What the #$%&@ does F/X have to do to have a successful show?

What in the world does F/X have to do get people to watch its shows? In the past year, the network has aired easily the two best new shows in my book, "Terriers" (R.I.P) and "Lights Out," and in each case they've been rewarded with one-season wonders.

Not that that's all that odd, or even surprising. Many of the best TV shows of the last 15 years or so, "Freaks and Geeks" and "Firefly" in particular, have failed to catch on with enough people to please the bean-counters. That doesn't, however, make it any less maddening.

In the case of "Terriers," I could at least understand it. That show was a true oddity, a P.I. comedy-drama of sorts that ambled at its own pace and just had a skewed sense of humor that was never going to be everyone's viewing choice. But with "Lights Out," which officially got its cancellation order last night, I just don't get it.

Not only is it easily one of TV's best dramas on the air right now, but what else has even been on until this week or so with new episodes at all? I was hooked on the show from the start because I'm just a sucker for good boxing stories, and this was certainly one. Starting out with the tale of a former champ trying to make an unlikely (mi hermano says impossibly unrealistic given the age of star Holt McCallany) comeback against the fighter who knocked him out five years earlier, the show added to that a seedy family saga that somehow manages to make even the real world of boxing seem honest and upright by comparison.

And it contained the two best short-run performances I've seen on TV dramas in the past year. First up came Eamonn Walker (who it took me a long time to remember played Howling Wolf in the truly great little flick "Cadillac Records"), who completely took over two episodes as the mystic trainer Ed Romeo. And just this week, the always-welcome David Morse took a tragic turn as a truly punch-drunk former champ.

I don't think "Lights Out" will have the cult following of the one-season wonders mentioned earlier, but I'll certainly miss it, and will buy it when it comes to DVD. Looking at the numbers, however, it's really hard to get too mad at all at F/X. Here, courtesy of AICN, are the numbers for Tuesday nights from Jan. 11-March 22 (this week):

3.8 (2.2) (2.3) (3.8) (4.4) (3.6) (4.2) (4.6) (2.3) (4.1) (4.5) NCIS
3.2 (2.2) (2.6) (3.2) (3.9) (3.3) (3.5) (3.8) (---) (3.3) (3.7) NCIS LA
3.0 (2.7) (2.9) (2.4) (2.7) (2.7) (3.0) (3.3) (3.2) (2.9) (3.2) Biggest Loser
2.5 (2.5) (2.0) (1.9) (2.2) (2.1) (1.8) (2.1) (2.3) (2.1) (1.9) Teen Mom
2.1 (1.2) (1.3) (2.2) (2.0) (2.0) (2.2) (2.2) (---) (2.1) (2.3) Good Wife
2.0 (4.2) (4.6) (---) (4.4) (4.2) (4.6)(11.1) (1.5) (1.5) (1.7) Glee
1.8 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Best In Film
1.7 (1.7) (2.2) (1.8) (1.9) (2.4) (2.2) (2.4) (2.3) (2.8) (3.6) The Game
1.5 (0.9) (1.0) (1.2) (1.4) (1.5) (1.5) (1.1) (1.1) (1.8) (1.5) No Ordinary Family
1.4 (2.2) (2.7) (3.3) (2.4) (2.2) (2.7) (---) (---) (---) (---) Raising Hope
1.4 (---) (1.5) (1.1) (1.2) (1.0) (2.2) (---) (1.3) (1.6) (---) Let’s Stay Together
1.0 (---) (1.2) (1.9) (2.1) (1.9) (1.9) (2.2) (---) (2.1) (2.2) Parenthood
1.0 (1.5) (1.5) (---) (1.6) (1.4) (1.9) (---) (---) (---) (---) Traffic Light
1.0 (0.8) (1.0) (---) (0.8) (---) (1.0) (---) (---) (---) (---) Top Shot
1.0 (---) (0.8) (0.7) (0.8) (1.0) (0.9) (0.8) (0.8) (0.9) (1.1) Hardcore Pawn
0.9 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) NBA Basketball
0.6 (0.5) (0.7) (0.6) (0.6) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Real Housewives Miami
0.5 (0.4) (0.5) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Million Dollar Listing
0.3 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Destination Truth
0.3 (0.2) (0.5) (0.6) (0.6) (0.7) (0.7) (0.8) (0.9) (0.3) (0.4) Hellcats
0.3 (0.3) (0.4) (0.4) (0.3) (0.3) (0.4) (0.4) (0.4) (0.4) (0.6) Lights Out
0.3 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Marcel’s Quantum Kitchen
0.3 (0.3) (0.4) (0.7) (0.9) (0.8) (0.7) (1.2) (0.9) (---) (0.4) One Tree Hill

Yes, you really did have to dig pretty far to find "Lights Out," and by the way, what in the heck is "Marcel's Quantum Kitchen"? So, R.I.P., "Lights Out," and if you like the show as much as I did and do, tune in for the final two episodes to see if Lights finally gets his rematch with Death Row.

OK, enough of that depressing stuff. Starting this Sunday (of course) for you folks like me who get HBO is "Mildred Pierce," and you can certainly count me as psyched for it. A five-part miniseries based on the novel by James M. Cain and directed by Todd Haynes, it stars one Kate Winslet in the titular role. The story, already made into a 1945 movie I haven't seen, is about a working mother who separates from her cheating husband during the Great Depression (0r at least, the first one) and tries to keep her family together as she eventually goes on to open three restaurants and a pie-selling business. It's most certainly a whole lot more epic and just better than I'm making it sound here. Keep an eye out for Guy Pearce as Mildred's wealthy playboy lover Monty Beragon, and enjoy these two clips to whet your appetite, the first an episode one preview and the second a 30-minute making-of special. As for me, I'm off to work and then to see Zack Snyder's "Sucker Punch" this weekend, and frankly hoping it doesn't just make my eyeballs melt. Peace out.

Preview Part 1

Making Of

Can women really have fun in movies?

Before we get into any of that, the two oddest things I came across this morning both involve Tyler Perry, who I almost always enjoy, but most of all when he's behind the scenes rather than in a fat suit and drag.

That certainly won't be the case for "Madea's Big Happy Family," coming to theaters April 22. It should be a return to broad comedy along with the big drama, which would be a welcome shift after "Colored Girls" (which I mostly enjoyed until I finally felt beaten down by it all.) This time out, he's got Bow Wow (no longer Lil, and don't knock it unless you've seen him in one of my favorite movies, "Roll Bounce"), and a bunch of regulars like David and Tamela Mann, plus even that Old Spice guy.

A truly nightmarish visual bit about that flick at the end, but in the meantime, in an odd case of trading down (in acting, at least), it seems that Tyler Perry has somehow replaced Stringer Bell (aka Idris Elba) in the coming reboot of the Alex Cross series on film.

In the past two Alex Cross movies, "Kiss the Girls" and "Along Came a Spider," the role of the detective and psychologist was played by Morgan Freeman, making this an even odder transition. In the new movie, "I, Alex Cross," with a script penned by James Patterson, who wrote the the Alex Cross novels, our hero tracks the rapist who may have murdered his pregnant wife years earlier.

This all begins shooting in June, and I suppose I shouldn't be so skeptical, since I've liked almost all of Perry's movies so far, but once he's donned that Madea suit, I just really can't see him being taken terribly seriously in this. Here's hoping I'm wrong.

