“It’s like the last half hour of ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ but for the whole movie.” That was someone’s description of “Captain Phillips” when we quizzed them about the film earlier today. The film, which stars Tom Hanks as the titular captain of the Maersk Alabama, a ship that found itself under siege by Somali pirates back in 2009, was directed by “United 93” and “Bourne Ultimatum” filmmaker Paul Greengrass, whose last feature, the troubled Matt Damon vehicle “Green Zone,” proved an underwhelming and costly flop. But by all accounts from those who have seen it, “Captain Phillips” is the director…

So the question on everyone’s mind now is, will Benedict Cumberbatch be in Star Wars, or won’t he? If he is, or even if he’s in negotiations, he and his are sure downplaying it all.

Niki Stephens — JoBlo.com →

To all of you ladies and gentlemen, you may feel a little saddened to hear that those rumors aboutBenedict Cumberbatch taking a role in STAR WARS: EPISODE VII are just rumors. While promoting THE FIFTH ESTATE, the actor told Access Hollywood this:

“This is the simple truth. J.J. [Abrams] and I have worked together before. I would love to work with him again. No offer has been made.…

It took 10 years for a sequel to 2003′s Chronicles of Riddick to become a reality and the long journey to its theatrical release involved everything from licensing hurdles and scheduling conflicts to financial woes, but Vin Diesel and David Twohy’s passion for the character, and Diesel’s motivational social media fanbase helped make the project a reality.

In what Diesel himself describes as a “miracle,” Riddick is back and the star hopes it’s not just a one-shot and that it’s the beginning of a continuation of the film franchise.

In our full Riddick interview with David Twohy, the writer…

Given the distinct lack of competition, this is hardly surprising. Still, Riddick wasn’t a terrible film so it’s not entirely undeserved either. Some of these other films on this list though… let’s just say that the pickings are a bit slim.

#1 — Riddick

​Budget: $38 Million
Totals: $18.6 M, Weekend and Current Domestic / $7.4 M, Foreign / $26 M, Worldwide
Weekend 1

In terms of story and filmmaking skill, this is easily the best film in the series. It’s well paced, has a good story, really makes us care for Riddick, and doesn’t get mired down with either the horror genre, or the…

I hope you aren’t afraid of the dark this weekend, because Riddick isn’t. In fact, though never very well explained, he can see in the dark or something. And this 3rd installment in the Riddick-verse is coming out this weekend and will be available for you to see! So let’s dive in.

New This Weekend

Riddick — R

I can’t say I was all that impressed with the first two films in this franchise, having finally watched them this past week. In fact I would I would say Pitch Black was downright painful. The Chronicles of Riddick was somewhat better, although strangely and altogether different…

Everything is being recorded. Someone is always watching. You’re always under surveillance. You are just a pawn. Yada, yada, yada.

That’s what this film attempts to portray to you. That is what this film attempts to sell you on. The only problem is that it has this premise but then doesn’t quite know what to do with it. It’s sort of like a dog that chases a car: I’m sure the dog has no plans for what happens if he ever caught it. And that’s not unlike what’s going on here. They have this premise that they caught — they latched onto it and they have no idea what to do with it.

But let’s not…

In fact, I could really boil my thoughts on this whole thing down to one word: debauched. Miley has been on a quest for a while to shed her Disney girl image and let’s just say that she has succeeded. What I don’t understand is why would you want to be remembered as the disgusting and perverted girl? Well, in case anyone did before, I don’t think anyone now will every look at her is a good clean girl again.

And Miley has something to say about it. She says:

Madonna’s done it. Britney’s done it. Every VMA performance, that’s what you’re looking for; you’re wanting to make history,

Yeah,…

If you like Keanu Reeves, boy are you going to be happy with this. I’ve got two trailers here for you: Man of Tai Chi, and 47 Ronin.

Man of Tai Chi is Keanu Reeves directorial debut, and trust me when I say it looks absolutely terrible. I’d like to give the guy a chance as a directory, but honestly this just looks plain awful.

And I don’t know what it is with Reeves and these oriental marital arts things, but this second trailer is for 47 Ronin, which is very Japanese. I’m not sure what to think of this one. I have a little bit of a bad feeling about it but I like to keep a positive spirit…

Cumberbatch’s people told the New York Daily News in no uncertain terms that the Brit star would not appear in Episode VII. “There is no truth to the rumour Benedict has been cast in Star Wars,” said a spokesperson. “I think the rumours are circling because JJ and Benedict have just recently had a wonderful time working together on Star Trek.”

Well, I mean of course they do. And you know, we’ve never been lied to about these sorts of things, and certianly not where JJ Abrams and Bad Robot are concerened… (/sarcasm).