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The official green band trailer for the movie ‘College’ has been released and I already feel like I’ve watched too much of the movie. You can judge for yourself by watching the video below.

College Official Trailer

The movie centers around three friends, Drake Bell, Andrew Caldwell and Kevin Covais, who are high school seniors embarking on a weekend trip to visit college. They encounter fraternities, partying, and of course, girls at Fieldmont University. The guys get into all kinds of shananigans, but “what began as the weekend-from-hell turns into the BEST. WEEKEND. EVER.” You can get other info on the film here.

This trailer inspired me to do two things and watch the movie is not one of them. However, I will now research and compile a list of scenes from the best college movies and also figure out how I know the nerdy-looking guy with glassses. After checking it appears Kevin Covais was “Chicken Little” from season 5 of “American Idol.” I forgot he made it to the top 12. Now the guy is doing ‘College’ and just finished filming Lindsay Lohan’s newest movie, ‘Labor Pains.’

Check out the video below.

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The first trailer for “Max Payne” hit the net and you can see the video below. Mark Wahlberg will star in this film adaptation of the popular video game. Keep reading to see his beautiful co-star.

Max Payne

Max Payne is a third person video game like it’s “Tomb Raider” predecessor. It revolves around the character’s attempt at revenge after his family is killed by junkies high on Valkyr. Payne then joins the DEA and infiltrates the mob looking for the source of the drug. But let’s cut to the chase, there’s a lot of fighting, bullets flying and the beautiful Mila Kunis. Did she look like this in “That 70’s Show?” You can see more pictures of her below.

Max Payne

John Moore will direct the movie with the script written by Beau Thorne. It’s set for release October 17, 2008. Check out the photos of Mila and the first trailer below.

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The latest in the James Bond franchise, “Quantum of Solace”, isn’t set to be released until November 7, 2008, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get excited about it. The first trailer for the film was released yesterday, and there’s not doubt after watching it that James Bond number 137 will be full of action.

Daniel Craig in “Quantum of Solace”

The movie picks up right where “Casino Royale” left off. But this time around, James Bond is out for revenge. After the death of his love, Mr. 007 sets out to get back at the killer, and stop an environmentalist from taking control of a country’s water supply.

And it’s non-stop action in the process - between a boat chase and rumors of a full frontal Daniel Craig nude scene, you won’t be sorry you spent your cash on a ticket for this film. So how long until November 7?

See the “Quantum of Solace” trailer and the poster below.

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The gorgeous Angelina Jolie is nude in the newest “Wanted” trailer, and you can see the video below. Brad Pitt is a lucky man.

Angelina Jolie Nude in “Wanted”

The verdict is still out on whether the film is good, but anything with Jolie is at least watchable. Then throwing an Angelina nude scene in there almost guarantees the studio will make its money back.

The scene in the trailer is short and from the back, but it’s enough to get you interested. Angelina basically drops a towel, reveals multiple tattoos and turns her head back giving James McAvoy a million-dollar seductive look. Speaking of millions, the bidding is reportedly up to $15 million for the first photos of the twins.

You can see the trailer with the brief Angelina nude scene below.

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In theaters this Friday, Adam Sandler brings his brand of wacky comedy to the big screens with his latest movie, “You Don’t Mess With The Zohan”. You can see the preview here.

Adam Sandler in “You Don’t Mess With The Zohan”

“Knocked Up” and “Superbad” genius Judd Apatow helped out with the screenplay of “You Don’t Mess With The Zohan”, in addition to Robert Smigel of “TV Funhouse”. Which means this movie is sure to be full of laughs, even if some scenes are a little dumber than others. In the film, Sandler is Zohan, the anti-terrorism specialist who secretly wants to do women’s hair in New York City. But when Palestinian terrorist Rob Schneider hits the scene to take out Zohan, things get messy.

Unfortunately, not everyone loves “Zohan” - it’s about 50-50 with the critics. But if vulgar is your thing, this movie might be just what you’re looking for on Friday.

See more photos of Adam Sandler in “You Don’t Mess With The Zohan” and the movie trailer below.

