Of remakes stopped, crazy and just plain audacious

I didn't bother to see "Mars Needs Moms," not because the idea of martians kidnapping and killing little kids' moms offended me, but just because I found something better to do (spend the weekend with mi hermano for a couple of epicly good Baseball Project shows.)

It seems, however, that that simple act of ignoring may have been my little part (and probably yours, since I don't think anyone went to see that) in stopping something much more insidious.

Robert Zemeckis, a producer of "Mars Needs Moms," had been plotting a digital remake of "Yellow Submarine," I guess just because he has the technological skills to do such a thing and, well, maybe he's just bored. Well, luckily, it seems the complete failure of "Mars Needs Moms" has led Disney to put the kibosh on that before it really got off the ground. Bully to that.

Another remake that is almost finished has apparently had a late and rather funny change of villainy in hopes of expanding its box office take.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that MGM is changing the villains in "Red Dawn" from Chinese to North Korean in order to keep its access to the humongous Chinese box office. Take a second to let it sink in just how funny that is. The studio is apparently, though not terribly surprisingly, still looking for a distributor for the movie starring Chris Hemsworth, Josh Peck, Josh Hutcherson, Adrianne Palicki, Isabel Lucas, Connor Cruise and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Per the L.A. Times, the changes will cost less than $1 million and will "involve changing an opening sequence summarizing the story's fictional backdrop, re-editing two scenes and using digital technology to transform many Chinese symbols to Korean." Priceless. Actually, I think that might be enough to get me to at least watch this on DVD to see how many accidental Chinese symbols remain.

And in a final word about remakes before a couple of fun videos, it seems that Netflix is making a "bold" movie into "original" programming by paying $100 million or so for David Fincher and Kevin Spacey's remake of the sublime UK TV series "House of Cards." Quotations added by me and fully intended to be facetious.

To acquire the show, which I assume it will then lease to a TV network, Netflix has agreed upfront to a two season, 26 episode commitment, but I really can't see how in the world this is going to catch on.

If you've never seen the original, it stars the late and truly great Ian Richardson as Francis Urquhart, aka F.U., an enterprising Conservative politician who rises through the British Parliament from chief whip all the way to prime minister through increasingly and comically evil means. I just don't see how Spacey or anyone else will be able to pull off his unique brand of malevolence as its translated across the pond.

But only a sucker would bet against Netflix, which now has a rather amazing 61 percent of the streaming content on the Internet (and I must say I've been thoroughly enjoying its all six seasons of "The Larry Sanders Show" - TV perfection.) Stay tuned to find out if this turns out as well as just about everything else Netflix has laid its hands on.

OK, after all that today, all I have is a couple of videos. First up comes the comedy duo of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost taking a break from the set of "Paul" to do a fairly funny "Star Wars" send-up for the folks at College Humor. All the early reviews I've seen so far "Paul" indicate that Greg Mottola's movie will deliver broad sci-fi laughs when it his theaters Friday, so I'm certainly in. Enjoy the video, then stick around for one more.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Finally today, courtesy of Yahoo, here are the first five minutes of "Source Code," director Duncan Jones' follow-up to his sci-fi gem "Moon," which is set to hit theaters April 1. I suppose if you don't know what exactly Jake Gyllenhaal's character is supposed to stop in this flick, the end of this clip is a bit of a spoiler, but since it happens in the first five minutes, I really don't think it can be much of one. I've decided I'll be going to see this flick, which also stars Michelle Monaghan. Enjoy the clip, and have a perfectly endurable Wednesday. Peace out.

A Friday clip cache, aka when will it be safe to go the movies again?

I know this is always the time of year when movies just suck, but am I the only one who thinks that, so far in 2011, the stench has been even stronger than usual? It seems like forever since I've bothered to see a new movie in a theater, and though the Macon Film Festival was a very nice diversion, there has to be some relief in sight in the feature film arena.

