Last night I turned to Xbox Live to check out Shane Carruth‘s Upstream Color for the first time. While not quite as impenetrable after one viewing as its predecessor, 2004′s Primer, Upstream still demands the utmost attention of its viewers in exchange for the slightest hint of clarity. The dialogue is sparse, the setting is ever-changing, the editing is heavily dependent on juxtaposition as a way of creating meaning, and the sound design/foley work is turned up to “11″ at times. Whereas Primer played more to the intellect behind making time travel a reality, Upstream is an extremely visceral experience that is more interested, or at least more successful, in eliciting an emotional response than explaining how a rare organism can be harvested, used as a method of mind control, and ultimately link humans to pigs. The exact degree to which it succeeds will vary from viewer to viewer but it’s ultimately an experience I recommend taking in.

Of course a movie like Upstream lends itself to more than a few lines of my humble analysis, but that’s not actually why we’re here. In this week’s Top 5 you can check out the first trailer and poster for Alfonso Cuaron‘s Gravity, a generous number of set pics from director Jonathan Liebesman‘s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot, Steve’s exclusive phone interview with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, the first trailer for Ender’s Game, and a look at Iron Man by the Numbers. A brief recap and link to each will greet you after the jump.

Things have been a bit quite on the Ender’s Game front recently, but Summit Entertainment has revealed the full synopsis for the film. Fans of the Orson Scott Card classic will find nothing new here, but those of you who are unfamiliar with the story might find the synopsis surprisingly spoilery. There are no major reveals ruined, but it does give a way more than is necessary as to the progression of title character Ender Wiggin’s promotions in the Battle School.

Starring Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Sir Ben Kingsley, Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis and Abigail Breslin, writer/director Gavin Hood’s Ender’s Game will open in theaters November 1st, 2013.  Hit the jump to read the new synopsis but beware spoilers. 

For a project that has the epic scope of Ender’s Game, it’s only fitting that the film be released in IMAX.  Fans can look forward to seeing the adaptation of the beloved Orson Scott Card novel in IMAX format when it debuts in theaters November 1st, 2013.  The sci-fi film from director Gavin Hood (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) follows Andrew “Ender” Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a boy trained at a military battle school in the hopes that he’ll develop a strategy to defeat the alien menace known as the Formics.  This will make two big features for Lionsgate being released in the same month (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire releases November 22nd), two properties the studio hopes will continue to bear box-office fruit.  But before Catching Fire can sweep Ender’s Game aside, the sci-fi film will have three weeks to build up a big payday and, hopefully, a bigger following.  Hit the jump for more updates on Ender’s Game from the film’s production blog. 

You’re driving down the street, and it’s suddenly blocked off.  You notice these weird yellow signs with nonsensical letters or numbers.  There’s unusual glow lighting up a neighborhood you can’t usually see from your house.  What you might have here is a film company shooting in your town.  It happens a lot, and you never know where they might pop up…until now.

The following is a semi-comprehensive list of films currently shooting, what they’re shooting, and where they’re shooting.  We’ll be telling you where you might get to see the very famous, the kinda famous and (if all goes well) the soon-to-be famous. While we can’t list every single movie, television show, or student film in production, you’ll get a pretty good idea of what the heck is going on where all those people are buzzing about.  Want to know where in the world are Matt Damon, Harrison Ford, Sylvester Stallone, Woody Harrelson, and Leonardo DiCaprio? Hit the jump for more.

Harrison Ford reportedly called Ender’s Game, “one of the most emotional science fiction movies he has ever seen.”  If you’re a fan of Orson Scott Card’s award-winning novel, this article should let you breathe a little easier about the upcoming Gavin Hood adaptation.  While I was a bit leery about Hood’s attachment to my beloved property (see X-Men Origins: Wolverine), the Ender’s Game production blog has been shedding some interesting light on the filmmaker’s approach.  Hood and producer Roberto Orci (Star Trek) really seem to get the gist of the novel; that should elicit a sigh of relief followed quickly by a jolt of excitement from fans.  Orci recently participated in a Q&A on the blog in which he commented on the tone of the picture, the relationship between Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford) and Ender (Asa Butterfield), as well as his favorite scenes.

Ender’s Game tells the story of Andrew “Ender” Wiggin, a young boy sent away to Battle School to hone his military skills and, hopefully, save the world from an impending alien invasion.  Also starring Abigail Breslin, Sir Ben Kingsley, Hailee Steinfeld, Nonso Anozie and Viola Davis, the picture opens November 1st, 2013.  We’ve also got some images from the production, so hit the jump to check it out!

Less than two week’s after Asa Butterfield (Hugo) was offered the lead in Ender’s Game, we can confirm that the young actor will indeed portray Andrew/Ender, the third Wiggin sibling. Fans of the source material (the 1985 Hugo/Nebula Award-winning novel by Orson Scott Card) will be happy to see that sights are now set on casting Colonel Hyrum Graff. None other than sci-fi fan-favorite Harrison Ford is reportedly being eyed for the role. Who better to play the aging Commander of Training for the International Fleet than the grizzled veteran?

Director Gavin Hood’s adaptation of Ender’s Game will follow the titular character in a coming-of-age tale as he develops military strategies through war games in an attempt to prepare for an intergalactic battle. Summit Entertainment’s Ender’s Game hits screens on March 15, 2013. Hit the jump for more.

Gavin Hood (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) will direct his script for a live-action adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game for Summit Entertainment. Deadline reports that the studio has acquired U.S. rights to the film which is expected to go into production by early next year. We reported that Hood was rewriting a script by Card back in September of last year. Later, we learned that Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman were acting as producers on the adaptation, a fact that no doubt helped the film land financing from Summit. With the cash cow that is The Twilight Saga soon ending for the studio, it’s believed that Summit is hoping Ender’s Game will compete for coveted teen box office dollars against Lionsgate’s similarly targeted sci-fi adaptation, The Hunger Games.

Briefly, Card’s 1985 novel was based on a short story published in 1977 and is set in a future Earth that is reeling from two alien invasions. In preparation for a third, an international fleet begins training gifted youngsters to become commanders in the battle – the most talented of which is the book’s adolescent protagonist, Ender Wiggin. For more on the project, hit the jump for a synopsis of Card’s Hugo Award-winning novel.

An adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s Hugo Award-winning science fiction novel Ender’s Game has been taking the scenic route around development hell over the last decade.  Wolfgang Petersen (Poseidon) was attached to direct, but his connection to the project dissolved over the last couple years.  Now,a new director has taken up the task: Gavin Hood.

You may know Hood best as the man behind the determinedly awful X-Men Origins: Wolverine, or perhaps you prefer to remember him as the writer/director of Oscar winner Tsotsi.  Maybe you’re Reese Witherspoon, and you remember that he coached you in Rendition.  No matter which you pick, he’s not an obvious match for the material.  More after the jump: