Cinematical

Finally! This is the day you've all been waiting for (well, maybe not all of you -- but I'm sure there's a few of you, if not one or two of you ... or maybe a few imaginary readers too). Our friends over at Warner Bros. sent over a whole group of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince photos so that we can strap them all together and show them off in a big, bright shiny gallery. So, it is with great joy that I introduce you to Cinematical's official Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince photo gallery!

(I'll let you catch your breath from screaming so loud ....)

Done? Good. Below you'll find 16 gorgeous images from the film, all of which feature your favorite characters from the Potter universe. Me? All I want is a pair of those Luna Lovegood sunglasses. What's up with those? Maybe Warners will hand them out at Comic Con so I can run around, freaking people out. So trippy. So cool. Me want. Check out the gallery below.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince arrives in theaters on November 21.

Though we're still a couple weeks away, you can't deny a certain level of excitement in the air right now. It kinda smells like chicken ... with a twist of kick ass! The 2008 San Diego Comic Con will slowly release their schedule over the next couple days, and up first is Thursday. We'll run through a few special, must-see events, and you can see the film-related schedule after the jump and the entire Thursday sched on the official Con website.

Thursday, July 24:

• 10:00-11:00 Masters of the Web-For the second year in a row the biggest genre and movie websites are coming together to discuss how new media have affected movie making, what it takes to run a popular site, and much more in a panel discussion and Q&A session. Participants include Robert Sanchez (IESB.net), Garth Franklin (Darkhorizons.com), Mike Sampson (Joblo.com), Erik Davis (Cinematical.com), John Campea (TheMovieBlog.com), Brad Miska (Bloody-Disgusting.com), Eric "Quint" Vespe (Aintitcool.com), Devin Faraci (CHUD.com), Paul Christensen (Movieweb.com), and Kellvin Chavez (Latinoreview.com). Moderated by directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (Crank 2, The Game). Room 32AB
• 11:30-1:00 20th Century Fox: The Day The Earth Stood Still and Max Payne- Stars Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly, plus director Scott Derrickson and producer Erwin Stoff, present an exclusive look at The Day The Earth Stood Still, Fox's contemporary reinvention of its 1951 classic. "Max Payne" himself-Mark Wahlberg-will be on hand with Mila Kunis, Ludacris, and director John Moore to discuss turning the game's noirish, hard-hitting, and complex world and characters into a movie event.
  
• 1:15-2:45 Summit Pictures-Summit Entertainment presents a sneak peek of exclusive footage of some of its upcoming major film releases: Push (Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Djimon Hounsou, Camilla Belle and director Paul McGuigan), Knowing (Alex Proyas), Twilight (Director Catherine Hardwicke, author Stephenie Meyer, and the cast-including Robert Pattinson (Edward), Kristen Stewart (Bella), Cam Gigandet (James), Rachelle LaFevre (Victoria), Edi Gathegi (Laurant), and Taylor Lautner (Jacob))
• 2:00-3:00 Red Sonja: One-on-One-Robert Rodriguez (Sin City), Rose McGowan (Grindhouse), Doug Aarniokoski (2nd unit director, Resident Evil 3) and David White.

So much more after the jump ...

I had to make such a tough decision last week when offered to attend a screening of either Tropic Thunder or Pineapple Express this coming Wednesday. What the hell does one do in that kind of situation? Both films look hilariously awesome to the tenth degree. I mean, if I could split my movie brain in half and send each part to a different screening, I totally would. But I can't. So I had to make a decision. I won't say which flick I picked right now, because then you won't tune in later this week when I spoil everything! That's right! Every last minute of the movie, right down to the order of the credits. Spoiled!

But anyway, check out a new international trailer for Tropic Thunder up top (or over on the film's official international site). Since it's from our international friends, it might be a little beyond a green band trailer, so keep that in mind office folk. There's not much else to say about this one -- watch it for yourself and tell me it doesn't look out of control. Stiller worries me sometimes because he could be a little too "stupid," but with Downey Jr., Steve Coogan, Nick Nolte, Bill Hader, Justin Theroux, Jay Baruchel and Jack Black in there, I think we'll be okay.

Tropic Thunder blows its way into theaters on August 15.

Will you be attending San Diego Comic Con later this month? Would you like to check out a super secret screening of Hamlet 2 AND take home a bunch of groovy movie merch? Cinematical is happy to officially launch this Hamlet 2 Comic Con Contest where ten lucky fans will win a pair of tickets to the aforementioned sneak screening of Hamlet 2, as well as the t-shirt pictured above, Hamlet 2 wrist bands and a Rock Me Sexy Jesus doll ... for those times when, well, you really need a Rock Me Sexy Jesus doll.

The actual screening will take place on Saturday July 26th in San Diego, and the only way to get in is to either win tickets or by finding a Sexy Jesus walking around at Comic Con. (Note to self: Get photo with Sexy Jesus while at Comic Con.) Please be aware that you will need to be in the immediate San Diego area on July 26th in order to win these tickets, so do not leave a comment on this post if you will not be in San Diego on the day of the screening. Your tickets, assuming you win a pair, will be mailed to you prior to the convention.

To enter, leave a comment telling us why you want to attend the Comic Con screening of Hamlet 2. Check out the official rules for this contest after the jump ... and good luck!

Hamlet 2 dances its way into theaters on August 22.

I've been keeping my eye on this one for awhile now for fear it was an elaborate fake, but apparently it's totally true ... and totally way too expensive for my cheap ass. Yes, Nike has produced 350 pairs of these limited edition Nike Hyperdunks in honor of the pair Marty McFly wore in Back to the Future, Part II. No, they do not have automatic laces ... but they're, um, light blue and white. And they kinda look just like the sneakers worn in that film. And the tissue paper inside the box displays the words, "Great Scott!" So, yeah, seems like something a nutty film geek or a major BTTF fanboy (like myself) would want to have in their collection, right?

