Giant Freakin Robot

Lately it seems like every nerd who knows how to draw is expending his energy generating alternative posters for geek properties in an effort to get noticed or sell t-shirts. But that’s been done to death. I’m not sure it’s even art anymore, making yet another alternate Star Wars poster is by now pretty old hat. Here’s something more original…

South Korean director Bong Joon-ho has started work on his English-language debut Snowpiercer. Cameras started rolling on principle photography last week in the Czech Republic for the futuristic tale. Bong’s countryman Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance) is producing.

Based on the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige, Snowpiercer is the story of the passengers on a train that endlessly circles an ice-covered wasteland. The state of the environment is result of conflict and war, and the riders have to come to terms with the state of the world, as well as figure out how to survive on the train without going crazy or exploding on one another.

Snowpiercer has pieced together a first-rate cast. Chris Evans is on board as the protagonist, and his fellow travelers include Ewen Bremner, Tilda Swinton, Octavia Spencer, Jamie Bell, John Hurt, Song Kang-ho, and Dutch actress Emma Levie, who just joined the team this week.

Like it or not, Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, and Barry Sonnenfeld are back for a rousing third installment of the Men In Black franchise. This time they time travel. Along with the upcoming release comes a new featurette delving into the special effects work of creature designer Rick Baker.

Sure the James Cameron-produced television series Dark Angel served as a launching pad for what has been a damn successful Hollywood career, but that doesn’t mean Jessica Alba doesn’t have regrets. Though only a slight 19-years-old, the sexual way her character Max Guevera (subtle, huh?) was presented made the actress uncomfortable, objectifying her and treating her character as little more than eye candy.

The 31-year-old Alba told Marie Claire:

I had a show that premiered when I was 19. And right away, everyone formed a strong opinion about me because of the way I was marketed. … I was supposed to be sexy, this tough action girl. … I felt like I was being objectified, and it made me uncomfortable. I wanted to be chic and elegant!

Granted, Alba didn’t start out with the greatest acting chops, but her character does spend most of her time kicking the crap out of people. I recently rewatched the first season of the short-lived series—which ran on Fox from 2000-2002—and the Dark Angel does not hold up well. Dated is a word that frequently springs to mind, and there are some painful moments.