Oh, the horror! My 10 or so favorite monster movies

When it comes to modern horror movies, I'd be the first to admit that I'm more than a bit of a wimp.

I just can't see the attraction of gorefests like "Hostel" or the "Saw" movies (yes, there's a 3D version coming out very soon, if that's your thing), and in particular I just don't have much stomach at all for movies that showcase the torture of women.

That said, however, I do love a good horror movie, and when you mix that up with a little humor, it's even better. Here, to get everyone in the Halloween spirit, are my 10 or so favorite horror movies, in no particular order.

Universal Studios Classic Monster Collection: If you spring for the whole box set, you get a big bite of truly classic horror with "Dracula" "Frankenstein," "The Mummy," "The Invisible Man," "The Bride of Frankenstein," "The Wolf Man," "Phantom of the Opera" and "Creature from the Black Lagoon." Or, you can buy them all individually for less than $10 a pop, and you really can't go wrong with any of these early favorites.

"Let the Right One In": Almost no one went to see the recent American remake of this Swedish vampire movie, "Let Me In," but do yourself a favor and rent the original this Halloween. Part horror movie and part coming of age tale, it's a truly unique movie experience, and my single favorite movie of 2008.

"The Orphanage": Orphanages are scary enough, but when you make them haunted it's that much more fun, and ghost tales just don't much more stylishly frightening than this Spanish flick from director Juan Antonio Bayona.

"Rosemary's Baby": If I had to pick one single favorite horror movie, this one from Roman Polanski would be it. Author Ira Levin's tale of the ultimate deal with the devil is a creepy as it is campy, and once you see it, I guarantee you'll never get Ruth Gordon out of your head.

"The Shining": Probably the most quotable horror movie of all time, it's easily the most fun movie Stanley Kubrick ever made and probably also the most fun Jack Nicholson ever had on screen too.

"The Evil Dead": No director better mixes humor and horror than Sam Raimi, and this is his masterpiece. Zombies have always been much more scary to me than vampires, and what could be worse than an army of them? Besides, has anyone ever heard of a cuddly zombie? 'Nuff said.

"Drag Me to Hell": A double shot from Raimi, because he really is a horror maestro. After the thorough disaster that was "Spider-Man 3," Raimi desperately needed to get back to his wickedly fun roots, and this gypsy curse tale was just the perfect cure. I bought this one for $5 at a Redbox machine a while ago, and go back and watch it every few months or so, and get thoroughly creeped out each time.

"Cloverfield": I normally have little time for "found footage" movies (don't even get me started on the friggin' "Blair Witch Project"), but this monster movie from Matt Reeves is a welcome exception. It expertly builds the tension until the monster is finally revealed near the end, and it's very well worth the wait.

"Near Dark": Long before Bella met Edward or Kathryn Bigelow won the Best Picture Oscar for "The Hurt Locker," Bigelow made this, my favorite vampire movie. Adrian Pasdar stars as young man who joins an evil pack of vampires because - why else? - he's chasing a pretty girl. Definitely watch this vampire Western (yes, really) if you can find it.

"Shaun of the Dead": That the great Simon Pegg is the most dead person in this zombie zoo may be the biggest and best joke in Edgar Wright's flick, but there's much more fun to discover if you've never seen it, and I guarantee that the pub scene will make you think twice before stopping into a seemingly tame watering hole you've never visited before. Simply hilarious from start to finish.

And there you have it. Please feel free to add any of your favorites I managed to snub (believe me, I could have taken this list to at least 20), and have a perfectly passable Tuesday. Peace out.

Scott Pilgrim: The Last Airbender

Sometimes clips need an introduction, and sometimes they really don't, so I'll just say perhaps Edgar Wright's flick (but probably not) and almost certainly M. Night Shymalan's would have been better if they had just mashed things up as this clip does so brilliantly. Enjoy.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. the effect of video games on movies

Complaining about the influence of video games on movies makes me feel more than a little like the old guy yelling, "Hey you kids, get off my lawn." And besides, this summer at least, I'm not all that sure it's a bad thing.

Now, to be clear, I'm certainly not talking about movies based directly on video games - I can't think of the last one of those that was any good. In fact, movies "based" on another medium, particularly '80s TV shows, generally raise a red flag for me (with this summer's "The A-Team" being a welcome exception ... what a big blast of fun.)

Instead, I mean movies that take on the feel of playing - or even better, somehow being in - a video game, with this summer's best example so far being Christopher Nolan's "Inception." Until being knocked from the No. 1 perch last week by the seriously funny and well worth seeing "The Other Guys," Nolan's flick rode a long winning streak to already more than $227 million at the domestic box office in spite - or perhaps because, your choice - of a plot that, like the best of video games. presents a puzzle with level after level of challenges for viewers.

And if all Nolan's tricks don't quite add up in your mind, you're far from alone. It took me two viewings to accept that even if everything he's cooked up doesn't add up perfectly (and I'm fairly certain it was never designed to), it's still pretty much a masterwork both visually and in terms of storytelling.

In an interview with the L.A. Times, Henry Jenkins, a professor of communications, journalism and cinematic arts at the University of Southern California, explained the game influence of "Inception" perfectly: " 'Inception' is first and foremost a movie about worlds and levels, which is very much the way video games are structured. Games create a sense that we're a part of the action. Stories aren't just told to us. We experience them."

Just how much more of an appetite is there for this interactive kind of filmmaking? That gets a major test this weekend with the release of "Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World," which packs the double geek bona fide of not only looking just like a really good video game but also being based on a fairly obscure series of graphic novels (and yes, though I'm well aware I should really be too old for "comic books," I have read the first two installments of this, and it has a visual and verbal wit that should be just right in Edgar Wright's flick.)

Like "Inception," the tale of Scott Pilgrim is indeed also a quest with many levels, in this case battles with "seven evil exes" to win the heart of Ramona Flowers. Even with a love story of sorts at its core, I'll be curious to see how "Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World" fares in a busy week that also contains all the action you can stand (and probably much more) with "The Expendables" and Julia Roberts starring in a more conventional romantic saga directed by "Glee" creator Ryan Murphy, "Eat, Pray, Love."

As for the overall trend of interactive movies, brace yourself for more, because it's not going away any time soon (there's even, of course, a sequel of sorts to "Tron," "Tron: Legacy," coming in time for Christmas.) And as for me, well, as long as the ride continues to be thrilling, I'll just be enjoying it while it lasts.

