The Hangover feels like a franchise created by a studio rather than a storyteller.  The original film was a huge sleeper hit, and Warner Bros. wanted to chase that high.  We get sequels because audiences presumably want more, and the assumption was that we wanted to see more of Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), and Alan (Zach Galifianakis), a.k.a. “The Wolfpack”.  The Hangover Part II gave audiences more of the same to the point where it felt like a remake rather than a sequel.  Once again, the filmmakers have responded not by really buckling down on a good story, but reacting to the response towards the previous movie.  This time we would get an original story—a Hangover without the hangover.  But The Hangover Part III is a case of being careful what you wish for, and even though sequels are supposed to provide more, Part III somehow gives us less.  The chemistry between the Wolfpack is diminished, the pacing is lethargic, and the humor is sporadic.  The only thing Part III gives us more of is Leslie Chow (Ken Jeong) in an attempt to personify the insanity of the previous plots, but who only serves to distract from what should be the franchise’s last hurrah.

With director Todd Phillips’ comedy sequel The Hangover Part III opening this week, I recently participated in a roundtable interview with Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper, and Zach Galifianakis.  In the final installment to the popular franchise, we find Stu (Helms), Phil (Cooper), and Doug (Justin Bartha) en route to taking Alan (Galifianakis) to a psychiatric hospital when the gang is side-trekked by a mysterious man (John Goodman) who kidnaps Doug and forces the wolf pack to track down Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong), who stole $21 million from Goodman’s character.  As you might expect, chaos ensues.  For more on the film, watch the red band trailer or check out over forty images.

During the interview, Helms, Cooper, and Galifianakis talked about how the first Hangover changed their lives, favorite memories, weirdest moments making the films, the stronger emotional undercurrents that start to form in each film, what it was like on the last day of filming, the amount of creative freedom they have while filming, and so much more.  Hit the jump for what they had to say.

Warner Bros. has released a new red-band trailer for director Todd Phillips’ comedy sequel The Hangover Part III.  The film acts as the trilogy capper to the popular franchise, and finds Stu (Ed Helms), Phil (Bradley Cooper), and Doug (Justin Bartha) en route to taking Alan (Zach Galifianakis) to a psychiatric hospital when the gang is side-trekked by a mysterious man (John Goodman) who kidnaps Doug and forces the wolf pack to track down Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong), who stole $21 million from Goodman’s character.  The first half of this new trailer is a recap of the events from the first two films, and when we finally delve into new footage it kind of feels like we’ve seen the whole movie already.  A highlight of the red-band trailer, though, is the return of Mike Epps as “Black Doug.”

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.  The film also stars Jeffrey Tambor, Melissa McCarthy, and Heather Graham.  The Hangover Part III opens on May 23rd.

Warner Bros. has released a bounty of high-resolution images from director Todd Phillips’ upcoming comedy sequel The Hangover Part III.  The film acts as the trilogy capper to the popular franchise, and finds Stu (Ed Helms), Phil (Bradley Cooper), and Doug (Justin Bartha) en route to taking Alan (Zach Galifianakis) to a psychiatric hospital when the gang is side-trekked when a mysterious man (John Goodman) kidnaps Doug and forces the wolf pack to track down Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong), who stole $21 million from Goodman’s character.  These images tease the chaos that ensues, including the return of a more grown-up Carlos and stripper Jade (Heather Graham).

Hit the jump to check out all of the images, and if you missed our set visit coverage click here.  The film also stars Jeffrey Tambor, Melissa McCarthy, and Mike Epps.  The Hangover Part III opens on May 23rd.

YouTube has announced the first-ever Comedy Week, set to take place May 19-25.  YouTube has recruited an impressive roster of outside talent, including Vince Vaughn, Rainn Wilson, Sarah Silverman, Michael, The Lonely Island, Seth Rogen, Tim and Eric, Ed Helms, Ken Jeong, Norm Macdonald, and Craig Robinson.  The week also has room for YouTube mainstays like Ryan Higa, Smosh, Epic Meal Time, Rhett & Link, and Epic Rap Battles of History.

The event kicks off with a live variety show on May 19, followed by “a week of dedicated programming that includes live performances, new episodes from popular YouTube comedy channels, curated top ten lists from comedy stars and more.”  Hit the jump for the press release with all the details and the full list of participating talent.

No, they still don’t close the state of Florida, but creative differences have left the Vacation remake stranded on the side of the road for the time being.  Writers/debut directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein (The Incredible Burt Wonderstone) had the reboot all set up with Ed Helms (The Hangover) set to star as Rusty Griswold, Christina Applegate (Anchorman) as his wife and even cameos from the original parental couple, Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo.  Unfortunately, the picture has hit a snag, even though it was in active pre-production with plans to shoot in Atlanta this July.  Hit the jump for more.

Last weekend I finally had the chance to check out director Rodney Ascher‘s The Shining analysis doc Room 237 on Xbox Live. The film garnered a rave review from Matt when he screened it at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and for the most part I share his enthusiasm for the pic.  On one hand, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen and I admire it for that exact reason. The extensive scenic analysis Room 237 employs, the hypnotic score, and its refusal to show the faces of those presenting their theories makes it an absolutely captivating ride that never lets you come up for air. On the other hand, I now have to live the rest of my life looking for Stanley Kubrick‘s airbrushed face in the clouds during The Shining‘s opening scene. And when/if I ever find it, what am I supposed to do with that information? Sigh.

I could go on about the film’s individual parts, but suffice to say that I consider it required viewing for anyone with even a fleeting interest in film analysis, Kubrick, and/or The Shining. And with that I’ll move on to the reason we’re all here. In this week’s Top 5 you’ll have the pleasure of checking out a stellar new trailer and a slew of other assets from Man of Steel, our set visit recap for The Hangover Part III, the first trailer for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, more set visit goodness for Now You See Me, and all of our CinemaCon 2013 coverage. The “Continue Reading” button below is your ticket to a brief recap and link to each of the above.

Just before Thanksgiving of last year, I watched Ed Helms get attacked by four chickens in a Tijuana flophouse.  He was fine and so were the chickens since it was part of our set visit to Warner Bros.’ The Hangover Part III.  Helms, who is reprising his role of Stu the newly-married dentist in the concluding chapter of The Hangover trilogy, kindly sat down with a group of visiting journalists for a roundtable interview. He talked at length about the evolving character relationships within the Wolfpack, traveling to exotic locales, working with returning characters and the ever-expanding cast of animal stars featured in their movies.

The film also stars Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, Heather Graham, Mike Epps and Jeffrey Tambor.  The Hangover Part III opens on May 24th and, if you haven’t seen it, you can check out the recently-released trailer here.  Hit the jump for our full interview with Helms.

A new poster has been released for The Hangover Part III along with a new international poster for The Wolverine.  The Hangover poster has the wolf pack dressed to kill, or at least bludgeon severely.  Also, I just realized that Stu’s face tattoo was gone.  I’ll chalk that up to A) The Hangover Part II being incredibly forgettable, and B) I don’t think laser tattoo-removal has reached the point where it wouldn’t leave any trace of a scar.  People who have had tattoos removed: is that possible?  As for The Wolverine poster, it’s not great, but it’s miles better than the other posters except for the teaser.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.  The Hangover Part III opens on May 24th.  The Wolverine opens in 3D on July 26th.

Warner Bros. has released a new trailer for The Hangover Part III.  The first trailer almost made the movie look like an action flick, but now we’re getting a look at the comedy and the plot.  In the series’ final installment, Stu (Ed Helms), Phil (Bradley Cooper), and Doug (Justin Bartha) are taking Alan (Zach Galifianakis) to a psychiatric hospital, but the gang is side-trekked when a mysterious man (John Goodman) kidnaps Doug and forces the wolf pack to track down Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong), who stole $21 million from Goodman’s character.  There are some good laughs in here, so hopefully the trilogy will go out on a high note.

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer and to check out a few new posters.  The film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, Heather Graham, John Goodman, Mike Epps, Mike Tyson, and Jeffrey Tambor.  The Hangover Part III opens on May 24th.

The first TV spot for Todd Phillips’ The Hangover Part III is now available.  The short teaser shows glimpses of where the Wolfpack is headed for the concluding chapter in their trilogy and it ain’t all in Vegas.  Instead of a bachelor party blowout or a wedding to attend at the last second, the guys appear to start off at a funeral before participating in a prison riot, running for their lives in the desert and buying a giraffe.  Classic.

Starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Ken Jeong, Justin Bartha, Heather Graham, Jeffrey Tambor and John Goodman, The Hangover Part III opens May 24th.  Hit the jump to watch the TV spot.

Warner Bros. has released a batch of new high-resolution images from some upcoming summer films.  Briefly:

• The Hangover Part III – A new image from Todd Phillips’ trilogy-closer teases a familiar scene as Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper, and Ed Helms ride an elevator.  The film opens on May 24th.
• The Great Gatsby – A couple of new images from director Baz Luhrmann’s colorful adaptation highlight Leonardo DiCaprio’s titular character flanked by his new friends.  The film also stars Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, and Joel Edgerton and opens in 3D on May 10th.
• The Conjuring – Director James Wan’s new horror film debuted a ridiculously creepy teaser trailer earlier last month, and these new images feature Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga’s psychic investigator characters.  The film also stars Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston and opens on July 19th.
• Getaway – A new image from this car-set thriller gives us a canted look at Ethan Hawke and Selena Gomez’s lead characters.  The film opens on August 30th.

Hit the jump to check out the images and synopses.

The first trailer for director Todd Phillips’ comedy sequel The Hangover Part III has been released.  Billed with the tagline “It All Ends”, and Stu threatening to burn Las Vegas to the ground, the trailer for Part III comes off more like an action movie than a comedy.  There are some jokes (the trailer closes with a great one), but more than anything, it looks like Warner Bros. is trying to push the idea that the trilogy’s conclusion won’t be a retread like The Hangover Part II.  Let’s hope so.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film stars Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Ken Jeong, Heather Graham, Jamie Chung, Mike Epps, Mike Tyson, Jeffrey Tambor and Melissa McCarthy.  The Hangover Part III opens on May 24th.

Warner Bros. has released a couple of new images from director Todd Phillips’ upcoming sequel The Hangover Part III.  It’s hard to believe that the film comes out in just three months and we’ve yet to see so much as a teaser trailer, but I have a feeling that’s going to change soon.  I wouldn’t be shocked if the first trailer for the pic was attached to WB’s Jack the Giant Slayer next week, so hopefully we see some actual footage soon.  For now, take a gander at these new images which feature The Wolf Pack together again and an ominous shot of Ken Jeong’s Leslie Chow.

Hit the jump to take a look at the images.  The film also stars Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha, John Goodman, Jamie Chung, Mike Epps, Mike Tyson, Jeffrey Tambor and Melissa McCarthy.  The Hangover Part III opens on May 24th.

Though we’ve seen set photos aplenty from the anticipated upcoming sequels The Hangover Part III and Red 2, the first official images from both films have now landed online.  The images from the third and presumably final entry in the Hangover trilogy promise more madness, as we see an Abbey Road-ish pic of The Wolfpack (ie. Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, and Bradley Cooper) set against the silhouette of Las Vegas.  Though we’ll definitely see the group travel back to Vegas in the sequel, the city is “just one of their stops,” so we’re (hopefully) not in for yet another rehash of the first film.

As for the Red sequel, Galaxy Quest helmer Dean Parisot steps into the director’s chair this time around, and this first image gives us a look at Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, and John Malkovich striking the “cool guys don’t look at explosions” pose.  Hit the jump to check out images from both films and for story details regarding The Hangover 3 from director Todd Phillips.  The Hangover Part III opens on May 24, 2013, while Red 2 hits theaters on August 2, 2013.