The first full trailer for The Bourne Ultimatum just hit the internet, so I thought I should share.

From the looks of it, it seems like this third installment is going to be just as good as the first two. Actually, it wasn’t until I saw this trailer that I realized just how brilliantly they’ve presented this franchise. The Bourne Identity was our introduction to Jason Bourne and the agency; Supremecy was about uncovering what the Treadstone project was all about; and now in Ultimatum, we’re finally going to learn who Bourne really was before they “programmed” him. Brilliant.

The Bourne Ultimatum is definitely a SEE IT. It looks like there’s some awesome stunts that really need to be seen on the big screen.

The Bourne Ultimatum is not yet rated and opens August 3. (Official Site)

I’ve been waiting for this one for a long time. I thought that Stranger Than Fiction was the best script written in years, so when I heard that Zach Helm, the writer of Stranger Than Fiction, had another project in the pipeline, my mouth instantly started to water.

Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium looks like a complete 180 from Stranger Than Fiction, and unfortunately, it doesn’t seem nearly as original. However, given the brilliance of his last film, I’m willing to give Mr. Helm the benefit of the doubt. Although Helm has never directed before, I’m confident that Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, and Jason Bateman will keep the film going on the right course. If nothing else, it should be a fun couple of hours.

I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely going to SEE IT.

Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium is not yet rated and opens on Thanksgiving. (Official Site)

Thanks to a tip from Vulture, I’ve been playing around on the Simpsons Movie website, where you can create your very own Simpsons character! It’s entirely too much fun, and I’m quite happy with my own Simpsonification, at left.

(UPDATE: To save your character, hit ‘print screen’ and then paste it into a blank PowerPoint. Crop the image, and then right click on it and save it as a picture. Then you’ll have your own nifty jpeg that you can email to jealous friends.)

Oh and of course, we are going to run and SEE IT when The Simpsons Movie finally comes out on July 27.

At first glance, Interview looks like a vehicle for Sienna Miller to prove whether she is actually an actress, with Steve Buscemi along for the ride. I was on the fence about Interview until I learned that it was directed and adapted by Buscemi.

Interview is the tale of a political journalist (Buscemi) sent to interview a movie star (Miller). After he is slightly injured in a car accident that she indirectly caused, they end up in her loft for a booze-filled night. That’s when things get interesting.

Part of the Triple Theo project, Interview honors the legacy of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh. After van Gogh was murdered in 2004, his producing partners approached New York filmmakers about remaking three of his Dutch-language films in English. Blind Date, directed by Stanley Tucci, is next in the project, followed by a film helmed by John Turturro. All three films will use van Gogh’s crew, cameras, and methods.

I am intrigued by this character drama and the Triple Theo project, so I will definitely RENT IT. Interview is rated R and opens in limited release on July 13. (official site)

I think romantic comedies get a pretty lousy rap. They get labeled as “chick flicks” and are generally looked down upon as not being as well crafted as regular comedies. The “romantic” in “romantic comedy” is just a descriptor, just like “dramatic comedy”, “black comedy”, or “sex comedy.” But for some reason, romantic comedies are like the bastard child of the comedy world: they’re unacknowledged, underappreciated, and for the most part, unwanted.

All that being said, a lot of romantic comedies are utter crap. I can’t stand the ones that rely on stereotypes or invent improbable situations in an attempt to be funny (How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Failure to Launch, I’m looking at you). But a well crafted romantic comedy can be a thing of beauty, just like any other well crafted film from any other genre. And if anyone knows how to create a good romantic comedy, I believe Julie Delpy has the chops for it. If you haven’t seen her in Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, go now, immediately, to your local video rental store and get them. Or Netflix them. Or just buy them, they’re totally worth it. They’re everything you could want from a romance film: endearing, playful, relatable, and heartbreakingly real. In 2 Days in Paris, Delpy takes on the responsibilities of writer, director, and star, and it looks like she rocks out in each role. This is clearly a passion project for her, and I love to see movies that were made by someone who cares about what they’re doing.

Delpy brings Adam Goldberg on board to play neurotic American boyfriend, Jack, to her lovely French girl, Marion. In an attempt to rekindle their relationship, the couple takes a trip to Paris to visit Marion’s parents, and wind up running into a few (OK, a lot) of Marion’s ex-boyfriends. Jack, already overwhelmed by the foreign city and Marion’s boundary-less parents, realizes that his sweet girlfriend may have more of a past than he cares to know about. In less caring hands, this could just be another pointless “fish out of water” story, but I believe that Delpy knows what she’s doing, and Goldberg is far funnier than he gets credit for in Hollywood (especially in the recent role of the “trust fund baby” on Entourage). I’m going to SEE IT in hopes that it will mark the return of the quality romantic comedy.

2 Days in Paris is rated R and opens in limited release August 10. (Official site)

If I had to pick a pair of actors that I never thought I’d see together in a film, Nicole Kidman and Jack Black would probably be at the top of my list (somewhere near Dame Judi Dench and Borat). But yet here they are, together in the latest portrait of a dysfunctional family from writer/director Noah Baumbach. Baumbach also wrote and directed The Squid and the Whale, a portrait of one of the most dysfunctional families I’ve ever seen, so the man knows what he’s doing.

Kidman is Margot, the disapproving and judgmental older sister of Jennifer Jason Leigh’s Pauline, who is engaged to Jack Black’s Malcolm, a role that’s far more serious than what we’re used to seeing him play. Pauline is perfectly happy in her relationship, until Margot arrives and plants the seed of doubt in her brain by bluntly stating that Malcolm is “like the guys we rejected when we were 16.” That seed starts to grow and blossom, causing strain and anger between all three characters.

I liked The Squid and the Whale and I like family dramas that don’t involve my own, but I’m going to wait and RENT IT. Now, if my Judi Dench/Borat vehicle ever gets picked up, that would be something worth paying to see…I’m thinking a comedic update of a Dickens’ novel…

Margot at the Wedding is rated R and opens October 19. No official site yet, here’s the IMDB page.

An English friend of mine recently lent me the box-set of Black Adder, which was the role that Rowan Atkinson used to be famous for, before he morphed himself into Mr. Bean. Though I never saw the first Mr. Bean movie, I have seen a bunch of the television shows, and I’ve never been that impressed. Mr. Bean does some funny gags, but he’s such a one-trick pony that it’s hard to believe that he’s still doing the same act after all these years.

That’s why it was so fascinating for me to watch the Black Adder series. Not only is Rowan Atkinson twenty times funnier as Black Adder than as Mr. Bean, he also plays a completely opposite character. Black Adder is intellegent and his humor witty, while Mr. Bean is moronic and his humor base and immature.

Which begs the question: why is Rowan Atkinson still doing Mr. Bean? He’s clearly got plenty of talent and versatility, and Mr. Bean has clearly overstayed his welcome. So why not morph into a new character? Why not start fresh, as he’s done before?

As for Mr. Bean’s Holiday, I am definitely going to SKIP IT. And hopefully everyone else will to. Maybe then, when this movie totally flops, Rowan Atkinson will finally get the hint that it’s time to stop this Mr. Bean nonsense and try something new.

Mr. Bean’s Holiday is rated G and opens August 24. (Official Site)

I’m not sure when it happened exactly, but somewhere along the way, Russell Crowe stopped being able to lure me into a theater. In the past couple weeks, the trailers for two different Russell Crowe movies have surfaced, both of which I’m semi-interested in, but in both cases, my interest has absolutely nothing to do with Russell Crowe.

American Gangster looks like a great film, but I’m far more excited about seeing Denzel Washington as a bad-guy than I am about seeing Russell Crowe chase him down. And now, with 3:10 to Yuma, I’m a lot more interested in seeing Christian Bale in a Western than I am Crowe.

It’s a strange phenomenon, because Russell Crowe used to be one of my favorite actors. His performances in The Insider, Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind were among the best of all-time. But somehow, since 2001, his star has fallen from the sky.

My hope is that these two films will return Russell Crowe to the kind of actor whose name on a film automatically warrants my $11. For now, however, I’m going to have to pass. The trailer for 3:10 to Yuma just doesn’t make me eager to see it, and getting to see Christian Bale in a cowboy hat just isn’t enough to convince me otherwise. I’m definitely going to RENT IT and watch it at home, though, and I’ll have my fingers crossed the entire time, hoping that Russell can regain my admiration.

3:10 to Yuma is not yet rated and opens October 5.

I have a lot of respect for the Coen brothers. Most directors essentially make the same film over and over, only with different plot-lines. Every Coen brothers film, on the other hand, seems to be a complete 180 from their previous one. And if not for their trademark quirky humor, you’d hardly guess that all of their films were made by the same two brothers.

No Country for Old Men is a perfect example of this. Based on a Cormac McCarthy book, No Country for Old Men seems to be completely different than all of their previous films. Most notably, it appears to be the darkest movie they’ve ever made. And kudos to them for continuing to challenge themselves creatively.

Unfortunately, though, my respect for the Coen brothers usually surpasses my actual appreciation for their films, at least as of late. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Fargo, and The Big Lebowsky is one of my favorite movies, but their last few efforts (Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers) have been a complete waste of both my money and my time. Like I said, I respect their willingness to take creative risks, but I expect those risks to result in something at least a tad bit better than those two stinkers.

I guess what I’m saying is that I’m gonna have to pass on No Country for Old Men. I’ll RENT IT just to be sure, but I refuse to risk my $11 on these guys anymore…just because they like to gamble, that doesn’t mean I have to.

No Country for Old Men is rated R and opens sometime this fall. (Official Site)

Ah, Lindsay, Lindsay, Lindsay, why do you keep making movies that look like they stink? Why? Unlike your (ex?) buddy Paris, you can’t get away with making crappy movies because people know you’re actually talented.

I mean, come on, who didn’t like Mean Girls? Freaky Friday was a gem of a remake. The best part of A Prairie Home Companion was your song at the end. Aside from those movies, you’ve taken some awful career advice lately. It turns out that you cannot open a movie on your own unless it actually has a good script. People can smell “Lindsay Lohan” vehicles coming from a mile away. And boy does I Know Who Killed Me reek. (That is, unless your fans just want to see you as a stripper. That’s right folks, Lilo goes pole dancing in I Know Who Killed Me.)

So, please, Linds, hole yourself up in Vancouver and make an independent ensemble movie for no money. Or star in a big-budget musical adaptation of a Broadway smash. (If Spring Awakening gets made in the next two years, you’ll still be young enough to play the female lead.) You could still become your generation’s Jodie Foster if you play the cards right.

I Know Who Killed Me is rated R and opens on July 27. SKIP IT. (Official site)