More and more movie studios are using unconventional methods to distribute their movies, and it gives us a lot more options than we ever had before.  It used to be that if you didn’t live on one of the coasts, or in a huge city, you could never catch an independent or arthouse film while it ran in theaters.  You had to wait months and months for the film to be released on DVD.

Now, we are seeing more and more movies getting a “pre-theatrical release” via On Demand.  You can choose an outlet, pay a minimal fee, and watch the movie in the comfort of your home.

Ryan Gosling’s latest film, All Good Things, will make it’s debut On Demand on November 5, a full month before it shows in theaters. The movie also stars Kirsten Dunst, Kristin Wiig, Frank Langella, and Philip Baker Hall.

Andrew Jarecki (Capturing the Friedmans) directs and produces the film.  Jarecki also produced this year’s Sundance hit Catfish.

Synopsis: Inspired by the most notorious missing persons case in New York history, All Good Things is a love story and murder mystery set against the backdrop of a New York real estate dynasty in the 1980′s.

You can watch the official trailer embedded after the jump.  The movie will be available On Demand via Amazon, Play Station 3,  ATT Uverse, Xbox 360, and more.  For a complete list of available outlets, visit the Magnolia website.

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It’s been 23 years since the original Wall Street, and Michael Douglas reprises his role as corporate raider Gordon Gekko, freshly released from prison and ready to ascend right back to the top from which he fell. The role of Gordon’s protégé, played by Charlie Sheen in the first film, is filled by current hot-property Shia LeBeouf, the kid who’s been popping up in every big-budget production from Transformers to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I’m not entirely sure why.

Here he plays Jacob Moore, a clean-air advocate and propriety trader for the crashing firm of Keller Zabel, headed by his mentor Lewis Zabel (Frank Langella). The reason Zabel’s headed down the tubes is because of a bogus rumor spread by hedge-fund manager Bretton James (Josh Brolin), who purportedly also had a hand in bringing Gekko down. James offers to buy the dying firm for a pittance, which leads Zabel to commit suicide and sets Jake out for revenge.

Jake’s also engaged to Winnie (Carey Mulligan), owner of a fledgling environmental blog and Gekko’s daughter, whose relationship with her father has been estranged ever since the suicide of her brother Rudy. At a signing for Gekko’s new book, Jake meets up with his soon-to-be father-in-law and two form a pact: Gekko will help Jake bring down James if Jake helps Gekko reconnect with his daughter. And all the while Jake struggles to get his pet project, a clean, fusion (I believe)-based energy company, off the ground.

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Things have been pretty quiet for the upcoming sequel to Wall Street since we caught a glimpse of some set photos with Shia LeBeouf and Frank Langella a few months ago. Since then, production has finished up and we finally have a trailer to enjoy.

The film follows almost real-time after the events of the original 1987 film. Gordon Gecko is getting out of prison, and wants back in the game, except everything is different now. Douglas joins in with newcomer LeBeouf, as well as some old friends including Charlie Sheen, Susan Sarandon, and Frank Langella.

Given where the economy and Wall Street is today, compared to 1987, you can expect this film to take an interesting turn and border on didactic. Oliver Stone is returning to helm the sequel, who’s best known for his topical films such as World Trade Center and  W, so expect to see some potshots taken at the financial climate.

Check out the first new trailer after the jump, and catch Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps in theaters on April 23rd.

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About a week ago a colleague of mine asked why in the world I wanted to go see The Box. I explained that I found the premise fascinating. What if you were told that if you pushed a certain button, you would get a million dollars, but there is a catch. When you push the button, somebody you do not know will die. What would you do?

Therein lies the premise of The Box. This is the third film by Richard Kelly, who garnered cult-like status with Donnie Darko (2001), then wide ridicule for his follow up Southland Tales (2006). Lots of movie types were looking toward this movie to determine whether Kelly is a gifted director, or a one hit wonder. I’m sorry to tell you after viewing this convoluted mess, it seems like a case of the director having no clothes. It’s one thing to be a little avant-garde  with your vision, another entirely to just throw weird crap in your movie and hope that it sticks.

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There are plenty of sequels and reboots of films that shouldn’t be getting made today. From things like Big Mama’s House 2 to The Incredible Hulk, most of these films don’t really have a reason to get made. Then there is a film like Wall Street 2 that could have a decent social or economic message if it were done properly today. Luckily, this film sequel not only has the original cast returning, but Shia LaBeouf will be throwing his hat into the ring as well.

Recently, set pictures from the film have popped up online (form a Shia LaBeouf fansite) of LaBeouf shooting alongside Frank Langella in what looks like Central park, while being directed by Oliver Stone. Langella plays LaBeouf’s mentor in the film, teaching him the ways of Wall Street. Other than the fact that Michael Douglas is returning to reprise his legendary role of Gordon Gekko and that characters will most likely learn valuable lessons about the dangers of greed, we don’t know much else about the plot of the film.

Check out the images after the jump. Expect to see Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps in theaters April 23, 2010.

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