Talk about a versatile director. George Miller, who years ago was at the helm for all the gritty and violent Mad Max films, dials up some of the most tender and heartfelt moments depicted on screen this year with Happy Feet Two.  As of today, the front-runner for Best Animated Film for 2011 has arrived.  And for someone (me) who historically pans the 3D gimmick, it’s actually put to good use in this 105 minute presentation.

We pick up with the dancing penguin, Mumble (voiced by Elijah Wood), who is trying to get his young son, Erik (cutely voiced by the young Ava Acres), to embrace their dancing culture that is now practiced all over their glacier territory.  Erik is flustered and believes that this environment just isn’t for him; so he ventures off with the always animated (no pun) Ramon (voiced by Robin Williams) – who knows a thing or two about being different – and they end up hanging with another set of penguins on the other side of the glacier.  This particular group worships, Sven (voiced by Hank Azaria), a presumed flying penguin.  Erik becomes instantly enamored with Sven and gets inspired to adopt his philosophy.

Meanwhile, Mumble is hastily tracking down Erik, but comes across problem that affects everyone who lives on the glacial ice as it threatens the lively hood of Mumble’s people; leading to an assortment of ice-dwelling animals to come to the rescue.

One of the cleverest elements about this story – aside from the underlying environmental stance – is that it feels like an adventure, yet only takes place in 2-3 places.  Besides the two penguin nations that reside on the ice caps, the story introduces a separate story line – ushering in the third location – featuring two Krill in Will (voiced by Brad Pitt) and Bill (voiced by Matt Damon).  Will is anxious to break away from the normal Krill life and become a predator.  His goal: shake-up the food chain and “eat something with a face.”  Bill, his loyal and nervous friend, constantly tries to talk him out of this new lifestyle as they roam around in the depths of the arctic sea.  But Will is determined and constantly puts his vulnerable self in harm’s way, as he attacks creatures a million times larger than him.

The Krill adventures brings in the perfect amount of comedy to balance out the cuteness and warming story going on with the penguins.  If you can recall the moment in The Lion King when Mufasa saved Simba by giving his own life, that emotional discharge you had (or should have had, unless your Satan)  is beautifully executed and projected in numerous sequences throughout this screenplay that encompasses a modest dramatic tone to it.  Not only is the direction of each scene crafted with care, the dialogue really brings in a substantial moments that is often missing with animations lately.  A lot of them are just show-and-go, with the goal of cheap entertainment.  And that’s fine for some.  However, when an animated flick can bring in every emotion and induce a wide-spectrum of reactions from the audience (there’s even a brief scare where you may jump a little), it’s a rarity to behold.

Plus, the 3D provides a nice scope for the fluid animated landscape.  It almost feels like you’re on a visual ride at a theme park, as you’ll have the urge to continually explore the surroundings.  And when factoring in the delivery method of the screenplay; which is filled with musical numbers, this feels like a major Broadway production in some respects that manages to keep every tone balanced and entertaining.

Overall, Happy Feet Two finds it rhythm early on and never misses a beat.  The splendid animation along with thoughtful dialogue will have all audiences fully engaged in all the emotions this flick is conjuring up.  Kids will learn something; adults will feel something; and everybody has a delightful movie going experience thanks to the flawless mechanics and intelligent storytelling.

RATING: 4.5 out of 5

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The fourth Peter Jackson video blog from the set of The Hobbit focuses on the 3D, specifically the way they use the RED cameras, shooting in 5k, how much of a difference the 48 frames per second will make for the viewers and probably for the first time in the making of a movie, 3D artwork. So grab your red-cyan glasses and watch this awesome video blog right after the break.

This 10 minutes and 46 second video blog goes very in depth on the 3D and shows probably the most we’ve seen from The Hobbit yet. Peter Jackson talks about the original Lord of the Rings and how he would have filmed it in 3D if he had the possibility back then. Instead he made a lot of 3D pictures on the set of the trilogy so look forward to those in some fancy The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey 3D Blu-ray.

