Julia Roberts Out For Revenge in 'The Secret in Their Eyes'

The 2009 Argentinian film The Secret in Their Eyes won the Foreign Language Film Oscar in something of an upset that year, and now it's being remade in English with a big name cast and directed by Billy Ray, the writer of Captain Phillips. It looks like it could be pretty good- it's definitely a completely different kind of role for Julia Roberts. What's interesting is that it looks like they took some liberties with the story, which appears to differ here in some significant ways from the original film. It comes out October 23rd.

Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "Five Easy Pieces" (1970)

Jack Nicholson stars in this classic character study that functions as an examination of the rootless existence of a blue collar kid who was once a piano prodigy, but like so many others of his generation, can't seem to figure out what the right path is for his adult life. This is a great Nicholson performance because it came from the "pre-Nicholson" era, which I like to think of as being before 1975, when One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest kind of solidified his star persona for the rest of his career. This early film reminds you of the kinds of character performances he was always capable of giving- and it's got the famous "chicken salad sandwich" speech in it, which is a little more classic Jack, but the rest of the movie isn't, as he's much more quiet and understated. He and Karen Black were both Oscar-nominated for their roles here.

Original 1970 Trailer:

New Teaser for Oliver Stone's 'Snowden'

This teaser gives us no footage but some highlights of the now (overly) familiar Edward Snowden story- although after last year's Citizenfour I wonder how much this is really necessary. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is playing him here, but Oliver Stone hasn't made a decent movie in many years (not since what, Nixon?) and with his trademark preachiness I'm not sure this particular issue will play to his strengths. But who knows, I guess he might be due for a comeback. It's coming out at Christmas.

Michael B. Jordan is the New 'Creed'

Wow, this looks much better than I thought it would. The director of Fruitvale Station (which I loved), is taking on this semi-continuation of the Rocky saga, but this time it's about Apollo Creed's son (who cleverly wants nothing to do with his dad's legacy). Stallone's Rocky is here again, but honestly it doesn't look like the old Rocky movies at all. Okay guys, you've piqued my interest. Creed's coming out November 25th.

Tom Hardy Plays Gangster Twins in 'Legend'

Tom Hardy is quietly putting together a remarkable resume of transformative character performances, from Dark Knight Rises to Locke, Warrior, Mad Max, and now Legend, where he plays the notorious Kray twins- the 60's British gangsters who rose to prominence on the London party scene before getting caught in 1969. Brian Helgeland (writer of L.A. Confidential) wrote and directed this film, which is coming out October 2nd in the U.S. Could this be Hardy's invitation to the Oscars for the first time? He hasn't been around that long, but he's already starting to feel overdue for recognition.

Kristen Wiig, Zach Galifianakis are Criminal 'Masterminds' in New Trailer

This could be really stupid, but as is usually the case with comedy trailers, it could also go the other way and manage some laughs. I'm not that big a fan of Zach G (so I don't have to spell out his whole name) though. I thought he was kinda intermittently funny in The Hangover, but he's definitely an acquired taste. I liked a couple of his SNL hosting stints, but the idea of seeing a movie he's the star of kinda puts me off of it. For me he's a "best in small doses" kind of guy.

Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie Star in 'Sleeping With Other People'

They don't make romantic comedies anymore, and when they do they get shoved into limited release, as this one is, being distributed by IFC Films in September. But by all accounts it got good reviews from Sundance, and even though it look extremely close to When Harry Met Sally (like, criminally close), I think it's a shame that not even good romantic comedies can manage a wide release these days. Did Katherine Heigl's awful and brief stint as a rom-com star kill it for everyone?

Meet the New Spider-Man

So here he is, everybody. 19-year-old Tom Holland has been cast as the new Spidey, and he's the second Brit in a row to land the part (I don't know why that bugs me, but it kinda does- how come no American actors are good enough?). Marvel's approach to this is to make it new is to cast someone who looks 12, apparently, which...yeah, I guess that'll give it a different feel without having to do anything else. He'll be making his first appearance in Captain America 3, which is currently filming, and he was screen tested with both Chris Evans and Robert Downey, Jr. Of course, he'll get his own movie soon enough, for which Jon Watts was hired to direct. Who, you say? Yeah, he did some movie called Cop Car with Kevin Bacon, but that screams studio puppet to me. I'm not familiar with this Holland kid at all- his breakthrough role was in The Impossible a few years ago, so I have no real idea what we're in for with him. I guess we'll find out soon enough, since Captain America: Civil War comes out next May.