finally, it’s the coens

For a second or two, let’s just forget that the financial system our country and the world is based on is about to go belly up . . .

Congrats to the Coens Brother for finally scoring a hit with Burn After Reading. The offbeat comedy finally scored the Coens a big opening weekend, one long, long, long overdue. I’d say that it’s proof a good movie, good word-of-mouth and good reviews are what did it, but who am I kidding? You can put Pitt and Clooney together in a movie about chalkboard manufacturing and it would open to $20 million.

News wasn’t all that good. In the span of about 18 months, Tyler Perry may have gone from underrated Hollywood studio killer to an over-exposed market-saturator who has gotten too big for himself. House of Payne stinks. After his Why Did I Get Married? opened to $21 million last October, his Meet the Browns got hideous reviews, but still opened to $20 million. He didn’t even screen his latest Family That Preys, but it’s getting bad weekend reviews and it opened to $18 million. We’ll see if it’s the beginning of the end when he brings back Medea in February.

No, no, no, no. No. No. I’m all for finding a diverse cast, I’m all for getting a couple hot chicks stuffed into spandex and all. But please don’t let this happen. I’m already worried enough about this movie. Please. I ask for so little. Well, I’m also asking for an Eagles win tonight . . .

Sharp’s very own The Ref first told you about this movie in January when its star — an apparently Oscar-worthy Mickey Rourke — was training for the part around these parts in Hazleton, Freeland and Allentown. Now, The Wrestler, one of the finds of the Toronto Film Festival, has a release date.

Yet another really good Mad Men last night, highlighting the lengths the women of the show — and of the time — had to go to keep their lives from spiraling out of control. When Betsy finally grew a pair and confronted Don about one of his affairs, that was one of the most powerful things you’re going to see on TV. Best of all, it was real. But how did this possibly take so long? It seemed to be a couple of days after Jimmy broke the news to her about the affair, after which she puked in Don’s new car on the way home. So the puke conversation went nowhere? Did they ignore it? Was there some kind of lame excuse? “No, don’t worry honey, I’m fine. I think it was the bump you hit. What? You didn’t hit a bump? Maybe it was some bad shrimp. What? I didn’t have shrimp? Maybe it was YOU BANGING EVERYTHING ON TWO LEGS!!!”

All together now . . . ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

It’s bad enough they haven’t made a truly standout episode in two seasons. But now this? Nip/Tuck is on thin ice. Take particular notice that Julian McMahon didn’t show up for wardrobe last week.

I wouldn’t want to sell the hottest, most lucrative video-game property in history either.

This Michael Phelps thing has got to end sooner or later, right? Right?