First look: Three clips from Sarah Polley's "Take This Waltz"

If you haven't seen Sarah Polley's directorial debut, "Away From Her," I'd recommend a rental right away. Yes, it's a movie about Alzheimer's disease and therefore by force not the most upbeat of movies, but the chronicle of its effects on an elderly couple is one of the best flicks I've seen in the last five years or so, and just an all-around astonishing debut.

And now, Polley is back at this year's Toronto Film Festival with her directing follow-up, the romance of sorts "Take This Waltz." (As an aside, Canadians really are infatuated with Leonard Cohen. ... Along with giving this flick its title, his music runs throughout "Barney's Version" starring Paul Giamatti, just out on video, and also well worth a rental.)

But I digress. "Take This Waltz" stars Reel Fanatic fave Michelle Williams and Seth Rogen in a story of a young Toronto couple dealing with issues of fidelity as a new man enters the picture. Newcomer Luke Kirby plays said Lothario, and as you'll see from the clips below, Sarah Silverman also appears in this, though looking much more serious than usual.

I'm not sure when this might be coming out in theaters in at least some corners of the world, but definitely keep an eye out for it, and enjoy the clips. Peace out.

In Macon, great movies upcoming all around

January is always a notoriously bad month for movies - at least if you stick with what's new in theaters.

Luckily, here in Macon, there's a lot more on the menu if you look a little closer. Here are several examples in the coming weeks that are all well worth checking out.

First up, Mercer University will be hosting a truly special event with its inaugural Freedom Lecture on Monday night, and will be screening two movies related to it. Sister Helen Préjean, who has devoted much of her life to ministering to death row inmates and become a leading advocate for the abolition of the punishment, will be speaking at 7 p.m. at Mercer's Willingham Auditorium.

Préjean will be signing copies of her book, "Dead Man Walking," following the lecture, and the movie it inspired will be screened earlier in the day, at 2 p.m. at the Cox Capitol Theatre downtown. Additionally, the documentary "At the Death House Door," which focuses on the career of a chaplain for the Texas prison system and his change of heart about the death penalty, will be screened at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in the Social Hall of St. Joseph Catholic Church.

An all-around unique series of events, and best of all, they're all free.

And, this being a great college town, it's not just Mercer that gets in on the movie action. Mercer, Wesleyan College and Macon State College are teaming up once again for the 2011 CollegeTown Film Series beginning Thursday, Jan. 20, with all movies being screened at the Douglass Theatre downtown, a great venue for movies if you've never checked it out.

Previous CollegeTown Film Series themes have included "City Life," "Films of the Fabulous Fifties," "Social Justice in the 20th Century," "The New Millennium: The Past as Prologue" and "Civilization and Its Discontents," and this year the focus is on "End Times," with three movies related to that rather ominous proposition being presented.

First up, Jan. 20, will be "Last Night," a 1998 movie by director Don McKellar which brings together a diverse group of people - played by Sandra Oh, Sarah Polley and director David Cronenberg, among others - with the world expected to end in six hours at the turn of the century. I haven't seen this one, but it sounds fascinating, so I suspect that's about to change.

The final two movies in the series, however, are among my favorites, and in their own way take interesting looks at the series' theme. Jim Jarmusch's "Ghost Dog," which stars Forest Whitaker as a hitman who models his life on that of the Samurai and turns against the mafia thugs who are usually his employer, will be screened Jan. 27. And finally, Alfonso Cuaron's "Children of Men," a riveting dystopian film starring Clive Owen which tied with "Pan's Labyrinth" for my favorite movies of 2007, will be screened Feb. 3.

Immediately following each movie, a professor from one of the presenting colleges will lead a discussion: Tom Ellington of Wesleyan College following "Last Night," Craig Coleman of Mercer University after "Ghost Dog" and Patrick Brennan of Macon State College after "Children of Men." All movies start at 7 p.m. at the Douglass, with admission being free for faculty and staff of the presenting schools, and $5 for others, which includes a snack pass. Bully. Definitely turn out for at least one of these if you can.

And not to be left out of all the movie fun, the Macon Film Guild is supplementing it's once-monthly offering of fantastic films from the edge of the map with a new quarterly documentary series, with "The Tillman Story" next up at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night, also at the Douglass.

