During last night’s Superbowl we were treated to a teaser trailer for the upcoming Avengers movie, featuring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo and Samuel L. Jackson. This is the second trailer for the much-anticipated superhero film, which is out on May 4th. The first trailer made the move look more like a clusterf*ck than a coordinated Justice League. (I’m aware that they’re different comics/superheroes.)

They seem to have nailed down the plot in order to come with this more cohesive trailer featuring more scenes of crap getting blown up. This trailer makes the film look more interesting than it did before, but it also has a unreal video game feel that seems all too familiar and overdone. How many movies have we seen with cars exploding and rolling down the street in a wave?

Some thoughts:
They’re very cleverly focusing on all the key parts of the film: the special effects, the individual superheroes played by well known actors, their work as a team, and the pithy one-liners. My favorite part is at :50 when Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) is told by baddie Loki (Tom Hiddleston) that “We have an army” and he quips “We have a Hulk.” We then get to see Mark Ruffalo flying through the air as the most badass Hulk I’ve ever seen. Scarlet Johannson is sexy as Black Widow in that tight catsuit, but I like how they’re balancing out the talent in the film and not trying to push her as the star.

The Avengers could be a huge moneymaker for Disney and Marvel or it could be a spectacular flop. Rumor has it that it cost over $250 million to make. Look at what happened with Green Lantern. Warner Brothers really took a bath on that one. Superhero films are no longer the safest bet.

There’s news that Andrew Garfield as Spiderman is going to make a cameo as cross promotion for the new Spidey film, out this July. Can they make the movie work with this many stars? We’ll see.

Photos via Allmoviephoto

ET Online has interviews (you can watch the videos here, the embed wasn’t working right) with the stars of the upcoming romantic amnesia movie, The Vow. It’s about a young wife (Rachel McAdams) who suffers amnesia after a car accident and has to get to know, and date, her husband (Channing Tatum) all over again. It opens February 10 and it definitely looks cheesy but I’ll probably see it with my best friend at the movies. I not-so-secretly loved Dear John, and while you know exactly what to expect with these type of movies I still enjoy seeing a good romantic film. (Note: I assumed this was based off a Nicholas Sparks book, but it’s not, it’s roughly based on a real story.) Plus Channing Tatum is just so nice to watch and he’s old enough that I don’t feel guilty finding him hot.

The best story that Channing told on ET is about how he pranked Rachel McAdams by having a prosthetic dick made and surprising her with it during a scene. Channing was characteristically low key when he described this story, and then the interview cut to a segment with Rachel, in which she explains that he planned the prank a full month in advance with the props department. What’s more is that Rachel’s genuine reaction to the prop peen was captured on camera and will be used in the movie. (Probably when her character sees her husband naked for the first time. I would say spoiler, but come on, we all know the ending.)

Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams must rediscover love after an accident causes Rachel’s character to lose her memory in The Vow, and Channing tells ET that he decided to pull a practical joke on her during a nude scene!

“I did have a stunt pee pee that I had made for her for her reaction,” says Channing of the scene in which Rachel is surprised by her naked co-star walking into their bedroom. “It was a little prank that I pulled on her. It’s in the movie – her reaction was spot on. I didn’t have a lot of faith in her reaction because it was cold that day, and I didn’t want her to be laughing and pointing. I wanted her to be shocked.”

“A prosthetic, yes, that’s all true,” says Rachel with a laugh, recounting how Channing went to the prop department ahead of time to fabricate “a piece to terrify Rachel with.” She adds, “But it was great because I didn’t have to pretend … it was funny and got a genuine reaction out of me.”

Channing adds, “I’m not shy about being naked, obviously, as you can see in most of my movies.”

[From ET Online]

I would say this is creepy, but it sounds like it was called for in the scene and like she’s fine with it. It obviously lead to a good reaction for the shot.

Later in the interview, they ask Channing for a moment in his life that he never wants to forget, and he tells the story about how he first said “I love you” to his wife, Jenna Dewan, in an offhand way and got really embarrassed. I thought this story was so adorable and you could see how much he loves her.

On being romantic
“I don’t think it’s that hard to show someone that you care. To come in and be like ‘how as your day?’ Make it about them. Do something cute… draw a picture or a story and put it in her purse or something.”

On the moment he never wants to forget
“The first time that I accidentally told her that I loved her I didn’t mean to. I was on the phone with her, I was like ‘alright cool, love you… that’s awkward I’m going to hang up now.’”

Jenna and Channing are great together and I hope they make it last for a very long time. I also hope this movie is somewhat decent and does well at the box office. Both the leads are just so damn likable.

Update: I just saw this story on Buzz Sugar that Channing Tatum is going to host SNL this weekend for the first time. They had this preview video with Fred Armisen (below), but it doesn’t get good until the very end.

Here’s the trailer. My favorite comment on YouTube is this one “if you woke up and channing tatum said he was your husband… YOU DONT QUESTION THAT SH*T!”

Photos via AllMoviephoto

I will admit to finding Jackson Rathbone attractive in the past. Like not here at TheBreaking Dawn Part 1 premiere at all, not with the Vegas red velvet suit, the black tie and vest with chains, and the obvious makeup. Also not in any of the Twilight movies, where he has that freaky bleached blonde hair and the serial killer eyes that are unique to the Cullen family. (If they’re not real family members, and are just a rag tag bunch of vampires of varying ages, why do they have to all look like that? It’s probably explained in the books that I skimmed.) I thought this guy was hot in the past, when he was working a well put together rocker look a la Jason Mraz.

Let’s revisit that look for Rathbone, from August, 2010. Look how adorable he is with floppy hair, a cute hat and the right amount of scruff.

And look at him now. Weird, right? One of the suggested searches for Jackson Rathbone on Google is “Jackson Rathbone gay,” but there’s not a verdict on that and some sites say he has a girlfriend. He looks like a poorly dressed rocker to me, not that it matters. He’s super fug here yet he looks oddly confident. Is this outfit some kind of cheeky joke? That’s the only excuse for it.

Taylor Lautner resembled a Wall Street banker in this very stodgy but stylish suit and tie. He does nothing for me, and I tend to associate him with his whiny bitch character in Twilight. I don’t think of Robert Pattinson as an emotionally abusive stalker, but maybe that’s because he done other roles. Lautner will be Jacob for me for a while. Also, this scruff makes him look like a high school student trying to grow a beard for the first time. Still, I can see how some teeny boppers would find him dreamy.

To cleanse our palettes, lets gaze at Rob Lowe, who isn’t in the movie of course but scored an invite to the premiere. He’s wearing a black shirt with a blue suit, and it looks like his pants are too long for him, but still he’s gorgeous. This dude is 47. There’s a scary aged bloated photo of him hidden in an attic somewhere.

Also here is his wife. I get the sense that they are super kinky.

Photo credit: WENN.com

Here’s Alexander Skarsgard in a shiny blue suit paired with a brown shirt and matchy blue tie at the Melancholia premiere in New York last night. He’s dressed like Ryan Reynolds here, but I don’t hate his look. This dude could make a muumuu look hot, primarily because we know what’s underneath.

Alex’s co-star Kirsten Dunst was also there looking overdressed in a floor length loose black v-neck gown paired with a black fabric choker. I like the simple cut of the dress and her hair and makeup were so pretty. As far as Dunst’s looks go this was a win for her. She’s had some disastrous fashion in the past. She’s really pulled it together lately and has shown a lot of improvement with a kind of conservative covered-up but feminine style.

Also there was Charlotte Gainsbourg putting our minor criticisms about Alex and Kiki’s looks to shame. She had major shaggy dog bangs trauma, heavily black rimmed eyes, and ridiculous too-long loose trousers festooned with sparkly silver front panels and an oversize belt. This is the chick who was pregnant during the Cannes promotion for Melancholia and who wore a see through wrap dress over her bump. It looked like she had on a robe, no joke. Maybe she felt uncomfortable with her post-baby body and wanted to cover up. Kristen shows how you do it well and without looking clownish.

Melancholia is a movie about the pending end of the world, as seen through a new bride’s eyes. It’s out in the US in limited release on November 11. It was directed by Nazi-loving Lars Von Trier, and I keep thinking of what Paul Bettany just said about how terrible it was to work with Von Trier after Alex Skarsgard’s dad, actor Stellan, convinced him to do it. “[Von Trier] has no interest in you being any part of the cerebral process with him. You’re absolutely his puppet. But no, I don’t want to be too down on Lars. He is extraordinary and he is a sensation.” You know that Alex isn’t going to trash talk Von Trier, though, he’s going to be gracious about him because he’s not about to jeopardize his career. Plus, that’s just the type of guy he is.

Aren’t these stills from Melancholia so pretty? Here’s a link to the trailer. It’s so weird looking.

Photo credit: Diane Cohen/Fame Pictures

Ryan Reynolds was on The Tonight Show last night promoting The Change Up, which is one of those body switching movies about a single guy (Reynolds) changing places with a married guy (Jason Bateman). It looks dumb and predictable, and it’s written by the guys who brought us the Hangover movies. The director, David Dobkin, did Wedding Crashers and Fred Claus so it’s not like this is going to be groundbreaking or particularly funny, but I could be wrong.

During his interview Ryan told so many funny self deprecating stories. (You can watch it on NBC.com if you’re in the US.) It’s been a while since I’ve seen an interview with him, and he was just so entertaining. First he talked about how he had some trials and tribulations while filming The Change Up in Atlanta. His first trailer caught fire, his second trailer flooded, his hotel room flooded, then he very quickly glossed over the detail that he split up with then-wife Scarlet Johansson at the time. It was clever the way he rattled it off. “It snowballed. My hotel room flooded, my dog got sick, came down with a slight case of divorce and I broke my pinky finger.” He said it like that very quickly as if it were his dog that got divorced and not him.

He told another story about how he got hit by a drunk driver and sent to the hospital with broken bones when he was 19 – after he had decided to walk home from the bar instead of driving. (He was in Canada at the time, where the “drinking age is six,” he explained.) Then we heard about how he jumped off a bridge in Zurich and broke a vertebrae in his back. His friend jumped, but “I dove, because I’m clinically dumb.”

The best anecdote from Ryan was about how Olivia Wilde’s pasties came off during a sex scene he was filming with her.
“In the scene I take her top off… She has these pasties, but she’s drawn these adorable little smiley faces on them. And I forget every line in the scene… I’m nervous… At some point at the end of the scene she takes my hands and puts them on her breasts. So they’re there, palms are a little sweaty. At the end of the scene I take them off. I’m trying not to look at her like a 14 year-old boy who just won the lady lottery.

“I take my hands away and I look down at my hands and there’s two frickin’ smiley faces. I have no idea what to do, so the scene is over now. I reflexively like an idiot just put my hands back on her breasts. I think I’m doing it like to cover them up, but I’m realizing right now it’s a very fine line between chivalry and workplace sexual assault. Thank God someone comes in with a towel.”

The dude is a natural entertainer that’s for sure. He surely practiced all those stories but he came prepared and his delivery was excellent.

At the premiere for the movie last night, Ryan’s maybe ex-hookup and good friend Sandra Bullock came to support him. (She also could have been there for a producer named Jonathon Komack Martin, who works on The George Lopez show, which she also producers.) The two looked very comfortable together and happy to see each other. Bullock wore a black jumpsuit. I’m not a fan of that look for her, particularly the boob ruffle, but at least the pants aren’t baggy as we’ve seen with so many other jumpsuits lately. The shoes are gorgeous and understated too. Her hair and makeup were so pretty.

Olivia Wilde wore this red Antonio Berardi dress with pointy shoulder pads. The dress itself is bizarre but not that bad. The bright red shoes have got to go. This isn’t a wedding or a prom, you don’t need to match your shoes to your dress! Plus the color is off. She’s cute though. Kaiser wants me to mention the bangs trauma. I’m not a bangs fan either but it’s a decent look for her.

And Leslie Mann wore this gladiator-style white dress with a matching braided belt. Why are sparkly shoulders so popular? At least this isn’t as bad as the dress Anna Paquin wore to the 2010 Emmys. I’m always reminded of that dress when I see this style.

Oh and I can’t forget Jason Bateman!

Photo credit: WENN and Fame

A new trailer for the thriller Contagion by director Steven Soderbergh has been released and it just looks incredible. It’s about a virus that quickly spreads throughout the world, killing everyone in its wake. There’s so much talent in this movie including my imaginary husband, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow as his wife (she dies early on, so it’s ok), and supporting roles by Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Marion Cottilard, and Laurence Fishburne.

This trailer was so good that I watched it several times and paused to see who was possibly dying and what the plot might be. (Here are some potential plot points that are in the trailer. Highlight the blank space after these words to reveal spoilers from the trailer I think Damon gets the virus, recovers and is immune, and then goes into hiding to save his kids. One of his daughters then gets the virus. She’s the one in the blue hat torward the end)

I love apocalyptic movies for some reason, and it’s nice to see a non-zombie film in this genre. Zombies creep me out, but there’s something so compelling about watching people try to survive when all hell breaks loose. Put Matt Damon, Jude Law and Kate Winslet in there and it’s perfection. The only question is: with so many big names, who is going to promote this movie? Please let it be Damon.

Contagion is out in the US on September 9th.

Last night was the big NY premiere of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Part 2. As this incredible long-running franchise comes to an end, everyone is looking back at how these kids have grown over the ten years since we were first introduced to their magical world. (Have you seen this five minute look back video of all the HP movies?) I thought it would be fun to include photos of them from the first two movies, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002). I remember the first time I saw Harry Potter in the movies, and how impressed I was at how intricate and engrossing the scenery was, and what great child actors they were. It’s bittersweet to say goodbye, but it seems like time to me. Especially when we see how these sweet kids have grown up into some really gorgeous men. It feels a little wrong though to notice.

Above we have star Daniel Radcliffe, who is just 21 yet possesses the grace and professionalism of a seasoned actor. I just love him.

Matthew Lewis, 22. (Neville Longbottom). This before photo is actually from 2007′s Order of the Phoenix. Can you believe how great he looks now?

Tom Felton, 23. (Draco Malfoy) Sniveling little Draco grew up to be quite a lovely young man. He recently said he might start some kind of career as a rapper, but some outlets are guessing that he was just joking about it. He also said he was flattered to hear that his co-star Emma Watson had a crush on him when they were 12.

Rupert Grint, 22. (Ron Weasley). Grint is in dire need of a haircut and styling – that suit looks a little too big for him. Still, I sense that he’s one of those guys who just doesn’t take themselves too seriously. Rupert has a new interview with Parade where he reminisces about his favorite scenes and talks about how hard it was to say goodbye after 12 years working on set. (And here’s a link to a segment of his interview with Regis & Kelly, where he talks about kissing Emma Watson. He’s adorable.)

We can’t forget Alan Rickman, 65. (Severus Snape) He didn’t grow up in the films like our other featured actors and Snape doesn’t really do it for me, but his voice is just incredible. I’m also surprised to read that he’s 65, because I would have put him at 15 years younger. He has a naughty glint in his eye, doesn’t he?

Photo credits: WENN, Fame and AllMoviePhoto

Julia Roberts tried to work a fitted, possibly polyester blend suit at the Larry Crowne premiere in LA yesterday. I like the tailored suit trend, but this outfit is just wrong on Julia, especially with the matching shell under the jacket. All she needed to complete this look was a silky top in a color that popped. Instead it’s all kind of monochrome except for the jade necklace, which looks like a set piece from Eat, Pray Love. Plus those pants need to be hemmed for her a little. Her hair and makeup are polished yet effortless though. I love the loose bun she’s wearing in her hair.

Also at last night’s premiere was Taraji P. Hensen in a crimson dress. It looks like Leger and I’m over that too-tight dress trend. She looks hot though. IMDB has her listed in the movie although I didn’t spot her in the trailer.

Model Selita Ebanks, not in this movie, had on a ridiculous v-neck fuschia mini dress with gemstone detail at the sides. She paired it with leopard peep toe ankle booties and gold bangle bracelets. She’s a knockout, but what a wreck that outfit is. Plus check out her rooster hair.

Jenna Elfman, another non-costar, was there in a breezy purple dress, gold kitten heels and a canary clutch. She’s cray to the z but I like her look here. My hairdresser would have something to say about her very chunky highlights, although he’d praise the cut.

Tom Hanks, Julia’s costar, wore his best freshly washed jeans with a navy dress shirt and plain jacket. His wife, Rita Wilson, tried a little harder in a sequin cocktail dress and tuxedo jacket. You would think that these two would work to coordinate more considering that they’ve been married for 22 years, but maybe Rita lets Tom do his own thing. If Tom were my man I would try to dress him better.

Tom seems to have arrived by scooter, at least part of the way. His character rides a scooter in the film and it’s doubtful that he took that thing more than a few blocks. Otherwise it might explain why he was dressed like a deliveryman.

Bonus pic – a freshly shorn Bryan Cranston with his wife Robin Dearden. This is how a couple coordinates, and apparently they’ve been together about as long as Tom and Rita.

Here’s the trailer. It looks cute but I’ll probably wait to see it on DVD. Larry Crowne is out this Friday in the US, on July 1.

Photo credit: Fame Pictures

This past weekend at the box office was a veritable bloodbath not in the literal sense but speaking of the carob syrup variety. Scream 4, which was expected to be at least as successful as its predecessors, fell upon its own knife (and certainly wasn’t helped by David Arquette and Courteney Cox’s boner-related TMI) to draw only $19.3 million from audiences. The newest kid’s film, Rio, easily took first place with $40 million even though Hop (which nabbed third place) is still out there in circulation as well.

Of the remaining holdovers, the inspirational sports drama, Soul Surfer, grabbed fourth place; the Cate Blanchett sci-fi revenge flick, Hanna, took fifth; and Arthur slid way down to sixth place (because nobody likes poor live-action Russell Brand). On a more impressive note, The Conspirator (which Kaiser has already noted was pretty damn good) debuted with $3.9 million to land in ninth place; but don’t be fooled by the low place rank because that movie was only showing on about 700 screens as opposed to the 3800 and 3200 screens upon which Rio and Scream opened, respectively speaking. Of course, the film industry is now aghast at Scream‘s poor turnout, and the analysis of why this happened has commenced with fury:

Before Scream 4 was released this weekend, tracking indicated an opening in the mid- to high $20sM for this 4th film in the Scream franchise which comes 11 years after the 3rd film. But after Friday’s so-so debut and Saturday’s declining grosses, it won’t make even the lower end of predictions. The Miramax/Dimension/Weinstein Co’s 15-year-old Scream franchise kept the formula that made it so popular in the first place — including producer/director Wes Craven, screenwriter Kevin Williamson who bailed mid-production because of Weinstein meddling, and orignal castmembers Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and Neve Campbell — then added Hayden Panettiere and Emma Roberts (Julia’s niece and Eric’s daughter). Maybe the entire concept should have been reworked. The result is that Scream as a franchise has little life left in it even though the Weinsteins kept insisting that it had a lot.

