The Playlist

Review: 'The Hangover Part II' Is A Lazy, Unpleasant & Unfunny Mess

By Drew Taylor
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May 25, 2011 3:24 AM
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9 Comments

Unlike most of the summer movies, which seem to be thundering into theaters without any real anticipation beyond the cacophonous marketing hype, "The Hangover Part II" seems to be a film people are unreasonably excited for. The 2009 original, directed by Todd Phillips, has metamorphosed from simply being the biggest R-rated comedy of all time (and winner of a Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Golden Globe) to being a movie that average filmgoers consider an instant "classic" of the genre and a staple of any fun-lover's DVD collection. (It's also the biggest selling comedy DVD of all time. Jesus.) The prospect of another movie, again starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis, coming this quickly, has been tantalizing for cinemagoers and something that is getting people really, really jazzed, which makes it somewhat harder to report that "The Hangover Part II" is one of the laziest, unself-aware and most unpleasant Hollywood products we've seen all year. And we just saw the fourth "Pirates Of The Caribbean" movie a couple of weeks ago.

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Rutger Hauer Thinks Christopher Nolan Should Make New 'Blade Runner' Film

By Cory Everett
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April 2, 2011 5:25 AM
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15 Comments

Usually when a studio announces it's digging through its archives to prequelize/sequelize/reboot its valuable properties, fans cry foul. But with certain studios taking a little more care these days with the creative teams behind those spinoffs, it's getting harder to tell the difference between a simple cash grab and genuine artistic endeavour. With Ridley Scott taking the helm of the prequel to his own classic "Alien" and lining up a pretty stellar cast, we're as hopeful as anyone that he can pull it off. And since the recent announcement that the rights had been secured for Scott's other sci-fi masterpiece "Blade Runner," fans of the cult film have wondered who might end up taking the reins. Just a few weeks ago the company who secured the rights, Alcon Entertainment, said they hadn't met with Scott yet, but the idea of him returning to the series would be "wonderful."

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Warner Bros. Chief Jeff Robinov Says They'll Reboot Batman Franchise & Chris Nolan Will Produce

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 29, 2011 4:14 AM
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14 Comments

Justice League, Wonder Woman & The Flash Films All In The WorksWhile we had our doubts yesterday about just how soon Warner Bros. planned on getting a Justice League movie into theaters, Hero Complex today confirms that yes, 2013 is the planned date -- just one year after both Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises" and Zack Snyder's "Superman: Man of Steel" hit theaters. It's a bold move and one we're not quite sure is the best option, however, comic fans have been salivating for the mega DC-superhero team up and the script is currently in the works. As fans know, George Miller nearly got his version off the ground but it was complicated by the writers' strike and subsequently fell apart. And while it remains to be seen who is directing and starring in the film (we presume Christian Bale won't be involved, but Henry Cavill will) the bottom line is: cinemagoers won't be without the iconic superheroes for too long.

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt To Play The Holiday Killer In 'The Dark Knight Rises'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 20, 2011 2:24 AM
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21 Comments

Update: So, was Variety wrong? Entertainment Weekly reports that Joseph Gordon-Levitt will not play Alberto Falcone (a.k.a. the Holiday Killer). Which site do you believe? Probably time to let more casting speculation begin.

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Juno Temple Headed To Gotham City For 'The Dark Knight Rises,' Joseph Gordon-Levitt Confirmed

By Gabe Toro
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March 18, 2011 12:58 PM
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12 Comments

The cast for "The Dark Knight Rises" continues to grow. Variety today confirmed that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is signed on for the superhero sequel, reuniting him with "Inception" director Christopher Nolan. Joining Gordon-Levitt in today's announcements is Juno Temple, the indie star of "Kaboom" and the upcoming "Cracks," who is said to be circling a role in the megablockbuster.

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Gary Oldman Hints 'The Dark Knight Rises' Will Feature Old School Villain

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 10, 2011 5:19 AM
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12 Comments

Gary Oldman has been doing the press rounds for "Red Riding Hood" and naturally, he's been grilled about "The Dark Knight Rises," but the veteran actor has been playing it cool and not spilling too many details on Christopher Nolan's highly anticipated and secretive sequel. What we do know is that Tom Hardy will be playing Bane and Anne Hathaway will be taking on Catwoman, though current rumors suggest she will be an ally instead of a foe. And now Oldman has hinted that another villain in the movie will be ripped from the classic pages of the comics.

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Liam Neeson Says He's Not Been Asked To Return For 'The Dark Knight Rises'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 5, 2011 7:48 AM
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7 Comments

Rutger Hauer Also Says He's Not Likely To Reprise His RoleAll we know so far about "The Dark Knight Rises" is that Christian Bale will play Bruce Wayne, Tom Hardy will take on the villain role of Bane and Anne Hathaway will purr as Catwoman. But that hasn't stopped speculation from running wild and one of the longest rumors knocking around the film is that Talia al Ghul is one of the major female roles still to be cast. If true, we speculated it would likely mean she would team with Bane to seek revenge on Batman for killing her father, Ra's Al Ghul, from "Batman Begins." Badass Digest recently spilled that according to their sources, Talia will head up The League Of Shadows and Catwoman will fight alongside Batman. And while we'll have to wait to see if that's accurate, Liam Neeson has confirmed that he's not been asked to return for the sequel.

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Will Catwoman Appear In 'The Dark Knight Rises'? Anne Hathaway (Sort Of) Says Yes

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 1, 2011 3:33 AM
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7 Comments

Granted, this is a little thin and it could ultimately mean pretty much nothing, but considering the plot details for "The Dark Knight Rises" will likely be under lock and key for a while yet, we'll take what we can get.

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Entertainment Weekly Pick The 25 Greatest Working Directors; Confirms The Fallacy Of Listmaking

By Oliver Lyttelton
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February 25, 2011 1:58 AM
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19 Comments

Lists are subjective. That's the joy of them, to some degree -- you get to see the tastes of others, and hopefully pick up a few tips for things you may have overlooked. And you're never going to find a list that you agree with 100%, particularly when the stakes are bigger -- lists of 'greatest films' or 'greatest directors' are a veritable minefield of disputes and feuds. But that doesn't change the fact that some lists are just dumb.

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