Anyone who saw My Bloody Valentine in theaters will tell you nothing compares to the awesomeness that was director Patrick Lussier and screenwriter Todd Farmer’s re-imagining of the Canadian slasher My Bloody Valentine. It was such a risk remaking a flick that is loved by horror fans everywhere. They improved upon George Mihalka’s 1981 heart-wrencher with more gore, more T & A, and they even added all-around bad-ass Tom Atkins (Maniac Cop, Night of the Creeps) to the 3D experience that was so eye-poppingly amazing that I stayed in my seat right until the credits ended.

Milton (Nicolas Cage) is a man who has escaped from the abyss of Hades to avenge the death of his daughter and save his kidnapped granddaughter from the man who is responsible for both – cult leader Jonah King (Billy Burke) – who plans on sacrificing the child under the moon in order to bring forth hell on Earth. The devil doesn’t like prisoners who try to jump ship early, so he unleashes The Accountant (William Fichtner) to bring him back home. Along the way to his ultimate mission, Milton crosses paths with tough-as-nails waitress Piper (Amber Heard), who just quit her job and looks for more from life than having her man (Todd Farmer – getting naked once again) cheat and beat on her. A pact is made and our modern day Bonnie and Clyde are ready to die to save the life of an innocent as blood is spilled across the open road.

If you are looking for a structured story then you are barking up the wrong tree because the screenplay doesn’t require a whole lot of brain matter. This is exploitation trash at its finest as A-list actor Nicolas Cage gets into full B-move mode and hams it up like only he can. He is one of the few people in the business who knows where he came from and speaks openly in interviews about Vampire’s Kiss and Valley Girl – fan favorites that entertain and don’t take themselves seriously. Well, he’s back!  Take the scene where he is slamming his salami into former NYPD Blue star Charlotte Ross with a cigar in his mouth, a bottle of Jack Daniels in one hand and a gun in the other, while blowing away the bad guys and still staying hard and delivering the Big O. Amber Heard is hot as usual as she sports the sexiest pair of Daisey Dukes since Jessica Simpson in The Dukes of Hazzard. Tom Atkins once again portrays the long arm of the law and is slowly catching up with John Saxon on how many times he’s been a flatfoot.

Shot in Real 3D, Drive Angry is the bastard brood of the 70′s road thrillers Race with the Devil and Two-Lane Blacktop with the lone gunman western approach of Clint Eastwood’s High Plains Drifter.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Drive Angry 3D is in theaters nationwide today.

I can roast a bad flick with the best of them, but when thirty-year old losers attack his personal appearance from their laptop in their mommy’s basement, it reeks of buffoons who have no life. To go after his hair extensions or wig, or whatever it is that he places on top of his head is absurd and childish. The man can wipe his ass with one hundred dollar bills the rest of his life, when most citizens are living from paycheck to paycheck. Not everyone looks good with a chrome dome like Bruce Willis and I. Sheesh, what the hell got into me? Time to get off my soapbox and review the flippin’ film already.

How did you get involved with The Sorcerer’s Apprentice?

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice began with my desire to play a magician in a movie. I played a magician of sorts in a movie called Next, which is when I became fascinated with ancient mythologies and philosophies from England. I loved the subject, so I had a conversation with Todd Garner – the producer of Next – and I said to him, “Boy, I’d really like to play a sorcerer from the times of King Arthur.” The very next day he said to me, “Nic, I’ve got it. Why don’t we create a movie around the sorcerer’s apprentice from the Fantasia movie?” It was perfect.

How important was it to transform your look for your role in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice?

Actors often change their looks for roles and I’m certainly part of that school of thought. In fact, I want to transform myself every time I get a new role. I’ll wear wigs, I’ll wear nosepieces, I’ll wear green contact lenses… I’ll do whatever I need to do to create a character. That’s what acting’s all about. That’s the fun of it.

How would you describe the look of your character, Balthazar Blake?

Jerry Bruckheimer says that Balthazar has the look of an ancient rock star, and I have to agree with him. He has a cool style that harkens back to the 500s or the 600s, which is where he came from. Merlin was his teacher, so it was appropriate.

How did it feel to play a sorcerer?

This is the role I’ve been waiting to do my whole life. When I was a kid, I used to love pretending to be a superhero. I was always playing around and shooting energy out of my hands. In that respect, I’ve been rehearsing for this role for years because Balthazar certainly shoots plasma out of his hands in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

How much of the movie is based on the sorcerer’s apprentice scenes of the Disney classic, Fantasia?

