News

Warner Bros. has released two new banners for their upcoming and highly anticipated Batman flick The Dark Knight Rises. Onebanner features a solo Batman who's cape is on fire while the other features a face-off between Batman and Bane which I know you guys are going to love. I certainly love it and would love even more to have it hanging in my office. You can read on to check out the banners and be sure to share your thoughts!

The Dark Knight Rises arrives in theaters July 20, 2012 and stars Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Juno Temple, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Anne Hathaway. The film will mark the last in Christopher Nolan's wildly successful Batman trilogy.

In related news, MTV has confirmed that they'll be airing never-before-seen footage from The Dark Knight Rises during the 2012 MTV Movie Awards which air live June 3rd, so be sure to tune into that. Stay tuned for more updates!]]> mrchadlangen@yahoo.com (Chad Langen) Movies Fri, 25 May 2012 23:10:05 +0000 New Dark Knight Rises TV Spot http://www.reelempire.com/movies/3324-new-dark-knight-rises-tv-spot http://www.reelempire.com/movies/3324-new-dark-knight-rises-tv-spot Batman

Warner Bros. has teamed with the NBA to promote the upcoming 2012 play-offs. The studio has mixed footage from the highly anticipated The Dark Knight Rises with NBA footage. While it's a strange promo, it's actually pretty cool. Though it doesn't really show anything we haven't already seen, it's definitely an interesting piece of marketing. You can read on to check out the video (sorry it's not the best quality) and be sure to share your thoughts!

The Dark Knight Rises comes to theaters July 20th and stars Christian Bale, Juno Temple, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Michael Chaine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman. The film is directed by Christopher Nolan.

Eight years after Batman took the fall for Two Face's crimes, a new terrorist leader, Bane, overwhelms Gotham's finest, and the Dark Knight resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him an enemy.]]> mrchadlangen@yahoo.com (Chad Langen) Movies Fri, 18 May 2012 14:59:59 +0000 See The Dark Knight Rises Batpod In Person During Country Wide Tour http://www.reelempire.com/movies/3323-see-the-dark-knight-rises-batpod-in-person-during-country-wide-tour http://www.reelempire.com/movies/3323-see-the-dark-knight-rises-batpod-in-person-during-country-wide-tour

Can't wait for July 20th when The Dark Knight Rises arrives in theaters? Well you're in luck as I-MAX and Mountain Dew have teamed up to bring fans the Tumbler Tour. The country wide tour that starts May 12th in Bentonville, AR will give fans a first hand look at two of Batman's hi-tech vehicles, the new Tumbler and the familiar Batpod.

Do you want to get an upclose and personal look at these vehicles? Then read on for the tour dates and see if the Batpod and Tumbler will be rolling into a city near you. In addition, you'll find photos of the two vehicles being loaded up and shipped out.

Be sure to check out The Dark Knight Rises in theaters July 20. The film stars Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Juno Temple, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman.]]> mrchadlangen@yahoo.com (Chad Langen) Movies Thu, 10 May 2012 23:06:41 +0000 Catching Fire Being Rewritten By Toy Story 3 Scribe http://www.reelempire.com/movies/3322-catching-fire-being-rewritten-by-toy-story-3-scribe http://www.reelempire.com/movies/3322-catching-fire-being-rewritten-by-toy-story-3-scribe

Michael Arndt, the Oscar-winning writer who scripted Toy Story 3 and Little Miss Sunshine, has been brought on board to revise the script for The Hunger Games sequel, Catching Fire.

