Based on his work as Al Swearengen on HBO's Deadwood, British actor Ian McShane is one of the world's foremost purveyors of elegant profanity, turning any stream of obscenities into a grizzled symphony.  While we certainly won't hear him utter any Swearengen-style bon mots in the film, it's good to know that he's joined the already-stacked cast of Bryan Singer's Jack The Giant Killer, which includes Nicholas Hoult, Ewan MacGregor, Stanley Tucci, Eleanor Tomlinson, Bill Nighy, and John Kassir. 

In the 1992 comedy Captain Ron, Kurt Russell's eponymous one-eyed brigand explained, "The way it works shipboard is, you do your job. You do it good, you get a better job. Maybe you get promoted from swab to mate."  Well, in the first Pirates of the Caribbean, Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow was a supporting player stealing scenes from Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, but his prominence increased over the next two films.  Now, with Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Depp's been promoted from swab to mate, and Disney has dropped the pretense that the Pirates films are not the Jack Sparrow show.  The film's new full length trailer has oodles Sparrow for your viewing enjoyment.  Hop aboard the Black Pearl right here.

Are you Bradley Cooper?  If so, then congratulations, your first time out as a full-on leading man, you exceeded all expectations with an unqualified success.  Relativity Media's Limitless, starring Cooper and Robert DeNiro, surpassed projections, earning an estimated $19 million dollars over the weekend and claiming the number one spot.  Of the other new releases, The Lincoln Lawyer, starring Matthew McConaughy, brought in $13.4 million for fourth place, while Paul, starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and the voice of Seth Rogan, nipped at its heels with an estimated $13.2 million.  There's more to this weekend's story, however, and particularly where The Lincoln Lawyer is concerned.

When Disney unveiled the domestic one-sheet for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides yesterday, I noted that the studio had taken their approach down to brass tacks, and sold the film based on the one element that you really need to sell a Pirates of the Caribbean movie: Johnny Depp.  The new international poster for the fourth swashbuckling adventure is even simpler, putting all the focus on the profitable mug of Captain Jack Sparrow.  Take a look at the poster and let me know who you think is starring in the movie.

The first three films in the Pirates of The Caribbean franchise featured Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow as an ostensible supporting character, sharing screen time with fellow leads Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley.  For the fourth installment, though, Disney has pared the series down to its most popular aspects.  Fittingly, the new poster for Pirates of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which debuted at IGN today, aims to tell you one thing in no uncertain terms: Johnny Depp is in this movie.  Take a look.

The lesson of this weekend: don't bet against apocalyptic alien invasion movies where lots of recognizable landmarks are vaporized.  Battle: Los Angeles opened on par with expectations, earning an estimated $36 million for the number one spot.  The weekend's other alien-centric new release, the animated adventure Mars Needs Moms did not fare quite so well, with a feeble $6.8 million estimated debut in fifth place.  The only new release without any extraterrestrials, Catherine Hardwicke's Red Riding Hood, opened in third place, with an estimated $14.1 million. 

As a reminder that there is indeed another Pirates of The Caribbean on the way, Disney included an almost 3 minute promotional look at Pirates of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in last week's Blu-Ray reissue of the first three films.  The video is purely a hype-delivery-system, featuring snippets of the film and soundbites from producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Rob Marshall, Penelope Cruz.  So if you're shaking with anticipation for the fourth installment of the Pirates franchise, watch as Johnny Depp, in character, introduces you, the viewer, to his latest venture.

The most competitive weekend at the movies so far this year saw the release of four new movies, and predictably, the one with Johnny Depp's name on the poster was the biggest earner.  Rango, the first animated film from Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski, opened in 3,917 theaters, from which it pulled $38 million over the weekend, largely based on the strength of a very busy Saturday.  The Adjustment Bureau, a Philip K. Dick adaptation starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, opened with $21.1 million, quite a bit more than it was expected to take in.  73% of the audience for that film was over 30 years old, while 46% of those who saw Rango were under 25.  Beastly, the youthful retelling of Beauty and the Beast, opened in third place, with just under $10 million.

Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum and Ice Cube have all been announced as leads in Sony's upcoming action-comedy 21 Jump Street, co-written by Hill.  The film is based on the 1987 television series starring Johnny Depp and Richard Greico as narcotics cops going undercover as high school students, so eventually, we had to hear about casting for actors who actually look high school-aged.  Deadline has the exclusive news that actress Brie Larson has landed the coveted lead role of Molly in the high profile picture.

Like so many animated movies, director Gore Verbinski’s first foray into feature animation stars a whole bunch of anthropomorphized animals.  Yet unlike seemingly every other talking animals film, the critters in the gorgeously animated Rango are not cute in any conventional sense.  The film’s chock full of endearing characters, but they’re endearing through cracked teeth and gnarled, leathery lizard skin.  This is a testament not only to the film’s singular weirdness, but also to its technical success, and its unexpected status as a legitimate Western.