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Now … okay.  I saw the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still fairly soon after it first came out.  As I was watching it, I was thinking to myself, “Well … okay, I guess this isn’t so bad.”  Walking out of the theatre with my fiance and her parents (we were all bonding — three girls and one guy at this movie … ha ha ha!), my opinion changed.  I told my girlfriend, I says, “It wasn’t that bad.  I just … wouldn’t ever want to watch it again.”  However, I haven’t been able to get this flick off my mind since then — and no, not because it was good.

In retrospect?  This was an awful, awful movie.  The only thing really admirable about it was that Keanu Reeves finally found the perfect part — besides Neo, of course, which has been the only movie in which I can stand seeing him.  He plays an alien who apparently has not learned the art of adding inflection to his voice.  At all.

Otherwise: Will Smith’s little spawn got on my nerves so bad it made me wish the big metal man would have stepped on him.  Worse yet, this movie is guilty of the same sin made by countless remakes.  It lost the entire value of the original.  What was a rich metaphor about the futility of war and the damage which can be caused by intolerance turned into a flashy, FX packed trainwreck.  The only morality messages you can take away from this movie are that littering is bad, mmkay, and nepotism is even worse in Hollywood than it is anywhere else.

Testament to the fact that Cycle 11 of the ever popular America’s Next Top Model disappointed many is that this was the only halfway decent picture I could find.  But whatever, I’m officially over this particular phenomenon.

I have been in love with ANTM — and Tyra — since Cycle 1.  However, the results of Cycle 11, in which popular Analeigh got knocked out of the final two, leaving Mckey to go up against the ridiculously ugly, annoying Samantha, angered a lot of viewers.  Given the recent controversies surrounding the show, it is easy to understand why, even though plus sized Whitney won hearts and the competition last cycle, fans are beginning to think that Tyra is cheating.

In fact, many fans believe that the show has become a gateway for the retired supermodel to keep all of the attention on herself; the models are becoming significantly less important.  Folks think that Analeigh got dropped at the last minute because she would have kicked Mckey’s butt with her walk during the runway show.  Would she have done?  Maybe.

At the end of the day, however, most of us are just glad that Samantha, who resembles the worst of all the whining, blond models of the past 10 cycles, got her butt beat.  Some of us wish she’d cried a little harder when she lost, though.  Of course, congratulations should be given to the winner, Mckey Sullivan.  Unfortunately, most will go to Tyra, for successfully upstaging her little wannabe fashionistas.

Unfortunately, all too many of us are already familiar with the leading spot in this week’s entertainment news.  The brother and mother of former American Idol contestant and Dreamgirls star were found shot to death in their home.  Her newphew Julian, the son of her sister Julia, was missing.

Hope of finding the boy alive was grim but definitely there.  Unfortunately the pessism usually attached to such cases proved true.  The body of the seven year old boy was found in an abandoned SUV, also shot to death.

Currently, an ex of Julia’s is being held in custody.  In addition to quite a few parole violations, William Balfour’s rap sheet includes a stint in jail for attempted murder and various other charges.  His mother revealed that Darnell Donerson, Hudson’s mother, made Balfour leave the family home just last year.

Certainly, the thoughts and prayers of everyone have to be with this woman in this unbelievably painful time.

Oh man, oh man, oh man – great, great news for lovers of fairytales, Disney tales, dark tales, Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, and the amazing pairing of TimDepp.  Burton is set to do a live action and CG animated remake of Alice in Wonderland – and guess who’s going to be playing the Mad Hatter?  The Hatter is the favorite character of just about everyone who has a dark, morbid streak and love of insanity hiding somewhere, and the casting for the role is right on course.  Who else could play this guy?  Though I daresay that, after his turn as the Joker, Health Ledger may well have been in the running.  Also on board is Mia Wasikowska, whom most of us know from “In Treatment,” HBO’s series, will be playing Alice.  Matt Lucas, from HBO’s new “Little Britain USA,” will play both Tweedledum and Tweedledee.  I am not familiar with either thespian, and have nothing to say on the role of Alice because frankly I don’t care about Alice (though I wish it could have been Helena Bonham Carter, or that little doll from Mamma Mia!, Amanda Seyfried).  As far as the twins go, though, I guess I’ll have to check Lucas out, because I can’t help but think there are a great many funnier actors and comedians who could do the dual roles more justice.

How many of you remember a little movie called American Psycho, starring everyone’s newest favorite Batman, Christian Bale?  How many of you liked it?  It was a cool horror flick – a psychotic little mind f*(#, to be sure.  And now there is talk of turning it into a Broadway musical, as per Variety.

The original movie was actually based on a book by Bret Easton Ellis.  It takes place in the 1980s and features your run of the mill Wall Street slickster – however, in this case the yuppie moonlights as a psycho serial killer.  Fun times for everyone!  Apparently, the slasher is getting turned into a musical because, according to people close to the project, it now seems to be relevant because of what’s taking place on Wall Street.  Well!  Okay, if you say so.

Of course, it would be nice if Christian Bale gets to take his version of Patrick Bateman to the stage.  This guy’s talented, and Newsies showed us that he can sing and dance quite well.  Plus, please, after this last Batman, he needs to show us all over again how deliciously sinister he can be when he plays someone psychotic.

