We haven’t seen too much from Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment’s animated family-friendly sequel Despicable Me 2, but we can expect to hear even less from Al Pacino as the veteran actor has left the picture.  Pacino had come onto the film to replace Javier Bardem as the new antagonist, but apparently creative differences have led to a parting of ways.  Although Pacino has done a fair amount of work on the film, the studio is already looking for an actor to replace him in order to make their early July release date.

Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud are directing the sequel with Steve Carell reprising his role as Gru.  Other voice cast members include Kristen Wiig, Ken Jeong, Miranda Cosgrove, Russell Brand and Steve Coogan.  Despicable Me 2 opens July 3rd.  Hit the jump for more.

While Dwayne Johnson may be the big draw in Ric Roman Waugh’s Snitch, Benjamin Bratt gets to play the big bad behind the scenes.  During a recent interview for the film, Bratt talked about his history with Waugh, the authenticity that the director brings to the picture, the thin line separating crops from criminals, starring in an antagonistic role and going up against the physically imposing Johnson.

In theaters now, Snitch also stars Susan Sarandon, Michael Kenneth Williams, Jon Bernthal and Barry Pepper.  You can check out my review here.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.

Sony Pictures has released the first trailer for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2.  The plot revolves around Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader) and Sam Sparks (Anna Faris) returning to Swallow Falls to clean up the mess created by the FLDSMDFR, only to find that food is now taking on the form of mutant beasts.  I laughed a lot during this trailer, but keep in mind that I love puns, so I crack up when the beasts are called “Mosquitoast” and “Shrimpanzees”.  The trailer also shows off the strange, offbeat humor that made the first film such a delight.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also features the voices of Andy Samberg, Benjamin Bratt, Terry Crews, and Neil Patrick Harris.  Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 opens in 3D on September 27th.

With director Ric Roman Waugh’s (Felon) Snitch opening February 22, we’ve been provided with five clips.  The film stars Dwayne Johnson as a father whose son is wrongly accused of a crime and sentenced to 10 years in jail.  In order to clear the boy’s name, he must go undercover and risk his own life.   Snitch also stars Susan Sarandon, Michael Kenneth Williams, Jon Bernthal, Benjamin Bratt and Barry Pepper.   Hit the jump to check out the clips and look for our exclusive video interviews with the cast soon.

Dwayne Johnson is one of a handful of action stars who are trying to re-energize the genre and it looks as if his new film Snitch could be a much-needed shot in the arm.  From director Ric Roman Waugh (Felon), Johnson stars as a father who volunteers to go undercover for the DEA in order to clear his son’s name and get him out of a ten-year prison sentence.  This cut is much tighter than the first trailer and delivers the plot conceit quickly before getting to the bread-and-butter action scenes.  Also starring Susan Sarandon, Michael Kenneth Williams, Jon Bernthal, Benjamin Bratt and Barry Pepper, Snitch opens February 22nd.  Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.

Judging by the trailer for Snitch, mandatory minimums are a great law-enforcement strategy as long as you force Dwayne Johnson to be an untrained undercover informant.  Johnson plays a father who, in order to keep his son from going to jail, is forced to work with the feds to take down a drug kingpin (Benjamin Bratt).  Snitch could end up being a bunch of goofy, B-movie fun especially with a strong supporting cast that includes Michael Kenneth Williams, Barry Pepper, Harold Perrineau, and Susan Sarandon.  Or, it could be Faster.  I’m hoping it’s the former.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  Snitch opens February 22, 2013.

I love Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and I have high expectations for the upcoming sequel, Cloudy 2: Revenge of the Leftovers.  Details on the film have been scarce, but now EW is reporting that the plot revolves around Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader) and Sam Sparks (Anna Faris) returning to Swallow Falls to clean up the mess created by the FLDSMDFR only to find that food is now taking on the form of mutant beasts.  “Magically, every creature is a combination of a food item and an animal that results in just a cringeworthy pun,” says producer Kirk Bodyfelt.  As a fan of cringeworthy puns, this makes me even more excited for the flick.

Hit the jump for more.  Cloudy 2: Revenge of the Leftovers opens in 3D on February 7, 2014.

Benjamin Bratt has joined the cast of the Snitch, an action thriller led by Dwayne Johnson.  Johnson plays “a father forced to become an informant for the DEA to reduce his falsely accused son’s 10-year jail sentence.”  According to Variety, Bratt is a big name in the Mexican drug trade who complicates the situation for Johnson’s character.

Susan Sarandon, Barry Pepper, Jon Bernthal, Melina Kanakaredes, Michael K. Williams, Rafi Gavron, and Nadine Velazquez also star in the film, inspired by true events.  Production started this week in Louisiana under the direction of Ric Roman Waugh.  Snitch is tentatively scheduled for an early 2013 release.

Hit the jump for details on Beau Garrett’s role in Lust for Love.

Writer-director James Mottern’s Trucker is very much a mixed bag. Produced for around $1.5 million, the independent drama debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival back in April 2008 and stars Michelle Monaghan, Nathan Fillion, Benjamin Bratt, Joey Lauren Adams, and Jimmy Bennett. It centers on Diane Ford (Monaghan), a big-rig driver whose selfish way of life is thrown out-of-whack when, late one evening, she returns home from a bender with her pal Runner (Fillion) to find her estranged son, Peter (Bennett), on her doorstep; as it turns out, the boy’s father (Bratt) is in the hospital battling cancer and the decidedly un-motherly trucker is the only one available to care for her son while his dad recuperates. As the prickly would-be mom and her smart-mouthed 11-year-old lock horns, the stage is set for a journey of self-discovery that will force Ford to face up to the mistakes of her past and make some difficult decisions about her future.    More after the jump: