Last week presented me with the first opportunity I’ve had in a while to catch two movies in a theater within 24 hours of one another (cue the scoffing of real cinephiles). While I’ll sure that I’ll be hammered for that previous statement when it comes time to renew my movie blogger certification, the truth is that, in the small market I call home, only the most mainstream of the mainstream films ever make it to the silver screen. So, with that said, I’d just like to thank the creative forces behind 21 Jump Street and The Hunger Games for giving me the opportunity to spend 1/6 of a day at the movies with films that, while drastically different in almost every conceivable metric, were solid from beginning to end.

Moving on, in this week’s installment the Top 5 is offering modest coverage of Anchorman 2‘s forward progress, Wrath of the Titans interviews with Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, director Jonathan Liebesman and more, the debut of our new podcast, The Collision, The Dark Knight Rises trailer in Lego form, and a recap of some of the week’s top trailers. Per usual, you can find a brief recap and link to each after the jump.

In the raunchy comedy American Reunion, East Great Falls High’s Class of 1999 is back, more than a decade later. Husband and wife duo Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) have come home to reminisce with Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), Vicky (Tara Reid), Oz (Chris Klein), Heather (Mena Suvari), Finch (Eddie Kay Thomas) and Stifler (Seann William Scott), who out of all of them remains the same as he ever was, while Jim’s dad (Eugene Levy) gets to know Stifler’s mom (Jennifer Coolidge) a little better.  In one long-overdue weekend, they will learn that time and distance cannot break the bonds of friendship.

At the film’s press day, co-stars Chris Klein and Mena Suvari talked about playing the most grounded couple in the American Pie franchise, how much they’ve both changed since they started this series of films, 13 years ago, what it was like to recreate the poster from the original, and how they had envisioned their characters, so many years later.  Suvari also talked about what attracted her to her role on the first season of American Horror Story, while Klein talked about how he came to be a part of the comedy series Wilfred and how excited he is to be returning for Season 2.  Check out what they had to say after the jump:

In the raunchy comedy American Reunion, East Great Falls High’s Class of 1999 is back, more than a decade later. Husband and wife duo Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) have come home to reminisce with Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), Vicky (Tara Reid), Oz (Chris Klein), Heather (Mena Suvari), Finch (Eddie Kay Thomas) and Stifler (Seann William Scott), who out of all of them remains the same as he ever was, while Jim’s dad (Eugene Levy) gets to know Stifler’s mom (Jennifer Coolidge) a little better. In one long-overdue weekend, they will learn that time and distance cannot break the bonds of friendship.

At the film’s press day, actors Eugene Levy and Jennifer Coolidge talked about their reaction to finding out their characters would get to interact more this time around, how much they’ve enjoyed watching their younger co-stars grow over 13 years, where they would have liked to have seen their characters go, and why they think the franchise has remained so successful. Levy also talked about the chances of the Christopher Guest folks ever reuniting for another film. Check out what they had to say after the jump.

In the raunchy comedy American Reunion, East Great Falls High’s Class of 1999 is back, more than a decade later. Husband and wife duo Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) have come home to reminisce with Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), Vicky (Tara Reid), Oz (Chris Klein), Heather (Mena Suvari), Finch (Eddie Kay Thomas) and Stifler (Seann William Scott), who out of all of them remains the same as he ever was, while Jim’s dad (Eugene Levy) gets to know Stifler’s mom (Jennifer Coolidge) a little better. In one long-overdue weekend, they will learn that time and distance cannot break the bonds of friendship.

