I usually like movies that have some sense of structure and pacing.  If they don’t have these qualities, then I like these films to be truly daring and outside-the-box.  Lake Bell‘s In a World… is a rambling mess of a nice little comedy with too many characters, and has almost no sense of pacing or flow.  But somehow, it’s still a charming flick.  Bell gives a fun lead performance, and she surrounds herself with a likable cast.  Even the subtext is cutesy.  In a World… should be a movie that I found a slog, but somehow, Bell’s film won me over despite its glaring flaws.

Oscar-winning director Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) has shown interest in helming Will, a dormant project scripted by Demetri Martin (Late Night with Conan O’Brien).  When last we reported on this picture, Paul Rudd and Zach Galifianakis were attached to co-star with Little Miss Sunshine directors Valerie Ferris and Jonathan Dayton on board and producers Adam McKay and Will Ferrell signed on as well.  There’s no word on how the picture got lot in the shuffle, but it seems like Hazanavicius is interested in reviving it.  Hit the jump for more plot details on Will and to see where it could fit in Hazanavicius’ schedule.

Do you remember the 80s?  Of course you do.  Everyone remembers the 80s even if you didn’t live through them.  It was pop-art made flesh and then made neon.  There were bright colors, exuberant clothes, and if your song didn’t feature at least one synthesizer, then it wasn’t worth listening to it.  We’ve been to the 80s and it’s tough to find a reason to go back.  Take Me Home Tonight certainly can’t find one and it drowns its affable leads and their charming performances in a sea of nostalgia and iconography.

A couple week ago, I got the chance to interview Topher Grace and Teresa Palmer about their new movie Take Me Home Tonight.  The two were on a press tour promoting the film and I got to speak with them at Whiskey Park inside the Midtown W. Hotel in Atlanta.  Grace and Palmer have terrific chemistry in the film and I got to see that chemistry in person.  They spoke about taking the film around the country, sang each other’s praises, revealed some of the deleted scenes that will be on the Blu-ray, and reflected fondly about the music video where they spoofed 80s movies.  Take Me Home Tonight also marks Grace’s first film as a producer and I asked him what he had learned from the experience.

Hit the jump to check out the interview.  Take Me Home Tonight opens Friday.

We’ve been provided with 11 movie clips from director Michael Dowse’s Take Me Home Tonight.  The 80’s based comedy stars Topher Grace, Anna Faris, Dan Fogler, Teresa Palmer, Chris Pratt, Michelle Trachtenberg, Lucy Punch, Michael Ian Black, and Demetri Martin.  The film centers on a recent MIT grad (Grace) who gets invited, along with his best friend (Fogler) and twin sister (Faris), to an epic, end-of-summer 1988 party by his high-school crush (Palmer).  I caught a screening and while the film is by no means perfect, I laughed a lot.  If you’re a fan of movies from the 80’s, it’s definitely worth seeing.  Also, the soundtrack is great.  Hit the jump for the clips:

We’ve been provided with 36 high resolution images from director Michael Dowse’s Take Me Home Tonight.  The 80′s based comedy stars Topher Grace , Anna Faris, Dan Fogler, Teresa Palmer, Chris Pratt, Michelle Trachtenberg, Lucy Punch, Michael Ian Black, and Demetri Martin.  The film centers on a recent MIT grad (Grace) who gets invited, along with his best friend (Fogler) and twin sister (Faris), to an epic, end-of-summer 1988 party by his high-school crush (Palmer).  I caught a screening last week and while the film is by no means perfect, I laughed a lot.  If you’re a fan of movies from the 80′s, it’s definitely worth seeing.  Also, the soundtrack is great.  Hit the jump for the full synopsis and images:

The trailer and poster for Take Me Home Tonight have been released.  Set in 1988, the film follows Matt Franklin (Topher Grace) through a crazy Labor Day weekend party as he chases after the girl of his dreams while encountering some bumps along the way (classic formula for a quasi-spiritual coming of age comedy). The trailer’s soundtrack was enough to get me excited, but I’ve also got a feeling that this film might prove to be more than just a Garden State set in the 80’s.  Take Me Home Tonight also stars Anna Faris, Dan Fogler, Teresa Palmer, Chris Pratt, Michelle Trachtenberg, Lucy Punch, Michael Ian Black, and Demetri Martin.  Hit the jump to check out the trailer and a synopsis of the film:

Joining other former correspondents from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, THR reports comedian Demetri Martin has landed a development deal at CBS for a project that he will write, produce and star in himself. Apparently it’s a blind script deal so there’s no telling what kind of project he’ll bring to the network. Previous Daily Show alums who moved to CBS include Jason Jones and Samantha Bee who landed a sitcom deal back in 2008 (which we have yet to see) and Rob Riggle who landed a comedy series earlier this year. This deal also means that there will not be a third season of Comedy Central’s sketch comedy show Important Things with Demetri Martin. As a huge fan of Martin’s observational comedy that calls back to the brilliance of the late Mitch Hedburg, I’m always looking forward to his next project. How about you?

At a certain point, you have to guess that someone might make a movie just about the casting for Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming film Contagion. Bryan Cranston and Demetri Martin will join Jennifer Ehle and Elliott Gould as the latest additions to the virus thriller, according to The Playlist, and they will find their place among the already ridiculous cast. The quartet joins Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, John Hawkes, Chin Han, and Josie Ho. Meanwhile, we have some updates on the Gina Carano-centered espionage thriller previously titled Knockout and why Contagion won’t be filmed in 3D; join me after the break for full details.

For a while it seemed very likely that Moneyball, the story of how the 2002 Oakland A’s defeated their opponents with statistics, would never reach theaters.  Yet, the project is slowly but surely coming together.  Although original director Steven Soderbergh dropped out of the project, Brad Pitt remains attached to star, Aaron Sorkin was brought in to touch up Seven Zaillian’s script, and Bennett Miller (an Oscar nominee for directing Capote) was hired to replace Soderbergh.  All sure signs that Sony intends to make something of the material.

Now The Playlist has an update that represents one step backward, to be sure, but two steps forward as well: Jonah Hill is now attached to co-star in the role previously earmarked for Demetri Martin.  More on what this implies after the jump.

THR is reporting that Paul Rudd and Zach Galafinakis will be co-starring in Will, which will be their second film together for Paramount following the upcoming Dinner for Schmucks.  The film will be directed by Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton, who are best known for the fantastic Little Miss Sunshine. Adam McKay’s Gary Sanchez and Will Ferrell are lined up to produce, and the script was written by Demetri Martin, so all of this will hopefully add up to a seriously funny movie.  How could it not, considering how seriously fucking hilarious Zach Galafinakis is in pretty much everything he does?

Will is set in a world where heavenly scribes write everyone’s destinies, and Paul Rudd plays a man whose writer (Galafinakis) quits, forcing him to follow his own path without guidance from above.  Having spent the last thirty seconds pondering what my life might be like scripted by Zach Galafinakis, I’m now seriously excited to see how this movie turns out.  Galafinakis will next be seen starring alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx in Todd Phillips’ Due Date, which is currently slated to hit theaters on November 5th.

Ang Lee is an interesting filmmaker. He’s just one of those guys who tend to get fascinated by the right things, and even when he misses, there’s usually something there. And he’s definitely one of the most interesting voices of the 21^st century. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hulk, Brokeback Mountain, Lust, Caution are easily some of the better films to emerge over the last ten years. He can be seen as mercenary (his choice of material is often as commercial as art cinema can get, though sometimes that’s by smart marketing and catching a zeitgeist at the right moment), but he still has a way behind the camera. Taking Woodstock is one of his least, and my review of it comes after the jump.

Opening this week is the new Ang Lee movie “Taking Woodstock”. So to help promote its release, I was recently able to interview most of the cast in New York City and I’ll be posting an interview a day all week. Up first is the star of the film, Demetri Martin. In the film, Dememtri plays Elliot Tiber. While you might not know Elliot’s name, he’s one of the unsung heroes who helped put on Woodstock. Anyway, during the interview Demetri talks about making the film, how he got cast, and we go into detail about some of my favorite scenes. Take a look after the jump:

Opening on August 26^th in limited release and the 28^th everywhere is the new Ang Lee movie “Taking Woodstock”. While some filmmakers work in the same genre again and again, Ang Lee likes to explore new ground. And in his latest movie, he’s created a coming of age story set around Woodstock in 1969. So to help promote the film, we’ve been provided with 5 clips along with a detailed synopsis. It’s all after the jump so take a look: