"Sit Down, Shut Up" ... well, the latter immediately, please!

Alright, I gave it two episodes as a courtesy to Mitchell Hurwitz, but my verdict is certainly in (and apparently shared by much of the world): The only possible word to describe "Sit Down, Shut Up" is awful.

And not even gloriously awful in ways that can be celebrated and mocked. It's just generically awful in all the worst ways, a random collection of thoroughly boring characters telling off-color but also uniformly unfunny jokes. How in the world did this garbage spring from the mind of the creator of "Arrested Development"?

Well, it seems that Fox is acting quickly to move it toward oblivion. Taking away its plum post-"Simpsons" time slot, Fox is moving "Sit Down" to the 7 p.m. graveyard and, in what would have to be described as some kind of ironic justice, giving that 8:30 slot back to the remaining episodes of the still-simply fantastic "King of the Hill." I'd give "Sit Down" a month at best, and can't say I will miss it one bit.

There is, however, deliriously better news out there on the animation front today, and it comes in the form of a two-fer from Aardman Features, the fine folks who created Wallace and Gromit. I had the chance to see the latest Wallace flick, "Wallace and Gromit in 'A Matter of Loaf and Death'," as part of a collection of animated shorts at the recently concluded Atlanta Film Festival 365, but am rather ashamed to say I passed simply because it ended too late for this aging man on a Sunday school night.

Unfortunately, neither of the two new Aardman flicks, being produced with Sony, will star Wallace or Gromit, but here's hoping they're still tons of fun. The first, "Pirates!", is based on the book "The Pirates! (in an Adventure with Scientists" by Gideon Defoe, and will be filmed in Aardman's signature stop-motion style. It's apparently about a hapless band of pirates trying to win the Pirate of the Year Trophy (how can I get into that game?) It will be directed by "Chicken Run" helmer Peter Lord.

The second flick, to be filmed in CGI, will be titled "Arthur Christmas" and will apparently reveal the secret of just how Santa Claus manages to deliver all those gifts in one night. Sounds like nothing but fun to me.

And I'll leave you today after a short report with the trailer for Alexis Bledel's upcoming flick "Post Grad" because, well, it's Alexis Bledel, and I've always just had a ridiculous crush on both of the "Gilmore Girls." Given how far removed I am from the target demographic for this fluff, there's really no other possible reason I should probably go see it when it comes out in August, but it does also star former "Friday Night Lights" QB1 Zach Gilford and veryfunnywoman Jane Lynch, so maybe it will be surprisingly good. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Tuesday. Peace out.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Never hitting No. 1? No problem

I had a sobering thought as the opening sequence of "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay" was unspooling before us on Saturday afternoon: I'm just too old for this.

I mean, I still love the guys, and when it was about the two of them and their juvenile exploits the sequel was still often very funny. But it also just contained some of the most tired jokes about prison and Southerners I've ever seen (and, really, when that prison is Guantanamo Bay, is there anything to laugh about?) Overall I'd say if you like Harold and Kumar it's still worth a rental.

I did, however, buy tickets for me and a few friends for the 10:30 p.m. Thursday night screening of "Iron Man," which I'm thoroughly jazzed about, and I still laughed through the entire length of that redband trailer for "Pineapple Express," so I'm definitely ready for summer!

Before we get into that, however, a nugget of news about Jason Bateman, who anyone who's been here before knows I rather like. Along with being Will Smith's life coach in the upcoming "Hancock," he's now signed on for what will most likely be a pretty funny movie that no one will get to see.

Why? Well, it's being written and directed by Mike Judge, whose last fairly funny offering, "Idiocracy," managed to play only in L.A. and Austin, if I'm not mistaken, before heading straight to video. Now he's heading back to the big screen with Bateman in tow for something called "Extract," which explores "what it's like to be the boss when everything seems to be shifting around you." Sounds more than a little just like "The Office," but I'm still betting it will turnout pretty good.

And in one other "Arrested Development" note, it looks like Mitchell Hurwitz's fall Fox offering is definitely headed to series, with the hiring of "Simpsons" veterans Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein to be most likely showrunners. "Sit Down Shut Up," based on a New Zealand sitcom, will be an animated tale about teachers and administrators at a high school who care much more about their own hijinx than the students they supposedly supervise.

And one more nugget before I move on to the main course. Now that he's officially on board for "The Hobbit" and "The Hobbit 2.0," Guillermo del Toro gave the requisite interview with TheOneRing.net. You can read the whole thing here, but here's what I found most intriguing, since it hopefully means he understands that "The Hobbit," much more than "The Lord of the Rings," is a tale for the young and the young at heart:

"Another thing people will notice, at the beginning of the film will be the palette, that will be slightly different, the world will be the same but it will be a more ‘golden’ world, a more wide-eyed world."

Amen brother.

No No. 1? No problem?

Now, for the summer blockbusters that are about to come our way, that would of course be a fallacy, but there are plenty of movies that never reached No. 1 but still had a very healthy domestic box-office take. Here, with a hearty thanks to Box Office Mojo (which is really a stat-lover's dream come true), are 10 (with their chart positions) that I love from the list of the top 150 grossing flicks that never managed to make it to the top of the box office pack (the No. 1 flick, by the way, is "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," which never went higher than No. 2 but still managed to take in a rather astonishing $241,438,208):

6. "Chicago": The high-powered musical reached No. 2 when it was released in 2002 and went on to gross $170,687,518

12. "Knocked Up": Judd Apatow's comedy also peaked at No. 2 last year and went on to take in $148,768,917. And, in case you're wondering, "Superbad" isn't eligible for this list because it did indeed open at No. 1, but only took in $121,463,226.

17. "Juno": I can remember watching the numbers for "Juno" during the run-up to the Oscars and hoping it would sneak up to a late-run No. 1 visit, but it never got past No. 2 either in grossing $143,306,893.

26. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon": Man do I miss truly epic kung fu movies. I still haven't seen "Forbidden Kingdom" (though might today), but I hardly think that really counts. This one peaked at No. 4 on its way to taking in $128,078,872.

40. "Big": Has it really been since 1988 that there's been a Tom Hanks movie this fun? The big kid flick managed to peak at No. 2 and take in $114,968,774.

47. "Chicken Run": Back in the day when Aardman Animation wasn't reduced to making TV specials (Wallace & Gromit are coming back to the BBC soon!), they used to have a deal with Dreamworks which led to this zany tale that hit No. 2 in 2000 and managed to gross $106,834,564.

56. "The Aviator": Not even the presence of Leo DiCaprio and tons of Oscar hype could ever lift this higher than No. 3 at the box office, but it still did manage to gross $102,610,330. That makes it the No. 2 all-time hit for Mr. Scorsese, behind only "The Departed," which took in $132,384,315 domestic.

72. "Unbreakable": The last M. Night Shyamalan movie I just loved is also the first one on this list not to cross the $100M box-office barrier. The uber-cool superhero-of-sorts flick hit No. 2 and managed to take in $95,011,339 in 2000.

90: "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie": I may be too old for Harold and Kumar, but I don't think I'll ever outgrow Spongebob. The flick was surprisingly clever, and it managed to peak at No. 2 and gross $85,417,988.

and, finally,

139: "No Country for Old Men": I was sure the Coens' biggest hit would be higher on this list, but shockingly it never made it past No. 5 at the box office. It still did, however, manage to dwarf my favorite Coen brothers' flick and their previous top contender, "O Brother Where Art Thou," $74,283,625 to about $45.5M.

So, there you have it. A waste of time? Perhaps. But still being a huge baseball fan, and since the Orioles are still over .500 at 14-11, I thought a stat-heavy post was in order. I hope someone else found it even a little bit interesting. Peace out.

An animated "Arrested Development" reunion?

Just in case you think you had a bad Monday, perhaps we should start with a bit of perspective: In executing its previously announced plans to nuke New Line Cinema, the kind folks at Warner Bros. fired 450 New Line staffers in one day Monday. What a way to start the week ...

