It’s a double dose of Damon in this week’s Reel Deal column. The actor is so well-rounded that he slips with ease from comedy to action to drama – a trait that is shared by only a select few in Hollywood today. The characters he plays in “Green Zone,” still in theatrical release, and the new-to-DVD “The Informant!” couldn’t be any more different.

Wes Anderson — the quirky hipster behind “Rushmore” and “The Royal Tenenbaums” — making an animated movie? It sounds crazy, but it makes perfect sense. All of Anderson’s movies are — and I mean this as a compliment — live-action cartoons.

Danny Gokey might sing about his best days being ahead of him, but I believe they’ve already begun. Gokey was a favorite of mine on Season 8 of “American Idol.” His personality, style, grace, perseverance and infectious optimism was an inspiration to contestants and viewers.

Filmmakers just can’t resist going back to tell Jesus’ tale over and over. The Bible has it all — murder, sex, lies, wars, plagues, redemption, forgiveness, pharaohs, love, hate, sibling rivalry. And you don’t have to pay royalties.

After the wacky winter we’ve had, temperatures in the mid-60s, patches of green grass and the first fragile flowers of spring seem like Wonderland to me. And with two kids even more tired of being cooped up than I am, it’s been especially hard meeting my weekly movie quota. So I talked my son (who turned 6 on Thursday) into joining me for the latest big-screen 3-D adventure.

Chris Knight loved listening to John Prine growing up, and it was Steve Earle who inspired him to begin writing songs. So it’s no surprise that his music contains Earle’s raw emotion and Prine’s literate detail.

The more I hear of She & Him, the more delightful it seems that M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel managed to find each other. Yes, I said delightful, which is not a word often used to describe pop music these days … at least not by me.

Over their extensive, eclectic career, Joel and Ethan Coen have made virtually every kind of film, from screwball comedy (“The Hudsucker Proxy”) to film noir (“The Man Who Wasn’t There”) to modern crime drama (“Fargo”).

When Stephanie Cottingham and her sisters Laura and Brianna and their sister-in-law Jill began playing music, they did it for fun. Fast forward a few years and the foursome are set to play one of the biggest music showcases in the world - the annual South by Southwest music festival, a music showcase that has staged some of the biggest names in music - from REM to Vampire Weekend.

The death of Corey Haim last week adds yet another name to the lengthy list of child actors and actresses who failed to make the transition as adult stars.

“Brooklyn’s Finest” these guys ain’t. At least, you’ve gotta hope not. Contrary to the title of this latest release from “Training Day” director Antoine Fuqua, these cops are lousy.

George Clooney and Matt Damon are cool guys, but in recent films they leave the glamorous, dangerous worlds of “Ocean’s 11” and “The Bourne Ultimatum” far behind. In “Up in the Air” and “The Informant!,” both actors play guys who, in the end, turn out to be schmucks.

Corrupt cops may be “in” right now in Hollywood (see this weekend’s new release, “Brooklyn’s Finest,” from “Training Day” director Antoine Fuqua), but my favorite kind of movie cop is a buddy cop.

Roughly 15 years ago, two freshmen at Ithaca College were eager to do anything except study, so they began melding one’s poetry with the other’s guitar work. All these years later, would-be poet/songwriter Andy Campolieto and guitarist Ben Lee are the main figures in the Americana band Jo Henley, whose second full-length album “Inside Out” was released Feb. 16.

“Black Dynamite” was released in theaters last year, but if you didn’t know better, you’d swear it hit theaters back in 1972 — and not the most glamorous theaters, either.

James Cameron’s “Avatar” may have dominated the box office, but will it rule Sunday at the Oscars? My first reaction was “yes,” but after taking some time (10 minutes maximum) to look at all the nominees, I’m not so convinced.

The star-studded romantic comedy “Valentine’s Day” hits plenty of highs and lows as it tracks several romances – from budding to fully bloomed – over the Hallmark holiday.

In the past four weeks, I’ve devoted columns to bloodthirsty gangsters, foul-mouthed politicians, flesh-eating zombies and, well, more flesh-eating zombies. Clearly, we could use a change of pace. And that’s exactly what this week’s DVD, “Make Way for Tomorrow,” is.

Lady Antebellum is the band of the land right now. The country trio’s latest album, “Need You Now,” is huge. So far, it’s the biggest album of 2010 and the title track has crossed over into mainstream pop, heading toward No. 1.

I for one couldn’t be happier about the return of the ’70s flourish. You know, the urgent strings, the unnecessary but wholly welcome background harmonies, the non-sequiturs spoken through a vocoder … I’m happy to report that all of those are present on Butch Walker’s latest.