The first trailer for Ridley Scott’s Prometheus is finally here! Set to be the tie-in for the Alien series that’ll stage the beginnings of a series, Prometheus will focus on a mythology within the Alien universe without being a concrete prequel.

The film takes a team of scientists and explorers on a thrilling journey that will test their physical and mental limits and strand them on a distant world, where they will discover the answers to our most profound questions and to life’s ultimate mystery.

If you are a fan of the original Alien then this trailer is for you. It sets the tone for a spine tingling adventure that a great director of only Ridley Scott’s potential can bring to life.

Here’s the synopsis for Prometheus:

Ridley Scott, director of Alien and Blade Runner, returns to the genre he helped define. With Prometheus, he creates a groundbreaking mythology, in which a team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a thrilling journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.

The upcoming science fiction film is scehduled to hit theaters June 8, 2012 and stars Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green and Charlize Theron.

Hard to say if anyone was really clamoring for a sequel to Ghost Rider, but you’re getting one anyway!!! Written and directed by Neveldine/Taylor, who brought us such glorious fuckery as the Crank films and Gamer, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance brings back Nicholas Cage as Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider, who must join forces with a group of French warrior monks (including Idris Elba)to protect a child destined to become the host for the devil(played by Cirian Hinds).

Now let’s make this perfectly clear: I have no doubt in my mind that this will be a profoundly stupid film. The difference I can already see here, versus the original, is that it looks to be a far more visually stimulating and fun profoundly stupid film. Ghost Rider’s new look definitely leans more towards a gritty, grimey, almost Clayton Crain influenced style that definitely fits Ghost Rider. And if nothing else, there’s a seen of Ol’ Flamehead PISSING FIRE!!!!!

HD Versions Available on Apple Trailers.

While I appreciate Marvel wanting to revisit The Punisher for the umpteenth time, I think it’s high time we got ourselves a good old fashioned action-horror romp. We need us a nice supernatural underworld tale, where some of the more popular urban legends of New York City take on the forces of darkness; a spirit of vengeance, a vampire hunter, and a master of the mystic arts, for example.

CASTING

Jensen Ackles as Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider – Six years of Supernatural have more than groomed him for a film and character like this. The cockiness, determination, and overall nomadic quality he brings to Dean Winchester would certainly serve Johnny Blaze well. You could definitely believe in him as a man tortured by demons; both psychologically and physically.

Idris Elba as Blade – In addition wanting to see Elba play a comic character that’s actually black in the comics, I’d also like Blade as a character to be British, accent and all. Still more street-smart than anything, but also disciplined, showcasing him more as a master swordsman with a black-ops edge, than an anime-style martial artist. Deep-voiced and physically imposing, Elba could also scare you to death just by staring at you. Blade would still be one not to work well with others, but he wouldn’t be the extreme self-loathing loner of the Snipes films.

Timothy Olyphant as Dr. Strange – From the first time I saw him in Scream 2, to other films like Go, Girl Next Door, A Perfect Getaway, and even Hitman, all the way to his television work in Deadwood and Justified, I’ve always enjoyed how varied Olyphant’s performances could be. He can play serious, crazy, villainous, stoic, etc. I think I’ve seen enough of him that I could see him pulling off the Sorcerer Supreme, and give him the right balance of zen-like calm and haunting authority.

Alice Braga as Lilith – There should be a certain degree of mystery to Lilith. She should be beautiful, but not a supermodel. You should get lost in her eyes, and before it’s too, she’s already got you by the balls . . . as it were. There needs to be a warmth to her to make her inviting, but a sense of underlying darkness that you just barely pick up on. A lot of roles I’ve seen Alice Braga in, I’ve never quite known what to make of her characters, plus I’d love to see her as an out and out villain.

DIRECTOR

Timur Bekmambetov – If Nightwatch and Daywatch are any indication, this man lives in a realm where horror and absurd action go hand-in-hand. He certainly has an eye for visuals, and he’s more than capable of creating an atmosphere, mixing the gothic with the industrial, that would be perfect for our characters. I could see him and whatever effects team he’d put together having a field day with the likes of Dr. Strange and Ghost Rider.

MUSIC

This movie has Marco Beltrami all over it. He’s provided chilling, operatic scores to more than a few thrillers like Scream (1 -4), Mimic, Blade II, Hellboy, and Underworld Evolution, giving them that extra layer of dark, shadowy allure.