But, in much lighter and better news, "Arrested Development" creator Mitchell Hurwitz is teaming up with some old friends for his upcoming Fox animated series, which has been picked up for this fall.

Though the cast doesn't - yet, at least - include the sublimely funny David Cross, it will feature two Bluth brothers - Michael and Gob - and bumbling attorney Barry Zuckerman. Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Henry Winkler will join Cheri Oteri, Will Forte, Regina King, Nick Kroll, Tom Kenny and Maria Bamford in providing voices for "Sit Down, Shut Up."

And what is that? Well, as one fairly polite but anonymous reader has clarified for me, it's based on a live-action show from New Zealand - not Australia, as the trades still insist on saying. The story centers on staff members at a high school who are preoccupied with their own needs and agendas, which means the students come second.

Given Fox's track record and Hurwitz's luck, I give this no more than two seasons at best, but I'll definitely tune in for the whole run. And after that, we'll get that "Arrested Development" movie, right?

DVD pick of the week

Believe it or not, my pick is not "Juno," though I still have nothing but love for that flick. I've heard the complaints that it's all too smug and hip, but I've seen it twice already and it made me smile each time - and yes, I'll watch Ellen Page in just about anything - so that's all I really need to know.

But my pick instead is a real treasure trove from the Clash. Now, people can argue about who the "greatest rock band in the world" is, but the only thing I know for sure is it certainly isn't the Rolling Stones. Just to provoke a response, I often try and tell people it's the Drive-By Truckers, but if we really have to pin this silly label on anyone, I'll just say this: For the way-too-brief time that they reigned, the Clash were just easily the coolest band on the planet.

And, if you were to give me a time machine chance to go anywhere in the world, anytime, I have to say - as shallow as this might be - I'd definitely pick the day in 1982 when the Who and the Clash took on Shea Stadium. Since I've yet to find such technology for such silly use, I guess this week's DVD release, "The Clash Live: Revolution Rock," will have to do for now.

Here's a track listing for the flick, directed by longtime Clash collaborator Don Letts:

1. Complete Control
2. I Fought The Law (London Lyceum '79)
3. Police & Thieves (Munich '77)
4. What's My Name (Manchester Elizabethan Suite '77)
5. Capitol Radio One (Manchester Elizabethan Suite '77)
6. White Riot
7. I'm So Bored With The U.S.A (Manchester Apollo '78)
8. London's Burning (London Victoria Park '78)
9. 1977
10. (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais (Glasgow Apollo '78)
11. Tommy Gun
12. Safe European Home (London Music Machine '78)
13. London Calling (Bonds International Casino '81)
14. Clampdown (Lewisham Odeon '80)
15. The Guns Of Brixton (Fridays '80)
16. Train In Vain (Lewisham Odeon '80)
17. This Is Radio Clash (Tomorrow Show With Tom Snyder '81)
18. The Magnificent Seven (Tomorrow Show With Tom Snyder '81)
19. Brand New Cadillac (Tokyo Sun Plaza Hall '82)
20. Should I Stay Or Should I Go (Shea Stadium '82)
21. Know Your Rights (US Festival '83)
22. Career Opportunities (Shea Stadium '82)

Now that's a friggin set list!

"Iron Man" will kick serious ass

Based only on the few clips I've seen and, much more so, my simple desire for Jon Favreau to really kick summer off with a winner, I'm thoroughly convinced that the above sentence will be true. And, for those of you too old to tune in to Nickelodeon, here is a clip shown on the channel over the weekend which at least proves that Robert Downey Jr. will be very funny in it. Peace out.

Sam Raimi visiting the "Monster Zoo"

Even if he has been rejected by Ellen Page, Sam Raimi still seems to be having a boatload of fun since unshackling himself from the "Spider-Man" ship.

After directing the Universal thriller "Drag Me to Hell," which he's co-writing with brother Sam (and which Page pulled out of, to be replaced by Alison Lohman), he'll next take the producing reins of (and maybe direct, who knows) a crazy creation called "Monster Zoo," an upcoming graphic novel by Douglas TenNapel.

Now, one of the many problems with having to work for a living is that I don't get to sit around and read comic books all day, so I must confess I wasn't familiar with that name before reading the report this morning. I've included, however, courtesy of Amazon.com, the cover of "Monster Zoo."

So, what is "Monster Zoo" about? Well, thankfully, the title pretty much says it all: It's the story of a young boy who discovers his local zoo contains critters much more frightening than the ordinary collection. The tale is apparently set in motion when an ancient idol is unearthed and transported to the zoo, where its spirit awakens and starts to mutate the caged animals (of course.)

This just all sounds like tons of fun to me, and here's what the creator himself, Mr. TenNapel, had to say about it in getting geeked up on his own blog:

Raimi’s movie A Simple Plan is among my favorite all-time films. It’s nice to be in business with people who love telling stories…about creatures, comics and underdogs. Amen, brother.

Amy Sherman-Palladino is - finally - back!

A hearty huzzah to always-welcome reader Jeremy, who clued me in to the fact that Amy Sherman-Palladino's new series, "The Return of Jezebel James," will finally hit the airwaves this Friday night at 8 on Fox (with two back-to-back episodes, no less.)

Now, it's been a while since I've talked about it, but I've made no secret of my love for ASP'S "Gilmore Girls." For six years or so (not counting the last, rather disastrous season), it was just about the funniest and smartest thing on TV, and packed with beautiful women to boot, so why not tune in week after week?

Thankfully, though a half-hour comedy (probably saddled with a laugh track, sheesh), "Jezebel James" seems to mine many of the same issues, and it's headed by two veritable babes as well, if I may be so blunt.

Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose lead the cast as two estranged sisters. In the pilot episode (of which I've included a short YouTube preview below), Posey asks Ambrose's character to move in with her and, rather more importantly, I'd think, carry and have a child for her. "Gilmore Girls" fans should note that Scott Cohen, a k a Lorelai Gilmore's paramour Max Medina, will also be a "Jezebel" regular.

In a preview at the great Gilmore Girls News site, doubts were raised about whether or not Posey can keep up with ASP's signature quick and (hopefully still) witty dialogue, but I'm hoping they're wrong. Definitely tune in to find out (or if, like me, you have to work on Friday nights or - even better - actually go out on the town, set your TIVO/DVR.)



Mitchell Hurwitz's coming back too!

I suppose this means that any movement toward an "Arrested Development" movie is, for now at least, on hold, but let's just focus on the positive for the moment.

The good news is that the "AD" creator is coming back to Fox with an animated adaptation of the short-lived Aussie comedy series "Sit Down, Shut Up." Though I've never heard of it, it apparently revolves around the lives of seven staff members of a dysfunctional high school in a small northeastern fishing town (sounds like perfect Hurwitz territory already.)

I'm a little skeptical about the animated thing, but it's certainly what Fox thrives on, so here's hoping that Hurwitz can come up with a winner if and when this finally comes to fruition (and that, of course, all hope is not lost for an "Arrested Development" movie somewhere down the line!)

Fun with posters ... and a trailer

OK, I'm bringing it back to movies now. Though these two posters are, I suppose, both somewhat related to kung fu, they really couldn't be much more different. My impressions: The one for the Jackie Chan/Jet Li flick "Forbidden Kingdom" looks a little bit queer (not that there's anything wrong with that, of course), and the tagline for Jody Hill's "Foot Fist Way" is enough to reinforce my belief that the flick, coming in June, will be a real sleeper hit this summer. Enjoy!



And, lastly, here's the final trailer for Pixar's next summer offering, "Wall-E," also scheduled to hit in June. Unlike what we've seen thus far, this clip offers a look at the second half of the flick, after our hero has left his cleanup job on Earth. I'm still more than a little skeptical that a flick with little to no discernible dialogue will be much of a hit with the tykes, but it looks simply beautiful, so here's hoping I'm wrong. Peace out.