Friday news, of Torchwood, Elmore Leonard and even Tarzan ... yes, really

There's really not anything I can add to Leslie Nielsen's rather blissfully funny tombstone, so I'll just let that speak for itself and move on.

Though I do try to be selective in my TV viewing, when there aren't many new shows on (like, say, now) it does leave a bit of a void.

I did quite enjoy the new season premiere of "Men of a Certain Age," especially since I'm now clearly one of them, but I don't think that show's ever gonna gain many more viewers than the very few it has now. HBO has certainly also stepped up with season two of "Treme" (another great show that just about no one watches) and, of course, the sublime "Game of Thrones," and FX has two shows coming up I'll tune in for, the second of season of Louis C.K.'s "Louie" and the truly odd-looking "Wilfred."

After that, however, it's time for catching up with shows I've simply missed that are now streaming on Netflix, starting (with the recommendation of my fellow cubicle slave, Renee Martinez) with "Torchwood."

Most anyone who would be in to such a thing probably already knows that it's a show about a sort of alien-hunting detective agency and is a spinoff of "Doctor Who," and three episodes in now, I really dig it. And in a rather severe case of burying the lead, I tell you all that to tell you this: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" scribe Jane Espenson and star Eliza Dushku are reuniting for "Torchwood: Web of Lies," which will be an animated tale appearing online in three installments before the July 8 premiere of season 4 of the live-action show on Starz.

Dushku, along with series regulars John Barrowman and Eve Myles, will do voice work for the animated offering, and you can be sure I'll tell you how exactly to find it as soon as I know. And Espenson, easily one of the best writers on TV, wrote an episode of "Game of Thrones" and is one of the main writers for the new "Torchwood" season, so definitely tune in.

OK, moving on to movie news, I love most of the movies made from Elmore Leonard's uniformly juicy source material (with "Out of Sight" easily being on any top 10 list if I were to make it), and "Justified" just made a huge leap forward in season two, so any news of a new Leonard movie is certainly welcome in this little corner of the world.

Well, there's a take on the Leonard novel "Freaky Deaky" in the works, and it's quickly assembling a pretty first-rate cast. Per Variety, the story revolves around a Detroit police sergeant (Matt Dillon) who moves from the bomb squad to sex crimes (of course), coming up against a group of '60s radicals who, in 1974, are part of an investigation involving the bombing of a limousine. Brendan Fraser will play a former activist who now uses his knowledge of explosives to provide effects for Hollywood films, and veryfunnyman Craig Robinson will play Donnell Lewis, a Black Panther in the '60s and now the assistant to a Hollywood power player (William H. Macy).

Sounds like a typical cup of Leonard craziness, so stay tuned for any more news about this flick being written and directed by Charles Matthau (director of "The Grass Harp," way back in 1995) as soon as I spy it.

And finally, before a couple of videos, the bizarre ... the once-great Craig Brewer, who managed to create another movie that's probably in my top 10 of all time, "Hustle & Flow," before lowering himself to an upcoming remake of "Footloose," is now going seriously ape-s%$# crazy.

Warner Brothers has apparently signed Brewer up to write and direct a new "Tarzan" movie, and he already has his mind set on a trilogy about the tree-swinger (I'm sure Fraser would jump all over this.)

It's another odd turn for a clearly talented but maddening director. I really couldn't make anything of the mess that was "Black Snake Moan," and I can't see any way I'll possibly go see this new "Footloose" monstrosity, but with this, well, I can only wish him good luck.

OK, quickly on to the clips, because I want to get out of here to go swimming and then see "X-Men: First Class" (man, do I like being off on Fridays.) First up, Jon Stewart making fun of Sarah Palin and Donald Trump eating "New York pizza" in Times Square is the very definition of shooting fish in a barrel, but that doesn't make it any less funny. You really don't need to watch the full seven minutes-plus of this, but if you haven't seen it, it really is a pretty first-class rant. Enjoy.

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And finally today, it may be a severely chicky tale, but I enjoyed Kathryn Stockett's "The Help" (though it's certainly not without its faults), and am really looking forward to the movie version due out Aug. 12, both for the movie itself and because it should be what finally rightly makes a big star out of Emma Stone. In the movie and this short clip with Viola Davis, she plays Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, who rouses the black maids of 1960's Jackson, Miss., to tell their stories. Enjoy the clip, and have a perfectly pleasant weekend. Peace out.

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Just how long can "Watchmen" really get?

You know, I think I'm almost alone here, but I almost unconditionally loved what Zack Snyder did with "Watchmen".

Now, of course, there are always going to be complaints from fans of the funny book by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons about what was left out, and it seem that Snyder has now taken just about all of those complaints to heart.

After a director's cut, which I bought, that clocks in at a you-would-think-long-enough 178 minutes or so, he's now about to release "Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut" on Nov. 3, which will run for what you would have to hope would be an exhaustive 3 hours and 35 minutes. Whew.

I'm not enough of a sucker to buy this again, especially since my company is offering us furloughs as the latest incentive to keep working there, but I do think I'll at least rent it, because it does seem to be just about as close to the graphic novel on screen in its entirety as we're gonna get (though I know I'm being naive here, and there will surely be an "Ultimate, Ultimate" edition coming sometime soon.)

In this new version, "Tales of the Black Freighter" will be interwoven into the movie, as it should be, but Hollis Mason's autobiography, "Under the Hood," will only be available as a standalone extra. Perhaps coolest of all in the extras will the entire motion comic, which I'd really like to see.

Anyways, call me a sucker if you want, but I think I can spare three-and-a-half-hours or so of my life for what has apparently turned into "Watchmen: The Miniseries".

Two doses of "News of the Weird"

With apologies to Chuck Shepherd, whose News of the Weird we publish most Fridays in the Telegraph, as far as movie news of sorts it doesn't get much weirder than these next two tidbits.

After, and I never would have guessed there were this many, FOUR direct-to-DVD sequels, it seems that "Bring It On" is about to get yet another life on stage as a musical. And no, I'm not making that up.

Now, I will admit that I'm a big fan of the original with Kirsten Dunst, Gabrielle Union and Eliza Dushku, and I've even sat through most of some kind of sequel with both Hayden Panettiere and Beyonce's sister in it on a Saturday afternoon, but I can't imagine any scenario in which I'd pay Broadway prices for another dose. However, if a touring company brings this to Macon's Opera House someday, I have to admit I'd at least be curious.

And in possibly even odder news, Werner Herzog, whose most recent flick was a new take on Abel Ferrera's "Bad Lieutenant" (because Lord knows the world needed that), is now offering classes in "guerilla filmmaking" for $1,450 a weekend.

If I somehow had $1,450 to blow through and was in Los Angeles from Jan. 8-10, I actually bet this would be a lot of fun, especially since he's describing it with typical bravado:

"The Rogue Film School is not for the faint-hearted; it is for those who have travelled on foot, who have worked as bouncers in sex clubs or as wardens in a lunatic asylum, for those who are willing to learn about lock-picking or forging shooting permits in countries not favoring their projects. In short: it is for those who have a sense for poetry. For those who are pilgrims. For those who can tell a story to four-year-old children and hold their attention. For those who have a fire burning within. For those who have a dream."

