New Model, Original Parts

When it comes to car movies... it gotta be Fast and Furious!!!

Batman Gotham Knight

There's The Dark Knight and there's Batman Gotham Knight.
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Summer of Destiny

des-ti-ny -noun
The inevitable or necessary fate to which a particular person or thing is destined; one's lot.

Is destiny good or bad? Who knows?
What does it mean to fulfill one's destiny?
And do we really want it?
Or do we have a choice?

Some movies coming up this June could help answer those questions.



First up we have Po the Panda (voiced by Jack Black) in Kung Fu Panda who's the laziest animal at The Valley of Peace, but when adversity strikes, he found himself the unlikely hero to fulfill an ancient prophecy.
Kung Fu Panda trailer



Next there is The Incredible Hulk.
He's Bruce Banner (Edward Norton), a brilliant doctor who's exposed to radiation that turns him into an uncontrollable dangerous green beast of massive destruction.
With New York City in danger can he come to terms with the very destiny he's running from and become the city's savior?
The Incredible Hulk trailer



Based on 1960's popular spy comedy Get Smart, Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) is an analyst for U.S. spy agency CONTROL, whose dream came true when he gets promoted to Agent status but only because CONTROL has no other choice when all other agents had been killed.
Is he destined to be an agent or is it just a bad mistake?
Get Smart trailer



Wanted is a story about Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy), an unhappy young man whose life changed after his long lost assassin father is murdered.
After being approached by a mysterious woman named Fox (Angelina Jolie), he discovers that he possesses special powers that enable him to become a deadly assassin.
But is killing his destiny of choice?
Wanted trailer



Lastly and possibly the best of all we have WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth Class), a rubbish clearing robot left behind on earth by the humans.
After 700 years of doing the same thing he discovers a new purpose when Eve, an advanced robot sent by the humans appears.
Will this new purpose lead him to his very destiny?
WALL-E trailer

Destiny may find you.
Destiny may elude you.
You may try to search for it.
You may try to hide from it.

And in the end Destiny will reveal itself in time...

"A man does whatever he can until his destiny is revealed to him."
- The Last Samurai

Movie Preview: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

The third installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean would fold its sails and come ashore on 24th May 2007, into our theatres.

More release dates here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0449088/releaseinfo

Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley are back again after two hugely succesfully voyage since 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and last year's sequel, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

Dead Man's Chest became only the third film in cinema history to rack in $1billion worldwide, behind Titanic and The Lord of the Rings.

The ending of Dead Man's Chest left us with the death of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) as he charged into the jaws of monstrous octopus Kraken, and the vow of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), as well as with the rest of the pirate crew to bring their captain back from the dead with the help of a laughing Captain Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush).

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End would therefore be about the attempt to bring Captain Jack Sparrow back from the dead.

To put it more precisely, the captain is now captive in ghost pirate Davy Jones's Locker awaiting his rescue.

What you should know as well is that continuing from Dead Man's Chest, Davy Jones's beating heart has fallen into the hands of evil Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company who wants the monopoly of all sea trading to himself.

With the heart of Davy Jones, who controls the sea, Lord Beckett now controls everything.

There will be a new foe in At World's End.

He is the chinese pirate Captain Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fatt) of the South China Sea.

With old foe, Captain Barbossa becoming an ally, Captain Jack Sparrow and company would battle against the forces of the East India Trading Company, Davy Jones's ghost pirate crew and chinese pirate Captain Sao Feng.

At World's End have thrown away the whirlpool chase plot outline of Dead Man's Chest and gone back to straight-forward sea adventure action filled with sword fights and merry pirate humour.

It is about the pirate era coming to an end but not before one last battle in the name of pirate freedom.

Let's keep our eyes and mind wide open for another spectacle of a movie by Disney produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Gore Verbinski.

*Andy will review Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's end when this week comes to... yes... an end.

