Thursday
Oct132011

Like It or Not...The Phantom Menace is Returning to Theaters

It's been over 12 years since Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace opened in theaters, which was highly anticipated by fans and then just as quickly reviled by most of those same fans within minutes after the midnight screenings ended.  The Star Wars prequels chugged along anyway, and for better or worse, they're part of the Star Wars universe whether we like them or not.  And actually...I enjoy them.  They're not perfect (at all), but over the years, I've found that for everything that aggravates me about the prequels (and there are many), there are at least three or four things that I like about them, so it evens out.  Mostly.  I was never good at math.

Anyway, George Lucas certainly wasn't going to let this 3D craze pass by without screwing around with the Star Wars movies again, so the films are headed back to big screen in glorious 3D, starting with The Phantom Menace, which returns to theaters on February 10, 2012. 

To celebrate (or warn, depending on your point of view) the re-release, we have our first look at a brand-new poster showing off the stuff that will certainly look the coolest in 3D, courtesy of Cinema Blend:

Critically maligned or not...that sucker is still going to make a fortune next year. 

Now these re-releases are scheduled to be an annual thing, so starting next year we'll be getting one 3D Star Wars movie per year.  That also means we won't be seeing any of the original trilogy in 3D until 2015.  That kind of sucks, but on the bright side, we should all be able to ride to the movie theater on our hoverboards by then.

Here's a slightly disturbing thought:  the 3D re-release of Return of the Jedi is scheduled for 2017.  That year also marks the 40th anniversary of the release of the original Star Wars film.  Who would have thought back then that we would be celebrating this anniversary with dancing Ewoks in 3D?  I've been a Star Wars fan for a good long time, but I sure as hell didn't see that one coming.

Thursday
Oct132011

Henry Cavill Hulks Out On "Man Of Steel" Set

CraveOnline suggests that Henry Cavill resembles Wolverine and I am going to add to that Marvel frame of mind. He looks as though he is wearing Hulk's shorts. We've see a lot of different versions of Cavill over the past couple months. "Mr. Mom Cavill" wearing an apron with a nice clean shaven look. "Homeless Cavil" resting himself on the stairs in an alley. Now this.

The actor has definitely has put on some significant muscle mass and has certainly been able to fill out his suit with a little help from some padding. I've mentioned it several times in multiple articles, despite the many incarnations we've seen of Clark Kent on set, we've still yet to see the familiar spectacles.

I am beginning to wonder if Lois finds out about this superpowered being early on and his following him around the county like any investigative reporter would. Maybe eventually she is the one that comes up with his secret identity. Just an idea.

Thursday
Oct132011

Pacific Rim Beating Robopocalypse to the Punch - Moves Up to May 2013

The mid/late July spot has been good to Warner Brothers.

Since The Dark Knight in 2008, they've relied on putting a tentpole towards the middle-to-end of July and have it serve as the last "Event" picture of that summer, facing less severe competition. Notice the big returns on Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince in 2009 (The second installment to break $300 million stateside), Inception in 2010 and this past summer with the Potter swan-song Deathly Hallows – Part II being the highest grosser in the franchise’s history and 2011's #1 box-office champ.

That formula is no fluke and the anticipation for 2013 was for that movie to be Pacific Rim. But today the studio announced the futuristic "Giant fucking monsters against giant fucking robots" epic from Guillermo del Toro will instead bow out on May 10, 2013.

Had it stuck it out in July, you can't help but see the general movie-going public interpreting Rim as being too similar to Steven Spielberg's Robopocalypse. So slotting it just as the summer movie season is starting should be viewed as a wise decision.

Given WB's hard-on for that month, Pacific Rim now moved up and Disney/Marvel's decision this morning to jettison Thor 2 from July to November 2013, don't be surprised if the studio announces The Man of Steel going for their coveted July position.

Thursday
Oct132011

It’s Officially Official: Patty Jenkins Directing Thor 2

This afternoon comes official confirmation of what Variety reported month. Patty Jenkins will direct Thor 2. Here's the press release:

"Marvel Studios announced today that Patty Jenkins will direct Thor 2, which will be released in theatres on Friday, November 15, 2013. Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman will return to star in the film along with Tom Hiddleston. Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige will produce the sequel to this summer's blockbuster Thor, which has grossed over $448 million worldwide to date.

Patty Jenkins previously directed Monster starring Charlize Theron, who won an Academy Award® for her performance in the film. Jenkins, who received an Emmy nomination for directing the pilot of AMC's acclaimed series The Killing, has also directed episodes of Entourage and Arrested Development. Most recently, she directed 'Pearl,' one of the five short films that comprise Lifetime’s original movie Five."

This morning it was also reported (as per THR) Thor 2 was shifting gears and moving out of the prime late July 2013 release to November 15.

