Jesse Eisenberg describes Lex Luthor in 'Batman v. Superman' as "Complicated and Challenging"

As production continues on Zack Snyder's Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice we have been getting little by little more material that gives us glimpses of what the film might look like, from production photos, set photos and even that amazing Comic-Con footage. After all this time we have gotten to see what Batman, Superman and even Wonder Woman are going to look like, but the one character we have heard or seen little of since the casting is Lex Luthor. For now we just know that Jesse Eisenberg will be playing the role and that the character will not be the Luthor we are used to, the character will be a young and energetic Mark Zuckerberg-type guy that runs a Google-esque LexCorp.

Eisenberg recently talked to The Film magazine and had some things to say about the character. The actor was not to open to reveal a whole lot about the character but said about his portrayal that "There are some indications of how the character should behave based on the script, and then an actor makes it his or her own." Then followed by commenting on the psychology of the character and getting some input from one of the writers saying that he "got to know one of the writers Chris Terrio, and we were able to discuss things at length and figure out who this person is to create a real psychology behind what is, perhaps, in a comic book, a less than totally modern psychology. I can only say I've been asked to play an interesting role. A complicated, challenging person."

With these comments we get a small idea of how the character might be but still leaves a lot to discover about this version of Luthor. I personally was very neutral about the casting choice of Eisenberg, he wouldn't have been my first choice at all but from the sounds of how the character would be in this film I could see it working out, plus after Man of Steel Zack Snyder won my trust with this property and he must have seen something in Eisenberg that makes him fit into this complicated and challenging Lex Luthor.

New Trailer for 'Seventh Son' hits the web, starring Jeff Bridges and Ben Barnes

A new trailer for the upcoming Seventh Son dropped on the web from Universal and Legendary Pictures. The story is about a mystical warrior (Jeff Bridges) and his apprentice (Ben Barnes) as they join together to fight and destroy an evil dark queen (Julianne Moore) and her army, sound familiar?. Looking at this trailer this film feels like something I have already seen, it doesn't seem to offer something extra to the generic "old dude training the young dude to fight the evil monsters", adding to all of that this film was been pushed back three times from its original February 2013 release date after it started production in 2012. I am talking from only looking at the trailer so I'll reserve any opinion or judgement until I see the film, being honest, if I see the film. Check out the trailer for Seventh Son below and let me know what your thoughts, remember it opens on February 6, 2015.

'Star Wars: Episode 7' continues filming with Harrison Ford returning

Most of us are aware of the accident involving Harrison Ford on the set of Star Wars: Episode 7 this past June that left the actor with a broken leg bone at the hands of the Millennium Falcon, and left the audience questioning itself about what would happen to the film's schedule and also Ford's part in the film. No one seemed to have expected the injury to cause any major issues for the film, sure maybe schedules would have to be moved a bit and some other adjustments made, but nothing that would harm the actor's role or the release date set for the film which is December 18th, 2015, still we were all on the look out for any developments on the matter.

According to THR filming has resumed earlier this week in London, and sources tell EW that a fully recovered Ford would start shooting his scenes soon. Serving as proof to the actor's recovery he was seen walking the red carpet of The Expendables 3 and in a videos where he takes on the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. So everyone who was worried can sleep easier and be happy to know that J.J. Abrams is back on track directing Ford and the rest of the cast and crew for this highly anticipated film that continues expanding the Star Wars Saga.

Ramones Biopic in plans by Martin Scorsese

Legendary band The Ramones could be getting a film based on their true life story by 2016. The Wrap reports that Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese is attached to direct a biopic about of one of the greatest bands of all-time, after the recent passing of the last surviving member the site reports that the holders of the band's estate want to further immortalize their legacy with a film with a 2016 release date that would coincide with the 40th anniversary of The Ramones' first record release back in 1976.

A film about the iconic band and with such a big-name director sounds fine and dandy, but a report by Deadline points out that Scorsese's schedule and time-taking development process on films may mean that a 2016 release date may be a bit optimistic. Scorsese future projects include the film Silence that has a 2015 release date, as well as the pilot for a Shutter Island TV series, Sinatra and The Irishman, so it looks like unless the director is willing to push back some of his other projects and rush the Ramones film, which doesn't have a script yet, a 2016 release date does sound like pushing it. Nothing is definitive yet so we will have to keep our eyes open to see what happens with this possible project.

