Avengers: Age of Ultron... The Teaser Trailer is Finally Here!

Despite the fact that Star Wars: Episode VII is still my most eagerly-anticipated movie of 2015, this teaser trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron got me pretty damn stoked for next May! This preview was originally supposed to make its premiere during next Tuesday's episode of the hit TV show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but in the age of the Internet, things are rarely kept under wraps until their intended release date (Just ask J.J. Abrams in regards to all of the leaks surrounding Episode VII). Anyways, here are some screenshots that I grabbed from the trailer, and check out the preview at the bottom of this entry. "There are no strings on me." You said it, Jame Spader—err, Ultron.

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(Just Who Is The Grave Robber?) Glimpses of Star Wars: Episode VII...

It's been more than a month since I last posted on this blog page, so what better way to update it than to provide more (leaked) news about Star Wars: Episode VII? TheForce.net posted these concept artwork featuring everything from the home of Daisy Ridley's character (supposedly named Kira) and the outfit she'll probably wear in the movie, to the designs of new vehicles and spacecraft as well as the main villain (nicknamed the Grave Robber here) himself. Filming on Episode VII should wrap soon...meaning that hopefully J.J. Abrams will have a quick teaser trailer in store for us by the end of this year (in front of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, anyone?). Of course, it's still too early to see any images that are evoked in these cool illustrations on the big-screen one year before the release date—but I hope that the majority of these come to fruition in the actual film itself. Carry on.

Star Wars: Episode VII Resumes Filming!

Earlier today, Entertainment Weekly broke the news that J.J. Abrams has resumed production on the latest Star Wars installment at Pinewood Studios near London. With Harrison Ford back in action after suffering a leg injury two months ago (causing production to go on hiatus at the beginning of this month), Episode VII will hopefully be shot without anymore interruptions...with principal photography being completed either in October or November.

I'd like to show my excitement for today's awesome news by posting this meme...

Photo of the Day: Our First Look at Star Wars: Episode VII's Stormtrooper?

The website known as Making Star Wars posted a cool update featuring a photo of an updated Stormtrooper helmet that is apparently from Star Wars: Episode VII. Look closely at the pic below, and you can make out at least four more helmets (mostly by staring at the ceiling lights reflecting off the white armor) that lucky background actors at Pinewood Studios (where the majority of J.J. Abrams' upcoming and highly-anticipated movie is being filmed) near London and elsewhere will get to wear as what remains of the Empire wreaks havoc on the Galaxy in Episode VII. I'm a huge fan of the designs for the Clonetroopers in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, respectively, but it is totally great to see Abrams creating real costumes for extras and actors to wear for these soldiers...as opposed to the computer-generated army that George Lucas opted to portray in the last two Star Wars prequels. Old school is awesome.

Rest In Peace, Robin Williams...

From the Genie in 1992's Aladdin to a man trying to rescue his wife in the afterlife in 1998's What Dreams May Come to his hilarious role as the head of a marketing company in this year's short-lived CBS TV show, The Crazy Ones, Robin Williams was a totally brilliant actor. Much like everyone else, I remember his portrayal as a wacky alien in the classic TV series, Mork and Mindy, and recall his dark performance as an obsessed photo developer in 2002's One Hour Photo. There are too many memorable movies to mention here that had Robin Williams' comic and Academy Award-winning brilliance in them (like Good Will Hunting, Patch Adams and Mrs. Doubtfire), but one thing is clear, the world will forever miss the heartfelt and geniune hilarity that this man brought to the big and small screen...and elsewhere. God bless you, Robin Williams.

Go Ninja, Go Ninja GO!

In honor of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles being unleashed in theaters nationwide today, just thought I'd share this image that I took when I worked at ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood last Tuesday. There was a photo booth inside the lobby where theater patrons could take a picture with the Heroes in a Half Shell superimposed behind them (you're standing in front of a blue screen) and get the image e-mailed to you afterwards. The Ninja Turtles are supposed to be about 7 feet in height, so I think the scale in this photo is correct.

And yes, I do intend to watch the Michael Bay-produced action flick starring Megan Fox sometime this weekend. Autobots, roll out! Oops— Wrong franchise.

Movie News from Comic-Con...

