Camp X-Ray - First Trailer

This film received less than luke-warm reviews at Sundance, but I think it looks interesting enough to give it a shot. Kristen Stewart seems to be trying to get back to what she does best and that is independent film. I'm not sure how believable this story is going to be to anyone, like me, who knows a lot about the military but we shall see. I'm intrigued.

In Camp X-Ray, Stewart plays a US Army soldier who forms a strange bond with a detainee while stationed at Guantanamo Bay. It also stars Cory Michael Smith, Lane Garrison, and Peyman Maadi. It's set for some form of theatrical release and VOD availability on October 28th.

Lea Seydoux sought after for Bond 24

Sam Mendes has apparently chosen his own personal Bond girl and that girl is Lea Seydoux. If you saw Blue is the Warmest Color you would recognize her as she played a free-spirited young lesbian named Emma.

Bond 24 has hit a couple speedbumps as of late. The most recent being a massive script re-write by Bond veterans Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. It seems that the re-write did the trick as casting is now starting to move forward. Director Sam Mendes expressed his desire to cast Seydoux in the role of a young agent. There is no telling whether she would be a villain or an ally, but she would definitely be interesting casting. Seeing that Naomie Harris is returning as Miss Moneypenny I wasn't so sure we were going to have a typical "Bond girl" for Bond 24.

List of every superhero movie through 2020

With the newest announcements from Warner Bros. regarding the DC Universe, we now have a more clear view of what movie theaters will be showing for the next five years and it's a bit overwhelming. This includes superhero movies as well as the planned Star Wars flicks.

Let's take a look at what we have on tap:


May 1, 2015

The Avengers: Age of Ultron (Marvel)

June 19, 2015

Fantastic Four (Fox)

July 17, 2015

Ant-Man (Marvel)

December 18, 2015

Star Wars: Episode VII (Disney/Lucasfilm)

March 25, 2016

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Warner Bros./DC)

May 6, 2016

Captain America 3 (Marvel)

May 27, 2016

X-Men: Age of Apocalypse (Fox)

Summer 2016

Star Wars Spin-off #1 (Disney/Lucasfilm)

July 8, 2016

Doctor Strange (Marvel)

August 5, 2016

Untitled DC Project

November 11, 2016

Sinister Six (Sony)

March 3, 2017

Untitled Wolverine Project (Fox)

May 5, 2017

Untitled Marvel Project

Summer 2017

Star Wars: Episode VIII (Disney/Lucasfilm)

June 23, 2017

Untitled DC Project

July 24, 2017

Fantastic Four 2 (Fox)

July 28, 2017

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (Marvel)

November 3, 2017

Untitled Marvel Project

November 17, 2017

Untitled DC Project

2017 (unknown)

Venom and/or female Spider-Man spin-off (Sony)

 March 23, 2018

Untitled DC Project

May 4, 2018

Untitled Marvel Project

Summer 2018

Star Wars Spin-off #2 (Disney/Lucasfilm)
The Amazing Spider-Man 3 (Sony)

July 6, 2018

Untitled Marvel Project

July 13, 2018

Untitled Fox Project

July 27, 2018

Untitled DC Project

November 2, 2018

Untitled Marvel Project

April 5, 2019

Untitled DC Project

May 3, 2019

Untitled Marvel Project

Summer 2019

Star Wars: Episode IX (Disney/Lucasfilm)

June 14, 2019

Untitled DC Project

April 3, 2020

Untitled DC Project

June 19, 2020

Untitled DC Project



It is worth noting that a lot of the 2016 and 2017 releases are no doubt close to official announcements (cough, Justice League, cough) but for now we just have the dates reserved with the studios. Looking at this full schedule you can really begin to see how ridiculous this is getting. I love superhero movies and all, but damn.

Fox delays Poltergeist reboot

Fox announced some release shifts today to go along with some announcements from Warner Bros. They have decided to delay both the Sam Raimi reboot of Poltergeist and the upcoming Matthew Vaughn film, Kingsman: The Secret Service.

Poltergeist was originally supposed to premiere opposite Fifty Shades of Grey on February 13, 2015 but it will now be released on July 24, 2015. Taking the February slot will be Kingsman: The Secret Service which was originally slated for this October.
I think Fox probably saw Kingsman as a more competitive film to go up against the sure to be box office hit, Fifty Shades of Grey. It isn't necessarily a Valentines Day movie, but neither is Poltergeist. I think more people would be apt to choose that one than they would a horror film.

Batman v Superman release changes again

It appears that Marvel has officially won the battle of the release date. Warner Bros. announced that the release date for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has now changed for the third time to March 25, 2016.

BvS previously shared the release date of May 6, 2016 with Captain America 3. The studios have been battling for months over this release date and Marvel refused to budge. Warner Bros. obviously thought their best plan of attack would be to move the date again and grab audiences 6 weeks prior to the release of Captain America.
In addition to this release shift, Warner Bros. has also announced untitled dates for 9 films and 2 "event films" that haven't received titles yet.

The current WB/DC Comics schedule is now:

August 5, 2016
June 23, 2016
November 17, 2017
March 23, 2018
July 27, 2018
November 16, 2018 (event film)
April 5, 2019
June 14, 2019
April 3, 2020
June 19, 2020
November 20, 2020 (event film)


One plus side for WB is that, as of right now, none of these dates are shared with a Marvel project. That will avoid more problems like BvS has experienced. Either way this is a very ambitious schedule and I highly doubt any of these dates will stick if people don't like Batman v Superman and/or Justice League. There is no way.

Jennifer Lee to adapt A Wrinkle in Time

The classic novel, A Wrinkle in Time, has escaped a film adaptation for 50-years but Disney is planning to change that. The mega-giant has hired Frozen director, Jennifer Lee, to adapt the novel for the screen.

A Wrinkle in Time is considered one of the earliest young adult sci-fi novels and it has been read in schools for many years. I remember having to do a book report on it in 5th grade. It follows a young girl who finds out her father was a government scientist. It is assumed that since Lee is writing a screenplay that she will most likely be directing as well, but that isn't confirmed. What is confirmed, for the most part, is this project has fallen under Walt Disney Animation Studios so it will be animated or at least utilize motion-capture CGI.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies finally filming?

This movie has been in development hell for years. Actress after actress has passed on it, writers have left, directors have left... name it and it's happened. However, it now seems that the movie might finally make it into production this September.

The cast that has stuck around this time includes Sam Riley, Lily James, and Bella Heathcote and the film will be directed by Burr Steers. The film will be an adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith's novelization. I personally have zero excitement left for this project as it has been way too long since it was first announced. Casting has gone from Natalie Portman to Emma Stone to Anne Hathaway to Blake Lively to Lily Collins, etc.

Girl bye.

Female Spider-Man spinoff planned for 2017

Sony has been pretty full of surprises lately regarding the Spider-Man franchise. We are learning more about the Sinister Six along with learning that The Amazing Spider-Man 3 has been delayed until 2018. We now have information regarding a female Spider-Man spinoff reportedly planned for 2017.

This comes after much criticism of the superhero genre in general regarding the lack of female heroes. With the massive success of Guardians of the Galaxy this weekend, the fact that it is 44% female says a lot about the success of female based films. We also can cite films like Divergent, The Hunger Games, and Frozen.
Sony is still trying to do damage control after the ridiculous disappointing The Amazing Spider-Man 2 failed to make money at the box office. It has since become the lowest grossing Spider-Man film of all time. The last hope to save Sony's singular superhero franchise revamp a little bit with new heroes and... a woman.
Many are speculating that this spinoff will be centered around Black Cat (aka, Felicia Hardy). Hardy had a brief cameo in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, played by Felicity Jones, so she is the obvious choice to expand this franchise aside from the already planned Sinister Six and Venom movies. Other female possibilities could include Spider-Woman and Silver Sable.

I don't think this is by any means a stupid or bad move on Sony's part. If they have learned anything from what Marvel and Disney have done they should know by now that you can't carry a franchise based off of just one hero. If the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe was centered around Iron Man people would have abandoned it by now. They were smart and made separate movies for each character and found a way to tie them all together. If they put Peter Parker on the back burner for a while and focused on other characters for a bit I think it's possible for this franchise to have some revival and a renewed sense of interest.

James Gunn thanks Guardians of the Galaxy fans

James Gunn posted a rather heartfelt message on his Facebook page aimed toward those who saw and are planning to see Guardians of the Galaxy:

"Thanks to all of you who saw (and are seeing) Guardians of the Galaxy this weekend, from the bottom of my heart. The Guardians are a group of oddballs, outcasts, and geeks. The movie is for anyone who ever felt cast aside, left out, or different. It's for all of us who don't belong. This movie belongs to you. And, today, I think we're doing okay.

I am of course happy with all the film has accomplished box-office-wise. But what touches me the most is that the film I told the folks at Marvel I wanted to make two years ago is the film that you're seeing in theaters today - it's that so many of you seem to be directly EXPERIENCING the film I INTENDED. The cast, the producers, the crew, and I felt like we were making something special while we were making it. But it is very rare that a director's INTENTIONS in creating a film, or a scene, or a character, or a line of dialogue are, seemingly, specifically what is experienced by an audience (not to mention critics!), and that seems to be what has happened here. You have allowed a talking raccoon - for a moment, a minute, or a day - to make you a little more human. And for that, I am profoundly grateful.

If I relied on myself to implement these intentions, the film would be a shambling mess. But instead, I had a wonderful cast, genius producers, an incredibly brave studio, sublimely talented visual effects artists, great editors, and the best damn crew of mostly-British bastards to actually implement these intentions for me. Where I had a good idea they would, through alchemy, transform it into a great one. Many of you involved are friends of mine on Facebook. Many of you will read this somewhere else. I love you all.

You may remember me posting here a couple weeks ago how sad I was to be finishing up the film, that I was having trouble letting go of Rocket, and that I was going to miss him. But seeing him (and Groot, and the rest of the team) embraced by the world like they have been, to be UNDERSTOOD, makes it a wonderful letting go. It's like giving a foster pet up for adoption to the most wonderful parents in the world.

And, of course, I'm not really saying goodbye as, while many of you have been enjoying the film, I've spent this weekend hard at work on the sequel. I couldn't help myself! The results are nice but it's really the creative process I love and that keeps me going. I'm on fire with this thing! The Guardians have so many hardships and heartaches and triumphs ahead of them, and I can't wait to share them with all of you.

Onto week two...

Love, James"

To speak directly to this man... James, you are just amazing. I have been a fan for years and was so excited when I first saw you had been hired to direct Guardians of the Galaxy. Now that I have seen it I want to tell you that it was amazing and a lot better than I expected. It was funny and it brought us back to the realization that we are not grounded in reality and that movies should be fun. I hope you come back for the sequel because Marvel and Hollywood in general needs your talent. Thanks again, man. 

Guardians of the Galaxy - Review

After another Infinity Stone falls into dangerous hands, a group of criminals and misfits team up to defend the galaxy from destruction and oppression in Guardians of the Galaxy.




I just have to start by saying this... Guardians of the Galaxy was amazing. I said it. I knew I would say it, but there it is. I seriously loved it and had practically no issues with anything. It was entertaining as hell, funny, and had a lot of fun little tidbits added in. Not to mention we got our first real look at the big Marvel villain, Thanos.

Starting with the plot, I thought it was interesting enough for an origin of these characters. We got enough information to get us started and they did a great job establishing Peter Quill (aka, Star-Lord) as the main character. I really enjoyed the supporting characters and I thought everyone was used fairly well.
The villains were also handled beautifully. Ronan was extremely menacing visually and he looked more like something out of Hellraiser, but I think we can credit James Gunn for that. Nebula was also well done and I loved how she was portrayed. Getting to the big reveal of Thanos, it was enough to keep you both satisfied and wanting more. The visuals looked amazing and I think Josh Brolin was a fantastic choice. It also put a lot more into motion and hinted at things we will most likely see in Phase Three as well as the announced Guardians of the Galaxy sequel.
The only character I felt was extremely underused was The Collector. They made such a huge deal with him being in this movie but he was more enjoyable in the after credits scene for Thor: The Dark World than in Guardians of the Galaxy. It was treated more like a cameo than an actual role.Gamora was also a bit underused and seemed more like the typical tough chick in the universe, but she at least had more explanation and plot.

Either way, I don't think Marvel has anything to worry about regarding this story. Any concerns of people being onboard with a talking raccoon and a giant tree have definitely been squashed. I thought Rocket was probably the most enjoyable character aside from Star-Lord. He was funny and quick on his feet and the way Bradley Cooper voiced him was perfect. I can't even describe how much I loved it.
One thing this movie achieved at great length is taking us out of how "normal" the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become. Up until this point everything seemed very explainable to humans using science, logic, and a little open mindedness. With this story you have to accept that there are creatures and things outside of what we've already been shown that are just as dangerous and relevant. The only glimpse we really have had into the expanded universe, up until now, was with the Thor movies and even then he was exiled onto Earth and the magic of Asgard was pretty easily explained and present on Earth. With these characters and this story it's going to start introducing a lot more comic magic and fantasy that the MCU has lacked. If you thought Guardians of the Galaxy was a stretch you need to remember than these are comic book movies and they are not grounded in reality. 

One thing I am seriously hoping for is that Marvel brings back James Gunn for the sequel. The element he brought to these characters is definitely not something that could be replicated. They made a fantastic choice hiring him.



To talk about a couple spoilers...




The post-credits scene was a waste, in my opinion. Something about letting Howard the Duck have a cameo seemed wasted. I expected something relating to Age of Ultron or even Doctor Strange, but I was not expecting what we got at all. It wasn't relevant.
But, on the subject of what else The Collector had in his possession, we saw quite a few characters that we have already seen in Marvel films. Along with Howard the Duck and Cosmo the Spacedog we caught a glimpse at an imprisoned Dark Elf from Thor: The Dark World as well as a Chitauri warrior from The Avengers. We also saw visions of the Aether and the Tesseract while the Infinity Gauntlet was explained. 


What did you think of Guardians of the Galaxy?

Fifty Shades of Grey already sets a record

Fifty Shades of Grey doesn't hit theaters until February but the film has already set a movie record. After just a week the debut trailer for the film has already been viewed over 100 million times making it the most watched movie trailer of 2014. Universal and Focus Features cite social media and marketing as reason for the success as well as a devoted fan base and some... curiosity by others.

The trailer is only 2 and a half minutes long, but the book trilogy written by EL James has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide. It is still uncertain where all the views have come from seeing that the YouTube video only has around 32 million views, but trailers also screen ahead of movies in theaters, they are on iTunes, the Today Show was screening it on their television broadcast, and just about every website writing about this movie has a link to the trailer. The studio did disclose that roughly 40 million views came just from Facebook postings.

Hell, just for fun here is another link to it.

Fifty Shades of Grey stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan in the main roles of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. The film hits theaters on February 13, 2015.

Bill Murray's voice added to The Jungle Book

We are set to receive the new version of Disney's The Jungle Book on October 9, 2015 and casting is just starting to pick up a little bit. In the month of July alone we had Ben Kingsley, Giancarlo Esposito, Christopher Walken, Neel Sethi join the already confirmed cast of Idris Elba, Scarlett Johansson, and Lupito Nyong'o. The latest actor to join the cast is the rather legendary Bill Murray.

Murray will lend his voice Mowgli's bear friend, Baloo. So far the only live-action actor we will see is Neel Sethi who has been cast as Mowgli. Elba is set to voice Shere Khan, Nyong'o will bring Raksha to life, and Johansson will voice Kaa.
This is Disney's response to the Warner Bros. adaptation of The Jungle Book which is set for October 21, 2016. That adaptation, Jungle Book: Origins, will be directed by Andy Serkis. There is no information on whether one or both films will use straight CGI or motion capture technology, but they are sure to differ in some ways.

If you live under a rock and don't know who Bill Murray is, he is most recognized from his work in the Ghostbusters franchise as well as being cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1977-1980. He also starred in Groundhog Day, Caddyshack, Stripes, Scrooged, Space Jam, and was the new Bosley in the 2000 reboot of Charlie's Angels. More recently he's been seen in Moonrise Kingdom, Zombieland, Lost in Translation, and The Grand Budapest Hotel. The guy is a comic genius and his voice is amazing, so I am more than happy with this casting.

Faith-based romance to challenge Fifty Shades of Grey

We were originally supposed to receive Fifty Shades of Grey this weekend, but setbacks with casting and scheduling pushed the film to Valentine's Day of 2015. The erotic film adaptation of EL James' novels will now have some competition as the faith-based romance, Old Fashioned, has reserved a spot on the same opening weekend.

Old Fashioned is being produced by Freestyle Releasing, the same company that surprised the box office with God's Not Dead earlier this year. Writer/director Rik Swartzwelder stated he wanted to prompt moviegoers with a film about a Godly romance taken seriously. The tagline of the film is, "Chivalry makes a comeback" as it is about a former frat member meets a young, free-spirited woman. Freestyle Co-President Mark Borde is also backing the film as a wholesome alternative to the Fifty Shades film.

This is no doubt a film cut from a different cloth as Fifty Shades of Grey. Couples celebrating Valentine's Day at the movies will now have the choice between a wholesome, religious love story and a bondage filled, explicit erotic story. Also competing with these two films is Fox's reboot of Poltergeist so I guess there is an option for just about anyone out there.

Lorde to curate the Mockingjay - Part 1 soundtrack

Apparently Lionsgate has settled with the teenage Grammy-winner, Lorde, to helm the soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1. She has also written the first single for the film and had appeared on the soundtrack for Catching Fire.
The New Zealand teen posted this statement via Tumblr:

"To be at the helm of a project like this is easily the most responsibility I’ve ever had, and to me, that says something kind of amazing about the way the world is changing - a globally successful film franchise is allowing a teenager to run their shit. we are opening doors, we are moving walls. this makes me so insanely happy."

I personally don't like her and I have heard "Royals" way too many times, but I can understand why she was chosen. As curator of the album she will be hand picking the artists featured and will also pick the songs. Lorde's close friend Taylor Swift appeared on the soundtrack for The Hunger Games where she won a Grammy for "Safe and Sound" alongside The Civil Wars.

Deadpool test footage is leaked

I know I am a couple days behind on this, but I don't really care. All I have to say is... WHY WON'T THIS EVER HAPPEN?!



DEADPOOL - Official Test Footage [HD] Ryan... by movietrailerz