A new trailer for writer/director Sofia Coppola’s new film The Bling Ring has been released online.  The film is based on the true story of a group of teenagers who robbed the homes of the rich and famous between October 2008 and August 2009, coming away with over $3 million worth of loot from the likes of Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, and Lindsay Lohan.  I found myself shaking my head throughout this whole trailer, which is a testament to how well Coppola has captured the celebrity-obsessed culture that surrounds us nowadays.  Watson looks to give a strong performance here as one of the oblivious and self-obsessed teenagers, and I’m eager to see how the story plays out through Coppola’s lens.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film stars Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga, Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, Claire Julien, Gavin Rossdale, and Leslie Mann.  The Bling Ring will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and opens in limited release on June 14th.

Some rather interesting new materials from writer/director Sofia Coppola’s upcoming film The Bling Ring have made their way online.  Most notable is the first clip from the film, which is based on the true story of a group of teenagers who robbed the homes of the rich and famous between October 2008 and August 2009, coming away with over $3 million worth of loot from the likes of Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, and Lindsay Lohan.  The clip shows the group of youngsters raiding a rather ridiculous “closet” that presumably belongs to one of the aforementioned celebrities, and we see Emma Watson’s character trying out a stripper pole in the process.  I’m really interested to see Coppola’s angle on this celeb-obsessed story, and it’s looking like The Bling Ring might make a nice double feature with Harmony Korine’s culture portrait Spring Breakers.

Hit the jump to watch the first clip and to check out a batch of new images.  The film also stars Taissa Farmiga, Israel Broussard (Flipped), Katie Chang, Claire Julien, Gavin Rossdale, and Leslie Mann.  The Bling Ring opens in limited release on June 14th.

A number of new images from writer/director Sofia Coppola’s upcoming film The Bling Ring have landed online.  The pic marks Coppola’s follow-up to her 2010 film Somewhere and is based on the true story of a group of teenagers who robbed the homes of the rich and famous between October 2008 and August 2009, coming away with over $3 million worth of loot from the likes of Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, and Lindsay Lohan.  It’s most definitely an interesting choice of topic for the Lost in Translation filmmaker, but the pic’s first trailer and these new images promise a fascinating look into the celebrity-obsessed, material-based culture that spurred the film’s real-life events in the first place.  The new images also give us another look at Emma Watson’s rather interesting character transformation.

Hit the jump to view the images.  The film also stars Taissa Farmiga (American Horror Story), Israel Broussard (Flipped), Katie Chang, Claire Julien, and Leslie Mann.  The Bling Ring opens in limited release on June 14th.

It’s weird to think we’re only four movies in to Judd Apatow’s directing career, because for the last ten years he’s become a brand.  Between working with Adam McKay and Will Ferrell on their comedies, to launching Seth Rogen and Kristen Wiig (and more), he established that he was one of the biggest forces in comedy.  But his most recent film, This is 40, came out and it didn’t feel like event.  It’s a modest film that’s enjoyable enough, but feels like a B side.  Our review of This is 40 follows after the jump.

Check out the latest casting announcements below:

• Jared Harris (Mad Men) will join Pompeii, the 3D action-adventure picture from Paul W.S. Anderson that stars Kit Harington and Emily Browning.
• Dimitri Leonidas (Animals) is the latest addition to writer/director George Clooney’s The Monuments Men, which stars Clooney, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, John Goodman and Jean Dujardin.
• Leslie Mann (This Is 40) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Mama) are in negotiations to join the Fox comedy The Other Woman, starring Cameron Diaz.

Hit the jump for more on each picture.

Emma Watson (Harry Potter series) is up to no good in this new teaser trailer for The Bling Ring.  Writer/director Sofia Coppola’s film is based on the true story of a group of teenagers who robbed the homes of the rich and famous between October 2008 and August 2009, coming away with over $3 million worth of loot from the likes of Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, and Lindsay Lohan.  The picture also stars Taissa Farmiga (American Horror Story), Israel Broussard(Flipped), Katie Chang, Claire Julien and Leslie Mann. Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.

When you watch a Judd Apatow film like This Is 40, you expect a certain level of comedy to come from improv.  In the case of Apatow’s most recent comedy, the blooper reel happens to be funnier than most of the scenes in the movie itself.  Featuring outtakes from Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Jason Segel, Megan Fox and more, the nearly four-minute laugher track is presumably but a sampling of all the additional footage shot for This is 40. Hit the jump to check it out.

A deleted scene from This Is 40 has been released online.  The film is a spin-off of Knocked Up and follows married couple Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) as they deal with marriage and family.  I’m surprised this scene was cut since it’s emblematic of the film: it’s intermittently funny, it goes on way too long, and it’s mostly the actors riffing on a topic intended to be too blunt for the audience to handle (Anal sex in a handicapped bathroom stall!  Edgy!)  If you saw the movie this past weekend and still can’t get enough, then this clip is for you.

Hit the jump to check out the clip, which also stars Maude Apatow, Iris Apatow, Robert Smigel, and Annie Mumolo.

I’ll be honest, I did very little preparation for this week’s Top 5. With the all-encompassing destruction of the Mayan Apocalypse staring us in the face, I kind of figured what’s the point? No one’s going to care about movie news when Smoke from Mortal Kombat III’s fatality proves prophetic and Earth explodes, right? Alas, as is so often the case, the Mayans failed us and I was forced to pull things together at the last minute.

In this, our first post-Mayan calendar installment, we have This Is 40 interviews with Judd Apatow, Leslie Mann, and Paul Rudd, a new teaser trailer and images for Star Trek Into Darkness, the first trailer for Michael Bay‘s Pain and Gain, the scoop on Damon Lindelof‘s lack of involvement in the Prometheus sequel and new info on 1952, and the first red-band clip and poster from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg‘s This Is the End. Brief recaps and links to each are waiting after the jump.

It’s not all gold, Mr. Apatow.  The logic behind his films seems to be, “If it got big laughs at a test screening, we should probably keep it.”  Therefore, the editing isn’t decided on how best to tell the story, but how many jokes they can stuff into a borderline-ridiculous runtime.  If this is the case, then there must be an absolute certainty that the jokes are all terrific, and that it doesn’t detract from the characters or the plot.  You can have the “Know how I know you’re gay?” scene in The 40-Year-Old Virgin because it’s funny, it doesn’t slow the film down, and it doesn’t detract from overall narrative.  This Is 40, Judd Apatow‘s latest film, lacks any such cohesion.  As nothing more than a slice-of-life, it’s free to wander around aimlessly, sometimes running up against great jokes, and sometimes meandering through scenes that could be cut completely.  More frustrating, beneath the sporadic success of the humor, there’s a compelling story and strong performances, especially from Leslie Mann.  Unfortunately, This Is 40 works in reverse, trying to let a story flow out of humorous situations rather than vice-versa.

Five years after writer/director Judd Apatow introduced audiences to Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) in Knocked Up, their life is being revisited and explored much deeper in the honest yet hilarious look at marriage and parenthood in This is 40. Pete is struggling to keep his record label afloat, Debbie is hoping her clothing boutique will turn a profit, and their two daughters – 13-year-old Sadie (Maude Apatow) and 8-year-old Charlotte (Iris Apatow) – are just trying to navigate parents, school and boys, all while finding their way in the world together.

During a press conference to promote the film’s December 21^st theatrical release, co-stars Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd talked about the toughest aspects of turning 40, the most difficult scene to get through without laughing, preparing for the film’s more awkward moments, relating to their character’s frustration with life, and how they felt about watching themselves in the film. Check out what they had to say after the jump.

Universal Pictures has released five clips from writer/director Judd Apatow’s new film This Is 40.  For those unaware, the pic is a “sort-of sequel” to Apatow’s 2008 film Knocked Up, and continues the story of the characters played by Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann five years later as they’re navigating new challenges to their careers, parents, marriage, and children.

Hit the jump to watch the clips.  The film also stars Albert Brooks, John Lithgow, Maude Apatow, Iris Apatow, Megan Fox, Chris O’Dowd, Charlyne Yi, Jason Segel, and Melissa McCarthy.  This Is 40 opens on December 21st.

A new red-band trailer has been released for Judd Apatow‘s new comedy, This Is 40.  The Knocked-Up spin-off follows Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) as they try to navigate new challenges to their careers, parents, marriage, and children.  Since Apatow films about 26-days of ad-libbing, a third of the jokes in this trailer aren’t in the movie even though the film is over two-hours long.  That’s not to say that movie isn’t funny, but it’s odd to use jokes to sell the film and then decide those jokes weren’t good enough for the final cut.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Megan Fox, Albert Brooks, John Lithgow, Chris O’Dowd, Jason Segel, Maude Apatow, and Iris Apatow.  This Is 40 opens December 21st.

Paul Rudd gets caught in the middle of Megan Fox and Leslie Mann in this new clip from writer/director Judd Apatow’s This Is 40. Lucky guy. When Desi (Fox) starts working for Pete (Rudd), her youth stirs up some trouble in the almost-forty Debbie (Mann). The clip also features hilarious contributions from Robert Smigel (Conan) and Annie Mumolo (Bridesmaids). This is 40 opens December 21st.

Pulling a complete 180, we have two very serious clips from co-writer and director Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt. Centering on a school teacher, played by Mads Mikkelsen, who is accused of molesting a kindergartner, these two clips show the young accuser during her initial confession and later, her attempted retraction. There is no domestic release date for the picture as of yet, but you can check out Phil Brown’s review here. Hit the jump to watch the clips. 

A new clip and featurette have debuted for writer/director Judd Apatow’s This Is 40. Starring Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann in a spin-off film for their characters in Knocked Up, This Is 40 centers on the real-life problems of a mid-life marriage. The clip highlights some funny pillow talk between Rudd and Mann, while the featurette reveals Jason Segel’s role in the picture. Also starring Albert Brooks, John Lithgow and Megan Fox, This Is 40 opens on December 21st.

We also have a new clip from writer/director Andrew Dominik’s Killing Them Softly. Centering on Brad Pitt as a mob enforcer, this clip reveals a conversation between Pitt and James Gandolfini’s character, New York Mickey, aka Mickey Fix-It. Also starring Richard Jenkins, Ray Liotta, Scoot McNairy and Ben Mendelsohn, Killing Them Softly opens November 30th. Hit the jump to check out the clips.