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M. Night Shyamalan makes me sad. He showed such promise with "Unbreakable" and "The Sixth Sense," both of them inventive genre films that over and over again zigged when you were expecting a zag. He quickly became known for inserting clever story twists into his movies, and I think that expectation is at least part of what made subsequent efforts "Signs," "The Village," "Lady in the Water" and "The Happening" so underwhelming. Recently released "The Last Airbender" stands apart from the rest of his oeuvre.

There's no denying that Shyamalan has some great ideas, but I think his craft has suffered somewhat from the expectations set by his earlier work. "The Last Airbender" is a good palate cleanser; it'll be interesting to see how this mysterious Bradley Cooper/Gwyneth Paltrow/Bruce Willis project shapes up. For now though, I'm more excited by "Devil," which credits Shyamalan with the story while leaving the writer and director heavy lifting to Brian Nelson and Drew & John Erick Dowdle ("Quarantine" writers), respectively.

There's a new trailer which you can peep after the jump. Read more...

Tags Brian Nelson, Devil, Drew Dowdle, John Erick Dowdle, M. Night Shyamalan

For the second time this week, Tyrese Gibson earns Daily TwitPic honors. On Tuesday you got a look at his "Transformers 3" costume, complete with nasty-looking machine gun. Today you get Tyrese hanging with some of his fellow "Fast Five" cast members, including Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and the recently confirmed Ludacris. This time, the lot of them are toting firearms.

Absent is Dwayne Johnson, who confirmed to us last month that he'll be in the movie. Given his role though, it's no surprise that he's not pictured. Johnson will play "a really unique U.S. Marshal who is hired to hunt and track down Vin Diesel and Paul Walker." He's a former bounty hunter and he's got his own team of colorful mercs to back him up. The only question I have is... where did all of those slick custom cars go? Read more...

Tags Fast Five, tyrese gibson

Attention outdoor film screening enthusiasts! The Alamo Drafthouse and Levi's announced their 2010 Rolling Roadhouse tour today. The Roadshow is a nationwide tour of free outdoor 35mm screenings that pairs cinephile's favorite films with the famous locations in which they were shot or set.

This year's theme, “We Are All Workers,” salutes cinema's greatest workers across all genres -including films like "There Will be Blood," "RoboCop," "The Blues Brothers," "Dirty Harry," "Jackie Brown," and "Rocky."

"These films are some of our most beloved cinematic treasures and the screenings themselves are large-scale parties at the very sites which symbolize what makes them so great,” said Tim League, Alamo Drafthouse CEO in a statement. “The Rolling Roadshow is an extension of our unique programming philosophy at the Alamo Drafthouse, which continually seeks to find creative ways to celebrate our love of film.”

See the full Rolling Roadhouse line-up after the jump. Read more...

Tags Alamo Drafthouse Rolling Roadhouse

Horror aficionado Eli Roth applied his knowledge to the Mel Gibson situation this week, and made a diagnosis, as well as a treatment recommendation. James Urbaniak was also captivated by the situation, but had more questions than answers.

In other discussion topics, "The Hills" watchers came out of the woodwork to sound off about the show's conclusion. You can find out were Denise Richards and Frankie Muniz stand on that topic below. Click on down and you will also find some opinions on Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston's reported engagment, as well as Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem's reported marriage, and a "Cowboys and Aliens" tweet from Jon Favreau.

I'm @brianwarmoth, and this is Twitter-Wood for July 14, 2010. Read more...

Tags Christina Applegate, Denise Richards, Eli Roth, frankie muniz, james urbaniak, jon favreau, sandra bernhard, Twitter-Wood, tyrese gibson

Those of you who are upset that the sequel to "The Hangover" isn't coming out this year can blame "Due Date." Or not, since it might be kinda good. The new trailer arrived online today, looking a whole lot like "Trains, Planes and Automobiles" for a new generation. And there's nothing wrong with that. Todd Phillips is a talented filmmaker and his stars -- Zach Galifianakis, Robert Downey Jr. -- form the backbone of a strong cast that also includes Michelle Monaghan, Jamie Foxx and Alan Arkin. Hit play and enjoy.

Tags Due Date, robert downey jr., Todd Phillips, zach galifianakis

A couple weeks ago we heard about a cool indie crime thriller with a kickass cast and a title to match the awesome. Gary Oldman, Christian Slater and Dane Cook starring in... "Guns, Girls and Gambling"!!! The title alone would get me interested; the trio of actors lined up as of a few weeks ago guarantee a day one ticket purchase.

Now Variety reports that another familiar face has joined the cast. Sam Trammell, perhaps best known as shapeshifting nice guy Sam Merlotte on HBO's "True Blood," will play a no-nonsense peace officer who must deal with Cook's more crooked cop. The story involves a stolen American Indian artifact which disappears during a casino poker game. I was already sold. What do you think?

Tags Guns Girls & Gambling, Sam Trammell

In the midst of mind-over-matter and dreamland vs. reality debate at Tuesday night's L.A. premiere of "Inception," we procured a juicy little project update from star Lukas Haas regarding his work in the upcoming film "Red Riding Hood," directed by "Twilight"'s Catherine Hardwicke and starring Amanda Seyfried.

Haas told us he is playing Father August, the town priest, who "calls Gary Oldman's character in to save us from the wolves." And what are the fun aspects of playing Father August? "We just started filming that one so I'm sure there are a lot of fun parts." Read more...

Tags Lukas Haas, Red Riding Hood, Video

Whether or not you're a fan of his work, its been hard to avoid seeing reports of Joaquin Phoenix's odd behavior in recent times. The big, woolly beard, the push towards launching a career in hip-hop, the strange behavior in interviews... it's all been documented for a film, "I'm Still Here: The Lost Year of Joaquin Phoenix." A film that, until today's report from Deadline, didn't have proper distribution.

That's all changed now: Magnolia has picked up the movie for a limited release on September 10 and a wide release a week later. Magnolia president Eamonn Bowles had this to say: "No matter what I thought coming in, I came out feeling this was a pretty amazing piece of work, jaw dropping but dimensional. It is going to get a lot of attention, but it is not some cheap stunt where they said, 'Let's do some wild stuff and film it.' It is extreme behavior but really good filmmaking as well."

I can't wait to see this thing. What are your thoughts about the ongoing Joaquin Phoenix saga?

Tags I'm Still Here: The Lost Year of Joaquin Phoenix, joaquin phoenix

Nicolas Cage makes his long-awaited debut as a full-on magic user in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," which premieres in theaters nationwide today. The actor stars in the Jon Turteltaub-directed film as Balthazar Blake, a brilliant Manhattan-based sorcerer who recruits an apprentice (Jay Baruchel) in his quest to defeat the evil wizard Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina). Cage-infused hilarity and magic promptly ensues.

In truth, Cage has always been a somewhat magical presence, thanks to his irrefutably memorable turns in movies like "The Rock," "Con Air," "Wicker Man" and even "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans." Still, it's nice to see the actor finally getting his due by joining the ranks of cinema's many great on screen sorcerers. Cage's Balthazar has the potential to become one of the greatest wizards in Hollywood history, but he's certainly got some stiff competition — after the jump, check out some of cinema's other truly spellbinding sorcerers! Read more...

Tags the sorcerers apprentice

Cool news today for fans of The Beatles and Japanese author Haruki Murakami. I didn't even know this was happening, but Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung is apparently hard at work prepping his adaptation of Murakami's novel "Norwegian Wood" for a December release in Japan. Fittingly, Hung insisted that The Beatles' "Norwegian Wood" be licensed for use in the film; the music of the Fab Four can be rather expensive to get usage rights for, and it doesn't happen very often.

It seems like the news has been out there for awhile (I hadn't heard), but I'm most intrigued by the idea of Murakami being adapted for the big screen. He's a wonderful author, someone you should take the time to at least try on if you've never read his work. "Norwegian Wood" is as good a place to start as any. Unlike a lot of artistic endeavors that come out of Japan, Murakami is uniquely tuned in to Western sensibilities. His work has a sort of all-cultural appeal and is definitely worth your time. I'll be very curious to see Hung's film treatment. [via Deadline]

Tags Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood, Tran Anh Hung