Robert Zemeckis's Beowulf took a lot of hits for its perceived silliness, a verdict I could never quite sign on to. First of all, silly compared to what? Have these people seen the 1999 space opera Beowulf starring Christopher Lambert? Compared to that, Zemeckis's Beowulf is a sober meditation on the human condition. Have they seen the Gerard Butler clunker Beowulf and Grendel? Come on, guys: considering what the movies have done to this story in the past, last year's high-tech effort seems like serious business to me.

What about the source material – the ancient Old English epic poem upon which these movies purport to be based? If you've ever read it (or tried to read it), the perversions of the adaptations shouldn't surprise you. It's both begging for action movie treatment and impossible to faithfully adapt into anything resembling a compelling action movie. The story is credited with generating many of the archetypes we see in our fiction, and indeed, it's so archetypical that by modern standards, it's a skeleton; there's nothing there.

Seriously – you know how people complain about movies whose plots can be fully described in one sentence? A faithful Beowulf would take this phenomenon to new heights. A synopsis would read something like this: Beowulf beats up Grendel, Grendel's mom, and a dragon, and dies. The end. Some complained that the Zemeckis version distorted Beowulf, but I'd have liked to see their reaction to an undistorted adaptation. Trust me, it wouldn't work. There's a reason that all these screenwriters have scrambled to add elements to the story.

Do you like video games? How about The Running Man? If your answer to both of these questions is yes, then you're in luck because a Gerard Butler fan site has provided a scan of the July issue of Empire magazine, which includes a sneak peek at the video game thriller, Game, starring Butler and Michael C. Hall (Dexter). OK, so they aren't the greatest photos, but they will remind audiences that the film will at least have stuff blowing up. Crank creators Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor wrote the script and also directed, and I can only assume the two will be doing what they do best: ridiculous action set pieces and over the top machismo.

Game centers on a 'not too distant future' where the most popular past time is an online game called Slayers. But this isn't your usual MMORPG; instead, gamers get to control real-life convicts. Butler stars as Kabel, the most popular contestant who has caught the eye of resistance fighters looking to bring down the games creator, Castle (played by Hall). The cast also includes Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes), Alison Lohman (Beowulf), John Leguizamo, and Christopher 'Ludacris' Bridges.

Game is scheduled to arrive in theaters this fall.

According to Screen Daily, Law Abiding Citizen now has a director in Frank Darabont. Citizen is the first movie to be produced under Gerard Butler's production shingle; you can read all about Evil Twins and its upcoming slate here (I am gently encouraging you to be interested in this fledgling company).

Production is set to begin on August 18th in Detroit, which I hear is becoming the new Shreveport. It's being filmed on a shoestring budget of $40 million, and the screenplay has been penned by Kurt Wimmer.

The plot has been changed quite drastically since it was first tossed around. Originally, Butler was an assistant D.A. who finds himself at the center of a traumatized victim's vigilante plot. Now, it has been revamped into the story of a criminal mastermind who controls a city from the confines of his prison cell. (Which explains why Darabont was drawn to it, and why he's a good pick. Prison dramas are a good specialty for him.) Butler is the assistant D.A. who stands in the mastermind's way.

The timing of some stories is just creepy. I was just selling the virtues of Wuthering Heights to my cousin, and what do I find on The Hollywood Reporter the same day? A new version is underway -- and Natalie Portman is set to tackle the famous character of Catherine Earnshaw.

Despite my medieval specialty, Wuthering Heights is my favorite book. I love it more than anything. It has everything -- ghosts, a Byronic hero (who you aren't supposed to love -- but I do anyway), a twisted love affair, sadistic revenge, even a dose of necrophilia. (Not that I roll with that sort of thing, but it's noteworthy in a Victorian novel.) I have never seen a film version, not even Lawrence Olivier's, because I never wanted my vision spoiled.

So, I confess I am immediately biased. But I cannot see Portman as Cathy. Look, I like her -- and I think she is very talented. Her youth works in her favor. But Cathy is psychotic and deeply unlikeable, something I have never seen in Portman. (Not even in Closer or The Other Boleyn Girl.) Ideal casting would have been Angelina Jolie in her Girl, Interrupted days, or Kate Winslet fresh off Heavenly Creatures. That's Cathy Earnshaw.

It's a good thing Child Protective Services never saw Nim (Abigail Breslin) in action or there wouldn't be any movie. Nim would be quietly toiling away in school, perhaps going to the mall and texting her friends. But in the new PG-rated family film Nim's Island, she climbs trees (and volcanoes), swings through the jungle, cooks dinner using mealworms as a main ingredient, reads adventure stories and talks to animals. Nim's father, Jack (Gerard Butler), is a marine biologist who has set up residence on a remote, South Pacific island to study microorganisms. It's just the two of them, so when Jack goes off on a two-day expedition to find new samples, Nim insists on staying behind. But after a huge storm, Jack is left stranded in the middle of the ocean. And when "pirates" (really tourists) invade the island, and her father fails to return on schedule, Nim gets scared.

I tried not to make that joke -- but hey, everyone else is using McLovin' ones!

The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Gerard Butler joins America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel and Christopher Mintz-Plasse to voice How to Train Your Dragon. Get your minds out of the gutter -- this is a children's comedy about a scrawny Viking teenager who must capture and subdue a wild dragon. Based on the Cressida Cowell book, the story centers on the timid son of a Viking chief who must capture and train a dragon in order to be initiated into his tribe.

Baruchel will voice the boy, named Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, who is saddled with an undersized and uncooperative dragon. Butler is the father and chief of the tribe, Stoick the Vast (how appropriate for a former Beowulf), while Ferrera voices Astrid, who partners with Hiccup for the initiation. Hill will play Snotlout, a bully who thinks he should be the next chief, and Mintz-Plasse portrays Fishlegs, a Viking big in size but small in brains.

Gerard Butler. I always knew that some day you'd come walking back through my door. I never doubted that. Something made it inevitable.

Gerard Butler's "officially unofficial" fansite is hosting a bunch of high-resolution stills of Butler and Jodie Foster from the upcoming Nim's Island. I was going to post a bigger version of Butler and his bullwhip here, but my computer is protesting, so it's better if you head on over there to view them. (I cannot find where they originated from -- and the site is mum, so if I am slighting someone, I apologize.)

I have to say, Butler looks less than thrilled in most of these. I guess he has more poise than I do, and wasn't running around yelling "You betrayed Shiva!" the entire shoot. Or maybe he was, and just wore himself out. I dig the costume though, especially the boots.

In other Island news, the film is reaching out to children with the Nim's Island: Our World, A Reel Thinking Event. Hosted by Jeff Corwin, the special will be aired on Animal Planet on April 2nd at 10am PST/EST, as well as in schools across the country. It will go behind the scenes of the film, while educating about environmental issues, and encouraging students to come up with solutions. Animal Planet and Walden Media are also sponsoring a contest to implement one classroom's best earth-saving idea.

I really love that this film is avoiding the McDonalds and merchandising route, and is instead educating children on coral reefs and living green. What a lovely idea! I hope a similar marketing scheme accompanies Wall*E.