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Movie News: The Expendables 3 has found its director

The Expendables 3 has a director.

After hinting on Twitter that Sylvester Stallone wanted a young, fresh filmmaker – much like himself when he directed Rocky – he finally revealed who will be directing the next film in The Expendables series: Patrick Hughes. Hughes only has one feature film under his belt, 2010’s Red Hill, a modern day western starring Ryan Kwanten. He shot the film in 20 days on a $500,000 budget.

Stallone at one point toyed around with the idea of having Mel Gibson direct and John Woo also expressed interest. Either of those choices would’ve been fantastic but I like the idea of Stallone giving a young up-and-comer a chance.

Who will return for The Expendables 3 is still unknown but expect Stallone and Jason Statham to definitely be in alongside newcomers Jackie Chan, Nic Cage and Wesley Snipes.

 

Movie Trailer: Star Trek Into Darkness

Star Trek Into Darkness is getting closer and closer and I’m getting more and more excited – especially after seeing this new Japanese TV spot.

I loved Star Trek and can’t wait to see what J.J. Abrams and Co. have in store for the sequel. I particularly can’t wait to see Benedict Cumberbatch’s turn as the villain. He is absolutely amazing as Sherlock Holmes in the BBC’s Sherlock series and it will be nice for more people to finally know his name.

Star Trek Into Darkness hits theaters on May 17.

Movie News: Lee Pace likely to be Guardians’ villain

Lee Pace is in the final stages of negotiation to play the villain in the Disney and Marvel film, Guardians of the Galaxy.

As for who that specific villain is yet, well we don’t know. The cast currently features Chris Pratt as Star Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer and Michael Rooker will voice Yondu.

Last year, Pace was in the running for the role of Star Lord before Pratt ultimately took that prize. His audition however impressed Marvel and kept him in mind as the main villain. Pace was recently in Spielberg’s Lincoln and had a supporting role in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2. It could be a great choice as I like him as an actor and it’ll be fun to see him in a big role like this.

Production will start in June and Disney will release the film on Aug. 1, 2014.

Movie Trailer: The Bling Ring

The first thought that comes to my mind when watching the new trailer for The Bling Ring is meh.

The only reason I’m even remotely interested in seeing this is because it’s written and directed by Sofia Coppola and stars Emma Watson, who I fell in love with in last year’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Other than that, I’m not really all that excited for The Bling Ring.

The Bling Ring hits theaters on June 12.

TV Spot: After Earth

Monday was Earth Day so it’s only appropriate that we’d get a new TV spot for After Earth shortly thereafter.

The new spot features more Will Smith voiceover and some pretty terrible CGI. And once again fails to mention that M. Night Shyamalan is directing this.

I may be in the minority of people who are actually looking forward to this. I love post-apocalyptic films, especially ones starring the usually reliable Smith (see I Am Legend). And I’m actually not a Shyamalan hater like most people.

After Earth comes out on May 31.

Movie News: A sequel to Dodgeball is coming

A Dodgeball sequel is coming.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Clay Tarver has been tapped to write the script for Dodgeball 2, the sequel to 2004’s Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. The story will reportedly focus on Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller’s characters (rivals in the first film) teaming together to take down a common foe. Tarver’s only other writing cred is for the 2001 thriller Joy Ride, in which he co-wrote with J.J. Abrams.

Like most people, I was a big fan of Dodgeball, especially since I played it a lot in college. The film was a lot of fun with a lot of cool characters I would love to see together on the big screen again. Who can forget the five D’s of dodgeball?

Movie News: First look at Halle Berry’s Storm in X-Men: Days of Future Past

Have you been dying to see what Storm will look like in X-Men: Days of Future Past? Well, here you go.

Director Bryan Singer recently tweeted out a photo of Storm, who will be played once again by Halle Berry (who is pregnant in the photo). Her character won’t look that much different from her character in the original trilogy (check out the bottom photo).

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X-Men: Days of Future Past comes out July 18, 2014.

 

Movie Trailer: The Wolverine

Who’s ready for some Wolverine?

Today we got another look at The Wolverine with a Japanese trailer that is very similar to the trailers we got a couple of weeks ago but with a couple of changes. The only aspects that get me excited for this film are James Mangold (who directed the awesome 3:10 to Yuma), Hugh Jackman and samurais.

The Wolverine claws into theaters on July 26.

Podcast: Oblivion, Top 3 Tom Cruise films, Romeo + Juliet – Episode 9

On Episode 9, we review Oblivion, discuss our Top 3 Tom Cruise films of all-time, and continue with our Baz Luhrmann series where we take a look at his 1996 film, Romeo + Juliet. We also have an awesome spoiler review of Oblivion at the end, plus some extra bonus content of where reviewed The Place Beyond the Pines and To the Wonder earlier last week.

Oblivion Review

Our Top 3 Tom Cruise Films

– We continue our Baz Luhrmann Series and take a look at his 1996 film, Romeo + Juliet.

– Latest News

Star Wars movies every summer from now till the end of time
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Trailer
Man of Steel Trailer

– What We’ve Seen This Week

– Spoiler review of Oblivion, which was a ton of fun!

– Extra bonus content of our earlier Special Review where Nate and JD break down The Place Beyond the Pines and To the Wonder

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InSession Film Podcast – Episode 9

Podcast: Top 3 Tom Cruise Films

On Episode 9 of our InSession Film Podcast, we discuss our Top 3 Tom Cruise films of all-time. How does your picks match ours?

Nate

1) The Last Samaurai
2) Minority Report
3) War of the Worlds

JD

1) Top Gun
2) War of the worlds
3) Tropic Thunder

Matthew

1) Eyes Wide Shut
2) The Firm
3) Risky Business

Movie Trailer: A new trailer has been released for Thor: The Dark World

A new trailer for Thor: The Dark World was released this morning. The Marvel Phase 2 Project looks like its continuation will be stellar. We are already excited for what Iron Man 3 will probably be and based off this trailer, I’m excited to see what Thor will bring us.

Thor: The Dark World comes out November 8.

The Box Office Report: Oblivion dominates box office over weekend

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The weekend box office reports came out and it’s not surprise that Oblivion took home the weekend’s top spot. Over the weekend, Oblivion took home an estimated $38.2 million with pretty much no competition. According to Box Office Mojo, the box office was down 19% from the same weekend last year but that April should end up about the same as it was in 2012.

Oblivion‘s box office start is the highest non-sequel debut for Tom Cruise since 2005 in War of the Worlds. While the numbers are solid, they aren’t astonishing by any means. This is a weird season for studios as they are preparing for the big budget summer blockbusters, but Universal Pictures have been successful the last couple of years with Fast and Furious and Fast Five which both opened at over $70 million.

Oblivion was helped out by the fact there was no competition and I think people were yearning for a good Tom Cruise movie. That being said, I think most people will be split 50/50 on Oblivion which is why it hasn’t done as well. We particularly liked the film though and on our latest podcast, which should be up tomorrow, we discussed it in detail. So be on the lookout for that and go see the movie. It’s worth the visit to the theater.

Movie Series: Romeo + Juliet (Baz Luhrmann)


Director: Baz Luhrmann
Writers: William Shakespeare (play), Craig Pearce (screenplay)
Stars:  Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, John Leguizamo

Synopsis: Shakespeare’s famous play is updated to the hip modern suburb of Verona still retaining its original dialogue.

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DIRECTION
The way Baz Luhrmann directs Romeo + Juliet is a very unique and is an interesting take on the classic play. I love how he updates the play to make it very modern and easier to understand while keeping the dialect and respecting what has made it a classic. The branding of Swords on the guns was a nice touch and the hip hop vibe also was interesting to drawing me in. It’s like an MTV music video, which was big at the time it was made, and executed in such a way that would draw in the right audience. I do, however, have a hard time getting past some of the Shakespearean dialect, but I like the fact that Lurhmann keeps the core of the play intact here. The performances are good for the most part and he utilizes the music really well as well. For people who have a hard time with the subject material or classical plays, I think this version will help get the story across well. It’s funny and weird, but it draws you in, whether you like it or hate it. It has some…well lets say flamboyant personalities and colors at times and is it’s own unique flavor of film. Kudos to Luhrmann for doing something different and being bold about it.

Grade: B

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SCRIPT
The story by Shakespeare is one of the most revered and used plays of all-time, and for good reason. Craig Pearce’s screenplay is a great tribute to the classical play that includes most of the great dialect and most famous scenes. They do cut out some of the play to cut down on time, but I don’t think it takes away from the film at all. I fall in love with this story and the characters and it’s executed well here in terms of the script. I think Luhrmann’s direction makes it easier to understand and the modernness of this version makes it fun.

Grade: B+

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PERFORMANCES
DiCaprio is amazing in this film. What he does with Romeo is exactly what I’d be looking for out of this character. He brings the right emotion out of the character and draws that emotion of you as well. Claire Danes is good, but like most of the characters in the film, I don’t think she understands what she’s saying most of the time. At times it feels fake and just read straight from the script. She does bring great emotion and heart to the character though, which is what I fell in love with in her Juliet. The rest of the supporting cast is hit or miss. I love Harold Perrineau, although his take on Mercutio was perhaps different than I’d think. Overall, I didn’t have a problem with the performances and I loved the leads, which is what matters most. The ending was amazing and incredibly sad and tragic.

Grade: B+

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SCORE
Nellee Hooper’s score is pretty good and adds value to the film. It’s what you’d expect from a film like this, but again, with an updated vibe that makes this version more modern. I especially loved the intense moments in this film as the score does a really good job of amping up the film in those moments.

