The Best and Worst Onscreen Kisses of 2014

There are a few weeks left in the year, but I think we can safely say that the movies with the best kisses have already graced our movie theaters. And this is really important stuff, OK? Generations of teenage girls are being influenced by these kisses every time another shoddy (probably supernatural or dystopian) teenybopper romance comes out. Middle-aged women (your moms, people!) are still helping Nicholas Sparks pay his bills. And although there were a fair share of terrible action movies this year (ahem, 300: Rise of the Spartans or Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For), it was the women in those films that often elevated the material (looking at you, Eva Green). So sexy stuff – it sells, etc.

Along that vein, then, what were the five sexiest moments onscreen this year? The majority of these are kisses, but I’m also going to consider “smoldering looks” and “vigorous lovemaking” among the data. It’s very scientific. Let’s jump into it!

+ Veronica Mars and Logan Echolls, from Veronica Mars. You want smoldering looks? Kristen Bell and Jason Dohring will give you smoldering looks, from his and hers perspectives, no less:

Guh. For all the marshmallow ‘shippers of this relationship out there – and I am among your ranks, so much – this was the ultimate.

Oh, and here, have this:

That was the ultimate, too.

+ Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, from The Amazing Spider-Man 2. OK, so The Amazing Spider-Man 2 wasn’t that great. There were too many villains and Jamie Foxx was kind of wasted and Dane DeHaan was definitely wasted, but it’s upsetting that this series might actually be over and Andrew Garfield will be out of a job, because he is exactly my cup of tea in this role. And of course, he’s Emma Stone’s cup of tea, too, given that they’ve been dating for a few years and their natural, off-camera chemistry thankfully graces every moment they have on-screen together, too.

These are real smiles, people! Look at all those teeth!

Oh, and here, have this. Sinewy muscles for everyone!

+ Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters, from The Fault In Our Stars. Oh, what else is there to say about this movie? It dominated the pop-music realm during the summer, made a solid amount of money, and kept the Shailene Woodley train moving forward. But what worked so beautifully and realistically and believably, I think, out of anything else, was that sex scene and how delicately but honestly it was handled.

All you needed to see was the couple of inches of skin from Woodley’s back to know where this was going, and to get swept up in the emotion of it all … and by that I mean, weeping profusely. Like I did, especially at this.

Sorry, not sorry.

+ Noni and Kaz, from Beyond the Lights. Gugu Mbatha-Raw gave two of the year’s most captivating performances in the films Belle and Beyond the Lights, and if you haven’t seen either of them, fix your life. Especially because Beyond the Lights has both some of the year’s most off-putting and touching sex scenes, and it’s still in theaters, and go right now.

There is a lot of gross sex stuff in this movie (it is, after all, an examination of how the music industry commodifies both women’s bodies and their emotions), but there are two scenes in which Mbatha-Raw and her costar Nate Parker really shine: some up-in-the-air sexiness set to Beyonce’s “Drunk in Love” (used far better in this film than in the terrible Fifty Shades of Grey trailers) and a practically silent sex scene later in the film, when they’ve grown more comfortable with each other, more willing to let walls drop, more open to seeing who they really are. Just writing about it is giving me chills.

+ Gamora and Peter Quill, from Guardians of the Galaxy. OK, this is kind of a cheat, because Zoe Saldana and Chris Pratt’s characters don’t actually kiss. But it was a great moment when they didn’t, since it continued Guardians of the Galaxy’s “subvert the superhero genre” agenda. Also interesting that the film’s trailers contained brief glimpses of Gamora and Quill shirtless, but those scenes were both deleted from the final cut. A subversion, sure, but still sexy.

And, a few of the worst of the year:

+ Labor Day: Just because a convict can bake a pie does not mean you should have sex with him.

+ Winter’s Tale: Just because that mysterious time-traveler with the awful haircut looks like Colin Farrell does not mean you should have sex with him.

+ Million Dollar Arm: Just because your terrible landlord looks like Don Draper but with more Orientalist tendencies does not mean you should have sex with him.

+ The Hundred-Foot Journey: Just because you’re two chefs who realize that you’re in love with each other does not mean you should have sex in your restaurant while serving your parents and mentors.

+ The Legend of Hercules: That guy is Kellan Lutz. ESPECIALLY DO NOT HAVE SEX WITH HIM.

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The Best and Worst Movie Trailers of 2014

+ Note: This post will focus only on trailers for movies released in 2014. So sorry, no love here for The Avengers 2: Age of Ultron trailer, even though it is great. Come back next year for that one.

We love trailers, which is why when I had to see The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies last week, on top of the 150-minute runtime for the film, I also had to sit through 10 – YES, TEN – trailers. That’s an additional 30 minutes of sitting in the theater! And yet a good trailer can be so great – an excellent bonding opportunity for you and the people sitting around – and a bad trailer can build camaraderie, too. The collective groan from myself, the three bros in front of me, and the mom and her son behind me at The Hobbit when we saw the Terminator: Genisys trailer is proof of that.

So what trailers excited me most this year, and which made me want to run out of the movie theater and never come back? Read on for the five best and five worst movie trailers of 2014.

The five best trailers of 2014:

+ VERONICA MARS. You could brush off this movie as fan service, sure, but it’s extremely satisfying fan service. Take this trailer for proof: Look, all of your favorite Veronica Mars characters are back! Look, Veronica and Logan still long for each other! Look, Mac has an amazing new haircut! Look, Weevil is still the shit! Look, Daddy Mars is still doing dad stuff! Dick Casablancas is being, well, a dick! As a promise to fans, the Veronica Mars movie trailer was undeniably well orchestrated. (And so was the movie, too.)

+ GONE GIRL. The creepy vibe of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score still haunts my dreams, as does Amazing Amy’s equally chilly, “That’s marriage.” Maybe this year’s best movie for grownups, Gone Girl delivered with a trailer that laid out the central question—Did Ben Affleck’s Nick Dunne kill his wife, the beautiful and intelligent and perfect Amy?—while also subtly analyzing the 24-hour news cycle and upending the fake-American-dream promise of suburbia. “Where’s your wife, Nick?!” Yes, where, indeed.

+ GODZILLA. Godzilla underperformed a bit this year, but I agree withfellow PDC-er Julian Lytle that it was actually one of the year’s mostunderappreciated films—a movie that excellently chose when and how to feature Godzilla to build toward the impactful (and thrilling) final action set piece. And this trailer is a perfect microcosm of that approach: Blink and you’ll miss Godzilla, but when he wants to be seen, he’s unforgettable. And Godzilla’s final, discordant scream at the end of this trailer? It’s still giving me goosebumps.

+ X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. “We need you to hope again.” Sporting the most self-indulgent-and-yet-totally-successful cast of the year was X-Men: Days of Future Past, and this trailer forced you to acknowledge how great they all are. Patrick Stewart! Ian McKellen! Michael Fassbender! James McAvoy! The internet’s best friend Jennifer Lawrence! The internet’s best friend’s ex-boyfriend Nicholas Hoult! Tyrion Lannister! Jean Valjean! And on and on and on. Regardless of whether Days of Future Past had your favorite X-Men character or your favorite X-Men actor, that was the point: they were all in there. (Well, except for Anna Paquin, but that is a complaint for another day.) The cohesiveness of the cast did wonders for the timeline-mind-fuck of a story, and brought the contrasting movie worlds together in a way that keeps the storyline moving forward. How could you not get excited?

+ INTERSTELLAR. One of my most disappointing movies of the year still had one of the year’s best trailers, a perfect distillation of the things Christopher Nolan does well: cajole excellent performances from A-list male actors who play aching, ambitious widowers (here it’s Matthew McConaughey; see Leonardo DiCaprio in Inception or Hugh Jackman in The Prestige for further proof); present smoothly envisioned, sleekly impressive visual effects; and get Michael Caine to say something wise and sad, because that is basically all Michael Caine does in Christopher Nolan movies. It was such a formula, but oh, it was effective. If only the full version of Interstellar had been this airtight.

The five worst trailers of 2014:

+ TRANSCENDENCE. Oh look, Johnny Depp’s brain got uploaded into a computer because it’s super easy to do that. How could such an interesting idea seem so generic from even the first trailer? Pass. (Also, you’re going to have Cillian Murphy in your movie, but not even mention him in your trailer? For shame.)

+ THE OTHER WOMAN. Putting feminism back a century or two.

+ TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES. Stop giving Michael Bay enough money to destroy all our childhood dreams. Stop it! And stop pretending Megan Fox can act. Seriously, stop it.

+ DUMB AND DUMBER TO. When I saw 22 Jump Street this summer, more people laughed at this supremely awful trailer than they did during the entire length of 22 Jump Street. Because for some reason a senior citizen forcing Jim Carrey to pleasure her vagina full of dust is more amusing than the amazing meta-ness of Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill. (I hate people.)

+ EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS. Noooope.

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New on DVD & Blu-Ray: 'Veronica Mars', 'Still Mine', 'The Art of the Steal'

Veronica Mars - The title character from Rob Thomas's cult hit raised enough Kickstarter funds to give the show's loyal fanbase their own movie. And it doesn't disappoint as the show's creator brings back all the beloved characters of Neptune and thrusts the story ten years after the show's final episode. Veronica has just finished law school and is ready to take a job at a renowned New York law firm when she's called back to Neptune by her ex-boyfriend Logan, who's been accused of murdering his former classmate and rock star girlfriend. 

The film stars Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring, Percy Daggs III, Enrico Colantoni, Chris Lowell, Francis Capra, Kristen Rytter, Tina Majorino, Ryan Hansen, and Jerry O'Connell. 

                                          BUY NOW!

Still Mine - An elderly couple, who have lived a generally good and stable life, are no longer able to make a living from their farm. Irene suffers from early stages of dementia and Craig thinks up an idea to build up a more sustainable and final home, only to run into several road blocks from the authorities in their town. The film stars James Cromwell, Genevieve Bejold, Julie Stewart, and Ronan Rees. 

BUY NOW!

The Art of the Steal - Crunch Calhoun is a biker and an art thief. He devises a plan that forces him to work with his untrustworthy brother and get his team back together in order to steal a priceless historical book that is worth a lot of money. But the planned heist turns into something far more risky. The film stars Kurt Russell, Matt Dillon, and Jay Baruchel. 

BUY NOW!

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Cinema Royale #54- Veronica Mars; Need for Speed; The Grand Budapest Hotel

Welcome back to Neptune, marshmallows! We'll take a look at the return of Kristen Bell as every fan's favorite feisty detective, Veronica Mars! Is the Kickstarter-funded film everything fans hoped it would be? Then we'll feel the Need for Speed with Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, and Michael Keaton! Then we'll check-in to Wes Anderson's star-studded comedy caper, The Grand Budapest Hotel.

All this, and we'll be joined by "The Cinema Siren" +Leslie Combemale , and we'll have news on Captain America 3, Star Wars: Episode VII, and the Fantastic Four!

Cinema Royale is part of the Hashtag Studios Broadcast Network. You can hear it live or download it every single week on Blogtalkradio, Itunes, Libsyn, and Stitcher. Listen to the latest episode below...

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Box Office: 'Mr. Peabody' Bests 'Need for Speed'; 'Veronica Mars' Opens to $2M

1. Mr. Peabody & Sherman- $21.2M/$63.1M
In a surprising development, Dreamworks' animated Mr. Peabody & Sherman has jumped to the head of the class with $21.2M, only slipping 33% from last week. Part of that has to do with a weak crop of new releases, coinciding with 300: Rise of an Empire taking an epic tumble. Still, it has to make Dreamworks happy that the film has earned more than $130M worldwide in only two weeks.
2. 300: Rise of an Empire- $19.1M/$78.1M
This..is...Sparta....falling off a cliff. The 58% drop by 300: Rise of an Empire is stiffer than Zack Snyder's 300, and the film is unlikely to match its overall total. It continues to perform well, overall, amassing $166M and increasing our chances of seeing one more battle in the Persian War.
3. Need for Speed- $17.8M
Dreamworks occupies two of the top three slots this week, but there's no denying Need for Speed's $17.8M is a disappointment. The live-action racer probably drew in those who eagerly snap up the bestselling video game while everybody else just saw it as Fast & Furious lite. Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul now falls into the same category as Pompeii star Kit Harington as TV actors not quite ready for the Hollywood major leagues. Fortunately, $45M in overseas box office should go a long way in calming the nerves of anxious studio bean counters.
4. Non-Stop- $10.6M/$68.8M
5. Tyler Perry's The Single Moms Club- $8.3M
It's been diminishing returns on Tyler Perry movies, especially non-Madea ones, for awhile now which explains why Lionsgate ended their distribution deal with him. And now to follow that news up with the dreadful $8.3M debut of The Single Moms Club, things just aren't looking very good for Perry. It's the worst of his career and the first time he's had a sub-$10M opening weekend, and a lot of it has to do with a general lack of buzz surrounding the film. It's a knock on both Perry and co-star Nia Long that their names, and apparent on-screen romance, didn't prove much of a draw.
6. The LEGO Movie- $7.7M/$236.9M
7. Son of God- $5.4M/$50.8M
8. The Grand Budapest Hotel- $3.6M/$4.7M
Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel broke per site average records last week, and upon expansion to 66 theaters it continues to scorch. Averaging more than $55K in its second weekend, it expands into wider release soon. With an additional $10M earned internationally, there's a good chance it matches the $68M run of last year's Moonrise Kingdom.
9. Frozen- $2.1M/$396.3M
10. Veronica Mars- $2.02M
And the marshmallows turned out in force to support their girl, Veronica Mars. Seven years after the low-rated but beloved series went off the air, the Kickstarter funded film opened in 291 theaters and On Demand. It's a move that has never been attempted before on this scale, with Warner Bros. going through great pains to get the film in as many theaters as possible. Obviously, it worked out as the $2M makes a major dent in the tiny $6M budget, and that doesn't count what the movie will make through digital downloads and Blu-Ray sales. If show creator Rob Thomas can keep the costs low this could be the model for sequels down the road.

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Review: 'Veronica Mars' Starring Kristen Bell

Be honest, the idea of a Veronica Mars movie is something you never thought would happen. The show was a lynchpin of the late UPN network (eventually part of CW in its final season) and it was a cult hit with a dedicated by tiny audience who loved their feisty teenaged detective, played by Kristen Bell in her defining role. When it ended after a sporadic third season, show runner Rob Thomas kept hope alive for a comeback, eventually turning to the fans to help Kickstart a big screen effort. And those fans responded in record-breaking numbers. But a crowd sourced project such as this comes with challenges, namely balancing the wants of the fans (who literally have an investment in it) with a story that doesn't simply tread old ground. Fortunately, Veronica Marsnot only recaptures everything that made the series so beloved, but it may even create some new "marshmallows" in the process.

A breezy two-minute intro recaps the series, told in Veronica's slangy vernacular. It's an effective reintroduction (or introduction for some) to the character and her various relationships built and destroyed over the years, particularly her rocky love affair with bad boy Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring). Picking up ten years after the series finale, Veronica has escaped the snake pit of upper-class Southern California town of Neptune and headed to New York to become a high-powered lawyer. She used to be one of Neptune's cool kids before her Sheriff father, Keith Mars (Enrico Colantoni) ran afoul of the town elite and got fired. He became a principled private investigator, Veronica became the Nancy Drew of Neptune, and neither won them a lot of friends. All these years later, she has no intention of ever coming home, not even for the 10-year high school reunion. But when she sees a report that Logan has been accused in the murder of his pop star girlfriend, Veronica is convinced to return and defend him.

Within minutes it's like nothing has changed, which is great for us fans but not so great for Veronica.  Her mother was an alcoholic, and a recurring theme in the series was that of addiction. The film takes this idea and uses it as the primary framework for Veronica's every move. She's addicted to this life, the danger and excitement of it. When she calls herself an "adrenaline junkie" early on, we know it to be true even as she fights against backsliding into old habits. Speaking of which, one thing she simply can't quit is Logan, and the spark between them is obvious and palpable. That causes problems with her current boyfriend, the dull as dry toast good guy "Piz" (Chris Lowell), who is waiting for her back home. Veronica hooks back up with her best friends, Wallace (Percy Daggs III) and Mac (Tina Majorino), who also find themselves roped into her investigation.

It's impossible to carry over the subtleties of every relationship in a condensed 100-minute package, but Thomas does a pretty good job of giving them to us in broader strokes. We get a sense of the deep affection and playfulness between Veronica and her father, which continues to be the central bond in the story. The love triangle, such as it is, between Logan, Veronica, and Piz may seem a bit formulaic without the benefit of watching the show and knowing the complicated back story. In general it's like the show never went off the air and everybody is just picking up right where they left off. Pretty much every major character a loyal follower would want to see makes an appearance: Weevil (Francis Capra), Dick (Ryan Hansen), Gia (Krysten Ritter), Vinnie Van Lowe (Ken Marino), and they all have key parts to play. They aren't just there for the sentimental memories, although that may be a small part of it. It's kind of unavoidable with a film like this, really.  New faces fit like a glove, with the best being Gaby Hoffmann in yet another wacko role as a suspect with an unhealthy Logan Echolls obsession.

As for the mystery itself, it suffers from the compressed time frame. Thomas is used to having full seasons to flesh out all of the key players, drop clues, toss in a few swerves. Here he's torn between servicing our need to see Veronica reconnect and properly clouding the question of Logan's innocence. Long stretches go by when the murder becomes an afterthought, and the lack of attention paid to it only underscores that it isn't really compelling, anyway.

Written by Thomas and Diane Ruggiero, the dialogue is as razor sharp and funny as ever. The characters have always sounded like they were ripped straight from the Whedon-verse, and sure enough there's a pretty hilarious Buffy reference thrown in for good measure. The best part about it is that Veronica remains one of the toughest, most original female lead characters in recent memory. As a feminist icon she stands as a shining example, and not having her on TV regularly has left a pretty big void yet to be filled. Hopefully the film does well enough that it this won't be the last we see of her, but just in case it is things are resolved neatly enough.

Cinematic fan-fiction for the show's most impassioned audience, Veronica Mars is everything fans could have hoped it would be. It's a film made for fans by fans, and that's something all us marshmallows can be extremely proud of.

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Return to Neptune with Five 'Veronica Mars' Clips

In just a few short hours, Veronica Mars fans will be lining up with tickets in their hot little hands to see the feature film they thought would never happen. After kicking in a pile of cash to get the movie made, they have every right to be excited for the return of Neptune's (formerly) teen detective. The questions remains whether the film, which has a small but extremely loyal audience, can become a box office success story. Can Kristen Bell slip back into the role she left behind seven years ago? And will director and show creator Rob Thomas be able to please the fans who have invested in bringing Veronica Mars back?

We'll know the answers to those questions soon enough, but for now here are five new clips from the film. Let's be honest, though, most of the people going to see this later tonight aren't going to watch them for fear of having something spoiled. Don't really blame ya. Anyway, these scenes introduce us to Neptune's new Sheriff (Jerry O'Connell), and he's just as corrupt as the last one. Plus we see the hilarious Ryan Hansen as Veronica's antagonistic frenemy, Dick, and Enrico Colantoni as her loyal father, Keith Mars.

Veronica Mars hits theaters and VOD on March 14th. Look out for my review today at 4:30pm, and if you want more of Kristen Bell this is the place to go.

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The Talent Show: Kristen Bell

This week millions of fangirls and fanboys will get their wish when the crowd sourced Veronica Mars movie hits theaters. Admittedly I'm just now catching onto the TV show, it's definitely worth a watch, but let's be honest, it's number 1 gift to audiences around the world is the impossibly cute Kristen Bell. Quite literally the definition of the "Girl Next Door" type...though I don't remember any girls this hot living next door. Bell brings not only sex appeal but a smart and capable persona highlighted by a quick wit and undeniable gift for comic timing. Cementing her place in the hearts of red blooded men everywhere with the title role in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and as the bored house wife yearning for something wild in Couples Retreat Kristen Bell has made herself more than just a cult TV show star, oh....and she married Dax Shepard from Punk'd but I guess we can let that slide. This weekend will be a huge proving ground for the possibility of more cult shows made into movies, I hope for all of our sakes that Veronica Mars kills it at the box office but, sink or swim, Kristen Bell won't be going anywhere...and thank GOD for that!

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*CLOSED* 'Veronica Mars' Advance Screening

Welcome back to Neptune, marshmallows! Fans of Veronica Mars have spoken with their dollars and now Kristen Bell is back as everybody's favorite TV detective in her first big screen case! We want you to be amongst the first to see Veronica Mars by attending a free advance screening.

The screening takes place Wednesday March 12th at 7:30pm at AMC Mazza Gallerie. To qualify, you MUST be a fan of Punch Drunk Critics on Facebook,so if you haven't "Liked" us yet please go there and do so now. To win, we want to know which of the many Veronica Mars characters was your favorite and why. Simply email punchdrunkcritics@yahoo.com with your name and answer. 15 winners will be selected Sunday, March 9th and contacted by email with a code good for you and one guest to attend.

Good luck! Veronica Mars opens March 14th 2014.


The Veronica Mars Movie - Opening Scene by Stuff We Like

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Watch the Opening Two Minutes of 'Veronica Mars'

In just a few short days, eager fans of Neptune's favorite detective will get what they've been clamoring and for when Veronica Mars hits theaters. The Kickstarter-funded film brings back show creator Rob Thomas, Kristen Bell, and nearly all of the cult favorite show's cast for her first big screen case, and now we can see exactly how it all begins.

Warner Bros. has released the first two minutes of the movie, and it's basically a rundown of all the events leading up to this moment. This is clearly for those who may be stepping into Veronica's world for the first time, but it also serves as a nice reminder of everything she's gone through, including her complicated relationship with ex-boyfriend, Logan. It's Logan who brings her back to Neptune after becoming a successful lawyer, in order to help clear his name from a murder charge.

Also starring Jason Dohring, Enrico Colantoni, Krysten Ritter, Chris Lowell, Percy Daggs III, Tina Majorino, Francis Capra, and Ken Marino, Veronica Mars opens March 14th.


The Veronica Mars Movie - Opening Scene by Stuff We Like

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New Clip and Photos from 'Veronica Mars'

Sold out fan events and a hefty chunk of Kickstarter change should tell you there's a pretty big group of folks waiting anxiously for the Veronica Mars movie. Is it enough for the big screen version of the ratings-challenged TV series to make much of a splash at the box office? That's the question, and the results could have a huge impact on the future of crowd-sourced movies. Perhaps that's a bit much to lay on a small budgeted film about a Nancy Drew-esque detective with no big stars, but then again nobody thought Veronica Mars would be in theaters in the first place. You go, marshmallows!

A new clip and a handful of photos have been released, and it features the show's most important relationship in my opinion, that of Veronica and her detective daddy, Keith Mars. Kristen Bell is back in the title role, of course, with Enrico Colantoni as her father, and also appearing are Percy Daggs III and the awesome Tina Majorino as her friends. Now a hot shot lawyer, Veronica has returned to Neptune when her ex-boyfriend Logan (Jason Dohring) is accused of murder, and it happens to coincide with the big high school reunion she wants no part of. Oh, and there's a mention of the hated Piz (Chris Lowell) in this scene, so you Team Logan folks can get out your pitchforks.

Having kicked in my share of dough to make this movie happen, I'm pretty excited for Veronica Mars to get here on March 14th.

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First Poster for 'Veronica Mars' Pulls You Back In

Not even cancellation could keep Veronica Mars from solving her greatest case ever; that of the big screen feature film. The $5.7M fans of the show donated to help kickstart things into gear have bought more than just a movie, though. In the last week alone the original series has begun streaming on Amazon Prime; a new trailer debuted and was met with high praise; a cast reunion at Paleyfest was announced, and so was the film's world premiere at SXSW. Pretty decent value, I'd say.

Now the icing on the cake comes with the first official poster, which is pretty nifty, too. It features Veronica and her trusty camera, necessary for any serious private dick, along with a couple of film reels featuring her friends, family, and possible suspects. The story has Veronica returning to Neptune when her former flame, Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring) is accused of murder.

Written and directed by show creator Rob Thomas, Veronica Mars hits theaters March 14th.

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The New 'Veronica Mars' Trailer Takes Us Back to Neptune

"Nine years of radio silence and yet I still kind of knew I could count on you."

Oh Logan, you can always count on Veronica, you know that. And Veronica Mars could always count on its fans, who backed show creator Rob Thomas' Kickstarter campaign to record-breaking levels in order to see their favorite TV detective on the big screen. And now with the film only a couple of months away from hitting theaters, a new trailer has been released.

We got a glimpse of the first trailer back at Comic-Con but this one opens up the story a lot more. Kristen Bell is back as Veronica, who is now a big shot New York City lawyer and...sorry marshmallows....she's still hooked up with Piz (Chris Lowell). But when she catches wind that her former flame Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring) is suspected of killing his girlfriend, she drops everything and returns to Neptune, just in time for the big 10-year high school reunion. So many dramatic events converging at once! The gang is all here including the aptly-named Dick (Ryan Hansen), who is still a clown; Tina Majorino as Mac; Percy Daggs III as her best friend Wallace; and Francis Capra as Weevil. But this wouldn't be Veronica Mars without Enrico Colantoni as her loyal pops, Keith Mars.

Veronica Mars opens March 24th 2014.


Veronica Mars (2014) - Official Trailer [VO-HD] by Eklecty-City.fr

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Travis' Most Anticipated 2014 Movies: January to March

The book on 2013 is now closed, and I for one thought it was an incredible year. It was so good, with early and late season films ending up on my "Best of" list, that it will be tough for 2014 to live up. There's bound to be some let-down, and with 2015 already looking like the "Year of the Blockbuster", we may see 2014 be like the forgotten middle child or something. But there are still a lot of movies that I'm looking forward to, and I've decided to break them down by season, giving you my top 10 for each. Bear in mind this doesn't necessarily mean I think these movies will be good, just that I'm looking forward to them for one reason or another. And no, they don't all spring from the pages of some comic book. I make no promises about the summer, though.

Raze- January 10th
Director: Josh C. Waller
Cast: Zoe Bell, Rachel Nichols, Tracie Thoms, Doug Jones

Dude, it's Zoe Bell. Okay, those who know me understand that's more than enough reason to get excited over Raze, which pits the insanely-tough Bell against Rachel Nichols and dozens of other beauties in an exploitative, grindhouse-style flick that's a little bit Fight Club, a little bit Quentin Tarantino.

The Monuments Men- February 7th
 Director: George Clooney
Cast: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Cate Blanchett, Jean Dujardin

Ever since his directorial debut, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, I've been impressed every single time George Clooney has stepped behind the camera. Not only is he always able to snag a great cast, but he manages to make big social or political points while telling an entertaining story. The Monuments Men may be his most ambitious film yet, and while the delay has me somewhat concerned, I trust he'll be able to nail the difficult balance of drama and humor.

Robocop- February 12th
Director: Jose Padilha
Cast: Joel Kinnaman, Abbie Cornish, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Michael K. Williams, Jay Baruchel, Jackie Earle Haley

Here's one I'm looking forward to even though it might be atrocious. The darkly satirical films of Paul Verhoeven have been popular targets for remake of late, and after that awful first trailer it looked like Robocop may turn out like Total Recall and totally miss the point. But the most recent footage, backed by Samuel L. Jackson's boisterous boasts about the future of our country's war on terror have renewed my faith, and I'm starting to warm up to Joel Kinnaman as the robotic defender of justice.  Honestly, I could care less about the sleeker suit or that you can see Kinnaman's eyes or whatever the latest complaints are. All that matters is that he's believable both as an ass-kicker and a family man, which shouldn't be too tough to pull off.

300: Rise of an Empire- March 7th
Director: Noam Murro
Cast: Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Jack O'Connell, Lena Headey,  Rodrigo Santoro

Against my better judgement I'm surprisingly excited for 300: Rise of an Empire. Sure, Zack Snyder has moved on to helm the Man of Steel's next killing spree, handing the reins to the totally unproven Noam Murro. But the Smart People director seems to have captured the visual style and bloody swords 'n sandals action that made the first film a smash. Even if it lacks the same level of star power without Gerard Butler, it's more than made up for by the chance to watch Eva Green as she makes a bid for world domination. Yes, she can lead me into impending doom anytime.

Veronica Mars- March 14th
Director: Rob Thomas
Cast: Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring, Chris Lowell, Ryan Hansen, Krysten Ritter, Percy Daggs III, Tina Majorino, Francis Capra, Ken Marino, Enrico Colantoni

I don't think anybody could have predicted Veronica Mars would make it to the big screen. Not even the most loyal marshmallow could have forseen the Kickstarter juggernaut it would become that got us to this point, but since I'm one of those who happily donated some cash you best believe I'm happy about it! Of course there are some concerns that what worked on TV won't fly as a movie, but as long as Kristen Bell is back as Veronica, and you've got Logan, Weevil, and good ol' Keith Mars joining her, there's every reason to believe fans of the show will leave happy.

Blood Ties- March 21st
Director: Guillaume Canet
Cast: Clive Owen, Zoe Saldana, Billy Crudup, Mila Kunis, James Caan, Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts

So what if the response out of Cannes was mixed on Guillaume Canet's Blood Ties? I've never been let down by Canet, who directed the excellent crime thriller Tell No One, nor co-writer James Gray. The sprawling 1970s crime tale actually reads like something closer to Gray's sensibilities, with Clive Owen and Billy Crudup as brothers on opposing sides of the law. It's territory Gray has tackled plenty of times before in Little Odessa, We Own the Night, and The Yards, but he's never had a cast that stretches this deep. The combination of Canet and Gray's talents with an incredible amount of star wattage is too tantalizing to resist.

Nymphomaniac Part One- March 21st
Director: Lars von Trier
Cast: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Shia LaBeouf, Stellan Skarsgard, Uma Thurman, Willem Dafoe, Stacy Martin, Udo Kier

Maybe it makes me a dirty old man but I'm hella excited for Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac, and yep, it has everything to do with seeing how far he's going to push the envelope. The trailers and clips we've seen up to this point have suggested a depraved corunucopia of fornication, with von Trier seemingly hitting on every sexual sub-group he can find. Now that the film is out in Europe we've started to hear some advance word, and it sounds like there's some sort of method to his madness, which pretty much sums up every film he's made. I think mainly it'll be interesting to see how our country deals with the in-your-face material. We had a hard enough time handling a couple of lesbian sex scenes in Blue is the Warmest Color. What are people going to think about a film that goes well above and beyond that?

Divergent- March 21st
Director: Neil Burger
Cast: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Miles Teller, Maggie Q, Mekhi Phifer, Jai Courtney, Zoe Kravitz

What do I know about Divergent? Not a lot, really. It's about humans divided into ideological factions or something, but I don't know why that's cool or anything. What I do know is that it stars Shailene Woodley, and so far she's batting 1.000 in making movies that speak directly to me, and the chance to see her rejoin The Spectacular Now's Miles Teller is simply too good. How is he not the love interest here, too? Fire the casting director, post haste! I don't know if this will be "the next Hunger Games" or "the next Mortal Instruments", but Divergent has my attention.

Noah- March 28th
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Cast: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson, Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Logan Lerman

All of the sudden it's like everybody wants to make a Biblical epic. Okay, cool, but the one that should be the most impressive is Darren Aronofsky's big budget Noah, which he's been consumed with trying to adapt for quite a long time. Frankly, I'm less interested in the familiar tale of the guy charged by God to build a giant floating zoo to spare himself from a watery death, and more interested in Aronofsky's specific take, which has already ruffled the feathers of a few religious groups. Ruffle away, my friend.

The Raid 2- March 28th
Director: Gareth Evans
Cast: Iko Uwais

It's only been out for a couple of years and already The Raid: Redemption is a stone cold classic, and one of the few martial arts movies from overseas that have made a genuine impact on our shores. If you saw it, then you know already know it reaches incredible levels of violence at a pace so furious it's hard to stop and catch a breath. The sequel, believe it or not, promises to be even bigger with director Gareth Evans taking the action topside and onto the street where all types of new, vicious threats await. I can't wait!

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