Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for director Peter Jackson‘s The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.  The film is a continuation of the story that began with last year’s An Unexpected Journey, and this trailer gives us a pretty extensive peek at what’s in store for the second installment in Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy.  In addition to the return of Orlando Bloom‘s Legolas, we get a look at the new characters played by Evangeline Lilly (Tauriel), Lee Pace (Thranduil), and Luke Evans (Bard the Bowman), as well as a nice tease of the titular dragon Smaug.  I may be misremembering just how CG-heavy An Unexpected Journey was, but there appears to be a rather exhaustive use of the technology here in Smaug.  Hopefully some of the more spotty-looking shots can be cleaned up in time for December, when audiences will once again be given the opportunity to see The Hobbit at 48 frames-per-second.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer, and click here to check out 8 high-resolution images from the pic.  The film also stars Martin Freeman, Ian McKellan, Richard Armitage, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, John Bell, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Fry, Ryan Gage, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Sylvester McCoy, Graham McTavish, Michael Mizrahi, James Nesbitt, Dean O’Gorman, Lee Pace, Mikael Persbrandt, Ken Stott, and Aidan Turner.  The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug opens in 2D, 3D, IMAX, and HFR on December 13th.

When director Peter Jackson touted the high frame rate of 48 frames per second for his upcoming fantasy epic, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, we were understandably excited.  However, the reality of the technology had the unexpected consequence of looking too real, as if one were standing on set watching a movie being filmed.  While Warner Bros. still believes that 48fps is the way of cinematic future, they’re being careful with their first major release by limiting the sites that will screen The Hobbit at the higher frame rate.  There is talk of expanding the release of future installments in 48fps dependent on audience reaction.  Hit the jump for more.

A new trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has gone online.  As it’s only subtly different from the one that was previously released, folks are referring to this one as The Hobbit 1.1.  Regardless, I’ll take any new footage of Martin Freeman and Ian McKellan I can get at this point.

The film also stars Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Andy Serkis, Luke Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, and Stephen Fry.  The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be released on December 14, 2012.  Hit the jump to check out the new trailer.

There are so many versions of Sherlock Holmes that having “the Robert Downey Jr. one” in the mix only adds a different flavor to the character. His version is more of an action hero than problem solver (though there’s much of that too), and the latest adventure Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows – directed by Guy Richie and co-starring Jude Law as Dr. Watson – is entertaining enough, and it ends well. But it feels a little routine. If the first film was clever and had more of a sense of discovery, this is just more of the same. Our review of the Blu-ray follows after the jump.

Hugh Laurie (House M.D.) and Stephen Fry (V for Vendetta) will lend their voices to the animated Oscar Wilde adaptation, The Canterville Ghost.  Wilde’s novella, set in late 1800s rural England, tells of the Otises, an American family that moves in to Canterville Chase, an old country house.  Sir Simon de Canterville (Fry) has been haunting the residence for hundreds of years alongside his resident nemesis, Death (Laurie) in the guise of a lowly gardener.  Comedic stars of the 80s and 90s series, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, the duo have collaborated on a number of projects; this will be their first such reunion in 13 years.  Hit the jump for  more on The Canterville Ghost.

The first Sherlock Holmes had to overcome the challenge of readjusting the legendary detective to a modernized version who lived in a jacked-up version of Victorian England.  The film was a hit, audiences accepted director Guy Ritchie‘s re-imagined Sherlock (Robert Downey Jr.), and the sequel moves on to broadening the world, upping the ante, and refining the rough parts of the original.  Like its predecessor, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is fun, easily-digestible entertainment, but the sequel simplifies the mystery and misses a major opportunity to highlight one of literature’s great villains.

With the release of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows only a few weeks away, Warner Bros. has released 47 new images from the movie.  If you want to see 47 moments from the movie including a first look at Stephen Fry as Holmes’ brother Mycroft, hit the jump.  The film also stars Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, and Jared Harris.  Sherlock Holmes:  A Game of Shadows opens December 16th.

Warner Bros. has finally released a new trailer for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and it is discouraging.  There are a few neat moments like some glimpses of Rachel McAdams reprising her role as Irene Adler (although the role will amount to a cameo this time around), and the formation of ye old sniper rifle.  But what I find troubling about this trailer is that it’s very light on story.  Usually the second trailer is all about laying out the plot and this one is just more action.  Lots and lots of action, which is fine, but Sherlock Holmes vs. Professor Moriarty is one of the great fictional battles of all-time.  This movie may have boiled it down to excessive speed-ramping.  Here’s hoping I’m wrong.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film stars Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, and Jared Harris.  Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows opens December 16th.

The trailer for Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. While it’s nothing too mindblowing, we do get to see a good deal of Noomi Rapace’s character, and bit of Mad Men‘s Jared Harris as Moriarty. It’s nice to see Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law back in fine form, and Ritchie seems to be maintaining the style he set with the first film. The sequel will see Holmes and Watson facing off against Holmes’ arch-nemesis Professor Moriarty.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Noomi Rapace, Eddie Marsan, Kelly Reilly, and Stephen Fry.  Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows opens December 16th.

More casting news from The Hobbit has been announced, again by Peter Jackson himself. Stephen Fry, Ryan Gage and Conan Stevens will now venture to Middle Earth. Fry will play The Master of Laketown, the leader of one of the towns Bilbo and the Dwarves encounter on their adventure. Gage will take on the role of Alfrid, The Master’s conniving servant. Finally, Stevens will play the Orc called Azog. Gage was originally set to play a small role as a hobbit, but apparently Jackson liked him so much that he gave him a bigger part.

Jackson gave an update on the production, currently ongoing in New Zealand, saying that the first shooting block will end in three weeks. They will take a short break at this time to do some editing and visual effects work, as well as get ready for “very big scenes coming up.” This accounts for the casting news that’s been happening even as production has started. They’re filling out the roles that appear later on in the shooting schedule. The Hobbit will be broken into two parts.  Part 1 is set for December 2012 and Part 2 will come out in December 2013. Hit the jump to read Jackson’s full statement.

A new image has been released for Sherlock Holmes 2 along with some new details on the film.  Hero Complex reports that currently-untitled sequel takes place a year after the events of the first film and sees Holmes in pursuit of Professor Moriarty (Mad Men‘s Jared Harris), who “might be the world’s first supervillain”.  The film also introduces Noomi Rapace in her first American role as a “feisty” gypsy named Sim.  Along for the ride is Stephen Fry as Sherlock’s brother Mycroft Holmes, a character who is, according to producer Susan Downey, “stranger and perhaps even more brilliant,” than Sherlock.  Meanwhile, as Sherlock and Watson pursue Moriarty, Watson is trying to keep his relationship with Mary Morstan (Kelly Reilly) afloat.

Hit the jump to check out the new image and learn more details about the flick.  Sherlock Holmes 2 is due out December 16th.

All the key cast members of Sherlock Holmes 2 are starting to fall in place.  Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law are back as Holmes and Watson, obviously.  Rachel McAdams will reprise her role as Irene Adler, though in a diminished capacity.  Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) will make her English-language debut as the sequel’s female lead, rumored to be a French Gypsy.  Now, the endlessly witty Stephen Fry (Alice in Wonderland) has shared that he will play Sherlock’s brother Mycroft in the film.  (The only piece missing: who will play Moriarty?)

Hit the jump for Fry’s comments on the role, as well as some background info on the character.

Sure, we know how weird and wild the human characters look in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (which is really an unofficial sequel to Lewis Caroll’s classic book), but have you seen the CG creations!  Well, you have if you’ve seen any of the trailers or commercials, but now they’re getting their own posters as MTV has debuted one-sheets for the Cheshire Cat (voiced by Stephen Fry) and the White Rabbit (voiced by Michael Sheen).

As for the human characters, the film stars Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, and Johnny Depp.  Hit the jump to check out the posters along with the official synopsis.  Alice in Wonderland hits theaters in 3D and IMAX 3D on March 5th.

A new UK trailer for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland has just premiered and other than the intro, it’s mostly identical to the US trailer Disney released earlier today.  However we do learn from this one is that Alice (Mia Wasikowska) escapes to Wonderland this second time to flee a marriage proposal, which leads me to believe there may be some slice-of-life element woven into the fantasy war epic.  Once in Wonderland, Alice plans to end the reign of the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter).  The film co-stars Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, and the voice talents of Stephen Fry, Crispin Glover, Michael Sheen, and Alan Rickman among others.

I’m a huge fan of Burton’s aesthetic, but the more and more footage we see of the actual film, the more I worry for it.  Here we get a feel for the hand-to-hand combat, which, cool though it is, reminds me of Narnia or The Lord of the Rings.  This isn’t a bad take, per se, it’s just not exactly what I expect when I go to visit Wonderland, and I don’t think I’m alone.

Judge for yourself after the jump.  Alice in Wonderland hits theaters on March 5, 2010.

Disney has released a new trailer for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and you can check it out after the jump.  While the teaser trailer for Alice looked cool, this new trailer is definitely going to wow you with some pretty incredible visuals.  In fact, with this trailer, we’re finally getting a real taste of the movie and in my opinion…it looks like the perfect marriage between story and visuals.  Because if there was ever a place that Tim Burton was meant to bring to life, it’s the magical world of Wonderland.  Also, the way he’s making the film, with a mixture of live action, animation and CGI, I think it’s going to be amazing.  Check out the trailer and judge it for yourself: