With his film due out in a couple of weeks, Harry Potter is beginning to make some waves. First up is an update on the Potter IMAX delay. Long story short, Half-Blood Prince won’t be arriving on IMAX screens the same day the film hits conventional theaters because of a deal IMAX made with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen for an exclusive four-week run. However, three theaters will be getting Harry Potter in IMAX on opening day, July 15th, but if you don’t live in New York, Los Angeles or Chicago, you’re out of luck. Collider tells us those three theaters are as follows: Century City IMAX (Los Angeles), Henry Crown (Chicago), and AMC Loews Lincoln Square (NYC). The first 12 minutes of the movie have been converted to IMAX 3D, and so I’m sure it’s worth the trip for those who live in the surrounding areas. Unfortunately, everyone else will have to wait another two weeks. Read the rest over at SciFi Squad Filed under: Casting , Fandom , Newsstand , Harry Potter Permalink | Email this | Comments

Essentially there are two kinds of gangster movies: those made during the time when men wore hats in real life and those made during the time when men wore hats that came from wardrobe. The first type are usually in black-and-white, punchy, nervy and full of wisecracks. The second type are usually longer and more violent, but slower-paced and nobler of purpose, as if the hats suddenly carried an extra weight, an extra sadness. What Michael Mann has achieved with the new Public Enemies is an often fascinating, striking combination of the two. I walked into the new film, convinced that it could never top lean, mean B-movie classics like Max Nosseck’s Dillinger (1945) or Don Siegel’s Baby Face Nelson (1957) in which these gangsters were initially immortalized. But it equals them, capturing some of their raw energy and allure and clocking in as a longer, but equally fast-moving and adrenaline-pumping example. Somehow Mann only manages to use the extra time for flash and spectacle, and hardly any for depth or detail, but that only helps to speed things along. Happily, he also avoids the typical origin story, and plunges right in. Filed under: Drama , Thrillers , New Releases , Universal , Theatrical Reviews , New in Theaters , Johnny Depp Continue reading Review: Public Enemies Permalink | Email this | Comments

With a few new musical biopics headed our way, there’s a question to consider: Just how musically inclined should an actor be when they take on the role of a musician? We expect a lot from the pros — good chemistry, believable delivery of lines, sincere emotion — but what about musical aptitude? We’ll discuss whether the actor looks the part, but less often challenge whether they can hit the right notes . Sometimes it surely doesn’t matter. If the band’s music is simple enough, the skills can be learned before shooting. Thanks to the wonder of dubbing, if it’s just singing, only the showmanship and performance matter. (Although there are times that actors can surprise with both, like Val Kilmer’s stunning embodiment of Jim Morrison in The Doors .) But when it comes to more talented musicians, it’s not so easy to fake. If one is iconic enough to be immortalized once again on film, shouldn’t the performance show that artistry? Some itch for James Franco to become Jeff Buckley in that upcoming biopic , but he’s the one hopeful without any musical talent — and no matter what he could learn on the fly, it wouldn’t come close to Buckley’s, well, Grace . Why bother with the project if we can’t watch the notes flow through the fingers as they grasp the strings or pound the keys? Filed under: Music & Musicals , Casting , Fandom Continue reading Discuss: When Actors Fake Musical Prowess Permalink | Email this | Comments

A new international trailer has hit for Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds , and the consensus from those who managed to catch a screening of the film back at Cannes is that, while the Weinsteins (or whoever cut this) managed to really make the flick look enticing and vintage Tarantino, it’s still a complete misrepresentation of the actual film, which some say is quite boring. As Variety noted back in May , ” Inglourious Basterds is great fun to watch, but the movie isn’t entirely engaging. And it is defiantly an art film, not a calculatedly mainstream entertainment. Tarantino throws you out of the movie with titles, chapter headings, snatches of music. You don’t jump into the world of the film in a participatory way; you watch it from a distance, appreciating the references and the masterful mise-en-scene.” Great fun to watch? I’ll take it! That’s why I go to the movies in the first place — and that’s what I expect from Tarantino as a filmmaker. Watching one of his films is like going to Cold Stone Creamery and getting a pint of ice cream mixed with all kinds of ridiculous toppings; stuff you’d never expect to be on there to begin with. That’s Tarantino, that’s what I hope to get out of Basterds , and this piece of movie marketing actually has me excited to sit down and watch whatever final cut (be it two-and-a-half-hours or less) Tarantino and The Weinstein Co. manage to shove into theaters this August 21. Period. Exclamation mark. Smiley face. Watch the trailer after the jump Filed under: Action , Fandom , Movie Marketing , War , Trailers and Clips Continue reading New ‘Inglourious Basterds’ Trailer Better Than The Actual Movie? Permalink | Email this | Comments

I don’t think I need to tell you how useful and handy a spare 2GB USB Flash Drive can be, especially with our constant need to store photos, music and/or important files so that we can take them with us wherever it is we need to go. Of course, one can opt to purchase a boring, metallic-looking USB drive that certainly gets the job done, but us movie geeks don’t roll like that. If there’s an opportunity to express our love for all things movie-related, then you bet we’re going that route instead. Which is why we’re here to show you these new USB Flash Drives over at Entertainment Earth. Star Wars fans will no doubt get a kick out of the Vader, Yoda, Boba Fett and Storm Trooper USB Drives, while Twilight fans can show their love for that all things Twilight-ish by picking up a USB Drive featuring the Cullen family crest. (Thank god it’s not a giant picture of Robert Pattinson’s face because that might’ve freaked me out a little.) Both sets aren’t due till October, though you can pre-order now. Each will run you $24.99. Check out larger images of all the USB Drives below. Gallery: Star Wars & Twilight USB Drives Filed under: Fandom Permalink | Email this | Comments

Some more concept art from Tim Burton’s upcoming Alice in Wonderland film has arrived online, courtesy of the French website, The Art of Disney . Some of the art you’ll remember from the recent USA Today spread, but then there’s other stuff — like Alice’s trip through the giant mushroom patch — that we haven’t yet seen. I attempted to translate the French text on the site (if you speak French, feel free to correct me here), and I believe it talks about how this film will be a continuation of the classic novel, with Alice traveling back to Wonderland 10 years after her original trip. Directed by Tim Burton, and starring folks like Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Matt Lucas, Christopher Lee, Crispin Glover, Alan Rickman and newcomer Mia Wasikowska as Alice, the film will be a mixture of live-action and animation, and will arrive in theaters on March 5, 2010. We’ve added a few of the images to our Alice in Wonderland gallery below, and you can scope out the rest over at The Art of Disney . Gallery: Alice in Wonderland [via AICN ] Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy , Fandom , Images Permalink | Email this | Comments

It looks like wolves won’t be sharing the spotlight with vampires much longer. While our moon-led friends pop up in the likes of Underworld and the upcoming New Moon , a werewolf frenzy has taken over Hollywood, and there are no signs of it stopping, and no corner it won’t touch. Less than two weeks after Teen Wolf was set to get the remake treatment, The Hollywood Reporter posts that Dimension Films is looking to remake John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London . (Confirming a tip from Bloody Disgusting on Sunday.) Because apparently, no one is interested in making a new wolfy story. This whole plan is still in the early stages, but per usual remake plans, Dimension wants “to make an elevated genre picture that will keep the fun comedy elements of the original as it seeks to be relevant to contemporary audiences.” Relevant how? The wolf loves a girl in love with a vamp, and then finds an uber-creepy way to stay in her life? Most remakes bring, at best, apprehension, but I really wish companies would stop with the cult classics. Or, at the very least, not all foam at the mouth to remake them. Dramas, action, horror — these genres can often get remade well, because most of the success relies on quality and craft. But comedy and cult? It’s as much about the time and place as it is about the talent involved. Fine. Take our excellent Landis wolves and remake them. Make them “relevant.” But whatever is done, I bet it won’t be a cult classic, nor worthy of the name An American Werewolf in London. Filed under: Comedy , Horror , Deals , Remakes and Sequels Permalink | Email this | Comments

It sounded promising when Jason Lee was set to get Thicker back in 2008 . Perhaps we’d finally get another taste at the old Lee, the one that made every Kevin Smith movie he graced all the tastier, especially when he’d rant away with all of his comedic snarkiness. He may have left that film, but Lee found an even better project to fill his now Earl-free days. Variety reports that he, along with Michelle Trachtenberg , have signed on for roles in A Couple of Dicks — Kevin Smith’s first project not written by his own pen . The film, which stars Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan, focuses on two cops who search for a stolen baseball card, rescue a sexy Mexican woman, and face gangsters. With the buddy cop roles long-filled, Lee won’t have much face time, but hopefully it will be quality face time. While Trachtenberg plays Willis’ daughter, Lee will play her stepfather. At least it’s something. Not a lot, but a hell of a lot more interesting that the family fare that Lee keeps doing. That being said, and even loving Willis’ classic cop ways, I wish Lee was taking the role. Wouldn’t he make an excellent gruff detective? (If he can’t be the new Fletch, he could at least get a blockbuster buddy cop film! Willis and Morgan are already a far cry from the originally cast Robin Williams and James Gandolfini.) But maybe better fare is on the horizon. What sort of starring role would you like to see Jason Lee take on? Filed under: Comedy , Casting Permalink | Email this | Comments

Not long ago a friend of mine caught a super secret advanced screening of the Diablo Cody-scripted horror flick Jennifer’s Body , starring Megan Fox as a demonically-possessed cheerleader who begins to off the male students at her school in what I can only imagine are very creative ways (knowing Cody’s mangled sense of humor). The verdict from my friend was … “eh, it’s what I expected — though I was surprised at how lesbian-ish it was … not that there’s anything wrong with that.” Granted, my friend isn’t a big fan of Cody’s work, and so that’s probably part of the reason why he was lukewarm to it — but then he pulled out a whole bunch of stills from his magical briefcase, and, well, regardless of how “good” this movie is, my Megan Fox fixation went into hyper-drive. While I unfortunately do not have any of those photos to show you today (one included Fox wearing next to nothing while holding her tongue out over the open flame of a lighter, and another showed Fox’s bloody-as-all-hell mouth full of whatever poor human boy she just tore apart) , Empire Magazine did premiere a few images in their latest issue and our friends over at Film School Rejects scanned them for us to see. I’m sure more clearer versions of these will arrive online this week, but for now check out two of them below and the rest over at FSR . Gallery: Jennifer’s Body Jennifer’s Body is due out on September 18. Filed under: Horror , Fandom , Movie Marketing , Images Permalink | Email this | Comments

They start as young cherubs, their round faces full of smiles and innocence. They play, and delve into anything cute and sweet. A few years pass and the Barbies are given up for boys. Life is still childlike, even with the first hints of attraction. But the good gets tired, and in a blink, it’s given up for stripper poles, prostitution, degradation, and a feverish desperation to be seen as an adult — mentally and physically. Yes, the above path is a bit exaggerated. Young actresses often mix a little thrilling fare in with the sweetness. Nevertheless, there is almost always a swift and destructive crashing of the gate between adolescence and adulthood. One minute, the young actress is all song, dance, and smiling love, and the next, they’re fighting for their own spot in the world of Mr. Skin. We can’t exactly blame them. We live in a world rife with contradictions about growing up and being taken seriously. The world of The Breakfast Club and slightly tougher teen fare was replaced with tween limbo and an elongation of sweet teen life. But at the same time, we chide those that take part in Disney’s tween world, publish countdown clocks marking the days left until some young actress is legal, and as much as we might complain about them stripping for cred, our complaints fade if the project turns out to be good. But what does it mean for actresses now and tomorrow? The path is murky. Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy , Columns , Girls on Film Continue reading Girls on Film: Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon Permalink | Email this | Comments