What's hot at Comic-Con?

I, of course, wouldn't know, since I'm stuck in a cubicle here on the East Coast rather than geeking it up in sunny San Diego. Here however, is what Variety says will rule the day at the mecca of movie-mania.

1. Indiana Jones 4
What else could possibly be No. 1.? I don't care how much Geritol it takes to get the job done, I'll still be there on day one for this one. Apparently Shia LaBeouf is playing some kind of sidekick to Han Solo, not his son, as I originally thought.
Opens: May 22, 2008

2. Star Trek 11
Is it OK to admit I simply never cared much at all for Star Trek? It cleary has virtues that escape me, since more than a few people seem to be devoted to it. "Lost" mastermind J.J. Abrams has promised big casting news at his Comic-Con appearance this afternoon, so stay tuned to this one. Shooting starts in November.

3. Watchmen
On a slightly unrelated note, "300" comes out on DVD next week, and I'll be buying a copy. On an even more unrelated note, my boss, about once a week or so, has a tendency to just yell out "Spartans!" at the most random of moments. Shooting for Zack Snyder's take on this rather famous graphic novel begins in September, and Jackie Earle Haley and many more people are already on board.

4. The Dark Knight
If this is ranked in term of buzz, how in the world is this sequel not at No. 2? In Nolan's next take, the Caped crusader (Christian Bale) is set to take on at least two big baddies, the Joker (Heath Ledger, believe it or not) and Two-Face (Aaron Eckhart, huzzah!) We all know what happens when you add a third villain, so here's hoping they stop there.

5. Beowulf
There's a new trailer for this one out, which you can watch here. This one is, of course based on the epic poem and stars Ray Winstone as Beowulf, Crispin Glover as Grendel and Angeline Jolie (wtf?) as Grendel's mum. I can't see any possible way this will be anything but cool when it opens Nov. 16.

6. Iron Man
The cast alone makes this one worth watching, but I have serious doubts that Jon Favreau is ready to take this on. Robert Downey is our hero Tony Stark, and Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges and Terrence Howard (huzzah!) also factor in somehow. If you're somehow lucky enough to be in SD for this, Favreau and Downey will be premiering some new footage Saturday.

7. The Incredible Hulk
Am I the only person in the world who really liked Ang Lee's "Hulk" movie? Apparently so, because now they've come up with a new director and, of course, a new Hulk. I liked Eric Bana just fine, but Edward Norton should just have tons of fun with this. It opens June 13, 2008.

8. I am Legend
The great, somewhat-new Jazzy Jeff record, "Return of the Magnificent," has a great running joke about Will Smith (maybe you've heard of him.) As it culminates, Jazzy, tired of constantly being asked if he's seen Mr. Smith lately, finally calls up his old pal and asks him, "does anyone ever ask you if you've seen Jazzy Jeff lately?" Mr. Smith, gamely in on the joke, says "no, but sometimes they ask me if I've seen Carlton." I spit up my coffee the first time I heard that. I know it has nothing to do with this movie, which is apparently a new adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel about a viral plague that turns the world's population into brain-dead savages. Who ya gonna call? Will Smith, of course. Opens: Dec. 14, 2008

9. The Golden Compass
Were this my list, this one would be at No. 3, just barely behind "The Dark Knight." This first installment in Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy (which will be on my reading list directly after Harry Potter) stars Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman, and from everything I've seen so far should just kick royal ass when it finally comes out this Christmas. Opens: Dec. 7, 2007

10. The Mist
Stephen King and Frank Darabont together again? I'm definitely there. This time it's based on King's novella about an eerie cloud filled with otherworldy creatures that envelops a New England town. In my mind, I'm already there. Opens: Nov. 21, 2007

R.I.P. Ulrich Muhe

I'm ashamed to say I have never seen "The Lives of Others" (which has just been added to my Netflix queue), but this is certainly sad news all the same.

German actor Ulrich Muhe, the movie's star, has died at age 54 of stomach cancer. He had been offered several movie roles after playing the Stasi officer at the center of "The Lives of Others" but had been too ill to take any of them on.

Rest in peace indeed, Mr. Muhe.

The last word on "Gilmore Girls"

It just pains me to see how bitter Amy Sherman Palladino has become about her divorce from "Gilmore Girls." She just sounds like petulant 4-year-old every time she opens her mouth, as she did recently on the TV critics press tour, where she was plugging her midseason Fox sitcom "The Return of Jezebel James" (which I will definitely be tuning in for come January or so.)

Asked about the "Gilmore Girls" finale, she said "I didn't watch it. I just got very drunk that night and sat in a corner. I couldn't watch it because it wasn't going to be my ending and had in my head forever. You know, go with God. I love all those people; I love that cast. I'm friends with Lauren (Graham)."

Fair enough, I guess, but she did have two interesting things to say about the future and what might have been. Asked about the possibility of a "Gilmore" TV movie, she said "We've talked about maybe sometime doing a little song and dance together. I'm not ruling it out."

And, even better, she revealed what would have been the final line if she had been around to write her own "Gilmore Girls" finale: "You're adopted."

Being more than a little thick, my original response when my similarly "Gilmore" obsessed co-worker Renee Martinez told me about this was "well, she can't mean Rory, can she?" Of course not. I can only assume this line would have been spoken by either Emily or Richard to Lorelei. Maybe someday we'll find out for sure.

Midnight madness: "The Simpsons Movie"

Having been a "Simpsons" devotee since way back on "The Tracey Ullman Show," there was no way I could pass up a midnight showing of "The Simpsons Movie" tonight, even though I have to be up bright and early for work Friday. Assuming I make it, I'll post something early Friday morning, but in the meantime enjoy this short clip of Homer's monologue on "The Tonight Show," which I haven't bothered to stay up for even once since Johnny left. Peace out.

The best movie nobody in the world ever saw

A comment from frequent-and-always-welcome visitor Divinity about (sort of) meeting Joss Whedon got me to thinking about the only time I ever managed to meet a movie director, and what in the world ever happened to her.

Has anyone but me (and, of course, the 20 or so people in attendance at the screening at the 1998 Rehoboth Film Festival) ever seen Susan Skoog's movie "Whatever"? Probably not, which is a real shame.

Millions more have seen "Garden State," another (and admittedly superior) New Jersey flick, and of course the movies of Kevin Smith, but those movies don't come to close to invoking the sense of time and place that Skoog managed to pull off with '80s New Jersey in "Whatever."

The plot, in a nutshell, focuses on two very close high school girls who are headed in different directions. Liza Weil, who would go on just after this flick came out to play Paris Geller on "Gilmore Girls," plays Anna Stockard, who is content to just party her way through high school until an art teacher inspires her to want more from life (sounds cheesy, I concede.) Chad Morgan, who has most recently been working on episodes of "Robot Chicken," plays her friend who, well, likes the boys and the booze just a bit too much.

It doesn't get much deeper than that, and yet Skoog's movie turned out to be, in my opinion, one of the truly great and honest movies about teenage angst, thanks mostly to a remarkable performance by Ms. Weil. You want to reach onto the screen and just choke her as her character just continues to make all the wrong choices. She wears her scars on the surface here, and they all ring true.

Has anyone else but me seen this somewhat-great movie? According to the IMDB, it was apparently the end of Susan Skoog. She has exactly no credits after 1998. How is this even possible? You can't even get "Whatever" on DVD, but if anyone is curious I'd be happy to mail them my copy on VHS (as long as you promise to return it, of course.)

I tried to even find a YouTube clip, but the best I could find is one posted by some kind of smoking fetishist called "luvstasmoke" which simply strings together the many times Liza Weil lights up, legal and otherwise, in the flick. I couldn't in good conscience post that here, so instead enjoy this rather gratuitous clip of Liza Weil and Alexis Bledel kissing on the great spring break episode of "Gilmore Girls." Now, if that doesn't brighten up your Monday it was probably just doomed from the start.