Despite the fact that the Final Destination series was supposed to have come to an end with Final Destination 4, here we are again.  New round of kids, same ol’ specter o’ death, always up to some sort of Rube Goldberg-ian shenanigans.  By now, this franchise has established itself as the go-to series for “seeing people killed in inventive, gruesome ways”, and there’s nothing wrong with that.  But Final 4 was genuinely terrible, the first film in the series to make me question whether or not all the scenes that weren’t drenched in viscera were worth suffering through in order to get to the money shots.  Would Final Destination 5 return the franchise to its “not great, not even good, but watchable for the kills” glory?  Find out in my review, after the jump.

The first trailer for the comedy Mardi Gras is now available online. Starring Nicholas D’Agostso (Final Destination 5), Josh Gad (The Rocker and Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s The Book of Mormon), Danneel Harris (Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay), Arielle Kebbel (John Tucker Must Die), and Bret Harrison (personal favorite Grounded for Life) the film follows three college seniors who take a trip to New Orleans’ iconic fare and inevitably find sex, booze, and apparently a “feces bomb.” I’m not even going to ask.

While many of Mardi Gras‘ above listed stars have moved on to bigger projects, I can’t really generate any excitement for the flick mainly for one reason: Carmen Electra is in it. If there’s one surefire way to lose my interest in a film, it’s to either tell me “Hey, we put a classic horror character you like in space” or “Hey, Carmen Electra is in this movie.” Nevertheless, you can check out the trailer after the jump. Directed by Phil Dornfeld, Mardi Gras opens on September 23rd.

Sometimes you get what you want. If you have been a fan of the previous entries in the Final Destination series, the fifth entry is ready to prove that this franchise hasn’t given in to death just yet. A sequel like this one could feel like more of the same, yet the magnificence of going over the top with ridiculous deaths is half of the charm of the series. People are going to die, in a certain order, but the other appeal is that you never know what is going to get them and when. At least, that should be the setup, and that’s exactly what Final Destination 5 gets right. Director Steven Quale and screenwriter Eric Heisserer embrace the inevitability of the deaths, but don’t telegraph the how. Along the way we are treated to two outstanding set pieces, even more deaths, and pleasing use of 3D where it counts. The film plays as more black comedy than horror, but there are cringe worthy moments that don’t involve the gore. Hit the jump for my full review.

With director Steven Quale’s Final Destination 5 opening this weekend, we’ve been provided with 5 clips from the film.  Since we all know what a Final Destination movie is about, I’m not going to try and explain the story.  The important thing to know is the movie was shot in 3D and based on the footage I saw at Comic-Con, it’s really worth paying the extra money to see it in 3D.  Trust me, the footage looked fantastic and 3D is the only way I’d see this movie.  In addition, Hunter covered the press junket yesterday and he told me that the film was great and the 3D added a lot.  Look for his video interviews with the cast in the coming days.  Until then, check out the 2D footage after the jump.

Final Destination 5 stars Emma Bell, Nick D’Agosto, Miles Fisher, Arlen Escarpeta, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, P.J. Byrne, Ellen Wroe, Courtney B. Vance, David Koechner, and Tony Todd.

Final Destination 5 star Miles Fisher’s is also a musician and creator of viral parodies.  He’s blended both for his single “New Romance” where he and his fellow Final Destination 5 stars take on a Saved by the Bell look and promptly get slaughtered in a variety of hilarious ways.  It’s yet another acknowledgement that these movies may not be intended to scare as much as they’re designed for grotesque laughs.  Also, if you ever wanted to see Jessie Spano get destroyed by her own locker, this is the video for you.

Hit the jump to check out the parody.  The film and music video also stars Nicholas D’Agosto, Emma Bell, Arlen Escarpeta, P.J. Byrne, Ellen Wroe, Jacqueline MacInnes-Wood, and David Koechner in the Mr. Belding role.  Final Destination 5 opens in 3D on August 12th.

I’m letting everyone know right out of the gate that I’m cheating a little on this week’s “Top 5.” As you may know by now, every week I do my best to condense all of our weekly coverage into what the editorial staff deems our “Top 5″ stories. This week, I find that we have a plethora of coverage for various titles. As a result, after the jump you’ll find that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, John Carter, and Final Destination 5 all have multiple links. Also included in this week’s installment is The Dark Knight Rises teaser poster and Matt’s take on Netflix’s announced price increase. Hit the jump for brief recaps and links to each.

On every Final Destination movie, one of the characters has a vision that everyone is about to die.  As a result, he/she saves everyone…but death eventually finds a way to finish the job.  In Final Destination 5, Nicholas D’Agosto is the one with the vision, and Emma Bell plays his co-worked at a paper factory, and she’s also in love with his character.

Last December I was invited to the set of Final Destination 5 while they were filming in Vancouver.  During a group interview between filming, D’Agosto and Bell talked about making the movie, their characters, working with the rest of the cast, how do they keep things new and fresh when it’s the fifth film in the franchise, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to either read or listen to the interview.

The new trailer for Final Destination 5 has gone online and as always, every thing can be boiled down to “Go to mundane location, bad things happen.”  The Final Destination franchise preys on our fears that we could die from a freak accident at any time.  I would love to see the Final Destination film where someone escapes the big accident at the beginning and then instead of the reaper getting him or her with a Rube Goldberg project of death, the person just dies from a long, protracted illness.  At least this one kind of raises an interesting moral quandary about whether or not you would kill an innocent person if it ensured your own survival.  And really, what would a Final Destination movie be without an arbitrary new rule that was never mentioned in the previous entries?

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  Final Destination 5 opens in 3D on August 12th.

Two new posters this Friday, both international in their own right.  The first, for The Green Hornet, is so in the more traditional sense: it comes from Taiwan.  The masked superhero film stars Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, and Christoph Waltz; Michel Gondry (Be Kind Rewind) directing.

The second poster, for From Prada to Nada, reaches across the border with a Latina take on the Jane Austen classic Sense & Sensibility.  The adaptation stars April Bowlby, Camilla Belle, Alexa Vega, Wilmer Valderrama, and Nicholas D’Agosto.  Hit the jump for both posters.

Nicholas D’Agosto (Fired Up!), Ellen Wroe (Huge), and Meghan Ory (Dark House) have joined the cast of young actors who will perish in horribly fantastic ways in Final Destination 5. Miles Fisher (Superhero Movie) and Arlen Escarpeta (Friday the 13th) are likewise official members of the cast, while Bloody Disgusting reports Warner Bros. has made an offer to funnyman David Koechner (Extract) for a role.

This is director Steven Quale’s feature debut — fresh off his work heading up the second unit on Avatar — with a script by Eric Heisserer (A Nightmare on Elm Street).  I’ve had D’Agosto filed under “Charmer” in the back of my mind ever since Rocket Science, so I may just have to see Final Destination 5 when it hits theaters August 26, 2011.