TRANSFORMERS 3 GETS A TITLE - THE DARK OF THE MOON

Transformers 3 news has not been scare lately as on set photos surfaced all over the web in recent months. This was especially apparent when the project was filming on location in Chicago and fans flocked the streets to get a look at the new Transformers action. However, bad news also came from the set. You can learn more by reading the piece Abby wrote a month ago about how an extra got seriously injured during filming. Well, now there is some positive news about the film in the form of an official movie title.

THE SPIDER-MAN REBOOT GETS SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER

Finally, more Spider-Man news. Over the weeks I have been eagerly awaiting to finally put a legitimate post up about some concrete Spidey announcements. Last week it was rumored Emma Stone was being circled by Sony to play a role in the reboot, but I refused to write about the speculation because I wanted something solid. Well, after patiently waiting, Sony finally delivered by announcing Emma Stone will indeed be in their newest Spider-Man flick via a press release that broke yesterday.

CHECK OUT SKYLINE AND WILD TARGET

It's been awhile since DisputedKnowledge featured a duo of movie trailers, so here we go. Up on the bill today we have two very different films, but both caught my eye as "must-see cinema." First is an alien flick eerily familiar to Independence Day called Skyline, and the second is a lighthearted comedy called Wild Target which reminds me of The Whole Nine Yards. Interested yet? Check out both trailers after the jump. 

THREE NEW DEATHLY HALLOWS POSTERS

Of course, one of my most anticipated movies of the fall season is the newest installment of the Harry Potter franchise. In the recent weeks I've been bringing you all the news about the upcoming Deathly Hallows films, but this time there is no news, only movie posters. Warner Bros. has released new individual character posters for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Three posters were revealed, each profiling one the the film's lead characters Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Check out the posters after the jump.

SAWYER-ERR-JOSH HOLLOWAY JOINS MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE CAST

The casting news surrounding the untitled fourth Mission: Impossible film has been a hot topic in weeks past. The film recently added an adversary to pit against the Tom Cruise-led team of operatives and also pulled Paula Patton into the lead female role. The newest addition to the cast comes from one of my favorite television actors Josh Holloway. Any LOST fan will surely recognize the 41 year-old instantly as Holloway played the rouge character Sawyer on the the hit ABC show that wrapped up this past year.

KATE BECKINSALE AND "UNDERWORLD 4" ARE A GO

The first movie I remember absolutely obsessing over was the first Underworld. Kate Beckinsale on a mission to annihilate everything Lycan while looking oh so fine in skin-tight leather, prosthetic fangs, and colored contacts. My favorite thing about the Underworld films is the gorgeous cinematography, the scenes rich in cool colors and tones to set the mood for the dark tale. Of course the overall story boils down to vampires versus werewolves, but woven into the narrative are subplots like forbidden love, corrupt leadership, and an unfair class system. The aristocratic vampires initially held all the power over their counterparts using the werewolves as slaves to guard their holdings by day as the vampires slept.

CASTING NEWS FROM MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, SUPER 8, AND MORE

The fourth Mission: Impossible is set to begin production in December. Obviously, a villain would be necessary for the show to go on. With Jeremy Renner already signed on to play Tom Cruise's right hand man and Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg returning to the franchise, a new uber villain was needed to square off against the team of elite government operatives.

Word has dropped that unknown actor Michael Nyvquist has been cast to fill the villain vacancy (via The Hollywood Reporter). The Swedish actor's most notable role comes from the original The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo which is being remade for American audiences in the coming years. While Nyvquist just completed a film with John Singleton called Abduction, his role in the newest Mission: Impossible will definitely be his big introduction to the Hollywood scene. 

MY THOUGHTS ON THE NEWEST DEATHLY HALLOWS TRAILER: EHH...

The newest trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows just hit the web. Of course, the Movie Mash has got you covered. This brand new trailer is not advertising both movies like the previous trailer or teaser; this mamba is strictly promoting the first film. Hit the jump to see the latest trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS TV TRAILER

In my effort to bring readers all the details from the upcoming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows movies, I had to post about the the newest television spot for the final two films. The spot is only advertising the first film dropping November 19th. But get excited, the short trailer shows plenty of new footage that fans have not seen before. Check out the TV spot after the jump.

TOP FIVE MOVIES OF THE SUMMER

The summer movie season is officially over now and I am back in school attending classes at the University of Minnesota. In light of this depressing fact, I thought it would be appropriate to give a run down of my top five movies from the summer. I can't say this summer movie season was a disappointment by any means, but the number of quality movies did seem less than usual. However, the amazing movies featured on my list made this summer season a success in my book. I'm convinced picking Eclipse as the best movie of the summer will surely stir up some debate, but wait to argue until you read the article. So, let's check out my top movies of the summer after the break.

IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY TRAILER

While seeing The American the other day (which was not great I might add), I saw a preview for the upcoming movie It's Kind of a Funny Story. The trailer for the movie is not hot off the press so to speak, but my interest was sparked for this upcoming project by the preview you can check out after the jump.  So in light of my recent exposure to the newest Focus Features project I thought a quick overview and the film's trailer could intrigue readers to see It's Kind of a Funny Story which hits theaters this October.

MORE DEATHLY HALLOWS STILLS

Empire has broke word that Warner Brothers just released new hi-res production stills for the highly anticipated first installment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Being a Harry Potter nerd, I can tell all these stills are from the first of the two films. The first image shows Harry being interrogated by his old Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Remus Lupin. With Voldemort's minions on the prowl and possessing the ability to change appearances, security questions are set in place to ensure everyone is who they say they are.

BREAKING DOWN PERFECTION

In my movie production classes at the University of Minnesota I was trained how to look for those more subtle details which contribute to scene building aesthetics. While some of this background mechanics might not make sense to all but a few rabid movie connoisseurs, I still think it is a good read and might help you catch some of the finer nuances of the craft as you watch. I’m offering this piece because I love to examine key dynamics in powerful scenes in great film. One movie I have a passion for and have seen more times than I can count is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I personally think it is David Fincher's crown jewel, but that can be debated. 

The plot depicts Benjamin’s unique condition where a person ages backwards. The film opens with Benjamin’s birth on the last day of the Great War and ends with his death close to the new millennium. This tale is fundamentally a love story between Benjamin and a female he has known his entire life named Daisy. After flirting with the idea of being together for years, Benjamin and Daisy finally end up as a loving couple. The particular scene I am going to analyze is when Benjamin and Daisy are in a hotel bed together discussing how things in life never stay the same as a thunderstorm rages outside. This scene is one of my favorites (it is hard to choose when there are so many great ones) and one that has many applied aesthetics to be discussed.

TOY STORY 3 PUSHES ONE BILLION

Yesterday, Toy Story 3 crossed the $1 billion mark for worldwide ticket sales. The latest Pixar creation is only the seventh movie of all time to cross that threshold. Strangely enough, Toy Story 3 marks the second time this year that a Disney owned film has earned a billion dollars at the box office. Earlier this year, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland also scored worldwide earnings over $1 billion. With those films both grossing more than a billion dollars, Disney becomes the first studio ever to have two films reaching those astronomical earnings in one year.

Just two weeks ago, Toy Story 3 became the highest grossing animated film of all time, and now it continues its march up the earnings list with this milestone. So obviously Woody and Buzz are the only animated characters on the billion dollar worldwide earnings list.

FAIR GAME TRAILER

The upcoming release Fair Game should not to be confused with the 1995 bomb starring Cindy Crawford and William Baldwin with the same title. The 90's flick only banked $11 million on an estimated $50 million budget, scored a 13% approval on RottenTomatoes, and was nominated for Razzie awards for Worst Actress (Crawford) and Worst Screen Couple.

The newest version of Fair Game stars the absolutely stunning Naomi Watts and Academy Award Winner Sean Penn (Milk). The project also has Doug Liman's name attached to the director's role, usually counting as a plus. His best works are: The Bourne Identity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and Swingers. The 2010 version of Fair Game follows the real life events surrounding ex-CIA agent Valerie Plame. The screenplay is adapted from her memoirs entitled Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House. I always enjoy thrillers involving the government and conspiracy, but the stakes are raised when the movie is based off true events. See the captivating trailer after the jump.

JEREMY RENNER CAST IN MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE IV

Well, its safe to say that Jeremy Renner, star of Oscar Gem The Hurt Locker, has ascended to the cusp of the Hollywood elite. Whether or not he will stay there is up to him. If I ventured a guess it would be that he will be around for awhile. Although I did not personally think The Hurt Locker was all that it was cracked up to be by the adoring critics (see my review here), Renner did a superb job with his unbalanced character William James. Apparently, I was not the only one to take notice of the talent this 39 year-old possesses.

Renner has been cast as Hawkeye in The Avengers, will star in Ben Affleck's upcoming bank robbery film The Town, and now has just been cast to co-star alongside Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible IV. Deadline broke the news that Renner was chosen by Paramount because they thought he held a "Daniel Craig quality." Paramount obviously sees this franchise moving on even after Tom Cruise is no longer a part of the cast. Deadline explains, "Paramount has struggled to find the right co-star to play an operative opposite Cruise, and one factor was selecting an actor who could potentially carry the series down the line, should Cruise's Ethan Hunt character not continue."

BRYAN SINGER TALKS X-MEN: FIRST CLASS

In the effort to stay on top of the X-Men: First Class news I would of course have to report the film's Producer Bryan Singer commenting on the newest X-Men installment. Most current news about the film has revolved around the casting collage taking take place the past few weeks climaxing most recently with the addition of January Jones to the cast. The most insight into the upcoming movie however, comes with Singer's comments in an interview with AICN that you can see summarized below. As you could derive from my first X-Men: First Class article, I speculate Aaron Johnson playing the role of Scott Summers, aka Cyclops. From Singer's breakdown of the movie he clearly states that Cyclops will not be in the film. I think this is the prominent statement from the interview. After the jump you can see a summary of the AICN interview compiled by Slashfilm writer Russ Fischer.

A MATRIX HOMAGE TO SCOTT PILGRIM

I recently saw Scott Pilgrim vs. The World for the second time and thought it was just as good as the first. My favorite thing the second time around had to be the catchy soundtrack filling my ears again. That is what I like to consider an easy iTunes sale. Anyway, I came across this hilarious video on Slashfilm last night and thought to share it with my readers.

The video is entitled Scott Pilgrim vs. The Matrix, and it was very cleverly edited by AEMOVIEGUY. The video is hilarious as the talented editor overlays the audio from the Pilgrim trailer on top of footage from The Matrix Trilogy. The use of the comic book elements with The Matrix video made me laugh quite a bit as Keanu Reeves' character Neo assumes the role of Michael Cera's Scott Pilgrim. Check out the video after the jump.

A NEW TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES LIVE-ACTION MOVIE IS ON THE WAY

I have been a die-hard Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan my whole life. I am one of the many fans in the world to claim possession of  the biggest collection of Turtles toys, which I do, and also still have (I know, call me nostalgic). Besides my childhood love for the toys, apparel, television show, and video games, the cinema also brought us some great big screen Turtle adaptations.

The first live-action movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, was released in 1990. This film was gritty, hardcore, and as realistic an environment that walking/talking martial arts trained turtles could exist in. It is set in the dark alleys and sewers of New York City as the Turtles creep in the shadows upholding justice like a band of vigilantes. The movie perfectly manifests this setting watching the first scene when April O'Neil is attacked by a pack of looters and is rescued by the elite ninja skills of Raphael as he stealthily takes care of the thugs. This dark imagination of the Ninja Turtles with a profound sense of realism is the kind of movie I crave, and this first adaptation was by far the best Turtles film in everyone's opinion (even if you think otherwise, you really don't, because the first is the best).

NEW HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PRODUCTION STILLS

As promised, I will be bring you the latest from the Wizarding World through muggle modes of communication. Websites...pffht... do their pictures come to life? Us muggles should understand the best way to get news is from the Daily Prophet. But is it really? Isn't Voldemort's sly, cunning, invisible hand secretly controlling the Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts, and the Wizard lines of communication like the Daily Prophet? Never fear though, the non-Voldemort manipulated news reporting on the Wizarding World can hit your eyes right here, so continue checking in.

Alright, enough playing. Of course, I am serious in some regard though. I will have every piece of Potter news all the way up to a thorough review for the two films themselves. Warner Brothers recently sent Slashfilm high resolution stills from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Check the whole set after the jump.