According to the Wrap’s Jeff Sneider, “Chronicle” star Michael B. Jordan is in serious contention to play Johnny Storm, AKA the Human Torch in Fox’s “Fantastic Four” reboot. Jordan was excellent in “Chronicle”, which was directed by the same gentleman handling the new FF movie, Josh Trank.

The Fantastic Four is one of the cornerstone titles in the Marvel Universe, and deserving of a truly excellent cinematic adventure. Both of the previous Fox “Fantastic Four” movies were nearly unwatchable. A good director with a cast he believes in will go a long way towards making the new “Fantastic Four” movie something we can all cheer for!

If Jordan is indeed cast, there will probably be a little grumbling (that’s what the internet does, people!), but the second he nails the iconic hot-head, no one will care if he is African-American or not. What we need to see in a “Fantastic Four” movie is the Fantastic Four. The color of their skin really shouldn’t be a concern. Anyone with any issues over Johnny being Sue Storm’s little brother needs to remember that there are plenty of mixed-race families in the United States.

Or, perhaps the Storm family is of African descent? There is absolutely no reason why this couldn’t happen. The possibilities casting wise are endless!

The new “Fantastic Four” is scheduled for release in 2015.

Loud. ‘Splodey. Schnickty. Exactly as it should be.

We got a plot reveal last week, but Fox is finally giving us a tease into James Mangold’s “The Wolverine.” Many are hopeful that this will be the Wolverine movie we were supposed to get before, but I don’t even care because it’s got an X-Man and kung-fu, which are like, my two favorite things ever. Also? Silver Samurai, y’all. Silver. Samurai.

Come May 1st, many of our Netflix queues are going to be much lighter due to 1794 movies disappearing from instant streaming.  According to a story over on Slate, all of Warner Bros, MGM and Universal’s properties will become exclusive domain of the new Warner Bros. streaming movie service which, while disheartening to us longtime Netflix fans, makes business sense. What with Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, Crackle, Amazon Instant, Ultraviolet, Warner Instant, etc. consumers have tons of services to choose from, so why would any company want to give their competitor any kind of help in this multi-billion dollar market?

Business sense aside, this further screws over customers, and while it will most likely hand Warner higher profits than they would have received via Netflix, I can’t help but think there will be a lot of angry people who will completely eschew this new service and won’t be willing to give them a dime (this group would include me).

Unfortunately, Netflix subscribers aren’t exactly surprised by this kind of thing happening.  When a deal with Starz fell through a few years ago, a ton of content was removed in one fell swoop, and while some of it has trickled back in, most are now only available via other services.

You can see the full list of movies that will be taken down over at Instant Watcher, and while there is a ton of crap going away, there are some great films as well.  You have until the stroke of midnight to before they vanish, so you’d better get watching!

Well, what can be said about this latest installment of the Iron Man saga?

I feel like it was a vast improvement over the last film and, at this point, I’m pretty convinced that it might be my favorite of the three films. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy Favreau’s efforts, but this just brought things together in a way I wasn’t sure was possible.

Where to even start? This is a post-Avengers world, and thusly, this is our first glimpse into what the Marvel Universe looks like after the invasion of the Chitauri, and it’s our most human look at Tony Stark across the board. Shane Black said we couldn’t see him dealing with the demon in the bottle, but we were certainly able to see him battling the devil in himself. At this stage in his life, he’s prone to panic attacks at the mere mention of the words “New York.”

Yes, we saw Tony change in The Avengers, but that change wasn’t all for the better and Tony wasn’t exactly ready for the change.

And, like most things in Tony’s life, things from his past come back to haunt him.

I don’t want to get too much into spoiler territory with this review. I will say that I’m still not sure that I like some of the choices for characters made. I can safely say, though, that I do like the portrayal of The Mandarin. Ben Kingsley is fantastic and turns in one of the finest performances of any superhero villain. Though I will admit the direction they take him might upset some fans. It made perfect sense, though.