Only you can stop the virus that is 3-D

In the race to discover the most despicable use of 3-D technology yet, James Cameron's plans for a 3-D Black Eyed Peas concert movie (if that is still on) have now been surpassed by an even more ridiculous idea.

Now, before I spew any venom, let me say that I'm a very middle-aged dude, so far from the target audience for anything about Justin Bieber (though I really did enjoy that German TV clip in which when, asked to say something in German, he replied, "What is German?")

However, even a few of his most devoted teen and tween fans might scoff at this: A 3-D biopic about the 15-year-old singer's life, to be released next February and somehow be directed by Davis Guggenheim, who made "An Inconvenient Truth." Yes, really. Now, I suppose it's possible that his 15 years have been filled with enough drama and suffering to make a feature length movie work, but I somehow have my doubts.

As regards 3-D overall, and in case you couldn't tell already, I pretty much thoroughly hate it, The Wrap had an interesting set of numbers this morning about the gimmick's failing arc at the box office. Now, this isn't entirely fair, since I don't think anyone expected the "Cats & Dogs" sequel to make a ton of money, but the chart below is still very telling. Enjoy.



An $80 million opening for "Alice in Wonderland" (which, unlike a lot of people, I quite liked, IN 2-D) down to the dismal bow of "Cats & Dogs"? Now, that's a progression that has me hopeful, but The Wrap's article quickly doused those hopes with a big dose of reality. Here's an excerpt:

“I think the overall message isn't that 3D is a fad or that it’s going away, but I’m not sure we’re moving to a point where 50 percent of the box office is derived by 3D ticket sales as some of the bulls currently believe,” BTIG Research analyst Richard Greenfield told TheWrap.

With, as the New York Times noted Tuesday, nearly 60 3D releases queued up for the next two years, the “bulls” can still be found in herds back in Hollywood. In fact, the flurry will continue this weekend, when Disney releases “Step Up 3D.”

Now, I'm perfectly able to simply skip "Step Up 3D," and with "The Kids Are All Right" somehow opening at my local multiplex this week, I can even see a good movie, but 60 3-D movies in the next two years? Sheesh. All I can say is keep hope alive, because only you can stamp out the scourge that is 3-D, and it all starts with simply saying no.

OK, that was a lot of bile for a Wednesday morning, so why not some actual good news about a movie I really want to see instead? Edgar Wright's "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" finally drops next week, and I'm totally amped for it.

As part of the appropriately aggressive marketing push, Cartoon Network's [adult swim] will air a short animated film titled "Scott Pilgrim vs. The Animation" in two installments between midnight and 12:30 a.m. Aug. 12. The short will cover Scott's relationship with Sex Bob-omb drummer Kim Pine, and will feature the voices of Michael Cera and Alison Pill from the movie. And for those of you who, like me, are rarely up at that trouble-making hour on a school night, it will re-air on Friday the 13th (yes, again), the day the movie comes out, on both Adultswim.com and its facebook page. Nothing but groovy there.

And since I have a bit more time, there are some other TV tidbits out there today that are pretty juicy.

As "The Office" embarks on its final season with Steve Carell's Michael Scott as the boss of Dunder Mifflin, it seems he'll tangle with Timothy Oliphant, star of the great F/X Western of sorts "Justified" and just one of my favorite actors.

According to TV Guide, he'll have at least a two-episode run as a rival paper salesman who angers Michael and Dwight by stealing away their customers. In my mind, that's already funny.

And speaking of Westerns, they certainly seem to be getting new life on TV these days, and that's welcome news in my little corner of the world. AMC is now developing a period drama called "Hell on Wheels," which follows the story of a former Confederate soldier who ends up working on the transcontinental railroad in the Nebraska prairie as he hunts down the Union soldiers who killed his wife. Juicy. And in the latest casting news, Reel Fanatic favorite Colm Meaney has signed on for the role of Thomas “Doc” Durant, a businessman determined to make his fortune building the railroad.

The final bit of good TV news today is that FX has, somewhat surprisingly, picked up a second 13-episode season of "Louie," starring the comedian Louis CK. I'm only really surprised because, while I like it quite a bit, it certainly is a dark and bitterly funny brew, so not exactly designed to appeal to a broad audience.

And I'll leave you with this nugget from the latest Ebert Club newsletter, an enjoyable read every time it pops up in my e-mail box. It seems that BBC1 is either airing or has aired a series of three 90-minute episodes of "Sherlock," a take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories set in modern-day England (and hopefully more than a bit better than that mess with Robert Downey Jr. last year, and I have to assume, next year too.) In the best news of all, the series, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch (great name there) as Sherlock and Martin Freeman (of the original "The Office" - see, synergy) as Holmes, will be aired on PBS as part of its Masterpiece series early next year. Enjoy this short clip from the series, and have a perfectly bearable Wednesday. Peace out.

Emblematic of this summer: A 9 percent fresh flick

How bad have the movies been this summer? This morning, I was struck by two signs.

First, the idea that "Jonah Hex" would be this year's first (that I know of) "zero percent fresh" movie at Rotten Tomatoes. Think about that for a second. Of all the people in the world who call themselves critics, they couldn't find one to say this comic book flick starring Josh Brolin and Megan Fox doesn't just suck?

By this morning, however, it was up to a more robust 9 percent fresh, with three or so "positive" reviews, one of which had the following summarizing phrase: "You could do worse than this and if you have been going to the movies this summer with any regularity, you most likely already have." Nothing like a ringing endorsement, eh?

And secondly, the Hollywood Reporter, in apparent seriousness, ran the following headline: "Early Oscar Contenders Scarce." Really? Having seen my fair share of stinkers already this year, I didn't have to take the time to read that article.

However, I do still try to be a glass half full kinda guy, and along with the U.S.A. playing Slovenia this morning in the World Cup, there is, on the opposite end of the spectrum, a "100 percent fresh" movie opening this weekend, Pixar's annual offering, "Toy Story 3." The closest thing I've seen to criticism of that so far is that it's a roller-coaster ride that never lets up. Sounds like summer to me, and I'll be going to see it in glorious 2-D (because I already wear glasses, and don't need to pay $3 more or so just for a second pair, thank you very much) this afternoon.

And speaking of potentially great movies, Edgar Wright's "Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World" just keeps looking better and better as they keep releasing trailers. I suppose it could be overload by the time this finally opens in August, but with as thoroughly fun as it looks to be, I'm nowhere near that point yet. My favorite line in this latest international trailer: "Prepare to die, obviously." Enjoy, watch the U.S.A. this morning, and have a perfectly pleasant weekend. Peace out.

A black Spider-Man? Hell yeah! Plus, "Scott Pilgrim" vs. the rest of the summer

I pledged to myself a few weeks ago that I wouldn't join any more groups on Facebook. I mean when you're a member of something as life-alteringly important as "Keep Rex Daisy on the 1st Ave. Wall", where else is there to go?

There are still a few things, however, I find interesting enough to latch onto without being asked to by friends like radio DJ and former Rex Daisy member Jason Nagel (though I'm afraid I'm considering dropping my Orioles feed, because, frankly, I'm not sure I can take the daily reminder that, yes, they've managed to lose another game.) And Donald Glover as Spider-Man? There's something I can get behind.

When it was first announced that Sam Raimi had quit the "Spider-Man" franchise and later that the entire cast would be jettisoned in favor of a reboot, that's when I lost just about all interest. Even when "500 Days of Summer" director Marc Webb was announced as the helmer of this project, it still didn't make it anything but a bad idea in my mind.

Given all that, how can you get me interested again? Well, how about a black Peter Parker for starters, and why the hell not? Especially since "Community" star Glover, who has launched his own lobbying campaign to at least get the chance to audition for the role, would be just about perfect for it. If you watch "Community" you know he's a funny guy, and he's certainly the right age for this. And you can tell from the eagerness he brings to this that he's clearly a Spider-Man fan.

So, you can count me as entirely on board with this idea, which would at least make the notion of a new "Spider-Man" franchise more stomachable (and yes, I'm well aware that's probably not an actual word.) If you're a twitter kind of person, you can sign on to #donald4spiderman, which apparently was the "third highest trending" feed (whatever the hell that means) on Monday night. Or, if you're a rube like me who resists Twitter, you can sign on to his facebook page here (and trust me, it's at least worth a visit if only to see the hilarious photos of him as Spidey in various poses.)

I've just moved "Mystery Team," which Glover stars in and wrote along with his DERRICK comedy cohorts, to the top of my Netflix queue, but it tells me there will be a "short wait" for it, so who knows when that will be coming.

All I've got except for that today is the second trailer I know of for "Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World," and it's even better than the first one. It looks like Edgar Wright has simply put together a really fun and funny movie that will hopefully breathe some life into what has so far just been a disastrous movie summer when it finally comes out in August. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Tuesday. 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

My (and only my) best movies of the decade: The 2004 edition

Before I get into any kudos for movies that came out five years ago, the first (I believe) salvo in this awards season has been fired, and it has landed majorly in Kathyrn Bigelow's corner.

Her "The Hurt Locker" was the big winner at the Gotham Independent Film Awards, taking home the Best Picture award and, even more appropriately, the Best Ensemble award. I can certainly support that, because there's only one movie I've liked more than "The Hurt Locker" this year - Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" - and Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie did indeed lead an excellent cast in this flick that looks at war through the eyes of bomb squad soldiers.

But back to the game. 2004 was a good year for quirk, which I indeed like most of the time, but as you'll find out, also the first year of the oughts in which two of the year's box office champs made the final cut.

First off, the runners-up are: "The Ladykillers", "Hellboy", "Coffee and Cigarettes", "Garden State", "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle" and "The Spongebob Squarepants Movie" (and yes really on the last two, but I really like to laugh.)

OK, here goes with the big 10, and as usual, please feel free to add any you think I may have snubbed.

"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"
Going in, this mindbendingly sweet romance from the skewed minds of Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman was certainly the favorite for movie of the year, but as you'll find out shortly it was edged out by a director who still has - rather sadly - only managed to make very few movies. Still the only movie in which Jim Carrey is entirely enjoyable - in large part because of how well he plays off of Kate Winslet - this flick tackles big questions about love, life and memory with out a whiff of seriousness, but instead the dreamy feel that envelops Gondry's best flicks. (And yes, Kirsten Dunst dancing around in her underwear certainly is a delight.)

"The Agronomist"
Though Jonathan Demme has made many great fictional movies, his documentaries stand up just as strong, and one of the best is this flick about the late Haitian journalist and human rights activist Jean Dominique. Through interviews with Dominique and the people who loved him, you get a thorough portrait of the man that just gets more insightful but also depressing as it leads up to Dominique's assassination.

"Napoleon Dynamite"
You either love it or hate it, I guess, and I'm certainly in the former category. I even stuck with Jared Hess through "Nacho Libre," which though far from anything approaching a great movie, was still almost as sublimely silly as "Napoleon Dynamite." I seriously doubt that Jon Heder will ever get a good part again, but he was just hilarious as Napoleon, and you can still quote this movie to me when I'm having a really bad day and get a smile every time.

"Spider-Man 2"
When Sam Raimi has fun, as he surely did in 2009 with "Drag Me to Hell," the audience does too, as I certainly did with this, still my favorite superhero movie of all time. Though the first "Spider-Man" was a good enough flick (with some of the cheesiest CGI ever), the second installment is better in every way: The Peter Parker/Mary Jane (yes, Kirsten Dunst again) romance is truly heartbreaking, the bad guy (Alfred Molina's Doc Ock) is a superbly complex villain, and it was just the best blockbuster of 2004.

"Maria Full of Grace"
This little gem from director Joshua Marston is indeed my favorite movie from 2004, and it would stand up well in any year since. Catalina Sandino Moreno (who really should be a very big star by now) is just thoroughly charming as a pregnant Colombian teenager who - out of complete desperation - becomes a drug mule running cocaine to the U.S. in her stomach. The movie manages to put a human face on the drug trade and just gets better as we see Maria finally start to work her way out of it, and Moreno was absolutely hosed in not winning the Best Actress Oscar she was nominated for.

"Shaun of the Dead"
Every thing I've seen about Edgar Reitman's next flick - "Scott Pilgrim" - just hints that it's going to be epicly good, but I certainly miss the days that he, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost made an unholy trio. This, their best flick, is a first-rate mix of humor and horror, and though "Zombieland" was a solid entry this year, it lacked both Pegg - who made the perfect antihero - and the blackest humor that made "Shaun" work so well. And that scene at the pub is still just wickedly funny.

"Infernal Affairs"
The source material for Martin Scorsese's Best Picture breakthrough is actually superior to his remake in almost every way. The original flick from directors Wei-keing Lau and Alan Mak keeps the intensity up much better than Scorsese did (though I like me some "The Departed" too), and the lives of our two heroes, a police officer who has infiltrated the Triads and a Triad mole who has infiltrated the police force, intertwine in more interesting ways. Rent this one immediately if you haven't seen it.

"Sideways"
I almost put "Garden State" in this spot instead, but Alexander Payne's flick (the last one he managed to make before moving on to HBO's show about the guy with the humongous unit) makes for an engaging road movie through the California wine country and just features first-rate performances from Paul Giamatti and Virginia Madsen. I still like this one as much as I just detest Payne's previous flick, "About Schmidt."

"The Incredibles"
My second-best Pixar flick ("Ratatouille" will always be the king in my corner of the world) had a much more innovative story than most animated offerings for kids as it looked at what happens when the world turns against superheros, and just about the best message (don't be afraid to let your talents shine) you could possibly give to a kid. There is, however, one animated movie from director Brad Bird that's better, "The Iron Giant."

"Hotel Rwanda"
Don Cheadle was just as screwed as Moreno in the Oscar voting for this year, because he told more with simple facial expressions in Terry George's movie about the Rwandan genocide than most actors do with longwinded speeches. The story about how a hotel manager saved thousand of Tutsi refugees from almost certain slaughter also introduced the world (or at least me) to Sophie Okonedo, who almost manages to steal Cheadle's show here and was the star of a flick I just saw at the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival, "Skin," about the racial complexities of South Africa (too heavy-handed for my tastes, but she's great in it and it was an audience favorite, so check it out on DVD soon.) George also directed my favorite of the '90s IRA movies, "Some Mother's Son."

So, there you have it. Please feel free to add any of your 2004 favorites, and to check back tomorrow for a look at 2005, the year I actually started writing all this mess. Peace out.

Raimi's trip to "Hell" is a thoroughly disgusting delight

Going in to the great movie showdown that this weekend promised, I had two questions: Which movie would I prefer, Pixar's "Up" or Sam Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell," and how in the world did Raimi's movie end up with less than a R rating?

Well, after having seen them both, I can definitively answer the first query: While I liked and more so admired "Up," Raimi's return to horror is the most fun I've had at the movies this year (edging out by a nose "Star Trek.")

As to the second, however, I still have no idea, because as any fans of "Evil Dead" would have been hoping, this flick is as juvenilely, eerily and blissfully disgusting as you could possibly expect. And give Raimi credit: With the most dead-on descriptive movie title since "Snakes on a Plane," there really shouldn't be anyone who goes into this one expecting anything less.

I'm not sure why, since they are such a natural combo, but humor and horror have been a very difficult concoction to blend in satisfying form in recent years. James Gunn did a fine job with "Slither" (did anyone else see that?) and Edgar Wright and co. do even better, but with both of these the laughs come first, whereas Raimi at his best, which he very nearly is here, delivers classic horror and finds the dark laughs within it. A litmus test: If seeing Alison Lohman stalk her pet with a kitchen knife as she coos "here kitty kitty" doesn't make you laugh, this movie isn't for you.

The movie opens with a great set piece that establishes immediately (in case the title left you with any doubt) what you're in store for. Two Hispanic parents take their cursed child to a healer of sorts. It seems the youngun has stolen a gypsy's necklace, never something I'd recommend, and, well, as you can probably imagine he doesn't fare too well from there.

It seems that the gypsies aren't a group of people you want to cross, and I have to confess that on a B-movie horror level, that just works for me. I think of myself as a solidly nonracist person, but if there's a chink in that armor, gypsies are it, because I once tried to sleep on a Eurorail train and had no less than four gypsy urchins come into my car and try to steal all of my belongings. Does that mean all gypsies are evil? Of course not. But it does, if suspending my nagging sensibilities, make me very susceptible to believing for about 90 minutes or so that they would be capable of unleashing something as nasty as the Lamia curse which, believe me, you don't want to get.

In Raimi's world, the star is Christine Brown, a very game Alison Lohman. Young Ellen Page was originally set to submit herself to this hell, but either chickened out (which I'd perfectly understand) or simply passed. What Lohman, who I had never seen in a movie before (but heard in "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind") brings to this schlockfest, along with a willingness to go through all kind of nastiness, is a nagging optimism that although you suspect is woefully misplaced, is enough to keep you playing Raimi's game until the end.

Her big mistake? Lohman's Christine, an ambitious bank loan officer (is there a more evil sort in the real world?), turns down an old lady for a third extension on her mortgage. And as anyone who knows even a bit about this flick knows, this was the wrong woman to piss off (and Lorna Raver, complete with an evil eye and secreting all kinds of squirm-inducing fluids even while she's still alive, is just the perfect choice.) From there, well, even if you think you know what's gonna happen, it's still a hell of a lot of fun going along for the ride.

And going in, I was fairly certain that funny guy and Mac pimper Justin Long was going to annoy me, but luckily he really doesn't have much to do here as Christine's supporting boyfriend (but his character's parents, played by Chelcie Ross and Molly Cheek, get the funniest scene of all, no small feat here.) What you need if you're gonna dine on this cheese buffet is someone who can lead you and Christine along, and Dileep Rao as psychic and all-around dark arts sensei Rham Jas certainly gets the job done. I don't want to give much else away, but Adriana Barraza is easily one of my favorite actresses (I even liked her quite a bit in the Jesus-wall-stain oddity "Henry Poole Is Here"), and when she turns up near the end of this flick (if you haven't walked out in disgust already) I guarantee you'll smile.

Raimi wraps it all up with an ending that's among his best, but what really makes this whole exercise so much fun is that, as with Raimi's "A Simple Plan," Christine, even as she makes mistake after mistake and suffers the requisite plagues for her misdeeds, is someone who - although more than a little greedy - we can easily all identify with.

In short, I loved just about every minute of Sam Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell," and though it's not enough to erase the nightmare that was "Spider-Man 3" from my memory (really, nothing would be, because it truly was just that bad), it certainly shows Raimi's still capable of having a blast of wicked fun, and raises hopes that Spidey's fourth installment won't just suck hard. Peace out.

