Games And Game Movies Videos

Once upon a time, there was a Twilight massively multiplayer online role-playing game being developed called Twilight Online. Think World of Warcraft but for Twihards. They were shut down (one would imagine by Summit, who is making oodles of cash from tie-ins -- have you been to your local Blockbuster and picked up your very own couch pillow with Jacob's face on it?) and the developer is now working on something called "Nebulous Blood." (Read more about Twilight Online over at Geekologie since the details of the game are no longer on its official website.) The first Twilight video game, one of many that's sure to come, is a trivia game that's part of the "Scene It?" game series. It is currently available as an iPhone app and a DVD game, and now even Wii and Nintendo DS players will be able to give their Twilight skillz a workout as well on November 24th. The console games are from Konami, a pretty damn solid game publisher that's behind great games like the Metal Gear Solid series, Silent Hill, Dance Dance Revolution, and even the recent Saw game. Twilight game deets are hiding on the other side of the jump.Filed under: Action, Drama, Tech Stuff, Games and Game MoviesContinue reading And Now... The 'Twilight' Video Game! Permalink | Email this | Comments

Despicable Me Second trailer for this 3D animated comedy, and this time it's focusing on arch villain Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) trying to break into the headquarters of a rival bad guy. This looks like fun and the bit with the shark had me howling. Check it out on July 9. Sherlock Holmes A second trailer for the new Holmes fllck with Robert Downey Jr. in the title role aided by Jude Law as Watson. Pretty sure this will have awesome written all over it. Plan a trip to Baker Street for Christmas day. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time There's some serious spectacle at work here. Jake Gyllenhaal stars in this adaptation of a video game I've never played, but I'm pretty sure that's not necessary. It seems tailor-made to be a summer blockbuster, which is good because it comes out on May 28. Best Worst Movie Speaking as someone who has watched and enjoyed some truly awful films in his time, this one really speaks to me. This documentary examines the phenomenon/train wreck that is Troll 2, a 1990 horror flick whose badness has become legendary. No release date yet and I suspect this will be hard to find in theaters. How to Train Your Dragon In this new animated comedy from Dreamworks, a viking teenager is trying to learn the ways of his people including hunting and killing those pesky dragons that are plaguing them. He soon learns, though, that everything his people know about dragons is wrong and sets out on his own path. Training begins on March 26. New this week on AOL Moviefone: Splinterheads - A young slacker falls in love with a beautiful carnival worker. Invictus - Morgan Freeman stars as South African President Nelson Mandela who urges the captain of the national rugby team to strive for the World Cup for the sake of unifying their nation in the days following apartheid. Eichmann - Historical drama based on the confession of Adolf Eichmann. Mammoth - An intricately woven family drama starring Michelle Williams and Gael Garc a Bernal as a married couple whose lives begin to spin out of control. Shake Hands With the Devil - Based on true events surrounding a 1994 U.N. peacekeeping mission to Rwanda that failed to prevent the slaughter of 800,000 Rwandans. Avatar - Second trailer for James Cameron's epic 3D science fiction extravaganza. Did You Hear About the Morgans - A couple on the verge of divorce can't escape each other after they witness a murder and must enter the witness relocation program. Filed under: Animation, Documentary, Horror, Trailer Trash, Games and Game Movies, Trailers and Clips Permalink | Email this | Comments

Now how's this for a cool premise? "U.S. states secede from the U.S. and form their own governments that wage a civil war against each other after Washington, D.C., is wiped out in a nuclear blast and chaos ravages the nation." Sounds like it could make for a fairly novel action flick, eh? Well, as Variety informs us, that's the exact plot of a 2005 video game called Shattered Union. (Just because I've never heard of it doesn't mean it's not good. If you've played this one, leave us a mini-review in the comments section.) The tale of a dystopian American Civil War Part II will come from producer Jerry Bruckheimer (don't act surprised), who in turn will entrust the adaptation to one J. Michael Straczynski. Serious genre fans know this gentleman as the co-creator of Babylon 5. He's written tons of TV, in addition to Eastwood's Changeling, plus he's got a metric ton of massive projects on the way, World War Z and Silver Surfer among them. The studio will be Disney, so don't expect a hardcore carnage-fest. I'm generally a fan of the Bruckheimer / Disney action conflagrations, and this one sure sounds like something I'd dig. Now hire Peter Berg to direct it.Filed under: Action, Disney, Games and Game Movies, War Permalink | Email this | Comments

Last summer, the trades reported that Bruce Willis was in talks to play Kane in a big screen adaptation of Kane and Lynch. Perhaps you were one of the game fans excited by that prospect, but as the long months wore on, you may have forgotten such a fleeting news item. But Kane and Lynch didn't go anywhere, and GameDaily is confirming that Bruce Willis is ready to go in with his guns blazing, with Simon Crane directing, and that filming will begin in March 2010. They're just looking for their Lynch and their locations. GameDaily caught up with producer Adrian Askarieh, who confirmed Willis' casting, and shared just what had lured him to the project in the first place. "[Kyle Ward's] script has been incredibly well-received around town. After Bruce Willis read it, he called it one of the best action scripts he's ever read, and Bruce is an expert in terms of action scripts because he's read everything over the last 20 years." Askarieh describes the film as "a great buddy action movie" (nothing's funnier than kidnapping and death row) and promised that'll remain faithful to the game, at least in terms of its plotline. "It's going to have the basic premise. But the details for the movie are going to be different. It's not going to have every sequence from the game, but it's essentially the story of a mercenary teaming up with a schizophrenic psychopath to save his wife and daughter." While none of us hold out hope for video game adaptations, I would like this one to turn out solid. It's two death-row inmates (one of whom is heavily medicated) doing rotten, sociopathic things in the name of rescue. It's the kind of movie Hollywood should be able to make, but probably won't, even with an action heavy like Willis. [via Empire]Filed under: Action, Independent, Thrillers, Casting, Lionsgate Films, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Games and Game Movies Permalink | Email this | Comments

The news that Sam Raimi would be helming the game movie of all game movies, Warcraft was met with both squeals of joy, and stunned silence by the movie blogosphere. But now that it's had a little time to sink in, people seem to be really looking forward to it. Some might even wish he'd do a last minute duck out of Spider-Man 4. But at least the wait is broken up by a bit of news, and that's Raimi announcing his screenwriter. MTV and Variety both report that Robert Rodat is set to pen Warcraft for Raimi and Warner Bros. "We want to be really faithful to the game," Raimi told MTV. "We would have our writer, Robert Rodat, really craft an original story within that world that feels like a World of WarCraft adventure. Only obviously it's very different 'cause it's expanded and translated into the world of a motion picture. [We hope to capture] the Horde and the Alliance and the mythology that takes place in the game, and the archetypes that the game presents. I think we would try and find touchstones within the game to make it accurate and true and choose one or some of the lands that are portrayed in the game with as much accuracy and authenticity as possible." Rodat might strike some as an odd choice as he's best known for the screenplay to the relentless Saving Private Ryan and the fanciful The Patriot. But both scripts prove he knows his way around a sweeping action scene, and revels in heroes with puffy shirts and villains with cold sneers. So this could turn out quite well indeed. Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Warner Brothers, Scripts, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Games and Game Movies, War Permalink | Email this | Comments

