While I'm sure no film could compete with the drama that would plague the Earth if Fox succeeds in delaying Watchmen, there are still a horde of serious, troubling, tear-wrenching, and romantic dramas coming our way in 2009. The ante was increased tenfold in 2008 with films like the gut-wrenching Dear Zachary, but what of our new year?

2009 boasts:

January:
Not Easily Broken -- Struggling romance, re-evaluation, life-changing accidents -- the usual romantic and dramatic fare.
Yonkers Joe -- This is what happens when I Am Sam meets The Sopranos.
Notorious -- A "notorious" one of the B.I.G. variety.
Killshot -- A husband and wife (Thomas Jane and Diane Lane) get entangled with a con artist (Joseph Gordon Levitt) and over-the-hill hitman (Mickey Rourke).

February:
Free Style -- A race to a motocross title with a High School Musical star whose name sounds like a sandwich (Corbin Bleu).
New York, I Love You -- Paris, je t'aime for the Big Apple Crowd.
Two Lovers -- Typical romance, but with a stellar cast that ranges from Isabella Rossellini to Joaquin Phoenix to Elias Koteas.
Crossing Over -- Another look at immigrants in LA.

During the Chargers vs. Colts playoff game yesterday, NBC was airing commercials advertising a 3D trailer for the movie Monsters vs. Aliens (first of its kind?), which will also coincide with the airing of a full episode of the TV show Chuck in 3D. The trailer will arrive at the end of the 2nd quarter of the Superbowl, and yes -- you'll have to pick up a pair of 3D glasses to watch it. Apparently, these 3D glasses -- which will be just like the ones you wore growing up, with one side red and the other blue, will be available at select Pepsi and Sobe kiosks leading up to the big game. No word on where these special kiosks are located, but I'm sure there will be a formal announcement and/or a website with exact details coming very soon.

Is it a fun gimmick that'll give folks something to look forward to during the Superbowl? Yes, definitely. People like little things like this, especially the ones who have kids and host big game day parties. But does it show the world how far we've come in the advancement of 3D technology? Not really. These will probably be the same glasses I wore to watch 1991's Nightmare on Elm Street 6. Then again, maybe it's about getting people used to the idea of 3D again -- bringing it into their homes, seeing how far they'll go to buy the glasses on their own, etc ... What do you think? Is this something we should be excited about?

[image via engadgetHD]

I almost called this a 'Watch This' post, and then a 'Fan Rant', but either way, the general idea is that I'd recommend all of you to tune in or at least record PBS tonight for the broadcast premiere of Nina Davenport's terrific documentary, Operation Filmmaker, in which a young Iraqi film student is invited to work on the set of Liev Schreiber's Everything is Illuminated and how that experience begins to unravel for all involved -- Davenport included (and that's not to mention appearances from Elijah Wood and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as themselves!).

It's fascinating in the purest trainwreck sense, and deserves to be paired up with Overnight and shown to all fledgling filmmakers as a guide for what NOT to do when all manner of opportunities are offered to you in the field. Davenport's correlations to the Iraqi conflict as her subject becomes less and less cooperative are still shaky at best, but that doesn't stop this doc from making my Top Twenty of the year.

And nothing against Dear Zachary..., but I'm pretty sure that this doc won't have you in tears by the end. Check your local listings, though: some have said 10 PM EST, others 11 PM.

Say it ain't so, my European friends: arthouse theaters on the Continent are -- shudder!! -- now showing mainstream flicks like Mamma Mia! and Wall-E alongside their usual specialty fare like the Israeli animated feature Waltz With Bashir. And not just on the Continent, according to Variety, but in Britain too! What is the world coming to? Is this the end of Western civilization?

It's not news that mainstream movies have crept steadily onto arthouse screens in the US. In my neck of the woods (Dallas), for example, Landmark Theatres operates two multiplexes that, once upon a time, showed independent and foreign-language pictures almost exclusively. The Inwood Theatre is currently showing Bedtime Stories in its large downstairs auditorium, with Seven Pounds and Rachel Getting Married screening upstairs in the two small (50-60 seats) rooms upstairs. It's similar at the Magnolia, where The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Yes Man claim three of the five screens. The Angelika Film Center operates two complexes in the area and does a bit better, with 10 of 13 screens dedicated to specialty releases this week.

Similar to the US scene, European exhibitors cite "changing audience tastes, a reduction in the number of single-screen venues that used to favor local fare as well as a glut of specialty pics." Western Europe has about 33,000 screens, of which "roughly one quarter" are single-screen venues. The single-screen houses are finding it tough to compete against the multiplexes, with more than 300 single-screen theaters closing in Italy alone over the past five years.

And I thought I was harsh for asking a guy to turn off his cell phone. A man was shot because he was talking with his son during a screening of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button on Christmas Day, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Reportedly, 29-year-old James Joseph Cialella told the unidentified victim's family to be quiet and threw popcorn at the man's son. After exchanging words, Cialella allegedly got up to confront them, the victim stood up, and Cialella shot him in the arm with a .380 caliber gun. As other theatergoers ran for safety, Cialella sat back down to watch the movie. (Think about that for a second.) Police arrested Cialella and charged him with attempted murder, aggravated assault, and weapons violations.

Coincidentally, at a Christmas late morning screening of the same movie (albeit in Dallas and not in Philadelphia), I got upset at a guy in the row in front of me for checking his cell phone -- with a big bright screen -- during the opening scenes of the movie and promptly asked him (nicely) to turn it off. He did. But what if one of us was packing a gun? Not to minimize the seriousness of the situation, but wouldn't it be better if everyone got some freakin' manners?! Sheesh.

The incident took place at the UA Riverview Plaza Stadium 17; police were called about 9:30 pm, which means the 8:40 Button screening was barely a half hour into its 2 hour, 47 minute running time (allowing for the usual 15 minutes of ads and trailers). One web site claims that "the crowds are often noisy in the auditoriums during the movies. Many Philadelphians attend movies earlier in the day to avoid the noisy crowds, or avoid the Riverview altogether."

Whether September marks a return to the books, or a return of the school-age hellions, there's something else to look forward to -- Jennifer's Body. Box Office Mojo has posted that the horror comedy, which stars the heartbreaking Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried (the Mormon dead girl with a penchant for Abba), will hit screens on Friday, September 18, 2009. In case you don't remember -- this is the flick where a sexy cheerleader (Fox) gets possessed and taps into her inner cannibal, while her best friend (Seyfried) tries to protect the populace.

By then, we shouldn't be wondering whether writer Diablo Cody is a one-hit Juno wonder, since her television show The United States of Tara will air next month. However, it will be a chance to see how the women-led film does -- there's Cody behind the script, Karyn Kusama in the director's chair, and two female stars. (Plus the likes of Amy Sedaris, Allison Janney, Cynthia Stevenson...)

But perhaps more appropriately: It'll be interesting to note who sees this, and why. There are the fans of Cody's warped dialog, the drooling fanboys that follow Fox, the horror fans... Will you delight in Jennifer's Body come September, and if so, why?

Coming up on the new year, it's interesting to see which films we had thought would've been released by this point. In the summer of 2007, I recall myself and several colleagues showing up for a press screening of Jonathan Levine's lauded slasher, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, only to discover it was canceled just that morning and the film had been sold from the Weinstein Company to Senator that afternoon. (The film has since landed at Sony, whose indie arm, Sony Classics, already saw Levine's follow-up, The Wackness, to a proper theatrical reception.)

At least the Weinsteins gave something up for a change. The oft-shuffled Killshot and Fanboys are tentative January and February releases at the moment, respectively, and I just want to see for myself if The Poughkeepsie Tapes has been worthy of its modest reputation following a BNAT '07 screening -- the same BNAT that featured the reportedly sweet Trick 'r Treat that WB continues to hoard.

A perhaps more morbid curiosity has me keeping an eye on Paramount's Case 39, just to see if it's really that bad, and who knows what similar straits Assassination of a High School President, The Accidental Husband (originally last March), and Possession (originally last February) are in following Yari Film Group's bankruptcy -- not that I have much invested in the last two, but Assassination is a perfectly release-worthy noir take-off that deserves a home.

So what do you guys and girls think? Which of these are you most dying to see? What was the longest you ever waited to catch something, and were you ultimately disappointed or satisfied by the time it came your way?

Okay, chances are you won't actually BE in the movie, as in "Look, that's me!" -- but you could watch them film some stand-up for Judd Apatow's new flick Funny People at The Improv Comedy Club in Los Angeles on Tuesday, January 13, 2009. What I'm sure will be one helluva awesome night, Universal Pictures and The Improv Comedy Club are hosting what they're calling "A Night of Funny People," which will be a one-time comedy performance hosted by Judd Apatow, featuring folks like Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Aziz Ansari, Patton Oswalt and other surprise guests (in their respective characters), and all of it will be filmed for the movie. (This is probably the one and only time a New Yawker like myself has ever wanted to travel to Los Angeles.)

