OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:

Every Movie Awards Season needs at least one “controversial” current-events film that receives reams of breathless coverage in the political media but that ultimately not even most “engaged” audiences actually bother to go see – regardless of whether or not it’s any good.

This year’s entry looks to be “The Fifth Estate” (trailer below), with Benedict Cumberbatch as WikiLeaks mouthpiece Julian Assange. Directed by Bill Condon, the film looks to be making a game effort toward balancing an apparent sympathy for WikiLeaks’ actions (or at least philosophy) and an acknowledgement that Assange is a pretty sketchy individual. For the record, Assange (currently in and Ecuadorian embassy ducking extradition for sexual-assault charges) has called the film’s script “a serious propaganda attack” and “a lie built upon a lie.”

“Huh. That’s a way more impressive voice-cast than you’d expect for “Call of Duty – Black Ops III: Man, That Harness Thingee In The Elysium Trailer Looks Cool.”

Pretty-much what you’d expect…

“Dear Mr. Watterson” – which was just picked up for distribution by Gravitas Ventures – is not, unfortunately, a “Calvin & Hobbes” movie at least in the form many fans have been hoping to see. Instead, it’s a documentary about the strip, it’s influence on the comics medium (Bill Amend and Berkley Breathed feature prominently) and it’s enigmatic creator Bill Watterson. I don’t believe they ever got Watterson himself to be interviewed on camera – that would be a pretty big deal, as he’s notoriously reclusive and private.

As we inch ever closer to Oscar Season, here’s the first trailer for “Shame” director Steve McQueen’s “Twelve Years A Slave;” which stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as real-life figure Solomon Northup – a born-free black man from New York who, in 1841, was kidnapped and sold into slavery; a condition from which he spent twelve years attempting to free himself. Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Fassbender are two of Northup’s four known owners, while Brad Pitt is one of the good guys. Screenplay comes from John Ridley, story was filmed once before as a TV movie by Gordon Parks.

In the interest of keeping things straight, this would be the “black-themed” early-Fall Oscar Bait movie that doesn’t look like embarrassing schlock. If nothing else, good to see Ejiofor finally headlining a big movie.

George Zimmerman, found not guilty of the murder of Trayvon Martin. Take it away, Bugs…

Hypothetically speaking… exactly how bad do things in Florida have to get before it can be declared a failed state? Because right now, I would not have one single ethical, moral or even political issue with federal troops being deployed to occupy the damn place on the grounds that it’s leaders and citizenry have – by electing a government that ultimately includes this incompetent prosecution and corruption-infected police department – demonstrated themselves dangerously incapable of self-government. I’m aware that this is probably “un-Constitutional” (whatever that means anymore) – I just don’t think it would wrong at this point. And Texas? You’re gettin’ there, too.

Y’know… certain entities in the U.S. media (who, incidentally, are celebrating tonight) like to bray on about how “urban” youth – mostly, but not all, “persons of color” – often go about with a reflexive, deeply-ingrained mistrust of the law, legal-authority and police in general. Well, let me ask you a question: When you demonstrate to people, time and time again, that the law will not protect them… that the law will favor, assume-just and ultimately allow the acquittal of those who would wrong them up to and including murder… what the FUCK do you expect they’re opinion of the law to be?

I’m aware that some people are worried about “rioting” over this verdict. Sadly, that’s a legitimate concern. Know what’s sadder? That while they (or I) might have to fear a riot after this or that few and far-apart court cases, there are many more people who have to fear the presence of gun-toting, race-profiling, vigilante dipshits like George Zimmerman (and the legal system that ignores and abets them) every day of their lives.

The Samurai/Cowboy remake dance hasn’t been done for awhile, mostly because the U.S. stopped making westerns with any real frequency. But now we’ve got a new entry: “Yurusarezaru mono” is a remake of Clint Eastwood’s “Unforgiven,” set during the waning days of the Samurai era with Ken Watanabe in the Eastwood role. The trailer (embedded below) doesn’t have English subtitles yet; but if you remember “Unforgiven” it’s pretty easy to pick out who is supposed to be who and what’s going on. Either way, looks GOOD.

On paper, Fox’s desire to hold onto the “X-Men” license no matter how iffy it’s boxoffice prospects get makes a certain amount of sense: Owning the “X” franchise gives them first-dibs on their own personal universe of hundreds of characters. In practicality, though, a huge swath of those characters are terrible. Really, really terrible. I’m not even kidding, there’s like maybe 20-25 “good” X-Men people. The rest are kind of a horror-show, conceived in that moment when Marvel could stick pretty much any overdesigned dipshit with an unfortunate haircut on a cover with an “X” in it’s title and it’d sell.

I have it on good authority that “I Declare War” is awesome. The premise, at least, is head-slappingly brilliant in that “Why didn’t I think of that??” way: Film follows a group of kids “playing war” in the woods, and uses editing and FX to show their sticks and balloons turning into the guns and grenades they imagine them to be. I’ll be interested to see how it’s received, since even though this is all supposed to be imaginary the sight of moppets swinging around automatic weapons has become incendiary in and of itself.