The beginning of the end for Jay Leno?

Actually, I'm well aware that he's probably indestructible at this point, but it's still interesting to see how he fared with the key 18-49 demographic on Monday night, one week after his big debut. Here are the numbers:

6.5 House
4.6 Big Bang Theory
4.4 Two and a Half Men
4.3 CSI Miami
4.1 Dancing With The Stars
3.5 How I Met Your Mother
3.2 Accidentally On Purpose
2.7 Heroes
2.3 Castle
1.8 The Jay Leno Show
1.2 One Tree Hill
1.1 Gossip Girl

Now, I will admit that I watch "Gossip Girl" as exactly the kind of mindless fluff I need on a Monday night, so I certainly think it's great that Jay not only finished dead last among the shows from the big four networks, but also just barely managed to beat the CW's two offerings. Predictably pathetic. Please keep tuning out!

Fincher's "Facebook" takes shape

Most of this was already pretty well known, I think, but Columbia Pictures has now confirmed the cast for David Fincher's flick "The Social Network," written by Aaron Sorkin and based on the rise of Facebook (which I'm on, somehow.)

In the principal cast, Jesse Eisenberg will play Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Justin Timberlake will play Napster co-founder and Facebook founding president Sean Parker, and someone I've never heard of named Andrew Garfield will play Eduardo Saverin, the Facebook co-founder who fell out with Zuckerberg over money.

Why should anyone care about any of this? Well, I find the subject kind of fascinating, and I've been rewatching a lot of "Sports Night" lately, which is proof that Aaron Sorkin is an extremely witty guy when he gets things right (and, in its own little way, I think "Sports Night" just might be better than "The West Wing" - blasphemy, I know.)

Steve Coogan alert

I normally wouldn't care one lick about any early news about a Will Ferrell/Adam Mckay comedy, but when you cast Steve Coogan, who would certainly have to be in the discussion if you were actually to try and pick the funniest man on Earth, you've got my ear.

Actually, the whole premise of "The Other Guys" sounds pretty funny. The Rock and Samuel L. Jackson will play supercops who constantly show up a pair of bumbling co-workers to be played by Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. I wasn't sold, however, until I saw that the great Mr. Coogan has been cast as the arch villain of the piece.

For the best doses of Coogan I can recommend on DVD, try "24-Hour Party People" and "Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story."

Has Diablo Cody lost "it"?

Now, I'm really not someone to kick people when their down (except for maybe Jay Leno), and I admittedly haven't yet seen "Jennifer's Body" (and I'm not sure I will), but if this really is Diablo Cody's next writing project I think the "Juno" scribe has really hit a wall.

It seems she's not set her sights on "Sweet Valley High," the series of novels about (and I'm going on what the trades say here, not having actually read any of them) a set of identical twins "with dissimilar personalities - the sensitive and practical Elizabeth and the flighty and boy-crazy Jessica - in the fictional town of Sweet Valley."

My God does that sound awful, so if you made it this far you certainly deserve a reward. Ricky Gervais' new film, "The Invention of Lying," doesn't open until next week, unfortunately, but here's an odd bit of marketing that only he could come up with. This clip is seven minutes long (and this is only part one), but I guarantee that if you let it get started for a couple of minutes you'll laugh out loud as Gervais' comedy compadre and punching bag Karl Pilkington tries to first review the flick and then offers his rather unique ideas for marketing it. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.

The definitive word about "Watchmen"? And a thankfully foul trip to "Adventureland"

Actually, the funniest thing I could find out there is possible proof that even Eliza Dushku knows that Joss Whedon's thoroughly contrived "Dollhouse" is gonna end soon, and maybe very soon.

Making plans for what she will do next, Dushku has acquired the rights to the life story (however one actually does that) of late photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, which she will produce, and has hired director Ondi Timoner to helm the project. This could certainly be cool, but its really just the timing that intrigued me.

But here today, as it has been for many, many days now, it's all about "Watchmen," and a new Web site I found that's a must-bookmark for movie geeks. Called Hitfix, it's run by a dude who used to write for Aintitcoolnews under the name Moriarty, but sometimes went and now goes by the name Drew McWeeny.

The site is as crammed with movie news and gossip as any, but it has two other things going for it, both courtesy of the creator himself. The first is a compilation of newsy links called The Morning Read, which in its most recent incarnation contained the news from E!'s Kristen Dos Santos that lone holdout Michael Cera has dropped his opposition to appearing in an "Arrested Development" movie, and shooting on the project should begin by the end of the year (I would have gladly dedicated an entire post to this welcome news, but I'm more than a little burnt out on the subject, and also still not thoroughly convinced the project will ever actually come together.)

And the second great thing, also part of Mr. McWeeny's (or whatever his actual name is) Motion Captured blog on the site, is that he reviews movies, and to give credit where its surely due, does so extremely well. Most of the reviews at Aintitcool are just the most unreadable sort of drivel, but his were always not only thoroughly enjoyable but also very informative, with a clear opinion at their core.

As devoted (and probably much more so) a "Watchmen" fan as me, he released his assessment this week, and I was extremely happy to see that it's a rave. Though it's more than a bit long, it's also a great read. Here's the final paragraph, for the time-challenged out there:

But more than anything, what I found most bracing about the experience of finally seeing this onscreen is that it pushes the genre further than it's ever been pushed before. It demands more of viewers than any superhero movie previously released. It sets up a moral question at the end of the film that can't be easily answered, and it doesn't even try. It expects you to have your own reaction, and it treats viewers like adults, a rarity from any Hollywood film, much less one featuring characters with names like Nite Owl and Hooded Justice. And, amazingly, it works as a movie. It has its own rhythm, taking its time to lay out this complicated story, but it constantly delights with details both small and grand, and the cumulative impact is far more emotional than I would have expected. This isn't a case of a film being "good enough," and I'm not "just glad there's some version of it finally." It is a triumph, a movie that amazes on its own terms, and a major jump forward for Snyder as a filmmaker.

Wow. I already couldn't wait to see this, but now it's guaranteed to be just about the only thing on my brain for the next week-and-a-half or so until I finally get to see it for myself. To read the rest of Mr. McWeeny's review, click here.

The Dude and the art of obsession

Being someone who gets up every morning and spends an hour or so reading whatever movie news I can find, I certainly can appreciate obsession, and very few people have taken it to the gloriously high level that Chalupa, a k a Ben Ranfeld, and his wife, Liz, have at the Lebowski Podcast.

And as the name clearly implies, this site is all about Chalupa's favorite movie, "The Big Lebowski," and the Coen brothers in general. Along with the podcast itself, he also pens a regularly updated blog on all things Coen and, well, just about anything else that crosses his mind.

But the podcast is easily the best thing here, and amazingly, it celebrated its 2-year anniversary (back in January, like I said, I'm late) with the 25th episode, a review of "Pineapple Express" and, of course, a look at how it's similar to "The Big Lebowski." You can click here to hear the whole thing, which I highly recommend, but a couple of highlights are a discussion of how to pronounce the word "Apatow" and Liz raving about easily the funniest scene in any movie from 2008, that notorious fight scene in Red's apartment.

It's just a fun way to waste (and I certainly mean no disrespect by that, because I love nothing more than wasting time) some time, and can quickly become addictive, so definitely check it out if you haven't already.

And finally, a glimpse of "Adventureland"

With, of course, "Watchmen," "I Love you, Man" (March 20) and this comedy (March 27) from the director of "Superbad" all coming out this month, I have to say the beginning of 2009 as a movie year is getting off to a whole lot better start than 2008 did.

The flick, written and directed by Greg Mottola, is the semi-autobiographical tale of a summer he spent as an employee at the titular theme park. It stars Jesse Eisenberg from "The Squid and the Whale" (remember him?), "Twilight" star Kristen Stewart, the very funny Bill Hader and the even funnier Martin Starr, a k a Bill Haverchuck from "Freaks and Geeks."

The redband trailer you can watch below should certainly be watched with headphones on if you're at work, because it isn't just chock full profanity, it revels in it. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Thursday. Peace out.

"The Wrestler" has spirit, and yes I am going to post every single "Watchmen" clip I can find

Actually, before I mention anything about last night's "Spirit" awards, it may unfortunately be time to sound the death knell for Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse."

And, given what we've seen so far in the first two episodes I can't say I'm terribly surprised at these rather dismal numbers.

The show's basic premise wastes an engaging lead in Eliza Dushku as, so far at least, as her memory is erased and re-embedded for each episode we never get to see her as the character Echo. She's a surprisingly solid actress when given the chance, so here's hoping that as her "doll" becomes more self-aware (if the show can last long enough for that to really happen), she's given the chance to do more than go on a silly mission for each episode.

Which leads in to the second problem with the show so far: It clearly can't decide if it wants to be something we've come to expect from the Whedon camp, meaning a big dose of humor and humanity along with all the action, or simply a traditional police procedural/serial. If it sticks with being more of the latter, the show will be gone in a month, and the creators will have only themselves to blame.

Here, by the way, are the fairly abysmal numbers. For its second episode, "Dollhouse" attracted 4.2 million viewers (1.7 million in the coveted 18-49 slot), meaning it finished second in its time slot to an episode of "Supernanny" (5.2M/1.8M). I can't even begin to calculate just how depressing that is.

But here today, before I got off on that tangent, it was supposed to be all about easily one of my favorite films of 2008, Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler," which was a big winner at last night's "Spirit" awards for independent films.

Along with Mickey Rourke taking home the Best Actor award (which could happen at the Oscars tonight, too, but I think it will go to Sean Penn), Aronofsky's flick won Best Cinematographer for Maryse Alberti and Best Picture (which works just fine in my book, since "Let the Right One In," "Milk," "Slumdog Millionaire," "Tell No One" and "The Wrestler" are my five favorite flicks for the year.)

In other big categories, Melissa Leo was a surprise (but thoroughly worthy) winner for Best Actress for "Frozen River." If you haven't seen this little immigration drama yet, it's just out on DVD, and very well worth a rental. I'm still hoping Anne Hathaway prevails at tonight's Oscars, but if either of them were to upset the Streep/Winslet express, I'd be very happy.

James Franco (for "Milk") and Penelope Cruz (for "Vicky Christina Barcelona") snagged the supporting acting awards, and though I normally deplore the awarding of Best Director and Best Picture to two different flicks, it was great to see Thomas McCarthy recognized for helming "The Visitor" too.

Easily the best "Watchmen" clip yet

If you have more of a life than me and therefore haven't read the "Watchmen" graphic novel, than I suppose the following clip is a bit of a spoiler, as is the description I'm about to give of it, so if you don't want to have anything revealed just stop now and move on to the final segment about "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus." For anyone who's still here, this clip courtesy of MTV features Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson) and Silk Spectre (Malin Ackerman) kicking some serious ass as they work to spring Rohrschach during the prison riot near the end of the story. Enjoy, and then stick around just a bit longer for what I think is the first poster from Terry Gilliam's next flick.

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A poster for Terry Gilliam's "Imaginarium"

You really don't learn too much from this poster, except for a glimpse of late entries Jude Law, Colin Farrell and Johnny Depp (who all stepped in to finish the work started by the late Heath Ledger), but it does have a very promising look about it. Now if this can only play wide enough to reach my little corner of the world when it finally comes out in September, I'll really be satisfied. Enjoy, and have a perfectly lazy Sunday. Peace out.

Is it really that friggin hard for people to read?

Actually, the first thing on my mind this morning is that, against rather long odds (and even longer ones that it will last more than a few episodes), Joss Whedon's latest creation, "Dollhouse," is actually going to hit the airwaves on Fox this Friday at 9 (at the same time as the surely superior "Friday Night Lights.")

Speaking of "Friday Night Lights," I can't see any way the show can continue with a new crop of kids after this season, but if you watched last Friday's episode you know the show is certainly at least going to go out on top. Rarely does a character in an ensemble drama get the kind of sendoff that Brian "Smash" Williams (Gaius Charles) was given as he heads off for Texas A&M, and it was easily the finest hour of TV I've seen in the past year or so.

But back to Whedon's "Dollhouse." I was watching two entries in Fox's Sunday night lineup ("King of the Hill" and "American Dad") for the first time in a long while (I have decided to never again watch another new episode of "The Simpsons" because the show's creators have simply been repeating themselves for at least the past three years or so), and even fast-forwarding through the commercials it was impossible to miss the constant promos for "Dollhouse."

So, what is it again? Well, the show will star Eliza Dushku as an "active" or "doll" named Echo, one of a group of government operatives who have their minds wiped clean after they complete each mission. As you can see from the photo and promo clip I've attached at the end, this somehow also stars Ms. Cross (Olivia Williams) and Tahmoh Penikett of "Battlestar Galactica" fame, so if you like Whedon at all tune in for at least a few episodes of this latest entry into the Friday night graveyard (though "X-Files," of course, managed to thrive there for several years.)

And now, finally, the tidbit that sparked the admittedly surly headline for a Monday morning (especially one which I have off) was word that now not one but two of my five favorite flicks of 2008 are being remade for American audiences.

What in the world is going on here? I understand that it makes perfect sense to do an English-language remake of Guillaume Canet's "Tell No One," which it was just announced Luc Besson's EuropaCorp is about to take on, for several reasons. First, it made a fairly impressive $6 million at the U.S. box office, and second, it's just a first-rate thriller from an American source, the potboiler novel by Harlan Coben.

If you have the chance, though (and you will when it hits DVD on March 31), please see Canet's original long before this comes together. What you'll get is a sensational mind-bending thriller that fits solidly in the French tradition while adding a thoroughly modern touch, the best and most natural chase scenes I've seen in many years and just a great performance at its core from Francois Cluzet as the embattled doctor Alexandre Beck.

In an even worse idea, Matt Reeves, director of the surprisingly satisfying "Cloverfield," has signed on to write and direct a remake of the Swedish "romantic horror flick" "Let the Right One In," which I had the sublime pleasure of seeing at the 2008 Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival.

If you missed this one, which is somehow still playing once a night at Atlanta's Plaza Theater on Ponce de Leon Ave., certainly see it in its original form when it hits DVD on March 10. As much as an old-fashioned vampire flick, it's also a great coming-of-age story and just a moving tale about friendship - with your next door neighbor you think is a young girl but just happens to be a vampire. No description from me can describe just how good this one is, so I'll just let director Tomas Alfredson share what he thought when he got word of these dastardly remake plans:

"Remakes should be made of movies that aren't very good, that gives you the chance to fix whatever has gone wrong."

Amen, brother. And now, so I can go do my laundry in preparation for my three-day trek to Ohio to stand in the sleet and watch the American soccer team stomp some Mexicans in a World Cup qualifer, I'll leave you with that promised "Dollhouse" preview. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Monday. Peace out.

Can "The Dark Knight" really take out "Titanic"? And will Whedon's "Dollhouse" really ever open?

On the surface, it might seem like a gamble for Warner Brothers to send "The Dark Knight" back to theaters Jan. 23, banking on a bounce from the Oscar nominations being announced the day before.

If you think about it, however, there's really no way the flick can lose at this point. If it snags the Best Picture nomination it clearly deserves (and some posthumous love for Heath Ledger), than a run big enough to net the $77 million domestic take needed to unseat "Titanic" as the U.S. champ becomes inevitable. But even if it doesn't, the chip that will put on the movie's devoted fans' shoulders will only gin up the drive to take the title even further.

And I'm not a "Titanic" fan or much of a hater either. I do know that "The Dark Knight" is a far superior flick, and as a sports fan I love competitions of all kinds, so I can only say bring it on (and I'll certainly contribute my $8 or so to see it again, maybe this time finally in Imax.)

But on a personal note, this weekend is now shaping up as perhaps the best movie weekend of the year. Along with visiting a friend for lunch tomorrow, I'm hitting Atlanta mostly to see two of the movies I've been looking forward to all year: "Slumdog Millionaire" and then "Milk," both at the fantastic Regal Tara theater. I can't wait, and of course feel free to check back for reviews of both soon.

Here today, however, it's mostly about the first review of Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse," which has been in development for more than a year, has gone through at least two pilots and is supposedly still going to hit the airwaves in February on Fox (though I'll believe it only when I see it at this point.)

Well, it seems that Time TV critic James Poniewozik has done exactly that, and had what could be charitably be called a mixed reaction at best.

For those who can't remember (and really, who could blame you at this point), the new show from the creator of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" will be about a group of people known as "actives" or "dolls" who have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new ones to perform missions. It's set to star Eliza Dushku, a k a Faith the vampire slayer, in the lead role of doll Echo, and also Olivia Williams (a k a Ms. Cross from "Rushmore") as the matron of the "dollhouse," Tahmoh Penikett of "Battlestar Galactica" as a FBI agent tracking the secret project and even "Angel" veteran Amy Acker in a recurring role (if it even goes that far) as a doctor who tends to the dolls.

After offering the qualifier that he initially misunderestimated "Firefly" when that great Whedon sci-fi Western hit the air for its far-too-brief run, Poniewozik had this to say about Whedon's new offering:

Yes, this is certainly Joss Whedon trying to do What People Think Works on Broadcast TV Today—the legendary serial-procedural hybrid. But the first episode—in which Echo is imprinted with a kidnapping-negotiator's personality to secure the return of a rich man's abducted daughter—is well enough written to be absorbing. Writing a crime hour doesn't seem like Whedon's thing, but the episode is tight, suspenseful, with intriguing psychological twists and flashes of Whedonesque humor. ...

Now the minus. Dollhouse as conceived (a heroine plays a different "person" every week) is less a series concept than an actress' showcase, a sort of extreme version of an Alias undercover premise. And the actress being showcased is Eliza Dushku. Now, I have nothing against Dushku. I thought she was fine on Buffy. But she's not exactly Toni Collette (who's playing a multiple-personality case on Showtime's The United States of Tara, which I have not seen). Watching her inhabit her imprinted "personality"—a tough negotiator with secret vulnerabilities—I did not see her becoming another person. I thought: Oh, look! There's Eliza Dushku with glasses and her hair in a bun!

If it weren't for Whedon's pedigree, I'm not sure I'd be dying to see a second episode. But for me, the main draw now is not seeing Dushku become a different person every week, but getting to see Joss Whedon become a different writer every week.

I could certainly do without the Dushku hating, but from his assessment I'd say this was just about exactly what I'd expect. Anyone who's seen the rather pedestrian first seasons of both "Buffy" and "Angel, however, knows that Whedon's stuff can often get off to a rocky start but - given the chance - eventually develop into something seriously entertaining.

You can read the rest of what Poniewozik had to say here, and like I said, please feel free to check back for a couple reviews of what are hopefully two of the year's best movies later this weekend. Peace out.

"Express" aisle: My top 10 favorite sports flicks

Coincidentally enough, a look at the credits for last night's premiere of "Life on Mars" revealed it was directed by Gary Fleder, who also directed this week's "The Express," the inspiration for this list. I haven't bothered to tune in for any cop shows in the last 10 years or so except for "The Wire," but I think this one just might be a winner, based on both the rather remarkable cast (Harvey Keitel, Gretchen Mol and Michael Imperioli, among others) and fairly innovative story about a cop who does the time warp back to 1973.

And I'm fairly certain I've done a list of at least my favorite baseball movies before, which could certainly also go to more than 10. For this list encompassing all sports (and two flicks that arguably aren't about sports at all), I found I had to leave off a full four boxing movies that just missed the cut ("Requiem for a Heavyweight", "Someone Up There Likes Me" [in honor of Paul Newman], "The Hurricane" and "Raging Bull.") Given that caveat, here are my 10 favorite sports movies, and as always, please feel free to add any of your favorites among the many, many flicks I have snubbed.

"The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg"
Even more than boxing movies, I just love flicks about baseball, and this doco was directed with clear love for a great man by Aviva Kempner. Without taking away AT ALL from what Jackie Robinson accomplished, it will really open your eyes when you see what hammerin' Hank had to go through as the first great Jewish player to slug for the Detroit Tigers.

"Hoop Dreams"
I can still remember watching Roger Ebert just go gaga for this flick when it first came out, and it's almost as good as his orgasmic review made it sound. Spike Lee's fictionalized version "He Got Game" is pretty good too, but it just can't pack as much punch as this true story of two Chicago kids who dream of playing in the NBA.

"Bend it Like Beckham"
Silly? Sure, but also just a heck of a lot of fun. I had to check the IMDB to see what in the world ever happened to director Gurinder Chadha after she made this flick about two girls (Keira Knightley back when she used to eat and Parminder Nagra of "ER" fame) who just want to play soccer and the extremely fun "Bride and Prejudice." It turns out she did indeed manage to direct a feature film in 2008, called "Angus, Thongs and Snogging," which will be added to my Netflix queue at the first opportunity.

