Warner Bros. has unveiled our first look at Bryan Singer’s Jack the Giant Killer in the form of a teaser trailer. Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: First Class) leads the film as a young farmer called Jack who has to rescue a princess (Eleanor Tomlinson) who is kidnapped by giants.

From the trailer it’s clear Singer has stuck with the main beats from the Jack and the Beanstalk folktale people are familiar with, but with added elements. There are some epic looking battles teased and great landscape shots, but nothing to get too excited about at the moment.

Watch below:

Here’s the official synopsis:

Jack the Giant Killer tells the story of an ancient war that is reignited when a young farmhand unwittingly opens a gateway between our world and a fearsome race of giants. Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing the young man, Jack, into the battle of his life to stop them. Fighting for a kingdom, its people, and the love of a brave princess, he comes face to face with the unstoppable warriors he thought only existed in legend—and gets the chance to become a legend himself.

Ian McShane will play King Brahmwell, “who is none too thrilled about a union between his daughter and a farmer boy.” Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones) is playing a villain who is “an advisor to the king with designs on usurping power” while Bill Nighy will play a two-headed giant called Fallon. Nighy will play the big head while voice actor John Kassir will play the small one. Ewan McGregor will play the leader of the king’s elite guard who helps the fight against the giants.

Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects, Valkyrie) wrote the script, and Warner Bros. will release the film June 2012.

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It’s always tricky to critique a Christmas film.  All of them have the right intentions in mind yet just like any other genre, there can be lackluster efforts.

Arthur Christmas provides a cozy holiday atmosphere with a slight tweak to the fundamental Christmas tale.  But let’s just say this is mechanically speaking, a slippery 97 minute ride.

We begin in the North Pole, where Christmas headquarters is fully operational on Christmas Eve.  The current Santa Claus (voiced by Jim Broadbent), a descendant of the original Santa, St. Nicholas, is on his last mission before he passes over the title to his tactical modernized son, Steve (rigidly voiced by Hugh Laurie).  Unlike the Santa’s before him, Steve takes a more military-like approach to the Christmas delivery operation, as the famed sled has now been replaced by a hi-tech craft; ensuring timely delivery of presents to all the kids in all parts of the world (he keeps the stats on his iPhone to prove it).  Steve takes an arrogant pride in his successful work since being at the helm of mission control, and looks forward to becoming the next Santa.

As the highly trained and agile elves do most of the heavy lifting these days, Santa is more of a figure-head and just coasts along for ceremonial purposes.  But when one a small glitch is Steve’s infallible system leaves a kid in England without a present, Santa’s other son, the clumsy Arthur (voiced by James McAvoy) – who is resigned to answering Santa’s fan mail – insists on fixing the error and getting that one last present to its rightful owner before the sun rises on Christmas day.

To do this, he needs an assist from his 136 year-old Grandsanta (energetically voiced by Bill Nighy), who believes the old-school way is the only way.  Even though he’s a little off-his-rocker, Grandsanta takes Arthur to a secret room where the iconic sled and reindeer have been lying dominant for years.  And just like that, they’re off; despite Steve and Santa thinking they had a successful mission and urging them to not go, for they believe it’s too late.

Well it’s definitely an adventure and the animation is fairly crisp albeit not all that creative.  All the storytelling criteria that make-up the classic Santa Claus lore are on display and fit in nicely with the modernized take at how Christmas is handled in 2011.  Once the adventure begins using the old-school sleigh, reindeer, magic dust, and a young stowaway elf (voiced by Ashley Jensen) that has a pension for making sure every gift is wrapped to perfection, the script travels all over the world in the race to beat the clock (always popping up in spy-movie fashion).  All of this is fun to look at in this fast-paced journey.  Issue that arises is the dialogue is moving faster than the elements on screen.  Following the conversation can be as much as a chore as trying to keep up with a giant Italian family at the dinner table.  Therefore, the punchlines and British-styled humor flies right by both the adults and the younger audience members.  Basically, it’s show-n-go after the nicely placed opening act.

So although the middle-portion is where the excitement should lie, things are just hastily put together and there’s really no flow at this point.  The entertainment & emotional levels are running on auto-pilot until the very last act; which saves the flick from disaster, as we finally receive some true Christmas spirit via the dialogue and character actions.

Initially this has a tone similar to 1985’s Santa Claus.  While keeping with tradition, the story did explore the evolution of Christmas with respects to the time period.  Same goes for this one, yet it never has a true goal or end-point that it is trying to convey (if any).  And even with the tidy ending – and the “Where are they now?” montage – I have never seen so many characters remain incomplete in this type of holiday story.  Perhaps the writers and director were trying too hard to put some edge on this.

Overall, Arthur Christmas is safe & secure for all audiences and does bring in that adventurous tone.  The script and general concept is at times a scattered mess, and this animation was in desperate need for a smoother delivery and/or pacing.  From a reaction perspective, this is the equivalent to opening one of the small presents that your briefly tear through as you furiously make your way toward the big one resting behind the tree.  In other words, you’ll forget about this upon leaving the theater rather quickly.  With that said, the closing sequences right this vibrant extended sleigh ride.

RATING: 3 out of 5 

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You know the summer is officially over when we start getting marketing material for Christmas movies. Today Sony Pictures Animation and Aardman Animations released a new trailer for Arthur Christmas, an animated feature with the vocal talents of James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Jim Broadbent, Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton and Ashley Jensen.

