Brand new looks at The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug, The Monuments Men, and American Hustle

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Are you ready for the classy awards contenders to start hitting theaters? I know I am. After months of disappointing summer movies we are getting a whole bunch of looks at trailers and images from the films that may be vying for all sorts of trophies come next year. First up is a new look at Evangeline Lilly and Orlando Bloom in Elvish character from THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG.

Not much new in this image from what we have come to expect from Peter Jackson, but it is nice every time we get a moment free of CGI. My only complaint about AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY was the massive amount of the scenes that looked computer generated. What made THE LORD OF THE RINGS so excellent was the realistic and practical approach Jackson took to making the film.

THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG opens December 13, 2013.

Next up is another photo from AMERICAN HUSTLE. The recent trailer for the David O. Russell flick surprised everyone by looking way better than we expected. Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, and Christian Bale all look unrecognizable in their funny hair and suits, but it was how unbelievably hot Amy Adams that blew me away. I always though she was cute, but holy shit if she doesn’t look amazing in AMERICAN HUSTLE.

I just hope that AMERICAN HUSTLE doesn’t get bogged down in trying to be too period appropriate. The trailer, like Martin Scorsese‘s THE WOLF OF WALL STREET, looks almost on the verge of parody. If that line can be walked while maintaining a dramatic edge, AMERICAN HUSTLE is going to be awesome.

AMERICAN HUSTLE opens December 25, 2013

Lastly we have a new look at George Clooney‘s THE MONUMENTS MEN complete with a brand new synopsis.

Based on the true story of the greatest treasure hunt in history, THE MONUMENTS MEN is
an action-thriller focusing on an unlikely World War II platoon, tasked by FDR with going into Germany to rescue artistic masterpieces from Nazi thieves and returning them to their rightful owners. It would be an impossible mission: with the art trapped behind enemy lines, and with the German army under orders to destroy everything as the Reich fell, how could these guys – seven museum directors, curators, and art historians, all more familiar with Michelangelo than the M-1 – possibly hope to succeed? But as the Monuments Men, as they were called, found themselves in a race against time to avoid the destruction of 1000 years of culture, they would risk their lives to protect and defend mankind’s greatest achievements.

I love everything Clooney has done as a director and sincerely hope he finally gets that Oscar this time around. Nothing beats a good war movie and nothing beats a good heist movie. I doubt anything will compete with a war heist movie.

THE MONUMENTS MEN opens December 18, 2013.