Reel Fanatic, the return: A brief but fun clip show

I can't imagine that, with me having taken two weeks or so off from this, even more than a few people will stop by, but I still like doing it when I get the time, so here goes:

Looking at the fall TV lineup this year, I'm struck by the shear number of scripted fare coming to the airwaves, a welcome respite from the usual onslaught of reality crap in my book. Even if the majority of these shows are terrible, just the fact that more writers get paid for anything these days is enough to make me smile.

And here today, it's going to be at least partly about two of my favorite returning shows, both NBC sitcoms, "Community" and "Parks and Recreation." What could make "Community" more fun? Well, Dan Harmon and his crew have shown that they're rarely short of fun ideas, but a cutthroat Greendale badminton team, as the above picture implies? Yeah, I'd watch that. Click here to visit Collider for their full set of on set photos, and keep an eye out for the return of "Community" on Sept. 22.

The one sitcom I enjoy even more than "Community" is "Parks and Recreation" which in its two-and-a-half or so seasons has managed to develop the best ensemble comedy team on TV and some of the sharpest writing, too. And if, like me, you tune in for this, I have to assume you love Ron Swanson (if not, why in the heck do you watch?)

Well, in season four, also returning to NBC on Sept. 22, we meet Tammy One, poor Ron's first ex-wife, to be played by Patricia Clarkson in what should just be a hoot. In the preview below, cast members describe her as "ice cold" and "dangerous," and since Tammy Two fears her, you know it must be true. And on top of that, we'll also apparently encounter "Tammy Zero," Ron's mom. Just what did this government-hating guy do to deserve all this haranguing? Enjoy this season four preview, and then stick around for some actual movie stuff I also found today.



There are always a lot of good movies to look forward to in the fall, and now that I've moved back to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, I'll probably make the trip to Washington, DC, some weekend soon to catch a few of the more arthousier ones. One flick I'm definitely looking forward to is "Margaret," which will mark the return of Kenneth Lonergan after a long hiatus.

If that name sounds vaguely familiar to you, that would be because, before disappearing for the past 10 years or so, he managed to write and direct easily one of my favorite movies with "You Can Count on Me." If you've never seen this charming little flick starring Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo as a pair of estranged siblings, track it down asap (and it shouldn't be hard to find.)

Since then, Lonergan managed to shoot "Margaret" about five years ago, but then promptly got in a nasty legal battle with Fox Searchlight about his inability to end the movie. That explains the long time off, but the first trailer for the movie, set to open in at least a few markets on Sept. 30, is below.

As you'll see, it's sort of about a young women, played by Anna Paquin and presumably named Margaret, who is instrumental in causing a horrifically fatal bus accident involving bus driver Ruffalo. There's surely a lot more than that going on, and I can't wait to see this if I ever get the chance. Enjoy.



OK, finally today, I certainly don't need to tell you that Jessica Chastain is having about as good a year in 2011 as an actress could possibly have. So far already, she's played the female lead in Terrence Malick's astounding "Tree of Life" and also Helen Mirren's younger model as a Mossad agent in "The Debt," but my favorite performance of hers this year was easily as Celia Foote, the comedy relief in "The Help" (and guys, even you should see that winner as soon as you can.) Below, just because it's a good interview, enjoy her talk with Drew McWeeny of HitFix, mostly about "The Debt," but some other things, too, and have a perfectly pleasant end to your Labor Day weekend Peace out.

FX bets big on comedy, plus what Werner Herzog's bringing to Toronto

With its 10 p.m. Thursday comedy block of "Wilfred" and then "Louie," FX has put together pretty easily the brightest spot in summer TV (and yes, that means I've never seen "Breaking Bad," not out of any particular animosity toward it, but simply because there's only so much TV one man can watch, even me.)

And now, in not terribly surprising but still welcome news, comes word that the network has just renewed them both for 13 episode runs, "Louie" its third and "Wilfred" its second, and also given a rather amazing eighth and ninth season orders to "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."

"Louie," in particular, has really grown in its second season to become one of the best sitcoms around, with star (and writer, and even editor, too) Louis CK rightly nominated for an Emmy for best actor in a comedy.

