Just a brief bit for today (he says knowing he may get a bit long winded)...
So...up until March 17th, 2005 I had a rule that has essentially never been broken before. If I start wathcing a movie, I must finish it. And with the exception of The Cat in the Hat where the DVD refused to play past a certain part (and I do thank G-d every day for that miraculously defective DVD from Netflix), I have always finished the movie...no matter how bad, boring, crappy or miserable it may be.
I have now officially ditched that rule. And we can all thank The Whole Ten Yards for being the straw that broke this camel's back.
I'm not gonna bother reviewing the 30 minutes I bothered to watch beyond saying this is easily one of the ten most useless things ever put on film (and I'm guessing the recently released Miss Congeniality 2 easily falls on that chart as well). It had no story, no humor and no purpose. So because of that (and perhaps I'm getting pickier as I get older and don't want to waste my time with things I'm not going to care much about), I have tossed this rule out the window. If I start watching a film and can't get through the first 30 minutes without wanting to gouge my eyes out with a knife, I will turn it off (or erase it from the TiVo or send it back to Netflix or use my new invention that will collectively erase the offending images from the memory of the human race).
I was going to write something on some recent events in the news, but quite frankly this week's episode of South Park did better justice to my opinion on the topic than I ever could here. That's kind of a sad statement in a number of ways, but I'll live with it. May Terri Schiavo finally rest in peace.
Also wanted to give you folks a quick update on a few things...
Update on the house:
Our Kitchen is now about 97% complete. It needs some paint, a backsplash and a few minor electrical tweaks and cosmetic bumps smoothed out...but it should be done by week's end. I hope to have at least a few photos up on our website within the next week (it's been crazy as usual).
Our master bathroom is a nice room we're currently using for storage. The room's sheetrocked, but the tub needs to be stabilized, we need countertops and the whole place needs to be tiled where we're putting tile (all the tile is here at least). The tile guys have been coming tomorrow for about two weeks now, but I've been assured once they do arrive it'll take about a week to finish everything up.
Our contractor was nice enough to send a cleaning crew on a Saturday to dust the whole house after four days of sanding and staining hardwood floors though. So he gets a few good points (though they don't make up for all the bad points which I'll detail at some later date).
Info on various shows:
Tash is part of the chorus in a wonderful production of Gilbert & Sullivan's The Sorcerer. It opened last night at New Canaan High School and was a lot of fun (except for the 25 minute "second intermission" due to a fire alarm). It has four more performances on April 2, 3, 8 & 9. Check out http://trouperslightopera.org for more info.
I'm also going to plug three shows featuring people we know either on stage or back stage...
The Pound Ridge Theater Company has Tale of the Allergist's Wife running now. Check out their website for more info.
Curtain Call in Stamford has The Wizard of Oz running through April. Here's their website for more info.
And lastly, Westport Community Theater has The Foreigner running for the next few weekends. Check out their website for more info.
And lastly lastly...don't forget I'm directing Book of Days which opens at the Darien Arts Center on May 6. More info will follow as we get closer.
Finally, lastly for today...sometime in the next week or two I will be reviewing the comic book adaptation of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Why am I doing this you may ask? Well...with everything that's going on (mostly due to Malcolm's arrival), I have no clue when I'll actually see the finished film...and quite frankly, I stopped caring a good long while ago. I have no faith in George Lucas' story telling abilities anymore and I'm convinced that the "prequels" have pretty much drained the energy from the "sequels" at this point (so one of the most complex villains to ever grace a story had his origins as a whiny spoiled brat?? at least we know where his son gets it from in Episode IV). So I'd rather read a comic book which is adapted by writers & artists other than Lucas, than see his version right now (which will probably change in a few years when he redoes them all in 3D and decides that it's really Jar Jar who should become Darth Vader).
Anyway...there'll be plenty of spoiler warnings as I go along...but it will most likely be the last I ever have to say on the subject of Star Wars until I start auctioning off my childhood on eBay this summer as I get rid of a lot of old toys that I don't want my son to even know about. They've been tainted for me...I'm not sure I want him playing with them. He can have all my old DC Heroes when he's older (assuming that by the end of this year DC hasn't raped and murdered every B list character they have...but that's a whole other ball of wax for another time).
Be seeing you.
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Let's Not Go There, It's A Silly Place
While things get off to an expected silly start in Monty Python's Spamalot, I was still waiting to pee my pants by the end of Act One. This new Broadway musical (based on the very funny film Monty Python and the Holy Grail) which has just opened and is supposedly sold out through October is landing like a big giant Trojan Rabbit...it's all big and showy, but there isn't much on the inside except some stale air. Between trying to ignore audience members speaking along with the show as if it were Rocky Horror and trying to stretch your legs in the extremely cramped seats, it was hard to enjoy a show that I was admittedly expecting too much from.
Things do get off to a rollicking start (and I'm warning you now, there are plenty of spoilers below) as the voice of Eric Idle tells us to let our cell phones and pagers ring all we like, but to remember there are knights on stage carrying deadly weapons. An historian then comes on stage to set the scene in England's Middle Ages. The first number arrives right after this as some cast members have obviously confused England with Finland and they present us with "Fisch Schlapping Song". And anyone who knows Python will know this bit. Once the historian corrects matters, we get to meet King Arthur (Tim Curry) and his servant Patsy (Michael McGrath) as they come clopping across the stage with their requisite coconuts in place of live horses. At the Mud Castle we get "King Arthur's Song" (which is pompous in it's announcement of "I'm Arthur! King of the Britons!", yet I'm still humming it) and we get the whole discussion of the air speed velocity of swallows before we change locations.
At the Plague Village, we meet the man in the film known as The Dead Collector, but here, even though he's dressed the same, he's actually Sir Robin (David Hyde Pierce). And we not only get the requisite "Bring Out Your Dead" bit from the film, but we also meet Sir Lancelot (Hank Azaria) who is bringing out his dead friend known as Not Dead Fred to join in with all the plague victims in "I Am Not Yet Dead", a funny...but unmemorable song. Both Robin and Lancelot then run off to join Arthur's Merry Men.
Arthur continues his quest for men to join him as he comes across Dennis Galahad (Christopher Seiber) and his mother. Once the scene from the film is out of the way, we meet the first true new character for the stage in The Lady of the Lake (Sara Ramirez). She rises from the stage with her "Laker Girls" for the unmemorable number entitled "Come With Me" in which she tries to convince Galahad that she's not just some "watery tart"...but luckily this is quickly followed up by what is not only the funniest song in the show, but what could be the funniest song in any show EVER!
"The Song That Goes Like This" is the typical romantic ballad that tends to drop smack in the middle of any Broadway musical...except this one knows what it is. Ramirez and Seiber poke fun at every lyrical convention that has propped up every mediocre musical of the last three decades. From odd key changes to the song going on forever, these lyrics (as well as the fog enshrouded boat and dangling chandelier that come with it) are worth the price of admission. Of course, the song doesn't actually add anything to what little plot there is.
Sir Bedevere (Steve Rosen) gets short shrift and barely an intro before the five knights launch into "All For One" which just seems to be nonsensical repetition in addition to being the motto of "The Three Musketeers". Luckily, we then arrive at Camelot and get a big budget, over blown version of the song from the film (which is where the show's title comes from as the knights of Camelot "eat ham and jam and spamalot"). Luckily, this bit is as funny as it's ever been and keeps the show's energy up.
Then we get to see the feet of G-d as he (John Cleese's voice) tells them to seek the Holy Grail. The Lady of the Lake then inspires the group with "Find Your Grail" which may be as close to a message as this show may ever get (we apparently each have our own that we seek...metaphorically speaking). Act One ends with the Knights running away from the French Castle after that whole scene (including catapulted cow) gets re-enacted onstage.
Act Two opens in a very expensive forest (we're told this both in the program and by the historian) and the knights are all separated on their own quests for the Grail. After meeting the Knights of Ni, Patsy cheers Arthur up with "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"...stolen from Monty Python's Life of Brian. Luckily, it's well done.
"Brave Sir Robin" (yes, we get that song from the original film as well...and it's still funny) gets scared off by the Black Knight and then Arthur meets up with said knight and dispatches him in the same way as he does in the film (I won't spoil how they cut off all his limbs, but it is rather clever and uses a great, but cheap joke as misdirection). After wanting a shrubbery, the Knights of Ni want Arthur to put on a Broadway musical, but Robin has to explain why "You Won't Succeed on Broadway" which is easily the second best song of the show. Apparently you absolutely must have a Jew...and then they re-enact the bottle dance from Fiddler on the Roof using Grails instead of bottles.
Immediately after this, the Lady of the Lake storms on stage for "The Diva's Lament" in which she complains of having nothing to do so far in Act Two and its almost over. The show then moves right into the whole Swamp Castle set piece from the film in which Lancelot rescues Prince Herbert from his father. Prince Herbert is still more interested in singing than marrying a princess and he gets two songs "Where Are You" in which he pines to be rescued and "Here Are You" after Lancelot rescues him. We're then subjected to the answer of Lancelot's sexuality (which I didn't realize was a question) in "His Name is Lancelot"...a number that looks like it was written to parody The Boy From Oz but since that show's gone it just wasn't as timely.
The scene returns to Arthur who sings "I'm All Alone" with his faithful servant Patsy at his side (it's a one note joke that goes on a bit long for a song...we get it, he's not really alone). Then the Lady of the Lake appears for a reprise of "The Song That Goes Like This" with Arthur so they can kiss. The knights then regroup and encounter Tim the Enchanter and the Killer Rabbit before actually finding the Grail (BIG SPOILER....if you can purchase your tickets to include seat A101). And then, since this IS a musical-comedy, the show ends with a wedding (or two if you count Lancelot and Herbert) and a medley of most of the previous songs before curtain calls and an audience sing-a-long version of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life".
Monty Python's Spamalot is a fun show, don't get me wrong, but it's also a very fluffy show. It's all style, no substance. What was cutting edge comedy in the mid 70s seems quaint and stale. Almost the entire film is represented on stage in odd ways and the stuff that is missing will leave you asking why its missing. The cast is having fun doing the show and the audience is enjoying watching it...and yet there should have been more.
If you're looking for hysterically funny musical comedy current running on Broadway I'd say check out Avenue Q and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels before trying to hunt down tickets for this.
That's all for today. Sorry to disappoint.
Be seeing you.
Things do get off to a rollicking start (and I'm warning you now, there are plenty of spoilers below) as the voice of Eric Idle tells us to let our cell phones and pagers ring all we like, but to remember there are knights on stage carrying deadly weapons. An historian then comes on stage to set the scene in England's Middle Ages. The first number arrives right after this as some cast members have obviously confused England with Finland and they present us with "Fisch Schlapping Song". And anyone who knows Python will know this bit. Once the historian corrects matters, we get to meet King Arthur (Tim Curry) and his servant Patsy (Michael McGrath) as they come clopping across the stage with their requisite coconuts in place of live horses. At the Mud Castle we get "King Arthur's Song" (which is pompous in it's announcement of "I'm Arthur! King of the Britons!", yet I'm still humming it) and we get the whole discussion of the air speed velocity of swallows before we change locations.
At the Plague Village, we meet the man in the film known as The Dead Collector, but here, even though he's dressed the same, he's actually Sir Robin (David Hyde Pierce). And we not only get the requisite "Bring Out Your Dead" bit from the film, but we also meet Sir Lancelot (Hank Azaria) who is bringing out his dead friend known as Not Dead Fred to join in with all the plague victims in "I Am Not Yet Dead", a funny...but unmemorable song. Both Robin and Lancelot then run off to join Arthur's Merry Men.
Arthur continues his quest for men to join him as he comes across Dennis Galahad (Christopher Seiber) and his mother. Once the scene from the film is out of the way, we meet the first true new character for the stage in The Lady of the Lake (Sara Ramirez). She rises from the stage with her "Laker Girls" for the unmemorable number entitled "Come With Me" in which she tries to convince Galahad that she's not just some "watery tart"...but luckily this is quickly followed up by what is not only the funniest song in the show, but what could be the funniest song in any show EVER!
"The Song That Goes Like This" is the typical romantic ballad that tends to drop smack in the middle of any Broadway musical...except this one knows what it is. Ramirez and Seiber poke fun at every lyrical convention that has propped up every mediocre musical of the last three decades. From odd key changes to the song going on forever, these lyrics (as well as the fog enshrouded boat and dangling chandelier that come with it) are worth the price of admission. Of course, the song doesn't actually add anything to what little plot there is.
Sir Bedevere (Steve Rosen) gets short shrift and barely an intro before the five knights launch into "All For One" which just seems to be nonsensical repetition in addition to being the motto of "The Three Musketeers". Luckily, we then arrive at Camelot and get a big budget, over blown version of the song from the film (which is where the show's title comes from as the knights of Camelot "eat ham and jam and spamalot"). Luckily, this bit is as funny as it's ever been and keeps the show's energy up.
Then we get to see the feet of G-d as he (John Cleese's voice) tells them to seek the Holy Grail. The Lady of the Lake then inspires the group with "Find Your Grail" which may be as close to a message as this show may ever get (we apparently each have our own that we seek...metaphorically speaking). Act One ends with the Knights running away from the French Castle after that whole scene (including catapulted cow) gets re-enacted onstage.
Act Two opens in a very expensive forest (we're told this both in the program and by the historian) and the knights are all separated on their own quests for the Grail. After meeting the Knights of Ni, Patsy cheers Arthur up with "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"...stolen from Monty Python's Life of Brian. Luckily, it's well done.
"Brave Sir Robin" (yes, we get that song from the original film as well...and it's still funny) gets scared off by the Black Knight and then Arthur meets up with said knight and dispatches him in the same way as he does in the film (I won't spoil how they cut off all his limbs, but it is rather clever and uses a great, but cheap joke as misdirection). After wanting a shrubbery, the Knights of Ni want Arthur to put on a Broadway musical, but Robin has to explain why "You Won't Succeed on Broadway" which is easily the second best song of the show. Apparently you absolutely must have a Jew...and then they re-enact the bottle dance from Fiddler on the Roof using Grails instead of bottles.
Immediately after this, the Lady of the Lake storms on stage for "The Diva's Lament" in which she complains of having nothing to do so far in Act Two and its almost over. The show then moves right into the whole Swamp Castle set piece from the film in which Lancelot rescues Prince Herbert from his father. Prince Herbert is still more interested in singing than marrying a princess and he gets two songs "Where Are You" in which he pines to be rescued and "Here Are You" after Lancelot rescues him. We're then subjected to the answer of Lancelot's sexuality (which I didn't realize was a question) in "His Name is Lancelot"...a number that looks like it was written to parody The Boy From Oz but since that show's gone it just wasn't as timely.
The scene returns to Arthur who sings "I'm All Alone" with his faithful servant Patsy at his side (it's a one note joke that goes on a bit long for a song...we get it, he's not really alone). Then the Lady of the Lake appears for a reprise of "The Song That Goes Like This" with Arthur so they can kiss. The knights then regroup and encounter Tim the Enchanter and the Killer Rabbit before actually finding the Grail (BIG SPOILER....if you can purchase your tickets to include seat A101). And then, since this IS a musical-comedy, the show ends with a wedding (or two if you count Lancelot and Herbert) and a medley of most of the previous songs before curtain calls and an audience sing-a-long version of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life".
Monty Python's Spamalot is a fun show, don't get me wrong, but it's also a very fluffy show. It's all style, no substance. What was cutting edge comedy in the mid 70s seems quaint and stale. Almost the entire film is represented on stage in odd ways and the stuff that is missing will leave you asking why its missing. The cast is having fun doing the show and the audience is enjoying watching it...and yet there should have been more.
If you're looking for hysterically funny musical comedy current running on Broadway I'd say check out Avenue Q and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels before trying to hunt down tickets for this.
That's all for today. Sorry to disappoint.
Be seeing you.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
A Night At The Opera
So I married an opera lover...
One would think that with my love of musical theater it would just be a step across the line to the enjoyment of opera. However, one would be wrong...mostly...
