Let’s get this out of the way in advance: I’m a fan of actor, personality and bongo player Matthew McConaughey. Even though he’s been dipping in the romantic comedy well too much for the last several years, I’ve always thought he had an edge that needed to be explored.

Looks like I’m getting my wish with his upcoming film Killer Joe. In fact, not only does McConaughey look like he’s continuing to return to better, more challenging, roles the film also marks another directing effort for one of my favorites, William Friedkin. So, win win.

The film, written by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award writer Tracy Letts, tells the story of a Dallas detective who is also a hired killer. Talk about conflicted. Check out the synopsis below and a cool clip for the film after the jump:

When 22 year-old drug dealer Chris (Emile Hirsch) has his stash of drugs stolen from him by his mother, he has to come up with six-thousand dollars quick, or he’s dead. Desperate, he goes to the trailer-park to see his father, Ansel (Thomas Hayden Church), and he lays out the plan. Chris’s mother, who everyone hates, has a life insurance policy that would clear up his debt and make them all rich. The problem is that Chris’ mother is very much alive.

Enter Detective “Killer” Joe Cooper, a hired hit man with the manners of a Southern gentleman, who will do the job – for an upfront fee, that Chris and Ansel can’t pay. Just as Joe is about to leave, he spots Dottie (Juno Temple), Chris’ innocent younger sister. Joe makes Chris an offer, he’ll keep Dottie as sexual collateral until the money is collected and his fee can be paid. Chris reluctantly puts his debt ahead of his sister and agrees to Joe’s demand.

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By Shannon Hood and Jane Almirall

On day two, we got several screenings in, and an interview.  Here’s how it all went down.

Mother’s Day Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman.  Starring Jaime King, Rebecca De Mornay, and Deborah Ann Woll.

Jane’ thoughts: Mother’s Day is an interesting remake of the 1980 Charles Kaufman feature.    Bousman updates the original by changing the story from a camping trip gone wrong (in which several campers are held hostage and terrorized by a criminally insane family) to a horrifying tale of home invasion – based on actual events – (in which friends at a birthday party are held hostage and terrorized by a criminally insane family).

Mother’s Day maintains a palpable tension throughout it’s running time as the party-goers turned hostages are humiliated, tortured and killed by this extremely dysfunctional family.  There are several nods to it’s roots in Troma – particularly Rebecca De Mornay’s performance, which is peppered with camp - though for the most part the torture and kill scenes play without a wink.  This film went on a little bit long for my tastes, but to it’s credit kept my heart rate up for it’s entirety.

Interview: Edward Norton

Shannon:  I got to attend a round table interview with Edward Norton, who was in Austin to promote Stone, co-starring Robert De Niro and Milla Jovovich.

Edward was charming and intelligent, and gave us some insight into how he prepared for his role as an inmate, why ambiguity is not a bad thing in movies, and gave us some details regarding the creative process that director John Curran worked through to bring the movie to fruition.  Interview is forthcoming.

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Easy A is a modern twist  on the classic novel The Scarlet Letter, and it’s a nice throwback to all the 80′s teen comedies like Can’t Buy Me Love and The Breakfast Club. A standout performance by up and coming actress Emma Stone elevates this comedy above most in the genre.

Olive is a beautiful, smart and self-assured high school student who suffers the same fate of all gorgeous ladies in romantic comedies-she can’t get a date.  Yeah, right.  Olive spends her Saturday nights at home singing to her dog. Rather than fess up to that fact, she tells her best friend that she was out with a college boy, and implies that she lost her virginity.

Word of the (pretend) coupling travels quickly via texting and such, and Olive is soon rebuked by the females at the school for being  the school slut.  At the same time, she has a new found popularity with the men, who believe they might have a shot at her.

When her best male friend (who is gay) waffles on whether to come out of the closet or not, she urges him to wait until after high school. They concoct a plan to silence his tormentors; she’ll pretend to sleep with him and everyone will think he is straight.

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High school comedies have gotten a pretty bad reputation as of late. If it weren’t for films like Mean Girls or the original series of Scary Movie films, the genre would be completely devoid of appeal of any kinda. Then we have a film like Easy A, which looks like it could just break that mold once again.

The film stars Emma Stone, who most fans fell in love with during her role in Zombieland, and other just consider the “poor man’s Lindsay Lohan”. Either way, she’s on the rise in Hollywood, and Easy A could just be her big picture to make that happen.

The film is a modern-day take on The Scarlet Letter, except it takes place in high school, and there’s no actual sex. The cast is what will turn heads the most, bringing names like Thomas Haden Church, Patricia Clarkson, Malcolm McDowell, Stanley Tucci, Lisa Kudrow, and Fred Armisen to a film that could just turn out to be “not every other high school movie.”

Don’t take our word for it. Myspace is bringing us the first 10 minutes of the film, which you can check out after the jump. Check it out, let us know what you think, and catch Easy A in theaters this Friday.

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Spider-Man 3 was far from great but I will say Thomas Haden Church gave a pretty good performance as reluctant villain Sandman. Like Alfred Molina (Dr. Octopus) before him and Willem Dafoe (Green Goblin) prior to that. Church brought a tragic element to the role. Yes, they all ended up portraying villains but you kind of felt sorry for them. I’ll even go so far as to say as much as Venom sucked in the last film, Topher Grace had an ounce of that innate misery in his portrayal of Eddie Brock.

Well, perhaps we’ll see that again in Spider-Man 4 as Dylan Baker will be reprising his role as Dr. Connor. While we have yet to see his true villain side manifest as The Lizard in the films maybe it will finally happen. Collider reports:

“Baker joked with “Trick-r-Treat” writer/director Dougherty about his role in the film, with Dougherty saying that Baker’s character was “just appearing in the background” and that the possibility of the Lizard would just be “a cocktease for another year”. Baker apparently joined in the joking, but it’s unclear whether he was actually confirming a small role for Connors or if he was giving a wink and a nod.”

Come on Sam Raimi, give the fans what they want: The Lizard!  You’ve teased us for three films now, it’s time you gave Baker some green scaly skin and sharp fangs to do battle with Spider-Man. Perhaps more importantly, Baker fits the bill for that tragic quality I talked about above.

Speaking of actors that are due a real role in Spider-Man 4, Raimi confirmed that Bruce Campbell will also return for the film, “I promised him we would write something because I really love putting him in the pictures,” he told the network, adding, “I promised him a good meaty role.”

So, just what kind of “meaty role” do you give a guy who has played a different character in every film?  If Internet rumors hold any water Campbell could dawn the mask of Mysterio.  It would be a perfect role for Campbell when you consider the origins of the character (from Wikipedia):

“Debuting in Amazing Spider-Man #13, Mysterio is Quentin Beck, a special effects wizard and stunt man working for a major Hollywood studio with dreams of making a name for himself in the film industry. However, he came to see his career in special effects as a dead-end job, but realized that his expertise in illusions could make him an effective supervillain.”

Gee, a guy trying to make a name for himself in the film industry? Sure, Campbell is already a name in the industry, but this sounds like the perfect downtrodden character Campbell could really get into.  Here’s hoping this is one Internet rumor that will pan out.

Spider-Man 4 is set for a May 2011 release date.

Spider-Man 3 was not the greatest installment of the franchise. It seemed for every great moment there was an equally bad one. Take Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) and Venom (Topher Grace) for example. Sandman was a compelling character you could get behind. Venom was a gimmick, tacked onto the last third of the film. That isn’t to say Grace was not brilliant as Eddie Brock, he was, but Venom just felt forced into an already busy plot.

Worse yet was having not one, not two, but three nods to The Lizard throughout the franchise by Dr. Curt Connors (Dylan Baker) but that villain never emerged. What a waste. Whether you love or hate Venom, writer Paul Wernick confirmed that Sony is working on a Venom spin-off:

“We’ve written two drafts of Venom, and the studio has it, and they’re pushing forward in whatever ways they push forward.”.  Of course, this begs the question how will this relate to the upcoming Spider-Man 4.  Wernick provided a very vague response, “Basically, the studio and Marvel and the Arads are taking our drafts and going beyond and figuring out what’s the next step.”

There is a silver lining to this.  Paul Wernick, along with co-writer Rhett Reese, wrote the highly anticipated Zombieland film.  While I’ve only seen the previews the movie looks brilliant. If they can bring that same sense of humour mixed with prevailing dread to Venom, I for one think the film may just work. No other details at this point but you’ll find them here as they develop.