I know there's probably a term for this type of fighting, and someone who did it first. But, watching Denzel fight all I could think of was, "Get 'em Rafiki!" Wise old dude who makes spiritual references and fights with his hands, and a knife. And that's not a bad thing, because Rafiki is the shit. Here's a video for comparison.

Warner Bros. put out 29 official publicity stills from The Book Of Eli, which comes out January 15. It's the long-awaited next film from the Hughes Bros., who gave us Menace II Society and From Hell. And here's the official synopsis:

In the not-too-distant future, some 30 years after the final war, a solitary man walks across the wasteland that was once America. Empty cities, broken highways, seared earth—all around him, the marks of catastrophic destruction. There is no civilization here, no law. The roads belong to gangs that would murder a man for his shoes, an ounce of water...or for nothing at all.

But they're no match for this traveler.

A warrior not by choice but necessity, Eli (Denzel Washington) seeks only peace but, if challenged, will cut his attackers down before they realize their fatal mistake. It's not his life he guards so fiercely but his hope for the future; a hope he has carried and protected for 30 years and is determined to realize. Driven by this commitment and guided by his belief in something greater than himself, Eli does what he must to survive—and continue.

Only one other man in this ruined world understands the power Eli holds, and is determined to make it his own: Carnegie (Gary Oldman), the self-appointed despot of a makeshift town of thieves and gunmen. Meanwhile, Carnegie's adopted daughter Solara (Mila Kunis) is fascinated by Eli for another reason: the glimpse he offers of what may exist beyond her stepfather's domain.

But neither will find it easy to deter him. Nothing—and no one—can stand in his way. Eli must keep moving to fulfill his destiny and bring help to a ravaged humanity.

Eli takes place after tragedy has stuck the Earth and the land is now all burned to rubble. Denzel walks across what was formerly the U.S., spreading the word from his magical book. When he gets to Gary Oldman's gang, he has to fight off the power-hungry leader who wants his book. So that means there's going to be one massive scene-chewing showdown between these two, no doubt. And apparently Denzel prefers the bow and arrow as his weapon of choice. First person to photoshop Legolas' hair on Denzel wins the day! Eli will be in theater January 15th.

We're also going to have to point out the filter directors Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes decided to use. There is nothing light-handed about it, but it feels like it works. I'm excited to see Denzel kill a room full of ragged gangsters, but not so excited for this sunglasses fashion competition that's happening.

Official Synopsis:

A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind.

Eli will be out January 15th 2010.

The Hughes Bros previously directed Menace II Society and From Hell, among other projects. Albert Hughes said the movie takes place 30 years in the future after a series of wars have left the planet environmentally devastated. The human population has gotten incredibly small, and they live Mad Max style in broken down cities that seem to have partly reverted to an almost medieval style of life.

Visually, the movie looks something like The Matrix crossed with Road Warrior, with silvered, smoky air and stylized fights. In a discussion at Comic-Con after the clips aired, Washington said that he'd done almost all the fight scenes in the movie himself, after training with two people who had worked with Bruce Lee. In addition we saw the "motion graphic novel preview" of the movie. It was stark and intense, done entirely in stark animation. We see Eli beaten by his drunk dad, and then watch as Eli's parents give their money to a televangelist's ministry. Eli eventually steals and burns his parents' checks to the ministry, after waiting until the two of them are asleep with drinks in hand. Then he kills his parents in a blaze of fire. "And I've been wandering ever since," he says. This is backstory for his character that helps us understand his badassery in the movie.

Allen Hughes said he and his brother were drawn to the project because it was "uniquely different." He added:

[The story] reminded us of what we liked about the original Planet of the Apes. It's an adventure-journey with something to say about society.

Gary Oldman plays Eli's nemesis, who wants a rare book that Eli carries. Oldman elaborated:

[It's] An old important book. I want this because it's a means to absolute rule and power for me. With this book I can guide, lead and control, and manipulate.

After seeing the motion graphic novel backstory of Eli's life, I couldn't help but wonder if the book is the Bible.

The movie looked very promising - a nice antidote to the usual post-apocalyptic fare. And with heavy hitters like Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman tearing it up on screen, it's sure to be intense.

The Twelve artist Chris Weston to created these comic movie posters specifically for Comic Con. He also was brought into Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes' film to create the storyboards and concept art. Both Denzel and his foe Gary Oldman will be at San Diego Comic Con to sign these special posters at the Warner Brothers booth.

Check out Bleeding Cool for the additional poster.

Oka tells The Hollywood Reporter that his hours spent playing MMORPGs gave him the idea for his new movie, The Defenders, about a group of teen players who must emerge from behind their avatars to join forces against a real-world menace.

"You can be whoever you want to be," Oka says of gamers. "The question came to me: What if you had to live up to the person you created in the virtual world?" He pitched the idea to genre giants Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (currently riding high with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Star Trek), who had been looking for Spielberg-type teen group adventure movies (à la The Goonies) to produce. Writing the screenplay for The Defenders will be Oka's World of Warcraft pal Gary Whitta (screenwriter of The Book of Eli, next year's postapocalyptic thriller from the Hughes brothers, starring Denzel Washington). DJ Caruso (Eagle Eye) is signed up to direct.

Naturally, there'll be a videogame tie-in.

We hope Oka's gaming buddy writes him a big part in the movie, though its teen focus makes that sound unlikely. And we hope the film turns out to be more than just an excuse to concoct a cool new game. Still, we're all for a modern-day Goonies-type tale. Sloth lives!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Before we get started I have to let you all know that it has been discussed among the staff here and we are changing the name of this site because we felt that it attracts too many fat fucking nerds like YOU (you know who you are). So from hence forth welcome to...



BOOK OF ELI:

Denzel, and Gary Oldman in one film!? Will there be any scenery left to chew?
Their previous sci-fi effort was a lot smaller in scale, but still looks interesting from this old flyer I found.


HEROES:
Word has it that on set egos and conflicts may lead to Hayden Panetierre leaving "Heroes" which I think is a brilliant idea because I think we're all ready for her to be launched into superstardom.
Her new film should do that nicely I think.

BATTLESTAR:
So, I was digging through some old files and found some old photoshopperie (with appropriate comments which I have italicized to show their oldness) I did when Battlestar was first announced. And can I say, boy was I on to something back then. Hollywood needs to stop remaking and changing things because it is ALWAYS a disaster as I think we have learned from this dumb-ass show. Though I will admit I was apparently very culturally insensitive at the time. I guess BSG, and all it's hippie namby pamby preaching, has had some effect on me.

First off, a girl Starbuck? Jesus, what's next? DISASTER!


Uh huh... I wonder how they'll explain a Daggit with their precious "realism".


Need I say more? Am I right, or am I right?


Oh, and finally, you wanna see just how far they're going to go with this liberal claptrap? Check this out.

DISASTER!:
I will drop the faux snark for a moment...

Have a good week friends, like Kara Thrace I'm outta h...

Entertainment Tonight filmed a few in-progress action shots on set of The Book Of Eli. Once you strip away all the ridiculous banter, you can see what looks like a Western-meets-Mad Max shootout. I, for one, was really excited to see skinny little Oldman cursing and dancing around, presumably angry with that wily ol' Denzel and his book with the secrets to humanity inside.

Mila Kunis also gave up some of her time to talk to the cameras. Kunis' on-screen mother is Flashdancer Jennifer Beals, and also the blind sex slave to one evil Gary Oldman (Oooh Gary... you're so bad in this!). The film follows Denzel as he travels across a burned down America because, according to Mila, they blew up the sun. Denzel is spreading the word from the Book of Eli that Gary Oldman and his back of mismatched ruffians desperately want to get their hands on.

Quiet Earth found these great stills from White Mountain Wheels, who just happened upon the set. I have to say one coy smile from Gary Oldman, and I am sold. The movie follows Denzel, as he treks across a burned world spreading the word from his "book of Eli." When he gets to Oldman's camp, crafty Gary and his team of shabby-looking ruffians devise a way to capture this book, which holds the secret to saving humankind.

The Book Of Eli will be released in theaters on January 15, 2010.

The Book of Eli follows Denzel Washington, as he journeys across a sunburned America after armageddon, protecting a sacred book with the secrets to humanity in its pages from the likes of Gary Oldman.

Filming is currently underway, and we're incredibly excited that Entertainment Weekly has released the first shots. It all looks terribly dusty (as burned Earths so often are). Heck we're excited to see Oldman in anything villainous, because I think secretly were still hoping he'll bring back his Fifth Element character, Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg.

The Book Of Eli will be in theaters 15 January 2010.

According to SpoilerTV, the movie is currently casting the mother of Mila Kunis' character. Kunis (That 70s Show, Max Payne) plays Solara. And according to the casting call, Solara's mom, Claudia, has been blind since birth. The villain Carnegie (Gary Oldman) captured Claudia as a prize long ago, and now he uses her as a sexual toy. Claudia goes along with it, because if she refuses Carnegie anything, it'll mean "torment for her child." But eventually, Claudia gets her revenge somehow.

And then there are a couple of minor villains. Carnegie has a "bull-necked second-in-command" named Hoyt, who foolishly tries to challenge Carnegie's orders once too often, and gets shot to death for his affrontery.

Also, there's Martz, the leader of a marauding biker gang who commits robbery, rape and murder before breakfast. He's illiterate, but knows that Carnegie will pay top dollar for a very special book. So he brings in every book he can find. He's dumb enough to confront Eli (Denzel Washington) and watches in horror as his men are sliced to ribbons, Samurai style. (Note the Samurai motif in the teaser poster.) Then Martz adds to his mistake by trying to hit Eli from behind — only to get killed quickly.

If the casting call is for real, it definitely sounds as though the Hughes brothers are sticking close to their exploitation movie roots. But with an A-list cast on board, which can't hurt. [SpoilerTV]

Coming Soon has the first look at the art:

According to the official synopsis:

"Washington plays a survivor who must fend off gangs and a brutal tyrant in a desolate wasteland. Oldman will play the film's villain, a "despot of a small and pathetic town, who’s determined to get a hold of Eli’s book."

Production on the film starts in January of 2009.

[Coming Soon]

Oldman wants sole possession of Eli's magic book o' smarts, and is willing to fight him for it. Sigh, so this end of the world movie is really just about "knowledge is power"? I was ready for a raggedy-clothes throw down between these two great actors. Still perhaps just the attachment of both Washington and Oldman speaks enough for the script.

Plus it's being directed by the Hughes Brothers, who made Menace II Society and the vastly underrated From Hell, by far the best Alan Moore graphic novel adapation to date.

The Book Of Eli is going to start production this upcoming January and has a tentative release date on January 15, 2010.

[Variety]

Book Of Eli will be directed by Allen and Albert Hughes, and it begins shooting in January. If I had to chose who I wanted to lead me through a barren post-apocalyptic world I must admit Denzel Washington never actually came to mind, so I'm interested in seeing what he's got to offer. Just as long as there isn't a valuable lesson for the audience tucked into the plot.

[Variety]

Finding Glory:
This scifi epic explains the origins of the Union's 54th regiment from Massachusetts. Contrary to popular belief, the all-black troop was assembled by a time-traveling doctoral student, Mary 2669 (Julia Roberts), and her companion cyborgs from the future.

In the year 2126 there is no crime or hatred, so in order to understand these negative human emotions, students travel back in time and involve themselves minimally in many historical affairs. Mary 2669 is a doctoral student who teleports back to the Civil War era with two companion cyborgs #1 and #2 (Matthew Broderick and Denzel Washington) to learn about war, hate, death and racism. At first they keep their distance from the primitives, but then something goes haywire with the teleportation device and the three are trapped in Civil War times.

New to these emotional displays, a passionate Mary vows to end hatred here and now and teach the world a lesson. She enlists the help of her cyborg companions and brazenly organizes the first all-black regiment, to demonstrate unity and anti-racism to the Union troops. Knowing she won't be able to command the regiment herself (being a woman), she puts her male cyborgs on it. She disguises Broderick as Major Cabot Forbes, and Denzel as Private Trip. Not wanting them to stand out, Mary makes sure they are in fact the most stereotypical characters they can be: the prissy, rich white guy trying to win the love of a struggling misunderstood black man. From behind the scenes Mary pulls the strings and uses her futuristic free-love attitude which coincidentally leads to her bottom half's big moment (we'll fill in the details on that once we have a script writer).

She takes on the last name Pitcher, and claims to be related to Molly Pitcher's family (stupid future person), but is still the brains of the 54th regiment. In order to unify the regiment Mary programs a back story of hate and mistrust into both #1 and #2, pitting them both against one another. Slowly they demonstrate to the rest of the regiment that by working together they can gain one another's trust. Unfortunately for #1 and #2 while acting out their programmed roles they both realize that they too are slaves, to the future human race. The cyborgs begin to "feel" and emote in new ways, and adopt the 54th's quest for freedom as their own.

But since Mary went quite wild with her past-meddling (i.e. building a regiment) by the time her teleportation device is fixed, cyborgs from the future (in Confederate Garb but more like the T2 terminator) come back to the 1800s with the intent to kill Mary. She flees and leaves her borg friends in the midst of the civil war and without any of their necessary re-charging equipment. #1 and #2 carry on, firmly committed to winning freedom both for the North and from Mary, until their batteries run out at the Battle Of Fort Wagner. In the original Glory, it looks like they're shot, but really they just powered off. Mary is then sent on a wild a desperate chase over river and mountain running for her life all the while trying to escape the Confederate cyborg death squads. Lots of carriage chasing and horse-back riding ensue. Including one robot that just turns into a centaur and chases her through most of Georgia and starts a big fire.

Finally she is saved by Sgt. Maj. John Rawlins (Morgan Freeman) who reveals himself as a wise old cyborg from a future so far ahead, Mary cannot comprehend it. He takes her in and explains to her that they have been watching her and while her quest was noble, it was also reckless and aggressive. He then explains that most people who live in the the 1800s are actually cyborgs from the future and that everything is cyclical, or some sort of Life Lesson like that. OK, so this is sort of a prequel and sort of a sequel rolled into one, so maybe we can make it two movies that come out within months of each other because that worked really well with the Matrix sequels.

Because Clyde downloads the Sadistic Intelligent and Dangerous (SID 6.7) module into a nano-tech android, SID is free to go around slaughtering people, and only Denzel Washington's incarcerated cop can stop him. (The SID module is programmed with the minds of 137 serial killers or something, and he's supposed to be used for police training in VR, but he goes berzerk, to almost nobody's surprise.) Crowe and Washington fight and fight and fight and fight and fight, and then finally Denzel tricks Russell back into virtual reality... where Russell makes Denzel fall through evil cityscapes and tons of bad 90s CGI, until finally Denzel falls headlong into Russell Crowe's cyber-mouth.

I wasn't able to include all of your suggestions in this list because I ran out of time. And I was already frantically sourcing clips from Fifth Element and Deja Vu when I posted part one yesterday. But this includes most of your suggestions as well as a few surprises:

The Fifth Element (1997). This is basically just an old-fashioned chase. You have a cop scanner-blocker instead of a radar-detector, and the cop cars have machine guns on their hoods. But then it ends in the traditional way, with Bruce scooting onto the train tracks and avoiding a freight train, which the cops crash into, spilling cartons onto their hood. You can practically hear the banjo music.

Deja Vu (2006). Denzel Washington is wearing a headset which lets him see four days into the past. He drives around looking at the past (night-time) through one eye, and the present (daytime) through the other. He's chasing the past movements of a terrorist who blew up part of New Orleans three days ago. And of course he wreaks major havoc in the present while he tries to chase a phantom from the past. It's an amazingly brilliant moment in an otherwise dull movie. Washington drives a Hummer H1 modeled on a real robot car, the H1ghlander. An autonomous robot car built by Carnegie Mellon for the 2005 DARPA challenge, the H1ghlander features LIDAR laser-ranging units, an intertial navigation system and SICK laser sensors. (I have no idea what SICK laser sensors are, but they sound hard-core.) Director Tony Scott used a Porche SUV with a special robot camera arm that can film at 180 MPH, for this sequence.

Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace (1999). Because you demanded it, here's the pod-racing scene. Wacky aliens, goggles, funny zappy lightning running between the poles of the pod, zoomy video-gamey action. It's pretty kinetic, and one of the few moments in Menace that isn't bogged down by weird ethnic alien people talking too much, or grasshopper-headed fight robots fighting.

Matrix: Reloaded (2002). Sure, a lot of this movie felt like a powerpoint presentation about fate vs. free will and the meaning of something or other. But it was almost all worth it for the giant freeway pileup, where Neo and Trinity try to get the Keymaker to safety. The white-dredlock guys have guns that magically make the cars flip over, and then they can turn into carjacking ghosts. Meanwhile, Agent Smith can jump onto cars and smush/flip them without slowing down. Here's the clip:

Terminator 3 (2003). Like we said, cyborgs just make better car crashes. Every one of the Terminator films has an awesome car chase at some point. In the first movie, Arnie steals a cop car and tries to run Reese and Sarah down. In the second movie, the evil Terminator is in a giant tanker truck trying to run down the Connors' pickup truck, but Arnie jumps onto the tanker and manages to flip it over, so it skids on its side into a steel factory and bursts. But the best car-chase spectacle of all is in Terminator 3, where a female Terminator chases John Connor's van while Arnie follows on motorcycle. Oh, and half a dozen cop cars also try to catch John Connor. Laser hand-blasts, crane-street-fu, Arnie carjacking a firetruck after he gets splatted on the windshield... it's all pretty awesome.

Next (2007). Nicholas Cage plays Johnny Cadillac, who can see two minutes into the future and adjust his actions accordingly. As any normal person would, he uses this ability to drive really fast and lead the cops on a crazy-ass chase through the streets of Las Vegas. It's based on a Philip K. Dick story, so you know it has to be brilliant. Right?