Screen Gems has released the first full trailer for director Kimberly Peirce’s (Boys Don’t Cry) upcoming remake Carrie.  Based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King, the film revolves around a young girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) who discovers she has telekinetic powers and who is abused at home by her ultra-religious mother (Julianne Moore) and tormented at school by her peers.  This full trailer gives us a much better idea of what Peirce’s vision for the story looks like (it’s almost too revealing), and it’s clear that this Carrie is going to be quite intense.  There’s a bit of a superhero bent to the scenes in which Carrie is discovering her powers, and Peirce doesn’t look to be holding back when it comes to the more violent aspects of the story.  The highlight, though, is the scenes between Moretz and Moore, which promise to be sufficiently disturbing.  Matching the quality of Brian De Palma‘s masterful 1976 adaptation is a tall order, but hopefully Peirce brings an intriguing angle to her iteration of the King classic.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Judy Greer, Portia Doubleday, Ansel Elgort, Alex Russell, and Gabriella Wilde.  Carrie opens on October 18th.

The first trailer for director Kimberly Peirce’s remake of Carrie has been released and it’s a doozy!  The ending of the original Brian De Palma picture is famous in its own right, not to mention everyone who has read the Stephen King novel on which the films are based.  But clearly Peirce knew that the stakes had been raised.  As a disembodied voice sings over scenes of devastation, we hear bits of dialogue from the film, the speakers referring to the source of the destruction just as the camera inexorably races toward it.  When we see her, we realize, this ain’t your Mama’s Carrie.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film stars Chloe Moretz, Julianne Moore, Judy Greer, Alex Russell, Portia Doubleday, Ansel Elgort, and Gabriella Wilde.  Carrie opens on March 15th, 2013.

The found footage film and the superhero movie are both formulaic to a fault, so it’s odd that the combination of the two bring new life to both.  Josh Trank’s Chronicle tells the story of three kids who gain powers, but does so in a way that’s refreshing and engaging.  The movie was a surprise hit, and we can’t wait to see what Trank does next.  Our review of the Blu-ray of Chronicle follows after the jump.

A couple of film’s got all actored up today. Here are the details on who climbed aboard what. First, fresh off playing in shaky-cam superhero hit Chronicle, Alex Russell has signed on for director Kimberly Peirce’s Carrie remake. Also getting in on the action is stage actor, Ansel Elgort, making his big-screen debut. The pair joins Chloe Moretz, who was previously cast as the lead. Based on the 1974 Stephen King novel (the book that kicked off the horror maestro’s prolific career), it will tell the tale of tormented high-schooler Carrie White, who, after being pushed too far by her classmates and mother, unleashes telekinetic hell. It was previously adapted in 1976 by director Brian De Palma, a film that still stands among the finest adaptations of the author’s work. Per Variety, Elgort has been cast as a friend who takes Carrie to the prom, while Russell will play a bully who ridicules (and, one would imagine, is brutally killed by) the troubled protagonist.

Hit the jump for info on Chris Pine’s latest.

With the guaranteed blockbuster superhero movie The Avengers opening in less than a week, let’s turn our attention briefly to an unexpected heroic hit: Chronicle.  Screenwriter Max Landis gave an extensive interview recently at the Middle East Film and Comic Con 2012 in Dubais in which he discussed the sequel to his found-footage superhero film, Chronicle 2.  Whereas the first film gave us the origin story of the world’s first super-heroes, the follow up will apparently focus on the world’s first super-villain.  Landis had a lot to say on the script, which he is currently writing and also commented on the possibility of director Josh Trank returning for the sequel.  Hit the jump to see some of Landis’ choice quotes as well as the full video interview.

Max Landis’ Chronicle was one of Collider’s Most Anticipated Films for the first quarter of 2012 and was a nice little box office surprise for Fox. The studio is hoping that lightning strikes twice as Landis has been tapped to write the sequel to the found-footage superhero film. Chronicle’s plot line followed three teenagers (Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell and Michael B. Jordan) as they acquired superhuman powers and attempted to gain control over them. Without giving too much of the plot away, let’s just say that not all of them were able to walk the straight and narrow path. Chronicle played out in such a way that a direct sequel involving all of the principal characters would be difficult, but fans of comics know that, in the world of superhuman powers, quite literally anything is possible. Hit the jump for more on Chronicle.

This past week brought us a story that is near and dear to me. While I briefly give my own thoughts regarding DC Comics’ Watchmen prequel comic series after the jump, I want to use the “Top 5′s” opening paragraph space to invite readers to voice/type their own opinions on the announcement in the comments section. As a fervent fan of the series, I’m always interested to hear fellow fans’ take on Watchmen adaptations, prequels, and the like. So, with that said, what do you think? Does the creative talent involved interest you? Is it the best idea ever? The worst? Somewhere in between? Sound off in the comments.

In addition to DC’s Before Watchmen announcement, this installment of the “Top 5″ includes interviews with the cast and director of superhero/found-footage pic Chronicle, a “What If?” look at a 16-Bit Breaking Bad RPG, ten things to know about Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, and Sundance 2012 video interviews with Bradley Cooper, Paul Dano and more. A brief recap and link to each follows after the jump.

In Chronicle, newcomer Alex Russell stars as Matt, the faux “poet laureate” prone to namedropping Jung and Plato, the better to woo ladies and prove intellectual superiority – and this is before the guy even gets superpowers. But instead of becoming more braggadocious after the discovery, Matt’s newfound abilities humble him (well – his inability to use telekinesis properly humble him). Matt soon becomes the voice of reason for the film – warning his friends to use their powers sparingly and never to hurt any living thing with them. Ironically enough – the poser philosopher inadvertently becoming the wise man he always pretended to be….

In the following interview with Alex Russell, he discusses (not) researching philosophy books for the character, how to perfect an American accent (he’s Australian) and the rehearsal process for Chronicle. To watch the full interview, hit the jump.

We’ve been provided with four clips and nine images from the upcoming superhero found footage film Chronicle to share with our readers. The story centers on three high school students who are endowed with superhuman powers after being exposed to an unknown substance in an underground lair. The pic chronicles what happens when some of the most irresponsible human beings on the planet—teenagers—are given incredible abilities. Buzz for the film has been very positive, and you can read our preview footage report and interview with the film’s director, Josh Trank, here. In fact, 20th Century Fox is apparently so pleased with the finished product that Trank is their number one choice to direct the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot.

Hit the jump to check out the clips and images. The film stars Dane DeHaan, Michael B. Jordan, and Alex Russell and it was written by Max Landis.  Chronicle opens February 3rd, 2012.

The “found footage” movie that made its way into two of our “Most Anticipated” lists is beginning to rev up its marketing engine. Chronicle, which debuted its first trailer back in October, recently released two clips entitled “The Discovery” and “The Baseball Test.” The first clip is essentially a teaser about how three teenagers acquire telekinesis and other superpowers, but it does a nice job of setting up the dynamic among them. The second clip features the guys testing out their new found powers and contains hilarious moments of schadenfreude; it also happens to give nice foreshadowing in a subtle, yet unnerving performance by Dane DeHaan (True Blood). Unfortunately, the poor quality of the CG baseball doesn’t bode well for the rest of the film. Hit the jump to check out the clips and a new poster for Chronicle.

With less than two weeks left in 2011, it’s time to set our sights on movies that will be opening in 2012. Since the coming year is releasing a ton of big budget movies that will dominate media coverage, we thought we’d take a moment to highlight some of the lesser known fare that will be gracing the screens over the  next twelve months. We’ve got some new posters that will be a first look at these projects for some of you and a gentle reminder for others. First up is the superhero “found footage” thriller Chronicle by director Josh Trank (The Kill Point). Trank’s cinematic directorial debut features three teenagers who become imbued with superpowers and how those abilities darken their lives. Next, from David Cronenberg (A Dangerous Method) comes Cosmopolis, starring Robert Pattinson (Twilight). The adaptation of the Don DeLillo’s novel by the same name follows a young billionaire (Pattinson) as his limo traverses Manhattan in search of a haircut (not making this up). Finally, the animated Rise of the Guardians, which has the most charming poster in my opinion, is based off of the “Guardians of Childhood” book series by William Joyce and features childhood legends teaming up to take on the Boogeyman. Hit the jump to check out the posters.

The first trailer for the found-footage superhero pic Chronicle has gone online. The film follows three teenagers who develop superpowers after being exposed to a mysterious substance. The film is shot documentary style, and follows the boys as they mess around with their newfound abilities. However, things go awry when one of the teenagers take things too far. Admittedly, I’m not a big fan of the found-footage genre in the first place, so I’m not entirely sold on the project. It has a cool concept, but looks like it could flounder much the same as Cloverfield did when it got into the actual story. Furthermore, it looks like the kids are filming with an ARRI Alexa which is an extremely expensive camera to give to teenagers.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. Directed by Josh Trank (Big Fan) the film stars Dane DeHaan, Michael B. Jordan, and Alex Russell. Chronicle opens February 3rd, 2012.

We’ve got a couple of casting stories for you this evening. First up, the cast for Stephen Sommers’ adapatation of the Dean Koontz novel Odd Thomas continues to fill out, with Undercovers star Gugu Mbatha-Raw being the latest actor to join the film. Odd Thomas stars Anton Yelchin as the eponymous character who is able to see and partially communicate with the dead. Addison Timlin is poised to play his girlfriend, and Variety reports that Mbatha-Raw will play her best friend. The cast now includes Nico Tortorella and Patton Oswalt, with Willem Dafoe in talks to play the local police chief.

Additionally, Michael B. Jordan (TV’s Friday Night Lights) and Alex Russell have been tapped as the leads in Fox’s supernatural drama alongside Dane DeHaan. Variety reports that plot details are under wraps, but the story apparently centers on “three Portland teens after they develop powers from exposure to a mysterious substance.” Josh Trank (The Kill Point) will make his feature directorial debut on the project, from a script by Max Landis. Chronicle is slated for a February 3, 2012 release.