New Sucker Punch & Battle: Los Angeles Posters

Jan 25, 2011 by Rob Keyes 

New posters have been released, featuring the five leading ladies of Zack Snyder’s ‘Sucker Punch’ and the latest international one-sheet for ‘Battle: Los Angeles’

Two of the biggest pre-summer releases, which arguably should be summer releases, are that of Sucker Punch and Battle: Los Angeles. Both films made a big introductory splash at San Diego Comic-Con last summer to the most hardcore of movie geeks and since then, have both had very intense, action-packed and downright cool movie trailers.

As  both films prepare for March releases, we’ve seen as much as we can from the trailers and photos thus far without spoiling either. If you’re as excited as we are about either, check out the six brand new posters for Sucker Punch and Battle: Los Angeles, the latter which is internationally known as World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles. You know, because it needs to be emphasized that it’s not all about America.

Sucker Punch is the latest stylistic fantasy action pic by loyal Warner Bros. director Zack Snyder about a girl who’s unwillingly thrown into an institution. Here, she meets and works with fellow inmates to escape, battling their way out through fantastical dream sequences where they fight against dragons, robots, airplanes and more with guns, swords and anything else you can dream of, literally. Think 300, but with ladies and crazier weapons and crazier bad guys. (Click here for latest Sucker Punch trailer).

Battle: Los Angeles, while more grounded in modern reality than Sucker Punch, is a sci-fi actioner and another installment into the recently busy genre of alien invasion films. Heavily armed aliens attack the planet and a group of Marines are forced to fight for an important strategic location in LA, doing what they can to help the local populace. It’s directed by Jonathan Liebesman and often compared to a cross-over between District 9 and Black Hawk Down, where the aliens carry weapons, armor and use vehicles. (Click here for the latest Battle: Los Angeles trailer).

Check out the latest posters and official synopsis for each below:

Sucker Punch Synopsis:

An action fantasy set in the vivid imagination of a young girl whose dream world provides the ultimate escape from her darker reality. Unrestrained by the boundaries of time and place, she is free to go where her mind takes her, and her incredible adventures blur the lines between what’s real and what is imaginary. She has been locked away against her will, but Babydoll (Emily Browning) has not lost her will to survive. Determined to fight for her freedom, she urges four other young girls — the outspoken Rocket (Jena Malone), the street-smart Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), the fiercely loyal Amber (Jamie Chung) and the reluctant Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish) — to band together and try to escape their terrible fate at the hands of their captors, Blue (Oscar Isaac), Madam Gorski (Carla Gugino) and the High Roller (Jon Hamm). Led by Babydoll, the girls engage in fantastical warfare against everything from samurais to serpents, with a virtual arsenal at their disposal. Together, they must decide what they are willing to sacrifice in order to stay alive. But with the help of a Wise Man (Scott Glenn), their unbelievable journey — if they succeed — will set them free.

Battle: Los Angeles Synopsis:

For years, there have been documented cases of UFO sightings around the world — Buenos Aires, Seoul, France, Germany, China. But in 2011, what were once just sightings will become a terrifying reality when Earth is attacked by unknown forces. As people everywhere watch the world’s great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. It’s up to a Marine staff sergeant (Aaron Eckhart) and his new platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any they’ve ever encountered before

Which of the two are you more excited for and which will do better in theaters?

Share your thoughts in the comments and with us on Twitter @rob_keyes and @screenrant.

Battle: Los Angeles invades theaters on March 11, 2011 and Sucker Punch opens two weeks later on March 25th, 2011.

Sources: MSN, ShockYa

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New ‘Battle: Los Angeles’ Trailer Brings The Alien Onslaught

One of the most anticipated films of the year, and another entry to the quickly expanding alien invasion genre, is that of Jonathan Liebesman’s Battle: Los Angeles. Mixing elements of District 9 and Black Hawk Down, but playing with a much larger scale battlefield, Battle: Los Angeles is set to take moviegoers to the front lines of a key location during the world invasion.

The film has seen two trailers and numerous posters, reminiscing on real life UFO sightings throughout history, but each has only shown slight reveals of the aliens and their tech, leaving the rest to your imagination. As refreshing as it’s been to have not been shown all in a theatrical movie trailer, the third Battle: Los Angeles trailer has just released and it presents a whole new look at the film and what it entails.

