The Spot News: Fright Night Character Posters You Can Sink Your Teeth Into

The Spot News: Fright Night Character Posters You Can Sink Your Teeth Into


Cheesy joke? Yup!
Here are four character posters for the Fright Night remake.

The Spot News: Pixar's Brave Trailer

The Spot News: Pixar's Brave Trailer


I will let the trailer speak for itself.

The Spot News: Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol Trailer

The Spot News: Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol Trailer


Starring Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, and coming out December 16, 2011

Synopsis:
This is not just another mission. The IMF is shut down when it’s implicated in a global terrorist bombing plot. Ghost Protocol is initiated and Ethan Hunt and his rogue new team must go undercover to clear their organization’s name. No help, no contact, off the grid. You have never seen a mission grittier and more intense than this. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL is in theatres and IMAX December 2011.

The Spot News: Green Lantern Sequel Green Lit?

The Spot News: Green Lantern Sequel Green Lit?

Though The Hollywood Reporter say this is what Warner Bros. are still planning:

Warner Bros. is already planning a sequel to Ryan Reynolds’ superhero pic Green Lantern, despite the film’s soft performance at the box office. Sources say Warners still believes in the franchise, even if the studio is “somewhat disappointed” with Green Lantern’s result.

Coming Soon: Transformers 3: Dark Of The Moon

Coming Soon: Transformers 3: Dark Of The Moon

Plot: TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON features Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) taking his first tenuous steps into adulthood while remaining a reluctant human ally of Optimus Prime. The film centers around the space race between the U.S.S.R. and the USA, suggesting there was a hidden Transformers role in it all that remains one of the planet's most dangerous secrets. The villain of the third film will be Shockwave.

Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Josh Duhamel, Hugo Weaving, Patrick Dempsey, Ken Jeong, John Malkovich, John Turturro, Frances McDormand, Alan Tudyk, Tyrese Gibson

Release Date: June 29, 2011 (wide)

The Spot News: New Captain America Poster and Trailer

The Spot News: New Captain America Poster and Trailer


Here is a new poster featuring Chris Evans as Captain America without mask and prominently showing the shield. Although he looks rather tanned haha.

The Spot News: New Apollo 18 Trailer

By: Robert Acosta

Have you ever thought, "What the hell goes on on the moon?" or "What happens to astronauts when they voyage on a secret mission to the moon?" 

Well, Apollo 18 is here to answer both those questions, and then some. 

Now I know, you'll watch the trailer and think "Booooooooooo that's not believable!" or "Looks too much like Paranormal Activity".

To that I say....ehh, you have a point. But let's be real here cause apparently people in America have seen people dragged across their house or dragged IN to the moon without any physical being around them...so that's not scary one bit. 

The Spot News: R.I.P.D. gets a release date

By: Robert Acosta

Ryan Reynolds is one busy man. It seems like he's in everything, unfortunately he's not. He does have about 10 movies, or more, that he'll be in in the coming 3 years so we'll be seeing a lot of Ryan Reynolds.

One flick that I was anticipating a bit was R.I.P.D. Originally a Dark Horse comic book, it was to have Ryan Reynolds, and Zack Galifinakis, be a dead cop, joining an undead police department in search of finding the person(s) responsible for his death. Seemingly, Galfinakis has dropped out and now Jeff Bridges is in.

A release date has been set for June 28th, 2013 which is a much crazier date set than the original one, which was for sometime in 2012.

The Spot News: Update on Superman: Man of Steel

By: Robert Acosta

Superman: Man of Steel isn't being released for another year and a half but lots of casting has gone on over the last couple months that an update may be a bit necessary. There was also a casting news from yesterday so this post will be as updated as possible.

At this point the movie is going by title of Man of Steel.

The casting is pretty much done, and here is a list of how it looks:

• Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent
• Amy Adams as Lois Lane
• Michael Shannon as General Zod 
• Kevin Costner as Johnathan Kent
• Diane Lane as Martha Kent
• Russell Crowe as Jor-El
• Connie Nielsen as Lara-El
• Antje Traue as Faora 

Looks like a strong cast from top to bottom, mixed in with household names to undiscovered names. At this moment, Russell Crowe and Connie Nielsen are both rumored to be part of Man of Steel but i'm almost sure they're a lock to play the parts.

And yesterday, actor Christopher Meloni was listed as apart of Man of Steel. We just don't know as who. Speculation will run wild with this and so far I've heard from everything from the villain Non to Lex Luthor. Maybe it'll be a surprise, left to not be known until we all see the movie?

Bridesmaids Review

By: Robert Acosta

Cast:
Kristin Wiig as Annie
Maya Rudolph as Lillian
Rose  Byrne as Helen
Melissa McCarthy as Megan

Plot: When her bestfriend is to be wed, Annie is given the honor of being the maid of honor. When she meets the rest of the bridesmaids, all hell breaks loose and the wedding gets out of hand.

Review: If there were awards for best comedy movie of the first half of the year, Bridesmaids would win it by a mile, being a clear favorite over the identical to its original but still funny, Hangover Part II.

There really isn't a huge reason for me to get into story because it's as simple as it gets. A woman is chosen by her best friend to be the maid of honor at her wedding, she accepts, meets the rest of the bridesmaids and a mix of emotions take over. Jealousy, anger, resentment, disaster but above all, comedy.

I'm not sure why this movie has come out of nowhere and surprised people at how funny it was. You've got 2 of the funnier women on the planet in Kristin Wiig and Maya Rudolph and director Paul Feig, who has been involved with shows like The Office, Bored to Death and Freaks and Geeks. So it would be a bit disappointing to me if this movie wasn't funny.

Wiig and Rudolph have obviously worked together so they're acting is seamless, the comedy is pretty much natural for them, for the most part. A small drawback is that, very much like their days on SNL, some of the comedy can come off as forced. Some things were meant to be funny and kind of flopped, but that didn't happen much. Also, the secondary cast around those two is great. The real stand out though is Melissa McCarthy, the bulky sister of the groom. Almost every scene she's a part of ends up being really funny, lots of quotable stuff.

One complaint I have is about Rose Byrnes character, Helen. Byrne did a great job acting wise, but the way they set the story up, she could have been a little more of an antagonist than she portrayed. In a way, it's almost as if the director and writers kind of play her off and focus a lot more on Wiigs character making mistakes rather than Byrnes character causing things. Depending on how you see things, this could be a big problem or just something you can overlook.

Bridemaids is the comedy of the first half of the year, no doubt about it. With some good comedies coming up though, it may difficult to see the maids holding the top spot for too long. Either way, it may end up being in the top 3 comedies of the year.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Green Lantern Review

Green Lantern Review
By Jose Plot:

A test pilot is granted a mystical green ring that bestows him with otherworldly powers, as well as membership into an intergalactic squadron tasked with keeping peace within the universe.

Main Cast:

Ryan Reynolds (Hal Jordan), Peter Armguard (hector Hammond), Mark Strong (Sinestro), Temuera Morrison (Abin Sur), Blake Lively (Carol Ferris), Michael Clark Duncan (Kilowog voice), Clancy Brown (Parallax voice), Geoffrey Rush (Tomar-Re voice), Angela Bassett (Dr. Amanda Waller)

Review:

So finally DC Comics and Warner Bros release a comic movie that is not Batman or Superman. A big gamble for them considering the lack of trust on their comic properties. Which you can’t blame them when Jonah Hex, and Catwoman were bombs and Superman Returns did not do as well as they had hoped. They picked one of DC Comics biggest books (not named Batman or Superman) Green Lantern. I am a big fan of the comics and all of it’s rich and brightly detailed story. And I will try to separate my comic geek from the movie geek. But it will be hard to do when Green Lantern didn’t light up the box office or my interest.

I will come out with it now, but Green Lantern wasn’t the movie it could have been. There were some bright spots along with many dull spots. And the overall feel for me was that they tired too hard to make a romance movie and when they realized that this was supposed to be a comic book movie they rushed to fix the problem. This is the problem between DC Comics and Marvel Comics. Marvel has books dealing with real world issues and situations. Their heroes and villains are everyday people sometimes that gain or have powers. They are relatable to a certain degree. And that is why their movies work. DC on the other hand have gods and aliens and it is rarely relatable to the normal person. Now my argument could be crap but this is how I feel why the movie did not work out as well. Instead of this fighter pilot getting the ring to become a space cop powered by his imagination and will power turned into a romantic movie about a pilot getting a ring and then getting the girl and then oh look bad guy.

Reynolds did a decent job as Hal Jordan and a Green Lantern. I just didn’t think he should have been Hal. Blake Lively did nothing for me. I actually did not like her at all in this. Every time she was on, and she was on a lot, it didn’t work for me. Although I seriously liked Peter Sarsgaard as Hector Hammond. He did a really great job and I liked the look they gave him for his character. I mean it would have been really hard to have a huge and I mean huge headed character floating around. Then Mark Strong did a good job as Sinestro. But then that brings me to the Green Lanterns themselves and the costumes.

The costume for Green Lantern/Reynolds was CGI. At first I had a problem with it but then it grew on me rather fast because it made sense. The costume is a construct itself. A protective uniform that conforms to the body type of the ring wearer. So it being an organic and body forming thing was a great idea and looked great. Kilowog looked and sounded great, Tomar-Re looked good and the overall look an feel of the other lanterns we were shown all looked great. The green energy constructs all were great. They felt solid and not cheesy at all.

But the bad thing is we didn’t get enough. We just got glimpses and a few shots and a bit of training. All broken scenes. Nothing lasted long enough for me to say wow this is money well spent, look it is that Green Lantern, and oh look it is that one. I wanted more of Oa and the rest of the Green Lantern Corps. Especially with the amount of money they spent making this movie. Parallax on the other hand worked for me. Because, I am not sure everyone caught it, but it was said that a Guardian was corrupted by the Fear power turning him into Parallax. Good looking and scary. It worked for me. I just didn’t agree in how it was destroyed. All this time planets were killed and many lanterns as well and Hal, all by himself, was able to stop it? Really? I just sat through the movie and saw it destroy and kill people and planets and then one person stops it and kills Parallax in a couple of minutes. If you only didn’t spend a long ass time with Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds.

Final Thoughts:

Green Lantern had it’s faults, which I wrote about above. But for being the only DC Comic movie out that doesn’t have Batman and Superman in it, they did a decent job. My inner comic nerd liked it and enjoyed the movie regardless of the many faults. I just wished they toned down all the romantic scenes and gave more Green Lantern. I really liked seeing my favorite characters brought to life on the big screen even if it was brief. Will we see the already planned second and third parts? I am not sure, but considering we had a during credits scene of Sinestro putting the yellow ring on and gaining the yellow power of Fear (along with his signature yellow costume) I sure hope we get an action packed sequel pitting the Green Lanterns against Sinestro and his Yellow Lanterns.
Meanwhile I will stick with my Green Lantern comics.

Ratings: 3 out of 5

Coming Soon: Bad Teacher

Coming Soon: Bad Teacher

Plot: Some teachers just don’t give an F. For example, there's Elizabeth (Cameron Diaz). She’s foul-mouthed, ruthless, and inappropriate. She drinks, she gets high, and she can’t wait to marry her meal ticket and get out of her bogus day job. When she’s dumped by her fiancé, she sets her plan in motion to win over a rich, handsome substitute (Justin Timberlake) – competing for his affections with an overly energetic colleague, Amy (Lucy Punch). When Elizabeth also finds herself fighting off the advances of a sarcastic, irreverent gym teacher (Jason Segel), the consequences of her wild and outrageous schemes give her students, her coworkers, and even herself an education like no other.

Cast: Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Lucy Punch, John Michael Higgins, Jason Sege

Release Date: June 24, 2011 (wide)

Coming Soon: Cars 2

Coming Soon: Cars 2

Plot: Star racecar Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) and the incomparable tow truck Mater (voice of Larry the Cable Guy) take their friendship to exciting new places in “Cars 2” when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world’s fastest car. But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage. Torn between assisting Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret spy mission, Mater’s action-packed journey leads him on an explosive chase through the streets of Japan and Europe, trailed by his friends and watched by the whole world. Adding to the fast-paced fun is a colorful new all-car cast that includes secret agents, menacing villains and international racing competitors.

Cast: Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Bonnie Hunt, Tony Shalhoub, Cheech Marin, Jason Isaacs, Joe Mantegna, Peter Jacobson, Thomas Kretschmann

Release Date: June 24, 2011 (wide)

The Spot News: Full Length Muppets Trailer

The Spot News: Full Length Muppets Trailer

Directed by James Bobin (Da Ali Gi Show, The Flight of the Conchords) from a script by Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller, The Muppets stars Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper and a host of others, including Rashida Jones, Zach Galifianakis, Jack Black, Ed Helms, Neil Patrick Harris, Katy Perry and Donald Glover. It opens on Nov. 23.

On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world’s biggest Muppet fan, and his friends Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze the Muppet Theater and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets’ former stomping grounds. To stage The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways: Fozzie now performs with a Reno casino house band called the Moopets, Miss Piggy is a plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, Animal is in a Santa Barbara clinic for anger management, and Gonzo is a high-powered plumbing magnate.

Green Lantern Review

By: Robert Acosta

Cast:
Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan
Blake Lively as Carol Ferris
Peter Sarsgaard as Hector Hammond
Mark Strong as Sinestro

Plot: Pilot Hal Jordan comes upon a power that has selected him to protect the Earth. A power that originally does not want but, in the end, needs.

Review: I want to make a note before I go full on into the review. I don't know the Green Lantern story. I'm not much of a Green Lantern fan. I have nothing against the comics, but I never got into them either. So this review is from the perspective of someone who doesn't know the story and is reviewing the movie on the movie's content.

Green Lantern is a movie met with a lot of expectations and a lot of scrutiny, well before the movie was released this past Friday. Obviously, DC comic movies aren't doing so well. Unless your name is Batman. So there is that high expectation. On top of that, a sequel for the Green Lantern is seemingly in development. So if Green Lantern bombed, boy would this be embarrassing. I'm here to say that DC failed and that Green Lantern wasn't good.

As the story goes, Hal Jordan (played by Ryan Reynolds) is a reckless pilot, living in the memory of his father who held the same occupation. He unexpectedly is given the power of the Green Lantern, goes into training, must defend the Earth against a, should have been, nearly unstoppable force.

Here is what went wrong. You gotta have a little more action for the debut of Green Lantern. In the few action scenes in the film, they all were short and it always ended the bitch way, for lack of a better term. I mean, is no one a real threat to the mighty Green Lantern? I felt like there was more of a romance story going on rather than a good storytelling, action film.

I also felt like the pacing of the movie was way too fast, rushed is a better word. You had quick fight scenes, some scenes of dialogue, a long dialogue between Reynolds and Blake Lively(who is gorgeous by the way) and it just all happened so fast. Some would called that fast paced movie, I call that rushing.

Lastly, it seems like the only characters they really developed was Hal Jordan, Carol Ferris and Hector Hammond. You've got a full on society of Green Lanterns and all you do is merely mention names? As someone who does not know the Lantern story, I'm sitting as puzzled as ever because I have no idea who any of these people are or what they protect.

I will say that the special effects/CGI wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been and the CGI suit that is on Lantern looks pretty good. If you see it in 3D, you won't notice much of a difference, it's not really used at all...as it kind of isn't used with most movies.

They did set up the sequel kind of nice, taking a page out of the Marvel book and doing a during/after credits scene. I know Marvel didn't invent the during/after credits scene, but damn have they done it the best.

Overall, Green Lantern didn't do much for me. It lands in the same pile as The Last Airbender did for me where the movie itself was bad, but the sequel shows much promise. As it stands now, I'd skip Green Lantern or wait for DVD. Or even wait for the sequel.

Rating: 2 out of 5

The Spot News: Some Hobbit Casting News Tidbits

The Spot News: Some Hobbit Casting News and Tidbits

Source Spinoffonline

Deadline reports that Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch will play the talking dragon Smaug in The Hobbit with the aid of motion-capture technology.

There is, however, a little more to the announcement: The actor will also provide the voice of the Necromancer of Dol Guldur, a character only briefly mentioned in the J.R.R. Tolkien novel but later revealed to be a manifestation of Sauron, the primary antagonist of The Lord of the Rings. That would seem to indicate another actor will lend his voice to Smaug (Deadline early heard it will likely be Bill Nighy).

The confirmation of Cumberbatch’s role came shortly after Deadline reported that Luke Evans, who stars in the upcoming Three Musketeers, has been cast as Bard the Bowman, the grim-faced guardsman of Lake-town and heir of the last king of old Dale who ultimately slays the cunning and fearsome Smaug.

The Spot News: Possible A-List Actor Set To Play Jor-El In New Superman Movie

The Spot News: Possible A-List Actor Set To Play Jor-El In New Superman Movie


Variety reports that Warner Bros. is in negotiations with temperamental Oscar winner Russell Crowe to play Superman’s biological father Jor-El in Man of Steel.

He would join Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner and Michael Shannon in the Zack Snyder-directed franchise reboot, set for release in December 2012. Warner Bros. had no comment.

The Spot News: Final Harry Potter Trailer

The Spot News: Final Harry Potter Trailer

That was so damn sad to write.
But here is the final trailer, supposedly, for Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2.

The Spot News: New Captain America Movie Photos

The Spot News: New Captain America Movie Photos


New photos from Captain America movie gives us some nice shots and a better view of Red Skull (Hugo Weaving). Along with shots of Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Toby Jones as Arnim Zola, Stanley Tucci as Abraham Erskine, Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark, and a couple of other shots.
Check out Spinoff online for some other pictures.

The Spot News: James Mangold to replace Darren Aronofsky on The Wolverine

The Spot News: James Mangold to replace Darren Aronofsky on The Wolverine

After a three-month search that found Fox considering such directors as Duncan Jones and Mark Romanek, the studio has settled on James Mangold to replace Darren Aronofsky on The Wolverine, Deadline reports.

Mangold, who helmed 3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line and Knight and Day, appeared on Fox's short list of directors, which reportedly narrowed even further this week to include just two other names: Gavin O’Connor (Pride and Glory) and Antoine Fuqua (Brooklyn’s Finest).

Source Spinoff online

Coming Soon: The Art Of Getting By

Coming Soon: The Art Of Getting By

Plot: THE ART OF GETTING BY stars Freddie Highmore as George, a lonely and fatalistic teen who's made it all the way to his senior year without ever having done a real day of work, who is befriended by Sally, a beautiful and complicated girl who recognizes in him a kindred spirit.

Cast: Freddie Highmore, Emma Roberts, Michael Angarano, Elizabeth Reaser, Sam Robards, Blair Underwood, Rita Wilson

Release Date: June 17th, 2011

Coming Soon: Mr Popper's Penguins

Coming Soon: Mr Popper's Penguins

Plot: Jim Carrey is Mr. Popper, in a family comedy about a driven businessman who is clueless when it comes to the important things in life – until he inherits six penguins. While Popper’s penguins turn his swank New York apartment into a snowy winter wonderland – and the rest of his life upside-down -- they teach him valuable lessons about families…human or otherwise. MR. POPPER’S PENGUINS is a contemporary update of the award-winning book.

Cast: Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino, Angela Lansbury

Release Date: June 17th, 2011

Super 8 Review

By: Robert Acosta

Cast:
Joel Courtney as Joe Lamb
Elle Fanning as Alice Dainard
Riley Griffiths as Charles
Kyle Chandler as Jackson Lamb

Plot: An air force freight train derails in 1979 Ohio, and the destruction doesn't just come from the train itself but by what was inside the train.

Review: Week after week, trailer after trailer, I didn't know what to classify Super 8 as. Was it a full on monster movie? A mystery movie? A movie about kids growing up? I didn't know. Well I can tell you, it's kind of all 3.

I won't ruin what the monster is, what it can do, what it can't do, all that stuff. I will tell you, if you like monster movies, you should be satisfied with that aspect of the film. I was worried, as was my colleague, that the monster wouldn't be shown at all, and we would be left with this invisible being doing damage. Not the case, at all.

In the trailer, you definitely how it comes to be with a massive train crash and an escape. The back story is what makes the movie really shine, which is kind of weird to say because with a monster lurking around, character development would seemingly take a back seat.

But ultimately, character, and character development, may be the best part of the film. For a movie starring a bunch of kids, I've never seen such troubles dealt with by just a bunch of kids. Here the kids are, filming a movie together when a train comes along, gets derailed and these kids have to get the hell out of there. On top of that, these kids have the balls to roam around, search for things after everything they've seen. The most ballsy kids i've seen in a movie.

You've got bits of comedy, especially from the character Charles. The chubby, aspiring director who wants everything to be so perfect that he really can't stop attempting to fix things. You've got action whenever that monster appears, some explosions, cars being wrecked and people being thrown, eaten, murdered. And finally, you've got one hell of a story that really touches on growing up, the pains and triumphs of it.

There is just something special about Super 8. I was born and raised in the 1990's so any tribute this movie made to much older movies, I cannot reference. So I look at this movie alone, no comparison whatsoever and it's a special movie. It's not the Cloverfield type movie that everyone expected, or wanted, and i'm 100% happy with that.

The only thing stopping me from giving this a perfect rating is the ending. Once again, i'm trying not to spoil things, though I may have done a little bit of that a couple of paragraphs back. I'll say this. Compared to the rest of the movie, the ending isn't as strong. It'll be a head scratcher to some, complete BS to some, fitting to some. For me, it didn't do much.

Final note: Stay for the credits.

Rating 4.5 out of 5

X-Men First Class Review

X-Men First Class Review

By Jose

Plot:

In 1962, Charles Xavier starts up a school and later a team, for humans with superhuman abilities. Among them is Erik Lehnsherr, his best friend... and future archenemy.

Main Cast:

James McAvoy (Charles Xavier), Michael Fassbender (Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto), Kevin Bacon (Sebastian Shaw), Rose Byrne (Moria MacTaggert), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), Jason Flemyng (Azazel), January Jones (Emma Frost), Nicholas Hoult (Hank McCoy/Beast), Caleb Landry Jones (Sean Cassidy/Banshee), Edi Gathegi (Darwin), Lucas Till (Alex Summers/Havok), Alex Gonzalez (Riptide), Zoë Kravitz, Angel Salvadore)

Review:

This is how you make an X- Men movie. Mathew Vaughn created what I feel is the best X-men movie yet, beating out Singer’s X2. Hell we even get a longer and much better look at a young Magneto/Erik at a Nazi concentration camp. Even a look at what drives his powers, Sebastian Shaw (Bacon). Shaw wants young Erik to move a coin with is powers and when he can’t brings in and threatens his mother, which Shaw kills unleashing Erik’s rage and power. We then get flung years later in the sixties with and older Erik (Fassbender) hunting down the where about of Sebastian Shaw. Soon this is intertwined with the CIA and Moira and then soon connecting with Charles Xavier, soon after becoming a professor and Mystique. I loved the brother/sister connection they gave Xavier and Mystique. It makes what happens later much better emotionally.

The movie itself is a torrent of non stop action and great story. I would have liked a longer look at the young mutants testing and practicing using their powers and abilities a bit more and getting to learn some more of their pasts. But other wise we get everything thrown at us and it still manages to make sense and flow properly. I really liked the codename scene and the showing off the powers scene in the movie. Having the young mutants show off to one another with their powers and abilities and then picking codenames. Oh and Hula Hoop Havok was hilarious.

The characterizations of Xavier and Erik was great. Giving Erik a feeling of a mutant powered spy and Xavier his telepathic, suave, ladies man partner. Mystique was uncomfortable in her own blue skin and stayed “normal” looking throughout the movie. With Magneto/Erik telling her that she should be proud of how she looks and stop hiding behind normal human skin. Nicholas Hoult was great playing Hank McCoy. Quiet and shy and ashamed of his huge beastly feet and who he is. He played the closet case really well and you felt bad for him throughout the movie. Lucas Till as Havok/Alex Summers, although a small role, was featured a lot and was pretty much the cocky leader in training. Caleb Jones as Banshee looked the part and was one of the three favorites of the young mutants. I really liked seeing how they dealt with his powers and flight ability in the movie. And now Kevin Bacon. His portrayal of Sebastian Shaw worked really well. The badass yet primp and proper villain. They changed his powers a bit from the actual comic character but I liked that they made him a lot more dangerous.

Noticeably I left some characters out because I honestly didn’t see them fitting in or not working for me. Zoë as the stripper mutant Angel, did nothing but appear then disappear then appear at the end where she actually did some action. Darwin was a waste of a character, yet they left it open for him to return in a possible sequel. January Jones as Emma Frost. I liked her portrayal of the character but there was something about Jones herself that seemed off to me. I would have liked someone else cast as Emma Frost. Jones seemed bland and was just going through the motions.

The effects were great. No problems with me at all. All the powers were shown and created wonderfully. Which brings be back to Beast. From the trailers we saw a small glimpse of Beast in his blue fur form and I had a feeling we would get a all CGI version. We didn’t. Which I was so so happy to see. I loved the way Beast looked like. And I liked that they kept a feel and look of the classic Beast look from the comics. Not the current cat like look). And you clearly see Hoult in there too.

What I also liked about the movie is the sense of being accepted and proud of being what you are. It is shown greatly through Mystique and Beast. With Xavier telling her to be a mutant and proud, yet wanting her to stay in a normal looking state. It took Magneto to tell her that she should be herself and that she is beautiful as she was. The same with Hank/Beast. He was ashamed of being a mutant and wanted desperately to find a cure to his and Mystique’s physical mutation. While it backfired on Hank and turned him into an actual blue Beast. The team, (Havok, Banshee, Mystique, Magneto, and Xavier) all were shocked yet accepting of his new look and even Havok gave him his Beat name.

Final Thoughts:

Now I know my review went a bit everywhere about the movie but that is how excited I was to see X-Men First Class. It was a great movie and such a delight to see that with the right people the Marvel movies not made by Marvel itself can be great and fun movies.
Now obviously there will be some talk about the characters used. One the first class of X-Men was Beast, Angel, Marvel Girl, Cyclops and Iceman. Not Havok, Banshee, Mystique, and bug Angel. But would that have changed the movie any? I do not know but I don’t care. Because it worked well within the movie and it’s universe. Also will say how we have Emma Frost here and then a younger version in Wolverine. Well it has been said from the film creators and some other sources that X-Men First Class is within the same line of movies as X-Men and X2, while ignoring Wolverine and X-Men 3. And speaking of Wolverine, a blink and you would miss cameo in the movie was rather funny. Also look out for Rebecca Romijn as an older Mystique and small glimpses of Scott Summers/Cyclops and Storm.

Ratings: 5 out of 5

Coming Soon: Green Lantern

Coming Soon: Green Lantern


A test pilot is granted a mystical green ring that bestows him with otherworldly powers, as well as membership into an intergalactic squadron tasked with keeping peace within the universe

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong

Release Date: June 17th, 2011

The Spot News: Retro Style Captain America Movie Poster

The Spot News: Retro Style Captain America Movie Poster



This retro CAPTAIN AMERICA poster was created by Paolo Rivera, who pitched Marvel on doing the actual art for the one-sheet. Paramount, not surprisingly, had some other ideas, and Marvel instead commissioned Rivera for the limited edition print you see here.

Super 8 Review

Super 8 Review

By Jose

Plot:

After witnessing a mysterious train crash, a group of friends in the summer of 1979 begin noticing strange happenings going around in their small town, and begin to investigate into the creepy phenomenon.

Main Cast:

Joel Courtney (Joe Lamb), Ryan Lee (Cary), Zach Mills (Preston), Riley Griffith (Charles), Gabriel Basso (Martin), Elle Fanning (Alice), Ron Eldard (Louis Dainard), Kyle Chandler (Jackson Lamb), Noah Emmerich (Nelec)

Review:

Super 8 was directed by J.J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg. So obviously it was going to be a great movie. Then you add in the fact that it has an alien terrorizing a small town. So now it should be great. Well to be honest. It wasn’t.
It wasn’t this great movie from these two great minds. It was just a good movie about a group of young kids filming their own movie during the summer until an escaped alien and the air force come to town and screw things up.

Super 8 seemed and looked like, from the trailers we have seen, an action movie dealing with an alien rampaging in a small town with military secrets and these kids stuck in the middle. What we got was a coming of age film about these young kids involved in this conspiracy and alien “attack”. And looking at it from that angle you got a damn good movie. A fun and light hearted, yet action packed and mysterious movie. And I liked that movie.

Speaking of the kids in the movie. The main young cast were awesome. Plain and simple. We have a couple of them that have been around and some new comers that felt and performed like they have been in a dozen movies already. They all were great and fun to watch on the screen. The chemistry worked between them all and it felt like these kids have been friends all their lives. My hats off to them and I hope to see them get more roles in future movies. The adult cast was just there and the main two Kyle (Jackson) and Ron (Louis) were the main focus being fathers of the main tow kids, Elle (Alice), and Joel (Joe).

The effects were actually pretty good in the movie. You felt like you were thrown back in time to 1979. The train wreck/crash was great and felt like you were in the middle of it. Although I do find it funny how the kids actually survived such a crash and all those explosions. And then later they survived almost being blown up in a house later. But it’s a movie so we can’t really argue about that. Now on to the alien. I had a bad feeling that the alien was going to be invisible until the end or not even seen at all until the end. I was thankfully wrong. Throughout the movie we get glimpses and hints at the shape and look of the alien and the ferocity and anger it had toward the military/air force. And then a full reveal at the end with Joe and Alice and Cary. It was a nice design, almost a mix of spider and gorilla. The very end when the alien is recreating his spaceship to leave was pretty cool. And it was nice to see the alien cubes coming together and morphing into the ship along with all the other metal and devices.


Final Thoughts:

So Super 8 was not this alien action flick but a coming of age movie with a focus on the group of young friends. It felt like watching Stand By Me or in a weird way It. The young stars were all funny and hilarious and great in their roles and made the movie for me. Stay for the credits to see their zombie movie. Seriously hilarious.

Ratings: 4 out of 5

The Spot News: Avengers Licensing Poster

The Spot News: Avengers Licensing Poster


A painted mock up poster at the Licensing International Expo was found and posted around the internet. Showing the Avengers, or blurry painted versions at least. Gives you a good idea at how Hawkeye and Captain America's modern costume would look like. And a sense of how MArk Ruffalo's Hulk will look like as well.

And remember this is not an official movie poster. It is just a promotional piece for licensing toys, games, clothes, etc.

X-Men First Class Review

By: Robert Acosta

Cast:
James McAvoy as Charles Xavier
Michael Fassbender as Erik Lehnsherr
Kevin Bacon as Sebastian Shaw
Jennifer Lawrence as Raven/Mystique

Plot: Based off of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr are on a mission to stop a power hungry mutant, and must enlist the help of people like themselves to take him and his clan down.

Review: It's been a while since we the audience could sit down and watch a decent X-Men film. Well, the wait is over. X-Men First Class is it.

A fast pace, action filled, X-Men film that does some good story telling and some good setting up of future films. Granted, there are some minor plot holes with a couple of characters that I will get into towards the end of the review.

I had a feeling that McAvoy and Fassbender were going to own the roles of Professor X and Magneto, and it couldn't have fit any better. Separately, together, it doesn't matter they were both excellent. McAvoy brings this suave, smooth element to the character while still maintaining the intellect, leader aspect of Charles Xavier. Fassbender just brought this emotionally driven, controlled Magneto along with glimples of the Magneto we've all come to know and love. You know, the brute, ruthless, powerful man who just tears shit up? He's still there.

Kevin Bacon as Sebastian Shaw was kind of a fresh character to have in an X-Men film. You look at him and he doesn't look the least bit dangerous, almost comical how he looks. He shows off his powers for just 2 seconds, and he convinces you that he is a bad ass.

The young cast that makes up the rest of the "first class" fares a lot better than expected. I think Jennifer Lawrence (Raven/Mystique) and Nicholas Hoult (Hank McCoy/Beast) may have put themselves on the map with their performances. The rest of the this part of the cast don't really get a lot of time to shine or do much more than some quick action shots.

On to the topic of the holes in the story, BEWARE THAT SPOILERS MAY LIE AHEAD. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.

Emma Frost is in the movie, and is a grown woman. Does this make sense? Not entirely. In X-Men Origins: Wolverine, she was a teen and this movie is supossed to take place before the Wolverine events. The producers of First Class haven't addressed this yet. Should this bother you? No, not really. I think she is needed in the film.

Havok is in the film, as one of the young X-Men. For those who know the story, he is Cyclops younger brother. Cyclops is briefly shown in a scene, as a kid and it brings up the question: "Does this make sense?". Normally it wouldn't. But in an interview with Bryan Singer, producer of First Class, says that while in the comics they are brothers, in this film series, they are just related, not brothers. Things will tie together in the future. Should this bother you? Once again, not really.

All in all, X-Men First Class is the kind of film this franchise needed to bring respect back to it. So many great places to go from this story, the future is bright for the mutants.

Rating: 4 out of 5

The Spot News: New Harry Potter Poster/Banners

The Spot News: New Harry Potter Poster/Banners

Source Joblo.com

Check out more at the above link.

Here are a few new "action" posters for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

The Spot News: Three Musketeers Poster

The Spot News: Three Musketeers Poster

The synopsis: The hot-headed young D’Artagnan (Logan Lerman) joins forces with three rogue Musketeers (Matthew MacFadyen, Luke Evans and Ray Stevenson) in this reboot of Alexandre Dumas' story. They must stop the evil Richlieu (Christoph Waltz) and face off with Buckingham (Orlando Bloom) and the treacherous Milady (Milla Jovovich). The action adventure is given a state of the art update in 3-D.

The movie is out on October 14.

Coming Soon: Super 8

Coming Soon: Super 8


Plot: In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local Deputy tries to uncover the truth - something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined.

Cast: Gabriel Basso, Kyle Chandler, Joel Courtney, Ron Eldard, Noah Emmerich, Elle Fanning, Riley Griffiths, Ryan Lee, Zach Mills

Release Date: June 10th, 2011

The Spot News: Eisenburg and Gyllenhaal Are Thieving Magicians

The Spot News: Eisenburg and Gyllenhaal Are Thieving Magicians


Director Louis Leterrier is slowing things down for his next film, NOW YOU SEE ME. Compared to his previous work in Incredible Hulk and Clash of The Titans.

The film is about a group of magicians who perform bank heists during their shows and how has two actors set to play the illusionists. Jesse Eisenberg and Jake Gyllenhaal are set to star in the film with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Olivia Wilde and Melanie Laurent also in talks to join the film.

Weekend Box Office Numbers June 3rd-5th

By: Robert Acosta

Week after week, a blockbuster movie is released and it makes a boat load of money. This week is no different:

1. X-Men First Class   $56 Million
2. The Hangover, Part II   $32.4 Million
3. Kung Fu Panda 2   $24.3 Million
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides   $18 Million
5. Bridesmaids   $12.1 Million
6. Thor   $4.2 Million
7. Fast Five   $3.2 Million
8. Midnight in Paris   $2.9 Million
9. Jumping the Broom   $900 Thousand
10. Something Borrowed   $800 Thousand

X-men First Class made a splash this weekend, grabbing the top spot and just hitting the mark below $60 Million dollars. On top of that, it got a lot of good reviews so it pretty much had one hell of a weekend. We at The Movie Spot will have a review coming soon, we promise.

Last weeks top money grabbers, Hangover and Kung fu Panda stick around at the number 2 and 3 spots and figure to be sticking around for a while.

Next week, we see Super 8, the mysterious "monster" movie we've been waiting for. Chances are, it makes a big splash at the box office but the fate of Super 8 will rely heavily on word of mouth. 

The Spot News: Insidious 2 Not Likely

The Spot News: Insidious 2 Not Likely

In this day in age of movie making: the more money the movie makes; a sequel will be churned out. Even though Insidious stands as the most profitable film of the year, bringing in close to 70 times its budget, producer James Blum explains:

”There's no plan, no release date, nothing like that," says Blum. "I think James feels the same as Oren Peli, who was very sceptical about doing a sequel to Paranormal Activity until Michael Peri pitched an idea and it made sense. If Leigh comes up with a story that's inventive and that James feels is worth making - as opposed to 'let's make another movie and make money' - we would do it. And if Leigh doesn't, we won't."

I like this and totally agree.

The Spot News: Dark Shadows Dodges 3D

The Spot News: Dark Shadows Dodges 3D

Tim Burton is busy shooting his long-talked-about big-screen adaptation of the campy ’60s ABC TV series Dark Shadows. Johnny Depp stars (of course) as Barnabas Collins, and he’s joined by a small army of talented performers: Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green, Johnny Lee Miller, Chloe Moretz, Helena Bonham Carter, Jackie Earle Haley, Bella Heathcote and Gullver McGrath.

