Clowning Around: The New Trailer for Álex de la Iglesia’s The Last Circus is…well…

Are you afraid of clowns?  I thought so. What about Spanish clowns? Sad clowns? Clowns in love? Machinegun wielding clowns dressed as the pope?

Not so much scared as utterly utterly confused…

Director Álex de la Iglesia’s film, The Last Circus (Balada Triste de Trompeta) seems to have all this and more. Winner of Best Screenplay and best director at the Venice Film Festival (2010) and a selection of the Toronto International Film Festival (2010), The Last Circus will be opening August 12 (2011) in select theatres. The new red-band trailer gives a taste of the chaos to come. I’m not one for copy and pasting press releases but this one is so pitch perfect I have to relay it in full. I have never, in my life, laughed so hard reading a movie synopsis.

MOVIE AT A GLANCE~Season of the Witch

Title: SEASON OF THE WITCH

Rating: PG-13
Genre: Medieval Horror/Fantasy
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman, Claire Foy

Geek Connection: Perlman is Hellboy. Cage named his son Kal-El
Reviewed By: NerdVortex

I Would Describe This Movie As… A generic Nicolas Cage movie dressed as a medieval epic, and quite possibly a joke on all of us.

See It If… You can’t pass up Nicolas Cage (and everyone else) attempting a half-assed British accent, want to watch something mind-numbingly silly with a bunch of drunk people, or it’s free.

Skip It If… You’re sane, hate Nicolas Cage, or can’t look past cavernous plot-holes.

Final Thought: Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman should be in a buddy-cop movie together, like Lethal Weapon…but not nearly as good.

Final Score: 5.2/10

New Francis Manapul Webseries Airs Tonight: Murdoch Mysteries-The Curse of the Lost Pharaohs

Are you a fan of CityTV’s Murdoch Mysteries? After tonight you might be. On June 7th (after the television premiere of their new season) the first webisode of Murdoch Mysteries: The Curse of the Lost Pharaohs, will debut online.  Here’s the best part: The artwork for the series has been done by Canadian comic book artist, Francis Manapul. Manapul has worked for Aspen, Top Cow, and signed an exclusive deal with DC comics.  His artwork has been featured in Witchblade, GI Joe, Superman Batman, and Adventure Comics, and well…it is stunning.

Murdoch Mysteries: Curse of the Lost Pharaoh Promo Art by Francis Manapul

Don’t believe me?  Check out his gallery.

The Murdoch Mysteries follows Detective William Murdoch as he solves crime in Toronto in the 1890s.  But unlike other detectives, he uses unusual methods, including fingerprinting and blood testing.  He’s a man before his time. For more information about the show visit their website at http://www.murdochmysteries.com/  In fact, visit the site anyway (if you have Flash).  The visual layout of the site is entertaining on its own.

Murdoch Mysteries: Curse of the Lost Pharaohs was producted by Smokebomb Entertainment and financed by Bell Broadcast New Media Fund and the Canada Media Fund. A new webisode will be available every Wednesday morning (and following tonight’s premiere) for 13 weeks. 

Head over to CityTv to watch the TRAILER and visit The Nerd Vortex each week for our Curse of the Lost Pharaohs recap. 

Murdoch Mysteries: Curse of the Lost Pharaohs by Francis Manapul

Canadian television paired with a Canadian artist, what could be better?

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Trailer Hits the Internet

Rooney Mara on W Magazine as Lisbeth Salander

David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is coming to theaters this December, but eager fans got their first glimpse of the American adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s best-sellers this week from an unlikely place–youtube.  A red-band trailer has surfaced on the internet showcasing Fincher’s vision of the dark (really dark story).  Quick edits and a thumping soundtrack (Trent Reznor & Karen O’s cover of The Immigrant Song) quickly tell us this will be no happy-go-lucky Christmas movie.  The film has a lot to live up to. The Swedish  film company Yellow Bird has already completed a hugely successful trilogy based on these novels, earning Noomi Rapace numerous awards for her portray of Lisbeth Salander.  Fincher’s version stars Rooney Mara, and Daniel Craig, and the footage give me hope that this version will do the story justice and keep it just as gritty as the original.

Still, The Hollywood Reporter seems to think something is fishy with this ‘leaked’ footage.  Does this cam version seem to perfect to you?  Could this be a viral attempt from Sony themself? Your guess is as good as mine.  Watch the trailer below and judge for yourself.

HBO Teases Game of Thrones Fans with 2 More Trailers

Emilia Clarke as Daenerys

HBO has given Game of Thrones fans what they’ve been waiting for. During Sunday’s True Blood pre-show HBO aired a variety of trailers and behind the scenes featurettes to celebrate and promote their 2010/2011 line-up. Game of Thrones got one of each.

Between the two trailers, fans can catch a glimpse of nearly all the major characters in the series. While there are a few costuming decisions and armor designs I question, the overall design looks great. I’m still pinching myself. This is really happening. Winter is actually coming.

In other news, Ian McNiece will no longer be playing Illyrio.  Do to scheduling conflicts Roger Allam will be taking over the role.

Warren Ellis is Seeing RED

Warren Ellis’s graphic novel RED will be making its way to the big screen this October, and with a star-studded cast including Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, and John Malkovich, how can it go wrong?

Below is the official synopsis.

 

 

RED

Cast: Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Karl Urban, Mary-Louise Parker, Brian Cox, Julian McMahon and Richard DreyfussComedy

Screenplay by: Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber

Directed by: Robert Schwentke

Genre: Action,

Based on the cult D.C. Comics graphic novels by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner, RED is an explosive action-comedy starring Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren.

Frank (Bruce Willis), Joe (Morgan Freeman), Marvin (John Malkovich) and Victoria (Helen Mirren) used to be the CIA’s top agents – but the secrets they know just made them the Agency’s top targets. Now framed for assassination, they must use all of their collective cunning, experience and teamwork to stay one step ahead of their deadly pursuers and stay alive. To stop the operation, the team embarks on an impossible, cross-country mission to break into the top-secret CIA headquarters, where they will uncover one of the biggest conspiracies and cover-ups in government history.

If you find yourself at Comic Con this afternoon, you might want to check out Hall H around 2:00, for exclusive footage. For the rest of us, character photos will have to do. Summit entertainment has released half a dozen character posters…hmmm….and they all seem to be RED. (See them after the cut)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Trailer

Can you say Epic?

New Green Hornet Trailer

Seth Rogan sheds the pounds to play Britt Reid, newspaper publisher turned superhero in Green Hornet, coming to theatres 2011.   After the death of his father, Reid (Rogan) becomes the masked hero, Green Hornet in order to find his father’s killer,with the help of martial artist and Tech expert Kato (Jay Chou).  Academy Award Winner Christoph Waltz, Cameron Diaz, and Edward Furlong round out the cast.  Watch the first official trailer after the cut.