Universal Pictures announced today that it will be releasing director Peter Berg’s (The Rundown) Navy SEAL film Lone Survivor on January 10, 2014.  Based on the bestselling non-fiction book of the same name, the film tells the story of four Navy SEALs on an ill-fated covert mission to neutralize a high-level Taliban operative who are ambushed by enemy forces in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan.  The film’s impressive cast includes Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster, Emile Hirsch, and Eric Bana.

Berg and Kitsch are coming off of last summer’s bomb Battleship, but both have proven themselves to be quite talented in the past, so hopefully Lone Survivor is a return to form.  The film will likely open in New York and Los Angeles at the end of December to qualify for awards season, and will face off against the Sylvester Stallone/Robert De Niro boxing film Grudge Match and the Lionsgate horror pic Jessabelle when it opens wide on January 10th.

I was with Killer Joe right up until the very end. For the first 95%, it held me tight in its grip: another brilliant collaboration between playwright Tracy Letts and director William Friedkin. The former brings the juicy hard-boiled dialogue, while the latter makes the story feel cinematic rather than canned theater. It’s a wild ride from the get-go… which makes its badly misplayed finale all the more disappointing. Hit the jump for my full review.

Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Kruger, and Emile Hirsch have signed on to star in 1940s drama Midnight Sun.  Written and directed by Chris Eigeman (Turn the River; he also starred in Whit Stillman‘s Metropolitan and The Last Days of Disco), the film “follows two young post graduates recruited by the US Government to work on a top-secret project in New Mexico. Along with one of the students’ new wife, they drop their jazz-filled lives in New York and move to a secret community of scientists in the desert.”  As everyone knows, desert scientists hate jazz.

According to Screen Daily, shooting is set to begin this summer.  Hit the jump for a refresher on the stars’ other projects.

Director David Gordon Green broke through with indie films such as George Washington and All the Real Girls, and then seemed like he would make a strong transition to larger budget features after the success of Pineapple Express.  However, the quality of pictures decreased as the concepts increased.  The stoner medieval comedy Your Highness was painfully disappointing, and the mean-spirited The Sitter was even worse.  His new film, Prince Avalanche, is a welcome return to form as it puts Green back inside an indie budget but lets him hold onto the goofy humor of Pineapple Express and Eastbound and Down (he has directed ten episodes over the course of the series).  The result is a quiet, sweet, and funny picture about loneliness featuring noteworthy performances from stars Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch.

The 2013 Sundance Film Festival just announced an absolutely stacked lineup of films for their Premieres program, and we’ve got some new/first images from a few of the included films to share.  Briefly:

• The Look of Love – Directed by Michael Winterbottom, written by Matt Greenhaigh, and starring Steve Coogan, Anna Friel, Imogen Poots, and Tamsin Egerton.
• Lovelace – Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, written by Andy Bellin, and starring Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, Hank Azaria, Adam Brody, James Franco, and Sharon Stone.
• Prince Avalanche – Written and directed by David Gordon Green, starring Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch.
• Stoker – Directed by Park Chan-wook, written by Wentworth Miller, and starring Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode, Dermot Mulroney, Jacki Weaver, and Nicole Kidman.

Hit the jump to check out the images and synopses.  The 2013 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 17 – 27th.

Premiering at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival was director Sergio Castellitto‘s Twice Born.  Based on the novel of the same name by Margaret Mazzantini, the film stars Penelope Cruz as a single mother who returns with her teen son to present-day Sarajevo where her son’s father (Emile Hirsch) died during the Bosnian conflict of the 1990s.  As she tries to repair the relationship with her son, new revelations force her to rethink everything.  The film also stars Mira Fulran and Jane Birkin and you can watch the first trailer here.

Before the world premiere, I landed an extended video interview with Hirsch.  We talked about premiering at TIFF, why he signed on for the role, how the finished film compares to the script, his research, and more.  In addition, with Hirsch about to start filming Peter Berg‘s Lone Survivor (which films in Mexico for three months), he discussed how he’s getting ready for the role, David Gordon Green‘s Prince Avalanche, and Speed Racer.  Hit the jump to watch. 

The first trailer for the drama Twice Born (aka Venuto al Mondo) has been released.  Based on the novel of the same name by Margaret Mazzantini, the film stars Penelope Cruz as a single mother who returns with her teen son to present-day Sarajevo where her son’s father (Emile Hirsch) died during the Bosnian conflict of the 1990s.  That plot isn’t exactly spelled out for us in this trailer, but damn does this movie look beautiful.  Writer/director Sergio Castellitto appears to have put together one hell of an emotional film with some hauntingly gorgeous visuals.  It’s tough to judge the performances from this dialogue-less trailer, but Twice Born is certainly one to keep on your radar.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Mira Fulran and Jane Birkin.  Twice Born will premiere at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival, which runs from September 6 – 16th.

Opening this weekend, in limited release, is director William Friedkin‘s controversial thriller Killer Joe based on the play by Tracey Letts.  The NC-17-rated film centers on a son (Emile Hirsch) and his father (Thomas Haden Church) who hire a cop moonlighting as a hitman (Matthew McConaughey) to murder their mother in order to get her insurance policy.  The film also stars Juno Temple as Hirsch’s sister and Gina Gershon.  Loaded with great performances and an insane third act, Killer Joe is definitely worth checking out.  For more on the film, here’s the trailer and a clip.

The other day I sat down with Emile Hirsch here in Los Angeles.  We talked about how he got involved in Killer Joe and his initial reaction to the script, favorite movies, how he prepares for a role, and he talks about director David Gordon Green‘s comedy remake Prince Avalanche, which he filmed completely under the radar in Austin without word getting out.  He says “it’s based on an Icelandic movie called Either Way and it’s going to be, I think, awesome.  It’s a story about these two guys who work on the road crews in Texas after these horrible fires.  It’s just a small movie about these two guys, but it’s going to be really interesting.”  Hit the jump for more.

Director Peter Berg looks to finally have found that last piece of the puzzle for his Lone Survivor cast.  Based on the non-fiction book by Marcus Luttrell, Lone Survivor tells the harrowing story of a Navy SEAL team’s fight to stay alive during a Taliban ambush in the midst of their 2005 mission to kill a terrorist leader in Afghanistan.  Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, and Ben Foster are already set to star, and now Variety reports that Emile Hirsch is in early talks to take the final lead role in the pic.

Though I didn’t dislike Berg’s latest directorial effort (Battleship) near as much as many others, I’m hoping that Lone Survivor gives him the chance to really flaunt his skill for capturing drama in an incredibly realistic manner.  Hit the jump to read a synopsis for the book.

Well here’s something that rarely happens anymore:  director David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) has just wrapped production on a secret remake of the Icelandic comedy Either Way.  Twitch reports that Green’s iteration, titled Prince Avalanche, stars Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch, and he filmed the whole thing in Austin without word getting out about the project.  The Icelandic film centers on two men who spend the summer painting lines on the road, but “noon the barren wilderness becomes a place of adventure, disaster and discovery as both men find themselves at crossroads in their lives.”  Hit the jump for more, including a trailer for Either Way.

The trailer for William Friedkin‘s Killer Joe has gone online.  The NC-17-rated film centers on a son (Emile Hirsch) and his father (Thomas Haden Church) who hire a cop moonlighting as a hitman (Matthew McConaughey) to murder their mother in order to get her insurance policy.  I caught Killer Joe last year at TIFF, and with the exception of McConaughey’s performance, the flick is pretty terrible.  However, the absolutely bonkers ending almost makes the film worth your time.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Juno Temple and Gina Gershon.  Killer Joe opens July 27th.

Computer generated imagery has revolutionized movies, of which there’s no doubt, but one of the side effects it that it’s made spectacle boring. You can destroy anything, create fantastical creatures, and combine different takes into one without audiences noticing at the click of a button. The one thing you can’t create with a computer is a compelling story, which is why The Darkest Hour is such a dull slog. Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, and Max Minghella lead a pack of Americans who are stuck in Russia when an alien invasion hits. Our review of the Blu-ray follows after the jump.

After yesterday’s brief teaser, the full trailer for Oliver Stone‘s Savages has gone online.  The film stars Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson as two Laguna Beach marijuana kingpins who encounter a world of trouble when their shared girlfriend (Blake Lively) is kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel.  The movie looks like a fun change of pace for Stone, and a bit of a throwback to Natural Born Killers, but without the muddled message on violence and media.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Stone has worked in a comment on America’s War on Drugs, but at least it looks like he’s surrounded it with a slam-bang action flick.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars The film also stars Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Demian Bichir, Emile Hirsch, Uma Thurman, and John Travolta.  Savages opens July 6th. [Updated: We've updated the article with a new image from the film]

Earlier this week, we showed you the first poster for Oliver Stone‘s crime-thriller Savages.  Today, teaser footage from the film has been released.  The film stars Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson as two Laguna Beach marijuana kingpins who encounter a world of trouble when their shared girlfriend (Blake Lively) is kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel.  You won’t gather any of that from the 15-seconds of footage, but you will pick up that Stone has taken a page from Tony Scott‘s playbook of sweaty characters and over-saturated cinematography.

Hit the jump to check out the footage.  The film also stars Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Demian Bichir, Emile Hirsch, Uma Thurman, and John Travolta.  Savages opens July 6th.