Is there any reason at all to see "Avatar" in the theater again?

From my initial perspective, I'd have to say no, but let's at least look at what you're getting if you do spring for another ride with James Cameron's giant blue horse cats.

The big selling point in trying to nab more of your 3D premium dollars is that there are nine additional minutes (really? sheesh .. wasn't the movie long enough the first time around?) But let's be fair and let the man make his case. Here's what Cameron had to say about it to EW:

"There's a big rousing sequence where they're hunting these herd animals called sturmbeests. There's another new creature that you haven't seen before called the stingbat. There's a really powerful emotional scene toward the end of the film where the leader of the Na'vi is dying after a battle. There's a bit more in the love scene with Jake and Neytiri. There's more bioluminescent stuff in the night forest. Little bits and pieces here and there."

OK, fair enough. The creatures in "Avatar" were uniformly pretty cool (even the horse cats), but I still can't say that's enough to sucker me in again.

It's not that I didn't enjoy "Avatar." In fact, I've seen it twice now, and liked it more the second time around, but after that I really didn't feel I need to visit Pandora again any time soon. The movie itself is really just an old-fashioned, '80s-style sci-fi/action movie with lost of high-tech sheen, and viewed that way, it's a nearly perfectly entertaining bit of fluff.

Oh yeah, I probably should have lead with the fact that, starting Friday, "Avatar" indeed returns to 811 3D theaters, somehow including what's apparently soon to be the only movie theater in Macon (sad but true).

Something you can count me as amped for is the return of "Chuck," which will happen a lot earlier this season, 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 20, to be precise (which I have to assume means it will be something approaching a full 22-episode season ... huzzah.)

What we (or at least I) know about the new season is all good so far, starting with the fact that Linda Hamilton will play Chuck's mysterious mom. Even if, like me, Linda Hamilton didn't grow up in Salisbury, Md., I'd still see that casting as nothing but cool (and by the way, Alexis Denisof, a.k.a Wesley from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel," is from Salisbury too ... it's a sci-fi mini-mecca!)

In the latest bit of news about "Chuck," Timothy Dalton, perhaps best known as the only person to play James Bond in fewer movies (two, "License to Kill" and "The Living Daylights) than George Lazenby (one, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"), will be joining the show for a multi-episode arc this fall (to belabor the Bond thing a bit more, I suppose Daniel Craig's only played him twice too, but I'd imagine he'll get the chance again sometime.)

All that's known so far is that Dalton will be playing "a mysterious stranger who has history with Chuck's mom." Not much to go on, I know, but the return of "Chuck," along with the FX shows "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and "Sons of Anarchy," are the shows you can count me as most psyched to see again (with Martin Scorsese's "Boardwalk Empire," coming Sept. 19 to HBO, easily the new show I most want to see.)

And all I have after that today is a couple of clips, starting with the first U.S. trailer for Stephen Frears' "Tamara Drewe," starring the not-exactly-hard-on-the-eyes Gemma Arterton as, best as I can tell, some kind of literary muse for a community of English writers. There seems to be more than a little Woody Allen-style stuff going on here, which done right certainly can't be a bad thing. Enjoy the trailer, and keep an eye out for this one starting Oct. 8 in at least America's bigger cities. Enjoy.

And finally today, I know I've been talking about "The American" quite a bit, but I'm convinced that Anton Corbijn's hit man movie starring George Clooney is going to be seriously good. Besides, I somehow only have a three-day work week next week, which means "The American" on Thursday, "Machete" on Friday and maybe even "Going the Distance" some time during the weekend too. A busy movie week, just as I like it. Enjoy this series of four clips from "The American" (the first of which I've posted here before) courtesy of collider.com, and have a perfectly pleasant weekend. Peace out.

With apologies to Smokey, only you can stop the 3-D plague

Actually, if I can start with a movie you all should go see ('cause I do try to keep a positive outlook on things from time to time), if you live in one of our major cities, go see Jacques Audiard's "Un Prophete" while you still have the chance.

One thing people should learn early in life is to believe at least almost everything their parents say, and this is one case that proves that solidly. When my parents compared Audiard's movie to "The Godfather" in terms of both story and quality, I was sure they had to be exaggerating, but thankfully not.

Indeed, the journey that's undergone by the titular character (Tahar Rahim) does in a way mirror the development of Michael Corleone, and it's simply mesmerising to watch (and I promise you won't even notice until the very end that it's nearly three hours long.) The movie is about what he has to do to survive a six-year term in prison, but there's a whole lot going on in that deceptively simple story arc, and the flick is packed with little moments that are magical as stand-alone nuggets but just devastating when you pile them all together (my favorite would have to be when he sticks out his tongue while going through airport security because that's the only way he knows to get searched. Priceless.)

I had never heard of Audiard until last weekend, but now at the top of my Netflix queue to be watched this weekend are his last two movies, "The Beat My Heart Skipped" and "Read My Lips." And I really can't recommend a movie much higher at all than I can "Un Prophete," so please go see it while you still have the chance.

OK, after that today, it's not quite so sunny (until the grand finale, which will thankfully feature the blissfully silly trailer for Jean Pierre Jeunet's "Micmacs," shortened, I believe, from "Micmacs Tire a Larigot.")

Now, I'm usually not one to tell people not to see movies in any form, being a firm believer in the right of people to make up their own damn minds, even if that means you go see Miley Cyrus' new movie this week. When it comes to the 3-D virus, however, a stand has to be taken, and this is indeed the week to do it (though, in case you're wondering, yes, I am well aware that I don't have to power to lead it ... nonetheless ...).

And yes, I do concede that (very rarely) the 3-D gimmick does have merit. I saw "Avatar" two times and loved it more the second one, and I thought the 3-D was used to even better effect in Henry Selick's thoroughly charming "Coraline." But, as far as I know (and I only have doubts about the latter), those were two movies conceived and shot in 3-D, rather than simply "converted" to it afterward (which is when it's outed as the complete gimmick it is.)

I would be willing to just dismiss the 3-D phenomenon as a passing fad and continue to see all my movies in glorious 2-D ("Alice in Wonderland," by the way, was fantastic when viewed the old-fashioned way, and cheaper too!), but it's of course gone well beyond that stage already. When you have studios like Warner Bros. (and possibly others already too) announcing all their "tentpole" movies from now on will be released in 3-D (exaggerate much?), it's time to learn to just say no, because clearly they can't.

So, what prompted this screed? Well, two things. First up comes the rather welcome news that in the wake of the disappointing opening of "How to Train Your Dragon" (is $44 million really disappointing? Apparently so), stock in Dreamworks dropped 8 percent on Monday. Now, I haven't seen the movie (as already established, this arthouse snob spent Saturday afternoon watching "Un Prophete" instead), but every war has to start somewhere, and if this 3-D flick has to be the first fatality, so be it.

The second thing that set me off is that Louis Leterrier's remake of "Clash of the Titans" opens this week, and as tempting as it is pop for those goofy glasses to see the Kraken in 3-D, this man at least is gonna see it in good, old-fashioned 2-D, and I'm enlisting you to do so too (if you see it all.) After all, Regal and AMC, at least, have already raised 3-D ticket prices across the board, with other companies sure to follow suit and, if no one squawks (as I'm trying to do now), more increases sure to come.

And it obviously doesn't stop with "Clash of the Titans." Other upcoming movies for which you can make the rational choice of 2-D over 3-D include Ridley Scott's "Robin Hood," "Shrek Forever After," "Toy Story 3," and since seemingly every other movie is at least now "converted" to 3-D, a whole lot more I'm surely overlooking here.

But you get my point. As soon as they started raising prices arbitrarily, the 3-D bug morphed from a trick into a cancer, and there's no way to stop it than just saying no, starting right now.

Whew. That's a whole lot of bile for a Tuesday morning, and I can't think of anything better to sweeten it up than this fantastic trailer for Jean Pierre Jeunet's "Micmacs." I thought the American release window for Jeunet's latest had already come and gone, but this is one case in which I'd be thrilled to be wrong. It indeed just played the SXSW festival, and gets another U.S. release on May 28, when I'll surely be there to see it. As you'll see from the trailer, "Micmacs" is about a band of misfits who join together to take on an arms manufacturer, and it definitely looks like its filled with plenty of Jeunet spirit. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Tuesday. Peace out.

Conan's revenge may come sooner than you think, on screens big and small

You know, I love Conan O'Brien, but not nearly enough to pay $115 or so to see him on the closing night of his comedy tour at the Fabulous Fox Theater in Atlanta. Now, however, it seems he might be bringing the show directly to all kinds of cheapskates like me.

It seems that filmmaker Rodman Flender (who I had never heard of, but has apparently directed both "Idle Hands" and "Leprechaun 2" along with a lot of TV, in case that means anything to you), is about to sign on to make a feature film from the 30-city Legally Prohibited from Being Funny tour.

I'll certainly watch that, and in even better news, it seems likes Conan to Fox as soon as this fall is almost a done deal. According to the L.A. Times, key Fox executives, including Satan Murdoch, are on board with the plan and would like to finalize a deal the network could announce at its fall lineup unveiling on May 17.

Details are still being worked out, including that Fox would spend about $60 million annually on the show, as opposed to NBC's $90 million earmarked for Conan's "The Tonight Show," but at least one more really funny thing could come out of all this. Fox is apparently looking at leasing the old "Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien" set for the new show, which NBC spent $50 million renovating. Now, I realize this would put more revenue in NBC's pockets, but if Conan were to somehow kick Jay Leno's ass sort of on his old turf, how frigging sweet would that be?

Conan is prohibited from being on TV until September, but that certainly doesn't keep him from plotting that return as soon as possible. Stay tuned ...

And, since it's almost all about funny here today, Amy Heckerling seems to be cooking up something that could really be so with "Vamps," even though, like much of the world over the age of 16, I really have just about had enough of the undead.

Remember Amy Heckerling? Among her very funny films are "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "Clueless" (admit it, you like that silly little movie as much as I do.) For her return to writing and directing, Heckerling is reuniting with "Clueless" star Alicia Silverstone for "Vamps" and pairing her with Krysten Ritter, who was just as funny as Jay Baruchel in the surprisingly much better than awful "She's Out of My League" (yes, I watched that.)

The duo will play a pair of beautiful young (do they really have ages?) vampires who are living it up in NYC until, of course, love enters the picture and mucks things up. Sounds more than a little meh, but I'm still betting on pretty seriously funny, especially with this latest bit of casting news.

Sigourney Weaver, late of a little movie called "Avatar," has signed on to play a vampire queen who turned the two young ladies into creatures of the night. Filming will start in April, and with that cast, you can be pretty much sure I'll turn out to see what comes of all this.

And, speaking of funny that's going to come much, much sooner, was there ever any doubt that Tiger Woods would find himself the star of tonight's new season premiere of "South Park"? Of course not. Here's the premise:

The nation's top scientists come together to put a stop to the recent phenomenon of rich, successful men who suddenly want to have sex with many, many women. After extensive testing, some of the fourth grade boys in South Park Elementary are diagnosed as sex addicts.

I'm laughing at that already, and as you'll see from the brief preview below, they either simply obtained the audio tape from Tiger's "press conference" or found a dead voice ringer. Enjoy.



And finally, when it comes to stand-up comedians, they really don't get much better at all than Valdosta, Ga's own late, great Bill Hicks. If you've never seen him perform, get yourself caught up on Youtube and I guarantee you'll laugh. His most frequent targets are advertisers (he's known to open shows with "if you're in advertising or marketing, kill yourself"), but he really spares no one guilty of hypocrisy. And now, thankfully, directors Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas have made a documentary about his too-short life, "American: The Bill Hicks Story," which just played the SXSW fest and will hopefully be coming to a theater or DVD player near me very soon. Enjoy the trailer and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.

For Friday, a bunch of fun movie news

Due to people and their relations being sick, it's just been a tough week for me and my co-workers, but when I saw this yesterday I immediately told everyone within talking distance, because whose day isn't at least a little bit better with news about Harold & Kumar?

It seems that Collider.com, for which I occasionally contribute, had an interview with John Cho, and along with a lot of news I skipped over about his TV show "Flash Forward" (which I do watch), he revealed the blissfully silly news that filming on "A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas" will indeed begin in June, with the movie set for release in time for Jesus' next big day.

Neil Patrick Harris will apparently be back, and even though he as far as I know might still work for Barack Obama, I'd have to assume Kal Penn will too (otherwise, why watch?) That's easily the news that just made my rather mundane Thursday.

And in easily the craziest news out there this morning, it seems that we can get used to seeing "Avatar" in some form in our movie theaters for a very, very long time to come. It seems the box office king of the world is now adding new scenes (to what was already a pretty freakin' long movie) for a theatrical re-release this fall. You know, I call it crazy, but then again, I just might spring for this, 'cause it was an awful lot of fun.

In other James Cameron news that doesn't interest me in the least but will surely intrigue other folks, he also let it spill that "Titanic" is getting its inevitable 3-D upgrade, and will probably be out in its shiny new form in 2012. I'll admit it: Not only did I just not think the movie was all that great, but the thought of all that water raging toward me in 3-D just gives this wimp the heebie-jeebies.

Noyce books more spy games

If I had to pick a single favorite director, it would probably be Alfonso Cuaron, but if I ever made a list of 10 (and may just do that soon), these next two guys would certainly make the cut.

Phillip Noyce nets this distinction largely on the strength of two fairly recent movies, his sublime remake of the Graham Greene novel "The Quiet American" and the even better South African movie "Catch a Fire."

His next movie will be the spy flick "Salt," starring Angelina Jolie as a CIA spook accused of working for the Russians. I predict that will be the at least slightly surprisingly monster hit of the summer when it comes out July 23, and it seems that Noyce himself is already booked for more spy games.

He's been tapped to helm the spy thriller "Wenceslas Square," based on the short story by Arthur Phillips. It's set in Prague in the late Cold War era and revolves around a young CIA officer and a beautiful Czech spy.

What I'd really like to see him direct is that adaptation of Philip Roth's "American Pastoral," but that seems to be on hold, perhaps forever. In the meantime, I love me some spy games, so bring all this on.

McCarthy rounds out cast for "Win Win"

Another definite directing favorite around here is Thomas McCarthy, who along with starring in the final season of "The Wire" has helmed the great little flicks "The Station Agent" and the even better "The Visitor." He's booked his next project as "Win Win," and it's taking shape very quickly.

With shooting set to start Monday in New York (not, apparently, in Atlanta, as I somehow was led to believe), Fox Searchlight has announced that Melanie Lynskey, Bobby Canavale and, yes, even "Arrested Development" vet and extremelyfunnyguy Jeffrey Tambor will join the already unveiled Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan in the flick.

So, what's it about? Well, written by McCarthy in an at least semi-autobiographical tale, it's about a struggling attorney (Giamatti) who moonlights as a high school coach. He becomes the legal guardian of an elderly client, and when the old man's teenage son runs away, Giamatti's character's family ends up taking him in. The lad goes on to join the wrestling team and, well, you can imagine it will get pretty uplifting from there.

But, in the hands of McCarthy, I'd imagine pretty darn entertaining and insightful too, so definitely keep your eyes on this one.

Franco brothers set their sights on Bukowski tale

Anyone who'd been here before knows that I have a more than slight hetero man-crush on James Franco, and admit it, who in the world doesn't? The dude's just cool, and even though I think he's still an NYU student of some kind, he doesn't seem to ever stop working.

Among his latest projects will be adapting the Charles Bukowski semi-autobiographical novel "Ham on Rye" as a feature film with the help of his brother, Dave. Word so far is only that they're writing this, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear that James Franco will also play Bukowski's alter ego, Henry Chinaski, and maybe even direct the movie too.

He's most recently directed a documentary about "Saturday Night Live" that will debut at this year's SXSW festival.

OK, hopefully that lived up its billing, because it was indeed about as much news as I have time to cram in this morning. I'll leave you with the first trailer I know of for "Shrek Forever After," which will be the fourth installment in the franchise when it comes out, oddly enough, on my birthday, May 21. I didn't care much at all for the second and third movies, but the first was a hoot, so I'll take a chance on this. Enjoy, fear the turtle, and of course have a wonderful weekend. Peace out.

Just what in the world is "Secret of the Kells," and what will Jason Reitman do next?

Although the Oscar nominations always leave me with as many questions as answers, this was the biggest one I had after yesterday's nominations announcement.

After all, I just assumed that, after a truly banner year for animation, one of my favorites - "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" - would get a nomination, especially since the field grew to five entries this year. Instead, it went to something called "Secret of the Kells," and I can't be the only person who had never heard of that before yesterday.

So, what in the world is it? Well, an animated movie, obviously, from co-directors Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey. As you'll see from the fairly long trailer below (and, even though it labels the movie "Brendan and the Secret of the Kells," I assure it's genuine), it's animated in a charmingly simple style. As far as the story, here's an official synopsis:

In the movie “The Secret Of Kells,” young Brendan lives in a remote medieval outpost under siege from barbarian raids. But a new life of adventure beckons when a celebrated master illuminator arrives from foreign lands carrying an ancient but unfinished book, brimming with secret wisdom and powers. To help complete the magical book, Brendan has to overcome his deepest fears on a dangerous quest that takes him into the enchanted forest where mythical creatures hide. It is here that he meets the fairy Aisling, a mysterious young wolf-girl, who helps him along the way. But with the barbarians closing in, will Brendan’s determination and artistic vision illuminate the darkness and show that enlightenment is the best fortification against evil?

Sounds like slightly heavy stuff for a children's animated movie, but as you see from the clip below, it will be pretty fun too. Enjoy.



And when will we get to see this? I'd have to imagine that, even with the Oscar love, this will be an arthouse release in the U.S.A., meaning I'll have to drive to Atlanta when it comes out March 10.

As for the rest of the Oscars, I'd have to say the 10 movie field for Best Picture was certainly a success, especially if the goal was to recognize some box office smashes along with the usual suspects. I haven't seen "The Blind Side," but is it really Best Picture material? I doubt it, but that along with "Up," "Avatar" and "District 9" should at least stop the ratings slide.

As for things that made me smile, certainly the fact that Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds," my favorite, got eight nominations (second only to the nine nabbed by both "Avatar" and "The Hurt Locker"), including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and of course, Best Supporting Actor for Christoph Waltz (one way to make the interminable broadcast shorter would be to just give him and Mo'Nique their statues now.)

There a few other little things I liked, too. The single best nomination would have to be Armando Iannucci and crew for Best Adapted Screenplay for "In the Loop." That was easily the wittiest movie of the year, and any script that moves that fast without ever faltering certainly deserves the recognition. It was also nice to see Maggie Gyllenhaal get a Best Supporting Actress Nomination for her work in "Crazy Heart." The Dude seems to be the favorite for Best Actor for his role in that flick about an aging country music star of sorts, but you wouldn't care a lick about his character if he didn't have Gyllenhaal's journalist and single mother to play off of and pitch woo at. Huzzah to both of those.

And though it has seemed to be losing steam over the weeks (I tried to see it a second time, but it had already disappeared from theaters), that "Up in the Air" only got six nominations is a bit of a surprise. It did, however, get all the big ones: nominations for all three actors, adapted screenplay, director and Best Picture.

Which brings us to the next topic: What will Jason Reitman do now? Well, according to The Playlist, he let that cat out of the bag in a visit with Roger Ebert. Here, according to The Playlist, is what he had to say:

"The book I'm adapting is 'Labor Day' by Joyce Maynard. I re-read it over the weekend and when I finished the book [on] Monday morning, I was kind of on the verge of tears and I remembered at the moment, 'alright, my job is to make sure the audience feel exactly what I'm feeling right now.' And that's it, thats the gig. The test is with each film, 'can I do that?' and 'is that something the audience wants to feel at the end of the day?' And in this case, I think it is. This ones a very very tricky love story. It's very dramatic."

"I know what actors I want for it. I'll be able to go to them easily and, presumably, it'll be an easier greenlight than my first movie. Or my second movie."

Fair enough, but what in the world is "Labor Day," which I will now be reading soon, about? Here, with some editing, is what it says on Maynard's own Web site:

With the end of summer closing in and a steamy Labor Day weekend looming in the town of Holton Mills, New Hampshire, 13-year-old Henry - lonely, friendless, not too good at sports - spends most of his time watching television, reading, and daydreaming about the soft skin and budding bodies of his female classmates. For company Henry has his long-divorced mother, Adele, a onetime dancer whose summer project was to teach him how to foxtrot; his hamster, Joe; and awkward Saturday-night outings to Friendly's with his estranged father and new stepfamily. As much as he tries, Henry knows that even with his jokes and his "Husband for a Day" coupon, he still can't make his emotionally fragile mother happy. Adele has a secret that makes it hard for her to leave their house, and seems to possess an irreparably broken heart.

But all that changes on the Thursday before Labor Day, when a mysterious bleeding man named Frank approaches Henry and asks for a hand. Over the next five days, Henry will learn some of life's most valuable lessons: how to throw a baseball, the secret to perfect piecrust, the breathless pain of jealousy, the power of betrayal, and the importance of putting others - especially those we love - above ourselves. And the knowledge that real love is worth waiting for.

That all sounds great to me. There's nothing up about this yet on the IMDB, but I'd imagine that as he rather immodestly claims, he can indeed get this greenlit just about whenever he wants to. And, since I'm so enamored of my new laptop, I might just make "Labor Day" the first purchase to read with my new "Kindle for PC" thingie from Amazon.

Except for that, all I have today is a music video from a woman I had never heard of, but since it's directed by Michel Gondry, it's certainly worth a look. The video is for a song called "Open Your Heart" by a chica named Mia Doi Todd. As the title implies, it's a breezy little ditty, and Gondry uses flashes of color in a deceptively simple way that becomes genuinely hypnotic (hyperbole? Perhaps, but that's the effect it had on me at 6:30 in the morning.) Anyways, enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant Wednesday. Peace out.

Since the Oscars get 10 best, I do too (actually, I get 11)

Thinking about what to write about this morning, I realized that - with no computer for a month - I never got around to revealing my 10 best movies of 2009. And while it may be far too late for anyone but me to care, here goes anyway, in order only of when they were released (and if you're a fan of the Drive-By Truckers - as everyone should be - stick around 'til the end for a special treat.)

And lest anyone be left scratching their head at the omission of Jason Reitman's "Up in the Air," it just missed the cut, earning honorable mention along with the following flicks: "The Road," "A Single Man," "Crazy Heart," "Avatar," "Broken Embraces" and "Fantastic Mr. Fox." Now, on to the 11 winners, and please feel free to chime in with your favorites or let me know if you think I'm just all wet about any of these:

Coraline
"Up" is going to get most of the attention as far as animated movies go with this morning's Oscar nominations - since I fully expect it to get a Best Picture nomination - but this little flick from Henry Selick and Neil Gaiman was actually the best animated movie of the year for me (and the only one besides "Avatar" that really made me think it was worth wearing 3-D glasses for the entire movie.) Though, like any story told through the eyes of a child, it really goes out of control by the end, "Coraline" is still a genuinely magical story about the powers - and dangers - of the imagination, my favorite movie subject of all.

Sugar
This flick from directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck spent the first half of 2009 as my favorite movie of the year, and it's held strong in the top five. This portrait of life in modern America through the eyes of an outsider starts out as a low-key sports flick about a Dominican player in the minor league baseball system and pivots deftly about halfway in to become a story about immigration in America without ever losing the natural flow that makes it so entertaining to watch. Rent this immediately if you haven't seen it.

Drag Me to Hell
Has anyone had a worse movie year-or-so than Sam Raimi? First, no one in the world but me (and maybe a few others) went to see this incredibly fun return to his horror roots, and then his "Spider-Man 4" flick implodes to the point that they just scrapped the whole project and started over without him (and, frankly, most likely without me too.) He certainly deserves better. Especially when, if you're a fan of "Evil Dead" and "Army of Darkness," you should love this flick about what happens when poor Alison Lohman denies a mortgage extension to the wrong person (a gypsy woman with the power to curse her - and ingest her poor kitty - of course.) If you can stomach it, watch this on DVD.

Moon
I'd say there's probably no chance at all that Sam Rockwell will get an Oscar nomination for his work in Duncan Jones' sci-fi flick, and in my book that will count as the single biggest snub of the year. He's in virtually every frame of this, a welcome return to the kind of smart sci-fi allegory we haven't seen on the big screen in a long time (though "Battlestar Galactica" did a fine job with that too on the little one.) I saw this one at the Atlanta Film Festival 365, and am thrilled that Charles Judson has invited me back for this year's event too.

The Hurt Locker
Just how much do military members love this Iraq War movie of sorts from Kathyrn Bigelow? Well, as a tiny and random sample, a video store bought an ad in the publication I lay out that serves Warner Robins, GA (proud home of Robins Air Force Base) just to promise that "The Hurt Locker" will "always be in stock." I don't know why, but that just struck me as funny. I do know, however, that Bigelow has crafted the first Iraq War movie I genuinely enjoyed, not just because it has at least three of the best action set-pieces of the year, but also two of the best performances from Anthony Mackie and Jeremy Renner as it presents the rarest kind of flick - an apolitical war movie that simply looks at combat through the eyes of those who have to wage it.

In the Loop
A small Web cult of sorts has blossomed that's devoted to the singular swearing prowess of Peter Capaldi as political operative Malcolm Tucker in director Armardo Iannucci's wicked sendup of the buildup to the Iraq war, and it's well-deserved. It's hard to keep up with all the jokes that Iannucci packs into this razor-sharp satire - the kind we haven't seen since the days of Peter Sellers, and they've been sorely missed by at least me - but believe me, the effort is well worth it. Watch this now.

Inglourious Basterds
This is my favorite movie of 2009, and just to show I've put it to the test, I've watched it all the way through at least five times now, and it just keeps getting better. Taken individually, the opening gambit with Christoph Waltz and a French farmer, that sensational scene at the French bar that turns into a bloodbath and - of course - the unforgettable finale, are the three best-written sequences of 2009. Add them together and throw in Brad Pitt and his basterds for comedic value, and you get my favorite kind of movie, just wildly imaginative story telling and a thoroughly fun ride.

Passing Strange
Can what amounts to simply the filming of a Broadway musical being performed on stage really be turned into one of the best movies of 2009? In the hands of Spike Lee, yes. He uses the same technique he did with "Kings of Comedy" to make it an intimate experience, and it certainly doesn't hurt that this musical about a black teenager's voyage to Europe to find his artistic self has a genuine energy that radiates from the screen as I'm sure it did even stronger on stage.

The Damned United
I was a little hesitant to see this at first because it's based on the best book I've read in at least the last five years or so, and I was sure there was no way that director Tom Hooper could re-create the manic pace or odd structure of David Peace's piece of historical fiction about Brian Clough's disastrous 44 days or so as the manager of Leeds United. I'm very happy to report, though, that I was once again wrong, because it comes damned close, and more importantly turns this tale of ultimate futility into a winningly witty period piece that will entertain soccer fans as much as those of you who have somehow not become a fan of the beautiful game, and Michael Sheen is perfectly vainglorious as Clough.

Where the Wild Things Are
Probably my favorite joke from "Freaks and Geeks" remains the one about Sam Weir trying to do a book report on "the novelization of 'Star Wars'," but I can report that the novelization of "Where the Wild Things Are" by Dave Eggers (called "Wild Things" and of course at least loosely based on the children's classic by Maurice Sendak) is a tremendously good read. Like Spike Jonze's movie (but without having to create those rather amazing wild things), it deftly dives into the mind and imagination of a troubled child and somehow bundles all these emotions into a moving and simply entertaining tale. And young Max Records, perfectly wild as Max in the movie, delivers my single favorite still of the year, the look of horror on his face when his teacher casually announces that the sun will, indeed, some day die. Priceless.

Precious
It really seems a crime to put Lee Daniels' flick last on this list, but those were the rules I set out. In actual order of appreciation, it would certainly be in the top five, because although I didn't find it as uplifting as many people I know who like this as much as I do, it's still a genuine American story of the kind we very rarely get to see on the big screen. Mo'Nique is a sure winner in the Best Supporting Actress category at the Oscars, but I'm hoping Gabourey Sidibe gets a Best Actress nod too, because she portrays our heroine's wounded but still fierce pride perfectly, as much with her expressions as she does Precious' emerging voice.

So there you have it. And I promised a treat for any Drive-By Truckers fans who stuck around through all of that, so here it is. Yesterday, they debuted a new single, "Birthday Boy," and I'm pleased to report it's a Mike Cooley track that kicks the kind of ass they used to, and hopefully will again when a new album comes out in the next six weeks or so. Just put your e-mail address in the widget (it won't go to me, so don't worry), and the link will be sent to you. Enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant Tuesday. Peace out.

How to lose an audience in 30 Days

Well, after about a month without a computer of any kind, I'm back ... but did anyone really miss me? Probably not, but I'm back anyway.

If I had to miss a month's worth of movies, frankly, this January would have to be it. I've seen Avatar twice now, and wanted to go see Up in the Air again, but I was too late. As for new movies, after the wretched reviews for The Lovely Bones, I just couldn't bring myself to watch a Peter Jackson disaster, so I skipped that one. In fact, I haven't seen a new theater movie all month. Thoroughly depressing.

On the advice of Nell Minow, however, I'm gonna take a chance on Edge of Darkness tomorrow, and am hoping for at least slightly more than an average thriller.

Anyways, come Monday, I'll start this up again right, so hopefully a few people will come back.

Peace out.

David Cronenberg and Sigmund Freud? Bring it on!

Avatar 3D. Most amazing visuals I've ever seen. Story-wise, meh. But credit for all the Iraq war parallels. Notice that?

It's really apropos of nothing, but I just thought that Twitter burst from the alwaysveryfunny Elizabeth Banks summed up James Cameron's movie rather perfectly, so I had to share it.

As far as actual news today, there's word of a new David Cronenberg movie coming together, and on a subject that seems perfectly tailored to his view of the world and with a cast that's pretty solid too.

With full credit to The Playlist, which as far as I can tell broke this news first, it seems that the Australian distribution company Hopscotch Films has announced that two "Inglourious Basterds" (my favorite movie of 2009), Christoph Waltz and Michael Fassbender, plus Keira Knightley have all signed on to star in "The Talking Cure," which Cronenberg is directing based on the 2002 play by Christopher Hampton.

In it, Knightley would play Sabina Spielrein, a "beautiful young woman, driven mad by her past." For help, she turns to Carl Jung (Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Waltz).

Christoph Waltz as Sigmund Freud? Sounds like perfection to me, especially since Cronenberg's best movies deal as much with psychological as physical violence, especially my favorite of his flicks, "Spider."

But will any of this ever come together? Well, with that cast you would certainly think so, but Cronenberg is also attached to possibly direct a movie based on the Robert Ludlum thriller "The Matarese Circle," with Tom Cruise and Denzel Washington set to star.

As promising as that might sound, here's hoping "The Talking Cure" jumps it in his directing queue, and that he gets to work on it fairly fast, because it's just been way too long since the world has seen a David Cronenberg movie.

Just how did Kevin Smith manage to "Cop Out" on "A Couple of Dicks"?

No matter how he tries to defend it, "Cop Out," the new name for Kevin Smith's buddy cop movie starring Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis and set to drop in February, is just nothing but boring in my book. And judging from the trailer you'll find at the end of this post, the movie itself probably won't be much better either.

But, any time Smith is given a forum to spout off, he always says at least a few things that make me smile, as he did when discussing the new title with Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider blog. It's worth reading the whole thing, but here are a few highlights if you don't have the time, starting with exactly why he had to drop the "A Couple of Dicks" name in the first place:

(Be warned: The language in this, as usual with Mr. Smith, is more than a little salty.)

Kevin Smith: Look, losing A Couple of Dicks was almost akin to losing my own dick. It was a perfect buddy-cop movie comedy title. Everyone knew it. You couldn’t say that title to somebody without a f—ing smile crossing their face. But what I had gone through with Zack and Miri Make a Porno — “porno” had become very problematic, it became tough for us to advertise [the film], blah blah blah. Warner Bros. decided, “Hey man, we’ll call the networks and see if we’re going to get any problems [with A Couple of Dicks as a title], months before the movie’s ever going to come out.” The top 3 networks — CBS, ABC, NBC — said we can’t run one of your spots before 9 o’clock. ... So my feeling was like, it’s an R-rated movie, so who the f— are we talking to anyway before 9 o’clock? Warner Bros’s feeling was like, “Hey man, the sports audience, dickhead. We have to advertise to the sports audience on Saturday and Sunday and all those sporting events usually take place before 9 p.m. in the evening.” At which point, I was like, “Oh wow, you guys are way smarter than me.”

You still certainly can't convince me that "Cop Out" is any way a funny fallback, but he went on to explain how the title could have, amazingly, possibly been even worse:

Smith: So for months now, they’ve always had A Couple of Cops as kind of this fallback thing — a placeholder, essentially. And then all of a sudden, one of the producers of the movie was like, “Hey they’re locking the title, because the trailer is going to be put on Sherlock Holmes.” And I was like, “This is an abundance of wonderful and horrible information.” I want to be on Sherlock Holmes because everyone on the planet will probably go see it on Christmas, but I don’t want it to be A Couple of Cops. That just seems like we didn’t even try! We went from a really clever title to the least clever title of all time. I was like, “God that title is going to feel like such a f—ing cop out.” And [the producer] goes, “We should just call the movie that.”

OK, I know that's a lot of Kevin Smith for people who, like mi hermano, just find the man to be a tremendous tool, but any fans of juvenile comedy will at least smile at this final bit which includes the perfect, fan-suggested tagline, which means it will never appear on a movie poster.

Smith: We were making up sequel titles in our heads, dude. Like, you know, Two Bigger Dicks. Or Dicks 2: It Just Got Harder. Somebody online said you could take Cop Out and vary it with like, “Rock out with your Cop Out!” Hopefully that will be a tagline on a poster or a trailer. And if it is, we owe that random dude on Twitter like at least a few free passes.

But what about the trailer, which appeared this week? Well, like I said above, it really doesn't look too promising at all, even with an appearance from the alwaysveryfunny Susie Essman of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." I love Morgan on "30 Rock," but it's clear he's only as strong as the material he's working with, and "Cop Out" just looks way too weak. It certainly appears like Mr. Smith's stint as a hired hand for Warner Bros. will result in exactly the kind of "comedy" that appears and disappears very quickly each February. Anyways, "enjoy" the trailer, and have a perfectly pleasant Christmas eve. Peace out.

"Avatar" the trilogy? Plus, a Tuesday trove of clips

If one dose of James Cameron's "Avatar" was enough (or more than enough) for you, this can't come as good news: He has at least two more visits to Pandora in mind.

Personally, I enjoyed the movie quite a bit, but by the end I certainly felt I had enough, especially since the battle royale finale seemed to wrap things up rather neatly. Cameron, however, has other ideas in mind. Here's what he had to say to MTV:

"We'll follow Jake and Neytiri. I have a trilogy-scaled arc of story right now, but I haven't really put any serious work into writing a script."

But will it be another 15 years or so before we get a second installment? Probably not. More from MTV:

"From the time we capture and finish the capture, it's literally nine to 10 months to get the CG characters working, to get their facial musculature working. So now we have Jake, we have Neytiri. Sam can step right back into it, the characters will fit them like a glove, and we'll just go on. So a lot of the start-up torque that had to be done for one movie really makes more sense if you play it out across several films."

As for the original itself, the final box office tally bought a bit of good news: It's opening weekend total was actually $77 million domestic, $4 million more than originally calculated, but still just short of Will Smith's December opening record of $77.2 million with "I am Legend."

Worldwide, "Avatar" topped $230 million in its first weekend.

And, in a final bit of trivia about "Avatar," since that's still what I have on the brain, RealD has announced that nearly $40 million of its domestic take was from 3-D viewing, more than half the total. While that certainly seems impressive on the surface, and an omen to people who, like me, still enjoy good, old-fashioned 2-D most of the time, remember that each person who watched the movie in 3-D paid at least $2 more to do so, and even more if it was in Imax. Just sayin'.

All I have after that today is a quintet of clips, which offer varyings amounts of cool.

First up comes the U.K. trailer for Ridley Scott's take on "Robin Hood," which stars Russell Crowe and is set to come out in May. Though I'm still not completely sold on the need for this, the U.K. trailer is a lot less "Gladiator" than the previous U.S. cut and therefore by force at least an improvement. Enjoy.



Horribly inappropriate cursing from young children? Wickedly cool (hopefully) stylized violence? In the right dose I can certainly enjoy both of these guilty pleasures, which we'll get plenty of from Matthew Vaughn with "Kick-Ass" in March. Though the f-bomb from young Chloe Moretz in this redband introduction to her character, Hit-Girl, is just perfectly dropped, the later c-word (I did warn you, watch it with headphones on at work) is a lot more jarring. Enjoy.



Next up come two peaks at animated offerings coming next Summer, first what I believe is a TV clip introduced by director Lee Unkrich for Pixar's "Toy Story 3." I'm frankly getting a little tired of the "toys in peril and need to escape" storyline, but it's Pixar, so I'll certainly be there to check it out in June. Enjoy.



Next is one I'm much more excited for, an odd teaser of sorts for "Despicable Me." The animated offering stars Steve Carell as the evil Gru, who hatches a plot to steal the moon. Silly, sure, but I predict a lot fun too. This odd little clip features a couple of Gru's minions. Enjoy.

And finally, saving in my opinion the best for last, here's the third clip I know of for "Youth in Revolt," which is set to star veryfunnyman Michael Cera and finally come out in early January. Anyone who's been here before knows I love the novel by C.D. Payne, and in this clip we are introduced to Francois Dillinger, the ultra-smooth and ultra-dangerous alter ego of our hero, Nick Twisp. Enjoy.



P.S.: The Blogger spell check is, once again, not working, so please excuse any misspellings on my part. Peace out.

The weird, often wonderful, world of "Avatar"

I don't really think its possible, but given the weather on the east coast this weekend, should we feel sorry for James Cameron? (I feel much more sorry for my poor friends in D.C. who got buried in snow - which I know from personal experience is pretty much a mini-apocalypse for the nation's capital.)

