INHERENT VICE (Cast News)

• INHERENT VICE

Josh Brolin

Josh Brolin is the latest addition to the cast of Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice. Deadline reports that he'll be starring in an undisclosed role alongside Joaquin Phoenix, Benicio Del Toro, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon and, likely, Sean Penn in the big screen adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's 2009 novel, which is officially described as follows:

Part noir, part psychedelic romp, all Thomas Pynchon- private eye Doc Sportello surfaces, occasionally, out of a marijuana haze to watch the end of an era.

In this lively yarn, Thomas Pynchon, working in an unaccustomed genre that is at once exciting and accessible, provides a classic illustration of the principle that if you can remember the sixties, you weren't there.

It's been a while since Doc Sportello has seen his ex- girlfriend. Suddenly she shows up with a story about a plot to kidnap a billionaire land developer whom she just happens to be in love with. It's the tail end of the psychedelic sixties in L.A., and Doc knows that "love" is another of those words going around at the moment, like "trip" or "groovy," except that this one usually leads to trouble.

Brolin recently starred in Ruben Fleischer's Gangster Squad and can be seen coming up in Spike Lee's Oldboy, Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller's Sin City: A Dame to Kill For and Jason Reitman's Labor Day.

PACIFIC RIM (Images)

• PACIFIC RIM

Warner Bros. has released two new images from the film Pacific Rim: Check out the images below.

Opening in 3D, 2D and IMAX theaters on July 12, the film stars Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Ron Perlman, Robert Kazinsky, Max Martini, Clifton Collins, Jr., Burn Gorman, Larry Joe Campbell, Brad William Henke and Diego Klattenhoff.

When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity's resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)—who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

KICK-ASS 2 (Banner)

• KICK-ASS 2

Kick-Ass 2 will land in theaters on August 16 and Universal has released a new banner for the upcoming sequel. Check it out below!

After Kick-Ass' (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) insane bravery inspires a new wave of self-made masked crusaders, led by the badass Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey), our hero joins them on patrol. When these amateur superheroes are hunted down by Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse)—reborn as The Mother F%&*^r—only the blade-wielding Hit Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) can prevent their annihilation.

Written and directed by Jeff Wadlow, Kick-Ass 2 stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Morris Chestnut, John Leguizamo, Donald Faison and Jim Carrey.

AVENGERS 2 (Villains and New Characters)

• AVENGERS 2

Joss Whedon was a guest on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" recently and Fallon tried to get a scoop out of the filmmaker about Marvel's The Avengers

QuickSilver and Scarlet Witch

He asked whether there are new characters and Whedon replied, "There are new characters. I've already said that we're going to have a brother-sister team, the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, who were great mainstays of The Avengers when I was reading the comics as a kid."

Fallon said that he did not know the characters and then asked whether they had started casting them yet. Whedon said, "Not yet, we're doing that now."

Whedon said he is writing the sequel now and then was asked why he picked the two characters. He said, "well, besides the fact that I grew up reading them, their powers are very visually interesting. One of the problems I had on the first one was, everybody basically had punchy powers. 'I can hit,' 'I can also hit.' Hopefully it didn't get too boring. But coming into the second one, he's got super speed. She can weave spells and a little telekinesis, get inside your head. There’s good stuff that they can do that will help sort of keep it fresh."

Joss Whedon

In an interview with Empire about the film, Whedon was asked about sequels focusing on the villains instead of the heroes, which prompted his "loose-lips-sink-ships" reply where he doesn't name the villain.

"I'm very excited about the villain, and have a lot to say about him. But if you watch my shows, the one thing I've never been very good at is guest stars, because I've always been interested in the ensemble. With The Avengers, I'm still most fascinated by them.

"The other thing is, you don't try to top it. I know I will never make a moment as pleasing in a film as Hulk and Loki. You can't chase that dragon. If you try to do exactly the same thing, the chances you're going to do it better are very slim, and the only reason for me to devote three years to making another Avengers movie is the hope of making a better one."

Whedon certainly chose his words carefully as he doesn’t state anything that could hint at Thanos, although Thanos is believed to be the villain. So will Thanos be the primary antagonist? We will just have to wait and see. 

MACHETE KILLS (Poster)

• MACHETE KILLS

TMZ is reporting that Charlie Sheen is changing his name back to Carlos Estevez, his birth name, for the upcoming Robert Rodriguez sequel Machete Kills.

It's the first time in his long career that he won't be billed as Charlie Sheen. It’s the first time in a real long time that his character wont be named Charlie.

The September 13 release also stars Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Sofia Vergara, Amber Heard, Lady Gaga, Antonio Banderas, Jessica Alba, Demián Bichir, Alexa Vega, Vanessa Hudgens, Cuba Gooding, Jr., William Sadler, Marko Zaror and Mel Gibson.

Trejo returns as ex-Federale agent Machete, who is recruited by the President of the United States for a mission which would be impossible for any mortal man - he must take down a madman revolutionary and an eccentric billionaire arms dealer who has hatched a plan to spread war and anarchy across the planet.