You can kind of feel the ramp up transition, post-Avengers, to the next big Summer superhero movie, with a ton of Batman: Dark Knight Rises previews becoming the daily normal thing to do. Adding to the numerous posts just in the last week on the third Nolan Nolan Batman offering are these image that hit the webs via Batman-news, giving us more looks at Tom Hardy’s buff Bane, a svelte Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman, and more!

related: BATMAN 3: DARK KNIGHT RISES – CATWOMAN, BANE, BATMAN POSTED UP!

Dark Knight Rises hits theaters on July 20th, a couple of weeks after Sony and Marvel role out their Spider-Man reboot.

Nikki Reed Joins Dwayne Johnson Heist Flick

The heist film Empire State has been racking up the star-studded names for itself lately.  You’ve got Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in what I presume is the lead, and apparently that guy ain’t going anywhere.  You’ve got Liam Hemsworth from The Hunger Games that the kids seem to like, and you’ve got Jerry “Turtle” Ferrara from Entourage.  You’ve got Eric Roberts’ kid, Emma, who was in that not-very-good Scream 4 last year, and who also caused quite the kerfuffle because she publicly stated she did not prefer Robert Pattinson’s character in the Twilight films (horrors!).  And speaking of Twilight, you’ve also got Kristen Stewart’s ex, Michael Angarano, and now just added, Nikki Reed who played one of those vampire chicks.

Of course, I didn’t give a crap about any of this until it was announced that there would be two guys in the flick who had each played Moe Howard.

The plot of Empire State is based on a true story of the heist of an armored car company in New York, which was believed to have been a massively well foreplanned criminal conspiracy when in reality it was just two friends who took the money and ran.  Chris Diamantopoulos is cast to play a mob boss who smells something fishy with the whole thing, and the actor is probably best known for his recent role as Moe in the Farrelly brothers’ Three Stooges movie earlier this year.

As you may or may not know, I am an avowed Stoogeophile; in fact, I write this piece as I do much of my writing, beneath the watchful eyes of all six of the original Three Stooges, whose framed portraits hang above my desk (hey, as far as disturbing peeks into my life go, this is nothing).  So naturally, there was no way I was gonna plunk down good money to go see this Three Stooges.  But I will say that Diamantopoulos likely does the best Moe Howard since the original Harry Moses Horwitz shuffled off this mortal coil in 1975.  And that is not praise I dole out unthinkingly.

This is no offense whatsoever to Paul Ben-Victor, who is also cast in Empire State and played Moe Howard in the mostly atrocious made-for-TV Stooges biopic from 2000.  I did actually watch this, and yeah, it was pretty bad.  Even if I didn’t know how horribly inaccurate the whole things was, the tendency to lean on schmaltzy sentiment would have turned me way off on its own.  But!  Paul Ben-Victor did a great job as Moe, and I’d been following his character-actor work for years before that.  Aside from a minor recurring role on NYPD Blue, he’s done rock-solid work in stuff like Tombstone, True Romance, and even one of those just-okay made-for-TV movies based on Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct novels.  Also, two words: The Wire.  So, I don’t know what part Ben-Victor will be playing in Empire State, but one thing is perfectly clear to me:

Just say Moe.

Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron are gunning for each other in Snow White and the Hunstman, and to get you, the audience, more involved, Universal has released an interactive trailer. I have to admit that I’m not at all displeased with the notion of actually watching this movie, because it looks like Theron is getting more than the sit around, standard evil-thing-to-do role win a movie that you’d think would be all that. I think what we’ve seen looks good, and wonder if we are witnessing our initial long form version of what we can come to expect from Rupert Sanders.

It probably won’t be too long before we have teaser trailers for interactive trailers. Tickle trailers.

Synopsis for Snow White and the Hunstman:

In the epic action-adventure Snow White and the Huntsman, Kristen Stewart plays the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen (Charlize Theron) who is out to destroy her. But what the wicked ruler never imagined is that the young woman threatening her reign has been training in the art of war with a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) who was dispatched to kill her. Sam Claflin joins the cast as the prince long enchanted by Snow White’s beauty and power.

The breathtaking new vision of the legendary tale is from Joe Roth, the producer of Alice in Wonderland, producer Sam Mercer and acclaimed commercial director and state-of-the-art visualist Rupert Sanders.

Garfield needs to get his hands off my girl. Emma Stone is in full Gwen Stacy force in these two new images released by Sony from Amazing Spider-Man. Andrew Garfield (aka the Spider-Man guy in the movie standing next to Emma) swings into theaters on July 4th weekend (July 3rd), kicking off a new Spidey-verse helmed by Marc Webb. I have no problem with a reboot especially when considering the differences that are going to be apparent – not better or worse – due to Raimi and Webb just being rather drastically unique from each other (though it remains to be seen if the latter will kick the box office in like Raimi did with the webslinger). I liked the previous films well enough, but  I’m already more comfortable with the idea of Emma Stone as Gwen than I was with Dunst as MJ. Personally, even with all of the success of this franchise, I’d love to see Spidey (not to mention X-Men and Fantastic Four) back into the hands of Marvel Studios.

related: EMMA STONE IS GANGSTER

I also was pleasantly surprised at the application of the Lizard, a villain choice that while rumored for years under Raimi always caused me trepidation. Stone and Garfield will be joined in the cast by Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, Martin Sheen and Sally Field.