Will a video game movie based on a game with no characters or storyline whatsoever be more successful than a Max Payne or Tomb Raider? Fox and EA are going to give it a shot and find out, as Variety reports that they are setting up Spore as a feature film. Chris Wedge is attached to direct, with Greg Erb and Jason Oremland writing the screenplay. Spore is a colorful, family friendly game that allows you to build a variety of fanciful creatures. But perhaps most notably, it allows you to evolve them. Your creatures start out as microscopic organisms, develops into a complex animal, and becomes a social and intelligent creature. You help guide its society from a primitive stage all the way to space travel. It's a very organic game not only in its single-player conception, but because it allows you to share your creatures and your worlds with other gamers, and create a comprehensive universe at the Sporepedia. Fittingly, the Sporepedia acted as kind of historical documented, and recorded everything glorious and dubious about the player created worlds. So, when a game is all about playing Supreme Being, how do you make a movie out of it? Wedge isn't sure yet, but he feels the property is rich in possibility. "I'm always looking for unique worlds to go to in animation. From every perspective -- visually, thematically and comedically -- the world of Spore provides the potential to put something truly original on the screen." It might just create something quite original off, if they kept a bit of evolution in its storyline. Haven't you always wanted to see a cartoon picketed by Kirk Cameron? Filed under: Animation, Comedy, Deals, Scripts, 20th Century Fox, Family Films, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Games and Game Movies Permalink | Email this | Comments

Well, we already knew that Milla Jovovich was going to be back as Alice in the latest installment of Resident Evil, but it turns out she won't be the only comely Zombie-hunter back in the mix. In an interview with Boris Kodjoe (Surrogates), the actor told Blackfilm that he has been hired to star alongside Wentworth Miller and a returning Ali Larter (reprising her role as Claire Redfield) in the latest installment of the zombie-action franchise. Kodje first announced his new job on his twitter account, and so far has been pretty chatty about the production. Not only has he confirmed that Paul W.S. Anderson will be directing (possibly in 3-D), but he also gave us a few juicy plot details. According to the actor, Afterlife will center on Alice, "...roaming the world looking for survivors and she's wound up in LA, which has been burning for three years. She comes across an LA jail surrounded be these half-dead, uhh... [Zombies] Anyway, she comes across the jail and there's a couple of survivors and she lands on top of the roof and partners up with me to fight the guys that are coming after them. We're trying to get all of the survivors out of the jail to safety." When asked about Miller's role, Kodje told Blackfilm that the Prison Break star will be, "...playing a guy that we actually locked up when we took over the jail because we weren't sure if he was one of them or not. He comes into play as we try to find a way to get out with our survivors" -- and I guess if you need a guy to engineer a jailbreak, Miller is really the only logical choice. Resident Evil: Afterlife will start shooting in Toronto in the next couple of weeks, and is scheduled to arrive in theaters on September 27, 2010. Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Sony, Scripts, Remakes and Sequels, Games and Game Movies Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

On the occasion of the immiment theatrical release of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, it's impossible to ignore the fact that movie studios are continuing to search for beloved toy properties that may be well-suited as blockbuster franchises with worldwide appeal. In recent months, we've been threatened with the prospect of movies based on Monopoly, Candy Land, Ouija, Battleship, Stretch Armstrong, and Major Matt Mason, among others. Of course, for every Transformers and G.I. Joe movie that makes it to the finish line, there are dozens of concepts that are left behind in the search for the perfect toy -- one that lends itself most readily to situations in which things blow up every ten minutes. Thus, straight from my fevered imagination (and inspired by Scott Weinberg's Cinematical Seven: Bad Ideas for Board Game Movies), here are seven 'toy into movie' concepts that were abandoned or outright rejected as completely unworkable ... for now. 1. Crayola Crayons After the success of Pee Wee's Big Adventure and Beetlejuice, Tim Burton was all set to direct another children's fantasy, this time an epic tale of the birth, life, and death of a box of Crayola Crayons in their ultimately futile struggle to gain respectability as independent artists. (See unrelated original photograph by David Neff above, which hints at how the death scene might have looked.) Representing a rainbow of colors, the Crayons would also have imparted important anti-racist messages to its young audience. Given the opportunity to make a Batman for a new generation, however, Burton chose the mad world of Bruce Wayne and the Joker over Salmon, and the soothing comforts of crayons. Later, elements of the script were recycled and used in Edward Scissorhands.Filed under: Action, Fandom, Cinematical Seven, Games and Game Movies, ListsContinue reading Cinematical Seven: Rejected 'Toy Into Movie' Concepts Permalink | Email this | Comments

