Eleven years ago, with the release of Richard Kelly’s seminal cult classic Donnie Darko, the thought that I might be one day vying to defend this once prolific director to a dismissive general public and disenfranchised fanbase would have been as counter-intuitive as thoughts come.

Following the theatrical release of Kelly’s freshman effort – which introduced the world to not only one, but two Gyllenhaals – it was widely accepted that the director could in fact do no wrong, and that a long and illustrious career lay ahead as he continued to baffle audiences with his trans-dimensional tales of suburban apocalypse.

Since then, however, everything has changed: a divisive director’s cut, and unofficial sequel and a two poorly received releases later, Kelly is no longer held in such high esteem. He has been derided, his storytelling abilities questioned and his imagination mocked. Nonetheless, with the benefit of hindsight, I cannot help but challenge this new opinion of Kelly as a self-indulgent and impenetrable pulp-existentialist.

Donnie Darko: The Director’s Cut

When Richard Kelly’s Donnie Darko made its début back in 2001, the cinemagoing public was almost unanimous in its indifference. Well, it would have been if anyone had actually gone to see it. It wasn’t long, however, until overwhelming critical acclaim and persistent word of mouth spread and the film developed a dedicated cult following. With the film’s fans showing an insatiable thirst for more information, eager to make some sense of the film’s most enigmatic complexities, Kelly released a director’s cut in an attempt to maximise his audience’s enjoyment and understanding of the story.

For many, however, the release of the new cut of the movie had the opposite effect, with many viewer’s enjoyment of the film apparently mired by the new and extended scenes. In a somewhat predictable backlash on a film many hadn’t seen coming, stars were hastily deducted and Kelly’s abilities questioned due to a slightly altered pace and an additional 20 minutes of running time. As Kelly delved deeper into his film’s mythology and began to compromise the human element of his story in favour of a greater sense of narrative coherence, the director’s winning streak came to an almost immediate end, and he fell into an underserved disrepute that would haunt his next two features.

But Donnie Darko isn’t a lesser movie simply because Kelly has attempted to elaborate on his initial premise and endeavoured to find a clearer way of telling his story; if anything, it’s gained greater immersive value. The original film was ambitious enough, and while there might be those who miss the margin for interpretation provided by the missing pieces of the puzzle, they underestimate a version of the movie steeped in just as much ambiguity. It’s the same masterpiece, just with a different arrangement.

Southland Tales

The story of Southland Tales‘ troubled production is infamous: lambasted following its début at Cannes, Richard Kelly’s follow-up to cult favourite Donnie Darko re-entered post production for a much needed emergency overhaul – in which the director hacked furiously at a movie rejected by critics as calamitous, self-indulgent and unsalvageable. Even in its heavily edited form, released theatrically eighteen months later, Kelly’s film failed to redeem itself in the eyes of most.

Southland Tales is the sort of movie that features two cars having sex, an unlimited fuel source that can also get you high, and which casts Justin Timberlake only to have him lip-sinc to The Killers’ All These Things That I’ve Done. It is a film of criss-crossing narratives, conflicting genres and one which has an opinion on just about everything. A post-apocalyptic satire with a dream sequence musical interlude, Kelly has constructed a sprawling narrative which encompasses everything from reality television and celebrity culture to terrorism, cyber-censorship and surveillance. Not to mention the important topic of teen horniness.

But while it might flirt with pretension and occasionally border on the obtuse, Southland Tales is better for its eccentricities than it is worse off. Kelly has crafted an intricate and rewarding tale that – while initially confounding – has more and more to give with every viewing. Casting actors otherwise pigeonholed, Kelly has wrung interesting – if hardly naturalistic – performances from Dwayne Johnson and Sarah Michelle Gellar, while finding an unexpected emotional centre with an uncharacteristically toned-down and heartfelt double-performance from professional idiot Seann William Scott.

The Box

Kelly’s most recent offering is a comparably personal tale of familial and philosophical conflict. Starring James Marsden and Cameron Diaz as partial representations of his parents, the film asks what you might do if offered extraordinary riches at the expense of the life of a stranger. With the couple’s decision leading them to discover a society rife with conspiracy and their deal with the devil having unforeseen implications for their only child, the two actors wring almost unbearable tension out of a relatively simple concept.

While the hallmarks of a Kelly production are indeed present and accounted for – from the inexplicable water coffins to the mind-bendingly poignant final reveal – The Box makes a conscious attempt to dial down the crazy in order to appeal to a wider audience. Although decidedly more commercial than Donnie Darko and Southland Tales, however, this is no Hollywood sell-out, the film proving characteristically rife with intrigue and underscored by a welcome intelligence.

With one character’s face blown off and another’s toes missing, this is a movie that spends as much time outside the box as it does within. Packing zombies, aliens and a twist that isn’t so much unpredictable as hauntingly inevitable, Kelly has produced another winning blend of genres that successfully transcends its constituent influences to become more than the sum of its parts. When such parts include an ex X-Man and Cameron “The Holiday” Diaz, that’s all the more surprising.

All in all, then, Richard Kelly isn’t some one-hit-wonder turned laughing stock. To write his movies off simply because they fail to live up to the standards set by his original cut of Donnie Darko would be to do his subsequent works a great disservice. He is an auteur, a filmmaker unwilling to compromise his own vision, however impenetrable and non-commercial it may prove. A Richard Kelly film is one that straddles genres, as well as time and space; one which casts actors against type and juxtaposes music with striking visuals; a movie which strains under the very weight of its filmmaker’s limitless ambition, with a bullet in its eye and a paradox at its heart.

With only three such films to his name, I can only hope that there are many more to come. And so should you.

New trailer time for the latest slice of American Pie as we join the gang as they reunite for more bawdy shenanigans. With hilarious consequences etc.

MSN have released the new trailer which can be seen below and it is a little NSFW, but no ruder than a Carry On film.

The film sees Jason Biggs, Tara Reid, Alyson Hannigan, Katrina Bowden, Seann William Scott, Mena Suvari, Shannon Elizabeth, John Cho, Chris Klein, Jennifer Coolidge, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Eugene Levy and Chris Owen star and we can expect it in the UK April 6th.

In the comedy American Reunion, all the American Pie characters we met a little more than a decade ago are returning to East Great Falls for their high-school reunion.  In one long-overdue weekend, they will discover what has changed, who hasn’t and that time and distance can’t break the bonds of friendship.

It was summer 1999 when four small-town Michigan boys began a quest to lose their virginity.  In the years that have passed, Jim and Michelle married while Kevin and Vicky said goodbye.  Oz and Heather grew apart, but Finch still longs for Stifler’s mom.  Now these lifelong friends have come home as adults to reminisce about—and get inspired by—the hormonal teens who launched a comedy legend.

Here’s the trailer,

Surprisingly violent and often very funny, Goon is an underdog sporting tale with a difference, and featuring a career best performance from Seann William Scott, it’s well worth getting your skates on and heading out to see it on the big screen.

The man who is still chiefly known as Stifler, the shirt-chasing horndog from the ‘Pie’ series, is monosyllabic simpleton Doug Glatt. Coasting through life as a doorman, what he lacks in brains he clearly makes up for in brawn. Much to the chagrin of his middle-class Canadian family, Glatt finds his calling in life on the ice when his aptitude for teeth smashing and skull cracking wins him a huge following after he lends his dubious talents to the local hockey team.

Soon promoted to a larger, semi-pro team in Halifax, alongside the requisite display of ferocious fisticuffs, he’s tasked with looking after star player Xavier Laflamme (Marc-André Grondin) who has had his cockiness and talent knocked out of him following a particularly vicious clash with hockey rival and Glatt’s potential nemesis, Ross Rhea (Liev Schreiber).

Coming across as a kind of ice Hulk, Glatt struggles to overcome resentment from Laflamme, who despises being babysat and is angered by his protector’s burgeoning star status (despite his obvious inability as a sportsman). In reality, Glatt’s role helps to strengthen the team, pushing them forward to the finals and yet another opportunity for further (and increasingly bloody) scuffles on the ice.

Scripted by regular Seth Rogan collaborator Evan Goldman and Judd Apatow bit-player Jay Baruchel (who has a small role as Glatt’s obnoxious and foul-mouthed hockey-obsessed best friend), many of the familiar beats associated with sports films are evident here, but rather refreshingly, the focus is shifted from the plight of the wannabe champ who triumphs over adversity, to the thug-like chump who is there the provide the spectators with the gladiatorial-like bloodlust they’ve paid to see. It isn’t much of a spoiler to say the focus during the climatic sequence on the ice revolves around a potential flight breaking out as opposed to Glatt’s team actually winning.

Goon actually shares more of a commonality with those character-based sporting flicks, coming across as a rowdier version of a Ron Shelton film rather than a comedic take on Rocky (even though the old pugilist could almost be a distant cousin to the similarly tough on the outside, soft in the centre Glatt). Helping to make that distinction is Scott who is really fantastic, giving a surprisingly nuanced performance and managing to win over the audience despite his thuggish behavior. Having noticeably beefed up for the role, he plays dumb incredibly well (not an easy thing to do) but there’s always a disturbed glimmer behind his eyes too, which lends an edgy, unpredictable side to his character.

Likewise, Schreiber (showing the same playful sense of menace and villainy which he brought to Wolverine) is a lot of fun here and proves to be more than a worthy adversary on the ice. Actress and potential love interest Alison Pill fares less successfully unfortunately, coming across as a little one-dimensional. It’s through no fault of the performer though, but lumbering her with a transparent script dilemma device of having a boyfriend feels weak compared with the other well-crafted characters on screen.

Goon is one of those films which manages to genuinely take you by surprise, offering a much more satisfying cinematic experience than anticipated, mainly due to strong writing, committed performances and an attempt to bring a little more personality to what could have been a much broader tale, given the material.

****~ (4/5)

We’ve seen some brilliant things from Seann William Scott’s next movie, the upcoming ice hockey comedy Goon, in the past few months, most recently including the film’s first UK trailer and poster as well as an awesome clip from the film just a few days ago.

Along with Scott, the film also stars Jay Baruchel, Liev Schreiber, Alison Pill, Kim Coates, and Scott’s American Pie co-star, Eugene Levy (who he’ll be returning alongside in that franchise for American Reunion come April next year).

We’ve now got a great new trailer to share with you, courtesy of iTunes Movie Trailers, via ComingSoon.net, with plenty of awesome new footage from the film and lots of Scott beating the hell out of everybody in sight. It’s a green band trailer this time around, so if you’re still at work, this should lift your spirits a little in the run-up to Christmas.

Goon [goon]

Noun

1.    A hired hoodlum or thug

2.    A stupid, foolish or awkward person

Meet Doug Glatt (Seann William Scott).

He may not be the sharpest blade on the rink, but he’s got a killer right hook.

When his permanently wasted best friend Pat (Jay Baruchel) runs into trouble, Doug’s ability to beat the crap out of everyone and everything impresses a sports coach who signs him up to annihilate the opposition and a feisty female fan (Alison Pill) who digs dangerous sports

Sometimes it takes an unlikely hero to unite a team and soon Doug finds himself recruited by the flailing Halifax Highlanders, who desperately need a goon to protect screwed up ex-star player, La Flamme. In between packing punches and breaking bones, the team bond and find their place in the big league.

But when Doug comes fist to face with notoriously violent pro player Rhea (Liev Schreiber) who is hell bent on putting on a show for his retirement fight, the gloves are well and truly off….

From the creators of Superbad and Pineapple Express comes an ice cool comedy that proves that it’s not the winning, it’s the taking apart of the other team that counts.

Michael Dowse (Take Me Home Tonight) has directed what looks to be one of Scott’s best films to date, with a script from Baruchel and the brilliant Evan Goldberg, co-writer of Pineapple Express and Superbad.

Goon hits our screens here in the UKon 6^th January next year, which should make for a great first weekend in the cinema in the new year, full of comedy and fist-fights. Until then, here’s the excellent new trailer to enjoy.

Entertainment One have sent over this brand new and exclusive clip from their new movie, Goon which stars Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, Liev Schreiber, Alison Pill, Kim Coates, Eugene Levy and Marc-André Grondin. It’s directed by Michael Dowse and is set for release in the UK 6th January. As well as this clip, I can reveal that we’ve seen it and really liked it! Goon comes from the same people that made Pineapple Express and Superbad and if you’re a fan of those movies, you’re going to love this.

Scroll down to watch the clip from the movie and please note, it contains rather a lot of swearing.

