Jacob Hall
‘Avengers 2’ DVD to Include Extended Edition and Alternate Ending
Avengers: Age of Ultron doesn’t hit American theaters for another week, but Marvel’s latest superhero epic opens today in many theaters around the world. This means that you need to tread cautiously if you want to avoid spoilers, but it also means that Amazon.co.uk is already offering its users the chance to pre-order the film on Blu-ray and DVD. We know that the window between theatrical and home releases are shrinking, but that’s just ludicrous. However, it’s the details about the disc that should get fans stroking their chins and saying “Hmmm.”
‘The Dukes of Hazzard’ Star James Best Dead at 88
Prolific character actor James Best, most known for playing the bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard, has passed away from complications following a battle with pneumonia. He was 88 years old.
‘Straight Outta Compton’ Trailer: Parental Discretion Is Advised
The new Straight Outta Compton trailer is here and it doesn’t look like what you’d expect. If you went back in time a few decades and told the members of highly controversial hip hop group N.W.A. that they would one day be the subject of a glossy, mainstream biopic, they would probably wouldn’t believe you. But here we are: the “world’s most dangerous group” has its own Hollywood movie now.
‘SNL’: Dwayne Johnson Returns as President “The Rock” Obama
There are few impersonations on SNL we enjoy as much as Jay Pharoah’s President Barack Obama, the chief subject of the latest episode’s cold open. But in a nice twist, the leader of the free world soon finds himself transforming into a monster of a man. Did you really think SNL would get Dwayne Johnson to guest host and not bring back The Rock Obama?
Weekend Box Office Report: The Box Office Goes ‘Home’
In one of the strongest box office weekends of 2015 so far, both Home and Get Hard opened strong while Insurgent and Cinderella continued to perform well. This was the rare weekend that literally offered something for everyone, with R-rated comedies and animated family fare exceeding expectations.
‘Star Trek 3’ Casts Idris Elba as the Mysterious New Villain
Man, the rebooted Star Trek movie series really has this whole “casting actors we really like” thing down. The latest report from Star Trek 3 has the great Idris Elba cast as the movie’s villain, whose identity remains, for the moment, a mystery.
Steven Spielberg Set to Direct ‘Ready Player One’
Well, this was unexpected. After a few years of development, Warner Bros. is officially moving forward with a big screen adaptation of Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One and they’re doing so with the director most likely to break the brains of the novel’s biggest fans: Steven Spielberg. Yes, Spielberg is going to direct a science fiction story powered by raw ‘80s nostalgia for the same studio where he produced Gremlins and The Goonies.
SNL 40 Monologue: Steve Martin, Tom Hanks and Everyone Else You Love Stops By
We knew going in that the SNL 40th anniversary special would be chock-full of just about every famous person who has ever walked within spitting distance of 30 Rockefeller Plaza and the opening monologue was quick to make use of this genuinely insane temporary cast of stars. Things got started on the right foot when the always-welcome Steve Martin took the stage ... but then he was joined by Tom Hanks. And then things got really crazy.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘American Sniper’ Continues Its January Onslaught
In most years, January tends to be the most boring month of the year for the box office. This is where Hollywood typically sends the movies in which it has the least faith. This is the dumping ground, the place where movies go to die so the studios can concentrate on their Oscar campaigns. However, thanks to ‘American Sniper,’ this January has bucked every trend. It may technically be a 2014 release, but Clint Eastwood’s war film has made the first chunk of 2015 interesting, shattering expectations and threatening to become the highest grossing film of last year in only a few weeks.
‘Hot Tub Time Machine 2’ Trailer: The Dumbest High Concept in Hollywood History is Back For Another Dip
The original ‘Hot Tub Time Machine’ feels more like something a group of stoners came up with and giggled about for a few hours than an actual movie. And yet, it exists. And it made enough money to justify a sequel. And that sequel now has a new trailer. Ladies and gentlemen, the ‘Hot Tub Time Machine 2’ trailer!
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘American Sniper’ Takes Out ‘Blackhat’
A lot of people are going to act like they didn’t see the enormous success of ‘American Sniper’ coming, but the signs were all there. On top of the promising limited release numbers, there was the awards buzz. On top of that, there were the names of director Clint Eastwood and star Bradley Cooper. On top of that, the subject matter of the film is inherently attractive to the same category of moviegoer that makes Christian-themed films into massive hits. ‘American Sniper’ had one doozy of a weekend, but it’s not that surprising.
Ranking the 2015 Oscar Snubs From “Totally Forgivable” to “WTF?”
Yep, it’s that time of the year again. The 2015 Oscar nominations are here and it’s time for everyone to get outraged and cynical over which movies get the opportunity to take home statuettes of naked golden dudes. Sure, we always tell ourselves that the Academy Awards don’t really matter and that a film’s legacy will live or die for reasons beyond trophies, but we always end up getting angry about these things anyway. However, this year’s biggest snubs seems more egregious than usual and require slightly more yelling and stamping of feet.