When most films traverse the seas of melodrama, they balance it with either a thick layer of absurdity or a heavy reliance on the desperation for passion and love. While a film like Meet the Parents will take an ordinary situation and make it extraordinary with a series of over-the-top gags and painful to-watch bad luck, another, like any of Sandra Bullock's romcoms, will infuse its quirky protagonist with the burning need for love and a host of romantic ideals. Chaos Theory, however, leaves all of that aside and explores the territory of melodramatic love by focusing on the way each character lives their life and reacts to big moments. It has its share of over-the-top moments and sentimental scenes that would make cynical viewers cringe, yes, but those are only a small portion of the experience.

Ryan Reynolds stars as Frank Allen, a man who has built his life on a carefully organized timetable of index cards. He is so invested in this way of life, in fact, that he has made a career out of it; he has written a successful book about efficiency, and teachers others how to live his carefully constructed index card existence. It works wonderfully for him until the day that his well-meaning wife, Susan (Emily Mortimer), turns the clock back ten minutes and shatters the intricate structure of his day.

To be fair, I haven't read the script for this -- but based on the description, it certainly seems like Disney is about to break Doc Brown's biggest (and most important) time-traveling rule. The Hollywood Reporter tells us Disney has picked up the spec script (yay for spec script surge!) Self-Guided, written by Jared Stern. So maybe we should blame Stern for this one, because his script centers on a man who "magically goes back to high school as a guidance counselor to give advice to his younger self." (I wonder if, while writing this, Stern pictured a slew of BTTF fanboys crying foul?)

Mandeville Films' David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman will produce, and there's currently no word on casting or a potential director. However, Lieberman was prepping the Disney rom-com The Proposal when he read this script, and since that film stars Ryan Reynolds, I wouldn't be surprised if Reynolds' name is first on the list. The actor seems to be heading in a new direction as of late; away from all those raunchy comedies and more toward playing adult characters.

So, are we far enough away from BTTF that this shouldn't present a problem? We're not in Zemeckis' world anymore, so why not ... right? (I'd be lying, though, if I said a part of me wasn't kinda ticked off.)

Have we finally reached an age where practically the entire cast for a huge, highly-anticipated movie is announced not through the trades, but on various movie news websites? I think we have, and I think the name of that movie is X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Last night, we told you how Ryan Reynolds was suiting up to play Deadpool in the spin-off flick, and now Superhero Hype tells us Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights) has signed a three-picture deal to star as Gambit (aka Remy Lebeau) in the Gavin Hood-directed film, due out May 1, 2009.

Gambit, a fellow mutant and member of the X-Men, "possesses the ability to manipulate kinetic energy as well as limited hypnosis. He is also skilled in card throwing, hand-to-hand combat, and the use of a Bo, " so says Wiki. When you compare a picture of the character to Kitsch, they look almost exactly the same -- so it's a good match in that department. Fans have been itching to see Gambit show up on the big screen for some time now; the character had his name show up in X2 when Mystique hacked a system holding mutant names, and he was rumored to be involved in X-Men: The Last Stand, with a bunch of actors auditioning for the role, but never showed up. Originally, he was supposed to appear in the prison convoy scene.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine will star Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Liev Schreiber (Sabretooth), Danny Huston (William Stryker), Lynn Collins (Silver Fox) and (we think) Ryan Reynolds (as Deadpool). Talk about an eclectic cast! What do you think?

Definitely, or maybe? According to AICN, Ryan Reynolds is definitely showing up in X-Men Origins: Wolverine as the character Deadpool -- which not only means there may be a new spinoff franchise in the works, but that this new Wolverine prequel will be chock-full of groovy comic characters. As per Wiki, the character is "Nicknamed the "Merc with a Mouth", Deadpool is a high-tech mercenary known for his wisecracks, black humor, and satirical pop-culture references. Like the X-Men's Wolverine, Deadpool is the product of the Canadian government's paramilitary Weapon X program, although his place of birth is unknown. After Weapon X cured his terminal cancer by implementing a regenerative "healing factor" extracted from Wolverine, Deadpool is left disfigured and mentally unstable."

Sounds like the perfect comic book character for Reynolds, who's made a name for himself in the comedic realm and always looks relaxed in front of the camera. But can he kick ass? Additionally, Film School Rejects also claims to have received information indicating that The Blob will make an appearance in Wolverine as well. The character is just that -- a friggin' giant blob-ish mutant who "possesses an extreme amount of pliable body mass, which grants him superhuman strength and his own gravitational pull. Possessing the mindset of a bully, he mostly uses his powers for petty crime and as a member of the Brotherhood of Mutants and Freedom Force." Fat dudes, funny men -- seems like Wolvy will get rather dirty in this one.

What do you think about adding both these characters into the mix? Too much?

Look at movie photo. Insert caption. Win awesome prizes. Repeat. Last week, we asked you to get all kinds of witty for a photo from the new romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe, starring Ryan Reynolds as a guy who definitely knows how to entertain little Abigail Breslin with stories from his past. Throw a bunch of C.D.'s (what are those?) into the equation, and the musical references -- combined with your admiration for Mr. Reynolds -- were plentiful (and somewhat hilarious). Congrats to Bob B. who turned Ashlee Simpson (who's she?) into a household name ... again.

1. "I don't know how she does it, but Ashlee Simpson really knows how to speak to me in a way few artists can." -- Bob B.

2. "Ryan comes clean after castmates uncover a long hidden secret from his past, as Ricky Reynolds, the first American boy in the 1984 reformation of the boy band Menudo." -- Eric W.

3. "I'll be honest with you, I love his music, I do, I'm a Michael Bolton fan. For my money, I don't know if it gets any better than when he sings "When a Man Loves a Woman"". -- Anthony G.

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This week, we're heading back to high school with the ever-so-optimistic Charlie Bartlett. The film stars Anton Yelchin as a rich kid who becomes the self-appointed psychiatrist to the student body of his new high school. (And can you guess where he holds most of his sessions? Hint: There's more than enough paper to go around.) One lucky grand prize winner will get to take home a totally sweet original Charlie Bartlett painting designed by pro skater/icon Steve Caballero. You can check out the painting to the right, and click on it for a larger version. Sound off below fellow captioners ... but do take it easy on the toilet humor. Zing!

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Several things conspire to make Definitely, Maybe seem a dicey proposition at first glance. There's the rarely-inspiring presence of Ryan Reynolds, whose film career has, up to now, moved between mediocre comedies and mediocre action and horror films and served mostly as a demonstration of the phenomenon of 'failing up.' There's also the gimmicky nature of the pitch giving off warning signs, as divorcing dad Reynolds tells his daughter Abigail Breslin the story of his life before he got married, shielding names and facts so she can't figure out which of the three women (Isla Fisher, Elizabeth Banks or Rachel Weisz) he knew and loved when he was single came to be her mother. "I like it," Breslin says early in the film, appraising Reynolds's efforts. "It's like a love story-mystery." And even that's a somewhat off-putting moment; Gee, kid, thanks for pointing that out for us.

But Definitely, Maybe, written and directed by Adam Brooks, surprised me as it unfolded, and got around my initial reservations with its mix of good humor and grace. Not only is Reynolds an appealing lead here -- possibly because the boyishness that's undercut his other work is an integral part of his character – but Definitely, Maybe also has some grit and gristle under the glib gimmick of the mommy-mystery hook. As Reynolds explains the long and winding road of what happened and when, Brooks's script mostly doesn't shy away from the tough stuff, and it doesn't paint Reynolds as some perfect, hapless everyman undone by random chance; he makes mistakes, and he pays for them, and he tries to set things right. Reynolds is normally light and charming enough on screen, but there's something new in his performance here, as his inner feelings keep coming into view behind his smile.

