Scott Pilgrim Vs. the effect of video games on movies

Complaining about the influence of video games on movies makes me feel more than a little like the old guy yelling, "Hey you kids, get off my lawn." And besides, this summer at least, I'm not all that sure it's a bad thing.

Now, to be clear, I'm certainly not talking about movies based directly on video games - I can't think of the last one of those that was any good. In fact, movies "based" on another medium, particularly '80s TV shows, generally raise a red flag for me (with this summer's "The A-Team" being a welcome exception ... what a big blast of fun.)

Instead, I mean movies that take on the feel of playing - or even better, somehow being in - a video game, with this summer's best example so far being Christopher Nolan's "Inception." Until being knocked from the No. 1 perch last week by the seriously funny and well worth seeing "The Other Guys," Nolan's flick rode a long winning streak to already more than $227 million at the domestic box office in spite - or perhaps because, your choice - of a plot that, like the best of video games. presents a puzzle with level after level of challenges for viewers.

And if all Nolan's tricks don't quite add up in your mind, you're far from alone. It took me two viewings to accept that even if everything he's cooked up doesn't add up perfectly (and I'm fairly certain it was never designed to), it's still pretty much a masterwork both visually and in terms of storytelling.

In an interview with the L.A. Times, Henry Jenkins, a professor of communications, journalism and cinematic arts at the University of Southern California, explained the game influence of "Inception" perfectly: " 'Inception' is first and foremost a movie about worlds and levels, which is very much the way video games are structured. Games create a sense that we're a part of the action. Stories aren't just told to us. We experience them."

Just how much more of an appetite is there for this interactive kind of filmmaking? That gets a major test this weekend with the release of "Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World," which packs the double geek bona fide of not only looking just like a really good video game but also being based on a fairly obscure series of graphic novels (and yes, though I'm well aware I should really be too old for "comic books," I have read the first two installments of this, and it has a visual and verbal wit that should be just right in Edgar Wright's flick.)

Like "Inception," the tale of Scott Pilgrim is indeed also a quest with many levels, in this case battles with "seven evil exes" to win the heart of Ramona Flowers. Even with a love story of sorts at its core, I'll be curious to see how "Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World" fares in a busy week that also contains all the action you can stand (and probably much more) with "The Expendables" and Julia Roberts starring in a more conventional romantic saga directed by "Glee" creator Ryan Murphy, "Eat, Pray, Love."

As for the overall trend of interactive movies, brace yourself for more, because it's not going away any time soon (there's even, of course, a sequel of sorts to "Tron," "Tron: Legacy," coming in time for Christmas.) And as for me, well, as long as the ride continues to be thrilling, I'll just be enjoying it while it lasts.

Mid-year report card: One man's picks for the best movies of 2010 (so far)

After a more than slightly disappointing beginning to this movie year, we've been on a real roll of late.

The winning streak started with "Toy Story 3," the perfect ending to a great movie trilogy, and continued with the surprisingly charming "Despicable Me" on through the ambitious mindbender "Inception" (and if you really think you can explain that one to me, bring it on.)

Overall, not nearly as good a movie year as 2009, but it's clearly getting better, and the fall should have some real winners (more on that in coming weeks). Here is one man's opinion about the best movies (so far) of 2010, in order of preference.

10. "Shutter Island": I'd say Leonardo DiCaprio was in a mindbending movie rut if the ones he's been in this year weren't so good. "Shutter Island," a Martin Scorsese movie based on a novel by Dennis Lehane, was a B-movie flick with A-level acting and style. Now on DVD.

9. "Alice in Wonderland": Though many - if not most - of director Tim Burton's adaptations/remakes are tired, this was a welcome exception. It was full of whimsy and surprising restraint from Burton, and for once, Johnny Depp was funny rather than simply creepy in a Burton movie as the Mad Hatter. Now on DVD..

8. "Date Night": This is most certainly the year of Steve Carell on the big screen, and since he's soon likely to quit "The Office," why not? Though this flick with co-star Tina Fey lacked the anarchic spirit of Scorsese's "After Hours," from which it clearly draws inspiration, it was still a fun night out with two very talented comedians. Coming to DVD on Aug. 10.

7. "Despicable Me": Carell again, in a flick that proves Pixar doesn't have the market cornered on mixing wicked humor with heart. After a slow start full of run-of-the-mill jokes, it develops into a thoroughly charming animated tale, and contains my single favorite movie line of 2010 so far: "The physical appearance of the please makes no difference." In theaters now.,

6. "Inception": This is, of course, all anyone is talking about now when it comes to movies, and what more can you ask for than that? Christopher Nolan's dreamscape may well move up on this list over time, but for right now, I need to see it again, because after one viewing it left me with as many questions as answers, and that's far from a complaint. In theaters now.

5. "A Prophet": It has been called "The French Godfather," and though that's clearly a high bar to set, the comparison actually works on many levels. The story about what one man has to do to survive a long stint in prison - from unsavory alliances to even more unsavory activities - is simply mesmerizing from start to finish. Out on DVD Tuesday.

4. "Kick-Ass": Really? Yes, really. Though there are clearly questions about the morality of a 13-year-old, extremely foul-mouthed and even more lethal "Hit-Girl," played by young Georgian Chloe Moretz, there's no denying that it's funny. And this is, after all, a comic-book movie, and one that in the hands of director Matthew Vaughn breathes new life into that very familiar genre. Now on DVD.

3. "That Evening Sun": A definite highlight of the 2010 Macon Film Festival, this stars Hal Holbrook in a revival of the great Southern movie, a genre that's becoming far too much of a rarity. He's angry, ornery and excellent as an old man who escapes from a nursing home to reclaim his former home, now being inhabited by another Macon Film Festival favorite, Ray McKinnon. Not to be missed, and coming to DVD on Sept. 7. And the Macon Film Festival will return Feb. 17, 2011, so stay tuned.

2. "Toy Story 3": Is Pixar's marquee trilogy also now the best movie trilogy of all time? The argument can certainly be made, since it started with a groundbreaking original, upped the ante with a second chapter that was even better in terms of story and humor, and then finished up (we assume) with a final chapter that was both a rousing adventure and a definite charmer, and yes, the ending did make this grown man cry (admit it, you did too.) In theaters now.

1. "Winter's Bone": Debra Granik's movie takes a classic film genre, the film noir, and sets it in just about the bleakest possible setting, the Missouri Ozarks. And though it can often indeed be as depressing as that sounds, it's also riveting as newcomer Jennifer Lawrence tries to unravel the mystery of what has happened to her deadbeat father, who has put up the house she shares with her two young siblings as a guarantor that he'll appear in court on charges of making meth. This is, indeed, the perfect kind of movie for the Macon Film Guild to offer this fall (though I don't have any say in that), and worth seeking out now in select theaters.

Honorable mention: "Youth in Revolt", "Edge of Darkness", "Ghost Writer", "The Crazies", "The Good Heart", "OSS 117: Lost in Rio", "Splice", "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work", "Get Him to the Greek" and "Cyrus"

So, there you have it. Please feel free to share any you think I may have snubbed (and there's surely more than one), and to offer any of your favorites from this movie year so far. Peace out.

"Let the Right One In" director assembling great spy game

Congrats to my staff on 4 Emmy nominations. This bodes well for the future of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.

It's good to know that through it all Conan is, of course, still very funny, but easily the best news in yesterday's Emmy nominations was long overdue acting nods for Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler of "Friday Night Lights." They probably won't win, and the great show somehow still didn't get a best dramatic series nomination, but kudos nonetheless. Bully.

And beyond that today, it's a fairly slow day outside the quartet of clips at the end of this, but there is news about one of my favorite directors. Although Matt Reeves has been garnering plenty of attention for his thoroughly unnecessary English-language remake of the simply brilliant vampire movie "Let the Right One In," the director of the original classic (yes really, classic already, it's that good), Tomas Alfredson, has quietly assembled an A-list cast for what should be a fantastic spy flick, his take on John Le Carre's "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy."

Already according to Variety, Ralph Fiennes, Colin Firth, Gary Oldman and Michael Fassbender have all signed on, though there's no word yet on which of them will play the main spook, George Smiley. Even better than that is that Peter Morgan, who wrote, among many other things, "Frost/Nixon," "The Queen" and the fantabulous futbol flick "The Damned United" (rent that one already), has penned the script for this, so it should be whip smart.

Le Carre's novel was already made into a seven-part British miniseries starring, among others, Alec Guinness and the late, truly great Ian Richardson (if I can digress for a second, the "House of Cards" trilogy, starring the latter as the nefarious Francis "F.U." Urquhart, is a grand piece of political theater, so watch that as soon as you can find it.) In the story, Smiley is assigned to uncover and take out a double agent implanted in the British Secret Service by Moscow Centre.

Update: A second of research by me reveals that Gary Oldman will indeed be playing George Smiley, so count this as one to definitely keep an eye out for in 2012.

OK, after that all I have today is a quartet of clips, but they're all well worth sticking around for. First up comes the second teaser trailer I know of for David Fincher's "The Social Network," and I have to say both of these have brought new life to that dying art of getting you amped up for a flick without revealing any actual footage. The flick, penned by Aaron Sorkin and starring Jesse Eisenberg, Rashida Jones (of "Parks and Recreation") and one Justin Timberlake, is set to drop Oct. 1. Enjoy.



Next up comes the second full trailer I know of for Robert Rodriguez's "Machete," which of course springs from the faux trailer in "Grindhouse" and is set to come out Sept. 3. There's a gigantic chance this could just be bloody awful, but with Danny Trejo as the lead badass and Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal, Michelle Rodriguez, Don Johnson, Lindsay Lohan and even somehow Robert De Niro all starring in this, I'm betting on a lot of silly fun too. Enjoy.



I'm not sure when I'll be able to see Christopher Nolan's "Inception," since I'll be on vacation in Philly next week with mi hermano, but there's no doubt that the marketing machine for his brainy blockbuster set to come out July 16 is operating at full force. Here's just one of the many clips out there today, in which Leo DiCaprio introduces Reel Fanatic favorite Ellen Page to the concept of shared dreaming.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

And where in the world would be a better place to end up today than with Warwick Davis discussing his upcoming mockumentary BBC series with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, "Life's Too Short"? No idea when this will manage to cross the pond, but hopefully the wait won't be too long, because with that trio, comedy gold will surely be unearthed. Enjoy the clip, and have a great weekend. Peace out.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

New "Beavis and Butthead"? Well, that won't suck

Actually, I was tempted to use that word in association with Mike Judge's craptastic last flick, "Extract," but let's just be nice and simply say perhaps the man should just stick to TV.

In easily the best combination of crazy and great news today, it seems that Judge is indeed now "outlining" 30 new episodes of "Beavis and Butthead," and if anything, our world is even more deserving of their deconstruction than it was when the duo first debuted in 1997.

There's no deal yet in place with MTV, but seeing as how it hasn't shown anything resembling a music video almost since our heroes left the air the first time, I can't imagine they'd turn this down. Actually, wouldn't that be a problem? Do people even make music videos anymore? If so, why, since no one shows them?

Even if that means the format would have to be tweaked somewhat, the potential return of Beavis and Butthead is still nothing but good news in this little corner of the world.

And in their honor, the synopsis is out for the the third adventures of Harold and Kumar, "A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas," due out Christmas Day 2011. Here goes:

The new "Harold & Kumar" comedy picks up six years after the duo's last adventure. After years of growing apart, Harold Lee (John Cho) and Kumar Patel (Kal Penn) have replaced each other with new best friends and are preparing for their respective Christmas celebrations. But when a mysterious package arrives at Kumar's door, his attempt to deliver it to Harold's house ends with him inadvertently burning down Harold's father-in-law's prize Christmas tree. With his in-laws out of the house for less than a day, Harold decides to cover his tracks rather than come clean, and reluctantly embarks on another ill-advised but hilarious journey with Kumar, taking them through New York City on Christmas Eve in search of the perfect Christmas tree.

Nothing but potential funny there, so here's hoping the third chapter is a whole lot better than "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay," which, while still being a hoot, just too often crossed that fine line between clever and simply stupid.

And all I have after that today is a trio of videos that caught my eye this morning, starting, of course, with something in honor of the return of "Mad Men," coming July 25 with season four on AMC. The show's return is a definite entertainment highlight in any summer, but in this season of suck, it's even more vital. To whet your appetite, here's a clip some devoted and inspired fan with some time to kill made that compiles some of the best pickup lines and rejections. Enjoy.



