A "Freaks and Geeks" reunion with Kristen Wiig? Yeah, I'll watch that.

Of all the comediennes working in movies today, none is more deserving of a starring role in a feature film than veryfunnywoman Kristen Wiig, and now she's about to get it thanks to "Freaks and Geeks" co-creators Judd Apatow and Paul Feig.

Though her Gilly on "Saturday Night Live" just makes me want to claw my own eyes out, she was sensationally funny last year in "Adventureland" and even better as the completely callous doctor in "Ghost Town" (if you somehow missed that rom-com of sorts starring Ricky Gervais and Tea Leoni, as most of the world seemingly did, do yourself a favor and rent it tonight - it's fairly great.) And now she's set to star in a now-untitled movie once called "Bridesmaids," to be directed by Feig and produced by Apatow. The movie will be about to two women battling to plan a friend's wedding party.

That sounds like exactly the kind of movie I never need to see, but with this crew and Wiig having co-written the script, I'll certainly at least give it a chance whenever this comes out.

After that, the best news out there today is that director Doug Liman - who way back in the day directed a little movie called "Swingers" - has set his eyes on something much more serious, the 1971 uprising at New York's Attica state prison (insert your own Attica! chant here.)

The four-day confrontation that was at least as much the fault of the screws as the prisoners themselves is certainly ripe material for a movie, and Liman has a personal connection to the project. His father, the late Arthur Liman, served as chief counsel to the New York state Special Commission on Attica Prison and co-authored the commission's report on the uprising.

He'll be working with a script from "Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire" scribe Geoffrey Fletcher, an Oscar nominee for that flick and I'd have to imagine the favorite to win Best Adapted Screenplay. The two of them toured the prison recently to prepare for this flick, and here's what Liman had to say about seeing the notorious "cellblock z" in a post on his blog:

The rioters never succeeded in taking over cellblock z where the most hardened criminals are kept in solitary confinement. Had they succeeded, the devil would really have been out of the bag. The “box” was not really a relevant part of our tour, but I would be lying if I didn't admit to a morbid curiosity that drew me into that building. It did not disappoint.

This is how our guide put it: when you fuck up you go to prison, when you fuck up in prison they send you to Attica, and when you fuck up in Attica, they send you to cell block z. Prisoners are only allowed out one at a time, they are let out one hour a day, they must be shackled at all times when out of their cells. Up on the third floor a prisoner was about to be moved. In the rest of the prison, the inmates walk around lightly guarded, and the warden knew many of them by name and they all exchanged hello how are yous. Not so in the “box”. It was like the movement of Hannibal Lecter and we were ushered into a food prep alcove until the inmate was clear. Everyone seemed scared of him.

That certainly sounds like some intense material to work with, so here's hoping he gets it right. And before then, we'll get to see "Fair Game," the movie he recently wrapped starring Naomi Watts as outed spy Valerie Plame and Sean Penn as her husband, Joseph Wilson, some time later this year.

And from here on out today, it's all about clips, first from surprise Oscar nominee "Secret of the Kells" and then, even better, a glimpse of "Glee," which is finally coming back to tv soon.

The more I see of "Secret of the Kells" the more I'm starting to love it, so I certainly hope it gets more than an arthouse release in mid-March. The simple animation style is rendered beautifully, as you'll see from this U.S. trailer and then, much better, six minutes of footage from the animated flick courtesy of Collider.com, for which I occasionally contribute. Enjoy.





I'm sure I'm very far from alone in thinking that "Glee" was the best show of last fall, so I just can't wait for it to finally return to Fox on April 13. And, frankly, I don't care how incredibly gay the show might get (and I'm sure it will just keep getting gayer), because it's simply so much fun too. In this promo for the welcome return, you get two choice Sue Sylvester quips from Jane Lynch, and be sure to watch it all the way through to see her new wardrobe choice. Perfection. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.

Vive la femme: My women of the year

It really sucks to be so sick you almost can't think straight, but it only happens to me once every three years or so, so I guess I really shouldn't complain.

And while I've managed to get it together enough to go to work, I haven't been able to muster the will for much else after that but sleeping and watching some mindless (but not stupid, big difference) TV, which has lately meant a big dose of "Seinfeld" (not that there's ever anything wrong with that!)

But now, with an hour and a half to kill before the so-called national title game, I really need some brain exercise, so without further ado - in simply alphabetical order - here are my favorite 10 (actually 12, with the combined entries) female movie performances of 2008. Please feel free to add your own, and enjoy:

Hiam Abbass
I've raved in full in this space about Richard Jenkins' performance in this film by "The Wire" veteran Thomas McCarthy, but it wouldn't have been complete without Hiam Abbass as Mouna Khalil to help draw him out. In a way, everyone in this flick is a "Visitor," as Abbass' Mouna, a Syrian immigrant searching for her son, certainly is in New York City. Her balance of anger, reserve and eventual gratefulness for the help of Jenkins' Walter hits just the right note, and they make a perfect combo.

Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard
You can say a lot of bad things about Tyler Perry (if you want to, which I don't), but you have to admit that - like Woody Allen sometimes does - he really has a knack for writing smart, funny parts for women. And, surprisingly, he found his best yet for his first white star, Kathy Bates. The "Dallas"-style story of family intrigue in "The Family that Preys" falls short of good, but the tale of Bates' and Woodard's friendship - and the road trip it takes them on - is so entertaining you won't even mind the sap. And Kathy Bates, in particular, is just a hoot.

Penelope Cruz and Rebecca Hall
2008 was a surprisingly strong year for comedies, so I guess it shouldn't be too much of a shock that the aforementioned Mr. Allen finally managed to return to top comedic form with the lighter-than-air treat "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." Penelope Cruz got the best of it here, taking a manic turn in Spanish as the chronically crazed wife of Javier Bardem's Juan Antonio. Rebecca Hall, however, held up her end of the love quadrangle as the movie's real leading lady, and besides, I've always just really liked her ever since "Starter for 10."

Viola Davis
They really need to make another acting category besides supporting for the actor who makes the biggest impression in a movie in the shortest space of time. Call it the "impact" award if it must have a name. Last year I would have given it to Hal Holbrook for "Into the Wild," and this year it would certainly go to Viola Davis for her 10-minute-or-so turn in "Doubt." I can't really tell you anything about it because it makes both the movie and its plot, but I can guarantee you won't forget it for quite a while.

Sally Hawkins
I really hope Mike Leigh's "Happy Go Lucky" gets enough awards acclaim to play a little wider, because it's one of the oddest but also most endearing movies I've seen in quite a while (it didn't make my top 10 for the year, but would have been at No. 14 or so.) At its center, Sally Hawkins just plays a character so perpetually cheerful that you (or at least, me) want to throttle her, until you slowly get attached to her and realize just how good Hawkins is in this. It really is a litmus test for cynicism, and though I usually reject that kind of thing, this one just works perfectly.

Beyonce Knowles
I'm sure I don't have nearly enough influence to do Darnell Martin's woefully underappreciated "Cadillac Records" any good, but if any movie deserves a strong second life on DVD this is it. It's a consistently fun if offbeat musical biopic, and Beyonce is shockingly good as Etta James, just a combustible mix of pride, anger, vulnerability and yes, sexiness. And, yes, she really can belt out a mean rendition of "At Last" and, even better, "I'd Rather Go Blind."

Tea Leoni
Speaking of underappreciated, did anyone go see "Ghost Town" in the theater? There were probably at least four or five who did, and I'm sure that like me they found a treat for fans of Ricky Gervais and comedies that are aimed at adults (without forgetting to be at least a little silly.) I liked Tea Leoni in this one, however, at least as much as I did Mr. Gervais, and she manages to get the best of him in several scenes of this witty charmer.

