MSN has the first trailer for the long dormant The Thing PRELUDE. Remember how it was stressed that this was not a remake or a prequel but a PRELUDE? The Thing is…IT’S TOTALLY A REMAKE!

I don’t care what sort of clever line the producers are trying to hand people about respecting the orginal yada yada yada and not wanting to “paint a mustache on the Mona Lisa”…one look at this trailer and the doubt I was giving them the benefit of has gone out the window. The addition of a female (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and changing the characters’ names do nothing to disguise this fact. There are shots that are virtually identical to the original. It is a tribute to the original that I remember it so vividly, but then again, it’s a favorite and I’ve seen it many times.  Perhaps the producers are creating this one for a new generation who has not seen John Carpenter’s original. If that’s the case, just say so.

Having said all that, this one does have Joel Edgerton.  I’ll probably see it at a matinee just for him. And to find out if I’m right or completely mistaken. If I’m wrong, I will freely admit it. Cross my heart.  What are your thoughts? Will you see a new version of The Thing when it opens on October 14?

Disney and Pixar have dropped the first teaser trailer for their first live action collaboration, John Carter. Formerly called John Carter of Mars after the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel upon which it’s based. Starring Taylor Kitsch (“Friday Night Lights”, Wolverine) as the title character (Josh Duhamel and Jon Hamm were leading contenders), Lynn Collins (Wolverine, City Island, “True Blood”), Willem Dafoe, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, James Purefoy, Dominic West (okay, that’s enough. I can’t take any more), John Carter is directed by Andrew Stanton, whose previous animated credits include Toy Story 1-3, Wall-E, Finding Nemo and Monsters,Inc.

I like the serious tone and that they seem to be downplaying the kitsch (sorry Taylor, no offense intended and I just couldn’t resist). I liked the voice over by Willem Dafoe. I know this is only a teaser and there will be much more to come, but my biggest problem with this is that is suffers from a serious lack of the presence Mark Strong (Matai Shang).

Disney’s official synopsis:

“John Carter”–a sweeping action-adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars). “John Carter” is based on a classic novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose highly imaginative adventures served as inspiration for many filmmakers, both past and present. The film tells the story of {US Civil} war-weary, former military captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions amongst the inhabitants of the planet, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). In a world on the brink of collapse, Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.”

John Carter will be released in the UK, US & Canada on 9 March 2012.

The One Ring has all of the dwarves from Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey  assembled in one place and IGN has an exclusive look at the three newest additions, Bofur, Bifur and Bombur!

Bofur and Bombur are brothers, Bifur is their cousin. Unlike the other dwarves, they are not relatives of Thorin Oakenshield, descended of the noble line of Durin. These dwarves are from a long line of iron workers and coal miners and have joined the journey, or “the Quest” to the Lonely Mountain not for altruistic reasons, but for treasure and free beer! Woo hoo! Who doesn’t love ‘Party Dwarves’?!

All I can tell is that’s Bombur in the middle, because he’s played by wonderful Irish actor James Nesbitt (Five Minutes in Heaven,Coriolanus). Bofur is Stephen Hunter and Bifur is William Kircher.

There’s also a couple more looks at Bilbo (Martin Freeman) in his house in the Shire, with dwarves and with Peter Jackson, as well as another look at Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellan).

Ten to one as soon as you’ve all seen this, there will be something new coming down the pike, so fasten your seat belts for more from the world of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which hits theaters everywhere on December 14, 2012.

Click on thumbnails for the slide show (sometimes the page needs to load first, but then it gets real pretty).

Warner Brothers has released the first trailer for Steven Soderbergh’s virus thriller, Contagion.  Matt Damon, Kate Winslet (I love her! Two movies this year! Skweee!), Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Lawrence Fishbourne, Bryan Cranston, Demitri Martin, John Hawkes, Jennifer Ehle, Sanaa Lathan and Elliott Gould all star. That’s what I call a killer cast! (nyuk nyuk).

With a screenplay by Scott Z. Burns (who apparently likes to write for Matt Damon. This is their third film together after The Bourne Ultimatum and The Informant!), the plot is centered on the threat posed by a deadly disease, and the international team of doctors and scientists with the CDC who are tasked to deal with it. The official synopsis: “Contagion follows the rapid progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days. As the fast-moving epidemic grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself. At the same time, ordinary people struggle to survive in a society coming apart.”

It’s called an action-thriller, but this my idea of a horror movie! Holy crap, it’s like 1995′s Outbreak on steroids! (No monkeys this time, birds. Monkeys are cuter.)  ”Don’t talk to anyone, don’t touch anyone. Stay away from other people!” Gah! How paranoid is this gonna make everyone in the theater??

An HD version of the trailer can be found at Apple.

Contagion infects the US on September 9^th  and the UK on 21 October.

Click on thumbnails for the slideshow (sometimes the page needs to load first, but then it gets real pretty).

Sony Pictures Classics has released two great new images from Roman Polanski’s Carnage starring Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly, to go along with the the one that was released back in March.

The film is an adaptation of a successful stage play, “God of Carnage” by French playwright Yasmina Reza. Playwright Christopher Hampton wrote the screenplay based on his English-language translation of the play.  Now simply titled, Carnage (What is it with gutting the parts of any title that makes it sound interesting but lengthening to absurdity films that already have name recognition? Transformers: Dark of the Moon, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey etc etc) the film is set in Brooklyn (although shot in France, as all of Polanski’s films are since he’s still wanted,  although it actually takes place in one room and unfolds in real time,  ninety minutes. The plot centers on two couples who meet in one’s living room to talk about an incident between their children, (One of the couple’s kids has been hitting the other in the head in the schoolyard.) The meeting implodes and it becomes  basically an exploration of middle-class values and affectation. There’s a lot of humor (surprisingly), along with violence, fear, pain, and despair bubbling to the surface as well.

This, my friends, is a perfect example of an “adult” film. I pray this gets an ‘R’ rating. I personally would rather it lose a few teenaged butts in the seats and have it do boffo home box office than have the heart of it gutted or the language changed. I hope Sony Pictures Classics agrees with me. If they do, I’ll be first in line to buy a ticket. With a pedigree like this, three Academy Award winners (one of them multiple) and one nominee, considering this is basically the entire cast, I think Polanski would have to try very hard to screw this up. I’m betting he won’t.

The photo of Kate Winslet and Jodie Foster alone was a promotional photo from way back in September 2010 when casting was announced.

Click on thumbnails for the slideshow (sometimes the page needs to load first, but then it gets real pretty).

Paramount has released a huge cache of publicity shots from Captain America: The First Avenger, featuring Captain Hunk…er…I mean America, himself, Chris Evans and his comely co-star Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter. Can you guess at which one I blurted out “HOLY CRAP!” when I opened it? I also love the one with Evans’ Steve Rogers looking in the recruiting poster mirror.

Also pictured is Hugo Weaving (Elrond in LOTR and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey) as Red Skull (Clever name), Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark (Iron Man’s dad), Tommy Lee Jones as Col. Chester Phillips, Stanley Tucci as Dr. Abraham Erskine and Sebastian Stan as “Bucky” Barnes.

Based on the Marvel Comics character, Captain America: The First Avenger  tells the story of  mild-mannered Steve Rogers who, after being turned down for the Army, volunteers to undergo a series of experiments for a secret Super Soldier program. The Army succeeds in turning him into a human weapon, but decides that their Super Soldier is far too expensive to risk in battle. He’s put to use as a military  celebrity and paraded across Europe in USO shows to boost the morale of American troops. When a Nazi plot is discovered, (it’s WWII, there are Nazis) Rogers must rise up and become the First Avenger, for God and country, and to bring hope to a war-weary America.

Captain America: The First Avenger throws its mighty shield (anyone else remember the tv show & its theme song? Anyone? No? Just me I guess) into theaters on July 22 in the US of A and Canada. A week later on 29 July in the UK.

Click on thumbnails for the slideshow (sometimes the page needs to load first, but then it gets real pretty).