ronin Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Crank: High Voltage comes out this weekend, which sends Jason Statham back into a frenzied pinball movie world that has his sweaty bald head running at top speed to keep himself alive ... again. So if you want to keep your levels pegged at 11 this weekend, you might want to consider one of these other movies that have pure Russian racehorse levels of adrenaline pumping through their veins. When we say adrenaline fueled, we don't just mean hyperkinetic, no-attention-span-editing and lots of boring action sequences. That might even qualify Hannah Montana: The Movie for this list.

No, we mean you're on the edge of your seat, neck and shoulders tense, and eyeballs propped open like Malco McDowell in A Clockwork Orange. Cinematical urges you to try this at your own risk, and does not recommend any artery-clogging snacks in the midst of your movie madness. You'll need those suckers wide open to keep the heartpump chugging away, and you can consider yourself exercised for the month of April if you make it through at least three of these movies by Sunday.

Crank

Before writer-directors Neveldine and Taylor concocted another way to brutalize Jason Statham onscreen, they originally did it in this underrated film from 2006. I went into Crank with zero knowledge of the movie, other than the fact that the guy from the Transporter movies, Snatch, and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was in it. I'd hated the Transporter series, but loved the other two so I thought I'd give this a shot. 87 minutes later, I peeled my sweat-soaked back from the theater seat and staggered out to the car. This is non-stop, pure over the top action, and it's well worth seeing. Just take your meds before watching.

So remember back in 2007 when no one could understand why Warner Bros. had chosen to hire Tim Story (Taxi) to direct a feature film version of Vertigo's The Losers? Well, it looks like WB might have come to the same conclusion as we did because Variety reports that Story has now been replaced by Sylvain White. Personally, I haven't been able to wrap my head around either of WB's choices for the comic book flick. It is nothing against either one of these guys, but keep in mind that White directed Stomp the Yard and I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer .

The Losers was originally a DC title about a group of WWII bad-a**es, but in 2003, Andy Diggle revived the title with a few minor changes for Vertigo. The 'new' Losers still centered on a Special Forces team, but the story was now set in the 1990's with the team reporting to the C.I.A. and a mysterious handler known as Max. When the team is betrayed by Max during a dangerous operation and left for dead, the group reunites for revenge.

White has already been setting up some other 'fan boy friendly' projects for 2009, and even though he won't be heading to Castlevania any time soon, there is still his adaptation of Frank Miller's Ronin for WB, and the futuristic thriller Static for Columbia Pictures. James Vanderbilt (Wolverine, Spiderman 4) has already completed the Losers script for Warner Bros, and even though the jury might still out on White's skills, at least Vanderbilt has enough comic book cred for the both of them.

Let's just keep our fingers crossed that White has left his mall sensibilities behind him for good, because I don't think I could take a teen version of The Losers -- could you?

I was wondering what happened to this project. Frank Miller's Ronin was optioned last spring in the glory days of 300's massive box office. And then it faded away after talk of filming it against a blue screen a'la Zack Snyder.

Perhaps realizing that Miller was never actually going to write a sequel to 300 (despite the continued hopes of Mark Canton), Warner Bros has finally revived the project and hired a writer -- The Hollywood Reporter says it is Joby Harold, the man behind the script and camera for Jessica Alba's Awake. Sylvain White is still attached to direct.

Ronin is a series about a masterless samurai who is reincarnated in New York City, sometime in the near future. Of course, New York is a bleak and lawless society -- and in the midst of it, the reincarnated samurai is forced to confront the demon who assassinated his master centuries before. It is one of Miller's earliest works, and arguably the one that he really honed his skills on. Someday, they'll call this his "samurai period." (I wonder if we will ever see his samurai Wolverine on film?)

Darren Aronofsky was once attached to adapt and direct it -- obviously, it fell through, and I can't find any reason as to why. He never seems to hold on to the Miller projects, which is a shame. I can't say that the combination of White and Harold fill me with confidence, particularly after a director like Aronofsky. I guess we'll wait and see.

Details are pretty slim at this point, but it looks like Warner Bros. (elated and loaded after what 300 did at the box office) has just locked up the rights to another well regarded Frank Miller property. The studio has hired director Sylvain White to helm a movie version of Miller's "Ronin," which is the story of a bona-fide samurai who prowls the streets of 2064 searching for evildoers and battling a magical sword-wielding demon. Sounds pretty good to me...

...only ... Sylvain White? Really? The guy who made Stomp the Yard, Trois 3: The Escort and I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer? Really? OK, I guess the WB executives know something that I don't. (Well, something beyond the fact that Sylvain White won't cost as much as an established action director.) Not trying to savage the guy, but ... really? From Stomp the Yard to an action-packed Frank Miller adaptation? OK then.

Odds are we'll also have to contend with a title change, since "Ronin" is already fairly well-known as a John Frankenheimer crime thriller that stars Robert De Niro. My recommendations are: I'll Always Know Who You Decapitated in the Future, Trois 4: The Swordening and Slash the Neck.

In spite of the casting uncertainty and production rumors surrounding Sin City 2, there doesn't appear to be a shortage of Frank Miller material headed to the big screen. The opening date of 300 is looming closer, and now IESB has posted the news of the latest Miller graphic novel to be chosen for a film adaptation. 300 producer Gianni Nunnari has confirmed that he is already planning his next project -- an adaptation of Miller's Ronin. Ronin is the story of a dishonored 13th century samurai existing in an apocalyptic New York packed with mutants, cannibals, and a reincarnated demon while on a quest for redemption. The story has a little bit of everything; Miller himself has described it as "a superhero, science fiction, samurai drama, urban nightmare, gothic romance."

On board to direct this delicate balance of a movie is the unlikely choice of Sylvian White, whose most memorable credit so far is the teen dance drama Stomp The Yard. In a recent interview with White about the project, he answered the question foremost in the mind of fans -- are they sticking to the original story? White admits that some cuts will be made, saying, "Ronin is very dense and very long, so of course we are going to have to streamline the story to fit it within a movie time frame. " Sin City definitely raised the bar when it comes to comic book films, so hopefully White can keep up.