A truly maddening dose of MPAA madness

Before I get into any of that, and a commendable scoop from easily one of this site's favorite movie reviewers, Nell Minow, there's news of a new Tyler Perry movie in works. I know that seems to happen at least twice a year, but this one really does sound pretty fascinating.

Lionsgate has now tapped him to direct a film based on the 1975 Ntozake Shange play "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf."

As far as I know, this would be the first Tyler Perry movie not based on his own work, and if it sticks to the structure of the play - a series of 20 poems read by women with names like "Lady in Purple" - will certainly present him with a challenge.

And I know Tyler Perry is an acquired taste for many, many people, and I can thoroughly understand, but for all his faults as a filmmaker I guarantee you there isn't a director out there who's now writing better parts for women than he consistently does. So this project should be just perfect for him.

And this being the fall, Mr. Perry has his second movie of this year coming out next Friday, "I Can Do Bad All By Myself." With easily one of my favorite actresses, Taraji P. Henson, as the star, you can bet I'll be there to see it Saturday afternoon.

But after that today, it's about something that really makes me irate, and I have to warn you, I'm not completely sure why as I start to type this. First the facts, per Nell Minow in today's (I think) Chicago Sun Times, which you can read here.

We've all gone to the movies and, for as long as I can remember, seen those green screens that precede the trailers and always say "appropriate for all audiences." Well, no more. In April without apparently telling, well, anyone, the MPAA (far from my favorite cabal in the world) just decided that green now means "appropriate for some audiences."

Now, I fully realize that for most of the world that means absolutely nothing, and if I were to decide to launch a career as a moralist I'd be a truly rotten one (I was sad to see today that the king of trash, John Waters, now says he's only going to make two more movies before he retires.) But stop for a second and think about just what "some audiences" means.

If you have any idea, please let me know, because I have no friggin clue. And I'm not a parent, but if you've gotten used to the green screen meaning you don't have to worry about the content of the trailer that's about to unfold in front of you, now be warned that you really can't count on that at all.

But what irks me even more than the randomness of this move is what seems to be the attitude behind it of just giving up. Of course, kids and anyone else can see "red-band" trailers on the Internet simply by typing in an age that is clearly not their own. But at least that's an attempt to keep some people from seeing it. Now, the green, in what was once considered a safe zone, is moving quickly toward the red, with no limitations whatsoever.

Though it's a slightly different subject (and, believe me, one I could go off on for no short amount of time), PG-13 has become the same sort of animal, a toilet full of every kind of random filth imaginable to push the limits of R as they keep getting flimsier.

Wow. That was quite a bit of bile for a Friday morning, so I'll just leave you with this assurance. I LOVE raunchy, R-RATED movies. I can't wait to see Mike Judge's "Extract" on Saturday afternoon, and despite some early middlin-to-bad reviews, I'm really looking to a solidly R-rated comedy.

But is it too much to ask from the MPAA that everything below R really is appropriate for folks under age 17 or so, or that we have some kind of control over what we have to see in trailers? Sheesh.

And to go out on a more pleasant note, and since I really do like to mention Spike Jonze's upcoming "Where the Wild Things Are" just about every day, check out this groovy cover of Filter magazine, illustrated by Geoff McFetridge. Looks like I'll be buying that soon. Peace out.

Trailer Thursday: Tim Burton's "Alice" and Tyler Perry too

You know, I've only been to a real Imax theater once since I was a little kid and got to experience it at the National Air and Space Museum, which every kid should get to do.

My only time as an "adult" was for "Watchmen," and though the movie certainly has its critics, I loved it, and the experience was well worth the drive to north of Atlanta for it. But since it's nearly two hours, it's not exactly something I can afford to do very often.

Well, now. I've found the second movie that will get me to drive all the way to the Mall of Georgia in Buford for a real Imax (no fauxmax for me) experience: Spike Jonze's "Where the Wild Things Are." It was announced Wednesday at Comic-Con that Maurice Sendak's Wild Things will indeed appear larger than life, and I'll certainly be there to see them.

And, shame on me, I thought Maurice Sendak was dead, but as this rather crazy photo of the two of them from the "Where the Wild Things Are" production blog of sorts,We Love You So, proves, that's not so.


And if you live in Middle Georgia like me, please take advantage of the chance to see easily one of the year's best movies, Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker." When I heard this was going to play "everywhere" beginning Friday I didn't really believe it, but at least they have the sense to play it in a military town like Warner Robins (well, Centerville, but you know what I mean.)

Though there's never been a commercially successful movie about the war in Iraq, Bigelow's movie is changing all that because it legitimately looks at war through the eyes of the soldiers of a bomb squad unit, while at the same time delivering the sensational set pieces Bigelow has become known for (the best being an encounter with three mercenaries played by Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce and David Morse that very quickly turns very deadly.)

On top of all that you get truly breakout performances from Jeremy Renner and, even better, Anthony Mackie. So definitely go see this one while you have the chance.

And of course, before I once again got distracted, this was supposed to be about two promising looking trailers, the first of which has been anticipated for a long time now, Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland."

Burton's record of wrecking beloved stories such as "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" and "Planet of the Apes" is well known, but I still think he's got something pretty good going with this, which is set to come out in March.

First of all, at least that I've seen, there hasn't been a definitive live action version of the Lewis Carroll work, so he has kind of a blank slate to work with. And second, as you can see from the teaser below, it's gonna be a genuine trip, with a big dose of a truly demented Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, so it should be a heck of a lot of fun. Enjoy the trailer, and then stick around for a visit from Madea (remember, I did warn you.)



And finally today comes the first full trailer for Tyler Perry's "I Can Do Bad All By Myself," and to me at least, it looks like a real winner.

Now, Mr. Perry certainly has a formula, and you can tell this one won't stray far from it, but it has at least one big thing going for it: Taraji P. Henson. She's been one of my favorite actresses ever since "Hustle & Flow," and now that someone has finally given her the starring role she deserves, I can tell she's gonna make the most of it. Enjoy. and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday.