'The Dark Knight Rises' teaser poster

As per usual, Christopher Nolan begins the promotions for his films a full year ahead of time.  His follow-up to The Dark Knight, aptly titled The Dark Knight Rises is set for a July 2012 release, and rumor has it that the teaser trailer is set to premier in front of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 this weekend.  I like the poster; it's not the blurry "Why So Serious?" genius of The Dark Knight's teaser, but it's visually stunning and has the sense of a whole city collapsing.

What do you think?

Trailer for Pixar's Brave

The teaser and poster for Pixar's much-anticipated 2012 release, Brave, just came out recently, seen first by audiences treated to 3D viewings of Cars 2.  Needless to say, this new film should act as a credible rebound from their latest effort.  The film alone seems to be a major departure for the animation studio, which made its success in showing that animated films don't have to be about princesses.  According to IMDb, the synopsis goes a little something like this:

Scottish princess, Merida, defies her parents by persuing an interest in archery, but inadvertently jeopardizes her father's kingdom in the process.

Directed by Oscar-nominee and short film director Mark Andrews (One Man Band) and penned by the film's erstwhile director Brenda Chapman (scribe of Cars and Beauty and the Beast) and Irene Mecchi.  Featuring voice acting by very-Irish Kelly Macdonald as Princess Merida alongside Emma Thompson, Robbie Coltrane, Julie Walters, Craig Ferguson, and Billy Connolly.  Trailer below.

Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" Films Get Names

As per Hitfix, we have titles and release dated for Peter Jackson's much-delayed but finally-near-completed adaptation of The Hobbit.  Much like the trend recently with film adaptations of epically popular books, Jackson and New Line are splitting J.R.R. Tolkien's book into two parts.

it's gonna look like this, right?

Part one, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will hit theatres next Christmas on December 14, 2012.  The second installment, The Hobbit: There and Back, will open just under a year from its predecessor on December 13, 2013.  The Oscar-winning scriptwriting trio of Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens will be joined by The Hobbit's one-time director and scribe, Guillermo del Toro as writers on the screenplay.  Jackson, of course, returns to direct and a number of the original actors from Lord of the Rings return to New Zealand.

Jackon, post Kong Kong weight loss

Given that Lord of the Rings was such a monolith when it came to the Oscars, I'm very interested to see how The Hobbit plays in 2012 and 2013.  Will it be another dominate franchise, or are the Oscars over Jackson and Middle Earth?  I'm a little skeptical, especially since the industry will be voting for the first one knowing that it'll have the second to honor the next year.  I should probably begin the book before 2012, but that never effected my enjoyment of the original trilogy.  Surely it will make a statement in the technical categories, but what of the screenplay, acting, and other big races?  We'll have to wait a year and a half to find out.

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