The first trailer for director James Ponsoldt’s (Smashed) drama The Spectacular Now has been released online.  The film premiered to wildly positive reviews at Sundance earlier this year (read Matt’s review here), and stars Miles Teller as a young high school student who strikes up a friendship with a fellow student (Shailene Woodley) as graduation and some big life decisions loom closer. We’ll have our thoughts up shortly, but we wanted to make the trailer available as quickly as possible.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and poster, and click here to watch Steve’s interview with Teller and Woodley from Sundance.  The film also stars Brie Larson, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Kyle Chandler.  The Spectacular Now opens on August 2nd.

The trailer has been released for Destin Daniel Cretton‘s Short Term 12.  The movie stars Brie Larson as Grace, a young woman who works at a foster-care facility for at-risk kids, but she also has to face her own demons.  I loved the movie when I saw it at SXSW, but it’s a tough sell.  You can see that in the trailer, as it throws a lot at the viewer, and gives away huge moments in the movie.  I don’t know if this trailer will lessen the impact of the film, and I understand that many readers will need more than my word to see this movie, but I encourage you trust me on this one.

If you need a bit more encouragement to see the flick (and you really should see it), hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars John Gallagher Jr., Kaitlyn Dever, Keith Stanfield, and Rami Malek.  Short Term 12 opens in limited release on August 23rd.  Click here to read my review from SXSW.

Relativity Media has released the first trailer for Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s directorial debut Don Jon.  Gordon-Levitt stars in the comedy as a contemporary, porn-addicted Don Juan-type who attempts to reform himself.  I caught the film at Sundance and it’s really funny and marks the start of what looks to be a very, very promising directorial career for Gordon-Levitt.  This trailer does a great job of conveying the film’s tone and the style that Gordon-Levitt has crafted, as quick editing, music, and repetition are used frequently to present some of the film’s situations, especially with regards to the porn.  While the trailer does give away a couple of the pic’s best comedic surprises (like the cameos), there’s also a sweet sincerity to Don Jon that’s only hinted at here, and the performances from Gordon-Levitt, Johansson, Moore, and Danza are all top-notch.  I expect the film will be a major crowd-pleaser when it hits theaters later this year.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer, click here to read Matt’s review of the film from Sundance, and click here for Steve’s interview with Gordon-Levitt and the cast.  The pic also stars Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Jeremy Luke, Rob Brown, and Brie Larson.  Don Jon opens on October 18th.

Earlier this week, I wrote in my review of Kelly + Victor about how love couldn’t always overcome past abuse.  The film makes a fine presentation of its theme, but it left me feeling empty all the same.  I want love to triumph, and I want characters to cope with emotional trauma.  Most importantly, I want that that sentiment to be earned.  Anything less is a corny and condescending.  A film has to go to the dangerous places in order to earn the emotionally powerful crescendo it hopes to achieve.  Destin Daniel Cretton‘s Short Term 12 goes to those dangerous places, and delivers that emotional powerhouse through the confidence of its direction, the thoughtful and surprisingly funny script, and the tremendous performances from its cast led by a breakthrough turn from star Brie Larson.

One of my favorite movies at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was director James Ponsoldt (Smashed) and writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber’s (500 Days of Summer) coming of age drama The Spectacular Now.   Led by fantastic lead performances from Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley, the film is about two High School seniors that are going in opposite directions.  Sutter Keely (Teller) is the life of the party and loves to drink, while Aimee Finicky (Woodley) is pretty, but shy and removed from the popular crowd.  When Sutter wakes up on Aimee’s lawn after being dumped by his girlfriend, what starts off as a rebound quickly turn into something more.  The film also stars Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Kyle Chandler.

The day after the world premiere I sat down with Ponsoldt and Larson for an exclusive video interview.  We talked about being at Sundance, why they wanted to make the film, how things changed during production, how the characters looked and felt real, deleted scenes and more.  In addition, I asked Larson if she’s going to be in the 21 Jump Street sequel and Ponsoldt talked about why he wanted to write and direct the young adult adaptation of Pure.  He compared it to The Wizard of Oz and Pan’s Labyrinth and says he’s already started writing it.  Hit the jump for more.

“Live in the moment” is a nice platitude and a crappy life philosophy.  Vivacity is all well and good.  We should appreciate the present, but we can’t live only for the present.  We have to think about tomorrow because we’re probably going to be there.    In his wonderful new film The Spectacular Now, director James Ponsoldt explore the live-for-the-moment mentality with an authentic and earnest look at high school emotions, anxiety about the future, and first love.   Led by extraordinary performances from stars Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley, The Spectacular Now is a thoroughly charming and surprisingly powerful coming-of-age story about the fear of looking ahead and the seductive safety of living in the present.

A couple of TV casting stories of interest have surfaced today.  First up, 21 Jump Street star Brie Larson has been tapped for a guest stint on the upcoming fourth season of Community.  Larson joins an impressive list of actors set to appear in the new season, including James Brolin, Malcolm McDowell, and Matt Lucas (Bridesmaids).  TV Line reported the news of Larson’s involvement, but her role is being kept under wraps for now.  She’ll pop up during the show’s seventh episode, in which Dean Pelton plans a “Sadie Hawkins” dance at Greendale.  Naturally, Britta (Gillian Jacobs) plans her own “Sophie B. Hawkins” dance in protest and completely misses the point.

Hit the jump for a casting coup for the promising new FX serial killer drama pilot The Bridge.  The fourth season of Community returns on October 19th at 8:30/7:30c.  For more on what to expect in the new season, check out our interview with Danny Pudi.