The dead have risen from the grave! If you're a Castlevania fan who thought you weren't going to be subjected to a big-screen version of your beloved game, think again. In the midst of the news frenzy coming out of SDCC, Bloody Disgusting got the chance to speak with Saw co-creator James Wan, and he confirmed that he has just signed to direct the video game adaptation for producer Paul W.S. Anderson. Wan tells BD, "I'm very fresh on this project, so its early stages and I'm still trying to work things out, but the producers love my vision for it" The Castlevania video game franchise mainly centered on a war between the vampire hunting family known as the Belmonts and the big bad blood-sucker himself, Dracula. The game is one of Konami's biggest titles, and was considered one of the best action-platform games around. But as we were soon to find out, it wasn't going to be an easy transition from the console to the big screen. If you haven't been keeping track, (and who could blame you) here's a brief history on the troubled flick: the announcement of a feature film Castlevania first came about in 2007, but over the next two years little ground had been made. For starters, there were personnel changes and then there was the double-whammy known as rewrites. The last anyone had even heard from the project was that Sylvain White (Stomp The Yard) had reportedly been hired to direct. But then the writer's strike hit and the project ran into a brick wall -- but that was then, and this is now. After the jump: find out what Wan has planned for the Belmonts...Filed under: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Games and Game Movies, ComicConContinue reading James Wan Heads to 'Castlevania' Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Gore Verbinski and Bioshock just can't catch a break. Back in April, Universal put the breaks on the video game adaptation because of its swollen budget, estimated to be $160 million and rising. The studio was pushing Verbinski to move production to the U.K. and take advantage of the tax credits there. Even then, Verbinski seemed reluctant to uproot the production, and now he's told the LA Times that he may be off the film because of it. "The bottom line is it has to shoot out of the States for budget reasons and my schedule may be prohibitive. There's a great script and a really interesting cast. It really comes down to the financial model now. Big movies are just not being shot in the States. I'm weighing whether I can physically go the U.K. or Australia or one of those other places with a tax rebate for a year-and-a-half." It's entirely possible Verbinski will walk, and Bioshock will go forward with another director who won't mind going overseas to shoot. In the meantime, we can wonder if "interesting cast" is a confirmation that Wentworth Miller is really to play Frank Fontaine (doubtful since his alleged Twitter account that produced the rumor has been suspended), wonder who could replace Verbinski, and lament that the U.S. ships its big movies overseas in this economic crunch.Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, Universal, RumorMonger, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Games and Game Movies Permalink | Email this | Comments

Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor's latest piece of madcap action has a new name (from Game to Citizen Game to Gamer), a new poster, and a new trailer. Luckily though, it's still exactly the kind of film you've come to expect from the directing duo. The trailer looks like a pretty tasty mash-up of The Running Man, Death Race, Escape from New York, and Gladiator with a dash of Blade Runner for color. If you've been annoyed at Gerard Butler going all chirpy and chick-flicky lately, this trailer will be a nice dose of neo-Leonidas. He really snarles and smashes through every frame of this -- and he even does so shirtless just to keep the crowd that does like his chick-flicky side happy. Of course, Butler may be the top name, but he's not the only draw. Michael C. Hall is splendidly slimy here, and you'll get glimpses of Logan Lerman, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, John Leguizamo, Amber Valetta, and a blink-and-you-miss it shot of Kyra Sedgwick. Milo Ventimiglia and Alison Lohman are supposed to be somewhere in here, but it all happens too fast to see them. It's silly for me to describe it further, so just check out the trailer below -- and if you have an XBox360, you can watch it there, but the rest of us have to get by with YouTube. Gamer hits theaters on September 4. Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Lionsgate Films, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Games and Game Movies, Trailers and Clips Permalink | Email this | Comments

