One of the good things about Comic Con, and there are many, is that it really does let you know what’s coming down the pike and let’s you know what the next big thing will be. It puts things on your radar that you might otherwise have missed out on.

The Darkest Hour is one of those things. I’d never heard of it, (And frankly, that’s saying something if I do say so myself) but it sounds very very cool. Filmed on location in Russia, the pic above is the film’s star Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild, Milk) in Moscow’s Red Square, with St. Basil’s Cathedral in the background. Production actually had to be suspended for three weeks due to the heavy smoke from the wild fires surrounding Moscow in August 2010.

Synopsis: The Darkest Hour follows five young people who find themselves stranded in Moscow, fighting to survive in the wake of a devastating alien attack.   The 3D action-thriller highlights the classic beauty of Moscow alongside mind-blowing special effects from the minds of visionary filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Night Watch) and director Chris Gorak.

Except for the part about the 3D (yawn) I’m all for this. It may or may not have anything to offer the ever expanding ‘alien-invasion genre’, other than “the classic beauty of Moscow” but that might just be enough. Aren’t you tired of aliens terrorizing New York or LA? What about the rest of the world? Why would aliens be as ethnocentric as Earthlings?

Below is some concept art that was revealed, during Comic Con (where else?) with the promise of a trailer coming soon. This is only the second feature for director Chris Gorak. His first, Right at Your Door, was a hit at Sundance in 2006. In addition to Hirsch, The Darkest Hour costars Olivia Thirlby (Juno, Solitary Man), Max Minghella (Syriana, The Social Network), Rachel Taylor (“Grey’s Anatomy”) and Joel Kinnaman (“The Killing”, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) along with many Russians and is scheduled for a December 23 release in the US and 13 January in the UK.

Jon Favreau and Company premiered the eagerly awaited Cowboys & Aliens on Saturday night July 23. Instead of one of the more traditional LA venues, the red carpet was laid for the  Comic Con crowd down at San Diego’s Civic Theater.

There was a HUGE turnout from cast and crew! In attendance were the director himself,  producers Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Steven Spielberg, multi-hyphenates writers Damon Lindelof, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzmanas well as cast members Daniel Craig (sorry, no Mrs. Craig. He put her on a plane earlier in the day), Harrison Ford (who did bring the Mrs. and I must say she’s holding up very well!), Olivia Wilde, Abigail Spencer, Paul Dano, Sam Rockwell, Walton Goggins, Clancy Brown, Keith Carradine, Adam Beach, Noah Ringer, Ana de la Reguera and Raoul Trujilo.

The event was, like an other premiere, not open to the general public, but 2000 fans attending Comic Con were given the chance to get in. Director Favreau said “I owe the fans at Comic-Con so much, and it is only right that they are the first people who will get to see ‘Cowboys & Aliens’. By bringing the world premiere of the movie to San Diego, it’s my small way of thanking them.”

Comic Con also yielded another cool new retro-looking poster for the film, to go with the other two released back in June. This is the coolest one yet, in my opinion. They all look like 60′s era James Bond by way of Saul Bass (who did the titles and poster art for Hitchcock’s 50′s  and 60′s films like North by Northwest, Psycho, Vertigo and The Birds) and totally groovy. The new one is by Daniel Danger and comes courtesy of the Mondo booth, by way of Ain’t It Cool. It’s simple and severe and pits the cowboys vs the aliens in a manner that suggests an old “Twilight Zone” episode, suggesting the fate of the cowboys should they lose their fight. I love it!

Cowboys & Aliens opens this week in the US & Canada on July 29! Skweeeee! The UK gets it on August 17.

Photos: Nikki Nelson/WENN

…and her Prince and the Evil Queen.  Fresh from the Comic Con panel, four new character posters have dropped for Snow White and the Huntsmen, one of the two dueling Snow White projects due next year. This is the one, obviously, with Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth. From a script co-written by the suddenly hot Hossein Amini (Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive, 47 Ronin), it’s being directed by first-timer Rupert Sanders.

Unlike the other Snow White, which appears to be going a tradition route, this one, according to reports coming out of San Diego, is going to be much darker in tone. Charlize Theron has been quoted as saying she’s playing the Evil Queen as if she were a serial killer. That’s dark.

The synopsis: In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman (Hemsworth) ordered to take Snow White (Stewart) into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen (Theron).

Producer Joe Roth has already compared his film to The Lord of the Rings in terms of its epic scope.

Chris Hemsworth on the Hunt for Kristen Stewart?

This one also has some kick-ass dwarves. All seven are named after Roman Emperors: Caesar (Ian McShane), Tiberius (Nick Frost), Constantine (Bob Hoskins), Claudius (Toby Jones), Hadrian (Eddie Marsan), Nero (Stephen Graham) and Trajan (Ray Winstone), which along with Snow in armor, adds to the martial imagery.

The first image of Lily Collins (daughter of Phil) as Snow White in Tarsem Singh’s project for Relativity would appear to confirm the more traditional fairy tale approach. We need a title, a synopsis and dwarves. Seriously. Your move Singh.

Snow White and the Huntsman will be the second of the two Snows to hit theaters, on 2 June 2012 in the US, Canada and the UK.

“Apes will rise” is the tagline of the new Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a reboot of the classic sci-fi series of films from the 70′s. Apparently they’re going to rise alright, rise up and kill us in our beds if they can find our houses.

New Clip from Rise of the Planet of the Apes!

I saw the theatrical trailer today in front of Captain America: The First Avenger and I have to say the scenes between Caesar and John Lithgow are incredibly touching. Lithgow appears to be the father of James Franco’s character Will Rodman, and suffering from Alzheimer’s. (Rodman is engaged in Alzheimer’s research when he becomes involved with Caesar and the other apes.) This new clip is equally harrowing. Will and his girlfriend Caroline, a primatologist (Frieda Pinto), have to give Caesar up to Brian Cox’s primate facility. Maybe I’m just a soft touch, but I felt Caesar’s pain.

Well I guess someone at Fox decided it was too touching and people needed to know that there would be lots of monkey business…violent, destructive monkey business taking place so released a few new clips at Comic Con, all introduced by Andy Serkis.

The next clip gives further indication of what the apes in captivity are being subjected to and why, if given the opportunity, they just might want to turn the tables I don’t trust Brian Cox one bit.

Caesar’s Rebellion:

We apparently haven’t see everything that humans have been doing to these apes, but they are PISSED!

The revolution begins on August 5 when Rise of the Planet of the Apes opens in the US & Canada and 12 August in the UK.

David Tennant introduces this extended clip from Craig Gillespie’s Fright Night remake that premiered at the Comic Con Q & A panel in Sand Diego on Friday.  The clip gives us a much closer inspection  of Peter Vincent, Vampire Hunter, than we had been given in any of the other trailers and clips.

I previously said that Tennant seems to have eschewed the Hammer House of Horror route and gone for Cris Angel and Vegas Goth. After watching this, I have to amend that to Cris Angel by way of Michael Sheen in the Underworld series. Suddenly he’s kinda hot. Until the striptease wherein he destroys the illusion for us as well as for poor Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) that is.

The official synopsis:

Senior Charlie Brewster (Anton Yelchin) finally has it all going on: he’s running with the popular crowd and dating the most coveted girl in his high school. In fact, he’s so cool he’s even dissing his best friend. But trouble arrives when Jerry (Colin Farrell) moves in next door. He seems like a great guy at first, but there’s something not quite right—but everyone, including Charlie’s mom (Toni Collette), doesn’t notice. After observing some very strange activity, Charlie comes to an unmistakable conclusion: Jerry is a vampire preying on the neighborhood. Unable to convince anyone, Charlie has to find a way to get rid of the monster himself in this Craig Gillespie-helmed revamp of the comedy-horror classic.

Fright Night also stars Imogen Poots, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Dave Franco. It opens  August 19 in the US & Canada and 2 September in the UK.

Following yesterday’s panel and Q & A at Comic Con, AMC has given us a kick-ass trailer for Season 2 of  their incredible new series “The Walking Dead”. Four minutes and thirty nine seconds worth! The series, based on a comic book of the same name created and written by Robert Kirkman, broke ratings records for the network when it debuted last year.

Gruesome Look at The Walking Dead Season 2!

In the trailer we see Andrew Lincoln’s Sheriff Rick Grimes continue to try to lead his struggling band of survivors to some sort of safety. But is anywhere safe? And the tensions within that group that began to surface in Season 1 are obviously mounting. While it does exponentially increase the possibilities in terms of where the story can go, is it a mistake to split up the group or will it be their salvation?

A few quotes from the panel via AMC’s twitter stream:

“{Andrew} Lincoln did most of his own stunts – even driving, and he only started to drive four years ago.”

“{Frank} Darabont: “It picks up 2 seconds after the end of season 1. It literally begins with them driving away from the CDC. There’s none of this six months later B-S.”

“{Norman} Reedus: “Dude, I run around with a crossbow and shoot zombies in the brain, it’s awesome.”

“The Walking Dead” features a cast that includes, in addition to Lincoln, Sarah Wayne Callies (“Prison Break”) as his wife Lori, Jon Bernthal (“The Class”, The Ghost Writer) as Deputy Shane Walsh, Laurie Holden (“The Shield”) as Andrea, Jeffrey DeMunn (The Shawshank Redemption, Green Mile among others) as Dale, Norman Reedus (The Boondock Saints) as Daryl Dixon, Steven Yeun (“The Big Bang Theory”) as Glen, Emma Bell (Frozen) as Amy and Chandler Riggs (Get Low) as Carl Grimes.

Below you’ll find a reel from Season 1 featuring all of the tried and true methods that will kill a zombie (or ‘Walker’):

“The Walking Dead” season 2 premieres Sunday October 16 at 9pm on AMC.

Hot on the heels of the new images and the cool retro looking poster, Comic Con has yielded a first teaser trailer for Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire starring MMA fighter Gina Carano, Channing TatumEwan MacGregor, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, Bill Paxton and Michael Fassbender.

Here’s the official synopsis:

This dynamic action-thriller directed by Oscar® winner Steven Soderbergh boasts a talented cast and introduces mixed martial arts superstar Gina Carano as Mallory Kane, in a demanding lead role that has her performing her own high-adrenaline stunts.

Mallory Kane is a highly trained operative who works for a government security contractor in the dirtiest, most dangerous corners of the world. After successfully freeing a Chinese journalist held hostage, she is double crossed and left for dead by someone close to her in her own agency. Suddenly the target of skilled assassins who know her every move, Mallory must find the truth in order to stay alive.

Using her black-ops military training, she devises an ingenious—and dangerous—trap. But when things go haywire, Mallory realizes she’ll be killed in the blink of an eye unless she finds a way to turn the tables on her ruthless adversary.

Is it wrong I enjoyed the hell out of Gina Carano beating the crap out of Channing Tatum? I did not, however, like it when she mauled Michael Fassbender including a scissor lock with her thighs around his neck and throwing him through a glass door. She’s going to have to work hard to regain my sympathies after that one.

The trailer was presented at Comic Con during the Relativity Panel. The film doesn’t come out until January 20, 2012. Grrrrr.

So why then, you might well ask, did I start it with another picture of Jason Momoa at Comic Con? Because I had to. I just did. Not to mention then I didn’t have to choose which poster to lead off with. (C’mon…you gonna tell me you don’t want to look at that gloriously hot mess of hair and testosterone? Please.)

Moving right along…First up is the first official poster for The Raven, starring John Cusack as Edgar Allan Poe. We’ve shown you some really cool images featuring Cusack and his co-star Luke Evans, but now Relativity has given us the first one sheet. It looks like it came from the mind of Edgar Allan Poe.

The official synopsis:

“In this gritty thriller, Edgar Allen Poe joins forces with a young Baltimore detective (Evans), after a mother and daughter are found brutally murdered, in order to hunt down a mad serial killer who’s using Poe’s own works as the basis in a string of brutal murders. Directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta), the film also stars Alice Eve (Sex and the City 2), Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges) and Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Faster).

The Raven had a panel/autograph signing at at San Diego’s Comic Con today  and opens in theaters in the US on 9 March 2012.

(Ryan you know I love you, and I accept that you’ve got a plan for Machine Gun Preacher…I would just be really really grateful if you revealed it to the rest of us.)

Speaking of Relativity, they are also distributing Haywire, which also got a brand new poster, as well as sharing that Hall H panel/autograph session with The Raven.

Haywire is an action thriller starring Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Bill Paxton, Mathieu Kassovitz, Channing Tatum (one of these things is not like the other…) and newcomer, Mixed Martial Arts Fighter Gina Carano.

The plot involves Mallory Kane (Carano), a freelance covert operative who is hired out by her handler to various global entities to perform jobs which governments can’t authorize and heads of state would rather not know about.  When an operation goes awry and Kane finds she’s been double crossed, she needs all of the skill and ability at her disposal to escape an international manhunt and at the same time protect her family and exact revenge on those that have betrayed her.

Channing Tatum and Gina Carano Go Haywire! (PHOTOS)

I love this retro poster. It reminds me of some of the work of Saul Bass from the 70′s.  I’d also love to know which one of her co-stars Gina Carano’s Mallory Kane is sitting on.

Haywire will be released January 20, 2012 release but is also heavily rumored for a debut at the Venice and/or Toronto International Film Festival.

Last but not least, we have a look at a new teaser poster for the new Spidey, The Amazing Spider-Man.

How cool is this thing? Just a close up look at the suit. Am I the only one who wants to run their fingers over it? I want to know what it feeeels like.

Columbia’s reboot of the franchise focuses on high school-era Peter Parker as he comes to terms with his new found superpowers.

The Amazing Spider-Man won’t swing into theaters until July 3, 2012 so I’m sure there is a lot more to come!