Director Peter Berg is making his bid for A-level status (box office-wise) this summer with an adaptation of the Hasbro game Battleship. That, by the way, is a complete misuse of the term ‘adaptation’ seeing as the game has zero story elements to adapt. Maybe if the movie featured naval combatants going head to head and controlled by unseen forces? Or if the aliens were manipulating ships to fight each other? I don’t know, I’m just spit-balling here, but you can see how difficult it would be to make a good movie from the game. So why do it? Obviously Universal is hoping to find the same success with Hasbro that Paramount has with their Transformers movies, but it’s still so nonsensical. The Battleship name offers no recognizable pull for audiences. These aren’t fighting robots that viewers have seen in action previously on TV or via toys in their hands…this is a board game with no moving pieces. The film could exist exactly as is under a different name and would end up with the exact same box office results. Check out the new ad below.

It’s been four years now since director Peter Berg and star Will Smith teamed up on Hancock, a superhero movie that did quite well at the box office. But it’s been quite a while since we’ve heard anything about a possible sequel. People love money, so how could this be? Comic Book Movie scored a quote from Berg that explains. On the possibilities of a second go-around at drunken superheroics, he said, “We’ve been talking about the sequel between us, Will Smith, [producers] Michael Mann and Akiva Goldman and myself. We’re all interested, but we literally just have trouble getting into the same room at the same time. We did have a series of meetings last year and started to hash out an idea for sequel — and Will Smith actually had the idea — so I think it will happen, it’s just a question of timing.” History has proven that Will Smith usually gets whatever he wants, so hearing that the concept for a sequel is coming straight from his brain makes it seem like it’s still very likely. On the other hand, it’s been four years and we still haven’t even gotten to the point of having a script on the table? At this rate Smith is going to be too old to step back into the role and they’re going to have to cast Jayden instead. Or maybe that’s the idea? Is it time for Hancock to teach his sassy kid how to use superpowers?

The first glimpse we got of Peter Berg’s upcoming board game adaptation (it hurts me somewhere deep to have to type those words) played a little coy with us, and at first made it look like the film would be sticking to the Battleship board game’s naval battle roots. Once a spaceship popped up and the whole thing turned into an alien invasion movie, it was kind of a surprise. This second look at Battleship, however, doesn’t bother to take any time tying this movie to the board game at all. It’s all alien invasion from beginning to end. And with a color palette very reminiscent of Michael Bay’s Transformers movies, a bunch of elaborately techno ships and weapons that look like they’re right out of Michael Bay’s Transformers movies, sound effects that seem to be ripped from Michael Bay’s Transformers movies, and a big ol’ headline that says this movie is from the company that brought you Michael Bay’s Transformers movies, I think it’s safe to say that Universal is aiming this thing less at fans of grid based strategy games and more at fans of Michael Bay’s big, dumb Transformers movies. It leaves me with a question: if this movie isn’t going to have anything to do with naval battles at all, why even attach it to the Battleship name? Why not just admit what you’re doing and call it Gobots? Check out the new trailer below.

Billy Bob Thornton owned the role of Coach Gaines in 2004′s Friday Night Lights, which is partially why it was so surprising for Kyle Chandler to own the role of Coach Taylor in a completely distinctive way when the television show hit in 2006. That pilot is one of the best produced in the past ten years, and it launched a hell of a series. That series which was borne out of the big screen now looks to make the jump back to its roots. “We have a real good script idea. We want to do it. We’re very serious about doing it. We intend to do it,” director and show creator Peter Berg told TVLine. He went on to describe the concept as one that revolves around Chandler and Connie Britton (who plays his wife in the series). The other roles would ostensibly be new characters taken up by new actors – the benefit of working with characters in high school. That very thing is a big structural part of why the show worked. New seasons would mean new seasons, and the audience would have to say goodbye to some and learn to like (or hate) newcomers. That won’t benefit a movie as well, but at its heart, it’s a story about sports and the impact they have on a small town in Texas. That’s a pretty classic story on its own. Now to see if Brian Robbins and James Van Der Beek have a new football movie in [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Seriously folks. Battleship may very well turn out to be a fun action flick, but this trailer makes it look like a massive chore to sit through. Directed by Peter Berg (who has proven that he knows good character and story), this film shows off the talents of Liam Neeson’s one-liner abilities as well as the fill-in-the-blanks action prowess of Dolph Lundgern’s son Taylor Kitsch. It goes strictly by the book, and the comparison to Transformers and Skyline is so apt that you can still see the afterbirth pooling around the edges if you look hard enough. So, look hard:

Every week, Landon Palmer and Cole Abaius log on to their favorite chat client of 1996 as BlurryProjector and TheGeneralRulz in order to discuss some topical topic of interest. This week, they ponder the wildly wide-spread Mark Harris article, “The Day the Movies Died,” alongside the new infographic proving movies have gotten worse. We really need a scapegoat, huh? Is marketing really to blame? Are movies really getting worse? If so, how do we, the fans, fix them?

Jon Favreau announced today that he won’t be returning for Iron Man 3 which seems just as well. Iron Man 2 was a mixed bag, and Favreau already seems to be moving onto the next stage of his career with Cowboys & Aliens. Unfortunately, the man leaves a large director’s chair to be filled – a chair that comes with a lot of expectations and responsibilities alongside what must be a cave-full of fun to be had playing around with Tony Stark. There’s no secret formula for choosing the right director for a project, especially when its the third in a series. We here at FSR wouldn’t recommend Brett Ratner or Joel Schumacher based on past performance in taking over franchises on the third film, but finding names that actually make sense is a little more challenging. We’ve done our best to come up with at least six individuals that would be up to the task in one way or the other (or because we’re infinitely interested in seeing what triumph or train wreck they would come up with). Without further ado, go ahead and read our list of six directors that should take over Iron Man 3 so you can get started on violently explaining why we’re wrong.

Finally, after months and months of waiting for the next fad in Hollywood, it’s finally emerged: casting women who look hot in their underwear professionally as stars of action films. Apparently flipping through a Victoria’s Secret catalog is easier than combing through head shots. Or whatever they’re doing gives a new meaning to the term “head shots.” Or some other tasteless joke. The point is that Brooklyn Decker has been cast in Universal’s big budget toy movie Battleship – in which a US Naval fleet has to defend the world from aliens…just like in the classic game! Decker is a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and has done shoots for Victoria’s Secret. Clearly, she’s good at what she does, but whether that will translate to the big screen when she has to move around and talk has yet to be seen. Keep your fingers crossed for the next announcement of a model turning actress so we can all rejoice in Michael Bay creating yet another trend in film. And for those who feel we’re blatantly chauvinistic for using that particular photograph of Decker – it was the most discrete we could find. [Latino Review]

Just as he’s in the midst of production in the titular role of Disney’s upcoming epic John Carter of Mars, Friday Night Lights and Wolverine star Taylor Kitsch is lining up another big sci-fi tentpole.

A ton of information has just come out about Battleship, and since I know you give a rat’s ass about a movie based off a board game, I’ve distilled it all for you.

Since Peter Berg might possibly, maybe, could not be directing Dune, we’ve decided to throw a few hats into the ring. Who do you think could helm one of the hardest science fiction adaptations of all time?

Universal hopes you’re ready for some hot naval action because they’ve set a release date and officially announced Peter Berg while be at the helm of Battleship.

This week, on a very special episode of Reject Radio, we Inglouriously review the recent releases while getting Thirsty and coming up with awkward puns for the film titles. We also get voted World’s Greatest Dad or something. Seriously, I’m not even trying anymore because my attention span is so Shorts.

Will we be seeing a sequel to Will Smith’s Hancock? Probably. Will Jason Bateman once again steal the movie from the action, effects, and his co-stars? Probably.

Quick, name a board game that could be turned into an identifiable and interesting movie. Ready? Okay, Peter Berg won’t be making that one. He may be filming Battleship instead.

Kevin unloads a week of withheld shenanigans from vacation. No one is safe, be it Vern Troyer, Peter Dinklage or hot chicks who break wind.

A few more films like these, and this will be remembered as the beginning of the end of Will Smith’s blockbuster career.

Are you planning on catching Hancock this week for some 4th of July fun? What better tool to take with you than this drinking game so you can be like the drunken superhero.

BFFs Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael (Awesome) Bay are looking into working together again for an HBO series based on the documentary Cocaine Cowboys.

Hancock isn’t all chuckles and has a serious darker side to him that Sony has decided not to market as aggressively, or at all.