Trailers Released for "Marvel's The Avengers" and "The Raven"

A couple of film trailers caught my eye yesterday: of course the first official trailer for The Avengers has been posted everywhere - and why should I be any different? - and it really does look fantastic doesn't it.



Marvel Studios presents "Marvel's The Avengers" - the Super Hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson, and directed by Joss Whedon, "Marvel's The Avengers" is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series "The Avengers" first published in 1963 and a comics institution ever since. Prepare yourself for an exciting event movie, packed with action and spectacular special effects, when "Marvel's The Avengers" assemble in summer 2012.

[Synopsis source]


Released with less of a fanfare - but no less eye-catching - was the extended trailer for The Raven staring one of my favourite actors, John Cusack, as Edgar Allan Poe.



In this gritty thriller, Edgar Allan Poe (John Cusack, Being John Malkovich) joins forces with a young Baltimore detective (Luke Evans, Immortals) to hunt down a mad serial killer who's using Poe's own works as the basis in a string of brutal murders. Directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta, Ninja Assassin), the film also stars Alice Eve (Sex and the City 2), Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges) and Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Faster). When a mother and daughter are found brutally murdered in 19th century Baltimore, Detective Emmett Fields (Luke Evans) makes a startling discovery: the crime resembles a fictional murder described in gory detail in the local newspaper--part of a collection of stories penned by struggling writer and social pariah Edgar Allan Poe. But even as Poe is questioned by police, another grisly murder occurs, also inspired by a popular Poe story. Realizing a serial killer is on the loose using Poe's writings as the backdrop for his bloody rampage, Fields enlists the author's help in stopping the attacks. But when it appears someone close to Poe may become the murderer's next victim, the stakes become even higher and the inventor of the detective story calls on his own powers of deduction to try to solve the case before it's too late.

[Synopsis source]


Both films will be in cinemas next year.

Underworld: Awakening Trailer Released

Sony Pictures have released a trailer for the fourth installment in the Underworld series of films: Underworld: Awakening.



I loved the previous Underworld films and I'm really looking forward to seeing this. Starring Kate Beckinsale, I'm pleased to say, Underworld: Awakening (in 3D!) opens in January 2012.

More details at the films official website.

Second Trailer Released for Rise of the Planet of the Apes

My love of Planet of the Apes is well documented and 2011 looks like being a great year for all Apes fans. We've had the relaunch of an ongoing comic book title from Boom! Studios, a new illustrated novel from Archaia Entertainment and a brand new film Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Yahoo Movies have the second trailer for the film, that opens in the UK on 12 August 2011

Looks great doesn't it - see you there!

X-Men: First Class Character Trailers - Mystique, Banshee, Havok and Beast

Following on from my post on Friday featuring the latest official international trailer for X-Men: First Class come a number of new trailers for the film.

These latest 'character trailers', which can be found here courtesy of X-Men: First Class Movie UK, feature Mystique, Banshee, Havok and Beast.



X-Men: First Class is released in the UK early June 2011 and as you can probably guess I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing it.

Official X-Men: First Class International Trailer

We've seen a number of trailers for this summer's X-Men: First Class film over recent months haven't we, and the more I see the more optimistic and excited I become.

This latest trailer - courtesy of www.xmenfirstclass.co.uk - looks to be the best yet ...




X-Men: First Class is released on 3 June 2011.

'The God of Thunder' - Thor

Marvel have released two fantastic new posters promoting their forthcoming film Thor.

One shows a red-tinted image of a thoughtful and determined looking Thor (Chris Hemsworth) featuring the words 'The God of Thunder', while the other features head and shoulder close-ups of Thor, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and Heimdall (Idris Elba) with THOR in big, bold letters.

To see both posters, and for more about the film, head over to Marvel.com and the film's official website.

Thor opens worldwide from 27 April 2011.

30 Days of Night: Dark Days

I think it was on an episode of Kryptographik that I first heard about the 30 Days of Night comic book series with its subsequent feature film and series of live action prequel 'webisodes'. Off the back of hosts Damian and Brian's comments and recommendation I picked up a couple of the trades and loved every single page - these were vampire stories that I'd waited a long time to read.

Likewise I really enjoyed the 2007 film staring Josh Hartnett and Melissa George, along with the aforementioned 'webisodes', so it seemed appropriate this morning to read on Damian's blog - The Furnace - that the films sequel 30 Days of Night: Dark Days has received a DVD release date.

It’s been almost a year since the Alaskan town of Barrow’s population was decimated by vampires during its annual month-long sunset. Riddled with grief over the death of her husband, bound by nightmares and void of all emotions beyond hate and sorrow, Stella (Sanchez) has spent the past months traveling the world, trying to convince others that vampires exist. Met with skepticism and laughter, Stella is ready to throw in the towel when a group of lost souls (Coiro, Baird and Perrineau) offers an incredible opportunity: the chance to exact revenge upon Lilith (Kirshner), the vampire queen responsible for the assault on Stella’s sleepy Alaskan town. With nothing remaining to live for, and nothing left to fear, Stella joins their mission and ventures into the uncharted underbelly of Los Angeles where she pushes herself to the most extreme limits to stop the evil from striking again.

30 Days of Night: Dark Days goes on sale on 5 October 2010 and will be available on DVD, Blu-Ray and a special 'DVD Combo' pack.

Thanks to Damian for publishing the news - visit The Furnace to find out more.

New 'International Trailer' for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Over at his YouTube channel director Edgar Wright has released an 'International trailer' for his forthcoming film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.



As regular visitors to Escape from Tomorrow will know I'm really looking forward to this film - it looks like being a lot of fun doesn't it?

Released in the UK in August 2010.

Edgar Wright YouTube channel

Batman: Under the Red Hood

Various different sources - I found mine at Newsarama - have published what I believe is the first teaser trailer for Batman: Under the Red Hood, the next DC Universe animated film which is due for release this summer - 27 July to be precise.

If I'm honest I tend to find the majority of the comic-book animated series a little 'young' for me - perhaps that's another way of saying I'm too old for them! That said, the feature-length films always look and feel ... right.

Just during this short trailer, Batman - his look, voice and dialogue - feels like my Batman: I'll definitely be picking this up.

Happy Easter!

Just a quick post to say I'll be enjoying a few days away with my wife over the forthcoming long Easter weekend so won't be updating this site again until probably Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.

Before I sign-off, it looks like promotion for Iron Man 2 is stepping-up ahead of the films release next Month. In the last few days we've seen the launch of the official website along with a site for the Stark Expo 2010, not to mention the variety of new posters and pictures that have been circulating including these great images over at Collider.com.

Here's my favourite poster - simple and effective. Have a Happy Easter.

(click on the image to enlarge)

Scott Pilgrim vs The World

The first official trailer for Edgar Wright's forthcoming film Scott Pilgrim vs The World has been released and if this teaser is anything to go by, it's going to be a lot of fun.

<br/><a href="http://video.uk.msn.com/watch/video/scott-pilgrim-vs-the-world-trailer-hd/2tfwylfr?fg=sharenoembed" target="_new" title="Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - Trailer (HD)">Video: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - Trailer (HD)</a>

[This video might only play for readers/viewers in the UK ... I'm not sure (and how can I prove otherwise?!): if that's the case you'll also find it on iTunes Movie Trailers]

Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), bass guitarist for the garage band Sex Bob-omb, has just met the girl of his dreams. However, he must defeat Ramona Flowers' (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) seven evil exes, who are coming to kill him.

Scott Pilgrim has never had a problem getting a girlfriend. It’s getting rid of them that proves difficult. From the girl who kicked his heart’s ass — and now is back in town — to the teenage distraction he’s trying to shake when Ramona roller blades into his world, love hasn’t been easy. He soon discovers, however, his new crush has the most unusual baggage of all: a nefarious league of exes control her love life and will do whatever it takes to eliminate him as a suitor.

As Scott gets closer to Ramona, he must face an increasingly vicious rogues’ gallery from her past, from infamous skateboarders to vegan rock stars and fearsomely identical twins. And if he hopes to win his true love, he must vanquish them all before it really is game over.

Based on the Scott Pilgrim comic books, created by Bryan Lee O'Malley and published by Oni Press, the film is released in August 2010.

This year is shaping-up to be a very good year for visits to the cinema.

Sources:
Scott Pilgrim ... film official website
MSN Movies UK
iTunes Movie Trailers

Iron Man 2 New Trailer

There are plenty of places to find the new trailer for Iron Man 2 following it's screening after the Oscars last night - here's another ...



[Source]

Mmmm, I want one too.

Coming Soon to a Cinema Near You - The Losers

Warner Bros. and MSN Movies have released what I believe is the first official trailer for the forthcoming film The Losers, starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana and Chris Evans, and adapted from the Vertigo comic-book series from writer Andy Diggle and artist Jock.

An explosive tale of double cross and revenge, "The Losers" centers upon the members of an elite U.S. Special Forces unit sent into the Bolivian jungle on a search and destroy mission. The team - Clay, Jensen, Roque, Pooch and Cougar - find themselves the target of a lethal betrayal instigated from inside by a powerful enemy known only as Max. Presumed dead, the group makes plans to even the score when they're joined by the mysterious Aisha, a beautiful operative with her own agenda. Working together, they must remain deep undercover while tracking the heavily-guarded Max, a ruthless man bent on embroiling the world in a new high-tech global war.

<br/><a href="http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&amp;vid=1b9d070f-aff2-47f6-8a86-9b2b44ec4fc6" target="_new" title="&#39;The Losers&#39; Exclusive Look">Video: &#39;The Losers&#39; Exclusive Look</a>

Source: MSN Movies

The Losers looks like it's going to be a lot of fun - opens in the UK on 9 April 2010.

www.the-losers.com/

Coming Soon To A Cinema Near You

I went to the cinema at the weekend to see Daybreakers - it's a film I've posted about a few times in recent months and I was expecting big things.

Was I disappointed - yes, if I'm honest I probably was. Did I enjoy the film? Most definitely.

Bottom line: would I recommend it? Yes I would.

And there's the nub of my post - despite being disappointed and somewhat unsatisfied by the film I'd still recommend going to see it!

I can't really put my finger on exactly why I was disappointed - aside from accepting that sometimes I expect too much from a film or book. I do think the film suffered from trying to fit too much into too little: with a running-time of just over an hour and a half there was an awful lot of back-story, character development and plot progression to cover, perhaps too much.

That said, I'm not convinced simply extending the running-time would have been my answer - and there's the dilemma: I'm not sure what I would have done differently to improve the film. What I do know is that since the weekend I've found myself thinking about this film more than most films I've seen in recent years.

So, I'm passing on a review but committing to revisiting Daybreakers in the not too distant future.

Go and see it, let me know what you thought.


It occurred to me while waiting for the film to start just how many adverts they show at the cinema these days. Of course, there have always been adverts, usually for Kia-Ora and the local Indian restaurant - 'after enjoying tonight's film why not visit The Tandoori Palace on The High Street * ' - if I remember correctly.

Anyway, before the film there must have been fully 10 or 12 adverts for cars, alcohol, travel agents ... certainly no Kia-Ora. I guess now that we all have PVR's and skip through the adverts the advertising agencies have had to look elsewhere for their captive audience and they seem to have found one at the cinema. Still, looking on the positive side, at least those Radio 1 adverts seem to have finished.

But I digress, after the adverts and before the film we were treated to the trailers - an integral part of any cinema visit I'm sure you'll agree. Anyway, two films that I want to briefly mention particularly caught my eye ...

*footnote
If by chance you are the proprietor of The Tandoori Palace located on the High Street and you've seen a rise in customer numbers as a result of this post then I'm happy to discuss sponsorship ...

The Crazies

A husband and wife in a small Midwestern town find themselves battling for survival as their friends and family descend into madness in The Crazies. A mysterious toxin in the water supply turns everyone exposed to it into mindless killers and the authorities leave the uninfected to their certain doom in this terrifying reinvention of the George Romero horror classic.

[Source]

This films looks to have a bit of everything - part thriller, part horror, part supernatural, part conspiracy ... everything that was good about The X-Files in fact.


Starring Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell the film opens on 26 February 2010.

[Official website]

Edge of Darkness

Edge of Darkness stars Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Bojana Novakovic and Shawn Roberts and is written by William Monahan (The Departed) and Andrew Bovell (Lantana), based on the original BBC television series by Troy Kennedy Martin.

[Gibson plays a] homicide detective whose daughter is gunned down on his front steps. When he starts to look into what really happened, he uncovers not only her secret life, but a corporate cover-up and government collusion that attracts an agent tasked with cleaning up the evidence.

[Source]

Collider.com have posted a number of clips from the film



Looks good doesn't it? Edge of Darkness opens on 28 January 2010.

[Official website]

New Kick-Ass Trailer

Yahoo! Movies have a new trailer for Kick-Ass

click here for my previous posts about the film, including the first trailer.

Release date: April 2010

Out this Week: Daybreakers

Out on Wednesday this week (in the UK) is the film Daybreakers staring Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill.

Set 10 years from now, the world's population is largely made up of vampires and as a result blood supplies are threatened. The vampire population respond to this threat by working to 'farm' the remaining humans. With supplies running low a team of vampires led by researcher Edward Dalton uncover a way to save the human race.

As I've said before I think this sounds an intriguing premise and I've got high hopes for the film. Ahead of its release Collider.com have posted some clips from the film ...



Official website

[Take a look at my previous post talking about Daybreakers to see the officials trailers.]

New Iron Man 2 Images

I'm travelling at the moment so I haven't had much chance to post - although I have had plenty of time to read so I've managed to catch up a bit on the contents of my 'to be read' comic pile.

I'll be back in the swing of things at the weekend but in the meantime check out the Iron Man 2 photo gallery over at Yahoo! Movies including this superb promotional poster (click on it to enlarge it) along with a very nice (and that's something of an understatement!) picture of Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff.

Iron Man 2 opens April/May 2010.


[Click here for my earlier posts about Iron Man]

[click here for the films official website]

Coming Soon To A Cinema Near You - Daybreakers

A second trailer for the film Daybreakers has been posted over at Yahoo! Movies.

Since the success of Twilight we've had a rash of vampire-themed productions that with the exception of True Blood haven't really interested me. Daybreakers however reads and looks very different ...

Set 10 years from now, the world's population is largely made up of vampires and as a result blood supplies are threatened. The vampire population respond to this threat by working to 'farm' the remaining humans. With supplies running low a team of vampires led by researcher Edward Dalton uncover a way to save the human race.

The film features a strong cast - including Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill - and is directed by Peter Spierig and Michael Spierig. Daybreakers premiered in September this year at the Toronto International Film Festival and is scheduled for general release in January 2010.

Click here to view the first trailer.

Official Site
Yahoo! Movies

Coming Soon To A Cinema Near You - Kick-Ass

I don't know whether it's down to the time of year or just coincidence but there seems to be a lot of 'coming soon to a cinema near you' news about at the moment.

The latest to catch my eyes and ears is Kick-Ass, based of course on the Mark Millar/John Romita Jr book and directed by Matthew Vaughn.

A twisted, funny, high-octane adventure, director Matthew Vaughn brings KICK-ASS to the big screen.

Kick-Ass tells the story of average teenager Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), a comic-book fanboy who decides to take his obsession as inspiration to become a real-life superhero. As any good superhero would, he chooses a new name — Kick-Ass — assembles a suit and mask to wear, and gets to work fighting crime. There’s only one problem standing in his way: Kick-Ass has absolutely no superpowers.

His life is forever changed as he inspires a subculture of copy cats, is hunted by assorted violent and unpleasant characters, and meets up with a pair of crazed vigilantes, including an 11-year-old sword-wielding dynamo, Hit Girl (Chloë Moretz) and her father, Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage).

Kick-Ass film official site

Last week IGN unveiled what I believe were the first promotional posters for the film - four smaller posters that together form one large poster.

If this trailer - released this week - is anything to go by, the film looks like it's going to be a lot of fun. Release date: April 2010.

DVD Release for Whiteout

Having missed out on watching Whiteout at my 'local' cinema earlier this year during the one and only week it was screened there I was interested in the news I received earlier today confirming that the film will receive its UK DVD release on 25 January 2010.

I'm told it isn't a great film - I don't think I expected it to be - but it's one I want to see and with a rrp of around £16 I'm hoping (expecting!) a two-disc release, so hopefully some worthwhile extras with, maybe, some focus on the original Greg Rucka books.

As I'd expect at this time of year there are a number of other notable DVD releases: following the recent release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Blood: The Last Vampire, late November sees both a single and two-disc release for Transformers 2: Revenge Of The Fallen - yes, despite my earlier comments I'll still pick it up! - followed a week later by one of the most enjoyable films I've seen this year - G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra.