Many can debate that modern alien invasion films can’t hold a candle to classics like The Day The Earth Stood Still or War of the Worlds, but one thing that we have today that sets us apart is viral marketing. That’s exactly what’s starting up for the upcoming “military vs. alien” film Battle: Los Angeles.

Over the weekend, a 4 second long YouTube video was released, showing a brigade of alien spacecrafts hovering over the 110 freeway. If submitting a 4 second video to YouTube and getting upwards of 100,000 views in less than a week isn’t considered viral, then we don’t know what is.

For those who want to stay in touch with all things Battle: Los Angeles, they can report to the fictional site that allows citizens to report alien threats at reportthreats.com, like them on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter.

Check out the mysterious viral video after the jump. Battle: Los Angeles is set to hit theaters on March 11th.

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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.

While Skyline may not have turned too many heads in theaters last month, Sony is hoping that won’t effect the turnout for their big alien invasion film set to hit theaters next year: Battle: Los Angeles.

The last trailer we got gave us a bit more of the titular Battle, but this new trailer to hit the web now gives us history of this world where aliens have been invading for years. Here’s the synopsis.

For years, there have been documented cases of UFO sightings around the world – Buenos Aires, Seoul, France, Germany, China. But in 2011, what were once just sightings will become a terrifying reality when Earth is attacked by unknown forces. As people everywhere watch the world’s great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. It’s up to a Marine staff sergeant (Aaron Eckhart) and his new platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any they’ve ever encountered.

Not only does this new spot show us more, but it spills the beans in a possible franchising plan by calling this film World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles. Does this mean we could get more Battles after this one? We’ll have to see how LA fairs against the extra terrestrials on March 11th.

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Well, it wasn’t anyone we expected. Not Anton Yelchin, Josh Hutcherson, Aaron Johnson or any one of a list of young up-and-coming actors who had been associated with the role. In fact, it wasn’t anyone we’ve really heard of, sorry to say. But regardless of that, it appears Sony Pictures has selected the actor who will be taking on the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Marc Webb’s reboot of Spider-Man.

That actor: Andrew Garfield, late of The Other Boleyn Girl, Boy A and soon to be seen in The Social Network. Yeah, I had to look it up too. Webb, of course, is wild about the choice.

“Though his name may be new to many, those who know this young actor’s work understand his extraordinary talents. He has a rare combination of intelligence, wit, and humanity. Mark my words, you will love Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker.”

Well, there you go. I guess we’ll see if we really do. In the meantime, congrats to Andrew and good luck with the new role. We’ll be watching.

Check out the full Sony press release after the jump.

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To all who have survived the month of June by successfully traversing lines of blood-sucking twihards, I congratulate you. You can relax now because the steaming month of July is less about men of iron and teenagers who use SPF 60 and more about whiz kids, dreamers, and spies.

Movie studios may appear to be throwing grenades into your trench, but don’t let the eye-catching blue and orange of the movie posters fool you. These grenades are merely filled with smoke and a good amount of marketing slickness. They will explode in your face only when you yank the pin by paying $12. Then, they will have truly won the battle. Instead of succumbing to the propaganda, arm yourselves wisely with the reviews below.

Those in the know will hold their breath until August when the golden generation of action heroes team up to save the world, kick some ass before kicking the bucket, and get sweaty enough to take off their shirts- giving both men and women some very good reasons for sitting in an air-conditioned multiplex.

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Back in September, we brought you word of an indie superhero flick out of Canada making some waves at the Toronto Film Festival. It looks like the film has now grown in popularity and moved South, as it’s getting an official DVD release with Sony Pictures, and a limited theatrical run as well.

The film stars Woody Harrelson as a mentally disturbed man named Arthur Poppington who decides to take justice back in his city and fight crime as the masked avenger, The Defendor. The film also stars Kat Dennings, Sandra Oh, and Elias Koteas, which rounds out the cast to a pretty decent level.

Either way, Harrelson’s performance has gotten rave reviews, and will be hitting New York and Los Angeles in a few months to coincide with it’s April 13th release date on DVD.

The studio amped up the marketing with a new trailer, which you can check out after the jump, thanks to our pals at Trailer Addict.

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Coming directly from the “that didn’t take long” department comes word that Sony has already confirmed a new director for its next Spider-Man film and that person is (500) Days of Summer helmer Marc Webb. Representatives of Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios made a joint announcement today regarding the decision.

In a joint statement by Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Matt Tolmach, president of Columbia Pictures, the studio highlighted what went into the decision: “At its core, Spider-Man is a small, intimate human story about an everyday teenager that takes place in an epic super-human world. The key for us as we sought a new director was to identify filmmakers who could give sharp focus to Peter Parker’s life.”

“We wanted someone who could capture the awe of being in Peter’s shoes so the audience could experience his sense of discovery while giving real heart to the emotion, anxiety, and recklessness of that age and coupling all of that with the adrenaline of Spider-Man’s adventure,” continued the statement. “We believe Marc Webb is the perfect choice to bring us on that journey.”

Let’s hope so.

About a month ago, we brought you news about the little indie movie that could in The Assassination of a High School President and it’s fight for a theatrical release, or at the very least, a distributor. Fortunately, the film’s fight appears to be over now with its distribution being picked up by Sony Pictures for an expected DVD release.

The film is about high school newspaper reporter Bobby Funke (Rocket Science’s Reece Thompson), who uncovers a series of conspiracy plots going on in his private school. The film also brings in Bruce Willis, Mischa Barton, and Michael Rapaport to fill in the supporting cast for what most critics are calling “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in high school”.

This is the directorial debut of Brett Simon, with a script from Tim Calpin and Kevin Jakubowski, former production assistants on South Park. The film’s special features include plenty of alternate and extended scenes, including an alternate opening sequence and a slew of deleted scenes. The Assassination of a High School President hits DVD and Blu-Ray on October 6th. You can check out the trailer for the film after the jump.

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We haven’t posted all that much about Roland Emmerich’s epic disaster movie 2012 here at the site because it doesn’t really look all that good. There was a punchy little trailer about a month back, which we posted for your viewing pleasure, but that didn’t really raise our expectations. Thankfully, the friendly folks at i09 put together this lovely remix of the trailer, to show off it’s true nature, and help us all comprehend how ridiculous the movie really looks.

For those still thinking optimistically, the film is written and directed by Roland Emmerich, who brought us such films as 10,000 BC and The Day After Tomorrow. According to IMDB, the movie is “an epic adventure about a global cataclysm that brings an end to the world and tells of the heroic struggle of the survivors.”

Those survivors include such names as John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Thandie Newton, Woody Harrelson, Oliver Platt, and Danny Glover. 2012 hits screens November 13 of this year.

Check out the new trailer “remix” after the jump.

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