Over the past few years, there has been an explosion of minimalist artwork devoted to pop culture. I haven't seen much of it lately - likely because there was an overabundance of it there for a while and we probably reached a tipping point - but artist Nick Barclay has come up with a new twist on the concept for his designs of posters for famous movies. He's limiting himself to only using circles: that's the only shape he's allowed to use to capture the essence of a movie and translate that to the audience. It's a cool idea, and I think he pulls it off very well. Take a look and tell us what you think.

Via: Sploid

John Travolta has had a bit of a rough decade. In the past ten years, he starred in Wild Hogs, Old Dogs, From Paris With Love (which was one of the worst action movies of the past two decades), and the forgettable remake The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. But Quentin Tarantino resurrected his career once before by giving him a lead role in Pulp Fiction, and it seems Travolta is looking to get back on top yet again. The Wrap reports that he's in talks to join I Am Wrath, an action film previously set to star his Face/Off co-star Nicolas Cage.

I Am Wrath follows "a man out for vigilante justice after a group of corrupt cops are unable to catch his wife’s killer." That's about as generic as it gets, so it's tough for me to really get excited about this. It seems like Travolta is just trying to cash in on the "old guy stars in an action movie" fad that's going around right now: Liam Neeson with Taken, Kevin Costner with 3 Days to Kill, Sean Penn in The Gunman...the list goes on. Chuck Russell (Eraser, The Mask, The Scorpion King) is set to direct, and a supporting cast is expected to be hired soon.

Filming begins next month in Columbus, Ohio, which for some reason seems like a fitting place for a movie that sounds this forgettable to shoot. (Apologies to any Columbus-based readers out there.)

Here's one for you old school gamers out there. An intrepid Doom fan who goes by the name "Mallo" released a mod of the game in which he replaced all of the game's legitimate sound effects with his own vocal approximations of those noises, resulting in a pretty damn ridiculous aural experience for anyone who plays it. The team at Rock, Paper, Shotgun put together a gameplay video so we can all see just how ridiculous it really is.

I used to play this with my dad back in the mid-90s and I haven't played it since, so seeing this brought back some fond memories for me of sitting around and playing things like this and Commander Keen (anyone else remember that one?). Hopefully you get a kick out of the craziness of this video.

Warner Bros. Animation has released the first trailer for their new animated feature, Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts. The trailer shows the Dark Knight going up against his long-time nemesis the Penguin, and they bring some of their colleagues along for the battle. Some of the characters that will be featured on Penguin's team include Killer Croc, Cheetah, Man-Bat, and Silverback. Then on team Batman, we have Red Robin, Nightwing, Flash, and Green Arrow.

The movie will kick off a whole new line of Batman toys and more animated projects. A second Batman Unlimited movie will also be released later this year, along with 22 two-minute shorts that will include the "Unlimited" cast. Mattel's new Batman toy line is apparently already on shelves. Here are some additional details: 

All-new DC Comics Original Movie coming from Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment in late Spring 2015

When Gotham City is plagued by a slew of bizarre crimes committed by the animal-inspired villain squad, known as the Animilitia -- made up of Silverback, Cheetah, Killer Croc and Man-Bat -- Batman must swing into action to investigate. These animalistic villains bring new and exciting challenges for Batman, who must find a way to bring these criminal creatures to justice! But could the Animilitia be working for powerful businessman Oswald Cobblepot a.k.a. The Penguin? In the end, it’ll take the combined forces of Batman, Flash, Green Arrow, Nightwing and Red Robin to fight off these Animal Instincts.

Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts will be released on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD on May 12th. It looks like it will be a decent animated movie! Thanks to CBR for the trailer!

I'm not up to date on video games (I still have a PS3, like some kind of damned peasant), but I've been seeing a lot of chatter about Evolve lately. The game was released yesterday, but the team at Screen Junkies have already put together one of their Honest Trailers for it. Man, that was quick! Anyway, those of you who aren't still trapped in 2006 and sitting in a corner playing Red Dead Redemption like me, check this out:

Snatch and Sherlock Holmes director Guy Ritchie has an incredibly ambitious plan to make a six-film saga based on the legend of King Arthur, and another cast member has fallen into place.

