5. Noomi Rapace

Starring in the Millennium Trilogy films garnered her international attention. As the titular character in the movie adaptations of the stories, her Lisbeth Salander character is one of the most recognizable female leads, starting with the first film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. While there’s an American remake on the way, she’s moving forward with new films, the biggest one being the upcoming Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. I’ve already talked about how excited I am for the film, but she’s going to bring a lot to the already stellar cast. While we’ve only seen a behind-the-scenes look at the sequel, we will be following her career and the film closely.

4. Cast of Sucker Punch

While many doubt how good Sucker Punch will actually be, there’s no doubt it’s going to be pretty visually interesting. Blending reality and imagination into a story of a girl trying to escape an institution with her comrades, there’s a lot here that can go wrong. But, being Zack Snyder’s first original storyline, he might have an entertaining story to tell wrapped in a wonderful-looking feature. The women in the movie shoot robots, fight dragons, attack WWI-era planes with Mech suits and might even have a song and dance for us. The movie might flop, but there’s little doubt the women won’t rock.

3. Olivia Wilde

Fresh off the grid of Tron: Legacy, Olivia Wilde is going to be taking on a whole new venture, the West, in Cowboys & Aliens. While doing Westerns well is difficult, as recent memory shows there’s been some real flops, a few have stood out and shown that a Western can be done right these days. Throwing in a curve ball is the fact that the titular humans are taking on aliens form another planet trying to take us out. The first theatrical teaser was a good taste, but the Superbowl spot was equally a good treat. Keep your eyes out for Olivia Wilde both in Jon Favreau’s feature as well as projects down the road.

2. January Jones

Unknown star January Jones showed her deceptive side in the film, playing the wife of Liam Neeson’s character. Making a name for herself on shows like Mad Men and in films like We Are Marshall, she’s an up-and-coming star who’s about to become even bigger. She’s playing the powerful mutant Emma Frost in the new X-Men reboot X-Men: First Class. She’s going to be a large part of the story from the direction the movie looks like it’s going, and in June we’ll get our answer. Even if the movie isn’t a success or she has a smaller role, I still think we’re going to be seeing her in more features.

1. Natalie Portman

She’s the women of the moment right now. She’s engaged, pregnant, a recent Oscar winner, and has a long history of successful films. This year, she’s got to very different movies heading to theaters. The first is Thor, the adaptation of the Marvel comic. She’ll be the female love interest to the Norse god of thunder, but will be more than the woman alongside the hero. She’s got smarts in the film, and will no doubt be a good part of helping the hero become the man Asgard and Earth need him to be. Her second movie is a fantasy comedy, Your Highness. Starring alongside James Franco and Danny McBride, she’s a tough female warrior that McBride’s character will be keeping his eye on.

Are there any women you think are going to be a big hit this year? Let us know below.

Entertainment Tonight has the first behind the scenes footage for the follow up to Guy Ritchie‘s 2009 Sherlock Holmes. In the clip we get to see some great set images and an interview with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. I must say that I really enjoyed the first film and have been eagerly awaiting the sequel.

Noomi Rapace (THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO) joins the cast as the female lead and should offer up some great energy for our sleuthing duo. Jared Harris rounds out the cast as Holmes greatest villain Professor Moriarty. The best part about the clips is that it looks like the actors are having a lot of fun. Downey Jr. is in women’s make up preparing for one of Holmes’ many disguises and Law and Ritchie are having a good laugh.

Are you excited about the new film? Post comments below.

Guy Ritchie brings Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s master of deduction to the big screen in Sherlock Holmes. Starring Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as his faithful right hand, Dr. John Watson, the two must stop a plot by an occult leader by the name of Lord Blackwood. Secrecy surrounds Blackwood and his methods as Holmes and Watson must end his killing spree and uncover the mystery on how he arose from the grave.

Robert Downey Jr. is my favorite actor right now, hands down. I have enjoyed, pretty much, his entire film library. I may be the driver of his bandwagon. With Sherlock Holmes, Downey Jr. does what he does best and sells you a great character. Set aside his ability to act and look at the mans range. The way he portrays Conan Doyle’s brilliant work is a well blended mix of the classic works with a hint of Hollywood. His accent was near flawless to my ears and you believed that he was actually figuring these crimes out. There may be some English people that will disagree, but this American bought it. Downey Jr’s. performance is highlighted more by the addition of Jude Law’s Dr. Watson. I must say that I have not been a fan of Law’s in the past, however with this role he may have captured a new fan. He definitely was the Watson to Downey Jr’s Holmes.

A big, yet pleasant surprise, was the direction of Guy Ritchie. Ritchie has a very distinct style. If your a fan of his work, you know it when you see it. That is not the case with Sherlock Holmes. If I didn’t know that Ritchie was the director of this film before I watched it, I would have never known. I think that may have been one of the reasons that I liked it so much. It’s great when a director can step out of his shell to tell a good story. If you didn’t know, Ritchie writes most of the projects that he directs, so he always knows where he is going when he shoots a film. I can imagine it being hard for him to go from that particular method, to using a screenplay written by someone else. I know that there are some critics that did not like seeing a Guy Ritchie film and it not feel like it was a Guy Ritchie film. If your not sure what I am talking about, check out the style of Ritchie’s previous films like Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. After watching Sherlock Holmes a second time I did pick out some of Ritchie’s trade marks such as high speed photography during the action sequences, but steering away from his usual style was a welcomed breath of fresh air from a director that I was already fond of.

Is this movie perfect? No. I believe there may or may not be some technology that didn’t belong in that era, and it may feel at times that it is all too glamorous. If you watched the trailer and enjoyed it I feel that it delivered on that note. It gave me exactly what I expected when I saw it. It’s a nice balance of action and mystery that doesn’t try too hard. Most hardcore fans of the novel will need to understand that this is a take on the vintage character and not the most literal interpretation. Others who are just looking for a fun popcorn film should be satisfied. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, but as I previously mentioned, I am a big fan of two of the major players.

Watch Sherlock Holmes in theaters now.

Fanboyz Grade: B+

]]> http://fanboyz.net/2009/12/28/movie-review-sherlock-holmes/feed/ 1 http://fanboyz.net/2009/12/28/box-office-avatar-sherlock-and-alvin-break-records-over-holiday-weekend/ http://fanboyz.net/2009/12/28/box-office-avatar-sherlock-and-alvin-break-records-over-holiday-weekend/#comments Tue, 29 Dec 2009 01:54:37 +0000 Jeff Olson http://fanboyz.net/?p=9166

It took an indigenous planet, a detective, and a trio of musical chipmunks to make Hollywood have a very merry Christmas. This holiday weekend witnessed numerous box office records being broken. Instead of coal under the tree, studio executives will be seeing dollar signs. The big winner of the weekend was once again James Cameron’s Avatar which took the top spot for a second weekend with an astonishing $75 million. For the record, that is less than a 2% drop from it’s opening weekend last week (where it banked $77 million.) Also, bringing in huge numbers were Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes and the animated kids movie Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. Sherlock drummed up $62.3 million opening weekend and Alvin and company pulled in $48.8 million. Multiple records were broken this weekend. To see what those are and for a full weekend break down of the box office continue reading.

The big news of the weekend is the impressive box office returns for James Cameron’s sci-fi epic Avatar. Dropping less than 2% from it’s opening weekend (most blockbusters drop between 30-50%) Avatar has banked $212.7 million in two weeks of release. That number reflects only its domestic haul. The more impressive figure is how much the movie has made world wide. Yahoo is reporting that the worldwide gross for Avatar has reached $617.3 million! For those who followed the excessive hype leading up to Avatar, you may know that the estimated budget for the film was in the $500 million range. So for those nay-sayers out there: how do you like them apples?

Coming in at number two this weekend was Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey, Jr and Jude Law, Sherlock grossed $62.3 million opening weekend. Thanks to a Christmas day opening of $24 million, director Guy Ritchie has a massive holiday hit to be thankful for. In fact, Holmes actually broke the Christmas day record for both single day and opening day grosses. Look for these detectives to hold up strong as the new year approaches.

The number three spot went to Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel which opened on Wednesday the 23rd. Over the five day haul Alvin, Simon, and Theodore grossed $75.5 million with a $48.8 million three day weekend.

