Welcome to The Rundown!

A brand new feature here at The Athletic Nerd.

What is it?  A weekly recap of movies news, trailers and other headlines.

Doesn’t every other movie blog do that?  Perhaps.  I’ve got some twists in store for you as the feature evolves.

Check back on Sundays for future episodes of The Rundown.

The Beaver

I’ve been waiting a long time to see some footage from this film.  Mel Gibson acting crazy isn’t REALLY a stretch but I think this movie may be his first step towards resurrecting his career.

It depends if you buy the premise though. (If you loved Lars and the Real Girl this looks like it might be for you.) The film was directed by Jodie Foster and looks like a fairly entertaining idea on the surface but I’m not totally convinced it will succeed yet.

THE LINK: Check out Joblo for more.

Personally, I love Mel Gibson’s movies.  Ignore his personal problems and concentrate on his body of work.  You can’t deny he’s made some pretty great flicks.  His performance here looks fantastic but will people look passed his recent behavior and give it a chance?

You tell me.  Would you see a Mel Gibson movie given the controversy surrounding his life?

Looney Tunes Return!

I’m going to try and refrain from overusing exclamation marks but COMMON!  This is the best looking Looney Tunes cartoon I’ve ever seen and I grew up adoring these characters.

Keep them coming Warner Brothers!

The Dark Knight Rises seems Strange?

A story broke this week that seemed to detail a plausible plot for the third Batman film from Christopher Nolan.

THE LINK: Most of the blogs have it but here is Slashfilm’s story.

The Dark Knight ended with Batman running from police.  It’s clear that he will spend most of the film redeeming himself and repairing his broken relationship with Gotham but I really hope Hugo Strange isn’t around to take the fall for him.

A crazy person dressed as Batman is a pretty convenient way to curve people’s opinions of The Caped Crusader.

However, I give Nolan more credit than that.  There’s no way he would take the easy way out.  Batman is going to have to face this problem and rise on his own.

THE LINK: Check out my preview of all the upcoming superhero movies

I can’t wait for an official synopsis.

Super 8 vs Cloverfield

If you were caught up in the Cloverfield hype you’ll remember wondering if not obsessing over what the ‘monster’ would look like.  For months we were subjected to concept art and leaked photos.

THE LINK: Joblo

It appears J.J Abrams is at it again.

Is this the alien from Super 8?

It even looks like the Cloverfield monster a bit doesn’t it?

Who knows if this is legit or not.  It looks awesome though.  I love alien movies.

Ong Bak Returns To Elbow The Crap Out Of People

I’ve only seen a few of Tony Jaa’s movies but they are all bad ass.  If you love martial arts films and haven’t seen a Tony Jaa flick you don’t know what you’re missing.

Take a look at this scene for the upcoming Ong Bak 3.    That final kick to that poor losers face and/or neck is hilarious.

The Fighter

Speaking of fighting, this movie has skyrocketed up my list of anticipated movies.  I really hope I get a chance to see it in theaters.

I read so many stories claiming that Christian Bale turns in another brilliant performance in the last week or so.  He’s an incredible actor and this film looks sweet.

Early buzz says Bale is the front runner for this year’s supporting actor Oscar.  Well…  Not if Justin Timberlake has anything to say about it.

Battle: Los Angeles Trailer 2

I can’t wait for this.  The first trailer I saw was incredible and every single frame I’ve seen of this film screams awesome.

This probably isn’t the best trailer they have released but it still promises the thrills that Skyline lacked.

I’ll be there when it’s released…  I’ll probably be giddy too.