The Apparition Trailer and Poster Featuring Twilight’s Ashley Greene

We get our initial trailer of  The Apparition, a horror film that we last talked to you about way back in January of 2010 when we told you that Ashley Greene and Sebastian Shaw had been cast in it. We now have what’s being called a new trailer and poster, but for some reason I want to say I’ve seen this poster before (or it’s very similar to another?). Looking at the trailer, and admitting some notable recent successes (Paranormal Activity etc) I’m a bit hesitant or  just have had my fill on the found footage element. I am, however, always open to more Ashley Greene.

The Apparition hits theaters on August 24th.

 related: BEHIND BREAKING DAWN’S ASHLEY GREENE NYC STYLES

Here is The Apparition synopsis:

When frightening events start to occur in their home, young couple Kelly (Ashley Greene) and Ben (Sebastian Stan) discover they are being haunted by a presence that was accidentally conjured during a university parapsychology experiment. The horrifying apparition feeds on their fear and torments them no matter where they try to run. Their last hope is an expert in the supernatural (Tom Felton), but even with his help they may already be too late to save themselves from this terrifying force…

Finally! Australia’s greatest hero, Mad Max, will return to the big screen. The stars have been long attached, the script long-finished, the location shifted from Max’s native Australia to Namibia (floods ruined the original location. Again, I say: Australia is a desert with surrounding coastal cities. Not sure why the move had to go intercontinental instead of down the road, but don’t mind the Aussie, he’s just bitter).

With respected thespian, soon to be megastar and possible Bat-breaker, Tom Hardy filling the leather pants this time around and Charlize Theron to play his main squeeze (don’t forget your dead wife, Max!), as well as the creator George Miller returning to helm the film, along with some cracking shots of the finest in new post-apocalyptic automotive engineering already out there, it’s fairly safe to not-so-boldly predict that we’re looking at a winner here.

With pre-production on Mad Max: Fury Road stretching all the way back to 2009, Ms Theron recently let slip to MTV News that June 2, 2012, is the date for production to begin at last.

The delay in filming worked out pretty well for Theron, who managed to sandwich in a part in Ridley Scott’s Prometheus (a film she knocked back originally due to her commitment to Max), as well as her awesome turn in Jason Reitman’s great Young Adult and the upcoming Snow White and the Huntsman. Surely, she’s a lady who got to have her cake and eat it too. It’s been far too long since Max was on our screens (1985’s Beyond Thunderdome to be precise), and I’ve high hopes Fury Road will wash the taste of Tina Turner and Angry Anderson from our collective mouths…uh…if you catch my drift.

Keep checking back with us for all your Mad Max news, including (hopefully) word on which actors will play the most important role – the ubiquitous gender-bending, scene-chewing, ridiculous dialogue-spewing, leather-clad, drug-addled, oiled-up bad guy.

Can you imagine The Vampire Diaries star Ian Somerhalder in an erotic movie based on the novel Fifty Shades of Grey? I’m sure if you thought long and hard enough you’d be able to imagine essentially anyone playing anything, but because Somerhalder is so well know for his role as vampire Damon it makes things just a little more interesting. We’ve been seeing him lust after the younger Elena (by over 100 years) for three years now, so he certainly has the experience of pining after and seducing young women. The best part is Somerhalder is acutely aware of how right for the part he seems to be.

While talking with MTV, Somerhalder mentioned the possibility of playing the novel’s main character and billionaire tycoon, Christian Grey. It’s something the fans really want, even when the likes of Robert Pattinson and Ryan Gosling are being considered for the part. Somerhalder believes it would be an amazing thing to play Grey and I have to agree. He has always been my favorite on Vampire Diaries. He has this look about him that just works for seduction. I’d say he’d be even better for the part than Gosling, which is saying a lot considering my huge man-crush on him.

related: VAMPIRE DIARIES SEASON 4 – IAN SOMERHALDER AND PAUL WESLEY ON NINA DOBREV DEVELOPMENT

Fifty Shades of Grey follows Christian Grey as he begins a relationship with a young college graduate named Anastasia Steele. While they have an emotional relationship, the big focus is on their crazy sexual adventures. The novel is filled with BDSM and the sex scenes our descriptive enough to make Somerhalder blush while reading them. But that’s not shaking his interest, nor the enthusiasm of his Vampire Diaries co-stars. Candice Accola and Kat Graham are both excited at the idea of Somerhalder as Grey, saying he fits the bill and is an amazing actor, dedicated to his craft. Is there anyone out there who thinks Somerhalder shouldn’t play Grey?

And no, it isn’t Michael Bay.

I look at Vin Diesel as being somewhat akin to Sylvester Stallone, in that he started out his career with well-regarded work in a few (in terms relative to his later work) “serious projects,” only to make a severe and conscious decision to assemble a dossier littered with meathead machine-gun flicks, with the occasional half-baked family comedy thrown in as chump bait.

Like Stallone, Terrell Owens, and the latter-day Orson Welles, Vin Diesel is quite strictly a paycheck player: a highly visible, somewhat bankable figure who will sell a baseline number of tickets (or DVDs) no matter how shitty the project, but who, at best, pays only lip service to the notion of a quality finished product. And it’s the baseline, not necessarily the bottom line, that keeps the lights in the Redbox lit.