THOR
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Screenplay: Askley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz, Don Payne
Story: J. Michael Straczynski and Mark Protosevich
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgard
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: May 6, 2011

It’s the biggest summer for super hero films and Thor will test the mainstream waters to see how much of the Marvel Universe they’re able to take and accept. Thor opens the Marvel Universe beyond the major cities of America. Radioactive spider, gamma rays? Plausible. People can buy the story of nerds to heroes and Iron Man remains the high bar, a B-grade character that captured the imagination of audiences with slick special effects and even slicker actor beneath the armor. The box office proved Iron Man was a hit, but was rooted in this world.

Thor however, is a challenge. He is larger than what a mortal can comprehend; he is the god of thunder, and Stan Lee, Larry Leiber and Jack Kirby based him from Norse mythology. He talks like he’s been to one too many Shakespeare festivals and he lives in a floating paradise in a galaxy far, far away. There’s magic, science fiction, and fantastic worlds beyond our own. Still, despite all of these leaps of faith, Thor is entertaining enough to overcome these obstacles with incredible action pieces and a tragic story of a bond broken between a father and his two sons.

In a welcomed change, Thor is not an origin story of the title character but instead an introduction of his character to the Marvel Film Universe. After being banished to Earth the story starts by flashing back to how the god of thunder came to land in New Mexico, directly in the path of Jane Foster’s truck.

A brief history lesson told by the god of gods, Odin (Anthony Hopkins, Silence of the Lambs) and his rule over the Nine Realms acquaints audiences with the Frost Giants of Jotunheim, led by Laufey (Colm Feore, The Borgias). A war between Asgard and Jotunheim has been waged for thousands of years and many of the battles took place on Earth where Odin and his army eventually seized control of their frost powers by obtaining a magical artifact called the Casket of Ancient Winters.

Back in the present day, a coronation begins in Asgard where a cocky and reckless Thor (Chris Hemsworth, Star Trek) saunters up to the throne, playing to the Asgardians who cheer him on. Suddenly Asgard is infiltrated by the Frost Giants, attempting to steal back the Casket. Thor marks this as an act of war and against Odin’s request to stand down, he assembles an assault team with his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleton, Archipelago), Sif (Jamie Alexander, Nurse Jackie), and the Warriors Three: Hogun (Todanabu Asano, Mongol), Fandral (Joshua Dallas) and Volstagg (Ray Stevenson, Kill the Irishman). They beg Heimdall (Idris Elba, Luther) the all-seeing and all-hearing soldier of Odin to provide them a transport to Jotunheim where an incredible battle ensues, mostly by Thor. Odin intervenes and rescues Thor and his team before any more blood is shed.

Thor and Odin have vicious words for each other back in Asgard, like Thor says, “You so old, you knew Jesus.” Then Odin says, “You so stupid, you stole free bread.” No, not really. In fact it was an emotionally charged moment–the best dare I say in any Marvel movie–where Hemsworth stood eyes to eye with Hopkins. In a lesson of humility, Odin casts Thor to Earth, stripping him of his powers amongst mortals. He is separated from his trusted weapon, the magical hammer Mjolnir who Odin blesses by saying that the only one who can pick it up be worthy of its power and the story picks up from the opening scene.

Now on Earth he must find a way to reunite with Mjolnir and get back to Asgard. With the help of Jane Foster (Natalie Portman, Black Swan), an astrophysicist and her research partner Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard, Mamma Mia) and helper Darcy (Kat Dennings, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist) Thor begins to acclimate to Earth while Jane and her friends believe him to be a homeless lunatic. Meanwhile Loki finds out a secret and does his best to ruin the reputation of Thor and Odin, and take the crown for himself.

Thor is the first Marvel film to integrate S.H.I.E.L.D. naturally into the story as opposed to IM 2 where much of it felt shoehorned to (excuse the pun) hammer home the progression towards The Avengers. S.H.I.E.L.D. discovers Mjolnir after an Excalibur-like moment, where everyone tries to yank the hammer out of the ground with no success. Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg, Iron Man 2) arrives and put an end to all the fun and builds a lab around the hammer. Jane helps Thor get to the fall site after all of her research and equipment is taken away by S.H.I.E.L.D. and she is left with no purpose but to help and fall hopelessly for Thor. He makes short work of the security only to find he cannot pick up Mjolnir, setting up the third act.

As a comics reader, my biggest fear of Thor was alleviated by how well the balance was maintained between the three realms. Thor does a fine job explaining Asgard and how Earth fits into the Nine Realms to Jane, and it should even clear up questions by the most casual comic book reader.

Director Kenneth Branagh does an exceptional job making the archaic and clumsy aspects of Thor more palatable and seductive than repelling. Most of all he was loyal to the characters. Thor’s arrogance is plainly seen as his weakness, while Loki’s elaborate ways to destroy Thor always seem to turn on him and assist his brother in the end. Portman works although it’s not so easy to believe she’s a scientific shut-in and Dennings delivers most of Thor’s moments of levity.

But Thor isn’t Iron Man perfect. It has its flaws, well, nitpicks really. They don’t take away from the enjoyment of the film, but they do hang above it like a storm cloud.

At one point in the movie, everything comes to a halt. Loki sets an elaborate albeit slightly confusing plan of deception and instructs Laufey on how to kill Odin. Thor has accepted his punishment and tries his best to integrate amongst the mortals. It’s not until the Warriors Three and Sif decide to be proactive and rescue Thor that the film begins to pick up the momentum it dropped, prompting Loki to summon the Destroyer to Earth. Branagh managed to tell a story with no real villains, which was both an accomplishment and a contributing factor as to why the story was left floated before the third act began. If felt as if either Thor or someone with pure evil intent needed to drive it home. Loki could be seen as more misunderstood than anything.

There also wasn’t enough of the other Asgardians. Early they seemed to be placed in the film to satisfy the diehards so that they could say, ‘See, Marvel included everyone.’ I wanted more of the Warriors Three in action and in conversation, especially Volstagg. Also severely underused was Frigga (Rene Russo, Ransom)–let’s just say that this is the easiest paycheck she’ll ever make. She may have had fewer lines than Halle Berry in the first X-Men. Seriously. Not surprisingly either is the legion of Asgardians–who we are introduced to in the beginning of the film and see in Thor’s coronation–vanish when Asgard needs them the most.

There were a few fantastic elements that took me out of the moment like when Thor would swing Mjolnir in a circular motion and creatively come up with different ways to use it, but the speed at which he twirled the hammer as compared to what happens as a result don’t match up and no it wasn’t my 3D glasses playing tricks on me. Speaking of which, I do not recommend watching this film in 3D. It was converted, and poorly at that. Scenes were not composed as such and it fails in providing a better experience. This is and always should be, a 2D film.

Thor still manages to work on the big screen well, and he even looks good on camera. Rather than fill the screen with garish color, the costumes sold Asgard as much as the performances under the armor. For example Odin and Loki’s armor looked like gold or silver pieces and then a turn of the body would reveal a green or blue-ish tint. Heimdall especially is one character where the golden armor did the heavy lifting.

Other things that exceeded expectations was the way the rainbow bridge looked and became an integral part of the story, Heimdall’s gateway transportation to the other realms, Hiddleston’s performance as Loki, and Hemsworth is more than worthy to wield Mjolnir. The tug-of-war between gods, mortals and monsters, the lesson of humility, and the genuine mind-blowing visuals are reminiscent of the stories told by Lee, Lieber and Kirby, yet subsequent eras of the mythos work their way into the film, as do cameos and Easter eggs for the eagle eyes in the audience.

Of all of the super hero films slated for release in 2011, Thor was one I had looked forward to the least but I’ve since come away feeling very good about Thor and its potential for a sequel. I am especially looking forward to seeing what happens next (and after the credits) and how that rolls into The Avengers. Word is that Captain America: The First Avenger might even better than Thor–this will be a Marvelous summer indeed.

B+

Elba will also be starring in the highly-anticipated — around these parts at least — adaptation of Andy Diggle’s DC comic, The Losers.

FILM: D
Since the modern horror flick is so formulaic at this point, I avoided The Unborn at the theaters but hoped I’d be in for a surprise when it hits blu-ray. Hope left early into screening The Unborn, along with his friend, Thrills, Chills, and Originality. This time there’s no charge of a poor American remake, or a sequel that waters down the enjoyment of earlier installments. No, The Unborn did it all to itself, summoning a tired tale of family curses and hauntings in Casey Beldon (Odette Yustman), causing me to search under the couch pillows for holy water to wing at the screen. “Save my soul! Save my soul!” I screamed. Yeah. Didn’t work.

