A Peek Through the Hatch: Avengers: Age of Ultron

Spoilery thoughts are in this post!

So I was watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. last night, catching up in order to watch the new episode next week, all so I could catch the world premiere of the first Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer. I was also on Twitter, since I can't stand to be watching just one screen aparently. All of a sudden, people are talking about the Avengers trailer and I realize that it's leaked online. But I refrained from watching the leaked/bootlegged version. I was going to wait until next week.

So I was pleasantly surprised to check Twitter this morning to discover that Marvel went ahead and released the official trailer! Check it out below (like you haven't already).



Some thoughts:

• Like a lot of folks, I'd been hearing about this trailer (or a version of it) since Comic-Con. It's nice to finally see stuff like Ultron walking in on the party scene and the Hulk throwing the car at Iron Man (in full Hulkbuster armor) and then punching through it. Expectations were basically met there.
• The Pinocchio song is indeed awesome and lends the trailer a disturbing vibe.
• Some cliches: Black Widow saying "Nothing lasts forever.", Scarlet Witch dropping to her knees and screaming, Thor's cape sliding/billowing over to block the background (didn't we just see that in Man of Steel?), Hulk and Iron Man punching each other at the same time (that sort of already happened in The Incredible Hulk between Hulk and The Abomination).
• The party scene is going to be one of the highlights of the film and it's fun seeing a little bit of it here. Check out Thor's crazy red jacket:

• We get a wide shot of the party and I'm wondering who the two mystery women are. It's clear that Black Widow is there but I'm wondering who the other two are. I'd heard that Jane, Natalie Portman's character and Thor's main squeeze, would be there but that she'd be with someone else, the guy she goes on a date with in Thor: The Dark World (Chris O'Dowd from The IT Crowd). At least, I think I remember hearing/reading that. I'm not sure why they'd do that. Maybe Cobie Smulder's character, Maria Hill is also one of them?

From left to right: Hulk, Black Widow, Mystery Woman 1, Thor, Captain America, Mystery Woman 2, James Rhodes/War Machine/Iron Patriot, Iron Man, Hawkeye

• Finally, that final shot of Ultron is pretty flippin' badass. I can't wait for May 1st!

What do you think of this trailer?

A Peek Through the Hatch: Guardians of the Galaxy

So I stayed up late last night to catch the trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy on Jimmy Kimmel Live. And, being that I’m turning into a sleepy old man it was a weeknight, I fell asleep and missed it. I was awake probably about 20 minutes before it aired and 20 minutes after it aired but, in Snoozetown when it premiered. So maybe that fueled my disappointment once I stopped kicking myself and finally watched the trailer on my iPad. The movie looked okay, but just okay.

But then I watched it again this morning. And a second time. And a third. And I love it! I hope I can dismiss anyone’s worries (including mine) about this first trailer by saying that, it’s probably difficult to capture the action of the film, and its comedy in one trailer. This isn’t The Avengers. There’s going to be a lot of comedy (or at least, an effort for a lot of comedy) in this movie, something sort of new for a Marvel movie. To be clear, I find quite a few bits in The Avengers - and other Marvel flicks - to be pretty funny, but I think it’s safe to say this is the first action/comedy from Marvel.

I think the acting looks great (and what a cast - we haven't even heard Bradley Cooper as Rocket or seen Glenn Close yet), and the effects and action look top notch. The final look of director James Gunn's film in general is promising (I really didn’t like that GotG post - or was it mid? - credits scene after Thor 2...it was a little hammy and didn’t look cinematic enough) so I’m relieved.



What do you guys think? Guardians of the Galaxy premieres August 1.

*OBSCENE GESTURE IMMINENT*

make animated gifs like this at MakeAGif

Batch o' Hatch: Trek, LAMBCast, Thor 2, Halloween Withdrawals, All Cheerleaders Die

Attack the Trek

Did you see Attack the Block? According to JoBlo, Paramount is supposedly interested in getting that film’s director - Joe Cornish - to direct Star Trek 3. This could be an interesting choice. I honestly haven’t thought much about Attack the Block since I watched it but it was a decent film. Cornish clearly has an interest in sci-fi so Trek fans can probably breathe a small sigh of relief for now.

IMDb

Machete Kills on The LAMBCast

A little ways back I stopped by the LAMBCast again to participate in their Machete Kills episode. I talked helicopter kills and questionable sci-fi with Jay, Pat, Fredo, and Will. Give ‘er a listen.

Wikipedia

5 Great Bits of Thor on French Toast Sunday

I’ve got a new post over on French Toast Sunday and it’s all about Thor. Go check it out!

Halloween Withdrawals

I watched a few horror movies last month for the Halloween season but I - like always - wish I had watched more. Check out my list below.