Sounds pretty awesome, right? You're dying to find out how you can attend, right? Will you scream bloody murder at me if I keep stalling like this? ... So, ahem, did you hear it's gonna snow on the east coast tomorrow? Yup, big storm comin'. Big. Lots of snow. OKAY! I'll tell you. Tickets are $20, and they'll go on sale through Ticketmaster at 12pm on Friday, December 19. You can call (213) 480-3232 or visit Ticketmaster.com, and you must be over 18 in order to watch the show. Additionally, all proceeds from the night will benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and 826LA.

If you attend, let us know how it goes.

So what are you doing this weekend? If you're in or around the New York City area and happen to be a Harry Potter nut, you can head on over to the legendary (and quite awesome, if I may say so myself) Ziegfeld Theatre to catch a marathon of all five Harry Potter films. One would think a promotion like this might be better off arriving, say, right before Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince hits theaters on July 17, 2009, but perhaps this is for those fans who are still pissed the release date for Half-Blood Prince was pushed back eight months and, subsequently, are itching for a big-screen Potter fix.

Now, the actual Potter marathon -- in which all five films are screened in order of when they were released -- is only taking place on Friday, December 19th, Saturday, December 20th, and Sunday December 21st ... and those shows begin at 10am with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The screenings, however, will run through Wednesday, December 24th. You can purchase advance tickets over at the Clearview Cinemas website, and you can check out a complete schedule after the jump. Trust me when I tell you that the Ziegfeld Theatre absolutely rocks, and is definitely a prime spot for this sort of marathon.

Extra Bonus: For those who don't live near New York City, the Potter fan documentary We Are Wizards is now available via Amazon VOD to rent or buy (our review is here). Check it out.

Every time SXSW and Texas come up in conversation, I keep hearing about the a-mazing merging of movies and food at the Alamo Drafthouse, and the chatter never ceases to inspire huge green waves of jealousy. The idea that moviegoers could revel in Hollywood while chowing down on quality menu items -- it's been my dream for years, and sounds like a perfect taste of heaven.

For me, it started as a matter of convenience. I grew up in a town where the only close theater was in an almost-abandoned mall, which then moved to an actually-abandoned K-Mart. Since it wasn't really the backdrop for excellent movie viewing, I'd drive for 40 minutes every week to pick up new CDs and see a movie at a better theater. I'd usually get to the theater quite early, so I would smuggle in Wendy's and have dinner while watching the on-screen trivia -- a much more appealing option than sitting in a food court, eating, then getting to the theater late.

These days, I live in Toronto and don't have to worry about huge movie travel. Nevertheless, the urge remains, and now it might actually come close to becoming legit! The Canadian Press reports that T-dot's Varsity Cinema has gotten a new liquor license to serve alcohol in their smaller VIP theaters, and other areas may soon follow. First step booze, next step: big juicy burgers and fries?

Since the baby descended upon their lives, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard have been laying low, staying out of the spotlight. (Except, of course, for Ms. Gyllenhaal showing Katie Holmes how Dawes is done.) But now each actor has a bunch of projects on the way, and have added a play to the mix.

Variety reports the pair have grabbed roles in an Off Broadway production of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, which will hit the stage next year. The twist in this news -- they're both grabbing roles, but they're not playing lovers. Gyllenhaal will play Yelena, while Sarsgaard plays doctor Astrov. This means that she'll play the new, young wife of Serebrakov (the 70+ George Morfogen ... a coupling I bet you didn't see coming!). Also in the cast are Meryl Streep's daughter, Mamie Gummer, and Denis O'Hare (the man who watched the infinite abyss in Garden State) as Uncle Vanya. Just to make it all the more tantalizing -- Austin Pendleton (Catch-22, Short Circuit) is directing it.

New York residents should definitely keep an eye out for it, and the rest: head to the Big Apple and make it a Dawes-on-stage double feature -- Katie v. Maggie, the final decision. I'd rather suggest you see Peter and Maggie's short film High Falls, but it doesn't seem to be available on DVD or online.

