This week on Noob Radio Richard and Christian are joined on location by friends of the show and contributors for Geek Weekend 2 and the semi-annual geek roundtable for a rowdy discussion of all the days news involving comics, video games, movies and television. It was a wild and rowdy time so check it out on this episode of Noob Radio!

Intro:

Quick Hits
Sponsored by: Provenance Media

Movie news.
Lots of first looks this week…
First looks at planet of the apes, only a pic of franco but it is a start.

First look at the hangover 2. Short teaser went up yesterday. Are you excited by the potential of this movie?

First clip of battle los angeles, very action packed, any digging the marketing of this movie with the fake websites and viral history marketing?

Finally why does Bill Murray hate ghostbusters. If not why would he have the script and not read it? Does he really not want to do this movie?

Video game news…
Killzone 3 dropped this week, did anyone else play it?

Ubisoft plans to release the game We Dare in Europe but not is us. Has a lot of sexual content, they don’t think it will sell here. Why is that?

Gearbox wants to thank everyone who ever worked on the long delayed duke nukem forever, ever. So if you’ve contributed in some way to this game, ever, you can contact them and get your name on the game.

Television news…

CBS finally pulls the plug on 2 and a half men after Charlie sheen went to the media and called out the shows main producer. This last ever episode of this show may have aired last week when the final produced episode was shown.

Comic Break Comics for 2/25/2011

sponsored by

Booster Gold #41

Written by KEITH GIFFEN & J.M. DEMATTEIS

Art and Cover by CHRIS BATISTA & RICH PERROTTA

A new threat from another time attacks Booster again – for the first time! Unfortunately, this threat catches Booster in Rip Hunter’s lab, and the bunker takes enough of a beating to put everybody out of time-traveling commission for a long while!

Justice League of America #54

Written by JAMES ROBINSON

Art by BRETT BOOTH & NORM RAPMUND

Cover by BRETT BOOTH

1:10 Variant Cover by DAVID MACK

“The Rise of Eclipso” begins here as the dark energies that have surrounded Earth are harnessed once more to usher in the great Lord of Darkness! And it looks like the corruption of all mankind starts with the members of the Justice League! When things go dark, which teammate poses the greatest threat to mankind – Obsidian or Jade?

The Legion of Super-Heroes #10

Written by PAUL LEVITZ

Art and Cover by YILDIRAY CINAR & WAYNE FAUCHER

The Durlan plot against the United Planets comes to a very deadly conclusion, as Chameleon Boy must dive into battle with one of his own kind! And what this final assassin reveals will stun the shape-shifting Legionnaire!

Silver Surfer #1 (of 5)

Written by Greg Pak

Pencils by Stephen Segovia

Cover by Carlo Pagulayan

A new beginning for the SILVER SURFER! The sentinel of the spaceways walks the Earth once more, a stranger feared by many. Only the HIGH EVOLUTIONARY understands his true potential, but the Evolutionary’s mysterious grand design may cost the Surfer everything and change the cosmic balance forever! He’s traded blows with Thor and matched wits with Mephisto, but can the herald of Galactus survive the judgment of NORRIN RAND, the man within the Silver Surfer? It’s a character-defining epic showing the Silver Surfer as you’ve never seen him before.

Hulk #30

Written by JEFF PARKER [Soft Break]Pencils & Cover by ED McGUINNESS

THE ORIGINAL RED HULK ARTIST RETURNS! Ed McGuiness draws a special (and especially insane) issue of HULK! A classic Hulk enemy returns, and can only be defeated by…THE?COMPOUND HULK! Guest-starring XEMNU, THE IMPOSSIBLE MAN and WOODGOD (yes, Woodgod)!

Main Event

Oscar Chat

Picks for Oscar winners

Movie of the Week (2/25/2011)

Christian’s:

Six-Sting Samurai

Richard’s
I Saw the Devil

Chad’s
Hard Boiled

Dave
Terrorvision

Austin Rogers
Gymkata

Kevin Minke
Red Cliff

Wrap it up, thanks sponsors, bye bye…

Sponsored By…

This week on the noobnews podcast, Richard and Christian discuss Joseph Gordon Levitt joining the cast of The Dark Knight Rises, the new segment “The Comic Break” brought to you by comicbreak.com, as well as all the Superman casting news you can fit in a pair of red tights. All this and much much more on this episode of The Noob News…

Here’s this weeks rundown…
Quick Hits…

movie news…

Joseph Gordon levitt signed on to Dark Night rises, who would you like to see him play? no riddler or joker in this movie, i could see him as a young dick grayson perhaps?.

television news…

Will ferrell will be doing a 4 episode stint as a saber manager helping to fill in for michael scott when he exits the show
later this season,  Steve Carell is leaving and apparently will farell will provide levity as the focus of the show shifts
from Carell’s exit to the new Sabre Manager. who should be the new manager? a cast member or an outside hire? can this show survive without steve carell?

