We’ve got pics from the biggest upcoming flicks in updated galleries for "Ghost Rider," "Black Snake Moan," "Dead Silence," "Zodiac," and this spring’s highly anticipated swords-and-sandals battlefest, "300!" **UPDATE: New "300" Stills Just Added!
Nicolas Cage’s "Ghost Rider" starts things off next week with what’s arguably the first of the high-anticipation releases of the coming months. Will his CGI-created fireball head please die-hard fans of the comic (and of the genre)? Will "Ghost Rider" complete or defy the recent comic book adaptation trifecta of writer/director Mark Steven Johnson, whose last two scripting gigs were "Daredevil" (2003) and "Elektra" (2005)?
Click for more pics from "Ghost Rider"
"Ghost Rider" follows stuntman hero Johnny Blaze (Cage) as he sells his soul to the devil, battles the evil demon Blackheart (Wes Bentley), and romances reporter Roxanne Simpson (Eva Mendes). Also look forward to supporting roles by Peter Fonda and Sam Elliott. The pic is released February 16.
A week later comes the blues-fueled morality tale "Black Snake Moan," from "Hustle & Flow" helmer Craig Brewer. With the inimitable Samuel L. Jackson as a troubled former musician and the tempestuous Christina Ricci as a sex-crazed local gal, "Moan"’s looking like a serio-comic, pulp-tinged ride; it’s got a great soundtrack to boot.
Click image for more Sam Jackson in "Black Snake Moan"
"Black Snake Moan" hits theaters February 23; check out the trailer here for a taste of the flick (and a scantily clad Ricci). Remember, it’s hard out here for a nymph!
For a slight change of pace, check out the based-on-a-true-story crime pic, "Zodiac," starring Robert Downey Jr., Jake Gyllenhaal, and Mark Ruffalo. Set in 1970s San Francisco, "Zodiac" recounts the true tale of a serial killer that terrorized the state and taunted police; Gyllenhaal plays Robert Graysmith, the real-life newspaper cartoonist who became obsessed with the killer’s cyphers and whose subsequent books on the crimes were adapted for the film.
Click image for more of the "Zodiac" gallery
Another reason for putting "Zodiac" on your must-watch list? It’s directed by David Fincher, whose "Seven" (1995) and "Fight Club" (1999) are by now veritable classics. "Zodiac" is released March 2.
But if you’re waiting for an epic, action-filled bloodbath, March 9 is your day. Frank Miller‘s "300," starring Gerard Butler as the doomed leader of Sparta in 480 B.C., is entirely shot against a green screen — resulting in potentially the most beautiful, painterly-like backdrops known to cinema.
Click on image for more "300" shots
Well, ok, there’s no telling just how fantastic it will be, but judging from the trailer (watch it here), "300" is going to deliver. Zack Snyder ("Dawn of the Dead") is at the helm, and he’s got Frank Miller’s blessing. "300" comes out March 9.
**We know you love your "300" pics, so we added over 40 more stills, concept art, and behind-the-scenes photos to the gallery today!!
Some of the new additions:
