dragonball Tagged Articles at Cinematical

So Erik-with-a-k covered the coming comedies of 2009, Scott was all over the horror picks (though his inclusion of Race to Witch Mountain still boggles my mind), Eric-with-a-c nabbed the family-friendly fare, and Elisabeth went over the geek fodder that awaits. But while I respect their calendar years and made-up math alike, I've opted to divide my list of 2009's action and adventure flicks into four categories: Action Flicks I Couldn't Care More About, Action Flicks I Couldn't Care Less About, Action Flicks That I Hope Surprise Me, and Those Which Fell In Between. Enjoy!

Action Flicks I Couldn't Care More About: First and foremost -- Watchmen (March 6th). It's one hell of a graphic novel and looks to be one hell of an adaptation (with or without the Giant Blank), but the only problem is it may not hit theaters on time if 20th Century Fox has anything to say about it. Both Fox and Warner Brothers are fighting over who actually owns the rights, and if a judge favors Fox comes January 20th (when the court date is set), we're looking at a delayed release and a whole ton of angry fans. Then there's Public Enemies (July 1st), which has me sold on not the subject matter, but sheer pedigree: Michael Mann directs Johnny Depp and Christian Bale as '30s gangsters. (It doesn't hurt that the earliest word ranges from damn good to great.) On the skimpier side, I can only hope that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (July 17th) streamlines its source material as the previous one had, and I can only hope that Crank 2: High Voltage (April 17th) lives up/down to the depravity of its predecessor. There's one last action movie that I couldn't care more about because, well, I've already seen a version of it. The international cut of Taken (January 30th, though reportedly opening with some R-dodging trims) is about as brisk and butt-kicking as one might hope out of a man-on-a-mission kidnapping thriller, and if you disagree, I'll send Liam Neeson to change your mind.

Gallery: Watchmen

At this point, I'm starting to wonder why Fox even bothered trying to bring Dragonball to the big screen. Just a few weeks after the underwhelming trailer for the anime update hit the internet, a notice has been found over at Actors Access looking for Tibetan and Nepalese actors for Dragonball re-shoots. The shoots are scheduled to begin on October 30th, but there aren't many specifics on what Fox might have planned. One thing is for sure, director James Wong could stand to make a few changes before the flick hits theaters in April (if you don't believe me, take a look at James Marsters as Lord Piccolo).

Let's just take a moment to consider the history of the project -- because, for me, it all started with the casting of Justin Chatwin (War of The Worlds). As soon as Mr. Chatwin signed on the dotted line as the hero Goku, fans haven't been behind the project like Fox had hoped. Even if you ignore the obvious problem of hiring a non-Asian actor for the role, Chatwin didn't have much to recommend him other than the hair type to pull off anime spikes.

Cut to a few months later, and a nasty rumor emerged claiming Fox might possibly scrap the film altogether. The studio has since debunked that rumor, and according to their spokesperson, they are completely behind the film and loved what they saw. Then again, if they loved it so much, why are they back for re-shoots?

Dragonball is expected to arrive in theaters on April 3rd, 2009.

[via io9]

Bonjour! Buenos dias! Whassup! It's diversity week here at the Trailer Park and we're looking at previews for films from our about different cultures.

Dragonball
I've seen only a a few episodes of the Japanese cartoon on which this live action film is based, but I'm not seeing a whole lot here that reminds me of the anime. Frankly it reminds me more of Mortal Combat Kombat. Like the original, this is a martial arts fantasy with prophecies, super powers, lots of action and a hero with preposterously spiked hair. Chow Yun Fat is in there to add some action movie cred, but will that be enough? From what I've read the anime fans are not thrilled with this one, and it's not doing a lot for me either. I don't think this one if for me.

Amexicano
Here's a charming looking indie about a friendship between and Italian American and an illegal immigrant from Mexico. Bruno (Carmine Famiglietti) is behind on his rent and reluctantly goes into the construction business, hiring Mexican day laborers to help him. When he hires Ignacio (Raúl Castillo) the two forge a bond despite the fact that Ignacio does not speak English. I'm looking forward to this one.

I might have been raised on the old maxim: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all -- but even I can't keep my mouth shut on this one. A new poster and some stills from the live-action Dragonball have hit the net (along with some official pics from Fox), and it is not looking any better for the anime update. If you are one of the few Dragonball fans left out there with hope for this movie, I'm afraid once you get a look at James Marsters as Lord Piccolo, the dream of a decent flick goes right out the window. Although to be fair, I have to give them credit for trying out a slightly more 'modern' look on the new poster art.

Dragonball stars Justin Chatwin as the mighty Goku (a casting decision that has yet to ever really make sense), a legendary warrior who is responsible for protecting the awesome powers of the mystical 'Dragonballs'. Jamie Chung also stars as Chi Chi (Goku's love interest), along with Marsters as the evil Lord Piccolo (oh Spike, where did it all go wrong?), Chow Yun Fat as Master Roshi, and Emmy Rossum as Bulma.

Just last week, the rumors were silenced that Fox would be scrapping the one hundred million dollar film. The current spin from Fox is that they are 100% behind the project -- but honestly, what else could they say? So whatever you may think about Dragonball, plenty of fans will probably be there on opening day. Who knows? Maybe I'll be one of them. I have been known to enjoy watching a train wreck on screen -- how about you?

[Thanks Coming Soon]

We all know that the Internet is the birthplace of nasty rumors. It has been proven many times before that bad word of mouth has the power to cripple a flick. But Fox has been fighting back the naysayers and have debunked a rumor that has been gaining speed surrounding James Wong's live-action Dragonball. Rumors had surfaced over at Film Junk last week that the studio was about to pull the plug on their feature film version of the classic anime. The speculation began when Junk received a tip that "the higher-ups at Fox are not too impressed the footage that has been shot thus far, and are seriously debating shutting the whole thing down. -- the movie supposedly has a budget of over $100 million and I can understand them wanting to cut some losses while they still can."

Dragonball stars Justin Chatwin as Goku (a controversial casting choice to say the least), a hero on a quest to find the "mystical Dragonballs" before the evil Lord Piccolo (as played by James Marsters) can get his hands on them. Also starring are Emmy Rossum as Bulma, Chow Yun-Fat as Master Roshi, and Jamie Chung as Goku's love interest, Chi Chi.

But, for better or for worse, it turns out that it was nothing but a load of nasty innuendo. The official blog for Dragonball has since gotten to the bottom of the whole mess, and according to them, "20th Century Fox states the information reported was false and the film is still scheduled for an April 2009 release." Now, new reports are surfacing that Fox 'loves' what they have seen, and the only reason the release date was pushed back was to ensure enough time for finishing the F/X.

So what do you think? Is Fox's enthusiasm genuine for the much-maligned project, or just damage control gone into overdrive?

Dragonball will hit theaters in April, 2009.

Well, if you aren't used to seeing Justin Chatwin as the beloved hero Goku in the big- screen remake of Dragonball Z, then feast your eyes on the Japanese poster for the anime update (courtesy of DBthemovie.com). Once again, good old Goku and his Dragonball are front and center with no one else in sight -- would it have killed Fox to give fans a peek at some of the other characters?

Dragonball is based on the classic manga about a warrior named Goku (Chatwin) sworn to protect mystical orbs known as dragonballs from an evil warlord named Piccolo (played by James Marsters). I know there is a lot more to the story, but considering all the changes that have been promised, it would probably be best if fans don't get too caught up in the details.

Just last week, Marsters told the Japanese magazine Jump Square, "Definitely the story of this movie is different from the original. But it's a necessary change because we need to condense the long story of the original for a movie, for example, some characters in the original don't appear in the movie. And we try to give it a more gritty and graphic feeling."

So while details surrounding the big-screen version of Dragonball have been kept relatively under wraps, it is wise to remember that nothing ever stays secret for long in the age of the internet. Just a few weeks after the first image of Justin Chatwin as the anime hero Goku hit the net, a crop of new magazine scans have been posted over at the Dragonball fan site, dbthemovie.com, with a few new shots of Goku, Bulma (Emmy Rossum) and Master Roshi (Chow Yun Fat). So even though this latest batch looks pretty similar to some of the earlier shots, at least these aren't watermarked.

Based on the classic anime series, Dragonball is the story of the hero Goku and his mission to protect the famed 'dragonballs' from the evil Lord Piccolo (played by James Marsters). Throw in some romance in the form of Jamie Chung and you have a summer blockbuster, right? Well, for director James Wong's sake I hope so, because let's be completely honest: expectations for this film are not high. In fact, most fans are probably just praying that Wong and company don't ruin their favorite characters, but I wouldn't hold your breath.

Dragonball is scheduled to arrive in theaters on April 10, 2009.

Update: Fox has asked us to remove the other two posters since they are not official artwork for the films, but were designed specifically for the trade show. We've been told the official artwork will look nothing like what was presented here.

The Cinema EXPO in Amsterdam is in full swing, and a whole crop of new posters and banners have hit the net (click image above to enlarge). Film1 seems to be the source for all of this stuff, as they've been on the scene at the EXPO all week. Honestly, a combination of cinema and Amsterdam means I NEED to hit this sucker up next year. Film1 also has a few others, including some sort of promo for Watchmen, Monsters vs. Aliens, Wall·E, Ice Age 3 and Madagascar 2.

You'll notice on the Baroness character poster, the subtitle of Rise of Cobra is still there. And is it too early to give Sienna Miller the title of hottest villain in 2009? Doesn't even look like her, right? Meanwhile, the Dragonball art has remained consistent with everything else we've been seeing from that film -- and I believe this is the first piece of marketing material from The Day the Earth Stood Still remake, starring Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly. I'm sure we'll get cleaner images of these in the coming days, but until then, whaddya think?

It might not be the best quality image, but the first glimpse of Justin Chatwin (War of the Worlds) as the anime hero, Goku, has finally hit the net -- and I have to admit, it doesn't look half-bad. A dedicated Dragonball Z fan submitted a scan from the Japanese magazine Shonen Jump to the Dragonball fan site (see to the right; click to enlarge) and even though it's blurry and covered in Japanese, it does give me hope that the film won't be a total disaster. Fox has kept a tight grip on updates for the film, and other than a few MySpace entries from co-star Emmy Rossum, the most we have gotten was a leaked teaser poster.

Dragonball was written and directed by James Wong and tells the story of Goku, a young man locked in a struggle with the evil Piccolo (James Marsters) over some mystical globes known as 'dragon balls'. The debate over whether or not Chatwin was going to be able to pull off the classic manga character was a big source of contention among fans. It's not like it's easy to ignore the obvious racial 'disparity' in hiring Chatwin to play a guy that normally looks like this.

So what do you think? Now that we have finally seen Chatwin in all his manga glory, will it be enough to silence detractors? Or will it be the last piece of the puzzle that proves they were right all along?

Dragonball will arrive in theaters on April 8th, 2009.

Right on the heels of the delayed release date for Dragonball, Slashfilm has managed to score an early look at the teaser poster for the feature film, courtesy of blurry photos from a fan. Maybe it is because I am not all that familiar with the intricacies of Dragonball (beyond their awesome hairstyles), but this poster isn't exactly piquing my curiosity to find out -- and isn't that the whole point of a teaser?

Dragonball was written and directed by James Wong (Final Destination), and stars Justin Chatwin as Goku; a young man put on a quest to retrieve seven "mystical Dragonballs." James Marsters (of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame) plays Goku's nemesis Piccolo, who is also trying to get his hands on the orbs. Other classic Dragonball characters making an appearance in the film are Bulma (played by Emmy Rossum) and Master Roshi (Chow Yun-Fat). So can anyone tell me what exactly these Dragonballs are supposed to be? Because every time I have to read a line like "Goku searches for Dragonballs," I giggle like a 12 year old girl (call me immature if you must).

You can't really blame Fox for delaying the release date for the flick. Dragonball might be a favorite among fans of anime, but it definitely doesn't have the same audience reach as titles like Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Tropic Thunder. Now that there is plenty of time before Dragonball hits theaters, I just hope that Fox can come up with some more exciting marketing materials. Dragonball is due to arrive in theaters on April 8th, 2009.