Thanks to the fine folks at Entertainment Weekly, we can finally get a full look at Johann Schmidt nemesis of Captain America. Last month a couple of seconds of the Skull flashed by in the Super Bowl commercial. Sherlock Holmes has Moriarty. Superman has Lex Luthor. For Cap, it’s the Skull. Introduced in Timely’s Captain America Comics #1 from 1941 the Red Skull was an elite Nazi assassin. When Captain America was introduced into the 60′s Marvel Universe, the Skull’s story was told in a World War II flashback , “The Fantastic Origin of the Red Skull” in 1965′s Tales of Suspense #66. Schmidt was an orphan working as a bellhop when he was personally chosen by Hitler to become the ultimate Nazi. A year later, the Skull became  part of the modern world in Tales of Suspense #79, “The Red Skull Lives”. Turns out he had inhaled an experimental gas and was in a state of suspended animation until awakened by agents of A.I.M. ( Advanced Idea Mechanics ). In the upcoming film, Hugo Weaving ( THE MATRIX ) plays Schmidt as a weapons expert operating as part of Hydra ( we can see the Hydra logo on his belt buckle ). Several reports are saying that he acquires a version of the ultimate weapon, the Cosmic Cube. We’ll learn everything when Paramount releases CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER  to theatres on July 22, 2011.

During my week long coverage of SXSW 2010, I ran into an indie filmmaker outside the Alamo Drafthouse named Abe Schwartz. After speaking with Abe for a bit, I learned about his groovy sounding film called BAD BATCH, which is literally on the cusp of being released upon the world for all to see. Check out the trailer, synopsis, website and poster for BAD BATCH and also check back soon for my review of the film.

SYNOPSIS
Have you ever had a bad high? In the do-it-yourself vein of Clerks and Paranormal Activity, Bad Batch is a fresh, new, indie feature that’s equal parts cinéma vérité and stoner comedy.

One night, an unlikely group of college students (who met on Facebook) consume a full tray of maybe the strongest marijuana-laced brownies known to man. Hannah, a Jewish, sexually ambiguous hipster looking for a fun time, plays host to Lavar and Jenkins, two African-American cousins who couldn’t see the world more differently. Lavar’s reserved, not so smooth with the ladies, and is overcoming the recent death of his father. Jenkins is a star defensive player on the college football team who will sleep with pretty much any willing female.

Sexual, psychological, and social tension ensue as the three characters soar higher and higher in close to real time… and it’s all escalated once they realize the brownies might be laced with a substance potentially more harmful than just marijuana. (Who knows what can happen when you purchase pot from a shady rabbinical student?)

Bad Batch marks the first feature from writer-director Abe Schwartz and represents an honest depiction of getting absurdly high, (as well as a modern take on race relations.)

So often, marijuana is depicted on screen as a hilarious holy grail or as a gateway to harder, darker substances. Bad Batch depicts the true middle ground and is especially timely as so much controversy currently surrounds medical marijuana legislation.

Featuring a timeless B&W aesthetic, an all-original hip-hop/electronica score and mind-altering sound design, Bad Batch is one realistic high that you won’t forget.

Check out the BAD BROWNIES Official Website.

Being billed as “super secret,” a first screening of Disney’s SECRETARIAT was held Tuesday evening at the Woodland Hills AMC in Southern California and we had one of our LA based friends in the audience. Based on William Nack’s book, “Secretariat: The Making of a Champion,” Disney’s SECRETARIAT is the story of the famous horse that won the 1973 Triple Crown.

Here we go:

Doesn’t it seem weird that there hasn’t already been a movie made about 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat, arguably one of the greatest, or perhaps the greatest race horse of all time?

Well the folks at Disney finally decided the time was right, and put the story in the very capable hands of director Randall Wallace (Man in The Iron Mask; Braveheart scribe) and writer Mike Rich (who already has sports-movie street cred with Disney’s “The Rookie” starring Dennis Quaid).

The filmmakers have done a good job of keeping everything relatively historically accurate. The movie centers on Penny Chenery (Diane Lane), Secretariat’s owner, and how she broke into the “all boys club” of thoroughbred horseracing in 1969. The real Penny Chenery, now 88, even has a cameo in the film as a spectator at the Belmont Stakes race.

