According to the Hollywood Reporter, Baruchel plays an apprentice who is supposed to take care of a magic workshop when a sorcerer (Cage) gives it to him.

The apprentice develops a broomstick to do all the household work for him, but chaos ensues when the broom refuses to obey. The trade says Palmer is on board as Baruchel's love interest.

Directing the whole thing is Jon Turteltaub, the guy behind the "National Treasure" flicks. Jerry Bruckheimer joins him as the producer of the project.

As for Palmer, she's currently onscreen in "Bedtime Stories." She also showed up in "The Grudge 2."

The Pang Brothers - 2008
Lionsgate Region 1 DVD

The Pang Brothers remake of their 1999 version of Bangkok Dangerous is not as good as the original, but neither is it as bad as some critics have have it. Perhaps making an English language film takes away a layer of the exotic that would be ascribed to work that was either largely in Thai or Cantonese. The Pangs are due auteurist consideration because of their consistent visual style and themes.

What is usually ignored is that the Pangs are Hong Kong filmmakers who primarily work in Thailand. This point is brought up because, as the Pangs are outsiders based on language and culture, their films are about outsiders. The main characters in the Pang films may be from another country, be differently abled, or simply find themselves, as in Re-Cycle as strangers in a strange land. In the original Bangkok Dangerous, the hitman is deaf, but his deafness works on his behalf so that he is not distracted by the sound of his gun. He is also from the country, and he and his friends are considered marginal even within the Thai underworld. The remake has Cage as the foreigner in Thailand, hired to do a job, but separated by culture and language.

With his hair dyed black, Cage sometimes appears like a ghost, or a cadaver. Early in the film, in part of his off screen narration, Cage's character, Joe, mentions disappearing like a ghost. The suggestion is that Joe is already dead, emotionally and morally, if not literally. This would also be fitting as part of the Pangs' other films which are frequently ghost stories. It is Joe's renewed sense of humanity that is his ultimate undoing. This is somewhat parallel to The Eye in which the blind woman is "cured", only to see a world more terrible than imagined.

As a switch from the first Bangkok Dangerous, Charlie Yeung portrays a deaf-mute pharmacist. While this allows the Pangs to again explore the dilemma of characters who are unable to communicate with each other, the scenes with Cage work against the film in presenting a tourist's view of Bangkok. We are to believe that Joe, a world traveler, would find Thai food too spicy, causing him to break out in a sweat. The scene with Cage and Yeung making friends with an elephant also feels contrived. What does work is a scene where Yeung hands Cage a note declaring her feelings for him while the two are walking in a deserted park at night. We see Yeung in close-up, absorbed in infatuation, while we see Cage taking on two would be muggers in the background. Yeung cannot hear what is going on and is completely unaware of what has happened behind her until she feels the splash of blood on her jacket. While the scene is a reworking of a similar scene from the first version, it is one of the few moments in the new Bangkok Dangerous that is perfectly realized.

Parts of the new Bangkok Dangerous look like they were filmed in the attempt to give the film international appeal. While this is understandable considering the higher financial stakes, it also forces compromise on filmmakers, often denying them the ability to make the kind of films that initially garnered attention. Even the Pangs disorienting visual style has been toned down considerably. While the first Bangkok Dangerous was down and dirty, the new film too often emphasizes the exotic side of Bangkok, and not enough of the dangerous.

• Directed by Teerawat Rujeenatham
• Jesadaporn Pholdee, Ploy Jindachote, Jin Sakda Kaewbuadee, Pasin Ruengwut
• Released in Thai cinemas on December 31, 2008
• Rating: 3/5

• Deep in the Jungle at Pranakorn Film
• Fan-subbed trailer for Deep in the Jungle at YouTube

• Naked in the jungle (posters)
• Fantasy horror from Phranakorn: Deep in the Jungle

When you hear the name Jerry Bruckheimer, you generally think of guns and explosions rather than cuddly pets, but in Disney’s upcoming film G-Force, you get a good dose of both! Don’t get too excited, fanboys… the movie has nothing to do the Battle of the Planets anime series. In this case, “G” stands for “Guinea” — as in guinea pig. G-Force is a highly trained group of covert ops guinea pigs, and in case you hadn’t guessed, this is the latest movie in the “live action meets CG talking animal” craze, following up on the popularity of such hits as Underdog and Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

There seems to be a lot of disdain around the web for these kinds of movies, but to be honest, I’d rather watch something like this than most of the fully CG animated films coming out as of late. With a voice cast of Nicolas Cage, Penélope Cruz, Steve Buscemi, and Tracy Morgan, and a live action cast that includes Bill Nighy, Will Arnett and Zach Galifianakis, there’s a part of me that thinks this could be a lot of fun. The release date for G-Force is July 24th, 2009, which can mean only one thing: instant drive-in classic, baby! Check out the first trailer for G-Force below and see what you think.

The deal is this: G-Force is the codename of a group of highly trained animals (mostly guinea pigs) who assist the government in stopping a ruhtless billionaire from taking over the world. What the...?

Disney will release the whole thing in 3D July 24, 2009. Yep, soon you'll be able to see super guinea pigs jumping straight into your face.

Nicholas Cage, Penelope Cruz, Tracy Morgan and Steve Buscemi are on board for the voice work. Starring as real-life characters are Bill Nighy, Will Arnett and Kelli Garner.

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