Because they use such big lens, getting the right separation with the RED cameras was definitely a challenge and we see how they solved that with special rigs that can actually adjust the convergence point of the 3D on the fly. We also see how challenging working in 3D is for the makeup and wardrobe team and how the sets had to be painted in very bright colors so that it looks right when shown in the darkening 3D.

48 RED cameras and 17 3D rigs are used to shoot The Hobbit and instead of giving the cameras numbers, they named them after family members or friends. At the end of the video they show how they made 3D artwork by having two artists, one working in red, the other in blue, side by side. To really appreciate their work you need a pair of red-cyan glasses.

The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey is directed by Peter Jackson and stars Martin Freeman, Luke Evans, Hugo Weaving, Evangeline Lily, Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchett, Andy Serkis, Christopher Lee, Ian McKellen, Stephen Fry and Ian Holm among others. The film follows the story of Bilbo Baggins and his journey to the Lonely Mountain accompanied by 13 dwarfs, to reclaim a treasure stolen from them by the dragon Smaug. It is set to open December 14th 2012 and will be followed a year later by The Hobbit: There and Back Again on December 13th 2013.

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Filming is currently under-way on Cloud Atlas, the movie adaptation of David Mitchell’s novel, and we have our first look at Halle Berry and Hugo Weaving on the set. Filming in the middle of Glasgow, Scotland was bound to attract attention, especially if you’ve transformed a street into 1970s California.

The movie follows six storylines ranging from the South Pacific in the 19th Century to California in the 1970s to a post-apocalyptic future, and each actor will be playing multiple characters. In this storyline Halle Berry is playing Luisa Rey, a journalist in the 70s who discovers that a much hyped local nuclear power plant is not as safe as it seems.

From the set images it looks like Keith David is playing Joe Napier, a former cop who helps Luisa Rey, and Hugo Weaving is playing Bill Smoke, a contract killer hunting Rey down. I’m thinking Weaving will play the villain characters in each storyline, having had a lot of experience as the bad guy in movies such as The Matrix and Captain America.

Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) is directing this segment along with two others, while The Wachowskis (The Matrix, Speed Racer) will handle three other storylines set in the present and future. Other than Berry, Weaving and Keith David the movie also stars Tom Hanks, Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess, Ben Whishaw, David Gyasi, Hugh Grant, Susan Sarandon, Chinese actress Zhou Xun and South Korea’s Doona Bae.

You can see more action from the set over at The Daily Mail, Hugonuts and Carly’s Diary.

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Back in July, while talking about Cloud Atlas getting extra funding, Variety mentioned that Hugh Grant was among the cast, however I assumed the writer had a brain-fart and meant to mention Hugo Weaving instead who previously confirmed he’d play 6 roles in the film. But now a press release to mark the start of filming has been sent out, and Grant’s name is among those confirmed to star.

Here’s the full cast line-up, along with a new plot description:

Producers Grant Hill and Stefan Arndt announce that CLOUD ATLAS will begin filming on September 16th. The ambitious, independently financed film will be co-directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski, directors/writers of the ground-breaking MATRIX trilogy, and Tom Tykwer, director/writer of PERFUME and RUN LOLA RUN.

Academy Award® winners Tom Hanks and Halle Berry lead an all-star ensemble cast that includes Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Ben Whishaw, Keith David and David Gyasi. The film also stars Hugh Grant and Susan Sarandon, with Chinese actress Zhou Xun and Doona Bae from Korea rounding out the internationally acclaimed cast.

CLOUD ATLAS is an epic story of humankind in which the actions and consequences of our lives impact one another throughout the past, present and future as one soul is shaped from a murderer into a savior and a single act of kindness ripples out for centuries to inspire a revolution.

The Wachowskis and Tykwer co-wrote CLOUD ATLAS, an adaptation of the celebrated best-selling novel by David Mitchell. Their unique creative collaboration began several years ago and has resulted in a vision that involves simultaneous filming of two full units that will take them to Scotland, Spain and Germany.

Preparation for filming on the Spanish island of Majorca is under-way, and the Earl of Pembroke (an 18th century wooden barque tall ship built in 1945) was filmed at Port de Soller this weekend.

Shooting will also take place in Glasgow, Scotland on the 16th, with local residents and business being informed of street closures:

Douglas Street and St Vincent Lane are going to play an important role in the film as the main location for the climactic action sequence in one of the six story lines which is set in San Francisco in the 1970’s. Our scenes will involve a car crash and shoot out on Douglas Street (on the junction with St Vincent Lane) followed by a chase down St Vincent Lane.

No release date has been set for Cloud Atlas, but Warner Bros. is expected to release the movie sometime in late 2012. Filming will continue until December.

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While most of Cloud Atlas will be shot in Berlin starting later this month, The Wachowskis (The Matrix) and Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) will also be needing other locations for the movie, which follows six storylines ranging from the South Pacific in the 19th Century to California in the 1970s to a post-apocalyptic future.

Today STV reports that production will be heading to Glasgow, Scotland (which said goodbye to Brad Pitt and World War Z this week), and there is a casting call for extras in Majorca (a popular tourist island off the coast of Spain).

Generally news of shooting locations doesn’t interest me that much, but with the cast of Cloud Atlas playing multiple roles (mixing race and gender) this information is helping us to unravel who is playing who.

STV says Halle Berry and Tom Hanks will film in Glasgow between 16 – 18 September and on 26 September. This pretty much confirms Berry will be playing Luisa Rey, a journalist in 1970s California who discovers that a much hyped local nuclear power plant is not as safe as it seem (expect corruption, car chases and murder). Hanks could be playing a number of characters in this story, but he will likely be Joe Napier, a former cop who helps Luisa Rey.

Meanwhile the Majorca Film Commission has sent out a casting call looking for over 200 extras, with the first request asking for men, woman and children of all ages. This is likely for the sixth story which is set on the island of Hawaii in 2321 where life has reverted to the days of tribal living after most of humanity dies during “The Fall”. Zachry, a tribesman, is visited by Meronym (Berry), a member of the last remnants of technologically-advanced civilization.

They also request men between the ages of 25 and 45 with slightly long hair and scruffy beards to play sailors, as well as body doubles for Jim Sturgess and Jim Broadbent. This points towards the story of Adam Ewing in 1850, a lawyer visiting the Chatham Islands off the coast of New Zealand who witnesses the colonization and conversion of the Maori.

The ambitious Cloud Atlas doesn’t have a release date yet, but Warner Bros. will be aiming for a late-2012 or early 2013 release.

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With filming set to begin next month it looks like all of the major players in Cloud Atlas have been announced. The most recent was Jim Sturgess last week, who joins Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Bae Doona, Susan Sarandon, Ben Whishaw and Jim Broadbent.

So far none of the roles (each actor will play multiple) have been confirmed and we’ve had to go on IMDB listings and speculation from those who have read David Mitchell’s novel, but in a recent interview Ben Whishaw (Perfume: The Story of a Murderer) confirmed the three roles he’ll be taking on. One involves learning how to play the piano, and one involves being a woman.

From Vulture:

Let’s talk Cloud Atlas for a moment. Are you learning piano now for the movie?
Yes, I am! It’s something I’ve wanted to do for ages, and it was a lovely excuse to fulfill that dream. I’m really enjoying it. I’m not that bad, but all I can play so far are the pieces in the film. And I’m reading the book now; I guess I’m about halfway through.

One of your co-stars, Hugo Weaving, said he was playing six parts. Who are your characters?
Everyone in the cast is playing at least three parts, some big and some small. I’m doing three: Frobisher in the thirties; a female American in the seventies, in the Luisa Rey section; and a smallish role, where I’m basically an extra, in a modern-day nursing home, in the Timothy Cavendish section. Everybody’s swapping race and gender, so it’s very ambitious and quite fun. I’ll really love playing a woman!

Robert Frobisher is the lead character in the chapter ‘Letters from Zedelghem’ which is set in the 1930s. Frobisher, a penniless young musician, flees from his debtors in England and finds work as an amanuensis to a dying world-class composer (either Jim Broadbent or Tom Hanks) living in Belgium.

