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Between his roles in "The Office" and "The Hangover," Ed Helms has sufficiently introduced the American public to his special brand of dorky, immature humor. But in his upcoming film "Cedar Rapids," he somehow manages to tweak his comedic routine just enough that it feels fresh and, well, funny.

Helms stars as a Midwestern insurance salesman who heads to a conference in Cedar Rapids to try to save the jobs of his coworkers. Along the way he ends up partying, fighting and getting it on with John C. Reilly, "The Wire"'s Isiah Whitlock Jr., Anne Heche, Rob Corddryand Alia Shawkat (OK, Helms only gets it on with two of the above... but you get the point). Sigourney Weaver --who's in pretty much everything nowadays -- also makes a brief, cowlick-smoothing appearance in the trailer. Read more...

Tags Alia Shawkat, Anne Heche, Cedar Rapids, Ed Helms, Isiah Whitlock Jr, john c reilly, Miguel Artera, rob corddry, sigourney weaver

What were you pleased as punch about during your high-school years? Reppin' a spot on the debate team? Leading your soccer squad to the state finals? Scoring straight A's?

Catch the performances of two of this year's youngest critically-acclaimed darlings and you'll wonder why the heck you spent so much time patting yourself on the back over all that trivial jazz.

Hailee Steinfeld, 14, and Jennifer Lawrence, 20, are relative newcomers to the Hollywood scene, but you wouldn't know it after watching them kick cinematic butt in "True Grit" (now in theaters) and "Winter's Bone" (currently available on DVD and Blu-ray), respectively. Steinfeld superbly holds her own amongst the formidable screen presences of veteran greats Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin, while Lawrence successfully carries the entire weight of an indie film on her petite shoulders. These ladies didn't back down from their make-or-break roles, and -- now that awards season is upon us -- they've got the roster of nominations to prove it.

Among their many nods, Lawrence is up for a Golden Globe, a SAG Award and an Independent Spirit Award, while Steinfeld is a contender for a SAG Award. But the accolades aren't all that bond these actresses. The plots of "True Grit" and "Winter's Bone" are strikingly similar. Here are five reasons why these celluloid gems are a match made in back-to-back-viewing heaven. Read more...

Tags barry pepper, Hailee Steinfeld, jeff bridges, jennifer lawrence, john hawkes, Josh Brolin, matt damon, tate taylor, True Grit, winter's bone

"The Smurfs" might not be invading New York City until August 2011, but that doesn't mean that they won't remind us that they're coming. In a new image from the upcoming film, Papa Smurf, Brainy Smurf, Smurfette, Grouchy Smurf, Gutsy Smurf and Panicky Smurf just landed in Central Park on a nice sunny Manhattan day. At least we know they'll make some progress around the city since we first saw them in Times Square.

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Tags Alan Cumming, Anton Yelchin, BJ Novak, fred armisen, george lopez, hank azaria, Jeff Foxworthy, John Oliver, Jonathan Winters, Katy Perry, Kenan Thompson, neil patrick harris, Photo, The Smurfs

The Spider-Man musical punchlines have not yet subsided, and I doubt they will before 2010 ends at this rate. "Break a leg" references and Green Goblin involvement behind the scenes have been the most popular choices today.

Also trending today was Lindsay Lohan after a Betty Ford Center employee accused the actress of battery and was subsequently fired for sharing confidential information with the press. Scope out some reactions after the jump, along with an update on what Russell Brand did with his new 3-D TV.

I'm @brianwarmoth, and this is Twitter-Wood for December 22, 2010. Read more...

Tags brent spiner, denis leary, duncan jones, ice-t, Nicholas Stoller, robert luketic, russell brand, Twitter-Wood, Weird Al Yankovic

As you've likely seen via countless TV spots and trailers, Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro are back with yet another installment of their "Meet the Parents"/"Fockers" franchise. "Little Fockers" revolves around the newest additions to the Focker family, 5-year-old twins Henry and Samantha, and specifically their birthday party, as well as Greg (Stiller) once again trying to prove himself a capable man of the house to his demanding father-in-law (De Niro).

For those who can't get enough of the comedic stylings of the Stiller/De Niro duo, MTV News is happy to present you with three splendiforous clips.

Clip #1 opens with little Henry asking dad, Greg, if he can scale a climbing wall. His exact words are: "Dad, can I please go climb that big rock wall?" -- which, for any astute viewer, provides a bit of foreshadowing. Henry goes off to climb, while Greg and Jack discuss whether or not Greg has imparted on his son the proper skills to achieve such a feat. Naturally, when Greg ends the discussion with "You've just got to accept that I've got this," Henry falls off the wall and lands with a thud. Read more...

Tags Barbra Streisand, ben stiller, Blythe Danner, Dustin Hoffman, Little Fockers, robert de niro, Teri Polo, Video

When the red-band trailer for David Gordon Green's raunchy medieval romp "Your Highness" hit the Web in November, it was chock full of everything we'd hoped: anachronistic F-bombs, plenty of juvenile genitalia jokes and, in a most welcome turn of events, a lingering shot of Natalie Portman stripping down to a thong to bathe in a lake.

