Perhaps the best thing about Kung Fu Panda is that it's an action comedy that doesn't skimp on the action. Dreamworks Animation's latest effort may stick out a little on the Red Carpet at Cannes -- where it's screening out of competition -- but it's certainly a well-made kid's film that earns high points for how directors John Stevenson and Mark Osborne clearly crafted and contemplated its look and feel with ambition and style. Anyone can make a computer-animated cartoon with fuzzy animals doing kung fu; you have to be at least a little inspired to make a computer-animated cartoon featuring fuzzy animals doing kung fu in widescreen Cinemascope. ...

Kung Fu Panda opens with a rousing, stylish action sequence, as a narrator (Jack Black, in full-on Tenacious D exposition mode) explains how "Legend tells of a legendary kung fu warrior whose kung fu skills were legendary. ..." But then, the heroic panda we've seen unleashing paws of power on the big screen ... wakes up; it was just a dream. Then Po the panda (Black), whose dreams of kung fu glory are the counterpoint to his unsatisfying life, gets ready for his day of helping his father Mr. Ping (James Wong) sell noodles to the people of the Valley of Peace.

If you're not a fan of the style of comedy popularized by people like Seth Rogan and Judd Apatow, it's probably not going to be a good year in comedy for you. Variety reports that Fox Atomic has purchased the comedy pitch Harvey and Marky: A True Story of Friendship and Betrayal. Jarrad Paul and Andy Mogel are behind the script, and "the story revolves around childhood friends who hit a crossroads in their relationship when the shy Marky gets a girlfriend and becomes more independent. This devastates the very domineering Harvey, who in turn hires a fake girlfriend to compete with his old friend" -- If nothing else, at least this film has a few parts for the girls to play; since most comedies lately aren't known for their inclusion of the opposite sex.

The comedy duo has been making some deals with Warner Bros. for the comedy property Himelfarb, and they have also been hired for production work on the Jim Carrey comedy Yes Man for Warners, starting production this October. Paul began his career as an actor, and has worked on everything from Beverly Hills 90210 to the *college crisis flick Kicking and Screaming. Paul started writing in 1998; his first (and only)credit was on two episodes of Stargate SG-1, so who knows how good his comedy skills are. The same goes for Mogel, who worked as a grip once back in 1997, and will make his feature debut with Harvey and Marky. Luckily, on board to produce the buddy comedy are Peter Principato and Paul Young. Young and Principato were the production team behind the Reno 911 flick , the upcoming Will Arnett comedy Space Invader, and another Jim Carrey flick, Me Time -- so at least they have some experience when it comes to cranking out comedies for the boys.

*Correction: Jarrad Paul appeared in the 2005 soccer comedy with Will Ferrell.

I was hopelessly ensared in the world of The 40-Year-Old Virgin the minute I saw that poster. Both simplistic, yet telling, Steve Carrell's smiling face with hopefully arched eyebrows, hair slicked back and a golf shirt said just as much as the film's title. You knew what you needed to know, and you knew that you'd get what was expected. Now Knocked Up is here, and while Seth Rogen's similar picture isn't as epic, it doesn't really matter because we all know that Judd Apatow has a talent for delivering the laughs, and heck, even the reviewers agree.

If you took out the particulars in those little blurbs over at Rotten Tomatoes, and left just the flowering praise, you'd think this could possibly be the best movie ever made, and definitely Oscar-worthy. Mashing it all up, Apatow's latest is an era-defining, uproarious and brilliantly-deceptive comedy that has earned him the honor of chief chronicler of modern family life. The film is a gleeful triumph that looks effortless, yet is a deceptively sophisticated meditation on moral agency. It's heartfelt, comic chicken soup with an elegance of form, and might just be an act of subversive genius. You get the idea. Almost everyone loves it, and the negative make it refreshing since it's so different from the flock that you have to wonder if it's just not their cup of tea, or they went to see it after getting cancer of the puppy -- for example, Roger Moore thinks it's "a tone-deaf skip down parenthood lane." I guess you can't make everyone happy. But at least critics and casual moviegoers can skip down the lane hand-in-hand for the next little while.

Seth Rogen. My earliest memory of Rogen had been his scene-stealing performance in The 40 Year-Old Virgin, until I looked at his resume -- he's had a lot of work over the years. There are roles in two great, yet ill-fated television shows, a stint as a bully in Donnie Darko, and time as the eager cameraman in Anchorman. Behind the scenes, Rogen even received an Emmy nod as part of the staff of Da Ali G Show.

Since then, the man has been up to his eyeballs as an executive producer, screenplay collaborator and actor. Now, Variety has announced that Columbia Pictures has attained the rights and recruited David Gordon Green to direct The Pineapple Express, written by Rogen and oft-writing partner Evan Goldberg. The comedy, which is about a pair of friends who get involved in a drug gang, will star Rogen, along with his old geek-co-star-turned-goblin, James Franco. Joined by Judd Apatow and Shauna Robertson as producers, the film is set to enter production next year. According to Green, the project will give him a chance to "plant an absurd buddy comedy in a rough-and-tumble action movie."

It seems like these days, post-SNL collaborations are out, and post-Freaks and Geeks and Ali G collaborations are in. Rogen teamed with Apatow in Freaks, followed him to Undeclared, then teamed up with Goldberg on Ali G, acted with Apatow in Anchorman before again following him to Virgin. Now all three have teamed up in Superbad and Pineapple -- you get the picture. I can only hope that they continue to go strong, and don't beat themes to death until we wish they would fade away.

*EDIT: Thanks go to Chris for noticing and pointing out that it isn't "Rogan," but "Rogen"!