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"Never send a human to do a machine's job."
When Star Wars (now titled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) debuted in May of 1977, it forever changed sci-fi — and Hollywood’s perception of the genre — with its epic fantasy story and groundbreaking technology. It quickly became the highest grossing movie of all time and garnered numerous accolades, winning six of the ten Academy Awards categories for which it was nominated. Star Wars continually ranks near the top of just about every movie list category out there, including our own recent Best Sci-Fi Movies of the 1970’s and ‘80s, as voted by you, the Reelz.com readers.
The long-awaited prequel trilogy that was launched in May of 1999 with Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was a huge success for Lucasfilm, but, even though it boasted far superior special effects, it failed to make the same sort of impact on moviegoers as the original. Was Jar Jar Binks really the source of the ambivalence that many fans felt toward The Phantom Menace or was it that they had already had their minds blown by The Matrix, which opened two months prior? And how do the Star Wars prequels and The Matrix trilogy stack up against other sci-fi movies with next-level special effects like Avatar or more cerebral movies like Donnie Darko? Sit down, jack in and upload your choices of the best sci-fi movies from 1990 to today.
Rate the Top 10 Best Sci-Fi Movies (1990s - 2010s) >>
Posted 03.14.13 by BrentJS -
"Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all." — William Faulkner
Thanksgiving Day is a special holiday. It's that one day of the year where we all get to skip work to gather with our friends and family members and simply reflect on the things in our lives that we have to be thankful for...and then watch NFL football and consume massive quantities of "harvest" food. At ReelzChannel, we're all about movies, so Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete if we didn't take the time to be thankful for all of the great new movies of the year. If you're a movie person, then we consider you part of our extended family. So, before you have that third helping of stuffing and pass out on the couch from all of the tryptophan in the turkey, take a moment to share with us the movies that have excited, thrilled, scared, and moved you in 2012.
Rate the Top 10 Movies to Be Thankful for This Year >>
Posted 11.22.12 by BrentJS -
The "found footage" style of movie experienced a resurgence in the horror genre after the success of Paranormal Activity, which spawned a multitude of other "found footage" movies, including two Paranormal Activity sequels. It wasn't long before the technique made its way into other genres, including the superhero movie Chronicle and party comedy Project X, both of which, it turns out, are getting sequels as well.
In January, Chronicle director Josh Trank admitted that he had some "ideas that could be expanded on" for a sequel should Fox want it, but admitted last month, "I'm still not sure [about Chronicle 2]... I was nervous this type of movie would be perceived as a gimmick, so I was in denial for awhile about what the potential of the film could be."
For Twentieth Century Fox, the potential seems to be a franchise with Deadline reporting that Chronicle screenwriter Max Landis has been hired to write the sequel. Trank came up with the story of Chronicle, while Landis scripted, or as Trank described it, "filled it out with the heart and soul and muscles." The pair's efforts ended up earning $105 million worldwide on a $15 million budget.
project x sequel planned as well >> Posted 03.08.12 by Ryan -
| Title | Weekend | Total | Analysis |
| Chronicle | $22M | $22M | Nearly doubled its $12M budget in just three days; 4th-highest Super Bowl weekend debut ever |
| The Woman in Black | $21M | $21M | Daniel Radcliffe proves he can carry a movie without a wand in first hit for CBS Films |
| The Grey | $9.5M | $34.8M | Dropped a steep 52% in its second weekend; action pic has grossed $34M in two weekends |
| Big Miracle | $8.5M | $8.5M | Counterprogramming effort against the Super Bowl didn't pan out well; still, audiences gave Big Miracle an A- |
| Underworld: Awakening | $5.6M | $54.3M | After three weeks, vampire flick has amassed $54M, slightly outpacing Underworld: Evolution |
Posted 02.05.12 by reelz -
The "found footage" technique of moviemaking has become pervasive in the horror genre after the success of Paranormal Activity. How well will it work with superheroes? We'll find out in director Josh Trank's debut movie Chronicle, which follows three high school students (Dane DeHaan, Michael B. Jordan, Alex Russell) who develop superpowers like invulnerability and telekinesis after finding a mysterious substance near an unexplained crater.
Chronicle isn't based on a comic book, but Max Landis' script certainly deals with the themes — "with great power comes great responsibility" comes to mind, as some of the movie's preview clips have shown that the three friends don't all decide to use their new powers for good.
watch the clips >> Posted 01.31.12 by Ryan -
We love clever viral marketing campaigns for movies. We ran around the streets of San Diego during Comic-Con to find the location of "Flynn's Arcade" during Disney's 2009 and 2010 pushes for Tron: Legacy, were among the first to retweet the hashtag (#thefirerises) that helped reveal the first image of Tom Hardy as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises and even made our own robot boxer to compete in Real Steel's World Robot Boxing league.
The latest in movie virals comes to us from Fox and it's already become one of our favorites. To promote the release of Chronicle, first-time feature director Josh Trank's new "found footage" movie about a trio of teens — Dane DeHaan, Michael B. Jordan and Alex Russell — who develop super powers, three remote-controlled "flying people" buzzed the sky over New York City, causing no small amount of commotion among the Gothamites lucky enough to catch a glimpse of them.
watch the amazing viral video >> Posted 01.31.12 by BrentJS -
Director Josh Trank made his feature debut with the "found footage" superhero movie Chronicle, which, unlike most movies featuring ordinary people who discover they have superpowers, wasn't based on any comic book. While audiences have yet to respond to Chronicle, the movie has caught the attention of Twentieth Century Fox, who reportedly made Trank their "frontrunner" to direct their reboot of Fantastic Four, which the studio has been planning since 2009, even hiring Green Lantern screenwriter Michael Green to write the script that same year.
Fox's interest is news to Trank, who told SuperHeroHype that he knows "as much as you guys know" about the Fantastic Four reboot, and may not be too interested in the job.
read Trank's comments >> Posted 01.30.12 by Ryan -
A new TV spot — the third to date, if you're counting — for first-time feature director Josh Trank's upcoming "found footage" movie, Chronicle, recently began airing and it can now be viewed online. Written by Max Landis, the movie applies a real-world perspective to the superhero genre by showing how easily three high school friends — Dane DeHaan (Amigo), Michael B. Jordan (Red Tails) and Alex Russell (The Wheeler Boys) — are tempted to abuse the super powers they developed after coming into contact with a mysterious substance. The latest spot contains new footage of the trio unleashing their newfound abilities on an unsuspecting world to devastating effect.
watch the new tv spot >> Posted 01.25.12 by BrentJS -
With the release of his first movie, the "found footage" superhero (supervillain?) movie Chronicle, still more than a week away, up-and-coming director Josh Trank (The Kill Point TV series) is receiving the kind of buzz typically reserved for veteran filmmakers. In fact, rumor has it that executives at Fox are so impressed by Trank's work on Chronicle that the studio is considering giving him the opportunity to make a movie about real superheroes that has a real budget and a built-in cast of recognizable characters as the director of the Fantastic Four reboot. In a recent interview with DenOfGeek!, Trank described the attention he has been receiving for the movie as "a little weird" and discussed the possibility of a sequel to Chronicle.
what did trank say? >> Posted 01.23.12 by BrentJS -
What would you do if you suddenly had superpowers? In comic books, those that develop superpowers usually try to use them for good, but director Josh Trank's debut movie Chronicle takes a more realistic approach about how real people might react when given the "great responsibility" of superpowers.
In the "found footage" movie, Dane DeHaan (Amigo), Michael B. Jordan (Red Tails) and Alex Russell (The Wheeler Boys) play three high school students who develop superpowers like invulnerability and telekinesis after finding a mysterious substance near an unexplained crater. Two previously released preview clips have shown the boys finding the crater and demonstrating their newfound powers by throwing baseballs at each other, while another showed one (DeHaan) starting to use his powers for destructive means. MTV has released a new clip from the movie which shows the boys in more innocent times, studying telekinesis and then using that same power to play a prank on some female students standing nearby.
watch the clip >> Posted 01.19.12 by Ryan