The Amityville Horror - “Mother of God I’m coming apart!”
The Exorcism of Emily Rose - Only the second time I’ve seen this. Holds up pretty well.
Stir of Echoes - Classic. Never get tired of it.
Curse of Chucky - .....meh.
Night of the Living Dead (Rifftrax Live) - Pretty fun live show.
Halloween 3 - Listened to the How Did This Get Made? folks make fun of it and had to watch again.
Evil Dead 2 - Dressed as Ash this year for Halloween so I had to watch this again. Still amazing.
The Conjuring - Watched this the morning after my Halloween party. It was still scary as f*ck.
Hocus Pocus - I’ll be watching this for years to come. Probably the funnest flick about Halloween.
The Possession - This was surprisingly good and creepy. Guy who looked like Matisyahu turned out to be Matisyahu.
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon - Showed this to a few friends who had never seen it before. Mixed results. I still love it. I want a sequel!!!
Jaws 3 - Pretty terrible movie.

All Cheerleaders Die

Here’s an interesting trailer (via Arrow in the Head) for All Cheerleaders Die, a horror flick I really haven’t heard much about. It looks pretty cool though! It was directed by Lucky McKee (anyone seen The Woman?).




Tweets

It's ok to discuss 12 Years a Slave without having to mention Django or any other movie. Let the movie stand on its own. It deserves that
— Candice Frederick (@ReelTalker) November 5, 2013

Couldn't agree more.

I am going to see The Royal Tenenbaums --my favorite movie -- on the big screen for the first time tonight. Pumped.
— Britt Hayes, Esq. (@MissBrittHayes) November 6, 2013

Ms. Hayes wrote an awesome piece about The Royal Tenenbaums a little while back. Check it out here.

*circles January 2nd on calendar* #Community
— Community (@nbccommunity) November 6, 2013

Apparently the fact that Community is coming back on January 2nd is old news! But I'm still stoked!

Well, guess I'm sticking with Netflix.
— CT (from Nerd Lunch) (@nerdlunch) November 7, 2013

CT from Nerd Lunch on (I think) the news that Netflix will be producing TV shows for Marvel.

A Peek Through the Hatch: X-Men: Days of Future Past

Time for a peek at X-Men: Days of Future Past. My excitement level for this flick is pretty high. I enjoyed both of Bryan Singer’s X films and First Class was pretty awesome, if lacking in execution. This new film combines the casts of Singer’s films and First Class, so it seems like a formula for excellence. The fact that Singer is at the helm after his absence from Last Stand (how god awful was that?) and First Class is great in my book. I enjoyed The Wolverine and the fact that Hugh Jackman looks to have such a big role in this film is awesome. In general it's kind of cool that all these actors from the Singer films are back. I never even imagined that all these familiar faces would return in this rebooted First Class universe. I’m hoping for a lot of Jackman/Fassbender/McAvoy scenes. What do you guys think?

A Peek Through the Hatch: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Here's the trailer for Wes Anderson's newest film, The Grand Budapest Hotel! Damn, it seems like just yesterday we were peeking at Moonrise Kingdom. The film looks just as rich and whimsical as Anderson's previous films and features many of the director's regulars including Bill Murray and Owen Wilson. Newcomers include Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, and Saoirse Ronan. It's also great to see that Anderson has brought back some folks from Moonrise including, Edward Norton.

I love how zany and madcap this film looks. The tone reminds me of The Life Aquatic, which is refreshing after the (slightly) more reserved Moonrise. The highlight of the trailer for me is probably Fiennes - he seems to fit right in with Anderson's universe. According to the Los Angeles Times, Budapest opens (probably in limited release) on March 7, 2014. 

Wikipedia

Batch o’ Hatch: A Shit Ton of Awesome Trailers, Escapism at The Green Dragon Pub, and New Logo!!!

A Shit Ton of Awesome Trailers

We got an awesome amount of new trailers over the past week or so, guys. Star Trek Into Darkness, The Lone Ranger, Man of Steel, and OHMYGODPACIFICRIM!!!! Forget all those other trailers, just watch this one! It’s got everything - Idris Elba, ninja shit, giant monsters, giant robots, ROCKET PUNCH!



What do you think of the trailer for Pacific Rim?

Escapism: The Green Dragon Pub

So Niki over at JoBlo.com recently highlighted this awesome bar in Hobbiton, New Zealand. Yes, you can drink some brew in a magical Hobbit village and don’t you dare pretend you wouldn’t want to.

Who’s buying the first round?

New Logo!!!

You may have noticed our spiffy new logo above, courtesy of Mr. Bill Wiist. Gandalf himself dropped by to mark the occasion. Special thanks to CT from Nerd Lunch for referring us to Bill.

Do you like our new logo? :) Do you hate it? :(

Tweets

I agree, Pax.

Bill Murray back in for Ghostbusters 3?! At this point I'm like, "F**k you. All of you." - whatculture.com/film/bill-murr…
— Paxton Holley (@paxtonholley) December 4, 2012

@TarsTarkasnet, engaged in some #RightQuoteWrongFilm.

"You're a wizard, Harry." - Harry and the Hendersons #rightquotewrongfilm
— HoHoHoTarsTarkas.NET (@TarsTarkasnet) December 5, 2012

Pete from I Love That Film, summing up how I initially felt about the Man of Steel trailer.

Meh of Steel more like it.
— Pete Turner (@ilovethatfilm) December 11, 2012

Dan does nothing to assuage my fears about 48 FPS.

48 frames-per-second just makes everybody in the movie seem like they are way too hyper.
— Dan O'Neill (@DantheMan610) December 12, 2012

Thanks for reading! And now, it's question time again...

The $64,000 Question

 Click the pic and have a Happy Hobbit Weekend!

Batch o’ Hatch: Lincoln’s Voice, The Details Trailer, and Nightbreed

Lincoln’s Voice

About a week back I caught the Lincoln trailer and wondered what was up with Daniel Day Lewis’ Lincoln voice:

Lincoln Trailer - Daniel Day Lewis' Lincoln voice is...not what I was expecting. youtu.be/KJVuqYkI2jQ
— Robert (@zerbert) September 13, 2012

Devin over at Badass Digest pointed out that Day Lewis’ interpretation is probably spot on. There’s a pretty funny video that splices Pee Wee Herman’s voice with parts of the Lincoln trailer that Jimmy Fallon did as a bonus.

Let me know what you think of the trailer and Day Lewis' voice.

The Details Trailer

I caught this trailer for The Details on JoBlo a few nights back. It looks interesting and, while I’m not familiar with director Jacob Aaron Estes’ work, I consider myself a fan of Tobey Maguire. Looks like a solid black comedy.



Are you a fan of Tobey Maguire? 

Nightbreed

Have you ever heard of writer/director Clive Barker's Nightbreed?


I saw it a few years back and didn’t think much of it. It wasn’t horrible but it didn’t blow me away. It wasn't until earlier this year that I read this Badass Digest article and learned that a new cut was in the works - The Cabal Cut, named after Barker's original novella. 

I bought the newest issue of Empire Magazine (well, for the US anyway) over the weekend and it had a big spread on Nightbreed’s original, disappointing, and butchered release and the long road to the new cut.This sounds to me like the most work ever done to produce a new cut of a movie.

Get yer hands on that issue of Empire to read all about the new cut of Nightbreed and its (hopefully) impending Blu-Ray release. There's no way this film will ever equal Clive Barker's Hellraiser for me (or even his lesser known but still awesome Lord of Illusions) but I’m pretty stoked to check out The Cabal Cut.

Anyone seen Nightbreed? Any thoughts on The Cabal Cut?

Batch o’ Hatch: Natural Selection Trailer, Dr. Sleep, and Favorite Scene Friday News!

Natural Selection Trailer 

IMDb posted a trailer for Natural Selection and for some reason I really like it. Truthfully I thought it was a horror film at first, given the tone of the beginning of the preview, but it ends up being a great looking little dramedy. Who knew Rachael Harris – the bitchy girlfriend from The Hangover – would be getting high praise for a starring role in an indie film? 

Dr. Sleep

This is more literature news than film, but IMDb via Icons of Fright shared a recent clip of Stephen King at the Savannah Book Festival reading from Dr. Sleep, the sequel to his novel The Shining. The video isn’t great as it was recorded by someone pretty far from the stage where King was reading but it's cool all the same to know that this sequel exists. According to Wikipedia, Mr. King finished the first draft of the book this past November. Maybe I'll review the film someday?

Favorite Scene Friday!

If you need a little more Bill Murray in your life, you're in luck. Our FSF poll closed this morning with scenes featuring the actor as the winner, so every Friday in March we'll be bringing you a piece of Mr. Murray. Thanks to all who voted!

Derek Eads

A Peek Through the Hatch: Moonrise Kingdom

I doubt I'll get around to posting my list of what I'm looking forward to in 2012, but Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom would undoubtedly be on it. JoBlo has posted a trailer for the film courtesy of Apple and it puts a big smile on my face. Bruce Willis and Edward Norton - both of whom have never been in an Anderson pic before (right...?) - seem right at home in the director's new film. And I take it as a good sign that one of Anderson regular Bill Murray's lines - the last in the trailer - made me laugh out loud.

Assemble Around This Trailer

Courtesy of Joblo via Apple.com - the trailer for next year's The Avengers!