Welcome to another fun-tastic edition of Insert Caption! Last week we asked you to give us your best captions for a photo from this weekend's new release, Fool's Gold. And gosh, we never knew so many of you were obsessed with a shirtless Matthew McConaughey. Is it the muscles? It's the muscles, ain't it? Congrats to Alex C. for dishing out a Dazed and Confused reference that was just too good to pass up.

1. "My drawin' skills... every year I get older, but they stay the same age." -- Alex C.

2. "I think this scene right here would be a great opportunity for me to take my shirt off." -- Radu M.

3. "Here, let me draw it out for you. You see, I take two steps forward, and you take two steps back. We come together 'cuz opposites attract. Get it?" -- KOW

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This week, you'll definitely (not maybe, definitely!) want to enter our caption contest, in which we're celebrating the upcoming release of Definitely, Maybe, starring Ryan Reynolds and Little Miss Sunshine herself, Abigail Breslin. Reynolds plays a political consultant who finds himself in a revealing place when his 11-year-old daughter begins to grill him on his past relationships. One Grand Prize winner will take home one signed Definitely Maybe poster, one Definitely Maybe girls' fitted T-shirt, one photo album, one journal, and one baseball hat. Additionally, two runner-ups will receive one Definitely Maybe poster, one Definitely Maybe girls' fitted T-shirt, one photo album, one journal, and one baseball hat. Sound off below!

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If snow isn't your thing, but you really like film festivals, you might want to pack your bags quickly and zip over to the Santa Barbara Film Festival, which kicked off its 23rd year tonight. The fest definitely started on the right foot. Or, maybe? No, it was the world premiere of Definitely, Maybe. It's already screened, and according to the fest's blogger, Roger Durling: "I stuck around for half and hour to see how the film played with an audience, and people seem to be loving it! Yay! It's a sweet romantic comedy. I really like it."

That's good news, because the film has been in the works for what seems like eons. Cinematical first posted about the story all the way back in September of 2005, when Ryan Reynolds signed on to star. Since then, a cast was collected that features the likes of Abigail Breslin, Isla Fisher, Derek Luke, Elizabeth Banks, and Rachel Weisz. The film focuses on a Manhattan dad (Reynolds) who has to deal not only with his divorce proceedings, but also questions from his 10-year-old (Breslin) over his pre-marriage life. Trying to stay in PG territory, he discusses three women he had relationships with -- without telling her which one ended up being her mother. Since this is a romcom, you can imagine what happens after such happy reminiscing.

For non-fest-goers, the film will, suitably, hit screens on February 14, and you can check out the trailer over at Moviefone. Man, it's hard to believe Billy Simpson is now playing a dad.

Judging by choreographer/director Anne Fletcher's choice of projects, she must have a thing for weddings. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Fletcher, who directed Katherine Heigl's latest foray into interchangeable romantic comedies (27 Dresses), has signed to direct another rom-com called The Proposal. Proposal stars Sandra Bullock as a publishing executive trying to avoid deportation to Canada by marrying her assistant (played by Ryan Reynolds). So, like most career women in the movies, she is demanding and bullying and pretty much forces her assistant up the aisle -- although if my assistant had abs like Reynolds I might do the same thing.

Peter Chiarelli penned the script and while Reynolds and Bullock have been attached to the project since last May, it took Touchstone some time to find the right director. Fletcher started her career as a dancer and a choreographer, and finally made her directing debut with Step Up (a teen dance flick). Keeping with her strengths, she will. Fletcher told THR, "The Proposal has great physical comedy, which I for one, and I think a lot of other people, love seeing Sandy in. Ryan has great physical comedy skills too, and I always thought, why isn't he doing romantic comedies? So I'm excited to get my fingers into this."

Physical comedy is great and all, but am I the only one who would appreciate a moratorium on wedding comedies for awhile? I know I'm not the only one who thought that 27 Dresses premise was a little, shall we say, 'retrograde' for a modern romantic comedy. Maybe I've just come to expect a little more than tired clichés about bitter career woman and matrimonial fulfillment. The Proposal is scheduled to begin production this spring and will be released in 2009.

