Like all years of cinema, 2011 has seen its fair share of posters. However, a large portion of them are, let’s face it, lazy. The increased marketability of actors and actresses, as well as some misuses of Photoshop, have made what was once a grand medium into just bland advertisement. Just take a look at the regression of the “Harry Potter” posters. What once was a hand-drawn, composed piece is now just an actor or actress looking off-screen with a bluish-green light tinting them. Rocket science isn’t needed for that. However, 2011 has also seen some great posters that remind us what it is to look at an actual movie…

After a morning packed with Christmas presents, consider this Movie News Cheat Sheet a bit of an after dinner drink to the main meal. Okay, not every item on this week’s list will bring you comfort and joy, but the good most certainly outweighs the not so good. Not a fan of 3D? It pains me to report that both The Avengers and Star Trek 2 will go under the post conversion knife. On the bright and unrelated side, the big screen adaptation of Ender’s Game just snagged a slew of new cast members including Harrison Ford and Abigail Breslin. In other casting news, Lovelace picked up four and might…

We here at ShockYa are giving your our top 10 movies of 2011, so I shall keep the series going with my top 10. A lot of films that I wanted to put in this list didn’t make the cut (like “The Help,” a film that I feel is a lot better than some critics give it credit for), but I think the list I have to present to you is fairly strong. 1.“The Artist”: This film, starring Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo and John Goodman is probably going to be the winner of a ton of Academy Awards. Not only is it expertly made, but it’s the only silent film…

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” was a $480 million worldwide hit, but buzz-averse distributor 20th Century Fox rolled out the movie in early August with a blitz of TV advertising but otherwise so little fanfare (as per their usual operating procedure, screenings for critics were “opt-in,” and additionally hush-hush) that a lot of more savvy filmgoers who perhaps look to advance reviews and feature coverage peeks as signs of studio confidence in the marketplace thought the movie was a brainless dud. Far from it, actually. Director Rupert Wyatt’s reboot of Tim Burton’s reboot of Fox’s second most well known franchise property (not counting “Star Wars,” which they don’t own)…

Actor James Franco is now dabbling in film reviews. The star of such films as “Pineapple Express” and “127 Hours”, has written his own review on “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1″. And while fans of the actor, who isn’t afraid to take on just about anything, are excited, Twilight fans are a little angry, with some media outlets ripping the actor’s review apart. Franco, who previously shared that he wanted to be a part of the cast of the Twilight franchise, had his thoughts on the Bill Condon directed adaption published by Paris Review, but the outcome wasn’t a positive one. Here’s a snippet from Franco’s Breaking…

The theme of this week’s Cheat Sheet? Casting. Well, for the most part. We’ve got the best of the best including J.J. Abrams’ hopes to cast Benicio del Toro as his villain in Star Trek 2 as well as a slew of potential recruits for Warner Bros’ Akira. It’s been confirmed that Jennifer Lopez is producing a Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego movie, but now the question is, will she star in it, too? Then there’s Andy Serkis who just earned a solid paycheck for signing on for Rise of the Planet of the Apes 2 as well as subsequent Apes films. Yes, this Cheat Sheet is certainly…

Huzzah! Andy Serkis has signed onto the sequel for “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”! The Hollywood Reporter has an article outlining the particulars of Serkis’ return to the highly successful franchise, which also starred James Franco, John Lithgow, Frieda Pinto and Tom Felton, which includes Fox exercising its option on the director of “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” Rupert Wyatt, and asking “Rise” writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver to write a script for the sequel. Also, according to the site, Serkis didn’t originally have a deal for a sequel. Now, that Serkis has proven he can add weight and depth to a role in order…

How about a hefty dose of casting news to prep for the work/school week? This week’s Cheat Sheet is absolutely packed to the brim with casting updates and every single one of them is rather exciting! Even if you’re a hardcore Saw fan, there’s still a good chance you’ve got no clue who Darren Lynn Bousman is. Well, he was the man behind the lens of the series’ second, third and fourth installments and now he’s working on another horror film that not only boasts an interesting premise, but now a stellar cast, too. Alex Proyas, on the other hand, has been in the spotlight time and time again, which…

The presentation wasn’t over just yet. Walt Disney Studios still had a few other upcoming films up their sleeve which included our beloved “Muppets.” But before they presented one of their precious movie gems they showed off a couple more that peaked audiences’ interests. Oz the Great and Powerful Although none of the cast or crew were able to make it out for the D23 Expo thanks to shooting, we still got our first behind-the-scenes look at “Oz the Great and Powerful.” Sam Raimi directs the prequel film that shows us how a traveling magician (James Franco) ends up in the magical world of Oz. The rest of the cast…

A discussion and review the week’s new movie release from your favorite entertainment and celebrity website. Hello everyone, this is episode 9 of the Movie Night Podcast. This week Rudie Obias is joined by podcaster, Justin Vactor of GeeksofDoom.com, they discuss the latest entry in the “Planet of the Apes” series, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”. Subscribe on iTunes or Download and Listen Here. “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” features James Franco, Andy Serkis, John Lithgow, Freida Pinto, Brian Cox, Tom Felton and David Oyelowo. It was directed by Rupert Wyatt. Read Perri Nemiroff’s review. On the next episode of Movie Night, we will discuss, “30…