Oculus is the kind of horror movie that hits my genre sweet spot, and as a result may be the best of its kind I’ve seen in some time. Too many modern horror movies these days, it seems, fall into two categories: they either utilize the now-exhausted found footage format to tell their story, or the story itself is based on real-life terrors like home invasion or pure shock tactics like the Saw series. Oculus uses traditional filmmaking techniques to tell a story that is firmly rooted in the supernatural, but like the best supernatural horror, it also employs a psychological aspect that keeps both the characters and the viewers off-balance.

Oculus also gives you characters to care about – another rarity in too much modern genre fare. The story is told in two timelines, past and present, and director Mike Flanagan (who also co-wrote the screenplay) is able to confidently and easily show us how a childhood tragedy has permanently damaged the two siblings – Kaylie (Karen Gillan) and Tim (Brenton Thwaites) -- at the center of the story and make them instantly sympathetic. While their actions as adults are questionable, they are clearly driven by the characters themselves and not based solely on the needs of the plot, which usually results in the protagonists acting or seeming stupid.

As the story unfolds, Kaylie is picking up Tim from the institution to which he’s been committed for 10 years following the violent deaths of their parents (played in flashbacks by Katee Sackhoff and Rory Cochrane). Kaylie brings Tim back to their old house, where we discover that she is convinced – after all this time – that an antique mirror known as the Lasser Glass is responsible for their parents’ demise. The Glass, it seems, is home to an evil, nameless entity that has been destroying lives and families for years. Tim, however, isn’t buying it – at least initially – using all the tools he’s learned in therapy to battle back against his sister’s bizarre assertions.

Kaylie, unfortunately, has used her job as an auction buyer to bring the Glass back into their possession, a decade after it first came into their lives and, in her view, ruined them. She has rigged the room in which the Glass resides with cameras and monitoring devices to capture the mirror in action and prove what it is capable of – while also setting a booby trap to destroy it if things go south. But the mirror has other plans, and soon Kaylie and Tim are caught in the grip of a malevolent power that they may be unable to contain or defeat.

Flanagan knows that the best horror is based not on jump scares (although he deploys those sparingly and effectively) but atmosphere, dread and the unseen. He’s helped by his tremendously game and strong cast. Cochrane and Sackhoff chillingly demonstrate how the mirror corrupts them in the flashback sequences. Doctor Who veteran Gillan is superb as the tightly wound and obsessive Kaylie and Thwaites brings intelligence and a dawning terror to Tim when he realizes that all his treatment has been essentially for nothing (the children who play the younger versions of Kaylie and Tim, Annalise Basso and Garrett Ryan, are excellent).

Flanagan’s real expertise comes in the film’s second half, as he almost seamlessly flips back and forth between the past and the present in a cascade of brilliantly staged sequences (the director also edited the film himself). The adult Kaylie may walk through a door and the younger one enters the room; as the shifts between past and present increase in speed and frequency, the results are truly disorienting. Both the characters and the viewers are unsure of where they are in time and space, a feat often achieved in literary horror but rarely captured so well on the screen.

There are echoes of films like The Shining and The Innocents here, but the dynamics of the plot are still fresh enough to keep Oculus from being outright derivative. Most refreshing of all is Flanagan’s refusal to explain what the mirror is, or what exactly it houses: the Lasser Glass just exists, and the lack of an origin story or detailed exposition of whatever resides inside it makes it that much more enigmatic and terrifying (yes, a haunted mirror can be both, amazingly enough). Too many horror films over-explain themselves these days, usually in service of laying the groundwork for a sequel or franchise (I’m looking at you, Sinister and Insidious), and while I fervently hope that Oculus is successful, I also do not look forward to further films giving us the Lasser Glass’s origins in any more depth than we have now.

Great horror is about the past encroaching on the present, often with tragic results. It is safe to say that things don’t go well for Kaylie and Tim, who are both ultimately unable to shake off the horrific history of their family. But things have gone very well here for Flanagan, whose previous films were all little-seen, micro-budget indies. With Oculus, he has crafted a well-written, excellently-acted, moodily shot and expertly edited film that crackles with intensity and chills, doesn’t waste a minute of screen time and feels like a satisfyingly unsettling and frightening experience. It’s the finest horror movie I’ve seen in a few years, and I hope there’s more to come.

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The Red Skull, Batroc the Leaper, Crossbones, Hydra. Fans have seen film versions of some of Captain America’s greatest foes, but not all of them...not by a long shot. There are still plenty of villains left to plague Cap’s film world, villains from other dimensions and from the mists of past wars, as well as villains ripped from today’s headlines. Here are 25 Captain America villains that need film time to prove to the world why Cap, the only man that can hope to stop these despots, killers, and monsters, is the greatest patriotic hero of all.

Ok, what would be cooler than a twenty-foot tall version of Captain America (as played by Chris Evans) messing shit up in the next Cap film? A twenty-foot tall Chris Evans? C’mon, ladies! Ameridroid makes the sacred into the profane. He's a giant robot version of America’s greatest hero controlled by the mind of a Nazi scientist. That’s right; this titanic symbol of patriotism is controlled by Nazi genius and all around d-bag Lyle Dekker. Listen, Ed Brubaker managed to make the Ameridroid work, so it isn’t as silly as it seems. Twenty foot tall Cap! The shield is huge! Like a flying saucer! No? Okay, moving on.

Maybe not as a film’s main antagonists, but Primus and his shape shifting powers along with the prehensile Doughboy would make these insane androids killer soldier villains for any upcoming Captain America sequel. Primus has the ability to bend his putty-like form into anybody, which could give a film an edge of paranoia...a one man Skrull if you will. Primus can be the primary weapon of Arnim Zola if Marvel ever decides to make Zola the A-list villain Jack Kirby created in the Bronze Age. Doughboy and Primus could combine into a powerful monstrosity, which would make life pretty miserable for Cap as he tried to bring down Zola in the modern day.

She went one on one with Carol Danvers, she’s a polymath and a criminal genius, she’s one of Captain America’s most motivated foes...she is Superia. Superia once tried to sterilize every woman on Earth so her and her crew of Femizons could be the only women left with reproductive capabilities. That’s really nasty, man. Superia has a long career as one of the coldest blooded women in the Marvel Universe, and like the Red Skull’s daughter Sin (more on her soon), she would make a great first time cinematic lethal lady. Superia may not have enough history to make a main antagonist, but as a soldier of Sin or Baron Zemo, she could really work. Plus, the word Femizons is just too awesome not to use in a movie.

Marvel Studios would have to be very careful with this archaic villain, but by calling him by his real name, Plan Chu, Marvel can explore one of their greatest pre-Silver Age villains. The modern day masterpiece, Agents of Atlas, made Plan Chu work in a modern context, and by following that lead, Marvel Studios can have a historically rich villain threaten Cap’s film world. A battle between Cap and Claw would be man out of time versus man out of time as the greatest hero of World War II would face off against the greatest threat of the Cold War. The Claw has employed ex-Nazi agents in the past and was a constant threat in Marvel’s Silver Age. With some sensitive reimaginings; the Claw could be a menacing modern day threat to Cap and company.

