If you don't count his vocal work in the Shrek films, The Love Guru marks the return of Mike Myers to the big screen after a five-year absence. Last seen in 2003's The Cat in the Hat, Myers is now unveiling -- or is that unleashing? -- a new character, Guru Pitka, a self-help maven who brings the spiritual teachings he learned from Guru Tugginmypudha (Ben Kingsley) in India to America. Much like Austin Powers, Guru Pitka gives Myers an opportunity to play to what he thinks of as his strengths, giving us an outlandish-looking character with a thick accent and a fish-out-of-water back story. The problem is that Pitka's entirely too much like Austin Powers -- not a character, but instead a series of catchphrases, makeup appliances and goofy mannerisms that lets Meyers indulge in his penchant for sex gags, bodily-function gags and constant, self-satisfied glances at the camera.

Any time you review a film like this negatively, people ask "Why can't you just enjoy a few laughs?" And I can't give a simple answer to that, but I think it comes down to the fact that I can't just enjoy a few laughs if they're surrounded by a much larger chaotic mass of things that aren't funny. So it is with The Love Guru, as Pitka's brought to Toronto to help Jane Bullard (Jessica Alba), the owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, get her broken-hearted star player Darren Roanoke (Romany Malco) over his girlfriend Prudence (Megan Good) leaving him for L.A. Kings goalie Jacques "Le Coq" Grande (Justin Timberlake) so that the Leafs might win the Stanley Cup. The occasional funny bit is drowned out by the mass and might of Meyers's self-indulgent eagerness to wallow in his obsessions -- poop, accents, naughty talk, makeup and innuendo.

With every piece of marketing that comes out for Mike Myer's The Love Guru, I am less sure about whether or not this movie is going to work. The new trailer for the self-help comedy is now up on The Guru Pitka's MySpace page (that's right, he has his very own page), and after watching it I just don't know what to think. The first trailer wasn't so great, but then there were those hilarious You Tube messages. The latest trailer, though, puts the film back in the 'meh' category -- talk about confusing.

Guru is the story of an American-born guru who is hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs to provide counseling to their star player (played by Romany Malco). Joining in on the hilarity are Justin Timberlake (as a French Canadian player), The Daily Show's John Oliver as Pitka's assistant, and Jessica Alba as the love interest.

The movie might not be popular with religious leaders, but I am happy to report that there is a still a really good chance that The Love Guru could be funny after all. Mike Myers, in the form of Pitka the Love Guru, has been posting what he calls 'Mini-Sutras' in anticipation of the release of Guru this summer. There are seven videos in total, and promises of more to come with Pitka's musings on love, parenthood, and the importance of a good mantra.

I just can't quite decide if Mike Myers looks comedic or downright creepy in the new poster for his romantic comedy, The Love Guru. Although, I guess it is pretty weak to be creeped out by a guy in a handlebar mustache holding a flower. IMPA Awards has just released the first poster, and the words mustache and flower pretty much sum up the one sheet. Well, that, and a fairly corny tag-line -- but I'll let you find that out on your own.

Myers stars as Pitka, an American raised by gurus who returns to the states to start up his own self-help business. His first project is to solve the professional and personal problems of a hockey player who has hit the skids (well, it is a Mike Myers movie after all, so hockey was bound to show up somewhere). Joining Myers in the cast are Jessica Alba as Myers' love interest, Justin Timberlake as a rival skater, Verne Troyer as the team coach, and Ben Kingsley as Guru Tugginmypudha. Also included in the cast are Romany Malco as the troubled player and The Daily Show's Jon Oliver as Dick Pants (is it just me, or do some of these names look like something you would see on a substitute teachers attendance sheet?).

The flick shot on location in Toronto over the summer, and so far we have only gotten a few sneak peeks of Alba and Myers on set. I can't put my finger on it, but there is just something about this movie that has me very nervous. So as much as I might like Myers, I don't think even he is going to be able to make Alba funny -- just ask Dane Cook. Personally, I think I'll just hold out for Myer's Keith Moon biopic instead. The Love Guru opens in theaters on June 20th, 2008.

