For all of the uneasiness I felt watching The Internship play as a not so subtle promo for Google’s portfolio of services (what in the hell is Google Wallet?), the movie painted a dichotomy that I found interesting. While far from perfect, I thought the film did a nice job of contrasting the eternal optimism of a couple Gen X’ers with the often harsh practicality and cynicism I see embedded in myself and many of my fellow Millennials. Although this is hardly the platform from which to dive into a generational debate, The Internship at least introduced the idea that belonging to a generation that has had the wealth of the world’s knowledge at their fingertips for a good portion of their lives (not to mention video games and the lack of a military draft) faces a whole new set of unique challenges and insecurities. At the same time, it also sent an oft-overlooked truth that we (Millennials) don’t know it all, haven’t seen it all, and the “Culture of Meh” that we often embrace is cynical bullshit that I can only hope life experience will help pull us out of.

In addition to my “meh” soapbox, this week’s Top 5 offers The Internship interviews with Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, and Rose Byrne, the first trailer and a set visit recap for director James Wan‘s Insidious: Chapter 2, a truckload of set images from X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Purge interviews with Ethan Hawke and more, and a look at the WGA’s list of the “101 Best Written TV Series of All Time”. Check out a brief recap and link to each after the jump.

A film that feels like one long advertisement shouldn’t be much of a shock.  Advertising surrounds us (it even surrounds this review you’re reading), and while some companies will settle for product placement or marketing tie-ins, that’s small-time thinking.  Google is a portal to the Internet, and if it’s going to be in a movie, it’s going to be the movie.  If most reviews say that The Internship feels like one giant advertisement for Google, that’s only because it’s pretty much true.  Shawn Levy‘s comedy is filled with stock characters, lethargic storytelling, and slogs through a bloated runtime as stars Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson try to scrap together any laughs they can.  Even though Google dominates the picture, The Internship undermines the company by making it look like the most superficial and horrible place to work.

With director Shawn Levy’s The Internship opening this weekend, 20th Century Fox recently held a press junket at Google where we were able to speak with the cast.  If you’re not familiar with The Internship, the film re-teams Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn as two out-of-work salesmen who attempt to reinvent themselves by competing against young up-and-comers for an internship at Google.  The film also stars Rose Byrne, Max Minghella, Dylan O’Brien, Josh Gad, B.J. Novak, and John Goodman.  For more on the film, watch these clips.

During our interview with Rose Byrne, she talked about finding the right tone, whether she was upset that she didn’t get to play Quidditch in the movie, how she prepared to play a really smart Google employee, what she learned about the company that really surprised her, whether she did any takes with raunchier dialogue, auditioning, and more.  In addition, she also talked about Derek Cianfrance‘s The Place Beyond the Pines and Nicholas Stoller‘s Townies.  She confirmed what Dave Franco recently told us about the abundance of male nudity in the latter film.  Hit the jump to watch.

FilmDistrict has released the first trailer and images for director James Wan’s horror sequel Insidious: Chapter 2.  The majority of the cast from the first film returns in this follow-up, which finds the Lambert family trying to uncover the mysteries behind the childhood secret that has made them prone to some rather spooky paranormal events.  Having not seen the first film, I don’t necessarily find anything in this trailer scary (Wan’s other 2013 horror film The Conjuring, on the other hand, looks terrifying).  Chapter 2 almost looks like more of a thriller than a horror pic, but I’m sure fans of the first movie will be glad to wade back into the world of Insidious this fall.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer, and click here to check out our recap from the trailer event and Q&A with Wan.  The film stars Ty Simpkins, Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, and Lin Shaye.  Insidious: Chapter 2 opens on September 13th.

With director Shawn Levy’s The Internship opening June 7th, 20th Century Fox has sent over five clips.  If you’re not familiar with The Internship, the film reteams Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn as two out-of-work salesmen who attempt to reinvent themselves by competing against young up-and-comers for an internship at Google.  The film also stars Rose Byrne, Max Minghella, Dylan O’Brien, Josh Gad, B.J. Novak, and John Goodman. 

Hit the jump to watch the clips.  And if you missed them, here’s my set visit and on set interviews with Levy, and Wilson and Vaughn.

One of the things that most impresses me about Blumhouse Productions it’s the smart way they’re making movies.  Through clever budgeting and location Blumhouse consistently manages to secure impressive talent for their projects, both in front and behind the camera, endowing their films with a credibility and quality that is unusual on the low-budget horror circuit.  Insidious was one of the films that helped set this trend for the company, and one of the most exciting things about the sequel is that they’re bringing back the whole bunch for round two.  Back in March I got to visit the set of Insidious: Chapter 2 and see firsthand the chemistry between the cast and crew, their enthusiasm to be working together again, and how thoughtful they all are about the work they’re doing.

During a break in filming, I sat down with a few other journalists for a press conference with Director James Wan, Writer Leigh Whannell, Producer Jason Blum, and actors Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, and Barbara Hershey.  They talked about the higher stakes of the sequel, what makes Chapter 2 unique, exploring the world established in the first film, what we’ll see in the Further, shooting at Linda Vista Hospital, and a lot more.  Check out what they had to say after the jump.

20th Century Fox has provided us with a number of new images from director Shawn Levy‘s The Internship, and a few of them are exclusive.  If you’re not familiar with The Internship, which opens June 7th, the film reteams Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn as two out-of-work salesmen who attempt to reinvent themselves by competing against young up-and-comers for an internship at Google.  The film also stars Max Minghella, Rose Byrne, Dylan O’Brien, and Jessica Szohr.

Last year I got to visit the set when they were filming in Atlanta, and I watched the cast film a very funny scene featuring everyone getting to know one another.  In take after take, I saw the way Vaughn, Wilson and Levy would slightly adjust the dialogue and reactions so they’d have plenty of choices in the editing room.  In addition, it was great to see the cast and crew try and hold it together until Levy called cut.  As soon as he did, the room lit up with laughter.  Based on what I saw and learned on set, I think The Internship is going to be a winner.  Hit the jump for the images.

Here’s the latest casting news:

• Jason Sudeikis (Horrible Bosses) and Rose Byrne (Bridesmaids) are set to star in indie romantic comedy Tumbledown.
• 42 star Chadwick Boseman is closing in on a key supporting role in Ivan Reitman’s football-oriented drama Draft Day, starring Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner.

Hit the jump for more on both projects.

20th Century Fox has released a new trailer for director Shawn Levy’s comedy The Internship.  The film reteams Wedding Crashers stars Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson as two out-of-work salesmen who attempt to reinvent themselves by competing against young up-and-comers for an internship at Google.  This trailer delves a bit deeper into the film’s plot, as we learn that those competing for the internship at Google are split up into teams and Vaughn and Wilson find themselves in the “misfit” group.  There are a few new jokes here and there, but the highlight is the appearance of Book of Mormon star Josh Gad who has a nice bit in this trailer.

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.  The film also stars Rose Byrne, Aasif Mandvi, Max Minghella, Dylan O’Brien, and Jessica Szohr.  The Internship opens on June 7th.

Magnolia has picked up the reverse rom-com I Give It a Year.  The film stars Rafe Spall and Rose Byrne as a married couple who grow to realize that they’re not right for each other, and start being drawn to other people (Anna Faris and Simon Baker, respectively).  I caught the film at SXSW, and found it to be surprising funny and charming even though it deals with a relationship that’s falling apart.  The movie will be released via Magnolia’s “Ultra VOD” program, which means it will debut on VOD and then the VOD cost will be slightly reduced when the picture hits limited theatrical release.  VOD is probably the best distribution method for the film since it’s a little too slight and lacks the star power to be a serious wide release.

Hit the jump for the press release.  I Give It a Year is due out later this year and also stars Stephen Merchant, Olivia Colman, Jason Flemyng, and Minnie Driver.

A new international trailer for Shawn Levy’s The Internship is now available.  Starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, The Internship centers on two out-of-work salesmen who attempt to reinvent themselves by competing against young up-and-comers for a Google internship.  The first trailer showcased the humor we expected from the Wedding Crashers duo and the new cut is almost identical except for one additional bit that shows just how out of touch these two really are.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Max Minghella, Rose Byrne, Dylan O’Brien, and Jessica Szohr.  The Internship opens on June 7th.

Though his AMC series The Killing was just resurrected for a third season, star Joel Kinnaman isn’t leaving features behind anytime soon.  The actor most recently wrapped the starring role in the RoboCop reboot, and now Heat Vision reports that Kinnaman is in negotiations to join Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace in the thriller Child 44.  The film is based on the book of the same name by Tom Rob Smith and takes place in the 1950s, where it centers on a security officer in the Soviet Union who finds himself demoted and exiled while investigating a string of murders.

Kinnaman is in talks to play Hardy’s “ambitious and murderous nemesis.”  Should the deal go through, Kinnaman would be reuniting with his Snabba Cash director Daniel Espinosa on the project.  Espinosa is coming off the success of last year’s Safe House, and Child 44 boasts Ridley Scott and Michael Costigan as producers.  Filming is hoping to get underway this summer.  Hit the jump for casting news concerning Rose Byrne joining Tina Fey/Jason Bateman and Seth Rogen/Zac Efron in a couple of upcoming projects.

Dan Mazer‘s I Give It a Year is the rom-com in reverse and two rom-coms in one.  Mazer takes the difficult task of showing a marriage fall apart, and turns it into a surprisingly funny and witty comedy that never feels cynical.  And it’s absolutely easy to be cynical when it comes to marriage because of the 50% divorce rate.  But like any good comic writer, Mazer finds the humor in an unlikely topic, and succeeds with sharp dialogue, talented actors, and wisely keeping the tone of the film the same as an average romantic comedy.

The first trailer for director Shawn Levy’s upcoming comedy The Internship has been released online.  The film stars Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson as two old school salesmen who haven’t kept up with the digital age.  When they suddenly become unemployed, they attempt to remake themselves by interning at a major tech company.  The trailer shows that the chemistry between Vaughn and Wilson is still strong and there are plenty of one-liners and laughs to be found without giving the whole movie away.  A very promising start for The Internship.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Max Minghella, Rose Byrne, Dylan O’Brien, and Jessica Szohr.  The Internship opens on June 7th.

A new trailer for the British romantic comedy I Give It a Year has been released online.  The film stars Rose Byrne (Bridesmaids) and Rafe Spall (Prometheus) as a mismatched couple and centers on their struggle to survive their first year of marriage.  While the logline and “romantic comedy” description may sound a bit trite, this actually looks like a solid comedy.  The new trailer features some great stuff from Stephen Merchant and even a solid Justin Bieber joke for good measure.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  Written and directed by Dan Mazer (Borat), the film also stars Minnie Driver, Jason Flemyng, Olivia Colman, and Jane Asher.  I Give It A Year opens in the UK on February 8, 2013.