With every sequel comes new character roles that need to be filled, such as that with the upcoming sequel to the adaptation of the Suzanne Collins novel Catching Fire, the second book in the successful Hunger Games trilogy. Among the top roles in the sequel, officially titled The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, is that of Finnick Odair. I’ll try to describe the character with the least amount of spoilers possible: He is a highly capable athlete brought in to take part in a newly designed game.

Since Gary Ross has decided not to come back to direct Catching Fire, Lionsgate has hired Francis Lawrence to direct the sequel, and now he is tasked with recruiting an actor to play the role of Finnick. According to E! Online, the top three names are Armie Hammer, Taylor Kitsch, and Garrett Hedlund.

Battleship
Directed by Peter Berg
Starring Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgård, Brooklyn Decker, Liam Neeson, Rihanna, Tadanobu Asano
Universal Pictures
Rated PG-13
Release Date: May 18, 2012

Prepare To Be Boarded…
More Like Bored-ed

Battleship was first released by the Milton Bradley Company in 1943 as the pad-and-pencil game, Broadsides: the Game of Naval Strategy, and then as a traditional board game in 1967. Of course, if you’re reading Geeks Of Doom, you’re probably most familiar with the 1989 Electronic Talking Battleship and the classic catchline, “You sunk my battleship!”

After the success of toys-to-films franchises like Transformers and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, toy mega-giant Hasbro reviewed its catalog and selected Battleship as its next project, with director Peter Berg (Hancock, Friday Night Lights) at the helm. In the film adaptation, NASA discovers an extrasolar, Earth-like planet with conditions suitable for life. Using a high-tech communications array in Hawaii, NASA transmits a signal to the far-off planet in an attempt to make contact with potential intelligent life forms.

John Carter
Directed by Andrew Stanton
Written by Andrew Stanton, Mark Andrews, and Michael Chabon
Starring Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Willem Dafoe, Samantha Morton, Mark Strong, and Dominic West
Walt Disney Pictures
Release Date: March 9, 2012

The Story

Captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), a former Confederate officer who returned from fighting in the Civil War to find his wife and child murdered by Apaches, is now scouring the deserts and hills of Arizona looking for a mysterious cave of gold. When a group of Calvary soldiers attempt to conscript him into their fight against the Apaches in that territory, Carter escapes their clutches and soon manages to find the cave he has been looking for, but a strange and bald being is already there waiting for him. After a brief fight Carter emerges the victor, but his adversary activates a device and speaks the word “Barsoom” before perishing from his wounds. The reluctant soldier is suddenly transported from Earth to a place unfamiliar to him. In his new surroundings, a planet called Barsoom (better known to us as Mars), Carter can leap great distances and has increased strength, but he soon discovers he’s not alone.

Yet another new trailer for Universal Pictures’ sea-going alien invasion extravaganza Battleship has hit the web boasting more large-scale mayhem and extraterrestrial menaces that vaguely resemble Master Chief to make the last Transformers movie look like a German indie film.

You can watch the video here below.

Just about every CG-enhanced money shot in Peter Berg‘s board game-based sci-fi adventure has been crammed into these headache-inducing two minutes. The movie’s release is two months away so at this point anyone interested in seeing it has already made up their mind. Battleship looks like decent summer entertainment, nothing more.

Battleship opens on May 18, 2012.

Trailer

Disney’s John Carter opens in theaters everywhere today. The studio’s attempts to rectify their shockingly lackluster marketing campaign in recent months has been bold and commendable. Hopefully their efforts will not be in vain. A minute-long action scene from the film has been released and you can watch it here below.

I like it. Hell I like virtually everything I see and/or hear from this movie. There’s a strong sense of fun and adventure one cannot help but feel from watching this recent trailers and clips. Matched with the impressive visuals and Michael Giacchino‘s grandiose music score, John Carter looks to be one of the few genuine movies released this year that go beyond their massive hype.