When 'N Sync was prancing around the stage in the late '90s, did anyone imagine that one of the dudes would become a pretty successful actor in less than 10 years? I mean, I'm sure Jeff Bridges didn't see Justin Timberlake on the boob tube and say: Gee, that kid should play my son in something! It's as weird as watching Ronnie Regan in his movies and imagining that he'd become President. NOTE: I am, in no way, suggesting Justin will turn to politics -- I'm just noting surprising career moves.

Anyway, Variety reports that Timberlake is about to head on The Open Road with Bridges, the comedy drama that Christopher Campbell first blogged about almost a year ago. Under filmmaker Wim Wenders' watchful eye, writer Michael Meredith will direct his own script. This was going to be a reunion for the Land of Plenty crew, but unfortunately, it seems that cinematographer Franz Lustig has been replaced by Yaron Orbach.

Road is a reconciliation tale about a young man who reconnects with his dad, "a legendary athlete, as he struggles to get him home to his ailing mother's bedside." While the parts aren't specifically laid out, I imagine Bridges is the dad, Timberlake the son, and Mary Steenburgen is the mom. Initial reports also described a girlfriend on the trip, but there is no word about that role in this latest bit of news. This could be at least partly autobiographical, as Meredith's dad is ex Cowboys QB Don Meredith, but for this film, the sports figure is a baseball legend. Personally, I'm interested in seeing how Meredith handles the comedic aspects since Land of Plenty was all sorts of somber -- good, but somber. The film is scheduled to slip into production in Louisiana later this month.

Ocean's Thirteen
George Clooney and pals caught a lot of flack for faltering (somewhat) in the second installment of this crime caper trilogy. Critics berated Hollywood's finest for enjoying themselves off set so pointedly you'd think dead hookers were popping up left and right. Excuse the guy if he needs a break from trying to save Darfur and prepping pensive, top-notch fare like Syriana, Good Night, And Good Luck, Michael Clayton and so on. And for all its faults (I'm looking at you, Julia Roberts cameo), Twelve was still as entertaining as a popcorn movie needs to be. There seemed to be a "you owe us" attitude among some critics, and Thirteen for the most part put the carping to rest. Its biggest strength? It becomes personal for Ocean's crew, once Reuben (Elliott Gould) is royally screwed over (nearly keeling over as a result) by Al Pacino's SOB casino mogul. Not only is our faith fully restored in Ocean et al here, but suddenly we're rooting for them harder than ever. As nice as it is to see Pacino hooting and hollering again (mostly hollering), the real treat in terms of new blood is Ellen Barkin as his empowered assistant/ the "cougar" Linus (Matt Damon) attempts to seduce in the movie's funniest sequence. Who'd think Barkin could be still be so sexy 16 years after Switch?

Shrek the Third
Speaking of critical lashings, Shrek's third outing was a popular target for ire this past summer. Not so much in terms of popular opinion, though. Mylesomaticx, for one, declared it "THE BEST MOVIE EVER MADE" in his/her user review on Moviefone. Whoa there, Mylesomaticx. I'll play the diplomat and say it falls somewhere smack dab in the middle of the critiques of the Rotten Tomatoes majority ("flat and pointless," says one) and the Caps Locked Mylesomaticx. I didn't find Shrek the Third any less enjoyable than Shrek 2 (which got glorious reviews), that's for sure. There are more storylines here (they could've done without those creepy dronkeys) and the humor, seemingly skewed even further for adults, is still funnier and smarter than the vast majority of animated rip-offs we see nowadays. The suddenly ubiquitous actor Justin Timberlake (when in the world does he find time to practice the Moonwalk?) joins the fun as Artie, the rightful heir to the throne of Far Far Away, and is surprisingly adept at voicing a whiny teen. But Mike Myers needs to hurry up and play someone/something else. Is it just me or is he becoming increasingly interchangeable with the character Shrek? Luckily, The Love Guru, his first non-Shrek film in five years, opens next June. JT co-stars.

I don't know what I miss more -- good comedy by actors like Mike Myers and Jim Carrey, or that time in the late '90s when their names were synonymous with morphing into almost-unrecognizable characters. Or, maybe I just miss comedies that refer to the Alan Parsons Project. Whatever the case, we're finally getting another Mike Myers-created comedy with The Love Guru, and USA Today has the first look at the guru Pitka and Jessica Alba. Myers looks pretty unrecognizable, sporting a curling 'stache, beard, and long hair, and Alba, well, she looks like herself -- the cute smiling girl in a tank top. The comedian and filmmaker normally stays away from transforming the lead women in his films, but it would've been nice to change that this time around. Still, I wish this was a video, so we could see Myers in action.

The story focuses on Pitka (Myers) an American left at the gates of an Indian ashram, who is raised by gurus, and then comes back to the US to focus on issues of intimacy between couples. Adding in a little of Myers' Canadian verve, he meets his match when he has to fix the relationship between a star hockey player (Romany Malco), and his estranged wife, who is bonking the star of his rival team (Justin Timberlake as a French hockey player named Jacques). He's got to fix things and get the player back on track so that his team, owned by Jane Bullard (Alba) and coached by Verne Troyer, can break their 40-year-old "Bullard Curse" and win the Stanley Cup. For hockey fans, you'll probably notice the similarities to the Maple Leafs.

This may come as a surprise to some of you, but I actually think that some singers can become decent actors. Usually I prefer my singers to stay singers, my athletes to stay athletes, my directors to be actual film directors and I definitely (in most cases) prefer to leave the acting to the actors. But as I said, there are a few exceptions. Take former N'Sync member Justin Timberlake for example.

Sure, you could dismiss his acting talent simply because he used to be in N'Sync -- and that might be a valid reason to some. However, if you did that you would miss some of the good work he's done in films such as Alpha Dog and Black Snake Moan. Obviously I'm not the only one who thinks Timberlake might have something going for him in the acting department because, according to Variety, he's just added another feature film role to his growing list of credits -- the Mike Myers comedy The Love Guru over at Paramount Pictures.

The film, which also stars Jessica Alba, was written by Myers and Graham Gordy and centers on an American (one that was raised in India by gurus) who returns to the States to start a self-help empire. Hilarity ensues (as it often does) when he gives advice to the wife of a famous Hockey star (Alba), who takes it a bit too far and starts dating one of her husband's rival players (Timberlake). Could be amusing. Myers is usually funny and Timberlake was pretty good on Saturday Night LIve, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see. The film, under the direction of Marco Schnabel, begins shooting next month in Toronto.

Last week, I brought you news of director Richard Kelly's new movie, The Box with Cameron Diaz. In my report, I mentioned Southland Tales, Kelly's follow-up to the cult classic Donnie Darko. Tales premiered last year at Cannes, to largely negative reviews (like James'). But Darko nuts like myself are still dying to see the thing. As of last week, things weren't looking good, with the release not scheduled until March 2008. And now we've got more bad news. Southland co-star Mandy Moore is telling Sci-Fi Wire she doesn't know what's going on with the film, she hasn't seen any of it, and she doesn't even know if she's still in the thing! "I have not seen any incarnation of that yet," says Moore. "I had a great time working on it. It was one of those things where I met with Richard maybe two weeks before they started shooting. I had just finished that movie American Dreamz at the time, so I was like, 'Um, yeah, sure, I'll jump into this one. Why not?' I play The Rock's wife in the movie, if I'm still in the movie at all. They had to cut it down so much, and maybe they just cut out my character altogether."

Moore adds, "I loved working with Rock or Dwayne; I'm not sure what he prefers to be called now. Sarah Michelle Gellar was in the movie. It was just a fun, huge, gigantic cast of characters there. I'm not in the sci-fi element of it, and I don't get to sing." She mentions the singing because the film, at least in its Cannes inception, contained musical numbers. You see, it's a comedy musical sci-fi thriller, with elements of political satire (now maybe you're seeing why it's something of a tough sell). In addition to The Rock and Gellar, Moore is (or isn't) part of an extremely eclectic cast that includes Seann William Scott, Cheri Oteri, Miranda Richardson, Jon Lovitz, Kevin Smith, Amy Poehler, and fellow pop star Justin Timberlake. In reading up on the film, I realized it takes place in the very near future -- on July 4, 2008 to be exact. They pretty much have to get the movie out by then, don't they? Otherwise we'll be watching a movie about the future that's set in the past! Why don't they release it tomorrow, so we can watch it exactly one year from when it's supposed to take place? That'd be cool, no? Somebody get me Joe Hollywood on the phone!

Hey kids of all ages, the summer of sequels fast approacheth, and with that movie fans'll be visiting Far Far Away once more ('Shrek the Third', that is). Moviefone just booked an Unscripted interview with the big green ogre himself -- Mike Myers to you -- and one of the Shrek newbies -- Justin Timberlake. JT voices Artie, a teenage brat and future king. In case you didn't catch it, Artie's short for Arthur, which means we'll be seeing Merlin, Lancelot and more.

So how do you fit into this equation? We need Unscripted questions! For those of you not familiar, Unscripted is Moviefone's star-on-star video Q&A show in which celebrities interview each other with your questions and some of their own. Now's your chance to ask Myers and Timberlake anything you want to know. Will there be another 'Austin Powers'? If Justin and Mike teamed up for a live action movie, what would it be? Those are just some examples to get you started, but we know you can do better than that, right? So we beg of you, asketh away, and please provide your first name plus the city and state you live in!

Way back in November, we brought you the very first look at the teaser poster for this summer's sure-to-be blockbuster Shrek the Third, and now we've got another first: the unveiling of the brand-spanking-new theatrical poster featuring more than just Shrek's ears and green crown-topped chrome dome. Double-click on the image below for a larger version.

The third installment in the lucrative CGI franchise finds King Harold (John Cleese) on his deathbed and Shrek (Mike Myers) and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) poised to ascend the throne of Far Far Away. But as you may have gathered from Shrek's expression in the above poster, ruling a kingdom isn't exactly in our ogre hero's wheelhouse -- so Shrek, Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) set out on a quest to find the rightful heir to the throne: a rebellious teen named Artie, aka the once and future King Arthur, aka Diaz's erstwhile boyfriend Justin Timberlake. As Shrek, Donkey and Puss labor to bring 'Sexyback' to the kingdom, Fiona must defend Far Far Away from another coup attempt by the metrosexual Prince Charming (Rupert Everett). Shrek the Third barrels into theaters May 18.

Watch the trailer | Get more about the movie | See photos

There seem to be two distinct camps where the Shrek movies are concerned: The people who unabashedly love these sweetly silly revisionist fairy tales -- and the people who consider Shrek and Shrek 2 astonishingly overrated pieces of CGI goofiness that certainly didn't deserve their massive payouts. ($484 million and $920 million worldwide, respectively, and that doesn't include DVD sales.) Me, I fall firmly in the former camp: I'm a big fan of both Shrek flicks. I think they're light, witty, clever and stunningly animated family-style adventures -- but they're not over-scrubbed and ultra-sanitized like most of Disney's weaker attempts.

So obviously I'm pretty pumped to see Shrek the Third, and if this brand-new trailer is any indication, I'll probably be chuckling like a stoned monkey throughout most of this second sequel. The kids will go for the comedy, the characters and the colorful little adventures, but folks like me go for the cast: Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz have done some fine voice-work in the first two flicks, but I'm most fond of Eddie Murphy as Donkey, Antonio Banderas and Puss-in-Boots, and (of course) the immortal John Cleese as King Harold. (OK, so it's a small part, but just the sound of Cleese's voice makes me laugh.)

What I find most intriguing about Shrek the Third is its big list of newcomers: Ian McShane as Captain Hook? Eric Idle as Merlin the Wizard? John Krasinski as Sir Lancelot? Very cool! And get this line-up of prickly princesses: Cheri Oteri (Sleeping Beauty), Maya Rudolph (Rapunzel), Amy Poehler (Snow White) and Amy Sedaris (Cinderella)! How cool is that?! (Oh yeah, and Justin Timberlake as the young Prince Arthur, the only misstep that casting directors actually let Cameron Diaz talk them into made.) Anyway, fun stuff. New trailer here. The film opens May 18.

The 2007 Sundance Film Festival is a wrap. I saw some outstanding movies (King of California, Grace Is Gone, Son of Rambow, The Nines) and some not-so-outstanding movies (The Go-Getter, Smiley Face), some A-list celebs (Justin Timberlake, Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci) and some not-so-A-list celebs (Heavyset Girl #1 from Black Snake Moan). All in all, it was a great experience, full of flicks, fun and plenty of Bud Lights. In order to best summarize the things I saw, heard and learned at the festival, I now present Sundance by the Numbers.

1: Number of times I heard Justin Timberlake ask Samuel L. Jackson, "Are there any motherf#&!in snakes in Black Snake Moan?"

1: Number of times I heard Samuel L. Jackson reply "Only trouser snakes."

1: Number of movies about a girl who grows an actual set of teeth in her vagina. The twisted and, yes, crowd-pleasing flick is quite appropriately entitled Teeth, and those dangerous vajay-jay chompers belong to rising star Jess Weixler (Little Manhattan).

1: Number of people who laid down on the floor and went to sleep during the press screening of Heather Graham's Adrift in Manhattan.

1: Number of dudes dancing shirtless at the Sundance Awards after-party.

2: Number of movies in which a character goes off to war in Iraq and gives a loved one a digital wristwatch with an alarm set to beep at the same time as the alarm on his/her wristwatch -- that way they'll know they're thinking about each other at the exact same moment. Justin Timberlake gives one to Christina Ricci in Black Snake Moan, and John Cusack's unseen wife gives one to their daughter in Grace Is Gone.

2: Number of movies starring a Fanning -- Dakota headlines the controversial Hounddog and younger sis Elle plays a supporting role in The Nines.

3: Number of times Christina Ricci takes her top off in Black Snake Moan.

4: Number of times Ryan Reynolds takes his shirt off in the first 20 minutes of The Nines.

4: Millions of dollars paid by Harvey Weinstein for distribution rights to Audience Award and Screenwriting Award winner Grace Is Gone.

5: Number of attempts it takes drunken teenager Hal Hefner (Reece Thompson) to throw a cello through the window of the girl who jilted him in the Thumbsucker-esque Rocket Science.

Despite attempted legal injunctions and less than stellar festival reviews, it looks like nothing is going to stop Alpha Dog from clawing its way to the big screen. Most of the details about the movie are pretty familiar by now: The film was inspired by the story of legendary drug dealer Jesse James Hollywood, who was infamous for being one of the youngest criminals wanted by the FBI. Names and details might have been changed for the film, but the actual defense team for Hollywood claimed the film could prevent their client from getting a fair trial. They even tried to get an injunction against the release of the film.

It would seem that the complaints were in vain, as Universal has just launched the official site for Alpha Dog promising a release on January 12th, 2007. The site offers video clips, production history, pictures of the principal leads -- including plenty of shirtless shots of Justin Timberlake, and the obligatory tie-in with MySpace. So if the idea of an Alpha Dog skin for your MySpace page appeals, then today is your lucky day. Since early previews met with mixed reactions -- with some of the shots directed at Timberlake's acting abilities, I'm just glad that after a year of reading about his movie, at least now we'll get to see what all the fuss has been about.

[via JoBlo.com]

I'll be the first to say that if Black Snake Moan is a big hit, I'll be a little amazed. The movie looks like a tough sell to say the least, with a plot that revolves around the relationship between a young sex addict and a man three times her age that chains her to a radiator. I don't mean to oversimplify ,but really -- there is no other way to put it. The film was directed by Craig Brewer (Hustle And Flow), and stars Christina Ricci, Samuel L. Jackson and Justin Timberlake. Timberlake still might have that big question mark hanging over his acting career, but I'll admit A Special Christmas Box was hilarious. The film also had some really beautiful pulp-art posters and an invitation for people to cut their own trailer for the film to post on the official site.

Now the official trailer has hit the net, and I still think it will be a miracle if this movie manages to make it to the screen without at least a little saber-rattling about misogyny. For starters, Ricci spends most of trailer in her underwear. Although it seems a little early in the game to start drawing any conclusions. It looks like there is a lot to this film and I doubt a two-minute trailer is going to cover it. So take a look, and tell me what you think.

[via Goldenfiddle]