Goon [goon]

Noun

1.    A hired hoodlum or thug

2.    A stupid, foolish or awkward person

Meet Doug Glatt (Seann William Scott).

He may not be the sharpest blade on the rink, but he’s got a killer right hook.

When his permanently wasted best friend Pat (Jay Baruchel) runs into trouble, Doug’s ability to beat the crap out of everyone and everything impresses a sports coach who signs him up to annihilate the opposition and a feisty female fan (Alison Pill) who digs dangerous sports

Sometimes it takes an unlikely hero to unite a team and soon Doug finds himself recruited by the flailing Halifax Highlanders, who desperately need a goon to protect screwed up ex-star player, La Flamme. In between packing punches and breaking bones, the team bond and find their place in the big league.

But when Doug comes fist to face with notoriously violent pro player Rhea (Liev Schreiber) who is hell bent on putting on a show for his retirement fight, the gloves are well and truly off….

From the creators of Superbad and Pineapple Express comes an ice cool comedy that proves that it’s not the winning, it’s the taking apart of the other team that counts.

Please note, this clip contains swearing and is NSFW unless of course you have headphones!

Goon hits UK cinemas 6th January and we’re all rather looking forward to it. Adam saw the movie a week or two ago and really enjoy it so keep your eyes peeled for our review. In the meantime, Entertainment One have sent us the new UK trailer for the movie which comes from the same people who made Pineapple Express and Superbad. This time no Seth Rogan though folks but there is Seann William Scott taking the lead as the ‘Goon’!

Goon is directed by Michael Dowse and also stars Jay Baruchel, Liev Schreiber, Alison Pill, Kim Coates, Eugene Levy and Marc-André Grondin.

This new trailer which can bee seen below the synopsis is called ‘This is Doug’ and you’ll see why! Enjoy.

Goon [goon]

Noun

1.    A hired hoodlum or thug

2.    A stupid, foolish or awkward person

Meet Doug Glatt (Seann William Scott).

He may not be the sharpest blade on the rink, but he’s got a killer right hook.

When his permanently wasted best friend Pat (Jay Baruchel) runs into trouble, Doug’s ability to beat the crap out of everyone and everything impresses a sports coach who signs him up to annihilate the opposition and a feisty female fan (Alison Pill) who digs dangerous sports

Sometimes it takes an unlikely hero to unite a team and soon Doug finds himself recruited by the flailing Halifax Highlanders, who desperately need a goon to protect screwed up ex-star player, La Flamme. In between packing punches and breaking bones, the team bond and find their place in the big league.

But when Doug comes fist to face with notoriously violent pro player Rhea (Liev Schreiber) who is hell bent on putting on a show for his retirement fight, the gloves are well and truly off….

From the creators of Superbad and Pineapple Express comes an ice cool comedy that proves that it’s not the winning, it’s the taking apart of the other team that counts.

We’ll be seeing Seann William Scott hitting the big screen quite a few times next year, first off with the upcoming hockey comedy Goon, which is set to be a brilliant kick-start to the new year, coming to our cinemas the first weekend of 2012.

We got our first trailer for the film back in September, followed by another terrific trailer last month, and we’ve now got a fantastic (unofficially red band) new clip to share with you, courtesy of Empire. Nothing red band in terms of visuals, just a healthy dose of F-bombs and the like, so not suitable for work.

“Doug Glatt is a gentle giant who’s lethal with his fists but reluctant to use them. That is, until he goes to a hockey game and flattens a visiting player. The next day, while appearing on a web chat show hosted by his best friend, Doug is scouted by the coach of the local minor-league team. Doug’s job? Beat up anyone who gets near Xavier Laflamme, a hotshot player afraid to touch the puck since a devastating hit from legend­ary enforcer — and Doug’s idol — Ross “The Boss” Rhea.”

Along with Scott, the film also stars Jay Baruchel, Alison Pill, Liev Schreiber, Kim Coates, and Scott’s American Pie co-star Eugene Levy. Michael Dowse (Take Me Home Tonight, It’s All Gone Pete Tong) is behind the camera for this, with a script co-written by Baruchel and the brilliant Evan Goldberg (Pineapple Express, Superbad), so expect this to be a lot of fun.

All that we’ve seen so far has been excellent, and this clip is no exception, so I’m really looking forward to seeing it when it comes to our cinemas on 6^th January next year; less than a month to go now. Then exactly three months later, we’ll get to see Scott return to the role that shot him to fame in American Reunion, which is due out on 6^th April. It should be a great year for him.

If you’re at all sceptical about the upcoming sequel in the American Pie series, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Everything we’ve seen so far – which includes two terrific trailers, and plenty of other great stuff – has been completely spot on.

With all of the original prinipals from the original three films reprising their roles, American Reunion looks like it’s going to be one of next year’s best comedies.

One of the first things we saw from the film was the teaser poster back in August, and MTV Movies have now got the first proper poster to share with us, and it’s brilliant, paying homage to American Pie’s instantly recognisable poster from way back in 1999 (which you can see underneath in case you’ve forgotten, courtesy of Wikipedia).

The film’s been co-written and -directed by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, the pair that brought us Harold and Kumar, and they seem to perfectly get the feel of the first three films. All signs so far are excellent.

American Reunion reunites the cast for the first time since 2003 – can you believe it’s been eight years? – just as their characters are returning to their home town for a class reunion too, which is why it’s so perfect that this first poster takes us back to day one of American Pie. We’ll get to see once more Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Seann William Scott, Mena Suvari, Tara Reid, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Shannon Elizabeth, Eugene Levy, Jennifer Coolidge, and John Cho, with 30 Rock’s Katrina Bowden being the main new addition to the cast as Oz’s girlfriend.

Due out on 6th April next year, I think we’ve got every reason to expect American Reunion to be a huge success. As this poster rightly says (and I think this is genuinely a brilliant tagline for the film), Save The Best Piece For Last. Enjoy. As usual, click to enlarge.

It may have been eight years but all o the cast liken it to coming back home in this great behind the scenes look at American Reunion courtesy of MSN. The Producers talk about 19 of the original cast coming back to make this movie and all of them seem like they’re genuinely pleased to be back. I have to admit, I am really looking forward to seeing it when it’s released 6th April next year.

The cast includes: Jason Biggs, Tara Reid, Alyson Hannigan, Katrina Bowden, Seann William Scott, Mena Suvari, Shannon Elizabeth, John Cho, Chris Klein, Jennifer Coolidge, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Eugene Levy and Chris Owen.

Check out the behind the scenes look below:

The best thing about the Ice Age franchise for me (and for no doubt many others) has to be Scrat, the poor prehistoric saber-toothed squirrel who will do absolutely anything to get just an acorn.

For three movies past now, I’ve been willing him onto reaching his goal! Apple have released a new short for the fourth installment in the Ice Age franchise Ice Age: Continental Drift and if you’re a Scrat fan, you’re going to love it!

Ice Age: Continental Drift features voices from Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, Queen Latifah, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lopez, Wanda Sykes, Aziz Ansari, Keke Palmer, Drake, Josh Gad, Alan Tudyk, Nick Frost, Joy Behar and is directed by Steve Martino and Michael Thurmeier.

Scrat’s nutty pursuit of the cursed acorn, which he’s been after since the dawn of time, has world-changing consequences – a continental cataclysm that triggers the greatest adventure of all for Manny, Diego and Sid. In the wake of these upheavals, Sid reunites with his cantankerous Granny, and the herd encounters a ragtag menagerie of seafaring pirates determined to stop them from returning home.

Come on Scrat, you can do it!

Michael Dowse’s upcoming hockey comedy, Goon, is definitely one film I’m looking forward to next year. Based on the novel, Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey, the film is co-written by Jay Baruchel and Evan Goldberg, and stars Seann William Scott in the leading role, with Liev Schreiber, Baruchel, Alison Pill, and Scott’s American Pie co-star Eugene Levy rounding out the supporting cast nicely.

We got our first look at the film with some pictures back last year, followed by the first trailer and posters in September, and most recently another trailer just last week. We’ve now got a new poster from the film to share with you, courtesy of IMP Awards, which stars a bloody Seann William Scott looking like he’s ready to go and raring for more.

