9-15-14 Movie News

        Hello ladies and gentlemen, here is some movie news with some of my thoughts and opinions (which will be in BOLD print). So without further ado...


(NOTE: All of these stories come from comingsoon.net)


        Lionsgate has released the new trailer for the highly-anticipated The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 which you can watch below. Opening in theaters on November 21, the Francis Lawrence-directed third film in the franchise stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland. "Mockingjay - Part 1" finds Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) in District 13 after she literally shatters the games forever. Under the leadership of President Coin (Moore) and the advice of her trusted friends, Katniss spreads her wings as she fights to save Peeta (Hutcherson) and a nation moved by her courage.

          Wow this trailer is awesome. This film looks as if there will be more action than the previous films (which gets me really excited for the film). I didn't read the books and I honestly don;t know what will happen, but that makes me anxious to see the film. I loved the previous two films and this one looks to be the best of the franchise.



        If there's one thing Batman is good at, it's fighting crime, but if there are two things he's good at it's fighting crime and being very, very angry while doing it. Speaking with The Sunday Times, our brand new Batman, Ben Affleck, spoke about his own personal dealings with anger and how that helps him relate to the Caped Crusader, whom he will play in the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

        "I think it's a necessity, historically, in the tradition of these films," Affleck said. "For me, anger is so deeply buried and contained that when it does kind of come out, it comes out in stronger bursts. I tend to be respectful, polite, get along, put up with, put up with, put up with... then, when it finally emerges, it's not something I have a ton of control over. I'm not gonna go into a Wolverine berserker rage, but I do have a, I do... That is an interesting thing that you point out. That's my personality... By the way, that's a character flaw, I think. I should sit down and say, 'Listen, I just want to let you know what happened there wasn't OK', instead of going, let it go, let it go, let it go ... 'Ah, that's not a big deal', until finally you just pop!”

        Affleck's very angry Batman will face off against Henry Cavill's also brooding Superman in the upcoming film, which also stars Gal Gadot, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Jesse Eisenberg, and Jeremy Irons. Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters on March 25, 2016.

        I really like these comments by Affleck. He has has to face a lot of people being angry with him and he has some things to be angry over (The Academy robbing him of an Oscar for example). I also like that he'll bring that anger to Batman simply because Bruce Wayne has had a lot happen to him and he has so much anger built inside that he'll have to let it out eventually and Thankfully it'll be taken out on Superman. I honestly cannot wait to see this film.



        There has been a surprise change of plans for the future of Universal Pictures' Bourne franchise today as Deadline reports that the studio is now negotiating with star Matt Damon and The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass to re-team for a fifth big screen entry. According to the outlet, this new film will take the July 16, 2016 release date previously assigned to a different Bourne sequel. That film, a big screen followup to The Bourne Legacy with Jeremy Renner in the lead, will remain in development for release at another time.

        This is surprising news. For a long time both Damon and Greengrass have stated that neither would come back unless the other did as well. If both do come back then then it is great news for the franchise. The Bourne Legacy did make profit at the box office but it was down form the other three previous films. If this is true, the big question becomes will Jeremy Renner's character be returning. If he does then this film has the potential to be amazing.



        With filming on the franchise entry set to begin this week, The Hollywood Reporter brings word that Leslie Mann is eyeing a role in Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema's sequel/reboot, Vacation.  Audrey Griswold was played in the original film by Dana Barron (who reprised the role for a 2003 TV movie Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure). The role has frequently been recast with Dana Hill playing the part in European Vacation, Juliette Lewis doing so in Christmas Vacation and Marisol Nichols portraying Audrey in Vegas Vacation.

        Mann would join Ed Helms, Christina Applegate, Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Chris Hemsworth and Charlie Day in the Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley film. Helms will play an adult Rusty Griswold in the comedy, while Applegate will appear as his wife. Chase and D’Angelo are set to appear as well, reprising their roles from the original film and its sequels. According to the outlet, the Audrey character is now married to a TV news anchorman, Stone Crandall (Hemsworth).

        This is really great casting. Leslie Mann is one of the female comedian actors working in the business today. She'll be bring a lot of great humor the role and it should make the film funnier. This casting makes me even more excited for this reboot/sequel.



        As they did with An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug, Warner Bros. Pictures and MGM have revealed a massive banner for this December's Middle-earth finale, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and you can check it out below.

        The film's massive cast includes Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Fry, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Ken Stott, James Nesbitt, Orlando Bloom, John Bell, Manu Bennett, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Billy Connolly, Ryan Gage, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Lawrence Makoare, Sylvester McCoy, Graham McTavish, Dean O'Gorman, Mikael Persbrandt and Aidan Turner.

        The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies concludes the adventure of the title character Bilbo Baggins, who joins the Wizard Gandalf and thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield, on an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.



        This banner is really awesome. It really brings the whole trilogy togehter as the The Lord of The Rings banner did 11 years ago. I'm really sad this will be the last time we see middle earth on the big screen but this film looks amazing and I cannot wait to see it.

        So there you have it ladies and gentlemen, which of these stories peaked your interest or was there another story that interested you? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                                        Jonah Sparks