I say hire todd packer as the new manager and give him a full time role… todd packer is a occasional character played by David Koechner also know as Champ Kind of Anchorman, if you don’t know who that is you can suck it…Whamooo

game news…

PS3 is coming out with a silver version looks very cool…

On March 10th Sony will release the PS3 Slim in a shiny silver color but in limited quantities. The shiny console will come in two versions; 160 GB for about $365 and the spacious 320 GB for $427
is it worth the money? if you had the cash would you buy it just for the looks?

Comic Break Time!
Sponsored by: ComicBreak.com

See Christian’s Review of Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command Here

Comic Break is brought to you by:

The Main Event

Lets talk superman, in a bit of a surprise choice, Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures announced earlier this week that Henry Cavill has been picked for the much sought after role of Superman. What we know about him… He’s on Tudors, showtime network show, He’s played parts in HELLRAISER: HELLWORLD, TRISTON + ISOLDE, STARDUST and he’ll beplaying Theseus in the upcoming IMMORTALS. He was up for consideration for several big roles including superman for bryan synger, James Bond, as well as batman whereNolan who is producing saw him and kept him in mind for future roles. He’s british, does that hurts him playing superman? it hasnt hurt batman, also spiderman is also british now so i’ll let thatslide…

netflix movie of the week…
Invader Zim

The Shining

Thanks to the sponsors…

goodbye…

If you’ve ever wondered what job you would hold were you living in the Star Wars Universe (and haven’t we all at one time or another) then check out this handy chart I found over at onlineschools.org. Very cool. Incidentally, and much like the real world, there are no podcasting jobs in the StarWars universe. Maybe I’ll try the Potter Universe…

Via: Online Schools

This from GeekTyrant.com

The CW just released this new picture of Smallville’s Tom Welling wearing his new “Superman” jacket. Slowly but surely they seem to piecing his outfit together. I expect in an upcoming episode he will receive a pair of red underwear after Ma Kent leaves them in the wash with her red sock collection…

Smallville returns with on 2/4 with the episode “Collateral” on The CW.

follow us on facebook…

It looks like Dame Judi Dench will reprise her role as M in the upcoming James Bond Sequel. Dench announced the news at the South Bank Sky Arts Awards  last night not saying much in the way of details but relaying that she was looking forward to starring opposite Daniel Craig and to working with Director Sam Mendes again…

Dame Dench has appeared in every film since GoldenEye. The only other actors to play M were Bernard Lee  in nine films (Dr. No through Moonraker) and Robert Brown who appeared in four of the films (Octopussy through License to Kill).

Bond 23 begins production soon and has a release date of November 9, 2012.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook…

It’s amazing the amount of detail work that goes into creating a good 3d compositions and the best part is when you don’t even notice it’s there until it’s pointed out. That is certainly the case with Black Swan. As an FX creator myself I’m always on the look out for poor work to ridicule and laugh at so I can look smart but this was not the case for this movie. Most of the effects I did not notice until watching this very cool video. Check out the effects and then wonder quietly to yourself why this movie wasn’t nominated for a best visual effects oscar…

also don’t forget to follow us on facebook…

This week on thenoobnews podcast Richard and Christian are joined in studio by Matt Jones to discuss why Christopher Nolan wasn’t nominated for best director, why  video game versions of movies suck, as well as all the fallout from Kevin Smith’s big announcement from Sundance. All this and much, much more on this episode of thenoobnews…

Here’s this weeks outline…
quick hits

movie news…

christopher nolan not nominated for best director, how is that possible?

does toy story3 belong in the lsit of best picture?

Best Picture nominees
“Black Swan,” Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
“The Fighter” David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
“Inception,” Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
“The Kids Are All Right,” Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers
“The King’s Speech,” Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers
“127 Hours,” Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
“The Social Network,” Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceàn Chaffin, Producers
“Toy Story 3? Darla K. Anderson, Producer
“True Grit” Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
“Winter’s Bone” Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers

best director nominees

Black Swan,” Darren Aronofsky
“The Fighter,” David O. Russell
“The King’s Speech,” Tom Hooper
“The Social Network,” David Fincher
“True Grit,” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

television news…

wonder woman is going to pilot

GE’s NBC didn’t like David E. Kelley’s “Wonder Woman” project earlier this month, but Comcast’s NBC just ordered it to pilot.

Based on the iconic DC Comics superheroine, Kelley’s potential series has Diana Prince as a costumed crime fighter by night and a successful Los Angeles corporate executive by day.  Elements carried over from the comics include Diana’s lasso of truth, her bullet-deflecting bracelets and her plane.

game news…

Disney Interactive lays off 200 as video game unit shifts focus
Co-Presidents John Pleasants and James Pitaro announce a sweeping reorganization of the group’s money-losing digital media division, including the closure of a development studio.

After sales of the Tron: Evolution video game failed to crack the 1-million mark, Disney this month closed the studio responsible for it. (Disney Interactive Studios / January 26, 2011)

comic news…

The Main event.
sundance news…

netflix movie of the week…

goodbye…

This week on the podcast, Richard and Christian discuss Arnold Schwarzenegger’s future film choices, Anne Hathaway being cast in the upcoming Batman sequel, as well as all the winners from this years Golden Globe Awards. All this and much, much more on this episode of The Noob News.

Welcome to the show outline, here’s the rundown…

Intro

Quick Hits…

Movie news
Apparently Arnold has reported that he’s currently reading 3 scripts 1 is CRUSADE with Paul Verhoeven.   Then the one that he says he’s reading and particularly fond of… is WITH WINGS AS EAGLES!  written by Randall Wallace (Braveheart, We Were Soldiers fame) is based on the true life story about a German officer who does not agree with his surrounding Nazi party and instead helps the American POWs escape. Didn’t say what the third one was.

television news…
watched awesome tv show on pbs about the pioneers of television, focused on science fiction, early days of star trek and twilight zone, breaking ground and such…

Game news…
Batman Arkham Asylum news
an early look
A year after the events of the first game, Arkham’s former warden Quincy Sharp is now mayor of Gotham. With Arkham destroyed, Sharp has turned Gotham’s slums into a prison for Arkham’s inmates. When Two-Face threatens to execute Catwoman, Batman must break into Arkham City and put a stop to the madness.

Single-Player
The focus remains the main campaign (it’s unknown if it will include co-op play). The basics from the first game remain the same, but now players will need to identify enemies with information and avoid knocking them out in combat. The story is said to be darker and has more characters than in the first game, with the Boy Wonder among many believed to make an appearance.

The list of characters continues to grow, but here are the main players we know about:

* Batman
* Catwoman
* Talia al Ghul
* Two-Face
* Hugo Strange
* The Joker
* Harley Quinn
* Mr. Freeze
* The Riddler
* Mr. Zsasz
* Calendar Man

the main event
The Golden globes was last week, not without some controversy, ricky gervais made some enemys with his acerbic wit,, does it serve the award well to have a comedian making fun of all the winners? should he have done it? he announced he wouldn’t be back, who should take his place?
List of big winners at golden globes…

Best Motion Picture – Drama: ‘The Social Network’
Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical: ‘The Kids Are All Right’
Best Director – Motion Picture: David Fincher, ‘The Social Network’
Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama: Colin Firth, ‘The King’s Speech’
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama: Natalie Portman, ‘Black Swan’
Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical: Paul Giamatti, ‘Barney’s Version’
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical: Annette Bening, ‘The Kids Are All Right’
Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture: Christian Bale, ‘The Fighter’
Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture: Melissa Leo, ‘The Fighter’
Best Animated Feature Film: ‘Toy Story 3′
Best Screenplay – Motion Picture: ‘The Social Network’
Best Original Song – Motion Picture: ‘You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me,’ ‘Burlesque’
Best Original Score – Motion Picture: ‘The Social Network’
Best Foreign Language Film: ‘In a Better World’
Best Television Series – Drama: ‘Boardwalk Empire’
Best Television Series – Comedy: ‘Glee’
Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama: Steve Buscemi, ‘Boardwalk Empire’
Best Actor in a Television Series – Comedy: Jim Parsons, ‘The Big Bang Theory’
Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama: Katey Sagal, ‘Sons of Anarchy’
Best Actress in a Television Series – Comedy: Laura Linney, ‘The Big C’
Best Supporting Actor – Television: Chris Colfer, ‘Glee’
Best Supporting Actress – Television: Jane Lynch, ‘Glee’
Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: ‘Carlos’
Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Al Pacino, ‘You Don’t Know Jack.’
Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Claire Danes, ‘Temple Grandin.’

