The story of The Lorax has never felt right to me. Either the Once-ler is the most short-sighted whatsit in the world, next to the Lorax himself (or at least the forest creatures), or the entire tale is a buried parable on the importance of stable property rights. Given Seuss’s general lack of subtlety when making a political point, the latter probably isn’t the case. In any event, why does no one preserve the Truffula trees? If the Once-ler owns the forest, and his business is based on the Truffula trees, why on earth would he practice clear-cutting?

He, like pretty much every other private timber company that owns the forest they log, has an incentive to preserve the forest (unless he’s renting it from the creatures, but that doesn’t seem to be the case) – clearly the Once-ler needed to fire his business planner. Or, once the land had been deforested, should have sold it and the seed to another logging concern.

Heck, they’d probably seek him out, since Truffula trees are a hot commodity, and there’s a lot of Thneedians; we already know that one of the characters is a budding entrepreneur, it’d be a lot easier and a lot more profitable for him to replant the forest than find a way to sell air. Evidently the Thneedians don’t understand marginal utility, but that’s okay, what gets me is how Seuss (and the movie) stacks the odds in his favor.

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Last year didn’t have many major hits, but one film that managed to sneak past critics and turned out to be one of the highest grossing films of the year was the animated film Despicable Me. Bringing in both kids and adults alike, the film was able to prove that Pixar isn’t the only studio to produce quality CG-animated films.

Now, from the same studio, and the man who brought us The Cat in the Hat, comes The Lorax. For those who aren’t aware of this lesser known Seussian tale, here’s a breakdown.

From the creators of Despicable Me and the imagination of Dr. Seuss comes the 3D-CG feature Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, an adaptation of the classic tale of a forest creature who shares the enduring power of hope. The animated adventure follows the journey of a 12-year-old as he searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.

The film has a pretty awesome cast, featuring Danny DeVito, Zac Eforn, Betty White, Taylor Swift, and Ed Helms. We’ve got a bit before the film hits theaters on March 2nd, but you can check out the trailer after the jump.

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I liked this movie quite a bit  when I first saw it in 2003, and it was called Love, Actually.  This is nothing but a watered down and americanized version of the British movie, and it is mired in mediocrity.  Just think of this as the ugly stepsister of Love, Actually.

Despite a massive ensemble cast (Jessica Alba, Kathy Bates, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, Taylor Swift, Taylor Lautner, Julia Roberts, Shirley MacClaine, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, Emma Roberts, and George Lopez) the film lacks any real zip, and for a film about Valentine’s Day, it lacks heart. Don’t let all that star power fool you.

There are a myriad of storylines woven throughout the movie, which takes place on Valentine’s Day, in Los Angeles.  Most of the principals are connected to one another in one way or another, and their connections are slowly revealed throughout the movie.  Some of the stories work quite well, and others just don’t work at all.

Ashton Kutcher plays Reed, a florist who proposes to his less than thrilled girlfriend Morley (Jessica Alba.)  His best friend Julia (Jennifer Garner) is giddy over her new boyfriend (Patrick Dempsey), who is actually a two timing married man. Her best friend Kara (Jessica Biel) is the desperate and lonely career girl with no one to spend Valentine’s Day with.

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Hollyscoop has reported on a rumor going around that 2009 Grammy winner Taylor Swift is in talks to put on the blue and red costume in an upcoming remake/reboot of the 1984 film Supergirl, that once starred Helen Slater and Faye Dunaway. Their sources say that Warner Bros. is looking to create a new film, and/or possibly a TV series, for the character, despite the original film being a financial failure.

Since this is merely a rumor as of now, the more interesting part was what the source’s said about the scarcity of female superheroes at the moment, “Hollywood is short of female heroes and the time is right for a new Supergirl.” This part seems logical enough – despite the mandate from a couple years ago when studio head Jeff Rubinox supposedly said, “Warner Bros. will no longer feature movies with female leads.”

This comes after a number of financial flops featuring some of the biggest female names in acting (Jodie Foster, Nicole Kidman, and Hilary Swank all from 2007 in The Brave One, The Invasion, and The Reaping, respectively). However, this may be shown to be false by the number of movies released since 2007 with leads that are women, such as Sex in the City, Whiteout, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 along with the 2011 Zack Snyder film, Sucker Punch and the Sex in the City sequel. So take that as you will.

Taylor Swift, who will next be appearing in February’s Valentine’s Day (along with most of Hollywood), has only other acting credit to date; an episode of CBS’s CSI. What do you think about the idea of a new Supergirl movie, and/or with Taylor Swift in the role?

Our friends at Activision have sent us a cool behind the scenes video showing what it’s like to shoot a TV commercial for the game Band Hero, which hits stores today. It features artists such as Taylor Swift, Pete Wentz and Travis Barker, but don’t let that stop you from taking a look anyway.

I kid. I kid because I care. In all seriousness, I worked on a lot of commercials over the years and I can tell you that very few of them were ever this cool to shoot or, in the end, to watch. So, leave your preconceptions at the door and take a look at this video.

Who knows, you might just enjoy it. Plus, you’ll also get more of a taste of Band Hero, a game I just know you’re anxious to try — especially if you’re a fan of Guitar Hero. As I may have mentioned, the game hits stores today for Wii, DS, Xbox 360, PS3 and PS2. Enjoy.

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