We haven’t reported much yet on The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman, which is a shame, because it’s a promising sounding project. So, seeing as there’s a new bit of casting news regarding the film, let’s use that as an excuse to cover all the basics, shall we? The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman started off as a Black List script by a screenwriter named Matt Drake (Project X) that was eventually picked up by Voltage Pictures and given to Fredrik Bond to direct. A studio synopsis for the film explains it by saying, “Charlie Countryman was just a normal guy…until he fell in love with the one girl who will probably get him killed. When Charlie meets the absolutely irresistible Gabi she’s already been claimed by Nigel, an insanely violent crime boss with a gang of thugs at his disposal. Armed with little more than his wit and naïve charm, Charlie endures one bruising beat down after another to woo Gabi and keep her out of harm’s way. Finally his exploits of blind valor create such a mess that he’s left with only one way out; to save the girl of his dreams, must Charlie Countryman die?” These aren’t the truly exciting aspects of the film, however. The real appeal of this project is the cast that Bond has assembled. He’s got Shia LaBeouf in the title role, Evan Rachel Wood playing Gabi, Mads Mikklesen on board as the Nigel character, and names like Rupert Grint and Melissa Leo

Fear not Harry Potter fans, it looks like we’ve finally found a promising project for Rupert Grint. Over the past year or so we’ve been living in a post-Potter world, and Grint’s co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson have been flourishing. It seems like rarely a week goes by without one or the other poking their head into a new project. Grint has had a bit tougher of a time landing significant work so far, and things were starting to look a bit worrisome. But holy heck does this new film The Drummer sound like it could be a great chance for the young actor to show what he’s got apart from being Ron Weasley. Despite the fact that this one is from a writer/director duo that haven’t done much I’ve found noteworthy (Randall Miller and Jody Savin), The Drummer could be a winner just based on subject matter alone. It’s a look at the last few years of the life of Beach Boys’ drummer Dennis Wilson, when he was working on his solo album “Pacific Ocean Blue.” With the legions of Beach Boys fans still out there in the world, undoubtedly this is a project that will be getting a lot of attention, especially when you consider the cast that Grint will be joining.

This week, Fat Guy Kevin Carr dances with joy because it’s the only time you can dress up in flowing robes and head to the cineplex to see a movie based on an alleged children’s book and not get arrested. After cinching his wizarding cloak around his waist with his Gryffindor scarf, he sails off to check out Winnie the Pooh. Then, from the dysfunctional head cases in the Hundred Acre Wood, Kevin sneaks into the screening room next door to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II only to discover he doesn’t have his 3D glasses. Curses!

There’s a special kind of challenge in ending a story. Talk to the right writer, and he or she will most likely tell you that typing the last bit of punctuation can be the hardest ink to stamp into the page because even though that’s the goal, it also means saying goodbye to characters you’ve fallen in love with. Characters you’ve fought for and alongside of. Characters that have reflected the best parts of you, shown you your weaknesses and made you all the better for it. We may use stories as escapism, but we have to return to the real world eventually. There’s a special kind of challenge in ending a story because a final chapter has to encapsulate everything that’s played out in the much larger space that’s come before it. It has to confront the audience and its characters with choices they’ve been avoiding, trials that have been kept at arm’s length, and the lessons of all of the smaller tasks has to be used sufficiently against the most dire of consequences in order to be satisfying. It’s been a long journey, but in all of those undertakings, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 succeeds with incredible resolve.

My family has been friends with a children’s bookstore owner for years, so when we got an advanced copy of something called “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” I read it to give my feedback. I thought it was poorly written and wouldn’t go anywhere. I was incorrect. The books became the phenomenon, and the movies have translated that worldwide shared experience into something else entirely, but all that comes to an end this summer before someone at Warners decides to reboot the whole thing. This featurette shows off the main three in their first screen test, and takes a look back at the cinematic journey that’s brought us to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is going to have to be a lot of things to a lot of people. It will need to be explosive but thoughtful, dramatic but lighthearted, focused and fearless. The movie has its work cut out for it, but as for the trailer, it does every single thing right. Check it out for yourself:

Update: Warners has confirmed that this trailer is not an official trailer. It’s fan made. No word yet on whether someone will hire whomever put it together though, because it looks great. Again, to make it clear, it’s not an official trailer for the movie. And now the original video has been taken down by the host site. Original post: Darkness. Foreboding. Wand fights. Explosions. Mobs of people running through the forest. Beachfront property. Dragons. Gingers kissing. Snape peeing himself. Yes, this teaser trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 has everything except Danny Glover complaining about being too old. It just looks so damned good. If the excitement wasn’t at its peak yet, it will be soon. I have a feeling we’ll see more and more incredible stuff from the production leading up to July 15th (a day that cannot come fast enough). Check out the teaser for yourself. You might even get to see a sweet anti-smoking ad from the source site!

This week, Fat Guy Kevin Carr puts on a wizard’s robe, wears a colorful scarf and dances around in the woods with his magic wand yelling, “Stupify!” And that’s just to celebrate the release of Fair Game in his home town. He also takes a look at this little independent film that few people have even heard of, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I. Sadly, a bizarre mishap with his wizarding skills causes a boulder to fall on his hand and pin him for 93 minutes, which was actually quite fortunate because it gave him just enough time to watch 127 Hours.

One thing that the Harry Potter series has always gotten right is the humor. It doesn’t matter who directed it, each film seems to have that unique comic sensibility that mostly comes from the trials and tribulations of puberty and young love. With the last installment, the focus is decidedly off of the awkwardness and onto the bloodbath on the horizon. Fortunately, it looks like the humor is coming from giving Emma Watson the eyebrows off of Daniel Radcliffe’s face. Plus, you just can’t beat the punch line from the twins. Well played. Check it out in HD over at their facebook page.

I don’t have a catchy title for this one. No snarky comment. No hilarious anecdote about wizards and their need to overcompensate with big wands. No, I’ve got nothing but awe for the first trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. From the looks of things, I would predict that I will have nothing but awe for the films as well. They look, for lack of a better word, monumental.

Among the new footage to debut at this evening’s MTV Movie Awards show — did anyone watch it, did Twilight win? — was a new minute-long trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The film, directed by David Yates, will be part one in the epic two part finale of the Potter series.

There’s no doubt about it. Emily Blunt is perhaps one of the most adorable people alive on this planet right now. For further proof, please watch this first trailer for Wild Target.

Over the course of the last few days, Warner Bros. has released two new stills from the upcoming fantasy film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1. And unfortunately, neither one of them is really all that interesting.

We’d love to hear what you loved (or hated) about Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Spoilers inside, friends, so if you haven’t seen the movie…move along…I hear there’s an awesome news story just below this post.

This week Landon watched Harry Potter 1-5 in a row, and wants to share with you every passing thought he had along the way.

Kevin Carr reviews this week’s new movies: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and (500) Days of Summer.

We’ve seen the evolution of this series from children’s films to beautiful pieces of cinematic art. Half-Blood Prince is the next step in the elevation and evolution of that art. Yates, the cast and the crew have done something fantastic.

Warner Bros. has released their final press kit for their upcoming fantasy adventure Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince today. And in it, we’ve found 60 beautiful images from the production.

Little-known Indie darling Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will be hitting art houses in select cities this summer, and filmmakers wanted to entice potential audiences with a little clip of an orphanage.

Warner Bros. has released a brand new film clip and a slew of new TV spots for their upcoming adventure Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Oh, and a poster too.