Since fans of Vince Gilligan’s hit AMC drama Breaking Bad will have to wait until next year for the show’s epic conclusion, we thought we’d share this entertaining intro sequence to help pass the time.  From French graphic designer Martin Woutisseth comes a re-imagined Breaking Bad intro that features motion animation, great Easter eggs from the series and pays homage to a number of cast members past and present.  If you’re not familiar with the show, be sure to get caught up on all of our episode recaps here.  Fan or not, hit the jump to check out the awesome intro from Woutisseth!

If the buzz out of Telluride is to be believed, then Ben Affleck’s Argo may be the director’s best effort yet.  We previously brought you the trailer for the film, but if that wasn’t enough to get you interested, we now have the first TV spot to share with you.  Plus, we’ll take a look at some of the early reviews of the film and relay them.

Argo, starring Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman and Alan Arkin, centers on an exfiltration specialist at the CIA who concocts a complicated scheme to rescue six Americans trapped overseas amidst the Iranian revolution.  The film opens October 12th.  Hit the jump to see the new TV spot and early reviews. 

Breaking Bad‘s mid-season finale, which aired this past Sunday, was not as explosive as some of the show’s finales in the past, but it was quietly stunning (quite literally).  The series maneuvered everyone’s favorite (or most hated) high school chemistry teacher turned meth kingpin into some of his (and the series’) most serious territory yet — a great setup for what is bound to be an extremely anxiety-inducing final eight episodes next summer.  Series creator Vince Gilligan recently sat down to discuss some of the finer points of Sunday night’s episode, including where Walt might be headed next, as well as the final eight episodes of the series.  Spoilers, of course, you are not caught up on the series — otherwise, hit the jump for more.

This upcoming seventh season of 30 Rock will be the show’s last, but it looks like Tina Fey and co. are making sure they go out on a high note.  TV Guide reports the fantastic news that Bryan Cranston and Catherine O’Hara have signed on to pop up as guest stars when the show returns.  The fun part, though, is that O’Hara will be playing Kenneth’s (Jack McBrayer) mom, while Cranston will play his mom’s “friend” Ron.  If you watch the show, you know that Kenneth is often telling stories about his mom’s “friend” Ron coming over, a man that Kenneth is not too fond of.

It’s not too difficult to connect the dots that Ron is probably Kenneth’s father, and I can’t wait to see how the ridiculously talented Cranston and O’Hara figure into the show’s plot.  The 13-episode final season of 30 Rock begins on October 4th.

Last week, I admitted to being among those who become hopelessly caught up in the Olympic Summer Games. One week later and things have taken an unexpected turn for the pathetic as I now find myself legitimately concerned with the “Medal Count”. As if it has any sort of bearing on my own life in any way, shape, and/or form, I’m consistently pulling for the U.S. to overtake China not only in total medals, but also in total Gold medals. In short, whether by virtue of patriotism or just sheer boredom, living vicariously through world-class athletes is what my life has come to.

Sports talk aside, awaiting you on the other end of this week’s Top 5 are brief recaps and links to Steve’s Total Recall video interviews with Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, and more, the first full trailer for James Bond’s Skyfall, our multi-part interview with the great Guillermo del Toro, the news that The Hobbit will be a trilogy, and all of our Saturn Awards interviews including talks with writer/director Drew Goddard and Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan.

Opening this Friday is director Len Wiseman‘s remake of Total Recall.  Based on the short story We Can Remember It for You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick, Total Recall stars Colin Farrell in the role originated by Arnold Schwarzenegger.  In the film, Farrell stars as Douglas Quaid, a man who is bored with his life (even though he’s married to Kate Beckinsale) and seeks to have adventurous memories implanted in his brain.  However, after visiting Recall, both friends and family are after him for different reasons.  But the big problem is he doesn’t know what’s real.  The film also stars Jessica Biel, John Cho, Bill Nighy, and Bryan Cranston.

The other day I got to speak with Bryan Cranston here in Los Angeles.  We talked about his reaction to the finished film, his experiences at this year’s Comic-Con, deleted scenes, The Lincoln Lawyer sequel, and Breaking Bad.  For fans of Breaking Bad, Cranston told me, “episode 5 of the fifth season is the biggest episode we’ve ever done as far as scope and cost.”  Hit the jump to watch.

When things work out as well as they did in Breaking Bad’s “Hazard Pay” for almost all parties involved (minus Skyler), it’s Vince Gilligan mercifully throwing us a bone.  The violence and intensity takes a break, briefly, and we get a comic interlude that features Badger (Matt Jones) and Skinny Pete (Charles Baker).  Badger and Skinny Pete may be the most underrated performers on the show, actually, and often get some of the funniest lines (the only funny lines?).  Introducing Skinny Pete in “Hazard Pay” with him artfully and flawlessly dancing through a piano melody on a keyboard in the music store was funny, but also deeply sad.  How did this talented and sweet young man turn into the drug-addled and often brainless wisp?  That moment was as good of a “Meth: Not Even Once” campaign as any I’ve seen.  You can imagine Badger always having been a little educationally subnormal, but Skinny Pete?  What a waste.  Hit the jump for the specifics of the episode, and what will make tortillas smell like cat piss.

Director Len Wiseman’s remake of Total Recall hits theaters next weekend, and Sony has released five clips and 15 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage from the film in anticipation of the release.  Colin Farrell takes over the role originated by Arnold Schwarzenegger, and judging by these clips and previous trailers, Wiseman’s got a whole lotta sci-fi action in store for moviegoers.  So much so that the director recently revealed to Steve that he put together a director’s cut for the Blu-ray that includes 17 minutes of extra footage.

Hit the jump to check out the clips and behind-the-scenes footage, and be sure to check out Steve’s Comic-Con interviews with stars Jessica Biel and Bryan Cranston.  The film also stars Kate Beckinsale, Bill Nighy, and John Cho.  Total Recall opens on August 3rd.

As I wrote last month, if you had told me that the dad on Malcolm in the Middle would become one of my favorite actors, I’d never have believed you.  But after years of amazing work on AMC’s brilliant drama Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston has shown that he can transform himself into any character and make it believable.  It’s probably why during the last few hiatuses he’s landed small but important roles in films like Drive, John Carter, The Lincoln Lawyer, Red Tails, Larry Crowne, and this summer’s remake of Total Recall.  In director Len Wiseman’s film, Cranston plays Vilos Cohaagen, who was originally played by the great Ronny Cox.  Just like the original, Cohaagen is a close friend and ally of Quaid/Hauser (Colin Farrell) who wants to see his friend return home.

Last week I got to talk to Cranston in San Diego for Comic-Con 2012.  We talked about making Total Recall, what he collects (if anything), the experience of being at Comic-Con, his preparation process, Ben Affleck‘s Argo, the final two seasons of Breaking Bad, how he’s directing an upcoming episode, and if the final season go longer than eight episodes.  Hit the jump to watch.

Director Brad Furman’s adaptation of Michael Connelly’s novel The Lincoln Lawyer was a sizeable hit when the thriller opened last year, and given that Matthew McConaughey’s character of Mickey Haller appears in subsequent Connelly novels, many were hoping we’d be seeing more of Haller in future films.  Lionsgate Vice Chairman Michael Burns revealed last December that a sequel to the film was in the works as well as a television series, and now we have an update from McConaughey himself on the status of the follow-up.

Steve got the chance to speak with McConaughey earlier today for his upcoming thriller Killer Joe, and the actor spoke a bit about the Lincoln Lawyer sequel including his eagerness to return to the character and what the follow-up would entail.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

Returning to Comic-Con for a big Hall H presentation, with its August 3^rd theatrical release imminent, Total Recall is now finished and ready for audiences, and the fans were able to get a good idea of what to expect when it hits the big screen. The film is about a factory worker, named Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), who begins to suspect that he is a spy after a visit to Rekall – a company that provides its clients with implanted fake memories of a life they would like to have led – goes wrong and he finds himself on the run.

During a press conference with director Len Wiseman and actors Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel and Bryan Cranston, they spoke about how they decided what to keep from the original, identifying with such over-the-top material, what excited them about the script, Cranston’s horrible case of pink eye in both eyes (that had to later be digitally removed from the film), the theme of paranoia about the invasion of technology in our society, building a futuristic world, and whether the sci-fi genre still has a lower level of respect than other genres. Jessica Biel also said that it’s still a bit too early to say that she’s signed on as Viper for the Wolverine film. Check out what they had to say after the jump.  Also, check out our recap of the Total Recall panel.

It’s rare for a film to come to consecutive Comic-Cons, but Total Recall showed up last year at the beginning of production, and now it’s returned with its theatrical release only weeks away.  We’ve seen multiple trailers, TV spots, images, and featurettes, so I was curious what a panel would have to offer.  It’s return to Comic-Con is part of a final big push.  Having seen both panels, and being less-than-impressed the first time around, I was curious to see if a sneak peek at the completed footage would get me on board.

Hit the jump for my recap, and click here for all of our Comic-Con coverage.

With director Len Wiseman’s Total Recall reboot less than a month away, a new clip has popped up online.  Unfortunately, the clip just rehashes the same extended action sequence we’ve seen in the trailer.  Colin Farrell stars as Douglas Quaid, a man who is bored with his life and seeks to have adventurous memories implanted in his brain.  In the clip, we watch as Farrell’s plans go awry and he goes all Jason Bourne on a number of faceless federal police. It’s much less sexy than Farrell vs co-star Kate Beckinsale, which we saw in this earlier clip.  The only thing tempting me to see the movie at this point is some Beckinsale vs Jessica Biel action.  Total Recall, also starring Bill Nighy, John Cho and Bryan Cranston, debuts August 3rd.  Hit the jump to watch the new(ish) clip.

AMC keeps dropping pieces of Breaking Bad‘s new season like parts of a burned toy bear soaked in pool water (posters, photos, a teaser trailer, a full-length trailer and a fantastic fan recap.  The latest is a short clip that takes place just after the episode’s cold open, with Walt (Bryan Cranston) and his family reacting to the events that ended last season.  It’s been described as the “calm before the storm,” and a reminder that most Breaking Bad seasons start off slowly, giving you plenty of time to order that defibrillator you’ve been meaning to get to ensure your survival watching this show.  Hit the jump for the video. (Spoiler notes: Don’t watch or go any further if you’re not caught up with the show. If you are caught up, the clip does not reveal any spoilers specific to the new season).

A new theatrical trailer for director Len Wiseman’s Total Recall remake has been released.  This trailer includes quite a few nods to the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger-fronted iteration of the story, with everyone’s favorite three-breasted woman making an appearance (kind of).  There are a couple of groan worthy one-liners that are apparently a requirement for 90% of action movies, but I’m hoping Colin Farrell’s charisma will outweigh the dialogue flaws.  The sci-fi world that Wiseman’s built here looks impressive, and we definitely get the sense that there are going to be a lot of action sequences to marvel at.  I’m interested to see what makes Wiseman’s remake a story worth telling and not just a rehash of the original, so hopefully this Total Recall’s a fun ride.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer, and if you missed any of Steve’s set visit coverage click here.  The film also stars Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, and Bryan Cranston.  Total Recall opens on August 3rd.