You see, but you do not observe: A glimpse of "Sherlock Holmes"

Actually the best news out there today is further proof that, despite the ascendancy of a new generation and Barack Obama, there are still some areas in which grumpy old men, of which I'm rapidly becoming one, still rule the Earth.

In less than two weeks, of course, we get our own fantabulous 3-D animated feature with Pixar's "Up," but perhaps even better was today's announcement that this year's weeknight World Series games will start before 8 p.m., meaning that - even if my Orioles most likely won't have anything do with it - at least the games will hopefully wrap a little closer to my schoolnight bed time.

And best of all, the story I saw on this said Fox won't even take to the air before 7:30 p.m. Less than a half hour of inane Fox pregame (meaning, hopefully, no Steve Lyons, if he's indeed still there) and an earlier game time? I'm in heaven.

And I suppose the most "important" news out there today is that they're finally gonna do a biopic on Martin Luther King Jr. Not surprisingly, such a "prestige" and - in my book - "obligation" movie has attracted big fish Dreamworks and Steven Spielberg, so far as just a producer, but who knows?

The only way you could get me more than even mildly excited about this, however, is to cast the right dude as MLK. Don Cheadle would work OK, but for my money the slam-dunk choice would be Jeffrey Wright (oddly enough, Mos Def would be my second choice, and I actually saw them on stage together once in Suzan-Lori Parks' rather disappointing "Topdog/Underdog.")

You may remember that Wright has already played MLK Jr. once in a surprisingly entertaining but underrated HBO movie, "Boycott," also starring Terrence Howard as Ralph Abernathy and directed by "Homicide" and "The Wire" vet Clark Johnson. The only way to keep my interest in this going would be to bring him back for more.

The order of the day here, however, is supposed to be all about "Sherlock Holmes" and the case of its first theatrical trailer, with a little "Scott Pilgrim" thrown in at the end as a bonus.

When I first heard Guy Ritchie was gonna put his stamp on "Sherlock Holmes," I have to say I was more than a little worried. Now, don't get me wrong: "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and - to a lesser extent - "Snatch" are very funny flicks, but I'm not sure I'd call them clever in the vein of Holmes, and Ritchie's movies since then have been pretty much pure crap (with the possible exception of "RocknRolla," which I'm perfectly willing to concede I just didn't get.)

Beyond the tone, however, I also felt more than a little queasy when I heard rumors about them turning Holmes into some kind of Bond-style badass with exceptional fighting skills. That certainly wouldn't josh with any kind of Holmes I remember or ever want to see.

I suppose, though, with Robert Downey Jr. as our main man, I should have faith, and indeed this trailer does look pretty darn good. As everyone probably knows, Jude Law stars rather oddly as Watson, and as I just found out from the IMDB, Eddie Marsan of "Happy Go Lucky" fame stars as Inspector Lestrade. Enjoy the trailer, and feel free to check back for many more updates on this before it comes out Christmas day.



And, as a bonus of sorts, here's the latest installment of Edgar Wright's video blog about the making of "Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World." The part of me that used to (and sometimes still does) read comic books has to admire the details that he and comic book writer Bryan Lee O'Malley are trying to recreate while filming in Toronto, but you also have to wonder how much any of that is going to matter to anyone beyond the most devoted subset of geeks (of which I still proudly consider myself one.) Anyways, enjoy this latest bit about the making of the flick set to star veryfunnyman Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and, as I just found out today, one of my favorite people in "Rocket Science" star Anna Kendrick. Peace out.

Blog Five - From Comic Book Panel to Screen - Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World from Scott Pilgrim The Movie on Vimeo.

Edgar Wright on "Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World"

Just as I love movies about making movies, I also just like any little real insight into just how the sausage gets made, especially with movies I'm almost certain I'm going to like.

Case in point: "Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World." With Edgar Wright directing the flick based on Bryan Lee O'Malley's comic book about a slacker/wannabe rocker (played by Michael Cera, natch) who wants to date delivery girl Ramona V. Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) but must first defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends, I'm definitely in.

And now, as he did with "Hot Fuzz," Wright has just started posting weekly video blog posts at the flick's official site, and the first one is embedded below. Edgar Wright is an extremely funny guy, and it's just fun to watch his stars doing calisthenics and some kind of sword fighting in the background as he's talking about the movie. The flick itself is set to come out sometime near the end of this year. Enjoy, and for sure go see "Observe and Report" today! Peace out.


Blog One - Introduction - Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World from Scott Pilgrim The Movie on Vimeo.

Will Quentin Tarantino ever really make another movie?

It appears he indeed might, but by the time he finally does, the more important question might be: Will anyone still care?

Well, despite his rather amazing ego, I think I still will. Though "Grindhouse" was a ton of fun, it was only his half, "Deathproof," that got my DVD bucks (though I would have gladly sprung for the whole bag if I could have), and I thought the second half of "Kill Bill," at least, was QT in nearly top form.

But what in the world has he been doing for the past couple of years or so? Well, the BBC has the answer, and it's apparently "Inglorious Bastards," his take on the World War II epic genre. There's only a script so far, but with the rate at which this guy works I guess we should at least be happy for that.

QT told the BBC it will be a "modern, in-your-face" World War II flick (if that doesn't make you cringe at least a little bit, think about it some more.) What it's more accurately been described as is his version of "The Dirty Dozen," which I actually think could work (if he ever really does get around to it.)

By the way, brace yourself for an onslaught of World War II flicks. I'm extremely confident that Spike Lee will come up with the best one with "Miracle at St. Anna," but sometime early next year we'll also finally (maybe!) get Bryan Singer's "Valkyrie."

And, if QT is still to be believed (and I obviously have my doubts), we might even have "Inglorious Bastards" in time for next year's Cannes Film Festival. Given his track record, I expect he'll show up with maybe half the movie done, but even for that I'd still have to say welcome back.

A "School of Rock 2"? Bring it on

This is only just slightly beyond a rumor (hence its appearance on Defamer), but I'm ready to embrace it and hope this actually happens.

Even after his falling out with the Apatow crew (and he had some legitimate points to make about "40-Year-Old Virgin"), Mike White might be just about the funniest guy on the planet, so every time I hear of him getting work it just makes me smile.

He's already apparently sold a script to Edgar Wright for something to be called "Them." Joining Wright's stable of solid spoofs (not to be confused with anything that has "Movie" in its title), this one focuses on a woman who's convinced that she's unearthed the true force that governs the Earth. In my mind, I'm already there.

But, in possibly even better news, White has also apparently also just finished a script for a "School of Rock 2." It hasn't gotten any farther than that, and I'm not sure if this is a good sign or not, but he told an L.A. Film Festival panel that finishing it made him cry:

"I actually just completed a draft of what's potentially the sequel, and I'm still, like, crying as I'm writing the script," he said. "I try to come at it from a personal place."

No matter how he managed to approach it, I'll definitely be there if this ever comes to fruition. "School of Rock" has found a home on my shelf with those silly little flicks (like "Office Space" and "Super Troopers") that are just the definition of cinematic comfort food.

Roman Polanski's next flick taking shape

Among the many victims of the Screen Actor Guild's strike, the most depressing just might have been Roman Polanski's "Pompeii," which could have made an intriguing thriller set against the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. But now, thankfully, it seems he's finally hard at work on what would be his first feature film since 2005's "Oliver Twist," which I must confess I haven't seen.

The news now from MTV (a shockingly good source of movie info) is that Pierce Brosnan and Nicolas Cage have been cast in "The Ghost," Polanski's flick to be based on the Robert Harris novel about a ghostwriter who uncovers more than he planned on when he's hired to write the memoirs of a former British prime minister (Harris also wrote "Pompeii.")

Now, I can certainly buy Brosnan as the PM, but Cage will have some convincing to do to make me believe he's the writer. I'm not in the camp that just hates Cage across the board, but I'm always at least a bit wary. Even so, it's just good to hear that Roman's back at work on something that sounds this promising.

A secret Chris Carter movie?

Coming in the immediate wake of "The Dark Knight," I still think Chris Carter's second "X-Files" flick could be the sleeper hit of the summer when it opens on July 25 (I've seen that tag applied to the monster haul so far for "Sex and the City," but anyone who didn't expect that to be a huge hit simply doesn't understand the power of women.)

And, as he wrapped up "X-Files: I Want to Believe,"
the Hollywood Reporter reports, Carter was already secretly at work on another flick to be called "Fencewalker." All we know so far is that it stars "I Want to Believe" co-star and sometime rapper Xzibit along with "The Tudors" star Natalie Dormer, Katie Cassidy, Derek Magyar and Meckah Brooks. All's I know beyond that is that it will be "essentially a coming-of-age semiautobiographical character piece with no supernatural elements," so I'll just say cool and leave it that. Besides, when you've got Hayden Panettiere in tight leather, it's really time to just get to it!

Claire-Bear's all grown up!

Remember "Heroes"? To be honest, I'm having a little trouble doing so, partly because it's just been off the air for so long and partly because Vol. 2 was just so uneven. Even so, it ended on a high note, so I'm amped for the show's return when it finally comes this fall, especially (and to be as piggish as possible) if it means seeing Hayden Panettiere's Claire go from her cheerleader's outfit to this leather ensemble. And, in the interest of fair play for the ladies, I've included a shot of "Gilmore Girls" (not "Golden Girls" as I somehow managed to type before being thankfully corrected by an alert reader!) alum Milo Ventamiglia as Peter too from the great celebrity gossip site Gossip Girls, where you can see more of these shots. Enjoy, and have a perfectly bearable Wednesday. Peace out.

Pegg and Wright, together again? Frak yeah!

That last bit of juvenilia was, of course, in honor of the premiere of the fourth season of "Battlestar Galactica" tonight (or earlier), but we'll get to more on that later.

The almost-as-good news today is that Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg, the comedy masterminds behind "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz," will join forces again for a third film, to be titled "The World's End." Though I don't know anything about the plot beyond the title, judging from their first two very funny films I'd have to guess this one will be a spoof on/valentine to sci-fi flicks.

I just couldn't bring myself to watch Simon Pegg in "Run Fatboy Run," and I don't have very high hopes he's gonna be terribly funny in "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People," due in October, either. I mean, I hate to pigeonhole the man, but he's clearly at his best with his friends, and thankfully he seems to realize that too.

"The World's End" is part of a two-picture deal Wright has signed with Working Title. Before reteaming with Pegg, he'll make something for the studio called "Baby Driver," which is described as "a wild spin on the action and crime genre which will be set in the US." Cool enough.

Even before that, me thinks, Wright will also be making "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" with veryfunnyman Michael Cera based on the graphic novel about a young lad (Cera) who has to do battle with his new girlfriend's seven exes.

That's almost too much funny, but given the mediocre slate of movies we have right now, I really don't think that's possible. Bring it all on!

Remember Olivia Williams?

I have to confess I didn't immediately without seeing her picture, but Williams is, of course, the school teacher hot enough to make Max Fischer try to build an aquarium on a baseball field.

I loved her in "Rushmore" (which I once drove two hours to D.C. just to see), but really haven't seen much of her at all since. A quick look at her IMDB resume reveals that she has been working steadily, but not in a movie that I have managed to see since 1999's "The Sixth Sense."

Now, however, she's back in something I'll definitely tune in for, Joss Whedon's return to TV in the form of "Dollhouse."

On the Fox show about drones programmed to execute various missions (the "dolls," of which Eliza Dushku, thankfully, is the main one), Williams will play the ruthless matron who controls the "Dollhouse." I have to say, I'd do just about anything Olivia Williams asked me to, whether she was being "ruthless" or not.

Actually, looking back at the IMDB, it also says she had an "uncredited" role in "X-Men: The Last Stand" as Dr. Moira MacTaggart. Can anyone remember that? I've just wiped every memory of that awful mess from my mind completely.

The bottom line: The world is certainly a better place with more Rosemary Cross in it.

"Battlestar Galactica" is back!

It would be hard to overstate just how geeked up I am for the fourth season of "Battlestar Galactica," which premieres at 10 tonight on the Sci-Fi Channel or, if you have a fast hookup, even earlier (at noon EST) on line here.

What's so good about "Battlestar"? Well, it's extremely smart science fiction, and also at times very funny. It tries and almost always succeeds to be a biting commentary on our society, and is easily the best show on TV right now (with "The Wire" gone for good.)

Phillip Ramati, a k a the TV Guy, was luckily (and enterprising) enough to get an advance copy and reports that, not surprisingly at all, it's as good as ever. He doesn't reveal any serious spoilers, but for just a tease read what he had to say about it here.

As for me, I'm gonna brave one trip to the multiplex this weekend, but it won't be for George Clooney's "Leatherheads." Against all my better judgment, I'm actually gonna take a chance on "The Ruins" and hope to find something suitably entertaining and creepy. Peace out.

Michael Cera and Edgar Wright: A comedy dream team?

Lest anyone have their suspicions, I don't just write about Michael Cera because it always brings a slight uptick in the rather meager number of people who take the time to visit this site. It's just that I happen to like the guy as much as most of the rest of the world seems to.

And now that he's stepping firmly into the role of leading but still young man, he does seem to be making very good choices. In the latest, which seems like it could only turn out to be extremely cool, he'll be working with "Hot Fuzz"/"Shaun of the Dead" director Edgar Wright on something called "Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life."

Though I had admittedly never heard of the series of short graphic novels (four so far, I believe) by Bryan Lee O'Malley, it sounds like yet another "sensitive slacker" role for Mr. Cera (not complaining, mind you, because he certainly fits the niche well.)

Here, as best as I can tell, is what the story is about: 23-year-old Canadian Scott Pilgrim (Cera) is a wannabe-rockstar living in Toronto and playing bass in the band "Sex Bob-Omb." He falls in love with American delivery girl Ramona V. Flowers, but must defeat her seven "evil exes" in order to date her.

And lest you think that viral movie promotion is just an annoying fad (which it very often can be), it actually brought these two very funny dudes together. You may remember that fairly funny video promoting "Superbad" in which Wright plays a snarky reporter who suffers the wrath of Jonah Hill. Well, Cera played second fiddle in that, and now it's clearly paying off.

So, what else is George Michael Bluth up to? Though it's not (yet anyway) an "Arrested Development" movie, it's still all potentially very good. It somehow slipped by me that he's playing the co-lead, along with Jack Black, in Harold Ramis' upcoming Camp Apatow flick "Year One," and he's also set to play 14-year-old (how in the world are they gonna pull that off?) Nick Twisp in the big-screen adaptation of one of my favorite comedic novels, "Youth in Revolt." I can only say bring it all on.

Details emerge about new "Wallace and Gromit" special

Given my love for Nick Park's creation I easily could have led with this goodness too.

Before I go any further, let me say all of this comes courtesy of Empire, and you can read their full article on the matter here. It seems that Wallace & Gromit's upcoming BBC special, previously known as "Trouble at the Mill," is now known as "A Matter of Loaf and Death" (groan, but still funny), and has cast its leading lady in "Coronation Street" star Sally Lindsay, pictured here.

Even better, Empire revealed some of what the guys' next adventure will be all about: Wallace and Gromit have a brand new bakery business, ‘Top Bun’ (the punning is already spiraling out of control!) Their house has been converted into a granary with a ‘Wallace patent-pending’ old-fashioned windmill on the roof. Gromit, however, finds himself having to run the whole operation single-handedly as Wallace is ‘dough-eyed’ in love with the beautiful Piella Bakewell (Lindsay), former star of the Bake-O-Lite bread commercials. What’s more, a dozen local bakers have disappeared in recent months and Gromit is worried that Wallace may be next. Gromit turns sleuth and the duo soon find themselves drawn into a sinister murder mystery (of course!)

This is set to air on the BBC sometime later this year and then, hopefully quickly, work its way across the pond (and into my house) on DVD.


The coolest movie of 2009?

Though there will surely be a lot of contenders for that title, it's hard to dispute the mojo that's quickly building for Michael Mann's gangster pic "Public Enemies."

The picture above is indeed Johnny Depp in character as John Dillinger, courtesy of Hollywood Newsroom, where you can see more pics from the set here. Along with Depp, the flick's got Christian Bale as top lawman Melvin Purvis, the lovely Marion Cotillard as Dillinger's moll Billie Frechette and Channing Tatum as Pretty Boy Floyd, plus Giovanni Ribisi and Stephen Dorff as either supporting good or bad guys. Simply all-around cool.

"How I Met Your Mother" off the bubble?

Though Variety headlined this with the rather groanworthy "CBS comedies back with a Bang," the big news for me about the return of its Monday night lineup was the performance of my current favorite, "How I Met Your Mother."

The show hit a season high in its new 8:30 time slot (second-place 4.3/11 in 18-49, 9.7 million viewers overall), a 34 percent improvement in 18-49 over its fall firstrun average (and second place, by the way, is nothing to sneeze at when you're up against the season premiere of dancing with the has-beens and never-were.)

With Britney and, even better, "Scrubs" star Sarah Chalke set to appear on next Monday's episode, the numbers should only get better, and hopefully lead CBS to finally go ahead and greenlight a fourth season of network TV's best comedy.

R.I.P. Anthony Minghella

Though it's been awfully light and more than bit a silly here so far today, there is indeed one bit of very sad news out there: Director Anthony Minghella has died of a hemorrhage at the none-too-old age of 54.

Of all his movies ("The English Patient," "Cold Mountain" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley," among others), I think my favorite would have to be his first, "Truly Madly Deeply." This very British but much less treacly take on the "Ghost" story starred Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman, and I'm sure you can still find it on DVD if it somehow passed you by.

But as with most deaths of talented people, what always saddens me the most is what was to come. Minghella had last directed a telepic for HBO based on the Alexander McCall Smith novel "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" starring Jill Scott, Idris Elba, Anika Noni Rose and Colin Salmon, which I haven't had the pleasure of seeing yet. Despite that rather wretched title, the premise of a Botswanan woman (Scott) starting up the country's first female-owned detective agency was enticing enough for HBO to greenlight 13 episodes of a series for Minghella to direct for next spring, but of course now that will never be. Rest in peace, Mr. Minghella.

First full "Tropic Thunder" trailer

OK, enough with all that depressing stuff. Here's the full trailer for Ben Stiller's upcoming "Tropic Thunder," which, despite the warnings of reader dbackdad (who was lucky enough to see a preview screening in Arizona) that this won't be terribly funny, I'm still holding out hope otherwise. Unfortunately, one thing we find out is that Robert Downey Jr.'s stint as a black man starts to already grow old in this small dosage. Enjoy the trailer, and have a perfectly bearable Wednesday. Peace out.

Peter Jackson and The Hobbit: New hope?

