Disney has released this new photo from Gore Verbinski's fun looking western The Lone Ranger. It features Johnny Depp as Tonto having a little conversation with his horse. Armie Hammer is in the background wondering what the hell is going on. 

Stay tuned for a new trailer which is supposed to be released on Sunday during the Superbowl! As a fan of westerns, I'm rooting for this movie, and I hope to hell it's good! Weather it's good or not, I think it's one of those movies that is destined to bomb at the box office. I hope I'm wrong.

The Lone Ranger hits theaters on July 3rd, 2013, and it also stars Tom Wilkinson, William Fichtner, Barry Pepper, James Badge Dale, Ruth Wilson, and Helena Bonham Carter. Here's the synopsis...

From producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski, the filmmaking team behind the blockbuster “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, comes Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ “The Lone Ranger,” a thrilling adventure infused with action and humor, in which the famed masked hero is brought to life through new eyes. Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice—taking the audience on a runaway train of epic surprises and humorous friction as the two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption.

Last month we brought you a very cool sci-fi short film called Noon, which was directed by Kasra Farahani. It was one of those short films that I was sure would get picked up by a studio to be developed into a feature film, and guess what? That's exactly what's happening! 

According to THR the short will be turned into a feature film by Chernin Entertainment, the same production company that brought us Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Farahani is actually a concept artist who's worked as an art director on Thor, Men In Black 3, and Star Trek Into Darkness. The director wrote a full script for the film, and the short he made is a scene from that script. What I liked about the short most was that he put the story and characters above the special effects and eye candy.

The director previously explained that the short "sets up the world’s unique premise and introduces our protagonist, Gray, a coyote numbed to the cruelty of the world and his part in it. We watch Gray struggle to salvage what humanity still exists within him when profit is pitted against morality."

As for the story behind the movie, it's "set in two centuries in the future where, due to a shift in the Earth’s axis, the Arctic is one of the only inhabitable lands left, although it is in a perpetual state of day. The scene focuses on a man who facilitates the transfer of illegal immigrants in Noon, the city-state up there."

Congratulations to Farahani on the deal! I think it's awesome that we'll actually see this movie get made! Check out the short below!

"NOON" Short Film from Kasra Farahani on Vimeo.

Here's the third trailer for Steven Soderbergh's next and possibly final film, Side Effects. It looks interesting, but it doesn't seem like there's a lot of interest in it. I enjoy the films that Soderbergh has made over the years, and I'm sure it will be a solidly good movie. It just doesn't look like it will be a great one. The thriller stars Rooney Mara, Jude Law, Channing Tatum, and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Side Effects is a provocative thriller about Emily and Martin (Rooney Mara and Channing Tatum), a successful New York couple whose world unravels when a new drug prescribed by Emily’s psychiatrist (Jude Law)—intended to treat anxiety—has unexpected side effects.

The movie hits theaters on February 8th.

Here's an extremly cool set of beautiful Star Wars art by David Tan. The art features some of the most popular characters in the extended Star Wars universe such as Thrawn and Mara Jade among many other classic Star Wars characters.

When in the hell is The Grandmasters going to get released in the U.S.?! We still have yet to see a date, but we've got another awesome trailer for the movie for you to drool over. I love martial arts films, and this looks like a good one, I wish to hell I was able to fight like these guys. It'd be so awesome to be able to kick ass like this in a moment's notice. 

The film was directed by Wang Kar Wai, and seems like it has a solid story, the fight choreography by Yuen Woo-ping, looks fantastic and the cinematography is pretty damn impressive! The film is based on martial arts legend Ip Man, and it stars Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen, Zhao Benshan, and Song Hye Gyo. The Grandmasters has already been released in Asia, and it seems like it's been getting some decent reviews. 

I'm not sure why The Weinstein Company is sitting on this movie right now, but that's what they're doing. 

Here's the synopsis for the film:

With martial arts getting more popular in the Thirties, more people seek to learn them via the professionals at Foshan in Southern China. Some of the experienced masters like to challenge their counterparts and undergoing battles. To have their whole concentration, it is their practice to lock up the venues and no one is allowed to leave during battles. No food and no rest before reaching any results. 

Ip Man is a young rich man extremely talented in martial arts, but he chooses to keep a low profile. Yet this doesn't keep him out of these troubles ahead. One day he is trapped in this battleground so he has to use every means in order to get out of there. The masters are amazed by his abilities. Master Kung and his daughter Kung Yi are amongst, and the latter is attracted to this newcomer. 

