Considering that the film was bumped around from September to January due to a national tragedy, it would be nice to feel a little sorry for Ruben Fleischer’s Gangster Squad.  The period film, which casts Josh Brolin and Ryan Gosling as cops going against Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) for control of Los Angeles, has a great cast and period setting.  On top of that, The Untouchables is a great film and it wouldn’t be the worst thing to see more films like it.  And yet, Gangster Squad is a total miss.  My review of the Blu-ray follows after the jump.

Director Nicolas Winding Refn’s follow-up to his fantastic 2011 film Drive is set to make its debut at the Cannes Film Festival next month, but three whole clips from Only God Forgives have graciously made their way online a tad early.  The film’s red-band trailer promised another intense and gorgeous collaboration between Refn and star Ryan Gosling, and these three clips don’t disappoint.  While I’m eager to see what the always-reliable Gosling has in store for us this time around, it’s Kristin Scott Thomas who is the highlight of these clips as she plays the mother of Gosling’s character, a woman who urges her son to seek violent revenge for the death of his brother in Thailand.

Hit the jump to bask in the moodiness of Refn’s latest.  Only God Forgives also stars Vithaya Pansringarm and will open in theaters on July 19th.

While it recently expanded its theatrical release, Derek Cianfrance’s The Place Beyond the Pines deserves a bit more awareness.  A new TV spot and six new images featuring star Ryan Gosling are now available for your enjoyment.  Steve recently talked to Cianfrance in an extensive interview that breaks down the director’s process scene by scene.  We’ve also got more conventional interviews with Emory Cohen, Dane DeHaan, Eva Mendes,  Ryan Gosling and Derek Cianfrance, plus Matt’s review of the film here.

Hit the jump to check out the images and new TV spot.  The film also stars Bradley Cooper, Ray Liotta, Ben Mendelsohn and Rose Byrne.  The Place Beyond the Pines is now playing. 

Two new international trailers for Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn’s new film Only God Forgives have made their way online.  These trailers delve deeper into the pic’s plot than the fantastic domestic trailer that was a released a couple of weeks ago, but they still highlight what looks to be one hell of a ride.  Ryan Gosling stars a man who’s been living in exile in Bangkok for the past ten years after killing a cop. He manages a Thai boxing club as a front for a drugs operation and finds himself in hot water after his brother is killed for murdering a prostitute. The boys’ mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) arrives in Bangkok to collect her son’s body and instructs Gosling to take revenge and “raise hell.”

I really love what we see of Thomas’ character in these new trailers, and Gosling appears to turn in yet another subdued, affecting performance.  Stylish, brutal, weird, Only God Forgives promises to be everything we could possibly want from the second collaboration between Refn and Gosling.  Hit the jump to watch the trailers.  The film will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next month and opens in theaters on July 19th.

[This is a re-post of my review from the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.  The Place Beyond the Pines opens tomorrow in wide release.]

Writer-director Derek Cianfrance‘s The Place Beyond the Pines is a rich, multi-layered narrative dripping with fatalism, guilt, honor, and no easy answers. It is an epic family saga that defies easy explanation, and rebels against the structure of a traditional narrative. His gripping tale shows split-second connections that last lifetimes, and old sins that reach across generations. Cianfrance has created a remarkable work that reaches a grand ambition with an intimate tale. And I have to tell you why it works without divulging the twists and turns of its razor-sharp script.

The first red-band trailer for Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives is now available.  Star Ryan Gosling is positively seeing red in this color-saturated and atmospheric look at Refn’s new revenge thriller.  A little bit of Thai karaoke plays the overture for a few brutal scenes which force you to infer what this particular tale is about.  Gosling sums it up nicely with a simple question at the end of the trailer.  I cannot wait to see more.

Also Kristin Scott Thomas and Vithaya Pansringarm, Only God Forgives opens July 19th.  Hit the jump to watch the trailer.

Opening this weekend in New York and Los Angeles is one of the best films you’re going to see this year: director Derek Cianfrance’s The Place Beyond the Pines.  The pic centers on a professional motorcycle rider turned bank robber (Ryan Gosling) and a rookie police officer (Bradley Cooper).  Saying more would be detrimental to your enjoyment of the film, and I would encourage you to be very careful when reading about it.  Pines also stars Eva Mendes, Bruce Greenwood, Dane DeHaan, Ray Liotta, Ben Mendelsohn, and Rose Byrne.   For more on the film, here’s images, clips, and everything we’ve previously posted on the film.

At the recent New York City press day, I got to speak with Gosling.  We talked about how he prepared to make sure his character looked real and authentic on screen, the motorcycle stunts, whether he’s seen the Mondo Drive posters, his directorial debut How to Catch a Monster, whether he has seen a cut of Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives (Gosling says it’s “very very extreme.”), and reveals that they’ve asked some of the fans who made Drive posters to make some Only God Forgives posters!  Hit the jump to watch.

Focus Features has released a new poster and images for Derek Cianfrance‘s The Place Beyond the Pines.  The film centers on a generational conflict involving two fathers: one a pro-motorcycle rider and bank robber (Ryan Gosling) and a rookie cop on the rise (Bradley Cooper).  This was one of my favorite films at TIFF 2012, and I’m glad that general audiences are very close to seeing it.

Hit the jump to check out the poster and images.  The film also stars Eva Mendes, Ray Liotta, Ben Mendelsohn, Rose Byrne, Emory Cohen, and Dane DeHaan.  The Place Beyond the Pines opens Friday in limited release.

