Star Wars Blu-Ray Preview: Podracing in HD

We're exactly one month away from the release of Star Wars: The Complete Saga on blu-ray, and the official Star Wars YouTube channel has a new preview of one of the special features that will be included in the set, which is a quick look at how the podracers were created for Episode 1.  The video also shows off a bit of the racers in action, in a remastered clip of Anakin Skywalker and Sebulba racing to the finish line:

I always liked the podracing scene.  Don't forget - for better or for worse, The Phantom Menace will also be back in theaters next February in glorious 3D, which will eventually be followed up with 3D re-releases of the rest of the Star Wars films, although those release dates have yet to be announced.

Star Wars: The Complete Saga arrives in stores on September 16.

Captain America On The Avengers Set!

They have been filming in Celveland for the last few days with debris and explosions everywhere but no sign of the cast or what is causing the destruction.

Well set pics have been posted over at the SuperheroHype forums of Chris Evans fully kitted up in his moidernized Cap outfit amongst the mayhem, and some stunt men in mo cap suits near him, no doubt to become the films alien threat in post. Director Joss Whdeon can also be seen in one pic with Evans.

Dwayne Johnson Itching to Kick Some Ass in G.I. Joe 2

Via his Twitter page, Dwayne Johnson has posted the first official look at himself (Because fuck Paramount or USA Today unveiling it!) as Roadblock in G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation.

Oh sure, he doesn't look any different than what we've seen of him onscreen before. But look at him! He's looking around for some baddie's ass to kick! Hey! If people can say with a straight face, "Cowboys & Aliens looks great because Harrison Ford looks like he gives a damn again!" then I can say this about Johnson without criticism.

Speaking of cool actors and G.I. Joe 2, Variety says the great Walton Goggins has also joined the sequel's cast. He'll play Warden Nigel James, a character I don't specifically recall from the 80s or 90s cartoons. So I guess we're looking at an original character here instead of him replacing the likes of Christopher Eccleston's Destro.

Bradley Cooper Heard Your Prayers – Drops Out of The Crow

When the news broke Bradley Cooper was attached to a new Crow movie, the reaction was, understandably, "Ugh!" He's a perfectly OK actor (In terms of leading roles, he's come off best in the under-seen A-Team move). But him in a Crow remake gives off the impression it was casual clothes day at the Relativity Media offices and whatever executive concocted this idea was sporting Bad Idea jeans.

But you can breathe a sigh of relief. Heat Vision says Cooper has passed on wearing the black-and-white makeup in lieu of "conflicting schedules" (may or may not be code for "I don't want to touch this with a ten-foot pole!") for David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook and Alex Proyas' mo-cap Paradise Lost.

As if that silver bullet was dodged and Relativity learned their lesson. Think again! They're eyeing Channing Tatum and Mark Wahlberg. And like Cooper, two actors I like OK (well...more Wahlberg than Tatum obviously) but neither you can visualize in the role.

Don't worry, kids. In due time, they'll both pass too and then the studio will court Taylor Lautner and Shia LaBeouf.

"New Year's Eve" First Look

New Year's Eve celebrates love, hope, forgiveness, second chances and fresh starts, in the intertwining stories of couples and singles, told amidst the pulse and promise of New York City on the most dazzling night of the year.

"Machine Gun Preacher" Poster

This inspirational true story, Machine Gun Preacher is about Sam Childers, a former drug-dealing criminal who undergoes an astonishing transformation and finds an unexpected calling as the savior of hundreds of kidnapped and orphaned children. Gerard Butler (300) delivers a searing performance as Childers in Golden Globe®-nominated director Marc Forster‟s (Monster’s Ball, Finding Neverland) moving story of violence and redemption.

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"In Time" Poster

When Will Salas (Timberlake) is falsely accused of murder, he must figure out a way to bring down a system where time is money -- literally -- enabling the wealthy to live forever while the poor, like Will, have to beg, borrow, and steal enough minutes to make it through another day.

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"Young Adult" Photo

Academy Award® winner Charlize Theron plays Mavis Gary, a writer of teen literature who returns to her small hometown to relive her glory days and attempt to reclaim her happily married high school sweetheart (Patrick Wilson).  When returning home proves more difficult than she thought, Mavis forms an unusual bond with a former classmate (Patton Oswalt) who hasn’t quite gotten over high school, either. “Young Adult” reunites Jason Reitman, Academy Award© nominated director of “Juno,” and Academy Award© winning screenwriter, Diablo Cody.

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Photo From "Hugo"

Hugo tells the story of an orphan boy living a secret life in the walls of a Paris train station. With the help of an eccentric girl, he searches for the answer to a mystery linking the father he recently lost, the ill-tempered toy shop owner living below him and a heart shaped lock, seemingly without a key. Based on Brian Selznick’s award winning and imaginative New York Times bestseller, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, this magical tale is Academy Award-winner Martin Scorsese’s first film shot in 3D.

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Third Time Appears To Be the Charm for Immortals - First Good Trailer

Could Immortals be the next Rise of the Planet of the Apes?

Translation: the movie I endlessly shit-talk about how stupid it looks based on the (lack of) strength of its early shitty trailers. Then one single trailer comes along that pulls the plot together, sets up its story in a compelling manner over the course of two minutes cut together from its two-hour running length, pulls a 180 in its broad marketing strategy and winds up both commercially successfully and, gasp, good?

Based on this third trailer for the Tarsem Singh-directed fantasy epic starring Henry Cavill before he was flying around Metropolis, standing for truth, justice and the American way, it's possible. MSN has said footage, but isn't sharing with an embed code, the bastards! But God bless, YouTube so you can either follow the link above or see it below. You tell me I'm wrong, but this is the first time I've seen Immortals and didn't think it screamed, "300 knock-off!"