When Alfred Hitchcock made Psycho, he built a foundation for the movie—woman steals money and tries to get away—before kicking the legs out from under it to leads us into an entirely new and exciting picture.  Sacha Gervasi‘s Hitchcock sets up no such foundation as it leaps into the marital difficulties between the Master of Suspense and his wife/partner, Alma Reville.  We’re led into a relationship already at the brink, and in an attempt to humanize a legend like Hitchcock, he comes off as small and a bit cartoonish.  We see his quirks and his insecurities, but rarely taken to a thoughtful or dangerous place.  Despite the strong performances, especially from the always-reliable Helen Mirren, Hitchcock pushes us away from the eponymous filmmaker and into a sad, predictable marriage spat.

A new international trailer for Hitchcock has gone online.  While this trailer centers on the drama revolving around the making of Hitchcock’s Psycho, that’s not really the thrust of the movie.  It’s more of a backdrop to the film’s central (and less interesting) conflict between Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) and wife/partner Alma Reville (Helen Mirren).  This trailer shows only a hint of the marital tension between the two characters, which serves as the basis for most of the movie.  Going into Hitchcock thinking you’re about to see a riveting tale about the making of Psycho is a recipe for disappointment.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Scarlett Johansson, Danny Huston, Toni Collette, Jessica Biel, Michael Stuhlbarg, James D’Arcy, Michael Wincott, Richard Portnow, and Kurtwood Smith.  Hitchcock opens in limited release on November 23rd.

The first trailer and a new poster for director Sacha Gervasi’s Hitchcock have been released.  The film looks absolutely fascinating, with killer performances from stars Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren as the legendary director and his wife.  The story chronicles the troubled production of Psycho, but there’s a great deal of humor sprinkled throughout this trailer to balance the more dramatic material.  The chemistry between Hopkins and Mirren is palpable, and the makeup work on Hopkins is simply stunning.  Though the fall movie season is already packed with some fantastically promising films, this swell first trailer has rocketed Hitchcock towards the top of my most anticipated list.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer and check out the poster.  The film also stars Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel, Toni Collette, Danny Huston, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Kurtwood Smith.  Hitchcock opens on November 23rd.

The first trailer for the action thriller Stolen has been released.  Previously referred to as Medallion, the film reteams Nicolas Cage with his Con Air director Simon West.  Cage plays a former master thief who only has a few hours to find his daughter when she is kidnapped and locked in the trunk of a New York taxi cab.  Malin Akerman plays Cage’s ex-girlfriend with whom he teams up to find his daughter, while a long-haired Josh Lucas plays the antagonist, Cage’s former partner who’s gone a bit off the deep end.  Despite the cheesy “movie trailer man” voice over, the film actually looks like it could be a fun ride.  The Taken comparisons can’t be ignored, but under the direction of West Stolen doesn’t seem to be taking itself too seriously.  And was that a stuffed animal I saw in Cage’s arms or was I dreaming?

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Danny Huston, Sami Gayle, and M.C. Gainey.  Stolen opens on September 14th.

The full cast has been set for director Alberto Arvelo Mendoza’s Simon Bolivar biopic, Libertador. Toplining as the revolutionary hero will be Edgar Ramirez (The Bourne Ultimatum) in a modern epic about Bolivar’s life and his quest to unify the nations of South America.  Over his lifetime (1783-1830), Bolivar fought for Latin American independence from the Spanish Empire and waged military campaigns that covered twice the area of that conquered by Alexander the Great.  Joining Ramirez in this quest will also be Maria Valverde (Melissa P.), Danny Huston (Children of Men), Imanol Arias (El Lute) and Gary Lewis (Gangs of New York).  Hit the jump for more from the epic Libertador.

Sacha Gervasi‘s Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho has picked up a new title, and begun principal photography.  The film will now simply be entitled “Hitchock“, which is probably better since the previous title sounds more fitting for a documentary.  Hitchcock is being billed as a love story between the legendary director (played by Anthony Hopkings) and his wife and partner Alma Reville (Helen Mirren).  The movie also stars Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel, Toni Collette, Danny Huston, Michael Stuhlbarg, Kurtwood Smith, Wallace Langham, Richard Portnow, and Michael Wincott.

Hit the jump for the press release.

Last week presented me with the first opportunity I’ve had in a while to catch two movies in a theater within 24 hours of one another (cue the scoffing of real cinephiles). While I’ll sure that I’ll be hammered for that previous statement when it comes time to renew my movie blogger certification, the truth is that, in the small market I call home, only the most mainstream of the mainstream films ever make it to the silver screen. So, with that said, I’d just like to thank the creative forces behind 21 Jump Street and The Hunger Games for giving me the opportunity to spend 1/6 of a day at the movies with films that, while drastically different in almost every conceivable metric, were solid from beginning to end.

Moving on, in this week’s installment the Top 5 is offering modest coverage of Anchorman 2‘s forward progress, Wrath of the Titans interviews with Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, director Jonathan Liebesman and more, the debut of our new podcast, The Collision, The Dark Knight Rises trailer in Lego form, and a recap of some of the week’s top trailers. Per usual, you can find a brief recap and link to each after the jump.

The new Starz drama series Magic City, created by writer/executive producer Mitch Glazer and premiering on April 6^th, takes place in 1959 at the luxurious Miramar Playa Hotel, during the tumultuous time when Havana fell to Castro’s rebels. Ike Evans (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is the star of his Miami hotel, but to finance his dream, he sold his soul to mob boss Ben “The Butcher” Diamond (Danny Huston). Ike’s wife Vera (Olga Kurylenko), a former showgirl, and his three kids, which include sons Stevie (Steven Strait) and Danny (Christian Cooke), think he’s an honorable man, but nothing at the Miramar Playa is what it seems.

