Review: Paul Thomas Anderson's 'Inherent Vice' starring Joaquin Phoenix

Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice is a film better off experienced than understood. While the plot of it is pretty simple on paper, the ins and outs of Thomas Pynchon's novel weave circuitously around a gaggle of eccentric characters, a frequently lollygagging mystery, and you can practically smell the cloud of weed smoke wafting through every frame. This is exactly how Pynchon envisioned his exploration of the psychedelic hippie L.A. scene of the 1970s , and Anderson has done perfect justice to that vision. Inherent Vice is one long contact high, and though it may be fun at times the buzz eventually wears off.

I've been fascinated by the evolution Anderson's career has taken. He's long been my favorite filmmaker, but the Anderson I fell in love with; the guy who gave us Altman-esque ensembles like Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Punch Drunk Love has slowly disappeared. His films are have always been small of scope but thematically sprawling, but with There will Be Blood and The Master he's taken on a more commanding approach, emphasizing mood and a powerful lead performance. Inherent Vice fits somewhere in the middle, but the tone is definitely loopier than anything Anderson has done before, which is a good thing.

Pynchon's novel is basically a jab at the soft underbelly of the hippie generation's waning moments; when those who had been "against the man" were now being co-opted willingly by "the man". It was a darker time than many realized; perhaps too high or stoned to notice how the world was changing around them. There's artificiality to most of the wild denizens of Inherent Vice, with the exception of drugged-out detective Larry "Doc" Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix), who is like our goofy guide through one long acid trip. Whether you go in with your brain turned off or on auto-pilot, the plot is never going to coalesce into anything that makes a lick of sense. The lack of cohesion could prove as frustrating as a friend who messes up the "puff puff pass" rotation, but those who are in the right mood will find it a pretty groovy ride.

So where to start? Sportello, sporting a mean set of mutton chops, is a pretty laid back cat even after he gets hired by an ex-girlfriend (Katherine Waterston in an unforgettably alluring performance) to find her missing billionaire boyfriend (Eric Roberts). It isn't long before she goes missing, too, and soon Sportello is up to his eyeballs in weirdoes. There's a sell-out musician (Owen Wilson), an oddball dentist (Martin Short), mysterious organizations of ill-repute, and Sportello's flat-topped rule-breaking enemy Detective "Bigfoot" Bjornsen (Josh Brolin). Each encounter leads him from the beaches of L.A. to the seedy side of the counterculture generation, revealing a dark conspiracy connected to the upper echelons of society. The Man!!!

Inherent Vice is too incoherent and overlong to be completely satisfying, but it's Anderson's handling of the atmosphere that is just right. Like a mix of The Big Lebowski and The Big Sleep, its charm lies in being both ridiculous and convoluted. The constantly swerving plot and endless red herrings pile up to the point that you can't help but laugh. And right in the middle of it all is Phoenix's performance as the perpetually-dazed Sportello. He's not quite a cartoon character, but there are times when he comes off like an outcast from Airplane! or Top Secret! Phoenix never quite goes over the line, though, and Sportello remains a fascinating character throughout, one who is just level-headed enough to see how the world is changing for the worse. While the star-studded cast also includes Reese Witherspoon, Benicia Del Toro, Jena Malone, and Maya Rudolph, most of them are pretty forgettable. On the other hand, Waterston leaves a seductive imprint in her few appearances that lingers throughout, while Brolin is hilarious as the comically rigid Bjornsen.Coupled with Jonny Greenwood's diverse, era authentic score and Robert Elswit's crisp cinematography, the film ranks as one of Anderson's most beautiful and well-staged. Inherent Vice demands that you be in a certain kind of trippy mood to fully embrace it, and some will simply never be in the right head space for that.

 Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Read More

Chill Out with a New Trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's 'Inherent Vice'

The first trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice was a little misleading. The plot was obscured by a thick veil of weed fog and a tone that was a little more Airplane! than the film actually is. Fortunately, a new trailer has arrived that reveals quite a bit more and gives a better read on the investigative hijinks in store.

Joaquin Phoenix stars in the Thomas Pynchon adaptation as private dick "Doc" Sportello who tries to find his ex-girlfriend's missing beau in-between puffs of pot smoke. Joanna Newsom's silky voice narrates and sets the groovy atmosphere for one of the oddest movies of the year. But is it up to Anderson's usual high standards? I'll just say it's one film I had to watch a couple of times to really get a bead on, and chances are you'll want to do the same.

