This weekend we’re headed back to the eighties with the release of Joe Carnahan’s adaptation of the hit TV series The A-Team, which stars Bradley Cooper, Liam Neeson, Sharlto Copley and Rampage Jackson as a group of renegade soldiers running from the law. There’s also Harald Zwart’s Karate Kid remake that features Jaden Smith taking on the role of an abused kid who learns to defend himself with the help of his mentor Mr. Han (Jackie Chan).

See what else is hitting theaters this weekend…

If you’re not into big budget action movies you can also check out the Joan Rivers documentary entitled, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work or Debra Granik’s indie drama Winter’s Bone, which centers on a teenager’s struggle to find her missing father.

• The A-Team | Screencrave Review | Reviews | Tickets and Showtimes
• The Karate Kid | Screencrave Review | Reviews | Tickets and Showtimes
• Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work | Screencrave Review | Reviews | Tickets and Showtimes
• Winter’s Bone | Screencrave Review | Reveiews | Interview: Jennifer Lawrence | Tickets and Showtimes
• Coco Chanel & Igor Stravonsky |Reviews | Tickets and Showtimes

The A-Team

The Karate Kid

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

Which film caught your eye from this week’s list of upcoming movie releases?

The heavy campaigning for this summer’s sci-fi film Inception continues with this latest viral discovery. According to /Film, the thriller directed by Christopher Nolan has produced a manual for “Dream Share” employees that’s surfaced online. To keep the suspense and not give too much away, it’s covered in black ink to hide the content that’s too top secret for audiences. Check out the hidden chapters at your own risk…

The handbook is divided into different chapters including:

• Specialists/Operatives
• Environment Creation
• The Dream/Waking World Relationship
• The Hostile Subconscious
• Warfare in the Dream
• Interrogation Techniques

The marketing plan for this film is genius because it gives you just enough material to grab your attention but leaves you wanting more information. Nolan and Warner Bros have been very careful about what they put out into the media and with less than two months until the film’s release they’ve done a hell of job generating intrigue!

Here a couple of images taken out of the manual that cover some of the dream “procedures.” Take a look…

Inception, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ken Watanabe is set to be released on July 16th.

Did the marketing plan work? Does this sneak peak into the manual make you want to see the film more?

Additional Source: Underwire

Brad Pitt is showing the world that he can do more than just take care of his kids and look pretty. According to /Film, his production company, Plan B has teamed up with Reliance Entertainment to acquire the big screen rights to Tom Rachman’s novel The Imperfectionists.

The novel was released this past spring and is based on Rachman’s own experiences. As a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism, Rachman was a foreign correspondent for the Associated Press stationed in Rome.

The book tells the story of intersecting lives of the men and women who produce an English-language newspaper based in the Italian city. As the era of print news gives way to the internet, this imperfect crew of writers stumble towards an uncertain future, while the paper’s rich history is revealed, including the surprising truth about its founder’s intentions.

Pitt has been known to follow his gut and participate in movies that some people of his acting caliber may not give a second thought. Do you think this storyline is strong enough to grab a large audience?

Does The Imperfectionists sound like a film you would be willing to go see? Do you think its a good investment for Pitt and his company?

Whether you like action, horror, or chick-flicks, there’s something for everyone hitting theaters this week. Two major blockbusters have been released including the long awaited sequel Sex and the City 2, which brings Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte (Kristin Davis), and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) back to the big screen.

The other is Mike Newell’s action adventure, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, and Ben Kingsley. The film is based on a video game, which follows an adventurous prince who teams up with a rival princess to stop an angry ruler from unleashing a sandstorm that could destroy the world. Definitely worth checking out.

See what else Memorial Day weekend has to offer…

• Sex and the City 2 | ScreenCrave Review | Reviews | Tickets and Showtimes
• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time | ScreenCrave Review | Reviews | Interviews: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Aterton, Mike Newell,  Sir Ben Kingsley, Jerry Bruckheimer| Tickets and Showtimes
• Survival of the Dead | ScreenCrave Review | Reviews |  Tickets and Showtimes
• Micmacs | Reviews | Tickets and Showtimes

Watch the trailers…

Sex and the City 2

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Micmacs

Which film will you go see this weekend?

Karate Kid director, Harald Zwart has a new film that he’s producing and possibly directing for Sony called RollerCoaster Tycoon. And yes, it will be based on the Atari game of the same name, in which players are challenged to build and run a theme park. According to Zwart the movie will be like Night at the Museum meets Disney World.

According to Cinemablend, Zwart said the film came from a pitch he made:

“We had a story woven into the theme park of the RollerCoaster Tycoon, and that’s what we sold to Sony, and that’s what we’re hoping to make into a movie”

The idea was based on a basic childhood fantasy:

“Just the idea of taking a ride like in Disneyland and the rides suddenly come to life, [or] you’re able to step off and stay behind when everybody else had gone.”

This sure does sound like another video game adaptation gone wrong. With so many toy and video game films coming out in the next few years do we really need another one? Apparently, Zwart and Sony seem to think so. Damn it!

How do you feel about the movie being produced? Are you familiar with the game on which it’s based?

George A. Romero’s Survival of the Dead makes its theatrical debut this week and if all goes well two more films from the Dead series could follow. According to Cinemablend, Romero has taken the ideas of the fifth installment, Diary of the Dead and has created three different concepts for possible sequels.

Survival takes care of the first character, Sarge (Alan Van Sprang), the guy who raids the RV of the main characters in Diary and becomes a central player in Survival, but who’s next?

“There’s a group of looters, African Americans, that are sort of holed up in the city and that would be probably the next group,” Romero explained. “Then I’d sort of wrap it all up with the blond character, Tracy, who gets away at the end from our main group.”

Romero has the zombie genre on lock. He will forever be intertwined with it but he also wants to show audiences that he can step outside of his comfort zone. He has two other scripts in development, which he’s already secured financing for. He describes one of them as a “personal” project and the other is a horror flick but has nothing to do with zombies.

What do you think of Romero’s work? Should he stick to what he is good at or venture into other genres?

It’s that time of week again, when we bring you a list of films that are available for a bargain.  To make sure there is something that everyone will enjoy, we have covered different genres from the romantic (Love Actually) and drama filled (Braveheart) films to those that are too scary to watch alone (Paranormal Activity, Saw VI).  If you are a movie lover and don’t want to pay too much in order to own good films then this list is for you.

Check out the DVD’s and Blu-RAY films available on Amazon right now…

Under $10

• Saw VI | $9.99
• Gamer | $9.99
• Good Fellas | $6.99
• Love Actually | $8.49
• Grandma’s Boy | $7.99

Pick of the week: Love Actually

This film is one of the only romantic comedies from the last two decades worth watching. Directed by Richard Curtis, the film follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives. Love Actually stars Keira Knightley, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Bill Nighy and many more. If you need a bit of love in your life, this is the film to give you any kind you’re looking for.

$10 +

• Robin Hood – Prince of Thieves | $10.99
• Grease | $10.99
• Braveheart | $10.99
• Paranormal Activity | $11.49
• Grey Gardens | $13.99

Pick of the week: Paranormal Activity

The Oren Peli thriller starring unknowns Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, and Amber Armstrong surprised everyone, including itself on how successful it was. If you haven’t seen it, watching it at home is probably the best way to do it. I dare you to try and fall asleep without the light on after.

Blu-RAY

• Gattaca | $14.99
• Leon: The Professional | $13.49
• The Last Samurai | $12.49
• I am Legend | $14.49
• Spy Game | $9.99

Pick of the week: I am Legend

Will Smith is one of those entertainers that rarely does wrong when it comes to action blockbusters and the Francis Lawrence film, I am Legend, is no exception. The Sci-Fi thriller focuses mostly on Smith’s character, along with his loyal dog companion, as he tries to find a cure to the plague that hit and killed mos of humanity and transformed the rest into monsters. It’s big and silly, but a lot of fun! The prequel to the hit movie is currently in the works.

Which film is your pick of the week?

Martin Scorsese is on a mission. The director is on the hunt to find the perfect reincarnations of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin and he knows exactly who he wants to play the parts. According to Cinematical, he’s got his eyes on Al Pacino and Robert De Niro for the roles.

The duo are being considered to possibly headline Scorsese’s upcoming Sinatra biopic. “I’ve yet to spot the actor who can bring back Frank Sinatra alive on screen,” Scorsese said specifically. “My choice is Al Pacino, and Robert De Niro as Dean Martin.”