Using his status as a "comedian's comedian," he's had Dane Cook and even better, Joan Rivers, on for memorable stints, with the latter producing both some of the year's funniest and most uncomfortable moments, all within the space of about 10 minutes. Best of all, however, have been Louis' particularly pathetic attempts to pitch woo to Pamela Adlon, who also played his wife on "Lucky Louie" and is clearly the closest thing he has to a comedic soul mate.

As for "Wilfred," if you've never seen the rookie sitcom starring Elijah Wood as a stoner slacker who just happens to be able to talk to his neighbor's dog, Wilfred, you're really missing out on something fun.

The show wisely started out about as dark as possible, with Wilfred being a tormenter determined to bring out the absolute worst in Ryan (Wood) at every turn, before slowly evolving into a mix of guardian angel and demented devil (though thankfully, still much more often the latter.) Showrunner and star Jason Gann, who dons the rather ridiculous dog suit to play Wilfred, said on the Television Critics Association tour that as the show was starting, they presented him with a photo of Ian McKellen's Gandalf with his arms around Wood's Frodo, but with Wilfred's face superimposed over Gandalf's. Seen through that prism, the show just gets even funnier.

And thankfully, just as those steadily improving shows wrap up their current seasons, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" will return the following week, with season seven premiering at 10 p.m. Sept. 15. Season seven? Really? How in the world did that happen, and with it getting two more seasons, did it manage to become the longest-running sitcom in basic cable history?

The answer is that it never gave an inch toward developing any kind of conscience at all, with its gang of characters not just embracing but reveling in their vileness (Mac, Dennis and Frank) or patheticness (Dee and Charlie, and yes, I know that's not actually a word), and all five in their depravity. The promos for season seven, one of which I've included below, give the show a very funny Hallmark effect, with the ending title card particularly spot-on. Enjoy, and stop by the FX site to see all of them.



OK, in one more short bit about TV before moving on to what Werner Herzog is premiering at this year's Toronto Film Festival, the Television Critics Association gave out its awards Saturday night, and got at least two things exactly right.

There's still too much and very predictable love for "Modern Family," which I still sometimes tune in for but delivers perhaps two real laughs a week, but also in comedy they righted a serious Emmy wrong by giving an "Individual Achievement in Comedy" award to Ron Swanson, aka Nick Offerman, who also hosted the awards presentation. If you've somehow missed Ron Swanson, the true hero of "Parks and Recreation" and Libertarians' patron saint, be sure to make up for that by tuning in when the show returns this fall.

And as much as I hate that great shows often don't get any critical love until they're already gone, it was certainly nice to see the critics give their "Program of the Year" award to the recently departed and already sorely missed (at least by me) "Friday Night Lights." I really don't believe any of the noise I've seen from Peter Berg about continuing with a "FNL" movie, and really, why bother? The show clearly went out on top, and it's just nice to see smart people recognize that. Here are all the winners.

Individual Achievement in Drama: Jon Hamm (Mad Men, AMC)
Individual Achievement in Comedy: Ty Burrell (Modern Family, ABC) and Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation, NBC)
Outstanding Achievement in News and Information: Restrepo (National Geographic Channel)
Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming: The Amazing Race (CBS)
Outstanding Achievement in Youth Programming: Sesame Street (PBS)
Outstanding New Program: Game of Thrones (HBO)
Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials: Masterpiece: Sherlock (PBS)
Outstanding Achievement in Drama: Mad Men (AMC)
Outstanding Achievement in Comedy: Modern Family (ABC)
Career Achievement Award: Oprah Winfrey
Heritage Award: The Dick Van Dyke Show
Program of the Year: Friday Night Lights (DirecTV/NBC)

And finally today, not surprisingly, Werner Herzog will bring surely one of the most challenging and genuinely powerful movies to the Toronto International Film Festival in September with "Into the Abyss," his new documentary focusing on American inmates condemned to death row. He also interviews their families as well as those of their victims for what should be a well-rounded but awfully hard to watch portrait of the American criminal justice system. Enjoy these three short clips, and have a great end to your weekend. Peace out.

Don't fear "The Ides of March," or the season of Clooney

Yes, the first trailer for for George Clooney's political thriller is the main event here today, but since I've had a week from hell and haven't been able to even visit here until today, there's some other catching up to do too.

In other movie news, production starts this week on an intriguing project starring three of my favorite actors, Bill Murray, Laura Linney and the truly great Olivia Williams (most recently seen on the big screen by me in another fairly great political thriller, "Ghost Writer," but most famously of course Ms. Cross.)

"Hyde Park on the Hudson," filming in London, stars Murray as Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Williams as Eleanor Roosevelt in the period piece that focuses on the first visit of the British monarchy (in this case, King George VI (Samuel West) and the queen (Olivia Colman) to the United States. Stammering George is there to drum up American support for England's looming war with Germany, but FDR just happens to be distracted by ... his distant cousin, Daisy, played by Linney, with whom he develops an intimate relationship.

Juicy stuff there, and seeing Murray play a serious (though surely not too serious) FDR should just be a treat. Stay tuned ...

And there's also a bit of TV news out there about my current favorite network sitcom, "Parks and Recreation."

Poor Ron Swanson. First he (definite Reel Fanatic fave Nick Offerman) gets the single biggest Emmy snub of this awards season, and now, when "Parks and Rec" returns on Sept. 21, he'll encounter Tammy 1, his first ex-wife, so scary a character that she even makes Tammy 2 (Megan Mullally) quake with fear.

Poor Ron's torment, however, should be our delight, because in what should be a great comic turn, Patricia Clarkson will play Tammy 1 in two episodes starting with the premiere.

Should be pretty close to comedy bliss there, and in other TV news, HBO has set the fall premiere dates for two returning shows I'll definitely tune in for.

First up, the best thing about the new season of "True Blood" is that just about as soon as it ends, the second season of "Boardwalk Empire" will start right up. I used to have a lot of time for "True Blood," but though I still tune in during this summer dead period for TV, the utter randomness of it is really starting to drive me more than a little nuts.

That's certainly not a problem with "Boardwalk Empire," which tells the tale of early 20th century Atlantic City and the rise of "Nucky" Thompson (heavy Emmy favorite Steve Buscemi) with a clinical (and sometimes too perfect) precision. Keep an eye out for season two beginning Sunday, Sept. 25, at 9 p.m.

And even better than that, in a rare move off of HBO's regular Sunday night home, the third season of "Bored to Death" will make its debut for an eight-episode arc beginning Monday, Oct. 10, at 9 p.m. The show, which springs from the twisted mind of novelist Jonathan Ames, is far from the deepest thing you'll ever see, but the often doped-out adventures of a would-be private eye played Jason Schwartzman with his buddies, a long-suffering cartoonist played by Zach Galifianakis and, best of all, a truly loopy Ted Danson as magazine editor socialite George Christopher, all around NYC is just exactly my kind of funny.

OK, we really are getting to "The Ides of March," but also this week came the first proof that the once-great Cameron Crowe is actually still making movies. No visual proof that I know of from the feature film he's apparently wrapping up now, "We Bought a Zoo," starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson and set for release this Christmas.

There is, however, a trailer for a documentary that finds the "Almost Famous" director on familiar turf, "Pearl Jam Twenty." Pearl Jam was never exactly my kind of rock (far too earnest for me), but I love what Eddie Vedder did for the "Into the Wild" soundtrack, and I'm always up for a good rock doc, which this certainly looks like it should be. Enjoy the trailer, and keep an eye out for this flick in at least some cities Sept. 20.

Pearl Jam Twenty from Pearl Jam on Vimeo.

And now finally on to the main course. Say whatever you want to about George Clooney's persona, but I really couldn't give less of a flip about all that. The man knows how to pick good movies, and when he manages to direct them they usually turn out to be even better.

The last thing I saw him in was "The American," a first-rate but low-key thriller from Anton Corbijn that would make a perfect rental if you've never seen it, and now this fall he has two movies coming up that are both near the top of my list of must-see flicks for the rest of the year.

Now moved up to Nov. 23, he's starring in the long-time-coming return of director Alexander Payne with "The Descendants," in which Clooney plays a man who tries to put his family back together after his wife dies in a car crash.

Even better, and set to drop before that on Oct. 7 hopefully wide enough to reach even my little corner of the world, will be "The Ides of March," an old-fashioned political movie directed by Clooney and featuring a truly first-rate cast.

In it, Ryan Gosling plays a conflicted political strategist working for a presidential candidate played by (natch) Clooney himself. As you'll see from the trailer, all kinds of political games ensue, and the movie somehow also stars Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Evan Rachel Wood.

It's been far too long since I've seen a good political thriller, so this one is definitely circled on my movie calendar. Enjoy the trailer, and have a great weekend, which for me will at least include seeing "Crazy, Stupid, Love" and maybe "Cowboys and Aliens" too. Peace out.

