If there is one thing George Lucas has mastered over the past few decades, it’s reminding us that the first three Star Wars films were a fluke. Between pre-teen Darth Vader, Jar Jar, and a ridiculous dance sequence in Jedi, we have all come to the realization that the phenomena of Episodes 4-6 should be untouched and never tainted by the hands of its creator.

With that in mind, Lucas is (kind of) backpedaling from a drastic change to A New Hope that had fans up in arms when the Remastered version was released. In it, the famous scene where Han Solo kills Greedo was brought into question. The original had Han shoot first, killing Greedo before he gets a chance to fire. In the new version, Lucas changed history (Long Time Ago, etc etc) by having Greedo shoot first and miss, allowing Solo to shoot to kill.

Turns out, Lucas never changed anything, he just pulled the camera out a bit. Yeah.

The controversy over who shot first, Greedo or Han Solo, in Episode IV, what I did was try to clean up the confusion, but obviously it upset people because they wanted Solo [who seemed to be the one who shot first in the original] to be a cold-blooded killer, but he actually isn’t.

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Note: If you have any interest at all in seeing this film, I firmly advise that you go in completely cold and don’t read this until after you’ve seen it.

I don’t know if Chronicle is the first found-footage superhero film, but I’m certain it’s the best—and will remain so for a very long time. I had no idea what the film was about, and when it opened with a shot of a gloomy teenager filming the door to his bedroom while his drunk father angrily shouts to let him in, I groaned.

Goddammit, another one of those movies. When the kid said he was going to start filming everything, I groaned again. Dying mother? Ugh. Ugly kid clad in black? Blarg. By the time the kid started filming his cousin driving him to school and brought up Schopenhauer, I was about ready to check out.

Then it took a turn from the typical High-School-Sucks Movie into Horror, and I started to get interested. Then it took another turn into the Jackass realm. And just when I thought it would settle on Superhero Film, it just lingered on having a lot of fun with superpowers. But the best twists are saved until the end. Needless to say, when one character threw a baseball at another and it stopped dead in midair, I was hooked.

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I think George Lucas deserves some credit where it’s due, and say what you will about the prequels, the opening to Revenge of the Sith, with the dogfight over the planet was pretty awe-inspiring. So when the trailer for Red Tails came out, I was excited to see a Lucasfilm production that focused mainly on one of the strengths he still had.

And I’m pleased to say that he’s still got it. The dogfights in Red Tails look good, give a good sense of whose plane is whose (with the exception of the opening battle), further the plot, and build on each other. You can see the Lucas touch of following one plane during its flight then latching on to another.

In one sequence, a group (squadron?) take down a train, with one pilot taking it head on. Another shows how the under-equipped planes of the heroes are able to fight with lightning-fast German jets.

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2011 might go down as the year Hollywood finally figured out how to make a great prequel. Between the “X-cellent” X-Men: First Class and Rise of the Planet of the Apes we have seen two high profile franchises recieve a much needed quality boost back into the lime light.

The most impressive part of this movie is the performance of Andy Serkis as Caesar the ape. Millions of words have been written on the subject of his brilliant digital performance, and every single one of them speaks the truth. We are seeing the line between animation and performance blends so much that it is almost impossible to tell the difference.

This Blu-Ray presents the film, and a whole bunch of features that help you understand what exactly went into the astonishing effects work on the film. Of all the films that have come out in the last few years, this is one of the most worthy of a great set of features.

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Two of the best filmmakers working today have giant blockbusters planned for 2012. Christopher Nolan and Ridley Scott are both bringing continuations of their star making franchises to the big screen. While Nolan is ending his run in the Batman universe with The Dark Knight Rises, Ridley Scott is breathing new life into the dormant Alien franchise with a prequel that may or may not have all that much to do with the previous films.

The Dark Knight Rises poster focuses on Bane walking away from a shattered Batman cowl. This really sells the concept of finality that this film brings. It is also nice to see the filmmakers not shying away from the fact that the character of Bane was created for one purpose, to break the bat.

Prometheus on the other hand is a far more intriguing one-sheet. The large head that dominates the poster raises more questions then can be answered. There are also a lot of small little design choices that echo the fact that this movie is set in the Alien universe. That posters sits rater nicely next to previous Alien films.

Check out both new posters in their full glory after the jump.

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Once thought to be gone forever, Comedy Central has breathed life back into the mouth of the fan favorite Futurama, making fanboys and fangirls across the globe smile once again. Now things are continuing with better news, as the famed sixth season is coming to fans on Blu-ray and DVD.

As the second release on Blu-ray, this season is slated to bring fans even more fun features and extras. Here’s a sample:

Special Features (Blu-ray and DVD):

• Deleted Scenes
• Audio Commentary
• Professor Farnsworth’s “Science of a Scene”
• Reincarnation Explained! With Director Peter Avanzino
• Futurama F.A.Q. (Frequently Axed Questions)
• Christopher’s Big Score: The Music of Futurama
• Futurama Fans: 101 Questions

The set will be out on both Blu-ray and DVD just in time to fill your stocking on December 20th. Take a look at the full, beautiful box art after the jump and let’s hope we can make it more than 4 seasons this time!

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I wont spend a long time teasing you with different tidbits about why living in Los Angeles is the coolest thing ever, especially for a film fan, but suffice to say it is really amazing. This weekend provided yet more proof of that fact as street artist Anthony Lister painted a seriously cool Rise of the Planet of the Apes street mural on one of the cooler streets in town.

The art was inspired by the new release of Rise of the Planet of the Apes on Blu-Ray. Australian born artist Anthony Lister spent the better part of four nights last weekend conceiving, painting and generally monkeying around to celebrate on of his favorite films of the year.

“I’m an adventure painter. When I’m painting I just bring out the shapes that are already calling me. I’m a problem solver and when I am dealing with paintings conceptually and aesthetically I’m balancing these problems… The reason I’m going to be adding Rise of the Planet of the Apes to my collection is ’cause it is kinda like one of my favorite movies of the year. I mean I’m looking forward to seeing all those bits and how they did that”

The pictures showcase the look of the mural for sure, but having a chance to drive by it and see the art up close really emphasizes the artistry that goes into street art like this. It is great to see actual art being created for the release of this new Blu-Ray as opposed to the standard Photoshop heavy billboards that would have been much easier to create.

Check out some videos and a gallery on the creation of this awesome art after the jump.

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There’s a breezy charm to Jonah Hill. His nervousness is not on the level of Michael Cera, nor is he as biting a social observer as Seth Rogen. He just eases into the world, fires off some quips, and seems perfectly happy to stay where he is—good enough is good enough, and that’s just fine. Though that’s the roles he plays, I can’t speak much for the guy himself.

Nevertheless, The Sitter recognizes that and enjoys putting him in every situation possible to make him squirm. Jonah plays Noah (both biblical names, and both would be appropriate to describe the character), a 20-something jobless slacker with priors living at home with his single mother. If that weren’t enough, his something of a girlfriend Marisa (Ari Gaynor) refuses to, uh, toss him a lifejacket when he goes swimming below the equator (that’s so vague I’m not sure I even get it). And he’s dad’s a crook who ran away with Noah’s sitter, fathered another child, and runs a successful diamond business while neglecting to pay alimony. Damn.

Through a series of events (what the hell—his mom has a double date, the other couple’s sitter cancels, and Noah’s guilted into filling the role), Noah ends up as sitting for some friends three children, whose personalities range from closeted homosexual (not really a spoiler, since it’s announced in the kid’s first scene), trash-diva-in-training, and Danny Trejo’s illegitimate child—Slater (Where the Wild Things Are‘s Max Records), Blithe (Landry Bender), and the adopted Rodrigo (Kevin Hernandez), respectively.

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Found footage movies have been getting worse and worse lately. They one thing they have in common is that they have all been set in the horror or sci-fi genre. But what happens when there’s a supernatural superhero spin on a classic tale using the found footage storytelling device?

That’s what Fox’s newest film Chronicle discovers. The film is definitely made for the the MTV demographic, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be enjoyed by the geeky generation as well. Here’s a synopsis.

Three high school students make an incredible discovery, leading to them developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. As they learn to control their abilities, and use them to their advantage, their lives start to spin out of control, and their darker sides begin to take over.

The film comes from Josh Trank, the director behind the popular John Leguizamo miniseries Kill Point and is set to hit theaters on February 3rd. Take a look at the awesome trailer after the jump.

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There you have it. The title for the fifth (and hopefully final) chapter in the Die Hard franchise will be A Good Day to Die Hard. Before you get up in geeky arms, remember how much everyone hated the title Live Free or Die Hard when it was first announced, and there were plenty of folks that enjoyed that flick.

We’re hoping that this next flick won’t be social commentary pitting John McClane against the internet, but from what we’re getting from SlashFilm, it looks like things are getting a bit international.

The story is set in Russia and begins with John McClane heading to Moscow to sweet talk some cops into letting his apparently-wayward son out of jail for something he did, but when he gets there, things surrounding his son’s arrest are not as they appear and world-threatening terrorist hijinks ensue.

Wait, McClane has a son now? Where was he when everything was going down in Live Free? Or maybe the studio just decided to give Mary Elizabeth Winstead a sex change since the last we checked in with the McClanes.

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You already know the premise: A jilted/disillusioned–with-love-20/30-something revisits his/her past lovers to understand why he/she can’t find love, and finally realizes that her true love has been right there all along, in one form or another.

In this case, the Disillusionee is Ally Darling (Anna Faris), a recently-fired-then-slept-with-her-boss 20/30-something who reads a magazine article that says women who’ve slept with over 20 partners tend to not find true love. Ally is at number 19. Fearful of the consequences, she makes the decision that the next new guy she sleeps with will be the guy she marries. She also decides to seek out her former boyfriends/casual hookups, hoping to reignite some of the past’s embers and hence keep her number at 19.

There’s more than a passing similarity to High Fidelity in the premise and also in the choice to have several notable comedians—Andy Samberg, Parks and Rec’s (and Faris’s real-life husband) Chris Pratt, the BBCOffice’s Martin Freeman, Zachary Quinto (not so much a comedian, but hey)—and the perfect guy who’s been there all along is her next-door neighbor Colin (Captain America’s Chris Evans).

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In a time when digital HD, cable, and satellite TV bring us thousands (that’s right: thousands) of different channels to choose from in our day-to-day viewing schedule, doesn’t it make sense that one of those channels should be dedicated to one of the most popular animated sitcoms in American TV history?

That’s what News Corp. is thinking, as they’re toying with the idea of bringing us an entire channel dedicated to The Simpsons. Here’s the speculative report from LA Times.

Noting that “The Simpsons” shows no sign of slowing down as it prepares to start its 23rd season on News Corp.’s Fox network, News Corp. Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey said the company is starting to have internal discussions about how to create additional revenue streams for the animated hit that goes beyond reruns on TV stations and DVD sales.

Any effort at creating a platform just for “The Simpsons” may have to wait for the show to stop producing new episodes. Because the show is still in production after more than two decades, the rerun deals done years ago are still in effect. Once the show ends, so-called second cycle sales of repeat episodes can be sold. Although some shows might seem stale after 20 years, “The Simpsons” continues to be a solid performer.

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