I guess whether we like it or not, viral campaigns are hot, hip and here to stay. Universal pictures has launched the viral site for Timur Bekmambetov's Wanted, and it all revolves around a shadowy group known as the Fraternity of Weavers. Now for the tricky part: to crack the code on the website you must enter five secret words to earn a peek at the handbook for the fraternity -- plus you get a little bit more info behind Angelina's bad-ass hand tattoo. So if you're the kind of person who likes puzzles, then feel free to figure it out on your own. But, if you're like me and a little impatient, you can click over to Coming Soon and they have the solution -- I won't spoil it here.

Wanted is based on Mark Millar's graphic novel about an everyday schmo (as played by James McAvoy) who turns out to be the heir to a secret society of assassins. Angelina Jolie stars as Fox, the second in command and mentor to McAvoy. Morgan Freeman plays the elder statesman and co-founder of the group, while hip-hop artist Common stars as the weapons expert, The Gunsmith.

The viral site provides plenty of background info on the history of the ancient fraternity, but for the most part it's a bunch of spiritual mumbo-jumbo about fate, destiny, the Cathars, and ancient weaving cults -- oh, and plenty of Wikipedia links. There's also a sign up page if you're interested in becoming a member of the fraternity (hazing optional?). One imagines more viral goodies will most likely show up at some point before Wanted opens in theaters on June 27th.

It's easy to finger Amy Ryan's performance in Gone Baby Gone as one of the best of the year, however I'm surprised more notice hasn't been given to the entire cast. After all, this is an ensemble film, with fantastic performances from Casey Affleck, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, Amy Madigan and a host of Boston locals plucked from obscurity; all of whom were, essentially, asked to play themselves. Gone Baby Gone is a tough film to review, because there are so many plot twists, and criticisms of said plot twists, that it's hard to discuss without giving away some major spoilers. I will say that Gone Baby Gone is a good film; a solid film -- and one that will definitely leave you debating the outcome with whomever you choose to watch it with.

Set and filmed entirely in the Boston area known as Dorchester, Gone Baby Gone revolves around the kidnapping of a little girl and the subsequent investigation into her disappearance. Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan play a pair of local private investigators/lovers who are hired by the missing girl's aunt and uncle in an attempt to solve the case by going through the folks who won't talk to the cops. Ed Harris and John Ashton play the main detectives on the case, Morgan Freeman plays the police captain heading the entire investigation and Amy Ryan plays the little girl's delinquent, drug-addicted mother. Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River), Gone Baby Gone will certainly hit you emotionally, but how much depends upon whether you buy into the story as it unravels.

This is a great week to catch up with a few indies that came and went quickly in theaters. Craig Zobel's Great World of Sound burst out of Sundance last year with positive notices -- check GreenCine Daily's roundup -- and our own James Rocchi named it one of the ten best of the year. The basic premise is that two music scouts go on the road in the American South to look for acts to sign. In James' original review, he described it as "funny and vital and tough." Magnolia's DVD includes an audio commentary and deleted scenes.

If Feast of Love had nothing else to recommend it, it would deserve recommendation as director Robert Benton's latest work. As Jeffrey M. Anderson commented, Benton's melodramas (Kramer vs. Kramer, Places in the Heart, Nobody's Fool) "almost always hit home." Feast of Love "focuses on several couples in a Portland college community," he wrote. "These characters may live in a college town, but in love, everyone has something to learn." Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear and Radha Mitchell star. MGM's DVD looks bare, with just one feature evidently on board.

Director Allan Moyle returned to his roots (Pump Up the Volume, Empire Records) to make Weirdsville, in which stoners, Satanists and drug dealers commingle. In her TIFF review, Monika Bartyzel called it "fun, endearing, and quite fluid for a stoner comedy. It's also recognizably Canadian (the drug dealer is into curling), but still completely palpable for wider audiences." Wes Bentley and Scott Speedman star. Magnolia's DVD includes an audio commentary and 14 featurettes: behind the scenes, making of, and interviews.

The first two Superbowl trailers have arrived online, and before the big game hits you can now see new previews for both Wanted and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. First off, the trailer above is the new spot for Wanted, which looks to have a Matrix kind of vibe ... but with cool cars. James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman star in this film based off the popular graphic novel series. McAvoy plays some office drone who, following the death of his father, learns his family is part of a secret society of assassins. The film looks slick and fast; definitely a fine dose of popcorn entertainment. I'm digging it. Check out the new trailer for Wanted (which hits screens on June 27) above, then let us know what you think.

Additionally, we've provided the Superbowl spot for Prince Caspian after the jump. The highly-anticipated sequel to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe follows the Pevensie clan back to Narnia thousands of years later (in Narnia time) where they must ward off an evil king and restore the rightful heir to the land's throne, Prince Caspian. Prince Caspian hits theaters on May 16.

You want to start a movie off right? Hire Morgan Freeman as your star and then open the flick with some smooth Freeman voice-over. In this particular case, the film doesn't really need the narration, but there's just something so comfortable about Mr. Freeman's vocal chords. So obviously we're off to the right foot here: The Bucket List stars the endlessly cool Morgan Freeman -- as well as the famously entertaining Jack Nicholson. Already this movie is entertaining by default ... but we have two more very important components to check on before we get rolling.

The director is Rob Reiner, a man who definitely knows how to make good movies -- even if he hasn't really done it in over a decade. And the screenwriter is a relative newcomer ... so that's where I choose to focus. After all, The Bucket List is a movie about two terminally ill cancer patients who decide to hit the road, travel the world, and check all the items off their "bucket list" before the reaper finally comes calling. In the hands of a hacky screenwriter, this movie could easily become Grumpy Old Men 3, complete with oh-so-hilarious profanity, a bunch of Viagra gags, and a tacked-on and completely unearned emotional "payoff."

So what a pleasant surprise it is to learn that A) The Bucket List is Mr. Reiner's most satisfying film in a very long time, B) Justin Zackham's canny screenplay avoids schmaltz and artifice at (almost) every turn, and C) that Freeman and Nicholson strike an on-screen chemistry that's simply joyous to behold. I knew I'd enjoy the leads, but the movie's got a few more assets than that...

Opening only in New York and Los Angeles on Christmas Day, Rob Reiner's The Bucket List has drawn a split decision from the critics, according to Rotten Tomatoes, though 65% of the "cream of the crop" really don't like it. (Look for Cinematical's review on Friday, when it opens wide.) Still, it's been a popular success, perhaps in part because it teams Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman for the first time, and perhaps because the premise has struck a chord.

If you've somehow missed the pervasive television ad campaign, Jack and Morgan play two cancer patients. Facing death, they decide to break out of the hospital and do all the crazy things they always meant to do before they -- dramatic pause -- kick the bucket. Cue choir singing uplifting song. My favorite line in the trailer comes when Morgan is skydiving and screaming at Jack: "I ... hate ... your ... guts!!"

My local paper, the Dallas Morning News, says that the movie is "leading more people to share their lists on the web." Because I'm a film lover and this is a movie site, naturally my thoughts lean in that direction. (Besides, there are several books on the subject.) If I was terminally ill, catching up with all the movies I always meant to see would not be at the top of my list, but I'd try and squeeze in as many as possible before the end credits rolled.

Of course, the idea is probably to get out into the great outdoors and skydive and travel and ski and river raft, but if you've done all those things, what movies would you want to see before you die? With so many to choose from, what would be your criteria? Would you stick with the classics, try some avant garde, explore documentaries, watch more world cinema, or try and keep up with Hollywood blockbusters? Please tell us in the comments section.

The Bucket List stars Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as two terminally ill men who escape from a cancer ward determined to complete everything on their "Bucket List" -- a list of things to do before they "kick the bucket." The film, directed by Rob Reiner, was just named one of the Ten Best of the Year by the National Board of Review. Cinematical spoke with the film's screenwriter, Justin Zackham.

Cinematical: You sit down to write The Bucket List, do you ever dream that you're going to get Rob Reiner to direct, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman to star...

JZ: Of course not! I'd have to be an idiot! Not even close. I wrote it with Morgan Freeman's voice in mind, somehow thinking maybe I'd find a way to get it to him. But no, nothing like this.

Cinematical: And how did you get it to these huge names? What were the steps that brought this movie to the screen?

JZ: I went to film school at NYU. I did a TV pilot that I wrote and executive produced in New York with Paul Sorvino years ago. And then I came out here (Los Angeles) and was dicking around for a while. I made Going Greek, which was a very sort of crappy fraternity comedy that I did back in 2000. I wrote, produced, and directed, and that took so much out of me that I spent another couple years dicking around. And then I just sat down one day and wrote my own "Bucket List" just to kind of get my head organized. On that list was like "Get a movie made by a major studio, marry the perfect woman," all that kind of stuff. A lot of the stuff on there wound up in the movie. I had always fantasized about going to the Pyramids, the Great Wall, I've always been sort of obsessed with the whole notion of Everest. All those things were on it, and I just stuck it on a bulletin board.

About a year later, I just came up with this quote one day, a line that's actually in the film -- "You measure yourself by the people who measure themselves by you." Stuck that up on the bulletin board. And then another year went by before I had the idea "What about making this into a script?" And I thought if it were about me, at the time I was about 34, it wouldn't be that interesting. So I decided to make it about two guys who had lived a full life, and they only have a few months left, and suddenly there's a ticking clock, and the things that do have real importance, at least in their minds. The story really became about the one thing neither of these guys puts on their list but is the thing they most want. And that's a best friend. I have this ridiculous process, and I wrote the actual script really quickly, in about two weeks.

Dang, there sure are a lot of hitman characters in the movies. And what's the difference between a hitman and an assassin, anyway? Does Jason Bourne count, or is he no longer a hitman/assassin by the time his cinematic story begins? Are Pulp Fiction's Vincent and Jules really hitmen or are they technically bagmen? Yeah, it's a difficult task to make a list of prominent hitmen in film. So, I'll let someone else make a "25 Greatest Hitmen" list; here, I present my seven favorites.

Feel free to mention your own preferences. With so many characters, whether easily falling within definition or not, I'm certainly leaving out a lot of good ones. But, as I said, these are my favorites. The cool, the funny, the interesting, they're the ones I enjoy watching over and over again, despite their lethal nature.


Martin Q. Blank in Grosse Pointe Blank (1997, George Armitage)

There is no better hitman than John Cusack's Martin Blank. He's good at his job, and he's funny, and he's willing to give it all up for love. Of course, he's bored enough by the occupation that he'd probably give it up for any good reason. It doesn't seem to matter to him that it's morally wrong; he's just another normal guy, dissatisfied with his job. And while it does seem to be a gag that's stretched thin, his issues do make him more entertaining than the usual silent-yet-conflicted hitmen. Plus, it's enjoyable to think that this is what really happened to Lloyd Dobbler, or Lane Meyer, or any other Cusack character from the '80s.

Signature line: "I was hired to kill you, but I'm not going to do it. It's either because I'm in love with your daughter or because I have a new found respect for life."

You should be aware by now that The Dark Knight was recently shooting scenes in Hong Kong, marking the first time ever that Batman has left Gotham City for an international destination. Some say it was for the food, but Christian Bale says he's there to jump off the city's tallest buildings ... as Batman. A number of videos have since hit the net; some of them show clips from a press conference that was held (featuring Morgan Freeman, Christian Bale and director Christopher Nolan), while other videos show scenes being shot, one of which involved Batman leaping from up top a ginormous building. Unfortunately, we don't get to see him jump, but we do catch shots of someone in a Batman outfit way up on the edge of a building definitely earning his paycheck. I've included the montage video above, and you can head on over to The Dark Knight's Unofficial Movie Blog to check out the rest.

One thing that was cleared up during the press conference was that rumor stating a scene had been cut that had Batman jumping into the Hong Kong harbor because of pollution. Nolan clearly states that this was not true; in fact, the scene was indeed cut, but because of script changes. He goes on to say it will make perfect sense once we see the finished product and that he has no problems whatsoever when it comes to dumping movie stars into polluted water. Good to know, Chris -- let's talk again when you shoot scenes in Staten Island. The Dark Knight is scheduled to arrive in theaters on July 18, 2008.

Before he was God, he was a telephone lineman. Ever since The Shawshank Redemption in 1994, Morgan Freeman has become the 'go to' guy for voice over narration, his calm, deliberate tones lending an air of authenticity to the proceedings. When he's not narrating, he's mentoring, fathering, or advising, usually playing some kind of wise authority figure, which helps explain why it was so easy to accept him as God in Bruce Almighty.

Freeman didn't start as an authority figure, though. He appeared in numerous stage productions in the 1960s before moving into television as a versatile performer on the children's show The Electric Company. Somewhere along 1971 he took a job as a telephone lineman in a commercial for a mouthwash company. What struck me as fascinating is that the cadence of his speech is very familiar: brief pauses, then melting words together. What's different is that the tone of his voice is higher. He was in his early 30s at the time; over the decades, his voice has deepened and mellowed into the voice that followed a thousand marching penguins. Watch the clip and see God just hanging around as a blue collar worker.

You've seen the sexy photos of Angelina Jolie in Wanted (if you haven't, check 'em out), and you've watched the behind-the-scenes video. Now it's time to see the action-packed trailer that goes with them. The movie, another in a long line of assassin/hitman movies coming out these days, stars Jolie as a gun-toting, fast-car-driving woman called "Fox", who must team up with a novice called "Wesley" (played by James McAvoy), who has been dragged out of his cubicle to be trained as an assassin. Why? Because that's what his estranged father did for a living -- in fact, his father was the best in the world until he was recently killed. And like father, like son, even without experience, Wesley must have the goods. Well, even if he hasn't, he's at least got Morgan Freeman, always playing the God-like, wisdom-filled mentor, to guide him.

So, what makes this different from any other movie you've seen? I mean, it's got Jolie looking straight out of Mr. and Mrs. Smith (though maybe a bit skinnier), Freeman from anything he's ever been in, McAvoy acting clueless as if he were still in Uganda, some comedic scenes involving a greenhorn with a gun, and the always-recycled gag of having a shoot-out in the toilet paper aisle of a supermarket. With all that, do you even need something new? Well, there does appear to be a cool sequence involving the destruction of a train. And that sideways-shooting machine gun is pretty neat. Is that enough? Oh, and a strange kiss between the extremely mismatched Jolie and McAvoy (he looks so small next to her). You've never seen that before.

Wanted is the English-language debut of Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov, who is still in the midst of giving us his Night Watch trilogy. Based on a comic book, it was adapted by 3:10 to Yuma's Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, with a rewrite from Dean Geogaris (Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Crade of Life), In addition to those named, it co-stars Terence Stamp, Common and the versatile German actor Thomas Kretschmann (he was in The Pianist and King Kong and Baby Geniuses 2!). It hits theaters March 28.

The first set of official photos from the upcoming comic adaptation of Wanted have hit the net, courtesy of Empire. Among the pics, we get this pretty dazzling image of Angelina Jolie hanging off the side of a car blasting a flame thrower. I'm sure those who loved Jolie in Mr. & Mrs. Smith will adore her even more in Wanted; here she plays a badass (not to mention sexy) assassin named The Fox. Apart from Jolie, the photos also give us our first look at fellow co-stars Morgan Freeman, James McAvoy and David O'Hara, who plays a villain named Mr. X. Based on the series of comic books written by Mark Millar (who probably would've created a wonderful new Superman flick ... if the powers that be allowed him to do so, that is), Wanted was directed by Timur Bekmambetov (Day Watch) in his first big, balls-to-the-wall Hollywood flick.

The film follows a regular Joe (McAvoy) who works some mindless job until he meets up with The Fox (Jolie) and Sloan (Morgan Freeman), who teach the young man how to harness the same powers his recently-deceased father (who was also a great assassin named The Killer) possessed. I have a feeling this movie will surprise a lot of people, and the images we're seeing so far look pretty insane (especially the one of Mr. X). I never had a chance to read Wanted, though I hear a lot of the characters are based on other, more popular DC villains. If Bekmambetov (say that ten times fast) hits this one out of the park, I'm sure he'll be called upon for similar comic duty in the years to come. Wanted arrives in theaters on March 28.

It's often the first few sentences of a novel that define the rest of the story, and in the case of Gone Baby Gone, it's Patrick Kenzie's (Casey Affleck) opening lines that tell you everything you need to know about his character, his mindset and the choices he'll make throughout the film: "It's what you don't choose in life that make you who you are." He goes on to give examples like family, or where you were born, while the camera sweeps across the hardened blue-collar streets of Dorchester, Mass., eventually landing smack in the middle of a community grieving the disappearance of a little girl who was kidnapped from her bed. Those of us on the outside looking in would describe these people as "white trash" -- the kind of folks that made Jerry Springer a household name -- but to Patrick, this is home. These are the people he grew up with, these are the people he'll grow old with, and these are the people he'll go out of his way to protect.

Patrick knows Helene McCready (Amy Ryan) from high school (he was a freshman when she was a slutty senior), and when her daughter Amanda is kidnapped in the middle of the night, Dorchester is thrown into a frenzy: Cops, news reporters, cameras and crowds of people camp outside Helene's small, unkempt apartment complex. Helene isn't some white, middle-class stay-at-home mom, she's a single woman with an abusive boyfriend and a coke habit. The cops, led by police captain Jack Doyle (Morgan Freeman), begin to do what they do best -- but for Helene's sister-in-law (Amy Madigan), that's not enough. And so she, along with her reluctant husband Lionel (Titus Welliver) seek out the services of Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro (Michele Monaghan); two fairly young private investigators who know the neighborhood, know its people and know how to find someone. And while Kenzie and Gennaro are extremely hesitant at first (after all, every cop in the city is looking for that little girl), they eventually decide to take the case. It would wind up being the single best -- and worst -- decision they would ever make.

I've just returned home from seeing Gone, Baby, Gone, and since I'm itching to write about it (but can't give you my review until later this week), I shall point you toward Moviefone's Unscripted with director Ben Affleck (you might know him) and the film's star Casey Affleck (Ben's little brother). Let's get this out of the way first: The film is flippin' fantastic, and if you're thinking about heading to the movies this weekend, there's no reason why you shouldn't be seeing this flick (unless, of course, you have a child and need to see something a little more PG rated). Yes, Ben Affleck had some fantastic material to work with, that being the novel written by Dennis Lehane, but he's certainly proven here that stepping behind the camera for this film was probably the best career choice the guy ever made.

All that being said, the Unscripted is definitely an interesting watch. In it, both Afflecks ask one another some of your questions (that you left as comments on this blog), as well as their own. Because the film's climax presents its main character with a gigantic moral question (one you're sure to argue over with whomever you choose to see the movie with), I was interested in the question Ben asked Casey about whether he, as an actor, feels obligated to give his own opinion on the ending, or if he'd rather leave it up to the audience to figure out. You'll have to watch the interview for his answer, or wait until after you see the movie yourself, but I like the way in which Casey goes about responding. And speaking of Casey, get this kid some more roles! Even though I felt Amy Ryan stole this film away from top-notch actors like Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman, Casey Affleck hung in there with the best of them and delivered one heckuva performance. So watch the Unscripted, go see the movie this weekend, and you can thank me later for the recommendation.

When the production for The Code gets into swing this month in Bulgaria, there will be more than a Morgan Freeman thief-like mentor and a younger Antonio Banderas crook. Variety reports that Radha Mitchell has signed on to star with the duo in the upcoming caper drama, which will be brought to us by director Mimi Leder and screenwriter Ted Humphrey. Unfortunately, they're not saying what her role is. Will she play Banderas' wife? Someone in the Russian mob that Freeman's character owes? The person the duo will rob to get that money? Who knows.

Mitchell made a name for herself in films like Phone Booth and Finding Neverland before heading Melinda and Melinda, Woody Allen's dual-story movie trek. Now she's got a handful of movies on the way that definitely hit some different themes. First up is a B movie named Rogue, which has her taking a cynical American writer on tour of the Outback when they get attacked by a crocodile and end up in some sort of horrific Gilligan's Island scenario. After that she goes back in time for The Children of Huang Shi, a period drama about journalist George Hogg who saved a group of orphaned kids, with help from a nurse and partisan fighter, during the Japanese occupation of China in 1937. Then things get lighter with Luke Wilson's Henry Poole is Here, and then darker again when she co-stars in The Seed -- about a "killer [who] returns from the past, forcing a young detective to return to a case that took her mother's life years before."