But on to the main event. Kristen Wiig has a new movie coming out in May, "Bridesmaids," and as you can see from the first trailer below, it's squarely from the Judd Apatow (who's a producer) camp of comedy - except that it's all women in the main roles. I realize that shouldn't be much of a surprise, but unfortunately it is. When's the last time you can remember women getting to have this much fun in a big-studio, hopefully raunchy summer (well, almost) comedy?

And besides all that, except for a truly unfortunate joke at the end of the trailer (still worth sticking around to the end for to see just how bad it is), this all looks truly rather funny. Along with Wiig, who along with writing the script for this plays the maid of honor charged with putting it all together, it also stars fellow "Saturday Night Live" star Maya Rudolph as the bride, plus veryfunnywomen Melissa McCarthy (aka Sookie on "Gilmore Girls" and one half of CBS' Monday night show about fat people) and Ellie Kemper (Erin on "The Office"). It's also directed by "Freaks and Geeks" vet Paul Feig, so here's hoping this girl's club turns out to be as funny as it should be. Enjoy the trailer, then stick around for, as promised, a truly nightmarish vision of Madea.


Bridesmaids
Uploaded by ThePlaylist. - Watch feature films and entire TV shows.

Say what you want about Tyler Perry's movies, but he always manages to at least grab people's attention with the posters, and this one for "Madea's Big Happy Family" is no exception. As if "Black Swan" weren't already scary enough ... enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.

A one-star turkey? Sheesh

Actually, before we get in to that, there's two bits of interesting news out there today about James Franco and the one-season wonder that launched him.

Franco, who apparently won a Golden Globe for playing James Dean in a 2001 TV movie I have never seen, is returning to the scene of "Rebel Without a Cause," but this time to look at the rather juicy life of Sal Mineo.

He's optioned the rights to the new book "Sal Mineo: A Biography" (way to put a lot of thought in to that title!) by artist and photographer Michael Gregg Michaud for his Rabbit Bandini shingle to so far at least write and direct a movie from, but I'd imagine he'll probably want to play Mineo in this too.

In his short life, before being murdered at age 37 in West Hollywood by a pizza delivery man, Mineo of course got to hang with Dean, Natalie Wood and other beautiful people, and became (at the time) the youngest performer nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his work in "Rebel Without a Cause."

And in much better news that I would have to assume would involve Franco, Judd Apatow has let slip that for next year he's plotting a 10-year-or-so reunion of the cast of "Freaks and Geeks," the one-season wonder that also just happens to be easily one of my all-time favorite TV shows, for Paleyfest 2011.

Given that, along with Franco, the cast also featured Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Lina Cardellini and veryfunnydude Martin Starr, this would have to be a very hot ticket, and if I were anywhere near L.A., I'd certainly be there.

But for the second weekend in a row here at my local multiplexes, the entertainment options are looking surprisingly bleak, especially since I at least thought it was the holiday movie season.

How much do I like going to the movies? Enough that I even went to see "Warrior's Way" last week, and even though it was a truly awful flick, Kate Bosworth's guaranteed-to-garner-a-Razzie performance made it well worth the price of a matinee ticket.

And this week, there is the third "Chronicles of Narnia" movie, which I'm quite looking forward to, but also "The Tourist," which has landed as much more of a dud than I would have imagined.

When the word came down on Tuesday that the movie, starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp (heard of them?) and directed by "Lives of Others" helmer Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck (try saying that five times fast!), wouldn't be reviewed until midday Wednesday, still well in time for me to include it in the entertainment section I lay out each week, I wasn't worried ... yet.

What I wasn't expecting, however, was a one-star review from Christopher Kelly of the Dallas Morning News, calling it an empty charade of a flick that's much too in love with itself. Roger Moore (the Florida movie critic, unfortunately, not James Bond), who is usually the more kind of the two, gave it two stars, but was really just as harsh in his assessment.

Sheesh. Just to make sure, I checked Rotten Tomatoes, and it's only at 27 percent positive, so I guess that seals it. I had been looking forward to this one for much of the year, but that's why I, at least, still read and cherish movie critics: To be warned when a real turkey arrives in fancy duds. Oh well. At least there's Narnia.

And tonight, there's something really cool coming to NBC for its best show, "Community." Though the entire Thursday night comedy block will be doing Christmas episodes (including an hour-long "The Office," so hopefully no "Outsourced"), "Community" is - not surprisingly - upping the ante by making a stop-motion episode in the vein of all the old TV Christmas specials. This episode, which supposedly teaches Abed (the supremely funny Danny Pudi) about the meaning of Christmas, should be a real hoot. Enjoy this brief preview, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.

DVD review: "Community" season one

While watching the sometimes uneven but often very hilarious first season of NBC's Community on DVD, I had to wonder: Why don't more TV shows aiming for the funny take on college?

Teen shows often avoid it like the plague. Judd Apatow and his crew found gold - if for only one season - with Undeclared, the natural successor to Freaks and Geeks. But not until Joel McHale and his Spanish study group at Greendale Community College entered NBC's Thursday night lineup last fall has a show so successfully tapped into the contradiction that our four years or so of "higher learning" are often the silliest and most hedonistic time of people's lives.

Watching the first six or so episodes of Community, last fall and again back-to-back on DVD, I really wasn't sure NBC had a winner on its hands. One of the show's biggest assets on paper was also - at least to me - its biggest early problem: A little Joel McHale goes a long way.

His character, a former lawyer booted from his profession because he had a fraudulent college degree, has all the often-misplaced ego that he should have, but McHale just doesn't have the comic chops to make his Jeff Winger much more at all than a one-dimensional wise ass. The character would be much funnier if, like Jason Bateman's Michael Bluth on Arrested Development, he were more comically unaware of the fact that he's the king of crazy in a group that has tons of it.

It's when Community really became more of an ensemble production and tapped into all of its comedic assets - and the genuine geek bona fides of at least two of its stars - that the show really got into its groove. By the time Abed's (Danny Pudi) Dark Knight rescues McHale and a rather disastrously high Chevy Chase (dressed, naturally, as the Beastmaster) from a collapsing fort of tables and chairs at Annie's (Alison Brie) Halloween/Day of the Dead party in episode six ("Introduction to Statistics"), you knew this was like nothing else on TV right now in all the best ways.

From this turning point, Pudi's Abed and Donald Glover's Troy get a lot more screen time, and are naturally just very funny together. They also give the show its genuine geek appeal, making its frequent pop-culture spoofs hit their target much more often than they miss. It all comes together perfectly in season one when the two of them are serenading their rogue lab mouse, naturally named Fievel, to the strains of "Somewhere, Out There," as Senor Chang (the riotously funny Ken Jeong) is trying to salsa dance his way back into his ex-wife's heart to the Celtic sounds of Greene Day. This close to episode 10, "Environmental Science," is pretty much comic perfection.

And the women of Community more than hold their own in all this madness. Brie's Annie plays up her young eagerness, and finds a natural counterpart in Gillian Jacobs' prematurely jaded Britta, while Yvette Nicole Brown's Shirley turns what could have been a stock character - the overly religious black woman - into one who gives as good as she gets when the barbs really start to fly.

As the show progressed, creator Dan Harmon kept injecting it with more and more genuine political incorrectness, giving it an edge sorely missing from so much of what passes now for situational comedy. That reaches its height in the "Basic Genealogy" episode, in which Abed's darkly veiled Muslim sister gets called, in short order, a black ghost and then Phantom Menace (it's OK to admit, that's very funny), and later, in a game of Pictionary, Pierce (Chase) draws about the most offensive thing you can think of for the word "windmill." It's all so incredibly wrong that it works just right.

Community hit its real season one peak, however, with the "Modern Warfare" episode, which manages to sharply skewer just about every sci-fi/action movie cliche you can think of in the space of 22 minutes or so. From the early moment when Pudi utters the line, "Come with me if you don't want paint on your clothes," you know (or at least I did) this will be the funniest prime time moment of the 2009-10 TV season. If you've never seen this show, which has risen to the top of NBC's Thursday lineup in my book, this one episode would make the perfect introduction.

Chief among the extras in this set are the commentaries featuring cast members for every single episode, only a few of which I've had the time to get through so far. Another feature that works very well is the outtakes featured on each disc. Rather than the usual clips of characters breaking out in giggles in the middle of their lines, they spotlight the natural give and take of some truly funny people and what most makes Community a real winner: What NBC has on its hands, for as long as it wants to keep it on the air, is a genuine comedy troupe on top of its game.

And does the mojo continue into season two? So far, solidly yes. The show bagged the quickest and perhaps biggest laugh of the new season by having Glover wake up in his Spider-Man pajamas to open the season, and last week's zombie episode "Epidemiology" was as fall-down funny as the pilot for Frank Darabont's The Walking Dead was utterly terrifying (and watching them back to back, as I did on the DVR, is a real trip.) The bottom line: Community is much more fun than I ever remember college being, and well worth tuning in for every Thursday night or on DVD.

Of comedy, the good, the bad and the crazy

Before we get into any of that, a bit of bad business for people like me who have become at least partly addicted to those Redbox machines at your local grocery stores.

Since I have a Netflix account, I should surely just be satisfied with that, but far too often I get to the weekend with no new movies in hand and have to give into the Redbox siren. Well, and I guess we shouldn't surprised, knowing that they have us (or at least me) in their grasp, the folks behind this enterprise are at least testing a rate rise.

There's no word on when or if this might go national, but Redbox is now testing out raises (from $1.00) to $1.50 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, $1.25 in Modesto, Calif., and $1.15 in Spokane, Wash., and Miami/West Palm Beach, Fla. Nothing but sinister news there ... stay tuned.

OK, as promised today, it's all about good, bad and simply crazy news about what I at least consider comedy, so here goes.

Let's start, of course, with the crazy. It seems that although "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" did fairly well in its midnight run (only smashing all possible records with $30 million or so), certain young viewers did object to what came before it.

Though its merely a teaser trailer and by all accounts not terribly creepy at all, Cinemark theaters in Texas have pulled the "Paranormal Activity 2" trailer because viewers who were simply there to enjoy some Team Edward vs. Team Jacob action found it to be too scary.

Now, having been scarred for life by "The Blair Witch Project," I made a vow to never watch any more "found footage" horror movies, and therefore haven't seen the first "Paranormal Activity," but just the thought that 30 or so shadowy seconds from the sequel's trailer would be too much for "Twilight" viewers to take is nothing but funny to me.

OK, now on to the good, and if you're a fan of Pee Wee Herman (and if you're not, why not?), I should really say great. It seems that Paul Reubens has come up with a script for a new Pee Wee Herman movie, and has somehow managed to hook Judd Apatow to produce it, meaning this will probably really happen, and fairly fast.

All that's known so far about the plot for this, which is already booked at Universal, is that it will have Pee Wee going on some kind of road trip. No word yet on who would direct this (though I can't imagine it could possibly be Tim Burton), but I'd probably be happy watching Pee Wee simply eat a bowl of Cheerios, so bring it on!

And in a bit of tangential good comedy news, it seems that IFC (which I unfortunately don't get on my cable) has picked up the rights to what are still Apatow's two best creations, the single-season TV shows "Freaks and Geeks" and "Undeclared." The only surprise in that news for me was that it's taken so long for this to happen, since "Freaks" is without exaggeration simply one of the best TV shows ever made (and certainly the best one-season-only show), and "Undeclared" is in its own way almost as good.

"Freaks and Geeks" will premiere on IFC this Friday at 11 p.m., and then run there weekly, with encore airings Mondays at the same time. "Undeclared" will follow sometime this fall, and in the best news of all of this, there will be an episode that never managed to make it to the air before the show was canceled after only 17 episodes. If you've somehow never seen either of these and get IFC, just trust me and tune in.


And I guess the comedy troika today wouldn't be complete without the bad (if inevitable), so here goes: Starz has canceled the seriously funny "Party Down" after only two seasons. The show about wannabe actors who work at a catering company was created by "Veronica Mars" mastermind Rob Thomas and Paul Rudd, and has starred (before many of them moved on to shows watched by many more people) Jane Lynch, Adam Scott, Lizzy Caplan and even "Freaks and Geeks" vet and veryfunnyguy Martin Starr.

I've been enjoying the second season on Netflix, but once I finally get around to the finale, probably this weekend, I guess I'll join a fairly select group. It seems that only 74,000 people tuned in for the finale when it aired on Starz, giving the show a rather unsensational 0.0 rating (ouch). R.I.P., "Party Down."

But enough of that bad news. The only other thing I have today, before a welcome sneak peek at episode three of the new run of "Futurama," is two intriguing bits of casting news.

Going back to his movie roots in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," Sean Penn is in negotiations to produce, and I'd have to assume star in, a biopic about surfing icon Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz and his family.

And in a sure bit of Oscar bait, Meryl Streep is eyeing the lead role in "Thatcher," which would of course be a biopic about the former British Prime Minister. In another bit of good casting news for this potential flick, Jim Broadbent is likely to play Thatcher's husband, Denis, who I would have to assume spent plenty of time simply saying "yes, dear."

The movie would center on the 17 days in 1982 leading up the Falklands War. As soon as this all comes together, I suppose we should just go ahead and give her the little statue in advance.

And where better to end today than with a clip from the third new episode of "Futurama," coming to Comedy Central Thursday at 10 p.m. Although the first episode last week was much funnier than the second, they both were imbued with that familiar and fun "Futurama" spirit, so I'm looking forward to the whole new season. Enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.

Futurama	Thursdays 10pm / 9c
Preview - e-Waste Delivery
www.comedycentral.com
Futurama New Episodes Futurama New Episodes Ugly Americans

A good movie this summer? Yes, finally, "Get Him to the Greek"

Actually, before I get into any of that, here's a real what the f#$% moment about another potentially great movie we Yanks will never be able to see, or at least not in any kind of movie theater.

I've been wondering for some time when we would be able to see "Cemetery Junction," the '70s period comedy written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant (you know, the "The Office" guys). Well, it seems we now have an answer: Aug. 17, but only on DVD.

How in the world could a working-man's comedy from this duo, about insurance salesmen in England in the '70s, not get even a small theater release? I suppose the rather phenomenal box office failures of "The Invention of Lying" and "Ghost Town" had something to do with it (though the latter is a seriously smart and funny romantic comedy, so rent it already.)

Anyways, enough about that disaster. At least we know when we'll be able to see it in some form. Before we get to a couple of videos, here in the next few days it's about two surprisingly good movies I did manage to see last weekend, "Get Him to the Greek" and "Splice." And they're not just good in comparison to the fact that the rest of this summer has just sucked pretty hard, but standalone, actually good.

