If at first you succeed ... plus a big Wednesday clip show

Well, if you're Aaron Sorkin, if you've done something exactly right the first time (even if it was severely under appreciated), just do it all over again almost exactly the same way.

Does anyone remember "Sports Night"? It was a truly great Sorkin show that ran for a couple of years simultaneously (I think) with the early years of "The West Wing." As you may remember, it was about a sports news show hosted by two dudes and produced by two women, with another producer as a rival for one of the hosts' affections.

Just believe me, it was a whole heck of a lot better than I'm making it sound here. In the original version, the two hosts were Josh Charles and Peter Krause, the producer was Felicity Huffman and the associate producer was the sorely-missed Sabrina Lloyd. I frankly can't remember who played the other part, but you get the idea.

Now, fast forward about 10 years or so, and Sorkin has sold something called "More as This Story Develops" to HBO, and with the exception that it's about a news rather than sports show, it sounds like pretty much exactly the same thing, with pretty much the same cast dynamic taking shape (and although it may sound like I'm complaining, I'm really not ... "Sports Night" was fantastic.)

This time around, if all the pieces fall into shape, Jeff Daniels will play the host, Marisa Tomei the producer (and following the "Sports Night" model, probably unrequited love interest), Alison Pill of "Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World" will play the associate producer and Olivia Munn will play a business news reporter and undoubtedly rival for Daniels' affections. I could be wrong of course, but that certainly does sound familiar, no?

Either way, I'll definitely be tuning in when this hits HBO, perhaps sometime this fall.

And in just a bit of movie news, it seems that Russell Crowe is reuniting with the source of his best movie so far, "L.A. Confidential," for his first directing effort.

Crowe would also star in "77," based on a James Ellroy script that is apparently being rewritten by someone else. Best as I can tell, per Deadline, it's about the unsolved murder of an LAPD officer, and the nationally televised shootout in South Central L.A. between the Symbionese Liberation Army and the LAPD, as seen through the eyes of two police partners, one black and one white.

Sounds like typically juicy Ellroy stuff, so stay tuned. And now, on to the clips ...

OK, today, these are pretty much in descending order of funny until the end, a plug for tonight's premiere of the 15th (really!?!?) season of "South Park." First up, courtesy of The Onion, comes an interview with the screenwriter of "Fast Five," 5-year-old Chris Morgan. Now, I have nothing against the Fast and Furious flicks (that Tokyo one is some pretty seriously satisfying Saturday afternoon viewing for a half hour or so), but this is seriously funny. Enjoy.


Today Now! Interviews The 5-Year-Old Screenwriter Of "Fast Five"

Next up is the first red band trailer for Kristen Wiig's "Bridesmaids," courtesy of Myspace, and having watched it, I'm now certain the ladies are going to bring a whole lot of funny when this drops May 13. You do have to feel more than a little bad for Melissa McCarthy, who is apparently going to be one running fat joke in the flick, but she does at least seem to be in on the joke. Enjoy.



OK, these next two I'm a little more dubious about, but I like the stars of both, so here goes. Paul Rudd, who can be really funny when he allows himself to be (just trust me, "Role Models" is a minor comedy classic), stars as the titular idiot in "Our Idiot Brother," set to come out Aug. 16. Zooey Deschanel, Elizabeth Banks and Rashida Jones all play his sisters, so here's hoping this will be a whole lot funnier than I'm expecting. Enjoy.



And for the last of our trailers, there isn't a comedienne working today who deserves a great starring role more than Anna Faris. She's just a natural wit (and yes, I even love "House Bunny"), but I don't think the role she's been waiting for arrives with "What's Your Number?", for which the titular question seems to be addressing how many rom-com cliches can be stacked into one two-minute or so trailer. Oh well. "Enjoy" this trailer, and then stick around for a much better look back at her career so far, courtesy of the New Yorker.





And finally today, Trey Parker, Matt Stone and friends are indeed back tonight, and only those guys could combine Steve Jobs, the iPad and ... well, just watch the clip to see. I'll just say it's expectedly both disgusting and simply hilarious. "South Park" returns to Comedy Central (and my DVR) tonight at 10 p.m. Enjoy the clip, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.

HUMANCENTiPAD
Tags: SOUTH
PARKmore...

Could this be the funniest movie of 2011?

Actually, a better question this morning is why in the world is it so hard for Alfonso Cuaron to make a potentially smart and winning sci-fi flick?

I'm not sure I have this all right, because the saga of his attempt to make the movie "Gravity" is a story with many twists before the camera even starts rolling.

First, if I have this right, Angelina Jolie signed on for and then bailed on this tale of a female astronaut trying to get home after an accident in orbit, and then Natalie Portman did pretty much the same thing.

Well, Cuaron eventually settled on Sandra Bullock (a step back in my book, and an odd fit for this, but oh well), but seemingly just as soon as that was settled, Robert Downey Jr. backed out of playing the main supporting role (I'd assume some kind of NASA dude in touch with our heroine from Earth, but who knows for sure). Sheesh.

That move put this solidly in development limbo, but now in the latest twist, George Clooney has apparently stepped in to that role, so it's game on again ... for now.

Follow all that? If you've seen Cuaron's "Children of Men," you know why I'd certainly like to see him make another sci-fi flick, so here's hoping this really all does come together this time.

And what my world, at least, always needs is more real Westerns ("True Grit" next Wednesday, and I can't wait!), so it's certainly good news that director James Mangold is getting into that game.

He tried once with his remake of "3:10 to Yuma" with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, but while that was a technically proficient flick, I really just couldn't get past the rather thorough unnecessaryness of it (I'm not sure that's even a word, but you get the point).

Now he's signed on to direct something called "The Gunslinger" for New Regency, which is being described as a "revenge thriller" about an ex-Texas Ranger who sets out to punish the men who killed his brother. Bully.

But the main course here today is the second - and much longer - trailer for "Paul," coming just in time for Valentine's Day, for some reason.

If I had to list my 10 or so favorite directors, Greg Mottola would make the list every time. "Superbad" is a comedy classic in my book, and though it goes down a lot drier, "Adventureland" is a heck of a lot of fun too.

Now, for "Paul," he's reunited the "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" comedy duo of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as two geeks on a road trip to Comic-Con who just happen to encounter the titular extraterrestrial along the way. You'll be able to tell from the trailer that Seth Rogen voices the alien, and the alwaysveryfunny Kristen Wiig and Jason Batemen appear in this too. It's rare that we get something potentially this good so early in the year, so enjoy this new trailer (which could disappear any minute now, since I swiped it from some kind of Russian video site), and have a perfectly great weekend, which for me will include both "Black Swan" and "The Fighter" on Saturday, so bring it on! Peace out.

These damned dirty prequels!

I think in many ways prequel might be an even slimier word than sequel, and if you look around, there's a mounting amount of evidence to back me up on that.

Case No. 1: Ridley Scott's "Robin Hood." I haven't bothered to comment on the flick until now because, well, I don't get paid to do this and it just made so little of an impression on me that I decided to just let it pass.

But the addition of time has done very little to remove the fairly foul taste it left in my brain. And be warned, if you haven't seen the movie and plan to, I probably wouldn't read any further today, or at least skip forward about four paragraphs or so until the news about James Franco that spurred this rant.

Now, Scott's movie certainly looks good enough. The action is close to first rate, and thankfully it was in good, old-fashioned 2-D. Watching Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett flirt for 90 minutes or so would have been mildly diverting enough for 90 minutes or so, but of course, Scott's movie went for a rather thoroughly unnecessary 2 hours and 20 minutes.

And it's not until near the end of all this that you realize just how much of a con it really is. If you've seen the trailer, you've certainly seen Oscar Isaac as King John unleash the cry of "Outlaw!" In any sort of real action flick that's designed to at least entertain, that would be the sign of at least some kind of conflict to come, right?

Well, not in Scott's flick, unfortunately. It doesn't come until there's about five minutes left in this mess, and all you get after that is a final shot of Russell Crowe finally as Robin Hood. And that's when it finally hits, or at least did me, just why this movie - and prequels in general- are just such empty vessels.

Which brings us to the news of the day about James Franco, an actor I've always quite liked ever since his "Freaks and Geeks" days. Because "prequel" is now the new "sequel" in Hollywood's latest attempt to cover up the fact that it has virtually no new ideas left, he's set to star in "Rise of the Apes," which, as you've probably guessed by now, is indeed a "prequel" to "Planet of the Apes" (because Lord knows Tim Burton's abortion of a remake wasn't enough, right?)

In the flick scheduled to start filming July 5 for its planned June 24, 2011, release, he'll play a scientist who is pivotal in the war between the humans and the apes. If I have this right, and frankly I'm not sure how much I care if I do or not, the scientist is working on a project to search for a cure for Alzheimer's in which testing is done on apes. Feeling bad for one of our simian friends, Franco's scientist apparently rescues one of them and takes him home. How in the world this comes to the toppling of the Statue of Liberty is anyone's guess.

In much better news, along with apparently returning to "General Hospital," it's also just been announced that Franco will star in a Jeff Bushell-penned comedy called "Ricky Stanicky" which actually sounds like it could really bring the funny. The movie centers on three male friends who for decades have used their titular imaginary friend to explain their way out of assorted tight spots. When their wives finally catch on and demand they produce this character, they hire an actor to play him, hence Franco.

Anyone who's seen "Pineapple Express" (and if you haven't, why the heck not?) or of course "Freaks and Geeks" knows Franco has the comedy chops, so here's hoping that will be a lot better than him messing with any damned dirty apes.

OK, what better way to close things out than with Helen Mirren saying "I've got 25 psychotic whores to manage"? Until seeing this trailer, I really wasn't convinced that "Love Ranch," directed by her hubby, Taylor Hackford, would deliver anything worth watching, but I've been wrong at least once before, so why not today? Co-starring Joe Pesci and some young buck for her to cougar around with, it indeed looks like this flick about the onset of legal prostitution in Nevada will be a lot of fun when it drops in June in at least some kind limited run. Enjoy the trailer, and have a great weekend. 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.

For Tuesday, a cache of clips

With the Golden Globes nominations coming later this morning, here's hoping that my favorite movie of this year (and it's held the top spot for a long time now), Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds," fares very well.

So far from the critics associations, it has won at least a couple of screenplay awards (notably from the New York Film Critics Online awards) and of course pretty much universal recognition of Christopher Waltz as best supporting actor, and when the list goes to 10 has even made the best picture cut for a few too (a precursor for the 10-picture Oscar field)?

If I had a vote, which I obviously don't, I'd give it to QT for just a wildly fun story told with the most style and guts of the year, which is just about exactly what I ask for from a movie. Number two, which meets all those criteria except for perhaps the "fun" part, is Kathyrn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker," which has emerged along with "Up in the Air" (which I have yet to see) as the most likely contenders for best picture, along with perhaps "Precious."

Anyways, since the Globe nominations aren't even announced for a couple of hours or so (yes, I get up early), that's enough of that. In other news, "Gilmore Girls" fans, of which you can proudly count me one, should take note that Lorelai herself, Lauren Graham, is making her return to broadcast TV Monday, March 1, at 9 p.m. in NBC's "Parenthood."

The premise itself - an offshoot of the overrated movie of the same name - sounds rather meh to me, but with "Friday Night Lights" showrunner Jason Katims behind this and Peter Krause of "Sports Night" (and other shows, I know, but that's my favorite) also starring, I'm certainly gonna give it a shot, mostly to see Lauren Graham in the spotlight again.

That makes for a potentially fun night on NBC when paired with "Chuck" at 8, which thankfully returns to its Monday home Jan. 11 (after a two-hour premiere the previous night, huzzah!), even if it all still does somehow lead into Jay Leno's entertainment-free hour.

And what about "Friday Night Lights" itself? When will that be returning to NBC? Best as I can tell, not until summer, which is certainly a long time to wait to find out how things will shake out after Coach Taylor's move to the new East Dillon High School.

And in another tidbit before the clips begin, here's hoping Natalie Portman can avoid getting punched in the face by David O. Russell during the filming of "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies." It seems the volatile director - known as much for movies like "Three Kings" and "I Heart Huckabees" as for his infamous tirade in the face of Lily Tomlin on the set of the latter - has either signed on or is about to to write and direct the movie based on Seth Grahame-Smith very funny update on Jane Austen's novel.

Now on to the clips. First up, appropriately enough, is Quentin Tarantino announcing what are - so far at least - his nine favorite (nine, I suppose, since he of course left out his own movie) flicks of 2009. I'll let you discover the other eight for yourself, but I have to say I thoroughly agree with the love for Sam Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell," which I'm certain will make my top 10 for the year. Enjoy.



Next up comes a couple of clips for the next best thing to a new White Stripes album (where the hell is that?), the upcoming documentary "The White Stripes: Under the Great White Northern Lights," which I think is coming to DVD soon. First up is a kick-ass clip of them performing "Shake Hands" live, and after that is the rather mundane teaser trailer. The band's Web site, by the way, has just about the ultimate time-waster, a video jukebox that's a great way to avoid, say, working for 45 minutes or so. You can find it here, and I recommend it highly.


The White Stripes: "Let's Shake Hands"

THE WHITE STRIPES | MySpace Music Videos



Next up is is an even more "Kick-Ass" clip, I suppose, since it comes from the upcoming Matthew Vaughn movie of the same name. I believe this clip originally aired this year at the San Diego Comic-Con, but it's new to me, and perhaps to you too. The flick, about kids who decide to become superheroes, looks like it will be really funny - hopefully in the right ways - when it hits April 16. All I can tell you so far is that there's something oddly enjoyable about watching Nicolas Cage shoot a young girl in the chest from short range. Enjoy.



And finally, saving I think the worst for last, here is the first trailer I know of for Ridley Scott's "Robin Hood," set to drop in May. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since it stars Russell Crowe, but I'm just not buying the prince of thieves as "Gladiator" angle he clearly seems to be going for here. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Tuesday. Peace out.



P.S.: Any misspellings you see here surely exist, but since the Blogger spell check wasn't working, please accept my apologies instead.

"American Gangster:" American classic

Anyone who visits here from time to time already knows that I often get way too excited about movies, way too long before they even approach the multiplex.

Why? Well, first because I just love reading and writing about movies, but second because, when I manage to believe all the hype I do my minuscule part to create, it makes it just that much more sweet when it turns out to be true.

It happened once this summer with "Ratatouille," which was even better than I could have imagined. And now it's happened with "American Gangster," a flick which it seems like I've been excited about for three years now and is so good that it's knocked Brad Bird's delightful movie right out of the top spot.

I tell you all that as a lead-in to this warning: This won't be a review as much as a rave, because I loved just about every minute of Ridley Scott's best movie yet (and I say that as someone who hasn't always liked his movies as much as the rest of the world; "Blade Runner" is just as good as everyone claims it is, but "Gladiator" was average at best in my book.)

So, what's so great about "American Gangster," for the few people out there who haven't seen it yet (it took in a rather whopping $46.3 million at the box office in week one.)

What I liked most was the pacing. As we're introduced to the slowly converging paths of heroin kingpin Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) and do-gooder cop Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), Scott wisely keeps the scenes to no more than a couple of minutes each, and moves fluidly between the two worlds. Until the inevitable bullet barrage that brings it all crashing down, Scott never resorts to the shaky jump-cuts that the kids who have followed him use to substitute for real urgency, instead just letting the story unfold at it own pace. The final effect, while not quite - as Washington Post critic Stephen Hunter said - making its 2:20 seem like 40 minutes, is still a rousing tale very well told.

And just as much credit for that goes to screenwriter Steven Zaillian, who has worked with Scott previously on "Hannibal" and also managed long ago to write and direct another of my favorite movies, "Searching for Bobby Fischer." He and Scott make it clear through their actions rather than any way-too-wordy speeches that what bonds Lucas and Roberts is their moral code, even if they use that to rather different ends. It's what makes the ending, which still manages to be a bit jarring, easier to swallow.

But no great American gangster flick (and yes, I will go so far to put this one in the same arena with the first two "Godfather" movies or any of the great '30s movies and believe it will be able to hold its own) would be complete without its own "Is this the end of Rico?" moment. Scott's is admittedly rather cheesy, but it just worked for me. Spoiler alert: If you haven't seen the movie, skip this sentence: For Lucas' character, being cuffed on the steps of his church, with his family being herded back inside so they won't have to watch, is just as ignominious an end as dying in the gutter.

Before I end this admittedly one-sided love letter to "American Gangster," a word or two about the casting is in order. At its center this is a very elaborately constructed movie about two men, and they will indeed square off again in February on Oscar night. By a nose, I'd have to give the edge to Denzel, who will certainly be taking home the first Best Actor statue he deserves, rather than awarded to make up for past omissions.

But the supporting cast as well was full of pleasant surprises. Idris Elba of "The Wire" makes an early appearance as one of Frank's rivals, and another HBO vet, John Hawkes, who played Sol Star on "Deadwood," is here as one Roberts' key recruits in his anti-drug crusade. Others who make the most of little screen time (and who I always like to see) include Jon Polito, Carla Gugino, Joe Morton (wearing the world's cheesiest wig) and, in one of his best appearances outside of the movies of Spike Lee, Roger Guenveur Smith as Lucas' cousin and connection to the heroin that would build his empire.

Actors who have for years now only annoyed me on the big screen, Cuba Gooding Jr. and T.I., also manage to turn in solid performances (perhaps a fork in the road and a return to the right direction for Mr. Gooding, who is sensational as rival gangster Nicky Barnes.) And finally, a word of apology to Ruby Dee, who plays Lucas' mother: I thought you had died shortly after your husband, the great Ossie Davis, as happens with so many devoted couples, but I was certainly happy to find out I was wrong this time.

If none of this convinces you to go see this one, there's probably nothing else I can say, so I'll just cut this off and head out to see "Into the Wild." Peace out.