New Transformers: Dark of the Moon poster

Last night saw the release of the first full trailer for Michael Bay's Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Now today we get a brand new poster, featuring a very imposing Optimus Prime and those boring humans he's forced to protect. At this point I'm convinced Rosie Huntington-Whiteley has one facial expression. It's a purty one, though.

 Transformers: Dark of the Moon hits theaters on July 1st!

Sure Shots: The Hunger Games; Martin Luther King; Channing Tatum/Steven Soderbergh

* The District 5 Tributes have been cast in Gary Ross's adaptation of The Hunger Games. Chris Mark will play the male Tribute, another one without a name. Jacqueline Emerson will play the female Tribute, nicknamed "Foxface" by Katniss Everdeen.  Foxface is actually one of the stronger competitors in the Games.

* With Martin Luther King biopics hitting a roadblock mostly due to the lack of support from the King estate, Warner Brothers and Dreamworks have decided to pool their resources and make a joint stab at it. Dreamworks already owns the intellectual rights to the civil rights leader's story and the cooperation of the estate, while Warner Brothers has a long gestating script by Kario Salem(The Score). Now that the project is underway, Salem will be crafting a whole new script, but there's no word on who will direct. Maybe Lee Daniels(Precious), who had his own MLK film hit the skids, will get another shot?

* Steven Soderbergh is still hanging up his camera for good in a year or so, but before that he's still got a lot of work ahead of him. Haywire hits theaters in a few months, with Contagion coming out in October. Next year he's got The Man from UNCLE, and let's not forget his Liberace biopic. But before that he's taking on a surprise flick, an autobiographical tale of Channing Tatum's early life as an exotic dancer. No kidding. According to Deadline, the film will be titled Magic Mike, and will be about the title character's mentoring of a younger dancer in how to shake his groove thang, I guess. Plans are for the film to shoot around September or October.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to star as country music legend, Charley Pride

I'm learning to love Dwayne Johnson as an actor again. After getting off to a rockin' good start with The Mummy flicks, The Rundown, and yes even Walking Tall, I cringed like most when his career took a turn for the sugary with junk like Tooth Fairy and The Gameplan. This was not the Rock I knew. Lately he's been working hard to correct his recent errors. Last year saw him in Faster, which I enjoyed quite a bit. And this weekend he has one of the most epic brawls ever with Vin Diesel in Fast Five. Johnson's back on the right track.

There remains a part of me that wants to see what he can do with broader material. Johnson isn't just a guy who can dish out a mean clothesline, he's a consummate entertainer with potential to be a true leading man. His best chance to prove it could be coming up, as he's signed on to star and produce a biopic based on the life of African-American country music legend, Charley Pride.

Trailer Time: Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai, directed by Takashi Miike

We sorta complain all the time about how busy certain actors are. The ones who get so bogged down in taking so many roles that nothing you really want to see them in ever gets made. But then there's Japanese director, Takashi Miike, who seems to be able to crank out 4 or 5 films a year. It's insane. His latest, 13 Assassins, hits our theaters this weekend and I'm absolutely dying to see it. His latest, Hara Kiri: Death of a Samurai, is already done and set to enter competition at Cannes in just a couple of weeks. Shot in 3D, it's a reimagining of Masaka Kobayashi's great 1962 film centered around disgraced samurai, Hanshiro, who wishes to commit seppuku in the courtyard of the feudal lord, Kageyu.

This is little more than a teaser, only about 30 seconds long, but it's absolutely gorgeous piece of work. Here's hoping we get to see this film around our way soon.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's next film won't be a 'Macho' one

Studios can't stop throwing projects Arnold Schwarzenegger's way. It's like the guy's been out of the loop for a few years or something. Forgetting that cartoon crap he's got coming up, Arnie's seen his name attached to any number of upcoming flicks, most prominently a proposed Terminator 5 with Justin Lin(Fast Five) at the helm. But that film is still a good ways away, and the Governator needs to get back out there now. Vulture reports that Arnold's chosen his next pick, and it's anything but the action flick we want it to be. He'll next be starring the drama, Cry Macho, from director Brad Furman(The Lincoln Lawyer).

The Hunger Games Update: Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Lenny Kravitz offered roles; 2 more Tributes cast; Elizabeth Banks confirmed

They're going to be at this for awhle, folks. Gary Ross and company are dilligently casting the nearly two dozen Tributes competing in The Hunger Games, the adaptation of Suzanne Collins' popular novel. Lately it's been mostly unknown who have filled out the ranks, with the exception of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen and Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark. Today we got two more kiddies I couldn't pick out of a police line-up, with Ethan Jamieson and Tara Macken set to play the District 4 Tributes. Seeing as how neither has a name, you can guess just how much of a fight they put up.

Rumor: Guy Pearce joins Ridley Scott's Prometheus

While this story hardly qualifies, it feels like it's been forever since we've had some good solid stuff on Prometheus, Ridley Scott's big sci-fi flick that may or may not be connected to his classic Alien movies. There's been some hard casting news in the last few days that occurred while I was out of town, with the additions of Benedict Wong(Code 46) as a character named Ravel, and Emun Elliot(Black Death) as someone named Chance. Wong also appeared in what I thought was arguably the best sci-fi film of the last few years, Danny Boyle's Sunshine. They join a phenomenal cast that includes Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Sean Harris, Idris Elba, and Kate Dickie.

As if that wasn't strong enough, CHUD is now reporting a rumor that Guy Pearce(Memento) has been seen on set and is also a part of the cast. They received an email from a reader(since substantiated by two more emails) who says he is definitely in the film.  Here's what the guy wrote, take it for what it's worth...

“Evening Nick, my mate is working on Prometheus as OMITTED and met Guy Pierce on set today. She’s previously worked on OMITTED, OMITTED and OMITTED and I’ve no reason to believe she’s lying. I’ve not read anywhere about Guy being cast so thought it might interest you.“

Pearce is a welcome addition to any cast, and with the group already established could push this film into serious overdrive. Then again this could all be a hoax. I already Prometheus is going to be great, and have gotten over my initial concerns about Ridley Scott even coming close to revisiting Alien after all these years.

Prometheus is currently set to be released on June 8th 2012.

Summit picks up Ender's Game; Gavin Hood to direct

It took years before Marvel Comics was able to adapt Orson Scott Card's wildly popular sci-fi novels, Ender's Game, but that's nothing compared to the difficulties others have experienced trying to make a movie of them. Nine years ago, Wolfgang Peterson(Air Force One) was set to direct the adaptation, but that never panned out. Then a couple of years ago, Gavin Hood(Tsotsi) was brought in to work up a draft, but nothing ever seemed to come of it, until now. Deadline is reporting that Summit Entertainment has scooped up the rights, and not only will it be based on Hood's initial script but he'll be directing as well.

Fast Five, starring Vin Diesel and Paul Walker

It's hard to believe but The Fast and Furious has been around for a decade now. When the first film dropped in 2001, nobody expected it to do much. Sure the import car scene was hip and underground, but that didn't necessarily lend itself to big box office numbers. Didn't help that the mostly unproven Vin Diesel was the most recognizable face.Out of nowhere, it grossed over $200M and the three previous sequels have been leaving competitors choking on exhaust ever since.  Fast Five represents something of a shift in gears, a change in focus away from the hot car scene and into The Italian Job heist territory. But don't you worry. There's still plenty of car crashes, hot chicks in improbably short skirts, big muscled dudes gritting their teeth through illegal races...oh, and did I mention The Rock is along for the ride? The summer season is here folks, and Fast Five is the perfect way to kick it off in style.

Sure Shots: Jeremy Renner; Jack Ryan; Jeff Bridges

* I don't know how Jeremy Renner does it. He must have life model decoys of himself or something, but the guy is seriously pushing Ryan Reynolds for the title of Busiest Actor on Earth. Not only does he have Mission Impossible coming up, but The Bourne Legacy, The Avengers, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, Ice Age..it's ridiculous. Is that slowing him down? No, in fact he's looking to make himself even busier by starting his own production company. The first film to come out of it will of course star Renner himself, and will be a biopic on the life of kick ass action hero Steve McQueen. James Grey(Two Lovers, which is great by the way) will pen the script, and it will mark the feature film directorial debut of Ivan Zacharias.