"The sequel is barreling toward a late-summer production start. While Lionsgate doesn't yet have a deal with Arndt, if he signs on, he will have to work double-time to get the script ready due to a squeezed schedule caused by Jennifer Lawrence's commitment to Fox's X-Men: First Class sequel," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Another Oscar winner, Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire) wrote the first draft of the screenplay adaptation. Francis Lawrence will direct Catching Fire with Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth reprising their roles as Katniss, Peeta and Gale. Lenny Kravitz, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Toby Jones and Woody Harrelson are also set to return to their respective roles. Catching Fire opens in theaters November 22, 2013.]]> mrchadlangen@yahoo.com (Chad Langen) Movies Tue, 08 May 2012 14:54:48 +0000 James Cameron Making Three More Avatar Films http://www.reelempire.com/movies/3321-james-cameron-making-three-more-avatar-films http://www.reelempire.com/movies/3321-james-cameron-making-three-more-avatar-films

James Cameron recently announced that he is strictly in the Avatar business now, meaning he won't make anything but films about the blue people he made famous a couple of years back. He told The New York Times, "Last year I basically completely disbanded my production company's development arm. So I'm not interested in developing anything. I'm in the Avatar business. Period. That's it. I'm making Avatar, Avatar 2, Avatar 3, maybe Avatar 4."

Cameron continued, "I'm not interested in taking scripts. And that all sounds I suppose a little bit restricted, but the point is I think within the Avatar landscape I can say everything I need to say that I think needs to be said, in terms of the state of the world and what I think we need to be doing about it. And doing it in an entertaining way. And anything I can't say in that area, I want to say through documentaries, which I'm continuing."

I think the once-beloved filmmaker has gone off the deep end. The effects in Avatar were good and that was it for me. I think the film was way to political and that's not entertaining to me. Not to mention it was a complete rip-off of Pocahontas. Avatar may be the highest grossing motion picture in cinema history but I can guarantee you that the sequels won't be anywhere near that succesful.

]]> mrchadlangen@yahoo.com (Chad Langen) Movies Mon, 07 May 2012 14:21:59 +0000 The Avengers Has Biggest Opening Weekend Ever With $200 Million! http://www.reelempire.com/movies/3320-the-avengers-has-biggest-opening-weekend-ever-with-200-million http://www.reelempire.com/movies/3320-the-avengers-has-biggest-opening-weekend-ever-with-200-million

It's official. The Avengers has toppled Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and set a new record for the biggest opening weekend ever for a motion picture with a whopping $200 million! Harry Potter held on to that record since last July with $169 million. The superhero mash-up from Joss Whedon opened in 4,349 theaters over the weekend making it one of the widest releases ever as well.

The Avengers sees Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, The Hulk, Hawkeye and Iron Man unite to stop Loki and his menacing army from wreaking havoc on Earth.

You can check out our review for the film here. In addition, if you've seen the film (considering the box-office results, we're guessing most of you have), we'd love to hear what you thought about it. The Avengers is now playing in theaters nation-wide and stars Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Robert Downey, Jr. Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson. Stay tuned for more updates!]]> mrchadlangen@yahoo.com (Chad Langen) Movies Sun, 06 May 2012 17:25:34 +0000 The Avengers Has Second Best Opening Day Ever With $80 Million http://www.reelempire.com/movies/3319-the-avengers-has-second-best-opening-day-ever-with-80-million http://www.reelempire.com/movies/3319-the-avengers-has-second-best-opening-day-ever-with-80-million

A few months back, I honestly thought Marvel's The Avengers would wind up with the best opening weekend ever...and I could be right. The critically-acclaimed superhero flick which sees comic-book icons like Captain America, Thor, Iron Man and The Hulk unite, earned an estimated $18.7 million in midnight showings. For the rest of Friday, the pictured pulled in a whopping $61.8 million bringing it's opening day total to $80.5 million. That's the second best opening day ever behind last year's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

The Avengers accounted for over 80 percent of ticket sales on Friday with Think Like A Man, The Lucky One and The Hunger Games making up a majority of the remaining 20 percent.