Photos and Video

One of the Summer’s big-budget films is Wanted with Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, and Morgan Freeman, which opens on Friday, June 27.

Wanted is the story of a twenty-something slacker, played by McAvoy, who is recruited into the “Fraternity,” a secret society of vigilante justice enforcers with lightning-quick reflexes and superhuman moves.

If you have not seen a trailer for Wanted, a huge portion of the trailer is dedicated to “curving bullets.” The whole curving bullets thing seems so gimmicky that it bothers me to no end. It just seems like some producers were sitting in a room and were like:

Dumb Movie Producer #1 “I just had a flash of brilliance. What if a hero could curve bullets?”

Dumb Movie Producer #2 “Curve bullets? Damn, that is mind blowing. That could be the whole focus of the movie and its promotions.”

Dumb Movie Producer #1 “I know, dumb viewers would eat that up without even worrying about a story or plot.”

Dumb Movie Producer #2 “Seriously, all we need is a $200 millionish budget, a smoking hot female hero, a young up and comer, and maybe we can get Morgan Freeman to sell out. I mean he did do Deep Impact.”

Dumb Movie Producer #1 “I like the way you think sir. I’ll blow the dust off one of our action scripts on the shelf, and get a writer to rework it in about 8 weeks. You call Morgan Freeman, and I’ll see if I can get Angelina Jolie’s agent to talk her into doing another violent, gun-toting, blow-crap-up movie between one of her UN missions of peace.”

Seriously, does anyone else find it just a little ironic that UN ambassador, peace loving, soon to be mother of 5, Angelina Jolie stars in all of these not so peaceful movies? Nevertheless, if you are amazed at the idea of someone being able to curve bullets, oooooooh, then enjoy Wanted. But don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.

Click below to see peace-loving Angelina Jolie in some of her not-so-peaceful movies.

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Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio. These were the names I expected to see top the list of highest paid film salary of all time. Imagine my surprise when I was sobered with the reality that we live in a world where Keanu Reeves is the highest paid actor of all time for his performance in The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions. That’s $185 million after his $20 million salary plus 15% gross.

Seriously, if highly intelligent beings visited us from another planet what would they think of us as a species for rewarding Keanu’s “acting” more than any other thespian? Be afraid aliens, be very afraid.

After Keanu/Neo, Tom Cruise has four of the top 13 highest salaries for War of the Worlds, Mission Impossible I & II, and Vanilla Sky.

Oddly enough, one of the top two highest paid female actors of all time is Tom Cruise’s ex, Nicole Kidman. Kidman has 5 of the 25 highest salaries for female actors all time. To put this into perspective, Kidman received $17.5 million for Bewitched, while Tom received $100 million for War of the Worlds. Unfortunately, women are not anywhere close in salaries and have to be content with getting half after the divorce.

Buyer beware, highest salaries do not show the highest quality. Aside from Keanu, who actually was pretty good as Neo, Julia Roberts received $20 million for The Mexican, Sandra Bullock received $17.5 million for Miss Congeniality 2, and good ‘ol Adam Sandler received over $30 million for Little Nicky.

Compare that to the total budget of $40 million for There Will Be Blood in which Daniel Day-Lewis gave one of the greatest performances of all time. I guess in this case, Little Nicky is the one drinking the milkshake.

You be the judge: Click below to compare Sandler’s and Day-Lewis’ performances in Little Nicky and There Will Be Blood.

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The weekend movie releases are getting better every Friday - you can tell we’re getting close to the summer blockbuster season. As the movies get bigger, the previews get more prevalent and constant. That’s how you know that the movies releasing tomorrow are “Speed Racer” and “What Happens In Vegas”.

Speed Racer Releases Tomorrow

Speed Racer

For as many big names are in this family-friendly action movie, including Susan Sarandon, John Goodman, Christina Ricci, and Emile Hirsch, I just don’t see “Speed Racer” being the big box office hit the commercials are making it out to be. Then I saw a preview promoting the movie as the perfect Mother’s Day movie. No way! This is a kid’s birthday movie, romantic comedies (or anything but “Speed Racer”) are Mother’s Day movies.

I’m sure there’s a plot in there somewhere - young race car driver uncovers an evil plot and saves the day to save the family racing business. It’s really about the visual stimulation with this one. Have you seen those neon lights - you might need sunglasses.

What Happens In Vegas

Now, this movie looks great - funny and cute, the way a romantic comedy is supposed to be. Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher star in this film about two crazy kids who go to Vegas, get hammered, get married, win millions from a slot machine, and then fight over the money. The trick is that whoever bails on the marriage loses the money, so there’s a lot of antics. And yes, hilarity ensues. But, just as you’d expect, it appears that the plot is predictable and characters one-noted.

See the trailers for “Speed Racer” and “What Happens In Vegas” below.

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The new Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull trailer is out for your viewing pleasure. If you were one of the many who saw “Iron Man” this weekend, you also saw the new trailer. If not, check it out below.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

The fourth installment of Indiana Jones brings back Harrison Ford as Dr. Henry and this time he’s joined by Shia LeBeouf and Cate Blanchett. Jones is in a race with Soviet agents to find the “crystal skull.” There is a total of 13 skulls made of crystal quartz hidden around the world and the movie looks packed with action while the Jones crew is on the hunt. This latest film is sure to add to the $1.5 billion the movies have grossed worldwide so far.

As legend has it, at 5-years-old I jumped in the aisle and started clapping during “Raiders of the Lost Ark” so needless to say I can’t wait to see this one. Can’t believe that was 27 years ago. Steven Spielberg’s summer blockbuster opens May 22.

You can see photos from the movie and the new trailer below.

Photos and Video

Here is the trailer video teaser for the Twilight movie which has been long anticipated. This is the unedited official trailer.

Twilight Movie Trailer

Twilight is about a 17-year-old girl named Bella Swan, played by actress Kristen Stewart, who relocates to the rural town of Forks, Washington so that she live with her father. She soon develops a crish on Edward Cullen, played by actor Robert Pattinson. He tries to push her away for the most noble of reasons. You see, Edward Cullen and his entire family are vampires. That little secret does not phase our heroine who remains hot under the collar for her boy toy.

The video from MySpace TV is below.

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Heath Ledger was brought to Hollywood with the expectation that the Aussie would be a heartthrob that could play the lead in light, formulaic, bubblegum, moneymaking vehicles. If the studios had their way, Ledger would play in a variation of 10 Things I Hate About You twice a year until he became too old and no one would take him seriously. However, Ledger’s talent and desire to be a great actor shattered Hollywood’s moneymaking schemes. He was on the verge of blazing a fantastic fiery trail, but like many before him, his star burned out much too soon.

Ledger gave one of the most memorable performances I have ever seen as Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain (2005). He is also set to leave us with one last performance for the ages as the Joker in this summer’s The Dark Knight. After his passing, I was interested in watching his 2006 role as a heroin addict opposite Abbie Cornish in Candy. Candy is a story of two young artists who yield their love to the powerful hold of their heroin addiction. However, unlike most films about addiction, Ledger and Cornish were able to deliver their roles with a tragic beauty rather than a depressing sadness. Ledger described the movie as a love triangle between his character, Cornish’s, and lady heroin.

Although I am saddened by Ledger’s death, I look forward to what I expect to be a one-of-a-kind performance that will blow us all away this summer. Of course, there is another famous actor who once played the Joker, and he was not supportive of Ledger in this role.

In an interview with MTV, Jack Nicholson expressed his frustration:

I’m furious. I’m furious. They never asked me about a sequel with the Joker. I know how to do that! Nobody ever asked me. . . . Maybe it’s not a mistake. Maybe it was the right thing, but to be candid, I’m furious. . . . [T]he Joker comes from my childhood. That’s how I got involved with it in the first place. It’s a part I always thought I should play.

Well Mr. Nicholson, I would like to go out on a limb and predict that Heath Ledger will be nominated for a much deserved Oscar for supporting actor as the Joker. Although Jack’s performance was very good, I think Ledger’s interpretation of the Joker will make Nicholson pale in comparison.

