Anyone up to date with BBC‘s Sherlock (turn away now if not) saw Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) jump to his death at the hands of arch-nemesis Moriarty. While he may be a magician of the intellect, Sherlock is still a human and a 60-foot jump onto concrete has a tendency to kill humans. Nevertheless, Sherlock continues to live – a fact made clear by this first official from season three.

While the writers certainly have a hole to dig themselves out of – especially if they don’t want to be seen as “jumping the shark” – there is no shortage of internet theories as to how Sherlock could have faked his death in the moment for them to pursue through and pull from. While probably not a common tactic for show runners, it will be interesting to see how closely their solution to Sherlock’s death hems to the heft of fan theories. One way or another, they’re really gonna need to pull something brilliant to win the trust and confidence of fans.

As evident by the opening scene in the final episode of season two, Martin Freeman‘s Watson has become a man broken by Sherlock’s death. We can expect some fierce butting of heads when Sherlock reveals his latest stunt to just be yet another rouse but could it potentially lead to the end of Watson and Sherlock’s odd friendship?

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All signs at this point are pointing to Jared Leto (Requiem for a Dream) for year’s Best Supporting Actor. Playing Rayon, a real-life transvestite with AIDS, Leto has undergone a serious physical transformation. Having shed 40 plus pounds (he reportedly stopped counting after forty) for the role, Leto has done very little in his acting career for the past ten years, with his last role four years ago.

After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival to rave reviews, much of the love for Dallas Buyers Club was targeted at Leto and his heartbreaking performance. While early prognosticators had Matthew McConaughey secured as a serious contender, many overlooked Leto… until they saw him on screen.

Personally, I’m keeping Leto at my top spot in an otherwise lacking field. Competition is sure to ramp up in the coming Oscar-y months but, for now, that Oscar pretty much belongs to Leto.

Dallas Buyers Club is directed Jean-Marc Vallée and stars Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Gardner, Steve Zahn, and Kevin Rankin. It hits theaters November 1, 2013.

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Jason Reitman, director of Juno, Up in the Air, Thank You For Smoking and Young Adult, returns to the mainstream with Labor Day, a film starring Josh Brolin and Kate Winslet as a pair of strangers forced together by chance.

Depressed single mom Adele (Winslet) and her son Henry offer a wounded, fearsome man (Brolin), who turns out to be a con on the run, a ride home and a place to lie low. As the police turn over the town in search of the escaped convict, Adele and her son gradually learn his true story as their options become increasingly limited. As the Labor Day weekend runs to a close,  Tobey Maguire, Clark Gregg, JK Simmons, Brooke Smith and James Van Der Beek co-star.

Labor Day is directed by Jason Reitman and stars Josh Brolin, Kate Winslet, Tobey Maguire, Clark Gregg, JK Simmons, Brooke Smith and James Van Der Beek. It will not open on Labor Day as it comes to theaters on Christmas Day.

In a bit of a news roundup, I’m trying to cover all the press material literally flying out of X-Men: Days of Future Past. After the success of The Wolverine and the post-credits scenes that more than hinted at the next step in the X-Men film franchise, Days of Future Past is gearing up to pull a bit of an Avengers move in bringing together the entirety of the X-Men film universe.

The first bit is a promo teaser that comes from the perspective of Trask Industries, the enemy in this next installment that threatens to eliminate all of mutantkind once and for all. “Join Trask Industries” it says, “as we celebrate 50 years of the Sentinel program and look forward to an even brighter future.” 

While I’m not quite up to snuff on my X-Men mythology, Sentinels are giant, killer robots seen as the solution to the “mutant problem.” The leader of Trask Inc.? Peter Dinklage. 

Take a look at Dinklage as Bolivar Trask as well as a picture of a full-sized sentinel from the set that director Bryan Singer tweeted earlier today.

Peter Dinklage as Bolivar Trask

Bryan Singer on set with full-sized sentinel.

X-Men: Days of Future Past is directed by Bryan Singer and stars Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Ian McKellen, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Ellen Page, Anna Paquin, Shaun Ashmore, Omar Sy and Evan Peters. It hits theaters on May 23, 2014.

Check out the first pair of pictures from David O. Russell‘s American Hustle featuring Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper and Amy Adams. In his recent past, David O. Russell has directed three actors to Academy Award-wins (Christian Bale and Melissa Leo in The Fighter and Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook), earned four of his actors Academy nominations (Amy Adams in The Fighter, Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver in Silver Linings Playbook) and taken home two directing nominations for himself. Whether this will be the year the O. Russell finally takes home his first golden statute, there is no doubt that he will guide himself and his talented troop of actors to many, many nominations.

American Hustle is the story of a con artist (Bale) and his partner in crime (Adams), who were forced to work with a federal agent to turn the tables on other cons, mobsters, and politicians – namely, the volatile mayor of impoverished Camden, New Jersey. Take a peek at these greatly costumed pics of Bale, Adams, and Cooper. If I was a betting man, I would take out a wager now that all three are nominated this year.

American Hustle is directed by David O. Russell and stars Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, Robert De Niro, Michael Peña, Louis C.K. and Amy Adams. It opens in limited theaters on December 13 and opens wide on December 25.

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Following up on the unexpected success of the Rise of the Planet of the Apes, this second, or seventh (or eighth if you count the Tim Burton version) installment in the 45 year-old franchise, entitled Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, goes 15 years into the future to see how well the apes and humans are getting along. Above, you see Caesar (Andy Serkis) and his ape tribe brought to life by the technical wizards over at WETA.

While director Rupert Wyatt stepped out, Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In) has stepped in as director to tell the story of Caesar, the apes and the last stand of humanity.Serkisreturns as Caesar but otherwise the cast is entirely new with James Franco stepping out of the lead role that he filled in the first installment. Joining Serkis are newcomers Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Judy Greer, Jason Clarke and Kodi Smit-McPhee

Similar to the mid-credits sequence in the conclusion of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, this promo video takes the stance of a PSA, warning humans about the risks of Simian Flu. It’s a pretty nifty little piece of marketing and I appreciate the novel approach that they’re going after.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is directed by Matt Reeves and stars Andy Serkis, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Judy Greer, Jason Clarke and Kodi Smit-McPhee. It hits theaters July 18, 2014.