While indie filmmaking is often thought of as one of the big frontiers of artistic experimentation, the uncomfortable truth is that formula has crept into the world of the indie drama over the last decade or so. If you’re going to see an indie film, expect for it to be about a creative twenty-something and their struggle to face an uncertain future all the while stumbling into what may be their life’s greatest love, and expect it to be quirky. At first glance, Mark Webber’s new film, The End of Love, looks like it fits neatly into this little box. A film about a single father trying to juggle the responsibilities of raising a son with his dream of becoming an actor and the glamour of hanging out at Hollywood parties seems like just the sort of thing that would sell a lot of tickets at that local arthouse theater in the hip neighborhood. It doesn’t take long for The End of Love’s trailer to sell you on the idea that it’s something different, however. Not only does this story turn the typical tropes on their heads by taking place after the loss of that great love instead of during the opening phases of it, it also injects far more open wound vulnerability into its proceedings than we’re used to seeing on the screen. Indie actors are often quirky, sometimes bumbling. Zooey Deschanel would even have us believe that she’s “adorkable.” But the sort of pained, lonely yearning that Webber

When I first heard about Sebastián Silva’s next movie, Magic, Magic, I had yet to see any of the director’s work, but I was excited at the cast he had assembled, because it was made up mostly of hot young actresses. Since then, some of that has changed. If you’re not yet familiar with Silva, go check out his 2009 film The Maid. It’s a movie that managed to be tense and dramatic just by telling the story of an aging maid worried about losing her position in a prominent Chilean household because of the presence of a new, young au pair. In my opinion, it proved the man to have a sure hand behind the camera, and it put him firmly on the list of directors to watch. Go ahead, I’ll wait… Okay, now that we’re all on the same page, let’s start getting excited for his new (and apparently newly untitled) thriller that stars some more familiar Hollywood names like Michael Cera, Juno Temple, Emily Browning, and Maria Full of Grace’s Catalina Sandino Moreno.

It is hard enough to be a single father, but when you are trying to juggle those responsibilities along with pursuing your dream of being an actor, things are made all the more complicated. The End of Love opens with Mark (Mark Webber) and his son, Isaac (played by Webber’s real-life son), waking up. The camera focuses in on Isaac and sets up the focus of the film on the little boy in the first few frames. As Mark and Isaac start their day, the absence of a mother (or a partner) in Mark’s life becomes clear, with Mark having to take Isaac with him on a big audition. While the casting director seems understanding about Isaac’s presence in the room, the actress Mark is reading against, Amanda Seyfried (playing herself), seems less than pleased and it quickly becomes clear that Mark’s dreams of becoming an actor may be over. Losing roles no longer just means Mark may not get a good part, it means he is losing money to support himself and Isaac. Although Mark lives with two roommates (who seem more than understanding about living with a two-year-old), he is not pulling his weight in rent, which sends Mark asking one of his friends (yet another “cameo” by Jason Ritter) for help.

Since its cancellation in 2006, fans of the extremely cult-hit Arrested Development have been clamoring for a film continuation to their beloved series. In the years since, the project has been off and on more times than Edward and Bella’s wedding plans, but today series creator Mitch Hurwitz, along with the rest of the cast at The New Yorker Festival dropped some news that should send all fans into a tail spin. If the announcement is to believed, it has been confirmed that the series is set to return for a 9-10 episode mini-series that would lead directly into a motion picture. The mini-series would serve the purpose of explaining what all the various lead characters have been doing for the last five years and each episode would focus on a single character. In addition to this, Deadline was able to obtain information that Showtime and Netflix were in talks with 20th Century Fox Television (who owns the property) to broadcast the mini-series which is supposedly set for an early 2013 air date. Got all that? Good, because here’s the hitch…

When I write this column, I typically don’t get the opportunity to write about movies from my teen years. I, like many, came into a cinephilic love for art and foreign cinema during college, and in that process grew to appreciate The Criterion Collection. Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused (1993), however, is a movie that’s followed me through various changes in my life for (I’m just now realizing as I write this) about half of my time thus far spent on Earth.

When I hear that there’s a movie in the works called Magic, Magic I instantly think that it’s probably a movie about young witches, something going after all of that mystical-teenagers in love money. Well, despite the fact that it has just cast three hot, young actresses in key roles, Magic, Magic doesn’t appear to be that at all. According to Variety, “The pic revolves around a girl vacationing with her friends in a remote area of Chile who slowly starts losing her mental faculties.” Joining the already announced Michael Cera is Suckerpunch’s Emily Browning, Jack and Diane’s Juno Temple, and Maria Full of Grace’s Catalina Sandino Moreno. That’s one lucky Michael Cera. Magic, Magic is being directed by Sebastien Silva, a Chilean director who has seen success with small films La vida me mata, The Maid, and Old Cats. I haven’t seen any of Silva’s work myself, so I can’t vouch for its quality, but casting three gorgeous actresses for his new one is a pretty good strategy at getting my attention from here on. Production is scheduled to start late in the summer, so presumably we’ll be hearing more about this one soon. Until then I’m going to make it a point to stop thinking that I’m going to be seeing a movie about teenage witches every time I read the title.

For those who remember Mark Webber as Stephen Stills from Scott Pilgrim, this next move might seem strange. For those who remember him in indie fare like Just Like the Son and Dear Wendy, it might seem fantastic. For those who mistake him for Michael Weston (the guy on House for a few episodes), none of this will make any sense at all. Webber, according to The Hollywood Reporter, has cast Michael Cera and Amanda Seyfried to play slightly altered versions of themselves for an upcoming, as yet untitled, movie about a father raising his son after the mother’s death. He’s also cast Shannyn Sossamon and Jason Ritter in smaller, but similarly styled, roles. He’s friends with all the actors in real life. He also shares a connection with the co-star: his two-year-old son. In trying to achieve the strictest version of a real father-son relationship, Webber (who will direct as well) will act alongside his own child. The concept sounds far too character-based to judge, but the actors he’s gotten to work with him is a talented group, and Webber has been around the acting block for well over a decade, so this definitely has some potential to be a solid mix of drama, comedy, and reality.

Geeks everywhere can rejoice now that Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is out on DVD and Blu-ray. (And per director Edgar Wright, anyone outside of the U.S. can order the region-free Blu-ray and “import away.”) While it may not have been the hit that everyone hoped, it is now available in its full glory for home viewing. So grab your drink of choice – whether it be beer, wine or Scott Pilgrim’s Coke Zero – and toast to the seven evil exes.

Tuesday night, fans of all things Scott Pilgrim were treated to not only a showing of the film at the Egyptian Theater in celebration of the release of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World on Blu-Ray and DVD on the 9th of this month, but a fantastic Q&A session hosted by Guillermo del Toro featuring the director himself, Edgar Wright. Accompanying him were Michael Cera, and Scott Pilgrim creator Brian Lee O’Malley. Being that this was my first time in the presence of the greatness that is Guillermo del Toro, I didn’t know what to expect — but it’s very clear this is the guy I want doing pretty much every Q&A for every event from here on out — ever, including the presidential debates. Before the film began, del Toro took the time to mention the difference between effortless directing, and the talent to pull it off using porn star boners as an example. Clearly, Edgar Wright is the pornstar boner of directing in the eyes of Guillermo del Toro. Who knew? It only got better from there.

This week, Fat Guy Kevin Carr takes a gander at the demographically delineated movie selection this weekend. The ladies have Julia Roberts finding herself in Eat Pray Love. The dudes have Sly and the action family Stallone with the much anticipated The Expendables. And the fanboys fresh from Comic-Con have the high-concept slug-fest Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Sorry to all the teenage girls out there. You’ll just have to go see Eclipse at the dollar theater this weekend.

As I mentioned to my beloved followers on Twitter late last week, I exited my own screening of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World convinced that director Edgar Wright’s style was perfectly matched with my own tastes. Wright’s films — everything from his work on Spaced to Shaun of the Dead to my very favorite buddy cop comedy Hot Fuzz — have all the right pieces to play perfectly to my own moviegoing disposition. His films have undeniable energy. This is oft referred to by people who don’t know any better as his ability to “play to the ADD generation,” but is more in line with Hitchcock’s knack for suspense. It’s just always there. Wright’s films are brisk and consistent because he doesn’t allow much room for downtime. The jokes are meticulously strung together to create not beats, but a constant stream of style and tone. I adore this in his films. I also love the way he casts the things. So to say that Scott Pilgrim — based on a series of books filled with wry observations about culture as I’ve experienced it in my 26 years on the planet — is built for someone like me is an understatement. To me, it’s the perfect marriage of filmmaking style (Wright) and razor-sharp writing without the loss of character depth (comic creator Bryan Lee O’Malley). This may be the case for many of you. But what does it offer to the rest — the millions of folks not familiar with the

The world that Scott Pilgrim faces off against is not our own. It’s a world where a man can be thrown against a building without being all that hurt, a world where a girl can pull a giant sledge hammer out of her purse before fighting the remnants of her experimental phase in college, a world where the comic book-style letters R-I-N-G float from the telephone when a call comes in. Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is a slacker who plays bass in a band, sleeps in the same bed as his roommate and dates a high schooler named Knives Chau (Ellen Wong). Then, the girl of his dreams (literally) Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) roller skates into his life and inexplicably falls for him. Unfortunately, dating her means facing off against her seven evil exes in seven evil battles to the death.

Now that Inception is upon us, nothing can stop the world of fandom from turning toward the summer’s final treat, Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Based on the wildly popular Scott Pilgrim comic series by Brian O’Malley, this one looks to be the energetic kick that we’ll need just before the fall movie season starts up. Universal today released a new featurette for the film focused on explaining just what makes up the world of Scott Pilgrim (played by Michael Cera) and why he must endure so much torture in order to win the heart of the girl he loves, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). After the jump you will find the film’s official synopsis, the new featurette and assured bliss.

What do you expect from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World? Seriously. Do you expect that it will be as fresh and full of wit as the first time you read through Bryan Lee O’Malley’s comic series? Will it be as ripped with energy and inventive humor as Edgar Wright’s first few films? One can only hope that it will be both. One can only feel confident — at least based on what we’ve seen so far — that it will deliver on these promises. But what if our expectations carry beyond that point? Is there a point where one can expect too much from such a property? I have a feeling that we’re about to find out.

The MTV Movie Awards are happening this evening. Am I watching them? Don’t be silly. Of course I’m not. There’s a really big hockey game on — Chicago Blackhawks, Stanley Cup Final, this is major. That said, I am taking an intermission break from the hockey game to bring your attention to this brand new clip from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, from director Edgar Wright.

Another day, another reason to talk about Edgar Wright’s spitfire comic adaptation Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. For the most part, we avoid posting every little TV spot released for a given movie. But this one’s fun, so it gets a pass.

After several days and a social media campaign to get 100,000 fans to follow the film on Facebook, Universal has released the latest trailer for Edgar Wright’s upcoming film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

As promised, Universal Pictures has released the first trailer for Edgar Wright’s upcoming comic book adaptation Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, which is based on an awesome series of books by Brian Lee O’Malley. And as we see here in the trailer, this isn’t what some might expect out of a comic book movie — but it is certainly what fans of Scott Pilgrim might expect out of a Scott Pilgrim movie.

Our friends in the UK may have yet another great reason to see Kick-Ass this weekend. That is, aside from all the buzz. It will also have a trailer for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World attached to it, marking one of the most highly anticipated trailer debuts of the year.

A fantastic teaser poster is out for your eyeballs to enjoy.