
The Muppets are hitting back to the big screens as director James Bobin and original co-writer, Nicholas Stoller came to an agreement of a new sequel to this comedy-drama film. No additional details on the plot were given but Bobin will most likely direct this sequel.
However, star of The Muppets and How I Met Your Mother, Jason Segel, will not collaborate with the script this time as he claims to have other commitments at hand, which includes his April-due promotional work Five Year Engagement and Judd Apatow’s This Is Forty which is due in December.
It is indeed a waste not to have Segel’s involvement in the script, as Stoller and him were greatly passionate for this film to grow. They pitched their idea for a Muppets sequel back in December 2008. Well, Segel is indeed ‘a muppet of a man’ but nevertheless, we should have faith in the existing writers or so does Segel.
Apparently, despite Segel’s heavy schedule, there may be a chance of him returning as the star of the sequel but it all depends on Stoller and Bobin’s script.
For now, let us wait for more news to come, but most importantly, await this anticipated sequel for all Muppet fans!
- Vulture
January calls for an exciting film-a-thon with 11 new movies being released this month, some of which have already been released :
January 6

Stars: Fernanda Andrade, Simon Quarterman and Evan Helmuth
A horror genre film, The Devil Inside screams of exorcism, as Isabella goes through a series of illegal exorcism to help her possessed mother recover but later discovers about her very own mother murdering three others during her own exorcism.
(The Devil Inside is top on the Box Office with a weekend gross of $34.5 million and $34.5 million to date, to tepid critical response. )

Stars: Dennis Quaid
Beneath the Darkness unfolds the mystery behind a mortician, Ely Vaughn, as a group of high-school goers expose the secret behind Vaughn’s roommate: a woman’s corpse.
January 12

Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Giovanni Ribisi and Mark Wahlberg
Contraband depicts a thriller-action sequence of events when a former smuggler Chris Farrady makes his way to Panama to pay off his brother-in-law’s debt to a drug lord by investing in counterfeit bills.
(Box Office updates on Contraband hitting first place with $8.7 million on Friday.)

Stars: Paige O’Hara and Robby Benson
This animated 1991 re-release takes audience back into the olden days as the studious book-loving inventor’s daughter, Belle, and the handsome man turned ugly monster, Beast, returns to the big screen with amazingly performed chords and set pieces like the “Busby Berkeley-style dancing-kitchenware spectacular, ”Be Our Guest,” and the romantic ballroom centerpiece”.
January 13

Stars: Peter Facinelli, Jaimie Alexander and Michael Madsen
Loosies follows Bobby through his professional pick-pocket business in New York’s subway, only ending up leaving a woman, Lucy, three-month pregnant after a one-night stand.

Stars: Jessica Brown-Findlay, Felicity Jones and Sebastian Koch
Albatross is a drama and comedy film of an intellectual, Beth, as her family’s quite existence is ruined after the affair unfolds between Emilia, the new housekeeper, and Jonathan, Beth’s father.

Stars: Queen Latifah, Keke Palmer and Dolly Parton
Joyful noise takes on the musical genre with catchy and feet-tapping numbers, heading straight to The National Joyful Competition as Vi Rose Hill takes the directions on her hands in G.G. Sparrows choir ensemble.
(Beauty and the Beast 3D takes the second place after Contraband, taking $5.6 million on Friday.)
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Upcoming Movies:
January 20

Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Michael Ealy and India Eisley
Another vampire-thrilled installment, Underworld: Awakening takes on the war by both humans and vampires as they fight to eradicate both species. Vampire Selene takes on the battle to fight for her humankind after escaping 12 years of imprisonment.

Stars: Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrence Howard
A WWII centric film, Red Tails is a story about an African-American pilot team in a Tuskegee training program. As the Africans take the backseat to the Americans when airpower is needed despite their ample flying skills, they risk their lives and own the skies to combat their enemy counterparts when a sudden dangerous mission arises.