And luckily, though there's no chance I'll be seeing either "Hall Pass" or "Drive Angry" this weekend, there is some good stuff right on the horizon. The one I'm most looking forward to in the coming month, as evidenced by the retro poster at the top of this post, is Zack Snyder's "Sucker Punch," which while it may indeed be imagination overkill, I'll take whatever genuine imagination I can get at this point. It opens March 25.

Before that, in fact as soon as next week, there are two entries that will get me to the multiplex for the first time in at least a month: "The Adjustment Bureau," a sci-fi/romantic thriller of sorts starring Matt Damon, Emily Blunt and even Roger Sterling too; and "Rango," the animated Western with Johnny Depp as a chameleon (yes, I have fairly low standards this time of year.)

And the week after, that, I'll certainly take a chance on the "Goth" retelling of "Red Riding Hood" with Amanda Seyfried, and if it somehow plays wide enough, "Sin Nombre" director Cary Fukunaga's take on "Jane Eyre" starring Mia Wasikowska.

So, if you're looking for potentially good movies in wide release again, keep hope alive, and here are two more new trailers for movies coming in the next month or so that I'll bite on. First up comes the first red band trailer for "Paul," and as you'll see, it earns its red status mostly because of the foul-mouthed, titular alien, voiced by Seth Rogen. This will all be extremely silly, but with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost starring in a movie written by them and directed by "Superbad" director Greg Mottola, about the duo discovering the titular (yes, I just like saying that) alien on a road trip to Comic Con, I'm definitely in when this opens March 18 (director Thomas McCarthy's "Win Win," which I'm certainly looking forward to, also opens this day, though I can't see it being wide enough to reach my little corner of the world.) Enjoy the clip.



Next up comes Duncan Jones' followup to "Moon," and though it looks like potentially a pretty generic thriller, I like "Moon" more than enough to take a chance on "Source Code" on April 1. As you'll see from this new trailer, Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a soldier who finds he has the ability to step into the identity of another man for eight minutes in the hopes of stopping a Chicago train bombing. Like I said, time-clock thrillers really aren't my thing, but I'll check this out with somewhat high hopes. Enjoy the trailer, and stick around for some further video odds and ends.



OK, looking further into the future, "The Hangover Part II" is set to come out May 26, and all you can gather from this first teaser trailer is that Todd Phillips at least knows his first "Hangover" movie was very funny (and it was). What it doesn't tell you is that this time the boys (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis) head to Thailand for Helms' character's wedding (I have to assume to the hooker played by Heather Graham in the first movie, but her name's not in the IMDB credits for the new flick, so who knows?) Anyways, enjoy the clip, and keep hope alive that, since they really don't show us much of anything new, they're hiding some really good jokes.



I've been reading George R. R. Martin's first "Game of Thrones" book, and though it's sensational, it's a very complicated realm that should be a challenge to pull off right for TV. But that hasn't stopped HBO, thankfully, from trying, and the "Game of Thrones" series is set to debut on the channel beginning April 17 (bring it on already!) In this, the longest featurette I've seen yet, Martin, show creators David Benoiff and D.B. Weiss, and others explain a bit of what you'll be getting into with this, and just trust me, it's going to be epicly good. Enjoy.



And finally today, if you're lucky enough to live in UK you may have had a chance to see Benedict Cumberbatch (aka Sherlock Holmes in "Sherlock") and Johnny Lee Miller on stage in director Danny Boyle's production of "Frankenstein" at the National Theater. Here, for the rest of us, is the trailer for a version that is coming to at least some theaters in March, and I have to assume will be heading to PBS as soon as this summer or so. Enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant weekend. Peace out.

So, Kevin Smith has made a horror movie. Can that possibly be a good thing?

Actually, before I jump into that, though I don't have the time this morning for anything even approaching a full review, I just wanted to say that if you do one thing this weekend (beyond, of course, celebrating Christmas), go see "True Grit."

Sure, it's a remake, but it's also one of the best movies the Coen brothers have ever made, largely because they restrain themselves and let The Dude and young Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross have a ball. It has more of the humor from the book than the original movie did and a hauntingly perfect score by Carter Burwell. And even though the last five minutes or so is a thoroughly unnecessary coda of sorts, before that, from the point that Josh Brolin and even better, Barry Pepper as Lucky Ned Pepper turn up, it's the best 20 minutes or so I've seen in a movie this year.

So, just go see it already. After that today, I've just got a series of clips that caught my eye, and a "Community" treat at the end since my DVR has missed the show during its Christmas break.

Every time mi hermano hears the name Kevin Smith, he simply calls him a tool, and given the director's most recent public antics, I most often have to agree with him. That said, however, it really looks like he just may have cooked up something fascinating with his upcoming horror movie (yes, really) "Red State."

I try to be a pretty tolerant dude, especially when it comes to religious views, but when you picket soldiers' funerals (and I really still can't understand why in the world they do that) and those of just about anyone else you decide is somehow unworthy, than you go straight to hell in my book. Or end up the model for a horror film by Kevin Smith, which seems to be the all-too-well-deserved fate of the Rev. Fred Phelps.

As you'll see from this teaser trailer for the flick, which is debuting at next year's Sundance Film Festival, Michael Parks plays the preacher here, and Stephen Root, Melissa Leo and John Goodman factor into this too. Enjoy the clip, and then stick around for some more.



I have a sinking feeling that, like most likely "Red State," Miguel Arteta's "Cedar Rapids" won't open wide enough to reach my little corner of the world whenever it drops next year. And that will be a real shame, because as you'll see from this first trailer I know of, it looks like just the broadest kind of comedy, and quite possibly the very funny variety too. Veryfunnyguy Ed Helms of "The Office" stars as an insurance salesman sent to a conference in the titular city, where he encounters John C. Reilly, Anne Heche and assorted other oddballs. Enjoy the clip.



The more I see of "Source Code," Duncan Jones' followup to the rather sensational "Moon" (rent that already!), the more it just looks like the most generic kind of early-year thriller, but here's hoping I'm wrong. Jake Gyllenhaal stars and finds himself transposed into the body of a soldier so that he can stop the impending bombing of a train. These ticking-clock kind of thrillers really are just about my single least favorite little subgenre of movies, but I'll probably give this a chance just for Mr. Jones' sake when it hits April 1. Enjoy the UK trailer.



Before that comes out, I think the movie I'm most looking forward to seeing early next year would be Peter Weir's "The Way Back," which supposedly opens "wide" Jan. 21. Colin Farrell and Ed Harris are the only name stars among a slew of Russian actors in this tale of a group of men who escaped from a Russian gulag in the 1940s. Not the cheeriest of subjects, perhaps, but Weir is a master at grand storytelling, so this should be pretty great. Enjoy this clip of Farrell from the flick, and like I said, stick around for a "Community" treat at the finish.


To watch more, visit www.t5m.com

Of all the shows on hiatus right now, I think I miss "Community" the most, so I guess that makes it my favorite network show right now. And a lot of the spirit of why the show is so great is captured in this Avengers sendup of the cast. I'm not sure who did it, but kudos, because they're all really funny, especially Shirley as the Scarlet Witch and Pierce as the not-terribly-incredible Hulk. Enjoy the picture, have a great Christmas weekend, and go see "True Grit." Peace out.

Get a first look at Duncan Jones' "Source Code"

If you've ever heard the soundtrack for "Crazy Heart" or just seen the movie (which I already have a rather ridiculous three times), you know that among the many things Jeff Bridges does amazingly well is singing real country music.

And so it's not terribly surprising news but good all the same that The Dude is reuniting with producer T-Bone Burnett to record an album. Here's what he said to say about it:

“I’m making an album with T-Bone Burnett right now. After I leave here I’m goin’ to the studio and we’re cutting some more tracks with this band that’s just phenomenal.”

Nothing but goofy awesome there, but it keeps getting better. The band will be called the Royal We (yes, really), and after the album is released "sometime next year," the band will be going on tour. Yes, that's something I'll gladly drive to Atlanta and pay a whole lot of money to see.

And in other news, while here on vacation in New Orleans, and perhaps thanks to some kind of voodoo curse, I seem to have developed the ability to see the future, and here it is: In late January or so of 2013, Daniel Day-Lewis and Steven Spielberg will be taking home at least 10 Oscars.

Yes, the awards show is entirely predictable, even that far in advance, when you know this: DreamWorks Studios just announced that Day-Lewis will take on the role of President Abraham Lincoln in the biopic to be directed by Spielberg.

Not enough prestige for you? The script for this has been penned by playwright Tony Kushner, from the Lincoln biography by presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. All kidding aside, this does indeed sound pretty amazing, and shooting is set to begin in fall of next year (nothing like planning ahead), with an eye on a fall 2012 release.

And after that, all I have today is a trio of clips, but just trust me and stick around until the end for something that may just truly blow your mind (so, I guess it might be a good idea to put some towels on the floor at least to sop up the mess.)

Before that, however, I'll start with the first trailer I know of for Duncan Jones' "Source Code." If you haven't seen Jones' debut film, "Moon," there really are very few rental ideas I could recommend higher. It's just first-rate sci-fi allegory of the kind we rarely see anymore, and Sam Rockwell, who is all alone in just about very frame of this, is astonishingly good (and living proof again that the Oscars are often just all wet.) For his followup, as you'll see from the trailer below, David Bowie's son (yes, really) has recruited Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monagahan to star in some kind of time-clock thriller about a man who briefly inhabits the body of a soldier to stop a massive train bombing. Not exactly my favorite kind of thing, but I'm still confident Jones will come up with something worth watching when this comes out April 15. Enjoy the trailer.



OK, next up comes a clip from a flick I'm really looking forward to, and which I'd imagine should get a bit of a boost from the fact that it stars perhaps the world's two biggest movie stars in Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. "The Tourist," directed by "The Lives of Others" helmer Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (try saying that five times fast) with a script by he and Christoper McQuarrie, is set to come out Dec. 10, and should really be a lot of fun. Enjoy this clip, and like I said, definitely stick around for one more for which the word amazing really does no justice.


'The Tourist' Exclusive Clip

Trailer Park Movies | Myspace Video

Now, I'm well aware that Luc Besson's "The Fifth Element" is just one big mess of a movie, but that's one of the main reasons I adore it and always will. Well, thankfully, so apparently does a singer named Laura Workman McMurtrey, so much that she actually tried to re-create the "Diva Dance" song by Diva Plavalaguna for Leeloo's fight with the Mangalores (did I not say this movie is crazy?) And, even more thankfully, she has the rather remarkable pipes to pull this off. Any more words from me would be a waste of time, so, via badassdigest.com, enjoy this superfantastic clip, and have a great weekend. Peace out.

My (and only my) best movies of the decade: The 2007 edition

Before I get into any of that, it seems there may actually be a good baseball movie in the works, an increasing rarity that's certainly reason to rejoice.

Michael Lewis' "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game" has already had more than a bit of a tortured past. Steven Soderbergh had been attached to direct the story of how Billy Beane turned the Oakland As into a contender on a tight budget, with Brad Pitt set to play Beane, but the plug was pulled on that by Columbia just five days before production was set to begin.

Now, however, director Bennett Miller, who has already appeared on this 10-day extravaganza of my opinions with "Capote," easily one of the best movies of 2005, has been hired to revive the project, with a new script from Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Pitt will still play Mr. Beane, and I love baseball movies so much that this bit of news already has me rather giddy.

But getting back to 2007, the vagaries of time and space have joined forces to engineer an upset of sorts. I've been extolling the virtues of "Ratatouille" for many years now - as if it actually needs my help - but it's been knocked from the top spot by a more serious contender. Read more below to find out what it is.