At the film’s press day, co-stars Seann William Scott and Eddie Kaye Thomas talked about how easy it was to slip back into their characters, how exhausting Stifler can be to both play and be around, what they were able to bring to their roles from their own life experiences, what they think today’s high schoolers will think of this film, and whether they’d be up to doing more. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

A new red-band trailer for American Reunion has gone online. Not a ton of footage is revealed in this new look at the fourth (real) entry in the American Pie franchise, but there are a few gags here and there that make it worth your time. I’m especially fond of Stifler’s reaction to his old hook-up buddy, and a much welcomed Stifler/Finch/Stifler’s mom moment. Earlier today we posted a Funny or Die video that featured Jason Biggs and a talking pie out for revenge that’s incredibly funny, so I’m hoping the same kind of humor carries over into American Reunion. Everything we’ve seen thus far has me optimistic that Reunion is a worthy successor to the previous three Pie films, and I’m eager to check the sequel out.

Hit the jump to check out the new trailer, and if you missed our interview with writer/directors Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg be sure to take a gander. The film stars also stars Seann William Scott, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nichols, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari, Eugene Levy, Jennifer Coolidge, Katrina Bowden, Dania Ramirez, and Shannon Elizabeth. American Reunion opens on April 6th.

Funny or Die has put together a new short to promote the upcoming release of American Reunion.  Star Jason Biggs‘ reputation will never be free of fucking the pie in American Pie, and in the new short, the pie wants its revenge.  American Reunion will be a success if it’s even half as funny as this short.

Hit the jump to check out the short.  American Reunion also stars Seann William Scott, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nichols, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari, Eugene Levy, Jennifer Coolidge, Katrina Bowden, Dania Ramirez, and Shannon Elizabeth. The film opens April 6th.

In the raunchy comedy American Reunion, East Great Falls High’s Class of 1999 is back, more than a decade later. Husband and wife duo Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) have come home to reminisce with Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), Vicky (Tara Reid), Oz (Chris Klein), Heather (Mena Suvari), Finch (Eddie Kay Thomas) and Stifler (Seann William Scott), who out of all of them remains the same as he ever was, while Jim’s dad (Eugene Levy) gets to know Stifler’s mom (Jennifer Coolidge) a little better. In one long-overdue weekend, they will learn that time and distance cannot break the bonds of friendship.  For more on the film, here’s five clips.

At the film’s press day, writer/directors Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg (creators/writers of the Harold & Kumar films and big fans of the American Pie franchise) talked about getting all of these actors back together for this, why it’s a 13-year reunion, figuring out how to really push the envelope this time, balance the raunch with the heart of the story, the characters they were excited to expand upon, their process as directors on set, and the fact that there’s a lot of deleted scenes and extra material for the DVD. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

We have three new featurettes for you tonight:

• Battleship – A look at how the aliens are incorporated into the board game adaptation
• Wrath of the Titans – A follow-up to this Chimera-centric featurette that focuses on another creature, the Makhai
• American Reunion – No aliens or mythological beasts.  Just the East Great Falls kids you know and love a decade removed from their high school glory years.

Hit the jump for the featurettes and more on each movie.

With writer-directors Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg‘s American Reunion opening in a few weeks, Universal has just released five clips.  In the sequel, the original gang return to East Great Falls for their high-school reunion and as the synopsis says, “In one long-overdue weekend, they will discover what has changed, who hasn’t and that time and distance can’t break the bonds of friendship.”  I’m a big fan of the first film and looking forward to seeing Jim, Oz, Finch, Kevin, Stifler and of course Stifler’s mom again.

American Reunion stars Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nichols, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari, Eugene Levy, Jennifer Coolidge, Katrina Bowden, Dania Ramirez and Shannon Elizabeth.  Hit the jump to watch the clips.

Though I hadn’t given American Reunion much thought after it was announced, the first trailer hooked me with its nostalgia-laden claws and has yet to let go. I’m happy to see the whole gang’s back together, and I’m eager to find out where all the characters stand as they firmly plant themselves into “adulthood”. Universal released a batch of new images from the film today, giving us a peek how Jim, Oz, Finch, Kevin, Stifler and of course Stifler’s mom are faring these days. We also get a look at new additions Katrina Bowden and Dania Ramirez.

Hit the jump to check out the images. The film stars Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nichols, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari, Eugene Levy, Jennifer Coolidge, and Shannon Elizabeth. American Reunion opens on April 6th.

A new trailer for American Reunion has gone online. I would never have guessed that the American Pie franchise would feel so sentimental, but the marketing materials for American Reunion have been just incredibly nostalgic. This new trailer delves a bit more into the plot, as we see Jason Biggs’s Jim tempted by the girl he used to babysit who’s now turning 18. Seann William Scott looks like he’ll once again steal the show, and it really feels nice to see all the characters back together again. The overarching tone appears to center on where the characters are now as opposed to where they thought they’d be when they were wide-eyed high schoolers, and I’m interested to see how far they take this. Of course the crux of the films is the humor, but there was a sweetness to American Pie that looks to be prevalent in American Reunion. Time will tell, but I’m genuinely looking forward to this (likely) final installment of the main franchise.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer. The film also stars Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nichols, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari, Eugene Levy, Jennifer Coolidge, and Shannon Elizabeth. American Reunion opens April 6, 2012.

An international trailer for American Reunion has gone online. The fourth entry in the American Pie franchise sees the return of basically every cast member from the first film as the characters come together for their high school reunion. This international trailer has a couple new scenes that we haven’t seen in the US trailers, and we also learn that in the UK the pic is called American Pie: Reunion (brand recognition!). I’m pretty excited for this fourquel as I was a fan of the first three films. The trailers evoke an odd sense of nostalgia and I’m intrigued to see how these characters reconcile the idea of “growing up.” Also, dick jokes.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nichols, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari, Eugene Levy, Jennifer Coolidge, and Shannon Elizabeth. American Reunion opens April 6, 2012.

New posters have gone online for the American Pie sequel American Reunion and for the delayed Mel Gibson thriller How I Spent My Summer Vacation.  While I’m still not that interested in a new American Pie movie, I like how the Reunion poster is based on the poster for the original movie.  Except…this time Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) is holding a baby bottle instead of a flute…and the flute went in her…oh, sweet God. If that’s a joke in the movie, then they have taken gross-out humor to a whole new level.  It’s a disturbing level that may fall out of the comic realm.

As for How I Spent My Summer Vacation, I didn’t even remember this movie existed.  It turns out Gibson made it with Adrian Grunberg who served as the first assistant director on Apocalypto.  Gibson plays “a career criminal who gets caught by Mexican authorities and is sent to a drug- and crime-filled prison, where he learns how to survive with the help of a 9-year-old boy.”  If it turns out the “help” the 9-year-old boy provides is as a human shield, I would absolutely believe that for a Mel Gibson movie. Hit the jump to check out the posters.  American Reunion is due out April 6, 2012.  How I Spent My Summer Vacation is due out “Summer 2012″ but who knows if that will be in theaters or straight to DVD (if that date even holds).

There was a time not too long ago when all a movie studio had to do to generate interest in a film was to slap a trailer together and buy a few TV commercial spots. With ticket prices climbing and a variety of in-home services able to provide entertainment on demand, studios must now look for creative ways to get your attention (and your dollars). Lucky for them, social media tools like Facebook and Twitter provide widespread (and free) access to consumers. “The Red Pill” is our weekly update on some of the more interesting ongoing viral ad campaigns. Updates this week include The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Muppets, Super 8’s release on Blu-ray and examples from Tout, a video-posting version of Twitter. Hit the jump to check them out.

As you may have noticed, last week I got the chance to sit down with screenwriters/directors Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg in anticipation of the release of the third film in their Harold & Kumar franchise, A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas. We talked about the film and the future of the franchise, as well as a Harold & Kumar animated series that they’re currently shopping to networks. Additionally, I talked to them a bit about American Reunion, which they wrote and directed. The film reunites the entire original cast of American Pie as they gather for their high school reunion.

Hurwitz and Schlossberg talked about how they got involved with the film, how the American Pie comedy differs from the comedy of Harold & Kumar, the plot of the film, what kind of music will be featured, how they plan to shock audiences in 2011, and much more. Hit the jump to watch the interview.