What I will say, is that Shane Black placed his own thumbprint on the film in a way I wasn’t sure was possible. It’s a Christmas movie that instantly conjured images of Lethal Weapon, with the Christmas music, tree lots, people tossing fake badges on tables, Riggs and Murtaugh like shootouts in construction sites…  This film truly is the descendant of Lethal Weapon. It also has much more of Shane Black’s later sensibilities, many will notice similarities in style with his last Robert Downey, Jr. film, Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang. It’s particularly striking in the way the film starts and ends.

As for the post-credits sequence, it’s worth staying for once, and it’s fun to see other characters from the Avengers universe, but it’s not much to write home about. It’s satisfying to a degree, but I feel like it should have left a stronger lead up to Thor: The Dark World.

This film had me in tears (the scene where Tony’s house is blown up!) and in stitches (Tony is as funny as ever.) It had me smiling (Downton Abbey!) throughout and cheering for the good guys and hissing at the bad guys. Guy Pearce is particularly delightful, if not slightly cardboard. The events put into motion provide the backdrop for the most stunning and Iron Man filled finale in any of the movies.

And I can’t overstate how much I liked his interplay with “The Kid.” Best sidekick ever.

My only complaint (aside from the questionable change of one character, which may or may not be fixed by the end) is that it felt as thought Rebecca Hall was underused. I think she’s a great actress and she was given a bit of short shrift here, underutilized in a way that was even worse than Sam Rockwell’s under-utilization.

Will you enjoy Iron Man 3? Absolutely.

Did I? You bet.

Was it the best of the three? As I’m at the end of this review, I still think so, yes.

Am I still more excited for Thor: The Dark World coming later this year? Verily.

Iron Man 3 hits cinemas in the United States on Friday.

This is the year of the geek movies, is something that seems to be said every year now. With Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness, Thor: The Dark World, and Pacific Rim that seems to be true. Until next year and the year after that and the year after that. It seems each year gets better and better. Of all the blockbusters coming out this year Pacific Rim is by far the one I’m most excited for. When was the last time you saw giant robots fighting giant monsters on a big screen? I never have! This isn’t really much to say about this trailer other than it has a lot more robots fighting monsters than the previous trailer, which is never a bad thing. This trailer was shown at Wondercon last month and had a very postive reception. What do you think of it? Pacific Rim comes to theaters on July 12th.

If you haven’t been to see Margin Call, missed it on the cinema listings and/or haven’t rented it yet on DVD – then do yourself a favour and watch it at once. Make no mistake; this is a superb and very under-rated movie that really puts you in the moment of the breaking financial crisis back in 2008.

Yes, there are things wrong with the movie in that it has to try and be all things to most people – so it is dumbed down a little. But if it wasn’t, it would hardly have a mainstream audience so in this way, it bridges the gap really well.

If you don’t know what this movie is all about, then as a brief synopsis, it tells the story of a major New York based investment bank on the evening of the precipice that turned into the global; financial crisis.

Two junior risk analysts and a trading desk head watch as human resources consultants conduct an unannounced mass layoff at the bank on the trading floor, at what was otherwise a normal day of business.

One of the people fired is the boss of the two junior risk analysts, and he tries to alert the consultants and execs at the bank of the risk it is facing – based on the programme he’s been working on.

The consultants take no interest in this and simply want him out of the building, so as he leaves he very briefly tells the more senior of the tow junior analysts about the risks –  handing him a memory stick as he leaves. The clever young analyst works on in the evening on the project, managing to finish it off and to discover that the volatility in the bank’s portfolio of mortgage-backed investments could soon topple the entire company.

The junior analyst calls in his colleagues and a more senior analysts played by Kevin Spacey and the plot moves on from there – with ever more senior people getting involved until the CEO, played by Jeremy Irons, takes drastic action to save the bank.

This movie really puts you in the moment more than any other financial-based film ever has done – so don’t miss it.

Daredevil fans, here is your great news for the day!

Kevin Feige, President of Production for Marvel Studios, has confirmed that the rights to Daredevil have indeed reverted back to Marvel/Disney. From Newsarama:

Speaking with Newsarama Monday at the Iron Man 3 press junket, the Marvel Studios president of production told us at the end of our conversation that, as previously speculated, the Daredevil rights are now under the Disney/Marvel umbrella. We directly asked Feige if the reports that Marvel Studios now had the rights to Daredevil were accurate, to which he replied, “To Daredevil? Yes.”

As was reported previously,  FOX had to have production rolling on a new DD film by October of last year to retain the rights to the character. Obviously, that never happened, and now we have confirmation that the rights have indeed reverted back.

As a Daredevil fan, I couldn’t be happier. I quite enjoyed the Ben Affleck-starring film released several years ago – mostly the director’s cut that was later released, but a follow up either in sequel form or reboot has just never been able to get off the ground. With the character back in the hands of Marvel it opens up all sorts of new doors for the character. Unfortunately, the Marvel movie slate is pretty packed through 2015, so the odds of seeing the Man Without Fear in his own film anytime soon may be slim. Perhaps we could get a cameo in another film though? Who knows what Marvel has in mind for Daredevil, but I certainly hope he doesn’t just sit on the shelf for too long.

In any case, Daredevil is now in much more capable hands, and even if it’s later than sooner, I can’t wait to see a Marvel-produced DD film!

What would you like to see in a Marvel-produced Daredevil film? Which characters are you looking forward to seeing him interact with in the movie universe? Sound off in the comments below!

Hey y’all, here’s a look at the first trailer for Thor: The Dark World: So, what do you think? The film, starring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman and Christopher Eccleston, hits theatres Nov. 8.

America’s favorite stoner duo, Cheech and Chong, are at it again in a new animated movie, and we want to give you a chance to win a copy of the blu-ray!  Twentieth Century Fox and Thinkjam have partnered with us and provided 1 blu-ray to give away to a lucky reader.  To enter, send an email by Wednesday, April 24, with the subject line CHEECH AND CHONG to sithbotbsr@gmail.com and include the following information:

Your full name, mailing address (no PO Boxes and within the US only) and email address

The winner will be chosen at random and contacted via email on the 25.

Here’s a peek at the trailer and best of luck to everyone who enters!

Axel Braun is a busy little beaver – he’s already publicizing his newest adult parody: “Man of Steel XXX.” Braun has made what could be a controversial decision in the nerdosphere by chosing to include Superman’s black costume. It’s discussion worthy because 20 years ago, Superman died. Spoiler alert – he came back to life. WOW I’m not going to get into that whole story right now, but in 1992 it was a pretty big deal. Upon his return, the real Superman briefly sported a black suit. One could say it’s simply semi-obscure trivia while another could say it’s an important era of Superman, and both could say that perhaps Braun is digging up two-issue plot lines to entice comics readers into watching his movies.

I, however, would not say that. I really don’t think that people who are uninterested in porn are going to start watching it just because a director knows his nerdery. And Braun certainly does seem to know just that – he even states that his attention to detail on this black suit was so great that the suits’ budget eclipsed the budget of most films in their entirety. And that fact makes me ponder two items: Why is there more than one suit, and Jesus lord what kind of material did they use for those suits? It either puts in perspective the cost of black vinyl or the average porn budget, both of which are relevant to my interests. Wait, what?

Axel Braun himself is a bit of a superhero. The son of a director in the adult entertainment industry, Axel is fluent in five languages, grew up in Italy, is a member of MENSA, has a PhD, and went to film school. Now those are some facts that could turn me into a regular viewer.

Black suit inclusion aside, why will I check out this parody? Can we please just talk about this lineup of characters: Lex Luthor, Batman, Wonder Woman, Lois Lane, Lana Lang (I smell a three way…), Livewire, Silver Banshee (bet she’s a screamer oh my God what is wrong with me), Angle Man (that joke pretty well just writes itself), Dr. Fate, Zatanna (and that my friends is the sound of 100,000 nerds getting simultaneous erections), and OH MY GOD BIZARRO IS IN A PORNO HOW COULD YOUR LIFE GET ANY BETTER??!!?! And super fun fact? “Man of Steel XXX” is set to be released on June 14.

Long story short, I kinda want to buy Axel Braun a beer and ask him to please make a Justice League International parody. You can follow the award winning director at twitter.com/axelbraun and/or facebook.com/AxelBraun, and you can visit Vivid’s wildly – wildly – NSFW site here. No trailer for “Man of Steel XXX” has been made available yet, but rest assured I will post it as soon as I can get my grubby little hands on it.