Review: Michael Mann's 'Blackhat' starring Chris Hemsworth and Viola Davis

Hey, who wants to watch a movie about hackers sitting around punching keys on a laptop? Hacking may sound awesome when Anonymous is issuing manifestos in Guy Fawkes masks, but the actual work of it is pretty damned dull. So who wants to watch a movie about hackers sitting around punching keys on a laptop? I do! At least when the director is Michael Mann and he can bring as much energy, flair, and action as he does in the cyber-thriller Blackhat.

Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first: none of it makes a lick of sense. We don't know what the heck these people are doing or talking about because hacking is over most of our heads.  A lesser screenplay and a less experienced director wouldn't know how to connect the audience with all the technical mumbo-jumbo. So Mann draws us in through actions and ever escalating ramifications, both on a global and personal scale. It begins when some kind of virus, shown sweeping through a Chinese computer system, causes a nuclear power plant to meltdown. America was hit by a similar attack but managed to catch it in time, so China's top security analyst Chen Dawai (Wang Leehom) teams up with FBI agent Carole Barrett (Viola Davis) to track down the "blackhat" responsible. To do it, Chen gets his buff hacker pal Hathaway spring from prison to help out. There's also Chen's hot hacker sis Lien (Tang Wei) who we know will hook up with Hathaway because....well, somebody has to. He's a hacker who looks like Thor! Somebody's definitely going to hook up with him and it won't be Viola Davis.

Tracking down the global terrorist takes the team to some of the slummiest hotels all around the world where they set up shop and start mashing keys. But this is Michael Mann and the whole thing is more of a visual exercise than one would expect it to be, and the immediacy he brings to each scene is palpable. Using a grittier digital look than we saw in Public Enemies, Mann works in some intense firefights on the city streets of Malaysia, Jakarta, and Hong Kong. He knows better than to waste a physical force like Hemsworth, putting his character in the thick of every battle and foot chase, and of course the occasional steamy sex scene. It's not a great performance by Hemsworth; he tends to mumble his lines and comes off more enigmatic than charismatic, but he gets to kick ass and crack high-level security codes, sometimes within moments of each other. That's a pretty sweet gig. Davis doesn't get to do as much as she probably should, while Tang Wei and Wang Leehom (both appeared in Lust, Caution) has an appeal that hopefully will cross over to U.S. shores.

The techno-babble Mann piles on is informative yet dull, but he makes up for it with an abundance of beautifully-staged action. Pretty soon Blackhat stops resembling a cyber-thriller and that's perfectly okay. Not everything about Blackhat is designed for us to understand, but like most of Mann's best work it hits you on a gut level. 

 Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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Trouble Comes Around in New 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' Trailer

Tonight the NCAA is televising their first true football playoff championship, and it promises to be right up there with the Super Bowl as one of the most watched sporting events of the year. And since it airs on ESPN, which is owned by Disney, it makes sense they'd want to use it as a platform to deliver a gigantic trailer for this summer's Avengers: Age of Ultron. 

Keeping a similarly dark tone as the previous teaser, this one also features a better look at the showdown between Hulk and Tony Stark's Hulkbuster armor. It looks like the team's volatile chemistry has been shaken up even further and only looks to get worse with the robotic villain Ultron (voiced by James Spader) threatening to end humanity. Can they come together as a team and save the day? With Captain America: Civil War promising a standoff between Cap and Iron Man there's a good chance the Avengers won't completely recover.

Avengers: Age of Ultron opens May 1st directed by Joss Whedon.


New Avengers Trailer Arrives - Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron Trailer 2 by Calf Love

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Win Passes to an Advance Screening of 'Blackhat' starring Chris Hemsworth!

Hopefully the whole Sony thing didn't drive you away from movies about cyber-terrorism because Michael Mann has a great one on the way. We're offering our DC readers a chance to attend an advance screening of his next film, Blackhat, starring Chris Hemsworth as a prisoner released to help a joint task force stop a cyber criminal. The screening takes place on Tuesday, January 13th at 7:30pm at Regal Gallery Place.