Counting down toward "World's End" Part TWO

Captain Jack Sparrow back with the Black Pearl, Elizabeth Swann to be wedded to Will Turner, but something is not right, the sky is pouring rain and soldiers storm into the premise of Mr. Turner and had him under arrest.

Following the success of The Curse of the Black Pearl, the sequel Dead Man’s Chest of the Pirates of the Caribbean series opened in 2006.
It became only the third film in history to reach the $1billion mark worldwide.
That alone says a lot about the film.

But personally I found myself lost, just like Captain Jack Sparrow's treasured magical compass.
The compass would not point correctly if the holder does not know what he wants.
The reason being that the plot had thickened so much it no longer was that enjoyable as a straight forward fun and exciting adventure film.
But that is only my point of view.

Viewing the film as it is, Dead Man’s Chest maintained its reputation as one that is filled with stunts, actions, sword fights, stunning CGI and humorous characters.
Much like a theme park ride, which it was rightly inspired from, Pirates of the Caribbean would give its audience a spectacle of a movie worth the ride.



So, coming back to Dead Man’s Chest, Will Turner was arrested, and so was Elizabeth Swann.
They were sentenced to death on charges of conspiring with the pirates.
So too was Commodore Norrington, who has since disappeared from sight.
Lord Cutler Beckett, who leads the East India Trading Company, is now in power.
Sentencing a soon to wed couple is not his real agenda of course, and he wants Will to find Jack Sparrow for he wants the magical compass in the Captain’s possession.

This magical compass holds the key to the biggest prize, the Dead Man’s Chest.
The chest holds Captain Davy Jones’s beating heart.
He who has the heart controls Davy Jones and with that controls all of the sea.
Captain Davy Jones is a monstrous looking ghost pirate with a head that of an octopus.
His ship is the Flying Dutchman and his crew is nothing short of strange and aggressive ocean sprawling characters.
Among them is Will Turner’s father, “Boot-strap” Turner.

The adventure in Dead Man’s Chest is like a whirlpool, with the plot spunning round and round every character.
It is sometimes as confusing as it is spectacular.

Lord Beckett wants Will Turner to find Jack Sparrow in exchange for Elizabeth’s freedom.
Jack Sparrow is seeking a new treasure with his crew, the key to unlock the dead man's chest.
Davy Jones is looking for Jack Sparrow who has a debt to pay.
Jack uses Will to retrieve the key from Davy Jones and Elizabeth to find the chest with the magical compass.
Commodore Norrington wants the beating heart of Davy Jones in exchange for a deal with Lord Beckett.

Do you get the picture?

The characters would go after one another for one reason and another.
From chase after chase, the beating heart of Davy Jones fell to the hands of Lord Beckett through Commodore Norrington.
Jack Sparrow was seen swallowed by the giant monster of an octopus Kraken after being tricked and abandoned onboard a sinking Black Pearl by revengeful Elizabeth Swann.
Dead Man’s Chest ends with the remaining crew of the Black Pearl along with both Will and Elizabeth paying voodoo priestess, Tia Dalma a visit.
In remembrance of Jack Sparrow they all agreed to bring him back from the dead at world’s end.
And to do so they’ll need a captain who knows the waters.

With that you should recall in the closing scene the laughter of a certain Captain Barbossa from the first film, who was thought to be killed.

The next and last of the series, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End was shot back to back with Dead Man’s Chest.
That is mainly the reason why we get to see the swift follow up after last year’s sequel.

What will At World’s End bring to us that is worthy of a fitting end?
We’ll take a look but that will be for another day before the film opens toward the end of this week.

Counting down toward "World's End" Part ONE

The days are nearing when the pirates sail toward the last stage of the trilogy,

the trilogy of the Pirates of the Caribbean,

one that is nearing its end; At World's End.

And you thought we'll never see Captain Jack Sparrow again...

Of course not, nobody in the right mind would think that.

