Warner Bros' Yogi Bear DVD release.

Eric Brevig has made better films than this, such as Lost Boys and Men in Black; but saying that this is true to the feel of the Hanna Barbera cartoon as one of the special features points out.

The setting is Jellystone park as usual (if you have never seen the original cartoon.).

The only place on the planet where there are two bears capable of speech, and one with the IQ that is higher than the average bear, (to paraphrase the original cartoon); Yogi, Dan Ackroyd (Blues Brothers 1&2) is fixated with acquiring the campers pick-a-nic baskets whilst Boo boo, Justin Timberlake (Shrek the Third) tries to reason logic to something that never listens.

There are many escapades and contraptions built by yogi for the acquiring of the aforementioned pick-a-nic baskets, only to find out that all his efforts are in vain as the corrupt Mayor Brown Andrew Daly (Semi Pro) has bankrupt the city and the only way to make money is to rezone the park thus selling it to loggers.

This is where Anna Faris, Rachel (Scary Movie 4) and Tom Cavanagh, Head Ranger Smith (Scrubs) try to come up with a plan to stop the sale of the park, whilst Ranger Jones T.J. Miller ( Gulliver Travels) works naively with the mayor.

For anyone under the age 12 this will be a romp in Jellystone Park. Older people will prefer the original cartoon because the ability to do something that has already been done is never the main attraction: All hail the space shuttle.

The CG is good but has been better applied in other films such as Shrek. The actors do a good enough job for the under teens, but there are a few points where I giggled but not from where I usually giggle from.

All in all this is a 4 star film which all the family will enjoy. Whether it is a classic that's up to you to decide.

Special features:

• Jellystone Park Jewel: Litter Bug. 1min 12secs of ranger Jones picking up litter.
• Jellystone Park Jewel: Yogi's secret hiding spot. 1min 40 secs of ranger Jones pulling camping equipment from the back of a tree.
• Yogi Bears Mashup. 3min 30secs of old and new footage showing the similarities between the old and the new.
• Feature 1hr 10 mins.

Available to by on DVD or Blu-ray now

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL: THE TRAILER

Now that the M:i:4 trailer has come out from being an exclusive to the rest of the world I can now show you how good the film should be. The good thing is that Oprah is no longer on the air so Tom won't be jumping on couches and, possibly, killing the change of good box office figures!

Director Brad Bird and Producer J.J. Abrams bring us the action packed, entertainment event of the holiday season with MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL.

The new film in the series, which has grossed $2 billion dollars worldwide, will feature a new team: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton and Simon Pegg.

This is not just another mission.

The IMF is shut down when it’s implicated in a global terrorist bombing plot. Ghost Protocol is initiated and Ethan Hunt and his rogue new team must go undercover to clear their organization’s name. No help, no contact, off the grid. You have never seen a mission grittier and more intense than this.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL is in cinemas and IMAX December 2011.

Captain America gets images

Yesterday saw the launch of the new Captain America trailer. Today I now have a load of images from the film. So sit back and Marvel [sorry] at them....

Not only do we see the Goodie and the Baddie but some behind the scenes shots as well... As always click on any of the images to see a bigger version.

Captain America: The First Avenger will focus on the early days of the Marvel Universe when Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) volunteers to participate in an experimental program that turns him into the Super Soldier known as Captain America. As Captain America, Rogers joins forces with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) to wage war on the evil HYDRA organization, led by the villainous Red Skull (Hugo Weaving.)

Exploding into Cinemas July 29, 2011

Captain America - The trailer

Way back in February, we had the launch of the Superbowl trailer for the film. Now, many months later, we have a full length trailer and a poster. Sometime tomorrow I should be able to get some images on this page as well.

Captain America: The First Avenger will focus on the early days of the Marvel Universe when Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) volunteers to participate in an experimental program that turns him into the Super Soldier known as Captain America. As Captain America, Rogers joins forces with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) to wage war on the evil HYDRA organization, led by the villainous Red Skull (Hugo Weaving.)

Exploding into Cinemas July 29, 2011

Smurftastic World Record

Congratulations to all of the 4,891 people from around the world who became Smurfs for the day on Saturday, June 25 to help smash the world record for the "Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Smurfs within a 24-hour Period in Multiple Venues" on Global Smurf Day.

Now we have images from the day as well as a short feature about how the day went and setting the record.

LONDON, June 27, 2011 – On Saturday 25th June, in honour of Global Smurfs Day, Smurfs fans in 11 cities around the world set a new Guinness World Records title for the Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Smurfs within a 24-hour Period in Multiple Venues, it was announced by Marc Weinstock, president, Worldwide Marketing for Sony Pictures Entertainment.  The worldwide events were organised by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Pictures Animation in anticipation of the release of The Smurfs®, which will be released in the UK on 10 August 2011.

As worldwide audiences turned out to celebrate the birthday of Peyo, the creator of the Smurfs, fans came to events dressed as Smurfs (white Smurf hat, white pants and shoes, and body painted blue).  Adjudicators from Guinness World Records confirmed that a total of 4,891 people dressed as Smurfs in 11 locations simultaneously around the world, claiming a new title for Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Smurfs within a 24-hour Period in Multiple Venues. The previous record had been 2,510 people dressed as Smurfs.

