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Much Ado About Nothing: Joss Whedon Debuts First Trailer

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For fans of Joss Whedon, the big question lately is what is his next movie and when can we see it? We have your answer and Whedon's follow-up to The Avengers is a whole lot less flashy and probably contains absolutely zero special effects shots. Whedon has released his next film's first trailer and it is for his version of the Shakespeare classic, Much Ado About Nothing.

Whedon also announced the film's release date: June 7. The black-and-white film stars Whedon regulars Nathan Fillion and Clark Gregg as well as Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof as the iconic Shakespearean star-crossed lovers.

The Avengers director made his latest movie in only 12 days! Movie Fanatic caught the flick as it was one of our Toronto Film Festival 10 Movies to Watch.

 


After Earth Trailer: Jaden and Will Smith Try to Survive

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After the first After Earth trailer impressed us so much, you can imagine the excitement when Movie Fanatic received the second trailer from the sci-fi thriller. The film stars Will Smith and his son Jaden as a... well, father and son. It is the future and in this world, humans left the planet Earth over 1,000 years ago.

When the pair are on a space mission, their ship crashes on what appears to be a strange planet. No one except these two survived the crash and they emerge from their ship to discover they are on... Earth!

After Earth is from someone who used to be one of our favorite directors, M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense). It's good to see him back in form in the story that stretches his comfort zone and should be to the benefit of the audience. Look for the Smiths' latest film June 7.

Dead Man Down: Terrence Howard Talks Villainy as Business

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Terrence Howard, right before he told us about his love scene with Oprah in The Butler, talked to Movie Fanatic about his new thriller, Dead Man Down. Howard portrays a villain who is torn in many ways. Colin Farrell plays someone who is in Howard's crew that nobody suspects is really a snake in the grass, waiting patiently to strike with his revenge.

It seems that a year before, Howard's character ordered his subordinates to fire at Farrell's home in hopes it would scare them to move. His wife and child were killed. This villain is driven by money and he wanted all tenants out of the building so he could re-build it for higher rent.

Howard saw the man, although he leads a crime syndicate, as a businessman. In a way, he said in our interview, that is how we all are, really. "Everyone at the end of the day is a businessman because we have to deal with commerce in order to survive," Howard said.

"He has this aspiration of being accepted within general society. He wants the accolades of being on the Fortune 500. That gave him a better dynamic than just being a street thug. I loved his choices."

Howard didn't see the film as a revenge tale, as shown in the Dead Man Down trailer. It is something quite different. "I love the idea of recompense," Howard added. "It's not revenge. It's the making of justice."

Oz The Great and Powerful Review: Before the Wizard

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Oz: The Great and Powerful is the prequel to The Wizard of Oz... one of our Top 100 Movies of All-Time. Tackling that kind of hallowed ground is a tough and risky endeavor. Lucky for everyone involved, the effort was headed by Sam Raimi.

James Franco Michelle Williams Oz The Great and Powerful

Some may wonder why Disney would return to Oz. Just read a few The Wizard of Oz quotes and see how it is considered one of the best movies of all time. See, that's the thing. Oz: The Great and Powerful is not a trip back to the Emerald City. It tells the story of how the Wizard got there in the first place. And in director Raimi's hands, it is a compelling, gorgeous and epic marvel.

James Franco is the title character. When we meet him, it is at a Kansas locale where he is a magician in a traveling circus. He has flirted with the Strong Man's girl and that sends him running to a hot air balloon, of all things, to take to the air and get away from his wrath.

Immediately a tornado hits -- this is a Wizard of Oz movie after all -- and his journey finds him finally landing safely in the place that fatefully bares his name. Mila Kunis is Theodora. She finds our hero after his crash landing and believes he is there to fulfill a prophecy about a wizard coming to Oz to rescue them from the oppression of a certain witch. Yet, as we learn, which witch is the evil one is a mystery.

Oz goes with Theodora’s assumption because of a certain room of gold that she mentions. The only thing is, as he meets Theodora's sister Evanora (Rachel Weisz), Oz learns he must slay the Wicked Witch in order to rule the land. As teased in the Oz: The Great and Powerful trailer, what can be so hard about that?

Rachel Weisz Oz The Great and Powerful

Every single person in Oz: The Great and Powerful is impeccably cast. Franco rises to the challenge of playing the storied wizard and does so with his own unique flair. We know he's no wizard, yet through his magician backstory we can see where he's taking this character and the people of Oz for that matter.

Zach Braff astounds in dual roles. He is both Frank, Oz’s trusty magician’s assistant in the film’s black and white beginnings, and Finley -- the flying, talking monkey who serves as his supportive sidekick in Oz. Performing live action and voice-over roles, Braff is Oz’s conscience in both worlds.

Kunis has one of the more difficult parts. Her witch will become iconic. But this story is long before that cinematic coronation. She is the point on which Raimi’s film turns. When her heart is broken by Oz, her sister shows her true colors in an effort to comfort her and Oz will never be the same.

It also, will never need a hero more.

Like The Wizard of Oz before, Oz: The Great and Powerful paints a picture of a world that contains people who remarkably resemble individuals from when we were first in Kansas. There is a crush in Kansas (Williams) who is Glinda, the witch we all know from the 1939 film. Williams was born to play this century's version of Billie Burke.

Joey King astounds as a girl in a wheelchair in Kansas who is disappointed that Oz’s magic can’t make her walk again. Yet, her vocal talents for China Girl -- whom we meet in Oz -- are why the character will firmly take its place amongst the story’s legends that include a lion, tin man and a scarecrow.

Joey King Oz The Great and Powerful

Having a new character for audiences in China Girl -- one that has an instant classic feel -- speaks volumes as to the deep thought that went into the making of the film. One does not set to walk on a Yellow Brick Road onscreen without knowing that this world must rightfully stand beside movie excellence that has never before been matched.

Having The Wizard of Oz as your template must have been a daunting task. Raimi and Disney have not only done themselves proud, they have crafted a film that is sure to please Oz fans the world over. Our Oz: The Great and Powerful review can firmly state: That is the true wizardry.

Dead Man Down Review: Double Barrelled Revenge

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With the original The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Swedish director Niels Arden Opley gave us moments of revenge extolled by Lisbeth (Noomi Rapace) wrapped in a family secret thriller. With his latest film, Dead Man Down, retribution is front and center and permeates throughout.

Colin Farrell Stars in Dead Man Down

Colin Farrell portrays Victor, a man who has been working his way up into Terrence Howard's criminal crew... all with one eye on the prize. That goal is making Howard's Alphonse pay for killing his wife and young child several years ago. We like our revenge tales, as the iconic phrase says, cold. To see Victor working alongside the man who ordered the violent demise of his family is a lesson in building sizzling suspense. How and when is he going to make Alphonse pay?

Teased in the Dead Man Down trailer, things get complicated when he strikes up a friendship with a woman who lives nearby. Rapace re-teams with Opley as Beatrice, someone who has her own secret that has her seeking payback. When Victor and Beatrice go out on what he thinks is a date, after a lovely dinner, things turn deadly serious.

Meanwhile Victor is carrying out his reprisal and slowly but surely working his way up to the boss who ordered the hit to begin with. His relationship with Beatrice may complicate things, but through Farrell's ferocity the audience can see how this man will not stop until his goal of vengeance is achieved.

Noomi Rapace Colin Farrell Dead Man Down

Howard is downright slithery as a man who is all gangster, but who fashions himself as a "businessman." He is grappling with his guilt in that the killing of a woman and her child (that has unknowingly to him put Victor in his crew like a snake in the grass) was never supposed to be a killing. Warning shots were to be fired into the home. Alphonse wanted to scare the tenants out so he could build condos. Through Howard's performance we see that, in the back of his mind, he knows that karma is going to make this right.

Sure, watching this Dead Man Down clip and it is easy to think that the film is a simple revenge flick. But it is so much more. It is a relationship drama wrapped in guilt and vengeance that comes at the audience with the power of a double barreled shotgun. Our Dead Man Down review can say that through the film we see the complexities of seeking justice as a vigilante. Something that appears to be so black and white... simply isn't.

Emperor Review: Tommy Lee Jones Takes Over

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Tommy Lee Jones is the reason to see Emperor. In fact, we wish he had been in the film more. Don't get us wrong, we adore Matthew Fox's work over the years, but the most fascinating part of the story of America and its occupying of Japan after World War II is the enormous responsibility given General MacArthur. The man who helped orchestrate victory in the Pacific Theater was sent to Japan to help rebuild it and more importantly, figure out what to do with that country's Emperor.

Tommy Lee Jones Emperor

As shown in the Emperor trailer, Jones' MacArthur arrives in Tokyo to present them with some "American swagger." But then, his character takes a backseat to Fox's investigation into the Emperor trying to determine how much the regal leader knew about war crimes committed by his country. For one, did he order the attack on Pearl Harbor? MacArthur has entrusted Fox's General Fellers -- an expert in all things Japanese -- with taking merely days to reach a conclusion on determining the extent of the Emperor's knowledge of day to day war orders.

What Emperor does well is paint a picture of the complexities of the situation. America, and its allies, have bloodlust. They want the Emperor hung for Japan's war atrocities. Yet, did he even know what was going on or was he merely a figurehead to a blood thirsty regime who acted without his knowledge? The other issue is the powder keg that could erupt if the Emperor is removed. The entire country could dissolve into civil war. Fox knows this and continually pleads with MacArthur for more time. Only, there is none to be had.

Jones has had many career-defining moments over the years, most recently with his Oscar-nominated turn in Lincoln. But if there was a role he was born to play, it is that of General MacArthur. Teased in this Emperor clip, he is a supporting character though and much of the screen time goes to Fox.

Our Emperor review finds that although Fox's General has a huge responsibility and MacArthur is rightfully delegating, the film misses a huge opportunity. See, for a few weeks there in the aftermath of World War II... MacArthur was for all intents and purposes the Emperor of Japan. There's a duality of the film's title that is never addressed in any manner and that is a shame.

Matthew Fox Emperor

Movie Fanatic was so taken with Jones' performance as MacArthur that we have a small request. The most fascinating and cinematically compelling part of the General's story happens in the years that follow his Japan occupation.

It was when he led the U.S. into battle in Korea and was relieved of his duty. He had North Korea on the ropes and was not allowed to take his troops past the 39th Parallel, despite his extremely vocal protests. In hindsight, all this trouble we have with North Korea could have never happened if MacArthur had his way. With Jones in the role, that is a movie that could fully use the man's talents. Unfortunately, Emperor doesn't quite do that.

The Bling Ring Trailer: Emma Watson Commits Crimes

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The Bling Ring has released its first trailer. One might think that the true story of a group of rich kids who burglarized celebrities' homes for kicks would be a strange choice for Sofia Coppola to make her next film.

But, when thinking about it further, Movie Fanatic cannot wait to get her take on this incredible and most ridiculous of tales. What's also fascinating is that the film stars Harry Potter movies veteran Emma Watson. The actress is choosing wisely in her post-Potter career after her turns in My Week with Marilyn and The Perks of Being a Wallflower

From October 2008 through August 2009, five friends used the rich and famous' homes as their own personal mall. And then they lived it up off the profits. Police estimate that crew, that would become known as The Bling Ring, hauled loot worth close to $3 million!

From the moment we got our first look of Emma Watson in The Bling Ring, we were sold. The film hits theaters June 14 and also stars Katie Chang, Leslie Mann and Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale.

Catching Fire Portraits: President Snow & Finnick Debuts

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Catching Fire is on a streak. After releasing portraits of Effie Trinket, Haymitch and of course Katniss, Movie Fanatic has two more Catching Fire portraits. Donald Sutherland makes his first appearance as President Snow for the second film in the series. We also get our first look at Sam Claflin as Finnick, one of the book's more famous characters.

Catching Fire Donald Sutherland

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire will land November 23 and has yet to release a trailer. After the blockbuster success of The Hunger Games, to say our expectations are high is a gross understatement!

Catching Fire Sam Claflin

Is there anyone left for more portraits? You bet, this Catching Fire publicity front is merely beginning.


The Incredible Burt Wonderstone Giveaway: Win a Magical Prize Pack!

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The Incredible Burt Wonderstone premieres theaters March 15 and gives audiences a front row seat into the world of Las Vegas magicians. As teased in The Incredible Burt Wonderstone trailer, Steve Carell and Steve Buscemi are a magician team who is challenged by an upstart magic man, played by Jim Carrey.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone Movie Poster

Movie Fanatic is proud to offer a The Incredible Burt Wonderstone prize pack which will have our grand prize and runner-up prize winners feeling like masters of the magic world!

The grand prize winner will receive a specially design magic kit, inspired by the movie.

Both the grand prize and runner-up winners will get a beer pong set, six pack can cooler, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone black T-shirt and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone burgundy hat.

Use the widget below to enter on Facebook or Twitter. There are three unique ways to enter, and by entering all three ways can you increase your chance at winning!

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Our grand prize winner and runner-up will be selected at random on Monday, March 25. Good luck!

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone Logo

Don’t forget to visit the The Incredible Burt Wonderstone official site for more on the new film. And to further stay in the loop with the film, check out the The Incredible Burt Wonderstone Facebook page and follow @wbpictures on Twitter.

Be sure to enter now as the sweepstake runs through March 25.

You can also sign up for Warner Bros. special offers, be the first to know movie news, updates and more at:

Warner Bros. Special Offers
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone Synopsis:

Superstar magicians Burt Wonderstone (Steve Carell) and Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi) have ruled the Las Vegas Strip for years, raking in millions with illusions as big as Burt’s growing ego. But lately the duo’s greatest deception is their public friendship, while secretly they’ve grown to loathe each other.

Facing cutthroat competition from guerilla street magician Steve Gray (Jim Carrey), whose cult following surges with each outrageous stunt, even their show is starting to look stale. But there’s still a chance Burt and Anton can save the act -- both onstage and off -- if only Burt can get back in touch with what made him love magic in the first place.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone stars Steve Carell and Steve Buscemi as long-reigning headliners and one-time best friends Burt and Anton, and Olivia Wilde as their glamorous magic assistant, Jane. Alan Arkin stars as old-school illusionist Rance Holloway; James Gandolfini as casino mogul Doug Munny; and Jim Carrey as the team’s number one rival, Steve Gray.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone Steve Buscemi Steve Carell Jim Carrey

The film was directed by Emmy Award winner Don Scardino (TV’s 30 Rock), from a screenplay by Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley (Horrible Bosses) and story by Chad Kultgen & Tyler Mitchell and Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley.  It was produced by Chris Bender, Steve Carell, Jake Weiner and Tyler Mitchell.  Diana Pokorny, Charlie Hartsock, Vance DeGeneres, J.C. Spink, Richard Brener, Walter Hamada and Dave Neustadter served as executive producers.

The creative filmmaking team included director of photography Matthew Clark (TV’s 30 Rock), production designer Keith Cunningham (Ocean’s Eleven, Star Trek), editor Lee Haxall (Crazy, Stupid, Love) and costume designer Dayna Pink (Crazy, Stupid, Love).  The music was composed by Lyle Workman.

David Copperfield, the world’s most successful magician, served as a special consultant and also appears in the film, as himself.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is a New Line Cinema presentation of a Benderspink/Carousel Production, and will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone Prize Pack Release and Indemnification:

By entering the sweepstakes, entrants release and hold harmless Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and each of its respective parents, divisions, affiliates, subsidiaries, agents and advertising agencies (collectively,  “WBEI” ) from and against any and all losses, damages, rights, claims, and actions of any kind arising in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from the sweepstakes or participation in any sweepstakes-related activity (including without limitation the removal from the site of, or discontinuation of access to, any materials), or resulting directly or indirectly, from acceptance, possession, use, or misuse of any prize awarded in connection with the sweepstakes, including without limitation personal injury, death, and/or property damage, as well as claims based on publicity rights, defamation, and/or invasion of privacy.

