There are a lot of things that will make me want to see a movie. Maybe the effects look cool, it's based on a book I liked or the trailer made me laugh. The films we're talking about today are ones that caught my attention because of a name involved, someone whose presence in front of or behind the camera makes me think this flick might have something going for it. It's Star Power week on Trailer Park.

The Bucket List
Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman play terminal cancer patients who create a list of things they want to do in life before they kick the bucket (hence the title). Neither actor seems to be straying far from what we've come to expect of them. Nicholson is blustery but still kind of suave while Freeman is more thoughtful and fatherly, but these are roles they play well. Oddly enough, the dynamic between the two actors reminds me a bit of the one between Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis in Bubba Ho-tep. Will and Grace's Sean Hayes is here too and Rob Reiner is directing, so I suspect this will be one worth catching. Martha Fischer first blogged about this on Cinematical here.

Finishing the Game
The star in question here is actually the star of the film being made within the film. At the time of Bruce Lee's sudden death in 1973 at the age of thirty-two, his film The Game of Death remained unfinished. Finishing the Game is a comedy about the completion of the film in the wake of Lee's death and finding an actor who can finish the late martial arts star's scenes. Several actors vie for the role, one of them hilariously Caucasian. The costumes and hair styles capture the 70s feel nicely, as do the clips of faux period martial arts flicks, which kind of remind me of the fake trailers in Grindhouse. This looks awesome.

A potentially compelling film noir story delivered in an irritatingly bright and overzealous package, Cleaner has two very excellent things going for it -- and their names are Samuel L. Jackson and Ed Harris. If you're a serious fan of either actor (and if you're not, you should be), then you'll definitely want to rent Cleaner once it (eventually) pops up in your local theater video store. Beyond the contributions from Jackson and Harris, however, there's very little worth talking about where Cleaner is concerned.

We start off with a potentially juicy concept: Sam Jackson plays a 'hazardous waste cleaner' who gets framed for a murder he (probably) didn't commit. And when I say 'hazardous waste cleaner' I mean that this is the guy who'd come to your house to eliminate the gore if someone happened to have their brains blown out in your living room. So things look pretty promising at the outset: We've got a great actor playing a strange role and doing a fine job of it -- and then the plot kicks in.

Seems that our "cleaner" has just cleaned up a murder that the police know nothing about. And even if they DID have a clue, they'd probably be thrilled about it because the victim was a stool pigeon who was about to blow the lid off some serious police corruption charges. So when Cleaner guy realizes that he forgot to return the house key, he's distressed to learn that The Wife (Eva Mendes) knows nothing about any bloodshed in her living room. But, oddly enough, her husband has just gone missing. (dun dun dunnnnn)

Mandate Pictures announced yesterday that Eva Mendes has signed for Curve, a thriller about a woman who takes a detour into a backwoods area of New York and "finds herself at the mercy of a psychopathic killer." There's no other description given so far, but the film is being written by James Vanderbilt, who wrote the John Travolta military suspense film Basic as well as David Fincher's procedural Zodiac, so its more likely to be a full-on suspense film than any kind of Wolf Creek type-deal, I would imagine. As for Mendes, she was most recently seen in the Tribeca film Live! and will next appear in the crime drama We Own the Night, alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg. She's also currently working on Renny Harlin's next film, Cleaner, a crime thriller about a former cop played by Samuel L. Jackson who now makes a living cleaning up crime scenes.

So what have we learned here? Eva Mendes doesn't like romantic comedies or isn't being offered them anymore, I guess. In conjunction with the Mendes announcement, Mandate Pictures also announced on Friday that they are getting more involved in direct-to-DVD films, launching Grindstone Entertainment Group. The deal will allow for up to six films a year to be made under the banner, which will be specifically for home entertainment distribution, as well as online and mobile.

I'm not sure what it is about sunshine and cleaning, but the two have been all over movie titles as of late. Last year we had Little Miss Sunshine and Code Name: The Cleaner, and in 2007 we're looking at a film called Sunshine from Danny Boyle, another simply called Cleaner (which stars Samuel L. Jackson) and one that combines both, Sunshine Cleaning, starring Emily Blunt, Amy Adams and the newly casted Mary Lynn Rajskub (best known for her role as Chloe O'Brian on Fox's hit show 24.) Both Cleaner and Sunshine Cleaning focus on characters who clean up crime scenes, though the latter seems a bit more interesting ... to this guy, at least.

