What is the appropriate reaction to have when a movie you love, adore, and cherish is somehow ... improved? I know, it's a strange feeling. I happen to think my all-time favorite film (A L I E N) is much better in its theatrical version than in its extended -- but where Aliens is concerned, I much prefer the longer version! It's something you have to approach on a case-by-case basis, of course, and it's the sort of movie-nerd activity that should be attempted only by those with a lot of free time -- or someone who gets paid to write about this sort of stuff. (Fortunately I am both.)

So it was with MUCH enthusiasm that I sat down with the brand-new Director's Cut of Dark City, a film that I absolutely love a whole lot -- and I know I'm not nearly alone when I say that. Like many of the finest sci-fi films, Dark City was pretty much overlooked for a good long while -- put once it hit DVD and heavy rotation on the cable channels, the sci-fi freaks found a film worth watching and re-watching, to say nothing of analyzing, deconstructing, and debating. And so I happily continue that trend by explaining what the fans will find in New Line's very impressive new Dark City package...

Here are a few statistics on the 2003 film Hulk:

• Directed by Oscar winner Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger)
• Written by Michael France (Cliffhanger), James Schamus (The Ice Storm), first-timer John Turman (and maybe 15 other screenwriters)
• Estimated budget: $137 million
• Worldwide box office: $245 million
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 61% positive
• IMDb user rating: 5.8 out of 10

So I ask you this: Are we talking about a failure ... or an underrated movie that's been unjustly labeled a failure? It matters not, I suppose, because the arrival of the all-new The Incredible Hulk, Marvel (and Universal) hopes to leave the first Hulk cowering in a dusty vault somewhere. (Until the next DVD re-release, of course.) So while I felt a strange bit of resentment towards this "forget that first movie, let's get a do-over" procedure, I felt pretty confident about the second Hulk's chances. Director Louis Leterrier has shown some skill with action flicks like Unleashed and Transporter 2, the new cast (which includes Edward Norton, Tim Roth, Liv Tyler and William Hurt) was pretty impressive, and (best of all) the producers were making one simple promise from the outset: More action.

Warning: The above TV spot kinda spoils the Tony Stark cameo in The Incredible Hulk. Watch at your own risk.

A very smart new TV spot for The Incredible Hulk opens on a snippet of the scene featuring Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and General Ross (William Hurt), spoiling what, for many of your average moviegoers, would have been a giant surprise. Of course, those of us living out our days in internet movie geek land have known about the Stark cameo for awhile now -- and if you visited New York Comic Con earlier this year, you would've seen a good majority of the Stark scene during the Hulk panel.

But the question is: Should they have ruined the surprise for everyone right off the bat with this new commercial? I guess it depends on which side you're on. From a marketing standpoint, it's kinda brilliant and a great way to show moviegoers that both The Incredible Hulk and the wildly-successful Iron Man are connected in some way. And while many predict Hulk will not pull in Iron Man numbers, throwing that film's star in a trailer will certainly help Hulk give its Marvel counterpart a run for its money. Then again, some folks like to be surprised -- but what's to say the Stark cameo is the only surprise in the film? Oooohhh ... goosebumps! I'm seeing The Incredible Hulk in just a few hours from now and I'm stoked. Fingers crossed for Norton, Roth and the gang!

The Incredible Hulk smashes into theaters this Friday.

[via The Movie Box]

A new trailer for The Incredible Hulk has just arrived online, and I'm definitely diggin' it. This is the trailer currently playing before Speed Racer, and, is it just me, or is that a little tease of the classic TV show's music there at the end. Have we heard any of that yet? Maybe I missed it in another trailer, but I first noticed it just now -- and, man, did it take me back.* This new preview gives us a whole lotta Hulk and no Abomination -- just Hulk running and smashing things, like those two cars he's holding up at the end. (Does insurance cover a monster destroying your automobile?)

The Incredible Hulk stars Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt and Tim Blake Nelson. The film marks Marvel's second self-financed flick, following the very successful Iron Man, and it was directed by Louis Leterrier (The Transporter, The Transporter 2). So now that you've gotten a good look at three trailers and tons of images from the film, whaddya think? Worth a shot? As good or better than Iron Man? Check our our pretty massive Incredible Hulk gallery, and sound off below ...

*The music is also featured at the end of the second trailer; thanks to Peter for pointing that out.

