Seth Rogen And 'The Batman' Writer Team On Internet Meme Horror 'Memetic'

Seth Rogen has really found his niche adapting offbeat comics, finding success with Preacher and The Boys, while adding others like the upcoming Fear Agent series alongside The Batman writer Mattson  Tomlin. Now THR reports Rogen and Tomlin will reunite for another, Memetic, based on the BOOM! Studios horror graphic novel.

Created by James Tynion IV and published in 2015, Memetic centers on an Internet meme that goes viral, only to cause those exposed to it to go violently insane. One colorblind man proves to be immune, and attempts to avoid the chaos while trying to find his missing boyfriend.

Rogen is on board to produce the film, which will be written by Tomlin.

SYNOPSIS: Meme is an idea that starts with an individual, and then spreads to multiple persons and potentially entire societies. Richard Dawkins suggests a meme’s success comes from its effectiveness to the host. But history shows that destructive memes can spread just as rapidly through society. MEMETIC shows the progression of a weaponized meme that leads to the utter annihilation of the human race within 72 hours. The root of this apocalypse is a single image on the internet, a “meme” in the popular sense. A meme that changes everything.

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'Fear Agent' Amazon Series In The Works From Seth Rogen, 'The Batman' Writer, And 'Shazam' Director

What do you get when you combine the forces of Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, producer Matt Tolmach, The Batman writer Mattson Tomlin, and Shazam director David F. Sandberg?  You get an adaptation of a true fanboy favorite comic, Rick Remender's Fear Agent.

THR reports a Fear Agent series is coming to Amazon, with Rogen, Goldberg, and Tolmach producing. Tomlin will write the episodes for Sandberg to exec-produce and direct.  Remender's sci-fi comic combines action, horror, and even a little bit of family drama, centering on Texas spaceman and alcoholic Heathrow Huston. The last "fear agent", Huston's job is to eradicate alien threats to Earth.

Given the big names already attached it's no surprise this was part of a competitive bidding war, with Amazon beating out the likes of HBO Max, Peacock, and TNT. With the success Amazon has had with Rogen and Goldberg's The Boys it's no wonder they felt confident to throw some more cash around.

SYNOPSIS: Interstellar invaders. Time travel. Clones of clones of clones, and lots of whiskey. Whether he’s battling the scourge of space, going back in time to stop the alien invasion that changed Earth forever, or winning his ex-wife back, there’s nothing that Heath Huston won’t do to try to right the wrongs and gets his family back. He is, after all, the last Fear Agent.

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'The Boys' Season 2 Trailer Promises Bigger, Bloodier, Crazier Action

Just as comics such as Watchmen and The Boys took the traditional superhero narratives and seriously fucked with them, we're seeing adaptations of those groundbreaking comics change the TV landscape, as well. The first season of HBO's Watchmen is absolutely on fire, but over at Amazon they're entering a second season of The Boys that promises to be pretty hot, as well. And also pretty damn messy.

The opening image of the privately-deranged, publicly heroic Homelander arriving on the scene like a blood-soaked Superman says a lot about this twisted series. Karl Urban is back as Billy the Butcher, who delivers his own brand of chaos to do what he thinks is right, namely exposing those phony supes for who they are. That also means more violence, more Terror the Bulldog (woot!!), tons of gore, some nasty milk-tasting, more gore, and Giancarlo Esposito. There can never be enough Giancarlo Esposito. I'm also pretty stoked to see what happens when The Female throws down with Homelander.

The sheer amount of stuff that happened in season one's finale makes this next one all the more exciting. The powerful hero-making substance Compound V was exposed to the public; Butcher discovered that his wife and child, born from a sexual assault by Homelander, are both alive; A-Train gets his ass kicked by Starlight and suffers a heart attack; Hughie, Mother's Milk, The Female, and Frenchie are forced to go on the run, and that's just a part of it.

Joining Urban are Jack Quaid, Laz Alonso, Antony Starr, Karen Fukuhara, Tomer Capon, Chace Crawford, Erin Moriarty, Dominique McElligott, and Jessie T. Usher, with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg back running things.

