I guess one show about spies isn’t enough for J.J. Abrams. With Undercovers currently going ahead at NBC, the writer-director-producer is now discussing the possibility of bringing back his earlier spy series Alias to ABC.

According to “insider” sources, the rebooted series would have some elements of the original that featured a then-unknown Jennifer Garner. However, it would be a more straightforward action/spy show and wouldn’t contain the mythology involving the Rimbaldi prophecy and subsequent other developments.

While discussion are only in the very preliminary stages, ABC would reportedly make this move in an effort to hold onto the audience they will be losing now that Lost has ended and FlashForward was cancelled. Plus, spies seem like a hot commodity on TV right now with the return next season of Chuck, USA’s Burn Notice still going strong and the upcoming debuts of the CW’s Nikita and the aforementioned Undercovers.

Given all that, it would seem the decision by ABC to reboot the show might be a good one. Still, you have to wonder about TV executives. They lose a show like Lost and the best idea they can come up with to “replace” it as to reboot a series that only lasted five years and towards the end got incredibly convoluted and lost a great deal of its audience?

Well, if a new Alias really does come to pass then my vote for the new Sydney Bristow is Kerri Russell. She was great as a spy (briefly) in Mission Impossible III so I think she would make a great choice. What do you guys think?

Continuing our recent previews of upcoming SXSW films brings us to our latest, Leaves of Grass. The film, written and directed by Tim Blake Nelson and starring Edward Norton, Kerri Russell, Susan Sarandon, Richard Dreyfuss and Edward Norton, is being released by First Look Studios and we’ve got a trailer and info about the film for you today.

The film concerns Ivy League professor Bill Kincaid who receives news of the murder of his estranged identical twin brother, Brady (both played by Norton), in a pot deal gone bad. He leaves the world of academia to travel back to his home state of Oklahoma. But once he arrives he finds things are not what they seem and reports of his brother’s death are greatly exaggerated.

Soon Bill is caught up in the dangerous and unpredictable world of drug commerce in the Southwest. In the process, he reconnects with his eccentric mother (Sarandon), meets a wise and educated woman who’s chosen the simple life (Russell), and unwittingly helps his brother settle a score with a drug lord (Dreyfuss) who uses Tulsa, Oklahoma’s small Jewish community for cover.

With a cast such as this and under the direction of Nelson, who’s previous films The Grey Zone and Kansas proved his directing talents, Leaves of Grass manages to be at times dangerous, compelling and poignant. It follows a somewhat simple narrative but still provides some potential answers to a complex question: What does it mean to live a happy and constructive life?

Leaves of Grass will be released in New York and LA on April 2nd. Check out the trailer after the jump.

Continue Reading →

There are lots of puns that could be mined from the title, but the truth is, Extraordinary Measures is a movie that is much better suited to the small screen. It is a mediocre film at best, but I suppose some people might be find its story of triumph over insurmountable odds moving. The crowd I saw the film with seemed to enjoy it a lot more than I did.

The film is loosely based on the book The Cure, by Geeta Anand, which chronicles the true story of the Crowley family and their battle with pompe disease (a neuromuscular disorder related to muscular dystrophy). It follows their race to find a treatment  before two of their three children die from the disease. Having one child with this horrible disease is horrible enough, having two is incomprehensible.

Brendan Fraser plays John Crowley, a father who risks his job, his family , and his sanity on a desperate gamble to find a treatment.  Late nights spent poring over the Internet eventually lead him to a renegade scientist, Robert Stonewell (Harrison Ford).

Continue Reading →