Review: Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

The first 2013 release I've seen (meaning it gets the #1 spot for a few days) is Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. It stars Hawkeye, a Bond girl, and Jean Grey and straddles the line between bad and dumb fun pretty closely, but I found myself laughing often enough to enjoy it. It has a grownup Hansel and Gretel who make a career out of killing witches. The best detail is Jeremy Renner's Hansel having diabetes thanks to too much candy as a kid. Like Prince of Persia, the plot totally demands a close up of Gemma Arteron's cleavage (there's a 3D pun there somewhere, but I am better than that). It's a B movie, but at least it isn't pretentious. They did show most of the really cool stuff in the trailer. It ranks #1. If you aren't into the limited-release-awards-bait movies this is a decent alternative.

2013 Film List

Another year, another list. Here's how I rank the 2013 releases.

Comic Movie News: Captain America and more!

It's been a while since I collected up all of the Comic Book Movie news that I've missed, so here goes. Someone else is returning for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Marvel's looking at some big names for Guardians of the Galaxy, there's a new rumor about the Justice League movie, and a non-Superhero comic is getting a film. Click ahead to read all about it.

J.J. Abrams likely to direct Star Wars Episode VII

EDIT: It's official. A major announcement was promised in January, and it's just in. It looks like J.J. Abrams is going to be the director of Star Wars: Episode VII, despite an earlier report that said his commitment to Star Trek would make this impossible. According to the report, Ben Affleck (Argo) and Matthew Vaughn (X-Men First Class, Kick Ass) were also approached, but on Steven Spielberg's suggestion, LucasFilm president (and long-time Spielberg collaborator) Kathleen Kennedy has chosen Abrams. Considering that much of the fan critiscm of Abrams's take on Star Trek was that it was too much like Star Wars, this may be a perfect fit. The script for Episode VII is already in the works, in the care of Toy Story 3 writer Michael Arndt. Thanks to /Film for the heads up, with the initial report coming from TheWrap.com.

2013 Academy Award Nominees

Here's the list of all the films nominated for Academy Awards this year. I've underlined everything I've seen already, and I'll probably see a few more before the ceremony. [Oscars]

Jurassic Park 4 gets a 2014 release date

Deadline is reporting that Jurassic Park IV is set for a June 13, 2014 release date. No director is signed on yet, but it will be shot in 3D (no post-conversion) and the new script is by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) who were hired last year producers Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy. The movie has been in and out of development for 10 years, and some thought the death of author Michael Crichton might finish the project for good, but it seems like one of my all-time favorite movies really is going to get another sequel. A 3D rerelease of the original film is set for April 5 this year.