Somehow, they've made it pretty believable that Bruce Willis is Joseph Gordon-Levitt from the future. Gordon-Levitt has got the pursed mouth and crow-footed squinty eyes thing down pat. Check them both out in the new Looper trailer:

Looper Second Trailer

Gordon-Levitt stars as Joe, a hit man who kills people that the mob sends back in time for complete disposal. His life is thrown into chaos, however, when his future self is sent back to be disposed of.

Willis will be reprising his role as Mr. Church in the upcoming film The Expendables 2. Gordon-Levitt is set to appear in Christopher Nolan's third and final Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises. While Willis has always been an action star, Gordon-Levitt's steady drift into action/thriller territory seems to have accelerated starting with Nolan's own Inception, in 2010.

Looper is directed by Rian Johnson, and hits theaters September 28. For more, check out yesterday's Looper international trailer.

"Final Line Advection." No, it's not a type of new oven. It's the breakthrough animation technique Disney used to create Paperman.

The new technology combines computer graphics with 2D animation to create a unique style--half callback to hand-drawn cartoons, half modern spectacle.

The black-and-white animated short will play ahead of Wreck-It Ralph in theaters (check out the Wreck-It Ralph trailer). It features a man who pines after a woman he had a chance encounter with during his morning commute. After seeing her again in the skyscraper across from his office, he uses a stack of paper to get her attention.

Check out three new stills from Paperman, courtesy of EW (click the thumbnails to enlarge):

Paperman will hit theaters with Wreck-It Ralph November 2. In the meantime, Disney's newest 3D animated film from Pixar, Brave, is in theaters now.

It’s been an interesting season thus far for summer movies. With July upon us, two of the most anticipated movies of the entire year both arrive within weeks of each other: The Dark Knight Rises and The Amazing Spider-Man. But, there’s so much more to July than superheroes.

As seen in the Savages trailer, Oliver Stone returns to form with his adaptation of Don Winslow’s bestselling book starring John Travolta, Aaron Johnson and Taylor Kitsch. Katy Perry gets the Justin Bieber-Paramount Pictures live 3D concert film treatment in Katy Perry: All of Me while Morgan Freeman reunites with director Rob Reiner for the first time since Bucket List in The Magic of Belle Isle.

Also landing in July is the latest adventures of favorite pre-historic characters in Ice Age: Continental Drift, while the Duplass brothers celebrate the Olympics with The Do-Deca Pentathlon and Robert De Niro revisits the supernatural in Red Lights. Later in the month finds a dance franchise getting revolutionary in Step Up Revolution and after this The Watch clip, who’s not excited to witness Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller and Jonah Hill ensure we survive an alien invasion? Take our movie poll and let us know...

What July movie are you most excited to see?

Either there's some sort of sandstorm, or Vin Diesel is trying to hide the fact that he broke character and started laughing. Check out the new still from the action star's upcoming film Riddick, which Diesel shared on his official Facebook page.

Diesel also commented that he has seen a cut of the film, and he apparently loves it. But how surprising is that, really?

Riddick is the third installment of the Chronicles of Riddick series starring Diesel as the bad-ass monster-fighting alien prisoner. This film picks up where The Chronicles of Riddick left off, with Riddick left for dead on a desolate planet, where he must fight alien predators. Katee Sackhoff and Karl Urban (Dredd) also star.

Diesel has spent the large majority of the 21st century making Riddick and The Fast and the Furious films. Fast and Furious 6 will hit theaters next year, with Riddick also set to come out some time in 2013.

The Ant-Man movie has been in the works for years, and while the film still isn't officially greenlit, director Edgar Wright has reportedly made a test reel to speed the process along.

Wright could potentially start filming as soon as production concludes on his current film The World's End, with Shaun of the Dead collaborator Simon Pegg (check out some Shaun of the Dead quotes). Few details have been released about the test film, but they are typically used to demonstrate the look and feel of a film, along with potential costume designs and actor options.

Considering The Avengers has made $600 million domestically, and with the high expectations for this summer's big superhero movies, The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises, superhero films are an incredibly hot commodity. The Marvel universe has received especially high viewership, making an Ant-Man movie increasingly probable.

There is no word yet on any kind of shooting or release schedule, nor on who could play Henry Pym or Scott Lang (two characters to don the Ant Man persona,  both of whom are rumored to be a part of the story Wright has conceived). Who do you think should play Ant-Man? Let us know in the comments section!

When musician Liz Phair was asked to write a song for People Like Us, the songwriting vet read the script and watched the film and inspiration struck.

“I honed in on Frankie (Elizabeth Banks). Her issues are very close to my issues,” Phair tells us exclusively. “Her stuff is very much my stuff. I was like, ‘I feel ya.’ She’s the one that grabs me.”

Frankie is a single mother raising a tween boy who discovers the father that she never knew has died. As we explore further in our People Like Us movie review, Chris Pine plays Sam and when he finds he has a sister he never knew, the audience spends the film wondering when and if he will tell Frankie they are siblings. Sam works his way into Frankie’s life and never summons the courage to tell her the truth about their relationship, much less the $150,000 his father left him to give to her.

“I was amazed in the script that they were going to let Sam be that much of a jack ass for that long. Wow, that is bold and true and right to do it -- but ballsy. Most formulaic characters, you would not let him lie that long. He just kept it going,” Phair said. “You did not know if he was going to give her the money. That was an original thing -- I had not seen that before.”

The artist, whose biggest hit was Why Can’t I?, has written for television and film before (including High Fidelity and Love and Other Drugs), but none of those efforts meant as much to her. “I’ve been waiting for this movie to come out. I’m so proud to be a part of it,” Phair admitted.

“Maybe it’s just my type of stuff, but I think it’s an amazing film. All the actors gave their all. It doesn’t depress you. It feels true, but you end weeping and feeling uplifted. That’s a hard hat trick.”

Because of the connection to the story, Phair was able to compose Dotted Line with composer A.R. Rahman more efficiently than previous scoring efforts. “It was much more that I knew what to do. It was easier because I respond to tense, emotional stuff. That’s why I write songs to help me cope with my intense emotions,” Phair said.

“The fact that this movie is fraught with tense emotion, I was doing OK. I knew what ground I was on. But, I didn’t know if I had what I needed to give to give.”

As evidenced in the People Like Us trailer, the film is an interpersonal journey of well drawn characters. Because of that fact, Phair’s contribution ranks high on her life successes. “It’s a big one. My list of accomplishments is different than say a historian's would be. Things I’m most proud of all almost always rooted in something that is indelible where something special has happened -- even if it’s in a big event like this DreamWorks movie,” Phair said.

“This is going to be one of those. It just doesn’t happen that often. The fact that it is successful and personal, ding, ding, ding!”

Marc Webb had a tough task bringing Spider-Man back after such a short break. Composing this The Amazing Spider-Man review is tricky given that fact. But, given serious thought, it is not quite as difficult knowing how much heart and soul the filmmaker poured into making his first big budget film. Although there is not much that is terribly different than Sam Raimi’s first go around in the Spider-Man world, Webb’s version exceeds Raimi’s on many levels.

Movie Fanatic has trouble calling this film a reboot as it is honestly more of a remake. But with a much better cast of players, action sequences that far surpass the 2002 origins story and a villain that feels more personally pertinent to Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield)… The Amazing Spider-Man is one fine film.

Webb’s film begins in similar fashion. Parker is a high school outcast who is good with a camera, has a crush on school beauty Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) and is a soul still haunted by the disappearance of his parents when he was a boy. He lives with his Aunt and Uncle (Sally Field and Martin Sheen) and seems destined for a life of parental mystery and mediocrity.

He discovers a briefcase of his father’s while going through the basement and his fate begins to change. He visits Oscorp to investigate his father’s connection to the establishment and its leader Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans). There he meets Stacy, a lead intern for the company, who is immediately intrigued by Parker's persona and his cunning smarts. It is also on this fateful visit to Oscorp that he is bitten by the insect that will turn him into Spider-Man.

Another beat that is the same in both films and should be there given its importance in the Spider-Man mythology -- is the tragedy that befalls Parker’s uncle. With his newfound Spidey powers, Peter evolves into “the vigilante known as Spider-Man” as Captain Stacy (Denis Leary) calls him.

But, what is incredibly unique to this story is the complications that arise from Peter’s courting of Gwen, given that Captain Stacy is her father. The police captain is equally the father figure Peter has been searching for, and the foil to his nightly exploits saving the city from bad guys.

Stone and Garfield have sizzling chemistry as evidenced in The Amazing Spider-Man trailer.

Their relationship is much more compelling than that MJ-Peter Parker romance from Raimi’s films. Perhaps it is because both are better actors or the love story is flushed out more effectively. Regardless, what also works is their love story isn’t the driving force of the film, as it was in the first trilogy.

The Amazing Spider-Man is a film about Parker and it is solely his journey that compels audiences throughout the almost two hour flick. Garfield could not have been more perfectly cast as the title character. He exhibits the humor that is quite present in the comic books and the actor adds emotional layers to the Peter Parker/Spider-Man duality that the role honestly requires.

We adore Willem Dafoe, but when Ifans becomes The Lizard and the Spider-Man versus Lizard battle ensues -- as seen in these The Amazing Spider-Man clips -- the good versus evil dynamic has much more power than it did in the 2002 film. Because Dr. Connor worked closely with Peter’s father, there is an empathy for his foe that forces our hero to at once try to eradicate the city of The Lizard, while simultaneously trying to help the man who may hold the answers to the secrets of Peter’s parents’ disappearance.

Webb deserves some serious credit for stepping into this franchise so soon after Tobey Maguire hung up his suit. He has crafted a story that many will feel is too similar to Raimi’s. At its heart, this is an origins story and that is inescapable. Similarities are to be expected. It is what Webb does with the story, and his most expertly cast group of actors, that the filmmaker gives us a Spider-Man that is truly amazing.

The Awakening stars Rebecca Hall as a skeptic author in 1920's England who works to expose paranormal hoaxes. All of her beliefs begin to unravel when she visits a supposedly haunted boarding house.

Check out the domestic trailer for the British psychological thriller:

The Awakening Trailer

Hall is best known for Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and will appear as Maya Hansen in Iron Man 3. The Awakening also stars Dominic West (John Carter), and Imelda Staunton.

The film premiered last year in England, and will hit American shores on August 17. It was directed by Nick Murphy, with a screenplay by Murphy and Stephen Volk.

With as many clips, trailers, posters, and TV spots that have aired, you'd think by now that we know the untold story of The Amazing Spider-Man. And while it's true we have a pretty good idea that Peter Parker gets caught up in dealing with The Lizard, falling for Gwen Stacy, and trying to balance out a normal life, this fresh and darker take on the superhero still has a few secret tricks and behind the scenes antics up its web slinging sleeve.

I recently spoke over the phone with Leif Gantvoort about his mysterious character "Glasses," and while I know that he plays a villainous thug who causes a bit of havoc and is "pretty intricate to the plot," the actor kept mum about the details.

I've got a hunch that Glasses might have a certain interaction with Peter's Uncle Ben but when pressed, Gantvoort kept solid on neither confirming nor denying my theory.

Yet the actor was eager to talk about getting the role, working with Marc Webb, and just how "amazing" this new film will be when it finally hits theaters.

"It's one of those things that early on you have a vague idea of what the scope of it is. There's this anticipation and excitement that's built into it, just knowing what it is, even so it doesn't come close to the actual event," Gantvoort said about joining the anticipated film.

"Walking on set the first time, being on the set that was that huge, it just blew me away. It was a very humbling experience because I've been putting my nose to the grindstone for a long time in this industry for too many years and to finally get an opportunity like this is just unbelievable. And its been an amazing process, every step of it."

The actor has been in numerous roles and even worked on TV shows like Revenge and Justified, but he admitted that "There's a different energy to film in the sense that there is a finality to it. There's a certain amount of time to get the film ready, to get it done, there's a release date and so there is an end in sight. The energy and everybody is focused towards that goal.

He continued: "With a television show, while each episode has its own particular goal, there's still things that develop as you work on that show. It's constantly moving and constantly changing. The energies are just different. I wouldn't say one's better than the other."

As for working with director Marc Webb, he was surprised by his approachability and "the fact that he was as excited and wanted to be a part of [the movie] as much as I did."

"My first day on set was sort of a costume test and I get in costume and they're walking me towards one of the sets on Sony, and you walk through the door and there's this huge massive construction project inside and there's hundreds of people all over the place and they're escorting you through these people and then they take me to video village and there's sitting Marc just relaxed, kicked back, and he goes 'Hey, man.' "

Gantvoort laughed, "There was no stress on him. He was in his element. He was ready to go. He was so easy going and so fun to work."

And despite the fact that three other films about Spider-Man already exists, the star enjoyed "Marc's goals to give it that human element to make [Peter Parker] a real person in a real world in this real life changing event."

"I'm a fan of the other three films for the most part but I think one of the things I always appreciate in film is when the director comes in and says 'what's the human element here?'  and this film addresses that more."

He even remarked on Spidey's sense of humor as a "humanistic response because its a coping mechanism. From the nature of the character, he's not the most physically imposing superhero there is, so walking into a scenario, people aren't going to take him seriously, so he uses that to his advantage."

