Opening on November 25^th is director Richard Linklater’s Me and Orson Welles.  Based in real theatrical history, the film is a coming-of-age story about a teenage actor (Zac Efron) who lucks into a role in Julius Caesar as it’s being re-imagined by a brilliant, impetuous young director named Orson Welles (Christian McKay) at his newly-founded Mercury Theater in NYC, 1937.  Claire Danes co-stars as Sonja Jones, the unapologetically ambitious assistant to Welles whom Richard tries to woo.

While the film premiered at last year’s Toronto Film Festival, it took awhile for someone to purchase the film for domestic distribution.  While a delay might be a sign of a problem, I saw Me and Orson Welles a few weeks ago and thought it was great.  While all the performances are really good, Christian McKay as Orson Welles is another level.  He absolutely disappears as Welles and his performance alone makes this film worth seeing.  Also, this was McKay’s first movie, and when you factor that in, it makes his performance even more memorable.

So to help promote the film, we’ve been given two movie clips and the trailer.  Check them out after the jump and look for our interviews with the cast very soon.

“‘The Princess and the Frog’ is a return to the timeless world of hand-drawn animation at Disney. It’s an ageless fairy tale, but with a fresh twist that combines everything we look for in great stories: comedy, adventure, music-and most of all, the kind of heart that always sets Disney animation apart.”

~ John Lasseter, Executive Producer and Chief Creative Officer, Walt Disney Animation Studios

Opening on November 25^th, in limited release, is Walt Disney’s return to 2D animation, The Princess and the Frog.  After years of focusing on computer animation, The House That Walt Built is returning to its roots and I couldn’t be more excited.  While I don’t know if The Princess and the Frog is going to be a classic like Aladdin or Beauty and the Beast, I know there is a place for traditional animation alongside what Pixar does so brilliantly with computers.  So if you feel like I do and want Disney to make more 2D films, you’ve got to buy a ticket when Princess and the Frog goes nationwide on December 11^th.  So to help promote the film, we’ve been provided with six clips from the movie and a featurette.  Check them out after the jump:

Opening this Friday is the animated movie Planet 51.  The film is about an American astronaut who lands on Planet 51 thinking he’s the first person to step foot on it. To his surprise, he finds the planet inhabited by little green people who are living in a world reminiscent of a cheerfully innocent 1950s America, and whose only fear is that it will be overrun by alien invaders. With the help of his robot companion “Rover” and his new friend Lem, Chuck must navigate his way through the world to try and get back to his spaceship before it returns home.

While I thought the story was mediocre, I was very impressed with the animation.  Watching the film I was constantly looking at the texture and layers in the frame and was surprised by how great it looked.  If you’re a fan of animation, it’s worth seeing just for what they accomplished.  Just know the story is not going to wow you.  So to help promote the film, we’ve been provided with ten clips and you can check them out after the jump.

Opening on November 25^th is director James McTeigue’s Ninja Assassin.  The film stars Asian superstar Rain in the title role and as you can easily put together from the title, it’s about Ninja’s.  And assassin’s.  Also, the film is loaded with action and blood so if you’re into either of those things, this is pretty much a must see movie.  Finally, it’s produced by the Wachowski Brothers and Joel Silver (The Matrix Trilogy, V for Vendetta), and they’ve done a few things you might have liked….

Anyway, if you’d like a taste of the movie, after the jump you can watch six clips.  In the coming weeks check back for interviews with the cast and filmmakers.  Until then….

With “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” getting ready to hit theaters on November 20th, Summit Entertainment has released an EPK for the media to use.  If you’re not familiar with the term EPK, it stands for Electronic Press Kit.  An EPK is where the studio puts movie clips, trailers, and behind the scenes footage from whatever movie they’re promoting.

Anyway, I’ve taken the movie clips Summit released, as well as all the behind the scenes footage, and posted two videos after the jump.  While the three clips have already been released over the past two weeks, the ten minutes of behind the scenes footage is all new.  So if you’ve been waiting for “Twilight: New Moon”, you’ll really enjoy the footage of Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner on set.  Take a look after the jump:

I’ll admit that when I sat down to watch “The Blind Side” last week, I really didn’t expect much.  I thought it would be a Lifetime movie of the week except on the big screen.  But even though I walked in ready to dismiss the film, I’m forced to say “The Blind Side” was a lot better than I expected and I enjoyed the way it mixed a few different genres together.  What you need to know is, “The Blind Side” is both a football movie and a family values film.  It’s also a bit of a comedy.  When films try and mix genres like this, you almost always end in disaster.  So I have to give credit to director John Lee Hancock (”The Rookie”) for crafting a film that should appeal to both football fans and families.  He even made me feel something for Sandra Bullock.  Trust me, that’s not easy.  Anyway, to help promote the film, we’ve been provided with seven clips and you can watch them after the jump.

For those unfamiliar with the book it’s based on, the film is based on the true story of Michael Oher, a homeless African-American youngster from a broken home who is taken in by the Touhys (Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw), a well-to-do white family who help him fulfill his potential. At the same time, Oher’s presence in the Touhys’ lives leads them to some insightful self-discoveries of their own. Living in his new environment, the teen faces a completely different set of challenges to overcome. As a football player and student, Oher works hard and, with the help of his coaches and adopted family, becomes an All-American offensive left tackle.

