We can encapsulate this in a simple way. If you loved Ted as we did, you’ll love Seth MacFarlane’s next movie A Million Ways to Die In the West. It’s pretty much that simple.

Although, as far as we know, there’s no talking bear in this one, it does have plenty of horses and some hotties like Charlize Theron and Amanda Seyfried. So yeah, there’s that.

Also, it’s a Western and features Liam Neeson as the bad guy. Love it. Check out the Redband trailer after the break. And remember, this is NSFW. But still, enjoy. We know we will.

Look for A Million Ways to Die In the West to hit theaters on May 30.

About 15 minutes in I decided I wanted some popcorn, and upon looking at my phone, it appeared that an hour and a half had passed. From what I understand, that hasn’t been the standard reaction across the Internet, but for me at least, Django was incredibly easy to watch, and not for a moment did I want it to end.

The structure is right in tune with many Spaghetti Westerns (itself being one more in a long series of unofficial sequels to Sergio Corbucci’s 1966 film Django): the compacted serial with each episode lasting a half hour or so. There’s an overarching plot, but just as much does it like to get sidetracked in subplots.

The main story centers around Django (Jamie Foxx), a runaway slave many times over who only wants to be reunited with his wife. He has the good fortune of meeting up with Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), a German dentist turned bounty hunter, hot on the trail of the notorious Brittle Brothers. Django, a former acquaintance of the Brittles, is the only man alive who knows what they look like, and Schultz, gleefully operating within the laws and well versed in all the loopholes, buys Django to help him hunt down the bounty.

After some casting news, a poster and some official photos, the first teaser for Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained has arrived. I won’t go into too much detail about the teaser, but let’s just say it looks to be another very interesting movie from Tarantino and perhaps a fitting successor to his last effortInglourious Basterds.

As a fan of the director and his work, I’m probably a bit biased here. Still, that doesn’t mean this movie won’t be great. I think it probably will.

Or, at the very least, it won’t be boring — which is more than I can say for a lot of movies these days. Check out the teaser after the break. Look for Django Unchained to hit theaters on Christmas day.

With a few directors working in Hollywood today, you never really know what to expect and that makes their films even more fun to watch. One such director is Quentin Tarantino who’s upcoming Django Unchained promises to be very unexpected indeed.

Previously, we brought you some stills from the upcoming film. And now, there’s more. This time around we get a better look at the actors and a shot of the director in action, which is always fun.

In case you’re not familar with the film, it’s set two years before the Civil War and focuses on a former slave called Django (Jamie Foxx) who must join forces with a ruthless German bounty hunter called Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) to free his captive wife from the clutches of evil plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio).   See what I mean, unexpected.

Check out all the new pics after the break. Look for Django Unchained to hit theaters Christmas Day.

Of the 42 massively anticipated films coming out over the next year, only one of them is a new Tarantino film. Django Unchained is one of the most exciting concepts to come down the pike in a long time, and the addition of such an amazing cast only cements the expectations.

Entertainment Weekly has unchained the first official shots from the film showcasing three of its high class stars. The first shot looks incredibly western-y with Christophe Waltz and Jamie Foxx looking fantastic in some period gear.

The second image is far more exciting. Leonardo DiCaprio as evil plantation owner Calvin Candie, who makes his strongest slaves fight each other to the death. This cruel basterd has Foxx’s wife, and the plot of the movie will generally revolve around his attempts to save her.

With a Christmas release date, hopefully we should be seeing some actual footage soon. Inglorius Basterds and Kill Bill were high water marks for Tarantino’s visual style, so there is great excitement to see what he does with a western sandbox. The possibilities are staggering when a filmmaker is on a career high, his concept is solid gold and has the cast to pull it off.

Check out the full pictures after the jump.

Some days it just doesn’t pay to get outta bed. First, the news broke this morning that Ridley Scott is jumping aboard the sequel/reboot train once again with a new Blade Runner movie which, let’s face it, is basically a terrible idea and completely unnecessary.

Now word comes that his brother Tony is prepping a reboot of Sam Peckinpah’s western classic The Wild Bunch. WTF? Sorry Tony, but that’s about as stupid an idea as rebooting or making a sequel to Blade Runner. Oh, wait. . .

Instead of mining classic films looking for good ideas you obviously can’t come up with yourself, how about finding some smart writers to come up with some ideas for you? I’m sure you can find one or two talented writers in all of Hollywood.

If you’re having trouble, I’ll get some friends of mine to send you over some scripts. Really, it’s no trouble. In the meantime, stick to making ridiculous movies about trains that won’t stop or trains that get taken over by terrorists or, well, you get the idea.

Please, leave the actual thinking to others. It’s painfully obvious you’re not capable of doing any yourself.

Oh, on another note, nobody plays baseball in the rain. It’s just stupid.

You have to hand it to Quentin Tarantino. Besides being a very talented director who tells interesting stories well he’s also got the ability to put together some great ensemble casts. From his fist film Reservoir Dogs, through his most recent Inglorious Basterds, the director never ceases to lock in some great actors for his films.

He’s continuing that trend with his upcoming Sergio Leone-inspired western Django Unchained. He’s already got Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson and Leonardo DiCaprio. Now, according to Deadline, we can add Oscar-winner Kevin Costner to the mix as well.

According to the report, Costner would play Ace Woody, “the sadistic trainer of the male fighting slaves who entertain the white patrons of Candyland as well as the female slaves who are forced to be prostitutes. The club and ranch are owned by Calvin Candie (DiCaprio) and Ace Woody is the one who pits the “mandingo” fighters against one another.” Sounds like a nice guy. Mmm, not.

Once Coster is set for the role he and DiCaprio should make an interesting pair of bad guys. I’m sure it will be very interesting to see how it all turns out. The film is set to go into production in the Fall with an eye to a late 2012 release.

We’ll bring you more on this film as we get it.

I was surprised at how much trouble I had narrowing down my top ten movies this year.  My top 20 were all very close, but here are the movies that I ultimately enjoyed the most. I readily admit that I did not see near as many foreign films as I would have liked, but by the time I cover most of the mainstream fare, there is simply no time left.

Honorable Mentions: Fair Game, Tiny Furniture, Greenberg, Cyrus, The Tillman Story, The American, Mother and Child, Scott Pilgrim.

10. Waiting for Superman
This Documentary was equal parts frustrating, inspirational, and heartbreaking. Director Davis Guggenheim (No End in Sight) sheds light on the dismal state of our public school system. He follows the plight of several children who live in various geographic regions who are placing all of their hope for an decent education into lottery systems for charter or private schools. Guggenheim relies on their compelling stories for a narrative, while interspersing lots of graphics and cartoons illuminating some pretty harrowing statistics.

If the noontime opening day crowd for True Grit is any indication of how this film will do at the box office, I think I can safely predict a couple of things. First, seasoned citizens, like myself, who saw the 1969 original starring John Wayne, Glen Campbell, Robert Duvall, and Kim Darby, will warily pay for senior-citizen discounted tickets in large numbers and then proceed to give the movie a CSI-like scrutiny searching for any hint of anti-Wayne blasphemy.

Second, I feel just as strongly that people who have not seen the Duke’s portrayal of U.S. Marshal Reuben “Rooster” Cogburn, will come away from this iteration well-satisfied that they have been well and truly entertained. No one from either demographic should be disappointed with this version of Charles Portis’ 1968 serialized Saturday Evening Post of family duty, determination, and revenge.

In a recent interview, frequent John Wayne co-star, Maureen O’Hara, spoke about the 1963 movie, McLintock! One memorable scene had Ms. O’Hara running through town, being chased by Wayne, wearing only her bloomers. When, prior to shooting this scene, she asked Wayne if the bloomers could be shortened to display her dancer’s legs, he adamantly refused, stating, “We make family pictures!” And therein lies the genesis of many of the films’ differences.

There are several scenes in the 2010 Coen brothers’ version of True Grit that would never have made it past The Duke. Wayne’s Batjac Productions wouldn’t have allowed severed fingers, an outhouse interview, or snakes crawling from a desiccated corpse, to mention just a few things. But that doesn’t make one version better or the other worse, it only makes them different.

While some might say that John Wayne’s Oscar-winning performance as Rooster Cogburn could best be described as a little over-the-top (and it was), Jeff Bridges is able to provide a slightly more somber approach to this complicated, demon-driven character, while still being able to deliver an occasional light-hearted moment. It would be foolish, however, for anyone to try and compare the two actors as Mr. Bridges takes command of his role from the very beginning leaving all thoughts of a Wayne-Bridges comparison in the obscuring dust of the trail.

By Jarrett Mellenbruch

Just go ahead and give Mattie Ross whatever it is she demands. Trying to bargain with this 14 year old , played by Hailee Steinfeld, will eventually leave you weakened and bewildered. Her relentless pursuit of justice for the murder of her father calls upon her vast reserve of cunning, quick wits, and masterful tongue.

Cast opposite the craggy and weathered drunkard U.S. Marshall  Rooster Cogburn, masterfully played by Jeff Bridges, she holds up her part and then some in this perfect balance between a game innocent and an extremely experienced, blunt yet perceptive hired gun.

Thanks to Hailee Steinfeld, the young actress who plays Mattie, women viewers who venture out to see one western every decade would do well to make True Grit their choice for the Teens. This may be the one movie where a mother/daughter night out to see a shoot-em-up may rival the father/son crowd. That’s not to say the men should stay away, only that there is something for everyone here, including the strong central heroine.

Matt Damon, Barry Pepper, and Josh Brolin nicely round out the cast and offer some extra color and comedic moments. Damon’s LaBoeuf is the cowboy nerd who rides the fine line between charming and annoying, and he rides it well. Pepper plays bad guy Ned Pepper, who probably is the grittiest part of the whole movie. And Josh Brolin is the seemingly simpleminded crook who killed Mattie’s father and kicked off this whole goose chase.