Let's start today with "Get Him to the Greek," which really comes down to one question: Can you stand Russell Brand? Jackie K. Cooper, who writes up movies for the newspaper I toil for, can't, and gave the move a three. Rather harsh, but certainly understandable. I'd give it a 7 or even 7.5 (on a scale of 10) for being a fast-paced, almost entirely raunchy and just about right summer comedy.

But it all comes down to Brand and to a somewhat lesser extent Jonah Hill, because unlike Judd Apatow's star-laden but seriously confused "Funny People," which really had no idea what it wanted to be, writer/director Nicholas Stoller (with, according to the credits, "characters created by Jason Segel) makes "Get Him to the Greek" a buddy comedy in the traditional sense, with a few celebrities making cameos (Kristen Bell makes a brief but hilarious return as Sarah Marshall) but never overwhelming or distracting from the story at its core.

And I'm sure anyone reading this by now knows already that that story is about Hill's mission, as a record company intern, to get debauched British rocker Aldous Snow (Brand) to L.A.'s Greek Theater for a show. And it indeed often comes down to the two of them pushing the limits of taste and through them again and again, which would get old a lot quicker than its one hour and 45 minutes or so if they weren't such a natural fit together.

There's a moment near the end that just captures their chemistry perfectly. After their American adventure reaches its nadir in a Las Vegas meltdown featuring Snow's father (Colm Meaney, very funny as usual) and broken up by Hill's boss (P. Diddy, not nearly as funny as hyped to be, but OK). Look for the expressions on their faces, one of sheer joy and the other of utter terror, on their faces as they're running out of the hotel, for me the movie's signature moment (and it's the top of this review.)

In the end, what makes this the best "Camp Apatow" - or whatever you want to call it - movie since "Superbad" (and almost as good as that movie, and if you've been here before you know that's high praise) is it's simple moral, or more accurately the almost complete lack of one. Through his journey (and I hope I'm not spoiling too much here, because you really should go see this), all Aldous really learns is that he really shouldn't be too much of a dick. Really nothing more redeeming than that, and that's exactly where this should have ended up.

OK, you get the idea by now that I really liked this, but I did have some quibbles, and it has almost entirely to do with how the movie treats - or more accurately abuses - women (except for Rose Byrne, who is very funny as Jackie Q, Snow's pop diva ex-girlfriend whose songs delight in the art of single entendre.) After "Freaks and Geeks," Apatow and friends made another one-season show that was in its way almost as good, "Undeclared" (if you've never heard of that, just trust me and rent it.) At its center were Jay Baruchel and Carla Gallo, who has been famous since mostly as the female foil for the crudest of "jokes" in the movies Apatow has produced since.

You may remember her from "Superbad" as the party dancer who, it being a certain time of the month, leaves her mark on Jonah Hill. OK, that was funny. In "Get Him to the Greek," however, you can certainly call her a sport, but she's also the butt of a joke that goes horribly wrong in the aforementioned Las Vegas scene. To tell you anymore would spoil it, but let's just say I don't cringe very often at rude humor, but this was just gross and not at all funny.

And poor Elisabeth Moss really just gets treated even worse. As Hill's earnest live-in girlfriend who is also a very hard-working doctor, she's not just a one-dimensional killjoy, but in the movie's most lethargic and awkward stretch, makes for its worst scene by far when she berates Hill for his rock 'n' roll exploits, and then proposes an encounter that's as ludicrous as it is poorly delivered.

Though women have had fun in Apatow-produced movies before (Emma Stone was great in "Superbad," and Charlyne Yi was a hoot in "Knocked Up"), all too often - as here - they're simply around to rain on the parade. But perhaps I'm just thinking too much about what, after all, is designed to be a thoroughly raunchy and fun summer ride, and is, exactly because boys will still be boys, and thankfully with "Get Him to the Greek," very funny ones at that.

OK, I really have to go work now, but I'll leave you with the funniest clip I could find this morning. The "punch line" doesn't come until the very end, and be warned: Before that you get Mike White and Justin Long acting like a very gay (as supposed to partially gay, I suppose) couple, so if that kind of thing offends you, please don't watch it. In a couple of minutes, however, it makes a very salient point about California's Prop 8, and does it in a way that made me, at least, laugh out loud. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Tuesday. Peace out.

These damned dirty prequels!

I think in many ways prequel might be an even slimier word than sequel, and if you look around, there's a mounting amount of evidence to back me up on that.

Case No. 1: Ridley Scott's "Robin Hood." I haven't bothered to comment on the flick until now because, well, I don't get paid to do this and it just made so little of an impression on me that I decided to just let it pass.

But the addition of time has done very little to remove the fairly foul taste it left in my brain. And be warned, if you haven't seen the movie and plan to, I probably wouldn't read any further today, or at least skip forward about four paragraphs or so until the news about James Franco that spurred this rant.

Now, Scott's movie certainly looks good enough. The action is close to first rate, and thankfully it was in good, old-fashioned 2-D. Watching Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett flirt for 90 minutes or so would have been mildly diverting enough for 90 minutes or so, but of course, Scott's movie went for a rather thoroughly unnecessary 2 hours and 20 minutes.

And it's not until near the end of all this that you realize just how much of a con it really is. If you've seen the trailer, you've certainly seen Oscar Isaac as King John unleash the cry of "Outlaw!" In any sort of real action flick that's designed to at least entertain, that would be the sign of at least some kind of conflict to come, right?

Well, not in Scott's flick, unfortunately. It doesn't come until there's about five minutes left in this mess, and all you get after that is a final shot of Russell Crowe finally as Robin Hood. And that's when it finally hits, or at least did me, just why this movie - and prequels in general- are just such empty vessels.

Which brings us to the news of the day about James Franco, an actor I've always quite liked ever since his "Freaks and Geeks" days. Because "prequel" is now the new "sequel" in Hollywood's latest attempt to cover up the fact that it has virtually no new ideas left, he's set to star in "Rise of the Apes," which, as you've probably guessed by now, is indeed a "prequel" to "Planet of the Apes" (because Lord knows Tim Burton's abortion of a remake wasn't enough, right?)

In the flick scheduled to start filming July 5 for its planned June 24, 2011, release, he'll play a scientist who is pivotal in the war between the humans and the apes. If I have this right, and frankly I'm not sure how much I care if I do or not, the scientist is working on a project to search for a cure for Alzheimer's in which testing is done on apes. Feeling bad for one of our simian friends, Franco's scientist apparently rescues one of them and takes him home. How in the world this comes to the toppling of the Statue of Liberty is anyone's guess.

In much better news, along with apparently returning to "General Hospital," it's also just been announced that Franco will star in a Jeff Bushell-penned comedy called "Ricky Stanicky" which actually sounds like it could really bring the funny. The movie centers on three male friends who for decades have used their titular imaginary friend to explain their way out of assorted tight spots. When their wives finally catch on and demand they produce this character, they hire an actor to play him, hence Franco.

Anyone who's seen "Pineapple Express" (and if you haven't, why the heck not?) or of course "Freaks and Geeks" knows Franco has the comedy chops, so here's hoping that will be a lot better than him messing with any damned dirty apes.

OK, what better way to close things out than with Helen Mirren saying "I've got 25 psychotic whores to manage"? Until seeing this trailer, I really wasn't convinced that "Love Ranch," directed by her hubby, Taylor Hackford, would deliver anything worth watching, but I've been wrong at least once before, so why not today? Co-starring Joe Pesci and some young buck for her to cougar around with, it indeed looks like this flick about the onset of legal prostitution in Nevada will be a lot of fun when it drops in June in at least some kind limited run. Enjoy the trailer, and have a great weekend. Peace out.

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.

David Fincher coming to TV with ... my favorite miniseries of all time?

Without exaggeration, the "House of Cards" trilogy - based on Michael Dobbs' book of the same name and starring the late, great Ian Richardson - really might be just about the best thing I've ever seen on TV, outside of maybe "Freaks and Geeks."

The story takes place at the end of Margaret Thatcher's reign as British prime minister, and Richardson stars as Francis Urquhart (often none too kindly abbreviated as F.U.), the Conservative Party chief whip who weasels his way into more and more power by any means necessary.

Now, it seems that David Fincher is getting set to make his TV debut as the executive producer and - for the pilot at least - I'd imagine director of an hourlong U.S. drama based on at least the first chapter of "House of Cards" (though I'd imagine if it ran long enough they'd get to the second and third chapters, "To Play the King" and "The Final Cut," too.) ... (On second thought, scratch that, because unless I'm somehow mistaken, we yanks aren't much for kings.)

Though I loved "The West Wing," and indeed go back and watch it from time to time, a show that delves into the darker (most people would say natural) side of politicians could certainly be a lot of fun, and the source material is just impeccable. My only real worry about this is that much of the salacious fun of the original was driven by Richardson himself, who dived into it with all the wickedness he could muster. Replacing him with an American counterpart will be a very tall order, but assuming this gets picked up by a network sometime soon, I'll definitely be tuning in to see how it all turns out.

All I have except for that today is a couple of videos, the first of which comes from a movie opening in some of the country tomorrow but, unfortunately, nowhere near me, Jared Hess' "Gentlemen Broncos." Though his movies, especially "Nacho Libre," are just silly beyond any reason, I just dig them. I'm not much of a moralist, and if I wanted to be I'd most certainly fail, but there's gotta be a place in our world for the squeaky clean but more than a little askew view of Mr. Hess. That said, here's a couple of scenes from his new flick, about the exotically geeky world of fantasy literature. Enjoy.



Next up comes the second trailer for director Joe Johnston's "The Wolfman," which stars Benicio del Toro as the titular man-beast and is set to come out in February. Though my instincts would tell me to beware of this one, everything I've seen so far makes it look like it's gonna be a whole lot of silly fun, and sometimes you just can't ask for more than that. Enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.

TV tidbits and a glorious glimpse of "The Damned United"

Does anyone else remember the fairly great little documentary "Hands on a Hard Body"? It was a contest doco about a bunch of folks who compete to see who can stand the longest with one hand on a pickup truck, with the winner getting the truck.

For a strange little flick I don't even think you can get on DVD, it's had a surprisingly high number of attempts to re-create it. Robert Altman (and no, I'm not making that up) even had his sights on making a fictionalized version of it when he died, but that wouldn't have been nearly as crazy as this latest reinvisioning (is that even a word)?

It seems that Doug Wright, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, and lyricist Amanda Green have scripted a musical based on the story, which will be staged at the La Jolla Playhouse in California. And no, even if I concentrated really hard, I don't think I could make up anything quite that crazy.

Except for that, it's mostly about TV here today. I suppose I should change the blog's name on days like this, but since it's my space, I write about just about anything that catches my eye.

It starts today with what could only be called excellent news for fans of "Freaks and Geeks" (and if you're not one, I just have to assume you've never seen it.) It seems that Mike White, who served as a "Freaks and Geeks" producer and also wrote probably my favorite episode, "The Little Things," before going on to pen "School of Rock" and other movies, is now returning to TV for HBO with Laura Dern in tow.

The HBO project will star Dern as a woman who troubles those around her when she undergoes a spiritual awakening. And, I apologize for this in advance, but I keep trying to get rid of HBO, but "every time I think I'm out, they pull me back in" with intriguing TV.

OK, so much for the good news. This next bit just makes me vomit in my own mouth, and not just a little bit either (and I must say, orange juice and kashi just taste a whole lot better going down.)

It seems that, unable to come up with any more ideas for its shows that aren't about fat people, NBC is now going to piss all over the great "Prime Suspect" with what might just be the most unnecessary and downright insulting remake of all time.

Without, of course, Dame Helen Mirren or even series creator Lynda La Plante in tow, it seems that "Without a Trace" creator Hank Steinberg has the hubris to take this on. Thankfully, so far at least, it's just a planned two-hour presentation rather than a series, so maybe this just will go away extremely quickly and will be forgotten even faster.

But enough of that bile. In much better cop TV news, it seems that Fox has picked up 13 episodes of a new show from "Burn/Notice" creator Matt Nix.

Though the premise - an ambitious, by-the-book cop is saddled with a drunken, wild-card partner - sounds awfully familiar, from Nix I know it will at least be a fun mix of action and humor, and that's probably enough to get me to tune in when this hits the airwaves.

OK, for the finish, I suppose I should at least make this a bit about movies, especially when it's a glimpse of what is - next to only Spike Jonze's "Where the Wild Things Are" - the movie I'm almost most looking forward to for the rest of this year.

Based on easily one of my favorite books by David Peace, "The Damned United" tells the rather disastrous tale of Brian Clough's 42-or-so days as coach of Leeds United, a team he despised even as he took the job. With a script from Peter Morgan and starring Michael Sheen, I really don't see how this can be bad, and you can see from the trailer below that Sheen has at least captured the manic nature of Clough that drives the book. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Thursday. Peace out.

Where the wild sounds aren't: A soundtrack dud

Actually, the biggest - though I'm not sure the best - news in my book is that easily one of my favorite British TV shows is not only coming to America, but even to the burgh formerly know as Charm City, Baltimore itself.

On the surface, E4's "Skins" would look like the definition of a guilty pleasure for someone as old and often cranky as me, but I think it's so good it stands up as entertainment for all ages. I'm not sure exactly how I got hooked on it in the first place, but I think it was because someone who visits here once commented that Dev Patel of "Slumdog Millionaire" stars in the first two seasons, which is indeed the case. If so, I can't remember who it was, but thank you all the same.

The show, a primetime soap opera that fits squarely with Britain's best entries in that genre, follows the adventures of seven teens who have the misfortune of living in Bristol with at best very unfit parents. There's an awful lot of sex and drugs, but also just a lot of humanity and fantastic storytelling. And besides, Peter Capaldi of "In the Loop" makes a very memorable turn on a few episodes as one said parent, so you know they have to be doing something right.

The show has aired a third season with a new set of kids, which I'll pick up on DVD as soon as I'm able, but in the meantime comes the rather dubious news that MTV (attracted, I suppose, by all the sex and drugs) is not only doing an American version, but setting it in Baltimore with a cast of "unknowns."

Show creator Bryan Elsley will have a hand in at least the pilot, so perhaps this won't turn out as dreadful as I'm imagining it could be. And in the meantime, I really do recommend watching the first two seasons of "Skins" on DVD. It's not quite "Freaks and Geeks," but in it's own way, it's still a unique view of teenage life that I guarantee you'll find entertaining if you stick with it.

In other, much more geeky and less disturbing, news, John Landis and the great Simon Pegg are teaming up for a flick that - if I'm not mistaken - would be Landis' first big-screen feature directorial project since "Blues Brothers 2000" (which may well some kind of masterpiece, but since I'll never see it, I guess I'll never know.)

"Burke and Hare," which sounds like it's right up each of their alleys, will be about a pair of 19th Century grave robbers who dug up and sold cadavers to the Edinburgh Medical College for dissection. I'm laughing at that already, and if you pair Pegg and Nick Frost as the two grave robbers, even better.

And finally, before we get to the rather lame lead single from the upcoming "Where the Wild Thing Are" soundtrack and then a mind-bending teaser trailer from no less than Christopher Nolan, there's one more bit of news about what will most likely be Pixar's first live-action movie, "John Carter of Mars" (Brad Bird had been developing a live-action project titled "1906" about the great San Francisco earthquake, but it looks like that one might be in serious trouble.)

"John Carter of Mars" will be based on the series of books by Edgar Rice Burroughs about a Civil War veteran who is somehow transported to the red planet. Already, "Friday Night Lights" (man, do I miss that show) vet Taylor Kitsch has been cast as the titular John Carter, and now two of my favorite actors have joined the mix.

Dominic West, who walked the beat in Baltimore (you really can't have too much Charm City in one post) as Jimmy McNutty on "The Wire," will play Sab Than, the Martian prince who (according to reports, since I haven't read these books yet) tries to force the Martian princess Dejah Thoris to marry him. Even better, and wilder, Samantha Morton will play Sola, the "10-foot-tall, four-armed green secret daughter of Martian warrior Tars Tarkas."

Like I said, not having read the books, none of that means much to me, but I still can't wait to see what Pixar will do in live action (though it won't be coming until 2012), and especially with a cast that good.

OK, as we near the finish, it's time for something just almost completely disappointing. Anyone who's been here before knows that I've been tracking all the slightest bits of minutiae about "Where the Wild Things Are," because it pairs one of my favorite directors, Spike Jonze, with my favorite tale from childhood by Maurice Sendak.

In, I think, both of the trailers, they've used the simply sensational Arcade Fire song "Wake Up," which in both spirit and sound just fits the movie perfectly.

Now, however, they've released the first single from the upcoming movie soundtrack, by "Karen O and the Kids," with Karen O being the frontwoman for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. And I have to say, having listened to it twice now, that it's unfortunately just a big ball of meh.

Don't take my word for it, though. Click here and scroll down the right side to listen yourself, and please feel free to let me know if I'm somehow just all wet about this.

And, really finally, I'm probably a few days late with this, but who really cares when it's the teaser trailer for Christopher Nolan's next flick, "Inception"? The clip doesn't reveal much except that it stars Leonardo DiCaprio, but I can also tell you young Ellen Page is in it, it won't come out until July and it should just be a real friggin mind trip when it finally drops. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Tuesday. Peace out.

When will "Chuck" 's fate be decided?

Because my mind has little more to do than wrap itself around such questions, I've been trying to figure that out for days now, and have finally - I think - found the answer, sort of.

In a story at the Hollywood Reporter, it was reported that NBC Vice President for Drama Development Nora O'Brien suddenly dropped dead on the set of a pilot based on the 1989 movie "Parenthood" (even with Peter Krause as the star, there's just about zero chance I'm gonna tune in to that.) Anyways, buried under this tragic news was that the network was in the process of screening its potential pilots this week and readying for its "infront" announcement (is it just me, or did these things used to be called "upfronts"?) on Monday.

Now, with this development, there's some doubt about whether the unveiling of the network's fall lineup will go ahead as planned or delayed, so stay tuned here to find out. As for the prospects of "Chuck," the article didn't have too much enlightening to say.

With that soulless time-snd-space-sucker Jay Leno snatching up five hours a week to faun over celebrities, the real chances for "Chuck" will probably rest on just how many new shows NBC decides to pick up. Although it's nearly impossible to tell at this point, the networks execs seem to be considering nine potential new shows. all the article had to say specifically about "Chuck" was this: And to the delight of staunch "Chuck" supporters, the chances of survival for the quirky soft-rated series have improved slightly. Thanks for not much at all there, guys.

Here's hoping that at least a few of the potential pilots just suck huge donkey balls, because if NBC cancels "Chuck" now that he's about to become a seriously superspy with evolving and revolving abilities, it would be the biggest TV crime since, well, the greatest single-season show of all time, "Freaks and Geeks." As soon as I hear any firm word, be it Monday or later next week, I'll surely pass it on. And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to see "Wolverine," thought I can't say it's with terribly high hopes. Peace out.

I love Joan Jett, but really?

Even if there really is no hope that the Baltimore Orioles will be nothing but awful for the foreseeable future (and, even worse, they're gonna be worse than the Nationals next year!), there are still plenty of great things that come from Charm City.

I've extolled the virtues of "The Wire," simply the greatest cop show of all time, in this space many a time. And even if he is more than a bit of a pervert, Baltimore's John Waters has made some seriously funny movies over the years (just the other night I was watching "Pecker" with Christina Ricci and Edward Furlong - a real hoot.)

And I always thought, when it comes to music, that Joan Jett was from Baltimore too, but it turns out you can add another thing to the growing list of things I was wrong about. She apparently grew up in Wheaton, Md., before dropping out of high school and joining the Runaways. But no matter where she's from, Joan Jett is just cool in my book.

About once a day or so, my cubicle mate Renee Martinez gets a call on her cell phone that plays Jett's first (and still best) solo single "Bad Reputation," which a few of you may know as the theme song for my beloved "Freaks and Geeks." As sad as this is, it is one of the dependable highlights of my predictably boring work day.

And I tell you all that to tell this, there's a biopic of Jett's all-girl punk supergroup of sorts, The Runaways, in the works, but it's quickly starting to stink so bad you can smell it already. In what can only be an ominous sign, it's being made a woman named Floria Sigismondi, who may indeed turn out to be a great movie director but so far has specialized in music videos for Sheryl Crow, Christina Aguilera and the like.

But, in much worse news, they've now seemingly just botched beyond belief the casting of Joan Jett by jumping on the "Twilight" train and grabbing Kristen Stewart. No offense to her, but I just can't see it,

The Runaways, for the four years they lasted, were exploited for sure but were all about fun and attitude, and Stewart just doesn't have it. The first question that came to my mind when I first read this this morning was whatever in the world ever happened to Ellen Page? She has to be up to something, right? A quick IMDB search finds she's playing the lead of "Whip It!," Drew Barrymore's flick about roller derby queen Bliss Cavendar, and then starring in some kind of psychological thriller called "Peacock." Surely she could make time to get in on "The Runaways" action if anyone bothered to ask.

And now I have to get ready for work, but I'll leave you with something that should make any Wednesday at least a little bit better, a clip of Jett's "Bad Reputation" playing behind one devoted fan's rather well-edited tribute to "Freaks and Geeks" (and be sure to stay until the end for Joe Flaherty attempting to give his "Korea" speech - priceless.) Peace out.

Video troika: Three things that caught my eye this morning

Did anyone notice that Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy" has come out, 13 years in the making? I would think not, but according to Variety, at least the Chinese government took notice - and offense.

In an article Monday headlined "American band releases album venomously attacking China," the Global Times said unidentified Chinese Internet users had described the album as part of a plot by some in the West to "grasp and control the world using democracy as a pawn."

Call me crazy, but if the Great Wall does somehow come tumbling down, I'm confident it won't be Axl Rose leading the charge. As for the album, I think I'll just say meh.