Samantha Morton
I can't nearly go as far as New York Times film critic Manohla Dargis, who if I'm not mistaken gave four of her five best actress votes to the women of Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, NY," but I can take a second to praise Samantha Morton's work in it. Her bubbly Hazel is just the perfect inspiration for Philip Seymour Hoffman's Caden Cotard, and though Kaufman lost me by the end of this wierd but sometimes wonderful creation, they both soldiered through to the finish.

Marisa Tomei
If it weren't for Viola Davis, I'd definitely vote for Marisa Tomei's turn in "The Wrestler" for best supporting actress, and for Mickey Rourke as leading man, because Darren Aronofsky's flick is simply the best character study of the year. Not, mind you, the most inspirational of characters, but two of the most memorable, and it won't surprise me at all if she takes home her second Oscar this year (shocking, perhaps, but well deserved this time.)

Catinca Untaru
And, for the finale, youth is served. Tarsem Singh's "The Fall" works best as a story being devoured by a wide-eyed child, and young Catinca Untaru is just thoroughly charming as Alexandria. I learned from reading an article by Roger Ebert that she spoke little to no English when this began filming (two years ago!), and had to be coached line-by-line throughout, just making her performance all the more remarkable.

And there you have it. Please feel free to mention any one I have clearly snubbed (and believe me, I know there are many!) Peace out.

Ricky Gervais fans will enjoy a trip to "Ghost Town"

I have no idea if writer/director David Koepp created "Ghost Town" with Ricky Gervais in mind, but after watching it you won't be able to see how it could have worked in any way without him.

What they've managed to do is take a fairly routine ghost/love story and turn it into a bona fide charmer. And for the record, I can't remember the last time I bothered to see a movie about ghosts that wasn't a horror flick because I generally have little tolerance for sap.

There's certainly more than a little of that here, and more and more of it as the flick goes on, but from the outset it's a showcase for Gervais' endearingly jaded view of the world. As dentist Bertram Pincus, he's annoyed with just about everyone and everything around him.

The first 20 minutes or so (after you get to watch Greg Kinnear die, which I suppose has its own kind of joy for a certain number of folks) are basically one long Gervais riff, and it reaches its funniest point when he tries to get a straight answer about his slightly botched colonoscopy (of course) from a dippy, spray-tanning doctor (Kristen Wiig) and the hospital's lawyer/enforcer (Micheal-Leon Wooley). I guarantee that if you've ever been even a little frustrated with doctors (and if you haven't, I'm amazed) you'll just laugh out loud at all of this.

It's that operation that left Gervais' Pincus dead for about seven minutes or so, and afterward cursed with the ability to see and communicate with the many ghosts that lurk on New York's streets (and the flick, by the way, makes great use of NYC in the fall.) Luckily for us, until the inevitable warming of his heart, he remains just as annoyed with the dead as he was with the living, and just as caustic with their many requests.

Chief among them is Kinnear, who enlists Pincus to break up his widow's engagement to a human rights lawyer. The two of them are funny enough, but what saves the flick from ever careening completely into the realm of schmaltz is Tea Leoni, who as Kinnear's widow just has a natural rapport with Gervais. One of the movie's true pleasures is in watching her try to stifle her laughs at the more inappropriate of Gervais' riffs (cheeky but rarely crude stuff, a welcome change from the norm.) And "Daily Show" fans will enjoy seeing Aasif Mandvi as Pincus' dental partner who has to deal with all his most anti-social outbursts.

In the end, you won't learn a whole lot from this late-summer charmer, and hopefully Ricky Gervais won't either, because we all need him to be as sardonic as possible after this turn that should hopefully show the world he can successfully topline a Hollywood flick.

Unfortunately, a quick look at the box office numbers shows this one will only make about $5.5 million and finish behind even "My Best Friend's Girl." That's a real shame, but I think word of mouth about Gervais will keep this one in theaters for a good little while, so consider this my little part to help with that. Just go see it already!