[From Deadline]

It must be noted that the above tracking figures do seriously downplay the situation in favor of the Weinsteins. Box Office Mojo’s derby predictions were for Scream 4 to rake in $40.6, and that obviously didn’t happen by a long shot. Of course, one wonders why the Weinsteins bothered to release a horror movie in April when much of the target audience (teens and young adults) are preoccupied with seasonal activities such as prom and finals. There’s also the complicating fact that Scream actually saw a dropoff between Friday ($8.3 million) and Saturday ($6.7 million), which is actually the direct opposite of what happens with the horror genre (it’s a phenomenon that I’ve previously written about ad nauseum over at Pajiba if you’re interested). The thing about horror movies is that word of mouth matters so much during opening weekend, and a steep dropoff between Friday and Saturday could mean that audiences were disappointed in the movie and told other people not to go see it. Or, in the alternative, maybe very few people wanted to watch Scream 4 in the first place.

Photos via AllMoviePhoto

Much to the delight of fanboys (and girls) everywhere, the cast of the Superman reboot is quickly coming together; and since Kaiser mentioned that she’s received some Hot Guy Friday requests for Michael Shannon, his crazy eyes, and the rest of him too, it’s probably not a bad idea to cover this story. It’s also rather refreshing that Shannon, to his very own surprise, has been cast as the villainous General Zod in the upcoming Superman reboot.

The addition of Shannon only adds to the inexplicable amount of Oscar power for what is essentially going to be (arguably) a throwaway comic-book movie. Amy Adams, who shall play Lois Lane, has been nominated thrice (for Junebug, Doubt, and The Fighter); Diane Lane, who’s been cast as Martha Kent, has earned one nomination (for Unfaithful); Kevin Costner has won twice (for his directing work in Dances With Wolves); and Shannon has been nominated once (for Revolutionary Road). So much wasted talent, right? On the other hand, these blockbuster movies carry higher salaries than the indies, so perhaps it’s truly overdue that a superhero movie would hire real talent instead of, you know, Linnocent. As for General Zod himself, Shannon has displayed a rather disarming “Who, me?” approach to being cast in one of the most sought-after roles in Hollywood:

Michael Shannon, who was cast as villain Zod in director Zack Snyder’s upcoming Superman reboot, still can’t get over the fact that he is now a part of the franchise.
“This ‘Superman’ thing is ridiculous. It just came out of nowhere,” he said during an appearance at RiverRun International Film Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, notes MTV.com. “I was talking to my agent … she’s like, ‘How about ‘Superman’? I’m like, ‘What?” The idea that I would ever be in ‘Superman’! I’m like, ‘Are you serious?’ ”

When he met Snyder, Shannon said he was “seriously sitting there and he’s telling me, ‘You can’t read the script, so I’m just gonna tell you what happens.’ And he spent a half hour telling me every scene in this movie. He’s at his home in Pasadena and I’m looking out — there’s the Rose Bowl, there’s little hummingbirds flying around. I’m like, ‘I’m on acid!’ ”

Snyder eventually decided Shannon was perfect fit. To convince others, he had Shannon and Henry Cavill (who plays Superman) do a reading together. “They said, ‘You have to come back because we want to see if you and Superman have chemistry,’” Shannon recalled.

He got the part a month after their reading.

His thoughts of Cavill as Superman?

Said Shannon, “I think this guy will be all right.”

[From Hollywood Reporter]

Here’s a video clip of the same interview, and I was immediately struck by how different his real-life voice is from the character that he played in Revolutionary Road, and I love that he was genuinely shocked to even be considered for the Zod role. Now, we just have to wait and see if Zack Snyder puts all of this talent to good use or just turns it into another one of his CGI circles of hell.

Photos are from 2011 and 2010, except for the shaggy haired one, that’s from 2009. Credit: WENN and Fame