There were, however, three other things that caught my fancy this morning, starting with the equally odd fact that Universal is about dump some rather serious bucks on a biopic of the late French pop star Serge Gainsbourg. Which would, of course, be in French.

Even so, I'm still convinced this could be both very cool and possibly a hit too, because Mr. Gainsbourg was just the definition of a bad dude. Along with recording silly '60s pop songs that always told you exactly what you were gonna get in the title - "Bloody Jack," "Docteur Jekyll and Monsieur Hyde," "Ford Mustang" - he also lived hard enough to make Keith Richards look like an amateur and shacked up along with the way with Brigitte Bardot, Jane Birkin and other beauties.

And, in easily his oddest move, shortly before his death in 1991 he recorded an album with daughter Charlotte titled "Lemon Incest." It's fairly tame by today's standards, but it delivers exactly what the title promises - a series of mushy father-daughter love duets that just get exceedingly creepy (and yes, I can attest to that, because I own a copy - how could I resist that?) Charlotte, of course, would go on to become a well-known actress herself, and if I can make one DVD recommendation, watch one of her earliest roles in Claude Miller's "The Little Thief" (which I was rather sad to find you can't find on Netflix, though I know it's out on DVD.)

As for the movie about her papa, Eric Elmosnino will play the singer himself, and graphic novelist Joann Sfar will direct the flick. And for his bevvy of babes, French model Laetitia Casta will play Bardot, Mylene Jampanoi will play Gainsbourg's last paramour, Bambou (I can't make this stuff up), and Anna Mouglalis will play French singer Juliette Greco, who collaborated with Gainsbourg for many years.

OK, I concede that's a lot about a flick that no one may care about one lick, but for a taste of just how sublimely silly Gainsbourg's best songs were, here's a mashup of his "Bonnie & Clyde" duet with Bardot, mixed with visuals from the film starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. Enjoy.



A glimpse of "Adventureland"

I can't imagine this will be nearly as good as "Superbad," but director Greg Mottola looks like he has something pretty funny in the works for his next flick, "Adventureland." An at least semi-autobiographical tale about the summer he had to work at the titular theme park after graduating college, it stars Jesse Eisenberg (remember him from "The Squid and the Whale"?), la Bella Kristen Stewart of "Twilight" fame, Bill Hader and even Martin Starr (who will of course always be known to us Freaks and Geeks as Bill Haverchuk.) Here's the trailer for the flick, which is set to come out next spring, methinks.



And yes, "Battlestar Galactica" will be back!

It seems like forever since "Battlestar Galactica" has been on the air, and it finally returns to Sci-Fi for the final 10 episodes beginning Jan. 16. Episode 4.11 will be titled "Sometimes a Great Notion."

I'm gonna have to rent the first half of season four when it comes out soon just to get reacquainted, but I can with confidence tell you this: For a show that mixes seriously geeky sci-fi with a smart topical edge, you can't even come close to doing better than this show. Here's Sci-Fi's promo reel for the last 10 episodes, which indeed promise an action-packed sprint to the finish. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Tuesday.

All aboard the "Pineapple Express"

"It's like killing a unicorn, with like, a bomb."

Somehow I think the men's "round of 64" (as the equally nonstoned announcer kept saying over and over) Olympic badminton that was on this morning when I woke up probably would have been a lot funnier under the influence of some Pineapple Express.

And I promise, to the best of my ability, I will try to make this completely free of any stoner puns (so nothing about "high art" or "buds.")

From the outset of "Pineapple Express," you feel like you know the characters played by Seth Rogen and James Franco (even if you somehow haven't yet seen them together before in "Freaks and Geeks," just watch it already!), and that will be the test of how much you like this movie.

Personally, I liked them quite a bit, making the first half hour of "Pineapple Express" its most enjoyable segment. My only beef would be a fault of my own making: I had seen a lot of the funniest parts in advance. Even so, there's plenty of little gems like the quote at top (from James Franco, about smoking the titular weed) laced in the banter between his dealer and Rogen's perpetually stoned process server (and the action-hero segment about his dreadful job is really funny.) You may find Rogen's constant yelling as the situation deteriorates around them a bit annoying, but I think under the circumstances (witnessing a murder committed by a drug dealer [Gary Cole] and a cop [Rosie Perez], of course), I'd probably be at least as frantic.

As the movie shifts from comedy to action flick, there's one transition scene that I guarantee will have you laughing out loud from the opening blow. If you've seen it, you know I'm talking about that house fight with Danny McBride's Red which makes use of just about every fixture in sight (though I won't tell you how.) Until now I really hadn't been able to appreciate just how funny a guy McBride is, having only seen him in the instantly forgettable "Drillbit Taylor" and goofily entertaining "Hot Rod" (though I did just save his first real starring vehicle, Jody Hill's "Foot Fist Way," in my Neflix queue for when it comes out Sept. 27.) Here he sustains the flick as it starts to lose course near the end, and his constantly battered drug dealer is just a joy to watch.

The formula of "Pineapple Express" starts to shine through (see, I was gonna make a rather weak joke about "coming down," but I won't) as the flick builds to its surprisingly intense big showdown inside a farmhouse filled with legendary weed. It's not that it's not funny, which it is, or suitably violent, which it certainly is too. I just had the feeling that I've seen this all before and done funnier, specifically by Edgar Wright and crew in "Hot Fuzz."

And one final word about the ending, which I really appreciated because director David Gordon Green and writers Rogen and Evan Goldberg set you up for one of those cheesy, five-years-later endings before pulling a fast switch, and I admit I fell for it and laughed all the harder for being fooled.

The bottom line: I've probably been a little hard on this one only because of my own lofty expectations, but if you're expecting a stoner comedy with serious laughs and just enough heart, you won't be disappointed. Peace out.

P.S.: In my search for information on Danny McBride, I found out that he and Jody Hill have made a half-hour pilot for HBO called "East Bound and Down" (with apologies, I suppose, to Jerry Reed and "Smokey and the Bandit") starring McBride as a former pro athlete who has to return to his hometown as a substitute gym teacher. No idea if or when it will air, but definitely keep your eyes out for it.

Seth Rogen overload?

I don't think I've reached that point yet, but it certainly does seem like the "Freaks and Geeks" and "Undeclared" veteran unleashed by Judd Apatow is just about everywhere nowadays.

A look at the IMDB sheet after "Kung Fu Panda," the surprisingly satisfying summer flick that's currently kicking all kinds of box office tail (we're talking about a kids' movie after all, so let's keep it clean) reveals a very busy slate. First comes the comedy I'm most looking forward to this summer, the stoner buddy flick, "Pineapple Express"; then, if this ever really does see the light of day, a role in the geek flick "Fanboys"; the lead opposite Elizabeth Banks in Kevin Smith's "Zack and Miri Make a Porno"; voice work in Dreamworks' "Monsters Vs. Aliens"; playing a delusional mall cop for "Foot Fist Way" (why in the world isn't that playing everywhere?) director Jody Hill in "Observe and Report"; a reunion with Judd Apatow for Apatow's next directorial effort, to be about the world of standup comedians; and finally, if they can pull it off, a remake of "The Green Hornet" with writing partner Evan Goldberg.

Whew! As the last entry on that list shows, and luckily, Mr. Rogen isn't one to forget about his friends. Probably somewhere in the middle of all this, now comes news that he and Goldberg, the duo that brought us the nearly flawless "Superbad," will team up to create something called "Jay and Seth vs. the Apocalypse" (apparently the shtick of actors using their actual names trotted out for "Knocked Up" hasn't gotten old to them yet.)

The horror-comedy, set to co-star fellow "Undeclared" vet and very funny guy in his own right Jay Baruchel, apparently springs from a Web short they all concocted during the brief time Fox bothered to put that fairly great show on the air. I don't know much about it beside that, but there's actually a trailer for it that was put up on Youtube about a year ago, and I've included it here for you to enjoy (as you can probably figure, the language is more than a little NSFW, so please use headphones when you watch it!)

"Superbad," for all its very juvenile humor about things like the "Ghostbusters lunchbox dick treasure chest" (still the thing that made me laugh hardest in all of 2007) has just stuck me longer than a lot of other comedies of its ilk, and I just can't wait for "Pineapple Express." Here's hoping these guys can keep the funny coming for a long time to come.



What's next for "Pushing Daisies" and "How I Met Your Mother"?

OK, OK, I don't know the answers to the most pressing questions about easily two of my favorite shows, namely, for the latter, will adorable Sarah Chalke say yes to our hero Ted's wedding proposal and, for the former, why in the world isn't ABC reairing it's best freshman series in years this summer as a reintroduction to viewers who might have somehow missed it's nine-episode first season? I do, however, have a couple of intriguing bits about each show from Variety.

First, for "Pushing Daisies," creator Bryan Fuller promises that his habit of reintroducing the show's premise with each episode will be a thing of the past, so that in season two he can delight us with one epic story arc.

Fuller, in fact, described the writers strike that killed the first season as a kind of blessing in disguise: "We were just going to continue telling a lot of these episodic tales, and we weren't able to weave in as much of the serialized storyline as I wanted to in the first season."

And he promises he's learned a thing or two from his days working on "Heroes" (remember that show?): "Learning from my days on 'Heroes,' I'm planning to add some cliffhangers, which we'll get into starting with episode five. That's when a new character comes into the world and really shakes things up, somebody who has a link to the shared histories of both Chuck and Ned."

Sounds cool to me, and Fuller and friends have already created a world that I love returning to each week, so I can't wait to see where they go next.

The big news about "How I Met Your Mother" is that co-creator Craig Thomas promises that the showrunners have their penchant for random celebrity drop-ins under control. If bringing in Britney Spears was really necessary to lock down a fourth season than I'm certainly grateful, but enough is enough. Lucky, Thomas apparently thinks so too: "Our core audience turns in to see those five characters," he says. "We're not 'The Love Boat.' "

Amen, brother. And on that note, I unfortunately still have to go to work. Peace out.

Indiana Jones and the saga of the rapidly aging man

I apologize up front for that rather unfortunate title if it leads anyone to think I have seen the new Indy movie. It instead reflects that I'm simply too old to stay up until 2:30 a.m. or so on a school night to watch a movie, even one as potentially cool as this. To complete my transition to solidly middle-aged citizen, however, I am going to see it at the much more civilized hour of 11:15 a.m. today and will share all my thoughts about it tomorrow.

In the meantime, there are a few bits of news out there about people I like, starting with seriously "Star Wars"-obsessed Patrick Read Johnson.

For years now I've been reading about a flick called "5/25/77" that was set to star everyone's favorite "Geek," John Francis Daley, but I just assumed it was completed and went straight to DVD. As happens, oh, twice daily or so, I was wrong.

It seems that Mr. Johnson has just landed a $200,000 windfall to complete his flick in time to present it at this year's Toronto International Film Festival (which I won't be attending, but I will be at this year's Savannah Film Festival in October, which I'm already rather jazzed about.)

So, what in the world is this little flick, now simply called "77" to suit our rather limited attention spans, about? Well, the original title matched the release date of the original "Star Wars," and the flick is about how Johnson's obsession with it led him to Hollywood and a career in directing. I haven't seen Daley, a k a Sam Weir on "Freaks and Geeks," in years, so here's hoping this little indie gets some kind of wide distribution after Toronto.

Jonathan Demme, music man

In what I'd have to call perhaps a slight case of trading up, Jonathan Demme has taken the reins of a new Bob Marley documentary from Martin Scorsese, who presumably is too busy working on "Shutter Island."

As many probably know well, Demme has a solid history of making docos, musical or otherwise. The most famous is probably still the Talking Heads flick "Stop Making Sense," but if I had one DVD-viewing recommendation for the day it would be "The Agronomist," his 2003 doco about Haitian radio journalist and human rights activist Jean Dominique.

In any case, this Marley flick is now one that's certainly caught my interest.

All hail the Polish brothers

In an era when truly independent movie studios are rapidly disappearing it's just extremely heartening to hear this bit of news about the Polish brothers, Mark and Michael.

The siblings, known most recently for the somewhat-satisfying "Astrononaut Farmer," have formed their own production company, Prohibition, with plans to start immediately on a pair of new flicks.

They will start with "Manure," a comedy about manure salesmen in 1960s heartland America that reteams them with "Astronaut Farmer" star Billy Bob Thornton. If that idea doesn't make you smile at least a little bit, there's probably nothing I can do to help you.

Immediately after that flick wraps in July, they'll get to work on "Stay Cool," a comedy that will star, oddly enough, Winona Ryder, Sean Astin and Chevy Chase.

I love movies that have a solid sense of time and place, which the Polish brothers always do with America's heartland (whatever in the world that really means.) "Twin Falls, Idaho" and "Northfork," in particular, are two I can't recommend highly enough.

Is Terry Gilliam coming to America?

There's a bit of good news about Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus," which I'd have to assume will be the last movie we'll ever see with the late Heath Ledger in it.

His folks at Cannes have sold U.K. rights for the flick to Lionsgate and Japanese rights to Showgate. No word yet on distribution in the U.S., but I'd imagine the presence of Ledger alone might be enough to get this one to my local multiplex at some point.

So, what is Gilliam's rather crazy flick about? Well, it stars Christopher Plummer as the immortal, 1,000-year-old Doctor Parnassus, who leads a traveling theater troupe that offers audience members a chance to go beyond reality through a magical mirror he acquired through a deal with the devil (Tom Waits, naturally.) When Satan comes to collect on his debt and targets the doctor's daughter (Lily Cole), the troupe members must rescue her with the aid of a mysterious outsider named Tony (Ledger.) Actually, after Ledger's untimely demise, "Tony" will now be played by Ledger, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law.

Finding out how they pull that off alone is enough to make me want to see this one if it indeed ever makes it to any kind of movie theater near me.

A look at "Vicky Christina Barcelona"

Phillip Ramati, a rather serious TV and movie fan who shares his thoughts about the boob tube daily here, summed up his opinion on this year's movies thusly yesterday as he passed by my cubicle (and I may be paraphrasing just slightly): "If it doesn't have Indiana Jones or Batman in it, or Scarlett Johansson having sex with Penelope Cruz, I'm really not too interested."

Well, as you might imagine, that last bit did spark my curiosity, so I had to seek out a trailer for Woody Allen's upcoming "Vicky Christina Barcelona," which indeed stars that dynamic duo, Javier Bardem and Patricia Clarkson. And yes, if you watch the trailer long enough, I believe you do get to see some fairly steamy Cruz-Johansson smooching, which is hopefully enough to liven up everyone's Thursday work day. Peace out.