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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I knew it! Sam Raimi finally comes clean about "Spider-Man 3"

Somewhere deep in my mind I know that "Spider-Man 3" really wasn't the worst movie I've seen in the last 10 years or so. But it was just about the worst movie-going experience, which for me means pretty much the same thing.

Someone of my age should probably just give up on going to midnight movies altogether, but after the magic that was "Spider-Man 2" (still my favorite superhero flick), I was just thoroughly geeked up for the third chapter, as were the several hundred people who lined up outside our best local multiplex to watch it at the witching hour.

And, though I can't be sure, I'd have to imagine that most of those people were just as disappointed as I was as we made the drive home two-plus very long, boring hours later. It wasn't just that there were too many villians, the most-often heard complaint about "Spider-Man 3," though lack of focus was certainly a problem. Much more than that, it was really just a lack of spirit. Could the man who delivered the blissfully fun "Evil Dead" movies and the great baseball flick "For Love of the Game," among other movies, really spit out something so completely lifeless.

Well now, only about two years or so too late, it seems that even Sam Raimi himself is willing to admit just how bad "Spider-Man 3" was.

In the print edition of DVD & Blu-ray Review, he finally admitted what we all know: "I think having so many villains detracted from the experience. I would agree with the criticism."

More importantly, Raimi claims to have learned (or, I guess, re-learned) some lessons while making this year's best horror film and, next to Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds," the second-funnest movie I've seen all year, "Drag Me to Hell." Seriously, if you missed that one in theaters, it's out on DVD this week, and I can recommend it for anyone with a strong stomach who remembers the days when Raimi's movie used to be just wickedly funny. Here's what he said he learned from the experience:

"I think I've learned about the importance of getting to the point and the importance of having limitations, and I'm hoping to take that into a production where I'm actually allowed to explore with more of the tools to pull it off with a little more splendour. I hope I don't lose that edge that I've just found. That would be my approach to Spider-Man 4: to get back to the basics."

Call it "edge," "back to basics" or whatever you want to, but here's hoping he can hold on to it. A look at his IMDB slate shows that, along with just a ton of producing gigs "in development," he's still listed as directing three flicks, "Warcraft," "Spider-Man 4" and - scheduled to somehow come out before either of those - another "Evil Dead" movie for next year, penned by Mr. Raimi himself. If that actually happens (and this is the first I've heard about it), it would be the real test of whether or not the old Sam Raimi is back to stay.

Except for that and before I finally set off to see "Where the Wild Things Are," all I have is the trailer for "Serious Moonlight." It looks like nothing I would ever want to see, but since it was written by the late Adrienne Shelly (actress and writer of "Waitress," among other flicks), directed by veryfunnylady Cheryl Hines at at least co-stars Kristen Bell, maybe I'll give it a chance when it comes out Dec. 4. Anyways, have a great weekend, and if you've seen "Where the Wild Things Are," please feel free to share your thoughts about it, as I hopefully will tomorrow. Peace out.

Mid-year report card: The 10 best movies of 2009 - so far

When I sat down to do this, I started with 20 movies, so the competition was indeed pretty fierce.

And, at the outset, I certainly expected both Michael Mann's "Public Enemies" and Greg Mottola's "Adventureland," both just damn fine flicks, to make the cut, but they just missed (and the fact that "Up" didn't make this list in any slot isn't me being ornery, it's just my honest opinion.) I've included an honorable mention to give all the also-rans credit, so without any further ado and in reverse order, here goes:

10. "Coraline"
Of all the animated movies I've seen in 3-D, Henry Selick's "Coraline," based on the novella by Neil Gaiman, is the only one I can say I love almost unconditionally. It definitely starts to unravel by the end, but since it's the twisted fantasy vision of a child, it's to be expected. Rent this right away if you haven't seen it yet.

9. "Moon"
This was the second-hottest ticket at this year's Atlanta Film Festival, and with good reason. Though it pilfers extremely liberally from "2001: A Space Odyssey," Duncan Jones' flick still delivers a solid sci-fi allegory for our troubled times, and Sam Rockwell, who appears in just about every frame of this all by himself, is just sensational.

8. "Watchmen"
I recently watched the rather whopping 186-minute director's cut of Zack Snyder's movie, and though it took two sittings, I recommend it for anyone who liked the flick as much as I did. From the fantastic opening credits onward, Snyder gives the Watchmen's tale the pop sensibility it needs, and though he made plenty of compromises to get it onto the big screen, I don't think it could have been done any other way.

7. "Drag Me to Hell"
It's the biggest movie mystery of this year why Sam Raimi's return to horror didn't make much money at all, because I can guarantee you it's just all kinds of fun. I realize it takes a certain - and not terribly healthy - sensibility to find humor in Alison Lohman stalking her cat with a knife as she coos "here, kitty kitty" and then seeing said cat being vomited up by an old woman, but I laughed from start to finish of this one and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

6. "Star Trek"
My fellow cubicle slave Randy Waters, who has the "Star Trek" theme as his cell phone ring tone, declared this the "best movie ever." While I'm relatively confident he was at least slightly joking, J.J. Abrams' flick is indeed the definition of a great summer movie, with the year's best set piece in that scene with Chris Pine and John Cho trying to take out that giant Romulan drill, and it certainly should lead to at least five or six more Trek movies with the new crew.

5. "In the Loop"
This is also the last new movie I've watched, but its presence here isn't just proof that my short-term memory holds sway. Armando Iannucci's satire of the buildup to the Iraq War hits all its targets, and the cast, led by an extremely profane Peter Capaldi, is able to keep up with all the rapid-fire barbs. It's worth mentioning again that, although this is still playing in a few theaters, you can also watch it on Cox cable "On Demand" and probably on other cable providers too. It's well worth the $2.

4. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"
I suppose $255 million and still going strong domestic, and a whole lot more worldwide, is nothing to be dismissed, but I've been surprised that this - the best of the Harry Potter films in my book - has struggled to fend off a bunch of talking gerbils, or whatever those "G-Force" creatures are supposed to be. David Yates' second Potter flick just perfectly captures the feeling of doom that pervades the book even as he lightens things up with the kids pitching woo, and they all show just how well they've grown into the roles.

3. "Tyson"/"Every Little Step"
OK, I'm gonna cheat and make this list go to 11, but only because I forgot about the charming documentary "Every Little Step" and had to squeeze it in somewhere, though I suppose a tie with Iron Mike is indeed an odd pairing.

I don't watch any reality TV at all, simply because it doesn't interest me, but I'm sure fans of the competition shows will get a kick out of "Every Little Step," which takes a close-up look at the auditions for the recent revival of "A Chorus Line." The competition is fierce among these very talented individuals, and the film artfully intersperses the story of how Michael Bennett dreamed up the original musical from recordings he made of dancers describing their lives. I've recommended this one to the Macon Film Guild, for an upcoming screening, so I guess I'll find out soon if I have any pull or not. Probably not.

"Tyson" was easily the hottest ticket at the Atlanta Film Festival, and the only movie I've ever actually had to stand up through to watch. I hear tell that even Tyler Perry was there, but I can't confirm that. As for the movie itself, it's pretty much Tyson analyzing himself for director James Toback, appropriately enough often seated on his couch, and though that might not sound particularly entertaining, believe me that it is. He veers wildly between genuine introspection and stubborn defiance, and when he talks about his rape of Desiree Washington, it's just chilling.

2. "Sugar"
It would be enough of an accomplishment - and, unfortunately, a rarity - if directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck had simply made a great baseball movie, but with this tale of a Dominican ballplayer trying to make it to the big time you also get a whole lot more. Along with being an engaging story about immigration in America, it's also simply a great story about the power of being able to change your mind, and it features a first-rate turn from the titular star, Algenis Perez Soto. A quick visit to Amazon.com reveals this will be released on DVD on Sept. 1, so rent or buy this one as soon as you can.

1. "The Hurt Locker"
When I heard Kathyrn Bigelow's Iraq war movie was going to play "wide," which it certainly deserves to, I didn't believe it, but the flick is indeed going to play for a third week next week at the Galleria in Centerville, Ga., so see it there if you're in the area. Bigelow's movie succeeds where so many have failed because, along with delivering sensation set pieces that raise the bar for intensity and action, she and screenwriter Mark Boal just genuinely offer a view of war through the eyes of the soldiers who fight it, specifically the members of a bomb squad in Iraq, a rather stressful endeavour. And I can guarantee that after the breakthrough performances by Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie, you'll be hearing their names a whole lot in the coming years. The best movie I've seen so far this year.

Honorable mention: "The Class", "The International", "Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail", "Duplicity", "Sin Nombre", "Adventureland", "The Hangover", "Public Enemies", "(500) Days of Summer", "Funny People"

And, since anyone who made it this far deserves a reward, here's the trailer for Peter Jackson's "The Lovely Bones," almost certain to be the big Oscar magnet this year unless it somehow just sucks, which I really just can't see happening. Be warned: The second half of the trailer reveals who I have to assume (not having read the book) is the killer, so if you don't want to know, don't watch it. And of course, please feel free to let me know just how wrong or right I am with my picks for the year's best. Peace out.

Sam Raimi to enter the "World of Warcraft"

You know, I probably shouldn't admit it, but just about my entire knowledge of "World of Warcraft" comes from that fantastic "South Park" episode. It's certainly not that I think I'm too old or above it to play video games, it's simply that I've never, ever been terribly good at them.

With Sam Raimi attached to this, however, I can still deliver it as only insanely good news. One of the real mysteries of this summer is why more people didn't turn out for Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell," which was a really solid return to form. Granted, a woman vomiting up a dead kitten is one of the movie's milder scenes, but it was still the most fun I've have had watching a movie this summer.

And now, Blizzard Entertainment and Legendary Pictures have handed him the reins for what should be a boffo budget to make a movie from the epicly popular game, and I can guarantee this will be the first (I really can't think of any others I've seen) movie based on a video game I'll definitely see in a theater.

And if you're a fan of Bruce Lee (and really, who the heck isn't?), there's even better news out there this morning. I had heard there was going to be a biopic on the kung fu master, but had no idea it was going to be on the scale of this.

Apparently, a Chinese company called J.A. Media is making a three-part biopic on Lee, with the first chapter to begin shooting in October. The part of Bruce Lee has yet to be cast, but his father will be played by Tony Leung Ka-fai, and though no director has been picked yet either, Zhang Yimou has apparently expressed interest. Nothing but awesome there.

And finally, to close an admittedly short post, here's the best video I could find today, which is a four-and-a-half-minute clip from the upcoming flick "9," for which I've seen the trailer what seems like 500 times. Each time I do, I can't help but laugh every time I hear the phrase "visionary director Shane Acker," since I can't for the life of me name one thing he's ever directed. It does, however, feature the voice talents of Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer, John C. Reilly, Crispin Glover and even Martin Landau, and the animation (which I assume will have to, by force, be 3-D) does look really cool, so enjoy the clip, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.

Raimi's trip to "Hell" is a thoroughly disgusting delight

Going in to the great movie showdown that this weekend promised, I had two questions: Which movie would I prefer, Pixar's "Up" or Sam Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell," and how in the world did Raimi's movie end up with less than a R rating?

Well, after having seen them both, I can definitively answer the first query: While I liked and more so admired "Up," Raimi's return to horror is the most fun I've had at the movies this year (edging out by a nose "Star Trek.")

As to the second, however, I still have no idea, because as any fans of "Evil Dead" would have been hoping, this flick is as juvenilely, eerily and blissfully disgusting as you could possibly expect. And give Raimi credit: With the most dead-on descriptive movie title since "Snakes on a Plane," there really shouldn't be anyone who goes into this one expecting anything less.

I'm not sure why, since they are such a natural combo, but humor and horror have been a very difficult concoction to blend in satisfying form in recent years. James Gunn did a fine job with "Slither" (did anyone else see that?) and Edgar Wright and co. do even better, but with both of these the laughs come first, whereas Raimi at his best, which he very nearly is here, delivers classic horror and finds the dark laughs within it. A litmus test: If seeing Alison Lohman stalk her pet with a kitchen knife as she coos "here kitty kitty" doesn't make you laugh, this movie isn't for you.

The movie opens with a great set piece that establishes immediately (in case the title left you with any doubt) what you're in store for. Two Hispanic parents take their cursed child to a healer of sorts. It seems the youngun has stolen a gypsy's necklace, never something I'd recommend, and, well, as you can probably imagine he doesn't fare too well from there.

It seems that the gypsies aren't a group of people you want to cross, and I have to confess that on a B-movie horror level, that just works for me. I think of myself as a solidly nonracist person, but if there's a chink in that armor, gypsies are it, because I once tried to sleep on a Eurorail train and had no less than four gypsy urchins come into my car and try to steal all of my belongings. Does that mean all gypsies are evil? Of course not. But it does, if suspending my nagging sensibilities, make me very susceptible to believing for about 90 minutes or so that they would be capable of unleashing something as nasty as the Lamia curse which, believe me, you don't want to get.

In Raimi's world, the star is Christine Brown, a very game Alison Lohman. Young Ellen Page was originally set to submit herself to this hell, but either chickened out (which I'd perfectly understand) or simply passed. What Lohman, who I had never seen in a movie before (but heard in "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind") brings to this schlockfest, along with a willingness to go through all kind of nastiness, is a nagging optimism that although you suspect is woefully misplaced, is enough to keep you playing Raimi's game until the end.

Her big mistake? Lohman's Christine, an ambitious bank loan officer (is there a more evil sort in the real world?), turns down an old lady for a third extension on her mortgage. And as anyone who knows even a bit about this flick knows, this was the wrong woman to piss off (and Lorna Raver, complete with an evil eye and secreting all kinds of squirm-inducing fluids even while she's still alive, is just the perfect choice.) From there, well, even if you think you know what's gonna happen, it's still a hell of a lot of fun going along for the ride.

And going in, I was fairly certain that funny guy and Mac pimper Justin Long was going to annoy me, but luckily he really doesn't have much to do here as Christine's supporting boyfriend (but his character's parents, played by Chelcie Ross and Molly Cheek, get the funniest scene of all, no small feat here.) What you need if you're gonna dine on this cheese buffet is someone who can lead you and Christine along, and Dileep Rao as psychic and all-around dark arts sensei Rham Jas certainly gets the job done. I don't want to give much else away, but Adriana Barraza is easily one of my favorite actresses (I even liked her quite a bit in the Jesus-wall-stain oddity "Henry Poole Is Here"), and when she turns up near the end of this flick (if you haven't walked out in disgust already) I guarantee you'll smile.

Raimi wraps it all up with an ending that's among his best, but what really makes this whole exercise so much fun is that, as with Raimi's "A Simple Plan," Christine, even as she makes mistake after mistake and suffers the requisite plagues for her misdeeds, is someone who - although more than a little greedy - we can easily all identify with.

In short, I loved just about every minute of Sam Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell," and though it's not enough to erase the nightmare that was "Spider-Man 3" from my memory (really, nothing would be, because it truly was just that bad), it certainly shows Raimi's still capable of having a blast of wicked fun, and raises hopes that Spidey's fourth installment won't just suck hard. Peace out.

Friday morning links

Actually, the best news out there is that, with a revamped starting pitching staff and the best outfield in the American League, the Baltimore Orioles are now 6-1 in their last seven games. And, even better, supercatcher Matt Wieters finally makes his debut tonight against the Detroit Tigers.

With all this coming together, I can even see a .500 finish - poetically known in this corner as the "Run for 81" - in sight. Hey, one can dream, right?

And I'm almost as excited about the fact that this is clearly the best movie weekend of the year, even if it doesn't include Rian Johnson's "The Brothers Bloom." Because of my 10-10-10-5-5 (crazy, I know) schedule, I should be off of work by 4:30 or so today, and I'm gonna try and check out a screening of "Up!" for my supper.

I've been just as happy, though, to see that Sam Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell" has fared almost as well with the critics at Rotten Tomatoes - 98% for "Up" to 95% for "Drag Me to Hell" (actually, I looked through the six pages of reviews at RT to find the one splat for "Up" but couldn't find any ... I think they're just making it up.) It's clear that Sam Raimi is having fun again, and that we will too. For a great Raimi profile from the New York Times, click here (and the correction about the print headline is a hoot too ... that one had me scratching my head.)

But beyond that, here today it's about two sites I found recently that offer a little Friday morning time-wasting, the first way better than the second.

Anyone who's been here before knows that if there's a single upcoming movie I'm most obsessed with for the rest of this year, it would have to be Spike Jonze's "Where the Wild Things Are," and that really has nothing to do with all the ridiculous hoops that Warner Brothers has made Jonze and his crew jump through just to get it released.

From everything I've seen so far, they've managed to take my favorite childhood story and bring it to life with all its wild spirit intact. We won't get to see the final product until sometime in October, I believe, but just the trailers featuring that great Arcade Fire song "Wake Up" have been enough to get me thoroughly jazzed for this.

And now, the folks who are putting this together have started (well, it actually may have been going for sometime now already) a blog of sorts that's loosely about the movie, but moreso just about random thoughts that are always at least mildly diverting. The site, We Love You So, is well worth checking out, if for no other reason than right now, if you scroll down far enough, it contains a photo of a "Where the Wild Things Are" bento box. Yes, really.

Today's second site may simply be a bit of "viral marketing," but for that it is at least pretty clever. Judd Apatow's "Funny People," set to come out at the end of July, is certainly one of the summer movies I'm amped for, even if it seems like they did give away the entire plot in the trailer.

Though the main stars are Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen, the movie also features Eric Bana, Jonah Hill and a host of other hopefully "Funny People," including Jason Schwartzman, who this latest gimmick site is about.

His character in the movie, Mark Taylor, has a sitcom (or at least a pilot) on NBC called "Yo! Teach," so of course NBC has made a site devoted to it. The good news is that the three-minute-or-so clip on the first page is a pretty dead-on skewering of teacher sitcoms, and yes, that is indeed Roger from "What's Happening!!". Click here to check it out.

And, though I'm sure no one needs any incentive to go see "Up," I'll leave you with this clip introducing Doug the talking dog. Although "Ratatouille" will always be my favorite Pixar flick, I have a feeling this one will be right up there with "The Incredibles" competing for second place. Peace out.

It's Tuesday morning, so let the hate flow

I normally try not to get in the business of telling people not to see movies that I haven't and won't, but the fact there's only one this week - and what it is - just has me in a fairly cranky mood to start the day, so bear with me.

I always knew this week was going to be a hole in what otherwise is just a sensational month for movies. Already, of course, there's "Star Trek," which I'm almost certain to see again this weekend. Next week comes "Terminator: Salvation," for which you can count me thoroughly jazzed, and then Pixar's "Up" and Sam Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell" (but not, apparently, dammit, Rian Johnson "The Brothers Bloom.")

In between, however, all we get is "Angels & Demons." Now, for reasons I'll keep to myself, I will never, ever read a Dan Brown book or see one of his movies, but let me see if I have this plot summary right. After the Pope is murdered, the four Preferiti, or candidates to replace him, are also slain. Is this really anyone's idea of pleasant Summertime entertainment? Sheesh. Here's hoping against hope that this somehow makes a grand total of about $100 worldwide.

And, in the spirit of hating, which can actually be more than a little fun, here's a word or two about one I did see last weekend, so I guess you can call this a cautionary tale. Here goes:


I should have known "Next Day Air" was going to be a disaster when I saw it called, in separate places, both "the black Pineapple Express" and "the black Lock, Stock and Two Smokin' Barrels."

Now, I guess the bigger question would be why we would need either of those, but for right now, I can just tell you "Next Day Air" just falls miserable short of both. Not even Donald Faison, Wood Harris (Avon Barksdale on "The Wire") and Mos Def (who wisely only spends about five minutes total in this train wreck), all of whom I like a whole lot, were enough to give this flick either an ounce of comedic charm or dramatic urgency. Lacking both, it's a grim affair, and much more importantly, just incredibly boring. Avoid this one at all costs. I sure wish I had.

Actually, I guess just about everyone already has since it made a grand total of about $4 million. I give it one more week, and the filmmakers only have themselves to blame, because I really can't think of a movie I was looking forward to more that's just so completely lacking in anything that could even come close to being called entertainment value.

The premise, which I knew going in, can only generously be called tired. Faison, playing a spliffed-out delivery guy, delivers a package of narcotics to the wrong address. To that, the movie adds almost no comedy and really no further story, hence why it has no relation AT ALL to "Lock, Stock" and even less to "Pineapple Express." Debbie Allen shows up for about two minutes and tries very hard to be funny, as does Mos Def, but they both wisely bail very quickly. I guarantee that if you do somehow manage to see this, Mos' line in the commercial, "I like your outfit," is just about the only one that will make you even snicker.

And you can call me a devoted fan of "stylized violence," but the bullet ballet that closes out "Next Day Air" forgot one key element: Any kind of style. It just mercifully puts this instantly forgettable flick to bed in just under 90 minutes, which in my book amounts to a mercy killing. Peace out.

Cannes lineup: Clash of the Titans + the opening of "The Brothers Bloom" "

Though I've thoroughly enjoyed the Atlanta Film Festival 365 and look forward to returning to it tomorrow, there's really just nothing better for daydreaming than imagining spending two weeks or so sunning in the south of France and just watching movies.

Well, I can't deliver you that, of course, but here to perhaps set your mind reeling to far-flung locales are the highlights (as I see it) of the just-announced lineup for the 2009 Cannes Film Festival (the "L'Avventura"-themed poster for which is at right), which kicks off May 13 with the opening night screening of Pixar's "Up" (not too shabby a starting point.)

In the competition, I can't imagine it will win, but the big, loud dog in the room who will attract the most attention will almost certainly be Quentin Tarantino's World War II flick "Inglourious Basterds," assuming he finishes it on time, of course. I don't think he's gonna get hissed like poor Sofia Coppola did a few years ago with "Marie Antoinette," but the reaction to any movie in which Eli Roth is decapitating Nazis with a baseball bat should be fascinating.

Also on the domestic front, Ang Lee will be in competition with "Taking Woodstock," a biographical comedy starring Comedy Central's Demetri Martin as Elliot Tiber, who played a key role in launching the hippie fest. I have a feeling this one will just be goofy as hell but, assuming its get any of proper distribution, I could also easily see it becoming the sleeper hit of the summer.

If I were on the jury or even somehow just in attendance, though, the single competition movie I'd most be looking forward to is Park Chan-wook's vampire movie, "Thirst" Among other crazy things, as far as I can tell, it's about a priest who goes to Africa to participate in a medical experiment but instead, of course, finds himself turned into a bloodsucker. Bring it on! In the same vein (get it?), Sam Raimi will be screening his return to "real horror," "Drag Me to Hell," as a midnight movie, and one I'd certainly stay up well past my school night bed time for.

Joining Tarantino, Lee and Chan-wook will be a lot of heavy hitters, starting with Pedro Almodovar's "Broken Embraces." I know his movies are, well, often extremely gay, but I've always just loved them, and this one - apparently an homage to filmmaking with a puzzling plot and, thankfully, Penelope Cruz - just sounds like a real winner.

Michael Haneke will begin his path of atonement for that "Funny Games" trailer that I must have had the misfortune of seeing 150 times (or at least it certainly felt like it) with his new feature film, "The White Ribbon," about which I know nothing more than that. Also on the prestige front will be the U.K.'s Angry-but-not-so-young-man Ken Loach with "Looking for Eric," which sounds like a surprising amount of fun. Described as a movie about "football fanatics and life," it's apparently about a football-mad postman who gets life advice from Eric Cantona. Wild.

Jane Campion will return with "Bright Star," a suitably high-minded tale about the poet John Keats and his affair with the girl next door, and I can only imagine Lars von Trier will be stirring up all kinds of trouble with something simply called "Antichrist."

And though this has probably gone on well long enough, it's certainly worth mentioning one last oddity, Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus," which is screening out of competition and still, rather amazingly, looking for a U.S. distributor. If you've got a movie you can market as Heath Ledger's last that also just happens to star Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell but you still can't get any real distribution, you've either got to have something simply awful or just extremely bizarre. My guess? A mix of the two, tilted to the latter, but either way I can't wait to see this one if I ever get the chance.

The first seven minutes of "The Brothers Bloom"

Anyone who sat through all that certainly deserves a reward, and anyone who's been here before (there are amazingly at least a few of you) knows that I've already christened Rian Johnson's con-men flick "The Brothers Bloom" as the single movie I'm most looking forward to for all of 2009 (nothing like a little hyperbole to start the day, but I'm serious here.)

Knowing it comes from the creator of "Brick" (rent that one already!) and stars Mark Ruffalo, Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz and Rinko Kikuchi in a good, old-fashioned con game was enough to get me hooked, and now the first seven minutes - which you can watch below courtesy of the glorious Hulu - just have me salivating for when this finally opens (hopefully very wide!) May 29 against the aforementioned "Drag Me to Hell" and "Up." As expected, the opening sequence, narrated by Ricky Jay, is just a treat to watch, and in spirit it reminds me a lot of Wes Anderson's "Bottle Rocket," never a bad reference point in my book. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Thursday. Peace out.

R.I.P. Andy Hallett, a bit of news, and the DVD pick of the week

Now this is just amazingly sad. When I saw this name, I have to confess it didn't mean anything to me at first, but if you watched "Angel" during it's five-season run, you're certainly familiar with Andy Hallett.

Hallett played Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan, a k a Lorne, "The Host" who specialized in reading people's auras as he induced them to sing karaoke (yes, I know that sounds incredibly silly, but awfully entertaining too.) Hallett, who had apparently been battling heart disease pretty much since the show ended in 2004, died Monday night of heart failure at only age 33. Just amazingly sad.

In much better news, any doubts that Sacha Baron Cohen was going to push the envelope as far as possible in "Bruno" have been removed as the MPAA has given the flick an NC-17 rating in its first pass.

I have little doubt that Cohen and crew will be able to tame it down enough to get this one into theaters even in my rather safe little corner of the world, but - not having seen it, of course - it does make you wonder how much of that rating comes from the fact that it deals with a touchy issue, homophobia, rather than from any truly offensive content (though I'm willing to bet there's plenty of that too.) How much violence is allowed into movies rated PG-13 and below while the smallest whiff of sex - gay, straight or otherwise - just sets censors crazy is grist for a whole post in itself, but not one I have the time or energy to get into this morning.

Bottom line: "Bruno" should be a heck of a lot of fun in theaters, and way better on DVD.

There's a lot of good stuff out there this morning - the day after "Friday Night Lights" got renewed for two more seasons, huzzah! - so if you'll bear with me, I'm just gonna plow right through it.

David Cronenberg, who has until now balked at sequels of any kind, is seriously considering making an exception to that rule to continue the "Eastern Promises" saga, which I have to say would only be a good thing.

As you may remember from the end of the movie (AND IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT, FOR GOD'S SAKE, PLEASE JUST SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH), the big twist is that Viggo Mortensen's Russian gangster is actually a British intelligence agent. In the right hands, a k a those of Cronenberg, screenwriter Steven Knight and Mortensen, all of whom are in talks to return, this could not only make another great flick but perhaps even a series, if they're so inclined. Here's what Cronenberg had to say about the project to the surprisingly informative MTV Movies Blog:

“We are going to have a meeting very soon between me, Steve Knight and Paul Webster to discuss what the script would be. I have some very strong ideas about what I would like to see, but I would like to hear what they have to say as well. And then after that, if all goes well, Steve goes away and writes a great script. If we all like it, we make it.”

Here's hoping, and in other casting news for flicks I'd certainly like to see, "Watchmen" director Zack Snyder has lost one waif and quickly picked up another to play the lead in his next flick, "Sucker Punch."

Amanda Seyfried was forced to drop out because HBO wouldn't let her out of her "Big Love" contract, so Aussie Emily Browning has stepped into the lead role. Though she starred this year in "The Uninvited" (which, rather amazingly, was still playing in one multiplex in my hood as recently as last week), you'll probably best remember her as Violet in "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events."

Seems like a lateral move to me, but Browning should be a lot of fun in the lead role of a young woman forced into an insane asylum by her stepfather, who then uses the power of her imagination and the help of her fellow inmates (most likely Evan Rachel Wood, Vanessa Hudgens, Abbie Cornish and Emma Stone) to escape.

No matter how this all works out, however, the best thing is that Snyder is finally cooking up something from his own mind instead of making another comic book flick.

And speaking of HBO, I'm rather psyched for the second season of "True Blood," which may even be enough to induce me to pay for the channel when the vampire series returns for season 2 on June 14.

I spent a good portion of my recent trip through the Southeast reading the source material for the second installment, Charlaine Harris' "Living Dead in Dallas," and can happily report that it has plenty of crazy stuff in store for the series (not exactly high art, I know, but it was just the perfect book to read while getting too much sun lazing on the beach in Gulf Shores, Ala.) Not to spoil too much, but the novel starts with the death of Lafayette (which ended season one of the show) and somehow ends up at an orgy.

The photo below, featuring Macon native Carrie Preston (left) as the Merlotte's waitress Arlene, and plenty more are on display at HitFix, and you can view them all here.


DVD pick of the week:

The big name this week is certainly Oscar winner "Slumdog Millionaire," and that one indeed did nothing but make me smile from start to finish each of the two times I've seen it already. But my pick this week is one of the only other movies I bothered to see twice in theaters in 2008 (along with "The Dark Knight"), the French thriller "Tell No One."

Not surprisingly at all given just how maddeningly entertaining it is, this mindbender based on a Harlan Coben novel is already being remade for American audiences, but please believe me that you should see it in its original French form from director Guillaume Canet. What he's cooked up here combines the best elements of the French psychological thriller genre with a genuine potboiler mystery tale, and put it all together with tons of style. I also promise that the "reveal," easily my favorite movie scene from last year, will stick with you for a long time. Rent it already.

And on that note I'll close with this rather awesome poster for Sam Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell," set to hit theaters May 29. We've all had days like this, if not quite as bad as poor Alison Lohman's, so enjoy and have a perfectly passable Tuesday. Peace out.

The joys of summer: Ten (or maybe 13) flicks I'm really looking forward to

Actually, the most important thing happening possibly today for fans of great television is that DirecTV and NBC are expected to announce whether or not they've come to an agreement for a fourth and fifth season of "Friday Night Lights."

Now, I know I talk about this show a whole lot, but you'll just have to believe me that it's that good. It's the best TV drama since "The Wire," and in the interest of full disclosure, it routinely comes very close to making this grownass man cry at its most touching moments.

If you've missed out on the ride thus far, it's easy to catch up, and free too. I was rather amazed to find you can watch the first two seasons and the second half of the current one on Hulu, so I encourage anyone to give it a try.

The final decision, of course, will come down to money, specifically how much DirecTV is willing to pay to air the shows before they hit NBC. I'll definitely pass on what I hear as soon as I can, but here today it's all about summer, and what's in the movie pipeline.

There's actually some pretty good stuff coming before summer, which for argument's sake will start in May, including this week Greg Mottola's "Adventureland" and - if you live in a bigger city than me - "Sunshine Cleaning" and Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's baseball flick "Sugar," and next week Jody Hill's "Observe and Report." For a look at what comes after those that intrigues me, here goes (and please forgive any misspellings, because the Blogger spell check just wouldn't work this morning):

May 21: Terminator Salvation

I really had little to no interest in this one until I saw the latest trailer, but am now fairly convinced that McG will cook up something both genuinely gritty and fun with it. McG? Yes, McG.

May 29: Three definitely worth waiting for

The Brothers Bloom: Memorial day weekend will probably be the single best movie weekend of 2009 if Rian Johnson's sophomore flick actually manages to play wide enough to reach my little corner of the world. It was originally supposed to come out late last year, and I've certainly been ready to see this con man flick starring Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel Weisz and Rinko Kikuchi since then.



Drag Me to Hell: If anyone short of Sam Raimi were promising a return to "real horror" I'd probably just laugh and move on, but judging from the trailer above I think he's come up with exactly that. If you hooked her up to a lie detector I bet Ellen Page would reveal she regrets passing on the lead in this tale of an old woman's rather nasty curse and handing the role to Alison Lohman.

Up: Having seen just last weekend what 3D can do in the wrong hands, being thoroughly bored from start to finish by Dreamworks' "Monsters Vs. Aliens," I can't wait to see it used for the forces of good again by Pixar. Everything I've seen and heard about this tale of an adventurous septuagenarian (Ed Asner) and his flying house says it's gonna be yet another Pixar winner.

June 19

Whatever Works: After countless years of casting his muse of the moment, Woody Allen has finally looked in the mirror and turned to a cranky old man as the lead in this one, and thankfully it's veryfunnyman Larry David. Here's hoping the success of "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (my favorite comedy of 2009) means this return to NYC for Mr. Allen will play very wide.



Year One: As you can see from the trailer above, the humor in this Harold Ramis flick will be extremely broad but hopefully also on the mark. Jack Black and Michael Cera play the leads in this biblical laugher, which Ramis promises was made in the spirit of Monty Python. I have my doubts, but bring it on so we can find out.

July 1: Public Enemies

Having tried it out on one of my Johnny Depp-obsessed co-workers when she was having a particularly bad day, I can attest that there's just something extremely therapeutic about seeing him tote a tommy gun. Christian Bale will be the lawman who pursues Depp's John Dillinger in Michael Mann's flick, and you've also got Marion Cotillard as Dillinger's mol and Billy Crudup as J. Edgar Hoover, which all sounds pretty great to me.

July 10: Bruno

I'm not sure I'm ready for more of Sacha Baron Cohen's antics, but I laughed through just about every minute of "Borat," so I'll give him another shot. Besides, early word is that his exploits as the Austrian fashion reporter Bruno are at least as outrageous as anything he came up with the first time out, so it should at least never be boring.

July 17: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

It will be interesting to see if Harry Potter mania will still be running strong after such a long layoff. Given what director David Yates did with "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and that this installment is easily my favorite of the books, I'm betting this one will be both a critical and box-office winner.



July 31: Funny People

As you can see from the trailer above (which reveals perhaps too much of the flick's story), there's a whole lot more than stand-up comedy going on in this Judd Apatow movie starring Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen. Given how often we hear the "Freaks and Geeks" creator's name nowadays, it's surprising (to me, at least) that this will be only the third flick he's actually directed, preceded by "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up" (the far superior of the two).

August 7: Julie and Julia

Far too girly for the heat of August, perhaps, but when you've got Meryl Streep and adorable Amy Adams in a movie that's all about food, I'm there. Streep will play master chef Julia Child and Adams a woman who decides to cook her way through Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in one year's time in her small kitchen. Sounds like nothing but fun to me.



August 14: Taking Woodstock

Out of some odd misguided loyalty to Dave Chappelle I've thus far resisted watching Comedy Central's latest sketch comedy star, Demetri Martin, but I'm beginning to think I'm really missing out on something good. Should I give in? As you can see from the trailer above, Mr. Martin also plays the lead role of Elliot Tiber in Ang Lee's flick about the famed hippie fest, which looks like it will be as simply silly as it is hopefully entertaining.

August 21: Inglourious Basterds

We finish, fittingly enough, with Quentin Tarantino's version of a World War II flick, assuming he actually both finishes it in time and decides to cut it enough to release it as only one movie. After watching Eli Roth removing a Nazi's head with a baseball bat I have serious doubts that this will be any good, but I'll definitely be there to see how it all turns out.

And there you have it. There are also certainly some pending blockbusters ("GI Joe", "Star Trek" and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" among them) that simply don't interest me all that much, but if there are any other summer flicks I've omitted but should put on my radar, certainly let me know, and have a perfectly passable Monday. Peace out.

Ellen Page is headed to "Hell"

The big news this morning, of course, is that the writers' strike finally appears to be at an end.

Showrunners are back at work today, and writers are expected back Wednesday, but I have to ask: what exactly did they win? WGA west President Patric Verrone said the new deal is "... not all that we hoped for, and it is not all we deserve." Judging from what I see in TV commercials, however, I fear it will be even worse than that.

Why so pessimistic? I was fairly happy that this was all over until, on Sunday night, I saw a commercial for something on NBC with the word "Truth" in it (the full name escapes me, and I really just can't justify the effort to find out what it is). On this rather reprehensible program, a man seemed to be answering questions, while hooked up to a lie detector, with his marriage and, I presume, most of his life in the balance.

Does anyone see the entertainment value in this? And if so, could you please explain it to me? Here's hoping that the labor peace will lead to some actually scripted TV this fall, but I fear the breach will be too much to mend. I'm sure there's blame to go around, but just to pile on NBC a bit more, the network has already announced it is ending the pilot process used to woo advertisers, which can only be a bad sign.

But enough of that. Even if I fear it will be a phyrric victory at best, the writers are indeed headed back to work, and we should at least celebrate that. And, since nothing makes Mondays go down better than good news about beautiful women, that's all I'll have from here on out (at least until the very end.)

No "Heroes" until Fall

One show that will definitely return, but not until Fall, is NBC's "Heroes," which is seriously in need of a good season after the near-disaster that was Volume 2.

Hayden Panettiere, while at the Berlin Film Festival, spilled the beans to an AICN scribe that filming on season three is set to start in April, which would logically mean we wouldn't get anything new until the Fall.

Whenever it comes, I'll be ready for more. Season two was often a maddening one to me (what in the world was the point of adding the wonder twins Maya and Alejandro, for starters?), but the last few episodes really picked up steam and set up well for the next edition, so definitely bring it on.

Ellen Page is headed to "Hell"

And finally we get to the still-fairly-young lady of the moment. Lest anyone get suspicious that I write about Ms. Page so often simply because it leads to more traffic on this site (which it certainly does), you'll have to trust me that that's not it.

I've seen "Juno" twice now, and it's simply a charming little movie, and mostly thanks to Page's work in the lead role. It's not the best movie of 2007, an honor that I'd split between "No Country for Old Men" and "Ratatouille," but I would call it just about the most fun flick of the year, and that's good enough for me.

And now Ellen Page is about to spread some of her good karma to someone who sorely needs it: Sam Raimi. No one (except for maybe M. Night Shymalan) is more in need of a satisfying flick than Raimi after the dour disaster that was "Spider-Man 3," and his next one, "Drag Me to Hell," is rapidly shaping up to be just the ticket.

All I know so far is that Ellen Page has just signed on to star in the horror flick and that it's described simply as "a morality tale about the unwitting recipient of a supernatural curse."

Raimi and his brother Ted, the team behind "Spidey 3," wrote the script for this one too, so here's hoping they indeed have a lot more fun when this begins shooting in March.

"Veronica Mars" gets Disney treatment

Speaking of "Heroes," Season 2 semi-regular Kristen Bell has just signed on for a Disney romantic comedy, not at all my cup of tea but noteworthy nonetheless.

In "When in Rome," also set to begin filming in March," Bell will play a successful real estate agent in New York City who can't find a lasting relationship (already more than bit hard to believe.) When her younger sister impulsively marries in Rome, she flies out for the wedding and, after picking up coins from a reputed "fountain of love," finds an overabundance of suitors waiting for her back home.

Like I said, sounds like a whole lot of meh to me, but don't blame the messenger.

"Ratatouille" cleans up at Annies

And speaking of "Ratatouille," Brad Bird's Pixar flick won a leading 11 Annies (by my best estimate) at Friday's ceremony, so a hearty huzzah to that.

Along with best picture, best writing and best directing, it also scored the voice work prize for Ian Holm (though I would have given the honor to either fellow "Ratatouille" nominee Janeane Garofalo or the somehow-snubbed completely Peter O'Toole.) And while we're at it, congrats too to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" vet Seth Green, a winner for best director of a TV show for the sublime "Robot Chicken."

And why not wrap this up with a look at Pixar's next summer offering, "Wall-E"? I still have doubts that this largely dialogue-free flick will work, but just a look at Wall-E's eyes is enough to give me hope. Enjoy the trailer, and have an entirely bearable Monday. Peace out.