I've been hankering for a good crime flick with a women in the lead for a long time (I can't be the only one who thinks that Catherine Zeta Jones' pregnant drug runner deserved way more screen time in Traffic). But, in the grand tradition of most crime movies, women are relegated to the sidelines as either 'the downfall of the anti-hero', or, 'sexy punching bag' -- neither of which is very flattering, but hopefully that will change with Queen of the South. Variety reports that Eva Mendes has signed to star in the big screen adaptation of Arturo Perez Reverte's crime novel, La reina del sur (Queen of the South).

The story is being touted as a "female Scarface," and centers on a woman who flees to Spain when her drug-dealing boyfriend is murdered. Once she arrives, she starts her own narcotics operation to finance revenge against her lover's murderers -- and quickly becomes top dog. Joining Mendes in the cast are Josh Hartnett and Ben Kingsley in as-yet unnamed roles.

News of the flick first surfaced last year, with Mendes, Jennifer Lopez, and Penelope Cruz on the short list for the role, but in the end Mendes won out. Personally I would have liked to see Lopez take on the role (it's been too long since we had the chance to see her be a bad ass), but I guess in a pinch Mendes will do.

Do you think Warners made the right choice with Mendes? Or is there anyone else out there who would have liked to watch Lopez 'tussle' just one more time?

I admit it, I have never, ever liked Jennifer Lopez. Part of this stems from that old Movieline interview where she rags on everyone with a shocking amount of overcharged ego. But the rest stems from the fact that I haven't liked her in anything I have seen her in. At least if I could appreciate the performances, the ego would have had some merit.

And I'm not the only anti-J-Lo moviegoer out there. You know you've got to reexamine your career when you get killed off in Jersey Girl and everyone applauds (a move reminiscent of Segal's clap-inducing demise in Executive Decision). But she still trucks on with movie roles, trying to make her cred meet her big tabloid name. But now Lopez, Marc Anthony, and her kids are heading for reality television, in a move I can only see as desperate.

Chemistry. It's a word tossed around in plenty of movie reviews, generally to diagnose whether two actors have it or not. Chemistry can be in the eye of the beholder: some critics may disagree, but if the chemistry is really there, it will show in the way the film catches on. No one can deny that Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan had it in When Harry Met Sally, or that William Powell and Myrna Loy, or Woody Allen and Diane Keaton had it in their many films. But for every hit, there are many, many failed experiments. Here are seven of the most (or least) memorable.

1. Fred Astaire and Joan Fontaine in A Damsel in Distress (1937)
For whatever reason, Astaire decided to break up his hit formula with Ginger Rogers and make this movie without her. His new partner? Joan Fontaine, best known for playing mousy, quietly pretty types (Rebecca, Letter from an Unknown Woman, etc.) and definitely not a song-and-dance woman. Poor Joan was taken to the mat for her lack of singing and hoofing, although the film actually isn't that bad. The ultra-witty P.G. Wodehouse adapted his own novel, it won an Oscar for its dance choreography, and it features another great team: George Burns and Gracie Allen.

2. Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock in Two Weeks Notice (2002)
Every so often some Hollywood executive gets the idea to team up two big stars, hoping that their massive appeal will translate into screen chemistry; it mostly doesn't. These two romantic comedy masters, who have been wonderful in other films with other people, came together like a dull, wet flint, unable to strike even the most meager spark. Another infamous example of this type of casting came in 1986: recent Oscar winners Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep came together for Mike Nichols' Heartburn. Before it opened, it had lots of buzz. After it opened, it had more of a stench.

Almost one year ago, I fell head over heels for Annie Leibovitz's photographic recreations of famous, animated Disney scenes. She shot Scarlett Johansson as the running Cinderella, Beyonce Knowles as Alice in Wonderland, spinning around in teacups that came from Disney World, and David Beckham as the Prince who fights off Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty. Now the next set of images have hit the net. They are housed over at The Disney Blog, and I'm still swooning.

I think that what I like most about these images is that they're awesome even if I don't particularly care for the people in them. Leibovitz knows how to capture the essence of each scene, and it makes me wonder just how stunning a carefully-plotted, full-length feature would look. (D*mn good, but long to do, and expensive to boot!) This time around, we've got the above, which features Mikhail Baryshnikov as Peter Pan with Gisele Bundchen as Wendy Darling and a teeny Tina Fey as Tinker Bell. But there's also images with Jessica Biel as Pocahontas, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony taking a magic carpet ride in Aladdin, and one more from that film, which looks split from the first, that has Whoopi Goldberg as the Genie.

As an added bonus, TDB also has a bunch of behind-the-scenes pics, which help you see how these great images came to be.

You would have thought that by now 20th Century Fox would have given up on the idea of a Dallas movie. What with casting changes and script overhauls -- not to mention a mediocre fan reaction to the whole idea in the first place. Now it looks like yet another snafu has hit the production. Page Six (the Mecca of gossip) is reporting that John Travolta has been dropped from the cast and replaced by Ben Stiller in the role of J.R. Ewing. According to Page Six's sources, Travolta was "let go about two weeks ago. He had the role of J.R. Ewing taken from him" -- ouch! But don't feel too bad for Travolta; the same sources went on to say that, "John was given a nice seven-figure 'gift' to go away quietly".

So if you are still keeping track, Travolta is officially the last remaining element of the original Dallas film that Fox had planned back in 2006. Originally the film was going to be a big-budget drama with an all star cast including Jennifer Lopez and Shirley Maclaine. Cut to one year later and the budget shrunk from $65 million to what is now described as "much less" and the cast has been scrapped. Also, instead of a drama, Fox changed directors to hire Betty Thomas to make a comedic 'behind-the scenes' version of the series. This would probably explain how Stiller got involved in the film, since he's almost as an unlikely a choice for the role as Travolta was in the first place. Stiller's reps have yet to comment on his involvement, so stay tuned to Cinematical for updates.

It's funny, for a movie that probably only ten people are looking forward to seeing in the theater, there's certainly a lot of gossip surrounding it. Cinema Blend is reporting that their sources are telling them James Brolin, Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights), Diane Ladd, and Julie Bentz are in negotiations to star in the update of the classic 80's soap, Dallas. Brolin would star as Jock Ewing, Ladd would play Ms. Ellie, and Kelly would take over from Victoria Principal in the part of Pamela Ewing.

Last April, word spread that the production had stalled, and I think most of us thought this would be the last anyone would hear about the film. But, this August, Scott brought us the news that the film was not only back on track, but this time it would be made as a comedy with Betty Thomas at the helm. There was was no more talk of Jennifer Lopez and Luke Wilson, but John Travolta is supposedly still on board to play the big kahuna himself; J.R. Ewing.

If Blend's sources can be trusted, then the film has gone back to being a drama and the comedy script has been tossed -- yeesh, can't these people make up their minds? But I would be inclined to believe that the film will be a comedy after all since Thomas has signed on to direct. Dallas is expected to go into production this summer, that is if they can ever make up their minds about what movie they are going to make. Oh, and there's also a little strike that might happen too.

Sure, it's easy enough to find the up-side of the handsome hunks of horror film. Hunks are easy. They're (mostly) hot, with their nicely whitened teeth and their hair product-styled to perfection, their six-pack abs, their ... sorry, where was I? Oh, right. Hunks versus Slashers. Jeff and Monika have already brought you the hottest hunks and chicks of horror; guess who drew the short straw and had to pick the slashers? (Actually, I volunteered for this one, so I guess that says something freaky about me ... ) My mission: to determine the hottest horror slashers (at least, according to me). These are the bad boys of horror you just can't stop thinking about, the ones who keep popping up in your dreams ... or nightmares. Whether they slash with blades on their fingers, roque mallets, or your basic kitchen knife, these are the boys you don't want to bring home to introduce to the folks over Sunday dinner ... unless you want your family to be the main course.

Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates (Psycho) My mother always told me: Never date a mama's boy. Little Normie's devotion to his mother was sweet, sure, but his methods of showing it left a little to be desired. But you have to admit, there's something about a guy who might stab you through the shower curtain if the mood strikes that guarantees that you'll never be bored while getting ready for your big date night. Anthony Perkins' striking performance as Norman Bates set the bar for horror slashers for decades -- even after all these years, watching Psycho still sends shivers up your spine. (View the trailer for Psycho or go straight to the gallery!)

Doug Bradley as Pinhead (Hellraiser) Sure, all those nails stuck into his skull give new meaning to the word "hammered" -- not to mention making it a little tricksy to coordinate outfits for those hot dates to movie premieres -- but at least, in his own bizarrely twisted way, Pinhead had a sense of fair play. Of course, if you make the wrong choice, your evening is gonna go downhill in a hurry. There's nothing like giant fishhooks pulling your flesh 14 different ways to put a damper on date night. On the plus side, though, you're probably pretty safe being walked home after dinner by a guy who looks like he had a close encounter with a nail gun, on purpose. (View the trailer for Hellraiser ... or go straight to the gallery!)

In an interview with Details Magazine, Ben Affleck comes off as a guy who's on his last set of legs. His last starring role was in the little-seen Hollywoodland, and before that he suffered through back-to-back bombs: Man About Town and Surviving Christmas. Now he's laying it all on the line with his first film behind the camera; his directorial debut, Gone, Baby, Gone. And if that movie doesn't do well, Ben says, "It's pretty simple. If people don't go see it -- I'm f**ked." Oh wait, he continues: "I feel like (Gone Baby Gone) is the linchpin for my life. My career. I have a lot riding on it. I want [the film] to work. Badly. I mean, a shitty movie comes out on 2,800 screens? I've been there and it's embarrassing."

So where does Ben think he went wrong? Well, part of it is due to his previous relationship with Jennifer Lopez. Ben admits, "It was probably bad for my career. What happens is this sort of bleed-over from the tabloids across your movie work. You go to a movie, you only go once. But the tabloids and Internet are everywhere." You're right Ben -- we are everywhere. But things are still looking pretty good for The Affleck; as of right now, his new movie is getting lots of buzz -- some are saying his brother Casey gives a terrific lead performance, and with help from The Assassination of Jesse James, we could be watching a new Affleck rise up to A-list status real soon. As far as Ben goes, we don't know what will happen to the guy after this film. Personally, I think he needs to re-team with Matt Damon on something, anything, but we'll see. Ben does admit that he might have to say goodbye to one thing he loves: his home in Los Angeles. "I'd be surprised if I'm still living here in a couple of years. Professionally it would be difficult. But that's not as important as that other thing."

Ben shot one of Moviefone's Unscripted pieces over the weekend alongside his brother Casey, and so I'm curious to see how he looks, and how he sounds. I'm worried about the guy. How about you?

[via SlashFilm]

Let's start with the strongest point about El Cantante, the joint effort of real-life married couple Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony to bring to life the story of salsa legend Héctor Lavoe: JLo turns in a decent performance as Lavoe's wife. There, I said it -- and I know without even looking at any other reviews that a lot of critics will either outright disagree or gloss over her contribution to the film, but this is the closest I've seen her come to fulfilling the promise she showed way back in Out of Sight in 1998, and it's nice to see her in good form. Unfortunately, El Cantante -- at least as the title implies -- is about Lavoe, not his wife, but the movie focuses at least as much on the wife of the King of Salsa as it does on the man after whom it's titled, and that's one of the film's weaknesses.

El Cantante takes the life of a fascinating and complex man and waters it down into a decidedly uninspiring and vanilla biopic that does nothing to push the boundaries of the genre or make us want to see further efforts to bring the tales of famous, troubled singers to life. Part of the problem is that, while Lavoe's story is historically significant to fans of salsa music, and he undoubtedly influenced the genre and contributed to it greatly, there's just not much in his personal life -- at least as it's presented in this film -- that's unique among famous musicians. Troubled relationships with family and friends, drama in his relationship with his wife, Puchi, the inevitable drug addiction (seriously, are there any famous musicians out there who haven't struggled with drug addiction?), and the inevitable trajectory of rise and fall of fame and fortune, just aren't that compelling in and of themselves anymore.

Which one of the following actresses would you like to see playing a badass drug kingpin: Jennifer Lopez, Eva Mendes or Penélope Cruz? I ask this question because those are the three names currently circling the lead role in Queen of the South. Warner Independent has just nabbed Jonathan Jakubowicz (Secuestro Express) to helm the film, which revolves around a "Mexican woman who escaped Spain after her drug mule boyfriend is killed, then becomes a drug kingpin and seeks revenge for her boyfriend's murder." Based on Arturo Perez-Reverte's novel, they're calling this one a female version of Scarface -- which automatically piques my interest -- and appears to be one of the more sought-after female roles out there right now.

If you want my opinion, I'd have to say J-Lo is the frontrunner here. Cruz is too cute and fragile, and Mendes hasn't shown me enough range to take on a role like this -- whereas Lopez is a pretty decent actress when she's given the right material. I know folks love to bash Lopez, but I thoroughly enjoyed her in Out of Sight, really liked her in the soon-to-be-released Bordertown (check out my Berlinale review of that film here), and heard lots of good things about her performance in the upcoming El Cantante. But as a woman with a huge fanbase (who also has a music career to worry about), is "drug kingpin" dangerous territory from a PR standpoint? Would you J-Lo fans like to see her in a role like this? And if not, who would you choose to play the female Scarface? Perhaps we should just dress Pacino in drag, a la Travolta in Hairspray -- whaddya think?

I know a lot of people come down on Jennifer Lopez for whatever reason (I heard she's not the friendliest person in the world), but as far as acting goes, I do think she has potential. Word has it that she's great in El Cantante, and I truly liked her performances in both Out of Sight and Bordertown (read my Berlin review of that film here). Of course, for every Selena, there's a Jersey Girl ... and a Monster-in-Law ... and a Gigli. What's next for the gal, you ask? Well, the Hollywood Reporter tells us that folks are moving forward with Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, with Lopez attached to star and Don Roos directing off his own script. I dig Roos. Did you see Happy Endings? The Opposite of Sex? He makes these ultra quirky relationship films that have just enough edge -- coupled with fantastic performances -- for us to not call out corny.

Capitol Films has boarded the film as a co-financier (just one of the many deals currently taking place over at the Cannes Film Festival), and they'll also be in charge of the pic's worldwide sales. With Marc Platt producing, story is said to revolve around the "tempestuous relationship" between a woman and her young stepson. Like with most of Roos' films, Love and Other Impossible Pursuits will mix a little comedy with a little drama, so that you'll be laughing at one point -- but then, when you least expect it, a tear slides down your cheek. Based on the title, I'm sure a lot of folks will crack the obvious Lopez joke; how the "Other Impossible Pursuits" include the actress trying to absolutely shine in a role. But I refuse to go there. Nope. Not me. I like her. I don't exactly know why I like her, but the talent is in there, somewhere. And here's hoping we see it come through soon.

The slide of Jennifer Lopez into complete irrelevance seems to be continuing unabated, based on the trailer for her next film, El Cantante. Even after watching it, I can barely make out any semblance of a story, except that it seems to center on Marc Anthony as a singer who is trying to conquer the Latin music scene and Lopez is his woman. According to CinemaBlend, where we first saw the poster for the film, it's a "dramatic biography of Puerto Rican salsa pioneer Hector Lavoe. The film follows Lavoe's (Anthony) passionate relationship with Puchi (Lopez) and his skyrocket to international fame. In the mix are a lot of drugs and angst."

I know Out of Sight was a long time ago, but has Hollywood so completely forgotten Lopez's good performance in that movie that they are offering her nothing but dreck like this? A quick glance at her IMDB page reveals one project on the sked for 2008 called The Governess, but she is the only name beside it so far and I've never heard of it, so it looks like the kind of project that stars say they know nothing about at press junkets. And this Marc Anthony character? I know one thing about him: he gave such a bad performance in Tony Scott's Man on Fire that it's stuck in my mind ever since. Seriously, Tony's red ballcap must have gone spinning every time this guy uttered a line. Marc Anthony, you need to stick to your day job, whatever that may be. For those who still plan to see El Cantante after seeing the trailer, it's scheduled to arrive in theaters on August 1.

Once again, scattered boos could be heard following yet another press screening in Berlin -- this time, for the film Bordertown. Like pic's main character, some would think I'm imagining such evilness; but it is real, it is happening and it is in poor taste. If there's anything I've learned within the past 24 hours, it's that you should never be afraid to speak your mind -- to tell the truth -- no matter who awaits you on the other end, determined to bring you down. And that's exactly what journalist Lauren Fredericks (Jennifer Lopez) intends to do when she's sent to Juarez, Mexico by her Chicago Sentinel editor (Martin Sheen) to investigate a series of murders that are taking place within the small, seedy bordertown.

An opening title graphic explains that American corporations are taking advantage of the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) by opening large American-owned factories (or Maquiladoras) right across the border, hiring Mexicans (mainly women) to work long hours (sometimes in 24-hour shifts) for little money in order to produce mass quantity (one computer is produced every seven seconds). Some might call it "slave labor," while the American government probably just views it as a major convenience. Needless to say, for a long time now women factory workers (who often work and travel late into the night with little to no protection) are being kidnapped, raped and, in most cases, murdered. To this day, the Mexican government has done very little to try to prevent these atrocities from occurring.

While the past week may have been a little slow for celebrity news and gossip, it was a fabulous week for bizarre photos. This should be good news for those who follow the world of crazy celebrity fashion and expected a lull between the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards. Admittedly, the SAG awards definitely helped. Jeffrey Sebelia provided us with a rundown of the SAG fashion trends, but mere words cannot do justice to some of these outfits.

The following roundup of last week's movie-celebrity gossip items includes some truly hair-raising photos ... and at least one that you don't want to view from the office, so be careful.

If there is such a thing as a "Hollywood martyr" then Marilyn Monroe is probably the patron saint. She was the ultimate in cautionary tales about the destructive side of fame, but it doesn't always have to end so tragically. Ben Affleck's engagement to Jennifer Lopez and the gossip whirlwind that was "Bennifer" was an example of what happens when the gossip machine looks for fresh meat, and the results weren't pretty -- although, they might have been asking for it after that video. Now, that was brutal.

Affleck has begun to pull himself from the wreckage and is building credibility as an actor again for his work in Hollywoodland and Smokin' Aces. He'll also be making his directing debut with Gone, Baby, Gone. Affleck is steering clear of the high profile celebrity life and seems happier because of it. A profile from The New York Times Syndicate has Affleck musing on his brush with A-list fame: "Nothing is inside doing those things. It doesn't matter. I had to learn that by having my family that's what really matters. I'm lucky I was able to see the hollowness of fame, but I got pretty dinged up over the years." It looks like Affleck might have learned his lesson about keeping his private life out of his professional life, but Lopez certainly hasn't; since she stars opposite husband Marc Anthony in the upcoming biopic of singer Hector Lavoe (El Cantante) -- some people never learn.