Friday, November 20

• The Wolfman Featurette Goes Behind-the-Scenes

  November was supposed to be the month that The Wolfman opened in theaters, but yet another delay pushed the movie to February. After hiring a couple of legendary editors to help clean up the troubled production, Universal is releasing a featurette to help keep interest alive. Watch Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, and producer Scott Stuber talk about the upcoming movie below.

  
  

  Posted 11/20/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Anthony Hopkins | Benicio Del Toro | Emily Blunt | Scott Stuber | The Wolfman

• Avatar Shows Off Its Human Hardware

  Avatar promises to clock in at nearly three hours of screen time, so there's a lot of footage for the studio to mine without giving it all away. Still, there have been a remarkable number of featurettes and previews lately. But as long as they keep coming up with interesting new angles on the movie and new glimpses of life on this alien world, as they do here, it's still well worth the look.

  The latest offerering highlights the technology and science of the humans who are setting up a mining camp on the alien moon Pandora. It's an insanely hostile environment, so weaponry and vehicles have to be pretty impressive to keep humans alive. As director James Cameron put it earlier, they are facing off with the teeth and claws of the Garden of Eden.

  Here he shows us that the humans aren't exactly without teeth and claws either, with their airships and guns — and especially their amp suits. These are the 16-foot-tall human-operated robots capable of hand-to-hand combat with Pandora's powerful fauna. Even with all of this technology, though, not all of the humans are going to survive, as the base's matter-of-fact chief of security (Stephen Lang) informs new recruits.

  
  

  Posted 11/20/2009 by Bill

  Related: James Cameron | Stephen Lang | Avatar

• Iron Man 2 Trailer Arriving for Christmas

  Iron Man fans won't have to wait too much longer to get their first peek at Iron Man 2. News of a trailer screening before Sherlock Holmes was announced by director Jon Favreau in a response to a fan question on his Twitter page.

  RT @Ann_Howard: @Jon_Favreau PLEASE tell us the trailer is coming soon - w/Sherlock Holmes, perhaps??

  OK, that's not definite, but Favreau's decision to repeat it makes us think this is a pretty strong rumor.

  Favreau is currently editing Iron Man 2, and while doing this he's also doing a good job keeping fans updated about the movie on his Twitter page. He's sent updates such as "Digital animated shots starting to come in" and "[screenwriter] Justin Theroux visiting the edit bay."

  
  
  Next Showing: Iron Man 2 opens May 7, 2010

  Posted 11/20/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Jon Favreau | Iron Man 2

• Zack Snyder's Guardians of Ga'Hoole Cast Coming Together

  

  Zack Snyder is a busy director these days, working on both the fantasy-action movie Sucker Punch and the 3-D animated Guardians of Ga'Hoole, based on the children's novel series written by Kathryn Lasky, simultaneously.

  Variety reports that Guardians is lining up an impressive cast of voices, including Sam Neill, Geoffrey Rush, Hugo Weaving, and David Wenham. They're leading an equally strong group of supporting voice actors, such as Helen Mirren, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Emilie de Ravin, Ryan Kwanten, Emily Barclay, Miriam Margolyes and Jay Laga'aia.

  Guardians tells the story of how an owl named Soren (Sturgess), who is entranced with his father's stories about the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, protected owlkind. Once Soren is kidnapped, he gathers together a group to escape and join the Guardians.

  
  
  Next Showing: Guardians of Ga'Hoole is scheduled to open September 24, 2010

  Posted 11/20/2009 by Ryan

  Related: David Wenham | Emilie de Ravin | Emily Barclay | Geoffrey Rush | Helen Mirren | Hugo Weaving | Ryan Kwanten | Miriam Margolyes | Jim Sturgess | Jay Laga'aia | Zack Snyder | Abbie Cornish | Guardians of Ga'Hoole

• Rose McGowan Updates Red Sonja

  

  The fate of director Robert Rodriguez's live-action adaptation of the Red Sonja comic book was in doubt after the lead actress, Rose McGowan, was badly injured while performing a stunt for the movie. After McGowan initially said that she "pulled out" of the production, she quickly clarified her statement, saying that the movie was "delayed," but "not permanently."

  At the recent MOCA 30th Anniversary Gala, Fox News' Pop Tarts spoke with McGowan about her condition and the status of Red Sonja:

  I need one more arm surgery from nerve damage so I'm supposed to have that the beginning of December so if you see me anywhere I'll be hobbling around with a cast. It'll be very pretty. We're hoping to start filming again in maybe a year.

  
  

  Posted 11/20/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Rose McGowan | Robert Rodriguez | Red Sonja

Thursday, November 19

• Planet 51 Reviews

  "...delivers a few pleasant surprises, including a smart story..."

  — Adam Markovitz, Entertainment Weekly

  "Although not bowling me over, Planet 51 is a jolly and good-looking animated feature in glorious 2-D."

  — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

  "Lacking the crackling energy of Meatballs, Planet 51 never soars to the boundless heights, and skies, its animation so fantastically illustrates."

  — Adam Keleman, Slant Magazine

  "...a jellybean of a movie: bright, colorful, sugary, and with no real content."

  — Tasha Robinson, Onion AV Club

  "...a lame-brained toon that even kids will recognize as an insipid goof on sci-fi conventions."

  — Todd McCarthy, Variety

  
  
  

  Planet 51 Trailer

  An astronaut becomes an alien on another planet

  Posted 11/19/2009 by reelz

  Related: Planet 51

• New Daybreakers Poster, Stills, and TV Spot

  With The Twilight Saga: New Moon opening this weekend, Lionsgate wants to capitalize on the vampire pandemonium to promote its forthcoming vampire flick, Daybreakers.

  Starring Willem Dafoe and Ethan Hawke, Daybreakers is a darker kind of vampire movie than New Moon. Set in 2019, vampires have taken over and hunt humans for food. The only problem is, humans are becoming scarce. Amidst the vampire's need to farm humans for their blood, a covert group of vampires makes a discovery that may save the human race.

  Written and directed by Peter and Michael Spierig (Undead), Daybreakers won't be released until January 8, 2010. That leaves a few months to enjoy the new photos, poster, and TV spot, which acts as a public service announcement for vampires to turn in human survivors. Check it out below.

  
  

  Posted 11/19/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Willem Dafoe | Ethan Hawke | Michael Spierig | Peter Spierig | Daybreakers

• The Blind Side Reviews

  Even the trailer for The Blind Side had us in tears. What about the movie?

  "...an uplifting and entertaining feel-good, fact-based sports drama."

  — Joe Leydon, Variety

  "The result isn't solid at all — it's more like cotton-candy uplift."

  — Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

  "Sticking safely to proven inspirational sports-movie/fish-out-of-water formulas while holding the inherent sociological issues to the sidelines, the dramedy doesn't skimp on the crowd-pleasing stuff, but given the setup, there also was room for more thought-provoking substance."

  — Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter

  "The movie's manipulation is loathsome, but the whole thing is so skillful — the schematic structure, its calculatedly competent performances and appealing visuals, the commitment to overcoming adversity — that you may just weep."

  — Aaron Cutler, Slant Magazine

  "Sports movies have a long, troubled history of well-meaning white paternalism, with poor black athletes finding success through white charity. But The Blind Side, based on Michael Lewis' non-fiction book, finds a new low."

  — Scott Tobias, Onion AV Club

  
  
  

  The Blind Side Trailer

  Sandra Bullock stars - Releasing Nov. 20, 2009

  Posted 11/19/2009 by reelz

  Related: The Blind Side