Tom Hardy kicks some jabronie's ass in new clip from Warrior

It took me a little while to think over it, and believe me I tried to deny it, but Warrior is one of the best films I saw all summer. The reason why it took me awhile to consider that is because there's almost nothing new brought to the table. I can admit that, but that shouldn't be a requirement for a film to be a success. It's a movie for guys, a crowd pleasing brawler in the vein of Rocky and The Fighter. What sets it apart are the two key performances by Tom Hardy and Nick Nolte, as a son and father duo with a strained relationship marred by alcoholism and divorce. Joel Edgerton isn't bad, either.

It's clear the studio is getting behind Warrior in a major way this awards season, perhaps seeing a window opened up by The Fighter's success last year. I've never seen this many screenings for a film in quite some time, and I hope that means they'll be pushing Nick Nolte at least for Best Supporting Actor, although don't be surprised if Warrior turns up one of the 10 Best Picture nominees. It won't win, but just being mentioned will be award enough.

In this new clip, we see Tom Hardy's character, Tommy Conlon, all muscled up rage, kicking the snot out of one of the world's best MMA fighters, much to everyone's surprise. Check it out below, then look out for Warrior when it hits theaters on September 9th...

John Moore to direct Die Hard 5; director for Red 2 being sought

When Noam Murro dropped out of directing Die Hard 5, I think the hopes of many was that the film would quietly go away. It didn't, and the search for a replacement began almost immediately A shortlist was put forth that included a number of top tier names, most of which were unlikely to take on the job: Joe Cornish(Attack the Block), Justin Lin(Better Luck Tomorrow), Nicolas Winding Refn(Valhalla Rising). When I spoke to Refn recently he seemed to indicate that he never gave it a serious thought, and I tend to believe him. But there was one other name who even before was considered Fox's top choice, John Moore, director of the similarly toned Max Payne.

Olivia Munn joins the cast of Magic Mike

Remember those old rumors of Olivia Munn having a major role in Iron Man 2? Like as The Wasp or something? Well those obviously didn't pan out, but her career since leaving Attack of the Show has gone pretty well. She also had a minor role as an irritating hostess in Date Night, but it looks like she may be in for her biggest part yet.

Sure Shots: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; The Coen Brothers; Ben Whishaw

* Alan Dale, better known as the scheming Charles Widmore on Lost, has joined the cast of David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Kinda late in the game for a new addition like this, considering the film comes out in December. He'll play a career detective closing in on his retirement. Fincher is in the midst of some reshoots right now, which may be the reason for Dale's joining. Look for the film to hit theaters on December 21st. [Variety]

* Back in June we learned that The Coen Brothers next film would be set in the NYC folk music scene of the 1960s, based on the book The Mayor of MacDougal Street by renowned musician Dave van Ronk. Variety reports the film will be titled Inside Llewyn Davis, following the musician's struggles navigating the folk revival movement. The Coens will write and direct, with super producer Scott Rudin on board as well. [Variety]

* If you thought The Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer's latest film, Cloud Atlas, sounded weird enough well it just got even stranger. The complex, multi-arc,  time spanning film will be based on David Mitchell's dense novel involving multiple characters in intertwining stories stretching from the 19th century to the far off future. In another twist, Ben Whishaw(Bright Star) reveals that he and every actor will play multiple roles in the film, even going so far as to swap genders. Tom Hanks in drag? Wait...Halle Berry as a dude? There's also a rumor that Whishaw is in talks for Bond 23, which presumably has been titled Carte Blanche. [Vulture via ThePlaylist]

Rumor: Juno Temple playing Harley Quinn in The Dark Knight Rises

Grist for the rumor mill, but one which may actually pan out. While Christopher Nolan managed to keep information on The Dark Knight Rises mostly under wraps, we've pretty much got everybody pegged for the characters they'll be playing. We don't know what their arc will be exactly, and hopefully that stuff will remain hidden until we see the actual movie. But there's a cloud surrounding the character played by Juno Temple(Kaboom), described simply as a "street smart Gotham girl". Even by Nolan standards that's pretty damn vague. There has to be something else to it.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson vs. Taylor Lautner in David and Goliath?

It was back in January that we learned of Scott Derrickson's plans to adapt the Biblical story of David and Goliath for the big screen. Titled simply Goliath, this was the film that was being the was being prepped to be a weird combination of 300 and The Bourne Identity, an idea which should have have the devout clutching their crosses with fear it sounds so bad. But since then we haven't heard squat about it, until now as Twitch reports that Dwayne Johnson(Fast Five) has entered talks to join the cast as Goliath himself.

Johnson has been all over the place lately, helping reinvigorate the Fast and the Furious franchise earlier this summer in Fast Five. He'll also be starring as Roadblock in G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation, and finally seems to be moving away from the kiddie family flicks that so stagnated his career. He'll be seen next in Journey 2, the unwanted sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth, and may possibly star in a biopic on the life of country singer, Charley Pride.

Twitch also notes that Taylor Lautner has been made an offer to cast a few stones as David, but to be honest I think he gets offered every marginal action movie role out there in hopes he'll bite. The guy was mentioned to join the wrinkled prunes of The Expendables 2, for chrissakes. With his schedule it's unlikely he'll sign on, but y'never know.  I'd personally rather see Lautner vs. The Rock at WrestleMania, with Kristen Stewart as special guest referee.

Watch the full Marvel short film, The Consultant, featuring S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Coulson

Earlier this month we got a small taste of the first of Marvel's planned "one-shot" short films used as a lead-in of sorts to next year's The Avengers. The film is called The Consultant, and features S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Coulson(Clark Gregg) as he discusses with a colleague about the best way to approach General Thunderbolt Ross(William Hurt). What we saw in that earlier clip didn't really give us much clue what exactly they wanted, but now that the full version has been leaked we can tell they're trying to find a way NOT to have a certain big green, Gamma irradiated monster join the team. It's not who you think.  I wasn't convinced that these shorts would add anything any useful context before, but this was really quite enjoyable, tying in some of the "easter eggs" of the previous films nicely. See for yourself below...[Antovolk02011]

New clip from The Ides of March, featuring Ryan Gosling and Evan Rachel Wood

Last night, the lucky folks attending the Venice International Film Festival were treated to the premier of George Clooney's political thriller, The Ides of March. Starring Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Evan Rachel Wood, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei, and Jeffrey Wright, the film centers on a genius campaign manager(Gosling) for a popular Presidential contender(Clooney), who gets into some hot water when he starts swimming with the political sharks.

Putting my jealousy aside at not being able to attend the event, I'll have to settle for this new clip from the film, featuring Gosling using his charms to worm his way out of an awkward reintroduction to Wood's character.  Check it out below, and look for The Ides of March when it hits theaters on October 7th...

The Debt, starring Helen Mirren and Sam Worthington

There are no "good guys" to be found in The Debt, not even the three Israeli agents who tracked down and killed an escaped Nazi war criminal known as the Surgeon of Birkenau. Based on Assef Bernstein's great 2007 film, the American version comes from a surprising source, director John Madden, who frankly most people haven't heard from since Shakespeare in Love. Unlike the original, Madden's take is less political, more focused on human frailties, the psychological weight of deception, and the pitfalls of hero worship.

Gemma Ward joins cast of The Great Gatsby

I tend to get my Gemmas mixed up, frequently confusing Arterton(Quantum of Solace) with Ward. In this case we're dealing with the latter, the ex-supermodel who quit the runway in 2008 in order to pursue a full-time acting career. So far it's been a smart move, scoring her first major role in 2008's The Black Balloon opposite Toni Collette. She received a fair amount of praise from the Australian critics circle for it, and that led to her US breakthrough as part of the excellent horror thriller, The Stangers. Unfortunately her unique face was hidden behind a doll mask in that film, but we saw considerably more in her next big role in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides as a mermaid.  Now the Aussie actress is set for another major career move as EW reports she's joined the cast of Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby.

Her role is unclear at this point, and considering all of the principle characters are accounted for it's likely Gemma's part is a tiny one. The adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic is currently shooting in Sydney, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Elizabeth Debicki, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, and Jack Thompson.

I'm thinking we'll see Ward dancing the Charleston as part of one of the many lavish parties the story calls for. Could be worth the price of admission alone.  Still no word on when The Great Gatsby will hit theaters, but expect it to run roughshod over next year's award season.

Sure Shots: Resident Evil: Retribution; Anne Hathaway; The Thin Man

* Just a couple of weeks ago, fans of the Resident Evil franchise received the sad news that Sienna Guillory may not be returning to play the popular Jill Valentine in the next installment, Resident Evil: Retribution, to be replaced by another actress. Maybe there was a public outcry, but Guillory took to her Twitter feed and revealed that she had met with director Paul W.S. Anderson and was now back in the fold. Retribution is set to hit theaters on September 14th 2012.

* Despite reports, the only person confirmed for the Les Miserables adaptation by Tom Hooper(The King's Speech) is Hugh Jackman, although Russell Crowe, Helena Bonham Carter, and Geoffrey Rush have been rumored. Jackman recently had production on The Wolverine pushed back so he could tackle the musical first, so it's clear he has a lot of clout right now, and he's been using it to pursue Anne Hathaway for the female lead. She'd take on the role of Fantine, while Jackman is the main character, Jean Valjean. I can't get excited over this, but with so much star potential it's a hard film to totally ignore. [Empire]

* The Thin Man is a film that remains foremost in my thoughts, despite the fact that there's been very little actual movement on it lately. Johnny Depp is set to star as Nick Charles, married to socialite Nora, with the two teaming up to solve crimes while he drinks. Rachel Weisz had been rumored to star as Nora, but that has yet to be confirmed. Jerry Stahl had been attached to write the script, but a recent report from Deadline states that super scribe David Koepp(Spider-Man) has taken over.

Craig Gillespie no longer directing Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Unbelievable. The problems getting an adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies have been well documented. David O. Russell was initially attached to write and direct, but eventually dropped out. That left Mike White(Year of the Dog) in place to helm, but he was only there for a hot minute before he too departed. And let's not even talk about the issues they've had finding someone to play the Jane Austen's famous lead character of Elizabeth Bennet, reimagined as a butt kicking ninja broad in a tight corset. Natalie Portman(also a producer) once had the role, but left, and Emma Stone flat out said no. It was starting to look like the film was cursed until Craig Gillespie(Lars and the Real Girl) signed on to direct back in April. Well, somebody better get out the chicken blood and frog legs because this curse is still in full effect mode.

Punch Drunk DVDs

How bad is this week's batch of new movie DVD releases? I haven't seen any of these, and likely never will...

3. Prom
One look at that DVD cover should tell you all you need to know about Prom. A collection of multi-ethnic teen stereotypes gathered together to celebrate(or angst over) that seminal high school event, the culmination of four years of hard work and social climbing. I imagine we'll see a nerdy everykid, a cool mysterious guy, an insecure chick, whatever in this film from the cruel director of Sleepover and Sydney White. To be perfectly honest I haven't heard such terrible things about the film, and Aimee Teagarden(Scream 4) has received stand out marks for her performance.

Awesome new character banners for Drive! New poster for The Ides of March!

Have you seen enough of Ryan Gosling this year? Sick of him yet? Tough, because homie has two more films that are going to keep him as the toast of Hollywood for the next few months, and the marketing for both has been cranked up with the release of some new imagery. The first is Drive, which is due out on September 16th. Look, I hate throwing around too many superlatives, but it may be the best film of the year, and fully realizes the promise of the combination of Gosling with groundbreaking filmmaker, Nicolas Winding Refn. Gosling stars as a stunt car driver and mechanic who moonlights as a criminal wheelman, until things turn sour after a job goes wrong, endangering the few people he cares for. Carey Mulligan, Albert Brooks, Bryan Cranston, Ron Perlman, Christina Hendricks, and Oscar Isaac star. They all are featured in a new round of slick character banners for the film, emphasizing one of the film's key points: There Are No Clean Getaways....

Tony Todd to make directorial debut with horror film, Catalytic

Even if Final Destination 5 turned out to be a major dud(there'll still be more, folks), one consistently entertaining aspect was the presence of horror icon, Tony Todd, as the foreboding coroner William Bludworth. Todd has been a staple of the genre for years, most notably in the Candyman trilogy of horrors. But now Todd is set to take his career in another direction, as he'll step behind the camera for the very first time.

Todd is set to write, direct, and star in Catalytic, a horror film about a magician who embarks on a road trip during an impending supernatural apocalypse. Casting is taking place right now, but no word on when shooting will actually kick off.

The newly formed Assembly Line is handling production on this one, and I remember them getting some buzz at Comic-Con for their latest film, Sushi Girl. I haven't seen it, but the title and the cast alone makes it worth seeking out at some point. It starred James Duval(Nowhere), Noah Hathaway(The Neverending Story), Danny Trejo, Mark Hamill, Jeff Fahey(Lost), Sonny Chiba, and Todd. If he can gather a crew like that for Catalytic, we may be looking at a genre sleeper in the near future. [Variety]