Too busy last week to go through all the movie news?  Here’s a look at what you missed!

Welcome to the 99% Horror Issue!  Why?  Because that’s just how news went down last week.  Turn on your night light and enjoy….

* Forget the Hulk; Thor smash!  The Norse god stepped all over it’s competition, leaving Bridesmaids, well, always a bridesmaid and Fast Five in the dust.  Newcomer Priest and kiddie fave Rio round out the top five (thanks to Box Office Mojo for the stats.)

* Remember those embarrassingly stereotypic Transformers from Revenge of the Fallen?  Well, they won’t be back.  Unless they’re back.  No, wait…. Well, if they do come back, I hope it’s because the movie needs a few Redshirts.  You’d think movie makers would have learned by now; Just Say No to anything that smacks of Jar-Jar Binks.

* I really, really need this new Muppets poster.  Creepy?  Pah!  Oh, and Robert Englund’s Strippers vs. Werewolves (no, I’m not making this up) would be great too, but the poster they’re going with?  Kinda sucks. No, really sucks.

* Drafthouse Films is tapping a bushel full of amazing directors for The ABCs of Death.  And I couldn’t be more excited.  And forget Strippers vs. Werewolves; this is the poster that needs to be up in my media room!  Now, to see about catching these at the Drafthouse.  Austin road trip!

* JoBlo.com has a peek at the Fright Night remake, thanks to the brand-new trailer.  Gotta say Colin Farrell is doing a pretty good job of it.  It’s not making me forget Chris Sarandon, but I’m now a whole lot more positive about this re-do.

* Need to catch up on the Hunger Games casting?  Slashfilm has the info on the last two “tributes” to be cast,  And though I was really hoping Hugh Laurie would be Haymitch, I think Woody Harrelson may bring a fresh take to the alcoholic survivor.

* After the Thor online game, I was happy to find a Priest online game (anything to get me away from Gem Miner.  Seriously, I have a problem. I need a meeting.)  Bonus?  You can play in 3D.  Really.

* Behind-the-scenes footage from Water for Elephants claims to show that Tai, the adorable elephant that played Rosie in the film, may have been subject to abuse. I can only hope that this isn’t the case.

* Need a cult horror fix?  I’m loving the new weekly on Total Film, Sam Ashurst’s House of Horror.  Now horror fans can get a quick look at what’s new in the Best Genre Ever.

* Speaking of cult horror, you didn’t get rid of your VHS player, did you?  Good, ‘cause Mondo is releasing Sledgehammer on VHS.  Seriously.  This is probably for all you LaserDisc collectors out there.  Though I think I may have my tape of The Burning around here somewhere.

* In another type of nostalgia, the movie classic The Thin Man is getting a reboot, with Johnny Depp taking the lead as debonair detective Nick Charles.  The role of Nora (aka the brains of the operation) has yet to be cast, and I’m hoping that Frasier’s dog gets tapped as Asta!

* As a huge Sean Bean fan, I’m excited to hear that he’ll be playing Smee in the “dark version” of Peter Pan. Though honestly, I’m plain-old excited about a dark version of Peter Pan.  Speaking of Sean Bean, been watching Game of Thrones?  Yeah I  know, it’s tv and not film…but here’s a guide to who’s who in Westeros from Hauteslides that’s so beautifully done I couldn’t help myself.  (Though the character listing from Tower of the Hand is much more comprehensive, there’s a huge danger of spoilerage in that site if you’re not careful.)  We’ll just keep this little tv tidbit betwen you and me.

* Where’s the trailer this week?  Well, if you’re a psyched for Kung Fu Panda 2 as I am (and who wouldn’t be?), behold — the Dragon (Panda) Warrior in all his glory.  How does Kung Fu stop something that stops Kung Fu?  Can’t wait to find out!

Want to know How to Train Your Dragon? Well know you can get to know the film a little better with the new trailer for the film that has been released today. It looks like it’s pretty much par for the course from Dreamworks Animation: entertaining and ultimately fluffier and less heartfelt than Pixar’s output. Hopefully we have something in the Kung-Fu Panda realm of work.

How to Train Your Dragon is written and directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch) from a story by Cressida Cowell, and features the voices of Gerard Butler, Jay Baruchel (who I believe narrates the trailer), Craig Ferguson, Jonah Hill, and McLovin himself, Christopher Mintz-Plasse.

Check the trailer out below! The film is due on March 26, 2010 from Paramount Pictures.

No doubt one of the hardest things for a man to do is come back from a weeks vacation to over 500 emails at work. And want to read them all. While I have to do this, I thought I would get in some real work first, here at Atomic Popcorn.
Below is an update on the goings on of the Hollywood arena.

The latest revamp of the love affair in Titanic between DiCaprio and Winslet, is now called Revolutionary Road. What more would you want than to watch something you have seen before. A budding relationship in the mid 50′s between folks you know have chemistry on screen. I will pass on this one. Maybe a Netflix.

Eva Longoria, is no longer a prime time goddess? Rather she is ending up on the big screen as a comic book character? I don’t even think she has the skill for this movie. The boys over at /Film are trying to say Longoria is trying to become the next Avenger. Will this movie actually get off the ground, just because its a Marvel product?

There is no Doubt in my mind that just because you put two great actors of our time together it will make a solid movie. The trailer for Doubt is out and looks terrible. Streep and Hoffman are extremley talented in their own right, but this looks like a kid made it!

Four Christmases, staring Vince Vaughn and the ever glowing Reese Witherspoon, has a new trailer out. Enjoy it below.

One of the best films of 08, Kung Fu Panda, has a sequel already and its coming to DVD? What the heck is going on here and why didn’t Paramount call me about this! Damnit!

It seems that everyone loves a good XXX and that is what Vin Diesel is wanting to give to the fans. A new movie is in the works staring the correct person for the role. Sorry Ice Tea, err Ice Cube or whatever drink you are.

First I would like to say that going into this film, I really wanted to cheer for M. Night, because as of lately all the douche bags have come out of the woodwork to pick on his films and how they have gone down hill. “The Lady in the Water was terrible, The Village was so so and really didn’t produce”. Well, I enjoyed them both for what they were and would probably watch them again. The Happening is a different story.

The Happening is M. Night Shyamalan’s latest creation and should be called for what it really is,  “What the Hell is Happening”? What happened to a storyline like Unbreakable or even The Sixth Sense. What happened to actors doing more than reading off a few lines? This film delivers 1 chilling scene and really was misplaced amongst the story.

The Happening is a supposed thriller that follows a family on the run from a natural crisis. A science teacher named Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg), runs for his life together with his estranged wife, Alma Moore (Zooey Deschanel), in order to survive an unknown killer all while the world goes into a violent whirlwind of self destruction.

While the directing was okay, the acting was sub par. From the likes of Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel and my personal favorite, John Leguizamo, a lot more was expected. The characters came off as shallow, and lacking in all aspects. At the end of the film I was okay with what had played out for each character. Dead or alive, some seemed better off out of the picture, and others definitely weren’t missed.

For those die hard fans of M. Night – please don’t see this, you will be so turned off. That, and I don’t want to hear you moan for another two or three weeks about this. As for you other folks looking to see this film, I would advise seeing something else like Kung Fu Panda or The Incredible Hulk.

After spending 1.5 hours with Marky Mark and the lack-of-acting bunch, I wanted to cheer on those critics of M. Night. This movie did nothing for the haters of M. Night except fuel the fire.

[imdb]0949731[/imdb]

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ 

Good moring. This is going to be a bit of everything as I’m doing the Wednesday morning potpourri post.

I was out and about last night and saw these two cool statues for upcoming Summer movies.

The first one is of the Kung Fu Panda himself. The movie opens on June 6. 

 Next would be the big green guy himself, the Incredible Hulk. The movie opens June 13.

Next we have three banners/posters for the upcoming Summer Blockbuster “The Dark Knight”. The movie opens July 18.

Here is the bat pod. Check out the tires.

Howabout one of the three main characters all together. Is it me or is this very Alex Ross-ish?

And here’s another cool one that shows Batman looking over the city.

And lastly the music video for Spee Racer has hit the interweb. The movie looks like it will be a fun trip to take and I can’t wait to see it next week. Enjoy the remix of the classic Speed Racer theme song. The movie opens May 9.

Speed Racer music video