Filed under: Drama, Casting

She’s getting into some duplicitous cinematic action with Clive Owen, but that’s not enough for Julia Roberts — she is already getting her next project lined up. The Hollywood Reporter has posted that she will be producing and starring in an adaptation of an upcoming novel by Margot Berwin called Hothouse Flowers, for Columbia Pictures. Roberts will be “a recently divorced woman who is dissatisfied with her job at a Manhattan ad agency and goes off on an adventure that takes her to places she never expected to go.” Right now, there’s only a plan in place, since the strike has the project sitting without a writer or a script.

Berwin is a writer from Nerve.com, which should give you an idea of how saucy her words can get. Back in 2005, she wrote a story about a man and woman who work in an office and, um, find some extracurricular activities to keep themselves busy. (You can read it here, and it’s Nerve, so don’t expect anything G-rated, or PG for that matter.) Whether this new work will have similar sauciness, we’ll have to wait and see.

Roberts has been making some interesting choices with her career lately, from Closer to Fireflies in the Garden, so I’m hoping this will have a good, meaty twist to the “dissatisfied person discovers the world” theme. Unfortunately, we’ll have a while to wait and see.

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Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Casting

With Sundance wrapped, it’s time for Robert Redford to get going on his next movie. According to Yahoo/Associated Press, his next project will be an adaptation of Bill Bryson’s bestseller — A Walk in the Woods. He will produce and star while Barry Levinson is planning on directing. Nothing like Into the Woods or Into the Wild, this book focused on Bryson’s return to the U.S. after 20 years in England, and how he decided to reconnect with his homeland by hiking the 2100-mile-long Appalachian Trail with a college friend. The account details their struggles with self-reliance, and the people they meet along the way.

Redford says: “It’ll be fun. I don’t know when I’ve read a book that I laughed so loud. Also, it’s a chance to take a look at the country… The backdrop is pretty terrific, if you stop to think of all the visuals that are possible as they go along that trail.” It’s about flipping time, I say. The family favorite Charlotte’s Web aside (he was Ike the Horse), Redford hasn’t acted in a comedy since 1996’s Up Close & Personal. The last time he was in a good comedy, well…

Of course, the drama master can’t go without some heavier fare as well. After hiking the Appalachians, Redford says he will take on the story of how Branch Rickey helped Jackie Robinson get into major league baseball in 1947. “What Rickey had to do, what Robinson had to go through, and the partnership they had to form, that’s a story nobody knows. It’s just a fascinating story.”

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Filed under: Action, Comedy, Casting, RumorMonger, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek

The ensemble cast for the highly-anticipated live-action G.I. Joe flick is starting to come together, and IESB reports that Arnold Vosloo has just landed the role of Zartan in the film, who’s described as a “mercenary who works with Destro and Cobra. He is one of the main villains in the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero comic and animated series.” The name might not automatically ring a bell, however you should remember Vosloo from his role as High Priest Imhotep (aka The Mummy) in The Mummy and The Mummy Returns. He’s also starred in a number of films; most recently as Colonel Coetzee in Blood Diamond. Vosloo joins Sienna Miller (The Baroness), Ray Park (Snake Eyes), Marlon Wayans (Ripcord), Channing Tatum (Duke), Byung-hun Lee (Storm Shadow), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Heavy Duty), Rachel Nichols (Scarlett), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Rex) and Said Taghmaoui (Breaker) in the film, which will be directed by Stephen Sommers (The Mummy) and is due out August 7, 2009.

I’m not very familiar with Zartan, but IESB says the character is “a bit of a chameleon and can imitate anyone to an exact physical and vocal likeness. In the cartoon and comics his chameleon-like abilities were done through a mix of holograms, illusions and hypnosis. Zartan is also fluent in twenty languages and dialects, a ventriloquist, an expert martial artist, master archer and the leader of the biker gang known as the Dreadnoks who also suffers from Paranoid Schizophrenia and Multiple Personality Disorder.” I imagine this casting choice came from Sommers himself, who’s worked with Vosloo on both Mummy films. The guy was creepy as all hell in those films, so I imagine he’ll fit in well here. What do you think?

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Filed under: Drama, Casting, Noir, Universal, Johnny Depp

If you’ve seen Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose, you’ve seen one heck of a great performance. But will we see another from the actress, or was playing Edith Piaf the role of a lifetime? While I can’t imagine her ever making such a huge transformation or giving such a notable, career-defining performance again, I’m excited to see where her Oscar nomination takes her and I hope that she can at least follow it up with some interesting parts. We’ve already heard that her next major role will be in Rob Marshall’s Nine, an adaptation of the musical inspired by Fellini’s 8½. After that, she could be heading to Chicago (not Marshall’s Chicago, the real city) for Michael Mann’s Public Enemies. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Cotillard is in negotiations to play Billie Frechette, the torch singer girlfriend of John Dillinger, who will be played by Johnny Depp. Channing Tatum, Giovanni Ribisi, Stephen Dorff and Jason Clarke have also joined the cast.

As Monika relayed last week, Billie will be a major character in the plot of Public Enemies, which also stars Christian Bale. The movie will reportedly balance between Dillinger’s crime story and his love life while also focusing on FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Bale), who famously pursued and caught Dillinger in the mid-1930s. It is interesting to note that Public Enemies will be another singing role for Cotillard, who did not actually perform any of the Piaf songs in La Vie en Rose. But while the actress is not a born singer nor a long-trained one, she did sing in in the 2001 French film Les Jolies Choses (Pretty Things) and will be singing in Nine. Also, if you think Cotillard is suddenly getting work just because of her La Vie en Rose acclaim, you’re mistaken. You may have seen her in either of her two English-language movies (Ridley Scott’s A Good Year and Tim Burton’s Big Fish), in any of the three Taxi movies, as the female lead in the sweet Amelie wannabe Love Me If You Dare, in Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Amelie follow-up, A Very Long Engagement or in any of the many other French films in which she has appeared.

