Those among us who were looking forward to seeing Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Bruce Willis team up to kick some Cobra ass next month in the increasingly badass-looking sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation are in for a mighty disappointment. Nikki Finke at Deadline reported today that Paramount Pictures has decided to pull Retaliation from its June 29 release date and delay it until March 29 of next year so that the film can undergo a 3D conversion.

“We’re going to do a conscientious 3D job because we’ve seen how it can better box office internationally,” an unnamed executive at Paramount told Finke. “Jim Cameron did all of Titanic‘s 3D in post — and look how well that movie turned out.” [...]

Around the time that the forthcoming The Dark Knight Rises went into pre-production, Warner Bros. and the newly rechristened DC Comics Premiere Movies (formerly DC Universe Animated Original Movies) announced that the next two direct-to-video animated features starring Batman would be based on two of the greatest stories of the Caped Crusader ever told. Late last year Batman: Year One made its debut and was greeted with warm praise from critics and fans who had been apprehensive about how the classic comic book miniseries would translate to animated movie form. The second of the two Batman animated projects is by far the most eagerly-anticipated of the DTV Bat-films, considering that it is an adaptation of what is routinely referred to as the greatest Batman tale of them all.

The Dark Knight Returns, the groundbreaking 1986 miniseries that took Batman in a bold and startling new direction and became one of the hallmarks of modern comic book storytelling, will provide the basis for the next animated Batman movie. The original series took place in the future where an aging Bruce Wayne, now 55 years old, emerges from retirement as Batman to rescue Gotham from the clutches of a rampaging street gang called the Mutants. Soon not only does he find himself battling crazed punks, but also the supposedly rehabilitated Harvey Dent, his oldest archenemy the Joker, and even his longtime ally Superman, now an agent for the U.S. government [...]

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the James Bond film franchise, and with the long-delayed Skyfall (watch the first trailer) finally in production and set for worldwide release in November, MGM and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment are marking the golden occasion by releasing all 22 original Bond adventures, from Dr. No – the movie that started it all – to 2008′s Quantum of Solace, in one massive Blu-ray box set called Bond 50.

You can check out the full special features list for Bond 50 here below [...]

God Bless America
Written and Directed by Bobcat Goldthwait
Starring Joel Murray, Tara Lynne Barr, Mackenzie Brooke Smith, and Regan Burns
Magnolia Pictures/Magnet Releasing
Release Date: May 11, 2012

The Story

Frank (Joel Murray) is a divorced insurance salesman who lives alone in a house with walls so thin he can hear the wailing of his next door neighbor’2s baby day and night. His own daughter (Mackenzie Brooke Smith) wants nothing to do with him and is being increasingly spoiled by her ineffectual mother (Melinda Page Hamilton). Suffering from insomnia and migraines Frank does nothing with his life but sit in front of his television every night and subject himself to endless hours of horrid commercials, mind-numbing reality shows where pampered rich teenage girls throw profane-laden tantrums when they don’t get the car they want for their birthday, and the insane ramblings of right-wing talk show hosts (Regan Burns and Frank Conniff) who sees nothing but hatred and fear in everything and anything. One day his entire life falls apart: a misunderstood act of affection at work leads to the loss of his job, and then his doctor informs him – in between taking ill-timed calls on his cell – that the reason he’s getting migraines is because he has an inoperable brain tumor [...]

So much for six seasons and a movie.

One day after the final three episodes of Community‘s third and most tumultuous season aired on NBC – and about a week after the news of its renewal for an abbreviated fourth season hit the Interwebs – Sony Pictures Television announced that the show’s creator Dan Harmon would not be returning next season in his current position as showrunner.

Harmon soon after took to his Tumblr blog to clear up any misconceptions Community‘s fan base might have regarding this surprising development [...]

I like Ryan Reynolds. He’s a very funny guy, a capable dramatic actor, and more often than not the best part of some godawful films. Even though last year’s Green Lantern was an unequivocal failure on nearly every level, Reynolds’ performance in the title role was solid enough to almost redeem the entire mess. However, I don’t think Reynolds should be a part of, or even anchoring, every genre movie property with endless potential. Some movies the guy just doesn’t seem to fit into.

Case in point: Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment’s reboot of the 1986 action-fantasy cult classic Highlander, which has been in development ever since Summit acquired the rights to the franchise from producers William Panzer and Peter Davis back in 2008. The project currently has Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) in the director’s chair with a script by Iron Man scribes Matt Holloway and Art Marcum and the Spanish filmmaker’s current top choice to be his sword-swingin’ Scottish immortal Connor MacLeod is none other than Ryan Reynolds [...]

Stake Land
Blu-ray
Directed by Jim Mickle
Written by Nick Damici and Jim Mickle
Starring Nick Damici, Connor Paolo, Kelly McGillis, Sean Nelson, and Danielle Harris
Dark Sky Films/MPI Media Group
Release Date: August 2, 2011

The Story

The world has been brought to its knees by an ever-growing force of ravenous vampires who leave nothing but death and despair in the wake of their rampages. In the United States, the country has been divided into a series of free zones, some of which are controlled by religious groups and volunteer militias who operate their territories like dictatorships and believe the vampires to be a plague sent from God to purify the human race and punish the wicked. Teenager Martin (Connor Paolo) watched his entire family be slaughtered by the bloodsuckers when America began to descend into chaos. Now he travels the country bringing merciless horror to the undead alongside his mentor and friend Mister (Nick Damici), the battle-hardened vampire hunter who saved him from sharing the fate of his loved ones [...]

Marvel Studios’ all-star superhero spectacular The Avengers (Read FamousMonster’s review here) was a four years-in-the-making gamble that continues to pay off handsomely – especially if your name happens to be Robert Downey Jr. Having raised the bar for every major studio blockbuster heading our way this year Disney has today set a release date for the film’s Blu-ray/DVD bow as well as announced the line-up of bonus features that will be accompanying the main feature.

The Avengers will be released on 4-disc Blu-ray/Blu-ray 3D/DVD/Digital Copy; 2-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo packs; and single disc DVD. The only extra features on the DVD will be an audio commentary by writer-director Joss Whedon (and if you’ve ever heard one of his commentaries you’ll find that a good reason to be excited) and the “Assembling the Ultimate Team” featurette [...]

It’s been almost a month since Universal Studios Home Entertainment made the big announcement that Steven Spielberg‘s classic killer shark horror-adventure Jaws would be making it’s long-anticipated debut on Blu-ray later this summer.

Today the studio has released a trailer for the upcoming release. You can watch it here below.

The original – and still one of the best – summer blockbuster event movie is getting a complete video and audio upgrade for its Blu-ray bow. The film has undergone a full frame by frame digital restoration from original 35mm film elements and the soundtrack has been extensively remastered in DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio, all supervised and approved by Spielberg himself [...]

Ben Affleck‘s remarkable transformation from talk show punchline to acclaimed filmmaker is one of the most remarkable Hollywood comeback stories of recent years. After starting out in 2007 with the excellent Dennie Lehane adaptation Gone Baby Gone and following that up three years later with the hit crime drama The Town, Affleck has returned with his most ambitious directorial effort yet, the true-life drama Argo.

Today Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for Argo. You can watch it here below.

The film is based on the true story of “the Canadian Caper,” an unusual operation undertaken by the CIA in 1979 to rescue six American diplomats who evaded capture after the U.S. Embassy in Tehran was seized by Iranian revolutionaries [...]

I don’t know if John Carpenter, one of my favorite directors of all time, will ever again make a movie as good as the genre classics he used to blast out back in the golden days before old school directors like him would be forced to slog away in the salt mines of direct-to-video filmmaking. But during that wonderful near-two decade period when he was without equal in the ranks of America’s finest and most prolific directors, Carpenter made many classics that would endear him forever to fans of science-fiction, horror, and action cinema, and his 1988 film They Live was possibly the last truly great feature he would ever sit behind the camera on.

Held over the weekend in Dallas, TX and co-sponsored by Rue Morgue Magazine, the horror convention Texas Frightmare Weekend hosted a panel discussion with the three stars of They Live – former WWF (now WWE) superstar Roddy Piper, Keith David (who also co-starred in another Carpenter classic – 1982′s The Thing), and 1980′s genre mainstay Meg Foster (Blind Fury, Welcome to Arrow Beach). Rue Morgue’s managing editor Dave Alexander moderated the hour-long panel.

You can watch a 16-minute compilation of highlights from the spirited discussion here below [...]

Since we have a hotly-contested Presidential race gearing up, there’s no better time for a comedy savagely thumbing its nose (and you think that would hurt) at American electoral politics, and The Campaign looks like a doozy.

Directed by Jay Roach (Meet the Parents, the Austin Powers trilogy) from a script written by Chris Henchy (The Other Guys) and Shawn Harwell (Eastbound and Down), the upcoming film stars Will Ferrell as Cam Brady, a charismatic North Carolina Democratic congressman running for reelection against his sweet-natured but clueless Republican opponent Marty Huggins, played by Zach Galifianakis.

The publicity machine at Warner Bros. is starting to slowly grind to life for The Campaign and today the studio has premiered a pair of faux political attack ads starring Ferrell and Galifianakis as well as releasing election banners and establishing Facebook pages for each of their characters.

You can check them all out here below [...]

This could just be a rumor, but it’s too cool not to report. Take it with a few grains of salt if you please.

Hot on the heels of the news that Welsh actor Luke Evans (The Hobbit) was recently offered the villain role – a part once intended for Jason Statham – in next summer’s turbo-charged action sequel Fast Six (or The Fast and the Furious 6) comes the mildly startling revelation that the movie might be getting a little extra class in its cast in the form of David Tennant. The former Doctor Who star is reportedly being wooed by Justin Lin – the director of last year’s mega-successful Fast Five as well as its previous two sequels – for an undisclosed role in what will surely be another summer slam dunk for Universal Pictures [...]

