The Mask of Zorro

The Mask of Zorro is a 1998 American swashbuckler film based on the Zorro character created by Johnston McCulley. It was directed by Martin Campbell and stars Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Stuart Wilson. In the story, the original Zorro (Hopkins) escapes from prison to find his long-lost daughter (Zeta-Jones) and avenge the death of his wife against the corrupt governor (Wilson). He is aided by his successor (Banderas), who also pursues his own vendetta.

Producer Steven Spielberg had developed the film for TriStar Pictures with directors Mikael Salomon and Robert Rodriguez before Campbell signed on in 1996. Salomon cast Sean Connery as Don Diego de la Vega, while Rodriguez brought Banderas in the lead role. Connery dropped out and was replaced with Hopkins, and The Mask of Zorro began filming in January 1997 at Estudios Churubusco in Mexico City, Mexico. The film encountered scheduling problems when Campbell was hospitalized for bronchitis, resulting in Zorro going over $10 million in its production budget. The film was released in the United States on July 17, 1998 with both financial and critical success. The Legend of Zorro, a sequel also starring Banderas, Zeta-Jones, and directed by Campbell, was released in 2005, but failed to receive the overall positive reception of its predecessor.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a 2004 American romantic fantasy film about an estranged couple who have each other erased from their memories, scripted by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Michel Gondry. The film uses elements of science fiction and nonlinear narration to explore the nature of memory and romantic love. It opened in North America on March 19, 2004, and grossed over US $70 million worldwide.

Kaufman and Gondry worked on the story with Pierre Bismuth, a French performance artist. The film stars an ensemble cast starring Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Wilkinson, Elijah Wood, Jane Adams, and David Cross.

The title is taken from the poem Eloisa to Abelard by Alexander Pope, the story of a tragic love affair, where forgetfulness became the heroine's only comfort:

How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd;

The film was a critical and commercial success, developing a strong cult following and receiving a myriad of accolades, winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The film was lauded by critics as one of the best and most thought-provoking films of 2004.

The Truman Show

The Truman Show is a 1998 American satirical comedy-drama film directed by Peter Weir and written by Andrew Niccol. The cast includes Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank, as well as Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, Ed Harris and Natascha McElhone. The film chronicles the life of a man who is initially unaware that he is living in a constructed reality television show, broadcast 24-hours-a-day to billions of people across the globe. Truman becomes suspicious of his perceived reality and embarks on a quest to discover the truth about his life.

The genesis of The Truman Show was a spec script by Niccol. The original draft was more in tone of a science fiction thriller, with the story set in New York City. Scott Rudin purchased the script, and instantly set the project up at Paramount Pictures. Brian De Palma was in contention to direct before Weir took over, managing to make the film for $60 million against the estimated $80 million budget. Niccol rewrote the script simultaneously as the filmmakers were waiting for Carrey's schedule to open up for filming. The majority of filming took place at Seaside, Florida, a master-planned community located in the Florida Panhandle.

The film was a financial and critical success, and earned numerous nominations at the 71st Academy Awards, 56th Golden Globe Awards, 52nd British Academy Film Awards and The Saturn Awards. The Truman Show has been analyzed as a thesis on Christianity, simulated reality, existentialism and the rise of reality television.

Armageddon (1998 film)

Armageddon is a 1998 American science-fiction disaster film, directed by Michael Bay, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and released by Disney's Touchstone Pictures. The film follows a group of blue-collar deep-core drillers sent by NASA to stop a gigantic asteroid on a collision course with Earth. It features an ensemble cast including Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Billy Bob Thornton, Liv Tyler, Owen Wilson, Will Patton, Peter Stormare, William Fichtner, Michael Clarke Duncan and Steve Buscemi.

The Fifth Element

The Fifth Element is a 1997 French/American science fiction film directed, co-written, and based on a story by Luc Besson, starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Milla Jovovich. Mostly set during the twenty-third century, the film's central plot involves the survival of humanity which becomes the duty of a taxicab driver (and former special forces Major) named Korben Dallas (Willis) when a young woman (Jovovich) falls into his taxicab. Upon learning of her significance, Dallas must join efforts with the girl to recover four mystical stones essential to defending Earth from an impending attack.

