True Blood at its best and at its worst is still entertaining.  Though we may feel compelled to roll our eyes at some of its most ridiculous storylines, humor is never far.  The best True Blood episodes combine workable mythology alongside its innate snark, and this season has given that us in spades.  It’s a show that tricks you into nodding in assent when a character solemnly says, “turns out it was a crazy smoke monster who wanted to kill me, not the demon baby like we thought.” Of course.  Further, it has developed storylines that are interesting, not always immediately telegraphed, and that have resurrected – literally or metaphorically – characters who had previously fallen out of favor or off of our screens.  Though this season still has too many irons in the fire to tell any one story particularly effectively, it grounds itself in the small moments (like Sookie, Arlene and Holly all man hatin’ together in Merlotte’s) and has continued to be down right enjoyable.  For the nitty gritty of the episode and why peace is for pussies, hit the jump.

Current showrunner and True Blood series adapter Alan Ball came on stage in Ballroom 20 to introduce a new trailer for the ongoing fifth season.  The panel for the popular HBO show inspired by the Charlaine Harris novels also featured cast members Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Alexander Skarsgard, Ryan Kwanten, Rutina Wesley, Deborah Ann Woll, Sam Trammell, Joe Manganiello and Kristin Bauer van Straten. The lively and hilarious panel not only teased events in the next season, but also touched on the new relationships that will be forged and acted as a memorial to Ball’s work on the series before he departs as showrunner at the end of the season.  Hit the jump for my panel recap and click here for our continuing Comic-Con coverage.

Just a few days ago, we learned that the co-lead opposite Man of Steel’s Henry Cavill in director Edward Zwick’s The Great Wall was down to either Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood) or Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter).  The decision-making process wasn’t stretched out much further, as Variety now reports that Walker has landed the role.  The period pic explores “the mysteries” behind the construction of The Great Wall in China, and apparently involves some inhuman element that the builders of the wall are trying to keep out.  Cavill and Walker will play 15^th century British soldiers who stumble upon the construction of the wall, and presumably get caught up in the havoc that this supernatural presence brings.

Walker is a relatively untested actor on the big screen.  He had bit parts in Kinsey and Flags of Our Fathers, but he stretched his chops in the Broadway play Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.  We’ll get our first good look at Walker in a starring role in this summer’s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

HBO’s True Blood is back this Sunday, June 10th, at 9pm, and the show’s fifth season is sure to be full of bloody mayhem that will hopefully rectify some of last year’s lackluster performance.  As the number of magical creatures and love triangles (love-dodecahedrons, at this point) continues to increase, it may be hard to keep track of who’s alive, who’s dead, who came back and what kind of magic they possess.  Take a spoiler-filled refresher course after the jump to relive the last four seasons of True Blood, including some of the best, worst and weirdest surprises from Bon Temps over the last few years (or moments, if you’re on fairy time).

Director Edward Zwick (The Last Samurai) is gearing up to start production on his period epic The Great Wall, and producers are now mulling over two actors to take on the co-lead role opposite Man of Steel star (aka the new Superman) Henry Cavill. Deadline reports that the decision is now between True Blood’s Alexander Skarsgard and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter star Benjamin Walker.  Previously all we’d known about the film was that it “looks at the mystery behind how China’s Great Wall was constructed.”  Now a new logline shines a bit more light on the project, as the film centers on British warriors traveling through 15th Century China who realize “there is something inhuman and more dangerous” that the builders of the titular wall are trying to keep out.  Hit the jump for more.

Despite the fandom’s ritual end-of-season swearing off of True Blood, every summer on the eve of the show’s return it starts looking good again, pulling viewers back in like maenads to a bacchanal.  At the very least, Season Five has added Christopher Meloni, Scott Foley and Alexander Drew (as a little kid vampire)  to the cast, plus the return of fan favorite character Russell Edgington as well as the Evangelical Steve Newlin (now a vamp!)

HBO has just released a trio of teaser clips for the upcoming season, which starts June 10th at 9pm, to whet our appetites like a platter of Merlotte’s spicy buffalo wings. Hit the jump for the videos as well as some analysis.

In a society where half of all marriages statistically end in divorce, it’s the children of those failed unions that often get lost in the shuffle.  The premise of co-directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel’s film, What Maisie Knew deals with a young girl trapped in the wake of her parents’ bitter divorce.  While the film could easily become bleak and depressing, the trailer, at least, seems hopeful, buoyed by the effortless and carefree performance of Onata Aprile in the titular role.  It helps that What Maisie Knew sports a supporting cast of Julianne Moore, Alexander Skarsgard, Steve Coogan and Joanna Vanderham, to name a few, but your hearts will be stolen by Aprile.  Hit the jump to check out the trailer.

Opening this Friday is director Peter Berg’s adaptation of the board game Battleship.  The action-adventure pic takes place on the seas and centers on a group of Naval officers who must fight to keep an alien force from destroying our world.  Taylor Kitsch leads a cast that includes Alexander Skarsgard, Brooklyn Decker, Rihanna, and Liam Neeson.

Our partners at Omelete recently got the chance to speak with Kitsch, Skarsgard, and Decker about the film, and the actors addressed the pic’s Pearl Harbor connection, Berg’s improvisational directing style, sci-fi, chicken burritos and more.  If you missed our interview with Berg, click here.  Hit the jump to watch the interview with Kitsch, Skarsgard and Decker, but be advised that there are minor spoilers for the film.

Following a slew of “mini trailers” and one brief teaser, the first full trailer for the upcoming fifth season of HBO’s True Blood has gone online.  The clip shows quite a bit of footage from the upcoming season, including the promise of a prolonged Bill/Eric team-up (please tell me a buddy vampire spin-off is in the works), the return of an old fan favorite character, and the promise of more of that weird clown face that apparently appears when witches get high or something.  However, the best part about this trailer is Mr. Christopher Meloni.  He joins the cast this season as the head of The Authority, a council made up of the most powerful vampires in existence.  If you remember the predicament that Bill and Eric found themselves in last season and compound that with the returning baddie, you should have some idea of where this promisingly badass Meloni character comes in.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer, and if you missed all the character posters that were recently unveiled, click here.  The fifth season of True Blood premieres on HBO on June 10th.

Frankly, I gave up on vampires a long time ago, and it takes a lot for me to get interested in them, and that includes the HBO series True Blood. However, we know that there are plenty of True Blood-thirsty fans out there clamoring for every bit of hype as we lead up to the fifth season premiere on June 10th at 9/8c. Therefore, you’ll be happy to know that in addition to the most recent trailer and teaser poster, we now have a batch of 12 character posters (with Anna Paquin, Alexander Skarsgard, Stephen Moyer and more) that have so much red on them they would make Shaun of the Dead blush.

Honestly, they’re not all that special, but for fans who have a favorite character (or enjoy seeing Christopher Meloni with fangs), they could make a cool iPhone background or something like that. Anyway, you can check out all 12 of the new posters, along with the most recent trailer, after the jump.

Get ready to sink your teeth into these new photos from season five of HBO’s True Blood.  The supernatural drama returns this summer with some new blood added to the cast by way of Christopher Meloni, Valentina Cervi and Christopher Heyerdahl. These photos highlight the new characters, but also include a fresh look at some of the old, played by series regulars Stephen Moyer, Anna Paquin, Alexander Skarsgard and Nelsan Ellis.  The stakes have been raised once again as season five will feature the arrival of some new powerful vampires as well as the return of a fan-favorite.  Season five of True Blood returns on June 10^th.  Hit the jump to check out the photos.

We shared three new trailers for the upcoming fifth season of HBO’s True Blood a little over a week ago, but another one has gone online that we thought was fitting to share simply because it revolves around everyone’s favorite duo Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) and Pam (Kristin Bauer van Straten).  Additionally, HBO has released a pretty funny teaser poster for season five.  Though I haven’t been crazy about the show for the past two seasons, its soap opera dramatization has me hooked and I’ll most likely be finishing out the entire series.  Season five does have a few promising grabs, including Christopher Meloni as a powerful vampire (is there any other kind?) and the return of a fan-favorite character.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and poster.  The season five premiere of True Blood airs on Sunday, June 10th.

A new clip from Battleship has gone online.  The movie features alien invaders coming to Earth but first having to deal with some naval warfare.  I can buy aliens fighting sailors.  I can’t buy a bartender refuses to sell a burrito to a woman who looks like Brooklyn Decker (who plays the film’s love interest) because the “kitchen’s closed.”  And rather than have Decker’s character tell him that the “kitchen” is a microwave, she appears to just stand at the bar aimlessly until Taylor Kitsch‘s wayward slacker comes over to woo her.  It’s tough to believe that this movie is getting poor reviews from its overseas debuts.

Hit the jump to check out the clip.  The film also stars Alexander Alexander Skarsgard, Rihanna, Asano Tadanobu, and Liam Neeson.  Battleship opens May 18th.

Following his breakout role on the HBO series True Blood, Alexander Skarsgard is carving out quite a place for himself in the feature film business.  He recently appeared in Melancholia and the remake of Straw Dogs, and now Variety reports that Skarsgard will topline the horror-thriller Hidden for Warner Bros.  The story concerns a family hiding in a bomb shelter after escaping a mysterious outbreak.  Twin brothers Matt and Ross Duffer will make their feature directing debut on the project based on a script they wrote.  The Brothers Duffer’s spec script was a hot item late last year, and Warner Bros. was eager to get moving on the film as soon as possible.

Not other plot details are known beyond the basic outline, but the premise provides a number of promising scenarios.  Though it seems unlikely, I’d love to see a swell creature feature with the infected turning into monstrous beasts of some sort.  On the other hand, an intimate character thriller could be nice as well.  Skarsgard will be seen later this summer in the actioner Battleship and recently wrapped Zal Batmanglij’s (Sound of My Voice) anticipated thriller The East and the Internet-infused Disconnect.

While everyone is currently hyped up for the return of HBO’s Game of Thrones, a little show called True Blood popped up to remind us that season five of the supernatural series starts this summer. We’ve previously brought you the first promotion and more recent teaser trailers from everyone’s favorite guilty pleasure, but now we have a teaser montage of clips from the upcoming season. With news that showrunner Alan Ball is overseeing this season but stepping down from the day-to-day responsibilities of the show for a possible sixth season, it will be interesting to see how this summer’s run turns out. Also, with new cast addition Christopher Meloni, the old gang of supes could be in for quite a shake up, but Christopher Heyerdahl steals the show with his chilling narration of the new season five promo. Hit the jump to check it out.