minutes of footage left on the cutting room floor. It would seem the Blu-ray will restore Wiseman's original "vision" for the film. Will it be enough to redeem the picture? Well, that remains to be seen.

Total Recall will hit Blu-ray with a 1080p transfer, mixed in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. There will be two releases -- a single-disc version and a two-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack. The DVD will include an anamorphic widescreen presentation, with 5.1 Dolby Digital audio. All three releases will include an UltraViolet copy of the film. Extras for the Blu-ray will include the following:

• Theatrical and Extended Cut of the film
• Audio commentary with Director Len Wiseman
• Total Recall With Insight Featurette
• Science Fiction vs. Science Fact Featurette
• Designing The Fall Featurette
• Colin Farrell Featurette
• The Tripping Den Featurette
• Quaid's Bedroom Featurette
• Kate Beckinsale Featurette
• Lobby Escape Featurette
• Jessica Biel Featurette
• Quaid vs. Cohaagen Featurette
• 5 Pre-Visualization Sequences
• DVD/UltraViolet Copy

Suggested retail for the Blu-ray is set at $40.99 for the two-disc combo pack, $35.99 for the single-disc Blu-ray, and $30.99 for the DVD. Amazon has all three releases up for pre-order. Current prices are $24.99 for the Blu-ray, $36.89 for the Blu-ray combo pack, and $21.99 for the DVD.

Be on the lookout for more news regarding this title. And be sure to check back for our review of the film and Blu-ray in the coming months. In the meantime, give our Blu-ray review of the original Total Recall a read.

Source : ign[dot]com

Black Mesa Half-Life Remake Available Now

As announced earlier this month, the first part of fan-made Half Life remake Black Mesa is available for free starting today. The game can be downloaded through Black Mesa’s official site and allows players to play through the game up to Lambda Core. Black Mesa a total conversion of Half-Life 2, rebuilding Half-Life from the ground up in Source.

The game can be played by anyone who downloads Valve’s free Source SDK, and a full list of system requirements is available on Black Mesa’s site. Black Mesa will also be distributed via Steam in the future as part of Valve’s Stream Greenlight program.

Look out for impressions of Black Mesa later today on IGN.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Akira Remake Opening Scene Storyboards Revealed

Warner Bros.' live-action remake of Akira may be dead in the water for now, but that hasn't curbed any of the buzz surrounding the film.

Recently, Movies.com came across artist Jeffrey Errico's opening storyboards for the movie, which would have depicted a slightly different take on the original film's opening. Keep in mind, however, it's uncertain for which version of the film these storyboards were created (Jaume Collet-Serra took over from Albert Hughes). In either case, here are some of the storyboard images followed by the opening of the classic film for comparison's sake:

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love on Twitter and IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Red Dawn to Premiere at Fantastic Fest

The upcoming remake of Red Dawn will have its world premiere as the closing night film of this month's Fantastic Fest, which runs from September 20-27 in Austin, Texas at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar.

Two of the movie's Wolverines -- Josh Peck and Adrianne Palicki -- will be in attendance at the Thursday, September 27 premiere. The movie's distributor, FilmDistrict, announced that a Korean-invasion-themed party will follow the premiere screening.

Fantastic Fest will also transform the Austin American Legion into a maximum-security prison for the ultimate Red Dawn after-party. As the studio press release puts it, "Prisoners will experience mandatory enjoyment from delousing stations as well as free prison tattoos and head-shaves.  Executive chef John Bullington will be doling out wild-game bulgogi, kimchi and piping-hot shots of deer blood while the uniformed detainees enjoy the musical stylings of festival favorite Future Folk."

Source : ign[dot]com

Guy Pearce Just a Cameo in Iron Man 3?

Ha! Remember when Guy Pearce starred in that remake of The Time Machine? Well, that almost-forgotten film was mentioned in a new interview with the actor, where he also let drop that his role in Iron Man 3 is essentially a cameo.

"The main difference was that, when I did The Time Machine, I was pretty much in all of it, so it was a really grueling experience," he told Vulture. "Prometheus and Iron Man are really kind of cameo stuff, so the experience of shooting them ... I mean, on some level, it's tricky because you feel like a bit of an outsider. You don’t really live the experience that you do when you're there all day every day with everybody. But at the same time, it can be more fun sometimes because you're just working in concentrated spurts."

