Cell phone use during movies continues to be a hot button issue for many moviegoers. With the exception of theatres like the Alamo Drafthouse taking a hardline stance, most theatre owners seem reluctant to do anything about it even though they claim to disapprove of it. They want to avoid confrontation and avoid alienating their most valuable demographic. Understandably, as the problem becomes more widespread, film fans are starting to reach their boiling point and some have even decided to take matters into their own hands. Unfortunately, taking matters into your own hands can get you into trouble. At the Varsity Cinema in Toronto this week, a woman was almost charged with assault for trying to stop someone from texting during a movie. It would seem that the person doing the texting actually has more rights than the person trying to watch the movie.

Read more »

The onslaught of R-rated comedies continues this summer with We’re the Millers, a family road trip / stoner comedy from the director of Dodgeball. The movie reteams Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston after starring together in the 2011 hit Horrible Bosses. Once again, Aniston is showing plenty of skin here, but this time instead of playing a dentist who tortures her employees by trying to have sex with them, she plays a stripper… which is slightly more believable.

The story revolves around a pot dealer (Sudeikis) who creates a fake family in order to smuggle drugs across the border from Mexico. The script was supposedly penned by five screenwriters, which in itself is probably not a good sign, but their combined credits include Wedding Crashers, Hot Tub Time Machine and Bob’s Burgers. We’re the Millers hits theatres on Aug. 9th; check out the trailer after the jump and see what you think.

Read more »

I don’t tend to post viral videos around here too often anymore, but I think this one is worth it. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman were promoting their upcoming movie Now You See Me with a live interview on Seattle’s Q13 Fox News on Wednesday morning, and it would have gone swimmingly except for one thing: Morgan Freeman just could not keep his eyes open. Unfortunately for him, the whole thing was captured on video and he can be seen nodding off as Michael Caine fields questions. Maybe he should have thrown back a couple Red Bulls before going on-air.

While it’s unclear if he had been doing some serious Last Vegas-style partying the night before, it’s hard not to feel a bit of sympathy for the guy. He’s 75 years old and, let’s face it, these press interviews have to be one of the most boring, repetitive things anyone can be forced to endure. On the other hand, it is a part of the job and Michael Caine (who is 80) didn’t seem to have any trouble staying awake. Of course, there’s also the possibility that this is all a P.R. stunt to help promote the movie. Frank? Check out the video after the jump and see what you think.

Read more »

Last month Joss Whedon started dropping hints about a couple of new characters that would be appearing in The Avengers 2. He referred to them as “a brother-sister act” and called them two of his favourite characters from the comic. Fans quickly deduced that he was probably referring to Quicksilver and The Scarlet Witch, the son and daughter of Magneto, which Whedon recently confirmed in an interview with IGN. Here’s where it gets interesting. Before these characters will get a chance to appear in The Avengers 2 in 2015, it would seem that at least one of them will be popping up in another film: Bryan Singer recently announced that Quicksilver will also be in X-Men: Days of Future Past. But how can two different studios have permission to use the same comic book character?

Read more »

0:00 – Intro
6:00 – Feature: Xbox One Reveal + GDC + PAX
1:06:55 – Headlines: Ducktales Remake Announced, Disney Shuts Down Lucasarts and Passes Star Wars Games to EA, Nintendo Claims Copyright on Let’s Play Videos on YouTube, OUYA Early Reviews
1:27:35 – Top 5: Game Consoles
1:59:10 – Games We Played: Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider, Antichamber, The Room, Candy Box, Guacamelee, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, God of War: Ascension, Candy Crush Saga, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Quantum Conundrum, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Sleeping Dogs, Spec Ops: The Line, Dishonored, FIFA 13, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate, Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move, DLC Quest
2:46:00 – Junk Mail: Online Gaming Explained + Frank’s Game Collection Organization, Playing Nintendo Games for the First Time, Guacamelee Trophies, Minimal HUDs + Games Being Released Outside of the Holiday Season, Star Wars Games, Favourite Game Ending, Backwards Compatibility + Game Engines, Xbox One from a Developer’s Perspective, Frank’s Neglect of the Miiverse
3:16:20 – Upcoming Releases
3:17:05 – Outro

Game Junk Podcast Episode #15: Xbox One Reveal by Filmjunk on Mixcloud

» Download the MP3 (91 MB)
» Subscribe via RSS
» Subscribe in iTunes
» Join our Facebook page
» Follow us on Twitter

In an already overcrowded summer, this is perhaps the most jam packed weekend of them all as Fast & Furious 6 goes head-to-head with The Hangover: Part III. Both are expected to bring in some huge numbers but the problem is that they are both competing essentially for the same audience. Just to add to the insanity, Fox’s latest CG-animated film Epic also hits theatres this weekend, giving families their first PG flick of the summer. Which one will come out on top? And will Star Trek Into Darkness be a factor or has it already been forgotten? Looking beyond the multiplexes, Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight is also playing on a handful of screens along with the Alex Gibney documentary We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks. What will you be watching this weekend?

• Fast & Furious 6
• The Hangover: Part III
• Epic
• Before Midnight (limited)
• We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks (limited)

In addition to starring in some pretty huge movies over the past few years, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been busy indulging his other creative impulses through his website and production company hitRECord. He recently directed a couple of short films (including one based on the Elmore Leonard story Sparks) and this year he premiered his feature-length directorial debut at Sundance where it was acquired by Relativity Media for $4 million. The movie is called Don Jon (previously titled Don Jon’s Addiction) and it stars Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore and, yes, Tony Danza.

The story revolves around a Jersey Shore-type who loves beautiful women but seems to love pornography even more. When he meets Barbara (Johansson), the two hit it off… but things quickly change when she catches him engaging in his favourite pastime. Reading the plot synopsis for this film a while back, it seemed very similar to Steve McQueen’s Shame, but fortunately the trailer also makes it pretty clear that the movie has a sense of humour. Don Jon hits theatres on Oct. 18th; check out the trailer after the jump and let us know what you think.

Read more »

Jean-Claude Van Damme’s career recently experienced a bit of a resurgence thanks to movies like JCVD, The Expendables 2 and the recent Universal Soldier sequels, but I think we can all agree that the man is still well past his prime. However, that does bring up an interesting question: what exactly was the high point of his career? If you judge it purely on box office numbers, the apex of Van Damme’s career was the 1994 sci-fi action flick Timecop. It grossed over $100 million worldwide, which towers over almost all of his other movies. But was Van Damme the main reason for its success or was it the time travel premise? Universal is about to find out as they are reportedly looking to set up a brand new Timecop movie without him.

Read more »

Back when it was first announced that Metallica was in the process of shooting a new 3D movie with director Nimrod Antal (Predators, Vacancy), it was being hinted that it would be more than just another concert film. Now that the first trailer has arrived online, I think we can definitely confirm that it is trying for something a little more ambitious. That being said, I am still not quite sure what the hell that something is.

Metallica: Through the Never features live concert footage from three shows filmed last year in Vancouver, but it also appears to have a parallel scripted storyline featuring Dane DeHaan (Chronicle, The Place Beyond the Pines). From what we know so far, he is a fictional crew member sent on a mission during the concert who ends up facing an angry mob. It looks kind of ridiculous but it’s a great opportunity to take full advantage of 3D. The movie opens in IMAX theatres on Sept. 27th and everywhere else on Oct. 4th; check out the trailer after the jump and see what you think.

Read more »

Last year we heard that Larry David would be starring in an improv-based comedy directed by Greg Mottola (Superbad). The project was eventually picked up by HBO Films and attracted an amazing cast that includes Michael Keaton, Jon Hamm, Eva Mendes, Kate Hudson, Bill Hader, Danny McBride, Amy Ryan, J.B. Smoove and Paul Scheer. Now the first teaser trailer has arrived online… but hey, where’s Larry David?

As it turns out, that bearded guy driving the car is indeed Larry David, who seems to be finally attempting to branch out beyond his Curb Your Enthusiasm persona. He plays a marketing executive who quits his job at an electric car startup after an argument with his boss (Hamm), only to miss out on billions when their new product hits it big. Clear History will premiere on HBO in August; check out the teaser trailer after the jump and see what you think.

Read more »

With June quickly approaching, Warner Brothers has decided to unleash one last trailer for Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. I won’t blame you if you avoid watching it at this point as it does feel like they’re bordering on marketing overkill, however, the trailer appears to be the payoff to all of the viral marketing we’ve seen over the past little while. It is very Zod-centric and it also shows some pretty exciting glimpses of various action sequences, illustrating exactly how they will get across the tremendous speed and power of Superman. Man of Steel hits theatres on June 14th; check out the trailer after the jump and see what you think.

Read more »

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, so with that in mind, the Film Junk crew sat down with Reed Farrington — Film Junk’s resident Star Trek expert — to endure a solid three hours of Trek talk in service of you, our loyal listeners! In this episode we focus on the first six Star Trek films, starting with Star Trek: The Motion Picture and ending with Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Along the way, Reed Farrington attempts to defend his love of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier while simultaneously throwing a fan favourite of the series under the bus. Meanwhile, we explore the effectiveness of Uhura’s sexy feather dance and the logic of wearing ripped pants when your genitals happen to be located on your knee. We also discuss the history of the infamous “KHAAAAANNNN!!!” scream and Kirk’s true motivations behind it. So, will the even/odd theory of the series hold true? You’ll just have to tune in and find out. If you don’t…well double dumbass on you!

» Download It Now!

This series of premium podcasts was created to help support the regular weekly Film Junk Podcast. Head on over to Bandcamp and download full episodes for a minimum donation of just 99 cents. As always, let us know if you experience any technical difficulties or if you have any other suggestions for future specials. Thanks for your support!