Sad news, today, as actor Michael Clarke Duncan has passed away at the age of 54.  Duncan suffered a heart attack in mid-July and had been receiving treatment in a Los Angeles hospital for the past two months.  His fiancé released a statement saying that the actor died Monday morning in the hospital.  Duncan burst onto the scene with a memorable role as Bear in Michael Bay’s Armageddon, but it was his moving performance in Frank Darabont’s 1999 drama The Green Mile that really showcased his talent.

The role netted Duncan an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and led to a successfully varied career in films like Daredevil, Kung Fu Panda and Planet of the Apes.  My personal favorite, though, is Duncan’s fantastic comedic performance in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.  His charm bled through in all of his performances—good guy or bad guy—and he will be sorely, sorely missed.  Our deepest condolences go out to Duncan’s family and friends.

Thanks to Warner Bros. sending over the EPK (electronic press kit) from Martin Campbell’s Green Lantern, you can watch 15 minutes of behind the scenes footage.  If you’re trying to stay spoiler free, I urge you not to watch the footage as it’s loaded with potential spoilers.  However, if you’re curious how Green Lantern was made, the footage is awesome.  I especially enjoyed getting to see Geoffrey Rush and Michael Clarke Duncan do their voice over work as Tomar-Re and Kilowog (which is towards the end) and watching Mark Strong become Sinestro in the makeup chair.  You can also see Ryan Reynolds pretending to fly, tons of stunt work, and plenty of Blake Lively and Peter Sarsgaard.  Again, it’s some great footage.  Hit the jump to check it out.  Green Lantern open June 17th.

The wait is almost over. Warner Bros. has released 8 new clips from director Martin Campbell’s Green Lantern, which hits theaters in less than two weeks. Based on the comic book, the film tells the story of Hal Jordan (Reynolds), the first human ever to join the intergalactic peacekeeping Green Lantern Corps. From all the recent trailers that have been released, and the huge batch of high resolution stills showing off finished visual effects, the film looks like it’s going to be pretty fantastic.

Hit the jump to watch the clips. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett, and Tim Robbins. Green Lantern will be released in 3D on June 17^th.

Warner Bros. has released a slew of images from their upcoming superhero flick Green Lantern. Some of the images are new, while a few of them we’ve seen before, but they all reflect finished visual-effects. Also included in the batch are a few official set images featuring director Martin Campbell. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett, and Tim Robbins, and tells the story of Hal Jordan (Reynolds), the first human ever to join the intergalactic peacekeeping Green Lantern Corps.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  Green Lantern opens in 3D on June 17th.

With the film’s release only a few weeks away, the first clip from Green Lantern has gone online.  The clip was shown on Attack of the Show before an interview with Michael Clarke Duncan who voices Kilowog.  In the clip, we see Kilowog training Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds).  What I really like about this clip is that previously we’ve seen Hal generate swords, chainguns, and a giant fist, but what’s so fantastic about the ring is that it can conjure anything.  Seeing what a seasoned Green Lantern Corps member like Kilowog constructs in this clip is pretty ingenious and raises my excitement for the completed film.

Hit the jump to check out the clip.  Green Lantern opens in 3D on June 17th.

Last week, a Green Lantern character poster featuring Tomar-Re went online.  At the time I predicted that we would be seeing posters highlighting fellow non-human Green Lantern Corps members Sinestro (Mark Strong) and Kilowog (voiced by Michael Clarke Duncan). That prediction, which was brought to you by Common Sense, has now come true and you can check out the posters after the jump.

Green Lantern stars Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, and Peter Sarsgaard.  The film opens in 3D on June 17th.

After a bit of speculation and uncertainty, Michael Clarke Duncan is finally in negotiations to voice the character of Kilowog in Green Lantern. The film features a number of CG characters and just last month Geoffrey Rush signed on to voice Tomar-Re. Heat Vision reports that Duncan received the offer just this week, and is now in negotiations to take on the role. Impressively, Rush only started doing voice work two weeks ago, but his character (and dialogue) was featured in the footage shown at Wonder-Con last weekend.

Directed by Martin Campbell, Green Lantern stars Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Jay O. Sanders, Temuera Morrison, Taika Waititi, Jon Tenney, Angela Bassett, and Tim Robbins. The film is set to hit theaters June 17^th.

Catalog titles! Disney is unleashing two of their most beloved action films from the 90’s with Tombstone and Armageddon. The first follows Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) and his brothers (Sam Elliot, Bill Paxton) as they team with Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer) to fight off the Clantons, Curly Bill Brocius (Powers Booth) and his gang of cowboys, while in Armageddon Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis) leads a crew of his oil drilling team (including Will Patton, Ben Affleck, Owen Wilson, Michael Clarke Duncan and Steve Buscemi) with assistance from NASA to destroy a giant Meteor heading to kill everyone on Earth. These are manly movies, even if they have love interest subplots that detract from men doing men things – like getting in gunfights and drilling for oil. My reviews of the Blu-rays of Armageddon and Tombstone after the jump.

Gary Oldman, Malin Akerman, and Milo Ventimiglia have signed onto star in the indie gangster flick Criminal Empire for Dummys.  According to Variety,

Story centers on a charismatic young man — portrayed by Ventimiglia — who relates the do’s and don’ts of running a criminal empire through a flashback to his own rise from a tragic childhood and life in the ghetto to eventual position as a multinational drug and criminal kingpin.

I’m wondering if the misspelling of “Dummies” is intentional (like Pursuit of Happyness) or if it’s a typo on Variety’s part.  That little question aside, the cast will also include Michael Clarke Duncan and Harvey Keitel.  Empire will be the feature directorial debut from screenwriter Cliff Dorfman (Entourage and the upcoming boxing flick Warrior) who will direct from his own script.  Hopefully, it will be less predictable and more watchable than Entourage.

Wouldn’t it be nice to wake up and be a secret agent overnight?  As the titular lead of the television show Chuck, Chuck Bartowski would probably say it’s not so nice, but he’s had his fair share of adventure and lady love.

For those who need a download of information on the series, brace yourselves.  Chuck works for the Nerd Herd department of a Burbank Buy More store, an ode to Best Buy’s Geek Squad (which, by the way, does have a Burbank location).  Chuck had a simple life until he opens an email sent from his former college roommate and the whole of the United States’ secret information gets downloaded directly into his brain.   More after the jump.

Anchor Bay Films is going to get a pass from me for a while because they picked up Broken Lizard’s newest film, “The Slammin’ Salmon” and will distribute it to theaters this December.  Every time I saw an update from BL on Facebook, I would wonder when I would finally get to see the movie which premiered at Slamdance this past January.  Now I get to see it before the end of the year and I’m beyond excited.  Hit the jump for details.

Some movies get a free pass while others are unduly maligned. If a mediocre film has an A-list director attached, or the pedigree of a certain type of actor or screenwriter it can be given a pass as a failed attempt while a similar film from less respected talent might be beaten to within an inch of its life by the critical community and fanboys alike.

I try not to be beholden to hype; rather I try to enter each movie without expectations. I want to love everything I see, and I sincerely hope that every movie will turn out to be the best version possible. I’m the guy who liked Turistas better than Hostel. I’m the guy who defended Repo! The Genetic Opera,  Charlie Bartlett, and Alpha Dog. Now I find myself defending a movie that has a whopping 4% positive rating on Rottentomatoes. But lemme tell ya’, as embarrassing as it is to admit, I sorta liked Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. More after the jump: