We don’t cover all that much TV news here on Film Junk, but I thought this was big enough to warrant a post. NBC’s Community is easily one of the most creative comedies on television right now (also, the only network comedy I watch on a regular basis), and although it was reportedly close to being canceled a couple of times, it has built up a decent following over the last three seasons. Last week it was announced that NBC had renewed it for a fourth season, but that fourth season will be shortened to just 13 episodes. It seemed like something might be up, and now it has been revealed that NBC will be replacing series creator Dan Harmon with new showrunners David Guarascio and Moses Port (Just Shoot Me!, Happy Endings). It’s unclear if the decision was related to Harmon’s nasty public feud with Chevy Chase, but it is clear that this will probably not be the same show next season.

Read more »

This weekend marks the arrival of Battleship on North American shores, a big summer tentpole flick that seems to have very little anticipation surrounding it. That could be because it’s a dumb movie based on a board game, but there’s also another potential reason for the lack of buzz: the movie has already been playing in theatres everywhere else in the world for almost a month now. The Avengers also hit theatres internationally one week before playing in the U.S., and last weekend Piranha 3DD opened in the U.K. a few weeks before it is scheduled to be released here. Some North American movie fans are not particularly pleased by this recent turn of events. Why are moviegoers in every other part of the world getting first crack at all of these Hollywood films?

There are a handful of possible explanations for this release strategy. Some say it is to combat piracy, while others say that many summer movies are trying to avoid going up against the Euro Cup in June. However, the real reason seems to be that many of these big summer blockbusters now generally make way more money overseas than they ever do back home. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides made $241 million domestically last year, but it made over $800 million worldwide. That’s a pretty huge difference. International moviegoers are not the refined, snooty art connoisseurs that people once envisioned them to be. They like popcorn movies just as much, if not more than, American viewers, and now Hollywood studios are doing everything they can to cater to them. But is this alienating American moviegoers? And won’t it encourage more domestic piracy? Would you prefer it if they just opened all major blockbusters around the world simultaneously? Give us your thoughts here on Open Forum Friday.

Fans of director Alexander Payne had to wait seven years between Sideways and The Descendants, but with his next film currently shaping up, there shouldn’t be as much of a break between films. He’s decided to make Nebraska, a movie that he’s attempted to film for years now, but one that has been tricky to cast. The story centers on an old man who “gets a sweepstakes letter in the mail and thinks he’s struck it rich.” He takes a roadtrip with his underachieving son to collect his winnings. After working with A-listers like George Clooney and Jack Nicholson, Payne has settled on a different approach this time, picking Bruce Dern for the role of the father and Will Forte as the son. No official offers have been made yet, but if Payne has his way those two will star in the low budget comedy-drama.

Read more »

Well here’s something a little bit different for Bill Murray — and by different I mean a movie that’s not directed by Wes Anderson or Jim Jarmusch. Hyde Park on Hudson is a historical drama that explores the relationship between former U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt and his distant cousin Margaret Suckley. The story takes place primarily over a weekend in 1939 when Queen Elizabeth and King George VI came to visit Roosevelt’s home in upstate New York (which was also the first time a reigning English monarch had ever come to the United States).

Clearly there is a bit of a light-hearted tone and FDR is portrayed as a slightly eccentric character, but based on the trailer I would hesitate to call it a comedy. In fact, the trailer gives off similar vibes to The King’s Speech and My Week with Marilyn, and I’m almost wondering if this could be Bill Murray’s best shot at finally winning an Oscar. Hyde Park on Hudson is directed by Roger Michell (Notting Hill, Venus) and co-stars Laura Linney, Olivia Williams, Olivia Colman and Samuel West. Hyde Park on Hudson hits theatres on December 7th; check out the trailer after the jump and see what you think.

Read more »

With the release of Ridley Scott’s Prometheus now less than a month away, we’ve got an update on an upcoming project that will allow him to revisit another one of his seminal early works. Last summer we were all shocked when it was announced that Scott had signed on to direct a new Blade Runner movie, although at the time it was unclear if it would end up being a sequel, prequel or just a spin-off. This week it has been confirmed that the movie is indeed a sequel, and one of the original film’s screenwriters will be returning to help him continue the story. Unfortunately, it looks like the earlier rumours of Harrison Ford starring in the film are probably not accurate. They’ve got a new protagonist in mind and her name is not Rick Deckard.

Read more »

After seeing Hawkeye in The Avengers earlier this month, we’re now finally getting our first glimpse of that other famous superhero with a bow, The Green Arrow. The CW’s new series Arrow premieres this fall and it stars Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, a billionaire playboy who was shipwrecked on a remote island for five years before being saved. He returns a changed man and decides to become a secret vigilante to help restore Starling City to its former glory. The show is being produced by Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim (Green Lantern) and it looks a bit bland, but on the bright side, it does have a guy shooting tennis balls with arrows. Sweet? Check out the first teaser trailer and a clip from the show after the jump and see what you think.

