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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There was a kind of grandeur to the science-fiction films of the 1960s. Naturally they didn’t have the kinds of special effects that we have now, but they worked on big ideas, from the nature of humanity in 2001: A Space Odyssey to the contemporary fears of overpopulation in Soylent Green to the timeless question of whether apes will be our masters in the original Planet of the Apes.

I can’t think of many (or any for that matter) modern remakes that recapture or even attempt to emulate that grandeur of their bigger-thinking predecessors (however silly their concerns may have been). Instead of big ideas, Rise has a pretty simple story: James Franco is a researcher at a drug company, working on a cure for Alzheimer’s that accelerates the creation of brain tissue.

During a board meeting with the investors, one of his brightest test subjects escapes and crashes the party at exactly the wrong time. The beast is put down, but she’s revealed to have been pregnant, and Franco adopts her son (prophetically named “Caesar” by Franco’s senile father, played by John Lithgow). As the years go by, Franco realizes that the cure injected into the mother has been passed on to Caesar, who’s developed into a Superchimp, exhibiting an uncanny intelligence.

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Here it is, the brand new trailer for the upcoming Rise of the Planet of the Apes. 20th Century Fox has released the second trailer for director Rupert Wyatt‘s film which stars James Franco, Andy Serkis, Frida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, and Tom Felton.

The new film is a reboot and prequel of the Planet of the Apes franchise which takes place in present day. It features a science twist on how animal testing eventually leads to an ape revolt and the apes, well, rising.

The new trailer gives us more info on the plot and more about the setup that eventually leads the apes to realize their human masters need to go. So, far, after two trailers, the film is looking pretty good. It reamins to be seen if it eventually lives up to the hype. Sadly, it probably won’t.

Either way, check out the trailer after the jump. Get your stinking paws on Rise of the Planet of the Apes when it takes over theaters on August 5th.

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Yes, folks, it’s time for more Planet of the Apes as 20th Century Fox has released the first trailer for one of its potential Summer blockbusters, Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The new film, a prequel to the original film series, is an origin story where scientist James Franco is experimenting on apes to find a cure for Alzheimer’s and instead creates a mutated ape called Caesar, played by Andy Serkis.

Obviously, complications ensue and Franco’s character is forced to choose between his love of science and protecting his new creation. In the trailer we get our first good look at the apes as well as Franco and some of the film’s co-stars.

Not sure if this is an improvement over the original Apes films made famous by Chuck Heston and Roddy McDowell. Still, it’s got to be better than Tim Burton’s attempt. That just wasn’t good at all.

Check out the trailer after the break. Get your stinking paws on Rise of the Planet of the Apes when it invades theaters on August 5th.

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Your Highness is the movie equivalent of Mongolian BBQ: You get your plate and come to the first station, the meat.

There are some things you feel comfortable with, like the chicken (James Franco) and the lamb (Natalie Portman), some things that, sure, you could go for, like the lovely push-up-bra-wearing mahi-mahi (Zooey Deschanel), and then there’s the weird stuff you’re not certain you’ve heard of, like the surimi (Justin Theroux) and the calamari (Danny McBride), which you nevertheless feel obligated to try because, hey, you’re at the Mongolian BBQ, and you wouldn’t be here unless you were trying to try new things.

Then you get to the veggies. You have no idea what combination works with what, so you toss in some of everything–water chestnuts (R-rated sight gags), bean sprouts (stoner humor), edamame (dirty puns), and then you decide “What the Hell?” and go full Mongoloid by cramming in a bunch of peppers and drenching it in spicy buffalo and Tzatzihi sauce (foul, foul language, boobies, five-headed dragons…) to make it (hopefully) interesting.

And after it’s all been worked up, you’re served with something that’s surprisingly tolerable at first, but tastes a little ickier with each successive bite.

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Yesterday, we brought you the first full batch of clips from next weekend’s Your Highness, the stoner road comedy set in Medieval Times starring Danny McBride and James Franco. The clips were so good, we wanted to bring you more.

In this newest batch we have for you, you’ll get a little bit of Natalie Portman being bad ass, Justin Theroux being sinister, and Danny McBride trying to pull off a terrible British accent.

The film that first comes to mind when looking at clips and trailer for Your Highness is easily Cheech & Chong’s The Corsican Brothers. McBride and Franco have developed a modern-day Cheech & Chong personas, with very little changing other than the contemporary references.

Another great element in what we can see from these clips is that Portman is acting like she’s in a completely different film. This could either help or hurt her role. If the character never breaks from the stoic, hard-assed maiden to McBride and Franco’s cartoonish antics, it could most certainly help the film’s tone.

Check out the three new clips after the jump, and be sure to go see Your Highness in theaters on April 8th.

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Imagine a world where the characters from Pineapple Express and Lord of the Rings clashed. That’s exactly what Danny McBride and his writing partner Ben Best had in mind when they gave birth to the idea which became Your Highness.

The synopsis is just about what you’d think this team could come up with after getting really stoned and reading old Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks.

Thadeous (Danny McBride) is a lazy, arrogant prince with his brother, Fabious (James Franco) must go on an epic quest in order to save their father’s kingdom. Natalie Portman plays a warrior princess who is also the lazy prince’s love interest. Zooey Deschanel plays Belladonna, Fabious’ virginal bride. Justin Theroux plays Leezar, the evil wizard who kidnaps Belladonna. Michael Clarke Duncan plays the Giant Troll.

Pretty funny, right? That’s what we thought. We’ve got some pretty awesome clips for you this week so be sure to check out the first batch after the jump.

Catch Your Highness and all of its antics in theaters on April 8th.

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As it is every week, this week’s episode of The Flickcast is brimming with fun, entertainment, knowledge and all sorts of humor and insightful commentary. Hey, we think its funny so there.

Anyway, this week Chris and Matt are back after a short break with all new topics of discussion. Some of these topics include the Oscars, new trailers for various movies including Source Code, the iPad 2, and a whole lot more.

Chris and Matt also make some new picks this week to help guide you and highlight movies, TV shows, games and more that you may not have heard of. What were the picks? Well, Matt picked a movie and so did Chris. For what those picks actually are, you’re going to have to listen to the show. Trust us, it’s worth it.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook and MySpace or via email.

The 2011 Oscars attempted to differentiate itself from past telecasts by bringing in younger hosts (Anne Hathaway and James Franco) and keeping things fresh. The opening montage featuring the best films nominees was quite funny. Though Franco appeared to be a bit out of it *ahem*, Hathaway was engaging and adorable.

Hathaway was hilarious in a fake musical number.  As for Franco, he randomly appeared in drag. He donned a hot pink satin gown and rocked it like Marilyn Monroe in Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend (or like Madonna in the  Material Girl video if you are of the younger generation).

Hathaway and Franco were oddly absent for most of the show.  They had nice chemistry, but most of the categories kind of took care of themselves.

Here is a list of the winners. These awards are in the order they were presented on the show. Analysis coming later today.

• Art Direction Alice in Wonderland
• Cinematography Inception
• Best Supporting Actress Melissa Leo The Fighter
• Best Animated Short The Lost Thing
• Best Animated Feature Film Toy Story 3
• Best adapted screenplay Aaron Sorkin The Social Network
• Best Original Screenplay David Seidler The King’s Speech
• Best Foreign Film In a Better World
• Best Supporting Actor Christian Bale The Fighter
• Best Original Score Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross The Social Network
• Best Sound Mixing Inception
• Best Sound editing Inception
• Best Makeup The Wolfman
• Best Costume Alice in Wonderland
• Best Documentary Short Strangers No More
• Best Live Action Short Film God of Love
• Best Documentary Feature Inside Job
• Best Visual Effects Inception
• Best Film Editing The Social Network
• Best Original Song Randy Newman “We Belong Together” Toy Story 3
• Best Director Tom Hooper The King’s Speech
• Best Actress Natalie Portman Black Swan
• Best Actor Colin Firth The King’s Speech
• Best Picture The King’s Speech

On the night of January 16th, Hollywood was split in twine after Ricky Gervais’ performance as the host of the evening’s events. One half felt that Gervais went over the line with his sardonic humor and felt that he was rude and crass, while the other half understood his sense of humor and realized he was doing his job as a “comedian.”

Now, continuing in his trend of bitterness, the original Office star has posted on his blog some suggestions to Oscar hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway, in case they have time they need to fill.

Without further adieu, we present to you Ricky Gervais’ suggested script for this year’s Oscars. We’ve got what we think is a pretty good sample below, and check out the full script full of self-deprecating humor over at Gervais’ official blog.

JF
Thank you. I’m James Franco.

AH
…and I’m Anne Hathaway.

JF
You probably know me from 127 Hours where I play a man trapped in an enclosed space who decides he would rather cut his own arm off than stay where he was. Now that sounds “way out” but wait till half way through this fucking ceremony and you’ll start to identify with him.

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This may be the biggest year for the Academy Awards, as some major Hollywood players are going up against some fresh newcomers. Eyeballs everywhere will be glued to ABC on Sunday, February 27th at 8PM E/5PM P when the awards show goes live. But before that, we decided to do some picking of our own with the staff’s predictions for each award.

For a full list of the nominees, check out our previous article on the subject. Now, on to the predictions.

Best Picture

Shannon Hood-The Social Network. It had early and consistent momentum all year, and the Academy appears to be trying to shake up their stodgy image. This would be the perfect film to put their money where their mouth is.

Matt Raub – True Grit. Not only are the Coens a regular in the “I Have an Oscar” club, but this testament to classic western films is definitely one for record books, between its all-star cast and gritty (no pun intended) visual style, this one definitely deserves the golden statue.

Chris Ullrich – True Grit. Even though this was a pretty great year for movies and there are many excellent choices in this category, True Grit stands on its own as my pick. As an example of pure movie storytelling, this Coen Brothers masterpiece excels on every level and delivers a pure entertainment experience you will want to revisit many more times in the future.

Cortney Zamm – The Social Network. There’s a lot of great films in this category, some of them from my favorite directors and starring my favorite people. But the one that combined all of the essential elements of filmmaking into a truly gorgeous, compelling, and memorable film was The Social Network.

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the  nominees for the 83rd annual award ceremony this morning. The King’s Speech was the front-runner with 12 nominations. Overall, there weren’t too many surprises.

Many were disappointed  that Christopher Nolan did not receive a best director nod, but as a consolation prize, Inception was nominated as a contender for best picture.
True Grit did quite well, with Hailee Steinfeld nabbing a best supporting actress nod, and nominations for best picture, best director(s), best actor, and best adapted screenplay. Winter’s Bone was recognized for best actress, best picture, and best adapted screenplay. Dogtooth, Jackie Weaver, and Javier Bardem were nice surprises.

Here are the nominees in the order that they were announced.

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter The King’s Speech
Melissa Leo The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld True Grit
Jackie Weaver Animal Kingdom

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale The Fighter
John Hawkes Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner The Town
Mark Ruffalo The Kids Are All Right
Jeffrey Rush The King’s Speech

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