I always suspected Ronald McDonald was pretty much pure evil

An advisory word for anyone reading today: If you make it to the end, you'll find the most recent Oscar winner for Best Animated Short Film, the Froggie flick "Logorama," embedded at the bottom, and it's extremely worth watching (and it inspired the title of this post.) But before that ...

This may be rather amazing news to no one other than me and Bob Connally, but it seems that not only has Bruce Robinson apparently finished his movie of the Hunter S. Thompson novel "The Rum Diary," but it may even be headed for Cannes.

For anyone unfamiliar with the flick, it stars one Johnny Depp as an American journalist working for a newspaper in Puerto Rico who gets involved in a love triangle and surely all other kinds of trouble too. The movie also stars Aaron Eckhart, Amber Heard, Giovanni Ribisi and Reel Fanatic fave Richard Jenkins.

So who in the world is Bruce Robinson? Well, before pretty much disappearing for more than 20 years now, he managed to direct the ultimate buddy comedy of sorts, "Withnail & I," and the almost-as-good "How to Get Ahead in Advertising." He's been sorely missed around here, so any word of "The Rum Diary" finally moving towards one day maybe seeing a movie screen anywhere near my little corner of the world is certainly welcome news.

And in really good TV news, if you haven't been watching NBC's "Parenthood," you've really been missing out. Sure, it can be awfully schmaltzy, but it's also pretty epicly good storytelling, and Lauren Graham, Peter Krause and yes, even Dax Shepard are all great in it.

Well, now it seems the show, created by "Friday Night Lights" guider Jason Katims, is finally starting to pick up some mojo, winning its time slot Tuesday night for perhaps the first time, even managing to beat out a new episode of ABC's "The Good Wife."

Seriously, this is what good TV looks like, so catch it while you can, which looks more and more like it will be for at least two seasons.

And in much bigger news about TV people I really like, it seems that Aziz Ansari has just signed on to be one-half of what, at least around here, will make a comedy dream team with Danny McBride.

"Zombieland" director Ruben Fleischer has signed on to direct an action-comedy called "30 Minutes Or Less" as his next project, and now those two - my favorite two comedians working today, in case you missed the hint - have signed on as the leads.

Written by Michael Diliberti and Matthew Sullivan, the script revolves around a junior high history teacher (Ansari) and a pizza-delivery man (McBride) who are forced to rob a bank when one of them is strapped to a bomb vest.

And in a final bit of news before we get to the promised movie, now that I'm reupping with HBO this week in time to watch the premiere of David Simon's post-Katrina series "Treme" this Sunday, it seems they're determined to never let me go again.

Along with series coming from all kinds of top-shelf directors (Martin Scorsese, Kathyrn Bigelow and Lee Daniels, among them), HBO has now signed "School of Rock" and "Freaks and Geeks" scribe Mike White for a new series that sounds just about perfect to me.

Laura Dern (remember her?) will star in "Enlightened" as "a self-destructive woman who has a revelatory experience at a treatment center and becomes determined to live an enlightened life." That already sounds funny to me, and the show has received a 10-episode pickup and will begin filming this summer.

And you may remember that Laura Dern did her best work in years in the HBO movie "Recount" (which was somehow written by "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Gilmore Girls" veteran Danny Strong) as dragon woman Katherine Harris.

OK, as promised, anyone who bothered to stick around (or perhaps skipped) until the end today deserves a reward, so here goes. Like most of the world, I just assumed that Nick Park's latest Wallace & Gromit flick, "Wallace & Gromit in a Matter of Loaf and Death," was gonna win the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film, but it lost to something called "Logorama," made by Frenchies François Alaux and Hervé de Crécy. Subtle? Nah. But this glimpse of the secret lives of the advertising mascots who truly run our lives is wickedly funny, especially the inhabitants of the zoo. Having now watched this and the latest Wallace & Gromit offering, I deem this a worthy winner by a nose. Enjoy the flick embedded below, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.

Logorama from Marc Altshuler - Human Music on Vimeo.

Three or four things that hopefully bring the funny this morning

You know, I get a lot of movie reviews that cross my desk (well, appear on my computer, anyway), but rarely these days do I get one that surprises me as much what we got re "Date Night."

It was about noon Tuesday, and there were so far no reviews, never a good sign. But then exactly one showed up, from McClatchy Newspapers critic Christopher Kelly, and he gave it three-and-a-half stars. Exaggerating? Surely, but he made a good case, and I still have enough faith in critics that, even though I was on the fence about this one, I'm now gonna give it a couple hours or so of my Saturday afternoon. And later today, courtesy of Collider.com, come eight or so clips that show the movie starring Tina Fey and Steve Carell (and somehow James Franco, J.B. Smoove and even Taraji P. Henson, a definite Reel Fanatic favorite, too) should have more than a little funny going for it.

But before that today, there were a few other things that caught my eye this morning or perhaps yesterday (speed has never been all that important to me.) First up, what has to be the best premise for a movie I've heard in the last few years or so.

Though mi hermano lives in the land of 10,000 (or however many there actually are) lakes, I have never had the pleasure of going to the Minnesota State Fair or any other such Midwestern variant, and so have never experienced firsthand the glory of butter sculpture, but it has always fascinated me. I would not, however, have been clever enough to somehow tie it to the 2008 presidential election, as a screenwriter named Jason Micallef has apparently done.

The movie, "Butter," will star Jennifer Garner as the wife of a reigning butter-sculpting champion who attempts to follow in his footsteps after he steps down, only to have her path to power blocked by a young black girl with prodigious butter-sculpting talents (I'm laughing at that already.) The rival will be played by a young lady named Yara Shahidi, and Kate Hudson and funny guy Rob Corddry will factor into this somehow too.

Genuine political satire, which this certainly seems to be, is a rapidly dying art, so definitely keep your eyes on this flick set to begin filming later this month. (And for a pitch-perfect recent example of the genre, rent "In the Loop" if you somehow haven't seen it yet.)

And next up today comes up the first trailer I know of for "Dinner for Schmucks," which, given the Steve Carell connection, I have to presume will debut this weekend before "Date Night." The French movie it's based on "Le Diner De Cons," has sat near the top of my netflix queue for many months now, and having just checked, I find it's now actually No. 1, so I'm gonna return something today in hopes of getting it back in time for that to arrive in my mailbox Saturday afternoon. In the meantime, the remake starring Carell and Paul Rudd is set to drop in July, and judging from the trailer, the Jay Roach flick should deliver some pretty serious funny. Enjoy the trailer.



And coincidentally enough, George Lucas has apparently given Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, creators of "Robot Chicken," the green light to pen some further "Star Wars" adventures with a comic touch. That's pretty amazing news given that I just assumed Lucas had no sense of humor at all (or rather the kind that found Jar Jar to be funny), but in the meantime, I laughed right out loud at this "Star Wars"/"Arrested Development" mashup, and hopefully you will too. The best thing about this poster created four years ago or so to promote the Fox show when it was actually still on the air instead of just a constant reunion rumor has to be David Cross, but it's all pretty darn funny. Enjoy.

To wrap things up today, why not something from a movie that actually comes out this week, rather than a show that sadly died quite a while ago? As promised, here are about 7 minutes or so of "Date Night," which will be getting my $6.50 or so Saturday afternoon. Enjoy, and have a perfectly pain-free Wednesday. Peace out.

Now that's how you start a Tuesday morning

If, like me, you consume your music chiefly through Itunes and you're slowly losing what's left of your mind, here's a trick: If you know an album is coming out from one of your favorite acts, order it like a month in advance and, if you're like me, you'll forget all about it until it starts to download, making almost for a surprise.

That's what happened this morning with "I Learned the Hard Way" by the sublime Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings. If you're unfamiliar with what they're cooking up, there really are only two or three groups in the world I can recommend higher. If you saw "Up in the Air," it was Sharon and her guys who performed that sensational rendition of "This Land Is Your Land," which really should be the U.S. national anthem (and therefore sung when the Baltimore Orioles - finally! - begin the season today with Kevin Millwood on the mound against the Devil Rays, go O's!)

Deceptively simple and throwback, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings play soul music the way its meant to be played, but with orchestration that makes the sound all their own. Check it out already.

After that today, it's all about three projects by up-and-coming directors who have already managed to direct movies I love, so are well worth keeping an eye on.

First up, in probably the most high-profile project, Peter Sollett has been tapped (apparently knocking out Joss Whedon) to direct a movie based on the graphic novel series "Runaways," not to be confused with "The Runaways" starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning. This movie is apparently about a group of young people who discover that, drat, their parents just happen to be archvillians. The titular "Runaways" band together to discover their own powers and fight their own parents, and as silly as that sounds, it should be really great in Sollett's hands.

His best movie, for those who might forget, is easily "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," a movie about bridge-and-tunnel Jersey kids starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings that's way better than it ever deserves to be (if you haven't seen it, just trust me and rent it already.) Almost as good, though on a much smaller scale, was Sollett's first movie, "Raising Victor Vargas." What the two movies have in common is a real ear for the lives of young people - without the skeeviness of, say, Larry Clark - something which should make "Runaways" a real fun ride once this all comes together.

And come to think of it, "Nick and Norah" was a lot like "Date Night" in its "After Hours"-style look at New York City, but why in the world is that flick starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey the only wide-release movie opening this week? Sheesh. But I digress ...

Next up today is a new project from easily one of the funniest guys around today, David Wain. When his last movie, "Role Models," came out, I took a pass, and that was a real mistake. Starring the alwaysveryfunny Paul Rudd and Elizabeth Banks (and that McLovin kid too), the flick about live-action role playing is a whole lot funnier than most "comedies" that come out nowadays, and I'm certainly glad I finally managed to catch up with it on DVD.

Now, Wain is about to sign on to direct something called "Too Cool to Be Forgotten," also based on a graphic novel, this one by someone named Alex Robinson.

The premise, unfortunately, sounds awfully tired, but in the hands of Wain (a veteran of "The State," in case your doubting his comedy chops), I'm still betting on funny here. It's about a middle-aged man who, after trying hypnosis to stop smoking, is somehow transported back to 1985, where he must relive his awkward teen years. And if you wanna sew up the funny right now, why not sign Rudd for this right away?

And finally (well, almost), comes the craziest story of the day. I rented Lone Scherfig's "An Education" over the weekend (that's not the crazy part, because that movie just gets better and better with age.) It's even better than I remembered, and easily the best ensemble cast movie of 2009.

For her next project, she's lined Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess to star in the rom-com "One Day," based on the novel by David Nicholls (author, by the way, of the screenplay for the extremely underrated "Starter for 10," rent that one right away too.) That story is about two college friends who agree to meet once a year for twenty years, but that's not the crazy either.

Here it comes. After that, and apparently in the belief that Kathyrn Bigelow shouldn't be the only chica in the world who gets to direct action movies (huzzah to that), she'll set her sights on something called "Mob Girl," to star known thespian Jessica Biel. I told you it was coming.

Based on Teresa Carpenter's nonfiction work of the same name, it will apparently be about mob mistress Arlyne Brickman, who infiltrated the mafia before turning over evidence to the state that led to the arrest and incarceration of boss Anthony Scarpati. That all sounds great to me, but Jessica Biel? Really? Stay tuned ...

And really finally, you can consider this the launch of my official push to change the U.S. national anthem, and before you dismiss that as thoroughly crazy too, at least first listen to this clip of Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings performing "This Land Is Your Land" live. I defy you to find it wouldn't be a lot more fun to sing before ball games, and it's just a better song, performed perfectly. And with that, have a perfectly passable Tuesday. Peace out.

Happy Easter from me and the Muppets, plus a Saturday video vault

You know, there's absolutely no way in hell I'm ever gonna go see a movie starring a wheelchair-bound Renee Zellweger who finds inspiration on a trip to Memphis with a stuttering Forest Whitaker (though he is a definite favorite around here.) However, the soundtrack for the upcoming flick "My Own Love Song" will apparently also feature 16 new songs from Bob Dylan, and I can only say bully to that.

And, what could be better for Easter than a clip of a giant bunny eating a bunch of cute little bunnies as he croons "Stand By Me"? I can't think of anything, and thankfully the Muppets couldn't either. Not to get too chicken soup about it, but the world really is an infinitely better place with the Muppets having their own YouTube channel in it. Enjoy the clip, and since it's Saturday, stick around for four more videos that caught my fancy this morning.



Next up comes the second clip I know of from "The Good Heart," which stars two of my favorite actors in Brian Cox and Paul Dano and is apparently out on pay per view now through some cable providers. Personally, I'll be waiting to see it on the big screen at this year's Atlanta Film Festival 365,to which Charles Judson has again invited me as a "member of the press." The movie itself is about a bar owner (Cox) who is slowly drinking and smoking himself to death until he befriends a young homeless man played by Dano. Enjoy the clip.



I had never heard of this next flick, but after watching the trailer, I'm really hoping "Splice" becomes a real sleeper hit when it comes out June 4, because the world can always use some more smart sci-fi. As you'll see from the clip, Sarah Polley and Adrien Brody play rogue scientists who get more than they bargained for when they mess around with human DNA (isn't that somehow always the case?) Enjoy.



I'm very rarely up late enough to watch "The Daily Show" live, but I did manage to catch this segment last night while on the treadmill after work. Jon Stewart's slap at CNN, a frequent target, is pretty much spot-on, but the real reason I'm posting this is that, about halfway in or so, it stars Erick Erickson, who, along with being a certified nut, is somehow also a City Councilman in the great city I've called home for 10 years now, Macon, GA. Rather amazingly, in its desperate drive for attention, CNN is giving a forum to this man who famously called former Supreme Court Justice David Souter a "goat-f***ing child molester," and as you'll see from Stewart's treatment, he's had plenty of other sensationally stupid things to add to that through the years. Enjoy the clip.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
CNN Hires Erick Erickson
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Reform

And finally, along with working on "The Green Hornet," Michel Gondry has also managed to complete an odd little doco titled "Thorn in My Heart." The movie is mostly about the life of his aunt, a French school teacher, but about halfway in or so, this clip from it transforms into something pure Gondry, as the kids are set loose with some of those green screens that make you invisible, all set to Charlotte Gainsbourg's sublime "Little Monsters." Enjoy, and have a great Easter weekend. Peace out.