An intriguing release (You remember the last superhero epic that opened on the eve of Thanksgiving? Me neither) to go along with an intriguing directorial choice (One that I personally approve) for the sequel to an intriguing fantasy film (Labeled as a superhero film – it truthfully isn't one) that surprised everyone this summer.

Thursday
Oct132011

An Honest-to-God Muppets Trailer That Isn't a Movie Parody!

Someone must have advised Disney you can't just say, "Hey! We're bringing the Muppets back! Get excited, people!" and wait for The Muppets to open next month.

A new trailer is here for your viewing pleasure courtesy of Yahoo! Movies.

It's cute, funny and sure it gives away some (but not all) of the celebrity cameos but they finally knocked it off with that movie-parody trailer bullshit. Thank God.

Thursday
Oct132011

This Means War Trailer Asks Plenty of Questions - None of Them Good

Is Reese Witherspoon really worth all this destruction?

Why would Chris Pine, who’s been so careful with his choices since Star Trek, pick this?

Can McG dig himself into an even bigger hole with the Internet community?

Is Ed Harris secretly watching my every move?*

These are just some of the questions I asked myself after watching the trailer for This Means Wars, the action/comedy from the afore-mentioned director-turned-Internet Whipping Boy.

*It wasn't even a half-hour ago I made a smart-ass, off-hand remark about this movie in an article about one of its stars Tom Hardy. I look up and there's the damn trailer on Apple. Weird.

Thursday
Oct132011

Tom Hardy Says Mad Max Sequels are Back On

Tom Hardy was supposed to be the new Mad Max for George Miller. Vehicles were constructed specifically for use in Mad Max: Fury Road and Mad Max: Furiosa, sets were built and other actors like Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult were cast.

Then the money fell through and Christopher Nolan grabbed Hardy before anyone else could and made him Bane in The Dark Knight Rises.

The backers behind the new Mad Max films appear to be hoping the British actor will live up to all that "He's the next big thing" press made of him since nabbing the Batman gig. Hardy tells the Daily Beast he'll be back in training for the role by March and production has moved to Namibia in place of Australia where cameras were long originally planned to roll.

Great an actor as he is (He walked away from Nolan's Inception with the flashiest, most movie-starry performance), it's not a good idea to bask in all this pre-release hype this soon. Gavin O'Connor's wonderful Warrior (the first big release where Hardy was the star) flopped, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy could be a hit stateside but like Inception it's an ensemble piece where he isn't the lead and who the Hell knows what will become of McG's action/comedy This Means Wars next February.

He'll never stop getting work thanks to his acting prowess. But let's not get ahead of ourselves saying he's going to be a movie-star.

Thursday
Oct132011

Get Ready for More Awkward Sex Predicaments – American Reunion Red Band Teaser

Universal is hoping you're feeling nostalgic for American Pie, the series for its day deemed the pinnacle of the R-rated raunchy comedy movement of the 2000s for my generation.

MSN has the red band teaser trailer for next spring's American Reunion and it promises more awkward moments for Jim (Jason Biggs, evidently happy to be getting a paycheck), Michelle (Alyson Hannigan, who would have thought she'd be the one with the career?), Stifler (Sean William Scott) & Co.

If you were big into that franchise (It was never my thing – I was more of a Kevin Smith kinda guy), then you should enjoy this:

<a href='http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie-trailers/?src=SLPl:embed::uuids#/video/099bb2c4-ef9b-4f9e-9d7f-404f8e5d8b36' target='_new' title=''American Reunion' movie trailer (mature)'>Video: 'American Reunion' movie trailer (mature)</a>

Thursday
Oct132011

Act of Valor Trailer

Yahoo! Movies has debuted the trailer for 'Act Of Valor', I didn't know about the movie until I saw this trailer and what makes it unique is the lead actors are active duty Navy Seals.

The film may seem a standard action movie from the plot, but take a look at the trailer, the footage that has been captured is stunning, featuring the latest in Navy Seals tactics and operations yet it still looks like a film, this is no documentary, it's shot with style but also a raw authenticity which is a rare blend.

The film opens February 17th 2012 and you can see the trailer below.

When the rescue of a kidnapped CIA operative leads to the discovery of a deadly terrorist plot against the U.S., a team of SEALs is dispatched on a worldwide manhunt. As the valiant men of Bandito Platoon race to stop a coordinated attack that could kill and wound thousands of American civilians, they must balance their commitment to country, team and their families back home.

 

 

Wednesday
Oct122011

Green Lantern Clip

Superherohype has this exclusive clip from the Green Lantern release this Friday. I have a feeling that I will be in the group of a select few who buy this one. Hopefully Warner Bros. is able to walk away with some positives in the home video sales.