This story is probably very old by now, but I don't get paid enough (or, for that matter, at all) to work on this on the weekends, so here goes. Besides, to me at least, there are few things in the world of movies that could be better than Peter Jackson returning to the New Line fold to make "The Hobbit."

For a long while, it certainly seemed extremely unlikely. With the two sides mired in a very nasty fight over the profits from the "Rings" movies, New Line co-Chairman Bob Shaye in particular had been raising the bile level with his public statements.

Here's what Shaye had to say in January: "It (Peter Jackson directing "The Hobbit") will never happen during my watch." Sounds pretty firm, right? Well, not so fast.

Now, according to Yahoo!, Shaye is back in talks with Jackson to bring him home to New Line - and "The Hobbit." Shaye's quote this time: "Notwithstanding our personal quarrels, I really respect and admire Peter and would love for him to be creatively involved in some way in The Hobbit."

So, what happened in the last eight months to change his mind so completely? I'd guess one of two things: They either shopped this around to several different directors but couldn't find one with both the skill and the will to do this right, or he was told by the New Line money men that his "watch" might not last too much longer without Jackson in the fold.

My money would be on some version of the former, especially since Jackson still has all the "Rings" sets on hand to use in New Zealand. Plus, I'm sure Shaye's been gorging on all that gorgeous "Golden Compass" footage and realizing just how lucrative Jackson's "Hobbit" will be.

But why is "The Hobbit" so important to me? Well, I loved the "Rings" stories and movies, but I just hold "The Hobbit" in even higher esteem. I think it's a combination of several factors: "The Hobbit" is a simpler story, more oriented to kids, and more magical than its companions. Plus, I learned to play the piano to those silly songs from the Rankin/Bass animated movie, so even in that cheesy form "The Hobbit" has always just been extremely close to my heart.

So, knowing all this, I'd have to bet on the breach being mended very soon, and Jackon soon announcing he will begin work on "The Hobbit" after he wraps "The Lovely Bones."

Updates on two of my favorites

In it's promo work for the upcoming bloodbath "Shoot 'Em Up" (mark your calendars for Sept. 7), Comingsoon.net has interviews with Clive Owen and Paul Giamatti about their future plans, and it features plenty of cool stuff.

There have been several attempts recently to revive Raymond Chandler's Phillip Marlowe, some much better than others. Thankfully, it seems the idea of a TV series "loosely" based on the Marlowe character, in other words taking only the shred of Chandler's original concept and just running in all kinds of directions with it, is seemingly dead.

Still going strong, though, is a big-screen version to star Clive Owen and, get this, actually based on one of Chandler's stories. There are very few dudes in movies today badder than Mr. Owen (watch "Croupier" before you even try to dispute that), so I can definitely get behind him filling the shoes of Marlowe. Here's what he had to say to Comingsoon.

"We got the rights and we're developing the script, and there's an area that's very daunting because the greats have played him: Mitchum and Bogart. I won't be going in there trying to do so something I think that relates to them. You go in there with a fresh approach, so I never really worry about the history of a project, like I wouldn't do 'The Big Sleep' but you go in and I'll do my interpretation of Marlowe and hope it comes even with the same radar as Bogart's."

Later this year, Mr. Owen will star with Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush in "The Golden Age," about as close to an Oscar lock (along with "American Gangster" and "Charlie Wilson's War") as there will be this year. Owen, as Sir Walter Raleigh, will be pitching woo to Blanchett's Queen Elizabeth I, and Samantha Morton (huzzah!) will be around as well as Mary Queen of Scots. Here's what Mr. Owen had to say about that one, due out Oct 12:

"There's a whole element of it that centers on the love triangle between Elizabeth, Raleigh and Bess, the lady-in-waiting. They were known to have a very, very close relationship and this is about setting up a situation where maybe in another time, another place, the whole thing could have become different. It's really about Elizabeth and her destiny and heading to become the immortal virgin Queen and struggling with that really."

And, even better, he talked about his next flick, Thomas Twyker's "The International": "It's like a big international, political thriller with a guy trying to expose and bring down a big bank, and every time he gets close, people are backing off, and strange things are happening with people being murdered, and he's obsessively trying to bring them down. It's like a throwback '70s very political thriller with some amazing bursts of action in there as well."

Even if I'm in the vast minority of people who just had very little time for his last bank-heist flick, Spike's "Inside Man," to that I can only say bring it on. And, finally, Mr. Owens' nemesis in "Shoot 'Em Up," Paul Giamatti, got shortshrift from Comingsoon, but did have a few tidbits about the possibility of playing Philip K. Dick in a biopic:

"His daughters are probably going to help produce it, and there's a guy writing it right now as far as I know. I'd love to do it, if they still want me to do it when it comes around and it's all done, I'd absolutely love to do it. Definitely. We'll see what the guy comes up with."

And I know I'd love to watch it, so I can only hope it happens.

Meirelles and the Brazilian bunch

When pressed to name a favorite director, I usually punt a little bit and offer up two names: Fernando Meirelles and Phillip Noyce.

And now it seems that Mr. Meirelles is following in the footsteps of the trio of Cuaron, Inarritu and del Toro (I simply refuse to call them "amigos") and flexing his muscle on behalf of his friends.

Under the name of his O2 Filmes shingle, Meirelles is bringing new flicks from Brazilian directors Cao Hamburger and Nando Olival to Universal.

Hamburger's pic "Xingu," the more promising of the two, turns on two young brothers discovering Brazil's Amazonian forest, known as Xingu National Park, in the 1960s.

Olival's "Round Trip" takes on tourism in Brazil. A commercials director, Olival teamed with Meirelles in 2001 to direct "Maids," centering on Sao Paulo's domestic servants.

And Mr. Meirelles himself, of course, will be back in March with Mark Ruffalo, Julianne Moore and Gael Garcia Bernal (triple huzzah!) in "Blindness," about an epidemic of, well, blindness that strikes a modern city.

"What does it mean to be "Superbad"?

It's been at least a week since I've pimped for Jonah Hill and Michael Cera's "Superbad," so why not close out a Monday with this very funny clip (even if it has been making the rounds for a week or so already.)

The phony meltdown bit may have been copped from Cera's stunt on the set of "Knocked Up," but Mr. Hill's staged encounter with "Hot Fuzz" director Edgar Wright is still very funny, especially the explanation that he's "on Atkins." Peace out.