Jacob Hall
What looked like one of the big box office showdowns of the summer turned out to not be battle at all. Not only did 'Fast and Furious 6' take the number one spot at the box office, it did it while shattering records, leaving 'The Hangover Part 3' coughing on its exhaust.
'Star Wars Episode 7' will bring back original franchise cast members like Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, but we may have learned which new actor will be joining them in the most anticipated film in years. Drumroll, please...are 'Star Wars' fans ready to see Jonathan Rhys Meyers join the saga?
The great Kristen Wiig returned to host SNL this week, giving the show an opportunity to resurrect all of the characters that vanished from show since her departure a year ago. Although many great characters came back, none were quite as exciting as the return of Target Lady, one of the most popular characters in all of modern SNL.
After an early marketing campaign that did everything in its power to hide plot details, 'The Hangover Part 3' has started revealing its secrets at a rapid-fire pace. First, there was the recent trailer that finally let us in on the plot of the film. Now, we have the first clip, which sheds some light on what appears to be the film's main conflict.
Last week, we got our first unofficial look at Jamie Foxx in full makeup as the villainous Electro in 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2.' Today, two new images have arrived to get fans chatting: we've got our first official image of Foxx and our first look at Dane DeHaan's Harry Osborn. Check them both out below.
Tom Cruise and science fiction are a powerful combination. Although the opening weekend of 'Oblivion' didn't break any records big or small, it's a more than solid start for a non-franchise, non-sequel, non-reboot. That's a sad statement on the current state of Hollywood, but that's another topic for another day.
After the 'Matrix' trilogy, Keanu Reeves became synonymous with stylized martial arts goodness, so it's no surprise that his directorial debut is all about tough men kicking the snot out of each other. The first trailer and poster for 'Man of Tai Chi' have arrived and if you're the kind of person who likes movies where shirtless men punch each other across rooms, you're going to want to check 'em out.
Legendary film critic Roger Ebert has passed away at the age of 70, leaving a massive void in the world of film analysis and criticism that is unlikely to be filled anytime soon. His impact on his field and how people watch and talk about movies cannot be underestimated. However, there's a reason he was the most influential and widely read critics of all time: he was a damn great writer.
For the second week in a row, 'Oz the Great and Powerful' lived up to its title and dominated the box office. One of the newcomers managed to fare surprisingly well in the face of Sam Raimi's blockbuster...but another simply got crushed.
After a series of increasingly dire weeks at the box office, 'Oz the Great and Powerful' arrived and shook things up in a major way, earning the first truly massive opening weekend of 2013 and setting the table for all kinds of Oz-related content in the near future. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is something that we'll let you judge.
In retrospect, it's easy to say "Of course the new 'Die hard' movie was going to open at number one at the box office!" but you can bet Bruce Willis and company were a little worried. After all, 'A Good Day to Die Hard' opened in the wake of the failure of 'The Last Stand,' 'Parker' and 'Bullet to the Head,' three other macho, R-rated movies starring modern action icons. However, the strength of the 'Die Hard' brand seems to have broken that trend: John McClane's fifth outing made $25 million over the weekend.
Is Jessica Chastain a movie star? Probably not. At least not yet. However, this weekend proved that she's well on her way to being one. Headlining the top two films at the box office in a single weekend is a great start. The Oscar nomination certainly doesn't hurt either.