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.

I’ve heard good things about John Carter from people who have seen it, but sadly the film’s marketing has been a mess.  A recent featurette finally showed off the film’s scope and so does the final trailer.  But none of the trailers (except one that was fan-made, and far better than any of Disney’s trailers) took a single moment to explain who John Carter is, how he got to Mars, and why he has special powers.  Does any audience member who is unfamiliar with the source material, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ novel A Princess of Mars, know anything about the character beyond “Shirtless Dude Who Fights Weird Creatures”?  The movie is titled “John Carter” and Disney never took the time to tell us anything about him.

Hit the jump to check out the final trailer.  The film stars Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, Dominic West, James Purefoy, Daryl Sabara, Polly Walker, Bryan Cranston, Thomas Haden Church, and Willem Dafoe.  John Carter opens in IMAX and 3D on March 9th.

Disney has released a new clip and featurette for director Andrew Stanton’s John Carter that will satisfy your need for action and romance respectively. First up is a clip that shows the titular hero, played by Taylor Kitsch, as he battles for his life in the Barsoomian (ie Martian) version of gladiatorial games. Alongside Carter is a badly wounded Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe), a Martian warrior who is being tested for signs of weakness by pitting him against the ferocious White Apes. Those of you who prefer the softer side of John Carter will be interested in the new featurette that highlights the relationship of Carter and the Martian princess, Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). If none of the above makes any sense to you, might I suggest you check out some posters, images, trailers, behind-the-scenes footage and set visit interviews. Better yet, just get caught up on everything here. John Carter releases in 3D on March 9^th. Hit the jump to see the new clip and featurette.

Disney’s John Carter is a movie that’s been in development for over two decades. Numerous filmmakers have attempted to tackle Edgar Rice Burroughs’s source material (published 100 years ago), and Andrew Stanton (Wall-E) is the director who finally brought the story to life. In order to transport Taylor Kitsch’s title character to a creature-infested Mars, a great deal of visual effects work was needed. Nearly 13 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage from the making of John Carter have been released that give us a glimpse into how Stanton pulled it all off. We see models built during the conception stage, Willem Dafoe walking around on stilts in order to portray a towering Thark, how Stanton got Kitsch to make those giant leaps, and even composer Michael Giacchino (Lost, Star Trek) hard at work on the film’s score.

Hit the jump to check out the footage, as well as three new clips from the film. The sci-fi pic also stars Thomas Haden Church, Mark Strong, Lynn Collins, and Samantha Morton. John Carter opens in 3D on March 9th.

We’re only a few weeks away from the release of Disney’s epic John Carter, and a large batch of high resolution images have been released. We’ve seen some of the images before, but we also get some really cool behind-the-scenes images that show just how director Andrew Stanton captured many of the effects-heavy portions of the film. While the initial trailer had me wary, I’ve been impressed by each new trailer and clip released this far. Stanton’s previously directorial resume is stellar, so I’m really hoping he delivers when we get a chance to check out the full film.

Hit the jump to check out the images. If you missed it, be sure to check out Matt’s set visit coverage including his full recap and interviews with co-writer/director Andrew Stanton, Taylor Kitsch, Willem Dafoe and Thomas Haden Church, Lynn Collins, and Samantha Morton. The film also stars Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, Dominic West, James Purefoy, Daryl Sabara, Polly Walker, and Bryan Cranston. John Carter opens in 3D on March 9th.

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, I can’t help but think that Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum’s The Vow is Hollywood’s way of saying, “We know you suck at planning romantic Valentine’s dates, so why not pay us to take care of that for you?”. And you know what? They’re right. I’ve already reserved a couple of tix for the pic and, just like that, I’m basically a romance deity (Note: “Romance deity” may be a slight exaggeration”).

All romantic escapades aside, this week’s “Top 5″ brings you all of our John Carter set visit coverage, a plethora of Star Wars items, a new trailer for director Marc Webb‘s The Amazing Spider-Man, the first trailer and poster from Jeremy Renner‘s The Bourne Legacy, and all of Super Bowl XLVI’s movie ads in one place. You can find a brief recap and link to each after the jump.

“Barsoom” reads a sign on the outskirts of the movie set we’re about to visit.  “Barsoom” is what Martians call their planet in Edgar Rice Burroughs‘ A Princess of Mars.  A group of my fellow online movie journalists and I are headed to the set of Andrew Stanton‘s adaptation of the classic sci-fi novel, John Carter.  Mars may technically be in Big Water, Utah, but today we’ll be walking the ruins of an ancient Martian city, meeting a princess who bleeds blue, and a nine-foot-tall nomad tribe of warriors.  Hit the jump to take a trip to the red planet and find out about my visit to the set of John Carter.

Tharks, the green-skinned, six-limbed creatures living on Mars in John Carter are about nine feet tall.  Great actors though they are, Willem Dafoe and Thomas Haden Church, are not nine feet tall.  Even though they’re wearing the standard motion-capture grey leotards and tracking dots, there’s no accounting for height…unless you add stilts.  Watching Dafoe and Church march around on stilts is one of the high-lights of any set visit I’ve gone to.

With a sandstorm whipping into our faces and into our microphones, my fellow movie journalists and I spoke to Dafoe and Church on the set of John Carter.  In addition to talking about the stilts, we spoke about the scene they were currently filming, their characters, how doing motion-capture on set helped their performances, and more.  Hit the jump to check out the interview.  John Carter opens in 3D on March 9th.

I was underwhelmed by last night’s Super Bowl spot for John Carter (a movie so epic, it can fit into its title!), but I still think the movie can deliver.  It’s got scope, it’s going to be unlike anything else this year, and it’s got Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo and WALL-E) at the helm.  Disney has released 7 new images from the film and they provide a better look at Lynn Collins as Dejah Thoris, the warrior princess of Mars.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  The film also stars Taylor Kitsch, Samantha Morton, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, Dominic West, James Purefoy, Daryl Sabara, Polly Walker, Bryan Cranston, Thomas Hayden Church, and Willem Dafoe.  John Carter opens in 3D on March 9th.

Fox has provided us with 7 clips for We Bought a Zoo, the latest movie from writer/director Cameron Crowe.  Matt Damon stars as “a single dad who decides his family needs a fresh start, so he and his two children move to the most unlikely of places: a zoo.”  I missed the local Thanksgiving sneak preview, but based on the word of mouth from those who made it, We Bought a Zoo is a return to form for Crowe after the disappointing Elizabethtown.

Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church, Patrick Fugit, Elle Fanning, and John Michael Higgins also star.  We Bought a Zoo opens on December 23.  Hit the jump to watch the clips.

Fox has released a new clip from writer-director Cameron Crowe’s We Bought a Zoo. I caught the film at the preview screening last weekend and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by just how much I loved it. I’m an avid Crowe fan, but the marketing materials had me worried Zoo was nothing more than a sappy family popcorn movie. What Crowe has crafted is an incredibly poignant character piece that packs a walloping emotional punch. It comes close to being “gooey” in parts, but rarely crosses over into the saccharine. Matt Damon is great, Scarlett Johansson is charming, and the score by Sigur Ros’ Jonsi is the perfect compliment to Crowe’s delightful script that’s rife with more than a couple signature “Cameron Crowe” moments. If you’re looking for a movie to enjoy with the whole family over the holidays that won’t have you counting down the seconds until it’s over, We Bought a Zoo is a fine choice.

This clip features Thomas Haden Church as Damon’s brother, trying to persuade him from wasting his entire savings on fixing up the dilapidated zoo. Hit the jump to check it out. We Bought a Zoo opens December 23rd.

20th Century Fox will be giving sneak previews Cameron Crowe‘s family film We Bought a Zoo in over 800 theaters on November 26th to take advantage of Thanksgiving weekend.  The previews are well in advance of the film’s December 23rd release date, but Fox has a lot of confidence in the movie following reactions from test screenings in both major cities and the heartland.  The sneaks will give the movie a chance to build up buzz and possibly be a stronger contender during awards season, especially since it has to share its December 23rd weekend with The Adventures of Tintin, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, War Horse, The Darkest Hour, and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.

We Bought a Zoo stars Matt Damon as “a single dad who wants to give his family a new start and moves to a home that’s smack in the middle of a down-and-out zoo. Together, he and his two children try to restore the zoo to its former glory.”  The movie also stars Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church, Elle Fanning, and Patrick Fugit.  Hit the jump to check out the trailer. [Update: We've been sent the full press release, which is now included after the jump.]

You have to respect a film that goes completely bonkers.  It doesn’t mean the movie becomes good, or every shortcoming is instantly forgiven.  But if a movie’s going to fail, then you hope that it fails in a spectacular fashion.  The true fiascos aren’t just train wrecks.  They’re train wrecks that were hit by an atomic bomb.  Up until the last twenty minutes, William Freidkin’s Killer Joe looks like it will just be a disappointing movie.  It’s not tightly twisted enough to be an effective crime film, and it’s not funny enough to be a dark comedy, and the only saving grace is Matthew McConaughey’s performance.  But then the train goes off the tracks, the warhead comes crashing down, and you have to tip your glass to the madness.

New images from Cameron Crowe’s We Bought a Zoo have gone online.  Based on Based on the memoir by Benjamin Mee, the film tells the story of a man (Matt Damon) who decides to buy and renovate a zoo following the death of his wife.  The movie notable not only because of it’s solid cast (Scarlett Johansson, Patrick Fugit, Elle Fanning, J.B. Smoove, and Thomas Haden Church) but because it’s Crowe’s first film since 2005′s fiasco Elizabethtown.  The images make the movie look a tad sappy (as zoo animals plus uplifted families tend to do) but I’ll withhold further judgment until a trailer hits.

Hit the jump for the images along with what Crowe and Damon had to say about the film.  We Bought a Zoo opens December 23rd.

If you’re a movie fan, today is a great day.  That’s because thanks to the Toronto International Film festival announcing some of their 2011 schedule, we’ve been inundated with a tremendous amount of new movie images for some of the biggest films arriving later this year.  And continuing our coverage, after the jump you can check out the first images from Derick Martini’s Hick (which stars Blake Lively, Chloe Moretz, Alec Baldwin, Juliette Lewis, Eddie Redmayne and Rory Culkin), Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass Jeff, Who Lives at Home (which stars Jason Segel, Ed Helms, Judy Greer and Susan Sarandon) Francis Ford Coppola’s Twixt (starring Val Kilmer, Bruce Dern, Elle Fanning and Ben Chaplin) and the first clip and images from Killer Joe (which stars Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Thomas Haden Church and Gina Gershon).