The Famous Starstore Blog

There’s no shortage of reasons for you to see “Hanna” now that it’s finally arrived in theaters. Indeed, Saoirse Ronan explained it best — “Just go! Just go to it!” — when I asked her why movie fans should commit their hard-earned dollars to the pulse-pounding fairy tale action thriller this weekend.

But I understand that that’s not a compelling enough argument for everyone. No worries. Like I said, there are countless reasons to see “Hanna,” which currently ranks as my favorite film I’ve seen all year. After the jump, check out five reasons you should see this movie.

Saoirse Ronan
Forget “Atonement.” Forget “The Lovely Bones.” Fantastic as those performances are, “Hanna” brings Ronan her big breakout role. Describing her as mini-Jason Bourne does not do justice to the incredible feats of physical, mental and emotional strength this young killer accomplishes over the course of this film. Ronan’s already had quite the diverse career, and her step into the action genre is a bold and exciting one.

The Supporting Cast
Eric Bana turns in a reliably compelling performance as Hanna’s mentor and father, though it’s Cate Blanchett as the wicked Marissa Wiegler who steals the show. The spread of thoroughly evil characters in Blanchett’s resume are few and far between, and her turn as the relentlessly ruthless Wiegler is a deeply-cut notch in her accomplished belt of performances. Beyond Bana and Blanchett, major props go out to the other supporting players from Tom Hollander as the whistling sadist Isaacs to the true-to-today’s-youth-culture performance from Jessica Barden.

The Action
Make no mistake—though “Hanna” plays with many genres and storytelling motifs, it is fully populated by frenetic violence, intriguing espionage and impossible feats of power. It’s an eye-popping visual ride that director Joe Wright handles with surprising expertise, especially given his reputation a period piece filmmaker. Just as “Hanna” marks a bold new career move for Ronan, Wright proves here that he’s a force to be reckoned with in the action arena.

The Chemical Brothers
Have you heard that soundtrack? It’s brilliant, isn’t it? Now imagine that very same score humming and thumping beneath and above the surface of numerous sequences where the hell-bent Hanna efficiently and decisively tears her way through African and European landscapes. Need I say more?

The Complexity
“Hanna” is not a simple film. From genre-bending to visual trickery, this is a movie that blends many different elements of cinema into one wholly unique package. As Ronan herself explains: “I came out of the film and I kind of thought, what have I just seen? It was amazing. My heart was pumping. The music was so heavy the whole way through. And I still had all the characters in my head. But what the hell had I just seen?” Indeed, “Hanna” is not forgettable. It’s the kind of movie that sticks with you for the rest of the night, long into the weekend and then some. I won’t speak for you, but that’s more than enough reason to earn my ticket money.

Have you seen “Hanna” yet? Do you plan to? Tell us your thoughts on the film in the comments section and on Twitter!

MTV Movies Blog

 WonderCon’s had lots about GREEN LANTERN.
Well now there’s new GREEN LANTERN movie footage to be seen! You can watch it here.

DC Universe: The Source

It doesn’t usually take much to get comic book fans salivating, and indeed after a recent interview with Warner Brothers exec Jeff Robinov was published in the L.A. Times earlier today, a few offhand comments set off a frenzy of excitement with regards to the future of DC’s comic book movie universe. As we all know, the WB has Green Lantern hitting theatres this summer, and both Zack Snyder’s untitled Superman movie and The Dark Knight Rises planned for release next year. But what comes after that? Well, according to Robinov, they’re giving the fans what they want by following in Marvel’s footsteps and using these films to set the stage for the ultimate superhero team-up. Yep, that’s right, Robinov has confirmed that a Justice League movie is in development, and apparently planned for 2013. And if all goes according to plan, it will not mess with Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy either.

A lot of people definitely seem to be surprised that a Justice League movie could happen so soon, and I think many of us were still expecting to see The Flash or Wonder Woman get solo films first. Instead, they appear to be using Superman and Green Lantern to lead into the Justice League, and then they would potentially spin-off smaller films afterward. It seems like a smart move, particularly when dealing with characters that may not be seen as being popular enough to support their own movie. NBC’s Wonder Woman TV show will remain a completely separate entity and not connected at all to the movies (thank god).

It seems safe to assume that both Ryan Reynolds and Henry Cavill will appear in the Justice League movie, but what remains to be seen is who would play Batman. Christian Bale has been pretty resistant to the idea of crossovers with any other DC characters, and was more concerned with maintaining the integrity of the Nolan’s own trilogy. According to Jeff Robinov, however, they are planning to reboot the Batman franchise after The Dark Knight Rises, with Nolan and Emma Thomas staying on board as a producers. So it sounds like we will probably have someone else playing Batman. What do you think, is this a good move? Are you looking forward to a Justice League movie or should all of DC’s superheroes stick to their own separate movie franchises?
Film Junk

The magic of “Harry Potter” is coming to an end, but at least the masterminds behind the franchise are selfless enough to share it with us.

In a follow up to the best-selling 2010 book “Harry Potter Film Wizardry,” Harper Collins has announced that they’ll be publishing “Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey” on October 25, a book that includes interviews with Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and more, plus commentary from director David Yates and producer David Heyman among others.

Since “Page to Screen” will be the first book to cover the creation of all eight “Harry Potter” flicks, we have plenty of questions we’d love to see answered in the compendium’s 528 glossy pages. Click on after the jump to see what we hope to find.

The Development Of Quidditch
Unless you weren’t paying attention over the course of the “Potter” films, you probably noticed that Quidditch has changed a lot between “Sorcerer’s Stone” and “Half-Blood Prince.” Obviously there have been advances in special effects since the first “Potter” movie came out in 2001, but it would be really interesting to see the decision making process that went into taking the sport from the page to the screen.

The Creation Of Hogwarts
Hogwarts was described quite clearly in the “Potter” novels, but how does one bring such an important landmark to the screen? There have been almost as many variations of Hogwarts in the movies as there have been alterations to Quidditch, but if the care that went into Hogwarts Castle at Wizarding World is any judge, production designer Stuart Craig should have a lot to say about this matter.

The Casting Process Of The Major Players
Yes, yes, we’ve heard over and over again how the big three were originally cast in “The Sorcerer’s Stone,” but what about Alan Rickman, Ralph Fiennes and Richard Harris? How did Alfonso Cuarón go about replacing Harris with Michael Gambon in “Prisoner of Azkaban”? And if J.K. Rowling would weigh in her thoughts on the casting of her characters, all the better.

John Williams’ Score
From where we’re standing, there have been few things more iconic that have come out of the “Potter” film franchise than the opening chords from John Williams’ “Hedwig’s Theme,” and for good reason. Much has been said about the “Potter” score, but we would love to hear Williams’ perspective on how he developed the soundtrack for the original movies and what the lasting legacy of that has meant to him.

Bringing Magic To Life
“Harry Potter” would be nothing without the magic that is at the heart of the story. We’re sure there were countless discussions over how to bring the magic to life in a realistic way, and we’re more than eager to read the thought process behind how the on-screen magic changed over the years.

What behind-the-scenes aspects of “Harry Potter” would you most like to read about? Let us know in the comments section below or on Twitter!

MTV Movies Blog

So, there’s a special cameo at the end of BATMAN BEYOND #1 (now on sale) and it’s pretty sweet.
To check out what I’m talking about, click the link to read this full post below. If you haven’t yet checked out the issue at your local comic shop (or the DC Digital online store), then consider [...]
DC Universe: The Source

Despite all the talk about 2010 somehow being a bad year for movies, I think we all had a pretty difficult time narrowing down our favourite movies of the year to just ten. Clearly there is a lot more good stuff out there than anyone seems to remember… hopefully this will serve as a reminder of sorts. Once again this year we have avoided putting together a combined list and instead decided to present everyone’s individual top 10 lists separately. Ironically, this is a year when we probably could have agreed on a combined list fairly easily since there are a lot of movies that are shared between our lists.