A high warlord is assassinated by his own guard Yi Xian Tian. All masters in Foshan vow to take Tian down no matter what....

Enjoy the trailer!

If I wore heels, I would want to wear these Star Wars R2-D2 heels. Hand made by mikesaurus, these shoes even blink. These shoes are most definitely the droids you are looking for. Check out the photos of the shoes below and share your thoughts.

Here's a great little video from the 1980s featuring a young Tim Burton on the Disney studio lot being harassed by by future Pixar movie director and Disney Executive John Lasseter. The look on Burton's face is hilarious, he has no idea what is going on, he's just got the dumbfounded look.

Burton started his career as an animator at Disney working on film projects such as The Fox and the Hound and TRON. He eventually started making his own short films, both animated and live-action. In 1984 he ended up making his Frankenweenie short which ended up getting him fired, because it was too dark and twisted for the studio. As you know years later he ended up turning it into a feature film for the same studio that fired him for it. 

I've also included an animated short from the director that he made shortly after he graduated from Cal Arts. It's called Stalk of the Celery Monster. 

Here's a great piece of fan-art featuring several characters from The Simpsons as Spider-Man villains. Unfortuantely I couldn't find the artist who created this fun piece of awesomness! Hope you enjoy it!

Alright everybody! The time is almost here! 2013 San Diego Comic-Con passes are set to go on sale February 16th at 9am PST, so set up some reminders for yourselves so you don't forget if you plan on attending. It seems like every year the Comic-Con website has major issues. Hopefully they've been able to fix those issues, but it seems like that's something that we hope for every year.  This is shaping up to be one of the most epic years at the badass geek convention, and I can't wait to see what's in store for us! 

The convention takes place from July 18th to the 21st at the San Diego Convention Center. Tickets range from $175 for the full four day passes, including preview night, to $24 for a Sunday pass. We'll make sure to keep you updated on all things Comic-Con! For more info Click Here.

We always bring you the best cover you can find online, and we'll be doing it again this year! 

Here's the trailer for a fun looking comedy called Zero Charisma from director Michael Paul Stephenson (Best Worst Movie, The American Scream). The story follows a tabletop Role Playing Game dungeon master who just can't seem to adjust to real life, and his life is turned upside down after he brings in a new guy to play with his RPG group. Here's a more detailed synopsis...

Metal-loving gamer geek Scott Weidemeyer lives with his ornery grandmother and works a lousy job at a donut shop. But every Tuesday night, he is the omnipotent Game Master, guiding his role-players through a tabletop journey of fantasy and adventure. However, when neo-nerd hipster Miles joins his game, Scott begins to resent the admiration Miles receives from the other players. To make matters worse, the health of his grandmother begins to falter, and his estranged mother visits town, reminding Scott of a childhood he'd just as soon forget. Caught in a spiral of rage and delusion, Scott is forced to take drastic steps to reclaim his honor, and his identity as the Game Master.

The movie is set to premiere at SXSW next month. Watch the trailer, and let us know what you think!

When you think of Dwayne Johnson movies on the horizon you immediately think of Michael Bay's Pain and Gain and the long-awaited G.I. Joe: Retaliation. He is also starring in a film called Snitch, which arrives in theaters on February 22.  

Directed by Ric Roman based on a script by Justin Haythe, it also stars Susan Sarandon, Benjamin Bratt, and Barry Pepper. We've got a cool Super Bowl trailer for the film to watch. 

Synopsis:

In the fast-paced action thriller SNITCH, Dwayne Johnson stars as a father whose teenage son is wrongly accused of a drug distribution crime and is looking at a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years. Desperate and determined to rescue his son at all costs, he makes a deal with the U.S. attorney to work as an undercover informant and infiltrate a drug cartel on a dangerous mission -- risking everything, including his family and his own life. 

I would much rather see The Rock in actions and thrillers than children's movies. Snitch fits the bill just perfectly for me. Yes he always plays the same character, but it is a badass character I have grown to love. 

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It has been 25 years since the release of the original Die Hard, but there are few heroes that can top John McClane. To celebrate the franchise's anniversary, 20th Century Fox has released a must-own Blu-ray collection of the first four films.

For those of you that are familiar with the Alien Anthology, you will feel right at home with this set. The packaging is very similar, and uses a book-like hard cover. This is the best packaging on a collector's set since Tarantino XX. The artwork is not in the same league, but it is cool to see McClane in action with what looks to be shards of glass exploding around him. It isalso cool to see Willis going from a full head of hair to bald.

