While a sequel to this year’s sequel/reboot G.I. Joe: Retaliation was announced before that film’s opening weekend was even officially over, it looks like Paramount is only just now getting around to hiring a director for G.I. Joe 3.  A new report has surfaced announcing that Retaliation helmer Jon M. Chu is making a deal with Paramount and MGM to return and direct the next installment of the franchise.  Chu—whose previous filmography was filled with dance-centric pics like Step Up 3D and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never—successfully retooled the G.I. Joe franchise with Retaliation, despite the fact that the film was postponed at the last minute in order to needlessly post-convert the pic to 3D.  Hit the jump for more on the follow-up.

Opening this weekend is director Michael Bay’s fantastic dark comedy Pain & Gain.  The film is based on a crazy true story and stars Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson as two bodybuilders who get caught up in an extortion ring and kidnapping scheme that goes terribly wrong.  Pain and Gain also stars Anthony Mackie, Rebel Wilson,  Tony Shalhoub, Ed Harris, Rob Corddry, Ken Jeong, and Bar Paly.  For more on the film, watch some clips or the red-band trailer.

Recently, I landed an exclusive phone interview with Johnson  and Wahlberg.  We talked about how the craziest stuff is true, the way they prepared for the role, whether they were nervous to play these characters, collaborating with Michael Bay, future projects like Ted 2, Hercules, G.I. Joe 3, and more.   In addition, I asked Wahlberg if we can get Johnson walking around in the background of Transformers 4 so that there can eventually be a G.I. Joe/Transformers movie.  Hit the jump for what they had to say.

Though 2009’s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was a sizeable success at the box office, Paramount decided to retool their approach to the franchise with this year’s sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation.  The studio’s secret weapon for the follow-up was Dwayne Johnson, who has quickly become a kind of “human steroid injection” for film franchises in need of a punch-up (see also: Fast Five and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island).  Johnson took the lead this time around as Roadblock, and the result was an impressive $40.5 million opening weekend with a worldwide total currently sits at a little over $270 million.  Understandably, Paramount officially greenlit yet another G.I. Joe sequel mere days after Retaliation opened in theaters.

Steve recently spoke with Johnson in anticipation of Michael Bay’s upcoming black comedy Pain & Gain, and the actor talked briefly about the preliminary plans for G.I. Joe 3.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation opened to the second-biggest Easter weekend box office, so it looks like the Joes and Cobra are going to live to duke it out another day.  According to Variety, Paramount has greenlit G.I. Joe 3.  While a third G.I. Joe wasn’t in too much doubt, announcing the sequel the Sunday after Retaliation‘s release is a big vote of confidence from the studio rather than a “Let’s wait to see how well it does on DVD.”

There are no other details about the third installment other than the obvious assumption that it will be in 3D.  Hopefully, they won’t clear the board again when it comes to the cast, and hold on to Dwayne Johnson as their charming and charismatic protagonist.  Hit the jump for what producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura is considering for G.I. Joe 3.

Before I dive into the main topic of this week’s opening paragraph, just a quick disclaimer that the Top 5 will be taking a week off next Saturday to accommodate the first, and perhaps only, trip to Hawaii I will ever take. Here’s to hoping it’s less awkward but equally as life-changing and Kristen Bell/Mila Kunis-filled as Forgetting Sarah Marshall depicted. That said, while it fell just short of the cut this week, I still want to draw attention to the first trailer for director Adam Wingard‘s You’re Next that debuted on Thursday. As a horror fan, I’m always excited when a new entry in the genre gets lauded from both sides of the aisle (horror fans and those who aren’t as giddy about movies that make them think twice about turning out the lights). As far as I’m concerned, August 23rd can’t get here soon enough.

All Hawaii and horror fanboy talk aside, this week’s list offers up the first trailer(s) for The Wolverine, interviews with Dwayne Johnson and more for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, the first trailer and posters for White House Down, a new red-band trailer for Pain & Gain, and The Host interviews with Saoirse Ronan and more. As you’re probably expecting, a brief recap and link to all of the above can be found after the jump.

Jon M. Chu’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation is now playing in theaters.  The sequel’s story finds the Joes disbanded and outnumbered as they must square off against not only the Cobras, but also threats within their own government.  G.I. Joe: Retaliation stars Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum,  D.J. Cotrona, Elodie Yung, Ray Park, Byung-hun Lee, Ray Stevenson, Walton Goggins, RZA and Adrianne Palicki.  For more on the film, here’s clips, images, on set interviews, and all our previous coverage.

Last weekend, I sat down with producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura for an extended interview.  Over the past few days we’ve posted what he said about Jack Ryan and Red 2, an adaptation of the Vince Flynn novel American Assassin and the true story Deepwater Horizon.  But that was just the tip of the iceberg, because we also talked about making G.I. Joe, the nine-minute dialogue-free action sequence featuring Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes, the 3D post conversion, changes from the first film, the rumored reshoots, what it was like to film at NASA, how involved Hasbro is with the project, and what he’d like to see in G.I. Joe 3 if they make it.  In addition, we also talked about how the collapsing home video market has changed the way movies are made, the lack of risk-taking with regards to the material that studios are choosing to make, the difficulty of selling sci-fi and the key to landing audience interest, whether he’s read any great scripts recently, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Jon M. Chu’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation is now playing in theaters.  The sequel’s story finds the Joes disbanded and outnumbered as they must square off against not only the Cobras, but also threats within their own government.  G.I. Joe: Retaliation stars Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum,  D.J. Cotrona, Elodie Yung, Ray Park, Byung-hun Lee, Ray Stevenson, Walton Goggins, RZA and Adrianne Palicki.  For more on the film, here’s clips, images, on set interviews, and all our previous coverage.

A few days ago, our partners at Omelete spoke with Johnson.  They talked about the 3D conversion, why they pushed back the release date, working with Jon Chu, the fight sequences, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Jon M. Chu’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation is now playing in theaters.  The sequel’s story finds the Joes disbanded and outnumbered as they must square off against not only the Cobras, but also threats within their own government.  G.I. Joe: Retaliation stars Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum,  D.J. Cotrona, Elodie Yung, Ray Park, Byung-hun Lee, Ray Stevenson, Walton Goggins, RZA and Adrianne Palicki.  For more on the film, here’s clips, images, on set interviews, and all our previous coverage.

Last weekend, I sat down with screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick for an extended interview.  Over the past few days we’ve posted what they said about their Zombieland pilot, the Deadpool movie, and their take on Venom.  However, that was just the tip of the iceberg because during the interview we also talked about making G.I. Joe, the nine-minute dialogue-free action sequence featuring Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes, the 3D post conversion, changes from the original G.I. Joe, landing the job, and other future projects like an HBO series, a sci-fi tent-pole for Sony, Universal’s Cowboy Ninja Vikings, and Bad Robot’s Micronauts.  Hit the jump to watch.

If you’re going to make a movie designed to sell toys, you may as well show how much fun it is to play with them.  Although almost none of the original characters remain, G.I. Joe: Retaliation continues the spirit of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra by happily embracing big vehicles and weapons to deliver set pieces on steroids that never feel overbearing.  It’s not a particularly smart movie or one with compelling characters, but without any irony it takes one of the villain’s lines to heart: “America likes the guy who blows stuff up.”

Opening tomorrow is director Jon M. Chu’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation.  The sequel’s story finds the Joes disbanded and outnumbered as they must square off against not only the Cobras, but also threats within their own government.  G.I. Joe: Retaliation stars Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum,  D.J. Cotrona, Elodie Yung, Ray Park, Byung-hun Lee, Ray Stevenson, Walton Goggins, RZA and Adrianne Palicki.  For more on the film, here’s clips, images, on set interviews, and all our previous coverage.

A few days ago at the Los Angeles press day I spoke to Palicki and Cotrona.  We talked about Paramount’s decision to delay the film for a 3D conversion, the rumors that they did a lot of reshoots, what it was like to film at NASA,  their reaction to the finished film, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Opening this Thursday is director Jon M. Chu’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation.  The sequel’s story finds the Joes disbanded and outnumbered as they must square off against not only the Cobras, but also threats within their own government.  G.I. Joe: Retaliation stars Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum,  D.J. Cotrona, Elodie Yung, Ray Park, Byung-hun Lee, Ray Stevenson, Walton Goggins, RZA and Adrianne Palicki.  For more on the film, here’s clips, images, on set interviews, and all our previous coverage.

While some had issues with the first G.I. Joe movie, most would agree the casting of Byung-hun Lee as Storm Shadow and Ray Park as Snake Eyes was dead on.  So when Paramount decided to make the sequel and bring in a lot of new actors, I was extremely happy they kept Lee and Park.  The other day I did an exclusive phone interview with Lee to help promote the film.  We talked about his reaction to the finished film, 3D, the action sequences, what it was like having the world premiere in Korea, his preparation process, Red 2, doing action scenes with Bruce Willis, and a lot more.  Hit the jump for what he had to say.

Opening this Thursday is director Jon M. Chu’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation.  The sequel’s story finds the Joes disbanded and outnumbered as they must square off against not only the Cobras, but also threats within their own government.  G.I. Joe: Retaliation stars Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum,  D.J. Cotrona, Elodie Yung, Ray Park, Byung-hun Lee, Ray Stevenson, Walton Goggins, RZA and Adrianne Palicki.  For more on the film, here’s clips, images, on set interviews, and all our previous coverage.

A few days ago at the Los Angeles press day I spoke to Chu.  We talked about Paramount’s decision to delay the film for a 3D conversion, the 9 minute action sequence with no dialogue, deleted scenes, what will be on the eventual Blu-ray, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.

A new clip from G.I. Joe: Retaliation has been released.  In the upcoming sequel, the Joes are at war with the Cobra as well as the U.S. government, which is being led by an imposter President.  It’s a slight embellishment to say that Jinx (Elodie Yung) and Snake Eyes (Ray Park) “fight” in this clip unless “fight” means Jinx swinging swords wildly at Snake Eyes and hoping to hit something.  The blindfold doesn’t seem to be doing much good as a teaching tool.

Hit the jump to check out the clip.  The film also stars Dwayne Johnson, D.J. Cotrona, Byung-hun Lee, Adrianne Palicki, Jonathan Pryce, RZA, Ray Stevenson, Channing Tatum, and Bruce Willis.  G.I. Joe: Retaliation opens in 3D on March 28th.

Paramount has released a new four-minute extended clip and featurette for Jon M. Chu’s upcoming sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation.  The clip showcases the an action sequence with a shit ton of ninjas that takes place on the side of a mountain, while the featurette focuses on the numerous vehicles and weapons that are used in the film.  The sequel’s story finds the Joes disbanded and outnumbered as they must square off against not only the Cobras, but also threats within their own government.

Hit the jump to watch the clip and featurette, and if you missed any of Steve’s set visit coverage be sure to check out 25 things to know & video blog recap, along with his interviews with Dwayne Johnson, Byung-hun Lee, Ray Park, Elodie Yung, D.J. Cotrona, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, and Chu.  G.I. Joe: Retaliation opens in 3D on March 28th.

I’ve patiently waited for the opportunity to include Veronica Mars in the Top 5. As one of my favorite pop culture artifacts, I’m thrilled that this past week has finally afforded me the chance. That said, I’ll reserve any and all debate regarding the impact and merit of its now famed Kickstarter campaign for after the jump. For now, I’ll just say that, as much as I loved the show, I didn’t feel shortchanged by its somewhat abrupt finale. Moreover, I never felt like I needed a movie to bring some sort of closure to that world and its characters. Don’t get me wrong, by series end I wanted more VM in my life. But maybe that’s a good thing. Looking back I’d much prefer a series leave me wanting more than continually ask me back every week when it can barely muster even a shadow of its former self (cough…The Office…cough).

In addition to more Mars talk, this week’s collection also includes our G.I. Joe: Retaliation set visit, the first red-band trailer for Kick-Ass 2, Jurassic Park 4 naming its director, and all of our SXSW 2013 coverage to date. Keep reading for a brief recap and link to each.