Photo credit: 20th Century Fox

If we take the first Predator movie and replace Schwarzenegger with Adrien Brody, and then change the setting from a jungle on Earth to a similar looking jungle environment on an alien game reserve, then you have an idea of what Predators is about. Granted, a few things have changed. Such as the introduction of alien "dogs" that engage in the hunt, and some additional details about a clan battle within the Predator species. But these few changes seem like a desperate attempt to convince people that the film makers really didn't rehash the same ol' story from the first Predator movie. And just like the first movie, this film relies on a high profile cast (for the most part) to carry the movie. But any avid film fan knows that throwing a group of well-known actors into a film with a script that does not take advantage of their talents just leads to disappointment.

(Photos credit: Warner Bros. Entertainment)

The idea of genetic engineering has been a subject that scientists have been struggling with for quite some time. Some see the benefits of such research. Others see it as man's God complex. Splice is a movie that deals with the moral and emotional complications of advancements in science that include splicing human DNA with that of other animals to create beneficial proteins that can cure many of man's devastating diseases.

Adrien Brody (Clive Nicoli) and Sarah Polley (Elsa Kast) play two ambitious scientists who find themselves in a moral and legal quandary when they bend and then break the rules to blaze ahead with their genetic research by mixing animal DNA with human DNA. Their goal is to find a protein that is key to fighting many diseases. But by breaking the rules, they find that they have created a hybrid being with unexpected behaviors.

Image: 20th Century Fox

An excellent look back at the classic film on it's 30th Anniversary. The bad guys won, and it ended up being the best film in the original Star Wars trilogy. The dark tension of the film completely defined the internal conflict faced by Luke Skywalker as he faced Darth Vader, and I think it had a profound effect on society as a modern tale of myth.

The film is jet black in tone. Luke lost the only person he knew that connected him to his father, and to the legacy of the Jedi Knights, when Obi-Wan was struck down by Vader in A New Hope (or as older Ars staffers still refer to it, Star Wars). Han Solo is biding his time with the rebels before leaving to return to his life of being a professional smuggler and scoundrel; the bounty on his head is becoming too much to bear. The rebels may have destroyed the Death Star, but they're still undersupplied and on the run, holed up on a frozen hell of a planet. Darth Vader is scouring space to find them, and he seems oddly preoccupied with a young pilot named Luke Skywalker. It only goes downhill from there.

The Empire Strikes Back. What a classic.

Check out Ars's in-depth look back HERE.

View trailer HERE!

Arranged by prosecutors in Los angeles and Washington, Swiss authorities arrested director Roman Polanski late Saturday (Sept. 26, 2009) as he arrived at the Zurich airport. Polanski was scheduled to receive an award at the Zurich Film Festival.

According to Variety, Twentieth Century Fox is planning to revive it's 'Alien' franchise by releasing a prequel film that takes place before the 1979 classic 'Alien'. This, of course, is news in itself. But the BIG news is that Ridley Scott (who directed the original film) has been signed on to direct this prequel! There were three sequels to the original film, but this is the first time Scott has agreed to direct one. This should be good!

Read the Variety report HERE!

As if Watchmen wasn't long enough, it looks like Warner Bros. is looking to cash in by releasing a Director's Cut of the film in July, one week before the DVD & Blu-ray releases. The new version will include 25 minutes of extra footage that extends the film's runtime to just over 3 hours!

I always felt the film was a bit too long in its original version, but it looks like Warner Bros. is expecting the die-hard fans to come back and see this Director's Cut. According to the post on the MTV Movies Blog, this new version is going to be more graphic and violent. But over three hours? The first film had a pretty slow pace at times, so I fear that the patience of the audience may run thin. But then again, the die-hard Watchmen fans will most likely appreciate a longer, more graphic version. We'll have to see.

Check out the entire post on MTV's Movie Blog here, and check out the new Director's Cut of Watchmen in July if you have the patience.

(Photo credit: Gizmodo.com)

I came across a very geeky and interesting post on Gizmodo today, and I had to share it with everyone here on butteredpopcorn.net. This Giz post explains the technical details of IMAX film (as well as standard 35mm movie film), and how movies are transfered over to the awesome IMAX format. So now you can say you technically know why IMAX is as awesome as it is.  Enjoy!

Full Gizmodo post HERE!