Grade: B

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Overall Grade: B

 

Movie News: First official looks of Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 revealed

Thanks to Twitter, we got our first official looks at Jamie Fox and Dane DeHaan in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Director Marc Webb tweeted out a photo of Foxx pre-Electro transformation as Max Dillon, while DeHaan (bottom) tweeted out a photo of himself as Harry Osborn/second Green Goblin. The middle photo features Foxx sporting the Electro get-up (via Screencrush).

Foxx and DeHaan are new to the cast, along with Chris Cooper and Shailene Woodley and Paul Giamatti. They join returning cast members Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Sally Field.

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The Amazing Spider-Man 2 on May 2, 2014.

 

Movie News: Empire magazine releases covers featuring Superman, Zod

First of all, if you haven’t seen the new Man of Steel trailer, go do it now. It’s simply incredible, one of the best trailers I’ve ever seen. If you have seen it (a couple 100 times like me), then you know we’re in for something special with Zack Snyder’s take on Superman. I can’t wait and these Empire magazine covers featuring Henry Cavill’s Superman and Michael Shannon’s General Zod only add to my anticipation.

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Man of Steel hits theaters on June 14.

Movie News: Brand-new poster for Thor: The Dark World

Here it is: The first (and pretty generic) poster for Thor: The Dark World.

The sequel to 2011’s surprisingly good Thor is directed by Alan Taylor, who will be making his feature film debut after spots on The Sopranos and Game of Thrones. The film stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston and Anthony Hopkins.

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Thor: The Dark World comes out on November 8.

New Movie Poll: What’s the best Michael Bay film?

In honor of Michael Bay’s new movie Pain and Gain coming out this week, we thought we’d ask you what you think is his best work. I personally love the Transformers series (I know, I know), but there are several others that are great. What do you guys think?

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Movie News: Will Ferrell and Jack Black team up to play Tag

In what sounds good on the surface, Will Ferrell and Jack Black have been named to star in Tag Brothers, which is a story based on a recent Wall Street Journal article that was grabbed by New Line Cinema after a major bidding war.

The story is based off the real-life story of a group of friends from Spokane, Washington who has a long-running game of tag, which gained national notoriety when it became a featured story in the Wall Street Journal. Every year, the group of friends spend the month of February chasing each other across country to avoid being tagged as “It.” According to the article, they take the game serious which sometimes even involves B&E to tag one another.

While I think the premise is pretty crazy, I think having Ferrell and Black in a movie like this could be fun giving their personalities. The two have never really been featured in a film together so this would be an interesting start.

The movie will be written by Mark Steilen, who wrote the 1999 screenplay, The Settlement. Outside of that he hasn’t written anything else for film. And according to The Wrap, the screenplay will be contingent on whether Ferrell and Black join the project.

This movie sounds like it could be good on the surface, although there are several other major pieces that need to come together first. What do you guys think?

Movie News: Martin Scorsese’s Silence may be coming finally

Martin Scorsese has been developing and trying to to get Silence made since the early 1990’s, but it looks like this time it may actually be happening.

According to Deadline, Emmet/Furla Films has secured the financing for the film and hopes to have distribution ready to go at next May’s Cannes Film Festival. Currently there are no starts attached to the project but since it’s Scorsese, there’s no need to fear. Daniel Day-Lewis at one time had his name in the hat for this film, but he recently announced he’s taking a break from acting (which is really sad). It should be fun to see who gets the nod here as it sounds like a film I’ll really enjoy.

The story revolves around two 17th-century Jesuit missionaries who travel to Japan to assist persecuted Christian converts. While on their journey, they learn why a fellow priest has renounced his faith. The story is based on the novel by Shusaku Endo.

Scorsese alongside screenwriter Jay Cocks, have co-wrote the screenplay together. If all goes well, it’s assumed that Scorsese will begin the project as soon as he finishes The Wolf of Wall Street, which will hit theaters November 13, 2013.

Who would you like to see take the lead role for this project?

Movie News: The latest X-Men movie, Days of Future Past adds Adan Canto

In what is perhaps my favorite way to announce a piece of news, Bryan Singer posted an awesome image (above) on Twitter while at the Montreal Canadiens hockey game showing the actors wearing jerseys with their names on the back. And as you can see, there is a new member to the team, Adan Canto. As a huge hockey and movie fan, this is one of the coolest things I’ve seen. If you didn’t hear our Top 3 Sports Movies segment on our podcast last week, take a listen and you’ll see what I mean. So how did Canto respond?

Canto responded with a simple, “thrilled to be an X-Man.”

While there is no official world on who Canto will play, we may have a good idea thanks to Twitter. A fan asked if he would give a hint to any future projects and here is how Canto responded:

“I might turn into a ball of fire if someone p*sses me off.” While it’s no guarantee, we think he may end up playing Brazilian mutant Sunspot.

The film will also feature Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Nicholas Hoult, Omar Sy, Peter Dinklage, Halle Berry, Fan Bingbing, Anna Paquin, Daniel Cudmore, Ellen Page and Booboo Stewart.

X-Men: Days of Future Past will arrive on July 18, 2014.