The Boys season 2 hits Amazon in 2020.  Just a note, the trailer has been getting pulled from some outlets. If that happens here I'll take this down and repost when a new one arrives, probably this weekend at Brazil's CCXP.

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'Zeroville' Trailer: James Franco's Long-Delayed Film Taked Him To 1969 Hollywood

For a few years there, James Franco and Takashi Miike were neck-and-neck in vying for the title of most prolific director. Franco had movies coming out every damn month, it seemed, somehow fitting them in between his busiest period as an actor. Not a lot of them were very good, mind you, in fact, most of them weren't. And some of them just never got released, either because they were too experimental awful or the distributor went belly-up. The latter is what happened to Zeroville, which Franco shot way back in 2014 and is only now getting a release.

Looking very much like a movie that was made five years ago, Zeroville finds Franco as director and star, playing a man obsessed with movies (he has a tattoo of Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor on his head) who arrives in Hollywood circa 1969, a time of great transition. It's dabbling in the same era as Quentin Tarantino recently did in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but as expected he and Franco have very different visions.

SYNOPSIS: Vikar is a lost soul journeying through Hollywood 1969, a land of myths, beauty, and monsters. The studio system is in decay, and a new generation of brash filmmakers are on the rise. With his shaved head marked by a tattoo from his favorite film, 1951’s A Place in the Sun, Vikar is a bizarre presence even amid the dreamers and players. He finds work first building sets, then as an apprentice editor obsessed with wielding the power of moving images. As his involvement in the creative process deepens, so does his fascination with a tragic screen goddess named Soledad. Together they discover just how hard it is to live in the blurred boundary between reality and illusion.

Franco is joined by pretty much all of his buddies including Seth Rogen, Dave Franco, Will Ferrell, Danny McBride, Jackie Weaver, Megan Fox, Craig Robinson, Scott Haze, Joey King, and Horatio Sanz.

Zeroville opens September 20th courtesy of myCinema.

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Review: 'Good Boys' Is A Hilariously Lewd Pre-Middle School 'Superbad'

High school may be a war zone, but don't sleep on middle school. It's at least a very violent game of dodgeball. Good Boys has been leaning pretty hard that we'll want to see the adorable Room and Wonder star Jacob Tremblay dropping F-bombs and talking about sex. Well, they're right. It's pretty Goddamn funny to watch him and his fellow sixth-grade pals in a rude and lewd adventure too much for their little brains to understand. Think of Good Boys as the pre-middle school Superbad, imparting many of the same pearls of wisdom about growing up, only with a lot more dildos, drugs, and sex dolls.

Good Boys plants its feet firmly in R-rated territory right from the start, while preparing you for a Tremblay you've never had the pleasure of seeing before. The 12-year-old star plays Max, and when we first meet him he's excitedly saying "Fuck yeah!" at converting his World of Warcraft avatar into an orc with giant boobies. He's right at that age when girls are starting to matter, and his crush on classmate Brixlee is occupying his mind. Following the required embarrassing sex talk with his father (Will Forte), Max hangs with his pals in "The Beanbag Boys": wannabe cool kid and talented singer Thor (Brady Noon), and embarrassingly innocent Lucas (Keith L. Williams), who is grappling with his parents' (Retta and Lil Rel Howery) impending divorce. In a heartbreaking moment that, I have to admit is still sorta funny for all the wrong reasons, a joyous chorus performance of "Walking on Sunshine" is brought down by a tearful Lucas who comically flees the scene.

There are a lot of moments like that in Good Boys, which are equal parts raunchy, dumb, and sweet.  Their day-long predicament is just such a case, beginning with Max being invited to a party at the cool kid's house, only to have to sadly face his pals who didn't get an invite. But he sticks up for them, because that's what Beanbag Boys do, and it works. However, it's a kissing party, and while they may be Beanbag Boys 4 Life, they don't know the first thing about girls and definitely not about kissing.  To be fair, they do try to learn through the Internet, which goes disastrously wrong in a Porhub kinda way. Later attempts involve a running gag with a sexy CPR doll, and spying on two teen girls (Molly Gordon and Midori Francis) with Max's father's prized drone. The girls promptly snag the drone, forcing the boys to steal their medicine bottle full of molly in hopes of an exchange.

The cat-and-mouse game between the boys and girls is perhaps the weakest part of Good Boys, often devolving into tired chase sequences that feel out of place. But the miscommunication between them does lead to some hilarious scenes, including a paintball fight inside of a packed frat house. Good Boys is at its best when the trio are together just trying to have fun, and work through their various issues without really understanding what those issues are. Max's attraction to girls, which his pals are clearly not ready for, leads to some truly funny bits about female consent. It's a lesson the boys learn the hard way, but once they learn it, they do what kids who've learned something new always do, which is apply it with reckless abandon. The boys' immaturity is most often manifested in miscues regarding sex, whether it's what a tampon is used for or the variety of sex toys they keep misidentifying as playthings.

If Good Boys were simply about underaged kids swearing a lot, this would be a pretty forgettable movie, but first-time director Gene Stupnitsky – along with co-writer Lee Eisenberg, go deeper than that. Like Superbad, Booksmart, and dozens of other movies before, it's really about growing up and finding one's own path through life, or in this case, middle school. That you can be an individual and still be the person your friends need is a lesson all of us have to learn at some point, and Good Boys makes it with a surprising amount of heart. 

Most of the film's success relies on its talented trio of stars. Tremblay finally gets to spread his wings, just a tad, by using his innocent persona for the dark side, so to speak. Williams, who looks like a high schooler compared to his diminutive co-stars, has the likable personality and inscrutable delivery that could make him the next Craig Robinson. Together with the devilish Noon, they make an irreverent group perfect for the style of comedy preferred by producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.

Parents may be hesitant due to the richly-deserved R-rating, but they should consider taking their pre-middle school kids to see Good Boys. Not only is it one of the funniest movies of the year, but drops some knowledge about what to do, and definitely what not to do, when life starts to change.

Rating: 4 out of 5

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Final Trailer For 'The Boys' Delivers A Knockout Punch To Haley Joel Osment

When Marvel pulls something like they did over the weekend, literally mapping out the next two years of movies that millions will be obsessed with, it's easy to forget that there's edgier stuff out there that offers a different spin on the superhero genre. Like, if you want to see it get shit on in a hilarious way, you'll want to check out Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's The Boys.

Based on the comic book series by Grant Morrison, The Boys takes a satirical look at superheroes and takes them down a peg. Or several. In this world, a team of vigilantes led by Karl Urban as Bill the Butcher, seek to take down celebrity heroes who have begun to abuse their powers. Expect lots of over-the-top violence and NSFW behavior. You're not likely to see Haley Joel Osment getting decked by Urban in the next Marvel movie. Just sayin'.

Chace Crawford, Erin Moriarty,  Jennifer Esposito, Dominique McElligott, Elisabeth Shue, Laz Alonso, Jack Quaid, Karen Fukuhara, Jessie Usher, and Simon Pegg are part of an impressive ensemble that will be sticking around for season 2, as Amazon has already renewed the show.

Amazon will debut The Boys on July 26th.

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Check Out the Second Red-Band Trailer for 'Good Boys'

Who doesn't love a good coming of age tale? I felt the old man in me start coming out while watching this new red-band trailer...what happened to the days of PG pre-teen shenanigans like Stand By Me (wait, that whole movie was about seeing a dead body wasn't it....). I have to imagine there will be other people with this sentiment as the date for the Good Boys release draws closer but I have to hop those folks will come to the same quick realization as I did, this movie isn't being dirty to be dirty, it's that those other movies were candy-coated. Sorry parents, odds are your little angel Jimmy Dugan Jr. is probably having some of these exact conversations with his buddies. Honestly, without the involvement of Seth Rogen I wouldn't give this movie a second chance as the trailer really shows a movie that could be surprisingly real and refreshingly hilarious or a one-trick pony, knowing Rogen's involvement is a guarantee of some level of quality is probably the reason the trailer starts with a bumper featuring Rogen. Will it be a classic like the taglines say? Time will tell but it's got potential. Check out the trailer below and look for Good Boys in theaters August 16th

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Review: Disney's 'The Lion King', A Visual Stunner That Roars With Heart And Soul

Disney is probably used to the collective eyeroll they get after announcing a new live-action remake. But the numbers don't lie; people still love these movies and in a year that has already seen Dumbo and Aladdin, Disney has given us their best remake yet with The Lion King, a breathtakingly gorgeous and nostalgic wonder that will have you feeling the love tonight.

When Disney needs to pull out all of the stops they turn to Jon Favreau, the Iron Man and Jungle Book director who has almost single-handedly elevated them to the most dominant force in Hollywood. The Lion King is his finest work yet; a loving recreation of the 1994 classic that many still hold dear to their heart. What you love about that movie isn't lost underneath the photo-realistic CGI, it just offers a chance for you to be awed anew by Simba's journey from cub to king.

The story is familiar and just as powerful, and screenwriter Jeff Nathanson (a Brett Ratner confidante responsible for Rush Hour 2 and Tower Heist) wisely doesn't screw with what we know already works. The opening shot of a blazing orange sun dawning over the Serengeti, as animals of many stripes flock to Pride Rock for the presentation of young Simba (voiced early on by JD McCrary, later by Donald Glover) is as majestic as ever. When the familiar "Circle of Life" swells to a climax you may find yourself forgetting that all of this is done, astonishingly, without the use of real animals. The sheer visual wizardry on display is incredible and I don't know if Disney can ever take a step backwards from this.

Some are going to prefer the hand-drawn animation of the original, which can be more expressive than digital technology allows for at this stage. But there's also something to be said about wanting to stroke Simba's fur because it looks so damned fluffy. There's also something to the realism this technology brings to this story set in the wild; you can practically see the frenzied hunger in the uncontrollable pack of hyena set against Mufasa (James Earl Jones' booming voice returns, naturally) and his pride. There are benefits and limitations to both, and neither detracts from the other. You can love this version of The Lion King and its predecessor in equal measure.

While not a complete shot-for-shot remake, Favreau gets about as close to it as one possibly can. Nearly the entire thing is done digitally, with the exception of one scene that you can figure out for yourself, and Favreau doesn't risk rocking the boat by removing some of the story's most iconic moments. Certain scenes linger on for longer than we're used to for maximum emotional impact, and that doesn't always work. When an older Simba is forced from his home by his villainous uncle Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor), he encounters the comic duo of warthog Pumbaa and wise-cracking meerkat Timon (Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner). Their journey, which carries Simba from distraught cub to dutiful lion, feels like it lasts for an eternity. That's not always a bad thing; Eichner's saucy and flippant meerkat is one of the film's true breakout voice performances. Simba's reunion with childhood friend Nala (Beyonce Knowles-Carter) also drags and has a woefully unharmonious rendition of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" by Glover and Beyonce.

Beyonce, who was among the first casting moves made when this film was announced, also proves to be its biggest distraction. While Nathanson's screenplay gives the other lionesses and Nala a greater passion and warrior spirit, Beyonce's voicework is merely adequate compared to others, and the one new song she gets falls way short of the Hans Zimmer classics it's surrounded by.  John Oliver is fantastic as royal hornbill Zazu, following on his stellar voicing in Wonder Park earlier this year. The guy is just born to voice timid anthropomorphic animals! Ejiofor's take on Scar, for my money the best of all Disney villains, is more of a manipulator than the feral rage we sensed within Jeremy Irons' version.  His personal opus, the thunderously evil "Be Prepared", doesn't build with quite the same fury. That was a personal disappointment as it's my favorite of The Lion King's many incredible tracks. I also can't overstate how valuable it is to have James Earl Jones return as Mufasa. Hearing that god-like voice is a comfort and a means of easing us into this contemporary retelling.

I imagine there will be a bunch of reviews calling The Lion King "unnecessary" or "pointless", but that's just lazy shorthand any time a movie is remade. They'll say it "lacks heart" or whatever other gibberish we critics come up with to say that we just can't get past our own childhoods. The original is timeless for a reason, and Disney has gone to great lengths to recapture the same spirit. At a recent event I hosted, I asked the question to our audience of die-hard movie fans if they had ever watched the classic films Disney keeps remaking, and most of them raised their hands to say they hadn't. To me, that's insane. It probably is to you, too. But there's an entire generation of people out there who will now get to have this remarkable story touch their heart, and while we may wish they'd go back and check out the 1994 version, it's more important that stories like this continue to be passed on.

