Ever wondered what happened to Hansel and Gretel after their iconic fairy tale ended? Well, the filmmakers behind Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters answer that question for those who are curious. Even for those who never gave it a thought, the Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton portrayal of the lost-in-the-woods siblings who encounter a less-than-savory witch is a pretty original idea.

Our Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters review finds first and foremost the casting of Renner and Arterton is spot-on. It is also quite nice to see a female and male lead in an action flick be siblings and not romantic interests for each other. The sibling as fighting duo concept is rarely used and given Hansel and Gretel's back story, we found it uniquely joyous.

Overall though, the film is not quite the gangbusters we thought it could be. Sure, it looks great... as seen in these Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters stills. Perhaps it's the concept has been painted too broadly. Yes, Hansel and Gretel have grown up and taken their loathing of witches to a new level by making their life about destroying them. Movie Fanatic would have liked to have seen the pair focus on one evil-doer instead of finding the film spreading itself so thin as the story spans the European continent while the witch hunters for hire wipe away the entire witchy race. 

The special effects, as teased in the Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters trailer, are solid -- especially in 3D. Yes, this is a 3D movie and there may be some backlash to the format of late, but surprisingly in this instance, director Tommy Wirkola uses it efficiently and effectively.

Wirkola is working from the script he co-wrote with Dante Harper and unfortunately, as a whole, it is a story that stretches too thin by the closing credits. The focus here should have been more keen and instead these broad strokes of plot movement simply did not work.

Will there be more Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters? Perhaps, that will be up to the audience if they turn out in droves to see if the Grimm Fairy Tale 2.0 strikes their fancy. Personally, I would love to see more of Arterton and Renner together as the titular characters. Just hopefully, in a slightly better context. 

In a time of drone attacks and mechanized combat, we don't really see much katana fighting while suspended off the side of a mountain anymore. Shame.

Well the new trailer for G.I. Joe: Retaliation brings us back to the good 'ol days of zip lines and ninja masks, complete with a dubstep remix of The White Stripes' Seven Nation Army. Take a look:

G.I. Joe: Retaliation 90-Second Trailer

Bruce Willis (A Good Day to Die Hard) and Dwayne Johnson (Fast Six) star in the action sequel, with the Joes cast off as traitors to the U.S. Nearly defeated, the team takes one last stand to defeat the Cobra Commander. Lee Byung-Hun, D.J. Cotrona, Adrianne Palicki, Ray Park, Channing Tatum (Magic Mike), and RZA also star.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation willpremiere March 29.

Michel Gondry: the French Father of Filmic Phantasmagoria (I immediately apologize for that sentence). His new movie, Mood Indigo, looks to be even more dreamy and whimsical than his past work.

Take a look at the trailer:

Mood Indigo French Trailer

Audrey Tautou (The Da Vinci Code)and Romain Duris star as Chloe and Colin, a couple who meet and fall in love as Chloe develops a debilitating illness. The film is based on the book Froth on the Daydream by Boris Vian.

Gad Elmaleh (The Dictator), Omar Sy, and Aissa Maiga also star. Mood Indigo premieres April 10.

Yesterday we showed you the Oz the Great and Powerful Rachel Weisz poster, and today we have one for Michelle Williams, as Glinda the Good Witch. Take a look:

The film follows the story of Oscar Diggs a sleazy circus magician played by James Franco (Spring Breakers), who is magically transported to the land of us. There, the citizens think he is the fabled Wizard, a role which he eventually learns to inhabit.

Williams and Weisz are joined by Mila Kunis (Ted) as the three witches. Zach Braff, Joey King, and Abigail Spencer also star. Sam Raimi directs the film, which opens March 8.

As we inch closer to the Academy Awards, we are learning more and more about what the ceremony will be like.

Earlier this week we reported that Adele will perform Skyfall at the Oscars, and today producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced that they will put on a tribute to movie Musicals from the last ten years.

Zadan and Meron are seasons Musical producers, with a résumé that includes Annie, Chicago, and the TV show Smash. The tribute will showcase three films, Chicago, Dreamgirls, and Les Miserables, which has received five nominations at this year's Oscars. Read our Les Miserables review to find out why.

Tune in to the ceremony on February 24, and check out all the Oscar nominations to prepare for the show.

