There are a couple biopics about famed porn actress Linda Lovelace in the works, so let’s not get confused. Lovelace isn’t the one that was supposed to star Lindsay Lohan but then picked up Malin Ackerman because Lindsay Lohan is Lindsay Lohan; that one is the Matthew Wilder-directed Inferno. Lovelace will be directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (Howl), and has Amanda Seyfried replacing the originally-rumored Kate Hudson as the titular performer. I’ve seen these two movies have actors that are appearing in one being attributed to the other or downright get referenced as being the same film before, so I want to be clear. Now that we got that out of the way, let’s look at the casting news. Way back during this project’s humble beginnings, James Franco was rumored as being the choice to play Chuck Traynor, a pornographer and Lovelace’s longtime husband. That probably had something to do with his experience working with the directors in Howl. That bit of casting didn’t work out though, and the role eventually went to the equally-as-sleazy-as-Franco, Peter Sarsgaard (see An Education, yuck). Apparently that wasn’t the last of the Franco on Lovelace rumors, however, because Variety’s Showblitz is now reporting that the actor may be making a cameo in the film as Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. That sounds like the sort of fun, low commitment gig that I could see Franco being into, so I’d say the chances of him appearing in this film are once again good.

The dancing, singing penguins of Happy Feet return for another dose of eco-themed animation in this sequel from George Miller, which proves two truisms. First, there’s still a lot of mileage in the spectacle of penguins tap, tap, tapping in unison and belting out cover songs. Second, this franchise is not the clarion call to action on climate change that it wants to be. The star of the first film, Mumble (Elijah Wood), is a father now, struggling to connect with his adolescent son Erik (Ava Acres), who feels misunderstood and marginalized because he can’t dance. For Erik, a surrogate role model of sorts emerges in The Mighty Sven (Hank Azaria), a flying penguin who preaches messages of empowerment. After a shifting glacier traps their community of emperor penguins in a vast valley, little Erik will need all the confidence he can muster when he, his dad, and two of his friends are called upon to save the day.

It’s no surprise that Sony Pictures has gone ahead and scheduled the inevitable sequel to The Smurfs (hey, at least they waited until the first film was in theaters). The second Smurf-venture will smurf into theaters on Smurfgust 2, 20smurfteen. Sorry, I got some blue stuck in my throat — The Smurfs sequel (Smurf-quel? Fine, calling it now) will arrive in theaters on August 2, 2013. Smurf on. The Smurfs beat Cowboys & Aliens during opening weekend, and already stands at a worldwide gross of $135m over just eleven days in release. The film cost an estimated $110m to make, so while that profit margin isn’t huge as of yet, the film will have legs (little tiny ones, clad in little tiny white pants) outside the US, as The Smurfs already opened in first place in twenty-three international markets just last weekend. I have not yet seen the film, because I like to watch films that don’t hurt my eyes or offend my childhood. There are no other films currently scheduled for the August release date, so it looks like that particular date should remain firmly in their little blue-handed grasps. Thor 2 is scheduled to open the week before, and the only kid-targeted fare currently on deck within a month of the Smurf-quel is Despicable Me 2, reportedly opening on July 3. Just cede control over the Smurfs now (sigh). The sequel currently only has Jordan Kerner set to return as producer, but I’m willing to hold my breath [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

This week, Fat Guy Kevin Carr runs screaming from little blue people invading his life and seeks refuge in the old west, hoping that James Bond and Indiana Jones will protect him. When he returns home, he has a fight with his wife and uses the events of Crazy, Stupid, Love to put his relationship back together. What a godsend Hollywood can be for marriage woes. Finally, Kevin curls up for a long nap after an exhausting summer movie season with many more arrests than he ever thought he’d incur.

Every week, Landon Palmer and Cole Abaius log on to their favorite chat client of 1996 as EruditeSmurf007 and NostalgiaFiend238 in order to discuss some topical topic of interest. This week, the pair rewatches the trailer for The Smurfs in an attempt to figure out why something that harmless needs to be modernized. Weren’t they cute and lovable before? Does a movie like that really need to fake appeal to a snarky teenage audience or should children and their parents be enough? Who is responsible for Smurfette flashing her panties at everyone and who on the production thought pop culture references would buoy a terrible film? In shorter terms, why can’t certain film productions get childhood icons right?

If you were hoping for a trailer that created a mass of internal conflict, how about animated penguin babies singing about bringing sexy back? Would that do it for you? If not, you’ve probably already got some serious internal conflict. Happy Feet Two bursts onto the scene with some rap, some dance pop, and an elephant-nosed seal that looks like a real-life Snuffaluffagus got converted to CGI. Heartwarming or truly, deeply terrifying? You be the judge:

When the teaser trailer for Hop first hit, it was an incredible moment of adorability and Blur’s “Song 2.” Now, with the first full trailer out, we’re getting a better idea of the Roger Rabbit nature of the flick. It turns out it’s a mixture of live-action and CGI. James Marsden stars as a guy who hits the Easter Bunny-elect (voiced by Russell Brand) with his car, and the two starts an unusual friendship that involves one of them pretending to be a stuffed animal in order to hit on the other’s girlfriend. I’ll let you figure out which one. Check out the trailer for yourself:

Finally someone has the brass buttons it takes to hunt down those little bastards and cook them in some sort of stew.

A few weeks back, I reviewed Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian as part of This Week in Blu-ray. Since then, I’ve taken a second look at the film and found quite a few references to pop culture and other films. Could this movie be smarter than I initially thought possible? Perhaps…

Kevin Carr reviews this week’s new movies: The Proposal and Year One.

While I’ll admit that Run Fatboy Run has it’s moments and a fair share of big laughs, it’s not recommendable due to the fact that there are more cliches than you can shake a stick at. Pretty much every cliche you can find in any romantic comedy or inspirational sports movie can be found at some point in the film.

The movie’s funny, and since it’s so British, why not go to a pub and knock back a few pints before, during and after the film. Here’s some help.

Steve Coogan, Owen Wilson also make their return…