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David Tennant and Billie Piper Will Return For the 'Doctor Who' 50th Anniversary Special

Let all the timey whimey fun begin! It's official: The Tenth and Eleventh Doctors will cross paths!

The big Who news of the morning is big. BBC has confirmed via their website and official Doctor Who Twitter feed that David Tennant and Billie Piper are on board for the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special set to air on November 23rd.

The highly anticipated episode starts shooting in 3D this week. Today's official announcement also allows BBC to herald their high profile return on their own terms. With the episode's shooting start date upon us, Tennant and Piper are now safe to film exterior scenes and be photographed by fans or paps without the fear of them lifting Who's typical shroud of secrecy.

My next question is: 'Who else?"

#DoctorWho50th: David Tennant and Billie Piper to return for blockbuster celebrations with John Hurt also confirmed: bbc.in/113uh1K
— Doctor Who Official (@bbcdoctorwho) March 30, 2013

From BBC:

"David Tennant and Billie Piper to return for blockbuster celebrations with John Hurt also confirmed.

The BBC has today revealed some of the all-star cast that will mark the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. David Tennant and Billie Piper will join current Doctor and companion, Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman, while John Hurt (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Alien, Harry Potter) will also co-star. 

Last seen as the Doctor on January 1st 2010, this will be the first time Tennant has reprised his role as the Tenth Doctor. During his reign as the Time Lord, Tennant appeared in three series as well as several specials. He was first revealed as the Doctor in the 2005 series finale, ‘The Parting of the Ways’. 

Meanwhile Billie Piper, who played companion Rose Tyler for two series following the reboot in 2005, will appear in the show for the first time since featuring in Tennant’s last episode, ‘The End of Time’ in 2010.

Also confirmed to join the cast is John Hurt who will also co-star in the 3D anniversary special that will form part of blockbuster celebrations, set to take over the BBC. Produced by BBC Cymru Wales for BBC One, the 50th anniversary will be written by Steven Moffat and Directed by Nick Hurran. 

Filming for the 50th anniversary starts this week. Meanwhile a brand new series starts on BBC ONE today (30 March) at 6:15pm for a run of eight epic episodes, which officially introduces the Doctor’s newest companion, Clara Oswald, played by Jenna-Louise Coleman."

An additional factor into the announcement may have been the early the revelation in latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine, which was sent out to subscribers earlier than scheduled this weekend.

The return of the Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler is the first big casting news regarding the long awaited episode, which has been the object of relentless speculation regarding which, if any, of the previous Doctors or companions would join Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman.

In January, Tennant claimed he "knew nothing" about the 50th Special when he was a guest on The Jonathan Ross Show, but was nonetheless warned by the BBC to keep mum on the matter.

Doctor Who returns to the airwaves tonight on BBC America at 8PM with the mid-season premiere The Bells of Saint John.

SOURCE: BBC, DoctorWhoTV

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Film Review - THE HOST ★☆☆☆☆

Yesterday I wrote my three star review for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, a movie I thoroughly enjoyed but completely understood I was among its intended target audience. For me it delivered for what it was and earned its positive review. However I know not everyone would enjoy it as much as I did, and I have seen some scathing reviews from both mainstream reviewers and fan boy sites alike. But I can understand how moviegoers who fall way outside the G.I. Joe demographic would sooner run for the hills if given the choice of sitting through that movie or not.

A day later I find myself on the other side of the fence, writing a review for the silly, if not absurd at times tween sci-fi soap opera The Host. While I am good to go for any sci-fi film, I do not consider myself in any way of the mindset to appreciate the storytelling demographic author Stephanie Meyer brought forth to the big screen with her Twilight series.

So here comes The Host, the adaptation of Meyer's 2008 best selling novel that revisits the forbidden love themes that were the driving forces throughout The Twilight Saga. And much like my utter disconnection to Twilight, the same can be said for me in regards to The Host.

In the film's prologue we learn that in the near future, Earth at long last has found peace. All the evils brought forth by mankind have been excised and life has never been better for our little blue marble in the universe. But we learn soon enough that aliens have effectively taken control of the planet for the greater good via an Invasion of the Body Snatchers inspired scheme.

Alien symbiotes who happen to call themselves Souls have managed to crawl their way into human bodies and inhabit every living human being on the planet. They have made it a priority to not only right all the wrongs in our daily lives, but to live in our buildings, drive our cars and just freeload off our civilization's hard work.

Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan) is one of the few remaining humans who has so far evaded possession, and is on the run with her brother Jamie (Chandler Canterbury) and beau Jared (Max Irons). Alas her time runs out and upon imminent capture, throws herself out of a window, choosing death over allowing alien acquisition of her body.

Melanie does not die from the fall, and when implanted with a Soul dubbed the Wanderer, she finds herself a prisoner in her own body. From this point on we are forced to endure an 'inner voice struggle' with Melanie nagging the Wanderer within her own head. For us this comes in the form of a constant irritating voice over as we effectively witness the film's main character argue with herself for nearly two hours.

The Wanderer is assigned to search through Melanie's memories so the other free humans can be tracked down for assimilation by a squad of alien bloodhounds led by the Seeker (Diane Kruger). Melanie somehow convinces the intrigued Wanderer to take her body to the super secret desert location where a human faction resides and reunite with her loved ones, including her Uncle Jeb (William Hurt), the grizzled leader of the rebel group.

What follows is really where all rhyme and reason are firmly tossed out the window. The Wanderer eventually wins over the desperate survivalists (because it's Melanie's body after all), is re-named Wanda by her new human buddies, and subsequently dabbles in a ridiculous forbidden love triangle with Melanie's grieving boyfriend Jared and his best friend Ian (who actually falls in love with the Wanderer/Wanda). Frankly I even had trouble distinguishing between Jared and Ian, as all the male characters are cast from the same chiseled CW model.

If there was any attempt made at making a movie out of a juvenile novel that wouldn't insult adults (the Harry Potter folks managed to pull it off throughout eight movies), maybe we would have have something worthwhile here to talk about. But the film is so chock full of the same sappy forbidden banter that poisoned the similarly themed Twilight Saga, and is plagued with a cast of characters who simply make so many inane decisions you find yourself perpetually shaking your head in disbelief over what's transpiring on screen.

When you get to the point when for no good reason whatsoever a human falls in love with what should be perceived as nothing less than a threatening alien invader in sheep's clothing, the film clearly enters the 'Why, God why?' zone. It's time to either throw up your hands or throw in the towel. But in Meyer's never edgy world of storytelling, there is a gaggle of interchangeable male cast members for the main audience, but worse only one clear cut villain in Kruger's Seeker. As it turns out in a cop out, the Souls truly aren't without yes, souls, and are not the one-dimensional malevolent invaders you should be rightfully rooting against, which renders nearly every aspect of conflict absolutely pointless.

The Host takes an intriguing sci-fi premise and executes it with unabashed tween fanfare that only an eleven year old could possibly find forgiveness for. Long stretches of sappy dialogue that rank up there with the greatest hits of Anakin and Padme force you to wonder how writer/director Andrew Niccol (Gattaca) kept himself and his cast straight faced throughout production.

Perhaps this is all acceptable fare to the Twi-Hard crowd that pushed Stephanie Meyer's big screen adaptations to the box office stratosphere. Truth be told I am guilty of enjoying my fair share of mindless action films and comedies that display a similar disrgard for the movie goer's intelligence. But if humans can find true love amongst vampires and werewolves  in one franchise, Meyer has successfully threatened  us with a new silly potential sci-fi series to play upon similar themes overcoming forbidden romance.  

The Host opens on March 29th.

REVIEW RATING: ★☆☆☆☆
Directed By: Andrew Niccol
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Diane Kruger, Jake Abel, Max Irons, William Hurt, Chandler Canterbury
Studio: Open Road
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 125 minutes

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Film Review - G.I. JOE: RETALIATION ★★★☆☆

To address the elephant in the room, yes G.I. Joe: Retaliation is a marked improvement over its 2009 predecessor G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Not that you should be expecting Platoon from either entry, but director Jon M. Chu has taken the Hasbro toys based franchise and embraced its history to steer the series in the right direction.

Make no mistake, this is a film targeted firmly at Joe fans (guilty as charged), and these G.I.'s are more "Hell Yeah" than "Yo Joe." But us older kids (guilty again) won't be disappointed and will appreciate the sequel's grittier tone, conscious effort to streamline the cast of characters, and reverence given towards the old school source material.

Thankfully you won't need to check your brain as far away for this adventure. The action is a lot more intense and the stakes are higher. The Unites States government is infiltrated at its highest level and the world is put on alert with a little good old fashioned nuclear threat.

While it's not a necessity to see the first entry, Retaliation picks up where we left off. With the identity of the President of the United States (Jonathan Pryce) having been taken over by Zartan, Cobra's resident Master of Disguise (as seen at the conclusion of the first installment), upon his orders the Joes are blindsided in a brutal ambush, survived only by Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) and Flint (D.J. Cotrona). Luckily for our favorite black-clad armored ninja Snake Eyes, he is off perusing his Arashikage dojo comrade Storm Shadow, and spared the grim fate of most of his comrades.

Retaliation scores its biggest victory with less Channing Tatum as Duke and the addition of Dwayne Johnson's Roadblock, a fan favorite character from the comic books and animated series. Johnson brings the necessary charisma, brawn and big guns as the new Joe leader. It should also come as little surprise that once again he's found a role to effortlessly balance his tough guy side while knocking out one liners like nobody's business.

Returning ninja favorites Snake Eyes (Ray Park) and Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee) have their own layered side story in the film that heavily plays to the mythos and history of the characters, culminating in a spectacular zip line and swords mountainside sequence. Ninja tales have fallen the wayside in the movies, and what we are presented with here is a satisfying jump back into their shadowy world.

Fans fearful of Bruce Willis overkill playing the original G.I. Joe, General Joe Colton, can rest easy. Willis brings his best Bruce Willis to the role, but is here to solely lend some extra star power to the film in what amounts to an extended cameo that also manages to lighten the tone in the right places. Another standout is Ray Stevenson as Firefly, a brutal straight shooter Cobra weapons specialist who is also physically capable of going hand-to- hand, toe-to-toe with Roadblock.

The first film was an unabashed loud CGI bombastic big screen cartoon, but despite Retaliation's best attempts to tone it down, by the time the film fully reveals Cobra's grand diabolical scheme, the weapon of destruction qualifies for the Doomsday Device Hall of Fame along side the Weather Dominator and M.A.S.S Device from the '80s animated show. However in a big screen PG-13 rated movie, there is an actual death toll, and its massive. Not only is this Cobra Commander not screwing around, but Chu films him like evil royalty, composing every shot as a glowing homage to the iconic chrome masked villain. But these are all necessary steps to successfully make it work as an enjoyable G.I. Joe movie.

Where the Joes are stripped down the basics (bye bye to those silly hi-tech accelerator suits, hello khaki civvies) Cobra is upgraded to its fully armed glory. HISS tanks make their welcome big screen debut along with a black painted armory that really finally bring the evil organization to life. 

After an eleventh hour decision to covert the film to 3D, the original release date was bumped from its initial May 2012 window. I can't say that all the effort to add the extra depth was worth the substantial delay. As more and more films are shot in native 3D, post conversion is tougher to visually compete with that, and it shows here. The mountain ninja sequence squeezes some mileage from the conversion, but overall the style of the film doesn't benefit from it with the quick cut editing, close up brawls, quick camera moves, and a director who saw his conceived-and-shot-in-2D movie taken away from him.

Despite being guilty of including an abundance of necessary cartoon plot elements that soften its harder edges, G.I. Joe: Retaliation is nonetheless a solid step forward for the series as a stripped down quasi-restart. When the film gains points with high octane grit, it will inevitably snap you back with comic book staples to remind you what its actually based on, but that's perfectly OK. This is a fun action packed ride if you allow it to be just that.

With its defined heroes versus villains, big guns, explosions, high flying ninja action and hi-tech tanks, what's not to sit back and enjoy? G.I. Joe: Retailation is what is to be expected if this is the type of film you expect to enjoy. Plus with the direction the series has taken, I would really like to see where a third film would go, especially with the untapped rich arsenal of characters still waiting to hit the big screen. Time for a call to duty for Shipwreck, Bazooka, Recondo, Snow Job, Blowtorch, Deep Six, and Wild Bill for the next mission.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation opens in 3D and IMAX on March 28th.

REVIEW RATING: ★★★☆☆
Directed By: Jon M. Chu
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, D.J. Cotrona, Ray Park, Byung-hun Lee, Adrianne Palicki
Studio: Paramount
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 100 minutes

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Doctor Who's Jenna-Louise Coleman On The Who and What About Clara Oswin Oswald

"You're the impossible girl, the only mystery worth solving," so says the Doctor in describing his new companion Clara, played by Jenna-Louise Coleman.

With the Doctor Who machine raging on as we rapidly approach the show's highly anticipated mid-season premiere this Saturday night, Access Hollywood caught up in person with Jenna, who as fans know will be making her third first appearance on the iconic British sci-fi show. 

The actress confirms that the Clara we meet in this week's episode The Bells of Saint John is in fact, a entirely new character. But we will have to wait and see how it all ties together in the typical mind bending Who fashion we have become accustomed to.
While she was as expected tight lipped regarding juicy details on the show's 50th Anniversary Special, she not only revealed shooting the landmark episode is imminent, but that her Grandma has plans to visit the super secret set.

"Well, I think she’s gonna come on set when we’re filming the 50th, which she’s very excited about. She’s gonna be patting Matt a lot. Matt’s her favorite Doctor," she told Access. "I can’t wait. I’ve got a new draft of the script to read today, We’re shooting in 3D."

Following the quick kiss between the Doctor and Clara in the 2012 Christmas Special The Snowmen, where Coleman played a version of the mysterious character in Victorian-era London, would romance carry over into the modern day incarnation who will be at the Doctor's side for the remainder of the season?

"Um, I think well, we start Series Seven and it’s very much like, we haven’t met this Clara before. So we start the story again. So what happens in the Christmas episode doesn't necessarily carry on through. So there’s, I think there’s definitely always a certain level of kind of a frisson and a flirtation and kind of a form of attraction always between the Doctor and his companions," Coleman said.

"I think that’s one thing you always want to know, is it going to be a romance story between the Doctor and the companion, but I think, that you know, there’s so much more at work here and I kind of don’t want to give anything away going into the series, but it’s a new start again. It’s a completely, it’s a different character, it’s a different girl and we’ll, we will all understand why," she revealed.

Utmost secrecy is a must for all things Who these days. Among other things, Coleman revealed her code name was "Men On Waves" during the audition process for the role of the new Who companion.

"'Men on Waves,' which is an anagram, which I figured out later, for 'Woman Seven,'" Coleman recalled. "And so when you’re going into the BBC, and you know you have all these code names and talking to your agent on the phone, it’s ‘So, men on waves…’"

And when it came to strong female leads for Coleman to check out to prepare for playing Clara, Matt Smith suggested an iconic character few would argue with.