At first blush, Diesel’s latest announced project, The Machine, is the kind of straight-to-video sci-fi turd that even Cannon Films would have hesitated to stamp their logo on in the late ’80s.  Upon closer examination, it’s actually worse.  When I was going over the brief synopsis in this Variety piece, I stopped at the words “human-like machine”, having seen neither “Terminator” nor “RoboCop” in the preceding sentence fragment, the only modifiers that would necessitate continued reading.

That anybody else could soldier through a pitch for a project of this ilk is one thing, but that director Peter Segal is sold on the idea enough to have signed on to helm it is quite another.

You will remember missing Segal’s previous work on the 2008 Get Smart reboot.  And the 2005 The Longest Yard reboot.  And the Tom Arnold Naked Truth trilogy of the early ’90s.  There is already a cavern with his name chiseled into it in Comedy Hell.  Now he turns his abilities upon the universe of horrible science-fiction.

The Machine has yet to enter pre-production, so release date information is unavailable, but in “researching” this piece, I IMDb‘d Mr. Diesel, and found a few items of interest:

1.  Since 2001, Diesel has added nineteen acting credits to his CV, not including The Machine.  Twelve of them contain at least one of the words “fast,” “furious,” “XXX,” or “Riddick.”

2.  Of all the Fast and the Furious sequels, I was perplexed to see that one of them was entitled simply Fast & Furious, with really just a sole ampersand seperating the title of the 2009 flick from the 2001 “original,” and couldn’t help but wonder if this might have been an attempt on the studio’s part to hoodwink Team Diesel, a clearly ragtag assemblage of showbiz minds, out of some sort of back-end compensation, and whether or not it may have actually worked.

3. The Riddick canon, if you will, began as a TV pilot called Into Pitch Black, that came out around the same time as Boiler Room.  This is not so stunning in and of itself, particularly to seasoned Riddickites, except that it confirms the existence of Vin Diesel Trivia, only previously hypothesized by a bouncer on a stool outside of the Lipstixx strip club in Tampa, Florida.

4.  I got a laugh out of the top line of Diesel’s acting credits, which reads as follows:  “xXx: The Return of Xander Cage (announced) ????”  Then I realized that the four-pack of question marks appeared in the “date” column, and did not actually question the motives of a God that would allow such a project to occur in a universe guided by reason.

Stay tuned for more Vin Diesel jokes as this current project trudges along.

Hey, America!  Did you know that there is a film coming to theatres this summer called The Dark Knight Rises?  You didn’t?  Well, it’s a damn good thing you have an internet machine in your home or office, so you can keep up to speed on these sorts of things.  Because if you’re anything like me, watching American Idol is an activity that will make you want a long, hot shower, and who has the time for those?

Yes, during this evening’s season finale of Fox’s big Star Search rip-off (don’t worry, I won’t spoil who won)(because, really, they’re all winners), Warner Brothers Studios aired the first TV commercial for their forthcoming, there’s-no-way-it’ll-beat-Avengers-blockbuster.  And now you can watch it right here!  And you will or suffer the consequences!

As you may or may not have gathered, we curmudgeonly types here at the Complex are struggling to maintain our enthusiasm for Dark Knight Rises in the face of overwhelming advance publicity, which began right around Act 2 of The Dark Knight.  Well, all of us except for little Liam José, who has put himself in promo quarantine until the film is actually released.  Besides he’s the youngest of us, and so hasn’t quite had all enthusiasm crushed out of him.

I, on the other hand, more or less have zero enthusiasm for anything except new comic book day and oral sex (in that order).  At this point, airing a TV spot after all the three other theatrical trailers (or is it five, by now?  Nine?), which of course likely reached more people via YouTube than the coming attractions, is merely a gesture to keep the movie’s hand in.  Like, remember how Attack of the Clones wisely pushed its date farther away from that first Tobey Maguire Spider-Man?  Sure, there was still enough advance press on that flick to choke a Wookie, but it had this air of, “Hey, look, we all know which movie you’ll like more, but we also know that you wouldn’t dare miss this, not after the years you’ve been waiting for it.”

Which is true, I’m definitely gonna see The Dark Knight Rises when it’s finally released this July 20th, even if only to celebrate the fact that I won’t have to watch another trailer for it ever again.

Fans of The Hunger Games will have to wait until next November for Catching Fire to come to theaters but will be able to relive the Hunger Games experience in their home come August 18th of his year. Lions Gate has announced that’s when you will be able to grab the DVD or Blu Ray, as well as download the first film based on the books by Suzanne Collins. As you can see, Katniss herself, Jennifer Lawrence, takes aim on the box art.

They also released a video featurette to get you ready:

related: THE HUNGER GAMES SOUNDTRACK KICKS BUTT AND GOES GOLD

Below are some of the special features that will be included:

BLU-RAY & DVD SPECIAL FEATURES*

*    “The World is Watching: Making of The Hunger Games” – an eight-part documentary covering the “making of” the film in all aspects from the pre-production process all the way through the theatrical release and fan reactions
*    “Game Maker: Suzanne Collins and The Hunger GamesPhenomenom” featurette
*    “Letters from the Rose Garden” featurette – insights from Donald Sutherland on the development of his role as President Snow
*    “Controlling the Games” featurette – stories and concepts behind creating the control center
*    “A Conversation with Gary Ross and Elvis Mitchell”
*    Propaganda Film (in its entirety)
*    Marketing Archive
*    “Preparing for The Games: A Director’s Process” (Blu-ray Exclusive)
* Subject to change

Tread lightly from here on out if you don’t want even the smallest detail of True Blood Season 5 spoiled for you, because I’m about to give a briefish description of the first three episodes of the season. If you ignore my warning and barrel through this text without realizing what’s ahead, don’t fret. These are just simple synopses designed to give you a basic understanding of each episode’s plot. Really big twists would never be included in these. So let’s see what’s coming in True Blood’s fifth season!

The premiere episode, airing Sunday, June 10^th, is called “Turn! Turn! Turn!” and is picking up right where the Season 4 finale left off. Sookie and Lafayette will be dealing with the aftermath of Tara’s murder, as well as cleaning up the mess left by Debbie. Bill and Eric will have their hands full meeting with the Vampire Authority, one of who, Nora, knows Eric from his past. Alcide’s pack comes in search of Sam following Marcus’ disappearance. Jessica continues her newfound freedom and parties it up with some college kids, while the newly vampired Steve Newlin pays Jason a visit. Terry is feeling his PTSD resurfacing now that his old army buddy, Patrick, is in town. And kicking off the season’s big problem, Alcide warns Sookie of Russell’s escape from imprisonment.

related: TRUE BLOOD SEASON 5 TRAILER TEASES MELONI AND SOOKIE/ALICDE

Sunday, June 17^th will see the airing of “Authority Always Wins,” which sees Bill and Eric getting a first hand look at the Authority’s interrogation techniques. Pam takes a trip down memory lane, thinking back on when she was human and the first time she met Eric. Alcide’s pack wants him to take over as packmaster, but he refuses. Sam and Luna find themselves in conflict when Martha Bozeman shows up looking to see her granddaughter. With Russell on the loose, Sookie decides to beef up her home-protection system. Arlene tries to figure out what’s going on with Terry. Steve Newlin offers Jessica something and Jason’s promiscuity comes back to bite him.

The final of three episodes, “Whatever I Am, You Made Me,” airs Sunday, June 24^th. Bill and Eric continue their story with the Authority, now bartering for their lives before the Chancellors. Chancellors Salome and Roman find a new ally. Sookie seeks help from Pam, who is still living in the past. Gordon and Barbara Pelt, who are searching for Debbie, visit Andy. And Jason bumps into an old high school teacher of his, which brings up conflicting emotions.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation, the sequel to 2009′s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra originally set for release next June is being  being pushed back 9 months to March 2013 by Paramount. Though no longer branded “A Real American Hero”, the purpose of the shift  is pretty much to allow G.I. Joe to kick more foreign ass, or at least kick their box office in.

Deadline is reporting that G.I. Joe: Retaliation will be getting a proper 3-D treatment, which according to Paramount goes over real well in the international market, citing the examples of the recent return of and success of James Cameron’s Titanic and that of Scorsese’s Shutter Island.

related: G.I. JOE: RETALIATION – THE ROCK AND NINJAS!

I’m sure the numbers probably add up but it does seem odd being one month out, and I’m not sure this foreign bump is some sort of recent revelation. That said, I’m not going to jump on the whole “scared of Amazing Spider-Man and Dark Knight Rises”  that I’m sure some will, neither of which are new news in terms of their own release.

I have to admit that even as a G.I. Joe fan, I was actually looking forward to Chu’s take even though on a basic level it doesn’t look anything like a G.I. Joe movie I’d want to see (much like the first one), though does resemble dumb fun romps that I’m definitely not too good to enjoy (again, like the first one). Indeed, in some initial quotes from him he was even stressing ninja enthusiasm which was actually one of my least favorite aspects about G.I. Joe. We will have to wait and see. Later than sooner.

Could it be The Walking Dead is making more changes to the comic book series it’s based on by introducing brand new characters in Season 3? The answer is a resounding yes, and I have to say I’m fairly disappointed in the show if its only interest is in creating new characters and new situations for the survivors. I’ve never been against going a different path than the comics and finding new situations so long as they didn’t skip over important events, such as Carl’s shooting and the stay on Hershel’s farm. These new characters could very well mark a significant change to the comics, and that leaves me worried

related: AN AMC GLIMPSE INTO THE WALKING DEAD SEASON 3

According to Shock Till You Drop, two new characters may be being cast right now. The first is Harold, a man in his 40s to early 50s. He’s studious and fastidious, trying to create a niche for himself in the zombie-filled world. The second is Manuel, a Hispanic man between 30 and 40. He is confident, physically skilled, a leader when necessary, capable and smart. He has a terrific sense of humor where you wouldn’t expect one. Both characters are recurring.

At the end of the second season, Rick and his group were camped not far from a prison, which we know they will be visiting in Season 3. Now, these new characters could fit into the story in one of three ways. They could be inmates at the prison, which I would be disappointed in. The comics already created great prisoners for the to survivors meet, and to change them would be a huge letdown. They could also be followers of  The Governor, another new character to the show, but not to the comics. If that turns out to be the case, then I think I’m okay with it. The Governor has an entire town of followers, so it stands to reason we might meet new people. Thirdly, these characters could just be random survivors the group runs in to. That might be the best way to fit them into the storyline because it doesn’t significantly alter any of the comics most memorable moments.

Further developments in the animated version of Frank Miller’s seminal The Dark Knight Returns: Casting announced today includes Peter Weller, who played RoboCop in the first two films, as Bruce Wayne, the millionaire playboy who dresses up like a bat and beats up crooks because he misses his mommy and daddy.

Also added to the cast, according to The Hollywood Reporter is Ariel Winter, who plays smarty-pants middle-child Alex Dunphy on ABC’s Modern Family, will play Robin, and comedy legend Michael McKean as Dr. Wolper, the Joker’s psychiatrist.  As if I wasn’t already wishing McKean a speedy recovery from his recent accident, this news just makes me want him healthy again even more quickly.

In other news: I am thoroughly sold on an animated version of The Dark Knight Returns.  Never mind the fact that it’s been my second-favorite comic book for years (the first-place spot goes to the obvious, if no less deserving, Watchmen), news of this nature generally fills me with not-quite-dread.  Even when I heard that they’d done an homage to Dark Knight on the old Batman: The Animated Series, I remember being very wary (but it was pretty good, actually).

Also, Miller is just fucking crazy these days.  His politics have pretty much always been far removed from my own, but since he was utilizing his art to get his point across, and doing it so well, it was really no problem separating the work from the guy (and for the record, I met Miller once when I was a kid, and he could not have been nicer).  But after Holy Terror and then his laughably Archie Bunker-esque, anti-OWS rant last fall, I could no longer pretend like I didn’t care what the guy believed.  Plus I generally have a problem with guys in fedoras (Indiana Jones being the obvious exception).

But all of that has taken a backseat now, which just goes to show how truly apathetic I am when it comes to politics.  Love for comics and comics-related stuff is always going to take precedent over anything else as far as I’m concerned.  And just this casting news alone has reassured me that the two-part, straight-to-video animated film is going to be worth a watch, at the very least.  While at this point, I pretty much hear Kevin Conroy’s voice in my head when I read Batman comics, Weller has definitely proven that he can play a gritty, conflicted protagonist, even if in just his voice.  Same for Winter: if there’s a child actress working today that can better nail that self-assured, wise-ass tone of Carrie Kelly, then she is underused in whatever else she’s doing.  And McKean as a well-meaning but inept do-gooder?  There’s nothing that guy can’t do as far as I’m concerned, but that’s a voice role tailor-made for him.

Part one of the animated Batman: The Dark Knight Returns hits shelves this fall.

Who would’ve guessed Spartacus Vengeance would take the crown of being the TV series with the most human-related deaths, beating out such popular, death-filled shows like The Vampire Diaries and Game of Thrones. Actually, did you even know they kept track of the death tolls of various TV shows? I certainly didn’t, but I’ve got to say, I love the idea. It absolutely appeals to the morbid side of my personality, To break it down mathematically and charting it just tickles me in the right way, I don’t care who knows it.

The research done over at Funeralwise.com is extensive and impressive, with 40 different TV shows being selected for this study of death, with Spartacus: Vengeance coming in with an average of 25 deaths per episode, and Game of Thrones coming in second with 14 deaths per episode. That’s a staggering amount of killing for either series. If they kept even close to those averages throughout their seasons, then we’re looking at hundreds of people killed in total between them. All in all, CBS came out on tops as the deadliest network, with 11 of its shows selected for the study. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Revenge, Leverage, and White Collar had no deaths whatsoever, so good for them, I guess.

related: SPARTACUS VENGEANCE TO SPARTACUS SEASON 3

The study also took into account non-human deaths, which gave other shows like The Vampire Diaries and The Walking Dead a serious boost with 18 and 16 deaths per episode respectively. Collectively, the 40 shows amounted to an average of 132 dead bodies in a single week of television, with the number increasing to 171 when taking non-human deaths into account. So, what has this study taught us? Quite simply, we are exposed to a lot of death on television. Maybe now they’ll do a similar study, but this time it’ll be about sex. I suspect it will have similarly high numbers, particularly from the Showtime and HBO series.

Yet another film called The Courier is coming out. This one, an action flick, is getting distribution by Well Go USA Entertainment, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The distributor, known mainly for releasing Asian genre-fare Stateside, has begun acquiring more English-language films.

At first glance, this film didn’t do much to grab my attention.  It looked pretty derivative: courier must deliver mysterious briefcase to killer or his family will be murdered, and then have their skin harvested to make cursed luchador masks (only probably not that last bit).

But Jeffrey Dean Morgan, or, as he’s more commonly known, by his supervillain nom de guerre, “Bizarro Javier Bardem,” is one of those guys I’ve always loved, who never has good enough roles. Even the most mediocre of films (I’m looking at you, The Losers) is generally elevated by his presence. And who is Til Schweiger if not the “German Jeffrey Dean Morgan” (coincidentally, this is Schweiger’s supervillain name)? Sprinkle in some Mickey Rourke, and you have a bunch of guys who I love to watch in cheesy fare, preferably while drunk, eating pizza and yelling “Hollywood doesn’t understand you, but I do! I do…”

But, the biggest, weirdest, wildcard in the mix is Israeli director Hany Abu-Assad. For those reading the Complex who have no idea who he is, well… fair enough. But I remember a flick Abu-Assad directed called Paradise Now that I caught a few years back at the Melbourne International Film Festival, and I was pretty fucken impressed. The film followed two friends being recruited as suicide bombers. It was restrained, harrowing, and really, really gripping. The Courier, a bombastic, OTT action film, would be about a thousand kilometres away from the director’s earlier work, but this seems to be the unfortunate reality of getting established in the US, even if you’ve got an impressive resume behind you.