A late addition is being made to Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s in-production feature directorial debut, Don Jon’s Addiction.  Gordon-Levitt also wrote the project and will star as a modern day Don Juan who sets out on a quest to become less of a “selfish dick” after meeting a recently widowed older woman.  Scarlett Johansson and Julianne Moore co-star in the black comedy, and now Variety reports that 21 Jump Street star Brie Larson has joined the cast as Gordon-Levitt’s sister.  Rob Brown and Tony Danza also star, with Danza playing the father of Gordon-Levitt and Larson.

Larson starred on the TV series United States of Tara and also appeared in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World before landing the female lead in this year’s comedy hit 21 Jump Street.  After Don Jon’s Addiction, she’ll move on to The Spectacular Now alongside Shailene Woodley, and she’s also lined up to star in director Peter Bogdanovich’s Squirrel to the Nuts.

Here are a few recent casting notes at a glance:

• Max Minghella (The Social Network) is in talks to join Shawn Levy’s The Internship alongside Wedding Crashers alumni, Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn.
• Taylor Schilling (The Lucky One) has boarded the indie drama, Stay.
• Brie Larson (21 Jump Street) is the latest addition to The Spectacular Now, with Shailene Woodley (The Descendants) and Miles Teller (Project X).
• Tom Papa (The Marriage Ref) has joined Steven Soderbergh’s Liberace biopic, Behind the Candelabra.

Hit the jump for more on each film.

Director Peter Bogdanovich is assembling an incredibly impressive team both in front of and behind the camera for his next feature.   Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Olivia Wilde and Brie Larson (21 Jump Street) are attached to star in the indie comedy Squirrels to the Nuts with Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach onboard to produce the pic; it’s essentially The Avengers of quirky cinema.  The film centers on a hooker-turned-Broadway-thesp, played by Larson, and follows the “recurring intersection between these two facets of her life.”  Hit the jump for more.

What happens when a woman crippled by anxiety meets a charismatic agoraphobe? Olivia Wilde (Cowboys and Aliens) and Jason Sudeikis (Horrible Bosses) are hoping that particular romantic comedy premise makes box office gold in their new film, Relanxious. The film will mark the directorial debut of writer Christopher Storer (Sin Bin) in a relationship comedy that explores the power of love when it’s complicated by social phobias. Wilde will star as Barrett, a woman plagued by her anxiety who falls for George (Sudeikis), a man whose fear forces him to converse with her only over the telephone. As their conversations lead to increasingly serious fantasy dates, they are tasked with putting aside their fears to find a real-life romance. Relanxious also stars Brie Larson (Scott Pilgrim vs the World) and Fred Armisen (Portlandia) and will begin shooting this summer in Chicago. Hit the jump for more on Relanxious.

21 Jump Street is cocky as hell.  Usually, when a movie clearly lays out a set-up for an eventual payoff, we groan, lament the story’s predictability, and all the impact is diminished because we saw the hit coming.  21 Jump Street comes up to the line of turning directly to the camera and saying, “This will come back later,” and the joke still manages to hit like a sucker punch.  The set-up-pay-off humor is just one weapon in the film’s arsenal.  Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller effortlessly move between the cartoonish, the absurd, the darkly comic, the vulgar, and almost every time the jokes absolutely kill.  But the excellent lead performances from Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum elevate the film from a raucous comedy, and they make 21 Jump Street not just a film where two bike cops mime having sex with an apprehended perp.  It’s a film with a heart, a soul, and two bike cops miming having sex with an apprehended perp.

Sony has released a five-minute red-band trailer for 21 Jump Street.  I’m not going to watch it.  I’m already sold on the movie since I’ve only heard raves about it.  I’ve been told directly “I know your sense of humor and you are going to love this movie.”  I was pretty much sold back when the first red-band trailer hit.  Watching five minutes of the movie would just spoil more jokes for me, so I’m going to pass.

However, if you need more convincing, you can check out the trailer after the jump.  The film stars  Jonah Hill (who also co-wrote the script), Channing Tatum, Nick Offerman, Ice Cube, Brie Larson, Dave Franco, and Rob Riggle.  21 Jump Street opens March 16th.  I’ll be seeing the film at SXSW, so look for my review later this week.

I generally don’t like to check out extended clips of footage from films ahead of their release. Call me old fashioned but, similar to how I try and avoid cherry picking music singles before listening to the entire album, I like to think of records and movies as complete bodies of work. Of course, I say all of this only to preface breaking my own general rule. I implore you to watch the first 12 minutes of writer/director/actress Brit Marling’s Sound of My Voice. I did, I don’t regret a single moment of it, and now I can’t wait to check out the entire film as soon as possible.

All self-contradiction aside, in this week’s “Top 5″ installment you’ll find Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance interviews with talent like Nicolas Cage, Idris Elba, Johnny Whitworth, and directors Neveldine/Taylor, a recap of our 21 Jump Street set visit, trailers and a featurette for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Transformers 4 news, and Avengers, Star Wars, and G.I. Joe: Retaliation toy images from the 2012 Toy Fair. Check out a brief recap and link to each after the jump.

Today, we’re premiering the poster for Michael Knowles‘ upcoming film The Trouble with Bliss.  The movie stars Michael C. Hall as Morris Bliss, a guy who begins breaking out his inert lifestyle by juggling relationships with the sexually precocious 18-year-old daughter (Brie Larson) of a former classmate and his very forward neighbor (Lucy Liu).  It’s an interesting poster in that you look at Hall and realize that his character probably isn’t going to kill anyone.

Hit the jump to check out the poster.  The film also stars Chris Messina, Brad William Henke, Sarah Shahi, and Peter Fonda.  The Trouble with Bliss hits VOD and theaters in New York City on March 23rd.  The film opens in Los Angeles on March 30th.