I continue to be blown away by how freakin' gorgeous this flick looks. I can't even explain how pumped I am to see this movie.

But do yourself a favor and watch in glorious Quicktime: http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/thecuriouscaseofbenjaminbutton/

The prestige infused trailer for Doubt, starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams, made its way online this afternoon and it looks pretty damn good. Meryl Streep looks scary intense (and Oscar-worthy?) in a Nurse Ratched-esque role, and the play that the film is based on, centering around a molestation accusation in a Catholic boarding school, won the Drama Desk, the Tony Award, and the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 2005.  With the play's original writer, John Patrick Stanley, also adapting the screenplay as well as handling directing duties, this has the potential to be great. Though to be fair, his film credits also include penning the scripts for Congo (for which he received a Razzie nomination) and We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story, so who can really tell.

Watch the trailer in glorious Quicktime here: http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/doubt/

Doubt gets the limited release treatment starting December 12.

The trailer for The Soloist was just released. It looks to have the potential to be sappy beyond all reason, but Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. look like they're in top form (though Foxx's role as a schizophrenic, homeless musician just screams Oscar bait) and director Joe Wright is on a role after Pride & Prejudice and Atonement. But damn, is Downey having a banner year, or what?

The Soloist will be released to theaters on November 21st.

A followup to the story about Kevin Smith's latest troubles with the MPAA over Zack and Miri Make a Porno's scandalous poster design (http://www.movie-moron.com/?p=843); Smith has released the new domestic poster for his film.

Brilliant. My love for that man grows every day.

Zack and Miri hit theaters October 31st.

As a kid I was obsessed with the movie "Gremlins". I wore out my old VHS copy of the film watching it at least once a week for a span of god knows how many years. I couldn't get enough of those scaly, sharp-toothed, mischievous critters and this obsession probably explains a lot about why I turned out the way I did. And you better believe I had my butt in the theater when "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" was released the summer I was eight years old. Hell, I even bought all of the the accompanying toys and coloring books. While my enthusiasm has leveled off over the years, by love has never waned. In fact, I've still got a "Gizmo" figure sitting on my desk at home.

Anyway, that's a roundabout way of explaining exactly why I'm loving this impressive fan video, created by an industrious filmmaker by the name of Sacha Feiner.  He's created a new version of the awesome sequence in the second movie where the film appeared to break and gremlins ran amock in the projection booth, inserting themselves into various TV shows and movies. Here, we get to see the gremlins making their own contributions to such classics as The Exorcist, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Batman. Enjoy.

Once upon a time, there were two films in production about legendary gay civil rights leader Harvey Milk. For a long while, seemed as though it was going to be a race to the finish the see whether Bryan Singer's "Mayor Of Castro Street" or Gus Van Sant's "Milk" would hit theaters first, but then "Mayor" stumbled off the blocks and the came to an abrupt end. Though I would have loved to see what Singer would have done with such juicy material, judging by the fantastic trailer for "Milk" that was released yesterday, Van Sant has nailed this one. Oscar buzz has been building around the film, particularly Sean Penn's performance as Milk, and it's hard to argue based on what we see here.

Van Sant seems back in his more narratively conventional "Good Will Hunting" and "Finding Forrester" mode, and I'm curious to see how the film fares at the box office. Despite the apparent quality of the film, I can't say I predict "Hunting" type numbers, or even "Brokeback" for that matter. I just don't see the film finding the kind of audience that either of those films had. Though with Oscar prospects as good as they are, who knows. Regardless, I know where I'll be on November 26th.

You can also watch the trailer in glorious Quicktime here: http://www.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/milk/

Snatching the title of "Most Random Film Ever To Receive A Sequel" from Hairspray Part 2, Variety reports that indie film auteur Todd Solondz has received financing to produce his screenplay for a sequel to his acclaimed 1998 black comedy Happiness. As well received as that film was, I don't think that there is a soul on the planet, besides Solondz, who was chomping at the bit for a sequel to that nasty little gem, which featured plots revolving around such cheery topics as rape and pedophilia. Granted, this film, as yet untitled, is being billed as "part sequel, part companion piece" so who knows exactly what we can expect. I'm a big fan of Solondz's films, though (especially the brilliant Wellcome to the Dollhouse) so I have faith that whatever his twisted little mind has concocted will be pretty great.

I admit it; I am a Facebook addict. I can't even begin to estimate the amount of time I've spent stalking old high school classmates, writing on people's walls sending ridiculous "gifts" and, yes, poking people. Yet in all my wasted hours, never once did I consider making a movie out of these activities, so kudos to Aaron Sorkin for seeing potential where I saw none. Sorkin has announced (through Facebook, of course) that he will be making a film about the creation of the social networking site for uber-producer Scott Rudin. I find myself less than enthused about this news. Maybe it's just me, but is there really that interesting a story here?

Lord help us if this film is a success though, you just know it's only a matter of time before another studio greenlights a competing movie about MySpace, and then we're all doomed. You think flashing, pink, glittery text is annoying coming from your monitor? Just imagine it plastered across a multiplex screen.

Sorkin has created a Facebook group for research purposes as well as to keep fans up to date on how the project is progressing. You can check it out here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=33807262256

This doesn't really qualify as movie news per se, but Cinematical posted this excellent video "Matinee Montage" edited together by a talented guy by the name of Sean Grady. It's a pretty amazing tribute to the power of movie magic and the sheer spectacle they provide that any film buff should get a kick out of it. Bonus points for including one of my favorite movies of recent years, the highly underrated Sky Captain and the World Of Tomorrow.

The first character posters for Baz Luhrmann's romantic epic, Australia, have been released. I have to say I'm disappointed to see that these are the same images that were released as stills a couple weeks back. Though, when they look as pretty as these do, I can't blame the 20th Century Fox marketing department too much for wanting to get as much use out of them as possible. Still, it would have been nice to see something new from what is no doubt going to be a gorgeous film. Australia is due out in theater November 14th.

http://videos.movie-list.com/view_video.php?viewkey=0db309e056e3d2dcd7d6

I so want The Wolf Man to be amazing. The footage presented at Comic Con looks promising, even in such crap quality. And the film does have a lot going for it: period horror film (I'm a sucker for 'em), Rick Baker makeup effects, a script by Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en) and David Self (Road To Perdition), not to mention that cast. Joe Johnston's directing resume is about 50/50 with me, but he did make The Rocketeer, so he automatically gets a pass for everything since.

What's everyone else think?

In the category of sequels nobody saw coming, Variety reports that New Line Cinema has announced plans for a second Hairspray film to be released in July 2010. Apparently the studio has struck a deal with original creator John Waters to write an original story treatment and Adam Shankmen will again take on directing duties, though none of the original cast has been signed to return yet.

I'm as big a fan of the musical Hairspray as you're likely to find, but c'mon, really? Do we actually need a sequel to the film adaptation of a stage musical that was itself an adaptation of a film? When will the madness end people? I do understand the thought process: Hairspray made buckets of money and if Disney can create a musical franchise, why can't New Line do the same? But was anyone clamoring for the continued musical adventures of the Turnblad family? On the plus side, song-writers Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman have agreed to pen some new songs, so there will be at least some incentive to pick up the soundtrack release -- those guys write catchy tunes!

Source:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117989390.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

Cinematical posted a look at the first promotional image for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, seen at San Diego Comic Con. I've got faith in the film, but this poster doesn't exactly thrill me. It looks way too cartoony to me, like it's advertising another X-Men animated series coming soon to Saturday mornings on The CW. Granted, this also appears to be a poster that's killing two birds with one stone, alerting us to the fact that... something... will be "In Stores 03-01-09". The comic perhaps? A video game? Maybe a line of novelty Wolverine cigars? Who knows? Hopefully the publicity department over at 20th Century Fox will come up with something a little more badass before the film is released on May 1st.

Source:
http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/23/sdcc-update-x-men-origins-wolverine-poster/

Two sweet posters for the new The Day The Earth Stood Still remake, due out in December, have made it online. I'm partial to the one featuring Gort, though they're both pretty awesome. Everything I've seen from the movie thus far has been promising, though for some reason I'm still not entirely sold on the film. The teaser trailer was nifty, I'm convinced that director Scott Derrickson's previous film, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, was an underrated gem, and I'm a fan of any film that casts Keanu Reeves as an emotionless alien, since I'm pretty sure that's the only role he can pull off realistically. I guess I'm just feeling that this is another unnecessary remake. Not that we're going to be free of those anytime soon. 

Io9 also has posted descriptions of two scenes from the film, which were previewed at Comic Con, along with comments from the cast and crew. Some interesting stuff, including Derrickson describing how the motivation behind the alien invasion being changed from the threat of nuclear war in the original film, to more contemporary environmental issues.

http://io9.com/5028795/day-the-earth-stood-still-bigger-ships-more-fighting-total-eco+awareness

Variety reports that Justin Theroux has been tapped to pen the second Iron Man film, due out in 2010. I don't know if it's just me, but this news totally blew my mind.

A.) I had no idea Theroux was even a writer. I mostly knew him as "that guy from Mulholland Drive and the crappy Charlie's Angels sequel".

B.) Apparently he co-wrote the screenplay for Tropic Thunder. Who knew? I figured there wasn't script for that movie. I mean, with a cast that includes Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr, you know there's gonna be some major improv happening.

C.) The guy who wrote Tropic Thunder is now in charge of the script for Iron Man? Something about that does not compute, aside from the presence of Downey Jr... but still.

D.) What happened to the four guys credited with the script for the first movie? Ya know, I thought they did a pretty damn good job. A few other people seemed to agree with me.

Nothing against Theroux; I just think he's one crazy-ass, way out in left field choice. But apparently somebody in charge has some faith in his skills.

Source:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117989003.html?categoryId=13&cs=1

Despite having a release date that's almost six months away, tween sensation Twilight has made the cover of next week's Entertainment Weekly (though the final book in the series arrives next month). And if you ask me, it's a rather odd looking photo. Kristen Stewart looks like a completely different person and Cedric Diggory Robert Pattinson just seems lost. I think it mostly boils down to the fact that I fail to see much chemistry between these two supposed star-crossed lovers. But what do I know; it's based on the biggest book series since Harry Potter and it's going to be huge.

The first trailer for Max Payne, starring Mark Wahlberg, hit the nets earlier today. Based on the popular video game series of the same name, the movie revolves around an undercover New York City detective investigating a powerful crime family responsible for the murder of the his wife and child. Not being big into video games, that pretty much covers all I know about the plot. The trailer does look pretty stylish, with a cool Sin City pulp-noir vibe and lots of fancy slow-motion shots, which the game was (apparently) known for. I have to admit being a bit confused by the winged... men? creatures? who show up throughout the trailer; from what I understood, the story was a fairly standard crime saga. Is there a supernatural element to the story I wasn't aware of?

Regardless, this looks like the type of movie that's either going to be a lot of fun, or absolutely wretched.

Max Payne is directed by John Moore, the man responsible for Behind Enemy Lines and the (terrible) Omen remake, and co-stars Mila Kunis, Beau Bridges and Chris O'Donnell. It opens October 17th.

Nine new stills from the penultimate Harry Potter film, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," have made it online; seven over at USA Today and two more courtesy of Moviefone and they look... well, like stills from a Potter movie.

Half-Blood Prince is (in my opinion at least) the most underrated of the Potter books and one of my favorites. The final chapters contain arguably the darkest moments of the entire series as well as some of the most poignant; it'd be a shame if they were botched in the adaptation process.  I've really been enjoying the dark turn the movies have taken since Prisoner of Azkaban (which is as expected, but you can never underestimate the need of some producers to dumb things down, especially when it comes to "family" films), so hopefully director David Yates, only the second director to agree to a repeat performance on the series after original helmer Chris Columbus, delivers the goods.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2008-07-02-potter-first-look_N.htm

http://www.moviefone.com/insidemovies/2008/07/03/exclusive-photos-from-harry-potter-and-the-half-blood-prince/

The first teaser trailer for Quantum of Solace is due to hit the nets on Monday at 1pm EST, but to tide you over for the next couple days, the powers that be have released a ten-second teaser of that teaser. It is an impressively action-packed ten seconds though, so it's definitely worth a viewing. Or twelve.

Yup, that's right. Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, the makers of such classics in the pantheon of cinema as Date Movie, Epic Movie, and Meet the Spartans, have unleashed the trailer for their latest plague upon the movie-going population: Disaster Movie.

::sigh::

I think what frustrates me most is the fact that, of any other genre, the disaster movie is most overdue for a good satirical mocking. And, from classics like Earthquake and The Towering Inferno through The Day After Tomorrow and, hell, I'd even accept Cloverfield, there's no shortage of material to latch onto. Instead we get limp parodies of what? Juno? Enchanted? Sex and the City?? Do Friedberg and Seltzer not have any recollection of films that were released more than a year ago?

Anyway, here's the link to the trailer. It's impressively humor-free. Watch at your own risk.

http://largeassets.myspacecdn.com/creative/hd/disaster/disaster_480p.mov