Four more images from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has been released featuring a couple of Goblins from the Misty Mountains Goblins, a Troll, the White Counsel venue, and Bilbo in his nap sack. Click here to check out the other recently released photos of the Wargs.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey hits theaters December 14th. What do you think of these goblin designs? I think they're pretty cool looking.

The adventure follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers. 

Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever…Gollum. 

Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s "precious" ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities … A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

Looks like we get to listen to more of that George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy conversation about the future of Star Wars! As you know there's been a ton of rumors and speculation about who will write, direct and star in the next installments of the Star Wars universe. This new video includes some interesting information on Lucas' role as the creative consultant and what the current status is on the hunt for a director. One of the main things they are looking for is someone not only with talent but someone who has also grown up a fan of Star Wars. 

Some of the things we've heard up until this point is that Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine, Toy Story 3) turned in a treatment for Star Wars Episode VII, and that he might end up being one of the screenwriters of the film. There is also information that Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford could reprise their roles of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo. We've also heard that there's a possibility Matthew Vaughn could end up directing it.

This won't be the last Star Wars video conversation we see, apparently we'll be seeing more of these videos. If anyone knows what's going on with this film series it's Lucas and Kennedy. 

Here's the first part in case you missed it:

Check out this fun video game infographic called Old School Vs. New School comparing several popular video game characters in their old school humble beginnings with their awesome new school badassery. Well, all except for poor Mega Man.

Video games have come a long way since their humble beginnings all those decades ago. What started with splotches of color and pixels in days gone by now only stops at the edges of our collective imagination. And as technology continues to grow, so too will our grasp on video game visuals and the art that coincides.

What would you say your favorite classic video game is in this infographic?

J.J. Abrams and Jon Favreau are two directors that we'd love to see take on the Star Wars franchise, and you never know... there's a chance that it could happen! Hollywood Life got statements from both Abrams and Favreau about the the future of Star Wars, and it's no surprise that they are both huge fans of the films and were inspired by them. Here's what Abrams had to say:

Look, Star Wars is one of my favorite movies of all time. I frankly feel that – I almost feel that, in a weird way, the opportunity for whomever it is to direct that movie, it comes with the burden of being that kind of iconic movie and series. I was never a big Star Trek fan growing up, so for me, working on Star Trek didn’t have any of that, you know, almost fatal sacrilege, and so, I am looking forward more then anyone to the next iterations of Star Wars, but I believe I will be going as a paying moviegoer!

As you can see, Abrams didn't sound like he would want to be the one to take it on. Favreau on the other had this to say...

I think both J.J. and I come from a generation of people who formed our whole creative persona around what we experienced as kids from watching those films, and I have had the good fortune of working with George [Lucas] and around George, and whether it is doing a voice on Clone Wars, or being at the Skywalker Ranch mixing Iron Man – so I have been very happy and lucky to just experience the culture that Lucas has created, both in my own life growing up as a kid and professional – whether it was interviewing him at film festivals on stage, he is just a really wonderful, talented gifted guy who has changed the business so much, so I am just giddy, first and foremost as a fan, to see what happens with it. I think there is a lot of question marks of how they are going to do it, and who they are going to do it with, and what the story is going to be about; but to say that I am not excited about it is definitely an understatement. We’ll see.

I could see Favreau being a very strong choice as a director, especially since he has a lot of experience working with Lucasfilm and Lucas in his career. I'm a big fan of Favreau, and after giving it some thought he is on the top of my list of directors to take on Star Wars. I have no doubt that he would do an incredible job with it. 

What do you think about what Favreau and Abrams had to say about Star Wars? Out of these two choices, who would you want to see direct the movie? 

George Clooney is in talks to join Brad Bird's upcoming alien sci-fi film 1952, which was written by Damon Lindelof and Jeff Jensen. There's still no other information on what the film is about other than what we've already reported. 

From what we've heard the story will be set in the present day, and it centers around aliens making contact with Earth. Apparently, Bird and Lindelof want to recapture the spirit of 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, right down to centering it around a man in his late forties, like Richard Dreyfuss’s Roy Neary. It sounds like it could be really interesting, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out! I think Clooney is a great actor, and it would be cool if he ended up joining the project. 

There's a fun and mysterious backstory behind this movie that you can read below,

When Lindelof had a meeting to discuss the project with Disney’s head of production, Sean Bailey, the Disney exec arranged for Lindelof to be given access to one of the studios odder curiosities: a banker’s box of files and documents that had been left moldering in Walt Disney’s personal development lab, WED Enterprises, which later became the studio’s vaunted Imagineering department. The box was originally labeled with the title of the studio’s 1965 comedy That Darn Cat!, which had been crossed out and in its place was written '1952.' Inside was a random-at-first-glance collection of documents and primary source materials that, when looked at all together, indicated that someone had been working on a project (movie? theme park ride?) about alien contact.

What are your thoughts on 1952, and Clooney's possible involvement? 

Yesterday, it was reported that Toy Story 3 screenwriter Michael Arndt had written a treatment for Star Wars: Episode VII, and would possibly write the script. Well, it's official now! Arndt will indeed write the screenplay for the long awaited film. The news was confirmed by Lucasfilm who says that Kathleen Kennedy and George Lucas have begun story conferences with the Academy Award winning writer. 

Arndt has also written films such as Little Miss Sunshine, Oblivion and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. I have no doubt he's going to do a great job bringing it to life. He's a talented screenwriter and a huge fan of the series. Click here to read more about his love of the franchise.

We've heard that the studio wants to bring back the three main characters of the original Star Wars trilogy; Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo. There's no confirmation on that yet, and there are no deals set in place with Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher or Harrison Ford yet, but it's looking like that is all going to happen.

Now that the movie has a writer I can't wait to see who they bring in to direct the movie! Star Wars: Episode VII is headed for a 2015 release.

What are your thoughts on Arndt taking on Star Wars?! 

The Amazing Spider-Man swung onto store shelves today on Blu-ray and DVD Combo Pack. I loved the movie in theaters, and equally enjoyed it on Blu-ray. Directed by Marc Webb, this origin story stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Sally Field, Martin Sheen, and Denis Leary. There are plenty of special features to warrant grabbing this disc up on Blu-ray Combo pack because of the extensive special features included with the disc. Not only are you getting a great movie, but you are getting hours of additional entertainment.

Many were initially annoyed that a remake of the series so soon after Sam Raimi's version, but hopefully you are on board now with the direction this revamping is headed. Webb did a fantastic job with everything on the film. Casting Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone was a smart move and it created a ton of buzz surrounding the project. I have to say that Garfield blows Tobey MaGuire away in the role. The only thing missing from this film is James Franco, but the other supporting cast makes up for that. Rhys Ifans was perfect as the Lizard, and the choice of that villain to start off with was a brave one in my mind.

The special features are so extensive, that there are literally hours of extra entertainment that you will feel like you are trapped in a web of sheer awesomeness. My favorite aspects are the Audio Commentary and the Rite of Passage documentary. The commentary is one of the most extensive detail, and was a joy to listen to. Marc Webb and Producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach discuss everything under the Spider-Man universe. Topics include why specific choices were made in respect to the character development of Peter Parker, the rebooting of the franchise, how the actions scenes went from storyboard to screen, and much more. This is one of the most in-depth commentaries included on a disc. This is worth the price of the disc alone in my opinion.

The Rite of Passage: The Amazing Spider-Man Reborn is over an hour long and includes 7 mini-docs that chronicle the process of bringing a new version of Spider-Man to the screen. One of the most unique features of the disc is the addition of stunt rehearsals. This gives fans an inside peek behind the scenes of the various stunt prep that went into some of the action sequences. Being a fan of art, I liked The Oscorp Archives which is basically a production art gallery, that shows the various concept art from the film.

I am at the point of watching Blu-ray's to wonder why Deleted Scenes are included. The Pre-Visualization is also very very cool. It shows the films storyboards and animated visualization sequences. There are so many other great features that this Blu-ray is a must-own in my mind. Do you plan on picking up The Amazing Spider-Man this weekend?

@jim_napier

Here's a fun piece of t-shirt mashup art featuring a Jack Skellington Punisher logo. The art was created by Mephias, and it's called "The Punisher King." To purchase one click here! 

For those of us who have (or in my case regretfully, had) huge action figure collections, I'm sure we would have loved to be able to justify those purchases a bit more. I guess Bosslogic can count himself as one of the lucky few who can actually say out loud "I'm buying them for my art!" and not get laughed out of the room. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me.

Anyway, for his latest work he used a Deadpool Action Figure for the base, and then just built upon it in Photoshop. The result is something that resembles Raiden from the upcoming Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (you really gotta love that title). Boss' lighting and glow effects are second to none, but what stands out most is the way he handles reflections. Just take a closer look at the ground and you'll see how much attention was paid to the water and the reflections in it. 

Plus, I don't think I'm the only one who would love a game that combined the over the top slicing and dicing of Revengeance with the Deadpool sense of humor. Call me crazy but that might just work. If you want to see more of BossLogic's work head over to his Deviant Art gallery and let him know you dig it.

FOX has released two great new trailers and a poster for their new psychological thriller TV series, The Following. The series stars Kevin Bacon, and was created by Kevin Williamson (Scream Franchise). One of the trailer is labeled as a red-band trailer and you can watch that clicking here.