Variety reports that Eric Bana has been cast as Uthur Penndragon, Arthur's father, in the upcoming movie. He joins a cast that already includes Charlie Hunnam as Arthur, Astrid Berges-Frisbey as Guinevere, and Jude Law as the film's villain. This is a project Warner Bros. has been trying to get made for years now, and with a release date already scheduled for next year, I imagine we'll start hearing about the rest of the cast fairly quickly.

Bana is a fine actor, but I'm still baffled at the hubris it takes to think you can launch a six-film franchise without building it up properly first. But since interconnected universes and Marvel-style world-building seems to be what every Hollywood studio is chasing right now, I suppose it makes sense that someone would give this a shot. If they want to turn something into a six-movie story, fine - but don't you think WB should have kept those plans quiet? That way, if the first one bombs, they won't look quite as stupid as they would have otherwise. Anyway, we'll see how the first film turns out on July 22nd, 2016.

Harry Potter alum Emma Watson has been flirting with the idea of playing Belle in live-action Beauty and the Beast film for years, and now she's finally going to do it. While we wait for the first trailer (which could be a while, since production hasn't even started yet), a Reddit user named xChasingPavementsx has created a piece of art that imagines Watson in the classic yellow dress of the 1991 animated movie of the same name.

I don't imagine we'll be seeing Watson in anything remotely resembling this outfit since this is likely going to be a darker version of the story that's based more on the original fairy tale, but it's a nice thought.

The first trailer for director Guy Ritchie’s spy film The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is here, and this movie looks entertaining as hell and extremely stylish. I’ve always enjoyed Ritchie’s work, and he has enlisted the help of Henry Cavill (Man of Steel) and Armie Hammer (The Lone Ranger) for a fun comedic spy adventure. 

Henry Cavill (Man of Steel”) stars as Napoleon Solo opposite Armie Hammer (The Social Network) as Illya Kuryakin in director Guy Ritchie’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E., a fresh take on the hugely popular 1960s television series.

Set against the backdrop of the early 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. centers on CIA agent Solo and KGB agent Kuryakin. Forced to put aside longstanding hostilities, the two team up on a joint mission to stop a mysterious international criminal organization, which is bent on destabilizing the fragile balance of power through the proliferation of nuclear weapons and technology. The duo’s only lead is the daughter of a vanished German scientist, who is the key to infiltrating the criminal organization, and they must race against time to find him and prevent a worldwide catastrophe.

The movie also stars Alicia Vikander (Anna Karenina), Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby), and Jared Harris (Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows), with Hugh Grant as Waverly. It’s set to be released on August 14th.

George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road looks so insane on so many awesome levels. It's easily one of my most anticipated films of the year, and it's going to give audiences one hell of an adrenaline rush punch to the face. 

DC Comics' Vertigo has collaborated with Miller on developing a couple of books for fans to enjoy. There is a hardcover book called Mad Max: Fury Road: Inspired Artists, which will feature art by 65 famous artists that were influenced by the world of Mad Max. And there's a prequel comic that will focus on four of the characters from the upcoming film.

Thanks to /Film, we have the cover art from these publications to share with you. The one above and the one directly below are the front and back covers of Mad Max: Fury Road: Inspired Artists. The third is from the comic Mad Max: Fury Road: Nux & Immortan Joe #1. In the movie, Nux is played by Nicholas Hoult and Immortal Joe is played by Hugh Keays-Byrne.

Mad Max: Fury Road: Inspired Artists will be released on May 6th. Nux and Immortan Joe #1 will be released on May 20. Each month after, they’ll release a new character prequel comic book including Furiosa #1, followed by Mad Max in two parts. Those comics are also co-written by Miller. Check out the art below and then read the press release with all of the details:

Vertigo, the innovative, boundary-pushing imprint of DC Entertainment, will collaborate with Mad Max: Fury Road director, producer and co-writer George Miller on two upcoming projects based on the film. The first is a Deluxe Edition hardcover entitled MAD MAX: FURY ROAD: INSPIRED ARTISTS, in which sixty-five top artists will create art inspired by the world of Mad Max: Fury Road. The second is four comic book stories that follow four main characters of the film and tell their prelude stories leading up to the film’s opening scene.

