the last legion Tagged Articles at Cinematical

No big surprises for last weekend, though Stardust did less business than I was expecting. Rush Hour 3 took top honors, but made $17 million less than Rush Hour 2 did on its opening weekend, and The Bourne Ultimatum held strong for its second week. Here's the break down:

1. Rush Hour 3: $50.3 million
2. The Bourne Ultimatum: $33.7 million
3. The Simpsons Movie: $11.1 million
4. Stardust: $9 million
5. Underdog: $6.5 million

This week's releases bring aliens, gladiators and teenage horn dogs. Yeah, sounds like my prom too. Here's what's coming:

The Invasion
What's It All About: For the fourth time Invasion of the Body Snatchers -- Jack Finney's novel about aliens creating duplicates of people -- is adapted for the screen, this time featuring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig.
Why It Might Do Well: Usually three times is the charm, but the third adaptation of Finney's book -- 1993's Body Snatchers -- was a fairly forgettable exercise. With two really strong leads, The Invasion may be a worthy successor to the excellent 1978 version, and this tale of subversion and paranoia seems to be tailor-made for today's audiences.
Why It Might Not Do Well: A third remake? They may have gone to the well once too often.
Number of Theaters: 2,700
Prediction: $12 million

The Last Legion
What's It All About: The Roman Empire is in mid-tumble and a deposed child emperor seeks out Excalibur, a sword once possessed by Julius Caesar and which will one day belong to the legendary King Arthur.
Why It Might Do Well: The trailer promises a lush production with lots of action.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Some folks may assume The Last Legion is a sequel to something called The First Legion. Stranger things have happened.
Number of Theaters: 2,000
Prediction: $7 million

Superbad
What's It All About: Two high school buddies are accepted into different colleges and must contemplate life without each other as well as desperately seeking to rid themselves of that pesky virginity.
Why It Might Do Well: Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen -- both of whom brought us this summer's hilarious Knocked Up -- are involved respectively as producer and writer, with Rogen also acting in the film. Rottentomatos.com is giving this one a whopping 95% fresh rating.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Star Michael Cera was also on a smart and funny series called Arrested Development that failed to pull in ratings. Might the curse have followed him onto the set of Superbad?
Number of Theaters: 2,800
Prediction: $28 million

My method for predicting this coming weekend's top five involved taking the ages of the directors and dividing them by the number of writers, and adding the number of brothers in the Baldwin family. Don't scoff, it's all very scientific.
1. Superbad
2. Rush Hour 3
3. The Bourne Ultimatum
4. The Invasion
5. The Simpsons Movie

Here's the ranking from last week's competition. Congratulations to Ethan and Bubba for getting perfect scores.
1. Ethan Stanislawski: 16
1. Bubba8193: 16
2. Josh: 13
2. Ian: 13
3. Matt: 12
3. Anna07: 12
4. Ray: 9
4. Corey: 9
4. Curt: 9
4. jasonsmusicpage: 9
5. Skyler: 8
5. Porcalina: 8
5. Nathan Mathieu: 8
6. Mayorjimmy: 7
6. El Borracho: 7

Please post your prediction for the top five films in the comments section below before 5:00 PM on Saturday. One point for every top five movie correctly named, two points for every correct placement, and one extra point for the top movie. Greatness awaits you.

Maybe it's just me, but Colin Firth seems like he could play a lot of different roles, but a battle hardened Roman Legionnaire wouldn't necessarily be one of them. Movieweb is now hosting the full-length trailer for the fantasy epic, The Last Legion. The marketing machine for the movie must be kicking into gear, since it was just last week that we got an exclusive look at the new poster for the film. The cast includes Firth, Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai, Ben Kingsley, and Thomas Sangster as the young emperor Romulus. The story centers on a Roman soldier (Firth), sworn to protect the boy-emperor Romulus as the empire is crumbling. While they are on the run, they join with a mysterious Byzantine warrior (Rai), and in the midst of all the adventure is an origin story of the legendary blade Excalibur. Legion was directed by Doug Lefler, who seems to have a thing for fantasy tales, as he was a regular writer for Xena, Hercules, and was unfortunately also responsible for the direct-to-video sequel to Dragonheart.

So while his role in Legion might be a little out of character, Firth has been keeping busy with some more "traditional" choices. First up is his role in the adaptation of the books of poet Blake Morrison, And When Did You Last See Your Father? But, Firth is also signed for a big-screen version of the hit stage musical Mamma Mia! -- forever solidifying his reputation as a go-to guy for romantic comedy, and the family-fantasy The Moon Princess. Legion will premiere at the upcoming Venice Film Festival this September, but no North American release date has been confirmed. Maybe the Weinstein Co. are looking to gauge some audience reactions first.

At long last, the Colin Firth historical fantasy epic The Last Legion will be hitting theaters on August 24, and The Weinstein Co. has just released to Cinematical a new theatrical poster for the film. The film takes place during the break-up of the Roman Empire, with Firth starring as a Roman legionnaire who must act as a guard for the Emperor's children as the barbarian hordes are closing in. An epic battle ensues, the Roman forces are overwhelmed and scattered, and the boy Emperor Romulus is taken prisoner by the invading Goths. Colin Firth must forge an alliance with representatives of the nearby Byzantine Empire -- specifically a mysterious warrior, played by Indian superstar Aishwarya Rai -- in order to get the boy out of danger. Also coming into play during the story will be a secret sword that comes with its own prophecy: "One edge to defend, one to defeat; In Britannia was I forged to fit the hand of he who is destined to rule." Hmm ... no points for guessing which sword that is. Click on the image above to get the full-sized poster.