During this exclusive interview with Collider, actor Danny Huston talked about how he came to be a part of Magic City, how much he enjoys playing a character that has no good to him, the research that he did for the role, and how factual the show actually is, with creator Mitch Glazer having grown up around there. He also talked about what attracts him to projects now, how much fun he had playing Poseidon in Wrath of the Titans, and how he’s hoping to direct again soon. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

We’ve been provided with five clips from the upcoming sequel Wrath of the Titans to share with you today. Jonathan Liebesman (Battle: Los Angeles) takes over the director’s chair this time around and takes a more practical approach to the effects than Clash of the Titans.  The film finds Perseus (Sam Worthington) tasked with stopping the titans and saving Zeus (Liam Neeson) from Hades’ stranglehold (Ralph Fiennes).  Though Clash wasn’t exactly warmly received, Worthington has stated that he feels they did things right this time around. After seeing the film the other night, I agree.  Wrath of the Titans is what I hoped Clash of the Titans would be.  Trust me, the sequel is a vast improvement and a really good fantasy movie.

Hit the jump to watch the clips and look for exclusive video interviews with the cast and director Jonathan Liebesman next week .  The film also stars Rosamund Pike, Bill Nighy, Edgar Ramirez, Toby Kebbell and Danny Huston.  Wrath of the Titans opens in 3D on March 30th.

The first clip from Wrath of the Titans has gone online.  The sequel has Zeus (Liam Neeson) beseeching Perseus (Sam Worthington) to help stop the titans.  In the clip, Zeus once again shows he’s kind of a moron as he places his trust in Hades, Lord of the Underworld (Ralph Fiennes) and Ares, the God of War (Édgar Ramírez).  If you’re going to start a coalition, perhaps it’s best not to invite gods who thrive on death and destruction.  I’ve heard that the sequel is much better than Clash of the Titans, but that’s a low bar to clear.  There was a lot of potential in the first film, so perhaps Wrath will finally deliver (even though Zeus is giant doofus).

Hit the jump to check out the clip.  The film also stars Bill Nighy, Rosamund Pike, Toby Kebbell and Danny Huston.  Wrath of the Titans opens in 3D on March 30th.

Earlier today we learned that Jessica Biel will be playing Vera Miles in the star-studded real life pic Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, and now four more thesps are lined up to join the project. Anthony Hopkins is set as the famous director, Scarlett Johansson is playing Psycho scream queen Janet Leigh, Helen Mirren is set as Hitch’s wife, and James D’Arcy is up for the role of the uber creepy Anthony Perkins. Now Variety reports that Toni Collette, Danny Huston (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man) and Michael Wincott (The Crow) are in negotiations to take on supporting roles. Hit the jump for more.

We’re a little more than a week out from the release of Wrath of the Titans, the sequel to 2010′s Clash of the Titans. You may have noticed from the images and trailers released for the movie so far that Wrath has no shortage of mythological creatures wreaking havoc and making life a living Hell for our heroes. With all of those beasties vying for screen time, it’s tough to pick out just which one is responsible for all that destruction. Take for instance, the fireball pictured above, which comes courtesy of one of the more bizarre creatures from Greek mythology, the Chimera. This new creature featurette will teach you everything you need to know should you find yourself up against the fearsome fire-breather.

Wrath of the Titans stars Sam Worthington, Edgar Ramirez, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Bill Nighy, Rosamund Pike, Toby Kebbell and Danny Huston. The sequel opens in 3D on March 30th. Hit the jump to check out the featurette.

We’ve previously brought you four exclusive images and 19 new images from Clash of the Titans sequel, Wrath of the Titans, along with posters, trailers and interviews.  Now we’ve got nearly 40 hi-res images from the swords-and-sandals sequel that features all of your favorite gods and mortals. Wrath of the Titans stars Sam Worthington, Edgar Ramirez, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Bill Nighy, Rosamund Pike, Toby Kebbell and Danny Huston. The sequel opens in 3D on March 30th. Hit the jump to check out the images.

A new trailer has gone online for Wrath of the Titans.  There’s not much in the way of new footage, but the marketing continues to push the big monsters over the puny humans.  The sequel takes place ten years after the original, and Perseus (Sam Worthington) is called in to assist the gods in taking down the titans.  I’m not sure if plots have become more coherent or 3D post-conversion has advanced in a decade, but one thing is for sure: wood is impenetrable.  You can use planks of wood as a shield against a fireball.  Spare me your mythical weapons.  I want wooden debris.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson, Danny Huston, Edgar Ramirez, Bill Nighy, Toby Kebbell, and Rosamund Pike.  Wrath of the Titans opens March 30th.

Warner Bros. has released two posters and three banners for Wrath of the Titans.  There’s no kraken this time around so none of the characters are going to say, “Let’s get kraken.”  I know the plot involves the titans getting unleashed and Zeus (Liam Neeson) asking Perseus (Sam Worthington) for some help, but I don’t get the point without kraken puns.  Kraken puns make the world go round.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.  The film also stars Ralph Fiennes, Danny Huston, Edgar Ramirez, Bill Nighy, Toby Kebbell, and Rosamund Pike.  Wrath of the Titans opens in 3D on March 30th.