Cloud Atlas follows six storylines which range from the South Pacific in the 19th Century to California in the 1970s to a post-apocalyptic future. The Wachowskis (The Matrix) and Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) are co-directing and will be in charge of different teams to shoot the six storylines. Tykwer will probably handle the period era plotlines while The Wachowskis direct the sci-fi scenes set in the future.

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Jim Sturgess, who can currently be seen opposite Anne Hathaway in rom-com drama One Day, confirmed to USA Today that he will soon be heading to Berlin to shoot the movie adaptation of David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas alongside Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Bae Doona, Susan Sarandon, Ben Whishaw and Jim Broadbent.

Cloud Atlas follows six storylines which range from the South Pacific in the 19th Century to California in the 1970s to a post-apocalyptic future. Sturgess didn’t reveal his role to USA Today, but like his fellow cast members he’ll probably be taking on multiple characters. Sturgess spoke about the movie to The Playlist a few weeks ago when there was talk of him joining.

”[All the actors] play a few characters, it’s very clever what [the directors are] gonna try and do. I’m really really really excited about it,” Sturgess continued. “I think it’s going to be bonkers, it’s either going to work or it’s not. I’m really excited to see if we can pull it off, because it’s ambitious what they want to do. And it’s nice, you feel like no one’s ever done that in a film before, it’s like rep theater on a sort of giant movie scale.”

Earlier this week we heard shooting would begin in late-September, with The Wachowskis (The Matrix) and Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) in charge of different teams to shoot the six storylines. Tykwer will probably handle the period era plotlines while The Wachowskis direct the sci-fi scenes set in the future.

Specific roles haven’t been confirmed, but Halle Berry is expected to play Meronym, a member of the last remnants of technologically-advanced civilization, and South Korean actress Bae Doona (The Host) will likely play Sonmi~451, a genetically-engineered clone in the year 2144. Hugo Weaving revealed earlier this year that he’ll be playing 6 different characters.

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If you’ve been following the movie adaptation of David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas you’ll know The Wachowskis (The Matrix) and Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) are co-directing, Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Bae Doona, Susan Sarandon, Ben Whishaw and Jim Broadbent are starring, and Warner Bros. are aiming for a release towards the end of next year.

In a new interview producer Stefan Ardnt said the movie is now set to begin shooting mid-to-late September at Germany’s Studio Babelsberg with financing and cast deals almost in place. He also said the budget was “definitely lower” than the $100 million – $120 million number which had been thrown around, and revealed the unique filming set-up with Tykwer and The Wachowskis.

From THR:

“Many have called the novel unfilmable, but Tom [Tykwer] and the Wachowskis have found a way to tell these stories in an amazing, linear and very cinematic way,” Arndt said.

Part of the concept of the film will see the actors play multiple roles in the various storylines. Tykwer and the Wachowski siblings will shoot parallel to each other using two separate film crews. Arndt wouldn’t confirm details but it’s expected Tykwer, whose credits include the 18th century-set Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, will handle Cloud Atlas’ period era plotlines while the Wachowskis apply their Matrix mojo to the novel’s sci-fi settings.

Cloud Atlas follows six storylines which range from the South Pacific in the 19th Century to California in the 1970s to a post-apocalyptic future. Over the weekend I tracked down and read the script out of curiosity, and the draft I read was very long and very ambitious. All six stories are told simultaneously, cutting from 2346 to 2009 to 1864 and back again. The payoff is a conclusion which wraps up all the stories in an epic fashion.

Specific roles haven’t been confirmed, but Halle Berry is expected to play Meronym, a member of the last remnants of technologically-advanced civilization, and South Korean actress Bae Doona (The Host) will likely play Sonmi~451, a genetically-engineered clone in the year 2144. Hugo Weaving revealed earlier this year that he’ll be playing 6 different characters.

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Heading into Captain America, one question was at the forefront of my mind: could director Joe Johnston recapture the tone of his 1991 cult classic The Rocketeer and translate that into a superhero movie for today’s audience? Thankfully, the answer is yes. This movie probably isn’t going to be any Marvel fanboy’s favorite, but it has enough action and humor to make it one of the fledgling studio’s better efforts of the past couple years.

The newest in Marvel’s ambitious multi-film build-up to The Avengers, Captain America shows yet another side to the studio’s versatile approach to creating one consistent universe; while Thor delved into an entirely different world, Captain America takes place in a different time, making it Marvel’s first true period piece. Johnston, a protégé of Steven Spielberg and a former Acadby Award-winning effects artist (responsible for designing Boba Fett’s armor and the AT-AT units in Star Wars, among many other things), really starts to relish the look and feel of the 1940s in this movie. In a recent interview, Johnston revealed that he had two offices during the making of the film and one of thb was in the art department so he could supervise the design and creation of the world; clearly, that aspect of production remains close to his heart. His team pulled off a really cool look here, a stylized vibe that reminds me more of a propaganda poster than what that actual time truly looked like.

After an interesting casting battle that featured “The Office” star John Krasinski and TRON: Legacy‘s Garret Hedlund, actor Chris Evans – who notably already played a superhero in Marvel’s Fantastic Four series – accepted the role and did an admirable job with a pretty decent script. Once the scrawny Steve Rogers (a great bit of CGI trickery) becomes the jacked Captain America, the audience’s ability to relate to the character dissolves a bit. It’s tough to pull for a guy who’s seemingly invincible; even Superman has Kryptonite, but there’s never any real danger for Cap. He and his boys go around the world kicking ass, and it’s cool and everything, but I wish there would have been a little more importance attached to his missions.

Hugo Weaving as the villainous Red Skull was inspired casting, but he’s essentially wasted on a character that never shows the true evil of which he’s surely capable. He’s gotta have that Darth Vader moment where he completely destroys something on a massive scale for the audience to really fear him, but unfortunately the character is never allowed that moment. The makeup is great, and Weaving was solid, but the character himself didn’t really do much.

One of the reasons I liked Thor was because of how well the writers integrated the S.H.I.E.L.D./Avengers setup stuff, making it organic to the story instead of forcing it in (like Iron Man 2). Since Captain America is a period piece, it’s a little easier for them to deal with; the story revolves around the cosmic cube (referenced in Thor and surely an important part of the upcoming Avengers), and they incorporate Howard Stark’s involvement into the story, filling out that character and allowing for some fun moments for Dominic Cooper to chew some scenery as, essentially, an older version of Robert Downey, Jr.’s Tony. The rest of the supporting cast is serviceable, too. Names like Tommy Lee Jones and Stanley Tucci rarely disappoint, and more minor players like Neal McDonough (fantastic in “Band of Brothers”) and Sebastian Stan (entertaining in Hot Tub Time Machine, totally forgettable in the otherwise-brilliant Black Swan) also did some good work. (Though their parts are woefully underwritten.) Hayley Atwell (Cassandra’s Dream) takes center stage as Cap’s love interest, Agent Peggy Carter. Her character isn’t given much to do, but Atwell brings enough moxie to the part that I’m interested in seeing her again soon.

Like most of the other Marvel films, this one begins in media res and returns to the present time by the end. Aside from not detailing how exactly Cap is able to “sleep for almost 70 years” – and honestly, it doesn’t matter – I thought all of the storylines were nicely wrapped up and, without trying too hard, Captain America ended up being a pretty fun stepping stone towards next summer’s ultimate team-up flick. Until next time…

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ComingSoon got their hands on the new international poster for Captain America: The First Avenger which features Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Neal McDonough, and JJ Feild as their respective characters.

Check out the full poster below:

Captain America: The First Avenger will focus on the early days of the Marvel Universe when Steve Rogers (Evans) volunteers to participate in an experimental program that turns him into the Super Soldier known as Captain America. As Captain America, Rogers joins forces with Bucky Barnes (Stan) and Peggy Carter (Atwell) to wage war on the evil HYDRA organization, led by the villainous Red Skull (Weaving).

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