Exclusive: Michel Gondry's Thorn In The Heart Scene

Yep, in case you had any doubts, Treme is gonna rock

No time for anything even beginning to approach a full post today because my neighbors were having a massive party last night. And though, after being woken up, I did stop by for a while, did it really have to go until 4 a.m.?

Well, I suppose that fits the spirit of New Orleans, and as you'll see from this extended promo clip, it certainly seems that David Simon's new HBO show "Treme" will too. Along with seeing all the stars of this (and you can certainly tell it's gonna be a broad saga, assuming they get the time they want to tell it), you get a real sense of how the music is going to drive the rhythm of this, and if you'll pardon the pun, it just has me completely jazzed to see the premiere next Sunday (April 11). Enjoy, and have a great weekend. Peace out.

"Do You Wanna" Clip Trailer: Day

Just about the best news animation fans could possibly hope for

Actually, before we get into any of that goodness today, there's some very dark news about the world of TV, which directly impacts the show I was most amped about for the entire coming year (which is, when you think about it, just about the least important thing about this.)

David Mills, who worked closely with David Simon and like Simon was a former newspaper reporter (Mills for the Washington Post and Simon for the Baltimore Sun), died Tuesday night of an aneurysm on the set of "Treme," the post-Katrina New Orleans series he was developing with Simon for HBO (set to debut two Sundays from now, assuming this news doesn't change that.)

Once he crossed over into TV, Mills, like Simon, had a big hand in creating some of the best TV shows of the last 20 years or so. And I'm very far from exaggerating here. He wrote episodes of "The Wire," "Homicide: Life on the Street, "ER" and "NYPD Blue," and also served as a producer for "ER" and "NYPD Blue." His greatest accomplishment, however, was probably serving as executive producer and co-writer along with Simon and Ed Burns for the simply stunning HBO miniseries "The Corner," easily the most depressing thing to come out of Baltimore besides the Orioles, but still very worth watching (and which netted him two Emmys.)

And saddest of all is that he played a key role in "Treme" at the time of his death, serving as executive producer and having already written two episodes. I'm still planning to re-up on HBO in time for the premiere of this and long enough to watch "True Blood" season 3, but this is just a sad day all around indeed. Rest in peace, Mr. Mills.

You can read a much better obituary for the man written by his fellow "Treme" creators here.

OK, enough sad stuff, because for fans of great animation, there's news out there that is nothing short of incredible. Stop-motion master Henry Selick made my favorite animated movie of 2009 in "Coraline" (followed closely by "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.") Shortly after that, however, he was left immediately unemployed after the animation house he toiled for, Laika, closed up shop.

Now, however, that's all changed, and in the best possible way. Selick has just signed a long-term deal to create more stop-motion movies for Disney/Pixar. There's no word yet on exactly what he has in mind first, but I'm betting that anything that springs from his very active mind will be nothing short of amazing.

Remember that it was Selick not, as many people mistakenly think, Tim Burton, who directed "The Nightmare Before Christmas," and he also made the even better Roald Dahl adaptation "James and the Giant Peach" (if you missed that, as many people did, rent it immediately.) And beyond giving him work to do, this welcome move hopefully shows that, despite Pixar's current fixation with 3-D, it and Disney will keep being committed to making all kinds of animated movies.

And finally today, I just got around to examining the lineup for the 2010 edition of the Atlanta Film Festival 365 (for which I'm somehow a member of the press), and it looks great. The Atlanta fest is really homegrown, featuring a lot of regional fare and, this year, a focus on civil rights and music documentaries. I'm incredibly psyched that included in the latter category will be the closing night movie, "The Secret to a Happy Ending," a doco about my favorite rock band by far, the Drive-By Truckers (followed, apparently, by most of the band playing for a party that I WILL get in to.)

But the festival has narrative features too, of course, and I think the one I'm most looking forward to is "The Good Heart." It stars two of my favorite actors in Brian Cox and Paul Dano. Cox plays the owner of a New York dive bar who is slowly drinking and smoking himself to death until he meets Dano's character, a young homeless man who he takes under his wing. I don't know much more than that, but it's enough to get me rather amped for this. Here's the first clip I know of for the movie. Enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.

Free Rip Torn

You know, that title really is apropos of absolutely nothing, but this morning I'm listening to the surprisingly good Lil Flip album "I Need Mine" (yes, really), and its perfectly pleasant morning listening except for the fact that every couple of minutes or so it's interrupted by the phrase "Free Z-Ro."

Now, I have to assume that's some kind of rapper who was in jail at the time, and I've decided to take up the cause and champion someone far too talented (but obviously just perfectly crazy enough) to be locked up: Rip Torn. I'm fairly certain I don't have any power in this area, but I just saw this morning that he pleaded not guilty to armed robbery (who among us hasn't wanted to rob a bank at some point in your life?), and could only think how great it would be to have him somehow come back to life on "30 Rock."

And yes, it's gonna be one of those kind of days around here. Sandwiched among the absurdities will be exactly one piece of serious news, about what sounds like an absolutely fabulous Errol Morris film, and it will all be wrapped up with the 160 best Arnold Schwarzenegger quotes (again, yes really.)

Where in the world would you start things off, however, than with this: The Coen brothers need a one-armed woman to complete filming on their version of "True Grit" (and being a huge fan both of theirs and of author Charles Portis, you can count me as thoroughly psyched for this one.)

If that proves anything, I guess, it's at least that the Coens have no time for CGI (thank God.) Here, courtesy of AICN, is the casting call they put out:

Paramount Pictures is seeking a WOMAN MISSING HER LEFT ARM to be a photo double in the film, TRUE GRIT, a new film by Joel & Ethan Coen.

Character description: Photo double for adult Mattie Ross: This woman must be MISSING HER LEFT ARM. Optimally, she would be around 5'8", 138 lbs, slender to medium build. However, we are open to various looks.

To submit: Please do so asap! Send photos, measurements & contact information to texascasting2010@gmail.com. Photos should be non-glamorous, simple snapshots (incl face and body. It's best to wear a tank top & shorts). Measurements should include height, weight, bust, waist & hips. Include age, phone numbers & place of residence. Approrpriate candidates may also call our office at 512-637-6775.

So, if you happen to be a one-armed woman who's reading this, this is truly your lucky day. Since I'm not one of those, the best thing I can take from that is the phrase "we are open to various looks" ... as long as, of course, you happen to be a one-armed woman. Priceless.

Before going from that to two things that are almost as crazy, why not class things up at least a bit with some Errol Morris news? Though the man has made many great documentaries, my favorites of his are "Mr. Death" (watch that immediately if you haven't seen it) and "Fog of War," movies which offer well-rounded, almost sympathetic portraits of seriously evil or f-ed up people. And it certainly sounds like that's exactly what he has for his new movie.

It seems he's just finished work on something to be called either "Tabloid" or "A Very Special Love Story." No matter what it ends up being titled, it should be just fascinating. The subject is Joyce McKinney, a former Miss Wyoming who, in the late 70s, abducted a Mormon missionary in England, chained him to a bed and forced him to have sex with her. From there, of course, it just gets weirder. After jumping bail, she was convicted in absentia (sp?) to one year in prison because, at the time, there were no laws on the books about raping men. She was later accused of stalking the same dude, and in 2008, took her dog to Korea to be cloned.

