Zack Snyder‘s long-awaited cinematic mind-trip “Sucker Punch” finally hits theaters today. At the center of the story are five women, all of them inmates at the fictional Lennox House for the Mentally Insane. They’re also exotic dancers, and ass-kicking warriors as well. The film’s most intense action unfolds in a sort of fantasy reality. The less said about it here, the better; what you need to know is that each of the five Lennox inmates get to show off their particular talents during these sequences.

To get you in the mood for today’s release, we’ve profiled each one right here on MTV Movies Blog all week. We’ve already highlighted Amber (Jamie Chung), Rocket (Jena Malone), Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish) and Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens). Today we look at the last of the ladies, Babydoll, played by Emily Browning.

EMILY BROWNING
As the star of the show, Browning has the most difficult job in “Sucker Punch.” Her character is painted more by actions than by words, and it’s not a genre she has a ton of experience with in her past work. Her most memorable role up until this point was probably “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events,” though Browning has also done horror (“The Uninvited,” “Darkness Falls,” “Ghost Ship”), black comedy (“Stranded”) and even some light action (“Ned Kelly”).

SPECIALTY
Babydoll is the woman wielding the paintbrush, the person responsible for creating the fantasy and the fantasies-within-the-fantasy that unfold. Her “skill” is her dancing ability, which is powerful enough to hypnotize those who are caught in its fury. We never actually see her truly dance, as each of these moments transports us to the second layer of fantasy-reality where most of the movie’s action unfolds. During these sequences, Browning specializes in being a multi-talented badass. She shoots, she punches and kicks, she dashes, spins, jumps and slides. Nothing can stop her and no one can stand in her way.

WEAKNESS
None. Zero. Zip. Babydoll is quiet and not an immediately obvious leader, but she inspires her fellow inmates to follow her and to fight beside her. Time and again, she leads the pack in making sure each mission is completed successfully. And when a final, decisive choice is presented to her, Babydoll takes the hard road and doesn’t look back.

MEMORABLE MOMENT
This one’s easy. Babydoll’s first visit to the second layer of reality is a solo outing, where she meets the Wise Man (Scott Glenn) for the first time. In the action sequence that follows, she faces off against three colossal samurai warrior-monsters. You’ve probably already gathered that she emerges victorious, but knowing she wins and seeing her win are two very different things.

Are you seeing “Sucker Punch” today? Tell us what you think of the movie in the comments section and on Twitter!

Music is an important aspect of any movie, but in “Sucker Punch,” it’s absolutely essential.

Director Zack Snyder sat down with MTV News to chat about his latest action epic, which lands in theaters today (March 25), and he discussed the integral role that music plays in the film. As you’re likely already aware, “Sucker Punch” deals in multiple levels of reality, and when our heroes slip into that combat space, they do so through a combination of music and Baby Doll’s mesmerizing dancing.

“I think the germ of the movie came from when we were talking about this sort of musical number I wanted to do,” Snyder explained of the music of “Sucker Punch.” “I thought it’d be cool to use this musical number as the spine of the movie, the spine of an action sequence, and then getting in and out of it would be, like, the music would start and that would draw us in. That would be the mechanism for the fantasy to begin, and when the music ended, that would be the mechanism for it ending.”

Indeed, while “Sucker Punch” is undoubtedly a divisive movie, the film’s soundtrack is hard to argue against. Emiliana Torrini’s balls-out rendition of “White Rabbit” draws viewers into the napalm-soaked trenches of World War I, for example, while Skunk Anansie’s cover of “Search and Destroy” brings an appropriately frenetic energy to the “Lord of the Rings”-inspired castle raid.

Snyder’s abilities as an action director rarely come into question, but if he has one other definitive strength, it’s his unique ear for music. Love it or hate it, you won’t forget the “Sucker Punch” soundtrack, not by a long-shot.

Tell us what you think of the “Sucker Punch” soundtrack in the comments section and on Twitter!

Filed under: Hot Topic, Reviews, New Releases, Sci-Fi, Cinematical

Zack Snyder’s ‘Sucker Punch‘ is the cinematic equivalent of Max Fischer, the main character of Wes Anderson’s ‘Rushmore:’ it may be in all of these really awesome and interesting after-school clubs, but it’s barely passing its regular classes. As a longtime fan of Snyder, I was excited to see a completely self-generated project after four of them which were derived from existing works, but the film exemplifies both the director’s strengths and weaknesses: as a visual stylist, his proficiency is almost incomparable, but he really seems to need an existing story, or at least story structure, to use as a foundation upon which to build those movie moments. A work of unsurpassed style but frivolous substance, ‘Sucker Punch’ is Zack Snyder‘s first misfire and ultimately, and for fans, unfortunately, just not a great film.

The film stars Emily Browning (‘The Uninvited’) as Baby Doll, a young woman committed to a mental institution after assaulting her stepfather with a pistol. Although she’s watched closely by the administrator, Blue Jones (Oscar Isaac), and his resident psychiatrist, Dr. Gorski (Carla Gugino), Baby Doll soon meets fellow inmates Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), Rocket (Jena Malone), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), and Amber (Jamie Chung), and forms a tenuous friendship as their world transforms from an insane asylum into a brothel where they’re the main attraction. But when Baby Doll discovers that the High Roller (Jon Hamm) is coming in five days to perform a lobotomy/ take her innocence, the five of them hatch a plan with the help of the Wise Man (Scott Glenn) to acquire a series of items which in theory should help her escape to freedom.

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Taylor Swift and Zac Efron are falling in love — but before you get too excited, it’s just for the movies!

Coming Soon has the news that the two musicians/actors are set to star in the upcoming Universal adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s “The Lorax.” Efron will play the film’s lead, a boy named Ted who is searching for the one thing that will allow him to win the girl of his dreams. Swift will play the girl, named Audrey. In addition to the two of them, Danny Devito will voice the titular Lorax, Ed Helms is the the Once-let, Rob Riggle is financial king O’Hare, and Betty White is Ted’s Grammy Norma. The flick is set for release on March 2, 2012.

After the jump, find out which two major actors have joined Keira Knightly in the adaptation of “Anna Karenina” and who will be playing Clark Kent’s father in Zack Snyder‘s “Man of Steel.”

Jude Law And Aaron Johnson To Join “Anna Karenina”
Keira Knightly is returning to work with director Joe Wright for a third time, and this time she’s bringing in some new meat. According to Variety, Jude Law and Aaron Johnson are nearing completion on their negotiations for major roles in the film, which should begin production in the fall.

Kevin Costner Joins “Man Of Steel”
Teaming up with the previously announced Momma Kent, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner has agreed to come on board as Superman’s adoptive father Jonathan Kent in Zack Snyder’s adaptation of “Superman.” Costner joins Lane and Henry Cavill, who will be playing the titular man of steel.

Tripp Vinson Defends “Red Dawn”
In response to the recent news about “Red Dawn‘s” Chinese baddies being nixed for North Koreans, the film’s producer phoned up Ain’t It Cool News to explain their decision-making. “‘Red Dawn’ isn’t for everyone. So, if you are interested in seeing a movie filled with preachy political discussions – ‘Red Dawn’ ain’t for you. If you love movies in which Americans are the bad guys – ‘Red Dawn’ ain’t for you. If you get emotional watching daytime television – ‘Red Dawn’ ain’t for you. If you’re a vegetarian – ‘Red Dawn’ probably ain’t for you. But! If you like meat with your potatoes, muscle cars that roar, tanks, guns and things blowing the [f---] up by American’s kicking some Commie ass – then we have something special coming your way,” Vinson said.

Kevin Smith Shares How To “Hit Somebody”
Kevin Smith took a break from his tour of the country promoting “Red State” to post a scene from his next (and allegedly last) film, “Hit Somebody.” Posting it on his blog, the scene follows 11-year-old main character Buddy McCracken and his hockey coach Blue Jay Jennings, a role that was written for John Goodman.

Santa’s Back And He’s Badder Than Ever
There’s plenty of time before the holidays, but Christmas has come early for “Bad Santa” fans. The Wrap reports that Billy Bob Thornton is officially coming back for a sequel to the R-rated holiday comedy, and representatives from The Weinstein Company confirm the news: “Everyone loves the character and Billy Bob’s excited to be in talks with us.”

Tell us what you think in the comments section below or on Twitter!

Kevin Costner

Kevin Costner is officially in for Superman movie and starring in role of Jonathan Kent this currently underway project with Kevin Costner on board will be watched out by movie going crowds who are fans of the star. Name of this two times academy award winner actor had been attached to the particular role for some time so with the news confirmed it seems that another talented and well known star has been nabbed for this project. Upcoming flick is going to be a new kind of a version to the series of movies and other similar kind of productions which had been made using this superhero character as subject matter. From the sound of it this time fans of the character can watch out for something exceptional for entertainment.

Addition of Kevin Costner to cast of Superman movie makes it quite fascinating for audiences to watch out for this motion picture as he will be starring opposite actress Oscar nominee actress Diane Lane. These two stars will be seen giving life to characters of Jonathan and Martha Kent who adopt the child who become superman. Depending on what kind of an approach will be taken by director it is yet to be seen what kind of scope will the character of Jonathan Kent will have. It could be predicted that his role might pass away in motion picture but it remains to be seen what kind of an angle will be used by director to bring a new version to story which had been told throughout many early productions.

Though Superman movie actor Kevin Costner will be joined on screen by upcoming actor Henry Cavill who has been chosen to give life to titular role. Director Zack Snyder seems to be quite enthusiastic about this project and it can be sad that he will be offering fans something exceptionally entertaining. Director had said that this movie will be made on assumption that no other superman movie had been made. So a whole new and refreshing approach will be used by him. Moreover director had mentioned Batman Begins drawing it as an example for what he had in mind  for this popular superhero character.

Filed under: Behind the Scenes, Cinematical

We’re big fans of Titan Books around these parts. In recent years they’ve put out some of our favorite film-related books including, but hardly limited to, ‘The Art of Hammer,’ ‘The Art of Drew Struzan,’ ‘Kick-Ass: Creating the Comic, Making the Movie,’ ‘Star Trek: The Art of the Film’ and ‘The Greatest Sci-fi Movies Never Made.’ Soon (February 22nd, to be precise) they’ll be dominating our coffee tables once again with ‘Sucker Punch: The Art of the Film’ and to celebrate we’d like to give everyone a sneak peek of a few pages.

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Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical

- To your right is the first look at Gary Oldman as George Smiley in Tomas Alfredson’s (‘Let The Right One In’) adaptation of John Le Carre’s ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.’

- The ’80s anime ‘Bubblegum Crisis’ about a gang of female mercs raging against the robot army of the GENOM Corporation is being turned into a Live Action 3-D film directed by Anthony La Molinara. The film will be a truly international venture as production is being spread across Canadian, Chinese, English, Australian and Japanese companies.

- Tim Burton’s long talked about reimagining of ‘Dark Shadows’ starring Johnny Depp will finally start shooting next April.

- Zack Snyder insists that his ‘Superman’ will be different from previous films and that General Zod most definitely will not be the villain.

- Stephen Sommers is planning an adaptation of Dean Koontz’s ‘Odd Thomas’ book about a psychic cook who gets into (mis)adventures in the small town where he lives. The budget is set at $47 million. [via ComingSoon]

- Andrew Niccol’s (‘Gattaca) new sci-fi film starring Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Cillian Murphy and Alex Pettyfer about a world where years of life have become the new currency has been retitled from ‘I’m.Mortal’ to ‘Now.’

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Filed under: Features, Coming Soon, Sci-Fi, Cinematical

Looking at the surface of Zack Snyder‘s filmography, it’s easy to suggest that he’s a director with a lot of flash but not so much substance. All of his films thus far have originated from pre-existing texts, feature muscular visuals, and are primarily appealing as bombastic crowd pleasers. But if you’re willing to look deeper, all of them have more to say than the sum total of their technically-proficient parts: ‘Dawn of the Dead’ creates new suspense out of old tropes; ‘300‘ combines classical mythmaking with modern moviemaking; ‘Watchmen‘ uses the façade of a superhero movie to make a sophisticated pop culture satire; and ‘Legend of the Guardians‘ razes the notion that talking-animal movies aren’t just for kids. And judging by preliminary photos, promotional trailers, and most importantly, a visit to the set, Snyder’s next film, ‘Sucker Punch,’ promises to be his most complex and provocative yet.

