Ender’s Game has been percolating for years and the film adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s best-selling novel is finally being released in November. Here’s the first one-sheet for the movie and Summit Entertainment has released a new synopsis for the film.
In the near future, a hostile alien race called the Formics have attacked Earth. If not for the legendary heroics of International Fleet Commander Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley), all would have been lost. In preparation for the next attack, the highly esteemed Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford) and the International Military are training only the best young minds to find the future Mazer.
Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy but strategically brilliant boy, is recruited to join the elite. Arriving at Battle School, Ender quickly and easily masters increasingly difficult challenges and simulations, distinguishing himself and winning respect amongst his peers. Ender is soon ordained by Graff as the military’s next great hope, resulting in his promotion to Command School. Once there, he’s trained by Mazer Rackham himself to lead his fellow soldiers into an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth and save the human race.
Based on the best-selling, award winning novel, ENDER’S GAME is an epic adventure which stars Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis, with Abigail Breslin and Harrison Ford.
Of late, Orson Scott Card has been causing controversy for his work on a digital Superman storyline. However, the story that made him a bestselling author, Ender’s Game, continues production for release Novenber 1. Now we’re getting some of the first visuals, featuring Asa Butterfield and Hailee Steinfeld.
The film is being written and directed by Gavin Hood and also stars Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis, Abigail Breslin, and of course, Harrison Ford.
The official film synopsis reads:
In the near future, a hostile alien race (called the Formics) have attacked Earth. If not for the legendary heroics of International Fleet Commander Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley), all would have been lost. In preparation for the next attack, the highly esteemed Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford) and the International Military are training only the best young children to find the future Mazer. Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy, but strategically brilliant boy is pulled out of his school to join the elite.
Arriving at Battle School, Ender quickly and easily masters increasingly difficult war games, distinguishing himself and winning respect amongst his peers. Ender is soon ordained by Graff as the military’s next great hope, resulting in his promotion to Command School. Once there, he’s trained by Mazer Rackham, himself, to lead his fellow soldiers into an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth and save the human race.
As I’ve said before, I enjoy movies most in the theater, on the big screen, where they were meant to be seen. Yeah, you run the chance of having rude fellow audience members who are talking or have their heads buried up their electronic asses with their cell phones, but I minimize that by going to a lot of matinees. One of the (few) perks of being self-employed and, besides, it feels like I’m playing hooky.
Since I like the big screen experience, I like the Imax experience. That’s a big big screen and usually great sound as well. My Mary and I went to see The Dark Knight Rises there. Imax costs more but I felt it was really worth it.
I also like to see old movies on the big screen and have seen a number, including Casablanca and The Searchers. In upcoming months, there will be one-night showings in movie theaters of The Bride of Frankenstein, E.T. and To Kill a Mockingbird. I know all of them well but the chance to see them in a movie house will be a treat.
Recently, to celebrate the arrival of Raiders of the Lost Ark on Blu-ray, the film was issued in the Imax theaters, initially for one week only but since extended. Did I and my Mary go to see the first and best of the Indiana Jones movies? Oh, you bet! This is the film that, far more than Star Wars (IMO), made a star of Harrison Ford.
One of the things I really wanted to see was that giant marble that chases Indy during the opening sequence. Yup, it looked every bit as cool as I thought it would. The other great set pieces looked great in Imax as well – the fight around the plane that’s supposed to fly the Ark out of Tanis, Indy going after the truck (“Truck? What truck?”) and that whole action sequence inside, outside, and below that truck.
I also saw things I didn’t appreciate before. The landscape surrounding Indy and the others where he threatens to blow up the Ark was in greater detail, as was the climatic sequence where the Ark is opened.
It still has all the great lines and tropes “I don’t know. I’m making this up as I go.” Shooting the scimitar-wielding thug. “Trust me.”
And, of course, it still has Marian, Indy’s romantic foil and partner. What the next two films largely lack is Marian. She’s his equal and she brings him down to Earth. Indy’s pursuit of the Ark can make him an asshole; his pursuit of Marian makes him human. The best part of the most recent film was re-uniting him with Marian. Lots of dopiness in Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull but bringing back Marian was worth the price of admission, as far as I’m concerned.
While the film was a fine transfer, there were some problems. Some of the close ups in dark rooms were hard to see and muddy and, for me, not all the characters were always as sharp and clear as I might have liked. Part of that, I’m sure, is that the film was never meant for Imax and that film technology has really improved since Raiders was first made.
One thing I didn’t expect and was really impressed by was the sound. Imax generally has amazing sound and I was hearing incidental sounds all around me that I had never heard before. I don’t know if that will be part of the Blu-ray package but I hope so.
Of course, intact were some of the things that never made sense. Our intrepid hero gets over to the Nazi sub and climbs on to the conning tower. If it submerges, however, he drowns. And if it stays on the surface, the sub’s captain should be up on the conning tower. The sub travels quite a ways according to the map in the movie so this always strained my credulity. And how does Indy get himself, Marian, and the Ark off the Nazi island towards the end? Never addressed.
However, this is all more than counterbalanced by the fact that this is just a plain fun movie. One of the best action adventure movies out there with one of John Williams best scores. Lots of humor, top notch performances, and it just grabs you by the eyes and doesn’t let go.
As my Mary and I were leaving the theater, another couple – in their thirties – were also leaving. The young woman said she really enjoyed it and then said she had never seen it before. I was envious. What a great way to get introduced to a great movie.
Yesterday, it was all about Raiders of the Lost Ark being screen in IMAX. Now we get word that AMC theaters will run all four feature films starring Harrison Ford as a one-day marathon. Read on…
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. and KANSAS CITY, Mo.(August 16, 2012)– Director Steven Spielberg and executive producer George Lucas’ legendary film series is returning exclusively to AMC Theatres® for an unforgettable cinematic event: a one-day-only marathon presentation of all four Indiana Jones films on the big screen. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE, and INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL will be presented in order on 69 AMC screens across the country on Sept. 15.
“For film fans of all ages, this is an extraordinary opportunity to see every exhilarating moment of Indiana Jones’ adventures on the big screen,” said Robert J. Lenihan, president of Programming at AMC. “We are thrilled to present this exciting one-day event as fans gear up for the arrival of all four Indiana Jones films on Blu-ray.”
The marathon begins at 10:30 a.m. Participating AMC locations and advance tickets are available now at amctheatres.com/indianajones. AMC Stubs members who purchase a ticket to the marathon prior to Sept. 15 will receive $5 Bonus Bucks on their AMC Stubs account, valid the day of the event.
INDIANA JONES: The Complete Adventures will make its highly-anticipated Blu-ray debut on Sept. 18from Lucasfilm Ltd. and Paramount Home Media Distribution. In addition to all of Indy’s thrilling adventures, the set features seven hours of fascinating bonus material, including a brand new two-part documentary entitled “On Set with Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Featuring nearly an hour of rarely seen footage from the set of the film and archival interviews with Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Harrison Ford, this captivating piece transports fans back to where the legend began.
Universal is releasing [[[Cowboys & Aliens]]] on DVD today and they have sent out some preview clips. The set below focus on the delectable Olivia Wilde.
Produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof, Roberto Orci, Scott Mitchell Rosenberg
Screenplay by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby
Story by Steve Oedekerk
Based on the graphic novel “Cowboys & Aliens” created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, written by Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley with pencils by Luciana Lima
I’ll tell you right up front so if you don’t want to be bothered reading the rest of the review, you don’t have to.I enjoyed COWBOYS & ALIENS a lot.It’s a very well made movie with performances I enjoyed and an entertaining premise.However, I have to say this: the parts of the movie with the cowboys are so entertaining that when I got to the parts of the movie with the aliens, I was wishing I was back with the cowboys.
A man with no memory (Daniel Craig) waked up in the desert with no idea of how he got there.He does have a picture of a beautiful woman and a strange metal bracelet on his arm he can’t remove.The man makes his way to the boom town of Absolution which has gone bust.The town is so bust it depends on the cattle baron Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford).Which means suffering the drunken tantrums of his son Percy (Paul Dano)
The man runs afoul of Percy, attracting the attention of Sheriff John Taggert (Keith Carradine) who identifies the man as Jake Lonergan, notorious outlaw.Taggert intends to ship Lonergan off to federal prison along with Percy when Dolarhyde shows up.His intentions are simple: he wants his son back and he wants Lonergan as well.Seems as if Lonergan has been helping himself to Dolarhyde’s gold.Dolarhyde means to shoot up the town if his wishes aren’t met.But he’s beaten to the punch by alien spacecraft that not only blow the town to splinters but kidnap a sizeable number of citizens.
Dolarhyde aims to go after the varmints who took his son and he needs Lonergan because the bracelet on his wrist turns out to be an extraordinarily powerful weapon.The town doctor/bartender Doc (Sam Rockwell) wants to get his wife back.Also going along is the grandson of the sheriff (Noah Ringer) Nat Colorado (Adam Beach) Dolarhyde’s right hand man and the town preacher (Clancy Brown) Rounding out this crew is the mysterious Ella (Olivia Wilde) who packs a mean shootin’ iron of her own and knows way more about the aliens than anybody else.
The road to the alien camp is one that made me wish that Jon Favreau was doing a straight-up western.If Daniel Craig keeps making westerns I don’t give two hoots if he never makes another James Bond movie again.Both he and Olivia Wilde look right at home in the genre.And this is the best performance Harrison Ford has given since I dunno when.In fact, I don’t think there was a performance in this movie I didn’t enjoy.
And Jon Favreau knows that even in an action movie you need moments where an audience can catch their breath and maybe get to know the characters a little bit better.He’s good enough to do that and he’s also good enough to know how to rev the action back up to 11 after a slowdown.My respect for him as a director continues to grow with every movie he makes.
So should you see COWBOYS & ALIENS?I say yes.It’s got truth in advertising as if has Cowboys and it has Aliens.It’s not going to become known as a classic of the genre but it’s good, solid entertainment with a cast that knows what they’re doing and a director working at the top of his game.Enjoy.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Little blue Smurfs and not-so-little green men from space are in a photo finish for the No. 1 spot at the weekend box office.
Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford’s sci-fi Western “Cowboys & Aliens” and the family adventure “The Smurfs” both opened with $36.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
That leaves Sony’s “Smurfs” and Universal’s “Cowboys & Aliens” tied for the top spot. Figuring out the No. 1 movie will have to wait until final numbers are counted Monday.
The previous weekend’s top movie, “Captain America: The First Avenger,” slipped to No. 3 with $24.9 million and raised its domestic total to $116.8 million.
Now of course, the question– is this a trend that will last? Or is this the high water mark?
Also: ComicsBeat has a great take on what this means for Platinum Studios, complete with business accounts for those of us who like this sort of thing.
ALYSSA MILANO is headed back to TV with a new ABC sitcom. She shares the details here plus her take on the upcoming CHARMED comics, Plus The 2010 Eisner Nominations and Harrison Ford takes on another comic book role.
And be sure to stay on The Point via , RSS, MyPodcast.Comor Podbean!
Follow us now on and !
Don’t forget that you can now enjoy THE POINT 24 hours a Day – 7 Days a week!. Updates on all parts of pop culture, special programming by some of your favorite personalities and the biggest variety of contemporary music on the net – plus there is a great round of new programs on the air including classic radio each night at 12mid (Eastern) on RETRO RADIO COMICMIX’s Mark Wheatley hitting the FREQUENCY every Saturday ay 9pm and even the Editor-In-Chief of COMICMIX, Mike Gold, with his daily WEIRD SCENES and two full hours of insanity every Sunday (7pm ET) with WEIRD SOUNDS!
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN LIVE FOR FREE or go to GetThePointRadio for more including a connection for mobile phones including iPhone & Blackberrys.
When asked point blank of Harrison Ford thought there would be a fifth film featuring Indiana Jones, the actor told MTV, “I don’t know. If we come up with a good idea…”
And who would come up with the idea? George Lucas, who has conceived most of the previous stories, is charged with coming up with the next idea. “That’s the process,” he said. “With some general input he goes off and searches for the MacGuffin and then stumbles into a story. And at some point we have a chance to take a look at and give some input.”
Given that Jones has married Marion Ravenwood and is getting to know his adult son Mutt, it would suggest new areas to explore. With luck, something fresh will suggest itself improving on this year’s installment.
Sitting in the darkened screening room at Paramount Pictures that early May day in 1981, I had no idea what I was about to experience. Working at Starlog at the time, I thought we were pretty much aware of everything cool that was coming from Hollywood. But we knew little about this thing called [[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]]. Then we watched it.
An homage to the action serials of the 1930s and 1940s, director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas combined their best skills to produce something iconic and fresh at the same time. They also did what has become increasingly difficult ever since – create an interesting character from scratch. Sure, Indy is one of a long line of adventurers dating back to Allan Quatermain if not further back, but still, he was new and cool.
Ever subsequent Indy film has been measured against the original and found wanting. I missed [[[Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull]]] when it opened in May so sat with the DVD, on sale today, and was curious to see what sort of experience this would be. After all, the buzz over the summer that while good, it was ultimately a disappointment after waiting so many years.
I was entertained. The movie wisely moved to the 1950s to reflect the passage of time and evoke an entirely new feeling. As a result, the Roswell setting, the Crystal Skull possibly being an alien, etc. was all appropriate as was the arrival of the Cold War nemesis, successors to the Nazis for storytelling fodder.
However, Spielberg and Lucas got too cute from the get-go with the Caddyshack-like gopher popping up as we began the story. While winks to those no longer with us, such as Marcus Brody were fine at Indy’s home, the statue’s head striking a blow was unnecessary. While immediately understanding the locale from John Williams’ evocative score, we didn’t need to see the Ark. Too many winks at the expense of good storytelling.
More should have been done to examine Indy at a point in his life when he was getting a little old of adventure and his life was filled with missed opportunities. Mutt being his son was telegraphed from the get-go and was totally without nuance. Marion arrives too late for my taste, trades quips but seems to accept the passage of time with a smile and far more forgiveness than she showed in the first film. Her spunk and edge, which made her extremely fascinating in Raiders was all scrubbed away, making her likeable and far less compelling. Thankfully, Karen Allen has aged as gracefully as Harrison Ford and they still have some great screen chemistry.
Ender’s Game has been percolating for years and the film adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s best-selling novel is finally being released in November. Here’s the first one-sheet for the movie and Summit Entertainment has released a new synopsis for the film.
, 
When asked point blank of Harrison Ford thought there would be a fifth film featuring Indiana Jones, the actor told 
Sitting in the darkened screening room at Paramount Pictures that early May day in 1981, I had no idea what I was about to experience. Working at Starlog at the time, I thought we were pretty much aware of everything cool that was coming from Hollywood. But we knew little about this thing called [[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]]. Then we watched it.