I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed reading all your comments today following the television debut of Dear Zachary last night, and I'm happy to say someone else has been reading them too. Here now with a special message for Cinematical readers is Dear Zachary director Kurt Kuenne:

"Thank you SO much to everyone who took the time to watch "Dear Zachary" on MSNBC last night and for all the incredibly supportive, passionate comments they've been leaving on the site. The support means the world to us. And we encourage you to share your feelings about what happened with the government of Canada; if this movie affected you and you want to see things change to prevent a recurrence in the future, they're not going to know unless you tell them. That's the greatest thing anyone can do to honor Andrew & Zachary's memory. Information on who to write to can be found at www.dearzachary.com/bailreform. (I saw one viewer comment saying that they couldn't get on the website yesterday; it's working fine, we just had some overload with all the traffic from yesterday's show, but it should be fine now.) It shows again on MSNBC this Sunday, December 14th at 4 PM EST, and will likely be re-broadcast again on MSNBC very soon after, so please feel free to tell anyone you know. (Also feel free to tell MSNBC you'd like them to show it again. :) The DVD is being released on February 10th and can be pre-ordered on Amazon. Thank you so much to the Cinematical community for all your tremendous support during this entire year. I can't tell you how much it means to both myself and Andrew's parents."

Not long ago it was rumored that when J.J. Abrams' Star Trek hits theaters this May 8, it will do so by arriving in both conventional theaters and on IMAX screens. While nothing official has been announced yet, it appears the folks in charge are waiting till The Day the Earth Stood Still hits theaters. Why? Well, according to our peeps, a Star Trek trailer will be attached to IMAX prints of that film. Here's what a source told us: "We got our print-info sheet for Day the Earth Stood Still in IMAX and attached is a trailer for Star Trek. So it appears that JJ Abrams Trek Reboot/Remake is coming to IMAX in May."

Not for nothing, but it seems like a fairly obvious choice to bring Star Trek to IMAX theaters since, as proven by The Dark Knight, the fanboy-ish stuff thrives in that environment. Unfortunately, unlike Dark Knight, Abrams did not shoot any of the film with IMAX cameras; instead, the flick will be converted to fit the format. What say you? How will you watch Star Trek -- in regular theaters or on IMAX screens?

I was compiling my tentative best-of-the-year list yesterday (there are three or four contenders I have yet to see, but a Cinematical deadline forced me to jump the gun), and surprised myself somewhat by how high I wound up placing The Dark Knight. I loved the movie back in the summer, but my tendency with these films is to geek out initially, then come to my senses after a few weeks. But The Dark Knight stayed with me after two theatrical viewings, and the Oscar campaign Warner Bros. is ramping up suddenly seems like serious business.

If anyone is still on the fence about the film -- or if, God forbid, anyone hasn't seen it -- you'll get another chance to check it out in theaters on January 23rd, according to a press release making the rounds yesterday. There was some speculation just this week that the planned January rerelease wouldn't include another IMAX appearance by The Dark Knight, but this isn't so. The nationwide rerelease will include both IMAX and regular theaters. This is good news for me, since I never got around to seeing the film in IMAX. Initially, I was afraid that Christopher Nolan's fondness for quick edits and choppy cinematography would make The Dark Knight a blur on the huge screen, but everyone says it's glorious, so I'll give it a shot.

Part of the motivation here is surely to have The Dark Knight surpass $1 billion in worldwide grosses, which it is less than $4 million from doing. It would only be the fourth film in history to do so. It is currently sitting $70 million behind Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, so it is likely to remain in fourth place for the time being.

Meanwhile, The Dark Knight hits DVD on December 9th. Will you go back to the theater in January?

A couple of months ago -- and after watching the film spit out monster box office totals -- there was word Warner Bros. would throw The Dark Knight back onto IMAX screens (and possibly conventional theaters) for one last run. With the flick currently lingering around the $996 million mark, a re-release would all but guarantee it the much sought-after $1 billion. However, according to Superhero Hype, it's not gonna happen. They don't give much of a reason or a statement, just that plans to re-release on IMAX screens have apparently been scrapped.

It's unfortunate, too, because the DVD (which we'll review tomorrow) includes a few great behind-the-scenes features on the film's IMAX sequences. And, as someone who did not have a chance to catch the flick on IMAX screens, I was kinda looking forward to taking in a screening this January during the re-release after watching how they went about shooting it. Considering Christopher Nolan and his crew made history by becoming the first major feature film to shoot partly using IMAX cameras, you'd think folks might want to stage an encore engagement. Oh well.

Also of note: Variety reports that The Dark Knight will arrive via video-on-demand in South Korea two weeks before the DVD hits shelves, making it the first Hollywood blockbuster release to go VOD before DVD.

Were you looking forward to watching The Dark Knight again on IMAX screens?

UPDATE: BoF reports (via a Warner Bros. source) that this is not true, and that the film will indeed be released on IMAX screens in January. Superhero Hype has removed the original story from their website. We'll let you know when something a little more official hits, but it looks good for fans ...