Actually, in terms of movies that won't suck, the reviews I've read of "Despicable Me" indicate that should be a winner, and it should initiate at least a three-week streak of good flicks, being followed by Christopher Nolan's "Inception" (for which the early reviews could, without exaggeration, be called rapturous) and then Phillip Noyce's "Salt," starring Angelina Jolie. With flicks like "The Quiet American" and "Catch a Fire," Noyce has made himself into easily one of my favorite directors, and he's clearly at home with spy games, so I'm expecting this to be pretty great, and one of the surprise megahits of the summer. Enjoy this clip.

And, it being Thursday, where else to end than with a clip from tonight's new "Futurama"? Last week's episode featuring everything from the Eye Phone to that thoroughly disgusting Susan Boyle boil was comedy gold, and as you'll see from this clip, tonight's episode is all about "robosexual marriage." Enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.

Futurama	Thursdays 10pm / 9c
Preview - No on Infinity
www.comedycentral.com
Futurama New Episodes Futurama New Episodes It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Christopher Nolan, uncaped crusader against 3-D? Not so much

Actually, if you like the funny, there's nowhere else to start today than with the fact that the extremely funny Louie CK is coming to F/X tonight with his new sitcom, appropriately enough titled simply "Louie."

The show, which will blend his standup with sitcom set pieces, has gotten nothing but positive write ups from what I've seen so far, so you can count me as thoroughly psyched for this, even if, since it's on at 11 p.m. on a school night, this kid will be in bed already and will watch it in DVRed form Wednesday night. Here's a fairly funny promo clip. Enjoy.



OK, now on to the main event. I'm still entirely convinced that Christopher Nolan's "Inception" is going to do nothing but rock when it comes out July 16, but any notion that he was some kind of uncaped crusader against the virus that is 3-D (which, admittedly, really only existed in my own mind) has now been shattered.

It seems that, rather than standing up to the tide and making his blockbuster without Hollywood's latest gimmick, Nolan and his crew simply ran out of time to complete the 3-D conversion process. Sheesh. Here's what he had to say about it:

"When we edited the film, we looked at the post-conversion process and did some very good tests, but when I really looked at the time period we had and where my attention needed to be in finishing the film, I decided I didn't have enough time to do it to the standard I would have liked."

In the very next quote, however, he goes on to make the exact case against 3-D, post-conversion or otherwise, that holds the most sway with me.

"It's perfectly possible to post-convert a film very well. I like not having glasses on when I see a movie and I like seeing a bright immersive image. So, I think at the end of the day I am extremely happy to be putting the film out with 35 mil film prints. Very brightly projected with the highest possible image quality. That's really what excited me."

Amen brother, Now, just remember that when and if you ever get around to making a "Batman 3"!

In other superhero news about a flick that's so far coming together very well, it seems that Matthew Vaughn has hired his Emma Frost for "X-Men: First Class." Having already made solid choices for the leads of young Professor X and Magneto, respectively James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, it's only natural in comic-book progression that they'd find, and forgive me for saying it, a sublimely hot actress to play the White Queen. And in Alice Eve, pictured, of course, here, they certainly have.

So, who's Alice Eve? Well, I've only ever seen her in the surprisingly satisfying "She's Out of My League" with Jay Baruchel. Before that movie collapses into a pool of rom-com formula for the finish, it's remarkably funny, especially co-star Krysten Ritter. If you haven't seen this one, you could certainly do far worse with a rental.

OK, as we go into the videos, where else to start than with this this touching tribute to O Rei Pele, executive produced by Fernando Meirelles of "City of God" fame. It imagines a parallel end to the great one's playing career, and if you like soccer (and please, if you don't, keep it to yourself), this is certainly worth about five minutes of your time, and may even jerk a tear or two out of you. Enjoy.



Where do you go from there? Why not to a kung fu movie directed by RZA of the Wu Tang Clan? Yes, really, and this two-minute trailer (with, I apologize in advance, just horrendously bad music) promises that "Wu Tang Vs. the Golden Phoenix" will be bad in the most delightfully fun kind of way. Enjoy.



And finally, how better to end than with the first trailer for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," which they've rather wisely stashed in front of "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" beginning at midnight tonight (or tomorrow morning, or whatever.) You can argue with making it into two movies, but the final chapter of Harry's saga is an epic tome, so I really have no beef with it. What you can see from this is that they really got it done just in time, because the kids really can't get any older for this to work at all, but I'm confident director David Yates will come up with winners for these two flicks, the first of which is coming in November. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Tuesday. Peace out.

A "new" Christopher Nolan flick before "Inception"? Bring it on!

There are many, many reasons to subscribe to Roger Ebert's seemingly more than monthly newsletter, but the two best are that it, after all, only costs $4.99 a year, and, even better, it's always chock full of goodies like the trailer teased above and found at the end of this post. To subscribe, click here.

But before I get to that, however, it's a fairly full day of good news, starting out with, if it comes together, what would have to make just about the funnest movie trilogy ever, although I'll concede far from the best (an argument for that one would have to be made for "Toy Story," because the third chapter is indeed just that good.)

There are few subgenres of movie I love more than the baseball flick, so it makes me nothing but giddy to hear writer/director David S. Ward talk about the possibility of another "Major League." He's told Moviehole.net that he's already written a "Major League 3" script and will be talking to the Morgan Creek movie company next week about how to proceed. Here's what he had to say about the story:

"It's 20 years later, and Wild Thing comes out of retirement to work with this 19-year-old player. We've actually got three new characters in the new film. And if the new film is popular, they could carry the franchise on."

Just thinking about that made me smile, and Ward added that he's already spoken to the "Wild Thing" himself, Charlie Sheen, about this. When and if he's on board, I can't imagine it would be to hard to get Tom Berenger, Corbin Bernsen and perhaps even Wesley "Willie Mays Hayes" Snipes too. Make this happen!

And in two other tidbits about directors I really like, Ruben Fleischer, who begins shooting his "Zombieland" follow-up, "30 Minutes or Less," next month, has now already set up the movie he plans to direct after that, and it comes from a great comedy source in scribe Mike White.

He's signed on with Columbia Pictures to direct "Babe in the Woods," which, from a script by White, will be an action-comedy centering on a female freshman from the Midwest who arrives at Yale and becomes a target of the New Jersey mob.

That sounds like it could be funny enough, but what he's doing before that should be better. "30 Minutes or Less" stars veryfunnyguys Aziz Ansari and Danny McBride, and will have to be a dark comedy, since it's about two fledgling criminals who kidnap a pizza delivery driver and strap a bomb to his chest to force him to rob a bank within 30 minutes.

Another director who I'm glad works very quickly of late is David Cronenberg, who is now shooting "The Dangerous Method" but has also already signed for the project that would follow that.

Pajiba is reporting he'll direct an adaptation of the Jonathan Lethem novel "As She Climbed Across the Table," and from the description I've seen of the story, it sounds twisted enough to be right up Cronenberg's alley. It centers on Professor Phillip Engstrand, who is in love with particle physicist Alice Coombs. Unfortunately for Phillip, Alice is in love with “The Lack” – a selective black hole (I hate it when that happens) – leaving Phillip to basically compete with nothingness for her affection.

As for what he's filming now, "A Dangerous Method" (formerly known as "The Talking Cure," which would have been better), it's about a feud that developed between Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) and Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) over the treatment of a patient (Keira Knightley, though as far as I know it's not for anorexia - sorry, I couldn't resist.) That sounds like nothing but fascinating to me.

OK, as we get to the videos, it is indeed all about Christopher Nolan from here on out, starting with the best featurette I've seen yet for "Inception," which is finally set to come out July 16. Be warned, as it sort of introduces the characters, it contains more spoilers than what's come out before, so click it with that warning. Enjoy.



And finally, getting back to the lead, IFC On Demand, which I and probably you can get through your digital cable or whatever you subscribe to for TV, will be screening "Following," Christopher Nolan's first feature film, starting July 7. So, what's it about? Here goes, per the Ebert Club newsletter:

"Out of boredom and frustration, an unemployed writer (Jeremy Theobald) picks strangers at random from the crowded streets of London and then follows them to see where they go, and how they spend their days. Reasoning that he's gathering material for the fictional characters in his writing, he begins following the same people more than once, curious to learn more about them; a rule he'd promised himself not to break. That was his first mistake. But then he teams up with a burglar Cobb (Alex Hawk) and breaks into the apartment of a mysterious blonde (Lucy Russell), with whom he is fascinated. And slowly begins to find out that things may not be as they seem."

Sounds like a mindbender tailormade to Nolan to me, so I'll definitely be tuning in. Enjoy the trailer below, and if you'll excuse me now, the second half of U.S.A. v. Algeria really demands my undivided attention now. Peace out.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the Riddler? Bring it on!

Rumors are, after all, exactly that, but when they're this good, you just have to embrace them and hope that somehow makes them true.

Hollywoodlife.com is reporting that, after the two joked about it on the set of "Inception," aka the best candidate to save us from this thoroughly wretched summer (though if you've been here before, you know I did enjoy both "Get Him to the Greek" and "Splice"), director Christopher Nolan now has Joseph Gordon-Levitt on his short list to play the villain in the next Batman movie, the Riddler. Take a second to absorb just how cool that would be if it turns out to be true.

Now, keep in mind that any new Batman movie is two years away and is still being written by David S. Goyer, but if you look at Gordon-Levitt's work so far, you'll hopefully understand just how cool this could be. I'm not as high on "500 Days of Summer" as many people I know, but it's a pleasant enough little movie, and he's much better in either "Brick" or "The Lookout," if you're in the market for a movie rental.

And easily the weirdest thing about this of all? I had forgotten but saw somewhere that Nolan's last big bad, the late Heath Ledger, and Gordon-Levitt co-starred in the much-better-than-it-should-be teen comedy "10 Things I Hate About You." Not sure why, but I just for some reason find that a little eerie ...

OK, enough of that, because it's a day full of actual casting news, good and bad, so let's get to it. And, being me, I'll just start with the bad and get it over with. If you've seen "Tropic Thunder," I have to hope you liked it, because even though some of it was indeed overkill (way too much Jack Black), it was mostly savagely funny (and you'll have to forgive me if it offends you, but that "full retard" bit will always make me laugh out loud.)

Unfortunately, now comes word that easily the least funny part of that movie, Tom Cruise's movie producer Les Grossman, is now somehow getting his own feature-length movie (but, if Marmaduke can get his own movie, I guess I shouldn't be surprised by anything anymore.) You may remember him from "Tropic Thunder" with more fondness than I do, but I just thought it was a tremendous amount of bluster signifying very little funny. This is being produced by Cruise and Ben Stiller, and this statement from Stiller announcing it did little to convince me they'll actually come up with anything funny here:

“Les Grossman’s life story is an inspiring tale of the human class struggle to achieve greatness against all odds. He has assured me he plans to quote ‘F**king kill the sh*t out of this movie and make Citizen f**king Kane look like a piece of crap home movie by the time we are done.’ I am honored to be working with him.”

Whatever comes of all this will apparently be written up by "Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World" co-screenwriter Michael Bacall, but that still doesn't give me too much confidence.

OK, enough negativity, because it really is far outweighed by the good casting news out there today. First up comes word that two of Jack Donaghy's girlfriends will be among the ladies I like watching in movies joining veryfunnyman Paul Rudd in what sounds like a really fun little flick.

Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer and Rashida Jones will star opposite Paul Rudd in "My Idiot Brother," a comedy being directed Jesse Peretz. With that much funny on the female side, can this possibly go wrong?

The movie, according to the Hollywood Reporter, centers on an idealist (Rudd) dealing with his over¬bearing mother who crashes at the homes of his three ambitious sisters and (this last part actually scares me a bit) "brings truth, happiness and a sunny disposition into their lives while also wreaking havoc." No matter how sappy that sounds, I'm still betting on funny too. Here's a bit more about the characters, per THR:

Banks, Deschanel and Mortimer play the sisters. Banks is a career-driven single about to get her big break in journalism after spending years writing about accessories at a fashion magazine; Deschanel is a bisexual whose flakiness and lies are getting in the way of moving forward with her caring, responsible girlfriend (Jones); and Mortimer plays a Park Slope mom too worried about having the perfect life and children to notice that her marriage is falling apart.

That all sounds good to me, and the few people who may have visited here before probably know that I have an inordinate amount of affection for the Paul Rudd movie "Role Models," which makes this next bit of casting news even better.

It seems that Steve Zahn (currently starring on "Treme"), Peter Dinklage (easily my favorite of the little people) and Ryan Kwanten (Jason on "True Blood") will star in something called "Knights of Badassdom." Yes, really.

The horror/comedy being directed by Joe Lynch is about a group of live-action role players who just happen to conjure up a demon from hell by mistake and have to deal with the consequences. That had me laughing already, and just to make it better, here's what Kwanten had to say about it to Access Hollywood:

"... it's like 'Shaun of the Dead' meets 'Role Models.' It's that real black comedy that I really love."

Nothing like name-checking two movies I love too to get me hooked. OK, from here on out today, it's simply about a trio of videos that happened to catch my eye. "True Blood" does indeed return this Sunday at 9 p.m., and you can count me as thoroughly psyched for it. I've read all of Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels now, and though the show takes all kinds of liberties from her work, they almost always pan out. Here's a clip from season three that features one of its new characters, the werewolf Alcide Herveaux, being played by Joe Manganiello, and Anna Paquin's Sookie. Enjoy.



For some reason not until an hour or so after I've gone to bed (it is after all, a school night), AMC will be premiering the first episode of a promising new series called "Rubicon" this Sunday at 11 p.m. (thank God for the DVR.) I'm a sucker for almost anything with a grand conspiracy, and when you make it political, I'm even more in. "Rubicon," which will be a 12-part series and eventually settle in behind the new season of "Mad Men" starting on Aug. 1, is about a fourth branch of American government that really runs everything around us, as far as I can tell from this trailer (just to clarify, "Mad Men" actually returns on July 25, and not a minute too soon, but "Rubicon" won't get it's proper launch until the following week.) Enjoy.



And finally, and in so many ways saving the very best for last, I found this little comedy nugget in the latest Roger Ebert newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. It costs like $5 for a year, but it's thoroughly worth it, especially when he puts in things as good as "David Mamet's Lost Masterpieces of Pornography." With a title like that, I'm not sure it needs any more embellishment from me, but know it's hosted "Masterpiece Theater"-style by Ricky Jay and somehow stars Kristen Bell and Ed O'Neill. Yes, really, and on the funny or die scale, this is definitely funny. Enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.

Why isn't Ellen Page a big star already?

I've often wondered (yes, really, I find it much more fun than thinking about my actual job) why more people don't give Ellen Page starring roles.

Sure, Drew Barrymore gave her the lead in "Whip It," but, especially given the subject matter, that was much more tame and less funny than it could have been. And she has a pretty big role in Christopher Nolan's new flick, "Inception" (which I'll be geeking out for at the midnight show), but that one will of course be all about Leo.

But I just assumed (and hoped) that after "Juno," young Ellen Page would become a big star in something besides TV commercials, because she certainly deserves it. Well, now comes word from Cannes that she has indeed signed on for a new leading role, though not in anything that should bring her anywhere near the multiplexes in my little corner of the world.

Endgame has signed her to star in a dramatic feature based on Cynthia Wade's short documentary "Freeheld," which certainly has a timely topic for our times. Page will play a New Jersey car mechanic whose police detective girlfriend is diagnosed with terminal cancer. The documentary was and feature will be about their battle to secure her partner's pension benefits, which, rather amazingly, is apparently still an issue.

Not exactly the most uplifting of subjects, but hopefully in the hands of screenwriter Ron Nyswaner, who won an Oscar for "Philadelphia," some properly powerful stuff.

Except for that, I really don't have much today before "True Blood" except that the CW has somehow renewed a show that I thought only me and about six other people watched (though that may indeed be a high enough number for renewal there.) I'm not sure if it will be in the fall with a full 22-0r-so season or in Winter again for 13 more episodes.

Either way, I really like the show about a 16-year-old (Britt Robertson) who, after growing up in a series of foster homes, reunites with and is taken in by the parents who abandoned her (Shiri Appleby and Kristoffer Polaha) shortly after she was conceived during a one-night stand in high school. Surprisingly, it's often as serious as the subject matter would call for, but also very funny and overall an odd fit in the CW lineup. I'll certainly be tuning in for as many episodes as they bother to make from here on out.

OK, enough of anything serious, because "True Blood" returns to HBO for season three beginning June 13, and as you can see from the first full trailer below, the series will continue to take all kinds of liberties from the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris. In season three, among the colorful characters coming are Alcide (Joe Manganiello), a werewolf charged with protecting Sookie (Anna Paquin) as she searches for the missing Bill (Stephen Moyer); the mysterious (as opposed to mundane, I suppose) vampire Franklin Mott (James Frain), who latches on to Tara (Rutina Wesley); and Denis O'Hare as Russell Edgington, the vampire king of Mississippi.

All those characters make at least brief appearances in the novels, all of which, yes, I've read, but much of the fun (almost none of it, thankfully, high-minded) of the show comes in seeing in how their roles are greatly expanded. I'm thoroughly enjoying "Treme," but "True Blood" and that David Simon New Orleans show back to back? The South is indeed rising again. Enjoy the full "True Blood" trailer, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.

Will there be any truly great movies this summer?

You know, I really do try to keep things positive around here, but given both the almost complete failure of "Iron Man 2" (well, not financially, of course) and the relative dearth of truly good movies that have preceded it this year, I think it's a fair question to ask: Will there be any great - or at least really good - movies in wide release this summer?

Well, just to prove I'm not a complete cynic, there are at least two that will indeed play everywhere that will surely fit that bill, and I threw in a third that I will certainly make the trip to see when it opens soon in Atlanta. There are, in fact, well more than 10 movies that I want to see between now and the end of August. I'm not usually much of a numbers guy, but I've rated them from 1 to 10 on a scale of just how likely they are to escape from my local multiplex without sucking. If there are any worthy entries that I have just snubbed, please feel free to let me know. Enjoy!

Friday: Robin Hood
The reviews for Ridley Scott's epic prequel (and at 2 hours and 20 minutes, epic I guess it better be) are just the definition of a mixed bag. Roger Moore, not James Bond but a movie critic I always trust, gave it three stars, but most of the geeks I've seen call it a failure. That has me slightly expecting the latter, but at least they decided not to convert it to 3D, and that's enough to make me take a chance on it this Saturday afternoon. Chances of not sucking: 6/10.

May 28: Micmacs
Jean Pierre Jeunet's latest movie is indeed the only one on this list you won't be able to see everywhere in America, but here's hoping that when it finally does get a nonfestival, U.S. release that will mean it comes to Atlanta for at least a week. The flick about a ragtag band of misfits who take on an arms manufacturer looks like it's almost completely suffused with that whimsically fun Jeunet spirit. Judge for yourself with the trailer below. Chances of not sucking: 9.5/10



June 4: Get Him to the Greek
I know there are plenty of people who find him to be thoroughly annoying, but I find Russell Brand's shtick to be very funny, and at least here he's not appearing in a thoroughly unnecessary remake of "Arthur" (yes, really, but at least Helen Mirren will be in it - in the Sir John Gielgud role). Here he continues his Aldous Snow role from the rather average "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," and Jonah Hill is the poor sap who has to babysit him. Chances of not sucking : 7/10 (though I'm probably being at least a bit generous there.)

June 4: Splice
It's entirely possible that I'm just being duped here, but I have a real hunger for intelligent sci-fi, and all signs so far point to this being a bit of that. Sarah Polley and Adrien Brody star in this Vincenzo Natali flick about two scientists who mess around with human DNA and come up with something, well, not entirely pleasant. Odds of not sucking 7.5/10

June 18: Toy Story 3
I may be the only person who thinks this, but Pixar has kinda been on a losing streak of late. Now, keep in mind, I mean that only in comparison to the long string of winners (with "Cars" being the exception) before that. "Up" was far from the best animated movie of 2009 ("Coraline," "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" and "The Princess and the Frog" were all better in my book), and as charming as "Wall-E" was, "Kung Fu Panda" was just a lot more fun. This summer, they've gone with a definite known entity, and though the toys in peril storyline will be gratingly familiar, I'm sure at least the introduction of Ken will be funny. I'll be there to find in GLORIOUS 2D. Chances of not sucking: 8/10.

July 2: The Last Airbender
M. Night Shyamalan? Really? Well, he desperately needs a winner, and he's at least starting with great source material in the wildly entertaining Nickelodeon animated series. He's taking it live action, of course, and bringing Dev Patel and The Daily Show's Aasif Mandvi along, so here's hoping this isn't the total disaster it certainly has the potential to be (hey, the man does have a record here.) Chances of not sucking: 6/10.

July 9: Despicable Me
I'm betting that, with Steve Carell voicing Gru, who wants to take over the world by stealing the moon, this flick will be funnier than "Toy Story 3," but I've been wrong at least once, and probably already today. Enjoy the latest trailer I could find. Chances of not sucking: 7/10.



July 16: Inception
OK, here it is, the make or break movie for this summer, because if this one somehow sucks, we're really screwed. With it being a genuine mindbender from Christopher Nolan starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page, however, I'd say the chances of that are very slim. Not entirely sure yet, but I think this will be my one midnight movie for the summer. Chances of not sucking: 9/10.

July 23: Dinner for Schmucks
This Jay Roach flick has at least two very funny things going for it in Carell and the even funnier Paul Rudd, but there's one big problem: The French original that it will have to live up to set the standard for comedy very high. From what I've seen so far in trailers, they made at least one very big change that doesn't bode well: In the Francis Veber original, they never make it to the titular dinner because they just annoy each other so much, but that will change in Roach's take. Do yourself a favor and rent Veber's "Le Diner de Cons" before going to see this one. Chances of not sucking: 7/10.

July 23: Salt
Phillip Noyce makes the short list of my very favorite directors largely on the strength of three flicks: "The Quiet American," "Catch a Fire" and "Rabbit-Proof Fence," but before making that trio of winners he was also quite adept at producing solid spy thrillers, including "Clear and Present Danger" and "Patriot Games." The latter should serve him well with this flick, which stars Angeline Jolie as Evelyn Salt, a CIA agent accused of being a Russian spy. Chances of not sucking: 7.5/10.

Aug. 13: Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World
Along with "Inception," this is the other flick I'm most looking forward to for this summer. Having read a couple of the Scott Pilgrim funny books, I'm confident that Edgar Wright is the right man for this, and that Michael Cera is too as our titular hero who has to battle the seven exes of his would-be paramour, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead.) As you can see from the trailer below, Wright's flick will at least look like nothing else you'll see this summer. Chances of not sucking: 9/10.



Aug. 13: Tales from Earthsea
This, unfortunately, won't be a Hayao Miyazaki movie, but any summer offering from Studio Ghibli is reason enough to rejoice for me. This one is actually directed by Miyazaki's son, Goro, and is based on the novel by Ursula K. Leguin. But will the master himself manage to make another movie? Nothing listed yet at the IMDB, but certainly keep hope alive, because his last one, "Ponyo," was simply fantastic. Chances of not sucking: 8/10.

Aug. 20: The Switch
The last time I took a chance on an August comedy almost entirely because Jason Bateman was in it, I was thoroughly burned with "Extract." I do, however, have enough of a reservoir of goodwill for the man to take a chance on this turkey baster comedy that also stars Jennifer Aniston, though not with terribly high hopes at all. Chances of not sucking: 6/10.

And there you have it, my guide to summer 2010. Please feel free to add any wide-release movies you think I might have slighted, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.

OK, I'm still not sold on the need for "Let Me In," but ...

I'm not nearly ready to give in yet, because the necessity of and, for that matter, any possible reason at all for an English-language remake of the simply sublime horror film "Let the Right One In" is still beyond me, but I have to confess that first photo (above) is pretty friggin' cool.

There's still no way in the world anyone should see this without first enjoying the original movie by Tomas Alfredson, which is easily the best horror movie I've seen in the last five years or so, but I'm now willing to concede that they seem to have gotten the casting, at least, just about dead right. And besides, "Cloverfield" was way better than I could have possibly imagined, so I suppose I should have at least a bit of trust in "Let Me In" writer/director Matt Reeves.

All that said, however, the first shot of Chloe Moretz as Abby in the remake highlights just about everything that can go horribly wrong with this. After her performance as Hit-Girl in "Kick-Ass," which not just made the movie but really hijacked the entire operation, I have faith that the rather young lady will at least give this her all, but anyone who's seen the original movie (and again, if you haven't, do it .. it's easily my favorite movie of 2008) knows that she has extremely big shoes to fill in playing the "young" vampire played to perfection (and known as Eli) in "Let the Right One In" by Lina Leandersson. Simply for comparison's sake, here's a shot of her as Eli.


As Eli, she just exuded a great combination of insecurity and blood-starved killer, and was the perfect match for Kare Hedebrant as young, bullied Oskar, who will be known as Owen and played by Kodi-Smit McPhee in the remake. The only thing I can remember seeing that kid in was the recent movie of Cormac McCarthy's "The Road," which was a large cut above the usual apocalyptic fare that crowds up our multiplexes and is well worth a rental.

Finish the cast off with definite Reel Fanatic fave Richard Jenkins as Abby's poor "father" and you have the makings of a truly first-rate cast, but let me be clear about this: Though I was always going to see this anyway when it comes out Oct. 1 just out of sheer curiosity, you can still count me as having at best an icy heart toward it, though now perhaps not one completely encased in steel.

And all I have besides that today, before a couple of videos worth watching, is some more intriguing casting news. I still have yet to see "Invictus," but as soon as I finish typing this sentence I'm gonna add it to the Netflix queue, and perhaps move it right to the top. Morgan Freeman won kudos for his portrayal of Nelson Mandela in that Clint Eastwood flick, and now another actor, and easily one of my favorites, is ready to step into the rather large role.

Terrence Howard, who just has me for life after "Hustle & Flow," has signed on to play Mandela in "Winnie," a biopic about his even-more-interesting former wife. I'll take more convincing that Jennifer Hudson has the gravitas to play Winnie, the angry heart of the anti-apartheid movement, but you can count me ready to be proven wrong as this movie by director Darrell Roodt comes together in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was locked up. Definitely keep your eyes on this one.

OK, as promised, all that's left now is couple of clips well worth a few minutes of your time. The first is an extended trailer for Christopher Nolan's "Inception," which along with Phillip Noyce's "Salt" I'm expecting to be the sleeper hits of this summer (though I suppose you can't really call a Nolan/Leonardo DiCaprio flick a "sleeper.") It has all kinds of new footage, and just has me thoroughly amped for when this finally comes out July 16 (and besides, isn't the world just a slightly better place with some more Ellen Page in it, especially when she's not schilling for Cisco?) Enjoy.



And finally, I do realize that I'm far too old for the "MTV Movie Awards," so I'll try my best not to watch the whole thing, but with Aziz Ansari as the host when it airs June 6, you can be certain I'm at least gonna watch the beginning. And if you put together a promo that also features Kristen Bell and spoofs "The Hurt Locker"? Yeah, I'm gonna embed that. Enjoy, and have a great rest of the weekend. I'm off to eat some Joe-Bear's barbecue and then watch "Iron Man 2." Peace out.

MTV Shows

Will Tim Burton ever again have an original idea?

I wonder what would happen if Tim Burton ever encountered an original idea. Would his head - or perhaps his entire body - explode? He certainly must think so, because though the man is clearly a talented director (and yes, I really liked "Alice in Wonderland" quite a bit), he's also just as clearly incredibly insecure.

Rather than take a chance on anything even slightly out of the norm, he's instead signed on to direct a stop-motion animation adaptation of "The Addams Family." And yes, that Addams Family. Sheesh. I've never actually seen the movies that have already sprung from the horror/comedy franchise, but I did see a YouTube clip of Christina Ricci breaking down the real origins of Thanksgiving as Wednesday, and that was nothing but extremely funny (what ever happened to her, any way .. I mean, "Black Snake Moan" really was just about as horrible as it could possibly be, but was it a career killer?)

Actually, I've learned something from this news, so I guess I should be grateful. Did anyone else know the Addams Family actually originated as a New Yorker cartoon? Burton claims his movie will tap into this original spirit and show a "sharper wit than could be placed into a '60s family TV series." OK, fair enough, but you can't color me as anything but skeptical at this point. And besides, as great as "The Nightmare Before Christmas" was, please don't ever forget that that was actually directed by the great Henry Selick, not Burton. 'Nuff said on all that.

"Inception" details emerge and sound friggin great

There will certainly be many contenders for the movie of the summer (and my dark horse money is on Phillip Noyce's "Salt"), but there really can't be many at all that come burdened with higher expectations than Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" follow up, "Inception." And as details emerge about what exactly it might be about, you can count me as more and more jazzed to finally see it.

He turned up for the big Warner Bros. event on the last day of ShoWest, and here's some of what he had to say about "Inception."

As he introduced a video clip from the flick, which I unfortunately can't find online, he described it as "an action film told in a grand scale by a character played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who runs a team of people who have access to a technology that allows them to enter people's minds through their dreams." He said there was shooting in six different countries to create all the dreamscapes. Here's a bit of how Collider, for which I occasionally contribute, described some of the footage:

The footage started with Leo cocking a gun and his voiceover saying, "There's one thing you should know about me. An inception is an idea that's like a virus, it's highly contagious. The small seed of an idea can grow to define or destroy you."

What follows are eerie visuals with people floating and the ethereal string chords build, as we see Leo sitting at a table in an ornately adorned room explaining to Ken Watanabe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt what they do:

"In the dream state, your consciousness defenses lower," he tells them. "It makes your thoughts vulnerable to theft, called extraction. So you can actually train your subconscious to defend itself from the most skilled extractor."

Watanabe asks how he knows that to which Leo replies, "Because I AM the best extractor."

It all sounds more than a bit like "Memento" writ on an extremely grand scale, which would be just fine with me. And Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and, inevitably I suppose, Michael Caine all appear in this too, so you can bet I'll be among the masses buying my ticket when this finally opens July 16.

A couple of biopics I can get squarely behind

The first thing I thought when I heard a Cesar Chavez biopic was at least in the early stages of development was, how has it taken so long? After all, he's a hero to millions of Hispanics and gringos alike, and his life would just make a grand tale.

It seems that screenwriter Keir Pearson and producer Larry Meli agree, and have optioned the life rights of the labor activist Chavez, and will be producing this with Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna's Canana Films. Pearson, by the way, won an Oscar for co-writing "Hotel Rwanda" with director Terry George, and also has, among other projects, a biopic of Roberto Clemente in the works for HBO and Playtone.

And just in case anyone really hasn't heard of Chavez, he dedicated his life to improving the working conditions of California farm workers, eventually co-founding the National Farm Workers Association, which would later become the United Farm Workers.

Though it's of course far too early to be talking about who could pull this role off, Garcia Bernal would certainly seem to be a perfect choice. What say you?

