'Clash of the Titans 2' Starts Production, Plot Released

The sequel to last year's Clash of the Titans began shooting this week under the helm of its new director Jonathan Liebesman.  And with the production start, Warner Bros. has sent out a press release signaling the event.  This type of release isn't anything new, but there were a few interesting bits in this specific one.  First, the project which has been referred to thus far as Wrath of the Titans is now just being called Clash of the Titans 2.  And secondly, Clash's co-star Gemma Arterton will not be returning to reprise her role of Io as she is committed to Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters.

Also included in the press release was our first look at the sequel's plot.  Hit the jump to find out what the Gods have planned this go 'round.

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Gemma Arterton Tackles Old Christopher Nolan Script

Gemma Arterton is still climbing, even though her blockbuster showcases this year were both bad and she was bad in them. I blame the limitations of the writing more than the actress, who's good in The Disappearance of Alice Creed, which I recently caught on the ol' VOD.

And if you catch Stephen Frears' eye, particularly for a leading role, that's high praise. She stars in the director's Tamara Drewe, out soon, and now Arterton tells The Sunday Times (through The Playlist) that she'll star in The Keys to the Street, based on the book by Ruth Rendell. Ordinarily, that wouldn't be a big thing, even though this project has been thrashing about for a long while. Why it might pique your interest is because Christopher Nolan was hired to write this script pre-Memento. He hasn't had a thing to do with it since and in its filmed version may not include his name, since other writers have taken a crack at it, but it's always kind of cool to see what these guys do before their careers take off.

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Trailer - Gemma Arterton is 'Tamara Drewe'

His latest is the graphic novel adaptation Tamara Drewe, which itself adapts Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd. Gemma Arterton, current British It-Girl, plays the title role, a young woman who grew up to look like Gemma Arterton (after a nose job) and returns to her hometown in the English countryside. She has an immediate effect on the men around her. This looks like pretty lighthearted stuff, and that's fine; there's room for that, too, especially as we move forward into the more serious time of year. The film already played Cannes and has a date at the Toronto International Film before it opens in theaters. Appropriately, the UK gets it first (September 10th), and then it arrives in the US on October 8th.

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Video: 'The Disappearance of Alice Creed' Opening

I'm growing fonder of VOD by the day. Maybe it's because I see about three movies a week on average and the thought of being able to sit at home to work the grind a little smoother. But maybe it's because it allows all of us to see movies that will not wind up in theaters that are close to us and VOD keeps smaller films or movies that just don't have the best release schedule from slipping through the cracks.

We'll give you reviews of the Spanish horror sequel [REC] 2 and Centurion in the next few weeks, and now in August, we'll have The Disappearance of Alice Creed to look forward to. The film stars Gemma Arterton as the title character who - wait for it - goes missing. She's kidnapped by two ex-cons who are really only after ransom money, but it doesn't quite pan out that way. To help get you in the mood for the August 6th release (on VOD and in theaters), here's the first five minutes of the film, courtesy of Anchor Bay and Coming Soon.

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Movie Review: 'Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time'

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, and Ben Kingsley Directed by Mike Newell Rated PG-13

It's the perfect time of year for a movie like Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Memorial Day weekend is filled with road trips that feature roadside attractions that are really more like roadside distractions. And that's essentially what this movie is. Prince of Persia is a mostly disposable, mostly pleasant distraction. You won't learn much, won't be kept in much suspense, won't love it, but won't mind it. You'll sit down, have a decent time - or at least won't be bored - and then you'll get up and go about the rest of your weekend. If there's a big failure here it's that Prince of Persia probably aspired to be a little more impressive, a little more memorable. It's not a completely empty experience, and it's definitely polished, but you might wonder how much better it could have been if more attention had been paid to building it from beginning to end instead of action scene by action scene. The video game on which this is based, first released in 1989, was more addictive than the movie is, but to the credit of Jerry Bruckheimer's lasest mountain of popcorn, it compares favorably in terms of scope. It feels like a game come to life, and most similar adaptations miss that. Of course, this is also the biggest video game movie so far, with an estimated budget around a no-longer-shocking $200 million. But in the immortal words of Admiral Ackbar, $200 million is a trap. How can you spend that much money, it will be asked, when you can't even make it compelling on the page? Shouldn't that be priority one? Isn't that what should tell you how much the movie needs to cost, anyway? As it is, the story is very simple - good vs. evil - and the writing is pockmarked with anachronistic dialogue that would bother you if there was ever a pretense that anything here should be taken seriously. Let's set the stage, though: The Prince of Persia is Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal), who rose from humble beginnings to be a prince, but since it doesn't really work that way, he's "destined" for greatness. Perhaps the name "Dastan" is kind of a subliminal message for that. When his adoptive father - the king, in case you don't know how all that works - Dastan's brothers turn against him. In his flight from danger, he bands with Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton), in whose possession is a sacred dagger she is sworn to protect.

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