Film Forum with Beavis and Butthead? Bring it on!

Actually, before I get into any of that (plus a bonus clip for "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and even Alyson Hannigan as a Lusty Leopard stripper), there's a couple of bits of news out there today that are just too good not to pass along.

First up is that, though I might have to drive to Atlanta, I most likely will get to see Jean-Pierre Jeunet's crazy new flick "Micmacs" this fall now that it's been picked up for U.S. distribution by Sony Pictures Classics.

I believe the full original French name of the flick is "Micmacs à tire-larigot," but I'll take it in any form I can get it, especially since the plot sounds exactly like something that sprang from Jeunet's rather active imagination. In it, Dany Boon stars as a video store clerk who bands together with his friends to take out two weapons manufacturers after he gets a bullet lodged in his brain.

And in perhaps even better, though certainly expected, news, AMC has greenlit a fourth season of "Mad Men."

Beyond the acclaim the show brings to AMC, the numbers this year have been rather incredible, bringing in 2.8 million viewers for the season premiere (34 percent more than the season two premiere), with the total rising to 4.5 million viewers of subsequent airings during the first week.

And from an aesthetic view, the show has never been better, so I can only say bring it on. If I have this right, show creator Matthew Weiner only has a five-season arc planned, so this brings us into the home stretch. And I'll certainly be around until the very end.

OK, before we get into the videos, being a fan of Allyson Hannigan since the beginning of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," I certainly couldn't help but pass along this photo of her apparently working at the Lusty Leopard from the Sept. 28 season premiere of "How I Met Your Mother." As best as I can tell, the premiere is called "Double Date," and from the photos I've seen, I think Barney finally gets a date with Robin and - of course - takes her to all his usual haunts. Enjoy!


I'll close today with a couple of clips, the first of which is a new featurette for Wes Anderson's "Fantastic Mr. Fox," which is set to drop Nov. 13. You can see from the clip that Anderson is paying a lot of attention to the details of the animated sets, much as he did with the live-action ones for "The Royal Tenenbaums" (still my favorite Anderson flick), and watching George Clooney roll around on the farm is just a hoot. Enjoy.



And finally comes the main event for fans of truly juvenile humor (like me), the return of Beavis and Butthead. Sure, it's shameless promotion for Mike Judge's "Extract," which is indeed playing wide enough for me to go see it Saturday afternoon (huzzah!), but it's also very funny, and if you have American heroes Beavis and Butthead in your stable, why not use them? Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.