Last night I uncovered a gem from 2011 for the first time and my only regret is that I didn’t take the time to seek it out sooner. Writer/director Thomas McCarthy‘s dramedy Win Win is not only consistently funny but also chock full of both heartwarming and heartbreaking moments. The performances are terrific all-around, the script is strong albeit somewhat easy to telegraph, and the wrestling scenes are even surprisingly intense at times (I mean, it was nominated for a prestigious ESPY for “Best Sports Film” after all). Matt gave the film his full endorsement when he reviewed it at Sundance 2011 and I’m doing the same here today.

Movie recommendations aside, in what was yet another busy week around these parts, the five standouts include our Skyfall interviews with Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, director Sam Mendes and more, a Beautiful Creatures set visit recap, the first trailer for Brad Pitt‘s World War Z, even more set visit goodness from Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s The Last Stand, and ongoing development news for the next Star Wars trilogy. Keep reading for brief recaps and links to all of the above.

The sheriff of a small border town stands in front of a notorious drug cartel leader, blocking his path across the bridge that will take him safely out of the country.  Wanting to avoid a physical confrontation with the much larger man, the cartel leader attempts to buy him off. The sheriff responds by discarding his gun belt and shedding his jacket, dropping it to the ground.  The men rush each other.  They trade blows, neither getting the upper hand until the sheriff lifts the man into the air and prepares to slam him to the asphalt.  Director Kim Jee-Woon calls cut and sheriff Ray Owens (Arnold Schwarzenegger) slowly lowers cartel leader Gabriel Cortes (Eduardo Noriega) to the ground with the assistance of the actor’s stunt wires.

It’s late October 2011 and we’re on set of The Last Stand, Schwarzenegger’s first starring role since leaving the governorship of California and his triumphant return to the big screen.  While we’ll have interviews with the cast and crew of the film later on this week, you can hit the jump right now to view our “20 Things to Know” for The Last Stand.  Also starring Forest Whitaker, Rodrigo Santoro, Johnny Knoxville, Jaimie Alexander, Luis Guzman, Peter Stormare, Zach Gilford and Genesis Rodriguez, The Last Stand opens January 18th, 2013.

Though action star Arnold Schwarzenegger may have been seen in brief roles in The Expendables and The Expendables 2, his return to leading man status will come early next year in The Last Stand (watch the new trailer here).  Schwarzenegger stars as retired LAPD officer turned sheriff, Ray Owens, who settles in the peaceful border town of Sommerton Junction.  When cartel leader Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega) escapes from the FBI and makes a run for the border, Owens and his small-town sheriffs department are the only things standing in his way.

During our set visit to The Last Stand, Arnold Schwarzenegger graciously spoke at length during a round-table interview about the film and a return to his career that he put on pause to assume the governorship of California.  He also spoke about his relationship with James Cameron, the possibility of a sequel to The Last Stand, his personal favorite characters, how much humor is in the film and if he wants to return to comedy, how it felt to return to the profession and much more.  Hit the jump to read our interview. 

A new full-length trailer for director Kim Jee-Woon‘s actioner The Last Stand has been released.  The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the old sheriff of a sleepy border town who’s called to action when a drug kingpin flees an FBI prisoner convoy, and tries to make his way to Mexico.  This trailer gives us a better look at the action outside of the border town involving Forest Whitaker‘s law enforcement character and also highlights some of the lighter aspects of the pic.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Eduardo Noriega, Rodrigo Santoro, Johnny Knoxville, Jaimie Alexander, Peter Stormare, Zach Gilford, and Genesis Rodriguez.  The Last Stand opens January 18, 2013.

A few new images to share with you today from the following films:

• Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln stars Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role, but also features Jackie Earle Haley, Lee Pace, Hal Holbrook and James Spader.
• Jee-woon Kim’s actioner The Last Stand shows off a new look at stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rodrigo Santoro.
• Jon Lucas and Scott Moore’s 21 and Over starring Justin Chon, Miles Teller and Skylar Astin.  

Hit the jump to check out the new images.

Just minutes after we reported on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s new look in David Ayer’s Ten, we get word that the former Governor will return to his roots in The Legend of Conan.  The reboot comes from Universal, which has worldwide rights on the film.  The studio launched the original film in 1982 with Schwarzenegger as Robert E. Howard’s mythic barbarian.  The property hit a bit of a snag with the 2011 reboot Conan the Barbarian with Jason Momoa at Millenium Films, but Universal has high hopes for the new project.  Hit the jump for more including the expected storyline of The Legend of Conan.

Thanks to social networking, we now have the first image of Arnold Schwarzenegger in director David Ayer’s new film, Ten.  Schwarzenegger tweeted the image earlier today, one that shows off a new look for the former Governor as he’s sporting a new haircut and a variety of new tattoos.  He’s also armed to the teeth and ready for battle in a police-issue bullet-proof vest, complete with knives, ammo and at least three guns.  Back when it was titled Breacher, Ayer said he wanted to “reinvent Arnold” during an interview with Steve.  You’ll have to decide for yourself whether or not he succeeded.  Hit the jump to check out the first image and for more on Schwarzenegger’s character.

