Michael Shannon

Director Zack Snyder's Man of Steel is already one of the most highly anticipated movies of the Summer, and the latest trailer makes me even more excited for it. The cryptic first preview finds Clark Kent/Superman (Henry Cavill) struggling with his identity and his place in the world, and while this new one is no less existential, it does show a lot more of the supporting cast. We see Russell Crowe as Jor-El, Superman's real father, in the midst of his planet's destruction, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Clark's protective adoptive parents, Michael Shannon in action as villain General Zod, and Amy Adams as intrepid reporter Lois Lane.

Though I was initially skeptical of Adams as Lois, the interaction between her and Superman in the last moments of the trailer is giving me a lot more faith in her casting. I'm also loving the dark but hopeful tone of the movie, which could be a refreshing change of pace from the many other Superman films we've seen before. Man of Steel opens June 14, but until then, watch the new trailer after the jump.

If you didn't catch Michael Shannon's intensely psychotic role in Premium Rush, you should definitely take a gander at the trailer for The Iceman. Shannon stars in the movie based on the true story of the now-notorious Iceman, contract killer Richard Kuklinski. (The Iceman claims to have killed over 100 people in the 1980s). Chris Evans plays his right-hand man, a dirty ice cream truck vendor who helps hack up the bodies once Richard has made the hit.

I find Shannon to be absolutely gripping as the man hiding his dangerous career from his innocent wife (Winona Ryder) and kids. I'm also really happy to see Ray Liotta, one of my favorite movie mobsters, as the Iceman's boss. And just when you think it's over — looky, looky, it's James Franco! Check out the chilling trailer (no pun intended) for The Iceman after the jump.

The plot to Premium Rush is simple: the life of a bike messenger, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is put in danger when he unwittingly stumbles into some major trouble on his Manhattan route. It's so simple, in fact, that you might wonder if this hook is baited strongly enough to keep audiences entertained for an entire film. Rest assured, action fans (and bicycle-lovers); not only is this smartly crafted action flick my pick for Summer's most pleasant surprise, but also, Premium Rush keeps pace with some of the genre's best movies.

Premium Rush picks up when Wilee (Gordon-Levitt) is assigned a "very important" delivery to Chinatown. What he doesn't realize, of course, is that the envelope contains some extremely sensitive material: a mysterious slip of paper that crooked cop Bobby Monday (Michael Shannon) is desperate to get his hands on. Luckily for the sender, Wilee is one of New York City's most skillful bike messengers. The crafty adrenaline junkie abhors the idea of working in an office and instead opts for a humble gig delivering packages via his bicycle, which he rides sans gears or brakes. That's about all the backstory we get on Wilee, and, frankly, it's all we need; commendably, the movie isn't muddled with too many insignificant details. To find out what makes Premium Rush stand out, just keep reading.

Henry Cavill is all set to play the next Superman in Zack Snyder's reboot Man of Steel, and now we have a villain for him to fear: Michael Shannon. The actor will play General Zod, Superman's nemesis, who is from the planet Krypton like the indomitable hero. I had expected that the big casting news for the villain would have been for the part of Lex Luthor, but it looks like Snyder is mixing things up. Now that the cast is really coming together, how do you feel about the latest updates?

• Thanks to HBO, the True Blood vamps will feast on a fourth season — Deadline
• The first official poster for The Social Network with Jesse Eisenberg — Flavorwire
• American Idol lowers its minimum age requirement to 15 — PopWatch
• Michael Shannon will hunt down Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Premium Rush — MTV Movies Blog
• Imogen Poots joins Friday Night — Moviefone
• Diva-off! Pop star Charice will give Rachel Berry a run for her money on Glee — The Ausiello Files
• TV's top five summer vacation episodes — TV.com
• See Shia LaBeouf and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley shooting Transformers 3 — PopSugar
• The soundtrack for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World sounds incredibly cool — Pitchfork

Photo courtesy of HBO

I've already gotten to tell you what I think about rock biopic The Runaways, with Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning, but now it's time to hear from the stars and the others behind the scenes of the movie. Pop chatted up Kristen Stewart on the red carpet in NYC, but we also have some choice words from its inspiration Joan Jett, costar Michael Shannon, and director Floria Sigismondi.

• Joan Jett on the message of the film: Ultimately, to follow your dreams. That good old cliché of following your dreams, because I really feel that people beat down other people’s dreams constantly. I see it a lot with writers, when I talk to them about this. I guess a lot of writers must be told, "You’ll never make money that way, get a real job!" A lot of writers want to write . . . To me, I just think it’s really important to try and follow your dream. And if for some reason life takes you a different way, then at least you made an attempt.
• Joan on first meeting Kristen: I met her last New Year’s Eve. She came up to see a gig and I kind of just dumped on her about The Runaways for several hours and asked her if she was going to cut her hair. She said yes, and I had great faith that she was going to be able to pull this off because she seemed very dedicated and genuine and authentic. We had a few weeks before filming started to spend some time, and she picked my brain.

To read Michael Shannon and Floria Sigismondi's thoughts, just read more