We've heard rumors for months with regards to the script for the much-hyped, live-action version of Justice League of America. While movie sites compete to be the first to obtain top secret JLA info, none other than Entertainment Weekly has stepped up claiming to have obtained an early version of the script. According to the magazine (and what follows might be deemed spoiler-ish, so beware) the following characters were included in the version they read: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and the Martian Manhunter. Earlier reports had claimed Aquaman was left out, but here he's listed -- and personally, I dig the orange and green suit; hopefully he'll stick.

EW also says the script goes the "origins story" route, apparently showing how the Justice League was formed. Here's how EW describes the plot: It "revolves around villainous businessman Maxwell Lord and involves cyborgs called OMACs (One-Man Army Corps), who can take over humans and turn them into killing machines. There are epic battles between Superman and Batman, as well as Superman and Wonder Woman." Aww man, why would Supes do battle against Wonder Woman? As of right now, no one has been officially cast -- Jessica Biel was offered the role of Wonder Woman, but turned it down (perhaps because she wasn't guaranteed a starring role in a potential spin-off). Not long ago, Cinematical asked folks who they would cast in the Justice League of America film. Based on your answers, we've put together a gallery so you can see for yourself whether these are the people you want portraying some of our most beloved superheroes on screen. Check it out below.

[via IESB and IGN]

It's going to be hard to follow Superbad, but as we've previously learned, Greg Mottola is going to give it a try. He's already working on his third film, Adventureland, which at least has that goofy-cool compound-word title thing going on, just like Superbad. Of course, this seems to be a theme that goes all the way back to Mottola's first feature, The Daytrippers, and so the similarity can't promise that the new movie will be anything like Superbad (not that The Daytrippers was bad; it just wasn't Superbad). Then again, if Mottola really wanted to ride the Superbad train he would have tried to get Adventureland made with Judd Apatow as producer, and he probably would have cast Michael Cera in the lead. Instead, according to The Hollywood Reporter, he's got Jesse Eisenberg (The Squid and the Whale), who also has a great awkwardly comic manner but is certainly underrated compared to Cera. Joining Eisenberg are two more people who had nothing to do with Superbad: Ryan Reynolds (Van Wilder) and Kristen Stewart (Panic Room).

Eisenberg will star as a college graduate who has to take a job working in an amusement park rather than go on a European vacation (he should have worked at Epcott, which could have been a compromise). Stewart is a tomboy (isn't she always?) co-worker who he falls for. Reynolds' role is a bit confusing. He's apparently an aspiring rock star (too old) who is, and I quote both The Hollywood Reporter and Variety here, "the icon of cool to all the kids working at the park." Does he also work there? Is he playing a concert there? Are all the kids working at the park really that uniform? I'm not sure. Mottola wrote the presumably autobiographical script (it's set in 1987, around the time he would have graduated from college) and The Door in the Floor's Ted Hope and Anne Carey are producing. Adventureland begins shooting next month in Pittsburgh (at Kennywood?).

What are The Nines? I have no idea, but I think The Eights are koala bears. That's about as close as you'll get to answers in this film, screenwriter John August's directorial debut, but don't let that deter you -- this is one of the most fun, most brain-twistingly clever films of the year. It's at once a serious meditation on the responsibilities of creators, a light-hearted poke at people in the entertainment industry who apply life-or-death stakes to everything that happens to them, and a metaphysical meditation on exactly what constitutes reality. Is television reality? The characters certainly seem to think so. Who are we to tell them they aren't real? And what about our creator? Do we have one? If so, what would that creator think about what we're up to, and how would they go about inserting themselves into the everyday world to get a closer look? What guise would they use? The Nines is a movie that raises about six million major, thought-provoking questions but then holds back on answering most of them.

The film is structured as a three-part anthology, with three actors -- Ryan Reynolds, Melissa McCarthy, and Hope Davis -- playing different characters in each part. Part 1 has Reynolds playing a capricious Hollywood actor who totals his car and ends up being put under house arrest in his gigantic Hollywood home -- some punishment, right? Going stir-crazy under the watchful eye of his ultra-chipper publicist, played by McCarthy, Reynolds' character becomes enamored with a sultry next-door neighbor, played by Davis, and starts to challenge his house arrest. Part 2 is a more autobiographical section, with Reynolds playing a television executive fighting to keep his pet project in development while also submitting to the demands of a Project Greenlight-style reality show, starring him. Davis plays a cold-hearted network executive in this piece, while McCarthy plays a thinly-disguised version of herself, acting out a version of her own past experiences with August. Part 3 is a self-contained story, starring Reynolds and McCarthy as a couple with a child, lost in the woods -- Davis plays a mysterious jogger. Still with me?

Ryan Reynolds recently responded to a question about whether he was still interested in tackling the role of The Fastest Man Alive in the upcoming Justice League movie or in a solo Flash film. You can check out his response in a quick video over at ign.com. He stumbled a little bit, saying he wasn't sure how much he was supposed to say, which I suppose implies there is something worth telling. Reynolds explains how he's always identified with Wally West and Barry Allen, the two most recent incarnations incarnations of The Flash, though I say how about giving some props to Jay Garrick the original Scarlet Speedster? More to the point, though, he basically says he's interested if the film comes together. Reynolds was linked to the character when David Goyer was going to write and direct a Flash movie, but Reynolds was presumed off the project when Goyer backed out.

As Cinematical's Jessica Barnes posted the other day, the Justice League movie is said to be on the fast track with production beginning as early as February/March 2008 (though the IGN story mentions January), and Mad Max director George Miller is the likely candidate to sit in the director's chair. Personally, I'm hoping this comes together. We've seen lots of superhero movies in recent years, but this would be on a scale unlike anything we've seen before. If, however, we find out that the Wonder Twins have been worked into the script, I'm planning to shoot myself.

Above is an exclusive look at the final one-sheet for The Nines (click on poster for larger image), written and directed by John August. Yup, the extremely talented screenwriter (and frequent Tim Burton collaborator) is making his directorial debut with a film about three people (a troubled actor, a television show runner and a video game designer) whose lives and stories all intertwine to form a single narrative that explores the relationships between author and character, actor and role, creator and creation. Alternately funny and unsettling, The Nines is like a riddle where the answer may just lead to another question. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Melissa McCarthy, Hope Davis and Elle Fanning. Additionally, you can check out the trailer over at IGN, as well as two puzzles (via UGO and Coming Soon) which should keep you busy until the flick arrives in theaters on August 31.

We now know just how young Sandra Bullock's co-star will be in the romantic comedy The Proposal. And, in fact, he's not that young at all. The Hollywood Reporter tells us Ryan Reynolds will star alongside Bullock in one of three upcoming romantic comedies for the actress; this one being about a demanding female boss who faces deportation back to Canada, and so she hatches a scheme to marry her young male assistant (Reynolds.) Only thing is the entire thing is a sham ... until about halfway through the second act. Either that, or Reynold's character will help her find her true love -- blah blah blah.

The script was penned by Peter Chiarelli (who sold the thing roughly two years ago under a pseudonym); he used to be the director of development over at MGM and is now president of Kurtzman/Orci Prods. If those names sound familiar, that's because they belong to Transformers scribes Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci; both are sharing exec producing credits on this gem for Touchstone Pictures. Additionally, Mandeville's David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman will tack on producing duties. Although Reynolds has already hit his thirties, I'm sure they'll age him down a tad for this one -- if only to make it seem like the two are that much farther apart in age. Bullock, however, perpetually looks like she's 26, so they'll have to work on her a bit. Look for plenty of 'You're sleeping your way to the top' gags and hilarity to ensue.