Generally speaking, a movie had to get a theatrical release in North America in 2010 in order to be eligible for our top 10, although there are some exceptions for movies that were seen at festivals. The option was also there for people to include honourable mentions, and a few of us did separate lists for our favourite documentaries as well (be sure to check out The Documentary Blog’s Top 10 Documentaries of 2010). We’ll be discussing our choices on the next episode of the Film Junk Podcast. What are your top 10 movies of the year? Let us know in the comments below!

Colin

1. The Social Network
2. Black Swan
3. Toy Story 3
4. Catfish
5. True Grit
6. Greenberg
7. The Ghost Writer
8. Enter the Void
9. The American
10. Easy A

Goon

1. Black Swan
2. How to Train Your Dragon
3. 127 Hours
4. The Social Network
5. True Grit
6. Inception
7. Shutter Island
8. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
9. Fubar 2
10. Mother

Honourable Mentions: Let Me In, Kick-Ass, Toy Story 3, A-Team, Winnebago Man, Youth In Revolt, Best Worst Movie, The Town, Greenberg, Easy A, Get Him to the Greek

Top 10 Albums

1. Marina and the Diamonds – the Family Jewels
2. Robyn – Body Talk
3. Scissor Sisters – Night Work
4. Sigh – Scenes From Hell
5. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
6. Twin Shadow – Forget
7. Agalloch – Marrow of the Spirit
8. Amorphis – Magic and Mayhem
9. Hot Chip – One Life Stand
10. Mark Ronson and the Business Intl – Record Collection

Greg

1. Black Swan
2. True Grit
3. The Social Network
4. Inception
5. The Fighter
6. Shutter Island
7. Let Me In
8. The Girl Who Played With Fire
9. Somewhere
10. Winter’s Bone

Honourable Mentions: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, Toy Story 3, The Town, Easy A, Rabbit Hole, Never Let Me Go, Kick-Ass, The Expendables, Jackass 3D, Trigger, I Saw the Devil

Top 5 Documentaries

1. Winnebago Man
2. Tabloid
3. Exit Through the Gift Shop
4. Boxing Gym
5. Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage

Honourable Mentions: Restrepo, Game of Death, The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town, Catfish

Jay

1. Shutter Island
2. The Social Network
3. Black Swan
4. Inception
5. Somewhere
6. I Saw the Devil
7. Toy Story 3
8. 127 Hours
9. Animal Kingdom
10. Monsters

Honourable Mentions: Four Lions, I’m Still Here, Mother, True Grit, Let Me In, The Expendables, Piranha 3D, How to Train Your Dragon, The Fighter, Never Let Me Go, Jackass 3D

Top 10 Documentaries

1. Happy People: A Year of the Taiga
2. Tabloid
3. Into Eternity
4. Last Train Home
5. Sweetgrass
6. Exit Through the Gift Shop
7. Cropsey
8. Boxing Gym
9. Caves of Forgotten Dreams
10. Life With Murder

Honourable Mentions: Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo, Armadillo, Gasland, The Oath, Cool It, Catfish, Waste Land, 12th & Delaware, Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow, Arsy-Versy, The Invention of Dr NakaMats, The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia

Top 10 Albums

1. Sleigh Bells – Treats
2. Salem – King Night
3. Marnie Stern – Marnie Stern
4. Sufjan Stevens – The Age of Adz
5. Arcade Fire – Suburbs
6. Vampire Weekend – Contra
7. LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening
8. Tanlines – Volume On
9. El Guincho – Pop Negro
10. The Social Network – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Sean

1. Inception
2. 127 Hours
3. Black Swan
4. The Social Network
5. The American
6. Kick-Ass
7. Animal Kingdom
8. Mother
9. Toy Story 3
10. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Honourable Mentions: Somewhere, Never Let Me Go, Winter’s Bone, Let Me In, Splice, Shutter Island, Red Riding Trilogy, Fish Tank

