Though I don't recall being slipped any drugs within the past hour {curiously looks at dog}, I sure did feel like I was on something while watching the newly-released trailer for Richard Kelly's Southland Tales (check out our exclusive poster premiere for this film here). If you're temped to blurt out a "What the ...?" go ahead and do so -- I know I was lost about 20 seconds in. There's obviously a lot going on in this film, which explains why the trailer makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, but I sure hope that changes once we sit down and watch Kelly's vision unfold on screen. If not, I'll have to kill time trying to figure out all the different tats Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson sports throughout the film. Is that a two-headed monkey riding a tricycle on his forearm? No? Well can I draw one then?

It's taken quite some time for Southland Tales to hit theaters; the film first premiered at the Cannes Film Festival two -- count em' two -- years ago, where the flick did not receive a warm welcome. Since then, Kelly's been hard at work in the editing room, cutting and trimming Southland in the hopes folks will change their opinion of it given the amount of time that has passed and work that has gone into it. Is it better? Don't know, never saw it the first time -- but the trailer definitely has me intrigued. Everyone in the cast (including Johnson, Justin Timberlake, Seann William Scott, Mandy Moore and Sarah Michelle Gellar) seem to be playing characters outside their comfort zones, which is something I'm always attracted to. As far as story goes, it takes place in Los Angeles and, as they say throughout the trailer, "This is the way the world ends." The rest? Figure it out for yourself. Southland Tales arrives in theatres on November 9.

Cinematical takes great joy in bringing you the final poster for Richard Kelly's Southland Tales (click on the poster for a larger image) -- mainly because we've been anticipating this film's release for upwards of two years now. And so when the last poster goes public, it means we'll be sitting in a movie theater, watching Kelly's follow-up to the cult hit Donnie Darko, soon enough. And what a poster it is! You know they mean business when The Rock goes by his real name -- and only his real name -- Dwayne Johnson. Also starring in this eclectic cast are -- ready for this -- Seann William Scott, Mandy Moore, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Curtis Armstrong, Cheri Oteri, Justin Timberlake, Jon Lovitz, Bai Ling, Kevin Smith, Miranda Richardson and John Larroquette, among others. If that line-up isn't worthy of your lousy 10 bucks, you have issues I don't want to go near.

Essentially, Southland Tales is an ensemble piece (that mixes sci-fi, comedy, music and drama, if you can believe it) which takes place in a 2008 where Los Angeles is on the verge of political and environmental disaster. Boxer (Johnson), an action star with amnesia, soon finds his life intertwine with the dysfunctional worlds of an adult film star (Gellar) and a cop (Scott) mixed up in a conspiracy. But from what I gather (and knowing Kelly's work), there's a whole lot more going on as well. I mean, just look at that poster -- it definitely gives us a peak peek inside the complexity of the film. Southland Tales will finally make its new and improved debut in theaters on November 9.

A conversation arose in the screening room the other day about the sorry state of young, romantic performers in movies today and the overwhelming blandness slathered across our movie screens. Pretty, plastic, chiseled faces smile at one another and sometimes kiss, and their efforts leave everyone cold. Critics and audiences often use the word "chemistry" to describe these encounters; either the characters have it or they don't. Strangely, there's really no way to tell if it's even there until the movie is finished. You can put two actors in a room together, or screen test them, but none of it comes together until the audience becomes a factor.

One reason most movie couples have been so bland lately is the ever-increasing control that studios are demanding of their product. Every aspect of filmmaking must be regulated and stabilized, and so, to make the most of their romantic stories, these same studio people very simply cast the most beautiful actors they can find. Beautiful people sometimes explode on the movie screen with lots of personality and star power, but just as often, they don't, looking more like polished statues without so much as a heartbeat. James Dean was very handsome, but he had a surprising element, a kind of unpredictability, as well as world-heavy sadness. But James Franco, who played Dean in a TV biopic, has only the looks. As shown in his most recent film, Spider-Man 3 (151 screens), where there should be passion and danger and excitement, there's only grooming. At times I honestly can't tell the difference between him and Paul Walker.

Those nice people over at The Weinstein Co. just sent Cinematical the first poster for Justin Theroux's upcoming romantic dramedy Dedication, starring Billy Crudup and Mandy Moore. The story revolves around a highly-dysfunctional author of children's books (Crudup) who has major issues with women, enjoys telling children that Santa Claus doesn't exist and whose personal motto is "Life is nothing but the occasional burst of laughter rising above the interminable wall of grief." When his usual illustrator, played by Tom Wilkinson, unexpectedly dies, the author must begin working with an attractive young female illustrator, played by Moore. Dedication, which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and was snapped up by the Weinsteins at that time, marks the directorial debut of Theroux, who is known for his acting work in David Lynch films Inland Empire and Mulholland Drive, along with other credits. The film will also feature other well-known players such as Dianne Wiest, Amy Sedaris, and Bob Balaban, and is scheduled to hit theaters on August 24. Click on the image above to get the full-sized poster.

Last week, I brought you news of director Richard Kelly's new movie, The Box with Cameron Diaz. In my report, I mentioned Southland Tales, Kelly's follow-up to the cult classic Donnie Darko. Tales premiered last year at Cannes, to largely negative reviews (like James'). But Darko nuts like myself are still dying to see the thing. As of last week, things weren't looking good, with the release not scheduled until March 2008. And now we've got more bad news. Southland co-star Mandy Moore is telling Sci-Fi Wire she doesn't know what's going on with the film, she hasn't seen any of it, and she doesn't even know if she's still in the thing! "I have not seen any incarnation of that yet," says Moore. "I had a great time working on it. It was one of those things where I met with Richard maybe two weeks before they started shooting. I had just finished that movie American Dreamz at the time, so I was like, 'Um, yeah, sure, I'll jump into this one. Why not?' I play The Rock's wife in the movie, if I'm still in the movie at all. They had to cut it down so much, and maybe they just cut out my character altogether."

Moore adds, "I loved working with Rock or Dwayne; I'm not sure what he prefers to be called now. Sarah Michelle Gellar was in the movie. It was just a fun, huge, gigantic cast of characters there. I'm not in the sci-fi element of it, and I don't get to sing." She mentions the singing because the film, at least in its Cannes inception, contained musical numbers. You see, it's a comedy musical sci-fi thriller, with elements of political satire (now maybe you're seeing why it's something of a tough sell). In addition to The Rock and Gellar, Moore is (or isn't) part of an extremely eclectic cast that includes Seann William Scott, Cheri Oteri, Miranda Richardson, Jon Lovitz, Kevin Smith, Amy Poehler, and fellow pop star Justin Timberlake. In reading up on the film, I realized it takes place in the very near future -- on July 4, 2008 to be exact. They pretty much have to get the movie out by then, don't they? Otherwise we'll be watching a movie about the future that's set in the past! Why don't they release it tomorrow, so we can watch it exactly one year from when it's supposed to take place? That'd be cool, no? Somebody get me Joe Hollywood on the phone!

For those of you currently in the middle of writing your wedding vows, might I suggest including the following: "I vow to never to force you to watch License to Wed against your will ... even if it does look sweeter than a piece of apple pie." Harmless squabbles between two people in love are hard enough to watch when you're one of those people. Well, imagine spending 90 minutes right smack in the middle of someone else's argument -- one that's so trivial and meaningless, the thought of knocking yourself out quickly becomes the best idea you've had in years. And half-way through License to Wed, I imagine everyone involved felt the same way; after a somewhat humorous start and one decent set piece, the film becomes duller than a two-hour PowerPoint presentation on how to pick the right wedding hall. Chock-full of more "seen it" and "done it" moments than the latest Scary Movie entry, do yourself a favor and say "I don't" to License to Wed when it comes time to walk down the aisle at your local cineplex later this weekend.

It's a shame, really, because License to Wed sports a cast capable of way more laughs than this. Making his big-screen debut in a starring role, John Krasinski (The Office) plays Ben Murphy; the type of character Ben Stiller channels in his sleep -- the dim-witted "voice of reason" who can't seem to do or say the right thing no matter what the situation. After a "here's how they got together" montage, Ben proposes to his girlfriend, Sadie (Mandy Moore), and the two are on their way to planning a fantastic wedding. Only problem is Sadie wants to exchange vows in her hometown church under the guidance of Reverend Frank (Robin Williams); the eccentric spiritual leader who baptized her. And with the only available slot three weeks away, Reverend Frank insists the couple attend a rigorous marriage prep course that takes invasion of ones privacy to a level that's not only awkward, but also a tad creepy. Do they have what it takes to keep it cool and stay together long enough to get hitched? Trust me, you won't care.

Last night, Warner Bros. sent us over this big batch of new pics from the upcoming Mandy Moore romcom License to Wed, which also stars Robin Williams, John Krasinski, and Eric Christian Olsen. The film, which is opening on July 4 as counter-programming to the Michael Bay actioner Transformers, is about a young couple who are put through a series of relationship challenges in order to prepare them for marriage. The director, Ken Kwapis, most recently directed The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and several episodes of the hit TV show The Office. There are enough pics here to give you a glimpse of all the film's major players, and even one with Robin Williams being driven in a car by someone who is blindfolded, which isn't something you see every day. Click on the images in order to get the full-sized, uncut photo. Enjoy!

Do you realize that it's been almost a year since Southland Tales first debuted (or should I say, bombed) at the Cannes Film Festival? Since then, director Richard Kelly has been hard at work editing his "masterpiece" so that everyone (or should I say, Sony) is comfortable enough to release it in theaters. There was awhile there when we assumed the film would magically disappear, only to secretly show up on DVD with little to no marketing backing it up. However, the release of a big batch of stills recently -- coupled with a brand new message from Kelly via his MySpace page -- make it appear as if we might see Southland Tales finally hit theaters this fall.

According to Kelly, "we have finally gotten the greenlight from Sony for the additional round of visual effects for Southland Tales. This is VERY GOOD NEWS for the film! We will now be able to finish the film properly. Phew! The film will be completely finished for the first public screening sometime mid-summer." It's great that he'll be allowed to add in some additional special effects (when the food looks ugly, just smother it in ketchup, right?), but will they be enough to change those initial opinions of folks like Cinematical's James Rocchi who called Southland Tales "sprawling, messy, willfully self-indulgent and incomprehensible?" Like Donnie Darko, I'm sure the film will find its die hard fans. And hey, if anything aren't you just a bit curious to see what the heck Kelly did with a cast that includes The Rock, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott and Mandy Moore?

Because I Said So isn't a movie, as such; it's a poster, a trailer, a pitch, a marketing plan. A movie has a script; Because I Said So doesn't have one of those. Instead, it's got a collection of bland situations, silly dialogue and unnecessary complications. I don't think anyone actually wrote Because I Said So; I think that some Hollywood artificial intelligence think-tank instead fed DVD box sets of The Gilmore Girls and Sex and the City into a computer, along with Pottery Barn catalogs for roughage, and this movie -- where the character's wardrobes are given more thought than their motivations, and where the look and accoutrements of their apartments are better-defined than their back stories and desires -- is what came out the other end.

Daphne (Diane Keaton) is a successful businesswoman who's raised three daughters -- oldest Maggie (Lauren Graham), middle daughter Mae (Piper Perabo) and youngest Milly (Mandy Moore). Maggie and Mae are married; Milly's romantic life is a dreadful roller-coaster of ups and downs, giddy possibilities and glum dumpings. Daphne does what any person in a cliché romantic comedy would do -- namely, posting an online personal ad so that she can interview candidates to be involved with her daughter and then help them meet Milly in carefully-engineered 'coincidences' so that Milly will be unaware her mom is playing both Cupid and Cyrano.

There isn't much that Jamie Foxx can't do. He is one of only five people to win an Oscar and have a #1 single. He's also been a stand-up comedian, a quarterback and a classical pianist. Before he becomes the President of the United States, though, he is adding radio DJ to his resume. The actor/R&B singer is producing a Sirius Satellite station called "The Foxxhole," which will feature a mix of urban music and comedy, plus a new kind of radio theater. Reportedly, Foxx will be contributing to the station on a daily basis and he will also host a weekly show.

Where does Jamie Foxx find the time? Sure, many people juggle the dual careers of acting and music, but do they all seem to work as hard at both as Foxx has this past year? His two movies in 2006 were hits. His album, Unpredictable (released at the end of 2005) was a hit. He's really making a lot of people in Hollywood look bad (no wonder Mandy Moore is depressed).

But Foxx isn't just out to get his. In unrelated news, he also just made a music publishing deal in order to help fledgling songwriters. He said that as much as he loves performing music, his first love is listening to the music of other great musicians and writers, and he hopes by collaborating with new artists, he can help spread the love around.