A Wednesday chock full of good movie news

Few movies have stuck longer in my mind and just gotten better and better with age recently than Spike Jonze's "Where the Wild Things Are." It's just one of those movies I watch once a year or so, and always find something new and magical in it each time.

So, it's certainly good news that the man is finally ready to get back to work again, and even better that he's working with "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation" co-conspirator Charlie Kaufman. The duo is apparently having some trouble locking down the exact financing for their next project, but given what it's about, here's certainly hoping it happens: Per Deadline, it will be "a satire about how world leaders gather to figure out all the seismic events that will take place in the worlds, from oil prices to wars that will be waged."

Wow. Imagine all that filtered through the warped mind of Kaufman. Whenever this happens, I'm in.

And although the Oscars were an entirely predictable and somewhat surprisingly, at least to me, rather boring affair this year, there was some very good news that broke out afterward. Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" was my favorite movie of 2010, and if the man's to be believed (and he usually is), it seems he's at least finished the script for his next movie. All that's known for sure so far is that it will be a "Western" (who knows what could really mean from QT?), but that's enough to get me intrigued, because the man has yet to steer me wrong so far.

Finally, to close out the news portion of this before we get to some videos, I'm certainly looking forward to Tomas Alfredson's follow-up to "Let the Right One In," and now that Universal has picked it up for a late fall this year release, I should even be able to see it in theaters in my little corner of the world.

What he's cooked up is a big-time take on John Le Carre's classic Cold War spy novel "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," which has already been made into a British miniseries starring Alec Guinness and the late, great Ian Richardson, among many others. Not to be outdone, for his big-screen version, Alfredson has recruited Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong and Ciaran Hinds. Oldman plays George Smiley, the spy called out of retirement to root out a Russian spy who has embedded himself in the ranks of Britain's MI6.

Great book, great cast and great director, on a flick to open everywhere? Perfection.

OK, on to the videos portion quickly, because I still want to go swimming before work today. I really think "Rango" is going to be a lot of fun, so I'll be at my local multiplex to see it Saturday afternoon. As reviewer Roger Moore (and probably others) rightly asked, however, just who is a movie with truly odd characters who smoke and (at least occasionally) swear exactly intended for? It's a valid question, and while I can't speak to whether or not it's appropriate for kids, the animated Western featuring the voices of Johnny Depp and the great Bill Nighy looks like it's just right for me. Enjoy this collection of clips/behind the scenes mini featurette.



Next, though the "Toy Story" characters may have retired from feature-length films with "Toy Story 3," it's no secret that they will be in the short that precedes "Cars 2" this summer,"Toy Story: Hawaiian Vacation" (and I'm betting the short will be a damn sight better than the main attraction.) Enjoy this very short clip of Ken and Barbie arriving in what they think is the island of dreams, and then stick around for the one thing guaranteed to make this possibly dreary Wednesday much better, a free Buster Keaton movie!



I know that no matter how long I use it, I'll always be more than a bit of a Luddite when it comes to the Internet, and I'm constantly surprised by the array of what's available on YouTube. For example, what could be better than Buster Keaton's "The General," in its glorious entirety? I doubt anyone really has 105 minutes to spare during this workday, but even in pieces, this is an indisputable gem, and this looks great full screen. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.

Is "Toy Story" now the best movie trilogy of all time?

Actually, before we get into any of that, I saw an update on a contender for the title of movie I'm most looking forward to for the rest of this year, and it's one I had almost forgotten about.

If you haven't seen Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's minor league baseball/immigration drama "Sugar," there really are very few rentals I can recommend higher. It was easily one of my favorite movies of 2009, so it's certainly only good news that they're coming back this fall, especially when they've got such a good cast in tow.

Their next movie, set to be released Sept. 24 by Focus Features, will be called "It's Kind of a Funny Story," adapted from the Ned Vizzini novel of the same name. It's about a teen (Keir Gilchrist) who checks himself into a mental institution only to find himself stuck in the adult unit, where he encounters a bunch of colorful characters.

The supporting cast somehow includes Zach Galifianakis, Emma Roberts, Lorelai Gilmore, Viola Davis and Aasif Mandvi of "The Daily Show," and it was described in Entertainment Weekly by producer Kevin Mischer as being like a "teen version of 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,' but the tone is more similar to 'The Breakfast Club,' it's funny." OK, I'm in.

But before I got distracted by all of that. this was supposed to be all about movie trilogies, spurred by a comment from one of my fellow cubicle slaves, reporter Phillip Ramati: "So, is 'Toy Story' now the best movie trilogy ever?"

Having thought about it for a couple of days, I'd have to say yes, and with no hesitation. Think about it. The first "Toy Story" was as groundbreaking as it was simply entertaining, the second one was just miles better in terms of story and humor, and the third installment was the best of all, just a fun ride from the start to a finish that's making grownass people around the world cry (yes, me too.)

For that consistency, I'd have to say that yes, it certainly is the best movie trilogy ever made. Below are the eight others that were in contention in my mind, but before that a bit of a digression about the third installment in a trilogy that, while it will almost certainly never make anyone's best of list of any kind, certainly brings the funny.

Kal Penn has quit the White House to reteam with John Cho for the third "Harold & Kumar" flick, "A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas," coming as the perfect Christmas day gift next year. The story finds Harold as a suburban dad who's awakened from his new world by the return of stoner buddy Kumar. We've already learned that, thankfully, Neil Patrick Harris will somehow be revived and veryfunnyguy Patton Oswalt will be involved in this somehow too. And now comes word that Thomas Lennon of the late "Reno 911" (and, rather amazingly, the co-writer of the "Night at the Museum" movies too) has joined the cast as Harold's neighbor.

That's a whole lot of funny for one movie, so here's hoping the duo goes out on a very high note (sorry, I couldn't resist.)

And here, without any further digression, are the eight movie trilogies that, in my mind, could even enter the same conversation with the "Toy Story" saga. As usual, please feel free to add any at the end that you think I've snubbed.

"Back to the Future": For sheer fun, there probably isn't a trilogy that delivers more than Robert Zemeckis' flicks starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. 'Nuff said.

"Evil Dead": I've sung the virtues of Sam Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell" here, well, probably way too many times, but the reason it's so good is it was a return to the form Raimi was in when he made these priceless zombie flicks.

"Goal!":I may well be the only person in the world who holds these movies in such high esteem, but the the soccer series about Mexican futboler Santiago Munez and his journey from L.A. to Newcastle United to Real Madrid and then, of course, to the 2006 World Cup (hey, this is a fantasy, after all), really is just about my favorite sports underdog tale.

"The Godfather": Though the first two movies in Francis Ford Coppola's epic saga get regular and unconditional love, I'd like to take a second to clear up a misconception about the third installment: It's really not a bad movie at all. Not nearly as good as the first two chapters, but a solid ending to the story, especially when you compare it to the simply awful third chapters of, for example, "Spider-Man" and "X-Men."

"Lord of the Rings": I have no idea what's going on with "The Hobbit," which may or may not somehow going to be directed by "LOTR" helmer Peter Jackson, but my favorite moment in the whole Rings trilogy shows just why a "Hobbit" movie would be so amazing. Of the entire nine hours or so, the best stretch for me is still the first 20 minutes or so of the first movie, which take place with the hobbits in the Shire. I'm probably the only person in the world that thinks the rest of Jackson's flicks fail to reach that high point, but there it is.

"Major League": Really? Yes, really. And rather amazingly, writer/director David S. Ward, who's responsible for the first two installments of this baseball comedy epic, says he has a script ready for a fourth chapter, and has even had at least primary talks with Wild Thing Charlie Sheen about it. How could you make another "Major League" perfect? Make it about a winning season for my beloved Baltimore Orioles, because at this point, nothing would be funnier than that.

"Star Wars": Just in case anyone needs any clarification (which I rather seriously doubt), I'm talking here of course about what I believe, thanks to George Lucas, are somehow now called chapters IV-VI. But the abortions that were I-III have been wiped from my mind, so these are really the only three "Star Wars" flicks, and even with the Ewoks at the end, they're all three great.


"Blue," "White" and "Red":
Nothing like saving the artsiest for last. I actually Netflixed and watched all three chapters of Krysztof Kieslowski's sublime trilogy over a recent weekend (yes, I live a wild life), and I think the second chapter, "White" with Julie Delpy, is my favorite, though they're all sensational. Though it appears last on this list somehow, this is the movie trilogy I'd put right behind "Toy Story" in terms of overall appeal.

And there you have it. Please feel free to add any you think I've snubbed, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Actually, I'm gonna leave you with easily the funniest picture I saw this morning, which really needs no explanation from me. Peace out.

Take a free listen to the "Where the Wild Things Are" soundtrack

You know, I guess I shouldn't be terribly surprised that the Coen brothers' newest flick, "A Serious Man," isn't opening anywhere near my little corner of the world this week (not counting a 90-minute drive to Atlanta, which just really isn't in the cards.)

Even though the new flick is apparently a very black comedy about Judaism and life featuring no stars to mention (though I really like that Richard Kind), I was still hoping that the brothers' sway as filmmakers would be enough to get a pretty wide release, but I was mistaken once again.