The FBI estimates there are currently up to 300 active serial killers in the United States. What would happen if these killers had a way of communicating and connecting with each other? What if they were able to work together and form alliances as they left a trail of blood across the country? What if one brilliant and charismatic, yet psychotic serial killer was able to bring them all together and activate a cult of believers following his every command?

The series is set to premiere on January 21, 2013. The series is created, written and executive-produced by Williamson. Marcos Siega (“Dexter,” “The Vampire Diaries”) also serves as an executive producer and directed the pilot. Will you be tuning in to watch the series? 

Warner Bros. has hired Easy A and Friends with Benefits director Will Gluck to develop their upcoming heist project For Richer or Poorer.

The story follows a former couple who have now teamed to rob the Natural History Museum in New York by staging a fake wedding there. The original screenplay was written by John Aboud and Michael Coulton. 

Gluck seems like the right fot for a movie like this. I like Easy A, but didn't care much for Friends with Benefits. 

Perhaps its because I have Avengers on the brain, but I loved this Black Widow cosplay by Rayi-kun. Rayi is a cosplayer out of Germany, and while she has many costumes in her portfolio I think Natasha is my favorite. Black Widow's core uniform is pretty much just a black jumpsuit, so it's always all the extra accessories that seperate the good renditions from the average ones. She's done a great job with those small details, from the Shield patch & Widow logo to all the belts and pouches, she recreates the film version of Black Widow to a tee. Of course, the red hair doesn't hurt either.

It would be wrong however not to mention the amazing job that Franky-Chan & Daishota did with the photography. The costume is spot on, but bad photos can make or break a cosplay, and all the shots here are stellar. The ones featured above and below are my favorites, but you can catch more photos here & here.

Rayi-Kun has done a number of different cosplays ranging from Final Fantasy to Belle (of Beauty & the Beast), so if you like her stuff make sure to let her know.

Sony Pictures Animation has announced that they will make Hotel Transylvania 2, and that they'll be releasing it on September 25th, 2015. The first film did very well at the box office, and it turned out to be a pretty enjoyable film.

The film project is in early development, but it doesn't look like Genndy Tartakovsky will be back to direct the sequel as he's currently working on Sony Pictures Animation's Popeye film project, which will be released on September 26, 2014.

Did you like the first film enough to watch a sequel?

Here's an interestingly cool trailer for a sci-fi short film called Noon. The short was directed by Kasra Farahani, and according to the director it shows us the third scene from a feature film script that's been written. It's definitely got some solid production value. 

Here's the synopsis:

In a bitter and polarized world, a coyote struggles to salvage what humanity still exists within him when profit is pitted against morality.

Thanks to Farahani for sending this over to us! Check out the trailer and let us know if you think it will make for a good film!

Noon :: Trailer from Kasra Farahani on Vimeo.

As I'm sure all of you know, just because Marvel has seen insane rewards on their ballsy plan to build a cinematic universe with The Avengers doesn't mean that they're able to play with every toy in the proverbial sandbox. 20th Century Fox still owns some cinematic rights to certain properties, and that studio has hired Mark Millar as their own sort of Whedon-esque figure who will theoretically guide them into a new way of doing things with those comic book properties.

The Kick-Ass creator spoke with Empire about his duties at Fox, but couldn't get into too many details:

Fox are thinking, ‘We’re sitting on some really awesome things here. There is another side of the Marvel Universe. Let’s try and get some cohesiveness going.’ So they brought me in to oversee that really. To meet with the writers and directors to suggest new ways we could take this stuff and new properties that could spin out of it.

OK, pretty standard so far. It's plain to see that Fox has dollar signs in its eyes after The Avengers became the third highest grossing film of all time, and it looks like they're trying to set up their own separate Marvel Universe. How about the X-Men, specifically?

The X-Men feels like a universe by itself; there’s so many characters and so many great potential spin-off characters. They asked me to come in and work out a plan, so unfortunately at this point I can’t get too specific. I DO have a three to four year plan of where things could go, but you know, I’ll be working with guys like Matthew and Josh Trank (the new director of ‘Fantastic Four’) and just figuring out how everything can work together and not contradict each other.

But I also don’t want to make it too much of a mess either, with everyone showing up in everyone else’s films. What my dream is, as a fan, is that when you go and see any Marvel movie that it feels as if they’re all taking place in the one universe like in the comics.

Notice that he mentions "Matthew" in his discussion. He's referring to Matthew Vaughn, who was previously attached to direct X-Men: Days of Future Past, but who stepped back to a producer on that film while Bryan Singer slid into the director's chair. Seems like all of them are going to be working together, and if Millar's three or four year plan is executed well enough, it's very plausible that we could start to feel like all of the Fox Marvel films are occupying a separate universe (and probably one that's a bit more sinister in tone than the folks at Disney would like).

Are you excited about the possibility of more spin-offs and crossovers on the Fox side of the Marvel Universe?

