Editorials > Filmwad Breaks it Down: Monday, December 17

The weekend didn't yield as much news as it usually does. All over the net, the biggest story is that I Am Legend beat even relatively high expectations and took in about $76 million dollars, which is more than the combined sum of the grosses of the next nine films in the top ten. I suppose this is a testament to Will Smith's likability that people are willing to watch an hour and a half of just him and a dog. Though credit must go to the roving horde of Manhattanite vampires as well.

Andy Serkis is going to be in Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg's Tin Tin trilogy. All we know is that he won't be playing Tin Tin. Being almost completely unfamiliar with the Belgian reporter's cast of characters, I ask you our readers at home, does Tin Tin have any goggle-eyed friends who may or may not be completely CGi? Because that's who Andy Serkis will be playing.

Also, in case you missed it from late last week, John Singleton is going to be directing a movie adaptation of The A-Team. They say this one's going to be grittier and less cartoonish than the TV show. Whether this will be good or bad is debatable, considering most of the fond memories of the A-Team are a result of how sanitized that series was. You half expected that the reason they were in military prison in the first place was that they refused to shoot enemy combatants anywhere but in their feet.

The first trailer is for Horton Hears a Who. It's surprising how consistently badly Dr. Seuss' stories have been adapted to the big screen. Probably what's especially missing from this attempt is the look and the language of Seuss' books. They're mainly just speaking plain English and everything looks like generic (though, no doubt skilled) Shrek style animation. Maybe I'm going out on a limb here, but the main reason people enjoy Seuss books isn't their plot outlines, it's the funky artwork and amusing rhymes. If you strip that away, you've just got more, standard, animated muck.
Release Date: March 14, 2008

The other trailer is the new full-length trailer for The Dark Knight that has everyone drooling. One of our users, Dane, already posted it on the main page, but in case you missed it, here it is again. This movie obviously has a lot to live up to. Being the sequel to Batman Begins, we've all got high expectations, but so far this is shaping up to be one incredible piece of cinema. Mark your calendars for this one.
Release Date: July 18, 2008

-David Morgan