You now have two ways to enter, which can be done by completing the contest widget below! Winners will be selected and contacted on Saturday, January 10th so enter now!

Blackhat also stars Viola Davis and Tang Wei, opening in theaters on January 16th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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The Party gets Crashed in New 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' Image

Disney has an incredible slate of blockbuster films coming in 2015, and right at the center of it is Avengers: Age of Ultron. While showing off their lineup they've released a new image from the superhero film, and it's one that should be familiar to the millions of people who watched the trailer.

The photo shows the entire team's astonished faces as Ultron (James Spader) crashes a party at Tony Stark's swanky crib. They're about to get a verbal smackdown from the newly-sentient android about "strings" and such, just before launching an all-out assault. This'll teach Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) and Jim Rhodes (Don Cheadle) to hang out with the Avengers during off hours. It could get dangerous.

Directed by Joss Whedon and starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Paul Bettany, Samuel L. Jackson, and Elizabeth Olsen, Avengers: Age of Ultron opens May 1st 2015.

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Hemsworth Takes to the Open Ocean In the Second Trailer for 'In The Heart Of The Sea'

I know that RDJ is everyone's favorite Avenger, and truly the comeback kid of the group but it's really starting to look like Chris Hemsworth will be the superstar career to come out of the Marvel epics. His latest film, In the Heart of the Sea has him taking the lead role in a book adaptation that explorers the true story that inspired Moby Dick. Hemsworth has everything a major Hollywood player needs and has proven time and again that he is much more than a pretty face and the son of Odin. Now, working with Ron Howard, he's set to really launch his career outside of Marvel. 

Jaws never scared me. I mean, if I was in the water and say a shark I'd definitely need a new pair of underwear but the idea of a shark? Nah, wasn't keeping me up at night. While not a horror movie, this trailer had me terrified. Obviously there's the fear of a colossal creature under the water while you're in a tiny (comparatively) ship in the middle of the ocean, but that's not what really got me shaking. It's the genius that is Ron Howard who decides to pull the camera WAYYY back in the long shots. That's the real fear factor in sea based movies that's never really hammered home, just how impossibly alone you are. The first few shots of the trailer pull back a curtain and make very apparent that these early seafarers were basically the ballsiest bunch the world has ever known, heading out into a vast nothingness with little more than a few planks of wood. Maybe this has been obvious to everyone else but I never fully appreciated the scope of it until watching this. I tend to overblow things but check it out for yourselves and tell me you'd have the gusto to scream "All aboard!" and head out to sea. 

Side note: These guys are whalers...back then that meant killing a whale with a spear that you through from nothing more than the power of your arm. Marinate on that. 

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Chris Hemsworth Takes On Cybercrime in Trailer for Michael Mann's 'Blackhat'

Internet hacking has been a popular discussion lately, what with Sony in the midst of one of the worst (and embarrassing) scandals in recent memory. And while we can't help but laugh at some of the stuff that has been exposed, it's important to remember that cybercrime is a serious deal, one that Michael Mann hopes will make for a pretty good thriller with Blackhat.

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Viola Davis, and Tang Wei, Blackhat follows a convict recruited by American and Chinese agents to help take down a global cyber-terrorist. Mann's been building this one for a long time, digging deep into the history of cybercrime and the tactics used to combat it, and that level of research is apparent in this newly-released trailer.

Blackhat logs in on January 16th 2015.

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'Avengers: Age of Ultron' Extended Trailer Features New Footage

The trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron has been out there for awhile now, and still the Internet is buzzing over it. Part of the reason is excitement over Marvel's recent announcements of Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Civil War, and more that are expected to tie into the larger franchise.. The other reason is that it's just a damn good trailer with all of the superhero spectacle fans expect from Marvel, not to mention that haunting rendition of "I've Got No Strings". Well now there's even more reason to get pumped up with the release of an extended version of the trailer, which offers up some footage we haven't seen before, including a glimpse at Korean actress Claudia Kim as Tony Stark's colleague. Apparently she's important enough to make the big Avengers party at Stark's crib.

Avengers: Age of Ultron opens May 1st 2015.


AVENGERS 2 AGE OF ULTRON - Official Extended Trailer #2 by itsartmag

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Idris Elba says Heimdall and Loki Appear in 'Avengers: Age of Ultron'

Now that we've seen the trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron and have more of a sense how it leads to the Marvel Universe's future, chances are you don't need any other reasons to see the film. Well, here's another one just in case. Idris Ebla has revealed to The Telegraph that he will make an appearance in the superhero movie as Heimdall, the guardian of Asgard's "Rainbow Bridge". Not only that, but his scene involves both Chris Hemsworth's Thor and Tom Hiddleston's Loki.

“Ironically, yesterday I had to…” Elba chuckles. He’s not meant to talk about this, but he clearly enjoys doing things he’s not meant to do. “I’m in Avengers,” he reveals ... "And I’m doing a scene with Chris Hemsworth [who plays Thor] and Tom Hiddleston [Loki], and they’re like, [whispers] – ‘Aren’t you [meant to be] in Ibiza?’ ” That bassy chuckle again, followed by a frown. Elba came straight to Ibiza party-time from a mythical Norse god/Marvel universe that has made billions at the global box office. His head is all over the place. “That’s why I was pissed about my set yesterday. I really just wasn’t there. I was annoyed.”

He went on to talk about how shooting Marvel movies can be "torture", especially wearing that terrible Heimdall helmet.

The easy explanation for Heimdall and Loki's appearance is that it relates to Ragnarok, the third and likely final film in the Thor franchise. Ragnarok is basically the Norse end times, and it's likely to keep the thunder god away from Earth for awhile, possible through the upcoming Civil War. 

Avengers: Age of Ultron opens May 1st 2015.  

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The Avengers are Unworthy in New Footage from 'Avengers: Age of Ultron'

Those who attended San Diego Comic-Con last summer were treated to the first footage from Avengers: Age of Ultron, and the centerpiece of it was a scene featuring the team lounging around Tony Stark's crib. As they all tried unsuccessfully to lift Thor's hammer, it looked like Joss Whedon was keep the light-hearted tone of the first film. Well, then we got the official trailer last week and it was all doom 'n gloom, but rest assured there is plenty of fun to be had.

Since the trailer leaked before it was to debut on tonight's Agents of SHIELD, Marvel instead released an extended version which features the hammer-lifting scene. The party is quickly interrupted by that wet blanket Ultron (menacingly voiced by James Spader), who proceeds to tell them that nobody in the room is worthy. Opening May 1st 2015, Avengers: Age of Ultron stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, James Spader, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Andy Serkis, and Samuel L. Jackson. We'll update this trailer with a better one soon, but for now enjoy this crappy bootleg version.


Avengers Age of Ultron Sneak Peek (2015) - New Avengers Movie by Allvideos HD

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Marvel Reveals the First 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' Trailer and Poster!

When a prized piece of information or footage leaks early, a studio has a couple of options. They can either close ranks and pretend it didn't happen, or they can do what Marvel has done and that's roll with the punches. Earlier today the trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron leaked one week before it was due to premiere on Agents of SHIELD. And so Marvel took to Twitter, jokingly blamed the evil organization HYDRA, and released the official trailer themselves.

And let's be honest here, you don't need to be told to watch it. Nor do you need to be told that it looks incredibly huge, with Joss Whedon ditching any sense of humor and going straight for a heavy, ominous vibe throughout. That may be a drag to those who liked how The Avengers was able to be both funny and serious, but clearly this footage is aiming to strike a specific chord. It keeps in much of what was shown at Comic-Con, but adds in more of Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch ( Elizabeth Olsen), and gives the best look at James Spader's evil android Ultron than we've seen yet. Plus we get a look at the showdown between Tony Stark's Hulkbuster armor and the Hulk that fans have been waiting for.

Avengers: Age of Ultron opens May 1st 2015, only seven months away!


Marvel's "Avengers: Age of Ultron" - Teaser Trailer (OFFICIAL) [HD] by MovieTrailerz

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What I want to See from Marvel's 'Civil War' Storyline

I couldn't sleep at all last night, and no it's not my usual restlessness. Just before hitting the sack word came down that Robert Downey Jr. was joining Marvel's Captain America 3, which is a big deal but not half as big as the rest of the story. The storyline would apparently be the kick off to Civil War, based on the controversial 2006-2007 miniseries by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. So why was it so polarizing? Well, pretty much everything Millar does turns out that way, but in this case it was justified.

Civil War begins with a team that has not been seen in the cinematic universe yet: the New Warriors. One of my favorite teams from the '90s, they're basically made up of B-list characters like Speedball, Night Thrasher, Justice, and Nova...yes, the Nova everyone wanted in Guardians of the Galaxy. An incident during one of their missions ends with the villain Nitro blowing up an entire city, killing millions. The government decided to institute the Superhero Registration Act, which demands superheroes to register with the government, reveal their civilian identities to the public, and become deputized agents if they want to stay in action. Captain America gathered up a group of like-minded heroes to fight against the Act, while Tony Stark fights to enforce it. They came to blows, a war erupts, and basically Stark becomes the most hated man amongst the superhero community. Yes, Stark is portrayed as the "bad" guy, although there are points to be made on both sides of the argument.

It's a huge story, one that would require Marvel make some severe changes bringing it to the big screen simply because there aren't enough characters available. The X-men played a key role, so did Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four. So assuming Captain America 3 will indeed begin the Civil War, here are a few things I'm hoping to see play out. And keep in mind, this would have to unfold over the course of multiple movies, that's how big Civil War is.

1. The Return of Spider-Man
Okay, this one's a long shot and more of a personal hope than anything else, but recent rumors have suggested Marvel and Sony could work out a deal allowing Spider-Man to be part of the shared universe. Peter Parker had an integral role in Civil War; in fact he was something like the moral compass at the center of it. He began on the side of Iron Man and the Registration Act, but as the government's tactics became more brutal he would switch to Cap's side.  It's possible we could see another character step in to fill that role but it would be more effective with Spider-Man, who everybody knows and respects.

2. The Death of Captain America
We've been saying it for awhile and others have noticed it, too, but the Captain America movies are conveniently populated by all the characters who have a role in The Death of Captain America storyline. That story was the tragic finale to the Civil War, with Cap assassinated and the Winter Soldier taking over the mantle. It's a crucial piece to the puzzle, and when I think about recent stories suggesting Captain America may not be factoring much into future films, it leads me to think his demise is right around the corner. This would be the time to do it.

3. Ragnarok
Tony Stark did some truly loathsome sh*t during Civil War, and one of those involved cloning his missing buddy, Thor.  Stark used Thor's DNA to create an all-powerful clone named Ragnarok, and he proceeded to tear apart Cap's team, even going so far as to kill the superhero Goliath, a former Avenger and friend of Hank Pym aka Ant-Man. If Raganarok appears in the films it would likely be in a similar way. We could see Chris Hemsworth's Thor too busy on Asgard to join up with his Avengers pals, and Stark comes up with Ragnarok as a solution. Whatever the case, the presence of Ragnarok is a good way to show just how twisted Stark's idea of right and wrong has become.

4. The Introduction of Blade, Ghost Rider, and Punisher
One thing about Civil War is that it includes a ton of characters, practically the entire Marvel Universe is involved. There simply aren't enough characters right now for Marvel to make this look like a huge "war", and one way to help fill out the ranks is bringing in popular characters like Blade, Ghost Rider, and the Punisher. Marvel recently gained their film rights back and this would be an easy way to work them in, possibly leading to future solo movies in the process. This one actually leads directly to my next hope.

5. Iron Man and Captain America Lead Separate Avengers Teams

With Cap and Iron Man on opposing sides of the Registration Act, both men began leading their own teams of Avengers. Cap's "New Avengers" (which included Luke Cage and Hawkeye) mostly worked underground and in secret to avoid confrontation with Iron Man's government-sanctioned "Mighty Avengers". With Doctor Strange and Ant-Man being introduced in the next couple of years, it stands to reason they'll be joining some Avengers team, probably one led by Iron Man. This may also be a good way to bring the Netflix TV series characters: Luke Cage, Daredevil, Iron Fist, and Jessica Jones.

6.  Tony Stark: Director of SHIELD
One of the strongest repercussions of Civil War had Tony Stark taking over as the director of SHIELD. With the spy organization in shambles and Nick Fury presumed dead (we know better), now would be the perfect time for a move like this. It would also allow for Downey Jr. to make limited appearances in the films, and whether he appears on the show or not it may have a ratings impact on Agents of SHIELD. We saw the boost it got from being tied in to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and the same could happen again.

So those are just a few things I'm hoping for, and some of them seem feasible. If I thought harder about it I'd probably include more wishful things, like movies for the Thunderbolts and New Warriors, the introduction of Moon Knight (he needs a film now!), and more. I'm genuinely excited to see where Marvel goes with this, and given their track record I have every reason to believe they can pull off Civil War in the epic fashion it deserves.

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Rumor: Some Major Avengers may not Appear in 'The Avengers 3'

As Marvel's second phase comes to a close with Avengers: Age of Ultron, they will be coming to a crossroads with the third phase. Many of their biggest franchises will be wrapping up their trilogies, and their biggest stars have only one or two contractual obligations left. That means we could be nearing our last opportunities to see Chris Hemsworth's Thor, Chris Evans' Captain America, and yes, even Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man. Last week a rumor surfaced that The Avengers 3 could be split into two movies as a means of keeping them around a bit longer, but now comes a new story that fleshes the idea out a bit more.

So according to Badass Digest, the plan to split The Avengers 3 isn't quite right, but Marvel will be using the single film to springboard into something new and much bigger. We've pretty much expected that new heroes like Doctor Strange, Ant-Man, and Guardians of the Galaxy would replace the old guard, but according to the site that change will begin with The Avengers 3. And as part of that we may not see characters like Thor and Captain America at all, in order to hold them over for one huge blowout.

Downey Jr.'s contract stipulates that he be in The Avengers 3, and Badass Digest speculates we'll see Iron Man teaming up with the Guardians of the Galaxy and the other new heroes, before the original crew comes back for a gigantic brouhaha of a crossover.

So there's a lot of guesswork in there but it's certainly plausible, and Marvel isn't likely to break the bank renegotiating contract extensions when they've proven so good at creating new stars. Keep this under your hat as a distinct possibility.

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First Trailer for Michael Mann's 'Blackhat' starring Chris Hemsworth

Michael Mann's cyber-thriller Blackhat has been one of the more secretive projects the director has undertaken. Perhaps he's just getting into the espionage spirit of the story, which deals largely with matters of information security in the face of powerful hacker groups with an less-than-noble agendas. At Comic-Con the curtain was lifted a little bit (that was when the title was revealed), but now the first trailer has been released and it looks like the most promising film he's done in years, at least since Collateral.

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Tang Wei, Viola Davis, and Wang Leehom, the film centers on a fourloughed convict working with the Chinese and American government to stop a global cybercrime network. You won't be able to pull much else from this footage, but what's clear is the years Mann spent investigating hacker groups and our structural insecurities is being put to good use.

Blackhat opens January 16th 2015 which would put it out of Oscar contention, but it's possible we may get a qualifying run before the year is up.


