The consensus I've gotten from people after they've seen the red-band trailer for the Coen brothers' Burn After Reading is that nobody understands what it's about, and nobody cares, because everybody thinks it looks awesome. Well, if you thought that trailer was confusing, or at least lacking in plot synopsis, just imagine how moviegoers outside the U.S. feel after seeing this new international trailer.

As you can see, marketing to international audiences is more about selling the stars. Hence the CLOONEY, the McDORMAND, the MALKOVICH, the SWINTON and the PITT titles. As for story, there's even less revealed here than in the red-band trailer. In fact, it's almost a joke how little is said about the movie. Each actor/character maybe gets to slip in one or two words, which actually just serve as response to more intertitles telling us about the other major stars of the film: the Coens.

Early in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, the title heroine played by Frances McDormand, a down-on-her luck "governess of last resort" who keeps getting dismissed by huffy high-class London employers, strolls the streets, dejected and down. On the soundtrack? A jazzy, swinging version of the Depression-era song "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" And that sweet-sour mix of bright horns and sad sentiments, swinging tempos and bleak prospects, in many ways sets the tone for the film. Adapting Winifred Watson's 1939 novel, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a nearly perfect piece of entertainment for grownups, as Miss Pettigrew's desperation inspires her to fake, fib and flail her way into a job as the social secretary to American actress/singer Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams), a young woman in severe need of professional assistance and adult supervision. It's fairly easy to predict the rough curves of Miss Pettigrew's plot within moments of meeting the leads -- Miss Pettigrew will gain joy and confidence from her exposure to Ms. Lafosse, while Ms. Lafosse will acquire wisdom and character from Miss Pettigrew's example -- but the delights of this film are in the details, and everyone involved shapes this seemingly-featherweight entertainment with expert, steady hands.

Miss Pettigrew is not, in fact, a social secretary; however, she's prepared to do whatever is required. And so, in her way, is Delysia; the luxurious flat where she receives Miss Pettigrew is, it turns out, not hers. Delysia is staying there as the lover of nightclub owner Nick (Mark Strong), which makes it all the more necessary that Miss Pettigrew help get Delysia's overnight guest Phil (Tom Payne) -- son of the producer of a show Delysia hopes to land the lead in -- out the door as swiftly as possible before Nick returns. Miss Pettigrew is mortified, but hardly paralyzed, and she swiftly takes charge of matters. And, in the tradition of British farce, as soon as that crisis is averted, another is ready to take its place. ...

A year ago, one of my favorite actresses, Frances McDormand, was cast as the lead in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day -- a film about a governess in the '30s who has to sneak her way into a new job after getting a notoriously bad reputation. In April, Amy Adams signed on to play Delysia, the American star she works for. Now that the film is less than a month away from release (March 7), Focus Features has thrown up a whole slew of clips and goodies on YouTube. Above you can see a brief featurette, and then after the jump, a bunch of short clips from the film. If these are any indication of the the feature on a whole, I can't wait to see it. Unsurprisingly, it looks like McDormand has done a wonderful job, and Amy Adams really seems to be holding her own -- and proving that Junebug wasn't a fluke.

It's Insert Caption craziness this week on Cinematical. On Monday, we posted not one but two photos, doubling your pleasure with hotties Halle Berry and Frances McDormand (yeah I said it) modeling MGM's summer and winter lines. At stake: Four boxed sets for four lucky winners. Congrats to our victors below, and special shout out to William G. for entering a single caption that applied to both photos, you're our Mickey Rourke Rebel of the Week.

1. "No I can't stir them; I can only shake them." -- Kurt M.

See full images and all captions

1. "I got his keys! His wife and kids are about to get Punk'd!" -- Max R.

2. "Duck...Duck....Duck...GOOSE!
-- Adi B.

3. "Hurry up with that coffee. And bring some of those donuts! I think somebody slipped Ed here some decaf, but yah, we're not too late he's still breathin." -- Chaz K.

This week we're giving away more lavish prizes, with a photo from the indie sleeper Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, starring Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley and an incredibly cute monkey. Our grand prize winner will take home the DVD (available on Dec. 4), plus all sorts of amazing Pirates goodies (a Gentle Giant Jack Sparrow Animated Maquette, Gentle Giant Elizabeth Swann Animated Maquette, Flying Dutchman Dual Deck playset and more) that totals up to almost $600. Our first runner up gets a DVD, a Barbossa porcelain structure and Pirates action figures, while our third-place winner gets the DVD. Got that? Good.

On a personal note -- this will be my last week posting Insert Caption contests as increasing responsibilities on the Moviefone side will limit my blogging action, so I'll be passing the caption-master torch to Erik Davis. But thanks for playing along with me! We'll always have India. And Finland. And Mr. Woodcock hats.

Read the official rules for this contest

No Country for Old Men, the new film from Joel and Ethan Coen, is an unquestionable return to form. It is scary, funny, moving, violent, and meaningful, in pretty much equal measure. The Coens' take on the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name is a pairing as successful, as seamless, as delicious as that of chocolate and peanut butter.

Josh Brolin gives the finest of his four excellent performances this year as Llewelyn Moss. Moss is a struggling everyman who stumbles upon a circle of trucks and dead Mexicans in the desert -- a heroin deal gone bad. Real bad. The lone survivor asks Moss for some agua, and Moss ignores the request. He surveys the scene and eventually comes upon a suitcase filled with $2 million dollars. Moss' response upon finding the money? A simple "Yeah." It's a perfect moment in a movie packed with them. Moss takes the money and returns home to his trailer and his wife Carla Jean (Kelly MacDonald). Soon, his conscience begins to nag at him, and he decides to head back to the scene of the crime to give the dying man a drink. A compassionate decision, but not, as you can probably imagine, an intelligent one.

Javier Bardem plays Anton Chigurh (start to say Chicago and then growl and you're close to the pronunciation). I'll leave his specific involvement in the proceedings up to you to figure out, but just know that he really wants that $2 million. Moss will come to refer to Chigurh as "the ultimate badass," and that's about right. Chigurh is a classic screen villain, the kind we haven't seen in far too long. Every time he appears on screen, cattle stunner in tow, it just makes your heart sink -- somebody is going down. Much like Hannibal Lecter, the guy is a vicious, remorseless killer, but he has a strangely sensible logic and one can't help but be seduced by him. Bardem, sporting a Prince Valiant haircut, gives a flawless performance here, one that will likely be noticed come Oscar time. He completely disappears into Chigurh.

George Clooney is one of the busiest men in Hollywood. He's currently promoting his excellent new legal drama Michael Clayton. He's wrapping up acting and directing duties on Leatherheads, a 1920's football romantic comedy with John Krasinski and Renee Zelwegger. He's shooting the Coen Brothers' Burn After Reading, a CIA comedy co-starring Brad Pitt, Tilda Swinton (so great in Clayton), John Malkovich, and Frances McDormand. In addition to all that, he's got to fly around the world in a jet made of gold and make the women of the world swoon 24/7. So yeah, the guy's got a lot going on. In fact, he's just decided that he has too much going on.

Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Clooney has just dropped out of Joe Carnahan's White Jazz, a gritty tale of police corruption set in 1950s Los Angeles. Clooney was set to star in the independent film, which is based on the James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential) novel. White Jazz was expected to begin filming early next year, and was scheduled for a 2009 release date. Grant Heslov, Clooney's producing partner, says "It just simply came down to scheduling. George continues to believe in the project and in Joe." Clooney was set to be a producer on the film, and whether he'll remain involved in that capacity has not been announced. And those of you excited about the film, myself included, might not be too happy with this last sentence. According to a spokesperson at Warner Independent, where the film was set up -- White Jazz has dropped off its slate. Currently, there's no word from Carnahan, who, as of a couple days ago, was pretty pumped about starting production in January.

I doubt if Amy Adams will get another shot at Oscar anytime soon, but two years after she wowed us in the otherwise forgettable Junebug she's at least on the right track toward becoming a respectable movie star. This year alone she will be covering the important territories of a mainstream starring role (Disney's Enchanted), a supporting role opposite bankable, award-winning bigwigs (Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Phillip Seymour Hoffman in the Mike Nichols-directed Charlie Wilson's War) and a co-starring role in a highly-marketable indie (Sunshine Cleaning, with fellow newcomer/Oscar nom Emily Blunt). Now she's got another great role lined up for 2008. She will star alongside Frances McDormand in the pre-war odd-coupling Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.

Though the film will be directed by Bharat Nalluri, whose last feature was The Crow: Salvation (he also helmed the recent TV-movie Tsunami: The Aftermath), with a script by The Full Monty's Simon Beaufoy and Finding Neverland's David Magee, and with two strong actresses, it will likely be a strong film. The plot centers on a dowdy governess (Dormand, as the Miss Pettigrew of the title) sent by mistake to the home of a nightclub singer (Adams) who could use a helping hand. The governess ends up helping the singer get better organized and the singer ends up helping the governess get a man -- you know, the old reciprocal back-scratching, life lesson learning, new buddy acquiring story we all love to see again and again. Hopefully it can extend to the real world and McDormand can help Adams score another Oscar nomination and Adams can help McDormand regain some wider appeal.

After being second, third or fourth string in her recent roles, the ever-wonderful Frances McDormand is finally getting some top-billed goodness. The actress is set to star in two films for Focus Features. The first comes by way of a long-forgotten book by Winifred Watson -- Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. Published in 1938, the book became a victim of WW2, but is now making a comeback in the UK. An adult Cinderella-like fairy tale, Pettigrew shares one day in the life of a down-trodden governess who is sent to the wrong house by her employment agency. There she meets Miss LaFosse, a cabaret singer, who gives her a taste of glamour. Adapted by Full Monty scribe Simon Beaufoy, the film will be directed by Bharat Nalluri this April in London.

After dipping her toe into old-style London elegance, McDormand will be heading to New York for her fifth cinematic collaboration with husband, Joel Coen. (Previous forays have included Raising Arizona and her Oscar-winner, Fargo.) She will star opposite ladies man, George Clooney, in the Coen brothers next film, Burn After Reading. So far, all we know is that it is a dark comedy about the CIA. Hopefully, hubbie and bro-in-law Coen have written a meaty role for McDormand, perhaps with Clooney as her love interest. While she's finally broken through to the sexy, it would be nice to see her getting juicy leading men.