Damon Houx
'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,' and the new approach to the 'PotA' films is decidedly different than the tact taken in the 1970's. There, each sequel was given a smaller and smaller budget and with fewer name talents. Not so with 'Dawn,' as it just added Gary Oldman to the cast.
In 2009, Bradley Cooper went from utility handsome guy into movie star with his turn in Todd Phillips' 'The Hangover,' and in 2012 Cooper became an Oscar nominee for his work in 'Silver Linings Playbook.' It looks like before 2015 Cooper plans to add another feather to his cap as he's looking to direct his first feature film.
One of the summer movies we're most excited for is 'Fast and Furious 6,' which will have Vin Diesel and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson teaming up to fight crime. What more could you want? Perhaps the return of Michelle Rodriguez, who was supposedly killed during the course of 'Fast and Furious.' Rodiguez is back, but as this featurette shows, she can't really talk about it.
'Anchorman: The Legend Continues' is actually happening, and casting is coming together now. Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Christina Applegate, and Kristen Wiig are already signed on, and now word is that James Marsden has joined the cast as a rival anchor.
Often the early months of the year offer few good movies, which made us nervous about Park Chan-wook's 'Stoker.' It's due out in a couple weeks, but word out of Sundance and other screenings has been great (we rather liked it ourselves). Now there's a featurette that talks about the film's Southern Gothic flavor.
We're less than a month away from the release of 'Oz: The Great and Powerful' and for those excited, it's good to know February is a short month. Drawn from the works of L. Frank Baum (and the success of Tim Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland'), Sam Raimi's film looks big and weird and we're nothing if not curious. Here's two new TV spots to whet appetites.
We're not going to say he's biased, but in all evidence John McClane (Bruce Willis) does not play well with helicopters. And in the latest clip for 'A Good Day to Die Hard,' it seems the helicopters are about to get their revenge.
We're less than a month away from the release of Bryan Singer's 'Jack the Giant Slayer,' and though the film had nine additional months to figure out how to sell itself (it was originally scheduled to hit theaters in June of last year), we still don't know what to expect. There's a new trailer coming on Monday, and the preview for it suggests scale and pageantry.
After the runaway success of 'The Lorax,' it's no surprise we're going to get more Dr. Seuss-derived animated movies. Next on dock from the makers of 'Lorax' and 'Horton Hears a Who' is 'The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.'
There are so many directions to go with possible 'Star Wars' spin-offs, and though one of the most appealing things about 'Star Wars - Episode 7' is that it wouldn't be more back-story, there's a rumor we may get stand-alone adventures from some of the characters in the universe. And word is that Yoda might get his own movie.
There's nothing wrong or inherently bad about being a magpie artist. Quentin Tarantino famously steals from his favorite films (the good ones and the bad ones). The real test is if you do it well. Rob Zombie's latest 'The Lords of Salem' looks familiar, but is this good Zombie or bad Zombie? Now there's a new trailer and poster.
Though Sunday is the big day for watching movie TV spots with the Super Bowl, we're already getting some of those big money ads now. 'World War Z' is one of the first to release their commercial, and it does a good job of conveying what the film is about.