With its release coming up this weekend I'm gonna call it and say that Green Lantern will be one of the biggest flops of the summer.

I still think it's too early to say.  But just because I wanna play devil's advocate, I'm gonna proclaim that it's going to exceed all expectations.

I'll have a write-up on Super 8 in a bit, but I just wanted to mention I had THE most impressive trailer line-up before the movie started.  They played up the latest trailers for Captain America, Deathly Hallows Part 2, Transformers 3, and Cowboys and Aliens, one right after the other.  Finally seeing the trailers for Deathly Hallows and Transformers 3 on the big screen was a particular treat.

I mean that specifically in terms of box office by the way, not critical reaction.  I think the film is a tough sell and they haven't done a very good job marketing it (with the previews anyway) for opening weekend.  I do also think it doesn't look particularly great which means it won't hold up very well in following weeks.  And as Warners have apparently poured a ton of money into it that means it's got big flop potential.

But maybe DC have a bigger fan base for the character than I expect or it'll turn out to be good.

I expect Green Lantern to fare poorly with critics, too.  I imagine that they're experiencing superhero movie fatigue and will give Green Lantern a chilly reception unless it's particularly imaginative or well-crafted, which I doubt.

I'm going to a GL screening tomorrow - I'll leave some early impressions here after the show.

Don't be shy!  Create a new thread for it.

Seconded.

GL is only gettin about a 26% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and some other early reviews are not painting it in a good light.  I'm not gettin' my hopes up for this one... Ryan Reynolds abs only have so much power in them heh.

We've got our first trailer for Ghost Protocol.  Thoughts?

Needs more Ving Rhames, methinks.

Nice! Looks promising! The first Mission Impossible is still my favorite although I thought they did an excellent job with 3 as well. I'm thinking I'll definitely have to check this out.

The first official trailer for A Game of Shadows is up.  Ritchie's directorial fingerprints are all over this one.

I'm looking forward to Holmes, but I'm much more highly anticipating the Benedict Cumberbatch variety

Looks ok.  I'll probably see it.  I don't particularly care for the music in this trailer, though.  Ritchie's movies used to be so stylish and really used music to effect.  His "maturation" as a film maker sure has made him a lot less fun.

on a related note:

who else here is canceling netflix next month when they will begin charging 2 SEPARATE subscription fees. $7.99 for streaming, plus another $7.99 for sending 1 disc at a time.

I don't have netflix, but most of my friends do.  None of them use the disc service anymore.  Streaming is just too convenient.

I don't know.  Something seems off about Cruise in this trailer.  There isn't a trace of the confidence or swagger that I would expect him to exude in a role like this.  He looks out of place, actually, like a stranger in his own franchise.

Perhaps part of the problem is that he doesn't know how to act considering that the Mission: Impossible movies have been wildly inconsistent in tone and style.  Part of the problem certainly is that he looks old and tired, when just a few years ago he was managing to keep the ravages of time at bay (although perhaps with the help of some movie magic).  It's a shock to see a actor who rose to stardom when he was young and handsome suddenly have every one of his years etched into his face.

I dunno.  If anything, I think he's come to look more bitchin' with age.  And last year's Knight and Day did show that he can still do the roguish spy thing all right.

Although every celebrity who doesn't die young eventually loses the battle to hide his years, I find Cruise's aging particularly jarring because he made his name with Young Hotshot roles, and a defining characteristic of his celebrity is now well and truly gone.

I have no particular comment about Mr. Cruise, but the trailer for Ghost Protocol definitely left me cold, and I have no plans to see it.

Well he is still graceful and better than many but i too think he should be done with Mission Impossible series. From upcoming movies i am more excited for avengers and ghost rider than MI4.

So "Abduction" wins the award for most overplayed trailer I've seen this year.  And it's made so much worse by the fact that it's such a GOD AWFUL trailer -- so awful, that I had to excuse myself from the theater the last time it came on.  Look, I tend to give every movie of interest a fair shake regardless of ratings, but if this trailer is any indication, I wouldn't be surprised if that 4% on Rotten Tomatoes is fully justified.

The trailer for "Real Steel" is on near equal footing in terms of extensive air time.  But for some reason, I find myself oddly drawn to it -- and it's come to the point where I actually RELISH watching it.  It's not even the subject matter that's compelling. (Although seeing rock 'em sock 'em-like robots go at one another could end up being a lot of fun.)  Maybe it's because Hugh Jackman is so much more desirable to look at than Taylor Lautner.  Or maybe it's because seeing a movie about an up and coming underdog is more appealing than seeing some lame teen hotshot masquerading as Jason Bourne.  But I think it mostly has to do with how impressive it plays up on the big screen with a thunderous sound system.  It's pretty dazzling, and even if the movie turns out to be crap, at least I'll always have this trailer.

I like Hugh but his choice in projects has been hit or miss and "Real Steel" has looked like a flop from the start.  The most recent trailer I saw made some twelve'ish-year old kid out to be a major part of the story (there wasn't even any trace of him in earlier previews) which seemed like a sign that they've realized not a lot of adults are gonna go for the concept so they're shooting for the kid market instead.

But maybe I'm just reading too much into it.

Yeah, it's obvious that the emotional core of the movie is going to be the "boy and his robot" relationship. (That, along with the father and son.)  It's Spielberg produced, and early reviews are indicating that it feels like an Amblin film of old.  In that light, it might not necessarily be marketed specifically for kids per se, but more as a family film.

I also hear it's got a pretty good score by Danny Elfman.

The second theatrical trailer confirms that McAdams' Irene Adler is coming back.  Small as the role may happen to be, I'm pretty happy about her return.

I watched through the unaired pilot and A Study in Pink just recently.  Terrific stuff, but I'm thinking I should pace myself until Series 2 hits.  When will that be exactly?

It's been pushed back It was supposed to air in Fall (ie now), but the latest I've read is May. And Series 1 ends on a pretty huge cliffhanger, so waiting is pretty damn unbearable

Ooh, but now that you've got me reading up on A Game of Shadows, I see that Stephen Fry will be portraying Mycroft. Excited now!

Although I could argue about the appropriateness of turning Sherlock Holmes into an action franchise, this is a pretty cool trailer and makes me want to see the movie quite a bit.

Latest trailer for The Adventures of Tintin is like the cinematic equivalent of "Uncharted."  Those set pieces!

Also, it feels like the most recent trailer for Ghost Protocol spoils too much.  But damned if it ain't easy to just geek out over the theme song.

Saw a commercial for Hugo the other day and it came out of nowhere for me. Looks very interesting to me!

I was really surprised when I first heard about Hugo.  Should be interesting to see how Scorsese handles a family fantasy film such as this.

It's been rating well at early screenings, and the 3D is supposed to be really good.

Figured I'd do a quick round up of the last few movies I saw in 2011 right here.

Hugo - Beautiful adaptation of the Brian Selznick novel.  A great piece of historical fiction, a loving tribute to the transformative power of cinema, and a winning performance by Ben Kingsley -- all in tasteful 3D.  Scorsese, you done good.

Arthur Christmas - Delightfully fun CG offering by Aardman Animations.  It's a road trip movie with a contemporary holiday spin, and while the characters border on caricatures, and the action can get a bit slapstick happy at times, the emotional end game makes it all worthwhile.  Bryony's also one of the cutest female characters of the year.

Ghost Protocol - I'm amazed that this one turned out as successful as it is.  Not that it doesn't deserve it; Brad Bird's pulled off a respectable job with his live action debut, and created a pretty kickass Mission: Impossible to boot.  The third act feels a tad overwrought and bloated (it certainly doesn't reach the lofty highs of the Burj Khalifa sequence before it), but it's rock solid entertainment through and through.  Terrific musical score by Michael Giacchino, and the movie's a jaw dropping treat in IMAX.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - As a fan of the hyper stylized, bromance-heavy direction of the first film, Ritchie makes good in giving me more of what I loved.  The plot is a little more streamlined, but no less compelling, and Jared Harris nails it as Moriarty.  What I liked most was how they manipulated certain conventions now expected of this series, especially during the fight sequences.  Elements culled from "The Final Problem" are nicely integrated, and the last, decisive confrontation between Holmes and Moriarty is one of my most favorite cinematic moments of 2011.  Oh, and that one eye-opening scene with Stephen Fry?  One for the history books.

The Muppets, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, War Horse, Melancholia, and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy are still on my immediate radar -- but I have a feeling those will have to wait until they hit home.

Recently, the only thing I've seen is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo which was every bit as good as I expected it to be.  If Fincher keeps this stuff up, I'm going to start lobbying for him to do an actual James Bond movie instead of just a movie about the James Bond of journalism (not coincidentally played by James Bond himself).

If plans come to fruition, I should be seeing both Tinker Tailor Solider Spy and Sherlock Holmes 2 this week, so I should be able to let you know what I think of those soon.

As promised, I saw both Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Sherlock Holmes 2 this week.  The first was very well acted and directed, but far too sober for my tastes.  Jon Hurt and Tom Hardy put in particularly good performances, but Gary Oldman and Colin Firth and so subdued that they almost seem wasted.  The second was lighthearted fun, but very far afield from the source material.  If you can get over the fact that they've basically turned Sherlock Holmes into an action hero (even more so than in the first one), there's a good time to be had here.  Also, Noomi Rapace (yes, please).