New images have been released for Nicolas Winding Refn‘s upcoming drama, Only God Forgives.  Ryan Gosling stars a man who’s been living in exile in Bangkok for the past ten years after killing a cop. He manages a Thai boxing club as a front for a drugs operation and finds himself in hot water after his brother is killed for murdering a prostitute. The boys’ mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) arrives in Bangkok to collect her son’s body and instructs Gosling to take revenge and “raise hell.”  These new images give us good look not only at Gosling, but Thomas and co-star Vithaya Pansringarm, who plays the film’s antagonist, Chang (a.k.a. “The Angel of Vengeance”)

Hit the jump to check out the images.  Allocine is reporting that a trailer should arrive in a couple weeks, so we’ll definitely be on the lookout for it.  Only God Forgives is reportedly set to open on May 23rd, and expected to play at the Cannes Film Festival.

We’ve got some new images, a clip and TV spot from Derek Cianfrance’s The Place Beyond the Pines to share with you today.  The film stars Oscar-nominated actors Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook) and Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson) as two fathers on opposite sides of the law.  The film also stars Eva Mendes, Ray Liotta, Rose Byrne and Dane DeHaan.  The Place Beyond the Pines opens in limited release on March 29th.  Hit the jump to check out the clip, TV spot and new images.

Ryan Gosling continues to fill out the cast of his upcoming directorial debut, How to Catch a Monster, as yet another impressive actor has joined the ensemble.  It was announced today that Saoirse Ronan is signing on to the project, with the cast now including Christina Hendricks, Eva Mendes, Matt Smith (Doctor Who), and Ben Mendelsohn (Killing Them Softly).  Details regarding most of the characters are unknown at this time, but Gosling wrote the script and will direct the film, which is described as a modern day fairytale.

Ronan has been nabbing some high profile projects as of late, and she’ll next be seen as the lead in director Andrew Niccol’s adaptation of the Stephenie Meyer sci-fi novel The Host in March.  She’s currently filming Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel and will also lead Mary Queen of Scots.  Hit the jump for more details on How to Catch a Monster. 

Check out the latest casting news for the following pictures:

• Eva Mendes (Sin City) joins How to Catch a Monster, the directorial debut of Ryan Gosling that stars Christina Hendricks and Ben Mendelsohn.
• Jane Levy (Evil Dead) will join the horror thriller In a Dark Place, directed by Bharat Nalluri (Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day).
• The Rover begins production and rounds out their cast with Susan Prior (Animal Kingdom), Gillian Jones (Oscar and Lucinda), Anthony Hayes (Burning Man) and David Field (Chopper).
• Son of a Gun also adds new cast members by way of Alicia Vikander (Anna Karenina), Jacek Koman (The Great Gatsby) and Brenton Thwaites (Maleficent).

Hit the jump for more on each picture and casting announcement.

Eleven new images from Derek Cianfrance‘s The Place Beyond the Pines have been released.  The film centers on a generational conflict involving two fathers: one a pro-motorcycle rider and bank robber (Ryan Gosling) and a rookie cop on the rise (Bradley Cooper).  Saying more would be detrimental to your enjoyment of the film, and I would encourage you to be very careful when reading about it.  I saw the movie at TIFF, and it has a good chance of being on my Top 10 films of 2013.  I’m a little surprised the film is getting released in March since it could have some serious awards potential.

Hit the jump to check out the images (don’t worry; they’re not spoilery).  The film also stars Eva Mendes, Ray Liotta, and Dane DeHaan.  The Place Beyond the Pines opens in limited release on March 29th.

We’ve got a round-up of some of the latest posters from the following movies:

• The Incredible Burt Wonderstone starring Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Olivia Wilde, Alan Arkin, James Gandolfini, Jim Carrey, Jay Mohr, and Michael Bully Herbig.  The Incredible Burt Wonderstone opens March 15th.

• From Up on Poppy Hill, a Studio Ghibli film written by Hayao Miyazaki and featuring the voices of Gillian Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Christina Hendricks, Ron Howard, Chris Noth, Aubrey Plaza, and Anton Yelchin.  From Up on Poppy Hill opens March 15th in New York and L.A. before expanding on March 29th.

• Top Gun 3D stars Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Kelly McGillis, Anthony Edwards, and Tom Skerritt.  Top Gun 3D will have a 6-day-only IMAX 3D engagement from February 8 – 13th.

• The Place Beyond the Pines stars Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Dane DeHaan, and Eva Mendes.  The Place Beyond the Pines opens March 29th.  Click here for my review from TIFF.

Hit the jump to check out the posters and synopses for the films.

What’s the best course of action should you ever find yourself a boring married person who’s hesitant to cash in “movie favors” due to the fear that your return favor will come in the form of the next four Katherine Heigl movies? Align yourself with like-minded boring married people and schedule yourself a significant-other-free triple feature. This advice comes directly from my own playbook and is the reason why this week’s Top 5 is arriving a little earlier than usual; so that I can make time to check out Gangster Squad, Zero Dark Thirty, and Django Unchained all in one glorious day. While you likely didn’t come here for relationship advice, as an added bonus to an already robust palette of content, I’m confident that you’re getting your time’s worth and then some.

All creative thinking pertaining to movies and how we can watch them while in a relationship aside, this week saw the announcement of the 2013 Oscar nominations, a little Evil Dead remake set visit coverage, Gangster Squad interviews with Ruben Fleischer and more, a healthy portion of posters and images from Harmony Korine‘s Spring Breakers, and developing news regarding Christopher Nolan potentially taking on Interstellar as his next directorial effort. All of the above resides in brief recap and link form after the jump.