The internet has been buzzing with casting rumours for The Expendables 2 for quite a while now, but despite the fact that the movie is aiming for an August 2012 release, we still have yet to hear any sort of official announcement on the matter. The film’s producers have reportedly been pursuing just about every action star imaginable, with names like Jean-Claude Van Damme, John Travolta, Chuck Norris, Donnie Yen, Taylor Lautner, Christian Slater, Christopher Lambert, and even Nicolas Cage all mentioned as possibilities. Well, this week we may have confirmation on at least two of those names: according to the Millennium Films project listing, both Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris are now officially part of the cast. British action star Scott Adkins (Undisputed II and III) is also on the list, and what’s more, we also have our first glimpse at a plot synopsis for the sequel. Read on for more details.

Read more »

Although there aren’t a ton of new releases on DVD or Blu-ray this week, the good news is we’re getting quality over quantity. The biggest release of the week has got to be X-Men: First Class (which isn’t actually out until Friday), but Joe Wright’s Hanna and the Will Ferrell dramedy Everything Must Go are currently on store shelves as we speak. There are also plenty of TV releases including new seasons of Fringe and a trio of NBC comedies (The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Community), plus some great Blu-ray catalogue titles including Scarface, United 93, Straw Dogs, and a Scream Five-Film Set that somehow does not yet include Scream 4. As if that wasn’t enough, Airwolf: The Movie also hits stores today! So what are you buying or renting this week? Will you be springing for the $699 version of Scarface? Check out the full list of releases after the jump.

Read more »

As you probably know by now, a new American Pie movie is in the works that will reunite all of the original cast members from the first three films. Nevermind all of those direct-to-DVD sequels… this is the real part 4 you’ve been waiting for. In an effort to generate some excitement, Universal has released a somewhat unique teaser trailer: a series of still images of the cast members made up to look like they are posing for a photo booth.

While I’m not sure if this trailer will actually appear in theatres, I think it’s a pretty effective online marketing tool. I know there are a lot of people out there who grew up on these movies, and just seeing the cast members back together after eight years should trigger some nostalgic feelings. I was never a huge fan, but it’s interesting to see where each of these people have ended up career-wise. Who would have thought Seann William Scott would be the biggest star? Actually I guess that kind of makes sense. American Reunion hits theatres on April 6th, 2012; check out the teaser trailer after the jump and post your reaction in the comments below.

Read more »

Update: Well that was quick. It’s a done deal… Eddie Murphy will host the 84th Academy Awards! Here’s the official press release.

While some people may be wary of director Brett Ratner producing this year’s Oscar ceremony, at least we can (probably) expect something different this time out. Case in point: in an upcoming meeting this week, Ratner will reportedly tell the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences that his top choice for the hosting duties is Mr. Eddie Murphy. While other candidates have volunteered for the job, Ratner has supposedly only been talking with Murphy for the gig and he is said to be “showing interest.” The actor and director have recently worked together on the upcoming comedy Tower Heist and seem to have a good working relationship. Murphy certainly has the qualifications to host as he’s had plenty of experience performing for live audiences, plus he is said to be a huge movie buff who “worships the Oscars”, according to an insider.

Read more »

It was a pretty slow Labor Day weekend at the box office, and as expected, none of the new releases really caught fire, allowing The Help to continue its domination of the late summer movie season. It’s not very often that a movie notches three box office wins in a row, but the civil rights dramedy is the first to do it since Inception and it has now reached almost $120 million. Meanwhile The Debt was the strongest of the weekend’s new movies, taking $9.7 million on 1900 screens. Apollo 18 and Shark Night 3D seemingly took a bite out of each others’ business and ended up roughly neck in neck, with just $8.7 million — and this time, there was no hurricane to blame it on. Rise of the Planet of the Apes hung on to remain in the top 5.

1. The Help — $14.2M
2. The Debt — $9.68M
3. Apollo 18 – $8.7M
4. Shark Night 3D — $8.64M
5. Rise of the Planet of the Apes — $7.8M
6. Colombiana — $7.4M
7. Our Idiot Brother — $5.18M
8. Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark — $4.94M
9. Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D — $4.64M
10. The Smurfs — $4M

Back in June, the Coen Brothers dropped a few tidbits on their upcoming film while being interviewed by Noah Baumbach, saying that it would be set in the 1960s New York folk scene and that it would feature live music performances. Now that StudioCanal has announced they will co-finance the film, a little more information has come to light. The film is entitled Inside Llewyn Davis and will be adapted from the “posthumous memoir The Mayor of MacDougal Street by folk singer Dave van Ronk, a central figure in New York-based folk revival of the 1960s.” In addition, we now know that Scott Rudin and Robert Graf will come on board as producers. They’ve previously worked with the Coens on True Grit and No Country for Old Men.