Not much to build a sympathetic character out of, I suppose, but I'm betting Morris will at least come very close to doing it. Definitely keep your eyes out for this one, which is rumored to be in the running for this year's Cannes Film Festival.

OK, there will be nothing else remotely serious today from here on out, I promise. Anyone who's been here before (and there may be a few of you) knows that I'm a solid backer of Anna Faris, both for her obvious feminine virtues but even moreso because she's just about the best comedienne out there today. For proof that she can be insanely funny in just about anything, look no further than Jody Hill's "Observe and Report," in which her memorable turn as a seriously bitchy counter girl was just about the only redeeming quality.

Well, she's about to put the "watch her in just about anything" idea to a real test by starring in a remake of "Private Benjamin." In the realm of unnecessary remakes, this is far from the worst offender (my vote there goes to "Let Me In," the upcoming English language remake of "Let the Right One In), and though it surely won't win her an Oscar like it did Goldie Hawn, I'm still betting it could be a hoot. And besides, since I've seen "House Bunny" (and actually enjoyed it more than a bit), the odds are pretty good I'll see this too.

And finally today (or at least before Ahnuld), in the category of a man's gotta eat, it seems that Malcolm D. Lee has signed on to direct "Fantasy Basketball Camp," to star one Lebron James. Take a second to digest just how bad that could be, and then please let me come to the defense of the other Mr. Lee (who, if I'm not mistaken, is indeed some kind of cousin to Spike.)

How many directors can you name who have made three movies that you either love or really like? Well with "Undercover Brother," "Roll Bounce" and "Soul Men," Malcolm D. Lee has in my book, so I'm more than a little willing to give him the benefit of the doubt (and yes, maybe even go see his Lebron James movie too.) If you haven't seen the Bow Wow roller skating flick (once again, yes really) "Roll Bounce" or "Soul Men," which paired the late, great Bernie Mac and Samuel L. Jackson, I highly recommend them both.

OK, how better than to wrap up all that absurdity than with the 160 best Arnold Schwarzenegger quotes? I can't imagine anyone will sit through the entire 10 minutes of this, but as far as time-wasters go, this one is pretty epicly good. My favorite part would have be the "bullshit" compendium, but there's obviously a lot of Ahnuld to choose from. Enjoy this clip courtesy of Pajiba.com, have a perfectly pain-free Wednesday, and, now and forever, free Rip Torn. Peace out.



P.S.: In honor of opening day coming Monday (finally!) enjoy this clip of Steve Wynn singing his simply fabulous tribute to Fernando Valenzuela. Play ball!

With apologies to Smokey, only you can stop the 3-D plague

Actually, if I can start with a movie you all should go see ('cause I do try to keep a positive outlook on things from time to time), if you live in one of our major cities, go see Jacques Audiard's "Un Prophete" while you still have the chance.

One thing people should learn early in life is to believe at least almost everything their parents say, and this is one case that proves that solidly. When my parents compared Audiard's movie to "The Godfather" in terms of both story and quality, I was sure they had to be exaggerating, but thankfully not.

Indeed, the journey that's undergone by the titular character (Tahar Rahim) does in a way mirror the development of Michael Corleone, and it's simply mesmerising to watch (and I promise you won't even notice until the very end that it's nearly three hours long.) The movie is about what he has to do to survive a six-year term in prison, but there's a whole lot going on in that deceptively simple story arc, and the flick is packed with little moments that are magical as stand-alone nuggets but just devastating when you pile them all together (my favorite would have to be when he sticks out his tongue while going through airport security because that's the only way he knows to get searched. Priceless.)

I had never heard of Audiard until last weekend, but now at the top of my Netflix queue to be watched this weekend are his last two movies, "The Beat My Heart Skipped" and "Read My Lips." And I really can't recommend a movie much higher at all than I can "Un Prophete," so please go see it while you still have the chance.

OK, after that today, it's not quite so sunny (until the grand finale, which will thankfully feature the blissfully silly trailer for Jean Pierre Jeunet's "Micmacs," shortened, I believe, from "Micmacs Tire a Larigot.")

Now, I'm usually not one to tell people not to see movies in any form, being a firm believer in the right of people to make up their own damn minds, even if that means you go see Miley Cyrus' new movie this week. When it comes to the 3-D virus, however, a stand has to be taken, and this is indeed the week to do it (though, in case you're wondering, yes, I am well aware that I don't have to power to lead it ... nonetheless ...).

And yes, I do concede that (very rarely) the 3-D gimmick does have merit. I saw "Avatar" two times and loved it more the second one, and I thought the 3-D was used to even better effect in Henry Selick's thoroughly charming "Coraline." But, as far as I know (and I only have doubts about the latter), those were two movies conceived and shot in 3-D, rather than simply "converted" to it afterward (which is when it's outed as the complete gimmick it is.)

I would be willing to just dismiss the 3-D phenomenon as a passing fad and continue to see all my movies in glorious 2-D ("Alice in Wonderland," by the way, was fantastic when viewed the old-fashioned way, and cheaper too!), but it's of course gone well beyond that stage already. When you have studios like Warner Bros. (and possibly others already too) announcing all their "tentpole" movies from now on will be released in 3-D (exaggerate much?), it's time to learn to just say no, because clearly they can't.

So, what prompted this screed? Well, two things. First up comes the rather welcome news that in the wake of the disappointing opening of "How to Train Your Dragon" (is $44 million really disappointing? Apparently so), stock in Dreamworks dropped 8 percent on Monday. Now, I haven't seen the movie (as already established, this arthouse snob spent Saturday afternoon watching "Un Prophete" instead), but every war has to start somewhere, and if this 3-D flick has to be the first fatality, so be it.

The second thing that set me off is that Louis Leterrier's remake of "Clash of the Titans" opens this week, and as tempting as it is pop for those goofy glasses to see the Kraken in 3-D, this man at least is gonna see it in good, old-fashioned 2-D, and I'm enlisting you to do so too (if you see it all.) After all, Regal and AMC, at least, have already raised 3-D ticket prices across the board, with other companies sure to follow suit and, if no one squawks (as I'm trying to do now), more increases sure to come.

And it obviously doesn't stop with "Clash of the Titans." Other upcoming movies for which you can make the rational choice of 2-D over 3-D include Ridley Scott's "Robin Hood," "Shrek Forever After," "Toy Story 3," and since seemingly every other movie is at least now "converted" to 3-D, a whole lot more I'm surely overlooking here.

But you get my point. As soon as they started raising prices arbitrarily, the 3-D bug morphed from a trick into a cancer, and there's no way to stop it than just saying no, starting right now.

Whew. That's a whole lot of bile for a Tuesday morning, and I can't think of anything better to sweeten it up than this fantastic trailer for Jean Pierre Jeunet's "Micmacs." I thought the American release window for Jeunet's latest had already come and gone, but this is one case in which I'd be thrilled to be wrong. It indeed just played the SXSW festival, and gets another U.S. release on May 28, when I'll surely be there to see it. As you'll see from the trailer, "Micmacs" is about a band of misfits who join together to take on an arms manufacturer, and it definitely looks like its filled with plenty of Jeunet spirit. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Tuesday. Peace out.

