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Richard Matheson's original short story, "Button, Button," was a nifty little morality tale about a couple faced with a peculiar opportunity -- if they push a button in a box, they'll get a sum of money but kill a stranger in doing so. That version of the story ended with the wife pushing the button and killing her husband, a man she didn't really know. As an episode of "The Twilight Zone" in 1986, the story ended with the couple paid off and assured that the device would then go to another couple to whom they qualify as strangers. Now, Richard Kelly's The Box takes that same basic premise and spins it into a mind-bender of the most baffling degree, starting out as another "Twilight Zone"-worthy variant but eventually reaching the outer limits of both patience and reason.

I'm grateful for this Friday, because that's the day that The Men Who Stare at Goats comes out and I can stop seeing its trailer relentlessly attached to anything and everything I see (and given that I try to see most anything and everything out there, it's really only a 'me' problem, I suppose). One night, I had myself a triple feature and saw the preview not one, not two, but three times; as a pal put it, he had "more than a feeling" that I was getting sick of it.

Before that, it was a summer of Taking Woodstock time and time again, and it would already seem that Shutter Island's move to February will insure that I'll be sitting there, trying to piece the thing together for the next three months when not perfecting my New England Leo impersonation.

So, whether currently or in your own formative years, what trailers have you been just absolutely burnt out on? Did you and your friends quote along with them as they played? Were you actually ever turned off from seeing a film because you had it advertised to you too much? Come on, let it all out...

Fall brings with it awards season, and among our first round of nominations are those of the British Independent Film Awards. According to Empire, Andrea Arnold's acclaimed Fish Tank took the lead with eight, while Duncan Jones' similarly lauded Moon came up with seven, including one for lead actor Sam Rockwell.

I'm personally happy to see the savage political satire In the Loop getting due notice, especially its expletive-laden screenplay, since it'll likely go overlooked when it comes to Yank laurels (sad but true, although I'll be happy if it's not). Meanwhile, the multiple nods for An Education and Bright Star only parallel their warm reception Stateside and their likely contention in next year's Oscar race.

And after being quietly blown away by it at Fantastic Fest a few weeks back, I'm also glad to see Down Terrace get some love under the Raindance Award category. Enough of these awards, and maybe that puppy'll earn some distribution in our neck of the woods. (You listening, IFC?)

I know, you might be bordering on a Paranormal Activity overdose at this point. It's been slowly rolling out for weeks, every person in America is talking about it, and it so totally scared your best friend, but certainly not you. Well, as you likely know, what is currently playing in theaters is not the original ending to Oren Peli's haunted house triumph. In fact, the new theatrical cut features an ending suggested by Steven Spielberg.

The original ending, as detailed here by our own William Goss, hasn't played in theaters for over a year and a half, but now that the film is king of the demonic world, someone has provided the service of actually putting the alternate ending online. This is actually just one of several endings, as explained in our interview with the director, but until the far-off DVD of the film is released, this is the only way you're going to see it. And I kind of have a feeling that may not be the case for long, so catch it while you can over at Horror Squad!

August gave us the voice of Matt Damon in Ponyo, September gave us the inner voice of Matt Damon in The Informant!, and now October has brought us a look at his next two performances.

Clint Eastwood's Invictus is one of the last big likely contenders of the awards season, though it is as of yet unseen (unless those very few who have seen it are very good at being very quiet). Damon plays real-life rugby captain Francois Pienaar, whose team saw the support of Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) as a rallying point around which they might lift the spirits of South Africa in the wake of apartheid. It's political! It's underdog! It's opening in December! It's Oscar bait for certain, and Apple has the exclusive trailer.

Paul Greengrass' Green Zone, on the other hand, was shuffled out of the Oscar race once Universal decided to sort out its slate after a lackluster summer at the box office, and that may have been a wise move. Yahoo's trailer (which is also embedded below) comes across as more of a straight-up actioner than a ready-made contender, with Damon back in Bourne mode as a betrayed soldier on the hunt first for WMDs, and then for answers. Based on the best-seller Imperial Life in the Emerald City, it opens on March 12, 2010.

We love it when our heroes fall for the suspicious types: the wolves in sheep's clothing, the dangerous femme fatales. It happens often in film noir and a heckuva lot in comics, and provides some of the best last-act twists and turns as our hearts palpitate along with those of our protagonists... up until the bitter end. Can't that evil love interest turn out to have a heart of gold, so we can all have a happily ever after? Sometimes, yes. Most of the time, no.

What is it about these doomed romances that we love so much? Perhaps it's the futility of it all; you can't have your cake and eat it when you're a superhero or a (wo)man on a mission to right wrongs, even if you'd rather be kissing that beguiling bad guy than fighting them, arresting them, or foiling their evil plans. Turning down a chance at love is the ultimate sacrifice for a hero or heroine to make -- it proves their commitment to the side of good. Hence, loving a villain makes a hero even more heroic. How tragic!

In what will surely spur controversy, I've whittled my favorite villain-hero romances down to the seven best pairings in cinema. No, Phantom of the Opera didn't make it. That would have been too easy. Instead, find odd couples, would-be perfect pairs, star-crossed lovers, and yes, the world's most legendary bromance after the jump.

I'll give you a few details and some material from the press release right here ... but I've made an executive decision to place the brand-new poster for Frankie Latina's Modus Operandi beneath the jump -- but only because it's slightly "adult" in nature. Anyway, this flick sounds like a weird one, and of course I mean that in the nicest way possible.

Described by the Las Vegas Weekly as "a James Bond film directed by Ed Wood," the 8mm Modus Operandi is about ... heck, I'll let the press notes tell you: "Two briefcases with mysterious contents are stolen from top Presidential candidate Squire Parks, setting off a deadly series of double-crosses and betrayals. Desperate warring factions of subterranean organizations will stop at nothing to gain possession of the sensitive material. A covert branch of the CIA calls on notorious black ops agent Stanley Cashay, who has been barely existing in a semi-comatose twilight since the murder of his wife. Cashay is offered the identity of his wife's killer in exchange for locating and returning the cases." And it gets even crazier after that! (More post-jump.)

What has me intrigued is the responses from folks like Eric Kohn at IndieWire ("A mondo B-movie that holds nothing back ... Modus Operandi is a movie utterly content with its own insanity.") and Stephen Zeitchik of The Hollywood Reporter ("It bursts with campiness and odes to '70s movie outrageousness.") Sounds right up my alley.

Check post-jump for the poster premiere and more of that rather amusing plot synopsis...

Click image below to view full poster

Cinematical has just received this exclusive new poster for Sherlock Holmes, due in theaters on Christmas Day. No more reserved stuffiness for this detective -- there's not a magnifying glass and classic hat in sight! Talk about a poster that boils the feel of a film down to one snazzy collection of images. Color us not surprised -- Robert Downey Jr.'s confident smirk alone is enough to tantalize, but there's also Jude Law with the campy and inquisitive Watson brow and a background of images ranging from a bottle of poison (cyanide, not any sort of booze) to faded glimpses of Rachel McAdams and Mark Strong. As the trailer and now this poster attest, Downey Jr. and Law are itching for roguish fun of a whole new flavor.

Set in 1891, Guy Ritchie's take on the famous detective finds Holmes and Watson battling an evil cult leader named Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong), whose devilish schemes could give the crime-fighting duo their toughest challenge yet. "Revealing fighting skills as lethal as his legendary intellect, Holmes will battle as never before to bring down a new nemesis and unravel a deadly plot that could destroy the country" (read the full synopsis after the jump). Of course, with a depravity that knows no bounds as he brawls and flirts his way to the truth.

Sounds like the perfect roguish antidote to sappy holiday fare, doesn't it? Click on the image below to view the full poster.

An intriguing remake rumor has popped up on CHUD. Devin Faraci is reporting that longtime friends Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio might star in a remake of Carol Reed's classic thriller The Third Man. Canal Plus is said to be shopping around the project, which includes a screenplay penned by Steven Knight.

The details are scarce (and it may not happen at all), so it's not known whether this would be a straight up-remake or a rewrite, or who Maguire or DiCaprio would be playing. But the idea is enough to undoubtedly cause reactions of anger and panic around film fans, but think about this calmly. It's not as though Maguire, DiCaprio, or Knight are untalented slouches, and it's the kind of story that could be given a modern rewrite and stand on its own feet. I would actually love to see this rewritten, and set in Iraq or Afghanistan. I'd love to see it set it in years immediately preceding the Soviet Union, putting Harry Lime and Holly Martins in the dangerous, free-for-all Yeltsin economy. (Faraci suggests making it sci-fi, which would be very brave and very awesome.)

The Third Man is one of those stories like Dashiell Hammet's Red Harvest that is flexible enough to work in another adaptation and lose nothing of its original power. I'm very curious to see if this comes together, and in what form. DiCaprio would be the perfect actor to play the smirking Lime. I just hope they don't mimic my favorite scene. Some things are better left to Welles.