Pop Culture Roundup 04

This week in the Pop Culture Roundup:

The official trailer for Prometheus has been released and it’s amazing. Watch it above. We featured the preview and poster release in PCR-03. The quality of the trailer instantly catapults it into Top-3 most anticipated summer blockbusters. There’s just been a void and absence of good science fiction films of late and we look forward to this epic. Download or watch in super HD at iTunes Movie Trailers.

Prometheus on Facebook

At last, the first trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has been released. The master, Peter Jackson returns to direct the adventure of young Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman). The trailer reveals a great deal.

Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever … Gollum.

The film also stars Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Andy Serkis, Evangeline Lilly, and Stephen Fry. The fantasy epic will be released on December 14, 2012. You’ve a healthy wait…

The entirely Spanish-speaking absurd comedy with Will Ferrell, Gael García Bernal, Nick Offerman, and Diego Luna, Casa de mi Padre.

Armando Alvarez (Will Ferrell) has lived and worked on his father’s ranch in Mexico his entire life. As the ranch faces financial strains, Armando’s younger brother Raul (Diego Luna) shows up with his new fiancee, Sonia (Genesis Rodriguez) and pledges to settle all his father’s debts. It seems that Raul’s success as an international businessman means the ranch’s troubles are over, but when Armando falls for Sonia, and Raul’s business dealings turn out to be less than legit, the Alvarez family finds themselves in a full-out war with Mexico’s most feared drug lord, the mighty Onza (Gael Garcia Bernal).

Starring Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson and Ed Harris, HBO Films’ Game Change follows John McCain’s (Harris) 2008 presidential campaign, from his selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (Moore) as his running mate to their ultimate defeat in the general election. Harrelson portrays Steve Schmidt, McCain’s senior campaign strategist.

It’s based upon the bestselling book Game Change, by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. The film is directed by Jay Roach and debuts March 2012.

The Hunger Games official trailer of the film adaptation, if you haven’t seen it yet. It comes out March 23, 2012, and features a huge cast: Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss), Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Lenny Kravitz, Wes Bentley, and Donald Sutherland. The movie is directed by Gary Ross.

Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the evil Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains. Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Keep this on the DL. Here’s a bootleg clip of the six-minute prologue that is coupled with The Dark Knight Rises trailer that is being shown before Ghost Protocol. A masked-Bane and his henchman take over a plane and end up owning Mayor Tommy Carcetti, while in the process, sounding like a wheezy ominous villain. Darth Bane’r, Anybody? People have been complaining about how unintelligible Bane’s voice is; apparently, most fans can’t understand him. Personally, I think it’s fine. Does everybody need to have their dialogue spoon-fed to ’em? Enjoy this low-quality bootleg before it gets wiped.

Finally, here’s another well-fabricated montage of the films of 2011. Be sure to check out the previous gigantor, whopper PCR-03 post for a collection of other montages (and other geek goodies).

God, I love cinema. Each year I’m reminded of the sheer force a couple of frames can hold, and it’s something only found in film. It seems to just fly by, and if you don’t pay attention, you might miss it all. A gorgeous masterpiece about one family coping with the end of the world, the portrait of a young man diagnosed with cancer, the end of a ten-year adventure that reached millions, a cynical writer discovering the magic of Paris… No matter how you look at it, 2011 had something to offer for everyone.

List of films and music used HERE.

Okay, Happy Holidays, Happy Festivus, and Season’s Greetings. I’m out. See you next time…

–@teemunny