Nearly two years to the day after the original Transformers was released, it's interesting to note how the personalities involved here have changed. Shia LaBeouf has gone from an up-and-comer to full-fledged star, with attendant backlash and ego bursts; Megan Fox one upped her co-star by becoming a more credible Hollywood bad boy; Michael Bay is still as huffy as producer Don Murphy is angry, though they both do an admirable job of bringing movies news, insights, misdirections, and angry rants to the TF universe. What do we really know about the project? Highlights: A boosted budget (a reported $200 million, which excludes marketing and all that) allowed the creation of some 40 Autobots and Decepticons, who will receive more screen time; LaBeouf will likely channel Mutt Williams a bit, given the ancient-world tie-ins here (hint: Egyptology reveals the origins of TF life?!); rabid worldwide fanbase + four-barrel marketing attack + IMAX footage = biggest film of the year? KIT with TF2 via cheat sheets and spoiler logs. P.S. When is the last time a coloring book spoiled a plot?

Step Up director Anne Fletcher is making strides in her career, and she's looking to spotlight "Sandy's" physical-comedy skills here, which will most likely pale in comparison to Ryan Reynolds's innate ability to make annoying behavior somehow charming. Thing is: Both Reynolds and Bullock's respective partners are exponentially hotterthan this on-screen pairing, but we sense that 2009 is turning into the Year of the Cougar.

Hmm, did Ashton and Cameron's success in Vegas influence director Todd Phillips to finally pick his first project since the woefully misguided School for Scoundrels remake? Whatever the case, Phillips and Warner Bros. are keeping it low budget here, with a B-list cast (at best) that should keep this comedy in the black.

Pixar takes to the skies again, this time with buddy-story specialists Pete Docter and Bob Peterson bringing the charm to us in 3D (in "select" theaters, anyway). These days, I support anything that strips away my senses of irony and sarcasm, and Up's teaser trailer (located above) is wonderfully restorative. At Comic-Con last year, Docter described how the movie was influenced by an unreachable range of Venezuelan mountains, and a septuagenarian 's wish to fulfill the dreams he made with his now-departed wife when he was a younger man. I got misty. Plus, Docter went on to say that his movie will have some easter eggs for upcoming Pixar projects. More news as Pixar/Disney leaks it.

Nick Cassavetes wants to bum you out. Again. Following up Alpha Dog with this adaptation of Jodi Picoult's novel, a story that is almost as depressing as Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, is destined to make your heart (and Abigail Breslin's kidneys) break. I'm like: Why is this being released in the middle of sunny summer, when it feels predestined to fit into the fall/winter film schedule?