Ever wonder what happened to the kid who played Chunk in The Goonies? 

Wonder no more.

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Terrence Malick's Tree of Life is coming. Or is it?

Like everything the acclaimed 68-year-old filmmaker does, Malick's latest — just his fifth film in 38 years — has gone through a mysterious gestation, changing release dates and distributors numerous times (it was originally slated for a Dec. 25, 2009, release) while simultaneously revealing little about its contents.

It looks like the wait is finally over: I received a package from its current distributor, Fox Searchlight, a few days ago that contained the film's poster and a brief, one-sheet press release announcing that Tree of Life will open in select theaters on May 27.

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We're already back to reality: One week after 10 films found their way into local movie houses we have only four new offerings, one of which is Scream 4.

It's been 15 years since the original Scream bewitched audiences who grew up with decades of B-movie horror films on late-night TV, at drive-ins and via the then-still-burgeoning home-video market.

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Just in time to align nicely with our annual Green Issue comes the Do Something Reel Film Festival, which is described as a “collection of six provocative, character-driven films focused on passionate people making a world of difference.” Presented by Whole Foods Market in conjunction with and in celebration of Earth Month, the traveling festival will hit more than 70 cities through April, including our own Esquire Theatre tomorrow through April 21.

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In a cinematic turn of events akin to a cicada uprising (especially given our slim pickings in recent months), this week delivers no less than 10 new releases that span a number of genres, topics and stylistic approaches.

Better yet, several are actually (or look) worthwhile, headlined by a trio of smaller, character-driven films: Cary Fukunaga's Jane Eyre, Xavier Beauvios' Cannes-approved Of Gods and Men and Tom McCarthy's Win Win.

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Cincinnati World Cinema's final screening of The Red Chapel occurs tonight at 7:30 p.m. For the uninitiated, Chapel is an odd documentary about a Danish filmmaker and a pair of young Danish-Korean “comedians” who travel to North Korea to get back in touch with their homeland and to perform for an audience that includes various dignitaries.

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I've yet to see any of the four opening films this week, which makes evaluating their merits kind of tough. But I can say that after three months of largely uninspiring fare we're finally beginning to get some intriguing movie-house options.

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Underneath Cincinnati has undergone a number of behind-the-scenes changes in its 10 years of existence (members of the Southern Ohio Film Association now guide it), but its mission has largely remained the same — to showcase and support area independent filmmakers.

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The Tournees Festival of New French Films returns to Northern Kentucky University each Wednesday (at 3:30 p.m.) and Thursday (at 7 p.m.) through April 28. Sponsored by the French American Cultural Exchange and nurtured to the area by Dr. John Alberti, director of NKU's cinema studies program, the fest opens this week with Philippe Lioret's Welcome, which is described as “both a study of budding friendship and a compassionate look at the perils faced by illegal immigrants.”

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It's been a typically lackluster first quarter of the year at the movie house, as precious few offerings have risen beyond mediocrity (Blue Valentine, Cedar Rapids, The Lincoln Lawyer, Rango and The Way Back have been rare exceptions).

The dire situation has more acute at the multiplex.

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