Pearce also talked about how he almost played Daredevil back in the day.

"The thing about Daredevil was that it was the role of Daredevil [that I didn't want to do]," he recalls. "Certainly in those days ... it was 10 years ago. I've probably loosened up, and I feel a little more experimental in what I'll take on these days, but I still don't know that I would want to play the superhero myself, since I'm playing a different kind of character in this film. And I think that, based on the first two movies, there's a great chemistry between Robert [Downey Jr.] and Gwyneth [Paltrow], and I just think the films have a fun, joyful sort of quality about them. I've just enjoyed them. So I just felt like I wanted to be a part of this."

Read the full interview at Vulture, where the actor also talks a bit about Prometheus.

Talk to Movies Editor Scott Collura on Twitter at @ScottIGN, on IGN and on Facebook.

Source : ign[dot]com

MTV's The Inbetweeners "Sunshine Mountain" Review

Early reports that MTV’s remake of The Inbetweeners is actually quite good may have been grossly exaggerated, as following the success of episode one, the second effort is inferior in every way, shape and form.

Once again taking its plot from an episode of the U.K. version of the show, the story revolves around Simon seemingly receiving the keys to the kingdom in the shape of his first car, or as the foul-mouthed four call it, a 'muff-magnet'.

But the sports car Simon is expecting actually turns out to be a yellow Ford Festiva, or Ford Celibacy, in the words of Jay. Yet while the car does little to improve his chances with sweetheart Carly, it does afford Simon and the rest of the guys the opportunity to follow her and her boyfriend to Sunshine Mountain to charm/stalk her.

And so, following the revelation that Neil works as a Poncho the Parrot at the theme park, the bulk of the action revolves around the boys suffering a series of mishaps at the Mountain, from Simon losing the door of his car to Neil losing his clothes, closely followed by his dignity.

The best joke is a rollercoaster gag that’s a direct lift from the British show, but falls flat as a pancake in this instance, the timing slightly off, and Will failing to nail his big moment.

Indeed at this early stage, Joey Pollari seems to be the weak link as Will, the actor lacking charisma and trying too hard to be funny when it just came naturally to his British counterpart Simon Bird.

As with the first episode, the show features a good paedophile gag, but all-in-all proceedings lack balls; the swearing bleeped out, the insults of the tame variety.

Bubba Lewis is still likably wet as Simon, and the show seems to be at its best when he’s embarrassing himself in front of Carly, which in this episode involves a water-pistol.

But aside from a gut-buster involving a mother and daughter in a Jeep, episode two is woefully short of laughs, so here’s hoping MTV up the gag quotient for their third effort.

Source : ign[dot]com

Hugh Laurie Not in Robocop After All

MGM's Robocop remake needs a new villain.

House star Hugh Laurie had been circling the bad guy role, but according to tweets from Variety's Jeff Sneider the actor is now "definitely" out. No reason was given for Laurie's withdrawal.

Robocop begins filming in September under the direction of Jose Padilha. Joel Kinnaman plays the title role and the cast also includes Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Jackie Earle Haley, Jay Baruchel, Michael Kenneth Williams, Jennifer Ehle, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste.

Source : ign[dot]com

Samuel L. Jackson Joins Oldboy

Director Spike Lee's planned remake of the Korean revenge thriller Oldboy has added two big names to its roster of talent.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Avengers star Samuel L. Jackson -- who appeared in Lee's School Daze, Do the Right Thing, Mo' Better Blues,  and Jungle Fever -- is reuniting with the helmer for Oldboy.

"Jackson has come on board for a small but critical part in the new film, according to a person close to the production who was not authorized to talk about it publicly. The actor will play the man who is being tortured by the hero (Brolin) in a key revenge scene," said the paper, which added that the remake won't use the tooth extraction method of torture employed in the original film.

Meanwhile, musician Bruce Hornsby -- who has scored Lee's documentary Kobe Doin' Work and the upcoming drama Red Hook Summer -- will score Oldboy, with the composer saying Lee has advised him to come up with some darker tones for the music in this film.

Source : ign[dot]com

Robocop Now a Terrorist-Killing Transformer

I bet you were beginning to get psyched for that Robocop remake, huh? What with all the cool actors being lined up for it -- Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Laurie, Jackie Earle Haley, Jay Baruchel, Michael Kenneth Williams and Abbie Cornish -- and it being from the director of Elite Squad. Well, according to one respected film journalist who has read the script it's time to lower your expectations.

Latino-Review points out a blistering series of tweets from HitFix's Drew McWeeny who read the script for the reboot, which starts filming this fall for a 2013 release. Here are a few particularly caustic revelations about the script so be advised of SPOILERS:

"In the film, when Murphy is turned into Robocop 1.0, it’s described 'a high-tech version of the ’80s suit.' Then they show a focus group scene where criminals laugh at the design. 'He looks like a toy from the ’80s!' So they redesign him to look 'meaner' as Robocop 2.0, who passes focus group approval. So they not only make sure to include the original design, they also point out it’s dated and stupid. *facepalm*"

"Oh, god… oh dear god… Robocop is a Transformer. He goes from 'social mode' to 'combat mode' and back. Full transformation."

Robocop is dropped into an Al-Qaeda training camp at one point to see what he can do, while the ED-209s are deployed to Iran to stop suicide bombers.

There are a few pretty lousy-sounding winks to lines from the original Paul Verhoeven film (and even to its poster). There are also said to be several different versions of the RoboCop suit used through the film.

Source : ign[dot]com

The Wire Star in Robocop Negotiations

The Wire and Boardwalk Empire actor Michael Kenneth Williams is apparently in negotiations to star in Sony and MGM's remake of Robocop.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actor - currently playing racketeer Chalky White on Boardwalk Empire - is in talks to appear as Joel Kinnamen's cop partner.

The movie is due to begin filming in Toronto this September, with Kinnamen as the titular cop, Hugh Laurie as the villain, and Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Abbie Cornish, Jay Baruchel and Jackie Earle Haley also starring.

Brazilian Jose Padilha - who previously helmed the brilliant Elite Squad - is directing the film, which will hit screens in 2013.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Dark Knight Rises Tops Box Office for Third Week

The remake of Total Recall wasn't powerful enough to wipe the memory of The Dark Knight Rises from audiences' minds. Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy capper topped the domestic weekend box office for the third straight weekend.

The Dark Knight Rises' current domestic total is $354.6 million. It's made almost $25 million more overseas so far to bring its current worldwide cume to $733 million.

Here are the weekend estimates via Rentrak:

1. The Dark Knight Rises $36.4 million

2. Total Recall $26 million

3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days $14.7 million

4. Ice Age: Continental Drift $8.4 million

5. The Watch $6.4 million

6. Ted $5.5 million

7. Step Up Revolution $5.3 million

8. The Amazing Spider-Man $4.3 million

9. Brave $2.9 million

10. Magic Mike $1.4 million

Check out last week's Keepin' It Reel podcast to see how we fared with our box office predictions!

Source : ign[dot]com

First Look at the Red Dawn Remake

Wolverines! USA Today has published the first official images from the long-delayed remake of Red Dawn, starring Chris Hemsworth, Josh Hutherson, Adrianne Palicki, Isabel Lucas and Josh Peck. The film finally hits theaters November 21.

Source : ign[dot]com

Jay Baruchel Joins Robocop

The cast of the forthcoming Robocop remake is shaping up nicely, with Tropic Thunder star Jay Baruchel joining the likes of Hugh Laurie, Gary Oldman, Jackie Earle Haley, and Samuel L. Jackson.

Joel Kinnamen – best known for his work in TV’s The Killing – will play the title role, a police officer called Alex Muphy who is turned into a cyborg cop.

The Hollywood Reporter says that Baruchel will play the Head of Marketing at Omnicorp, the company that builds the ‘bot.

Jose Padilha is directing, with principal photography commencing in Toronto in September.

Chris Tilly is the Entertainment Editor for IGN and is happy to protect the innocent but unlikely to uphold the law. His idle chat can be found on both Twitter and MyIGN.

Source : ign[dot]com