By Fred Topel

Joshua Martson’s debut feature film, Maria Full of Grace, managed to be a suspenseful thriller as well as a gripping drama. It introduced the world to Catalina Sandina Moreno as Maria, a desperate Colombian girl who becomes a drug mule, as many do in real life. Her journey to the U.S. is frought with danger from the law, the criminal element and her own body. After Maria, Marston spent seven years directing television episodes. His prolific career included How to Make It In America, In Treatment and Law & Order. At this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, Marston returned to film with the premiere of his second feature.

The Forgiveness of Blood portrays an even more foreign world than South American drug smuggling. In Albania, two families start a blood feud after one father kills the other’s son. Per tradition, the offending family must stay at home permanently. If the other family sees them out, they vow to kill anyone for retribution. Only one daughter is given a pass to work and bring home supplies. The subject provoked an interesting discussion with Marston in a Toronto hotel room. Even a simple inquiry probably couldn’t help coming across as an accusation and Marston took an objective position, seeing both sides. Forgiveness of Blood opens next year.

Read our exclusive interview with Joshua Marston on SuicideGirls.com.

by A.J. Focht

Last weekend New York Comic Con was the focus of most of the geek world. This was a chance for DC Comics to address questions concerning the New 52, especially concerns surrounding Batman continuity. But the most anticipated panel of all was The Avengers panel. Several of the actors were in attendance, and the audience got to see exclusive footage including some which featured the Hulk.

Speaking of the Hulk, there are new updates with regards to the upcoming The Incredible Hulk TV series. Directors Guilermo del Toro and David Eick will be attempting to keep the television Hulk as close to the Hulk from The Avengers as possible. Just another example of Marvel solidifying their continuity, and trying to make us forget Edward Norton in the process.

Out of all the superhero news this last week, none was as exciting as the prospects of Batman joining #OccupyWallStreet. Shooting is about to move to New York City, and the cast members have been told scenes could include shots of the protests. I’m not sure what plan Christopher Nolan has for capturing the #OWS action in the film, but I’m excited by the possibilities.

One last note on the caped crusader, Batman: Arkham City was released days ago, and it’s receiving some of the highest reviews of the year. I therefore wouldn’t be surprised to see Game Of The Year come down to Arkham City and Gears of War 3.

Even the real life superheroes made news this last week. Phoenix Jones, leader of the Rain City Superhero Movement, was publicly unmasked after facing assault charges. It looks like our real life superhero is going through some classic comic story lines, but that won’t stop him from making his patrols.

Some terrible things are happening in a galaxy far, far away. Star Wars 3D posters have been released. The poster lists Episode I 3D as premiering February 10, 2012. As an amusing twist, George Lucas showed up at the 2011 Scream Awards as Darth Vader was giving him a little roast.

On the Star Trek frontier, a new attempt to get Star Trek back on TV is in the works, but not by who you’d think. Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy, is ready to leave the Griffin family fold and pick up his phaser. After seven years of Family Guy, MacFarlane wants to move on and thinks a Star Trek reboot could be his next step.

Thor 2 officially has signed new director, Patty Jenkins. The big players from the original cast will also be back, including Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Anthony Hopkins.

We’re going back to the future, or at least we’ll have the potential to in the new DeLoreans coming in 2013. The DeLorean Motor Company and electric car company Epic EV are rereleasing Back to the Future‘s classic vehicle as a fully electric car, flux capacitors not included.

Finally, the zombies just keep invading. The Walking Dead killed the competition and topped ratings on Sunday with 7.3 million viewers. So it would make sense that another zombie themed TV show will soon be taking a bite out of prime time. Zombieland creators are working on a zombie sitcom. Unfortunately, they are looking to air on FOX, which instantly makes me hesitant.

By Fred Topel

You may know about all the complicated problems facing the country of Israel if you keep up with the news. However, there’s one aspect of Israel’s political situation that’s going underreported. Their film industry produces no fun movies. But, finally, a duo of filmmakers is breaking their country out of the serious, somber movie rut.

I discovered Rabies, the first Israeli slasher movie, at Fantastic Fest in Austin, TX. It has played a few other festivals like Tribeca and London FrightFest, and it will come around again at ScreamFest in Los Angeles this month. It’s sure to get more attention for blowing the lid off an entire genre, let alone a local film industry.

It’s better not to know too much about the film so it can surprise you, but it does involve a group of young characters in the woods who have some bad guys after them. The cast of Israeli stars will be largely unknown to international audiences, unless they’re really worldly. So you’ll discover some exciting new talent and you won’t believe where the story takes them.

Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado made their feature film debut with Rabies. Keshales was a teacher and film critic, and Papushado was his student. Their simple thought of “why not make a slasher movie in Israel” has brought them around the world to discuss the festival favorite. In Austin, we spent a full 30 minutes talking about world affairs and the cultural differences in the language of cinema.

Read our exclusive interview with Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado on SuicideGirls.com.

by A.J. Focht

The official Avengers trailer was finally released this week. Attached to the previews of Real Steal, it offers everything we wanted and more. All of the Avengers are showcased in the preview, providing the perfect teaser for the upcoming movie.

The Wolverine may end up with two separate cuts. In a recent interview with Hugh Jackman, he discussed the interest in making an R-rated Wolverine movie. A possible compromise that is being floated is the idea of releasing a PG-13 version of film, so as to not exclude the younger fans, in addition to the R-rated cut we all want to see.

Queen of the webisode, Felicia Day’s most recent project, Dragon Age: Redemption, is now live. It’s a brilliant webseries placed in the Dragon Age RPG universe. Felicia Day’s character, Tallis, is an elven assassin hired to capture an apostate mage. Along with the release of the webseries, a new DLC was released for Dragon Age 2 also featuring Tallis.

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By Fred Topel

When I became a journalist, it was a dream to be able to meet the filmmakers who inspired me as a movie-loving kid. After 12 years in the industry, it’s even more fulfilling to follow these filmmakers as they continue to influence our lives with the stories they tell.

Wes Craven is on his third or fourth cycle. For me, A Nightmare on Elm Street opened the world of dreams and overcoming your fears through Freddy Krueger. Also, The People Under the Stairs unleashed all the creativity that could exist buried in a dangerous suburban house.

The generation before me got to know Craven from his brutal thrillers Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes, both of which Craven has produced remakes for in the last decade. The Scream series was already impacting horror fans younger than me, but I certainly enjoyed the way its characters knew the rules of the horror movies in which they were stuck, and it didn’t help them much.

Scre4m is already addressing a further generation by incorporating cell phones and internet technology, and discussing the rules of horror movie remakes. For the latest film, I once again got a chance to chat with my creative guru.

Read our exclusive interview with Wes Craven on SuicideGirls.com.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

It was a real treat and a pleasure to get to talk to living legend Alan Arkin. I told a number of people that I was going to talk to the Oscar nominated improv guru and they said, ““You got to ask him about Glengarry Glen Ross.”” I was like, ““Fuck that I’’m going to talk to him about Bad Medicine!”” But of course I was also very interested in talking with Arkin about his latest role, that of the heroin snorting grandfather of the dysfunctional family in Little Miss Sunshine. The film also stars Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear and is directed by music video masterminds Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris.

Read our exclusive interview with Alan Arkin on SuicideGirls.com.

by A.J. Focht

The entire line of DC’s New 52 has hit stores. The fan response to the reboot has been phenomenal, though all of the comics have received very diverse reviews. Almost every comic in the New 52 has been both praised and bashed. Most have gained a following, and a couple have already gained infamy, while very few have slipped under the radar altogether.

Several of the more obscure comics however pulled in great reviews, such as All-Star Western and I, Vampire. All-Star Western explores Gotham City during its founding through the eyes of Jonah Hex, while I, Vampire introduced a new vampire threat to the DC universe. One of the biggest surprises was Justice League Dark which already has built a strong following. Even more shocking were the positive responses to the sexy stripper-adorned title Voodoo — from the many of the same people who bashed the overt raunch of Catwoman and Starfire.

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