Elf Finds The Joy In Both Christmas And Humanity

Welcome to 25 Days Of Christmas Pop Culture! From now until Christmas Eve, I'll be tackling one piece of Christmas pop culture! It could be a book, movie, TV special, song....so long as it's festive for this time of the year, it'll be checked out in this daily column!

Elf is a prime example of a movie that shouldn't, under any circumstances, work. A comedian mugging it in a family movie? That always works out well. A sequence where the main character spies on a woman in the ladies locker room? Creep central. A lead character so optimistic and spunky should be aggravating. Instead, it's a treat of film, one of the very best features centered around the holiday of Christmas.

NSFW Unfinished Business Trailer Shows Drugs, Tears Gas And Dave Franco Nudity (WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT AHEAD)

Vince Vaughn's double dose of box office dudes in 2013 is leading him to restructure a comeback in 2015. The most buzzed about role for him next year is his major part in the second season of True Detective, but he's also got a new R-rated comedy being released as well. The feature just dropped a an extremely R-rated, nudity and swear filled, NSFW trailer, which you can watch below.

Some Thoughts On The Incredible Star Wars The Force Awakens Trailer

Ever since October 2012 when Disney announced they purchased Lucasfilm, people like me had been waiting to see what the first film made under Disney's watch would look, sound and feel like. Now, that feature, Star Wars The Force Awakens, has dropped a trailer on all of us and man oh man is it great.

Classic Write-Up: Batman (1989) Review

Burton, Bats, Bamboozlement, Oh My!

While Batman's most notable modern day portrayal is the one Christopher Nolan brought to life from 2005-2012, it's Tim Burtons Batman feature from the 80's that truly brought the character to life. Becoming one of the biggest movies of all-time back in the day, the films 25th anniversary arriving this year makes it a good time to look back on the feature.

Box Office Predictions: Penguins And Jason Bateman Go Up Against Katniss

Plenty of movies will vie for box office glory over this coming Thanksgiving holiday, as Horrible Bosses 2 and The Penguins of Madagascar expand their franchises while The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One will likely lead the box office again. Add in The Theory of Everything going into wide release, and there's plenty to talk about.

Some Thoughts On The Jurassic World Trailer

I love nothing more than a fun surprise, and getting the trailer for Jurassic World two whole days early certainly fits into that category. The first time footage from the feature had been shown, this was the world's first glimpse into what's to come for the beloved franchise. If the first trailer is any indication, we're all in for a treat come next summer.

Michelle Maclaren Officially Directing Wonder Woman Movie!

Yes folks, it's official, the Wonder Woman is really, really happening. While movies have gotten directors in the past only to fall apart, it does feel like this iconic superhero is finally getting to the big screen. The person in charge of handling her first solo appearance (she'll pop by in Batman v. Superman) is Michelle Maclaren, a director notable for her extraordinary work on Breaking Bad.

Oscar Isaac Cast As Villain Apocalypse In Next X-Men Movie!

If you told me back in early January when I saw Inside Llewyn Davis that Oscar Isaac would have been cast in two of the biggest franchises by the end of the year, I'd have said you were crazy. But the actor has fared well indeed by winding up in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and now has been cast as the major antagonist Apocalypse in X-Men: Apocalypse.

Nine Actors Who Deserve Oscar Recognition This Year, But Won't Get It

The Academy Awards are a confounding presence in Hollywood, their awards have a major impact on any given winner or nominees life. However, the ceremony seems to have a stern refusal to give notice to anything that utilizes comedy, action or animation, a bizzare practice that means much of Hollywoods best features get no recognition. A similar lack of recognition is inevitable for these eight actors, whose roles this year were superb showcases of their talent, but due to numerous factors (release dates namely) won't be given proper recognition. Without further ado, here's Nine Actors Who Deserve Oscar Recognition This Year, But Won't Get It!

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One Review

Mock (Yeah)...Ing (Yeah)....Jay (Yeah)

Cliffhangers are a tricky business. Do it one way, and it can become an entertaining way to simultaneously push the characters forward while giving a glimpse at the future (see: The Empire Strikes Back and The Hobbit films). But others really just do it in an abrupt fashion that manages to decrease the overall quality of the film. Thankfully, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One manages to avoid being a calamity. In fact, it's an entertaining movie filled with tension packed sequences.

Rosewater Review

A Rose By Any Other Name

When progressing to the world of directing, one has to wonder what one is trying to accomplish in this endeavor. Do you want to entertain? Do you want to say something profound? For Jon Stewart, his first directorial effort in the world of feature length cinema is Rosewater (a movie he also wrote), a feature centering around a story that does seem like it would particularly resonate with Stewart, considering his investment in not only politics matters but also journalism as a whole.

Box Office Analysis: Mockingjay Midnight Numbers Potentially Spell Financial Trouble

Part of me feels like I'm Chicken Little, saying "The Sky Is Falling!" by writing this, but I also feel like it's just sort of an interesting thing to talk about. The penultimate Hunger Games movie, Mockingjay Part One, opened in theaters everywhere last night in Thursday night screenings. The amount of cash it made from those though was a bit less than expected.

Zoolander 2 Is A-Go, With Penelope Cruz Joining Cast

But why male models? More like why a sequel, amirite? Bad puns aside, I'm a big fan of Zoolander, Ben Stillers odyssey into male modeling absurdity. It's an entertaining movie full of quotable lines, and a sequel to it has been in the works for ages now. After Anchorman 2 failed to recapture the laughs of the original, I kind hoped this long-in-the-works-comedy-sequel-from-Paramount would not come to fruition, but now it's on the way!

Pitch Perfect 2 Trailer Is Aca-Here!!

I haven't seen Pitch Perfect, which feels weird considering my adoration of musicals and Anna Kendrick. But I'll certainly check it out within the coming months, as a sequel is on the horizon that aims to take advantage of the massive audience that has found the film on home video and translate it into summertime box office success. Check out the first trailer for Pitch Perfect 2 below!

Box Office Predictions: Katniss Everdeen Is Off To Financial Victory

Only one new movie opens this weekend, and boy is it a doozy. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One is unleashed onto the world, and no other movie has a chance to beat it. With that in mind, let's get this weeks box office predictions started, shall we?

Aaron Sorkin Written Steve Jobs Movie Loses Home At Sony, But All Hope Is Not Lost

It's been a rough road for the Steve Jobs biopic written by Aaron Sorkin. David Fincher was supposed to direct it, make it a nice Social Network reunion, but he passed. Then, Danny Boyle came on as director, only for lead actor Leonardo DiCaprio to pass. Christian Bale, who had been floated around as a lead for the project when Fincher was directing, reattached himself to the project, and then left it. Michael Fassbender was in talks to play the lead of Steve Jobs, while Seth Rogen, Jessica Chastain and Scarlett Johnansson were in discussions for roles in the feature.

Trailer For Live-Action Cinderella Takes Classic Tale And...Doesn't Update It

Aside from a little teaser trailer that didn't show any footage from this past summer, Kenneth Branagh's take on Cinderella for Disney has been really quiet. That changes now, as a new trailer popped up this morning, just in time to be shown on The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One this weekend. Check out the new trailer below.

Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. (S2E8) Review: Attacking From The Back(stories)

Everybody's got a story is how the old saying goes, and Agents of SHIELD proved that this week with it's focus on backstories for many of it's characters. What I found interesting about these backstories is not only in how they're presented in an entertaining manner, but in how much they rely on the universe SHIELD has created for itself. Last season, it felt like everyone named dropped Thor or Iron Man every five minutes, and that was the extent of a larger world beyond the central cast, but now the show has developed itself to the point where there's much more to this show. And that makes for very interesting storytelling possibilities.

It's A New Trailer For Your New Movie Charlie Brown!

The forthcoming The Peanuts Movie should be an abomination. It should be a film that takes certain beloved cartoon characters and turns them into freaky, overly realistic CGI concoctions solely to make a buck and spew fart gags (think of those hideous Scooby-Doo movies from 2002 and 2004). Instead though, it actually looks great. The characters have been translated to CGI animation in a successful manner that retains their distinctive hand-drawn look, creating a new kind of style I've never seen in a CGI-animated feature.

With Do You Want To Cook A Meth Lab, Breaking Bad And Frozen Come Together At Last!! (From The Interwebs)

Some things were always meant to come together. Peanut butter and jelly. Rolls and butter. Chocolate and more chocolate (I'm hungry as I'm writing this). I never would have thought Frozen and Breaking Bad would come together so well, but the Internet has a tendency to surprise me. Below, check out a parody that merges the two entitled Do You Want To Build A Meth Lab?