And then there were two (technically three).  A couple weeks ago, we reported that the frontrunners to direct Captain America 2 were F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job), George Nolfi (The Adjustment Bureau), and television directors Anthony and Joseph Russo (Community).  Today, Deadline reports that Gray has dropped out of the race to focus on helming the NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton.  Gray doesn’t officially have the Compton job, but Deadline says it’s likely he’ll get the gig.  No offense to NWA fans, but I’m glad Gray is no longer in the running for Captain America 2.  He was the least interesting of the frontrunners since he’s more of a journeyman director.  While Nolfi has only directed one feature film, and the Russos have directed none, they’re wild cards, and I don’t know what to expect either way. [Correction: The Russos previously directed Welcome to Collinwood and You, Me & Dupree]

Captain America 2 is set for release on April 4, 2014.  The movie will pick up where The Avengers leaves off.

We’re nearing the date on which we finally get to see The Avengers on the big screen, but Marvel is already busy making plans for their post-Avengers slate. Iron Man 3 begins production in the next few months, followed shortly by Thor 2, and now the studio has whittled down their director shortlist for Captain America 2 to just three names: F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job), George Nolfi (The Adjustment Bureau), and television directors Anthony and Joseph Russo. Hit the jump for more on these lovely contestants in “Who Wants to Direct a Superhero Movie?”

Back in November 2009, before Sam Worthington broke out with Avatar but after he had garnered some attention for Termination Salvation, he signed on to star in an adaptation of the comic book The Last Days of American Crime.  And the project has been silent until today.  Deadline is reporting that director F. Gary Gray (Law Abiding Citizen) will helm the project, which centers on a group of thieves who plan to pull off a heist before America launches a new mind-control technology that will erase the criminal impulse in all citizens.  Karl Gajdusek (Horizons) is rewriting the script.

While Worthington has a slew of projects at his disposal, Deadline reports that he’ll do American Crime as his follow up to the Clash of the Titans sequel.  Shooting is expected to begin in September. Hit the jump for the comic’s official synopsis.

F. Gary Gray (Law Abiding Citizen) and Jon Chu (Justin Bieber: Never Say Never) are reportedly among the leading candidates to helm the as-of-yet-untitled sequel to 2009′s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Per Heat Vision, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura of Paramount has recently met with a slew of directors regarding the flick, with Gary and Chu emerging as frontrunners for the gig. It is believed that the studio is aiming at a summer 2012 release for the sequel (which is being penned by Zombieland scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick), meaning a director will most likely be named sooner rather than later.

As for the two candidates, Gray has a stronger action background given his work with Paramount on 2003′s The Italian Job as well as helming projects such as The Negotiator and A Man Apart. For Chu’s part, in addition to his recent exploration into everything Justin Bieber-related, the director has also lead the last two installments in Disney’s Step Up franchise. So, as it stands, both candidates have experience working with a major studio…and that’s about where the similarities end. As mentioned earlier, look for more news regarding the director’s chair for the G.I. Joe sequel in the near future. [Note: My original article failed to mention that our friends over at Latino Review broke this news initially - with an additional name included in the mix, Unknown director Jaume Collet-Serra. All apologies, LR!]

Nu Image/Millennium and Lionsgate are having a rough time finding someone to direct their adaptation of the Eidos video game Kane & Lynch.  Stunt coordinator Simon Crane was set to make his directing debut on the flick, but dropped off in May.  He was replaced by Patrick Alessandrin (District 13: Ultimatum), but 24 Frames reports that he has also left the project.  This puts previous mentioned names Wayne Kramer (Running Scared) and F. Gary Gray (Law Abiding Citizen) back into the mix along with Antonie Fuqua (Training Day).  Production was set to begin next month but has been pushed back indefinitely.

The film is set to star Bruce Willis and Jamie Foxx as escaped convicts Adam “Kane” Marcus and James Seth Lynch.  Kane is forced to team-up with the schizophrenic killer Lynch in order to break out of prison and find a stolen microchip.

Director F. Gary Gray (Law Abiding Citizen) is reportedly at the top of the short list to helm the adaptation of the video game Kane & Lynch with Bruce Willis and Jamie Foxx attached to star.  We reported a couple weeks ago that Wayne Kramer (The Cooler) was in talks to direct after stunt effects coordinator Simon Crane dropped off the project.  In that same article, we noted that Gray had been offered the project, but turned it down.  It looks like the studio, Millennium Films, has been able to bring Gray back to the table.  According to Heat Vision, director Roger Donaldson (The Bank Job) is also on the short list.

The video game follows death-row inmate Kane (Willis) who, along with a schizophrenic killer named Lynch (Foxx), is sprung by Kane’s former team so that they can retrieve a stolen microchip that’s worth a fortune.  Lynch acts as the team’s watchdog in order to save his wife and daughter.  I’m sure the mother and daughter will be overjoyed to see their schizophrenic killer husband and father again.  Production is set to begin this August.

Director Wayne Kramer (Running Scared) is reportedly in talks to helm the upcoming adaptation of the video game Kane & Lynch.  Stunt Coordinator Simon Crane was set to make his directing debut on the film, but according to Latino Review, “it wasn’t working out” with the studio.  An offer then went out to F. Gary Gray (Law Abiding Citizen) but he turned down the project.  Now they’re talking to Kramer and production is scheduled to begin in August.

Based off the Eidos game and written by Kyle Ward, the film stars Bruce Willis as Kane, a mercenary who’s forced to team up with Lynch, a schizophrenic killer played by Jamie Foxx, in order to escape prison and find a stolen microchip.  Anyone who has seen Running Scared knows that Kramer would be a fantastic choice for this project.

You can click here to check out a high-resolution poster for Kane & Lynch that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.  Also, click here for Steve’s interview with producers Adrian Askarieh and Daniel Alter.

Law Abiding Citizen is a violent neo-noir by director F. Gary Gray that begs to be more than just your run-of-the-mill thrill ride but falls victim to overthinking the motives of its own characters that it tries to craft, leaving a film that has a lot of anger and bloodshed, but not much more. If not for the constant beating of the moral drum by Clyde (Gerard Butler), the film may not have been as bad left to simply be a mind-numbingly fun movie, but his repeating of the motto that everyone must account for their actions and intention to change things misses the mark completely. As long as the audience doesn’t think too much about the plot holes and the missed opportunities, we can revel in the excellent cinematography, the mystery of the kills, and a fabulously shocking death scene.  My review after the jump:

With director F. Gary Gray’s Law Abiding Citizen hitting DVD/Blu-ray on Febuary 16, we’ve been given an exclusive behind the scenes clip from one of the big action scenes in the movie.  If you’ve seen the film, it’s the cemetery scene where Gerard Butler’s character attacks the convoy with a robot.  If you never saw the film, it’s a welcome return to action for Gerard Butler.

Also, to help promote the film, we’ve been given 5 posters and a Blu-ray (which features the unrated director’s cut with 11 additional minutes of footage) to giveaway to some of our readers.  Hit the jump for the clip and how to enter the giveaway:

Opening this Friday is director F. Gary Gray’s “Law Abiding Citizen”. 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, last week I was able to get on the phone with F. Gary Gray and we talked about why he took so long between movies and what was the reason he wanted to make this film. And for fans of DVDs, Gray revealed there will be an unrated directors cut of “Law Abiding Citizen” when it hits home video. Of course we also talked about other subjects and I got an update on the sequel to “The Italian Job”. Our conversation 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.

We have a new clip from the upcoming film “Law Abiding Citizen” starring Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler as two men who have a strong difference of opinion concerning the American justice system.  One person has to compromise and the other has to destroy everything.  Sadly, this is what passes for discourse in modern-day America.

Check out the clip after the jump along with the official plot synopsis.  “Law Abiding Citizen” hits theatres on October 16^th.

The trailer for “Law Abiding Citizen” has hit and I’m of two minds on the film judging from what’s presented.  On the one hand, Jamie Foxx’s character seems to have no depth whatsoever and is just a victim.  Also (at least on the surface), it looks like angry white man going against successful black man.  You don’t see movies where the white prosecutor stays true to life and fucks over the black man.  But then there’s Gerard Butler and he has an interesting-looking character who is justified because they killed his little girl but he also seems to take a sadistic pleasure from his revenge.  It’s kind of like Ellen Page in “Hard Candy”.

Check out the trailer after the jump and maybe you’ll just be of one mind on the film.  “Law Abiding Citizen” hits theatres on October 16th.

A slew of posters hit the web today (I’m not sure the quantity of a “slew” but we have four posters below) and I have witty comments on all of them that I’m sure you will enjoy.  Or you can just skip my words (and make me sad) and just look at the posters.  You’ll find both after the jump.