More "Futurama" soon? Yes, please! Plus some more fun news

For all its faults (and farms and mafias and whatever the hell else people waste their good time with), Facebook can - extremely rarely - actually be the source of really good news, as is the case here.

And yes, call me a geek, goober, gleeb or whatever else you might want to, but I am a fan of "Futurama" on Facebook, and really, why not? It rarely produces anything worth reading, but yesterday came these two back-to-back posts:

Futurama Heads up, Futurama fans! All new episodes of Futurama begin this June on Comedy Central!
Futurama Oh, and one more thing: we're bringing back the ENTIRE original cast.

Now, anyone who's followed the saga of the show's return to Comedy Central knows that the second part has news that's at least good as the first. When Fox started on reviving the delightfully fun animated sci-fi series, it originally fired all the voice actors after they asked for a raise, and planned to proceed with a roster of scabs, meaning anyone with any kind of conscience would have to boycott this.

Well, as you can tell, common sense (or more likely pocketbook sense) eventually prevailed, and so "Futurama" will indeed be back in the only form it should in June, so huzzah to that!

OK, after that today, there's a lot of silly stuff, surely starting with this:

"Police Academy" to enroll new class

Before I write anything else about that, I should probably punctuate it right away with a yes, really.

And does anyone wanna guess how many "Police Academy" movies there have been already? I guessed seven before checking at the IMDB to find out that, sadly enough, I was indeed right.

So does the world really need another one? Certainly not, but admit it: You all watched at least the first three of these, and at the beginning, they were insanely funny. They also, however, became less and less so as they went on, which makes this not terribly welcome news at all.

It seems that original producer Paul Maslansky is now hoping to revive what has to the be longest-running film franchise yet with a new class of cadets, but no writer or director has been attached yet (so there's still hope!)

"It's going to be very worthwhile to the people who remember it and to those who saw it on TV," Maslansky said. "It's going to be a new class. We hope to discover new talent and season it with great comedians. It'll be anything but another movie with a numeral next to it. And we'll most probably retain the wonderful musical theme."

I suppose that means that, beyond a cheeky cameo, Steve Guttenberg and that guy who makes all the funny noises will have to look elsewhere for work. And please remember, I'm really just the messenger here.

Carell and Gosling to team up on big screen

Man was last night's "The Office" good. The first half hour or so was the funniest it's been in a couple of years, and poor Pam trying to breast feed her youngin was almost too sweet to take.

And though I certainly enjoy Steve Carell in full manic mode as Michael Scott, I like him in movies when he plays it a lot more low key, as in "Little Miss Sunshine," still his best movie work to date.

What he's signed on for now sounds like something in the latter category, so I'm intrigued. He'll play a father dealing with a marital crisis and his children in an as-yet-untitled comedy for Warner Bros., and, even better, Ryan Gosling will play a suave friend of his who tries to help him through at all (though I've never thought of Gosling as particularly "suave.")

So, what else makes me think this could be really good? Well, it's being directed by the "Bad Santa" team of John Requa and Glenn Ficarra (whose nest movie will be "I Love You Phillip Morris" with Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor), from a script by Dan Fogelman, who I saw way back when on Broadway as the fat guy (I'm one too, so I can say it) in "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." Keep your eyes on this.

Stone sets sights on "Savages"

I really had no desire at all to see the sequel "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" until I saw the trailer a few weeks back, and it looked really good (yes, trailers really do work sometimes.)

I could certainly be wrong there, and we'll all find out soon enough on April 23. And after that, it seems that director Oliver Stone will next set his camera on Don Winslow's upcoming novel "Savages."

The book is apparently about two friends from Laguna Beach who share a girlfriend and a business selling incredibly good pot. As is probably always the case, that attracts the attention of a Mexican cartel who, after they resist its offer of muscle, kidnaps the girlfriend and holds her for ransom. Certainly sounds like some juicy material for Stone, who can still have wicked fun when he wants to.

Del Toro to play FBI chameleon

I'll still watch Benicio Del Toro in just about anything, but if I ever have the chance to meet the man, I'm gonna demand the five or so hours of my life that I spent watching "Che" back. He was, of course, incredible in it, but what a waste of film.

Now, however, he's set to team up with Steven Soderbergh again for something that sounds much more enjoyable. Soderbergh will executive produce "Making Jack Falcone," which will star Del Toro as Cuban-American FBI agent Joaquin "Jack" Garcia, who successfully infiltrated the Gambino crime family. Man, does that sound like nothing but cool.

OK, to close things out today, I've just got a trio of trailers, starting with an upcoming Jay-Z concert documentary you can actually watch for free (with Facebook again, I guess I'm their pimp today.)

I've been known to tell anyone who will listen that Jay-Z's "The Black Album" is not only the best rap album ever made, but probably the single greatest record of any kind. That may be a bit of exaggeration, but I also really do hold it to be true.

So if all you have to do is become fan of Absolut vodka on Facebook by March 22 to watch a new Hova concert documentary, I suppose I can do that much (and if the vodka adverts become too annoying, simply defriend them later, of course.) The movie will be streaming for free on the Absolut page starting on that date, and here's the trailer (which, unfortunately, really doesn't show too much.) Enjoy.



I had never heard of "Legend of the Guardians" until this trailer popped up on Yahoo yesterday (I just assumed that Zach Snyder's next movie was going to be "Sucker Punch," but I guess I'm wrong again.) After watching this, two thoughts popped into my head: Owls are a heck of a lot cooler than penguins, and here's hoping this will avoid the 3-D bug (which "Sucker Punch" apparently won't) when it comes out in September. Enjoy the trailer.

And finally today comes a new theatrical trailer for "The Runaways," starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning, and set to come out hopefully everywhere on April 9. In spite of the understandable and valid concerns voiced by semi-regular Reel Fanatic visitor Cullen and other people I've talked to about this, as a big Joan Jett fan, I'm still holding out hope that this is somehow really gonna rock. Enjoy the clip, and have a great weekend. Peace out.

"Frost/Nixon" review

Say hello, good evening and welcome to one of the greatest political movies ever.

That bit of glorious hyperbole doesn't come from me, of course, but from the British tabloid The Sun. My sentiment would be, this was a pretty darn entertaining flick, but I really wish I could have seen the play.

The first question I always ask when I see a movie that's taken directly from the stage is, "did it gain anything in the transfer"? In this case, I'd say a conditional yes, with the big minus that it also adds one very unnecessary distraction.

Either at the urging of director Ron Howard or from the mind of playwright and screen writer Peter Morgan (I have no way of knowing which, frankly), the movie adds to the main dynamic of the buildup, actual showdown and aftermath of David Frost's interview with by then ex-President Richard Nixon a series of documentary-style, cut-in interviews with the other supporting players that only manages to take us out of the main story without adding any real insight or entertainment value.

Morgan, as he did with "The Queen" and his almost-as-good TV movie about Labor Party politics, "The Deal," is best at creating living history, and more specifically filling in the intimate details in the dynamic between historical figures who are much more alike than they originally know. Adding the mockumentary touches only dilutes the fact that he's written another whip-smart screenplay and handed it over to two first-rate actors, here as on stage, Michael Sheen and Frank Langella.

Sheen excels at playing characters, as he did with Tony Blair in both "The Queen" and "The Deal," who are in need of constant attention, seemingly aware of their own talents but still needing to have them reinforced time and time again. He captures perfectly just how insecure Frost was going into the Nixon interview (which he now claims cost $37 million pounds!), and the play's/movie's biggest strength is in naturally bringing out just how much Langella's Nixon felt the same way.

Mr. Langella has received a Best Actor nomination for his portrayal of Nixon, and it's well-deserved. It's no mean feat that he manages to make us almost feel sorry for Nixon without hedging one bit on the traits that brought about his fall from grace. Unlike Anthony Hopkins' portrayal of the former president in Oliver Stone's "Nixon," which I found far too often to be a caricature, you never see Langella as anything but Nixon's big ball of vanity, arrogance (of course) and, surprisingly, loneliness. It's that last trait that makes the final act of "Frost/Nixon" the best one, a quiet moment when Frost and Nixon meet several months later at Nixon's compound, La Casa Pacifica.

Which isn't saying that the pre-game action and the showdown itself lack the appropriate dramatic tension. Langella and Sheen (and, of course, Morgan) give their exchanges a wicked humor, but almost as much credit here should go to the uniformly solid supporting cast.

Similarly to "Man on Wire" (a better 2008 movie that, sort of, actually is a documentary), Morgan and Howard set up the staging of the interview as much as a heist than as any attempt at actual journalism. And any heist needs a solid slate of co-conspirators on either side, led here on the left by Sam Rockwell as Nixon antagoniste James Reston Jr. and on the right by Kevin Bacon as Nixon's post-White House chief of staff, Jack Brennan. They get the meatiest supporting parts because their convictions set up the main conflict at the movie's core, getting the truth vs. hiding it all costs, and they both just run with it. Toby Jones is (as usual) just a hoot as Nixon's "literary agent" Irving "Swifty" Lazar, and though I always like to see Rebecca Hall, she's given little to do here as Frost's girlfriend, Caroline Cushing.

In the end, I'd say Ron Howard's movie would have been great rather than very good if, like the superior "Doubt," it had had the courage to trust the inherent strength of its source work. As it is, it is indeed a nearly first-rate bit of political theater, but not for me in the category of Best Picture. If I had a vote, which so far exists only in my mind, I'd give that final slot to Darren Aronofsky for "The Wrestler" or Guillaume Canet for "Tell No One."

And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to do my cooking for the week and then see Jonathan Demme's "Rachel Getting Married," which I'm really looking forward to. Peace out.

An "Office" christmas party, but then a shut-down for the rest of the year

Not much of a report today because I'm making something I've never tried before, Italian macaroni and cheese, for our office holiday lunch today. And, thankfully, so far it does look like something resembling macaroni and cheese.

And actually, the craziest and best news out there today is that Oliver Stone, fresh off making a thoroughly entertaining and somewhat insightful portrait of "W.", has now set his sights on Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. "W." was a return to the kind of movies Stone used to make before he lost his fire, so his Chavez doco should just be fascinating to watch.

Tonight, however, it's all about "The Office" Christmas party, which, thanks to Phyllis, has a - surely disastrous - Moroccan flavor. Here's a two-minute-or-so sample which features Dwight's take on the hottest toy of the holiday season (I won't spoil it for you, but it's hilarious) and other tasty bits. On the sad side, this is the last "Office" episode of the year, and with a possible actors' strike looming in January, who knows what might happen next, if anything. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Thursday. Peace out.

The best ensemble movie that, apparently, almost no one will ever see

Actually, the craziest thing I heard this morning was that The Roots are gonna be the house band for Jimmy Fallon's late night show, which I don't think I'd bother tuning in for even if I could still stay up that late on a regular basis. Seems like a definite step down to me, but anyone who's seen "Chappelle's Show" knows that ?uestlove can be one seriously funny guy, so who knows?

The real topic here today is director Darnell Martin's "Cadillac Records," which managed to take in a rather unsensational $3.5 million in its first week domestic (sadder still, it even lost to the latest "Punisher" flick, which took in just more than $4 million.)

Which means if you wanna see this one the big screen, you'd better do it this week. I couldn't bring myself to call Martin's fun flick a great one, because she just plays too loose with the facts to get there. But as far as drawing great performances out of an ensemble of performers, I do submit that no one has done a better job this year (not even Oliver Stone with "W.", a very strong ensemble flick in its own right.)

I was inspired to think of this by an ad I saw for "Burn After Reading" touting it for Best Ensemble, easily my favorite of the Golden Globes categories and one the Oscars would be wise to pick up on. As for "Burning," however, it was full of good performances and one great comedic one, Brad Pitt's turn as Rusty, but it falls way short of what you'll see (if you bother) in "Cadillac Records."

It starts with Jeffrey Wright, who plays Chess Records' first big star, Muddy Waters. Wright was in "W." too, of course, as Colin Powell, but this was the first time this year when I felt he really just disappeared into a role. His Muddy is fiercely proud and clearly has a devilish streak that you can always see in Wright's eyes. One of the best exchanges comes near the beginning when he first meets Adrian Brody's Leonard Chess and Chess asks him to drop the "yes boss" act. Muddy's response, "what the f*** do you want?", just made me laugh out loud.

I was certain going in that Wright would be great in this one, but I wasn't ready at all for what happened when Beyonce entered the scene about an hour in as Etta James. Beyonce, clearly just a beauty beyond all reason, becomes something completely different as Etta: Desperately sexy. It comes out best when she's singing, both in the money shot "At Last," but also as she performs my favorite Etta James Chess track, "I'd Rather Go Blind." In every mannerism she just captures the perfect mix of anger, desire and vulnerability, and it's the kind of performance I never would have guessed Beyonce could deliver. My apologies.

And the supporting cast in "Cadillac Records" is almost as great as its leading man and women, starting with Mos Def. He's easily one of my favorite actors already, but just as Chuck Berry's career was cut off at its height because of his attraction to young white girls, Mos doesn't get a whole lot of screen time here. He does, however, make the most of it, playing Berry with an impish smile that masks serious attitude, and if you don't smile too when he does the duck walk I just have to wonder what's wrong with you.

Rounding out the cast are Columbus Short as mouth harp man extraordinaire Little Walter, Eamonn Walker as an amusingly menacing Howlin Wolf and an understated Cedric the Entertainer as narrator Willie Dixon. Brody wisely and mostly just stays out of the way of these energetic performers but is still likable enough as the Chess boss man.

Like I said at the beginning, Martin's first flick isn't necessarily a great one, but with a cast like that and an all-around fun feel, surely it deserves more than $3.5 million.

Though this certainly isn't a reason to see a movie, I'll leave you with this rather troubling fact: With last year's "Talk to Me," which I almost thoroughly enjoyed, Kasi Lemmons became the first black woman to direct three feature Hollywood films, the other two being "The Caveman's Valentine" and her debut, "Eve's Bayou," both well worth a rental. One of my co-workers, Eldridge McCready, suggested perhaps Gina Prince-Bythewood had also reached this peak, but her only two features so far are this year's "The Secret Life of Bees" and 2000's "Love and Basketball."

Again, not a reason to automatically go see a movie, but unless it just looks too sappy for my taste (as with "Secret Life of Bees), I'll always spring for at least a matinee when a black woman gets the chance to direct a flick that actually makes it out to my little corner of the world.

And now I'll leave you for real with this rather remarkable Etta James and Dr. John performance of "I'd Rather Go Blind," apparently on Japanese TV. As sad songs go, I'd say there's only one better, Toussaint McCall's "Nothing Can Take the Place of You." Enjoy this dose of the blues, and have a perfectly passable Tuesday. Peace out.

A visit with Oliver Stone's "W."

The biggest strength of Oliver Stone's "W." is that as I was watching it I had no idea just who this movie was intended for, so you can bring into and take from it just about whatever you want to about our current ruler.

The second biggest strength is Josh Brolin's portrayal of George W. Bush himself, but we'll get to much more on that later. First, a breakdown of what you'll see and what you won't in this mostly successful portrait of power.

After a rapid but not particularly mean-spirited run-through of W.'s missing years (you never see, for example, the man snort coke in daddy's White House or anywhere else), Stone moves quickly to his main focus here, W.'s leadership of the Iraq War.

And this is when his flick is at its strongest, giving a real sense of palace intrigue as nearly all his players disappear into their characters to the point that you almost think you're watching a documentarian's portrait (with the sore exception of Thandie Newton, who we'll also be hearing much more about later.) My favorite moment came as the decision was made to go to war - as the big boys are making the final call, our "decider" sinks into the shadows and seats himself beside Toby Jones' Karl Rove, a subtle moment a younger Stone would never have been able to attain.

But in this stretch and elsewhere you also sense what's most noticeably missing - any of the flights of fancy that made his earlier presidential flicks and other movies so much fun. When they do come here, as in W.'s dream sequences on the Texas Ranger's ballfield and a very ill-conceived one near the end involving daddy, they just seem jarring and take away from the otherwise tight story Stone is telling. I read in the New York Times that he once conceived another dream in which W. was flying on a magic carpet and raining bombs over Baghdad. As silly as that would have been, I still would have loved to have seen it make the final cut.

And after setting up a very plausible case that many of W.'s actions regarding the war and other business are motivated in large part by his daddy issues (and Stone gets a huge assist here from a sensational performance from James Cromwell as Bush the elder), he completely omits the biggest gift and burden that "poppy" bequeathed to his son: The presidency itself. I would have gladly given Mr. Stone another half hour or so to see what he had to say about the fact that if daddy's hatchet man - James Baker - hadn't intervened in Florida, W. would probably never have become president at all. That subject is completely brushed over here, but if you want to get a workmanlike but solid taste of it, Netflix HBO's "Recount" (and keep your eyes on Laura Dern, who just nails the dippy Katherine Harris to a tee.)

But what makes Stone's flick mostly work so well is Josh Brolin, who dives so completely into the role of W. that you never for a minute think you're watching anyone but our leader. He nails it so perfectly that you can read his performance just about any way you want to. While many will see Stone and Brolin's largely sympathetic portrait of W. as a strong leader who follows his convictions, many others (me included) will see an arrogant, more than slightly intellectually challenged and ultimate dangerous man. The fact that you can read it so many ways is exactly why you'll be hearing Mr. Brolin's name on Oscar night.

Cromwell is also exceptional as poppy, but another word of praise is in order for my favorite of the supporting players, Stacy Keach. He makes his first appearance about half way in as the preacher W. turns to after he is born again, and Keach gets to deliver the key speech about Christian love that makes (for me, at least) the crux of Stone's ultimate but subtly made point. How much you think W. has followed this teaching will inform your assessment of the man, and Keach just sells it perfectly.

And, finally, it brings me no pleasure at all to state that Thandie Newton turned in the single worst performance I've seen in all of 2008 with her "portrayal" of Condoleezza Rice. I've had a major thing for Ms. Newton ever since "Flirting," a charming little Aussie flick in which her knee socks just drove me (and Noah Taylor) wild (and for another flick that she just smolders her way through, I highly recommend Bernardo Bertolucci's "Besieged.") I think it's this addiction to her sheer physical beauty that has blinded me over the years to the fact that she really just can't act a lick, which is on blatant display here. Her attempt to capture the nature of Ms. Rice is the perfect example of simple imitation rather then interpretation, and it's almost as bad as Frank Caliendo's take on W. (which, because I love baseball almost as much as our president does, I've had to watch what seems like 10,000 times by now.)

As a last challenge, I wonder if there's anyone out there who likes the president more than I do who found that Stone had any kind of axe to grind with the man in this flick. In his public remarks, the director has certainly disparaged W., but his movie portrayal is about as close to fair and balanced as I could have expected, and almost as entertaining too. Peace out.

The Rehoboth Film Festival and "the best horror movie of the year"?

The biggest news out there today that isn't all about me is that AMC has just signed on for a third season of "Mad Men," but show creator Matthew Weiner isn't yet quite on board.

Given the run the show is on now deep in season two, I just assumed it was signed up for Weiner's planned five-year run, but I guess that shows you just how little I know about business.

As for the show itself which, if I'm not mistaken, only has two episodes left in this season, last Sunday's installment may have been the best yet. Don's first-season party with the hippies was a hoot, but his adventures in La-La land were just crazy on a whole new level (and my co-worker Karen Ludwig asked a question I have to admit had never really crossed my mind - will he come back to New York?) I have to assume so, but I can't wait for the return of "Dick Wickman" if he shows this week.

But the bad news, of course, is that even though the two sides have apparently exchanged contract offers, Weiner is not yet signed up for the further saga of the men and women of Sterling Cooper. If he were to walk, the show is clearly in good hands by now (including "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" vet Marti Noxon and "Gilmore Girls" vet Lesli Linka Glatter, among others), but it would still be a real shame. Stay tuned.

In even better news, though I haven't seen a Broadway show in years, the Great White Way is about to get a serious injection of class.

It seems that "Once," the soundtrack for which still sits on my desk at work and will surely be listened to later today, has been optioned by John N. Hart Jr., Jeffrey Sine and Frederick Zollo to turn the musical into, well, a musical. Luckily, the trio have said they expect stars/composers Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova to be involved in the project (as stars? I'd easily pay $100 for that!) Writer/director John Carney may get in on the game too.

Best of all, it will include not only songs from the sensational movie, but also some more Hansard/Irglova tunes that didn't make the cut. In my mind, I'm definitely already there instead of heading to a 10-hour day for my fifth day of work this week!

Rehoboth Film Festival

It's really hard to complain too much, though, because the day after Barack Obama wins the election I'm headed to Rehoboth Beach, Del., for the 11th (amazing!) annual Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival. My brother and I had once fantasized about hitting Toronto - me for the movies and him for the soccer - but I think Rehoboth is about as glamorous as it's gonna get for me, and that's just fine.

This year's festival takes place from Wednesday, Nov. 5 to Sunday, Nov. 9, and features a host of great almost-first-run movies. Here's the schedule of what I'll hopefully be watching (assuming we can get tickets for them all), and if you live anywhere near Rehoboth (or are just curious), you can finally view the schedule in a pdf program here.

Thursday:

"Mirageman": All I really know about this one is that it's about some kind of Chilean superhero, and that's enough to get me intrigued.

"Let the Right One In": This is the "horror" movie I referred to in the title of this post, and though I'm way too old for most horror flicks, this looks right up my alley. It's apparently a Mexican movie about a young man who befriends his next-door neighbor, who just happens to be a vampire. Cool, and the trailer, courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes, is below.



"Trouble the Water": I'd have to imagine this doco will be the festival's hottest ticket, so hopefully I can get in. Given the human scale of the tragedy, I don't think I'll ever get tired of watching documentaries about Hurricane Katrina, and this one about a husband and wife who get trapped in their house looks like a real winner.

Friday:

"The Pope's Toilet": Despite the rather colorful title of this one, I'm fairly certain it won't have any images of Benedict himself doing his private business. Instead, it's a drama about the madness that surrounds a papal visit to Uruguay.

"In a Dream": I never would have guessed, but apparently Philadelphia is just a mecca for outside (and outsider) art. This particular doco looks at the work of mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar, and should just be a visual feast.

"Wendy and Lucy": I had never heard of this one, but I really like Michelle Williams, so I'm definitely in. As the titular Wendy, she shows up in Oregon with her dog Lucy to look for work. I like movies about the fringes of American life, and this one should be intriguing.