Limitation of liability:

In no event will the WBEI be responsible or liable for any damages or losses of any kind, including without limitation direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages, arising out of any access to and/or use of the sweepstakes site, the downloading from and/or printing material downloaded from the sweepstakes site, the removal from the sweepstakes site of, or discontinuation of access to, any materials, or the acceptance, possession, use, or misuse of, or any harm resulting from the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of, or participation in, any prize awarded in connection with the sweepstakes. Without limiting the foregoing, the sweepstakes, all prizes, and all materials provided on or through the site “are provided as is” without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including without limitation the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone Title Treatment

Lance Armstrong Movie Hires Jay Roach to Direct

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Hollywood has been abuzz about the idea of a Lance Armstrong movie and with the announcement today from Warner Bros., that triumphant story turned sizzling scandal will be hitting the big screen sooner than later. Jay Roach has been tapped to direct with Scott Z. Burns hired to write the screenplay. This is a perfect combination to tackle such a thorny subject.

Lance Armstrong

Roach may have gotten his start, and is still succeeding, by helming big-time comedies. From the Austin Powers movies, the Meet the Parents movies and his recent The Campaign starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis, his comedic hand is quite adept.

Yet, he has found a dramatic tone as well with his stellar work on the Emmy-winning Game Change that told the inside story of the 2008 presidential campaign, and Recount, his Emmy-winning take on the 2000 presidential election debacle.

As for Burns, his most recent film Side Effects explored the invasion of pharmaceuticals in our country. He has also had a hand at bringing true life tales to life with his stellar work on The Informant.

If anyone can condense the rich story that is the rise and fall of Armstrong, it is the creative tandem of Roach and Burns.

The Croods Trailer: We've Been in That Cave Forever!

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The Croods, an animated pre-historic animated family film, has unleashed its latest trailer. Featured more prominently than the previous The Croods trailer is the unique joy of the cast inhabiting roles of not quite evolved humans. See, the family Crood are the last of their kind. They exist between cavemen and homo sapiens and the world around them is changing physically and metaphorically.

This third trailer from the Fox film shows off the vocal talents of the full cast from Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Catherine Keener and Ryan Reynolds to Cloris Leachman as Grandma.

Cage and his family must leave the comfy confines of their cave and head out into the world as geological shifts make it uninhabitable. Stone's character doesn't seem to mind as she so loudly states in the trailer, "We've been in that cave forever!"

On the road they meet Reynolds' character, a more evolved human who catches Stone's eye... all to the dismay of Cage. Check out our initial thoughts on The Croods footage we saw at a recent DreamWorks Animation presentation.

Look for the kids to start requesting a seat at this flick when it opens March 22.

Weekend Movie Preview: March 8, 2013

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The weekend movie preview for this second weekend in March finds one of Hollywood's biggest studios taking one of the larger gambles we've seen in some time. Disney is heading back to Oz in their prequel to The Wizard of Oz, Oz: The Great and Powerful. In our opinion, it's a winner... but more on that later.

Also debuting this week is Colin Farrell in a revenge thriller, Dead Man Down, and Tommy Lee Jones bringing General Douglas MacArthur to life in Emperor.

Oz The Great and Powerful: James Franco is perfectly cast as the man who will become The Wizard of Oz. The film is a true prequel to the 1930's classic and serves as an origins story for the man behind the curtain. Sam Raimi could not have been a better choice to direct and his cast brings their A-game including Rachel Weisz, Zach Braff, Michelle Williams and Mila Kunis. As we state in our Oz: The Great and Powerful review, this is one worthy precursor to a classic.

Dead Man Down: Farrell is a man driven by vengeance in a tense thriller directed by the guy who brought us the original The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Noomi Rapace plays a woman who too is bent on revenge and the two create cinematic sparks throughout. Our villain in this tale is portrayed with sleazy panache by Terrence Howard. The film mostly works and the dual stories of retribution by Farrell and Rapace set it apart from other vigilante-type movies. For more, check out our Dead Man Down review.

Emperor: Jones is masterful as the military leader who helped guide the U.S. to victory in the Pacific theater in World War II. But as the film shows, winning the war may have been difficult, but winning the peace in Japan may be impossible. Matthew Fox dazzles as MacArrthur's right hand man who is leading an investigation as to whether war crime charges should be brought against Japan's Emperor. As we said in our Emperor review, we wish the story had been told from MacArthur's point of view instead of the Fox character. Fox is good, but Jones as the military icon is astounding.

The English Teacher Debuts First Stills: Julianne Moore and Greg Kinnear Star

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The English Teacher is a new film from director Craig Zisk, starring Julianne Moore and Greg Kinnear (Movie 43). Check out the first batch of stills below:

The English Teacher Julianne Moore Greg Kinnear
  • The English Teacher Lily Collins Michael Angarano
  • The English Teacher Julianne Moore

The film tells the story of an English teacher whose former student returns home after failing to make it as a playwright. After some cajoling, the teacher convinces him to stage one of his plays at the school.

Michael Angarano, Lily Collins (The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones), Nathan Lane, and Jessica Hecht also star.

The English Teacher is set to premiere May 17.

InAPPropriate Comedy Trailer: You'll Get Offended

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If you're into movies that really go hard after the offensive stuff, you may be interested in InAPPropriate Comedy. Check out the trailer below:

The sketch comedy film follows society's descent into Anarchy after a tablet with the world's most offensive apps gets loose. Adrien Brody stars as Flirty Harry, a no-nonsense cop with a softer side.

Rob Schneider (The Waterboy), Vincent Offer, Michelle Rodriguez (Fast and Furious 6)and Lindsay Lohan also star. Offer also directs the film, which will premiere March 22.

Melissa McCarthy and Vince Vaughn to Host SNL in April

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Obviously SNL is a gigantic comedy institution with the sway to get some of the most famous people in the world to host. But, it's nice when truly hilarious comedians take the stage.

That's about to happen next month, as Melissa McCarthy and Vince Vaughn have been announced as hosts.

  • Melissa McCarthy Nabs Tammy
  • Vince Vaughn Picture

Earlier today McCarthy joined the cast of St. Vincent de Van Nuys alongside Bill Murray. She had some of the best Bridesmaids quotes in her supporting role on that film, and has been taking a turn toward leading lady in the last year or so.

Vaughn, on the other hand, has been a comedy leading-man staple since Swingers.

McCarthy's episode will air April 6, with Vaughn taking his turn on April 13. Both will be making their second appearance as host.


Catching Fire Gets Final Two Portraits: Peeta and Gale

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After two weeks of nonstop Catching Fire portrait action, we finally bring you the last two installments, and they're two doozies: Peeta and Gale.

  • Catching Fire Peeta Portrait
  • Catching Fire Gale Portrait

Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth return in their roles from the first film, along with Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen. As they embark on the victor's tour, President Snow prepares for the 75th Annual Hunger Games, called the Quarter Quell.

Woody Harrelson, Lenny Kravitz, Elizabeth Banks (Pitch Perfect), Sam Claflin, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amanda Plummer, and Jena Malone also star.

Catching Fire is directed by Franchis Lawrence and will premiere November 22. Check out the Catching Fire poster in the meantime.

Rise of the Guardians Exclusive Giveaway: Win one of Three Blu-Ray Easter Prize Packs!

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Rise of the Guardians is out on DVD today! And in honor of the release, Movie Fanatic is offering an exclusive Blu-ray giveaway!

Three lucky winners will receive an Easter themed Blu-ray prize pack, including a copy of the movie and two hopping eggs inspired  by the ones from the film!

Rise of the Guardians DVD

Chris Pine (Star Trek Into Darkness), Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables), Isla Fisher, and Jude Law lend their voices to the animated feature about all your favorite childhood characters trying to save the world from the evil Boogeyman.

Use the widget below to enter on Facebook or Twitter. There are three unique ways to enter, and by entering all three ways you can increase your chance of winning! A winner will be announced on March 19.

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Rise of the Guardians: Author William Joyce Talks Childhood Fantasy World

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As Rise of the Guardians makes its debut on DVD and Blu-Ray, the author of the series of books on which it is based phoned Movie Fanatic to take us inside the world that is familiar to many, and yet not one that has ever been truly expanded.

Rise of the Guardians DVD

The story of the Guardians of Childhood series began when his daughter asked about if the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus were friends. He answered yes and said that he started creating bedtime stories with all of the childhood heroes included such as the Tooth Fairy, Jack Frost, the Man in the Moon, the Bogeyman and the Sandman.

“This was the lore that began to develop in our household and I soon came to realize that I needed to do something with it,” Joyce said. “I began to draw pictures of these characters and figure out a basic mythology for each one of them based on what I could find out about them.”

He felt the freedom to develop backstories for these characters, given that there was not much out in the world on them in terms of characterization.

Superman and Batman have mythologies,” Joyce said. “Yet, the one group of characters we ask our kids to believe in as fact had none. I looked around and said, ‘Am I the only guy that realizes this?’”

William Joyce Photo

Joyce is no stranger to crafting fantastical stories. He is the author of George Shrinks, Dinosaur Bob and now has 13 stories in the Guardians of Childhood canon. He also is familiar with the world of film, having won an Oscar for his work on the animated short The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.

The writer is pleased with the world he has created and was beyond thrilled with the film -- as was Movie Fanatic in our Rise of the Guardians review.

“[It’s] cool, grand, magnificent and heroic. They have giant empires that oversee what they do, whether it’s traveling the world in one night to deliver presents and Easter eggs or flying around 365 nights a year retrieving baby teeth,” Joyce added.

If it sounds as if a film based on the books was a given, you would not be far off. Studios all clamored for the project, but Joyce settled on the animated magicians of DreamWorks Animation. Filmmakers and Joyce agreed that since he is still penning the series, the film should be a somewhat separate entity. “That’s why the movie picks up about 300 years after the resolution of the book series,” Joyce said of the world teased in this Rise of the Guardians trailer. And he had great trust in the film’s screenwriter, David Lindsay-Abaire.

“David is very astute and has a keen, subtle intelligence. One of the things that was difficult about the story is it’s so big. We have all these major characters and mythologies and we have to tie them together into one narrative. The hardest thing on any film is to get the story clean, clear, concise and entertaining -- to find the emotional core of it, the thing that makes you care,” Joyce said.

Alec Baldwin and Hugh Jackman in Rise of the Guardians

“David had an instinct about how to simplify that story and keep the characters centered while at the same time juggling all of them and all the situations. It’s got this epic feel to it but each story within the epic is very intimate and feels very real.”

Then, as the cast began to fall into place, Joyce’s joy with the project went well past bliss. Alec Baldwin was cast as North, aka Santa Claus. “No one could capture North’s personality as brilliantly as Alec does,” Joyce said.

North is the head of the Guardians and Baldwin was an impeccable choice to capture that leadership. Although North may lead, the heart and soul of the story is Jack Frost, voiced by Chris Pine. “It’s a shame they don’t award Oscars for voice work,” Joyce admitted.

“There’s a subtlety that he brings to the character that is heaven-sent.”

Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away: Erica Linz Takes Us Under the Big Top

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Cirque du Soleil has hit the big screen with the release of Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away. Erica Linz stars as Mia in the production and phoned Movie Fanatic for an exclusive chat about the DVD/Blu-ray release of the film. Linz became part of the Cirque world in 2001 and her greatest joy in the Worlds Away movie is having a wider audience than ever before witness the group’s majesty.

Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away

Linz’s specialty is Aerial Straps and she has appeared with the troupe’s iconic shows, Mystere and KA. The actress-aerial wonder is the center of the film, teased in this Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away trailer, that lands on home video today for the entire world to finally go behind the curtain of the magic that is Cirque du Soleil.

Movie Fanatic: What were your first impressions when you saw yourself on the big screen?

Erica Linz: I think that anytime somebody sees themselves on screen, you’re first impression is just to judge yourself. And it doesn’t allow you to kind of be able to just watch the whole thing. But I was shocked to find that the second time I watched it, I was able to watch the film really as a spectator and get kind of lost in the crazy world of Cirque again. Even though the world of Cirque has become so familiar to me over the last 10 years, I was surprised to find it kind of renewed and magical.

Movie Fanatic: When you started with Cirque, did you think someday you’d be chatting about a movie?

Erica Linz: Absolutely not [laughs]! When I started with Cirque, I had just turned 19. I was fresh out of high school and I was terrified. I felt like if I worked harder than anybody had ever worked in history that I might come close to being good enough to be part of this troupe that seemed so otherworldly and untouchable to me. And then after 10 years inside of it, to have the opportunity to kind of be the thread that ties this story of the film together is literally something that I never ever in a billion years could have imagined. But I’m glad it happened. It’s been a pretty amazing experience.

Movie Fanatic: Was it different launching a stage show versus a show for a movie?

Erica Linz: Very different. The process of performing for a live audience is a very linear thing in the way that the show starts at seven o’clock and the same music is going to play and it’s going to have this arc. You start at the beginning and you end at the end. Then when you’re making a movie, it can be completely jumbled up where you might shoot the first scene of the film last. And then you might shoot the second scene seventh. It’s all kind of out of order as well as being something that you don’t start at the beginning and end at the end. It was an adjustment that way but it seemed like both the film's world had to make compromises in their normal process as well as the circus world having to do that.

Erica Linz Photo

Movie Fanatic: What is it about Cirque du Soleil as a whole that has struck such a chord with people?

Erica Linz: I think that one, just entertainment in general that there’s just something about unbridled imagination, that we like to see things that remind us of dreams. And we like to see things that are just different, that you would never see walking down the street. But two, I think deep down, when I saw Cirque du Soleil for the first time, it made me imagine what was possible for me in my life. And it turned out that for me, that was Cirque du Soleil. But typically, it’s like a gallery of things that seem impossible but aren’t because you’re watching it happen right before your eyes. I feel like there’s something about that that just makes us all hope a little bit.

Movie Fanatic: As a member of Cirque du Soleil, what does it mean for you to have a movie that may reach people who can’t get to the theater to see you?

Erica Linz: That’s my favorite thing. That’s really my favorite thing about the entire project. It’s beautiful and I love it. From a very personal standpoint, having spent 10 years in Cirque du Soleil, the cast and the crew of the show is very much my family and have been there through so much of my life. So these are people that I love and I care about and have been with me onstage and offstage for a really wonderful decade. But the first time I saw Cirque du Soleil in real life, it completely changed my universe.

Movie Fanatic: Do you hope it inspires someone out there to do what you do?

Erica Linz: Yes, this kind of gives people a chance, that maybe there’s other little girls in Colorado that wouldn’t get to see it otherwise that might be inspired. You can just kind of share the magic and you can take it to your living room. We’ll do flips at any time. You can put it in at three in the morning and be like, “I want to see some cartwheels.” And ta-dah, there you have it.

G.I. Joe Retaliation Clip: Cliffside Battle

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We saw this scene teased in the G.I. Joe Retaliation trailer, but now here's the clip of the cliffside fight. It's pretty impressive! Take a look:

The sequel to G.I. Joe finds the Joes cast out of society by Zartan, who is posing as the President. In order to fight Cobra Commander and save the world, the group must band together with an original member.

Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis (A Good Day to Die Hard), Channing Tatum (21 Jump Street), Adrianne Palicki, Lee Byung-hun, Ray Park, Jonathan Pryce, Ray Stevenson, RZA, and Walton Goggins.

Retaliation will hit theaters March 28.

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