Read more »

By now most of us are aware of the fact that Taken was a surprise hit back in 2009, turning Liam Neeson into an unlikely action star at the age of 56. It’s still unclear how and why the movie took off like it did (aside from the fact that it was good), but releasing it in January allowed it to continue to make money for many weeks due to the lack of competition. Later this year Taken 2 will finally hit theatres, which is weird because Taken still feels to me like a movie that never should have had a sequel.

Taken 2 is being directed by Olivier Megaton (yes, he has an awesome name) and this time around
Bryan Mills (Neeson) and his wife are kidnapped by the father of the kidnapper that he killed in the first film. Ironic! EW has released the first handful of photos from the film, and as you can see, he is still pointing guns at people generally looking like a badass. Are you looking forward to Taken 2? Will it be even more successful than the original? Taken 2 hits theatres on October 5th; check out the photos after the jump and see what you think.

Read more »

When it comes to directing feature films, it’s been a quiet few years for Eli Roth as he’s mostly focused his time on producing (The Last Exorcism), writing (Aftershock), and acting (Inglourious Basterds, Aftershock) instead. His last feature was 2007’s Hostel: Part II and although he’s developed some potential projects to direct since then, none have panned out – until now, that is. Roth will return to the director’s seat with The Green Inferno, a horror-thriller based on a script he wrote with Guillermo Amoedo (Aftershock). At the moment, there are no plot details available, but we do know a fall shoot is planned in Peru and Chile where his upcoming earthquake thriller Aftershock was filmed. Worldview Entertainment has just come on to produce The Green Inferno with Roth, while Exclusive Media is handling the foreign rights.

Read more »

Entrance
Written and Directed by: Dallas Richard Hallam and Patrick Horvath
Starring: Suziey Block, Karen Baird and Farley Burge

Although Entrance is being marketed as a horror film, it is actually a hybrid of character study and horror. I’m not going to lie; the first 2/3 of the movie is an exceptionally sluggish slow burn. I actually picked up the screening notes twice and reread them, because I thought I had been sent the wrong film.  There’s nary a scare to be found, although the film does effectively build a foreboding sense of paranoia. At the conclusion of the film, I understood why the first part of the film works.

Think back to Ti West’s The House of the Devil. That film literally creeps up on you by slowly unraveling, all the while lulling the viewer into complacency. The result is a climax that seems a little more horrific than it would have if the film were packed with cheap jump scares and standard horror tropes. In terms of the odd pacing, Entrance reminded me of The House of the Devil, although the films are nothing alike in terms of plot.

Read more »

There are three major films competing for your attention this weekend (yes, one of which is based on a board game) and a decent slate of smaller releases as well. Battleship will attempt to sink The Avengers and Sacha Baron Cohen’s The Dictator will simply try to overcome its poor marketing campaign while What to Expect When You’re Expecting is likely to attract a strong female turnout. Elsewhere, Morgan Spurlock’s latest documentary Mansome hits select theatres, along with Panos Cosmatos’ trippy Beyond the Black Rainbow, and Dustin Lance Black’s Virginia. There’s also Lovely Molly, a new horror flick from the director of The Blair Witch Project, and Hysteria, a Victorian era comedy about the invention of the vibrator starring Maggie Gyllenhaal. What will you be watching this weekend?

• Battleship
• The Dictator
• What to Expect When You’re Expecting
• Beyond the Black Rainbow (limited)
• Lovely Molly (limited)
• Mansome (limited)
• Polisse (limited)
• The Samaritan (limited)
• Hysteria (limited)
• Virginia (limited)
• Crooked Arrows (limited)

More fall TV previews are continuing to pour in this week, and today CBS has unveiled some trailers for a handful of their own upcoming shows. Among them: Elementary, their new modern take on Sherlock Holmes starring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu. It’s set in New York City instead of London and yes, Lucy Liu is playing Joan Watson. Joan! Brilliant.

Seriously though, as much as we all want to hate this just because we love the BBC’s Sherlock, I actually don’t think it looks all that bad. Jonny Lee Miller seems like a pretty solid choice to play Holmes, and the decision to make Watson a woman does add a different dynamic. With so many other police procedurals out there, I suspect this will comfortably find an audience. Elementary debuts on CBS in September; check out the preview after the jump and see what you think.

Read more »

Seinfeld creator and Curb Your Enthusiasm star Larry David has had a tremendous impact on television comedy over the past twenty years or so, and even though he has already conquered that world, he still keeps coming back for more seasons of Curb. There is, however, one area where success has eluded him after all these years, and that is on the big screen. Aside from a handful of small cameos (most recently in The Three Stooges), he has only had one major starring role thus far: the Woody Allen dud Whatever Works. He also wrote and directed the 1998 comedy Sour Grapes, which also failed both critically and commercially. Based on that experience, it’s no wonder he has shied away from film, but the good news is that it looks like LD is about to give the movie biz one more shot. Let’s just hope that the third time’s the charm.

Read more »