The highlights of the movie come with the three big races of the Triple Crown. The Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes are both recreated magnificently with real race horses and jockeys. But what die-hard racing fans would hope for comes in the second race, the Preakness, in which we are treated to seeing the actual race from 1973, complete with the original call of the race (“and here comes Secretariat!”). That was the great part…there were 3 – THREE! big race scenes and even though we all know who wins, its very exciting! The audience went nuts and cheered after every one of them!!

The best thing about this movie is that they don’t add a lot of extraneous storylines for dramatic effect. The focus is solely on the story of where Secretariat came from and how he won the Triple Crown, a feat that had not been achieved in 25 years. The only real “disney-fication” of the film is that they sort of make it seem like Secretariat came from a broken down, old, failing horse farm. The reality is, the same owners had Riva Ridge, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont the previous year, 1972. So they were no strangers to all of this. I’m guessing none of this was mentioned in the film to keep the focus on Secretariat.

With its October 8th release, looks like Disney has smartly positioned SECRETARIAT at Oscar’s starting gate. For those race fans who can’t wait till October, the Santa Anita Derby is in a matter of weeks. With 2 big derby contenders running, horse racing fans could be on the verge of a possible Triple Crown winner!

Producer Mark Ciardi, Director Randall Wallace, Secretariat’s exercise rider Jimmy Gaffney and actress Diane Lane in the Belmont paddock. Photo Courtesy: Secretariat.com.

‘Winged Creatures’ is a new ensemble drama from Aussie director Rowan Woods (Little Fish, The Boys) based on the novel by Roy Freirich. The story follows a group of strangers that are connected to one another through a tragic shooting inside a diner in Los Angeles. Each of them are deeply effected by the experience and the film explores the varied reactions of the different characters.

Let’s talk Dakota Fanning for a moment. Now, I know this is going to sound harsh, speaking of a “child” actress, but I’m simply not impressed with her work. Believe me, I wish her the best and hope she improves with age… like wine or cheese, but Anna Paquin and Natalie Portman were both far more talented as child actors and they remained talented as adults. With that said, ‘Winged Creatures’ still looks fascinating due to the promising performances from veteran actors surrounding her in the film.

The rather impressive ensemble cast of ‘Winged Creatures’ includes Kate Beckinsale, Forest Whitaker, Embeth Davidtz, Guy Pearce, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Jackie Earle Haley and Jennifer Hudson. From what can be gathered from the trailer, ‘Winged Creatures’ could ultimately head down one of two paths… the overly melodramatic soap opera appeal, or (as I hope) a may suitably sensitive well-played approach a la ‘Crash’ that matches the caliber of performances that are highlights in the trailer. I am particularly stokes, of course for Whitaker (one of my faves) but more so for Haley, who seemingly out of nowhere burst onto the scene as a powerfully demanding acting force with ‘Watchmen’.

From our friends over at Trailer Addict comes the first teaser from  Academy Award nominated director  M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘The Last Airbender.’ For some time now, producer Frank Marshall (‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’, ‘Curious Case of Benjamin Button’)  has been using Twitter to  post set pictures and make different  tweets about the film – he was the first to announce that Shyamalan would once again go  with his usual collaborator/composer James Newton Howard  for the score and teaser trailer and  will be attached to prints of   ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.’

The series follows the adventures of the main protagonist Aang and his friends, who must save the world by defeating the Fire Lord and ending the destructive war with the Fire Nation.

‘The Last Airbender’ will be written, directed and produced by M. Night Shyamalan. Paramount has already laid claim to July 2, 2010 release.

Source: Trailer Addict

Unfortunately, and very unfortunately, the trailer for ‘She-Bang’ made its world premier at the Women of Horror Fest. I say unfortunately, because this trailer was the coolest thing presented to us all night. Basically, it’s an insane montage of what is going to be a 20-30 minute short about a number of rival, chick gangs who just beat the ever-loving shit out of one another. It truly is a great trailer, and you should check out the Official MySpace page on it.

Ryan Oliver, the director of the film, told us the trailer should be up there sooner rather than later. Do yourself a favor, check this shit out.

To give you a sampling of the goods, check out these stills and behind-the-scenes shots from MySpace page:

If any of that entices you, check out their MySpace page right now. You won’t regret it if you do, but you might regret it if you don’t.

Enough cannot be said about how much I am looking forward to ‘Shutter Island.’   I love the idea, that of a US Marshall arriving at a secluded mental institution on a tropical island during a hurricane to search for a missing murderess.   I love the cast made up of Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams,  Max von Sydow, Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer and Jackie Earle Haley.   On top of all of this, it’s directed by Martin Scorsese.   What’s not to love about this film already?

Empire Online brings to us the first official set pic today.   It doesn’t offer much in the way of thrills, but just seeing Scorsese on set of a new film is exciting enough.

Check it out:

Ruffalo, who plays DiCaprio’s US Marshall partner in the film, has this to say about the film: “This could be one of [Scorsese's] great films. He gets to do everything he loves about film: noir, dream sequences, suspense, tough urban stuff. It’s absolute madness, twist upon twist.”   Scorsese, himself, has likened the film to Orson Welle’s take on ‘The Trial.’

‘Shutter Island’ comes out on October 2nd.

Source: Empire Online

Back in February, we informed you of some great casting news for director Jim Jarmusch’s next project called ‘The Limits of Control’ which is now well under way. Jarmusch (Dead Man) is probably most widely known for his last film ‘Broken Blowers’ which also starred Bill Murray. For those of you unfamiliar with Jarmusch’s work, ‘The Limits of Control’ looks to be a return to the type of filmmaking he pursued with ‘Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai’. Before you watch the trailer and write this off as a ‘No Country for Old Men’ rip off, let me assure you that’s a misguided assumption. Jarmusch is a legitimate and very talented, highly influential indie filmmaker and this movie looks to be very cool.

‘The Limits of Control’ tells the story of a mysterious loner (Isaach De Bankolà ©) who…

…is in the process of completing a job, yet he trusts no one, and his objectives are not initially divulged. His journey, paradoxically both intently focused and dreamlike, takes him not only across Spain but also through his own consciousness. — Focus Features

‘The Limits of Control’ stars Bill Murray,  Isaach De Bankolà ©, Gael Garcà ­a Bernal, Tilda Swinton, John Hurt and Paz de la Huerta. The movie is scheduled for a limited U.S. release in theaters on May 1, 2009.

If the plot, the trailer and images above, the cast and the director involved weren’t enough for you to get all giddy over this new flick, check the badass retro-cool poster and two fresh clips from the movie below…

[Clips & Poster Source: Row Three]

According to the “Queen Of All Media,” Perez Hilton, ‘Iron Man 2′ has begun filming. Love the lunchbox!

On Monday, Robert Downey, Jr.and Gwyneth Paltrow were spotted working on the flick in El Lay. Gwyneth was seen being driven to the set. And RDJ was spotted outside his trailer sporting a yummy, cancer-inducing cigar.

Plus,  Spoiler TV has  a first look at Don Cheadle as Rhodey, the part he took over from Terrence Howard. ‘Iron Man 2′ is scheduled for release on May 7, 2010. For the entire  collection of pix, click here.  

Filming on the live-action feature film version of ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ has kicked off in New York, and Nicolas Cage began filming his scenes with Jay Baruchel on Thursday.   Just Jared was there to snap up these on-set pics on a subway platform.

Check ‘em out:

Looks like Cage is trying out for ‘Van Helsing 2.’   Not sure what to think of this film as a whole.   It’s strange to think they are making a feature film version of ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,’ but I remember thinking ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ was an atrocious idea.   That film ended up surprising most everyone.   Of course, Jon Turteltaub is no Gore Verbinski.

‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ is set for a July16th, 2010 release.

Source: Just Jared

A while back I discovered a trailer for a documentary about film festivals called Official Rejection. I had not heard anything about the film prior but immediately sent the trailer to a bunch of friends after watching it. Based on the teaser, this film looks both funny and insightful. I recently contacted the filmmaker behind it and we are working on setting up an interview very soon. Here is the synopsis from the film’s official website. (www.officialrejectiondocumentary.com)

Much has been said about the trials and struggles of making an independent film, and with good reason: it’s incredibly difficult, and not many are able to accomplish this feat. The perception is, however, that once you have finished your movie, you can just “take it to Sundance”. Yet the task of finding placement at a major film festival is often more daunting, and exhausting, then the making of the movie itself.

This is the story we intend to tell.

Following filmmakers along the festival circuit, OFFICIAL REJECTION will take a lighthearted but realistic look at the politics, pitfalls, costs, and toll of life at the fests. Our goal is to demonstrate exactly what happens once you finish the movie, the reality of today’s film festival landscape, and the emotional roller-coaster those who dare venture onto it find themselves riding.

By the way, Kevin Smith, Lloyd Kaufman, Chris Gore, Jenna Fischer and Bryan Singer are just a few of the awesome people interviewed in this film. I personally cannot wait to see this doc. The film will premiere at the Phoenix Film Festival on April 4th. Anyone attending should definitely check it out. I will be bringing you more coverage of this film in the near future. For now, here is the film’s teaser trailer.

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com

Fans of ‘Oldboy’ should take note. Writer and director Park Chan-wook is set to unleash a heap of awesome upon your fragile eyeballs with ‘Thirst,’ the filmmaker’s take on the vampire genre.

Travis first covered this film here, so check out his article for details. Below the break is the trailer and, even though it is all in Korean, it still commands your undivided attention.

This may be a great companion piece to last year’s ‘Let The Right One In.’

The movie is still listed as being in “post production” on IMDb, but WAMG will keep you posted on the inevitable (and most likely limited) North American release date.

poster source: Daum

Above you’ll find the first look from ‘The Book of Eli’, the Denzel Washington-starring sci-fi flick from the Hughes Brothers.   Warner Brothers released the first look pic, and it will appear in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly.

The film sounds like it is going to be an awesome post-apocalyptic, action movie.   Washington stars as Eli, a lone man who fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind. Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson and Jennifer Beals co-star.

In the pic above, we see Eli stopping off at a bar to juice his wheels a bit.

”They peddle some nasty, prison-type alcohol — whatever you can make in the future when there’s nothing left,” says co-director Allen Hughes.

‘The Book of Eli’ is set for a January 15th, 2010 release.

Source: EW.com

Right out of the gate, my BOGUS alarm went off when I found out about this movie. Two things had me concerned… First, it’s an American remake of the original Japanese film from Kei Horie made in 2005 and second, it stars Sarah Michelle Gellar. Well, let me be the first to say that I think I may have been TOTALLY wrong! Once I saw the trailer, my attitude immediately changed from loathing the thought of even going to the press screening to one of “Oh, My God! This movie may actually be really good and I am really excited to see it!”

‘Veronika Decides to Die’ is based on the best-selling book from author Paulo Coelho. The film is directed by Emily Young (Kiss of Life), the music in the trailer sounds good, if not great and the film is being scored by British composer Murray Gold (Death at a Funeral).

The story centers on Veronika, a woman in her mid twenties who appears to have everything: good looks, good job and a great life ahead of her. Yet she decides to end her own life. She is unsuccessful and awakens in a mental hospital where she learns that she has five days to live. We learn that the reason that she attempted suicide was that she felt so constrained by the rules and expectations of ‘normal’ society that she had concluded that she had experienced all that life had to offer. However in the hospital she meets people who are only ‘insane’ because they don’t always follow society’s rules. With little left to lose, Veronika embarks on a journey on which she frees herself to experience relationships and emotions and ultimately discovers what it means to live. — IMDB

I recently received an email telling me about a new film opening April 3^rd starring Zooey Deschanel, Paul Dano and John Goodman. Here is the synopsis that was sent to me.

Brian Weathersby (PAUL DANO) is a 28 year-old salesman at a high-end Swedish mattress company. Â  The afterthought child to elderly parents (ED ASNER, JANE ALEXANDER), and the youngest son in a trio of successful brothers, a shady oil man (IAN ROBERTS), a surgeon (ROBERT STANTON), Brian is searching for his place in the world. Â  Unfulfilled by his work he spends a good portion of his day pursuing his goal of someday adopting a baby from China. Â  He gets swept up in a romance with the lovely but misguided Harriet Lolly (ZOOEY DESCHANEL) when she comes in to his store one day and falls asleep on one of the beds. To win her over, he must compete with her bear of a father, Al Lolly, (JOHN GOODMAN) an art-collecting loudmouth with a bad back and deep pockets. Â  GIGANTIC is a funny, surreal love story about the anxiety that comes when two people with crazy families collide unexpectedly and fall for each other.

A little searching brought me to the trailer, which you can view below.  For more info, check out  www.thegiganticmovie.com.

I’m a sucker for these types of movies and I’m looking forward to this one. What do you guys think?

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com

So, this little dark comedy slipped through under the radar and, while the DVD officially released in the US on January 27, 2009, this is the first bit of info I have for you on the film. I plan on seeing this as soon as possible. Here’s a write-up from Liberation Entertainment:

Oliver (Jay Baruchel – Tropic Thunder, Knocked Up) is destined for an uneventful life until the day he and his brother Jackie breeze into town to attend the funeral of their estranged father. To everyone’s bewilderment, Oliver inherits his father’s estate—a funeral home.

Soon after his arrival, Oliver learns from the handyman Henry (Graham Greene) that the business is on the verge of bankruptcy. His life gets increasingly more complicated when he takes a drunken drive with the bewitching embalmer Roberta (Rose Byrne – TNT’s “Damages,” 28 Days Later) and collides with a hiker. Roberta cleverly disguises the fatality as an accident, providing Oliver with his ĂŻ Ź rst-paying customer. This event launches a merciless killing spree as the duo tries to keep the funeral home alive.

With his business and love life blossoming, Oliver gains conĂŻ Ź dence — until he realizes that he has dug a grave for himself too deep to escape.

Just Buried won “Best of the Fest” at the Santa Cruz Film Festival, “Best Director” at the Atlantic Film Festival, and was an “Official Selection” at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Trailers, wallpapers, and behind the scenes photos are available at www.justburiedthemovie.com.

We were supposed to see this film in 2008, until it mysteriously disappeared. It had all the  Oscar-bait qualities too. Martin Scorsese listed as a producer, the exquisite costumes  from 2-time Oscar winner  Sandy Powell, and rising star Emily Blunt, seemingly a Best Actress contender, as the young monarch Queen Victoria.  ’The Young Victoria’ has a pedigree cast of Paul Bettany, Miranda Richardson, Jim Broadbent, Mark Strong and Rupert Friend as Prince Albert. The last time we saw a biopic of Queen Victoria was the superb  1997 ‘Mrs. Brown’ starring Judi Dench.

For more on the film, read the extensive article from The Telegraph. On a sidenote,  Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York and formerly married to Prince Andrew, is  also a producer.  Their daughter, Princess Beatrice of York, has a small role in the film as one of Victoria’s ladies in waiting. Beatrice is a great-great-great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria.   The Hollywood Reporter has an early review from the Berlin Film Festival.   ‘The Young Victoria’ opens in the U.K. on March 6, 2009.

Source: InContention

Some movies are just meant to be cool. Not meaningful or groundbreaking, just damn cool to watch. Actor Jason Connery (Brotherhood of Blood) turns director with ‘The Devil’s Tomb’. The trailer [viewable below] shows how “cool” this movie is looking and how much fun it could prove to be.

A team of mercenaries under the command of hard-charging war veteran Mack (Gooding Jr.), are contracted by a mysterious CIA operative named Elissa (Cruz) to rescue a scientist (Perlman) working on an archeological discovery deep under the Middle Eastern desert. With the help of a mysterious priest (Rollins), Mack and his team soon discover the true secret of what lies beneath the sands. A secret that has been protected for thousands of years. A secret that is not of this Earth. — IMDB

This violent, action/horror/sci-fi/thriller also sports a nifty cast, featuring Cuba Gooding, Jr., Ron Perlman, Ray Winstone, Henry Rollins, Bill Moseley, Taryn Manning, Franky G and Zack Ward. No release date has been set as of yet.

Here’s the poster and trailer for the new sci-fi/comedy ‘Alien Trespass’ from producer/director R.W Goodwin (The X-Files series, producer). It’s an homage to the various classic sci-fi films of the 1950′s featuring alien invaders, flying saucers, a high production quality and, from the looks of the trailer… a whole lot of fun! The cast includes Eric McCormick, Jenni Baird, Jody Thompson, Sarah Smyth and Robert Patrick (Strange Wilderness, Balls of Fury). The film is set to have a limited theatrical release on April 3, 2009.

Plot Synopsis: The story begins in 1957 in the star-filled skies above California’s Mojave Desert. It is a special night for noted astronomer Ted Lewis, who is preparing a special dinner for his beautiful, adoring wife Lana to celebrate their wedding anniversary. In another part of town, Tammy, a waitress at small local diner with big plans for the future, looks out her window and is excited to see a shooting star, which she takes as a good sign for her dreams. But, what Dr. Lewis and Tammy assume is a shooting star, is really an alien spaceship. The fiery ball hurtles toward earth and crash-lands on a butte in the desert. The only witnesses are teens Dick and Penny who are necking in a nearby lover’s lane. A tall, metallic alien named Urp emerges from the craft unharmed, alarmed to discover that the monstrous Ghota, who was also on board, has escaped. The menacing one-eyed creature’s unquenchable appetite could mean the end of civilization as we know it. Urp is the only one who knows how to stop the hideous extra-terrestrial, but to do so he has to take over the body of Dr. Lewis and enlist the aid of Tammy, the only human in town willing to believe and trust in his mission. The local police – including Chief Dawson and Officer Vern – are confirmed skeptics and offer little help. Together, Urp and Tammy must hunt down the Ghota and neutralize it before it consumes all the local inhabitants and uses the human fuel to multiply and conquer the world! — Alien Trespass Online Marketing

Writer/Director Glenn McQuaid’s new horror-comedy ‘I Sell the Dead’ just received two awards at Slamdance, one for Best Cinematography and a Special Jury Mention for Larry Fessesden’s performance in the film. This is McQuaid’s first feature film as a writer/director after working as visual effects supervisor on ‘The Roost’, ‘Trigger Man’ and ‘Liberty Kid’. His most well-known work has been as visual effects supervisor and 2nd unit director for ‘The Last Winter’ which was a really cool sci-fi/horror/thriller from 2006.

‘I Sell the Dead’ shows it’s style is influenced by some classic films of the genre and the director’s previous work with visual effects and title sequences. The cast is also highly appealing, featuring Ron Perlman, Dominic Monaghan, Larry Fessenden and yes, the tall man himself… Angus Scrimm!

Here’s the plot synopsis from the Official Website:

18th century justice has finally caught up to grave robbers Arthur Blake and Willie Grimes. With the specter of the guillotine looming over him, young Blake confides in visiting clergyman Father Duffy, recounting fifteen years of adventure in the resurrection trade. His tale leads from humble beginnings as a young boy stealing trinkets from corpses, to a partnership with seasoned ghoul Willie Grimes as they hunt creatures unwilling to accept their place in the ground. The colorful and peculiar history of Grimes and Blake is one filled with adventure, horror, and vicious rivalries that threaten to put all involved in the very graves they’re trying to pilfer.

‘I Sell the Dead’ really snuck up on me and it looks awesome! After I read up on the movie and watched the trailer (3 times now) it struck me that it has a welcome familiar feel to it, like breeding ‘Cemetery Man’ with ‘Evil Dead’ but still looks original of it’s own merit. I REALLY looking forward to seeing this one, and I’m sure it’ll end up being relegated to DVD for most of the US, but it could take some time considering it just now screened at Slamdance and Netflix doesn’t even have it listed yet. If we’re lucky, it may play at some indie and art house theaters. Let us pray!

Here’s some stills from the movie and one of the posters:

You’ve got to see the trailer, so here it is: