In real life, Thailand's in a state of emergency; meanwhile, in Hollywood, Nic Cage sports hockey-player hair in the Pang Brothers's remake of their own 1999 film, which might have been more interesting if Cage could have been convinced to play his character as a deaf-mute hitman as the original story goes. Though they certainly have a cult following, the Pangs's brand of horror hasn't taken off with mainstream audiences here, what with their meddling English-language debut and that barely there remake with J'Alba achieving back-to-back strikeouts. Our suggestion: Scrap this version, redevelop the remake with a bankable Asian star (Chow-Yun Fat, Jet Li), set the story in the U.S., and watch the receipts roll in.

Want to get people to forget about Owen Wilson dropping out of this project? Easy, just put the formerly troubled Robert Downey Jr. in some eyebrow-raising make up, create a cameo that will potentially revive a star's career, spread around a now-standard red-band trailer, and generate some last-minute controversy and suddenly Pineapple Express seems so PG-13.

Can you plagiarize yourself? That's the question that screenwriters Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith seem to be positing with this comedy, which lifts so much from Legally Blonde that we wouldn't be surprised if Bruiser the dog made an appearance. This is even so much like LB that we bet it's the talented star who makes it watchable. And while we love Faris to pieces, and are glad she's getting the lead roles these days.... something a little different wouldn't hurt on the resume!And total US Weekly babe alert: "American Idol"'s Katharine McPhee and celeb progeny Rumer Willis too?! OMG -- where do we pick up the free L'Oreal make-up bags?

Capitalizing on one of the most effective online viral campaigns of all time, it's no wonder theaters are piling on additional screenings (with 3am & 6am showtimes!?) and estimating an opening weekend north of $130 million. Nolan's previous Batman gave the familiar franchise a much needed ka-blam by ditching the vivid Technicolor and rubber cod pieces for softer sepia tones and a beefed-up Bale. Now, we've got a new Rachel Dawes (Gyllenhaal), a wicked new Joker (Ledger, in one of his two final roles) and more websites than we can keep track of (Gotham Cable News, Remembering Gina and Why So Serious? to name a few). With apologies to Iron Man, Hancock and The Incredible Hulk (don't want to get him angry), this will likely be the superhero movie event of the summer.

Five fine actors guide this conspiracy thriller from The Day After Tomorrow writer Jeffrey Nachmanoff into theaters at the end of the summer-movie season. Oddly enough, Steve Martin came up with this premise back in 2002, when he was working on Bringing Down the House with producer David Hoberman, and even though it reminds me of Lennie James's character's arc on "Jericho," one interesting thing to chart here is the rise of Overture Films, the distributor that turned The Visitor into a hit this year and has optioneda handful of original screenplays for 2009/2010.

Dudes, random casting abounds for Vin Diesel's return to the sci-fi genre. But if it wasn't for this Michelle Yeoh fansite, we would have known next to nothing about the project while it was in production. The best buzz we've heard about the project? District B13 star David Belle has choreographed parkour fight scenes for both Diesel and Yeoh! And the worst? Uncooperative weather and powerplays between Diesel and director Mathieu Kassovitz first caused a production delay, sending producer Ilan Goldman (the man behind the two Crimson Rivers movies) on the hunt for snowy locales and replacements for several vital crew slots. Then, Diesel's manager apparently had to go coax Kassovitz back from a reported nervous breakdown, only to watch the director distance himself from the entire mess come red-carpet time. Seriously! And while this level of drama used results in a hot pile of celluloid garbage, the trailer is looking hot, even if the awareness for this one is strangely low. P.S. We can overlook the Kronos Quartet composition that no one should ever have used after Requiem for a Dream ...

Whoa, the Transporter faces off against Jason Bourne's oppressor? One good thing is: since this is set in a Paul W. S. Anderson universe, Jason Statham and Joan Allen will probably make out at some point. Here's another: At least Sly Stallone didn't lobby to star in this re-envisioning of his 1975 cult action flick. First Showing has a first look (actually, they just reprinted Empire Magazine's photospread) at the action, which we imagine Anderson is envisioning as a potential franchise. And check out the curiously sexy trailer, complete with a sequence that makes me realize how Anderson is getting to make his proposed Spy Hunter movie after all ...

Hey, who ordered another project from the Date Movie guys? I certainly didn't, and I thought Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer's diminishing spoof returns (Date remains their most successful endeavor) might have reached their end with Meet the Spartans. Alas, the sophomoric-comedy duo have managed to churn out another 2008 mid-level hit that will probably double its investment after two weeks in general release. And I have to give them some sort of credit for making Carmen Electra a genuine movie star ... right? Take that, Nicole Kidman!

Mamma Mia! / Here we go again / An-o-ther / Musical a-dapta-tion! / Mamma Mia! / Will folks show again? / Why, why? / Maybe Streep can make it happen!As expected, Amanda Seyfried (can you ask for an awesomer new It Girl?) and company stormed Europe last week, where they dazzled audiences and danced away with a few million dollars. In a femme-friendly year for movies, look for this fairy tale to register on this side of the Atlantic. As deals for Seyfried roll in these next few weeks (we imagine), catch her next in Jennifer's Body, Diablo Cody's Juno follow-up!

M.I.A.'s incredible single "Paper Planes" is one of the many amazing components of P.E.'s redband trailer, an instant Internet phenomenon and the first testament we have to the rather brilliant bag of talent that is director David Gordon Green (making his big-studio debut), co-stars Seth Rogen (who co-wrote/exec-produced with his crony Evan Goldberg) and James Franco (taking a much-needed comedic turn), and producer Judd Apatow (who can safely put Walk Hard behind him). Add hottie Amber Heard, Bill Hader (who we think is playing a cop ... again), Gary Cole, and Rosie Perez to the mix, trim the leaves and stems, and keep the marketing on high until August, and you have Superbad's raunchier big brother ...