Following on the heels of the debut trailer and poster, Sony Pictures has released eight new images from Neill Blomkamp‘s Elysium.  The movie is set in 2159, and two classes of people are divided: the wealthy live on a man-made space station called Elysium, while the rest of the humans inhabit an overpopulated and ruined Earth.  Matt Damon plays a desperate man who must reach Elysium in order to find a cure that will save his life.  I’m digging everything I’m seeing from this film, and with four months until the release date, this is only the tip of the political-sci-fi iceberg.

Hit the jump to check out the images, and click here for Steve’s thoughts on the footage he saw yesterday.  The film also stars Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga, Wagner Moura, Diego Luna, and William Fichtner.  Elysium opens August 9th.

The first trailer for District 9 director Neill Blomkamp’s highly anticipated sci-fi film Elysium has been released.  The story takes place in 2159 where two classes of people are roughly divided: the wealthy live on a man-made space station called Elysium, while the rest of the humans inhabit an overpopulated and ruined Earth.  The trailer begins by showing us the luxurious world of Elysium before revealing the grungy, desert-like Earth.  Blomkamp looks to have crafted an incredibly detailed and vast sci-fi world here, and the visuals are absolutely stunning.  The action sequences look excellent as well and Damon appears to be kicking all kinds of ass, but most importantly Blomkamp has crafted yet another timely, socially-conscious story that speaks volumes to the current issues facing our world.  A wholly original sci-fi property that asks audiences to think while also providing entertainment value in spades?  Count me wholeheartedly in.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer, and click here for Steve’s video blog recap after seeing 10 minutes of footage and interviewing Blomkamp.  The film stars Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, William Fichtner and Diego Luna.  Elysium opens on August 9th.

There are few performers as consistently funny and interesting as Will Ferrell. Sure, he’ll take a gig in a studio paycheck film, but often those are often weird and interesting too (say what you will about Land of the Lost, that’s not a boring choice), and so it’s no surprise that Ferrell would appear in a movie in which he spends the entire movie speaking Spanish. He stars in Casa de mi Padre as a rancher stuck in the middle of a drug war. He’s between his brother (Diego Luna) and the town’s vicious drug lord (Gael Garcia Bernal), and all three have interest in his brother’s fiancée (Genesis Rodriguez). Our review of the Blu-ray of Casa de mi Padre follows after the jump.

Though he spent a few years developing the high profile Halo film that never came to be, director Neill Blomkamp burst onto the film scene in a big way with his stellar 2009 sci-fi pic District 9.  Not only did the film include some truly killer effects work, but it was actually about something and tackled social issues like segregation and xenophobia on a sci-fi platform.  It’s been three long years since District 9 opened, and fans are eagerly awaiting Blomkamp’s follow-up, the futuristic thriller Elysium.  Plot details have been firmly under wraps, but we know that it fits squarely into the sci-fi genre and stars Matt Damon, Jodi Foster, Wagner Moura, Sharlto Copley, William Fichtner and Diego Luna.

A full synopsis for Elysium has been brought to our attention, giving us a much better idea of what to expect.  The film is apparently screening for preview audiences tonight and the ticket includes a fairly detailed logline for the pic.  As with District 9, it appears that Elysium will also be dealing with grander issues than space guns and aliens.  Hit the jump to read the synopsis.  Elysium is slated to open on March 1st, 2013. 

From here on out, when I see a movie and can’t quit thinking about it one week after my initial viewing I’m going to refer to it as the Martha Marcy May Marlene effect. I was uncertain how I felt about it while watching. Flash-forward one week later and I’m still uncertain. Combine some great performances from Elizabeth Olsen and John Hawkes, reserved but effective cinematography, sparse dialogue and even fewer musical cues and what I got was one of the most paranoia-filled movie experiences I’ve ever had. While that may sound like a backhanded compliment, if writer/director Sean Durkin was trying to evoke the type of emotions I think he was with Martha, it may be the highest compliment I can pay him.

In this, the St. Patty’s edition of the “Top 5″, you can find 21 Jump Street interviews with Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube and more, The Avengers bits in which Joss Whedon discusses the pic, its current runtime, The Avengers 2, etc., Casa de mi Padre interviews with Will Ferrell, Nick Offerman and more, the first trailer and poster for Tim Burton‘s Dark Shadows, and all of our SXSW 2012 coverage. A brief recap and link to each ensue after the jump.

Opening this weekend is Will Ferrell’s Spanish language comedy Casa de mi Padre.  The film centers on Ferrell as Armando Alvarez, a Mexican rancher who must save his family’s farm while simultaneously fending off the drug lord, Onza, played by Gael Garcia Bernal (The Motorcycle Diaries) and winning the hand of the lovely Sonia, played by Genesis Rodriguez (Man on a Ledge).  As Dave said, to sum it up in just a few words: passion, adventure, intrigue, betrayal, sex, danger, romance, guns, cigarettes, special effects and slaps.  The film also stars Diego Luna, Efren Ramirez and Nick Offerman.  For more on the film, here’s fourteen clips and a fifteen-minute making of featurette.

Recently, I got to speak with Diego Luna.  During the interview he talked about how he got cast, how he always wanted to work with Will Ferrell, his favorite director, movie and actor, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Casa De Mi Padre is at its best when it’s at its silliest.  Before the movie even begins, it’s built on a novelty since Will Ferrell spends the entire film speaking Spanish.  Ferrell’s comic talent means he doesn’t simply coast on “Yo soy habla Español!”  He knows how to play the melodrama, the faux-dramatic pauses, and other comic skills we’ve come to expect from a pro like Ferrell.  Director Matt Piedmont and writer Andrew Steele want to milk the cheesy 70s mexsploitation/peliculanovela for every ounce of comedy, but the biggest laughs come not from the concept but from the goofy little moments scattered throughout the movie.

Diego Luna, Gael Garcia Bernal, and Pablo Cruz started developing a Cesar Chavez biopic at their Canana Films nearly two years ago.  Chavez is a legendary activist and Latino icon, revered for his efforts in the American labor movement, so his portrayer must be chosen with care.  Two years later, Canana came up with an inspired choice: Michael Pena.  I’ve noticed Pena most visibly in recent years creating distinct comic characters in lighter fare like Observe and Report or 30 Minutes or Less.  But the actor made is name in heavier dramas like Crash and World Trade Center.  Pena is versatile, and you need an actor who can tap into both sides of the craft to play an iconic figure who is a true leader of men.

Luna stepped behind the camera in 2010 to direct Abel, and has decided to make the biopic Chavez his second narrative feature.  Luna cast Rosario Dawson as Dolores Huerta, Chavez’s partner in activism and co-founder of what eventually became the United Farm Workers.  America Ferrera will play Chavez’s wife Helen.  Hit the jump for more, including comments from Luna on the importance of Chavez’s message.

Earlier today we posted 14 clips that gave us a look at Will Ferrell’s foreign language comedy, Casa de mi Padre. When I first heard about the project being done completely in Spanish, I thought to myself, “How the hell are they going to do that?” Well, my questions have been answered by this new 15-minute “making of” featurette. Yes, you read that right: 15 minutes! Normally these things are two or three minutes, but perhaps this is the new norm (considering this making of The Raid: Redemption we recently posted). If the full movie is as funny as this featurette, then it’s destined to be another big hit for Ferrell. Casa de mi Padre, which opens March 16th, also stars Genesis Rodriguez, Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna and Nick Offerman, who all shine in the featurette. Hit the jump to check out the video, which features wolves, horses and bandanas (or lobos, caballos y bandanas).

Will Ferrell is set to make his Spanish-language debut with the upcoming comedy Casa de mi Padre, and today we’ve got 14 clips from the film to share with our readers.  The story centers on a Mexican rancher (Ferrell) who must save his family’s farm while defeating a notorious drug lord and winning the hand of the lovely Sonia.  All the previous trailers we’ve seen have been absolutely ridiculous in a very, very good way, and these clips are no different.  Ferrell is surrounded by a fantastic supporting cast (Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, and Nick Offerman), and I can’t wait to see the full film.

Hit the jump to watch the clips (which is almost nine minutes of footage!). The film also stars Genesis Rodriguez and Efren Ramirez. Casa de mi Padre opens March 16th.

Miss Bala, Mexico’s official Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film, chronicles three terrifying days in the life of Laura Guerrero (Stephanie Sigman), a beautiful young woman whose humble effort to escape a life of grim poverty goes diabolically wrong when it delivers her into the hands of a gang that’s terrorizing northern Mexico led by drug boss Lino (Noé Hernández). Although she wins the beauty queen crown she aspires to, her experiences as an unwilling participant in Mexico’s violent war leave her shaken and transformed.

In an exclusive interview at the press day for Miss Bala, we sat down with the film’s executive producer, Diego Luna, to talk about the acclaimed crime drama which opens in New York and Los Angeles on January 20th. Luna told us about his longtime collaboration with director Gerardo Naranjo, how the character of Laura is really a metaphor for what’s happening today in Mexico, and why he believes film has the ability to bring about social change by raising awareness. He also discussed his upcoming projects, Contraband which opens this weekend, Casa de mi Padre with Will Ferrell and Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium. Hit the jump for the full interview.

Miss Bala, the official Mexican Oscar entry in the Best Foreign Language Film category, works brilliantly as both a realist film and as an allegory for what is happening today in Mexico. The film tells the story of Laura Guerrero, a young woman whose aspirations of becoming a beauty queen inadvertently deliver her into the hands of a gang that’s terrorizing northern Mexico. Her experiences as an unwilling participant caught in the crossfire of Mexico’s violent drug war leave her shaken and transformed.

At a recent press day for Miss Bala, we sat down at a roundtable interview with director Gerardo Naranjo, actress Stephanie Sigman, and executive producer Diego Luna to talk about what inspired them to make a film about what was happening today in their country. They discussed how they struggled to find the right tone for a difficult and suspenseful story that shows but does not judge and where nothing is clearly black and white. They described the logistical challenges they faced making the film safely on location. They also shared their viewpoint that everyone on both sides of the drug war is in some way a victim, why all of us share some responsibility for what is happening, and how they hope the film will inspire a debate that will raise awareness.

We attended the press day today for Miss Bala, Mexico’s official Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film, which tells the story of Laura (Stephanie Sigman), a young woman whose aspirations of becoming a beauty queen turn against her, delivering her into the hands of a gang that’s terrorizing northern Mexico. Although Laura succeeds in winning the beauty queen crown, her experiences as an unwilling participant in Mexico’s violent war leave her shaken and transformed. In an exclusive interview, we sat down with the film’s executive producer, Diego Luna, to talk about the film which opens January 20th. We’ll post the full interview shortly, but in the meantime, we wanted to share what Luna had to say about his upcoming projects including Contraband, Will Ferrell‘s Casa de mi Padre, and Neill Blomkamp‘s Elysium. Hit the jump to read more:

Following a number of short, mini-teaser trailers for Casa de Mi padre, the first full-length trailer has finally arrived. The movie, entirely in Spanish, stars Will Ferrell as a Mexican rancher who must save his family’s farm while defeating a notorious drug lord and winning the hand of the lovely Sonia. This trailer is absolutely ridiculous, and that’s a very, very good thing. Ferrell is at his most goofy here, and the film looks to be a laugh riot. The supporting cast is surprisingly fantastic (Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna) and a swell appearance by Parks and Recreation’s Nick Offerman as the American in the film put a big smile on my face.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. Casa de Mi Padre opens March 16th.

We’ve been provided with five clips and sixteen images from director Baltasar Kormákur’s crime thriller Contraband. The film is set in the world of international smuggling and stars Mark Wahlberg as a man trying to escape his days as a criminal. When his brother-in-law (Caleb Landry Jones) botches a deal, Wahlberg’s character must settle his brother-in-law’s debt in order to keep him safe from a drug boss (Giovanni Ribisi).  The film also stars Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, J.K. Simmons, and Diego Luna.

Hit the jump to check out the clips and images.  Contraband opens January 13th, 2012.