Ben Stiller Wears the Crown of 'King Doug'

I've heard of graphic novel adaptations; who hasn't. I've heard of manuscripts being purchased by a studio before it ever hits the streets as a novel or biography or whatever. But until now - and maybe I've just been clueless about this kind of thing - I had never heard of a studio acquiring a graphic novel that hasn't even been published.

Says a lot about the changing perception of graphic novels within the film industry.

According to Variety, DreamWorks has signed its name on the dotted line to pick up the rights to The Return of King Doug, and what's more, they already have their eye on Ben Stiller to produce and possibly star.

Greg Orb and Jason Oremland wrote King Doug, which Oni Press will publish next year, and DreamWorks will reportedly keep the team together to write the screenplay.

For Stiller, the move makes sense since his production company has done oodles of business with DreamWorks before, and if the story is so good that we don't even know anything about it, well, then, he really landed a hot property.

Seriously, though, we don't know anything about King Doug, other than he's returning. And that, with Ben Stiller in the mix, he probably has a lot of madcap stuff happen to him by way of zany physical comedy.

Movie Trailer - 'Journey to the Center of the Earth'...Without All That Pesky 3D

If there's one summer movie that's being raked over the coals even by the online corners that seldom rake anything over the coals, it's Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D. The consensus is that there doesn't appear to be much of a movie here, merely 3D effects. And of course, one doesn't work without the other (*cough* Spy Kids 3D).

Also in the con column is the marquee-heading Brendan Fraser. Seems like a nice guy and all, but his metal detector for quality projects more often than not leads him to bottle caps buried in the sand than anything else.

But it is a big summer movie, it will get a lot of marketing, and if Alvin and the Chipmunks could do huge business, there seems to be no stopping this one.

Here's an international trailer for Journey to the Center of the Earth. If you're unimpressed, try moving to another country to see if the international flavor has a more desirable effect once you cross the border.


Journey to the Center of the Earth opens July 11th.

New to DVD - 'Alvin and the Chipmunks'

Clearly, Alvin and the Chipmunks is a movie for kids, right? Then tell that to the character played by comedian David Cross, a slimy record executive preying on the success of the singing chipmunks after their Christmas song becomes an immediate hit. Throughout, he makes references that would be well beyond the comprehension of a typical 8-year-old, more or less the target demo for this flick. These references and asides are intended to be amusing, but to whom?

If you find Cross� antics funny, then chances are you�ll be bored stiff by those scenes in Alvin and the Chipmunks kids might actually enjoy: Alvin breaking wind in the face of Dave Seville (Jason Lee), the requisite house is a mess scene, and other various shenanigans perpetrated by Alvin, Simon and Theodore.

It�s an uncomfortable balance, made even easier to resist when you discover that the only good thing about the movie is hearing �The Chipmunk Song� in its original form about three times. Oh, there�s a new version of the song, too, given a punk rock twist to very little effect, and there�s a small handful of other songs, none of which sound as good in your ears as the internal refrain, �We should go ask for our money back.�

The Chipmunks happen into the life of struggling songwriter Seville, who immediately and naturally thinks he�s crazy when his visitors start talking and then harmonizing. Thanks, filmmakers; we really needed that Chipmunk back story. Crucial.

The voices for the Chipmunks have been provided by Justin Long (Live Free or Die Hard), former model Matthew Gray Gubler and singer Jesse McCartney, all of whom dodge a bullet by having their voices altered and by never being seen in this dire attempt at family entertainment. It�s kind of like being a mob informant interviewed on 60 Mintues, only with a terrible soundtrack. And remember, the soundtrack for 60 Minutes is just a ticking stopwatch, so what does that tell you?

Jason Lee and David Cross don�t leave unscathed, though. Cross seems desperate for a job and Lee seems incapable of recognizing what an awful idea this whole movie is. The good news is, if Lee were to incorporate his TV character�s manner of going around apologizing for his wrongdoing, there won�t be too many people seeing this, which means his nationwide apology tour shouldn�t take that long.

But if kids will be bored by the villain and if adults remember the Chipmunks from better, earlier incarnations, then this movie has no shot, which is about what it deserves.

New to DVD - 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'

The combination of director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp has forged some of modern cinema's most peculiar creations, from the eternally optimistic schlock filmmaker Ed Wood to the fragile boy with weapons as hands that keep love away from him in Edward Scissorhands. but even when the characters aren't named Edward, Depp is given more free reign over them with Burton than any other director, and for his part, Burton has the complete trust of his actor.

It's rare that it happens, and rarer still when both artists are near the top of the mountain in their respective fields.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street finds them again mining a memorable character and a bizarre looking film experience, but it's one that becomes dreary and almost monotonous without ever truly finding its way back out of the mire. Based on the Stephen Sondheim musical about a vengeful barber's quest for blood and the industrious downstairs neighbor (Helena Bonham Carter) who uses his victims as the main course in her restaurant), Sweeney Todd is not the happiest bit of musical theater you'll ever find. It's also not the easiest to hum along with.

In fact, the songs work better on stage than on film, but that's hardly a criticism of Burton's production. The criticism is how those songs are used not just to help tell the story but also how they hold the story back. Depp is no great singer and neither is Bonham Carter, so the songs don't play to the actors' strengths, nor the director's.

The acting is good - again, better when the cast is reciting dialogue and not lyrics - and the production design is endlessly dark and uninviting. But Sweeney Todd is not a great film. Like the director's Sleepy Hollow, also starring Depp, it's a Burtonesque version of the story, but since it could be argued that Burton hasn't made a masterpiece in a good fifteen years, what exactly does that mean?

In this case, it means a film that sounds ominous, looks like a bad dream, couldn't have been made by anyone else, and ultimately, just falls short of greatness.

Brad Pitt's Search for the 'Lost City of Z'

After a busy weekend of not getting married, Brad Pitt turns his eye to working once again. Variety reports that Paramount has purchased the script about a search for a lost Amazonian city, which Pitt may star in and will produce through his company, Plan B.

Lost City of Z was written by David Grann, whose book tells the story of a British explorer named Percy Fawcett, who in addition to his travels was well known for his feathered golden locks and his memorable swimsuit poster that adorned the walls of teenage boys everywhere. Wait...that's...never mind.

Percy Fawcett sought the City of Z but his party disappeared in the jungles of South America in 1925. I think I'd heard that story but not that there had been multiple searches to either find traces of the expedition or their path, including one within the last 15 years.

If you're looking for Lost City of Z on Amazon or something, you might want to wait; the book won't be released until next February, but with Pitt listing among the properties that caught his interest, Paramount, with whom Pitt has a long history, gobbled up the rights quickly.