I had never actually been to an opera before Tash took me to see a friend of ours in some obscure piece by Mozart (or was it Beethoven...I forget the title...It was The Rape (or Adbuction) of Someone (or Something) I think). Anyway...it was interesting, but not something that I was dying to see again (at least not that piece).
But since I love my wife more than anything, how could I deny her tickets to 5th row center at the Metropolitan Opera when they came our way? I couldn't, so I didn't. At least this time it would be a story I knew well enough to follow and get excited about.
Samson Et Delila is a French opera based on the Biblical story of Samson and Delila by Camille Saint-Saens. If one didn't know the story going in and didn't speak French, you'd be rather confused...which I was anyway, in spite of the neat screens on the back of the chair in front that gave English titles for the lyrics.
I really didn't know what to expect going into this. All my knowledge of opera has come from movies where its presented as this larger than life spectacle with clowns and animals (not all of them obviously, but you get the idea). While clowns have no place in the Bible (you may make your own joke now), animals are abundant. So I thought maybe we'd get to see something grand. We didn't...we got to see something weird.
When the curtain went up we were presented with a scrim that looked like pages torn from a book written in Hebrew and strewn about. as the lights came up and you could see through the scrim, we got to meet the chorus playing the Isrealites. I immediately thought these folks were a few blocks too far north as they looked like that had wandered in from Fiddler on the Roof. These Jews weren't dressed like they were wandering around the desert as slaves for years, these folks looked like they were waiting for Yenta the Matchmaker to lead them out of Annatevka.
Okay...so I can live with this. It's like watching Shakespeare done in modern times or something like that. And then we meet the Philistines and I have the same reaction. Except these guys walked off the stage of The Lion King. Men in skimpy loin cloths (I see less butt crack here at the house when the plumers are working), painted red and having long fingers parading around and corraling the Russian Jews was indeed a very odd sight. And yet it got weirder.
We then get to meet Delila as she comes out from the corn field??? A neat trick of perspective views, this was yet another oddity in what was to be a long (over 3 hours) night of them. Okay. They weren't corn fields, but the "plants" growing slightly out of the upstage area (which raked back down and gave something of a diminishing horizon look) looked really out of place. But then again, so did the casts of two Broadway musicals that had hijaked the opera singers.
Act Two is set outside Delila's home and Act Three is set in the Philistine Temple. Both sets looked like they were leftovers from the Star Trek episode "Amok Time". By the time Act Two started, I had pretty much given up on trying to appreciate this bizarre and minimalist opera and decided to concentrate on following the story.
Unfortunately, I don't think it's easy to follow whether you know the Biblical version, love opera or speak French. Sure, we know that Samson's secret is his hair...but no one seems to mention that, so it's kind of odd when Delila finally cuts it off at the end of Act Two. There's also the strangeness that bridges the first two acts. Samson leaves his people to be with Delila at the end of Act One, but at the start of Act Two she's bitching about how he has yet to show up and she's gonna get her revenge on him (or something to that effect).
There were a few things I did enjoy about this experience (aside from being with my wife and seeing some friends)...the singing was AMAZING! And while the weirdness of the actual production was not what I was expecting, I did find it all to be interesting choices.
Tash has told me that we won't be seeing another opera until we get the chance for a good production of The Magic Flute. At the rate we're going, it may be around Malcolm's bar mitzvah.
Next week...we get to see my kind of show...Spamalot.
Until then...be seeing you.
One would think that with my love of musical theater it would just be a step across the line to the enjoyment of opera. However, one would be wrong...mostly...
I had never actually been to an opera before Tash took me to see a friend of ours in some obscure piece by Mozart (or was it Beethoven...I forget the title...It was The Rape (or Adbuction) of Someone (or Something) I think). Anyway...it was interesting, but not something that I was dying to see again (at least not that piece).
But since I love my wife more than anything, how could I deny her tickets to 5th row center at the Metropolitan Opera when they came our way? I couldn't, so I didn't. At least this time it would be a story I knew well enough to follow and get excited about.
Samson Et Delila is a French opera based on the Biblical story of Samson and Delila by Camille Saint-Saens. If one didn't know the story going in and didn't speak French, you'd be rather confused...which I was anyway, in spite of the neat screens on the back of the chair in front that gave English titles for the lyrics.
I really didn't know what to expect going into this. All my knowledge of opera has come from movies where its presented as this larger than life spectacle with clowns and animals (not all of them obviously, but you get the idea). While clowns have no place in the Bible (you may make your own joke now), animals are abundant. So I thought maybe we'd get to see something grand. We didn't...we got to see something weird.
When the curtain went up we were presented with a scrim that looked like pages torn from a book written in Hebrew and strewn about. as the lights came up and you could see through the scrim, we got to meet the chorus playing the Isrealites. I immediately thought these folks were a few blocks too far north as they looked like that had wandered in from Fiddler on the Roof. These Jews weren't dressed like they were wandering around the desert as slaves for years, these folks looked like they were waiting for Yenta the Matchmaker to lead them out of Annatevka.
Okay...so I can live with this. It's like watching Shakespeare done in modern times or something like that. And then we meet the Philistines and I have the same reaction. Except these guys walked off the stage of The Lion King. Men in skimpy loin cloths (I see less butt crack here at the house when the plumers are working), painted red and having long fingers parading around and corraling the Russian Jews was indeed a very odd sight. And yet it got weirder.
We then get to meet Delila as she comes out from the corn field??? A neat trick of perspective views, this was yet another oddity in what was to be a long (over 3 hours) night of them. Okay. They weren't corn fields, but the "plants" growing slightly out of the upstage area (which raked back down and gave something of a diminishing horizon look) looked really out of place. But then again, so did the casts of two Broadway musicals that had hijaked the opera singers.
Act Two is set outside Delila's home and Act Three is set in the Philistine Temple. Both sets looked like they were leftovers from the Star Trek episode "Amok Time". By the time Act Two started, I had pretty much given up on trying to appreciate this bizarre and minimalist opera and decided to concentrate on following the story.
Unfortunately, I don't think it's easy to follow whether you know the Biblical version, love opera or speak French. Sure, we know that Samson's secret is his hair...but no one seems to mention that, so it's kind of odd when Delila finally cuts it off at the end of Act Two. There's also the strangeness that bridges the first two acts. Samson leaves his people to be with Delila at the end of Act One, but at the start of Act Two she's bitching about how he has yet to show up and she's gonna get her revenge on him (or something to that effect).
There were a few things I did enjoy about this experience (aside from being with my wife and seeing some friends)...the singing was AMAZING! And while the weirdness of the actual production was not what I was expecting, I did find it all to be interesting choices.
Tash has told me that we won't be seeing another opera until we get the chance for a good production of The Magic Flute. At the rate we're going, it may be around Malcolm's bar mitzvah.
Next week...we get to see my kind of show...Spamalot.
Until then...be seeing you.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
A Dirty Rotten Wonderful Show
These days, it seems that looking at the Broadway theater listings is like browsing the CD and DVD ailes at Tower Records. The musicals are all either compliations of songs from a famous artist or group that are linked together by the thinnest plot or musical makeovers of old movies.
The new musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels falls into the latter category and while it's an odd choice to make a musical of, the finished product works very well in most aspects. (And as an aside, I'd like to point out it's actually a musical based on a movie that was a remake of another movie called Bedtime Story)
If you don't know the film, the story revolves around two con men. Lawrence Jameson (here played by John lithgow...it was Michael Caine in the film, David Niven in the original film) is an older kinder con man who is living off the money he takes from women passing through his current home town of Beaumont Sur Mer on the French Riviera. Into town rolls Freddie Benson (Norbert Leo Butz here, Steve Martin in the film, Marlon Brando in the original film), a younger and more crass con man who winds up asking to be taught the big game by a master. After a few adventures together, the two men wind up making a bet over who can take a young woman (here its Sherie Renee Scott, in the 1988 film it was Glenn Headley and in the 1964 film it was Shirley Jones) for $50,000 first; loser leaves town. It's an odd plot for a musical, especially one that seems to be very aware of itself being a theatrical piece. But it all seems to work rather well.
The show starts off with Jameson and his partner in crime Police Chief Andre (Gregory Jbara) singing about how a con artist should always "Give Them What They Want". It's a great mood setter. Next, we hear from one of Jameson's marks as Muriel Eubanks (played by the wonderfully underused Joanna Gleason...and it was Fanny in the movie...changed for some odd reason...as I think Fanny's funnier) sings about "What Was A Woman To Do?". She is eventually joined by more of Jameson's marks (including one of the usherettes in the audience...in the first of many broken fourth wall bits) as the number progresses.
When Freddy rolls into Jameson's house and admires the "Great Big Stuff" we get a cool, slick, hip-hop-ish showstopper that should surely get a Tony Nomination (if not win) for Butz. Andre sings about Freddy just being a "Chimp In A Suit" as Jameson starts to educate Freddy in the finer art of class. Freddy's first lesson involves watching Jameson woo a young Oklahoman oil heiress named Jolene Oakes (Sara Gettelfinger...in the film she's just a lady from Okalahoma). Things go wrong when she mistakes Jameson's advances for a marriage proposal (and inspiring a great joke from Freddy as he sits in the audience watching and asks if he missed a scene). When Jolene gives us the second showstopper "Oklahoma?" (about how Jameson's gonna love it there), Jameson must figure out a way to get her to fall out of love with him. Freddy helps and becomes his idiot brother for a third showstopper called "All About Ruprecht".
After a brief reprise of "What Was A Woman To Do" from Muriel when she runs into Andre, we finally get the set up of the bet between Freddy and Lawrence as Christine Colgate, the American Soap Queen (in the movie it was Janet in another example of why did they change that name) arrives in town with "Here I Am".
Freddy pretends he's a wounded war veteran in a wheelchair to gain her symapthies in order to woo her. She falls for his advances and chicanery noting that "Nothing Is Too Wonderful To Be True", a number that starts off a bit jarringly as it seems out of place with the rest of the show's over-the-top comedy. Luckily, once Freddy starts singing the number quickly falls in line with the rest of what's come before it.
Act One ends with Jameson showing up, much to Freddie's surprise, as the German psychiatrist who is the only person who can cure him (which Freddie concocted as part of his story).
Act Two picks up just before the end of Act One (in another of those odd, yet funny moments of breaking the fourth wall). Posing as Dr. Emil Shuffhausen II, Jameson "exmaines" Sgt. Buzz Benson's legs in an attempt to foil Freddie's plan and reveal him for who he is ("Ruffhousin With Shuffhausen"). Meanwhile, in an attempt to fluff out the plot of a 90 minute movie into a 2 and one half hour musical (as well as beef up Ms. Gleason's role...something the character even mentions in Act One), Andre and Muriel start to fall in love ("Like Zis/Like Zat").
Dr. Shuffhausen convinces Chrstine that the only way to cure Buzz's problem is to tackle his psychosis, so "The More We Dance" the more he'll want to get out of his wheelchair. Freddie doesn't fall for it and does his best to keep up with Jameson's tricks. He eventually comes back to Christine's hotel room to exclaim that "Love Is In My Legs" (one of the funniest romantic ballad spoofs ever to hit Broadway), but Jameson intervenes again.
He sends Christine away before Freddie can win the bet (which changes from extracting money to getting her in bed at some point in Act Two when Jameson discovers she isn't rich). At the train station, Jameson realizes he's falling for her ("Love Sneaks In" -- the only bland song in the bunch as it's a real ballad that isn't funny and brings everything to a halt). The subplot of Andre and Muriel gets a brief reprise of "Like Zis/Like Zat" before Christine returns to Freddie in order to inadvertantly give him the win on the bet with "Son Of Great Big Stuff". But being a story about con artists, there's one last twist that I won't reveal before our con men sing of "The Reckoning" and finally make friends again in "Dirty Rotten Number".
The most important part of a musical is the songs and I've still got almost all of them rattling around my head 24 hours later. The acting is all top notch with potential Tony nominees in both Butz and Jbara. The one weak spot is, as I've already stated, the under use of Joanna Gleason. The lighting and sets are really kind of funky and cool. The entire show has what I'd refer to as "grand minimalist" as a turntable off center within a second turntable, some art deco palm trees, a staircase, a balcony, a set of doors and a few other minor set pieces keep getting reconfigured to make each setting.
The show's biggest obstacle is unfortunately the window it's opening it. It's living in the long shadow of that other con man musical based on a movie, The Producers (now starring Richard Kind and Alan Ruck, which may make it worth seeing again). The comparisons are both inevitable and unfortunate as I found this show funnier (don't get me wrong, I still loved The Producers). It has also opened two weeks ahead of Monty Python's Spamalot (which we'll be seeing a few days after it opens...so look for a review soon) and that show's coming in like the juggernaut The Producers was when it opened. Unfortunately, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels may get lost in the shuffle. Hopefully it won't as I want...no need...a cast album...if only to learn the lyrics to "Great Big Stuff".
That's all for today.
Be seeing you.
The new musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels falls into the latter category and while it's an odd choice to make a musical of, the finished product works very well in most aspects. (And as an aside, I'd like to point out it's actually a musical based on a movie that was a remake of another movie called Bedtime Story)
If you don't know the film, the story revolves around two con men. Lawrence Jameson (here played by John lithgow...it was Michael Caine in the film, David Niven in the original film) is an older kinder con man who is living off the money he takes from women passing through his current home town of Beaumont Sur Mer on the French Riviera. Into town rolls Freddie Benson (Norbert Leo Butz here, Steve Martin in the film, Marlon Brando in the original film), a younger and more crass con man who winds up asking to be taught the big game by a master. After a few adventures together, the two men wind up making a bet over who can take a young woman (here its Sherie Renee Scott, in the 1988 film it was Glenn Headley and in the 1964 film it was Shirley Jones) for $50,000 first; loser leaves town. It's an odd plot for a musical, especially one that seems to be very aware of itself being a theatrical piece. But it all seems to work rather well.
The show starts off with Jameson and his partner in crime Police Chief Andre (Gregory Jbara) singing about how a con artist should always "Give Them What They Want". It's a great mood setter. Next, we hear from one of Jameson's marks as Muriel Eubanks (played by the wonderfully underused Joanna Gleason...and it was Fanny in the movie...changed for some odd reason...as I think Fanny's funnier) sings about "What Was A Woman To Do?". She is eventually joined by more of Jameson's marks (including one of the usherettes in the audience...in the first of many broken fourth wall bits) as the number progresses.
When Freddy rolls into Jameson's house and admires the "Great Big Stuff" we get a cool, slick, hip-hop-ish showstopper that should surely get a Tony Nomination (if not win) for Butz. Andre sings about Freddy just being a "Chimp In A Suit" as Jameson starts to educate Freddy in the finer art of class. Freddy's first lesson involves watching Jameson woo a young Oklahoman oil heiress named Jolene Oakes (Sara Gettelfinger...in the film she's just a lady from Okalahoma). Things go wrong when she mistakes Jameson's advances for a marriage proposal (and inspiring a great joke from Freddy as he sits in the audience watching and asks if he missed a scene). When Jolene gives us the second showstopper "Oklahoma?" (about how Jameson's gonna love it there), Jameson must figure out a way to get her to fall out of love with him. Freddy helps and becomes his idiot brother for a third showstopper called "All About Ruprecht".
After a brief reprise of "What Was A Woman To Do" from Muriel when she runs into Andre, we finally get the set up of the bet between Freddy and Lawrence as Christine Colgate, the American Soap Queen (in the movie it was Janet in another example of why did they change that name) arrives in town with "Here I Am".
Freddy pretends he's a wounded war veteran in a wheelchair to gain her symapthies in order to woo her. She falls for his advances and chicanery noting that "Nothing Is Too Wonderful To Be True", a number that starts off a bit jarringly as it seems out of place with the rest of the show's over-the-top comedy. Luckily, once Freddy starts singing the number quickly falls in line with the rest of what's come before it.
Act One ends with Jameson showing up, much to Freddie's surprise, as the German psychiatrist who is the only person who can cure him (which Freddie concocted as part of his story).
Act Two picks up just before the end of Act One (in another of those odd, yet funny moments of breaking the fourth wall). Posing as Dr. Emil Shuffhausen II, Jameson "exmaines" Sgt. Buzz Benson's legs in an attempt to foil Freddie's plan and reveal him for who he is ("Ruffhousin With Shuffhausen"). Meanwhile, in an attempt to fluff out the plot of a 90 minute movie into a 2 and one half hour musical (as well as beef up Ms. Gleason's role...something the character even mentions in Act One), Andre and Muriel start to fall in love ("Like Zis/Like Zat").
Dr. Shuffhausen convinces Chrstine that the only way to cure Buzz's problem is to tackle his psychosis, so "The More We Dance" the more he'll want to get out of his wheelchair. Freddie doesn't fall for it and does his best to keep up with Jameson's tricks. He eventually comes back to Christine's hotel room to exclaim that "Love Is In My Legs" (one of the funniest romantic ballad spoofs ever to hit Broadway), but Jameson intervenes again.
He sends Christine away before Freddie can win the bet (which changes from extracting money to getting her in bed at some point in Act Two when Jameson discovers she isn't rich). At the train station, Jameson realizes he's falling for her ("Love Sneaks In" -- the only bland song in the bunch as it's a real ballad that isn't funny and brings everything to a halt). The subplot of Andre and Muriel gets a brief reprise of "Like Zis/Like Zat" before Christine returns to Freddie in order to inadvertantly give him the win on the bet with "Son Of Great Big Stuff". But being a story about con artists, there's one last twist that I won't reveal before our con men sing of "The Reckoning" and finally make friends again in "Dirty Rotten Number".
The most important part of a musical is the songs and I've still got almost all of them rattling around my head 24 hours later. The acting is all top notch with potential Tony nominees in both Butz and Jbara. The one weak spot is, as I've already stated, the under use of Joanna Gleason. The lighting and sets are really kind of funky and cool. The entire show has what I'd refer to as "grand minimalist" as a turntable off center within a second turntable, some art deco palm trees, a staircase, a balcony, a set of doors and a few other minor set pieces keep getting reconfigured to make each setting.
The show's biggest obstacle is unfortunately the window it's opening it. It's living in the long shadow of that other con man musical based on a movie, The Producers (now starring Richard Kind and Alan Ruck, which may make it worth seeing again). The comparisons are both inevitable and unfortunate as I found this show funnier (don't get me wrong, I still loved The Producers). It has also opened two weeks ahead of Monty Python's Spamalot (which we'll be seeing a few days after it opens...so look for a review soon) and that show's coming in like the juggernaut The Producers was when it opened. Unfortunately, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels may get lost in the shuffle. Hopefully it won't as I want...no need...a cast album...if only to learn the lyrics to "Great Big Stuff".
That's all for today.
Be seeing you.
Monday, February 28, 2005
Oscar the Grouch
I suppose this is the first time in many years that I really didn't care that much about the Oscars to even bother commenting on them. Here's my views, now that they're over:
Chris Rock was funny as host. Probably pissed a few people off along the way (was it just me or did Halle Berry look a bit miffed at the Catwoman 2 comment).
The show felt long, but didn't actually run long.
The awards given from the aisles were actually pretty well handled.
Jeremy Irons is a comic genius.
Paul Giamatti was robbed of even being nominated.
Martin Scorsese will never win.
That's pretty much it.
I did have a chance to see Constantine last week and enjoyed it quite a bit. It's not exactly a perfect adaptation of the comic book "John Constantine, Hellblazer" but I thought it worked pretty well. Keanu Reeves does a decent job in the title role (and I'm not gonna bitch and moan about how the character's supposed to be British and look like Sting...the captured the essence of the personality well enough). The film feels a bit long but is pretty fun. All in all it's probably on par with other "second string" comic book movies like Hulk and Daredevil. Maybe I'll do a more in depth review at a later date.
Not much else for today. I'm still working on a number of things in regards to getting my backlog of Fugues into this blog (it's gonna be slow going) as well as sprucing up the web site (even slower going). But I do hope to have some photos of the house renovation up within the next two weeks.
On that front right now we're in a race to see if what we've termed as "Phase One" (everything that was started before we knew about the pregnancy) will be finished before we have to start "Phase Two" (which is prepping the house for the baby...moving my office into the storage area and turning the current office into the baby's room). It means the current contractor will have to be finished by the end of March. I'm currently betting against him.
Anyway...I've been up to my eyeballs in sound design for a wonderful production of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest over at Curtain call as well as doing some administrative stuff for The Darien Players production of Biography...so it may be a week before there's anything subtsantial from me again.
Be seeing you.
Chris Rock was funny as host. Probably pissed a few people off along the way (was it just me or did Halle Berry look a bit miffed at the Catwoman 2 comment).
The show felt long, but didn't actually run long.
The awards given from the aisles were actually pretty well handled.
Jeremy Irons is a comic genius.
Paul Giamatti was robbed of even being nominated.
Martin Scorsese will never win.
That's pretty much it.
I did have a chance to see Constantine last week and enjoyed it quite a bit. It's not exactly a perfect adaptation of the comic book "John Constantine, Hellblazer" but I thought it worked pretty well. Keanu Reeves does a decent job in the title role (and I'm not gonna bitch and moan about how the character's supposed to be British and look like Sting...the captured the essence of the personality well enough). The film feels a bit long but is pretty fun. All in all it's probably on par with other "second string" comic book movies like Hulk and Daredevil. Maybe I'll do a more in depth review at a later date.
Not much else for today. I'm still working on a number of things in regards to getting my backlog of Fugues into this blog (it's gonna be slow going) as well as sprucing up the web site (even slower going). But I do hope to have some photos of the house renovation up within the next two weeks.
On that front right now we're in a race to see if what we've termed as "Phase One" (everything that was started before we knew about the pregnancy) will be finished before we have to start "Phase Two" (which is prepping the house for the baby...moving my office into the storage area and turning the current office into the baby's room). It means the current contractor will have to be finished by the end of March. I'm currently betting against him.
Anyway...I've been up to my eyeballs in sound design for a wonderful production of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest over at Curtain call as well as doing some administrative stuff for The Darien Players production of Biography...so it may be a week before there's anything subtsantial from me again.
Be seeing you.
Monday, February 21, 2005
Badly Going Where They've Gone Before
Okay...I've been rather quiet for a while about Star Trek as an entity of late. I stopped watching Voyager much later than I should have and I gave Enterprise about 3 episodes before deciding I had enough of the "been there, done that" syndrome of stories the various series had been churning out for a number of years. I've been saying for a while that the best thing for the franchise was a break (in my mind 5 years at least) and now that we're getting the needed break to revive the franchise at a later date, the effing Trekkies are going to screw it up. There's an old saying about the inmates running the asylum and Trekkos are living proff. They'd rather have bad Trek than no Trek.
This is a mentality I don't quite understand. There are plenty of franchises that I've been enamoured of over the years, but I realize when they get tired and need a break it's usually for the better. Look at the gap between Licence to Kill and Goldeneye. It took six years to revive the Bond franchise (not that it needed it in my mind, but look at the box office numbers and you'll see there were problems).
Anyway...if you haven't heard, the Trekkos are trying to raise 32 million dollars to fund a new season of Enterprise. Good luck with that one.
Wish I had more for today, but I'm a bit beat and need to get to a rehearsal which I'm doing Sound Design for (and not having much fun...I tend to throw myself 110% into a job and I was exhausted before I got involved in this show...it'll be a good show and while I don't think anyone will notice potential goofs with the sound, I will because I'm insane...the show is One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by the way, which doesn't help with the insanity aspect).
Be seeing you when I have more to say and more time to say it in.
This is a mentality I don't quite understand. There are plenty of franchises that I've been enamoured of over the years, but I realize when they get tired and need a break it's usually for the better. Look at the gap between Licence to Kill and Goldeneye. It took six years to revive the Bond franchise (not that it needed it in my mind, but look at the box office numbers and you'll see there were problems).
Anyway...if you haven't heard, the Trekkos are trying to raise 32 million dollars to fund a new season of Enterprise. Good luck with that one.
Wish I had more for today, but I'm a bit beat and need to get to a rehearsal which I'm doing Sound Design for (and not having much fun...I tend to throw myself 110% into a job and I was exhausted before I got involved in this show...it'll be a good show and while I don't think anyone will notice potential goofs with the sound, I will because I'm insane...the show is One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by the way, which doesn't help with the insanity aspect).
Be seeing you when I have more to say and more time to say it in.
Sunday, February 20, 2005
The start of something big
Okay...so I'm finally getting my act together and taking it on the road. I've been very slowly in the process of learning how to build a website and today we're ready to test the damn thing out. It's not fancy. It's not flashy. Heck, it's not even finished (it's barely there). But it's now live and in my control (G-d help us all).
Over the next few weeks expect it to get a bit fancier and more complex as I add photos of the wedding, the house renovation, the baby and anything else I feel the need to (yes...a photo of me as Agatha Christie will also eventually show up).
But please be patient folks. My time management is lacking these days and I'm all over the place. So don't hold me to the fire if it's taking a bit longer than you'd like to see some of this stuff.
In setting this up there were several possible ways to go about getting Fenster's Toccata and Fugue online (instead of e-mailing it). This is now the way it's going to go. You'll be able to check it out here whenever I update it. And slowly but surely you'll be able to access all of my "back issues" as I slowly but surely get them up and into this blog.
If there are any suggestions or comments, please feel free to speak up. This whole endeavour is made of baby steps for me and any feedback will be appreciated (as long as it's constructive...anyone looking to just bitch, moan or complain can keep it to themselves).
So that's all for today. Nothing too complicated or extreme. Just a brief declaration that I'm joining the 21st Century finally...
Be seeing you
Over the next few weeks expect it to get a bit fancier and more complex as I add photos of the wedding, the house renovation, the baby and anything else I feel the need to (yes...a photo of me as Agatha Christie will also eventually show up).
But please be patient folks. My time management is lacking these days and I'm all over the place. So don't hold me to the fire if it's taking a bit longer than you'd like to see some of this stuff.
In setting this up there were several possible ways to go about getting Fenster's Toccata and Fugue online (instead of e-mailing it). This is now the way it's going to go. You'll be able to check it out here whenever I update it. And slowly but surely you'll be able to access all of my "back issues" as I slowly but surely get them up and into this blog.
If there are any suggestions or comments, please feel free to speak up. This whole endeavour is made of baby steps for me and any feedback will be appreciated (as long as it's constructive...anyone looking to just bitch, moan or complain can keep it to themselves).
So that's all for today. Nothing too complicated or extreme. Just a brief declaration that I'm joining the 21st Century finally...
Be seeing you
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
We start off today with a bunch of TV reviews before moving onto to some musicals and then some other stuff…but first a quick and loud “Boo!!!!!” to HBO Home Video. They are releasing the first season of their wonderful western “Deadwood” on DVD. It comes in a beautiful box set with about 90 minutes of extras. The problem is it’s not only pricey, but a big space waster. All 13 episodes are spread across SIX DISCS!!!! (This in the same week they release “Oz” Season 4 which is 16 episodes on 3 double sided discs at almost half the price and definitely half the space). So the bad move of the week goes to them.
Anyway…on to our reviews…
Medium – well…we’re several episodes into this show’s first season (yes…it’s been renewed for a second) and producer Glenn Gordon Caron reminds us why he’s so good at creating great TV. The show stars Patricia Arquette as a clairvoyant who works for the District Attorney and helps them solve crimes. The “crime” aspect of the show is balanced with her personal life with her husband and three daughters. The show contains a great mix of several genres (like all the other Caron shows) and knows how to keep us invested in the characters. We get plenty of suspense, humor, romance and surprise all balanced out perfectly in the correct amounts (just like life…only without the parapsychology). If you’re not watching you should be.
Justice League Unlimited – just ended its third season and started its fourth. The 3rd season ender was a fun, but slightly befuddled two part geek-gasm that brought a lesser DC villain (Chronos) into his own by giving him a better spin and threw a whole bunch of DC Western characters (like Bat Lash, Jonah Hex, El Diablo and Pow Wow Smith) and WB Animation characters (mostly from “Batman Beyond”) into this weird time travel story. The best bit of all: Hal Jordan makes a brief appearance as Green Lantern in the second part as time starts to shift and flux (he replaces John Stewart). The third season spent a very long and slow time setting up the new League as most of the episodes featured mostly the five members from the first two seasons coupled with one or two new heroes. A slow boil back-story involving a government conspiracy against the Justice League didn’t get enough airtime either.
Season four started off on a completely different foot. The first episode featured none of the BIG members and concentrated on Black Canary getting Green Arrow to help her rescue Wildcat from a self-imposed downward spiral in what had to have easily been one of the most violent half hours of animated fare on TV in recent history (Wildcat’s involved in an underground Ultimate Fight-like venue).Great story. Next up? Flash and Mister Miracle team up against some of Darkseid’s minions. And we get to see Black Canary and Green Arrow on a double date with Huntress and The Question. Cool. Also look for Doomsday to return to battle Superman and Batman to uncover some info about the government conspiracy.
Teen Titans – Like “Justice League” this show finished one season and immediately started its next. With Season Three focusing on Cyborg’s battles with Brother Blood, it looks like Season Four will be focusing on Raven’s past with appearances by Trigon and a resurrected Slade. The show’s more kid-friendly than “Justice League”, but still well written and a lot of fun.
Committed – Not sure what it is about this show, but it makes me laugh out loud all the time (maybe it’s just Tom Poston’s dead-pan wit as the Clown living in Marnie’s closet). And it looks like it may be returning for a second season. The show’s run ends March 15 when it will be replaced by the American version of the hit BBC comedy “The Office: An American Workplace” (subtitled, I assume, because we’re too stupid to know the difference between this and the original).
Grounded For Life – The WB ended this show’s fifth season after only 13 episodes. Luckily, we got something of a wrap-up for storylines that had been started (like Claudia’s pregnancy). The show had essentially “jumped-the-shark” on moving to the network (Sean & Eddie buying the bar) and the loss of the youngest child Henry (due to the actor moving to NY) was disappointing as he tended to be the funniest of the kids (and rather surreal). The show had a good run for three seasons and then kind of dipped in quality, but it was always enjoyable. I’ll miss it, but I’ve already moved on.
And now two musicals…one on stage, one on screen…
Fiddler on the Roof – As Tash & I head into the back half of the pregnancy, we’re trying to cram in as much “fun” as we can. While we haven’t had much time to hit the movie theaters due to shows and such, we are making time for theatrical jaunts. Aside from seeing various shows locally that involve friends, there are at least three Broadway musicals on our list. We just crossed the first one off.
Personally, I’m a big fan of the film version of “Fiddler on the Roof”. I think Norman Jewison got it perfect and that’s the end of that story. When the show returned to Broadway with Alfred Molina, my first thought was “good choice, but I don’t need to see it”. Molina’s left the role and he’s been replaced by Harvey Fierstein. Yes…you heard me…Harvey Fierstein. My little to no interest in this show became an “I’ve gotta see this”.
Before we get to Harvey’s performance as Tevye, let me comment on the production itself. The orchestra is on stage (something I normally dislike). It doesn’t seem to add much to the show by being on stage. The sets are very organic in that we’re looking at a wooded area with movable furniture and a ramshackle roof that descends from the rafters. It works well for the show and suggests the various spaces needed to make Anatevka a real town. It gives the show a very sad and wistful atmosphere and while I’m not sure the show should look that way, it does work.
All of the actors do their parts well, but the real stars are Fierstein and Andrea Martin as Tevye and Golde. In my opinion, both are adequate at best. Golde isn’t a big enough part for Martin’s comedic abilities to really shine and her singing voice is serviceable. She seems to be a bit too restrained for her own good most of the time. Fierstein seems like an inspired choice of casting, albeit weird. He puts his all into the role and you can tell he’s having fun with it (he does bring out more humor in the role than what you normally get), which does pass along to the audience. But that’s only when you can understand him. His very distinctive voice not only mangles and garbles some of the song lyrics, but he chooses a number of vocal inflections for lines of dialogue that also get drowned out (this was not a problem in “Hairspray”). It’s an interesting performance that needs to be seen to be believed, but it won’t come close to replacing Topol’s (assuming that the number of people who actually saw Zero Mostel in the role has dwindled considerably over the years). If you can, see it before Harvey leaves…but don’t expect too much.
De-Lovely – Taking it’s cue from “All That Jazz”, this musical about the life of Cole Porter weaves together an amazing story (even if somewhat inaccurate) in which Porter views a rehearsal of a show based on his life. The film is well made and propelled by the two wonderful performances of Kevin Kline as Porter (who gets some of the best old age make up I’ve seen on film in a long time) and Ashley Judd as his wife Linda. It is their relationship, interspersed with various musical numbers, that keeps this show flowing from start to finish. If there’s one thing that doesn’t quite work it’s the stunt casting. Most of Porter’s songs are performed by famous singers like Elvis Costello, Alanis Morisette and Robbie Williams with no real motivation or explanation. They pretty much appear, sing and leave. The other numbers that are part of the story work much better.
Lastly, on an update front…
If you’re in the area I’d like to recommend the following shows to see:
The Philadelphia Story at Curtain Call – Now Playing – we know some people in the show
Proof at Westport Community Theater – Now Playing – we know some people who worked on the show
Biography at the DAC Weatherstone in Darien – March 4 thru 19 – I’m VP of the Players, so that alone forces me to push the show, but it’s got a great cast and is the last show to be directed by Catherine Lindsey who unfortunately passed away last week.
One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest at Curtain Call – March 4 thru March 19 – we know one of the actors as well as the stage manager and I’m helping set up the sound effects for the show
The Sorcerer – Trouper’s Light Opera Company – April 1 thru 9 – Tash is in the chorus and I’m helping with some magic effects for the show
Tale of the Allergist’s Wife – Pound Ridge – April (don’t have the exact dates in front of me, but as we get closer I’ll post ‘em) – we know most of the cast and the director (it should be a great show)
Book of Days – Darien – May 6 thru 21 – It’s my last hurrah for this season…I’m in the casting process right now…so you’ll hear all about it next week once it’s been finalized…It’s a great play…very different from anything I’ve done to date…
As we’ve been going through all the information that exists for expectant parents (let me just say that researching new kitchen appliances was easier than researching strollers and cribs), one of the things we’ve discussed ad nauseum is when to discover what we’re having. There are pros and cons to knowing both in advance of the birth and being surprised on delivery day. After sorting through it all, we decided we wanted to know as soon as possible just so we could stop referring to the child as “baby face” and call it by the name we plan on using while it’s still in utero in an attempt to bond with it more before it arrives.
So I’d like to announce the arrival of Malcolm Steven Fenster sometime in mid-June (due date’s Father’s Day June 19). He hasn’t been too co-operative during the sonograms, but I suppose that’s to be expected. After all, he’s a combination of Tash & I and all our family genetics…stubbornness runs on both sides. Of course, more importantly he’s healthy and, I suppose, happy where he currently is and we can’t wait until he gets here (actually, first we can’t wait for the house to be finished and ready for him to live in it…we’re almost to the point where it may be a close race).
Anyway…
That’s all for today.
Be seeing you
Spleenless Joel
Anyway…on to our reviews…
Medium – well…we’re several episodes into this show’s first season (yes…it’s been renewed for a second) and producer Glenn Gordon Caron reminds us why he’s so good at creating great TV. The show stars Patricia Arquette as a clairvoyant who works for the District Attorney and helps them solve crimes. The “crime” aspect of the show is balanced with her personal life with her husband and three daughters. The show contains a great mix of several genres (like all the other Caron shows) and knows how to keep us invested in the characters. We get plenty of suspense, humor, romance and surprise all balanced out perfectly in the correct amounts (just like life…only without the parapsychology). If you’re not watching you should be.
Justice League Unlimited – just ended its third season and started its fourth. The 3rd season ender was a fun, but slightly befuddled two part geek-gasm that brought a lesser DC villain (Chronos) into his own by giving him a better spin and threw a whole bunch of DC Western characters (like Bat Lash, Jonah Hex, El Diablo and Pow Wow Smith) and WB Animation characters (mostly from “Batman Beyond”) into this weird time travel story. The best bit of all: Hal Jordan makes a brief appearance as Green Lantern in the second part as time starts to shift and flux (he replaces John Stewart). The third season spent a very long and slow time setting up the new League as most of the episodes featured mostly the five members from the first two seasons coupled with one or two new heroes. A slow boil back-story involving a government conspiracy against the Justice League didn’t get enough airtime either.
Season four started off on a completely different foot. The first episode featured none of the BIG members and concentrated on Black Canary getting Green Arrow to help her rescue Wildcat from a self-imposed downward spiral in what had to have easily been one of the most violent half hours of animated fare on TV in recent history (Wildcat’s involved in an underground Ultimate Fight-like venue).Great story. Next up? Flash and Mister Miracle team up against some of Darkseid’s minions. And we get to see Black Canary and Green Arrow on a double date with Huntress and The Question. Cool. Also look for Doomsday to return to battle Superman and Batman to uncover some info about the government conspiracy.
Teen Titans – Like “Justice League” this show finished one season and immediately started its next. With Season Three focusing on Cyborg’s battles with Brother Blood, it looks like Season Four will be focusing on Raven’s past with appearances by Trigon and a resurrected Slade. The show’s more kid-friendly than “Justice League”, but still well written and a lot of fun.
Committed – Not sure what it is about this show, but it makes me laugh out loud all the time (maybe it’s just Tom Poston’s dead-pan wit as the Clown living in Marnie’s closet). And it looks like it may be returning for a second season. The show’s run ends March 15 when it will be replaced by the American version of the hit BBC comedy “The Office: An American Workplace” (subtitled, I assume, because we’re too stupid to know the difference between this and the original).
Grounded For Life – The WB ended this show’s fifth season after only 13 episodes. Luckily, we got something of a wrap-up for storylines that had been started (like Claudia’s pregnancy). The show had essentially “jumped-the-shark” on moving to the network (Sean & Eddie buying the bar) and the loss of the youngest child Henry (due to the actor moving to NY) was disappointing as he tended to be the funniest of the kids (and rather surreal). The show had a good run for three seasons and then kind of dipped in quality, but it was always enjoyable. I’ll miss it, but I’ve already moved on.
And now two musicals…one on stage, one on screen…
Fiddler on the Roof – As Tash & I head into the back half of the pregnancy, we’re trying to cram in as much “fun” as we can. While we haven’t had much time to hit the movie theaters due to shows and such, we are making time for theatrical jaunts. Aside from seeing various shows locally that involve friends, there are at least three Broadway musicals on our list. We just crossed the first one off.
Personally, I’m a big fan of the film version of “Fiddler on the Roof”. I think Norman Jewison got it perfect and that’s the end of that story. When the show returned to Broadway with Alfred Molina, my first thought was “good choice, but I don’t need to see it”. Molina’s left the role and he’s been replaced by Harvey Fierstein. Yes…you heard me…Harvey Fierstein. My little to no interest in this show became an “I’ve gotta see this”.
Before we get to Harvey’s performance as Tevye, let me comment on the production itself. The orchestra is on stage (something I normally dislike). It doesn’t seem to add much to the show by being on stage. The sets are very organic in that we’re looking at a wooded area with movable furniture and a ramshackle roof that descends from the rafters. It works well for the show and suggests the various spaces needed to make Anatevka a real town. It gives the show a very sad and wistful atmosphere and while I’m not sure the show should look that way, it does work.
All of the actors do their parts well, but the real stars are Fierstein and Andrea Martin as Tevye and Golde. In my opinion, both are adequate at best. Golde isn’t a big enough part for Martin’s comedic abilities to really shine and her singing voice is serviceable. She seems to be a bit too restrained for her own good most of the time. Fierstein seems like an inspired choice of casting, albeit weird. He puts his all into the role and you can tell he’s having fun with it (he does bring out more humor in the role than what you normally get), which does pass along to the audience. But that’s only when you can understand him. His very distinctive voice not only mangles and garbles some of the song lyrics, but he chooses a number of vocal inflections for lines of dialogue that also get drowned out (this was not a problem in “Hairspray”). It’s an interesting performance that needs to be seen to be believed, but it won’t come close to replacing Topol’s (assuming that the number of people who actually saw Zero Mostel in the role has dwindled considerably over the years). If you can, see it before Harvey leaves…but don’t expect too much.
De-Lovely – Taking it’s cue from “All That Jazz”, this musical about the life of Cole Porter weaves together an amazing story (even if somewhat inaccurate) in which Porter views a rehearsal of a show based on his life. The film is well made and propelled by the two wonderful performances of Kevin Kline as Porter (who gets some of the best old age make up I’ve seen on film in a long time) and Ashley Judd as his wife Linda. It is their relationship, interspersed with various musical numbers, that keeps this show flowing from start to finish. If there’s one thing that doesn’t quite work it’s the stunt casting. Most of Porter’s songs are performed by famous singers like Elvis Costello, Alanis Morisette and Robbie Williams with no real motivation or explanation. They pretty much appear, sing and leave. The other numbers that are part of the story work much better.
Lastly, on an update front…
If you’re in the area I’d like to recommend the following shows to see:
The Philadelphia Story at Curtain Call – Now Playing – we know some people in the show
Proof at Westport Community Theater – Now Playing – we know some people who worked on the show
Biography at the DAC Weatherstone in Darien – March 4 thru 19 – I’m VP of the Players, so that alone forces me to push the show, but it’s got a great cast and is the last show to be directed by Catherine Lindsey who unfortunately passed away last week.
One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest at Curtain Call – March 4 thru March 19 – we know one of the actors as well as the stage manager and I’m helping set up the sound effects for the show
The Sorcerer – Trouper’s Light Opera Company – April 1 thru 9 – Tash is in the chorus and I’m helping with some magic effects for the show
Tale of the Allergist’s Wife – Pound Ridge – April (don’t have the exact dates in front of me, but as we get closer I’ll post ‘em) – we know most of the cast and the director (it should be a great show)
Book of Days – Darien – May 6 thru 21 – It’s my last hurrah for this season…I’m in the casting process right now…so you’ll hear all about it next week once it’s been finalized…It’s a great play…very different from anything I’ve done to date…
As we’ve been going through all the information that exists for expectant parents (let me just say that researching new kitchen appliances was easier than researching strollers and cribs), one of the things we’ve discussed ad nauseum is when to discover what we’re having. There are pros and cons to knowing both in advance of the birth and being surprised on delivery day. After sorting through it all, we decided we wanted to know as soon as possible just so we could stop referring to the child as “baby face” and call it by the name we plan on using while it’s still in utero in an attempt to bond with it more before it arrives.
So I’d like to announce the arrival of Malcolm Steven Fenster sometime in mid-June (due date’s Father’s Day June 19). He hasn’t been too co-operative during the sonograms, but I suppose that’s to be expected. After all, he’s a combination of Tash & I and all our family genetics…stubbornness runs on both sides. Of course, more importantly he’s healthy and, I suppose, happy where he currently is and we can’t wait until he gets here (actually, first we can’t wait for the house to be finished and ready for him to live in it…we’re almost to the point where it may be a close race).
Anyway…
That’s all for today.
Be seeing you
Spleenless Joel
Sunday, January 23, 2005
The subject of today’s missive is toys…particularly small action figures type toys (as I’m currently packing a few away until their new home is ready)…so those of you with no interest…see ya next time…
If you’re still around…
There’s an amazing array of block-type mini figures that have been hitting the market over the last two years and I’m going to take a look at a few of them today.
The block figure craze can be traced back to Lego and Playmobil as both companies have had small figures in the market (with various types of playsets) for a long time. The Japanese took the concept of the Lego figure and started applying it to licensed properties. Called “Kubricks” (I’m unsure why), they stand about 2 ½ inches tall and have some removable parts that suggest some interchangability, but in practice the concept is kind of limited.
Medicom, the company that makes most of the Kubricks, has picked up numerous licenses over the years and have produced mini-figures from things like “Reservoir Dogs”, “The Great Escape”, “Planet of the Apes”, “The Matrix”, “Star Wars”, “TRON”, “The Muppets”, “Minority Report”, “Back to the Future”, “Alien” and various animated Disney films. They’re all cute figures with about 8 points of articulation (legs, waist, wrists, shoulders and neck). Unfortunately, they are expensive as they need to be imported. On top of that, some of the lines come in box sets (so you can get all “The Usual Suspects” in one shot) and others come individually boxed in mystery packages. You can buy a box containing one figure from “The Matrix” but you won’t know who it is until you open it. And some figures in these lines are rarer than others. In fact, some aren’t even pictured as being part of the line and are extremely hard to find (like the Keymaker from “The Matrix” series…he had a pack-in ratio of 1 in every 96). This can make the pursuit of a complete line rather expensive.
While Kubricks have some cool line ups, the coolest right now are the two more “advanced” concepts.
Art Asylum has created their Mini-Mates line with 14 points of articulation (ankles, knees, legs, waist, wrists, elbows, shoulders and head). When the line started, they were 3 inches tall and the licenses included Bruce Lee, some Rock n Roll artists (KISS, Ozzy Osbourne and Iron Maiden to name three), “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, “Dark Angel” and “Star Trek”. While all of these figures were really cool, Art Asylum wasn’t able to get too deep into any of these lines for a variety of reasons. When they picked up the Marvel Comics license, things really took off.
Marvel Mini-Mates contain the same 14 points of articulation as the rest, but they are only 2 inches tall (licensing issues that Marvel has elsewhere prevented using the larger size). But this size has allowed Art Asylum to package two figures together with a few accessories and so far we’ve gotten nine waves of 6 figures per wave. Unfortunately, in order to entice major retailers on board, there have been a plethora of variant Spider-Mans, Wolverines, Daredevils and Things. But we’ve also gotten a good number of cool characters in the process. There have also been a number of different Iron Man figures, each with a removable helmet and an extra hair piece for displaying Tony Stark with the helmet off. My favorite so far is Battle Damaged Captain America and his swollen eye.
Unfortunately, in order to get everyone who’s been released, that has involved getting doubles of others. The nice thing is that parts are swappable and with a bit of paint and other art supplies, you can customize the extras into new people (I’ve made a few very obscure characters like Rachel van Helsing and Quincy Harker from the old “Tomb of Dracula” comic as well as a couple of DC characters like The Question and Captain Atom from extra people and parts).
What would keep this line alive right now is a bit more breadth of the Marvel Universe. There are still a good number of major characters missing. Dr. Strange, Thor and a few other big name Avengers and the original X-Men lineup are all absent right now. And there is a distinct lack of villains. We’ve got Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Venom, Carnage, Kingpin, Bullseye, Chameleon, Dr. Doom, the Leader, Absorbing Man and Magneto and that’s all. While the “missing” heroes could easily be caught up in three waves, the villains will take much longer to get a better variety. Somewhere along the way most toy companies got faulty research that bad guys and females don’t sell. I don’t quite believe that as kids like to have villains to fight their heroes.
Art Asylum realized they had a hit on their hands and have started to branch this smaller Mini Mate into other licenses. The one that made the most sense to sit on a shelf along Marvel Comics was DC Comics. Unfortunately, in order to work around the fact that DC had been producing their own version of small figures (Pocket Heroes) Art Asylum had to come up with something else to offer the figures with. They invented a Lego-like construction set known as C3. These are really cool as they combine the small figure factor into a small playset environment. Unfortunately, the figures are the coolest things about these sets for the most part. The first wave of sets hit in late fall just in time for Christmas shopping and while the biggest and coolest is the Batcave, it’s plagued with structural problems (took me 4 hours to put together and I had to use some glue). The smaller sets that aren’t vehicles are a bit lackluster…the Chemical Warehouse and Darkseid’s Throne Room have the coolest figures (Batman & Joker and Superman & Darkseid respectively) but they’re not very interesting to look at. And like larger figure lines based on DC Comics characters, there’s an inordinate amount of Batman figures. Luckily, they’re not as horrid as some of Kenner’s day glo colored figures and at least make some sense based on the construction set they come with (I’m specifically thinking of Stealth Pilot Batman who comes with the Batwing).
Art Asylum has some neat workarounds planned to try and get more figures into the market place for DC. First up this year are their mini-flyers which give you a figure with a few blocks to create a small flying machine that’s themed to the character (we’re getting Flash, Nightwing, Riddler and Batgirl in addition to a new Batman & Superman in the first wave). And there are some larger “Batman” themed sets to revolve around the hype for the new movie in June…but the first wave didn’t do so hot at retail, so this line may not make it much further. Supposedly, Art Asylum is talking to DC about doing the figures without the construction sets in conjunction with the comic company’s toy arm since the Pocket Heroes did so badly (and yet have more variety than anything Art Asylum’s done yet…go figure).
The last major license that Art Asylum’s acquired for the Mini Mates is “Lord of the Rings” and they are using both scales of figures plus a new middle size to keep the various characters in scale. The hobbits and dwarves are in the 2 inch scale, the humans and elves are in the new 2 ½ inch scale and people like Sauron are the old 3 inch scale. So far there have been about 13 figures done with only two characters repeated (Frodo and Aragorn have variants, but they make sense).
Rumor has it that Art Asylum may re-release their “Star Trek” mini-mates in the smaller scales and as box sets in an attempt to put some life into their licensing agreement before it lapses.
Just before Christmas, Palisades Toys entered this arena with a new brand called “Palz”. These 2 ½ inch figures have the same articulation as Mini Mates, but have a crap load of accessories and some other neat features as well. The first license out the door is based on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. The first wave consisted of 6 individually sold figures (Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles, Darla and the Master), one in case repaint (Darla) and two store exclusives (Angel via comic shops and Vampire Buffy via Wizard Magazine). Palisades plan is to base each wave on a season of the show, so all these figures resemble (in the cartoonishly cute block figure way) the looks of these characters during the show’s first season. The cool thing is that each figure comes with extra parts to transform them to a different look. Turn Darla’s head around and she’s now a vampire. You can do the same with Angel (who can be dressed in a number of different combos as well…with jacket, without jacket, shirt on, shirt off…most of the figures come with secondary outfits) and Vampire Buffy (regular Buffy just has a different expression on the flip side of her head).
A second series will arrive in April consisting of Buffy (she’ll be part of every wave), Spike, Drusilla, Oz, Cordelia and Jenny Calendar. Oz gets to be the in case repaint as well. Each figure will also come with a piece of the Judge, so you’ll get a seventh figure if you collect the whole wave. There will also be a few exclusives as well. Palisades Direct (the company’s online store) will be selling Kendra the Vampire Slayer (complete with Mr. Pointy) and a three pack of Monsters (this is the first of many Monster sets and includes Marcie Ross, Der Kindestod and the Annointed One – who is going to be scaled down to be the correct size). AFX, an online store, also has an exlcusive four pack of the main “Scoobies” (Buffy, Willow, Cordelia and Xander) to transform into Halloween costumes they wore during the show.
Before this second wave of “Buffy” appears we also get treated to a first wave of “The X-Files”. The first wave consists of 8 figures without the cool “transformation” feature, but plenty of accessories. Look for Mulder, Scully, Lone Gunman Frohike, Deep Throat, Conundrum (from the episode “Humbug”), Donnie Pfaster, a Gray Alien and the Flukeman (with a Port-O-Potty). There will be three in case variants as well…Demon Donnie Pfaster, Captured Scully (these were supposed to be a two pack exclusive, but that changed) and Man In Black Mulder (not from any specific episode, but a cool looking figure anyway). A second wave will arrive if this one’s successful (we’ve already seen workups of Agent Krycek and Marita Covarrubias).
And just announced from Palisades is another Palz line based on the “Die Hard” trilogy. The first wave looks like it will consist of two versions of everyone’s favorite cop John McClane, his estranged wife Holly Gennaro, Sergeant Al Powell, Hans Gruber and Karl. Can’t wait to see what these look like at Toy Fair in February.
If you’re still around…
There’s an amazing array of block-type mini figures that have been hitting the market over the last two years and I’m going to take a look at a few of them today.
The block figure craze can be traced back to Lego and Playmobil as both companies have had small figures in the market (with various types of playsets) for a long time. The Japanese took the concept of the Lego figure and started applying it to licensed properties. Called “Kubricks” (I’m unsure why), they stand about 2 ½ inches tall and have some removable parts that suggest some interchangability, but in practice the concept is kind of limited.
Medicom, the company that makes most of the Kubricks, has picked up numerous licenses over the years and have produced mini-figures from things like “Reservoir Dogs”, “The Great Escape”, “Planet of the Apes”, “The Matrix”, “Star Wars”, “TRON”, “The Muppets”, “Minority Report”, “Back to the Future”, “Alien” and various animated Disney films. They’re all cute figures with about 8 points of articulation (legs, waist, wrists, shoulders and neck). Unfortunately, they are expensive as they need to be imported. On top of that, some of the lines come in box sets (so you can get all “The Usual Suspects” in one shot) and others come individually boxed in mystery packages. You can buy a box containing one figure from “The Matrix” but you won’t know who it is until you open it. And some figures in these lines are rarer than others. In fact, some aren’t even pictured as being part of the line and are extremely hard to find (like the Keymaker from “The Matrix” series…he had a pack-in ratio of 1 in every 96). This can make the pursuit of a complete line rather expensive.
While Kubricks have some cool line ups, the coolest right now are the two more “advanced” concepts.
Art Asylum has created their Mini-Mates line with 14 points of articulation (ankles, knees, legs, waist, wrists, elbows, shoulders and head). When the line started, they were 3 inches tall and the licenses included Bruce Lee, some Rock n Roll artists (KISS, Ozzy Osbourne and Iron Maiden to name three), “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, “Dark Angel” and “Star Trek”. While all of these figures were really cool, Art Asylum wasn’t able to get too deep into any of these lines for a variety of reasons. When they picked up the Marvel Comics license, things really took off.
Marvel Mini-Mates contain the same 14 points of articulation as the rest, but they are only 2 inches tall (licensing issues that Marvel has elsewhere prevented using the larger size). But this size has allowed Art Asylum to package two figures together with a few accessories and so far we’ve gotten nine waves of 6 figures per wave. Unfortunately, in order to entice major retailers on board, there have been a plethora of variant Spider-Mans, Wolverines, Daredevils and Things. But we’ve also gotten a good number of cool characters in the process. There have also been a number of different Iron Man figures, each with a removable helmet and an extra hair piece for displaying Tony Stark with the helmet off. My favorite so far is Battle Damaged Captain America and his swollen eye.
Unfortunately, in order to get everyone who’s been released, that has involved getting doubles of others. The nice thing is that parts are swappable and with a bit of paint and other art supplies, you can customize the extras into new people (I’ve made a few very obscure characters like Rachel van Helsing and Quincy Harker from the old “Tomb of Dracula” comic as well as a couple of DC characters like The Question and Captain Atom from extra people and parts).
What would keep this line alive right now is a bit more breadth of the Marvel Universe. There are still a good number of major characters missing. Dr. Strange, Thor and a few other big name Avengers and the original X-Men lineup are all absent right now. And there is a distinct lack of villains. We’ve got Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Venom, Carnage, Kingpin, Bullseye, Chameleon, Dr. Doom, the Leader, Absorbing Man and Magneto and that’s all. While the “missing” heroes could easily be caught up in three waves, the villains will take much longer to get a better variety. Somewhere along the way most toy companies got faulty research that bad guys and females don’t sell. I don’t quite believe that as kids like to have villains to fight their heroes.
Art Asylum realized they had a hit on their hands and have started to branch this smaller Mini Mate into other licenses. The one that made the most sense to sit on a shelf along Marvel Comics was DC Comics. Unfortunately, in order to work around the fact that DC had been producing their own version of small figures (Pocket Heroes) Art Asylum had to come up with something else to offer the figures with. They invented a Lego-like construction set known as C3. These are really cool as they combine the small figure factor into a small playset environment. Unfortunately, the figures are the coolest things about these sets for the most part. The first wave of sets hit in late fall just in time for Christmas shopping and while the biggest and coolest is the Batcave, it’s plagued with structural problems (took me 4 hours to put together and I had to use some glue). The smaller sets that aren’t vehicles are a bit lackluster…the Chemical Warehouse and Darkseid’s Throne Room have the coolest figures (Batman & Joker and Superman & Darkseid respectively) but they’re not very interesting to look at. And like larger figure lines based on DC Comics characters, there’s an inordinate amount of Batman figures. Luckily, they’re not as horrid as some of Kenner’s day glo colored figures and at least make some sense based on the construction set they come with (I’m specifically thinking of Stealth Pilot Batman who comes with the Batwing).
Art Asylum has some neat workarounds planned to try and get more figures into the market place for DC. First up this year are their mini-flyers which give you a figure with a few blocks to create a small flying machine that’s themed to the character (we’re getting Flash, Nightwing, Riddler and Batgirl in addition to a new Batman & Superman in the first wave). And there are some larger “Batman” themed sets to revolve around the hype for the new movie in June…but the first wave didn’t do so hot at retail, so this line may not make it much further. Supposedly, Art Asylum is talking to DC about doing the figures without the construction sets in conjunction with the comic company’s toy arm since the Pocket Heroes did so badly (and yet have more variety than anything Art Asylum’s done yet…go figure).
The last major license that Art Asylum’s acquired for the Mini Mates is “Lord of the Rings” and they are using both scales of figures plus a new middle size to keep the various characters in scale. The hobbits and dwarves are in the 2 inch scale, the humans and elves are in the new 2 ½ inch scale and people like Sauron are the old 3 inch scale. So far there have been about 13 figures done with only two characters repeated (Frodo and Aragorn have variants, but they make sense).
Rumor has it that Art Asylum may re-release their “Star Trek” mini-mates in the smaller scales and as box sets in an attempt to put some life into their licensing agreement before it lapses.
Just before Christmas, Palisades Toys entered this arena with a new brand called “Palz”. These 2 ½ inch figures have the same articulation as Mini Mates, but have a crap load of accessories and some other neat features as well. The first license out the door is based on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. The first wave consisted of 6 individually sold figures (Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles, Darla and the Master), one in case repaint (Darla) and two store exclusives (Angel via comic shops and Vampire Buffy via Wizard Magazine). Palisades plan is to base each wave on a season of the show, so all these figures resemble (in the cartoonishly cute block figure way) the looks of these characters during the show’s first season. The cool thing is that each figure comes with extra parts to transform them to a different look. Turn Darla’s head around and she’s now a vampire. You can do the same with Angel (who can be dressed in a number of different combos as well…with jacket, without jacket, shirt on, shirt off…most of the figures come with secondary outfits) and Vampire Buffy (regular Buffy just has a different expression on the flip side of her head).
A second series will arrive in April consisting of Buffy (she’ll be part of every wave), Spike, Drusilla, Oz, Cordelia and Jenny Calendar. Oz gets to be the in case repaint as well. Each figure will also come with a piece of the Judge, so you’ll get a seventh figure if you collect the whole wave. There will also be a few exclusives as well. Palisades Direct (the company’s online store) will be selling Kendra the Vampire Slayer (complete with Mr. Pointy) and a three pack of Monsters (this is the first of many Monster sets and includes Marcie Ross, Der Kindestod and the Annointed One – who is going to be scaled down to be the correct size). AFX, an online store, also has an exlcusive four pack of the main “Scoobies” (Buffy, Willow, Cordelia and Xander) to transform into Halloween costumes they wore during the show.
Before this second wave of “Buffy” appears we also get treated to a first wave of “The X-Files”. The first wave consists of 8 figures without the cool “transformation” feature, but plenty of accessories. Look for Mulder, Scully, Lone Gunman Frohike, Deep Throat, Conundrum (from the episode “Humbug”), Donnie Pfaster, a Gray Alien and the Flukeman (with a Port-O-Potty). There will be three in case variants as well…Demon Donnie Pfaster, Captured Scully (these were supposed to be a two pack exclusive, but that changed) and Man In Black Mulder (not from any specific episode, but a cool looking figure anyway). A second wave will arrive if this one’s successful (we’ve already seen workups of Agent Krycek and Marita Covarrubias).
And just announced from Palisades is another Palz line based on the “Die Hard” trilogy. The first wave looks like it will consist of two versions of everyone’s favorite cop John McClane, his estranged wife Holly Gennaro, Sergeant Al Powell, Hans Gruber and Karl. Can’t wait to see what these look like at Toy Fair in February.
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
So, here we are…another year…another update on the house…
But before we start, I’d like to plug the latest show I’m working on. “Epic Proportions” opened this Friday January 21 at the DAC Weatherstone in Darien. My good friend Dan Friedman is directing a great and talented cast. I’m running the sound for the show and Tash is back stage keeping the traffic flowing with Frank Gaffney.
The show is a comedy about the making of a Biblical epic in the Arizona desert in the 1930s. Being a Biblical epic the film must have a cast of thousands and we’ve got that…except they’re played by 4 people (there are 6 other parts in the show) with more costume changes than anyone should be allowed to do in 2 hours.
Anyway…it’s a fun night out and I’d recommend it to all of you in the area. Because of the snow we’ve added two performances to make up for two cancelled ones. We have three this coming weekend (8pm Friday and Saturday, 2pm on Sunday) and a final one on Friday February 4 at 8pm. If you reserve tickets in advance and pay by credit card, you’ll save money. Call 655-5414 for tickets.
As I sit here in the house writing this, I can hear the workmen maneuvering cabinets and appliances in the kitchen. After being in Napa for two weeks and coming home to the workmen being a week behind schedule, the dust has settled (mostly…and it’s about an inch thick) and the sheet rock’s up (all over the house) and the floors are down (well…in the kitchen at least). And now it’s like watching them put together a puzzle as they assemble the kitchen. I figure by week’s end it’ll be as done as it can be with what’s currently here (cabinets & appliances). Fixtures and electrical work will probably be smoothed out next week and hopefully by then we’ll have settled the counter top & back splash issue. Meaning all that will be left within three weeks is painting the walls and staining the floors. Woo Hoo!
Of course, to get that done in three weeks, they’re neglecting the rest of the project for a bit. The Master Bedroom/Bathroom suite still needs some work (the bathroom needs a lot of work…they’ve been ignoring it in order to get the kitchen done). And the front entryway has now become part of this monster project. We’ve got some new carpeting coming soon for the three rooms that were badly affected by the renovation (basement, den & master bedroom). And when all of this is done, we’ll need to redo a room for the baby (after what we’ve been through a newborn’s not gonna live in a room with old carpet that has G-d knows what in it).
So those of you asking about us traveling to your neck of the woods any time soon…we’ll be broke…so it’ll be a while…
Anyway…one of the things I’ve just started to realize now that there’s a baby on the way is that my desire to see certain movies when they open is pretty much a dead issue. As I was looking over the big movies that I’d have an interest in seeing and when they open (as I usually put them on the calendar), I quickly realized that there’s a very good chance that “Star Wars Episode III” will be the last film I get to see when it opens for quite some time (of course, I’m assuming I want to see it when it opens…right now I’m convinced it’s just a reaction to not being able to see other things and not any real desire to see what I know is going to be crap because George Lucas couldn’t tell a good story to save his life).
Take, for example, “Batman Begins”. It opens June 17. The baby’s due date is June 19. Anyone want to do the math on that one (although the idea of dragging Tash to see the film, assuming the baby hasn’t arrived yet, and having her give birth during it does kind of make me a bit giddy…in a perverse kind of way). And we’ve already had the “I’m not leaving a 2 week old with a sitter even if it’s your parents so we can see “Fantastic Four” discussion….so it’s become a matter of adjusting priorities…
Luckily, some of the theaters around here have “Movies for Moms”…so we can still get our fix…it just may be a bit later than I would have normally done…oh well…we make sacrifices and adjustments I suppose…
Anyway…today’s brief review is of “Battlestar Galactica”. This re-imagining currently airing on the Sci-Fi Channel picks up exactly where last year’s mini-series left off (and that’s available on DVD). We’ve had three new episodes and I have to say that not only does this show blow away the original version, it blows away most recent sci-fi shows and easily ranks up there with the best of them…yes it’s as good as “Babylon 5” and “Farscape” (which means even though it has amazing ratings and a great following look for Sci-Fi Channel to cancel it well before they should).
On a final note, today I’d like to toss out another opinion poll/question like I did right before the election…this one’s more important as far as I’m concerned and will no doubt produce many varied and passionate answers…but it’s not politically motivated, so any opinions and advice would be welcome.
What vacuum cleaner do you use and what do you like about it? (We’re in the market for a new one as our Orek to quote Bart Simpson “both sucks and blows” and the online research route I took for the new kitchen appliances is producing wild, varied and unhelpful results for vacuums).
That’s all for today. I’ll be back next time with more of the same boring crap that most of you just quickly peruse anyway ;-)
Be seeing you
Spleenless Joel
But before we start, I’d like to plug the latest show I’m working on. “Epic Proportions” opened this Friday January 21 at the DAC Weatherstone in Darien. My good friend Dan Friedman is directing a great and talented cast. I’m running the sound for the show and Tash is back stage keeping the traffic flowing with Frank Gaffney.
The show is a comedy about the making of a Biblical epic in the Arizona desert in the 1930s. Being a Biblical epic the film must have a cast of thousands and we’ve got that…except they’re played by 4 people (there are 6 other parts in the show) with more costume changes than anyone should be allowed to do in 2 hours.
Anyway…it’s a fun night out and I’d recommend it to all of you in the area. Because of the snow we’ve added two performances to make up for two cancelled ones. We have three this coming weekend (8pm Friday and Saturday, 2pm on Sunday) and a final one on Friday February 4 at 8pm. If you reserve tickets in advance and pay by credit card, you’ll save money. Call 655-5414 for tickets.
As I sit here in the house writing this, I can hear the workmen maneuvering cabinets and appliances in the kitchen. After being in Napa for two weeks and coming home to the workmen being a week behind schedule, the dust has settled (mostly…and it’s about an inch thick) and the sheet rock’s up (all over the house) and the floors are down (well…in the kitchen at least). And now it’s like watching them put together a puzzle as they assemble the kitchen. I figure by week’s end it’ll be as done as it can be with what’s currently here (cabinets & appliances). Fixtures and electrical work will probably be smoothed out next week and hopefully by then we’ll have settled the counter top & back splash issue. Meaning all that will be left within three weeks is painting the walls and staining the floors. Woo Hoo!
Of course, to get that done in three weeks, they’re neglecting the rest of the project for a bit. The Master Bedroom/Bathroom suite still needs some work (the bathroom needs a lot of work…they’ve been ignoring it in order to get the kitchen done). And the front entryway has now become part of this monster project. We’ve got some new carpeting coming soon for the three rooms that were badly affected by the renovation (basement, den & master bedroom). And when all of this is done, we’ll need to redo a room for the baby (after what we’ve been through a newborn’s not gonna live in a room with old carpet that has G-d knows what in it).
So those of you asking about us traveling to your neck of the woods any time soon…we’ll be broke…so it’ll be a while…
Anyway…one of the things I’ve just started to realize now that there’s a baby on the way is that my desire to see certain movies when they open is pretty much a dead issue. As I was looking over the big movies that I’d have an interest in seeing and when they open (as I usually put them on the calendar), I quickly realized that there’s a very good chance that “Star Wars Episode III” will be the last film I get to see when it opens for quite some time (of course, I’m assuming I want to see it when it opens…right now I’m convinced it’s just a reaction to not being able to see other things and not any real desire to see what I know is going to be crap because George Lucas couldn’t tell a good story to save his life).
Take, for example, “Batman Begins”. It opens June 17. The baby’s due date is June 19. Anyone want to do the math on that one (although the idea of dragging Tash to see the film, assuming the baby hasn’t arrived yet, and having her give birth during it does kind of make me a bit giddy…in a perverse kind of way). And we’ve already had the “I’m not leaving a 2 week old with a sitter even if it’s your parents so we can see “Fantastic Four” discussion….so it’s become a matter of adjusting priorities…
Luckily, some of the theaters around here have “Movies for Moms”…so we can still get our fix…it just may be a bit later than I would have normally done…oh well…we make sacrifices and adjustments I suppose…
Anyway…today’s brief review is of “Battlestar Galactica”. This re-imagining currently airing on the Sci-Fi Channel picks up exactly where last year’s mini-series left off (and that’s available on DVD). We’ve had three new episodes and I have to say that not only does this show blow away the original version, it blows away most recent sci-fi shows and easily ranks up there with the best of them…yes it’s as good as “Babylon 5” and “Farscape” (which means even though it has amazing ratings and a great following look for Sci-Fi Channel to cancel it well before they should).
On a final note, today I’d like to toss out another opinion poll/question like I did right before the election…this one’s more important as far as I’m concerned and will no doubt produce many varied and passionate answers…but it’s not politically motivated, so any opinions and advice would be welcome.
What vacuum cleaner do you use and what do you like about it? (We’re in the market for a new one as our Orek to quote Bart Simpson “both sucks and blows” and the online research route I took for the new kitchen appliances is producing wild, varied and unhelpful results for vacuums).
That’s all for today. I’ll be back next time with more of the same boring crap that most of you just quickly peruse anyway ;-)
Be seeing you
Spleenless Joel
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if you crossed “Network” with “Bridget Jones’ Diary” and the entire soundtrack to “Working Girl” (and I’m sure many of you haven’t), then you want to check out “Little Black Book”. This bland, formulaic and mostly predictable “romantic comedy” (and I use that term loosely) actually has a few interesting qualities about it. You’ll be sitting there wondering how two Oscar winning actresses wound up in something like this (Holly Hunter and Kathy Bates). And when you finally get to the scenes that will show what attracted these women to the film (it’s about an hour and fifteen minutes in), you’ll be wondering why the film wasn’t more like these scenes.
The generically boring Brittany Murphy (whose best work is as the voice of Luanne Platter on “King of the Hill”) stars as a young woman who wants to work with Diane Sawyer. She winds up working on a local TV daytime talk show in her attempt at “getting in”. At the same time she discovers her boyfriend (Ron Livingston) has an entire secret life that he’s been keeping from her. So she uses her resources at the show to find out more about him by interviewing his ex-girlfriends. Oh…and just so we’re clear…the “little black book” of the title is her boyfriend’s Palm Pilot (though I’m not really sure it’s that brand, they just keep referring to it as a Palm…kind of like Xerox or Band-Aid).
Anyway, while it was nice to hear many Carly Simon songs, by the time the film actually got to the big “Let the River Run” moment, we had passed the interesting part of the film and given up all hope that the creators would follow through. Why should they, the scenes before the interesting part showed no promise either.
“The Clearing” is a taught little slow boil thriller starring Robert Redford, Willem Dafoe and Helen Mirren. Dafoe stars as a mild mannered kidnapper who drags wealthy car rental king Redford onto a trip to a cabin to meet up with the guys who paid him. Meanwhile, wife Mirren tries to cope with her husband’s disappearance and possible ransom demands. This is one of the rare times where you look at the cast and go “that’s gonna be some movie” and it doesn’t disappoint. The hows and whys of what is really going on will keep you riveted to your seat and it’s all propelled by the actors taking good writing and making it better. This would have wound up on my Top 25 list of 2004 had I seen it in time. Not sure where.
Meanwhile, over on the boob tube…
NBC’s new sitcom “Committed” at first glance seemed like every other sitcom the network has tried to wedge in the slots between “Friends” and “Seinfeld”. But with those shows gone and the curse of that 8:30 Thursday slot somewhat diminished, this show actually has a bit of juice going for it (let’s say more than “Union Square” and maybe about as much as “The Single Guy”).
When neurotic Nate (Josh Cooke) and upbeat Marni (Jennifer Finnegan) meet it’s not quite love at first sight, yet there’s something that attracts them to each other. And it all starts off via a mistaken blind date (he was supposed to pick up someone at her building, she was meeting someone at her building…they got it wrong, but hit it off). Toss in an angry African-American record shop clerk, a disabled African-American cobbler, a semi-independent and reckless nanny and a dying clown who lives in Marni’s closet (he came with the lease and is played by Tom Poston) and you’ve got an interesting blend of the weird and the clichéd. We’ll see how it goes. Between her cell phone ring – it’s “Manah Manah” – and the clown’s ongoing pie fight via the postal service with an ex-roommate – played by Bob Newhart in a brief cameo – so far it makes me laugh.
One of my favorite TV writer/creators is Glenn Gordon Carron. I’ve loved both “Moonlighting” and “Now and Again” and have looked forward to what he would cook up next. So I was a bit surprised to discover just before the pilot was broadcast that “Medium” is actually his latest work. The advertising made it out to be a cross between “The Sixth Sense” and “CSI” and quite honestly I wasn’t very interested in watching that. But once I knew it was from the brain of Glenn Gordon Carron, I was going to watch. All I’ll say after one episode is that I’m interested in seeing where he takes this. His other two shows were genre defying and well written. I’m hoping this one will show those colors also. The pilot episode was well done and interesting…but we’ll see where he takes it.
There’s been a few interesting things going on with one of my other favorite TV writers, so I thought I’d share a bit.
J. Michael Straczynski, the creator of “Babylon 5”, has been writing for Marvel Comics for about 5 years now. He’s done some amazing work on “The Amazing Spider-Man” and it’s always fun to read his take on one of my favorite Marvel characters Doctor Strange. Since he started working at Marvel, JMS has put Strange into a number of issues of Spidey and commented on how he’d love to write a Strange comic…he even apparently did a film script for the good doctor that never got made.
Well…JMS finally got what he wanted, a chance at giving Doctor Strange a new lease on life…and while I’m going to reserve full judgment until this six issue miniseries is over, at the half-way point all I can say about “Strange” is “what was this man thinking??”
For those of you who don’t know his story…Stephen Strange is a top surgeon who’s just a bit full of himself. When he injures his hands in a drunk driving accident, he winds up on a quest to gain some insight into the petty and shallow life he’s been living. He winds up in Asia learning many things, mostly of the supernatural type, from a mystery man known only as The Ancient One and not only discovers what life is all about, but also about what lies beyond as he eventually inherits the titles of “Sorcerer Supreme” and “Master of the Mystic Arts”.
In interviews before the first issue’s release, JMS stated that Strange’s origins were heavily rooted in the 1960s (when Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created the character) and came very much out of the stage magic traditions of the time. JMS wanted to update him and make him more relevant. His handling of the character during appearances in “The Amazing Spider-Man” would lead one to believe he was on the right track…but this mini-series, so far, shows us that the track for re-inventing Stephen Strange runs parallel to “The Matrix”…so parallel that they may as well be the same story. Three issues in, I’m disappointed because there is no drunken car accident (it’s now a skiing accident) and Strange has become Neo in all but name (with The Ancient One essentially becomes Morpheus and Clea becoming Trinity). Yuck.
It’s just been revealed that JMS will be taking over Marvel’s flagship title, “Fantastic Four” this summer. Hopefully, he won’t fuck it up as bad. I don’t think Marvel would let him, mind you…Doctor Strange has always been a bit of a fringe book that seems to stop and start every 90 issues or so…”FF” has been going pretty strong since 1960 and is up to the mid 500s now.
The last bit of JMS news involves some rumors about the long awaited “Babylon 5” feature film. Supposedly, Warner Brothers is pushing to recast the characters with big name stars. While there isn’t a lot of info out there and JMS has been mysteriously quiet and cryptic, it looks like this may be true. More on it as the film develops. Personally, if not having Brad Pitt play Captain Sheridan (just to throw out a crazy notion) meant no movie, I’m happy for it.
What Warner should do is hold off on making any final decisions until October 2005. Then we can see just how successful a “thought-dead TV series” can be brought to the big screen with a no name cast in tact and the series creator at the helm (I’m talking about “Serenity”, the Joss Whedon written-directed movie version of his cancelled TV series “Firefly”…and all early reviews from test screenings, from fans and newcomers alike, seem to say the film kicks ass…can’t wait…it’s one of five films that I’ve already got a babysitter lined up for…more on that comment next time).
And lastly for today because I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it before, I’m giving a big kudos to Fox Home Video for their upcoming release of “The X-Files” spin-off “The Lone Gunmen” on DVD. Arriving on March 29, this box set will include all 13 episodes of the show as well as “Jump the Shark” the Season 9 “The X-Files” episode that wrapped up any dangling plot lines from the show before it was abruptly cancelled. Most importantly, this set will include the unedited version of the pilot. For those of you who don’t know, care or are likely to get angered and incensed, the pilot episode of “The Lone Gunmen” which aired on March 4, 2001 featured a plot involving Byers trying to stop terrorists from flying an airplane into the World Trade Center. I’m sure that Fox is going to get flack for it from various groups (although it is a cancelled show that the general public won’t remember anyway), but editing or removing it entirely would be more of a disservice in my opinion.
Anyway…that’s all for today…I’ll be back next time with an update Fugue…the house, Tash & I, the baby and a few other things all wrapped up in one neat package…
Until then…be seeing you.
Spleenless Joel
The generically boring Brittany Murphy (whose best work is as the voice of Luanne Platter on “King of the Hill”) stars as a young woman who wants to work with Diane Sawyer. She winds up working on a local TV daytime talk show in her attempt at “getting in”. At the same time she discovers her boyfriend (Ron Livingston) has an entire secret life that he’s been keeping from her. So she uses her resources at the show to find out more about him by interviewing his ex-girlfriends. Oh…and just so we’re clear…the “little black book” of the title is her boyfriend’s Palm Pilot (though I’m not really sure it’s that brand, they just keep referring to it as a Palm…kind of like Xerox or Band-Aid).
Anyway, while it was nice to hear many Carly Simon songs, by the time the film actually got to the big “Let the River Run” moment, we had passed the interesting part of the film and given up all hope that the creators would follow through. Why should they, the scenes before the interesting part showed no promise either.
“The Clearing” is a taught little slow boil thriller starring Robert Redford, Willem Dafoe and Helen Mirren. Dafoe stars as a mild mannered kidnapper who drags wealthy car rental king Redford onto a trip to a cabin to meet up with the guys who paid him. Meanwhile, wife Mirren tries to cope with her husband’s disappearance and possible ransom demands. This is one of the rare times where you look at the cast and go “that’s gonna be some movie” and it doesn’t disappoint. The hows and whys of what is really going on will keep you riveted to your seat and it’s all propelled by the actors taking good writing and making it better. This would have wound up on my Top 25 list of 2004 had I seen it in time. Not sure where.
Meanwhile, over on the boob tube…
NBC’s new sitcom “Committed” at first glance seemed like every other sitcom the network has tried to wedge in the slots between “Friends” and “Seinfeld”. But with those shows gone and the curse of that 8:30 Thursday slot somewhat diminished, this show actually has a bit of juice going for it (let’s say more than “Union Square” and maybe about as much as “The Single Guy”).
When neurotic Nate (Josh Cooke) and upbeat Marni (Jennifer Finnegan) meet it’s not quite love at first sight, yet there’s something that attracts them to each other. And it all starts off via a mistaken blind date (he was supposed to pick up someone at her building, she was meeting someone at her building…they got it wrong, but hit it off). Toss in an angry African-American record shop clerk, a disabled African-American cobbler, a semi-independent and reckless nanny and a dying clown who lives in Marni’s closet (he came with the lease and is played by Tom Poston) and you’ve got an interesting blend of the weird and the clichéd. We’ll see how it goes. Between her cell phone ring – it’s “Manah Manah” – and the clown’s ongoing pie fight via the postal service with an ex-roommate – played by Bob Newhart in a brief cameo – so far it makes me laugh.
One of my favorite TV writer/creators is Glenn Gordon Carron. I’ve loved both “Moonlighting” and “Now and Again” and have looked forward to what he would cook up next. So I was a bit surprised to discover just before the pilot was broadcast that “Medium” is actually his latest work. The advertising made it out to be a cross between “The Sixth Sense” and “CSI” and quite honestly I wasn’t very interested in watching that. But once I knew it was from the brain of Glenn Gordon Carron, I was going to watch. All I’ll say after one episode is that I’m interested in seeing where he takes this. His other two shows were genre defying and well written. I’m hoping this one will show those colors also. The pilot episode was well done and interesting…but we’ll see where he takes it.
There’s been a few interesting things going on with one of my other favorite TV writers, so I thought I’d share a bit.
J. Michael Straczynski, the creator of “Babylon 5”, has been writing for Marvel Comics for about 5 years now. He’s done some amazing work on “The Amazing Spider-Man” and it’s always fun to read his take on one of my favorite Marvel characters Doctor Strange. Since he started working at Marvel, JMS has put Strange into a number of issues of Spidey and commented on how he’d love to write a Strange comic…he even apparently did a film script for the good doctor that never got made.
Well…JMS finally got what he wanted, a chance at giving Doctor Strange a new lease on life…and while I’m going to reserve full judgment until this six issue miniseries is over, at the half-way point all I can say about “Strange” is “what was this man thinking??”
For those of you who don’t know his story…Stephen Strange is a top surgeon who’s just a bit full of himself. When he injures his hands in a drunk driving accident, he winds up on a quest to gain some insight into the petty and shallow life he’s been living. He winds up in Asia learning many things, mostly of the supernatural type, from a mystery man known only as The Ancient One and not only discovers what life is all about, but also about what lies beyond as he eventually inherits the titles of “Sorcerer Supreme” and “Master of the Mystic Arts”.
In interviews before the first issue’s release, JMS stated that Strange’s origins were heavily rooted in the 1960s (when Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created the character) and came very much out of the stage magic traditions of the time. JMS wanted to update him and make him more relevant. His handling of the character during appearances in “The Amazing Spider-Man” would lead one to believe he was on the right track…but this mini-series, so far, shows us that the track for re-inventing Stephen Strange runs parallel to “The Matrix”…so parallel that they may as well be the same story. Three issues in, I’m disappointed because there is no drunken car accident (it’s now a skiing accident) and Strange has become Neo in all but name (with The Ancient One essentially becomes Morpheus and Clea becoming Trinity). Yuck.
It’s just been revealed that JMS will be taking over Marvel’s flagship title, “Fantastic Four” this summer. Hopefully, he won’t fuck it up as bad. I don’t think Marvel would let him, mind you…Doctor Strange has always been a bit of a fringe book that seems to stop and start every 90 issues or so…”FF” has been going pretty strong since 1960 and is up to the mid 500s now.
The last bit of JMS news involves some rumors about the long awaited “Babylon 5” feature film. Supposedly, Warner Brothers is pushing to recast the characters with big name stars. While there isn’t a lot of info out there and JMS has been mysteriously quiet and cryptic, it looks like this may be true. More on it as the film develops. Personally, if not having Brad Pitt play Captain Sheridan (just to throw out a crazy notion) meant no movie, I’m happy for it.
What Warner should do is hold off on making any final decisions until October 2005. Then we can see just how successful a “thought-dead TV series” can be brought to the big screen with a no name cast in tact and the series creator at the helm (I’m talking about “Serenity”, the Joss Whedon written-directed movie version of his cancelled TV series “Firefly”…and all early reviews from test screenings, from fans and newcomers alike, seem to say the film kicks ass…can’t wait…it’s one of five films that I’ve already got a babysitter lined up for…more on that comment next time).
And lastly for today because I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it before, I’m giving a big kudos to Fox Home Video for their upcoming release of “The X-Files” spin-off “The Lone Gunmen” on DVD. Arriving on March 29, this box set will include all 13 episodes of the show as well as “Jump the Shark” the Season 9 “The X-Files” episode that wrapped up any dangling plot lines from the show before it was abruptly cancelled. Most importantly, this set will include the unedited version of the pilot. For those of you who don’t know, care or are likely to get angered and incensed, the pilot episode of “The Lone Gunmen” which aired on March 4, 2001 featured a plot involving Byers trying to stop terrorists from flying an airplane into the World Trade Center. I’m sure that Fox is going to get flack for it from various groups (although it is a cancelled show that the general public won’t remember anyway), but editing or removing it entirely would be more of a disservice in my opinion.
Anyway…that’s all for today…I’ll be back next time with an update Fugue…the house, Tash & I, the baby and a few other things all wrapped up in one neat package…
Until then…be seeing you.
Spleenless Joel
Best & Worst of 2004
It’s that time of year again. So without the usual rigmarole of an intro…let’s cut to the chase…
Worst 5 Films of 2004
05) Any Movie That Tried to Change The Course of the Presidential Election – Thanks to several 24 hour a day news channels and enough talking heads blowing enough hot toxic air to deplete the ozone layer several times over, the idea of having any movie try to cram a propagandistic message down my throat disgusts me. I tried to be as objective as possible and actually sat through almost every one of these shlocky, partisan hack pieces. Regardless of any inherent entertainment value, manipulation of the facts and creating your own spin zone does not a good movie make. The upside to having all this shit out there was the rise in number of documentaries seen…which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
04) The Stepford Wives – I love when good movies get bad remakes. A comedic twist on this classic tale wasn’t a bad idea. It was just executed badly. There are at least a dozen remakes scheduled for 2005 release. It will take a lot for any of them to be as bad as this one.
03) Welcome to Mooseport – On TV everybody may love Raymond, but in the movies, unless he’s doing the voice of an animated character, we’ve learned to hate Raymond. The casting of this one note comedian turned a slightly funny film into a tiresome bore.
02) Connie & Carla – Ugh. All I can say at this point is ugh. Someone remind David Duchovny that his bread is buttered by Chris Carter and get both men off their asses for a second movie from “The X-Files”…even if it’s mired in whatever’s left of the conspiracy stories it’d be a bazillion times better than this derivative piece of crap.
01) Shrek 2 – I’m pretty sure that a “kid’s” film has hit the top of this list for the last few years. Why am I harder on this type of film? I think there’s more at stake as children are so impressionable and we have a tendency to just plop them down without them having any context. The wonderful messages of the first film are obliterated by the over indulgence of “pop culture” references and fart jokes. Whatever story there is exists only to string this crap together. Unfortunately, we’re going to get two more of these films. I’d expect them to also wind up on the worst list of the years of their respective releases…but I’m gonna do my best not to see them (even if the kid wants to).
Best 25 Films of 2004
25) The Punisher – Comic book adaptations had a really good year in 2004. This one, while a lesser one, was no exception. The gritty “reality” of the one man death machine worked pretty well…even if it offered a very bleak message. The over-the-top and silly ending is what kept it from getting higher on the list.
24) Mean Girls – This Tina Fey written Lindsey Lohan starring vehicle is a modern version of “Heathers” without the “crossing the line to the dark side” aspects. This will be the last good Lohan film before we all got burned out on hearing her name.
23) Troy – It’s an epic-less epic. Somehow the massiveness this story should have gets lost into a well told character-driven film…and yet it still ran an epic length (and almost felt it). This story will be told again and maybe then they’ll get it 100% right. As this one stands it’s about 85% there.
22) The Terminal – Spielberg stays away from his action roots to bring us a wonderfully schmaltzy heart warming piece starring the versatile Tom Hanks. Both men have done better and worse.
21) Dodgeball – While most comedies seem to be deploying the same fart jokes over and over these days, this one offers plenty of opportunity for crotch shot jokes. Luckily, they’ve been wrapped in a delightful underdog story that utilizes the “ultimate” in human degradation sports (at least, I’m pretty sure that was the purpose when we played it in high school).
20) The Bourne Supremacy – Matt Damon proves why he’s a better actor than Ben Affleck once again. He can not only pull off being an action hero, he can do it in a sequel as well. I know some loved the car chase at the film’s climax, but I thought it went a bit over the top and wound being unbelievable. It didn’t ruin the film…it only kept it from being higher on my list.
19) Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle – A silly title gets us a very funny “stoner” film minus Cheech & Chong. Worth seeing just for the Doogie Houser jokes.
18) Eurotrip – funnier than it has any right to be, this teen sex comedy actually re-energized my belief that this genre could still work. And that damn song is still rattling around in my head…Scotty doesn’t know…Scotty doesn’t know…Scotty does know.
17) Team America: World Police – The creators of “South Park” skewer celebrities and politicians…only they could have used one more script re-write. The film’s funny…but should have been much funnier.
16) Dawn of the Dead – I fully expected to HATE this film. George Romero’s one of my favorite directors and I never like seeing films of his be remade for a cheap dollar. Surprisingly, they didn’t fuck it up and instead of trying to do it for money (I know…the whole idea of a remake…and the movie industry in general kind of goes against that last statement); they just did it for fun. It’s not a horror film by any means and does the action film genre a service by crossing it into horror every now and then.
15) Hellboy – The second comic book film of the year on this list is a wonderful blend of action, comedy, horror and to a lesser extent romance. It was nice to see that we can have a fictional character walking around who is made out of latex and doesn’t look like it. This film needs a sequel now.
14) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – It’s the best of the three films so far. The only reason it actually ranks lower on my list this year is because there were better films this year than during the years the previous entries came out.
13) Saved – This funny look at life in a Catholic school proved that the hierarchy that exists within high school societies isn’t exclusive to public schools and anyone who thinks schools like this are above it all is wrong.
12) Garden State – Surprisingly, the star of TV’s “Scrubs” can also write and direct as well as he acts (which he proves here again).
11) Badassss – A wonderful love letter from a son (Mario van Peebles) to a father (Melvin van Peebles). This film about filmmaking is a great look into the mind of a man and the way independent films were made back when they truly were independent.
10) Super Size Me – Sure, common sense tells us that eating fast food every day for every meal for a month is bad for us…now we have a visual record in case we forget. Not only will it make you think twice, it’ll make you remember every time you step into a fast food restaurant that if you need to be there you should be making better choices.
09) The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou – Bill Murray does a better acting job in a better film than he was acclaimed for last year. A wonderful life that should be seen by everyone.
08) Spider-Man 2 – A comic book movie once again proves that it can transcend its origins. The plot that’s been grafted onto the action scenes serves them all better. Is it the best comic book movie ever made? It’s pretty damn close.
07) Shaun of the Dead – Bringing back the Romero zombie (you know…the slow lurking ones…as opposed to the more modern speedy ones) was nice, but the stroke of brilliance was making fun of them.
06) Sideways – The further from this film I get, the less I like it (it did start as number three on my list). What keeps this film from falling any lower is the acting job by Paul Giamatti. The story is nice, but nothing special…it’s watching him…every moment he’s on screen (which is pretty much all of this) that keeps you riveted. There’s never a false moment.
05) The Aviator – This is how good Martin Scorsese is as a film maker. Even when he’s not at his best, he still ranks high. It’s a long film, but it’s a damn good one.
04) Control Room – This amazing documentary takes a good long look at the controversial news network Al-Jazeera. These guys are walking a very fine line between real news organization and propaganda….just like all of “our” news channels. But unlike, “our” news, these guys do the best they can in a tough situation (they’re hated by the West for doing things one way and hated by the Arabs for doing things the other) and this film shows the nice balance they’ve struck.
03) The Incredibles – Pixar hits another one out of the park. The best comic book film of the year and it wasn’t even based on a comic book (but easily could have been).
02) Kill Bill Volume 2 – Okay…so Volume 1 surprisingly made my Best of 2003 list when it was rather clear that I hated it (it wound up at 24…which says a lot about 2003 as a year). This film made up for anything I hates about the first. Not only did Tarantino make a completely different film (at the same time), you’ll finally realize why Volume 1 had to be the way it was. David Carradine is the Best Supporting Actor of 2004…regardless of what goes down at the Oscars next month.
01) Finding Neverland – As I said…”Peter Pan” is one of my favorite stories…and this film made me cry…and not like “shed-one-tear-after-my-eyes-water-up” crying, but “I need to hug my wife because I love her” crying…just see it…
Anyway…that’s all for today…I’ll be back again soon with some reviews…the usual stuff…but I’ll be switching the focus for a bit to comic book related stuff for a few issues over the next month…just because…
Be seeing you
Spleenless Joel
Worst 5 Films of 2004
05) Any Movie That Tried to Change The Course of the Presidential Election – Thanks to several 24 hour a day news channels and enough talking heads blowing enough hot toxic air to deplete the ozone layer several times over, the idea of having any movie try to cram a propagandistic message down my throat disgusts me. I tried to be as objective as possible and actually sat through almost every one of these shlocky, partisan hack pieces. Regardless of any inherent entertainment value, manipulation of the facts and creating your own spin zone does not a good movie make. The upside to having all this shit out there was the rise in number of documentaries seen…which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
04) The Stepford Wives – I love when good movies get bad remakes. A comedic twist on this classic tale wasn’t a bad idea. It was just executed badly. There are at least a dozen remakes scheduled for 2005 release. It will take a lot for any of them to be as bad as this one.
03) Welcome to Mooseport – On TV everybody may love Raymond, but in the movies, unless he’s doing the voice of an animated character, we’ve learned to hate Raymond. The casting of this one note comedian turned a slightly funny film into a tiresome bore.
02) Connie & Carla – Ugh. All I can say at this point is ugh. Someone remind David Duchovny that his bread is buttered by Chris Carter and get both men off their asses for a second movie from “The X-Files”…even if it’s mired in whatever’s left of the conspiracy stories it’d be a bazillion times better than this derivative piece of crap.
01) Shrek 2 – I’m pretty sure that a “kid’s” film has hit the top of this list for the last few years. Why am I harder on this type of film? I think there’s more at stake as children are so impressionable and we have a tendency to just plop them down without them having any context. The wonderful messages of the first film are obliterated by the over indulgence of “pop culture” references and fart jokes. Whatever story there is exists only to string this crap together. Unfortunately, we’re going to get two more of these films. I’d expect them to also wind up on the worst list of the years of their respective releases…but I’m gonna do my best not to see them (even if the kid wants to).
Best 25 Films of 2004
25) The Punisher – Comic book adaptations had a really good year in 2004. This one, while a lesser one, was no exception. The gritty “reality” of the one man death machine worked pretty well…even if it offered a very bleak message. The over-the-top and silly ending is what kept it from getting higher on the list.
24) Mean Girls – This Tina Fey written Lindsey Lohan starring vehicle is a modern version of “Heathers” without the “crossing the line to the dark side” aspects. This will be the last good Lohan film before we all got burned out on hearing her name.
23) Troy – It’s an epic-less epic. Somehow the massiveness this story should have gets lost into a well told character-driven film…and yet it still ran an epic length (and almost felt it). This story will be told again and maybe then they’ll get it 100% right. As this one stands it’s about 85% there.
22) The Terminal – Spielberg stays away from his action roots to bring us a wonderfully schmaltzy heart warming piece starring the versatile Tom Hanks. Both men have done better and worse.
21) Dodgeball – While most comedies seem to be deploying the same fart jokes over and over these days, this one offers plenty of opportunity for crotch shot jokes. Luckily, they’ve been wrapped in a delightful underdog story that utilizes the “ultimate” in human degradation sports (at least, I’m pretty sure that was the purpose when we played it in high school).
20) The Bourne Supremacy – Matt Damon proves why he’s a better actor than Ben Affleck once again. He can not only pull off being an action hero, he can do it in a sequel as well. I know some loved the car chase at the film’s climax, but I thought it went a bit over the top and wound being unbelievable. It didn’t ruin the film…it only kept it from being higher on my list.
19) Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle – A silly title gets us a very funny “stoner” film minus Cheech & Chong. Worth seeing just for the Doogie Houser jokes.
18) Eurotrip – funnier than it has any right to be, this teen sex comedy actually re-energized my belief that this genre could still work. And that damn song is still rattling around in my head…Scotty doesn’t know…Scotty doesn’t know…Scotty does know.
17) Team America: World Police – The creators of “South Park” skewer celebrities and politicians…only they could have used one more script re-write. The film’s funny…but should have been much funnier.
16) Dawn of the Dead – I fully expected to HATE this film. George Romero’s one of my favorite directors and I never like seeing films of his be remade for a cheap dollar. Surprisingly, they didn’t fuck it up and instead of trying to do it for money (I know…the whole idea of a remake…and the movie industry in general kind of goes against that last statement); they just did it for fun. It’s not a horror film by any means and does the action film genre a service by crossing it into horror every now and then.
15) Hellboy – The second comic book film of the year on this list is a wonderful blend of action, comedy, horror and to a lesser extent romance. It was nice to see that we can have a fictional character walking around who is made out of latex and doesn’t look like it. This film needs a sequel now.
14) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – It’s the best of the three films so far. The only reason it actually ranks lower on my list this year is because there were better films this year than during the years the previous entries came out.
13) Saved – This funny look at life in a Catholic school proved that the hierarchy that exists within high school societies isn’t exclusive to public schools and anyone who thinks schools like this are above it all is wrong.
12) Garden State – Surprisingly, the star of TV’s “Scrubs” can also write and direct as well as he acts (which he proves here again).
11) Badassss – A wonderful love letter from a son (Mario van Peebles) to a father (Melvin van Peebles). This film about filmmaking is a great look into the mind of a man and the way independent films were made back when they truly were independent.
10) Super Size Me – Sure, common sense tells us that eating fast food every day for every meal for a month is bad for us…now we have a visual record in case we forget. Not only will it make you think twice, it’ll make you remember every time you step into a fast food restaurant that if you need to be there you should be making better choices.
09) The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou – Bill Murray does a better acting job in a better film than he was acclaimed for last year. A wonderful life that should be seen by everyone.
08) Spider-Man 2 – A comic book movie once again proves that it can transcend its origins. The plot that’s been grafted onto the action scenes serves them all better. Is it the best comic book movie ever made? It’s pretty damn close.
07) Shaun of the Dead – Bringing back the Romero zombie (you know…the slow lurking ones…as opposed to the more modern speedy ones) was nice, but the stroke of brilliance was making fun of them.
06) Sideways – The further from this film I get, the less I like it (it did start as number three on my list). What keeps this film from falling any lower is the acting job by Paul Giamatti. The story is nice, but nothing special…it’s watching him…every moment he’s on screen (which is pretty much all of this) that keeps you riveted. There’s never a false moment.
05) The Aviator – This is how good Martin Scorsese is as a film maker. Even when he’s not at his best, he still ranks high. It’s a long film, but it’s a damn good one.
04) Control Room – This amazing documentary takes a good long look at the controversial news network Al-Jazeera. These guys are walking a very fine line between real news organization and propaganda….just like all of “our” news channels. But unlike, “our” news, these guys do the best they can in a tough situation (they’re hated by the West for doing things one way and hated by the Arabs for doing things the other) and this film shows the nice balance they’ve struck.
03) The Incredibles – Pixar hits another one out of the park. The best comic book film of the year and it wasn’t even based on a comic book (but easily could have been).
02) Kill Bill Volume 2 – Okay…so Volume 1 surprisingly made my Best of 2003 list when it was rather clear that I hated it (it wound up at 24…which says a lot about 2003 as a year). This film made up for anything I hates about the first. Not only did Tarantino make a completely different film (at the same time), you’ll finally realize why Volume 1 had to be the way it was. David Carradine is the Best Supporting Actor of 2004…regardless of what goes down at the Oscars next month.
01) Finding Neverland – As I said…”Peter Pan” is one of my favorite stories…and this film made me cry…and not like “shed-one-tear-after-my-eyes-water-up” crying, but “I need to hug my wife because I love her” crying…just see it…
Anyway…that’s all for today…I’ll be back again soon with some reviews…the usual stuff…but I’ll be switching the focus for a bit to comic book related stuff for a few issues over the next month…just because…
Be seeing you
Spleenless Joel
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
The Napa Movie Marathon Conclusion
Remakes and sequels almost always tend to bring out the best in filmmaking when it comes to pure mediocrity. There’s little originality and a strong feeling of “been there, done that”. Occasionally we get one that’s obviously had blood, sweat and tears poured into its creation as it rises above the flotsam of this category. Unfortunately, Meet the Fockers is not one of those types of sequels.
This sequel to the funny, but hardly classic, Meet the Parents finds the strangely named Gaylord Focker (Ben Stiller in his “nebbish” mode…he only has two modes…this and “asshole”) and his fiancé Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo…who remains mostly scenery) gearing up for a weekend when Pam’s parents (returning Robert DeNiro and Blythe Danner) meet Gay’s parents (Dustin Hoffman and Barbara Streisand). Toss in a return of Jinx the cat as well as a small yippy dog named Moses and a Byrnes’ grandchild named Jack Jr. whom grandpa is personally training for life and you’ve got the formula for hilarity.
Not.
The film is amusing at best and a mediocre retread of previously clichéd material at worst. It’s conservative versus liberal, W.A.S.P. versus Jews, Ben versus Bob all over again. And its yawn inducing. The film seems to exist for two reasons. First is the “look who we got to play his parents”. While Hoffman and Streisand may seem like inspired choices, they both look out of place (and I won’t get into the fact that they’re two Jewish actors playing what amount to Jewish stereotypes). Second are the inevitable double entendres and sex jokes that derive from the family surname. If there’s a saving grace, it’s that we’re well into the film before we hear of relatives named Dom Focker. The film goes to silly and predictable lengths as Greg and Pam try to hide the true nature of his parents from her parents while other bizarre bits come into play as if they’re repeating the plot of the first film at least in progression.
It’s worth a look-see if you found the first film funny…but I’ll admit this…this film has helped me decide where the original fits into my personal collection which I’m in the midst of pruning for various reasons. Anyone interested in a used copy of Meet the Parents? Stiller’s just been moved out of my circle of trust when it comes to funny comedies.
There’s no denying that Martin Scorsese is the greatest American filmmaker currently alive and still consistently making movies. Even his “weak” films remain interesting and great things to at least watch. His latest, The Aviator, is easily his best work since Goodfellas and easily reminds us why Scorsese is who he is.
The Aviator chronicles the life of Howard Hughes from the late 1920s and the making of Hell’s Angels until the mid 1940s and the first flight of what’s now more commonly known as “The Spruce Goose”. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Hughes, a man obsessed with so many things…but the one that seems most consistent is his obsession with flying. Of course, as obsessed with aviation as Hughes was, he was also obsessed with many other things that would eventually lead to a life of being a hermit locked away within his own delusions and paranoias. While the film doesn’t enter this later phase of Hughes’ life, it does get all the ducks in place.
There are barely any false notes in this film. The acting is wonderful (particularly Cate Blanchett as Katherine Hepburn) and the look of the film is impeccable. Alec Baldwin and Alan Alda are essentially cast as the villains of the piece (playing the head of Pan Am and a corrupt Senator respectively) and they are the weakest links as far as characters are concerned (although you’ll also wonder why Ian Holm keeps showing up as a meteorologist in scenes that don’t really call for him to still be there), but they at least remain entertaining in their dimensionless ness. If there is major quibble at all, it’s the use of “name” actors in roles so minor that you have to wonder why they’re even in the film (I’m particularly thinking of Willem Dafoe and Brent Spiner). The film is also a bit on the long side, but you won’t really notice it.
Could tackling this subject of an American icon finally get Scorsese the Oscar he so justly deserves and has been robbed of many times? We’ll find out soon enough.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is an odd film, but I guess that’s what we’ve come to expect from director Wes Anderson. This time out, we’re following the adventures of a famous oceanographer who’s a bit down on his luck. After his best friend is eaten by a rare shark no one other than Steve has seen, Zissou embarks on a trip to find it again and kill it in revenge. At the same time, Steve meets a young man named Ned Plympton who may or may not be his son.
The film starts interesting and then gets a bit weird and vague in the middle before finally getting to its point in time for a great ending. By the time we get there, we realize the film has little to do with oceanography (although all of the cool CGI creatures are neat to look at) and everything to do with the concept of family and how life is affected by those we call family (for Steve it’s his crew).
Bill Murray heads an amazing cast that also includes Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum and Angelica Huston. If you liked Rushmore or The Royal Tennebaums, you’ll probably also like this film.
Well…that’s all for the movie watching during our trip to
Be seeing you.
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
The Napa Movie Marathon Part Three
Hey folks,
Before we get to today’s reviews, I just want to pass on the cancellation notice for Showtime’s original series Dead like Me. After two seasons and twenty-nine episodes, this wonderfully quirky show gives up the ghost. Luckily it went out with an episode that could be a good closer if need be as most “questions” seemed answered. It will be missed. Chalk another stupid move up to the cable network that can’t hold a candle to HBO in the original series department. It may even be time to cancel those Showtime subscriptions (what other purpose does the channel serve after their mishandling of both Dead like Me and Jeremiah).
Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera is one of those novels that I think everyone knows, but no one’s actually read…so they don’t really know the story (and quite frankly, having read it, it’s kind of boring). What they do know has either been colored by the 1925 Lon Chaney film, the 1942 Claude Rains film or Andrew Lloyd Weber’s lavish musical. It is this latter version that has finally reached the big screen and just in time since the movie musical is making a noble attempt at resurrection. Unfortunately, this film is more of a detriment to the genre.
Lloyd Weber’s stage show is the longest running show currently still running on Broadway. I tend to divide his work into two groups: the shows he wrote with Tim Rice (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita) and the shows he wrote without Tim Rice (all the rest). Of this second group, it’s a toss-up as to whether Phantom or Sunset Boulevard are the best…but when you’re in the company of over-produced spectacle like Cats and Starlight Express you’re not really playing on a scale of one to ten…it’s more like one to two. The stage version is all style and little substance as it boils down Leroux’s novel to some vague basics and crafts on a story that mirrors Lloyd Weber’s relationship with Sarah Brightman (who starred in the original version as Christine opposite Michael Crawford’s Phantom). I’ve always thought that Lloyd Weber really wanted to write this as a rock opera and got side-tracked (witness the title song that sounds like it’s from a rock opera while everything else is more melodic). And while some of Lloyd Weber’s music is very nice and a few of the lyrics also nice, on the whole it’s a rather over done affair.
The movie is a very faithful rendition of the stage show down to even incorporating elements that just look silly on film (like the candelabras that rise from the water during the boat journey to the Phantom’s lair). But, like the stage show, it’s all style and no substance. It’s an amazing film to look at. The sets, costumes, photography are all simply grand and amazing. But that alone doesn’t help weak material. And some of the choices are odd at best (during the Masquerade sequence where one of the lyrics mentions all the colors that can be found in costumes we only see black, white, gold and silver as no one is dressed in any other color).
The acting is actually pretty good as is the singing. Minnie Driver steals the film as opera diva Carlotta. She’s hysterical every time she’s on screen and lucky for her, she’s got plenty of sumptuous scenery to chew on. Gerard Butler does a decent job as the Phantom, but his motivations are lacking (you could drive the plot holes of Ocean’s Twelve through the character motivation holes in this film) and when we finally see him unmasked towards the end, we wonder why he bothered to wear one in the first place if all he was covering was a bad sunburn. Emily Rossum is a very appropriately young Christine with a beautiful voice. Her only problem is that while her singing is very passionate, her facial expressions are dead (I’ll assume this is due to pre-recorded tracks being dubbed over the on set vocals during editing…a normal practice for musicals).
I’d like to lay all the blame for this dull and stolid affair at the feet of the man who killed Batman, Joel Schumacher. But, quite honestly, aside from pacing issues and a screenplay by co-credit, I don’t think this film is his fault. While the film is simply entitled The Phantom of the Opera on screen, all of the advertising calls it Andrew Lloyd Weber’s The Phantom of the Opera. The man is also credited as producer and co-screenwriter. So as far as I’m concerned, it’s his fault. Like George Lucas, it’s a bit obvious no one knows how to tell this Napoleon “this doesn’t work”. What could have been another rung on the ladder to raising the movie musical out of the grave and back into the light where it belongs becomes two steps back. Anyone up for viewing
I love movies that make me cry. I mean really cry. Not just watery eyes, mind you, but honest to god tears streaming down my cheeks. It’s rare that movies do this. I can only think of a handful (including Glory, Schindler’s List, Field of Dreams and The Shawshank Redemption) and it has been about ten years since the last one. We can now add Finding Neverland to this list.
I’ve always been a big fan of J.M. Barrie’s classic “children’s” story Peter Pan. Regardless of the version, I always enjoy the story of the boy who wouldn’t grow up. So this film about
Johnny Depp proves once again that he is one of the greatest actors currently working in film today. The supporting cast includes Kate Winslet and Dustin Hoffman as well as a number wonderfully real boys who act just like real boys given their situation. The film is a marvel to look at as we travel back and forth between the “real” world and the way
Our last review for today is Sideways. This latest film by Alexander Payne (Election and About Schmidt) is a very nice character piece about two friends who take a week’s journey to
It’s the acting and the writing that really propel this film. Paul Giamatti plays Miles, the schlub of a writer/wine connoisseur, perfectly. He’s the driving force here and he really brings this character to life.
Anyway…that’s all for today…next time…more movies…
Be seeing you.
Monday, December 20, 2004
The Napa Movie Marathon Part Two
Hey folks,
Anyway…on to today’s reviews…
So…here are five words we should hear this year that I never in a million years ever thought (or wanted) to hear…
Academy Award Nominee Adam Sandler
Writer-Director James L. Brooks hits his fourth one out of the park (and that’s out of five…and the one he didn’t may actually be a flawed masterpiece assuming we someday get to see the original musical version of I’ll Do Anything). Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News and As Good As It Gets are all wonderful character pieces that blend drama and comedy with the same deftness that occurs in real life.
Spanglish (which I personally don’t like as a title) is about Flor (Paz Vega), a young Mexican single mother who emigrates to theThey have two children, Bernice (Sarah Steele), who tends to border on the cliché of lovable fat teenage girl, and Georgie (Ian Hyland), who doesn’t get enough screen time to really make himself known as a presence. And then there’s Evelyn (Cloris Leachman), Deb’s former songstress turned alcoholic, who also lives with them. Eventually Flor and her daughter Cristina (Shelbie Bruce) move in for the summer and Deb makes the bright young girl her pet project, much to the dismay of Flor…which motivates the young woman to finally learn English and speak up for herself.
This isn’t Brooks’ best work, but it’s kind of like watching a bad James Bond film…it’s still good (it’s a bad analogy, but what do you expect it’s
The film is a bit long, but you shouldn’t notice that too much as it moves at a brisk pace. While it’s not quite As Good As It Gets (hey…look…a pun…of sorts), it’s much better than almost anything that’s come out this year and is definitely in my top ten of the year (you’ll be getting my annual list after New Year’s…I forgot to bring that file with me to Napa to continue working on it).
I love the work of Steven Soderbergh. I have pretty much since the beginning. But with the success of both Out of Sight and Erin Brockovich, Soderbergh now has the clout to go from slick Hollywood cash project to where he got his start Indie films with much ease. He has found a good balance of the two in Ocean’s Twelve, a sequel to a successful remake, in which the audience goes in expecting a fun and entertaining big budget popcorn flick and winds up watching a slow boil arty homage to European filmmaking. That’s not a bad thing…assuming you can open your mind to the experience a bit (although…judging from what I’ve been hearing…most people can’t).
Its three years after the first film and
From this plot we get the usually con artist trickery that tries to stay one or two steps ahead of the audience. But here, most of it fails miserably. What many will see as a weak and hollow attempt to cash in on a success, what they’re actually seeing is the greatest con of all. Much like The Hulk where Ang Lee sold an art film disguised as a comic book movie, here Soderbergh, Clooney and company trounce around
While I enjoyed this film, I can understand many being disappointed that it’s not as good as the original remake (there’s an odd phrase). It’s that rare sequel, like The Two Jakes and The Godfather Part III, that does its best trying to serve many masters and actually succeeding…if you can just see past the trees and look at the whole forest.
Well…that’s all for today. Next time…Finding Neverland and Sideways…
Until then…
Be seeing you.
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