Yogi Bear (2010) -- It will likely annoy me, but my daughters will love it.

Even by the sneak preview, I can tell that my daughters will be enraptured by the upcoming Yogi Bear movie. The animation on the bear looks pretty good, and it has just the right amount of slapstick to appeal to them.

The Warrior's Way (2010) Cowboys and Ninjas! My Life is Now Complete.

The Warrior's Way looks like a combination of Once Upon a Time in China and America, Chushingura, Lone Wolf and Cub, and Ninja Assassin with just a touch of The Quick and the Dead.

All it is missing is pirates, dinosaurs, and zombies.

I am so jazzed.

I Call That Bold Talk For Brotherly Directors -- The Trailer for the Coen Brothers' True Grit

I love the performances of John Wayne and Robert Duvall in Henry Hathaway's classic Western True Grit.

John Wayne manages to simultaneously pander to those who are critical of his earlier Western performances by giving them a "clownish" version of his hero archetype, while bringing a genuine depth of character and emotion to the role. He would expand on this deep performance later in The Shootist where he will leave behind the clown and reveal the strength of performance that had always been the staple of a Wayne role. Wayne's characters had never really been as mockable as his critics wanted them to be, and his portrayal of a clownish version followed by a return to form eviscerates his earlier critics.

Duvall is..well...Duvall. He is a powerful actor to watch and his performance as the nihilistic Ned Pepper is perfect. He delivers frightening lines with a dead pan that demonstrates the character's dissociation from the rest of humanity. Duvall's Pepper is the Nietzschian Overman, he is beyond good and evil and is an expression of Will. His character is a sharp contrast to the classical virtue of Wayne's Cogburn, a character who appears to be filled with vice but in the end has "True Grit."

Glen Campbell is passable in his performance. He neither adds nor detracts from the mood of the film and presents the flashy false hero with some charm. He is the man that everyone believes is the hero because he is handsome and apparently forthright. He is almost too good to be true, but in the end what the cynical may have viewed as illusion is revealed to be true. His heroism isn't false, it is as real as Cogburn's.

Kim Darby's performance as young Mattie Ross is the weakest link in the film, and I've always found it hard to empathize with her character -- even given her compelling mission. She has always come across as more bratty than determined. If a director were to attempt to remake the film, it is this performance that I would seek to change and use as the basis for new interpretation.

It appears that is exactly what the Coen Brothers have done in their upcoming version of the tale. That is, if the teaser trailer is any indication.

I couldn't ask for a better choice of Cogburn than Jeff Bridges, though this will make two Jeff Bridges Christmas must see movies for me this year, and Matt Damon in the Glen Campbell role seems appropriate. Casting Josh Brolin as the dastardly Tom Chaney implies that the film will be darker and the character sterner than the Hathaway version. When I read that Barry Pepper was cast as Ned Pepper, the image seemed as natural as the sharing of last names. Barry Pepper has a likability, akin to Duvall's, that will allow for a wonderfully sinister Ned Pepper.

I wouldn't have thought I could be excited about a remake of True Grit, but then I never would have guessed it would be the Coen Brothers making it.

Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes vs. Iron Man Animated Adventures

My daughters adore the Nicktoons series Iron Man: Animated Adventures. In fact, one of my daughters' favorite games is for me to "fly" her around the house while she wears "Tony's Suit" and becomes "Iron-Keyo!" The show is witty and has excellent and engaging animation.

Next month Marvel Comics is releasing their new Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes series. The new show has many of the same writers as the Nicktoons show, and some excellent voice actors, but if the animation matches the style in the "Micro Episodes," the show will leave a lot to be desired from a visual comparison.

Hulu Recommendation Friday -- Raising Hope

What are your thoughts about the new sitcom Raising Hope? I enjoyed it, but I'm wondering just how long they can maintain the raw humor before they slip into the land of the routine.

Any sitcom that features a scene of a father covering his baby's eyes as the baby's mother is being electrocuted for murder is showing a nice audacity, but I hope they can keep it up.

So far I've really enjoyed the performances of Cloris Leachman, Garret Dillahunt, Martha Plimpton, and Shannon Woodward.

Katy Perry and Elmo Duet Controversial?

I don't normally discuss politics on this blog. This is a pop culture blog and not a political blog, but it seems that some people are dead set on getting their politics mixed into my pop culture.

Apparently an upcoming duet featuring Katy Perry and Elmo is "too sexy" for some parents. You can watch the "offending" video below.

Personally, I don't see anything too risque for children's television. Sure, Katy has a pseudo-Betty Page thing going on, but Betty Page had a Betty Boop thing going on who had a Clara Bow thing going on who had a...

Sometimes I wonder at our modern desire to protect children from sex -- and from violence for that matter.

That said, there is one thing that I want to say about the issue.

When I was growing up The Muppet Show was the "feature celebrities singing new singles" show, and Sesame Street was the show with an underlying pedagogy that taught children numbers and colors etc. There isn't a Muppet Show anymore, but doesn't this Katy Perry number strike anyone as blatantly commercial in a way that "Public Television" stands in contrast to?

I find it ironic that the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show that I have my twin daughters watch -- which is based on a commercial IP -- has better pedagogy and seems less concerned with overt commercialism than Sesame Street.

I'm not opposed to children's programming having a merchandising aspect. Many of my fondest memories are of my own youthful playtime with toys and games based on children's programs (and vice versa). That's not my point.

My point is the irony that the tax payer subsidized, and pledge supported, programming of a public television show is more commercial oriented -- and is promoting pop-singles -- in a way that a commercial television show isn't. The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show is played without commercials, doesn't feature modern pop stars (though its theme song was written by They Might Be Giants), and has a better underlying pedagogy than the leading children's television program.

Now if someone can explain to me why my DVDs of older episodes of Sesame Street are labeled with a Parental Warning.

Dragon Age Pen and Paper RPG Set 2 in Open Beta

Green Ronin is following in the footsteps of Paizo Publishing and releasing the second boxed set in their Dragon Age pen and paper RPG in an open playtest. You can download the document here.

I am quite fond of the Dragon Age game (as I made clear in an earlier post) and am looking forward to playtesting the rules for higher level characters.

Kudos to Chris Pramas and crew.

I'll let you all know what I think of Set 2 shortly.