Star of this summer's G.I. Joe movie and all around bad ass Joseph Gordon-Levvit recently sat down with MTV's Josh Horowitz and let slip a little on what he's up to next. He is collaborating with Batman Begins/The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan. It was really more of a non-comment, but we’ll take what we can get! “Here’s the thing,” Gordon-Levitt told MTV. “I cant wait to talk to you about [Inception] but I’ve been very specifically asked not to talk about it. I want to respect [director Chris Nolan's wishes] because I love his movies and I’m so honored and grateful to be working with him.”

There’s apparently a very specific reason for Nolan’s insistence on maintaining the silence for now.

 “He’s got a really specific idea and way he wants people to be presented with this thing,” Gordon-Levitt said of the director’s plans.

Variety has previously reported that Inception is "a contemporary sci-fi actioner within the architecture of the mind," and recent speculation is the film has a $200 million budget. 

Regardless, we know that Gordon-Levitt will play a role of some significance within the film. He wouldn’t go into any specifics of course, but he offered a sly response to the question of his role’s size. “I’m going to be working on it for awhile,” he said, laughing.

Now this is where I begin to speculate, because when Heath Ledger met his untimely death, the world lost a true talent. After seeing his Joker, I couldn't have thought anyone could have done a better job. But then I got to thinking, and my geeky thoughts turned to Joseph-Gordon Levitt and how he bears a striking resemblance to Ledger, in addition to sporting some extremely diverse acting chops. If anyone could or would replace Heath, it should be Joseph. Well then Joseph got cast in Nolan's in between flick, and now I just hold onto hope that Nolan re-uses the guy like he uses Michael Caine, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe, and Christian Bale. Heck, maybe if they aren't interested in re-hashing The Joker, maybe Levitt could be The Riddler? What do you guys think?

--Greg MacLennan

This summer just got a little bit more Bana-nas with the official trailer for The Time Traveler's Wife, a romantic drama about a Chicago librarian (Bana) with a gene that causes him to involuntarily time travel, and the complications it creates for his marriage to mega cutie Rachel McAdams. Ready your tissues ladies and gentlemen, this one could be a goosebumpy ride.

--Greg MacLennan

Moon - (85% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) Limited Release - Pick of the Week

Check out our review of it film HERE.



Imagine That - (37% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes)

Eddie Murphy stars as a successful financial executive who has more time for his blackberry than his seven-year-old daughter (Yara Shahidi). When he has a crisis of confidence and his career starts going down the drain, however, he finds the solution to all his problems in his daughter’s imaginary world. Critical consensus is that despite a promising turn by newcomer Yara Shahidi, Imagine That is another pedestrian family comedy that squanders Eddie Murphy's comedic talents. Are we still calling him talented these days?

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 - (45% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes)

Denzel Washington stars as New York City subway dispatcher Walter Garber, whose ordinary day is thrown into chaos by an audacious crime: the hijacking of a subway train. John Travolta stars as Ryder, the criminal mastermind who, as leader of a highly-armed gang of four, threatens to execute the train's passengers unless a large ransom is paid within one hour. Critics are saying that despite a strong cast, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 suffers under the excesses of Tony Scott's frantic direction, and fails to measure up to the 1974 original. For me, I haven't seen the original and I embrace every bit of Tony Scott's excesses, so I'll be there this weekend.

Hey everyone,

In Japan today. After a month and half seven days a week most days going till midnight me and my crew have just about finished Transformers. I have never seen such a level of dedication from every crew member in a movie before.

Even today after the press in Japan and right before the premiere tonight, I have to sneak out to a digital house to approve the last few effect shots.

It has been a long hard road, but really fun one to travel. What you will notice that is strikingly different than Transformers 1, is the level of animation detail. The robot characters (42 in all), you really can feel empathy for them. What is also very different is the sheer scale of the movie. We have been very tight holding back much of the best imagery in commercials and trailers.

The way to see this movie is on IMAX. Never before has there been 4k rendered character animation shot on full IMAX 70 mm film. This is a first and the results are stunning. You will see Optimus Prime in a few shots where he is actually perfectly to scale on the IMAX 50 foot tall screens.

For IMAX, I created a slightly longer cut with more robot fighting. Four scenes were shot on IMAX cameras so the screen will fill the full IMAX screen for these scenes.

Haters beware.

Michael

--Greg MacLennan

Up director Pete Doctor has confirmed we will be seeing more of Pixar's beloved Monsters Inc. as he is currently developing a sequel for release. Currently Pixar has Cars 2 in development and Toy Story 3 prepping for release next year so we probably won't be seeing Mike and Sully until 2012 or so, but at least we got something.

Also on a side note,  Disney is reportedly focusing on The Lone Ranger adaptation directed by Mike Newell and starring Johnny Depp as Tonto, which has pushed Pirates of the Caribbean back to 2012. So you will have to wait longer for your swashbuckling adventures with Captain Jack Sparrow...because well...Johnny Depp is a busy guy.

--Greg MacLennan

The Hangover - (80% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) Pick of the Week

Check out our review of it HERE. Our own Clark Here wasn't the biggest of fans, while I myself enjoyed this one quite a bit. Critical consensus tells us that with a clever script and hilarious interplay among the cast, The Hangover nails just the right tone of raunchy humor, and the non-stop laughs overshadow any flaw.

Land of the Lost - (24% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes)

Space-time vortexes suck. Will Ferrell stars as has-been scientist Dr. Rick Marshall, sucked into one and spat back through time. Way back. Now, Marshall has no weapons, few skills and... Space-time vortexes suck. Will Ferrell stars as has-been scientist Dr. Rick Marshall, sucked into one and spat back through time. Way back. Now, Marshall has no weapons, few skills and questionable smarts to survive in an alternate universe full of marauding dinosaurs and fantastic creatures from beyond our world. Critical consensus is that the film is only loosely based on the original TV series, and Land of the Lost is decidedly less kid-friendly and feels more like a series of inconsistent sketches than a cohesive adventure comedy. I'll still probably check it out though.


My Life in Ruins - (11% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes)

Georgia (Nia Vardalos) has lost her kefi (Greek for “mojo”). Discouraged by her lack of direction in life, she works as a travel guide, leading a rag-tag group of tourists as she tries to show them the beauty of her native Greece while waiting to land her dream job. Opening their eyes to an exotic foreign land, she too begins to see things in new ways—finding her kefi and possibly love in the process. Critics are saying with it's stereotypical characters and a shopworn plot, My Life in Ruins is a charmless romantic comedy.

--Greg MacLennan