Trailer park: Spike Lee's Oldboy

Judging from this red-band trailer for Old Boy -- Spike Lee's remake of South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook's acclaimed 2003 vengeance drama, set to open Oct. 25 at theaters and drive-ins everywhere -- one thing is perfectly clear: Josh Brolin is playing one seriously bad ass. How seriously bad? Well, it looks like he gets the best of Samuel L. Jackson. No, really.

Coming soon: Jonah Hex

I must admit: I was already pretty dang geeked up for Jonah Hex after reading this nifty story by my Cowboys & Indians colleague David Hofstede. And that cast likely could convince me to pay first-run admission price for a group reading of the phone book. But this trailer... cowabunga. Of course, I particularly enjoyed the sly allusion to a classic scene in A Fistful of Dollars.

True Grit, take two

Look like all those rumors about a remake of True Grit... aren't just rumors. According to Variety, filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen are scheduled to start production next March -- for a late 2010 release -- with Jeff Bridges (a veteran of the Coens' cult-fave The Big Lebowksi) filling in for John Wayne as grizzled lawman Rooster Cogburn. Matt Damon reportedly is "in talks" to co-star as the Texas Ranger played by Glen Campbell in the original 1969 film -- which, like the remake, was based on a novel by Charles Portis. And Josh Brolin, who figured prominently in the Coens' Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men, may sign on to play the chief villain of the piece. No word yet on who will portray the feisty young woman played in the '69 original by Kim Darby.

When I asked the Coens about this project last month -- during round-table interviews for A Serious Man at the Toronto Film Festival -- they insisted that their version will be “more faithful” to Portis’ novel than the film that helped The Duke win his one and only Academy Award. And, hey, maybe it will. To be honest, the '69 picture wasn't exactly a classic. And, to be even more honest, Wayne deserved an Oscar more for She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and/or The Searchers. But, dang, try telling any of that to the diehard fans who are bound to squawk no matter how good the Coens' remake will be.