A fun Wednesday morning clip show

Actually, before we get into any of that, there's great news out there today for fans of "Mad Men," and given what all's been happening in the past few weeks, we certainly need some.

In the latest small step in its plan for world domination, it seems that Netflix has paid almost $1 million per episode to begin streaming the first four seasons of "Mad Men" beginning July 27. Yeah, I'll watch that. Even better, the site has also scooped up the syndication rights for the next three upcoming seasons too, taking us to the planned end of Matthew Weiner's run for the show. Bully.

And after that tidbit today, I've got a quartet of clips, starting with, if not the best, certainly the funniest one. A warning, however: everything you need to know about this clip is in its title: "Danny McBride & David Gordon Green talk monster balls." It's even more foul than that, thankfully (in fact, I wouldn't just watch this with headphones at work - it's visually raunchy too, so be careful). Actually, this is the first great movie weekend of the year. Since I'm going to see the Braves and Phillies on Sunday, I'm gonna try and squeeze in a double feature of "Hanna" and either "Arthur" or "Your Highness" on Saturday, leaving the left out one and "Soul Surfer" for next weekend. Four movies I want to see in one weekend? Nirvana. Enjoy the clip.

Danny McBride & David Gordon Green Talk Monster Balls from Danny McBride

Next up comes a TV spot for J.J. Abrams' "Super 8," set to drop June 10. Few movies in recent memory have managed to change my opinion so much with its preview clips. I've gone from not much interested at all to wanting to see this, mostly because of the kids making movies angle, so here's hoping it doesn't disappoint. Enjoy.



HBO has been on more than a bit of a roll lately. I haven't watched "Mildred Pierce" yet, but simply because I'm saving all five episodes to watch all at once. I did, however, watch that Douglass McGrath documentary about Jerry Weintraub that aired Monday night, "His Way," and that was a minor delight. And better than all that, "Game of Thrones," with at least the pilot directed by the great Thomas McCarthy, is finally set to begin April 17 (on a Sunday, naturally.) If, like me, you really can't wait that long, however, you can watch the first 14 minutes or so below. You're welcome.



And finally today, definitely saving the silliest for last, I sincerely hope that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Stan Lee know just how funny this is, because it really does look like the height of cheese. Below is the full trailer for their "The Governator," coming to some kind of TV in 2012, apparently. "Enjoy," and have a perfectly endurable Wednesday. Peace out.

An extended look at "Water for Elephants"

Actually, before we get into any of that, a couple of tidbits about TV, starting with a question: When's the last time you actually tuned in for a live broadcast of "Saturday Night Live."

For me, I couldn't even tell you for sure, because it's been well more than 10 years. I can, however, guarantee you that I will be tuning in one week from today, when they've managed to land the perfect host: Dame Helen Mirren, presumably to pimp the "Arthur" remake starring Russell Brand and somehow Luis Guzman too that comes out that week. Yeah, I'll watch both of those.

And HBO has just announced that the summer's funniest stretch begins at 10 p.m. July 10 when Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" returns for (I think) its eighth season. Last season's "Seinfeld" reunion of sorts was more than a bit of a dud, but with the show hitting New York this season and Ricky Gervais set to appear in some form, I'm betting on a return to very, very funny.

OK, on to the main event. Although I'm certainly going to see Duncan Jones' "Source Code" today and really looking forward to it, and thoroughly enjoyed the slyly witty "Cedar Rapids," my money is on "Water for Elephants" as the first great movie of 2011. I quickly devoured the novel by Sara Gruen, a rather epic romantic triangle tale that unfolds at a traveling circus. And the casting of this, with Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon and, looking great in these clips, Christoph Waltz as the circus' big man around the tent, looks just about perfect. And though he makes no appearance in these seven minutes or so courtesy of Collider.com, keep an eye out for definite Reel Fanatic fave Hal Holbrook too. Enjoy these seven scenes from the movie, and stick around afterward for something truly very funny from "Parks and Recreation."