With a monkey slapping a man, a young girl going crazy for shoes, and a cranky grandma, The Croods isn’t straying too far from the formula for harmless family comedy. It just happens to feature the world’s first family. Nic Cage voices Grug, the pater familias of the pre-historic crew that includes his wife Ugga (Catherine Keener), daughter Eep (Emma Stone), son Thunk (Clark Duke) and mother Gran (Cloris Leachman). Everything is safe and isolated in their cave until an earthquake forces them on an adventure into beautiful, lush new territory where they meet a citizen of the brave new world voiced by Ryan Reynolds. The new trailer is fun in a sweet way, selling a movie about taking risks by playing it as safe as possible. Still, Dreamworks may have a new winner on their hands:

If Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken, Catherine Keener, Mark Ivanir and Wallace Shawn were in a movie together, would you go see it? Director Yaron Zilberman (Watermarks) is even throwing in Imogen Poots for free. This excellent ensemble formed for A Late Quartet, the story of four world-class string players who struggle to stay together. The official synopsis uses the phrase “insuppresible lust.” Hopefully it’s between Walken and Hoffman. Or hopefully it’s the kind that causes a massive rift between two or three people. That might be the case, as this absolutely gorgeous trailer shows. It’s intense and makes a powerful impact with a striking metaphor. Having Beethoven in its corner doesn’t hurt either. This, right here, looks like must-see filmmaking from a new director and a veteran cast.

Being John Malkovich was an amazing success story upon its 1999 release. Not only was it a critical darling that got nominated for a bunch of awards, but it also successfully launched the big screen careers of a music video director named Spike Jonze and a lowly TV writer named Charlie Kaufman. In case you didn’t know, those guys have gone on to be big names, and Being John Malkovich earns quite the pedigree by being the start of their careers. On a personal level, I walked out of the movie in ’99 shocked at how unique and inventive it was, and loving how it melded progressive filmmaking with a comic sensibility. Revisiting it all these years later though, I realize it hasn’t aged as well as I’d hoped, and I find myself wondering if it still deserves the level of reverence that it gets. Mabrouk El Mechri’s 2008 film JCVD didn’t get near as much buzz or recognition as something like Being John Malkovich. Maybe that’s because a big chunk of it wasn’t in English, or maybe it’s because it just wasn’t as good—that’s debatable. But the opinion that it showed us a different side of its star, Jean-Claude Van Damme, was pretty universal, and it seemed like it was going to be something of a rebirth for the action star’s career. It’s four years later though, and nothing has really come of it. The man has still been largely relegated to straight-to-video action movies, and any of the

In an interview with Moviefone, Elizabeth Banks had some sad news to deliver: Charlie Kaufman’s Frank or Francis “fell apart at the last minute.” Banks was set to co-star along with Catherine Keener, Nic Cage, Jack Black, Steve Carell and Kevin Kline. The film was to be an exploration of filmmaking, Hollywood culture, criticism, and probably a dozen other things but more importantly…it was new, original work from Charlie Kaufman. The Playlist has learned that the movie is simply postponed, but it’s time to start drinking nonetheless. Why? Because there’s no such thing as “dead” in filmmaking; only “postponed.” Of course, that comes with the optimism that Kaufman can make it happen one day. Hopefully soon.

At first glance, Peace, Love & Understanding looks like your typical indie film. The focus is on characters – relationships between parents and their children, budding romances – and the humor mostly comes from a political place, throwing uptight suit-and-tie types in a confined space with characters who are on the extreme left and watching them all chafe against each other. Chances are you could watch its first trailer and feel like it was an advertisement for a film that you’ve seen a hundred times before. That is, if it didn’t have such an appealing cast. They kind of set the project apart. Well-worn material or not, it’s pretty hard to catch wind of a movie that’s cast Jane Fonda, Catherine Keener, and Elizabeth Olsen as three generations of very different women and not get a little bit excited. With Fonda and especially Keener, you have a couple of acting veterans who always bring the goods in anything they do. And with Olsen you have a hot young performer who is going to have the eyes of Hollywood on everything she does, at least for her next few projects. Factor in that the leading ladies are being directed by a solid old hand in Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy, Mao’s Last Dancer) and Peace, Love & Understanding looks like it’s going to be a safe risk when you’re deciding what to hand your movie money over to.

A few days ago I reported on a story that two former female leads from Charlie Kaufman movies would both be working with the writer again, this time on his next directorial effort Frank or Francis. It turns out that was only half right. While Catherine Keener does appear to be attached to the film, buried in a report about Paul Reubens joining the cast is confirmation from THR that Kate Winslet has not. That’s a pretty big blow to my enthusiasm for the added girl power that this movie would have gotten by casting both Keener and Winslet, and the inclusion of Pee-Wee does little to soften the blow. Fortunately for me, there’s some more news that does soften the blow a bit. In another report, THR says that Elizabeth Banks has joined the cast, and in a role that sounds like it has some potential for hilarity. As we know already, Steve Carell and Jack Black are playing the title characters, a director and a film blogger who come into conflict with one another over a series of bad reviews. Well, it appears that Banks will be playing the Carell character’s girlfriend, an actress who keeps making “formulaic comedy bombs.” Seeing as the focus of this movie is the world of filmmaking vs. the world of film criticism, I’m imagining that Banks’ character will provide some delicious jabs sent the way of actresses like Kate Hudson and Katherine Heigl, the undisputed queens of the formulaic comedy bomb.

Charlie Kaufman’s directing followup to Synecdoche, New York has been in the casting stage for a while now, and already it has compiled an impressive core of male actors. Names like Steve Carrell, Jack Black, and Nicolas Cage have attached themselves to the picture, and Kaufman has even made a play at securing Paul Blart. So far there’s been a lack of news about who might play any of the female parts, however. This movie, that seems designed to take the wind out of our movie blogging sails, was looking like a real sausage fest. That’s all changed in a big way though. Vulture is reporting that two phenomenal actresses, Kate Winslet and Catherine Keener, have just signed on to join an already stellar cast. That’s some added girl power that might take even the Spice Girls aback for a minute. News of Winslet and Keener’s involvement on any project would be met with quite a bit of enthusiasm already, but when you factor in that both of these actresses have worked very successfully with Charlie Kaufman material before, things kind of get kicked up a notch.

“Tell me what you like about my body,” came a shy voice from behind me. I mulled that sentence over for a moment. It seemed like such a strange request considering I already thought the guy was sexy enough to lay next to in my birthday suit. Not to sound like a Christina Aguilera video here, but I couldn’t stop touching this man and the post-activity head spins weren’t adequately allowing me to sum up how much I enjoyed his company. And bluntly, would saying how attractive I found him really change how he felt about himself? A few days later I had time to reflect on this jarring moment. It was the first of its kind for me, and I haven’t experienced anything like it since. Of course men have these questions of body image, but I’ve never been with someone who felt so comfortable (or maybe uncomfortable) as to ask what their partner preferred about their physical appearance. Being a nerd who refuses to live in the real world, I couldn’t help but compare this real slice of life with a film that for all intents and purposes hasn’t really stayed in the minds of many viewers.

This week, Fat Guy Kevin Carr recovers from a full day of watching Armageddon back-to-back to crawl back to the multiplex. He re-lived the last eight minutes of Source Code over and over, thoroughly confusing himself. Then he stumbled into the theater next door to learn about the true meaning of Easter from Russell Brand and James Marsden. Things take a decidedly creepy turn when he watches Insidious and wets himself more than once. This led to a very unfortunate scene while he watched the sexual-predator cautionary tale Trust. No one would believe him it was just wee wee.

When most people hear David Schwimmer’s name, the first thing they think of is his bumbling character Ross on NBC’s mega-hit Friends. Sure, there’s a couple fans of Simon Pegg that will stampede to his directorial debut of Run Fat Boy Run, but we all know that most will think of his television work. Well, Schwimmer is distancing himself further from situation comedies with his new film Trust, which opens in limited release on April 1. Trust takes a darker angle than the bulk of Schwimmer’s body of work, telling the story of a teenage girl who is targeted by a sexual predator online. Finding the right star for a film like this is as challenging as getting a story about such a sensitive subject made. For the role, Schwimmer turned to then-14-year-old Liana Liberato to play the teenage lead of Annie. Liberato took some time to speak with Film School Rejects about how she handled such an emotionally challenging role.

Many of us remember David Schwimmer from the television series Friends, but he has since dipped his toes into directing. His second feature, following up the comedy Run Fat Boy Run, is the drama Trust, which deals with online predators. Starring Clive Owen, Catherine Keener and newcomer Liana Liberato, Trust tells the story of a fifteen year old girl who is targeted through text messages and social networks. One of the first cities in which Trust will open is Columbus, but FSR will be giving away free tickets to an early screening of the film before it opens anywhere else. If you live in the Columbus area, you can get your hands on a ticket that allows you into a super-secret screening of Trust on Thursday, March 31 at the AMC Lennox at 7:30 PM.

Things are going hot and heavy with that new crush you’ve formed online. You ignored Hard Candy and Catfish, but maybe you won’t ignore Trust. Directed by David Schwimmer, it seems to be a different brand of online anonymity heartbreak. The trailer looks heady and emotional, and you can’t go wrong with Clive Owen, Catherine Keener, and Viola Davis. Check it out for yourself:

I don’t actually know for sure that Clive Owen’s character is interested in sodomizing the predator in question, but judging by the man’s past roles I have to imagine he’s weighing the option. Trust features Owen and Catherine Keener playing parents to a precocious teenage girl who likes to chat online with strangers. Silly girl. One of the teen’s cyber pals turns out to be a violent pedophile who buggers her without asking permission and shatters the family’s false sense of security. This upsets Owen, and I don’t think the rapist is going to enjoy what happens next. The trailer is below and sadly looks pretty generic… aside from one thing. Watch the screen at the 1:35 mark and be prepared for the trailer’s (and probably the film’s) biggest surprise. Check after the jump to watch the trailer for Trust…

Columbus Rejects! Get a chance to see Cyrus before it opens… for free!

I’ve gotten a bit tired of John C. Reilly doing so many comedies recently. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a damn funny man who elevates everything he’s in, but I’ve been increasingly afraid that a man with as strong of dramatic chops as he will continually fall into typecasting through the short-term memory of Hollywood. Enter Cyrus, the first high-profile, star-studded effort by those kooky mumblecore kids Jay and Mark Duplass.

Kevin Carr sits his chubbiness down and sees if The Wolfman, Valentine’s Day and Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief can make the grade.

Previously thought to be (a) way off the radar, then (b) not worthy of being on the radar in the first place, the Chris Columbus directed film Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is now somehow creeping onto not only my radar, but also my watch-list.

Meet Max Records. His performance is the special center of Spike Jonze’s movie Where the Wild Things Are, the linchpin that brings it all together so wonderfully…

Kevin Carr takes a look at this week’s movie releases, including Where the Wild Things Are, Law Abiding Citizen and The Stepfather.

Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) is a staff reporter for the Los Angeles Times, writing up life experiences. When he meets Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx), a schizophrenic, homeless, former Julliard musician, he finds a story that actually changes his life.