Today, Sony released the second trailer for David Fincher’s Americanization of the Stieg Larsson novel and Swedish movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Yes, I know, we don’t usually like remakes around here, especially of perfectly good movies that only came out a coupler years ago.

Let Me In I’m talking to you. However, when we take into consideration the people involved in this production, we have to give it a chance.

After all, the film is directed by David Fincher, written by Steve Zallian and has music by Trent Reznor. Plus, it stars Daniel Craig and the talented Rooney Mara who was terrific in Fincher’s The Social Network.

And then we’ve got this new trailer. If you have any doubts this movie is going to be very good indeed, this new trailer should put those to rest.

Check out the trailer after the break. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo arrives in theaters on December 21.

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Last weekend, the world was taken by surprise as Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger blew past the final Harry Potter film and made it to the #1 spot in its very first weekend. Since then, the film has grossed over $115 million here in the US and upwards of $170 million worldwide. Not bad for the best superhero film of the year (according to Rotten Tomatoes).

This weekend, Cap may have gotten knocked off the top spot and only made roughly $24 million, but the more interesting part is the battle between Universal’s Cowboys & Aliens and Sony’s The Smurfs. Both films opened with an estimated $36.2 million in the domestic, and while Smurfs may be the winner overseas, with a total of $40 million worldwide, that’s simply because it’s the only film to have a foreign opening.

Not a very strong opening for either film (unless you consider Smurfs to be a small film), but the true champion will be determined tomorrow afternoon when the official numbers arrive for the domestic box office.

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It has cowboys. It has aliens. It has cowboys and aliens. It’s not a bad film. It’s not a good film. It is a movie. That’s a pretty lackluster opener, but, walking out of the screening, I felt almost completely neutral about Cowboys and Aliens–it was like the things I liked and the things I disliked were in perfect balance.

The film doesn’t fail to deliver on anything the title promises, and you can lose count of the standard tropes from either genre that it hits, but it’s tough to maintain the toothy grin I expected all throughout. Though I’m getting ahead of myself.

Daniel Craig plays Jake Lonergan (one of many last names I suspect are puns but am not entirely sure), a notorious outlaw who awakes one morning with a heavy case of amnesia and one hell of a bracelet on his left arm. He makes his way to the nearest town, controlled by the gruff cattle rancher Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford) and his uppity son Percy (Paul Dano), whose favorite pastime is terrifying the community at large and in particular the local bartender (Sam Rockwell) and his wife (Ana de la Reguera).

It’s not long before Jake endears himself to the locals, among them the soused preacher (Clancy Brown), the woman with a secret (Olivia Wilde), and, naturally, the sheriff (Keith Carradine) by punching out Percy, and not long after that that his identity is revealed, and he’s locked up. Still less longer, the aliens arrive, capture a handful of significant townsfolk, and everyone’s differences are set aside as they form a posse to recover the abductees. ‘round about this time, Jake discovers that his bracelet is able to sense the aliens and, better yet, can blow ‘em up real good.

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Just when you thought Spielberg was going to pack it all up and stick to producing, he announced that he was going to direct a new epic film (with the potential of sequels). Could he be working on big budget superhero flick? A giant alien sci-fi adaptation? Nope, we’re talking about the adventures of the French boy-detective in The Adventures of Tintin.

The crew is pretty star-studded, as well as the cast, with such names as Edgar Wright, Steven Moffat, Joe Cornish, Simon Pegg, Peter Jackson, Daniel Craig, and Spielberg himself joining in. Here’s the synopsis for those who aren’t caught up on their classic French comics.

Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures Present a 3D Motion Capture Film “The Adventures of Tintin” directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Steven Moffat and Edgar Wright & Joe Cornish. Starring Jamie Bell (“Billy Elliot,” “Defiance”) as Tintin, the intrepid young reporter whose relentless pursuit of a good story thrusts him into a world of high adventure, and Daniel Craig (“Quantum of Solace,” “Defiance”) as the nefarious Red Rackham.

Though there are plenty of big names and TONS of money behind this flick, the concept of motion-captured animation still leaves a bad taste in our mouths after such gems as A Christmas Carol and The Polar Express. Looks like we’ll have to wait and see if this falls in the same “dead behind the eyes” category of animation.