In an excellent interview with The New York Times, Ledger discussed his trouble sleeping and his use of sleeping pills. Of course, it is easy to speculate, but I would rather leave with this quote from that same interview:

But there are many stories inside of me and a lot I want to achieve outside of one flat note.

No one will ever accuse Ledger for being flat, and I look forward to see him tell the Joker’s story. He was an exceptional talent and a decent human being by all accounts. Whatever happened, and however it happened, I hope that he rests in peace.

Click below to watch a fantastic interview of Heath Ledger on Charlie Rose talking about “stillness,” his appearance on Ellen, and the trailers to Candy and this summer’s The Dark Knight.

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So it’s finally here, the over promoted, overrated, and regurgitated “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” The other movies joining Ms. Marshall as new releases this Friday are “88 Minutes” and “Forbidden Kingdom.”

88 Minutes

“88 Minutes”

Al Pacino is back as a college professor who is also a forensic psychiatrist for the FBI. This background comes in handy when he gets a death threat by phone giving him 88 minutes to live. Dun dun. Who is the caller? And how is Ryan from the O.C. going to help? Maybe he’ll attack the assailant with his surf board.

“Forbidden Kingdom”

Jackie Chan and Jet Li team up for the first time. Then I’m assuming there’s going to be a lot of kicking, punching, and apparently, a Monkey King. The Monkey King is a legendary Chinese relic and all hell breaks loose when it needs freed. Everyone was kung fu fighting - Eeyah!

“Forgetting Sarah Marshall”

Ever felt like you’ve seen a movie, beginning to end, and it’s not even out yet? That’s how I feel about this movie. I’m thinking rental. If you’ve seen one 40-year-old Super Knocked Up Drillbit, you’ve seen them all.

See the trailers for the movies below.

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Throughout his career, Daniel Day-Lewis has delivered some of the most memorable, brilliant, and unique performances in recent cinematic history.

At the age of 32 in My Left Foot (1989), Daniel Day-Lewis won his first Oscar for playing the true story of Christie Brown – a quadriplegic who becomes an accomplished artist and writer all by using his lone functional limb. In 1992, Lewis played in The Last of the Mohicans as an adopted orphan reared by Mohawks. In 2002, Lewis received another Oscar nomination for playing Bill “The Butcher” Cutting in Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York. While I did enjoy Gangs, everything else in the movie played a distant second to Lewis’ performance as The Butcher. Of course, then there was his universal praise in 2007 for playing Daniel Plainview in Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood.

Lewis takes all of his roles very seriously and on the screen you can tell that he gives himself completely to the roles he chooses. When he accepted his Oscar for There Will Be Blood, he referred to his wife as “Mrs. Plainview.” Of course, unlike many of his successful peers, Lewis is very patient with the roles he chooses and only averages a film once every 15 to 24 months. Between 1992 and 2007, Lewis has played in exactly 8 films. One of those films was in 1997 where Lewis played another Danny in The Boxer. In the film, Danny Flynn is a hometown favorite who is released from prison after 14 years for some IRA related activities that he had little or nothing to do with. He comes home to a town that is sick of fighting and a group of local strongmen that do not appreciate Danny’s desire to live a life of peace. Overall, the film was good and Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance was solid, however, this one falls short compared to the amazing roles with which he has spoiled us. For now, Daniel Day-Lewis is not slated for any new films, but I am sure that once he comes out of his typical hiatus, he will move us with another unforgettable performance.

Click here to see an interview with Daniel Day-Lewis on the Arsenio Hall Show and SNL’s Bill Hader in “There Will Be Milkshakes for Old Men.”

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In the second season of one of my favorite shows when I was in high school, Picket Fences , a new D.A. was elected to the small town of Rome, Wisconsin. Don Cheadle played in 35 episodes as D.A. John Littleton, and he immediately drew me in as a very likeable and warm character.

In a time when TV was still a distant second to the silver screen, Cheadle made a smooth transition and has played memorable roles ever since. He played an undercover agent in the Oscar winning Traffic (2000), he was hilarious as an explosives expert with a Cockney accent in Ocean’s Eleven (2001), he was part of another ensemble Oscar winning picture in Crash (2004), he was nominated for an Oscar in the awe shocking Hotel Rwanda (2004), and he played in a movie that was both sweet and sad with Adam Sandler in Reign Over Me (2007).

In 1999, Cheadle played in a lesser known made-for-TV movie, A Lesson Before Dying. Set in the deep South in the 1940s, an African American (played by Mekhi Phifer) is wrongly accused with murder, and his attorney’s only defense to keep him from being sentenced to death is that the black man’s worth is that of a hog and it would be absurd to put a hog on the electric chair. Don Cheadle plays a teacher who helps the young man find his dignity so that he can walk as a man before his life is meaninglessly ended.

This movie was subtly powerful and tragically beautiful. Yes, it was made-for-TV, but it won numerous awards including an Emmy for Outstanding Made for Television Movie. After watching A Lesson I realized two things about Don Cheadle. One, he is very good working with others and he does not need the spotlight. Ensemble movies typically do not work because there is not enough room for all the stars to shine, but Don Cheadle consistently plays in amazing ensemble movies. Second, his characters are always very warm, endearing, and comforting, and if I were behind bars and on death row, I know who I would want my teacher to be.

I think it would be wrong to write about Don Cheadle and not mention his tireless humanitarian work to stop the genocide in Darfur. Here are links to www.1800genocide.com and a CNN article about his efforts.

Click below to see a trailer for Cheadle’s documentary Darfur Now and to view an interview with him regarding Darfur and the 1800Genocide.com organization.

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In 1987, Steven Spielberg began filming an adaptation to J.G. Ballard’s autobiographical account as the young English son of a diplomat and his fight for survival when Japan occupies China during World War II. It was the first American movie shot in China since the 1930s. Spielberg had to choose among 4000 kids to play the leading role of Jamie Graham. The movie was Empire of the Sun, and the actor Spielberg chose to star in his epic movie was a thirteen-year old by the name of Christian Bale.

Bale has grown up since Empire, and the kid handpicked by Spielberg has matured into one of our generation’s finest and most daring actors. In 2000, Bale gave an unforgettable performance as Patrick Bateman in the cult classic, American Psycho. He lost almost 70 lbs to play a neurotic Trevor Reznik in The Machinist (2004). He brought back the Dark Knight with some serious attitude in Batman Begins (2005), transformed himself into a U.S. fighter pilot shot down and captured in Laos in Rescue Dawn (2007), gave what I thought was one of the finest and most underrated performances of the year in 3:10 to Yuma (2007), and took a chance playing one of the many Bob Dylan inspired characters in I’m Not There (2007) to round out the year.

His complete and sometimes frightening devotion to the characters he plays force you to pay attention to his every move and mannerism. Bale’s performances are typically accomplishments of total mind and body. As seen below, it is obvious that Bale has an extraordinary physique and astonishing discipline. When you watch him on the screen, you get the feeling that he exists through these characters, and his performance is a matter of survival. If anything, you could say that Bale is at times too serious. There is definitely an element of humor missing when I compare Christian Bale to some of my favorite actors. However, I admire and enjoy his performances because he never fails to entertain.

Christian Bale’s performance in Empire of the Sun is nothing short of amazing for an actor of any age. But again, this is a 13 year old playing the lead role in a Steven Spielberg epic. Throughout the film, Bale has to mature from a spoiled rich brat into a street smart, admirable, courageous boy who is more capable and resilient than any of the grownups around him. In the hands of a less-than-great actor this would be an impossible task, but you never doubt this transformation for a second. Steven Spielberg may be the greatest director of all time, but his ability to pick this tremendous talent out of 4000 children is just another sign of his dedication to great filmmaking and his genius. In the case of Spielberg and Bale, I guess it just takes one to know one.

Click below for a look at the trailers for Empire of the Sun, The Machinist, The Dark Knight, and an interview on the Today Show.

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