What is Movie News After Dark? This is a question that I am almost never asked, but I will answer it for you anyway. Movie News After Dark is FSR’s newest late-night secretion, a column dedicated to all of the news stories that slip past our daytime editorial staff and make it into my curiously chubby RSS ‘flagged’ box. It will (but is not guaranteed to) include relevant movie news, links to insightful commentary and other film-related shenanigans. I may also throw in a link to something TV-related here or there. It will also serve as my place of record for being both charming and sharp-witted, but most likely I will be neither of the two. I write this shit late at night, what do you expect?

Brian Singer has been taking meetings with the likes of Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass) and Andrew Garfield (The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus) for the lead role in his next film, Jack the Giant Killer. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the film’s release has been delayed, and will not begin shooting until February 2011.

Put on your eyepatch and polish your boots, because this week we’re talking Valkyrie and accents. And probably not in the way you’d think.

Enlightened to the evil of Adolf Hitler, a battle tested German Colonel named Clause von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise), joins a group of fellow dissenters in an intricate plot to assassinate their Fuhrer.

Spike just published a list of what they believe to be the Ten Most Overrated Directors. The only thing it does is prove Spike as one of the Most Overrated Online Magazines.

In 2005 and 2006, after a long hiatus with their superhero franchises, Warner Bros. put their two most iconic heroes in the hands of two up-and-coming directors. Since then, the two franchises have gone in different directions, a fact that is finally teaching WB some hard lessons.

It is clear that Warner Bros., the keymasters to the DC Universe, are looking to bring Supes back to the big screen, but to what effect?

Tom Cruise, who was most recently seen giving Adam Sandler a hysterical into at the MTV Movie Awards, is engaged in some reshoots for his forthcoming Nazi assassination flick Valkyrie.

If there’s one thing that sets my britches on fire it’s movies that fail to meet their proposed deadline.

Seeing Lions for Lambs this weekend? If so, you will catch this trailer. If not, you can just see it here. Is it just me or shouldn’t they all be speaking German?

What defines a great superhero movie? Of course this is a topic that would spark a very heated and potentially violent debate if brought up in any comic book shop across America. It is also something that is very subjective, but there are a few things that very successful and beloved superhero films of the past have in common. In fact, I have narrowed it down to three specific elements that I believe to be necessary in making a great superhero flick. The first is that the film must have great action. Not good action, not lukewarm action, but GREAT action. It must contain the kind of action sequences that cause your back to stick the seat because you are sweating (and the sweating can not be related to any pre-existing conditions, a la obesity). A great superhero movie must also have performances by their lead actors that make us believe that these characters whom we loved so much in print are really coming to life. We cannot survive on actors who just look like our favorite heroes, they must also be able to walk in their shoes. And lastly these successful superhero films must have a story that keeps us yearning for more. We have read every comic, seen every animated episode, and we even have the bootlegged director’s cut of the 1970′s serial edition; we need more than just a rehashing of yesterday’s saga. All of these elements are absolutely necessary in making a superhero movie that will