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Paramount CinemaCon 2017 Presentation: ‘Transformers: The Last Knight,’ ‘Baywatch,’ ‘Downsizing,’ ‘Annihilation’ The second presentation of the second day ofCinemaCon 2017came fromParamount Picturesand the studio came to Las Vegas with trailers for and footage from their 2017 and 2018 slate of films. Specifically, we saw presentations onMichael Bay’sTransformers: The Last Knight,Alexander Payne’sDownsizing,Seth Gordon’sBaywatch, andAlex Garland’sAnnihilation. Here’s what you need to know. Shortly after the presentation, I recorded a reaction video with Steven Weintraub of Collider....

Review: ‘Kickboxer: Vengeance’ Doubles Down On Splits, Kicks, And Dancing Jean-Claude Van Damme’s franchises had a rough go back in the day. BothBloodsportandKickboxercontinued with straight-to-video sequels that not only did not star Van Damme, but featured completely new characters. Yet reignitingUniversal Soldierdecades later on video signaled a return to form for Van Damme and delivered that franchise’s two best entries. So rebootingKickboxer, primarily for VOD and limited theatrical release, is a smart proposition....

Superhero Bits: Deadpool Banned Again, Thor: Ragnarok Death, Toy Fair Sneak Peeks And More Did you knowRyan Reynoldswrote almost all of his own dialogue forX-Men: Origins Wolverine? Also, what rating did Ryan Reynolds giveGreen Lanternrecently? Who might die inThor: Ragnarok?Deadpoolhas been banned overseas again, but where? All that and more in this edition ofSuperhero Bits. CBS released this new image of the Fortress of Solitude as seen in an upcomingSupergirlepisode....

The Clock Tower: Let’s Say Goodbye To ‘Arrow’ (Welcome toThe Clock Tower, where we’ll break down the goings on of the The CW network’s Arrowverse. We’ll touch on things like themes,cultural impact, lead-ins to major events, ships, and more every week! Warning: this Clock Tower is filled withspoilers. Proceed at your own risk.)What an odd week it was! It feels so strange to be finishing this week’s column with the knowledge that the show that sparked it all is done for good....

TIFF 2008 Wrap-Up The Toronto International Film Festival has come to a close. The last few days of travel were rather hellish, and I found myself unable to create a proper TIFF Rundown. But now I’m now in Austin Texas for Fantastic Fest, so I decided to give it to you quick, easy, and simple. The Wrestler: Darren Aronofsky transitions from idea and style overload into a very understated, heartbreaking, beautiful indie drama with a fantastic Oscar worthy performance by Mickey Rourke....

TV Bits: ‘The Following’, ‘Girls’, ‘Nashville’, Marc Maron, Louis CK This TV Bits is a particularly good one for comedy nerds, with positive developments for Lena Dunham, Marc Maron, and Louis C.K. After the jump: The news doesn’t come as a surprise, asNashvilleis the network’s highest-rated new show. The jury is still out on the fates of two other ABC freshmen,Last Resortand666 Park Avenue. [Deadline] Even as this season’s less successful shows get the axe, there’s plenty of other promising new series to look forward to....

Warner Bros. Picks Up Charlie Kaufman/Spike Jonze Film; Joaquin Phoenix Attached After “quitting” acting in a big, public way,Joaquin Phoenixis navigating an impressive comeback. He’s currently shooting Paul Thomas Anderson’sThe Masterand now he’s also attached to star in the latest collaboration between screenwriterCharlie Kaufmanand directorSpike Jonze. The film, an untitled political satire,is being financed byMegan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures and Warner Bros. has also reportedly come on board, aiming at a March 2012 start date....

Watch A Five-Minute Clip Of TNT’s ‘Falling Skies’ Earlier this month, Peterreportedfrom WonderCon that he was “very impressed” by the clips he’d seen ofFalling Skies, praising the show for its “very high budget and cinematic” look. Now that TNT’s released the first five minutes of theSteven Spielberg-produced alien invasion series, we can judge for ourselves — and I’m with Peter. It’s too early to tell ifFalling Skieswill actually be a quality show, but this first clip, at least, looks good....

When Will ‘Star Wars Rebels’ Get X-Wings? Dave Filoni On That Potentially Awesome Moment At Star Wars Celebration Europe 2016 I got a chance to sit down withStar Wars Rebelscreator/showrunnerDave Filonito talk about the future of the Disney XD animated series. I haven’t published the interview yet because I didn’t want it to get buried in the madness that was Comic-Con. But with San Diego behind us, let’s begin to take a look at some of the interesting bits that Filoni revealed....

Why Emma Watson Secretly Hated Filming This Hermione Scene “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” was a turning point in the franchise, picking up what “Prisoner of Azkaban” started by embracing a darker, far more serious tone that was more in line with J.K. Rowling’s books. The depleting color of the Warner Bros. logo reminds viewers at the very beginning that things are changing in the Wizarding World, with the film’s grim opening moments seeing Peter Pettigrew catering to Lord Voldemort' and killing an innocent man in the process....

Why It Took Willem Dafoe So Long To Host SNL Willem Dafoe has worn many hats (literal and figurative) since he started acting in movies in the early 1980s. Indeed, it’s hard to think of too many other performers who could play the quietly sleazy, scheming carnival owner in Guillermo del Toro’s"Nightmare Alley,“then turn right around and portray the cackling Green Goblin in Jon Watts' “Spider-Man: No Way Home” with equal grace....

Wild Things, Crazy Heart, Lovely Bones And Bright Star All Being Given Hard Time By The Academy Griping about the arbitration of those Oscar folk at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences seems to be a rather popular sport, and one in full season right now. For some reason, the most frequent complaints seem to revolve around the terms of admission to the music categories. You may recall the hubbub when Johnny Greenwood’s music forThere Will Be Bloodwas denied eligibility, or when the songFalling SlowlyfromOncewas challenged....

‘Being Flynn’ Trailer – Robert De Niro And Paul Dano Deal With Another Bullsh*t Night In Suck City After a promising start that included sweet, gentleAbout a Boy,Paul Weitz’s career hasn’t been doing so well these past few years. His more recent work includeAmerican Dreamz,Cirque du Freak, andLittle Fockers, none of which are exactly creative smashes. But if the moving trailer for his next project,Being Flynn, is any indication, Weitz could be on his way up again....