The road to Cooper’s Dell is almost as interesting and eventful a journey as Red State itself with director Kevin Smith taking matters of distribution into his own hands and releasing the film through his own Smodcast Pictures company, something he announced in typical understated fashion at Sundance last year.

Eschewing the studio system (with which he brought us Cop Out) the freedom he enjoys bears juicy fruit as this deliberate move into new territory results in a fine horror film from the director, one which makes his promised retirement all the more disappointing. It also shows that as a director Smith knows how to let his actors lead the film, though occasionally they run too far and risk running the show into the ground, but the powerful central performance from Michael Parks anchors the film.

This is not a straight up horror film, and the film shifts gears between your typical horny teen-infused cautionary tale to a Wacoesque siege movie with the (Westboro in all but name) Five Points Trinity Church taking their unholy orders to a grisly extreme and it’s one of the few films of last year which keeps you guessing.

As head of the church Michael Parks is magnificent, spitting his hateful rhetoric and curling his venomous words with distinct glee to his small congregation who watch as the Church take the word of God, twist it, and get biblical on those unfortunate  enough to get caught in their trap. There’s fine support from Melissa Leo and John Goodman, who seems to relish the opportunity to pay things straight, but Parks is the dark heart of the film, the black hole around which the other members of the church orbit, teetering close to the inevitable.

A couple of moments stand out from the film, one problematic and the other inspired. It’s better, if you’ve not seen the film, that you go in knowing only the bare bones of the story (horny teens, psycho church, guns) as there’s great stock in the unexpected here. These two plot elements which tell the story of the film point to what’s good and not so good about the film but make no mistake – this is a director finding his feet on new ground and the film is absolutely worth a watch.

Here’s where the two sides of the film fall. When we meet Michael Parks’ FredPhelpsalike he is delivering a sermon to the congregation and there’s an unhealthy line in fire and brimstone, death by stoning, centered around the eroding moral centre of America and most of the blame is laid firmly at the feet of the gay community, and it goes on and on and on – almost too far. We’re meant to hate this man, and we do, but his grounding in reality is his power in terms of being the villain of the piece and Smith’s love of dialogue threatens the scene, the crux of the film.

The second moment comes towards the end of the film and I’ll not spoil things but there’s an important sign, one that is unexpected and for a moment you think that Smith has done something truly extraordinary. He hasn’t, as it turns out, but the fact that for a moment you believe is testament to the power of the film.

This is a brutal and effective horror film, with some moments of extreme violence and real terror (Kerry Bishe deserves a lot of the credit here – her performance as the one member of the church with any sense at all is a real eye-opener for the actress up until now best now as the lead in the death rattle of the sitcom Scrubs) and Smith has his moment of dark comedy pitched perfectly. A genuine surprise, and a welcome one.

****~ (4/5)

Extras

What you need to watch is the making of documentary which charts the film’s progress from the Sundance auctionnouncment to the release and it has Kevin Smith in fine, and candid, form. In amongst the usual praise for the cast and crew there’s another story being told here. Smith is a filmmaker who infuriates and inspires in equal measure, with a legion of hardcore fans and a line of haters a mile long and yet there’s a genuine sense of gratitude which comes across, of a man who gets to tell story in many mediums (and some stories are better than others), but the fact that his life would have turned out very differently if Clerks hadn’t been picked up all those years ago never seems far from his mind.

It’s been a bumpy road and if Red State is to be the penultimate stop on Kevin Smith’s filmmaking journey then it’s a fine road to take before heading home and I can’t wait to see what he has in store for his big finish.

Seemingly lost in a foggy haze of a mid-life crisis love affair with the chronic (often blurring his decisions on how to deal with fans and critics alike), former prodigal Weinstein son and self-confessed purveyor of the “dick and fart” school of comedy (which has now fully infiltrated the Hollywood mainstream), Kevin Smith, returns from the Cop Out creative wilderness with an entirely new bag of directorial tricks up his sleeve.

Three horny teenagers make plans to meet and have their wicked way with a middle-aged woman they meet via an on-line personal sex ad. Lured to a single trailer park in the woods, the supposed night of a dirty, mini-orgy is nothing but a ruse concocted by a fundamentalist religious group (clearly modelled on the real-life, controversy-baiting, Westboro Baptist Church) and the trio are instead drugged and taken to the nearby compound run by the sect, with the intent of being offered up as sacrificial offering during the epic sermons by the deranged leader of this equally warped collective, Paster Abin Cooper (Michael Parks).

By a strange quirk of events, a team of ATF officers show up outside the pastor’s residence, which sets in motion a chain of messy actions and violence, leading to a decidedly leftfield turn of events.

Foregoing any noticeable middle act, Red State exists as a strange, if intriguing, two-act structural set-up. The first half definitely has a whiff of a Hostel-type set-up, and this is also where the only trace of Smith’s trademark style is apparent, namely in the vulgar back and forth banter between the youths as they swap insults in preparation for their trip. Despite some scenes which point towards the film heading into torture porn territory, thankfully, this never comes to fruition, and we’re presently which something else entirely.

This is a very different Smith to the crude, knockabout frolics of the Jay and Silent Bob, View Askew universe, and the earnest, pop-cultural, hipster indie philosophising. In shedding all of that, Smith has brought a leaner, more exciting cinematic style to his work. Shot on digital (using the Red camera) the film looks fantastic, and there’s a pleasingly visceral energy and fluidity to the hand-held work on display.

The film also acts as a reminder that Smith is fully capable of eliciting fine performances from his cast. You may have already heard the superlatives being directed towards Michael Parks for his role as the seriously twisted pastor, and these are completely justifiable. The 15 minute barnstorming sermon he delivers midway through may have smacked of overindulgence on Smith’s behalf if Parks wasn’t so mesmerising, and similar to his turns in Kill Bill Vol.2 (and the opening to From Dawn Till Dawn, for that matter), it’s impossible to tear your gaze away from the actor (which is further enhanced by Smith’s use of big close-ups throughout). Mellissa Leo delivers a solid turn as Cooper’s daughter and ostensive right-hand woman, and another real surprise here is John Goodman as the beleaguered ATF leader whose ill-conceived actions yield disastrous consequences for both sides.

Unfortunately, Goodman’s introduction is also where the film loses it a little, and turns proceedings into an all-out botched war zone (à la Waco), where the actions of some characters don’t ring true at all as Smith tries too hard to hammer his points across. The climax may prove a little hard to swallow for some (although the strength of Parks’ performance brings a feasibility to what’s happens) but the film has trouble wrapping up things, and sometimes requires too much of a leap in imagination to really get behind Smith’s theories, and suffers from some abrupt shifts in tone (which may be attributed, in part, to a filmmaker working outside of his normal boundaries). Goodman’s last comment on the whole debacle, which strives for a Tommy Lee Jones-esque No Country for Old Men gravitas, is a little ham-fisted and fails to satisfyingly pin down what Smith is reaching for.

Nevertheless, this change of direction is exciting to witness. It may prove to be a tough sell for Smith’s legion of fans (it’s easy to see why, from a commercial point of view, the Weinstein’s passed on it) but it’s still a film which has much to offer, and may even benefit from repeat viewing. The director seems intent on slowly winding down his filmmaking career, and instead focus his creativity towards his burgeoning series of podcasts and a specialist radio network, but on the strength of this flawed, yet fascinating attempt at addressing the misconceptions of extremist behaviour in the US, he should perhaps think twice about folding away that director’s chair.

There seems to be life left in Smith when challenged to deliver something fresh and altogether more grown-up, and even if the end result is uneven, its nice to see a filmmaker jettison the style he’s arguably coasted on for a good decade or so, and attempt to make a genuinely absorbing (semi) real-world thriller, with a delicious streak of dark humour running throughout.

