You want to start a movie off right? Hire Morgan Freeman as your star and then open the flick with some smooth Freeman voice-over. In this particular case, the film doesn't really need the narration, but there's just something so comfortable about Mr. Freeman's vocal chords. So obviously we're off to the right foot here: The Bucket List stars the endlessly cool Morgan Freeman -- as well as the famously entertaining Jack Nicholson. Already this movie is entertaining by default ... but we have two more very important components to check on before we get rolling.

The director is Rob Reiner, a man who definitely knows how to make good movies -- even if he hasn't really done it in over a decade. And the screenwriter is a relative newcomer ... so that's where I choose to focus. After all, The Bucket List is a movie about two terminally ill cancer patients who decide to hit the road, travel the world, and check all the items off their "bucket list" before the reaper finally comes calling. In the hands of a hacky screenwriter, this movie could easily become Grumpy Old Men 3, complete with oh-so-hilarious profanity, a bunch of Viagra gags, and a tacked-on and completely unearned emotional "payoff."

So what a pleasant surprise it is to learn that A) The Bucket List is Mr. Reiner's most satisfying film in a very long time, B) Justin Zackham's canny screenplay avoids schmaltz and artifice at (almost) every turn, and C) that Freeman and Nicholson strike an on-screen chemistry that's simply joyous to behold. I knew I'd enjoy the leads, but the movie's got a few more assets than that...

The Bucket List stars Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as two terminally ill men who escape from a cancer ward determined to complete everything on their "Bucket List" -- a list of things to do before they "kick the bucket." The film, directed by Rob Reiner, was just named one of the Ten Best of the Year by the National Board of Review. Cinematical spoke with the film's screenwriter, Justin Zackham.

Cinematical: You sit down to write The Bucket List, do you ever dream that you're going to get Rob Reiner to direct, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman to star...

JZ: Of course not! I'd have to be an idiot! Not even close. I wrote it with Morgan Freeman's voice in mind, somehow thinking maybe I'd find a way to get it to him. But no, nothing like this.

Cinematical: And how did you get it to these huge names? What were the steps that brought this movie to the screen?

JZ: I went to film school at NYU. I did a TV pilot that I wrote and executive produced in New York with Paul Sorvino years ago. And then I came out here (Los Angeles) and was dicking around for a while. I made Going Greek, which was a very sort of crappy fraternity comedy that I did back in 2000. I wrote, produced, and directed, and that took so much out of me that I spent another couple years dicking around. And then I just sat down one day and wrote my own "Bucket List" just to kind of get my head organized. On that list was like "Get a movie made by a major studio, marry the perfect woman," all that kind of stuff. A lot of the stuff on there wound up in the movie. I had always fantasized about going to the Pyramids, the Great Wall, I've always been sort of obsessed with the whole notion of Everest. All those things were on it, and I just stuck it on a bulletin board.

About a year later, I just came up with this quote one day, a line that's actually in the film -- "You measure yourself by the people who measure themselves by you." Stuck that up on the bulletin board. And then another year went by before I had the idea "What about making this into a script?" And I thought if it were about me, at the time I was about 34, it wouldn't be that interesting. So I decided to make it about two guys who had lived a full life, and they only have a few months left, and suddenly there's a ticking clock, and the things that do have real importance, at least in their minds. The story really became about the one thing neither of these guys puts on their list but is the thing they most want. And that's a best friend. I have this ridiculous process, and I wrote the actual script really quickly, in about two weeks.

Dang, there sure are a lot of hitman characters in the movies. And what's the difference between a hitman and an assassin, anyway? Does Jason Bourne count, or is he no longer a hitman/assassin by the time his cinematic story begins? Are Pulp Fiction's Vincent and Jules really hitmen or are they technically bagmen? Yeah, it's a difficult task to make a list of prominent hitmen in film. So, I'll let someone else make a "25 Greatest Hitmen" list; here, I present my seven favorites.

