A first look at the first cop show I'm going to watch in many years

I'm not sure why, but I just haven't found a cop TV show I've enjoyed in a very long time, essentially since the end of "The Wire."

My friend and fellow cubicle slave Randy Waters tells me "Southland" is worth catching up with, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Coming soon from AMC, however, is one I'm going to take a chance on, and not just because it comes from the network that brought us "Mad Men" and "The Walking Dead."

So, what makes "The Killing" intriguing to me? Well, first and mostly, it's because the 13-episode series will focus on one investigation, the titular event. Based on the Danish television series "Forbrydelsen" and created by "Cold Case" showrunner Veena Sud, it revolves around the murder of a young girl in Seattle and the police investigation involving many possible suspects. The show will have its two-hour premiere on Sunday, April 3, because, I guess, like HBO before it, AMC always likes to premiere new shows on Sundays.

To be clear, I'm certainly not expecting anything as compelling as "Twin Peaks" or any of TV's best cop shows, but its been a long time since we've even had a decent police serial, so here's hoping this turns out to be good. Enjoy the trailer, and then stick around for a short dose of "Jackass"-ery just perfect for a Wednesday morning.



With "Jackass 3D" on DVD this week, here's one of the DVD bonus clips just to remind you that, most likely, your day really isn't that bad. It's Jason "Wee Man" Acuna trying to jump a ravine on his very small bike, and knowing he's a very willing victim of these shenanigans, just enjoy it, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.

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Yes, "Chuck" will be back, this time for real

Actually, the only other news I could find out there that's, well, not better, but at least insane, is that the "Jackass" crew may be back again in 2010 ... and this time in 3-D.

So far, Henry Selick's "Coraline" is the only flick that I thought really took true advantage of the 3-D technology as more than a gimmick to retain movie viewers, which it almost always is to me. Despite how much it annoys me by muddying all the colors of what should be very vibrant animated movies ("Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs," by the way, looks fantastic in glorious 2-D), I can guarantee I'll at least pop down the scratch for a matinee to watch Steve-O and Johnny Knoxville come flying at me in excruciating pain, which is indeed listed on Paramount's 2010 slate, though so far with no release date.

Beyond that here today, it's all about "Chuck," about which there's some actual good news this morning rather than the rumors that have been slowly floating out to tantalize fans like me.

After teasing us with word of a possible return by Halloween (which was, obviously, just a dastardly lie), the official word now is that the bumbling spy-in-the-making and his new Intersect 2.0 skills will return with a two-hour premiere from 9-11 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 10, and then a third episode at its regular time slot at 8 p.m. the next night. Three hours of "Chuck" in two days? Bring it on!

The only thing that could possibly worry me about all this is that the third season is already swollen with guest stars (Angie Harmon, Brandon Routh, Robert Patrick Armand Assante and even Vinnie Jones have already been announced) that may just distract from the overall fun. With NBC having already upped the season 3 order from 13 episodes to 19, however, I'd say it's all good.

As you can see from the preview below - which includes a scene from the new season - the Buy More will make a return, as well as at least Jeffster and Morgan. Enjoy, and have a great weekend. Peace out.

"Tropic Thunder": The art of sharp satire lives again

Even if it has come a lot later than usual this year, it's still depressing to announce that, once again, it is now mathematically impossible for the Baltimore Orioles to win 100 games (but the chase to .500 goes on with spirit!)

But that, of course, is not the order of the day. That would be "Tropic Thunder" which - given my fears about how bad it might be - turned out to be surprisingly satisfying and close-to-first-rate satire of Hollywood action moviemaking.

I liked this one even more than "Pineapple Express," which I certainly didn't expect, but it's still not without its faults. First off, I'm still immature enough to get a kick out of grossout humor (I still say the first "Jackass" movie is the "Citizen Kane" of that genre), but I'm beginning to find I just don't have the stomach any more when it crosses the line to simply disgusting. "Tropic Thunder" does this at several points, the worst of which involved writer/director/star Ben Stiller and a certain body part of Steve Coogan's (I won't spoil this revolting bit for you.)

And my second beef was with Jack Black who, for the first time, simply annoyed me on the big screen. Even if you like him, which I definitely still do, try and think of his most annoying characteristics. Now think of all of those amplified because he's tripping balls on cocaine, and you'll come close to how unbearable he is in this movie. For a much better performance by Jack Black as a drug addict, flash back to Alison Maclean's simply charming little flick "Jesus' Son," which is well worth a rental if you haven't seen it.

All that said, there's a lot more to like than to loathe in "Tropic Thunder," and almost all of it revolves around Robert Downey Jr. (though Ben Stiller holds his own and just made me laugh out loud with his heart of darkness with panda breakdown.) Surely everyone has seen Downey in blackface as meticulous method actor Kirk Lazarus by now, but I can tell you there's much more funny here than you've seen in the trailer. The best part of all is that he talks like no person - black or white - you'll probably ever meet, and it's hilarious when Brandon T. Jackson as rapper-turned-actor Alpa Chino (get it?) calls him out on it (and speaking of the fine line between gross and disgusting, two words: Booty Sweat (very funny!)

Drawing even more fire going in to this one was the use of the word "retard" but, and perhaps I'm just extremely insensitive, it works perfectly well in the framework of hollywood satire. If Stiller had simply left it at his portrayal of "Simple Jack" it would have been a mild chuckle-inducer, but once again it's Downey who elevates this to a fair target with his speech about going "full retard." The only people who should really be cringing rather than laughing at this are the moviemakers who know they're the real butt of this joke.

The bottom line: It's a bit too disgusting and definitely repetitive, but "Tropic Thunder" is also the best satire about the business of making movies since "The Player." Peace out.

There will be blood - on an epic scale

Paul Thomas Anderson is a truly maddening filmmaker to me.

He's managed to make two of my favorite flicks in "Boogie Nights" and "Hard Eight," but also two other that just drive me crazy. I still have no idea what he was going for with "Magnolia," even though I forced myself to watch it a second time to see if there was somehow something I missed (there wasn't.) And "Punch Drunk Love," despite the best efforts of Adam Sandler and Emily Watson, was only intermittenly charming at best.

But what all his movies have, whether you like them or not, is passion. He clearly throws himself into his projects completely, which means it can often take a short lifetime for him to make a movie (it's been five years since his last, "Punch Drunk Love.") Now, however, he finally seems to have found a subject epic enough to fit his talents and an actor who similarly gives everything he has to each performance.

Due early in 2008, "There Will Be Blood" is based on the Upton Sinclair novel "Oil," which I will be reading before this comes out. Set in the booming West coast oil fields at the turn of the 20th century, it will star Daniel Day Lewis as rugged prospector Daniel Plainview, who becomes an independent oilman after hitting it rich with the strike of a lifetime. I hope this plays wide enough for me to see it, or is playing in some kind of limited run when I hit NYC for my family's annual trip at year's end, because this just looks like the perfect melding of subject, director/writer and actor. Here's the poster and a glimpse of what's to come with the trailer (I concede that this may be months old to some of you, but it's new to me, so here goes):



More "Jackass"? Yes, please

Surely there have been greater crimes of omission than teasing us with Don DeVito getting his tooth pulled by a truck in the trailer for "Jackass Number Two" and then not including it anywhere in the movie or DVD, but that was one that really grated my cheese. Now, however, it seems that lovers of that and all other kinds of jackassery will soon get more.

According to the great /film blog, Johnny Knoxville and the boys are filming new scenes to add to the 40 minutes or so of leftover footage from "Number Two" to make a "Jackass 2.5" in time for a straight-to-DVD Christmas release. And yes, they promise the infamous tooth pull will indeed be included.

Wiest joins the 'Jezebel'

I can't think of a midseason replacement show I've tuned in to since, well, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," but "The Return of Jezebel James" is one I'll definitely give more than one chance.

After all, it's the new series from "Gilmore Girls" creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and hubby Daniel Palladino. This time they've cooked up a half-hour sitcom for Fox about two estranged sisters (Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose), one of whom (I'm not sure which) just happens to be carrying the other's baby. Now comes word that the always very likable Dianne Wiest will be joining the cast in a recurring role as their mother. Extremely girly, yes, but it will hopefully also be thoroughly entertaining.

A golden opportunity from the Film Guild

The Macon Film Guild has been bringing arthouse flicks to the big screen here in Macon for years now, but they've really hit a high point with their next two screenings.

It starts this weekend with "The Lives of Others," which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. I was all set to rent this on DVD to see how it could have possibly beat out my favorite movie of 2006, "Pan's Labyrinth," when I got the guild postcard and decided to hold out.

The movie, as far as I can tell, is about a Stasi agent (the late Ulrich Muhe) who is charged with spying on the private lives of German citizens until he finds out some unseemly truths about the people he's spying for and has second thoughts. I'm surely not doing it justice, so come out and see for yourself at the Douglass Theatre. Screenings will be at 2 and 4:30 p.m. Saturday and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Hopefully I'll see you there at the first show.

Coming next month will be "The Wind that Shakes the Barley," Ken Loach's IRA movie starring Cillian Murphy (not Ciaran Hinds, as I posted earler before being corrected by always-welcome reader Carrie Lofty.) It won the Palme D'Or at Cannes, and like all of Loach's movies, will certainly be a very entertaining piece of agitprop. Mark your calendar for screenings on the second Sunday of October. Peace out.