Here’s the first poster for Judd Apatow’s This is 40, the upcoming sorta sequel to Knocked Up.

In addition to Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann reprising their roles from Knocked Up, Jason Segel, Megan Fox, Lena Dunham (Girls rules), and Melissa McCarthy also star.

It’s my #5 most anticipated film and the trailer did nothing to change that.  Roll on December 21st.

Related posts:

1. New poster for MACGRUBER
2. Poster for GIRLS
3. Poster for 2 BROKE GIRLS

The first poster for THIS IS 40 HollywoodHubbub

I started reading the script for Passion Play over a year and a half ago and despite being pretty excited about the concept, I found myself disliking it very quickly.  It tells the story of an angel under the thumb of a ruthless gangster who’s saved by a trumpet player down on his luck.  I’m holding out hope that the final product is better than what was on the page.

The film stars Megan Fox, Mickey Rourke and Bill Murray, so at least it has that going for it.  Check out the poster below.

Related posts:

1. New poster for MACGRUBER
2. New poster for WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
3. Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox leaving Paris

First poster for PASSION PLAY starring Megan Fox HollywoodHubbub

Here’s the new UK quad poster for Megan Fox’s Jennifer’s Body.

I really like this one because it shows three of the main actors from the film and doesn’t just rely on Megan Fox in a schoolgirl uniform like the other variants.

I highly enjoyed the film (you can read my review here) so I encourage everyone who hasn’t seen it yet to give it a shot.  You may be pleasantly surprised.

(source = IMP Awards)

Related posts:

1. New poster and video for JENNIFER’S BODY
2. JENNIFER’S BODY review
3. The regular trailer for JENNIFER’S BODY

UK poster for JENNIFER’S BODY HollywoodHubbub

I was at a BBQ on the weekend and we somehow managed to get onto the topic of Megan Fox and it was surprising how quickly the conversation turned nasty.  A couple of the people involved in the discussion are good friends of mine and I felt for sure they would like and defend Fox, but to my surprise they were equally against her.

Some of the comments were that she’s a bitch, an obvious reference to her comments about Michael Bay.  Never mind that she’s just saying what everyone else already says or thinks, namely that Bay is a hack that fills his movies with explosions and other mindless shit.  Her comments are no less valid just because he cast her.  If anything I admire her more for speaking her mind.  Since when did that become a bad thing?

Another comment against her was that she’s “covered in tattoos and she’s disgusting.”  From last count I could see two tattoos on her typically visible skin, the most prominent of which is the Marilyn Monroe portrait on her forearm.  No mention was made of Angelina Jolie’s numerous tattoos being “disgusting.”  In fact, another point was made that she’s trying to be another Angelina Jolie.  I guess there’s only allowed to be one hot brunette actress with tattoos.  Just more flawed logic and mean spirited comments.

The final remark was that she can’t act.  Roger Ebert said of her role in Jennifer’s Body that “Fox did her career a lot of good with the two “Transformer” movies, but this is her first chance to really perform, and you know what? She comes through.”  Aside from her two prominent roles in Transformers 1+2 and some other limited work, her resume is pretty bare.  And really, how much acting do you expect from these roles?  They’re not Schindler’s List.

I really don’t understand why there’s so much venom directed towards Fox.  What’s she done to deserve it?  Star in billion dollar grossing blockbusters, speak her mind, and have tattoos.  Is that reallt enough to justify hating her?  I like her, I like the movies she’s appeared in, and I’ll continue to watch her films for the forseeable future.  Next on the list, Jonah Hex.

Related posts:

1. Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox leaving Paris

Defending Megan Fox HollywoodHubbub

Written by: Diablo Cody
Directed by: Karyn Kusama
Genre: Comedy, horror, parody

Jennifer (Megan Fox) convinces her best friend Needy (Amanda Seyfried) to come see a rock band at their local bar.  After a fire rips through the bar the band take Jennifer into the woods and sacrifice her to Satan in order to become famous.  The sacrifice goes wrong and Jennifer becomes inhabited by a demon and in order to stay strong Jennifer feeds on the boys in her high school.  Needy is the only one who suspects anything and sets about stopping her.

I know, it doesn’t sound that great, and depending how you feel about Diablo Cody and Megan Fox this may in fact be a movie you couldn’t be paid to watch.  I on the other hand have been looking forward to Jennifer’s Body for quite some time now.  I’m a big fan of both Megan Fox and Diablo Cody but it wasn’t just the involvement of these two which made me keep an eye on Jennifer’s Body.  Truth be told I’m an even bigger fan of the supporting cast who include Amanda Seyfried (Veronica Mars), Adam Brody (The O.C.), Chris Pratt (Everwood, Parks & Recreation), the criminally underappreciated Kyle Gallner (Veronica Mars), J.K. Simmons and Amy Sedaris.

I dare say the main reason people will either dislike, or not see, Jennifer’s Body is because it’s written by Diablo Cody.  I think the main complaint about Diablo Cody is she tries too hard to make her dialogue creative and the vast majority of the time it’s a little too cute for it’s own good.  The fact is that people don’t speak like the characters she writes, and whilst this is kinda the appeal of Diablo Cody for me, I can understand why people are turned off by her work.  Whilst I’m not turned off by her work I do notice it, and sometimes it stretches even a little further than I’d like and it’s at this point that I’m taken out of the film.  I’d say on balance there are more instances like this in Jennifer’s Body than Juno, but on the whole even these instances don’t ruin the film for me, they just act as a minor distraction.  And in all honesty I’m not really sure why such vitriol has been directed towards Diablo Cody.  Maybe those who don’t like her work or begrudge her success should simply not watch her films.  That seems like a far more sensible thing to do than cover the internet in venom filled comments.

The great thing about Jennifer’s Body is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously and I really don’t think that it should be classified as a horror.  In fact, I’m not even sure if should be classified as a comedy either because if anything it’s a hybrid of horror, comedy and parody.  That might not be something that gets people into the cinema but it’s the closest approximation of what the film is.  A prime example is the lesbian kissing scene.  It was done almost as a wink to the audience and a nod to it’s 80′s horror movie roots.  Everyone (at least all the guys) want Jennifer and Needy to kiss, so Diablo Cody was good enough to write it.  It doesn’t really shape the story in any way, other than maybe highlighting the connection between Jennifer and Needy, but it’s another nod to the 80′s horror pedigree that it’s mocking/honouring.

Final mention should be made of the awesome Amanda Seyfried.  Whilst she may not be doing the talk show rounds like Megan Fox she’s just as important a part of the film as anyone.  Although she’s an absolute knockout she’s really dressed down in the film but still manages to be a beautiful captivating presence.  As weird as it sounds, those eyes of hers are mesmerizing.  I think I could probably watch a movie that just involved her staring at the screen for 90 minutes.  I realise that’s an odd thing to say but it’s probably at least 60% true.  That’s how much I love her.

RATING: 7/10

CONCLUSION
The special effects are average (but still vastly superior to Twilight), the story is nothing special, the dialogue is too cute for its own good at times, the twist ending (although I don’t actually think it’s meant to be a “twist ending”) is nothing special, it’s not particularly scary, and it’s not particularly funny.  But you know what, none of that matters to me.  The draw of Jennifer’s Body is the actors.  That’s pretty much it.  I love everyone in the film and the absolute main reason I wanted to see the film is because of all the actors in it.  I’m glad it turned out to be exactly as I expected.

Related posts:

1. The regular trailer for JENNIFER’S BODY
2. Two weeks until JENNIFER’S BODY
3. New poster and video for JENNIFER’S BODY

JENNIFER’S BODY review HollywoodHubbub

I love Megan Fox and I’m really looking forward to seeing her in Jennifer’s Body.  With that said, here’s the French poster for the flick and a video of her appearance on The Tonight Show the other day.

Related posts:

1. Two weeks until JENNIFER’S BODY
2. Video of BRUNO entrance for London premiere
3. The regular trailer for JENNIFER’S BODY

New poster and video for JENNIFER’S BODY HollywoodHubbub

I can’t for the life of me figure out why there’s such a backlash against Diablo Cody or her upcoming flick Jennifer’s Body, jealousy from writers concerning her rapid rise perhaps, but I’m very excited to see the flick when it comes out.  There also seems to be way more criticism of Megan Fox too.  So she starred in one of the biggest films of the year, is smoking hot, and speaks her mind.  Since when was that reason to cut her down.  Fucking idiots over at JoBlo.com.

Jennifer’s Body is due for release in two weeks for those in the US and 29th October for me here in Oz.

Check out some unseen footage in this b-roll from ET.

Related posts:

1. The regular trailer for JENNIFER’S BODY
2. 1st weeks guests for JAY LENO SHOW announced
3. International trailer for LAND OF THE LOST

Two weeks until JENNIFER’S BODY HollywoodHubbub

Fresh out of Comic Con comes the new poster for Jonah Hex.

The film tells the story of scarred bounty hunter who tracks a voodoo practitioner bent on liberating the South by raising an army of the undead.  It stars Josh Brolin, Megan Fox, Will Arnett and John Malkovich.

I’m a massive fan of Will Arnett and Megan Fox is probably the hottest chick on the planet right now, so that means I’m gonna be in line when this opens some time in August next year.

(source = IMP Awards)

Related posts:

1. LaBeouf and Fox photocall for TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
2. UK poster for THE INVENTION OF LYING
3. TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN review

New poster for JONAH HEX HollywoodHubbub

Here’s the standard trailer for the upcoming Megan Fox starring horror/comedy Jennifer’s Body.  It’s kinda shitty.  Not the film but the standard trailer.

I’m really glad that I saw the red band version first ‘cos if I’d seen the standard one I’d probably have avoided this flick like the plague.  I think you get a far better sense of the humour in the film from the red band version than the regular one, and I think it’s that aspect which is gonna really make or break the film.

I’m actually really excited to see this one.  How can you not be when it stars Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Adam Brody, Chris Pratt, Kyle Gallner, J.K. Simmons and Amy Sedaris.  Plus I’m an unapologetic Diablo Cody fan.

The film opens on 18th September.

Regular version

Red Band version

Related posts:

1. Red band trailer for DEADGIRL
2. THIRST red band trailer
3. ZOMBIELAND trailer is out

The regular trailer for JENNIFER’S BODY HollywoodHubbub

First I have to say that whilst I didn’t hate the first Transformers, I wasn’t particularly thrilled by it either.  I hated the hip-hop jive talking robots and their lame attempt at jokes, the transformations were far too “busy” for my liking, and the fight sequences between the Autobots and Decepticons were difficult to keep track of because of the quick cuts and motion.

Thankfully these complaints have been addressed in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.  The jive talk has been reduced, although not eliminated, the transformations are still too “busy” but the amount of time spent actually seeing them has been lessened, and for the most part the fights between the Autobots and Decepticons have been reduced in complexity.

The comedy elements in Revenge are also greater in number and seem to work better, plus they’re definitely funnier than the original, perhaps because they come from the human characters rather than the robots.  Of particular note is Sam’s new roommate (Ramon Rodriguez) and his mother (Julie White) who has some awesome lines and delivers them in often hilarious ways.

As for the cast, the hot tech girl and her black mate from the first film don’t return, and I’m pretty damn happy about that.  Obviously Megan Fox is back, but she seems to have more screen-time and more to do within the actual story.  Plus I don’t think there’s a more perfect women in Hollywood right now, she’s just about as perfect as you can get.  Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson are also back and with more to do, and so is the fabulous John Turturro.  As for Shia LaBeouf, I know there are people who hate him, probably because of the shithouse Indy 4, but I really like him.  He’s his usual hyper manic self, screaming and yelling and stammering out lines.  He does it often, but he does it well.  Besides, if Michael Cera can play the same guy in every movie he does, why can’t Shia LaBeouf.  He’s certainly developing into the next big thing and I think it suits him, I just hope he comes to his senses and decides to do Y: The Last Man because I think he’d be great as Yorick.

Another thing which I thought was great was the introduction of the Primes and the revelation that they’d been on Earth for centuries.  It was really cool when they went to the Smithsonian and used the All-Spark slither to reanimate the old plane.  He was an impressive character who I thought served the story well, and it added an interested bit of background and history to the Transformers.  I would have liked it if they had tracked down some of the other ones who appeared in the top secret photos, but you can’t have everything.

Ultimately I went in expecting to be disappointed because I was let down by the first one, but it didn’t take long for me to realise that Revenge was much better than the original.  It’s hard to pinpoint why exactly it’s better but it is.  Maybe it’s just a combination of all the elements fitting together as a nice cohesive whole, coupled with a few minor adjustments.  I’d say a third film in the franchise is a given, and you can count on me being there to see it on opening day.

Pros:

• The special effects are amazing
• The vastly improved comedic elements
• Megan Fox’s awesome hotness
• The wiseguy remote control car Decepticon
• The Devastator

Cons:

• The racist twin hatchbacks
• The lack of screen-time for The Fallen
• Megatron getting his ass kicked so easily
• The hot chick who makes out with Sam
• The almost endless circling around Sam and Mikaela when he leaves for college

Final Grade: B-

Way better than the first one, but still nothing really noteworthy. Just good blockbuster popcorn material. It’ll look awesome on Blu-ray too.

Related posts:

1. 3 new TV spots for TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
2. New TV spot for TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
3. LaBeouf and Fox photocall for TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN review HollywoodHubbub