Let’s just say right off the bat we were big fans of the first Kick-Ass movie. In short, it was great and a fitting companion to the comic, even if it was a bit different.

Kick-Ass 2 promises to be more of the same and maybe even better. How can we tell? There’s a new redband trailer that debuted at Comic-Con and has just dropped and in it there’s all the profanity, violence, blood, gore and more you could possibly want.

“We put (these characters) through a meat grinder in this one,” director Jeff Wadlow said during the panel at the Con. If you watch the trailer, you’ll see exactly what he meant.

Jim Carrey, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Moretz and Christopher Mintz-Plasse star. Look for Kick-Ass 2 to arrive on August 16th.

Get the redband after the break.

After reading Kick-Ass 2, we waited for the firs trailer to come out for the movie to see if it lived up to the first one. While no one agreed with all of the changes made to the original Kick-Ass movie, Matthew Vaughn still did a great job working with the source material and made an entertaining adaptation.

How do you take something like Kick-Ass and make it more profane and obscene than having a little girl spewing expletives and hacking guys to death? Kick-Ass 2 apparently plans on doing it with even worse language and a horde of new costumed vigilantes.

This latest trailer gives a look at Jim Carrey in action as Colonel Stars and Stripes as well as his “wonderful pet.” We also get a further look at Red Myst who has reinvented himself with a very un-PG new name. We’re not sure if it all works or will end up a giant mess. Still, we’re interested enough to go see it.

Kick-Ass 2 returns Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Jeff Wadlow takes over for Vaughn as director.

Check out the trailer after the break.

We’ve gone down this road once before in 2002 with a remake of Brian De Palma’s classic Carrie, based on the Stephen King novel, and now it’s being done again. This time around the movie features Chloe Moritz and Julianne Moore, which helps considerably to peak our interest.

In case you’re not familiar with the story, it concerns a loner high school girl whose crazy mom and the mean kids at school eventually get the brunt of her blossoming telekinetic powers. IF you’ve even wished you could get even with someone bullying you, this is the movie for you.

We’re not sure any remake will ever be as good as De Palma’s original, but this trailer does help at least make this latest attempt look interesting enough so we want to know more. That’s something at least.

Carrie is due to hit theaters on October 18th. Check out the trailer after the break.

After reading Kick-Ass 2, it was on baited breath that we waited for the Kick-Ass 2 movie trailer to come out. While no one agreed with all of the changes made to the original Kick-Ass, Matthew Vaughn did a great job working alongside the source material. How do you take something like Kick-Ass and make it more profane and obscene than having a little girl spewing explatives? Kick-Ass 2 plans on doing so with even worse language and a horde of new costumed vigilantes.

This first trailer gives a peek at Jim Carrey in action as Colonel Stars and Stripes as well as his “wonderful pet”. We also get a glimpse as Red Myst reinvents himself with a very un-PG new name. Fans of the comic will especially enjoy the fan service being played out referencing some of the comics most memorable scenes already.

Remember, since this is a Red Band trailer, discretion is advised! Check out Kick-Ass 2 after the jump.

Last summer, the violent and foul mouth antics of Chloe Moretz stole the show and our hearts (and ticked off a lot of parents and church groups) as Hit-Girl in the first Kick-Ass. Chloe will be reprising the role in the sequel to the film that her parents wouldn’t even allow her to watch in the upcoming Kick-Ass 2. Alongside Chloe will be the returning Aaron Johnson as the film’s title character and the addition of Jim Carrey as Colonel Star and Stripes.

The young career of Chloe Moretz has been stellar. Every project she has taken has been interesting and varied, and at the young age of fifteen she already has shown more range than a few of her Oscar winning elders.

So when Deadline reports she is joining the cast as the lead in an all new adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie you know there is a good chance the movie is going to be good.

She’s expected to play the shy high school student Carrie White, who is raised by a nightmarish religious fanatic mother, and comes to grip with devastating telepathic powers just as she reaches puberty. She eventually uses those gifts for lethal means when fellow classmates use the prom as an excuse to humiliate her before the entire school in a parable about bullying.

We have already seen young Ms. Moretz dazzle in a moody horror role, but to take on the lead in Carrie can take her to the next level. Another interesting angle on this story is that Chloe is currently a little younger than a typical high school senior would be.

Usually these sorts of roles are filled with 20 somethings, so perhaps the younger looking Moretz will have an even larger visual difference between her classmates to punctuate her outsider, lonely demeanor.

Writer Mark Millar, best known for the Kick-Ass and Wanted franchises, confirmed to the Daily Record that a slew of comic-to-film projects from his Millarworld production company will be going into production in this coming year.

Currently, Millar has a number of film projects being developed simultaneously, along with the monthly comics hitting the shelves. He stated that the fact his characters are being utilized for films is somewhat surprising, considering that the majority of comics-to-film adaptations that are being greenlit are based on characters that have been around for decades.

“We shoot Kick-Ass 2 and American Jesus this summer. Then Matthew (Vaughn) and I have Secret Service, which is a nerdy James Bond,” Mark said. Kick-Ass 2  is a follow up to the 2010 film which starred Aaron Johnson and Chloe Moretz.

Millar’s  American Jesus  will follow a kid who finds out he is the second coming of Jesus Christ. “If you are doing a movie about the return of Jesus as the Bible prophesied in the Book of Revelation, you have got to do it straight and treat it with dignity. I’m not taking the piss. It will be treated like a proper film,” said Millar of his post-apocolyptic thriller.

Texas Killing Fields is a strong, straightforward crime thriller which tells the story of three cops running the gauntlet in an attempt to solve two brutal crimes. But the film is particularly notable for its haunting tone and superlative acting.

Director Ami Canaan Mann does everything she can to give the movie an infectious gloom, an impressive imitation of the sprawling claustrophobia specific to Southern poverty. Mann, daughter of the legendary Michael Mann (who also co-produced the film), makes a lot of smart choices here, but none more crucial than the cast.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Sam Worthington bring their own unique intensity to their natural good cop/bad cop relationship, and a pre-Oscar nomination Jessica Chastain (The Help) brings a fiery quality to a supporting role. As usual, the 12-year-old Chloe Moretz shows remarkably advanced nuance for an actor her age.

Martin Scorsese is a genius. No, I don’t mean he’s just talented or gifted or lucky (well, he may be those too). I mean he’s a certified genius. He’s one man who found his calling early, stuck with it and over the years has created some of the finest moments in cinema history.

And now, it looks like he’s done it again with his latest film Hugo. Based on the novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, the film tells the story of orphan Hugo (Asa Butterfield) who lives inside the walls of a Paris train station.

His days are spent trying to unravel a mystery that links his late father to an ill-mannered toy shop owner living below him and a heart-shaped lock which seems to have no key. With the help from an eccentric girl named Isabelle (Chloe Moretz), he embarks on an adventure to solve the mystery. The film also features Jude Law as Hugo’s father and Ben Kingsley as Georges Melies, Isabelle’s godfather.

Based on this trailer alone I can safely say the movie looks terrific. Plus, Scorsese and Cholie Moretz. Forget about it, I’m in.

Hugo is set to arrive in theaters on November 23. Check out the trailer after the jump.

Like everyone  else, I was  upset when I heard that they were going to remake the beloved Swedish vampire film Let The Right One In.

However, let it be said that this is one of the most beautiful, poignant, and moving films of the year.

Director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) maintains the look and feel of the movie by bathing the frequent nighttime scenes in blue hones.  The crisp snowscape is now set in New Mexico, but the apartment courtyard where the two principals initially meet is nearly identical to the original.

Chronically bullied Owen (Kodi Smit-McGhee) notices a young girl and her father who have moved into his complex.  Over the course of several nights, he strikes up a friendship with the mysterious girl, bonding over a mutual love of puzzles and games.

She is guarded at first, but eventually warms up to Owen.  However, it is quickly apparent that she is no ordinary child.  She walks barefoot in the snow, by choice.  She shuns the daytime hours, and her relationship with her “father” appears a bit more sinister as time goes by.

By Shannon Hood and Jane Almirall

Each day we will provide you with capsule reviews and impressions of the films we see at Fantastic Fest, along with any activities or interviews we attend.  Complete reviews and interviews can be found on the site in upcoming weeks.

Day one of fantastic fest we hit the ground running and went straight from the airport to pick up our press badges.  We managed to cram in three screenings for the day, starting at 4pm.  Not too shabby.

Screening: Stone. Directed by John Curran and starring Edward Norton, Robert De Niro, Frances Conroy, and Milla Jovovich.  Summary: A convicted arsonist (Norton) looks to manipulate a parole officer (De Niro) into a plan to secure his parole by placing his beautiful wife (Jovovich)  in the lawman’s path.

Jane’s thoughts:  This was an unusual experience for me.  I was half expecting this to play out like a thriller-but instead I watched a slow (but evenly paced) meditative, existential character study.

The performances were great, but I can’t say I enjoyed the film (to its credit,we discussed it a great deal afterwards.)

The characters in Stone never quite feel like actual people, rather they represent certain characteristics of humanity.  Their stories slowly unfold to reveal that in the end, we are back at the beginning and haven’t moved an inch.

While I’m not always a fan of Hollywood’s penchant for remaking excellent foreign films almost as soon as said films have been released, I have to say I’m pretty interested in Matt Reeves’ upcoming film Let Me In. Sure, it’s an Americanized version of a film that was only released in 2008, but judging from the trailer I’ve seen and this brand new scene from the film we’ve got for you today, it looks pretty damn good and quite scary.

In case you’re not familiar with either this new film or the original Swedish version, Let Me In concerns Abby (Chloe Moretz), a mysterious 12-year old girl, who moves next door to Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee). Owen is a social outcast who is viciously bullied at school and because of this he forms a bond with his new neighbor.

As time passes Owen can’t help noticing that Abby is like no one he has ever met before. As a string of grisly murders occur in the town, Owen has to confront the reality that this seemingly innocent girl is really a savage vampire.

Check out the new clip from the film after the jump. Let Me In arrives in theaters on October 1st.