In Sunshine Cleaning, Adams and Blunt play sisters who clean crime scenes for a living and, in the process, somehow learn the meaning of life. Sounds sort of cheesy until I tell you that Rajskub will play a blood bank technician who's the object of Blunt's sexual obsession. (Yeah, that little plot point completely caught me off guard too.) I should also note that Alan Arkin snagged a role, which makes this his second Sunshine-related indie comedy in two years; pic was written by Megan Holley and will be directed by Christine Jeffs. No word on a release date, but Sunshine Cleaning is currently sweeping up the streets of Albuqerque, New Mexico.

Well, we all know how well Code Name: The Cleaner performed at the box office, but did you know there's another Cleaner heading our way? No, it thankfully will not be a sequel to the Cedric the Entertainer flop. (Question: Are you allowed to call yourself "the entertainer" when people aren't very entertained by your work?) The other film, simply titled Cleaner, is a thriller that stars Samuel L. Jackson, Ed Harris, Christa Campbell, Keke Palmer and, now, Eva Mendes -- who, as you all know, is my imaginary wife from a parallel universe. But, anyway ...

We've been covering this film for awhile now, ever since Sammy Jackson first signed on to star. Basically, Jackson plays one of those guys who cleans crime scenes for a living, and when he winds up covering up a homicide that hasn't been reported yet, guess who gets blamed for murder? Mendes will play widow to the murder victim, who turns to Jackson for some help (cleaning her apartment, we wonder?). Of course, pic is being directed by Renny Harlin, known for such gems as Deep Blue Sea, Exorcist: The Beginning, Mindhunters and The Covenant. Will Cleaner, um, clean up at the box office? I guess we'll soon find out; shooting began yesterday in Louisiana.

Odds and ends from Golden Globes Day Thursday:

• We've already told you how Samuel L. Jackson is set to star in Cleaner (not Code Name: The Cleaner or The Cleaner -- simply, Cleaner), to be directed by Renny Harlin. Now, it appears two more folks might be joining his cleaning crew. Ed Harris and Keke Palmer (remember Akeelah from Akeelah and the Bee?) are in talks to co-star in the pic which follows a man (Jackson) who cleans up crime scenes, but soon finds himself in trouble when the dude cleans up evidence from a murder before it's reported. Harris will play a cop and Jackson's former partner, while Palmer gets the honor of playing Jackson's daughter. "Daddy, why do you clean splattered brains for a living? Can't you be, like, an accountant?"
• Entertainment Weekly has some pretty badass pics from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's new film Grindhouse. Long story short: Tarantino's half (Death Proof) follows a psycho stunt driver who runs people over with this sweeet looking car. Rodriguez's half (Planet Terror) is apparently some balls-to-the-wall zombie flick. I imagine the amount of blood, guts and gore in this puppy will set some sort of record ... but don't hold me to that. In the pics, Russell rocks out his ride and -- wait -- check out Rose McGowan and Marley Shelton on that bike with something exploding in the background. Yum. Er, cool.
• While you're checking out all those pics, why not dive into the first official still photo from Ocean's Thirteen. Oh yes, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and George Clooney are all decked out in suits and shades -- they're just sitting at the airport, minding their own business. However, we're positive Clooney and his gang of the sexiest men alive have more than a few aces up their sleeves ... if you know what I mean. [via JoBlo]
• According to British tabloid The Sun (which, in case you did not know, is the most reliable source on the entire planet), The Killers are in talks to perform the title song for Bond 22 (aka the one after Casino Royale). I'd like to be the first one to say, well, killer! I dig The Killers, always have -- and I'm in agreement with The Sun's secret inside source, who says: "The Killers have reached the perfect point in their career to do a Bond track. They have the right sound, right look and a huge fanbase, making them the perfect choice." Bond 22 (or should we start calling it Risico?) is scheduled to hit theaters in November 2008. If you could choose any artist to perform the next Bond song, who would it be?