The casting has not come particularly quick or easy for the Spike Lee directed remake of the Korean thriller Oldboy.

Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men, Men In Black III) locked in as the lead character quite early in the process but the quest for a villain so far has involved names ranging from Christian Bale to  Clive Owen, with even Colin Firth being in the mix. All have passed for various reasons and the search continues.

Filling the role of Brolin’s love interest, Marie, has been an equally difficult task. Both Rooney Mara and Mia Wasikowska have been offered and rejected the part of the female lead role. It is now being reported that the role of Marie has been offered to Elizabeth Olsen.

The film follows an average man who is kidnapped and imprisoned in a shabby cell for 15 years without explanation. He then is released, equipped with money, a cellphone and expensive clothes. As he strives to explain his imprisonment and get his revenge, he soon finds out that his kidnapper has a greater plan for him and is set onto a path of pain and suffering in an attempt to uncover the motive of his mysterious tormentor.

The lesser known Olsen sister, Elizabeth seemingly sprang out of nowhere at Sundance 2011 to become one of America’s most sought after young actresses thanks to parts in the soon to be released Silent House and the under the radar film Martha Marcy May Marlene. With three other projects listed to start in 2013, she’s not going away anytime soon. She’s also got a sizable gap in her schedule before those projects are due to start, which makes this a very plausible option.

It was a bit hard to believe that a director could match, or in some ways even improve, on Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later. But that’s just what director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo did when he stepped in and took on the sequel 28 Weeks Later. The film became a huge hit and we’ve been waiting to see what he does next. Now, we know.

Fresnadillo’s second English language film is the upcoming Intruders, which stars Clive Owen. The first trailer for the film has just been released and we’ve got it for you right here.

In case you’re not familiar with the film, Intruders concerns two families, one in Spain and one in the UK, who are menaced by terrifying apparitions. In Spain, a mother tries to protect her son from a faceless stranger, while in Britain, a young girl has terrifying dreams of a demon who becomes a real danger to her and her family. Owen plays the girl’s father.

Intruders also features Daniel Bruhl, Carice Van Houten and Kerry Fox. It’s set to be released October 7th in the US.

Check the trailer after the break.

To be honest, as with most remakes, I’m not sure how I feel about this. I’m sure it might look like a great idea on paper, at least to some, but I’m not sure director Spike Lee has the required sensibilities to direct a remake of Chanwook Park’s cult classic revenge tale Oldboy.

That’s right, according to reports, Lee is set to do that very thing for Mandate Pictures. The new film is being adapted by Mark Protosevich, who will also co-produce.

It’s not that I think Lee isn’t a good director, he is. In fact, I very much enjoyed his recent film Inside Man, which showed he can reach beyond the fare he’s usually associated with. Plus, his 25th Hour was also a very good indicator of his range as a director.

But Oldboy requires a certain bit of over-the-top thinking that I’m not sure Lee can muster. I felt the same way when it was Steven Spielberg and Will Smith who were trying to mount a remake a few years ago. I’m not sure they could do the film justice either.

At least, given the choice between Spielberg and Lee, I would pick Lee to do the remake. He’s at least farther down the right track. Of course, now that this is going again and Lee is apparently onboard, the big question is who will play the title character, know as Oh Dae-Su in Park’s version?

Not to be confused with the James Caan film of the mid-seventies called The Killer Elite, this film, which is just called Killer Elite, features Jason Statham and Clive Owen going toe to toe trying to see who the best killer is. Along for the ride are Robert De Niro as Statham’s mentor and master assassin in his own right and Chuck’s Yvonne Strahovski who’s also pretty killer in her own way.

Now, we’ve got some pics and a trailer for the film to share with you today. In the trailer we get a good idea of the rivalry that’s going to be the centerpiece of the film and also the requisite explosions, running, shooting and even a brief glimpse of Yvonne Strahovski in a bikini. Don’t worry, I’m sure she also manages to kick some ass in the film and not just show some.

The film is based on a true story and is “the action-packed account of an ex-special ops agent (Statham) who is lured out of retirement to rescue his mentor (De Niro). To make the rescue, he must complete a near-impossible mission of killing three tough-as-nails assassins with a cunning leader (Owen).”

Click through for the trailer and all the pics. Killer Elite hits theaters on September 23rd.

The Boys Are Back opens with Joe (Clive Owen) blasting through the surf of an undisclosed beach in his Land Rover Discovery, kicking up water and sand as he clips along at a rather impressive speed.  He gleefully laughs, then we see the trunk of the SUV, adorned with Joe’s son, who of course thinks this is great fun. As soon as the son entered the picture,  I became white knuckled, and fretted over the safety of the actor portraying Joe’s son. I never really recovered from that scene, and kind of despised Joe throughout the movie. That makes is rather difficult to be sympathetic to his plight.

Joe is a sports writer at an Australian newspaper, and is happily married  with a seven year old son, Artie (Nicholas McAnulty). He travels frequently for work and is somewhat of an absentee father. His wife Katy (played by Laura Fraser) pretty much runs the household entirely on her own. Unfortunately, his wife gets cancer and dies (no spoilers, it happens in the first 5 minutes). The opening scenes are quite upsetting, and I should caution you if you have a loved one suffering from a terminal illness, you might want to skip this movie.

Thrust into the role of primary caregiver, Joe fails miserably.  Dishes and laundry pile up, and questionable food items become the norm (ketchup with noodles, anyone?). In the real world, his household would be a prime target for Child Protective Services. The movie depicts Joe’s struggle  running the household quite realistically. Complicating matters further, Joe’s teenage son from a previous marriage decides that this is the appropriate time to go hang out with the father who abandoned him when he was six years old.