Trek, Superman and Hunger Games Trailers Debut With Darker Flair

Three of 2013's most anticipated releases all debuted brand new trailers this past week.

There should be no doubt in anyone's minds that the marketing minds in Hollywood are certainly kicking things up into high gear as of late. After countless months of wondering when we'll witness a glimpse of 2013's tentpole release, we not only get one (no, no), but count them three major trailers in a 72-hour block.

First up to plate is the final trailer to J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness, which no pun intended is still leaving Trekkies in the dark about this sequel to the 2009 reboot. All audiences can still gather is that Benedict Cumberbatch plays a charismatic terrorist who has it out for the Federation. And despite the warnings coming from all personal and professional directions, Chris Pine's hot-headed rendition of Captain Kirk takes matters into his own hands.

Tarantino's 'Django' Drives Old-Fashioned Revenge Home on Blu-Ray

Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio) stands in the way of Django (Jamie Foxx) reclaiming his enslaved wife.

One of the perks of being Quentin Tarantino is wielding the power to end the lives of countless onscreen characters in the most stylistic bloody ways imaginable. Feel free to say that's a sadistic manner of thinking, but for Tarantino, that alone defines him as a director he is today and answers the reasoning behind the Spaghetti Western bloodbath simply known as Django Unchained.

After his recent cult classics, Kill Bill and Inglourious Basterds, Tarantino has no issues amping up his blood-stained cinematic canvas set against a touchy subject such as American slavery and what's necessary to be free of the shackles of servitude. Enduring many years of hard service, Django (Jamie Foxx) finds himself freed by Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) and now with the means to seek revenge on a charismatic plantation owner keeping his wife all for himself.

Independent Crime Drama Weighs In on Hard-Hitting Consequences

Desperate times call for desperate measures as stuntman Luke robs banks to provide for his family.

What else can be said about the aura surrounding Derek Cianfrance's crime drama, The Place Beyond the Pines other than simply calling it the most electric, impactful piece of cinema to hit theaters in the past twelve months, perhaps even longer? There are not many films out there that can say they firmly stay on the minds of audiences after the credits roll, however The Place Beyond the Pines takes that to another level completely with its masterfully crafted narrative that will keep audiences contemplating more than just a few hours afterwards.

In The Place Beyond the Pines, Ryan Gosling plays Luke Glanton, a traveling carnival daredevil who finds his world turned upside down after he finds out his one night stand resulted in an infant son. With no way to amply provide for his only child, Glanton turns to a life of crime as the Moto Bandit, partnering up with a reclusive auto mechanic to hit up various local upstate New York banks.

'Croods' Adventure Travels a Bland, Prehistoric Road

Rebellious cave teen Eep (Emma Stone) ventures out beyond the protection of her cave.

It's been quite a few years since DreamWorks last stumbled along with one of their family-friendly animated features.  Having found out-of-the-blue success with How to Train Your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda, DreamWorks Animation was certainly giving Pixar a run for its money as the undisputed king of animated superiority. That is, until now.

Their latest animated feature, The Croods might lack the signature charm and wholesome value seen in DreamWorks previous cartoony flicks, but there's no denying that this escape to this prehistoric world has a few tricks up its sleeve. The Croods are one of the last remaining caveman families that have survived thanks to their overprotective father Grug (Nicholas Cage), believing that anything beyond their humble cave dwelling is dangerous and should be avoided at all costs. Their plastic bubble is shaken when his teenage daughter Eep (Emma Stone) ventures out beyond the cave.

'Hobbit' Digibook Leads Off Epic Middle-Earth Trilogy

Cornered and nowhere to run, this is the perfect place to keep audiences hanging another year.

Harsh criticisms such as overindulgences and cheap marketing ploys have been thrown around the film circles a bit too much regarding Peter Jackson's return to Middle-Earth in nearly a decade. Sure, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey only covers 1/3 of a 300-page children's book, leaving audiences hanging for two more 3-hour sequels, but there's nothing wrong than building up a little anticipation. Not at all.

In the first leg of this three-movie trek, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) sets out from his comfortable hobbit hole in the midst of the Shire's green pastures to join 13 dwarves who have been displaced by a  dragon plundering their mountain stronghold. For those joining the adventures of fantastical Middle-Earth for the very first time should know that along the way, birds, beasts and a gangly creature called Gollum are obstacles in the way of reclaiming the Lonely Mountain.

Ready 'Guardians' Blu-Ray for Those Easter Baskets

The greatest gift is seeing all these mythological characters sharing the same screen.

Somebody in the Dreamworks Animation marketing department is an absolute genius. Release Rise of the Guardians in theaters right before the Christmas rush and likewise, its Blu-ray release just in nick of time for Easter. Coincidence? Hardly.

Rise of the Guardians is best summed up as the Avengers of mythological beings - the best of the best joining forces to rid the world of evil in the form of Pitch Black (Jude Law) and his deathly steeds. A thickly Russian accented Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin) and a boomerang-wielding Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackson) are givens to protect the children of the world from the Boogeyman. Joining them in this eternal struggle are the lesser known (or ones without holidays) Tooth Fairy and Sandman. And collectively, they stand united as Earth's Mightiest Heroes...sorry Guardians.

There's No Place Like "Oz," Even 75 Years Later

Oz (James Franco) finds himself in a magical world needing saved from the Wicked Witch.

No offense to Sam Raimi, but he's probably not one of the first directors that comes to mind who would attempt to reimagine the enchanting world of L. Frank Baum's Oz. Given his directorial track record of the Spider-Man trilogy, Army of Darkness and The Evil Dead, a land of munchkins, witches and wizards seems all too foreign for someone who made his mark producing cult-classic splatter-fests.

Oz the Great and Powerful reopens the doors to the whimsical parallel world made famous by Baum's series of novels and Victor Fleming's 1939 classic starring Judy Garland. But this trip misses a few of the key ingredients. No Dorothy. No Scarecrow. No Tin Man. No Cowardly Lion. In fact, the Wizard of Oz comes in the form of James Franco as a small-time magician from Kansas, continuously looking for opportunities to cheat and swindle the simple-minded.