The first (green-band) trailer for Kevin Smith’s Cop Out was a huge letdown. I’ve been a fan of Smith over the years but his recent fare hasn’t especially impressed me, and it looked like Cop Out wasn’t going to be bucking any trends. But now MySpace has released the red-band trailer for the film and you know what? It’s pretty damn funny. It’s not breaking any new comedy ground and relies almost entirely on penis-related jokes, but the oddball chemistry between Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis plays great, and even Sean William Scott elicits a good laugh.

I still don’t know if this is going to be the movie that completely restores my faith in Smith, but it finally has my attention now. I’m genuinely looking forward to it, and I’m hoping the final product will more closely reflect the red-band trailer rather than that boring green-band one.

Hit the jump to see the trailer.

M. Night Shyamalan is one of the most divisive directors we’ve had in recent years. While he proved that he’s a talented filmmaker with movies like The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, his other works have either been mixed bags (I loved Signs and really enjoyed The Village, but I know plenty who hated both) or outright disasters (Lady in the Water wasn’t good; The Happening was just an utterly puzzling experience). Still, that kind of talent doesn’t just suddenly disappear, right? Everyone can fall into a slump — it doesn’t mean they’re incapable of returning to form.

So when Shyamalan signed on to adapt Nickelodeon’s extremely well-regarded series Avatar: The Last Airbender for the big-screen, fans were understandably worried. On the one hand, Shyamalan’s a big name and bound to get the kind of budget and studio support other directors can’t. He has the potential to deliver a truly great film. On the other hand, this was the guy who just put out The Happening. The early teaser seemed to earn some excitement, but, for the most part, didn’t sway anyone one way or the other. Now we get a second and better look at the film via UGO’s premiere of its Super Bowl Ad. The result? Pretty impressive.

Check it out, plus our thoughts and some posters, after the jump.

The West Coast is just waking up, but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has already finished announcing their nominations for this year’s Oscars. It’s the first year since 1943 that there are 10 nominations for Best Picture, and it’s refreshing to see some films that might usually get overlooked receive some much-deserved kudos.

Most of the list is nothing surprising though, as the usual suspects that have been picking up noms and wins throughout the awards season are the ones filling out the categories for the Academy Awards. Leading the pack are James Cameron’s Avatar and Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker, with 9 nominations apiece. There are still a few surprises here and there, though, so be sure to check out the full list of nominees after the jump.

Here are your nominees…

If you caught The Book of Eli this past weekend, you were treated to Denzel Washington unleashing some righteous ass-whoopings. Good times all around.

But The Book of Eli was a lot more than your run-of-the-mill action flick. It had atmosphere and heart, and pulsated with grimness and hope. Part of what made it such a potent vision of faith in a post-apocalyptic future was Atticus Ross’ haunting and powerful score. If you haven’t seen the film yet, you can get a taste of Ross’ music here.

We’re excited to host another giveaway here at c, vt, this time centering around the amazing film that is The Book of Eli. Hit the jump to see what’s up for grabs, and how you can win!

Editor’s note: We never reviewed Jennifer’s Body on c, vt, so as opposed to a mini review, we’re running a longer one for the Blu-ray release.

REVIEW:

Jennifer’s Body was a script that received a lot of attention when it first began circulating through Hollywood, though with good reason. For starters, it was Diablo Cody’s first script since she won an Oscar for Juno. It also revealed itself to be a hip ode to the brand of 80’s horror-comedy probably best represented by Sami Raimi’s work of the period. It also hinted at some interesting themes, chiefly having to do with teenage female relationships. The fact that it was funny and chock full of gore didn’t hurt its case either. All it needed was a good cast and a competent director, and one could easily imagine it becoming the next cult classic.

Fast forward four months from its theatrical release, and few would try to argue Jennifer’s Body as a crucial addition to the canon of horror-comedies. It’s easy to say why — the movie turned out to be a moderately entertaining film that didn’t have any glaring lows, but also failed to hit any cinematic highs. It’s got a semblance of good energy, but never really finds its stride. It certainly understands the genre, but fails to bring anything notably new to the table or improve on the old formula in a significant way. Put simply, it’s an acceptably diverting movie that has all the right ingredients to be special — strong themes, great visuals, a good story — but never gets them to pop.

Latino Review reported late last month that the search for Green Lantern’s female lead had been narrowed down to five actresses: Eva Green, Keri Russel, Diane Kruger, Blake Lively, and Jennifer Garner. Now, The Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision blog is reporting that the role has been cast, with Lively being the one who has ultimately won the role in the Martin Campbell-directed film.

Lively will star opposite Ryan Reynolds’ Hal Jordan as Carol Ferris, a woman who runs her father’s aerospace company, and the one who hires Reynold’s cocky and fearless test pilot character. In the comics, Jordan goes on to become the titular intergalactic policeman and his romance with Ferris becomes complicated when an opposing alien race bestows her with the power of a crystal called the Star Sapphire. Though the character called for someone older, Lively reportedly impressed the studio and filmmakers with a strong audition, as well as with her work in Ben Affleck’s The Town.

Hit the jump for some more details and our thoughts.

Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick wrote an awesome script when they pumped out Zombieland last year. They have some intriguing projects in the pipeline as well, what with their work on Venom and Earth vs. Moon. Now it looks like they’re really stepping into the big leagues, tackling two studio tent poles.

Reese and Wernick have been hired to pen Fox’s Deadpool, which is set to return Ryan Reynolds to the role he originated in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The two have already proven they know how to blend action and humor with Zombieland, and it’s something they’ll have to do very well to pull off a faithful Deadpool movie. Though no director is yet attached, and a timetable for production to begin is still unknown given Reynold’s involvement with Green Lantern, I remain optimistic about this project, especially now that Reese and Wernick have come aboard.

Hit the jump to see what other big franchise Reese and Wernick have been hired to write.

Lionsgate has released a second trailer for Kick-Ass, this one showing off the film’s action while remaining suitable for all audiences. And you know what? It still kicks ass. We get a sense of the kooky, crazy fun that Matthew Vaughn’s movie is promising to be, and the real shit-your-pants stuff is hinted at just enough to entice. It introduces all of the key players with a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor about it all that makes these otherwise outlandish characters seem (mostly) believable. Even a sword-wielding little girl that’ll literally leave you in pieces? You better believe it.

While Aaron Johnson is going to get his fair share of shine after the movie, I think it’s safe to say that the real breakout star is going to be Chloe Moretz with her turn as Hit-Girl. After stealing scenes in (500) Days of Summer, and with the upcoming Let the Right One In remake Let Me In coming out on October 10th, she’s poised to have a big 2010. And this isn’t even counting her appearances in the kid-friendly fare she has in the pipeline either (i.e. Diary of a Wimpy Kid). With her anchoring the supporting cast along with Nicolas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Clark Duke, and Mark Strong, Kick-Ass is looking to take names when it hits this spring.

Check out the trailer after the jump, or see it in HD over at Yahoo!

A new teaser trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Inception unspooled in front of most showings of Sherlock Holmes over the weekend, but if you haven’t seen it yet, it’s now online for you to view in high def glory. There’s still very little anyone actually knows about the film, and while the teaser does offer some hints of what to expect, it’s not enough to glean any solid plot details. What we do get is some stunning visuals of the expectedly mind-bending variety — Paris folding in on itself, a gravity-defying brawl, water tilting upwards in a glass, etc.

The film has a ridiculously amazing cast — Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Watanabe, Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, and Michael Caine. It doesn’t come out until next summer, but you can whet your appetite for what’s sure to be a head trip by checking out the teaser after the jump. We’ll also do some good ol’ speculating, too, so click through to ponder just what Nolan has cooked up for us.

Apple also has the teaser in HD.

I was hoping Cop Out would be funny — what with Kevin Smith at the helm and Tracy Morgan and the deceptively amusing Bruce Willis headlining — but alas, we can’t always get what we want. It seems after shedding its former A Couple of Dicks titling, the film may have also lost its sense of humor, because this is one unfunny trailer.

Tracy Morgan’s one of those actors whose off-the-wall antics can be funny if utilized in the right way, but it looks like Smith let him run way too wild here. Add that onto the fact that the jokes aren’t anywhere near funny (I mean, the whole “stop repeating me” bit…really?), and this trailer has effectively killed any interest I had in the film. Smith’s talented, though, so I’m hoping that maybe the trailer just got put together with the film’s worst jokes, or maybe some of them work better in the context of the narrative. But really, there’s no indication that this movie is funnier than what the trailer is selling, and if that turns out to be true, that’s really disappointing.

Hit the jump to see the trailer, or head over to Apple to see it in HD.

Three new posters have been released, all for films we’re very excited for here at c, vt. Check them out after the jump.

The first is for Christopher Nolan’s Inception. The film is still more or less shrouded in mystery, but we’re starting to hear hints and whispers that it will involve a technology that allows a person to enter someone else’s mind, dreams, etc. to poke around for various reasons. In either case, it’s got an absolutely stellar cast and c’mon, it’s Christopher Nolan. I need no other reason to see this movie. But if that’s not enough for you, we’ve got a new poster to show off, courtesy of the film’s official site. If it recalls the poster for The Dark Knight, you’re absolutely right — it does. But does it mean anything? I don’t think so, but people are speculating…

The next one is the last character banner for Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass, and comes courtesy of IGN. It features Chloe Moretz as Hit-Girl, and she’s looking quite…purple.

The last one comes via IMPAwards and is for the Martin Campbell-Mel Gibson revenge thriller Edge of Darkness.

We’ve heard rumors since a few months ago, but it looks like it’s now true — Bryan Singer is returning to the X-Men. The director originally launched the cinematic iterations of the popular superhero team with 2000’s X-Men before leaving after the highly successful X2 to direct Superman Returns. He’ll now be back to relaunch the franchise in a way, announcing that he has closed a deal to direct X-Men: First Class.

Singer spoke with MySpace at the Blue Carpet premiere of Avatar last night, and that’s where he dropped the bombshell. Asked what projects he was working, Singer mentioned briefly that he was prepping Jack the Giant Killer before going on to say, “I just yesterday signed a deal to do an X-Men: First Class origins picture, which is kind of cool.”

Hit the jump to see a video of the aforementioned interview, as well as for more information about the movie.

The fourth and (purportedly) final Shrek film, Shrek Forever After, now has a teaser trailer and poster. A lot of the blogosphere isn’t looking forward to this film, especially after the laughably bad third installment, but I’m sure plenty of folks will still turn up to see this movie. I’m a fan of this universe, and though the first film is still the only one in the franchise that I’ll sit down and watch through to the end if I happen to flip to it on cable, I’m still hopeful that this new one will turn out well.

The teaser doesn’t convince me one way or the other on whether or not this will be more Shrek than Shrek the Third, though. It has some amusing moments, but also some signs that it might succumb to the same kind of middling jokes and antics that dragged down the third film and, to a much lesser extent, the second one. Maybe the quasi-reboot they’re doing with the whole alternate reality storyline is what will get the franchise out of its boring comfort zone. We’ll have to wait to see.

In the meantime, you can see the poster and teaser after the jump, or in HD at Apple.

MTV has the exclusive new teaser for The Runaways, the film about the titular all-girl 70’s rock band. The film will follow their rise to superstardom amidst a turbulent relationship with abusive manager Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon), with lead singer Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning) and lead guitarist Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) serving as the focal points.

The little we do see looks promising enough, and though Fanning appears to lack the timbre of Currie’s voice, she’s certainly got the sass and attitude. This will be an interesting film for both Fanning and Stewart; their most overtly complex roles to date where their maturation as performers will be placed front and center. I’m intrigued to see how they do, and whether or not this will be the movie that pushes them from being child/teenaged actresses into just actresses. Long-time music video director Floria Sigismondi will make her feature debut from her own script, and so far it looks like she’s captured the mix of posh and grime that would become a distinct part of The Runaways’ style.

Check out the teaser after the jump.

MGM has released the trailer for Hot Tub Time Machine, the time travel buddy comedy starring John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, and Clark Duke. The film follow four friends who find themselves transported to the past (I’ll let you guess their time-hopping vehicle of choice) after a hard night of drinking. Hilarity/shenanigans/life-altering epiphanies ensue.

The new trailer is a bit too tame for my tastes, and doesn’t live up to the hilarious teaser we saw a few months back. There are still a couple of funny moments, though, so I suggest you give it a watch. Robinson’s scenes do their best to keep this thing afloat, and it should attract at least some new interest. I’ll be waiting eagerly for the red-band trailer, though, which I’m sure will fully unleash the wild and vulgar comedy I’m convinced this film has. This green-band one just doesn’t do much for me.

Watch the trailer after the jump, or see it in HD over at Yahoo!