The global record was set by people dressed as Smurfs in Brussels, Belgium; Athens, Greece; Scheveningen (The Hague), Holland; Dublin, Ireland; Mexico City, Mexico; Panama City, Panama; Warsaw, Poland; Moscow, Russia; Johannesburg, South Africa; New York, USA; and London, UK.

Commenting on the announcement, Weinstock said, “It’s a thrill to see so many people turn out to be a part of this true fan moment in Smurfs history. Breaking a Guinness World Record on Global Smurfs Day is a testament to the enormous appeal and popularity of these beloved characters.”

Aleksandr Vypirailenko, Guinness World Records Adjudicator, added, “We are impressed by the level of coordination and timing required to pull off this truly global record attempt.  With 11 cities, each with hundreds of people dressed as Smurfs – and it all happened simultaneously.  We apply the same strict rules and exacting approach to every record that we recognise, and it’s exciting to see that this record was not simply broken, but smashed.”

In addition, people around the world observed Global Smurfs Day, from lit monuments in Brazil to a fun-filled family event at the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen.  In France, Smurf figurines inhabited Paris’s garden of the Champs de Mars (in front of the Eiffel Tower).

The Smurfs make their first 3D trip to the big screen in Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Animation’s hybrid live-action and animated family comedy, The Smurfs. When the evil wizard Gargamel chases the Smurfs out of their village, through a magical portal, and into our world, they land in the middle of New York’s Central Park. Just three apples high and stuck in the Big Apple, the Smurfs must find a way to get back to their village before Gargamel tracks them down.

Directed by Raja Gosnell. The producer is Jordan Kerner. The screenplay is by J. David Stem & David N. Weiss and Jay Scherick & David Ronn from a story by J. David Stem & David N. Weiss, based on the Characters and Works of Peyo.

Smurfing into UK cinemas August 10, 2011

SMURF, and all Smurfs characters ©Peyo. All Rights Reserved. “Smurf” and “The Smurfs” are registered trademarks of STUDIO PEYO.

Horrible Bosses - Dirty new trailer

Not only did Warner Bros. send over a new, dirty red-band, trailer but also three new images from the film. If you don't want to see the rude trailer then the, clean, one is over here.

For Nick, Kurt and Dale, the only thing that would make the daily grind more tolerable would be to grind their intolerable bosses into dust. Quitting is not an option, so, with the benefit of a few-too-many drinks and some dubious advice from a hustling ex-con, the three friends devise a convoluted and seemingly foolproof plan to rid themselves of their respective employers... permanently.

There’s only one problem: even the best laid plans are only as foolproof as the brains behind them.

Jason Bateman (“Couples Retreat”), Charlie Day (“Going the Distance”) and Jason Sudeikis (“Hall Pass”) star as the three hapless workers, with Jennifer Aniston (“He’s Just Not That Into You”), Colin Farrell (“Crazy Heart”) and two-time Oscar® winner Kevin Spacey (“American Beauty,” “The Usual Suspects”), as their unbearable bosses. Oscar® winner Jamie Foxx (“Ray”) stars as the plotters’ unlikely mentor, whose street cred is priced on a sliding scale. The main cast also includes veteran actor Donald Sutherland and Julie Bowen (TV’s “Modern Family”).

In Cinemas July 22, 2011
Find out more on Facebook or at the official site

Photos: John P. Johnson. © 2011 NEW LINE PRODUCTIONS, INC.

A tale of modern-day outlaws?

A film with unprecedented access to an often misrepresented world

JUST DO IT is an observational documentary from award winning filmmaker Emily James, who gained exceptional access to the environmental direct action movement in the UK.

The film gives us the first ever insight into the lives of activists, focusing particularly on active members of Plane Stupid and Climate Camp. For an entire year Emily submerged herself in documenting their secret activities, getting to know and understand their motivation and their passion.

We follow inspiring and entertaining individuals who are not prepared to sit back and allow the destruction of the world’s ecosystems and climate.

In the tradition of the suffragettes and the civil rights movement, the characters have picked up the mantle of civil disobedience and direct action; they have super-glued themselves to bank trading floors, blockaded factories with D-locks and tents and attacked coal power stations en-masse, despite the very real threat of arrest.

JUST DO IT is an independent production; partly crowd funded and is produced by Lauren Simpson. Hitting UK cinemas July 15, 2011

Find out more at www.just-do-it.org.uk

Even more monkey business with NIM

Not only do we get a poster for the upcoming documentary Project Nim, but we get two new clips and a brand new trailer.

CLIPS
Life With Stephanie

Herb Leaves:

From the Oscar and BAFTA winning filmmakers behind MAN ON WIRE, James Marsh and Simon Chinn, comes the story of Nim the chimpanzee. In the 1970s Nim became the focus of a landmark experiment which aimed to show that an ape could learn to communicate with language if raised and nurtured like a human child.

Following Nim’s extraordinary journey through human society, and the enduring impact he makes on the people he meets along the way, the film is an unflinching and unsentimental biography of an animal we tried to make human. What we learn about his true nature – and indeed our own – is comic, revealing and profoundly unsettling.

PROJECT NIM will open in cinemas across the UK Friday 12th August 2011

More from The Guard

Along with the images and, probable, US trailer that arrived earlier in June, we now have a UK trailer and poster for this wonderfully silly, subversive, film.

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Sergeant Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson) is a small-town cop with a confrontational personality, a subversive sense of humour, a dying mother, a fondness for prostitutes, and absolutely no interest whatsoever in the international cocaine-smuggling ring that has brought FBI agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle) to his door. However, despite the fact that Boyle seems more interested in mocking and undermining Everett than in actively working to solve the case, he finds that circumstances keep pulling him back into the thick of it.

First his tiresomely enthusiastic new partner McBride disappears, then his favourite hooker attempts to blackmail him into turning a blind eye, and finally the drug-traffickers themselves try to buy him off as they have every other member of the local police force. These events unwittingly offend Boyle's murky moral code. He realises that he needs to take matters into his own hands, and the only person he can trust is Everett. And so the scene is set for an explosive finale.

Hitting UK screens August 19, 2011

Troll Hunting...

The poster says that "you've never seen anything like this before". Well that reviewer must have never seen The Blair Whitch Project. From the trailer it seems to be a cross between The Blair With Project and a Michael Moore documentary.

The government says there’s nothing to worry about – it’s just a problem with bears making trouble in the mountains and forests of Norway. But local hunters don’t believe it – and neither do a trio of college students who want to find out the truth. Armed with a video camera, they trail a mysterious “poacher,” who wants nothing to do with them. But their persistence lands them straight in the path of the objects of his pursuits: Trolls. They soon find themselves documenting every move of this grizzled, unlikely hero – The Troll Hunter – risking their lives to uncover the secrets of creatures only thought to exist in fairy tales.

From Norwegian writer/director André Øvredal comes TROLLHUNTER, a thrillingly entertaining creature feature filled with harrowing suspense – and the darkest of humor. Filmed in the stunningly beautiful countryside of Norway, from fjords to forests, TROLLHUNTER tells the story of a veteran hunter – and fed-up government employee – as he reveals the world of beasts known only to Norwegians in stories from their childhood. It’s not long before the students – and the audience – believe his unlikely tales.

Hitting UK cinemas September 9, 2011

Are you Brave enough?

Yesterday saw the launch of the US, domestic, trailer for the 13th Pixar film, Brave. Today it's the UKs turn to get our own trailer. not only that we get a poster and some concept art.

With a courageous and impetuous heroine leading the way, Disney.Pixar sets out on yet another extraordinary journey—this time across the rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland in “Brave.” The big-screen adventure--the 13th feature-length animated film from Pixar Animation Studios—is directed by Mark Andrews (“The Incredibles,” “Ratatouille,” “John Carter of Mars”) and Brenda Chapman ("The Lion King," "Prince of Egypt"), and produced by Katherine Sarafian (“Lifted,” “The Incredibles”).

“‘Brave’ is an epic adventure chock-full of action, humor and heart,” says director Mark Andrews. "There's no more perfect setting for this powerful tale than the dark and rugged Scottish Highlands. Imagine: magic, mystery and danger—all set within a haunting and beautiful landscape. It's like nothing you've seen before from Pixar.”

The film features Kelly Macdonald as the voice of Merida, a skilled archer and the daughter of King Fergus (voice of Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (voice of Emma Thompson). Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the uproarious lords of the land: massive Lord MacGuffin (voice of Kevin McKidd), surly Lord Macintosh (voice of Craig Ferguson) and cantankerous Lord Dingwall (voice of Robbie Coltrane). Merida’s actions inadvertently unleash chaos and fury in the kingdom, and when she turns to an eccentric old Wise Woman (voice of Julie Walters) for help, she is granted an ill-fated wish. The ensuing peril forces Merida to discover the meaning of true bravery in order to undo a beastly curse before it’s too late.

“Brave” will be presented in Disney Digital 3D™ in select cinemas from August 17, 2012

A hobo gets a UK poster

Now the UK has its own poster for the upcoming Hobo With A Shotgun! Not only that: There is a UK trailer to go with the US one that I posted earlier.

I've also found the UK trailer over at youTube. It's still very gory so be careful if you don't like blood 'n' guts

A train pulls into the station – it’s the end of the line. A Hobo jumps from a freight car, hoping for a fresh start in a new city. Instead, he finds himself trapped in an urban hell. This is a world where criminals rule the streets and Drake, the city’s crime boss, reigns supreme alongside his sadistic murderous sons, Slick & Ivan. Amidst the chaos, the Hobo comes across a pawn shop window displaying a second hand lawn mower. He dreams of making the city a beautiful place and starting a new life for himself. But as the brutality continues to rage around him, he notices a shotgun hanging above the lawn mower… Quickly, he realizes the only way to make a difference in this town is with that gun in his hand and two shells in its chamber.

Hitting UK cinemas July 15, 2011