This Father's Day, you can give your progenitor a gift of incalculable value, a gift of onscreen charisma and machismo unparalleled in today's cinematic landscape.

That's right, Rogues, give your father the Clint Eastwood 20-Film Collection, available on high definition Blu-ray as of today, June 4th, just in time for the parental holiday.

Actor Josh Lucas began his career at the young age of nineteen and quickly earned roles in several successful films including Alive, You Can Count on Me, and American Psycho but it was his role in Ron Howard’s Oscar-winning film A Beautiful Mind that finally gave him the attention he deserved. Since then Lucas has gone on to appear in a string of popular films such as Sweet Home Alabama, Hulk, Around the Bend, Stealth, Glory Road, Poseidon, Life as We Know It, The Lincoln Lawyer, and J. Edgar, as well as the television adaptation of The Firm. The actor recently returned to the big screen in the Australian film Red Dog, which was the highest grossing movie down under in 2011 and is now available on VOD and DVD in the United States.

Red Dog is based on the novel of the same name by author Louis de Bernieres and went on to win Best Feature Film at the 2011 Inside Film Awards, which is the Australian equivalent of the Academy Awards. The film tells the legendary true story of a canine named Red Dog who united a disparate Australian mining community while roaming the outback in search oh his long lost master. Lucas plays John Grant, an American living in Dampier, Australia who is a bus driver for Hamersley Iron and eventually becomes Red Dog’s true master.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with accomplished actor Josh Lucas about his work on Red Dog. Lucas discussed the new film, comparisons to other dog movies, making it the anti-Lassie, the novel it is based on, working with the film’s canine actor, how he researched his role, and his own dog Loki, as well as his upcoming movie entitled Stolen, which stars Nicolas Cage and was directed by Simon West (The Expendables 2). 

Because one seemingly interminable night of bloviating and self-congratulatory pomp just isn't enough, the awards season must span the three months leading up to the Oscar Ceremony in late February.  During those three months, many a critical organization drops their own list of honorees from cinema of the last year, and all of these awards contribute to the narrative of "buzz" for a film or performance film leading up to the Academy Awards.  One such set of honors are the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and today, the nominees for the 18th annual awards were announced, with the winners set to revealed on Sunday, January 29, 2012.

When we're not mercilessly trampling helpless employees or pepper-spraying our fellow citizens in order to ensure that we get the cheapest possible consumer goods, the citizens of this great land are wont to see movies during their Thanksgiving holiday away from work. This is doubtlessly owed, in large part, to the fact that Thanksgiving is a holiday that necessitates much familial contact, and going to the movies is an efficient means of spending two hours in the dark without actually having to talk to your family.  A preponderance of new family-oriented releases over the holiday couldn't derail The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, with the sequel dominating the American box office in its second weekend, outgrossing The Muppets, Hugo, and Arthur Christmas.

This week, in entirely predictable box office news, a giant dump truck filled with money beep-beep-beepingly backed up to Summit Entertainment headquarters and dropped almost $140 million on the lawn, thanks to the distributor's most lucrative and heavily-hyped franchise.  On Friday the fourth installment of the Twilight franchise debuted almost three years to day after the first film landed in theaters, and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 demonstrated that, with one sequel left, the series is still kicking commercially.  The weekend's other new wide release, Happy Feet Two, didn't do quite so excellently right out of the gate, while the return of Alexander Payne had a ridiculously strong per-screen average in limited release.

Variety, as has been said innumerable times since some guy or girl first saw fit to utter the phrase, is the spice of life.  From sea to shining sea, Americans had no shortage of variety amongst the three major new releases in theaters on Friday.  There was a little something for everyone, from the visual buffet of a Greek mythological action epic to the sight of a comedy superstar in a wig to one of the biggest movie stars in the world portraying an oh-so controversial 20th Century law enforcement official.  Of those three new releases, two were anchored by familiar actors working very much within their respective wheelhouses, yet it was Immortals, a film that did not have the comforting presence of Adam Sandler in drag or Leonardo DiCaprio in old age makeup, that indisputably dominated the US box office over the last several days.

Synopsis: During his lifetime, J. Edgar Hoover would rise to be the most powerful man in America. As head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for nearly 50 years, he would stop at nothing to protect his country. Through eight presidents and three wars, Hoover waged battle against threats both real and perceived, often bending the rules to keep his countrymen safe. His methods were at once ruthless and heroic, with the admiration of the world his most coveted, if ever elusive, prize. Hoover was a man who placed great value on secrets--particularly those of others--and was not afraid to use that information to exert authority over the leading figures in the nation. Understanding that knowledge is power and fear poses opportunity, he used both to gain unprecedented influence and to build a reputation that was both formidable and untouchable. He was as guarded in his private life as he was in his public one, allowing only a small and protective inner circle into his confidence. His closest colleague, Clyde Tolson, was also his constant companion. His secretary, Helen Gandy, who was perhaps most privy to Hoover's designs, remained loyal to the end...and beyond. Only Hoover's mother, who served as his inspiration and his conscience, would leave him, her passing truly crushing to the son who forever sought her love and approval. As seen through the eyes of Hoover himself, "J. Edgar" explores the personal and public life and relationships of a man who could distort the truth as easily as he upheld it during a life devoted to his own idea of justice, often swayed by the darker side of power.

Though he has thrice been nominated for an Academy Award, Leonardo DiCaprio has never won an Oscar.  Based on the first trailer for J. Edgar, released about three weeks ago, DiCaprio is going hog-wild on his latest role, playing FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, and from the looks of it, he can practically taste the awards-season glory.  DiCaprio is certainly working with a creative team familiar with awards, as J. Edgar is directed by Clint Eastwood and written by Dustin Lance Black, who penned Milk.  Two new poster designs released by Warner Bros both focus on DiCaprio's fierce Hoover visage, complete with old age makeup, and both get across the classy pedigree and subject matter of this biopic.

Of all the classy pictures scheduled for the upcoming prestige movie season, J. Edgar is one of the classiest and most prestigious.  It's got Clint Eastwood directing from a screenplay by Dustin Lance Black, who won an Oscar in 2008 for his Milk script, and it's got Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role of founding FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, a controversial Washington figure if ever there was one. 

The first trailer for J. Edgar has arrived, with DiCaprio looking to really sink his teeth into the role, which follows Hoover from his earliest days attempting to impose law on the likes of John Dillinger all the way to his twilight years.  There is plenty to be intrigued by in this trailer, but I suspect a lot of people are going to talk mostly about that old age makeup.

The phrase, "Behind every great man there's an even greater woman," usually implies the solidarity of a healthy and supportive romantic relationship.  In the case of founding FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, the greater woman behind him was not a love interest, but his secretary Helen Gandy, who loyally served as his right hand for 54 years, even torching the controversial power-magnet's incriminating personal files after his death.  Clint Eastwood's new biographical film J. Edgar, which chronicles the early years of Hoover's tenure, would be incomplete without an appropriately forceful Helen Gandy, who is played by Oscar Nominee Naomi Watts.

Last week, the first official images from J. Edgar showed Leonardo DiCaprio as the title character, along with Armie Hammer as Clyde Toulson, with whom Hoover had a relationship that went beyond the strictly professional.  Now, another new image reveals Naomi Watts as Gandy, with DiCaprio present as a supremely agitated-looking Hoover.