The April Follow-Up Post

Notes on the "Ninja Turtle" Situation - First "Mutant" was out, and the latest is now that our heroes are not going to be "Teenage" either. This has become one of those rare cases where the shortening of a movie's title actually does make sense, but at this rate I wouldn't be surprised if Michael Bay reveals next month that he's actually making a "Biker Mice From Mars" movie. Why did Nickelodeon hire him again?

5 Dr. Seuss Adaptations I Want to See - On the heels of the success of "The Lorax," it has been revealed that the next Dr. Seuss property Illumination Studios will adapt is indeed "The Cat in the Hat." This makes sense, as The Cat is still the most iconic Dr. Seuss character, and very toyetic and marketable. Hopefully this will keep the threat of a "Lorax 2" at bay. Crossing my fingers.

Not a Great Year for Animation - Speaking of movie toons, quite a few trailers are now in circulation for animated films we'll be seeing later in 2012. Here are your first looks at Tim Burton's updated Frankenweenie, Genndy Tartakovsky's Hotel Transylvania with Adam Sandler, and The Rise of the Guardians from Sony Animation (all links go to Youtube). Along with "Brave" and "Paranorman," this is shaping up to be an interesting group. Also, keep an eye out for Disney's video game themed "Wreck-it-Ralph."

Rated M for Managing Expectations - Sylvester Stallone has clarified that "The Expendables 2" will be rated R, in spite of whatever misgivings Chuck Norris has about the level of violence. I still think it doesn't make any damn difference, because nothing is going to change the fact that it's all going to be fantasy violence anyway, as Stallone and Norris and much of the rest of the "Expendables" cast are older than dirt and can't physically do the R-rated violence anymore.

Trouble in "Terra Nova" - The first season of FOX's massively hyped time-travel series "Terra Nova" will be its only season. Briefly, there was talk of Netflix possibly continuing the series, but that's fallen through. I don't think it would have been a good move on Netflix's part anyway, since "Terra Nova" was a notoriously expensive show, and to be honest, it just wasn't very good.

Twitterpation - I've given up on Twitter for the foreseeable future. I'm still updating my own feed regularly, but I've almost completely stopped reading the tweets of the people I'm following. I like having the access and the chance to participate, but just don't have the time for it anymore, and in most cases I'm following individual critics' and writers' work through other channels already.

2012 May be DiCaprio's Year - Most of the rumored projects are still on the table, but it looks like Leo's going with the least interesting option here. He's making "The Wolf of Wall Street" with Martin Scorsese, which will be their fifth collaboration together. Meanwhile, the leading man in Clint Eastwood's new "A Star is Born" may end up being Tom Cruise, which I'm totally okay with.

But What About Arnold's Acting Career? - Of all the roles that it was speculated Arnold could reprise, guess which one he's going with? If you guessed Julius from "Twins," you're absolutely right! Danny Devito will also be returning, and the two will discover that they have a third brother - to be played by Eddie Murphy! The working title is reportedly "Triplets." I could not make this stuff up if I tried.

Life With the NY Times Paywall - I don't think the new model is working out for the New York Times. It was announced that starting this month, the number of articles that non-paying users will be able to access each month is being reduced from twenty to just ten. There is a loophole that allows you to access a certain number of stories from outside search results, but that's becoming more limited too. Personally, I still browse the headlines, but there are hardly any stories I actually click to read anymore. I don't think the new changes are going to affect me at all.

The Battle for Thursday - Finally, regular readers of this blog will know that I've had divided loyalties between "The Big Bang Theory" and "Community," which both air in the same time slot on Thursday nights. Well, in the latest round "The Big Bang Theory" has taken a dive. I haven't watched an episode in months, not since the winter break at least. Once I got out of the habit of watching the show, and got out of the appointment television mindset, I totally forgot about it. I'm still hanging on to "Community" though. I hope Dan Harmon and Chevy Chase make up quick. I'm still holding out hope for six seasons and a movie!
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