A Saturday morning mix of clips

Before I get into any of that, including glimpses of two great documentaries I managed to see yesterday at the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival and a Studio Ghibli picture just guaranteed to make you smile, there is one bit of good news this morning.

Though most of my head knows that "Easy A" isn't one of the best movies of 2010, in my heart it has lingered as the funniest movie I've seen this year, so it will almost certainly end up in my top 10 for the year. And besides, Emma Stone is just so thoroughly charming throughout that its perfectly easy to give in to the fact that this is as light as light can get and just go along for the very fun ride.

So it's nothing but good - if incomplete - news that "Easy A" director Will Gluck and star Stone are reuniting for Sony Screen Gems for an as-yet-untitled and -unscripted comedy. The wild card here is that it's not yet known who will write the flick, but here's hoping it's "Easy A" scribe Bert V. Royal, who clearly knows the funny.

In less exciting Gluck news, he did both and write and direct the rather generic looking friends-with-benefits comedy with the uninspired title of, well, "Friends With Benefits," starring Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake and set to come out July 22.

And after that, all I have today is a couple of clips that bring the funny and two looks at movies I managed to catch yesterday in Rehoboth. You know, it really is a shame that Curtis Hanson has pretty much disappeared, because I quite liked at least a few of his flicks, especially the Eminem biopic "8 Mile," which I'm pretty sure airs on at least one basic cable channel every single Saturday afternoon. And though he clearly needs the work, I'm fairly certain Hanson isn't directing the upcoming Justin Bieber biopic (yes, really) "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never," but I'm glad Babelgum pilfered from his flick for this very funny parody "8 kilometer." Enjoy.



Now, I've never seen Jimmy Fallon's show, and if I'm ever sitting in front of a TV at that hour, I'll be watching Conan O'Brien instead, but it's nice to see that Fallon at least uses his fantastic house band, The Roots, for some real musical madness from time to time. Here, it's Jeff Goldblum crooning "Just a Friend," only to be joined later by Biz Markie himself, all backed by the Roots (who, for my money, put out the best album of 2010 with "How I Got Over.") There's really not much more to say about this except that Biz clearly learned nothing at all from his stint on "Celebrity Fit Club." Enjoy.



And finally today, I managed to catch two nearly perfect documentaries yesterday (and one truly disastrous Indian movie, "Like Stars on Earth," but I really don't have anything to say about that.) First up is "Enemies of the People," which spotlights the very hard work of newspaper journalist Thet Sambath, who for 10 years plus in his spare time has been embedding himself with veterans of the Khmer Rouge killing machine and often coming face to face with pure evil. It's personal for Sambath, whose mother, father and brother were all killed by Khmer Rouge operatives, and that's what makes this difficult movie so engaging. And his interviews with Nuon Chea, Pol Pot's No. 2, are as chilling as Errol Morris' encounter with Robert S. McNamara in "Fog of War." Highly recommended as soon as this becomes available, and it's in "Save" mode now at Netflix, so hopefully soon. Enjoy the U.S. trailer.



"Summer Pasture" was nominated this year for a Gotham Award in the category of "Best Movie Not Playing at a Theater Near You," and that certainly would have been true for me if not for the Rehoboth fest. The film itself is deceptively simple but thoroughly charming as it takes a look at six months or so in the life of a Tibetan nomad couple who herd yaks for a living. It has a little to say about modernization and a lot to say about life, without ever hammering you over the head with any of it. This may not sound terribly appealing, but trust me, it all just really works very well. I have no idea when this might come to DVD in the west, but with the Gotham love, hopefully it will be soon, and I'll certainly let you know when I hear of it. Enjoy the trailer.



And really finally, there also isn't much to say from me about this great Studio Ghibli group shot except that it's the thing that most made me smile this morning, especially since my single favorite Ghibli character is the great Porco Rosso. Enjoy, and have a great rest of the weekend. Peace out.

Only you can stop the virus that is 3-D

In the race to discover the most despicable use of 3-D technology yet, James Cameron's plans for a 3-D Black Eyed Peas concert movie (if that is still on) have now been surpassed by an even more ridiculous idea.

Now, before I spew any venom, let me say that I'm a very middle-aged dude, so far from the target audience for anything about Justin Bieber (though I really did enjoy that German TV clip in which when, asked to say something in German, he replied, "What is German?")

However, even a few of his most devoted teen and tween fans might scoff at this: A 3-D biopic about the 15-year-old singer's life, to be released next February and somehow be directed by Davis Guggenheim, who made "An Inconvenient Truth." Yes, really. Now, I suppose it's possible that his 15 years have been filled with enough drama and suffering to make a feature length movie work, but I somehow have my doubts.

As regards 3-D overall, and in case you couldn't tell already, I pretty much thoroughly hate it, The Wrap had an interesting set of numbers this morning about the gimmick's failing arc at the box office. Now, this isn't entirely fair, since I don't think anyone expected the "Cats & Dogs" sequel to make a ton of money, but the chart below is still very telling. Enjoy.



An $80 million opening for "Alice in Wonderland" (which, unlike a lot of people, I quite liked, IN 2-D) down to the dismal bow of "Cats & Dogs"? Now, that's a progression that has me hopeful, but The Wrap's article quickly doused those hopes with a big dose of reality. Here's an excerpt:

“I think the overall message isn't that 3D is a fad or that it’s going away, but I’m not sure we’re moving to a point where 50 percent of the box office is derived by 3D ticket sales as some of the bulls currently believe,” BTIG Research analyst Richard Greenfield told TheWrap.

With, as the New York Times noted Tuesday, nearly 60 3D releases queued up for the next two years, the “bulls” can still be found in herds back in Hollywood. In fact, the flurry will continue this weekend, when Disney releases “Step Up 3D.”

Now, I'm perfectly able to simply skip "Step Up 3D," and with "The Kids Are All Right" somehow opening at my local multiplex this week, I can even see a good movie, but 60 3-D movies in the next two years? Sheesh. All I can say is keep hope alive, because only you can stamp out the scourge that is 3-D, and it all starts with simply saying no.

OK, that was a lot of bile for a Wednesday morning, so why not some actual good news about a movie I really want to see instead? Edgar Wright's "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" finally drops next week, and I'm totally amped for it.

As part of the appropriately aggressive marketing push, Cartoon Network's [adult swim] will air a short animated film titled "Scott Pilgrim vs. The Animation" in two installments between midnight and 12:30 a.m. Aug. 12. The short will cover Scott's relationship with Sex Bob-omb drummer Kim Pine, and will feature the voices of Michael Cera and Alison Pill from the movie. And for those of you who, like me, are rarely up at that trouble-making hour on a school night, it will re-air on Friday the 13th (yes, again), the day the movie comes out, on both Adultswim.com and its facebook page. Nothing but groovy there.

And since I have a bit more time, there are some other TV tidbits out there today that are pretty juicy.

As "The Office" embarks on its final season with Steve Carell's Michael Scott as the boss of Dunder Mifflin, it seems he'll tangle with Timothy Oliphant, star of the great F/X Western of sorts "Justified" and just one of my favorite actors.

According to TV Guide, he'll have at least a two-episode run as a rival paper salesman who angers Michael and Dwight by stealing away their customers. In my mind, that's already funny.

And speaking of Westerns, they certainly seem to be getting new life on TV these days, and that's welcome news in my little corner of the world. AMC is now developing a period drama called "Hell on Wheels," which follows the story of a former Confederate soldier who ends up working on the transcontinental railroad in the Nebraska prairie as he hunts down the Union soldiers who killed his wife. Juicy. And in the latest casting news, Reel Fanatic favorite Colm Meaney has signed on for the role of Thomas “Doc” Durant, a businessman determined to make his fortune building the railroad.

The final bit of good TV news today is that FX has, somewhat surprisingly, picked up a second 13-episode season of "Louie," starring the comedian Louis CK. I'm only really surprised because, while I like it quite a bit, it certainly is a dark and bitterly funny brew, so not exactly designed to appeal to a broad audience.

