Some debut images from a couple of upcoming releases have hit the web.  First up, the first two images from director Allen Hughes’ (The Book of Eli) political thriller Broken City highlight stars Russell Crowe, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Mark Wahlberg.  The story centers on a private detective (Wahlberg) who is hired to identify the lover of a powerful politician’s (Crowe) wife.  Zeta-Jones is onboard as said unfaithful wife, and Wahlberg—who also serves as a producer on the film—compares the pic’s elements of “really strong characters [and] plot points you didn’t see coming” to Roman Polanski’s classic Chinatown.  The pic opens on January 18th, 2013.

We’ve also got the first images from the horror film Mama, which was directed by Andres Muschietti based on his own short film.  Jessica Chastain and Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau topline the thriller as a couple who take in their neice and nephew after the children mysteriously surface five years after disappearing on the day of their mother’s murder.  The supernatural pic comes from producer Guillermo del Toro and also opens on January 18th, 2013.  Hit the jump to take a look at the images.

You may know him as Remus Lupin from the Harry Potter films, but now David Thewlis is set to join another franchise.  Thewlis will be a newcomer to Red 2, a sequel to director Robert Schwentke’s 2010 actioner.  Dean Parisot (Galaxy Queset) is taking the helm this time around, but original stars Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich and Mary-Louise Parker will be reprising their roles.  Other new cast members include Catherine Zeta-Jones, Byung-hun Lee, Neal McDonough and Anthony Hopkins.  Hit the jump for more on Thewlis’ character and a breakdown of the roles we know so far. 

The first trailer for Gabriele Muccino‘s (The Pursuit of Happyness) comedy-drama Playing for Keeps (formerly titled Playing the Field) has been released.  Gerard Butler stars as a former soccer star who decides to coach his son’s little league soccer team, but ends up becoming the object of attraction for the local town’s women.  The schmaltzy trailer is kind of all over the place, as Butler is seen alternatively cracking jokes and being depressed.  The supporting cast is fine, with Jessica Biel playing Butler’s ex-wife and Catherine Zeta-Jones playing a love interest who could also revitalize Butler’s career, but the story seems to be covering the well-worn territory of a single dad who pines for the greatness of his earlier life at the expense of his relationship with his son/family.  That said, the film might prove fairly enticing to families looking for a light, heartwarming story during the holidays that doesn’t involve short hairy half-lings or a singing Hugh Jackman.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Dennis Quaid and Uma Thurman.  Playing for Keeps opens on December 7th. [Update: We've updated the article with high-resolution images and the film's poster]

Music is the heart of any musical, and Rock of Ages has a stolen heart.  The movie is based on a Broadway show designed with tourists in mind rather than people who actually appreciate stage musicals.  It’s a show that plays to nostalgia and provides the comfort of classic tunes so the audience is basically pre-sold: if you like the music, then why wouldn’t you like this music delivery system upheld by the laziest story imaginable?  If a musical must rely on other people’s music rather than writing original songs, then the onus for originality falls on the direction.  Sadly, director Adam Shankman is hardly up for the task of finding a new spin on well-worn rock favorites, and he’s only able to sporadically bring vibrancy to the film adaptation’s almost non-stop barrage of numbers.

We’ve been provided with eight clips from director Adam Shankman’s (Hairspray) upcoming movie musical Rock of Ages to share with our readers.   The film stars Julianne Hough as a small-town girl with big dreams who falls for a rock star (Tom Cruise), but the film is packed with 80s songs from the likes of Journey, Foreigner, Styx, and REO Speedwagon.  Joining in on the 80s fun is Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand,Malin Akerman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Diego Boneta, Mary J. Blige, and Bryan Cranston.

Hit the jump to watch the clips.  If you missed any of Steve’s set visit coverage, be sure to check out 20 things to know about the film and his interviews with Shankman, Boneta and Hough.  Rock of Ages opens on June 15^th.

The first UK trailer for director Stephen Frears’ (High Fidelity) new film Lay the Favorite has gone online.  My mind had blanked on the plot before I watched this trailer, and after it was over I was even more confused as to what the film is about.  Moreover, the normally solid Rebecca Hall puts an incredibly grating American voice that I’m assuming doesn’t get less annoying during the film’s two-hour duration.  The pic premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to wildly negative reviews (you can read Matt’s review here), which is surprising given the talent involved.  Hall plays a woman who works for Dink, a high-stakes gambler (Bruce Willis), and takes to the job like a natural, but she begins to fall for Dink, much to the chagrin of Dink’s wife, Tulip (Catherine Zeta-Jones).

I was shocked to see such negative reviews for the film out of Sundance, but after watching this trailer it’s not hard to imagine the pic being bad.  Hit the jump to judge for yourself.

Though this summer is filled with superhero and sci-fi fare to the max, we’ve also got a full-on movie musical to look forward to.  Warner Bros. has released 30 new high-resolution images from director Adam Shankman’s Rock of Ages.  The film stars Julianne Hough as a small-town girl with big dreams who falls for a rock star (Tom Cruise), but it’s packed with 80’s songs from the likes of Journey, Foreigner, Styx, and REO Speedwagon.  Cruise and Hough are joined by a stacked supporting cast in 100% 80’s garb that includes Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Malin Akerman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Diego Boneta, Mary J. Blige, and Bryan Cranston.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  Rock of Ages opens on June 15th.

While we recently learned that Galaxy Quest director Dean Parisot would be taking the helm of Red 2 (the sequel to the 2010 hit Red), we still didn’t know which original cast members would be returning for the follow-up.  Well Summit has made one big casting announcement today, confirming that Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, and Mary-Louise Parker will be reprising their roles from the first film alongside newcomers Catherine Zeta-Jones and Byung-Hun Lee.

