ROTTEN TOMATOES: Weekly Ketchup: "Halo," "The Dark Knight," "Sin City 2," and More!

Weekly Ketchup: "Halo," "The Dark Knight," "Sin City 2," and More!

by Binh Ngo | August 11, 2006

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This week in Ketchup: Christian Bale shares his thoughts on the new "Batman Begins" sequel title, the casting of Heath Ledger as The Joker, and when we can expect him in the Dark Knight's cowl. Oh Bats, we wish we knew how to quit you. With all eyes on Mel Gibson after his drunken antics, maybe announcing his desire to make another "Lethal Weapon" movie can help deflect some of the attention. But you, the readers, have made it clear that you want to see MORE, not less of those antics. Good news and bad news for fans of the popular "Halo" video game. The movie now has a director...Mr. Neill Blomkamp, a television commercial director making his feature debut. Okay, everyone mostly agreed that the news is pretty grim. Read on for more about the Wachowski Brothers' involvement with "Speed Racer," "Sin City 2," and more.

You'll want to read what Alexis Bledel has to say about "Sin City 2."

The Week's Most Popular News:

Christian Bale Talks "Dark Knight" and Heath Ledger
What with the new Bat-title ("The Dark Knight") and the new bat-villain (Heath Ledger as The Joker), it seems that Bat-actor Christian Bale is pretty happy with the way his "Batman Begins" sequel is coming together.

NOW Mel Wants to Do Another "Lethal Weapon"?
In a move that might be dismissed as "PR B.S." by many, Mel Gibson (allegedly) wants to head back to Riggsville and star in "Lethal Weapon 5" -- despite his long-standing refusal to climb back into that particular character.

Snake Plissken to "Escape from Earth"?
John Carpenter's "Escape from New York" is a true-blue cult classic among (male) movie fans of a certain age (old, like me), but the goofy follow-up, "Escape from L.A.," didn't exactly strike the same gold-mine.

British Director Bails on "Bond 22"
We still have a few months to go before the 21st James Bond adventure, "Casino Royale," hits the screens, and already the series producers are looking for a director for the 22nd.

Halo" Has a Director!
Visual effects veteran Neill Blomkamp has been announced as the new director of vid-game adaptation "Halo," which will be produced by "Lord of the Rings" Oscar-winner Peter Jackson.

In Other News:

Wachowski Brothers will write and direct the live action adaptation of "Speed Racer," which is awaiting the greenlight from WB. Vince Vaughn is reported to be still involved with the project, probably playing Racer X.

Will Ferrell is attached to star in another sports movie. Titled "Semi-Pro," the movie takes place in the '70s and will somehow involve basketball.

Vin Diesel has been confirmed for the lead role in "Babylon A.D," with Mathieu Kassovitz ("Gothika") directing. The rock band with the same name is in no way involved.

Becky "doesn't die" in "Sin City 2," Alexis Bledel confirmed.

Brett Ratner ("Rush Hour") is eyeing to remake "The Boys of Brazil" for New Line.

Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson will reteam in "Fool's Gold" for director Andy Tennant and Warner Bros.

"Casino Royale"'s theme song will be "more up tempo and a little more aggressive" than other Bond movies, musician Chris Cornell revealed.

Who will play Speed in the live-action adaptaton?

Related Items

Movie:	Casino Royale
	Batman Begins
	Halo
	Escape from New York
Celeb:	Alexis Bledel
	Lasse Hallstrom
	Heath Ledger
	Kate Hudson
	Matthew McConaughey
	Samuel L. Jackson
	Kurt Russell
	Hayden Christensen
	Mel Gibson
	Will Ferrell
	Christian Bale
	Christopher Nolan

(1-10 of 10 posts) | Reply

Super Simba writes:
on Aug 12 2006 07:46 AM

A Speed Racer movie...

BAH-HA-HA-HA!

(Reply to this)

Super Simba writes:
on Aug 12 2006 07:47 AM

I dunno about the Halo director being grim news...I thought "Alive in Joburg" was fantastic, and I'm interested in seeing what he's got in store for this movie.

(Reply to this)

the-russian writes:
on Aug 12 2006 08:17 AM

"The Boys of Brazil," do they mean "The Boys FROM Brazil"? That might be interesting...

(Reply to this)

IgnorancePersonified writes:
on Aug 12 2006 10:33 AM

In reply to this comment (#842056)
My thoughts exactly. Did you see his other short by the name of "TempBot." I thought it was fantastic as well, but more subtle. This director should be able to handle all elements of this movie, especially with Jackson supporting him.

(Reply to this)

Mr. Positive writes:
on Aug 12 2006 02:55 PM

[b]Halo Director is not grim at all[/b]
Neil Blomkamp has done splendid work before. He's also an avid Halo fanatic
http://www.aintitcoolnews.com/display.cgi?id=24139
Just because you are not a well known director doesn't mean it's a loss. In fact, I see it as a gain. I'm sure halo fans are much happier with Neil on board (a unknown) who loves the universe and characters, than Transformers fans who got their famous Director Michael Bay, who has openly said he is not a fan of the cartoon.

(Reply to this)

dylan21484nj writes:
on Aug 12 2006 11:44 PM

the Wachowskis doing Speed Racer? doesn't sound like their kind of film. at least with the Matrices and V for Vendetta, there was some kind of deep thought-provoking messages in the stories. what kind of deep meaning does Speed Racer have? and if they try to inject some kind of philosophical pondering or socio-political commentary, it would fit like a square peg in a round hole. Speed Racer sounds more like a light-hearted, less-meaningful, fun project. hopefully they keep it that way.

(Reply to this)

Master King Sexington writes:
on Aug 13 2006 12:07 AM

In reply to this comment (#842058)
I'm simply worried because he has no pull in hollywood and he might not have much creative control. David Fincher's first movie was Alien 3 and look how that turned out. Had nothing to do with talent. Imagine if he'd been given complete creative control of that one. Large franchises and first time directors simply don't mix. That's why it's grim news.

(Reply to this)

GoldenGoat writes:
on Aug 13 2006 08:47 AM

Well, Halo fans are certainly better off that Transformers fans. You could put a chimp behind the camera and most likely get a better film than Michael Bay could make.

Still, one has to wonder why they'd put someone with NO features under his belt in charge of such a large franchise. It's not like Halo is some fledgeling project that's desperate to get exposure; the thing has an instant audience by way of the video game's fan base. Why not take your time and get a director you know could do it right? I'm not saying the new guy WON'T do a good job ... but who the heck knows what he's capable of? A little six minute short really doesn't tell us anything about what he'd do with a big-budget feature.

(Reply to this)

Super Simba writes:
on Aug 13 2006 09:06 AM

I see your point...The review on Ain�t it Cool News really made me happy, however, because the guy sounds like he really loves what he's doing, which is always a good sign, but at the same time knows to respect the material he's working with.

Still, it's probably way too soon to make any assumptions.

(Reply to this)

guest123 writes:
on Oct 18 2007 07:58 PM

In reply to this comment (#842062)
you absolutely dont know who Peter Jackson is or...you just dont go out enough.. he is one of the best directors there are!!so the halo movie is going to be great.

(Reply to this)