GREEN ZONE

Set in Baghdad during the early months of 2002, director Paul Greengrass' action thriller Green Zone casts Matt Damon as a stalwart, driven military officer who gradually discovers that the American government lied about the proliferation - even the existence - of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. This might strike you as old news, and it is. The disappointing surprise of Green Zone, though, is that the movie itself should feel like such old news, and in ways that have nothing to do with Greengrass and Damon re-teaming after the considerable artistic and popular successes of their Bourne Supermacy and Bourne Ultimatum films.

Going to the cineplex or IMAX this weekend? Every Friday morning at 9 a.m. you can listen to Mike Schulz dish on recent movie releases & talk smack about Hollywood celebs on the Quad City Rocker 104.9FM, with the fabulous morning team of Dave and Darren. The morning crew previews upcoming releases, too.

Or you can check the Reader Web site and listen to the latest conversation by warm glow of your computer.

Never miss a pithy comment from these three scintillating pundits again.

Friday, March 12, 2010: Discussion of "Alice in Wonderland" and "Brooklyn's Finest," previews of "Green Zone," "Our Family Wedding," "She's Out of My League," and "Remember Me," and a heftier-than-usual amount of sage dating advice. Remember, guys: If your date orders her dessert before her main course in an attempt to seem endearingly quirky, you ask for the check and get the hell out of there.

All told, I thought this year's Academy Awards telecast was awfully satisfying, and I'm not saying that because I predicted 18 out of 24 categories correctly.

Yup. 18 out of 24.

Tying my personal best.

And three of my incorrect guesses were in the short-film categories, where no one knows what the hell is going on.

But I digress.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

Beginning with 2001's Planet of the Apes remake, Tim Burton has cast domestic partner Helena Bonham Carter in all six of his most recent feature films, and he's never made better use of her beguiling, somewhat perverse charisma than in his new take on Alice in Wonderland.

Ajami - Not in local release. Nominated for Best Foreign-Language Film.

Avatar - Great Escape Theatre, Showcase Cinemas 53. Nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (James Cameron), Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Art Direction, Best Original Score, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Visual Effects.

The Blind Side - Great Escape Theatre, Showcase Cinemas 53, and available on DVD and Blu-ray March 23. Nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress (Sandra Bullock).