It’s turning into a pretty big week for new trailers apparently, and today we have our first look at Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest comedy The Dictator. After branching out a bit with his recent role in Hugo, this project finds him reteaming with director Larry Charles and returning to Borat and Bruno territory as an outsider trying to navigate his way through America. This time around, however, it is a more of a traditional comedy without the real world pranks and faux documentary aesthetic.

Sacha Baron Cohen plays a fictional North African dictator named General Aladeen, who rules over the Republic of Wadiya with an iron fist. The quick plot synopsis is that he travels to the United States and hilarity ensues. It feels a bit like Chris Morris’ controversial comedy Four Lions in that it seems to be poking fun at religious extremism and terrorism, and I suspect it could rub some people the wrong way. However, it’s also full of pop culture jokes and has a pretty goofy tone. Cohen may not be as funny when everything is scripted but I’m certainly willing to give him the benefit of the doubt… plus the cast also includes John C. Reilly, Ben Kingsley, Anna Faris and J.B. Smoove. The Dictator hits theatres on May 11th, 2012; check out the trailer after the jump and see what you think.

Read more »

We still don’t have anything official to report with regards to Marvel’s search for a new director for Thor 2, but sources say that they are quickly closing in on a replacement for Patty Jenkins. Jenkins left the project last week due to creative differences, putting the pressure on Marvel to find someone else in a hurry. Now Heat Vision is reporting that Alan Taylor and Daniel Minahan are the two candidates they are currently pursuing, with the common theme being that they have both worked on HBO’s Game of Thrones. Marvel is also in the process of hiring another screenwriter to write a new draft of the script with John Collee (Master and Commander: Far Side of the World), Robert Rodat (Saving Private Ryan), and Roger Avary (Beowulf) being the current frontrunners.

Read more »

If you’ve been wondering what Mike Myers has been busy with lately, the answer you’re about to get may not seem very promising. It seems the former SNL star is returning to familiar territory, writing an Austin Powers musical for the stage. The show won’t be an adaptation of any of the films, but rather a prequel which will be set in ’60s London and “detail how Powers first acquired his mighty mojo.” Myers will not be starring in the production himself, although one person who has signed on is Casey Nicholaw, who will take on directing duties. Nicholaw has recently co-directed Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s The Book of Mormon on Broadway. While not considered musicals, the Powers films certainly contained many musically-driven sequences which added to their charm. The stage show will be set to the music of Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello, two staples of the movies.

Read more »

It would appear that Jonah Hill is not the only comedic actor whose career path has been altered significantly by Bennett Miller’s Moneyball. As you may or may not know, Chris Pratt (best known for his portrayal of lovable dimwit Andy Dwyer on Parks and Recreation) played Oakland A’s catcher turned first-baseman Scott Hatteberg in the film. He didn’t have a ton of screen time, but he did have at least one fairly involved scene with Brad Pitt and proved that he can hold his own as a dramatic actor. Now it appears that Pratt is on the verge of landing his biggest opportunity yet: Kathryn Bigelow wants him for the lead role in her upcoming action drama Kill Bin Laden. That’s right, Andy Dwyer could be going toe to toe with the head of Al Qaeda. Who wouldn’t pay to see that?

Read more »

There are at least a handful of Broadway musicals that have been major successes on the big screen over the last few years, and something tells me that Adam Shankman’s adaptation of Rock of Ages has the potential to be one of the biggest ones yet. It has a star-studded cast and the crossover appeal of classic ’80s rock songs, and it could even catch on with the Glee crowd (although Glee: The 3D Concert Movie tanked at the box office, so maybe that’s not a good thing to rely on). But there is one big risk associated with this movie: it also happens to star Tom Cruise in a headlining role as legendary rocker Stacee Jaxx.

The first trailer for Rock of Ages cautiously dances around that fact, attempting to win you over with a sense of humour before eventually building up to the reveal of Tom Cruise on stage. I have to admit, I didn’t think I would have any interest in this at all, but seeing Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand and Paul Giamatti hamming it up almost changed my mind. Cruise’s character seems to be mostly in the background, which is probably a good thing. I honestly have no idea what the reaction to this trailer will be, but one thing’s for sure: the musical renditions of some of these songs are pretty terrible. Rock of Ages hits theatres on June 1st, 2012; check out the trailer after the jump.

Read more »

Regardless of what you think of Judd Apatow as a writer and director, you have to admit that he’s very good at bringing funny people together and helping them find their voice. He always seems to be keeping an eye out for fresh new talent, and with the recent success of Bridesmaids he also seems to be interested in getting away from the “bromance” thing and trying to appeal to the opposite sex as well. Enter Lena Dunham, director of a little indie comedy called Tiny Furniture.

Apatow dug the movie so much that he wanted to work with her, and together they pitched a comedy series to HBO about a group of 20-something girls living in New York City. Girls has since been picked up and the first teaser trailer has now arrived online. It promises all the frank female conversations of Sex and the City with Dunham herself taking center stage in a very Liz Lemon-esque role. Girls will premiere in April 2012; check out the promo after jump and see what you think.

Read more »

It’s the second last shopping week before Christmas and we’ve still got a few pretty big DVD releases hitting stores today including one of the most critically acclaimed summer blockbusters of the year (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), one of the best remakes of the year (Fright Night) and arguably one of the best animated films of the year (Kung Fu Panda 2). Looking beyond these titles we also have a couple of Hong Kong action flicks, The Legend Is Born: Ip Man and Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame, plus the well-received documentary The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975. We’ve also got new seasons of Family Guy and The Life and Times of Tim, and new to Blu-ray we have Joe Johnston’s The Rocketeer, Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures, and a new Extended Director’s Cut of Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables. What will you be buying or renting this week? Check out the full list of releases after the jump.

Read more »

I know that a lot of people enjoyed G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra for what it was: a fun little time waster that didn’t take itself too seriously. I was not one of those people. I thought the movie was pretty horrible from start to finish, and yes, worse than any of Michael Bay’s Transformers films. I had absolutely no interest in a sequel, right up until Paramount made a strange and unexpected choice. They decided not to bring back director Stephen Sommers (okay, it might have been his choice not to return) and overhauled almost the entire cast. The bad news is that Channing Tatum is still involved, but the good news is that we now have Dwayne Johnson, Ray Stevenson and Bruce Willis on board as well.

The first trailer does indeed look more promising than its predecessor, although there are only a few brief snippets of action to go on thus far. Ninjas fighting on the side of a cliff? Sure, I’m interested in that. I wasn’t entirely sold on Jon Chu (Step Up 3D, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never) directing this, but he can’t be worse than Sommers. It does seem odd to me that The Rock almost seems like he has become the leader of the group, but either way his presence is going to be a welcome addition to this sequel. G.I. Joe: Retaliation hits theatres on June 29th, 2012; check out the trailer after the jump and see what you think.

Read more »

George Clooney and producing partner Grant Heslov will take a trip back to the ’60s for their next effort, a film about comedians Tom and Dicky Smothers. Specifically, the movie will focus on the brothers’ show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, which went from clean-cut humor to a promoting the politics of the counter-culture movement. The show was also notable for featuring cutting-edge music acts such as The Who and Jefferson Airplane as well as providing a start for future stars like Steve Martin and Rob Reiner who were part of the writing staff. The film will be based on the David Bianculli book Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story Of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. No word on whether Clooney will take on acting or directing duties for the project, but since he’s involved, expect to see some notable names attached.

Read more »

0:00 – Intro
11:28 – Headlines: The Dark Knight Rises Teaser Poster, Chris Benoit Biopic
20:34 – Review: The Sitter
38:56 – Trailer Trash: The Three Stooges
44:48 – Other Stuff We Watched: UFC, Community, 30 Rock, Warrior, Crazy Stupid Love, The Road, Animal House, Rango, Demolition Man, Over the Top, M, The River Wild, Happy People: A Year in the Taiga, A Face in the Crowd, The Four Feathers, The Killing
1:19:30 – Junk Mail: Movie Magazines and the Lone Wolf and Cub Series, Blu Ray Technical Specs and Missing Movie Songs, Favourite Michael Fassbender Performances, Top Albums of the Year, Schindler’s List Blu Ray, Music Re-Appropriation, TV Parodies of Famous Film Scenes, 3D Re-Releases
1:43:53 – This Week’s DVD Releases
1:46:20 – Outro

» Download the MP3 (98 MB)
» View the show notes
» Vote for us on Podcast Alley!
» Rate us on iTunes!

Subscribe to the podcast feed:

The Four Feathers
Directed by: Zoltán Korda
Written by: R. C. Sherriff
Starring: John Clements, Ralph Richardson, C. Aubrey Smith, June Duprez

Billed as a sort of adventure film, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from The Four Feathers. Even though the tale has been told on film multiple times, I went in to it knowing nothing about the story and was pleasantly surprised.

The film is set in the 1890’s during the Mahdist War. I won’t claim to have heard of this particular war previous to this film, nor will I act as any sort of expert on the background of this conflict (something to do with the British colonization of Africa). The lead character, Harry Faversham (played by John Clements) was brought up in a family rooted in military history. He’s a member of the British Army but resigns on the eve of a massive deployment to Khartoum. His decision is considered an act of cowardice, even in the eyes of his fiancee Ethne (June Duprez). Once the soldiers depart on their mission, Harry receives an envelope — sent by three of his friends — containing three white feathers; a symbol of cowardice. He then admits the accusations are true and decides to attempt to redeem himself in the eyes of his fiancee and his fellow soldiers. Harry heads to Egypt and disguises himself as a Sangali native, with plans to infiltrate enemy forces. When his friends run into trouble, he intervenes in an attempt to rescue them and to atone for the abandonment of his duties and the betrayal of his fellow soldiers. While it might take some time to get going, The Four Feathers is a great adventure film with some beautiful action set pieces featuring hundreds of soldiers clashing on-screen in some pretty epic battle sequences. It also boasts some stunning technicolor photography, which garnered the film an Oscar nomination for best cinematography.

Read more »

By now you should already know that there is a movie in development based on the board game Battleship, and as stupid as it sounds, Universal and Hasbro are doing everything in their power to make this a massive blockbuster. Like everyone I had my doubts, but I am starting to think they might actually succeed, simply because they are emulating Michael Bay’s Transformers to a “T”. I mean, it’s the U.S. Navy vs. giant robots from another planet… what more do you need to know?

I have seen a lot of people already predicting that this will be a shoo-in for the worst movie of 2012, but I think they might change their tune when this finally hits theatres. If you’re a Michael Bay fan, I don’t see how this wouldn’t appeal to you. The special effects look pretty solid and director Peter Berg is no slouch. Admit it, you’re at least a little curious to see how this turns out… right? Battleship hits theatres on May 18th, 2012; check out the new trailer after the jump and see what you think.

Read more »