Patton Oswalt and Rosemarie DeWitt have been cast in the upcoming season of HBO's The Newsroom.

The Hollywood Reporter has said that Oswalt will play the new Human Resources VP for Atlantic Cable News. Whereas DeWitt will play a litigator in a wrongful termination lawsuit. 

I am glad to see Patton Oswalt take on another dramatic role. Even though he can be very comedic, I think he has just as good, if not better, dramatic acting chops. I loved him in Big Fan. DeWitt can be seen in The Odd Life of Timothy Green and The Watch. This marks somewhat of a reunion for the two actors as they played a couple in the Showtime dramedy United States of Tara.

A return date for The Newsroom has yet to be decided.

What do you think of this casting news? Glad to see Oswalt in another dramatic role? Should he stick to comedy?

Follow Me @Ltt2P

In this short clip that can be found on the Amazing Spider-Man Blu ray, we can observe the instant relationship that was formed between Gwen and Peter aka Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield.

What did you think of their on screen chemistry?

Follow me @Ltt2P

Savages has arrived on Unrated Blu-ray from Universal Home Entertainment. I see so many movies throughout the year that I have usually seen the movies that I review on Blu-ray. Oliver Stone's Savages is one film that I did not check out on the big screen, but I wish that I had. The all-star cast includes Taylor Kitsch, Salma Hayek, Benicio Del Toro, Blake Lively, Aaron Johnson, and John Travolta.

Based on the book by Don Winslow, the film is set in Laguna Beach, California and follows to independent pot dealers who get in way over their heads after crossing paths with the Mexican cartel. The dealers are played by Ben (Johnson), who is a Buddhist and his best friend Chon (Kitsch), a former Navy SEAL who grow and sell some of the best marijuana on the market. They have an interesting love triangle going on with Ophelia (Lively). After growing to such a large scale they catch the attention of the cartel boss Elena (Hayek), and her violent muscle Lado (Del Toro). On top of that they have to contend with a DEA Agent (Travolta) that is playing both sides of the law.

The unrated version has plenty of gritty violence, and is definitely not for the squeamish. The action sequences were done so well, and it is obvious that a lot of choreography went into the scenes. Benicio del Toro is a believable villain as Lado. He is a very 

Savages is a good film, but not great. I enjoyed the action, the story and the characters in Savages, but can not stand a movie that has a voice narration throughout. That is basically lazy storytelling on my part. I don't need someone to guide me through what is happening on screen if the story and script are doing what they are meant to do. One of the main problems is that they had to cut over 30 minutes to get the film down to a marketable length.

This disc has the fewest amount of special features included. The deleted scenes are actually scenes I would have rather seen included in the film to add to the character development which is lacking. The Making Of Featurettes are the coolest and rawest look at a film set I have seen lately. I liked watching these better than the commentary, so I recommend checking it out. The There were an amazing amount of consultants on the film, from DEA Agents, to military personnel, computer hackers, and even a cannabis consultant. Believe it or not, no real marijuana was used during the filming. Even though the movie was shot in California, where medical marijuana is legal, if real grass was used they could have been sued.

I am a huge fan of movies that take you inside the drug culture, so Savages is a treat on many levels. It is not on the same level as a movie like Blow, but in terms of a drug saga it has some epic elements and a great cast. It is a shame that Taylor Kitsch has had such bad luckk transitioning to the big screen from Friday Night Lights. This is one of his best roles, aside from John Carter, which I actually enjoyed.  

@jim_napier

Here's our first look at director Ben Wheatley's new film A Field in England, which takes place during the English Civil War. This movie comes from the same mind that brought us the twisted films Kill List and Sightseers. His next film will also be built around very dark and twisted elements, and has previously been described as "a psychedelic trip into magic and madness." So you can count me in! 

The story is set in 1648, and follows a small group of deserters "fleeing from a raging battle through an overgrown field. They are captured by two men: O’Neil and Cutler. O’Neil (Michael Smiley), an alchemist, forces the group to aid him in his search to find a hidden treasure that he believes is buried in the field. Crossing a vast mushroom circle, which provides their first meal, the group quickly descend into a chaos of arguments, fighting and paranoia, and, as it becomes clear that the treasure might be something other than gold, they slowly become victim to the terrifying energies trapped inside the field."

The movie stars Michael Smiley (Kill List), Peter Ferdinando, Reece Shearsmith (The League of Gentlemen), Julian Barratt (The Mighty Boosh), Richard Clover (Wheatley's Sightseers), and Ryan Pope.  

Wheatley has already told some great and crazy interesting stories. I'm looking forward to A Field in England. It sounds like it's going to be awesome. 

Check out this wonderfully disturbing zombie Audrey Hepburn cosplay. The photos come from freakmo and the make up job is extremely impressive. I hope you enjoy this bloody mess!