Fri, April 5, 2013 The blue makeup on Beast was all over the place in X-Men: First Class. Some shots it was good, others too CG and some it looked like Mystique's blood turned Hank McCoy into a Muppet. A problem that appears resolved according to this first look at Dr. McCoy in X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Source: Bryan Singer's Twitter
Thu, April 4, 2013 Youngsters can relate to the story of Carrie White. If they read the Stephen King novel or watch Brian DePalma's rendition. But they haven't. Maybe it's the "70sness" of the film or simply their attention spans don't go past 1990. Doesn't speak ill of them or their tastes, it's what it is.
So here comes their chance with the Carrie remake courtesy of director Kimberly Peirce (Boy Don't Cry) and starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Judy Greer and Julianne Moore. The horror re-do hits cinemas this October and here's the trailer from Yahoo! Movies.
It looks adequate. High-school aged movie-goers will probably get into it. I watch the footage and ask myself couldn't they have tried harder to conceal what happens? I just saw the whole movie in two minutes.
Thu, April 4, 2013 
Film Critic Roger Ebert has passed away.
Like many, I grew up with Siskel & Ebert and the Movies. Every Saturday morning at 2:00 AM, my local CBS station aired the latest episode. Especially during the summer film season, my priority was getting their thoughts on the newest blockbuster. If they didn't approve then I had to take serious consideration on if I'd see the movie in question. While I had respect for both, I always could rely on Roger. He was more likely to enjoy something I did.
He liked the good movies and loved the great ones. "No good movie is too long. No bad movie is short enough," as he famously said. He's why I got into film criticism/commentary. Can't contain all my emotions when my best friend texted me the news a few short hours ago (in his usual jokey manner). Mostly though I'm sorrowful of the great voice we have now lost.
Check out his print reviews on his official site and video reviews from the decades at Siskel & Ebert.Org.
Thu, April 4, 2013 In the event zombies appear in any World War Z publicity material, please contact your physician or Paramount to alert them of this error.
The story revolves around United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself. Enos plays Gerry’s wife Karen Lane; Kertesz is his comrade in arms, Segen.
Thu, April 4, 2013 The Great Gatsby follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz and bootleg kings. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby, and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy, and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan. It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles.
Wed, April 3, 2013 
Guardians of the Galaxy is my most anticipated of the Phase 2 projects.
It's so weird with characters like Rocket Raccoon, Groot and Star-Lord. The pre-production concept art from last year set the tone. Take one look and you're either with it upfront or nothing will ever sway you. The oddity of it all also means it's not etched in stone to succeed next August.
Marvel is aware of this and rumors we heard for the longest had the House of Ideas going the Richard Donner/Christopher Nolan route. Cast it classy and with names to get you in. During all the online fallout over who would play Drax the Destroyer, Dwayne Johnson was a name heavily championed internally at Marvel. That didn't work out obviously and so far the casting for Guardians follows the winning "Hire Nobodies and Pay Em Pennies" strategy.
The first firm grip of going for recognizable actors has started. Heat Vision reports Zoe Saldana has joined the cosmic cast. She'll play Gamora, the green-skinned humanoid assassin of the group. She's a face audiences know. Neytiri in Avatar, Uhura in the Star Trek films; this isn't her first rodeo in the sci-fi/fantasy realm.
Wed, April 3, 2013 It's strictly EPK puff-piece (read: talking heads chatting about how wonderful everything is). But this featurette on Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is all about hype. To be fair after The Avengers, it's justified.
While focused primarily on Iron Man 3, we get early footage of Thor: The Dark World, concept art for Captain America: The Winter Solider, Guardians of the Galaxy, the Ant-Man test footage Edgar Wright presented at San Diego Comic-Con 2012 and... well nothing of substance about The Avengers 2. "We're still in the early stages of pre-production on The Avengers 2 and already what we have is something extraordinary."
OK, sure, Joss.
Tue, April 2, 2013 Along with a few scene descriptions was one interesting nugget on The Man of Steel we've been sitting on. Unsure of their ability to survive on Earth (since they've never actually been there), Zod and his rogue Kryptonians wear helmets containing their own life support system in addition to the "Neo Medieval" armor.
These new Halloween costumes don't exactly contradict that intel. It looks less like a superhero adventure for the whole family and more like a gimp suit designed by H.R. Giger. You know it's legit since the pictures showcased are "mysteriously" gone.
Source: Costume Craze (via Coming Soon)
Tue, April 2, 2013 
Sequels aren't so much the norm in Hollyweird. They're the necessity. If something works, studio chiefs with a cigar in their mouth bark at their minions, "Get me another one of those!" after seeing the grosses Monday morning.
When it's a new James Bond they want, no complaints are heard. That is a property intended for multiple entries. It's a part of a well-oiled machine going in cycles every ten years. But when it's Pixar, something is wrong with the cosmic balance. Save for Toy Story (In that case they took their sweet time developing each one), their mantra was always original self-contained stories, like Disney Animation in its glory days. And it worked. They were better than reducing themselves to the quick cash-in follow-ups.
Then we got Cars 2, this summer Monsters University and come November 25, 2015, Finding Dory. The news of a Finding Nemo sequel isn't earth-shattering. We've known it was coming but centered on the sweet but memory loss-prone fish voiced by Ellen DeGeneres?
Nemo was as much about finding herself (in this case, her memory) then it was the search for the title character. She had her arc and it was complete like any good story. So hearing in the press release Pixar sent out this morning feels like one of those direct-to-video Disney sequels that in essence recycled the plot of its predecessor. I sincerely hope I am proven wrong.
Here's video of DeGeneres on her talk show making the announcement:
Mon, April 1, 2013 Were this not the overexposed Judd Apatow posse, the joke prevalent in This is The End would work. See celebrities die. See them die as violent as possible and judging by the wonky CG how much their budget allows.
It feels like we're all watching one big inside joke none of us are in on. Five years ago, with these comedians at their peak, this would be a genius concept. In the present day, this feels more like another "Movie within a Movie" parody from Funny People.