Edward will Serenade, Cars will Fly, and I will eat PANSCAKES!

"I am a faun... and I am edible"

My morning was completely made by Nat over at The Film Experience when he posted pictures of "Panscakes," pancakes in shapes of creatures from Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth. His whole "Breakfast with..." column is pretty phenom, but this one was especially AWESOME! Seriously, imagining waking up to this? It could only lead to the best day ever!

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The Sexier Alternative to Grease Lightning!

Black Lightning from AO on Vimeo.

I am a huge Timur Bekmambetov fan(try saying that... once), and one of his his next Russian action packed projects now has a teaser, Black Lightning. Clearly, there's not much to go on with this teeny teaser as of yet, but doesn't it just rev your motor? vroom vroom!

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"Bite me, bite me good, OOO WOAH DUN NAN NAN"

That could very possibly be a lyric from Twilight the Musical, which premieres tomorrow/today online! Part 1 of the full approx. hour long production will be available here sometime on 3.13... oh goodness what have we gotten ourselves into. I'll be the first to admit I desperately want to see Bella singing about Edward's oh-so-glittery skin 

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IRON MAN's Official Enemies

After months of back and forth, rumors from the actors and studios, vehement denial from reps, and false casting confirmations, we finally have the identities of Iron Man 2's Black Widow and Whiplash. It'll be the now "back by popular demand" Mickey Rourke, and the "always in everything" Scarlett Johansson. Fans seem to be generally pleased with the casting of Rourke, but a little more uncertain about Johansson given an attachment to the prior actress attached to the role, Emily Blunt. But I'm sure Johansson will do a good job in her place, she does have plenty of experience playing the bad girl vixen. Can't we all just be happy that Favreau agreed to direct the sequel?

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A Vampire who ACTUALLY kicks ass

Again, late with getting this up, sorry! Blood: The Last Vampire will be a live action version of the popular 2000 anime film, and so far it looks like it will officially be worth seeing! Thoughts? 

Day Watch blows my mind, Johnny Depp still makes me swoon, and Gossip Girl returns... it's officially a New Year!

Apologies for still not getting up my new reviews, etc. I was away where there was no Internet, and somehow I survived (better than that in fact)! Reviews are coming, I promise! But I thought for now I'd post a few quick notes of interest.

• Richard Brody posts an interesting summary of some lesser known films, including Chinese cinema, the wonders of mumblecore queen Greta Gerwig, and David Fincher's Zodiac, which puts Benjamin Button to shame.
  

• According to the incredible (and always reliable) Michael Ausiello, Michelle Trachtenberg is all set to return to the upper east side and reprise her memorable role of Georgina on Gossip Girl. She'll be blowing into town for multiple episodes towards the end of the season, can you say cliffhanger? I cannot tell a lie and say that I think Trachtenberg is a particularly talented or interesting actress, but one thing is for sure... it's always fun to watch her wreak havoc on my favorite drama queens. And of course, the best news: GOSSIP GIRL BACK WITH NEW EPS TONIGHT!
  

• Part of my weekend away included watching a little Russian film called Day Watch (see photo above), sequel to Night Watch, better known as the craziest, most insanely imaginative film I have seen, maybe ever. I was skeptical of it at first, having only seen the dvd cover (which pretty much repelled me), however this is truly a case of "don't judge a dvd by it's cover." The movie blew me out of my seat, off the couch and onto the floor. I still can't fully explain the plot, but at it's base... It is a sequel following the character of Anton who belongs to a group called the Night Watch. This group has a chosen one, a Neo if you will, who is fated to fight the forces of the darkness. This chosen one happens to be Anton's girlfriend and apprentice. However there is another group, of dark beings (including some unique vampires who drink from juice boxes) called the Day Watch. They also have a chosen one, who happens to be Anton's son. Both groups intertwine and unravel as they chase the chalk of fate. Like I said, the movie is bonkers. The films are based on a well loved Russian book series that Timur Bekmambetov (of recent Wanted fame) directs with skill and laborious precision. Twilight Watch, the third in the series is slated as in pre-production, but has already been much delayed due to Bekmambetov's shooting of Wanted. To say I enjoyed Day Watch would be a massive understatement, but to say I understood it would be a lie. Be prepared to embark on a dizzying visual feast.

• Film.com posts a great article chronicling some of our beloved returning t.v. favorites, including Nip/Tuck, Big Love and Lost.
  

• Just like me, A.O. Scott feels a connection to Milk. Check out his review.
  

• Finally, if you get EW magazine, then you've already seen it, but if not, here's a link to their 12 big movies coming in '09, most notably Johnny Depp playing John Dillinger in the summer release, Public Enemies (also starring my standby fav Christian Bale).
  

So get ready people, it's a new year, and a clean slate. Do what you want, and don't waste time doing anything else.