With Comic-Con 2014 now a thing of the past, just thought I'd share these images that were released at the expo or on the Internet around the time these films had their Hall H panels at the San Diego Convention Center. One of the biggest highlights of last week, of course, was the photo above that revealed the lovely Gal Gadot (from the last three Fast & Furious movies) as Wonder Woman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. This was preceded by this pic below showing another glimpse of Ben Affleck as the Dark Knight in Zack Snyder's highly-anticipated film. Another huge highlight for Batman v Superman was the teaser video that Snyder presented to a large crowd during the movie's panel at Hall H last Saturday...which revealed a brooding Caped Crusader flashing the Bat Signal into Gotham City's night sky, only to reveal a hovering Superman staring down at Batman with glowing red eyes on the Man of Steel's face. The video immediately leaked onto the Web and has since been taken down at the behest of Warner Bros., but all you need to know is: Batman v Superman is gonna be epic.



Not to be outdone by the WB and DC Comics are Disney and Marvel Studios, who revealed the awesome poster below for Avengers: Age of Ultron. Not only do we see Iron Man, Captain America and company taking on a massive army of robots built by Ultron, the film's main antagonist, but we also take a glimpse of Paul Bettany's The Vision hovering in the poster's background (he's the caped figure in the upper-left corner), as well as Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Quicksilver and Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch joining the fray against Ultron's metallic minions. Also revealed at Comic-Con were posters for next year's Mad Max: Fury Road, starring The Dark Knight Rises' Tom Hardy as the title character made famous by Mel Gibson in the original 1979 flick. The WB had more news to be shared, with Godzilla set to fight the classic monsters Mothra, Rodan and Ghidorah in a sequel to this year's hit film, and King Kong (who we last saw taking Naomi Watts up to the top of the Empire State Building in Peter Jackson's 2005 remake) slated to return in 2016's Skull Island.



Comic-Con 2015 looks to be action-packed...with a panel by Disney and Lucasfilm that will hopefully reveal some great footage or movie displays from Star Wars: Episode VII, as well as previews of 2016 flicks (besides Batman v Superman) like X-Men: Apocalypse, Avatar 2, Captain America 3, Prometheus 2 and the Independence Day sequel, ID Forever Part I. The chances of me visiting Comic-Con next year are pretty slim (despite the fact San Diego is only a 2-hour drive from me), but I can't wait to read news from this expo once they get posted online next July. That is all!

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Artwork courtesy of The Hobbit Fan Page - Facebook.com

Posted above is the new teaser poster for Peter Jackson's upcoming conclusion to The Hobbit trilogy, The Battle of the Five Armies. This awesome artwork will be autographed by none other than Jackson at the WB booth at San Diego Comic-Con...which starts tomorrow. There will be a special panel about The Battle of the Five Armies in Hall H on Saturday, July 26 (at 10 AM)...while the autograph session will take place afterwards at 12:30 PM.

The production still below featuring Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and Bard the Bowman (Luke Evans) taking part in said battle was released online a few days ago.


Photo courtesy of The Hobbit Fan Page - Facebook.com

Star Wars: Episode VII... The New X-Wing Is (Officially) Revealed

Earlier today, another video was released by Lucasfilm and Disney that promoted the Star Wars: Force for Change campaign...which ends later this week. Along with asking viewers to make one last donation to this UNICEF-inspired program, director J.J. Abrams also (officially) revealed to the world an updated version of the X-Wing starfighter that will be featured in Star Wars: Episode VII. This X-Wing was initially shown in leaked photos that were posted online more than a month ago...when the craft was being constructed in a secure location outside of Pinewood Studios near London. What I want to know is...who's playing the X-Wing pilot that climbs aboard the starfighter in this video? A principal actor (like John Boyega)? A lucky background performer [which I totally wish was me—assuming the flight suit fit my size, which I doubt (I'm Filipino, FYI)]? Or a studio employee at Pinewood? Hmm.

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Back in the Day: DUMB & DUMBER Celebrates the Moon Landing!

45 years ago today, the astronauts of Apollo 11 landed on the Moon. Leave it to Lloyd Christmas to share his excitement about this momentous achievement...even if he was a couple of decades too late in doing so. I love Dumb & Dumber! And can't wait for the sequel to get released in theaters this November, hah.


Image courtesy of Dumb and Dumber - Facebook