20th Century Fox’s upcoming sci-fi comedy Neighborhood Watch hit a huge marketing roadblock following the killing of Florida youth Trayvon Martin at the hands of George Zimmerman, a member of a neighborhood watch whose motives for shooting Martin remain under close scrutiny. The Martin killing took place not long after the first trailer for Neighborhood Watch had been released, depicting the movie’s heroes driving around cocking their fingers like guns at local kids wearing hooded sweatshirts.

Not wanting to have their harmless yet profane genre-bending summer offering associated with the Martin killing, the studio decided to change the name of the movie and this weekend has released the first full trailer for the newly-titled The Watch. You can watch it here below [...]

Just in time for the release of The Avengers across the country tonight at midnight comes the third and final trailer for Sony Pictures’ The Amazing Spider-Man.

You can watch it here below.

I must say, I really like this trailer. Obviously not everyone is going to be as impressed as I am, but history has taught us that if you try to please everyone you end up pleasing no one. After this trailer your mind will be made up. Personally I’m intrigued by the film’s story that explores the backstory of Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) and the mystery of what happened to his parents (Campbell Scott, Embeth Davidtz). I love how the filmmakers have embraced the science geek side of Peter, as well as his wiseass nature when he takes to the streets and skies of New York City to fight crime; the Sam Raimi trilogy seemed to mostly gloss over those aspects of the character. The police manhunt led by Captain Stacy (Denis Leary), the father of Peter’s girlfriend Gwen (Emma Stone), also plays an important role in the film [...]

The Avengers is smashing box office records Hulk-style around the world and The Dark Knight Rises looks to do the same when it opens in July, but the third of this summer’s heavily-hyped superhero blockbusters The Amazing Spider-Man is the one both thrill-seeking audiences and longtime fans of the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko creation will watching the closest.

Trailers and stills from the much-derided reboot released in recent months have been greeted with mixed reactions. Most of their vitriol directed at the movie centers on the look of the latest villain to oppose Spidey (this time played by Andrew Garfield) on the big screen: Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), the brilliant scientist whose quest to grow back his missing arm results in his transformation into the Lizard [...]

Yesterday no less an authority than President Camacho himself, Terry freakin’ Crews, promised us that a new trailer for The Expendables 2 would be arriving online today to put a blood-and-skull-splattered boot in our collective ass. Sure enough as I sit here with The Dirty Dozen, the original (and still best) of the all-star superteam action-adventures, playing in the background I sit here writing this: Today Crews’ loud and awful snarly promise was fulfilled.

You can watch the mighty new trailer here below.

I’m a huge fan of the first Expendables, but having re-watched it on Blu-ray recently it’s clear that the movie has serious problems when it comes to the narrative structure and the staging of the action sequences. Don’t get me wrong, Sylvester Stallone did a fine job directing the movie overall, especially when you take into account that he was also writing and starring in the movie at the same time (and taking some near-paralyzing injuries in the process). But when the aging but still active action hero announced that a new director would take the helm of The Expendables 2 while he stuck to acting duties I took a great amount of relief in that news [...]

Reboot is an interesting sci-fi/mystery short film set in the world of hackers that was written and directed by Joe Kawasaki and stars Emily Somers, Travis Aaron Wade, Martin Copping, and Sonalii Castillo. The film will be previewing at Defcon, the largest gathering of hackers in the world, this July in Las Vegas. The production funds were raised through a Kickstarter page and it’s not too late for you to make a donation.

Producer Sidney Sherman has alerted us to a trailer for Reboot and sent along a plot synopsis for the film. You can view them both here below [...]

Released last August, Rise of the Planet of the Apes overcame months of lackluster buzz to become one of the year’s unexpected blockbusters. It was the first truly great film in the Apes franchise since 1972′s Conquest of the Planet of the Apes and it benefited strongly from the central performance by Andy Serkis as the intelligent ape Caesar and the revolutionary motion-capture CGI used to bring the character to life. Although the actor’s performance was overlooked at Oscar time (as many great performances tend to be) the film’s impact on audiences and critics around the world was undeniable.

Rise‘s $468 million worldwide gross all but guaranteed additional sequels and in November we reported that Serkis had signed on to reprise the role of Caesar in a future return to the Planet of the Apes for a seven-figure salary. Director Rupert Wyatt was also set to return as his original contract for Rise contained an option for a sequel, with Rise screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver writing the script for the next Apes movie [...]

There’s no doubt now that Marvel Studios’ superhero team-up spectacle The Avengers, once a gigantic question mark seemingly earmarked for a spectacular failure, is going to be the blockbuster to beat this summer.

Although its U.S. release won’t happen until this Friday, the movie is already taking in record grosses around the world and early reviews have been overwhelmingly positive; critics who were practically foaming at the mouth to excoriate the Joss Whedon-directed comic book extravaganza have hailed The Avengers as Marvel’s best film since Iron Man…or even its best film since EVER. [...]