But it wasn't just about being a part of the wall crawling superhero movie that was enjoyable for the actor.

"When we were shooting in NY, it was all night shoots and one of my personal favorite moments after the first night of shooting there, I was walking back to my trailer and it was probably four in the morning and I hear a voice behind me and it's this little girl saying, "Excuse me. Excuse me." And I turn around and its this little girl with a parent and she's holding up a piece of paper for me to sign and so that was my first autograph experience on that set and it was just very humbling and very nice and kind of encapsulated the entire project for me. There were people that cared that much that this little girl was up all night watching the shoot and then approached me for an autograph.

He added excitedly, "And then the very next night we were a little more exposed in the streets and we were shooting and there were literally hundreds of people standing around watching. It was amazing."

Even with all the buzz surrounding this movie, Gantvoort has kept busy by working on a horror film called Last Stop with Brian Austin Green and Mena Suvari, as well as a project he wrote called Surprise Wedding that's based on his own real life event of giving his wife an actual surprise wedding.

Of course, the humble actor's enthusiasm for the film comes very much as a Spider-Man fan.

"It's odd because the first trailer that came out, I of course clicked on it going "Oh, I hope I'm in the trailer," knowing that I'm not going to be. My character isn't one they're going to use and advertise with and I keep watching thinking "Am I going to pop up? Am I going to pop up" and by the end of trailer, I totally forgot I was in the movie because I was so excited to see the movie on its own merits. That's what I'm most excited about is just sitting int the theater and getting engrossed in the characters and forgetting that I'm a part of it because I'm a fan of films and that's why I chose to get into this industry and I just love that experience.

"[This movie] is made for the fans."

Discover the truth behind Glasses and the untold story of Spider-Man when it opens July 3.

Ladies, for our latest weekend movie preview, we ask you to start your engines: Channing Tatum and his Magic Mike cohorts are taking it all off. The male stripper film finally arrives in theaters. Joining that Warner Bros. film is the wild comedy Ted from Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane, People Like Us -- a heartfelt drama from the people who brought us The Help, and Tyler Perry’s Madea is back in Madea’s Witness Protection.

Magic Mike: Tatum exposes himself on many levels in his latest film and the cast is to die for. Featured as the star’s fellow dancers are Alex Pettyfer, Joe Manganiello and Matthew McConaughey. It is a surprisingly fun film for both guys and gals. Director Steven Soderbergh has taken a novelty concept and crafted a cinematic experience that is pure joy. Check out our Magic Mike review for more.

Magic Mike Trailer

Ted: MacFarlane takes his devilish, culture skewing humor and brings it to the big screen in the tale of a little boy who wishes his teddy bear would come to life. He does, and then Mark Wahlberg’s John has to figure out what to do with his foul-mouthed stuffed animal as he navigates the pratfalls of adulthood. As we state in our Ted review, it is utterly hysterical.

Ted Trailer

People Like Us: Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks star as siblings who only discover that fact when their father passes away. Pine’s father had an affair and Banks was the product of that. Director Alex Kurtzman had this happen to him in real life and as reported in our People Like Us review, it is one powerful piece of film.

People Like Us Trailer

Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection: Tyler Perry is back in numerous roles, the most notorious is that of Madea. This time out, Madea has to serve as host for a family led by Eugene Levy who is a Bernie Madoff type who has to hide out until Levy’s trial begins. The film did not screen for critics… but Movie Fanatic will have our review later today.

Madea's Witness Protection Trailer 2

Beasts of the Southern Wild: The Oscar race starts now with this powerful story of a father and daughter living in the “wilds” of southern Louisiana. Check out our Beasts of the Southern Wild review to delve further.

Beasts of the Southern Wild Trailer

Ever wonder how a stop-motion character is constructed, but not want to sit and watch the hours and hours of work it takes to build one? You're in luck, old chum! Focus Features has sped it up for you, in this new Paranorman "making of" featurette. Have a look-see:

ParaNorman Making Of

Paranorman is a new 3D stop-motion animated feature about a young boy named Norman who can speak with the dead. When his town comes under siege from paranormal creatures, Norman may be the only one who can save them.

Kodi Smit-McPhee stars as the voice of Norman, with Tucker Albrizzi and Casey Affleck also on board. Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect), John Goodman (Monsters University), Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Elaine Stritch round out the star-studded cast.

Paranorman is directed by Sam Fell and hits theaters August 17. For more, check out the Paranorman trailer.