Joaquin Phoenix in closing negotiations to star in 'Doctor Strange'

With Avengers: Age of Ultron coming to theaters on May 1st, 2015 we are almost all done with the MCU Phase Two and set to begin Phase Three when Ant-Man hits the big-screen on July 17th, 2015. Marvel is pretty secretive with their properties and other than a lineup of dates and pure speculation, we know little about the upcoming films. It is only natural that from these speculations rise a lot of rumors, and the title that has come up again and again has been Doctor Strange, and of course the talk has been most at who would be portraying the Sorcerer Supreme with names like Johnny Depp, Jared Letto, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy and Joaquin Phoenix being thrown around. Marvel already announced Scott Derrickson as director and brought in Jon Spaihts to write along with previously attached Thomas Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer, so these additions to the project have us assuming that Doctor Strange would take the July 8th, 2016 even though it has not been officially announced.

Now it looks like speculations as to who will play the lead in the film can come to a rest, Collider is releasing the exclusive that previously rumored Joaquin Phoenix is in final stages of negotiations to land the role of Doctor Strange. Sources from the site claim that the actor is in the final stretch of signing the contract, with just the final details to be settled on, this might include pay, how many films, and other scheduling issues. Personally, assuming that this casting news is true, and we are all taking it as pretty much done unless negotiations take a dramatic turn, I am completely on board with Joaquin Phoenix playing the Sorcerer Supreme. Phoenix is a multiple Oscar nominee so you know the acting is there in the truck load, the distinct look of the character can't be seen at first glance but I'm sure with some facial hair and gray sideburns (assuming they'll stick to the original look) the looks will be there. In the end to me there's pretty much nothing that Marvel can announce that I won't be alright with, they are at that point that the faith I have in them is so that they could cast a chimpanzee as the next superhero and I would give it a shot, but being serious, I really like this news and am looking forward to what they announce next.

Russo Brothers Talk 'Captain America 3'

Captain America 3 is still two years away and hasn't even started production yet, but the great success of Captain America: The Winter Soldier has people very excited and with high hopes for the next installment which has a May 6th, 2016 release date. We don't know much about the film, we know Joe and Anthony Russo are assuming directing duties again with Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan to reprise their roles as Captain America and The Winter Soldier respectively, we heard that Hawkeye may be making an appearance, and we can only assume that Falcon, Black Widow and Crossbones would or could have a role.

Collider sat down with the Russo brothers and was able to get some comments about were the film stands in regards to filming, script, title, Hawkeye involvement and where the story and characters were going. About filming the directors said that the film would begin shooting this coming April in Atlanta, for the script they revealed that a first draft was already completed, when asked about Jeremy Renner's comments and a possible Haweye involvement the brothers said that Renner "might be misremembering because he was supposed to be in Cap 2 but we couldn't make his schedule work [laughs].  Maybe that’s what he’s talking about." Which might be either completely true or a way of taking our minds of the subject because they can't say if it will actually happen. About the title of the movie the directors stated that the announcement would come soon, hopefully before they started shooting but that "sometimes the announcement waits on certain business deals to be completed so we’re just kind of waiting on the business end of the issue to sort of settle itself and we’ll be ready to announce it.  But we’re hoping in a month or so at the most." Which might imply that like the previous film, the title could reveal a key character. On that same note of revealing which characters we would see they could not say much "  But, you know, strict Marvel policy of nondisclosure." other than complimenting the characters and we have already seen and could possibly see again, on where the story would go they commented that "the truth is, we’re not close enough to it to really be addressing it on a narrative level yet." Fact of the matter is we are all excited for this movie and expect it to be amazing, so we will all be on the watch for any more details that come out.

'Underworld' to be rebooted with script in the works

It has been eleven years since we saw Kate Beckinsale turn into an action heroine back in 2003 with the release of Underworld, the first film in a four-film saga featuring an all out war between vampires and werewolves. This first installment performed very well in the box-office making $95 million on a mere $22 million budget, this lead to three more films being made that didn't exactly follow in the same footsteps in terms of quality and appeal, in my opinion, but still adding to a total pot of $458.2 million.