What has eight legs, four guns, and a rockin’ awesome car?  Hopefully, the new Ghostbusters movie.  No less than twenty four years after the stellar sequel, Sony’s thinking that it’s time to bring the boys back.  Until Men in Black and the Spider-Man franchise, Ghostbuster’s was Columbia’s top grossing movie ever.  So a third movie would mean the reunion of the inestimable, iconic, and utterly brilliant Bill Murray, the strangely alluring Harold Ramis, nearly forgotten yet awesomely funny Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson, as the only really sane, down to earth member of the team.

Bad news?  Actually, if the deal goes through, the OGs might not be the stars.  Everyone seems to think that the cast of “The Office” has a good shot of getting cast, unless Murray changes his mind and agrees to be on board (though, granted, his decline is but a rumor).  Everyone also seems to think that “The Office” cast would be great.  I happen to disagree.  I think that anyone except the aforementioned four starring in this movie will be crap.  I grew up on the Ghostbusters – the movie and the animated show.  I was a Ghostbuster in a talent show and for Halloween.  To me, this is akin to suddenly seeing the Chipmunks turned into realistic little creatures.  I still haven’t seen that stab-in-the-heart piece of crap, and will definitely steer clear of Sony’s big idea if I don’t see some Bill Murray and Slimer.  So they can take my $9.00 out of their $400 million estimates.

The Sandlot.  Little Giants.  Rookie of the Year.  Kiddie sports were big back in the early and mid 1990s, and they might be making a comeback with Ice Cube’s new movie, The Longshots.  The difference here is that instead of an entirely campy comedy where the good guys always win (right at the last possible second, of course), this movie is based on a true story.  Really, it can be likened most to Little Giants, in that it stars a girl as a potential football star.

Like Rookie of the Year, however, the physical prowess of the girl in question is discovered by accident.  Rather than having a rocket launcher for an arm as the result of a dubious sports injury, however, Jasmine – played by Keke Palmer – has a legitimate talent.

Ice Cube’s performance is predictably praised thus far – the rap artist and actor has a talent for turning kid friendly movies into something entertaining.  As for Keke Palmer, you might recognize her from Akeelah and the Bee, which proved she has legitimate talent herself.  Personally, however, it was her turn in Madea’s Family Reunion that showed her range as an up and coming actress.

All in all, this promises to be a good film, for what it is.  Not just full of campy kids making good, it is great for all the underdog kids who have trouble fitting in, simply because they haven’t quite found their niche yet.

Anyone who liked the film “Creature from the Black Lagoon” the 1954 horror classic that was one of the films that started the monster craze will be knocked off their seat by “Hellboy 2: The Golden Army.”

Is it possible to have too many monsters in one film? There were five in “Hellboy” and in the sequel there are 32.

And these are not your run-of-the-mill-movie-monsters either: Guillermo del Toro was adamant that they had to be unique.

These creatures have their origins is some pretty scary historical work thanks to the research of Mike Elizalde’s team of artists.

And the results are quite remarkable, some evoking the emotions most associated with monsters grotesque features that make it difficult to look at them.

But coming from the mindset of a monster, this is part of their identity which they accept: even revel in knowing how repulsive they look. The monsters have a spellbinding impact from shades of the medieval era veiling throughout their design.

The camera special effects take advantage of the unique work of the creature’s design components; life-like eyes that are able to focus and blink, and feathered wings that are able to unfurl. The monsters in “Hellboy 2” are indeed gothic masterpieces not to be missed.

From every report so far, the Turner Network has a winner with the animated “Star Wars: Clone Wars.”
The 30-minute episodes have amazing, dimensional visuals with computer animated action scenes that deliver the adrenaline rush you may be craving. Work out your aggressions here and keep a smile on your face.

This is a serious piece of work crafted by no other than Lucasfilm and explores the void between “Revenge of the Sith” and “Attack of the Clones.”

The characters of Obi-wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Yoda have some very interesting adventures during this time. In one episode Yoda, the Jedi master undertakes a diplomatic mission to talk with Count Dooku. What the resistance on this planet that may face him doesn’t favor his success.

The 22 episodes due for release in August on the Cartoon Network, were scripted by George Lucas. Similar to the earlier “Clone Wars” series, it brings the characters to life with stunning realism thanks to cel animation.

Anyone who is hungering for some Star Wars adventure will be thrilled at the rendering of battle scenes on alien worlds and enjoy soaring excitement levels from the fantastic depth of field in the graphics and characters.

With July 4th in the history books and Labor Day coming up fast, the next thing you know the year end holiday season will be here and family entertainment will be high on the agenda.

Movies are great, but if you would like a change of pace that is just as entertaining for adults as it is for children, Wintuk is THE show to see.

This is Cirque du Soleil — live family entertainment at it’s best. the story follows a young boy’s quest to bring the magic of snow to a dreary winter.

As he pursues his dream on a stage aglow with awesome theatrical effects, he encounters acrobats, trapeze artists, and daring young men on their cycling machines.

Opening at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City for the holiday season beginning October 30, 2008 the show will run until January 4, 2009.

NOW is the time to get the best seats for one of the most popular holiday family events and tickets are guaranteed to sell quickly. You can get complete ticket information and see a preview of Wintuk here.