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You may never have heard of Henry Bean, but he made a movie called The Believer back in 2001 that single-handedly catapulted Ryan Gosling to prominence (if not stardom) before The Notebook was a twinkle in anyone's eye. (He also wrote Internal Affairs and some other, schlockier early-90's thrillers, but you probably don't remember those either.) Gosling played a Jewish young man who became an increasingly fierce Neo-Nazi, at one point donning a tallis while executing Nazi salutes. It wasn't just difficult material, it was impossible material, and the fact that Bean managed to make something coherent out of it is, I think, one of the more impressive accomplishments in indie cinema this decade.

Bean waited seven years before delivering his directorial follow-up, a dark comedy called Noise, and there's a new trailer for it up top for you to watch. (We also ran a piece on the movie last October.) It looks like a new take on Falling Down, except funnier, and with a faux-superhero twist: Tim Robbins plays an urban professional who is so incensed by the incessant noise of car alarms that he names himself the Rectifier and starts smashing up offending cars to shut them up. This causes a political brouhaha, getting the attention of the mayor (William Hurt). Oh, and it's autobiographical: apparently Bean got himself arrested breaking into cars to turn off the alarms. They are annoying, aren't they?

The movie logically gets a New York-only release on May 9th. Early reviews have been mixed, but the trailer is nifty, and the pedigree piques my interest. I hope it manages to expand.

For many, Chiwetel Ejiofor is the guy from Love Actually or Serenity, but for me, he's Okwe from Dirty Pretty Things. He completely charmed and impressed me, and every time I see his involvement in something, the news becomes a little more interesting. On the heels of the upcoming films Tonight at Noon, Redbelt, Toussaint, and Three Way Split, Coming Soon reports that the actor has signed on to star in Pete Travis' Endgame -- a feature-length thriller about the end of Apartheid in South Africa -- a gig which will also have him starring with William Hurt.

The site had found out about the film back in February, through a discussion with the director. Travis said that it "is a true story set in South Africa about the secret talks that brought down the Apartheid regime, and it's a political thriller dealing with the politics of South Africa at that time, but it's equally a story about hope and about two men who hate each other at the beginning of the movie, because they're enemies, who basically have to learn to trust each other or otherwise, the future of their country is in jeopardy." Ejiofor will play President Thabo Mbeki, but there's no word on Hurt's role. I have a feeling he'll hit this gig out of the park.

Here's a little something to keep you Hulk fans happy until the trailer debuts at ShoWest next week. (And hopefully, is posted online shortly after. I can't believe this comes out June 13th, and we haven't even seen a teaser.)

Superhero Hype, by way of a Russian film site, has a big high-res still of William Hurt as General Ross, which you can see part of on the right. It's not the most exciting photo on the planet, but hey -- it's a break in the Wolverine stills for you!

The Calgary Herald also did a great interview with Hurt to discuss his new film Vantage Point, but he had just as much to say about The Incredible Hulk. While sworn to secrecy about the film, he still has a good deal to say about his role as the General -- namely, he wishes people would stop labeling him as a villain. "He wants Hulk's power but is humiliated by Hulk's conscience: he actually sees and recognizes that it's more developed than his own."

And not only is he a fan of the Hulk comics -- after he accepted the role, he found out it was the favorite comic series of his children. Who knew that kind of thing was passed on in the genetics?

Something tells me you won't like Edward Norton when he's angry. Oh yes, Empire grabbed two new photos from this summer's The Incredible Hulk; one of which shows Bruce Banner (Ed Norton) all kinds of pissed off. I think it's safe to say you wouldn't want to be around that guy when sh*t hits the fan. These are the first images to hit in quite some time, as marketing for the new Hulk flick has been limited. The first trailer is supposed to hit early next month, but in the meantime feast your eyes on the new image above. Empire also has a second image featuring a first look at William Hurt as General Ross, which you can view to the right of your screen.

Director Louis Letterier also talked about this version will differ from the previous Ang Lee film: "We didn't want to make a cerebral movie. We wanted full action, Hulk smashing stuff up. But Ed Norton's script has given Bruce's story real gravitas – Marvel has always made their superhero movies with great actors to make it tangible and Ed has nailed it here. Admittedly, I'm not the most adult director, but just because we're making a superhero movie, it doesn't just have to appeal to 13-year-old boys. Ed and I both see superheroes as the new Greek gods, so there's a classical undercurrent to Bruce's psycho-drama. It's Prometheus, Pandora's Box, Hercules...but with explosions." (Notice how he says "Ed Norton's script." Way to give Zak Penn the shaft on that one.)

The Incredible Hulk hits theaters on June 13.

Like many recent thrillers, Vantage Point is set against the war on terror, as U.S. President Ashton (William Hurt) arrives in Salamanca, Spain to announce new international treaties and efforts in the fight against freedom's enemies. We open in a news van, as harried, hard-bitten producer Rex Brooks (Sigourney Weaver) is orchestrating her camera team and reporters on scene. When reporter Angie Brooks (Zoe Saldana) breaks from the celebratory mood to talk about the protesters outside the courtyard where the crowd awaits the President's words, Rex is miffed about the departure from the script. "We're here for the summit, not the sideshow." Rex has a very definite plan for the day in her head. As shots ring out, the President goes down and explosions ripple through the courtyard, it's clear someone else does, too. ...

Directed by Pete Travis, Vantage Point's plot unfolds as a series of recollections and first-person stories; we begin with Rex's by-the-books coverage turning into a nightmare of murder and mayhem; we flash back to follow Secret Service veteran Thomas Barnes (Dennis Quaid) as he and partner Kent Taylor (Matthew Fox) transport the President to the location; we follow American tourist Howard Lewis (Forest Whitaker) as he winds up accidentally videotaping what may be the key to the attempt on the President's life; we follow President Ashton as he weighs the security risk of the speech against the importance of what he's going to say. ...

Just to lighten things up after word that Vincent Perez's life is going to hit the big screen, Variety reports that Israeli director Eytan Fox is teaming up with X Filme International for a film based on Gad Beck. Fox is currently writing the mostly-English script with partner and collaborator Gal Uchovsky, to film on location in Germany. While the subject matter is still heavy, this time around the hero has a better fate.

As a gay Jew, Beck had fled from the Nazis, joined the Jewish resistance, and saved dozens of Jewish people from being murdered. According to Uchovsky, "It's a complicated story because Gad's mother was originally a German Christian who converted to Judaism, so he had quite a large German family in Berlin. The Nazis would call someone like Gad a mischling, or half-Jew, so the film will also look at those relations." With a solid $6-$10 milliion price tag, they're hoping to land an American actor as Gad, so this could be a fairly high-profile project. Personally, looking at the pic of Gad to the right, I'm thinking Alan Cumming.

So far, we've only seen two pictures and a few different variations of the same teaser poster for this summer's highly-anticipated The Incredible Hulk. Word had it a trailer was supposed to debut during the Superbowl, but that never happened. And with all eyes turning to Indiana Jones next week, who knows when we'll finally get to see a bit more of the Hulk re-do, starring Edward Norton, Tim Roth, Liv Tyler and William Hurt. Well, good news is that, like what happened with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull last week, a flyer featuring toys from the upcoming Hulk movie has made its way online. It's not the real deal, but this flyer does finally give us a look at what the filmmakers have planned for Hulk's arch-nemesis Abomination.

Superhero Hype grabbed a photo of the flyer (which we've included after the jump for possible spoiler reasons), and I must say Abomination looks very cool. We haven't been given much to get excited about (with the exception of knowing that Robert Downey Jr. will make a cameo as Tony Stark at some point), and so seeing the toy version of Abomination will have to do for now. The flyer also features an image of the toy Hulk, which looks, well, like the Hulk we all know and love. So head on after the jump to get a taste of what we're in store for come June 13, and as soon as more is revealed we'll be sure to bring it to you.

I've been following the news about the upcoming Iron Man with great trepidation; I never read the comic as a kid, and as an adult I've become wary about any superhero movie where you can't see the character's face. (Might as well make it animated.) The casting of Robert Downey Jr. has me intrigued, though, as does the idea of Edward Norton as Bruce Banner in the new version of The Incredible Hulk that's also due out this summer.

Comic book fans know that Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk joined forces as part of the Avengers starting way back in the day (i.e. the early 60s) and, with both movie versions rolling at the same time, rumors have been rife about a possible crossover of characters between the two. Erik Davis wrote recently: "It's obvious Marvel is hella serious about an eventual Avengers flick, and if all these rumors are true (including Sam Jackson in Iron Man as Nick Fury), then Marvel is definitely going about things the right way."

Now it appears that at least one of those rumors has been confirmed. William Hurt, who plays General Thaddeus Ross in Hulk, told MTV News on Friday that he has a scene with Downey as Iron Man. Hurt described the scene as "funky," though he couldn't -- or wouldn't -- say anything more about it. He insists that the new Hulk is "stylistically, a completely different film [from Ang Lee's 2003 version]. They just don't relate." Iron Man smashes into theaters on May 2, courtesy of Paramount; The Incredible Hulk stomps onto screens on June 13, via Universal.