Stars: Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, Channing Tatum, Michael Douglas and Gina Carano
An action-packed thriller film, Haywire takes the role of a former marine, Mallory Kane, into prominence as she sets on kick-ass revenge when she is betrayed by whom she always reports her worldwide underground missions to.
January 27

Stars: Katherine Heigl and Jason O’Mara
Divorcee Stephanie Plum, unemployed and penniless, is hired as a recovery agent at a cousin’s company. She brings in a murder suspect, Joe Morellia, who turns out to be a former sweetheart from her high school days. As One for the Money goes on, Morellia’s fall for Plum takes on.

Stars: Liam Neeson, Dermot Mulroney and Frank Grillo
The Grey follows an oil-rig crew, with leader Ottway, in the bleak Alaskan wilderness after their plane crashes. With only a few days left to seek shelter as the freezing temperatures and treacherous terrains start to hamper their efforts, they are in a dead zone with a pack of wolves preying on them as they get weaker.

Stars: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks and Jamie Bell
Man on a Ledge takes on the crime-thriller genre as it explores the root cause of Nick Cassidy’s crime after being accused of a $40 million jewel theft by a corrupt businessman David Englander. The ex-con grabs the attention by planting himself on a ledge of a high-rise hotel, in the hope to clear his name.
Entertainment Weekly — Coming Soon ( Header pic courtesy of Paper-Leaf )
As Daniel craig makes his anticipating reprisal of James Bond in Skyfall, the film series also celebrates 50 years of undoubted full-on entertainment this year!
In celebration of Bond’s 50th anniversary, Bond 50 was brought to light by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studios and Twenteith Century Fox at the Computer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. This collectible box-set consists of 22 James Bond films on Blu-ray. This is indeed, the first ever package of films to be offered in such a composition.
Bond 50, as described by the official press release, “showcases fifty years of Bond neatly packaged into one cool, sleek collectable box-set featuring all six iconic James Bond actors”. From Dr. No to Quantum of Solace, this package contains all 22 James Bond feature films, along with 130 hours of bonus features which include new and exclusive content.
“With all 22 feature films available on Blu-ray in one collection for the first time this is a great way for fans to catch up on 007’s epic journey before Skyfall hits theaters next Fall,” said Michael Brown, Senior Vice President, MGM Home Entertainment.
I’d say, a fully-fledged home entertainment package indeed.
However, Bond 50 is just the tip of the iceberg. Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and Eon Productions informs of exciting activities in store to commemorate Bond’s 50 years of undefined entertainment.
“We are also delighted that Fox has unveiled a specially designed anniversary poster which we hope the fans will love as much as we do. Our website, 007.com will be regularly updated with all the latest anniversary news and events.”
Bond 50 will be released on 1st October 2012 but pre-order services are available at various online outlets.
Written by Parveen Maghera
The Dark Knight Rises official trailer shines an unforgiving light on Batman’s arduous challenge yet: to defeat Bane.
After the teaser, the trailer gives audiences a greater view of Bane’s demon-like demeanour and introduces Catwoman into Gotham City (played by Anna Hathway).
Released by Warner Brothers earlier this week, the trailer had hit 12.5 million views within the first 24 hours of release, breaking the existing record for iTunes trailer downloads.
“The trailer went online on Monday at 10:00 am and was soon being watched again (and again) by fans, who parsed over every enigmatic detail”, as quoted from Moviefone.
Following the trailer, Warner Bros. recently released new images for The Dark Knight Rises, unveiling Batman’s new wicked weapon and not forgetting, his wondrous Batpod. Images also include Bane in his newly stacked half-armour suit.
Starring Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Gary Oldman, the Dark Knight Rises is set 8 years after the events of The Dark Knight (a prior instalment released in 2008) where terrorist leader Bane, played by Tom Hardy, pushes Gotham City into yet another series of bloodcurdling events. Batman, played by Christian Bale, returns with an everlasting impression to destroy evil and to end the legend, for good.

With its trailer exhibiting a considerable impression of what the film depicts, it would be a long wait for the full film to be released.
20 July 2012 is the release date for the film in the UK.
Warner releases new Dark Knight Rises images- Total Film
Apple’s iProducts. South Korean pop music. Air.
These things are everywhere. You can’t avoid them without making a conscious effort.
In a word, ubiquitous.
That word is bandied around a lot in the documentary Helvetica. The film is directed and produced by Gary Hustwit, and was released in 2007 to coincide with the fiftieth birthday of the font typeface family.
With the subject of Helvetica seeming to be anything but complex, one would expect the rest of the film to follow suit by being similarly transparent; indeed, Helvetica is made up of footage of ranting old men, among other things. This, however, is where the film truly shines.
Read More >As Hollywood wakes from a turkey-induced holiday coma, we take moment to briefly remember the victims of last [Black] Friday’s pepper-spray frenzy, puzzle at why ‘Breaking Dawn’ keeps its No.1 seat at last weekend’s box-office, and brace ourselves for the inevitable Cyber-Monday Apocalypse where ridiculously under-priced Blu-Ray movies will overturn world economies and kill us all.
But of course, who are we kidding? Let’s get to the movie news that actually matter.
Christian Bale Done With Batman, after ‘The Dark Knight Rises’
Says Bale, in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer “I wrapped a few days ago, so that will be the last time I’m taking that [Batman hood] off.”
This comes as no surprise, with Director Chris Nolan stating that the next Batman movie will also be his last. This also marks the end of what was an especially good run for the Batman movie series, which hasn’t always been spectacular.
As Bale also states :
“When you have the opportunity to be a character so many times, you develop another relationship with him, a more profound one.”
I wonder if George Clooney or Val Kilmer could say the same.
Speilberg Not Impressed With Movies Made Today:
It isn’t all that hard to imagine why really. The era of movies geared toward pre-pubescent ‘Tweens’, that brought us blockbuster hits such as ‘Never Say Never’ and ‘Twillight’, just isn’t impressing Speilberg. :
“There’s not a lot of films I’d watch that are made over the past 20 years, because I’m much more of a romantic.
“I like to go way back to the source. I look at a lot of silent movies for inspiration because they’re all told visually and they’re all told with hyper-extended performance and with wonderful use of a frame. It’s a way of getting my engine started.”
Just as an accompaniment to that,David Gritten over at The Telegraph wrote an interesting article on the rise of movie crowd-pleasers for grown-ups, such as ‘Hugo’ and ‘The Decendents’, which gives us hope for the future of great films.
Bret McKenzie Hints At A ‘Flight Of The Concords’ Movie
Oh, please make this happen.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bret McKenzie of the short-lived but well-loved HBO series hints at a ‘Flight Of The Concords’ movie saying : “We’re gonna try and do a movie,” he said. “We just need a story.” Bret McKenzie appearing at The Muppets movie première reunites with his former co-star Kristen Schaal, and co-creator James Bobin for musical work on the latest Muppets movie.
Speaking of which, we’re all still waiting for that Arrested Development movie, which I imagine must be in movie development hell right now (no pun intended).
And finally,
Time for the regular Twilight check in… and it looks like it still glitters. Making over $489.3 million Worldwide, ‘Breaking Dawn’ easily overshadowed the better reviewed, family-oriented new additions this week. ‘The Muppets’ which debut at $42 million over a the long holiday weekend leads the pack of ‘PG-ers’ with dancing penguins in ‘Happy Feet 2’, and ‘Hugo’ coming in at places No.3 and No.5 [respectively] on the Box Office charts.
The Decendents holds steady at No.10, capping off the Thanksgiving weekend.
Very recently, SGNewWave has had the pleasure to be invited to catch the opening film of the 15th Annual German Film Festival, Almanya — Willikomemen in Deutchland (Welcome to Germany). The film picked up a good couple of awards, including Best Film in Silver, and Best Screenplay, the recent German Film Awards 2011.
So while well aware of the critical acclaim the film had received, we asked some of the SGNW exco to give their some post-movie impressions, while at the post-screening buffet fresh from the screening, and famished.
So without much further ado, here’s our first ever, Nutshell Reviews for Almanya — Willikomemen in Deutchland .
Read More >