Prince of Persia joins the ranks of video games like Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil, and many others to make the jump from the polygonal realm to that of a live-action theatrical film. The popular game has been made into a new feature film called Prince of Persia: Sands of Time starring Jake Gyllenhaal in the title role.

The story follows the original game with a young street urchin in ancient Persia adopted by the Sultan himself for a show of bravery. The Sultan declares the youth, Dastan, his heir. After a instrument of the gods called “The Sands of Time” falls into the hands of an evil nobleman (played by Academy Award Winner, Ben Kingsley), Nizam, Dastan has to recover the object and restore order to the kingdom. Additionally, there’s a princess and a creepy, leperous looking character that skulks in the shadows on the trailer.

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Each year it is a tossup of what you will see on the streets during Halloween evening. This year I was able to view over a hundred costumes along a local street. During my escapades I was amazed, disappointed, and laughing. The disappointment came from the ten or so pirates I passed, mostly because they all looked alike. But it was the fun costumes that made me laugh and some were just plain amazing for the ingenuity they could offer.

My top favorite costume for the Halloween Trick or Treating experience was the ‘Staples Easy Button.’ The individual wearing this costume went all out. It was not just a button attached to a sweat suit, and unfortunately I did not have a camera. He created the easy button with cardboard, paint, and other materials. First the costume was square and on the front was the round red and white easy button, however it got even better. If the button was pushed little sensors would go off flashing. Now that is what I call genius!

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Remakes of all things ’80s have reached a fever pitch. The latest on the block is a movie redux of the television show that brought Mr. T to primetime and into homes everywhere: The A-Team.

The ’80s original centered on four Vietnam veterans who were framed for a crime they didn’t commit. They take the show on the road to evade the military police, helping out people along the way as they attempt to clear their names. In the original, Mr. T played B.A. Baracus (”B.A.” for “Bad Attitude”), the A-Team’s mechanic and muscle. George Peppard was Hannibal, the group’s cigar chomping leader who “love it when a plan comes together.” Dwight Schultz was “Howling Mad” Murdoch, the team’s resident loose cannon and Dirk Benedict was Templeton “Faceman” Peck, the group’s prettyboy and master of disguise.

While you gotta pity the fool that steps into Mr. T’s shoes, UFC fighter Quinton “Rampage” Jackson just may have the mettle, muscle, and humor to bring it to the role of B.A. Baracus. (Anyone doubting Rampage’s sense of humor has to see this past week’s episode of Ultimate Fighter 10.) Rounding out the cast is Liam Neeson as grey-haired Hannibal, Bradley Cooper as Faceman, and Sharlto Copely as Murdoch. Jessica Biel is also part of the cast, although what role she is playing has yet to be confirmed.

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Remake madness is afoot yet again, with Hollywood greenlighting scripts not just for classic horror remakes, but also classic fantasy film remakes. Set for a wide release on March 26, 2010, Clash of the Titans has been given a makeover. The 1981 starred Harry Hamlin (formerly of L.A. Law and now better known as Mr. Lisa Rinna) as the hero Perseus, son of Zeus. The all-star cast included Laurence Olivier as Zeus and a dazzling array of stop-motion monsters by special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen.

Director Louis Leterrier’s remake of Clash of the Titans stars Sam Worthington (Terminator: Salvation’s reluctant human/droid hybrid, Marcus as the hero Perseus and Liam Neeson as Zeus, King of the Gods. A new addition of Hercules as a main player with Ralph Fiennes (no stranger to fantasy films himself as Harry Potter’s arch-nemesis Voldemort) cast in the role of Hades, Lord of the Underworld.

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Everyone has their own idea of what the Tooth Fairy looks like. Either small and spritely, or tall and stately, a winged, tutu-wearing woman who might look a tad like Glinda the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz. Others might see the Tooth Fairy as a burly, cross-dressing dude in a pink and purple tutu with sparkly fairy wings. (Hey! It’s the 21st century! Why not!?)

