Trailers for "The Hobbit" and "G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation" are set to drop this month (as soon as today in the case of the "Joe" sequel, in fact), but a lucky few have already seen both — and the reactions, as you might imagine, are through the roof. Get more on that news, and keep reading for an alternate "New Year's Eve" cast and the early buzz on "Sherlock Holmes 2."
It's December 12, 2012, and here's what we've found around the blogosphere.
Numb Butts, Big Movies
Ain't It Cool's geek-in-charge Harry Knowles hosted the 13th edition of his annual BUTT-NUMB-A-THON event in Austin, Texas over the weekend, debuting new trailers and early screenings of some of the most anticipated releases in the coming year. Trailers for "G.I. Joe 2" and "The Hobbit" were both shown and got the thumbs up from attendees, but it looks like a thumbs down for "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Critic Jordan Hoffman tweeted about the comic book sequel: "GHOST RIDER 2 makes GHOST RIDER 1 look like DARK KNIGHT." Ouch!
"New Year's" Casting Resolutions
As someone who counts "Aliens" and "Terminator 2" among my top five favorite movies of all time, I don't think I'll surprise you much when I say that "New Year's Eve" isn't quite my cup of tea. But if the all-star cast for the movie looked a bit more like the dream cast put together in this hilarious poster (found at Movies.com), I'd be whistling a different tune. Any movie that puts Chris Farley, William Zabka and Mama Fratelli in the same room automatically gets my endorsement.
Joey Lawrence Never Says Die
Speaking of Mama Fratelli, "The Goonies" is Joey Lawrence's all-time favorite movie. Lawrence spoke with NextMovie about the film: "They don't make movies like that for kids today; I mean I was 8 years old when that movie came out and I must have watched it a hundred times. I wish they made movies like that today."
'Sherlock' Benefits From Moriarty
Robert Downey Jr. returns to theaters as the world's greatest detective this week, and early buzz is mostly on his side. Drew McWeeney at HitFix gives the film a B and prefers "Game of Shadows" to the previous "Sherlock," saying: "If you didn't care for the first 'Sherlock Holmes,' I doubt this one will suddenly win you over. They are very much of a piece, but I prefer this one because I think the villain works better, and I think they make some great choices towards the end of the film."
Tell us what you think of today's Around the Blogosphere in the comments and on Twitter!