Sad news for those of you who were looking forward to seeing Raging Bull 2: it’s still in development, but has changed its title to The Bronx Bull.  A lawsuit filed by MGM claimed the right of first refusal of a sequel by the studio, as they owned both Jake LaMotta’s life rights and the feature rights tied to Martin Scorsese’s original film.  The title change reflects LaMotta’s nickname and the producers will publicly dissociate their project from Scorsese’s picture and MGM studios.

The Martin Guigui (Beneath the Darkness) picture stars William Forsythe (Boardwalk Empire) as an older LaMotta with Mojean Aria (Cross Life) as a younger version.  The picture also stars Tom Sizemore (Heat), Joe Mantegna (Criminal Minds), Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas) and Penelope Ann Miller (The Artist).  The title change notice comes via THR.

If you’ve ever wanted to know what happened in middleweight boxer Jake LaMotta’s early life that made him such a Raging Bull in his later years, then Raging Bull II is the movie for you!  The new prequel/sequel, which recently began filming, highlights LaMotta’s life “before the rage and after the rage” found in the original Martin Scorsese picture, starring Robert DeNiro (neither of whom is attached to Raging Bull II).  The Martin Guigui (Beneath the Darkness) picture stars William Forsythe (Boardwalk Empire) as an older LaMotta with Mojean Aria (Cross Life) as a younger version.  The picture also stars Tom Sizemore (Heat), Joe Mantegna (Criminal Minds), Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas) and Penelope Ann Miller (The Artist). Hit the jump to check out the first images and press release for Raging Bull II.

Daryl Hannah, Tom Sizemore, and Thora Birch will star in director Fabien Martorell’s upcoming adaptation of the Chuck Palahniuk novel Snuff.  The Cult [via AICN] reports that Hannah has been cast as Cassie Wright, an aging porn star who is planning to film a 600-man gangbang as her last film.  Sizemore will be playing Mr. 600, the man who is responsible for introducing Cassie to the business.  Meanwhile, Birch (who happens to be the daughter of two porn stars in real life) will play the role of a “talent wrangler” named Sheila.

I still have yet to read Palahniuk’s book, but I’m always happy to see Hannah, Sizemore, and Birch getting more prominent roles.  All three actors are, in my opinion, underrated and underused.  Hit the jump to read the plot synopsis for the Palahniuk novel.

As The Expendables looks to blow its way onto the big screen, Lionsgate has returned to the somewhat honorable practice of releasing tie-in titles on Blu-ray. This includes an extended cut of Rambo, the 1989 Sylvester Stallone prison picture Lock Up, and – from the same year – the Walter Hill minor classic Johnny Handsome. Though Rambo was made twenty years after the fact, they all feel very late 80’s in their way, which is perfect in setting the tone for The Expendables. All of the three are very enjoyable in a machismo, cheap beer sort of way, and with talents like Stallone, Donald Sutherland, Tom Sizemore, Sonny Landam, John Amos, Frank McRae, Mickey Rourke, Lance Henriksen, Ellen Barkin, Morgan Freeman, and Forrest Whitaker adding oomph to the cast, there’s a lot of red meat to chew on. My reviews of the Rambo: Extended Cut, Lock Up, and Johnny Handsome on Blu-ray after the jump.

Catalog titles FTW. I am one of those rare people who enjoy being “double dipped.” I like upgrading to Blu-ray if I love a film, because you only get to watch a movie for the first time once, and so a different and better transfer is a reason (at least for me) to get excited about a film you’ve seen a number of times. When I would go see something in the theater on multiple occasions, I’d often go to different theaters (or failing that, different seats). My reviews of the Blu-rays of Heat and Logan’s Run after the jump.

Nick Cannon’s stars as soon to be combat soldier Mike is this hybrid soldier/coming of age story. It seems clear that Cannon is making a play to be taken serious in this role, hoping to move on from lighter fare like Drumline. It’s a risky move; will Cannon prevail and show off his overlooked acting chops, or will he prove to be yet another shallow pretty face with nothing more than a smart mouth and flash in the pan success? Hit the jump to find out.