Ron Livingston (whose Office Space quotes are some of the best in recent comedy history), Colin Hanks, and Jackie Earle Haley (Lincoln) have signed on to join Parkland, the upcoming drama about the events at the hospital following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

The trio joins James Badge Dale, Zac Efron, Marcia Gay Harden, Paul Giamatti, Billy Bob Thornton and Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook) in the superstar cast. Director Peter Landesman also wrote the film, which is based on the book Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy by Vincent Bugliosi.

Parkland is expected to film shortly in Austin Texas, in preparation for release later this year, near the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's death.

There is something for everyone with this edition of the Weekend Movie Preview. Halle Berry leads an all-star cast in the comedy Movie 43, Jeremy Renner battles the supernatural in the fantasy actioner Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters and Jason Statham tackles the literary action hero Parker.

Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters: What will likely be the top film at this weekend's box office, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters features Renner and Gemma Arterton as the titular fairy tale characters that have grown up and become... you guessed it -- witch hunters. As we state in our Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters review, the pairing of the lead actors is the best part of the movie. Paramount hopes the film could become a franchise and we honestly do too, simply because we'd like a little better story for the two stars next time around.

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters Trailer

Parker: Statham tackles what he hopes is his third franchise after Crank and the Transporter series with Parker. The crook with a code of conduct has enthralled readers for 24 books with Donald Westlake's series. In the hands of Oscar-nominated director Taylor Hackford, the Statham action movie actually feels more like a character-driven piece than your usual action fare. For more, check out my Parker review.

Parker Trailer

Movie 43: In a rare move for a comedy with so much buzz, the studio behind Movie 43 did not screen it for critics. But, judging by our Peter Farrelly exclusive interview, this is a flick in the vein of Kentucky Fried Movie. Movie Fanatic will check out the film this afternoon and bring you our review soon after! For now, check out the all-star cast in this ridiculously funny trailer.

Movie 43 Trailer

Check out this new still from the upcoming movie Riddick:

Vin Diesel (Fast Six) returns in the third installment of the sci-fi action series. The new film finds Riddick left for dead on an alien planet, with bounty hunters from across the galaxy on his tail.

Karl Urban (Star Trek Into Darkness), David Batista, Katee Sackhoff, Jordi Malla, and Bookeem Woodbine also star.

David Twohy wrote the script and directs. Riddick premieres September 6.

The first still from the upcoming action movie 2 Guns has dropped. Check it out:

Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg (Broken City) star as Bobby and Stig, two undercover officers from different bureaus force on the run together to try to infiltrate a Mexican drug cartel. The only problem? Neither knows the other is undercover.

Paula Patton, James Marsden (The Loft), Bill Paxton, and Edward James Olmos also star.

Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur directs. The film will hit theaters August 16.

The Avengers marked the culmination of Phase One of the Disney Marvel universe. Phase Two is about to get underway with Iron Man 3 opening May 3.

But what about Phase Three? It's still a ways away, but we already know that Edgar Wright's Ant-Man movie will kick things off in late-2015.

Today, Marvel Studios' President of Production Kevin Feige filled MTV in on the direction of Ant-Man, saying that it is absolutely "through the lens of Edgar Wright," and he also touched some other new stuff we could see in Phase 3: chiefly, a Dr. Strange movie.

"Ant-Man is the only one officially announced," said Fiege, "but you probably don't have to look too far to guess at the next list of characters we're toying with and beginning to develop. Doctor Strange, which I've been talking about for years, is definitely one of them. He's a great, original character, and he checks the box off this criteria that I have: he's totally different from anything else we have, just like Guardians of the Galaxy...which keeps us excited."

For the first time since the story broke that J.J. Abrams to direct Star Wars Episode VII, the studio behind the franchise has spoken. Movie Fanatic received word from Disney and Kathleen Kennedy -- LucasFilm leader and relatively new Mouse House employee -- that the director is their guy to take over what George Lucas started back in the 1970's.

The announcement featured a clear and "official" enthusiasm that has been missing from this story since it broke. “It’s very exciting to have J.J. aboard leading the charge as we set off to make a new Star Wars movie. J.J. is the perfect director to helm this. Beyond having such great instincts as a filmmaker, he has an intuitive understanding of this franchise," Kennedy said. 

"He understands the essence of the Star Wars experience, and will bring that talent to create an unforgettable motion picture.”

