By Guest Blogger Christian Salinas
If we didn't have enough proof already, the new trailer for the upcoming movie Real Steel, proves beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Hollywood has officially run out of ideas.

The film's plot description won't admit it, but how can this be anything else other than a movie based on the classic children's toy "Rock'em Sock'em Robots".

That said, I have to admit, it actually looks like an okay movie, I'm just wondering now what other toy/board games can be adapted onto the big-screen. Could 2012 be the year of the Hungry Hungry Hippos movie? 

movieweb.com

By Guest Blogger Christian Salinas
Okay, So it's pretty obvious by now, Mel Gibson is not a good guy, or at least, he's not as charming, and lovable as the characters he's played in most of his movies, but you have to admit... the guy is pretty talented.

I'm sure by now we've all heard the tapes of him blowing-up on his girlfriend, but I find it very hard to hold that against him. We've all had our share of embarrassing moments, and we all have character flaws, the only difference is ours aren't posted on youtube and viewed by millions of people (or at least not yet anyway). I personally would hate it if everyone only focused on my defects and overlooked the good.

The first Mel Gibson movie I remember seeing was the first Lethal Weapon, and I remember liking it. I also liked Forever Young, Braveheart, Signs, just to mention a few. I also liked a some of the five movies he's directed so far. Arguably, they may not have been masterpieces, but they were solidly made films.

Frankly, I know I'll never meet Mel in person, and we'll certainly never be friends, but some of the characters he's played will live on in my mind as great people. I choose to focus on that, and I hope he is able to introduce us to some even greater people/characters in the future.

By Guest Blogger: Christian Salinas
It's been announced that Zack Snyder will direct the next Superman movie, and I couldn't be happier.

It had been reported for a while now that Snyder would direct Superman with Christopher Nolan as a contributing producer. However, it was recently announced that Snyder is now 100% in charge of the film since Nolan will be too busy working on the next Batman.

In my opinion, Snyder has definitely proven himself worthy of taking-on the next Superman film all by himself. It's clear from his work on 300, The Watchmen, and most recently Legend of The Guardians that this guy knows exactly how to present a story in the appropriate visual style.

Since comics are a very visual medium, style and design are key elements. However, just as important to a successful comic-book film adaption is the connection between the audience and the main characters of the film. It can be argued that King Leonidas and Rorschach were great charters, but most can agree they were very interesting, and even emotionally engaging.

I love that comic book characters are finally being taken seriously by Hollywood, and that serious consideration is given to who will be in charge of their big-screen adaptations. For an industry that, understandably, makes decisions based on financial factors, I take it as a sign of a "creative maturity" that Warner Bros. chose a director that has made some pretty awesome movies yet hasn't made a whole lot of money at the Box-Office.