Look at new 'John Carter' trailer

The folks at Good Morning America sat down with Taylor Kitsch today to chat about his upcoming action adventure "John Carter," which opens March 9, 2012. The full trailer will go live late tonight, but for a oretty good look at it, check out the GMA piece below.

In the film, Kitsch ("Friday Night Lights") plays a Civil War vet transplanted to Mars who discovers a lush planet inhabited by 12-foot tall barbarians. Finding himself a prisoner of these creatures, he escapes, only to encounter a princess who is in desperate need of a savior.

If you want to get straight to the trailer, skip to 1:01 in the video after the jump. Definitely looks CGI infested, as expected, but it could be an enjoyable ride. As long as it beats the silliness of "Prince of Persia," I'm game. Andrew Stanton helmed "John Carter."

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Super hilarious clip from 'Young Adult'

One of the films I'm most excited about this December is Jason Reitman's "Young Adult," a new comedy starring Charlize Theron as Mavis, a fiction writer who returns to her home in small-town Minnesota, looking to rekindle a romance with her now married ex-boyfriend.

The trailer for "Young Adult" won me over instantly, and if you're looking for some extra footage from the film, consider checking out this latest clip/promo. It's quite brief, yes, but it delivers laughs, proving Theron will most likely own this movie big time. See after the jump.

"Young Adult" marks the return of the Reitman/Diablo Cody collaboration. Cody and Reitman previously teamed up on "Juno," a fantastic little comedy that went on to make a lot of money and pull in superb critical acclaim. Reitman also helmed "Up in the Air."

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Simon West to direct 'Dust and Glory'

Director Simon West stays loyal to the action genre, entering negotiations to helm "Dust and Glory," a racing adventure based on the novel by Evan Green. THR says the project is described as "cross between 'Mad Max' and 'Jewel of the Nile'".

"Dust and Glory" mixes romance with adventure, following the rivalry between an American hotshot and an Australian legend participating in one heck of a long, perilous race during the 1950s. Robert Lewis Galinsky wrote the script.

Simon West is currently shooting "The Expendables 2." He recently helmed "The Mechanic," and some of his more popular films include "Con Air," "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" and "The General's Daughter." He also brought us the bad "When a Stranger Calls" remake.

New York Film Critics Circle Awards 2011

The New York Film Critics Circle today announced its 2011 via Twitter, and Michel Hazanavicius's critically acclaimed film "The Artist" took home the prize for best picture. Emmanuel Lubezki won best cinematography for Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life."

Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin can share the award for best screenplay for "Moneyball." Brad Pit was named best actor for his performances in "Moneyball" and "The Tree of Life". The NYFCC selected Michel Hazanavicius of "The Artist" for best director.

Meryl Streep won best actress for her role as Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady." Jessica Chastain took home best supporting actress for three films: "The Tree of Life," "The Help" and "Take Shelter." Albert Brooks was named best supporting actor for "Drive."

"Margin Call" was voted best first film, and Werner Herzog's "Cave of Forgotten Dreams" won best non-fiction film. "A Separation" took the award for best foreign film. The NYFCC did their best to race to the polls and be the first to announce their 2011 winners.

Tony Scott to direct 'Narco-Sub'

What has Tony Scott been up to lately? In case you're really that interested, the director is planning to helm a "Hell's Angels" flick, and he's also been in talks to tackle a "The Wild Bunch" remake. He also just signed on to direct "Narco-Sub," a new action piece for 20th Century Fox.

Plot details are not being released at this point, but the folks at Variety say this project is being described "as reminiscent of Scott's hit action pics "Crimson Tide" and "Man on Fire." I think that gives us a pretty good indication of where "Narco-Sub" is heading, don't you think?

David Guggenheim ("Safe House") is the man behind the script. By the way, a Narco-Sub is a "custom-made ocean-going self-propelled submersible vessel built by drug traffickers to smuggle drugs," says Wikipedia. Scott's last movie was "Unstoppable."

Speaking of Scott's recent work, here's what I think of his stuff over the last decade: I enjoyed "Unstoppable," I hated "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," I mildly enjoyed "Deja Vu" and sort of disliked "Domino." I didn't really love "Man on Wire" but I thoroughly enjoyed "Spy Game." You?

December Movie Guide: What to see and what to skip

The holiday season at the movies is in full swing, and December is upon us. It is the month that goes out with a bang, delivering some huge blockbusters right before 2011 calls it quits. December won't be the busiest month in terms of releases, but the 21st sure is packed.

As you can see after the jump, not every release is cause for pure excitement, but the line-up looks pretty good this year, with films like "Young Adult," "War Horse," "We Bought a Zoo" and "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" already generating buzz.

Without beating around the bush any longer, please enjoy TSL's December Movie Guide after the jump. The opinions expressed below are those solely of the Screening Log staff. Feel free to share your thoughts and join in on the discussion. Let December begin!

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New, very red poster for 'John Carter'

After the recent release of new stills from Disney's upcoming adventure "John Carter," it's time for a new poster for the Andrew Stanton-directed movie. It arrives courtesy of iTunes Trailers, and you can take a look at it after the jump. Simple, but interesting, and very, very red.

In the film, Taylor Kitsch ("Friday Night Lights") plays a Civil War vet transplanted to Mars who discovers a lush planet inhabited by 12-foot tall barbarians. Finding himself a prisoner of these creatures, he escapes, only to encounter a princess who is in desperate need of a savior.

"John Carter" opens in theaters March 9, 2012. The film is based on the novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs and co-stars Bryan Cranston, Mark Strong, Dominic West, Willem Dafoe, Thomas Haden Church, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton and Polly Walker. Quite the cast...

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Box Office: 'Breaking Dawn' stays on top with $42M

North American box office earnings are still down from last year, but "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" did everything it could to boost numbers, earning a solid $42 million from ticket sales at 4,066 locations, according to Sunday studio estimates.

The first part of the finale scored a strong average of $10,330 per theater, lifting its domestic gross to $221.3 million. At this point, it's safe to say the latest installment in the series is on track to beat the $296.6 million total cume of  "The Twilight Saga: New Moon."

Celebrating a decent start this past week was "The Muppets," which bagged $29.5 million at No. 2 for a five-day total haul of $42 million. Playing at 3,440 theaters, the film landed an average of $8,576 per location. "Happy Feet Two" came in third with $13.4 million ($43.7 million).

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'Breaking Dawn' still No. 1 on Thanksgiving

With a lot of people spending time at home and not at the theater on Thanksgiving, our box office contestants took a little drop Thursday. "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" was down 37.6% from Wednesday, earning another $7.8 million.

At this point, the Bill Condon-directed first part of the "Twilight" finale has brought home $179.2 million, and that will continue to grow over the weekend. "The Muppets" did pretty well Thursday, collecting $5.9 million for a cumulative gross of $12.5 million.

At No. 3, "Hugo" jumped a few spots to pick up $2.3 million from ticket sales at 1,277 theaters. Martin Scorsese's critically acclaimed 3D family aventure is the only top 10 movie with a substantial growth over Wednesday (+41%).

Meanwhile, "Happy Feet Two" generated another $2 million, bringing its total haul to $30.3 million. "Immortals" took over No. 5, earning $1.9 million for a gross of $59.8 million. Losing one spot was "Jack and Jill" ($47.1 million total).

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)

'Breaking Dawn - Part 1' earns $12M Wednesday

"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" is on its way to win this week's North American box office race, adding another $12.5 million to its already ridiculous gross Wednesday. To date, the new release has generated a solid $171.4 million from ticket sales at 4,066 theaters.

Summit's first part of the big "Twilight" finale scored an average of $3,074 per theater on its sixth day in release, making it the top contender to rule this long Thanksgiving weekend. Its biggest competitor is obviously "The Muppets," but the vampires and werewolves need not fear.

"The Muppets" opened Wednesday with a daily gross of $6.6 million, averaging a decent $1,919 per theater at 3,440 locations. Not doing that well is Warner's "Happy Feet Two," which lifted its total haul to $28.3 million after brinigng in $2.9 million Wednesday (the sequel is showing at 3,606 sites).

Also opening is "Arthur Christmas," which bagged $2.4 million, enough for fourth place. Martin Scorsese's "Hugo" came in seventh Wednesday, picking up $1.6 million from ticket sales at only 1,277 sites. No.5 went to Adam Sandler's sucky comedy "Jack and Jill," which collected $1.9 million.

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)