The big Battleship movie doesn’t open here in the US for another week but it got the red carpet treatment last night at LA’s Nokia Theater. Director Peter Berg as well as stars Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgard, Brooklyn Decker, Rihanna, Hamish Linklater, Stephen Bishop and Liam Neeson all showed up to support the film. Decker has been on promotional hyperdrive lately, touring the world with Battleship as well as opening What to Expect When You’re Expecting (due  in theaters on the same day as Battleship).  RiRi alternated flirting with the cameras and looking pissed that they were taking her picture in her barely there backless dress.  Neeson, Kitsch and Skarsgard just brought the sexy.

Connie Britton showed up for a mini-“Friday Night Lights” reunion with Kitsch, Jesse Plemmons and show-creator (and director of the film of the same name that also starred Britton) Berg.

Battleship, based on the Milton Bradley board game that’s been manufactured since 1931 (some of the artillery in the movie is shaped like the game’s pegs), has a script by Jon and Erich Hoeber (Red, Whiteout). It has already opened everywhere but North and South America to the tune of $200 million. The onslaught continues on this continent on May 18. Enjoy the pics!

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What to Expect When You’re Expecting had a premiere, although it’s being referred to as a “special screening” (which means there is probably going to be a big gala premiere in LA. They don’t pack these omnibus movies full of big names without getting the most from them, including being trotted out for pictures on the red carpet) in New York last night, May 8.  The event, held at the AMC Lincoln Square, brought out the film’s director, Kirk Jones as well as stars Cameron Diaz, Elizabeth Banks, Brooklyn Decker, Chace Crawford (all in town anyway for the Met Gala the night before) as well as Chris Rock and Rodrigo Santoro. 

Personally, I’m for any excuse to post pics of Rodrigo Santoro. You’re welcome. Happy Hump Day.

Elizaeth Banks looks gorgeous and glam. Brooklyn Decker appears as if she wandered In from the beach looking like that. (we hate her), Chris Rock looks like he’s *this close* to winking at the camera. Cam’s praying for a better script. (Word is she’s being eyed for the female lead in Sir Ridley Scott’s next film, The Counselor, which already stars Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem and Brad Pitt. Not sure how I feel about that.) Has anyone ever seen Chace Crawford and Ian Somerhalder in the same place at the same time?

What to Expect When You’re Expecting, based on the best-selling non-fiction books, is due May 18 in the US and 25^th May in the UK.

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photo credit: WENN

I know what you’re thinking.  “We’ve had Butler and Statham already this morning, what could possibly make this day any better?” How about Taylor Kitsch and Alexander Skarsgard?

We’ve got a new clip (exclusively from ComingSoon) from Peter Berg’s Battleship in which Kitsch and Skarsgard play the Hopper brothers (are they adopted? Seriously, they look NOTHING alike. Oh well, just go with it). It is Kitsch’s character Alex’s birthday. Skarsgard’s Stone is attempting to give him some much needed, but little heeded brotherly advice.  Oh yeah, Brooklyn Decker’s in it too.

We don’t get Battleship here in the US for another 4 ½ weeks. While I still don’t get why Europe got it so much earlier, I can tell you it’s already a hit, having raked in over $58 mil in less than a week. Big, loud special effects work in any language.

Battleship also stars Liam Neeson as Decker’s father (natch), Admiral Shane, Peter MacNichol, Jesse Plemmons (Friday Night Lights Reunion! Woot!), Hamish Linklater and Rihanna in her dramatic debut.

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The stars of Peter Berg’s Battleship have been travelling the globe doing photocalls this past week in promotion of their movie. To celebrate, we've got some international posters to share, plus the first clip has dropped and as is probably indicative of the rest of the film, it’s full of mayhem, noise and explosions.

Peter Berg (Hancock) produces and directs Battleship, an epic-scaled action-adventure that unfolds across the seas, in the skies and over land as our planet fights for survival against a superior force. Inspired byHasbro’s classic naval combat game, Battleship stars Taylor Kitsch as Lt. Alex Hopper, a Naval officer assigned to the USS John Paul Jones; Brooklyn Decker as Sam Shane, a physical therapist and Hopper’s fiancee; Alexander Skarsgard as Hopper’s older brother, Stone, Commanding Officer of the USS Sampson; Rihanna as Petty OfficerRaikes, Hopper’s crewmate and a weapons specialist on the USS John Paul Jones; and international superstar Liam Neeson as Hopper and Stone’s superior (and Sam’s father), Admiral Shane.

Seriously dude? Flaming fireball, mechanical, razor-sharp wheels of death are hurtling at your base and all you can manage is a calm, “oh shit” without even an exclamation point?

I’d be screaming “WTF IS THAT?!?!”, but maybe that’s just me.

Now, I can’t say that I’m necessarily all in for this one, but in the absence (thank you sweet baby jeebus) of more mindless dreck like a new Transformers movie this summer, there is a place for a big, loud, showy action flick. Sure it’s mostly CGI, but the parts that aren’t are filled with the likes of Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgard and Liam Neeson. The film deserves a bit of a benefit of the doubt mostly though, due to its director. Peter Berg is capable of eliciting some fine performances from his actors and he’s capable of subtlety and nuance. I don’t really expect either of those things in Battleship, but perhaps the sledge-hammer will have a little lighter touch. In any case, it could be a fun movie to escape the heat with and sit in the dark on a hot summer day and munch popcorn.

Battleship, which also stars Brooklyn Decker, Peter MacNichol, Jesse Plemmons and Rihanna, opens in the UK on 11thApril (just five more days for them- how is that fair?) and in the US and Canada on May 18.

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source: YahooMovies via ComingSoon

A new behind the scenes featurette for Peter Berg’s Battleship gives us a better idea of who the aliens are and where they come from, still without giving a lot away. Pretty neat trick.

The featurette (obviously made for the UK market since it gives the release date as April) focuses on how the aliens in the film find out about Earth and why they come here.

Peter Berg (Hancock) produces and directs Battleship, an epic-scaled action-adventure that unfolds across the seas, in the skies and over land as our planet fights for survival against a superior force. Inspired by Hasbro’s classic naval combat game, Battleship stars Taylor Kitsch as Lt. Alex Hopper, a Naval officer assigned to the USS John Paul Jones; Brooklyn Decker as Sam Shane, a physical therapist and Hopper’s fiancee; Alexander Skarsgard as Hopper’s older brother, Stone, Commanding Officer of the USS Sampson; Rihanna as Petty Officer Raikes, Hopper’s crewmate and a weapons specialist on the USS John Paul Jones; and international superstar Liam Neeson as Hopper and Stone’s superior (and Sam’s father), Admiral Shane.

Battleship, which stars Taylor Kitsch, Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgård, Brooklyn Decker, Peter MacNichol, Jesse Plemmons and Rihanna, opens in the UK on 11^th April and in the US and Canada on May 18.

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I’ve decided to lighten up on this whole Battleship thing. (I've made my feelings on the matter clear in previous posts.) For one thing, I want Taylor Kitsch to succeed. He’s just so damn likeable (I almost typed lickable. What’s wrong with me?) If the producers of this movie were counting on John Carter to have made him a household name in time for Battleship’s release, they might not have gotten exactly what they wished for. I do think that John Carter will help Battleship in foreign markets where it's doing very well.

But after watching this latest trailer, it won’t matter. He’ll have enough name recognition to make it a bonus that there are “known” stars in it, but ultimately this movie will do well because it’s a great big noisy summer blockbuster full of aliens and explosions and Brooklyn Decker. John Carter, while we’re comparing, probably asked a little too much from its audience, namely that they be able to keep up with an intricate plot in between the 3D CGI set pieces. I don’t harbor any illusions that Battleship will be as demanding. And that’s okay. I think going to see Battleship on a warm late spring, early summer afternoon, sitting in the conditioned air of the blackened theater with a big ole vat o’popcorn could still be an enjoyable experience.

There is talent behind the camera and in front of it, regardless of what one might think about the whole ‘CGI and Transformers‘ genre. Unless Peter Berg has screwed this thing up and has just managed to hide it from the trailers, he should have  a massive hit on his hands.  Enjoy the trailer. Battleship opens in the UK on 11th April and May 18 in the US.

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Well, while I still didn’t even crack a smile while watching the second trailer for What to Expect When You’re Expecting, I can say this: I think those responsible for marketing this mess were right to focus on the “Dudes”. Do we really need to see Elizabeth Banks turn into the clichéd she-wolf or watch cute little Brooklyn Decker give a cute little sneez and pop out a baby? No, and if I were expecting and saw that I’d be PISSED.

The guys, or dudes (who even have their own Facebook group), with their secret society of male bonding and bad parenting, is at least a little bit unexpected and there could still be some comedy left to mine. The fathers are all played by good comic actors too, including Chris Rock, who seems to be the ring leader, Rob Huebel and Thomas Lennon as well as Joe Manganiello and Amir Talai.  Poor Rodrigo Santoro looks appropriately shell-shocked. Take a look at the trailer (which comes courtesy of  YahooMovies):

Maybe I’ve got it all wrong and this will be a shining example of comedic brilliance destined to become a classic…

What to Expect When You’re Expecting, based on the best-selling self-help books, and another one of those celebrity omnibus films, stars every thirty something actor who was available at the time plus Dennis Quaid. It opens  May 18 in the US and 23^rd May in the UK.

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The above is a new poster to go with the international trailer, for Battleship. Not sure how I feel about it, but at least it’s got a human face on it as opposed to the silhouette of a ship or a man with his back turned.  As for the film, I seem to be one of the few skeptics who think Battleship is going to sink to the bottom of the ocean. Perhaps I’m judging this movie too harshly. There is certainly a place for escapist entertainment. (I just prefer mine to allow me to use my brain a wee bit, rather than check it at the door.)

Director Peter Berg has coined the new term, “Super-movie”, to indicate a new class of giant mechanized blockbuster. He uses the examples Iron Man and Transformers. Of the two, I’d say (and I’m obviously not alone) Tranformers comes closer to Battleship. 

Trying to change the minds of skeptics like me, Universal has, by way of the terrific French film site, Allocine, released a nifty little four minutes plus behind-the-scenes featurette, including footage of Berg discussing the making of the film and its inherent challenges, not the least of which was shooting at sea (SHARKS!).

Peter Berg (Hancock) produces and directs Battleship, an epic-scaled action-adventure that unfolds across the seas, in the skies and over land as our planet fights for survival against a superior force.  Inspired by Hasbro’s classic naval combat game, Battleship stars Taylor Kitsch as Lt. Alex Hopper, a Naval officer assigned to the USS John Paul Jones; Brooklyn Decker as Sam Shane, a physical therapist and Hopper’s fiancée; Alexander Skarsgård as Hopper’s older brother, Stone, Commanding Officer of the USS Sampson; Rihanna as Petty Officer Raikes, Hopper’s crewmate and a weapons specialist on the USS John Paul Jones; and international superstar Liam Neeson as Hopper and Stone’s superior (and Sam’s father), Admiral Shane.

Berg directs this epic action-adventure also produced by Scott Stuber (Couples Retreat), Sarah Aubrey (The Kingdom), Brian Goldner and Bennett Schneir of Hasbro (the Transformers franchise), along with Duncan Henderson (Master and Commander) and Jeffrey Silver (300).  The film is written by Jon Hoeber & Erich Hoeber (Red).

Battleship stars Taylor Kitsch (and I really do want him to succeed), Liam Neeson, Brooklyn Decker, Alexander Skarsgard, Rihanna and Jesse Plemmons. Battleship sets sail 11th April in the UK and May 18 in the US. (Why does that seem odd?)

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