Reviewin’ For You: SHUTTER ISLAND

This would have been perfect for October...

Shutter Island is a fast-paced and intelligent thriller with solid directing from the legendary Martin Scorsese and an all-star cast that manages to improve upon Dennis Lehane‘s entertaining novel and will keep audiences talking long after the credits. Set in 1954, the story follows U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his new partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) as they investigate the disappearance of a female “patient” named Rachel Solando from the mysterious prison for the criminally insane on “Shutter Island.” However, the delusional and violent Solando isn’t the only danger the two U.S. marshals face as they begin to unravel the island’s dark secrets while a powerful storm approaches, rendering escape or help impossible.

Join me after the break for the full review.

Penelope Cruz In Talks To Star In PIRATES 4 With Johnny Depp

Who thoughts this was coming!? Catching everybody by surprise yesterday was the announcement that Cruz is in talks to join the fourth Pirates flick, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Remember that Keira Knightley had no interest in returning for her role as Elizabeth Swann, mainly due to how long she spent working on the films. That means whoever Cruz is playing, she will likely be the sole female star of the film.

She will have to hold her own against Depp, but has done it before in their previous film Blow. Very curious to see how this ends up. Film is slated for a May 20, 2011 release.

GET HIM TO THE GREEK Trailer Premiere Starring Russell Brand

Russell Brand is underutilized, but he now will star alongside Jonah Hill in Get Him To The Greek. Below is a hilarious trailer for the film, which should spark interest for anyone that is a fan of the odd sensibilities of Brand or just degenerate comedy. Enjoy.

Releases June 4th, 2010. Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) is writing and directing.

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Tom Cruise To Star, Produce MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: 4

More of this...

Tom Cruise is set to return to Mission Impossible: 4, and will team with J.J. Abrams (director of MI:3) to help produce the film, according to Deadline. Meanwhile, scribes Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec (frequent writers on Abrams’ Alias TV series) are hard at work on fleshing out the screenplay while Cruise and Abrams are searching for a director.

Thanks to Collider, we also have a planned release date as well, according to the recent press release: Memorial Day 2011.

...and less of that.

While I have enjoyed the last two MI films, the second was rather silly. I still think the first was the best, and can only hope they return to that kind of writing and tone. For all the hate Cruise gets, I still am a fan of his work so I will definitely keep yall updated on where the film goes.

Nolan Working On DARK KNIGHT Sequel, SUPERMAN

Christopher Nolan, more god than man in many fans’ eyes, is reportedly working on the planned rehash of Superman by WB, while his brother (Jonathan Nolan) and frequent collaborator (David S. Goyer) are carefully crafting ideas for the next Batman film, according to Deadline. Now, let’s get two things straight: Nolan hasn’t signed on to direct either of the films, and he hasn’t signed on for anything involving the possible sequel to The Dark Knight.

However, these are steps in the right direction, and Nolan’s involvement in the next Superman film can only benefit it, directing or not. The sources for Deadline state that Nolan isn’t likely to direct the next Supes flick, but his edgy, gritty little mitts are likely to show up all over the film in its production qualities. Remember that Nolan likes to base things more in reality and get away from the campier take that many comic-book adaptations take.

I can see a healthy balance of the past Superman flicks and the more gruff comics version in terms of tone for the next film. The movie will also have nothing to do with the Bryan Singer adaptation of a few years back, so stay tuned.

ZOMBIELAND Scribes Talk Sequel…In 3-D!

Time to nut up, or shut up

Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese have been quite the hit lately, coming on board for the upcoming Deadpool film and the G.I. Joe sequel, but they haven’t forgotten their first love—Zombieland. Just released on DVD and Blu-ray last week, the hilarious zombie romp is powered by a spot-on performance by Woody Harrelson as Tallahassee, and has a great cast around him as well.

The sequel is already in the works, and with all of the principal cast, director, and writers on board, and this time the film will be in 3-D. They spoke with MTV recently to discuss their plans, including adding a love interest for Tallahassee, and you better get ready for some flying fluids. More after the jump.

Oscar Noms! (Nom nom nom)

I Can Haz Ozkar?

The Oscar nominations are out, and so let’s get right down to it. Disctrict 9 got nominated for Best Picture! What a momentous occasion for such a low-budget science fiction film. Unfortunately, Sharlto Copley didn’t get a nom for his role in the film, but we can’t have it all. If some of you are confused how Disctrict 9 got into the exclusive five picture list, well, that is a thing of the past. This year, the Academy Awards expanded their Best Picture nomination field to 10 films. Personally, it’s one year too late, when Wall-E, The Dark Knight, and The Wrestler failed to get any Oscar Best Pic love, but it should give some very good films some publicity this year.

Some might be pretty upset to see The Blind Side nominated for Best Pic, and I won’t argue the point much. It’s not that the film was bad. It just wasn’t one of the top 10 films I saw this year, and I saw alot. I still have yet to see An Education nor Precious, but I do plan on getting around to them soon. Meanwhile, let the predictions begin as to whether Quientin Tarantino’s hilarious and fun romp through alternate history, Inglourious Basterds, can pull off a huge upset. The three biggest juggernauts from the past awards are clearly Avatar, The Hurt Locker, and Up In The Air. With Avatar and Locker grabbing nine individual nominations each, the Academy clearly enjoyed the pics.

Meanwhile, despite the fact that Up is the only animated picture nominated for Best Pic (and the second animated film to claim that distinction, alongside Beauty and the Beast), I am predicting that Fantastic Mr. Fox will beat it out in the animated film category. Also, no, I have never heard of The Secret of Kells either.

Stay tuned for individual movie reviews later today about every film I have seen on the list.

For some links to some of the shorts you can see for free, and the full list of the nominees, join me after the break.

Bigelow Wins DGA, Highly Likely To Get Oscar As Well

Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) picked up her award from the Director’s Guild of America today, and this spells success come Oscars. Only six times in the past 61 selections has the winner of the DGA for Feature Film not won the Academy Award for Best Director as well. That is a 90% success rate. Additionally, contrary to what famous film critic Roger Ebert tweeted and The Playlist cited (don’t worry, I let both of them know), the DGA has failed to predict the winner of the Best Picture a mere 13 of 61 selections. That is better than 78%!

Also of note is that she is the first woman to ever win the award. If she wins either of the Best Picture or Best Director awards comes Oscar time, she will also make firsts there as well. Ebert actually had this to say about the win:

“Hard to recall a more popular DGA winner than Kathryn Bigelow. James Cameron was really happy, and not just pretending.”

Either way, it is a great victory for a film that I can’t help but root for, even with some unflattering opinions of it floating around. It sits at the top of my favorite films of the past year. For the record, Up In The Air, UP, and Fantastic Mr. Fox round out my top four, in that order.