While I am not entirely sure that fans of animation and puppets and joy and wonder and childhood dreams need yet another reason to check out The Muppets when it opens over Thanksgiving weekend, Disney and Pixar are not taking any chances, loading up the fleecy feel-good film of the holidays with an extra gift – a new Pixar short. But it’s not just any new Pixar short, it’s a Toy Story short. Small Fry returns us to a post-Toy Story 3 world, with (spoiler alert if for some horrific reason you’ve yet to see the third film, you cold-hearted bastard) all the toys happily living out a play-filled existence with wee lass Bonnie. Ever equal when it comes to said play time, Small Fry opens with Bonnie and her mom going on a fast food-outing, accompanied by both Buzz and Rex. But a tiny little tyrant capitalizes on some ball-room confusion, usurping Buzz’s place in Bonnie’s backpack and leaving ol’ Lightyear to fend for himself. Happy Meal toys will never look the same after you see Small Fry. Angus MacLane (who previously contributed to the Burn-E short) directs the film, which features voice work from Pixar director Teddy Newton as the bite-sized Buzz and Jane Lynch as newcomer Neptuna, along with the whole rest of the recognizable Toy Story gang, including Tim Allen, Tom Hanks, John Ratzenberger, and Joan Cusack. After the break, sate your appetite for delicious new Toy Story fare and check out larger versions of two new [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Yup, it’s that time of the year again. That time of the year where we TV folk bitch and moan about what shows won’t be getting some golden Emmy love because the Academy is full of old people who think basic cable is what holds up the Brooklyn Bridge, which they also saw get built… I think… That said, this year’s Emmy Nominations are no more surprising than they were last year. Mad Men leads in the scripted drama series dept with nineteen nominations, but more interestingly, the HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce leads the overall with twenty one nominations. Before we get and further into this, let’s check out some of the shows that didn’t get nominated for anything in either overall, acting or technical categories (not that any of this matters, like usual).

Seeing as it was on the Starz network and only lasted for two seasons, there are probably a lot of people out there who haven’t heard of the TV show Party Down. But seeing as it was one of the best shows on recent television, there are also a lot of people who hold it very dear to their hearts. That tends to happen when something is good, and kept away from the mainstream, and ended prematurely. Traditionally, a TV show reaching cult status has always been a good recipe for strong DVD sales, and then talks of a film adaptation. Shows like Arrested Development and even Party Down creator Rob Thomas’ Veronica Mars have gone through the same process. Also traditionally, despite the fact that the DVD sales raise a lot of studio eyebrows, the film version never comes to fruition. Could Party Down change all of that? Probably not, but they’re going to try.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly thing about movie stuff. Tonight’s edition features mini-ninjas, talk about naked pictures of Blake Lively, Sly Stallone set to music, an explanation of who Jane Lynch is, a joke about Michael Bay, an even less funny joke about Blake Lively and a profile of Richard Ayoade. That and more, we assure you. Above you will see something I never thought we’d lead with in a Movie News After Dark entry: someone’s grave stone. But there it is, the resting place of actor Leslie Nielsen. Modest, simple and complete with one last fart joke for the road. Nielsen may not have lasted forever, but his penchant for the fart joke will forever stay in our hearts.

What is Movie News After Dark? Tonight it’s a movie news column stunned by its author’s ability to find all that is cool and interesting in the world of film. Seriously, this might be the best one of these lot that he’s put together in over 150 tries. It’s almost as if he’s ready to graduate to a “mediocre” rating as a news aggregator. Then he can begin acquiring spells and executing more advanced quests before he can join a proper guild and go on raids. Gore Verbinski may finally have found his Lone Ranger in the form of The Social Network star Armie Hammer. He is currently in talks to take the lead alongside Johnny Depp, who’s already been cast as Tonto. He’s got the look (and damn, the voice as well), but the challenge for Hammer will be the fact that there’s only one character to play in the film. Unless Verbinski carries over the “multiple Jack Sparrow” sequences from his Pirates of the Caribbean work.

This week, Fat Guy Kevin Carr starts a new regimen of drugs that comes in a clear little pill. The guy on the street corner told him that it would unlock the full potential of his mind, and he assured Kevin it was FDA approved. Why would this guy lie to him? While waiting for the drugs to kick in, Kevin decided to take a trip across the American southwest and search for skinny little aliens with fat man voices. He knows he’s safe, even if he’s picked up by the cops, because he’s retained a dead-sexy lawyer who runs his practice out of the back of his Lincoln Town Car.

When only 74,000 people watch your second season finale, you can’t exactly count on being renewed. Such is the case for the creators of Party Down, the latest in a long line of great comedy shows canceled before they were able to reach their prime. After two gloriously offbeat seasons, Starz has decided not to renew the Adam Scott and Ken Marino-led show. And while it disappoints me, as a fan of the show, to see it go, it’s clear that this was the inevitable endgame.

Yeah, yeah. I know it’s been a few weeks since I’ve mustered up the energy to review an episode of Glee. But something must be done. This week’s episode, unlike the two fabulous, glamorous and energetic episodes that preceded it, was more than just a small disappointment.

This should have been the episode where Glee jumped the shark, at least commercially. Of course, in true form, Ryan Murphy and team take something obviously dangerous and turn it into something creative, inventive and fun.

Where do you go when everything works out? What happens to the hero and his damsel after that glorious last kiss? These are the questions that Executive Producer Ryan Murphy and the creative team behind Glee were faced with when their first season went to break after New Directions won sectionals and coach Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) finally got the girl. It is a task that they’ve hit head-on in the energetic and blissfully self-aware opening episode to the second half of their first season.

Sometimes, there is work to be done. And sometimes, the world needs a hero. That work is science, and I am the world’s hero. This week I watch the first season of Glee in one sitting, and live to tell the tale.

This week, the Fox TV show Glee (a show I’ve never watched a minute of) hit your local retailers with the first part of its first season on DVD. And while I’m not too sure about the show, I am sure about the hilarity created by Jane Lynch.

The insanity of writer/actor Ari Gold collides with the awesomeness of the Air Guitar World Championship. How can this possibly go wrong?

Kevin Carr breaks down the week’s releases, looking at Inglourious Basterds, Shorts, and Post Grad.

Headstrong Sylvia (Tricia O’Kelley) loses it on-screen during her Wacky Weather Girl segment after finding her co-worker Sherry’s (Kaitlin Olson) panties in her live-in boyfriend and fellow colleague’s (Mark Harmon) dressing room. Unhirable in her profession, she is forced to start over by crashing with her brother and waiting tables until she gets back on her feet.

Jane Lynch has dealt with 40 Year Old Virgins, Role Models, and the Best In Show and shows no signs of stopping — check here to find out what’s on her future slate.

If you’re going to play this game, please please please use alcohol instead of an energy drink. We don’t want to be responsible if your aorta explodes.

Kevin Carr looks at the slate of films in theaters this week with the FSR Report Card.

Role Models is one of the few winter comedies that I’ve been hearing good things about, and rightfully so. And to illustrate my point, I would like to present a few red band clips.