Saturday:

"Mister Foe": Young Billy Elliott (Jamie Bell) is a little more grown up now and suffering a rather serious oedipal complex. After becoming infatuated with a woman who looks like his mother, he runs off to Glasgow, and surely a lot of nifty indie rock and hopefully good filmmaking will follow.

"The Grocer's Son": My parents recommended this one, which for me makes it a must-see. It's a French flick about a city man who returns to southern France to help in his father's grocery store after the elder man suffers a stroke. Doesn't sound like exactly my cup of tea, but I love being proven wrong.

"Love Comes Lately": It looks I'm not terribly likely to get the job I applied for on a lark to be the "Film Festival Coordinator" for the DC Jewish Community Center, but I won't hold that against Isaac Bashevis Singer. This flick based on a collection of the great writer's short stories is about love, faith and - inevitably - cheating in New York City.

Sunday:

"Under the Bombs": Shot in 10 days as bombs were actually raining down on Lebanon in 2006, this drama uses non-actors to look for some answers in all that madness. Good look with that, but I'll give it a chance anyway.

"Man on a Wire": I'll hopefully close the fest with this doco about Philippe Petit's bold and crazy attempt to walk between the Twin Towers on a wire in 1974. The flick is apparently also about all the loony people who conspired with him to make this all happen, which should make for the most interesting part.

So, there you have it. Please feel free to browse through the rather impressive program and make any recommendations of flicks you may have seen but I have omitted from this list (which is not yet set in stone.)

And I'll leave with you the first 10 minutes of "Sex Drive," which I'll probably go see Sunday for a healthy dose of juvenalia after Oliver Stone's "W." on Saturday. I haven't watched it all yet, but I'm sure you'll want to wear headphones if you're watching this at work. Peace out.

Trailer trifecta: A glance at three I'm really looking forward to

If you would have told me several years ago that David Fincher would direct a bona fide "Christmas movie," I would have thought you were straight-up mad.

And I had my initial doubts that he would be able to do much with F. Scott Fitzgerald's odd tale "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," about a man (Brad Pitt) who ages in reverse through the Twentieth Century. Judging from everything I've seen, however, including this lengthy new trailer, it indeed seems like he's come up with something that combines all his best touches with the crowd-pleasing scope of a holiday flick. Enjoy.



Since I've made little secret of just where I stand in this year's election race (and since I, frankly, don't really care who I might possibly offend), I finally decided to break down and get a Barack Obama "widget" for this site (and who came up with that crazy word anyway?).

I originally thought Oliver Stone's "W.", much like Michael Moore's movies in the past, would have a none-too-positive effect on the race, but with Bush so far gone in people's minds and this movie just looking more and more like such silly fun I now just can't see that happening. Here's the latest look at what Stone is cooking up, with the final product set to drop Oct. 29.



When I first heard what Baz Luhrman was attempting to pull off next, I can't say I was terribly excited. What in the world is a director with so much - for lack of a better word - flair doing making a movie in the dusty Australian outback?

I'm ready to be proven wrong once again. Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman star in this appropriately epic-looking tale about an English aristocrat (Kidman) who inherits a huge cattle station in Oz and joins forces with a stock-man (Jackman) to drive 2,000 head of cattle across hundreds of miles of the country's most unforgiving land during World War II. The "Casablanca" touch on the typography is more than a bit much, but count me there when this finally comes out Nov. 26.



And there you have it. Hopefully a little pleasant fodder for wasting some of your work day. Peace out.

When. W. met Laura: A video sneak peek

I would spend more time talking about the movies opening this weekend, of which there are - surprisingly - two I actually want to see, but I have to work every day but Sunday so will only be seeing one theater movie anyway (yes, laboring on Labor Day, but it means time-and-a-half, so I'll take it.)

Were I not stuck toiling for the man (and, Sunday evening, drafting my fantasy football team), I'd definitely be seeing both "Hamlet 2" and "Traitor."

I was already pretty psyched for "Hamlet 2" because - in small doses at least - I find Steve Coogan to be a very funny guy, but I became thoroughly sold when I found it was written and directed by Andrew Fleming and "South Park" vet Pam Brady. It may not be a classic comedy, but Fleming's flick "Dick," starring Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams as two ultra-ditsy teens who supposedly uncovered the Watergate scandal, is surprisingly funny. And even better, Brady shared writing credit with Trey Parker and Matt Stone for "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut," so the songs in "Hamlet 2" should be as fun as they are simply outrageous.

As for "Traitor," it sounds like a pretty standard thriller, but I'll see just about anything with Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce (though I can't really see myself checking into the "Hotel for Dogs" with Cheadle next year.) So I'll probably see "Hamlet 2" Sunday and save "Traitor" to savor next weekend.

In the meantime, here - courtesy of CNN - is a clip of Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Banks in Oliver Stone's W. No matter how bad this flick really turns out to be when it drops Oct. 29 or so, I can tell that Brolin and Banks will be fun to see as America's reigning couple. Enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant Labor Day weekend.

I kinda wish this was a joke, but ... the trailer for Oliver Stone's "W"

Before I go any further, let me just state for the record that I used to like Oliver Stone quite a bit, and I want to again. Earnestly. But this trailer ...

Wow ... I didn't expect Stone to make a movie that treats the W. presidency with any respect, but the hard-living Bush part (with the choice cut from Delaware's own George Thorogood .. now, really, how tough can you be when your band is actually called the Delaware Destroyers?) looks funny for a second until it just makes you cringe.

It is kinda cool to see all the fairly A-list actors in their Bush bunch garb, and Thandie Newton indeed looks on the verge of tears just as Condoleezza Rice does whenever I catch her on TV. I'm sure Josh Brolin will be great in this, but I can't see how in the world it can have any positive effect whatsoever on the coming U.S. election (it will drop on Oct. 29.) But, since I'm too lazy to do anything but post video clips for the second day in a row, enough from me. Enjoy the trailer and try not to laugh too hard. Peace out.

An animated weekend, starring a panda and - even better - "Persepolis"

There's a lot to talk about for this upcoming movie weekend, but first and foremost I'm very happy to report there has indeed been a sighting of Thora Birch.

Sadly, my mind - while working hard to avoid work - has wandered more than a few times to the subject of what in the world had happened to the star of "Ghost World," who had seemed to just disappear. Well, now she's back, though probably not in anything I'll bother to see.

She's set to star with Brittany Murphy in a psychological thriller called "Deadline" in which the star, Murphy, is a writer who travels to an abandoned house to write a screenplay, where a bout of writer's block and other unforeseen events lead her to a psychological breakdown. Sounds pretty meh to me, but welcome back Thora all the same.

But now, on to the movie weekend. For me, it will mean two animated flicks, "Kung Fu Panda" and, even better if you're anywhere near Macon, "Persepolis" presented Sunday by the Macon Film Guild at the Douglass Theatre.

As for "Panda," it's just a lock for me. All the reviews I've seen so far say it just looks amazing, and even if the story is more than a little predictable, it's more than funny enough to sustain its 90 minutes or so, which is just about all I can ask for from a summer animated flick. And, though I can see how he's worn out his welcome with some folks, I still have a lot of time for Jack Black. And, even better, Ian McShane of "Deadwood" fame voices the villain, Tai Lung, never a bad thing in my book.

I do, however, have one request. I don't know how in the world it took animators so long to settle on pandas as just about the coolest creatures in the universe, but please, please, please don't let them become the new penguins. The world will be just fine without a movie about surfing pandas.