The movie examines the life and death of Pat Tillman, the American hero who turned his back on a pro football career to join the military after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. His death in the line of duty, how it was exploited by the military and his family's search for the truth about it all are explored by director Amir Bar Lev. Admission is $5.

So, we may have had least a smattering of snow this week in Macon, but great movies are still blooming all around - if you know where to look.

10 truly odd Christmas movies that capture the spirit

I have nothing at all against the traditional holiday favorites when it comes to movies and specials. I tune in every year for "A Charlie Brown Christmas," and always watch one of the 1,000,000 or so times that TBS airs "A Christmas Story."

But as with most categories of movies, I like my Christmas flicks with at least a few drops of odd, so here are my 10 favorite Christmas-related movies that you might not always think of this time of year.

"A Midnight Clear:" Before the two sides inevitably get back to, well, war, this Peter Berg movie has plenty of Christmas spirit as an American intelligence squad comes across a German platoon wishing to surrender in 1944 France, and everyone enjoys a good holiday feast before they get back to battling.

"Bad Santa": Not only easily the funniest Christmas movie (but certainly not one for the kids), I'd also argue that Billy Bob Thornton's mall Santa has his very drunk, extremely foul-mouthed heart still mostly in the right place. After all, all he wants to do is get his new friend a pink elephant (of course) for Christmas.

"Eastern Promises": OK, this gangster movie might only take place between Christmas and New Year's Eve and have little else to do with the holidays, but David Cronenberg's flick is still here because I wouldn't mess with Viggo Mortensen's Nikolai and tell him otherwise, would you?

"Die Hard": What could exemplify the Christmas spirit more than Bruce Willis' dream of spending the holiday with his estranged wife - even if he has to blow up half of Los Angeles to make it happen?

"In Bruges": Talk about a bummer: Not only does Colin Farrell's hit man end up accidentally killing a child, he then has to spend Christmas in the most boring place on Earth, Bruges (having been there, I can tell you it's far from that, but that's just one of the things that make this wickedly funny movie one of my all-time favorites).

"The Nightmare Before Christmas": Though its full title bears the name of Tim Burton and its in fact based on a poem Burton wrote, this tale of what happens when Jack Skellington opens the portal between Halloween Town and Christmas Town is pure Henry Selick, and that's what makes the stop-motion animated tale a timeless treat.

"Trading Places": Though I like presents as much as anyone, what's Christmas if we can't occasionally poke fun at all our excess, as this '80s flick starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Akroyd (easily one the best movies either of them ever made) does so well.

"The Muppet Christmas Carol": Of course Michael Caine (as Ebenezer Scrooge) just wants poor Bob Cratchit (Kermit the Frog, naturally) to work on Christmas - does that man ever stop working? Just in time for Christmas next year - or maybe a little earlier - we'll get a great gift, a new Muppets movie. Bully.

"Go!": Another one that's not for the kids, but Christmas is definitely a time to party, as Sarah Polley, Katie Holmes and others do as they rave their way through a chaotic Christmas Eve.

"Life of Brian": Sacrilegious? Most certainly, but the Monty Python take on the life of Jesus Christ is of course extremely funny too. And believe it or not, I really did first see this at an Episcopal youth group gathering when I was a teenager.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

What's that I smell? I think it's this summer's movies

I really can't blame anybody but myself.

I haven't watched "Saturday Night Live" for more than 20 minutes or so in more than five years, and really haven't even liked a "SNL" movie since "Wayne's World." But I like going to the movies, I really like Kristen Wiig and I'm not afraid to admit that I thought Jorma Taccone's first movie, "Hot Rod" starring Andy Samberg of "SNL," was a hoot, thanks in large part to Ian McShane but also just because it was simply a big ball of goofy fun.

"MacGruber," however, doesn't come close to that spirit. It starts off thoroughly dumb and just keeps getting dumber, almost never adding a bit of funny. And just in case you're wondering, I am a big fan of dumb comedy done well. When I got home Saturday, I watched Broken Lizard's "Slammin' Salmon," and while that's far from a masterpiece by any standard, it was very funny, as the Broken Lizard guys usually are.

"MacGruber," though, is so bad that it isn't even worth any more words from me, so let's just say it's f$#%ing awful and move on. And though I didn't bother to even see the latest "Shrek," I'm really starting to notice a distinct odor to this summer's wide-release movies because, so far at least, they all kinda stink.

Think about it. The last great movie I saw in a moviehouse was "Kick-Ass." Since then, "Iron Man 2" was at best a paint-by-numbers pale imitation of the original, "Robin Hood" was as empty as it was thoroughly unnecessary, and "MacGruber," well ...

So, will there be anything worth watching before Christopher Nolan's summer-saving "Inception"? I'm looking to June 4 for a double-header of at least slight winners with "Get Him to the Greek" and "Splice." The latter has been getting enough TV exposure that I have to hope it's gonna play everywhere and be at least some kind of smart sci-fi rather than simply a creature feature with a twist. Here's five clips from that flick, starring Sarah Polley and Adrien Brody. Enjoy, and have perfectly pleasant Sunday. Peace out.

Is Steve Carell really about to resign from "The Office"?

Quick, think of the two worst people you could possibly imagine to play John F. and Jackie Kennedy. OK, now banish those from your head, because the History Channel has booked what I can promise you are two worse choices than anyone could have possibly come up with.

I assumed it was a joke until I saw in a few places this morning that Greg Kinnear and Katie Holmes are to play, respectively, JFK and Jackie O (this would certainly be much more watchable if the roles were reversed!) in the History Channel miniseries "The Kennedys," a scripted offering coming in 2011.

Now, it's not really that Greg Kinnear, aka the poor man's Joel McHale, is a bad actor. It's that he's just kind of there, never having made much of any impression at all in any movie I've seen him in. But Katie Holmes? Sheesh. I guess Vanessa Hudgens turned them down.

The rest of the cast, however, is in much better shape. Throw in Barry Pepper, a definite Reel Fanatic favorite, as Robert F. Kennedy, and Tom Wilkinson as family patriarch Joe, and you've certainly increased the odds that I'll tune in, and possibly for some reason other than to see just how much of a disaster this can be.

Even more ludicrous than all that, however, would have to be the most bizarre use of 3-D I've heard of yet (and there's plenty of competition for that title.) I first heard several years ago that someone was going to make a movie of Yann Martel's enchanting novel "Life of Pi," and was psyched when that someone was Jean Pierre Jeunet, who would certainly seem to have the sense of wonder needed to pull this off (and I'll certainly be driving to Atlanta if I ever get wind of a proper U.S. release for Jeunet's "Micmacs.")

Now, however, comes word that that good idea has died, and instead Ang Lee is eyeing the project. OK, fair enough. Though I never bothered to see Lee's Woodstock comedy, I've seen just about all of his other movies, and they're pretty much uniformly excellent. What he has in mind for this, however, is just insanely wrong.

Word comes from Indiewire that he's now scouting locations in Taiwan and Pondicherry for a "3-D magical fantasy adventure crammed with visual effects," with a price tag of more than $70 million. Say what? Did he even read the book? Martel's novel, while thoroughly charming, isn't the easiest read, with most of the "action" taking place on a stranded boat containing a child, a hyena, an injured zebra, an orangutan and a Bengal tiger. Add to that that Martel's main motif is a convincing defense of zoos, and you hardly have the makings of a gangbusters adventure flick.

The kicker to all this is that Fox hasn't exactly given the greenlight to this madness yet, and I have a strong feeling they never will, at least not in this intended form.

OK, before I got distracted by all that silliness, this was supposed to be about Steve Carell's apparent planned exit from "The Office" after next season. This could, of course, just be a ploy for big bucks after his contract expires after next season, and with the show being's NBC's top scripted offering, perhaps a good one, but here's what he had to say to BBC Radio:

Question: How long will you stay with The Office for? How many more series? How long does your contract run?
Steve: Contract through next season.
Question: And will you stay after that?
Steve: I don’t think so. I think that will probably be my last year.

So, let's take him at his word. Would it be the end of the show? Not necessarily. It has steadily built into a very solid ensemble comedy, and Carell, though he's a funny guy, is far from the funniest character on the show. I could easily see it continuing, and though he's currently booked for a FX show set to start in June, I don't think you could do much funnier for a potential replacement than Louis CK, who's already had a run in NBC's Thursday night lineup as a cop who was pitching woo to Leslie Knope on "Parks and Recreation."

But perhaps the better question is, since next year will mark the seventh season, is that really enough already? The show is still dependably funny from week to week, but no show should run forever, and frankly, "Parks," "30 Rock" and often "Community" too are better in any given week.

Stay tuned to find out how this all shakes out, but in the meantime, know that if you have Netflix, all incarnations of "The Office," Limey and U.S., are now available to stream on your computer. I've been watching some old U.S. shows lately, and it's been a fun trip through the past.

OK, enough of that. All I have left today is a trio of videos, so let's get to it. For some time now, the Farrelly brothers have been at work on an omnibus comedy a la "Kentucky Fried Movie" that will feature directing contributions from Elizabeth Banks (huzzah!), Bob Odenkirk, Griffin Dunne and others. Well, you can add to that mix an update on "Robin's Big Date," a short comedy flick that starred Sam Rockwell and Justin Long, respectively as Batman and Robin. The two will reprise their roles for director James Duffy, and will be joined by Leslie Bibb as Catwoman and John Hodgeman as the Penguin. Sounds funny to me, and you can judge for yourself in the original movie below. Enjoy.

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Next up comes new trailer for "Splice," which I think will be the surprise hit of this summer. And I noticed the Warner Bros. imprint at the beginning, meaning this will hopefully play wide enough to even reach my little corner of the world when it opens June 4. As you'll see below, Sarah Polley and Adrien Brody star as two scientists who mess with human DNA and, rather predictably I suppose, get some disastrous results. Enjoy.


Splice in HD

Trailer Park Movies | MySpace Video

And finally today comes the first trailer I've seen for a flick I had never heard of until this morning, a Disney biopic about "Secretariat." I can't say that sounds all that thrilling to me, but anything that can breathe new life into horse racing is only a good thing in my book. Actually, for a slight digression, my fellow cubicle slave Randy Waters had a great idea for the Kentucky Derby, coming Saturday: Move it to prime time and watch the ratings skyrocket, at least for the magical two minutes or so. In the meantime, enjoy Diane Lane and John Malkovich in this trailer for "Secretariat," apparently coming October 8, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.

The art of the heist

Before I delve into what I hope will be a fun list, there are two or three actual nuggets of news out there that deserve mention.

Most importantly by far, winning the Oscar for Best Picture and casting both George Clooney and Brad Pitt in your next movie is apparently enough to garner a wide release for the Coens' next movie, "Burn After Reading," now set for release Sept. 12. And secondly, in a clear case of trading down, Ellen Page (who backed out) has been replaced in Sam Raimi's horror flick "Drag Me to Hell" by Alison Lohman.

And finally, before I go any further, a hearty huzzah to Sarah Polley, whose "Away from Her" beat out David Cronenberg's "Eastern Promises" to take most of the major awards (including best picture, best director and best screenplay) and seven in all at Canada's Genie awards Monday night. (Why in the world Jason Reitman's "Juno" wasn't considered "Canadian" enough is just mystifying to me, though.)

But here today, in honor of "The Bank Job," it's all about the art of the heist (well, actually, because I set the rules, you'll find it more broadly encompasses scams along with actual heists.) Coming from Aussie director Roger Donaldson (who last made "The World's Fastest Indian" and, believe it or not, "Cocktail" way back when) and starring Jason Statham, this just looks like my kind of thoroughly fun flick.

So, here are 10 (or maybe 12) heist or scam flicks that I can (and sometimes do) watch again and again:

Dead Presidents: This one came to mind not only because it's a pretty great true-crime flick, but also because one of the masterminds of the original bank job was arrested a few years ago on the Eastern Shore of Maryland while I had been working there. He had been working for a number of years as the food services coordinator at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, oddly enough. Man, do I miss the Hughes brothers.

Out of Sight: One of the coolest movies around, not only for the presence of Jennifer Lopez flirting with George Clooney, but even more for some of the best comedic work you'll ever see from Don Cheadle and Steve Zahn. On a related note but different note, "Out of Sight" scribe Scott Frank made his directorial debut last year with "The Lookout", an enjoyable heist movie of sorts most notable for the performances of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels and Isla Fisher (playing a character named, appropriately enough, Luvlee.)

The Usual Suspects: I just about hated this movie the first time I saw it because I was just sure there was no way that Verbal Kint's story added up. I've since realized that a big part of the fun is that that doesn't really matter, and have been able to just sit back and enjoy a great ensemble crime flick.

Fargo: OK, not a heist movie per se, but as far as inept scams go, there are very few in the world more entertaining than Jerry Lundegaard's (William H. Macy) plan to have his own wife kidnapped to collect the ransom from his wealthy father-in-law. Besides, it's a Coens kind of day here, so just deal with it.

Bandits: I sure do miss the days when Billy Bob Thornton (who will make two appearance on this list) realized that he didn't have to be mean and surly to be funny. He's perfect here riffing off Cate Blanchett and Bruce Willis in this rather underrated little flick.

Ronin: Notable as probably John Frankenheimer's last good flick (before he died in 2002), this espionage/gun play thriller starring Robert De Niro, Natasha McElhone and Jean Reno delivers the same kind of old-fashioned fun I'm hoping to discover in "The Bank Job." And to digress just a bit, why in the world isn't Jean Reno a bigger star?

Bad Santa: OK, so Billy Bob Thornton can be both mean and funny from time to time, especially in this Christmas flick from Terry Zwigoff. And, as long as you appreciate the fine art of extreme vulgarity (which I certainly do, especially from the very foul mouth of Tony Cox), this is indeed a sweeter holiday movie than a lot of people make it out to be. Mind you, I'm not saying it's for the whole family ...

The General: As far as biopics about badasses go, there are very few better than John Boorman's portrait of the Irish robber Martin Cahill, played with relish by Brendan Gleason. Cahill, along with being a talented criminal and target of the IRA, was just a rather twisted dude, making for a fascinating flick.

Trainspotting: Just about the best book-to-movie transition you can find (although I'd put the Roddy Doyle flicks "The Snapper" and "The Commitments" way up there too), this is just one that I've probably seen 10 times now, and it never gets old. Kelly MacDonald, who should have at least been nominated for an Oscar for her work in "No Country for Old Men," makes an appearance as young Diane, and, just for the record, this movie didn't for even a second make me want to try heroin.

Croupier: This list has gotten longer than I had intended, but it has to include the first movie I can remember seeing Clive Owen in. This flick about a plan to rob a casino (it's a lot more complicated than that) is also the last time I can remember seeing the great Alex Kingston, who played Dr. Elizabeth Corday for so many years on "E.R." What in the world ever happened to her? And, finally ...

Office Space: What list of scam/heist movie would be complete without possibly the most therapeutic flick of all time? I'm still not exactly sure what "no-talent ass clown" means, but if that description of Michael Bolton doesn't make you laugh just move on.

And there you have it. I hope someone enjoys reading this as much as I did writing it, and please feel free to add any heist movies you love that I may have overlooked. Peace out.

Of tomatoes fresh, rotten and simply rancid

It's days like this that, even though I would still love to get paid to simply watch movies, I have to give thanks that that dream has yet to materialize.

As a service to movie-renters everywhere, Rotten Tomatoes has released a list of the 25 best-reviewed movies from the first half of 2007, and much more importantly, the 10 worst-reviewed.

It's little surprise to me that Brad Bird's simply sublime "Ratatouille" ends up at No. 1, but there were some others that caught me off guard. I had no idea that "Hot Fuzz," which seems to me an acquired taste at best (though definitely one for me), and David Fincher's fantastic "Zodiac," with all the griping about its length, both managed to work their way into the Top 10. As an aside, two movies I recently had the pleasure of watching on an airplane, "Breach" and the simply charming "Starter for 10," also made the Top 25.

As for the Bottom 10, I had three thoughts. First, thank God I haven't had the misfortune of seeing any of these! Second, how in the world does poor Lauren Graham end up starring in the worst-reviewed movie (so far) of the year? (and is it really that much worse than "Norbit"?) And third, that I guess we should be thankful that even the worst movie of the year (so far) still managed to get 17.7 percent good reviews.

Anyways, I just love lists, so here are the Top 25 and Worst 10, followed by their percentages of good reviews. Please feel free to sound off on any that you think got particularly dissed or received too much love.

Best-Reviewed Movies

1. "Ratatouille" - 85.9
2. "Away From Her" - 84
3. "Once" - 83.2
4. "Knocked Up" - 83
5. "Hot Fuzz" 82.1
6. "Sicko" - 81.7
7. "The Host" - 81.6
8. "Zodiac" - 80.8
9. "Waitress" - 79.1
10. "The Lookout" - 78.5
11. "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" - 77
12. "The Italian" - 76.7
13. "The Hoax" - 76.4
14. "Red Road" - 76.3
15. "Breach" - 75.9
16. "Bridge to Terabithia" - 75.7
17. "The Namesake" - 75.7
18. "After the Wedding" - 75.2
19. "Grindhouse" - 75.2
20. "An Unreasonable Man" - 75.1
21. "God Grew Tired of Us" - 74.9
22. "Starter for 10" - 73.9
23. "Into Great Silence" - 73.7
24. "Live Free or Die Hard" - 73.4
25. "Paris Je T'aime" - 73.4

Worst-Reviewed Movies

1. "Because I Said So" - 17.7
2. "The Number 23" - 18.6
3. "Premonition" - 19.9
4. "The Reaping" - 21
5. "Norbit" - 22.9
6. "Perfect Stranger" - 23.1
7. "Happily N'Ever After" - 25.1
8. "Are We Done Yet? " - 25.2
9. "Code Name: The Cleaner" - 25.8
10. "Hannibal Rising" - 27

Maybe you can quit that day job after all ...

If it weren't for Rotten Tomatoes, this almost certainly would have been my lead item of the day.

Sadly, it seems that even seemingly bionic Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba is susceptible to aging, and at 68 has announced his retirement from action films. On the upside, if you've ever wanted to learn how to kick royal ass, here's your golden opportunity.

It seems the great Mr. Chiba, unwilling to let his tremendous talents just follow him to the grave, will open his own action-acting school in Japan.

So, what drove the seemingly inexhaustible Mr. Chiba to his limit? He said it came while filming a period drama for pubcaster NHK in July. Required to wear a heavy suit of armor for his role of warlord Itagaki Nobukata, Chiba suffered an asthma attack. "Itagaki died (in the drama) -- now I want to bury 'Shinichi Chiba' as well," he told reporters.

Next month he will start taking applications for a Japanese branch of his LA-based acting school, Thousand Leaves Hollywood. He also plans to join with Hong Kong action legend Jackie Chan to launch schools for future action stars in Beijing and Shanghai.

Sounds like they're launching their own little army, which, given the state our world is in today, can only be a good thing. In my overactive mind at least, sign me up!

Welcome back, Ms. Polley

Even if she directs and stars in movies that are simply too good to ever play in my little corner of the world, I'm always happy when I hear that my favorite Canuck, Sarah Polley, is getting back to acting.

For her latest return, she's set to star with Jared Leto in "Mr. Nobody," a romantic drama from writer-director Jaco Van Dormael that sounds like quite the mind trip.

Set in the not-so-distant future, the story follows Nemo Nobody (Leto) who, at 120 years old, is the last mortal surrounded by happy immortals as he relives his real and imaginary years of marriage.

This sounds like it will straddle that fine line between interesting and awful, and for Sarah's, sake I'm pulling for the latter.

Two nuggets of YouTube goodness

This first clip has been making the rounds for a few days now, but I still couldn't pass it up. Not only do you get a glimpse of Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan in Todd Haynes' upcoming "I'm Not There," but you also get David Cross (huzzah!) as Allen Ginsberg. This flick is just gonna be incredible.



Next comes a trailer which, if it weren't for the rather remarkable cast, I'd be inclined to simply ignore. Called "The Good Night," it features the great Martin Freeman of the UK "Office," extremely funny man Simon Pegg and simply irresistible Penelope Cruz. The awfully hokey premise: Freeman is a very unhappy man who starts to have dreams about Ms. Cruz (as I've been known to do from time to time myself.) This being a movie, of course, she turns out to be an actual woman, they meet, and shazaam. Like I said, this could be truly awful, but I just couldn't pass up a cast this good. And now, I simply have to go vote, drop off my car to get its window fixed and then go to work. Peace out.