"The Office" gets its new boss

First things first, the rather intense photo above is of John Cusack as Edgar Allen Poe in James McTeigue's (let's go with "V for Vendetta" rather than "Ninja Assassin") thriller "The Raven," set to come out March 9. In the flick, Poe joins forces with a young Baltimore detective (Luke Evans) to hunt down a mad serial killer who’s using Poe’s own works as the basis for a string of brutal murders. Should be pretty darn fun, and it seems like forever since I've seen Cusack in anything.

It would certainly be better if that were actually filmed in the great city of Baltimore rather than in Serbia, but oh well. Moving on, there certainly are more important and sometimes indeed more disappointing things in life than TV, but there really wasn't anything more disappointing in last season's finales than the dud that was delivered by "The Office."

With each potentially very funny guest star getting at most two minutes to work with almost universally blah material, it was much more like a pilot looking for its funny rather than a well-established show making an essential transition. Now, however, it seems they've at least picked the guest who made the most of his time, James Spader's Robert California, to be the new boss.

The thrall he has over Jim, Dwight and others should make for a big dose of fun on a show that's sorely in need of it, but Spader's character apparently has bigger plans than taking over Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch. According to Entertainment Weekly, he'll soon move on up to replace Kathy Bates as CEO of parent company Sabre, leaving another void to fill.

And, according to EW, the favorite to replace him then would be my favorite candidate going into the finale, "Doctor Who" vet Catherine Tate (who also appeared in the charming little British romantic comedy "Starter for 10" - rent that one if you can find it.) Combined, these two developments should bring some new life back into a show which, in my opinion, has fallen to the bottom of NBC's Thursday night comedy lineup, with them being, in my order, "Parks and Recreation," "Community," "30 Rock" and then "The Office."

For a taste of what Spader could bring to "The Office," here, courtesy of Hulu, is the first half of last season's finale with, unfortunately, way too many commercials. Enjoy, and then stick around for word about a fun new project for "Office" funnyman Ed Helms.



"The Office" star Ed Helms has the distinction of starring in one of my favorite comedies of the year in "Cedar Rapids," but also easily the worst I've seen, "The Hangover Part II." and now comes word of a new pitch that could be a lot of fun.

The project pitched by writer-director Rob Pearlstein will be titled "True North," and it's set to star Helms as a high-powered, workaholic talk show host and father who slips into a two-year coma after suffering through a horrific plane crash. Upon emerging from the coma, the once-debonair man finds that he has undergone reconstructive facial surgery and looks nothing like his former self. He then must track down his family and reconnect with his former life.

Sounds like pretty deep stuff for a comedy, so stay tuned for more on this whenever I can find it.

And to close, bringing things back to TV, "True Blood" returns to HBO this Sunday, and for the premiere episode it will be bringing along a fairly groovy new tune by Neko Case and Nick Cave. Actually, it's just a cover of the Zombies' "She's Not There," but it still sounds great. Enjoy this audio-only clip, and if you like to laugh, go see Jake Kasdan's "Bad Teacher," which for raunchy fun is a whole lot better than most critics make it out to be. Peace out.

When will we get a new Tarantino movie?, plus a short clip show

Actually, I've read what I'm about 99 percent certain is the rough script for Quentin Tarantino's next movie, "Django Unchained," and if he manages to make the movie that he's spelled out on paper, it will be a real doozie, and possibly his best yet (I'm still taking it all in, but I'll put up a script review soon.)

But when will we get to see it? Well, the Weinstein Company has now set up this wild ride as a great Christmas present set for release Dec. 25, 2012.

And what's it about? Having read it, I can tell you it's a fairly epic Southern/Western about a German bounty hunter and a freed slave who join forces to take out slave owners and other generally despicable individuals, and eventually work to rescue the freed slave's (Django) wife.

And the cast, as so far assembled, is just perfect. Christoph Waltz, naturally, will play the bounty hunter, Dr. Schultz, and in even better casting, Leonardo DiCaprio will most likely play the big bad, Calvin Candie, the owner of a mandingo fighting operation (yes, really).

Left among the major parts to cast are Django and his wife, Broomhilda (again, yes, really), and though many names have been thrown about for the former, including one Will Smith, having read this I can see Idris Elba as the natural choice for Django, who in Tarantino parlance, truly is one bad motherf$#%er.

The one thing I know for sure about all this is that, on paper, this is a revenge flick that's even crazier than "Inglourious Basterds," my favorite movie of 2010, so all I can say is hurry up and bring it on!

In the only other major movie news out there this morning, it seems that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is hedging its best when it comes to this big question: What if we don't have 10 movies that can be logically be considered worthy Best Picture contenders?

To prepare for that inevitable eventuality and, in their explicit reasoning, to add some more suspense to the contest, the academy has now announced that, rather than a set field of 10 nominees, there will now be anywhere from five to 10, with the actual number not known until the field of nominees is announced.

Not a shocking development, and I suppose it could add some interest to the nominations announcement, but I'll just leave you with this thought before we move on to a couple of videos: With the field of 10 for this year's awards, I correctly predicted all nominees. Not bragging, just saying.

OK, now on the clips, starting in a great spot with the first trailer I've seen for a new Errol Morris documentary set to come out July 15. That alone would be reason to cheer, but with this movie, "Tabloid," it seems he's found a perfectly bizarre story that just naturally fits his style of filmmaking. Best as I can tell, it's about a model who "kidnaps" a Mormon missionary to sex him up and deliver him from the fold. And no, I'm not kidding. You'll have to see the movie itself to learn more, as I certainly will at the first opportunity, but for now just enjoy this fun trailer, and then stick around for a parting shot from Reel Fanatic fave Anna Faris.



Now that Kristen Wiig has gotten the opportunity to craft a smash comedy (and easily one of this year's best movies) with "Bridesmaids," I'd say Anna Faris is now the comedienne most deserving of the same break. Unfortunately, "What's Your Number?", the first trailer for which I've come across is below, doesn't seem to be it. Although veryfunnyman Chris Pratt of "Parks and Recreation" (aka Mr. Faris) is in this too, the flick, set to come out Sept. 30, just looks like the most generic variation of "romantic comedy." Oh well. "Enjoy" the trailer, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.

A big Wednesday clip show, with the Muppets and Larry David

Actually, let's start out with a couple of nuggets of movie news first, starting with what just might be the first chink in the armor of 3-D (hey, one can dream right?).

I don't really think unnecessary 3-D is going to go away any time soon, but lost in the fairly low domestic numbers and critical lambasting of "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" was a subset of numbers that was very intriguing.

Blockbuster movies made in (or more likely just converted to) 3-D are generally expected to take in 55 to 65 percent of their opening weekend take in 3-D ticket sales. Well, domestically at least, the latest "Pirates" took in only 47 percent of its $90 million from 3-D sales.

Just an outlier, perhaps, and international audiences apparently still went gaga for 3-D and the movie itself, but in this war, I'll take any small victory I can get. Keep hope alive!

And in other movie news, "Jane Eyre" and "Sin Nombre" director Cary Fukunaga has signed on to direct the Civil War movie "No Blood, No Guts, No Glory," based on the Great Locomotive Chase.

In case you're unfamiliar with that bit of U.S. history, it's about an escapade in which 20 Union soldiers in disguise took over a train and ran it ragged on the Western & Atlantic Railroad tracks, doing extensive damage and cutting Confederate communications lines along the way. It's an amazing story that's been the inspiration for one other movie already, Buster Keaton's "The General."

I liked "Jane Eyre" OK, but if you're looking for a great rental, "Sin Nombre" is fantastic, and Fukunaga should have nothing but fun with this ambitious project.

OK, now quickly on to the videos, starting with (where else?) the first trailer I know of for the Muppet movie coming out this Thanksgiving. Best as I can tell, the title has now been shortened to simply "The Muppets," and as you'll see from this clever teaser, it stars Jason Segel, Amy Adams and all your favorite Muppets. This teaser at least has the simple, old-fashioned feel I was expecting, so definitely bring it on. Enjoy.



"Game of Thrones" gets better each week on HBO, and with the HBO Go I've enjoyed catching up with all the episodes of Jonathan Ames' rather sublimely funny "Bored to Death," but what I'm really looking forward to is the return of Larry David and "Curb Your Enthusiasm." We'll have to wait until July 10 for the new season, but here's the first teaser trailer I know of for it, and as you'll see, Larry is just as socially awkward (blacks blush!) as ever.



