The Legend of Hercules Doesn’t Look All That Tough

The Legend of Hercules is the first of two Hercules films that will be delivered to us in 2014. Summit Entertainment brings us the origin story of Hercules, the betrayal of his father and his quest to rise up from that betrayal. It stars Kellan Lutz of the Twilight series (ooooh big surprise) and seems to aiming for a balance of tween heartthrob and just enough action so the boyfriends of the tweens that get dragged to this film don’t roll their eyes the entire time. From the first trailer, this movie has appeared to be more love story than legend. Even the IMDB page for this movie states, in it’s trivia section, “When Kellan Lutz first landed the role, he said that physique-wise he wanted to get really big to portray Hercules. But director Renny Harlin told him not to get bigger, but to ‘get his abs to pop out more’.”  Opening on January 10th, it may be a godsend that this won’t directly compete with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Hercules: The Thracian Wars which won’t hit theaters until summer. Watch the trailer to draw your own conclusions or check these out…

                                         

Strange Things are Afoot in Japan….

Coming to us on Christmas day is 47 Ronin. Starring Keanu Reeves in his first MAJOR production since 2008s The Day The Earth Stood Still, 47 Ronin is the story of 47 samurai who set out to avenge the death of their master at the hands of an evil shogun. Set in feudal (albeit mystical) Japan, Reeves’ character Kai is sought out and believed to be the key to defeating the shogun and his witch advisor. I do like the idea of Kai being an outcast half Japanese half British samurai rather than an American.  I was a bit skeptical of this production but visually it looks gorgeous, it certainly brings the action, and any chance I get to see Ted Theodore Logan wielding a katana…count me in! Take a look below and brush up on your “whoas” and you “I am an FBI agents!!” Rated PG-13 for strong violence and some disturbing scenes (like Keanu in hakama pants)

Godzilla Sighting!!

Two years ago, San Diego Comic Con attendees were given a glimpse of the legendary (pun intended) monster from Japan. As excited as all of us were, we quickly stifled our giddiness because we painfully remembered what happened the last time us gaijin got our hand on Japan’s most beloved destroyer. Jump forward to this year’s SDCC and Legendary was bold enough to give some lucky con-goers an actual immersion into their re-imagined world of Godzilla. I was of the fortunate few and it was, hands down, the BEST showcasing I have ever seen at SDCC. Again, with fears of french special forces, tuna, and Matthew Broderick, I allowed myself to push down my excitement. A few days ago, Legendary released the official teaser trailer for Godzilla and gave us, not only, a glimpse at the talented cast that features Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick Ass), and Ken Watanabe (Inception), but we actually get to see Big G himself!! I must admit, I can no longer contain my excitement. Seeing a MASSIVE Godzilla not once but TWICE in the trailer leads us to believe that Legendary has done us a solid and we will see much more of the monster we know and love. If you have not seen this yet, please check out the trailer below and feel free to share your thoughts!

JCS and The Aquabats! Assemble at SDCC

Okay so maybe assemble was pushing it. How about, JCS and The Aquabats! loitered at SDCC? We bring to you our most in-depth and thought provoking interview to date. Bryan C. Dunn grills Jimmy the Robot, Ricky Fitness, and Eaglebones Falconhawk on the tough questions. Truth be told, silliness ensued and the interview was tremendous fun. We love every opportunity we get to catch up with The Aquabats! and they were awesome again! Thanks guys!!

MC Bat Commander and The Sage Lion team up at SDCC!!

JCS had the pleasure and opportunity to sit down with MC Bat Commander, the beloved and revered leader of our favorite group, The Aquabats, at San Diego Comic Con and discuss the origins of the wildly successful Aquabats! Super Show. This interview was a ton of fun and it is always awesome to catch up with The Aquabats. Keep watching JCS because we have another interview with the rest of the band as well as footage from The Aquabats concert at The House of Blues in San Diego. We here at Just Cool Stuff have been very fortunate to cover quite a bit of The Aquabats and would like to thank them for their ongoing support of us.