Regardless of how you view the Tooth Fairy she or he traditionally deposits a quarter (or however much a tooth is worth now due to the cost of inflation) beneath the pillow of children who have lost a tooth. The kid puts their tooth under their pillow, and during the night, the Tooth Fairy swaps out the teeth in exchange for cash and prizes. Not a bad deal! (Too bad they don’t do that for adults!)

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Although it was initially thought that 2009 was going to be the Year of the Wolf. As it turns out, 2009 has been split down the middle, dominated by vampires and zombies making a huge comeback. In spite of all of the mania surrounding the Twilight series of films’ latest, lycanthrope-laden flick, New Moon, the wolves have wisely backed away out of firing range of Sarah Palin’s sniper helicopters and plan to come out of hiding in 2010.

Leading the pack in their onslaught on theatres in 2010, werewolves are poised to strike with a remake of The Wolfman. One of Universal’s most iconic horror films, The Wolfman is the latest in a string of horror movies that are reaching back into the catalog for ideas to splash up onto the silver screen.

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Jonah Hex is a double-whammy in terms of films coming out in 2010. Not only is it a comic book-related film (the Jonah Hex character’s book was relaunched several years ago on DC’s non-superhero, more adult-themed Vertigo line), but it also stars current horror/comic book it-girl, Megan Fox.

The film centers on a post-Civil War, Wild West era disfigured bounty hunter by the name of Jonah Hex. The cult classic comic book title character is portrayed by Josh Brolin in the film. Megan Fox portrays a saloon girl/prostitute who’s quite handy with a gun that aids Hex in his missions.

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Harry Potter fans have something to look forward to, possibly as early Spring 2010. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, new Harry Potter theme park, will find its home at the Universal resort and theme park in Orlando, FL. Orlando and Universal receive thousands of yearly visitors from across the pond, making this a great spot for American, British, and European fans of the Harry Potter books to congregate.

The theme park is a massive undertaking and painstaking details and planning have gone into its production. Of course, Harry Potter’s creator, author J.K. Rowling has given the project her stamp of approval. This sprawling 20-acre park site attempts to recreate some of the Potter-verse’s most memorable locales. Shops and eateries like Olivander’s wand shoppe (where it has been confirmed that visitors can purchase their very own souvenir wands) and Honeyduke’s candy emporium are proposed, as are pub-style restaurants such as The Three Broomsticks which will serve butterbeer and traditional British pub fare to hungry visitors. A replica of Hogwarts Castle is also supposed to be on premises, as well as countless other favorite places from the series.

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In what could have been a cryptozoological goldmine, or a clever tourist ploy, a small Israeli town near Haifa, Israel has recently been home to mermaid activity. Visitors and locals to Kiryat Yam have claimed to have seen a mermaid for the past several months.

A few months back, a local came across a girl on the beach who, from a distance, looked to be relaxing in the sun. Upon a closer look, she had the upper body of a woman and the lower half of a fish with scales and fins. She appears for a few hours near sunset and does tricks for onlookers in the sea, yet disappears for the remainder of the evening.

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With Halloween rapidly approaching, it seems that there will be a showdown between Vampires and Zombies in the battle for supernatural supremacy. Vampires have had a strong foothold thanks to Twilight and True Blood. Werewolves tried to claw their way up from number two, but so far, they haven’t exactly gained any ground. As evidenced by the number of zombies running around the San Diego Comic Con this year, zombies are making a comeback in a big way, perhaps the greatest challenger to vampires as the first name in fright.

Attempting to solidify zombies’ status is the release of the upcoming film, Zombieland starring Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin, and Jesse Eisenberg, due in theatres on October 2, 2009. Zombieland takes place where most zombie films do, in a post-apocalyptic sort of world which has been rendered to this state thanks to a freak occurrence of zombies running amok. The two men who find themselves as survivors in this zombie-populated world include Eisenberg as the wimpy Columbus who survives through fear and Harrelson as Tallahasse, a machine gun carrying bad ass who not only wants to survive, but get his hands on the last Twinkie in existence — a noble cause if there ever was one. Promising to be part comedy, part horror, Zombieland may be the American equivalent to the brilliantly hilarious British Shawn of the Dead a few years back.

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