There are elements of the animation in the movie, but we fleshed out the idea into a two-hour action adventure. We have expanded the idea to present a thrilling magical world to audiences and I’m especially happy because it’s a family movie. I liked the idea of entertaining a family without having to rely on murder and guns. We’ve kept it very positive.

Why did you want to make it a family movie?

I wanted to create a movie that excited both children and parents because I am a big fan of family movies. When you’re playing supernatural characters in movies like Ghost Rider, Next or The Sorcerer’s Apprentice there is an infinite number of possibilities that you can do with the character, but I wanted this to have comedy and humor – and I wanted it to connect with big audiences. Do you remember the first time you saw The Wizard Of Oz? Did you feel enchanted and magical? We wanted people to have those feelings at the end of our movie. That was our goal.

How did Jerry Bruckheimer and Jon Turteltaub get involved with the project?

I talked the movie over with different writers and then we pitched the idea to Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney – and they loved it. I’d just finished National Treasure II with the director Jon Turteltaub and I thought he’d be perfect for the new movie. He likes to keep things in the fun zone and he keeps things comical, but he’s also edgy, so it was a good mix. He was the perfect man for the job.

What does it mean to you to be associated with Disney?

It’s an honor and I feel greatly privileged to work with Disney. I grew up watching Walt Disney’s movies and I love what he stands for. I love the entertainment that comes out of the studio and this movie is a dream come true for me, which is in the spirit of Disney. It has been a magical experience.

What was it like to work with Jay Baruchel, the actor who plays the sorcerer’s apprentice in the film?

Jay is great. He’s hilarious and he’s a really physical comedian when he wants to be, but he’s also got a little bit of a demon in him. He’s a little mischievous and there’s a playful dark side in him. He was a joy to work with on The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

Are you a fan of magic and wizards?

I definitely went through my magic phase when I was younger. I think all little boys do at some point. Everyone gets fascinated with magic tricks. I certainly did. I used to go to the Hollywood House Of Magic, which is where I bought a magic trick called ‘Gloripy’. It was a little handkerchief that had a ghost in it. The ghost would move the handkerchief around on its own – and it was really good. I could stun my friends with it. You feel very powerful when you have a magic trick up your sleeve. I used to love it.

When was the last time you performed a magic trick?

Balthazar is a wonderful sorcerer in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, but it’s been a while since I used the Gloripy trick. I also had another trick called The Rising Deck Of Cards, too. I could point towards a deck of cards and pick a card – and the card of my choice would rise up. That was also a lot of fun to play with.

Do you know any magical secrets?

Let me tell you something: Never give away your magical secrets. I worked on a movie in New Orleans where I used The Rising Deck Of Cards trick on a friend of mine. He kept asking me, “How are you doing that?” And I could tell he was getting a little nervous because he thought something weird was going on. That’s when I made the world’s worst mistake: I gave away the secret of my trick. He just threw the cards away after that and I lost all the power. Never give away your secrets.

When was the last time you were an apprentice?

The last time I was an apprentice was on a movie called Season Of The Witch. I had to learn how to ride horses for that movie and a young woman named Camilla was my instructor. She did a wonderful job. I’d not been on a horse before, so I was a little nervous – but I learned to love it, which was exciting. I definitely felt like an apprentice there.

What do you think is magical in our world today?

Any painting is a work of magic. Any book is a work of magic. Any science experiment is a work of magic. Any speech that moves people is a work of magic. When you think about magic, it’s not all hocus-pocus. It’s all about imagination and will power and positivity.

Do you remember the first time you realized you wanted to act?

I knew I wanted to be an actor when I was about six years old. I was trying to figure out how to get inside the television set because I was fascinated by it. My father built a little castle out of plywood in our back yard and I would go in there for hours making up stories and characters.

What characters did you make up?

I would pretend to be anything from a knight to a superhero to an astronaut. In fact, that castle was where I learned to act.

Do you have any advice for youngsters who want to follow in your footsteps and act?

Keep the child in you alive because it’s your imagination that will connect you to audiences. Your imagination is your best tool to be an actor. Don’t let people try to diminish it or make you feel bad for having an imagination. Use it whenever you can. I would urge children to play as much as they can and use their imagination as much as possible. It will really help you as an actor. Follow your instincts, work hard and you’ll go far.

**WALT DISNEY STUDIO HOME ENTERTAINMENT’S THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE ON DVD AND BLU-RAY NOVEMBER 30TH**

The dynamic duo behind that gory opus are director Patrick Lussier [Dracula 2000] and screenwriter Todd Farmer [Jason X]. They get behind the wheel for the genre bender Drive Angry 3D, and they have brought with them a script that echoes another recent revenge-driven road burner, Ghost Rider. It is apropos then to have superstar Nic Cage taking the lead alongside sexy knockout Amber Heard [The Stepfather] for the crash and burn pyrotechnics that will be on display.

Summit Entertainment brought the principal cast members to Comic-Con to promote the film which is scheduled for theatrical release on February 11, 2011.

On the decision to take the role in Drive Angry 3D

Nic Cage: The first thing I would offer is this is a movie that hails from classic 70′s films like High Plains Drifter. Movies that were really a major factor in my decision to become a film actor. And then, on top of that, the 3D was going to be directed by one of the pioneers [Patrick Lussier] in this day and age of 3D. He’s a purist, so I knew it would be in the camera and I knew that I would have the opportunity to try and work with the 3D camera and see how that would enhance my performance. Different body language. Different ways I could play with the format. That was a big draw for me. I try to keep my characters raising more questions than answers. I don’t want to leave too much on the table. I want you to have your connection with it and your secret understanding of the character. I hesitate to talk too much about anything specifically about him. If that’s okay with you.

The fascination of retribution by movie-going audiences

Nic Cage: Because everybody gets angry. Everyone feels like they are being tested or they have gone through trials in life. Especially when loved ones are involved. The fierce protective nature comes alive and I think this is happening to Milton. He’s on a terror to save this little child.

On the connection to High Plains Drifter

Patrick Lussier: The goal is to have it as a series and there are certain answers that you will get. That was the intensity of that character, the relentless nature of that character that he took traits in that. That was very much what we discussed in bringing the film to life. There are some things that we pay homage to. Very specifically, High Plains Drifter.

The challenges of shooting an action movie in 3D

Patrick Lussier: There were a lot of challenges shooting an action movie in 3D. A lot of it was how fast we were shooting the movie in terms of the physical speed on the road. The way 3D cameras work is you have a camera shooting down into a mirror and one shooting through a mirror. By the virtue of that nature cameras move too fast and become unstable, so we had to have cameras that would support the speed. Things as simple as the color of the car and certain textures of paint can become too reflective and it will mess up the 3D. The sheer aggressive nature of how I shot it was designed to be action. We cut faster and a lot of shorter cuts. The 3D was set up that way so it actually could be cut that fast.

Drive Angry 3D harking back to the cult film Vampire’s Kiss and the love for these kind of movies

Nic Cage: Absolutely. I definitely feel that Drive Angry fits into that audience. I think my love for those kind of films is the intensity and the adrenaline. They don’t compromise. They’re honest and they give it everything they have. It has a relentless intensity I respond to. The little [footage] that I saw today achieved it. I was very excited by the footage I saw today. I haven’t seen the finished result yet, but I do think that this movie is really in your face, and it’s tough, and it’s cool – and I am excited about that.

Thoughts on 3D versus 3D conversion

Nic Cage: For me, there’s no fun in that. If you schlack the movie, I have nothing to do with it. It gives me no opportunity to work with the 3D camera. That way it’s imposed. This way it’s a much more collaborative experience, where the actors get to work with the director and the camera and talk about it. Therefore, it’s exciting. Otherwise, I really have nothing to do with it as an actor. For me, in terms of perspective, I want to know how was I going to become friends with this new mechanism. How was I going to become friends with this new machine. I would talk with Patrick and say can I move like this. I even went so far at one point to try and stick my tongue out all of the way so I could get I could get into the fourth row on the audience. That would have an effect. I don’t know if it made it into the movie or not. My point is it’s that relationship with perspective and the camera and body language and dance and movement. I wanted to see if there was anything we could do with that.

Amber Heard: Part of it was feeling like you were part of the audience in a way. Participating actively while you are filming something. Acting and participating in how it is going to be viewed later is kind of in a weird way puts me in the audience’s position. That was an interesting way to going about filming something. Because this movie was conceived in 3D, not converted, we had the privilege and opportunity to manipulate some of our actions and blocking around how it would be viewed later. I threw some punches directly into lense and I backed the car almost over the camera a couple of times to create effects specific towards what the audience would view in 3D. I have seen a lot of good 3D movies that were shot in 3D, but I think it’s harder to convert something and maintain the quality no matter what you are converting.

1950′s 3D movies

Nic Cage: For me, 3D movies in the 50′s didn’t work. I just thought it didn’t look right. I would not go into that dimension. They just turned me off because they looked so goofy. Today, this is the time for 3D and I think Avatar really showed that in terms of the perspective and depth. It’s almost like a painting. I saw those depths by the pool when it was lit at night. Amber and I would be running and you see the dimension. There is no better word for it than beautiful. It’s a very beautiful format for filmmaking.

My Bloody Valentine team working together again

Patrick Lussier: Todd [Farmer] and I have done a lot of writing together. For My Bloody Valentine, we brought in Todd to do all of the rewrites on that and kind of reshaped the script. On this, we just started together sitting around a room and one thing led to another and we wrote it together and he would write scenes.

On the physical challenges and getting to kick some ass and not playing the victim

Amber Heard: It’s one of the only movies where I actually get to kick some ass. It’s surprisingly not too far from home. I mean, I’m from Texas, and guns and fistfights are all part of the gig. Everything from the hot rods to the cowboy boots were something that was close to home for me. I was happy. I’m excited that more writers like Todd and more directors like Patrick are willing to take that risk and make a film that doesn’t have a woman as a victim and leaves a woman to be her own person and own character and not need to be saved. I think that for me, as a woman, that’s particularly interesting. It’s easy to get bored by the bathing suit roles, not that I am shy of those either. I’m honored to do something other than just lounge around in a bikini. This is really cool for me, flipping cars and shooting guns and running my mouth and getting into fistfights. I’m in heaven.

Favorite car to drive

Nic Cage: I always prefer the Chavelle. It just has a gorgeous aesthetic, but I predominantly drive a Charger in this movie which is also beautiful. My character prefers a Chavelle as well.

Amber Heard: I’m all about the Charger, baby. ’69 charger, okay, I’ll do it.

Playing a character actor and being drawn to the tortured soul roles

William Fichtner: I don’t think I ever played a part where I thought this character was a bad guy. If I thought he was bad it was just bad for bads sake, I’m quite sure I wouldn’t know what to do with it just figuring it out. I like characters where there’s something going on. There’s something to make him real. What do they care about? If you find out what somebody cares about, all of the sudden the whole world opens up. I remember the first time I read the script, and there is a moment up in the guard tower with Amber and I tell her to go. That was the moment for me when I read the script and I was looking for that grounded thing. There is a right and wrong and whatever sensibility is for that character, and when I find that, it means the world to me. You can go back and forward from there and fill in the blanks and hopefully find a real guy. No matter what he’s going through.

Future projects

William Fichtner: I don’t know what’s next. I’m working on something that I am writing. I’m serious about the garage. I got to finish [cleaning] it. It’s driving me nuts. I have a ’70 Roadrunner that’s sitting in that garage. Everything has got to look the same or it’s not good.

Being a ‘Scream Queen’ and working in the genre

Amber Heard: This seems like an action film to me. It does have supernatural elements to it. In terms of strong female characters, that’s why I am doing this job. For me, I think the genre kind of serves sometimes as a good vehicle for young women in this business to actually have a role. It might not always be saving the day, but you certainly get to do more than just play the girlfriend in horror films and thrillers. And so for me, I’m drawn to them because I actually get to do something in them most of the time. This one was on a different level completely. Piper, my character, is this bad-ass, potty-mouthed, ‘Daisy Duke’ wearing, Charger-driving, gun-toting motherf*cker and she doesn’t take any shit! And where else am I going to find that? This is the only script that I ever read with those elements.

Dealing with anger

Nic Cage: It’s really not that simple for me. I can’t encapsulate everything built in the word anger. There’s other things motivating his drive. Hopefully when you see the movie there are other dimensions to the character. It’s more like a sense of otherness and a purpose, but the anger is an anger that is almost like a residual anger of something that happened in another life. I’ve probably said too much already. I do want to talk a little bit about the relationship that Milton has not with anger, but with Amber [Piper]. Piper provides the heart of the movie and when you see the movie you’ll see what Amber did with it so beautifully. There’s another element that may suprise you that the film actually has a pretty deep and strong heart and that’s not romantic, it’s like a partnership. I think it would be great if we could do another one because I love that relationship between Milton and Piper.

Amber Heard: I’m in. [looks to her side] Get to work, Todd and Patrick!

“No, unfortunately,” she said.

So with Blaze’s sweetheart Roxanne out, can we just get the Ghost Rider film Marvel fans originally wanted?

Source: SHH!

The plot is pretty simple. Balthazar (Nicolas Cage) is a sorcerer that trained under Merlin himself. All was right with the world except for an evil sorceress named Morgana Le Fay (Alice Krige), who of course wants to take over the world or something equally as dubious. One of Balthazar’s allies, Horvath (Alfred Molina) betrays him, so Balthazar is forced to trap Horvath along with Morgana in a nesting doll for all eternity. Fast forward 1300 or so years and we meet a young Dave (Jake Cherry), who has a creepy encounter with Balthazar. Balthazar gives Dave a ring and tells him he is very special and then all hell breaks loose when Horvath breaks free from the doll. Fast forward 10 more years and we meet older Dave (Jay Baruchel), who once again has an encounter with Balthazar, which leads to him becoming the sorcerer’s apprentice. Together the two of them vow to fight the forces of evil (Horvath and Morgana).

I have to give it to director Jon Turteltaub for making a quick moving and entertaining flick, but I also have to say that as for as movies go it was nothing more than average. It almost seemed like the this film could have bypassed the theatrical route and made it’s debut on the Disney Channel instead, but of course that wouldn’t have been as profitable a route for the studios to take. I’m constantly surprised by what we the movie going public are willing to call entertainment. We are so used to the watered down, standard issue movies that the Hollywood system throws out at us, and we tolerate it, resulting in more watered down movies.

If you have children and are looking to kill some time at the movies, then this flick could be an option if you’ve seen all the other teeny flicks gracing the screen. Otherwise I’d wait for it to hit DVD or Blu-ray, because The Sorcerer’s Apprentice wasn’t quite a killer film.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

The Jon Turteltaub film centers on Master sorcerer Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage) who recruits a seemingly everyday guy (Jay Baruchel) in his mission to defend New York City from his arch-nemesis, Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina). The rest of the cast includes Teresa Palmer, Monica Bellucci and Gregory Woo.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice pops into theaters everywhere on July 14th from Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Walt Disney Pictures. Also, be sure to check out all of the brand new individual character posters that came out for this film down below.:

The project is under Nu Image/Millennium Films with Danny Dimbort, Irwin Wrinkler and Avi Lerner producing. The script for the upcoming thriller is written by Eli Richbourg and Karl Gajdusek. Filming is scheduled to commence this August in Louisiana.

You all remember Schumacher for his abysmal directorial work in Batman & Robin, but has been gradually trying to make it up with his other films. Those that are argued to be some of the better works he’s done within the past decade include  The Number 23 and The Phantom of the Opera. Later on this year he comes out with his new dramatic thriller Twelve, coming out in theaters on July 30th.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

At this point your excitement for Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance either skyrocketed or just completely went down the toilet. Regardless, it looks like Columbia Pictures wants this Marvel property to jump into principal photography this fall. No word on what exactly the story will be about, but David Goyer did pen the script if that makes you feel any better about this production.

Ghost Rider centered on theis stunt motorcyclist Johnny Blaze (Cage), who, in order to save the life of his mentor, agreed to give his soul to Satan. Instead, his soul bonded with the entity called Zarathos. When utilizing Zarathos’ powers Blaze’s flesh is consumed by hellfire, causing his head to become a flaming skull. He rides a fiery motorcycle and wields trademark blasts of hellfire from his skeletal hands. The 2007 movie starred Cage and Eva Mendes, directed by Mark Steven Johnson and ended up accumulating a hefty $228 Million overall.

At least we’ll get Nicolas Cage in all of his wig-wearing like glory. The roles the actor has been choosing as of late have been a lot more entertaining/intriguing, mainly noting Kick-Ass and Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. The question is whether or not this combination will prove to be good once the final cut is made.

Cage will be sharing the screen with Jay Baruchel in the latest Walt Disney Pictures film The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, poised to appear in theaters everywhere on July 14th.

The second is National Treasure 3, a highly profitable franchise from Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films. This would be the one of the two that’d make the most sense to latch onto, due to the fairly recent popularity of the films. Collider (via Nerdles) reports that Carlo Bernard and Doug Miro, writers for National Treasure 3, are just waiting on Cage’s decision between the two.

You can still see Nicolas Cage beat the hell out of guys on the big screen in the comic book adapted film Kick-Ass, still playing in theaters. He’ll next appear getting his magic on in Jon Turteltaub’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, poised for release on July 16th.