Burton chatted with The Wrap recently about his plans for the movie, which he says will remain firmly within the confines of the two-dimensional. “I loved doing Alice in 3D. Frankenweenie, gonna do that in 3D,” he said. “There’s people like, ‘Everything’s gonna be in 3D,’ or ‘I hate 3D!’ I think people should have a choice. I don’t think it should be forced on anybody.” It also probably helps that Dark Shadows isn’t nearly as spectacle-driven as the Lewis Carroll adaptation or an animated feature.

What it is is something Burton seems to still be figuring out. As he told The Wrap, “It’s a weird tone and it’s a lot of actors and, you know, we’re not starting with the simple stuff; we’re sort of getting right in there. I’m early into it because it’s a funny tone, and that’s part of what the vibe of the show is, and there’s something about it that we want to get.”

Dark Shadows will hit theaters on May 12, 2012.

Source Spinoff online

The Spot News: Capcom Announce Phoenix Wright Movie From Takashi Miike

The Spot News: Capcom Announce Phoenix Wright Movie From Takashi Miike


Takashi Miike, the man of a million movies, is to direct the first big-screen outing for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. In the games, Wright is a dedicated, if not obsessive, lawyer who takes on the defense of those he believes innocent but who, it would seem, will be near impossible to exonerate.

Capcom have also announced the casting of several key characters. From the press release:

In the movie, the main protagonist, Phoenix Wright, will be played by Mr. Hiroki Narimiya, while rival prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth, will be played by Mr. Takumi Saito. Pheonix’s assistant and spirit medium Maya Fey will be played by Ms. Mirei Kiritani.

source Bleedingcool.com

2011 Summer Movie Season Preview

2011 Summer Movie Season Preview

By Jose

One month in of the Summer movie season and already we have seen some big movies dominating the box office domestically and world wide. Most of the films have grossed over 100 million dollars so far and continue to bring in more. Thor, Pirates of The Caribbean 4, The Hangover 2, Kung Fu Panda 2, Bridesmaids. All hits and all great movies to start the season with. But will the coming months continue that trend or will be see a slump or dip as more movies are released all wanting to be seen and earn our money?

June begins with what I felt might have been a bad movie, yet all I have been hearing recently is nothing but great things and what possibly could be the action movie of the month. X-Men First Class comes out swinging on June 3rd. But on top of fighting all previous releases it only has a week before another possible hit is released in Super 8. The secretive alien movie by JJ Abrahms and Steven Spielberg. Although I have this nagging possible problem with the movie (creature or alien will be invisible for the entire movie) I hope I am wrong and it turns out great. Following that is DC Comics and Warner Bros. attempt to take a chunk of the comics book movie pie with Green Lantern on June 17th. At first I was rather excited and happy to see DC Comics release a non Batman non Superman film, but now I am worried that it will not live up to the hype and would fail. We all have Jim Carrey in Mr Popper’s Penguins released that same day. Might be good for the kids not sure if it will be a hit or make a dent in the box office. June 24th sees the comedy Bad Teacher which I hope is as funny as the trailer leads us to believe and what I say is a waste and unnecessary sequel in Cars 2. Really Cars 2? Cars was the only Pixar movie that I disliked. The first did nothing for me the way the other Pixar hits have. And I see nothing to even make me smile in Cars 2. The month ends off on a rather big explosion with the release of Transformers 3 Dark of The Moon, I have a feeling this movie will be a huge hit and erase the bad taste part 2 left us with. I will say Transformers 3 will dominate the box office big time.

That was June but what about the main Summer month? July is normally the bigger and badder movie release month and from what I have seen, July looks like it will be huge this year. Horrible Bosses and Zookeeper are out on July 8th giving us a cushion week before some big movies come out. But that is not saying that they will be bad. Horrible Bossed looks like it might be a fun movie and again Zookeeper will have the kids happy. But on the 15th we will have the saddest day along with the biggest release this year. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2. The last movie of the franchise. Expect tears and empty wallets. Another movie is out the same day which was a wrong move but we will see what happens. Winnie the Pooh is back in traditional animation from Disney and I will gladly and happily see that movie, after I catch Harry Potter of course. Next comes the final build up movie for Marvel’s Avengers plan with Captain America on the 22nd. If judging by Thor and what I have read about X-Men First Class here’s hoping to a complete trifecta of great Marvel movies this year. The week after I see as a slow, subdued week with The Smurfs, Crazy Stupid Love, and Cowboys And Aliens coming out on the 29th. Personally looking forward to Cowboys And Aliens.

August is normally considered a ”dump-month” for movies. None of the big blockbusters, smaller films, films that studios are not too behind on. But most of the times August surprises us with some nice and great movies. Rise of The Planet Of The Apes comes out on the 5th. Not sure how I feel about that to tell you the truth. The 12th sees 30 Minutes Or Less and the fifth installment of Final Destination. Two weeks of movie that may not be as big of hits of the previous releases but most likely do rather well and worth seeing. The 19th I see some possible sleeper hit with Conan the Barbarian and the remake of Fright Night. The 26th has a movie that I want to see rather badly in Don’t Be Afraid of The Dark.

With that ends the Summer Movie Season. Which honestly looks to be the best movie summer compared to last couple of summers. With one month in and already the total box office reaching over 200 million dollars and we still have three months and a handful of big blockbusters coming soon. It is going to be a great summer to be a movie fan.

The Spot News: First Look At Character Posters For Captain America

The Spot News: First Look At Character Posters For Captain America


Brazilian movie site Cine Macado has the first look at three character banners for Captain America: The First Avenger showcasing Chris Evans as the Sentinel of Liberty, Hugo Weaving as Red Skull and Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter.