FirstShowing.net

Ah yes, the Coen Brothers. We all know them. We all love them. They've made some of finest films cinema has to offer. But what if they did something a bit different? Inside Llewyn Davis, while unquestionably a Coen Brothers film, is a breath of fresh air from the filmmaker brothers. It's not as dark or deeply moving as No Country for Old Men, nor is it at overly joyful as Burn After Reading, it falls somewhere inbetween, an engrossing exploration of a musician named Llewyn Davis living in New York in the 1960s. It's a perfect period piece and a dark, but fun, earnest, entertaining film that I thoroughly enjoyed every last second of. ›››

Continue reading Cannes 2013: Coens' 'Inside Llewyn Davis' is Charming Folk Perfection

In mid-February of last year I went, by myself, to a screening of Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi's A Separation and fell for it completely, a masterpiece. A month later the film went on to win the Oscar, and Farhadi started working on his next feature, which I knew I had to see. Premiering at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival is Asghar Farhadi's The Past, a French film dealing with a series of complex relationships between two families in Paris. It's further proof that Farhadi is an absolute master of human dynamics, relationships and performances that expertly captures the complex, deep layers that exist between all of us in this world. ›››

Continue reading Cannes 2013: Complex Relationships Shine in Farhadi's 'The Past'

Very early last year, two teaser trailers arrived for Anchorman: The Legend Continues. Now another teaser for the film currently shooting in Georgia has been unveiled in the same vein as those first two. There's still no real footage from the film starring Will Ferrell just yet, but trust that there are plenty of insane and unpredictable cameos in store, and you'd be wise to avoid anyone trying to spoil them with set photos online. Some will be familiar faces from Adam McKay's previous films, while others will come out of left field to surprise you. We can't wait to see this comedy before Christmas later this year. Watch below! ›››

Continue reading News Team Back in New 'Anchorman: The Legend Continues' Teaser

Now that you've seen it, what did you think? Beyond the darkness, lies greatness. "These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise..." Now playing in IMAX/3D/2D theaters worldwide is J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness, his highly anticipated sequel to the sci-fi franchise Star Trek reboot from 2009. The entire Enterprise crew returns, lead by Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock and Zoe Saldana as Uhura, as well as Benedict Cumberbatch as their latest foe. How is this sequel? Better than the first one or worse? Once you've seen it, post a comment with your thoughts on Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness. ›››

Continue reading Sound Off: J.J. Abrams' 'Star Trek Into Darkness' - Your Thoughts?

It's getting to the point that having a studio put a sequel into development before the first film or next sequel hits theaters isn't really a showing of faith in the property. Essentially, it just means the studio wants to be prepared as soon as possible if the film turns out to be a hit. And that's likely what's being done at Summit Entertainment with a report from THR revealing that the Lionsgate division of the studio has hired Jon and Erich Hoeber to script RED 3, a sequel to their two previous films about a dangerous group of retired special operatives featuring Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren and more. Read on! ›››

Continue reading Summit Entertainment Has Already Hired Writers to Script 'RED 3'

Late last year we got our first look at The Young and Prodigious Spivet, a family film based on The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet, the debut novel by American author Reif Larsen. Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie, Micmacs) co-wrote and directs the film which follows a 12-year old mapmaker named T.S. Spivet, who lives on a ranch in Montana, as he receives a prestigious award and accepts it, hitch-hiking on a freight train for the acceptance speech in Washington D.C. Kyle Catlett ("The Following") leads the film which also features Helena Bonham Carter, Judy Davis and more. It looks original and quite charming Watch! ›››

Continue reading Watch: 'The Young and Prodigious Spivet' Gets Quirky, Rustic Trailer

In the fall of 2010, news surfaced that Leonardo DiCaprio was going to star in and produce Legacy of Secrecy, an adaptation of Lamar Waldron and Thom Hartmann's non-fiction book of the same name. The actor's father brought the book to his attention which includes new and recently disclassified information from the FBI and National Archives which hypothesizes a motive behind the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Since then we haven't heard anything about the project, but Showbiz 411 caught up with DiCaprio's father at Cannes, and reportedly David O. Russell is going to write and direct the film now. ›››

Continue reading David O. Russell to Direct JFK Assassination Film 'Legacy of Secrecy'?

Europa Report is a sci-fi project we've been waiting to check out for awhile, and now the full trailer is here. With quotes that tout a realistic approach to space travel and moments that incorporate the wonder of space exploration with the horrors of the unknown, this looks like it could be an awesome piece of sci-fi. Sharlto Copley stars in this film about a contemporary mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa to investigate the possible existence of alien life within our solar system. Along with his crew, they explore Jupiter's moon, but as you might expect, what they find may not be ready to be found. We can't wait to see this. Watch now! ›››

Continue reading Must Watch: Full Trailer for Sci-Fi 'Europa Report' with Sharlto Copley

After debuting at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, IFC Films picked up Ain't Them Bodies Saints, the western thriller from writer director David Lowery, and it arrives later this summer. The film won the U.S. Dramatic Cinematography Award, and this writer called the film "a contemporary western with all the right beats, this film is full of authentic drama, and a respect for westerns of the past and present." Now a cool teaser poster has surfaced that looks more like an illustrated cover of a book featuring Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck. Hopefully there's a trailer coming sometime soon as well. ›››

Continue reading 'Ain't Them Bodies Saints' Gets Illustrated Book Cover Style Poster

Though director Michael Mann was once slated to direct Gold, a film based on a true story about the 1993 Bre-X Mineral Corporation mining scandal, the project has now fallen into the hands of Spike Lee. The script from Patrick Massett and John Zinman was crafted as a writing sample, but Paul Haggis (the director Crash and The Next Three Days) developed it as a project before getting Mann involved. But since it never gained traction, he fell away from the film. Now there's a chance it could be Lee's next film, following his work on the remake of Oldboy now, with production beginning before the end of the year. ›››

Continue reading Spike Lee Taking Over 'Gold' Drama from Director Michael Mann

Right now audiences can see Chris Pine back in space for Star Trek Into Darkness, and his action thriller Jack Ryan arrives this Christmas, but his next project will be a little more low key. Variety has word that Pine is set to star in an indie called Z for Zachariah, which will also feature Amanda Seyfried and Chiwetel Ejiofor. What makes this project truly interesting is Craig Zobel is directing the film after making a splash at Sundance last year with his film Compliance. Based on Robert O'Brien's book of the same name, the setting finds a girl isolated in the wake of a nuclear war that took everyone in her life away. ›››

Continue reading Chris Pine, Amanda Seyfried & Chiwetel Ejiofor in 'Z for Zachariah'

Thanks to a mesmerizing first trailer, Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity is one of our most anticipated movies coming later this year. It was filmed in early 2011, and has been in post-production ever since, with a release delay pushing it from November 2012 to October 2013. I heard from a friend a few weeks ago that Cauron said he "could work on the visual effects [in Gravity] forever", alluding to how it looks better the more time they spend on it. But obviously they have to finish it and get it released once and for all, and Framestore, the UK-based VFX company working on the sci-fi movie, had to upgrade their hardware to make it happen. ›››

Continue reading VFX Work on 'Gravity' Required a Huge Hardware Upgrade to Finish

With Jake Gyllenhaal and Chris Pine recently entering talks to play two cocky princes in Disney's adaptation of the Broadway musical Into the Woods, a couple more female cast members are entering the mix now. "The Good Wife" star Christine Baranski and Emily Blunt are both in talks for roles in the story which follows a childless baker (Johnny Depp) and his wife who attempt to lift a family curse by journeying into the woods to confront the witch (Meryl Streep) who cast the spell keeping them from having children. Along the way, they meet characters like Rapunzel, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and others. More below! ›››

Continue reading Emily Blunt May Enter Musical Territory with Disney's 'Into the Woods'

For those who don't know, Imagine Entertainment is the production company founded by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, and the two have been busy for 26 years at Universal with an exclusive production deal. However, when they renegotiated their deal in 2012, they decided to only make it a first look deal, which has allowed them to take "Arrested Development" to Netflix. Now they might be reviving another TV series, but this time for the big screen. Deadline has word that Grazer has confirmed they Imagine is trying to bring Friday Night Lights to the big screen, and they will use crowdfunding for some of the budget. Read on! ›››