“Difficult, complicated and disturbing arty-dramas? Well, you’re in luck, my friend! We need someone to direct our new car-chase movie that Mickey Rourke has agreed to be in exchange for a car-boot filled with botox!” It reminds me of a guy I used to work with in a shitty menial job (before I got rich on the mad internet monies, dear readers) that told me he used to be a surgeon, but Australia didn’t recognise his Bosnian accreditations, and he didn’t have the money to study to get his Aussie qualifications. Yes, yes, I would say that having to direct a silly action film is definitely comparable to that.

Well, I’ll see the deeply sad injustice that is The Courier, and shed a pizza-grease tear for all the sexy-souls trapped in it. Even though it looks just cool and stupid enough that I might love it. I could only find a trailer in German, but the German language could not hide the fact that there’s a fight ON A ROLLERCOASTER IN AN ABANDONED AMUSEMENT PARK! Take that, art!

Two more looks at Ridley Scott’s Prometheus have made their way online via Verizon, one called “Explain”, and the other “Invitation”. These follow a pretty active prometheus buzz week that has already included a Charlize Theron Vickers featurette and viral action from Noomi Rapace.

Prometheus hits theaters on June 8th, and stars Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, along with Rapace and Theron.

related: PROMETHEUS TRAILER – RIDLEY SCOTT’S ALIEN-ISH EPIC GETS NEW UK TEASER

Prometheus Synopsis:

Ridley Scott, director of “Alien” and “Blade Runner,” returns to the genre he helped define. With PROMETHEUS, he creates a groundbreaking mythology, in which a team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a thrilling journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.

Both Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, team Breaking Dawn in and out of films, have some projects coming  out according to recent reported by our Criminal Complex team, but even mroe immediate for Stewart are two films currently doing the Cannes rounds, Snow White and the Huntsman, and the subject of this post, On the Road, the adaptation of the classic  novel of the same name by beatnik author Jack Kerouac. This new clip from On the Road features Stewart, as Marylou, with co-stars Garret Hedlund and Sam Riley – Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise respectively. They are…on the road, and Stewart has the wheel.

related: KRISTEN STEWART DANCING WITH GARRETT HEDLUND AND SAM RILEY ON THE ROAD

Joining the young trio On the Road are some rather familiar names like Viggo Mortensen, Amy Adams, Kirsten Dunst, Elizabeth Moss and Steve Buscemi. Of course, Kristen Stewart will be back featured as Bella in the final chapter of the Twilight Saga this November when Breaking Dawn Part 2 hits theaters.

On the Road Synopsis -

After the death of his father, Sal Paradise, an aspiring New York writer, meets Dean Moriarty, a wild and infectiously charismatic ex-con. They hit it off immediately. Determined to avoid the pitfalls of a narrow, prescribed life, Sal hits the road, joining Dean on what evolves into a life-changing physical and emotional odyssey. Thirsting for freedom, they discover the world, the ecstasy of experience, the connectedness of humanity and ultimately themselves.

Or, why American men hate Brad Pitt, especially if they say they don’t.

This month marks the 66th anniversary of the running of the cinematic bulls that is the Cannes Film Festival.  It is a near two-week period in which highly anticipated, awards-season projects start to get positioned for their run into the holiday movie season, and at the same time, a period in which smaller, dark horse projects jockey for distributorship and buzz at the feet of showbiz tastemakers.

It is also, regrettably, another week in which Brad Pitt gets to be treated like Brad Pitt.

And that’s really saying something without really saying anything at all.  It isn’t really accurate to say that Brad Pitt gets treated like royalty (not even Saudi royalty), because there isn’t a Prince or King left on the planet that is simultaneously as rich and good-looking and genuinely admired as Brad Pitt is.

And this is one of the reasons why men hate Brad Pitt.  There are no analogous points of comparison for Brad Pitt, so you are left to compare him to yourself.

Example:  Currently, Pitt is promoting a film entitled Killing Them Softly, which is based on a really cool George Higgins novel called Cogan’s Trade.  Audiences got a look at the film in Cannes this week, and as you can read in this pseudo-review from Deadline, the early word is that the flick is bad-ass.  Not in an obvious way, like The Avengers was bad-ass or The Dark Knight Rises is presumably going to be bad-ass.  No, from the sound of it, Killing Them Softly is bad-ass in a hip, off-the-beaten-path, violent way that only certain people are really going to dig.

The way I’d want my fucking movie to be bad-ass.

But it isn’t simple  jealousy over the fact that Brad Pitt gets to pick and choose.

So what is it?

