This weekend will see the battle of theWs in theaters across America, as moviegoers decide whether they want to watch the world go out with a stunning Pixar whimper in "WALL-E" or see Angelina Jolie make civilization safe for testosterone-based lifeforms in "Wanted". (That's EVE from the former movie above, not Angelina from the latter.)

Not really a contest, in my opinion. "Wanted" will get all the angry young men who wouldn't be caught dead going to a family film until word gets out that "WALL-E" is a visionary sci-fi parable that in some ways is the most grown-up release of the year. Some of the action scenes director Timur Bekmambetov comes up with in "Wanted" blew me away, sure, but I sat through "WALL-E" in sustained, even deepening awe at what Pixar attempts and achieves here. In a way, the film's the successful merging of Kubrick and Spielberg sensibilities -- which is to say profound disenchantment and radiant hope -- that "AI: Artificial Intelligence" wasn't.

That and the R rating for "Wanted" will cut into its ticket sales, so you know who's going to win the box office race. I'm just curious to see to what extent middle America embraces "WALL-E" over the next few weeks. It's a dense movie and, under the surface, a very dark one. This isn't "Finding Nemo". This is better. (And, oh my, look at these reviews.)

If you can't get your brain around a CGI animated movie that you should see even if you don't have kids, there are other choices. Wesley loves the new Fatih Akin movie "The Edge of Heaven," and as a huge fan of the German-Turkish director's "Head-On," I feel duty bound to tell you to check the movie out, even if I haven't seen it myself yet. It's at the Kendall, as is a short, quiet, achingly moving little drama about where sublime faith turns dangerous, "My Father My Lord."

"Brick Lane," about the cultural collision between a Bangladeshi bride and her new country, England, is at the Kendall and the Coolidge. The Brattle brings in "The Tracey Fragments," which per Wesley may test the patience of Ellen Page fans while pleasing those with attention deficit disorder. Also opening this week is "Finding Amanda," which will test the patience of Matthew Broderick fans and anyone who likes good movies.

At the Harvard Film Archive, a weekend of the groundbreaking political documentaries of the late Emile de Antonio. Friday night doubles up "In the Year of the Pig," the 1968 Vietnam doc that now looks like the coolly angry grandaddy to Michael Moore's agitpop, and 1966's "Rush to Judgment," one of the first major JFK assassination-conspiracy works. Saturday gives you a chance to see the riveting "Point of Order," in which de Antonio lets Senator Joseph McCarthy hang himself with his own documentary footage. Good stuff all around.

The "New Cinema from Spain" series finishes up this weekend at the MFA; also showing at the museum is "Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts,"which gets a thumbs up from the Globe's classical music critic Jeremy Eichler.

Oh, and if you're headed out the Turnpike, Mass MOCA in the Berkshires is hosting a cool event tomorrow: An outdoor screening (unless it rains) of the 1973 Bruce Lee classic "Enter the Dragon" with live music accompaniment by DJ/percussionist Karsh Kale.

If you're not headed out at all, there are three Cyd Charisse films on Turner Classics tonight. Good ones, too: if you can't stay up, set your Tivo for "Silk Stockings" at midnight.

Filed under: Casting, New Releases, Celebrities and Controversy, Box Office, Politics

Yesterday's New York Post contained a gossip item in Page Six taken from the book party for James Rosen's The Strong Man: John Mitchell and the Secrets of Watergate in New York, where attendee Tony Danza expressed an interest in playing Richard Nixon aide H.R. Halderman -- maybe in a movie version of Rosen's book. Halderman, who died in 1993, worked for Nixon as White House Chief of Staff until the Watergate scandal landed him eighteen months in prison in 1973. His story, partially recounted in The Strong Man, involved a longstanding relationship with Nixon going back to the 1950s and the tense moments immediately before and after the president's resignation. In between, he was involved in a botched attempt to assassinate Fidel Castro and other tumultuous events dutifully recorded in Halderman's diary, which became available to the public years later.

Many political scandals often revolve around a single corrupt individual, but it's the right hand man whose story can be most revealing. (Roy Cohen's personal drama has way more twists than that of Joseph McCarthy, for example.) There's little doubt that Halderman's experiences would work well on the big screen, but this wouldn't be the first time: IMDb lists no less than five actors who have portrayed Halderman, including James Downing in The Pentagon Papers, as recently as 2003. Would Danza make sense in this role? And will any film have a chance at getting people interested in this story after Frost/Nixon nabs the spotlight later this year?

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Filed under: Action, Paramount, Celebrities and Controversy, Comic/Superhero/Geek, War

Fair warning: This is a slight, trivial, and practically meaningless piece of upcoming movie news -- but it touches on three things we love here at Cinematical: Action movies based on cartoons based on ancient marketing campaigns, horny directors, and fake breasts. Here we go:

According to SFGate's Hot Dish blog, sexy actress Sienna Miller was forced to wear fake hooters so as to accentuate her cleavage in the upcoming G.I. Joe movie. Ms. Miller will be playing The Baroness, and apparently her god-given boobies were not adequate in the eyes of director Stephen Sommers. ("'I'm gonna be honest, I like girls with big boobs," is what the director told her. Strange comment from a guy whose leading ladies have been Famke Janssen, Rachel Weisz, and Kate Beckinsale, three gorgeous women who aren't exactly D-cups.)

Ms. Miller notes that she was "mildly offended" by the breast issue, and I'm kind of surprised that the topic didn't come up before her first costume fitting, but hey ... The Baroness is pretty stacked. Perhaps Mr. Sommers is just trying to remain faithful to the source material -- or yeah, maybe he just likes big boobs. Lord knows the target demographic for G.I. Joe loves boobs. Check out images of Sienna as The Baroness in the gallery below.

...after the jump: more pics!

Continue reading Sienna Miller's New Cleavage: G.I. Whoa!

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Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Newsstand

Movie stars can get a stylist, remove those errant eyebrow and nose hairs, and even get some high-dose skin cleaner to make themselves smooth, shiny, and sexy; if all else fails, there are legions of makeup artists to make the men and women of Hollywood look as hot as possible. But there's not much they can do about their tongue prowess. Sometimes, the smooch or sex scene is so bad that it's even obvious on-screen, and on occasion, movie kissing is so bad that those who were forced to endure it remember the moment forever and tell tales about their bad kissing moments.

Defamer has a list titled: Top Ten Worst Kissers in Hollywood: From the 'Icky' to the 'Sweaty' to Tongues That Taste Like Kitty Litter. The folks at Defamer weren't just guessing in compiling the list -- they've gathered quotes from those unlucky suckers who had to experience it for themselves.

Continue reading Hollywood's Crappy Kissers

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Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, Newsstand, George Lucas, Politics, Comic/Superhero/Geek

This isn't exactly film news, but it was too odd not to share with Cinematical. I honestly thought it had originated at The Onion, and not with the AP!

On Tuesday, George Lucas testified before the House subcommittee on telecommunications and the Internet. His intentions were really very admirable, as he was arguing in favor of reforming the universal service fund, which provides Internet and telephone access in rural, low-income, and high cost areas of the country. Lucas is passionate about education reform, and he testified in favor of making Internet access "a digital civil right," that is free to schools and libraries.

While his intentions were good, the saga of Lucas and the subcommittee quickly became downright goofy. Several lawmakers took advantage of Lucas' appearance to crack Star Wars jokes. Rep. Mike Doyle declared "The universal service fund needs to be blown up like the Death Star," while Rep. Lee Terry compared himself and fellow Representative Rick Boucher to Luke Skywalker, and their opponents to Darth Vader. Our tax dollars at work, people.

Continue reading George Lucas Testifies in Washington D.C. -- Yes, Really!

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