Were you out there feeling like there were still just too many unanswered questions in The Fast and the Furious franchise? Okay, probably not, because that's like asking for CliffsNotes for an episode of The Hills. But, I guess somebody out there felt there was some explaining to do, because Coming Soon reports that Vin Diesel (who plays muscle car driver extraordinaire, Dominic Torretto) will be directing a 20-minute prequel to the upcoming Fast and Furious.

There aren't many details on the short, but starring alongside Diesel will be Michelle Rodriguez, who will reprise her role as Letty, and Sung Kang will also be returning as Han. Diesel did not provide any details about the story for the short, but for those of you who are well versed in the world of Fast and Furious, you can probably guess that it will act as a tie-in to bring together the events of the second and third films.

I'll admit I was surprised to discover that Diesel has already directed before. Mainly they were other short films, but back in 1997, he wrote, directed, and starred in Strays, a drama about hustlers, and of course, there are still those long-standing rumors about Diesel directing his own Hannibal (not the cannibal) feature. Nobody knows for sure where the Fast and Furious prequel will appear first, but the obvious choice would be online. There is also a chance that to drum up a little business Universal will premiere it on TV, or as an extra on the DVD. One thing is for sure, unless Justin Lin has the running time of Fast and Furious down to 70 minutes, I doubt we'll be seeing it in theaters.

Fast and Furious is scheduled to open on June 5th, 2009.

Unfortunately, I did not manage to catch this extended TV spot for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button during NBC's Olympic coverage, though, luckily, one person did. I imagine this will eventually become the film's second trailer, and it'll hopefully arrive online in a higher quality at some point this week, but for the time being you can scope out a somewhat decent (except for the annoying beeps here and there) video of the spot above (courtesy of The Tube).

Some of what's included here is also in the film's first trailer (catch that in HD on the flick's official website), but we also have a bunch more dialogue, tons of amazing visuals and .... well, watch for yourself. While you never know what the final product will deliver, I can say this film is showing some tremendous, buzz-worthy promise right now -- especially with a director like David Fincher and a cast that includes Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett (last time these two shared the screen, Babel was nominated for seven Oscars). Needless to say, I'm preemptively putting this on my top ten list for 2008 and crossing my fingers at the same time.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button arrives in theaters on December 19.

I'll admit it; I have a soft spot for Vin Diesel. Feel free to laugh at me, but I can't help myself, it's something about that voice. So you might want to keep my personal bias in mind when I say that Babylon A.D. really doesn't look all that bad. Silly? Yes, but entertaining none the less. Ropes of Silicon found the latest poster for the sci-fi flick from Gothika director Mathieu Kassovitz and if nothing else, it's a step up from the first one-sheet/Oakley ad we saw a few months ago.

Diesel stars as Toorop, a mercenary who takes the job of escorting a woman from Eastern Europe to New York. But if you have seen the trailer, you know that there is a lot more to this lady than meets the eye. Say what you will about the film, but you have to admit, some of those 'Bladerunneresque' shots of the city were pretty impressive. Starring alongside Diesel is the criminally underused Michelle Yeoh as an a**-kicking nun, as well as, Gerard Depardieu, and Charlotte Rampling.

Babylon has had rough time throughout production. The project started back in 2005, when Kassovitz was hired to adapt the novel, Babylon Babies. Originally the French actor Vincent Cassel was expected to take the lead, but Diesel decided to drop out of Hitman (probably not a bad idea all things considered) to lobby for the role. It was even speculated that the move caused bad blood between Cassel and Kassovitz, and ruined a long standing friendship. As if that wasn't enough stress; there were also delays from weather and talk about the film running over budget.

Hopefully all these problems won't be showing up on the screen when Babylon A.D. opens in theaters on August 29th.

To paraphrase the scariest horror movie currently in theaters -- Mamma Mia! -- you wait long enough for a red-band trailer and then three come along at once, at least two of which deal with hitting the road in the name of action, so without further ado...

First up is the age-restricted trailer for this week's Death Race. I've yet to watch this one myself, since reactions posted elsewhere have assured me that whatever meager hopes I have for it being just a fun piece of trash cinema -- from a filmmaker who often lives down to that title -- are to be derived from moments shamelessly showcased therein. I'm no prude, having shelf space and soft spots set aside for the man's Event Horizon and the first Resident Evil, for the reliably butt-kicking Jason Statham and for the surprisingly present Joan Allen (him signing up for it, no big surprise, but her?). However, I'm roughly one trailer away (well, one feature away) from giving it the genuine benefit of the doubt.

Erik wrote about the original trailer back in June, and now one only has to wait until this Friday to determine just how fast and spurious this baby is.

After August comes September, and after Death Race comes Righteous Kill. The profanity-spiked red-band trailer for this NYPD thriller has been included after the jump...

Some people hereabouts are psyched for Twilight. Others have set their sights on Quantum of Solace. As you may have noticed, I am currently obsessed with Outlander, the bizarre upcoming genre flick that pits 9th Century Vikings against a malevolent alien invader. Nothing about the film itself is ultra-promising, as I've mentioned before, but I'm so enamored of the concept that I can't help but be excited about the idea of it, if nothing else.

Last month we got a trailer for the movie. Now we have a two-minute clip, which you can view above. In it, the friendly alien, played by Jim Caviezel, is interrogated by a Viking chieftain named Wulfric (Jack Huston). The "outlander" tries to convince Wulfric that he was merely hunting dragons, when in fact we all know that he was hunting a badass monster from outer space!! The clip is pretty much of the goofy caliber I expected, though Caviezel doesn't cut a particularly extraterrestrial figure. Maybe that'll be part of the fun.

I am counting the days until the release of the "Sci-Fi Viking Epic" -- which is hard, since it doesn't have an American release date. On the other hand, if you're in Berlin on August 19th and 20th, you can catch Outlander at the German Fantasy Filmfest. Do let me know how it is.

Welcome back to another edition of Insert Caption -- the game where you all race to the death to provide us with the best possible captions for photos from upcoming films. Last week we asked you to steal some of our thunder and shoot us your bestest captions for an image from Tropic Thunder. Luckily, we managed to choose three winners without staging a protest, and so congrats to you ... and you ... and you.

1. "They knew something had gone very wrong on the set of Alien 5 when, unexpectedly, Robert Downey Jr. popped out of the soldier's chest." -- Kurt P.

2. OK, this might not be the right time to bring this up ... but I'm pretty sure you still owe me for that last trip to IHOP." -- Jeremy C.

3."You can be my wing man anytime" -- Mike R.

See full image and all captions


This week we're strapped in and ready to roll out with the ultra serious Jason Statham (for real, has anyone ever seen this guy smile?), who stars in the new flick Death Race (in theaters August 22). In the film, Statham stars as an ex-con who's forced by the warden of a prison to compete in a car race where severe road rage and the annihilation of your competitors is recommended. The drivers behind our three favorite captions this week will cruise away with one Death Race poster, one Death Race t-shirt, one Death Race tank top, and one Death Race hat. I'd tell you to use all that to create your own Death Race in the comforts of your home ... but something tells me that might not be the greatest idea. Sound off below!



Read the official rules for this contest

Here's a piece of coolness that's been making its way around the internets today. From our friends at First Showing (via Superhero Hype) comes what appears to be a fan made poster for The Dark Knight Returns (click to enlarge), a sequel to this summer's The Dark Knight. No, a third Batman film has not been announced yet, so don't go gettin' your knickers in a twist thinking they've already started promoting the next film. (God, please don't tell me they've already started promoting it -- I think I speak for all us online movie dudes when I say we need a few months off to recover from this puppy.)

That said, can you spot the two new characters this poster introduces? Yes, one of them is Riddler, but the other is a bit harder to locate. (Hint: Look at the newspaper articles.) No one knows exactly what direction the next Batman movie will head in, except for the Nolan boys should they decide to pen the script. Riddler is a cool character, but is he too close to Joker? Should they take a chance on Catwoman? Should they dip into a lesser known villain, or create a brand new one? One thing's for sure: You folks will not get tired of this debate anytime soon ...

Cinematical has just received this exclusive clip from Claude Chabrol's A Girl Cut in Two, which enjoyed a recent poster premiere right here on Cinematical last week. The film, which our own Jeffrey M. Anderson called "superbly-made" and "highly enjoyable," follows a beautiful young TV weather girl who falls for two very different men. One is a much older, successful writer who refuses to leave his wife, and the other is a semi-deranged (but rich!) younger man. In the scene above, our weather girl meets up with one of her lovers for a devilish little game of seduction. Check it out.

A Girl Cut in Two opens this Friday, August 15 in New York City at Lincoln Plaza Cinemas and the IFC Center, before expanding to other cities in the weeks to come. The film will also be available On Demand.