Football season is coming to a close and Super Bowl XLV will be on FOX, Sunday, February 6. Now, I know not everyone like myself is a geek/sports fan hybrid and a lot of you out there couldn’t care less about the game. Personally, I’ll be watching and enjoying greasy food and delicious alcohol – but that’s neither here nor there, or the point of this post. . .

What all of you lovely geeks out there will want to watch for are the sweet movie spots that are set to play during the commercial breaks of the game! I know, most of you aren’t going to sit through an entire “meaningless” sporting event just to get a glimpse at some new footage at some of the best geek movies coming out this year – and that’s fine, we all have our own interests and sports isn’t for everyone. Those of us that will be watching, though, will get to see these spots and piss our pants while the rest of you wait to watch them online a few days later.

Here’s what you can expect to see:

Paramount is going to be pluggin five of their major films coming out this summer. Watch for ads for JJ Abrams’ Super 8, Rango – and animated film featuring the voice of Johnny Depp, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and of course, Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor (squuuueeeee!)!

Of course, you can expect to see a spot from Disney for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, but also be sure to watch for an ad for Jon Favreau’s Cowboys & Aliens from Universal and DreamWorks!

This year, Sony has opted to air ads for their tentpole movies during the pre-game show. Watch for spots for Battle: Los Angeles – the alien invasion flick featuring Aaron Eckhart that looks pretty badass, and Priest – another film with a religious-type theme featuring Paul Bettany, also some film called The Eagle starring Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell set in Roman times. Paramount has also decided to buy some air time during the pre-game show, and you can plan to see an ad for Kung-Fu Panda 2 during that time.

That appears to be it, or at least all that has been announced thus far. Considering the game is on FOX, and the amount of publicity we’ve seen from X-Men: First Class this week, I’d be willing to bet we see at least a teaser spot from their camp. Even if it’s just an image of the Mansion with some voice overs, or some bullshit of the sort.

Anywho! . . . Be sure to watch for these ads as you enjoy the game in about two weeks!

On top of all the official images released this week, FOX also just released the teaser poster for X-Men: First Class! Since I am sick of writing about this film for the week, I’ll spare you my thoughts – mostly becuase I have none. It’s a pretty standard teaser poster, pretty cool looking. Enjoy!

[source: Ain’t It Cool]

It’s the story that just won’t die this week! First we had the first official image from X-Men: First Class released and was met with huge disappointment and skepticism that it was even legit. Then, we got a little more of the story and confirmed the image as official. But, while it appears that the photo is official, it wasn’t meant to be released and director Matthew Vaughn is none-to-pleased with the release of it. Slashfilm was contacted by the irritated director who had this to say:

“I freaked out on them yesterday. I don’t know where the hell that came from. I don’t think it’s a Fox image. It’s not a pre-approved image. When I found out, I said, what the fuck is this shit, and Fox is running around trying to figure out what happened as well. I agree. It’s like a bad photoshop, which maybe it was by someone. It didn’t reflect the movie. I was shocked when I saw it. I was like ‘Jesus Christ’…

“I’m a fan of X-Men. We’re not bastardizing X-Men, I’m trying to get them back to being whole again.

Vaughn was also kind enough to provide to more official photos for the fans to see.

Hero Complex over at the LA Times has done a lengthy write-up on the filming of First Class which I would encourage you to read. It really gives some insight to what Vaughn is up against, and a little about the direction he is trying to take this film. In the article he confirms once again that this is a prequel, not a reboot. The article does make the director appear to be quit stressed out, and even he describes himself as a “boxer against the ropes”.

The thing is, I like Vaughn, but I don’t like the studio in charge of this film, nor do I have faith in them. He is confident this film will be more than good competition for the slew of other superhero films coming out this year. I have maintained since this film was first announced that it’s not looking good for our favorite group of outsiders, and all of these images that have been released this week haven’t really changed my mind. That said, I am still curious to see a trailer, and when the movie is finally released I would love nothing more than to be proven wrong and have this be a freat X-Men film.

You can check out all five new official photos below (click the top two for high-res)!

So, what are your thoughts so far on this film after all the new images released this week and seeing what Vaughn had to say about his film? You still not impressed? Has he instilled a little faith in you? Sound off in the comments below!

Remember all the hullabaloo from yesterday about that X-Men: First Class cast photo? “It’s a fake!”, “It’s not a fake!”, “It’s obviously Photoshopped!”, “It’s just a comp!” Well, guess what doubters, it’s real. Other news outlets seemed pretty convinced it was a fake, I was pretty sure it wasn’t and that the first publicity still for this film really was that bad.

In all fairness, there was a lot of confusion with MSN posting the picture, then immediately pulling it down, MTV being asked by FOX to remove the picture from their site, so on and so forth. We had the benefit of a little insider information from our good friend Jerk-Bot that convinced us that “Yes, it’s real.”

It’s not a fake. It’s for real. The complication is that one of the actors has not signed off on his likeness in the photo.

Others were convinced that it was real, but just a work in progress, and the real touched up version would be released when MSN’s interview with Michael Fassbender (Magneto) went up. Well . . . that Fassbender interview went up this morning, but it was only moments ago MSN released the “higher-res” photos of that same shot. If you ask me, I don’t see a difference, looks like the same damn photo to me:

So, there you have it folks! That’s the story in a very small nutshell; these are the X-Men you’ll get in this film, and this is what they will look like. Now that you can see them a little better (the photo’s above are the highest-res available at the time of this post), do you think they look better, worse, or did you original opinion not change? Sound off in the comments below!

UPDATE: JoBlo points out via Twitter that no where in the press release is the word “Catwoman”…  Though the Hollywood Reporter AND The LA Times are running it as though it was…  Interesting food for thought.

Hero Complex at the LA Times is reporting that Anne Hathaway will be playing Catwoman and Tom Hardy will be playing Bane. The Warner Bros. press release had this to say:

Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that Anne Hathaway has been cast as Selina Kyle in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises.” She will be starring alongside Christian Bale, who returns in the title role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. Christopher Nolan stated, “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Anne Hathaway, who will be a fantastic addition to our ensemble as we complete our story.”

In addition, Tom Hardy has been set to play Bane. Nolan said, “I am delighted to be working with Tom again and excited to watch him bring to life our new interpretation of one of Batman’s most formidable enemies.” Nolan will direct the film from a screenplay he wrote with Jonathan Nolan, from a story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer. Nolan will also produce the film with his longtime producing partner, Emma Thomas, and Charles Roven. “The Dark Knight Rises” is slated for release on July 20, 2012. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

To be honest I’m a little surprised that they picked her. But I prefer my women a little closer to Christina Hendricks with some meat on their bones. And Bane… really? I’ve never been a big fan of that villain. What do you think? Sound off in the comments below.

Swank-mo-tron weighs in: I was in the middle of writing my own article about this, but Kill beat me to the punch. I think this is a little surprising, but also refreshing. I think Bane was dealt a raw hand in the Batman “movie” he was in… He’s been a very strong character over the years in the comics and his arc has been fascinating one…  From his determination to bring down Batman (and successfully break him) to his endless struggle to destroy the Lazarus pits of Ra’s al Ghul (which would be an intelligent use of him here) and his work WITH Batman during that time…  It would make sense to see a villain team up with Batman to handle a greater villain.

And as far as Catwoman is concerned, she was dealt a raw hand, too.  The way Schumacher just ignored the ending of Batman Returns is one of the many things that makes that film garbage.  Hathaway is an incredible actress and I can’t wait to see her put on a skintight vinyl suit and play a villain.  And I hope to Christ they use the Darwyn Cooke/Mike Allred Catwoman costume…

UPDATE #2: Our sources from MSN (see comments below) say that the image is totally legit, the problem is one of the actors has not signed off on his likeness in the cast photo.

Update: Seems that there may be a little drama coming along with this image!

Earlier this afternoon, I had heard rumbling across the interwebs that the first official image from X-Men: First Class had debuted on MSN. I wandered over to MSN and found nothing, so I tried following some links that supposedly led straight to the image itself on MSN, and only received an error. It seemed MSN had debuted and undebuted this exclusive image within a very short time. The reason? Well, nothing on that yet . . .

MTV doesn’t seem to be convinced that this image is legitimate, stating that it has a “strong Photoshop like vibe” to it –  I tend to disagree. It looks cheesy, sure, but I believe it looks just like it’s supposed to (believe me, at this point I wish this was Photoshopped fan art!). Not to mention this first appeared on MSN as an exclusive, and even though it was pulled pretty quickly, I would suspect that due-dilligence is done on any promo for a big movie they are going to release as an exclusive.

Currently, MTV does not have the image up on their site, stating:

UPDATE: Fox has indicated to MTV News that this is not an authorized image from the “X-Men: First Class” movie.

[IMAGE REMOVED AT REQUEST OF STUDIO]

So . . . any guess what this not being an “authorized” image mean? They didn’t come out and fall it a “fake” or not “official” – they seemed to choose their words deliberately with not “authorized” . . . as in “Yes, this is an official photo, no it has not be authorized to be released yet.”?

Make up your own mind and post your thoughts in the comments below! We will keep the image up as long as we can!

Original Post: Here you go folks! Your first look at (from L-R): Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne), Emma Frost (January Jones), Azazel (Jason Flemyng), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Havok (Lucas Till), Angel Salvador (Zoe Kravitz), Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy).

Sorry, this is the highest resolution version out there circulating on the interwebs at the moment, but I’ll be sure to update this if/when one hits!

So, what do all of you think? Here at BSR first impressions are ranging from “I was so excited . . . until I saw thi.” to “This is looking more and more like a fan-made film.” to even, “More like ‘XXX-Men: First Ass’!” Me? I’m still not thrilled with what I am seeing with this film. Every bit of news and images that rolls out just in turn makes me roll my eyes.

That being said, I would like to eat crow on one thing. A while back when the January Jones as Emma Frost casting was announced, I didn’t think she fit the part. I would like to now say she actually looks pretty damn sexy in this picture. Though, I still maintain it’s just going to be her playing the same character she always does: Mopey bitch.

Share your thoughts in the comments below!

This is a bit of rehashed news, but interesting none-the-less.

Last week saw the unveiling of the first official picture of Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man. A few short hours after it was released, a high-res version followed – and that’s when things got a little interesting. If you look closely at either wrist in the picture, you can see what were suspected to be mechanical web-shooters! This would be quite a big difference since Raimi opted to go with organic web-shooters in his Spider-Man universe, but more in line with the comics since in most comic book canon Peter Parker has invented his own web-shooters and web-fluid.

At the Golden Globes on Monday, MTV caught up with Emma Stone on the red carpet and she confirmed that the silver discs on Peter’s costume were “devices”. So, is this confirming mechanical web-shooters? Not quite sure what else devices on his wrist could be used for. Does this version of Spider-Man need a “device” to help him more accurately sling webs from still-organic web-shooters? My guess, probably mechanical web-shooters . . .

It will be interesting to see what new scenarios having limited web-fluid will bring about in Marc Webb’s version, perhaps Spidey having to run through traffic on foot?

[Source: onlocationvacations.com]

For me, this may confirm limited web-fluid (and hence, mechanical shooters) for our young superhero. Why else would Spider-Man opt to run through traffic instead of swinging over it?

Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Side-Bar: There was speculation the official picture of Spider-Man released last week was to head off any leaks due to costumed filming that was scheduled for this week. Looks like they may have been right! Took less than a week for a fan to snap a set photo featuring Spidey!

Welcome to another installment of The Big Movie Mouth-Off!

Starring Jeff Vice from MSN Entertainment and Jimmy Martin from SLUG Magazine (and both regular panelists on The Geek Show Podcast), the Big Movie Mouth-Off is produced and directed by Bryan Young (me) and Elias Pate from Big Shiny Robot! It appears on Xfinity On Demand in Utah and on Xfinity’s Channel 6, on line, and at Brewvies Cinema Pub.

You’ll want to friend the Big Movie Mouth-Off on Facebook, too, as they are constantly giving away passes to advanced screenings of all the newest films.

You can also listen to all 5 current episodes of the Big Movie Mouth-Off Podcast by clicking here.

Let’s start with the Best Films of 2010:

And now for the worst…

We’re back with another episode of The Big Movie Mouth-Off podcast!

The podcast features the stars and producers of The Big Movie Mouth-Off film review show, which appears here at Big Shiny Robot! and on Xfinity (Utah On Demand and Channel 6).  That lineup is: Jeff Vice from MSN Entertainment, Jimmy Martin from SLUG Magazine, and Bryan Young (me) and Elias Pate from Big Shiny Robot! and ShineBox Media Productions.

To download the latest episode from iTunes, follow this link .

There, you should rate and subscribe to the podcast.

This week, we cover a lot of ground:

• Superhero costumes (Thor, Spidey, Cap)
• James Cameron Vs. Battleship the Movie
• MGM’s problems and the new James Bond
• P.T. Anderson
• Our weekly In Memoriam

So listen and let us know what you think. And if you like it, spread the word!

Possible Spoilers Below

Well. Looks like they are actually going to go through with it. They are going to try to make a movie involving rough sex, a vampire-teeth c-section, and a grown man falling in love with a baby and aim it right down the seeing-globes of Twitard Tweens everywhere.

Below is apparently the first image released by Entertainment Weekly from The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1. PART. ONE. Of course, they have to drag this out for two extra movies; Twitards will argue it’s to do due justice to the source material, those of us with half a brain will see it’s just the studio squeezing more money out of these people.

There was an official synopsis that goes with this photo, but I don’t give a shit. Google it if you want it. In the meantime, you get my official synopsis for the photo:

Below is an image of Edward preparing to fuck  Bella unconscious (look it up! It actually happens!).