Opening next Friday is writer/director Richard Kelly’s “The Box”. The movie is set around a deceptively simple moral dilemma.  An average couple is offered an opportunity to get themselves out of financial difficulty: a million dollars, in exchange for the knowledge that their acceptance of this gift will result in the death of one person somewhere in the world - someone they don’t know.  The big question is, “What will they do?”  But writer/director Richard Kelly is also asking, “What would you do?”

So to help promote the film, we’ve been provided with five clips from the movie.  If you want to stay spoiler free, I strongly suggest not watching these clips.  But if you’d like a taste of Richard Kelly’s next film, hit the jump and take a look.

Finally, hypothetically speaking…if I were to have seen “The Box”…I might say it’s infinitely better than “Southland Tales” and it’s worth checking out next week.  Hypothetically speaking of course…

On November 6^th, Universal is releasing “The Fourth Kind” and to help promote the film, they’ve provided us with three clips which you can watch after the jump.  If you missed the featurette we previously posted, you should definitely check it out as the film looks pretty cool.  But with Paramount’s “Paranormal Activity” still making tons of money at the box office, it’ll be interesting to see if “The Fourth Kind” can attract moviegoers.  I’ve heard good things about “The Fourth Kind”, so that should help…

With Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” set for release next week, Sony has released a few clips and a new featurette. While I wondered what the level of interest was going to be and if the studio overpaid for the rights, Sony clearly knew what they were doing as many shows are already sold out and the 2-week limited run looks to be a big hit. So if you’d like a sneak peek at the film, hit the jump to watch some of the footage now.

Opening on October 30th is director Jared Hess’ (”Napoleon Dynamite”) new movie “Gentlemen Broncos”. While the reviews out of Fantastic Fest were not pretty, this is one of those movies I still want to see due to the cast. After all, who isn’t a fan of Sam Rockwell and Jemaine Clement. Anyway, Fox Searchlight has released two clips from the movie and you can watch them after the jump. I’ve also posted the synopsis if you’re not familiar with the film.

I still don’t know what to make of this movie.  On the one hand, the latest trailer made me feel pretty good about the film but then this news about Wes Anderson directing the film by e-mail for no particular reason put me right back into hesitancy.  Watching these new clips, I don’t fully understand why the stop-motion is vital to the tone beyond letting us know this is “A Wes Anderson Film”.  As you watch these six clips after the jump, try to visualize the scene as a 3D animated film and see if it changes your feeling about the movie.

“Fantastic Mr. Fox” hits theaters on November 25^th.

My enthusiasm for “The Princess and the Frog”, Disney’s first hand-drawn animated film since 2004’s “Home on the Range”, waned once I got over my love for quality 2D animation and remembered that the number of dimensions in the animation is pointless if there’s not a good story to draw from.  From what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard, my trepidation is well-founded.  No one, including myself, is saying it’s awful but it looks all kinds of mediocre.  Watching the first five minutes hasn’t turned me around but I’ll keep trying to have an open mind about the flick.

Check out the clip after the jump but know that there are moments where the animation is incomplete.  “The Princess and the Frog” opens on December 11^th.

Opening on October 23^rd is Imagi Studios “Astro Boy”. The film is based on the legendary manga character created by Osamu Tezuka and in the film, Astro Boy is a young robot with incredible powers created by a scientist named Dr. Tenma (Nicolas Cage). Powered by positive “blue” energy, Astro Boy (Freddie Highmore) is endowed with super strength, x-ray vision, unbelievable speed and the ability to fly. Embarking on a journey in search of acceptance, Astro Boy encounters many other colorful characters along the way. Through his adventures, he learns the joys and emotions of being human, and gains the strength to embrace his destiny. Ultimately learning his friends and family are in danger, Astro Boy marshals his awesome super powers and returns to Metro City in a valiant effort to save everything he cares about and to understand what it means to be a hero. To help promote the film, we’ve been provided with 11 clips and you can watch them after the jump:

Opening on October 16th is director F. Gary Gray’s “Law Abiding Citizen” and it stars Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx. The film is about Gerard Butler’s character taking matters into his own hands after his family is brutally murdered during a home invasion and the justice system fails to fully prosecute the men involved. Jamie Foxx plays the prosecutor, and the film is a cat and mouse game between these two great actors. Anyway, we’ve been given 9 clips to help promote the film and you can watch them all after the jump.

With director Spike Jonze’s “Where the Wild Things Are” getting ready for release on October 16^th, Warner Bros. has released five clips from the film and they’re after the jump. I saw a screening the other night and thought the movie is an honest look at what it’s like being a kid and not being able to express how you feel. The film isn’t a fantasy, and it isn’t trying to sugar coat what you do when you’re upset at the world. While some are clearly going to have issues with the way Spike chose to make “Where the Wild Things Are”, I was spellbound and loving his universe. Also, I loved the way he had characters not say things when other movies would have tons of exposition. Many of his choices are unorthodox, and as an avid moviegoer and a fan of his work, I think he made a great film. Anyway, after the jump are five clips, take a look.

Opening October 23rd is “Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant”. The movie is helmed by Paul Weitz and it’s his adaptation of “The Saga of Darren Shan”, a very popular book series by Darren Shan. Since the movie couldn’t combine all twelve books, they’ve taken the first three and used that as the story. Obviously if the film is successful, they’ll use the rest of the series to make more movies. Anyway, Universal has given us 8 clips from the film and a featurette called “A Look Inside” and they’re after the jump. I’ve also posted the synopsis for those not familiar with the books.