Category Archives: News

New Trailer for The Cabin in the Woods!

A new trailer has been released for the upcoming horror romp The Cabin in the Woods.  Again, this new trailer plays up the angle that “you think you know” the formula for every horror movie.  What starts off as a Friday the 13th/Cabin Fever/Wrong Turn vibe quickly diverts into the realm of SciFi, with security cameras, underground laboratories, and invisible force fields!  Have a gander at the full trailer here:

Vodpod videos no longer available.

The film will premiere at SXSW on March 9th (how convenient for us! …Now if we can just get passes…), but there is a little more than meets the eye with this one.  You see, Cabin in the Woods was shot in 2009!  This is always a scary caveat for a film.  Usually when a film sits on a shelf this long, a studio has no confidence in it.  They will generally wait to release such a stinker when the rest of their film schedule permits, and with zero marketing behind it.

And yet, I am hopeful.  Sure, I’m a sucker for all things horror, but this in particular could be a fun time.  It has a rather unique premise, was co-written by Joss Whedon (director of the upcoming Avengers), directed by Drew Goddard (Cloverfield), and stars a pre-Thor Chris Hemsworth.  How can it be bad?!

Hopefully Cinema Recon manages to sneak into the SXSW premiere.  If we do, you can bet we will be reviewing it on an upcoming show, along with the other film premieres we have already confirmed (21 Jump Street and The Hunter).  I don’t like to make predictions, but I’ll go out on a limb here and say this will be the best horror movie of 2012 to feature Thor battling invisible force fields.


Drive soundtrack to be released in all sorts of awesomeness!

Don’t stare at me! That pretty much sums up the review that Paul and I did for the movie Drive staring Ryan Gosling, however it was one of our special unreleased shows. Most movie critics can’t stop talking about how much they freaking loved the movie Drive and how it was genius and blah blah blah whatever, but Paul and I didn’t see what the big deal was. First off it was marketed as a Fast and Furious, action style driving movie, when in reality there was actually bout 1.6 driving scenes. Second, nothing really happened… at all. Everyone just kind of stared at each other… like… all the time. It was really annoying. In all honesty during our review I did say that I wanted to give it another watch when it comes out to rent/buy because I feel like I wanted to like it, but just didn’t upon my first viewing.

BUT, one thing I specifically remember really liking was the soundtrack. It was an absolutely awesome, retro 80’s electronic-rock throwback sound which played along with the movie perfectly (although I didn’t care for the movie much). But the soundtrack I specifically remember being really bad ass. And now, good news. I just read on Collider that the soundtrack and Cliff Martinez‘ score will be released as a double vinyl album in June of 2012. And while that’s not awesome enough that it’s on vinyl, it will be released by Mondo with artist Tyler Stout designing the album cover and packaging. Yeah, who’s staring at who now!?

This is awesome on many levels. First, vinyl is far superior to the audio quality on your fancy-pants iPhone which uses MP3/4. Second, all you hipster kids with your skinny jeans love vinyl because it’s really cool and abstract and nobody else uses it or knows about it. Third, Mondo is awesome and makes really really ridiculously cool shit. Fourth, Tyler Stout makes some really really ridiculously cool art. And fifth, there is also going to be a limited edition screen-printed poster!!! Boom so there you have it, the bad ass soundtrack for Drive coming out as a double vinyl in June… now if only I didn’t trade in my record player for that set of bell bottoms…

Hey look, Jake was right. I’m just staring all the time.


DROP IT! Joel Kinnaman is ROBOCOP!

So my good friends, nay, my BEST friends over at Deadline (I can make up friendships if I want to don’t judge me. I’m friends with Snookie too, and that guy from the Old Spice commercials, I like to diversify my friendships) bring us the news that Alex J. Murphy will be played by actor Joel Kinnaman, best known currently for his role in the AMC series The Killing. And while he did have a pretty awesome performance in Safe House, I am not quite sure what to think about this. I am hesitantly excited as I like to say. I think there is a fine line with the character of Alex Murphy and Robocop and it could easily go from serious to cheesy real quick.

Paul and I recently discussed the news that Gran Torino scribe Nick Schenk was brought on board to write the script, and I think that is a great move for the film. Gran Torino had straightforward, visceral, non-apologetic, tell it like it is dialogue which caused some controversy and offended a lot of people (not me, I loved it!). With sharp writing, and director José Padilha bringing in some of that Elite Squad action I definitely think the building blocks are there to stay true to the feel and tone of the Robocop series, I just hope a somewhat younger actor can keep up and not drag down the film.

But what we are all forgetting is the fact that Joel Kinnaman played the giant douche-bag role of Skyler in the CGI nightmare and all around horrible movie The Darkest Hour!!! You can check out our review of that piece of crap here. But maybe if he can make me hate a character that much, he can turn it around and make me love a character too. We will definitely be keeping an eye on this movie and on you Joel… don’t screw up my movie!

OMG seriously!? The dude behind us is going to be Robocop!?


Roll 4 Deep with this Neighborhood Watch Teaser!

Stiller.  Vaughn.  Skinny Jonah.  And…um…that other guy.  Just the cast alone looks great (aside from that other guy, who at first glance I thought was Jemaine Clement.  Had that been true, this movie’s cast would have made my head explode).  As Jake commented to me today, and I quote, “Stiller and Hill might make the perfect comedic match,” and I tend to agree.  Jake also went on to say, “Paul is way cooler than me” and “I regret having never seen Cats live.”

Check out the teaser trailer for Neighborhood Watch below:

Not mentioned anywhere in this trailer, mind you, is the true plot of the film:

Suburban dads form a neighborhood watch group to get time away from their families, only to discover a plot to destroy Earth. -IMDb

That’s right: Earth.  As in alien invaders.  Probably not Nazi-Alien invaders, but aliens all the while.  Hmmmmm…As excited I am to see this comedic trio in one movie, this has the potential to get awfully zany awfully quick.


New Trailer for a little film called The Avengers!

Hey, do you remember when you were a little kid, playing in your backyard? You’d be in your sandbox, or what have you, and have all your GI Joes fighting Cobra Command. Then, alongside your GI Joes, you have your Batman action figure jumping into the fray, only to have Skeletor inexplicably confront him on battlefield. But wait…what’s this!? Optimus Prime arrives to save the day! (and he’s also three times the size of all the other figures).

That doesn’t ring a bell? Oh…well that’s what I think of when I watch this new trailer for The Avengers. It’s a mishmash of superheroes/celebrities that really have no business sharing the same screen with one another, yet there they are! It really is a display unlike anything we have ever seen since emptying our old toy boxes.

Now I know the hype machine is on overdrive for this movie (seriously, just try to go through your normal day without hearing/seeing one morsel of Avengers). But still yet, one cannot deny the awesomeness of this trailer and the sheer amount of shit that is getting ‘splodeded (sic).

The Avengers opens in every crevice of America on May 4, 2012.


If you only watch ONE trailer this year…

…Then watch Iron Sky with those batshit-crazy Nazis on the goddamn moon!

BUT, if you watch TWO trailers this year, make sure the other is this one:

After four months of preparation, Jimmy Kimmel released his epic Movie: The Movie upon the masses last night following the Academy Awards.  This star-studded behemoth really is something to behold.  I found myself “el oh elling” more than a few times.  You can also check out the website for the “film” here.


2012 Oscar Winners Cheatsheet

A quick and dirty recap of all the winners from last night’s Academy Awards.  How many did you get right?

Best Picture
“The Artist”
“The Descendants”
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
“Hugo”
“Midnight in Paris”
“The Help”
“Moneyball”
“War Horse”
“The Tree of Life”

Best Actor
Demian Bichir, “A Better Life”
George Clooney, “The Descendants”
Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”
Gary Oldman, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
Brad Pitt, “Moneyball”

Best Actress
Glenn Close, “Albert Nobbs”
Viola Davis, “The Help”
Rooney Mara, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”
Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn”

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, “My Week With Marilyn”
Jonah Hill, “Moneyball”
Nick Nolte, “Warrior”
Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”
Max Von Sydow, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

Best Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo, “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain, “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids”
Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs”
Octavia Spencer, “The Help”

Best Director
Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”
Terrence Malick, “The Tree of Life”
Alexander Payne, “The Descendants”
Martin Scorsese, “Hugo”

Best Original Screenplay
Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
JC Chandor, “Margin Call”
Asghar Farhadi, “A Separation”
Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, “Bridesmaids”

Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxton, Jim Rash, “The Descendants”
John Logan, “Hugo”
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, “The Ides of March”
Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian, “Moneyball”
Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughn, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”

Best Animated Feature
“A Cat In Paris”
“Chico & Rita”
“Kung Fu Panda 2”
“Puss in Boots”
“Rango”

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Bullhead (Belgium)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
A Separation (Iran)

Original Score
“The Adventures of Tintin,” John Williams
“The Artist,” Ludovic Bource
“Hugo,” Howard Shore
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” Alberto Iglesias
“War Horse,” John Williams

Best Original Song
“Man or Muppet,” The Muppets; Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio,” Rio; Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Best Achievement in Art Direction
“The Artist”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
“Hugo”
“Midnight in Paris”
“War Horse”

Best Achievement in Cinematography
“The Artist”
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
“Hugo”
“The Tree of Life”
“War Horse”

Best Achievement in Costume Design
“Anonymous”
“The Artist”
“Hugo”
“Jane Eyre”
“W.E.”

Best Documentary Feature
“Hell and Back Again”
“If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front”
“Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory”
“Pina”
“Undefeated”

Best Documentary Short Subject
“The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement?”
“God Is the Bigger Elvis”
“Incident in New Baghdad”
“Saving Face”
“The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom”

Best Achievement in Film Editing
“The Artist”
“The Descendants”
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
“Hugo”
“Moneyball”

Best Achievement in Makeup
“Albert Nobbs”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
“The Iron Lady”

Best Animated Short Film
Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Best Live Action Short Film
“Pentecost”
“Raju”
“The Shore”
“Time Freak”
“Tuba Atlantic”

Best Achievement in Sound Editing
“Drive”
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
“Hugo”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
“War Horse”

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
“Hugo”
“Moneyball”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
“War Horse”

Best Achievement in Visual Effects
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
“Hugo”
“Real Steel”
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”


The Rock as Hercules?

MGM is seeking a lead for Bret Ratner’s Hercules, and they may have found him in The People’s Champion.

Don't touch my Powerbar

Variety tells us today that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (no matter how many times I hear that full name, I laugh) is in discussions with MGM to be the titular (I laugh when I hear that too…don’t judge me) half man, half god.

I know what you’re thinking, and it’s true: this would be a first in the portrayal of Hercules in cinema.  What a bold move for the studio!  I hope you’ll join me in commending them for hiring an actor who, for the first time ever in the role of  Hercules,  was also the Tooth Fairy.

Hey, my kids gotta eat too!

Bravo, MGM.  You’ve given inspiration for millions of other freakishly strong guys out there who have sold out for boatloads of cash.

In all honesty, I like The Rock (just not enough to see Journey 2).  Remember his cameo in the Reno: 911 film?  Hilarious.  And I would be excited to see a new Hercules film.  Is it wrong, though, if I really, really want it to look something like this?…


New Wrath of the Titans Trailer!

The new trailer for Wrath of the Titans may as well have Sam Worthington running around in front of a green screened cartoon.  Nearly every frame of this thing has some kind of CGI monster spewing/wielding some kind of fire/weapon.  Translation = it sure looks bad ass:

Ah, but looks can be deceiving!  Remember the initial trailer for Clash of the Titans?  That looked bad ass too!  The crazy special effects, the pulsating power cords…Liam Neesan belching “Release the Kraken!!”  And, well, we all know how THAT turned out (Translation = it was not bad ass).

Man…but that giant fire-monster-guy sure looks cool!  Arrrgh, what am I saying??  Fool me once, Titans…


American Reunion Full Trailer!

Ah…nostalgia.  It’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it?  It gives us a warm feeling inside, makes us feel like we are among old friends….oh and it also makes movie studios boatloads of cash.

Behold, the new full trailer for American Reunion!  You’ll be saying “I remember when…!” in no time:

Remember when Jim had awkward sex talks with his dad?  Remember when Stifler said something inappropriate at the most inopportune time?  Remember when Jim’s Dad banged Stifler’s mom?!?  …okay, so that’s new.

Of course, as we like to say on this site, we will probably see it.  I really enjoyed the first two American Pie films, as they were pretty fresh back in good ol’ 1999.  It wasn’t until a few years later that they started cranking out the direct-to-DVD Americans that the franchise just turned into the mundane and a boob-parade for 14-year-old boys to rent at their local Blockbusters.

So, I for one welcome the current lull in each American actors’ career!  This means a) they are willing to return to the franchise that boosted them in the first place (a-la Vin Diesel), b) enough time has passed that we really would be curious to see another American Pie, and c) Hollywood can provide us with nostalgic entertainment at a nominal fee!  More Sherminator, please!