Relativity Media today released the first official trailer for The Raven. The film, directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) stars John Cusack, Luke Evans, Alice Eve, Brendan Gleeson and Oliver Jackson-Cohen.

Watch below:

In this gritty thriller, Edgar Allen Poe (John Cusack) joins forces with a young Baltimore detective (Luke Evans) to hunt down a mad serial killer who’s using Poe’s own works as the basis in a string of brutal murders.

When a mother and daughter are found brutally murdered in 19th century Baltimore, Detective Emmett Fields (Luke Evans) makes a startling discovery: the crime resembles a fictional murder described in gory detail in the local newspaper—part of a collection of stories penned by struggling writer and social pariah Edgar Allan Poe. But even as Poe is questioned by police, another grisly murder occurs, also inspired by a popular Poe story.

Realizing a serial killer is on the loose using Poe’s writings as the backdrop for his bloody rampage, Fields enlists the author’s help in stopping the attacks. But when it appears someone close to Poe may become the murderer’s next victim, the stakes become even higher and the inventor of the detective story calls on his own powers of deduction to try to solve the case before it’s too late.

The Raven looks to be a slightly darker version of Sherlock Holmes, however that may just be the editing of the trailer. Either way, it looks quite good and interesting enough to see when it hits next March.

Read similar posts to First trailer for The Raven at Filmonic

Luke Evans (Clash of the Titans) and Alice Eve (Sex in the City 2) are in negotiations to join John Cusack in The Raven according to THR.

The film, to be directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta, Ninja Assassin) follows author Edgar Allan Poe (Cusack) in 1849 who’s fiance (Eve) is kidnapped by a serial killer who has gone on a murdering spree that mimics the author’s work. Evans will play a detective who partners with Poe to search for the serial killer and his fiance.

Both Luke Evans and Alice Eve (both British) are officially on the ‘up and coming’ list. Evans had a small role in Clash of the Titans, and will be heading back to Greece as Zeus in Immortals next year. The actor will also be seen in The Three Musketeers by director Paul W.S. Anderson.

Alice Eve was on the shortlist to play Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger and to play Emma Frost in X-Men: First Class. She unfortunately missed out on both, but she has finally landed herself a meaty role with The Raven.

Filming will begin in November in Budapest and the film will be released sometime next year.

Read similar posts to Luke Evans and Alice Eve join The Raven at Filmonic

Looks like we spoke a bit too soon with our last post regarding The Raven. Jeremy Renner’s involvement was apparently overestimated, and now with the actor moving on to Mission: Impossible 4 and perhaps Paul Thomas Anderson’s tentatively titled The Master, a slot has opened in James McTeigue’s intriguing Edgar Allan Poe project.

John Cusack has stepped in to play Poe, who – in this fictionalized version of his last five days on Earth – must team up with a detective to catch a serial killer who has captured Poe’s fiancé and kills people in ways inspired by the author’s own work.

Heat Vision brings the casting news, also reporting the film will shoot in Budapest and Serbia, locations which are supposed to double for Baltimore, Maryland in the year 1859. Filming begins on October 25th.

Joaquin Phoenix (star of the upcoming documentary I’m Still Here) and Ewan McGregor were once in talks for the lead role in The Raven over the years, and apparently Renner was attached as the detective before leaving in favor of M:I 4.

I think the detective role sounds perfect for Edward Norton. Who do you think should replace Renner to assist Cusack’s Poe in tracking down a notorious killer? And what do you think of Cusack himself playing the iconic author? This is one of the most original ideas I’ve heard in Hollywood development circles in quite some time, so expect updates on this project as they arrive.

Read similar posts to John Cusack to play Poe in ‘The Raven’ at Filmonic

I’ve been a supporter of this film since the first day it was announced. How could I not be? Hollywood is so heavy into reboots, remakes, prequels, sequels, and spin-offs, it’s difficult to sift through all the noise and realize that there are occasionally original films still being produced. If anything, give Hot Tub Time Machine credit for originality. The title says it all: four guys go back in time to 1986 through a mystical hot tub time machine. But does the movie live up to its premise?

Adam (Cusack) has been unceremoniously dumped by his girlfriend. Jacob (Duke), Adam’s nephew, is obsessed with Second Life, lives in his uncle’s basement, and writes Stargate fan fiction. Nick (Robinson), a one-time singer, now works at a pet store, where he is forced to perform humiliating tasks. When Lou (Corddry) nearly kills himself in his own garage, the group of former friends (and Jacob) reunite to cheer Lou up by returning to a lodge they frequented in years past. Soon after arriving at the now-dilapidated lodge, they end up in the titular hot tub and travel back to 1986, giving the guys a chance to fix their disappointing lives.

To answer my own question, yes – I think the movie does live up to its premise. While I think it is a largely by-the-numbers comedy, it has a heart that is rare these days outside of the Apatow comedies. Each actor gives a genuine performance, and each character has a pretty legitimate arc. There is a decent mix of raunchy humor and good situational comedy, and the movie never feels long or drawn out. I’m betting a funnier movie comes along before the year is over, but for right now it’s the funniest comedy of 2010.

There are also a lot of funny details that make the movie more likable than it should be. One such detail is a running gag featuring Crispin Glover’s character Phil, a bellhop at the lodge. When the group arrives at the lodge in 2010, Phil is missing an arm; when they time-travel back to ’86, he still has it. Throughout the movie, Phil finds himself in increasingly precarious positions with the potential to lose his arm and our main cast (especially Lou) is always on the lookout to see if they can witness the infamous incident.

Surprisingly, the aspect I had the most trouble with was the time travel. I would have no problem if they were magically transported to the past with no explanation and no hint as to why it happened, but Chevy Chase plays a janitor at the lodge who seems to know exactly what’s going on. He knows our heroes have traveled through time, and offers vague hints as to the reasoning behind it, but his character is never explained. How does this guy know what’s going on? Has this type of thing happened before? Is he some sort of guardian, like in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade? His back story is never revealed, and while I certainly don’t need an entire origin story on the guy, a bit of context would be nice. Most importantly, his character isn’t funny. If you’re going to write a comedy with the mystical sage janitor offering advice, I’d suggest making that character’s screen time funny – especially when he doesn’t do a lot to truly help the guys out in the end.

That being said, one thing I did like about how the movie handled the time travel was the appearance of the main characters. To everyone else at the lodge in 1986, the main group looked the same as they did back in ’86 – big hair for Craig Robinson, tall and skinny for Cusack, etc. I liked how the film showed us what they looked like a few times, but didn’t keep returning to the young versions of these characters. They let their main actors continue to play themselves, and the 1986 people treated them as if they were the younger versions of themselves. One of the funniest examples of this comes in the form of Lou’s nemesis, a ski instructor named Blaine. Since our heroes return to a 1986 in which they were actually present the first time around, Jacob suggests that they must try to recreate the exact events of the night in order for him to be born.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Lizzy Caplan in the movie. I’ve been a fan of her work for a while now, having seen her in TV’s “Freaks and Geeks,” the excellent new Starz show “Party Down,” and in the role of Marlena in Cloverfield. Sure, her and Adam’s love story didn’t make a lot of sense, but it was still fun to see her keep up with a cast that looked like they had a great time making a funny movie. Actors can take things too seriously sometimes, so I’m glad to see that everyone was seemingly on the same page about what kind of movie they were making. This is a movie where Craig Robinson says, “it must be some kind of…hot tub time machine,” and then looks directly in the camera for about three seconds. Clearly they know they’re working with a ridiculous concept.

I loved the music, which features songs by Poison, Motley Crue, and Rick Springfield (listen to Craig Robinson’s cover of “Jessie’s Girl” at Entertainment Weekly). Nick, once a singer with potential, gets back on the stage in 1986 and pulls a Back to the Future, giving the audience a taste of a famous song to come. I won’t spoil which song it is, but I will say that I’m not a fan of the song (or the band responsible, for that matter) but hearing Robinson and Co. sing it had me rocking out just as hard as the crowd in the movie.

If you liked the trailer, chances are really high that you’ll like the movie. Most of the main gags are given away in the trailer, but like I said, there are still a bunch of smaller funny moments that make it worth seeing. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention – the ending is absolutely ludicrous, so don’t say I didn’t warn you. Until next time…

Read similar posts to Review: Hot Tub Time Machine at Filmonic

We saw a 50 second preview yesterday and now we have the full 5 minute clip. It’s crazy, it’s over the top and it’s full of CGI. I don’t think there will be a disaster movie in the future that will be able to top this.

It begins with John Cusack driving at high speed in a limo whilst on the phone to the mother of his children. He tells her to “pack up the kids” because “California is going down”. Less than a minute later everyone is in the limo and they are driving away from an earthquake (just like people ran from the cold in The Day After Tomorrow). For the rest of the clip it’s just pure mayhem and a special effects bonanza. You’ll have to watch it to understand what I’m talking about.

Obviously this is one of those big blockbusters that’s main selling point is the special effects. The story and acting will take a back seat, but people will lap it up and it will make a tonne of money. From the clip I got the feeling that the actors were under-acting, but I can understand why. Director Roland Emmerich will have told them the basics, however I don’t even think the actors could imagine what the end result would be.

Read similar posts to This 5 minute 2012 clip is absolutely crazy at Filmonic

A new trailer for Roland Emmerich’s 2012 has appeared online. The guy behind Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow has outdone himself this time. Not only do we have bigger tsunami’s than we’ve ever seen on-screen, we also have earthquakes, meteors, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes and giraffes. The trailer is rather epic and contains a dozen great money shot scenes, but the problem with Emmerich’s films is that they look cool, but the characters and emotion take a backseat. Yes, we see them crying while being taken out by a tidal wave in the trailer, but I doubt we will give a damn while watching the film. I hope I’m wrong though.

Anyway, here it is:

Read similar posts to The end of the world never looked so good at Filmonic

John Cusack’s new film, War, Inc., is set for release on April 28 according to IMDb (Really? On a Monday?). This is the blurb about the movie:

A political satire set in Turaqistan, a country occupied by an American private corporation run by a former US Vice-President (Aykroyd). In an effort to monopolize the opportunities the war-torn nation offers, the corporation’s CEO hires a troubled hit man (Cusack), to kill a Middle East oil minister. Now, struggling with his own growing demons, the assassin must pose as the corporation’s Trade Show Producer in order to pull off this latest hit, while maintaining his cover by organizing the high-profile wedding of Yonica Babyyeah (Duff) an outrageous Middle Eastern pop star, and keeping a sexy left wing reporter (Tomei) in check.

Still confused? So am I. The trailer, recently released, doesn’t help much, but it’s at least fun to watch.

I think I’d go see it just to see Joan Cusack freaking out all the time. Oh yeah, and for this:

Read similar posts to War And Scorpions at Filmonic