It’s Complicated (#4), the Nancy Meyers romantic comedy starring Alec Baldwin and Meryl Streep was a strong weekend contender with $22 million Friday-Sunday.

Sandra Bullock’s The Blindside took in $11.5 million for a fifth place finish.

Up in the Air, starring George Clooney expanded its release on the 23rd which helped it bank $11.2 million. The Golden Globe nominated drama from director Jason Reitman should pick up steam over the next few weeks from strong word of mouth.

The only Christmas release not to pull in stellar numbers was Rob Marshall’s musical Nine which made $5.4 million for an eighth place finish. I guess people were not feeling the song and dance movies this holidays season.

Overall the weekend box office was a dominating force this holiday weekend. The top twelve films grossed a whopping $259 million which makes this weekend the most profitable weekend ever at the box office. Avatar, Sherlock, and Alvin beat out The Dark Knight’s weekend from July 2008 which along with the other top 11 films held the record with $253 million.

Box Office numbers courtesy of Box Office Mojo.

I love the Splashpage.com because they put up some of the best comic book/ movie content on the web. Also, because they are relentless when it comes to trying to get information. At a sit down with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law on the upcoming Sherlock Holmes release, it seems all that our friends at MTV wanted to talk about were other projects for Marvel’s Iron Man. One day, when our website is all grown up, we will bring you big boy content and hard hitting interviews but until then check this video out and enjoy!

Wow, it seemed like RDJ was getting a bit irritated with the questions, but can you blame him? He wants to talk about Sherlock Holmes, out December 25th, but all we want to hear about is Iron Man. Don’t get me wrong, I am as excited about Iron Man as the next guy. Though, I think that Sherlock Holmes deserves its time in the lime light. It may be one of my top three most anticipated movies of the year. So, I propose that we let the Holmes flower blossom and watch as the Iron Man 2 seeds grow on there own.

Which movie are you more excited for? Let us know.

We have several new posters to share with you that have been released in the past week. They range from a comic book character to a man buried alive to a famous detective. Check out these new posters after the break.

Kick-Ass hits theaters March 2010. Check out the trailer here.

Buried stars Ryan Reynolds as a man who has been buried alive in a coffin.

The Book of Eli arrives in theaters January 2010. Check out the trailer here.

The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time hits theaters May 2010. Watch the trailer here.

Final Sherlock Holmes poster. Watch the trailer here.

]]> http://fanboyz.net/2009/12/08/movie-posters-kick-ass-buried-book-of-eli-prince-of-persia-and-sherlock-holmes/feed/ 0 http://fanboyz.net/2009/11/19/iron-man-2-trailer-attached-to-sherlock-holmes/ http://fanboyz.net/2009/11/19/iron-man-2-trailer-attached-to-sherlock-holmes/#comments Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:45:23 +0000 Jeff Olson http://fanboyz.net/?p=8659

Christmas day will have a present for everyone to enjoy: The first trailer for Iron Man 2! This is not confirmed news but based upon Jon Favreau’s Twitter message earlier today it is safe to assume that we will get our first glimpse of Iron Man 2 attached to Sherlock Holmes on Christmas day. Director Jon Favreau retweeted a message today that gives all of us Iron Man fans a little hope.Check out the message after the jump.

Here is what the message said:

RT @Ann_Howard: @Jon_Favreau PLEASE tell us the trailer is coming soon – w/Sherlock Holmes, perhaps??

It was previously assumed that the Iron Man 2 trailer would premiere before James Cameron’s Avatar which opens on December 18th. However, debuting the trailer before Robert Downey Jr’s Sherlock Holmes makes sense.

Iron Man 2 hits theaters everywhere May 7, 2010.

Click here to follow Jon Favreau on Twitter.

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A fourth trailer for Sherlock Holmes has hit the net and it is action packed! Directed by Guy Ritchie, Sherlock Holmes arrives in theaters Christmas Day. This latest trailer is the best one yet! This should be a huge holiday hit that the entire family can enjoy. Robert Downey, Jr makes a great Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law holds his own as his assistant Dr. Watson. Check out this exciting, fast paced, stylish trailer for Sherlock Holmes and leave your comments below.

Detective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.

Trailer courtesy of MTV