“Doug Glatt is a gentle giant who’s lethal with his fists but reluctant to use them. That is, until he goes to a hockey game and flattens a visiting player. The next day, while appearing on a web chat show hosted by his best friend, Doug is scouted by the coach of the local minor-league team. Doug’s job? Beat up anyone who gets near Xavier Laflamme, a hotshot player afraid to touch the puck since a devastating hit from legend­ary enforcer — and Doug’s idol — Ross “The Boss” Rhea.”

The film hasn’t got an official release date yet, but Deadline report that Myriad Pictures have just picked up the international distribution rights, including those for the UK, Australia, France, Germany, Russia, Scandinavia, Latin America, Turkey, the Middle East, Indonesia, South Africa, and many more markets, so hopefully we’ll be getting word on a release date soon. We’ll next be seeing Scott in American Reunion on 6^th April next year, and with any luck, we won’t have much longer to wait after that until we see Goon. Until then, here’s the great new poster to enjoy with Scott front and centre, “The Nicest Guy You’ll Ever Fight.”

Seann William Scott and Liev Screiber face off in hockey comedy Goon and there’s a lot of face punching on offer in this new trailer for Michael Dowse’s film.

JoBlo had the exclusive on this one and there’s not a lot of subtlety on show here as co-writer Jay Baruchel and Alison Pill, last seen assisting Scott Pilgrim against the world, turn up for the fun. There’s no knowing how well this film will do here in the UK. I guess as well as a comedy based on cricket might do in the States but there’s enough well known faces here to draw in the crowds. Why not see for yourself below?

Before your trailer perhaps you’d care for a little synopsis?

Doug Glatt is a gentle giant who’s lethal with his fists but reluctant to use them. That is, until he goes to a hockey game and flattens a visiting player. The next day, while appearing on a web chat show hosted by his best friend, Doug is scouted by the coach of the local minor-league team. Doug’s job? Beat up anyone who gets near Xavier Laflamme, a hotshot player afraid to touch the puck since a devastating hit from legend­ary enforcer — and Doug’s idol — Ross “The Boss” Rhea.

Here’s your trailer,

Good things come to those who wait. After four sequels (which I refuse to consider count as part the American Pie films) since the original American Pie cast were together, we’re finally getting close to the fourth (technically, eighth, but I refer you to my previous bracket) film in the excellent American Pie franchise.

They may not be ground-breaking, but they were a part of my adolescence, and they’re a lot of fun to just sit back and enjoy.

We’ve been getting some great things over the past few months from the film, most recently with the first red band trailer and some excellent new images, and now we’ve got a full-length, green band, suitable-for-work second trailer to share with you, courtesy of Yahoo Movies via The Playlist.

Co-writers and co-directors Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, the pair that brought us Harold And Kumar, look to have done a great job with American Reunion, and I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone back together again on the big screen. The film will see pretty much everyone returning from the original three, including Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Seann William Scott, Mena Suvari, Tara Reid, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Shannon Elizabeth, Eugene Levy, Jennifer Coolidge, and John Cho, and 30 Rock’s Katrina Bowden being the main new addition to the cast as Oz’s girlfriend.

The trailer shows everyone returning home for their high school reunion, and gives a good look at what we can expect from the film. A slight word of warning, there’s a bit of a spoiler regarding Eugene Levy/Jim’s Dad at the very end, so you may want to stop it at the 1:45 mark, the choice is yours. The clip just before that of Stiffler and Jim’s Dad downing their shots is surprisingly entertaining given that almost nothing happens; something about Seann William Scott’s tone just makes it excellent.

The series – at least the first three films, I’m not intimately acquainted with the others – have always had a great rock-fuelled soundtrack, and the inclusion of Good Charlotte’s recent single, Last Night, promises more of the same. The song itself probably won’t be in the film, because trailer songs never seem to be, but we can hopefully look forward to plenty more great songs when it comes out.

American Reunion is hitting the big screen here on 6^th April next year, and it should be a great nostalgic return to days gone by for the cast, the characters, and the audience alike. Without further ado, here’s the new trailer. Enjoy.

What today really needed was a new poster for the latest installement in a popular animated franchise and crikey – if the folks at Fox haven’t obliged.

Ice Age 4: Continental Drift reunites Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary in this new tale, which focuses on the character of Scrat. I’ve warmed to the other films in the series though I cant help but find some of the character designs a little offputting, Scrat for example looks like Rowan Atkinson has mated with a squirrel. And not an attractive squirrel.

But people love ‘em so why not throw caution to the wind and pump out another film?

Brace yourself to be hit in the synopsis,

One of filmdom’s most beloved trios – “Ice Age’s” Manny, Diego, and Sid – embark upon their greatest adventure after cataclysm sets an entire continent adrift.  Separated from the rest of the herd, they use an iceberg as a makeshift ship, which launches them on an epic seafaring quest. Manny and the gang are challenged like never before to become heroes and do the impossible, as they encounter exotic sea creatures, explore a brave new world, and battle ruthless pirates. Scrat’s reunion with his beloved but cursed acorn catapults him to places no prehistoric squirrel has gone before.

It’s really an update from the earlier promo image which surfaced last month, but can you spot the difference between this…

and this…

Apart from a nice new reflection and a deeper blue there’s this…

This…

I’m not taking a child anywhere near this.

Following on from the trailer that was released last week for American Pie 5 aka American Reunion, we’ve been sent a nice new batch of images for the movie which sees all the cast from the first American Pie movie back together again.

The film sees Jason Biggs, Tara Reid, Alyson Hannigan, Katrina Bowden, Seann William Scott, Mena Suvari, Shannon Elizabeth, John Cho, Chris Klein, Jennifer Coolidge, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Eugene Levy and Chris Owen star and we can expect it in the UK April 6th.

In the comedy American Reunion, all the American Pie characters we met a little more than a decade ago are returning to East Great Falls for their high-school reunion.  In one long-overdue weekend, they will discover what has changed, who hasn’t and that time and distance can’t break the bonds of friendship.

It was summer 1999 when four small-town Michigan boys began a quest to lose their virginity.  In the years that have passed, Jim and Michelle married while Kevin and Vicky said goodbye.  Oz and Heather grew apart, but Finch still longs for Stifler’s mom.  Now these lifelong friends have come home as adults to reminisce about—and get inspired by—the hormonal teens who launched a comedy legend.

Click the images below to enlarge.

I’ve never seen an American Pie movie. Not one.

Dave often tells me that I’m missing out and now that the franchise is old (and, arguably, successful) enough to have a Revisiting (the latest of the Re-trends after Reboot, Remake, etc) I feel that I should catch up before the gang themselves catch up twelve years and seven films after the original. On the basis of this trailer though I can’t see myself smashing down the virtual doors of Amazon to bag a boxset anytime soon.

Pie-fans will get to see their favourites back on screen together, with  Jason Biggs , Seann William Scott , Alyson Hannigan , Thomas Ian Nicholas , Chris Klein, Eugene Levy , Tara Reid , Eddie Kaye Thomas , Mena Suvari and Jennifer Coolidge returning to the fold.

This is a red band trailer so no watching if you’re too young or too employed at a place of work where this sort of thing just isn’t appropriate.

One of the biggest animated success stories made outside of Disney or DreamWorks has been the Ice Age series, with each of the first three films earning more and more at the box office.

The teaser trailer for the fourth film, Ice Age: Continental Drift, landed back at the start of the year, and now the film’s first poster has arrived, courtesy of Focus On Animation.

Continental Drift is co-directed by Steve Martino and Mike Thurmeier, the former of which directed 2008’s Horton Hears a Who! and the latter of which co-directed the third film in the series, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. And it’s been co-written by Michael Berg, who co-wrote the first and third films; Jason Fuchs, who makes his writing feature debut; and Mike Reiss, who co-wrote the third film and The Simpsons Movie.

It’s always good bringing back the writers and directors to continue their work with a series’ next instalments, so having some of the writers and directors back is surely a good sign. And of course, the Ice Age films are well known for their terrific cast, and Continental Drift promises a number of big names.

Ray Romano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Chris Wedge, Queen Latifah, Josh Peck, and Seann William Scott will all be reprising their roles from the previous films, and added to the new instalment are Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lopez, Nick Frost, Alan Tudyk, Heather Morris, Aziz Ansari, and Nicki Minaj.

I must confess that I’m still yet to see Dawn of the Dinosaurs, but I did love the first two things, and fully anticipate the fourth film being another solid comedy family film success. The third film made almost $900m. from a $90m. budget, so there’s clearly still a huge market for the series.