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD: INSPIRED ARTISTS will contain double-page spreads from 65 visionary artists bringing their own unique style to the world of Mad Max: Fury Road. Each of the artists’ work will be inspired by the post-apocalyptic landscape of Miller’s design. These spreads will range from spectacular action sequences to haunting character portraits. Artists participating include Lee Bermejo, Dave McKean, Cliff Chiang, Nicola Scott, Stephanie Hans, Tara McPherson, among others. This book is due to hit shelves on May 6, prior to the film’s May 15th release.

In addition, George Miller, Nico Lathouris and Mark Sexton are writing four prelude stories that follow leading characters Nux, Immortan Joe, Furiosa, and Mad Max, whose story will be in two parts. This miniseries will release one issue a month, starting with MAD MAX: FURY ROAD: NUX & IMMORTAN JOE #1 releasing on May 20, followed by MAD MAX: FURY ROAD: FURIOSA #1 and MAD MAX: FURY ROAD: MAD MAX #1 & #2. Nico Lathouris served as a co-writer on the film while Mark Sexton served as storyboard and concept artist for Mad Max: Fury Road. Interior artists working on these projects include Riccardo Burchielli, Leandro Fernandez, Tristan Jones and Mark Sexton, while covers will be illustrated by Tommy Lee Edwards.

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD: NUX & IMMORTAN JOE #1
Written by GEORGE MILLER, NICO LATHOURIS and MARK SEXTON
Art by RICCARDO BURCHIELLI and LEANDRO FERNANDEZ
Cover by TOMMY LEE EDWARDS
One-shot • On sale MAY 20 • 40 pg, FC, $4.99 US • MATURE READERS
In a fallen world ravaged by oil and water wars, humanity exists without law or mercy. All those who wander the Wasteland are ruled by a single imperative…survive!
Among them is Max Rockatansky, a Road Warrior haunted by his turbulent past…
“It’s hard to know who is more crazy.
Me or everyone else?!”
In this first issue, witness the rise of Colonel Joe Moore, a war hero turned tyrannical warlord…The Immortan Joe!
And don’t miss the story of Nux, one of the Immortan’s “War Boys,” who knows only the chaos into which he was born.
From the mind of George Miller, the creator of the Mad Max trilogy, comes a brand new epic tale that serves as a prelude to the upcoming film, Mad Max: Fury Road!

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD – INSPIRED ARTISTS DELUXE EDITION HC
Art by BILL SIENKIEWICZ, LEE BERMEJO, DAVE JOHNSON, PAUL POPE, DAVID MACK, HOWARD CHAYKIN, NICOLA SCOTT, GABRIELE DELL’OTTO, CLIFF CHIANG, GEORGE PRATT, TOMMY LEE EDWARDS, JOHN PAUL LEON, TEDDY KRISTIANSEN, SIMON BISLEY, GILBERT HERNANDEZ, JAVIER PULIDO, TARA McPHERSON, DECLAN SHALVEY, REBEKAH ISAACS, DVE McKEAN and many more!
With commentary by GEORGE MILLER and the artists
On sale MAY 6 • 144 pg, FC, 7.0625” x 10.875”, $24.99 US • MATURE READERS
In anticipation of the upcoming blockbuster film Mad Max: Fury Road, 65 of comics’ best artists took to the post-apocalyptic landscape to interpret this gorgeous and desolate world of George Miller’s design. Inspired by images from the film, each of these visionary artists brings their unique style to a double-page spread of part of the world of Mad Max, with commentary from the artists and Miller himself. From breathtaking action sequences to heartbreaking character portraits, Fury Road will be perfectly captured by a one-of-a-kind array of comics legends, side-by-side with some of the most exciting new talent in the industry!

The first official photo from the new James Bond film, Spectre, has been released, and it features Daniel Craig in action as 007. We also have a featurette to share with you that gives us some fun behind the scenes footage from the Austrian set with Craig, Léa Seydoux (Madeleine Swann), Dave Bautista (Mr Hinx), and director Sam Mendes. 

