HBO’s Westworld Debuts First Full Trailer

Turns out whatever shaky ground we may have thought HBO’s Westworld was under could prove false worries. The series looks to be near completion and with that arrives the very first, full trailer for the series.

Check out the trailer:

HBO’s Westworld Halts Production

HBO has temporarily halted production on its long-gestating television adaptation of Westworld, claiming that writers/executive producers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy need more time to fine tune the final four scripts for the series’ first season.

The project is closing down for two months so that Nolan and Joy can catch up on the final four scripts. Westworld was first ordered to series in November 2014, and fans got a first look video from the series back in August. The series was originally set to premiere during the last quarter of 2015, but was pushed to an unspecified date of 2016. Now with the halted production, that premiere is looking closer to early 2017.

Westworld Teaser Trailer: HBO’s Epic Sci-fi Western

HBO debuted the first Westworld teaser to coincide with the season 2 finale of True Detective. The brief tease for the series-length remake of Michael Crichton’s 1973 sci-fi film is certainly big, eye-catching and intriguing.

Thor: The Dark World – By Odin’s Beard! First Trailer is Here!

Marvel’s Phase 2 is swinging into action, with the impending release of Iron Man 3, which kicks off this year’s Summer Schedule, and now the release of the first trailer for the 2nd Thor movie – Thor: The Dark World. This will be the first Non-Iron Man sequel (cause we’re ignoring Ang Lee’s Hulk) and will be followed by Cap 2, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the 2nd Avengers movie.

What We Know About ‘Red 2’

After the critical and box office smash that was 2010’s Red, fans of the original film are getting excited about the upcoming 2013 sequel, Red 2. Bringing back most of the original cast plus some excellent additions, the Red series is turning out to be a geriatric version of The Expendables, which is pretty geriatric on its own.

The sequel was announced in January of 2011, with the entire original cast settling negotiations by later that year. Since then, numerous actors have been signed on to the project including Catherine Zeta-Jones, Lee Byung-hun, David Thewlis (Professor Lupin from the Harry Potter movies), and even Anthony Hopkins. Dean Parisot, who directed the brilliant Galaxy Quest but the so-so Fun With Dick and Jane, signed on to direct, which both increased and decreased the film’s potential simultaneously. If science proves to be true, that means absolutely no change was made to the film’s potential. Moving on.

As of right now, not much is known about the film except that the gang reunites to face new enemies in Europe. With that being said, I doubt the setting and plot of the film will play much of a factor into its level of adrenaline-fueled fun. I’ll admit, I was one of the people who was initially disappointed by Red when I first saw it in theaters back in 2010. Maybe the humongous age gap between me and the central characters played a part in it, but I can honestly say I walked out before Helen Mirren made it on-screen.

But after re-watching it, Red proved to be quality action cinema. The Expendables with a little more brain and about 50 collective years of age added to its cast. Red is a fun flick that will hopefully spawn a halfway decent sequel. I’m a huge Dean Parisot fan and I’m sure that, unlike Simon West’s directorial contribution to The Expendables 2, he’ll find a great way to either improve or reinvent the material of the original film, which rested mostly in the surprise that came from Helen Mirren shooting a .50 cal, among other things.

Sadly, Ernest Borgnine’s passing will prevent him from participating in the film, but I’m interested to see how the recent additions to the cast will play against the original members of the group. One thing that really relieved me was how the casting focused on talent as opposed to the biggest names in Hollywood. Ladies, I’m sorry to say that one of the Hemsworth bros will, in fact, not be participating in Red 2. As talented as they both are, Liam felt really out-of-place in Expendables 2, and he successfully out acted everyone in the cast except for Jason Statham.

Getting back on track, Red 2 is probably going to be a cool flick. Though somewhere deep down I hoped to see Richard Jenkins attached to this somehow. Anything that guy touches turns to old, I mean, gold. Thinking about it, wouldn’t it be funny if the cast of Red and the cast of The Expendables 2 teamed up for one giant movie. It’d be almost too much for one screen to handle. Then again, Bruce Willis would literally have to play Frank Moses and Mr. Church in the same movie. Double the Willis, double the disdain for humanity. I can see it now.

