There was a lot of excitement when David O. Russell took the reins of the upcoming Uncharted film. A real director taking on one of the most cinematic ready video game franchises seemed like a sure fire hit. Then word came out that frequent O. Russell collaborator Mark Whalberg would play Nathan Drake and  it was all down hill from there.

Eventually, O. Russell decided to leave the project and Uncharted seemed on shaky ground.

Well Variety is now reporting that Neil Burger, director of the film Limitless, has been brought on to direct the cinematic adventures of Nathan Drake. Burger is coming off a mild success in Limitless and hopes to parlay that into bigger things. It is unknown whether or not Whalberg is still interested in starring in the movie, but it is known that Burger will be working off of a re-write of the original script Russell had intended on using.

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Shortly after I read The Lovely Bones in 2002, I started hearing rumblings that it was being optioned for a movie. My immediate reaction was “Why?” The emotionally devastating novel about the rape and murder of a fourteen year old seemed like dubious source material. The murdered girl resides in a self imposed ethereal limbo-land between heaven and earth for most of the book, making it logistical nightmare to film. I just didn’t understand how a filmmaker could pull it off.

In the case of director Peter Jackson, he couldn’t, and he didn’t. Jackson worked his magic with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but he is woefully out of his element here. The most shocking thing about seeing the film is that it is completely devoid of any emotion or warmth, the very characteristics that made the book so beloved. So much consideration is given to unnecessary special effects (that don’t even look good) that the crucial human interactions are lost, and that is a true pity. If you take those away, there is no reason to see this movie.

Oscar-nominee Saoirse Ronan (Atonement) plays Susie Salmon, who disappears on her way home from school one day. A nerdy and harmless looking neighbor, Mr. Harvey, lures Susie to a root-cellar like building in the middle of a field with the sheepish confession he has built a playhouse for the neighborhood kids. Susie feels honored to be the first child to see the playhouse, but she is ultimately raped, murdered, and dismembered in the claustrophobic dwelling.

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The big screen adaptation of Alice Sebold’s best selling novel The Lovely Bones, which we reviewed right here, finally has a trailer and we’ve to it right here for you. In case you’re not familiar, the story follows the tragically short life and afterlife of Susie Salmon, a young girl who is murdered one day on her way home from school.

After that event, the story followers her family as they attempt to understand and come to terms with Susie’s death and also find her killer. It also follows Susie who, now in her own personal version of heaven, looks down and narrates the story as she watches her family attempt to get on with their lives. While doing this, she’s also consumed with a mission to help track down her killer.

The Lovely Bones, which features Mark Wahlberg, Susan Sarandon, Rachel Weisz and Saoirse Ronan as Susie, hits theaters on December 11. Until then, check out the trailer after the jump.

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There are plenty of decent shows on HBO lately, from southern vampires to man-whores to polygamy, but one show in particular that has tons of potential, but keeps coming up short is the semi-biographical tale of Marky Mark Whalberg, Entourage.

Unfortunately, the show has a great premise, but comes up short when looking at it from the standpoint of character development or plot conflict. Our friends over at College Humor feel the exact same way, and illustrate it in this week’s Fan Film Friday.

For those who are unaware or don’t get the premium channels on their monthly cable bill, Entourage follows actor Vincent Chase and his group of childhood friends from Queens as they constantly fail upwards in Hollywood.

The show ends up becoming more about the supporting cast than the focal character, but I suppose that is explained in the name. Check out the video after the jump, which also stars new SNL cast member Bobby Moynihan and almost Vincent D’Onofrio.

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