* I'm starting to think we'll never see another Jack Ryan movie at this rate. It's been something like two years since Chris Pine was selected to play the iconic Tom Clancy agent, who in the past has been portrayed by Harrison Ford, Alec Baldwin, and Ben Affleck. But a multitude of script issues have hamstrung the whole deal, even with Lost director Jack Bender waiting patiently to get started. At one point the film was titled Moscow, but Deadline reports that it's now untitled, and yet another rewrite is full effect. This time Paramount's pulling all the stops, bringing in heavy-hitting screenwriter David Koepp(Spider-Man) to finish the job.

* Scheduling issues forced Zach Galifianakis to drop out of R.I.P.D., one of a billion projects that has Ryan Reynolds as it's lead. Based on the Dark Horse comic, it would follow a pair of undead cops who work the paranormal beat. With Galifianakis out, Deadline is reporting that Jeff Bridges is in talks to play the other male lead, a gunslinger from the Old West. Hmmm..I don't think that'd be much of a stretch for ol' Rooster Cogburn. Scheduling remains an issue, as Reynolds has a lot on his plate(specifically Green Lantern sequels) which could push the film back.  Robert Schewentke(Red) is set to direct.

Trailer Time: Transformers: Dark of the Moon, directed by Michael Bay

Believe it or not I don't despise Michael Bay's Transformers movies. I just can't watch them more than once. They're irritating, loud, and every fight looks like somebody took handfuls of scrap and mashed them together. So there isn't much story there, either, but have you seen the old Transformers cartoons? They're all the friggin' same. I wasn't expecting much in that department. We've seen plenty of still shots and a nifty teaser trailer awhile back, but it feels like forever since we've seen anything new in terms of footage. Now the first full trailer for Dark of the Moon is out, and I have to admit I kinda dig it.

The first thing I noticed is that the Transformers themselves look much sleeker and cleaner, brighter even. We finally got a chance to check out Frances McDormand's character, and she looks like a secretive snot. Plus we get to see that giant Decepticon warship from yesterday's photos in action. Everything else looks like token Transformers stuff, only with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley's gaping pie hole instead of Megan Fox's. Check out the trailer below!

Review: Fast 5 --John's Take

Ten years ago a one shot movie about underground street racers sparked a cultural phenomenon for those in the 18-24 demographic. Overnight everyone from legitimate street racers to kids driving hand me down station wagons were screwing neon lights under their cars and asking where they could buy NOS. As per usual with movies having this kind of impact a sequel was green lit…but something odd happened. The sequel wasn’t bad, even stranger the third was good too, seemingly getting better with each installment we are now at #5 the point at which every series that I can think of has gained speed on the downward trend. Fast 5 is an anomaly, not only keeping the quality the series fans have come to expect but also managing to change the focus of the films from simple quarter mile street racing to Robin Hood style heists. The movie opens with a quick recap of the last movies end, basically Dominic Torretto (Vin Diesel) is looking at life behind bars in a maximum security pen taking his final race in the passenger seat of a state correctional facility bus. Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) and Mia Torretto (Jordana Brewster) come to the rescue in a rescue that is not only breathtaking but completely defies the laws of physics. Cut to South America, Brian and Mia are meeting up with Vince (a lost face from the original film) in Rio where Dom will eventually show up. Cash poor with nowhere to go they can’t help but to join in when Vince offers them a job jacking some cars from a moving train for the local crime lord, Reyes. Things go sour mid-heist when the crew senses something devious…long story short three DEA agents end up dead at the hands of the bad guys shooting Dom, Brian and Mia to the top of the most wanted list. The US doesn’t take to kindly to outlaws shooting their agents so they call in the big dogs in the form of Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and his team of best of the best commandos who are your classic “we always get our man “ group. So with these guys hunting them down and vengeance towards Reyes fresh on Dom’s mind they crew hatches a plan to get a team together and steal ALL of Reyes money.
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New The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn images show...post-sex pancakes?

You all know me by now, right? I have very little actual interest in The Twilight Saga or how it wraps up. My hope is as always that Van Helsing or Blade or somebody else will show up and wipe the whole lot of them out. With the end very nearly in sight, I've been trying desperately to find a reason to remain interested, and so I've latched on to the fact that poor pale Bella(Kristen Stewart), and unnaturally skinny and weird vampire Edward, are finally gonna get it on. That's enough for me. Sign me up for some weird, vamp/human sexual bliss.  Hopefully they breed some disgusting Splice-type creature that grows up unnaturally fast and takes over the entire town.  Or am I hoping for too much?  Entertainment Weekly has some new pics from the first half of Breaking Dawn, one image showing Bella and Edward...having breakfast. Looks like pancakes. Or maybe it's eggs? Who cares? I'm gonna say this after they bump uglies.

