Like the original, no men were harmed -- er, employed! -- in front of the camera for this film. Hard core fans will want to know how the movie has been updated: Mary is now a clothing designer, frenemy Sylvia (Annette Bening -- perfect casting!) is a magazine editor, and Crystal is... still a perfume salesgirl. Writer-director Diane English (of "Murphy Brown" fame) has been working on this script for over ten years, and Ryan's availability finally got it made, albeit on an indie-shoestring budget (which is why you saw Ryan at the recent Independent Spirit Awards). The original, after almost 70 years, is still juicy as ever, and we'd call this superfluous if it weren't for English's much-ballyhooed script, which many thought would never get made. And now that Sex and the City made the movies and fun place for the Carrie Bradshaws and Stanford Blatches of the world, look for that crowd to swoon over the first trailer, which funny in a great sitcom way. PS - We know what you're dying to ask: How does Ryan look, given the unfortunate photos that have surfaced in the tabloids of late? Take a look for yourself -- you'll be pleasantly surprised.

The Coens want to make you laugh again, less than a year after bringing Anton Chigurh to life and saddling away with 4 Oscars for their efforts. While I don't think BAR will reach the same level of pop culture-saturation as NCfOM, I guess there's something to be said for a movie in which most everyone in the theater will understand the ending? Sigh ... More on this one after its premiere at the Venice Film Festival at the end of August ...

Wait, there's no Madea aboard this trip? Hmm, well, Tyler Perry better hope for a Why Did I Get Married?-sized hit, and not another Daddy's Little Girls experience with his sixth theatrical release, which has yet to generate much buzz on the summer-movie circuit. (I think it's the quiet before the storm over at Lionsgate, however, as the studio ramps up to release 11 films between August and December -- a schedule that include guaranteed hits such as Saw IV and Transporter 3, awards-bait in the form of W. and Religulous, and clunkers such as My Best Friend's Girl and Punisher: War Zone.) My suggestion for marketing Preys: Promote it like a Bucket List for women, and make sure press outlets act dumbfounded if another Perry film debuts at #1. (P.S. The playwright plays a construction worker this time around, which really makes us giggle.)Update: Now that the first trailer has been unleashed, it's safe to say that Perry's flair for the melodramatic is sporting all sorts of new colors and styles -- but maybe this would have made a better mini-series?

The creative mind behind American Beauty and Six Feet Underwasn't likely to avoid controversy for his feature directorial debut with a title like that. So, it's no surprise that controversy, like a creepy, nosy neighbor, quickly came-a-knocking. First up was Fox News, who dubbed it the "feel-awful film of the year". No need to dignify their claim here, but the novel is touted for exploring themes of racism, misogyny and pedophilia. Not exactly perky, feel-good, date-movie topics. And, what to make of the report that people supposedly walked out during advance screenings? Hmmm, sometimes that only makes us want to see a movie more.

I've watched the trailer a few times, and I have to say that I wish RK's premise excited me as much as the long-awaited pairing of these two acting legends. That said, I have to keep in mind that the script was written by Russell Gewirtz, the pen behind Spike Lee's excellent Inside Man, so I imagine there are more twists in store than the one I already know. (And it's a good one, even if you have seen it before.)

Typically cheery British director Mark Herman (Little Voice) looks back to the dark days of WWII in his adaptation of John Boyne's acclaimed, super-depressing novel. Prepare to be horrified by David Thewlis and Rupert Friend in what could be the saddest film released this year. Awards bait? Certainly. What are its chances? We'll have to see what sort of push Miramax gives it -- they've also got Mike Leigh's buzzing Happy-Go-Lucky on their plate this season ...

Irena Salina's documentary has finished up the film-festival circuit (it won a Best Doc award at Vail and was shortlisted for Sundance'S Grand Jury Prize), where it received what industry types call "kind notices" for showing us things we already know (that bottled water you're drinking at your desk probably came from a dirty tap) and things we can only imagine (corporations are buying up the global water supply, drought is just one of many foreboding environmental factors, and eventhe Ganges is being siphoned). More than one reviewer has suggested the film could use more rhythm, but that hasn't prevented a raft of foreign sales as well as a likely future home on DVD and (perhaps) in classrooms and lecture halls.