It's entirely possible that Joss Wedon's superhero film could reach $200 million this weekend which would make it the biggest opening weekend ever and breaking the $169.2 million record set by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Of course, that record will likely be broken once again in July when The Dark Knight Rises is released but for now, we'll let The Avengers bask in the spotlight. They've definitely earned it.]]> mrchadlangen@yahoo.com (Chad Langen) Movies Sun, 06 May 2012 14:43:50 +0000 Third Amazing Spider-Man Trailer Released! http://www.reelempire.com/movies/3317-third-amazing-spider-man-trailer-released http://www.reelempire.com/movies/3317-third-amazing-spider-man-trailer-released

I feel a little guilty for not covering The Amazing Spider-Man as much as films like The Avengers, Battleship and The Dark Knight Rises. Since The Avengers and Battleship open in theaters this month, those two movies are justifiable. While the third entry in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy doesn't arrive in theaters until late-July, it is likely going to be the biggest motion picture of the year which pretty much makes that justifiable as well. Still, we're excited to see the Spider-Man reboot and we know many of you guys are as well. With that said, you can expect a lot more coverage for the film from here on out.

Sony recently debuted the third trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man and I gotta say, I'm really diggin' it. The first teaser trailer debuted last year and I wasn't even remotely amused. The second trailer, however, definitely sparked my interest. With the third trailer, the studio has sold at least one ticket. You can read on to check it out and be sure to share your thoughts!

The Amazing Spider-Man opens in theaters July 3rd and stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Martin Sheen, Dennis Leary and C. Thomas Howell. The film is directed by Marc Webb and will be an origins story for our faorite web-slinger.]]> mrchadlangen@yahoo.com (Chad Langen) Movies Fri, 04 May 2012 13:12:49 +0000 Review: Battleship Packed With Heavy Action http://www.reelempire.com/movies/3316-review-battleship-packed-with-heavy-action http://www.reelempire.com/movies/3316-review-battleship-packed-with-heavy-action

This summer is shaping up to be one of the best in years. While everyone eagerly awaits the releases of The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises, there are several others that are definitely worth checking out including Peter Berg's latest flick Battleship which is the live-action flick based on Hasbro's popular boardgame. Like most action movies, it has it's fair share of flaws. Fortunately, there's enough fascinating spectacle to keep your attention throughout the entire feature.

I was able to check out Battleship at an early screening and you can read my review below. In addition, be sure to let us know whether or not your excited to see the film which hits theaters May 18th from Universal Studios.

While an adaptation of the popular boardgame Battleship has been discussed for years, it was merely an idea up until a couple of years ago when Universal started getting serious about the project. Working out a more interesting concept was certainly one of the major hold-ups. Viewers wouldn't likely have paid to watch two ships attempt to sink one another for an hour and a half. Needless to say, the film finally came together and it hits theaters nation-wide May 18th. Continue reading for more!
]]> mrchadlangen@yahoo.com (Chad Langen) Movies Thu, 03 May 2012 02:16:21 +0000 Fast And Furious 6 Villain Cast? Michelle Rodriguez Is Back! http://www.reelempire.com/movies/3314-fast-and-furious-6-villain-cast-michelle-rodriguez-is-back http://www.reelempire.com/movies/3314-fast-and-furious-6-villain-cast-michelle-rodriguez-is-back Fast Five was the surprise hit of the summer last year. There just isn't a whole lot going on in these movies aside from cool cars going fast and big explosions. Fast Five, however, took the franchise in a new direction. It's one of the coolest heist movies to grace the big screen in years and it undoubtedly paid off as the fifth installment in Universal's popular franchise grossed nearly $630 million world-wide making it the most successful entry in the series. That said, it's no surprise the studio was quick to move forward with a sixth movie.

There was some speculation back when Fast Six was first announced that Jason Statham had been tapped to play the villain in the film. Since Statham is unavailable, however, another United Kingdom native, Luke Evans, has been offered the role instead. Evans recently appeared in the thriller The Raven and you can also catch him in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey later this year.

It was also confirmed that Michelle Rodriguez would be back for the sixth Fast and Furious film though that was a no-brainer considering what happened during the credits of Fast Five. Dwayne Johnson will also be returning for the next entry and Justin Lin will once again direct. Stay tuned!]]> mrchadlangen@yahoo.com (Chad Langen) Movies Wed, 02 May 2012 14:28:56 +0000