The poster looks to be American, announcing the release date as 13^th July, but we here in the UK can look forward to getting it a week earlier on 6^th July next year. That does, however, mean that it will be going up against The Amazing Spider-Man that weekend, which is a bit of a mistake in my opinion, since that will no doubt be a 12A and can thus pull the younger audience as well. But here’s to hoping that they’ll both do great in the cinema. We might see that release date pushed back a week, though not much more, since we’ve also got The Dark Knight Rises coming out at the end of July next year – so much to look forward to next summer! Without further ado, here’s the first poster. As usual, click to enlarge.

Ice hockey is one of those sports that I really love the look of, but living in the UK, and lacking any channels beyond what Freeview has to offer, it becomes hard to ever really watch it.

What little I know of the sport comes mostly from the movies, and this new ice hockey film, Goon, looks like an absolute gem of a sports film. A great mix of sports, action, and comedy.

Obviously, it being an ice hockey film, there’s going to be plenty of action to look forward to, as this first trailer for the film, courtesy of Collider, shows off nicely.

“Goon is the story of Doug Glatt, a down-on-his-luck bouncer, who’s been touched by the fist of God. Upon discovering both his right hook and skates, he joins a hockey team destined for the cellar and inspires them into the playoffs.”

As all the best sports films are, Goon looks to be the story of an underdog, played by Seann William Scott, best known for his role in the American Pie films, and who will be returning to that series for American Reunion, another great film to look forward to. The trailer also shows off Liev Schreiber (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), the film’s antagonist, who looks to be every bit as up for a fight on the ice as Scott.

The film is directed by Michael Dowse (Take Me Home Tonight), from a script co-written by actor Jay Baruchel (Fanboys), who makes his feature debut as a writer, and Evan Goldberg (Superbad, Pineapple Express). Definitely a writing team with potential, which this first trailer only supports.

Goon also stars Baruchel, Alison Pill (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) and Scott’s American Pie co-star, Eugene Levy, and THR report that it has just been picked up for distribution after playing well at the Toronto International Film Festival, which is great news. As such, no news yet on a release date, but hopefully we can expect it here early next year. Without further ado, here is the great first trailer for the film, followed by, courtesy of The Playlist, two posters and two images. Enjoy.

During the Universal panel at Empire Big Screen (our live blogging here), we had Seann William Scott deliver a little clip saying that we were going to get to see some new never before seen footage from American Reunion or American Pie 4 (not including the straight to DVD versions). Unfortunately that footage didn’t actually exist but it was nice to see the ‘Stiffmeister’ on the big screen again!

All is not lost however as Universal Pictures have released this teaser poster for the movie which simply has a pie sitting on top of the year 2012! What more do you need anyway?! This new reboot sees all the main cast returning including Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Chris Klein, Alyson Hannigan, Mena Suvari, Shannon Elizabeth, Tara Reid, Jennifer Coolidge, Natasha Lyonne and Eugene Levy.

Synopsis: It was summer 1999 when four small-town Michigan boys began a quest to lose their virginity. In the years that have passed, Jim and Michelle married while Kevin and Vicky said goodbye. Oz and Heather grew apart, but Finch still longs for Stifler’s mom. Now these lifelong friends have come home as adults to reminisce about—and get inspired by—the hormonal teens who launched a comedy legend.

We can expect it’s to hit UK screens April 6th 2012 and I have to admit, I’m a little excited to see it! Anyone else?!

Source: Latino Review

Ice Age – quite possibly the least historically accurate franchise ever – is set to return with a fourth instalment, currently subtitled Continental Drift.

Variety‘s report indicates that the acorn-starved actions of Scrat will trigger a chain reaction which ultimately reunites Sid the sloth with his family.

Along with the usual assortment of prehistoric plot devices, this means that directors Steve Martino and Michael Thurmerier have a family of sloths to cast.

Cue the signing of Nick Frost, Nicki Minaj, Joy Behar, JB Smoove, Heather Morris, Josh Gad, Alan Tudyk and Kunal Nayyar who will join franchise favourites Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, Denis Leary, Seann William Scott, Wanda Sykes, Aziz Ansari, Drake and Josh Peck for another dose of textbook defying antics.

20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios have set a July 6, 2012 release date for Continental Drift.