The art of the funny, with "Bridesmaids," "Party Down" and, yes, a sneezing panda

Actually, to start things off, there's nothing at all funny about the above trailer, which is for "Let the Right One In" director Tomas Alfredson's "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," which is certainly right near the top of the list of movies I want to see for the rest of this year.

The flick, based on the novel by John Le Carre, stars Gary Oldman as George Smiley, the spy charged with uncovering a Russian mole who has infiltrated the ranks of British intelligence. It also rather remarkably stars Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch and Ciarán Hinds, among others, so definitely keep an eye out for this when it drops in the U.S. of A. hopefully very wide on Nov. 18.

After that today, it's all about laughs, starting with the I suppose inevitable movie to be based on quite possibly the cutest YouTube clip of all time (I wouldn't be the right judge of that).

If you haven't seen the clip of the sneezing baby panda by now, I just have to assume you've also never seen a computer. It is indeed just about the cutest thing you'll ever see, and has been on "South Park" and "30 Rock," among countless other places. Now, it seems that the folks responsible for filming it are making a hopefully very funny mockumentary, "The Life and Times of Sneezing Baby Panda."

Australian wildlife documentarians Lesley Hammond and Jenny Walsh came across the panda while making a 1999 film about the giant pandas of China. And now, for this potentially very fun project, they've got some grand plans.

The $1.3 million co-production, set to start shooting in China in October with Zhejiang Roc Pictures of Hangzhou, will follow an Australian zoologist whose zoo faces financial difficulties she thinks she might solve if she travels to China to save the real-life sneezing panda.

And Hammond has some big ideas for telling the family story of her adorable meal ticket. Per the director:

“One panda’s a terracotta warrior. Another’s on the Long March. You know the famous photo of Nixon sitting with Mao? Using visual effects, we’ll replace the woman interpreter sitting between them with a panda.”

Sounds like nothing but potentially very mawkish fun to me, but now on to some actual good news, this about the summer smash "Bridesmaids," which I'm far from alone in having big love for. And now, not only is it a big comedy hit this year, it also has just become the biggest movie from the directing/producing cult of Judd Apatow, and that's really saying something.

Here are the numbers: Through Tuesday, the domestic take for "Bridesmaids" was 148.1 million, putting it right behind big Apatow hits "Knocked Up" ($148.8 million) and "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby ($148.2 million), and well within sight of passing them both last night.

And it's all well-deserved. The movie is almost as insightful as it is just fall-down funny, especially when Melissa McCarthy is the center of attention. In fact, I might just go see it again this weekend before it disappears from theaters.

OK, moving on quickly to the clips, one of the real shames about being such a rapidly aging dude is that I'm rarely up late enough to watch Jon Stewart's "Daily Show." Which means I miss gems like this: Louis CK breaking down, in perfect detail, the allure of the fart joke. If you missed the season two premiere of his FX show "Louie" last week, it did indeed include a rather epic bit of flatulence from the guest star who played his pregnant sister, and it was very, very, very funny. Tune in for episode two tonight at 10:30, after "Wilfred," and in the meantime enjoy this clip of him on "The Daily Show."

The Daily Show
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And to close today with a bit about a TV show that was even funnier, the cast and creators of "Party Down," the much-missed (at least by me) Starz comedy about a catering company populated by wannabe actors and writers, had a reunion recently at Austin's Alamo Drafthouse. I would have loved to have been in the room for the whole thing, but here's just a tantalizing tidbit in which they tease the unlikely prospect of a "Party Down" movie. That's even more unlikely, of course, than an "Arrested Development" movie, but enjoy the clip anyway, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.

Friday news, of Torchwood, Elmore Leonard and even Tarzan ... yes, really

There's really not anything I can add to Leslie Nielsen's rather blissfully funny tombstone, so I'll just let that speak for itself and move on.

Though I do try to be selective in my TV viewing, when there aren't many new shows on (like, say, now) it does leave a bit of a void.