More Batroc is always a good thing. Considering Ze Leaper survives the events of Captain America: Winter Solider, there is no doubt going to be a fan uprising for the triumphant return of Cap’s most French (actually, he's Algerian) foe (well, at least at Den of Geek there will be). There have been a number of iterations of Batroc’s Brigade. The first being Batroc, the Swordsman, and the Living Laser, which never made much sense since the Living Laser is more powerful than Batroc by a wide margin, but whatever the case, how cool would a film version of the Swordsman be? The second version of Batroc’s Brigade consisted of the mustachioed savate master, Porcupine, and Whirlwind. Yeah, that’s unlikely, but Marvel putting the Porcupine on the big screen before DC got to Brainiac or Darkseid would certainly give the House of Ideas bragging rights. Finally, the third version of the villainous team was Batroc, Zaran, and Machete, a team that made much more sense since Batroc’s losers, ahem; colleagues, were less capable than their leader. Batroc is going to be huge this spring...so huge that Marvel is going to want to make him the leader of his own crew. Or maybe just in my own head, but it would still be awesome, je ne sais pas?

Machinesmith was once the Daredevil villain Starr Saxon until he transformed himself into a cybernetic organism. The robot-maker turned robot would be a perfect villain for the modern age. As Steve Rogers continues to learn modern technology, the one foe he would have trouble facing would be a master of machines that Steve’s anachronistic mind would have trouble wrapping his head around. Themes of techno fear would be a perfect area for a new Cap film to explore, plus, in the comics, Machinesmith has worked for the Red Skull many times in the past so he can easily be integrated into the films. He’s the internet troll that can reach out of the computer and strangle you, and he would be a great modern challenge for Cap.

It would be pretty sweet to bring some Cold War era goodness into the world of Cap. Actually, the Red Guardian, Soviet Russia’s answer to Captain America, would be a perfect thematic follow up to the Winter Soldier. The tale of Alexei Shostakov mirrors that of Steve Rogers. Hand picked by his government, Alexei became the living embodiment of his beloved country. A film that utilized the Red Guardian could ask the question what use is a patriotic hero if the country he symbolizes has fallen? The thematic clash between the Red Guardian and Captain America could be a clash between two opposing political ideologies, as Cap can see what he can become if his beloved country loses its way. Plus, Shostakov was once married to none other than Natasha Romanov which would make for a whole new thread of drama and the next step in the Black Widow’s film journey.

[related article: 25 Iron Man Villains Who Deserve to be in the Movies]

What greater challenge for Cap than a Nazi superman? Master Man plagued the Invaders during the dark days of World War II. Along with Warrior Woman, U-Man, Brain Drain, and Sky Shark, Master Man was part of the Third Reich’s answer to the Invaders and could be a good multi-generational threat for Cap. John Byrne created a modern Master Man in the pages of Namor, the Sub-Mariner, so Marvel Studios has a few options to choose from if they go the route of Marvel’s most notorious ubermensch. Master Man was supposed to be the first true member of Hitler’s master race until Cap and the Invaders defeated him. Could there be a Master Man in Marvel’s cinematic world, and if so, what if he somehow ended up in the contemporary world to pick up the Axis’s plan to conquer the world? Cap is at his best when combating Nazis, and Master Man is the ultimate goose stepper.

Like Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, Madame Hydra, aka, the Viper, can be another double dip character for Marvel and Fox. Of course, the Viper figured prominently in The Wolverine, but the serpentine fatale is also a leader of the modern day version of HYDRA, the evil organization founded by the Red Skull. It seems like HYDRA’s legacy of evil will continue as it has been confirmed that Baron Strucker, the head of the modern HYDRA, will play a role in Avengers: Age of Ultron. If HYDRA exists in the modern world, it stands to reason that so does Madame Hydra. Marvel doesn’t have to call her the Viper, but the green tressed vixen has been a major Cap foe for decades and as such deserves her time in the sun. Not many villains are evil enough for two separate franchises, but the Viper’s cunning will and deadly beauty make her adaptable enough to take on any hero, for any studio.

Dr. Faustus, a brilliant, mind manipulating psychologist with immense strength and endurance has been plaguing Steve Rogers for decades. Faustus is usually seen doing the bidding of others, but he is a master planner in his own right, a string puller who has the strength and size to back up his cerebral plans with some less refined physical violence. Dr. Faustus is like a cross between Sigmund Freud and Wilson Fisk...a WWE size body with a billion dollar, evil brain. With Rogers no doubt suffering PTSD from his days in WWII, his mind is ripe for a master manipulator like Faustus whose specialty is using his knowledge of the subconscious to drive his enemies mad. In the comics, Faustus has almost succeeded in driving Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Cap insane, and this rare type of villain, a brain and brawns combo, would make for a unique cinematic experience.

A remnant of the Nazi Empire, the Sleeper was the most powerful of four robots hidden by the Nazis and the Red Skull to awaken in the modern world to continue the reign of the Third Reich. Who doesn’t love giant robots? What’s more badass than giant Nazi robots? The inclusion of the Sleeper and his robotic brethren could be Marvel meets Pacific Rim with Cap and SHIELD desperately trying to stop the advance of seig-heiling mechs. The Sleeper and the other Nazi robots were some of Jack Kirby’s coolest designs of the Silver Age, and seeing them come to life on the big screen would be old schools fans’ dream come true. Plus, the Sleeper has a deep connection to the legacy of the Red Skull which could keep the Cap versus Skull conflict going past the battlefields of World War II.

Perhaps the villain featured in the third Captain America film could be something thematically different? In the previous films, Cap has protected the innocent from despots and would be world conquerors...what better way to put Cap’s morality to the test by having him protect the corrupt? Scourge was a Punisher-like vigilante who killed costumed criminals. His signature catch phrase “Justice is Served,” was heard while Scourge dispatched many costumed baddies before Cap stopped his killing spree. The idea of justice versus vengeance could fuel a powerful movie as Cap tries to make sure that there is really “Justice for All,” in his America by being forced to defend the villains Scourge wants dead. Scourge stands as an antithesis to Cap, a man who does not believe in any system, just his own idea of right and wrong. This exploration in the contrasts between a killer and a protector would make for a fascinating movie.

Who doesn’t like evil subversive puppet masters? The Empire has evolved into Marvel’s go-to hooded organization of nefarious intent. The Secret Empire can play off modern conspiracy paranoia, a nightmarish version of government gone horribly wrong. In fact, it was the Secret Empire that made Steve Rogers quit being Captain America for a time. In the comics, as written by Steve Englehart, it was strongly suggested that the leader of the Empire, called Number One, was actually the President of the United States. Rogers was so disillusioned by this he shed his red-white-and blue identity and became Nomad, a man without a country. With the political divide greater than ever in the U.S., now would be a perfect time to bust out a film version of the Secret Empire to challenge modern ideas of patriotism.

The Watchdogs would be a pretty gutsy, politically charged choice for future Captain America villains, and the right wing terrorist group does play a major role in Cap history. It was the Watchdogs, fueled by racist extremism, who murdered the parents of John Walker when the hero now known as U.S. Agent was Captain America. This caused Walker to lose his already loose grip on sanity and kill the men responsible for his parents’ deaths. Come to think of it, how great would a film adaptation of The Captain/U.S. Agent saga be? Seeing Steve Rogers shed his identity and become disillusioned with his country would have just as profound an impact on film as it did in comics, and boy, would we love to see a big screen version of Walker’s Cap. All of it fueled by the hateful, right wing Watchdogs, a group that any right thinking fan would pay to see get taken down by any version of Captain America.

The Serpent Society was a trade union of sorts for costumed villains with snake identities (which would actually be an awesome idea for DC to crib, but with gorillas). The Society, led by the teleporting Sidewinder, provided story fuel for Captain America throughout the late '80s and well into the '90s. Sidewinder is a kind of honorable villain that would be fascinating to see realized on screen. Eventually, the Society was taken over by the Cobra, a classic Marvel villain that is also overdue for a media debut. Marvel Studios has not gone the route of a super-villain team yet, and the Society is filled to the brim with villains with interesting powers and looks that could easily fill a toy aisle. Diamondback, a beautiful and deadly member of the Squad, eventually turns on her serpentine brethren because she falls in love with Cap, a story cue that could come across great on screen. Any Marvelite worth his salt would love to see Anaconda, Copperhead, Bushwacker, Asp, and the silent but deadly (calling Ray Park) Death Adder fully realized on screen. An all out war between Cap, SHIELD, Falcon, and perhaps the Winter Soldier (if he follows his path of redemption like in the comics) versus a huge Serpent Society could really close out the first Cap trilogy in style and make hissssssstory. Sorry.

Flag Smasher was the anti-patriot, a perfect mirror image of Captain America’s pride in his country. Flag Smasher didn't believe in borders or symbols of national pride, he only believed in self serving anarchy, and with his likeminded cult, ULTIMATUM, Flag Smasher was one of Cap’s most persistent foes of the '80s. ULTIMATUM was funded by the Red Skull so there’s your connection to previous films, and any bad guy that uses assault weapons and a mace is a villain we want to see prominently featured in a movie.

[related article: 25 Thor Villains Who Deserve to be in the Movies]

He might not strike the same tone as the other cinematic Cap villains, but who wouldn’t want to see Chris Evans go toe-to-ummm...forehead with MODOK? The perfect solider versus a giant head in a floaty chair would certainly make for a compelling visual, but on a more serious note, with MODOK, Marvel would be able to continue the evolution of AIM after the death of founder Eldritch Killian in Iron Man 3. AIM has always been second only to HYDRA as Marvel’s go-to evil organization, and by introducing their very memorable leader, Marvel could bring AIM to the forefront of evildom. The Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing would certainly be an attention getter but also offer a nice contrast to the genetically flawless Captain America, creating a man versus monster conflict for the ages. And seriously, giant floating head, what’s not to love?

One of the few men in the Marvel Universe that is a physical match for Cap, a film appearance from the mercenary with the photographic reflexes is long overdue. How cool would a Taskmaster/Cap fight be on the silver screen with Taskmaster mimicking every one of Cap’s moves, fist versus fist, shield versus shield? Taskmaster can come equipped with all of the Avengers signature gear like Iron Man’s repulsors, Black Widow’s stingers, and Hawkeye’s bow to become an all-in-one Avengers team to go one-on-one with Cap. Taskmaster could be played as an anti-hero or a straight out soldier villain. Either way, there would be a cleanup needed in the pants of many fans at the mere idea of seeing a film version of Taskmaster.

A Soviet operative of the Cold War, Albert Malik took up the identity of the Red Skull to further spread the power of his Red masters. A film version of Malik would be able to replace the iconic Nazi scientist so brilliantly played by Hugo Weaving. If Marvel doesn't want to bring Nazi Red Skull back, or Weaving doesn’t want to return, the man that carried the Skull’s legacy of evil through the '50s and '60s would be a perfect film villain. A Red Skull dedicated to bringing back the glory days of Soviet Russia could be a stark reminder to Steve Rogers of how much international turmoil he missed when he was on ice. The Communist Skull even had a role in the modern era, as, for a time he was secretly a U.S. Senator until Cap brought him down. Like Cap, the evil of the Skull is a legacy that can be carried into future films by the commie spy, saboteur, and mastermind, Albert Malik.

Nuke is possibly the greatest antithesis to Captain America that Marvel has in their villainous arsenal. Nuke may have started out as a Daredevil adversary, but he is the perfect foil for Cap’s brand of old-fashioned patriotism. Nuke is patriotism gone horribly wrong, a drug addled soldier that sees any opposition to the U.S., no matter how slight, as the ultimate offense against God and country. He is a trigger-happy madman that justifies his actions by dedicating every bullet, every murder, to the country he claims to love. Nuke is the soldier gone wrong, a warning to Cap that duty and justice are two very different things. Nuke was created as a response to the Super Soldier Program; making the volatile killing machine a reminder of what Cap could have been if he did not possess the moral heart of Steve Rogers. Cap would be torn between stopping the killer’s path of rage and helping a brother in arms. Now that Marvel Studios has Daredevil and his family of characters back in the fold, Nuke can appear and cause consternation to Cap as he sees the darker side of the country he loves. Come to think of it, once Daredevilhits Netflix, wouldn’t a Nuke appearance in a Captain America film be a perfect synergy between platforms? Gimme a red.

Ok, he’s freakin’ Hitler. Who wouldn’t want to see Captain America kick the bratwurst out of a clone of Adolf Hitler? All joking aside, Hate Monger is a really intense villain and one of the scariest foes Cap ever went up against. The Hate Monger has the power to force others to be filled with hatred, this on-the-nose symbolism might not be subtle, but it makes for a darn effective villain. Captain America was built to take down Hitler, and what would be more gripping than Cap versus Hitler in the modern day? Marvel would have to tread carefully with this one, but the prospects of a film version of the Hate Monger could be one of Marvel’s most daring moves. In Captain America’s very first comic, Cap is rendered punching Hitler right in his hateful mug. This classic moment of the Golden Age could be recreated in the next Captain America movie with Steve Rogers trying to silence the hate speak of history’s most repellant villain.

If Marvel does not find some clever way to bring back Johann Schmidt, then the legacy of the Red Skull could live on in Sin, the daughter of Cap’s greatest foe. Sin played a major role in Ed Brubaker’s great run on Captain America, which inspired Captain America: Winter Soldier. Sin has a deep connection to Asgardian magic as she once captured a number of mystical hammers to fuel her neo-Nazi army. A film combining Norse mythology with the continuing conflict of Captain America and the Red Skull would be pretty cool to see. Sin also had a dalliance with Crossbones, who also shows up in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. There is a great deal of evil in Sin that Marvel could farm for a future installment of Captain America, evil that could keep the name of the Red Skull alive.

While the Grand Director sounds like something James Cameron would force his DP’s to call him, it is actually the title taken by a man who tainted the legacy of Captain America more than any of Steve Rogers’ enemies. William Burnside was the Captain America of the 1950s, the man who took over the suit and shield when Rogers was a Capsicle. Burnside was set up with the Steve Rogers’ identity and fought the Red Menace of the '50s. Eventually, Burnside, and his Bucky, Jack Monroe, were slowly driven insane by the experimental serum in their blood. They were put in suspended animation and awoken in the modern day. Here’s where things get dicey. Dr. Faustus brainwashes the already angry and vulnerable Burnside, and the former hero becomes the white supremacist leader the Grand Director. Now, what could be a more effective film villain than a Cap gone wrong, a Cap so corrupted by his own inner demons and machinations of others that he adopts Nazi ideology? Burnside’s tragic story is made for film and there are already some rumblings that Captain America 3could feature Burnside, but we’ll have to wait and see to if Marvel picks this low hanging fruit of villainy.