That's up for me Saturday morning, and then on Sunday - and apparently sort of at my request - comes "Persepolis," easily one of my favorite flicks of 2007. When I humbly reminded Macon Film Guild guru Camp Bacon that I had suggested they screen this flick a while back, he acknowledged they did indeed check it out on my advice.

I sure hope everyone likes it now, but I really don't see how they couldn't. Marjane Satrapi's flick, based on her series of graphic novels about growing up in Iran and Europe, is nearly flawless. The story finally starts to grow a little tiresome only in the closing minutes, but before you get there Satrapi and co-director Vince Paronnaud wrest an amazing amount of lasting images out of only black and white as they craft this engaging tale.

In fact, despite its low-tech approach, "Persepolis" comes even closer to creating the feeling of watching a graphic novel unfold on screen than either "Sin City" or "300" did, though I'm not knocking those flicks either. Round it all off with great voice work from actresses Catherine Deneuve, Danielle Darrieux and Chiara Mastroianni, as our young heroine Marjane, and you've got a flick well worth giving a couple of hours to Sunday at 2, 4:30 or 7:30 p.m. at downtown Macon's Douglass Theatre. Huzzah to the guild for bring this great flick to Macon (and for listening to my advice!)

So, what's missing from this list? "You Don't Mess With the Zohan," of course, though I've seen more than a few reviews that say it's not all that awful. With the names of Judd Apatow and, even better, "TV Funhouse" creator Robert Smigel on the script, I suppose there's a chance those critics are right, but I just can't bring myself to watch yet another Adam Sandler flick that would easily reach its breaking point if it were only the length of a "Saturday Night Live" skit. Here's hoping the panda kicks his ass.

And, as a final weekend treat, here's the teaser poster for Oliver Stone's "W," which frankly is more than little disappointing. Granted, our president is certainly less than a brilliant wordsmith, but isn't that just too easy of a target? Anyways, enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant weekend (and if you live anywhere near Macon, again please go see "Persepolis" this Sunday!) Peace out.

Alexander Payne and the fine art of the ... dick joke?

I was wondering just a few days ago what in the world had happened to Alexander Payne, and now I have the rather odd but potentially very funny answer.

It would seem the man who was last in the limelight as the director of a Best Picture nominee (the pleasing if only-so-slightly overrated "Sideways") way back in 2004 has now signed on with HBO for something called "Hung," and it's exactly what you might be imagining. Here is, verbatim, the description of it in this morning's Variety:

"Hung" revolves around a well-endowed man who is plodding along in middle age as a struggling father and high school coach. The character was once a high school sports legend, and his luck returns when he figures out a way to use his best asset.

OK, fair enough. I laughed at the premise alone, which is usually a good sign, but how in the world does such a talented director end up having to do this? I mean I haven't loved all the man's films ("About Schmidt" was one I'm fully ready to concede I just didn't get at all), but "Election" is easily one of my favorite comedies and "Citizen Ruth" - despite its enormously broad strokes - is extremely funny too.

Oh well. I suppose a man's gotta eat. One thing I know for sure is this won't be enough to get me to re-up on the HBO I only ordered to watch the final season of "The Wire." Alan Ball's vampire series starring Anna Paquin and now apparently Stephen Root (huzzah!), "True Blood," might be enough to tempt me, though I should probably just save my money instead.

But, since it is Friday, here's one last very funny word on "Hung," from series creator Colleen Burson, and then a very evil looking shot of what Entertainment Weekly swears is Josh Brolin in character as George W. Bush for Oliver Stone's upcoming "W," which has just been slated for an Oct. 17 release. The picture just kinds gives me the creeps, but frankly so does W. at this point, so I suppose it works for me.

"Think of him like Spider-Man. He's an average guy who gets in touch with his innate superpowers."

Pixar and Disney look way into the future

"Anyone can go to Baghdad. Real men go to Tehran"
- Dick Cheney, from the first few pages of the working script for Oliver Stone's "W."

Though he, as of yet, hasn't taken up my suggestion of Dwight Schrute to play Karl Rove, Oliver Stone has indeed scooped up at least one very funny guy for his Bush biopic: "Daily Show" vet Rob Corddry will play press secretary Ari Fleischer (remember him?)

Unfortunately, what the first few script (surely a work in progress) pages reveal is that the movie itself could also be laughably bad. The "Axis of Evil" conversation that starts it off is just ridiculous (and, if it really happened that way, just scary as hell.) I didn't want to ruin it for you, so you can read it and judge for yourself here.

The order of the day here, however, is animation, easily one of my favorite subjects. Pixar and Disney have unveiled a rather ambitious slate that takes the studios through 2012, and though you won't find the name of animation master Brad Bird anywhere, there's still some really cool stuff. (Bird, if I'm not mistaken, is moving into the realm of live-action films with "1906," a historical drama about the fire that ravaged the then-quite-corrupt city of San Francisco.)

First up, of course, is Pixar's Wall•E, which promises to be all kinds of weirdness when it's released June 27, but hopefully also chock full of charm (man, could we use some of that in movies now!) Here are other highlights of what's coming down the pike from both animation houses:

Bolt (Disney, Nov. 26, 2008)
I can't say you're gonna get me too excited when your lead character is voiced by John Travolta, but the plot for this one sounds like it could be pretty fun. He voices Bolt, a Hollywood superdog who gets accidentally shipped to New York City and has to find his way back home with two companions, a jaded, abandoned housecat named Mittens and a TV-obsessed hamster in a plastic ball named Rhino.

Up (Pixar, May 29th, 2009)
Being someone who's perfectly happy to go to bed no later than 10 p.m. (and often earlier if the Braves aren't playing on TV), I say it's way past high time that a movie was made about a super hero who just happens to be in his 70s. With the new news that our hero will be voiced by certified grump Ed Asner, I'm nothing but jazzed for this one.

The Princess and the Frog (Disney,Christmas 2009)
I'd be much more excited for this one if they had actually managed to pick a black composer (rather than the omnipresent and increasingly insipid Randy Newman) for this, Disney's first grand animated musical with a black heroine, but I guess we should be thankful for baby steps. Besides, there's a lot of good going on here anyway. The story takes place in New Orleans, it stars Anika Noni Rose, and it should be a return to the kind of old-fashioned animation that made Disney famous in the first place.

Toy Story 3 (Pixar, June 18th, 2010)
I sure hope this trilogy doesn't go the way of "X-Men" and "Spider-Man," as it has thus far (the first one very good, the second great but the third one simply craptastic.) A while back, in an article about the merging of the studios, the Wall Street Journal let fly that the plot for the third installment will be this: “Woody the cowboy and his toy-box friends are dumped in a day-care center after their owner, Andy, leaves for college.” Sounds cool enough to me, so bring it on! The next Pixar sequel on the list, however ... more on that later.

Rapunzel (Disney: Christmas 2010)
Don't have much to say about this one except that, after a one-movie-only respite from the 3-D/CGI onslaught, Disney will be going all modern with this one.

Newt (Summer 2011: Pixar)
When it's not making sequels, it looks like - thankfully - Pixar is gonna just keep getting weirder with its storylines. In this one, the last remaining male and female blue-footed newts on the planet are forced together by science to save the species, but of course they can't stand each other. Even with the rather tired tag line "Love, it turns out, is not a science," this could still be a lot of fun.

The Bear and the Bow (Christmas 2011, Disney/Pixar)
A load of quality voice talent is already on board for this trip to "rugged and mythic" Scotland (whatever that means.) Reese Witherspoon is an impetuous princess who would much rather shoot her bow and arrow, Emma Thompson voices her mother and Billy Connolly (of course!) voices her father.

Cars 2 (Summer 2012, Pixar)
This is the only true turkey I can see in Pixar's near future. The first "Cars" was my least favorite Pixar movie by far, with that long middle passage that was simply a road to nowhere, so I just can't get excited much at all about a sequel. Besides, does the world really need more Larry the Cable Guy in any form?

King of the Elves (Disney, Christmas 2012)
This is definitely a case of saving the best for last, methinks. Disney will take on Philip K. Dick's foray into fantasy storytelling. It tells the tale of a dude living in the Mississippi Delta whose reluctant actions to help a desperate band of elves being menaced (of course) by a troll leads them to name him their king (why can't I have days like that?)

That did go on for a while, but hopefully the news was worth it!

"The Office" is open!

Though "Friday Night Lights" and "The Wire" helped me make it through the writers strike in a reasonably good mood, there was no show I missed more from week-to-week than "The Office," which thankfully returns to NBC tonight at 9 p.m. (followed by a new "Scrubs" too.)

You know, it's more than a little disturbing to find out your TV is smarter than you are. I went to set the DVR to tape both of these, only to find that it had saved my recording request from before the strike. I know I'm more than a bit of a Luddite, but that still kind of amazes me. Anyways, here's what's coming in the next four episodes:

"Dinner Party" (9 tonight)
Pam and Jim find they have run out of excuses and are forced to go to Jan and Michael's house for dinner. When Andy and Angela are also invited to dinner, Dwight's jealousy gets the best of him.

"The Chair Model" (April 17)
Michael's fascination with a woman modeling a chair in an office supply catalog makes him feel things he hasn't felt in a while. With Michael distracted, Kevin and Andy team up to win back Dunder-Mifflin's stolen parking spaces, forcing them into a showdown with the bosses of the five businesses of the office park.

"Night Out" (April 24)
Michael and Dwight decide to surprise Ryan in New York for a night of clubbing and meet his friends. Meanwhile, the Scranton branch is upset when they find out they have to come in on a Saturday for Ryan's Web site project. Jim's plan to save them has unexpected results. (Michael and Dwight on the town? I'm there!)

"Did I Stutter?" (May 1)
When Stanley snaps at Michael during a meeting, Michael tries to give Stanley an attitude adjustment. Dwight decides to buy Andy’s car. Meanwhile, Pam deals with an unexpected inconvenience after spending the night at Jim’s.

Sounds like a lot of fun stuff, but rather than let me prattle on anymore about it, here's a clip of Angela Kinsey and Jenna Fischer telling two rather dippy Utah news anchors about tonight's episode (note the 3-2 Orioles victory over the Mariners in the sports ticker!) Enjoy, and remember to tune in tonight. Peace out.

No more movies with George Clooney in the lead?

Granted, the question above is pretty ridiculous, but the rather sorry performance of Clooney's "Leatherheads" brought to mind an even sillier statement allegedly made (but of course denied!) last October by the president of production at Warner Bros.

You may remember that, after the twin tankings of Jodie Foster's "The Brave One" and Nicole Kidman's "The Invasion," Jeff Robinov was quoted, first by Nikki Finke, as saying "we are no longer doing movies with women in the lead." Though I can certainly understand what put him in such a foul mood, that statement was just as stupid then as it is now.

But a look at the box office numbers brings up a valid question. In it's opening weekend, Clooney's flick took in a rather paltry $13.5 million, and didn't even manage to win the weekend, finishing second to "21" with $15.1 million (and really just a hair above "Nim's Island.")

Now, let's flash back to "The Brave One" which, for the record, was easily one of the worst movies I saw in all of 2007. In its opening weekend, Jodie Foster's super-silly revenge flick took in $13,471,488, virtually identical to the take of "Leatherheads." It would go on to compile a $36,793,804 domestic box office total, which at this point would have to be considered a good outcome for Clooney's flick.

So, I offer you all that to ask you this: Will there be any similar hand-wringing over this latest failure? Will any studio executive be quoted as saying they won't "even look at a script with a Clooney lead"?

Of course not, but that's just the kind of double standard that's enough to set me off on a Monday morning with less than a full cup of coffee in my system. But why did Clooney's movie fare so poorly?

Well, in its favor, it had three fairly bankable stars in Clooney, Renee Zellweger and John Krasinski, and of course everyone in America loves football, right? Plus, despite the fact it had sat on the shelf for years before Clooney scooped it up, reliable Sports Illustrated scribe Rick Reilly contributed to the script (along with first-time screenwriter Duncan Brantley.)

So, what happened? You can chalk this one up as a "victory" for critics if you want to. From all the reviews I read, director Clooney and his writers played it too safe both in terms of humor and on-field action, and therefore didn't come up with enough to keep audiences entertained. Older moviegoers (of which, it's rather sad to report, I am apparently one) still listen to critics, and therefore just stayed home.

Or something like that anyway. Personally, I'm just looking forward to a good movie of any kind this year, no matter who's in the lead role. I'm tentatively putting my money on "Street Kings" this week, but not with terribly high hopes.

Casting W's cabinet

Now that Oliver Stone has cast the first family - plus his mommy and daddy - for "W," it's now time to fill out the cabinet and staff, where things could get much more interesting.

The roster so far: Josh Brolin is W, Elizabeth Banks is Laura Bush, Ellyn Burstyn gets the rather ignominious honor of playing Barbara Bush, and James Cromwell (hearty huzzah!) is W's daddy. The news today is that, since Stone clearly likes insanely beautiful women, Thandie Newton will play Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, and Ioan Gruffudd will play W's brother in (making other people take up) arms, Tony Blair.

Which means there are still plenty of juicy roles to fill, including Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Karl Rove. For Cheney you could certainly do worse than Jason Alexander, but I've got an even more solid TV choice to play Karl Rove.

Remember that "Halloween" episode of "The Office" in which Dwight was so proud of his Sith Lord costume? If there was a better dead ringer for Karl Rove, I haven't seen it, so I'm officially on the Rainn Wilson bandwagon.

And in slightly more serious "Office" news, the show does indeed return beginning this Thursday, so set your DVR. And, even better, NBC announced at its recent upfront that "The Office" will get 28 episodes next year, with the first four being hourlong specials, and then a spinoff to premiere after the Super Bowl. Bring it all on!

"Blindness" trailer

I'm fairly confident that we'll have some great movies before October this year, but if not Fernando Meirelles will be back to hopefully save the day.

"Blindness," Meirelles' follow-up to "The Constant Gardener" and the perfect "Cidade de Deus," is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by José Saramago and is about a city that is struck by a mysterious plague of, well, blindness. As you can see from what I believe is the first trailer below, it stars Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo (double huzzah!) and Gael Garcia Bernal (and, though she's not in the trailer, the lovely Alice Braga too.) Enjoy, and have a perfectly bearable Monday. Peace out.

When bad things happen to beautiful women ...

Well, I suppose the second entry in this post can't really be called a bad thing, but there's no doubt in my mind that Julie Benz agreeing to be nearly tortured to death for our "enjoyment" can only be an evolutionary step backward.

I'm not gonna rail anymore about "torture porn," "torture chic" or whatever you might want to call it, but it still amazes me when people I enjoy watching in movies or on TV agree to take part in this crap.

But I guess I should get to the news of the day before I rant any further. Julie Benz, a k a Darla of "Buffy" and even more so "Angel" fame, has indeed signed on to topline "Saw V," due out in October (if you had put a gun to my head I probably wouldn't have been able to guess that there have already been four other "Saw" movies. Sheesh.)