I did quite enjoy the new season premiere of "Men of a Certain Age," especially since I'm now clearly one of them, but I don't think that show's ever gonna gain many more viewers than the very few it has now. HBO has certainly also stepped up with season two of "Treme" (another great show that just about no one watches) and, of course, the sublime "Game of Thrones," and FX has two shows coming up I'll tune in for, the second of season of Louis C.K.'s "Louie" and the truly odd-looking "Wilfred."

After that, however, it's time for catching up with shows I've simply missed that are now streaming on Netflix, starting (with the recommendation of my fellow cubicle slave, Renee Martinez) with "Torchwood."

Most anyone who would be in to such a thing probably already knows that it's a show about a sort of alien-hunting detective agency and is a spinoff of "Doctor Who," and three episodes in now, I really dig it. And in a rather severe case of burying the lead, I tell you all that to tell you this: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" scribe Jane Espenson and star Eliza Dushku are reuniting for "Torchwood: Web of Lies," which will be an animated tale appearing online in three installments before the July 8 premiere of season 4 of the live-action show on Starz.

Dushku, along with series regulars John Barrowman and Eve Myles, will do voice work for the animated offering, and you can be sure I'll tell you how exactly to find it as soon as I know. And Espenson, easily one of the best writers on TV, wrote an episode of "Game of Thrones" and is one of the main writers for the new "Torchwood" season, so definitely tune in.

OK, moving on to movie news, I love most of the movies made from Elmore Leonard's uniformly juicy source material (with "Out of Sight" easily being on any top 10 list if I were to make it), and "Justified" just made a huge leap forward in season two, so any news of a new Leonard movie is certainly welcome in this little corner of the world.

Well, there's a take on the Leonard novel "Freaky Deaky" in the works, and it's quickly assembling a pretty first-rate cast. Per Variety, the story revolves around a Detroit police sergeant (Matt Dillon) who moves from the bomb squad to sex crimes (of course), coming up against a group of '60s radicals who, in 1974, are part of an investigation involving the bombing of a limousine. Brendan Fraser will play a former activist who now uses his knowledge of explosives to provide effects for Hollywood films, and veryfunnyman Craig Robinson will play Donnell Lewis, a Black Panther in the '60s and now the assistant to a Hollywood power player (William H. Macy).

Sounds like a typical cup of Leonard craziness, so stay tuned for any more news about this flick being written and directed by Charles Matthau (director of "The Grass Harp," way back in 1995) as soon as I spy it.

And finally, before a couple of videos, the bizarre ... the once-great Craig Brewer, who managed to create another movie that's probably in my top 10 of all time, "Hustle & Flow," before lowering himself to an upcoming remake of "Footloose," is now going seriously ape-s%$# crazy.

Warner Brothers has apparently signed Brewer up to write and direct a new "Tarzan" movie, and he already has his mind set on a trilogy about the tree-swinger (I'm sure Fraser would jump all over this.)

It's another odd turn for a clearly talented but maddening director. I really couldn't make anything of the mess that was "Black Snake Moan," and I can't see any way I'll possibly go see this new "Footloose" monstrosity, but with this, well, I can only wish him good luck.

OK, quickly on to the clips, because I want to get out of here to go swimming and then see "X-Men: First Class" (man, do I like being off on Fridays.) First up, Jon Stewart making fun of Sarah Palin and Donald Trump eating "New York pizza" in Times Square is the very definition of shooting fish in a barrel, but that doesn't make it any less funny. You really don't need to watch the full seven minutes-plus of this, but if you haven't seen it, it really is a pretty first-class rant. Enjoy.

The Daily Show
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And finally today, it may be a severely chicky tale, but I enjoyed Kathryn Stockett's "The Help" (though it's certainly not without its faults), and am really looking forward to the movie version due out Aug. 12, both for the movie itself and because it should be what finally rightly makes a big star out of Emma Stone. In the movie and this short clip with Viola Davis, she plays Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, who rouses the black maids of 1960's Jackson, Miss., to tell their stories. Enjoy the clip, and have a perfectly pleasant weekend. Peace out.

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Jeff Buckley biopic in the works (and I even resisted saying "hallelujah")

Actually, there's even better news out there, so why not start there?

If you haven't seen "Black Dynamite," there are few rentals I can recommend higher. A spoof that, rather than simply compiling a string of barely related jokes, instead serves a lovingly rude tribute to the blaxpoitation films that inspired it, it's just fall-down funny from start to finish.

And now it seems the movie will live on, sort of, as an animated offering on Adult Swim (yes, please!) The animated series is being developed by Carl Jones of "The Boondocks" (not one of my favorite shows, but this is something quite different), and it will feature the voices of "Black Dynamite" stars Michael Jai White (Black Dynamite himself), Tommy Davidson, Kym Whitley and Byron Minns. No word yet on when this will debut, but you'll know as soon as I do.

But today was supposed to start with news of a potentially great music biopic in the works, so here it is. Now that we're fairly removed from the glut of them led by "Ray and "Walk the Line," I've kind of got a hankering for one again, and certainly for one about the great Jeff Buckley.

Before drowning in a harbor in Tennessee way, way, way too early, Buckley managed to create one amazing album with "Grace," which I still listen to all the time. The only question I had when I first saw this (at Deadline) was why his story hasn't been told until now.

The man taking up the charge is Jake Scott, son of one Ridley, who has directed "Welcome to the Rileys" (which I haven't seen) and music videos for the likes of R.E.M., Radiohead and Smashing Pumpkins. Nothing but good news there, so I'll just leave you with my favorite Buckley song, "Lilac Wine," performed live, before a closing shot from Jon Stewart



It's not a shock either that Jon Stewart would devote an entire episode of "The Daily Show" to the departing (huzzah!) Glenn Beck, or that it would be extremely funny. It's so good, in fact, that if he bothered to watch it, I think even Mr. Beck would have to admit he enjoyed it (except, perhaps, when he was compared to mononucleosis). Enjoy this excerpt, and have a great weekend. As for me, I'm off to do so some swimming, and then hopefully for an entertaining double feature of "Your Highness" and then "Hanna." Peace out.

The Daily Show - Glenn Beck Announces His Departure
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For Thursday, no laughing matter in baseball, great movie news and a cache of funny clips

I suppose I would actually get a few people to read this if I ever bothered to make it single entries rather than a fairly free-flowing outpouring of whatever enters my mind at 6 in the morning, but than it would stop being fun, so what then would be the point?

But I, like many people, was watching baseball on ESPN last night (actually out of the corner of my eye while watching something else on Netflix, about the most multitasking I can actually do) when Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers was absolutely robbed and jobbed out of a perfect game.

That was the lead story on NPR when I woke up this morning, so it's obviously already a lot bigger than baseball, which it should be. For me, however, as angry as it initially made me, it was Galarraga's classy reaction to the obviously blown umpiring call that sticks with me: "No one is perfect."

He's certainly right there, and it is, in my own warped way, while I'll always be opposed to the introduction of replay in baseball (though I'd be willing to bet Galarraga would vote for in an instant.) Baseball is and always be a sport with as many opportunities for error as grace, and that all goes into what makes it the world's second-most beautiful game (second to, only of course, soccer.) It's far preferable that these errors be committed by the players than the umpires charged with regulating the game, but even in extreme cases like this one, think about it for a second.

Do we really want the game to be stopped every time there's a close call on the base path or anywhere in the field? That slippery slope will eventually lead to recalls on balls and strikes, and games that could easily go on for five hours or more. It would simply disrupt the natural flow of the game, which often, yes, does involve the extremely human act of umpiring, and would be a disaster.

OK, enough about baseball in what is supposed to be a movie site, especially since it's a day full of good news about directors I really like.

To start, does anyone remember Whit Stillman? He made his debut with what lingers as one of my favorite movies in "Metropolitan," a very dryly witty look at the lives of wealthy young NYC socialites (it's a lot better than I'm making it sound here, and rather amazingly, you can watch in on Hulu.) He followed that up with two movies that were not quite as good but still entertaining, "Barcelona" and "The Last Days of Disco," and then pretty much disappeared, at least until now.

He tried to make a comeback a couple of years ago with an adaptation of Christopher Buckley's satirical novel "Little Green Men," but like many ventures in our brave new world, that fizzled fast. Now, however, it seems like he's actually going to be able to make a movie, and it will be called "Damsels in Distress." Here's a synopsis:

[The picture] centers on a group of college girls who take in a new student and teach her their own misguided ways of helping people. Lily, a new student at Seven Oaks University, winds up filling in with a dynamic and highly individualistic group of girls, addicted to the elegance of the past: Heather, Violet and Rose all volunteer at the campus Suicide Prevention Center, convinced that musical dance, sharp clothes and good hygiene — the Dior perfume “Diorissimo” is their trademark — can all contribute to staving off the inevitable self-destructive impulses that follow hard on the heels of failed college romances. Despite their sophisticated talk and savvy use of perfume, the girls are plagued by Cupid’s arrows and must adjust their psyches to the onset of amour.

That all sounds really funny to me already, and casting is apparently going on now, with eyes set on a five-week July shoot in NYC, so it looks like, yes, we will actually get another movie out of Whit Stillman.

In other news, I didn't know that Spike Lee was working on a sequel to his sensational Katrina documentary "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts," but it certainly makes sense, especially since those same poor folks could find their land covered in oil any day now. Never being one for half-measures, however, it now seems that Lee is also now filming in Haiti, to draw obvious parallels between what happened there and in N'awlins.

The fate of Haiti is worthy of a Spike Lee documentary on its own, but whatever he comes up with here should be as painful to watch as it should be thoroughly engaging (and frankly, thank God that he keeps doing things like this as the attention of the rest of us understandably turns elsewhere.)

And, in a final bit before we get to the, I promise, extremely silly clips, it seems that director Sam Mendes has very, very wisely turned his back on some kind of "Wizard of Oz" prequel, sequel or whatever the hell it might be called "Oz the Great and Powerful" to instead direct a movie based on the Ian McEwan short novel "On Chesil Beach," a minor McEwan work but one of my favorites, and even better, "An Education" star Carey Mulligan will apparently star in it (even with Robert Downey Jr. as the wizard, there's just no way you could have gotten me to watch that "Oz" crap.)

As for "On Chesil Beach," it's about a couple on their honeymoon on the titular beach in the 1960s, and like Mendes' best movies so far, it explores the psychological barriers to and burdens of intimacy. Again, I'm surely not summing that up very well, but trust me, it's great stuff, and Mulligan as one half of the couple at its center will surely be fantastic.

OK, you have my solemn promise that from here on out today, it will be nothing but silly in the clips. First up comes something that needs absolutely no more description from me: Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert vs. Conan O'Brien and Andy Richter in a fatal danceoff. Enjoy.



I was already convinced that "Get Him to the Greek" is gonna be exactly my kind of raunchy funny with just enough heart, but just in case anyone else needs some convincing here, courtesy of Funny or Die (I'll take the former with this) are the movie's first five minutes. As were the best parts of Nicholas Stoller's "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," it's a pretty spot-on hit on our celebrity culture, and I think that even if you can't stand Russell Brand (which I can, because he's just friggin' funny), this is still gonna be a winner. Enjoy.

Get Him To The Greek Opening - watch more funny videos

Next up comes the second trailer for one I'm not as sure about, Jay Roach's remake of the sublime French farce "Diner de Cons," which is now called "Dinner for Schmucks" and stars Steve Carell and Paul Rudd (and as you'll see from the trailer, Zach Galifianakis too.) This has a high hurdle to jump in being compared to the original flick by Francis Veber, but it at least looks like Carell will be in full geek mode when this comes out July 23. Enjoy.



Well, these last two are probably more silly than funny, but Ben Kingsley trying out for a part in "Transformers 3"? Why not? (Sorry to break it to you, Sir Ben, but I'm afraid you somehow missed out on this to Victoria's Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whitely - say what you want about Michael Bay, but the man does certainly at least have a type.) Enjoy the clip and compare it to Heidi Montag's apparently earnest "Transformers" audition tape he's spoofing, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.

Sir Ben Kingsley Shows Up Heidi Montag - watch more funny videos

"Once" upon a magical Oscar moment

For someone who watches as many movies as I do, I have a rather perilous confession to make: I often zone out in the middle of the Oscars.

I can't be the only person who usually watches the first hour or so, then turns it off for the middle third and then comes back for the big guns. Last night, however, it managed to hook me from start to finish.

I'm sure there's gonna be some carping from people (only the stars, really, I'd assume) that there weren't any bloated-beyond-belief acceptance speeches, but I thought it was a very brisk, mostly very enjoyable affair. And Jon Stewart deserves a lot of credit for that, even though he couldn't wait for more than about 10 minutes to tell the four people in America who might not have known already that Diablo Cody was once a stripper. (Yes, if I can digress for a moment, I did say stripper. Having worked briefly as a blackjack dealer in the back of a strip club [hey, a man's gotta eat] I can tell you there's nothing terribly "exotic" about any dancing that goes on there. So let's just retire that term, OK.)

OK, I'm back. It was a deservedly big night for the Coens (giving the Hollywood Reporter the chance to roll out this groaner of a headline: "No Country: Four Gold Men.") Some other thoughts that ran through my skittish mind were: I guess it's nice that the technicians behind "The Bourne Ultimatum" won at least three awards for giving me a throbbing headache, and wow, I guess they really didn't have to put much makeup at all on Tilda Swinton to make her so pale as the White Witch (beautiful woman, to be sure, but is she some kind of albino or what?)

But anyone who's been here before knows that, even more than seeing Helen Mirren break into a devilish grin when she says the word "cojones," one thing I truly love is the film "Once." Easily the most charming movie of 2007, it also provided the most charming moment of last night's Oscars ceremony.

After watching the three extremely elaborate set pieces for the songs from "Enchanted" (and man, can that Kristen Chenoweth belt out a tune), I was sure that one of them was going to prevail. But then, near the end of the night, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, armed only with their instruments, performed their beautiful nominated song "Falling Slowly," and as everyone probably knows by now, came out as the big winners.

And the biggest victim of the rather brisk pace at first seemed to be the lovely Ms. Irglova, who, just as she opened her mouth, heard the music start to play and was ushered offstage. They probably could have let it at go at that and people would have just dismissed it and moved on, but after the commercial break, Stewart was nice enough to bring her back and give her 30 seconds to say something about the importance of indie artists (amen, sister!)

Perhaps I'm exaggerating the significance of this, but I almost never stay up until 11:45 on a Sunday night, so that's what's stuck in my mind at this early hour.

And yes, in case anyone's wondering, there is news out there today, and some pretty big stuff: Evidently set on giving me another massive migraine, Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon have both agreed to come back for a fourth "Bourne" flick. Bully to that, I suppose.

But I'll leave you today with just a bit more about "Once": The actual performance of "Falling Slowly" by Mr. Hansard and Ms. Irglova at last night's show. Once you get past the rather awful French voiceover of Colin Farrell's introduction (do they actually watch the whole show like that? what a nightmare!), the audio is great and the song is even better. Peace out.

Oscars videocast: Reel Fanatic vs. The TV Guy

Although it's hardly as dramatic as Peter Parker peeling off his Spider-Man mask for Mary Jane, I will indeed be unmasked today for the loyal reader (and, who knows, on a good day maybe even readers) of this site.

I don't particularly enjoy appearing on camera, be it film or photograph, but it's in honor of the Oscars, so why not?

Below, you'll find about eight minutes or so of myself and Phil Ramati, a k a The TV Guy, bickering genteelly about the upcoming Oscars, which are definitely now back in a big way coming Feb. 24, with Jon Stewart as the host. Presenters will include: Alan Arkin, Jennifer Hudson, Helen Mirren, Forest Whitaker, Amy Adams, Jessica Alba, Cate Blanchett, Josh Brolin, Steve Carell, George Clooney, Penelope Cruz, Miley Cyrus, Patrick Dempsey, Cameron Diaz, Colin Farrell, Harrison Ford, Jennifer Garner, Tom Hanks, Anne Hathaway, Katherine Heigl, Jonah Hill, Dwayne Johnson, Nicole Kidman, James McAvoy, Queen Latifah, Seth Rogen, Martin Scorsese, Hilary Swank, John Travolta, Denzel Washington and Renee Zellweger.

I don't know how in the world Jonah Hill got to join that club, but I'll take it. As for the clip, it's of myself and Mr. Ramati, who writes diligently about all things TV here. One more plug before we get started: Our cameraman/producer is Ryan Gilchrest, who blogs about happenings in the great Peach State here. And, one final note, if you don't have the time (or desire) to watch the whole thing, Mr. Gilchrest, who is much more technically inclined than me, was kind enough to embed a permalink on the sideboard that has links that break it down by category. Enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant weekend. Peace out.

No Oscars? This strike just keeps getting worse

I know a lot of people dismiss the Oscars as simply a rigged-from-the-start Hollywood lovefest, but I'll always be a sucker for it. Just as I watch the World Series no matter who is in it because I just adore baseball, I tune in to most of each year's Oscars broadcast because I love the movies so much. (My favorite steroids-related headline, by the way, was on the Washington Post's Web site: Despite Miguel Tejada and many other Orioles getting dragged into it, they went with "Yankees Prominently Mentioned." God bless the hometown newspaper.)

But back to the Oscars and, to a lesser extent, the Golden Globes, which I also find to be a fun broadcast to catch. Well, now it seems that on Monday WGA West President Patric Verrone rejected waiver requests for the kudos-casts, and who can blame him? They certainly don't deserve to be held to a different standard than any other form of written entertainment.

The first hit would be the Golden Globes, set to be handed out Jan 13. Dick Clark Prods. has indicated it will try to find a route to work around the impasse, perhaps as an independent producer of some kind. The Oscars, however, would be much more tricky, me thinks.

Let's just assume this strike isn't going to end anytime soon (and, I hate to be the bearer of bad news if you didn't know this already, but the actors are set to follow the writers rather soon if something dramatic doesn't happen.) Can you imagine any actors will be willing to walk the red carpet if it means they have to cross the picket line to do so? I can't imagine even the most conservative of Hollywood folk would be willing to do that.

And, perhaps more importantly, can you imagine that host Jon Stewart would be willing to participate under these circumstances? I can't imagine so.

And, in the ugliest of all scenarios, it's entirely possible you could have major stars picketing the broadcast, which would certainly be a circus. No matter how it unfolds, unless the strike ends soon, awards season is shaping up to be nothing but ugly.

Good guys caught in the middle

No matter whose side you're on in this labor action (and, with way too much TV on DVD in hand already as survival material, I'm still squarely behind the writers), there are always going to be good people who get caught in the crossfire.

And it would certainly seem that Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien fall into this category (well, Conan anyway ... I have never watched Jay Leno's show, and never will.) Faced with staffs of 80 to 100 nonwriting people who aren't getting any paychecks, both hosts have decided to go back on the air in early January (David Letterman, who owns his show, is free to negotiate with the writers on his own terms, which he is apparently doing now.)

