Dancing has gone to the dogs in our exclusive clip from the family film Doggie B. The flick lands today and finds an aspiring vet named Cassie discovering some sad news. Her Uncle Peter’s dog dancing business is on the verge of going out of business. What’s a girl who cherishes canines to do?

Why, she puts her dog Pijo to work in an effort to take first prize at the national Dog Dancing Championships… with prize money that will save the studio. Our exclusive clip finds Cassie fighting with her mother as to her future working with animals or doing what her mom wants, a one-way ticket to law school. We also meet Pijo, who might have a say in the matter.

 

Doggie B Exclusive Clip

Doggie B stars Jane Wiedlin, Jesse Draper, Patrick Alan Davis, Bettina Devin and, of course, Pijo the dog. And while we're in the dog house, check out Movie Fanatic's Top 10 Dog Movies.

Lawless is based on a book by Matt Bondurant titled The Wettest County in the World. Now, you may notice that Matt Bondurant shares a last name with the characters in the film. That's because he is the grandson and grandnephew of the real-life bootleggers that the film is based on.

Hear Bondurant and the film's stars talk about the plot and characters in the new Lawless featurette:

 

Lawless Featurette

The film stars Tom Hardy, fresh off his role as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, along with Shia LaBeouf and Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty) as the bootlegging Bondurant brothers in Prohibition-era Virginia. Their business comes under threat when a new deputy, played by Guy Pearce, wants a cut of their profits.

Lawless is in theaters now. Check out the Lawless trailer for another look.

It is a sad time for fans of the warmer months as Labor Day arrives. But, it is a chance to look back on what was the hottest in film for the summer movie season.

Movie Fanatic has seen it all and yes, this summer was not on par with the legendary summer of exactly four decades ago. 1982 saw E.T., Blade Runner, The Road Warrior, Rocky III, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Poltergeist, The Thing and Fast Times at Ridgemont High delight audiences.

This past season was still pretty solid and possessed some serious surprises. Here are the Top 10 Summer Movies of 2012:

10. The Bourne Legacy
Jeremy Renner effortlessly stepped into a franchise made famous by Matt Damon. The Bourne Legacy was a leaner effort than the first trilogy and effectively set up the series for the Renner era. Rachel Weisz was astounding as Renner’s helper/love interest and the action continued to push the envelope as the series has always done.

9. ParaNorman
Fans of stop motion animation will cheer and those who don’t think they liked the format will be completely shocked at how astounding ParaNorman is to witness. The film about a little boy who sees the supernatural and will try to save his town from invading ghouls hits all the right beats and is easily the family movie of the summer. 

8. People Like Us
Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks are marvelous as a brother and sister pair who only learn of that fact when their father passes away. People Like Us is a story for our time and packs an emotional punch that is oh so good. The film was a refreshing adult-centered drama in the midst of the summer blockbuster explosions.

7. Ted
Seth MacFarlane shocked the world with his first full-length feature film. The comedy starring Mila Kunis and Mark Wahlberg with MacFarlane voicing the foul-mouthed teddy bear of the title was by far the funniest film of the summer. We have the Ted quotes to prove it! Let's get more big screen laughs from MacFarlane and soon.

6. Moonrise Kingdom
Wes Anderson achieved his best film in years with Moonrise Kingdom. No wonder, as his cast (Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand and Jason Schwartzman) was top notch and the story about two tweens (sensational debuts by Jared Gillman and Kara Hayward) finding love was touching and pure.

5. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Who would have thought that a film about the senior set beginning a new chapter of their lives in the Indian titular establishment would break box office records? But, that is exactly what the Bill Nighy, Judy Dench and Maggie Smith-starring vehicle did. It was one of the first summer flicks to hit $100 million in global gross and is easily one of the greatest joys of this past summer.

4. Beasts of the Southern Wild
Oprah Winfrey has been going on and on about this film and we don’t blame her -- we did too in our Beasts of the Southern Wild review. The first film to truly have a shot at a Best Picture Oscar, we hope, is not forgotten come nomination time. Especially with the recent storm devastation that hit New Orleans, this NOLA-set film is as timely as it is moving.