So this Beldon gal is a college co-ed in Chicago. She babysits to earn some cash, and keeps her body tight by working out regularly. Lately she’s been daydreaming and things begin to startle her. Cue in those cleverly-timed shriek noises and shrills designed to make you jump out of your seat. Casey shares her troubling mind with her superstitious friend Romy (Meagan Good) and boyfriend Mark (Cam Gigandet) but is mocked and ignored until one too many freak outs in public restrooms and lecture halls. At least one thing remains constant in horror flicks…. white folk are craaaazeeeeee!

When an eye doctor suspects she may have been a twin on the improbable chance she experienced Genetic Mosaicism, where placentas of two embryos can be fused and blood is transferred between fetuses. According to her father (James Remar), Casey had a twin brother who died when her umbilical cord wrapped around his throat. Nicknamed “Jumby” the unborn twin sent Casey’s mother (Carla Gugino) to a psych ward where she was diagnosed with depression and committed suicide. Yeah. That’s a bit of a skeleton I’d say, but nothing compared to what else she finds out.

Still haunted in her dreams, Casey seeks the help of Sofi (Jane Alexander) an elderly woman who knew her mother while at the looney bin, Arthur Wyndam (Idris Elba) Rabbi Sendak (Gary Oldman) two men of the cloth versed in the Jewish Kabbalah –stay with me– only to discover her family’s been long-cursed by the Nazi regime. There’s only one way to rid the family of this curse; a proper exorcism that’s destined to destroy the set of the film and take everyone in proximity with it.

Yustman really tries in the film, a poor woman’s Megan Fox (minus the clubbed thumbs and bad tattoos) and even greases up her body so that she can fit into tight, white tanks and undies to parade in. Her green performance is just one of the many turned in by the younger cast members. Jane Alexander is the most convincing of cast members as Sofi, Oldman and Elba appear… out of place. But this film struggled from the beginning with David S. Goyer’s script. More widely known for his part in writing Christopher Nolan’s Batman films, it was Goyer’s name that originally piqued my interest in The Unborn. Sadly, Goyer left his imagination in the bat cave playing chess with Alfred. There just wasn’t anything new, scary, or exciting about The Unborn. The deceased twin manifests itself into a demonic child whispering “Jumby wants to be be born now.” A premonition of things to come, but maybe it should have said, “Jumby wants a refund.”

VIDEO: B+
Despite all of the filmmakers’ travails, The Unborn is seen with a nice 1080p VC-1 encoded transfer in 2.40:1 aspect ratio. The picture has a bit of a fog about it, stylized and intentional, where objects that scream for emphasis get that spotlight while everything else drops back. There’s still plenty of accurate detail like pores on the skin, textures of various substrates that come across as authentic and the colors are so lush and rich at times it’s a shame that such a good looking film didn’t have much else going for it except…

AUDIO: B
All of the audio comes via a more than serviceable English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix. Universal loves the DTS-HD format and it does provide that screech and startle effect. Subwoofers will arise from the dead every now and then when they are called on and do an admirable job. There are some sweet spots in the film like the exorcism climax that utilizes the surround channels to a nice degree with eerie atmospheric effects, but too much of the audio in this film stays up front and center disconnecting the viewer from a complete experience through much of the film. There’s also an English 2.0 Dolby Digital mix, and 5.1 DTS tracks in Spanish, French, Dutch, and French Canadian. Subtitles are available in English SDH, Dutch, French, and French Canadaian.

EXTRAS: D-
Sometimes bad films have great extras but I guess Universal decided to cut its loss at the box office and spared no extra cents and dollars on a good supplemental package. Perhaps it was best to end the suffereing.

My Scenes – Universal’s standard bookmarking option allows you to place a mark at any moment of the film that puts you to sleep.

Deleted Scenes HD (6:37) – Six scenes that didn’t matter much but at least they’re in high def.

Not a shock here, Overall Shock Value: D+
I can’t say I was disappointed in the film because my expectations were not set that high. In fact it was spot on what was expected, which was another lazy, plain potato chip filled with trite scare tactics that’s as tasteless as the rest of the bag. Hollywood has once again relied on the usual gimmicks and gags to try and incite horror instead of really putting together a story that really drives The Unborn forward. If Hollywood cannot write but one good scary flick a year, then don’t bother pushing one out the door seemingly every month. The only thing horrific was the effort behind creating this film. There have been worse films, no doubt, but The Unborn’s only redeeming quality was that it scored high marks in the PCS AV department. And there’s one minute difference between the unrated cut and the theatrical cut. I don’t think there’s much difference. I’d pass on both but if you must see The Unborn for yourself, rent it first.