"Do you know, again, something Matt suggested that I watch, which I really enjoyed, was the first Indiana Jones movie. And that was brilliant for Doctor Who and I loved the fact that she [Marion Ravenwood] wasn’t the damsel in distress. It was quite fiery and you know, she wasn’t kind of just the helpless woman I suppose. So that was great to watch, between those two."

 You can check out the full Access Hollywood interview HERE.

 

Doctor Who returns on BBC America with The Bells of Saint John on Saturday at 8 PM.

SOURCE: AccessHollywood.com

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TRAILER : 'The Wolverine'

As promised, the highly anticipated first trailer to The Wolverine went online today. Set after the X-Men films, the second solo adventure for Hugh Jackman's mutant takes him to Japan searching for mortality, while dealing with ghosts from his past (which includes Famke Jennsen's Jean Grey).

The Wolverine claws its way into 3D theaters on July 27th.

Check out the international version below.

The domestic trailer offers a slightly different look.

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New Posters and Images From 'The Wolverine' Show Off Logan's Claws & Co-Stars

While we anxiously await the first trailer to hit on Wednesday, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly and ComingSoon.net, new posters and movie images from the The Wolverine have hit the web. In addiotn to new glimpes of Hugh Jackman as the popular Marvel Mutant, we are given the first official looks at his female co-stars Yukio (Rila Fukushima), Mariko (Tao Okamoto) and Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova).

Directed by James Mangold, (3:10 To Yuma), The Wolverine is set to hit theaters in 3D on July 26th.

"Based on the celebrated comic book arc, this epic action-adventure takes Wolverine, the most iconic character of the X-Men universe, to modern day Japan. Out of his depth in an unknown world he faces his ultimate nemesis in a life-or-death battle that will leave him forever changed. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner struggle against his own immortality, emerging more powerful than we have ever seen him before."

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly, ComingSoon.net

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Martin Freeman Talks Playing Bilbo Baggins in 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which has amassed over $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales since its release in December, made its debut for home viewing on 3D Blu-ray and DVD earlier this week with an impressive amount of bonus features. Director Peter Jackson returned to New Zealand to film the highly anticipated prequel trilogy to The Lord of the Rings, and fans returned to theaters in droves to see what he had up his sleeve, and we have two more chapters on deck for December 2013 and 2014.

You can read my review of the film, as presented theatrically in 3D and 48 frames per second HERE.

I was thrilled to cover the press junket in New York City in December as a producer for Access Hollywood, and had the opportunity to talk to Peter Jackson, Andy Serkis, Sir Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman and Richard Armitage in one-on-one interviews shortly before the film opened.

Below are excerpts from my chat with Martin Freeman, who plays Bilbo Baggins, the title Hobbit of the trilogy who talked about the good chemistry he had with the cast of, discusses filming his very first scene on the set with Andy Serkis in the crucial cave sequence between Bilbo and Gollum, and why his Sherlock co-star Benedict Cumberbatch wanted the role of Smaug (who will appear in the second installment).

SOURCE: AccessHollywood.com

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And Now The First Trailer for 'Doctor Who: The Bells of Saint John'

No stopping the Who locomotive now with a week to go until the series returns with the mid-season premiere. Earlier today we saw a prequel scene to The Bells of Saint John hit the web, now BBC has set forth the full trailer for the first of eight new Doctor Who episodes.

The Doctor tracks down the modern day counterpart of Clara Oswin Oswald, and the new adventures begin...

"The Doctor’s search for Clara Oswald brings him to modern day London, where Wi-Fi is everywhere. Humanity lives in a Wi-Fi soup. But something dangerous is lurking in the signals, picking off minds and imprisoning them. As Clara becomes the target of this insidious menace, the Doctor races to save her and the world from an ancient enemy."

And here are clips from the episode shown on BBC.

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Film Review - OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN ★★★☆☆

As the first of two appropriately dubbed "Die Hard In The White House" films scheduled for this year, I found Olympus Has Fallen overall to be a tight ultra violent action thriller. Are there a few bumps along the way? That is for certain. Tests of logic? Undoubtedly. But the film certainly delivers as an above average shoot 'em up thriller you can enjoy at the edge of your seat.

Directed by Antione Fuqua, whose previous work also showcased his penchant for darker takes on tried ideas (Training Day, King Arthur, Shooter, Tears of the Sun), Olympus finds ex-CIA op Gerard Butler as the sole opposition up against a regime of North Korean extremists, led by a cold as ice Rick Yune as Kang, who have kicked down the doors of the Whte House and taken the President of the United States hostage.

Your deeper enjoyment of the film may rely predominantly on whether you are either frightened or insulted by Olympus' scenario of terrorist commandoes who quickly and effectively infiltrate the White House in a strategic show of calculated brute force and make hostages out of the President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart), the Vice President (Phil Austin) and the Secretary of Defense (Melissa Leo).

Throw in for good measure the "there is only one man who can save the day" formula, a "child in jeopardy" subplot and the 'Why God why?' irony of turning America's "foolproof" failsafe security measure into the ultimate tool of its own destruction, what you have before you are a few things that require you to take the 'check your brain at the door' option for full viewing pleasure.

Gerard Butler, perhaps still best known for his ab-tastic star turn in the swords and sandals epic 300, and following a dismal string of failed romantic comedies, is back where he belongs as Mike Banning, an ex-CIA agent with a serious asterisk on his résumé: he failed to save the first lady's (Ashley Judd) life in an icy road mishap years earlier.

When fate knights him the John McClane of Olympus (the code name for the White House), Banning must singlehandedly get Asher's son to safely as well as locate and free the President all the while maintaining a (very bloody) high terrorist body count. Butler brings the welcome necessary presence and physical brawn here to anchor the film as a character to root for. He's likable with scattered traces of humor. Thankfully the script holds him to a minimum snarky catchphrases. But that's not to say the script is immune from a few real misplaced roll your eyes zingers.

The assembled supporting cast is solid, with a right balance achieved by Eckhart, Leo, and Yune in addition to Angela Bassett as the Secret Service Director, Morgan Freeman as the Speaker of the House and acting President, Dylan McDermott and Robert Forster.

Fuqua packs more than enough tension and adrenaline to perch you at the edge if your seat at times, even though some sequences follow an all too familiar action formula.

The CGI effects leave something to be desired. If there was one actual shot of the real White House used in the film, I would be surprised. The visual shock value exists regarding the attack of the National Mall, but the technical presentation is lacking in numerous shots. Olympus does risk some 9/11 imagery backlash with its big screen mass destruction wrought on our nation's capital, and the overt non-stop bloody shoot 'em up violence is certainly not going to sit well with everyone since the Newtown tragedy. I don't think you should be surprised by any of the content, but the extent the film pulls no punches with  its well earned R-rated violence is at times eye opening.

For a Friday or Saturday night action fix, Olympus successfully pulls off a solid riff on the Die Hard model (ironically even better that this year's A Good Day To Die Hard). Butler delivers big in this kick ass role as the fallen soldier who has the ultimate opportunity to reprove his worth.

Director Fuqua definitely knows his way around an action film, but a story further off the beaten path would have opened it up to more. Overall I thought Olympus Has Fallen delivered as a gritty violent nail biter that maintained a high tensioned pace from beginning to end, and will rank as one of the best action films of the year in my book.

But if this isn't enough for you, fret not, Hollywood has returned to its 'everything in two's' mindset. Set your calendars for White House Down from Independence Day director Roland Emmerich. This version of the same plot hits theaters in June and stars Channing Tatum subbing for Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx in for Eckhart.

Olympus Has Fallen opens on March 22nd.

REVIEW RATING: ★★★☆☆
Directed By: Antione Fuqua
Starring: Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart, Angela Bassett, Melissa Leo, Rick Yune
Studio: Film District
Rated: R
Running Time: 119 minutes

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