Thanks at least in part to the storms, his "Avatar" only took in $73 million domestic in its first weekend, finishing second for a December opening to Will Smith's "I am Legend," which opened to more than $77 million (you just don't mess with the Fresh Prince.) Cameron's movie did, however, take in a rather impressive $159 million overseas, so I suppose he just might eventually break even in a few weeks.

But, much more importantly, is the movie any good? The short answer: Yes, often magically so. It's also hokey, bloated and all the other things you might have feared going in, but if you give into it, he really has managed to make a genuine sci-fi epic the likes of which we haven't seen on the big screen for many years (I've heard "Star Wars" mentioned so many times this week that it makes me sick, so you won't hear it again from me.)

What he hasn't done is "revolutionize moviemaking," or at least I hope not, because as much as I liked visiting his world of Pandora, I really hope there isn't even more of a rush to embrace 3-D. (Yes, I'm well aware that there's nothing I can do to stop it, much as I might try.) He really needs to take some lessons from W. in the expectations game, because if he could just keep his big mouth shut for a bit, people would find that what he's actually crafted is a flick that would have been much more comfortable in the '80s, in spite of all its technological prowess.

That's not entirely an insult, because the often-cheesy dialogue fits the very familiar story just fine, but, as Nell Minow also pointed out, with all the brains behind this, couldn't they come up with a better name for the coveted mineral the humans are hunting for than "unobtainium"? Sheesh.

But of course, we don't go to a James Cameron movie for the story, and he doesn't waste much time at all on the setup. I was, in fact, more than a little confused at first about how or why exactly our hero, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is taking over the Na'vi avatar inhabited by his late brother. The Na'vi, as I'm sure you know by now even if you haven't seen this, look like extremely fit blue horsecats, which would make Napoleon Dynamite smile but can be seriously distracting from the world that Cameron has created here.

And what a world it is. Once the action moves to Pandora, a planet prized by we humans for the aforementioned mineral and because - as is apparently the assumption for any movie set 100 years in the future or so - we've laid waste to our own living space. Jake infiltrates the Na'vi in his avatar for the mining company but his allegiances start to shift to the natives, thanks in large part to his love for one Na'vi in particular, Neytiri, played by Zoe Saldana. And, given Cameron's infatuation with the scantily clad Na'vi form, who can blame him, even if they are blue horsecats?

It's when Jake and Neytiri start to explore Cameron's brave new world that the movie finally takes off, and it really is amazing to behold. The realm of Pandora is essentially a rain forest at its roots, but Cameron has filled it with all kinds of wonders, from flying mountains to glowing trees, and we (or at least I) feel the thrill of discovery along with the two of them.

In fact, I know this is a reach, but in this middle stretch it often feels almost like a Terrence Malick movie - granted, a Terrence Malick movie on some seriously psychedelic drugs and with the volume turned up to 11. I'm still a 3-D skeptic, but for the first time since Henry Selick's "Coraline" I didn't mind wearing a second set of glasses just to watch this, and after a while I was so sucked in that I often forgot I was wearing them.

But, of course, we dastardly humans are there to ruin it all, and Cameron has found the perfect weapon of mass destruction in Stephen Lang. He hams it up throughout as Col. Quaritch, the muscle behind the hunt for "unobtainium" (just typing that makes me still giggle), and certainly brings to mind another Cameron hero who somehow managed to become the governor of California (it certainly helps that, in the inevitable battle royale, he inhabits a giant robot suit a la a Terminator.)

With a nifty transition involving Jake's mentor with the company, played with resolve and empathy by Sigourney Weaver, Cameron indeed shifts to unleash as much energy as he put into creating this beautiful place in an attempt to destroy it, which takes up most of the last 45 minutes or so. And the battle itself is electrifying. It's actually a good thing you have the 3-D glasses on at this point, which kind of keeps your head captive, because if it were to escape for just a second and think too much you might not be able to give in to just how ridiculously fun it is to watch blue horsecats on what appear to be neon pterodactyls and armed only with bows and arrows take on a force with considerably more firepower.

We know who's going to win this battle, but Cameron has imbued the movie with enough of his mythology in a surprisingly brisk two hours and 40 minutes or so that we actually care about the outcome. I'm still not sold on Sam Worthington as an actor, even in purely buttery popcorn fare like this, but that's not enough to take away from what Cameron has accomplished here.

Has he revolutionized moviemaking? Nah, but for $500 million or so he did at least manage to craft an extremely fun movie and just the sweetest kind of eye candy.

And that's about all I have to say about that. If you've seen "Avatar" and want to disagree with me, please feel free, and have a perfectly pleasant Monday. Peace out.

Yes, James Gunn will get to work again

After the pretty much complete box-office failure of James Gunn's "Slither," it really seemed impossible that any kind of studio would back him for a new movie, but thankfully I'm wrong once again (I'm pretty used to it by now.)

And the thing with "Slither" is, it's really a pretty fantastic movie. It's no "Shaun of the Dead," but in its own way it very deftly mixes humor and horror, and you really can't go wrong with stars Elizabeth Banks and Nathan Fillion. Since a total of maybe six people saw it in theaters, I'd highly recommend a rental for the rest of you.

And now, rather amazingly, Gunn is now filming in Louisiana another movie he has also written, "Super," and it sounds pretty promising for a late-summer comedy (which is where I'm guessing this would fall.) In it, Rainn Wilson will star as a man who, after seeing his wife get hooked on drugs and taken off by a drug dealer, decides to don a costume and grab his lug wrench to go after her. Doesn't sound like much of a comedy, I know, but in Wilson and Gunn's hands I'm sure it somehow will be (and Wilson more than John Krasinski or Steve Carell of "The Office" clan certainly deserves a great big-screen comedy - "The Rocker" wasn't it. And in a more than slightly tangential "The Office" connection, Gunn and Jenna Fischer were married for about seven years, but are no more.)

The rest of the cast will be Kevin Bacon, who has just been announced as the drug dealer, Liv Tyler as Wilson's wife, and even Ellen Page somehow too, but I have no idea in what role. "Gilmore Girls" fans should take note that the usuallyveryfunny Sean Gunn, James Gunn's brother, will have a part in this too.

I know that's a lot of information about a movie that won't come for at least six months or so, but I like writing about things when I find them, especially to exercise my brain on Saturday mornings. I just hope it didn't hurt yours. And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to see "Avatar," and hoping it doesn't suck. Peace out.

Bryan Singer making return to the X-Men? Bring it on

After watching the purely craptastic "X-Men: The Last Stand" and the entirely mediocre "Wolverine," I wasn't sure there was anything that would be able to bring me back to the franchise at this point, but Bryan Singer - rather amazingly - is about to do it.

Stealing more than a bit of the thunder from the Los Angeles premiere of "Avatar" Wednesday night, Singer let slip to a MySpace television crew that he had indeed signed on the previous day to direct "X-Men: First Class," which should be nothing but cool.

Why? Well, Singer, of course, directed the first two X-Men movies, and while "X-Men" is a perfectly fine superhero movie, "X2: X-Men United" is one of the very best in the genre, right up there in my book with "Spider-Man 2."

Here's exactly what Singer had to say about the matter: "I'm ramping up to do a movie called 'Jack the Giant Killer' at Warner Bros, and I just yesterday signed a deal to do an 'X-Men: First Class Origins' picture, which is kind of cool. I'm very excited."

I have yet to see any actual confirmation of this from the trades, but since I'm at least willing to assume the man isn't flat-out lying, I have to take this as true and great news, made all the more unlikely given how Singer spurned Fox once already to direct "Superman Returns" instead of the third X-Men flick (which I don't think even he could have saved.

But what exactly is "X-Men: First Class"? Well, it comes from a script by "Chuck" co-creator Josh Schwartz, and will look at the early days of our mutant friends at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. Schwartz has yet to do anything wrong on TV in my book (yes, I even watch "Gossip Girl," and "Chuck" is simply fantastic), so this certainly now seems to be in all the right hands.

Is Disney killing achingly bad comedies?

Probably not, but John Travolta and Robin Williams certainly have to be wondering if that's the studio's new mission.

First this week (or maybe last, I really don't know) came news that new Disney boss Rich Ross (not to be confused with the Miami rapper Rick Ross, I suppose) had terminated a virus called "Wedding Banned" (get it?), which would have been a "comedy" starring Williams about a divorced couple who kidnap their daughter on her wedding day in order to prevent her from making the same mistakes they did. Even though the always very funny Anna Faris and Diane Keaton (as daughter and mother, I presume) were set to co-star in this, it's probably best that it never sees the light of day.

And now, Disney has also stepped in to stop the "Wild Hogs" plague too. "Wild Hogs 2: Bachelor Ride," would have brought back Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence and even poor William H. Macy for a production that would have launched next summer, with Walt Becker coming back to direct again, but Disney has halted all that for good.

Like I said, I don't really believe this puts even a dent in the bad comedy factory, but it has to at least be some kind of progress, right?

"The Freshman," the tv show?

My fellow cubicle slave John Parnell likes to quote from "The Freshman" all the time. Remember that one? I do, and though it was a genuinely funny flick, most of its charm came from the truly oddball pairing of Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick in the tale of a NYU freshman who gets involved with the mob (and fine dining and exotic lizards, of course.)

Now it seems that USA, which has unleashed a flurry of original shows in the past few years ("Burn Notice" is one I always tune in for, and it will soon return for a fourth season), has latched on to this idea for a series, with the movie's writer/director, Andrew Bergman, on board to at least write the series adaptation.

Can this work? I seriously doubt it, because like I said, most of the charm of the original came from the Brando/Broderick combo, and obviously that can never happen again. USA, however, has proven me wrong before, so certainly keep your eyes on this one.

OK, what else? Well, I suppose I could have led with this, but it's easily only the second-best superhero movie news of the day. Below is the first trailer for Jon Favreau's "Iron Man 2," set to start the movie summer May 7, with Robert Downey Jr. back as our hero and Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke and even Sam Rockwell and Scarlett Johansson somehow coming along too. As you can see from the trailer, Tony Stark is certainly every bit as brash as we remember, so here's hoping he's just as funny too. Rourke as Whiplash, at least, should make a first-rate big bad. Enjoy.



Next up comes two clips for flicks that promise to bring the funny, but about the first oddity, at least, I have my doubts. "Hot Tub Time Machine," judging from the trailer below, will almost certainly be as goofy as it title promises when it drops in March, starring John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Michael Cera's bff and even Darryl from "The Office," aka Craig Robinson. It's directed by "Grosse Pointe Blank" writer Steve Pink and, as you'll see from the trailer, at least returns Cusack to the ski slopes like "Better off Dead," so I'll at least give it a chance. Enjoy.

And finally, courtesy of MTV comes a look at what should be a better comedy, "Dinner for Schmucks," a remake of the Froggy flick "Le Diner de Cons," which has sat near the top of my Netflix list for a while now but somehow hasn't yet made its way into my mailbox. The title is pretty self-explanatory, and as you'll find out from the clip, Steve Carell is the titular schmuck in this flick being directed by Jay Roach and coming out in July. Enjoy, and have a perfectly endurable Thursday. Peace out.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Trailer trifecta, and why I feel like Larry David far too often

I considered leading with the rather depressing information (well, I guess I did) that Bryan Singer now has nothing better than to do than a '70s TV update ("Battlestar Galactica," and not the nifty version that just ended on Syfy, or whatever it's called now) and a remake of "Excalibur," because lord know that's just what the world needs.

But I really have nothing to say about that, so since it's Friday, let's just get to a trio of fun trailers and a look at the preview for "Curb Your Enthusiasm." First up is the trailer for Joe Johnston's take on "The Wolfman," which I have to say just looks about 100 times better than I could have possibly expected (especially since I expected it to be a big ball of shite.) It looks like a a real, old-fashioned horror flick, and I'm sure Benicio del Toro will be great, so enjoy.



Next up comes the return of Michael Moore with "Capitalism, A Love Story," which, despite my strong belief that "Sicko" was nearly a complete failure, is a good thing in my book. He's threatened to stop making documentaries after this one, and if so, I guess it's good that he's going out by taking on nothing less than our entire capitalist economy. Enjoy the trailer, courtesy of CNN.



And next is the trailer for James Cameron's "Avatar." I have to say, not being a fan of 3-D in just about any form, I'm not particularly excited about this one, but it is a sci-fi movie from Cameron and his first flick in many years, so I guess I'll be there in December. Enjoy the trailer.



What I am rather excited about is that Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" is set to return to HBO on Sept. 20. As the clip below summarizes rather brilliantly, Larry's life is a constant ball of frustration, which I can certainly sympathize with, especially last night when I found out that, even though Macon is a notorious walk-up town, the Drive-By Truckers show was somehow sold out (yes, I know I should have bought a ticket in advance, but I waffled about spending $25 for it until the very end - obviously no one's fault but my own.)

Anyways, enjoy the preview, and have a great weekend. For me, that will mean Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" on Saturday and then catching up on "District 9" on Sunday - my definition of a perfect weekend. Peace out.