Read more »

Red State
Directed by: Kevin Smith
Written by: Kevin Smith
Starring: Kyle Gallner, Michael Parks, Melissa Leo, John Goodman

Director Kevin Smith has never been known for doing horror films. In his seventeen year career he has been widely known for well written, fast-talking, raunchy comedies. Red State is a film about a group of religious fundamentalists that lure in a few high school teens to make an example out of them. The situation becomes eerie and beyond hostile when characters start to die in the name of religion and law enforcement gets involved in a very well-crafted horror/thriller.

Red State takes a unique approach to filmmaking in the sense that everything is shot handheld, giving the film a “bottom of the barrel” feeling with low angle shots and the occasional crane descending on a interesting location and/or characters. Academy Award winner Melissa Leo plays Sara, a fundamentalist, independently driven woman with a family and a purpose. She does a great job at delivering heartfelt lines that make her delusional character sympathetic and elevates the film to another level.

Read more »

Shark Night 3D
DIrected by: David R. Ellis
Written by: Will Hayes and Jesse Studenberg
Starring: Sara Paxton, Dustin Milligan, Joel David Moore, Katharine McPhee, Alyssa Diaz, Chris Zylka, Donal Logue, Sinqua Walls, Joshua Leonard and Chris Carmack

I’m such a sucker for a creature feature. Alligators, snakes, bears, piranhas and wild boars, I watch them all. But I have a soft spot for sharks. I’ll watch anything with a shark in it. Deep Blue Sea is a particular treat for me when I catch it on cable. I was really hoping Shark Night 3D would be in the vein of last summer’s insanely fun Piranha 3D, but it was not to be. Even I have a threshold for dopey stories, and this one tried my patience. It’s not particularly fun, and there isn’t enough gore to satisfy gore hounds (no doubt due to the PG-13 rating). A few mildly suspenseful moments arise during the short 85-minute running time, but that is not enough to warrant a hearty recommendation.

Shark Night 3D assembles all the requisite stereotypes that comprise a small group of Tulane college students headed to a lake in Louisiana for a weekend of frivolous fun. No need to learn the names, since there is not one bit of character development. There is the jock (Sinqua Walls), his Hispanic girlfriend (Alyssa Diaz), the douchebag (Chris Zylka), the premed student (Dustin Milligan), the skinny nerd (Joel David Moore), the slut (Katharine McPhee), and the rich girl haunted by some past event (Sara Paxton). Trust me, there is a reason that none of these actors are household names. There are a couple of redneck bayou locals (Joshua Leonard and Chris Carmack) and a goofy sheriff (a seriously slumming Donal Logue) thrown into the mix for good measure.

Read more »

Although technically this is the first weekend in September, it is also the last official weekend of the summer blockbuster season and it definitely looks like we’re going out with a whimper rather than a bang. Two of the weekend’s biggest releases are movies that could easily have been released in January instead: the found footage space thriller Apollo 18 and Shark Night 3D from the director of Snakes on a Plane. The one possible saving grace is John Madden’s The Debt, which seems to be getting solid reviews all around. But can any of these movies hope to take down The Help after two straight box office wins? We’ll find out in a couple of days. Until then, what will you be watching this weekend?

• Apollo 18
• The Debt
• Shark Night 3D
• A Good Old Fashioned Orgy (limited)
• Saving Private Perez (limited)
• Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life (limited)
• Seven Days in Utopia (limited)
• Bodyguard (limited)
• Love Crime (limited)

Looks like another classic Universal monster is about to make a comeback on the big screen… several times over, that is. According to Variety, the race is on for a handful of competing Frankenstein movies that are moving forward at different studios, and Fox is hoping that Night at the Museum director Shawn Levy is will be the first out of the gate. Last week Deadline reported that Levy was looking for a new project to follow up Real Steel because his 3D Fantastic Voyage remake was stalling out. Now it appears that he has officially signed on for Fox’s Frankenstein re-imagining based on a treatment by Max Landis.

Read more »

After a cameo in The Hangover brought Mike Tyson back into the public eye a couple of years ago, his new career in showbiz is now “flourishing” with a reality TV show on Animal Planet and co-hosting duties for Comedy Central’s roast of Charlie Sheen. But more importantly, he is currently setting up a boxing drama for TV with the help of Spike Lee and Entourage creator Doug Ellin. This week it was announced that HBO has ordered a pilot for the project, which is going under the title Da Brick (a reference to the Newark, NJ setting, which is also known as The Brick City). They’ve also already found a lead for the show in John Boyega, the star of Joe Cornish’s breakout hit Attack the Block. Count me in.

Read more »

Yippee ki-yay. For better or worse, it appears that Bruce Willis and 20th Century Fox have finally decided on a skipper for Die Hard 5. After searching high and low for the past month or so, they have ended up right back where they started: Max Payne director John Moore. Negotiations are now underway for Moore to replace Noam Murro (Smart People), who was originally attached to direct until he left the project to take on 300: Battle Of Artemisia. Other filmmakers that were recently rumoured to be under consideration include Joe Cornish (Attack the Block), Justin Lin (Fast Five), Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive), Gary Fleder (Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead), Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin) and Mikael Hafstrom (1408). Good to know that Fox decided to go with the least interesting choice of the bunch.

Read more »