werewolf Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Yes, this is a small story that will appeal only to those who subscribe to Netflix. But only if that percentage of our readership also really enjoys Mystery Science Theater 3000. So if you're not a Netflix member or you (somehow) hate MST3K, then I think you should probably skip ahead to some different articles. Today we have stuff about Showgirls 2 and the return of the Griswalds. Seriously.

But I'll let you in on a non-secret: The Mystery Science Theater 3000 dvds are a little pricey. Some collectors grab 'em all, others trade their homemade copies, and still others (like me) own none of 'em but still like to complain that the DVDs are a little pricey. So here's some awesome news, provided you're a Netflix subscriber: Eight, count 'em eight, excellently MST-ied movies are now available for your enjoyment! Which ones?

Racket Girls! (1951) The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy! (1958) The Girl in Lovers Lane! (1959) First Spaceship on Venus! (1960) Laserblast! (1978) Zombie Nightmare! (1986) Werewolf! (1996) Future War! (1997)

Go now! Watch! Chuckle! And while this little article might seem like little more than a free plug for Netflix, it's important to note that I tweeted precisely THIS request only a few weeks ago. Clearly someone is listening!

Just when you thought your favorite stars from High School Musical were graduating from the big-screen forever, it looks like Vanessa Hudgens (aka Oops, Remember When I Accidentally Took Naked Pictures of Myself) is auditioning for a role in another blockbuster franchise -- only this time she'll get to show her teeth. According to MTV, Hudgens has auditioned for the role of Leah Clearwater in the Twilight sequel, New Moon. Ah, but don't go hoping for tons of biting and sucking on Hudgens' part -- see, Clearwater is a female werewolf who's described as bitter and cynical, and eventually antagonizes Jacob because he's still in love with Bella ... who's about to marry Edward and become a vampire too. The character is also featured in the third and fourth books, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, which means there's a good chance Hudgens would sign for the franchise.

Summit would be smart to cast Hudgens in a role since she'd most definitely bring her High School Musical fanbase (most of which are probably Twilight fans already). Oh, and seeing as she's a total hottie, one might argue that her casting could entice more boys to scope out the sequel. With a bigger budget, a new director (Chris Weitz) and a host of familiar teen names, could New Moon break more box office records when it hits theaters on November 20, 2009?

What do you Twilight fans think of Hudgens? Too cutesy to play a werewolf, or perfect for the role?

Well, this is a bit of a bummer. I've been waiting, it seems like forever, to see when Jack and Diane, Bradley Rust Gray's endlessly gestating "lesbian werewolf" movie that Ellen Page was supposed to star in, would finally go into production. As I wrote waaaaaaay back in September, the film is supposed to be about:

"Jack and Diane, two teenage lesbians, meet in New York City and spend the night kissing ferociously. Diane's charming innocence quickly begins to open Jack's tough skinned heart. But, when Jack discovers that Diane is leaving the country in a week she tries to push her away. Diane must struggle to keep their love alive while hiding the secret that her newly awakened sexual desire occasionally turns her into a werewolf."

Katja von Garnier's Blood and Chocolate is a werewolf movie for people who like teen romances, and a teen romance for people who like werewolf movies. It's no great shakes in either direction, but the crossover attempt is mildly interesting. At least it's not yet another remake filled with the same old tricks. Instead, the film opens with plenty of picturesque shots of Bucharest, Romania, with trees, buildings, fountains, sculptures, and especially the lithe form of Vivian Gandillon (Agnes Bruckner), jogging. If there was any doubt that she's a werewolf, we get an immediate shot of a dog whimpering and backing away under her gaze -- not to mention that her brand of jogging includes bounding off the sides of buildings.

Vivian lives, vaguely dissatisfied, in a community of werewolves that keeps mostly to itself. The pack's leader, Gabriel (Oliver Martinez) worries that an attack could lead bands of marauding humans into their lair, massacring the lot of them. Occasionally, Gabriel waylays a drug dealer or some other scum of society and lets his furry brethren loose on a merry chase. Some of the wolfmen, such as Vivian's cousin Rafe (Bryan Dick), complain that life is too boring, but Vivian has other worries. Every seven years Gabriel takes a new bride, discarding the old ones, and Vivan dreads that she could be next. Worse, she fears that there's nothing she can do about it.

For some reason, news of the upcoming movie Skinwalkers has somehow entirely escaped my general notice. In fact, I'm not even sure I was aware the film was going to exist until very recently, when I read co-writer James Roday discussing it very excitedly. The film, releasing via Lionsgate this December, is now "in the can," and shooting for what Roday calls a "hard R," although an official MPAA rating has yet to be handed down from the great ivory tower. Here's what Roday had to say about his flick: "We're really pumped. We're really pumped about it. It's kind of a return to, like, basic human interaction storytelling in a genre package, which I feel like we haven't had in a really long time."

The story in brief (from what I understand) is that of a 12 year old child "in the middle" of a battle between warring werewolf factions. Roday describes the story as an "epic, be-all-and-end-all of werewolf movies." I'm sure he feels particularly strongly about the flick as he helped write it an all ... but it's taking quite a stand to call your film the be-all-end-all of werewolf movies. Really, you are just asking for people to deride you before your flick even hits the screen. That said, I always seem to enjoy werewolf flicks even if they're terrible, so I'm sure I'll see this one.