The story for the follow-up will find the team of retired CIA operatives taking on a new set of enemies all across Europe.  The nature of Zeta-Jones’ role isn’t disclosed, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she plays the film’s villain.  I have yet to see Red, but I love the hell out of Galaxy Quest and this is certainly an impressive cast so I’m definitely going to have to rectify that sooner rather than later. Hit the jump to read the full press release.  Red 2 opens on August 2nd, 2013.

We’ve got a few new posters to share with you this evening.  Briefly:

• On the Road – New character posters showcasing Kristen Stewart and Garrett Hedlund from director Walter Salles’ adaptation of the Jack Kerouac novel.
• Rock of Ages – An ensemble poster from the 80s rock musical starring Tom Cruise, Julianne Hough, Alec Baldwin, and Russell Brand.
• Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter – A new poster from the blood-filled twist on the story of our nation’s 16th President.  Benjamin Walker, Rufus Sewell, and Anthony Mackie star.
• Neighborhood Watch – A new poster for the sci-fi comedy starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Richard Ayoade as bored men who join a neighborhood watch group for fun.

Hit the jump to check out the new posters.

If the first trailer for director Adam Shankman’s Rock of Ages didn’t blow your denim miniskirt up, perhaps this new one will.  The Hairspray director leads this feature film adaptation of the Broadway musical by the same name. Centering on a small town girl (Julianne Hough) who falls in love with an all-star rocker (Tom Cruise), Rock of Ages will feature 1980s hits by such classic bands as Journey, Foreigner, Styx, and REO Speedwagon.  This particular trailer ends on a high note of sorts with Cruise rocking out to Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive.” Rock of Ages, also starring Diego Boneta, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Malin Akerman, Bryan Cranston, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Mary J. Blige, opens June 15th.  Hit the jump to check out the new trailer.

Before tonight, we knew a few things about the “psychopharmacology thriller” that Steven Soderbergh and his Contagion writer Scott Z. Burns are developing:

• The title is either The Side Effects or The Bitter Pill.
• Blake Lively, Jude Law, and Channing Tatum form the three corners of the love triangle at the center of the tense plot.
• Annapurna is financing.  Open Road is distributing.

A lot has changed.  First the addition: Catherine Zeta-Jones joined the cast.  Now the subtraction: the latest reports omit the article, referring to the project as just Side Effects.  More notably, Annapurna has pulled out of the project, which puts the involvement of the aforementioned cast in jeopardy.  More after the jump:

I have some theories regarding Lay the Favorite.  I believe screenwriter D.V. DeVincentis was partly paying attention to the script, partly paying attention to ESPN, and mostly paying attention to soft-core porn.  The talented actress Rebecca Hall must have had her brain switched with adult film star Katie Morgan.  And the director Stephen Frears can’t be the same one who directed High Fidelity, The Queen, and The Grifters.  There must be a different director who is also named Stephen Frears, but who is also far less talented.  These theories are the only way to explain why Lay the Favorite is so freaking terrible.

Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for the feature adaptation of the Broadway musical Rock of Ages.  The film tells the story of a small town girl (Julianne Hough) who falls in love with a larger-than-life rocker (Tom Cruise) set against the backdrop of the 1980s music scene, featuring songs from the likes of Journey, Foreigner, Styx, and REO Speedwagon.  The gist of the trailer is that if you like 80s rock, you’ll probably like a musical that only features 80s rock and uses it as a basis for the plot.  But there’s also an important lesson:  When sleazy guy played by Paul Giamatti give you a chance at fame, you take him up on his obviously legit offer.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and poster.  The film also stars Diego Boneta, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Malin Akerman, Bryan Cranston, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Mary J. Blige. Directed by Adam Shankman (Hairspray), Rock of Ages opens on June 1, 2012.

Today, the 2012 Sundance Film Festival announced their premieres line-up. Along with the announcement comes a boat load of images from the films set to be showcased at the fest. After the jump we’ve got images and syonpses from Celeste and Jesse Forever (starring Andy Samberg, Rashida Jones, and Elijah Wood), Lay the Favorite (starring Rebecca Hall, Bruce Willis, and Catherine Zeta-Jones), GOATS (starring David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga, and Ty Burrell), and Shadow Dancer (starring Andrea Riseborough, Gillian Anderson, and Clive Owen).

The 2012 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 19 – 29th.

Catherine Zeta-Jones is joining the cast of Allen Hughes’ (From Hell) noir drama Broken City. The film stars Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe, and centers on a private detective (Wahlberg) who is hired by the mayor of New York (Crowe) to uncover the identity of the mayor’s wife’s lover. When the lover turns up dead, the detective sets out to expose a much wider conspiracy. Deadline reports that Zeta-Jones will play the less-than-faithful wife of Crowe’s character. This is Hughes’ first solo feature directorial effort, as he previously co-directed all of his films with his brother Albert. The script for Broken City was written by Brian Tucker, and will be produced by Randall Emmett, Stephen Levinson, and Wahlberg himself. Production begins in November in New York.

Zeta-Jones just wrapped Adam Shankman’s 80’s centered musical Rock of Ages starring Tom Cruise, as well as the comedy Playing the Field featuring Gerard Butler. She’ll also be seen in Stephen Frears’ Lay the Favorite alongside Bruce Willis and Vince Vaughn. Crowe is currently filming Man of Steel and is set to shoot the musical Les Miserables early next year.