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.

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.

48 Frames Per Second - HFR revisited

TheOneRing.net directed me to this blog by Pulitzer-prize-winning still photographer Vincent Laforet. He saw The Hobbit three times. Once in HFR 3D, once in normal 3D, and once in 2D. His thoughts on the different projections types and the effect they have are fascinating and well worth the read. I had a chance to catch The Hobbit in 2D on Monday, and it is a better movie in that format. Many of my original complaints seemed less significant. The opening was easier to follow and the story was more immersive, even though it was the second time I'd seen the movie, while Azog's CGI was less noticeable. Official recommendation: See The Hobbit at 24fps. 2D or 3D is up to you. Afterwords, if you're still interested, check out the HFR, but don't see that version first. Regardless of what Peter Jackson and James Cameron think, this isn't going to be the future of cinema any time soon.

The Long Expected Hobbit

Martin Freeman is a perfect Bilbo Baggins

It has finally come. The long-awaited prequel to Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy has made it through years of development and hit theaters in a brand new 48 frames-per-second 3D format. The original films rank among my favorite of all time, and I grew up with an audiobook of The Hobbit, so this is a story and world I'm familiar with. I'm not alone in this, so the film is landing with tremendous expectations. Added to that, this time around Jackson and company have decided to split a short novel into three long films. After the jump, I'll take a look at how this has worked our.

Richard Armitage is Thorin Okanshield

First, I should take a minute to talk about the high frame rate (HFR). HFR is weird. It's as jarring as the introduction of 3D, and in a film like The Hobbit, it's hard to say either technology adds anything. I will say HFR compliments 3D. Action in 3D tends to be jerky, and HFR smooths that out. Unfortunately, it speeds everything else up, so action looks great and people look weird until you get used to it. Of the people I saw the film with, one didn't even notice the difference, and most of the others said they got used to HFR after 15 or so minutes. I took over an hour before I was completely adjusted. I get the feeling that after seeing a few HFR movies, it's not going to be an issue, but I don't think The Hobbit was the best place to introduce the format. The film itself has a few issues and doesn't need the complaints HFR is going to generate. I mean, here I want to write a review of the movie and get sidetracked by the frame rate.

Now, on to the actual movie. Below there be spoilers.

'Man of Steel' trailer shows off moody Superman

Here's a full-length trailer for Zach Synder's take on Superman. Snyder is responsible for the visually spectacular Sucker Punch, as well as the comic-based 300 and Watchmen. I actually liked Sucker Punch, though it certainly had problems. However, this time around, DC has Christopher (Dark Knight) Nolan producing, and it's definitely given the movie a dark and brooding feel. I'm just not sure that's a good thing. There's not enough Amy Adams here, that's for sure. Of course, it's too early to tell what any of this means, but it's unfortunate this trailer doesn't have the same "F*** Yeah," quality seen in last week's Star Trek Into Darkness trailer. Also, there's a shot-by-shot breakdown over on io9.