Continue reading Brian Grazer & Ron Howard to Crowdfund 'Friday Night Lights' Movie

In one week, The Wolf Pack returns to theaters for their final adventure, and now one final red band trailer for The Hangover Part III goes back to the beginning to remind everyone of the chaos that led them to this. Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis are more desperate than ever as they find themselves forced to track down Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong) for a ruthless criminal mastermind (John Goodman). The cool thing is there are some familiar faces from the first film thrown in to make this conclusion a nice bookend to this surprise comedy franchise. Will The Wolf Pack survive? Watch below! ›››

Continue reading Watch: Final 'Hangover Part III' Red Band Trailer Goes Full Circle

Disney and Pixar Animation's summer sequel Monsters University isn't too far away, and following that cute little Mother's Day wish last weekend, the film is now getting some hype courtesy of the trendy online t-shirt company Threadless. They've teamed with Disney and Pixar to sell some custom shirts inspired by Monsters University and Monsters Inc. The cool thing about these shirts is the designs on sale were chosen from 487 submitted designs from artists around the world. Some truly amazing artwork is on these shirts, to the point that I would almost want some of these images up on my wall instead of my shirt. Look! ›››

Continue reading Wear This! Threadless Unveils Awesome 'Monsters University' Shirts

This seems to be the year of the exaggerated "American dream" and excess along with it being highlighted in films. Besides Spring Breakers and Pain & Gain, one of the other exposes on excess is the latest film from Sofia Coppola, title The Bling Ring. I've been anticipating this ever since the first trailers hit and caught the first premiere of it at the Cannes Film Festival. Unlike Spring Breakers, the film doesn't have any depth, or nuance, or dark humor, it's nothing but a hollow, lightweight portrayal of excess and a group of vacuous teens obsessed with it. Yea, there's fun underage larceny going on but that's about it. There's not much else. ›››

Continue reading Cannes 2013: Sofia Coppola's 'The Bling Ring' is Empty Entertainment

After writing Tangled and Crazy Stupid Love, a script from writer Dan Fogelman certainly gets my attention, and that's part of the reason this teaser trailer for Last Vegas excites me. It's essentially The Hangover for geriatrics as Michael Douglas plays an old ladies man who calls three childhood friends (Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline and Robert De Niro) together for a wild bachelor party in Vegas before he settles down with a girl half his age. It's a short teaser, but the last scene with Freeman debating with himself about dancing after having some alcoholic drinks with Red Bull is pretty great. Watch below! ›››

Continue reading Watch: De Niro, Freeman, Douglas & Kline Party Down in 'Last Vegas'

With all the Pixar sequels that have been coming lately, from Monsters University this summer to Finding Dory in 2015, many fans have been wondering, where's the sequel to the film that could so easily have one: The Incredibles. Well, director Brad Bird has always said he doesn't just want to do a sequel because it's easy to make another superhero movie, and he wants to have a story about the family to tell with as much heart and substance as the first one. But that doesn't mean he doesn't want to do it. When THR sat down with Bird recently, they asked about The Incredibles 2 and he remarked, "I have been thinking about it." ›››

Continue reading Brad Bird Talks 'Incredibles 2' & Turning Down 'Star Wars: Episode VII'

J.J. Abrams' Star Trek universe is one of excitement, adventure, loads of action, the kinds of Summer blockbuster entertainment probably better suited for another sci-fi franchise with "Star" in the title. Don't worry. Abrams will get to that eventually. For now, though, he's determined to inject explosions and shoot-outs into this seemingly scientific mission to explore new worlds. Like its predecessor, Star Trek Into Darkness is one, fine blast of a good time, adding an abundance of laughs to all the excitement, even if the logic on display would make a certain green-blooded somebody break out in an uncomfortable sweat. ›››

Continue reading Review: 'Star Trek Into Darkness' Packs Standard J.J. Abrams Punch