12 Big Film News Stories of 2012

Looking back on 2012, records were shattered, hearts broken, dreams were made, and nightmares came to life. From the box-office glory of Joss Whedon's The Avengers to the grim death of Tony Scott, 2012 gave us plenty of highs and lows.

Let's take a look at 12 triumphs and tribulations in movie news from 2012.

12) DreamWorks Animation Leaves Paramount 

for 20th Century Fox 

While certainly not as big as another media acquisition (more on that later... Spoilers!), the end to the seven-year relationship between the animation studio and its distributor, Paramount, leaves the mountain's future looking a bit less solid. Fox, however, has very little risk in this partnership, and should reap some nice rewards with their new five-year pact. While they already own an animation studio, Blue Sky (makers of Rio and the Ice Age franchise), Fox did not shy away from acquiring another animation maker. Release date conflicts are really the only worrisome part to this partnership; however, since Fox will not have to shoulder any of the budget load from DreamWorks Animation films, 20th Century Fox's scheduling headaches should be easily cured with gobs of cash flowing their way.

11) Two Big Film Franchises Come to a Close

 

While Paramount is left looking to fill a hole in their animation branch, two studios will be looking to make up for losing two of the most lucrative film franchises in the last decade, Chris Nolan's Batman trilogy and the Twilight saga. Love it or hate it, Twilight was a major film franchise and a huge cash cow for Lions Gate Entertainment (distributed under Summit Entertainment). Making well over $3 billion worldwide, believe it or not, Twilight left a mark on cinematic history.
After the Harry Potter franchise ended last year and Nolan's final installment released this year, Warner Bros. Studios must be a bit apprehensive about their future. No longer will they have these two shoe-in cash creators; however, The Hobbit being made into three films should ease their worry. The studio also anxiously awaits Zack Snyder's Superman reboot, The Man of Steel, due out next year, as does every fanboy and fangirl, alongside the DC Entertainment branch. If successful, WB and DC could have a very lucrative film franchise that could open the doors to a long awaited Justice League movie/franchise. Fingers crossed!

10) Two Big Studios Dump Execs

Speaking of studios scrambling to fill giant holes, Disney and 20th Century Fox both showed their respective top dogs the door. After a slew of horrible film financial decisions, Rich Ross, the House of Mouse's Studio Chair, was finally given the boot after the bloated cesspool of awful that was John Carter. While Ross's intentions were good (fewer films with bigger budgets to streamline marketing for franchise merchandise/rides/toy lines), the results were lackluster at best. The now-former Disney exec landed on his feet, though, and is now CEO of Shine America, a production company under News Corp.
Another News Corp. unit, 20th Century Fox, had a serious power-shift as well. It canned its co-chair/CEO, Tom Rothman, after eighteen-years of eyebrow-raising decisions. Failing to secure Fox TV's star, Seth MacFarlane, and his new movie, Ted, and instead, opting for other R-rated comedies that utterly flopped (The Sitter, The Watch) and the absolute mess of a film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, seemed to be the final nail in the coffin Rothman. Along with failed franchises such as The Fantastic Four and Daredevil, both of which were sold back to Marvel, Rothman's tenure at Fox was tumultuous, at best.

Zero Dark Thirty, Les Mis, and Django Unchained Poised for Strong Award Season Runs

While it's far from being a three horse race for Best Picture, the trifecta of films set to release in December are rapidly garnering copious amounts of Oscar buzz. The early favorites such as Argo, Lincoln, and The Master should certainly not be forgotten, but the December newcomers are quickly overshadowing their Oscar-hopeful counterparts. Headlining this group is Katheryn Bigalow's bin Laden manhunt film, Zero Dark Thirty. Not to be ignored is Tom Hooper's gorgeous adaption of the musical, Les Misérables, and rounding out the trio is Django Unchained, the latest brutally brilliant film by Quentin Tarantino.

Although this group may not seem to have much in common (seriously, who'da thought that a musical, a gritty war film, and a slavery romp with Tarantino would be mentioned together?), all three are poised to make strong award circuit runs.

Third Hobbit Movie Possible

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is Part I of the potential trilogy.

EDIT: The Hobbit franchise has been broken down into three films, the first (An Unexpected Journey) set to release the 14th of December of this year, with the other two (The Desolation of Smaug and There and Back Again) projected for 2013 and 2014 respectively.

In news that is already rocking my world, it was just released tonight that there's a possible third film coming to the Hobbit movies, directed by Lord of the Rings mastermind Peter Jackson.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is due to be released on December 14, 2012, with The Hobbit: There and Back Again coming out on December 13, 2013.

While a third film is certainly not guaranteed, it has been verified that Peter Jackson has been in talks about another sequel, possibly with actors Ian McKellen and Martin Freeman also participating in the discussion.

One of the largest obstacles to a third film is working out a budget between the directors, producers, and Warner Bros.

The decision to split The Hobbit into two films was greeted with some controversy, as the book is significantly shorter than any of the Lord of the Rings books. Jackson assuaged some of the anger by informing us that the movies would extensively cover topics not explicitly discussed in the books - topics that Hobbit and Lord of the Rings creator J.R.R. Tolkien wrote about in his notes, but never in published material. These topics cover in large part the comings and goings of Gandalf and The White Council, including their overthrowing of The Necromancer (Sauron) from the fortress of Dol Goldur in Mirkwood.

Rumor is that a third movie would draw more from those notes, but also from the Appendices located at the end of The Return of the King. The Appendices cover most of the history of Middle-Earth in very little detail, from brief snippets of the ancient Elves in previous ages through a close look at the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen. It's unclear what exactly Jackson would choose to adapt, if the sequel is approved.

Movie Review: The Dark Knight Rises

Pictured: two good actors.

The Dark Knight Rises was not at all what I was expecting, but neither was I at any point surprised while watching it. In short, The Dark Knight Rises was really just another superhero movie, despite all the hype. Many have gushed over the ostensibly intellectual nature of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, but The Dark Knight Rises is not a superhero movie for the thinking man. It is, however, a great superhero movie.

Of course, spoilers ahead.

The Dark Knight Rises Spoilers

It Goes Without Saying That This Is Completely Read At Your Own Risk

I told myself I wasn't going to do it.... but I did. The Dark Knight Rises comes out Friday at 12:01 in the States, but has been out overseas for a short amount of time. That being said, a lot of people know what happens already, and are posting it on the internet. If you're the person that likes to know these things before you see a movie, then by all means keep reading. If you're not one of those people, seriously, just stop now. This is a film that's going to be much more worth i if you go in blind. You've had your final warning, so here it is.

Marvel's Expanding Universe: Comic Con in Short

Because Otherwise We'd Be Here Forever

Finally found a cover picture for these articles!

Due to complaints that the superhero-movie posts are too many, and the "other stuff" movie posts are too few on this site, I'm going to compile the 10 posts I wanted to put up these past few days into one summarized post of all the excellence that happened at Comic Con. From an intergalactic raccoon to cream-colored armor, here's the finest bits of Marvel news for you.

2012 Part II: 6 Most Anticipated

6 Films to Look Forward to Before the World Ends

Continuing the 2012 series

If you read our articles, you've probably seen our 5 best and worst movies from the first half of 2012. In anticipation for the second half of our last year alive, let's look ahead at the second half of the year and see what movies are definitely worthy of a theater visit. Also, stay tuned for the 5 movies to stay away from in these next 6 months. Originally this list was going to consist of 5 movies, but the second half of the year has a bit more going for it than the first.

Hugh as the convict Jean Valjean

Les Misérables

Tom Hooper's adaptation of the incredible stage musical looks to be a huge success already. They (wisely) decided not to have Taylor Swift in the film, and instead have Amanda Seyfried playing Cosette. Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe star in this French Revolution-era musical. The re-make theme in Hollywood grows much stronger with this film, as yet another classic is getting reworked.

The Bourne Legacy

Seemingly taking place around and after the time of the previous Bourne movies, The Bourne Legacy stars Jeremy Renner as the incredibly dangerous Aaron Cross. Edward Norton will get a shot as the antagonist in this film, and we've seen him do this successfully before. Edward Norton and Jeremy Renner are both remarkable actors, and should perform in their respective roles. I have not read the book, but Robert Ludlum's novels rarely fail to impress, as with the film adaptions. Though this is the first novel to be written by someone other than Ludlum (Eric Van Lustbader), the film looks to have the potential to live up to its predecessors. Rachel Weisz also plays a major role in The Bourne Legacy as Aaron's main love-interest. Again, I haven't read the book, so I don't know that for sure. I'm still excited for the 4th Bourne installment.

Guest Writer, Ethan Smith - The Dark Knight Rises Trailer 5 - “Journey”

YAMB Welcomes Guest Writer Ethan Smith from Ethan Unscripted

The Dark Knight Rises is only a week away, and if you’re between the ages of 5 and 95, you’re excited about it. As if Warner Bros. needed to add any more fuel to the fire, they have released one final trailer that highlights some key moments from the previous two films. This is especially exciting for those of us who are nerdy enough to go see the marathon before the midnight showing on the 19th. (9 hours of Batman! I hope we get bathroom breaks!)

The trailer begins with a quote from good ol’ Alfred, one of the many characters who provides moral direction for Bruce Wayne. “I never wanted you to come back to Gotham. I always knew there was nothing here for you, except pain and tragedy.”

Creepy Batman is creepy...

Well, that’s kinda depressing! Alfred never wanted Bruce to come back (he was probably enjoying having the mansion and the cars to himself), but it is a good point. As long as Bruce is in Gotham, he will always be reminded of his parents’ deaths, and as long as that reminder is there to drive him, Bruce will never be able to escape the Batman.

Next we get a shot of Bruce in the well, being swarmed by bats from Batman Begins, before seeing the screen title: “The Beginning of a Legend.” This is followed by the often repeated lines, “Took quite a fall didn’t we, Master Bruce?” (Alfred) “And why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up.” (Bruce’s dad) We see Bruce kneeling over his fallen parents.

Why Was The Amazing Spider-man A Successful Reboot?

What Did Webb and Co. Do Right?

Well, they had him take his shirt off. That's a pretty good start

Hopefully you've read our article about why Spider-man was in desperate need of a reboot. If not, here you go. Now we're going to take a look at why Sony's second run at the webhead was superior to the original trilogy. Remember, this is mostly my opinion, and I'm not trying to pick a fight with Raimi fans. Rather, I'm trying to provide solid evidence from the comics, and also use knowledge about film-making and of the making of The Amazing Spider-man. Again, three reasons, and they won't quite be direct arguments against the points made earlier, but some will regard them slightly.

Zack

Age: 20
Writer/video crew/site manager
Favorite Film: The Amazing Spider-man


As a lifelong comic-book fan, and in the past few years a film buff, it's been great living in a time when comic-book movies are the big thing in cinema. It took until my senior year of high school for me to realize my love of film, and now it's a large part of my life. I didn't want to see this blog my friends made go to waste, so I did everything I could to revive it, and now we're back and better than ever. When it comes to movies, I like supporting my reviews and critiques with lots of evidence. I love when readers give their opinions on what I write, so please leave me a comment or two so I know what you like and don't like to hear!


Movie Quote
"If you could do good things for other people, you had a moral obligation to do those things. That's what's at stake here. Not choice, responsibility." - Ben Parker, The Amazing Spider-man


If you'd like to reach me, please email me at yetanothermovieblogzk@gmail.com

Marvel Geekery July 9

First Live-action Spider-man Film

This fan-made film was the first ever documented live appearance by Spider-man in a film. Talk these days is all about reboots and remakes, but every Spider-man movie is a reboot of this, I guess you could say. Has The Amazing Spider-man improved upon this film? Judge for yourself!

Why Did Spidey Need a Reboot?

Was That Really Necessary?

Spidey's next reboot.  Awww yeah.

The critics have spoken, the money is being counted, and it's time to end the debate. What debate? The one regarding Sony's decision to re-boot the Spider-man franchise. Was this really necessary? The cynical man would say they did it for money, and although that may be true, they did have a choice between a 4th Raimi film, or a new story altogether. They went with the second. Still people are crying out that the reboot was unnecessary, that it wasn't good, and that Raimi's films were fine. I'm here to throw in my two cents, and will do my best to settle the score once and for all. Although there are at least a dozen good reasons I can think of why Spidey needed a reboot, and why The Amazing Spider-man did the job, I'm going to stick with 3 reasons only. The faults come first, and tomorrow will feature the success of The Amazing Spider-man.

Chris Pine Discusses the Future of the Star Trek Franchise

In 2009, J.J. Abrams released his big-screen reboot of the Star Trek franchise, which garnered success on a popular, critical, and financial level. Three years later, details continue to emerge involving the film's sequel. But can the cast and crew that managed to create such a fine product the first time manage to build upon their previous achievement?

Quick Poll: Who is more attractive? 
Chris Pine . . . 

Chris Pine, who will resume his role of Captain James T. Kirk and also act as co-writer for the currently untitled sequel to Star Trek, remains confident that this task can be accomplished. What especially excites Pine is the prospect of developing a highly character-focused story which will delve deeper into the relationships between the crew members manning the Enterprise. Abrams rebooted the Star Trek franchise on an alternative timeline, meaning that the film has the freedom to differentiate the way its crew operates from the way the crew operated in the original television series. This provides an avenue to explore how the crew developed before they became the sort of cohesive and highly functional unit presented on the show. “Even though they’re a crew from what we know about the original team, the fun of getting there is following that journey to where they become that tight-knit crew. It’s no fun if they’re already a tight-knit crew. So suffice to say, they’re still learning how to get along,” says Pine. “The crew from the original series had gone on many, many journeys, they were a well-oiled machine in terms of how they function, and these characters are still figuring out who they are and who they are to each other. And I did not want to jump so far ahead that we missed a really important emotional connection to that transition for them.”

Amazing Spider-man Review

A Stellar Reboot, With Few Things Lacking *Updated*

GO SEE IT NOW

After seeing The Amazing Spider-man, I can rest easy knowing that my favorite superhero is in good hands. I was unsure about a few things, after hearing certain plot details and seeing certain reviews, so I figured I'd just have to see what I thought for myself. In short: Marc Webb and his fantastic cast and crew made a reboot that will make me never want to watch the previous Spider-man movies again.

The Dark Knight vs. The Dark Knight Rises

On July 20 the wait for The Dark Knight Rises will be over. But can the final installment of director Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy rise above and beyond the standards set by its predecessor, The Dark Knight? Boasting popular and critical acclaim, including a score of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, The Dark Knight cannot be topped easily. Here are five things the third film in the trilogy needs to have in order to rise above its predecessor.

Amazing Spider-man Spoiler-UPDATED

For All You Naughty Folks Out There

"Not the spoiler!  Anything but the spoiler!"

I have now had the misfortune of having two of my most-anticipated movies spoiled slightly for me this Summer. The first was a certain plot point in The Avengers, and and the second is something very important from The Amazing Spider-man, which I see tonight. Be warned: although it's not yet confirmed (by me), this is a large, and very probable spoiler.

Needless to say, SPOILER ALERT.

