Fox Searchlight has released the first trailer and poster for director David E. Talbert’s (First Sunday) romantic comedy Baggage Claim.  The film stars Paula Patton as an unmarried flight attendant who becomes determined to find a man before her younger sister’s wedding.  In order to aid her on her quest, her friends at the airport arrange several of her ex-boyfriends to cross her path.  Though the “I need a man to make me feel whole” premise is rather played out and at least a little offensive, Baggage Claim actually looks like it has a few genuine laughs in store for audiences.  Also, Adam Brody plays the “gay best friend” character, so there’s that.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Derek Luke, Taye Diggs, Jill Scott, Boris Kodjoe, Trey Songz, Tia Mowry, LaLa Anthony, and Djimon Hounsou.  Baggage Claim opens on September 27th.

[This is a re-post of my review from the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.  Disconnect opens today in limited release.]

Modern technology has radically changed the way we interact socially. Go stand in a line, and I guarantee at least a few people will have whipped out their smartphones and are happily ignoring the world around them. We don’t call anymore; we text as if that were the same as a discussion. As author, psychologist, and MIT professor Sherry Turkle recently noted in a New York Times editorial this past April, “we have sacrificed conversation for mere connection.” Henry Alex Rubin‘s Disconnect ignores this contemporary issue, and sacrifices worthwhile social commentary for mere cautionary tales. Disconnect has all the dramatic weight of a driver’s education video, but then pads its thin plots with three loosely-connected narratives, two of which feature character actions so ludicrous that the movie becomes almost completely disconnected from reality.

Universal has released the first trailer, poster, and a few new images for director Baltasar Kormakur‘s (Contraband) actioner 2 Guns.  The film is based on the graphic novel of the same name and stars Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg as operatives from competing government bureaus who are disavowed and forced to go on the run together after a mission goes wrong.  I’m happy to see that the pic doesn’t take itself too seriously, as there’s a nice sense of humor blended in with the more action-geared aspects of the story.  Washington and Wahlberg have some very promising chemistry, and 2 Guns looks like it could be a nice breath of fresh air in a sea of gritty, dark, and unrelenting action films that populate the marketplace.  Also, Bill Paxton as the villain?  Yes please.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer, poster, and some new images.  The film also stars Paula Patton, James Marsden, and Edward James Olmos.  2 Guns opens August 2nd.

LD Entertainment has released the trailer and poster for the drama Disconnect.  The film follows three loosely connected stories: one relates to online bullying, another deals with identity theft, and the third is about a reporter trying to save a young man who does sex-cam shows.  I caught the film at TIFF, and thought it was a cheap PSA that wasted the opportunity to show the complexities of online connection in the 21st century.  If you’re still interested in the film, the trailer shows way too much, and takes you deep into the third act.

And if all of that doesn’t bother you, hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film stars Jason Bateman, Hope Davis, Frank Grillo, Michael Nyqvist, Paula Patton, Andrea Riseborough, Alexander Skarsgard, and Max Thieriot.  Disconnect opens in limited release on April 12th.

Universal Pictures has released synopses for their upcoming films 2 Guns and Identity Thief.  Briefly, 2 Guns is an action flick that stars Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg as operatives from competing government bureaus who are disavowed and forced to go on the run together after a mission goes wrong.  As for Identity Thief, the comedy stars Jason Bateman as a man who goes to great lengths to get his identity back from a con artist (Melissa McCarthy).

Hit the jump to check out the synopses.  2 Guns opens August 16, 2013.  Identity Thief opens February 8, 2013.

Earlier today, TIFF announced that they were adding new films to their spectacular line-up.  Among the new additions are:

• Song for Marion (directed by Paul Andrew Williams) Starring Terence Stamp, Vanessa Redgrave, Gemma Arterton, and Christopher Eccleston.
• Emperor (directed by Peter Webber) Starring Matthew Fox, Tommy Lee Jones, and Eriko Hatsune.
• Arthur Newman (directed by Dante Ariola) Starring Emily Blunt, Colin Firth, and Anne Heche.
• Disconnect (directed by Henry Alex Rubin) Starring Jason Bateman, Hope Davis, Frank Grillo, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist, Andrea Riseborough, Alexander Skarsgård, Max Theriot, Jonah Bobo, Colin Ford, and Haley Ramm.

Hit the jump to check out the images and synopses.  The 2012 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 – 16th.

The first unofficial images of Denzel Washington, shiny of tooth and spiffy of hat, on the set of 2 Guns have made it to the Web.  Based on the pulpy Steven Grant comic, it stars Washington as Trench (a DEA agent) and Mark Wahlberg as Steadman (a naval officer), who team up to rip off the mob.  Neither realizes the other is undercover nor that they’re actually being set up to steal from the CIA.  Wahlberg’s Contraband director Baltasar Kormakur is helming the pic, which is described (in the novel, at least) as “a light-hearted crime romp in the vein of Ocean’s Thirteen and The Italian Job.”  The solid supporting cast includes Edward James Olmos as a villainous drug lord, Paula Patton as Washington’s fellow DEA agent and love interest, Bill Paxton as a high-ranking CIA operative and James Marsden as a naval commander. The script comes from Blake Masters (Showtime’s Brotherhood). Hit the jump to check out the pics.

Some brief casting notes for you here with more details after the jump:

• Angela Bassett (Malcolm X) is set to join Gerard Butler (300) and Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) in Antoine Fuqua’s Presidential thriller, Olympus Has Fallen.
• Derek Luke (Antwone Fisher) will star opposite Paula Patton (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) in Baggage Claim, from writer/director/producer David Talbert.
• Robert Baker (Out of Time) and Brian Howe (The Pursuit of Happyness) are the most recent additions to the cast of Atom Egoyan’s Devil’s Knot, based on the true life saga of the West Memphis Three.

Hit the jump for more on each picture.

Some casting info, including news that should make fans of Sean Bean very happy.  Here it is in brief:

• Sean Bean (Game of Thrones) will star in the three-film adaptation of Devil’s Peak, a suspense novel trilogy by South African author, Deon Meyer.
• Paula Patton (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) is set to star in Baggage Claim, a comedy adapted and directed by David Talbert from his bestselling 2003 novel.
• Jamie Hector (The Wire) joins the phenomenal cast of Blood Ties, which includes Mila Kunis (Black Swan) , Zoe Saldana (Colombiana) and Marion Cotillard (Inception).

Hit the jump for more on each film.

Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg are poised to star opposite one very, very good-looking lady in the graphic novel adaptation 2 Guns.  Deadline reports that Paula Patton (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) is in talks to join the cast of the actioner as Washington’s love interest (she previously appeared opposite Washington in Déjà Vu).  Based on the graphic novel by Steven Grant, the film centers on a DEA agent and an undercover naval intelligence officer who unknowingly investigate each other as each is stealing money from the mob.  Wahlberg’s Contraband director Baltasar Kormakur is onboard to direct from a script by Blake Masters.

Though I’m interested to see the chemistry between Wahlberg and Washington play out, I’m not exactly in love with the idea of another handheld, hard boiled actioner from Kormakur.  The tone of the source material is quite playful and in the vein of Ocean’s Eleven, but it’s unknown how much of that will end up on screen.  There’s plenty to be optimistic about (including Patton’s addition), so hopefully Kormakur will is planning a lighter tone and has a different visual style in mind.  Hit the jump to read a synopsis for the graphic novel.

In Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, actor Jeremy Renner plays Agent William Brandt, an analyst who is more desk jockey than field agent. When Impossible Missions Force (IMF) operative Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is blamed for the terrorist bombing of the Kremlin, he is disavowed, along with the rest of the agency, when the President initiates “Ghost Protocol.” Left with only a team of fellow IMF fugitives – including Brandt, Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) and Jane Carter (Paula Patton) – whose personal motives are unclear, Hunt must find a way to clear the agency’s name and prevent another attack.

At the film’s press day, Jeremy Renner talked about playing a character whose motives may be questionable, how great it is to be a part of such a successful franchise, getting in shape for the physical demands of the role, and how Tom Cruise has helped him prepare for any future action work he’ll have to do. He also talked about currently filming The Bourne Legacy, his work in The Avengers, what attracted him to the James Gray film Low Life, and the process of developing a Steve McQueen biopic. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

A batch of new images and a new clip from Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol has been released. The film is the fourth entry in the ever-changing Mission: Impossible franchise and finds Tom Cruise and his team going undercover in order to clear they’re name. I’m excited about this movie for a few reasons: director Brad Bird (The Incredibles) is making his live-action debut, Simon Pegg is swell, and judging from the trailers the pic looks to be an engaging and fun action flick. The supporting cast is pretty impressive as well, with Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, Tom Wilkinson, Josh Holloway, and Michael Nyqvist rounding out the cast.

Hit the jump to check out the clip and images. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol opens in IMAX and conventional theaters on December 16th.

Paramount has released 17 new images and 5 set photos from Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.  The images show off spy-thriller shenanigans and director Brad Bird directing up a storm of spy-thriller shenanigans.  And as you can see from the image above, Tom Cruise is probably contemplating if it’s unreasonable to demand full bars if you’re in a cloud of debris.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  The film also stars Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, Simon Pegg, Josh Holloway, Michael Nyqvist, Lea Seydoux, and Tom Wilkinson. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol opens in IMAX on December 16th and goes wide on December 21st.  If you see it in 70mm IMAX, you’ll also get see the prologue for The Dark Knight Rises.

With the holiday movie season upon us, a few new images from some of the upcoming Oscar contenders have been unveiled. We’ve got a new look at Michael Fassbender in the extremely well-received drama Shame. Fassbender plays a sex-addict opposite Carey Mulligan, and our own Matt Goldberg loved the flick. There’s also a new image of Rooney Mara from David Fincher’s highly anticipated adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, another look at Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, and an ominous image of Gary Oldman from the spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Additionally, we’ve got another look at Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn, and an image of Sandra Bullock and Thomas Horn in the adaptation of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

But that’s not all! We’ve also got new images from We Bought a Zoo, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Haywire, Underworld: Awakening, In the Land of Blood and Honey, New Year’s Eve, and One for the Money. Hit the jump to check them out.

New character banners for Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol have gone online.  Usually we regurgitate advertising that’s in English, but these are in Russian so it’s a nice change of pace.

Hit the jump to check out the banners.  The film stars Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, Simon Pegg, Josh Holloway, Michael Nyqvist, Lea Seydoux, and Tom Wilkinson.  Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol opens in IMAX on December 16th and goes wide on December 21st.  If you see it in 70mm IMAX, you’ll also get see the prologue for The Dark Knight Rises.