3. Lawless
The true story of the bootlegging Bondurant brothers closed out the summer with a bang. Director John Hillcoat and screenwriter Nick Cave combine forces again after their incredible The Proposition and give the classic 1930s gangster flick new blood by taking the action to Appalachia. Tom Hardy gives a performance that is worthy of Oscar love and Shia LaBeouf comes into his own as an actor as the youngest brother seeking to make a name for himself in Lawless.

2. The Dark Knight Rises
A fitting end to Christopher Nolan’s Batman series, The Dark Knight Rises managed to wrap up the series with a nice, albeit explosive bow, and also leave the future of the franchise open for more from another helmer. Some argued that The Dark Knight was a better film with a better villain (The Joker), but Tom Hardy's Bane from The Dark Knight Rises does the trick as the actor scores again in summer 2012 by turning in his second stellar Top 10 movie performance.

1. The Avengers
The biggest blockbuster of the summer was also its best film. Joss Whedon did the impossible by bringing together the worlds of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk and the mythology of S.H.I.E.L.D. in a two-hour film that fired on all cylinders. Movie Fanatic knew when The Avengers debuted back in early May that the rest of the summer would be downhill because we had just witnessed the finest Hollywood had to offer this season.

Honorable Mentions: The Campaign, Killer Joe, Katy Perry: Part of Me, Magic Mike and Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted.

Seemingly from these new Skyfall photos, a Bond Girl's job has devolved into just getting in nice and close and having a staring contest with 007 (and occasionally brandishing a razor while doing it).

Check out the photo set, courtesy of Empire, which contains some new stills, plus a set photo of director Sam Mendes (click the thumbnails to enlarge):

Skyfall finds Bond coming out of hiding after being presumed dead to hunt down Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) after the MI6 is attacked. Judi Dench reprises her role as M, with Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris Berenice Marlohe, and Ben Whishaw (Cloud Atlas) also starring.

The newest Bond film premiere November 9.

The summer movie season is officially over (check out our Top 10 Summer Movies) as this final weekend of August finds three new films hitting theaters. The horror genre gets a burst of new energy with The Possession.

Lawless tells the true story of 1930s Appalachian bootleggers who outsmarted the government and big city gangsters. Then, the romantic comedy gets a makeover as For a Good Time, Call uses the format to showcase a budding friendship between two women.

Lawless: Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, Gary Oldman and Guy Pearce star in the true tale of three brothers who took on the mob and the government and ran one of the most successful moonshine businesses in history. As stated in our Lawless review, the Oscar season has arrived early with this stellar flick.

 

Lawless Red Band Trailer

The Possession: Usually possession movies have a priest at the heart of the exorcism. Not so in this flick, as the demon possessing the young girl is from Judaic history and a Hasidic rabbi (a stellar Matisyahu) holds the key to freeing the girl from what is consuming her. Don’t miss our The Possession review for more.

 

The Possession Where's My Box Clip

For a Good Time, Call: A wildly original idea that mostly gets it right, the film follows two female friends through the romantic comedy prism of finding each other, budding friendship, conflict and resolution. Our For a Good Time, Call review delves deeper.  

 

For a Good Time Call Clip

Sean Penn (Gangster Squad) stars as weird ex-rocker Cheyenne in This Must be the Place. After hearing of his death, Cheyenne sets off to find the Nazi officer responsible for his father's persecution during WWII.

The first This Must be the Place trailer has dropped, and if you're an "indie kid" (I immediately regret using that term, but my delete key is broken) like myself, you might appreciate an oddly-situated little Arcade Fire joke towards the end. Check it out:

 

This Must be the Place Trailer

The film also stars Frances McDormand (Madagascar 3), Judd Hirsch, and David Byrne as himself.

This Must be the Place is directed by Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino. It hits theaters November 2.