Blackhat Trailer by Stuff We Like

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Chris Hemsworth to Star as Hank Williams' Doctor in 'Ill Never Get Out of This World Alive'

Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston are sibling rivals Thor and Loki in the Marvel universe, but now they've found a new way to compete against one another. Hiddleston is set to play country music legend Hank Williams in I Saw the Light, a biopic he'll be starring in with another Marvel alum, Elizabeth Olsen. And now it's Hemsworth who is developing his own movie on Williams and the controversial circumstances around his death.

Hemsworth will star in and produce I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive, optioning the rights to Steve Earle's book of the same name. Written and directed by first-timer Benjamin Grayson, the story doesn't actually follow Williams, but will tell a fictional story about his "doctor" Horace Raphol "Toby" Marshall, a con man who wormed his way into the singer's life. Earle's novel centers on Doc Ebersole, a morphine addict who moves to San Antonio, TX after his license is revoked. Ten years after Williams' death he is still haunted by his ghost, and supports his drug habit by performing illegal medical procedures.

 It's another surprising choice for Hemsworth who has been taking on more dramatic roles when not busy with Marvel projects. He was great in Ron Howard's Formule One film, Rush, and will star in Howard's In the Heart of the Sea next year. He's also wrapped on Michael Mann's cyber thriller, Blackhat, and is now filming his first true comedy in the Vacation reboot. Hopefully by the time this new project shoot they'll come up with a better title. It might have worked for Williams' hit single but not for a movie. [TheWrap]

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Marvel Reveals the Official 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' Synopsis

How powerful has Marvel been this year? They've got the two highest-grossing movies of 2014 in Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and chances are they'll do it again in 2015 with Avengers: Age of Ultron. The superhero team-up will kick off the summer in explosive style, and now Marvel is giving us just a tiny look at what to expect with the official plot synopsis. Check it out below:

“Marvel Studios presents ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron,’ the epic follow-up to the biggest Super Hero movie of all time. When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, are put to the ultimate test as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. As the villainous Ultron emerges, it is up to The Avengers to stop him from enacting his terrible plans, and soon uneasy alliances and unexpected action pave the way for an epic and unique global adventure.

“Marvel’s ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ stars Robert Downey Jr., who returns as Iron Man, along with Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk. Together with Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, and with the additional support of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill, the team must reassemble to defeat James Spader as Ultron, a terrifying technological villain hell-bent on human extinction. Along the way, they confront two mysterious and powerful newcomers, Wanda Maximoff, played by Elizabeth Olsen, and Pietro Maximoff, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and meet an old friend in a new form when Paul Bettany becomes Vision.”

This basically confirms what we already knew, which is that Tony Stark will be the catalyst for this story when his peace-keeping program gains sentience and becomes Ultron. But what we don't know about are these "uneasy alliances" the team must form to defeat him. Is that a reference to Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver? Or possibly the Vision, who it's hinted at is created from Stark's old A.I. system, JARVIS. 

Avengers: Age of Ultron opens May 1st 2015. 

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Chris Hemsworth and Charlie Day go on 'Vacation' with Ed Helms

A sequel or reboot of National Lampoon's Vacation has been in the works for years, but for a long time it traveled about as far as Clark Griswold's broken down family truckster. That was until last year when Ed Helms signed on to play a grown up Rusty Griswold for writer/directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Horrible Bosses), and with production beginning next month a superhuman addition has been made to the cast.

According to THR, Chris "Thor" Hemsworth will be taking a Vacation in the sequel/remake, joined by Charlie Day (Pacific Rim) in a supporting role. The film will have Rusty and his wife (Christina Applegate) attempting a family road trip just like his father used to take him on as a kid. Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo are expected to reprise their roles as Clark and Ellen Griswold.

This will be Hemsworth's first true comedy although it's unclear just how big his part is. He'll play the ridiculously-named Stone Crandall, the boyfriend of Rusty's sister, Audrey, a role that has yet to be cast. Audrey had a boyfriend in National Lampoon's European Vacation but he was only in a couple of scenes, and that may be the case with Hemsworth here. Day will only make a cameo as a river rafting guide.

Filming had been delayed while producers haggled over the movie's tone and if it should be rated R or PG-13. We don't know yet what the final decision was but the success of R-rated comedies should have made the choice much easier.

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'Avengers: Age of Ultron' Plot Details Reveal Ultron's "Path to Peace"

The logical assumption after The Avengers was that Thanos would be the villain of the movie's sequel, but obviously that wasn't the case when Avengers: Age of Ultron was announced. The purple-skinned harbinger of death will probably be a factor in a third film, but for now it's the sentient robot Ultron the Avengers have to contend with, and after revealing the first official images yesterday EW now has spilled some major plot details, including a little bit of dialogue.

As we learned yesterday, Tony Stark has basically hung up his Iron Man suit and has begun letting his remote armored drones do the job, one of which will turn out to be Ultron. But it goes a little bit deeper than that...

The Avengers sequel begins with Stark’s latest plan to fix the world: Ultron will be an all-seeing, all-knowing captain of a planetary police force known as the Iron Legion, a team of robotic beat cops who resemble blue-and-white versions of the Iron Man suit but have no human core—and less soul than a Carpenters album. If it all works out, the superheroes can rest easy.

And because Stark can't leave well enough alone, he takes things one step too far by giving Ultron elements of his own personality, specifically his cynicism but lacking in any ability to sympathize. He becomes what can't be described as a villain per se, but something that wants to bring about world peace, and like all artificial intelligences we've seen in movies, he figures the best way to go about it is to wipe out humans. It's all summed up pretty good in this piece of actual dialogue from the film, so just imagine this in the snarky voice of James Spader....

"I know you're 'good' people, I know you mean well… but you just didn't think it through… There is only one path to peace… your extermination."

All of this is preceded by a party scene that plays out just as prior stories said it would, with the team at Stark's penthouse home celebrating a victory. The only difference is that the festivities are interrupted by Ultron and his Legionnaires...

That’s when all hell breaks loose. The Legionnaires have suddenly activated, and are inexplicably trying to kill the heroes. In the chaos, Ultron—in one of his first, metallic forms—announces his new plan to bring peace to the planet—by eradicating the most destructive thing that walks on it: humans.

In the midst of the assault scene, Downey finds himself suspended 50 feet above the set, riding piggyback on an actor in a motion-capture suit who will be digitally replaced with a hovering, hostile Legionnaire.

With no armor at his disposal, Stark grabs the only weapon handy—a fondue fork—and jams it into the robot soldier’s neck as they bang around the ceiling. “The deadliest fondue fork in all the land!” Whedon jokes. “From Odin’s melted cheese, I shall destroy thee!”

Avengers: Age of Ultron is filming now for release next year on May 1st.

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Does a Female Thor Mean Changes for Chris Hemsworth and 'The Avengers 3'?

Unless you've been hiding under Yggdrasill all day, chances are you heard about the major change happening to Marvel's favorite god of thunder. This morning on The View it was revealed there will now be a female Thor. Marvel had been teasing that guys should grow a pair and turn on the female-geared gab fest, and the announcement was definitely worth the wait. I don't want to go into too many details as to why this is happening, but it sounds as if Thor will be deemed unworthy of carrying the mighty hammer Mjolnir and it will turn to a woman who is worthy. The male version of Thor will still be around, but for the time being the Thor with an actual regular comic book series will be female.

Okay, let's be real; this is a stunt and not really that big of a deal. It could be cool if writer Jason Aaron comes up with a good story to explain the change, but in practice it won't amount to much and will probably be reversed in time for a third Thor movie because that's what Marvel always does. The Iron Man in the comics now closely resembles the one on screen, and the same can be said for Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man, and Captain America. Or does the introduction of a female Thor mean something is up with Chris Hemsworth? Nikki Finke seems to think Hemsworth isn't so high on returning for anymore sequels, but I'll let her quote speak for itself...

