Superhero Hype links to Empire Online, which is slowly revealing their new cover with the Joker from the new Batman movie.

P.S. Empire Online has a pretty sweet web site. I would definitely subscribe if they offered subscriptions in the US.

P.P.S. UPDATE – the cover leaked early, so now all is revealed.  Interesting that the Internet is starting to get ahead of this excellent viral campaign.

Saw American Gangster the other day.

It dragged a lot – although a cardinal rule of moviemaking is “show, don’t tell” I thought the movie should have explained the process of drug laundering much more briefly and given more time to character development.  It made me appreciate Casino all the more, since Casino sometimes had lengthy dialogue explaining the various processes that happen at a casino without slowing down the movie.  In this movie, there are whole scenes devoted to nothing more than cutting powder, putting it in bags, and selling it on the street.

The movie also had a bit too much of Denzel being Denzel – he didn’t seem to be acting so much as doing the usual silent, intense, sometimes furious character that he’s done so many times before.  Russell Crowe did a good job, but his character wasn’t developed beyond his ability to pass up bribes, a custody battle, and some weight lifting.  (Carla Gugino plays the wife, and gives an oversimplified argument of “You think you’re better than the crooked cops you fight”).

Overall, probably not worth the price of admission.  Rent Casino or the Godfather instead.

My theory on Cloverfield (maybe a spoiler):

A gigantic monster rises from the deep sea and attacks New York. As it touches/infects people who have eaten sushi and/or drunk Slusho, it causes eggs inside to expand and produce new monsters.

Here’s what we’ll see in Cloverfield, as best I can piece it together from the trailer. I am not an insider on the film, just a fan who’s following the numerous fan sites and promotions.

I’m also writing this assuming that you too have been following the latest stuff on www.projectcloverfield.com, www.cloverfieldclues.com and the like, and that I won’t have to explain the basics.

The story begins with a young man named Rob, who’s having a surprise party. Party attendees are shown next to a sushi plate which they apparently are eating from.

The lights at the party flicker, and Rob goes to the roof. Something falls from the sky and explodes in the city.

Rob runs downstairs and outside. A huge projectile glances off a building and falls to earth; it’s revealed to be the Statue of Liberty.

Rob and friends from the party move around the city, trying to find out what’s going on. (Shots of horse-drawn carriage, tilting buildings, etc.) There is a firefight between soldiers and a large creature shown moving between the buildings (something is attacking from Without.) They go into the tunnel system and (apparently) the videographer is killed.

At one point Rob is left with two women and a (possibly new) videographer.

They encounter soldiers (“Whatever it is, it’s winning”) and there’s something wrong with one of the women. Men in biohazards take her away; her silhouette is shown expanding as if she’s a balloon. (Something is attacking from Within.)

Rob and one of the women are airlifted out via helicopter; while trying to leave the Monster destroys a bridge and grabs the helicopter. After this things are less clear – I’m betting Rob dies but someone else (maybe the woman airlifted out) keeps the camera safe and turns it in, intact, to the government, who edits it and adds effects (such as blurring out the soldier’s face).

What’s with Slusho? There’s a sushi chef on www.1-18-08.com, a sushi plate at the party, and references to Slusho’s mysterious “nectar” ingredient on various sites. I think Slusho (and possibly deep sea sushi) somehow infect those who consume them, and the monster’s attack triggers an internal attack causing them to explode.

There is also a nice theory on the large monster being a turtle (“Tagruato is an anagram for A TORTUGA, Spanish for turtle”), and the smaller monsters being crabs (there’s a scuttling sound when Rob and the women are in the tunnels).

Neat stuff. Looks like a well made movie, and even if there are no more trailers I’ll still be in line for a ticket on January 18, 2008.

I saw the new movie Bella at the Fenway 13 in Boston this past weekend. It appears to be the new Catholic movie of choice, drawing church groups, volunteer organizations, and audiences tired of blood, sex and violence. Even Cardinal Sean likes it!

Overall I thought the movie was a bit melodramatic but tugged at the heartstrings pretty effectively. It was also nice to see a movie that was subtly Catholic – for example, the Virgen de Guadalupe appears in the background of a home, though it’s never referenced by the characters or explained.

Worth seeing while in Boston, or in other cities if you get the chance.

Ain’t it Cool has scored some images of the creatures from the new Narnia movie, “The Adventures of Prince Caspian”:

More at: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/34155