It would be nice to see something from Prince of Persia other than Jake Gyllenhaal's incredible physique, wouldn't it? There hasn't been anything seen since Entertainment Tonight showed off some scenes, but thanks to a quick blogger, some new footage was grabbed and put online via YouTube. Amazingly, Gyllenhaal is actually dressed in most of the scenes! You don't get to see much (and you hear nothing, as its all narrated by the soft tones of Jerry Bruckheimer) but what you do see is pretty wonderful eye-candy. It's like a landlocked Pirates of the Caribbean crossed swords with Aladdin. Fans of the game will have to speak as to the plotline -- from what I can understand from good old Wikipedia (and wow, is that an article in need of clean-up), the Prince of the games actually is a prince who is transformed into a beggar, whereas the film is going to use the tried and true conceit of having the royal family adopt a beggar and lavish him with honor ... and shirts, just so he doesn't make all the other guys feel bad with his street urchin muscles. Our own Erik Davis, who visited the set earlier this year, has said the whole film is "a monster" (in a good way), and predicts it'll be enormous come next May. It seems like it's been in production forever, so let's hope it's worth the long wait. [via Empire]Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Disney, Movie Marketing, Games and Game Movies, Trailers and Clips Permalink | Email this | Comments

Has it really been almost a month since me and maybe three other people paid to see Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li? As I said before, there were two things I took away from that experience: the haunting cadence of Michael Clarke Duncan's laughter, and the Razzie-worthy turn by Chris Klein as swaggering Interpol agent Charlie Nash. I can see the for-your-consideration ads now: "Can only be described as epic in its awfulness" ... "I can't remember the last time I watched an actor fail to walk into a room convincingly" ... "So wooden that he makes Keanu Reeves seem like Don Knotts" ... "This shit is Ricotta, folks." As several other reviews noted/hoped, his performance is one particularly ripe for a highlight reel on YouTube someday, and sure enough, an impatient individual of like mind cut one together (we put it after the jump). Running eleven minutes, I'm willing to bet it's actually every scene of his in the thing, and by the time he's yelling "NASH OUT!" into the nearest walkie-talkie, you'll be glad someone took the time. Thanks to Pajiba for keeping an eye out, and remember: I call dibs on this costume for next Halloween. GOSS OUT!Filed under: Action, Comedy, 20th Century Fox, Remakes and Sequels, Games and Game MoviesContinue reading Watch This: Chris Klein in 'Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li' Permalink | Email this | Comments

Sigourney Weaver may have started warming to the idea of more Ghostbusters back in December, but that doesn't include lending her voice for the upcoming video game. She's out, and in her absence, Atari isn't going with just anyone. They're going with the daughter of a boss who has a little witchy charm. That's right -- Variety reports that Alyssa Milano is lending her voice in the upcoming Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Luckily, it won't be as Weaver's Dana Barrett, which would probably cause an uproar. Instead, her character is "Dr. Ilyssa Selwyn, the brainy guest curator of a 'World of Gozer' exhibit at the Natural History Museum." It seems that Milano was approached once Weaver declined to come back to the fold. I guess they were a fan of her voice in Dinotopia and Jimmy Neutron. It sucks that Weaver isn't involved in this latest Ghostbusters incarnation, but at least they did a heck of a job recruiting the rest of the classic cast. Of course, Murray, Aykroyd, Ramis, and Hudson are in there, but there's also Annie Potts' Janine, William Atherton's Walter, and Slavitza Jonan as Gozer. I just wish they could've brought Rick Moranis back to play. He might be largely absent from Hollywood for the past decade, but he did lend his voice for the Brother Bear flicks in 2003 and 2006. Ah well. Back to the topic at hand: Think Alyssa can keep up with the big ghost-busting boys?Filed under: Casting, Fandom, Games and Game Movies Permalink | Email this | Comments

The ever cool Peter Hall sent me the latest video game trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I hate to admit it, but I think this is actually better than either movie trailer ... and I didn't even hate the trailers like a lot of people did; I just found them perplexing. But this! I don't know about Hugh Jackman, but this is the solo Wolverine movie I wanted to see! (Well, minus that trick where he spins with his claws. This is a video game trailer, after all.) It's dark, it's gritty, and violent, with the level of carnage dished out in the best of Wolverine's solo stories. Best of all, it's centered on Wolverine, not dashing off to meet Cyclops or Emma Frost. This is the character you were supposed to meet in an origin story ... a guy who tries to reconcile his humanity with the animal beserker who's the best at what he does. Watch it below and see if you agree. In a best case scenario, all of the coolest moments in this trailer will be in the movie (it's based on it, after all), but I'm doubtful, since there's not even a Ryan Reynolds to be seen. I'm not the best at what I do, but it would be nice if you followed me on Twitter anyway.Filed under: Action, Fandom, 20th Century Fox, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, Games and Game Movies, Trailers and Clips Permalink | Email this | Comments

While putting myself through the not good Street Figher: The Legend of Chun-Li, two aspects of the film seemed to merit particular note. The first would be Chris Klein's astoundingly bad faux-macho performance as a swaggering Interpol officer ("Nash out!"); the second would be every other line of Michael Clarke Duncan's dialogue as big, bad Balrog. I bring this up because at any given moment, Duncan's Balrog is given to let loose with a hearty chuckle, and he does this at many given moments, as if director Andrezj Bartkowiak was concerned that he might've been too stoic on all those other days of shooting and just wanted to cover his butt. I've already elicited some amusingly crude responses from pals, but even if you haven't seen the movie, I would like you guys and girls to complete the following sentence: Every time Michael Clarke Duncan chuckles... (And "an angel gets its wings" is out of the running from the start. My game, my rules. Feel free to play off of that, though.)Filed under: Action, 20th Century Fox, Games and Game Movies Permalink | Email this | Comments

If there's one video game franchise that most definitely does not cry out for the celluloid treatment, it's Capcom's Street Fighter, a series defined by cartoon action figures engaging in two-dimensional, one-on-one brawling. The games have no real story, no real levels, and no character depth, a fact that nonetheless didn't prevent the production of 1994's dreadful Jean-Claude Van Damme-headlined Street Fighter. Fifteen years later, and ostensibly timed to coincide with the release of the series' latest, surefire XBOX and PS3 hit Street Fighter 4, comes Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, a tie-in that focuses squarely on the titular female Asian martial artist with the hair buns and assortment of high-flying kicks. Unsurprising for an adaptation of narrative-free source material, what little plot exists here is of the embarrassingly shallow sort, though since the film is only truly targeted at fans of the interactive games, it's the action and inclusion of recognizable personalities that will likely matter most. In those areas as well, unfortunately, this genre throwaway proves equally inept.Filed under: Action, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews, Games and Game MoviesContinue reading Review: Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li Permalink | Email this | Comments

Tyler Perry worked his magic again this week, taking first place and putting a $30 million buffer between him and the next closest competitor. Last week's other new release, the cheerleader comedy Fired Up, ended up way back in ninth place, taking in a mere $5.4 million. Last week's number one movie Friday the 13th tumbled a full 80% to take sixth place. Here's the top five: 1. Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail: $41 million 2. Coraline: $11.4 million 3. Taken: $11.2 million 4. He's Just Not That Into You: $8.5 million 5. Slumdog Millionaire: $8.3 million Two new flicks this week trying to capture the hearts and dollars of teen pop enthusiasts and video game fans. Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience What's It All About: Disney's latest 3-D pop music event combines excerpts from the trios Burning Up concert tour with behind the scenes shenanigans. Why It Might Do Well: Disney is obviously trying to duplicate the success of Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert (even going so far as to use the same director) which had a $31 million opening weekend around this time last year. Why It Might Not Do Well: Well, if the world suddenly tires of corporate-manufactured pseudo pop... Nah, I think we're looking at next week's number one movie. Number of Theaters: 1,175 Prediction: $28 million Filed under: Action, Music & Musicals, Games and Game Movies, Box Office PredictionsContinue reading Box Office: Kung Fu Kicking The Jonas Brothers Permalink | Email this | Comments