"Vision Quest"
Like Matthew Modine, I had visions of becoming a wrestler in high school, but I never took it nearly as serious as he did or got to have Linda Fiorentino hanging around to inspire me. Sure, this one might be an adolescent fantasy, but it's also just a very entertaining flick.

"Eight Men Out"
Granted, "Field of Dreams" (which was on this list before I cut it back to 10 titles) is a much sweeter take on the story of Joe Jackson, but the real story is also very compelling as told by director Jon Sayles with help from John Cusack, John Mahoney, Charlie Sheen, DB Sweeney (as shoeless Joe himself, David Strathairn and even Michael Rooker and Gordon Clapp of "NYPD Blue" (the only cop show I regularly tuned in for between "Homicide" and "The Wire.")

"The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings"
Ben "Cooter" Jones (yes, that Cooter) stopped by our office about two weeks ago to promote his new book about his time on Capitol Hill as a Democratic representative from the great state of Georgia. When he got to me and someone told him I write about movies, he very proudly said he had a small part in this odd little flick about a colorful crew of ballplayers including Richard Pryor and Billy Dee Williams who barnstorm across the Midwest (even though most of the flick was filmed right here in Macon.) I love this one almost as much as Cooter does.

"Breaking Away"
Having sat beside Renee Martinez, who is both a serious cyclist and rather fanatical fan of the Tour de France, at work for the past five years or so means I've been exposed to more cycling than any nonfan should ever have to sit through. Even though I still protest otherwise, I have come to both respect and enjoy the sport of cycling, but not as much as I do this silly little movie about an Indiana "cutter" who just wants to ride with the Italians.

"When We Were Kings"
This is the only boxing movie that made the final cut because it's about a whole lot more than boxing. This Leon Gast doco about the 1974 heavyweight "Rumble in the Jungle" between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire is also about the crazy concert featuring James Brown, B.B. King and others that Mobutu Sese Suko put on to go with it. Add it all up and you've got a whale of a tale well told.

"Searching for Bobby Fischer"
OK, these last two aren't about real "sports" per se, but I defy you to find a better movie about the nature of raw competition than this 1993 flick about a young boy thrust into in the world of competitive chess. Interestingly, this one is one of three flicks directed by Steven Zaillian ("A Civil Action" and "All the King's Men" are the others), who would go on to pen "American Gangster" and soon "I Heard You Paint Houses" for Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro.

"Bring It On"
If you can actually look me in the eye and claim you don't enjoy this one as at least a guilty pleasure, I have to say you, sir or madam, are a liar. Kirsten Dunst, Gabrielle Union and Eliza Dushku as high school cheerleaders? I'm there, and I usually am for at least a few minutes every time this inevitably shows up on TBS' afternoon movie slate.

So, there you have it. Like I said, please feel free to add any of your favorite sports flicks, and have a perfectly pleasant weekend.

"Bottle Shock": A slow-blooming vintage

The only real good news I could find out there this morning is that ABC is taking a pilot starring Captain Mal (Nathan Fillion) to series as part of its midseason lineup coming in January. The fairly promising story of "Castle" from writer Andrew W. Marlowe is about a novelist (Fillion) who helps the NYPD.

The order of the day, however, is "Bottle Shock," an odd little flick that - like a fine wine, I suppose - takes a rather long time to get started but delivers a real kick at the finish. And, for the record, though you're gonna hear me complain quite a bit about this one, I certainly fell under its spell by the end.

The story, based on a true tale, is about a French wine contest staged in 1976 by a British vintner (a superbly snotty Alan Rickman) in which the upstart wineries of Napa Valley did much better than anyone expected (I really hope I'm not giving too much away here, but that should be pretty obvious to most people going in, me thinks.)

My problem with the first hour or so of "Bottle Shock" is that its primary characters, even if they're based on real people, just come across as the most cliched composites. Bill Pullman, as the struggling owner of Napa's Chateau Montelena, plays the bullheaded dreamer to the hilt, and Chris Pine as his drifting-through-life son feels just as tired. Freddy Rodriguez, easily one of my favorite actors, would normally add life to any proceedings, but writer/director Randall Miller involves him in a meandering series of subplots, most notably a romantic side road with a Chateau Montelena intern played by Rachel Taylor that just feels tacked-on from the start.

But at its core, of course, this is a flick all about wine and the making of it, and once it gets around to that the movie really starts to get on a pleasant roll. Though it grows tiresome watching Rickman sampling the wines of Napa and philosophizing about their virtues (perhaps if I appreciated wine more I would have gotten into this more too), he's also the instigator of the contest that gives "Bottle Shock" its real burst of intrigue.

Watching the Napa vintners band together to get their wines across the pond has a real "can-do" spirit to it reminiscent of "Tucker" (hey, knock that one if you want to, but I just love it.) The froggy wine critics Rickman assembles are perfectly snooty, and the set-up uses the conventions of the sports drama in a fun, sort-of-new way.

And the road to getting there is filled with the movie's most genuinely funny moments, including a novel way of getting several cases of wine through customs and the building-up of the "blind taste test" as the big turning point (in which an under-used but charming-as-usual Eliza Dushku finally gets to join the fun.)

I know I spent a lot more time attacking this one here than i did savoring it, but I think that's perhaps because my expectations were high going in. The bottom line: If you like wine and can bear with this flick as it slowly develops, it has a finish to please even the pickiest of palates.

And I'll leave you with the trailer for a flick I'm really looking forward to, even if it is directed by Ron Howard. With a script from "The Queen" scribe Peter Morgan based on his own play, Frank Langella (huzzah!) plays recently deposed ex-president Richard Nixon and Michael Sheen plays interviewer David Frost in "Frost/Nixon." Enjoy, and have a perfectly bearable Wednesday.

Whedon's "Goners" a goner, so what now?

If you like reading about movies, which I do way too much, the MTV movies blog is - rather surprisingly - a must-read. They may not do the the hardest-hitting interviews but, being MTV, they can and do talk with anyone they choose.

This week, the subject was Joss Whedon, who is about to get back in the news in a big way with - finally! - a new show called "Dollhouse" with Eliza Dushku coming to Fox this fall. As a little aside on that, I saw a report from Horizon Media stating that three sci-fi shows - Fox’s “Fringe,” CBS’ “11th Hour” and ABC’s “Life On Mars” - should be the biggest frosh hits this fall, which totally discounts both "Dollhouse" and "Battlestar Galactica" brain Ronald Moore's "Virtuality." (UPDATE: According to MTV, "Dollhouse" has been pushed back to January, new but bad news to me!) Even so, throw "Heroes" back into the mix and it sure is going to be a fun time to watch TV (unless, of course, all the actors go on strike before any of it gets rolling.)

But the more interesting portion of MTV's piece, all of which you can read here, focused on Whedon's movie career or - recently, at least - the complete lack of one. Universal has for years now been kicking around a script he wrote for something called "Goners" which - shockingly enough - would have been about a young woman who gains some powers (well, I guess you should stick with what you know.)

