The Guardians are here

Can we just take a moment to talk about how awesome the Guardians of the Galaxy trailer looks? Rocket Racoon's rap-sheet: 13 counts of theft, 14 counts of escape from incarceration, 7 counts of mercenary activity, 15 counts of arson. Star-lord has a walkman. Chris Pratt (star of The LEGO Movie, the best thing I've seen this year) looks perfectly cast. Zoe Saldana is green (which is hotter than blue) and wielding a huge sword (which is always hot). Basically, Marvel's riskiest gamble to date looks like it's going to pay off.

2014 Film List

Ready for the 2014 movie list? Here it is:

20 Movies I'm looking forward to in 2014

Here are the 20 movies I'm looking forward to in 2014.

Cap Trailer, Thor "review" etc.

There are trailers out for Captain America: The Winter Soldier and X-Men: Days of Future Past. They both look awesome, and I saw both on the big screen today in front of Thor: The Dark World, which was also awesome, though I think it missed few opportunities. I still call Iron Man 3 a better film. I'm not sure how to fault a story for being character-focused (Thor's major problem). Anyway, Thor: The Dark World is my #2 for the year. It's problem is possibly that it doesn't have any action that's as badass as what you'll see in the 5-minute Winter Soldier trailer that plays in front of the 3D shows... or maybe it did but I've been desensitized by seeing that scene in every trailer.

Movie News: New suit for Captain America and more!

Lots of news on the movie front, especially from Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Get a look at some revealing concept art after the jump. Plus, a Star Trek actor joins Guardians of the Galaxy. Click on.

First look at Captain America 2

Captain America: The Winter Soldier has begun filming, and Marvel has released the first official image, along with a press release confirming many rumors about the film. Anthony and Joe Russo are directing from a screenplay by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (Captain America: The First Avenger). Marvel’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” Chris Evans returns as Steve Rogers/Captain America, along with Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow) and Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury). Robert Redford has joined the cast as Alexander Pierce, a senior leader within S.H.I.E.L.D. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is set for release in the U.S. on April 4, 2014, a month earlier than the norm for Marvel films, but the first weekend in May has been claimed by Amazing Spider-Man 2.

“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” will pick-up where “Marvel’s The Avengers” left off, as Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world and teams up with Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, to battle a powerful yet shadowy enemy in present-day Washington, D.C.

The supporting cast includes Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Falcon, Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, Frank Grillo as Crossbones and Georges St-Pierre as Georges Batroc, with Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, Toby Jones as Arnim Zola and Emily VanCamp as Agent 13.

News: Jurassic Park, Norman Osborn and more!

There's some awesome news this week for several franchises, starting with one of my childhood favorites: Jurassic Park 4 has finally found a director. Plus, Guardians of the Galaxy has cast another character and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has added yet another major character, and we can finally see Amy Adams as Lois Lane. It's after the jump.

Future Past giving X-Men the Star Trek-style reboot?

As you may have heard by now, the next X-Men film will be titled X-Men: Days of Future Past, a name that reveals--for those in the comic know--a massively awesome plotline for the next X-film. Technically, the film is a sequel to X-Men: First Class, but it looks like it will be much more than that. First off, director Matthew Vaughn has been replaced by the director of the first two X-Men films, Bryan Singer.

So, comic-related spoilers ahead. You've been warned.

Guardians of the Galaxy finds its Starlord

   
After months of rumors involving every young male actor in Hollywood, James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy has finally cast Peter Quill a.k.a. Starlord, the half-human NASA astronaut, and it's Chris Pratt, best know for Parks and Recreation. He recently appeared in Zero Dark Thirty as a member of Seal Team Six. No other roles have been cast, though there are plenty of rumors. The Guardians themselves are getting a new comic series starting later this month.

Emily VanCamp joins Captain America

Deadline is reporting that Revenge actress Emily VanCamp has signed up to join Captain America: The Winter Soldier as the female lead. There's no official word on the role she'll be playing, but the safe bet is Cap's love interest, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Sharon Carter. Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Samuel Jackson (Nick Fury), and Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill) are already signed on, suggesting a heavy S.H.I.E.L.D. presence in the film. VanCamp beat out a long list of actresses who'd previously been rumored for the role, including Imogen Poots (Fright Night), Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), Jessica Brown Findlay (Downton Abbey), Teresa Palmer (Warm Bodies), Alison Brie (Community), and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim). She joins a cast including Chris Evans (Captain America), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes), Anthony Mackie (The Falcon), Frank Grillo (Crossbones), Toby Jones (Arnim Zola). Joe and Anthony Russo are directing, and the film is currently scheduled for April 4, 2014.

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.

Captain America Winter Soldier Updates

Here newest news on the Captain America sequel, along with my speculation of what it all means. There may be spoilers, but anything I'm going to say is based off the comics, not any actual knowledge of the film's script. Click ahead to read it.

Hobbit gets an extra film

Following up what seemed an off-hand comment at this year's ComicCon, Peter Jackson has announced that The Hobbit will in fact become three movies, instead of the originally planned two. This means The Hobbit will get as much screen time as the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. I've made so secret of my love for those films, so this is exciting news, but I'm not sure just how PJ and company are going to manage to stretch this out. TheOneRing.net has a few ideas and NewLine has begun to register domain names that hint at possible titles for the next film. Of course, we'll know a lot more in December when An Unexpected Journey finally hits theaters.

Breaking: Anthony Mackie to play Falcon in Winter Soldier

On the heels of ComicCon, the Hollywood Reporter has the news that Hurt Locker and Adjustment Bureau star Anthony Mackie is in negotiations to play Falcon in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Mackie had previously expressed interest in the Black Panther role, but with that film not on the immediate horizon for Marvel, it seems talks have shifted. The Falcon, real name Sam Wilson, has been a supporting character in Captain America comics since he was introduced in 1969. The Falcon was significant in being the first African-American superhero in mainstream comics (Black Panther was a native African), as well the first black superhero not have the word "Black" in his name. Falcon played a major role in Ed Brubaker's Winter Soldier storyline, soit won't be a surprise to see the character appear in the film.
In Marvel's mainstream universe, Falcon is a reformed criminal with the ability to telepathically communicate with birds. Meanwhile, his Ultimate universe counterpart is a genius SHIELD scientist. On film, I expect him fall more in line with the Ultimate version, the same treatment Hawkeye received in The Avengers.

Ultimate Falcon

Mainstream Falcon