New Posters: Tree of Life, Hangover 2 and Harry Potter

Some new posters released today that made me sit up and take notice.

The Wolfpack is back! The monkey totally owns them.

Terrence Malik's Tree of Life.  Which begs you to ask the question, what does it all mean?

First Teaser Poster of the showdown between Voldemort and Harry Potter and the Elder Wand.

We fight to the death!

First Look: New concept art for Pixar's Brave

I've been bemoaning the lack of originality in Hollywood especially with so many sequels coming out, some I look forward and some I wonder do we really need more?  But I'll never say no to an original Pixar offering.  Here's a first look at beautiful, beautiful (yes, twice!) color scripts from Brave which is due to release June 2012.

                                          

It offers a glimpse of Pixar's first female heroine in Merida featuring a tale set in the Scottish highlands.  Lots of new information being released about the film as well.  Originally, Reese Witherspoon was to have voiced Merida but instead Kelly Macdonald (Broadwalk Empire, Gosford Park) which is great considering she's Scottish.

Since Entertainment Weekly summarizes it so well, I'm going to quote them here.

Brave is set in the mystical Scottish Highlands, where Merida is the princess of a kingdom ruled by King Fergus (Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson). An unruly daughter and an accomplished archer, Merida one day defies a sacred custom of the land and inadvertently brings turmoil to the kingdom. In an attempt to set things right, Merida seeks out an eccentric old Wise Woman (Julie Walters) and is granted an ill-fated wish. Also figuring into Merida’s quest — and serving as comic relief — are the kingdom’s three lords: the enormous Lord MacGuffin (Kevin McKidd), the surly Lord Macintosh (Craig Ferguson), and the disagreeable Lord Dingwall (Robbie Coltrane).

Sounds amazing!!!  Brave was originally titled The Bear and the Bow.  (P.S. Can you spot the bear in any of these photos?)  It was also supposed to be the first Pixar film directed by a female.  Brenda Chapman left the project though she will still be credited as co-director.  Mark Andrews, who directed the short One Man Band, will see the film through it's release date.

Amy Adams is the new Lois Lane!

The Superman: Man of Steel announcements are moving along in an orderly fashion.  The director, Zack Synder, Clark Kent, his parents, now Lois Lane.  It's Amy Adams!  The Hero Complex blog first broke the  casting news that Adams had won the role.  I really like the idea of her in this role. Her name hadn't come up before, Jessica Biel was said to be the front runner but I like the pairing of Henry Cavill and Amy Adams and can't wait to see it onscreen.  Up next should be the official villain/archenemy aka Lex Luthor news, no?

News Update: Aronofsky out of Wolverine and The Dark Knight Rises gets a another villain?

• We'll start off the linkage with some bad news.  Darren Aronofsky is no longer attached to directed the Wolverine sequel.  This puts the film in grave danger of being made.  Boo!
• Jennifer Lawrence talks about being Katniss.
• What's Daniel Radcliffe going to do after Harry Potter? He's going on Broadway in "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying".  No danger of Voldemort following him there.
• Channing Tatum is in talks to star in the "Peter Pan" origin story.  Could this have potential? You'll have to convince me.  
• Variety is reporting that Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be playing Alberto Falcone aka The Holiday Killer in The Dark Knight Rises.  Gordon-Leavitt was long rumored to be in the film and today's announcement makes everything nice and official.  Juno Temple (Atonement) is also supposed to be up for a supporting role in the film.  

Movie Review: Hereafter

I haven't had the urge lately to write up about the movies I've been seeing as they haven't impressed me much.  The ones I watched fell way below my expectation of them, like Love & Other Drugs (which I saw only for Jake and Anne), You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (Woody Allen film, yes, but I hated the weak characters), Get Low (why, hello there, Bill Murray, where have you been?), The Tourist (not as bad as I thought but it had potential to be so much better) and How Do You Know (what were you thinking, James L. Brooks? I don't know until today what the plot was).  So I felt it would take a really good movie to come along to make me write a review.

Well, Hereafter is not that movie.  But it definitely got me thinking about the subject about the movie, afterlife, and made me wish that it did explore more about that theme than just limiting to the character's experience of it.  And it is those characters that will remain with you.  Marie Lelay (Cecile de France), a 2004 tsunami survivor and journalist who is never the same after her near-death experience, Marcus (George and Frankie McLaren), a young boy grieving for the loss for his twin brother Jason and unsure how to continue on in life and George Lonegan (Matt Damon) who is a former psychic who doesn't know how to lead a normal life as his experiences with the dead take over everything.  

Before I saw this movie, I knew that Hereafter was nominated this year for the Best Visual Effects Oscar but I thought it was purely for one scene.  After watching the devastating opening, the scope of the effects of the tsunami are difficult to watch especially after comparing it to the real-life images from the recent Japanese earthquake and tsunami.  The crew and movie fully deserved the nomination and the scene still echoes within me.  

The main reason this film will be a must-watch with many people is because this is a Clint Eastwood film.  I find his films fascinating.  Most directors who are also actors, I find their film more telling, more revealing to me as a personal side of them than when they act because this has to be a story that they want to tell and show.  Looking at Eastwood's filmography, you would never believe this is the same man who was also Dirty Harry.  He becomes his movies, he directs, he produces, he writes, he composes the music and sometimes he also acts in them!  He has guided so many of his actors to award-winning and nominated roles.  You wish you had that same energy and enthusiasm at his age!  He truly is someone to look up to.  

This film has that Eastwood stamp on it too.  And while it's a fine character study, I wish it had been longer and explored more of the subject of which it had hinted.  Peter Morgan's script needed to delve more into it.  Well, that's my two cents, my jumbled thoughts about the movie which I wanted to get out.

Directed by: Clint Eastwood; Screenplay by: Peter Morgan; Cinematography by: Tom Stern; Editing by: Joel Cox and Gary Roach: Music by: Clint Eastwood

Additional Cast: Byrce Dallas Howard, Jay Mohr, Thierry Neuvic, Lyndsey Marshal, Richard Kind

Rating: 

The Hunger Games finds its Katniss!

So, the big news for today is, it's official: Jennifer Lawrence is Katniss Everdeen in the first of The Hunger Games trilogy.  I've got mixed feelings about this because I know Jennifer is a great choice.  Amazing actress and she'll absolutely kill it (pun intended) as Katniss in the film but I really was hoping they would cast an unknown in the role.  It's a huge risk, yes, but I felt while reading the book that the character of Katniss sprung out of the book, she tried to be a nobody and blend in society minding her business but then was thrust into the national spotlight and became a symbol for the resistance.  We need somebody to sneak up on us like that.

Jennifer comes with director Gary Ross' and author Suzanne Collin's approval as well.  Now, as we have Katniss, who will the rest of the cast be? I am hoping for Elle Fanning as Prim and Katniss' younger sister.  She would totally fit.  *fingers crossed*  Roles yet to be cast include Peeta (Katniss' fellow competitor), Gale (Katniss' friend and ally), Haymitch (Peeta's and Katniss mentor in the games) and Cinna (designer and friend to Katniss).  It's sure is going to be exciting to find out who gets the roles.  

Meet The Kents!

New news about the casting of Superman's parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent, and it's two surprising names.  Kevin Costner  (now that's a name we haven't heard in a long time) was announced today as Jonathan and Diane Lane as Martha have been added to the cast a few weeks ago.  As we all know, Henry Cavill is playing the Man of Steel.  It's only time before we shall be hearing on who's playing Lois Lane.  What do you think about the casting of Clark Kent's parents? Good choice or let's wait and see?

Hidden Website in Super 8 trailer!!!

So, just yesterday, I posted the second trailer of Super 8 which was more forthcoming about what the movie was about and it looks like the creative heads behind Super 8 are leaving little clues for us along the way.  It seems there is a hidden website in this frame.  Can you spot it? I couldn't.  But the clever people over at Reelz Channel did and it is amazing!

Go to www.s8editingroom.com to get some "behind-the-scenes" footage about some lost footage.  What else do you expect from the man behind Alias and Fringe and one of the original producers and director of first season of Lost?  This film is fast becoming one of favorites of the year and I haven't even seen the movie!

Trailer Time: Super 8, Cars 2 and The Smurfs

Get ready to be "smurfed" this summer! The cute blue Smurfs that we loved as kids as back in a full length CG feature set in New York. Also starring Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays, Sofia Vergara and Hank Azaria as Gargamel, get ready to go blue in The Smurfs!!

Cars 2 goes around the world in this second trailer from Disney Pixar. Lighting McQueen and Mater get involved in an international espionage ring with a whole cast of new characters. This is going be such a fun ride!



And finally my personal favorite, a new Super 8 trailer showing more story and hinting at the monster behind it all. I don't know what I love more, that it's directed by JJ Abrams (Alias, Star Trek) or even produced by Steven Spielberg (E.T.), but the icing on the cake is Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights) as the dad/sheriff of the town of the mysterious train accident and absolutely goosebumps inducing score of Michael Giacchino that is giving me some 80s John Williams nostalgia. Can't wait to listen to the entire score on my iPod. Without further adieu, here's Super 8!

Meet the villains from Kung Fu Panda 2!

Thanks to the new Facebook page of Kung Fu Panda 2 where a whole slew of new characters have been introduced.  Today, let's take a look at the villains Po and the famous five are going to be up against.  Go "like" it today!

Lord Shen is hyper intelligent, supremely lethal, and burns with ambition. It’s a combustible combination. He’s intent on wiping out kung fu and taking over China. That puts him on a collision course with Po and The Five.

The aged Soothsayer has been advisor to the Peacocks, rulers of Gongmen City, her entire life. She is wise and gifted with knowledge of the future.

The Wolf Boss and his pack were once guards in Gongmen City’s royal palace. Now he is Lord Shen’s most loyal servant, military strategist and trusted right paw.

The Gorillas are the muscle in Lord Shen’s army. If his evil schemes require any heavy lifting, they’ll be the ones doing it. Shen’s personal guard is made up entirely of these powerful (and powerfully large) brutes, who are honor bound to their master.

DreamWorks announces animation films slate through 2014!

Loads of information coming through from DreamWorks Animation regarding their slate of films through the year 2014.  Looks like someone's going to be busy.

Here's a very detailed breakdown of each of the nine films.

• Kung Fu Panda 2 will be released on May 26, 2011. It is being directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson (Kung Fu Panda), produced by Melissa Cobb (Kung Fu Panda) and written by Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger (Kung Fu Panda). It stars Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Gary Oldman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, James Hong and Michelle Yeoh. In the sequel, Po is living his dream as The Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, The Furious Five. But Po’s life of awesomeness is threatened by the emergence of a formidable villain, who plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China and destroy kung fu. Po must look to his past and uncover the secrets of his mysterious origins… only then will he be able to unlock the strength he needs to succeed.
• Puss In Boots will be released on November 4, 2011. It is directed by Chris Miller (Shrek the Third) and produced by Joe Aguilar (Merry Madagascar) and Latifa Ouaou (Monsters vs. Aliens). It is being written by Tom Wheeler (The Cape). Andrew Adamson (Shrek, The Chronicles of Narnia) and Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth) are serving as executive producers on the film, which stars Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris. Way before he ever met Shrek, the legendary Puss In Boots goes on a heroic journey, teaming up with mastermind Humpty Dumpty and the street-savvy Kitty Softpaws to steal the famed Goose that lays the Golden Eggs. It’s the adventure of nine lifetimes!
• Madagascar 3 will be released on June 8, 2012. It is directed by Eric Darnell (Madagascar, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa) and produced by Mireille Soria (Madagascar, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa) and Mark Swift (Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa). It is being written by Noah Baumbach (Fantastic Mr. Fox) and once again stars Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric The Entertainer and Andy Richter. Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, and Melman the Giraffe are still fighting to get home to their beloved Big Apple and of course, King Julien, Maurice and the Penguins are all along for the comedic adventure. Their journey takes them through Europe where they find the perfect cover: a traveling circus, which they reinvent — Madagascar style.
• Rise of the Guardians, based on the forthcoming books by William Joyce, will be released on November 21, 2012. It is directed by Peter Ramsey (Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space) and co-directed by Joyce. The film is being produced by Christina Steinberg (Bee Movie, National Treasure) and Nancy Bernstein, long-time head of production at DreamWorks Animation. Rise of the Guardians is being written by Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole) and executive produced by Guillermo del Toro and Michael Siegel. It stars Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Isla Fisher and Jude Law. More than a collection of the well-known childhood legends, Rise of the Guardians is an epic adventure that tells the story of a group of heroes — each with extraordinary abilities. When an evil spirit known as Pitch lays down the gauntlet to take over the world, the immortal Guardians must join forces for the first time to protect the hopes, beliefs and imagination of children all over the world.
• The Croods will be released on March 1, 2013. It is being written and directed by two-time Academy Award nominee Chris Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon, Lilo & Stitch) and Kirk DeMicco (Space Chimps) and produced by Kristine Belson (How to Train Your Dragon) and Jane Hartwell (Shrek). It stars Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke and Cloris Leachman. The Croods is a comedy adventure that takes us back to a previously undiscovered era in the history of our planet known as the Croodaceous, when nature was still a work-in-progress… full of never-before- seen creatures and landscapes. Audiences will relate to the hilarious family antics as an imaginative and resourceful newcomer helps the Croods navigate their way through the fantastic world beyond their cave.
• Turbo will be released on June 7, 2013. It is being directed by David Soren (Merry Madagascar), who first brought the project to the studio, and produced by Lisa Stewart (Monsters vs. Aliens). It is being written by Darren Lemke (Shrek Forever After) together with Soren. Turbo tells the story of an ordinary garden snail with an impossible dream: to become the fastest snail in the world. When a freak accident gives him extraordinary speed, Turbo sets out to try to make this dream come true.
• In Me and My Shadow, which will be released on November 8, 2013, the studio will pioneer a groundbreaking combination of both CG and traditional animation techniques seamlessly together throughout the film. The film is directed by Mark Dindal (Chicken Little, The Emperor’s New Groove) and produced by Melissa Cobb (Kung Fu Panda, Kung Fu Panda 2) and Teresa Cheng (Shrek Forever After, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron). It is being written by Tom Astle and Matt Ember (Get Smart). Me and My Shadow tells the story of Shadow Stan, an extremely frustrated shadow who yearns for a dynamic life but happens to be stuck with Stanley Grubb, the world’s most boring human. Finally pushed to the brink, Shadow Stan breaks the singular rule of the Shadow World — “They lead, we follow” — and takes control of Stanley!
• Mr. Peabody & Sherman will be released on March 21, 2014. It is directed by Rob Minkoff (Stuart Little, The Lion King) and produced by Jason Clark (Monster House, Stuart Little) and Denise Nolan Cascino (Megamind). It is being written by Craig Wright (United States of Tara, Six Feet Under). Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, Bullwinkle Studio’s Tiffany Ward and Classic Media’s Eric Ellenbogen are serving as executive producers on the film, which stars two-time Academy Award nominee Robert Downey Jr. Based on Jay Ward’s classic cartoon, Mr. Peabody is the world’s smartest person who happens to be a dog. He and his “pet” boy Sherman discover that someone has stolen their time traveling WABAC machine and is changing moments in history to disastrous and comical results. It’s up to this most unexpected of father-son teams to somehow put a stop to this villain before his actions destroy the space-time continuum in Mr. Peabody & Sherman.
• How to Train Your Dragon 2, the sequel to the Academy Award-nominated original film from 2010, will be released on June 20, 2014. It is being directed and written by Dean DeBlois (How to Train Your Dragon) and produced by Bonnie Arnold (How to Train Your Dragon). Also based on the book series by Cressida Cowell, the sequel is being executive produced by Chris Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon) together with DeBlois. How to Train Your Dragon 2again stars Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T.J. Miller and Kristen Wiig.

What are you looking forward to the most? I've got my favorites, Kung Fu Panda 2 and How to Train Your Dragon 2.  Shame that they're first and last on the list.  I've got a long wait to see Hiccup and Toothless again.  

Poster Time: Bad Teacher, Super 8 and X-Men: First Class

Cameron Diaz is Bad Teacher!  

Banner poster for Captain Jack Sparrow for the upcoming On Stranger Tides

Yet another teaser poster for Super 8, love these small hints we get!

Dual posters for X-Men: First Class' Magneto and Professor Xavier.  Dark vs. Light

Evil vs Good.  

First Look: Steven Spielberg's War Horse

Empire Magazine has the first look and photographs to Steven Spielberg year-end war film, War Horse.  And from the looks of it, this is what I gather, Steven Spielberg + war saga = It's going to make me cry.  It's been awhile since his last film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, all the way back in 2008 and so let the anticipation begin.

A boy and his horse, Albert (Jeremy Levine) and Joey

Albert with his mother (Emily Watson) while Joey peeks through the window

Joey with Emilie (Celine Buckens)

Albert and Joey

(Pics: Empire Online)

The film is due for release this Christmas.  

Upcoming Pixar Short: Toy Story goes Hawaiian!

We thought we were saying goodbye to Woody, Buzz and the gang of toys who once belonged to Andy.  Now that they're Bonnie's toys, did you think the fun and adventures would end?  No way!  Here are some first looks into the upcoming short which will air in front of Cars 2 this June.  Good, because we really didn't like saying goodbye anyways.  

Bonus: Here's a sneak peek at the short which focuses on Ken and Barbie wanting to go on an Hawaiian vacation and the rest of the toys make their wish come true.  Bless!

Puss in Boots: Trailer and Poster

I'm back from my self-imposed break after the Oscars to unveil two new looks into upcoming animated movie and a short that we are all looking forward to.

First up, it's Antonio Banderas back as leading man status as the the titular character, Puss in Boots.  After four movies, it's his time for the closeup.  The teaser is a lot of fun and Puss in Boots has always been one of my favorite characters, ever since he debuted his cute adorable look in Shrek 2.

                           

Now, you don't see Donkey pulling off on his own as a spinoff movie, do you? I didn't think so.   Here's a look at the new teaser trailer.  Adorable, n'est-ce pas?