Meet Your New Leon S. Kennedy

Story by Jeff Cork on
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2011/10/01/moviegoers-meet-your-new-leon-s-kennedy.aspx

Leon S. Kennedy is in the upcoming Resident Evil: Retribution 3D, and actress Milla Jovovich has confirmed that Johann Urb will be playing the role. You might remember Urb from such films as Eastwick, 2012, and The Hottie and the Nottie.

Jovovich confirmed the casting in a recent tweet: "AND if u checked out my vid yesterday from the table reading u wld hve noticed Johann Urb! He is our Leon Kennedy n looks jst like him BTW!!"

Judging from the images above, there is a pretty decent resemblance between the two, right down to the same haircut. In the film, Kennedy is leader of a resistance movement who helps Jovovich battle the Umbrella Corporation and zombies. Didn't they do all of that already? I have to admit, my memory of these movies is growing increasingly hazy.

X-Men Destiny Videogame Review

Review by Matt Miller on
http://www.gameinformer.com/games/x-men_destiny/b/xbox360/archive/2011/09/27/build-your-own-mutant.aspx

X-Men Destiny has a rewarding premise. Create a brawling-heavy action game starring a brand new mutant in the X-Men universe. Choose his or her powers, and upgrade them over the course of the game. Throw in a little RPG conversation and storytelling, and the option to choose sides in the bubbling conflict. If only the battles and mission structure kept pace, there would be a lot to enjoy. Sadly, those elements feel repetitive and generic, and the whole experience is hamstrung as a result.

The game dives head-on into the X-Men fiction, setting up an alternate version of the story where Professor X has been killed, and mutant/human tension is at an all-time high. Cyclops and the X-Men struggle to maintain the peace, even as Magneto’s Brotherhood nudges things closer to chaos. A mysterious and deadly attack on a peace rally in San Francisco pushes the conflict over the edge, and the city falls into chaos. One of the unlucky bystanders at the rally happens to be an undiscovered mutant whose powers burst forth during the crisis.

You control this confused youngster – one of three distinct characters, each of whom can choose one of three unique power sets. One turns your mutant into a rampaging bruiser with fists of stone. A second option sets you up with blasts of ranged energy. A third is an agile melee option utilizing shadow matter – think the unholy offspring of Nightcrawler and Wolverine. No matter your choice, your power set develops in thrilling ways over the course of the game with powerful new combat moves and one-off specials. That customization extends to special collectible abilities you find in the world, each of which is tied to a well-known X-Men character. Put on Quicksilver’s iconic lightning bolt costume. Gain Iceman’s freezing capabilities. Adopt Colossus’ armored shell. While this approach to power acquisition might strike comic fans as a little off kilter, it’s a fun dynamic within a game universe. By the end, your character is a formidable powerhouse.

Along the way, you’ll get to meet a cavalcade of familiar faces from the comics, each of whom will exhort your allegiance to either the X-Men or the Brotherhood. There’s not much to the conversation system – mostly exposition and character introductions – but the occasional choice does take the story down different paths. Along with the unique power choices, it makes a good argument for a second playthrough. Beyond the occasional chat, most of these heroes and villains join you in the fight. Some of the most memorable sequences have you fighting side-by-side as Cyclops bursts out his optic blasts, or Juggernaut bowls over his foes.

Your initiation into the X-Men (or Brotherhood) comes via a series of missions across a ruined San Francisco. Almost without exception, these uninspired quests require you to kill a certain number of enemies before moving on to the next arena-style battle. The teeming enemy attackers have all the strategic wherewithal of swarming bees, and they look about as distinct. You can only fight so many identical fellows with electric batons before things start to go south. Button mashing carries you through most of the game, and the occasional death is probably only because you stopped paying attention. As an opportunity to devastate an endless string of baddies with impressive-looking powers, it succeeds. As a full-featured and challenging combat system, it fails.

Add in some middling environment and character visuals on top of the lackluster gameplay, and X-Men Destiny has some big problems. Five years ago, I would have a lot more positive things to share about the game, but action titles have advanced in that time, and Destiny doesn’t keep pace. Even so, as an X-Men fan, I got a kick out of all the character cameos, not to mention the extensive customization features. Take the game at face value – as an opportunity to be an overpowered superhero for a few hours – and you could enjoy the ride.

Score
7 out of 10