Cinematical joined a small group of journalists in Vancouver in December 2009 for a tour of the production offices. In addition to watching one of the film’s wild fight scenes get shot, we ran through a rough synopsis of much of the film with producer Deborah Snyder (Zack’s wife), and interviewed several members of the cast and crew, including Snyder himself. In the weeks to come, look for additional comments about ‘Sucker Punch’ from Snyder and his impressive ensemble of kick-ass ladies. But in the meantime, check out a few highlights from the visit that will offer some clues about what to expect when the film is released on March 25, 2011.

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Diddy laid his dreams of NFL team ownership out for all of Twitter to see last night. While he was doing that, Paris Hilton was gearing up to catch “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” with a few people who probably knew a thing or two about what was happening on the show.

Meanwhile, Friday stirred up a picture storm in Twitter-Wood as usual, with Ice-T linking to some fan art he received and Zack Snyder pausing for a self-portrait taken with his iPhone. Find out what those look like after the jump along with what Richard Kelly thinks of “Jackass 3D” and some anti-Twitter rage from the account of Jim Carrey.

I’m @brianwarmoth, and this is Twitter-Wood for October 15, 2010.

Twitter Pic of the Day:
@FINALLEVEL Final Level Fan Art: ‘Fire & Ice’ http://twitpic.com/2xt8sq
-Ice-T, Actor (“New Jack City,” “Law and Order: SVU”)

@JimCarrey Twitter is cooperating wth a new website called Spotted.com 2 trck where abouts of celebs wherever we go. “F— u very much twitter!” ;^\
-Jim Carrey, Actor (“A Christmas Carol,” “Bruce Almighty”)

@iamdiddy I will be the the 1st black man to be majority owner of a NFL football team!!!! BELIEVE!!!!!!! All things are possible through Christ!
-Sean “Diddy” Combs, Actor/Musician (“Monster’s Ball,” “Carlito’s Way: Rise to Power”)

@JRichardKelly JACKASS 3D has the most innovative use of high-speed photography I’ve ever seen. And Knoxville’s old-age makeup is Oscar-worthy.
-Richard Kelly, Writer/Director (“The Box,” “Donnie Darko”)

@ParisHilton Just left my parents house, watched it with my entire family and all the housewives husbands. Loved the show! Its so funny! Congrats girls!
-Paris Hilton, Actress (“House of Wax,” “Pledge This!”)

@ZackSnyder In Rome serious and hairy http://yfrog.com/83wjwynj
-Zack Snyder, Director (“300,” “Sucker Punch”)

@TheAlexMeraz when the stunt choreographer is showing us moves like this…it’s kinda hard to take him serious http://twitpic.com/2xq7n7
-Alex Meraz, Actor (“New Moon,” “Eclipse”)

@jeremypiven Sound check in a suit makes u over heat… How did they used to do it http://yfrog.com/4jm9zj
-Jeremy Piven, Actor (“Entourage,” “The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard”)

Don’t forget to follow @MTVMoviesBlog on Twitter for all the latest updates and colorful commentary from the world of movies.

Filed under: Reviews, New Releases, Cinematical

I’m not entirely sure if children needed their own ‘Lord of the Rings’ franchise, much less one starring owls, but now they have both. ‘Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole‘ is director Zack Snyder‘s adaptation of the first three books in Kathryn Lasky’s acclaimed series of ‘Guardians of Ga’Hoole’ novels, but with the exception that it’s owls and not hobbits who populate its fantastic universe. Snyder’s film follows a trajectory similar to that in Peter Jackson’s trilogy by focusing on untested dreamers who make a perilous journey over unforgiving terrain in order to rescue themselves and their families from death or enslavement. But what’s more remarkable about the film is that its familiarity, to kids and adults alike, is not at all a bad thing.

Snyder, a surprising director commercially (if a perfect one creatively) for material like this, expertly adapts his muscular visual style to the demands of a world filled with warring (if family-friendly) owls, adding another artistic victory with ‘Legend of the Guardians’ to his already impressive track record.