All in all, 2007 was a really good year for movies - so good in fact that I've cheated a bit this time and let the list go to eleven (as everything really should) to accommodate a movie that was actually made in 1977. And here, just in case it jogs anyone's memory and give you some rental suggestions, is the rather long list of honorable mention movies: "The Lives of Others", "Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls", "Breach", "Starter for 10", "300", "The Namesake", "The Host", "The Wind that Shakes the Barley", "The Lookout", "The TV Set", "Grindhouse", "Waitress", "Eastern Promises", "Michael Clayton", "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford", "The Kingdom", "King of Kong", "Talk to Me", "Control", "Away from Her", "Gone Baby Gone", "Knocked Up", "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", "Shoot 'Em Up", "Across the Universe", "American Gangster", "Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten", "Margot at the Wedding", "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly", "Juno", "Atonement","Sweeney Todd", "Charlie Wilson's War", "There Will Be Blood", "Walk Hard" and "The Orphanage."

Wow. I wouldn't blame anyone for giving up now, but we're just getting started. Here, without any further delaying (in dishonor of Dick Cheney, I've decided to never use the word "dither" again) from me, here are my top 11 favorite movies of 2007, and as usual, please feel free to add any you think I may have snubbed.

"Zodiac"
Most of the complaints I've heard about David Fincher's best movie are what I think actually make it work so well. He does indeed take his time telling the story of the Zodiac killer, and more specifically about two men, a cartoonist and a reporter, who became obsessed with the still unsolved case. Obsession is in fact what this tale is really about, and it's sold perfectly by the performances of Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr.

"Killer of Sheep"
This nearly flawless little movie by Charles Burnett is the entry from 1977 that got its first real theatrical release in 2007. Made as Burnett's thesis film while he was a student at UCLA, it tells the story of a slaughterhouse worker and his family, and how they struggle to get by in Watts living ever so slightly above the poverty line. It's a vivid portrait of American life, and well worth renting on DVD if you've never seen it (I had to check the Netflix to make sure it had ever gotten a DVD release, which it has.)

"Rocket Science"
Speaking of obsession, anyone who's been here before (and there are apparently a few of you) knows I talk about this autobiographical romantic comedy of sorts from director Jeffrey Blitz quite a bit. It's actually a truly terrible title, but this often painfully charming portrait of a teen stutterer who somehow ends up joining the debate team and having his heart ripped out by his debating partner captures the hell that often is high school. It's made a star of Anna Kendrick, who's already garnered some best supporting actress awards for this year's "Up in the Air," and really should have with Reece Thompson, who plays our hero here.

"Once"
I really don't think you can re-create the magic that flowed through this Irish romance from director John Carney, but stars Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard have tried anyway, musically at least, reuniting this year to record a CD as the Swell Season. It's a beautiful record, but be warned: It's all about heartbreak, which has never sounded lovelier. Carney's movie is a musical love story that tells its tale with hardly any budget at all but plenty of humor and heart. I love this movie more than any words from me can really express.

"No Country for Old Men"
Even the Best Picture Oscar for this bleak Western of sorts wasn't enough to get the Coens' latest, "A Serious Man," distribution wide enough to reach my little corner of the world, so I have yet to see it even as it garners plenty of end-of-year kudos. Though "No Country for Old Men" isn't my favorite Coens' work (a tie between "The Big Lebowski" and "O Brother Where Art Thou"), they definitely put their unique stamp on Cormac McCarthy's tale of drugs, money and death in West Texas. Calling it a meditation on violence would be accurate but really understates just how entertaining and darkly witty it is, and in a cast full of macho bravado, Scot Kelly Macdonald certainly deserves more credit than she got for her work as Carla Jean.

"Superbad"
Juvenile as it may be, I'll make no apologies for including this Greg Mottola movie, because it was the most fun I had watching a movie in 2007, and really, what more can you ask for? The dual stories of two teenagers (Michael Cera and Jonah Hill) who just want to get laid and two truly amateur cops (Seth Rogen and Bill Hader) who often act more foolishly than the kids unfold at a brisk "After Hours" pace, and it's just funny from start to finish (and, puerile as it was, I don't think I laughed harder at anything all year than Hill's diatribe about his "ghostbusters lunch box dick treasure chest.")

"I'm Not There"
Todd Haynes' extremely nonlinear bio pic of sorts about Bob Dylan uses six (I think, it has been a while since I've seen this one) different actors, ranging from a young black child (Marcus Carl Franklin) to Cate Blanchett, to play Dylan, but never quite gets to a full portrait of the enigmatic poet. Fittingly, he instead made the movie a kaleidoscopic series of vignettes that add up to a hazy dream that's a joy to behold until it falls off the rails at the end when Richard Gere tries to play Billy the Kid. The best and most tender scenes are shared by the late Heath Ledger and Charlotte Gainsbourg.

"The Savages"
A quick check of the IMDB revealed that director Tamara Jenkins doesn't have any projects listed after this flick, which is a shame, because "The Savages" is a real winner. Laura Linney, a definite Reel Fanatic favorite, and Philip Seymour Hoffman star as the titular "Savages," two brilliant but self-absorbed siblings who finally have to face up to familial responsibility to care for their ailing father, who neither of them have spoken to for 20 years or so. Both are at their best here, and it just perfectly captures this awkward situation which all of us will eventually have to deal with.

"Persepolis"
I recommended this one for a Macon Film Guild screening, and though they took me up on it, I don't think it was a very big hit, unfortunately. Directors Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi bring Satrapi's graphic novel about her life growing up in Iran and Europe to colorful life on the big screen despite animating it most often only in stark black and white. It's a poignant coming of age story packed with plenty of humor as precocious Marji grows into a woman who struggles to feel at home in either the strict world of Tehran or morally looser Vienna, and is just thoroughly entertaining.

"Ratatouille"
Up until about six months ago or so, Brad Bird's best animated movie (by just a nose over "The Iron Giant") reigned as my favorite movie of 2007, and it still holds a lofty position in my heart. In glorious 2-D, which is the only way I ever want to watch animated movies, Paris looks as gorgeous as it would had this been made by Hayao Miyazaki as we meet Remy, the rat who just wants to be a chef. It can be more than a little unsettling as he and his fellow rats take over the kitchen at Gusteau's, but this movie is packed with something sorely missing from almost every animated movie I see nowadays (and I see quite a few): wonder. And besides, it contains easily my favorite scene of 2007 as critic Anton Ego's steely culinary heart is finally melted by Remy's simple dish of ratatouille. Priceless.

"Into the Wild"
My appreciation for this Sean Penn (if you wanna hate, please, keep it to yourself) movie only grew after I went back and read Jon Krakauer's book about doomed American dreamer Christopher McCandless. Comparing the two just reinforces how well Penn condensed the sprawling tale of how McCandless abandoned his promising future after graduating from Emory University to embrace a more than slightly less than traditional lifestyle. If you don't know how this story ends, you won't hear it from me, but Penn treats both McCandless and his suffering parents with respect, keeping this apolitical and just turning it into a great American road movie. In a flick packed with great performances, Emile Hirsch as McCandless and Hal Holbrook and Catherine Keener in supporting roles as people he meets in his travels all deserved to be not just Oscar nominees, but winners. And, in case you couldn't tell, this one has lingered in my mind as my favorite movie of 2007.

So, there you have it. As I said, please feel free to add any of your favorites. I'll leave you with a real oddity. I saw the original "Death at a Funeral," and found it to be an amusing enough diversion. When I heard there was going to be an American remake, I just shrugged it off as something to ignore, but it actually looks mildly intriguing. Somehow directed by Neil Labute, it now features a mostly black cast led by Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence, and the trailer is below. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Tuesday. Peace out.

"Se7en" creators back together again, and lots of other good news

OK, there's a lot of news out there today about movie people I really like, so let's just get right into it. Well, actually, it starts with the director of one of my favorite documentaries jumping into something I'll never see, but it's all gravy after that, I promise.

If you haven't seen "Man on Wire," which I had the pleasure of seeing at the 2008 Rehoboth Independent Film Festival, you're really missing out on a magical documentary. Director James Marsh mixed live footage from tightrope artist Philippe Petit's several stunts with "Cops" style re-enactments that certainly would have been disastrous in lesser hands to make something truly magical. Rent it immediately if you haven't seen it.

Now, however, it seems that Marsh is jumping into fictional features with something I'll never see, both because I have little time for the "found footage" subgenre of horror flicks and also because just as a rule I never see movies that take the rather simple step of demonizing the Vatican. "The Vatican Tapes" will center on a series of events that unfold after a tape gets leaked from the Vatican that displays an exorcism that goes wrong.

Like I said, all that just makes me say a resounding meh, but I've been wrong at least once before, and probably already today.

OK, enough of that, now onto the good stuff ...

"Se7en" team to reunite

You know, when I first heard David Fincher was gonna take on something as crazy as "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," I was sure he'd make it just delightfully twisted, but it was just so banal that it has to qualify as one of my biggest movie disappointments of the last five years or so.

And I should probably keep that in mind before I get too geeked up about this new news, but I just can't help it. It seems that Fincher and "Se7en" screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker are teaming up to take on the Max Ehrlich novel "The Reincarnation of Peter Proud," which is apparently about a college professor who begins having recurring dreams and nightmares and, realizing they are images of a past life, decides to search out the source of his visions.

Sounds just as intriguing as "Benjamin Button" did on paper, but I've decided to put most of the blame for that disaster on screenwriter Eric Roth for making it way too "Gump"-like, and keep the faith that Fincher and Walker can come up with something much better.

And Fincher is about to start shooting a movie based on the creation of "Facebook" (which I'm somehow on), "The Social Network," which was penned by Aaron Sorkin. Yeah, I'll watch that.

"Black Swan" assembling stellar cast

When I first heard that Darren Aronofsky's fifth feature film was going to be something called "Black Swan," a supernatural drama set in the competitive world of New York City ballet and starring Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, you could already count me as at least curious. And now the news about it just keeps getting better.

According to the always very reliable /film, Winona Ryder, Vincent Cassel and Barbara Hershey have all now joined the cast. Ryder will play a rival ballerina who has been getting all the lead parts but is now nearing the end of her career. Cassell will play the director of the ballet school's new production, "Swan Lake," and Hershey will play Portman's character's mother. All sounds great to me, and this apparently is about to starting in NYC very soon (if not now.)

Duncan Jones picks his next project

Duncan Jones' "Moon," which I had the pleasure of seeing at this year's Atlanta Film Festival 365, is easily one of the best movies of 2009, featuring a remarkable performance from Sam Rockwell. If you haven't seen it, rent it as soon as it comes out Jan. 12 and I guarantee that if you like smart science fiction, you'll like this one.

And now it seems that Jones has picked his next project, something called "Source Code." All I really know about that is that it's apparently about "a soldier who wakes up in the body of a commuter who must solve the mystery of a train explosion," and Jake Gyllenhaal is set to play the soldier. Sounds more than a little meh to me, but with Mr. Jones in charge, I'm sure I'll come along for the ride. This is set to go into production early next year.

"Mad Men" creator Weiner hitting big screen

If you watch "Mad Men" (and if you don't, why the heck not?), then you know the season three finale was a real doozy, featuring the simultaneous demise of Don and Bertie's marriage and rise of Sterling, Cooper, Draper and Price. I can't wait to see what will happen next summer, but now it seems that "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner has set up his first feature film from a script he wrote during his "Sopranos" days.

The romantic comedy "You Are Here" will apparently star Jennifer Aniston, Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis, and, because Mr. Weiner clearly has his priorities straight, won't start filming until after Weiner and co. shoot the fourth season of "Mad Men," which was predestined to run for five seasons.

OK, anyone who actually stuck around through all that today certainly deserves a reward, and here's the best I've got. Broken Lizard's "Super Troopers" remains one of my very favorite silly comedies, and one I like to watch once a month or so, but the guys really haven't come close to being even nearly that funny since. Here's hoping their new feature, "Slammin' Salmon," will be a return to form, but I can't say I have terribly high hopes. As you can see from the trailer below, it somehow stars both Michael Clarke Duncan and Cobie Smulders of "How I Met Your Mother." Enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant Tuesday. Peace out.