I wasn't a huge fan of X-Men: Apocalypse, though it certainly has some excellent moments. Sadly, almost none of the film's best parts involve James McAvoy's Professor Charles Xavier. But that's OK! That doesn't mean I'm not allowed to write about fun little behind-the-scenes videos from the movie, like this one documenting McAvoy shaving his head for the role. Director Bryan Singer uses FaceTime to contact the once and future Professor X, Patrick Stewart, to watch and comment from afar. Nothing groundbreaking, but a dash of the kind of fun, lighthearted tone that the movie itself could have benefitted from having more of.

X-Men: Apocalypse hits theaters on May 27th.

"The only way out is to win."

Here's the first trailer for Nerve, a new young adult thriller from the directors of Catfish (Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost) that stars two younger relatives of more famous actors, Emma Roberts and Dave Franco.

Based on a book by Jeanne Ryan, the film follows an uptight high school student (Roberts) who is pressured into joining a mega-popular online game called Nerve, in which there are "players" who accept dares from "watchers" for cash rewards. As the game goes on, she meets a mysterious guy (Franco) and has to team up with him as the stakes get higher and higher. I'm not surprised that the Catfish guys are the ones behind this, because in that movie they showed a knack for pacing and using graphics and computer screens to enhance their story, and this looks like a major escalation of those techniques. I'm not sure if Nerve is going to be any good, but at least it should be visually interesting.

Nerve hits theaters on July 27th.

Industrious high school senior, Vee Delmonico [Emma Roberts], has had it with living life on the sidelines. When pressured by friends to join the popular online game Nerve, Vee decides to sign up for just one dare in what seems like harmless fun. But as she finds herself caught up in the thrill of the adrenaline-fueled competition partnered with a mysterious stranger [Dave Franco], the game begins to take a sinister turn with increasingly dangerous acts, leading her into a high stakes finale that will determine her entire future.

Apologies if some of you have seen this already, but I somehow missed JoBlo's 8-Bit Trailer for Captain America: Civil War until today and thought it was worth sharing. I'm not sure whether this series came before Cinefix's 8-Bit Cinema, but either way, I'm guessing there's some beef there because this is an extremely similar concept. (Instead of doing the whole movie, this just recreates the trailer.) Still, it's well done and now that we've all had the chance to see Civil War, maybe you'll appreciate it more now.

Here's a small update about the future of the X-Men movie franchise. During the press junket for X-Men: Apocalypse, writer/producer Simon Kinberg told Collider that a familiar face is going to show up in Josh Boone's New Mutants movie:

“Right now, as the movie exists, Professor X would be a part of a New Mutants movie.”

Gotta love how Kinberg hedges his bets with that wording, leaving Boone the freedom to cut the character out of the movie altogether should the writer/director choose to make that decision. Boone apparently turned in his second draft of the screenplay recently, so Kinberg knows what kind of role Xavier will play in the final film. We aren't sure whether that'll be Patrick Stewart or James McAvoy, but it's a pretty solid bet it'll be McAvoy, unless they incorporate weird time travel or other confusing plotlines into the story. (Besides, Stewart will reportedly reprise the role in a supporting capacity in Wolverine 3 anyway.)

Worth noting is that we know the next X-Men movie is going to jump from Apocalypse's 1980s setting into the 1990s, but it's unclear whether New Mutants is actually that next movie, or if, say, Bryan Singer is going to direct another movie that directly continues the storyline from the end of that film. Also up in the air is how Deadpool will factor into that film (or films)...but at least we know a solo sequel is brewing for that project.

Kinberg also said the the hope is for filming on New Mutants to start sometime early next year, which probably means we'll see the movie come to theaters sometime in 2018 (in the summer, if I had to guess).

According to Reddit (and the YouTube time stamp), it's been 10 years since one of the most annoying geek songs I've ever heard was created. I had completely forgotten and locked away "taking the hobbits to Isengard" deep within my mind, yet it took all of five seconds to resurface the hatred I had for this song. Dammit, I hate this song so much. Seriously, the only reason I'm sharing it with you is the hope that you hate it as much as I do and you will be as angry as I am having it stuck in your head. If you've never heard it, be warned, this song will make you like The Lord of the Rings less.

Nearly a year ago, we heard that Warner Bros. was developing a Booster Gold/Blue Beetle team-up movie, and that DC TV maestro Greg Berlanti (the guy behind Supergirl, The Flash, and Arrow) was in talks to direct it. The initial report claimed that Zak Penn was in talks to write the film, but new information has come to light that a different Zack will bring the character to the big screen: that'd be Zack Stentz, the screenwriter (or co-writer) of films like Thor, X-Men: First Class, Power Rangers, and last night's episode of The Flash.

Cleats and Capes put the pieces together from a recent appearance Stentz made on Kevin Smith's Fatman on Batman podcast, and BirthMoviesDeath added a few bits of info to clarify.

First up, it's apparently a solo Booster Gold film now, and no longer the Booster Gold/Blue Beetle team-up movie we heard about months ago. Also, as of now Berlanti is producing the movie and might be interested in directing it.

For those who don't know, here's a super quick primer on Booster:

Booster Gold, AKA Michael Jon Carter, was a football hero and celebrity in the 25th Century who became publicly disgraced after he was caught gambling on his own games. With his reputation tarnished, Carter stole super-powered relics from the past and traveled back in time, with the plan to become a famous superhero. Though he began cocky, Booster eventually became a real hero.

Tonally, that sounds about as far away from Batman v Superman as you can get. Expect announcements to be made about this movie (and potentially a TV show as well) very soon.

Warning: potential spoilers for the DCEU coming up.

BMD also adds that while Seth Grahame-Smith isn't directing The Flash movie anymore, the studio is keeping his screenplay in play, and it's "lighter and poppier" in tone than the dour Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The Flash and Cyborg apparently become buds in Justice League, and Cyborg plays a supporting role in Flash's movie. Additionally, Wonder Woman's solo film is supposed to be "hopeful," which would also be a nice change in tone from BvS. We'll have to see how all of this plays out, and we'll see if new Batman Ben Affleck, now an executive producer on Justice League, can enact enough changes to that film to course-correct away from what he considered to be a disappointment with Batman v Superman.

This is one of those videos that seemed inevitable. It's probably already even been done before, but Weston Wong's recut of Star Wars dogfight footage to Kenny Loggins' iconic "Danger Zone" from Top Gun is the first time I've seen it in full form like this. We've written about The Force Awakens trailer cut to the same music, but this contains clips from the original trilogy, the prequels, The Force Awakens — the whole saga.

If nothing else, this video should remind you (as if anyone needed reminding) that this franchise contains some of the best and coolest-looking space battles in cinema history.

Via: Heat Vision

A hollow skull, wrapped in a dusty pirate's hate. A moss covered cage bellowing with said pirates bones swings gently in a slow breeze. The sunlight illuminates the scene as it rests upon you.

That is the title screen and the beginning of the incredible adventure of UNCHARTED 4, the latest modern masterpiece from the wizards at Naughty Dog. In just the...Read More on GameTyrant

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Funny or Die has a pretty great video called Captain America: Civil War Reenactors that stars Veep and Arrested Development's Tony Hale and Happy Endings' Adam Pally as guys who dress up like Iron Man and Captain America. I love their trick for recreating Ant-Man on the end of one of Hawkeye's arrows, and how Hale's character's wife does Nancy Myers movie reenactments.

Greg and Jenius try to choose a side as they talk about Captain America: Civil War! Listen on PodTyrant

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From what I've seen in the trailers, the upcoming sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows seems to be leaning more on imagery from the popular animated series than the 2014 reboot did. That's great news for fans who are hoping this entry ends up being more fun, and speaking of fun, editor Jeff Didlick just sent us this footage from the new movie set to the animated show's iconic theme song. He told us it "had to be done," and I agree — if he didn't do it, someone else would have.

TMNT: Out of the Shadows hits theaters on June 3rd.

Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo, and Raphael return to theaters this summer to battle bigger, badder villains, alongside April O’Neil (Megan Fox), Vern Fenwick (Will Arnett), and a newcomer: the hockey-masked vigilante Casey Jones (Stephen Amell). After supervillain Shredder escapes custody, he joins forces with mad scientist Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry) and two dimwitted henchmen, Bebop (Gary Anthony Williams) and Rocksteady (WWE Superstar Stephen “Sheamus” Farrelly), to unleash a diabolical plan to take over the world. As the Turtles prepare to take on Shredder and his new crew, they find themselves facing an even greater evil with similar intentions: the notorious Krang.

Fan art can be a fun outlet for people to channel their creativity, but it can also have influence over Hollywood producers. It sounds like Olivia Munn at least partially has a fan to thank for her role in the upcoming mutant sequel X-Men: Apocalypse.

Writer/producer Simon Kinberg told CinemaBlend that an early draft of the script didn't feature the character of Psylocke at all, with Professor Xavier standing in as Apocalypse's fourth Horseman:

The one person we didn’t know was Psylocke, and the reason why is because originally in the script we sort of… I don’t know why we made this decision, but we knew that Professor X was abducted in the middle of the movie, and we thought that almost counted as a fourth Horseman. And so that’s the way we constructed the original draft of the script. There wasn’t going to be a fourth one. The ‘surprise’ was that Xavier was the fourth Horseman. And then when we were working on the script, Bryan and I at one particular point – pretty late in the process – said, ‘He’s not really a Horseman – he’s not doing anything in the third act of the movie.’

So they dove into the history of the comics to see who they should cast instead:

We started talking about who that would be, and just literally looked at the list of different Horsemen over the history of the comics, and Psylocke was the one we thought was the most intriguing. And, ironically, or as fate would have it, I had just met with Olivia Munn about Deadpool - like a week or two before. And Bryan and I were up in Montreal, and I said, ‘You know, Olivia Munn could be an interesting Psylocke,’ so we went on the internet and Googled her images. And one of the first things that popped up was a piece of fan art of Olivia as Psylocke.

Sadly, it's fitting that a piece of fan art effectively sealed the deal for Munn, because she basically plays no more than a piece of walking fan art in the movie itself. (All of that sword training she posted on Instagram unfortunately just didn't translate in the final product.)

I know that Munn is at least a modestly talented actress, even if she hasn't really been given a chance to really show it too much outside of The Newsroom, and I'm not trying to imply that the only reason she got this part was because of a piece of art. Talent is obviously a massive factor in casting someone, as are a million other things. But I'm sure the lesson some of you will take from this is to flood the internet with as much fan art as possible of your favorite actors playing your favorite characters and cross your fingers that someone important notices when doing a Google search. Who knows? It might actually end up working.

The first trailer for Assassin's Creed has been released! Like many of you, I've been eagerly waiting to see the first footage from this film, and I think it looks awesome! The tone and style are spot on with the video game, and it's spectacular. I especially enjoyed seeing the awesome stunt work which was all done with stunt professionals. They could have easily gone the CGI route with that stuff, but they chose to take the hardcore badass direction. 

The film is based on the Ubisoft video game franchise, and the story follows a character named Callum Lynch who, "through a revolutionary technology that unlocks his genetic memories, is able to experience the adventures of his ancestor, Aguilar, in 15th Century Spain. Callum discovers he is descended from a mysterious secret society, the Assassins, and amasses incredible knowledge and skills to take on the oppressive and powerful Templar organization in the present day."

The film was directed by Justin Kurrzel (Macbeth), and it stars Michael Fassbender as Lynch. He is joined by Marion Cotillard (Inception), Michael K. Williams (The Wire), Jeremy Irons (Batman v Superman), and Brendan Gleeson (Edge of Tomorrow). 

Assassin’s Creed is set to be released on December 21st, 2016. Watch the trailer and let us know what you think of it.

Exciting news for you Sons of Anarchy fans, not only does the official spinoff have name, it also has help from a new co-showrunner.

Deadline announced that SoA creator Kurt Sutter has brought on Hollywood newcomer Elgin James to be co-creator of the series dubbed Mayans MC. Here is what Sutter had to say about bringing on a co-creator for this new series:

I wanted to find a strong, unique Latino voice,” New Jersey-born Sutter said. “Because I didn’t think a white guy from Jersey should be writing about Latin culture and traditions. Elgin is that voice

The one thing that I have always admired about Sutter is that he knows what his shortcomings are and does whatever he can to overcome them and bring his fans the best product he can. The man truly understands that shows only work if the fans support them.

The report gives an overview of James’ past and the kind of outlook he will bring to the show. Whatever it is that he has, Sutter has the faith in him to bring us the best show possible.

No word on when production will start or when it will air. I loved SoA so much, and it will be cool to see that world again from a different perspective. I hope that the new Chibs-run SoA gang will make some appearances. What do you think?

The first time we see Tony Stark in Captain America: Civil War, it’s a younger version of himself in his late teens or early 20s. I was floored when I saw this youthful version of Robert Downey Jr. on the big screen. The techniques used to pull this off were virtually flawless. It really looked like a young Robert Downey Jr.! 

So how exactly did the creative team at Lola VFX pull this off? Visual Effects Supervisor Trent Claus explained the process in an interview with THR, saying that it all started with Downy Jr.’s performance:

"Instead of completely replacing the actor with a digital double, this method allowed us to retain the actor's performance and nuances. Then we began to adjust the on-set footage of Tony Stark through digital compositing.

“Every feature of the face and body needed to be addressed in some fashion. One thing that happens to all of us is that the skin of the face gradually lowers in certain areas, and needs to be 'lifted' back to where it was at the age in question. But other changes are incredibly subtle, such as increase in the way light reflects off the sheen of the skin, a reduction in the appearance of tiny blood vessels under the surface of some parts of the face, or more blood flow in the cheeks giving them that familiar youthful 'glow."

As you can see, they really went to great lengths to make sure to get this right. This same effects were attempted in Tron to make Jeff Bridges look younger in the grid, but it didn’t turn out as well as what we saw in Civil War. Claus went on to to talk about the pressure that came along with the task of pulling this off:  

"Additionally, when working with the appearance of a well-known actor such as Robert Downey Jr., there is the added pressure of living up to the youthful appearance that audiences remember. In this case, we analyzed footage of Mr. Downey at the approximate age that we wanted to target, which was around the time of the film Less Than Zero [when Downey was in his early 20s]."

What they ended up with is incredibly impressive, and the young Downey Jr. looks more lifelike than he does a CGI stand-in. I have to applaud the VFX team for actually pulling it off as awesomely as they did. 

After Dwyane Johnson posted those comments regarding his Jumanji remake and how they wanted to honor Robin Williams in the process of making this film, I kind of opened up to the idea. Then news hit that Jack Black was in talks to join the film project, and now I have closed back up. 

I’m not the biggest Jack Black fan. It’s been a long time since he’s been in a film that I’ve really enjoyed. The guy is just a turn off to me when it comes to films. If he’s cast, though, he will star alongside Johnson and Kevin Hart, who will take on unknown roles in the story.

Johnson previously revealed that there would be five main characters in their story. There are no details on what the film will be about, but I imagine it will involve these characters finding and playing the mystical game which unleashes hell and thrusts them into a crazy adventure.

With the cast that is being gathered together for this film, it makes me think that this is going to be a comedic adventure. The movie is being directed by Jake Kasdan (Bad Teacher, Sex Tape), and we’ll just have to wait and see what exactly they are planning.

Source: The Wrap

The Russo Brothers have teased that we might see Star-Lord show up Avengers: Infinity War. It was fun to learn that we might see at least one of the Guardians show up in the movie, but now it sounds like Star-Lord might not be alone. During a recent interview with The Verge, Avengers: Infinity War co-writer Christopher Markus teased the possibility that Rocket Raccoon could show up! While talking about keeping all of the characters grounded in Infinity War he explained:

"Whether they’re a 12-foot purple guy, or a raccoon, or an android, they’re all people, and we’re going to write them as people. You can’t write them any other way. So, ideally it will stay grounded because you’ll completely understand why the characters are doing what they’re doing, and you will in some way or another empathize."

Judging from that statement, it sounds like they are planning on writing Rocket into at least an early draft of the script. Why else would they mention a raccoon along with Thanos and Vision? The thought of Rocket fighting alongside Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man, Ant-Man, and the rest of the Avengers is extremely exciting and very funny!

The first part of Avengers: Infinity War is set to hit theaters on May 4th, 2018, and the second part will come out on May 3rd, 2019.

Universal and Legendary Pictures has released four clips and a new TV spot for their epic fantasy film Warcraft featuring some new footage that highlights some of the film's action, magical elements, and humor involving various characters both human and Orc. I’ve also got a few new photos to share with you from the movie as well! 

I recently the opportunity to see an early screening of the movie, but I’m not allowed to say anything about it yet. My review will be posted on May 30th, so keep a look out for that. I’m really curious to see what fans and audiences think of this film after it’s released. 

Warcraft was directed by Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code) and written by Charles Leavitt and Jones. The film is a Legendary Pictures, Blizzard Entertainment and Atlas Entertainment production and here's the synopsis:

The peaceful realm of Azeroth stands on the brink of war as its civilization faces a fearsome race of invaders: Orc warriors fleeing their dying home to colonize another. As a portal opens to connect the two worlds, one army faces destruction and the other faces extinction. From opposing sides, two heroes are set on a collision course that will decide the fate of their family, their people and their home. So begins a spectacular saga of power and sacrifice in which war has many faces, and everyone fights for something.

Warcraft is set to be released in theaters on June 10th!

Via: ComicBook

“For the first time of my life, I feel close to something bigger than myself."

Sony Pictures has released the first teaser trailer for Ang Lee's upcoming film Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, and it packs a punch of emotion. This is a power trailer for an incredible-looking film that I'm very interested in seeing. 

The story revolves around a squad of soldiers who are brought home from the Iraq War to be honored for their service as they tour the United States. It specifically unfolds during a Thanksgiving Day football game, where the soldiers are being honored in a halftime show full of spectacle. During all of this, there will be flashbacks of the war and battle in which these soldiers fought for their lives. 

It looks like Ang Lee has made a beautiful film. The guy is a very artistic filmmaker, and he even pushed the boundaries of filmmaking by being the first director to shoot the entire film in 120 fps to "dramatize war in a way never seen before."

Director Ang Lee brings his extraordinary vision to Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, based on the widely-acclaimed, bestselling novel. The film is told from the point of view of 19-year-old private Billy Lynn (newcomer Joe Alwyn) who, along with his fellow soldiers in Bravo Squad, becomes a hero after a harrowing Iraq battle and is brought home temporarily for a victory tour. Through flashbacks, culminating at the spectacular halftime show of the Thanksgiving Day football game, the film reveals what really happened to the squad – contrasting the realities of the war with America’s perceptions.

The film also stars Kristen Stewart, Chris Tucker, Garrett Hedlund, Vin Diesel, and Steve Martin. It's set to be released on November 11th.

James Gunn recently announced that Kurt Russell wrapped shooting on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. We still don't have confirmation on who Russell is playing in the film, but everything seems to point at Star-Lord's dad, whichever character that ends up being. 

It seems Russell had quite an effect on the cast and the crew of the film as both Gunn and star Chris Pratt expressed their joy at working with such a talented actor and that they both shed some tears when Russell's time on the film came to an end.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is set to be released on May 5th, 2017. I'm excited to learn more about what this next chapter in the franchise will entail! Here are the social posts from the talent expressing their emotions: 

And that’s a wrap on Kurt Russell on #GOTGVol2. A true talent and pleasure in every way. I will admit to a small tear in my eye.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) May 11, 2016

You're not the only one cryin'. Kurt Russell is the fucking best. https://t.co/nZVBX3Tjpy

— chris pratt (@prattprattpratt) May 11, 2016

I'm sorry for the language. But when I'm talking about how fuckingreat Kurt Russell is I have to swear.

— chris pratt (@prattprattpratt) May 11, 2016