The latest Battle: Los Angeles trailer focuses on the action and horror as we get up close and personal during the intense and action-heavy beginning of the alien onslaught. We also finally get some decent screentime for the film’s star, Aaron Eckhart. Watch and enjoy:

I am completely sold on this movie. While there are quite a few shots from previous trailers and footage, there is a lot of new content in this teaser. What really works for Battle: Los Angeles is how grounded in reality it is. Even in this particular trailer, almost the entire first minute follows the characters enjoying everyday life until that first scene of the strange “meteors” hitting the battleship. The impact of that hit emanates into the feeling of anxiety watching the events unfold.

The film takes place in Los Angeles as we spend our time with a platoon of Marines fighting for survival, but in the background the aliens are attacking locations all over the planet, hence the international title of the movie being World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles (franchise alert!). The most interesting new footage unveiled with this trailer is by far the large vehicle coming out of the ground at the end, which looks quite similar to the alien mothership from District 9. That should cause some problems for the characters played by Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Lucas Till and co.

Ready to be colonized? I’m cheering for the aliens.

Share your thoughts in the comments and with us on Twitter @rob_keyes and @screenrant.

Battle: Los Angeles invades theaters on March 11, 2011.

Source: Yahoo! Movies

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‘Red Dawn’ Image: Wolverines Ready to Battle Chinese Invaders

Back in 2009 MGM hit the ground running with their remake of the classic ’80s invasion film, Red Dawn. At first there was a whirlwind of activity as the studio moved ahead with project  by hiring a director, casting characters and finding shoot locations in Michigan. Fans of the project felt their excitement build as behind-the-scenes pictures and set videos began popping up online – all of which was supposed to culminate with the September 2010 release.

Then the hammer began to fall -MGM had one heck of a bankruptcy hiccup as it went in and out of negotiations with investors and fought desperately to stave off debtors. Eventually though, MGM’s financial situation became too much for the studio to handle alone as it filed for Chapter 11 and then was sold to Spyglass Entertainment last Fall.

During this time, all of MGM’s projects were put on hold, including Red Dawn, which left a lot of fans wondering if they would ever get to see the completed film. Fans haven’t read any good news or seen any new photos from the film – until now. Thanks from a heads up from our friends at Red Dawn 2010, we have the first complete cast photo of the new Wolverines from the Red Dawn remake over at Daily Blam. Check it out below:

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Now for comparison here is the entire cast of the original 1984 Red Dawn:

The similarities and differences are easy to spot between the two photos: nine characters compared to seven, three girls compared to two, Urban Outfitter clothing compared to J.C. Penny’s – but are these changes a good thing? Most remake purists (if there is such a thing) were complaining when it was reported the original Russia invaders were swapped for the Chinese and the setting moved from the rural areas of Colorado to the suburban areas of Detroit, Michigan.

Personally, I think change for this Red Dawn is a good thing. The global situation has changed – red Russia is no longer considered to be a hostile threat to America and our own economic situation at home has changed. It makes sense (at least Hollywood sense) that the remaining Communist super power (China) would invade the U.S. (hypothetically speaking of course) and it makes sense they would try to win over the American public with feigned acts of good will.

Red Dawn is Dan Bradley’s first time in the director’s chair so no one can say for sure if he and writers Carl Ellsworth (Disturbia) and Jeremy Passmore have done a good job with all of their changes, but hopefully audiences will get the chance to see for themselves later this year.

Red Dawn stars Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Adrianne Palicki (Friday Night Lights), Josh Hutcherson (RV), Josh Peck (Drillbit Taylor), Isabel Lucas (Daybreakers) and Jeffery Dean Morgan (The Losers). Hopefully the film will invade theaters in 2011.

Follow us on Twitter for TV and Movie News @Walwus and @ScreenRant

Source: Daily Blam via Red Dawn 2010

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The Asylum Mimics an Alien Invasion in ‘Battle of Los Angeles’

If you are a fan of the SyFy channel and cheesy sci-fi films, then you have no doubt been subjected to at least one film produced by The Asylum.

Outside of the pornography industry, The Asylum studios have probably produced more direct-to-video films than any other studio in existence. Since 1992, they have produced and distributed 190 films and NONE of them have ever seen the inside of a movie theater on opening day. Yet, just about every sci-fi movie fan has heard of them and watched at least one Asylum film.

