Jeremy Renner seems destined to become the next big Hollywood star, and after his performance in THE HURT LOCKER, he definitely deserves it. Unfortunately, none of the major casting rumors involving the young actor seem to be panning out.

There was talk last month that he would be part of George Miller’s MAD MAX remake, but that deal seems to have fallen through. There were also rumors that Renner would be playing Captain America in Marvel’s THE AVENGERS, but when asked about the roll, the actor told Empire some interesting news. (more…)

There hasn’t been much word on the next CHRONICLES OF NARNIA film circulating around lately. In fact, there has been next to none. I am not the biggest fan of these movies – I personally think they have made the films too kid-friendly – but the stories that the films are based upon are pretty brilliant.

The last time we brought you all some news and pictures concerning THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER was all the way back in mid-August. Well, thanks to their Facebook fan page, we are all being treated to the first three production stills. Up to this point, we have had to settle for paparazzi-style snapshots. The pictures aren’t too fantastic, but hey, we’re still a ways away from a big NARNIA advertising push. Check out the photos, complete with descriptions provided by the film’s official Facebook page, after the jump. (more…)

J. Michael Straczynski has now fully made the transformation from comic book writer to screenwriter, having penned the Clint Eastwood-directed drama CHANGELING and the most recent NINJA ASSASSIN. The writer also has a few notable projects on the docket, including a FORBIDDEN PLANET remake, a film for Jerry Bruckheimer as well as one for Ron Howard. Straczynski also wrote drafts for WORLD WAR Z and a potential SILVER SURFER spin-off, which he recently spoke to Collider about.

“What happened was when FF2 didn’t do as well as they hoped it would do, it caused them to call into question a Silver Surfer movie. The script that I wrote picked up right where FF2 left off. So if they do a Silver Surfer film down the road, it’ll have to be its own separate things.”

When asked about the tone of his SURFER script, Straczynski said “It was definitely adult fare. I wanted to tell the origin of the Surfer and get into that whole thing.”

(more…)

A new poster has been released for the post-apocalyptic action film THE BOOK OF ELI.  The film is directed by the Hughs Brothers, known for such films as DEAD PRESIDENTS and FROM HELL, and stars Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Michael Gambon, Mila Kunis, and Ray Stevenson.

I can’t say that this film is entirely my cup of tea, but overall the cast is quite impressive and I especially love Gary Oldman, so I suppose I am mildly interested to see this future-so-bleak-we-have-to-wear-shades film, if only to see Oldman in the role of Carnegie who is supposed to be a “bad guy” character.

The poster shows a bearded Washington looking very cool and ready to kick some post-apocalyptic ass. I’m not sure why they didn’t go for a more striking image to spark more interest in the action of the film. I do like the aesthetic of the poster though as it has a muted tone but still manages to look really crisp. Check out the full poster after the jump. (more…)

It was announced that Australian actor Guy Pearce has joined the cast of the film THE HUNGRY RABBIT JUMPS. Nicholas Cage and January Jones are already attached to the film, which is set to begin shooting next month in New Orleans.

Not much is known about the film. ,What we do know is that it centers on a man (Nic Cage) who becomes involved with a gang of vigilantes after his wife (January Jones) is brutally attacked. Roger Donaldson, director of THE BANK JOB, DANTE’S PEAK, and THIRTEEN DAYS is directing the film, which is the debut script from Robert Tannen. (more…)

Rating: 8/10

Most people only know John Woo from his American films. This includes movies like FACE/OFF and BROKEN ARROW, which, although they offer plenty of action, don’t do the director justice. If you haven’t seen his pre-Hollywood stuff, do yourself a favor and add A BETTER TOMORROW or HARD BOILED to your Netflix queue.

Inexplicably, when Woo left the wonderful Hong Kong movie scene to work in Hollywood, his movies paid the price. They went from energetic roller coaster rides to generic Hollywood dribble. Maybe it’s because of the convoluted multi-year process that it takes to get a project off the ground in Tinseltown. In 1980s Hong Kong, when Woo was coming up in the business, a movie could go from concept to filming in a couple of weeks, sometimes starting filming without a completed script! Whatever the reason, I do know one thing: John Woo is back. In RED CLIFF he not only returns to the director’s chair China after being absent for 16 years, he also returns to form. (more…)

THE ROAD (11/25)

Director: John Hillcoat
Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Kodi Smit-McPhee
Studio: Dimension Films
The Plot: A father (Mortensen) and son (Smit-McPhee) walk for months across a ravaged, post-apocalyptic landscape in search of civilization.

Keep reading to see the rest of this week’s movies. (more…)

Noah Buschel’s recent flick, THE MISSING PERSON, opens this Friday in Los Angeles (but if you’re in New York, you can catch it now). I spoke with Noah last week about the film, which follows a private detective (played by the eerie and awesome Michael Shannon) trailing a man who’s been missing since the real life unfortunate events of 9/11.

The other day I uploaded my interview with Michael Shannon, and now you can check out Noah’s after the jump. Be sure to catch THE MISSING PERSON if it’s playing in your area. If it isn’t, bug the hell out of your local indie cinema! (more…)

Lots of people are excited about THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN. It’s an adaptation of the wildly popular comic-strip, it’s starring the brilliant and funny duo Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and, if you needed any more reason to be excited about all of this, two of Hollywood’s heaviest hitters, Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, are attached.

Peter Jackson has been busy promoting his latest film, THE LOVELY BONES. Amidst other things, Jackson spilled some information on the progress of his work-in-progress, TINTIN. According to Jackson, filming for TINTIN has absolutely and completely wrapped. Post-production is now under way. (more…)

The picture above shows us our first glimpse at SHREK FOREVER AFTER, the fourth and final movie in the SHREK series. Not surprisingly, the image shows us more of the same. There is Shrek the ogre, along with Rumpelstiltskin, who up until now has only been an incredibly minor character, but now has a major role to play.

In the film, Shrek is beginning to feel the pressures of domestic life and in order to get his mojo, or “roar,” back he makes a deal with Rumpelstiltskin. In classic Shrek fashion, “the pact goes awry and Shrek must confront what life would be like in Far Far Away if he had never existed. That translates into Donkey being forced into cart-pulling duty, fat and lazy Puss in Boots trading his sword for a pink bow and the underhanded Rumpelstiltskin ruling the kingdom.” (more…)

Marvel made the announcement yesterday that Kat Denning is officially a part of the cast of THOR. We told you about Natalie Portman leaking the news to MTV yesterday, but we like to back up all rumor and speculation about casting with hard facts.

Variety is confirming that the actress who has made a name for herself in films such as THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN, NICK & NORAH’S INFINITE PLAYLIST, and CHARLIE BARTLETT, is in fact a part of the impressive lineup for THOR, which includes Sir Anthony Hopkins (Odin), Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), Stellan Skarsgard, Stuart Townsend (Fandral), Ray Stevenson (Volstagg), Todd Hiddleston (Loki), and Chris Hemsworth (Thor).

Dennings will play Darcy, who works with Natalie Portman’s character, Jane Foster. (more…)

In perhaps the most exciting news of the day (at least for fans of bromantic comedies), it was announced that Judd Apatow and Universal Pictures have picked up three films from Aziz Ansari and Jason Woliner.  The two worked together on the MTV show “Human Giant.”

Ansari will star in at least one of the films and the duo is set to write at least one of the films as well.

The first film, titled LET’S DO THIS, is a road comedy that follows two friends who work for a motivational speaking company as they travel together. The second film is an untitled comedy about a disgraced astronaut who has to return to space to clear his name. The third film, which is also untitled, is inspired by Ansari’s character Raaaaaaaandy from the Apatow directed film FUNNY PEOPLE.  The news comes fast on the heels of the release of FUNNY PEOPLE on DVD.  Woliner is set to direct all three of the films, but it is unclear if the duo will write all three films. (more…)

On Halloween night I made the mistake of going to see PARANORMAL ACTIVITY by myself. I can honestly say, as silly as it may sound, that it’s the most scared a movie has made me since I was five. For those of you who didn’t get to experience it in theaters, the film is being fast-tracked onto Blu-ray and DVD in time for the new year.

I say that it is being rushed because of the surprising lack of features. About the only thing worth checking out an alternate ending, which you may have seen floating around YouTube a few weeks ago before it got taken down. The movie will be available for purchase on December 29th. Keep reading to see Paramount’s press release. (more…)

Rating: 6/10

Writers: Cormac McCarthy (novel) and Joe Penhall (screenplay adaptation)
Director: John Hillcoat
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Robert Duvall
Studio: Dimension

Originally posted on Oct. 13th

Heading into John Hillcoat’s film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s dreary epic “The Road,” I made a promise to myself to judge the film based on its own merits rather than those of the book. Let me be clear, I am a big, big fan of the book. But it’s always seemed silly to me to compare two disparate art forms and lets be honest, rarely (if ever) does the movie stack up to the book. Yet as Hillcoat’s film unspooled before me, it became basically impossible to separate his vision from that of McCarthy’s and as a result, the film left me kind of cold. (more…)

Rating: 9/10

Writers: Roald Dahl (novel), Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach (screenplay)
Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson (all voice)
Studio: Twentieth Century Fox

Originally posted on November 6th, 2009

Let’s get the obvious pun out of the way, and then we can all pretend it didn’t happen and that I am significantly cleverer than such a simple sentence would imply. FANTASTIC MR. FOX is fantastic! I feel better now that I’ve said that.

Like the other recent based-on-a-classic-kids’-book film adaptation WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, FANTASTIC MR. FOX is not necessarily meant for the little kiddies. But unlike WILD THINGS, its audience (adults and kids alike) will not walk of the film under a dark cloud of existential sadness (that wasn’t just me, right?). This is not to say that the film does not tackle some big issues, because it certainly does. Our fantastic Mr. Fox brings destruction and almost imminent death to those nearest and dearest to him. And he does it all out of a misguided desire to appear cool and hip, to court the danger he thinks that, as a fox, he should always be embroiled in. But, along the way, there is no shortage of belly laughs, dance numbers, plucky music, and real heart. (more…)