Gamertell

Marc Silvestri, the owner of Top Cow Comics confirmed last week on his MySpace page that Top Cow’s popular heroine Witchblade is coming to the big screen in 2009.

Filming for the comic-to-film adaption of Witchblade is scheduled to begin September 2008. So far, Platinum Studios the developers of the film are planning for a 2009 release. A cast has not yet been announced yet but it looks like…

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In the past couple weeks there have been rumors circulating around the web that a possible movie adaptation of Metroid is in the works. While this is still just a rumor, Michael Bay’s name has surfaced as the director of the Metroid movie.

Bay (Transformers, The Rock, Pearl Harbor), famed for his over-the-top style special effects and mindless action, might be…

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It looks like the Bioshock movie we’ve all been awaiting is actually going to come to fruition. According to Variety, Universal and Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski will be bringing the dystopian world to the silver screen. John Logan, screenwriter behind Oscar-winning The Aviator will be penning the project.

Verbinski had a few apt words about the game experience that bolster hope that the project is in the right hands. From Variety:

“I think the whole utopia-gone-wrong story that’s cleverly unveiled to players is just brimming with cinematic potential...Of all the games I’ve played, this is one that I felt has a really strong narrative.”

Obviously, the game was one of the most complex, best-conceived narratives in recent memory (I’d say across media. It was one hell of a cool story), and I have very high hopes for the film. It certainly seems as if there’s real talent behind the production, so perhaps we’ll soon see the end of the “lame game movie night” mentality. Let’s hope.

Read [Variety]

Title: Iron Man
Release Date: May, 2, 2008
Publisher (Developer): Marvel and Paramount Pictures
Rating: PG-13
Pros: Great acting, very funny, great effects, more contemporary setting and origin, pleasing to Iron Man and comic fans
Cons: Feels like a short movie, limited story, not enough action or Iron Man, to many quick edits, no Nick Fury cameo
Overall Score: One thumb up, one sideways; 80/100; B-; * * * out of five.

Ultimately, Iron Man is a fun ride that doesn’t live up to the story and emotional quality of Batman Begins, nor is it likely to win over a whole new generation of fans like the Spider-Man films have.

Click through for the full review…

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Little information about the next Star Trek film has been reveal since its was first announced back in early 2007, but finally Star Trek 11‘s director, J.J. Abrams (Lost, MI3), spoke with Associated Press writer David Germain (May 1, 2008) and shared some of his thoughts and insights of the next film.

“It was an opportunity to take what I think has been a maligned world — to sound crass, a franchise — and treat it in a way that made it something that I wanted to see,” said Abrams…

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The lame game movie night was created with a purpose. As a game journalist and film student, I wanted to understand – to really get at the core of why game movies tend to be so terrible. So I’ve been trudging through the catalogue of game to movie adaptations, two at a time, suffering through it all so you, the reader, can watch from a safe distance. This week, the offerings were two completely lame, action-centric flicks from 2007: BloodRayne II: Deliverance and Hitman.

BloodRayne II is the sequel to the delightfully terrible BloodRayne, a film so bad; it dominated the razzies in 2006. In truth, it was one of those wonderfully stupid films you love to laugh at, and the sheer weight of talent (Kristanna Lokan, Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, Billy Zane, Michelle Rodriguez, all of whom have proven star power) made the film the ultimate “WTF were they thinking!” guilty pleasure.

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As bad as most videogames movies tend to be, some of them are still relatively enjoyable. A few even manage to accumulate success in the box office, ensuring a sequel. Historically , this has not boded well for the (already tenuous) merits of the franchises at hand. Both of this week’s flicks had fans scratching their heads wondering what the hell happened after a successful first movie.

Join me as I shake my head angrily at two “could have been a contender” films: Mortal Kombat: Annihilation and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: the Cradle of Life…

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At a sit-down panel discussion at this weekend’s New York Comic-Con, director Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy, Blade 2) denied rumors of his possible involvement in a BioShock motion picture.

Del Toro, who has also been linked to a possible Hobbit movie, stated in the panel, “No, I’m a big fan of BioShock, but I’m not involved in creating any movie out of it.” He did end his comment with, “Not yet...”

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After three animated movies and a successful animated series, popular anime series Ghost in the Shell is heading to the big screen as a live action motion picture. Ghost in the Shell is being produced by DreamWorks under the guidance of Avi Arad, the man behind many Marvel movies including X-Men and the upcoming Iron Man.

ICV2] Also Read [Variety reported that a bidding war has been raging over Masamune Shirow’s classic anime series but, ultimately, the property was acquired by Steven Spielberg after he…

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It’s time for yet another edition of lame game movie nights, wherein our intrepid columnist takes in a double feature of videogame films and lives to tell the experience. This time, we’re diving right in to a subgenre of a subgenre – the horror videogame movie. Since the games that these films are based off of are much more terrifying than their film counterparts, we were in for a real “treat” this week when we survived Doom and House of the Dead.

I began the night with Doom (2005) a dumb but competent horror-action flick. The film is loosely based on the famous early FPS, and involves a bunch of burly space Marines (led by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) that are tasked with exploring and protecting the few civilians left on an extraterrestrial archeological dig. Of course, there are monsters running around dark corridors, and plenty of fan-service shots (mimicking the FPS view), so the plot stays true to the franchise.

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