Eric Lavallée

Many directors tried to make it into the ring for this project, but David O. Russell managed to stay on for the final round and the result according to pundits is: The Fighter is one of the films that are being mentioned as a strong possibility for Best Picture. One of the rare times where the actor has been long-involved with the project before O.Russell signed on (worth noting this was also a first time that he didn't write the screenplay). Mark Wahlberg previously cemented his relationship with the filmmaker on Three Kings (1999) and I Heart Huckabees (2004) before the reunion on the Mickey Ward biopic.

Josh Brolin's part probably took less than a week to shoot and compared to some rather strong, larger than life characters, this one is pint-sized, but all Coen Bros. films, characters stick out for all intended purposes, regardless of size and scope. Following his debut performance for them in 2007's No Country for Old Men and the subtitles-friendly movie patron role in segment "World cinema" in the Cannes commissioned Chacun son Cinema, True Grit asked Brolin to don the cowboy hat once more for the villain role of Tom Chaney. His introductory scene is just as yummy as the moment where he exits the film.

If I'm Zach Galifianakis I've already offered to donate any organ to director Todd Phillips in the case that he needs one of course. If I'm Todd Phillips, I've already signed a deal with the devil to make Galifianakis available for any role he throws at him. Allow him enough space to roam and the results can be better than whatever was scripted -- and I imagine that's where Galifianakis went to with The Alan Garner role in 2009's The Hangover. This year, we saw out of control taken to the extreme with Due Date, which only promises that The Hangover II (making it three film in three years) could be a defining moment for this odd-couple.

We can bet that Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio won't be renewing their vows every two years as they did with the stretch that sprouted Gangs of New York (2002), The Aviator (2004), The Departed (2006) and I figure the years in between projects will only increase. Technically meant to be released in 2009. Shutter Island turned out to be the divertissement pic that made the month of February a little less tedious.

The French-Algerian Bouchareb employed the services of Roschdy Zem in 2001's Little Senegal and then cast Zem along with Jamel Debbouze, Sami Bouajila and Bernard Blancan in Indigènes - for which they won the Best Actor prize at Cannes in 2006. This mini battalion of Tunisian and Moroccan born or of descent actors got to explore not one, but two WWII realities. Outside the Law was also featured on the Croisette to mixed reviews, but we hope the filmmaker further uses the troupe of actors in both a historical or contempo setting.