When a film covers someone’s real life, often times what audiences see onscreen is far from something that can fit into neat little boxes. Life is messy. And, few lives were quite as chaotic as Sam Childers, the subject of Machine Gun Preacher. Gerard Butler portrays Childers and takes us from his drug addled past, through recovery, finding God and being moved by a sermon at his church by a minister who had just returned from Africa. Next thing Sam knew, he left his wife and daughter behind and went to Africa to help those in need. What he discovered there would not only change his life, but also save the lives of thousands of children in the Sudan, an area ripped apart by civil war and strife.

In Machine Gun Preacher, the grotesque violence being committed on mothers, fathers and children in Sudan villages is brought front and center by director Marc Forster in the film's opening moments. Then, he swings his camera back to Pennsylvania and introduces us to Butler capturing the swagger of Childers exiting prison. As Butler begins his journey to salvation and saving onscreen he gives himself an enormous character arc to traverse given the viewer’s knowledge of what Sam Childers does in Africa. He is not nice to anyone including his best friend Donnie (Michael Shannon), his wife (Michelle Monaghan) or his daughter (Madeline Carroll).

It speaks volumes to Butler and his talent that the sweeping story is compelling. When Butler as Childers gets to Africa and sees the horror with his own eyes, a tidal wave of character change is emitted by the actor. All the moments of his life have led to this and now, at this moment, he is the man who must make a difference.

Some have said that Machine Gun Preacher does not know what type of movie it wants to be. Given that this is Childers’ story, and it is well documented, what you have is a film that is an addict’s finding sobriety movie. It is a biker film, war flick and action thriller. There are large swaths of a religious-themed film in there as well. That is because that is Childers’ life. Routinely in Africa, his orphanages he built and maintained would come under attack. Always, Childers would grab a machine gun and fight the enemy off. Yes, he was addicted to drugs. Affirmative, he became a preacher. That tapestry is a life, and therefore Machine Gun Preacher is all of those genres of films, wrapped into one look at the life of one man who did extraordinary things to help humankind.

There are a few cringe worthy lines in Machine Gun Preacher, unfortunately many have to be uttered by the always awesome Monaghan. In real life, Childers orphanages flourished and saved thousands of lives. After watching the film, one wonders how they could have survived without his presence. But, that is little concern when it’s within the confines of a film that puts the spotlight on the age old question: What can one person do? Apparently, help move heaven and earth.

David Fincher has been teasing us with images and that eight minute preview for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and now, he has released a new trailer to feed the fires of anticipation.

The latest trailer from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo isn’t quite the eight minute masterpiece Movie Fanatic saw last week before our Straw Dogs screening, it is almost half as long and just as brilliant.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo stars Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara as a pair charged with investigating a disappearance where everything isn’t even close to what it seems.

Based on the pop culture phenomenon that is Stieg Larsson’s book trilogy, Fincher also brought along his The Social Network Oscar-winning composer in Trent Reznor for Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and we cannot say enough about the stellar choice to score Larsson’s dark world.

The only problem with the new trailer is that the fires of anticipation that are fed will have to wait until December 21 to see the whole thing.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Teases

Looking at The Grey’s premise, it looks like Liam Neeson has chosen another mid-career gem. Neeson is featured front and center in the first trailer for his latest film, The Grey, about a man fighting to survive in the Alaskan wilderness after a plane crash.

Neeson reteams with The A-Team director Joe Carnahan for The Grey and judging by the new trailer the studio has released, the film is far less campy than their first pairing and much, much more intense. Color us excited.

The actor portrays a member of an oil drilling team that now must fend for themselves in order to brave the Alaskan wilds. There’s also a nice bit of humor in the trailer that cuts through the suspense -- also a good sign in a bite your nails film.

The title of the film stems from Neeson and his team’s number one foe as they fight for survival -- grey wolves. The trailer makes it clear that the animals are less than thrilled with the group they clearly see as invaders into their natural territory.

The Grey arrives in theaters January 27, 2012 and also stars Dermot Mulroney.

The Grey Trailer Premieres

Just last week, Movie Fanatic ran a photo of Johnny Depp on the set of Dark Shadows and now there is an official shot from the Tim Burton film! The shot is a family photo of the Dark Shadows clan and is featured in Entertainment Weekly.

In the photo Depp is surprisingly sent to the background while the foreground cast members -- Michelle Pfeiffer and Jonny Lee Miller -- appear as the leads in the photo. Also note Burton’s life love, Helena Bonham Carter, sitting coyly on the couch.

Depp is Barnabas Collins in Dark Shadows, based on the wildly popular 1960s soap opera that Burton is charged with bringing to the big screen. Fans of the original show have been abuzz over the casting of Depp and given his track record with Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Alice in Wonderland, Sweeney Todd, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), the results should be astounding.

Entertainment Weekly reveals that not everyone in this photo is a vampire. We’ll have to wait until summer 2012 to find out more as Dark Shadows hits screens in the midst of the blockbuster movie season.

Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt, is flat out brilliant. Based on the book by Michael Lewis, director Bennett Miller has managed to take what was on his pages -- statistics, strategy and a study in personalities -- and impeccably bring it to the big screen.

Pitt stars as Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane. The film’s true story centers on how after the 2001 season that saw the A’s on the brink of the World Series, Beane had to reinvent his team after his stars -- Jason Giambi and Johnny Damon -- were pillaged by free agency that they could not afford. Beane was looking at a baseball landscape populated by teams with $100-plus million payrolls winning while teams such as his, with $30 million-plus payrolls, were left in the dust. Beane felt there was still a way to win and that triumphant journey is chronicled with passion in Moneyball.

Enter Jonah Hill as Peter Brand. Beane sees something in the Yale educated economist whom he meets while Brand is working for the Cleveland Indians. Brand doesn’t see productivity or age in determining a player’s worth. Hill’s character believes that as baseball is a team sport, if each player can perfectly play their role, there’s no reason victories can't pile up. Immediately in Moneyball, and in real life, Beane hires him for the A’s.

Hill and Pitt have an amazing volley as actors while tag teaming the baseball establishment. Hill has arrived as a dramatic actor in Moneyball after a career in comedy. Meanwhile, his partner in crime on screen is Pitt and the actor delivers in droves.

Pitt is in an incredible place right now creatively. He long ago proved he was much more than a pretty face. But it is in Moneyball that his command of the screen has never been so solid. Moneyball is Pitt’s movie and even as the final credits roll, the overwhelming feeling felt by the viewer is yearning for more Brad Pitt as Billy Beane. Pitt plays Beane as a man with an ego that comes across through his belief in the system he and Brand are creating. But Pitt also adds a layer of vulnerability to his character that shines in scenes with Beane’s daughter, but also in his almost daily battles with A’s manager Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman in an astoundingly understated performance), who is questioning the system every step of the way. That is, until the A’s start winning.

As Moneyball is a true story, there is no way to invent a Hollywood ending where one does not quite exist. Yet what the film provides from the real life tale is something more than witnessing screaming fans’ celebration. It is a story of the triumph of the human soul.

Looking at the history of the 2002 Oakland A’s, we know they make the playoffs, but fail in Beane’s dream of reaching the World Series -- no spoilers here, it is simply the facts. What the 2002 Oakland A’s do achieve is making history by breaking a record long thought unbreakable by anyone in Major League Baseball. That part of the film is its penultimate triumph and the reality of the baseball world is what keeps Moneyball real. We’re sure A’s fans would have liked their own Hollywood conclusion, but as shown in Moneyball, what Beane, Brand and the A’s accomplished is much more powerful than a World Series ring.

Moneyball is about cherishing souls that have been undervalued. Its themes transcend the baseball field to life itself. And as such, it is one of the best sports movies of all time -- a don’t miss two hours at the cinema that is truly to be treasured -- and one of the top films of 2011.

Where the first Thor employed an unusual choice to direct in Kenneth Branagh that payed off, it appears they are using the same methodology for helming the sequel. Patty Jenkins directed Charlize Theron in her Oscar-winning role in Monster and word out of Marvel Studios is she’s the front-runner to direct Thor 2.

Audiences will next see Chris Hemsworth laying down the hammer as Thor in Avengers with Thor 2 set to begin shooting in April 2012. Look for a decision on the Jenkins hiring in the coming weeks.

Jenkins is no stranger to helming powerful male-centered drama as well with her work as director on the highly regarded The Killing pilot and episodes of HBO’s Entourage.

Early word from those who have seen the potential script say that Thor’s journey in Thor 2 will follow the relationship between the God of Thunder and his father (Anthony Hopkins), take audiences further into the Nine Worlds as well as reunite him with his Earthbound love, played by Natalie Portman.

Movie Fanatic first meets Brad Pitt as we secure our coffee outside the press room at the Toronto Film Festival. As I turn around, there he is: The most famous actor in the world. “How you doing?” he asks in his cooler than cool drawl. As we enter the press conference for Moneyball, there is a sense from the film’s lead that he has truly hit it out of the park with his latest film. He would be spot on.

Once in the interview room we want to know what Pitt’s favorite sports-themed films are and he doesn’t hesitate in his answer. “As a kid I loved The Bad News Bears, we talked a lot about that one. Also North Dallas Forty with Nick Nolte, I think that was the first R-rated movie I snuck into, so it has a special place in my heart,” Pitt said and laughed. “Sports films traditionally work on some level of this idea of winning, overcoming adversity. I think it’s something in our DNA why we love our sports heroes and sports teams. My team (New Orleans Saints) lost the other night to the Green Bay Packers, very disappointing. But so be it, the loss you can take personally [laughs] -- it makes for a very interesting genre!”

Pitt portrays Billy Beane, General Manager of the Oakland A’s. He is a man charged with fielding a winning team with a low payroll while teams such as the New York Yankees win championships with paying players over three times the amount the A's have to pay. Pitt took great solace in his meetings with Beane, face-to-face time that yielded one of Pitt’s greatest performances.

The actor also filled in his character’s holes by harking back to his childhood and the strict religious background that had him questioning everything. “I related it more to my upbringing. I grew up in a very Christian environment, a healthy environment and a loving family, but there were just parameters that I didn’t understand, that I always questioned,” Pitt said.

“It took me until my adult years, or leaving home until I could really try on something different for myself, new things. You’re really dealing with certain things as you grow up, figure out what works for you and what doesn’t. I just related to that time. It’s a very personal time, when you lose that comfort system. You cut the tether and you find yourself very on your own with nothing to hold on to.”

What else compelled Pitt into Beane’s world in Moneyball was how the film is not your usual Hollywood fare. “It’s complicated material. It’s not your conventional story or story line, with conventional character arcs,” he admitted. Bringing it to the screen took some effort, and time. But Pitt never quit in his effort -- he is also producer -- to get Moneyball to the big screen. “It took a lot of shots at it, and a lot of people getting their fingerprints on it, to try to hammer out what it would be. Ultimately I couldn’t let go of this story of these guys, who by necessity were trapped in an unfair game, an unfair situation. By necessity they had to think differently, they had to reinvent themselves. In doing so they ran up against great bias and a vitriolic wall, which really tested who they were. At the end of the day it’s a story about our values, about how we value people, what we value as success, what we value as failure, and how we understand our own value, that the value system is warped with bias and prejudice -- these kinds of questions. There are so many themes, but ultimately it’s about values. It took Bennett Miller to crack the story.”

Moneyball also goes beyond baseball, Pitt felt, and if done right would have the opportunity to inspire audiences outside simply baseball fanatics. “How these guys were able to survive and stay competitive, questioning the things we accept every single day. Because we are doing something the same way for so long, does that mean it’s right for today? We don’t stop and question the context of why those decisions were made. That speaks to me,” Pitt said. “Why, if we were inventing the automobile today, would it run on a finite resource that we’d have to go to war for -- that it’d take so much of our GDP? No, we’d probably make it run like our laptops. It’s this kind of questioning I find very inspiring.”

The thought of Meryl Streep playing Margaret Thatcher is about as exciting as film news gets. Now the Weinstein Company has released the poster for Iron Lady, the film based on the life of Thatcher and it features Streep front and center.

Thatcher was the first, and thus far only, female Prime Minister of the U.K. She was a woman who went toe-to-toe with the most powerful leaders in the world and was considered a confidant of Ronald Reagan’s. To say she broke barriers is one of the biggest understatements ever! That is why the casting of Streep as Thatcher is a stroke of genius.

The Iron Lady features a stellar cast including Jim Broadbent, Olivia Colman, Alexandra Roach, Richard E. Grant and Nick Dunning and arrives on screens in the U.S. December 16.

The first poster for The Rum Diary did not feature its star, Johnny Depp. It was a clever use of mini liquor bottles spelling out the words The Rum Diary. Finally, they are putting the biggest movie star in the world on the poster.

Depp is Paul Kemp in The Rum Diary, a journalist who heads to Puerto Rico for a position at a daily newspaper. In typical Hunter S. Thompson fashion, whose book the film is based on, Kemp winds up spending time with an interesting cast of characters with trouble sure to ensue.

The film takes place in the 1950s and judging by The Rum Diary trailer, the art director nailed it. Rum Diary also stars Oscar nominee Richard Jenkins, Amber Heard as the wife of Aaron Eckhart’s character (who may or may not be on the up and up) and the always interesting Giovanni Ribisi.

On October 28 the film arrives and if it is half as fun as Depp’s first go-around as a Thompson character in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, consider us locked and ready to go on a Rum Diary binge.

Taylor Lautner is looking to break out of his Jacob screen persona and his role as Nathan in Abduction should achieve just that. Just as Breaking Dawn is set to wrap up the Twilight series, Lautner has put all his marbles in a film that could very well make him an action star. But, is Abduction simply for his ‘tween and teen fans, or can it be enjoyed by a wide audience?

In short, let’s just say this: Lautner fans will love it. For everyone else, the film has some problems.

The script has a great premise. Lautner’s Nathan gets paired with his neighborhood crush for a school project on missing children. While doing their research, they stumble upon a website that has his childhood photo of Nathan coupled with an age enhanced photo that looks remarkably like him. Cue the knock at the door from men with guns. Nathan has been traced, found and immediately in life threatening danger.

Director John Singleton is someone we so admire, but on Abduction, his magic just is not completely there. The action sequences pop, there is no question. Lautner has succeeded in his effort to be considered for the mantle of next great action star. He wields a gun well. The actor races from danger effectively and also manages to slow it down for his character to be human.

One of those let’s meet the characters moment is for all intensive purposes a love scene between Lautner and that cute neighbor who happened to be at his house when all hell broke loose. There’s a spark between our lead and co-star Lily Collins -- that is for sure. But a full on groping after all that has been thrust upon Nathan’s world in the last 12 hours is too much. Yes, they are hormonal teenagers, but if the same reality we’re expected to believe that Lautner would be running for his life while simultaneously completely confused as to who he really is inside of five minutes after checking into a missing person’s website, then why would he still care about hooking up with Collins as he did in the film’s first act.

Veteran actors Alfred Molina, Sigourney Weaver, Mario Bello and Jason Isaacs bring the esteem to the project, but are left with lines that they had to wonder if there was some other way of emitting conversation that would move the plot. One particularly effective scene involves Molina as a CIA agent and Lautner who finally meet face to face. Singleton’s mastery of movie mayhem is on full display on that scene. The two strong actors are having a discussion as to the predicament and how to reach a peaceful conclusion while Singleton has other characters with nefarious needs closing in as Molina cluelessly chats as trouble approaches.

We wanted to like Abduction. Taylor Lautner has movie star written all over his face (and body for that matter). It’s just with the material he was given in Abduction and the sequence of events that carry him through the film, there is little there to believe that there will be more Abduction movies as producers hope (they have publically said they hope this is a Jason Bourne type series). If you like Lautner, then Abduction is an emotional deliverance. But, when plot and execution are elements of a film you appreciate, avoid Abduction.

Dolphin Tale 3D has family film written all over it. It is a true story. Dolphin Tale stars an animal with a will to survive that inspires while children and adults band together to save what conventional wisdom says cannot be saved.

The humans of the Tale are top notch actors. Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Kris Kristofferson and Harry Connick Jr. are the adults while Nathan Gamble and Cozi Zuehlsdorff are the two kids at the center of the story. Director Charles Martin Smith, himself a former child actor, has a firm grasp on what makes a family film work and employs it to its fullest, including a stellar command of 3D.

The pieces all come together beautifully and frankly, quite cute. Yes, it is based on a true story, but that story is not what audiences see onscreen. This part of the story is completely and inspiringly true. Winter the dolphin, washed up on a Clearwater, Florida beach with his tail severed from a crab trap. Rushed to a nearby marine hospital and saved, it is determined that without a prosthetic tail, Winter will die from over exhaustion, lacking a tail to properly swim.

In Dolphin Tale, Freeman’s expert in prosthetics is found by Gamble and brought to Winter’s side to access whether he can build what they need to save Winter’s life.

The rest of the story is well documented, and even knowing that, Smith has crafted a family film that is fun, factual and fictional -- something that adds up to a good day at the movies with the little ones.

Dolphin Tale does have its slightly schlocky moments. The pelican with attitude works with the kids, and gets old with the adults over 90-plus minutes. Yet there is a beauty to much of the film. That especially rings true when the camera heads underwater showcasing Gamble and his connection with Winter. That the overly crafted tear jerking moments still get you, because of that beauty and an innate human love of animals explored in Dolphin Tale, getting emotional over it doesn’t feel so bad.

There’s a subplot tossed in involving a cousin of Gamble’s character who was a champion swimmer who returned home from war in a wheel chair. The real Winter has inspired thousands of amputees and that is one of the true miracles of her story. In Dolphin Tale, that storyline embodies that aspect.

As we stated, Dolphin Tale is a family film worthy of taking out the family. That is where filmmakers were inspired to take the story of Winter. In that endeavor, they succeeded. Adults on their own heading into Dolphin Tale may want to explore something less sugary sweet. Although on this particular day of screening, Movie Fanatic was in the mood for some good sweets.

Sam Worthington is back on screen after riveting in The Debt with Man on a Ledge. Summit Entertainment has released the film’s poster and trailer for the thriller that also stars Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, Kyra Sedgwick, Edward Burns and Ed Harris.

Man on a Ledge follows a fugitive former policeman who feels he has nothing left to live for as he sits on the ledge of a skyscraper. The only hope for him coming out of the situation alive is with a hostage negotiator (Banks) who is desperately trying to talk him down off the titular ledge.

In Man of a Ledge, Banks learns over time that as the clock ticks, Worthington’s character may have other reasons he’s out on that ledge and must figure out what they are before time runs out.

Man on a Ledge Trailer

The Star Wars Blu-Ray release has banked an astounding $84 million thus far, moving over a million copies of the George Lucas classic in one week.

Many cheered when it was announced that the Star Wars saga was finally coming to Blu-Ray. Then, purists scoffed when we learned that Lucas had further tinkered with his classics with many letting out a collective: Again?

Guess that fact didn’t deter audiences as the global market has gobbled up copies of the Star Wars Blu-Ray set in record numbers. These early numbers indicate that the Star Wars Blu-Ray is fast on its way to being hailed as the bestselling Blu-Ray release of all time.

Movie Fanatic wants to know: Did you get the set and what do you think? Enjoying the never before seen features has to be a treat, but will the added dialogue -- such as Darth Vader shouting “No” as The Emperor electrocutes Luke -- take away from your memories of what was an iconic film?

It appears certain, and thus you can bank on the fact, that with the sales figures breaking records -- one can expect Lucas to believe that he is not finishing with his six movie series and more changes can be on its way for future anniversary editions.