Now, the green-band trailer for the film has arrived, and it's a whole lot like the red-band trailer, but for two facts. First off, there are no F-bombs, which we totally understand. But it's the one other notable difference that isn't sitting so well with us: In the scene where Portman doffs all but her skivvies by the lake, viewers no longer get to bask in the glow of her full moon. Indeed, the thong Portman sported in the red-band clip has been replaced by a more modest pair of bikini briefs.

But before you get your panties in bunch over this injustice to good taste and, let's face it, all mankind, know this: Portman's rear will appear in all its thong-clad glory in the R-rated movie, just as nature intended it. The bikini briefs were simply added digitally to the trailer to ensure that the clip would be able to run for all audiences in theaters. Now that we got that out of the way, give the trailer a gander above. Read more...

Tags Danny McBride, david gordon green, james franco, justin theroux, natalie portman, Video, your highness

Like any other year, 2010 has had its share of good and bad -- in general and when it comes to movies. For every piece of filmmaking gold we discovered, there was a steaming cinematic turd to scrape from beneath our shoe. But since the holidays are upon us and I'm feeling generous, I'm going to embrace the spirit of the season, take the high road and bypass ragging on the critical, box-office and creative failures of the past year. Instead I want to focus on celebrating all that was groundbreaking, captivating and good in the movie world in 2010. And, perhaps surprisingly, there was a lot of good stuff in theaters this year.

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Tags Best of 2010, black swan, harry potter and the deathly hallows, inception, Photo, the fighter, the kids are all right, the king's speech, The Social Network, the town, toy story 3, True Grit

Christian Bale has never been one to make conventional career choices. He'll drop 75 pounds to play an insomniac in an indie like "The Machinist," then turn around and pack on 90 pounds to play a jacked superhero in a blockbuster like "Batman Begins." So it really shouldn't come as a surprise that in between collecting awards (and likely an Oscar nod) for his turn as an emaciated, drugged-out ex-boxer in "The Fighter" and bulking up to don the Batsuit for a third time in "The Dark Knight Rises," Bale is once again defying expectations... this time signing on to star in a Chinese blockbuster.

Yes, you read that correctly. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bale will headline "Nanjing Heroes," a period drama about the Massacre of Nanjing, also known as the"Rape of Nanking, from award-winning Chinese filmmaker Zhang Youmi ("Hero," "Raise the Red Lantern"). And here's the kicker. The film has a $90 million budget, which is pretty much unheard of in China, where the most successful domestically produced film, "Aftershock," raked in a worldwide box office gross of -- you guessed it -- $90 mil. Read more...

Tags christian bale, nanjing heroes, the dark knight rises, zhang youmi

It's December 22 and, in the immortal words of Billy Mack, Christmas is all around. Although there a just a few short days until the holiday arrives steeped in eggnog and carols and jolly fat men in bright red suits, there's still some time to cram in a fair amount of Christmas-movie watching.

But what will you pop in your DVD player or tune to on your tele (24 hours of "A Christmas Story" on TNT kicks off at 8 p.m. December 24, people!)? Will you opt for a classic like "It's a Wonderful Life" or "Miracle on 34th Street," something newer like "Love Actually," "Home Alone" or "Elf"... or even something a tad more unconventional like "Gremlins" or "Die Hard"? Or -- and if this is the case, more power to you -- will you hit up your DVR to watch one of those delightful Lifetime or ABC Family original Christmas flicks: Kevin Sorbo in "The Santa Suit, a bunch of cute dogs in "Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws," or Christina Milian and Chad Michael Murray in "Christmas Cupid," anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

We here at MTV Movies Blog want to know which Christmas movie you turn to when you're in desperate need of some holiday cheer, when you want to turn your frown upside down and your inner Ebenezer Scrooge into, well, the reformed Ebenezer Scrooge at the end of "A Christmas Carol." So hit the jump for our poll, where you can vote for your favorite Christmas movie of all time! Read more...

Tags A Christmas Story, christmas, christmas movies, die hard, elft, gremlins, home alone, it's a wonderful life, Love Actually, Miracle on 34th Street

This Wednesday, Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin and Barry Pepper ride into theaters in "True Grit," a Coen Bros. Western that lives up to its title... and then some.

Based on a Charles Portis novel, "True Grit" was previously adapted for the big screen as a John Wayne vehicle in 1969, earning Wayne his only career Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Not surprisingly, the Coen Bros. -- the filmmaking forces behind "Blood Simple," "Fargo" and "No Country for Old Men" -- opted for a darker tone, hewing closer to the novel than the '69 flick. Get a taste of their vision (complete with a healthy dose of their signature deadpan humor) in the clips below.

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Tags barry pepper, Hailee Steinfeld, jeff bridges, Josh Brolin, matt damon, True Grit, Video