In addition to cool packaging, there is some amazing content. Not only do you get the first four movies in stunning Blu-ray, you also get 7 new featurettes in a new package called "Decoding Die Hard". I will be discussing those later in my review. Die Hard came out when I was 10, and I remember seeing it with my father on opening weekend. I even remember the theater I saw it in in Columbia, MO (which is no longer there). My father and I enjoyed watching war and action movies together, so it was not a big deal for me to see an R-rated film at 10. I remember being mesmerized by the action as it unfolded on screen. Before this film I had not been too familiar with Bruce Willis, other than his role of TV's Moonlighting. No matter what further roles Willis has, he will always be seen as Officer John McClane who took on Hans Gruber at the Nakatomi Plaza.

Die Hard still holds up over the years and almost annual viewings as been one of my favorite action films. It is much more than that actually. It is a fantastic non-traditional Christmas movie, it has very witty dialogue, and can even be seen as a movie about women's empowerment in a way. What I love about the the Die Hard franchise is that there is truly something for everyone aside from the explosive action sequences.

I love the character of John McClane. He is truly a modern day hero. What sets him apart from other action heroes is that he can and does get hurt. You could even say he gets beaten. He may not win every single battle, but he does live to fight again. People can relate to him, with the exception of jumping on the back of a jet in Live Free or Die Hard.

If I had to rank my favorite films in the franchise, they would be as follows:

1. Die Hard 
2. Die Hard With a Vengeance 
3. Die Hard 2 - Die Harder 
4. Live Free or Die Hard

In terms of the Blu-ray video and audio quality there is not much different from recent Die Hard Collection releases, this one just happens to have a few minor improvements. After watching the films in this disc on Blu-ray, the picture quality looks superb on my home theater. Live Free of Die Hard is obviously the best looking film in the collection, but I think there is still something to be said for the way the others look in comparison to watching them on streaming or on HBO. For films from the 80's and 90's, I think they look and sound fantastic, but could still warrant a remaster. If you have the recent Die Hard Collection set, there is not much in terms of video and audio quality to warrant picking this up.

The main reason I think this is a must-own is that the collection comes with "Decoding Die Hard". This has 7 brand-new featurettes, equaling an hour and forty-seven minutes of new bonus material. The individual discs also have the features from their latest releases. The new content includes new cast and crew interviews, behind-the-scenes archive footage and a ton of interesting discussion about the history of the franchise. My biggest gripe is that Bruce Willis does not take the time to sit down for the content, but my interest was saved by the inclusion of Alan Rickman (Hans Gruber), Jeremy Irons (Hans Gruber's brother), and John McTiernan. I

love the way this disc is set up, because it allows you to easily watch all content by clicking "play all". This is unfortunately not always the case on every disc I get, which is highly annoying. Below is a listing of the various special features included:

• Origins - Reinventing the Action Genre
• John McClane - Modern Day Hero
• Villains - Bad to the Bone - Timothy Olyphant must have been too busy with Justified to stop by.
• Sidekicks - Along for the Ride - Unfortunately Samuel L. Jackson does not make an appearance.
• Fight Sequences - Punishing Blows
• Action - Explosive Effects
• The Legacy - The Right Hero for the Time
• Die Hard Trailers

The Die Hard Collection - 25th Anniversary Edition is available now, and I think it is a must-own set for collectors, and fans of the franchise.

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Benedict Cumberbatch will go from Star Trek to The Imitation Game. Deadline reports that the Sherlock Holmes actor will play English mathematician Alan Turing in the film, which will be directed by Morten Tyldum (Headhunters). The screenplay was penned by Graham Moore about the math genius. Cumberbatch is still in talks, but looks close to signing on for the role of Turin.

Turin is best known for being "responsible for cracking the German “Enigma Code” during World War II that helped the Allies stave off defeat, and who would later be prosecuted by Britain in the early 1950s for being a homosexual. In what seems shocking today, the hero was forced to make a radical choice, and he chose chemical castration over prison. He was so demoralized that he eventually committed suicide by eating a cyanide-laced apple."

The project has jumped around a bit, starting out on the 2011 Black List and then moving to Warner Bros. with Leonardo DiCaprio expected to star. The rights reverted back to the screenwriter, and DiCaprio has since moved on to play a serial killer in The Devil In The White City for WB. The Imitation Game will be financed by Black Bear. It has yet to find a distributor, but that will likely change because this could easily be primed for an Oscar.

Cumberbatch is fantastic as Sherlock Holmes, and I am looking forward to seeing him in the new Star Trek movie. He is a great character actor, and is great at turning himself into the character he is playing.

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In case you did not know from my review of Tarantino XX, I am a huge fan of Quentin Tarantino.  I am proud to share this cool video of the Top 50 Tarantino Characters aka The Whole Bloody Affair. There are so many wonderful characters in each of Tarantino's films that there is always something new you notice on each viewing. 

This video was created by Jonathan Keogh, and is desbred as follows:

This was originally going to be two separate videos (yes...Vol. 1 and Vol. 2), but whenever I watch Kill Bill Vol. 1, no matter what the day has planned, Kill Bill Vol. 2 comes right after. So here I present "The Whole Bloody Affair". I wanted the first volume to have the hyper-kinetic dominance that Bill Vol. 1 had, and I wanted the second part to be much more of a meditation on the characters, like Bill Vol. 2. The list (created by AskMen.com) also contains characters from films that were only penned by QT. The first tune you can buy on Amazon, iTunes or wherever music is sold on the bitching "DJANGO UNCHAINED" soundtrack. The second track was produced by Tarantino enthusiast, Flying Lotus, who gave me a few tracks to play with, but nailed it with this one.

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Check out this incredible cool hot air balloon inspired by Disney's UP! As I'm afraid of heights, you would never find me riding in one of these things, but they're still cool to watch. I just don't trust these hot air balloons.

Robert Downey Jr. continues to talk about certain aspects of Iron Man 3 with EW revealing fun little tidbits of information, and sharing his thoughts on certain aspects of the film. For anyone who's a fan of the Iron Man franchise, and looking forward to Iron Man 3 it's been a fun read. In parts three and four of the interview the actor talks about Ben Kingsley, how he's going to steel the show, shooting the film and China, bringing on Shane Black to direct the film, and also discusses the flaws of Iron Man 2. When it comes to Kingsley as The Mandarin he says,

Sir Ben is probably going to steal the movie. There are a lot of contenders who may, but right now he’s probably at the top of that list. He came in as, obviously – speaking of training – as such a technically proficient instrument. And then what proceeded to happen was the release of more vintage, old-school Favreau [improv] stuff with a Shane Black twist on it. It was kind of frightening to witness, I’ll tell you that much.

Downey Jr. played a big part in getting Black on board to direct the third Iron Man film, he goes on to talk about the director, and what his talents bring to the movie,

The first six months of pre-pre-production when you get hired to a Marvel movie is like taking a four-year college course in humility. The strongest ones survive and they move into prep and then they shoot the movie and they still look like a human being. The great thing about Shane is the same thing that’s great about Shane’s movie is that all the moving parts within the frame of his story are so poetic and inherently entertaining and then thought out and rethought out. And then everyone all the way through really put their nose to the grindstone this time and I really felt like we were in a much safer playground [than we were with Iron Man 2] just because it was Shane’s vision. And he had a lot, lot, lot of time to figure out just one thing, which was to figure what the story would be.

When making Iron Man 2 Jon Favreau and Downey Jr. were coming up with story elements as they were making the movie, which is why it didn't turn out as good as the first one. He kind of explains what happened with all that saying,

Jon and I were still kind of recovering from our lives changing so much [with the success of the first Iron Man] and then next thing we were back in the saddle again. We made do.

I still enjoyed the movie, it just wasn't as tight as it could have been. Seems like Marvel just wanted to rush that one out. As you know Iron Man 3 was also shot in China, and here's what the actor had to say about that...

Truth be told, we [did shoot in China for about a week in December] after finishing principal photography and there will be some action there in the film. My main interplay through the whole thing was that China figures in as a destination spot for Tony for a reason but I can’t explain [more because it would reveal] one of the ongoing themes of the movie. It’s tied-in to that theme in much the same way the 10 rings [mentioned in the first Iron Man film] are tied-in to Mandarin — and always have been tied-in to the Mandarin.

I've been trying to think of what that ongoing theme could be, and I can't help but think it might tie into some of the future Marvel films. But I could be wrong, it's just fun to speculate. What do you think it could be? 

Hollywood is always on the look out for a new vampire movie franchise, especially one that appeals to the young adult market. Reliance Entertainment and IM Global have picked up the rights to the six-volume book series by Richelle Mead called Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters, and they are looking to bring it to the big screen, in hopes that young audiences will bite. 

Heathers screenwriter Daniel Waters has been hired to write the script, and his brother Mark Waters (Mean Girls) will be directing the film. The lead characters, Rose and Lissa, have already been cast as well, and they will be played by Zoey Deutch (Beautiful Creatures) and Australian newcomer Lucy Fry.

The books tell the story of Rose Hathaway, "a seventeen year old girl who has a mental and spiritual bond with her vampire best friend Lissa. The two girls attend a special school for Vampires who struggle to retain some humanity while other Vampires become more feral."

Executive producer IM Global’s Stuart Ford talked about the story saying “Tonally this so different from all these movies that are so solemn and serious. This is as much Mean Girls as The Hunger Games. It is snappy irreverent, sexy and just a lot of fun. And we got the right director for that kind of movie.” The director of the film had this to say about the script that was written,

It was the best first draft I had ever read, and that includes other screenplays by my brother. This is a dream project for us, since we have wanted to work together for so long. Richelle’s mythology and the world she creates is so real and her voice so clear. These kids have real life, modern day problems. And they drink blood.

They are obviously hoping the first film hits strong so they can adapt all six books into feature films, maybe even more. Apparently there's also a spin-off series called Bloodlines. Have you ever read any of these books, and do you think it will make for a good film franchise? 

Here's a synopsis from the book...

St. Vladimir's Academy isn't just any boarding school – it's a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi vampire princess. They've been on the run, but now they're being dragged back to St. Vladimir's – the very place where they're most in danger.

Vin Diesel took a break from posting Riddick photos to give us the first poster for Fast and Furious 6! The first trailer for the film will be released later today during the Super Bowl, and I'm looking forward to seeing what's in store for us! 

The Justin Lin directed film also stars Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Elsa Pataky, Luke Evans and Gina Carano. Here's the recently released synopsis...

Since Dom (Vin Diesel) and Brian’s (Paul Walker) Rio heist toppled a kingpin’s empire and left their crew with $100 million, our heroes have scattered across the globe. But their inability to return home and living forever on the lam have left their lives incomplete.

Meanwhile, Hobbs (Dwyane Johnson) has been tracking an organization of lethally skilled mercenary drivers across 12 countries, whose mastermind (Luke Evans) is aided by a ruthless second-in-command revealed to be the love Dom thought was dead, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez).

The only way to stop the criminal outfit is to outmatch them at street level, so Hobbs asks Dom to assemble his elite team in London. Payment? Full pardons for all of them so they can return home and make their families whole again.

When Transformers 4 was first announced I was hoping we would get something different from what we've already seen. Director Michael Bay has brought in a whole new cast, has said that he'll be bringing in some more new robots, and also said that the movie would be very different than the previous films. Bay has now confirmed that the movie will not only be different, but that everything will be completely redesigned regardless of the film being a sequel. Here's what he had to say in a recent interview with Forbes,

We’re going to start off smaller. There’s a brand new cast. To freshen the franchise we’ve redesigned everything from top to bottom. The history of the first three movies is still there, we start four years later and there’s a reason why we’re meeting a new cast.

Mark is really excited about it and it’s a great redesign. I said that 3 [which grossed $1.1 billion] was going to be my last one. Paramount was letting me do Pain & Gain and the Transformers ride was opening at Universal and it was bittersweet to think of passing it off. I wanted to set it up on a really sure footing and to bring someone else in on that, it would have been overwhelming.

When asked about the film possibly being a reboot he explained,

No, that’s wrong. We keep the Transformers the way they were, it’s just four years later. There’s a reason the Transformers are redesigned. We’re trying to broaden the franchise and give it more places to go.

So in case you were wondering, yes, even the Transformers designs are getting an overhaul, which is really cool. I'm actually a little more excited about this movie knowing everything is going to have a new look and feel. As of right now the movie stars Mark Wahlberg and Jack Reynor. It's set to hit theaters June 27th, 2014. What do you think about the franchise getting redesigned? 

With Star Wars: Episode VII on the horizon, were sure to see a ton of fan made posters for it up until it's release. We've seen a few fan posters already, but this is the coolest one I've seen so far. J.J. Abrams is set to direct the movie, and it's sounding like the story will focus on a female protagonist. Will keep you updated on any other news as it breaks! What do you think of the fan art?