In other, crazier, biopic news, it seems that independent filmmaker and writer David Miller is hard at work with his son, Jordan, on a movie about the truly odd and troubled Texas outsider musician Daniel Johnston. And yes, I know there's already been a documentary about Johnston, the very compelling "Devil and Daniel Johnston," but can you imagine how much fun (well, maybe that's not quite the right word) the right actor could have with this role?

Here's what he to say about the project to Pedestrian, via the Playlist:

I've got a few things going — we're doing a Daniel Johnston biopic and I'm Producing and Writing and Gabriel Sunday our star [from "My Suicide"] he's going to be Directing and playing young Daniel. It's going to be an epic super hero story and it's going to be a narrative biopic so it doesn't really cover any of the same stuff that the famous "Devil And Daniel Johnston" Documentary that won Sundance in 2005 covers.

How are you going to portray older Daniel Johnston?
That's a really good question. We're either putting Gabriel in a fat suit or there's so many people that are reaching out that are huge Daniel Johnston fans. Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly for example, Johnny Depp's a big Daniel Johnston fan though we'd like him to play the older brother. But we haven't really arrived at that yet — we're just in the scripting process at the moment but once we get the script finished we'll be able to get a better handle on what the budget will be.

Nothing like dropping some big names to get attention, but I'd imagine he's right that a lot of actors would indeed be interested in the chance to take on the life a true American original.

And with that, I've got to go to the job that still somehow pays me, but I'll leave you with the trailer for the next Jennifer Aniston movie I'll be seeing (hint: It won't be "Bounty Hunter.") "The Switch," which I believe used to go by the much funnier name "The Baster," is a comedy starring Aniston and veryfunnyman Jason Bateman, and you can watch the trailer below Enjoy, and have a great weekend (and if you can, go see Roman Polanski's new flick, which I'll be doing Saturday afternoon.) Peace out.

Where the wild sounds aren't: A soundtrack dud

Actually, the biggest - though I'm not sure the best - news in my book is that easily one of my favorite British TV shows is not only coming to America, but even to the burgh formerly know as Charm City, Baltimore itself.

On the surface, E4's "Skins" would look like the definition of a guilty pleasure for someone as old and often cranky as me, but I think it's so good it stands up as entertainment for all ages. I'm not sure exactly how I got hooked on it in the first place, but I think it was because someone who visits here once commented that Dev Patel of "Slumdog Millionaire" stars in the first two seasons, which is indeed the case. If so, I can't remember who it was, but thank you all the same.

The show, a primetime soap opera that fits squarely with Britain's best entries in that genre, follows the adventures of seven teens who have the misfortune of living in Bristol with at best very unfit parents. There's an awful lot of sex and drugs, but also just a lot of humanity and fantastic storytelling. And besides, Peter Capaldi of "In the Loop" makes a very memorable turn on a few episodes as one said parent, so you know they have to be doing something right.

The show has aired a third season with a new set of kids, which I'll pick up on DVD as soon as I'm able, but in the meantime comes the rather dubious news that MTV (attracted, I suppose, by all the sex and drugs) is not only doing an American version, but setting it in Baltimore with a cast of "unknowns."

Show creator Bryan Elsley will have a hand in at least the pilot, so perhaps this won't turn out as dreadful as I'm imagining it could be. And in the meantime, I really do recommend watching the first two seasons of "Skins" on DVD. It's not quite "Freaks and Geeks," but in it's own way, it's still a unique view of teenage life that I guarantee you'll find entertaining if you stick with it.

In other, much more geeky and less disturbing, news, John Landis and the great Simon Pegg are teaming up for a flick that - if I'm not mistaken - would be Landis' first big-screen feature directorial project since "Blues Brothers 2000" (which may well some kind of masterpiece, but since I'll never see it, I guess I'll never know.)

"Burke and Hare," which sounds like it's right up each of their alleys, will be about a pair of 19th Century grave robbers who dug up and sold cadavers to the Edinburgh Medical College for dissection. I'm laughing at that already, and if you pair Pegg and Nick Frost as the two grave robbers, even better.

And finally, before we get to the rather lame lead single from the upcoming "Where the Wild Thing Are" soundtrack and then a mind-bending teaser trailer from no less than Christopher Nolan, there's one more bit of news about what will most likely be Pixar's first live-action movie, "John Carter of Mars" (Brad Bird had been developing a live-action project titled "1906" about the great San Francisco earthquake, but it looks like that one might be in serious trouble.)

"John Carter of Mars" will be based on the series of books by Edgar Rice Burroughs about a Civil War veteran who is somehow transported to the red planet. Already, "Friday Night Lights" (man, do I miss that show) vet Taylor Kitsch has been cast as the titular John Carter, and now two of my favorite actors have joined the mix.

Dominic West, who walked the beat in Baltimore (you really can't have too much Charm City in one post) as Jimmy McNutty on "The Wire," will play Sab Than, the Martian prince who (according to reports, since I haven't read these books yet) tries to force the Martian princess Dejah Thoris to marry him. Even better, and wilder, Samantha Morton will play Sola, the "10-foot-tall, four-armed green secret daughter of Martian warrior Tars Tarkas."

Like I said, not having read the books, none of that means much to me, but I still can't wait to see what Pixar will do in live action (though it won't be coming until 2012), and especially with a cast that good.

OK, as we near the finish, it's time for something just almost completely disappointing. Anyone who's been here before knows that I've been tracking all the slightest bits of minutiae about "Where the Wild Things Are," because it pairs one of my favorite directors, Spike Jonze, with my favorite tale from childhood by Maurice Sendak.

In, I think, both of the trailers, they've used the simply sensational Arcade Fire song "Wake Up," which in both spirit and sound just fits the movie perfectly.

Now, however, they've released the first single from the upcoming movie soundtrack, by "Karen O and the Kids," with Karen O being the frontwoman for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. And I have to say, having listened to it twice now, that it's unfortunately just a big ball of meh.

Don't take my word for it, though. Click here and scroll down the right side to listen yourself, and please feel free to let me know if I'm somehow just all wet about this.

And, really finally, I'm probably a few days late with this, but who really cares when it's the teaser trailer for Christopher Nolan's next flick, "Inception"? The clip doesn't reveal much except that it stars Leonardo DiCaprio, but I can also tell you young Ellen Page is in it, it won't come out until July and it should just be a real friggin mind trip when it finally drops. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Tuesday. Peace out.