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Take one part Coen Bros’ re-boot of  “True Grit”,  add the eloquent vulgarity of   the prematurely departed, “Deadwood”, then a dash of backwoods alchemy and you have “The Sisters Brothers” by James DeWitt.

Eli and Charles Sisters are a notorious pair of sibling assassins making their way along the West Coast in 1851.  The Gold Rush is in full bloom, having turned “thousands of previously intelligent men and women to abandon their families and homes forever.” Eli and Charles are the muscle for ‘The Commodore’, an ornery megalomaniac ruling the territory from up in Oregon City.

At the beginning of the novel, ‘The Commodore’ assigns the boys some nasty business down in Sacramento. They’re to kill a gold prospector named Herman Kermit Warm.  The brothers have no idea why this man has earned the wrath of their employer, but it’s not really their business to worry about such things.

The novel is their vivid and remarkable, pistol-whipped journey.  They engage with the insane, wicked, ruthless and starving. From saloon to whorehouse, deep woods to the wicked streets of the Barbary Coast, the Sisters brothers proceed with deadly determination.

Seen through the eyes of Eli Sisters, who narrates with a mixture of melancholy and laconic repose. He’s a reluctant murderer — preferring to be a shopkeeper — rather than a killer, but it’s the only work he knows and it keeps him close to his brother, which he enjoys. Eli describes their ride toward Sacramento with a deadpan accounting that is at times both humorous and horrifying.

For those who like their fiction soaked in whiskey and blood , this is something you should start reading tonight.  Check out this “book trailer” put out by Harper Collins.

His reputation as an actor appears to be burdened by the roles he chooses, but he will generally be the best thing on the screen, even making middle of the road vehicles like “The Lincoln Lawyer” or “We Are Marshall”  modest box office successes.

McConaughey first made his mark with a small but highly memorable performance in Richard Linkletter’s cult hit,”Dazed and Confused”. It’s a Texas high school saga of the mid- 70′s. He plays the kinda- sleazy older guy who still has an appetite for the high school gals. His character proved more iconic amidst other young stars in the cast, yet to be discovered. Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich, Parker Posey and Adam Goldberg to name a few.

McConaughey seems to appreciate and understand the appeal of his politically incorrect character and seems quite amused by the opportunity to reprise the role 20 years later in this music video by Butch Walker and the Black Widows.  The song is “Synthesizers” and we think you’re going to enjoy this….

Case in point, Charlie Sheen. Though more a fan of his work in Platoon, Wall Street and Eight Men Out. The fun-loving star of the insipid “Two and a Half Men”, continues to raise eyebrows given his voracious affection for porn stars, drugs and bad marriages.  Some say Charlie is crying out for help. The DailyHelping would love to be his “wing man”.

A recent co-celebrant, porn thespian Kacey Jordan, recently fired off into the tweetisphere a picture of a coffee table and all the supplies necessary to help make the night something special. Included in the picture, (shown below) is Ms Jordan’s crotch. This is perhaps to give the picture perspective.

(shown)

• Mouthwash
• Coca-Cola
• Lysol wipes
• Prescription drugs
• Fiji water
• Marlboros
• Cologne
• “Bedhead After Party” hair cream
• Lube
• An Ikea “Magiker” coffee table
• Ms Jordan’s crotch.

The show is based on the great Elmore Leonard (“Get Shorty”),  novels Pronto and Riding the Rap and a short story called  “Fire in the Hole, which coincidentally is the title of the pilot episode.  Based in Kentucky and it’s hill country, the new US Deputy Marshall, Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant, of  Deadwood fame), engages in a unique brand of justice where the bad guys can sometimes be much smarter than they look and the good guys can get pretty damn nasty. It’s a darkly humorous show as one would come to expect from Elmore Leonard’s imagination. The show is rich in compelling characters and whip smart scripts.

Go get the 1st season DVD’s and see if you agree with the DailyHelping, that “Justified” is one of last year’s five best television dramas.  You have until February 9th before the new 13 episode season begins.

All the Dude wanted to do was abide.

Public television in America,known as PBS, will open it’s 25th season of it’s highly respected series, American Masters with an episode devoted to the work of veteran actor, Jeff Bridges.  With 40 years on the big screen, Bridge’s reputation is that of a consummate leading man and superior character actor, elevated to the rarefied air of Oscar winner just last year for his turn as Bad Blake in “Crazy Heart”.

The American Masters series is notable for the elevated caliber of it’s subjects. Past subjects have been includes profiles of such American artists as Charlie Chaplin, Andy Warhol, Charlie Parker, Martha Graham, Eugene O’Neill, Paul Simon, and Leonard Bernstein. Clearly the Dude has done well.

The 90-minute film, which will be aired nationally on Wednesday, January 12 comes with Bridges having two movies out in the theaters. He’s in the 3-D cartoon Tron Legacy – reprising a role he played back in 1982, and as Rooster Cogburn in the Coan Brother’s remake of “True Grit”, a film mentioned several times here at DailyHelping.

Shown here is a clip from PBS’s American Masters, Jeff Bridges: The Dude Abides. In what must have felt completely surreal for everyone involved, the cameras follow Bridges into a small Greenwich Village shop that caters to everything Lebowski. The proprietor in keeping with the flavor of this claustrophobic shrine to the cult hit, attends to the register in flip-flops, bathrobe and shades.  What makes watching this clip so enjoyable is the obvious amusement of this remarkably mellow celebrity.  Enjoy.

The most obvious similarity is that both comedies share the great Ed Helms (The Office, Knocked Up), who seems to be flourish as an “average guy who leaves town and succumbs to the wild life”.

As popular as it was, the DailyHelping wasn’t a big fan of “The Hangover”.  Some of the humor was inspired, other parts fell short. A so-so comedy that seemed to come out at the right time and it proved to be one of the years blockbuster comedies.  Plans for a sequel set in Thailand has already made some news about dropping the troubled Mel Gibson from a signature cameo role.  (Liam Neeson has stepped in).

Look for Cedar Rapids, stay for the insurance conference, the chlorine, the booze, hookers and John C. Reilly. It’s a much better hangover.  Enjoy…

Don't call her Lindsey!

Emma Stone is a rising star who has a unique problem. People think she’s Lindsey Lohan. With all due respect to Ms Lohan, (who is now apparently catching heat for throwing a pretty wild party for her fellow recovering addicts at a Betty Ford satellite home), Emma Stone is a rising star who has gone A-list with just a handful of movies to her credit.  The buzz is that she may land a role in the new Spiderman re-boot. Quite a prize.

Stone was first seen as Laurie Partridge in an ill-conceived television re-boot.  A few more television appearances and then boom. The hot gal in Superbad, the hot girl in The Rocker, the hot girl in “The House Bunny”, and then that really hot girl named Witchita in the huge hit, Zombieland.

Bigger things are on tap.  A-list stuff. She’s finished filming ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love,’ a comedy/drama with Steve Carrell, , Kevin Bacon and Marissa Tomei. She may not be at the top of the poster, but she’s getting some pretty big projects. (Something Ms Lohan had seemed poised to do following her critically acclaimed, “Mean Girls”).

Emma is now working on “Friends with Benefits”, co-starring Justin Timberlake (who is enjoying some heat from his turn in  ‘The Social Network’) and Mila Kunis (Black Swan, The Book of Eli).