1. The Karate Kid (Sony/Columbia, 3,663 Theaters, 126 Minutes, Rated PG): This week has gotten a lot of chatter because it features two iconic 1980s properties remade for the new millennium. But while some might think this is a cute coincidence, I fear this might only be a harbinger of things to come. This could be the first sign that the studios will be coordinating their remakes so they all fit into theme weekends. And they’ll be able to do that because there will be so many remakes to choose from.

Anyway, this first film is a remake of the classic first Karate Kid film. And, as a fan of the original, I have to say I’m not really all that excited about this one. First off, and this is a minor thing, Jackie Chan says he’s going to teach Jaden Smith Kung Fu in the trailer. Kung Fu is not Karate. They are two different styles of martial arts. It is a small thing, yes, but enough to really annoy me.

Second, Jaden Smith really seems to be forced on me. I feel I am expected to like him because he is the son, and essentially a small version, of Will Smith. Both have the cocky smart-ass attitude, but Will’s is charming because he had decades to build it up. Jaden’s seems kind of obnoxious, to me at least. But I always feel snarky banter fits adults better than children.

Third, this film appears to be a shot-for-shot remake of the original. Sure, the location is now China instead of California and it’s “Jacket on/jacket off” instead of “wax on/wax off,” but all the themes, elements and scenes seem to be exactly duplicated. Instead of seeing a slavish, shot-for-shot remake of the Karate Kid, why wouldn’t I just watch the original instead? 

2. The A-Team (Fox, 3,534 Theaters, 117 Minutes, Rated PG-13): Of the two remakes this week, the one I was a bigger fan of the original was The A-Team. It essentially was a live action cartoon, which is probably why the 11-year-old me liked it.

But it was also a vehicle for Mr. T. And as charming as Rampage Jackson might be on the MMA circuit, he’s no Mr. T. However, when you have Bradley Cooper and Liam Neeson in your cast, you can count on them to pick up the slack.

While the Karate Kid remake appears to be too slavishly tied to the original, this one seem to be trying to make a break from its inspiration. The trademark black van makes an appearance, only to be destroyed if the trailer is any indication. B.A. still doesn’t like to fly, but it’s not as much of an issue as it was in the series. And Face, instead of being a supporting member of the team, seems to be more of the focus.

Although, that being said, I have to say I am interested to see what they have done. It seems to be as campy as the original, but with the action amped up to unblievable levels. I mean, you have to admire a film that shows the team battling fighter jets in a tank that was tossed out of an airplane. That is sick stuff right there.

We continue our look at the summer movie season month by month, highlighting some of the movies that we’re anxious to see, sometimes for reasons you wouldn’t expect.

Get Him To The Greek (June 4) – There’s really one reason why I’m looking forward to seeing this movie. I’m in it. Somewhere. Maybe.

Last summer the comedy was on location in New York City filming a sequence in which Russell Brand’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall‘s outrageous rocker character Aldous Snow is performing on the Today show. The production invited anyone who showed up to be an unpaid extra for the crowds needed. As this coincided with an already planned day trip in to the City, a friend and I decided to swing by Rockefeller Plaza and check things out, and well, one thing lead to another and I think I may be in a shot or two, if I didn’t wind up on the cutting room floor. (Look for a guy in a red shirt and a tan hat!) You can read our coverage of the shoot here.

On a less personal note, this is the first film where Brand is squarely in the lead. He’s been good in supporting roles in films like Forgetting Sarah Marshall and St. Trinians, but even with the ever dependable Jonah Hill at his side, does he have the chops to carry Get Him To The Greek? I’d like to think so. But I know that some are casting a weary eye at his performance here as an indicator as to whether he’ll be able to handle headlining the upcoming remake of Arthur. – Rich Drees

The A-Team (June 11) – I don’t think I have ever watched more than two or three episodes of the popular 1980’s TV show The A-Team, which must take the blame for foisting Mr. T onto an unsuspecting America in an act of provocation that must surely be prohibited by the Geneva Convention. Yet, I want to see the movie. True, most movies based on bad TV programs usually suck big time, but The Addams Family movies didn’t. Nor did The Brady Bunch films, and The Fugitive was a multi-Oscar nominated action classic. Not that I think The A-Team will be among the top Academy Award nominees for 2010, but stranger things have happened.

I’ve seen the trailer for The A-Team movie and it has one good thing to recommend it. . .Liam Neeson. Mr. Neeson almost single-handedly raised last years minor action film Taken to a level commensurate with Leon The Professional, something I thought impossible. Face it, this guy can do action. Liam Neeson brings a gravitas and believability to all of his work from serious dramas like Kinsey, Schindler’s List and last years gripping Five Minutes Of Heaven. But he started his career in action films, I can’t be the only one who remembers the young Liam in Excalibur, The Bounty or Darkman. For me, Liam Neeson is enough of a reason to see almost any film. – Michael McGonigle

Jonah Hex (June 18) – I don’t know if this character getting a film before other, better known DC Comics characters (namely Wonder Woman) is a sign that Warner Brothers has no idea what it’s doing, the strength of the DC character catalog, or a combination of the two.
Jonah Hex is a Western anti-hero. To put it in some context, imagine if Dirty Harry got a red hot tomahawk pressed to his face, leaving him hideously scarred, and then you have some idea about what type of character he is. He is certainly is interesting enough to pull off a movie on his own.

But there is some doubt as to what type of film we are going to get. The cast is loaded with Oscar nominees (Josh Brolin, John Malkovich, Michael Shannon), but also with comedians (Thomas Lennon, Will Arnett). So, will this be a serious take on the subject matter, or a camp fest? Well, since the plot supposedly involves terrorist using zombies as weapons of mass destruction and Brolin is describing the film as “campy” and “absurdist” in interviews, it looks like the latter. – William Gatevackes

Cyrus (June 18) – Some consider the Duplass brothers as the leaders of the so-called Mumble Core movement, low to no-budget filmmaking that concentrates on character and plot with no-name actors rather than the typical Hollywood glitz, glamor and big name stars. (Think of it as the offspring of a drunken fling between punk music’s DIY aesthetic and the Dogma 95 philosophy.) As someone who remembers the crap t hat punk band Green Day went through when their album Dookie crossed over on to the pop charts, I have to wonder if they are setting themselves up for similar accusations of selling out from mumble core’s proponents.

But even with a cast that includes John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill and Marisa Tomei, this is still a Duplass brothers written and directed film, and the trailer below illustrates that rather well I think. This is not so much a case of the Duplasses knocking on Hollywood’s door so much as it is a case of Hollywood knocking on their door. I am eager to see the results. – RD

Among other things, the start of the new year heralds the beginning of the promotional push for the upcoming summer blockbuster movies. This weekend sees the premier of the first trailer for director Joe Carnahan’s big screen adaptation of the ’80s television series. Like the first trailers to most television to film adaptations, this one works to show that at least in some respects the filmmakers are respecting the original material. We’ve got a modified version of the show’s opening narration, the reveals of classic imagery associated with the show, a certain character’s catch phrase and a glimpse of a rather audacious action sequence. My only real complaint is that the trailer only teases us with composer Mike Post’s iconic theme music, leaving me wanting to hear a full-on orchestral version. I guess it’s got me hooked until at least another trailer comes out. Mission accomplished.

A few weeks ago we offered you the first unofficial look at the the cast of the big screen adaptation of the 80s classic tv  series The A-Team being directed by Joe Carnahan. Now studio 20th Century Fox has released the first official picture of stars Bradley Cooper, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Sharlto Cople and Liam Neeson as American soldiers-framed-for-a-crime-they-didn’t-commit Lt. Templeton “Faceman” Peck, Sgt. “B.A.” Baracus, Capt. “Howling Mad” Murdock and John “Hannibal” Smith. (Click for a larger view.)

While I like the costumes and the look of the actors in the picture, I’m not sure that I’m thrilled with the gritty look of the photo itself. If you’ve seen Smokin’ Aces, you know that Carnahan is very much a visual stylists. But does The A-Team need that gritty, over-processed look? We’ll see next June 11, 2010.

The big screen adaptation of the popular 1980s television series The A-Team began shooting in Vancouver last week, and we’ve already gotten our first glimpse of the cast at right. (I’m not sure about the graying up of Liam Neeson’s hair…) But can Liam Neeson and company step in to the shoes of George Peppard, Dirk Benedict, Dwight Schultz and, of course, Mr. T, as a group of soldiers of fortune who are persued by the military for a crime they didn’t commit? It was the same dilemma facing the cast of this summer’s Star Trek reboot and they managed to do it. Can lightening strike twice? Let’s take a look.

Liam Neeson as Captain John “Hannibal” Smith- The smiling and cigar smoking leader of the A-Team is a master of disguise and a cunning strategist. Neeson has played a number of characters that share similar traits in films from Darkman to last year’s Taken. While I think that Neeson might be a little intense as compared to George Peppard’s lighter take on the character, his casting is probably an indication that the movie will probably be less cartoonish than the television series.

Bradley Cooper as Templeton “Faceman” Peck- Cooper is certainly charming enough to pull off the role of the A-Team’s resident con-man, to the point where this casting seems pretty much like a slamdunk. The Hangover has shown he can pull of a quick talking smooth operator, and he while he certainly has a charm about him similar to the television series’s Dirk Benedict, Cooper’s is a bit scruffier than Benedict’s cleaner good looks. This is probably the strongest casting out of the four roles.

Quinton Jackson as B. A. Baracus- The Ultimate Fighting light-heavyweight champ will be taking over perhaps the most iconic role of the original series from bodyguard-turned-actor Mr. T. The problem is that B.A.’s character was pretty much the public persona of Mr. T himself. Can Jackson, with his limited acting experience bring something different to the role? While some of that might depend on the script, much of that rests on Jackson’s shoulders.

Sharlto Copley as “Howling Mad” Murdoch- Almost as unpredictable as the character himself is the casting of District 9’s Sharlto Copley as the A-Team’s reality-challenged pilot. Copley’s only film role before this was this summer’s District 9, which admittedly was an outstanding performance. But we’ve seen impressive debuts that have never fully lived up to their promise before – Napoleon Dynamite’s Jon Heder, anyone? – so we have to admit to being a bit wary about this one.

<a href=”http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/ateamlogo.jpg”><img class=”alignright size-full wp-image-2780″ style=”float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; ” title=”I love it when a movie comes together…” src=”http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/ateamlogo.jpg” alt=”I love it when a movie comes together.” width=”233″ height=”100″ /></a>Although it was rumored earlier this week, director John Singleton has confirmed that he will be helming a big screen adaptation of the 1980s television series The A-Team.

The original series focused on four Vietnam vets wanted by military authorities for a crime they didn’t commit. As the show’s opening reminded us every week-

These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire… The A-Team.

A target for some watchdog groups for its over the top violence, no one on The A-Team ever seemed to actually get hurt amidst all the gun play. Reports are that this new version, being overseen by original series producer Stephen J. Cannell, will be in a more serious vein than the original and the team’s background will be updated from being Vietnam vets to Gulf War vets.

Via BlackVoices