Check out the first Red 2 poster below:

Hitchcock Biography: Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Red Forman and The Karate Kid

A Hitchcock Biography sounds like a perfect idea for a film. The man was a genius, with over 60 titles to his credit he gave us such classics as Psycho, Rear Window, North by Northwest, The Birds, and Vertigo. He was a truly brilliant filmmaker. The folks at Left Hand Horror give the official press release from Fox Searchlight. In it  they say that principal photography began April 13th. The film stars Anthony Hopkins as Hitchcock. The cast also includes Academy Award® winner Helen Mirren as Hitchcok’s wife. The ever beautiful Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel, Toni Collette of Little Miss Sunshine and Sixth Sense fame, and to round it all off we also have Red Forman (Kurtwood Smith) and Daneilson (Ralph Macchio), who most likely will have something to do involving boots and asses.

#25 – Countdown to Halloween: SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

The Silence of the Lambs is one of the greatest and most influential horror films of all time. Based on the 1988 novel by Thomas Harris, the movie was released in 1991.Not only did it shock and disturb audiences everywhere, but it set a new standard for horror movies. This was not just another gore-filled hack-and-slash. This is a complete mind-blowing thriller, and one of my favorite movies of all time.

Grizzly Review: Thor

I went into Thor with high expectations, but an underlying dread – hoping it didn’t suck mortal ass. Thankfully it didn’t, and I was treated to an excellent example of what a comic book movie should be: fast, fun and captivating. There wasn’t really a dull moment, whether it was Thor in Asgard fighting frost giants alongside Lady Sif and the Warriors Three, or on Midgard (Earth to you mortals) where Thor beats the crap out of hospital staff and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents while trying to comprehend and fit into our world.

From the beginning, when I started listening to Anthony Hopkins as Odin explain the history of the nine realms, I was dragged into those worlds and I loved every second of it.

The story seems simple: The Asgardians have a truce with the Frost Giants of the realm called ‘Jotunheim’ after a long war between them. However on Thor’s day, when he is named Odin’s heir, the Frost Giants try to steal back one of their ancient weapons from inside Asgard. They are stopped and Odin let’s it pass, while Thor being a bit of a hot head, thinks they should go to ‘Jotunheim’ and retaliate against the giants. Odin forbids it, but Thor, with some subtle nudging from his brother Loki, decides to go to ‘Jotunheim’ against Odin’s wishes to find out how the giants were able to get into Asgard.

After a fact-finding mission turns into an all out assault and what appears to be the beginning of a war, Odin and Thor have a falling out. Thor is stripped of his powers and banished to Earth. And now the stage is set for the movie to kick into full gear.

If you’re a newcomer to Thor you will really enjoy the story as it unfolds, and even as a casual fan or comic reader, the movie’s story progresses well and doesn’t fail to entertain. I have to admit, I was a little worried about the Asgard scenes feeling too fake and cheesy with the way that Thor and his brethren speak, but truthfully the Asgardian scenes had some of the best acting moments, overshadowing much that occurs on the Earth portion of the story.

Asgard also looked fantastic in every aspect including the city, structures, the wardrobe and the many set pieces. On the scenes that take place on Earth you’ll definitely be itching to see more of Asgard like I was, but the Earth scenes are by no means boring. I mean come on, you have Natalie Portman to look at!

I’m still surprised at how great of a cast that comic book movies now command these days. You’ve got a heavy hitter like Anthony Hopkins portraying the All-Father Odin and Renee Russo as Thor’s mother. Natalie Portman plays astrophysicist and love interest to Thor Jane Foster, with Stellan Skarsgård as one of her mentors and colleagues. That’s not to mention the rest of the supporting cast like Ray Stevenson as Volstagg and Jeremy Renner making an extended cameo as Hawkeye in one scene. Everyone was brilliant all the way around!

Chris Hemsworth definitely held his own in this movie, which is his first starring role. He played the smug and arrogant Thor and the serious take care of business God of Thunder when the time called for it. Some of his most entertaining scenes were the ones on Earth where he still thinks himself a God with powers, being utterly proven wrong. He smashes coffee mugs on the floor and goes to pet stores wanting a horse to travel on. It’s all pretty funny without being over the top silly. Let’s face it, this movie easily could have degenerated into a farce much like Masters of the Universe, but it really did impress me with how well done it was.