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Filed under: Reviews, e-Distribution Games

The tower defense genre is one that’s very familiar to PC gamers. However, console gamers have rarely experienced the simple, and addictive nature of this offshot of the strategy genre. PixelJunk Monsters, the second downloadable title from Q Games, brings its unique style and meshes it with a time-tested gameplay formula. The combination is an overwhelming success, and adds even more depth to the ever-growing PSN library.

Although the presentation is decidedly simple, the execution is anything but. Hidden underneath the cute exterior is a game that’s incredible difficult, and emasuclating at times. As easy as the controls and the concept are, this is easily one of the most hardcore games available on the PSN. PixelJunk Monsters will strain the minds of even the most cunning. Ultimately, its difficulty is a double-edge sword: it makes each level addictive and satisfying to complete, but also inspires a painful level of crushing frustration.

The basic premise of the game is quite simple. You play a dancing village chieftan that must protect his people from the ever growing threat of monsters. At your disposal are a variety of towers, each with their own specialties. Towers can specialize in attacking ground or air enemies — some are versatile enough to handle both kinds. Of course, there’s a cost to these towers. In addition to money, they will require time or gems to level up. An arrow tower, for example, will extend its range when powered up. The player can dance in front of a tower, and watch it very slowly power up. Or, the player can sacrifice their valuable gems to bypass the process altogether.

Of course, resources are slim. When improperly used, money can disappear quite quickly. Even more crucial than money are the green gems that occasionally fall from defeated foes. These gems will not only upgrade towers, but can be spent on unlocking new towers. A giant mortar, or a flamethrower, or a hive tower — they can all be at your disposal, but at a cost.

At every moment, you are required to think about what kind of tower to build, and where to build it. Enemies will continue pouring into a level, regardless of your actions. Slow thinkers will be punished by an unstoppable flood of enemies rushing to the innocent people you’re entrusted to protect. In spite of an indicator at the bottom left of the screen, players will find themselves often unprepared for the new challenges the game throws their way. This is where the frustration can kick in.

Sometimes, enemies will go down an unexpected path. Or, more often the case, a brand new enemy type will be introduced — one in which the player is unfamiliar with. A flaw inherent to the genre is its reliance on memorization. Each session is very much an experience in trial-and-error. Players will fail, learn from their mistakes, and try again. Because each playthrough plays identically, there’s very few surprises for players once they’ve learned each level. Some players will love the challenge, while others will find this quite frustrating.

Even on “easy,” the game offers quite a significant challenge. The harder difficulties become almost unbearably unforgiving. Unfortunately, the game not only asks for, but demands, perfection from the player. Clearing a level without a single villager lost results in a rainbow. These aren’t used for unlocking bonuses, however. These are necessary to progress further in the game. While clearing a stage is a challenge in and of itself, it becomes a whole new obstacle when a single loss is unacceptable.

Although we’re fixated on the difficulty issues, we do want to reiterate that this game is incredibly addictive, most likely due to the highly rewarding sense of satisfaction one gets when successfully clearing a stage … with no casualties. There’s a lot to admire about the game. Not only is it affordable, it has a truly brilliant style that looks good on both an HDTV and on PSP (via Remote Play). Seeing your character dance is a small joy. There’s also a lot of content to enjoy. The single player campaign is quite long, with 20 stages at your disposal. Players will undoubtedly play each stage more than once, so those in it for the long-haul will easily get over 20 hours of gameplay. Add a fantastic two-player co-op mode, and you have a lengthy game that costs as much as a sandwich.

Strategy fans are going to adore PixelJunk Monsters. The title once again reaffirms Sony’s incredible commitment to providing unique experiences on the PSN. Yes, the game is an incredible value. Hours of single and multiplayer gameplay at a price that’s really nice. But more importantly, it’s a lot of fun. Yes, it features flaws that are so inherent to the genre. But, the challenge of getting that perfect run always seems so narrowly within grasp — getting there can be quite a joy.

PS3 Fanboy score: 8.0

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Filed under: Polls and Surveys, Community

The Poll Police need your help in deciphering the reason behind Sony’s action to get rid of the 80GB model of the PS3. The 20GB is long gone; the 60GB has vanished; now the 80GB is fading away? This only gives people the 40GB left to pick up and it’s, quite frankly, lacking in features the other models proudly displayed. Rumors abound as to why the model is leaving — what’s your opinion?

We have no idea, but Sony is going to address the situation soon. Don’t worry, Sony fans, we know there’s nothing to worry about. This is one of those things getting out of hand when the truth is actually a benefit for consumers. That’s what we think, anyway, but we’ll find out in time. Last week’s poll? Take the jump.We think it’s pretty clear you guys find that comparison videos don’t actually serve any purpose but to incite more arguments and flaming on the internet. But we guess if you add up all the other votes, comparison videos are almost useful. It’s all a matter of opinion, but like we said, the best way to compare games is to have them both on your own television. Oh well. As always, thanks for voting!

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Filed under: Videos and Screenshots

We’re not going to lie — when the first screenshots for Grand Theft Auto IV leaked out onto the interwebs, we thought the game was rather fugly. Nothing against the folk at Rockstar or anything, we just didn’t really think they looked that special. We’ve got some new screenshots for you to look at now and the game seems to be improving in visual quality. But really, who plays the GTA games for the graphics? It’s all about the stuff you can get your character into and that seems just as top-notch as ever. We’re looking forward to seeing and hearing more!

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