Watch the “Secret” Star Wars: The Force Awaknes TV Spot

Gang, the film comes out next Friday, so at this point there can only be so many more of these TV spots and teasers, right? It's been said that a full six minutes of the film has been released when you add up all the bits from every trailer, teaser, and TV spot thus far. The below teaser has just enough new stuff to keep you primed and ready to go for the release on December 18,

The Big Short & the Frenzy of Must-See Films in December

As the year comes to a close, there's a frenzy of films coming out in the next few weeks that are required viewing. I caught a screening last week of Alejandro González Iñárritu's The Revenant (we'll be discussing the film in more detail soon), a brutal, simultaneously gorgeous film that I haven't been able to totally shake since. In a way, the outrageous commitment the film required (you can read all about the production process here) reminded me of what it took for director Tom McCarthy and his co-writer Josh Singer to pull off 

Jennifer Lawrence Brings the Joy, Natalie Portman Brings the Jane

Two distinctinly different clips to share with you this morning. The first, is a short Joy teaser released by 20th Century Fox, the Jennifer Lawrence starring, David O. Russell directed film based on the life of Joy Mangano, the inventor of the Miracle Mop. This is the first time Russell has focused his film solely on a female protagonist (he's had strong women in nearly all his film, however), and Lawrence's performance is already earning raves. 

Watch the New Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny Trailer

Netflix just dropped a trailer for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny trailer and, the followup to Ang Lee’s luscious 2000 Academy Award-winning film. Sword of Destiny (formerly subtitled The Green Legend) is set to hit both IMAX theaters and on Netflix worldwide on February 26, 2016. Following in the film's visually breathtaking style, Sword of Destiny focuses on a fight to keep a legendary warrior's sword from an evil warlord.

Around the Web: C-3PO Unmasked, Momentum Continues for Spotlight & Mad Max: Fury Road & More

A quick glance at what we're reading around the web.

In a must read for Star Wars fans, Vulture’s Boris Kachka chats with “Star Wars’ most special effect of all,” Anthony Daniels, the man in the golden droid suit. 

Speaking of The Force Awakens, Slashfilm’s Peter Sciretta attended the film’s press conference this past weekend (in which there was no footage shown,

Making Mountains With Everest VFX Supervisor Dadi Einarsson

Everest tells the true story of two groups of climbers who were hit with a deadly blizzard during their 1996 expeditions to scale the world’s highest mountain. We talk to visual effects supervisor Dadi Einarsson about the responsibility of recreating real events and why, being from Iceland, he may just have the edge when it comes to working with snow.  

As Everest is shown in 3-D and on IMAX screens,

From Germanic Folklore to Hollywood, the Spooky Arrival of Krampus

With Michael Dougherty’s holiday horror film, Krampus, out this week, the Christmastime demon counter to St. Nicholas finally lands in the U.S. This pre-Christian figure of Germanic folklore, who accompanies jolly old St. Nick into town every December, has until recently been limited to visiting his terrors on Austrian, southern German, and Scandinavian children. Having gotten his green card thanks to Hollywood, American kids will finally be appropriately punished for their sins all year long learn about the dark flip side to presents and reindeer and cookies left out next to the tree.

From Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth to Orson Welles & Joss Whedon: Directors Love the Bard

Finally ready to meet U.S. audiences is Justin Kurzel’s brutal Macbeth, a modern perspective on the Scottish play starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard in two of their most visceral and intense roles to date. It opens today, December 4, and as we've written, it's one of the most impressive Shakespeare adaptations in ages. (You can also read our interview with the film's producer, Iain Canning, here.) Though Macbeth is only Kurzel’s second film after his merciless The Snowtown Murders,

Does the new Game of Thrones Teaser Hint at Jon Snow’s Return?

(If you're not caught up on GOT's season five, spoiler alert). Few television shows in history have maybe killed off a main character and received this much scrutiny, doubt, rumor mongering and obsession. We're talking about Game of Thrones' Jon Snow (Kit Harington) of course, who was stabbed (repeatedly) by his fellow Night's Watchmen at the end of last season and whose potential death exploded the internet.

Watch the Sisters: The Farce Awakens Hilarious Star Wras Spoof Trailer

You've got to love this. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, the stars of the upcoming Sisters, get in on the Star Wars: The Force Awakens insanity with this loving, hilarious send-up of the film's behind-the-scenes trailer they dropped at this past summer's Comic-Con. Watch them both below to get the full impact of how ingenious Sisters: The Farce Awakens is, especially the business at 20 seconds in of the computer generated model needed…to simulate a man being booted in the groin.

Watch the Thrilling New Batman v Superman Trailer

We shared with you the dark, twisted little 40-second teaser on Monday, and now here's the first official Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer. It's surprisingly funny and totally insanse (in a good way).  As always, we'll share the trailer with you first so you can take it all in, then we'll go through it and discuss some of the finer points. Welcome back to Gotham, folks—you're in for a wild ride.

Composing Christmas: Talking the Score of Christmas Eve With Christian Davis

With Thanksgiving neatly in the rearview mirror, the holiday season is officially upon us as it becomes time for holiday cheer and the year’s newest crop of Christmas films. Among them is Mitch Davis’ Christmas Eve, a witty dramedy following the stories of six different groups of strangers trapped inside elevators during a power outage on Christmas Eve. Starring Patrick Stewart, Jon Heder, James Roday and Julianna Guill, Christmas Eve looks to be a funny and cathartic look at life through the lens of the cheery but often stressful holiday season.

The Return of “In-Camera” Effects in Krampus & The Force Awakens

With the technological leaps and bounds that CGI made after the turn of the 21st century, the mid to late aughts brought with it a deluge of films relying heavily on newly discovered and increasingly honed special effects, particularly in genres like sci-fi and horror. But after years of reboots and remakes that sought to improve upon the original like Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and the 2011 retelling of John Carpenter’s The Thing,

Watch the Painstaking Craftsmanship Poured Into Anomalisa

When we saw Anomalisa at the Middleburg Film Festival this past October, we were blown away. Written by Oscar-winner Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and directed by Kaufman and Duke Johnson, the stop-motion animation was as gorgeously detailed as any we'd ever seen before, and the bittersweet story (this being Kaufman, after all) of a successful but troubled customer service expert, coalesced into a film that stuck with you for hours,

Creed Composer Ludwig Göransson Finds the Beat in Boxing

Ludwig Göransson is a Swedish composer who has scored television series, including New Girl and Community.  We spoke with Göransson about using real-life boxing sounds in his score for the new Rocky movie, Creed, co-written and directed by Ryan Coogler, and a whole lot more.

The movie is about an ambitious young boxer who is the son of Rocky’s opponent-turned friend,

If You Can See The Hateful Eight in 70mm, You Should

Back in the day, roughly between 1952 and 1974, select films were given the "roadshow" treatment. This meant that in cities like New York, Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, film audiences would go see a film that would include programs, an intermission, and even musical interludes. For the really big films like Gone With the Wind, El Cid, and Ben Hur, the films were a true event, with people dressing up for their big night at the theater,

Revenge at all Costs: Watch the New The Revenant TV Spot

Director Alejandro González Iñárritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki don't work on easy films. The Oscar winning filmmakers from last year's Birdman (and for Lubezki, the year before's Gravity) have teamed up once again for the survival epic The Revenant. We've written about this project a few times, and are more than a little bit excited for it's release. Shooting with only natural light, and in conditions as harsh as those depicted in the film,

The Good Dinosaur Animator Kevin O’Hara on Visual Storytelling

What if the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs missed the earth completely and they never became extinct? That’s the question The Good Dinosaur asks as it explores the relationship between an Apatosaurus named Arlo and his human pet/friend. We chat to Pixar animator Kevin O’Hara about how technology has changed the animation game and being inspired in the early days by a meeting with legendary Donald Duck animator Milt Neil.

Victor Frankenstein & Daniel Radcliffe’s Fun Post Potter Career

The original Frankenstein film is an unshakeable classic, and Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein occupies its own top spot in the spoof genre. This week sees the opening of the newest cinematic take on Mary Shelley’s novel, but rather than a remake, director Paul McGuigan’s Victor Frankenstein contributes a new spin by shifting its focus from the title character to Igor Strausman, the mad scientist’s more responsible assistant.

Before Creed, There Was Carl Weathers’ Iconic Performance as his Father, Apollo

Reinvigorating a franchise that most would have considered down for the count, Ryan Coogler’s Creed passes the baton from Rocky Balboa to the next generation with Michael B Jordan’s Adonis Creed, son of Rocky’s amiable nemesis Apollo. This time, finding Sly back in the ring only to train the young man hell bent on restoring his father’s fearless reputation.

While Creed is obviously a finely-tuned beast of the 21st century,