Smash Cut

A movie mash-up that could happen, er, “Only In My Dreams” is ready to chomp up home theaters in the form of Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus. What’s it about? Read the title! Need to know more? It stars brooding, would-be tough guy Lorenzo Lamas, former pop wonder Deborah Gibson, and a slew of not-so-special-yet-thoroughly-enjoyable creature effects.

Don’t believe me? Feast on the tasty trailer below.

Scott Adkins. Who’s he, you ask? Well, he’s the Brit-born actor/martial artist who plays the monstrous Weapon XI at the end of last weekend’s box-office smash, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. (Nope, that wasn’t Ryan Reynolds.)

But if you ask me, the more unfettered (in name and narrative) Ninja will show off Adkins’s impressive skills much better than that Hollywood franchise. Made on an indie shoestring by fan-fave director Isaac Florentine, Ninja stars Adkins as Casey, a Westerner studying ninjutsu in Japan. His talents prove so formidable that he’s asked by his sensei to go to New York City to protect the legendary Yoroi Bitsu, a sacred armored chest that contains the weapons of the last Koga Ninja.

Ludicrous? A buncha baloney? Yeah, probably, but so was Wolverine, and this flick at least promises to be more action-packed and exciting. Don’t believe me? Then check out the trailer below.

Neill Blomkamp. Remember that name, people. Because in a few months, you’ll probably be seeing it everywhere.

Blomkamp is a filmmaker whose style tends to blend a kind of docu-realism with sci-fi elements. His 2005 short film, Alive in Joburg, about an eerie alien encounter in Johannesburg, South Africa, caught the attention of none other than the acclaimed Lord of the Rings trilogy helmer Peter Jackson. The latter was so impressed that he tapped Blomkamp to direct a live-action feature of the video game hit Halo, a project that eventually fell through.

No matter. Blomkamp’s new feature, District 9, a politically-charged “what if” tale in which alien visitors are forced into slum-like internment camps on Earth, promises to deliver a gritty blend of social allegory and sci-fi spectacle that few talents seem capable of pulling off these days.

District 9 is slated for release this August, but you can enter the film’s densely-imagined world via the vividly rich and detailed official website created for the film. And you can watch the knockout trailer for it below.