Well, first off, it isn’t that Brad Pitt is better looking than me, or that he is in way better shape than me.  Almost everybody is better looking than me, and only the morbidly obese are in worse shape.  If I was green with envy over everybody more attractive than me, I’d be up in a crow’s nest right now, calibrating a scope on a very powerful rifle.  And it isn’t that Brad Pitt is more successful than me, because in that regard, he is on a long, sniper-worthy list as well.  I gave up on the idea of runaway financial success around the same time I gave up on Reggie Bush as a consistent fantasy football player.  And it was a flight of pie-eyed fancy to hang on even for that long.  In both ways, life has been easier since.

It isn’t that he regularly bags Angelina Jolie.  After he got Jennifer Aniston.  And Gwyneth Paltrow.  And Robin Givens.  And Demi Moore.  And Uma Thurman.  And Julia Ormond.  And God-knows-how-many other cutting-edge-hot chicks that none of us ever heard of.  The ability to land white hot trim is a side effect of even moderate success in Hollywood.  You don’t see anybody taking time out of their day to hate Scott Baio, right?

I don’t even mind so much that you can’t (and I defy you to) find one person who has worked with Brad Pitt who doesn’t describe him to be, like, the Coolest Most Nicest Down-To-Earth Guy You’ve Ever Met.  One, because at least part of that description isn’t true.  Down-to-Earth guys rent apartments, not an estate on the French Riviera where Pink Floyd’s The Wall was recorded.  Two, because I also happen to know that I’m an aloof prick, and am not generally regarded as being overwhelmingly cool, even by clerks at GameStop, so I certainly can’t begrudge Pitt his over-all likeability.

That’s all fine by me.  So what is it?

Simply this: I suspect that in addition to all of the qualities listed above, that Brad Pitt may be a fuck of a lot smarter than me as well.  If there’s one quality that I despise in people above all others, it’s superior intelligence.  Now, why would I allow myself to think such a thing?  Well, it’s one thing to have the ability to pick and choose the cream of every project that comes through Hollywood, but if you make shitty choices, you don’t get to be Brad Pitt, no matter how good-looking you are.  You get to be Burt Reynolds, maybe.  Or you get to be Kevin Costner.

And you can tell me that Pitt’s career has been crafted by a rotating team of brilliant strategists, but I know that almost anybody you’ve ever heard of in show business has a similar group of svengali analysts at their disposal, and they’re not Brad Pitt, either.

You could even tell me that Brad Pitt is an Illuminati Satanist, and I’d tell you that you can’t swing a dead goat in Tinseltown without knocking the gold chalice out of an Illuminati Satanist’s hand.  Those guys may be pulling the strings that keep us all slaves to the New World Order, but none of them is Brad Pitt, either.

Nope.  Brad Pitt is Brad Pitt.  And that is all.

So when Killing Them Softly hits theaters later this year, and it’s like, the baddest-ass, coolest, most hard-boiled thing you’ve seen since Vic Vega turned on the radio, know that it isn’t just luck and good looks that keeps all of show business under Brad Pitt’s feet.

He’s probably just overall a way better person than you.

For fans of Sanctuary that were hoping the Syfy series would be shown a little mercy and allowed to continue on with Season 5, I have some seriously grim news for you. I’m sure you can guess where this is going, so I’ll just cut to the chase; after months of waiting and wondering if the Season 4 finale would be it for the show, Syfy announced Sanctuary has been canceled. The Canadian-made series hasn’t been the most talked about science fiction program, lacking the fan-support of such shows as Warehouse 13 and Dr. Who, so it’s not surprising Syfy pulled the plug.

related: SYFY’S DEFIANCE – MIA KIRSHNER AND FIONNULA FLANAGAN JOIN JULIE BENZ

TVLine reported on the decision to axe Sanctuary, with series lead Amanda Tapping expressing her disappointment on Twitter, saying, “’Bloody hell’ indeed,” but she also thanked the show’s fans for all of their love and support. For a series that started out as a webseries with zero funding, everyone involved with Sanctuary should feel great pride for having lasted four seasons when by any stretch of the imagination they shouldn’t have even gotten one. It’s not like every webseries has the option of moving to a small network. That’s definitely a one in a million chance, so pat yourselves on the back cast and crew of Sanctuary. You beat the odds.

If you’re unaware of Sanctuary and what it’s about, here’s a crash course: it follows Dr. Helen Magnus and her team as they seek out cryptids, legends, or anything else we would call monsters. They protect these creatures, called “Abnormals,” by taking them to “The Sanctuary.” If that isn’t science fictiony enough for you, then you’ll be happy to hear there’s a good amount of time travel involved and Magnus is over 200 years old thanks to an injection of vampire blood that gave her long-lasting life. If any of that grabs your attention, why not check out the series? On the bright side, you’ll never have to wait for new episodes since, you know, there never will be new episodes.

“Goodbye”, the Glee season 3 finale airs tonight, and to cap off the build up to the big graduation for members of New Direction team that included the initial tv teaser and an emotional extended clip of the episode. As you probably already know, Gloria Estefan will be appearing in the role of Santana’s mother, and you can see her in several of these pictures in this episode promo image gallery that we have from FOX. Some of the songs  you will hear in the finale include work from the Beatles, Rod Stewart, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, and Lea Michele will perform “Roots Before Branches” by Room for Two.

