I know that the trailer for the celebrated young adult (or regular adult, in my case) book favorite turned upcoming movie, Ender’s Game, was released about a week ago, but I needed to spend some time thinking about what I had just seen before writing about it. It is highly unusual that I like a book in such a way that I am not immediately excited by the prospect of it being turned into a film. In fact, as I think about it now, Gavin Hood’s take on Orson Scott Card’s original Ender’s Game only marks the second time I have felt this way. And let me tell you, it’s conflicting.

On the one hand, I think, “Okay, sure, with a cast made up of Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis, and Abigail Breslin, it sure seems like the movie version will be good, if not great.” But, on the other hand, the book itself read so much like a film I remain worried at the prospect of Hood and his crew getting it all wrong.

After viewing the trailer (quite a few times), I have come to look forward to the movie. I do have an immediate bone to pick though. Well, less bone and more of a general yet pointed question: Is this how everyone pictured Ender? While I do think that Asa Butterfield was great in Hugo, when I read Ender’s Game, I always had that kid from Searching for Bobby Fischer in mind. You know less, how do I put this, aggressive and more quietly brilliant. But, nevertheless, I realize now that I am a devoted Ender’s Game fan, and I will see this movie no matter what. And it’s just the cherry on the cake that this trailer looks more than decent. Good even. There, I said it. Watch the trailer below!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Is it Oscar season already? Just a mere few months after putting that MacFarlane spectacle behind us, it seems that some companies (ahem, The Weinstein Company) are ready to join the race once again. While it is hardly a surprise that the Weinstein Company has their game plan down– they are an award-winning-movie producing machine, after all–doesn’t it seem a little early to anyone? Anyone? Is this thing on? Well, without further ado, gentlemen, let the games begin, I guess.

What exactly are the Weinstein’s opening up with? Well, in our possession here we have two trailers, both of which will surely attract the eye of the Academy (at least that’s what Harvey himself is hoping. The first, Fruitvale Station, tells the true life story of Oscar who finds himself in a heap of trouble the last day of 2008. Sounds just okay right? Well, throw in a Sundance Grand Prize Jury Winner, Octavia Spencer in a supporting role, and Forest Whitaker as an Executive Producer and you got yourself an Oscar contender. Check out the trailer here:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The second film, August: Osage County, looks a little like a more serious Steel Magnolias, but with a cast made up of eternal Oscar-winner Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Juliette Lewis, Ewan McGregor, Abigail Breslin, Dermot Mulroney, Chris Cooper, and Sam Shepard, there ain’t no way the Academy won’t be looking at this seriously. The trailer is, well, it is definitely less exciting than Fruitvale Station, but still, that won’t stop me from seeing this sure-fire hit. Check out the trailer below, and I guess start dusting off your tuxes for your Oscar-watching party.

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Rarely do I post on a trailer. Rarely. That’s because of the sheer amount of them. I mean, just think how many trailers are released daily. And while some may be good, like the impeccable trailer for Inside Llewyn Davis which after watching on repeat for several hours convinced me that I would be there on opening night, there are plenty of trailers that are just mediocre. Rather, what I mean is that a trailer usually does not have any real effect on a film. How many times has a trailer looked fine but a movie been terrible? And vice versa?

So, yes, usually no trailer really warrants an entire blog post alerting you all to the ever-encroaching movie. Well, usually, Sofia Coppola hasn’t released a trailer, and now that she has, well, now you have this blog post.

Over the last couple of years, the ‘biz has been ablaze with word that for Coppola’s latest masterpiece, she would be working on a film so completely unlike anything she had done in the past: a movie chronicling the true-life events surrounding the Bling Ring, the group of Hollywood teenagers who robbed celebrities homes back in 2008. Why has the ‘biz been abuzz? Well, aside from the fact that Coppola is trying her hand again on another film, The Bling Ring looks so unlike anything Coppola has ever done before that it was incredibly hard to imagine what it would look like. No, it’s a not movie about two people coming to terms with each other and find themselves in the midst of shallowness. Instead, we have ourselves a movie so entrenched in pop culture that it could–it really could–be considered fluff.

Thank God, the first trailer has been released, because it looks good. Like really good. Starring Emma Watson, Leslie Mann, and Gavin Rosdale among a slew of other lesser-known teenage actors, The Bling Ring is looking good. Just how good? Well we’ll have to wait for a longer trailer to find out. The Bling Ring opens this June. Check out the trailer below:

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As far as the box office earnings of this past weekend are concerned, Wreck It Ralph “wrecked” its competition. The animated film brought home $49 million for the whole weekend, while Flight reeled in only $25 million. Now if it seems odd to you that a Denzel Washington film – directed by the man who brought us Forest Gump – would trail second behind a fun animated flick, then you’re not alone. The issue with the above information is the generality of the statistic. Let’s, instead, look at the average money grossed per theater.

Wreck It Ralph was distributed across 3,752 theaters and averaged $13,086. Well, Flight averaged $13,275. The reason why Wreck It Ralph appears to have wrecked the box office is because it was clearly distributed across at least double the amount of theaters as Flight was. I’m not trying to attack Wreck It Ralph in anyway – I understand it took over a decade to create the film, and also how unique its story is (a video game villain leaves his game to go be a hero in others). But Flight was so much more than a unique story and a fun movie-going experience. Flight wasn’t just a pleasant way to pass the time – it was a story that stuck in my mind, and had me asking myself: What would I do if I were in his position? Watch the trailer below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

What is more important – being a praised hero, or an honest man of integrity? The questions Denzel Washington answers in his performance are not easy, and though it’s a morality story it is still immensely captivating. The reason why Wreck It Ralph “out performed” Flight wasn’t because it was a better film. It was because Paramount didn’t have faith enough in their film to distribute it as heavily as Disney did Wreck it Ralph. The statistics of money grossed per theater prove that Paramount was wrong.

Just two days ago the picture above was released of an angry leprechaun partaking in a firefight from within his precious pot of gold. This is a still from the upcoming film: Movie 43. The picture alone sets the precedent that this film is going to defy boundaries – Gerard Butler is the last person any film nut might guess would play a leprechaun. But the general concept of the film is shocking in and of itself. The Red Band trailer gives you a pretty good grasp of this.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This film looks to be the single most crude, insensitive, and just plain dirty film ever. A lot of people are comparing the looks of it to Ted. Yes, Ted was a raunchy film, but at the same time it had a plot arc the likes of most buddy-comedies with a nice happy ending where everyone wins. Movie 43 appears not to be aiming to please, rather, to be a dirty film for the sole purpose of being dirty. Most importantly, Movie 43 will defy boundaries in a way that Ted, Not Another Teen Movie, and Scary Movie never could. Why? Because those films were all features, and Movie 43 is a compilation of various short films, each with it’s own star studded cast and director. And when I say star studded, I mean jam-packed.

There’s Emma Stone, Gerard Butler, Elizabeth Banks, Hugh Jackman, Kristen Bell, Uma Thurman, Kate Winslet, Anna Faris, Naomi Watts, Richard Gere, and the list… goes on. This movie’s going to have more stars than ever before possible, and many of them are actually phenomenal actors. Personally, I love Kate Winslet. I’ll buy a ticket to this film just to see her attempt comedy. And if she’s terrible: Well, good – the short segment she’s in won’t be long, and then we can move right along to the next segment. The massive list of stars for this movie is possible only because it’s not just one movie, but several short ones.

I’m curious and hopeful for this film. A compilation of short sketches is perfect for the world of comedy, and that it’s done so infrequently makes it all the more intriguing.

When the first trailer for The Hobbit came out, I didn’t feel compelled to write about it. I was actually really disappointed. Yes, a lot of people enjoyed the dwarf tune being sung throughout the entirety of the teaser – I was not one of those people. It seemed to me like filler back up with an authentic melody, and not enough real content. Well the new trailer that recently came out… it did it for me. December 14 couldn’t come sooner.

I’m back to being excited about orcs, trolls, and wizards. I want nothing more than to see hobbits, dwarves, and elves working together again. What Jackson did with The Lord of the Rings trilogy was give us a living, breathing world to revel in. Middle Earth – it didn’t look like a Hollywood set, because it wasn’t – the whole of it was shot in New Zealand, and that same gesture has been carried out with The Hobbit.

More so than an authentic Middle Earth to fulfill my nerd cravings, I’m so freaking excited to see two of my favorite actors back on the screen again. In all her glory, Cate Blanchett will be returning to play the elf, Galadriel. And one who appears on cinema far less frequently, Ian McKellen will be returning as the hero of the saga – Gandalf. Okay so maybe not the hero, but definitely everyone’s favorite character. He made “fly, you fools” an immortally famous line, and I’m not the only one who drops the quote all the time. And then there’s the lesser known quote: “All we have to decide is what to do with the time given to us.”

I put the new trailer below. What do you think banterers, is this new trailer more of a cause to get excited than the last one?

Click here to view the embedded video.

One thing that I love about the Silent Hill films, regarding their relevance to the very particular genre of horror, is that there is not one moment where as an audience member I ever feel comfortable. Not one second where I can just ease into the back of my seat and slouch. I’m always on the edge of my chair, inches away from running out of the theater and ending the self-inflicted torture. But I have to stay. I mean, the films put you in this town where you can’t relate to anything. And the only character you can relate to is usually all on her own. Revelations 3D doesn’t look to be an exception. Check out the trailer:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Horrifying? I think yes. The monsters of the Silent Hill universe are so un-human, and in that vain, more terrifying than I think anything else around this month. Demons are usually depicted as the standard red skinned goat horned people, and ghosts as things we can’t see at all. In Revelations, I couldn’t put a name on what the horrors of the film are. They can be pin pointed down seemingly only to “scary-a**-monsters” which makes them even more scary.

If you want to see one, I recently came across a press release for the latest Silent Hill poster. Check it out below, and tell me in the comments section below how horrified you are:

IT’S COMING FOR YOU! Get a sneak peak of Red Pyramid in the new motion poster for SILENT HILL: REVELATION 3D, based on the groundbreaking video game franchise and the sequel to the hit film SILENT HILL.

Link to the new motion poster: http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-talk/silent-hill-revelation-3d-motion-poster-reveal-153041600.html

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SYNOPSIS:

Heather Mason (Adelaide Clemens) and her father (Sean Bean) have been on the run, always one step ahead of dangerous forces that she doesn’t fully understand. Now on the eve of her 18th birthday, plagued by horrific nightmares and the disappearance of her father, Heather discovers she’s not who she thinks she is. The revelation leads her deeper into a demonic world that threatens to trap her forever.

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Starring SEAN BEAN (HBO’s Game Of Thrones, Lord Of The Rings), RADHA MITCHELL (Man On Fire, The Crazies), ADELAIDE CLEMENS (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), KIT HARINGTON (HBO’s Game Of Thrones), CARRIE-ANNE MOSS (The Matrix, Disturbia), MALCOLM MCDOWELL (A Clockwork Orange, The Artist) and directed by Michael J. Bassett (SOLOMON KANE), SILENT HILL: REVELATION 3D hits theaters everywhere October 26, 2012.

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DOWNLOAD THE NEW PHOTOS: http://pr.mammothnyc.com/Silent%20Hill/Archive%202.zip

Official Poster: http://pr.mammothnyc.com/Silent%20Hill/SilentHill_Revelation_1Sht.jpg

Official Trailer: http://pr.mammothnyc.com/Silent%20Hill/Silent_Hill_Revelation__h264_720p(1).mov.zip

Official YouTube Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f06VJSsh8II&feature=youtu.be

Official Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/SilentHillRevelation

Official Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/silenthillmovie

#WelcomeToSilentHill

Today the red-band trailer for ‘Movie 43′ has been released and let me tell you, this looks like a great time at the theater. It’s chock full of A-list actors and actresses who seem to be having a blast. This raunchy comedy doesn’t have much of a plot it appears, just an ensemble comedy with intertwining storylines, but it doesn’t seem to matter because this film actually looks funny.

It boasts an extremely impressive cast as well: Elizabeth Banks, Kristen Bell, Anna Faris, Kate Bosworth, Gerard Butler, Josh Duhamel, Richard Gere, Hugh Jackman, Johnny Knoxville,  Justin Long, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloë Grace Moretz, Liev Schreiber, Seann William Scott, Emma Stone, Jason Sudeikis, Uma Thurman, Naomi Watts, and Kate Winslet! Now that’s what I call a cast.

Check out the trailer below, but be warned, it’s definitely NSFW!

Click here to view the embedded video.

What do you think Banters?

The first film was original, had realistic acting for its even realer characters, and had a few moments that actually frightened me. The second film dragged a bit for me, I thought it was genius to make a sequel that happened in the same time period as the original, but overall it felt like a letdown compared to the first. The third installment was another success in my book, it tried a new spin (prequel/origin story) and once again I found myself scared at certain moments. I also felt that it closed up the series quite well because it answered why the hauntings were happening (for the most part anyway). But alas Hollywood can’t let anything die, especially not films that are super cheap to produce and expected to make bank at the box office.

So like clockwork, ‘Paranormal Activity 4′ will be hitting theaters this year on October 19th. Groaaaannnnn. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not hating on this franchise at all, quite the contrary actually. I really enjoy the Paranormal Activity films, and that’s why I was disappointed when I saw the trailer for the 4th film. It doesn’t look like the filmmakers have tried anything original with this one. Besides the addition of the webcam, this looks like it uses the exact same scares as all the others. And to top it off, it doesn’t look like there is any real connection to the original family here. It gets points for having Katie and Hunter back from the originals, but who is this family being haunted and why should I care? Take a look at the trailer below and see for yourself:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Is it just me or has this series run its course? There’s only so long I can see the same scares and not get bored with it. Obviously I shouldn’t base an entire movie off of one trailer, perhaps the filmmakers are trying to hide the best stuff for the actual theater to not ruin anything now, but I’m not so sure. Either way, this film is bound to make tons of cash at the box office opening weekend so it doesn’t really matter what I think. There will undoubtedly be a ‘Paranormal Activity 5′ in theaters next year, so mark it on your calendars now.

What do you think of the Paranormal Activity franchise Banters?

I remember when I was just a boy in Elementary School. There was one week during black history month where we students had to choose a topic and do a project on it (write up some minuscule amount of text in paragraph format). Well somehow, I was lucky enough to choose the topic of Jackie Robinson. This man was super human. He went to UCLA and won varsity letters in football, basketball, baseball, and track. That’s four varsity letters, whereas most college students can’t even earn one. He actually would have been a football player if the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had not sucked the U.S into WWII.

Jackie Robinson was the first man of color to be allowed entry into the MLB. And when he got there, he was by far the best player the league had yet seen, playing in six world series out of the ten years he spent in baseball. Today he is so revered that the number 42 has been retired. Baseball players can only be seen wearing that number on April 15 (Jackie Robinson Day) on which every baseball player wears the number 42.

While he accomplished a lot, Robinson had a difficult time getting there. The racial inequality during that time was bad as ever, and he had to get through so much in order to become the man we remember him as today. That’s what I want to see: How he became the man we remember him as today. How he had the courage not to fight back.

I’ve only recently stumbled upon the trailer for this biopic, and before that, I honestly had no idea this film was even coming. The trailer offers much to be excited about. Chadwick Boseman is the actor playing Jackie Robinson, and he looks staggeringly like the man. I’m equally impressed with the similarity here as I was with Daniel Day-Lewis’ transformation into Honest Abe. Although – and this is hard for me to say – I enjoyed watching the 42 trailer way more than I did the Lincoln trailer. See for yourselves:

Click here to view the embedded video.