Drew Barrymore’s latest film finds her starring in a movie based on a true story that is truly inspiring. Big Miracle is the story of what happens when three gray whales become trapped under the ice in Alaska and how an entire community rallies to find a way to free the giant mammals.

Big Miracle also stars The Office’s John Krasinski in a film that was initially titled Everybody Loves Whales. Thankfully the title has been changed to Big Miracle, which completely describes what happened to those three whales in the icy tundra off Alaska’s shores.

The true story takes place in the 1980s and judging by the trailer, Barrymore is relishing portraying a character from the era that gave the starlet her start.

Big Miracle is from director Ken Kwapis (He’s Just Not That Into You, License to Wed -- also starring Krasinski), who also has great comedy chops with his work on Freaks and Geeks and Parks and Recreation.

Big Miracle arrives on the big screen February 3.

Big Miracle Trailer

Harry Connick Jr. sang his way into pop culture consciousness and has remained there ever since. Movies were one of the first mediums to expose Connick Jr. to the masses with his work on the soundtrack for When Harry Met Sally. He has since become a standard in the jazz world and starred in a few movies of his own. Connick Jr. is currently starring in Dolphin Tale and I caught up with him on the Clearwater, Florida set.

Connick Jr. stars alongside Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman and Nathan Gamble and portrays a veterinarian charged with saving a dolphin named Winter who has lost his tail due to a fishing contraption. Dolphin Tale’s story is true and the fact that the film is geared towards families was what immediately drew him to the role as a father of three young girls.

The crooner lets us in on what he took away from working with a legend in Freeman, as well as whether he will return to Broadway in the near future.

Movie Fanatic: Did you have to curb your Cajun accent at all for this role in Dolphin Tale?

Harry Connick Jr.: No, in fact I talked to the director about it when we started. It’s a bit more relaxed because the dialogue is so technical. I have to think about that when I speak because my brain is not that fast [laughs]. He said, “Just talk like you talk.” I don’t think it’s a distraction.

Movie Fanatic: We’re heard that you were quite the prankster on set. Is that true? Like we heard you were fond of pouring water down people’s pants.

Harry Connick Jr.: You know, everyone has their own way of doing things. I like to throw mine out there, just to make sure it’s OK. Some people don’t like that. Some people like to stay in character when they go back to the hotel at night. I’ve worked with actors who, like Morgan, we talk right through the director calling action. It just completely changes when the cameras are rolling. That’s how I like to do it. I don’t like to have anything to do with the scene until it’s happening. If there’s an opportunity to pour water on somebody, I’ve got to do that [laughs].

Movie Fanatic: Have they gotten you back?

Harry Connick Jr.: They mess with me all the time [laughs]. I got busted the other day. My cell phone, first of all, it’s never in my pocket on set. Second of all, it’s never on, it’s on vibrate. All of sudden, for some reason, it’s on and the ringer goes off, right on set. Someone must have messed with it.

Movie Fanatic: Was Morgan Freeman already attached to Dolphin Tale when you joined?

Harry Connick Jr.: I don’t know. It was around the same time.

Movie Fanatic: How excited were you to work with him?

Harry Connick Jr.: Oh man, he’s a legend! He’s a straight up legend. He really has exceeded expectations. You just don’t know what these people are going to be like. He brought something when he came. You got all of us, me and Ashley (Judd) are the oldest, then everyone else is younger. When Morgan comes on the set, he brings a different cache with him. He’s really cool, man. He’s really laid back. There’s a reason he’s Morgan Freeman. Acting is one of those strange professions where it’s hard to be really, really famous unless you’re extremely good at what you do. It’s like ballet. You can’t be a famous ballet dancer unless you really know how to dance. It’s easy to be a famous musician. There’s a million out there who don’t know what they’re doing. I know that [laughs]. To be a really well respected actor, you have to know what you’re doing. To watch him, that was the great gift of the entire Dolphin Tale experience. It’s an honor, it really is.

Movie Fanatic: Being such a talented musician, would you ever solely do a soundtrack for a film that you are not also starring in?

