Disney/Pixar is providing us with four different versions of the new trailer for Monsters University, their highly anticipated sequel to Monsters, Inc. (2001). Directed by Dan Scanlon, the film returns Billy Crystal and John Goodman as Mike and Sully, respectively, and also stars Steve Buscemi, Ken Jeong, John Ratzenberger, Kelsey Grammer, Rob Riggle, Frank Oz, Dave Foley, and Julia Sweeney.
Monsters University opens in U.S. theaters on June 21, 2013, and will be shown in Disney Digital 3D™ in select theaters.
After watching the trailers, you can vote for your favorite Mike sleep talking line on the official Monsters University Facebook Page, here.
Watch the trailers after the jump…
Read more on Four New Trailers for Disney/Pixar’s ‘Monsters University’…
Madagascar 3 finally gets a worthy opponent for dominance of the family friendly market, and it could be the biggest one of the year:
Pixar’s Scottish adventure Brave swoops into theaters like the cool highland breeze of…okay, I’ll stop. Starring Kelly MacDonald as a young princess who defies an ancient family custom, Merida takes it upon herself to end the curse it brings to her kingdom. One could argue that Pixar is the most trusted brand in Hollywood today, so it’s almost never a question of if their latest film will be a hit, but to what degree. This is the first film from the studio to star a female heroine, and with that landmark comes the expected (but not meritless) question of how much that will hurt its box office prospects. It is true that animated films, historically, fare worse when they’re perceived as “girl” movies (it’s no coincidence that the two highest-grossing Disney musicals of the nineties were Aladdin and The Lion King). Then again, Merida is portrayed here as a Strong Female Character in the vein of Katniss Everdeen, and let’s not forget that The Hunger Games made a killing at the multiplex just a few months ago. I’m pretty sure this movie is going make a cool $57-62 million before the weekend is out.
Read more on Weekend Openings (June 22-24)…
Day Seven of the Los Angeles Film Festival™ offered a little something extra aside from my usual screening adventures. For the first time since Clayton, Anna, and Robert all had lunch together earlier this year before the commencing of the 84th Annual Academy Awards, two Award Circuit staff members were able to meet yesterday for the very first time. That’s right, Mr. Terence Johnson flew into Los Angeles last night, ready to plow through this fun and crazy festivity alongside yours truly. It was a surreal moment to finally meet a fellow colleague in-person — we both love working for The Awards Circuit, and to be able to share that adoration and enthusiasm for our job in the flesh was pretty awesome. Without further ado, here are my thoughts regarding Day Seven (I’ll also be including some of Terence’s reflections)… Read more on Los Angeles Film Festival Diaries: Day Seven…
 While I enjoy this movie more than most people, I actually considered giving Batman and Robin no stars because it is by far the worst film in the Batman franchise. However, this movie veers into the “so bad it might actually be fun and okay to watch if I’ve nothing else to do” territory making it worthy of a one star rating. Batman and Robin is like the black sheep of superhero movies, and rightfully so. The plot gives its villains interesting motivations then pulls the rug out from under them with plot contrivances, it’s campy to a fault (were the nipples on the batsuit really necessary?), has 3 villains and lacks substance. It’s hard to know what the powers that be were thinking when crafting this film, were the going for a campy masterpiece or an actual film? Even in the wide spectrum of superhero films (dark and foreboding to humorous fun) this film sits so far away from either. The Avengers proves your superheros can occupy a world where we’re in on the inside joke, but Batman and Robin wants you to take it seriously while presenting nothing but silliness and over the top innuendo.
Read more on Historical Circuit: Batman and Robin (*)…
 Full disclosure: I’ve yet to see a Woody Allen film that I haven’t liked. That being said, I can recognize when a movie of his isn’t exactly his finest hour. That’s the case with ‘To Rome With Love’, an effort that will rank among his less highly regarded flicks. I still found it enjoyable and funny, but he’s done better work than this, and even I recognized it. It really comes down to a lot of odd decisions on Allen’s part. The choices are each individually not deal breakers on their own, but put together it might pose an issue for those who aren’t die-hard fans of the Wood Man like I am. A far cry from ‘Midnight in Paris’ (which I rank among his 10 best), I might actually put ‘To Rome With Love’ in his bottom 10, but again…the worst Woody Allen movie is still above average to me. This is an often charming romantic comedy, but it does have enough faults that I can’t completely recommend it to you. I think it’s worth seeing, but check your expectations at the door somewhat. I’ve waffled on the star ranking for this review in the week or so since I’ve seen it (I’m embargoed until opening day, as you can see), but I think 2 and a half makes sense. Honestly, add a half star if you always love Allen (like me, even if I’m not amazingly high on this one) and subtract a half star if you’re not a fan of his. Also, for more on the film, check out my coverage of the film’s New York Press Conference here.
Read more on To Rome With Love (**½)…
Here are a few new character images from Tim Burton’s upcoming black & white animated film, Frankenweenie.
From creative genius Tim Burton (Alice in Wonderland, The Nightmare Before Christmas) comes Frankenweenie, a heartwarming tale about a boy and his dog. After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life—with just a few minor adjustments. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor’s fellow students, teachers and the entire town all learn that getting a new “leash on life” can be monstrous. The talented voice cast includes: Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau, Charlie Tahan, Atticus Shaffer, Robert Capron, Conchata Ferrell and Winona Ryder.
Frankenweenie releases in U.S. theaters on October 5, 2012. Visit the official site for the film here. See the other images after the jump…
Read more on New Character Images for Tim Burton’s ‘Frankenweenie’…
Obviously there are spoilers ahead. If you haven’t seen Prometheus yet, you might want to read this later. Read more on Want to Know What David Said to the ‘Prometheus’ Engineer?…
For over the last 10 years, Universal Pictures has been trying to set the pieces in order for a fourth installment in the Jurassic Park franchise. It appears now that Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy have lined up the writers of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, to pen the screenplay for the new JP film. It is reported that Spielberg once again will not be directing (he helmed the first two). Read more on ‘Jurassic Park 4′ Finds its Scribes…
 His new film Savages, I must admit excites me a little. It’s been quite some time since Oliver Stone, two-time Academy Award winning Best Director has made a picture that really stunned audiences, the stirred things up and got people talking. At the height of his career, the years spanning 1986-1995 Stone could be counted on to anger conservatives, to challenge beliefs held sacred, and to purely piss people off. He has been called gifted, maddening, infuriating, annoying, hard-hitting, and much more, and his films get under people’s skin, get people talking, debating the events within. You walked out of Stone film talking about not just the film, but the ideas within the film. Man, after seeing JFK (1991) the first time, I remember going to the bar with other critics to discuss what we had just seen, and that rarely happens. The day it opened I took my wife and some friends to see it because I felt they should see it, and again we hit a place afterwards to discuss the film and the ideas within the movie. It was interesting that we all the same film, but so many of us took different aspects away with us. One thing was always clear, no one believed Oswald was the lone shooter, if a shooter at all. Read more on Ten Best Moments of Oliver Stone…
Categories: Article Tags: Anthony Hopkins, Born on the Fourth of July, joan allen, Juliette Lewis, Madonna, Nicolas Cage, Nixon, Oliver Stone, Platoon, Savages, tom cruise, Wall Street, Woody Harrelson
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