He may have been swallowed by the Kraken (monster octopus) in Dead Man's Chest, but he is nowhere near dead, at least not till we bring him back for one last sail.

But before we do, let's bring back memories of the first movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

The world was introduced to Pirates of the Caribbean in 2003, and the adventure film starring the charismatic trio of Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley was an instant hit.

In fact it was so good that it grossed more than $650million worldwide.

To think that a film inspired by a Disney theme park ride can garner such success is truly amazing.

"Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)", the theme song for the Pirates of the Caribbean theme park ride welcomed us into the world of pirates when The Curse of the Black Pearl began.

A young Elizabeth Swann onboard a ship sailing toward Port Royal rescued a boy found floating on the sea.

The boy, Will Turner, carries with him a gold skull medallion which was promptly hidden away from the view of others by Miss Swann.

As she kept the gold, a glimpse of a ship with black sails disappears into the mist.

It was to be the legendary Black Pearl, a pirate ghost ship helmed by Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush).

8 years had past and Miss Swann has grown into a young woman (Keira Knightley), and the time for marriage has arrived.

When Commodore Norrington (Jack Davenport) proposes to Elizabeth over a cliff side, she fainted and fell into the sea.

As she sink into the sea, the gold medallion which she carries with her suddenly emitted a strange pulse.

It was to be a signal that brought the attention of the Black Pearl.

Elizabeth was eventually saved by a witty yet sometimes looney of a character Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp).

But a pirate has no place in Port Royal and he was sent behind bars.

While he mulls over his bad fortune, the Black Pearl arrived one night in rampage and took Elizabeth away.

The pirates believed that she holds the cure to their curse, a curse to be undead.

Out of love and desperation, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) seek alliance with, and freed Jack Sparrow in an attempt to rescue Elizabeth.

Jack knew that Will holds the real cure.

After gathering a crew, Jack and Will set sail to Isla De Muerta, the place where the pirates of Black Pearl would go to break their curse.

While on their voyage, the pair forged an unlikely friendship.

With Elizabeth eventually saved and the pirates of Black Pearl defeated, the ship was returned to its rightful captain, Captain Jack Sparrow.

But well... the self-proclaimed elusive captain was captured once more and sentenced to be hung by the Commodore.

With the help of new found friends, Elizabeth and Will, Jack escapes and reunite with his crew and ship, the Black Pearl.

The Curse of the Black Pearl ends but the adventure will not.

The success of Pirates of the Caribbean would lead to a sequel: Dead Man's Chest, where the adventure gets more risky and the plot gets thicker.

And that we will save for another day, well... next day, as we continue the recap before At World's End unfold its sails come end this week.

Movie Preview: 28 Weeks Later

The familiar title... 28... It's 28 Weeks Later, the sequel to 2003's 28 Days Later.
Days has turned into Weeks.
If you've seen 28 Days Later, you'll know that it's a British film of the Sci-Fi, Horror, Thriller genre much like a Hollywood version Resident Evil.

Let's get a recap.
It all started when an infected chimpanzee with the deadly "Rage" virus attacked an animal rights activist attempting to free the animals in an animal testing laboratory.
The attack led to an outbreak of the virus that turned all infected into mindless blood and flesh thirsty zombies.
The story revolves around Jim (Cillian Murphy), a bicycle courier who woke up from a coma in a London hospital only to find himself stranded in the near deserted city.
Jim then had to explore the city and find his way to safety while risking his life against the zombies.



And it led to 28 Weeks Later and the story is still about Jim right?
Wrong.
The sequel may still be about the "Rage" virus but it no longer has anything to do with Jim.
At the helm too is a new director, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who also co-wrote the story.
Danny Boyle who was the original director moved behind the scene as co-producer.

The sequel is about 7 months or 28 weeks later after the land was finally cleared from the last zombies who died from starvation.
London is ready to be inhibited again.
A first batch of survivors would be relocated back into the city under the close supervision of the military.
The story will focus on siblings Tammy (Imogen Poots) and Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton), who re-united with their dad, Don (Robert Carlyle) but realized that their mum, Alice (Catherine McCormack) though not dead was found to be infected.



She is immediately quarantined by Stone (Idris Elba) and Scarlet (Rose Byrne) to prevent the population from being infected again while tests can be carried out on her to find an antibody since she is the last surviving infected.
Things however made a turned for the worse when an accident caused an outbreak of the "Rage" virus yet again.
The killing, shooting and screaming would resume once more.



The first film 28 Days Later was a surprised hit that was shot with a budget of $8 million on a digital video but brought itself a respectable $45 million just on its release in USA alone.

28 Weeks Later will be released 10th May in Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, New Zealand, Russia and Singapore, and a day later on 11th May in Philippines, Taiwan, UK and USA.
More release dates here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0463854/releaseinfo

Movie link and trailer:
http://www.foxinternational.com/28weekslater/

Watch this space for the review of the 28 Weeks Later.

Movie Preview: Spider-Man 3

Spider-Man is well... Spider-Man.
What kind of introduction does it need?

This is the third movie from the franchise.
The main casts and the director remains unchanged.
What's different then?
The storyline and the villains of course.

"With great power comes great responsibility", and more enemies.

In this latest installment, Spidey will battle not one, not two but three villains.
They are the New Goblin, Sandman and Venom.
How dangerous are they?
Let's take a look.

NEW GOBLIN
Real name: Harry Osborn


NEW GOBLIN’s POWERS/WEAPONS:
1. Superhuman strength and speed
2. Accelerated healing factor
3. Armored costume
4. Goblin Glider
5. Projection of electronic sparks from gloves
6. Pumpkin Bombs
7. Hallucinogenic, ghost-like grenades
8. Razor-sharp, flying bats

Following in his father's footsteps, Harry Osborn (James Franco) took over the role of the Green Goblin.
Once Peter Parker's best friend, Harry Osborn blames Spider-Man for his father's death.
With his father, the Green Goblin's weapons, Harry vows revenge over Spider-Man and is now known as the New Goblin.

SANDMAN
Real name: Flint Marko


SANDMAN’s POWERS/WEAPONS:
1. Ability to transform any part of his body into a sand-like substance
2. Can alter his size and mass by incorporating nearby sand
3. Superhuman strength

Sandman is Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church), the real murderer of Peter Parker's Uncle Ben.
Exposed to a radiation blast while hiding from the police, Flint Marko awakens to find himself capable of transforming his body into sand-like form.
Chasing after his uncle's murderer, Spider-Man would find himself battling another powerful enemy.

VENOM
Real name: Eddie Brock


VENOM’s POWERS/WEAPONS:
1. Superhuman strength and agility
2. Negation of Spider-Man’s spider-sense
3. Can shoot webs, cling to walls and mimic any individual’s appearance of similar or greater size.

Venom is actually the Symbiote alien life form that attaches itself to a host like a parasite.
Once attached it would take over its host slowly while at the same time giving its host amazing abilities.
First finding its way onto Spider-Man (which explains why our hero dons a black suit), giving him an evil side, Spidey was able to rid of it before it finds its way onto Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), a photo journalist and colleague of Peter Parker, thus the creation of Venom from Eddie Brock's venomous dark consciousness.
Venom is extremely dangerous to Spider-Man because it had knowledge of its ex-host's powers and secrets.
The battle between the two should be Spider-Man 3's climax.

So we have three villains in Spider-Man 3 but the real villain could be within Spider-Man himself.



Could a man confront the forces of darkness without giving in to them?
That answer exist in Spider-Man 3.

And of course no one can fight the forces of darkness without love.



The beautiful Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst).

We should all be Superheroes any day of the week.. without the villains.
Watch this space for the review of Spider-Man 3.

Blockbusters coming soon in May

So we've come to the end of April and toward the months of blockbusters ahead.
It's the attack of the "thirds" to begin with in May.
Three movies coming up that are the third from their respective franchise.

Leading the line is Spider-Man 3, set to be released on 1st May.
I have no doubt that this 3rd installment of the Spider-Man franchise is going to be a big hit regardless of any reviews.
What reason have you, after watching Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004) not to go see this 3rd one?
Unless you hate Tobey Maguire of course.



Tobey Maguire has made the role of Peter Parker a.k.a Spider-Man his.
He created a buzz no doubt when at the film's world premiere in Tokyo, Japan on 16th April saying Spider-Man 3 could be his last appearance as our favorite web-slinging Marvel Superhero.
In fact, do you know that Tobey Maguire could have missed out on Spider-Man 2?
After suffering serious back injuries while filming Seabiscuit in 2002, Sony Pictures had considered recasting their lead.
The familiar face of Tobey Maguire in the famous blue and red suit could have been replaced by Jake Gyllenhaal.
But Tobey Maguire recovered and the rest is history.

Following Spider-Man 3 is Shrek the Third due to be released 17th May, first in Russia before 18th May in USA and 31st May in Malaysia and Singapore.



The oh-so-not your usual fairytale green friend, Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers) is back again for a third time with Princess Fiona (Voiced by Cameron Diaz).
What laughter and cheer are they going to bring us from their adventure this time?
Psst.. Word has it that a fourth installment is in the pipeline and it could very well be the last one!

Summing up May is Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End opening worldwide on 23rd , 24th and 25th May.
With a charismatic cast in Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightley, it's no wonder Pirates of the Caribbean is heading into its third and final sail.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End would conclude this popular trilogy.



Can Captain Jack Sparrow triumph in this final battle?
You'll have to find out yourself.

Remember to watch this space for the previews and reviews busting your way this May.

Movie Preview: Fracture

Genre?
Drama, Suspense, Thriller

Director?
Gregory Hoblit of Primal Fear (1996), Fallen (1998), Frequency (2000) and Hart's War (2002)

Who's in it?
Leading role: Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling
Supporting role: David Strathairn, Billy Burke, Rosamund Pike, Embeth Davitz, Valerie Dillman, Cliff Curtis

What's it about?
A structural engineer, Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins) murdered his wife, declined to be represented by a lawyer in court and chose to defend the case by himself.
Prosecuting him is a young and aspiring district attorney, Willy Beaucham (Ryan Gosling).
It all seems pretty straight forward for Willy, put the man behind bars in this last case of his and a job with a highly reputable law-firm awaits.
It was however not that simple as Ted the alleged murderer evades sentencing due to legal technicality.
A battle of wits between the prosecutor and the prosecuted ensues.

Do you know?
The filmmakers amended the ending of the film so as to lure the young and talented Ryan Gosling into signing up.
Anthony Hopkins was said to have personally called Ryan Gosling to convince him.
Ryan Gosling began his career as part of the Mickey Mouse Club alongside Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake.

When is the movie opening?
Fracture opens 19042007 in Singapore, 20042007 in USA and UK and 27042007 in Italy.

More release dates here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0488120/releaseinfo

Official website:
http://www.fracturemovie.com/

Monster's call
Coming face to face with Hannibal Lecter is not something to be taken lightly.
Read about Anthony Hopkins on Channelnewsasia.com.

Movie Preview: Breach

The other movie to be reviewed this week is Breach.
And again of a differing genre.
Breach is drama, suspense and based on a true espionage.
It stars Academy Award winner (Best Supporting Actor) Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe and Laura Linney.

Sounds uninteresting? I thought so.
It's another low key movie I've picked for this week alongside The Last Mimzy.
The reason being that one is about family and children and the other about ethics and moral, subjects that are of importance in life.



So what about Breach?
Eric O’Neill (Ryan Phillippe), a young FBI trainee has been handpicked to work under veteran FBI agent Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper). Unknown to Hanssen, O'Neill is actually working for Special Agent Kate Burroughs (Laura Linney), who is investigating Hanssen under suspicion that he is a potential mole for the Soviet Union.
What would follow is a dangerous game of one against the other.
Lives are at risk.



What to watch for? or more significantly who to watch for?
He's not exactly your usual screen idol and neither is he charismatic nor handsome but Chris Cooper plays Robert Hanssen, the real life double agent who was captured on 18 Feb 2001, months before the tragic 911 event that rocked the United States as well as the world.
The importance on security has never been greater.
Robert Hanssen was charged and sentenced to life imprisonment for selling American secrets to Moscow over a 15-year period for US$1.4million in cash and diamonds.
It is probably the greatest security breach in United States history.

Interesting fact:
This is 55 years-old Chris Cooper's first major role as an actor considered for a leading role.
In fact his performance was critically received as outstanding and was given plenty of positive praises when the film was released on 16 Feb 2007 this year in the United States to coincide with the real Robert Hanssen's capture back in Feb 2001.

Acting across Chris Cooper is Ryan Phillippe who plays Eric O'Neill, the guy who brought Robert Hanssen to justice.
He can be most remembered starring in teen-oriented films I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and Cruel Intentions (1999) to the more recent Academy Award winning film, Crash (2004).



And playing the role of Special Agent Kate Burroughs, the mastermind behind Hanssen's capture is Laura Linney.
She starred in the horror and courtroom drama film The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005).



Important note:
Breach though is a spy film is not in the make of movies like James Bond and Mission Impossible.
It does not rely on "Wow" factor such as special effects, car chases, and hard hitting actions.
Being inspired from a real espionage, the casting was done in accordance to fit real life characters.
In such an environment, the actors either make or break the movie.
It is all about character portrayal.
The point is can it breach the hearts of those watching it?

Breach opens 12 April 2007 in Singapore.

News 10 April 2007: Singapore bans film about ex-political detainee.
"The government will not allow people who had posed a security threat to the country in the past to exploit the use of films to purvey a false and distorted portrayal of their past actions and detention by the government," the ministry said, adding that this may "undermine public confidence in the government."

Read the full report here:
http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/news/va/20070410/117622109400.html

More release dates here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401997/releaseinfo

Trailer and movie link:
http://www.breachmovie.net/

Movie Preview: The Last Mimzy

Last week there were 3 movies reviewed that were different altogether.
Freedom Writers, Shooters and The Reaping are films of diverse genre from drama, action & suspense to horror & thriller.
This week the trend of differentiation continues, starting with The Last Mimzy.



Just what is The Last Mimzy?
Generally this is a movie for family and kids with elements of Sci-Fi and fantasy adventure.
It falls into the category of similar movies like the more recent Spy Kids franchise and Zoom, to the most famous, E.T.
The story in The Last Mimzy is adapted from acclaimed science fiction short story "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" by Lewis Padgett, written in 1943.



What's the plot?
The movie tells the story of two siblings who, after discovering a box of toys sent from the future, begin developing some remarkable talents -- terrifying and wonderful.
As their parents and teacher notice the kids' changed behavior, they all find themselves drawn into a unique world.



Interesting facts:
Mimzy is the name of the stuffed rabbit among the other toys sent from the future.
Interestingly the kids found the rabbit along with the box of toys over the Easter break.
The Last Mimzy opens on the 12th of April in Singapore, just after the Easter weekend.



Watch the interesting trailer here on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSHhmwGzN8w

More release dates here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0768212/releaseinfo

Movie link:
http://www.mimzy.com

THE FUTURE IS TRYING TO TELL US SOMETHING.

Movie Preview: Shooter

Another movie to be reviewed this week is Shooter from the director of the acclaimed 2001 film, Training Day.
The film is classified as drama, action, thriller.

Catchy tag-line: " Yesterday was about Honor. Today is about Justice."

