A Wednesday clip show, with "Harry Potter," "Torchwood" and more

OK, a lot of clips to get through today and not a lot of time to do it, so let's just jump right into it, and where better to start (at least in my book) then with the first trailer I've seen for "Gainsbourg"?

Based on the life of the legendary French pop singer Serge Gainsbourg, whose love life was at least as colorful as his musical one, it's directed by Joann Sfar, who also adapted the screenplay from her own graphic novel about the singer. Any movie about his rather wild life would both have to make Gainsbourg out to be more than a bit of a gangster, and also have some flights of fancy to fit his persona, and it looks like this will have both. Enjoy the trailer, and keep an eye out for this in at least some American markets on Aug. 31.



Next up, though I really couldn't stand John Sayles' last movie, "Honeydripper," that was the first one of his I didn't enjoy pretty much unconditionally, so I'm certainly looking forward to whatever he comes up with next. Well, it's apparently something called "Amigo," which as you'll see below, gets him back to rightly serious material to work with, the U.S. occupation of the Philippines in 1900. The flick starring Garret Dillahunt, D.J. Qualls and Chris Cooper, among many others, opens in at least limited release on Aug. 20. Enjoy the first trailer I've come across.



I was very late coming to the "Torchwood" game, but thanks to the head's up from my fellow cubicle slave Renee Corwine, I'm now finally catching on and up. I'm only on episode three of the second season right now from Netflix streaming, and at the rate of one episode per night, there's no way I'll be able to catch up in time for the season 4 premiere on Starz on July 8. If, as I believe, however, Starz (which I don't get) puts its new stuff up on Netflix almost immediately, I soon will be all caught up, and you should too.

If you've never seen the "Doctor Who" spinoff, it's a nifty little show that sort of crosses "X-Files" with a good police procedural. And as you'll see from the season 4 preview below, only Captain Jack and Gwen are left from the original cast as they embark on the new season, "Miracle Day." Enjoy.



I got a bucket of swag at work to try and lure me to see "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" in Imax 3D, but I don't think I'm going to take the bait. While I'm glad we finally have the Imax technology here in Macon, I wish a) it weren't coupled with 3D (and I don't know if it always has to be, which would be rather limiting), and b) there were a better movie to check it out with. Well, I just might take the chance with the second half of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," which will finally bring the young wizard's saga to a close on July 15. If, like me, you don't quite remember exactly where part I left things, you'll enjoy this handy assist courtesy of Comingsoon.net, which offers a quick refresher course. Enjoy, and then stick around finally for a free movie, and one I dearly love.



And what better way to close a Wednesday morning post than with a free movie, and with one of my favorites of recent years, too? I first saw "Moon" at the Atlanta Film Festival a few years back, and was instantly hooked. Sam Rockwell was clearly robbed at Oscar time for his work in this flick about a man who gets stranded at his work outpost on the moon. Enjoy the movie, and have a perfectly endurable Wednesday. Peace out.

The only movie I've walked out of (well, sort of) in ... well, it seems like forever

Before I get into any of that today, there's some rather amazing news about Luc Besson out there today, especially since the man very rarely bothers to direct movies these days that ever see their way into American movie theaters.

Even so, I'm sure just about everyone remembers the weird, wild and mostly wonderful "The Fifth Element." Sure, there are better sci-fi movies, but there aren't many that are more fun.

So, it's rather amazingly good news, courtesy of the froggy site Fantasy.fr, that Besson has been quietly plotting a return to that kind of big sci-fi epic. He told Europe 1 he's currently designing the creatures for a flick he would shoot in 2012 or 2013 for release in 2013 or 2014 (a ways out, I know, but since the man rarely deigns to step behind the camera any more, I guess we shouldn't be surprised.) Here's a bit more of what he had to say about it to Europe 1:

"When I did 'The Fifth Element,' I already had the technological tools that were a little outdated. With the advent of digital technology, it is amazing what you can do. The technique has caught the imagination. One can imagine anything, there will always be technicians to follow you in your delusion."

This could, of course, all fizzle out, but it sounds like nothing but cool so far, so stay tuned.

OK, after that today, I'm rarely in the business of telling people to not go see movies, but I'm gonna come fairly close today. I usually like to let people make up their own minds on just about anything, but I had a viewing experience the other day that just left my brain scarred, and unfortunately I'm still thinking about it five days later.

