Thursday, fun, including an extended look at Fincher's "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"

First up, however, and apropos of really, nothing but my mind, the truly great Michael K. Williams revealed, in an interview with Shadow & Act, that he read for the lead in Quentin Tarantino's next flick, "Django Unchained," before just losing out on the role. Read on:

“The rumors of me being considered for the lead role in ‘Django [Unchained]’ is very true. I was in meetings with Quentin, QT as I call him. It came down to Jamie and I. Wow… what a person to lose to. It’s not official yet but there’s a lot of talk that there may be a role coming back ‘round my way.’ ”

So, just who in the world is Michael K. Williams? Well, if you were a fan of "The Wire," and if you like great police procedurals, you certainly should be, you'll know him better as Omar, or as QT would certainly put it, a truly bad mother ...

Had he landed the lead role of Django, which instead went to Jamie Foxx, the flick, which on paper (you can find the script online, trust me, and it's a great read) is already a wild ride, would have been elevated to potentially amazing. As it is, you can still see Omar on the second season of "Boardwalk Empire," which I believe begins Sunday night, and also tonight on "Community," as a biology teacher at Greendale. Count me as solidly in for that, so enjoy this four-minute preview of the new season.



And in one more bit of TV sur-reality (which really should be a word, if it isn't already), former President Bill Clinton revealed on Rachael Ray's show (one of the many, many great things about this whole interwebs thing is that I don't actually have to watch the show to know this) that he was contacted to appear on "Dancing With the Stars." Had he accepted, it would have been enough to finally get me to tune in, but he apparently said no, not out of any sense of dignity in the office of the presidency, but simply because he couldn't take the workout. Read on:

"This is interesting. Actually, they contacted me once about this. And I told them I didn’t have the time to train for it. You know, you actually have to go out there and train -- you really work at it -- so I had to pass."

Wow. That, at least, shouldn't be a problem for Barack Obama ...

And now on to the videos, with a couple of other things that caught my eye before the main event, the promised four-minute trailer for David Fincher's "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." Sitting on my DVR is the season three premiere of "Glee," but as of yet, I just haven't been able to bring myself to watch it. I'm really not sure when, or if, I will, because for tonight at least I've got the entire James Dean oeuvre (three movies) courtesy of TCM, plus "Community," "Parks and Recreation," "The Office" and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" on the way. So it may just sit there for another week or so, but in the meantime, I'll always have time for a "Sesame Street" clip, especially this one which highlights exactly why "Glee" can often be thoroughly annoying. Enjoy.



By way of introduction of this next one, an apology of sorts to Joe Carnahan. While I still think "Smoking Aces" is nothing but a flaming bag of shite, I finally beat down my inner snob enough to watch "The A Team," and it was rather sublimely entertaining as a mindless weeknight rental. Just a fun action fest, and never trying to be anything more. I tell you that to tell you this: Below is the trailer for Carnahan's next flick, "The Grey," which is essentially "Liam Neeson Dances With Wolves" (or at least fights them.) The flick, about a bunch of oil roughnecks who get stranded in Alaska and do battle with some lupine natives, could be at least a little fun, as it is to see a clearly blottoed Neeson get ready to square off with one in the trailer. Enjoy, and if you want to, keep an eye out for the flick beginning Jan. 27.

And now, finally, on to the the main course, the first extended trailer for David Fincher's take on "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," starring Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander and Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist, both extremely familiar characters to the many people who have read the fairly great novels by Stieg Larsson. Even I'm tired of hearing me question the reason for this even happening, so I'll just say take a look and decide for yourself what to make of it. As for me, I'm off to go swimming and do some grocery shopping. Peace out.

A Wednesday clip show, with Fincher, Pulp and even "Star Wars"

Actually, before we jump right into that, there's an intriguing bit of movie news out there today about a reunion of director Noah Baumbach and Jesse Eisenberg.

If you've never seen "The Squid and the Whale," while not the most uplifting of movies, there are few rentals I can recommend higher. Baumbach's directing debut (I believe) was an autobiographical tale of sorts about the divorce of his parents, played by Laura Linney and Jeff Daniels, with Eisenberg playing a character at least loosely based on Baumbach himself.

It was just a sweet little movie, and of course since then, Eisenberg has gone on to become more than a bit of a star. He'll next be seen in August in the Ruben Fleischer ("Zombieland") comedy "30 Minutes or Less" with veryfunnyman Aziz Ansari, and now comes word this morning that he's set to make another movie with Baumbach.

The movie, titled "While We're Young," is apparently about a Brooklynite 20-something couple who inspire an older, uptight documentarian and his wife to loosen up (according to the always reliable The Playlist, at least). If this all comes together, Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts would play the older couple, and Eisenberg and an actress to be named later the younger one.

Sounds like a comedy of manners (or lack thereof) perfect for Baumbach, so here's hoping this all comes together.

And now, because I'm in a bit of a hurry to go swimming before work, let's just jump right into the clips. For about a week or so, a very shaky camera pirated copy of the trailer for David Fincher's thoroughly unnecessary remake of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" has been circulating on the Internet. Well, Sony apparently finally got fed up, and pulled that copy while replacing it with this spiffy official version.

I have to say, however, that as shiny as it all looks, it seems to be pretty much a shot-for-shot remake of the original Swedish movie, which is already pretty sublime entertainment, so what's the point of all this? Daniel Craig may well turn out to be an upgrade as Blomkvist, but in movies, there will always only be one Lisbeth Salander, because Noomi Rapace took over the role so completely. Having been burned once by what Matt Reeves did to one of my favorite movies with "Let Me In," I'm not ready to give in yet and believe there's any reason for this to be happening. Anyways, after that mini-rant, here's the cleaned-up trailer for you to "enjoy."



Next up, HBO has been on a real roll lately with "Treme" and even more so with "Game of Thrones," which really does get better and better as the weeks go by. And very soon (June 26, to be precise), the fourth season of "True Blood" will premiere. Though I'm not terribly enamored with the sometimes extreme liberties the show takes with Charlaine Harris' already very good Sookie Stackhouse novels, the show still remains a fun and funky brew. And now, through it's HBO Go toy and on to You Tube, HBO has leaked the first three minutes or so of the season 4 premiere, with more chunky bits to come before it's all unveiled. Enjoy, and then stick around for the return of Pulp and even pure, unspiffied up "Star Wars."



When I was supposedly in graduate school (but actually just having a blast in Athens, Ga.), Pulp's "Different Class" was easily one of my favorite albums, and it's one that I still listen to fairly often today. Here, performing I'm not sure where, is Pulp reunited, with Jarvis Cocker clearly just as cheeky as ever, performing "Disco 2000," and sounding great. Enjoy.



And finally today, where can you see the original "Star Wars" (now episode IV, I suppose), without any 3-D, extra footage or any other kind of enhancement? Why here, of course. I couldn't think of anything better to brighten up a Wednesday morning, so here, as promised, is the movie in its blissfully low-tech entirety. Enjoy, and have a perfectly endurable Wednesday. Peace out.

DVD pick of the week: "Red"

Many movies (you could easily say too many) are developed from graphic novels, but very few of those manage to retain the feel and appeal of comic books once they reach the big screen.

In the past year, there have been only two that accomplished this feat, "Kick-Ass" and "Red," the latter of which hits DVD shelves this week. Add to that the fact that the stars of "Red" are on average way more than old enough to be members of AARP, and you've got a truly odd mix that somehow still worked very well.

In fact, "Red" gets better and better as its stars get older. As the movie opens we find Bruce Willis as a recently retired CIA agent who, out of sheer boredom, throws out his pension checks just so he can call the pension office in Kansas City and flirt with the operator, who, in the movie's first bit of sheer lunacy, just happens to Mary Louise Parker. After he finds himself the target of assassins, he realizes his former employers would have tapped his phone, and so he goes to Kansas City to rescue (well, sort of kidnap) Parker's character.

Sounds like just about exactly the kind of forgettable "comedy" that gets released in theaters this time of year, right? Well, it felt that way at this point and probably would have been, but once Willis' Frank Grimes contacts his mentor, played by Morgan Freeman, it really gets to be nothing but fun from there on out, and more and more as it goes along. Throw in John Malkovich, the always great and underrated Brian Cox and, best of all, Dame Helen Mirren, and you've got sort of "The Expendables" on Geritol, and this group has more goofy energy in the first few minutes they're on screen than Sylvester Stallone's gang did in that entire movie.

To describe the plot of "Red" on paper really doesn't do it justice, since like with the best comic book movies, it really doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Let's just say that Willis and his fellow former agents have all been targeted for assassination for some reason by the government that used to employ them, so they of course join forces to take their revenge.

This material would indeed be entirely familiar and more than a bit tired if it weren't for its stars, who rather than make this simply a novelty act due to their ages, instead turn it into a genuine romp, albeit one often filled with the very definition of "cartoon violence." Malkovich is as crazy as he's ever been, which is saying a lot, and funnier than he's been in years, but the real stars here are Mirren and Cox.

There's just something uniquely appealing about seeing Dame Helen Mirren wielding a sniper rifle in a ball gown, but she also brings enough range to the role to make this at times a sly commentary on aging and retirement. After all, when you've been a hit man (or woman) all your professional life, what are you supposed to do in retirement? Cox is her perfect match as the Russian operative who just happened to be a former and still smoldering flame.

What makes a great comic book movie? It's hard to describe, but it's mostly in the movie's rhythm and feel, and like "Kick-Ass" and "Red," for me at least, it has to deal with fairly dark subjects with a good bit of slyly wicked humor. If that's your kind of thing, too, you can do a whole lot worse than renting "Red" this weekend.

One further note: Stieg Larsson's great Lisbeth Salander trilogy also comes to a close on DVD this week with the release of "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest," which wasn't my DVD pick of the week only because I haven't seen it. This is, rather amazingly, available streaming already on Netflix, so it's sitting at the top of my queue to be watched this weekend. Peace out.

Buffy's back .. sort of .. and a lot of other fun Saturday morning stuff

Actually, there's no possible bigger news out there now than what Ridley Scott is cooking up with Damon Lindelof of "Lost" and "Star Trek" fame, and since this is nominally supposed to be a movie site, let's just start there.

Rumors have been flying for months that Scott would, for his first science fiction movie in 30 years, be making either a sequel or prequel or some kind of extension of "Alien," but instead it sounds like he's thankfully taking on something much more ambitious.

Details are scant so far, but instead Scott and Lindelof are at work on an original idea, and they've made at least one truly great decision so far by casting Lisbeth Salander, aka Noomi Rapace, in the lead. Anyone who's been here before knows that I have more than a slightly unhealthy obsession with her, so bully.

Little more beyond that is known except it will be titled "Prometheus," there are at least four other major roles to fill, and this is set to be released March 9, 2012. Here's a bit of what Scott had to say about it:

“While Alien was indeed the jumping off point for this project, out of the creative process evolved a new, grand mythology and universe in which this original story takes place. The keen fan will recognize strands of Alien’s DNA, so to speak, but the ideas tackled in this film are unique, large and provocative. I couldn't be more pleased to have found the singular tale I'd been searching for, and finally return to this genre that's so close to my heart.”



Nothing but awesome there, but frankly, Scott has been a really hit-and-miss director for me. He's certainly made great science fiction with "Blade Runner" and "Alien," but without exaggeration I really think there's a pretty strong argument that his "Robin Hood" was the single worst movie of 2010. Even so, this news is certainly worth keeping an eye on.

But getting to the main event here today, Sarah Michelle Gellar is finally coming back to TV, and it sounds like she just might have something worth watching this time.

Coincidentally enough, during this time of hardly any new TV (except for FX's fairly brilliant boxing drama "Lights Out" - watch it), I've been going back to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" via Netflix streaming, and it's at least as good as I remember. Season six, which I originally thought was a bit of a weak link, has been surprisingly strong, with crazy Willow at the end being even more fun than I remembered.

And here's what SMG (worst initials ever? perhaps) will have appearing on TVs next fall (I assume.) CBS has given a pilot greenlight to something called "Ringer," from "Supernatural" writers Eric Charmelo and Nicole Snyder, and it just sounds like a heck of a lot of fun.

On the show, Buffy will play a young woman who is on the run from the mob, and to hide herself, assumes the identity of her wealthy twin sister, only to find out sis has a bounty on her head too. If I have this right, SMG will be playing two parts. Bring it on!

I tried to remember the last time I've seen her in anything that wasn't "Buffy" or "Angel," but off the top of my head couldn't. After cheating with an IMDB check, it turns out to be "The Grudge" in 2004. While that was a fun little flick, she's pretty much disappeared since, so I can only say welcome back, Buffy!

And in other news, via Michael Ausiello's truly great TV Line site, it seems that Michael Scott, and therefore Steve Carell, will be leaving "The Office" well before this season ends. Here's what executive producer Steve Daniels told Ausiello:

“Steve is leaving earlier than the [season finale]. The big ‘Goodbye, Steve’ thing will be before [May] sweeps.”

While that's a bit of a surprise, the battle to replace him should then take over the end of this season, and it should be a blast (and frankly some much needed new life to what is becoming the weak link in NBC's Thursday night comedy lineup - excepting "Outsourced," which I simply refuse to acknowledge at all). My heart is with Dwight here, but I have to assume they're gonna bring in an outsider, and last I heard Danny McBride was in the running, which would be perfection. Here's more of what Daniels had to say about it:

“Our basic plan is to see the jockeying and interviewing [for Michael's job], and not have that happen off-camera and suddenly present America with the choice. We’d rather play out the stories of the various characters who want that seat, and show them fight for it.”

The new boss will be revealed in what I have to assume will be an hour-long season finale, so let the Dunder-Mifflin infighting begin!

OK, I know I'm all over the place today, but I want to wrap this up with a couple more cool things before I dash off the pool for a swim. Artist Sam Smith, with whom I agree on half of his choices for the best 10 (well, actually 11) movies of 2010, has come up with a simply stunning series of posters for his choices. He can't sell them, but he has posted them all here, and they're very well worth checking out. For a taste, here's his great poster for my single favorite movie of 2010 by a pretty wide margin, "Winter's Bone."



And finally today, perhaps some karmic rooting for Peter Weir's "The Way Back" to play wide enough to reach my little corner of the world when it opens in six days. Considering the only other offering is "No Strings Attached" with Natalie Portman and Demi Moore's beau, the odds are actually fairly good. The movie itself will be epic even by Weir's standards, telling as it does the story of a small group of multi-nationals who travel through five hostile countries after escaping from a Russian gulag in 1940. Here, courtesy of Collider, are seven clips from the film, which stars Colin Farrell, Saoirse Ronan and Ed Harris. Enjoy the clips, and have a fantastic weekend. Peace out.