"I think several factors are at work. First, rival Warner Bros/DC Comics plans to include Wonder Woman in its upcoming Justice League movie and then spin her off into her own franchise. Second, so-called women’s movies and women action heroes have taken off at the box office. Third, the first two Thor films starring Chris Hemsworth were always marketed to women. Fourth, I heard Hemsworth wasn’t anxious to go back into that arduous diet and training regimen and subsist primarily on egg whites for Thor 3 or The Avengers 3. Fifth, it’s doubtful that Marvel wanted to cough up the big bucks necessary to keep Hemsworth starring as the franchise title character so here’s a cheap way to reboot the series by changing the leading man into a leading woman."

Interestingly, Wonder Woman is one of the few non-Thor characters who has possessed the power of Mjolnir. Perhaps the basis for a DC vs. Marvel crossover movie? Eh, don't hold your breath.

Finke goes on to speculate it has something to do with Thor being an omnisexual or something but that's an angle too silly to be explored. So should we take any of this seriously? Is Marvel really thinking reboot? It does seem like Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans are edging their way out of the franchise, so why not Hemsworth? He's still under contract for at least one more Thor film and has spoken about his eagerness to do more, so unless things have changed he seems to be in for the long haul...or at least through Avengers 3. Besides, those reasons Finke gave seem kind of silly. Doubtful Hemsworth would give up a lucrative gig like this just because he wants to go on a Haagen Dazs binge. It's far more believable that the notoriously stingy Marvel wouldn't want to pay him for a new contract. What was that Kevin Feige was saying about Iron Man being just like James Bond? Just have somebody else take on the role and keep going?

Thor 3 is being written now by Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle, and should arrive in either 2016 or 2017. 

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Kristen Stewart Won't Return for 'Snow White and the Huntsman' Sequel; Frank Darabont to Direct

Although there wasn't exactly an audience clamoring for a sequel to Snow White and the Huntsman, the film made around $400M and that was enough for Universal to get moving on one. With the prior movie getting splashed all over the tabloids because of director Rupert Sanders' affair with Kristen Stewart, word started to spread that neither would be brought back for the sequel and Chris Hemsworth's character would become the focus. And now as a director has come aboard for the film newly titled The Huntsman, those rumors have proven to be true.

According to THR, Frank Darabont has been confirmed as director of The Huntsman, which will see the return of Hemsworth and Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen. Darabont had been on a shortlist that included Gavin O'Connor and Andy Muschietti, and this will be his first time behind the camera since 2007's The Mist. He also had a hand in developing the script for Godzilla, and was the original showrunner on AMC's The Walking Dead. He's still probably best known as director of The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile.

Stewart is definitely out although the studio had steadfastly denied for months that she was leaving the franchise.There has yet to be any information on why she has left the franchise. Did the studio push her out? Or has she again grown weary of the media firestorm that surrounds major studio tentpoles? She's certainly been focusing her energy in a different direction of late, starring in Olivier Assayas' Clouds of Sils Maria and the GITMO drama, Camp X-Ray, both of which are expected to debut later this year. 

Universal expects to release The Huntsman in 2015.

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First Look at Michael Mann's Cyber-Thriller with Chris Hemsworth

At this point there is still a lot more we don't know about Michael Mann's upcoming cyber-thriller than we do. He's been developing it seemingly forever, with Chris Hemsworth, Viola Davis, and Holt McCallanny as part of the cast. There doesn't appear to be an official title, although McCallanny recently tweeted the title as Black Hat. One thing we do have now is the first official image featuring Hemsworth.

As for the plot, here's what Mann rather carefully told ThePlaylist about it earlier this year....

“With great facility the people in the film move between Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Los Angeles and Chicago. And the film’s story takes you from those places to inside a processor, inside the electron universe, amongst a population of transistors. You have two billion transistors in your cell phone. Bits with either an absence or surplus of electrons, then become ones or zeroes, every two billionth of a second and affect the macro, our lives. That's the world this film takes place in.”

For a slightly better idea of what to expect, here's a synopsis for the film, which is due January 16th 2015. 

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