***½~ (3.5/5)

The first stills have been released for Kevin Smith’s first foray into horror, Red State.

The film (which is now Sundance-bound for 2011) boasts an interesting cast, some of whom pop up in the images here. Surely the first thing which springs to mind when viewing these is how thin John Goodman looks!

He stars alongside Kyle Gallner, Melissa Leo, Dermot Mulroney, Michael Angarano, Steven Root, and Michael Parks, in the story of a group of kids who encounter a crazed preacher (based on Fred Phelps, founder of the Westboro Baptist Church) and his minions. Kill Bill actor Parks plays the twisted religious leader, and he can be seen on the third image down.

Judging by his daily tweets and podcast sessions, Smith seems to be fairly confident that he has a decent film on his hands, although he was equally in praise of Cop Out during its production.

We’ll find out if he’s managed to put it off when the film is shown to an industry audience in Utah, this coming January.

Images courtesy of Dread Central. You can click the images below to enlarge.

Kevin Smith’s latest comedy COP OUT arrives on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Platforms on 20th September.

In a throw back to the brilliant cop movies of the 80’s, action movie legend Bruce Wills, and comedy king Tracy Morgan, play bickering-but-got-your-back Brooklyn-based NYPD detectives Jimmy Monroe and Paul Hodges, who are partners on the hunt for a gangster in possession of a very special baseball card.

To celebrate this homage to retro buddy cop pictures we’re giving you the chance to win not only a copy of COP OUT on DVD but also a copy of each of these five 80’s cop classics…

POLICE ACADEMY (1984)
The new police recruits. Call them slobs. Call them jerks. Call them gross. Just don’t call them when you’re in trouble. Look no further for Steve Guttenberg’s finest hour as he leads a group of good hearted but completely incompetent ragtag group of police recruits in this seminal slice of 80’s comedy, which spawned an impressive 6 sequels and a hit cartoon series.

COBRA (1986)
Crime is the disease. Meet the cure. Stallone co-wrote this pure 80’s machismo classic and gave the world the toughest cop ever seen. As lieutenant Cobretti he is a relentless force against a group of neo-fascist murderers. This is one dude you definitely don’t want to mess with… even if his first name is Marion.

LETHAL WEAPON (1987)
Nutcase Mel Gibson and family man Danny Glover star as mismatched partners in the quintessential buddy cop picture. The adventures of Murtaugh and Riggs spawned 3 sequels following the quality of this explosive first outing. The two stars make sparks fly as their personalities clash while trying to clean up the streets.

ABOVE THE LAW (1988)
Only Steven Seagal could light up the screen as a martial arts expert with a 6th degree black belt in judo who is recruited by the C.I.A. to be a badass cop. As Nico Toscani he is hardened by the sadistic violence he witnesses in Vietnam. When the he returns to Chicago he becomes a cop who takes down two corrupt American secret service members who think they are above the law!

TANGO & CASH (1989)
It’s not easy when Lt. Raymond Tango and Lt. Gabriel Cash find themselves working together even though they hate each other’s guts. After the two rival cops discover that evil crime lord Yves Perret has framed them for murder the duo know they must work together to clear their names… even if it kills them. Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell offer up brilliant chemistry as two narcotics officers who bare more than a passing resemblance to the odd couple.

To be in with a chance of winning these great titles on DVD along with the excellent COP OUT, just answer the following question….

In Cop Out, Jimmy attempts to sell what precious item in order to pay for his daughter’s wedding?

• A signed baseball
• A Baseball Card
• A pair of lucky jock straps

Competition Now Closed

The small print:

• This competition is open to the UK only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close Friday 24th September at 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

© 2010 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved

Kevin Smith’s ‘Cop Out’ starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan is without doubt the worst film I’ve seen this year and considering I’ve seen Leap Year, The Back Up Plan, Extraordinary Measures and that I would choose to see either of them three hideous films over Cop Out then it’s clear there is something seriously wrong with it.

Cop Out is Kevin Smith’s first film directing someone else’s script and it painfully shows as it lacks any real humour, intelligence, plot and importantly on screen chemistry between Willis and Morgan which is something I was really looking forward to seeing. What appeared on screen was a mess with about 3-4 jokes (which is generous) that worked just enough to raise a chuckle with everything else either falling flat, being just plain stupid or unoriginally cliched, it lacks everything Kevin Smith is so well known for.

Cop Out (which had a far superior working title A Couple of Dicks) is a scarcely satirical homage to the mismatched buddy movies that thrived in the 80’s like 48 Hours, Lethal weapon and the awesome Running Scared. Detectives Monroe (Willis) and Hodges (Morgan) are the unlikely but clichéd nine year veterans of the NYPD who after a bungled sting operation get hit with a 30 day unpaid suspension. Monroe has an issue of a $50,000 price tag for the dream wedding for his daughter Ava (Trachtenberg) whose step father (Jason Lee) has offered to pay the costs, and so to protect his fatherly pride and without a months salary (that I presume will be enough to cover the 50k) Monroe chooses to sell his beloved Andy Pafko baseball card that’s worth around $80,000.

Clever plot twist now: However during the handover of the card to a local dealer Monroe is mugged by Dave (Seann William Scott) and the card sond on, which forces Monroe to align with the Pafko’s new owner a Latino drug boss Poh Boy (Díaz) who is also involved with a string of murders that the NYPD is investigating by Monroe and Hodges rivals, Detectives Hunsaker (Kevin Pollak) and Mangold (Adam Brody). The plot thickens when Monroe and Hodges recover kidnap victim Gabriela (Reguera) who has evidence to put Poh Boy away for life and it’s up to them to keep her alive. I think that is the plot, but in all honesty I lost interest early on.

Apart from the decent performance of Guillermo Díaz who superbly played the intimidating gang boss and baseball memorabilia collector Poh Boy the characters are all pretty unlikeable and you really couldn’t care about what happened to Monroe and Hodges or even believe they have been partners for 9 years like we’re told they are, in fact I doubt you could believe they were cops considering the way they conduct their business and the shear stupidity of their actions. Mel Gibson and Danny Glover were great cops in Lethal Weapon, you knew they were, you cared about them and so the film worked because of it, Cop Out is the complete opposite.

You can forgive films like this if the humour is there but Cop Out has almost none for a comedy film and when they resort to a foul mouth ghetto car stealing 11 year old for laughs or Bruce Willis directly referencing Die Hard films then you know your in a bad place. Tracy Morgan’s surreal child like rambling that works so well in 30 Rock is quickly becoming annoying, there is a scene where he talks about his poo for ages in one long joke that really hit home just how bad the film was but there was the smallest chink of light in the film is Seann William Scott whose cameo was the only real plus of the film offering 100% of the entire films laughs in a 5 minute spell in the back of Monroe and Hodges car winding up Hodges with some classic lines and it’s a shame there wasn’t more banter between the three as that was when the film was at its strongest.

It’s clear then that the main problem with the film is the script by Robb and Mark Cullen which is terrible; it lacks anything any actor could have turned into something watchable or funny and although Smith edited the film himself to maybe try and save the film from being a disaster he fails in editing anything remotely fun, clever or worthwhile and it’s a real dent into his reputation that I doubt even the most hardcore Smith fans will enjoy.

Cop Out is released on the 21st May.

COP OUT is in cinemas from 21^st May. Directed by KEVIN SMITH (‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’), COP OUT features two longtime NYPD partners on the trail of a stolen, rare, mint-condition baseball card who find themselves up against a merciless, memorabilia-obsessed gangster. Jimmy (BRUCE WILLIS) is the veteran detective whose missing collectible is his only hope to pay for his daughter’s upcoming wedding, and Paul (TRACY MORGAN) is his “partner-against-crime” whose preoccupation with his wife’s alleged infidelity makes it hard for him to keep his eye on the ball.

Fan up on Facebook to find out more – http://www.facebook.com/CopOutUK or visit the official COP OUT website: http://www.warnerbros.co.uk/copout/

To win one of 5 COP OUT t-shirts just answer the following question using the form below:

In COP OUT, this actor, best known for his roles in the action film franchise series DIE HARD, plays Jimmy, the veteran detective whose missing collectible is his only hope to pay for his daughter’s upcoming wedding. Name the actor.

The small print:

• This competition is open to the UK only.
• Only one entry per household will be counted.
• The competition will close Friday 28th May at 23.59 GMT.
• The winners will be picked at random from entries received.

The usual T&Cs can be found here.

Cop Out © 2010 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved

Competition now closed

We’ve seen the trailer for Bruce Willis’ Cop Out already which you can see here but today we’ve got four brand new clips for you.

Cop Out also stars Tracy Morgan, Seann William Scott, Rashida Jones, Kevin Pollak and is directed by Kevin Smith. It’s set for release 16th April and we’ll hopefully get a review of it soon for you.

Synopsis: Two longtime NYPD partners on the trail of a stolen, rare, mint-condition baseball card find themselves up against a merciless, memorabilia-obsessed gangster. Jimmy (Bruce Willis) is the veteran detective whose missing collectible is his only hope to pay for his daughter’s upcoming wedding, and Paul (Tracy Morgan) is his “partner-against-crime” whose preoccupation with his wife’s alleged infidelity makes it hard for him to keep his eye on the ball.

MTV got to interview Bruce Willis on his new movie ‘Cop Out’ which, as well as Willis stars Tracy Morgan and Kevin Pollak. During the interview, they brought up the topic of a fifth Die Hard movie.

Willis said:  “I think we’re going to do a ‘Die Hard 5′ next year”. When asked if he’d bring Len Wiseman back to direct, Willis stated “I would hire Len Wiseman right now” and on the storyline he said “It’s got to go worldwide. That would be my contribution to it,”. So it sounds pretty certain that a 5th movie is on the horizon.

Moving on they then discussed Unbreakable 2 where Willis said that if Samuel L. Jackson was up for a sequel, he would be too and went onto say:

“I talked to [M Night. Shyamalan - director] over the holidays, and he is still thinking about doing the fight movie between me and Sam that we were gonna do,” he said. “We chose to do the origin.”

Good news on a 5th Die Hard and a second Unbreakable? Let us know what you think in the comments below. I think I’m in two minds.

Check out the Die Hard section of the interview below.

When not railing against the airline industry on Twitter Kevin Smith has a new film coming out, a buddy movie previously known as A Couple of Dicks, now retitled Cop Out, and there’s a new clip on the internets today.

There’s been a great theatrical trailer (and its hilarious red band version) for the Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan comedy, and the new clip gives us an excellent look at the smart, foul mouthed hilarity that only Smith can deliver.

It involves Willis and Morgan trading jokes with an arrested felon (Seann William Scott) as it acts as a great teaser to the balls out wit that is sure to permeate the film.

MovieWeb had the goods on show first, and the clip is embedded below, working people may not wish to play this one out loud while the boss is hovering…

We’ve seen the green band trailer for Bruce Willis’ Cop Out already but what’s the point in watching a trailer for a 15 / 18 movie without seeing it in it’s true light? Today, MySpace have released the new red band trailer for the movie and it looks excellent.

Cop Out also stars Tracy Morgan, Seann William Scott, Rashida Jones, Kevin Pollak and is directed by Kevin Smith. It’s set for release 26th February and we’ll hopefully get a review of it soon for you.

Remember this is red band so you have to be 17 to watch it.

Kevin Smith’s excellently renamed Cop Out had a great trailer released recently, and the poster that was just put out via IGN may not jump out and grab you by the face, in fact it’s a touch generic for a film from such a unique director.

There’s not even a From the Director Of line anywhere – are Warner Bros that certain that Smith’s reputation counts for so little (or perhaps they’re worried that it actually works against the film?) that they are playing it so safe. There’s a lovely tag line, and if you can ignore the odd expression Bruce Willis has on his face then you’ll probably enjoy this one.

Nothing like a smoking gun held in a phallic manner to entice the masses, and we all remember how Smith’s last one was sold to the masses.

or

Kevin Smith’s Couple of Dicks, Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan have themselves a trailer, and the recently retitled Cop Out is a pretty good indication of Smith’s continuing maturity in visual style.

It’s a well cut trailer and shows off the stars enjoying themselves but it doesn’t seem to have that Kevin Smith vibe, almost as if this was a different Kevin Smith behind the camera. The studio will try and target as many people as possible and fans of Smith will know that his involvement will guarantee something special. So, check it out below and see what you make of it.

Head on to Apple for the trailer in the very highest of definition, or watch below.

It’s a slow week for movie releases, with Fantastic Mr. Fox the only release of note in the UK, along with Cirque Du Freak. Most of the remaining big films this year are due out in November and December.  

So, with the big winter films already hyped to the max, and with Iron Man 2, Clash of the Titans and Robin Hood being the highly anticipated movies this Spring, I thought i’d take a look at some Spring movies that maybe aren’t getting the attention they deserve – The Losers, Green Zone, A Couple of Dicks, Machete and Kick-Ass. Note, this is a list of the films i’m personally looking forward to, so you won’t necessarily agree with me…

 The Losers

When is it? – 9th April.
 
Where is it? – Currently filming in Puerto Rico
 
Who is it? – Directed by Sylvain White, starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Evans, Zoe Saldana, Jason Patric.
 
What is it? – Based on the short lived DC comic series, it follows members of a CIA black ops team that are betrayed and left for dead. The team goes out to hunt down the people that tried to kill them.
 
Why am i excited? – Jeffrey Dean Morgan is brilliant in everything he does, from John Winchester to The Comedian. Zoe Saldana is one of the hottest properties in Hollywood, with roles in this years Star Trek and the upcoming Avatar. And Chris Evans is vastly under-rated, having to try and shine in films like Fantastic Four and Push. The plot actually sounds very similar to next year’s The Expendables, and whilst Sly’s action all-stars will easily out-gross The Losers, the great source material means The Losers should have a much better storyline. Word has it this movie will roughly follow issues 1 to 12, leaving ample material for a franchise if its successful.
 
But? – White is an inexperienced director, with I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer one of his few credits. And writer Peter Berg was responsible for the mess that was Very Bad Things.

Would you like to know more? – You can find our interview with one of the stars, Idris Elba, here. The first official photos can be found here. The fantastic trailer can now be found here.

 Kick-Ass

When? – 16th April (USA)
 
Where? – In the can
 
Who? – Directed by Matthew Vaughn, and co-written with Mrs Jonathan Ross Jane Goldman. Starring Nicholas Cage, Aaron Johnson and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.
 
What? - A young schoolboy decides to become a superhero, despite a distinct lack of super powers.
 
Why? – Kick-ass was struggling to find a distributor, due to some slightly questionable content – said to be mainly due to the presence of Hitgirl, an 11 year old schoolgirl assassin. Vaughn took some footage to comic-con, which got a standing ovation, and a bidding war was triggered. Lionsgate won, but considering they’ve been distributor for every Marv Films production (Vaughn’s production company), this wasn’t all that surprising. The leaked trailer showed a fairly even mix of comedy and stylistic action. 

 But? – The team of Vaughn and Goldman achieved success with their first film Stardust, but will have to have stepped up their game for Kick-Ass – Vaughn hasn’t really done action, and worryingly there were rumours he ducked out of X-men as he felt out of his depth.

Would you like to know more? – You can now find the trailer here, official posters here and here, and the official movie site here. The fantastic Hit Girl trailer is here with another clip here..

 Green Zone

When? – 12th March
 
Where? – In the can
 
Who? – Directed by British director Paul Greengrass, and written by Brian Helgeland. Starring Matt Damon, Jason Isaacs, Greg Kinnear and Brendan Gleeson.
 
What? - A thriller about a pair of CIA agents on the trail of WMDs, and a foreign correspondent following their mission 
 
Why? – Greengrass has shown great talent for compelling drama with Bloody Sunday and United 93, and great action with Bourne’s Supremacy and Ultimatum. This, coupled with his working relationship with Damon developed during those Bourne films, makes him the perfect man for the job. United 93 was based on a politically and socially sensitive subject, and the majority feel he handled it well. Damon’s career has improved dramatically thanks to his work as Jason Bourne, and this year has shown his diversity with a career performance in Steven Soderbergh’s The Informant. The book it is based on is a non-fictional account of the early days of the invasion of Iraq, when political relations were perched on a knife edge. The book was written by real life journalist, so historic details should be fairly accurate.

But? – Some attendees of very early focus group screenings have criticised perceived overuse of shaky-cam, but the film wrapped some months ago, so there’s been plenty of time for post-production.

Would you like to know more? – You can find some trailers here and here, some images here, and the poster here.

 Machete

When? - 16th April (USA)
 
Where? – In post
 
Who? – Written and Directed by Robert Rodriguez, and starring Danny Trejo, Cheech Marin, Jessica Alba, Robert de Niro, Lindsay Lohan, Don Johnson.
 
What? – Based on the fake trailer shown between Tarantino and Rodriguez’ Grindhouse double feature of Death Proof and Planet Terror. Based on an idea formed by Rodriguez back during Desperado, the titular Machete, Danny Trejo, is an assassin on the FBI’s payroll. He is double-crossed, and is now out for revenge, pursued by FBI agent Alba.
 
Why? – The trailer is really cool, in a crazy over-the-top kinda way. Word is Rodriguez has cut all the scenes from the trailer into the movie, and built the rest of the story around them. Rodriguez had a big hit with Sin City, which suggested he may be beginning to find his form again. Danny Trejo is due a lead role, following two decades of bit-part characters. Cheech Marin is always great to watch, and is reunited here with Johnson; they’ve worked together in Tin Cup and tv series Nash Bridges.
 
But? – Once Upon a Time in Mexico was a bit off a mess, and the Spy Kids pictures Rodriguez is now known for are as far removed from this kind of movie as you can get.

Would you like to know more? – You can find a poster here.

 A Couple of Dicks/A Couple of Cops – Now Cop Out!

When? – 26th February  

Where? – In post
 
Who? – Directed by Kevin Smith, written by Mark and Robb Cullen. Starring Bruce Willis, Sean William Scott, Michelle Trachtenberg, Adam Brody.
 
What? – The dicks in question are two cops, and the movie follows them through a series of hilarious situations.
 
Why? – This is the first movie Smith has directed that he didn’t write, so he must have been impressed by the screenplay. As listeners of Smith’s Smodcast podcasts know, he is a genuinely funny guy with a great feel for comedy. Despite a career based mainly on action movies, Willis has also shown a talent for comedy. He did, after all, start off in comedy series Moonlighting. After meeting Smith, Bruce took a liking to him and specifically wanted to work with him. 
 
But? – This is Smith’s first feature without regular producer, Smodcast co-host and friend, Scott Mosier. Willis has a reputation for poor script choices, and, barring 2005′s Sin City, hasn’t had a big hit for 10 years.

Would you like to know more? – You can follow Kevin Smith at http://twitter.com/thatkevinsmith. He recently stated on a tweet that A Couple of Dicks is the best movie he has been involved with.You can now find the trailer here.

Bazmann - You can now follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/baz_mann