Thirty years ago, Asteroids was released as a video game, helping usher in the demand for quarters that would continue unabated for about 15 years. Along with Space Invaders, Asteroids was one of the first major arcade games, and it helped put Atari on the map. Now, it will join a diverse and risky collection of consumer products being built at Universal. The Hollywood Reporter says that da U beat three other studios to snag the film rights to Asteroids, which will be written (and to a certa... Read Full Story

Even though 2009 has been a banner year for animated films, there has to be a letdown eventually. Welcome, then, to Planet 51. It's about an astronaut who travels to a distant planet only to find it's not only inhabited but entirely civilized. Except he's greeted as a hostile visitor, so he has to rely on a kid he meets on Planet 51 to return him to his ship so he can leave safely. The concept is OK, I guess, but man, was I bored by about 75% of the trailer. Also, I'm really confuse... Read Full Story

There's tons of stuff from this past week to discuss, including the reviews for the two Wednesday releases trying to unseat Transformers at the box office. Johnny Depp and Christian Bale star in Public Enemies , and the animated sequel Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs hopes to cash in on its name recognition. Remakes, trailers, rumors, legit casting news, and our question of the week (involving Public Enemies star Christian Bale) are all worth a look, so here are the highlights: What... Read Full Story

In the red corner: Megan Fox. In the blue corner: Michael Bay. The Transformers hottie and her director are currently engaged in a public spat stemming from Fox's comments that Bay spent more time working on effects than he did collaborating with his actors. As if that's a shock. "I mean, I can't shit on this movie because it did give me a career and open all these doors for me," Fox admitted to Entertainment Weekly. "But I don't want to blow smoke up people's ass. People are well aware that... Read Full Story

Moon Starring Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey Directed by Duncan Jones Rated R I don't remember what they charge for admission to Graceland, but unless you're a complete Elvis fanatic, it's a ripoff. There's so much mystique about the place, but when you walk in it's much smaller than you imagined - even the Jungle Room - and you can't go upstairs to see where the real action is. As famous homes go, it's pretty disappointing.Then you walk across about an acre of land to The King's ... Read Full Story

Whatever Works Starring Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, and Patricia Clarkson Directed by Woody Allen Rated PG-13 Everyone has a boss or an uncle that revels in telling the same story over and over again. It was really funny the first time you heard it, and it was fine to hear it again when the boss or uncle told it to somebody else. You even tolerated it when he told the same story twice in one day, just because somebody new walked into the room and an uncomfortable silence was i... Read Full Story

Man Overboard Starring Matthew Kaminsky, Mel Fair, Floyd Van Buskirk, and Jeffry Stein Directed by Oliver Robins Not Rated Man Overboard is a comedy seemingly about a lot of things – family, business, money, friends, and questioning all of them – but ultimately, when you step away from the film, it’s one idea that sticks with you: There’s a reward in doing the right thing when the wrong thing might be the easier option. It is a comedy with a moral, and sometimes those movies fall o... Read Full Story

I had the hardest time believing this was real. But as it turns out, there was a romantic comedy about six years ago called Tiptoes. It starred Matthew McConaughey, Kate Beckinsale, Gary Oldman, Patricia Arquette, and Peter Dinklage. I never heard of it until earlier this afternoon. It was never released in the U.S. theatrically, popping up on DVD in August 2004, but I'm still surprised the subject of Tiptoes never came up. You see, not only does it look for all the world like one of the wor... Read Full Story

The official stranglehold Transformers has on the box office is over, at least for one day. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs opened with $13.8 million on Wednesday, good enough to take down what will prove to be the biggest film of the year. As I said in my Fearless Forecast yesterday, I don't expect Ice Age to win the whole weekend, but by the time Friday gets here, this film should have $25 million in the bank or thereabouts. Because it's not a giant event movie the way Transformers is, I d... Read Full Story

American Psycho, The Machinist, Rescue Dawn, The Prestige - that's a pretty impressive list of credentials for a ten-year period. Any working actor today would love to play just one of those roles. Christian Bale is the man behind all four, and he's great in every one of them, each character completely different from the next. But since his reputation for excellence began preceding him, Bale has offered up some fairly uninteresting performances, even though he continues to land charact... Read Full Story