And I'll leave you with this nugget from the latest Ebert Club newsletter, an enjoyable read every time it pops up in my e-mail box. It seems that BBC1 is either airing or has aired a series of three 90-minute episodes of "Sherlock," a take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories set in modern-day England (and hopefully more than a bit better than that mess with Robert Downey Jr. last year, and I have to assume, next year too.) In the best news of all, the series, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch (great name there) as Sherlock and Martin Freeman (of the original "The Office" - see, synergy) as Holmes, will be aired on PBS as part of its Masterpiece series early next year. Enjoy this short clip from the series, and have a perfectly bearable Wednesday. Peace out.

James McAvoy joins cast of superhero flick I'm not too old to get geeked up for

So, kids (or at least males a fair bit younger than me), looking for a way to kill your summer vacation? Why not try out for Paramount's remake of "Footloose"? After all, since once-great director Craig Brewer (director of one of my favorite movies with "Hustle & Flow" but also of the cinematic abortion "Black Snake Moan") has nothing better to do this summer than direct this, why not get in on the fun? Here are the actual details:

Seeking males 18 or older to play high school seniorS in FOOTLOOSE, shooting Summer 2010. MUST HAVE NATURAL RHYTHM AND BE COMFORTABLE DANCING. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A TRAINED DANCER BUT A QUICK LEARNER.
THE SETTING: The South, Present Day
Click here

Nothing like a call for white dudes (or mostly, at least, I'd have to imagine) with "natural rhythm." Sheesh.

And just as I'm too old to try out for the new "Footloose," I'm at least somewhat too old to get excited about every bit of superhero news that comes down the pike. I really couldn't care less who will be playing Captain America, though since I do spend a fair amount of time reading about movies, I'm fairly certain it's Chris Evans.

I will never, however, be too antiquated to get geeked up about genuinely good superhero flicks, which Matthew Vaughn's "X-Men: First Class" certainly seems to be shaping up to be. Anyone who saw Vaughn's "Kick-Ass" (which given how great it is really is a criminally few people) knows that he has the style to direct a first-class comic book flick, and with this first nugget of casting news (that I know of at least) things are moving in the definite right direction.

James McAvoy has, according to the Hollywood Reporter, just signed on to play the young Charles Xavier, aka Professor X. The movie (another damned prequel, but I guess we just have to deal with it) will explore the early friendship of Professor X and Magneto, and how it eventually morphed into enmity, so the casting of the other role will be key. Fox is moving this along very quickly now, with shooting planned to start this summer, so expect that word to come any day now.

And for a weekend rental suggestion, you could do a whole lot worse than the last thing I saw McAvoy in, "The Last Station." Though about the heady subject of the last year of Leo Tolstoy's life, McAvoy and much more so Dame Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer just make it a thoroughly funny romp before it gets serious, but still always fun to watch. Highly recommended.

As for what I'll be watching on TV this weekend, one thing will certainly be Peter Morgan's "The Special Relationship," making its HBO debut Saturday night at 9 p.m. If that name sounds familiar, he was the screenwriter for "The Queen" starring Dame Mirren, and also for the simply sensational soccer movie "The Damned United" (actually, if you only rent one movie this weekend, make it that one, to stoke the World Cup Fever!)

What those movies have in common is the great Michael Sheen, who has quickly developed into one of my favorite actors. "The Special Relationship" examines the relationship between Sheen's Tony Blair and Bill Clinton, played here by Dennis Quaid. This is actually the third installment in the Tony Blair trilogy that started with "The Queen." The second, "The Deal," which examines how Blair pushed out Gordon Brown (briefly my former boss) to first become prime minister, is actually better than "The Queen," so here's hoping the arc just keeps getting better.

Though W. apparently plays no visible role in "The Special Relationship," in spotlighting how the U.S. and Britain got involved in Yugoslavia, The Hollywood Reporter says this flick, directed by Richard Loncraine, will say a lot about how and why both countries later jumped back into Iraq. I'm there.

And finally, because I'm just a sucker for Aziz Ansari and will hopefully never be too old to plug something as silly as the MTV Movie Awards, airing June 6 with Ansari as the host, I'll close with the latest promo. Interestingly enough, though I can't imagine "The Hurt Locker" will actually win any big MTV awards, this is the second promo spoofing Kathyrn Bigelow's flick, this time with its star Jeremy Renner and some kid named Justin Bieber (and being a geezer, I have the right to misspell his name, if I indeed did.) Enjoy, and have a great weekend. Peace out.

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