JCS SDCC Interview onboard the USS Enterprise

At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Bryan C. Dunn had the opportunity to sit down with Huston Huddleston, the man behind the restoration of the bridge set from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Huston and company, brought a portion of the iconic set to SDCC and allowed Star Trek fans to sit in the very chair that Captain Jean Luc Picard did during the run interview below and please  of Star Trek: TNG. Watch our intreview with Huddleston and please check out his restoration efforts and plans for the set at http://www.newstarship.com

Ink Master Premiers Tonight!!

Tune in tonight at 10 PM PST to Spike TV for the premier of Season 3 of Ink Master!! Follow our pick, Jason Clay Dunn, as he sets out to prove the he is indeed THE Ink Master! After the show, log on to Jason’s website http://www.jasonclaydunn.com for commentary and video blog updates.

 

Jason Clay Dunn

 

Pacific Rim: Final Trailer!!

This may be the one film that we here at Just Cool Stuff are most excited for. In a summer that has (so far) been dominated by sequels, adaptations, and reboots, it is refreshing and exciting to sit down and watch original films like This Is The End, and now, Pacific Rim. As if speaking to the excited little kid in every one of us, Guillermo del Toro serves up a heaping plate full of giant robots vs. giant aliens. Throw in roles by Ron Perlman (Hellboy) and Idris Elba (Thor, Luther) and now it has acting clout behind it. So let’s recap; giant robots…check, giant aliens…check, giant robots fighting giant aliens…double check, Idris Elba for the ladies…check, and Guillermo del Toro as the creator and director…check!! Looks like we may have found the perfect summer movie combonation. Let us know on July 12th when Pacific Rim hits theaters nationwide. Pacific Rim is rated PG-13 and runs 2h 11m.

Will Sam Mendes return for a 24th 007?

It has been a tumultuous few months for fans of the James Bond franchise. With the unanimous global success of Skyfall, many expected director Sam Mendes to be a lock to direct the next 007. Mendes himself has been a bit wishy washy about whether or not he would be back to direct citing his obligations to directing theater as a direct conflict with a shooting schedule on the heels of saying he would return. Daniel Craig is already set to reprise the role of James Bond for at least 2 more films. In addition, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, and Naomie Harris are also signed to reprise their roles of M,Q, and Money Penny respectively. With Penelope Cruz being heavily rumored to be the next Bond girl, it would seem that the only major announcement left would be to announce who will be directing the 24th installment of Ian Flemming’s honored spy franchise. There is hope though, Mendes was recently interviewed by Hey u Guys at the premier of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (which Mendes converted into a musical) and before the interviewer could get the question off, Mendes preempted and said;

“In answer to the question you’re going to ask, I don’t know yet. I’m in discussion over the ‘B’ word and I won’t make any decision until this is open. It’s taken a long time to get [‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’] open and this has been my focus.”

So the window is still open and fans may still get the director they want for the next 007. With Skyfall being recognized as the best modern day James Bond film, it is no surprise as to why they want him back. I for one shall have a martini (shaken not stirred of course) and eagerly hope and await the news that Sam Mendes will return.

Knight Rider movie is in the works

Continuing the 1980’s TV to movie trend, The Weinstein Company has delivered news that they are planning to bring the hit television series Knight Rider to the big screen. Brad Copeland (Arrested Development, Wild Hogs) is set to direct and no word yet has surfaced on casting possibilities or who will pen the script. To no one’s surprise, The Hoff  himself, David Hasslehoff, has shown interest in wanting to play a part in this film. The biggest casting choice may not lie in who will play the role of Michael Knight, but which car will get the honor of playing KITT. Origianlly a Pontiac Trans-Am, KITT (which stands Knight Industries Two Thousand) has also taken the form of the concept Pontiac Banshee and more recently a Shelby GT 500 KR (no relation KR in this case means King of the Road.) Whatever form KITT takes, let’s hope they will bring the right amount of charisma to Michael Knight, and get the right voice actor to play KITT. I for one am pulling for Hugo Weaving, Bennedict Cumberbatch, or even Simon Pegg to play the iconic talking car. In any case, check back with Just Cool Stuff to find out when Knight Rider will be turbo boosting onto to the silver screen.