An animated weekend, starring a panda and - even better - "Persepolis"

There's a lot to talk about for this upcoming movie weekend, but first and foremost I'm very happy to report there has indeed been a sighting of Thora Birch.

Sadly, my mind - while working hard to avoid work - has wandered more than a few times to the subject of what in the world had happened to the star of "Ghost World," who had seemed to just disappear. Well, now she's back, though probably not in anything I'll bother to see.

She's set to star with Brittany Murphy in a psychological thriller called "Deadline" in which the star, Murphy, is a writer who travels to an abandoned house to write a screenplay, where a bout of writer's block and other unforeseen events lead her to a psychological breakdown. Sounds pretty meh to me, but welcome back Thora all the same.

But now, on to the movie weekend. For me, it will mean two animated flicks, "Kung Fu Panda" and, even better if you're anywhere near Macon, "Persepolis" presented Sunday by the Macon Film Guild at the Douglass Theatre.

As for "Panda," it's just a lock for me. All the reviews I've seen so far say it just looks amazing, and even if the story is more than a little predictable, it's more than funny enough to sustain its 90 minutes or so, which is just about all I can ask for from a summer animated flick. And, though I can see how he's worn out his welcome with some folks, I still have a lot of time for Jack Black. And, even better, Ian McShane of "Deadwood" fame voices the villain, Tai Lung, never a bad thing in my book.

I do, however, have one request. I don't know how in the world it took animators so long to settle on pandas as just about the coolest creatures in the universe, but please, please, please don't let them become the new penguins. The world will be just fine without a movie about surfing pandas.

That's up for me Saturday morning, and then on Sunday - and apparently sort of at my request - comes "Persepolis," easily one of my favorite flicks of 2007. When I humbly reminded Macon Film Guild guru Camp Bacon that I had suggested they screen this flick a while back, he acknowledged they did indeed check it out on my advice.

I sure hope everyone likes it now, but I really don't see how they couldn't. Marjane Satrapi's flick, based on her series of graphic novels about growing up in Iran and Europe, is nearly flawless. The story finally starts to grow a little tiresome only in the closing minutes, but before you get there Satrapi and co-director Vince Paronnaud wrest an amazing amount of lasting images out of only black and white as they craft this engaging tale.

In fact, despite its low-tech approach, "Persepolis" comes even closer to creating the feeling of watching a graphic novel unfold on screen than either "Sin City" or "300" did, though I'm not knocking those flicks either. Round it all off with great voice work from actresses Catherine Deneuve, Danielle Darrieux and Chiara Mastroianni, as our young heroine Marjane, and you've got a flick well worth giving a couple of hours to Sunday at 2, 4:30 or 7:30 p.m. at downtown Macon's Douglass Theatre. Huzzah to the guild for bring this great flick to Macon (and for listening to my advice!)

So, what's missing from this list? "You Don't Mess With the Zohan," of course, though I've seen more than a few reviews that say it's not all that awful. With the names of Judd Apatow and, even better, "TV Funhouse" creator Robert Smigel on the script, I suppose there's a chance those critics are right, but I just can't bring myself to watch yet another Adam Sandler flick that would easily reach its breaking point if it were only the length of a "Saturday Night Live" skit. Here's hoping the panda kicks his ass.

And, as a final weekend treat, here's the teaser poster for Oliver Stone's "W," which frankly is more than little disappointing. Granted, our president is certainly less than a brilliant wordsmith, but isn't that just too easy of a target? Anyways, enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant weekend (and if you live anywhere near Macon, again please go see "Persepolis" this Sunday!) Peace out.