Opening this weekend is director David Ayer’s (Harsh Times) police thriller End of Watch.  The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña as two Los Angeles beat cops who find themselves marked for death after a routine traffic stop turns into an epic drug bust that interferes with a notorious cartel.  Unlike Ayer’s previous films which focused on corrupt police officers, Gyllenhaal and Peña play honest cops trying to make a difference.  In addition, most of the movie was filmed with handheld cameras, and Ayer’s POV shots put the audience right in the middle of the action.  Trust me, End of Watch is definitely worth your time and the chemistry between Gyllenhaal and Peña is a lot of fun. For more on the film, here’s Matt’s review, twenty things to know from my set visit, and all our previous coverage.  End of Watch also stars Anna Kendrick, Natalie Martinez, America Ferrera, Cody Horn and Frank Grillo.

Last week at the Toronto Film Festival I was able to speak with David Ayer.  We talked about premiering in Toronto, his motivation for making End of Watch, the unique camerawork, and more.  In addition, Ayer talks about his next movie, Breacher, which stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sam Worthington.  He reveals they start shooting October 15, it will definitely be rated-R, and he says he wants to “reinvent Arnold.  He’ll be a new guy.”  Hit the jump to watch.

Let’s take a look at the latest release date shuffles:

• The Tomb, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone gets a new release date of September 27th, 2013.
• Now You See Me, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, moves back again from March 15th to June 7th, 2013.
• The Big Wedding, featuring Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Katherine Heigl and Robin Williams, gets a six month push from October 26 of this year to April 26th, 2013.
• Pitch Perfect, with Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow  and Christopher Mintz-Plasse opens a week earlier than scheduled, now on September 28th of this year.

Hit the jump for images and synopses for each of these films. 

Sony’s move to release one of the greatest science fiction action films ever made on blu-ray just around the time they put out their all-flash-and-no-substance remake in theaters may only prove to be more of a backfire than anything else.  Other than pocketing some cash off the newly tricked-out Total Recall disc, this only proves how vapid, empty and utterly useless the current theatrical release is.  But enough about the trash.  Let’s talk about the good version after the jump.

This weekend’s release of ParaNorman will afford me the rare opportunity to share an afternoon in the theater with two of my nephews, ages 8 and 10. Granted, they’re a little disappointed that we’re not checking it out in 3D, but I just can’t bring myself to foster any sort of affinity for the technology in their young and impressionable minds. The last movie we watched in theaters together was 2009′s Up and it was an experience that I’ll never forget as its brilliant opening sequence brought tears to both of their eyes at the ripe ages of 5 and 7. It was a glowing example of the cinema’s ability to touch young and old alike and while ParaNorman will likely be unable to touch that moment, I’m looking forward to it a ton nonetheless.

My weekend plans aside, in a three-fifths ode to our action heroes of yesteryear, this week’s Top 5 includes video interviews with the cast of The Expendables 2, video interviews with the cast and directors of ParaNorman, the first poster and trailer for Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s The Last Stand, David Cronenberg vs. the superhero genre, and the first trailer for Sly Stallone and director Walter Hill‘s revenge tale, Bullet to the Head. As always, a brief recap and link to each greets you after the jump.

The first trailer for Kim Jee-Woon‘s The Last Stand has gone online.  Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as the old sheriff of a sleepy border town who’s called to action when a drug kingpin flees an FBI prisoner convoy, and tries to make his way to Mexico.  It’s a good premise for nice little action-thriller, but Schwarzenegger seems totally miscast.  He’s just not really meant for small movies because he’s a big persona.  There’s nothing subdued about him.  So when a huge guy with a thick Austrian accent is wandering around a small town like it’s no big deal, he seems horribly out of place.  Maybe it will work better in context, and I really like the action on display from Kim Jee-Woon.  It’s a nice break from the shaky-cam antics other directors may have brought to the picture.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Forest Whitaker, Eduardo Noriega, Rodrigo Santoro, Johnny Knoxville, Jaimie Alexander, Peter Stormare, Zach Gilford, and Genesis Rodriguez.  The Last Stand opens January 18, 2013.

You’ll see a little bit more of Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Expendables 2 than you did in the first film, but once The Last Stand rolls in next January, the whole screen belongs to the former Governor.  We previously brought you the first image from the film, but now we’re happy to share an official synopsis and poster.  The actioner from director Ji-woon Kim stars Schwarzenegger as the aging sheriff of a border town, which happens to be the last hope of keeping a drug cartel leader from fleeing the country.  The Last Stand, also starring Johnny Knoxville, Forest Whitaker, Eduardo Noriega, Rodrigo Santoro, Jaimie Alexander, Peter Stormare, Genesis Rodriguez and Zach Gilford, opens January 18th.  Hit the jump for the official synopsis and poster.

The first image from The Tomb has gone online.  Sylvester Stallone stars as Ray Breslin, the world’s foremost authority on structural security. Breslin is framed and incarcerated in a prison of his own master design (why you would put him there as opposed to any other prison is beyond me), and must now figure out how to break out.  Stallone is joined by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who plays a fellow inmate (and likely accomplice in said jail break).  The image shows the guys rocking prison uniforms (in a prison; no curveballs here).  You can also see Schwarzenegger rocking the silver fox haircut and goatee.

Hit the jump to check out the image.  The film also stars Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Jim Caviezel, Amy Ryan, Vincent D’Onofrio, Vinnie Jones, and Sam Neill.  Stallone and Schwarzenegger will next be seen in The Expendables 2, which opens this Friday.

Going into this weekend, there were some people who believed Sony’s remake of Total Recall would give The Dark Knight Rises a run for its money. Those people were wrong. With an estimate of $36.4 million, TDKR claimed its third straight weekend at number one while Total Recall barely topped the debut of the Arnold Schwarzenegger original… back in 1990.