What could be cooler than Cap versus a Nazi vampire? Really, not a whole heck of a lot. The legacy of the vampiric Baron Blood stretches back to World War II, so once again, Marvel could tie this bloodsucking baddie to Cap’s earliest days. Blood, like any good vampire is, of course, immortal, and can be used in the modern day to reintroduce a nightmare from Steve Rogers’ past. The supernatural and the world of magic has not yet been introduced into the world of Marvel films, so Blood could sort of serve as a back door into the world of Doctor Strange and vampirism (hey, Marvel does have Blade back!). Blood is one of Cap’s most vile foes, a breeding of repugnant politics and supernatural evil. He is a classic monster in every sense of the word and could serve as the de facto Dracula of the modern Marvel Cinematic Universe (because let’s face it, we’re all going to be old and grey before Marvel Studios dares to attempt anything involving Dracula). Blood could also lead to the introduction to Cap’s fellow Invader, Union Jack, the British super-hero who has the misfortunate to be the Baron’s brother. More Golden Age heroes are always welcome, and it’s only a matter of time before vampires are introduced to Marvel’s films. But fear not, this vile vamp doesn’t sparkle.

Other than the Red Skull, Cap’s greatest recurring foes have been two men named Zemo. Fans weren’t treated to all of Cap’s World War II exploits in Captain America: The First Avenger, just a prolonged montage of an undetermined length, in which Cap and his Howling Commandos could have gone up against Baron Zemo a number of times. Marvel could tell a multi-generational story of Cap first taking on Zemo Senior in the 40s and going up against his son Helmut (or I guess at this point, grandson) in the modern day. Zemo Junior’s most infamous hour was when he led a team of Masters of Evil into Avengers Mansion coming within a hair of destroying the Avengers and breaking Steve Rogers. Introducing both Zemos could open up many story possibilities in a Cap solo film, an Avengers sequel, or even could lead to the team a disguised Zemo founded to fool the world: the Thunderbolts. The legacy of Zemo is one of Marvel’s greatest lineages of evil, and something that would thrill moviegoers the same way it has comic readers for generations.

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Watching a Nicolas Cage movie is like pulling from a bag of candy sold en masse at a local five-and-dime. You’re not sure what flavor to expect, but chances are that it’s going to be sickening if you consume too much of it—and sometimes that’s a good thing. Yet, ever so rarely (and rarer still in the last decade), you discover something resembling a knock-out performance. David Gordon Green’s Joe is exactly that unusual jollity, bringing as much mirth to the viewer as it does a visibly animated Nicolas Cage. And for the first time in a long while that cartoonish simile is a compliment.

In retrospect, Cage and Green should have collaborated years ago. Both have made eclectic choices throughout their careers to be sure. Be it intensely tragic dramas like All the Real Girls (2003) and Snow Angels (2007), or intensely bizarre herbal medicated comedies like Pineapple Express (2008) and The Sitter (2011), the only constant in Green’s near Cage-ian like eccentric genre swinging has been that he gets the very best from his performers. Indeed, after several commercial comedies of varying quality, Green returned to independent cinema with last year’s highly underrated Prince Avalanche, which amounted to little more than Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch shouting at each other on an endless strip of national park highway for a few hours. An Arkansas native who went to school in North Carolina, Green has a knack for finding the simple pleasures in a rustic America that is often overlooked by audiences and filmmakers alike. Joe is no exception.

Based on Larry Brown’s novel of the same name, Joe is about an ex-con with so much pent up rage that he could be mistaken for peaceful by the unassuming. That is exactly what happens when a 15-year-old boy named Gary (Tye Sheridan) comes to idolize Joe as the toughest, coolest backwoods boss he’s ever had. This surprise connection is more than obviously due to Gary’s father, Wade (Gary Poulter). A mean drunk when sober, Wade is more anchor than father to his children. Wade initially gets his son fired from Joe’s ridiculously fair business practices of tree-clearing due to Wade’s own total laziness, and he then later steals from Gary’s wages when his son returns to Joe’s good graces. But that is just the first sip of the whiskey bottle for an old-timer who for a few drinks would literally sell his mute daughter’s body to the night, not to mention the remnants of his soul.

Joe is a quixotic tale about the title character making for the most unlikely of father figures, taking Gary under his wing, and ironically releasing that long buried anger. Indeed, the movie’s real bite comes in the second half of its brisk running time when that paternity leads to Joe finally giving into his most violent impulses when faced with the credulity of Wade. Whoever said parenthood mellows a man out has clearly not met Cage’s character.

Obviously meant to be a star vehicle for Cage, the actor devours every ounce of depth to flesh out his tortured Southern gothic hero. Joe is a guy who will show the kindest grace to men he deems worthy (nominally those who work hard with what they are given) and is a fellow who will provide ex-cons and dirt poor kids living in condemned homes a day’s pay for a day’s work: they poison trees so corporations can come in and clear them out for development. Yet, Joe is something of an enigma when he can just as easily lose his cool at loud-mouthed dogs. Not that he hates animals, it’s simply that dog is an asshole, and is in need of a good beating. While PETA may be less than enamored with this character, Joe Ransom sits comfortably beside Cage’s other best performances from the last 10 years, including Bad lieutenant and Kick-Ass.

Still, he is not the one who walks away with the movie. The picture ultimately belongs to the harrowing relationship depicted by Sheridan and Poulter with the true touch of doom that floats between the barren trees of nearly all of Green’s Southern dramas. Sheridan, who is something of a star on the indie circuit now after his breakthrough in Mud, creates an even more tortured kid who is fiercely proud of his impoverished family but knows, deep down, that his father is a complete waste of space. At first, he tries to run from the problem by latching onto Joe as his savoir, but for all of Joe’s good intentions, Gary still comes home to Wade, whose biological seniority allows him to hold dominion over his frightened and brow-beaten family. Apparently Poulter was homeless and living on the streets of Austin when Joe’s casting director discovered him, and his face announces every inch of that wear and tear. Always looking to cast non-actors to fill in the margins of his independent movies, Green hit the jackpot with Poulter who makes for the meanest sonofabitch alcoholic since possibly Cage himself in Leaving Las Vegas.

All of these slow boiling, down-South downers Green makes when he steps away from the studio system have a certain lethargic rhythm to them. Even his best comedies, such as the HBO series Eastbound & Down—whose co-creators Jody Hill and Danny McBride served as executive producers on Joe—wallow in the depths of monotonous despair. And yet, the best of them also reflect back a sense of hope, or at least humor, about their long-suffering protagonists, creating a visual poetry that is often informed by the well-populated supporting casts of non-actors. Joe is probably not quite as moving as Green’s best smiling Appalachian nightmares, a niche that he carved out for himself ever since 2000’s George Washington. However, it still showcases a group of performances that are uniformly excellent, including from a deceivingly sedated Cage, who is rarely this alive. That alone makes this broken home drama one worth investing in.

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We've just come out of an interview with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach, and they've filled us in on the future plans for the Spider-Man series. We'll have the full interview for you next week, but before that, they had some sizeable news on the scheduling of the Spider-Man series.

What they told us came about when we asked what the plan was when director Marc Webb departs The Amazing Spider-Man series. Webb has confirmed he'll direct The Amazing Spider-Man 3, which has been announced for May 27th 2016. But he's also definitely ruled himself out of The Amazing Spider-Man 4, which Sony had long ago given a release date of Friday 4th May 2018.

Matt Tolmach just told us though that things are changing. Since those dates were announced, Sony announced that Venom and Sinister Six spin-off films are in development (with Drew Goddard confirmed now to direct the latter). And Tolmach told us that we will now be seeing those before we see The Amazing Spider-Man 4.

In Tolmach's words, "Before we know what we do with Spider-Man 4, we're going to do Sinister Six, Venomand Spider-Man 3. There is going to be a lot of crossover in those movies. So we're just not at Spider-Man 4, because we still have a whole other Spider-Manmovie and two other movies. So we don't know yet what [Spider-Man 4] is going to be"

We did get extra clarification, and Tolmach confirmed that the May 2018 release date is for a Spider-Man movie, but not necessarily an Amazing Spider-Manmovie.

In short: whilst The Amazing Spider-Man 3 is scheduled still for 2016 (although even that might alter, given what Tolmach said), two more films in the Spider-Man universe will be released before The Amazing Spider-Man 4 comes along. And one of those new films is now looking very likely to take the May 2018 release date instead. 

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MTV have just unveiled a new clip from Hercules, the upcoming action flick starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as the most legendary hero in all of mythology. It certainly isn't boring. Could this be the movie that Bret Ratner was born to make? Let's hope so!

And yes, that is John Hurt that you spy on screen with The Rock. 

Now, where did I leave that lion hoodie?

Hercules, which also stars Ian McShane, Rufus Sewell, Joseph Fiennes, John Hurt, and Rebecca Ferguson,opens July 25, 2014.

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X-Men: Days of Future Past is still more than a month away, and 20^th Century Fox and director Bryan Singer have also already penciled in X-Men: Apocalypse for 2016, yet that does not mean in our post multi-franchise universe world that a studio cannot be planning further ahead.

While speaking to Entertainment Weekly, both producers Laura Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg discussed the prospect of building the X-universe in a way not seen under previous 20^th Century Fox management. Also, one name caught the attention of both producers moer than any other.

“I love what Jen Lawrence has done with her,” Kinberg said of Jennifer Lawrence’s portrayal of the blue shape-shifting mutant in X-Men: First Class (2011) and this summer’s upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past.“And I feel like because she is in such a crowded ensemble, there’s so much more opportunity if you were to follow her solo.”

Indeed, Mystique was amongst the names that Donner spoke about exploring in this new phase of the X-universe on screen.

“There was a regime [at the studio] that didn’t see the worth in [spin-offs], and the current people who run Fox understand, embrace it, and we’re going to do right by it,” Donner said. “I’d like to do Gambit. I’d like to do Deadpool. We’ll see. There’s a lot of really great characters.”

Yet, the name they both mentioned was Mystique, who has certainly risen in prominence over the last several years alongside Lawrence’s movie star career. Indeed, if you check out the latest cover for X-Men: Days of Future Past, Mystique is finally overshadowing the Wolverine himself…

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They grow up so fast. First, it’s all about breathing fire onto the side of mountains with villainous, bigger dragons, and then it’s already time for the sequel. Look no further than this newest trailer for How to Train Your Dragon 2 to discover how far Hiccup and Toothless have come as the prepare for what looks to be…an itchy battle with a new Dragon King overlord. Plus the return of Hiccup’s mother, voiced by Cate Blanchett.

Promoted as the second chapter of an epic How to Train Your Dragon Trilogy, this installment returns to the fantastical world of the heroic Viking Hiccup and his faithful dragon Toothless.  The inseparable duo must protect the peace – and save the future of men and dragons from the power-hungry Drago.

The film returns cast members like Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrara, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Kristen Wiig to this world, while also adding newcomers Kit Harington, Cate Blanchett and Djimon Honsou.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 opens June 13, 2014 in 3D.

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 Masters of the Universe has been in various stages of development for several years, and the project has been adrift since the departure of GI Joe: Retaliation director, Jon M. Chu. Now, Jeff Wadlow of Kick-Ass 2 has come on to re-write Terry Rossio's (The Lone Ranger) draft, sparking additional rumors of a larger involvement with the film.

News of Wadlow's involvement casts some confusion over recent rumors that the Kick-Ass 2 director was in line to direct the project. However, studio Sony Entertainment has told Variety that no director is currently attached to this He-Man reboot. Wadlow has also written a draft of X-Force for Fox, and is widely assumed to be the director of that film. It doesn't seem likely that he'd be able to helm two tent pole films that could be aiming for roughly the same release period, although stranger things have happened.

The project is being produced by Escape Artists’ Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, and Steve Tisch. Mattel executives Julia Pistor and David Voss are also executive producing the movie, which will follow a warrior named Prince Adam as he realizes his destiny to combat Skeletor, his eventual arch-nemesis.

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As if they do not already have enough on their plate, Game of Thrones co-creators, showrunners, and the directors of last week’s Season 4 premiere episode that broke records, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, have secured the rights for their next project: Dirty White Boys.

As reported by Deadline, the duo of writers have closed a deal with 20^th Century Fox to script and direct a film adaptation of the Stephen Hunter novel first published in 1995. From the author of Point of Impact, which served as the basis for Shooter, Dirty White Boys will tell the tale of three escaped convicts from a state penitentiary and the lone lawman who seeks to bring them to justice. Described as a human drama and something of a contemporary “western” by Benioff, it is meant to be a big departure to the masterminds of HBO’s sprawling fantasy epic.

“Game of Thrones was too big a canvas for a movie, but Dirty White Boys is like a great old Western, there’s so much compression and it’s so pressurized, it demands to be told in one sitting,” Benioff said. “If we’d to compress the storytelling in Game of Thrones, we’d have just mutilated the book.”

[related article: Game of Thrones: Two Swords Review, Season Premiere]

However, it will be a while before Benioff and Weiss have time to take on this film. As Weiss said, Game of Thrones is a 52-week job each year. And the creators are determined to see the HBO series through to its (currently) planned Season 7 finale. But they will undoubtedly have an audience for whatever they do next.

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Fat Guy Salsa Dances. That should have been this movie's name, for that is this movie's raison d'être. This British comedy is the latest underdog tale in the tradition of The Full Monty and Kinky Boots (so expect a Cuban Fury musical in about three years time). And it gives Nick Frost a chance to shine. Or, at the very least, prove that big guys have the moves too.

On the surface, this is a pleasing development. Nick Frost has spent his career as a stealth weapon in Edgar Wright's comedic arsenal, and supporting roles in works as varied as Pirate Radio and Snow White and the Huntsman have proved that he is more than capable of bringing laughs when there is no Cornetto to be found. So why not cast Nick Frost as a romantic lead and let him show off his comedic and dramatic chops at the same time? Cuban Fury does just that, and while the results leave Frost mostly unscathed, you can't help but think there's a whole lot of talent here that is being wasted.

The story concerns Bruce Garrett (Frost) a former salsa champion who cast aside his smooth moves after some teens bullied and beat him while he was on his way to the nationwide championships in 1987. With his dancing past beside him, he now spends his days working as an engineer and dealing with dickish co-worker Drew (a wonderfully cast-against-type Chris O'Dowd). Their lives are thrown into turmoil when their company hires new American manager Julia (Rashida Jones). Both men take an immediate shine to her, and when Bruce learns that his would-be paramour is a, gasp, salsa dancer, he decides to put down the lathe and put on the Tito Puente.

He asks his old dancing instructor Ron Parfitt (Ian McShane) for some refresher courses so that he can get back in step to win Julia's heart. Before you can say "Mr. Miyagi," Ron is helping Bruce realize that he still possesses the salsa fire inside of him. Acting as Bruce's cheerleaders are his sister/former partner Sam (Olivia Colman) and flamboyant fellow dancer Bejan (Kayvan Novak, in full Bronsot Pinchot in Beverly Hills Copmode). Of course, things aren't going to be that easy for Bruce. Drew also wants to land Julia, and while he might not have the moves of his bigger rival he does have the self-confidence. Can Bruce possibly find success in his love life and on the dance floor?

Spoiler alert: Duh.

It's not like viewers enter into Cuban Fury expecting Fincher-esque twists, but there's no reason that director James Griffiths (Showtime's Episodes) and writer Jon Brown (working from an original story by Frost) can't make these characters work a bit harder before they reach the film's foregone conclusion of an ending. I dream of a world where this film's third act morphs into a hybrid of Strictly Ballroomand BearCityand concludes with Bruce and Bejan realizing their love. Sadly, viewers are left with the most predictable and safe outcome possible. So let us all take a moment to lament the British comedic edginess usered in by shows like Jam while somewhere a single tear falls from Chris Morris' eye.

The second, and possibly more troubling, issue with the film is lack of humor on display given the film's stellar cast. As fans of Britcoms like Spaced, The IT Crowdand Peep Showwill be quick to point out, Frost, O'Dowd and Colman are amongst this generation's finest British comedic actors, yet here they are reduced to milking what comedy they can from the milquetoast script. (For what it's worth, the best lines in the film are the random 1980s references from Kayvan Novak's character). Making matters worse are an unfortunate gay panic subplot, an equally confounding plot device involving seemingly the only Prius left in existence that has a tape deck, and the complete lack of anything approaching romantic chemistry between Frost and Jones. And for the love of all that is good and pure in this universe, if you have Ian McShane in your motion picture, please use him accordingly. Or, at the very least, have him say "cocksucker" then wink at the camera before vanishing into the ether.

Here's the thing: If you were to see this movie on HBO during one of those Sunday afternoons spent trying to keep the Fireball Whiskey dry heaves at bay you would probably find it to be perfectly passable. Frost is a charming screen presence, his acting is fine during the dramatic bits, and while he may not have the moves of Jagger he certainly looks better on the dance floor than any large-and-not-so-in-charge dude that I have ever seen. But there's only room in the universe for one strangely safe romantic comedy starring a Spacedcast member and Simon Pegg got there first with Run, Fatboy, Run. Better luck next time though Nick.

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In movies, you somewhat have a gentleman's agreement as far as audiences buying into your premise. If you aren't offering a re-creation of everyday life, you have a certain amount of time to establish your concept in a way that lets the audience buy into certain contrivances. Superhero movies are so popular because they do this well, teasing out the supernatural or science fiction elements at a steady drip. And romantic comedies, which almost always star impossibly beautiful and charismatic people who wouldn't ever have romantic trouble in reality, usually get a leg out in depicting their lead characters as being flawed like the Bard’s vision of Denmark. When you buy the premise through a filmmaker's persuasion, you've ensured that you're going to be along for the ride, no matter how bumpy.

In Ivan Reitman's Draft Day, the story pivots on an event so unlikely that it's borderline fantasy.

The film follows Sonny Weaver Jr., an embattled general manager for the NFL's Cleveland Browns, a hapless franchise that will be picking seventh overall in that day's NFL Draft. Weaver, not so much played by Kevin Costner as worn like a comfortable shawl, is facing an ultimatum: make a big personnel splash on the day of the draft or he's fired. Frank Langella is the owner, an avuncular type who convinces Weaver, and the audience, that doing so isn't really the act of wizardry that it is. We buy it because Langella and Costner are both terrific, and because there's the sliver of a chance this owner is simply looking for an excuse to fire his top man. So far, so good.

On that morning, however, Weaver receives an unlikely phone call from the Seattle Seahawks' offices. It's draft day, and Weaver seems casually concerned about who the team will select with that pick, but a phone call from any other team would be an immediate priority. In this case, Seattle happens to have the number one pick in the draft, with a franchise-changing talent named Bo Callahan the consensus top choice. Somehow, Weaver answers this call with the same immediacy that that Costner probably uses on laundry day.

And this is where the plausibility sirens come up. The Seattle execs, who have no real opinion on Callahan negative or otherwise, offer Weaver the number one pick. It's exceedingly rare that any team trades away their first overall pick, particularly if there's an athlete available like Callahan, spoken about in hushed tones as if he was the sport’s new savior. Could such a trade happen on draft day? It's possible, but highly unlikely. Weaver, who receives maybe ten or fifteen phone calls during the day (most GM's would have a headset and take hundreds of calls), doesn't seem in any rush to get a once-in-a-lifetime talent like Callahan. He hems and haws, then opts to deal away the seventh pick and first round choices over the next two years in exchange for the pick. Costner's talent is that he makes everything look easy. But he's not talented enough to make running a sports franchise with the top pick on draft day as easy as spreading butter on toast, which it seems to be.

Weaver saves his own job with the move, but stops short on committing to Callahan. The audience does as well, as this is telegraphed by Reitman's broad strokes. Weaver's ear belongs to a brash potential rookie played by Chadwick Boseman, a charismatic prospect who is seen on the other end of the phone playing with his screen-ready kids. But Callahan, a generically-handsome slab of whiteguy, hangs out in hotel rooms with an overprotective agent (Sean Combs), delivering athlete koans practically read off a Quarterback Cliché calendar. A third player sounds talented as well, but the film gives him no recognizable traits, other than the fact that his father is his representation: if you're eager to see Terry Crews be misused in another big Hollywood movie, congrats: he has about four lines of dialogue.

The film makes a conscious decision to take reality off the table when Cleveland's scouts are suddenly befuddled in observing the nooks and crannies of Callahan's game, as if the whole sport hadn't memorized the attributes of everyone's number one pick by now. And that's fine, since most of what sports executives do is boring: there's miles of footage to watch, dozens of texts to respond to, and a lot of going to certain websites and hitting refresh. One of the more plausible elements of the picture is Denis Leary's Coach Penn, who is absolutely infuriated that Weaver parted with multiple draft picks in order to pick Callahan, who plays the same position as the team's best player. You can feel the fiery Leary straining against the PG-13 rating to say something to a GM manager that is probably torpedoing everyone's career.

That's the biggest issue with this film, ultimately: the mundane truth about the draft is instead replaced by subplot shenanigans. Weaver's main issue with Callahan seems to be that he's got all the talent in the world, but seems like a bit of an unlikable tool; surely Callahan would be the first jerk to also become a game-changing jock! And what's Weaver to do with Callahan considering his own quarterback is fully healed from a bad injury and ready to go? There's also a girl, always a girl: Jennifer Garner's Ali is pregnant, and Weaver's got to balance her position with the team and her position in his life. Fortunately, she's super-capable at her job, and determined to focus on the draft pick at hand. This is one of those movies that thinks it’s earning feminist points by having the female character simply want and strive for what the dudes pursue.

Reitman has been making disposable studio product for a long time now, and we're more than 21 years after his last truly enjoyable movie, the political fantasy Dave. And this film shows that his rhythms and flavor hasn't yet made it into the 21^st century. Fitting, considering a few Twitter mentions are the only thing that make Draft Day seem like its not a script from 1986. Reitman's simply in no rush, and his lackadasical approach doesn't seem to reveal any interest in the reality of the milieu, nor does it seem concerned with supplying any dramatic intrigue to the event. Everyone we meet stays the person they seem to be: Weaver the casual iconoclast, Callahan the dim quarterback, Ali the steely vet, Penn the snarling pessimist.

At least Reitman is able to gin up some suspense with the finale, when Weaver inexplicably becomes some sort of football wizard and starts to manipulate fellow GMs like a Jedi mind trick. It's the payoff to the film, and as such, it plays briskly and humorously with Costner slyly revealing he's by far the smartest one in the room. His movie star charisma and wily smirk own the film as the picks start flying and the wheeling and dealing occurs. If you're still awake by then, you might actually love it.

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Who doesn’t love Katee Sackhoff? Ever since her career took off in 2003 when she was cast as Kara “Starbuck” Thrace in the modern version of Battlestar Galactica, she has gone from one high-profile gig to another, including a season of 24,  a starring role in last year’s underrated Riddick -- where she held her own opposite Vin Diesel – and a lead on the A&E detective series Longmire. She is also a fan favorite, showing up to wild acclaim at events like Comic-Con and enthusiastically supporting the projects she undertakes.

In new her film, Oculus, Sackhoff plays Marie, the mother of two children who comes under the corrupting influence of a malignant haunted mirror. Marie’s transformation is truly horrifying, but Sackhoff – working from a great script co-written by director Mike Flanagan – make sure that Marie is sympathetic as well, making her plight that much more cruel and tragic.

Den of Geek got to sit down with the Los Angeles-based actress at the recent press day for Oculus, where she discussed the film, her role, her most memorable fan encounter and the campaign to cast her as Ms. Marvel.

Den Of Geek: What appealed to you about playing Marie, which is not exactly a pleasant role to play?

Katee Sackhoff: Yeah. You know, I thought that you read something like that and you kind of, you know, I felt for her, I really did. I felt her pain and her insecurities and frustration with her life. I really wanted to kind of do her justice because I didn't think she was evil, I just felt she was sad and vulnerable. And because she's so obviously vulnerable to this mirror from the very beginning, I think that I wanted to try and make her as relatable as possible and as sympathetic as possible. Because I wanted you ultimately to feel really bad for this family and these children. Their lives have been destroyed. So I thought what a challenging opportunity to try and make somebody who's so evil actually sympathetic.

Is it difficult to do that kind of stuff with kids, all the horrific and even abusive stuff? Even though you're all actors and you all know it's not real?

It was one of the first questions I had when I read the script. Before I took the role I remember getting on the phone with Mike Flanagan and saying, "Are you really going to make these kids like eight and ten?" Because I believe in the script they were written as eight and ten or nine and ten, something along those lines. So I was worried about that. I would have had to think a little bit harder had they played them younger. But then I found out that they were actually 13, that you could sit down and actually have an adult conversation with a 13-year-old and be like, you know, let me know if you get scared or if I hurt you. And these kids are both pros. I mean they've been working forever.

So you had like safe words with them and you discussed things beforehand?

With Annalise (Basso) for sure. Not with Garrett (Ryan) because I don't think I ever really manhandled him as much. But with her definitely. I think it was “banana,” something like that or “peanut butter.” And she never used it. And between each take I would just make sure to be like, "Are you sure you're okay?" And she was like, "Absolutely." She's a great kid and she's really smart. And her mom Marcy was there and she is lovely.

What would you say was some of the more physically grueling parts that you had to shoot? I mean I keep thinking of you being chained up in the bedroom floor …

Well, that for sure. I remember driving to New Orleans because my fiancé, we have a place there and he was actually there at the time and so I remember driving to meet him there and it was summer, it was October but in New Orleans that's summer. And I came in with my shorts and a T-shirt on and I was covered in bruises, even on my neck and he was like, "What the hell is going on?" And I’m like, "Oh, I was chained to the wall." He's like, "What?!" So it was pretty physical for sure. And there were scenes where you have to sell it. This isn't a picture where they're bringing in stunt doubles for you. This is something where  they'll bring in a stunt double for Annalise when she has to jump out of a window but not for me. The role was written physical but it didn't have to go this big. I wanted her to crawl and spend tons of time on her knees. And I wanted her to turn kind of more animal . When you get hit in the face with a golf club you (have to) sell that. Because if you don't, no one's going to believe it. So you throw yourself over and over and over again onto the floor, which I find fun but I'm not 25 anymore so your neck definitely hurts the next day.

You've done physical stuff before but this just seemed more savage. Where do you draw that out of?

I don't know. There is this fear that it is incredibly embarrassing to crawl on your hands and knees and act like an animal in front of grown men. I mean, maybe that’s somebody's fantasy but not mine (laughs). If you don't do it well it's embarrassing. So you kind of have to throw that out the window and just go for it. Because the only way it's not going to be embarrassing is if you really just do it. But definitely the first time I did it was a little nervous. I looked at Mike and I was like, "Is something like that good?" And he was like, "That's amazing." And I was like, "Okay good, just making sure I don't look like an idiot crawling on the floor." I had wood burns on my knees and it was pretty crazy.

What is your relationship with the horror genre?

Horror movies scare me. I'm not the type of person that goes and rents horror movies, but at the same time (I enjoy movies where) it's things that you can understand, things that would really happen. Like, I really want to see The Purge just because it makes sense. Like that could actually happen. Home invasions happen every day. That to me scares the s**t out of me so it's kind of like things like that I'll enjoy watching. I watched Insidious 2 and was screaming in the theater and my friends were like, "Katee, that wasn't that scary." And I was like screaming bloody murder. I think I've seen one Saw halfway through and I was so scared and grossed out that I turned it off. I like to laugh more.

Your name popped up in regards to Marvel movies a few months ago. Anything on that front at all? A lot of people out there would love to see you play Ms. Marvel. Is there any basis in reality of that or is that just hearsay?

I don't know if there's any basis in reality to it. As far as I know it's just been fan speculation and maybe some conversations, but nothing concrete at all.

Have you ever sat down with Marvel just for a general meeting?

Me personally? No.

Because they always say that they talk with people a lot even if nothing gets signed.

Well, they do, they do reach out but I think if it ever got to a point where I as an actor and not my representative sat down and talked to them, it's a completely different ball game at that point. So no, I have not had a conversation with them.

Fans love you and you’re very popular at Comic-Con and events like that. What's the most memorable fan encounter you ever had?

A Wookie in the bathroom told me that they loved me and I don't know if it was a woman or a man, to this day. It was so weird and just awkward and I was like, “Awesome.” I don't even think I peed, I think I walked out. I was so just kind of freaked out just by the visual of it. Like, this person's seven feet tall. In your mind you're going, “I'm in the bathroom alone with a person that's dressed like a Wookie. This is crazy.” So that definitely for sure is still one of the most memorable things that's ever happened.

Oculus is out in theaters April 11.

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Several weeks ago, it was heavily rumored that Star Wars: Episode VII would return to Morocco, the country that has doubled for the desert planet Tatooine more often than not in many of the previous Star Wars films (of which Tatooine appeared in five out of six features). Yet, if this truly a new beginning for the Star Wars franchise, going somewhere new feels almost imperative.

Thus enter the new intriguing rumors from The Hollywood Reporter’s sources that state Star Wars: Episode VII has booked a four-week shoot in Abu Dhabi. Purportedly, this shoot may also be used to help build the visage of Tatooine, the humble, dusty rock that has somehow appeared in every Star Wars flick, save The Empire Strikes Back. Whether this would scrap the fabled return to Morocco or not remains unknown at this time.

While the cast is not official, it seems highly likely that stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) will return in some capacity for the new film. And R2D2 is a definite. Of course, the new casting is another story.

Star Wars: Episode VII opens December 18, 2015.

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Yesterday, pictures of humble quality circulated online of the titular Guardians of the Galaxy in their prison garb from the latest summer issue of Entertainment Weekly. However, any fan worth their raccoon rant knew that a better image was right around the corner, and indeed director James Gunn has delivered via his Twitter feed. Upon seeing Marvel fans craving their Guradian goodness, Gunn was kind enough to release the following:

Guardians of the Galaxy is an eccentric space opera with a couple of smart-talking intergalactic would-be heroes from the subversive vision of writer/director James Gunn. It’s a cosmic superhero movie that also includes Chris Pratt as Starlord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, David Bautista as Drax, Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket Raccoon, and Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot. John C. Reilly, Benicio del Toro, and Glenn Close also feature.

Guardians of the Galaxy opens August 1, 2014.

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Fans are only now reaching their fever-pitch hype levels for next month’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, but director Bryan Singer and producer/writer Simon Kinberg are already chatting about 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse. Welcome to the modern world of blockbuster filmmaking, folks!

In a new tidbit doled out by EW, Singer and Kinberg played coy about the details of X-Men: Apocalypse, yet revealed several key things: It will be set primarily in the 1980s, star mainly the four essentials from the X-Men: First Class (2011) cast—James McAvoy (Xavier), Michael Fassbender (Magneto), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), and Nicholas Hoult (Beast)—and it will feature disaster movie imagery. Oh, and we may get to see new takes on Gambit and Nightcrawler, too!

“[The movie] won’t necessarily create an alternate universe, but there may be some swapping things that I’m playing with,” Singer told EW. Kinberg added that “from a visual standpoint it actually may be a bigger movie than Days of Future Past because there’ll be disaster movie imagery, like the title would imply.”

Apparently referencing Gambit and Nightcrawler by name, Singer also said that in addition to focusing on the core First Class cast that he’s excited because “I want to start introducing familiar characters at different ages and also explore the ‘80s.”

Singer also confirmed that X-Men: Days of Future Past will not end on a cliffhanger and does not directly set-up X-Men: Apocalypse. However, the complete ending of this summer’s X-Men movie will create the “potential” for the apocalyptic events to come.

X-Men: Days of Future Past opens May 23, 2014. X-Men: Apocalypse is set to begin its reign on May 27, 2016.

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Following the impressive opening weekend for Divergent last month, it was guaranteed that Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment would film the next two installments of author Veronica Roth’s source trilogy of novels, including Insurgent and Allegiant. Indeed, Insurgent already has director Robert Schwentke lined up and a release date scheduled for March 20, 2015.

However, it appears that Lionsgate and Summit were very happy with Divergent’s success, as it was announced Friday that the third book Allegiant would be adapted into two separate movies.

Following a trend that was first popularized by fellow Young Adult literature adaptation series, the Harry Potter franchise, and has since been utilized by Twilight and this November’s upcoming Part I approach to The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, this divide will allow the Divergent franchise to carry into 2017.

Allegiant Part 1 is scheduled for March 18, 2016, and Allegiant Part 2 is due out March 24, 2017.

Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-Chairmen Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger said in a statement, “Veronica Roth brings her captivating story to a masterful conclusion in Allegiant, a rich, action-packed book with material that is ideally suited to two strong and fulfilling movies. The storytelling arc and world of the characters lend themselves perfectly to two films, a storytelling strategy that has worked very well for us on the two Twilight Breaking Dawn films and about which we're tremendously enthusiastic for the two upcoming Mockingjay films of The Hunger Games franchise.”

Divergent opened to $54 million in its first weekend and has currently made $139 million worldwide. It is based on the bestselling Veronica Roth novel, and tells the story of Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley), a young girl raised in a dystopian collective in post-apocalyptic Chicago, one who is special…divergent. You can read our full review of the movie here.

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Set in two separate periods, X-Men: Days of Future Past features a lengthy timeline. Indeed, the entire cinematic X-universe, which has already been stretched as far back as the Holocaust in the very first X-Men movie and added as a curious wrinkle to the Cuban Missile Crisis in X-Men: First Class, can have its own tricky, varied history. Luckily 20^th Century Fox has launched today a new website called 25moments.com. In this online alternate history lesson, visitors can discover a vast expanse of humanity’s “struggle” against the X-Men between 1962 and 2018, resulting in the grim “fate of a species.”

In one of the niftiest bits of viral marketing we’ve ever seen for a superhero movie, you can learn how the intervening years between First Class and Days of Future Past played out including, Magneto’s role in the JFK assassination and Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) making a mysterious deal with President Richard M. Nixon in 1972 that resulted in 18 and a half minutes of tape being erased…

The viral site includes many more moments from the 20^th century, including the mutants’ role in the formation of Guantanamo Bay’s detention center and a Russian spike of mutations following the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown. However, things get grim the further after 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand we go. For example, it appears the Sentinels confiscate Xavier’s mansion in 2010….

Click on the website yourself to explore all the history.

X-Men: Days of Future Past, uniting casts new and old, opens May 23, 2014.

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Marvel Studios is starting to kick the marketing for Guardians of the Galaxy into overdrive like a raccoon with a rocket launcher. And for the record, that is something we all should hope to see in the upcoming Guardians movie.

Marvel and Disney have released three new photos from the picture, as well as a higher-resolution version of the pic director James Gunn tweeted only hours ago.

Guardians of the Galaxy is an eccentric space opera with a couple of smart-talking intergalactic would-be heroes from the subversive vision of writer/director James Gunn. It’s a cosmic superhero movie that also includes Chris Pratt as Starlord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, David Bautista as Drax, Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket Raccoon, and Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot. John C. Reilly, Benicio del Toro, and Glenn Close also feature.

Guardians of the Galaxy opens August 1, 2014.

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