A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organisation. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.

The movie is currently in production and is scheduled to be released in theaters on November 6th, 2015. Also joining Craig in the film are Ralph Fiennes (M), Ben Whishaw (Q), Naomie Harris (Miss Moneypenny), and Rory Kinnear (Tanner), with Monica Bellucci as Lucia Sciarra.

The Jurassic World parody video you are about to watch makes absolutely no sense at all, but it is so amazingly hilarious! The video was created by Darren Wallace, and he basically threw a bunch of randomness into the trailer just for the hell of it. I especially enjoyed the raptors on motorcycles. I think I'd pay to watch this absurdity. 

I’m a big Cameron Crowe fan, and I’ve been eagerly waiting to see what his next film is going to be like. Well, that day has finally come thanks to a trailer from Columbia Pictures. The film was known only as Untitled Romantic Comedy for the longest time, but has now been given the title Aloha. I’m happy to say that I like what I see! It has all of those charming elements that I enjoy in Crowe's films — there’s the fun dialogue, the great use of music, an interesting setting, and what looks to be a good story.

The movie also has an all-star cast that includes Bradley Cooper, Rachel McAdams, Emma Stone, Bill Murray, John Krasinski, Danny McBride, and Alec Baldwin. Here's the synopsis:

In Aloha, a celebrated military contractor (Cooper) returns to the site of his greatest career triumphs – the US Space program in Honolulu, Hawaii – and reconnects with a long-ago love (McAdams) while unexpectedly falling for the hard-charging Air Force watchdog (Stone) assigned to him. From Academy Award®-winner Cameron Crowe, the writer-director behind such films as Jerry Maguire and Almost Famous, Aloha also stars Bill Murray, John Krasinski, Danny McBride, and Alec Baldwin.

The movie will be released on May 29th.

Brotherhood Workshop has released another amusing stop-motion animated LEGO short. It's called "A Hero's Reward," and it brings together Han Solo from Star Wars, Star-Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy, and Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly. The three characters argue over who got the worst repayment for their heroic deeds.

Exactly one year from today, the Deadpool movie that we've all been waiting for will be unleashed on the world! As director Tim Miller is prepping to start shooting soon, Ryan Reynolds posted a behind-the-scenes photo on his Twitter feed giving us a little tease of the costume he'll be wearing in the film. 

2016 is going to be a great year for superhero movies, with X-Men: Apocalypse, Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Deadpool is set to be released on February 12th, 2016, which makes it the first big superhero movie of that year. It's going to set the tone for the films that follow.

Reynolds and Miller have both said that they are going to get to make the Deadpool movie that they want to make, so chances are, most of the fans are going to be happy with what they bring to the film. If it's anything like that test footage that leaked, we don't have anything to worry about.

"Sepia tone disguises the fact the mask is ballerina pink. It's early. 365 sleeps early."

"POLIS" is a sci-fi thriller that is set in the distant future. The story follows a young man with telepathic powers who is searching for his mother. The government is also looking for her because she poses a threat to "reveal a utopian society’s horrifying secrets." They want to stop her, and they are using her son's telepathic brain to try and find her.

The short film was directed by Steven Ilous, and it won the Defy Media and New Regency Prototype competition. This gives him and the rest of the creative team the opportunity to develop their short film into a full-length feature film.

When you watch the film, you'll see why it won. It has great production value, and what seems to be a great story from a solid story concept. The design work is also extremely cool looking. 

According to our friends at Latino-Review, Guardians of the Galaxy co-star Dave Bautista has joined Summit Entertainment's Highlander remake. The site says that he will be taking on the role of the Kurgan, a brutal barbarian who was in the original 1986 film.

The Kurgan is the final villain that the immortal swordsman, Connor MacLeod, must face after taking on all of the other immortals. There's still no word on who will be playing Connor; Ryan Reynolds was attached to it at one point, but dropped out. 

The part of the Kurgan was previously played by Clancy Brown, who was awesome in the role. The director of the upcoming remake, Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, talked about casting the characters in the film, saying:

“We have to find that younger emerging guy, and surround him with a strong Kurgan, and an actor who shines as Ramirez the way Connery did in that film.”

One of the last things that we heard about this movie was a rumor that Tom Cruise was wanted for the role of the mentor, Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez, who was previously played by Sean Connery. I seriously doubt that will happen. 

There's no official confirmation of Bautista's involvement at this point, but if it is true...he's perfect for the part!

Seasons of War is a wonderfully made Doctor Who fan film that centers around the character of the War Doctor. This is an unofficial short, but it "has been created to help promote an anthology of specially-commissioned stories about him - all in aid of the UK charity, Caudwell Children."

The movie was written and directed by Andy Robinson for A Crow Trod, and I love what he did with it. The story is being narrated by an observer, and The Doctor is never fully revealed, which I thought was brilliant. It also had a powerful ending.

This is a must watch for any Doctor Who fan. I think you're all really going to like it.

I cannot wait to see Big Game, the new movie from Finnish director Jalmari Helander (Rare Exports). It's a high concept movie with an amazing hook: Samuel L. Jackson plays the President of the United States, and he's being hunted in the wilderness after Air Force One is shot down. But he's discovered by a 13-year-old boy (Onni Tommila) who is participating in a tradition in which he spends one day and night alone in the woods with a bow and arrow, and the two form an unlikely alliance as they fight to stay alive against the terrorists who are after the President. It's a totally crazy idea, but it looks like the filmmakers struck the perfect tone. Empire has a new poster for the film (above) and a brand new trailer that we've embedded below.

Big Game opens in Finland on March 25th, but there's no official word on an American release yet. Here's hoping we don't have too much longer to wait, because this movie looks like an absolute blast.

Even though J.J. Abrams himself has weighed in on the controversy surrounding the crossguard lightsaber from the Star Wars: The Force Awakens teaser, the battle continues to rage on. In this new video, The Warp Zone imagines a scenario in which a Jedi and a Sith face off in battle and then stop to discuss the functionality and usefulness of the crossguard lightsaber, bringing up pretty much every argument I've heard from either side about the technical aspects of whether or not it makes sense. Anyone who's been following the debate should get some enjoyment out of this.

Via: LaughingSquid

Art by Nebezial

Bruce Campbell will once again be suiting up as Ash and going up against the evil Deadites in the upcoming series Ash Vs. Evil Dead. I couldn't be more excited about this series. In fact, I think it's going to be even better than seeing another movie. Sam Raimi is directing the first episode of the show, which he co-wrote with Ivan Raimi, Craig DiGregorio, and Tom Spezialy.

We've now learned who will be joining Campbell in the series, and we have some information on their characters as well. Ray Santiago will be playing a character named Pablo Simon Bolivar, and Dana DeLorenzo has been cast as Kelly Maxwell. Here is some info on their characters from the press release:

Pablo Simon Bolivar is an idealistic immigrant who becomes Ash’s loyal sidekick—a Sancho Panza to Ash’s Don Quixote. Pablo believes in Ash’s heroism even if Ash himself doesn’t. Kelly Maxwell is a moody wild child trying to outrun her past. Reluctantly dragged into the fight against evil with Ash and Pablo, Kelly finds a different kind of family with her fellow Deadite slayers.

I have to say that I absolutely love the Don Quixote comparison for Ash. In a previous interview with Campbell, he briefly touched on these characters, saying:

"One is a male-bonding situation, and the other is a father-figure deal, since Ash could have a daughter the same age as this character. Hopefully we’ll pull Ash out of his loner-veteran mode and get him back into being a human being again."

So that gives you a better understanding of how Campbell sees these characters. Here’s the official synopsis:

Campbell will be reprising his role as Ash, the stock boy, aging lothario and chainsaw-handed monster hunter who has spent the last 30 years avoiding responsibility, maturity and the terrors of the Evil Dead. When a Deadite plague threatens to destroy all of mankind, Ash is finally forced to face his demons–personal and literal. Destiny, it turns out, has no plans to release the unlikely hero from its ‘Evil’ grip.

Ash vs. Evil Dead shoots in New Zealand in the spring of 2015, and will premiere on Starz later this year. Bring on the bloody grooviness!