Arthur Christmas reveals the incredible, never-before seen answer to every child’s question: ‘So how does Santa deliver all those presents in one night?’ The answer: Santa’s exhilarating, ultra-high-tech operation hidden beneath the North Pole. But at the center of the film is a story about a family in a state of comic dysfunction and an unlikely hero, Arthur, with an urgent mission that must be completed before Christmas morning dawns.

This looks like it’ll be a fun Christmas movie, one i’m sure parents and children will flock to. Arthur Christmas is directed by Sarah Smith (making her feature film debut) and will be released November 11th in the UK, and November 23rd in the US.

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Last month we heard that Kate Beckinsale had been offered one of the lead roles in Len Wiseman’s Total Recall remake, and now Collider has confirmed that Beckinsale has officially signed on, as has Jessica Biel (The A-Team) who will play the other lead female role, Melina.

The movie ditches the Martian storyline from the original 1990 movie and instead involves nation states Euromerica and New Shanghai. Colin Farrell plays Douglas Quaid, a factory worker in New Shanghai who begins to believe he is a spy — although he doesn’t know for which side.

With filming set to begin on Monday in Toronto other cast members are being confirmed, and Heat Vision reports that Bill Nighy (Underworld, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1) will play Quatto, the leader of the resistance.

Total Recall is scheduled for released on August 3rd, 2012.

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Bryan Singer’s Jack the Giant Killer is gearing up for filming and now has its first official cast members. According to Heat Vision Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones, Captain America) is playing the villain who is “an advisor to the king with designs on usurping power.”

Bill Nighy, who was last seen in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, will play a two-headed giant called Fallon. Nighy will play the big head while voice actor John Kassir will play the small one.

In the movie a princess is kidnapped, threatening a long-standing peace between men and giants. A young farmer is given an opportunity to lead a dangerous expedition to the giants’ kingdom in hope of rescuing her. Kick-Ass actor Aaron Johnson and Nicholas Hoult who plays Beast in X-Men: First Class are the top contenders to play the farmer, and we can expect to hear an official announcement regarding that role soon.

Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects, Valkyrie, The Wolverine) has been re-working the script over recent months, and Singer will begin shooting in July in London and Iceland.

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Emma Watson who plays Hermione Granger took time out of filming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, which was nice of her. (Merry Christmas from Filmonic too if you will be celebrating it over the upcoming days).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXPtBLWnS90

In other Deathly Hallows news Bill Nighy, who will play Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour in the upcoming films, spoke to The Daily Record about his role. (Potential spoilers for those who haven’t read the book).

“Scrimgeour is a tragic figure,” said Bill. “He knows what’s coming. It’s a very moving thing to play.

“He’s also very powerful and has had a very complicated progress to the top. And he has an interesting relationship with Harry, who views him initially with contempt. But then it’s softened by subsequent events.

“There’s a scene where he delivers Dumbledore’s legacy to the three children. He gives them all the things Dumbledore has left them, and that’s when it’s indicated he may not be around for much longer.”

We got our first glimpse at Nighy as Scrimgeour in the teaser trailer that was released earlier this month.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 will be released next November, and Deathly Hallows: Part 2 will be released July 2011.

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In an interview with The Independent Bill Nighy (Underworld, Pirates of the Caribbean) announced that he would be joining the cast of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Nighy has been saying for years how he seems to be one of the only (well known) British actors who hasn’t had a role in the franchise, but now he has!

“I don’t think I’m allowed to say it but I’m going to be in the next Harry Potter film,” he tells us. “I won’t say which character, but he’s a goodie. I just got the gig.” If you don’t mind us saying, it’s about time, Bill. The rangy actor has been dropping hints for aeons, once complaining that he was “the only British actor who hasn’t been in Harry Potter”. But has he read the books? “Not yet, but I will!” he says. “It’s rather like being in a Shakespeare that way, you know?”

According to The Leaky Cauldron Bill Nighy will be playing Rufus Scrimgeour, a veteran Auror in the Ministry of Magic who spends most of his time fighting Dark Wizards.

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Back in September is was announced that Johnny Depp would be returning as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 4, however nothing else was revealed apart from that it may be released in 2012 and a script is being written. As 2012 is far off there have been no casting updates and there probably won’t be for a while, however Bill Nighy, who played Davy Jones in Pirates 2 & 3, has told MTV he would like to get his tentacles out once again.

“I am technically dead but then again, who cares?” Nighy said to MTV News. “Everybody dies in the pirates movies. They killed Johnny [Depp] and Geoffrey [Rush]. Death is not permanent in the pirate world. I have a serious desire to come back.”

At the end of At World’s End it hinted that Jack Sparrow would be going after the Fountain of Youth. Whether Davy Jones could fit into that is up for the writers to decide. They managed to pack a lot into the last film so it isn’t out of the question.

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USA Today got our first look at some highly trained guinea pigs from Jerry Bruckheimer’s G-Force, which features the vocal talents of Bill Nighy, Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis, Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Jon Favreau, Penelope Cruz, Steve Buscemi and Tracy Morgan.

The film is about the latest evolution of a covert government program to train animals to work in espionage. Armed with the latest high-tech spy equipment, these highly trained guinea pigs discover that the fate of the world is in their paws. Tapped for the G-Force are guinea pigs Darwin (Rockwell), the squad leader determined to succeed at all costs; Blaster (Morgan), an outrageous weapons expert with tons of attitude and a love for all things extreme; and Juarez (Cruz), a sexy martial arts pro; plus the literal fly-on-the-wall reconnaissance expert, Mooch, and a star-nosed mole, Speckles (Cage), the computer and information specialist.

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