A bunch of new images from Lars Von Trier's Melancholia

Earlier today we got a new poster for Lars Von Trier's surreal disaster flick, Melancholia. And now we've got a bunch of new images, courtesy of the film's official website. Oooooh, trippy.

Brett Ratner again in talks to direct Hercules

Brett Ratner must really have a thing for Hercules. I don't know if it's the whole loincloth thing or what, but he just can't seem to stay away. Last year the...controversial director was set to take on a film revolving around the "Prince of Power" for Universal Pictures, but it ultimately fell through when he decided to make Tower Heist instead.  Then a couple of months ago when MGM was just peeking it's head out from under the bankruptcy sheets, word came out that they were also keen on a Hercules project. Now here we are today, with Ratner in talks with MGM to helm. It's almost like he never turned it away at all. He's even steven.

New poster for Lars Von Trier's Melancholia

"No more happy endings!!!" That's what Lars Von Trier told us not to expect from his disaster flick, Melancholia. If he calls what he's been giving us all these years "happy endings" then I'd hate to see what he considers down beat. But happy or sad, Von Trier's movies are always interesting, even if they cause you to run from the theater in disgust, as I saw many folks do during Antichrist. Melancholia looks like it could be his strongest, most straight forward film in years, and certainly features his most diverse cast. Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alexander and Stellan Skarsgard, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlotte Rampling, Brady Corbet, and John Hurt all star. I'd pay to listen to these folks talk about hedge funds all day, but throw them in a film by a director who is literally capable of putting anything on screen and I'm completely floored by the potential. 

We got the first trailer for Melancholia a couple of weeks ago, and now today there's a new poster featuring Ms. Dunst. Ain't she perty?  The fact that everything we've seen has been so glossy and beautiful only convinces me more that this flick will end very very badly. 

Terrible new X-men: First Class poster arrives; but the international trailer rules

I'm totally digging everything we've been seeing in regards to X-men: First Class.....trailer wise. The posters and still shots on the other hand have looked like some amateurish sh*t.  Such as this new poster for the Matthew Vaughn directed prequel, which looks like the logo with bits from other images pasted onto it. Pretty soft, Fox. Pretty soft. 

Mark Wahlberg and Justin Bieber to team-up on street basketball drama. Seriously.

White men can't jump but a diminutive white pop star who sings like a girl can? Pshaw! Pshaw I say! I'm talking about Justin Bieber, of course, and despite the fact that nobody of an age higher than their shoe size should like the kid, he remains one of the most bankable stars in entertainment. His concert film, Never Say Never, was a smash hit so now somebody wants to make him a legit actor. Deadline is reporting that Bieber will team-up with Mark Wahlberg(????????) on a basketball drama set in the world of street basketball. No. 

Wahlberg will produce along with Stephen Levinson, who got the idea by watching Bieber's MVP performance in a celebrity basketball game held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. See! I told you nothing good came out of those things! Now look what we got. The script will be written by Ian Edelman(How to Make It In America), and I'm accepting all offers from folks who want to break his fingers at the knuckles.

Maybe Wahlberg sees a little bit of himself in Bieber? Wahlberg was a joke when he first started, a dude who posed in underwear ads and made crappy pseudo hip-hop songs. While his acting career started in 1993 TV movie The Substitute and blossomed with The Basketball Diaries, his big break would come a few years later opposite Reese Witherspoon in the stalker thriller, Fear, and of course let's not forget Boogie Nights in 1999. He's been an acting staple ever since.  But does Bieber have that kind of range in him? He definitely doesn't have the chiseled, gritty look that Wahlberg does. I guess for this type of film it doesn't matter, although reports are that the tone will be somewhere between The Color of Money and The Karate Kid.  What??

No start date has been set for the film, which will no doubt have to work around both stars' busy schedules. Wahlberg seems to have a new project crop up every other day, while Bieber's got a huge backlog of Sesame Street episodes to watch on his DVR.  I mean he's got concerts and stuff.