Above: Rainn Wilson lets his hair down for The Rocker.

Fans of Rainn Wilson's offbeat, hilarious and strangely endearing performance as Dwight Schrute on NBC's The Office might expect him to transition into film work with straightforward comedy, and The Rocker confirms that suspicion. However, they might not realize the serious professional motives behind his choice. In the movie, directed by Peter Cattaneo (The Full Grown Monty), Wilson plays a grown-up dolt named Fish with a scary fixation on classic rock. Abandoned by the band Vesuvius in his teens -- before they became a commercial phenomenon -- Fish spends the next twenty years working deadbeat jobs and wishing things happened differently. Naturally, he gets a second chance: When the opportunity rolls around to drum for his nephew's high school, Fish goes for it. Ageism and slapstick humor ensue.

While not exactly a classic, The Rocker proves Wilson has the charisma to carry a movie. The script could use some polishing, but Wilson manages to play a completely dysfunctional human being without ever becoming an annoyance. It's a testament to his skill as an actor with calculated timing. The humor emerges from the naturalism of his performances, which make you believe in the outlandish characters he portrays. In a conversation with Cinematical recently, Wilson elaborated on his particular strategies as his career advances, reminisced about his days as a New York theater actor, and shed some light on a few upcoming projects.

As you all know, Ben Stiller is taking on the wacky museum world once again for Night at the Museum 2: Escape from the Smithsonian. One of the big casting announcements for this sequel was Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart. Now you can see a glimpse of her as the famous pilot above, then check out one more below (featuring a few old friends) and others at TheBadandtheUgly (note: images possibly contain romantic subplot spoilers, so be warned). How cute is she?

I'm sorry Hilary, but I'm really digging the look of Adams as Earhart much more. I think the big difference between the two is that Adams seems completely natural as Amelia. Adams looks like she walked right out of the same time, whereas Swank's Amelia looks more costumed and much less natural -- at least, based on the images we've seen online.

The showdown of the Amelias will take place next year. Amelia is set to hit theaters some time in 2009, while Night at the Museum will hit screens on May 22, 2009. Which do you prefer?

(We're re-posting our CineVegas review of The Rocker to coincide with the film's theatrical release today)

I like the premise of The Rocker so much -- middle-aged wannabe rock star insinuates himself into his teenage nephew's band -- that I'm inclined to go easy on it solely out of good will. It's likable enough, a lightweight rock 'n' roll comedy punctuated by several belly laughs -- but those laughs are all in response to the one-liners, and mostly from one minor character (more on that later). The story, the central personalities, and the uninspired slapstick are bland.

The title wannabe is Robert "Fish" Fishman, played by Rainn Wilson (of TV's The Office) in his first major film role. Fish was the drummer for Vesuvius, a mid-'80s heavy-metal band, but was kicked out on the eve of the group's success. Now, two decades later, Vesuvius is huge and Fish is a bitter has-been (or, rather, never-was).

Without fail, at least once a month I peruse my DVD collection looking for a solid film focused on a female star -- a film where the woman is smart and successful, a film that focuses on something other than her romantic foibles. It's like I think wishing for there to be more films that fit "The Rule" will create a whole slew of new selections in my library. If only ... But there aren't a horde of these films to pick from, so that often means picking something of the romantic variety, often with a side of comedy.

But oh, the woes of romantic comedies. These days the term usually meets the following criteria: women acting irrationally, men being jerky, unbelievable occurrences taking place over and over again -- you know, all those super-fun stereotypes that every damn romcom these days seems to latch onto.

However, there are some romantic comedies out there that cater to those outside the throngs who thrive on fashion-obsessed ladies and relationship stereotypes. Sure, the films might get sappy or take an easy laugh here or there, but they also showcase a variety of relationships and romantic scenarios without falling into that typical void. These films work for a variety of themes -- the fantasy, the lesbians, the intellectuals, the music lovers, the single people, the passion fiends, and the lovers of foreign film -- and prove that romance is about a lot more engaging, and a lot more real, than many movies might suggest.

If you squint your eyes just right and look at a photo of the late comedian Bill Hicks, he kind of resembles a young Russell Crowe (or vice versa). So, it would have been really cool if the Australian actor had played Hicks around ten years ago, when he was still in his 30s. But if we've learned anything from Kevin Spacey and Mike Myers (respectively, star of the Bobby Darin biopic Beyond the Sea and star of an upcoming Keith Moon biopic titled See Me Feel Me), you're never too old to play an icon who died young, and therefore we must accept the fact that at close to 50 years old, Crowe is likely to portray Hicks, who died from cancer at age 32. Fortunately for Crowe, he's good enough that it shouldn't be too hard to believe such a portrayal.

The Oscar-winning actor is quoted in The Sydney Morning Herald saying he's involved with a Hicks bio, "which is going from treatment to draft stage with Kiwi writer Mark Staufer." Never mind that the quote doesn't sound like it was actually spoken by anyone, let alone Crowe, the article is mostly about how the actor is spending time with his family now that Ridley Scott's Nottingham has been postponed. Crowe also references other projects, including an unnamed documentary and the surfing gang movie My Brother's Keeper, based on the documentary Bra Boys, which Crowe narrated. Stuart Beattie, who co-wrote the doc, is currently working on a second draft of its adaptation.

Earlier today Cinematical managed to grab the adorable and hysterical Anna Faris for a nice, quiet comfy-couch chat about what it's like appearing on the cover of Playboy Magazine, her new movie The House Bunny and a ton of other randomness (look for our interview later this week). While speaking with Anna about her upcoming projects, she did tell us a little bit more about the voice work she's doing for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, based on the popular book by Judi and Rob Barrett. The film follows "a scientist who tries to solve world hunger only to see things go awry as food falls from the sky in abundance."

For Faris this is her first animated movie, and she'll be playing a weather girl who's kind of a tweaked version of her (they've filmed her movements and all that jazz). While speaking to her about it, Faris also revealed that aside from co-star Andy Samberg, Bill Hader and Mr. T will have roles in the flick. No word on who or what they'll be playing, though this marks Mr. T's first feature role since Not Another Teen Movie back in 2001. Ahem, I smell comeback ...

Faris said she's still doing a little work on the film, though most of her stuff is done. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is due in theaters on January 15, 2010. Stay tuned for our interview with my favorite bunny later this week ...

You may have heard that spoof veteran David Zucker's newest project, An American Carol, is a takedown of Michael Moore. You can now have a look at the trailer, online at Yahoo!. And then you can riddle me this: Does An American Carol look like a clever parody of Moore's documentaries, or just a partisan attack on the filmmaker? Or, put another way, is the clip of Bill O'Reilly slapping around Kevin Farley's "Michael Malone" a commentary on the rivalry between the two, or right-wing wish fulfillment? One thing to note before answering is that O'Reilly appears in the film himself, while Moore does not.

Moore is obviously fair game; I've enjoyed his films, and sympathize with (some of) his politics, but I'd eagerly watch a skillful spoof of the pudgy, faux-working-class provocateur. I think parts of the trailer are pretty funny ("Here I am on the island paradise Cuba!"). But if the point is just to pile on the guy, with a rah-rah patriotic, stop-hating-America message at the end, then I'm significantly less interested.

The thing is, the trailer really doesn't make clear what's going on. On one hand, prominent conservatives like O'Reilly and James Woods appear to deliver literal and figurative blows. On the other, "Michael Malone" gets accused of being a slaveowner, which sounds more like a parody of conservative attacks on Moore than of Moore himself. And is Trace Adkins poking fun at his image here, or is he for real?

We know that Zucker is himself conservative, and that the movie is political -- which is fine. But is it political in an incisive, worthwhile way, or in the brainless beatdown mode of Ann Coulter et al? What do you think?

