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STAR WARS IS BEING KICK-STARTED WITH DYNAMITE J.J. ABRAMS TO DIRECT STAR WARS: EPISODE VII . After a bevy of emails and phone calls, the formalities have been wrapped up, and at long last everyone can exhale and properly share the word with an excited Internet. Yes, J.J. Abrams will direct Star Wars: Episode VII , the first of a new series of Star Wars films to come from Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy. Abrams will be directing and Academy Award-winning writer Michael Arndt will write the screenplay. "It's very exciting to have J.J. aboard leading the charge as we set off to make a new Star Wars movie," said Kennedy. "J.J. is the perfect director to helm this. Beyond having such great instincts as a filmmaker, he has an intuitive understanding of this franchise. He understands the essence of the Star Wars experience, and will bring that talent to create an unforgettable motion picture." George Lucas went on to say "I've

RED DAWN Blu-Ray Review By: MattInRC RED DAWN offers a good (but not great) video and audio experience in a film that holds up fairly well...sort of. As an 80's child who grew up on television's first forays into quality spy thrillers like Airwolf and The Equalizer , I can remember the release of the original  RED DAWN  as more of a yawnfest than a gritty interpretation of a conventional World War III. At the time, I remember thinking that invasion was not only a possibility but a certainty; The Day After had been released in 1983, occupying my nightmares for a week. But, the film never connected with me for some reason - perhaps its happy ending didn't match my new perceptions of war in the nuclear age. To be honest, I've hadn't watched either film since their initial releases because of my impulsive reaction to them. But with the release of the disappointing remake, a revisiting of the original Red Dawn now on Blu-ray made it a little more timely, w

HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS Review By: MattInRC HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS is wickedly delicious fun. Just check any desire for reality at the door. January 2013 has turned into an exceptional month for new films. With releases like Gangster Squad , Broken City , and even Promised Land offering deeper, non-throwaway fare,  HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS  arrives needing to prove its meddle to keep this surprising January run going. Luckily, the film does just that, delivering great action, a tight (albeit short) story, and solid acting by its stars. Based on the Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm fairy tale of the same name, HG:WH is basically Part 2 of the story, following the adventures of siblings Hansel ( Jeremy Renner , The Avengers) and Gretel ( Gemma Arterton , Clash of the Titans) after they escape certain death during childhood to become prolific contract killers. Armed with an array of high-tech gadgetry (reminding one of 19th Century 007's) Ha

Have you been chosen? Check your status by visiting youhavebeenchosen.org , and connect via Facebook, to find out. You can browse your own alien file filled with personal info including: Your Terrestrial ID, Body Scan, Location, Image Capture, Social Colonization, Abduction Status and More. Use the site to share the information or warn friends about their own impending abduction, and be entered for a chance to win an iPad mini. Just remember: You cannot escape them. Once you have been chosen you belong to them. DARK SKIES stars Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton, Dakota Goyo, Kadan Rockett and J.K. Simmons . DARK SKIES is being released in theaters everywhere February 22nd. From the producer of Paranormal Activity, Insidious, and Sinister comes Dark Skies: a supernatural thriller that follows a young family living in the suburbs. As husband and wife Daniel and Lacey Barret witness an escalating series of disturbing events involving their family, their safe and peaceful home

IFC's THE TASTE OF MONEY opens in select theaters today and is now available to watch on SundanceNOW ! The film is critically acclaimed director Im Sang-soo's follow up to The Housemaid . In a mansion on the outskirts of Seoul lives one of the richest families in the entire country. Yoon is the president of a powerful conglomerate, but it’s his wife Madame Baek that is really in control. Her personal secretary Young-jak, a handsome young man newly introduced to the world of power, deals with the families immoral – and frequently illegal – activities. He makes sure that the Baeks’ influential American business partner has supply of hookers and waits for his own opportunity to make it rich. But everything changes when Madame Baek catches her husband having an affair with their Filipino maid and exacts her revenge by seducing Young-jak. Young-jak however has secrets of his own, as he finds himself drawn closer and closer to Nami, Madame Baek’s beautiful young daughter. But

AMC Theatres® Hosts Seventh Annual Best Picture Showcase . AMC Theatres' Oscar® Tradition to Feature All Nine Best Picture Nominees; Tickets on Sale Friday, Jan. 11 for Special Event on Feb. 16 and 23. The Best Picture nominees have been announced and for the seventh straight year, AMC Theatres (AMC) is proud to announce its AMC Best Picture ShowcaseSM, an event much anticipated by movie lovers nationwide. Since 2007, AMC has offered guests the rare opportunity to experience every movie nominated for Best Picture by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for one great price.11 The nine Best Picture nominees will be shown on Saturday, Feb. 16 and Saturday, Feb. 23 at more than 100 theatres in nearly every AMC market in the United States. Plus, 12 select theatres will host a Best Picture movie marathon where guests can watch all nine movies in a row. "This has become a must-attend event for movie lovers around the country," said Stephen Colanero, executiv

Here is some new news from our buddies over at TheArnoldfans . They got the inside scoop on a few items concerning THE LEGEND OF CONAN . THE LEGEND OF CONAN will once again star Arnold Schwarzenegger . The story is said to be a sequel to the 1984 movie, Conan The Barbarian, and it will act as if both Conan The Destroyer and the 2011 reboot, starring Jason Momoa, never existed. Here is Arnold talking about the upcoming role: “Well, age doesn't mean anything to me, because I work out every day. I work out twice a day, as a matter of fact. At night I work out with weights, and in the morning I do cardiovascular training. So for me, to get on the set and to swing the sword around again and to ride the horses and all those things doesn't mean anything [does not scare me], because I feel like I did thirty years ago. So as long as I stay in shape, that’s the key thing, and to keep your body young. Even though you do feel the pain when you wipe out and when you do your fight s

The Weinstein Company has set a May production start in Asia on a sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon . There is a script by John Fusco, and TWC is in talks with veteran Chinese director Ronny Yu. Harvey Weinstein is producing. The new film is derived from the same source material as the Ang Lee -directed 2000 film that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and three other Academy Awards. Lee isn’t involved in this one, which is based on Silver Vase, Iron Knight. That is the fifth book in the Crane-Iron Pentalogy by Wang Du Lu. Crouching Tiger was the fourth book in the series. Fusco, whose credits include Spirit, Hidalgo and The Forbidden Kingdom, is an avid follower of Wu Sia, the centuries-old genre of Chinese fiction that this series is part of. “This was an opportunity to explore a lifelong passion I’ve had for Wu Sia, and if there wasn’t continuing source material, I would never have gotten involved,” Fusco told me. The sequel continues to revolve around Yu S