But what's the plot?
A marksman living in exile is coaxed back into action after learning of a plot to kill the president.
Ultimately double-crossed and framed for the attempt, he goes on the run to track the real killer and find out who exactly set him up, and why.

Who's in it?
The movie stars Mark Wahlberg as the marksman, Bob Lee Swagger.
You can remember him as Charlie Croker, mastermind and thief in the action adventure The Italian Job (2003) and most recently as Sgt. Sean Dignam in Academy Award winning film, The Departed (2006).

Interesting facts:
Do you know Mark Wahlberg first began his career as the lead singer of the hip-hop group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch in the 90's?
And his record once hit #1 on The Billboard Hot 100?
Mark is also the younger brother of Donnie Wahlberg of the successful boy band New Kids on the Block.

Alarming facts:
As a teenager, Wahlberg participated in several acts of violence for which he was arrested, later claiming to have been arrested 20-25 times by the Boston Police Department as a youth.
He was also once arrested for attempted murder!

Release Dates:
Shooter opened worldwide from 23032007 in USA, Venezuela and 30032007 Mexico.
It will continue to be released from 05042007 in Singapore, Malaysia, 06042007 in Brazil and up to 02062007 in Japan.
More release dates here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0822854/releaseinfo

Stay tuned for the review of Shooter at Andy and the DreamSeeker (Movie & Dreams) this week.

Movie Preview: Freedom Writers & The Reaping

This week we look at two movies that have similarities as well as differences,
Freedom Writers and The Reaping.
What's the same? Academy Award Winner, Hilary Swank stars in both movies.
What's different? Two totally different genres. Freedom Writers is classified as drama and is based on a true story while The Reaping is horror, suspense, supernatural and thriller.

Freedom Writers is about a young teacher who inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school.
This is a real life event.
The Freedom Writers Foundation can be found here:
http://www.freedomwritersfoundation.org/


The Reaping is about a former Christian missionary, who specializes in debunking religious phenomena, investigates a small town which seems to be suffering from the 10 biblical plagues.

Freedom Writers has already been released in USA, UK, Mexico, Kuwait, Netherlands, Turkey, Belgium, France, Australia and Singapore.
It will open in Germany 05042007, Austria 06042007, Spain 11052007, Denmark 16052007, Malaysia 17052007, Brazil, Norway, Sweden 18052007 and Argentina 31052007.

The Reaping will be opening worldwide from 04042007.
More release dates here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0444682/releaseinfo

Who is Hilary Swank?
Hilary Swank won the Academy Award twice for Best Actress,
first for her role as a transgender man in Boys Don't Cry (1999) and a second as a struggling waitress turned boxer in Million Dollar Baby (2004).

Do you remember her as the first female protégé of Mr Miyagi in The Next Karate Kid (1994)?
And do you also know that she only made $75 per day when she filmed Boys Don't Cry and just $3000 total for her efforts? Unbelievable.

She most recently received a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame on 8th January 2007.
A dream came true.

Stay tuned to Andy and the DreamSeeker (Movie & Dreams) this week for the review of Freedom Writers and The Reaping.

Movie Previews (Coming Soon)

Dear readers,

Hope you had a wonderful weekend at the movies. :)

This week begins a new month for the year 2007, April.
After a weekend of non-activities at Andy and the DreamSeeker (Movie & Dreams),
I've decided to add a new segment onto the site: Movie Previews.

I'll like to bring you more information through this site about our favorite past time; going to the movies.
But "No"... not in the form of tabloids or gossips, I'm sure you can get lots of those from magazines and televisions and even from other sites. ;)

It's more like I want to let you know in short snippets about some movies opening for the week that I'll be reviewing, and perhaps some interesting findings about them that I've discovered along the way.

I'm thinking that by bringing you some light reading materials from my perspective, they can help brighten your week and give you something to look forward to till the weekend is here again. Have a great week!

Your dreamy movie pal,

andydreamseeker