There you have it, the director has spoken. But what time-frame of Sinatra and Martin’s lives will the two actors cover? They’ll definitely have to take the more mature route in the latter years of the musicians’ lives because let’s be honest; they’re no spring chickens.

Others who have been considered to play the younger versions of Sinatra and Martin include  Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp and George Clooney. The last two don’t really make much sense considering they’re in their late forties but that’s Hollywood for you.

What do you think of Pacino starring as Sinatra and De Niro as Martin? Who would you rather see play the legends on screen?

Director David Fincher will have his hands full with his American adaptation of the novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The international best seller by Stieg Larsson is the first in a trilogy and according to Collider, the third installment entitled The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest is set for domestic release later this month.

More importantly, there’s been word that the cinematic adaptation of Tattoo will hit theaters in December 2011 with Fincher and director Steve Zaillian working on it together. In case you don’t know what the film’s about, here is the synopsis:

Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch–and there’s always a catch–is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues.

Fincher and the people behind the project have high hopes for the film and are already talking about the sequel. And not just one but two sequels which would be shot back to back. That’s a lot of faith in a movie that has yet to be released. They must know something we don’t.

Have you read the book? Are you excited about the film coming out at the end of next year?

The animation adventure that has stolen the hearts of kids and adults all over America is back with another installment. Shrek Forever After is the “Final Chapter” to the story of Shrek, the giant green ogre (Mike Meyers), his ex-princess/current ogre wife Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), and his two friends, Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas).

Another film to pay attention to this week, in case Ogre’s living in Far Far Away doesn’t interest you, is Brian Koppelman and David Levien’s movie, Solitary Man. The A-list cast includes Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Mary Louise Parker and busy-man Jesse Eisenberg (who has another movie coming out this week, Holy Rollers).

The there’s MacGruber… I think that one is pretty self explanatory…

• Shrek Forever After | ScreenCrave Review | Tickets and Showtimes
• MacGruber | ScreenCrave Review | Tickets and Showtimes
• Holy Rollers | Sundance Review | Tickets and Showtimes
• Solitary Man | Tickets and Showtimes

Watch the trailers below…

Shrek Forever After

MacGruber

Which film are you planning on going to see this weekend?

Mark Hamill is a talented actor, producer, and writer and it’s just been announced that he’ll be making his directorial debut with the big screen adaptation of his comic series, The Black Pearl. It’s a five part series that he wrote in the mid-1990s about a vigilante and the sensationalized world of journalism that surrounds him.

Hamill said in the past that the reason a film version of Pearl has taken so long to come about is because studios wanted to turn it into a “megabudget comic book movie,” something he had no interest in doing. This will be the first theatrical release helmed by Hamill, who previously worked on the direct-to-DVD mockumentary Comic Book: The Movie back in 2004.

Since Hamill has an obvious creative investment in The Black Pearl, we’re sure this won’t be your run of the mill comic-based movie. He will be able to guide the project and adapt the story in the way it’s supposed to be. So far, not much information has been given out regarding the production but the actor turned director promises that more details will be revealed during this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Are you anxious to see Hamill’s directorial debut with The Black Pearl?

Oscar nominated actress Ellen Page, who’s best known for her performance in the 2007 hit Juno has landed a new gig. According to Cinematical, Page will play a lesbian auto mechanic in the film Freeheld, an adaptation of Cynthia Wade’s award winning documentary of the same name.

Page will play Stacie Andree, the girlfriend of a dying New Jersey police officer named Laurel Hester. In addition to fighting cancer, Hester fights the county to get her pension benefits passed on to her partner. During the time the original documentary was shot such privileges were reserved solely for (heterosexual) married couples not (homosexual) domestic partners (a debate that’s still going on today). The screenplay for Freeheld will be written by Oscar-nominated writer Ron Nyswaner.

Following other mainstream films involving the gay community such as Milk and Brokeback Mountain, this will probably be a tear jerker because it’s tackling a serious issue that a lot of people can relate to. The fact that Page is willing to step up and take on such controversial material is commendable. It looks like she’s getting back to the days of her grittier, edgier self (remember her striking performance in Hard Candy?)

What do you think of Ellen Page’s casting in Freeheld?