Is the rush inspired by a possible writer's strike putting big forthcoming franchise flicks like Star Trek and Justice League in peril? Are there too many movies for grown-ups in the theaters right now? Has Ben Affleck successfully switched careers? And what end-of-year films are two of Cinematical's critics most looking forward to? Joining James on The Rocchi Review this week to talk about those questions and much more is Cinematical's Editor-in-Chief Erik Davis. You can download the entire podcast right here -- and we hope you enjoy.

You know what most movie trailers need? Marisa Tomei, completely topless. You know what else they need? An end tag that tells us the film is "now in post-production"! You know what else they need? Long, drawn-out clips of Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke, as down-on-their-luck businessmen planning to rob a mom and pop store that happens to be run by their own mom and pop. Needless to say, this trailer, for Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, is my favorite of the year so far. I didn't even know much about this film before watching, and the one drawback is probably that I now know too much. The trailer gives away so much of the plot that I think I can even figure out what the third-act is going to be all about, and that's a little too much information. This is a trailer that's popped up on a French website, so before they release it to the U.S., I would advise that they substantially trim down those final scenes with Albert Finney -- that's just more than we need to know.

I'll admit that I'm not a terribly big fan of Sidney Lumet -- I skipped Find Me Guilty, in fact. And the screenwriter is apparently a first-timer, so there's nothing to go on there. But I like all the actors here -- Ethan Hawke, especially, is always able to do some good work when he has the right material. Annoyingly, there's no U.S. release date for this film yet, even though it's opening in France in late September. If everything goes to plan, I'll be in Europe around that time this year anyway, so maybe I'll be able to see it in a French theater.