Screenhead

Someone needs to tell Vin Diesel to stick to World of Warcraft, because his movies are just getting less and less pleasant with each passing iteration.

You read the headline exactly right, folks–we’re talking Triple X 3, also known as XXX: The Return of Xander Cage. Needless to say I’m downright horrified; it’s been almost eight years since our first go-round with Xander, and another five years since the second.  You’d think Hollywood might have learned its lesson and said, hey, surely there’s better movies to make than to dredge the harbor and pull some corpse out of the water.

But sure enough, they went a-dredgin’ and the next thing you know, we got Vin Diesel coming back to gravelly-voice his way through yet another installment of Stuff Go Boom.  Raaaaaaay.

Of course, there’s already some problem with this concept as they’re going to have to work around the previous title’s death scenes involving Xander–some are already very vocal in their opposition to even bothering to try.  But one thing’s for sure, chances are this’ll make Hollywood a few bucks, and these days, that’s better than nothing.

Admittedly, Vin Diesel is definitely one of the first actor’s names that comes to mind when you’re thinking “Sci-fi action” role.  But just because Vin Diesel’s got the background to handle sci-fi action roles, does that necessarily mean that the movie around him is any good?  That’s what we’ll be checking into today with Babylon A.D.

This time, Vin’s going to be playing a guy with the unlikely name of Toorop, a mercenary sent by a crime figure in Russia to retrieve a young lady from a convent and escort her to America.  But of course it’s never so easy, and Toorop’s going to have to deal with a series of doublecrosses and various factions scrapping amongst each other to get their hands on his rather mysterious package.  Can he get the girl where she needs to be?  Or will he even bother once he finds out the incredible secret she’s carrying with her?

Under normal circumstances, I love dystopian fare.  I love the post-apocalyptic, the study of the differences between the normal everyday that we all know so well  and the survival of the fittest lifestyle that we see in the dystopia.  But Babylon A.D. isn’t really all that post-apocalyptic.  In fact, for an apocalypse the world is surprisingly unscathed.  Aside from the fact that Russia looks like a crater-pocked wonderland of irradiation, Canada and the United States both look like brilliantly lit megalopoli with lots of shiny new, well, everything.  Some apocalypse, says I.

Anyway, this movie shows the converse of the low-budget movie beautifully: the effects and such are just fantastic, but the movie itself suffers under a muddled script and really, REALLY confusing plot elements.  Watching the last half hour or so made me wonder if my disc skipped or something, because it feels like a MASSIVE chunk of the narrative just vanished or something.  Seriously–we go from one point to another seemingly years later without any kind of connecting thread in the narrative.

Sure, on a visual level, Babylon A.D. looks just amazing.  There’s this fantastic sequence in which a car flies through the air, dangling from a helicopter with a magnet for support.  It looks amazing.  It looks so amazing that it’s featured in the box art.  The cityscapes are amazing and laden with neon.  Everything in here is just BEAUTIFUL.  Even the Russian slum districts are exemplars of their gritty condition.

The problem, of course, is that this movie is well on its way to full-bore incomprehensibility and has about as much regard for a decent narrative storyline as a fish has for a newspaper.  Which is to say, of course, none at all.

This is one of those movies that it’s hard to trash because, frankly, it was fun to watch.  There were plenty of explosions and lots of gunplay and some absolutely beautiful scenery.  On a visual level this thing is AMAZING.  It’s only too bad that they couldn’t be bothered to actually make this wreck make sense.

Babylon A.D. proves unquestionably that beauty will only get you so far–in fact, all it’ll get you around here is a four out of ten.

It seems that lukewarm reviews for the Wheelman game hasn’t discouraged Vin Diesel, as he and director John Singleton and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura are teaming up for a film adaptation of the game for Paramount Pictures.

The game followed an expert driver who comes out of retirement to protect a woman from his past. Diesel produced, voiced and let the developers use his likeness in the game.

He will play the role in the film and will produce alongside Bonaventura and Samantha Vincent.

It has been a common trend to see soundtrack albums come out ahead of the actual film. And for the people who are eagerly awaiting the fourth installment for The Fast and The Furious films, the official soundtrack album for Fast and Furious movie will arrive in the physical and digital marketplace March 31.

The all-star soundtrack album features new music by Pitbull, Busta Rhymes, Tego Calderon, Don Omar, Kenna, Rye Rye, Shark City Click, Tasha, and Robin Thicke, and productions by The Neptunes.

On March 24, the first eSingle release – “Blanco” by Pitbull, featuring Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes – arrives. The “Blanco” video will premiere the week of the album’s release.

In Fast & Furious, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker reteam for this ultimate chapter of the franchise built on speed. Heading back to the streets where it all began, they rejoin Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster to blast muscle, tuner and exotic cards across Los Angeles and floor through the Mexican desert in the new high-octane action-thriller.

The final sequence for the Fast & Furious original motion picture soundtrack album is:

1. “Bang” – Rye Rye
2. “G-Stro” – Busta Rhymes (produced by The Neptunes)
3. “Loose Wires” – Kenna (produced by The Neptunes)
4. “Blanco” – Pitbull (produced by The Neptunes)
5. “Krazy” – Pitbull
6. “You Slip, She Grip” – Pitbull and Tego Calderon (produced by The Neptunes)
7. “Head Bust” – Shark City Click (produced by The Neptunes)
8. “Bad Girls” – Pitbull featuring Robin Thicke (produced by The Neptunes)
9. “Virtual Diva” – Don Omar
10. “La Isla Bonita” – Tasha

album bonus track:

1. “Blanco (The Strictly Spanish Mix)” – Pitbull (produced by The Neptunes).

(Source) Press

Seeing as how Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena is coming out within a couple of a weeks, word of a movie comes as no surprise. Vin Diesel himself is hyping it up, saying that a third movie featuring the Pitch Black character is in the works.

"Maybe we’re too tight-lipped about the next ‘Chronicles of Riddick’ film, and I think circa the release of [Dark Athena] that’s probably when you’ll start hearing more about the next ‘Riddick’ film," said Diesel to Gamespot.

The actor confirmed that David Twohy is finishing up the script. Assault on Dark Athena is a two-part video game – the first part is a remake of the first shooter Escape from Butcher Bay, and the second is a whole new sequel that extends the storyline further.

After making horrible movies such as The Pacifier and laying low for a while, it seems Vin Diesel is hoping to come back in full force with a Fast and Furious movie on the way and – wait for it – a xXx sequel!

Variety reports that Sony Pictures is in discussions with former Revolution Studios chief Joe Roth for a third entry in the franchise, dubbed XXX: The Return of Xander Cage. Both original star Vin Diesel and director Rob Cohen have agreed to come back, though there is no script and absolutely no setup as of yet.

The first film, released back in 2002, had Diesel playing Xander Cage, an extreme sports enthusiast who gets to go on a dangerous mission, courtesy of the government of course. The film took in over $270 million worldwide. The sequel, starring Ice Cube, flopped badly, with scathing reviews and only $71 million worldwide.

Let’s hope Diesel comes back in action soon. Can’t wait to see his bald, shiny head again.

Nice trailer. Looks like a white knuckle film with a little love. I like those lines, “No mercy for the weak.” and “I can defend myself.”

Vin Diesel’s spirit and passion for the Riddick franchise is in fever pitch as the bald actor has revealed that he is keen on doing further movies in the franchise despite the fact that “Chronicles of Riddick” had bombed at the box office.

The actor tells MTV that there are two more films in the works. “David Twowy right now is writing the scripts. The only question is whether we take a page from the ‘Lord of the Rings’ guys and try to shoot the two chapters at the same time.

“There are two more in mind,” he adds.

So, why is it taking so long to do? “Everyone knows I love the Riddick character and I’m always working on it. It just takes five years to make another one because David Twohy and I are so precious about it… sooner or later we all end up in the Underverse.”

This trailer is fast and furious, great shots and stunts. Fast and Furious stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and Jordana Brewster.  Hold on to your seats and enjoy the show.

Did you know they are making a fourth Fast and the Furious movie? No? Well, today’s your lucky day then, because USA Today has scooped the first three official photos from the upcoming film that will see the return of its original stars.

Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and the gang are all back for the film which is being directed by Justin Lin. Having lost the article – Fast and Furious – the movie is set to open June 5, 2009. Check out the photos and wait patiently for the trailer to appear sometime soon.