Harry Connick Jr.: I’ve done a couple songs for films, but I would rather do a musical than a soundtrack. If Spielberg called and said, “I want you to score my next film.” I would like to do that [laughs]. But, I would also like to have the opportunity to do a musical. 

Movie Fanatic: Will you go back to Broadway?

Harry Connick Jr.: We’re talking about it. There are a couple of projects we are trying to figure it out. But, it looks like I will be back within a year.

Movie Fanatic: Did you enjoy your time on Broadway?

Harry Connick Jr.: I did, but that was another one of those things where I called my manager two weeks before we opened and said, “You got to get me out of this. I can’t do this eight times a week.” My own music shows change every night. It’s just different. There was nothing she could do to get me out of it, but I’m so glad I went through with it. I look forward to going back to it.

When I spoke to Michelle Rodriguez for Battle: Los Angeles, the starlet let it be known that she would do anything director Paul W.S. Anderson asked of her to return to the Resident Evil franchise. Her wishes must have been heard, because word is she’s cast in Resident Evil: Retribution.

Rodriguez will be returning to the franchise in the role she originated, Rain. Milla Jovovich, of course, will be back with her director husband in the film series they started in 2002. Resident Evil: Retribution will be the fifth film in the series and is proving to be an original film reunion of sorts as casting news released recently has Colin Salmon returning as the character One.

Puss in Boots is readying for his close-up as the fencing feline gets his own movie, due out November 4.


Paramount has released a series of parody commercials that puts Puss in the most unlikely of situations -- all hysterically funny.

First off, Puss takes on the Old Spice guy in a spot called The Cat Haz Swagger. “Look at your cat, now look at me,” Puss orders. Then he begins to extol how he is so much more of a cool cat than your cat. Honestly, we agree.

Puss in Boots Clip: The Cat Haz Swagger

Up next is Puss exuding his trademark confidence in He’s So Legendary.

Puss in Boots Clip: He's So Legendary

Lastly is Puss in Boots’ famous No Pants spot which we adore so much, we're running it again!

Can Antonio Banderas be more of a purr-fect choice to be Puss in Boots? As evidenced in the No Pants spot, there is no question.

Puss in Boots Viral Video

Normally Movie Fanatic heads to Los Angeles International Airport to head to some sort of movie junket. Whether it’s the Toronto Film Festival or another destination, the LAX journey usually involves exiting our Hollywood home. As Hugh Jackman was anointed to appear at the Virgin America Real Steel plane unveiling, Movie Fanatic was all sorts of ready to check out the new Virgin America plane and chat a few moments with Jackman. Given the film’s boxing centrality, Jackman was in a fighting mood to wax poetic about Real Steel.

Jackman first descended the stairs out of the Real Steel jet with a flight attendant on each arm. He swaggered over to a giant DreamWorks banner covering the side of the plane. He would soon reveal the new Virgin America plane adorned with a Real Steel robot from a film where all the boxing robots are characters warranted of equal billing with Mr. Jackman.

Check out our video below of the unveiling including our chat with one of the world’s biggest movie stars.

And don't miss our interviews with Jackman and the cast and crew from Real Steel in the coming weeks.

Hugh Jackman Video Interview for Real Steel

It's official: movie goers prefer lions to dolphins.

And also to really good looking actors.

For the second weekend in a row, the 3D version of The Lion King captured the box office prize, earning just a bit more money than Dolphin Tale and the Brad Pitt-anchored Moneyball. Taylor Lautner's first post-Twilight role finished a distant fourth, as rounded up below:

1. The Lion King (3D): $22.1 million
2. Moneyball: $20.6 million
3. Dolphin Tale: $20.2 million
4. Abduction: $11.2 million
5. Killer Elite: $9.5 million

Winnie is coming to the States.

The biopic of Nelson Mandela's wife, which chronicles her journey from childhood through her husband's incarceration, debuted earlier this year in South Africa and then again at the Toronto Film Festival in mid-September.

No date has been announced for its release in America, but the official poster for this moving drama has been made available online. Check out Jennifer Hudson and Terrence Howard in their iconic roles now: