Hey folks,
Let's start off with this week's Fairfield County Community Theater Update (something that will become more "official" and get its own day to be updated later this year):
The Darien Players just ended a great run of Room Service. A fun show with a fun cast.
This is the last weekend of The Troupers Light Opera Company's production of Iolanthe. This fun Gilbert & Sullivan piece is well put together and highly enjoyable.
If you like Gilbert & Sullivan and are open to "re-interpretations", then check out Curtain Call's production of The Pirates of Penzance which opens this weekend. Sure, I'm plugging it for several reasons (wife and friends are part of the cast, friends with director, did the sound design)...but most importantly it's gonna be very funny. It runs through the end of April.
Lastly, I'm neck deep in rehearsals for Sly Fox which opens May 5 in Darien. I think I've got a great cast and they're all working really hard. The biggest challenge is going to be costumes and the set, but I've got good people working on both...and while it's looking like we're going to have to rent things from professionals I think it'll be worth it.
So...anyway...back to our regularly scheduled movie/TV reviews:
One of the funnier characters of the now defunct guilty pleasure Grounded For Life was goofy next door neighbor Brad. He was very likeable and not at all annoying or overbearing like Urkel. He was played by the funny and talented Brad Harrison who looked like he was going to be the replacement for Topher Grace on That 70s Show this past season. He was introduced last season as a rival of Eric's on that show, but before the start of the season Harrison got a lead in a new sitcom. He was gracious enough to let That 70s Show kill him off in a filmed cameo (the funniest bit in a so far yawn enducing final season...thank G-d they're wrapping it up in May). Meanwhile, Harrison's new show The Loop has finally premiered on FOX and boy did he make the right choice.
The Loop is about Sam (Harrison) who is the youngest executive at one of the biggest airlines. He's trying to balance life as an "adult" and life as a "post college grad". He lives with his crazy brother Sully (Eric Christian Olsen) and a couple of female friends, one of which he has a crush on but won't do anything about. His boss is hysterically played by Philip Baker Hall and one of his co-workers is Mimi Rogers, who's character is a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen as she's constantly dropping hints at Sam. Sam also has a secretary named Darcy, an Asian-American grad from MIT who constantly reminds him of how over qualified she is for her job.
The episodes that have aired so far have been mostly funny straight through (and the theme song is silly and catchy..."Hockey Monkey"...by The Zambonis). It airs Thursday nights at 8:30 on FOX and makes a nice pairing with My Name Is Earl if you switch over to NBC at 9pm.
In our effort to "catch up" on all the Oscar nominated movies we missed from last year, we've finally seen Good Night and Good Luck and Hustle and Flow. Both are well made films that definitely deserve the Oscar nominations they got (and I'd add that Ray Wise's performance in the former was over looked). Regardless of what you think of George Clooney's politics, Good Night and Good Luck is a good film that uses a past embarassment to look at some present issues (without being too heavy handed). Hustle and Flow is not for everyone as it presents a man doing everything he can to turn his life around from street thug to music artist. The Oscar winning song "It's Hard Out There To Be A Pimp" is actually a lot less "curious" of a choice once you've seen the film and get it stuch in your head. If you like good movies, you should try and catch both.
My last review for today is for a film that you can view via the internet for free if you look around. Loose Change is almost what Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 should have been. I say almost because it does take a few wrong turns towards the end. Some may say it's too soon to be asking questions about September 11, 2001, but there are a number of "facts" as presented that don't quite add up and this film asks a lot of questions that do need better answers. Most of the questions the film poses are bakced up with "evidence" (there's a very compelling argument that the World Trade Center was really brought down by a controlled implosion...which makes a lot more sense than the reasons we've "officially" been given...but there are probably other reasons for the public not knowing the "truth" right now and I won't suppose to venture into what they might be).
Where the film starts to lose its footing is when it ties the current administration into events and it goes completely off track once it gets into the story of Flight 93 (it's a bit hard to take a leap that the people on board the plane are alive and being hidden somewhere or worse). There are specious excuses to place the Bush Administration (or specific members of it) behind a vast conspiracy and the whole concept of conspiracy theories being true depends on many people keeping a secret (which quite honestly flies in the face of reality...most humans can't...particularly when you know there are others who know). The best I can say is take a look for yourself and draw your own conclusions. It's a fascinating film to say the least.
Just a reminder that you should all be watching Doctor Who on Sci-Fi Friday nights at 9pm. It's a great show and I want to see the second season without having to resort to illegal downloads again (I've assuaged my guilt on this already by importing the DVD box set from Canada since it's the exact same thing that will be released in the US in July).
Next time...more reviews and the start of my look at DC Comics new mini-series Infinite Crisis.
Be seeing you.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
This Week's Stupidity & Other Fun Stuff
Hey folks,
Trying to get back on track with that "posting on Wednesdays" schedule I threatened a while ago...
Today we start out with the hope that the minds behind South Park kill off beloved character Chef in the most heinous and disgusting way possible. With Issac Hayes, the voice behind Chef, hypocritically blasting the show for making fun of Scientology (where was he the previous 8 seasons when the show made fun of...well...everyone else), these guys should exact "revenge" in the best way they know...make it a part of the show and point out the hypocracy for all to see (though I'm sure Hayes won't anyway...but we can hope).
Universal Home Video also gets a big "wag of the finger" (to steal from Stephen Colbert) with their announcement of a new series of DVDs called "Brilliant But Cancelled". The idea is a great one. Short lived TV shows with much acclaim get DVD releases. The execution is completely assinine. The first two release are entitled "Crime Dramas" and EZ Streets. This latter release is of a TV series that had NINE episode produced, but Universal is only releasing THREE...and it's not even the first three...it's the two hour pilot, plus two others. The "Crime Dramas" disc contains an episode each from Touching Evil, Johnny Staccatto, Gideon Oliver, and Delvecchio. These shows had, respectively, 13, 27, 4 and 7 or 9 (not sure) episodes produced. Obviously Johnny Staccatto must have been better than "brilliant" to get 27 episodes made. The other shows are all made for DVD at this point. A one or two disc set for each would put all the episodes for their respective fans out without going the assinine "Best Of" route that Universal seems to take. I'm not entirely surprised by this as Universal is easily one of the worst studios when it comes to DVD releases in general (massive failure rates on DVD-18s, screwing up episode orders, etc.). Not that I have any interest in any of these shows, but there are fans of each and they're getting screwed for no real reason.
Meanwhile, on the other side of this coin, Disney gets a "Tip of the hat" (again stealing from Colbert) for releasing the entire run of the defunct Night Stalker "reimagining" from this season in May. ABC cancelled the show, which was growing on me, in the middle of a two parter. Luckily, their parent company is rectifying the problem and adding extras.
Big reminder for all of you out there to turn your TVs this Friday night to the Sci-Fi Channel from 9pm to 11pm. They start airing the new Doctor Who and if you like sci-fi at all, you should be watching this fun and well crafted show. It runs for 13 weeks and with any luck will do well enough for Sci-Fi to run all 14 season two episodes (which will start airing in Britain sometime in April) during the 14 week gap between the end of season one and the scheduled start of Battlestar Galactica for season three (which had an amazing second season I might add).
Lastly, just want to respond to the comments about my Top 25 list. First, I'm just gonna agree to disagree with Glenn on Crash. It's not the first time (probably won't be the last). Second, as for Brokeback Mountain, I should have mentioned not seeing the film under optimum circumstances...having a baby either crawling around the room or crying around the room while trying to focus attention on a film that requires attention (although less so than the baby) is not the best way to watch any movie...but quite honestly, with my priorities changing I was lucky to watch the film at all before the Oscars (and for the record, I didn't actually care what won anything this year...I was about excited to watch the Oscars, even with Jon Stewart as host -- who did a decent job, as I am about clipping my fingernails). So admittedly, Brokeback Mountain is a film that needs a second viewing from me...it's just not going to happen anytime soon if I'm going to try and "fit in" other films (in a similar manner) that I also want to see.
And that's enough of that...in the meantime, we'll see what next week brings as I continue rehearsals for Sly Fox, Natasha continues rehearsals for The Pirates of Penzance (for which I'm doing sound design) and Malcolm continues to go through the horrendously painful process (for everyone) known as "Ferberization". More on that when I have the energy.
Be seeing you.
Trying to get back on track with that "posting on Wednesdays" schedule I threatened a while ago...
Today we start out with the hope that the minds behind South Park kill off beloved character Chef in the most heinous and disgusting way possible. With Issac Hayes, the voice behind Chef, hypocritically blasting the show for making fun of Scientology (where was he the previous 8 seasons when the show made fun of...well...everyone else), these guys should exact "revenge" in the best way they know...make it a part of the show and point out the hypocracy for all to see (though I'm sure Hayes won't anyway...but we can hope).
Universal Home Video also gets a big "wag of the finger" (to steal from Stephen Colbert) with their announcement of a new series of DVDs called "Brilliant But Cancelled". The idea is a great one. Short lived TV shows with much acclaim get DVD releases. The execution is completely assinine. The first two release are entitled "Crime Dramas" and EZ Streets. This latter release is of a TV series that had NINE episode produced, but Universal is only releasing THREE...and it's not even the first three...it's the two hour pilot, plus two others. The "Crime Dramas" disc contains an episode each from Touching Evil, Johnny Staccatto, Gideon Oliver, and Delvecchio. These shows had, respectively, 13, 27, 4 and 7 or 9 (not sure) episodes produced. Obviously Johnny Staccatto must have been better than "brilliant" to get 27 episodes made. The other shows are all made for DVD at this point. A one or two disc set for each would put all the episodes for their respective fans out without going the assinine "Best Of" route that Universal seems to take. I'm not entirely surprised by this as Universal is easily one of the worst studios when it comes to DVD releases in general (massive failure rates on DVD-18s, screwing up episode orders, etc.). Not that I have any interest in any of these shows, but there are fans of each and they're getting screwed for no real reason.
Meanwhile, on the other side of this coin, Disney gets a "Tip of the hat" (again stealing from Colbert) for releasing the entire run of the defunct Night Stalker "reimagining" from this season in May. ABC cancelled the show, which was growing on me, in the middle of a two parter. Luckily, their parent company is rectifying the problem and adding extras.
Big reminder for all of you out there to turn your TVs this Friday night to the Sci-Fi Channel from 9pm to 11pm. They start airing the new Doctor Who and if you like sci-fi at all, you should be watching this fun and well crafted show. It runs for 13 weeks and with any luck will do well enough for Sci-Fi to run all 14 season two episodes (which will start airing in Britain sometime in April) during the 14 week gap between the end of season one and the scheduled start of Battlestar Galactica for season three (which had an amazing second season I might add).
Lastly, just want to respond to the comments about my Top 25 list. First, I'm just gonna agree to disagree with Glenn on Crash. It's not the first time (probably won't be the last). Second, as for Brokeback Mountain, I should have mentioned not seeing the film under optimum circumstances...having a baby either crawling around the room or crying around the room while trying to focus attention on a film that requires attention (although less so than the baby) is not the best way to watch any movie...but quite honestly, with my priorities changing I was lucky to watch the film at all before the Oscars (and for the record, I didn't actually care what won anything this year...I was about excited to watch the Oscars, even with Jon Stewart as host -- who did a decent job, as I am about clipping my fingernails). So admittedly, Brokeback Mountain is a film that needs a second viewing from me...it's just not going to happen anytime soon if I'm going to try and "fit in" other films (in a similar manner) that I also want to see.
And that's enough of that...in the meantime, we'll see what next week brings as I continue rehearsals for Sly Fox, Natasha continues rehearsals for The Pirates of Penzance (for which I'm doing sound design) and Malcolm continues to go through the horrendously painful process (for everyone) known as "Ferberization". More on that when I have the energy.
Be seeing you.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Top 25/Worst 5 of 2005
Hey folks,
I usually publish a Top 25/Worst 5 Films of each year within a month of the year ending (if not sooner). But this has been a pretty wacky year (what with the birth of my first child and all)...so movie watching in the theaters was scarce at best. While I've been trying to catch up in time for the Oscars and fill out this list, I've barely made it. I don't think I actually saw 25 films worth labelling "best" (even in the loosest sense of the word). There's plenty I didn't see yet...but in the meantime...here's what I've got to go with (even if it's just to say I've written up a list like this since 1992 or so).
Let's start with the bottom of the barrel.
5) Must Love Dogs -- This film epitomizes everything wrong with the romantic comedy genre. We need something fresh and not more dog poop like this. Yes...I did see a lot of "worse" films than this, but I'm trying to make a point I couldn't have made with Monster-In-Law or Bewitched.
4) Pride & Prejudice -- I actually enjoyed this, but it makes this list simply to please my wife (she's a big fan of the novel and the mini-series version with Colin Firth)...so it was terrible simply because I had to not only hear how terrible it was, but also sit through several other versions for proof.
3) The Dukes of Hazzard -- Could I have picked other examples of this genre? Sure... and Bewitched and The Honeymooners were also terrible...but this one is probably the worst of all "Big Screen Remakes of Classic TV Shows". Which says a lot if you sat through Car 54, Where Are You?
2) John Carpenter Remakes (Assault on Precinct 13/The Fog) -- Remakes are bad enough...but here we're taking B-level films (which normally deserve to be remade if only to push a good idea to a greater level), and turning them to predictable, boring, formulaic shit (which neither was originally). The less said about these, the better...but check out the originals...
1) American Pie Presents Band Camp -- Okay...so it didn't have a theatrical release...but this direct to DVD piece of shit epitomizes everything that's wrong with the thinking when it comes to direct to DVD movies that only continue a "franchise".
And now...here's the Top 20 films of 2005 (sorry...couldn't get to 25 no matter how hard I tired...and you'll see by my number 20 entry how hard I'm trying to just fill the space).
20) Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith -- It's here simply because it's now all over and we no longer have to look forward to how George Lucas will continue to betray his fans and rape our collective childhoods...until the TV series starts at least.
19) Brothers Grimm -- Terry Gilliam always seems to get a bad rap...but this film was a good hybrid of the Gilliam artistic sense and Hollywood formula. A fun film that could have gone a few steps further.
18) Fantastic Four -- The changes to Doctor Doom notwithstanding, this film was a lot of fun and the perfect way to launch what will hopefully be a franchise that grows nicely (and hopefully corrects the Doctor Doom problems in the process).
17) Constantine -- A great comic book adaptation given the "circumstances" (Keanu Reeves as a magic man who was modelled after Sting??). Lots of fun and just the shot in the arm that the "smaller" heroes need to get to the big screen.
16) Madagascar -- It's funny. Isn't that enough?
15) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- After years of being on-again/off-again, the Douglas Adams classic sci-fi novel finally makes it to the big screen. Will it satisfy every fan of the books? No. Will it bring new fans to the books? No. But is it good in its own right? You bet your ass.
14) Tim Burton's Corpse Bride -- This wonderful little fairy tale is nice and dark...just how they should be.
13) Wallace & Grommit in Curse of the Were-Rabbit -- The claymated duo get a big adventure that has laughs for the whole family. Easily one of the best animated films in a very long time.
12) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire -- Part Four gets to the meat of what would have been a long-ass film if made exactly like the book. This is the way to make a good adaptation.
11) Inside Deep Throat -- This documentary is not just about porn (and a specific porn film) but about censorship in our society. It should be seen by anyone who thinks free speech is over-rated.
10) Sin City -- A neat "experiment" that blends modern independent filmmaking with classic graphic novel artistry (and all the while being the product of a Hollywood machine). Can't wait for a sequel.
9) Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room -- Another must see documentary...this is what happens when you live Gordon Gekko's motto of "Greed is good"...this is a lesson for all of us.
8) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory -- Tim Burton returns the dark humor to this more faithful adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic children's book and creates a classic to match the original movie.
7) Layer Cake -- Want to see how Daniel Craig will be as James Bond? Catch this wonderful piece about a drug dealer trying to get out.
6) The Constant Gardener -- This wonderful slow boil showcases Ralph Fiennes in a role that he should have gotten an Oscar nomination for.
5) The Artistocrats -- The dumbest joke in the world gets told and retold in every hysterical manner. This is a wonderful look at the deconstruction of humor and how it works.
4) A History of Violence -- This dark and offbeat film noir should have gotten more recognition at the Oscars than it did.
3) Batman Begins -- The BEST comic book adaptation since 1978's Superman...hands down (and there have been a few good ones).
2) Crash -- I love films that move you to think. This is a rare one and there isn't a flase note.
1) Serenity -- Pound for pound this is an amazing bit of storrytelling from a master. In making that tough leap from TV to Big Screen, Joss Whedon faced the impossible of catering to fans of the show and bringing in new people without losing them in all the baggage. He conquored the impossible and made a film that can be enjoyed by so many on so many different levels. It has everything required to keep a viewers interest...and yet, barely anyone saw it. It's never too late to still catch this great film as it's now on DVD...until the next format makes it obsolete.
Well...that's my list for 2005...I wish it had been a better list (or a better year for films), but I had such a great year that movies don't matter too much anymore...yes...I just blasphemed...I'll regain my senses eventually...until then...
Be seeing you.
I usually publish a Top 25/Worst 5 Films of each year within a month of the year ending (if not sooner). But this has been a pretty wacky year (what with the birth of my first child and all)...so movie watching in the theaters was scarce at best. While I've been trying to catch up in time for the Oscars and fill out this list, I've barely made it. I don't think I actually saw 25 films worth labelling "best" (even in the loosest sense of the word). There's plenty I didn't see yet...but in the meantime...here's what I've got to go with (even if it's just to say I've written up a list like this since 1992 or so).
Let's start with the bottom of the barrel.
5) Must Love Dogs -- This film epitomizes everything wrong with the romantic comedy genre. We need something fresh and not more dog poop like this. Yes...I did see a lot of "worse" films than this, but I'm trying to make a point I couldn't have made with Monster-In-Law or Bewitched.
4) Pride & Prejudice -- I actually enjoyed this, but it makes this list simply to please my wife (she's a big fan of the novel and the mini-series version with Colin Firth)...so it was terrible simply because I had to not only hear how terrible it was, but also sit through several other versions for proof.
3) The Dukes of Hazzard -- Could I have picked other examples of this genre? Sure... and Bewitched and The Honeymooners were also terrible...but this one is probably the worst of all "Big Screen Remakes of Classic TV Shows". Which says a lot if you sat through Car 54, Where Are You?
2) John Carpenter Remakes (Assault on Precinct 13/The Fog) -- Remakes are bad enough...but here we're taking B-level films (which normally deserve to be remade if only to push a good idea to a greater level), and turning them to predictable, boring, formulaic shit (which neither was originally). The less said about these, the better...but check out the originals...
1) American Pie Presents Band Camp -- Okay...so it didn't have a theatrical release...but this direct to DVD piece of shit epitomizes everything that's wrong with the thinking when it comes to direct to DVD movies that only continue a "franchise".
And now...here's the Top 20 films of 2005 (sorry...couldn't get to 25 no matter how hard I tired...and you'll see by my number 20 entry how hard I'm trying to just fill the space).
20) Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith -- It's here simply because it's now all over and we no longer have to look forward to how George Lucas will continue to betray his fans and rape our collective childhoods...until the TV series starts at least.
19) Brothers Grimm -- Terry Gilliam always seems to get a bad rap...but this film was a good hybrid of the Gilliam artistic sense and Hollywood formula. A fun film that could have gone a few steps further.
18) Fantastic Four -- The changes to Doctor Doom notwithstanding, this film was a lot of fun and the perfect way to launch what will hopefully be a franchise that grows nicely (and hopefully corrects the Doctor Doom problems in the process).
17) Constantine -- A great comic book adaptation given the "circumstances" (Keanu Reeves as a magic man who was modelled after Sting??). Lots of fun and just the shot in the arm that the "smaller" heroes need to get to the big screen.
16) Madagascar -- It's funny. Isn't that enough?
15) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- After years of being on-again/off-again, the Douglas Adams classic sci-fi novel finally makes it to the big screen. Will it satisfy every fan of the books? No. Will it bring new fans to the books? No. But is it good in its own right? You bet your ass.
14) Tim Burton's Corpse Bride -- This wonderful little fairy tale is nice and dark...just how they should be.
13) Wallace & Grommit in Curse of the Were-Rabbit -- The claymated duo get a big adventure that has laughs for the whole family. Easily one of the best animated films in a very long time.
12) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire -- Part Four gets to the meat of what would have been a long-ass film if made exactly like the book. This is the way to make a good adaptation.
11) Inside Deep Throat -- This documentary is not just about porn (and a specific porn film) but about censorship in our society. It should be seen by anyone who thinks free speech is over-rated.
10) Sin City -- A neat "experiment" that blends modern independent filmmaking with classic graphic novel artistry (and all the while being the product of a Hollywood machine). Can't wait for a sequel.
9) Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room -- Another must see documentary...this is what happens when you live Gordon Gekko's motto of "Greed is good"...this is a lesson for all of us.
8) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory -- Tim Burton returns the dark humor to this more faithful adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic children's book and creates a classic to match the original movie.
7) Layer Cake -- Want to see how Daniel Craig will be as James Bond? Catch this wonderful piece about a drug dealer trying to get out.
6) The Constant Gardener -- This wonderful slow boil showcases Ralph Fiennes in a role that he should have gotten an Oscar nomination for.
5) The Artistocrats -- The dumbest joke in the world gets told and retold in every hysterical manner. This is a wonderful look at the deconstruction of humor and how it works.
4) A History of Violence -- This dark and offbeat film noir should have gotten more recognition at the Oscars than it did.
3) Batman Begins -- The BEST comic book adaptation since 1978's Superman...hands down (and there have been a few good ones).
2) Crash -- I love films that move you to think. This is a rare one and there isn't a flase note.
1) Serenity -- Pound for pound this is an amazing bit of storrytelling from a master. In making that tough leap from TV to Big Screen, Joss Whedon faced the impossible of catering to fans of the show and bringing in new people without losing them in all the baggage. He conquored the impossible and made a film that can be enjoyed by so many on so many different levels. It has everything required to keep a viewers interest...and yet, barely anyone saw it. It's never too late to still catch this great film as it's now on DVD...until the next format makes it obsolete.
Well...that's my list for 2005...I wish it had been a better list (or a better year for films), but I had such a great year that movies don't matter too much anymore...yes...I just blasphemed...I'll regain my senses eventually...until then...
Be seeing you.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Playing Catch Up Again
Hey folks,
I'm still trying to catch up on films from 2005 so I can publish my Top 25 (I've got seven open slots right now...and I don't feel like adding mediocre films to the list, but I will if I have to as I want to get it out of my hands by the time the Oscars roll around this weekend). I've been a bit bust between producing Room Service in Darien (which is going to be very funny...it opens March 10...call 655-5414 for tickets) and doing last minute sound effects for A Few Good Men in Stamford (which opens March 3...don't have the phone number on my mind, but curtaincallinc.com is the web site) and finalizing a cast for Sly Fox which I'm directing, it's been a bit crazy...
And let's add in all the Malcolm related stuff as well...
Anyway...today we've got a few catch up reviews...
The Dukes of Hazzard is a pretty crappy movie based on a popular, but dated TV series. I watched the original show when it was on. I wouldn't call myself a "fan" in the sense that I watched it religiously...but I did watch it often enough to enjoy it. The original show was about a couple of "good ole boys, never meanin' no harm". The Duke Boys were good guys, likeable guys, well meaning guys. They were Tom Wopat and John Schneider...and we loved them for being such gosh darn swell guys while they were evading Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane and foiling the machinations of Boss Hogg.
The movie is pretty much the porn version of the TV series. The minute you heard that Johhny Knoxville and Seann Scott Williams had been cast as the Dukes, you knew the film was gonna be a problem. These guys tend to play jackasses...and not quite likeable jackasses at that. So that's pretty much what we get here. And that attitude seems to have been absorbed by every other character. Even Uncle Jesse as played by Willie Nelson is a dirty joke telling, marajuana smoking, bad ass. The "plot" involves the Dukes trying to stop Boss Hogg (Burt Reynolds...oh how the mighty have fallen yet again) from strip mining all of Hazzard County. How they get there is so silly and pointless I won't even bother to tell you.
While every TV series turned big screen movie needs to find its "hook" to make it work, turning The Dukes of Hazzard into this was the worst possible way to go about this one.
Sometimes a movie comes out that gets so much praise and I sit there watching and go "huh?" So it was with Brokeback Mountain. The film is amazing acted, beautifully shot and well written. But the pacing is slow as hell. The film takes its time telling its story and not in the good way. After about 40 minutes I was ready for the film to end. So while I can appreciate some of the praise that has been heaped upon the film, I don't understand all of it. Not the first time.
Crash is more my kind of film. It asks questions, it challenges and it moves. I don't want to say much more about this film because I was so enthralled by it...but if a film can have both a cameo by Tony Danza in which he probably does his best acting ever and have a performance by the normally vapid Ryan Phillippe that is Oscar worthy then you know its a great film.
With the musical genre still trying to will itself back to life, we're getting a couple of oddities this year. While The Producers may have blown up all the flaws of the stage version while remaining relatively faithful, Rent arrives about ten years too late for any purpose. The timeliness of the show ended around the turn of the century and the decision to use the original Broadway cast (or most of it) who are all too old to be playing twentysomethings was probably one of the worst casting decisions in film history. Everyone gets an "A" for effort except director Chris Colombus who still has a bland hand when it comes to visual style. He gets a "B-". The film as a whole gets about the same.
That's all for today. I'll be back before the end of the weekend with my long awaited Top 25 of 2005 list...come hell or high water.
Be seeing you.
I'm still trying to catch up on films from 2005 so I can publish my Top 25 (I've got seven open slots right now...and I don't feel like adding mediocre films to the list, but I will if I have to as I want to get it out of my hands by the time the Oscars roll around this weekend). I've been a bit bust between producing Room Service in Darien (which is going to be very funny...it opens March 10...call 655-5414 for tickets) and doing last minute sound effects for A Few Good Men in Stamford (which opens March 3...don't have the phone number on my mind, but curtaincallinc.com is the web site) and finalizing a cast for Sly Fox which I'm directing, it's been a bit crazy...
And let's add in all the Malcolm related stuff as well...
Anyway...today we've got a few catch up reviews...
The Dukes of Hazzard is a pretty crappy movie based on a popular, but dated TV series. I watched the original show when it was on. I wouldn't call myself a "fan" in the sense that I watched it religiously...but I did watch it often enough to enjoy it. The original show was about a couple of "good ole boys, never meanin' no harm". The Duke Boys were good guys, likeable guys, well meaning guys. They were Tom Wopat and John Schneider...and we loved them for being such gosh darn swell guys while they were evading Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane and foiling the machinations of Boss Hogg.
The movie is pretty much the porn version of the TV series. The minute you heard that Johhny Knoxville and Seann Scott Williams had been cast as the Dukes, you knew the film was gonna be a problem. These guys tend to play jackasses...and not quite likeable jackasses at that. So that's pretty much what we get here. And that attitude seems to have been absorbed by every other character. Even Uncle Jesse as played by Willie Nelson is a dirty joke telling, marajuana smoking, bad ass. The "plot" involves the Dukes trying to stop Boss Hogg (Burt Reynolds...oh how the mighty have fallen yet again) from strip mining all of Hazzard County. How they get there is so silly and pointless I won't even bother to tell you.
While every TV series turned big screen movie needs to find its "hook" to make it work, turning The Dukes of Hazzard into this was the worst possible way to go about this one.
Sometimes a movie comes out that gets so much praise and I sit there watching and go "huh?" So it was with Brokeback Mountain. The film is amazing acted, beautifully shot and well written. But the pacing is slow as hell. The film takes its time telling its story and not in the good way. After about 40 minutes I was ready for the film to end. So while I can appreciate some of the praise that has been heaped upon the film, I don't understand all of it. Not the first time.
Crash is more my kind of film. It asks questions, it challenges and it moves. I don't want to say much more about this film because I was so enthralled by it...but if a film can have both a cameo by Tony Danza in which he probably does his best acting ever and have a performance by the normally vapid Ryan Phillippe that is Oscar worthy then you know its a great film.
With the musical genre still trying to will itself back to life, we're getting a couple of oddities this year. While The Producers may have blown up all the flaws of the stage version while remaining relatively faithful, Rent arrives about ten years too late for any purpose. The timeliness of the show ended around the turn of the century and the decision to use the original Broadway cast (or most of it) who are all too old to be playing twentysomethings was probably one of the worst casting decisions in film history. Everyone gets an "A" for effort except director Chris Colombus who still has a bland hand when it comes to visual style. He gets a "B-". The film as a whole gets about the same.
That's all for today. I'll be back before the end of the weekend with my long awaited Top 25 of 2005 list...come hell or high water.
Be seeing you.
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