Whenever a major studio is preparing to release a huge blockbuster film, The Asylum will inevitably beat them to the punch with their own “mock-buster” – a movie that is similar in style, story and even title, yet different enough to keep them out of legal trouble.  The copycat studio now has their sights set on the upcoming alien invasion flick Battle: Los Angeles with their own offering – direct-to-video of course – Battle of Los Angeles.

Like most of their previous films, Battle of Los Angeles will star a couple of former big name entertainers who audiences thought had dropped off the map. In Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus it was Lorenzo Lamas (Snake Eater) and Debbi Gibson. In Transmorphers: Fall of Man it was Bruce Boxleitner (TRON: Legacy) and in The Day the Earth Stopped is was Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club).

For Battle of Los Angeles director Mark Atkins (Dragonquest) was able to procure the acting talents of Nia Peeples and Kel Mitchell. Peeples can usually be seen acting overly dramatic in the daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless, while most people will remember Mitchell as one half of the once popular Nickelodeon show Kenan & Kel. The film also stars Asylum film constant Stephen Blackehart, who can also be seen next year in James Gunn’s Super.

The synopsis for Battle of Los Angeles differs slightly from Battle: Los Angeles:

Battle of Los Angeles takes place in present day, almost 70 years after the failed attack on Earth in February 1942. Karla (Nia Peeples) is an officer with a super secret fighting force created to combat the threat of alien invasion. Lt. Tyler Laughlin (Kel Mitchell) is an Air National Guardsman who is reluctantly recruited to battle the extraterrestrial threat.

No trailer for Battle of Los Angeles has been released, but there are several production stills to look at below. You can see the rest on The Asylum’s official Flickr stream:

I certainly do not have high hopes that Battle of Los Angeles is going to be a very “good” film but I will still be in front of my TV watching every minute of it with my buddies. To maximize your enjoyment while watching a film made by The Asylum, it is highly recommended to bring along a group of friends.

Battle of Los Angeles comes to video and VOD February 22nd, 2011.

Follow us on Twitter @Walwus and @ScreenRant

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‘Battle Royale’ Finally Getting U.S. Release (In 3D)

Have you seen the Japanese cult classic film Battle Royale? If you answered “No” to that question then do yourself a favor: open a new tab to your Netflix account right now and bump the movie to the top of your que.

For those of you who HAVE seen Battle Royale and truly appreciate it for the savage fun it is, we have good news for you: after nearly a decade the film may finally be released on American soil – and in 3D, no less.

In honor of its ten year anniversary, Battle Royale undergone a 3D conversion for a Japanese theatrical re-release. Nippon Cinema reports that Anchor Bay has snagged the rights to the film, the 3D version and the sequel film, Battle Royale 2, and could release them stateside at long last.

For those who don’t know, Battle Royale is based on the novel by Koushun Takami, about a future in which the Japanese government has collapsed and the youth have become disenfranchised and hostile. A disgruntled ex-teacher working for the government kidnaps a class of ninth graders and deposits them on an island to wage war against one another in a last-man-standing battle to the death. The students are fitted with explosive collars and, like any good video game, a variety of weapons (ranging from bats to guns)  are distributed across the battlefield. If the students don’t kill each other off in the allotted time, the explosives in their collars will detonate, killing them all.

Battle Royale was a simple, savage, unapologetic premise that worked very effectively as a genre film – hence why the movie is now considered a cult-classic and has spawned any number of imitators (The Condemned, I’m looking at you!). However, Battle Royale was released in 2000 – just on the heels of Columbine murders – needless to say, a movie about school children killing each other was not something America was looking for at the time. There are several conspiracy theories about why the film has been kept out of U.S. theaters (was it the will of Japanese production house, Toei, or U.S. distributors?) but the bottom line is that only a small portion of American moviegoers are aware of the flick.

Hopefully Anchor Bay is planning to release the film in America sooner before later. The thought of seeing Battle Royale in an actual theater is very appealing – though I’m not 100% sold on the idea that a 3D release  is necessary (though that’s the more likely scenario for a U.S. theatrical release).

If Battle Royale is released in American theaters, would you go see it? Do you think enough time has passed for a movie like this to be released in the U.S. without controversy? After all, if The Hungers Games can get the Hollywood movie treatment, why can’t this film?

Battle Royale 3D hits theaters in Japan on November 20th; a U.S. release is being planned for sometime in 2011.

Source: Nippon Cinema via Twitch Film

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