In the end, it was a foul-mouthed teddy bear that had more money thrown at it than Channing Tatum in a G-string. Seth MacFarlane and his Ted scored $54.1 million to Magic Mike’s $39.2 million to win the weekend before the holiday weekend box office battle.

Last week’s number one, Pixar’s Brave, came in third, adding another $34 million to its take that has topped a total of $131 million. Tyler Perry continued to show why he is among the most profitable filmmakers in Hollywood as his Madea’s Witness Protection came in fourth with $26.4 million. Closing out the top five was Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. The DreamWorks Animation movie made $11.8 million, bringing its total to an astounding $180 million.

Movie Fanatic enjoyed both of the top two films, but our Ted review edged out Tatum and our Magic Mike review by half a star. At the box office, the two films were separated by about $15 million.

Box office top 10:

1. Ted, $54.1 million
2. Magic Mike, $39.2 million
3. Brave, $34 million
4. Madea’s Witness Protection, $26.4 million
5. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, $11.8 million
6. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, $6 million
7. Prometheus, $4.9 million
8. Moonrise Kingdom, $4.87 million
9. Snow White and the Huntsman, $4.4 million
10. People Like Us, $4.3 million

The first TV spot for Django Unchained is maybe the best glimpse yet at the upcoming revenge film. It looks to be a really interesting combination of the anti-Westerns of the 1960's and 70's, and the heavily stylized "grindhouse" style Tarantino is famous for. Take a look:

Django Unchained TV Spot

Django Unchained stars Jamie Foxx as Django, a slave freed by a bounty hunter named Dr. Schultz (played by Christoph Waltz), in order to help him seek a ruthless gang of killers that only Django has seen. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a plantation owner named Calvin Candie, with Samuel L. Jackson as Candie's "house slave."

DiCaprio is also set to star in The Great Gatsby, which opens on the very same day as Django. Jackson, meanwhile, has just come off one of the biggest films of all time, The Avengers (stick Nick Fury on your desktop with The Avengers wallpaper).

Quentin Tarantion's latest film opens December 25. Check out the full Django Unchained trailer for a longer look.

Denis Leary is well known for playing New York’s finest. His work on Rescue Me was legendary and now his Captain Stacy from The Amazing Spider-Man has him switching uniforms from FDNY to the NYPD in director Marc Webb's reboot of the superhero franchise.

We caught up with the actor for an exclusive interview in New York City and felt quite safe alongside the man who actually believes that he is not the heroic type. "When you look at me, you don't think authority figure," Leary said and laughed.

The actor talks to Movie Fanatic about the return of the webbed wonder (which we adored, as per our The Amazing Spider-Man review), how he cannot imagine anyone else being Spider-Man except Andrew Garfield as well as how his beginnings on MTV can be traced back to his days in Boston.

Movie Fanatic: What you do like about playing the real life heroes?

Denis Leary: Tommy Gavin (Rescue Me) is a different story than Captain Stacy because I created that with my partner Peter Tolan. I felt I had a story to tell with this guy. That was kind of a selfish creatively thing and really satisfying. If I was (Spider-Man director) Marc Webb, I wouldn’t have thought of me for this role [laughs]. Maybe the guy I played from Thomas Crown Affair had something to do with it. I don’t know what he saw in Tommy Gavin that he thought I could play this role -- I‘m glad he thought of me.

Movie Fanatic: How nice is it to just act after producing, writing and starring on Rescue Me?

Denis Leary: Not to worry about the production itself... was amazing. Also to work with Marc who’s an actor’s director on a big action movie, it’s unheard of.

Movie Fanatic: There are a lot of beats there where it is very emotional acting in the midst of all this action in The Amazing Spider-Man. You have scenes with your onscreen daughter -- Emma Stone -- and then Andrew at the end. What is it like for you to dig into something so meaty while still rooted in action?

Denis Leary: Everyday it was awesome. There were very few days where it was just pure action. You have to do those, but even in those big sequences there were days where we were doing a big piece with emotional power. When I come down in the helicopter and have that conversation with Andrew as Peter, he spent so much time that day and night on that moment I pull his mask off. The recognition between us, which on screen is very brief, is emotional and powerful.

Movie Fanatic: It’s not usually like that?

Denis Leary: No, normally it would be the reverse in an action movie or not even in there. It spoils you. I’ve have to think twice now if someone said, “I got this great action movie.” Who’s directing it? How much acting are we going to do? You know? It was a pleasure with Marc.

