Vin Diesel officially joins Guardians of the Galaxy

It has been rumored for months now, but we finally have confirmation that Vin Diesel will be playing Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy. He joins Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Michael Rooker, and Lee Pace. Guardians of the Galaxy is being directed by James Gunn and is set for release on August 1, 2014.

If you aren't aware, Groot is a highly intelligent tree-like alien. Groot will be voiced by Diesel as he is assumed to be full CGI along with Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper). Originally, Groot was interested in capturing humans for experimentation, but after being destroyed by both termites and the Hulk he was captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. and made part of the Guardians team. Groot was also a warrior in the battle against Thanos, so he is an important aspect of this movie.

Age of Ultron receives another villain

In addition to a main villain battling against The Avengers in the upcoming sequel, we will have another villain to test the team. This villain is rumored to be more relevant to recent additions of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.

HitFix is reporting that Baron Von Strucker is the second villain in addition to Ultron that will be battling The Avengers, Von Strucker is another H.Y.D.R.A. leader (along with Red Skull whom we saw in Captain America: The First Avenger) and former Nazi soldier who has been altered to practically no physical vulnerability. He also possesses a super healing power which allows him to cheat death.As far as casting this character goes, apparently Marvel is seeking a physically imposing man aged 40-50. Rumors are already swirling around Dougray Scott and Marton Csokas.
Now, how does this come into play? Well, it is being said that Von Strucker is the one who brings Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch into the mix because they are both on his side. If this is true it will be an interesting storyline to see exactly how the twins join The Avengers. Unless they are altering the characters to be more of a "frenemy" situation than an ally.The other question is how this villain will tie into Ultron or to the other Avengers. I also want to bring up that most people are forgetting that we still might have Thanos in some capacity, so if that is the case this makes three villains total.

I am not putting too much stock in this just yet, but I am not counting it out. Until we get more info on the plot of The Avengers: Age of Ultron I imagine we will be getting a lot of rumors and word on the street situations.

Anna Paquin cut from X-Men: Days of Future Past

It seems as though Bryan Singer pulled what Sony did to Shailene Woodley with The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Anna Paquin, who played Rogue in X-Men, returned for a cameo in X-Men: Days of Future Past along with many other former X-Men cast members. However, we learned that Paquin's only scene in the upcoming film has reached the cutting room floor. We will have to wait for the special features to see what role Rogue played in Days of Future Past.

Paquin's scene was filmed very early in production and the rescue scene cut from the final edit also featured Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, and Shawn Ashmore. Singer emphasized that cutting the scene had nothing to do with performance quality, but due to the fact that he felt the scene became too long. Nothing but a tough break.

X-Men: Days of Future Past is set for release on May 27, 2014.

First Academy Award teaser feat. Ellen DeGeneres

X-Men: Apocalypse brings in X2 writers

Bryan Singer is busy developing the next X-Men movie, X-Men: Apocalypse, despite X-Men: Days of Future Past not coming out until 2014. Singer has brought in X2 writers Mike Dougherty and Dan Harris to join Days of Future Past writer Simon Kinberg to develop the Apocalypse story.

We still have no details on what exactly this movie will focus on, but there is a lot of speculation the movie will focus on the Apocalypse storyline of En Sabah Nur's origin in Egypt. If you are unfamiliar with the Age of Apocalypse arc, basically it is another time traveling story where Professor X is killed before forming the X-Men. Apocalypse conquers the world and mutants become the superior and dominant species. Magneto brings the X-Men together to defeat Apocalypse and restores the original timeline. In a way I think this new movie could be a direct continuation to Days of Future Past seeing that both ideas are related to time travel.

We shall see! 

Joaquin Phoenix to be in Batman vs. Superman?

Rumor has it that Joaquin Phoenix is being sought after for a villain role in Batman vs. Superman. Warner Bros. and Zack Snyder are setting the bar pretty high by chasing another Oscar nominated actor for a lead antagonist role.

Now... along with this there is already a lot of speculation that Phoenix could be Lex Luthor. Just throwing that out there. Recently Jason Momoa and Callan Mulvey have been considered for antagonist roles, but apparently neither of them would be playing a major villain such as Luthor. The easter eggs in Man of Steel do suggest that Luthor is a part of this new DC Universe so this is very plausible. However, I don't know if I would necessarily pick Phoenix for Lex Luthor.
Even with that said, there is no guarantee that even if the offer is extended that he will bite. Phoenix has been more focused on character driven roles recently such as the roles in The Master and Her. He got an Oscar nomination for The Master and many are speculating that he could get another one for Her. Previously he's been nominated for Walk the Line and Gladiator. He has also been nominated for Golden Globes, BAFTA's, and even won a Grammy award. The point is, why would he consider starring in a comic book movie?

Money could play a factor and the mostly positive feedback from Man of Steel, but in the end I think this is a long shot. He's too high caliber for something like this, imo. Not to mention the fact that Warner Bros. doesn't know what the hell they're doing with this DC Universe.

What do you think? Is this your Lex Luthor?

[Updated] Paul Rudd in talks for Ant-Man

So it appears the rumors were true. Paul Rudd is apparently in very early talks to play Ant-Man in the upcoming Marvel film. Hank Pym (aka, Ant-Man) is being brought to us by Edgar Wright on July 31, 2015.

It was originally rumored that Simon Pegg was being considered for the role, but those were shot down after word got out that Wright was leaning towards Rudd for the lead role. Rudd's direct competition was Joseph Gordon-Levitt who just signed on to direct and star in an adaptation of Sandman. It is assumed that Hank Pym will be dealing with the backlash of The Avengers: Age of Ultron seeing that the sequel opens just three months prior to Ant-Man. There are no plot details as of now and no villain set, but it has been said that the main villain from Age of Ultron will not play a part in Ant-Man.
In the comic world, Pym was a founder of The Avengers along with his girlfriend, Janet Van Dyne (aka, Wasp). In the cinematic universe it appears he will be joining the party a little late as we already have Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Captain America, and Hulk in the group. However, I wouldn't be surprised if they add in a Pym cameo seeing that Ultron is his own creation. Either that or Ultron will ultimately be saved until The Avengers 3.

[UPDATE] Marvel has confirmed that Paul Rudd will play Ant-Man. The studio says this deal has been finalized for quite sometime, it just hadn't been officially released. They also cited that Rudd has been their frontrunner since Wright's film was approved.
After letting this sink in a bit, I don't think Paul Rudd will do a bad job. Similar to the other heroes they have a decent mixture of comedy and seriousness and Paul Rudd is great at balancing both. Welcome aboard, Paul.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - First Trailer

Holy shit. Those apes look fantastic.

Frank Darabont sues AMC over The Walking Dead

Frank Darabont, the ex-showrunner for AMC's The Walking Dead, has decided to file a lawsuit against AMC over the show's profits. Darabont is accusing AMC of "self dealing" the show's profits by setting low license fees affecting the compensation for those involved. He is also claiming he was wrongfully terminated by AMC and says he should continue to receive a credit as "executive producer" for The Walking Dead, Talking Dead, and the upcoming spin-off by Robert Kirkman. AMC declined comments, but Darabont and his agency, CAA, are asking for a monetary settlement.

There is a slim chance this will go to trial. It is likely that AMC will settle out of court and give Darabont a cash settlement. This isn't uncommon with television shows due to the relaxed syndication laws passed in 1995. Examples of previous cases include:

Home Improvement producers suing Disney
Alan Alda (M*A*S*H*) sued 20th Century Fox
Will & Grace creators sued NBC
Smallville producers sued Warner Bros.

All claims were that the studios did not distribute the money properly. The main difference with this case by Darabont against AMC is he was fired while the season was still running and is including the grievance in the case. In Darabont's original contract, AMC stated that The Walking Dead would be produced by an outside company and he would receive up to 12% compensation from the company. However, AMC decided to self-produce the show and as a result, they decided to self-deal the profits. The contract also included protection against self-dealing profit margins.
The wrongful termination is the clincher, imo. When Darabont was renewed as showrunner, AMC included a lock on him for seasons two and three along with a pay raise. Darabont was suddenly terminated from the show and the suit claims it was to avoid paying him the promised salary per episode and to prevent another pay raise after the third season was over.

AMC should the thanking Darabont. He gave them the best show in the network's history both profit wise and in viewership.

American Horror Story to drop hints about Season 4

Word has it that there will be some hints dropped about the upcoming fourth season of American Horror Story. When Coven returns in January, pay attention to the episode because we are supposed to get a hint regarding the theme to the next season. Here is all the info we have on what to look for:

It will not take place in modern times.
The clue will hint to its theme and setting.
Filming is set to take place in Santa Fe or New Orleans.

That's all we have, folks. FX has renewed American Horror Story for 13 episodes to air in Fall 2014. I would assume around the same time in October.

Any guesses for the theme of season 4? I am still pulling for a cult theme, but I don't know if it will happen. All I ask is they don't go for vampires. I am so sick of vampires.

22 Jump Street - First Trailer

Here's to hoping you have a YouTube account because the trailer is redband.

Critics' Choice nominees announced

Once again, 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle lead an awards show. The Critics' Choice Awards are led by the two films with 13 nominations each. I think this list will serve as more of an Oscar precursor than the Golden Globes will. At least I hope so. The 19th annual show will be held on January 16, 2014.

Here are the nominees!

Best Picture:

American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Saving Mr. Banks
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Actor:

Christian Bale - American Hustle
Bruce Dern - Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave
Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club
Robert Redford - All is Lost

Best Actress:

Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock - Gravity
Judi Dench - Philomena
Brie Larson - Short Term 12
Meryl Streep - August: Osage County
Emma Thompson - Saving Mr. Banks

Best Supporting Actor:

Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips
Daniel Bruhl - Rush
Bradley Cooper - American Hustle
Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave
James Gandolfini - Enough Said
Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club

Best Supporting Actress:

Scarlett Johansson - Her
Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts - August: Osage County
June Squibb - Nebraska
Oprah Winfrey - Lee Daniels' The Butler

Best Young Actor/Actress:

Asa Butterfield - Ender's Game
Adele Exarchopoulos - Blue is the Warmest Color
Liam James - The Way Way Back
Sophie Nelisse - The Book Thief
Tye Sheridan - Mud

Best Acting Ensemble:

American Hustle
August: Osage County
Lee Daniels' The Butler
Nebraska
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Director:

Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity
Paul Greengrass - Captain Phillips
Spike Jonze - Her
Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave
David O. Russell - American Hustle
Martin Scorsese - The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Original Screenplay:

Eric Singer & David O. Russell - American Hustle
Woody Allen - Blue Jasmine
Spike Jonze - Her
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen - Inside Llewyn Davis
Bob Nelson - Nebraska

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Tracy Letts - August: Osage County
Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke - Before Midnight
Billy Ray - Captain Phillips
Steve Coogan & Jeff Pope - Philomena
John Ridley - 12 Years a Slave
Terence Winter - The Wolf of Wall Street

Click the jump to see the rest of the nominations.

Best Netflix picks of 2013

Since I discussed my best of 2013, I figured I would make another post about the best movies I saw this year in general. Now, this means not all of these were released in 2013. It just means I saw them for the first time this year. I won't include any that I already included on the best of 2013 list. Also note these are in no particular order.

Let's get started!


Goon

I put off watching this and I don't know why. It is such a charming movie. The main character, Doug Glatt, is so pleasant and you love him immediately. Great hockey movie and a great movie in general.

The Other F Word

I was curious about this because it was a documentary about punk legends becoming fathers. Bottom line. This was a rather eye opening film and it makes me feel like there is some hope for our children. If we can have more fathers like these guys I think we will be alright.

Maniac

This wasn't the best movie, but it was a pretty decent horror flick. Elijah Wood definitely had the creep factor on lock.

Curse of Chucky

For a Chucky movie, this was pretty enjoyable. It was better than Seed of Chucky and was pretty enjoyable overall. I would give it a shot if you didn't already. Stay after the credits, too. You're welcome.

Ruby Sparks

Loved it. I just loved it.

Silver Linings Playbook

Great acting, great story, and I loved the flow of the film. It definitely deserved all of the praise.

Sinister

It had flaws and I didn't totally love it, but I did enjoy it. This was a very refreshing horror flick and it had some interesting twists in there. I regret not seeing it in theaters last year.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I cannot say enough great things about this movie. I loved every single second of it. It sounds cliche, but it just understood so much about being a teenager. It was very realistic and the characters were wonderful. Great book adaptation and great film overall.

Moonrise Kingdom

I shouldn't have loved this movie as much as I did, but I couldn't help myself. If you didn't see it drop what you're doing and watch it. You won't be sorry.

Looper

Another one that had problems, but it was a very enjoyable movie. I didn't see the ending coming, that's for sure.


Not an awful year for Netflix. In addition to the movies I watched, the best television pick I had this year was definitely Breaking Bad. That's all I can say when it comes to television.

The Purge - Review

In the not so distant future, the reborn United States holds an annual purge to allow its citizens 12 hours of crime for one night out of the year. A wealthy family of supporters gets more than they bargained for after locking down for the night in The Purge.


I know I am late to the party when it comes to The Purge, but I wanted to see it so I decided to still watch it before the year is up. I didn't have anything invested in this originally which is mainly why I didn't see it in theaters. I had seen and heard a lot of mixed reviews about it so I wasn't in a hurry. After watching it I wouldn't say I am all that disappointed, but I am glad I didn't rush to see it because I probably would have been more disappointed.

Starting off with the plot, I think this movie has a great concept. The whole 12-hour crime free night is a very interesting concept and I thought it fit the genre well. However, I don't think that it worked as well as it could have. The fact that the entire focus was on this one family located in an extremely wealthy area hindered the plot a bit for me. Instead of showing the true chaos and so-called benefits of the purge, they focused on a family holed up in a mansion with an expensive security system. It kind of defeated the purpose.
As far as acting goes, it was pretty standard for a movie like this. The kids were annoying, the wife was stupid, and the "intruders" weren't really seen all that much. The best part, as expected, was Ethan Hawke. While on the subject of the intruders, the way they were portrayed made it seem like people participating in the purge were all crazy or had this self-righteous sense of entitlement to rid themselves of the country's undesirables. The previews made it look like the purge was a chance to give people a night to go after people they've wanted to all year or to get revenge. Not to walk around like it's a game and kill homeless people.

In other words, there was a lot wrong with this movie.

1. The son

The fact that the parents didn't beat their son's ass for disarming the security system bothered me the entire movie. They didn't even acknowledge the fact that all of the events happening was their son's fault. Instead they decide to split up and leave the boy alone in the room with the security controls. If he disarmed it once to let someone in, what makes them think he wouldn't do it again?! I would have beat his ass right then and there. I guess punishing your kids still isn't a trend in 2022.
Oh, and the creepy baby doll surveillance robot. What the hell...

2. The daughter

No character development, insignificant to the plot, and annoying. I feel like you don't disappear to some random area of the house after you get intruders during a crime free 12-hour period.

3. The lack of exploration of the future

I'll admit, I was curious to see exactly what 2022 looked like. The only thing we saw was a rich neighborhood and the inside of the family's house. There was no mention of exactly how bad America got before the new founding fathers came in, there was no mention of who the founding fathers were, what type of government America had, how we could maintain an economy of 1% unemployment, etc.. They just threw you into the movie and made you roll with it with no explanation.

4. No character development of the stranger

Seriously. All this guy was in this movie was a random victim who was allowed into the house and then came in handy at the very end. No name, no background, nothing.

5. The neighbors

I will admit that the neighbors kind of made the movie for me, but it seemed like more of a PSA for the delusion of wealth more than anything else. Even though the people were rich and lived in a neighborhood hardly touched by the purge, they felt the need to still try and eliminate the "get rich quick" citizens. They were a bit cult-like and self-entitled for my tastes.


Overall, I came to the conclusion of not understanding why The Purge got to popular and seriously not understanding why it's getting a sequel. I think people are banking on it just on the concept alone despite the fact that the movie had no real substance and shitty characters. I've seen it and once was enough. I won't be seeing the sequel.

Interstellar - First Trailer

We (finally) have the first trailer for Christopher Nolan's new film, Interstellar. Check it out!



Now, this is a true film teaser. We hardly see any footage from the movie and I quite enjoy that. It is mostly because the film is still in production, though. Interstellar has been on my radar for a while now and I am pretty excited to check it out. The film revolves around a group of explorers who use a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the current limitations of space travel.
It has a pretty impressive cast including Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Casey Affleck, Michael Caine, Jessica Chastain, Ellen Burstyn, Matt Damon, etc.. Interstellar hits theaters on November 7, 2014.