Since this week finds fireworks in the sky and a new Will Smith action flick in theaters (Hancock), we thought it might be fun to take a look back at Smith's previous action films and try to decide which one we like the best. We're not including all of Smith's films here, because, well, it's kinda unfair to compare, say, The Pursuit of Happyness or Ali to Men in Black or I, Robot. Perhaps next time we'll take a look at Smith's watered down, dramatic efforts, but for now we'll stick to the rock-em-sock-em fan favorites.

And since I always give my opinion before asking for yours, I'm going to say that out of all of Smith's action-adventure films, Bad Boys is my favorite. Yes, I've gone with the Michael Bay film -- kill me now! Actually, now that Smith is a huge, mega star, we don't see him in buddy films anymore -- and watching him opposite Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys (as well as Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black) was an absolute blast. The sequel(s) ... well, how about we not go there. What say you, Will Smith fans -- which of his action films is your favorite?

Unlike last week's double dose of the funny, this weekend we're dealing with two completely different flicks. One is a light, breezy, beautiful Pixar animated effort, while the other is a wham-bam-boom, guns drawn, bullets flying, sexy, adrenaline-fueled action pic. Good news is the buzz on both films is pretty damn good. Personally, I've only seen WALL·E, and it's definitely one of my favorite films of the year so far. But you have to be the sorta person who digs Pixar. I know grown adults who can't stand watching animated feature films. That might be you. I happen to really enjoy them, as does my wife, and so we had a blast with it. Read my review. Maybe it'll help sway your decision.

On the other hand, Wanted looks to be the flick for those in need of a big-screen rush. It comes highly-stylized and proud to be rated R. Did we mention that Angelina Jolie still looks sexy as all hell? In his review from the Los Angeles Film Festival, James said, "Wanted's a corporate product, but, thankfully, it's an excellent one -- the two-fisted, double-barreled high-octane guilty pleasure summer action movie you've been waiting for." Couldn't have summed it up better myself. But which one are you seeing? Both? Neither? Something else entirely? Sound off below ...

Well, the time has finally come for another funtastic Pixar film to hit the big screen. This Friday, Wall·E touches down on earth, and naturally its impending arrival has got us thinking about those nutty dudes over at Pixar who took giant risks, worked their asses off and revolutionized the world of animation. I'm fully aware that naming your favorite Pixar film is kinda like naming your favorite child, but it's fun to look back over the years and attempt to come up with the one Pixar flick that entertained us the most.

Which do you hold closest to your heart? I'm sure everyone has a soft spot for the original Toy Story, but most folks I've spoken with feel The Incredibles was the best all-around Pixar film. Me? I'm a Monsters, Inc. guy. Yup, that's my favorite Pixar film. I just remember having so much fun watching Monsters, Inc. for the first time -- more fun than I had watching any other Pixar flick (with Toy Story and The Incredibles following closely behind). My least favorite is Cars, though I was sick the one time I watched it and have been meaning to give it another chance. Should I? Which is your favorite Pixar film (feature, not short)? Feel free to tell us why in the comments below ...

I caught a screening of Hancock last night. We still have a couple weeks to go before we get to that film, but I am very curious to hear what you folks think of this flick. It's certainly ballsy (especially for a Fourth of July weekend), and I loved that about it -- so we'll see. My mouth shall remain shut for now. That said, this weekend is a peculiar one because we have two comedies competing against one another. Sure, one (Get Smart) could probably pass itself off as an action-comedy, but it will be fascinating to watch the old school (Mike Myers) go up against the new school (Steve Carell).

On paper (and from what I've been hearing), Get Smart seems like the better all-around choice if you only have cash for one film and want a taste of typical, popcorn summer entertainment. Then again, Mike Myers hasn't starred in a live-action film since 2003's The Cat and the Hat, and so fans might be itching for that familiar Myers absurdity (with a twist of Mini Me thrown in for extra punch). If you choose your films based on the female factor, well, Get Smart gives us the beautiful Anne Hathaway, while The Love Guru features the equally-as-beautiful Jessica Alba. My opinion: Hathaway's the better actress, but Alba's the fan favorite. As far as directors go, Love Guru gives us a first-timer, and Get Smart is brought to us by the guy behind films like Tommy Boy, Anger Management and 50 First Dates.

So, based on my shoddy analysis, which film will you be seeing this weekend?

Let's talk about Sex, baby ... I got an email from Melissa Silverstein over at Women and Hollywood yesterday, asking a pack of women who work in various aspects of the film industry to share our thoughts on whether a successful box office turn for Sex and the City, which opens this weekend, might herald a change in Hollywood's attitude toward chick-centric movies. Melissa posed the following questions:

• If it's a success do you think that this will change Hollywood minds about whether women can "open" movies?
  
• If it doesn't do the predicted numbers, do you think this will spell more difficulties for women centric films?
  
• Do you think that because this is an "event" that other films about women will be held up to an unrealistic standard?
  
• Do you think there is a double standard for this film?
  
• Are you surprised by the nasty tone that some of the media has taken on this week?

You can read my response, and the thoughts of some other smart women, over on Melissa's site, but in the meantime, I thought this was a great set of questions to pose to Cinematical readers. Whether you love Sex and the City or hate it, what are your thoughts on whether a big box office run for the film might change the way Hollywood thinks about movies for and about women? Discuss away ...

If there's one thing we've come to expect from every Indiana Jones film, it's that Indy will be joined by a sidekick (and a beautiful woman) on all his adventures. These sidekicks are there for comedic support, mostly, but also to help Jones get himself out of (and into) a jam or three. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, the large, round and cuddly Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) helped Indy search for the Ark of the Covenant -- but, really, how could you count out the tough-as-nails Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), who also acted as a sidekick (and lover) in this one.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom introduced us to Short Round (Jonathan Ke Quan), who stuck with Indy through thick and thin from start to finish and was, perhaps, Indy's most loyal sidekick. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade found our hero partnering with two old dudes: Professor Henry Jones (Sean Connery) and Dr. Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott); the latter of which finally got to leave campus and join Indy for what we all thought would be his final big-screen adventure. Which brings us to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, where, this time, Indy is once again teamed with someone much younger than he is: Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf). Oh, and there's also 'Mac' George McHale (Ray Winstone), though I don't know how big of a role he plays as sidekick because, well, I don't see Crystal Skull until tomorrow. For the purpose of this poll, though, we'll include everyone (so you can come back to vote after you see the latest installment).

After you vote in the poll, definitely tell us why you chose who you did in the comments section below.

This weekend's release of The Forbidden Kingdom, starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li, features the first teaming of the two Asian action heroes. (My review is here.) Jackie is older and got established first as a comic martial arts master before making a string of modern-day thrillers and adventures. Jet came along later and became known as an ultra-serious, ultra-deadly lethal weapon. Their relative merits have been debated endlessly, and The Forbidden Kingdom finally gives fans a chance to see them go man to man -- first against each other, and then against the bad guys.

Now it's your turn to weigh in. Who's your favorite Asian action hero? (For the purposes of this poll, we'll stick to the living, so that's why Bruce Lee is not included.) Do you prefer Jackie's humor and larger than life thrill-seeking stunts? Or do you favor Jet's solemn precision and frequently death-dealing fighting?

Or ... have you always been a secret backer of Donnie Yen? (He had his own square-off against Jackie Chan in Shanghai Knights.) Sammo Hung? (The former Martial Law TV star is still active in Hong Kong.) Michelle Yeoh? (Tomorrow Never Dies, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) Or the younger generation represented by Tony Jaa (Ong Bak, The Protector), Collin Chou (Jade Warlord in The Forgotten Kingdom), and Wu Jing (Invislble Target, Kill Zone)? Sound off in the comments to tell us your faves and let us know about anyone else we haven't mentioned.

While I'm personally much more excited about Iron Man and Indy 4, there's certainly been lots of buzzing amongst the internet bees about the Wachowski's adaptation of Speed Racer. In case you haven't seen the millions of trailers, the film looks ... well, it looks pretty damn trippy. Like they took the old cartoon and dosed it up with acid. It looks visually intense, with lots of brought, swirly colors, speedy-fast cars, and fairly simplistic dialog. Jeff Wells over at Hollywood Elsewhere put up a post noting that the tracking for Speed Racer looks a bit concerning, with not as many people as the studio might like saying they plan to see it opening weekend.

As commenters on Hollywood Elsewhere have noted, Speed Racer's target demographic looks to be A) fanboys who will pay to see anything about the cartoon they loved in their youth, especially if it's made with groovy CGI and shiny, pretty colors; and B) four-year-old boys. I can't really see a lot of chicks begging their boyfriends to see Speed Racer on date night, though there may be more than a few guys bargaining and sitting through Baby Mama or Made of Honor in exchange for a Speed Racer date.

Cinematical's James Rocchi caught Speed Racer last night at a sneak screening. I caught him on his cell at the Speed Racer junket this morning to ask his initial impressions of the film; here's what he had to say about it: "It's pure, pop family fun, a bold, bright kids' movie that's visually exciting and keeps the tone right." James noted that his overall impression of the film was "generally very favorable -- as a kids' movie." If any Cinematical readers have been to a preview screening of Speed Racer, let us know what you think of how the full movie plays. And the rest of you movie fans -- does Speed Racer look hot, or not? And are you planning to see it in the theater?

So far, there are only a few actors officially attached to Oliver Stone's W., the epic biopic about our current commander-in-chief. Josh Brolin was cast as President George W. Bush back in January, then recently Elizabeth Banks was chosen as his wife, First Lady Laura Bush, and last week James Cromwell and Ellen Burstyn were locked into the roles of former President George H.W. Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush, respectively. Unofficial casting bites, though, include a lot of other big name actors. Jeffrey Wright is reportedly in negotiations to play Colin Powell, Tommy Lee Jones is supposedly being sought for Donald Rumsfeld, Robert Duvall has been rumored to be the choice for Vice President Dick Cheney and now both Paul Giamatti and Toby Jones are being named as potentials for the part of Karl Rove (who Giamatti may have already channeled for his character in Shoot 'Em Up).

With the announcement today that Paramount is attempting to lure Sam Raimi into developing and directing several films based on the popular Jack Ryan character, it would certainly appear as if the man is officially done with Spidey. Of course, there's always a chance he'd stay on as producer, but will that be enough to bring back his original cast? Probably not. Paramount is targeting the summer of 2010 for their first Ryan flick, which -- from what we hear -- is right around the same time Spider-Man 4 would hit theaters (if all things stay as planned). The next Superman flick is also supposed to touch down that same summer, so it will be interesting to see a re-vamped Spidey go head-to-head against a sequel they really can't f*ck up.

Variety claims Raimi is not out of the running to direct another Spider-Man film, but since he's in the middle of helming Drag Me to Hell, it would be near impossible for the man to deliver both a new Spidey film and a Jack Ryan film at the same time. Both franchises are in need of some serious work, and it will take time to develop. There's been no word on the current Spidey script, other than it's being worked on -- so for all we know, that could be just about ready to go. Of course, the strike probably didn't help much. What do you think?