Despite the network’s protestations otherwise, there are many things about The Following that feel specifically like network television.  At the same time, it has some genuine twists and jumps and set ups that certainly lend one to believe the show may be more than initially meets the eye (if you still have yours).  The series comes from Kevin Williamson, who has had a hand in so many cultural touchstones, from Dawson’s Creek to Scream to the Vampire Diaries, it’s nearly unfathomable to figure how he could not have a hit with this one, particularly with Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy (Rome) as acting anchors.  Plus, the formula combines some of our biggest cultural fascinations – serial killers, cults and, well, Kevin Bacon.  Hit the jump for a recap of the series’ premiere episode, which seems promising.

It would be a gross understatement to say I haven’t been an ardent supporter of the Twilight franchise.  But I have tried to take each film on its own merits.  Nothing can change the fact that it has a despicable core message of how young women should relate to men, but there was always the potential for change.  Bella Swan could become a proactive character.  Edward Cullen and Jacob Black could be more than just brooding, softly smiling eye candy.  Somewhere, in the dreamy clouds of wish fulfillment, there may be something real instead of the silliest, most forced conflicts.  At the series’ conclusion, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 shows us what the Twilight movies could be at their best, but ultimately reminds us about the true nature of this series.

With director Olivier Megaton‘s Taken 2 opening October 5, 20th Century Fox has provided us with four clips.  In the sequel, Liam Neeson’s character unwisely takes his family on a European vacation, only to find himself and his wife (Famke Janssen) taken hostage by the family members of the henchmen that Neeson brutally murdered in the first film.   The film also stars Maggie Grace and Rade Serbedzija.

As a big fan of the first film, I’m looking forward to Neeson kicking some more ass in the sequel.  Hit the jump to watch the clips.

Recently, Liam Neeson threatened you into submission so you would watch his new trailer for Taken 2.  Then, the first featurette went online that showed off retired CIA operative Bryan Mills’ “skills and kills.” Today, we’ll continue the rhyming scheme with a new behind-the-scenes stunt featurette that highlights the sequel’s “thrills and spills.”  Imagine my surprise when I found out Neeson wasn’t actually killing all the people in the movie.  I still wouldn’t want to piss him off though.

Taken 2, from director Olivier Megaton, also stars Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace and  Rade Serbedzija.  The sequel hits theaters October 5th.  Hit the jump to watch the new stunts clip.

A new “internet trailer” for the upcoming action sequel Taken 2 has been released.  The clip is introduced by Liam Neeson himself who, sitting in a dark room, warns us interneters that if we don’t watch the trailer he’ll come for us and, naturally, he’ll find us. The trailer features quite a bit of new footage, and I’m starting to get the feeling that Taken 2 will be even more of a bloodbath than the first film.  Neeson rampage seems to know no bounds, especially when you kidnap his wife.

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.  Directed by Olivier Megaton, the film also stars Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, and Rade Šerbedžija.  Taken 2 opens on October 5th.

If these new images from Taken 2 didn’t do it for you, maybe seeing Liam Neeson in action in this new featurette will.  The sequel, directed by Olivier Megaton (Colombiana), puts the Mills family in the crosshairs when they vacation in Istanbul and are taken by the father of one of the kidnappers from the first film.  Mills (Neeson) hasn’t lost a step and now it looks like his wife, Lenore (Famke Janssen) and his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace) are getting into the action a bit more.  But Rade Šerbedžija proves to be a bit more formidable than the previous gang of faceless thugs.  The film opens October 5th.  Hit the jump to check out the new featurette.

A batch of new images from the “Liam Neeson kicks more ass” action sequel Taken 2 has gone online.  In the follow-up, Neeson’s character unwisely takes his family on a European vacation, only to find himself and his wife (Famke Janssen) taken hostage by the family members of the random henchmen that Neeson brutally murdered in the first film.  These new images unsurprisingly show Neeson being a badass, and we also get a few shots of Janssen and Maggie Grace running around.  At least everyone’s getting some healthy cardio in whilst fleeing from scary guys with guns.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  Directed by Olivier Megaton, Taken 2 opens on October 5th.

A new international trailer for Taken 2 has landed online.  As with the other trailers, this teases exactly what audiences want from the sequel: another “taken” scenario in which Liam Neeson is forced to be a badass.  The first film’s simple premise and international setting made for a fun actioner, and setting up the family members of all the men Neeson so quickly dispatched with in the first film as the sequel’s villains is an exciting angle.

Hit the jump to check out the new trailer.  The film also stars Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace, and Rade Serbedzija.  Taken 2 opens on October 5th.

The first theatrical U.S. trailer for director Olivier Megaton‘s Taken 2 has gone online.  The clip starts the same as the first international trailer, but the second half goes a bit more into the plot, sets up the tone of the film, and showcases some of the fighting (ie. Liam Neeson kicking ass).  The story finds Neeson’s character as the target of revenge, as the family members of all those people he so swiftly murdered in the first pic are out for blood.  I like the idea of escalation and the endless circle of violence being explored in the follow-up, with Rade Serbedzija’s villain character telling Neeson that if he kills him, Neeson will just have more people after him that he’ll have to kill too.  It’d be nice to see his character wrestle with the consequences of his murderous streak, but I’m sure we’ll see plenty of badassness from Neeson as well.  All in all, Taken 2 looks to be a damn good time.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace.  Taken 2 opens on October 5th.

The first time I attended Comic-Con was the first time Twilight came to the massive geek gathering.  I can still hear the shrieks, probably because I was in Hall H for the franchise’s final installment, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.  This year’s panel began on a somber note, and there was a brief moment of silence for the Twilight fan who died on Tuesday.  After the moment of silence, lead actors Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner were brought to the stage and met with the cheers they’ve always received at Comic-Con.  The trio are joined by Mackenzie Foy, who plays Renesmee.  Author Stephanie Meyer then takes the stage, making this her first Hall H appearance since the first movie.  We then get a special video message from director Bill Condon, who’s currently in London working on the sound mix for Part 2.  He tells the audience that the best way to start this panel is to pick up where Breaking Dawn – Part 1 left off.  Hit the jump for my full recap of the panel.

A short international trailer for Taken 2 has gone online.  The new trailer features some new footage, along with a brief moment that surprised me.  The previous trailer led me to believe that only Bryan Mills’ (Liam Neeson) wife (Famke Janssen) was going to be taken.  But in the new trailer, Mills says to his daughter (Maggie Grace), “Your mother and I are going to be taken,” and then we see a black bag getting put over his head.  Presumably, Mills doesn’t stay taken for too long because he has a very special set of skills.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  Taken 2 opens October 5th.

The first international trailer for Taken 2 has gone online.  As the new trailer shows, Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) didn’t really think through the whole “going on a murderous rampage to save my daughter,”-thing and now the bad guys’ families want revenge.  This time around, it’s Mills’ wife (Famke Janssen) who gets taken, so this gives license for Liam Neeson to play the badass yet again.  I have absolutely no problem with that.  I’m assuming the franchise can continue if future kidnapping victims include Mills’ cousin, gardener, paperboy, the guy he met at the supermarket that one time, and so forth.  Finally, Taken 2 looks to continue the series’ message that foreign countries are the worst places affluent white people can go.  Just visit Orlando, Florida.  They have Disneyworld.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Maggie Grace and Rade Serbedzija.  Taken 2 opens October 5th. [Update: We've added the international poster.]

While the Twilight franchise may be winding down, fans still have one last feature film to look forward to later this year.  Director Bill Condon recently posted a brief letter to fans on Facebook in order to explain the reshoots that will take place in a couple of weeks.  Condon quickly assuaged any fears of a delay of the theatrical release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 by stressing the technical need for these reshoots; no new scenes or dialogue will be added.  Condon also hints that a new trailer will be released soon for fans to “decode,” and calls the first posters for the film “unlike any Twilight images you’ve seen before.”  The finale of the Twilight saga, starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, opens November 16th.  Hit the jump to read Condon’s letter.

Lockout is a fun, pulpy sci-fi vehicle, and Guy Pearce is its engine.  James Mather and Stephen St. Leger‘s flick doesn’t have much of a budget, but they turn their limitations into an advantage by keeping the story lean, fast-paced, and with their charismatic lead actor almost always front and center.  The weaknesses of the plot become more apparent when Pearce isn’t on screen, and the action is mostly forgettable, but none of that seems to matter when you have roguish, smart-ass lead performance that recalls heroes like Snake Plisskin and John McClane.  There’s enough supporting material to keep Lockout running, but Pearce is what makes the movie blast off.

Luc Besson’s new sci-fi thriller, Lockout, is a fun and exciting ride set in the not too distant future.  Maggie Grace plays first daughter Emilie Warnock who is leading a humanitarian mission to MS One, an experimental prison in space. When a violent intergalactic mutiny unexpectedly sets loose 500 of Earth’s most dangerous psychotic criminals, President Warnock sends in the falsely convicted Agent Snow (Guy Pearce) to rescue her in exchange for his freedom. Living up to his irreverent reputation, Snow pushes all of Emilie’s buttons, but Emilie proves she can give as good as she gets and together they make a formidable team.

At the press day for Lockout, we sat down with Grace at a roundtable interview to talk about what attracted her to the role of Emilie.  She told us why she loves her action films served up with humor and how she enjoyed taking on the physically demanding role that involved sophisticated action scenes and a combination of stunts, combats and wire-work.  She discussed her training with stunt coordinator Patrick Cauderlier, her fun relationship on set with Pearce and their collaboration on the film’s Casablanca-inspired final scene, and why running in spacesuits presented some unusual challenges.   Grace also talked about her upcoming projects: Twilight: Breaking Dawn 2, Taken 2 and Decoding Annie Parker, plus why she’d like to do a romantic comedy.