How do you follow-up a broad comedy starring the biggest names in Hollywood, George Clooney and Brad Pitt? If you're the Coen brothers, you apparently hit the car in reverse and make your next effort a darker story and cast relative unknowns. Variety reports that the newly minted Oscar winning directors Joel and Ethan Coen have cast Tony-nominated stage actor Michael Stuhlbarg (The Pillowman) and TV's Richard Kind (Mad About You; Spin City) for the two lead roles in A Serious Man, their next film after this fall's Burn After Reading. The actors will play brothers in the 1967-set black comedy, which returns the Coens to Fargo territory by placing the story in their home turf of Minneapolis.

In fact, when we first learned of A Serious Man, more than a year ago (and almost a year before the Coens each won 3 Academy Awards, for writing, directing and producing No Country for Old Men), the script was described as being "in the vein of Fargo." Now we get a little inkling more about the plot of Serious: Stuhlberg will play a professor named Larry Gopnik, whose wife is leaving him and whose "socially inept" brother (Kind) won't leave the house. Hopefully, to further repeat the analogy to their double-Oscar-winning 1996 film, the Coens can cast Frances McDormand as the wife, she can then win another Academy Award and Kind (pictured above) can, like William H. Macy before him, finally go from near-obscurity to well-known, well-respected supporting actor within the next decade.

Video taken down at studio's request

It may be bootlegged -- and therefore a limited-time offering -- but from very early on, this trailer for next spring's 3-D animated bonanza Monsters vs. Aliens had me sold and only worked its way up from there.

I like that all of the human characters appear to be related to the Parr family, and that the monsters and aliens on display promise to look even cooler in three dimensions. I dig Stephen Colbert as the President and Keifer Sutherland as General W.R. Monger, not to mention other voices by Will Arnett, Seth Rogen, Rainn Wilson, Hugh Laurie, and Paul Rudd. (Oh, and Reese Witherspoon never did anyone any harm either.) Most importantly, the project gives off a saavy sense of humor without relying as heavily on pop culture riffs as Dreamworks used to. A '50-styled sci-fi send-up should hold my attention as much as the little ones, if done right.

Between this, Kung Fu Panda, and Over the Hedge, I think that it's fair to say that Dreamworks Animation has found a reliable niche as Pixar's hipper cousin. With any luck, I won't be proven wrong come March 27, 2009.

Suffering from the Hollywood blockbuster blues? Have I got some indies for you! All three are newly available this week on DVD.

Kim Voynar called Vadim Perelman's The Life Before Her Eyes "a lovely, nuanced film packed with imagery, and bracketed by an intriguing storyline." The story revolves around the survivor of a school shooting; Uma Thurman plays her as an adult and Evan Rachel Wood as a teenager. Kim wrote in part: "I'd expect the director's commentary on the DVD to be intriguing." The DVD does indeed feature an audio commentary by the director, joined by production designer Maia Javan. Also included are deleted scenes, an alternate ending, and several other mini-features. A Blu-ray edition is also available.

Kim also reviewed Tommy O'Haver's An American Crime when it debuted at Sundance last year. Based on the true tragedy of teenage Sylvia Likens (Ellen Page) who was "brutally beaten, burned, starved and tortured to death" in 1965 Indiana, Kim said the film was difficult to watch. "The real question ... is not just how the Sylvia Likens case could have happened, but why situations like this happen at all -- and still do." Catherine Keener and James Franco also star. The DVD doesn't appear to have any supplemental material.

On the lighter side, Bharat Nalluri's Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day "is a nearly perfect piece of entertainment for grownups," according to James Rocchi. Frances McDormand plays a down-on-her-luck British governess and Amy Adams essays her employer, an American singer / actress in late 1930s London. The DVD includes a "making of," deleted scenes, and "Miss Pettigrew's Long Trip to Hollywood."

90210 might be gearing up for more high school magic, but Ian Ziering has other projects to worry about. Serious projects that challenge his skills and should throw him into serious Oscar territory. No, I kid. Variety reports that he does have a new film on the way, but it certainly won't be a great one for the acting scorecard. He's going to star in a new National Lampoon's "sword-and-sandals spoof" called The Legend of Awesomest Maximus. But wait -- there's more. He'll play "Testiclees, a hero who can only be wounded in his gonads." I thought that was any man, but maybe he's got it worse.

In other news, Michael Cera isn't the only Arrested Development kid getting work. Aside from showing up in Bart Got a Room, Variety reports that Mae 'Maeby' Fünke, otherwise known as Alia Shawkat, has nabbed a role in Whip It! She's playing a gal named Pash, and is joining the awesome female-led cast of Ellen Page, Drew Barrymore, Marcia Gay Harden, Juliette Lewis, Zoe Bell, and Kristen Wiig. This pic better be good, because the cast is making me really anxious to see this sucker.

I am starting to see a new pattern emerging in the latest graphic novel grabs -- monsters and the teams who hunt or protect them. That's a trend I can get behind (as opposed to the superhero deconstruction -- leave that to the masters). The latest according to Variety is Jerry Carr and Allan Gross' graphic novels Cryptozoo Crew, which has been purchased by Alcon Entertainment. No director has been named yet, but Joe Gazzam has already penned the script.

The Cryptozoo Crew is a secret organization devoted to protecting the identity of strange and rare creatures called the Cryptids. They aren't as strange as you might think, because they're often things like the Loch Ness Monster, Yetis, and El Chupacabra. (Maybe the Montauk Monster can pop up at some point -- have they figured out what that thing is yet?)

The series centers around married crew members Tork and Tara Darwyn -- funnily, press releases are focusing on how beautiful Tara is, whereas I find Tork to be equally pleasing to the eye. They bicker about their relationship while pursing mythical creatures, thus making it the most realistic monster series yet. You can check out previews of the first two graphic novels on the official Cryptozoo website. The series seems like it is a lot of fun, with a good dose of humor. It could be a nice summer flick. Frankly, I can't wait who see who they cast as the muscle bound Tork.

Here's a few Vegas-themed Monday nibblets:

• All the way back in 2006, there was news that New Line had grabbed Burt Dickenson: The Most Powerful Magician on Planet Earth. Set in Vegas, the comedy was said to focus on rival magicians and how one of the magic men's partners dies, leaving his ex to "find a way to rediscover his love for magic." Well, it's not quite ready for the camera yet, and The Hollywood Reporter posts that Freaks and Geeks and Bones actor John Francis Daley is going to whip up a rewrite with Jonathan Goldstein. Now the plot is being described as the tale of "a big-time Las Vegas illusionist whose preeminence is threatened by a younger 'extreme magician.'" Whatever the film ends up being, hopefully it won't take another 2 years to get a step further. And hopefully it will be better than The Illusionist.
  
• Meanwhile, Variety reports that a feature on the first desegregated hotel and casino in Vegas, the Moulin Rouge, is in development. Titled The Fabulous Moulin Rouge, and penned by Milosz Feigin, the film will center on "a fictional African-American character who rises from mob debt collector to manager of the Moulin Rouge." It should be a pretty interesting production. A replica of the 1955 casino is getting built in Dubai, where the film will be shot late next year, and the casino itself might have attracted performers like Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra, but closed a mere 6 months after opening.
  

Four years after Connie and Carla failed to set the world on fire, Nia Vardalos has left the writing to someone else while returning to the safe turf of Greece for her new film, My Life in Ruins. Vardalos plays an Athens tour guide tired of all the grating tourists, obnoxious locals, and scheming colleagues in her life, and if the trailer (for those who don't mind Greek subtitles) is any indication, things might just change for the better soon enough.

There has yet to be any specific Stateside release date announced -- Fox Searchlight tentatively has it scheduled for 2009 -- but the crowdpleaser pedigree of Vardalos and director Donald Petrie certainly doesn't hurt the film's chances of outgrossing the $8 million that Connie raked in theatrically (whether or not the downright loud pairing of Harland Williams and Rachel Dratch will is a different story).

Also in the name of safe-bet follow-ups is I Hate Valentine's Day, a rom-com written and directed by Vardalos that reunites her with My Big Fat Greek Wedding love interest John Corbett. That project also bears an equally vague '09 release date, but I have trouble thinking that it couldn't be out of post-production and in theaters by next February.