Apparently Woody Allen is back at it. He has done nothing worth seeing in several years, but he's got Vicky Christina Barcelona coming out this weekend. I can't see Scarlett Johansson and Javier Bardem doing a bad movie together, so it gives me hope.

Mark Pellington (Arlington Road, U2 3D) drops Henry Poole is Here which is getting pretty luke-warm reviews. Not sure why, but something makes me like the idea of Luke Wilson and George Lopez together. Lopez, fresh off his minor role on one of the most underrated shows on TV, Reno 911, is hit-or-miss for me. But Wilson rarely steers me wrong. Yeah, he did the Legally Blonde movies, but he usually does alright.

Another possible horror debacle is out with Keifer Sutherland and Amy Smart on board. Mirrors might be alright with those two leading it, but recent horror offerings have been fairly disappointing. With Alexandre Aja of Hills Have Eyes (2006) directing, it has a shot at being good, so I'll probably see it at some point.

The big buzz is around Tropic Thunder right now. Ben Stiller directs and stars in an action movie comedy about bad actors in a bad movie. Sounds bad, but then I thought Zoolander would suck. Some genuinely funny clips in the previews (especially the red band trailer with Stiller getting stabbed by a toddler) and the fact that Downey Jr is doing black face without international protests are enough to pique some morbid curiosity, despite all of the "retarded" protests.

My first choice this weekend will have to go to my childhood favorite: Star Wars. The Clone Wars is a cartoon entry into the Lucas universe with the man himself in the producer role. It is apparently the first entry in what will be an animated TV series, so all the Star Wars nerds are going to be interested in what is going to become of this. The upcoming video game, The Force Unleashed, and this movie are bridging gaps in the story lines between movies (the game between chapters 4 and 5, the movie between chapters 2 and 3) so it just leads to speculation of where Lucas might be going with the expansion of his universe. Rumors of chapters seven, eight and nine have been swirling for years, but there may be no real reputable source behind them.

--John Berry, Online Editor--