Now if Disney remakes The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride, then we can talk about cheap cash grabs.

Rating: 4 out of 5

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'The Boys' NSFW Trailer: Karl Urban Leads A Pack Of Superhero-Hunting Spice Girls

Due to make a big splash at Comic-Con next month is Amazon's very NSFW anti-superhero series The Boys. Based on the awesome Garth Ennis comic, one of my all-time favorites, it follows a team of vigilantes led by Karl Urban as Billy the Butcher, who make it their job to hunt down, kill, expose...whatever, the world's most corrupt superheroes. It's a great concept that routinely takes jabs at Marvel and DC, and that its R-rated as shit makes it all the better.

The latest blood and expletive-fueled trailer, with a serious tip of the cap to the Spice Girls, gets you ready for what will be a wild experience of rooting for the murderous vigilantes over the Justice League-esque heroes, known as The Seven. See, while they may appear to be good guys, The Seven routinely use their powers in warped and deviant ways, with no fear of repercussion because of their celebrity status.

The series is exec-produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, with Jennifer Esposito, Erin Moriarty, Jack Quaid, Elisabeth Shue, Jesse T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, and Karen Fukuhara co-starring.

The Boys hits Amazon Prime on July 26th.

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'Good Boys' Trailer: Jacob Tremblay Leads A Pack Of Trouble-Making 6th Graders

Remember The Good Son? That 1993 film starred Macauley Culkin as a sadistic child who was most assuredly NOT good. While the randy kids in Good Boys aren't trying to drown anybody like in that twisted thriller, they're hardly what anybody would call innocent.

Room star and perpetual nice kid Jacob Tremblay stars as one of a trio of pre-adolescent boys on the verge of their first kissing party. And these being a bunch of uncool, vulgar, pre-pubescent dudes they're eager to get some pointers by using a drone to spy on others, which of course goes horribly awry.

In case you didn't notice Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's fingerprints all over this one, the duo are on board as producers, with a script by Year One writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, with the latter directing.

Also starring Brady Noon, Keith L. Williams, Will Forte, Midori Francis, Lil Rey Howery, and Molly Gordon, Good Boys opens August 16th.

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'Blockers' Director Teams With Seth Rogen & Will Ferrell For 'Goonies'-esque Comedy '79ers'

Pitch Perfect writer Kay Cannon made the successful jump to directing with last year's hit R-rated comedy Blockers...y'know, the film that had John Cena chugging beer through his asshole. That one. It was actually pretty funny, and it's earned Cannon an even bigger opportunity on a film that boasts producers Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Will Ferrell.

Cannon will direct 79ers, a Goonies-esque comedy about a group of estranged friends who reunite after 20 years to find a treasure they failed at when they were kids. The story was originally written by Parks and Recreation actor Ben Schwartz (also the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog), but will now be given a go by writer Dylan Meyer.

It's unclear if Schwartz will take a role in the film, but it sure sounds like he should. Also uncertain is whether this will be Cannon's next project, as she was recently said to be directing a contemporary Cinderella movie with pop star Camila Cabelo. [Collider]

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Mel Gibson To Play Santa In Action-Comedy 'Fatman', And Seth Rogen Isn't Happy About It

While I'm perfectly okay with Mel Gibson mounting a career comeback, the decision to cast him in certain things is so obviously bad it could only happen in Hollywood. For instance, Deadline reports Mel Gibson will be playing Santa Claus in a dark action-comedy titled Fatman. Fortunately, I don't think any parents are going to be taking their kids to see this one. Still, this is going to go over as well as a fart in a crowded elevator.

At least he's got the beard for it now.

Anyway, the film hails from writers/directors  Ian and Eshom Nelms, and centers on a kid who hires a hitman to murder an obnoxious, down-on-his-luck Santa when he receives a lump of coal in his stocking. Sounds like it could be in the same family of dark holiday films as Bad Santa and Krampus.

However, the Gibson thing is already getting some push back from none other than Seth Rogen. The actor took issue with Gibson's casting, tweeting “Ho-ho-holocaust denier" in response to the news. Rogen, who is Jewish, is referring to Gibson's anti-Semitic rants that got him blacklisted for a few years.  Gibson's bigotry hurt him for a while but he's been kinda smart about his comeback, starring in smaller films and staying behind the camera when possible. This is the kind of project that draws negative attention, though. We'll have to see if this becomes too big of an issue for the producers to ignore.

Filming on Fatman begins early next year.

Ho-ho-holocaust denier. https://t.co/CkkougtqgY

— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) May 9, 2019

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Review: 'Long Shot', Seth Rogen And Charlize Theron Mix Politics And Romance

The title Long Shot is appropriate for Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron's new romantic comedy because theoretically, it shouldn't work as well as it does. First of all, politics and romance rarely make good bedfellows; and does anybody really want to see Seth Rogen as a loser who fails upwards into the arms of a woman well beyond his weight class? It's a monumental lift but Rogen and Theron, in particular the latter in one of her rare purely comedic outings, make this a film more than worthy of your vote.

Directed by the ever-reliable Jonathan Levine, Long Shot invests a surprising amount of emotion into building the relationship between muckraking journalist Fred Flarsky (Rogen) and poised Secretary of State  Charlotte Field (Theron). When we first meet Fred he's infiltrated a neo-Nazi group only to get hilariously outed as a Jew.  That ends badly, and things only get worse when Fred's alternative-newspaper gets bought out by a corporate conglomerate (run by an unrecognizable Andy Serkis doing his best Rupert Murdoch) and he basically talks himself out of a job.

Fred's impulsiveness is matched only by the hyper-composed Charlotte, who as Secretary of State is one of the most powerful people in the world but all anybody seems to care about is who she is dating. When the Trump-esque POTUS (Bob Odenkirk) reveals that he plans to quit politics and pursue acting, Charlotte considers a run for the office, only to discover that her likability ratings are sorta in the toilet and they'll need to be massaged if she's going to be a real contender.

It's impossible not to look at Charlotte and hear echoes of the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign when she faced a litany of sexist expectations, ranging from her age to her fashion sense to her hairdo. While this accomplished, powerful woman must remake herself to be accepted as a serious political candidate there's a bozo in the office who thinks everything is a TV show. But attempt to change Charlotte does, and part of that is being more spontaneous which is how she comes to hiring Fred, who she used to babysit for as a teenager, to be her new speechwriter.

This all happens after a crazy chance encounter at a party featuring a performance by Boyz II Men, and where Fred shamelessly ridiculous the affluent capitalists in the room before faceplanting off the steps. In reality, Fred is such a public embarrassment no real presidential candidate would go within 100 miles of him. Nor would they hire someone whose inflammatory rhetoric would be treated like a political kickball on cable news. But we can put that aside because of the genuine spark between Charlotte and Fred. Screenwriters Dan Sterling and Liz Hannah (who co-wrote The Post so she knows political insiderism) don't make their union as inevitable as we know it to be. There's quite a bit of time establishing their dynamic. Both Charlotte and Fred are strong and forceful, but only she helps lead an entire nation. They find a common bond in the strength of their ideals, and grow close over fondness for a time when their lives were much simpler. The occasional life-or-death situation (being stuck in a literal warzone!) doesn't hurt, either. By the time they do finally have their moment together, we're ready for it and want it to happen.

Of course, too careful an examination of its politics would defeat the purpose. First of all, no presidential hopeful would bring her neon windbreaker-clad speechwriter to as many public functions as Charlotte does. That's just ridiculous. Some heavy-handed moralizing about judging others based on political ideology (embodied by O'Shea Jackson Jr. as Fred's entrepreneur buddy Lance) comes out of nowhere and doesn't add much to the movie's core themes. But I did like the film's most persistent gag which is the many ways a Fox & Friends-esque show can find to insult Charlotte's appearance each day. It's funny because of how much it resembles reality.  Long Shot is at its best when taken as a classic star-driven romantic comedy which doesn't deviate too far from the mold. Rogen has improved as an actor tremendously since Knocked Up, and Theron is more than his equal. We've seen her be funny before but not since A Million Ways to Die in the West has she been given this much to do in a comedy and I hope it's something we see more of. 

Long Shot doesn't seek to offend as much as it seeks to charm both sides of the political aisle. With Rogen and Theron as irresistible as they have ever been, this could be exactly what is needed during these divisive times. 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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'Long Shot' Trailer: Seth Rogen And Charlize Theron Find Love On The Campaign Trail

Politics and romance make strange bedfellows in the romantic comedy Long Shot, another movie that finds Seth Rogen paired up with an impossibly beautiful co-star. In this case it's Charlize Theron, whose character is not only gorgeous but one of the most powerful women in the world, which of course means she's totally in Rogen's league.

Directed by Jonathan Levine, Long Shot has been getting some of the year's best reviews since it debuted at SWSW. I saw it a few weeks ago and was also charmed by it, won over by their surprising chemistry. Formerly titled Flarsky, the story follows Rogen's character Fred Flarsky, a muckraking journalist who is hired by his childhood crush Secretary of State Charlotte Field (Theron) to be a speechwriter as she makes a bid for President.  It's ridiculous but a lot of fun and should be a solid escape if you've grown tired of all the superhero stuff out there.

Also starring Alexander Skarsgard, June Diane Raphael, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Bob Odenkirk, and Ravi Patel, Long Shot opens May 3rd.

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'The Boys' NSFW Trailer: Karl Urban Takes On The World's Most Depraved Superheroes

With Marvel's Avengers movies more popular than ever, we may be seeing the beginnings of a counter-narrative forming. Who wants to keep watching perfect superheroes deserving of their amazing gifts, when it's so much more interesting to explore those who use their powers for evil?  James Gunn is giving us the Superman-esque Brightburn in the next few weeks, and on the small screen there's The Boys, which follows a super-team of depraved individuals.

From the mind of Preacher creator Garth Ennis, once again teaming up with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, The Boys is known for its extreme violence and sexual deviance. Might be a reason why I read the comic from beginning to end.  Anyway, the series stars Karl Urban as Billy the Butcher, leader of a vigilante team who stand opposed to corrupt celebrity superhero who abuse their powers. Alongside Urban is a fantastic cast that includes Elisabeth Shue, Erin Moriarty, Jessie Usher, Chace Crawford, Laz Alonso, Jack Quaid, Karen Fukuhara, Antony Starr, Jennifer Esposito, and Simon Pegg.

SYNOPSIS: THE BOYS is an irreverent take on what happens when superheroes, who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians and as revered as Gods, abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. It’s the powerless against the super powerful as The Boys embark on a heroic quest to expose the truth about “The Seven,” and their formidable Vought backing.

Amazon will debut The Boys on July 26th.

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'The Lion King' Trailer: Disney Makes A Breath-Taking Return To The Circle Of Life

Disney's faced diminishing returns of late with their live-action remakes, Dumbo being the most recent to underwhelm at the box office. That places upcoming films Aladdin and The Lion King in an interesting position where they need success to justify the deluge of other projects on the way. While the jury is definitely still out on Aladdin, Jon Favreau's The Lion King looks like pure nostalgic joy that won't be denied.

A new trailer confirms that Disney isn't rocking the boat with this one. They are giving you the story that is beloved by millions, just done with a heaping helping of gorgeous CGI and motion-capture.  Favreau looks to made a film just as beautiful as his work on The Jungle Book, which went on to earn $966M. There's every chance The Lion King does even better.

An all-star cast has been assembled, with Donald Glover as Simba, Chiwetel Ejifor as Scar, Beyonce as Nala, James Earl Jones returning as Mufasa, Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, John Oliver as Zazu, and many more.

The Lion King hits theaters on July 19th.

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'Long Shot' Red Band Trailer: Seth Rogen And Charlize Theron Star In The Acclaimed Rom-Com

After a rapturous SXSW debut Long Shot, Lionsgate isn't wasting any time in trying to capitalize on it. A brand new red band trailer for the political rom-com has been released which plays into the unlikely romantic chemistry between the two stars, while also showing some of the film's raunchier side.
for the Seth Rogen/Charlize Theron comedy

Overall, it's still a fairly tame trailer by Rogen standards, and that's perfectly alright. Lionsgate is switching gears a little bit here, undoubtedly taking its cues from the glowing reviews which emphasized the pairing of Rogen and Theron. He plays a struggling journalist who takes a job as speechwriter for his first crush, now a high-ranking politician eyeing a run at the Presidency.

In another wise move, Lionsgate bumped the release date from June, where it might have been lost in the summer blockbuster mix, up to May 3rd where it can get some elbow room while also staying away from the electoral season. Long Shot is directed by Jonathan Levine and co-stars Bob Odenkirk, Alexander Skarsgard, Andy Serkis, Randall Park, O’Shea Jackson Jr., June Diane Raphael, and Ravi Patel.

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'Good Boys' Trailer: Seth Rogen's R-Rated Middle School Comedy Is Too Vulgar For Its Stars

Okay, from the trailer for a movie I just described as a female version of Superbad, to a movie that is actually made by the people behind Superbad. And they are clearly drawing from the same R-rated playbook.  Good Boys is produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, with The Office writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky. The result is a film that takes the sex, drugs, and misadventures of high school and throws in a handful of sixth-graders. That sounds like a very dangerous cocktail.

The ever-lovable Jacob Tremblay is at the center of this story which threatens to destroy the air of innocence that has carried him pretty far up to this point. Good Boys finds Tremblay as a boy who gets mixed up with some stolen drugs, angry teenage girls, and a party where he hopes to get his first kiss.  Joining Tremblay are young co-stars Keith L. Williams and Brady Noon, with Lil Rey Howery, Molly Gordon, and Will Forte who seems to be gravitating to these school-aged debauchery comedies.

Good Boys will have its debut at SXSW before opening on August 16th.

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Love Gets Presidential With the Trailer for 'Long Shot'

Formulaic movies are not inherently bad. They do, however, put a TON more pressure on their stars to charm the audience through them. You can have a by the numbers flick but as long as the writing is sharp and the actors are charismatic enough the results can be something new and fresh. Take Long Shot, a movie about Charlize Theron as the Secretary of State and Presidential nominee who falls in love with the kid she used to babysit that grew up to be a journalist played by Seth Rogen...you know, that old chestnut. Seriously though the schlubby guy gets super-hot chick has been played to death, the "Presidential hopeful" type character falls for the regular guy/girl has been all used up, and the journalist  who unwittingly falls for his subject...also overdone. But this flick combines them ALL! Usually that would be said with extra snark but I have to be honest, I really dug the trailer. Charlize Theron is endlessly charming and I would watch her read a stereo's owners manual. Seth Rogen is the most relate-able "every-man" character working today and is never not fun to watch. The result is a pretty standard rom-com that, I feel, is going to rise above....even if just a bit.

Check out the trailer below and let us know what you think!

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First Look At Seth Rogen's 'Long Shot' With Charlize Theron

Seth Rogen is getting back into the political comedy game, although this one shouldn't run the risk starting WWIII like The Interview did. EW has debuted the first images from Long Shot, formerly-titled Flarsky, which stars Rogen alongside Charlize Theron.

Penned by Dan Sterling with Rogen behind the camera, The Long Shot stars Theron as Charlotte, a U.S. Secretary of State ala Hilary Clinton, and her ambitions to become the first female President of the United States are much the same. Rogen plays Fred Flarsky, a gonzo journalist and hard-partying political writer with a nose for trouble. He and Charlotte reconnect when he starts punching up some of her speeches, rekindling an old flame that could derail her political ambitions.

The film also stars Alexander Skarsgard as the Canadian Prime Minister, Bob Odenkirk as the POTUS, along with O'Shea Jackson Jr., Andy Serkis, Ravi Patel, June Diane Raphael, and Randall Park. The Long Shot opens on May 3rd but will make its world premiere at SXSW.

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