This weekend is a surprisingly big one for the movies, but let's talk about last weekend for a moment. More importantly, how it might inform this weekend. "New Moon" turned out to be pretty popular, didn't it? $140 million worth of popular, including record-breaking box office numbers for its midnight opening and Friday sales. So, on top of everything else opening this weekend, there's also that big, dark "New Moon" looming to screw everything up.

But what else have we got? Well the big one for a spectacle-junkie like me is "Ninja Assassin," directed by James McTeigue. There are shurikens thrown with gatling gun-like speed and rapidity, at least one limb severed for every minute of screen time and some wicked-looking choreography involving katanas and a kusarigama (the new nunchaku, you heard it here first). It's glorious. Maybe not fine cinema in the traditional sense of story, dialogue, etc., but a hoot to see in action on the big screen. I say this because I've seen it, and it was good. Read more...

There are some mornings when I wake up, look at my RSS feed and mutter "oh no, not again" to myself. This was one of those mornings. I try, I really do, to be optimistic about every new movie I hear about. At least until there's enough out there to convince me otherwise. But the news this morning that Fox will partner with Electronic Arts to produce a CG-animated adaptation of the evolution simulating computer game "Spore"... I just have a hard time getting behind an idea like that.

This isn't to say there aren't good people involved. "Ice Age" director Chris Wedge will helm the adaptation, working with a script from Greg Erb and Jason Oremland, the same writing duo behind Disney's upcoming "The Princess and the Frog." Talents, no question. But "Spore"? I don't get it. Read more...

-- The poster for Michael Jackson's "This Is It" premiered at Yahoo! Movies. It's a cool image: Jackson's silhouette, arms thrown outward and upward, with a collage of performance stills scattered around inside the human form. For those who haven't been keeping track, "This Is It" is a documentary featuring the recently departed pop star's final performance footage. (Yahoo! Movies)

-- Jerry Bruckheimer is preparing to blow up the small screen with loud noises, lots of gunplay and spectacular explosions. The mega-producer is bringing his talents to NBC for an untitled TV series which will tell "the stories of a team charged with making sure fugitive criminals don't evade justice." The last time Bruckheimer teamed with NBC was for the short-lived "E-Ring" in 2005. (The Hollywood Reporter) Read more...

There are plenty of reasons why I’m looking forward to Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog.” For one, I’m excited to see if the Mouse House can successfully revive hand-drawn animated features that Pixar mastermind John Lasseter is overseeing things. For another, I love New Orleans, especially its musical heritage, and I’m anxious to see the setting fully recreated by Disney animators. And now, thanks to a video hosted by Cartoon Brew, I’m also eager to see more of the film’s villain, Dr. Faciler.

As you can see in the behind-the-scenes clip, Faciler is voiced by and very much resembles Keith David, an underrated character actor who you may recognize from such films as “Platoon,” “They Live,” "Clockers," “Barbershop” and “Requiem for a Dream.” And if you don’t know him by face, you probably know his deep signature voice, which has been heard in tons of documentaries, cartoons and video games. He’s done Disney feature animation before, having spoken for the god Apollo in the “Hercules” film. Most recently, he voiced the cat in “Coraline.” Read more...

She’s an unparalleled cultural force and the undisputed Queen of daytime television. But it wasn’t until Disney came along that Oprah Winfrey finally got her princess.

The syndicated talk show host, philanthropist, and Academy Award nominated actress has signed on to voice a character in Disney’s upcoming “The Princess and the Frog,” company officer John Lassseter revealed this morning at a Hollywood conference. She will play Eudora, the mother of the titular New Orleans princess, Tiana.

According to Wikipedia, Angela Bassett was originally rumored to be slated for the role. Read more...

- Four on the floor: Sulu, Scotty, Bones, and Chekov get their very own character posters for “Star Trek.” (Trek Movie)

- Somebody give these guys a hand. (Zing!) First unit shooting on “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” halted for a month. (Transformers World)

- Abbie Hoffman, meet Mr. Shaky Cam. Paul Greengrass reportedly to direct “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” (Film School Rejects)

- But what does this mean for “Shazam”? “Get Smart” helmer Peter Segal eyes “Wardogs.” (THR)

- New images pop-up from Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog.” (Disney Animation)