Netflix Movie of the week.

smokey and the bandit 1 and 2

Police Academy

This podcast was brought to you by…

This from the guys over at Geek Tyrant, an awesome take on the forthcoming sequel to HP and the DH. This thing oozes doom and gloom while being covered in artistic badassery. It does a great job of capturing the darkness and sadness that runs throughout the final book in the series that the part one of the movie was never able to capture.  This is what movie posters should look like. Go pick one up now…

The 11 x 17 limited print is currently available for only $25 and includes free shipping @ http://frodesignstore.blogspot.com/2010/11/these-are-dark-times.html

Over the weekend the precursor to the Oscars, The Golden Globe Awards took place with the Hollywood Foreign Press handing out it’s awards for television and film. Other than Ricky Gervais destrying everyone with his witty yet acerbic banter, it was business as usual. Here are the list of winners from this years awards…

Full list of winners:

Best Motion Picture – Drama: ‘The Social Network’
Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical: ‘The Kids Are All Right’
Best Director – Motion Picture: David Fincher, ‘The Social Network’
Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama: Colin Firth, ‘The King’s Speech’
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama: Natalie Portman, ‘Black Swan’
Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical: Paul Giamatti, ‘Barney’s Version’
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical: Annette Bening, ‘The Kids Are All Right’
Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture: Christian Bale, ‘The Fighter’
Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture: Melissa Leo, ‘The Fighter’
Best Animated Feature Film: ‘Toy Story 3′
Best Screenplay – Motion Picture: ‘The Social Network’
Best Original Song – Motion Picture: ‘You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me,’ ‘Burlesque’
Best Original Score – Motion Picture: ‘The Social Network’
Best Foreign Language Film: ‘In a Better World’
Best Television Series – Drama: ‘Boardwalk Empire’
Best Television Series – Comedy: ‘Glee’
Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama: Steve Buscemi, ‘Boardwalk Empire’
Best Actor in a Television Series – Comedy: Jim Parsons, ‘The Big Bang Theory’
Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama: Katey Sagal, ‘Sons of Anarchy’
Best Actress in a Television Series – Comedy: Laura Linney, ‘The Big C’
Best Supporting Actor – Television: Chris Colfer, ‘Glee’
Best Supporting Actress – Television: Jane Lynch, ‘Glee’
Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: ‘Carlos’
Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Al Pacino, ‘You Don’t Know Jack.’
Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Claire Danes, ‘Temple Grandin.’

This comes courtesy of the french site Cineheros. The actual character and suit designs looks all digital and fake much like the other green lantern suits but he does look like the comic version of Sinestro. I’ll try and hold off judgement of this movie until i see it but i’ve been a bit underwhelmed by the what I’ve see of it so far…

This week on thenoobnews podcast the guys take a break from the regular show to listen back to some of our favorite interviews of the 2010. So sit back, relax, enjoy these interviews, and we’ll be back next week with our regular show. Happy New Year! Listen below…

This weeks interviews are…

Mario Pena discussing his winning entry into the Austin Film Festival bumper contest. Check out the entry below.

WARNING! NSFW!

Cherry Pie from MJP on Vimeo

Paul Miller joined us to discuss his filmmaking career as well as the film he and Christian worked on “The Battle”

Beau and Paul joined us in episode14 to discuss “Scottish Ninjas”, an animated short they wrote and created.

Also joining us was good friend Dave Winfrey jr. to discuss all things horror and Halloween. Here are a few of his favorite movies…

This Week on thenoobnews.com podcast Richard and Christian discuss the impending death of Indiana Jones, the Playstation Networks huge Tuesday demo drop, as well as a their favorite movies, games, tv shows and comics. All this and much much more on this episode of the noob news.

Here’s the rundown for this weeks episode…

intro
xmas chat
best christmas gift ever recieved

Christians Favorite gift

Richard’s Favorite Gift

This Weeks Podcast giveaway…
Be the first person to answer this weeks question and you’ll receive an autographed poster and dvd copy of the movie “The Battle”.
Listen to the Podcast for the question and answer and be the first person to email us here  info@thenoobnews.com to win!

