What They Didn't Tell You About The Zombie Apocalypse...

Surprise, surprise - yet another conversation at work inspired this. I may inadvertently end up writing Zombie Mondays!

So; you're all set for the zombie apocalypse. Holed up in your own doubly reinforced bunker with a year's supply of food. Axe and a copy of The Zombie Survival Guide in hand...

An eerie moaning sound comes from the corner. Kids; asleep. Partner; asleep. Dad; asleep. Mom; not looking her best. Fairly certain she didn't always ooze like that. Or gnaw on her own forearm...

Come to think of it; she did make that trip to the 7-Eleven while you were boarding up the windows... on her own...

Books, blogs and movies the world over prepare you for almost every possible outcome of the rise of the undead. You're prepared for the worst; food shortages, decapitating the undead with a shovel, many months barricaded in a basement with that uncle you've always found a bit creepy... you've even learned some farming skills and resigned yourself to the fact that the Earth may need to be repopulated.

But... could you kill your zombie mom?

Why I'm excited about... Sucker Punch!

Sucker Punch (March 2011) is the latest offering from Zack Snyder - and the only feathers in sight this time are those on the fans of the burlesque dancers.

Opening in the 1950's, the movie has Babydoll (Emily Browning) imprisoned in a mental institution by her stepfather and due to be lobotomised in five days. Retreating into her own mind to escape, Babydoll finds herself in an alternate world in which she must plan her escape by stealing five objects. From what I can make out; Sucker Punch has several layers of 'reality' - the real world, Babydoll's alternate reality, and another dream world within that reality. Reminding you of anything?

What's so special?

Bordello, World War I, samurai, dieselpunk, machine guns, katanas - Sucker Punch goes in every direction at once. It's highly stylised, high action that will most likely kick you five ways to Sunday.

With an almost exclusively female cast, Snyder himself has joked about about doing the opposite of 300 with this movie. To be honest, I think they're not all that dissimilar; Sucker Punch looks like every man's wet dream - bestockinged women wielding machine guns. Robots. Dragons. Swordfights. It ticks practically every box except zombies. Oh wait - they're in there too! Not that I'm complaining about any of this, mind...

It could easily go the way of The Spirit - but Sucker Punch has been generating a lot of excitement online and I think that that alone will earn it a strong opening weekend. What it may eventually lack in coherent plot, it will potentially make up for in style and (yes, I am going to say it) scantily clad women.

Pretty, pretty, pretty tiems...

On a basic level - this movie is GORGEOUS. I've seen a lot of artwork and stills from the production and it looks stunning. The costumes and set pieces are absolutely first rate - I was genuinely surprised that Weta weren't involved! All credit to Quantum Creation FX - even though I had never heard of them before!

If you like...

Well, I am reliably informed that this move even has a kitchen sink in it, so my advice would be that if you can handle style over story (although this may not end up being the case) in any way, then this is worth a view. Even at his very worst, Snyder delivers stunning visuals and I have no reason to believe that Sucker Punch won't be worth the price of a theater ticket.

Trailer with more frak me visuals here.

The six character posters (which some of you will have seen at SDCC) are available here.

Popcorn Bowl 10/2

The Hobbit Union Debacle:

7 unions instructed their members not to work on The Hobbit, claiming that the production refused to negotiate with actors on union contracts. Peter Jackson, being justifiably both hurt and frustrated, responded with remarkable clarity. Both the studios (obviously) and the New Zealand government backed Jackson's stance. Actors seem to be in support of the unions, but it's difficult to tell how much of this whole thing is political. I agree that NZ actors should have working conditions equal to those in the UK and US, but I also believe that if this issue chases The Hobbit production out of NZ, it will spell doom for the country's ability to attract big budget productions. Peter Jackson has done so much for the NZ film industry - I don't think he is out to actively disenfranchise the country or its actors.

Things in 3D:

So, if you haven't heard about this then welcome back - how was your holiday under a rock on Mars?

Star Wars is coming to theatres in 3D! Starting with The Phantom Menace in 2012... I am, at best, meh about the 3D bandwagon... but if they're properly rendered then I'm not going to say no to getting to see the saga on the silver screen!

In worse news - The Hobbit is going to be in 3D. I am 85 different kinds of pissed off. The Hobbit is an intimate little story and I did not want this.

The teaser trailer for I Am Number Four went online this week. This was released as a book a few weeks ago, but I read an early proof in June. I'm less than confident about the casting, but everything that made this a rubbish book makes it a strong script, so I will be interested to see this movie when it comes out. If you like kids that are aliens, being a teenager and buildings occasionally and unexpectedly being demolished; this is the movie for you!

I know how much you love casting rumours - the list for the female lead in the Spider-Man reboot is growing impressively.

Sherlock Holmes 2 has added Stephen Fry as Mycroft Holmes (Sherlock's brother) and Mad Men's Jared Harris as Moriarty.

Darren Aronofsky is reportedly in the running to direct the Superman reboot. I'm not sure I can visualise that, but colour me intrigued!

Tony Curtis passed away this week at the age of 85.

Comic-Con to stay in San Diego for at least the next 5 years! I intend to be at it for at least one of them!

New Deathly Hallows posters!

Now if you haven't booked a ticket to go and see one of the 25th anniversary screenings of Back to the Future, then why the hell are you still reading this? Go!

Steampunk Thursday #9: Dr. Grordbort's Rayguns

Amy is talking about Dr. Grordbort's fabulous and fantastical creations over at geek with curves for Steampunk Thursday!

