As usual, Woody Allen, screenwriter and director of over 30 films, has kept information on his latest film, in this case The Curse of the Jade Scorpion, under wraps. The comedy takes place in New York in the 1940s, and has Woody Allen playing the lead, C.W. Briggs, an insurance investigator. Conflict arises when Academy Award winner Helen Hunt, playing an efficiency expert, is hired to evaluate and improve Briggs' place of business. However, since the film is categorized as a romantic comedy, it may be assumed that their relationship does not remain solely antagonistic. Dan Aykroyd stars as Briggs' boss, who, following the theft of one fine jewel, is opposed to paying the insurance money. Briggs must think like a thief to continue his tradition of cracking the case. Charlize Theron, Elizabeth Berkeley, and Wallace Shawn play supporting roles. One may anticipate traditional Woody Allen wry, thinking man's humor.

August 15

Apocalypse Now

While Pearl Harbor, with its Memorial Day kickoff, is clearly the war movie for the summer, at the opposite end of the war holiday schedule is something equally compelling for cinephiles. While Francis Ford Coppola hasn't directed a movie since 1997, in recent months, he's been revising his 1979 Vietnam War epic, Apocalypse Now. The film has already achieved legendary status in the cinematic community, but Coppola saw fit to entirely re-edit the film and add 53 minutes worth of footage, which now clocks in at a whopping 3 1/4 hours. The original tale where Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) is sent up the Nung river in Vietnam to meet the potentially insane Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) and "terminate with extreme prejudice," has been altered to heighten some of the film's sparse humorous moments, as Coppola has added one scene with Marlon Brando, as well as included scenes with Playboy Playmates. The August 15th release coincides with the 22nd anniversary of the film's original theatrical run. Fans of the original will flock to see another act of potentially destructive Coppola hubris, but the rest will leave it alone. An already brilliant film made better? Here's hoping.