Starring Josh Brolin, Reese Witherspoon, Katherine Waterston, Benicio Del Toro, Owen Wilson, Martin Short, and Jena Malone, Inherent Vice opens in select cities this Friday, expanding on January 9th.

Read More

Pablo Escobar Welcomes Josh Hutcherson in Trailer for 'Escobar: Paradise Lost'

Ever dated a girl whose family just didn't like you for whatever reason? It's a pretty awkward situation to be in, one that usually puts the kibosh on any relationship hopes. But what happens when her family is led by infamous drug kingpin Pablo Escobar? Well, then an awkward situation turns downright dangerous, and that's what Josh Hutcherson faces in Escobar: Paradise Lost.

Benicio Del Toro plays Escobar in the thriller, with Hutcherson as the Canadian surfer who falls for his gorgeous niece (Claudia Traisac). While the two hit it off for awhile, and Hutcherson is brought into the criminal empire and made a part of the family, witnessing Escobar's adoration from the Colombian people and those closest to him. Unfortunately, this trailer also gives away everything else that happens after, so watch at your own risk. The big draw here is Del Toro, and he's absolutely mesmerizing as Escobar, but as my review from Middleburg notes he may be the only reason to check the film out.

Escobar: Paradise Lost opens December 16th On Demand, followed by a theatrical run a month later. 


Escobar: Paradise Lost TRAILER (2015) - Benicio Del Toro, Josh Hutcherson Movie HD by MovieTrailerz

Read More

Harmony Korine Sets 'The Trap' for Benicio Del Toro and Jamie Foxx

The last we heard from Spring Breakers director Harmony Korine, he was said to be working on The Trap, his long-developing Southern Gothic crime drama that may or may not star Robert Pattinson. He told Bullett Media a couple of months ago...

"The script is written. I’m putting the cast together right now, it’s going to be my most ambitious film, and I’m really just going to go for it. It’s some next level shit. It’s a revenge movie, a sprawling, very intense… I don’t want to give away too much, but we’re probably going to start shooting in Miami after the New Year. I’m goin’ for it."

And it appears he wasn't kidding as THR reports Korine has landed Jamie Foxx and Benicio Del Toro to star in the film, while dropping some new plot details. The crime thriller centers on " two childhood friends now in their mid-to-late 30s — one of whom is very successful and the other has spent the majority of his adult life in jail. On the eve of a big recognition for the successful man, the other is released from jail and determined to get even."

It's unclear who will play which character, but does it really matter? Foxx, Del Toro, and possibly Pattinson under the unpredictable guidance of Korine? Sounds pretty awesome. Foxx and Del Toro are both coming off villainous turns in superhero movies, appearing in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy, respectively. Foxx will be seen later this year in the musical Annie, while Del Toro has a role in Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice. Filming on The Trap is set to begin early next year

Read More

Middleburg Review: 'Escobar: Paradise Lost' starring Josh Hutcherson and Benicio Del Toro

No guy likes to meet his girl's parents. Period. Okay, there may be a few exceptions but those guys are probably crazy. We all get that fear in the back of our mind that her father, or older brother, will give us the "if you hurt her" threat/promise to do something awful to us in retaliation. Now imagine that the girl's most dominant male family figure is murderous drug lord Pablo Escobar. How do you think meeting her family would go then? It might go something like it does in Escobar: Paradise Lost, a film about Pablo Escobar that tragically isn't really about Escobar at all even though it really needed to be.

The reason is that the other characters in the film are a total bore, and that includes The Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson as Nick, a Canadian living the surf life in Colombia. The movie is really about him, and how he gradually enters Escobar's dangerous world simply by falling in love with the man's niece, Maria, played by the lovely Claudia Traisic. Nick is in the country along with his brother (Brady Corbet) and sister-in-law, thinking they've found a little corner of paradise. When Nick meets Maria it's love at first sight, and unfortunately we don't get to really see much of the courtship or much of their relationship at all. Actor-turned-director Andrea Di Stefano seems to be on fast forward getting to an inevitable conflict between Nick and Escobar, so that we never get to see what led up to it. In fact, the story begins by flashing ahead to 1991 on the day Escobar is to turn himself into authorities after a bloody and brutal conflict. He's just asked Nick to do something terrible; hiding Escobar's money in a secluded area then killing anybody who assists him in the task. Can he do it? Will he do it? How the heck does someone like Nick end up in this predicament? Of course it's ridiculous, which may be why Di Stefano doesn't spend too much time on the details.

Jumping back a few years, we're breezed through Nick's meeting with Maria's family, which comes off like a fish-out-of-water comedy with Escobar at its center. We see the vicious kingpin as both a national hero and the family clown; walking around in sweat shorts and Boston Celtics caps, playing in the pool with his kids and basically acting like the most benevolent crime boss ever. Del Toro, who specializes in characters who are slightly out of left field, is masterful in the role because he's not trying to be flashy about it. He's simply captivating and the best reason to see this movie which is pretty average the rest of the way. Hutcherson is solid but Nick has little personality to speak of.  He's not a complete dummy (not yet, anyway), and begins to suspect there's more to Escobar's empire than it seems. When he asks Maria how Escobar made his money she innocently replies "Cocaine", before rationalizing why that's perfectly okay.

This would have been a better story if it focused more on Escobar and his tenuous relationship with Nick, an unlikely member of the family if there ever was one. Think of how tense some of the scenes could have gotten as Escobar, who loves Maria dearly, continued to treat Nick with kindness until some later act forces his dark side to emerge. But we don't get that. Instead, Di Stefano has the situation turn on a dime with no explanation at all, simply to get to the final chapter action sequence. Admittedly, Di Stefano does a great job with it, and so does Hutcherson as the simple kid waaaay out of his depth. As he's chased across the countryside by Escobar's goons, Hutcherson is believably terrified, occasionally flashing a look that screams "How did it come to this?!!?"  Shot in Panama, the scenery is gorgeous all around, and Di Stefano knows how to stage an effectively gripping set piece. He's got a bright future as a director, and clearly knew to give Del Toro the freedom to embody Escobar in his own way. But it's hard not to think how much better this movie would have been if Escobar was the true focus. Escobar: Paradise Lost isn't the biopic on the drug lord people have been hoping for, but it's a decent enough thriller that will probably be remembered for teasing how amazing a true Escobar film could be with Del Toro.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Read More

Trippy First Trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's 'Inherent Vice' starring Joaquin Phoenix

With Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice set to make its world premiere this weekend at the New York Film Festival, the hope was that all of the images released lately was leading up to some footage. After months of anxious waiting to see what Anderson could do with Thomas Pynchon's goofy detective novel, the first trailer has arrived and the director has chosen to completely embrace its weirdness.

Starring Joaquin Phoenix as stoner private eye Doc Sportello trying to solve a missing persons case involving his ex-girlfriend's rich lover, but this isn't meant to be taken seriously in the least. Anderson has previously cited Airplane! and Top Secret! as influences and that tone is on full display, which is perfectly in keeping with Pynchon's book. What's interesting is how different this is from anything Anderson has done before, not just tonally but in terms of style. The editing is different, more chaotic than he's ever done before, and its fascinating to see him evolving in his seventh feature film.  We could be looking at the next The Big Lebowski here, which is probably not what what anybody would have expected to say about an Anderson movie.

Starring Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Katherine Waterston, Reese Witherspoon, Benicio Del Toro, Martin Short, Jena Malone and Joanna Newson, Inherent Vice opens December 12th.


Inherent Vice - Official Trailer [HD]. by NewTrailers BOS

Read More

New Images from Paul Thomas Anderson's 'Inherent Vice'; Film Influenced by 'Top Secret!' and 'Airplane!'

Whenever Paul Thomas Anderson releases a new film it's a pretty big deal, and his latest Inherent Vice has a lot of people anxiously awaiting its arrival. What we haven't seen is a ton of promo material on the film yet as Anderson and Warner Bros. are doing a pretty good job of keeping it under wraps, something the director didn't do so much with The Master a couple of years ago. With the film set to debut at the New York Film Festival before too long, a couple of new images have been released that will hopefully be the precursor to some kind of trailer.

The two new photos give us our first look at Reese Witherspoon, who plays Penny Kimball in the adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's offbeat crime novel. Joaquin Phoenix stars as 1970s L.A. detective Doc Sportello, who encounters a crazy group of characters while investigating the disappearance of an ex-girlfriend's rich lover. Phoenix appears in both images, including one alongside Benicio Del Toro as Doc's lawyer, Sauncho Smilax.

In an interview with The New York Times, Anderson revealed that he had to tweak a few things from Pynchon's novel, which isn't all that surprising considering its size and the huge number of characters. For one, Anderson said he came up with an entirely new ending, which is always a precarious thing when dealing with adaptations such as this. And as far as how it will play tonally, Anderson says Top Secret! and Airplane! were inspirations, which might not make everyone happy but it has me skipping around gleefully like a schoolgirl.

Inherent Vice opens in limited release on December 12th before going wide January 9th 2015.

Read More

Review: 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, and Bradley Cooper

It's hard to imagine that this run of Marvel Studios dominance has only been going on for six years. Think about that for a moment. In that short amount of time they have completely revolutionized the way Hollywood works, and established comic book movies as the new standard by which blockbusters are measured. But in 2008 when this all began with Iron Man, the characters Marvel still held the rights to weren't that big of a deal. Certainly they weren't on the level of Spider-Man or the X-men. Clearly, that has changed in the years since but Marvel's shining achievement may be what they have been able to accomplish with Guardians of the Galaxy, an odd assortment of unknown heroes that may be poised to overtake The Avengers as today's most popular super-team.

One of the great things about Marvel's films is their combination of action, operatic drama, and humor, but Guardians of the Galaxy is the first that leans heaviest on laughs; fitting for the offbeat mind of writer/director James Gunn. Gunn, who has ventured into the world of superheroes before with The Specials and Super, has done what many thought would be extremely difficult if not impossible; expand the Marvel universe into the far reaches of space while still making it feel cohesive as ever. With its quirky humor, weirdly lovable characters, and eclectic soundtrack, there is no other Marvel film quite like Guardians of the Galaxy. Once that may have seemed like a reason for worry, but it turns out to be a very good thing.

With a tone set somewhere between Star Wars and Joss Whedon's Firefly, the film begins in 1988 when a young Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) witnesses the death of his mother, and fleeing to get distance from the emotional pain is suddenly abducted by a space ship. Now older and going by the ridiculous name of Star-Lord, Quill has been working alongside his abductors, a group of intergalactic scavengers led by Yondu (Michael Rooker). Well, he had been working with them before betraying them to collect the reward on a mysterious McGuffin orb that has attracted the attention of some unsavory folks.

One of those folks is the green-skinned assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldana), who has also betrayed her family by turning her back on half-sister Nebula (Karen Gillan) and their fanatical employer, Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace). Ronan is willing to tear the universe to shreds in order to find the orb and appease his boss, the mad villain Thanos (voiced by Josh Brolin), who happens to be Gamora's "father". As if that wasn't bad enough, Yondu has put a bounty on Yondu's head, which forces a disastrous encounter with gun-obsessed raccoon Rocket and walking tree creature Groot (voiced by Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel). Captured by the universal police force known as the Nova Corps (with John C. Reilly and Glenn Close turning in memorable performances), they are thrown into a space prison where they crash headlong into inmate Drax the Destroyer (WWE superstar Dave Bautista), an alien fueled by rage for Ronan and Thanos.

So what you have is a seemingly incompatible, rag-tag group of loners forced together by circumstance and mutual enemies, and if that sounds like The Avengers and Star Wars all rolled into one then you're right. Clearly both were influences in some manner but Gunn and co-writer Nicole Perlman give the film its own signature voice to stand out from the pack. Bruce Banner may call the Avengers a "ticking time bomb" but the Guardians are that on a galactic level, and part of the fun is how these characters' personalities hilariously clash as they rocket from one breakneck battle to the next. The laughs and action never slow down for a moment and what is a two-hour film feels like half that by the time it's over.

There are a lot of balls in the air for Gunn to juggle and while the plot is a bit messy he skillfully steers his first major blockbuster effort. Each of the Guardians get their moment to shine, but a superstar has truly been made in Chris Pratt, the funnyman who was probably the least likely yet the most perfect choice to play the irreverent Star-Lord. Fans have obviously taken to Rocket and Groot, two extremely popular characters in the comics who are now going to be very popular with moviegoers. You'd be hard-pressed to even know that was Cooper's voice, while Diesel's job is tougher than people will care to admit. Sure, Groot's single "I am Groot" phrasing is repetitive but there is nuance there for those who listen out for it....and it makes for some great gags. His performance will remind many of his soulful voice work on The Iron Giant. Bautista admirably channels much of the rage and aggression he employs in WWE rings to the role of Drax, while Saldana is probably the most experienced at playing grim and bad ass. She kind of gets the short end of the stick character-wise but Gamora is an important character with the closest ties to Thanos, and she should be more important in future movies. Speaking of Thanos, you can sense a straining to fit him into this story simply because he's going to be the big bad guy down the line. It should have been much easier considering his beef with practically every single member of the Guardians, but instead pushing him into the background leads to some awkwardly irrelevant scenes that diminish him as a universal threat. Ronan proves to be a mostly unimpressive villain, too, and his quasi-religious rantings don't hold much weight as a result. And despite a rousing, crowd-pleasing finale full of awesome aerial dogfights and beautifully choreographed fight sequences, the lack of a compelling enemy really hurts.