Well, have fun finding a pair. Over on eBay, these suckers are going for upwards of $2,000. Yup. Two grand for a pair of sneakers that don't even feature automatic laces. Now, if they did feature automatic laces (and how hard could that be? I don't know, I'm not in the sneaker business?), then I'd think about shelling out the cash. But two grand for a pair of light blue sneakers? No thanks. And even if you did buy them at two grand, how could you tell someone else without them thinking you're absolutely out of your mind? I don't know. I'm fully aware of that petition back in the day, and I totally dig that Nike went ahead and made these for the fans, but either sell them in mass quantities or make them much cooler than they are now.

Check out the gallery below and let us know what you think of the new McFly sneaks ...



[via Gizmodo]

Back at this year's Sundance Film Festival, a bunch of folks were "losing it" over Jonathan Levine's The Wackness -- saying, to a certain extent, that it was the dopest flick of the fest. And that's cool. Support those films you love, right? Well, not long after the film premiered at Sundance, it was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics. Wonderful! A film a lot of people loved was picked up and would hit theaters at some point later in the year. Ah, but all was not well in blogger land -- see, a few bloggers were disgusted that SPC picked it up, going so far as to send an email around trying to get other people to either join their cause and/or write about it. Their reasoning was that SPC had a poor track record when it came to promoting indie films, and were afraid The Wackness would become yet another casualty. That it would disappear in limited release ... and be eaten by a Cabbage Patch Kid, or whatever.

And so it was. Some folks agreed with their cause, while others couldn't understand why they'd be upset when, in reality, their favorite film WOULD eventually hit theaters. You can't say that about every Sundance film, or festival film for that matter, and so the simple act of being picked up for distribution is, well, kind of a big deal. After a flurry of posts from a few different blogs which attacked the deal, attacked the teaser poster and then attacked the first teaser trailer, it all seemed to fizzle out. From that point on, SPC continued to poor on the Wackness marketing: We got roughly four or five different trailers, a poster, a viral campaign, a dope website, TV spots and a slick soundtrack.

Was SPC botching it all up? Hardly ... but then came the film's box office debut this past weekend ...

Well, you can now put this in your pipe and smoke it: According to a rep from Warners UK, there will not be a feature film based on the hit television show Friends. Apparently they were all set to start shooting until someone read my Fan Rant on the topic and called the whole thing off. Yeah, I wish I was that important. Actually, Warner Brothers UK issued the statement after rumors flew all over the internet last week that a Friends movie was in the works after Sex and the City achieved boffo box office success. We picked up the story when it was still in its infancy stages, then wrote about how bad of an idea it was, and, as such, are quite happy to hear it's a no go.

Additionally, reps for Courteney Cox Arquette, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston have denied any involvement in the feature film, with comments ranging from "Nothing is happening in this regard, so the rumor is false" to "blah blah ... does anyone really care what these people have to say?" I'm actually very happy to hear this and hope it sticks because this is a series that belongs on TV and not on the big screen. Leave it alone ... and, instead, go give us another South Park flick.

Will any of you lose sleep over this Friends news?

Fans of Raiders of the Lost Ark might want to look away right now as what you're about to watch could cause serious damage to your soul. A brief snippet from the upcoming Raiders of the Lost Ark Special Edition DVD has leaked online and, in it, there seems to be a little update from George Lucas. I kinda like the small touches added and think fans will get used to them after awhile. Yup, don't worry ... they'll just blend into the background. I mean, really, who cares about this old flick anyway? It's so ... 1981-ish. That said, I'm sure folks are already in the process of creating an "Indy Shot First" t-shirt. Check it out up top, then let us know what you think? Should we start a petition? Has Lucas lost his mind? And how could Spielberg agree to something like this? Sound off ...

[Thanks Matthew]

(Note: We're re-posting the following review of The Wackness from The Tribeca Film Festival to coincide with the film's theatrical release this weekend.)

Finally, a film for kids of the 90's!

This is a hard review to write because it feels as if The Wackness was tailor-made for people like me: a male who grew up in New York City and graduated high school in 1994; the year this film was set. (Actually, I graduated in 1995, but it doesn't matter much: same kids, same lingo, same music, same surroundings). How do you review your childhood? These were all kids I hung out with, this was the music we listened to, these were the mix tapes we made and these were the girls we tried to hook up with ... but didn't. And, to some extent, it actually surprises me that so many people have loved The Wackness -- not because it's a terrible movie, mind you, but because kids who grew up in New York City during the '90s were annoying as all hell, with their "Yo, that was mad good" and their "He's got da skillz, kid!" Trust me, I know -- I was one of them.

Welcome back to another funtastic, Americana edition of Insert Caption -- the game where you don't need fireworks to blow our minds. Last week we asked you to step up to the mic with some dope captions for a photo from The Wackness. Congrats to Kurt P., who can now escape the summer heat and chill out with a new portable DVD player. We're jealous. We might stalk you Kurt. Be ready.

1. "Young couple seeks father figure, must have Hawaiian shirt, facial hair, and soft focus." -- Kurt P.

See full image and all captions









This week we're celebrating our independence with a big, bad red dude named Hellboy. That's right! Guillermo del Toro, Hellboy and all his freak-ish friends are back to get their fight on in Hellboy II: The Golden Army, and the winners behind our three favorite captions based on the photo below will slip away with one Hellboy 2 t-shirt, one Hellboy 2 hat, one Hellboy 2 belt with buckle and one official Hellboy 2 poster. It's hot as hell outside, and come July 11 (when Hellboy 2 hits theaters), it'll get even hotter. Sound off critters!



Read the official rules for this contest