With that going nowhere, however, he does seem to think there will be some real action on another script he wrote with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" alum and "Cloverfield" scribe Drew Goddard called "Cabin in the Woods" (if you haven't seen "Cloverfield," by the way, I found it to be surprisingly fun and can recommend it as well worth a rental.) Assuming this moves forward as quickly as he's hoping, Whedon would also be a producer and, perhaps, the director too. Here's how a rather unmodest Mr. Goddard described it to MTV:

“It’s genius, it’s funny, It’s got a harder and darker edge, but it’s also got classic Whedon qualities. It’ll rip your heart out and be heartfelt at the same time.”

“There’s a reason the title is so straightforward. It’s its own sub-genre, the cabin in the woods, and this is sort of our take on it. It’s fresh and new.”

Sounds cool enough to me if Whedon can manage to keep focused on it long enough to follow through, which doesn't exactly seem to be his strong suit. And, just in case you just can't get enough Whedon, he's also doing something really silly with Doogie Howser and Captain Mal Reynolds called "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog." As far as I can tell, this is some kind of upcoming Web-only silliness that Whedon and his brothers cooked up during the writer's strike (airing July 15, 17 and 19, but I'm not sure exactly where .. more to come on that.)

A three-part musical, it stars Doogie as a supervillian trying to get into the "Evil League of Evil," Captain Mal as his archnemesis, and Felicia Day (a former "potential" on "Buffy") as the girl of his dreams. Goofy? Surely, but hopefully pretty fun too.

That certainly seems like a whole lot for a man who hasn't seemed to actually finish much of anything lately (except for the still-great "Buffy" comic books), but here's hoping he's able to concentrate long enough to deliver both "Dollhouse" in winter and "Cabin in the Woods" as something great for next summer.

A new dose of "Blindness"

After a surprisingly strong summer for movies, this fall should be even more fun, with Spike Lee, David Fincher and the Coens all getting back into the game. Add to that mix Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles, who's about to come back with his third flick, a take on the novel "Blindness" by Jose Saramago (which is on my to-read-very-soon list.) It promises to be a rather bleak affair, and I'm not sure I care much for the deliberately bleached out look you find in the trailer, but with Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Alica Braga and Gael Garcia Bernal all on board I'm betting it will be pretty fantastic. Enjoy the newest trailer, and have a perfectly pleasant Tuesday. Peace out.

I'm back, with - believe it or not - three pretty friggin great movies!

My sincere apologies to the very few people who bother to stop here on a semi-regular basis. If you do, you've surely noticed I've been gone, deterred first by a tornado that ripped out my power for a few days and then by a vacation that unfortunately included watching my beloved Orioles turn in a listless performance in falling 2-1 to the lowly Washington Nationals.

Being me, I of course also managed to go to the movies three times (twice on Saturday) and - shockingly, given the year so far - managed to see three really enjoyable flicks. Here are my quick thoughts on each, in order of just how much I liked them.

"Prince Caspian"

I realize it's an incredibly irrelevant activity to add my two cents about a flick that's already had a $56 million opening weekend, but I still wanted to mention that it's the best flick I've seen so far this year.

I had my doubts going into this one, though given my love of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" I'm really not sure why. Perhaps it's because that what little I knew of "Prince Caspian" was that it was a darker - and therefore bloodier - tale, and I really wasn't sure that director Andrew Adamson had the heart for it. In chapter one, the battles were almost completely blood- and consequence-free, not exactly the message you want to pass on to kids by my measure.

That's definitely not a problem with "Caspian." The rather epic battle that takes up the final 45 minutes or so just keeps coming at you in wave after wave and has a real fluidity to it that keeps the excitement at top notch throughout.

Which brings up the only real problem with "Caspian," which wasn't much of one at all to me: It's definitely not for the younguns, either in it's rather slow buildup or it's seriously violent finale. But I like movies like this when they're at their most quiet (my favorite portion of the "The Lord of the Rings" flicks is still the opening half-hour when they're in the shire), and "Caspian" delivers a lot of humor before the carnage, thanks in large part to Peter Dinklage.

And, if I can digress just a bit on that note, if you happen to make movies and want to cast a "little person" (or whatever the right thing to call them is), please consider using the very talented Mr. Dinklage or the very funny Tony Cox (if you doubt me, just watch "Bad Santa") before you employ the simply annoying Verne Troyer.

But if you like epic adventure, it really doesn't get much better than "Prince Caspian," no matter what you see Aslan as.

"Son of Rambow"

The rather seasoned citizen with a pierced lip at the concession stand who told me this one was "thoroughly cool" was thankfully thoroughly right.

I'm a sucker for movies about the love of movies, which this certainly is. But much more than that, Garth Jennings' ("Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy") flick is just a beautiful little movie about the power of friendship. I realize that sounds seriously sappy, and this one is at times, but it has just enough heart to push it to the brink but never over it.

I don't want to say too much about this little gem, because I want as many people as possible to see this one and just be surprised by how well it works. What you'll find is that little summer comedy I had been searching for, and two fantastic performances from young bucks Bill Milner and Will Poulter.

"Flight of the Red Balloon"

Hsiao-hsien Hou's homage to Albert Lamorisse's "The Red Balloon" is the definition of an acquired taste, but one I certainly appreciated.

To put it in more solid terms, I'd call it a mix somewhere between "Seinfeld" and the late Edward Yang's "Yi yi," still one of my favorite flicks. Now, don't get me wrong here. I'm not saying this is as savagely funny as "Seinfeld" or even close to it, but instead that it's a film about almost nothing at all that features some of the most astounding camera work I've seen in years (or at least since "No Country for Old Men.")

What story there is centers on Juliette Binoche's Suzanne, a divorced voice artist for puppet shows who is raising her young son Simon (Simon Iteanu) with the help of nanny Song (Fang Song.) The titular ballon rouge does indeed make several appearances, but mostly Hou manages to find magic in the most mundane of moments, just as Yang did with "Yi yi." And it's a real treat to watch Binoche really get into the spirit of her puppetry work.

Looking over the rather long filmography of Mr. Hou reveals that this is the only one of his many flicks that I've managed to see. If anyone can recommend any others, I'd certainly appreciate it.


"Dollhouse" trailer

A hearty word of thanks to Divinity for the word that Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse," coming to Fox this fall and starring Eliza Dushku, has a fairly up-and-running Web site you can visit here.

Even better, I managed to find this trailer on YouTube which just went up a few hours ago but has already been viewed more than 1,000 times. It looks like a whole lot of fun, and best of all it's narrated by Olivia Williams, a k a Rosemary Cross. Enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant Tuesday. Peace out.

Pimping Rudy Huxtable?

Now, I realize that I'm getting to be a fairly old man, but are we really on the 20th season of MTV's "Real World"? I can say with all honesty that I haven't tuned in for at least the last 10 or so, but jeez is that a lot of time for such a silly show.

And, in one other random observation that hit me this morning, I guess it's good to see that Americans aren't the only ones who make movies about being tortured by evil foreigners. Bold Films is apparently working up something called "Into Hell," which is - and I couldn't possibly make this up - about a group of British soccer hooligans who go to a match in Turkey and, of course, get framed for a political assassination. I'm sure the Turks will be just thrilled with that title alone ...

And finally, before I really get started, on the subject of me being old; anyone who comes here regularly may have noticed that I seem to prattle on about the same subjects a lot, namely lately sci-fi and "How I Met Your Mother." Well, I guess in that way I'm just a lot like Nixon in that, I may not know a lot about movies, but I sure know what I like (and that's a warning that my "HIMYM" and Robin Sparkles and "Battlestar Galactica" obsessions will indeed return later today.)

So, finally, here goes ...

Rudy, say it ain't so

Remember Rudy Huxtable? I used to have a co-worker who went to Spelman with her, a k a Keshia Knight Pulliam.

Well, Rudy's definitely all grown up now, and she - as I supposed all actresses probably have to do at some point in their careers - gets to play a prostitute. On the upside, I guess, at least its for Tyler Perry.

Rudy has been cast in Perry's "Madea Goes to Jail" along with one of my favorite actors, Derek Luke, who will play an attorney.

Now, I've made it clear that I love Tyler Perry, but Madea is definitely my least favorite of his creations. He's at his best when he lets actual women be the id in his movies, rather than trying to do it himself. As a warning about more possible guys-in-fat-suits-and-drag: Madea will apparently protect Rudy from another prisoner named "Big Sal."

And, in no shock to anyone who saw his latest, "Meet the Browns," the very funny husband-and-wife team of David and Tamela Mann will also be returning for this one. I enjoyed "Browns" mostly on the strength of Angela Bassett's performance, but you could definitely tell that Perry was coasting a bit and just setting up Mr. Mann, in particular, for other projects (perhaps it would help if he slowed down to directing just one movie a year instead of two!)

One more nugget on this before I move on - the prostitute's name: Candy, of course.

Galactica's Moore signs with UA for big-screen trilogy

OK, I probably should have lead with this, given how much we need smart sci-fi at the movies, but there are really just the scantest of details so far.

The facts, however, are these: "Battlestar Galactica" mastermind Ronald D. Moore, along with working on a new series called "Virtuality" for Fox, has now signed up with Tom Cruise's studio to create a new trilogy of sci-fi movies.

The Cruise connection? Moore apparently also wrote the script for "Mission Impossible II," which I can't say was a terribly impressive feat. However, if that's what got him this rather cool gig, I'll take it.

And that means that, rather than spending my Friday doing my actual job, I'll be able to think instead of what Mr. Moore might just be cooking up for us now.

"Dollhouse" adds Amy Acker

For a show that only has - so far - a seven-episode commitment from Fox, Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse" is certainly acquiring an impressive cast.

It started, of course with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" veteran Eliza Dushku as one of the "dolls," agents who have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas for different assignments.

And now to today's news: Amy Acker, a k a Winifred "Fred" Burkle on "Angel," has joined the "Dollhouse" in a recurring role as Dr. Claire Saunders, a member of the crew who tends to the dolls. Here's what Mr. Whedon himself had to say about it at Whedonesque:

Hi campers. We're having the read-through of the script today. Why would I be nervous? YOU'RE nervous! Anyhoo, I just couldn't resist letting you know that the recurring roles have actually been cast for some time now. I'm shocked that any part of our casting process hasn't been leaked somehow. And though I'm a fan of secrets, I'll give you the last two pieces of this particular puzzle:

November (who will be recurring but does not appear in the pilot) will be played by the luminous Miracle Laurie.

Dr. Claire Saunders will be played by... yet another name I'm gonna have trouble remembering how to spell... Amy Acker.

So, let's see ... on the serious babe front, that makes at least three with Dushku, Acker and the simply radiant Olivia Williams (I actually typed "Olivia Cross" first, because I just can't get Rosemary Cross out of my mind.) And on the cool dude front, at least one: "Battlestar" vet Tahmoh Penikett, better known to at least some of the world as Helo, will play Paul Smith, a FBI agent tracking the "Dollhouse" project. All I can really say about all this is cool!

A snippet of Robin Sparkles' new video

Thanks to the heads up from always-welcome reader Neel Mehta on this preview of the Robin Sparkles video that will air on next Monday's "How I Met Your Mother." I guess I should have suspected with a title like "Sandcastles in the Sand" that it would be incredibly sappy, and it surely is, but here's hoping the full video will be pretty damn funny as well. Have a great weekend. Peace out.

Pegg and Wright, together again? Frak yeah!

That last bit of juvenilia was, of course, in honor of the premiere of the fourth season of "Battlestar Galactica" tonight (or earlier), but we'll get to more on that later.

The almost-as-good news today is that Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg, the comedy masterminds behind "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz," will join forces again for a third film, to be titled "The World's End." Though I don't know anything about the plot beyond the title, judging from their first two very funny films I'd have to guess this one will be a spoof on/valentine to sci-fi flicks.

I just couldn't bring myself to watch Simon Pegg in "Run Fatboy Run," and I don't have very high hopes he's gonna be terribly funny in "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People," due in October, either. I mean, I hate to pigeonhole the man, but he's clearly at his best with his friends, and thankfully he seems to realize that too.

"The World's End" is part of a two-picture deal Wright has signed with Working Title. Before reteaming with Pegg, he'll make something for the studio called "Baby Driver," which is described as "a wild spin on the action and crime genre which will be set in the US." Cool enough.

Even before that, me thinks, Wright will also be making "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" with veryfunnyman Michael Cera based on the graphic novel about a young lad (Cera) who has to do battle with his new girlfriend's seven exes.

That's almost too much funny, but given the mediocre slate of movies we have right now, I really don't think that's possible. Bring it all on!

Remember Olivia Williams?

I have to confess I didn't immediately without seeing her picture, but Williams is, of course, the school teacher hot enough to make Max Fischer try to build an aquarium on a baseball field.

I loved her in "Rushmore" (which I once drove two hours to D.C. just to see), but really haven't seen much of her at all since. A quick look at her IMDB resume reveals that she has been working steadily, but not in a movie that I have managed to see since 1999's "The Sixth Sense."

Now, however, she's back in something I'll definitely tune in for, Joss Whedon's return to TV in the form of "Dollhouse."

On the Fox show about drones programmed to execute various missions (the "dolls," of which Eliza Dushku, thankfully, is the main one), Williams will play the ruthless matron who controls the "Dollhouse." I have to say, I'd do just about anything Olivia Williams asked me to, whether she was being "ruthless" or not.

Actually, looking back at the IMDB, it also says she had an "uncredited" role in "X-Men: The Last Stand" as Dr. Moira MacTaggart. Can anyone remember that? I've just wiped every memory of that awful mess from my mind completely.

The bottom line: The world is certainly a better place with more Rosemary Cross in it.

"Battlestar Galactica" is back!

It would be hard to overstate just how geeked up I am for the fourth season of "Battlestar Galactica," which premieres at 10 tonight on the Sci-Fi Channel or, if you have a fast hookup, even earlier (at noon EST) on line here.

What's so good about "Battlestar"? Well, it's extremely smart science fiction, and also at times very funny. It tries and almost always succeeds to be a biting commentary on our society, and is easily the best show on TV right now (with "The Wire" gone for good.)

Phillip Ramati, a k a the TV Guy, was luckily (and enterprising) enough to get an advance copy and reports that, not surprisingly at all, it's as good as ever. He doesn't reveal any serious spoilers, but for just a tease read what he had to say about it here.

As for me, I'm gonna brave one trip to the multiplex this weekend, but it won't be for George Clooney's "Leatherheads." Against all my better judgment, I'm actually gonna take a chance on "The Ruins" and hope to find something suitably entertaining and creepy. Peace out.

Who will live in Whedon's "Dollhouse"?

Before I go any further, I have to say that last night's "South Park" episode about "cheesing" on cat urine - clearly inspired more than a little by Heavy Metal - was the funniest thing I've seen on in TV in years. Definitely check it out if you missed the first airing.

But today, as it fairly often is here, it's all about Joss Whedon's impending return to TV, which looks more and more like it's really gonna happen, even though his "Dollhouse" so far has only a seven episode order from Fox.

Just to catch everyone up, Eliza Dushku, a k a Faith the vampire slayer, plays a young woman named Echo, a member of a group of people known as "Actives" or "Dolls" who have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas for different assignments. In between tasks, they are mind-wiped into a child-like state and live in a futuristic dormitory/laboratory, a hidden facility nicknamed "The Dollhouse". Although the Actives are ostensibly volunteers, the operation is highly illegal and under constant threat from Paul Smith, a determined federal agent who has heard a rumor about the dolls on one end and an insane rogue Active on the other.

The plot is definitely thickening, but - and call me sexist if you must - I just assumed that with this being a Whedon production called "Dollhouse," all the "dolls" would indeed be women. The casting news below shows that, as happens at least rarely, I'm wrong once again. So, who's gonna be in the "Dollhouse" with Eliza? Here's the latest news:

Tahmoh Penikett, who's had a great run on "Battlestar Galactica" as Lt. Karl C. Agathon and has also appeared on "Smallville," will play the FBI agent, Paul Smith, who is obsessed with the urban myth of the Dollhouse and - in the language of the Hollywood Reporter - is "a twisted romantic foil for Echo."

A rather attractive Aussie with a rather unfortunate name - Dichen Lachman - will play Sierra, a doll who (again in the wording of THR) "has every personality in the world but her own" (jeez, that sounds kinda cheesy, doesn't it?) I had no idea they were still making the Aussie soap "Neighbours," but if you happen to watch it, she has played Katya Kinski on that show since 2005.

Fran Kranz, who last appeared on TV with Jeffrey Tambor in "Welcome to the Captain" (though only for the rather brief five-episode run), will play Topher Brink, a genius programmer responsible for imprinting the dolls. Interestingly enough, according to his resume, he also had a bit part in one of my favorite flicks, Richard Kelly's "Donnie Darko."

And finally, Enver Gjokaj will play Victor, another doll who is childlike when he's inactive, and (again in THR's rather cheesy description) "everything from Errol Flynn to a young DeNiro when he's active." I'm not sure I want to know exactly what that means. The photo here, the only one I could find, is apparently from a NYC production of Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard."

Will all this add up to anything cool? We'll have to wait until October to find out, but with the Whedon name on it I'd have to bet on yes. Stay tuned.

Did Joss Whedon cause the writers' strike?

Just kidding with that, of course, but it did seem more than a little coincidental that the rather tremendous news last October that Joss Whedon was coming back to television came just days before the writers officially took to the picket lines.

And, after all, Whedon has had his share of TV bad luck. We all remember "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel," of course (fondly, I would hope), but there was also the just tremendously shoddy treatment given to "Firefly" by Fox, which managed to only show 11 of the 14 episodes produced - and out of order, at that - before cancelling the whole thing. (It would live on, though, with the space Western flick "Serenity," which, if you somehow haven't seen, do so immediately.)

So when it was announced that Whedon would indeed give TV another try with something called "Dollhouse," on Fox no less, it only seemed natural that the strike and maybe other difficulties would get in the way. Now, however, through only one sentence buried in a Variety article about CBS picking up three drama pilots, comes word that it's not only back on but becoming a big "Angel" family reunion.

But, since it's been so long since I've mentioned it, a word about just what "Dollhouse" is might be in order. "Buffy" fans will be happy to know it stars fellow vampire slayer Eliza Dushku, who apparently wooed Whedon back to TV at a lunch where they hatched the idea. Here, as far as I can tell, is the plot summary:

"Dollhouse" follows a top-secret world of people programmed with different personalities, abilities and memories depending on their mission. After each assignment - which can be physical, romantic or even illegal - the characters have their memories wiped clean, and are sent back to a lab (dubbed the "Dollhouse"). Show centers on Dushku's character, Echo, as she slowly begins to develop some self-awareness, which impacts her missions.

Sounds more than a little familiar, but still ripe with possibilities. And, even better, it's got "Angel" mastermind Tim Minear (late of the very short-lived "Drive," another Fox catastrophe) on board, and now the writing team of Sarah Fain and Elizabeth Craft, who served as executive story editors for "Angel" and co-wrote eight episodes.

I realize this is more than a bit of info (and gushing) about a show that's only received a 7-episode pickup and won't be seen until autumn (at the earliest), but Joss Whedon and TV are just the perfect combo to me.


Viva Mexico, once again?

Remember when Mexican directors seemed to rule the world (it was only a year or so ago, so I certainly hope so.) After the big three - Alfonso Cuaron, Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - received so much simultaneous acclaim, they formed a production company called Cha Cha Cha, which is finally bearing some fruit.

But before I get into that, what are they each up to? Cuaron, my favorite of the three, is listed at the IMDB as being in preproduction of an "Untitled Alfonso Cuaron Project" described as "a drama about a family set in 1971 in Mexico." Cool enough.

Del Toro has "Hellboy II" set to come out July 11 and then most likely will turn his attention to not one but two "Hobbit" movies, which he's been christened to direct for producer Peter Jackson.

Inarritu is simply listed as also having an "Untitled" project in the works, with no plot details available but with shooting tentatively set to begin in May. I'll be curious to see what he comes up with after breaking with writing partner Guillermo Arriaga, who's moved on and is now filming a drama titled "The Burning Plain" and starring Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger.

But what brought all this to mind was something Variety had about three interesting Mexican films now in the pipeline. The first, and by far the most interesting to me, indeed will be the first flick put out by Cha Cha Cha. Here are the details about the three, all listed as being in post-production:

"Rudo y Cursi"
Carlos Cuaron, brother of Alfonso, is directing this flick which reunites "Y Tu Mama Tambien" (one of my favorite flicks) stars Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna as two brother who play for competing Mexican soccer teams. Sounds uber-cool to me.

"Los Bastardos"
This second flick from writer-director Amat Escalante follows Mexican immigrant workers in a U.S. city who are hired by an American to kill his wife.

"Insignificant Things" ("Cosas insignificantes")
In writer-director Andrea Martinez's first feature, secrets unfold from the ordinary treasures an adolescent girl guards in a box.

They all sound like potential winners to me, and even if I only get to watch most Mexican movies on DVD, I can only say bring it on. Peace out.