The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey…A new trailer for the first part of the trilogy…

These statements are always tenuous at best, but for all the Marvel fans and regular Bods who helped The Avengers become the 3^rd highest grosser of all time; for all the eager anticipation for Nolan’s final Batman, The Hobbit is the most eagerly awaited film of the year. There I said it, and I stand by it.

Synopsis…

“The adventure follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain, first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever...Gollum. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of ingenuity and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum's "precious" ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities... A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.”

Anyone who doesn’t know about the enormous success of Peter Jackson's Lord of The Rings Trilogy was likely born when they came out, or soon after. The films made unearthly amounts of money in cinemas alone (see chart below) and won a sackfull of Oscars, Baftas and other awards. (Let’s face it, there would have been more Oscars I mot for dodgy campaigns from A Beautiful Mind & Chicago nudging the “Let’s save the big Oscars for the third film, rather than  rewarding  each film on its own merits” nonsense.

The Lord of The Rings...

Film		Year	North American Gross	International Gross	Worldwide	Budget*
1	The Fellowship of The Ring	2001	$315,544,750	$555,985,574	$871,530,324	$93m
2	The Two Towers	2002	$342,551,365	$583,495,746	$926,047,111	$94m
3	The Return of The King	2003	$377,845,905	$742,083,616	$1,119,929,521	$94m

The Hobbit…

Manimal is coming to the big screen! (What no Automan?!) Live action / CGI hybrid film on the way…

I’ll bet $1m right now that he will turn into a black panther! (If you don’t get that joke you’re probably wondering what the Smeg a Manimal is anyway!) One of the bet bad TV shows from the 1980s, Manimal lasted a mighty 8 episodes before getting cancelled. Even so I’m sure Manimal, as played by Simon McCorkindale, must have curled his fingers and very, very, verrry slowly turned himself into a Black Panther at least 80 times! Apparently he was able to turn himself into numerous, possibly all, animals as he adventured and fought crime on a weekly basis.

Sony hope t turn this into a live action and CGI  movie, like the Smurfs but, er, not. I imagine this will allow for them to have him be more than a big Cat a hawk and a Dolphin this time. My hope is that they go all Marvel Studios and have Manimal and Automan form a classic 1980s crime fighting team alongside StreetHawk! It is very early days yet as Sony have merely secured the rights and are yet to find writers for the film.

Robocop: Poster promises something most believe won’t happen…

“We’ve got the future sorted.” Well if the negative response to the new Robocop costume is anything to go by then they have anything but sorted the future of Robocop. Let’s be fair though, there’s almost NEVER been a uniform preview (dodgy long range internet pic) of a costume / uniform for a sci-fi film that hasn’t met derision online. X-Men, Spider-Man (both sets) , Star Trek (2009), Thor, Captain America, Batman, The Dark Knight and more. The films listed did just fine and had outfits that, when you actually watch the film, worked. There’s definitely a readiness to jump on top of any film before it’s even finished, let alone shown, so this deserves the benefit of the doubt, just as other films do.

That said I’ll admit that I’ not fan of what the appear to be aiming for with that new suit.. Sure the black actually makes him look more like a policeman than some kind of corporate security model; but again isn’t that missing the point. This Robocop will have to tell its own story, maybe it will be about something else other than greed, over the top capitalism and the like. Maybe the bio-suit look will better reflect the 21^st century take on Robocop? I don’t like it, but in all fairness, I haven’t really seen it yet, have I?

What cannot be denied is that a top cast has been hired in support of (let’s face it a global unknown) Joel Kinnaman (Safe House,  The Killing) who is playing Murphy / Robocop: Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Keaton chief amongst them. The film opens on the 13^th of August 2013 and is directed by José Padilha (Elite Squad, Elite Squad 2)

Lincoln: First trailer for Spielberg’s, Vampireless, Biopic…

Will people go to see a film about the president without vampires? Will they take it seriously? OK I am joking of course; this is a highly anticipated film. From a man who remains one of the greatest all round directors of all time, starring Daniel Day Lewis as the ‘Slave freeing’ President himself and due for release at the height of Oscar season, it is at the least a critic’s dream in waiting, but given that he is one of the American Presidents that non- Americans actually, know about, care about and, generally, like, it could be one of those biopics with a genuine shot at decent box office too.

Synopsis…

“Steven Spielberg directs two-time Academy Award® winner Daniel Day-Lewis in "Lincoln," a revealing drama that focuses on the 16th President's tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come.”

Lincoln hits American screens from the 9^th of November and rollsout across the rest of the planet from then.

Lincoln…