Here's some of what Conan had to say about proceeding without writers:

"My career in television started as a WGA member and my subsequent career as a performer has only been possible because of the creativity and integrity of my writing staff. Since the strike began, I have stayed off the air in support of the striking writers while, at the same time, doing everything I could to take care of the 80 non-writing staff members on Late Night. Unfortunately, now with the New Year upon us, I am left with a difficult decision. Either go back to work and keep my staff employed or stay dark and allow 80 people, many of whom have worked for me for fourteen years, to lose their jobs. If my show were entirely scripted I would have no choice. But the truth is that shows like mine are hybrids, with both written and non-written content. An unwritten version of Late Night, though not desirable, is possible – and no one has to be fired. I will make clear, on the program, my support for the writers and I'll do the best version of Late Night I can under the circumstances. Of course, my show will not be as good. In fact, in moments it may very well be terrible."

Thanks for the warning Conan, but I have a hunch these shows may not only not be terrible, but maybe even inspired. As he mentioned in that statement, Conan was once a writer himself, and a darn good one. He wrote for "Saturday Night Live" and "The Simpsons," and for the latter penned the very funny "Marge Vs. the Monorail" episode.

His show, at least in its earliest days, was always best when it relied on sketches anyway, so if he can manage to come up with some very funny stuff the show might be just fine even if many stars refuse to participate, which I'd imagine they will. Stay tuned.

Holofcener and Keener, together again

In the world of indie movies, at least, there have been very few more fruitful partnerships than that of the great Catherine Keener and director Nicole Holofcener. And now, assuming it doesn't get consumed by any kind of actors' strike, the duo have announced plans for a fourth collaboration.

Holofcener will write and direct the as-yet-untitled movie about a group of New York women who live in the same apartment building. Keener will play the neighbor of a cantankerous elderly woman and her two granddaughters.

Though Nicole Holofcener has the distinction of directing one of my least favorite movies, the simply useless "Friends With Money," she's also made two I just love in "Lovely and Amazing" and "Walking and Talking." The common factor in all of these has been Keener, who I will gladly watch in just about anything.

And you can look for her fairly soon in Charlie Kaufman's (huzzah!) "Synecdoche, New York" and then in director Andrew Fleming's "Hamlet 2" with veryfunnyman Steve Coogan. I know I certainly will.

A new look at Wall-E

Please allow me to introduce this new trailer for Pixar's next flick, "Wall-E," with another plea that its last, "Ratatouille," be one of the final contenders for a Best Picture Oscar (assuming, of course, that there even is an Oscars show.) As the first half hour or so of the movie will apparently be, this new "Wall-E" clip is silent except for robot noises made by our hero. It will be an odd movie for kids, me thinks, but one I almost certainly will enjoy. Peace out.

And the Oscars broadcast goes to ...

Well, unless you've somehow been living in a cave for the past 10 years or so, I guess the picture pretty much gives it away.

I have nothing against Ellen DeGeneres due to her personal life or any nonprofessional reason, but I must say I'm very happy she's not returning for the Oscars this year. Maybe it's just that I'm such a cynical (fairly) old dude, but she's just way too cheerful for me, and if I'm gonna watch a night of celebrity ass-kissing I'd prefer it with a wit more acerbic than hers.

And so, re-enter Jon Stewart, who hosted the Oscars broadcast in 2006 and, according to the New York Times at least, will be returning as host for the next show Feb. 24.

Given his fairly rocky performance the first go-round, I was a little surprised by this news, but in terms of a big star who appeals to people who would usually just tune out the Oscars, you can't get a better name. And, as anyone who watches "The Daily Show" even occasionally knows, Stewart is one seriously funny guy.

Please feel free to let me know what you think, and as further proof (if it's needed) that Jon Stewart is a comedy god, enjoy this YouTube clip of him being analyzed by the late Dr. Katz. Extremely short post today because I've just been switched to a four-day, 10-hour-per-day work week. I'm not complaining, believe me, but it's gonna take some getting used to. Peace out.