Fortunately, the team is so engaging and diverse that we just want to hang out with them, anyway. Guardians of the Galaxy takes us to a vibrant, dangerous, and funny corner of the Marvel universe that we've never seen before, and by the time the film comes to an end you'll be eager for a return visit.

 Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Trav's Tip: For more on Guardians of the Galaxy, check out my interview with co-writer Nicole Perlman here!

Read More

First Clip from 'Guardians of the Galaxy', New Character Poster, and Rumored Cameo

There has been so much Marvel news lately that the release of the first Guardians of the Galaxy clip feels like a welcome change. After releasing a handful of awesome character posters, including some of the film's colorful crew of villains, this newly-released footage is basically a longer cut of a scene we have seen far too much of. Yes, it's Chris Pratt as Star-Lord being confronted by Korath (Djimon Hounsou) who delivers the "Who?" line that was funny months ago but now has been overused to death. We're also now getting a new one-sheet that puts Benicio Del Toro and his awesome Jim Jarmusch-esque hairdo front and center as The Collector.

More interesting is the press kit Marvel has issued for the film because it reveals the full cast and all of the cameo appearances. Obviously there are SPOILERS ahead so just be warned. So we already know that James Gunn's pal Nathan Fillion will be voicing a character in the film, with many suspecting he'd be playing Cosmo, the talking Russian cosmonaut dog and pal of Rocket Raccoon. Turns out Fillion is actually a "Monstrous Inmate" and not Cosmo, although the canine is in the film portrayed by Fred the Dog. Other confirmed cameos have Stan Lee making his usual pop-in as a Xandarian ladies' man, rocker Rob Zombie will voice the Ravager Navigator Voice, and James Gunn himself turns up as the Maskless Sakaaran.

With ducks, dogs, and talking trees running around what differences would it make to add one more anthropomorphic creature into the mix?  First noticed by StitchKingdom, the credits scroll mentions "Howard the Duck created by STEVE GERBER and VAL MAYERIK", obviously telling us the angry feathered fowl and pop culture icon will be in the movie somewhere. My guess is that Star-Lord, who we know has an eclectic taste for music, probably has an appreciation for movies that are a little off the beaten path and will be watching the awful 1986 Howard the Duck movie on a video screen. Of course, I could be wrong and maybe Marvel is looking for a way to make Howard the Duck relevant again and not just a punchline.

Keep an eye out. Guardians of the Galaxy opens August 1st.


Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy clip : My name is Peter Quill by itsartmag

Read More

Benicio Del Toro is Pablo Escobar in Menacing Teaser for 'Paradise Lost'

In numerous movies there's the scene where a guy goes to meet his lover's parents and it turns out to be a disaster. Ben Stiller made a whole series of movies based on the premise. Typically it goes one way with the girl's father either being a total jerk or somebody who is extremely dangerous and heaven forbid his little girl get hurt. Well, imagine if her family was led by notorious and murderous drug lord Pablo Escobar? That's the idea behind Paradise Lost and now there's a rather menacing teaser for it.

Benicio Del Toro, who will don some freaky hair in Guardians of the Galaxy, dons a freaky beard as Escobar in Paradise Lost, co-starring opposite The Hunger Games' Josh Hutcherson. Hutcherson plays Nick, who falls in love with the beautiful Maria (Claudia Traisac) while on vacation in Colombia. While all seems great between them, things take a turn when he learns her uncle is Escobar. While it sounds like the set-up for a comedy this trailer suggests something dark and intense. We could be looking at quite the debut for director Andrea Di Stefano.

Also starring Brady Corbet and Carlos Bardem (Javier's brother), Paradise Lost is expected to open later this year.


PARADISE LOST - Bande-Annonce / Trailer #1 [VOST|HD] by Team Lyricis

Read More

Hear Vin Diesel's Groot in New 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Trailer

By the time Guardians of the Galaxy hits theaters it will be the fourth Marvel movie of the summer, and arguably the one with the most questions surrounding it. Can a team only the most die-hard fanboy has heard of be the centerpiece of a new franchise? How will the quirky intergalactic comedy mesh with the rest of Marvel's successful Avengers flicks? And what about the unproven cast of Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, and Dave Bautista? Will audiences be too tired of superhero flicks to turn up?

Those questions aren't going anywhere but now, after a weekend full of teasers, a new full trailer has been released. This one proves just how in-sync writer/director James Gunn is with fans in that he gives them everything they expect from the Guardians of the Galaxy. Not only do we get Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) itching for a fight, but we finally get to hear Vin Diesel's "I am Groot!!" Plus there's the romantic tension between Star-Lord and Gamora, silly hijinks, crazy aliens, plus Glenn Close (!!!) sporting a wild haircut. Yep, this looks like fun.

Guardians of the Galaxy opens August 1st.


Guardians of the Galaxy - Full Trailer 2 (2014 HD) by 80 POUND GAMES

Read More

Michelle Monaghan Joins 'Pixels'; Benicio Del Toro Boards 'Sicario'; Amy Ryan Has 'Goosebumps'

* Michelle Monaghan, last seen twisting Woody Harrelson into emotional knots in True Detective, has joined Adam Sandler in Pixels. Also starring Josh Gad, Peter Dinklage, and Kevin James, the big screen adaptation of the viral short film follows a group of guys who come to the rescue when New York comes under attack by 1980s video game characters. Monaghan takes over the female lead that Jennifer Aniston had been considering. [TheWrap]

* With Emily Blunt coming aboard Denis Villeneuve's Sicario earlier this week, the film gets even more impressive with the addition of Benicio Del Toro. Described as similar to No Country for Old Men, the story takes place on the U.S./Mexico border where a female cop and two mercenaries track down a drug lord. But once they cross into Mexico, they find that things are even more dangerous and violent than expected. Del Toro will play one of those mercs, "an assassin hired by the U.S. government to help bring down the Cartels, which are responsible for the death of his family." [TheWrap]

* Amy Ryan and Jillian Bell (Workaholics) have joined Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, and Odeya Rush in Goosebumps, based on the R.L. Stine books. Directed by Rob Letterman, the story follows "a teen named Zach Cooper, whose family moves to a new home where his new neighbor is a mysterious author. When a demonic ventriloquist's dummy unleashes the author's creepy creations, it's up to his niece Hannah and Zach to battle the evil forces and save their town." Ryan will play Zach's disbelieving mother, while Bell is his ditzy aunt. [TheWrap]

Read More

New 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Photos Offer Look at Benicio Del Toro as The Collector

Late last night Marvel finally dropped the first, hilariously weird trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy, and it seems they may have another big franchise on their hands, assuming earlier rumors are true. Now a handful of new photos have been released that give us a look at a ripped Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as the fierce warrior (and villain Thanos' adopted daughter) Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, plus the CG-duo of Rocket Racoon (he's not actually a raccoon) and Groot voiced by Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel. Plus, Benicio Del Toro dons some crazy hair and fur as The Collector, and Karen Gillan goes blue as Nebula, who in the comics claims to be Thanos' granddaughter.  Something tells me there will be some family rivalry between her and Gamora.

Guardians of the Galaxy opens on August 1st.

Read More

Joss Whedon Reveals 'The Avengers: Age of Ultron'; 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Cast Confirmed

The Marvel panel has just wrapped at Comic-Con, and Marvel dropped a ton of news, but not what everybody was expecting. Introducing the Guardians of the Galaxy cast, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige confirmed that Djimon Hounsou is playing Korath the Pursuer, a cybernetic member of the alien Kree empire and typically an ally of Ronan the Accuser, who will be played by Lee Pace. Hounsou leaked that Korath will be an ally of Thanos in the film, but who knows if that's going to hold up. Also confirmed was Karen Gillan as Nebula, a space pirate and potentially Thanos' granddaughter. Benicio Del Toro will also play the Elder of the Universe known as The Collector, the first to recognize the threat of Thanos.

The big news came right at the end, as Joss Whedon hit the stage floor right at the end of the show, and teased a promo video. The footage featured a metal object being pounded from all sides, with prophetic words in the background about the team's demise. But then the object revolves, and it's revealed to be the face of Ultron, the android enemy of the Avengers, created by Hank "Ant-Man" Pym. The title of the film was then revealed to be The Avengers: Age of Ultron, arriving in the summer of 2015.

So the big news to take from this is that it will be Ultron in The Avengers sequel, and not Thanos. It looks like Thanos will be appearing in Guardians of the Galaxy, which makes sense considering every character has close ties to him. Age of Ultron is also a fairly recent Marvel comics crossover storyline, only completing about a month ago. It had Wolverine going back in time to kill Hank Pym before he could create Ultron, because in the present the android has wiped out nearly all of the superheroes. It's a storyline that closely resembles Xmen: Days of Future Past, ironically.

Read More

Possible Link Between 'Thor: The Dark World' and 'Guardians of the Galaxy'

Marvel rumors have been flying fast and pretty darn furious in the lead up to the Comic-Con panels, with many potential announcements already spoiled to some degree. This latest story probably wasn't due to be revealed in Hall H or anything, but it does come as a little bit of a spoiler for Thor: The Dark World and Guardians of the Galaxy.

Benicio Del Toro's 'Galaxy' role has been the source of some mystery for awhile, but recent speculation has him as playing the Elder of the Universe known as The Collector. It's believed he's signed on for multiple appearances across the Marvel spectrum, and one of those other films he'll figure into looks to be the Thor sequel.

Clive Russell, who plays Tyr in the Thor film, revealed to Flicks & The City that he's shot a scene with Del Toro, meaning The Collector has something dire to say to the Asgardians...

Russell: "I worked with Benicio Del Toro on a scene in which he was meant to be quite angry. Sitting fifteen feet away I couldn’t hear a word he was saying."

The Collector is the one who first saw the threat of Thanos emerge, so it's probably a safe bet that he's there to talk about the Infinity Gauntlet and the Tesseract, both of which are in Asgard now.

We'll find out what the deal is for sure when Thor: The Dark World opens on November 8th. Guardians of the Galaxy hits on August 1st 2014. [NextMovie]

Read More

Major 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Roles Revealed

With Marvel's Comic-Con panel expected to be another fountain of breaking information, one of the films many were anticipating news on was Guardians of the Galaxy, which is filming in the UK right now. There are still a number of big questions surrounding the quirky sci-fi film, with a number of roles still yet to be fully confirmed. The greatest mystery has involved the characters being played by Benicio Del Toro, Karen Gillan, and Lee Pace, with speculation ranging from Thanos to Angela to Captain Marvel. Now the guys over at Den of Geek say they have a "solid source" who can confirm exactly who each will be portraying.

Their source states that Del Toro will indeed by playing The Collector, as previous rumors had been suggesting for weeks. The Collector is one of the all-powerful Elders of the Universe, and foresaw the destructive arrival of Thanos, the villain who is expected to be the main baddie in The Avengers 2.The Elders are the final members of long-extinct races, each with their own specific traits. The Collector can briefly glimpse the future, and uses that knowledge to "collect" members of other threatened races. When Del Toro first came aboard it was stated that his character would be appearing in multiple Marvel movies, which means the Elders could play a major role from here on out.

Gillan, who was rumored to be the female villain, will be taking on the role of Nebula, a space pirate and potentially Thanos' granddaughter. It's never been proven, though, and her major claim to fame is slaughtering the entire Xandarian race. Xandar is the homeworld of the Nova Corps, who we know will be a major factor in the film, led by characters played by John C. Reilly and Glen Close.

And as for Pace, whose character we've heard will switch from evil to good at some point, he will be playing the superpowered Kree warrior, Ronan the Accuser. Beginning as a foe of the Fantastic Four, Ronan has been shown to have the capacity for good on multiple occasions, so he more than fits the bill as an antihero.

The first thing that is most obvious about these three is that none are villains in the purest sense. We don't know how big of a role Thanos will have in the film, but it stands to reason he's using all of them to achieve whatever his ultimate goal is. That goal will probably have something to do with the Infinity Gauntlet, which we know from Thor is hidden in Odin's trophy room.

Guardians of the Galaxy stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Michael Rooker, Ophelia Lovibond, Enzo Cilenti, and is directed by James Gunn for release on August 1st 2014.

Read More