Zoe Aggeliki and Jena Malone in Talks for Johanna Mason in Catching Fire

The next Johanna Mason?

UPDATE: It seems that most sources are indicating that Jena Malone is now going to be playing Johanna Mason. She has reportedly been offered the role, but the deal has yet to be finalized.

After a flurry of rumors and speculation, it seems that Lionsgate studios have narrowed down the casting decision for the role of District 7's axe-wielding bad girl, Johanna Mason. Newby Zoe Aggeliki and that one girl from Sucker Punch, Jena Malone, are reportedly in serious talks to play the role, with Aggeliki apparently the front-runner.

While many young actresses were being considered for the role, with candidates taking to talk shows and Twitter to try to catch director Francis Lawrence's attention, it seems the brass running Catching Fire wanted to avoid big names like Kristen Bell, Ellen Page, and Mia Wasikowska (once thought to be a serious contender).

The Swedish-born Zoe Aggeliki has yet to be seen on the big screen, but she can be seen in the pages of various fashion magazines. Malone has been in the film industry for awhile, but outside of Sucker Punch, she has avoided the big blockbusters that will surely be Catching Fire.

Even though she is the front-runner, 18-year-old Zoe (or Zoi) Aggeliki would be a bit younger than the 21-year-old Jennifer Lawrence, though Collin's novels have the troubled Johanna Mason several years older than the District 12 heroine. It will be interesting if this will hurt the gorgeous Aggeliki's chances for the equally alluring Jena Malone. In my opinion, Zoe looks more like the Katniss Everdeen character I pictured while reading the novels, but that's not important. Sorry, Jennifer.

Malone is most likely known by the mainstream media (or rather teenage boys) as the spunky and sexy Rocket from the  awesomely ridiculous over-the-top movie, Sucker Punch. At 27, Malone would definitely be an older presence that the character Mason needs. She has also shown the acting chops to carry the incredibly complex character that is Johanna Mason.

Movie Review: Brave

The two main characters of the movie: Merida and her hair. 

Everyone knows Pixar is good. Their newest film, Brave, certainly doesn’t disappoint, although neither will it blow anyone’s mind. Another excellent addition to their store of heart-warming tales about adolescence, Brave is a beautifully animated film that manages to tell a story that is actually occasionally original. In other words, it’s a Pixar movie.

Like all Pixar movies, the main character is the animation, which is incredible. The main character’s hair is a work of art in its own right, taking Pixar’s top animators nearly three years to perfect, the first six months of which were spent figuring whether realistic curly hair was even possible. The new computer program was named Taz, after the Tasmanian Devil cartoon character, and was immediately used for most of the rest of the hair in the film.

Add to this the phenomenal landscape shots, and the human characters almost take second stage to the amazing animated world they inhabit. The movie certainly delights in having its characters romp through the forests, mountains, and glens of the Scottish landscape that the movie attempts to capture. Scenes at the beginning of the movie include the young heroine Merida (Kelly Macdonald) riding, practicing her archery and horseback riding at the same time, and finishing by climbing a rocky cliff near a waterfall, and the animation in all of them is almost as breathtaking as the scenes would look in real life.

The Dark Knight Rises

Less than a month remains until the release of one of the most highly anticipated comic book movies of all time. Featuring an amazing cast, 100 minutes of action, and one of humanity's favorite heroes, The Dark Knight Rises is sure to be a success. We here at YAMB have several posts concerning Christopher Nolan's final entry in the Batman trilogy, and have compiled them here for you. Read and enjoy. While you're at it, take some time to get your midnight premiere tickets through the link below!

Movie Review: Prometheus

Not this guy.

Prometheus, directed by Ridley Scott, is not officially a prequel to the Alien franchise, but before you see Prometheus, you should definitely see Alien. It’s impossible not to see the obvious connections between the movies, with parallel themes, plots, and atmospheres. Prometheus is officially set in the same universe as the Alien movies, but is not officially directly connected to the Alien franchise. Long story short, if you liked Alien, you’ll like Prometheus, but there are certainly differences between the two movies, and Prometheus is clearly geared towards a larger audience, although that focus does not always make it a better movie.

The visuals are pretty face-meltingly awesome.

By far the best part of Prometheus is the visuals. There’s a reason that it’s been compared to James Cameron’s Avatar almost as much as it has been compared to Alien, and it’s not because of blue people (currently trying to decide if Prometheus would be much worse or much better with blue people). Starting right off the bat with panoramic shots of what is apparently prehistoric Earth and moving right into some more panoramic shots of some grass-covered Scottish mountains, the film is certainly visually pleasing. Noomi Rapace’s cheekbones don’t hurt either (although they are sharp enough to cut paper). The costumes and set design is equally striking, although the distinctive blue jumpsuits and clear helmets set quite a different tone from the original Alien movies.

Something We're Very Excited About

Partnership

In my last post regarding YAMB, I told you that we had some special news we were excited to share, and now we can do that! We here at Yet Another Movie Blog do what we do because we love doing it. Film gets us though each week, and when we get to bring our opinions and view to others, it's very special. It just so happens that in our off-phase we managed to grab the attention of someone who we'd like to take some time to acknowledge and thank.