Feel free to mention your own preferences. With so many characters, whether easily falling within definition or not, I'm certainly leaving out a lot of good ones. But, as I said, these are my favorites. The cool, the funny, the interesting, they're the ones I enjoy watching over and over again, despite their lethal nature.


Martin Q. Blank in Grosse Pointe Blank (1997, George Armitage)

There is no better hitman than John Cusack's Martin Blank. He's good at his job, and he's funny, and he's willing to give it all up for love. Of course, he's bored enough by the occupation that he'd probably give it up for any good reason. It doesn't seem to matter to him that it's morally wrong; he's just another normal guy, dissatisfied with his job. And while it does seem to be a gag that's stretched thin, his issues do make him more entertaining than the usual silent-yet-conflicted hitmen. Plus, it's enjoyable to think that this is what really happened to Lloyd Dobbler, or Lane Meyer, or any other Cusack character from the '80s.

Signature line: "I was hired to kill you, but I'm not going to do it. It's either because I'm in love with your daughter or because I have a new found respect for life."

You've seen the sexy photos of Angelina Jolie in Wanted (if you haven't, check 'em out), and you've watched the behind-the-scenes video. Now it's time to see the action-packed trailer that goes with them. The movie, another in a long line of assassin/hitman movies coming out these days, stars Jolie as a gun-toting, fast-car-driving woman called "Fox", who must team up with a novice called "Wesley" (played by James McAvoy), who has been dragged out of his cubicle to be trained as an assassin. Why? Because that's what his estranged father did for a living -- in fact, his father was the best in the world until he was recently killed. And like father, like son, even without experience, Wesley must have the goods. Well, even if he hasn't, he's at least got Morgan Freeman, always playing the God-like, wisdom-filled mentor, to guide him.

So, what makes this different from any other movie you've seen? I mean, it's got Jolie looking straight out of Mr. and Mrs. Smith (though maybe a bit skinnier), Freeman from anything he's ever been in, McAvoy acting clueless as if he were still in Uganda, some comedic scenes involving a greenhorn with a gun, and the always-recycled gag of having a shoot-out in the toilet paper aisle of a supermarket. With all that, do you even need something new? Well, there does appear to be a cool sequence involving the destruction of a train. And that sideways-shooting machine gun is pretty neat. Is that enough? Oh, and a strange kiss between the extremely mismatched Jolie and McAvoy (he looks so small next to her). You've never seen that before.

Wanted is the English-language debut of Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov, who is still in the midst of giving us his Night Watch trilogy. Based on a comic book, it was adapted by 3:10 to Yuma's Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, with a rewrite from Dean Geogaris (Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Crade of Life), In addition to those named, it co-stars Terence Stamp, Common and the versatile German actor Thomas Kretschmann (he was in The Pianist and King Kong and Baby Geniuses 2!). It hits theaters March 28.

When the production for The Code gets into swing this month in Bulgaria, there will be more than a Morgan Freeman thief-like mentor and a younger Antonio Banderas crook. Variety reports that Radha Mitchell has signed on to star with the duo in the upcoming caper drama, which will be brought to us by director Mimi Leder and screenwriter Ted Humphrey. Unfortunately, they're not saying what her role is. Will she play Banderas' wife? Someone in the Russian mob that Freeman's character owes? The person the duo will rob to get that money? Who knows.

Mitchell made a name for herself in films like Phone Booth and Finding Neverland before heading Melinda and Melinda, Woody Allen's dual-story movie trek. Now she's got a handful of movies on the way that definitely hit some different themes. First up is a B movie named Rogue, which has her taking a cynical American writer on tour of the Outback when they get attacked by a crocodile and end up in some sort of horrific Gilligan's Island scenario. After that she goes back in time for The Children of Huang Shi, a period drama about journalist George Hogg who saved a group of orphaned kids, with help from a nurse and partisan fighter, during the Japanese occupation of China in 1937. Then things get lighter with Luke Wilson's Henry Poole is Here, and then darker again when she co-stars in The Seed -- about a "killer [who] returns from the past, forcing a young detective to return to a case that took her mother's life years before."

I guess that once you hit the age of 70, it's hard to not get that indelible stamp that says you're ready for movies about kicking the bucket, or playing the mentor figure over, and over, and over again. Even after playing the ultimate spiritual mentor, God, Morgan Freeman is jumping into another flick where he'll play an experienced man with a younger recruit. This time around, according to Variety, he's signed on for Mimi Leder's caper drama The Code, with Antonio Banderas.

This will reunite the actor and director, as Freeman starred in her 1998 film, Deep Impact, as the hole-making president trying to save a million Americans. This time around, the feature is a little more self-serving. Code, based on a script from Ted Humphrey, is about an old, "veteran thief who recruits a younger crook, played by Banderas, to help him pull off one final job in order to repay his debt to the Russian mob." Granted, Freeman's age isn't completely pigeon-holing him. I'm sure many an actor, especially those who get stuck in horror typecasting, wouldn't mind playing many different kinds of mentors and leaders. Not every man could jump from a stint as Lucius Fox to a tasty role as Nelson Mandela. As for Banderas, it should he a nice reminder that he can do more than fluffy dance films or kid flicks. Production begins this month in Bulgaria.

Yes, Nelson Mandela is still alive, despite what President Bush said (I know it was taken out of context). And now the previously announced Mandela biopic is also very much alive, and may even get a multiple Oscar-winner as its director. According to Variety, Clint Eastwood is interested in helming The Human Factor, an adaptation of the same-titled book by John Carlin (with subtitle: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Changed the World). The film won't actually be a full biopic, though; instead, it focuses on the former President of South Africa post-imprisonment, on the eve of apartheid's end. It also deals with the 1995 Rugby World Cup and how it aided in the post-apartheid healing of South Africa. The adaptation has been scripted by South African screenwriter Anthony Peckham (Don't Say a Word).

We've already learned that Mandela will be portrayed by Morgan Freeman (perfect choice), who will also be producing with his company Revelations Entertainment (10 Items or Less). Now possibly joining Freeman on screen is Matt Damon, who is in talks to play the captain of rugby team the Springboks. Although both Freeman and Damon contributed to the 3D IMAX documentary Magnificent Desolation, the two have never acted together. Freeman and Eastwood, though, have collaborated a few times, and it was due to working with the actor-director on Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby that Freeman reportedly requested Eastwood's filmmaking talents for this project. My guess is that Eastwood appreciates the opportunity, as it sounds like something that will garner him yet another Oscar nomination. However, it won't be the director's next film; that has already been announced as The Changeling, with Angelina Jolie.

For those looking for a Mandela movie in the meantime, perhaps someone will finally pick up U.S. distribution rights to Bille August's new film, Goodbye Bafana, which features Dennis Haysbert as the iconic prisoner-turned-leader. Erik caught the pic in Berlin earlier this year and called it, "a perfect movie -- one that gets it all right," and it is very surprising that there's no plans yet to release the film here. Perhaps someone is waiting until they can pit it against The Human Factor, in order to fulfill the new Hollywood law that all biopics must have a dueling competitor.

Imagine if you will the incredible team-up of Morgan Freeman, Christopher Walken and Wiliam H. Macy -- not simply in the same movie, mind you, but as an on-screen trio. Now, imagine that they are playing the old security guards from Night at the Museum. OK, you've got a good mental picture of what The Lonely Maiden might look like. According to Variety, the three actors have been cast in the comedy, which was written by Michael LaSieur (You, Me and Dupree). The plot follows these three guards at an art museum (unlike Night's Museum of Natural History) who have become really attached to the paintings and other works they watch over every night. So, when some of the pieces are transferred to another location, the guys decide to pull a heist and steal the works in order to return them to their museum. Maybe they could have simply gotten jobs at this new place, but whatever.

The plot is very different from Night at the Museum, obviously, but I really can't get it out of my head that Freeman, Walken and Macy make for an almost perfect parallel to their respective counterparts Bill Cobbs, Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney. It's like this is a prequel to that hit Ben Stiller comedy. Sorta. Anyway, I'm excited to see these three actors working together. It's a much better mix for Macy than Wild Hogs, and it kinda reunites him with a fellow Another World cast member (did he and Freeman ever appear in an episode together?). Most importantly, though, is the fact that The Lonely Maiden will be just as much fun to listen to than to watch; rarely are such distinct and enjoyable voices grouped together in a non-animated movie. The Lonely Maiden (the title probably refers to a painting) will be be directed by Peter Hewitt (Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey) and begins shooting in Boston on November 12. Maybe at the Museum of Fine Arts?

I live a ten minute walk from the Arclight Cinema in Los Angeles, easily one of the best movie theaters in the country. The American Film Institute hosts awesome screenings of new and classic films there weekly, and I try to see as many as I can. Just last week, I enjoyed the new Michael Douglas flick King of California, which was followed by an enlightening talk with the movie's writer and director -- Mike Cahill. Neat, right? But nothing could prepare me for the event that hit my inbox just now. Had I been a cartoon character, my bow tie would have spun around rapidly and smoke would have blasted out of my ears. Readers, if you live in Los Angeles -- KEEP OCTOBER 3RD FREE!

The AFI is celebrating its 40th anniversary with an almost unbelievably cool event. On October 3rd, they will screen eleven classic movies at the Arclight, all at the same time. But what truly sets this event apart are the people they've booked to host the screenings. Check this lineup out, and try to keep your jaw attached to your face: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, presented by Jack Nicholson. Spartacus, presented by Kirk Douglas. The Birds, presented by Tippi Hedren. The Sound of Music, presented by Julie Andrews. Bonnie and Clyde, presented by Warren Beatty. Rocky, presented by Sylvester Stallone. Star Wars, presented by George Lucas (settle down!). When Harry Met Sally, presented by Rob Reiner and Billy Crystal. Beauty and the Beast, presented by Angela Lansbury. The Shawshank Redemption, presented by Morgan Freeman. And Unforgiven, presented by Clint Eastwood. Um...wow. Just wow.

Here is the official site for the event. Tickets go on sale September 19th. which is this Wednesday. Tickets are $25, and include popcorn and soda. The first 100 people to show up for each screening get a 40th Anniversary AFI Book. Dress is "festive attire," all screenings begin at 7PM, and doors are at 5:30. For you non-Angelinos, which screening would you choose if you could go? And if you plan on attending, which one are you going to? I'll be at either Unforgiven or One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest for sure. Both movies are in my personal top ten, and where else am I going to be up close and personal with Jack Freaking Nicholson or Clint Freaking Eastwood? This is going to be a tough choice! See you there?

While hard at work on graphic novel adaptation Wanted with Angelina Jolie and The Dark Knight, Morgan Freeman spoke with MTV movie blogs about his adaptation of Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke. The story centers on an alien star ship that floats into our solar system and the human team of scientists working to figure out its origin. Freeman is planning to produce and star in the film and has promised that David Fincher will direct. There is no official confirmation on whether Fincher's involvement in the film is just wishful thinking on Freeman's part, but Freeman seems confident that Fincher is on board. Freeman first expressed interest in the project back in 2000, but in 2003 he had spoken with Sci-Fi Wire to speak about the problems he was having with studios, saying "These things, they always want to make it into an action film, You can't do it with this. And we've been having trouble getting someone to see the science aspect of this, the exploratory aspects of it, rather than the blood and guts and stuff".

Four years later, and it doesn't sound like getting the film into production has gotten any easier. Freeman now tells MTV, "It's a very intellectual science fiction film, a very difficult book to translate cinematically. [At least] we have found it very difficult to translate, to get ready for film". Rama was published back in 1972 and won both a Nebula and a Hugo award for science fiction writing. The book was later expanded upon into a series of novels, but Clarke was no longer writing them. Instead, he served as an executive editor for the remaining novels. Freeman still isn't finished with Wanted, and he has already signed to portray Nelson Mandela in a biopic about the legendary human rights leader. But in spite of the delays; persistence has paid off and Rendezvous with Rama is tentatively set for release in 2009.

Sources have told Comingsoon.net and and some other outlets that a teaser trailer for The Dark Knight will make a double-premiere on July 27, both on prints of The Simpsons Movie as it hits theaters across America, and during the Warner Bros. ComicCon presentation earlier that morning. For the last few weeks, we've been hearing that it was simply too soon for anything of substance to be unveiled at ComicCon for The Dark Knight, but really, how hard is it to cut a teaser together? If it's cleverly done, you can get by with only seconds of useable footage from the film, and it doesn't have to be money-shot footage. Looks like the powers-that-be have come around to that way of thinking. If all of this is legit, it would, of course, be the first time footage from the film has been seen anywhere, although some fans have gotten so impatient that they've actually crafted some fan trailers to keep themselves satiated in the meantime.

So what secrets are left about the production? We're still not completely sure who Anthony Michael Hall is playing, although source after source has claimed to know that he is playing Edward Nygma, a.k.a. The Riddler. It's also still up for debate whether Aaron Eckhart will transform into Harvey Dent in this film, or whether that's being saved for the next one. We're also fairly sure that Harley Quinn will not be making an appearance in the film, despite some earlier rumors that Sarah Michelle Gellar was up for that role. What about the role of the cop, Renee Montoya? Still no word on that either, although it's likely to be a small part even if its cast. Stay tuned to Cinematical for all the latest.

The weekend gross for Evan Almighty was $32.1 million, far below the studio's projections and less than half of the opening weekend of it's predecessor, Bruce Almighty, in 2003. The film opened on over 3,600 screens and according to Nikki Finke, was well-received in the South and Mid-West, did fair business on the West Coast and Mountain regions, but did poorly on the East Coast and in Canada, where religious-themed movies don't seem to go over quite as well. Interestingly, Evan Almighty wasn't the only big story this weekend -- Stephen King had his biggest opening weekend ever with 1408, which sailed on good reviews and word of mouth into a second-place position, bumping off Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer with $20.1 million.

The biggest loser of the weekend might have been R-rated horror films. 1408, which is PG-13, had one of the biggest horror openings in a while, and was noticeably more successful than Eli Roth's torture-fest, Hostel: Part II. Roth recently ranted on his MySpace page that R-rated horror was in jeopardy, and that if movies like his weren't supported, they would go away. The studio lemmings will not miss this weekend's 1408 surprise, and, if they are persuaded that PG-13 is the wave of the future, they might put the kibosh on any number of R-rated horror films in the works. The next big test for R-rated horror will likely be Rob Zombie's Halloween, which is opening in late August. If that movie tanks as well, you can probably say goodbye to real horror for a long time.

Morgan Freeman is about to embark on one of the best film roles of his life. Freeman will be portraying his long-time friend Nelson Mandela in The Human Factor. The film is a drama that will be produced by Freeman's production company Revelations Entertainment and was written by South African screenwriter Anthony Peckham -- who also wrote Don't Say A Word starring Brittany Murphy and Michael Douglas.

The Human Factor will follow the life of Mandela from the release of his 27-year imprisonment and after the first democratic election in South Africa following the fall of the apartheid. Mandela is most recognized for his work on South African reconciliation when his most pivotal and widely watched efforts were during the 1995 Rugby World Cup. South Africa was the host of the games when Mandela asked the black South Africans to support the widely-hated team the Springbok. The team won the world cup as Mandela revolutionized and began to unionize South African races by presenting the cup to Francois Pienaar; the captain of the rugby team.

I feel so accustomed to seeing Morgan Freeman in similar roles, best described as the ethereal voice of reason and aptly portrayed in Bruce Almighty and today's release of Evan Almighty, the God-like roles. It will be breathtaking to see Freeman portray one of the most influential and stunning public figures of our time. The film is based off the book The Human Factor: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed the World, written by John Carlin. I, for one, have a great amount of confidence in this particular piece of work. Freeman is one of the greater actors of our time and Nelson Mandela is one of the most influential and renowned purveyors of community and peace throughout the world. A film about a great man and portrayed by a great actor should be, at the very least, good.

For over a year and a half, we've been bringing you news about the graphic novel adaptation, Wanted, since Timur Bekmambetov was picked to direct. Since then, James McAvoy nabbed the lead role, Morgan Freeman signed on to play lead-assassin Sloan, Angelina Jolie jumped at the chance to be a Fox, then she cruised the windy city in a Dodge Viper, hip-hop guy Common then signed on to be the Gunsmith and finally Bekmambetov brought Konstantin Khabensky (Night Watch) to the otherwise-Hollywood list. As if all these other tasty morsels weren't enough, Variety now reports that Terence Stamp is now a part of the cast.

For some reason, however, they're not saying who he is -- does that mean he's the evil, fatherly villain who dies, leaving McAvoy to take over? Perhaps. In the series, Sloan was the father's partner, and they're almost the same age. Whatever the case, Stamp definitely has the acting chomps, since he's played almost every role on the spectrum -- a bandit named Blue, General Zod, a global traveler who discovers monsters, an art dealer named Victor Taft, a man who civilizes Young Guns, a desert-traveling cross-dresser, a controversial sex therapist and even the voice of Jor-El. If there are any Wanted fans out there who think they know who Stamp will be, please speak up!

For those that haven't kept up: Wanted switches up the whole comic story. Instead of a band of heroes, it is about the world's super-villains, who have come together to get rid of superheroes and re-create the world. (Guild of Calamitous Intent with more success?) Now Wesley Gibson (McAvoy) is a man who discovers that his recently-killed father was a villain named The Killer, and that he's inherited his dad's weapon skills. So, he enters the ranks of evil.

Well, I know what I'll be doing tonight! The American Film Institute is announcing its new "100 Years...100 Movies" list this evening, and as much as I tend to disagree with their annual lists, I can't wait. The special airs at 8PM on CBS, and will be hosted by...you guessed it, Morgan Freeman. Yes, they already did this list once before, in 1998. Tonight's special marks the 10th anniversary, and there was an entirely new vote conducted this time out. The previous list caused quite a controversy because of what it included (British films on an American list?) and what it left off, specifically films by black or female directors (the snub of Do the Right Thing still stings). 1998's top ten were as follows: 10) Singin' in the Rain, 9) Schindler's List, 8) On the Waterfront, 7) The Graduate, 6) The Wizard of Oz, 5) Lawrence of Arabia, 4) Gone with the Wind, 3) The Godfather, 2) Casablanca, 1) Citizen Kane. It's hard to imagine tonight's top ten list will change drastically, although I'd expect Schindler's List to drop a few spots.

As limited in scope as these lists can be, I eagerly look forward to every one. I can recall excitedly printing out the 1998 list and seeking out the few I hadn't seen. The lil' film fans of today need this sort of thing to know where to start with an appreciation of American film. The AFI intends to "refresh" the list once a decade -- 43 newer movies are in contention this time that weren't last time around, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Finding Nemo, L.A. Confidential, Fight Club, Spider-Man 2, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Brokeback Mountain, Chicago (Oh please), Crash (Oh please!), and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Oh, puh-leeeeease!!!). Over at AFI.com, you can watch videos of stars talking about their favorite movies, as well as download a ballot for yourself, select your favorite 100, and see how well you match up tonight.