Now, it's too early yet to tell if she'll be a victim or otherwise, but I still can't imagine what would drive her to agree to this. I don't think it can be money. She appeared in "Rambo" last year and is one of the principal stars of Showtime and Now CBS' "Dexter," and is also set to star in the upcoming flick "Punisher: The War Zone."

With the exception of Alyson Hannigan's (hopefully continuing for quite a while) run on "How I Met Your Mother" and David Boreanaz's run on "Bones," it's been a pretty bleak career landscape for almost all the stars of "Buffy," but this is indeed a new low.

Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush?

Like I said at the outset, you could hardly call this a bad thing career wise, but does any woman really want to hear they look like Laura Bush?

Banks, who recently wrapped shooting Kevin Smith's "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," is about to sign on to play Laura Bush in "W," Oliver Stone's biopic on the life and presidency of, well, W. Josh Brolin already is on board to play Bush in the biopic, which begins shooting in late April in Shreveport, La.

To be serious for a second, I really like Elizabeth Banks, and not just because she lands squarely on the hot side of the scale, so I hope this turns out to be great. She's a very funny lady, and for evidence of that you can turn to the very-little-seen "Slither," in which she co-starred with "Firefly" vet Nathan Fillion.

And besides, it could certainly be worse ... at least they didn't ask her to play Barbara. Peace out.

Stone V. Bush? Absolutely

It pains me to be too hard on a movie as well-intentioned as "Honeydripper" on MLK Day or, for that matter, any other, so I'll try to get that portion of this report out of the way quickly.

"Honeydripper" was, in short, just a tremendous disappointment to me. It's truly lethargic film making, filled with corny, often unbelievable stories and dialogue that's even worse (yes, within the first 10 minutes or so you will get to see a bar patron actually utter the words "grits ain't groceries.")

Much like OutKast's "Idlewild," this was a movie supposedly about music that really only featured any at its very beginning and end, the only times the movie really surged with any life. The ending, when young Gary Clark Jr. finally plugs in his axe at the Honeydripper, really is electric, but still not enough of a payoff to justify all the emptiness that came before it.

Which is a real shame, because this is a flick just packed with people I like who we don't get to see nearly often enough on the big screen, most notably Charles S. "Roc" Dutton, Lisa Gay Hamilton and Vondie Curtis Hall.

But enough of that ... on to some good news.

Stone and Brolin to take on Bush

How fitting that, on the day that President Clinton himself will be in Macon (and I'll be there, though my time and support are solidly behind Barack Obama), the news comes that Oliver Stone is about to jump at least indirectly into the fray.

Even if he's not returning to Vietnam, Stone is definitely about to get back in "the shit," this time with his sights directly on George Bush.

Stone has announced his next directing project will indeed be "Bush," focusing on the life of W. and, even better, set to star Josh Brolin. With his work in "No Country for Old Men," "In the Valley of Elah" "American Gangster" and "Planet Terror," 2007 was a banner year for the younger Mr. Brolin, and things don't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Either before or after "Bush," which with a pre-WGA strike script already done by "Wall Street" co-writer Stanley Weiser could begin shooting as early as April for a Fall release, he'll play Dan White, the man who assassinated Harvey Milk, in Gus Van Sant's "Milk."

And though Stone has been extremely critical of Bush in the past, he's promising to take a broad look at the man's life, with his own view sheathed as much as possible.

"It's a behind-the-scenes approach, similar to 'Nixon,' to give a sense of what it's like to be in his skin," Stone told Daily Variety. "I'm a dramatist who is interested in people, and I have empathy for Bush as a human being, much the same as I did for Castro, Nixon, Jim Morrison, Jim Garrison and Alexander the Great."

Perhaps, but what he had to say next shows he's indeed taking some preformed ideas about W. into this project.

"How did Bush go from an alcoholic bum to the most powerful figure in the world? It's like Frank Capra territory on one hand, but I'll also cover the demons in his private life, his bouts with his dad and his conversion to Christianity, which explains a lot of where he is coming from. It includes his belief that God personally chose him to be president of the United States, and his coming into his own with the stunning, preemptive attack on Iraq. It will contain surprises for Bush supporters and his detractors."

He also took a parting shot at Tom Cruise's United Artists, who used the pretense of the writers' strike to kill Stone's return to Vietnam, "Pinkville." As Stone revealed to Variety, he definitely thinks there were other factors (chiefly the tanking of UA's "Lions for Lambs") that diminished hunger for the project:

"On 'Pinkville,' I had a great script and one of the best casts on any of my films, with 40 young actors and Bruce Willis," Stone said. "It's a shame they lost faith in the film, and that they unemployed 500 people right before Christmas. We were three weeks from shooting."

A shame indeed, but with this news one can only hope the real muckraking Oliver Stone will now be back in a big way.

What's next on "The Wire"?

I know from talking to fellow fans of "The Wire" that the admittedly bizarre downward trajectory of McNulty from beat cop to renegade vigilante has been a bit much for many fans to take, but I've loved every minute of it so far.

Along with that, the newsroom scenes through last night's episode 3 have rung true for me as an employee of a newspaper which has undergone its own share of belt-tightening and in fact had its own serial plagiarist to deal with. And, as this rapidly boiling story comes to a close, we should get to see more of Amy Ryan as McNulty's latest enabler-in-chief, which is always good news to me.

Here's a look at what's to come in the next five episodes, which will include scripts from semi-regular "Wire" contributors Richard Price and Dennis Lehane, plus the return of Agnieszka Holland as director.

Episode #54: "Transitions"
Campbell (Marlyne Afflack) tries to smooth out the transitions in the police department. The newspaper scrambles to confirm surprising news from City Hall, but lose out to the TV media in scooping a high-profile grand jury appearance. As Marlo tries to win favor with the Greeks, Proposition Joe pays his last respects to a fallen colleague and prepares to make himself scarce in anticipation of a showdown. Freamon enlists the help of a past partner to help with the investigation. Teleplay by Ed Burns; story by David Simon & Ed Burns; directed by Dan Attias.

Episode #55: "React Quotes"
Marlo (Jamie Hector) forges an alliance with a drug connect, who shows him a new communications trick. McNulty's (Dominic West) case gets increased attention from the newspaper, in large part thanks to the addition of Templeton (Tom McCarthy) to the reporting team. Dukie (Jermaine Crawford) turns to Cutty (Chad L. Coleman) and Michael (Tristan Wilds) to hone his self-defense skills; Clay Davis (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.) finds a new ally; Bond (Dion Graham) raises his public profile; Levy (Michael Kostroff) and Herc (Domenick Lombardozzi) prepare for litigation; Elena (Callie Thorne) confronts McNulty about his behavior; Bubbles (Andre Royo) fears new opportunities; Greggs (Sonja Sohn) gets some overtime work. Omar (Michael Kenneth Williams) shows patience as Marlo throws out his bait. Teleplay by David Mills; story by David Simon & David Mills; directed by Agnieszka Holland.

Episode #56: "The Dickensian Aspect"
Mystified by Omar's disappearance, Marlo and Chris (Gbenga Akinnagbe) ramp up their efforts to locate their nemesis. After attending a sparsely attended waterfront ceremony, Carcetti (Aidan Gillen) fires away at a larger press event - and recasts himself as a champion for the homeless. Bunk (Wendell Pierce) revisits some old leads in the rowhouse cases, but is frustrated in his attempts to get bloodwork from the crime lab. Templeton looks for a perfect follow-up to his latest, nationally covered story, which has replaced the city's educational crisis on the paper's priority list. After the detail gets more manpower, Freamon (Clarke Peters) presses McNulty to get new surveillance equipment, but the resources aren't as deep as both hoped. Pearlman (Deirdre Lovejoy) discovers new clues pointing to corruption in City Hall; Marlo makes new appointments at the latest co-op meeting; McNulty takes a peculiar interest in a homeless man.Teleplay by Ed Burns; story by David Simon & Ed Burns; directed by Seith Mann.

Episode #57: "Took"
An unexpected call puts Templeton back in the spotlight - and gets McNulty more attention than he expected. Bunk bucks at Landsman (Delaney Williams) when ordered to help with the force's most recent red ball. Omar sends Marlo a message; Carcetti proves he's still an adept fund-raiser; Carver (Seth Gilliam) gift-wraps a witness for Bunk; Bubbles shows a reporter the ropes; Freamon tries to crack a clock code; Greggs prepares for a visit from her son; Michael has a close call; Haynes (Clark Johnson) can't shake his suspicions about Templeton; assisted by the top-drawer lawyer Billy Murphy (Billy Murphy), "cash and carry" Davis makes his day in court a memorable one. Teleplay by Richard Price; story by David Simon & Richard Price; directed by Dominic West.

Episode #58: "Clarifications"
Baltimore's renewed police commitment brings fresh recruits to Daniels (Lance Reddick) and McNulty, starting with Carver. Facing a new political challenge, Carcetti is forced to make dangerous political deals. As the Pulitzer season winds down, Haynes approaches Templeton about his sources. Bunk returns a McNulty favor; little Kenard (Thuliso Dingwall) makes a big score; Dukie finds work; Fletcher (Brandon Young) continues his interview with Bubbles; Freamon presents his latest plan to a prosecutor; Sydnor (Corey Parker Robinson) uncovers the missing piece to a puzzle; McNulty comes clean. Teleplay by Dennis Lehane; story by David Simon & Dennis Lehane; directed by Joe Chappelle.

So, if you're keeping track, that makes eight episodes of the final season of "The Wire," a k a the greatest show in the history of television. That means either only four or five left after this latest batch, and it will be truly sad to see it go, even if it will be exiting on top of its game. Peace out.

Oliver Stone finally heads back to Vietnam

Although I was really hoping he would jump into the middle of the hunt for Osama bin laden, Oliver Stone has apparently changed course and is now heading back to familiar territory. And that could surely be a good thing.

He is apparently closing a deal with United Artists to finance "Pinkville," a drama about the investigation of the 1968 My Lai massacre that he would direct. Bruce Willis and Channing Tatum will star.

This would be Stone's fourth foray into Vietnam (well, fifth, of course, if you count his actual war service.) Of the the three he's already made, I'd rank "Heaven & Earth" as the best, with "Platoon" a close second and "Born on the Fourth of July" trailing rather badly.

In the new flick, Willis will play Army Gen. William R. Peers, who supervised the investigation into the massacre by U.S. soldiers of as many as 500 My Lai villagers, most of them unarmed women, children and elderly. It's good to hear that, unlike Sly Stallone, Mr. Willis may finally be starting to act his age and not taking to the battlefield.

Tatum will play Hugh Thompson, a helicopter pilot who, upon realizing what was happening below, put a stop to the killing by placing his craft between gunmen and the few villagers who were left, and telling his two shipmates to fire on the soldiers if they shot any more people. They airlifted the survivors and reported the carnage to superiors.

Although they really need to work on that title ("Pinkville" is apparently the description on a military map for the region where My Lai is, but so what?), this could be a welcome return to meaty material for Stone. I enjoyed "World Trade Center" enough as an ode to heroism, but it's been way too long since Oliver Stone challenged anyone or anything on screen, so I can only hope he jumps rights into "the shit," as Max Fischer put it so well, with this one.

Lucas to make two good movies?

OK, that may be a bit harsh, but I'm counting on the Lucas-produced "Indy 4" being fantastic, and this news about a World War II flick sounds almost as good. When's the last time you could really associate George Lucas with two good movies?

The latest, "Red Tails," is a World War II movie he apparently came up with the story for some time ago. The flick, which will center on the Tuskegee Airmen and be produced through Lucasfilm, will be scripted by John Ridley, who is definitely on a roll of late.

Ridley has already written the very funny but underappreciated "Undercover Brother" and the story for "Three Kings," among other flicks, and he came to Lucas' attention after the producer read his script for a movie about the L.A. riots, which Spike Lee will hopefully someday soon finally get around to making instead of toying with more "Inside Man" nonsense.

I really hope Lucas is finally committed to this. What may finally make him follow through with it could be ego. Lord knows what Peter Jackson will do after he wraps "The Lovely Bones," but if it's his long-rumored World War II aviation flick "Dambusters" a fun race to the finish could be on between these two titans.

Paul Giamatti channeling Karl Rove?

The marketing for "Shoot 'Em Up," which has never once shied away from the fact that this movie will be nothing more than an unapologeticly silly hail of bullets, has been just about brilliant.

The latest installment I found was a column by director Michael Davis at MTV Movie News in which, among other amusing things, he reveals the inspiration for Paul Giamatti's hitman in the upcoming flick:

He (Giamatti) says he'd like his character to be based on Karl Rove — a seemingly bookish guy who exercises power behind the scenes. I like it. His character turns out to be way more flamboyant than Rove ... but I like how our free-flowing conversation started making the character better than what is on the page.

If you didn't know it was written by a promising new director, you might think he was just an extremely eager fanboy as he describes meeting Giamatti, Clive Owen and the ravishing Monica Bellucci for the first time, but it's genuinely entertaining reading. And coupled next week with the "3:10 to Yuma" remake, his flick will hopefully blast us right out of the movie-muck that has flowed forth after "Superbad."

TV tidbits

Though I spent probably too much time yesterday fantasizing about the return of Eliza Dushku as Faith the vampire slayer, it seems Tim Minear has other plans in mind for his next TV project. Minear, who was a co-creator of "Angel" and had a big role in the creation of "Firefly," will reteam with his "Wonderfalls" partner Tim Holland for "Miracle Man." It centers on a disgraced former televangelist, a man of no faith, who finds that God is using him to perform real miracles and change lives, starting with his own.

"It's about losing everything and starting over and finding that there is a higher purpose in life," Minear said. "It's about a man who says, 'I don't know how to be good, but I'll try to be better.' "

The premise, frankly, doesn't sound terribly promising, but after the disastrous treatment of "Drive," Mr. Minear needs and deserves a winner, so I'll at least give it a chance.

And, apparently it pays off big to draw extremely crude and smart cartoons. Assuring we will get "South Park" until at least 2011 (huzzah!), Trey Parker and Matt Stone have signed a new $75 million deal with Comedy Central.

The unique deal gives them a 50-50 split on any digital ad revenue. In my fairly many years on this planet I've yet to see anything approaching $75 million, and I really can't even imagine what it might look like, but these guys definitely deserve it. Fifteen years of "South Park"? Bring it on.

OK, it's a long post today, but I'm almost finished, so bear with me. In the mail a few weeks back I got the DVD for the final "Prime Suspect," which I will dutifully review before its Sept. 11 release (but, having already seen it on TV, I can tell you now that it's as good as any entry in the series, and therefore better than at least 90 percent of what passes for entertainment on TV now.)

But "Prime Suspect" does indeed appear to be over, and creator Linda LaPlante is moving on too. She's signed with NBC to pen "Mafia Wives," which revolves around mob wives who take over the business in their husbands' absence. Sounds fairly promising, and it's definitely in the right hands.

And anyone who actually made it this far deserves a reward. Here's the latest trailer for "American Gangster," Ridley Scott's take on the saga of Harlem drug kingpin Frank Lucas. Peace out.