First Full Trailer for Man of Steel Is Here! – We’ve already seen the pretty good teaser, but now we have the first full-length trailer for Man of Steel. My initial reaction is to acknowledge the dominant gloominess of the trailer, leading me to believe producer Christopher Nolan has crafted this film to be in the same tonal universe as his Batman trilogy. Aside from that, I’m impressed by the visuals, particularly the image of Superman applying such pressure to the ground when he’s preparing to take off that it cracks around him. Also, it’s important to note that there is no hint of director Zack Snyder’s trademark fast-mo-slo-mo-fast-mo technique that has already worn out its welcome. What do you think of the trailer? Leave us a comment letting us know.
Surprising SAG Nominations – The Screen Actors Guild has unveiled their nominations for the best acting performances of the year. The nominees for Best Ensemble Cast (their biggest prize) are: Argo, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Les Misérables, Lincoln, and Silver Linings Playbook. Among the surprise nominees are Nicole Kidman (Paperboy) and Javier Bardem (Skyfall), while Joaquin Phoenix receives a snub for his performance in The Master. To view the full list of nominees, click here.
Golden Globe Nominations – The Golden Globes aren’t really that important. I mean, they think they are, but they aren’t. Mostly, the Globes are a stage where films and performances that won’t be recognized by the Oscars and Emmys can have a night in the public eye. The nominees for Best Motion Picture: Comedy or Musical are: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Les Misérables, Moonrise Kingdom, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, and Silver Linings Playbook. For Best Motion Picture: Drama we have: Argo, Django Unchained, Life of Pi, Lincoln, and Zero Dark Thirty. For the full list of nominees, click here.
AFI Names Top Ten Films of the Year – While you will find Top Ten lists all over the Internet at the end of every year and most can be ignored (not mine though, which I’ll be writing once I actually see the rest of the important movies this year), one group that holds more cachet than the others is the American Film Institute. After all, they’re the ones that make the extensive “100 Best ____” lists. AFI has compiled their list of films they believe will be most remembered from the past year: Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Dark Knight Rises, Django Unchained, Les Misérables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Moonrise Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook, and Zero Dark Thirty.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim Trailer is Here! – Feast your eyes on a hell of a trailer. Pacific Rim looks like a mix of ideas from Cthulu, Transformers, and Avatar, and I don’t think it could look any more awesome. Hopefully del Toro doesn’t make the mistakes of Michael Bay and James Cameron by making the action too hectic to see or the characters too one-dimensional to care about. We also see a bit of a passionate speech by Idris Elba that I imagine will be intensely inspirational à la the President’s speech in Independence Day.
Birthdays – Kenneth Branagh (52), Jennifer Connelly (42), Bill Nighy (63), Jamie Foxx (45), Steve Buscemi (55), Christopher Plummer (83), Dick Van Dyke (87), Tim Conway (79).
Weekend Box Office – Film Title (Weekend Gross/Cumulative Gross)
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ($84.8 m/$84.8 m)
- Rise of the Guardians ($7.42 m/$71.4 m)
- Lincoln ($7.24 m/$108 m)
- Skyfall ($7 m/$272 m)
- Life of Pi ($5.4 m/$69.6 m)
- The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 ($5.17 m/$277)
- Wreck-it Ralph ($3.27 m/$169 m)
- Playing for Keeps ($3.25 m/$10.8 m)
- Red Dawn ($2.39 m/$40.9 m)
- Silver Linings Playbook ($2.08 m/$17 m)
