First Look: "Thor"

Australian actor Chris Hemsworth heads this eagerly awaited 2011 film co-starring Natalie Portman, Thor. Sweeping through the futuristic age, the reckless Thor is cast down to Earth as part of a punishment and must now face the wrath of his archrival who is sent to invade Earth. Portman stars as a young woman who befriends Thor as he struggles to assimilate on the planet. Thor, which also co-stars Anthony Hopkins, heads to theaters May 6, 2011.

First Look "Scream 4"

Even with the growing trend of needless sequels in Hollywood lately, I have to admit I am a little psyched to learn that the popular Wes Craven-directed Scream series is returning for a fourth installment next year. Slated to hit theaters on April 15, 2011, Scream 4 reunites Courteney Cox and David Arquette and the films' heroine Neve Campbell (where has she been??).

First Look: "Jonah Hex"

Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (Milk, No Country For Old Men) heads up this summer's highly anticipated summer action blockbuster Jonah Hex. Co-starring the overrated Megan Fox, Brolin stars as a bounty hunter with a shady past who's given an offer by the U.S. military that he's in no position to turn down: in exchange for his freedom he must track down a deadly terrorist. Jonah Hex hits theaters June 18. Check out the trailer below:

And check out the exclusive new footage from the movie:

First Look: "Tron Legacy"

The Game Has Changed.

Gamers unite! The wildly popular video game Tron Legacy is hitting the big screen late this year and stars no other than Oscar winner Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, mastermind behind the ENCOM computer system CLU and father to Sean (Garrett Hedlund), a tech savvy twenty-something year old. Sam must venture into the dangerous Master Control Program after he learns that his father, who's been missing for over twenty years, is caught in a treacherous web between the nemesis program and ENCOM. Sean soon learns he's in the fight of his life between good and evil and no one can be trusted. Tron Legacy is scheduled to hit theaters December 17 in 3-D (of course). Check out the latest trailer below:

DVD Review: "Down To The Bone"

Life can be tough. Paying bills, enduring a dead-end job, raising kids and going nowhere fast. Add a miserable marriage and a crippling drug habit in the dead of winter in small town U.S.A. and you've got the premise for 2004's Down To The Bone. Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga (Up In The Air, The Departed) stars as Irene, a drug dependant mom to two boys stuck in a stale marriage. After she hits a particularly low point in her life, she checks herself into a rehab facility. But her attempt at sobriety is disrupted when she meets and falls for Bob (played by Hugh Dillon), an equally depressed attendant with whom she feels free to expose her demons without the extra effort of having to hide them. As you can imagine, nothing but trouble ensues from there. Irene must decide whether her balancing act is worth the sacrifice of her children, before she suffocates between the two lives she leads.

Audiences can tell that Farmiga empathized with Irene and it showed in her effortlessly-acted performance. Though it runs slow at times, Down To The Bone showed more the emotional dehabilitation rather than the obvious physical ware drugs took on a small town mom--a dehabilittaion that sliced through the core of her family and her own consciousness. In the end, you feel her pain, her desperation, and her ultimate self-betrayal as she embarks on the fight of her life.

Reel Talk rating: A-

DVD Review: "The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans"

"I'll kill all of you. To the break of dawn. To the break of dawn, baby."

Nicolas Cage has been having a tough time on the big screen recently, but last year the Oscar winner starred in Werner Herzog's psychological cop thriller The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans, and critics took note. Though he was ignored during award season, Cage reminded us all of the talent which first made him a star back in 1982 with Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

Cage stars as Terence McDonagh, a New Orleans detective who hurts his back on the job and becomes addicted to painkillers which, in turn, throws him into a life of hard core drug abusing, further exacerbated by his insurmountable gambling debt and an equally drug addicted prostitute girlfriend (played by the clearly typecast Eva Mendes). In the midst of everything, the troubled cop is knee-deep in a high-profile case involving the murder of an entire family over drugs. Dangerously mixing business with his favorite poison, both McDonagh's life and job are on the line when he gets too cozy with the drug culprits while trying to crack the case and desperately keep his debtors at bay. And not doing a good job at either thing.

Gritty, raw, and kooky at times, Bad Lieutenant is one of those movies that you can't really look away, even though you may want to for certain scenes. Though the lazy ending almost sabotages the film, Bad Lieutenant is a pretty decent rental.

Cage borrowed a little from his performance in Leaving Las Vegas, but it may just be what's needed to get his career back on track.

Reel Talk rating: B+

Early Review: "Death At A Funeral"

"Let me get this straight: our dad was "bromantically" involved with a guy that could fit in his pocket, and you're mad because he's white?"

Typically Chris Rock fails to impress me in his movies though I think his standup is hilarious. But in his new movie Death At A Funeral, which he also executive produced, he gets a solid A for effort. Teaming up with IT girl Zoe Saldana, comedians Martin Lawrence and Tracy Morgan, the legendary Danny Glover and Loretta Divine, James Marsden, Columbus Short and Luke Wilson, Rock instantly created a hodgepodge of new and vintage talent effortlessly caught on screen.
Borrowing from the original British film, Death follows a grieving family on the brink of burying their patriarch at an unexpectedly wild funeral complete with an LSD trip, the unveiling of a scandalous family secret, and even toilet humor.
Though the trailer severely spoils most of the funny parts of the movie, seeing Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence together on screen was like a comedic dream. Both both comedians were slightly overshadowed by the over-the-top hilarious performance by James Marsden (who redeemed himself from the his ill-fated The Box), whose character Oscar spent much of the movie drugged and loopy allowing for great physical comedy. But really all the actors, including Zoe Saldana, really held their own. It's not a great movie, but far exceeds expectation and remains very true to the original film but with a clever African-American slant (which may actually make it even funnier). It wasn't stereotypical or bland, just a good time at the movies.

Death At A Funeral hits theaters April 16.

Reel Talk rating: B