Russell Crowe will join Leonardo DiCaprio in "Body of Lies," the William Monahan-scripted adaptation of the David Ignatius novel that Ridley Scott will direct for Warner Bros.

Crowe will play Ed Hoffman, the manipulative CIA boss who teams with operative Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) to trap a dangerous Al Qaeda leader by planting a false rumor that the bomber is in cahoots with the Americans.

Wes Anderson's "The Darjeeling Limited," will open the 45th New York Film Festival.

Starring Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman, "The Darjeeling Limited" is described as "an emotional comedy about three brothers re-forging family bonds on a train ride across the vibrant and sensual landscape of India." Anjelica Huston is also featured in the Fox Searchlight release, co-written by Anderson, Roman Coppola and Schwartzman.

Another Knocked Up deleted scene, this time it is a thoughtful abortion debate.

This just became one of most anticipated movies. It features my two favorite actors named Paul. Paul Giamatti and Emily Mortimer have signed on to star in the indie comedy PRETTY BIRD for actor turned writer/director Paul Schneider (All the Real Girls). The film will star Giamatti as Curt, a lovable loser who believes he can invent a rocket belt that will bring him fame and fortune. He enlists the help of friends and trouble arises when they actually succeed and they begin turning against each other. Mortimer will play Mandy, the "Director of Marketing" for their operation. Giamatti will also produce the film along with his wife Liz.

Good Cop, Baby Cop.

Ryan Gosling is set to star opposite Rachel Weisz in Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones for DreamWorks, reports Variety.

The movie tells the story of Susie Salmon, who is murdered, but continues to observe her family on Earth after her death. Although she is detached from the world she once knew, Susie witnesses the impact of her loss on her loved ones, whilst her killer skillfully covers his tracks and prepares to murder again. In a tone that is both emotionally truthful, and darkly humorous, Susie tries to balance her desire for vengeance against the love she feels for her family and her need to see them heal; and ultimately comes to understand that the concept of family can encompass both the living and the dead.

Gosling will play the girl's father; Weisz plays the mother.

Slashfilm.com has the first (via Entertainment Weekly) pictures from Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited. Follow the link to see a few more scans.

From IndianaJones.com. Steven Spielberg snapped a photo of Harrison Ford on the set of the new Indiana Jones movie and it looks like...Indiana Jones.

The trailer for Into the Wild. The story immortalized in Jon Krakauer’s 1997 novel, now brought onscreen with a film directed by Sean Penn. It features top notch cast including Emile Hirsch, William Hurt, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener, and Marcia Gay Harden.

The final image of Emile Hirsch in the trailer is eerily similar to the photo of Christopher McCandless' photograph from the book.

From MTV's Movie Blog its the first image from Spike Jonze’s adaptation of the classic children’s novel "Where the Wild Things Things Are", written by Dave Eggers.

The poster for Woody Allen's next film.

Variety has the first trailer for Noah Baumbach's next film, Margot at the Wedding.

Roger Ebert has an article up on the AFI list.

Here is a link to the new AFI list that shows the the number of positions changed from the last list to this new one.

Some of the other big winners (besides to two mentioned below) are City Lights which moved up 65 spots, Unforgiven which moved up 30, and The Deer Hunter moving up 26 spots.

A few that actually went down in the list are The African Queen moving down 48 spots, Ben Hur down 28, and A Clockwork Orange 24 spots. Of course there are a few films that were left off the list this time that appeared on the last one, most notably Fargo.

Te AFI has posted their 100 Greatest Films of All Time. The AFI has seen fit to correct a previous error and has bumped Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo to #9 from #61. The three films that seemed to move up this most was Vertigo from #61 to #9, The Searcher from #96 to #12. I was happy and surprised to see Raging Bull move all the way up into the the top five, it really is one of the greatest movies of all time. It was nice to see something somewhat modern move ahead of the usual picks. Citizen Kane was the only film in the top ten that stayed in the same position from the last time AFI did this. You can see the original list here.

100. Ben-Hur
99. Toy Story
98. Yankee Doodle Dandy
97. Blade Runner
96. Do The Right Thing
95. The Last Picture Show
94. Pulp Fiction
93. The French Connection
92. Goodfellas
91. Sophie's Choice
90. SWING Time
89. The Sixth Sense
88. Bringing Up Baby
87. 12 Angry Men
86. Platoon
85. A Night at the Opera
84. Easy Rider
83. Titanic
82. Sunrise
81. Spartacus
80. The Apartment
79. The Wild Bunch
78. Modern Times
77. All the President's Men
76. Forrest Gump
75. In the Heat of the Night
74. The Silence of the Lambs
73. Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid
72. The Shawshank Redemption
71. Saving Private Ryan
70. A Clockwork Orange
69. Tootsie
68. Unforgiven
67. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
66. Raiders of the Lost Ark
65. The African Queen
64. Network
63. Cabaret
62. American Graffiti.
61. Sullivan's Travels
60. Duck Soup
59. Nashville
58. The Gold Rush
57. Rocky
56. Jaws.
55. North by Northwest
54. M*A*S*H
53. The Deer Hunter
52. Taxi Driver
51. West Side Story
50. The Lord of the Rings
49. Intolerance
48. Rear Window
47. Streetcar Named Desire
46. It Happened One Night
45. Shane
44. The Philadelphia Story
43. Midnight Cowboy
42. Bonnie and Clyde
41. King Kong.
40. The Sound of Music
39. Dr. Strangelove
38. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
37. The Best Years of Our Lives
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai
35. Annie Hall
34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
32. The Godfather Part II
31. The Maltese Falcon
30. Apocalyse Now.
29. Double Indemnity
28. All About Eve
27. High Noon
26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
25. To Kill a Mockingbird
24. E. T
23. The Grapes of Wrath
22. Some Like It Hot
21. Chinatown
20. It's a Wonderful Life
19. On the Waterfront
18. The General
17. The Graduate
16. Sunset Boulevard
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey
14. Psycho
13. Star Wars
12. The Searchers
11. City Lights
10. The Wizard of Oz
9. Vertigo
8. Schindler's List
7. Lawrence of Arabia
6. Gone with the Wind
5. Singin' in the Rain
4. Raging Bull
3. Casablanca
2. The Godfather
1. Citizen Kane.

The worst movies ever and in six easy catergories. I've acutally seen the first movie on this list, Enter the Ninja.

I was too lazy to write something of my own about this so I am just going to copy and past, but count me excited. I just rewatched Scorsese on Scorsese today and Taxi Driver the night before. This before making everyone rewatch The Departed on Saturday night. The story is from deadlinehollywood.com.

"While recently promo-ing his The Good Shepherd, Robert De Niro said he had one particular desire over all: to do two more movies with Martin Scorsese and make it an even 10 they did together. I can report that No. 9 is underway. De Niro has long had lined up The Winter of Frankie Machine, based on the book about a retired hit man, and now I'm told that Scorsese is set to direct it for Paramount under his deal there.

Crime writer Don Winslow wrote the book the hit man who's hounded out of a respectable retirement as the target of a hit himself. Despite his own history of brutality, the protagonist is actually quite likable -- which explains why the manuscript was snapped up by De Niro even before it was published.

For the record, here are their 8 pics together: Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, New York New York, Raging Bull, The King Of Comedy, Goodfellas, Cape Fear, and Casino. I hear Scorsese will get started right after his Rolling Stones project. Another mob movie: what could be better?"

Interview

This film is basically one long conversation extended throughout the night. Of course it's the kind of conversation that could only happen in movies but that is no fault. It has twists and turns that you don't see coming and then wraps itself up in an unexpected but not false way.

This is actually one of Steve Buscemi's better performances, just as good is Sienna Miller as the spoiled actress brat. The two carry the film and what could have become a boring night of talk actually keeps you guessing what will happen next. The duo are funny one minute and drop dead serious the next and they don't seem to be acting so much as reacting to the other character.

This is a good film but it's not the kind of movie you are going to want to watch again and again. It's almost more of and experiment that is fascinating to watch.

Trivia from the Steve Buscemi Q & A after the movie:

-Said the correct way to pronounce his last name is Malkovich.

-He thought The Sopranos finale was brilliant.

-This role and his role in Ghost World were his most demanding.

The Hollywood Reporter says Marc Forster, director of Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland, and Stranger Than Fiction, will helm Daniel Craig's next outing as James Bond, 007. This after several different names had been rumored, including (at one point) the possible return of CASINO ROYALE director Martin Campbell.

I would have personally liked Campbell to return since I thought he did such a great job with the last one but Forster is an interesting choice. He has never really made an film with action on this level but but dramatically he is solid. Later this year he will be releasing The Kite Runner, based on Khaled Hosseini's best-selling novel.

Reuters reports that Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna are filming Rudo y Cursi on Mexico's Pacific coast. The dramedy was written and is being directed by Carlos Cuarón, who with brother Alfonso co-wrote Y tu mamá también, which also starred the duo.

Rudo y Cursi, which broadly translated means "Rough and Corny," is a tale of love and hate between professional soccer-playing brothers played by Luna and Garcia Bernal.

The greatest album cover of all time.

The trailer for my most anticipated movie of the year, There Will Be Blood.

A trailer for a modern day Dante's Inferno told using cardboard cut outs.

From Entertainment Weekly.

This is from Jim Emmerson's (editor for rogerebert.com) blog. It's a few quotes from the finale of The Soprano's that supports how the show ended and debunks the theory that Tony got whacked.

"In the midst of death, we are in life, heh? ... Life goes on..."
-- Paulie Walnuts,

Meantime life outside goes on all around you.
-- Bob Dylan, "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)"

Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on
-- Journey, "Don't Stop Believin'"

He has a much longer article about the finale on his blog.

Since my last post I thought I would do a list of my most anticipated releases for the rest of the year. I'm sure this will change over the coming months but as of right now these are a few of the movies I'm looking forward to seeing. They are in order of release date (which of course are subject to change).

Into the Wild
Emile Hirsch, Vince Vaughn, William Hurt, Catherine Keener
W/D: Sean Penn

Margot at the Wedding
Nicole Kidman, Jack Black
W/D: Noah Baumbach

American Gangster
Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe
D: Ridley Scott

Reservation Road
Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo
D: Terry George

Beowolf
Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie
D: Robert Zemeckis

Charlie Wilson's War
Tom Hanks, Juilia Roberts, Amy Adams
D: Mike Nichols

A few movies without release dates yet.

Stop-Loss
Ryan Phillippe, Abbie Cornish
D: Kimberly Pierce

Rescue Dawn
Christian Bale
D: Werner Herzog

I don't have my two most anticipated movies on here (There Will be Blood, The Darjeeling Limited) because I couldn't find any release date info about either. Of course other films will be added to this list as time goes on and some may even be taken off. This is a work in progress.

Variety has the first trailer for Joel and Ethan Coens' No Country for Old Men. For some reason the trailer is in full frame instead of whatever aspect ratio the Coens' shot it in, either way is still looks fantastic. This isn't my most anticipated movie of the year (two directors with the last name of Anderson probably hold that title) but it is definitely near the top of the list.

Looks like Oliver Stone is going back to Vietnam. He has a new project called PINKVILLE aka "One Day in March" about the My Lai massacre during the Vetnam War. The My Lai Massacre, was the massacre of hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians, mostly women and children, by U.S. soldiers on March 16, 1968, in the hamlet of My Lai, during the Vietnam War. It prompted widespread outrage around the world and reduced American support at home for the war in Vietnam.

Sean Penn & Channing Tatum are attached.

Apparently a member of The Office may be getting a spin off. Fox News is reportingthat Dwight Schrute could be getting his own show. Rainn Wilson somewhat confirmed that talks are in place at a post Tonys party.

I'm torn on the idea. While I would like more of anything from The Office a whole half hour of Schrute could become tiresome. Then again, they haven't screwed up on the show yet so maybe they know what they are doing.

Clark and Michael have three new episodes up on their website, view them here.

Rachel Weisz has signed on to star in Peter Jackson's adaptation of "The Lovely Bones".

Based on the 2002 best-seller, the story is told through the voice of Susie Salmon, a young girl who is murdered but continues to observe her family on Earth after her death.

She witnesses the impact of her loss on her loved ones, while her killer skillfully covers his tracks and prepares to murder again.

Weisz will play the mother of the dead girl, a role that will be expanded in the film.

From and Associated Press article, David Chase talking about The Sopranos finale.

"Sopranos" fans who thought the series' open-ended conclusion was a setup for a movie may be in for disappointment: creator David Chase says it isn't so.

Chase went to France before the airing of the much-debated finale of the HBO series because he wanted to avoid what he called "all the Monday morning quarterbacking." But like a true New Jersey loyalist, he granted one interview to The Star-Ledger of Newark, which posted his comment early Tuesday on its Web site.

"I don't think about (a movie) much," he told the paper. "I never say never. An idea could pop into my head where I would go, `Wow, that would make a great movie,' but I doubt it.

"I'm not being coy," he added. "If something appeared that really made a good `Sopranos' movie and you could invest in it and everybody else wanted to do it, I would do it. But I think we've kind of said it and done it."

Chase said he would leave it to fans to interpret the show's last scene for themselves. It featured the members of the Soprano family arriving for dinner as Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" plays. Others in the restaurant include a man in a Member's Only jacket who goes to the bathroom, which some fans have interpreted as a nod to the scene in "The Godfather" in which Michael Corleone retrieves a gun from thebathroom before a shooting.

As the music and tension build, the screen suddenly goes silent and dark.

"I have no interest in explaining, defending, reinterpreting, or adding to what is there," said Chase, 61, who grew up in North Caldwell.

"People get the impression that you're trying to (mess) with them, and it's not true. You're trying to entertain them," he said. "Anybody who wants to watch it, it's all there."

Another problem with a movie is that so many characters died in the last season. Chase said he has considered "going back to a day in 2006 that you didn't see, but then (Tony's children) would be older than they were then andyou would know that Tony doesn't get killed. It's got problems."

Chase also elaborated on how he decided to make the Journey classic the last music played on the series.

"It didn't take much time at all to pick it, but there was a lot of conversation after the fact. I did something I'd never done before: In the location van, with the crew, I was saying, `What do you think?' When I said, `Don't Stop Believin',' people went, `What? Oh my God!'

"I said, `I know, I know, just give a listen,' and little by little, people started coming around."

Lauren sent this to me.

James Franco gets fired as lead role in Knocked Up

Gael Garcia Bernal (Babel, The King), Danny Glover, and Alice Braga (City of God) are set to join Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo in Fernando Meirelles' apocalyptic drama Blindness. The story is based on Jose Saramago's novel about an epidemic of blindness that sweeps through a contemporary city and pushes society to the brink of breakdown. Bernal will play the King of Ward 3, and Glover will narrate the story. Braga will portray the girl with the dark glasses, whatever that means.

Meirelles is probably the best "new" director working today. City of God and The Constant Gardner are both some of the best movies over the past few years so I have all the hope in the world for this new movie.

The ten best superhero scenes.

Apparently last weekend Richard Roeper and guest critic Christy Lemire also did a list of the best movies of the year so far. Roeper named The Lookout the best of the year and Lemire said the same about Knocked Up.

I would add three of the films listed below to my list, Zodiac, Hot Fuzz, and Death Proof all deserve to be on their I just forgot about them. The rest of their list...

Roeper's top films:
Zodiac
300
The Hoax
Grindhouse

Lemire's:
Hot Fuzz
Away from Her
The Lives of Others
Once

We are half way through the year so I thought I would look back and see what have been the best movies of the year so far. Presented in alphabetical order.

Black Snake Moan - "I ain't gonn' be moved on this. Right or wrong, you gonn' mind me. Like Jesus Christ said, "Imma suffa' you. Imma suffa' you!" Get yo ass back in my house!"

Killer of Sheep - I know this actually didn't come out this year but it's just now getting the theatrical release it deserves.

Knocked Up - Easily the funniest movie this year, it would probably be the funniest movie of any year.

The Lookout - This movie has grown in my mind since seeing it. I liked it but everytime I think back it just keeps getting better and better.

Once - By far the best Dublin set modern day musical I have ever seen.

Ocean's 13

Ocean's 13 is exactly what you want from a summer blockbuster. Endlessly entertaining, it looks great, and when it's over you don't really have to think about. You just know you spent two hours having a good time in the theater and that is enough. By no means is this the greatest thing to ever happen, but it's not trying to be.

The action returns to Vegas this time and the whole movie has a 60's European movie vibe. Split screen montages, jazzy music, camera zooms all add to this. This is much closer to the original film than Ocean's 12.