Top 10 Documentaries

1. Catfish
2. Exit Through the Gift Shop
3. Tabloid
4. GasLand
5. Cropsey
6. Best Worst Movie
7. The Invention of Dr. Nakamats
8. Into Eternity
9. Restrepo
10. 12th and Delaware

Frank

1. Inception
2. The Social Network
3. Shutter Island
4. The Town
5. Exit Through The Gift Shop
6. 127 Hours
7. How To Train Your Dragon
8. True Grit
9. Toy Story 3
10. I’m Still Here

Honourable Mentions: Somewhere, Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks, Jackass 3D, The Expendables
Film Junk

Brace yourself for some old-school silliness – it would appear that there’s a Monty Python reunion on the cards. Terry Jones is set to direct a film called Absolutely Anything and has reached out to his former cohorts to feature in it.

Moviefone UK

“Zoolander,” Ben Stiller’s cinematic parody of/love letter to the modeling and fashion worlds, has been screaming for a sequel since day one of its release back in 2001. Nine years later, Stiller’s Derek Zoolander and Owen Wilson’s Hansel are finally getting ready to make love to the camera once again in “Zoolander 2.”

Stiller has co-written the script with Justin Theroux, who plans to direct. Back in October, Theroux told MTV News that the male supermodels will likely be sashaying their way into theaters sometime in 2012… and now Owen Wilson is hinting that they could have some company in the form of one Lady Gaga.

When MTV News caught up with Wilson at the press junket for “How Do You Know,” we asked him if their might be a “Zoolander 2″ role in the cards for the meat-dress-wearing pop diva.

“She has to be [in it]” he responded, though he did go on to say that there isn’t yet a scripted part for the singer. “But she definitely could be… maybe she makes a good foil for Hansel,” he laughed.

Sounds good to us. As Theroux told us in October, in “Zoolander 2″ Hansel will not be “so hot right now.” He and pal Derek will be pushing 40, past their modeling prime and at a low point in their lives. But that doesn’t mean Hansel will be crying into his orange mocha frappucino. “The thing about Hansel is he can’t ever imagine himself — so even if he isn’t the #1 guy, I think he still carries himself as if,” Wilson told MTV News. “He’ll still have that Hansel swagger.”

And he’ll need all of it if he’s going to win a walk off with Gaga.

Would you be psyched for a Lady Gaga cameo in “Zoolander 2″? Tell us in the comments!

MTV Movies Blog

SYNOPSIS: Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior, is sent down to Earth has punishment for reigniting a reckless war. But after a dangerous villain from his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard …

Starpulse Entertainment News – Movie News

Who knows why it has taken so long for an official trailer to arrive online for Thor, but Marvel has clearly had a difficult time trying to figure out how to market this thing. When an early Comic-Con trailer leaked online back in July, it seemed to divide fans over whether or not it was going to make for a kick ass action movie or a goofy fantasy flick. Now they have released an official trailer over on Yahoo!, and although it doesn’t look all that different, I think they have made some subtle improvements.

At two-and-a-half minutes, it’s a pretty long teaser trailer, and it sets up a lot of the story of the film… maybe even giving away a little too much. Odin (Anthony Hopkins) throws Thor out of Valhalla and banishes him to live on Earth as a human, until he discovers his hammer and regains his powers. We also get a slightly better look at Tom Hiddleston as Thor’s brother Loki, who sends The Destroyer to defeat Thor. It seems like director Kenneth Branagh is maintaining that tricky balance between the fantasy elements and the Earth-based stuff. At the very least, I’m definitely curious to see how this turns out. What do you think, is this trailer everything you had hoped for? Is Chris Hemsworth’s hammer big enough? Thor hits theatres on May 6th; check out the trailer after the jump and see what you think.

Film Junk