Check out the new trailer for Love and Honor, starring Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games):

 

Love and Honor Trailer

Hemsworth plays Mickey, a Vietnam soldier who goes AWOL with his friend in order to help him get his girlfriend back. Austin Stowell plays the friend, with Aimee Teegarden as his girlfriend Jane.

Teresa Palmer, Chris Lowell, Wyatt Russell and Max Adler also star.

Love and Honor is written by Jim Burnstein and Garrett K. Schiff and directed by Danny Mooney. There is not yet a release date set.

On the Road premiered at Cannes earlier this year to some pretty mixed reviews. Now, the film has apparently been re-cut and will be released in the U.S. later this year. Check out the new trailer (hopefully the new version of the film isn't cut quite as quickly as this is):

 

On the Road American Trailer

Sam Riley and Garrett Hedlund star as Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty, two friends who embark on a trip across America. The film, based on the classic novel by Jack Kerouac, has been in development by producer Francis Ford Coppola for decades.

Kristen Stewart (Breaking Dawn Part 2) also stars, along with Kirsten Dunst, Viggo Mortensen, Terrence Howard, Steve Buscemi (Hotel Transylvania), and Amy Adams (Man of Steel).

Brazilian filmmaker Walter Salles directs. On the Road hits theaters December 21.

Argo has received its first TV spot. Check it out:

 

Argo TV Spot

Ben Affleck directs and stars in the film, which chronicles the true story of the Iran hostage crisis. Looking to sneak six Americans out of the area, CIA officer Tony Mendez hires a fake film crew to go in, pretend to shoot a film, and leave with the hostages.

John Goodman (ParaNorman), Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, Chris Messina, and Kyle Chandler also star.

Argo will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, before its release on October 12. Check out the Argo trailer for more.

Bradley Cooper elevates his game in The Words. The actor portrays Rory Jansen, an author who has struggled for years to find his voice. He has written novels, but none have garnered any interest from the publishing world. When Jansen finds a decades-old manuscript that he cannot put down, he submits it as his own and becomes an international literary sensation.

Movie Fanatic caught up with the superstar and his director (and childhood friend) Brian Klugman for an exclusive video interview where each spoke to which film work in the past they wish was theirs. “I would have done The Godfather right,” Klugman joked.

For Cooper, it was a Peter O’Toole classic. “My Favorite Year, I could drink that cognac better than him,” he said and laughed.

 

Bradley Cooper Exclusive Interview

As seen in The Words trailer, the film possesses a stellar cast including Zoe Saldana, who plays Cooper’s wife, Dennis Quaid as a fellow author and Jeremy Irons as a mystery man who shows up and challenges Jansen who now has blockbuster success with The Words that are clearly not his own.

There's a new trailer for Taken 2, with a forward by Liam Neeson (The Dark Knight Rises). Check it out:

 

Taken 2 90 Second Trailer

What's that? You're curious about that "hidden scene" Neeson mentions at the end there? I've got a hint for you: it's hidden right below a sentence that ends in the word "rutabaga."

 

Taken 2 Hidden Scene

What's that? Have no idea what Neeson's character Bryan Mills is telling his daughter, played by Maggie Grace (Breaking Dawn Part 2), to do in this scene? Yeah, me neither.

Taken 2 takes the Mills family to Istanbul, where Bryan must rescue his ex-wife Lenore from the father of the man he killed in Taken. Head over to our Taken quotes page for a look at that first film.

Catch the sequel in theaters October 5.

Bad Lip Reading is a hilarious Youtube channel that replaces the audio of clips--previously of mostly political videos and music videos--with nonsensical dialogue that matches the movements of the speaker's mouth.

Now, Bad Lip Reading has expanded into the movie realm, and so we can cover it! Yay! Check out a Bad Lip Reading Video of Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson as Bella Swan and Edward Cullen in the first Twilight movie:

 

Twilight Bad Lip Reading

I love the take on Stewart's acting, with every signature facial movement getting an accompanying grunt or gurgle. And personally, having never had the pleasure of watching any of the Twilight Saga, this is sort of what I thought the movies were like anyway!

Fans of the series can catch the final installment, Breaking Dawn Part 2, in theaters November 16. We'll just have to wait a while for the Bad Lip Reading version.

The first trailer for the new found footage film The Bay has dropped. Take a look:

 

The Bay Trailer

Barry Levinson directs the horror film, as a small New England bay is faced with a toxic water contamination. When the Mayor opts to avoid panic and not alert the town, the contamination spreads, turning the people of the town into hosts for a mutant breed of parasites.

With found footage films becoming increasingly popular, like this year's Project X and Chronicle, even Oscar winning directors like Levinson are climbing on board.

Kristen Connolly (Cabin in the Woods), Jane McNeill, Anthony Reynolds, and Michael Beasley star. The Bay is set to hit theaters in limited release November 2.

Movie Fanatic hits the road and could not be more excited to head to the Great White North (which won’t be so white this time of year!) for the annual celebration of film that is the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Who will we be talking to and what will be seeing to share with our readers? Only the best of the best and bets are safe that one of these films is likely to be this year’s Oscar Best Picture.

Just last year, we witnessed The Artist for the first time, and that charmer went on to take the Academy’s top prize. Which films on the slate this year stand to join that esteemed silent film of a year ago?

Argo
Ben Affleck directs his first feature since the astounding The Town and brings to life a little known true story of how the CIA rescued a handful of Americans who escaped the takeover of the American Embassy in Tehran in 1979. If this doesn’t sound like Oscar bait, I don’t know what does. Affleck also stars as the real life CIA agent who came up with the idea of using the guise of a Hollywood production scouting locations in Iran in order to save the U.S. citizens. Be sure to check out the Argo trailer for a tease sure to raise your anticipation for this flick.

Look for our chat with Affleck in the coming week from Toronto!

Cloud Atlas
Very little is known about Cloud Atlas other than it stars Tom Hanks and Halle Berry and features the two in multiple roles that span centuries, regions and even celestial bodies. As soon as we see it and talk to the cast, we will bring you all the details!

The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Stephen Chbosky wrote the screenplay and directs the film based on his bestselling book about coming of age in early 1990’s Pittsburgh. The film features Emma Watson in her first starring role since leaving the Harry Potter franchise. The Perks of Being a Wallflower also features a certain The Vampire Diaries star in Nina Dobrev and what should be a star-making turn by Logan Lerman.

Our exclusive interviews with Chbosky, Dobrev and Mae Whitman will arrive next week.

Looper
Writer-director Rian Johnson teams up with Joseph Gordon-Levitt again after their work on Brick to create a sci-fi thriller that is unlike any you’ve ever seen, as shown in this Looper clip. Gordon-Levitt is a Looper, someone who lives in the past who is assigned by the mob of the future to take out their undesirables because murder is almost impossible in the future. But, what happens when one day Gordon-Levitt draws his weapon awaiting his next target to appear… and it’s him (Bruce Willis) from the future?

Movie Fanatic has exclusive video interviews with Looper stars Gordon-Levitt and Emily Blunt.

Silver Linings Playbook
Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence co-star in the first film from director David O. Russell since his smash The Fighter. Cooper is Pat Solitano -- a former teacher who tries to make a life for himself after a stint in a mental institution. Silver Linings Playbook is based on Matthew Quick’s book and is definitely a movie with film fest pedigree written all over it.

On the Road
Jack Kerouac’s famous novel finally makes it to the big screen. Kristen Stewart, Garrett Hedlund, Kirsten Dunst, Viggo Mortensen and Amy Adams star in what is sure to be one of the most anticipated movies of the fall. As a huge fan of the On the Road book, Movie Fanatic has waited for the film incarnation for decades.

End of Watch
Writer-director David Ayer is back after his Oscar-winning Training Day with another LAPD story that illustrates what the City of Angels’ finest have to go through to bring justice to the streets of the city. Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena are partners who stumble on a small cache of money and firearms belonging to a cartel that unleashes a version of hell they could never have imagined.

Don’t miss our exclusive video interviews with the cast and filmmakers from Toronto the week the film debuts nationally, September 21.