There is a plot but it doesn't really matter. The story plods along and gets better as it goes. By the final heist I had a smile on my face, not so much for the story mechanics but because the whole thing was just so much fun. And how can you not be? These films are basically just an excuse for these actors to get together and hang out and its just nice to be able to go along with the ride.

The timing on this commercial is perfect, especially the end joke with Ellen. Everything Martin Scorsese says is comedy gold.

A really interesting article on crazy director Tony Kaye (American History X).

Apparently not everyone thought The Sopranos finale was as brilliant as I did. Below is from Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood website. She is basically calling for David Chase's head and wants to cancel her subscription to HBO because of the final scene, which again, I thought was fantastic.


"The line to cancel HBO starts here. What a ridiculously disappointing end lacking in creativity to The Sopranos saga. But if you're one of those who found it perversely interesting, then don't bother to read on. Even if David Chase, who wrote and directed the final episode, was demonstrating the existential and endless loop of Tony's life or the moments before the hit that causes his death, it still robbed the audience of visual closure. And if it were done to segue into a motion picture sequel, then that kind of crass commercialism shouldn't be tolerated. (I just checked with Chase's manager and Sopranos' executive producer Brad Grey, who tells me that Chase is living in France and "just taking time off. There is absolutely no discussion of the movie.") There's even buzz that the real ending will only be available on the series' final DVD. Either way, it was terrible. Apparently, my extreme reaction was typical of many series' fans: they crashed HBO's website for a time tonight trying to register their outrage. HBO could suffer a wave of cancellations as a result. (Already, the pay channel's replacement series like John from Cincinnati are getting panned.) Chase clearly didn't give a damn about his fans. Instead, he crapped in their faces. This is why America hates Hollywood. Unlike some network series that end abruptly because broadcasters pull the plug without warning, The Sopranos has been slated for years to go off the air tonight. But instead of carefully crafted, this finale looked like it had been concocted in a day or two. (Some of the scenes were cut so abruptly, they caused whiplash.) Let's not forget that, in later years, Chase had to be dragged kicking and screaming back to the computer to write more episodes against his will even though The Sopranos made him rich beyond what's reasonable. Especially now that it's in syndication. (See my A&E's Profanity-Free Tony Soprano A Hit.) Chase needed to exert himself to a concoct an artful denouement. But he took the lazy way out. The show we all loved deserved a decent burial. Instead, it went into a black hole. Already, some TV critics like The New York Times' Alessandra Stanley are claiming that Chase fulfilled expectations by defying expectations. And the blogosphere is busy dissecting every final moment, with some wanting to see profundity in the screen going black because of Tony's conversation with Bobby -- you wouldn't even know it had happened: everything would just go black. Or making a game of the foreshadowing moments -- the jukebox song below "Don't Stop Believing" was "Any Way You Want It". Phooey. The Nielsen reality is that people don't watch TV closely anymore, much less remember what went on from week to week, to give such a subtle ending its proper due. Besides, The Sopranos was not a show that went on inside your head. It was a richly visual series whose most memorable moments were graphic and in your face and damn proud of it. Like Tony, it was defiant. This was whimpering. If you're angry at wasting an hour, complain with your wallets."

From the Entertainment Weekly recap of The Sopranos finale. This paragraph perfectly sums up the great episode.

"Nevertheless, Chase had a grand time in his almost playful home stretch, offering a clue-strewn valedictory episode and a beautifully unresolved stopping point — not so much a conclusion as a curtain coming down, with the suggestion that in this thing of theirs, these people will continue to go about their business, even if we're not around to see them doing so."

"Pirate Master" will move to a new timeslot. The show will receive a special one-night airing after the "Big Brother" premiere, then shift on July 10 to Tuesdays at 9. Apparently it's not doing so great in the ratings. I can see why, the second episode wasn't quite as fun as the first. The challenges the contestants compete in are a bit on the boring side, they basically consist of a group of people walking, running, or swimming. Not the most interesting thing to see on television. I still love all the action on the ship though and I was sad to see the Nigerian Nightmare sent adrift.

Tom Wolfe and acclaimed filmmaker Gus Van Sant are teaming up for an adaptation of Wolfe's 1967 hallucinogenic novel "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" reports Variety.

The story follows the 1964 cross-country bus trip from California to New York that author Ken Kesey and a group called the Merry Pranksters.

Along the way they took, and freely encouraged others to take, vast amounts of LSD which inspired Kesey to write his most famous work - "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

Van Sant will direct, and Lance Black ("Big Love") will write the script. The story will focus on Kesey and include events that occurred after the road trip.

Bill Murray will star in "City of Ember," with Gil Kenan directubg and Playtone partners Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman are producing. Kenan's first film was Monster House, which was fantastic.

Toby Jones ("Infamous") and Saoirse Ronan ("Atonement") also star.

The script is about an insular, dark place where the only light comes from street lamps. As the power source begins to fail, two teenagers search for clues that will unlock ancient mysteries about the city but they are thwarted by a corrupt mayor. Murray will play said mayor.

So The Sopranos concluded last night and it ended on a perfect note. It was so unexpected I had to rewind my television twice to make sure that is how it really ended, it was the television equivalent of the final chapter of Ulysses. For a show of this nature it was the perfect ending to a series filled with unexpected twists and turns and the final scene perfectly showed what life was like for Tony Soprano.

Apple has the trailer up for I Am Legend. The movie stars Will Smith as the last survivor of a plague living in a lonely New York City until a group of vampire-mutants reveal themselves. The trailer actually looks better than I thought it would but with very little dialogue who is to tell how the entire movie will turn out.

Richard Matheson's story has already been a comic adaptation and two feature films, THE OMEGA MAN and THE LAST MAN ON EARTH

A review of the new collection of Woody Allen short stories, Mere Anarchy. It also serves as a lookback at the other collections of Allen's works.

From the creators of The State, the trailer for The Ten.

Premiere has an article up about 20 films stuck in development hell. I love reading articles like this even though they extremely frustrating in a "what could have been" way. My favorite anecdote is that The Rock was set to star in the next Robert Altman movie.

Matt Damon will reteam with his "Bourne" director Paul Greengrass on an adaptation of "Imperial Life in the Emerald City" for Universal reports Variety (whose website has almost become impossible to look at due to pop up ads everytime you open a new window).

Damon would play a composite character based on figures in Washington Post scribe Rajiv Chandrasekaran's book about chaos in Iraq.

Someone has posted the making of The Shining on Youtube. The documentary was shot by Vivian Kubrick, Stanley Kubricks daughter. I have seen this before, but I can't remember where or when. It's interesting just to see how Kubrick treated Shelley Duvall, basically having her in tears the entire shoot.

John Hurt has joined the previously-announced Cate Blanchett and Ray Winstone in Indiana Jones 4, while Sean Connery has made it official that he won't be returning. Here's part of the official press release:

"I get asked the question so often, I thought it best to make an announcement. I thought long and hard about it and if anything could have pulled me out of retirement it would have been an Indiana Jones film. I love working with Steven and George, and it goes without saying that it is an honor to have Harrison as my son. But in the end, retirement is just too damned much fun. I, do however, have one bit of advice for Junior: Demand that the critters be digital, the cliffs be low, and for goodness sake keep that whip by your side at all times in case you need to escape from the stunt coordinator! This is a remarkable cast, and I can only say, 'Break a leg, everyone.' I'll see you on May 22, 2008 at the theater!"

The trailer for Werner Herzog's Rescue Dawn. I'll see pretty much anything with Christian Bale in it, this thinking did lead me to my least favorite movie of last year though. This, however, looks much better.

Spike Lee is going to make a World War II Drama. This is good news, I'll watch pretty much anything based in or around World War II and also feel that every great director eventually makes a war film. It will be an Italy-set World War II drama based on "Miracle at St. Anna," U.S. author Walter McBride's novel about black American soldiers fighting the German army in the mountains of Tuscany.

The project is about the true tale of four members of the U.S. army's 92nd division of all-black soldiers, who in 1944 became trapped in a Tuscan village, as they contended with their racist, incompetent commanders and the Nazis.

Every month when I get the Criterion newsletter it comes with one of these animals previewing what will be released soon from the collection. They drive me absolutely crazy. I really wish they could just tell me instead of making me wait until the next month when I will have forgotten what the damn animal told me from the month before.

A trailer for the Ridley Scott directed Denzel Washington/Russell Crowe starring American Gangster. It looks a bit like a 70's set Departed, even down to the cityscape going throughout the title.

A few posters from the Cannes Film Festival and a production poster for Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut. You can see more here.

A few scenes from Killer of Sheep.

According to Variety David Gordon Green's new comedy Pineapple Express will open on August 8, 2008.

Produced by Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin helmer Judd Apatow, comedy stars Seth Rogen, James Franco, Danny R. McBride, Gary Cole, Rosie Perez, Amber Heard and James Remar.

Killer of Sheep (1977)

Killer of Sheep is perfect in its imperfections. The soundtrack hisses and pops and the photography is sometimes muddled in too much darkness but these hiccups just add to its overall appeal. It's almost like you are discovering the movie rather than watching it.

With no discernible plot this film is like a mix of David Gordon Green's George Washington (it had to be a big influence), early John Cassavetes movies and the Italian neorealists films from the 50's. You follow a group of adults and children in their everyday life set in the inner city. Children play and throw rocks at trains, adults complain about work and try to fix the engines on cars.

This was writer/director Charles Burnett's first feature and his thesis for his MFA in film at UCLA. It was started in 1973 but not completed until 1977, shot with a mostly unprofessional cast on the weekends. It has an episodic nature because of this with most of the photography being gritty, almost documentary in style. This adds another layer to the film. These are people living their lives, nothing seems false.

"The drawer opened with a bang. The thing was a record. It was the “Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” for the 007 movie “Thunderball.” I looked at the picture on the album cover of two men wrestling underwater, and my heart throbbed, like a thunderball. I stood up quickly, and my head swelled with blood, like a thunderball. I knew what I had to do; it was massive and unavoidable, like a thunderball. I had a soundtrack; now all I needed was an original motion picture"

-A Mirandy July article from The New Yorker.

Apparently the image below may or may not be official, it's definitely not finalized with none of the credits listed other than the actors. Either way it's really the first material I have seen from I'm Not There and I like it. It does a good job showing the actors in the movie without resorting to the floating head method (see post below).

This is probably that most annoying case I have come across of posting the names of actors and their faces in a different order.

"Among the six or seven of us, we all had the staple elements—Swiss Army knife, wrist rocket, eye black, as many bandannas as possible—so the equipment modifications and additions became key. I brought my homemade nunchaku (two long dowels tied together with a shoelace), wore the biking gloves I’d painted to look like Mel Gibson’s, and taped a steak knife to my leg. (I always liked to have some kind of knife taped to my calf.)"

-From Dave Eggers article on summer movies from his childhood.

An interview with Judd Apatow.

"Midnight in Barcelona" is tipped to be the title of Woody Allen's new film to shoot this Summer in Barcelona and star Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, and Penelope Cruz.

Harold Ramis is back in the Judd Apatow business with a new comedy starring Jack Black and Michael Cera called Year One. Ramis says he will direct Year One based on a story he developed.

The movie, set up at Sony, will mark the first time Jack Black has appeared in an Apatow film. Year One will mark a reunion with Apatow for Cera, who stars in the forthcoming Apatow-produced Superbad. The plot of Year One is being kept under wraps, but Ramis has brought in two writers from The Office (Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg) to flesh it out.

An interview with Seth Rogen.

Knocked Up

This is easily one of the best movies I have seen all year, I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard in the theater. The minute I left the theater I was ready to see it again, I wanted to hang out with the actors and actresses and live in the movie.

Everybody in the film is great and I can't think of a better group of actors to share scenes. These people feel like real friends and family, not just for the movie. Everyone has a relaxed sensibility that fits perfectly within this story.

The best comedies come from real life and all the situations in this feel real. Not everything is tidied up at the closing credits, there are a few loose threads just like life. There are some tender moments too, not that it contains any heavy drama but there are heartfelt moments that ground the film. Funny and honest this is American comedy at its best.

I'm not sure how long this streak is going to last for Judd Apatow but everything he touches seems to turn to comedy gold. With the 40 Year-Old Virgin and now this he has placed himself in the upper echelon of comedy directors. Knocked Up is an instant classic.

Charlie Kaufman and Producer Spike Jonze talk about shooting his directorial debut, Synecdoche, New York.