Though he still has to debut his latest -- and perhaps most commercial -- effort, Be Kind Rewind, writer-director Michel Gondry is constantly looking ahead toward his future projects. The man behind two of my favorite films from the past few years, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep, revealed to MTV a new project he's working on called The Return of the Ice Kings (which may or may not have something to do with that project he's working on with his son). Once again Gondry plans to return to the world of science for a story he describes as being "about kids who invent a water that makes you hear music when you drink it." He claims to be already scoping out talent to star in the flick, though he admits the script needs to be completed first. Gondry adds: "It's going to be a scientific story, but completely unrealistic." Not sure about that -- I have friends who hear all sorts of things when they drink.

When asked about his obsession with science, Gondry explained: "I'm into science - in fact, I read more about science and astronomy than about movies. Science is re-questioning itself all the time, and it's still at a stage where anything is possible." Additionally, he teased one scene from the film that still needs to be written: "At one point, they see the end of time in the movie. So, we'll have to shoot it somewhere that looks like the end of time." While Gondry often taps into his childhood for inspiration, this would mark the first time the writer-director works with children in a film -- so I can't be the only one excited to see where he goes with it. We'll be reviewing Be Kind Rewind this month as part of our Sundance coverage, and the film will officially hit theaters on February 22.

I'm not a big fan of top ten lists. For the past couple weeks, a slew of people have bothered me for my top ten films of the year -- a list I've never felt comfortable putting together, regardless of what year we're in. The thing is, I cannot for the life of me throw together such a list when I haven't seen most of the films that probably would have made the list had I managed to catch a screening. Thus, I'd have to call it something like, "The Top Ten Films Erik Watched in 2006 ... But Keep in Mind He Hasn't Seen (insert a good ten titles here)." Now, how much fun would a list like that be?

However, movie trailers are a whole different animal. I don't have to see a film to judge a trailer, and the previews for pretty much every film released in 2006 (as well as a ton to be released in 2007) are available online for me to watch. But how does one go about picking the top ten trailers of the year? Well, first off, your opinion should be based solely on the trailer, and not the film (if you happened to have seen it). And, when you watch the trailer, you should ask yourself two questions: 1) How much does this trailer make you want to see the film and 2) How badly do you want to show this trailer to everyone you know? If the answer to both those questions is, "Holy crap, you have no idea how much I want to see that film, and I definitely need to show my friends this trailer right now!" -- congrats, it's most likely in your top ten.

Written and directed by Michel Gondry, The Science of Sleep is an extremely personal film based, in part, on Gondry's own life. While it's quite simple at its core, the pic is so visually complex you might find yourself completely lost after returning from even the briefest of trips to the bathroom. With this follow-up (not counting the Dave Chapelle doc Dave Chapelle's Block Party) to the critically-acclaimed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (one of my favorite movies of 2004), Gondry decides to explore similar themes, with both Sunshine and Science revolving around a character who fights through his sub-conscious mind in order to land the woman he loves. However, with a script written by Gondry himself (and not the brilliant Charlie Kaufman) The Science of Sleep is a lot deeper and darker -- the kind of film that not only tugs at your heart-strings, but uses them to tie you up and torture every fiber of your being.

dys·func·tion also dis·func·tion  -- n. Abnormal or impaired functioning, especially of a bodily system or social group

When I think of the word 'dysfunctional,' part of me wonders why no one ever suggested taking my picture and placing it next to said word in the dictionary. And if such a picture was ever presented before me, what sort of face do I put on in front of the camera? Do dysfunctional people smile? Should I frown? What if I kind of half-smile and squint my eyes, alluding to the fact that there's something missing -- ya know, leave it up to the reader to make their own assumptions.

Then again, aren't we all a little dysfunctional sometimes? Aren't we abnormal? What is abnormal? Heck, what's normal? And, if there is a person out there who is completely normal, not a worry or problem in the world -- wouldn't that classify them as abnormal? Where am I going with this? Did I even have a point? Do I need one?

Needless to say, the following films all deal, in some way, shape or form with dysfunction. Seeing, feeling and wanting things that, to the average, functional person, may seem a bit bizarre. Be it ghosts, dreams, people out in the middle of the woods with mutilated hands or any film that stars Christian Bale -- this week we're delving into the world of the abnormal ... or normal, depending on which dictionary you subscribe to. Welcome to another edition of Trailer Park:

Our friends over at Indiewire conducted their first ever poll of critics and journalists at Sundance, and found that the group of 50 critics they interviewed (which, we must point out, did not include anyone from Cinematical - should we be offended?) voted overwhelmingly for Ryan Fleck's Half Nelson as their fave dramatic film. Indiewire's story doesn't specify the scientific validity of their polling method, or how it was conducted. Was it a poll conducted by impartial, official pollsters? Or was it more the type of poll where you ask everyone you meet over many drinks at a Sundance party which film they liked the best, and then trust your half-fogged memory to keep accurate track of the results?

At any rate, according to their results, the runner-up, Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland's Quinceañera, which won both the Sundance jury and audience prizes, and the other runner up, Michel Gondry's The Science of Sleep, each received less than half the votes Indiewire  tallied for Half Nelson. The results Indiewire posted don't give us hard numbers, but if we remember our grade school math correctly, we can estimate that Half Nelson probably received somewhere around 25 votes, with Quinceañera and The Science of Sleep splitting the rest.