With this being the first time that there is any kind of official confirmation of what has already been reported, prepare for the geek and movie world to collide in a celebration of joy that someone who keenly knows the genre is tackling its highly anticipated next chapter.

Even the Svengali of the entire franchise, Mr. George Lucas himself, commented on the news that the Star Trek franchise director was entering the world of The Force.

“I’ve consistently been impressed with J.J. as a filmmaker and storyteller.  He’s an ideal choice to direct the new Star Wars film and the legacy couldn’t be in betterhands.”

As a lifelong fan, one can only imagine the thrill that Abrams experienced when it became official. "To be a part of the next chapter of the Star Wars saga, to collaborate with Kathy Kennedy and this remarkable group of people, is an absolute honor,”  Abrams said in the Disney statement.

He then paid tribute, as if to a Sci-Fi Godfather, to the man who inspired him to first wield a camera. “I may be even more grateful to George Lucas now than I was as a kid."

20th Century Fox announced today that they will be pushing back the release date of the upcoming comedy The Heat. The buddy cop film starring Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock was originally scheduled to hit theaters April 5, but will now be released June 28.

Paul Fieg returns behind the camera to direct McCarthy after 2011's smash hit Bridesmaids. Check out some Bridesmaids quotes to see the kind of comedy the two can produce together.

The move makes the Jurassic Park 3D re-release the only major release on April 5, with The Heat now competing with White House Down and Kick Ass 2. Watch The Heat trailer for more.

I think I've figured it out: teenagers don't feel like humans. Seems like every young adult fantasy romance movie features a scene where one person teaches some human-ish creature to be human. Here's a clip of that very scene from Beautiful Creatures:

Beautiful Creatures Lena Rains Clip

Alice Englert and Alden Ehrenreich star in the film, which is adapted from the novel by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. It follows a young witch named Lena, whose family emerges into the public eye just in time for her to fall in love before she is claimed for lightness or darkness.

Jeremy Irons, Viola Davis, Emmy Rossum, Emma Thompson, and Thomas Mann (Project X) also star.

Beautiful Creatures is directed by Richard LaGravenese, and will premiere February 14. Check out this Emmy Rossum Beautiful Creatures clip for another look.

Paranormal Activity 4 has arrived on home video and Movie Fanatic received the DVD and Blu-Ray combo pack for review. First thing we have to highlight is the 30 minutes of new footage "discovered" from inside the house at the center of this movie's horror.

The film series' Svengali, Oren Peli, still oversees the horror, and his handprints are all over it. Although directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman have taken over filmmaking duties since Paranormal Activity 3, there is no loss in continuity of quality. Proof of that is evidenced in the ever-escalating box office as the series goes along.

What sets this film apart from the rest of the series, as highlighted in our Oren Peli exclusive interview, is that the franchise can utilize society's current obsession with all things technology that allows us to film practically anything and everything.

As teased in the Paranormal Activity 4 trailer, filmmakers used footage gleaned from the many laptops in the family's house, handheld video cameras, cameras found on smart phones and in the most horrific of developments, the eerie video produced by a Kinect from XBox.

This film is also different in that it involves a different family than the one at the center of the Paranormal Activity series. How it fits into the mythology is one fantastic treat. The action takes place in suburban Arizona with a teenage girl at the center of the action. When a mysterious boy, who lives nearby, winds up staying with them, the horrors begin. How is he connected? You'll have to get the DVD or Blu-Ray to find out! But, it is one fantastical journey.

The Blu-Ray/DVD copy Movie Fanatic received to review contains both the theatrical and unrated version of the film. Beyond the 30 minutes of new footage and the two versions of the film, there is nothing in terms of extras. But, that is honestly par for the course for a franchise that has continually teased its terror by shielding its mythology in secrecy. To add a commentary track or bloopers would go against the very grain set forth in the first film.

For fans of the series, and I am one, the Paranormal Activity 4 home video release is a must to add to the collection. It is fascinating to watch all the films in a row to see the brilliant vision of Peli. We only hope there is a fifth to give this filmmaker another chapter to his epic series.

Check out the new poster for the magic-themed comedy, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone:

Steve Carell (Anchorman) stars as Burt Wonderstone, a magician whose partner, played by Steve Buscemi, leaves after Burt accidentally injures him on stage. When a flashy street magician played by Jim Carrey begins to overshadow him, Burt tries to get the old act back together to regain his status in the magic world.

Olivia Wilde, Alan Arkin, James Gandolfini (Zero Dark Thirty), Brad Garrett, Gillian Jacobs, and Jay Mohr also star. Don Scardino directs the film, which will open March 15.

With production underway for Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (not to be confused with the classic city-planning computer game Sim City: A Dame to Build a Reliable Public Transit System For), directors Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez have cast their titular Dame, Ava Lord.

And the winner is: Dark Shadows' Eva Green.

Along with Green, Julia Garner also joined the cast today as a young stripper. The two join an already star-studded cast including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Josh Brolin, Jessica Alba, Jamie Chung, Rosario Dawson, Jaime King, Ray Liotta, Jeremy Piven, Mickey Rourke, Juno Temple, Bruce Willis, and Christopher Meloni (Man of Steel).

The Sin City sequel is set for an October 4 release date.

Warm Bodies star Nicholas Hoult is the lead character in a story that may remind some of Romeo and Juliet. He portrays "R," a zombie who winds up saving a girl (Teresa Palmer) named Julie. R & Julie... get it?

As previewed in the Warm Bodies trailer, their relationship may hold the key to the cure for being a zombie, something films of the genre have debated for decades. Could love warm a heart that has gone cold? That was certainly what drew the in-demand actor to the film.

"It's a nice story about a zombie, that I play, who feels a little bit trapped and wants to feel alive again -- to have that spark back," Hoult told us in our exclusive video interview. "When he meets Teresa's character Julie, he finds the enjoyment in life again... could that be a cure for the zombie race?"

Nicholas Hoult Exclusive Interview

The film also shows how far the zombie genre has gone and how it may be, with The Walking Dead and its kind, that zombies are replacing vampires as the go-to supernatural storyline. "I've enjoyed how zombie films have progressed over the years with Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead with a bit of humor in there. Not to say I don't like the classic types like 28 Days Later."

Hoult is one busy actor as he has both X-Men: Days of Future Past and Jack the Giant Slayer coming up. We asked him to give us a clue as to what to expect from the latter -- like Warm Bodies, a unique take on a story we've seen before.

"It's based loosely on the Jack and the Beanstalk fairy tale. It's about this young farm boy, Jack, who I play, who gets tagged along on this mission to save a princess from lots of giants," Hoult said. The actor cautions that this is not your grandparents' fairy tale. "There's not one giant in this movie. There's lots of giants!"

Trance is a new crime thriller from Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire). Check out the first, very colorful, poster for the new movie:

The movie follows an art auctioneer with criminal entanglements. After joining with a hypnotherapist to seek a missing painting, the lines between reality and hypnosis begin to blur.

James McAvoy (X-Men: First Class), Rosario Dawson (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For), and Vincent Cassel star. Trance opens in theaters March 27.

Moviefanatic is excited to announce our exclusive Knife Fight giveaway! One lucky winner will receive a code to watch the movie On Demand at SundanceNOW.

Knife Fight stars Rob Lowe, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Jamie Chung. The film follows a political strategist (Lowe) who specializes in helping politicians fraught with scandal back into public office. Scroll down to find out how you could win a VOD code! For more on the movie, head over to Knife Fight's SundanceNow page.

Knife Fight is a political thriller co-written by former Al Gore spokesman Chris Lehane. What's your favorite political thriller?

All you have to do to win is...

1. FOLLOW@MovieFanatic on Twitter.

2. RETWEETthis tweet along with the title of your favorite political thriller. Make sure you include "@moviefanatic" and a link to this post in your tweet, so we can see it.

Also be sure to follow us so we can contact you if you're the lucky winner. One winner will be selected at random on Tuesday, February 5. Good luck!

With all the main cast in place, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is gearing up to begin filming in New York City beginning February 12.

Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone return as Spider-Man and Gwen Stacy, with Shailene Woodley joining on as Mary Jane Watson, and Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn. The latter to roles originally went to Kirsten Dunst and James Franco (Oz the Great and Powerful) in Sam Raimi's series.

Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained) will play the villain Electro, with Paul Giamatti reportedly being pursued to play the Rhino.

Marc Webb is returning to direct the sequel, which has a release date set for May 2, 2014.