Check out the trailer after the jump and catch The Adventures of Tintin in theaters on December 23rd.

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Welcome to the first Trailer Tuesdays where you’re sure to find the best highlights from film trailers released theatrically or virally in the past week.  Plus, we throw in one trailer that’s so ridiculous that it’s awesome.

This week we found two major summer blockbusters that will hopefully prove to be good, not just cool, as well as one indie horror that will hopefully prove to be as scary as it is original.

Cowboys and Aliens

See trailer here

This film is a perfect example of a terrible premise with a cheesy title that is executed so well that it might actually turn out to be good.  The best quote I’ve heard about this film was when director Jon Favreau was being interviewed about why he chose to do this concept, he replied saying that since lots of people believed that aliens visited ancient cultures such as the Mayans and Egyptians, why can it not be believable that aliens visited the Old West?  So as long as he’s sticking by the idea, I’m down.

Certainly the best choices that were made for this film were getting Daniel Craig for the lead and Jon Favreau of Iron Man fame to direct.  This combination is certain to bring some real credibility to this film.  Craig seems to bring an old-school “bad ass-ness” to this part that has been lacking from most modern westerns.

No one could draw an alien side-arm as cool as him.  And Favreau has an uncanny ability to make even the most ridiculous action scenes seem somehow grounded in reality.

Of course you can’t forget Olivia Wilde, who is quickly becoming the hottest female action star; Sam Rockwell, who popped out of nowhere in this newest theatrical trailer but is nothing short of amazing in everything he does; and Harrison Ford, who just goes without saying.

Overall, this trailer is exciting and gets you pumped on some great visuals.  Hopefully this will be even better than Iron Man, as well as the coolest graphics of the summer.

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We know it was good news for both Bond fans and fans of the spy genre in general when it was announced that MGM was going through with the 23rd James Bond film. Now it looks like things could be getting better, as 20th Century Fox is looking into distributing the film.

From THR:

The new MGM management team of Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum has been talking informally to Paramount, where Barber and Birnbaum have a long-standing relationship. But last Friday, they also listened to a pitch from top Fox executives, who argue that their studio would do the best job exploiting Bond, as well as other future MGM films. They also believe they could wring the most out of the MGM library.

Fox has had a longstanding deal to distribute MGM movies on DVD and its films overseas, though that pact is set to expire in September.

The main contenders look to be Paramount and Fox, but that doesn’t mean that Sony, the studio that released the last two Bond films to theaters, is out of the fight. We’ll find out soon enough where MGM decides to land.

Great news for Jams Bond fans everywhere. Deadline is reporting that a deal has been made and beleaguered studio MGM has announced a new Bond film, dubbed Bond 23, is set to go into production later this year with an eye to a November 9th, 2012 release.

In more good news, Daniel Craig will be returning as the legendary British secret agent, with Sam Mendes directing a screenplay written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan. That script is being kept under wraps, of course, but we do know the story begins after the events of Quantum Of Solace.

In addition, there’s no word on who might play the next Bond villain or, in more important news, who will be the next “Bond Girl.” While those are being hashed out I would also like to recommend to Sam Mendes that he give Felix Leiter a bit more to do this time around as I would like to see Jeffrey Wright keep getting work. Also, I would not mind if Olga Kurylenko came back for this one either. She’s always welcome.

Of course, given Daniel Craig’s “friendship” with Rachel Weisz, there’s always a chance she might make an appearance. That would be ok with me as well. We probably won’t see Kate Winslet in this one though, for obvious reasons.

As for other villains or Bond Girls, who would you like to see make an appearance in Bond 23?

James Bond returns to familiar territory in Goldeneye 007 for Wii, which is a remake of the much-loved classic Goldeneye 007 for Nintendo 64. However, there’s a lot of changes in this new Wii version, and all of them are wise ones.

Daniel Craig’s Bond is now our star, and the gameplay is familiar yet foreign, allowing for a sense of nostalgia while still bringing a unique and new game to the Wii in the form of Goldeneye 007.

In Goldeneye 007 for Wii, the plot and gameplay of the Nintendo 64 game is maintained, but tailored to the Wii in a way that really works. Graphics are updated, and the story is tailored to fit Daniel Craig’s portrayal of Bond, details that make Craig’s appearance in this game make sense and bring a fresh experience to both newcomers to 007 and die-hard fans.

Transitions between gameplay and cut-scenes are seamless in this game, making it really enjoyable to experience the story of Goldeneye, whether you’re a fan of Bond or just a lover of a good ol’ fashioned shooter. Because we haven’t gotten a James Bond movie in quite some time, the top-notch cinematics and voice acting from Daniel Craig and Judie Dench almost make up for that.

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As if yesterday wasn’t a big enough day for trailers, between Green Lantern, Your Highness, and Red Riding Hood, but it looks like the best was yet to come, as the first trailer for Jon Favreau’s Cowboys & Aliens, starring both Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, hits the web.

Based on the 2006 graphic novel by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, the story is both classic and awesome. Here’s the official synopsis.

1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford).

It’s a town that lives in fear. But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known. Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation.

As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents–townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors–all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.

Check out the full trailer after the jump and check out Cowboys & Aliens in theaters on July 29th.

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November 2nd marked an important day in video games, the return of James Bond to video games, not just with Goldeneye but the newest edition and 24th Bond game made with James Bond 007: Blood Stone. With Goldeneye on its way, Blood Stone fell under the radar for most approaching its release. Unfortunately compared to its Wii counterpart, Blood Stone falls somewhat short of expectations and falls into the territory of being an average third person cover based shooter.

Gameplay:

James Bond 007: Blood Stone’s action consists of two main gameplay types. The first and most widely used is the third person shooter. Players use a basic cover mechanic to pop out from behind walls and bunkers to take out oncoming foes. The shooting is fairly accurate and the autolock often aims are opponents bodies making players use some degree of twitch skill to move in to a head shot. Unfortunately, these head shots don’t always register as well as they should, even with the most accurate of guns.

Even on the Agent (normal) difficulty, some foes who are not wearing protective headgear or are shot right in the face take multiple shots to bring down. In a realistic setting (i.e. not zombies, superheroes or space aliens), this definitely pulls a player out of the game as they wonder what adamantium skull must be taking this kind of punishment. While the pop in and out shooting can be fun for some time, it does begin to get slightly repetitive as the enemy AI doesn’t effectively use cover to draw the player into a vulnerable position.

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While players think of 007 as a first person franchise when fondly remembering Goldeneye on the Nintendo 64, most forget the lack of success that subsequent releases on the PlayStation 2 garnered. Hoping to reinvent the wheel, Bizarre creations is releasing a new third-person action adventure featuring the British super spy.

Coming to the XBox 360, PC, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo DS, James Bond 007: Blood Stone will be an original Bond experience coming from screenwriter Bruce Feirstein (Tomorrow Never Dies and Goldeneye).

In addition to Daniel Craig (Bond) and Judi Dench (M), Grammy and BRIT award winning artist Joss Stone will be featured in a leading role in the game. Stone, as seen in the screen shots below, will also be creating new original music for the game as well.

“James Bond 007: Blood Stone captures the cinematic intensity of a Bond film by immersing players in an intriguing conspiracy that will require them to think and act like James Bond,” said David Pokress, Head of Marketing for Licensed Properties, Activision Publishing.  “In addition, the game will feature a diverse array of multi-player modes and debut strategic objective-based gameplay that will allow Xbox 360, PS3 and PC players to battle as teams of spies and mercenaries through authentic Bond locales.”

Check out the trailer and screens of Craig and Stone in James Bond 007: Blood Stone.

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Whatever your feelings about director Jon Favreau’s work on the recent Iron Man 2 (for the record both Matt and I enjoyed it but didn’t love it) he’s moving forward with his next project. Not surprisingly, it will also be an adaptation of a comic book. In this case, that would be the comic Cowboys & Aliens written by Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley.

We’ve brought you info on this film previously, including some casting and script news, and now thanks to DreamWorks Pictures, we can bring you the official synopsis for the film, which is being adapted by scribes Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof and stars Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell and Noah Ringer:

1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It’s a town that lives in fear.

But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.

Continue Reading →