Kiki's Delivery Service still manages to cast enchanting spell

Deceptively simple and sweet, Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service has still managed to linger in the hearts of movie lovers, and now it's finally gotten the proper DVD release it deserves from Disney and Studio Ghibli.

Kiki, voiced by a young Kirsten Dunst in this Western version of the story, is a 13-year-old witch who - as is the custom - is sent to live away from her parents for a year to figure out what her talent is. Kiki eventually settles on the village of Koriko, which resembles a seaside European village in the 1950s, and sets up her titular delivery service.

One of the things that makes viewers of all ages become instantly engaged with Kiki's story is the genuine wonder with which she approaches the world, delivered in both Miyazaki's story (loosely based on the novel by Eiko Kadono) and in Dunst's voice work. He's said in interviews that he modeled Kiki's adventures on the mix of independence and reliance experienced by Japanese girls, and as he did for younger children with My Neighbor Totoro and later Ponyo, he's made a story that fits his heroine's age and outlook perfectly.

And it doesn't hurt that visually this is probably Miyazaki's best work too, and certainly his most mainstream. John Lasseter, who introduces the movie on DVD, is known to be a devoted fan, and you can see the direct link from the stunning sight of Kiki encountering her new seaside home for the first time and when Remy scurries to the rooftop and first overlooks Paris. Oh if only Pixar hadn't caught the 3-D bug ... oops, I won't digress.

As Kiki settles in Koriko and applies her talent for flying, she's always accompanied by her loyal sidekick, a black cat named Jiji, voiced in the Western version by the late Phil Hartman. Though he was never one of my favorite Saturday Night Live performers, he's restrained but seriously sarcastic here, and it's what I most like to remember him for.

Kiki also finds her first love in Tombo, a young boy who looks surely not coincidentally a heck of a lot like TinTin. Like Miyazaki, Tombo has a love of flying machines. And it's this signature Miyazaki trait that give's Kiki's Delivery Service its strongest act - the big finale.

The movie ambles along at a leisurely and breezy pace until Kiki starts to lose her two most valuable skills, flying and the ability to talk to Jiji. I don't want to give too much away, but she eventually gets them back with the help of a mysterious hippie artist named Ursula (Janeane Garofalo, yes really), just in time to come to the rescue of poor Tombo, who finds himself - among other things - hanging on to a rope attached to a crashed dirigible. It's a super action set piece that's rivaled in Miyazaki's work only by the finale of Castle in the Sky, and it's what seals the timeless quality of Kiki's Delivery Service.

In the extras, Miyazaki makes a sly dig at Western audiences who don't stick around through the credits (unlike Japanese audiences who, not surprisingly, apparently sit there dutifully until the lights come up), and there is indeed plenty of reason to stick around until the very end of Kiki's credits (which I admittedly didn't do until now.) It completes the story in a humorous and touching way, and just sums it up perfectly.

Though the real treasure among the extras are the original storyboards that allow you to see the movie coming together in Miyazaki's hands, there are also featurettes which let you hear from the man himself, and it's here that his genuine love for this movie comes through. The animation master hopefully has at least a few more movies left in him, and it's a pure joy to see the mischief in his eyes as he talks about "deceiving" Japanese viewers into thinking that Kokiro was based on actual European city, whereas it's clearly just a hodgepodge of classic European settings, rendered as beautifully as an impressionist painting.

And, most remarkable of all, producer Toshio Suzuki reveals that he pitched the idea of making a movie about an adolescent girl, and at the time Miyazaki said he knew nothing about them (having only sons.) As anyone who's seen Kiki's Delivery Service knows, that didn't keep him from making a movie that not only captures that awkward period in life perfectly but also delivers a tale that manages to cast a still lingering spell on viewers young and old more than 20 years after its original release.

At the Movies may be dead, but Roger Ebert's plotting TV comeback

Actually, before I get into any of that, there's at least one bit of actual movie news out there that just made me smile.

If there's one sequel I could get completely behind, it would certainly be an "Eastern Promises 2," especially since all the key components will be there for the second go-round.

Indeed, Deadline Hollywood is reporting it will be a reunion of star Viggo Mortensen, director David Cronenberg and scribe Steven Knight, who wrote the script for the engaging original. The only things missing so far are Naomi Watts and any mention of just what direction this new gangster tale from London's extremely seedy underbelly will take.

And in the meantime, Cronenberg and Mortensen are about to team up once again for "The Talking Cure," which will examine the intense relationship between Sigmund Freud (Mortensen) and Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender), and how their treatment effected one particular patient played by Keira Knightley (and no, as far as I know, it's not a treatment for anorexia.)

The world is certainly a better place with David Cronenberg working steadily in it, so having this set to begin filming in May and hopefully an Eastern Promises sequel to begin shortly after is nothing but good news.

But beyond that, the very best news out there today is that Roger Ebert has announced on his always entertaining blog that he plans a return to reviewing movies on TV. When it was announced this week that "At the Movies" would be dying after this season, I kind of just shrugged, because admittedly I've tuned in only intermittently at best ever since Gene Siskel died (I just can't stand that damn Richard Roeper!) But a new show starring Ebert again is one I'll actively seek out every week once this comes together, no matter where it gets buried in the syndication schedule (my money's on fairly early Sunday morning or late Saturday night.)

Ebert said he's deep into negotiations for a show that would be called "Roger Ebert Presents at the Movies," the thumbs would (of course) return, and that he's held video tests with several potential hosts and knows who will fill the role (I'd certainly be more than willing to audition!) Unfortunately, given what cancer has done to his voice, I can't imagine Ebert will be a regular co-host himself, but he promised to have an active role, with "great movies segments or wrapups from Cannes or Toronto."

And, in the spirit for which I've always loved his writing, Ebert embraced the new endeavor with his usual enthusiasm:

We'll also go New Cinema. Not just the One Weekend Wonders, although you gotta have 'em, but indie films, foreign films, documentaries, restored classics, the new Herzog, the new Bahrani, the new Almodovar. What's new on Instant Streaming. What great movies should everyone see? Hey, Paramount just announced $1 million for ten $100,000 movies. Those kinds of films. What kind of a real movie lover cares who has the "exclusive" first trailer in the newest extrusion of the "Transformer" franchise? It's time to smarten up.

Stay tuned for details about just what shape this will take. I can still remember the moment I fell in love with Siskel and Ebert. It was when they - Ebert especially - so eagerly embraced "Hoop Dreams" at a time when I was just first starting to figure out for myself that it takes all kinds of movies to make the world a fun place. Amazingly, thanks to the power of YouTube, we can watch that again today. I'll leave you with a portion of that, and I'm off to go see "Hot Tub Time Machine" instead of "How to Train Your Dragon" because I'm so angry about them raising 3-D prices that I've decided to give those crooks as little of my money as I can manage to. Peace out.

What in the world ever happened to Brad Bird?

You know, when a dude has managed to direct two out of three of my favorite animated movies in "The Iron Giant" and "Ratatouille" (with only Hayao Miyazaki's "Kiki's Delivery Service" sandwiched in between), it really is odd to watch him pretty much just disappear, but that seems to be exactly what's happened to Brad Bird.

For the last few (or maybe more) years, he's been trying desperately to mount a live-action take on the novel "1906," which would just be a blast. Actually, I didn't really care for the book by James Dalessandro, but it's subject matter - the politically corrupt world of San Francisco in the titular year, and the great earthquake that brought it all crumbling down - is just ripe for Bird's natural gift for storytelling.

Though that's still somehow listed as a "2012" project at the IMDB, it still has no cast that I know of, and I'm fairly certain that Warner Bros. has balked at putting up the scratch Bird would need to pull it off - or apparently, even really get started.

Now, however, it seems that J.J. Abrams and Tom Cruise (it apparently does help to have friends in high places) might step in to give him something almost as fun to work with. With a May 27, 2011, release date already set and filming set to begin this summer on "Mission Impossible IV," the duo have yet to settle on one minor question: Who should direct this?

Well, it seems they've already talked with "Zombieland" director Ruben Fleischer and Edgar Wright, who has "Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World" coming this summer (bring it on, already!), and now you can add the most intriguing choice, Bird, to that list too.

I know that's a lot to write about a movie that's so far off, but I really just adore spy movies, and once this one finally comes together it should just be nothing but fun - especially in the hand of Brad Bird or Edgar Wright.

OK, after that today, it's all about Tyler Perry and Lee Daniels (well, until we get to the finale, at least.)

Because the man feels it's both his right and duty to direct at least two movies every year, Tyler Perry has a new movie, "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too?", coming out next week. And though I've seen and at least somewhat enjoyed every movie the man has made so far (how many directors can you really say that about?), this is the first one I'm really just not looking forward to, because it's - obviously - the sequel to what I think was his worst movie so far.

But here today, it's not about any of that, but instead what's happening with his next movie, which should just be epicly good. His take on the play "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf" by Ntozake Shange is set to shoot in New York this June, for a January 2011 release (meaning, rather amazingly, the man will only have one movie in theaters this year), and it's not surprisingly attracting some big names.

Mariah Carey, who proved she can really act in Daniels' "Precious," and "Why Did I Get Married" star Janet Jackson are the latest big names to join a cast that already has Whoopi Goldberg, Phylicia Rashad, Jurnee Smollett, Kimberly Elise (aka Perry's "Mad Black Woman"), Loretta Devine and singer Macy Gray. He apparently wanted Beyonce, Oprah and Halle Berry, too, but perhaps even Tyler Perry can't get everything he wants.

One of Perry's greatest strengths has always been his ability to write strong, well-rounded parts for women, so this flick should be a dream fit, and I can't wait to see what he comes up with.

And Daniels, a Perry protege of sorts, is also putting together a pretty fascinating cast for "Selma," which will be his followup to "Precious" and be about Martin Luther King Jr.'s pivotal 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala.

Already announced are Hugh Jackman as Sheriff Jim Clark, "Precious" vet Lenny Kravitz as Andrew Young and British actor David Oyelowo as Dr. King himself, and now you can add to that Liam Neeson as Lyndon Johnson and Cedric the Entertainer as King cohort Ralph Abernathy. Robert De Niro had earlier been rumored to be playing George Wallace, which would have been remarkable, but that apparently isn't happening. Even so, that's a pretty wild cast for this epic saga, so definitely keep your eyes on this one.

And finally, I'll leave you today with easily the funniest thing I found online this morning. Though as a matter of habit I usually go to bed by 11 p.m., on those occasions when I happen to be up later, I always go out of my way to watch Conan O'Brien, wherever he might be. For folks who make a whole lot more money than I do, he's on a live tour this summer, and hopefully headed back to late night as soon as this fall on Fox, but in the meantime singer/songwriter/comic Ben Sheehan has come up with this little tribute that fits this spirit of CoCo perfectly. Set to the tune of Diddy's "I'll Be Missing You" (which of course is already a grand pilferation from the Police), "I'll Be Watching You (Miss You Coco)" is as genuinely funny as it is simply bizarre. Enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.

I'll Be Watching You (Miss You Coco) - watch more funny videos

For Tuesday, an international treasure trove of trailers

Actually, there's two bits of TV news out there today that are just too good to pass up. First up, it seems that rather than run for president (one can only hope, right?), Sarah Palin has either signed on or is about to for a reality show about her crazy clan's antics in Alaska. Here's hoping the crazy does indeed come out in full bloom, making her a reality star rather than any kind of leader in the "reality" that is real life.

And in news about something I'll probably watch, though am clearly far, far too old to without feeling at least a little dirty, it seems that veryfunnyman Aziz Ansari is in final negotiations to host the next "MTV Movie Awards," slated to air live June 6.

Aziz, live and unfiltered? Yeah, I'll at least tune in for his opening monologue. He's easiest the funniest thing about "Parks and Recreation" and was in the only funny person in Judd Apatow's woefully mistitled "Funny People." And, as you'll see if you stick around until the end today, he'll probably be the funniest person in "Get Him to the Greek" too when that drops this summer.

And now to transition rather quickly into the clips, because they're all pretty epicly good (or in the case of the first one, just odd), it begins with a bit of truly good news. While the aforementioned MTV has its eyes on my very favorite British teen show "Skins" (and bizarrely enough transporting the action of it to Baltimore), there's something happening on that front that should be much better.

If you've never seen "Skins," I can't recommend it highly enough. Though it is indeed sometimes as tawdry as anything you find on the CW (and often much moreso), it's also about three tons better. With a cast that wisely changes every two years to keep things fresh (they just wrapped season four, I believe, so a new cast is on the way), it examines the lives of a group of bored but never boring teenagers in Bristol. And just in case you doubt the worth of all this, the first two seasons not only featured the Slumdog himself, Dev Patel, but also Peter Capaldi, known best lately as the blissfully foul-mouthed political operative Malcolm Tucker in "In the Loop."

And I tell you all that to tell you this: Jack Thorne, who wrote some of the show's best episodes, has been hired to write a big-screen movie that would reunite the casts of the first four seasons (well, those that are still alive, anyway.) I realize this is an awful lot of information about a movie that no one who actually reads this but me would care about, but so what? This should be nothing but fun, and for a taste of just how trippy the show can be, here's a clip featuring Sid, Cassie and others singing Cat Steven's "Wild World." Yes, really. Enjoy.


Skins - Wild World
Uploaded by omiKASE. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Now, since I promised this would have an international flavor, the next two clips are trailers for French flicks, though thankfully the first one comes with subtitles and, well, the second one really doesn't need any words at all.

First up comes the first full trailer I know of for "Les Aventures Extraordinaires d'Adele Blanc Sec," the first movie directed by Luc Besson that I've wanted to see in quite a while. It's set to open in France on April 14, and though I've yet to find any kind of U.S. release date, I think this will be a really big hit that will travel across the pond and to a multiplex near me sometime soon. As you'll see from the trailer, our heroine is a journalist of sorts who's also an adventurer like Indiana Jones used to be at his best, and in the flick she encounters a pterodactyl and all kinds of other fun things. Enjoy.



Next up comes something you can count me as thoroughly jazzed about, a new movie by Sylvain Chomet, with a script (as much as there will be one) by Jacques Tati. You may well remember Chomet as the director of the blissfully bizarre and completely dialogue-free "Triplets of Belleville." I love that flick, so I'm thrilled that he's back to animation (AND IN GLORIOUS 2-D!) with something called "The Illusionist." As best as I can tell, the titular illusionist is a struggling magician who befriends a young girl who is enchanted by his tricks (and no, as seedy as that might sound, there's nothing untoward about any of this at all.) It too only has a French release date so far, the first week of May, but definitely keep your eyes out for it over here (and certainly let me know if you find it!) Enjoy the trailer, which is in Russian, but doesn't have any dialogue anyway.



And finally today, as promised, comes the first redband trailer I know of for "Get Him to the Greek," which will continue the rather ribald adventures of Aldous Snow when it drops June 4. I recently rewatched the movie it springs from, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," again at the Macon Film Festival, and though the movie didn't get any better, it is fun communal viewing (especially when charmingly hosted by Jack McBrayer.) As you'll see from the clip below, and you youngins won't even have to jump through the fake hoop of putting your fake age, it does indeed bring some real funny with Russell Brand and Jonah Hill, and plenty of raunch too. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Tuesday. Peace out.

DVD review: My Neighbor Totoro is still charming after all these years

In a movie world in which it seems like everything we see will be in 3-D (and I'm not exaggerating one bit there), there are really very few better reminders of how beautiful old-fashioned storytelling can be than in the still extremely charming films of Hayao Miyazaki.

Out now on DVD from Disney and Studio Ghibli are special editions of "Kiki's Delivery Service," "Castle in the Sky" and "My Neighbor Totoro." "Totoro," more than any Miyazaki movie, just perfectly captures his ability to view the world through the eyes of mischievous children, and in Totoro himself gave the studio its signature mascot.

Unlike most of Miyazaki's movies, "Totoro" has a definite time and place, rural Japan in the 1950s, and he and his animators turn the landscape of rice patty fields and wooded areas into an enchanting place to visit.

As the movie opens, Satsuki and her 4-year-old sister Mei, voiced with wide-eyed enthusiasm by Dakota and Elle Fanning in the Western version (yes, really), arrive with their father at their new home in the countryside, and of course immediately find it to be full of wonders, including the susuwatsari, soot sprites that disappear once the girls become comfortable in their new surroundings.

And this odd living arrangement (mom, it turns out, is recovering in a hospital from a long-term illness) just about perfectly captures how Miyazaki views the role of adults and children in the world. Dad, voiced by Tim Daly, is benevolent but aloof, happy to keep his nose buried in books while his daughters explore the world around them. It can be troubling if you think about it too much, and even more so in "Ponyo," but don't ... just let the charms of "Totoro" unfold around you as they do for young Mei.

After spying a pint-size, semi-translucent version of Totoro (there are, since Miyazaki is ever the prankster, three of them), Mei follows it through a thicket of trees and down a hole where she finally encounters the giant version of Totoro, who most closely resembles a big cat, but really just looks so odd that he can be just about anything you want him to be. There's a genuine goofy charm to their first encounter, as Mei lays on the stomach of a sleeping Totoro and tries to figure out just what in the world she's encountered.

I don't want to give away too much for anyone who's never seen this or just wants to rediscover the movie again, but from there it turns into one of Miyazaki's trippiest rides, and it's a thoroughly fun one to take. On the way we get a signature moment of Miyazaki wit when Totoro first reveals himself to Satsuki as she and Mei are waiting in the rain for their father at a bus stop, and promptly jumps up to drench her with water. Things get crazier and crazier, though at a natural pace, until a giant cat bus (you really have to see it to believe it) arrives to reunite the girls with their mother.

I think Miyazaki's best movies, "Totoro," "Kiki's Delivery Service" and "Ponyo" (though I have a real soft spot for "Porco Rosso" too), are the ones he has clearly made for kids. He's just a big kid himself, and he delights in creating worlds that let children explore everything around them and discover all the dangers and delights.

And, whether you've never seen "My Neighbor Totoro" or simply want to reunite with a movie I'm sure many of you loved when it first came out in 1993 (in the U.S.A., five years after its Japanese release), this "special edition" is one that truly earns that designation.

The real treasure here are the original Japanese storyboards, which let you watch the movie as a work in progress, with Miyazaki's raw drawings accompanied by the Western voice track. For animation lovers, this really is an indispensable treasure.

And in the World of Ghibli, there are a series of featurettes, the best of which feature Miyazaki himself talking about what he has created with "Totoro." It's here that you see both Miyazaki's clear love of Japan and his impish spirit emerge. And hearing producer Toshio Suzuki explain how Totoro himself is and isn't like "ET" is just a delight. One word of caution - unless you're simply in need of a sleeping aid, avoid at all costs the "The Locations of Totoro" featurette, which is simply a half hour of some Japanese actress walking through the Japanese countryside and saying things like "this farmhouse easily could have fit in 'Totoro'." Yes, really, and it's just as boring as it sounds here. Other than that, however, the extras here are well worth an hour or so to delve into the weird and often wonderful world of Studio Ghibli.

Whether you're discovering it for the first time or, like me, revisiting an old favorite, "My Neighbor Totoro" has a timeless charm that will never grow old, and is well worth watching again on this special edition release.

Will Tim Burton ever again have an original idea?

I wonder what would happen if Tim Burton ever encountered an original idea. Would his head - or perhaps his entire body - explode? He certainly must think so, because though the man is clearly a talented director (and yes, I really liked "Alice in Wonderland" quite a bit), he's also just as clearly incredibly insecure.

Rather than take a chance on anything even slightly out of the norm, he's instead signed on to direct a stop-motion animation adaptation of "The Addams Family." And yes, that Addams Family. Sheesh. I've never actually seen the movies that have already sprung from the horror/comedy franchise, but I did see a YouTube clip of Christina Ricci breaking down the real origins of Thanksgiving as Wednesday, and that was nothing but extremely funny (what ever happened to her, any way .. I mean, "Black Snake Moan" really was just about as horrible as it could possibly be, but was it a career killer?)

Actually, I've learned something from this news, so I guess I should be grateful. Did anyone else know the Addams Family actually originated as a New Yorker cartoon? Burton claims his movie will tap into this original spirit and show a "sharper wit than could be placed into a '60s family TV series." OK, fair enough, but you can't color me as anything but skeptical at this point. And besides, as great as "The Nightmare Before Christmas" was, please don't ever forget that that was actually directed by the great Henry Selick, not Burton. 'Nuff said on all that.

"Inception" details emerge and sound friggin great

There will certainly be many contenders for the movie of the summer (and my dark horse money is on Phillip Noyce's "Salt"), but there really can't be many at all that come burdened with higher expectations than Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" follow up, "Inception." And as details emerge about what exactly it might be about, you can count me as more and more jazzed to finally see it.

He turned up for the big Warner Bros. event on the last day of ShoWest, and here's some of what he had to say about "Inception."

As he introduced a video clip from the flick, which I unfortunately can't find online, he described it as "an action film told in a grand scale by a character played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who runs a team of people who have access to a technology that allows them to enter people's minds through their dreams." He said there was shooting in six different countries to create all the dreamscapes. Here's a bit of how Collider, for which I occasionally contribute, described some of the footage:

The footage started with Leo cocking a gun and his voiceover saying, "There's one thing you should know about me. An inception is an idea that's like a virus, it's highly contagious. The small seed of an idea can grow to define or destroy you."

What follows are eerie visuals with people floating and the ethereal string chords build, as we see Leo sitting at a table in an ornately adorned room explaining to Ken Watanabe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt what they do:

"In the dream state, your consciousness defenses lower," he tells them. "It makes your thoughts vulnerable to theft, called extraction. So you can actually train your subconscious to defend itself from the most skilled extractor."

Watanabe asks how he knows that to which Leo replies, "Because I AM the best extractor."

It all sounds more than a bit like "Memento" writ on an extremely grand scale, which would be just fine with me. And Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and, inevitably I suppose, Michael Caine all appear in this too, so you can bet I'll be among the masses buying my ticket when this finally opens July 16.

A couple of biopics I can get squarely behind

The first thing I thought when I heard a Cesar Chavez biopic was at least in the early stages of development was, how has it taken so long? After all, he's a hero to millions of Hispanics and gringos alike, and his life would just make a grand tale.

It seems that screenwriter Keir Pearson and producer Larry Meli agree, and have optioned the life rights of the labor activist Chavez, and will be producing this with Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna's Canana Films. Pearson, by the way, won an Oscar for co-writing "Hotel Rwanda" with director Terry George, and also has, among other projects, a biopic of Roberto Clemente in the works for HBO and Playtone.

And just in case anyone really hasn't heard of Chavez, he dedicated his life to improving the working conditions of California farm workers, eventually co-founding the National Farm Workers Association, which would later become the United Farm Workers.

Though it's of course far too early to be talking about who could pull this role off, Garcia Bernal would certainly seem to be a perfect choice. What say you?

In other, crazier, biopic news, it seems that independent filmmaker and writer David Miller is hard at work with his son, Jordan, on a movie about the truly odd and troubled Texas outsider musician Daniel Johnston. And yes, I know there's already been a documentary about Johnston, the very compelling "Devil and Daniel Johnston," but can you imagine how much fun (well, maybe that's not quite the right word) the right actor could have with this role?

Here's what he to say about the project to Pedestrian, via the Playlist:

I've got a few things going — we're doing a Daniel Johnston biopic and I'm Producing and Writing and Gabriel Sunday our star [from "My Suicide"] he's going to be Directing and playing young Daniel. It's going to be an epic super hero story and it's going to be a narrative biopic so it doesn't really cover any of the same stuff that the famous "Devil And Daniel Johnston" Documentary that won Sundance in 2005 covers.

How are you going to portray older Daniel Johnston?
That's a really good question. We're either putting Gabriel in a fat suit or there's so many people that are reaching out that are huge Daniel Johnston fans. Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly for example, Johnny Depp's a big Daniel Johnston fan though we'd like him to play the older brother. But we haven't really arrived at that yet — we're just in the scripting process at the moment but once we get the script finished we'll be able to get a better handle on what the budget will be.

Nothing like dropping some big names to get attention, but I'd imagine he's right that a lot of actors would indeed be interested in the chance to take on the life a true American original.

And with that, I've got to go to the job that still somehow pays me, but I'll leave you with the trailer for the next Jennifer Aniston movie I'll be seeing (hint: It won't be "Bounty Hunter.") "The Switch," which I believe used to go by the much funnier name "The Baster," is a comedy starring Aniston and veryfunnyman Jason Bateman, and you can watch the trailer below Enjoy, and have a great weekend (and if you can, go see Roman Polanski's new flick, which I'll be doing Saturday afternoon.) Peace out.

Conan's revenge may come sooner than you think, on screens big and small

You know, I love Conan O'Brien, but not nearly enough to pay $115 or so to see him on the closing night of his comedy tour at the Fabulous Fox Theater in Atlanta. Now, however, it seems he might be bringing the show directly to all kinds of cheapskates like me.

It seems that filmmaker Rodman Flender (who I had never heard of, but has apparently directed both "Idle Hands" and "Leprechaun 2" along with a lot of TV, in case that means anything to you), is about to sign on to make a feature film from the 30-city Legally Prohibited from Being Funny tour.

I'll certainly watch that, and in even better news, it seems likes Conan to Fox as soon as this fall is almost a done deal. According to the L.A. Times, key Fox executives, including Satan Murdoch, are on board with the plan and would like to finalize a deal the network could announce at its fall lineup unveiling on May 17.

Details are still being worked out, including that Fox would spend about $60 million annually on the show, as opposed to NBC's $90 million earmarked for Conan's "The Tonight Show," but at least one more really funny thing could come out of all this. Fox is apparently looking at leasing the old "Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien" set for the new show, which NBC spent $50 million renovating. Now, I realize this would put more revenue in NBC's pockets, but if Conan were to somehow kick Jay Leno's ass sort of on his old turf, how frigging sweet would that be?

Conan is prohibited from being on TV until September, but that certainly doesn't keep him from plotting that return as soon as possible. Stay tuned ...

And, since it's almost all about funny here today, Amy Heckerling seems to be cooking up something that could really be so with "Vamps," even though, like much of the world over the age of 16, I really have just about had enough of the undead.

Remember Amy Heckerling? Among her very funny films are "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "Clueless" (admit it, you like that silly little movie as much as I do.) For her return to writing and directing, Heckerling is reuniting with "Clueless" star Alicia Silverstone for "Vamps" and pairing her with Krysten Ritter, who was just as funny as Jay Baruchel in the surprisingly much better than awful "She's Out of My League" (yes, I watched that.)

The duo will play a pair of beautiful young (do they really have ages?) vampires who are living it up in NYC until, of course, love enters the picture and mucks things up. Sounds more than a little meh, but I'm still betting on pretty seriously funny, especially with this latest bit of casting news.

Sigourney Weaver, late of a little movie called "Avatar," has signed on to play a vampire queen who turned the two young ladies into creatures of the night. Filming will start in April, and with that cast, you can be pretty much sure I'll turn out to see what comes of all this.

And, speaking of funny that's going to come much, much sooner, was there ever any doubt that Tiger Woods would find himself the star of tonight's new season premiere of "South Park"? Of course not. Here's the premise:

The nation's top scientists come together to put a stop to the recent phenomenon of rich, successful men who suddenly want to have sex with many, many women. After extensive testing, some of the fourth grade boys in South Park Elementary are diagnosed as sex addicts.

I'm laughing at that already, and as you'll see from the brief preview below, they either simply obtained the audio tape from Tiger's "press conference" or found a dead voice ringer. Enjoy.



And finally, when it comes to stand-up comedians, they really don't get much better at all than Valdosta, Ga's own late, great Bill Hicks. If you've never seen him perform, get yourself caught up on Youtube and I guarantee you'll laugh. His most frequent targets are advertisers (he's known to open shows with "if you're in advertising or marketing, kill yourself"), but he really spares no one guilty of hypocrisy. And now, thankfully, directors Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas have made a documentary about his too-short life, "American: The Bill Hicks Story," which just played the SXSW fest and will hopefully be coming to a theater or DVD player near me very soon. Enjoy the trailer and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.