Movies

The apocalypse has never seemed so funny. The new trailer for “The World’s End,” the latest film from director Edgar Wright,  has arrived, and judging from the clip, the movie promises to deliver the same charming brand of humor Wright and his leading men Simon Pegg and Nick Frost pioneered in such films as “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz.” “The World’s End,” due in theaters Aug. 23, upends the usual Pegg-Frost dynamic, however, with Pegg playing Gary King, a (lovable?) loser trapped in a state of arrested development who recruits his old pals — including Frost’s responsible attorney Andy — to finish a famous pub crawl in their hometown that they had once unsuccessfully attempted in their younger days. Naturally, things don’t go quite according to plan, and Gary and Andy, along with pals Steven (Paddy Considine), Oliver […]

The latest trailer for “Man of Steel,” the new Superman film that sees Henry Cavill don the red cape of the famous hero, begins with a cryptic transmission from Michael Shannon’s General Zod, warning citizens of Earth, “You are not alone.” Zod’s chilling speech, in which he demands that the last son of Krypton surrender or bring about the destruction of his adopted planet, serves as the backdrop for a number of scenic shots from the film, set for a June 14 release. “Man of Steel” is directed by Zack Snyder from a story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer, the writing team behind the “Dark Knight” trilogy, which modernized Batman and broke box-office records. But reviving the world’s first comic-book superhero on the big screen — Superman turns 75 this year — is no small task. “In the comic-book […]

Production is underway for “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” and director Bryan Singer is offering fans a behind-the-scenes peek at the action via Twitter, posting pictures of Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Peter Dinklage and more. “Days of Future Past,” due out in July of 2014, picks up after Matthew Vaughn’s 2011 prequel “X-Men: First Class,” which chronicled the mutant superheroes’ origins as young people in the 1960s, discovering and learning to manipulate their powers. “Future Past” aims to bridge the gap between “First Class” and the original “X-Men” film trilogy. Singer, who also directed 2000′s “X-Men” and 2003′s “X2,” on Monday tweeted a photo of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence, who is reprising her role as shape-shifting mutant Raven, better known as Mystique. The snapshot shows Lawrence in full costume — revealing blue body suit and paint with a shock of […]

Fans who’ve waited years for a follow-up to the sci-fi blockbuster “Independence Day” might soon be treated not just to one sequel to the memorable hit film, but to an entire franchise based on the alien invasion thriller. The film’s co-writers — director Roland Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin – told the Hero Complex Film Festival audience at a matinee screening of the 1996 blockbuster that they have ideas for a sequel (and maybe more). “What we talked a lot about, the mythology of why did the aliens come in the first place, what is the bigger story of this whole thing?” said Emmerich, seated beside Devlin, “Independence Day” star Jeff Goldblum and the movie’s effects wizard Volker Engel. “When you get a bigger mythology going, you have the chance to not only do one or two or three, you […]

“The Wolverine,” the new film starring Hugh Jackman as the near indestructible mutant Logan, is set to open in theaters July 26, bringing the revered Chris Claremont/Frank Miller comics saga to the screen. The newest trailer for the movie, directed by James Mangold, showcases the film’s story line, which explores the character’s inner demons, even as he faces external threats after traveling to Japan to say goodbye to an acquaintance. The clip opens with Jackman haunted by a nightmare visitation from Famke Janssen’s Jean Grey. Logan promises her that he’ll never hurt her, or anyone else, again. But, she whispers, “It’s too late.” He wakes up, bearded and alone, outside in the woods, where he’s exiled himself in search of solitude. But his time there doesn’t last long. Soon, he’s off to Japan to see the man whose life he […]

Remember Patton Oswalt’s eight-minute “Parks and Recreation” monologue about his proposed plot for “Star Wars: Episode VII”? It took YouTube only one month to animate the comedian’s suggestions, spider-Wookiee and all. During a guest spot on the NBC comedy last month, Oswalt played a Pawnee citizen aiming to filibuster a City Council vote. He launched into a lengthy, improvised speech about his ideal story line for the upcoming “Star Wars” sequel. The outlandish plot includes a resurrected Boba Fett, Marvel’s villain Thanos (teased at the end of “The Avengers”), Tony Stark, the gods from “Clash of the Titans” and “Wrath of the Titans” and a beheaded and mechanized Chewbacca, among other awesome but unrelated characters from the realm of genre entertainment. The full speech was released on YouTube, drawing more than 2.7 million views and attracting the notice of J.J. […]

Settle in and make yourselves comfortable. Benedict Cumberbatch is taking off his tie. Only a few minutes into an interview about his villainous turn in “Star Trek Into Darkness,” the English actor was all apologies for the distraction. But a painful pinched nerve required some tending to before he walked the red carpet at the New York premiere of J.J. Abrams’ highly anticipated sequel. A pinched nerve in the left shoulder? Perhaps Cumberbatch has been spending too much time in the company of angry Vulcans of late? “Ah, I see what you did there,” Cumberbatch said with a laugh. “Those who pay attention to these things will notice that’s the one that Zach grabs in the film.” Zach, of course, is Zachary Quinto, who, in reprising his role as Mr. Spock for “Into Darkness,” spends considerable time pursuing, punching and, […]

With his 2007 horror film “The Mist,” writer-director Frank Darabont, adapting a 1980 Stephen King novella, charts what happens to a group of people trapped in a shopping market after a mist envelopes their town. As they learn of the presence of deadly, unearthly creatures outside, the debate over what to do splinters the survivors, with camps organizing around Thomas Jane’s character, artist and father David Drayton, and Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden), a doom-prophesying religious fanatic. The humans prove as fearsome as the beasts and face terrible, heartbreaking choices. At the fourth annual Hero Complex Film Festival, Darabont and the film’s star Jane took the stage following a screening of “The Mist” to talk about the process of making the movie, which famously concludes with what Darabont described as “an angry, bleak ending.” Darabont and Jane said improvisation played […]

Thomas Jane as Rick Grimes? It might have happened if “The Walking Dead” creator Frank Darabont had had his way. At a special Q&A following a Hero Complex Film Festival screening of “The Mist,” Darabont, addressing a question from an audience member, spoke briefly about the thematic similarities between two pairs of projects on his resume — the Stephen King adaptations “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Green Mile,” and his 2007 horror film, which follows a group of people trapped in a shopping market after a mist envelopes their town and charts their personal devolution as they face terrible, heartbreaking choices, and the hit AMC zombie series  he launched in 2010. He also pointed out that he initially had wanted the star of “The Mist,” actor Thomas Jane, to play lawman Rick Grimes, the part that eventually went to actor Andrew […]

Guillermo del Toro served as a guest of honor at the fourth annual Hero Complex Film Festival last weekend in Hollywood, appearing on stage for a Q&A between screenings of  two Spanish-language movies — “The Devil’s Backbone,” the 2001 gothic horror movie set during the Spanish Civil War; and “Pan’s Labyrinth,” his Academy Award-winning dark fantasy set during Francoist Spain. While taking questions from the audience, Del Toro elaborated on his planned adaptation of DC Comics’ “Justice League Dark,” saying that he wanted to focus on characters including Constantine, Deadman, Etrigan, Swamp Thing and Floronic Man. “I was never a superhero guy,” Del Toro said. “I thought I could do some of the edgier, darker stuff. “One of my most cherished memories when I was a kid was running to the drug store, the newsstand, on my bike to get […]