Oh well. Even so, this is still a pretty good week for movies, with Drew Barrymore and Ellen Page's "Whip It" and Ricky Gervais' "The Invention of Lying" opening everywhere, plus, though I don't think I'll bother to sit through this, a 3-D double feature of both "Toy Story" movies.

And two weeks after that, just in case you've never been here and heard me constantly obsessing about this one, Spike Jonze's "Where the Wild Things Are" opens everywhere, and you can listen to the entire soundtrack by Karen O (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and the Kids, courtesy of Imeem.com and right here in the sideboard of this very blog (I'm really not too much for widgets, so Barack Obama and this soundtrack are the only two things to get that honor.)

The soundtrack, as I'd imagine the movie will be, is an odd affair, and took a few listens to grow on me, but it's pretty addictive once you adapt to it. Be warned: The Kids are indeed just that, and they sing, wail and howl throughout the soundtrack. I really thought that would have no appeal to me, but it certainly fits the spirit of the story.

The songs range wildly in emotion from the wrath of "Capsize" to the elation of "All is Love" (the first single, which I dismissed on first listen, but have grown to enjoy quite a bit) and of course, in the middle, a rumpus to start. Click the widget just to your right and give it a listen.

And, also fitting the spirit of the movie and the music, We Love You So, the "Where the Wild Things Are" production blog of sorts, has been running a Where the Wild Things Ought to Be contest that has produced some very funny results. Here are my two favorites, but it's well worth checking out a slide show of them all and much more here. Peace out.

Minority report: A slightly dissenting view of "Up"

Before I get into anything about Pixar's "Up," there's great news out there today about Duncan Jones, a k a David Bowie's son and the man who directed the best slice of old-fashioned sci fi I've seen this year, "Moon."

For his next project, Jones will direct "Escape From The Deep," the story of a World War II U.S. navy submarine that sank after a torpedo malfunction, leaving the crew stranded on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Faced with drowning, nine men made it out alive after swimming the 180 feet to the surface without getting the bends.

I love submarine movies, so that all sounds great to me, but I'm still more than a little peeved that "Moon," featuring a top-notch performance by Sam Rockwell, never got any proper distribution in the U.S. - definitely catch it on DVD as soon as it hits there.

But, getting back to "Up," I should probably just keep this to myself, because for the most part I enjoyed Pixar's latest offering almost as much as everyone else in the world has seemed to. However, I didn't find it to be top-shelf Pixar, which for me includes "Ratatouille," "The Incredibles," "Wall-E" and "Toy Story."

So then, what kept me from loving "Up" unconditionally, which I certainly wanted to do going in? Well, from the outset it's a much more somber affair than I had been led to believe, but that certainly wasn't the problem. In fact, it turned what could have been the most mediocre of montages into perfectly concise storytelling as it opened by telling the life story of Carl Fredricksen (a seriously curmudgeonly Ed Asner) in heartbreaking fashion (and I'm not afraid to admit it was the first, but not the last, time that "Up" had this grownass man on the verge of bawling.)

And if I can skip ahead to the big action climax, it's a set piece that has Carl and young Russell (voiced by Jordan Nagai, who gets the movie's best line with his enthusiastic "But it's a talking dog!") battling the movie's big bad in an aerial encounter that finally delivers on the full promise of 3-D. It had me holding my breath and experiencing a serious fear of heights, and I'd imagine the real peril it puts our heroes in might be a bit much for the kiddies, but it's also just tons of fun.

So then, where's the beef? Well, to paraphrase Russell in talking about the middle of "Up," "But it's a flying house!" Watching it take off is indeed as remarkable as I could have expected, so I was just amazed at how little time they spent in the air before reaching their South American destination. I mean (AND THIS IS A BIG SPOILER, SO READ ON IF YOU DON'T WANT TO FIND OUT) really, having Russell almost instantly find it with his GPS device? Where's the adventure in that?

And once they're - sort of - tethered to the ground again, I was hoping for much more of a B-movie, Indy Jones sort of tale, but this part just never really got going, in large part because the big bad Charles Muntz, voiced by Christopher Plummer, was just one of the worst Pixar characters I've ever encountered. By having him stop well short of total madness, they also rob him of any real motivation and make this portion of the tale - in my opinion - just much less compelling.

Perhaps I'm being too hard on what is, after all, a kid's movie and a moving tale about one man reaching his life's aspirations. But this is Pixar, after all, and I've come to expect nothing short of perfection. And besides, like Carl Fredricksen, I guess I just like to complain, so please feel free to let me know all the ways I'm just off base on this one. Peace out.