By Jack Giroux

2008 was a great summer for the movies. Good entertainment was had, and not just dumb popcorn movies for once. We got The Dark Knight, Wall-E, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Iron Man, Tropic Thunder, and Pineapple Express. This summer is even going to be better. Although the start was a bit shaky with Wolverine, Star Trek kicks it off right this weekend. Here are the top 15 stand out films this summer:

15- Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen

Release Date- June 24th

Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen will inevitably offer no more then a lot of explosions and CGI, but with robots. While the first film wasn’t a landmark of any kind, and mostly dumb, it was fun none-the-less. The 147 minute running time for the new one is a bit bothersome, but long running times are fine when the story calls for it. My only question is do we really need to see robots fighting for that long? Its a Michael Bay movie, there will only be good action, nothing more. Even the length of the first movie was a problem, the last thirty minutes turned into nothing but repetitive action. Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen will without a doubt be a fun action movie, even if it extends its welcome.

Read the rest of the list >>

You are entering the Back Stage. The following is a round-up of smaller film news around the web this week. These stories aren’t quite big enough to garner a full post, but worthy checking out.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Cast in Christopher Nolan’s Inception [THR]

Tom Hanks Has Seen Toy Story 3 [/Film]

Transformers 2 Trailer to Premiere in 20 Cities [/Film]

Jack Black and Michael Cera Are Proud of Their Son Andy Samberg [/Film]

See The First 7 Minutes of The Brothers Bloom [Firstshowing]

Empire Unveil Tintin Information Galore [/Film]

Read the rest of this entry >>

Empire Magazine has debuted the first two photos from Peter Jackson’s (King Kong) upcoming adaptation of Alice Sebold’s novel The Lovely Bones. The 1st photo gives a glimpse of how Peter Jackson is depicting heaven, which is where we see the main character Susie Salmon played by Saoirse Ronan (Atonement). Check out two new photos after the jump.

Check out the photos >>

Rian Johnson’s The Brothers Bloom has a new poster. Thanks to /Film (above) we can see how similar it is to the old poster. Summit has just added a bunch of new quotes, like the new trailer. Check out the new poster after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry >>

Summit has released a new trailer for Rian Johnson’s The Brothers Bloom, his next film after the 2006 indie sensation Brick. It stars Mark Ruffalo, Rachel Weisz and Adrien Brody. Check it out below or in HD on YouTube:

Plot: The Brothers Bloom (Brody and Ruffalo) are the best con men in the world, swindling millionaires with complex scenarios of lust and intrigue. Now they’ve decided to take on one last job – showing a beautiful and eccentric heiress the time of her life with a romantic adventure that takes them around the world.

The film hits limited theaters May 15th, 2009.

Are you looking forward to The Brothers Bloom?

UPDATE: The list below was written in January of 2009. I suggest checking out our new list, 65 Must See Movies of 2010. Click the image below to see:

So 2008 is over, come on, it’s time to move on. Here are 50 great reasons to go to the theater this year:

January

My Bloody Valentine 3-D (Jan 16^th)

Synopsis: After surviving a fatal accident that claimed the lives of five of men in a mine shaft, Harry Warden performed a horrific killing spree on Valentines night in the town of Harmony, killing 22 people before he was shot to death.

Why You Should See It: Early screening reports have said there is more sex, limbs, and buckets of blood than one can handle. The 3-D gimmick is the only reason this is on my list. If implemented right it should be a great time at the movies.

Read the rest of the entry >>