Even though the last film in the series came out in 2012 Lakeshore Entertainment seems to be moving ahead with a reboot to the franchise. The Hollywood Reporter has the exclusive that Priest and The last Witch Hunter writer Cory Goodman is attached to write the script for the project with Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi producing. No details from the film have been revealed and no director or actors are attached to it yet, so it is pretty unclear what "reboot" will mean for the film and the franchise. I enjoyed the first film and the idea of vampires fighting werewolves had some appeal at the time, but they lost me after the second one, so now I can't say I am interested at all on seeing a reboot or continuation of the series, I guess I'll just have to wait and see when more news and material from the film come out to see if anything catches my attention. Would you be interested to see an Underworld reboot film? What do you think about this news? Tell me in the comments section.

 

The Rebellion is rising with these new character posters from The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1

Promotion has been slowly but surely building up momentum and hype for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part1, with clips, teasers and promotional images marketing for the film appears to be doing their job very well in anticipation to the release of the film on November 21st, 2014. The latest reveal from the film were six character posters, released by Wired, giving us a look at leaders of the rebellion. Check them out for yourself below.

Unfortunately I have not read any of the books so I can't comment on how the characters look in comparison to how they are described in the books, that being said, that makes me no less excited for this film and I still think the posters look awesome. I have progressively liked each film more than the previous, which makes me anticipate this one even more. Let me know what you think of these character posters in the comments.

Charlie Hunnam to star in Guy Ritchie's King Arthur Film

It has been out there for a while that Warner Brothers was looking to get a new franchise going with Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur with Guy Ritchie sitting in the directors chair and a script from Joby Harold, the film has a July 22, 2016 release date and would be the first of a six-film roster.

Looks like the big chair of the round table will be filled by Charlie Hunnam. Deadline reports that the Sons of Anarchy and Pacific Rim star is in "final negotiations" to close the deal and land the part of King Arthur. Meanwhile, Variety places Elizabeth Olsen as the top-pick for the female lead in the film but with no specifics about which character that would be. These two actors would join an "in talks" Idris Elba who would be playing a mentoring role to the lead character.

Personally I would love to see a well done King Arthur story come to the big screen, since the previous Clive Owen film didn't do much for me. This could have so much potential and go a long way if ,as I said, is done correctly.  As far as the castings go the only one I am truly excited about is Idris Elba, him playing the role of a mentor is something I can definitely see, just imagine Heimdall training and mentoring Thor, something in those lines is how I would picture it. Elizabeth Olsen and Charlie Hunnam are both good actors but haven't wowed me in their recent movies for me to get particularly excited about their castings. Hopefully the film is made and turns out to be awesome. Share your thoughts and opinions.

Dan Brown's Inferno starts filming with Tom Hanks and Ron Howard in 2015

It has been a while, but it seems we are getting another Robert Langdon adventure on the big screen with Inferno. Deadline reports that the latest Dan Brown novel adaptation is setting up to begin production in Italy as soon as April with Ron Howard sitting in the director chair and Tom Hanks returning to his role as Robert Langdon. This would be the third film adaptation but Inferno is actually the fourth book chronologically, which is nothing to worry about since the first two films were in opposite order in the book series and skipping one book makes sense being that a long time has passed since the last film.

Inferno takes Robert Langdon, while suffering from amnesia, on an journey to put a stop to the spread of a plague that threatens the globe connected to Dante's famous poem. I'm not jumping up and down about it but I think I might be among the few that may be interested in watching this film, I liked the first two and remember them enough to still be curious about a new one, also there is something about puzzles and riddles in films that I enjoy. The first movie was successful and the second one, even though not as successful as the first, also performed well in the box-office but like I mentioned before a long time has passed since the previous film. It may or may not be a good idea to make this film, maybe the people involved just want some closure and think something can come out of it, who knows, I would still give it a shot.

Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu's Birdman with Michael Keaton gets huge buzz

Michael Keaton stars in Birdman, the story of an aging washed up actor trying to revive his career after it went downhill since playing a famous super hero in his younger years. After hearing the description of the film I couldn't help but be interested since this story can in some ways relate to Keaton's career after his famous portrayal as Tim Burton's Batman in 1989. After seeing the trailer for the movie with a glimpse of interest I became expectant, the trailer made me anticipate the movie, in my opinion it looks like a very interesting story that could be very funny, charming and have heart. Look below for the trailer.

The film premiered this week in the Venice International Film Festival and received nothing short of praise from the critics, which will do nothing but help the film when it hits theaters on October 17th. Below you can find some comments from those lucky enough to see and review the film.

Hollywood Reporter:
Birdman flies very, very high. Intense emotional currents and the jagged feelings of volatile actors are turned loose to raucous dramatic and darkly comedic effect in one of the most sustained examples of visually fluid tour de force cinema anyone’s ever seen, all in the service of a story that examines the changing nature of celebrity and the popular regard for fame over creative achievement.

TheWrap:
Putting aside [its] baseless and infantile loathing of the critic class, ‘Birdman’ is an often intelligent and unpredictable look at actors, loving their spontaneity and creativity glossing over their emotional needs and volatility. Riggan is so consumed with self-doubt that he often hears the voice of Birdman in his head, telling him to abandon this artsy-fartsy stage business so he can return to the screen for the ‘apocalyptic pornography’ that global audiences crave.

Hitfix:
“Birdman” (or “The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance” – the alternate title resolves satisfyingly in the film) proves to be a sparkling tonic to [Inarritu's] life-is-hideous trilogy (“21 Grams”, “Babel” and “Biutiful”) containing a bitter shot of gin, calculated to give industry egos a knowing but energizing kick in the pants.


It’s also a technically superlative exercise (as was last year’s Venice opener “Gravity”). The much-vaunted single-take effect achieved by DP Emmanuel Lubezki and editors Douglas Crise and Stephen Mirrione (with a couple of exceptions the film appears to play without cuts) is not a gimmick, but a storytelling technique that achieves an arguably superior effect to that realized by Alfred Hitchcock in “Rope.” Where “Rope’s” apparent single take ended up feeling a little stagy, as if the original play was being filmed live, “Birdman” is alive in every frame – the effect is of staying up several days in a row, watching the sunrise and carrying on, events slurring together with strung-out nervous energy. 

Variety:
‘Birdman’ offers by far the most fascinating meta-deconstruction of an actor’s ego since ‘Being John Malkovich,’ and one that leaves no room for vanity… Inarritu’s approach is mind-boggling in its complexity, nearly as demanding on [cinematographer Emmanuel] Lubezki as ‘Gravity’ must have been… It’s all one big magic trick, one designed to remind how much actors give to their art even as it disguises the layers of work that go into it.

Empire:
What the film ultimately talks about, however, is more rich and profound that Iñárritu’s earlier works, dealing with issues of art, artistry and why we create. That Iñárritu has done so with a multi-layered script is a thing of wonder in itself, but the perfect physical precision with which he has done so – his restless camera takes us into every peeling nook and cranny of the theatre, until its dank corridors become as familiar as home – is a miracle. The ending will baffle or delight, but like the rest of the film it is uncompromising, a true throwback to the ‘70s – Alan Arkin’s Little Murders springs to mind – a time when surrealism and abstraction weren’t alien terms and people watched Batman for laughs.

New Interstellar TV Spot

Interstellar is Christopher Nolan's most recent project of which we don't know quite that much about, if anything, since the director is playing this one really close to the chest. From what little we know, Matthew McConaughey is an astronaut or becomes an astronaut that has to go somewhere in deep space to look for something or do something and we can only guess encounters a very difficult journey.

A new IMAX TV Spot for the film hit the web, it doesn't have any new footage as far as the latest trailer goes but shows the nice imagery in better quality. I have to say that the trailers and this new TV spot look fantastic and that even if we can't really tell that much about the film, it tells me all I need to get excited about it: Great cast that includes Anne Hathaway and Michael Caine, Christopher Nolan and Space, I'm sold.

Check out the spot and the trailer below and remember Interstellar hits the screens on  November 7th.

   

Ridley Scott Talks Blade Runner Sequel, The Martian and Prometheus 2

Ridley Scott is a very busy man these days, and the schedule he seems to have on his hands says exactly that. The talented director is in post-production of his biblical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings which is set to hit screens in December, and is already in pre-production of his sci-fi protect The Martian which would have a November 25th 2015 release date. Ridley Scott was also announced to direct the sequels of  Blade Runner and Prometheus, which leaves people asking themselves when these two films would come or if they even will.

EW interviewed the director and asked about the projects which he said were all already scripted. about The Martian, Scott informed that shooting was on course to begin this November in Budapest and Wadi Rum. As for Blade Runner 2, the director stated that the script was finished and "damn good" and that it would involve Harrison Ford even though the actor nor his people have confirmed this, but dates were not mentioned for the production only that it would come "Probably after [The Martian.]. That’s the problem, I've got a lot of ducks in a row." So no sign of where this leaves Prometheus 2 we will just have to wait and see.

Hawkeye in Captain America 3?

It looks like Hawkeye may be playing a part in Captain America 3, or at least that is what Jeremy Renner hinted recently. In a interview with Collider while talking about his schedule and upcoming projects the actor said the following:

  "There are rumblings of Captain America 3.  I don’t know what’s going to happen there.  I've got to find the time, man (laughs).  I’m trying to stay home and I can’t."

These are comments that only leave us to speculate and with Captain America 3 being two years away means we can't take this "casting news" as a fact. With that being said and assuming that the comments come true, to me this would be a logic move to make. We all know how well Black Widow worked in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, so using a character like Widow and Hawkeye that don't appear to have what it takes to handle a solo film as supportive characters in the other films looks to be the way to go.

New TV spot for Gone Girl

At yesterdays Emmy Awards 20th Century Fox released a TV spot for the upcoming David Fincher directed movie Gone Girl. The film is based on a novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn and stars Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne, a man who on his fifth wedding anniversary reports his wife missing and quickly becomes caught in a police and media nightmare that points at him as the person responsible. The film opens on October 3rd.

As far as the trailer and this TV spot you can consider me sold, I am very much looking forward for this film. I am a sucker for crime thrillers and the dark tone that the trailers show just makes it appeal to me even more, the trailer explains itself very well without giving too much away and makes me want to know what will happen, and leaves everyone with the question if Ben Affleck's character actually did it.

Be sure to check out below the trailer and TV spot for Gone Girl below:

Guardians of the Galaxy movie review

**Before I get into the first review on the blog I want to mention that my reviews of movies will be spoiler filled, I will write as if the reader has already seen the film**

Guardians of the Galaxy is the latest film in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), following the team-up of five misfits putting their differences aside to defend a galaxy in which they seem to find no place. This film was the biggest risk by Marvel Studios so far and it was a great time to take it given their track record, the way it performed showed how much confidence they have in their properties and how much faith we have in them as fans, Marvel Studios has yet to really disappoint their audience and lets hope that day is very far away.

This film was fantastic in my opinion, I enjoyed it from start to finish. I felt it flowed very well from the introduction of the main characters to the amazing climactic fight in the conclusion, at no point did it seem slow or too rushed to get to the end. Visually I thought it was beautiful, James Gunn gave us a look at an amazing and vast world that we just began to know in this film. When it comes to the characters I think they handled them in a great way, we have gotten used to having these entire movies giving us the whole back story of individual characters and this movie proved that we don't need more than a brief scene to tell us what we need to know and get us invested in the characters. The performances worked well, specially Chris Pratt as Starlord and Bradley Cooper as Rocket, not to take anything away from Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana and Vin Diesel but those first two were the stand outs to me. As far as the villains go I thought they worked well, but as much as I loved getting that first actual look at Thanos I feel that it took away from Ronan The Accuser because then we know that there is someone worse so we loose that fear of Ronan who is supposed to be the main villain, I would have liked to still see Thanos without him making Ronan look like that much of a wimp (if that makes sense).

I left this movie having been very entertained, the blend of action and comedy is something that is being used more in these Marvel films and in this one specifically it blended perfectly, the music also added an extra touch to make the film even more entertaining. This movie leaves us like most Marvel film seem to leave us, very satisfied but wanting to see more.

Babble Rating: 8/10                        

Feel free to leave any comments and opinions that you might have about the film, if you agree or disagree with anything we talked about or have something to add, let us know. keep on babbling!

Welcome to Babble Movie News!

Hello movie enthusiasts and welcome to Babble Movie News!

This is a blog about one guy talking everything movies. If you love movies you have come to the right place, here you will find the latest in the world of movies, from trailers to news and even movie reviews. So if you want to be the one your friends go to ask about movies keep checking in, also feel free to comment on the posts to leave your thoughts and opinions. 

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