Georgle Clooney‘s Monuments Men looked like it could be a player in this year’s awards race, but it had to be pushed back to February in order to work on the special effects and find the tone of the story.  For those who are unfamiliar with the film, it’s based on a true story about soldiers and historians who have to go to Germany during World War II to rescue artistic masterpieces before they’re destroyed by the Nazis.  The first trailer made the film look confused and mediocre, but now an international trailer has gone online, and the movie looks like it’s in much better shape.  The humor is sharper, the story is better laid out, and the stakes are more clearly defined.  There’s even a little grin about the premise having a bit of an Ocean’s Eleven vibe when Matt Damon‘s character asks Clooney, “Aren’t you a little old for this?”  I have high hopes for the film, and this new trailer finally makes me excited for what Clooney has put together.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Cate Blanchett, Jean Dujardin, Hugh Bonneville, John Goodman, Bob Balaban, and Bill Murray.  The Monuments Men opens February 7, 2014.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are on board to produce Sleeper for Warner Bros.  The adaptation of the Ed Brubaker comic book series will be penned by the writing team of Shawn Ryan and David Wiener.  Set in noir universe where certain characters develop superpowers at random, the story centers on Holden Carver, a man who has the ability to absorb pain and pass it on to others.  Sleeper follows Carver “as he infiltrates a criminal organization on behalf of a law enforcement agency. His allegiances come into question, especially when he falls for the alluring killer, Miss Misery.”  Hit the jump for more.

The trailer for Showtime’s 2014 event series Years of Living Dangerously has been released online.  The docu-series comes from executive producers James Cameron and Jerry Weintraub and examines the effects of climate change on a global scale with a particular focus on the human impact.  Cameron introduces the trailer himself, but I was encouraged to see that the documentary doesn’t just jump right into the effects of climate change, it takes the time to lay out the facts and the “debate” at hand as well.  Misinformation leads to ignorance, and it’s important that the audience is aware of the overwhelming facts and science pointing to the effects of climate change before diving into the actual, you know, evidence.

The docu-series will unfold over “six to eight” hourlong episodes, with a number of celebrity correspondents visiting areas all over the world that have been effected by climat change.  Notable appearances include Matt Damon, Mark Bittman, Thomas Friedman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Olivia Munn, Don Cheadle, Chris Hayes, Michael C. Hall, and Harrison Ford.  Watch the trailer after the jump.  Years of Living Dangerously will air on Showtime starting April 2014.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are executive producers on More Time with Family, a new comedy that just landed at CBS with a put-pilot commitment.  Starring comedian Tom Papa and written by co-writers Cathy Yuspa and Josh Goldsmith (King of Queens, ‘Til Death), More Time with Family is based on Papa’s stand-up and Damon’s own experiences.  As Deadline reports, the story centers on “a guy (Papa) who changes his career and gives up a life on the road to spend more time at home with his family — but when he gets there, he realizes no one asked him to do that.”  Affleck’s production company, Pearl Street Films, is venturing further into television territory, with More Time with Family following on the heels of Fox’s crime drama, The Middle Man, the pilot of which Affleck will direct.

After weeks of deliberation, last night I made the decision to resume my Netflix subscription. Today, after having watched the pilot episode of its original series Orange is the New Black, I can say with confidence that was $7.99 well spent. Only one episode in and I can absolutely see myself spending the rest of this Labor Day weekend devouring the remaining 12 episodes with ease. While you’ve likely read some of the show’s rave reviews elsewhere already, I’ll lend my own endorsement by saying that the pilot offers a near-perfect balance of humor and drama. Moreover, the pace is never slowed by consistent cutting between Piper Chapman’s (Taylor Schilling) past transgressions and present consequences. If anything, it serves to heighten the depressing reality of the situation we find Chapman in. All said, I give the pilot high marks all around and myself a disappointed facepalm for not having got in on the series sooner.

My reintroduction to Netflix aside, this week’s Top 5 highlights part one of our Ender’s Game set visit, the first trailer for Dallas Buyers Club, an editorial by Matt imploring all of us to stop asking for Bryan Cranston to play Lex Luthor, the first trailer for Divergent, and a little bit of extra plot info regarding Christopher Nolan‘s Interstellar. As you may expect, a brief recap and link to everything I just mentioned can be found after the jump.

Matt Damon has already amassed an incredible catalog of director collaborations, having worked with Gus Van Sant, Steven Spielberg, Paul Greengrass, Terry Gilliam, Martin Scorsese, the Coen Brothers, Clint Eastwood, Cameron Crowe, and Neill Blomkamp.  Now he’s adding another brilliant filmmaker to the list by way of Christopher Nolan, as The Playlist reports that Damon has joined the ridiculous cast of Nolan’s sci-fi film Interstellar.  The story centers on a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.

Hit the jump for more, including the nature of Damon’s role and word on when he’ll finally be making his directorial debut.

Fan outcry over Ben Affleck playing Batman appears to have subsided a bit from a deafening screech to a dull roar, as people are hopefully now spending their time worrying about things that are significantly more important.  We still have yet to hear from Affleck himself about taking on the iconic character in director Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel follow-up, but Affleck’s longtime friend Matt Damon has now chimed in with thoughts on how he thinks Affleck will do in the cape and cowl.  In the process, Damon addressed the harsh internet reaction to the news, dashed hopes of him playing Robin, and talked about The Bourne Legacy.  Hit the jump to read on.

The Bourne franchise could be getting its groove back.  Last month, Universal Pictures confirmed that it was moving forward with another film in the Bourne series, as the studio hired Sherlock Holmes and Invictus screenwriter Anthony Peckham to pen the script for another Bourne movie.  It was believed that the script was intended to further the adventures of Jeremy Renner’s Aaron Cross character from The Bourne Legacy, as original star Matt Damon has been reluctant to return without The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass.  Well, it’s possible that something may have been worked out, as a new report claims that both Damon and Greengrass are now in talks to return to the franchise.  Hit the jump for more.

[Update: Sources from Universal are now telling Variety that there is "no truth" to the rumor that Damon and Greengrass are in negotiations to return.  Not exactly an official denial, so something could very well be up.]

New posters have landed online for two star-studded ensembles that are headed to theaters later this year.  Besides teasing the stellar cast, there’s really not much to the full theatrical poster for George Clooney’s new directorial effort The Monuments Men, but we do see Matt Damon flanked by Clooney, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, and Hugh Bonneville.  Based on a true story, the film centers on an unlikely World War II platoon made up of museum directors, curators, and art historians tasked by FDR with going into Germany and rescuing artistic masterpieces from Nazi thieves before they are lost forever.  The film also stars Cate Blanchett and opens in theaters on December 20th.

Additionally, the first poster for Jon Turtletaub’s (National Treasure) comedy Last Vegas also highlights its ensemble, as we get a look at Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Kline laughing it up as a quartet of friends who get together to celebrate a bachelor party in Vegas.  The film opens on November 1st.  Hit the jump to check out both posters.

Last night I had the chance to check out We’re the Millers with a group of friends and while I wouldn’t classify it as a “Must See!”, it’s a plenty serviceable R-rated comedy. As you can probably tell from the trailers, English actor Will Poulter delivers some of the biggest laughs and, for my money, it’s hard to go wrong with Nick Offerman and Kathryn Hahn in most anything. Aside from its tendency to settle for just being “OK”, my only real gripe would be that the film’s premise exceeds its execution. On paper, it has the potential to be a hilarious, yet incisive, play on the nuclear family. On screen, it turns the convention on its head before ultimately forcing its characters to conform to many of its tenets.

Although I’m sure you can never get enough of my one paragraph film reactions, we must move on to this week’s Top 5. Included this week is the new trailer for Thor: The Dark World, Elysium interviews with Neill Blomkamp and more, the new Doctor Who, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters interviews, and a slew of We’re the Millers interviews with the cast and director Rawson Marshall Thurber. Per routine, a brief recap and link to each of the above kindly requests your attention after the jump.

It may be a stretch to say that the protagonist of Elysium “becomes more machine than man,” but it’s a fitting description for his story.  Writer and director Neill Blomkamp delivered an exhilarating sci-fi action film mixed with thoughtful social commentary in his debut feature, District 9.  His follow-up feature, Elysium, promises more of the same, and fully delivers on that promise for the first 35-40 minutes.  But then everything that was special about the picture and unique in Blomkamp’s voice is drowned out in loud, clashing action scenes that are occasionally entertaining but beset with eye-rolling plot shortcuts, the loss of character development, and Jodie Foster‘s inability to pick an accent and run with it.  Elysium‘s message about economic inequality is couched in a finely-drawn sci-fi world, but the power of that message becomes diminished when we cease to care about the messenger.

Sony Pictures has released the first trailer for George Clooney’s next directorial effort, The Monuments Men.  Based on a true story, the film centers on an unlikely World War II platoon made up of museum directors, curators, and art historians tasked by FDR with going into Germany and rescuing artistic masterpieces from Nazi thieves before they are lost forever.  This is a disappointing trailer not because the film looks bad, but because the trailer feels poorly put together.  The highlight looks like the fish-out-of-water supporting characters played John Goodman, Bob Balaban, and Bill Murray.  Unfortunately, the trailer feels like it’s trying way too hard to be hip, and the music playing over the whole thing is an awful choice.  I still can’t wait to see this movie, but I wish the first look at it was better.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film stars Clooney, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Jean Dujardin, and Hugh Bonneville.  The Monuments Men opens on December 18th. [Update: We've added the teaser poster to the article.]

New images from three highly anticipated fall films have landed online.  Briefly:

• The Monuments Men – The first official image from George Clooney’s latest directorial effort highlights the swell ensemble cast of the WWII heist movie, featuring Clooney, Matt Damon, John Goodman, and Bob Balaban.  The film opens in theaters on December 18th.
• American Hustle – Another new image from Silver Linings Playbook director David O. Russell’s next film shows off even more of the early 1980s fashions donned by Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Bradley Cooper.  The film opens wide on December 25th.
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – A new image from the second film in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy takes a break from the dwarves as we get another look at Orlando Bloom’s Legolas and Evangeline Lily’s Tauriel.  The film opens on December 13th.

Hit the jump to take a look at the images. [Update: We've added a batch of more images from The Monuments Men, including a first look at Cate Blanchett's character.]

Opening this weekend is director Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium.  For those unfamiliar, the story takes place in 2159, and two classes of people are divided: the wealthy live on a man-made space station called Elysium, while the rest of the humans inhabit an overpopulated and ruined Earth.  Matt Damon plays a desperate man who must reach Elysium in order to find a cure that will save his life.  The film also stars Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga, Wagner Moura, Diego Luna and William Fichtner.

The other day I landed a video interview with Matt Damon.  He talked about how the world of Elysium feels real, Blomkamp’s directorial process, how the finished cut of Elysium compares to what he was pitched, what he collects, who has made him laugh the most on set, and if it’s true that he was cast because Blomkamp wanted his character from Eurotrip.  Hit the jump to watch.

Sony Pictures has released a bounty of material from director Neill Blomkamp’s upcoming sci-fi film Elysium, offering up four clips and 15 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage from the pic.  For those unfamiliar, the story takes place in 2159, and two classes of people are divided: the wealthy live on a man-made space station called Elysium, while the rest of the humans inhabit an overpopulated and ruined Earth.  Matt Damon plays a desperate man who must reach Elysium in order to find a cure that will save his life.  The B-roll offers a great look at what went into making the film a reality, including the application of the crazy mech suit that Damon wears and Blomkamp’s directorial process on set.

Hit the jump to check out the clips and footage.  The film also stars Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga, Wagner Moura, Diego Luna and William Fichtner.  Elysium opens on August 9th.