Allow me to explain. Though I still don't own a cell phone (and never will), I decided to update my viewing to at least the late 20th century by buying a flat TV that doesn't weigh 100 pounds and a blu-ray disc player. It's been great discovering this "new" technology (at least to a Luddite like me), and especially enjoying the Netflix watch instantly content streamed onto my TV (just watched the first season of "Veronica Mars" again, and indeed, TV just doesn't get much better than that.)

And last Saturday, I finally decided I should at least rent a blu-ray disc to see what all this picture quality was about. After a quick trip to the Redbox, I was rather happy to be coming home with Michael Winterbottom's "The Killer Inside Me," which I had wanted to see for a long time now.

Well, I never thought I would ever be a prude when it comes to movie violence, and I still really don't think I am, but be warned if you haven't seen it: This movie is thoroughly disgusting, and I couldn't bring myself to watch enough of it to find out if it eventually has any redeeming value.

I don't want to spoil too much of this in case anyone out there hasn't seen this and still wants to, but I'll tell you exactly how far I made it into Winterbottom's movie starring Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba and Kate Hudson. About 15 minutes in or so, there's a scene in which Affleck's character, a small-town sheriff of some sort, slowly and methodically beats to death a prostitute he's taken up with, played by Alba.

Now, I suppose there's some merit in the realism of this shot, but it nearly made me vomit, and frankly just kind of left me dazed. I made it through a few more minutes of the movie, which indeed looked amazing, before I had to just turn it off, the first time in as long as I can remember that I started a movie and simply couldn't finish it (hence the walked out of ... sort of, since I didn't actually walk out of my own house.)

I normally love Winterbottom's movies, in particular "24-Hour Party People" and "Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story," and one of the things I respect about him as a filmmaker is that he dives into all kinds of genres, so I'll definitely come back to him, but this was one time that I simply couldn't take it.

Please, if you've seen this movie, do let me know if it gets any better, because I really can't imagine any scenario in which I'll be able to bring myself to try and watch it again.

OK, after that rather rambling diatribe, all I have left today is a quartet or so of videos, and they're all pretty good. First up comes, finally, a promo for Conan O'Brien's new TBS show, premiering (I believe) Nov. 8, that fits his comedic skills. Those "Missing You" promos we're OK, but this one, complete with a car filled with "illegal fireworks from New Hampshire" and unpopped popcorn, is much, much better. Enjoy, and certainly tune in for whatever Conan's got cooked up when he finally returns to late night.



I definitely plan to go see "Red" this weekend, because from what I've read and seen so far it seems to be nothing but a big ball of goofy fun. There's plenty of viral marketing out there for the flick starring Bruce Willis, Dame Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, Mary Louse Parker and others, but surely none of it as funny as this latest installment of Zach Galifianakis' "Between Two Ferns" bits, this time with Willis. As usual, the interview flames out rather spectacularly, but not before Galifianakis manages to get in some choice zingers such as "Were you ever afraid 'The Whole Ten Yards' might be too good"? Enjoy the clip.

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis: Bruce Willis from Bruce Willis

Is it me, or does just about every new show outside of HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" and FX's "Terriers" just kind of suck this year? The only other one I've tuned in for so far is "Raising Hope" on Fox, with the recommendation of a co-worker, and that's kind of amusing, but otherwise, not a single show has managed to capture my attention. Am I missing anything good? I really doubt it, but please let me know if so. Thankfully, with one of my favorite shows from last year returning early (in February), relief is in sight. The first season of FX's "Justified," starring "Deadwood" lawman Timothy Oliphant, got off to a slow start, but eventually developed into a nearly first-rate drama. The finale was fantastic, so I can't wait to see where it picks up for take two. Enjoy the trailer for the show's return.



And finally today, I can't imagine I'll ever get to see this movie in any kind of theater, but I love Serge Gainsbourg, so I'll definitely watch it on my spiffy new blu-ray player someday. The rather long clip below is the only trailer I know of for the documentary about the late French pop star by Pascal Forneri. The title, "Gainsbourg, l'homme qui aimait les femmes" ("Gainsbourg, the man who loved women"), is certainly appropriate for the man who somehow romanced Brigitte Bardot, Jane Birkin and many other beautiful women, and thankfully, also fathered the great Charlotte Gainsbourg, a definite reel fanatic fave. Enjoy the trailer, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.


Gainsbourg, l'homme qui aimait les femmes : la bande annonce
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Who got the bigger Oscar shaft, The Boss, Batman or Dirty Harry?

Before I dive into anything about the Oscar nominations, the coolest thing I found this morning was actually casting news for what should be a rather wickedly good movie from Alfonso Cuaron.

The "Children of Men" director's next flick will probably be what the IMDB still calls an "Untitled Alfonso Cuaron Project," a small film about a family living in Mexico City in 1971, but I'm talking about what should come next.

"A Boy and His Shoe" is described as a road movie about young folks traveling throughout England, Scotland and France, and if you've seen "Y Tu Mama Tambien" (and if you haven't, why not?), you know the man knows a thing or two about road movies. And, even better, according to the Froggy film site Cinempire (if I have my rusty French right), he's recruited French everyman Daniel Auteil and Charlotte Gainsbourg to star in it.

Still best known so far as the daughter of iconic French crooner Serge Gainsbourg, Charlotte is turning into a fine actress herself. I've liked her ever since Claude Miller's "The Little Thief," and she and Heath Ledger together were easily the best thing about Todd Haynes' "I'm Not There," Cate Blanchett notwithstanding.

Anyways, enough about that. On to the Oscars ...

I was asked by my boss to write something handicapping the Oscars for the actual Telegraph newspaper, and I will about a week before the show or so, but for now just a few gripes, starting with the shoddy treatment of "The Dark Knight."

Now, I didn't put it in my top five for the year ("Milk," "Slumdog Millionaire," "The Wrestler," "Tell No One" and "Let the Right One In"), so I wasn't terribly surprised or upset to see it didn't get a Best Picture nomination, but I really would have liked to see a Best Director nomination for Christopher Nolan's accomplishment.

According to some fun facts compiled by Variety, this is rather amazingly only the fifth time that all five directors of the Best Picture nominees also got a Best Director nod, and I would usually say huzzah to that. It just seems to make sense.

This year, however, can you really tell me that Stephen Daldry, who has now received Best Director nominations for each of his first three films ("Billy Elliott, "The Hours" and now "The Reader"), is deserving of yet another nomination while Nolan is shut out for creating something as epically entertaining as "The Dark Knight"? Now, I haven't seen "The Reader," and I realize that makes my argument rather ludicrous, but this is my rant, so deal with it.

One of the two people who might have a bigger beef than Mr. Nolan would have to be Clint Eastwood, who I just assumed was entitled to a Best Picture nomination every time he sat in the director's chair, but this time got a big bucket of nothing for "Gran Torino."

Now, I would normally celebrate the death of this sense of entitlement, but I found "Gran Torino" to be more entertaining than any Eastwood-directed movie I've seen since "Bird." It took a while to grow on me, but for a reason that probably reflects poorly on me: I found myself laughing at the saltier of Walt Kowalski's racial slurs, and it just me extremely uncomfortable for a good portion of the flick.

That said, once I've had time to think about it, Eastwood's tale about his friendship with a Hmong family that moves in next door is a naturally entertaining tale, even if he is still a mortal enemy of subtlety (examples: Did they really have to play the military music every time he pointed a gun or, AND IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FLICK YET, PLEASE SKIP TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH, have him lying in the shape of a cross at the end of the flick?)

Those are small quibbles about a flick that while, again shouldn't have gotten a Best Picture nomination, should have at least garnered either a Best Actor nod for him, an Adapted Screenplay nomination for Nick Schenk or, at the very least, a Best Song nomination for his graceful theme song that plays at the movie's finish.

And, to wrap this up with the biggest head-scratcher of all, how in the world did they end up only nominating three songs in the Best Original Song category, "Jai Ho" and "O Saya" from "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Down to Earth" from "Wall-E"? The double nod for A.R. Rahman's "Slumdog" work (he's also, rightfully, nominated for Best Original Score) probably means they will cancel each other out for a "Wall-E" victory (actually, the "Wall-E" nomination that just made me smile was Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter and Jim Reardon with Best Original Screenplay for a movie that mainly features robot dialogue. Priceless.)

But, getting back to the songs, did they just get tired after picking three and stop? Along with snubbing Clint Eastwood's jazzy piano tune, they also ignored Bruce Springsteen's soulful theme song for "The Wrestler," which also closes out Darren Aronofsky's movie and is one of the Boss's best songs in years.

OK, enough about that. If I had to handicap it, I'd say the Best Picture race will be a three-way heat between "Slumdog Millionaire," "Milk" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," and I guess you could do worse than that (though I've expressed here before my distaste for "Benjamin Button.") In closing, here's a video montage from the flick set to Springsteen's tune, since, amazingly, "The Wrestler" is STILL not playing wide enough to reach into my little corner of the world this week (though we do finally get "Frost/Nixon," "Rachel Getting Married" and "Slumdog Millionaire," so I should probably just be thankful.) Enjoy the song, and have a perfectly pleasant weekend. 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.