Listen to the podcast on these sites…

http://www.mediafly.com/Podcasts/Feeds/The_Noob_News_Podcast

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id405993769?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Quick Hits

movie news
Does Harrison Ford want to kill of Indiana Jones?

game news
Demos for 3 of the biggest games of 2011 dropped on PSN tuesday. Here’s a taste…
Little Big Planet 2

Mass Effect 2

Dead Space 2

what’s in your netflix cue
Aurthur

Restrepo

main event
2010 in review

Favorite Game
Red Dead Redemption

Favorite TV Shows

American Pickers

Dexter

Favorite Movie
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

Winter’s Bone

Fantastic Stuff From The Future…
Word Lens App

Kevin Smith hates the press but apparently loves the interwebz cause that’s where he dropped an early teaser for his latest flick “RED STATE”. We’ve discussed on the podcast over the last few months our general feelings regarding this film and his approach to distribution and marketing of it and this trailer doesn’t really change any feelings I have for what he’s trying to do. Smith lists the Weinsteins in the credits (Harvey Boys) so I’m assuming he’s got distribution so we may not be treated to the public spectacle of a post screening auction like he promised but as long as it gets out there I guess that’s really all that matters. The trailer looks interesting, lots of action, creepy looking small town folk, and lots of random gun fire.  We’ll see how it all comes together in March when it is slated for release.

It’s been a slow week here at the noob news but santa’s elves dropped a little something in our stocking early. The Drive Angry 3d trailer is here! This looks like a crazy hodpodge of supernatural  meets gone in 60 seconds being molested by a grindhouse double feature featuring crazy Nicholas Cage  in 3d to boot. Enjoy!

A felon (Cage) breaks out of hell for one last chance at redemption: to prevent the cult who murdered his daughter from sacrificing her baby in three days’ time. He’s aided by a young waitress (Heard) and her ex-boyfriend’s muscle car, and together the duo will have to face down the leader of the cult, the police, and a killer known as “The Accountant” — who  wants to return him to the Devil.

DRIVE ANGRY 3D opens on February 25.

As we move through the film we are introduced to several interesting/quirky characters who move in and out of the periphery of the story, serving the purpose of moving the story forward and giving the little bits of information that move us to the next scene. This is something of a Coen Brothers calling card and they certainly don’t disappoint in this department. This movie is littered with interesting characters whose small parts jump off the screen and pull you directly into this movie. From Barry Pepper as Lucky Ned Pepper the outlaw gang leader and his mangy posse (complete with an animal noise impersonator) to a bearded old man on a mule wearing a bears skin complete with head and claws and offering free dental work in the woods of Arkansas, the Coen Brothers have done an excellent job surrounding the stars of this movie with interesting and capable cast that does not disappoint. The excellent attention to detail on the characters really stands out, especially the teeth. The wild west was apparently not a place where you took care of your teeth and there are some awful sets of chompers in this movie.

My biggest fault with this movie was that it just felt rushed. I felt no real chemistry between Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and Haille Steinfled. The seemed to be doing a job and nothing else. There was very little connection between them and at times they seemed to leave and rejoin the group at random, based entirely on the mood of the others in the camp only to return at the opportune moment to save the day. Perhaps another thirty minutes or so of character time added throughout this movie would have fixed the few problems present but like I said earlier, ultimately this was still a very good movie. Just not Coen Brothers good. I’ve come to expect a little more from them as I’m sure most people have but don’t let that scare you off from seeing this film. When Oscar Sunday comes around I’m sure we’ll hear more that a few names called for this True Grit and they will certainly deserve it, after all it’s a Coen Brothers film, and on their worst day they make movies most could only dream of making.

the noob has spoken

This week on thenoobnews.com podcast Richard, Christian, and Mario discuss John Favreau leaving Iron Man 3, The big winners from the Spike TV Video Game Awards,  and have an in depth discussion with the creators of the animated series, Scottish Ninjas. All this and much much more on this episode of thenoobnews.

Here’s the rundown for this weeks show…

intro and show news…
xmas chat, the big day’s only 10 days away, what’s on your list to santa?

Listen to the podcast on these sites…

http://www.mediafly.com/Podcasts/Feeds/The_Noob_News_Podcast

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id405993769?ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Quick hits…

television…

It’s the end of the fall tv season, what are we looking forward to seeing come January?

film…

John Favreau not returning to Iron man 3? Sounds like trouble in paradise…

Games…
Spike TV video game awards held last weekend, Here are the big winners

GAME OF THE YEAR
Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar Games / Rockstar San Diego)
BEST XBOX 360 GAME
Mass Effect 2 (Electronic Arts / BioWare)
BEST PS3 GAME
God of War III (Sony Computer Entertainment / SCE Studios Santa Monica)
BEST Wii GAME
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Nintendo / Nintendo)
BEST PC GAME
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty (Blizzard Entertainment / Blizzard Entertainment)
BEST HANDHELD GAME
God of War: Ghost of Sparta (Sony Computer Entertainment / Ready At Dawn Studios)
BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 (Electronic Arts / EA Tiburon)
BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME
NBA 2K11 (2K Sports / Visual Concepts)
BEST DRIVING GAME
Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit (Electronic Arts / Criterion Games)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN MALE
Neil Patrick Harris as Peter Parker / Amazing Spider-Man (Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions / Activision)
BEST DLC
Red Dead Redemption – Undead Nightmare (Rockstar Games / Rockstar San Diego)

What’s in our Netfilx cue?
Interview With The Assasin

Die Hard 2

Cronos

The Main Event...
An interview with the creators of Scottish Ninjas

www.scottishninjas.com

fantastic stuff from the future…
Choose your own journey with the Israeli experimental film, Turbulence. More info at the link below…

http://news.cnet.com

Enjoy the show and we’ll see you next week for our “best of” edition where we’ll name our favorite games, movies, tv shows, and comics of the year…

the noob has spoken

The trailer forTerrence Malick’s long awaited film The Tree of Life is finally here, via Apple. While the trailer has been attached to copies of Black Swan in limited release, this is the first time an official high def version of the trailer has been made available online. The beautiful trailer doesn’t give us much of an idea of the story just yet, but the imagery and poetry of youth, growth and life is enough to get me excited. Featuring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and a breakout performance from Jessica Chastain, this drama looks like it’ll be well worth the long wait.

Watch the first official trailer for Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life:

You can also watch The Tree of Life trailer in High Definition over on Apple

From Terrence Malick, the acclaimed director of such classic films as Badlands, Days of Heaven andThe Thin Red Line, The Tree of Life is the impressionistic story of a Midwestern family in the 50′s. It follows the life journey of eldest son Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years (Penn) as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father. Jack, as an adult, finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking out answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith. Through Malick’s images we see how both brute nature and spiritual grace shape not only our lives as individuals and families, but all life. Fox Searchlight is bringing The Tree of Life to theaters on May 27th.

Fast Five, the fifth Fast and the Furious movie, comes out April 29. Here’s the trailer, just released today.

The cool thing is that is it actually manages to give a little bit of zest to something that should be, by now, pretty lifeless.

There’s big movement on Snow White and the Huntsman,Universal’s take on the suddenly hot fairy tale, which is the subject of several competing movie projects.

The studio, clearly angling to beat Relativity’s version, is in talks with Charlize Theron to play the evil queen and is having conversations with Michael Fassbender’s reps to take on the titular huntsman.

But who will nab the starring role of Snow White?

The studio initially thought of going with name actresses in that age bracket, making entreaties toward Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning and Saoirse Ronan, but is nowleaning toward going with a relative unknown and is holding screen tests in the next few days to find its leading lady. The stakes are high because, similar to Disney’s recent Alice in Wonderland adaptation, there will be stars in key roles, but the main pillar is going to be whoever ends up as the orphaned girl on the run.

Sources caution that depending on how the tests go, the studio can still reverse course and continue reaching out a bigger name. But for now, the actresses who have made Universal’s shortlist are:

– Riley Keough, the granddaughter of Elvis Presley and daughter of Lisa-Marie Presley. She made her film debut playing Marie Currie in The
Runaways and recently wrapped a vampire flick with Kylie Minogue titled Jack
& Diane.

– Felicity Jones, an English actress currently seen as Miranda in Julie
Taymor’s The Tempest. She also played Margot Frank in BBC’s 2009 miniseries
The Diary of Anne Frank.

– Bella Heathcoat, whose major credit is the Australian soap opera
Neighbours.

– Alicia Vikander, a Swedish actress with mostly TV work under her hood.

[Pictured clockwise from top left: Keough, Jones, Heathcoat and Vikander.]

Apart from Keough, who is tethered to WME, none of the girls is known to
have American representation. So get to it, agents and managers!