On Spike TV? It figures--something to add to their lineup besides more Star Trek and Bond. I don't think it will get the same demographics as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and being on cable will restrict its audience even further. After all Buffy the Vampire Slayer had a lot of elements that appealed to females as well as males. (While I thought it was promising at first, it's take on sexual morality left much to be desired; even if it got questions of justice right, it was wrong on the other questions... as Aquinas points out, justice is relatively easy to grasp, while it is more difficult to know how we should behave with respect to ourselves, and only the wise can give guidance in that area. Dr. Hibbs may love the show, but if one wants heroism and justice one can find it elsewhere, like in wuxia epics, for example. I wouldn't use Buffy to teach about love, friendship, or of the complementarity of the sexes, but I think it is in these areas that it will have more of a cultural impact, more so than the action sequences and everything that goes along with that. At least Angel was less PC in that respect, though it did come close to supporting 'liberal tolerance.' But it was a darker show.)
Filmforce coverage.
The actor playing Blade... just doesn't compare to Wesley Snipes. When I first saw the picture of him I thought of a poor fan imitating Wesley Snipes, or doing a Matrix take-off. But, maybe he has the acting skills and charisma to help people forget Wesley Snipes. I suppose there will be no movie spinoff with Jessica Biel; I didn't see Blade Trinity, but I believe even Wesley Snipes was complaining about it. I wonder if there will be sequels for Van Helsing or Underworld. I didn't see Underworld 2, but they did leave room for another sequel. I have no idea how it did at the box office... the main attraction for me would be Kate Beckinsale, the lycan-vampire mythology in the movie is interesting, but it's just another excuse for special effects and a strong action heroine, fanboy favorites.
Another Higherlander movie is in the works, with Adrian Paul as Duncan McLeod. No Connor McLeod. (I forgot the actor's name... he hasn't really done much, maybe he prefers theater or something.) Of course anyone who saw the last Highlander movie that featured a tv/movie crossover with both McLeods knows what happened to Connor. Uhhuh. Talk about wrecking a franchise. If the script spoilers for X-men 3 are true, then that one's good-bye, though they already have advertised it as the last in a "trilogy." "Yes, because we couldn't compete with Spiderman or Superman." The head of Fox should really be replaced for killing this golden goose.
Looking through Filmforce, I found a reference to the movie The Kingdom, which is being produced by Michael Mann. Evidently it is about a FBI investigation team that gets sent to a Middle Eastern kingdom to investigate a terrorist incident. It has Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, and Jason Bateman. I wonder who will be directing, if not Mr. Mann. If they can bring in something about American dependence on oil, that would be great. Even better if it can deal with Islam and the problems of authority and interpretation honestly, instead of classifying everyone who isn't amenable to Liberalism as a 'radical' or a 'jihadist' who is not a true Muslim. It's been almost six months since I saw Syriana. I don't think my opinion about the movie has changed that much, though I suspect in 10 years it may seem dated, at least with respect to the technical aspects. No doubt there are some political liberals who look at Under Siege and see the future, when elements within the Federal government, including possibly the president, use terrorism as an excuse to increase its powers. Not like they do anything to put a check on this, besides complaining inside the Capitol--they should spend more time protecting the local and re-evaluating laws dealing with corporations.
There is new movie about the CIA coming out, directed by Robert Deniro and staring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie. The Good Shepherd. Some informants over at AICN are grumbling about the movie. Is the Scorcese remake of Infernal Affairs coming out this year? I may watch it, just to see how it compares to the original, but I don't like the man-child Leonardo DiCaprio. I still think his best role was in What's Eating Gilbert Grape. There are those who claim Matt Damon is one of the best actors of his generation; I don't know if I would agree with that, and besides the talens of his generation weren't that great to begin with.
Too bad I don't have the money to watch productions of Shakespeare. Then again, what's the ratio of 'updated' plays to 'historically accurate' plays? Having seen part of the BBC adaptation of Othello, with Othello playing a police superintendent, I wonder why producers think audiences are so dumb that they have to update Shakespeare to make his points relevant to the times. As if we moderns can't understand the themes and morality within the proper historical context of the story. I think audiences have a much more difficult time with the English. Maybe I'll get a chance to watch Shakespeare performed in Boston Common this year...
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