No worries though Glee fans. Season 4 of FOX’s hit show already has steam behind it, already announcing some guest stars in to look forward to in Sarah Jessica Parker and Kate Hudson, and another musical tribute episode for Britney Spears.

related: GLEE SEASON 4 – MURPHY: DIANNA AGRON AND THE SENIORS WILL BE BACK

Glee “Goodbye” Episode” Summary - In the Season Three finale, graduation is finally here, as McKinley High’s class of 2012 looks to the past and present, while contemplating the future.
Glee’s “Goodbye” airs on Tuesday, May 22nd.

photo credit: Mike Yarish/FOX

After taking some time to start a family (which involved giving birth to three boys), 24’s Sarah Wynter is coming back to acting full time, with her first big role in Season 6 of Showtime’s Californication. Normally, in these casting situations, I would be chomping at the bit to talk about whom Wynter is playing, but in this instance there isn’t much to really say. Currently there’s more information surrounding who Wynter’s character is married to, so don’t act all shocked when I barely talk about her. You’ve been fairly warned, so what do you say we dive into this thing?

related: CALIFORNICATION SEASON 6 GETS GRUMPY GAY BOSS

According to Deadline, Wynter will be a major recurring character in Season 6, set to appearing in at least six episodes as the wife of rock star Atticus Fetch (Tim Minchin). That’s literally as far as we can go on the small amount of information given for Wynter’s character. However, we do know quite a bit more about her husband. Fetch is described as being Bowie, Bobo, and Lennon all combined into some sort of super rock star. I can only imagine the amount of drugs that pass through his system. Fetch becomes involved in the show’s plot when he is drafted to write the music for the Broadway musical based on A Crazy Little Thing Called Love, which itself was adapted from Hank Moody’s breakout novel.

Even more interesting is how Fetch’s role may explain the presence of Faith, a Catholic groupie played by Maggie Grace, who is said to live a life of sex, drugs, and religion while on the road with various musicians. When Fetch shows up with his wife, will Faith not be too far behind? Obviously, this is my own speculation, but it doesn’t seem that off base. If you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. I should get some kind of medal for putting these two together.

The Legend Ends, indeed. Yesterday we got a look at the new flame on one-sheet for Batman: Dark Knight Rises and now via Facebook and YahooMovies, Warner Bros. has released 6 new posters, two each featuring Batman, Catwoman, and Bane.

Dark Knight Rises comes to conquer theaters and IMAX on July 20th, and is the final chapter in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. It returns Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman, and added Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (two Inception hands for Nolan) and the aforementioned Anne Hathaway and Tom Hardy as Catwoman and Bane.

related: THIRD DARK KNIGHT RISES TRAILER RELEASED: MORE NEW COKE

Michael C. Hall and Dexter will be returning to Showtime for their 7th season this September and we now know of a new face that will be added to the Dexter fold. Showtime has announced that Jason Gedrick, fresh off of HBO’s prematurely put to rest and problematic Luck, will be appearing in a multi-episode arc next season. He’s set to  play a manager of Miami Gent’s club that serves as the crime  scene for what’s being called a “high profile” murder.

related: DEXTER AND MICHAEL C. HALL A GO FOR SEASON 7 AND 8

You might have seen Gedrick pop up in several shows on tv, but I can’t believe people aren’t mentioned that he starred in Iron Eagle, which has to be included in the pantheon of  classic ’80s kickass/feel good movies. Sorry, Iron Eagle was just my jam! come on, now, the sweet wall of fire bomb?

Gedrick joins a casting bit we learned last month, that former Rome badass, the Punisher himself,  Ray Stevenson, would also be debuting in Dexter season 7.

Dexter kicks back off on Sunday, September 30th.

Cue up Europe’s greatest hits, because the final countdown to the final countdown begins: Breaking Bad, Season Five is just around the corner. July 15 is the date when AMC’s biggest hit crime show brings high-explosive speed back to your small screen. And after this 16-episode run, it’ll just be a bitter memory.

That bitterness will be missed. Walt White’s well-intentioned plunge into the abyss of meth dealing had guts beyond even its subject matter. It always opted for delivering an unsettling narrative above holding its audience’s hand.

Now with season 5, Breaking Bad is choosing the power of narrative over the pull of cold cash. This show could stack up enough seasons to reach a towering syndication contract. Its ratings have held strong, even during the infamous side-winding plots of season 3, that left many feeling the show had become absurd.

Breaking Bad rebounded from any disappointment and is now at its pinnacle. It drew 58 award nominations over its tenure and hauled in 26 of them, with the accolades being distributed pretty evenly over its four seasons. There’s no lack of love right now.

For a show about so much bad, it’s been a good run. I have faith it’ll be a damn good end.

I say this with confidence because Breaking Bad fans will enjoy some quantity with their quality. For its final season, Breaking Bad tacks on three extra episodes to its usual lucky-number-13 episode stretch. 16 works even better than 13 to close out a show about impending disaster – it’s the number of total downfall, The Tower, in mystic lore.

It has been magical, Breaking Bad, but all good things come to their end. The best of them go out on top. This is a good call, even if it has me riveted to the newswires to see where the names of Bryan Cranston (Walt White), Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad‘s creator), and Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman, Walt’s foil) might pop up next.

Meanwhile, I’ll be grabbing Breaking Bad Season 4 when it comes out on DVD June 5 and counting the red X’s on my calendar until July.