And keeping with TV comedies, there really wasn't a better one this past season than NBC's "Parks and Recreation," and Emmy consideration would certainly be warranted. Well, Universal Studios has wisely picked up on this, and in its Emmy push, has put all 18 episodes online in their entirety for you to enjoy over again. The link to those is here, and in the meantime, also enjoy this clip of the best of Rob Lowe as Chris Traeger, "literally" one of the funniest characters on TV now.



And finally what better way to finish up a Wednesday report than with full movies? Though I'm more than a little psyched to see what Steven Spielberg will come up with for "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn" this Christmas, I enjoy the old-fashioned look of Hergé's comics even more. Spielberg's flick will actually be based on three Tintin tales, and here's one of them, "The Crab with the Golden Claws," in its simply and gloriously animated entirety. Enjoy, and then stick around for a parting shot from the Beatles.



The truly fun rock 'n' roll movie is probably dead and gone by now, and sorely missed. To brighten up your Wednesday morning, I'll leave you with easily one of the funnest, the Beatles' "Help!", in its entirety. Enjoy, and have a perfectly endurable Wednesday. Peace out.

Why it's time to shut down "The Office," plus a visit from Conan O'Brien

"If you're going to jump a shark, jump a big one."

Say what you want to about Ricky Gervais, but as easily one of the funniest people on the planet, he certainly should know when something is genuinely funny and when, well, it simply isn't. And, unfortunately, as he correctly pointed out, the latter was very often the case with Thursday's "The Office" finale.

It wasn't just the piling on of guest stars and giving them each about two minutes at most of screen time, but on top of that they gave almost all of them nothing to work with. James Spader was OK, and Jim Carrey arrived at the very end to provoke one of the only real laughs, at least from me, of the entire show.

And you know, it didn't really even annoy me by the end (BIG SPOILER AHEAD) that they didn't even bother to pick a new boss after all that build-up, because it really didn't feel like a show I want to keep watching anyway. It was, awkwardly and often painfully, more like a muddled pilot for a show still trying to figure where it wants to go, and for one that's been on so long, that's just pretty pathetic.

The best possible scenario now? Darryl gets the job, because Craig Robinson is still a very funny dude, and perhaps he can salvage this mess, but it's going to be a rather epic task.

As for me, I'm most likely done with "The Office," but not with everything on NBC's Thursday night lineup, because if you stuck around for the hour-long "Parks and Recreation" finale, you saw a show that's still fresh and genuinely funny, often wickedly so.

The first half was good, but once poor Lil Sebastian died and Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe) decided to reorganize the office (putting Ron Swanson in that great captain's chair), it was all comedy bliss from there.

I have to assume Aziz Ansari will be back, and the promise of Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler, who I've grown to like a whole lot more than I did before this show) running for office means I definitely will be too.

And to wrap things up today, here's the first trailer I know of for "Conan O'Brien Can't Stop." Though I would have ponied up for a straightforward documentary about when he took his comedy show on the road, this instead promises to be a much more behind-the-scenes kind of look, which should be even better. I have no idea when or if this is going to make a theatrical run, but keep an eye out for it if you live in a bigger corner of the world than I do, and have a great rest of the weekend. Peace out.

Harry Potter, X-Men and much more on a jam-packed Thursday

Before we get into some truly fun trailers for smashes coming this summer and fall, there's some other movie news out there, and for me it all starts with the news that "Rabbit Hole" playwright David Lindsay-Abaire is headed back to the big screen.

If you haven't seen "Rabbit Hole," it's out now on DVD, and there really are very few recent movies I can recommend higher. It features a sublime performance from Nicole Kidman and just tells a great story very well, with touches of wicked humor throughout.

And now, Lindsay-Abaire will have another great leading lady to work with as he adapts his current Broadway hit, "Good People," for the big screen. Frances McDormand, who plays the lead role on Broadway, will do the same for the movie.

So, what's it about? Well, it's set in Boston's working-class Southie neighborhood, and McDormand plays Margie Walsh, a high school dropout and single mother of a mentally disabled daughter struggling to make ends meet. On Broadway at least, Tate Donovan plays a successful former classmate of Margie's who enters into a relationship with her, but no word yet on whether he will reprise that role for the movie.

"Rabbit Hole" focused on similarly odd relationships, so this should be a real winner. And just in case you need any more convincing, here's a clip of McDormand in the play on Broadway. Definitely stay tuned for more on this.



In other news, you know, I can really take or leave Sacha Baron Cohen. Like most of the world, I loved "Borat," but I couldn't even bring myself to watch "Bruno" (and if I'm somehow missing on some kind of comic masterpiece with that one, please let me know.)

His next collaboration with co-conspirator and "Seinfeld" veteran Larry Charles, however, sounds like something I'll definitely be into, especially since he's whittled his candidates for the female lead to, for my money, probably the funniest two women in movies, plus one other solid choice from TV.

The duo are working on "The Dictator," "inspired" by "Zabibah and the King," a novel purportedly written by Saddam Hussein. Cohen would play dual roles of a goat herder and eventually the titular dictator, and now comes word that he's down to Anna Faris, Kristen Wiig and Gillian Jacobs to play the female lead.

Anyone who's been here before knows that I'm extremely partial to Faris and Wiig, but am a big fan of "Community," too, so any of these comediennes would make what already sounds like a very funny movie even better. But for my money, if I had to choose, I'll take Anna Faris every time.

OK, now on to some great clips for a Thursday morning, starting with a couple of trailers for sure-to-be summer smashes. In fact, if I were a betting man (and I no longer am), I'd put my money on "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" being the highest-grossing flick of this summer. My favorite among both the books and movies will always be "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," but part one of the finale was fantastic, too, and I can't wait to see the saga finally come to a close July 15 (though, for me at least, certainly not in 3D!) Enjoy the trailer.



Next up comes the first trailer I've seen that really has me thinking that Matthew Vaughn will deliver something fairly great when "X-Men: First Class" really launches Summer when it drops June 3. Enjoy what should be the final trailer for it.

Does the world really need another "300"? I really don't, but even if this trailer for Tarsem Singh's "Immortals" seems to promise just about exactly that, I still have enough faith in Singh to be looking forward to this. If you've never seen his "The Fall," there really are few better examples of truly imaginative filmmaking, and I recommend watching it as soon as you can. And with an eclectic cast that features Superman Henry Cavill, Freida Pinto and somehow Mickey Rourke, too, this should be nothing but fun when it finally drops Nov. 11. Enjoy the first trailer I know of for it.



And finally today, tonight will indeed bring the final appearance of Steve Carell's Michael Scott on "The Office," and NBC has stretched the episode out to 50 minutes to make room for it (though I'm looking forward to the also-extended episode of "Parks and Recreation" that will follow just as much.) The run-up to his departure has been some of the show's funniest stuff in years, and tonight should be no different. I probably won't watch it until next week, though, because today I'm off to the Atlanta Film Festival 365 for the first of two weekends, and really looking forward to it. Enjoy this short clip from tonight's episode of "The Office," and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.

An extended look at "Water for Elephants"

Actually, before we get into any of that, a couple of tidbits about TV, starting with a question: When's the last time you actually tuned in for a live broadcast of "Saturday Night Live."

For me, I couldn't even tell you for sure, because it's been well more than 10 years. I can, however, guarantee you that I will be tuning in one week from today, when they've managed to land the perfect host: Dame Helen Mirren, presumably to pimp the "Arthur" remake starring Russell Brand and somehow Luis Guzman too that comes out that week. Yeah, I'll watch both of those.

And HBO has just announced that the summer's funniest stretch begins at 10 p.m. July 10 when Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" returns for (I think) its eighth season. Last season's "Seinfeld" reunion of sorts was more than a bit of a dud, but with the show hitting New York this season and Ricky Gervais set to appear in some form, I'm betting on a return to very, very funny.

OK, on to the main event. Although I'm certainly going to see Duncan Jones' "Source Code" today and really looking forward to it, and thoroughly enjoyed the slyly witty "Cedar Rapids," my money is on "Water for Elephants" as the first great movie of 2011. I quickly devoured the novel by Sara Gruen, a rather epic romantic triangle tale that unfolds at a traveling circus. And the casting of this, with Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon and, looking great in these clips, Christoph Waltz as the circus' big man around the tent, looks just about perfect. And though he makes no appearance in these seven minutes or so courtesy of Collider.com, keep an eye out for definite Reel Fanatic fave Hal Holbrook too. Enjoy these seven scenes from the movie, and stick around afterward for something truly very funny from "Parks and Recreation."