After being gone for far too long Kenny Powers (Danny McBride) is back, complete with a Confederate flag and marijuana leaf covered boogie board. thankfully the series is much better at keeping the laughs coming than Powers is at catching some waves in the season premiere of Eastbound & Down. We now find everyone’s favorite ballplayer in the minors in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina playing for the Mermen. Seemingly back at the top of his game (or at least as high as it can get in the minor leagues). Powers is always best when he’s cocky and arrogant, and since that’s basically all the time, having him getting a taste of success just makes it that much better.  Hit the jump for more.

One of the great things about Danny McBride is how he creates different iterations of his comic persona. McBride usually plays one form of white trash or another but The Foot Fist Way’s Fred Simmons is different than Kenny Powers, and way different than the characters in Your Highness and The Pineapple Express. All are delusional egotistical assholes, but each offer different dilemmas and delights. Kenny Powers – the main character of Eastbound and Down – was a superstar and he’s still got the swagger long after he lost his arm and his money, and even when he’s hiding out in Mexico. It’s a different sort of delusion than his other characters: Kenny’s someone desperately clinging to the time when they were still hot shit, while the majority of his other characters never hit those heights, and it makes all of the difference in the world. Our review of the season one and season two Blu-rays of Eastbound and Down follow after the jump.

There is an art to camp.  It’s not enough to simply have the director wink to the audience and say “Yeah, we know this is terrible, but we’re having dumb fun so laugh god-dammit.“  Just because you’re making something trashy, doesn’t mean you have the license to give up quality filmmaking.  Director Patrick Lussier understands the difference between trashy filmmaking and trashy fun and that’s the reason his film Drive Angry is such a delight.  The script is unapologetically dumb, everything is cranked up to 11, and while everyone is clearly having a good time, no one is slacking off.  That’s the art to Drive Angry and it’s why it will likely build a devoted cult following in the years to come.

The trailer for Jeff Nichols’ intense psychological drama Take Shelter has gone online.  I caught the film at Sundance and while I thought it could stand to lose a good twenty minutes to keep up the pacing and maintain the dread it creates in the first act, but the core of the story is fantastic and the performances are solid.  The trailer tries to play up the psychological aspect of the story and that’s kind of necessary because after the recent spate of devastating tornados, most folks aren’t going to think that building a storm shelter is a crazy idea.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film stars Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Shea Whigham, Katy Mixon, and Kathy Baker.  Take Shelter opens October 7th.

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the Eastbound & Down panel at the 28^th annual PaleyFest in Los Angeles. Since filming hasn’t started on the show’s third season, I wasn’t sure how much the cast would say about what’s coming up. Thankfully, they dropped a few clues and I also got to hear some great behind the scenes stories about one of TV’s best comedies.

The panel featured star/creator Danny McBride, director/creator Jody Hill, executive producer Chris Henchy and stars Ana de la Reguera, Katy Mixon, Steve Little and Michael Pena. Hit the jump for a full recap of the night’s events.

As part of our ongoing coverage for the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, we have the first images from Jeff Nichols’ Take Shelter.  Here’s the one-line synopsis: A working-class husband and father questions whether his terrifying dreams of an apocalyptic storm signal something real to come or the onset of an inherited mental illness he’s feared his whole life. The film stars Michael Shannon (Boardwalk Empire), Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life), Shea Whigham (Boardwalk Empire), Katy Mixon (Eastbound & Down), and Kathy Baker (Edward Scissorhands).

Hit the jump to check out the images.  The 2011 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 20 – 30^th.

Chuck Lorre has two shows on CBS: The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men.  Chuck Lorre has the two highest-rated sitcoms on the air: Big Bang and Men.  It follows that, if Lorre wants to put his name on another show, CBS wants to make that show.

Thus we have Mike & Molly, which Lorre executive produces with Mark Roberts, slotted after Men on Monday nights.  The series promises to track the budding romance of the notably overweight Mike (Billy Gardell) and Molly (Melissa McCarthy) — a “nom nom nom” rom-com, if you will.  My review after the jump.

One of the things I love about Danny McBride is how he variates his essential comic character. McBride usually plays one form of white trash or another but The Foot Fist Way’s Fred Simmons is different than Kenny Powers. Fred Simmons never had his lifestyle challenged, even with the Chuck “The Truck” stuff. Both men are delusional, but Fred managed to the big fish in a small pond. Kenny Powers, the main character of Eastbound and Down, was a superstar, and he’s still got the swagger way after he lost his arm, and his money. It’s a different sort of delusion, someone desperately clinging to the illusion that they’re still hot shit, which is different than someone who achieved something more than being the king of the demo. More after the jump: