Buddy films. They're an interesting breed of cinema. Instead of finding success in a niche, they appeal to the masses. With buddy flicks, you're served a variety of time periods, races, genres, laughs, and scenarios. If one doesn't appeal, the next is sure to come -- all tapping into the goodness of friendship and camaraderie.

And snuggled nicely into that sector of cinema are the buddy cops. They've made the careers of a few big stars, like Mel Gibson and Eddie Murphy. But I don't want to give you something quite so obvious as Beverly Hills Cop or Leathal Weapon. Since this is all due to my recent purchase of Hot Fuzz, I give you that plus an ol' '80s classic -- Running Scared.

Warning: This post contains excessive grasping at straws.

Most knowledgeable folks seem to think that the upcoming Wanted looks like a piece of junk. I can understand their position: the trailer was kind of a sensory assault, and didn't exactly make the film seem original. For my part, I'm not ready to write it off. I like James McAvoy, director Timur Bekmambetov is a fellow Russian, and I tend to enjoy the wildly implausible brand of action that the film seems to be going for. So I'm happy to report a piece of news that kind of surprised me: Wanted has been rated R by the MPAA for "strong bloody violence throughout, pervasive language and some sexuality." That elaboration makes it seem like they won't be trying to trim the bad parts to earn a PG-13.

Now, okay: obviously that doesn't mean much. I mean, the similarly (identically?) themed Hitman was rated R too, and look how that turned out. But for me, the R rating speaks not directly to quality, but to the kind of film Wanted is likely to be. Seeing the trailer (and not knowing the source material), I thought that while it looked kind of cool, it also looked like a broad, inoffensive, second-rate action romp -- my first association, probably due to the presence of Angelina Jolie, was with Lara Croft Tomb Raider. But maybe it won't be. Maybe it'll turn out to be harsh, and sexy, and over-the-top in ways that are actually interesting. Maybe it'll be more like Running Scared or Shoot 'Em Up than like Ghost Rider. You might think that those comparisons don't help and that it still looks like crap, but it seems to me that an R rating for a movie like this increases the odds of it being worthwhile. Or am I off my gourd?

I was fortunate enough to attend a special screening of Smokin' Aces a few months back, and after the movie ended I (and a bunch of other writers) got to sit down and shoot the breeze with writer/director Joe Carnahan. First off, say what you will about the guy, but he sure does know his movies. I've met filmmakers whose eyes got all glassy when I mentioned Walter Hill or Michael Ritchie, but Carnahan can movie-geek with the best of 'em. But when one of the journalists raised the topic of Quentin Tarantino, well, Joe had a lot to say about that.

According to this juicy article at the Sydney Morning Herald, Joe Carnahan will bite your head off if you compare his latest movie to Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction ... but I think this writer may have misrepresented Joey's tone of voice. When we sat down and discussed the exact same things that are covered in that article, Carnahan spoke quite respectfully of QT. He did, however, make it a point to say something like "Hey, Quentin didn't invent guns and hitmen and rapid-fire dialogue, you know!" -- but I never once got the impression that he was knocking Tarantino at all.

Is Smokin' Aces, in your opinion, too reminiscent of Quentin's flicks? Is it unfair to call one filmmaker a copycat of Tarantino if QT spent his entire career copycatting other filmmakers? (Don't get me wrong; I adore Tarantino's movies, but to label his subject matter as "original" is kind of a joke.) Frankly I don't think Carnahan deserves the copycat label, although I can plainly see where the comparisons are coming from. Smokin' Aces actually reminded me more of Running Scared than Pulp Fiction, but if a director wants to do a hard-R, tongue-in-cheek action flick, it seems he's bound to get painted with the Quentin brush. Kinda unfair, if you ask me.

New Line has put the first six minutes of the upcoming Paul Walker flick, Running Scared, online for your viewing pleasure before the film hits February 24th. Because of the violence, nudity and foul language, the footage is restricted and so you first must register your email, birth-date and password before moving forward, meaning those of you under the age of consent are out of luck here.

I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the opening sequence. With its creative editing and gritty look, this one appears to have some legs on it. Written and directed by Wayne Kramer (The Cooler), Paul Walker plays a low level mob guy in charge of disposing of the "hot"weapons after a hit. However, when his son and friend stumble upon one of the weapons used in a cop shooting, the friend takes it and uses it to kill his abusive stepfather. From there it falls on Walker to correct the entire situation or else he won't live to see the next day.

If you're on the fence with this one, I'd suggest checking out the footage before making a decision. Well, unless you're one of those people who like to go in cold. Running Scared also stars Chazz Palminteri, Vera Farmiga and up-and-comer Cameron Bright.