5 Movies You Should Have Seen so Far in 2012

First Half of 2012-Top 5 Films

There's a theme here somewhere but I can't quite place it....

Today marks the beginning of a new series from me, your now-slightly-more-professional-friendly-neighborhood-Spiderman. This series is Movies of 2012. We'll look at the year in two halves, and I'll tell you what films I think are going to be the best and the worst. Anyways, here we are! Just over halfway through the last year before the world's end, and so far Hollywood has been kicking out some great stuff. From fairy-tales to superheroes to aliens to children-murdering-children to reboots to remakes to more fairy-tales, it's been quite the 6 months. Travel back with me back to 5 movies that stand out above the rest, and if you haven't seen them already, are worth watching.

Quentin Tarantino adds Jonah Hill to the Cast of Django Unchained

If ever there were ever to be an actor capable of defying typecasting, few would have guessed that that actor would be Jonah Hill. Originally confined to rather silly roles in raunchy comedies such as Get Him to the Greek and Superbad, Hill has since broken out to play characters in a number of rather substantial films including 21 Jump Street, The Wolf of Wall Street, True Story, and Moneyball, the latest of these landing him an Oscar nomination. Hill’s newest position will be as part of Quentin Tarantino’s heavily anticipated film Django Unchained.

Harry Potter Director to Bring Doctor Who to the Big Screen?

Because you can never have too many Harry Potter-Doctor Who crossovers

Doctor Who fans the world over are eagerly awaiting the return of their favorite Gallifreyan time traveler come this Fall. But it would appear that bow-tie wearing, floppy-haired Matt Smith, who portrays the latest incarnation of the Doctor, might not be the only one set to man the big blue box. Director David Yates has announced his intention to helm a project to bring the Doctor Who franchise from the small screen to the big screen. Whether the series will maintain its quality over the transition is up for speculation.


Yates remains confident that the transition will be a successful one, largely due to the strength of the source material. “The notion of the time-travelling Time Lord is such a strong one, because you can express story and drama in any dimension or time,” says Yates. Exactly what this story will be, no one, except perhaps Yates and those working for Yates, knows. During one interview Yates stated that “[Doctor Who] needs quite a radical transformation to avoid major copyright issues take it into the bigger arena” and that the movie was to be started “from scratch.” Unsurprisingly, this news was met with protest by many of Doctor Who’s most loyal devotees who viewed the statement as confirmation that the movie would not feature the current television incarnation of the Doctor or follow the television show’s canon. Regardless of the issue of canon, one must wonder at what exactly Yates means by “from scratch.” Is he implying that the movie would be a prequel focusing on the Doctor’s origin story or does he mean that the franchise itself would be reset in some way?

It will be called "Doctor Who Begins"

We're Back!

Sorry for the Delay Folks - We're Now Back On Schedule

They're only MOSTLY dead

After some incredible May success, we kind of dropped off the radar for a while. Our apologies. After promises of greatness and grandeur, you were let down when you needed us most. Truth-be-told, it's not easy for 2 people with busy schedules to run a machine like this. The pressures make have gotten to us over the course of a few weeks, but now we here at YAMB have an important message for you.

First Trailer For The Great Gatsby is Baz Luhrmann Through and Through

Over the past few days, we've shown you three new trailers for upcoming movies. Over the course of the next week or so, we'll take a deeper look at each of the films in question, and help you get to know the stories, cast, and production staff a little better. This movie in particular is one I'm very excited to see. It looks to be a visual  masterpiece, and it will be hard to have a poor story when it draws from such a great literary work. The music choice for the first trailer did throw me off a bit, but that's just Hollywood's way of getting the general public interested.


Your Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman,

Zack

Anchorman 2 Trailer

Welcome Back, America's Favorite News Team

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues looks to bring back the same humor that so many loved the first time around. The same cast is returning, with the helm being taken by Will Ferrell. Excited to see this already? Want to see more of this great humor? Did I mention there's another trailer? It's exclusively at funnyordie.com, so we put a handy link here for you to see it!


Your Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman,

Zack

Skyfall Teaser Trailer

First Trailer for New Bond Movie Released

After the great reboot of the Bond franchise that was Casino Royale, the new Bond series hit hard by critics when the sequel,Quantam of Solace, followed. This new Bond movie, Skyfall, opens a new chapter in the Daniel Craig-saga, and looks to improve upon the mistakes of movie number 2. Enjoy!





Skyfall features Daniel Criag, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Javier Bardem, Berenice Marlohe, Naomie Harris, and Ben Wishaw. It's directed by Sam Mendes. Look for Bond 23 to hit theaters in America on November 9, 2012.


Your Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman,

Zack

New Spiderman "Super-trailer"

Amazing Spiderman Super Trailer Shows Off Action, Depth, Humor, and Heart

Last night, SONY released their "Super Trailer" during dancing with the stars. It featured four minutes of Amazing Spiderman awesomeness. The trailer starts with a sort-of clip of Spidey arriving at a bridge that the Lizard has recently rampaged on. He saves a child's life, and then we get a slightly different version of trailer 3, with new snippets here and there. This new trailer shows us new character depth, some heart, more humor, and of course, more action.

It really looks like Marc Webb has made a film that not only explores the character of Spiderman, but looks at some of the same material as Christopher Nolan's Batman franchise, where he delves into what it would really be like to be a hero. Being Spiderman looks to be no easy feat, and Andrew Garfield looks great in the role. The Amazing Spiderman swings into theaters July 3, 2012.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman,

Zack

The Lucky One Review: Meh

Is Nicholas Sparks' The Lucky One Worth a Trip to the Theater?

"When will they stop seeing me as a pretty boy?" Never Zac...never

For longtime Nick Sparks' fans, this will probably be a nice outing. If you aren't a fan of dramatic chick-flicks with cliche plot elements, then this is probably not for you.

Star Trek 2 Villain

Who Will Benedict Cumberbatch be Playing in Star Trek 2?

Warning: this article contains mild character spoilers.

Prometheus: Better than Avatar

Ridley Scott's Return to the Alien Franchise Looks to be the Prettiest Girl at the Ball

And will also eat your face off

Prometheus is the spin-off/prequel to the Alien saga, and we're going to take a look at the engaging story-line, the excellent cast, and above all, the insanely good visuals. Remember James Cameron's Avatar from 2009? This is a lot like that, only a lot different and much better. So really nothing like it at all...

Adult Comedies for Summer 2012

Love. What flick will be this year's Bridesmaids?

Sometimes, superheroes and mindless action flicks can be a bit boring. Step in the comedies. The summer of 2012 doesn't only feature films for the action junky, the geeks, or the kids. Yes, sometimes a movie-goer just needs to get out there and have a good laugh. Or rather an adult laugh...

Hurry to me...

While the films for the kids can be just as fun, sometimes the grown-ups need a night out. Instead of doing the same boring romance, try going for a silly film that's just a bit uncouth (or rather.... quite uncouth). Or if you're just straight up bored with the typical summer fair, these comedies should prove appealing.

Even though none of them project to be big box office draws, adult comedies are holding up surprisingly well in the last few years. While there doesn't seem to be a film that quite matches last year's Bridesmaids, a lineup of the latest romp with Sacha Baron Cohen, a horror-comedy, a talented comedy crew, a stoner flick, a Will Ferrell flick, and so many more.

Separate side note, looking up "adult" anything on Google just isn't that fun... sigh.

Now, let's take a look at these comedies, specifically for the "mature" (well, mature-ish). And don't worry, all the trailers below are Green Band. If you want the Red Band stuff, look it up yourself.

Fear the 48fps? Or Embrace It...?

I'm using it. What ya gonna do 'bout it? NUTHIN'!

When it was announced by Peter Jackson, that The Hobbit, Part I (HA! YOU HAVE TO BUY TWO TICKETS) is going to be shot in 48fps, film elitists went nuts. Normal people said, "Oh, cool, The Hobbit!" Still others said, "What?"

If you fall into the latter category, don't worry, the film jargon 48fps vs. 24fps vs. a ludicrous 60fps all means that one is the industry standard (24fps), one allows smoother movement (48fps), and the other features ridiculous fluidity (60fps). Well, just take a look at this visual comparison of the three. It should be noted that there is not 24fps and instead 30fps because once the film has been converted to video, it pretty much becomes 30fps (or rather... 29.97...). Just don't worry about it.

Their Rider? James Cameron. Obvi.

As Ben explained in his post about The Hobbit, Jackson's move to 48fps was a mixed bag, at best. Some saw it as the best thing since machines that sliced your bread for you, while others saw this as the 7th sign of the apocalypse (the other 6? ...all James Cameron).

Jolly, Giant Jackson's defense of the 48fps was that it gave a smoother look to the film, as 24fps can be less clear especially during fast camera motion. Now, a smoother, clearer, non-blurry motion picture seems awesome, right? So, why is everyone freaking out?

Kid Flicks for the Summer

Every family needs a photo like this...

This one goes out to all those Moms and Dads that read our blog. And by that, I mean... our own...

...and never one like this. Ever.

When deciding whether to let your kid see a movie, you like to have options, no doubt. Granted, especially if you have a little tike, these options are limited. It seems that the main complaint for parents of young children (under 13) is that there just isn't a whole lot of films they feel comfortable letting their kids go to. Sex, over-the-top violence, adult content, etc. seems to be the main attraction when it comes to the summer blockbuster.

Have no fear! When you just want to escape the summer heat and enjoy a nice cold (non-alcoholic) beverage with some popcorn with your kids, these films have you covered. This goes to babysitters, too...

While many of the kiddie flicks out there seem... well, just that, grown-ups may be pleasantly surprised leaving the theaters after seeing some of these movies.......

Cannes Film Festival 2012: Films in Competition

50th Anniversary of the Death of Marilyn Monroe

While Cannes is usually packed full of foreign language films, there is a strong presence of films from the United States for the 2012 festival. With six entries to compete for the prestigious Palme d'Or (or Golden Palm), the United States has as many films in competition as they have in the last three years combined. The class of 2012 should probably thank their predecessors, at least a little bit.

Can I have one...? My birthday's coming up...

Cannes 2011 featured three films from the United States, and all three ended up not only making a huge impact on Cannes but also on later film festivals and competitions. While only two of the entries from the United States were in competition, Terrence Malick's trippy dino romp Tree of Life won the Palme d'Or. The other two highly regarded films were Drive directed by Nicolas Winding Refn (who also won Best Director at Cannes) and Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris (which unfortunately wasn't in the running for the top prize). While these three films lost some steam heading into the "big time" award shows (specifically the Oscars), all of them generated a whole lot of buzz. Drive was featured on the top of many critics' best films of the year lists; Woody Allen took home Best Original Screenplay awards at the Golden Globes and the Oscars for Paris, and Malick's film was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography. 

Even though many of the films that are highly regarded at Cannes don't usually make big splashes in the mainstream award shows (seriously, have you even heard of 2010's winner? Doubtful. Fun to say though), 2012 features many films that should be major players in competitions to come. 

While Paul Thomas Anderson's highly anticipated film, The Master, or Malick's latest and untitled project will not be unveiled at Cannes, the film festival still is packing a ton of power. It's not only the films from the United States that are going to make a splash either...

Big Budgets, Even BIGGER Box Office Returns

Marvel's Ca$h Cow.

UPDATE: The official numbers are in and The Avengers's three day total is... $207,438,708. Numbers should be updated.

Apparently, it seems that everyone saw Marvel's latest smash hit, The Avengers. Well, everyone but me... Whoops. Joss Whedon's latest project was highly touted even before Marvel whispered about possibly bringing together the hodgepodge of Supers. I guess that hype helped, along with critical acclaim. Yes, The Avengers have HULK SMASHED Box Office weekend records with a, ready for it? A whopping $207,438,708.

$207.4 million. 

Not only am I cooler than you, but
I'm waaaay richer than you too.

Say it again. $207,438,708. In three days. Suddenly, that "awesome" desk job you have while making $80k a year don't sound so fun. Heck, I'm not even going to think about that money, as a college student...

Granted it's just an estimate and final figures won't come out until later today, but. Um. Wow. When The Avengers burst into theaters, it had the second best opening day ($80.5 million) only finishing behind Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows, Pt. II (which raked in $91 million). However, The Avengers surged ahead the last HP film by almost $32 million. Now, that's just silly.

Another silly thing: The Avengers has already grossed more than Thor, Captain America: First Avenger, and The Incredible Hulk. Again, did I mention The Avengers has only been out THREE DAYS? What. It will most likely pass Iron Man and Iron Man 2 in the next coming days, too, "only" needing $100 million more. 

With no real competition in the next coming weeks, The Avengers could be sitting atop the top spot of the box office for some time. Does Marvel's latest superhero romp have a chance to catch James Cameron's Avatar, as "The Richest Film Ever"? Short answer, yes.

The Hobbit in 48fps

Hello gorgeous.

There have been 27 posts since April 16, when YAMB was half-rebooted. Of those 27, 23 have been either superhero (mostly Avengers) or Hunger Games-related. Of the remaining 4, 2 were housekeeping, 1 was Oscar-related, and 1 was about Django Unchained. It's time for at least a little bit of a change.


Over the course of the past couple weeks, there's been some controversy regarding a private 10-minute screening of The Hobbit, part one of which is due out on December 14. Director Peter Jackson made a bold move in the filming process, deciding to shoot the film at 48fps (frames per second) as opposed to the standard 24fps. There have been strong reactions among those who were present at the screening in both directions - some think it's the best thing since sliced bread, and others think it's the worst innovation in cinematic history.

The Avengers Spoilers

SERIOUSLY GUYS, SPOILERS AHEAD

The city did actually collapse from their combined awesomeness....

This article is purely spoilers. If you're looking for our review, look no further. If you're interested in the financial success of this movie, check it out here. We aren't going to talk about the great quality of the story, the depth of the characters, the awesomeness of the effects, or the fact that this movie just made box-office history. Oh wait... Anyways, here's a list of some major spoilers from the movie, so if you haven't seen it yet, beware. Then again if you read the title and heading thus far and haven't seen it yet, I'm sure you're going to keep reading...

If you have seen the movie, this is a great place to discuss the spoilers and what they entail. What we might see in future installments, who we'll see in them, who we won't see in them. Stuff like that. Feel free to comment after reading! The fact that we only get one or two comments a week notwithstanding, we love to hear your views and opinions!

The Avengers Review: Updated Box Office

Step aside, Christopher Nolan

Earth's Mightiest Heroes: And the theater collapsed under the weight of their awesomeness, but then they saved everyone, and were amazing whilst doing it

After getting home, taking off my Spidey costume, and relaxing, I sat down to write this, and after going through a few drafts, still am not quite sure how to put everything I just saw into words.  I've read so many of the reviews, and I agree with all the good stuff, and disagree with all the bad stuff.  Some people say it feels like a TV movie, but it doesn't at all.  People say that a certain character stands out above the rest, but no one does.  Everyone gets their time in the sun.  This review will be (mostly) spoiler-free, but if you want to save yourself a few minutes of reading, just don't even read this.  Instead go to a theater now, and watch The Avengers.

The Dark Knight Rises: Who is John Blake? No Really...

Proving once again, JGL is cooler than you.

Even though the monstrosity and absolutely terrifying character, Bane, has been grabbing most of the headlines for The Dark Knight Rises, there are a multitude of characters who remain key pieces to the film. Not only do they seem vital, but their characters are new and supposedly not based on any character previously seen in Batman lore.

With the latest trailer released, certain characters are a bit more fleshed out, while others remain in the dark. When Nolan was in the midst of casting for The Dark Knight Rises, a flurry of rumors and people became attached to the finale of Nolan's Bats trilogy. They were ridiculous, over-the-top, and downright sad. Seriously, Cher? Miley Cyrus? Philip Seymour Hofman as the Penguin? Johnny Depp as The Riddler? Catwoman? Oh wait. (For the record, I no longer have a beef with Bane and Catwoman...)

Thankfully, that mayhem and madness is over. However, again, many of the characters who have been cast are suspiciously lacking backstory...

Seriously, WHO ARE YOU???

While we have more than enough news on Bane, Catwoman, and the returning cast (Bats/Bruce, Fox, Alfred, Gordon, etc.), other newcomers such as John Blake, Miranda Tate, Juno Temple's character, and a certain mad scientist. There may even be two returning characters, but again, their place in the film is yet to be determined.

Read on if you care to be a bit spoiled... They won't be major spoilers because, well, there's not a whole lot to spoil about the film, yet. Nolan and crew are keeping their baby under lock and key. Plus, some of the spoiler news have come from forums and other untrustworthy areas.

We'll be covering the likes of Catwoman, this Miranda Tate character, and many others in the coming weeks, but for now, on to the mysterious character that will be played by 500 Days of Summer actor, Joseph Gordon-Levitt...

The Amazing Spider-Man New Trailer Analysis

With the release of The Avengers came two new comic book movie trailers: The Dark Knight Rises, and in IMAX 3D showings, The Amazing Spiderman. Fellow blogger Peter already looked at The Dark Knight Rises new trailer, and now I'm going to look at the new Spiderman trailer. Instead of going through every single tiny scene and detail, I'm just going to look through some of the newer material.  Here we go!

Opening Monologue

The opening monologue can tell us a lot about this movie.  Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) is talking in the past tense about his struggles as Spiderman.  We can assume this means the death of Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen), the enemies he's made, the impact it had on high school, how his loved ones are in danger, and a bunch of other really serious stuff.  Then we get the same plot point that Marc Webb has been drilling into our minds in every trailer so far.  "But the one thing that has haunted me...my entire life...is finding the truth about my parents..."  This is going to be a huge part of the movie.  Peter Parker's parents left him with his aunt and uncle at a very young age.  We know from enough previews already that Peter's father worked with Dr. Curt Connors at Oscorp, which we get to see a massive image of in this trailer. The speaking in past tense also means that the film will cover a pretty large time-frame. It's my opinion that we'll see Peter's beginnings as Spiderman, as well as quite a few flashbacks, a la Batman Begins, which is okay, since Nolan and DC have decided to copy the Spiderman viral campaign....

Marvel's Expanding Universe, Pt. V

Someone deserves some more screen time

"HULK WANT OWN MOVIE!"

Today, Earth's Mightiest heroes made us laugh, cry, and cheer as they defended us from an alien invasion. It's now safe to say the movie is incredible, and definitely worth a trip to the theater. We've been exploring some of the characters from the Marvel universe, and what they might be doing now that The Avengers is done. In the last article, I mentioned that we would be looking at some new characters who haven't hit the big screen yet, and sadly I have to take it back. Bear with me, because this series will now continue past the release of The Avengers. There's just one more character who deserves your attention.

He's been through three different actors now, since Eric Bana played him in 2003. The films have been passable, and the character has gone through some changes. Studios tried changing up his origin story. They tried making him look more attractive. They tried casting incredible talent to play him. He's been there and back again. Now the story of one of Marvel's greatest characters is being told the way it was meant to. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the big, green, ugly, unstoppable, Incredible Hulk.

Happy 100,000 Hits Day!

There's no party like a YAMB party!

On behalf of all of us here on YAMB, I would love to thank all of our fans for helping us get to 100k on the hit column. Who cares if we make up 98,000 of the hits. It's quite an accomplishment for my little brainchild that seemed 6 feet under not but a few months ago. Well, that may not seem like a lot for a blog that's been in existence for the past 2-ish or so years, it is. Let me explain...

Our lives. In college. In Kute Kitty Form.

While we started out with great intentions to do AMAZING things the summer out of high school, something big came up. College. Between the first few years of college and adjusting to the workloads, the B*Team wasn't really able to keep up Yet Another Movie Blog. Hey, we're only human.

However, lately, we've been pumping out some great content for all of you out there in Internet land. Largely, thanks to our newest blogger, Zack. He has definitely been integral to turning this blog around.

Even though we hit 100k, we are not stopping! We want this blog to keep going and keep flourishing! But! We can't do it on our own.