The Master
One of the most buzzed about films debuting at TIFF is Paul Thomas Anderson’s (There Will Be Blood, Boogie Nights) The Master. Featuring an Oscar-worthy cast (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams), the story follows what may or may not be the beginnings of a Scientology-type religion after World War II.

Movie Fanatic gets an exclusive sit down with Adams at the fest!

Anna Karenina
Another iconic book makes its film debut in Toronto, Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, starring Keira Knightley as the title character and Jude Law as the literary character icon Alexei Karenin. The world turns upside down when Karenina begins an affair with the high society aristocrat Count Vronsky (Savages’ Aaron Johnson). 

Hyde Park on the Hudson
Bill Murray is already getting Best Actor buzz for his portrayal of FDR and the true story of when our famous World War II leader welcomed the King and Queen of England to his New York state retreat to discuss America’s involvement in World War II.

Ever elusive to the press, rumors are swirling that Murray will make a rare appearance and at least give a press conference for Hyde Park on the Hudson. We’ll bring it to you!

Although not Oscar contenders by any stretch of the imagination, a few films debut at TIFF simply for the fun of it including…

Dredd 3D
Karl Urban is Dredd and steps into the role of the comic book hero who extols justice in a future where America has been wiped out except for a massive city that stretches from New York City to Washington, D.C. The update to the Sylvester Stallone movie is much more of a religious following of the iconic comic.

Look for our exclusive chats with Urban, his co-star Olivia Thirlby and writer Alex Garland in the coming days!

Hotel Transylvania
Where is a monster to go if they simply want to relax? Why… the Hotel Transylvania. Adam Sandler stars as Dracula, a monster who built the resort in order to give his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) and his monster friends a safe haven from the human race that seeks to destroy them.

Movie Fanatic scored exclusive video interviews with cast members Andy Samberg, Gomez, Molly Shannon and Fran Drescher.

Seven Psychopaths
Woody Harrelson is a gangster who adores his Shih Tzu just a little bit. When it is kidnapped by Christopher Walken and his gang of misfits, Harrelson unleashes hell. Watch the Seven Psychopaths trailer and you'll see why Movie Fanatic is so excited for this one.

The trailer for Italian director Sergio Castellitto's new film Twice Born has dropped, featuring some pretty intense violin music. Check it out:

 

Twice Born Trailer

Penelope Cruz (To Rome with Love) plays Gemma, a woman who brings her son to Sarajevo 16 years after they escaped while the boy's father, played by Emile Hirsch (Killer Joe) stayed behind and died. There, Gemma is forced to relive her lost love and reconnect with her son.

Cruz and Hirsch are ten years apart in age, though presumably Hirsch will only be portrayed in flashback, with Cruz likely paying a younger version of herself (which shouldn't be hard for her to pull off).

Twice Born is set to premiere November 9.

Try to say "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 final trailer teaser video" three times fast. Or just watch it:

 

Breaking Dawn Part 2 Final Trailer Teaser

The video previews the final trailer for the capstone film, which will air this Friday during tomorrow's MTV Video Music Awards, before coming online this Friday. The film once again stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner as Bella, Edward, and Jacob.

Bella has become a vampire, married Edward, and had a baby daughter with him, named Renesmee (played by Mackenzie Foy). As stated in the video above, the Volturi are coming for them because they mistakenly think that Renesmee is an immortal child.

Breaking Dawn Part 2 hits theaters November 16. In the meantime, check out this hilarious Twilight Bad Lip Reading video.

Monsters, Inc. is getting a re-release in 3D! Check out the trailer below:

 

Monsters, Inc. 3D Trailer

The hit computer-animated film was originally released in 2001. It stars John Goodman (ParaNorman), Billy Crystal, and Steve Buscemi (Hotel Transylvania) as monsters who scare children to help power their city. But when a child gets loose inside Monstropolis, it turns their world upside down.

Monsters, Inc. will hit theaters in 3D on December 19. Then, on June 21, 2013, the prequel Monsters University will premiere (also in 3D), showing the monsters in college as they train to become scarers. Check out the Monsters University trailer for a preview.

Also take a look at the Monsters, Inc. 3D, which shows Mike having a bit of a trouble with his 3D glasses. Little does he realize, with only one eye, he can't perceive depth anyway. Poor guy.

Martin Freeman runs through the Shire as Bilbo Baggins in this new still from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, presumably from that pig, who seems to be dressed as Bane from The Dark Knight Rises, so I assume he's the villain (Middle Earth's oinkening? I'm sorry, I'll stop).

The Hobbit will be split into three parts. The first two parts, An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug have already been shot and will be released on December 14, 2012 and December 13, 2013, respectively. The third part, There and Back Again (originally the title of the second film), is expected to be released July 18, 2014.

In addition to Freeman, the films star Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving (Cloud Atlas), and Elijah Wood (Celeste and Jesse Forever).

I don't want to be a party pooper, but Judge Dredd seems like kind of a jerk. I mean, he's really eager to declare people guilty and get 'em dead.

A new TV spot for Dredd 3D has dropped, featuring a kill-eager Judge Dredd. Take a look:

 

Dredd 3D TV Promo

Karl Urban stars as the hero, who takes rookie Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) on a mission to shut down a dangerous drug ring. Wood Harris and Lena Headey also star.

Judge Dredd hits theaters September 21. Watch this Dredd 3D featurette for another look.

In The Words, Bradley Cooper is a writer who has spent years trying to find his voice. He has submitted several manuscripts to publishers and although they are encouraged by his talent, Cooper has failed to sell one book.

Then, on a trip to Paris with his wife (Zoe Saldana), she buys him a tattered leather satchel to use for his work. She hopes it will inspire him to carry his prose to awaiting publishing houses.

What’s inside the bag will set off a moral dilemma as old as time itself.

Once home, the happy couple go on with their lives with reality showing its face. Cooper needs to get a job and finds one working the mail room at a publisher. His disdain is clear, but he knows it may be possible to still make it as an author working around the people who make such dreams happen.

At nights he works on his book. Yet, success continues to elude him. Then, The Words hits its astute question: If no one knew -- or could know -- that you did something wrong… would you still do it?

Late one frustrating night, Cooper finally pulls out the satchel and inspects it. Inside he finds a manuscript. Not just any manuscript, but filmmakers would have us believe this is something as earth shattering as anything Hemingway or Fitzgerald composed. In an effort to feel what it’s like to write something so powerful, he writes it on his computer, word for word.

The film never suggests that Cooper had planned to do anything else with the story other use it as an exercise of “writing” a great book. When Saldana finds the work on his computer, he is greeted one evening by a woman filled with tears launched by the brilliance that she believes her husband has crafted. So taken with her reaction, it happens: Cooper passes it off as his own.

He shows it to an agent at work, they immediately sign him and he becomes an overnight literary sensation.

As so eloquently laid out in The Words trailer, the film raises many questions. This is a forty-plus year old manuscript. Surely no one will miss it? Or will they? Jeremy Irons shows up after Cooper accepts an esteemed literary award. The Words are in fact… his.

Director Brian Klugman has crafted a film that if it stuck to the story outlined above, it would be utterly brilliant. Unfortunately, interwoven with that story is a narrative with Dennis Quaid who we’re told early on is himself an author. He is narrating a story of his own while Cooper’s tale plays out. It is a confusing plot device and regrettably is a complete distraction.

It is truly sad because within The Words there is a fantastic film. It’s just not the one presented to audiences. Although Saldana is underused, Cooper is outstanding weaving nuances of emotional resonance throughout his performance. The Hangover star shows his acting mettle. He especially illustrates his talent in scenes where he goes head to head with Irons, who is as always astounding.

Sticking to the storyline of Cooper and Irons, our The Words review would say that the film is a winner. We adore Quaid, but his element to this morality tale is completely unnecessary. If it can be overlooked, the other aspects of the film are so strikingly strong, audiences could still enjoy the ride.