Movie Fanatic: When you read the script for The Amazing Spider-Man, what struck you the most of this particular story? 

Denis Leary: It read strange, honestly. There was a lot of acting scenes… and then some action. It didn’t read like what you would normally get on a big budget movie. When I talked to Marc, I was like, “What’s the deal here?” He kept saying, “We’re not going to lose a lot of these meaningful scenes where people are interacting with one another. That’s the important stuff." I honestly thought he was out of his (expletive) mind. He did 500 Days of Summer, which is why I got on the phone with him in the first place. I thought there is no way they’re going to let him make this movie.

Movie Fanatic: Hopefully this changes things.

Denis Leary: I hope so. When I was doing it, I thought this is how these things ought to be made.

Movie Fanatic: What does it mean to you as an actor to be part of this Spider-Man lexicon for the rest of your life?

Denis Leary [SPOILER!]: It means we have to re-cut it so I can live -- because I get (expletive) in the sequels. No, seriously, ultimately in the beginning I just wanted to meet Rhys, because I really like his work. I liked Marc and wanted to get into his wheelhouse. I think if the movie works, it means he will be making a lot of movies. I would like to work with him again because I really had a blast. I’m at that age where I have to have fun while I’m doing it. Marc’s good, man. He’s all about the right things.

Movie Fanatic: Andrew is the perfect choice for Spider-Man as we’ve seen in so many The Amazing Spider-Man clips. What did you take away working with this up and comer?

Denis Leary: I don’t know, man. He’s like way beyond me! I had to learn how to be a film actor while I was doing it, which I’m sure was the same for him. It takes a while to learn the tricks of it. This guy, how many movies into his career is he? Like four? He’s playing Spider-Man and Peter Parker really well, in my opinion. He’s a character actor. He’s not a vanity leading man. Then, I saw him do Death of a Salesman on Broadway. He’s the real deal. He may be a movie star after this, but the work he did in Social Network was no (expletive). He was putting it on screen.

Movie Fanatic: Back in the beginning, how on earth did you get on MTV for from Emerson College in Boston?

Denis Leary: It saved my life. I’d be driving a truck. I’d be a teamster, my brother’s a teamster, there’s nothing wrong with being a teamster. But, I had literally no other skills, except for hockey. That was it. I learned everything at Emerson, man. We had a theater group there where you had to do everything from the writing, staging, to our own lighting and design work. It was a great training ground. One of my classmates became one of the heads of MTV, which led to Remote Control, which was all Emerson guys from Boston.

Movie Fanatic: Where did those crazy MTV shorts come from?

Denis Leary: The MTV spots came out of when Ted (Demme) was a production assistant at Remote Control. Then he created Yo! MTV Raps and from that he got the creative power to do my MTV spots which led to the stand-up No Cure for Cancer. It all goes back to Emerson!

Movies can set off fireworks too. Hollywood has long been impassioned with patriotism and has produced some serious flag waving cinematic wizardry. A couple of Tinsel Town heavies, Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise, have specialized in making these types of films as each has two entries on our Movie Fanatic Top 10 Patriotic Movies. What will be number one?

10. The Patriot
Mel Gibson struck a chord with millions in this tale of the beginning of the American Revolution. There is no better reminder of why we declared our independence on July 4, 1776 than how Gibson and filmmakers portrayed the British menace robbing us of our divine right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

9. Glory
The true story of the first African American military regiment in the Civil War is a stirring piece of cinema. Not only did it give Denzel Washington his first Academy Award, but also introduced a wider audience to the power that is Morgan Freeman. The film is a tribute to a time when the United States was torn apart at the seams and how the concept of freedom for all men and women will never fade from Glory.

8. Patton
How can the true story of one of the country’s greatest war heroes not be patriotic? Heck, the film’s opening moments alone would qualify as General Patton makes a speech in front of a giant American flag. We salute you!

7. Red Dawn
When Red Dawn arrived in 1984, America was embroiled in one seriously Cold War and Ronald Reagan was doing his best to bring down the Red Menace. What better way to stoke our patriotic fervor than a group of high school kids who band together and inspire a nation to fight back against the Soviet invaders? The film must have struck quite a chord as we’re getting a remake in 2012.

6. Born on the Fourth of July
Many a war film has stoked the fires of patriotism, but Born on the Fourth of July did it in a unique way. It showed one soldier, Ron Kovic, and his constitutional right to speak up against his government and the way they were handling the war in Vietnam. Not only did Tom Cruise (check out our Tom Cruise Top 10 Movies) score the best role of his career, but it fostered a discussion about free speech and the power one voice can have to alter public and government opinion.

5. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
When our founding fathers established the framework of our government, Jimmy Stewart’s Mr. Smith was exactly the type of representative they hoped would inhabit the Capitol’s halls. The average Joe citizen sent to Washington to make a difference is a story model often replicated in Hollywood, but rarely as powerful as it was told in Frank Capra’s 1939 film.

4. Independence Day
Can there be a more perfect movie for July 4 than the film that borrows that holiday’s moniker? Bill Pullman is not only our chief executive (who’s your favorite movie president?), but one who puts his war hero pedigree to use in fighting back against an alien invasion.

3. Top Gun
Top Gun scores on the patriotic meter for several reasons. Not the least of which is the number of times the American flag is featured, especially in slow motion with swelling music behind it! Cruise again stars in a patriotic flick, this time as a fighter pilot with a tad too much attitude.

2. Forrest Gump
Robert Zemeckis scored in his chronicle of modern American history through the eyes of Tom Hanks’ titular character. From the “innocence” of Elvis Presley’s 1950’s through the divisive Vietnam War and then the Decade of Decadence that was the 1980’s, this is one American journey that certainly makes us proud to be an American.

1. Saving Private Ryan
Tom Brokaw famously called those that lived during World War II “the greatest generation.” That heroic effort was chronicled in Steven Spielberg’s Oscar winning Saving Private Ryan. All one needs to see is the opening scene: The D-Day invasion. That was one serious selfless act committed by a group of men who knew their ultimate sacrifice was more than likely on that fateful morning. Yet, they still stormed that beach, turned the tide of World War II and guaranteed freedom would survive.

In preparation for tonight's premiere, we bring you a new poster for The Amazing Spider-Man, featuring the eye of The Lizard. The poster captures the ominous tone of this recent The Amazing Spider-Man clip, showing a creepy Spidey encounter with the Lizard.

The Lizard is played by Rhys Ifans, with Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. Martin Sheen, Sally Field, and Denis Leary also star. Check out our exclusive interview with Denis Leary for his insights on the making of the film.

With only a few hours left until The Amazing Spider-Man hits theaters, fans are gearing up to see if the reboot of the popular Marvel franchise can give The Avengers a run for its money.

What do you think? Can The Amazing Spider-Man match The Avengers, now the third highest-grossing film of all time, in box-office sales? Can it broach the top 5? Let us know in the comments section!

Three new stills have arrived from The Words, an upcoming thriller starring Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, and Jeremy Irons. Check them out (click thumbnails to enlarge):

The film tells the story of an author, played by Cooper, at the height of success, as he discovers the harsh consequences of stealing another writer's work. Saldana plays Cooper's wife.

Saldana, best known for her work in Star Trek and Avatar, will be appearing in Stark Trek 2 next year. Cooper is working on a sequel of his own, after appearing in the first to The Hangover movies, he will appear in The Hangover III, currently in development.

The film is directed by first-timers Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal, and also features Olivia Wilde and Dennis Quaid. Catch it in theaters September 21.

Bringing a wildly popular book to the big screen can be a thankless task. But with Savages, Oliver Stone had the help of the novel’s author Don Winslow. Stone tells us, in our Movie Fanatic interview, that it was still one difficult effort.

“Oh, we cut a lot! The book is 120 scenes. I think in a movie we only have 30 scenes to play. We had to make decisions in the script. We made decisions in the editing. We had to consolidate so much. There's so many things different in the movie than the book, you have to read the book to understand that. But definitely the book inspired me,” Stone said.

Stone speaks highly of the author and working with him to craft a powerful piece of cinema from Winslow’s bestselling book. “Don did a great job of writing it and knew that world and it really gave me the desire to make a movie about it that was fresh -- but ruthlessness in terms of having some good deleted scenes that you'll see one day that are fun, but they had to go.”

Savages follows a romantic threesome and how the two males (Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson) find their booming marijuana business being encroached on by a Mexican drug cartel headed by Salma Hayek. When they refuse to cut the cartel in on the action, the guys’ girlfriend O (Blake Lively) is kidnapped.

With the real life drug war looming over every frame of film, Stone is not worried about the reaction from Mexico. In fact, our south of the border neighbor is high on his premiere list for Savages.

“Well, we're going to Mexico right after we open here,” Stone admitted. Even though some may worry about the depiction of the country that sits in the middle of a hemisphere-wide drug war, Stone believes those who inhabit the land are keenly aware of that fact.

“I think people are fairly reasonable and understand the realities of the situation. I think we showed some of the cruelty. We didn't show all of it because it's too rough, but certainly you have to deal with it -- otherwise you're just sanitizing a situation that's gotten extreme.”

The auteur sites his Scarface as an example of a film reflecting the times, rather than exploiting them. “I have made several movies about drugs including Scarface. What I saw in Miami with my own eyes is larger than life. And what I see in Mexico is larger than life,” Stone said.

“The world is living in a larger life fashion in general. We are seeing entertainment become politics and we're seeing people acting out in ways that are extremely violent and destabilizing, including bankers. No rules apply. We're in an era of no rules now, it seems."

Working with his ensemble cast, as seen so brilliantly in the Savages poster, he was impressed with their strong opinions when it came to knowing their character and fighting for what they felt should be portrayed in the movie over their own director’s wishes.

“I think it's good that every actor is the best advocate for his own. He's a lawyer for his own defense,” Stone said.

Surprisingly, the one who was most commanding was Lively.

“A good actor will be thinking, feeling, questioning, and Blake was one of the most aggressive in terms of questioning everything in the script. Her character was different than the concept in the book. She always wanted to emphasize the heart and the hope that she had. She's very elegant, sophisticated and reminds me of Meryl Streep at that age. She's got the chops.”

The film could be seen as having two “endings” that audiences will discover when they witness it in theaters July 6. But, Stone does not see parallel conclusions at all.

“I think you have to say that there are twists and turns in this movie. Some of them are pretty wild and there are a lot of them actually if you start counting back,” Stone said.

“There's a romantic way out, which was from the book. You know it's very much in the girl's head, whether it being a love story or not. Whether the girl would take her own life to join one of her lovers in death was the notion in the book. If you accept that you can live with the first ending. I can't. I see the world a little bit more realistically and I love the ending of the book. It reminds me of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”

Stone sites dialogue from the film to further enhance his take on the ending, of course without spoiling a thing! “Blake’s character says, ‘Truth has a mind of its own.’ It happens to all of us. We all have idealism,” Stone said.

Given the helmer’s view on this film being a love story between three people, his vision of the movie’s theme is hardly a surprise. “I think the whole film is an argument for love or not love between three people. O says at the end, ‘I don't think it's possible for people to be equally in love.’”

In the end, Stone feels his film -- as evidenced in the Savages trailer -- is also quite a statement on the drug war in 2012. “By creating that false environment of a war on drugs and cruel and unusual punishment with these crimes, 50 percent of our U.S. population is in jail without having hurt anybody, mostly for drugs,” Stone added. “This is a tremendous inequality in our system.”

Compliance explores peoples' willingness to do horrible things handed down from a supposed authority figure. It received major buzz at this year's Sundance Film Festival, and now the trailer has been released. And it looks disturbingly compelling. Check it out:

Compliance Trailer

Based on a string of real-life strip search phone scams, the film follows a fast food manager, Sandra, who gets a call from a police officer accusing her young employee Becky of theft. Ordered to perform a strip search on the girl, Sandra reluctantly complies, setting a nightmarish series of events in motion.

Ann Dowd plays Sandra, with Dreama Walker as Becky. Walker is best known for her role as Hazel Williams in Gossip Girl, though she also appeared alongside Jonah Hill in last year's comedy The Sitter. For more, check out some The Sitter quotes.

Writer/Director Craig Zobel has worked previously with Pineapple Express director David Gordon Green. This is only his second feature film. Compliance will arrive in theaters August 17.

Ok, so this is a bit confusing. It started as a smash hit TV show in the UK. Then, it was adapted to a smash hit film in the UK. Then, they decided to release it in America. Now, The Inbetweeners will be remade into a (smash hit?) American movie.

The Inbetweeners followed the exploits of four friends, Will, Simon, Neil, and Jay, as they transition from teenagers into adulthood. The movie takes the boys on vacation to Greece in search of sex. The Inbetweeners Movie came out in Britain last year, and will hit American shores on September 7. Check out the slightly NSFW red band trailer below.

The Inbetweeners Movie Red Band Trailer

The film has been compared to the teen comedy classic American Pie, and the American version will hope to capitalize on that likeness. Series co-creator Iain Morris will write and direct the new film, which may possibly get a name change. I wonder if the American version will be set in Greece, or in an exotic locale a little "closer to home" (Cancun comes immediately to mind). Where would you set the new Inbetweeners?