Weta and steampunk? A match truly made in heaven...

Last week is our final Steampunk Thursday, so don't miss out!

Zombie Buddy System

The buddy system; a sacred and - if The Simpsons has taught us anything - utterly failproof tradition. It's been the secret behind everything from crossing the road as a kid at school to travelling across the continent in large groups.

What better scenario to apply it to than the zombie apocalypse? As Zombieland taught us, Rule #29 is Rule #29 for a reason!

One of my co-workers was lamenting the company-wide lack of preparedness for the rise of the undead the other evening. Calls for our managers to allow us to stockpile food and weapons in the basement and add a section to the employee handbook have sadly gone unheeded.

However, it seems that the buddy system has successfully been established across several floors, so I took the liberty of preparing an induction for new employees.

Welcome to [Company of Awesome]. Within your first week of employment, you will be introduced to your designated zombie buddy. This person will be selected based on a range of criteria and graded according to their optimum compatibility with you. Please take the opportunity to attend the training and team building sessions as regularly as you can - ideally you will build a good relationship with your zombie buddy as you may need to survive together in cramped conditions for a long time.

In Case of Zombie Emergency:

1. Leave your work area and find your zombie buddy immediately. Do not return for any of your possessions (unless you keep a weapon in your drawer). Do not attempt to help anyone other than your zombie buddy - if they are unprepared for the apocalypse, they will most likely die in the first few hours anyway.

2. Proceed to the prearranged safe space. If your workplace does not have a designated space, proceed to the most defensible location and grab any available weapons along the way.

3. Should this location be breached, it is best to adopt a back-to-back fighting position with your zombie buddy, unless one of you is wielding a double headed axe.

4. The fundamental basis of the zombie buddy bond is the agreement that you will look out for each other no matter what and - most importantly - that if one of you gets infected, the other will do the necessary.

5. No matter what movies may tell you; fighting zombies in revealing clothing is NOT COMFORTABLE. [Company of Awesome] respects your right to wear clothing of your choice (within reason) to work, but does request that you wear sensible footwear at all times in case of precisely this kind of emergency.

Should societal and economic structure survive in the aftermath of a zombie attack, your family/significant other(s) will be compensated in the event of your death. For more information, please apply to HR for the Zombies Ate My Loved One, What Now? leaflet.

Empire Strikes Back Poster

I was certainly appreciating my job in its own right already, but the awesome perks are starting to roll in... I won this signed limited edition 30th anniversary Empire Strikes Back poster by Joe Corroney at a pub quiz we had the other night and frak me, it's worth $40!!!

Isn't it gorgeous? I can wake every morning to see Darth Vader reaching out for me... *happy sigh*

Now if only I could currently afford a frame to put it in!

Popcorn Bowl

Here's a hit and run sum up of this weeks movie news, so you don't have to trawl dozens of news feeds all reporting the same thing!

Zack Snyder made a kids movie about owls

I know what you're thinking, and yes this is the guy that made 300 and Watchmen... Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole opened this week in American theatres and has been met with mixed reviews. A definite change of pace for Snyder, Legend of the Guardians is based on a series of children's books and has been criticised by some as being too scary for many children. Screenrant gives it an average review, but does highlight the beautiful visual style of the film - no surprise coming from Snyder, whose latest project Sucker Punch looks to be another highly stylised production. comingsoon.net discuss the 3D aspect of the film with him.

Superman reboot searches for a director

Several sources this week have reported that Christopher Nolan is talks with a shortlist of 5 directors for the reboot of the Superman franchise that was announced earlier this year. Making the hotlist are Duncan Jones (Moon), Tony Scott (Top Gun, True Romance), Zack Snyder (keeping himself in the news!), Jonathan Liebesman (Clash of the Titans 2, just announced) and Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In).

Images from the Captain America set in Manchester

Photos have emerged of Chris Evans and Hayley Atwell on the Captain America set in Manchester. There is also a short clip of a car explosion. Captain America: The First Avenger is scheduled for release on July 22nd 2011. Oh, and hai Natalie Dormer! Where have you been since The Tudors??

Last two years of Joaquin Phoenix's life a hoax

Casey Affleck has spent the past year documenting Joaquin Phoenix's spiralling breakdown after his decision to quit acting and pursue a rap career. Except... he hasn't. Affleck and Phoenix are going to have a lot of trouble digging themselves out of this one. They've also shot their profits in the foot by admitting it right before the movie released in theatres.

New Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 Trailer

A new trailer came out on Wednesday - which you already know unless you've been living under a rock!

Chloe Moretz (aka HitGirl) cast as Emily the Strange

Not much in the way of detail yet, but the movie has apparently been confirmed.

Pixar announces first female director

Brenda Chapman will be at the helm for Brave - the story of a princess determined to become an archer. Sounds like a bit of a departure to the ordinary for Pixar, but at this stage in story development it's hardly fair to pass judgement. Chapman has a massively impressive Disney resume - Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King to name but a few. Brave is slated for a June 2012 release.

Hobbit Casting Call Spotted

Despite no official word that the MGM fiasco has been resolved, there have been rumblings from Middle Earth of late - first Sir McKellen claimed that shooting would get underway in January, then this preliminary casting call was spotted in a Wellington newspaper. I'm erring on the side of scepticism at the moment, but be warned, there will be SERIOUS squee in this corner of the interwebs once production gets underway.