Was it Oscar material? No. Was it more than I went in expecting? Absolutely.

Tom Hiddelton as Loki was probably right underneath if not on par with Hemsworth’s portrayal of his brother Thor in the movie. He played the part of good son and brother well and then the part of ultimate villain perfectly, but he wasn’t the generic villain archetype. Loki’s motivations were very human indeed and there was real emotion behind his word’s during the final battle between the two brothers.

I’m giving Thor a 4.5 out of 5 grizzlies. I really can’t think of anything I disliked about the movie and I would have given it full points if I was a hardcore Thor fan.

The acting was all top notch, the visuals stunning and story very well done. I’m actually inspired to pick up a few Thor comics and can’t wait for The Avengers and the eventual Thor 2 that will inevitably follow. I hope everyone else likes it as much as I did, and I recommend going to check it out. I think it would appeal to comic fans and non comic fans alike!

Comment below and let us know what you thought of the movie!

I just had to have a picture of Natalie Portman in this article…

Marvel Comic Review: Fear Itself – Book 1

Well it’s here people. Fear Itself has arrived on comic book shelves. Did it wow me as much as my hype ridden brain was expecting?

No.

But it wasn’t supposed to I surmise. It wasn’t bad, just a whole lot of needed set up. It set the stage by showing us the main villains, the heroes and where the Asgardians stand at this point.

*Beware my spoilers!*

Comic Movie Updates: Superman, Batman, The Avengers, X-Men, and More!

With all the comic book related movies coming up, there is a lot to keep track of. So periodically we figure it’s a good idea to check in on some of them and see what’s new…

In case you missed it, might want to read our first look: MARVEL has a lot going on…

Thor – Opens May 6th, 2011

Our first dose of Marvel Comics movie starts with the God of Thunder and his sweet look hammer Mjolnir. The cast includes veteran actor Sir Anthony Hopkins as Thor’s father Odin, the excellent and now Academy Award winning Natalie Portman, relative newcomer Chris Hemsworth as Thor himself, and Tom Hiddelston as the villainous brother Loki.

After numerous trailers, it keeps looking better and better. It almost looks like Masters of the Universe, but not total crap. My optimism is of course guarded because I hate disappointing myself. Here is the (still) most recent trailer:

and the newest poster…

For more on Thor, here is Scoot…

X-Men: First Class – Opens June 3rd, 2011

The X-men have a slew of updates flooding the web. In case you’re not familiar with the story, the movie is about a young Professor Xavier and Magneto starting a school for gifted youngsters (Muties!) together.

X-Men: First Class will delve into their beginning friendship and perhaps its eventual implosion.  Let’s start with some pictures that were recently released at SuperHeroHype:

The movie will star James McAvoy as Professor Xavier, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, January Jones as Emma Frost, and Kevin Bacon as Sebastian Shaw, the leader of the Hellfire Club.

We’ll also get a look at characters such as Havok, Mystique, Azazel, and The Beast.

If one X-men movie wasn’t enough, FSR reports that two more and a spin are still to come in the form of X-men 4,  X-men 5 and Deadpool.

X4 and X5 will be direct sequels to X-Men 3: The Piece of Shit, because lord knows they need two movies to bury that monstrosity.

Deadpool on the other hand will completely ignore any connection to the Deadpool character from X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which is a fantastic move on their part. Though I do worry about Baraka not having a job.

Rip-off?

Check out the trailer:

For more on X-Men First Class, here is Scoot…

Green Lantern – Opens June 17, 2011

I wasn’t very pumped for Green Lantern in the beginning because of the studio’s choice to cast Ryan Reynolds, but my interest is in high gear ever since I read Blackest Night and became a Green Lantern faithful.

I’ll give Reynolds and the movie a chance. The trailer actually looked pretty good, particularly the shots of Oa, Sinestro, Kilowog, and Abin Sur. The film will of course star Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan. But we will also see Blake Lively as love interest Carol Ferris, Mark Strong as Sinestro, Temuera Morrison as Abin Sur, and just recently announced Michael Clarke Duncan as the voice of Kilowog. Playing big-headed villain Hector Hammond is Peter Sarsgaard.

Also The Daily BLAM just posted new pics released by Warner Brothers…

For more on Green Lantern, here is Scoot…

Captain America – Opens July 22nd, 2011

This has been all over the internet for the past few days, so you might’ve already seen it, but there is the new trailer for Captain America: First Avenger:

Wait, that’s not right. Sorry, here it is:

For more on Captain America, here is Scoot…

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance – Opens February 17th, 2012

This comes from Complex:

Is it a reboot or a sequel? Like The Incredible Hulk (and, by the sound of things, the next Daredevil movie) it seems to be kind of both. “We’re just looking at it as an evolution,” explains Taylor. “The movie takes place years later. We’re not disowning the first movie but this Ghost Rider is an evolved form of the previous Ghost Rider. We basically completely re-envisioned the whole start of the character. The whole mythology behind the Ghost Rider that existed in the comic books never really made sense to me, so we sort of had to re-engineer the entire back-story into something new. That mythology never got delved into in the first movie, anyway, [but] we really get into that.”That enhanced focus on the demon Zarathos has involved a whole different approach to playing the character for returning star Nicolas Cage, who’s now playing Blaze and the Ghost Rider, instead of leaving the Flaming Skull up to the FX guys and the stuntmen. “Shooting action and car crashes and all that stuff is boring,” says Taylor, “but shooting a Nic Cage performance is a total adrenaline rush.”

For more on Ghost Rider, here is Scoot…

The Avengers – Opens May 4th,  2012

The Avengers cast is all but assembled! Iron Man will of course be played Robert Downey Jr., while Chris Hemsworth fills the thunder god Thor‘s boots, and Chris Evans is our shield wielding patriot Captain America. The supporting Avengers are as follows:  Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Scarlett Johansson reprising her role as the Black Widow, Mark Ruffalo filling in as Bruce Banner with Lou Ferrigno doing the Hulk voice. Finally Sam Jackson will once again be our eye-patched Nick Fury. Recently it has been confirmed at DisFanReview that the villains of the Avengers film will be comprised of two alien races; the Kree and the Skrulls. Also joining the fray from Thor will be Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston.

For more on the Avengers, here is Scoot…

The Amazing Spider-Man – Opens July 3rd, 2012

After so much speculation on which pretty boy would be the new Peter Parker, the powers that be selected Andrew Garfield of recent The Social Network fame. The villain he will face off against played by Rhys Ifans, has recently been announced to be none other than Curt Conners; The Lizard. I would say this film has inspired the Man of Steel to cast the hero’s parental figures with veteran actors, because Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben will be played by Martin Sheen, and Aunt May by Sally Field. Emma Stone will play Peter Parker’s love interest Gwen Stacy, as her father Captain Stacy is played by Dennis Leary.

For more on The Amazing Spiderman, here is Scoot…

The Dark Knight Rises – Opens July 20th, 2012

THE BIG ONE. This is my (Doc.) most anticipated movie on the list. By far. That may be why this is the movie on the list that we have done the most coverage on thus far. This is the 5th article to at least partially cover the movie (Jan. 19th, Feb. 2nd, Feb. 14th, March 22nd).

Well since that last update we have 2 more casting bits. First, actress Juno Temple has been confirmed as “street-smart Gotham girl”. Wtf that is I don’t know, but maybe she’s a budding Harleen Quinzel or a young Barbara Gordon, or maybe shes just a nobody. Who knows…

Secondly when have ‘Used to be Relevant’ actor Treat Williams, who is best known (at least to me) for Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead, and probably – more famously, for replacing Tom Berenger (Inception) in The Substitute sequels. Is that weird that he followed Berenger in those movies, and now he’s been offered a role in Nolan’s follow-up to Berenger’s last major role? Any way, this is news to…well, everyone. But Williams claims to have been offered a role in TDKR, as well as Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming western (more on that later), but will apparently turn down both films to do a TV show called Against the Wall. So this guy is choosing to do a Chicago set TV cop drama (because we don’t have enough of those), instead of what figures to be the last Nolan Bat-Movie and the next Tarantino flick. Good career move. This better be the best f–king show of all time…

ALSO – It would appear that Nolan is keeping the end of the movie SO closely guarded that he didn’t even put it in that script. He is instead verbally conveying it to the cast in hopes of keeping it secret. What it could be I don’t know, but it he kills off Batman…

There is also talk of rebooting the whole series after this installment to make a version of Batman who can better interact with the other superheroes. More on that at Moviephone.

For more on Batman, well…you can stay here. Batman is our territory.

Superman: Man of Steel – Opens December 2012

The newest incarnation of Superman directed by Zac Snyder is moving right along with almost the entire main cast selected. Newcomer Henry Cavill will play Clark Kent/Superman, with his Daily Planet partner Lois Lane just being announced to be played by The Fighter‘s Amy Adams. Ma and Pa Kent will be played by veterans Diane Lane and Kevin Costner respectively.

Now all that is left is the casting of a villain, which is still currently up in the air. Rumors right now are pointing furiously at Viggo Mortensen playing the villain Zod. EW is reporting that he has withdrawn from Snow White and The Huntsman to possibly star in the Man of Steel. This is undoubtedly the best decision he could have made in that regard. 

Time will tell which Superman villain we shall see onscreen next and who will play them. We will of course keep a very close eye on any developments.

For more on Superman, here is Scoot…

STILL A WAYS OFF…

The Justice League – 2013

According to IGN, there has been word from Warner Bros. that they are set on re-inventing the Batman franchise after Nolan completes The Dark Knight Rises, and to also have a Justice League movie released by 2013. Let the speculation begin about how many JLAers will be in the movie!

I would expect to see an onslaught of DC movies coming out before 2013.

Iron Man 3 – With John Favreau leaving the Iron Man franchise, who knows if it will suffer greatly from the loss. They still have leading man Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man and the new director Shane Black has been announced as Favreau’s replacement [Ed. – A move I love]. This won’t be the first time Downey Jr. and Black have worked together, Black directed the 2005 cult classic Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang which Downey starred in.

Not much else has been revealed about Iron Man 3 except that it will not have any superhero crossovers, as Iron Man 2 did with War Machine and Nick Fury. The film will also thankfully take a different direction than the second film, so hopefully we won’t see Iron Downey Jr. drinking and laughing it up in his Iron Man suit at his party mansion.

Please give us the Mandarin in this one Marvel, his time has come.

WINNING!!!

The Wolverine – Oh what could have been Mr. Aronofsky. After the Black Swan director just recently bailed on the sequel to Wolverine: Origins, the obvious question is who shall replace him? Recent rumors say it could be David Slade, who is also reportedly attached to direct the Daredevil reboot. So will he ditch the ‘Man Without Fear’ for Wolvie, or can he do both?

Wolverine will be spending some time in Japan for this one although there are some delays at the moment due to the Earthquakes and Tsunamis that recently occurred there. If my expectations have dropped a little, they are still kept afloat by Hugh Jackman’s dedication to the character and the franchise. EW had a chance to catch up with the Wolvie actor who had this to say:

“So now we’re out looking for a director, We were pretty much ready to go. The script is fantastic — the best we’ve ever had, which is why it attracted Darren in the first place. His personal situation precludes him from doing it now, and I feel for him. But now we need to find a director.” Jackman wouldn’t cite any preference, but said the team is aiming for another prestige filmmaker, not just someone to yell “action” and “cut.” “We’re not going to settle. We’re going to find a director as good as Darren, if not better. Well, as good, Everyone is still pushing forward to getting it done.”

Wolverine audition reject

Daredevil – If there is any Marvel movie franchise besides Ghost Rider that is in desperate need of a reboot it’s ‘the Man Without Fear’. According to Screen Rant newly appointed director David Slade claims that the reboot will not have any connection to the Affleck Daredevil movie, and will be a “very strong character driven take” on the hero.

I suppose that’s better than an Evanescence driven take. Thankfully the rumors of possible Robert Pattinson casting interest was debunked by Slade, who explained that the DD reboot is only in its early development stages so at this point the possibilities of cast members and villains are wide open. 

So there we have it for now. Was that enough for one post?