A loyal reader commented to me that he wasn't such a fan of the modern dance and ballet clips I tend to post on this site because it's not his kind of dancing. Instead, he hinted that perhaps swing would be a nice change. So for the sake of variety, I am going to periodically put up fun film dance clips of the more popular variety. Starting this week with swing we have first this clip from Swingers:
Second, not a great film but swing is always fun - Blast From the Past:
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Lost: The Resurrection of Locke
So I thought last night's episode was a nice little fill in blank on what happened to Locke after he left the island and made his return. As we well know, when you turn the wheel you end up in the Tunisian desert but thankfully Widmore keeps an eye on the exit so he was able to rush to Locke's aid. Not surprisingly, Widmore insisted that he was the good guy who was merely trying to remove the bad guy (AKA Ben) from power in the cause of protecting the island (seems to be a popular cause - perhaps they should come up with a catchy ribbon or rubber bracelet). Widmore gave Locke the 411 on all the Oceanic survivors' whereabouts and even gave him his own driver, namely Matthew Abbadon (AKA Lance Reddick AKA Lt. Daniels) who had been instrumental in steering Locke on his original course to the island. It is a shame that we lost Abbadon so soon but I guess once all the main characters are back on the island, the real world gets less screen time anyway.
As an aside, since we now know Abbadon, who infiltrated Locke's rehab center and Hurley's asylum to drop helpful suggestions, was working for Widmore, does this mean long lost Libby (who was in the asylum and who set Desmond on his yacht course to the island) was also working for Widmore? Hope the Libby thing gets explained because that always bugged me as a loose end.
So Locke made his way in seeming vain to visit all the Oceanic refugees including, happily, Walt who is now a grown teenager living in a pathetic excuse of a New York set (I live near the street visible on the street sign and the set was pitiful). Of course Locke couldn't bring himself to ask a teenager with his life before him to travel back to an island that holds nothing for him - Locke has too much heart. But it was interesting that Walt still has his creepy ability to see the future and makes me hope that his psychic powers will still be explained before the show ends (another loose end that drives me crazy).
Locke also predictably visited the Oceanic 6 (minus Sun as promised) and got rebuffed. Jack was in his drug addict/unraveling phase, Hurley in his asylum, Kate in her nesting phase but it was interesting to see Sayid in a redemption phase. Clearly, after two years of working for Ben, he finally saw some light and is trying to make up for the carnage he wrought. I am sure the Ben/Sayid history will be explained further in future episodes and I am interested to see what Sayid learned about Ben to make him change his mind.
The last scene of course was telling but not all that unexpected - Ben is an untrustworthy guy with an evil side who views Locke as some sort of threat to his own power (how come he can see Jacob? how does he know about Mrs. Hawking?). What puzzles me though is that Ben clearly anticipated that Locke would be resurrected on the island (since he kept harping on how important it was to take Locke's coffin with them on the Ajira flight). What does Ben think will happen once he and Locke meet again on the island? Did he not anticipate that they would both be in the same time and place on the island? Confusing.
And as for the island, it seems that the Ajira flight safely landed with all the non-Oceanic 6 castaways in tow. The new survivors appear to be on the smaller zoo island (according to EW's Jeff Jensen no relation) but as new character Caesar made it clear, Sayid and our other Oceanic 6 friends merely disappeared before the crash. This seems to suggest that they were pulled into the time warp but that Locke, Ben and everyone else on the plane were left to fend for themselves. I assume Locke's status as time warp material has changed because he turned the wheel but perhaps that will be explained soon. In the meantime, Frank the pilot and an unnamed woman have absconded with one of the canoes back to the main island - presumably that is the canoe which the time jumping Sawyer, Juliet, et al will find and run away with (although it's still not clear who was chasing and shooting at them).
Here's hoping that next week all our Oceanic regulars reunite on their travels through time (including please Rose and Bernard - I don't think I can take the not knowing any more). Here's also hoping that Locke and the island's Others/ghost/Jacob energies bring their full power down on Ben - I think he's got some comeuppance coming his way.
As an aside, since we now know Abbadon, who infiltrated Locke's rehab center and Hurley's asylum to drop helpful suggestions, was working for Widmore, does this mean long lost Libby (who was in the asylum and who set Desmond on his yacht course to the island) was also working for Widmore? Hope the Libby thing gets explained because that always bugged me as a loose end.
So Locke made his way in seeming vain to visit all the Oceanic refugees including, happily, Walt who is now a grown teenager living in a pathetic excuse of a New York set (I live near the street visible on the street sign and the set was pitiful). Of course Locke couldn't bring himself to ask a teenager with his life before him to travel back to an island that holds nothing for him - Locke has too much heart. But it was interesting that Walt still has his creepy ability to see the future and makes me hope that his psychic powers will still be explained before the show ends (another loose end that drives me crazy).
Locke also predictably visited the Oceanic 6 (minus Sun as promised) and got rebuffed. Jack was in his drug addict/unraveling phase, Hurley in his asylum, Kate in her nesting phase but it was interesting to see Sayid in a redemption phase. Clearly, after two years of working for Ben, he finally saw some light and is trying to make up for the carnage he wrought. I am sure the Ben/Sayid history will be explained further in future episodes and I am interested to see what Sayid learned about Ben to make him change his mind.
The last scene of course was telling but not all that unexpected - Ben is an untrustworthy guy with an evil side who views Locke as some sort of threat to his own power (how come he can see Jacob? how does he know about Mrs. Hawking?). What puzzles me though is that Ben clearly anticipated that Locke would be resurrected on the island (since he kept harping on how important it was to take Locke's coffin with them on the Ajira flight). What does Ben think will happen once he and Locke meet again on the island? Did he not anticipate that they would both be in the same time and place on the island? Confusing.
And as for the island, it seems that the Ajira flight safely landed with all the non-Oceanic 6 castaways in tow. The new survivors appear to be on the smaller zoo island (according to EW's Jeff Jensen no relation) but as new character Caesar made it clear, Sayid and our other Oceanic 6 friends merely disappeared before the crash. This seems to suggest that they were pulled into the time warp but that Locke, Ben and everyone else on the plane were left to fend for themselves. I assume Locke's status as time warp material has changed because he turned the wheel but perhaps that will be explained soon. In the meantime, Frank the pilot and an unnamed woman have absconded with one of the canoes back to the main island - presumably that is the canoe which the time jumping Sawyer, Juliet, et al will find and run away with (although it's still not clear who was chasing and shooting at them).
Here's hoping that next week all our Oceanic regulars reunite on their travels through time (including please Rose and Bernard - I don't think I can take the not knowing any more). Here's also hoping that Locke and the island's Others/ghost/Jacob energies bring their full power down on Ben - I think he's got some comeuppance coming his way.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Clue the Remake: Surely Gore Verbinski has something better to do?
I object to this story from imdb.com on so many levels. First of all, there is absolutely no need to ever make another board game movie (Candy Land that means you!). Second, there is definitely no need to remake Clue since there is already a hilarious movie that met the challenge. Even though the article points out that it was a box office flop, the original Clue had a stellar cast (Tim Curry, Madeleine Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean for starters), many funny gags ("Why is J. Edgar Hoover on your phone?" "I don't know, he's on everybody else's, why shouldn't he be on mine?") and a corny yet clever multiple ending format (there were three endings and each movie audience saw only one although all three were combined for television and video). Now I know that I was a ten year old fan of the game when the film was released in 1985 so I may be a bit biased but Clue is simply a classic that should not be messed with!
Verbinski To Direct Cluedo Movie 25 February 2009 2:00 PM, PST
A movie version of classic British boardgame Cluedo is heading to the big screen.
Pirates of The Caribbean filmmaker Gore Verbinski is slated to direct the project.
In the game - named Clue in the U.S. - competitors bid to solve the murder of one of a number of colourful characters in a country house.
Cluedo/Clue has racked up sales of more than $1 billion (GBP690 million) in more than 50 countries since it first went on sale back in 1948.
Verbinski will hope his movie fares better than the last attempt to turn Cluedo into a movie - 1985's Clue flopped at the box office.
Verbinski To Direct Cluedo Movie 25 February 2009 2:00 PM, PST
A movie version of classic British boardgame Cluedo is heading to the big screen.
Pirates of The Caribbean filmmaker Gore Verbinski is slated to direct the project.
In the game - named Clue in the U.S. - competitors bid to solve the murder of one of a number of colourful characters in a country house.
Cluedo/Clue has racked up sales of more than $1 billion (GBP690 million) in more than 50 countries since it first went on sale back in 1948.
Verbinski will hope his movie fares better than the last attempt to turn Cluedo into a movie - 1985's Clue flopped at the box office.
The Daily Show Keeps on Rolling
The change in administration hasn't slowed down the hilarity at The Daily Show, particularly since there are always crazy people around to highlight. This Jason Jones piece last night about some people's views of our new president was particularly eye-opening and side-splitting:
Encounters at the End of the World: Deranged People and Penguins
I went to the Paley Media Center on Saturday to see the first half of their weekend long documentary festival in which they screened all nine of the Oscar nominated long and short documentaries. I had already seen the wonderful long winner Man on Wire at last year's Tribeca Film Festival but I was glad to have the chance to see more of the films. In particular, I enjoyed Werner Herzog's Encounters at the End of the World which showed the beauty and madness inherent in the resident people and animals of Antarctica. The film contained beautiful shots of the scenery both above and below the Antarctic ice but it also had hilarious narrative commentary such as in this section about Antarctica's penguins (although the opening narration promises it won't be another penguin movie):
I also was riveted by one of the other long documentaries, Trouble the Water, which focused on one couple's experiences during and after Hurricane Katrina(complete with their own home movie footage of the storm). The footage the couple took during the storm was truly frightening - some of it can be seen in the trailer for the movie below:
The film affirms yet again how horribly the authorities behaved in the wake of the storm but it also inspires faith in the goodness of your fellow citizens.
Both these documentaries, as well as Man on Wire, are very much worth checking out - both Man on Wire and Encounters at the End of the World are available on DVD and hopefully Trouble the Water will be as well soon.
I also was riveted by one of the other long documentaries, Trouble the Water, which focused on one couple's experiences during and after Hurricane Katrina(complete with their own home movie footage of the storm). The footage the couple took during the storm was truly frightening - some of it can be seen in the trailer for the movie below:
The film affirms yet again how horribly the authorities behaved in the wake of the storm but it also inspires faith in the goodness of your fellow citizens.
Both these documentaries, as well as Man on Wire, are very much worth checking out - both Man on Wire and Encounters at the End of the World are available on DVD and hopefully Trouble the Water will be as well soon.
Doug Varone and Dancers
I went to the Joyce last night to see Doug Varone and Dancers who will be performing all this week. The program opened with Tomorrow set to the songs of Reynaldo Hahn which were beautifully performed by soprano Theodora Hanslowe - the movements in the piece were very subtle and beautiful and the costumes added a nice flow to the dancers. The program closed with the New York premiere of Alchemy set to music by Steve Reich which incorporated texts from both the book of Daniel and slain journalist Daniel Pearl. The piece, which addressed issues of the enduring humanity of victims of violence, was very interesting and had some intriguing movements but felt a little heavy-handed and dragged in parts.
The standout of the evening was certainly Lux, set to Philip Glass' Light. I had seen this piece performed before but still was drawn in by the infectuous energy of the dancers and the movements. Here are some snippets of the piece and I recommend catching it in its entirety if you can:
The standout of the evening was certainly Lux, set to Philip Glass' Light. I had seen this piece performed before but still was drawn in by the infectuous energy of the dancers and the movements. Here are some snippets of the piece and I recommend catching it in its entirety if you can:
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Chuck Brings Toto Back
I don't know why but this put a huge smile on my face last night and made me want to download the original song on iTunes (don't worry, I didn't do it). Rock on Jeffster!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Kate Winslet the Seer
All of the blogs are pointing this out today but it is really eerie that this scene from the first episode of Extras is so dead on:
Oscars v. Independent Spirit Awards
For those of you who thought Ben Stiller's Joaquin Phoenix turn last night was pretty funny, please check out how the Independent Spirit Awards did it funnier the day before:
All in all, I would say that they have more fun at the Independent Spirit Awards and there is a lot more unpredictability - such as Melissa Leo's win for Best Actress or the winners of the awards for first film, "one to watch," etc. They also had a funnier host in Steve Coogan and came in at just two hours running time. Take that Oscars.
All in all, I would say that they have more fun at the Independent Spirit Awards and there is a lot more unpredictability - such as Melissa Leo's win for Best Actress or the winners of the awards for first film, "one to watch," etc. They also had a funnier host in Steve Coogan and came in at just two hours running time. Take that Oscars.
Jai Ho! It's a Slumdog Millionaire Night at the Oscars
So Slumdog Millionaire predictably cleaned up at the Oscars last night winning eight of its ten nominations (although to be fair, it was up against itself in the best song category and took the prize for Jai Ho). While all the Slumdog winners were jubilant and excited and gave gracious speeches, there was nothing more touching than seeing the excitement on the faces of Dev Patel and particulalry the children from the film, some of whom had not been on a plane before and at least one of whom did not speak English. This red carpet moment with Ryan Secrest may have been one of my favorite moments of the whole night:
According to EW, the kids managed to snag some high profile autographs, including Meryl Streep, and that is just about as good as the Oscars gets.
Which is not to say that there weren't other great moments last night. Dustin Lance Black and Sean Penn gave wonderfully impassioned speeches about Harvey Milk and the need for equal rights. Heath Ledger's family was remarkably collected and gracious in accepting his posthumous award. Penelope Cruz remembered to thank Almodovar (hooray for All About My Mother!) and Kate Winslet was adorably humbled that she beat Meryl Streep. Steve Martin and Tina Fey were hilarious in presenting the screenwriting awards (even if it was a little awkward to transition back to jokes after Black's incredible speech). And the bit with Seth Rogen and James Franco as their Pineapple Express characters, watching clips from films including Franco's own Milk love scene and then having famed cinematographer Janusz Kaminski curl up with them on the couch was perfectly wacky and funny.
Unfortunately, there were a lot of missteps last night as well. Hugh Jackman, predictably, is not a joke teller but a song and dance man. That worked fine for the cute "homemade" opening number (the best part of which was Anne Hathaway getting drawn in to a Frost/Nixon routine) but there was absolutely no need for the horrific mish-mash of songs that Beyonce, Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper hacked their way through. Old standards, cliched numbers, ABBA and High School Music 3 pureed through a blender? No way. After noshing on all the snacks at my Oscar viewing party last night, a friend said she would need to go on a diet and I have decided that I am definitely dieting too - no more splashy musical numbers for at least a year.
I also was not really into the multiple acting legends present acting awards thing. I suppose the nominees are supposed to be touched that a legend would come to personally tell them they're wonderful but when it's read off a teleprompter it just feels hollow - is Shirley Maclaine really an Anne Hathaway fan? Does Nicole Kidman really care about Angelina Jolie? Is Ben Kingsley really impressed by Mickey Rourke? Me thinks not. I think the Academy was mainly worried that last year's lesser-known, foreign winners, only two of whom bothered to come (Tilda Swinton and Marian Cotillard), wouldn't be exciting enough so they had to overdose on more well-known stars. It just ended up feeling pompous and bloated instead.
Which brings me to my final sticking point - the "intimate" seating arrangement. In an attempt to give the Oscars an intimate Cabaret-type vibe, the Academy took celebrity hierarchy to a whole new level by literally placing a ring around the most important people and sheltering them from the masses in the back. They also managed to place those A-listers practically on stage so they could highlight their importance even more. The stars themselves mostly just looked uncomfortable in their tightly packed seats. Let's hope next year the Academy gets back to what we all really want to see - a comedian keeping the stars at a safe, mingling distance.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Lost: Well, That Was Easy
So yes, I am sure all will be explained in episodes to come but after all that stressing over how Ben was going to manage to get the Oceanic 6 to reunite and go back on the road, somehow they all managed to do a 180 and conveniently report to Ajira airways for duty (I guess Jeff Jensen no relation's theory about our L.A. friends being the Ajira flying/shooting kayakers may be correct although it still strikes me as odd). Um, what did Kate do with Aaron (I'm guessing she dropped him off with granny but why?), how did Sayid get into marshal custody (turned himself in to save Hurley perhaps but way to reenact the original flight conditions? Marshal must be present at all times) and how did Hurley get out of jail, access the cash to purchase 78 tickets (no one else can fly!!) and make it to the flight on time with a Charlie-esque guitar? Perhaps some ghostly visits helped motivate them along but it would have been nice to have a little more dramatic lead-up tension.
And it turns out, that after all the secrecy as to magical mathematical island predicting pendulums in church basements, all you have to do is fly over the island and get swept away by a time warp. So now that our gang has found their way home, will the time shifts stop? Given Jin's spiffy 60s van and Dharma duds, I'm guessing not right away (is this when Faraday goes into the orchid tunnel?) Let's hope no one else dies a nosebleed death though because the remaining characters (including next in line Juliet) I like.
And apparently we have some newcomers - welcome and enjoy your island stay! From the preview for next week we see that the marshal made the trip and I'm guessing the star power of Said Taghmaoui (love him!) earned him a beach vacation as well. I also hope Frank gets to join the party since his wisecracking was a refreshing mood lightener last season.
I also hope that we don't have to wait for another life brother to see Desmond again. Eloise says the island isn't done with him but he says he's done with the island/Eloise so unless he steers his family too close to the island vortex and they all get sucked in, I don't see how he can make a quick reappearance right now.
And will Ben be making an island appearance? I thought the whole he who turns the wheel bit included banishment as punishment - although it appears from the preview for next week that maybe Locke does get his due reincarnation. I don't know who beat Ben up (Widmore goons?) but clearly he thinks he can join in on the ride. Figures only business class would get to go to the beach while coach has to suffer through bad turbulence/possible crash.
Apparently Locke's death will be explained next week but what kind of Jewish mother guilt trippy suicide note was that? Oy, Jackie, I told you no swimming for an hour after eating but what is a mother for if not to die from drowning while saving you from your cramp?
Final thought: SERIOUSLY, WHERE THE F ARE BERNARD AND ROSE?!?!?!?!?!? They better not have nosebleeds when we find them or there will be hell to pay.
And it turns out, that after all the secrecy as to magical mathematical island predicting pendulums in church basements, all you have to do is fly over the island and get swept away by a time warp. So now that our gang has found their way home, will the time shifts stop? Given Jin's spiffy 60s van and Dharma duds, I'm guessing not right away (is this when Faraday goes into the orchid tunnel?) Let's hope no one else dies a nosebleed death though because the remaining characters (including next in line Juliet) I like.
And apparently we have some newcomers - welcome and enjoy your island stay! From the preview for next week we see that the marshal made the trip and I'm guessing the star power of Said Taghmaoui (love him!) earned him a beach vacation as well. I also hope Frank gets to join the party since his wisecracking was a refreshing mood lightener last season.
I also hope that we don't have to wait for another life brother to see Desmond again. Eloise says the island isn't done with him but he says he's done with the island/Eloise so unless he steers his family too close to the island vortex and they all get sucked in, I don't see how he can make a quick reappearance right now.
And will Ben be making an island appearance? I thought the whole he who turns the wheel bit included banishment as punishment - although it appears from the preview for next week that maybe Locke does get his due reincarnation. I don't know who beat Ben up (Widmore goons?) but clearly he thinks he can join in on the ride. Figures only business class would get to go to the beach while coach has to suffer through bad turbulence/possible crash.
Apparently Locke's death will be explained next week but what kind of Jewish mother guilt trippy suicide note was that? Oy, Jackie, I told you no swimming for an hour after eating but what is a mother for if not to die from drowning while saving you from your cramp?
Final thought: SERIOUSLY, WHERE THE F ARE BERNARD AND ROSE?!?!?!?!?!? They better not have nosebleeds when we find them or there will be hell to pay.
Flight of the Conchords - Watch Out for those Australians
Another great episode this week although my favorite part was not the songs (which were excellent) but just the simple shame of sleeping with a girl from Australia. The ending was a bit sad but this scene was worth it:
Lost: The Oceanic 6 Make Their Return
I hope and suppose anyway. I haven't yet discussed last week's episode which I have to say did not make much of an impression on me - I felt as if we knew about Danielle Rousseau and her sick and dead colleagues already although I guess the information about the smoke monster living in the yet unseen temple was new. I didn't quite appreciate how the monster ripped off her colleague's arm though - gore not so much my thing. I don't think we learned that much though about how the smoke monster operates and what it's after - I'm very much hoping this is something we learn about soon.
We also saw Locke turn the wheel and get off the island with the help of Jack's dear old dad ("Say hi to my son for me" "Who's your son?" Classic). Again interesting but we already that's how he would have to get out of there to become Jeremy Bentham in L.A. We also saw Charlotte die but again, her nose has been bleeding for quite some time and I was never that interested in her character anyway. Her revelation that somehow Faraday warned her not to come back to the island when she was a child was cool but now I really do not understand how this whole realize your changed memories thing works. Why would Faraday go back in time to try and stop her when he knows history can't be changed? Explanation please.
As for the Oceanic 6 although Kate and Sayid have scattered (please pick up Hurley from prison, Sayid), I am guessing they won't stay scattered for long. I do appreciate that Desmond happened to show up at the church at the same time as Ben, Jack and Sun although we knew they were all headed there ("are you looking for Faraday's mother too?" another classic).
In short, I'm hoping this week brings more surprises and less obvious closure. I also desperately hoping, and say it with him, that we will find out WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO ROSE AND BERNARD?!? This is seriously irking me and I need answers!!
Tune in tonight and we'll talk tomorrow.
We also saw Locke turn the wheel and get off the island with the help of Jack's dear old dad ("Say hi to my son for me" "Who's your son?" Classic). Again interesting but we already that's how he would have to get out of there to become Jeremy Bentham in L.A. We also saw Charlotte die but again, her nose has been bleeding for quite some time and I was never that interested in her character anyway. Her revelation that somehow Faraday warned her not to come back to the island when she was a child was cool but now I really do not understand how this whole realize your changed memories thing works. Why would Faraday go back in time to try and stop her when he knows history can't be changed? Explanation please.
As for the Oceanic 6 although Kate and Sayid have scattered (please pick up Hurley from prison, Sayid), I am guessing they won't stay scattered for long. I do appreciate that Desmond happened to show up at the church at the same time as Ben, Jack and Sun although we knew they were all headed there ("are you looking for Faraday's mother too?" another classic).
In short, I'm hoping this week brings more surprises and less obvious closure. I also desperately hoping, and say it with him, that we will find out WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO ROSE AND BERNARD?!? This is seriously irking me and I need answers!!
Tune in tonight and we'll talk tomorrow.
Speaking of Oscar Shorts...
I would also like to note that there are many great past nominees and winners that are really worth checking out. In particular, the Sundance Channel is showing a selection of last year's nominees this Saturday night which you should definitely DVR and watch in pieces when you have short moments - the program starts with the delightful Tanghi Argentini which was my favorite of last year's group, includes the animated Even Pigeons Go to Heaven, the manic but entertaining The Substitute and last year's live action winner The Mozart of Pickpockets (which of course features an adorable child and is very entertaining). After those four films, I would say you can skip the other two, the long and boring The Tonto Woman and the bizarre animated Madame Tutli Putli.
Another old favorite of mine is the 2005 nominee 7:35 in the Morning which can be found on the filmmaker's site http://www.735am.com/. Very bizarre but very entertaining. For a true animated classic, check out past winner The Chubb Chubbs below - enjoy!
Another old favorite of mine is the 2005 nominee 7:35 in the Morning which can be found on the filmmaker's site http://www.735am.com/. Very bizarre but very entertaining. For a true animated classic, check out past winner The Chubb Chubbs below - enjoy!
Oscar Nominated Live Action and Animated Shorts
I caught the live action and animated shorts that are nominated for Oscars this year at the Academy's screening in New York on Saturday and boy are they short! Last year it took four hours to show the ten nominated films but this year's nominees totalled two hours and ten minutes - just right for some, perhaps too short for others. Let's discuss:
Animated shorts: The giant in the category is Presto (pictured) - a Pixar story of a magician and his hungry rabbit which many of you may have seen in front of Wall-E last summer. It is certainly very entertaining and may indeed take the crown on Sunday. However, I was more enchanted with the digitally animated and very, very short Oktapodi about two octopi who will do anything to fight for their love. Of all the ten films, Oktapodi is definitely at the top of my list of films I wish were longer. Check it out:
I also have to mention Lavatory - Love Story which was a very sweet, nearly all black and white drawn short about a bathroom attendant with a secret admirer - the ending was particularly adorable. There was also a British piece entitled This Way Up about two undertakers on a long, strange journey - I certainly enjoyed parts of it but I'm not sure I got all of its rapid meanderings. Finally, there is La Maison En Petits Cubes which is an intriguing drawn piece about an old man in a stacked house full of haunting memories - that film was beautiful to watch but not quite as catchy as some of the others. All in all, I would say that Presto has the edge but I'm rooting for those octopi.
Live Action: All you really need to know about this category is that Spielzeugland (Toyland) is about saving adorable children from the Holocaust. May I have the envelope please...
Toyland was a bit manipulative (as you can imagine) and I would say my favorite in the category may have been the eerie Auf Der Strecke (On The Line) about a security guard who feels guilty when he decides not to intervene in a violent situation that affects the life of his co-worker/crush. That film was the longest of the ten at a half hour and could have been even further explored - I was rapt and eager to see more when it abruptly ended. I also enjoyed New Boy - a story of a new African student in an Irish school based on a Roddy Doyle story. That film had many cute kids and touched on African genocide but I think the Holocaust film still has it beat.
There was also Manon on the Asphalt, in which a woman who has been hit by a car pictures how her friends and loved ones will react to her death - it was kind of cutesy and while I enjoyed it I can acknowledge that it was a bit much. Finally, there is The Pig in which a Danish patient (named Jensen) becomes obsessed with the painting of a pig on his hospital wall - one of my friends liked that film the best and I certainly enjoyed it although I found it a bit odd and rambling.
So in the final analysis I would vote for Presto and Toyland taking the statues on Sunday. We'll see...
Life Gets in the Way
Apologies for the delay in posting but it's been a hectic week. Let's try and catch up on the backload...
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Invalidate Prop 8
This is a political tangent but I just wanted to draw everyone's attention to this video making its way around the internet. It's from the Courage Campaign supporting the invalidation of Prop 8 set to Regina Spektor's Fidelity. I love that song and it is a very touching video so please check it out:
Monday, February 9, 2009
The Meaning of Friends ala Flight of the Conchords
Just when I was about to give up on last night's episode as one of the weaker ones of the season (although I do approve of the fort in the living room), the show closed with this adorable song. How can you not love friends who pop lock together?
Friday, February 6, 2009
30 Rock: The Generalissimo
I have to say that I was not as enthralled last night with the Tina Fey/Jon Hamm pairing as I thought I would be - she was just a little too conniving for my tastes although maybe it will be better next week. I did love though the unexpected Generalissmo plot line - Alec Baldwin's Jack wants the approval of his new girlfriend's (Salma Hayek's) grandmother but since he is a dead ringer for the villain of her favorite telenovella, she despises him. He concocts to purchase the channel and write the character out of the show but the actor has other ideas. Watch below as Jack confronts the actor and definitely watch the full episode on Hulu to see how the actor makes the Generalissimo likeable to grandmothers (I would love to see pictures of your grandchildren - what sweet faces, etc.). It is certainly an Alec Baldwin classic.
Catching Up on Oscar Movies: Oy
So in an effort to keep myself abreast of this year's nominated films, I made a point to see both Doubt and The Reader in the last couple weeks. I have friends who liked one or both of these films and although I didn't feel the need to dash out and see them when they were released, I was still interested enough to check them out. Unfortunately, I wish I hadn't bothered.
Doubt had some interesting moments, most notably the scenese featuring Viola Davis (way too short) but I found Meryl Streep to be waaaay too much. Her character, the nun principal of a Catholic school who believes that the parish's priest has molested a student, was so mean and so vindictive that it was hard to feel any sympathy for her at all. I believe the point of the film was to be on the fence as to whether the priest harmed the child but since Streep played her character with such vengeance, it was hard to believe it was anything to her accusations. Had someone approached the role with a bit of a lighter touch (I would have loved to see Cherry Jones in the play), it might have better matched Philip Seymour Hoffman's complex priest and Amy Adams' confused nun and gotten the film's point across more clearly. At the end of the film, where Streep gets her emotional moment, I was so twisted against her character that I couldn't bother to care about her at all.
I had a similar problem with The Reader but on an even larger scale. Kate Winslet may well win an Oscar for her role as a tram ticket taker who has an affair with a teenage boy and based on the wonderful work she has consistently turned in throughout her career, I would be fine with that result. However, I was unable to find any sympathy for a 35 year old ex-concentration camp guard who has an affair with a 15 year old boy. How could we possibly expect to feel anything but disgust such a character? This sense of disgust made it difficult for me to understand why the boy (who grows into a stoic Ralph Fiennes) would have any ounce of compassion for her and I basically spent most of the film feeling angry, which I do not believe was the intended result. David Kross, the 18 year old actor who plays the 15 year old boy, was very good as a confused adolescent/young man and there is a wrenching sequence in which he vists one of the concentration camps (buildings and piles and piles of shoes left behind). This of course just fueled my anger towards Winslet's character because you really feel for the boy who was taken in by such a twisted woman. The excuse given for her behavior is ludicrously flimsy and in no way can justify what she has done. If anyone who was moved by the film feels differently certainly feel free to explain why but I just simply did not get it.
So having seen all five best picture nominees I can finally say it - Slumdog Millionaire was certainly my favorite and I hope and believe it will prevail on February 22nd.
Doubt had some interesting moments, most notably the scenese featuring Viola Davis (way too short) but I found Meryl Streep to be waaaay too much. Her character, the nun principal of a Catholic school who believes that the parish's priest has molested a student, was so mean and so vindictive that it was hard to feel any sympathy for her at all. I believe the point of the film was to be on the fence as to whether the priest harmed the child but since Streep played her character with such vengeance, it was hard to believe it was anything to her accusations. Had someone approached the role with a bit of a lighter touch (I would have loved to see Cherry Jones in the play), it might have better matched Philip Seymour Hoffman's complex priest and Amy Adams' confused nun and gotten the film's point across more clearly. At the end of the film, where Streep gets her emotional moment, I was so twisted against her character that I couldn't bother to care about her at all.
I had a similar problem with The Reader but on an even larger scale. Kate Winslet may well win an Oscar for her role as a tram ticket taker who has an affair with a teenage boy and based on the wonderful work she has consistently turned in throughout her career, I would be fine with that result. However, I was unable to find any sympathy for a 35 year old ex-concentration camp guard who has an affair with a 15 year old boy. How could we possibly expect to feel anything but disgust such a character? This sense of disgust made it difficult for me to understand why the boy (who grows into a stoic Ralph Fiennes) would have any ounce of compassion for her and I basically spent most of the film feeling angry, which I do not believe was the intended result. David Kross, the 18 year old actor who plays the 15 year old boy, was very good as a confused adolescent/young man and there is a wrenching sequence in which he vists one of the concentration camps (buildings and piles and piles of shoes left behind). This of course just fueled my anger towards Winslet's character because you really feel for the boy who was taken in by such a twisted woman. The excuse given for her behavior is ludicrously flimsy and in no way can justify what she has done. If anyone who was moved by the film feels differently certainly feel free to explain why but I just simply did not get it.
So having seen all five best picture nominees I can finally say it - Slumdog Millionaire was certainly my favorite and I hope and believe it will prevail on February 22nd.
New Movie Recommendation: Medicine for Melancholy
I did manage to catch this film last weekend (at a screening attended by both the filmmaker Barry Jenkins and the star Wyatt Cenac) and would definitely recommend it for anyone who can get themselves to the IFC theater in the Village this weekend (and for those of you in Detroit, Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco keep your eyes peeled as it's coming soon as per the poster at left). The film follows two people over one day after they wake up together at a party. While the film is a beautiful one day romance movie ala Before Sunrise/Sunset, there is also a lot of discussion of what it is to be African-American in San Francisco which is interesting (and based on the filmmaker's own experiences living in San Francisco). Most of the film is heavily desaturated which gives it a somewhat dreamlike quality (which according to the filmmaker, is what he intended). There are also a lot of great shots of the city of San Francisco itself - not the tourist San Francisco but the real city. Finally, there are some very funny moments (which you would expect since it stars the Daily Show's Cenac) which certainly keep the movie from getting too bogged down in the sociological issues it addresses.
All in all I would say the film is more interesting, sweet and winning than most films out there right now so if you're looking for an enjoyable and stimulating evening at the movies, don't miss it.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
You Tell 'Em Bruce
Further to my post of yesterday, Bruce Springsteen has not surprisingly leapt to the fans' side in the whole Ticketmaster debacle. http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/bruce-springsteen-this-merger-isnt-born-to-run/?hp Thanks for caring Bruce, it's appreciated but if only there were a way all of us who were screwed could get in to see the show!
Do Not Read This if You Haven't Seen Lost
Seriously, I mean it. Because there's a doozy coming and I don't want to feel guilty for ruining it.
To give you time to let that sink in and look away, let's start with the basics. The Oceanic 6 are slowly coming together in L.A. as they evade those who seek to harm them. Essentially, Kate went on a wild goose chase to see who wants to tear Aaron away from her and while Claire's mother was a nice red herring, of course the entire thing was a ruse by Ben to get her running again (and aid his cause of getting her to go back to the island). Sayid doesn't trust Ben but is willing to chauffeur him around. Hurley is going to be released from jail on what to me sounds like ridiculous circumstances but TV never does law very well. Jack still believes in Ben although his thoughts may be changing now that Ben revealed he was behind the Kate/Aaron blood test and once Sun comes charging out of her car waving a gun in Ben's face. But once someone picks Hurley up from jail, our band of brothers will be all accounted for so I think the journey back will start soon.
Of course, this leaves out that Desmond is making his way to L.A. (not by boat let's hope) to talk to (we assume) Mrs. Hawking so hopefully next week we'll get back to that story line (I guess Desmond needed the week off to get from London to L.A.)
Meanwhile, on the island there is still no sign of Rose and Bernard (this is seriously bothering me!) although it was nice to see Sawyer is still thinking about them (Is anyone here? Rose?!? Bernard?!?) The peculiarities of island time travel apparently lead the survivors to confront people and things they already know - the drug airplane crash, meeting Alpert, Widmore and possibly Faraday's mom in the 1950s, running in to Ethan in the jungle, seeing their own present past and now traveling back to the 1980s to run into Rousseau and her not too long for this world French brethren. It would be fun to see them travel to places in time they know nothing about and learn a little something about the history of the island (although learning about the bomb was a nice kicker). Perhaps they did at least go one place of which they have no knowledge, namely, the future when they found their camp in tatters and found evidence they had been invaded by canoes oared by Indian airline travelers. EW's Jeff Jensen (no relation) is speculating that perhaps those were the canoes of the returned Oceanic 6 but why would the Oceanic 6 start shooting when they know they could be hitting their own? Sawyer thanked the lord when they were removed from the canoe shooting only to renege his thanks when they landed in the 1980s storm that stranded Rousseau in what was the funniest moment of the night but the most touching moment of the night had to be when Sawyer came to tears watching Kate help deliver Aaron - we knew he had a heart.
There is also the pesky island time-travelling problem of brain sickness, first manifested by nose bleeds. Faraday theorizes that the onset of time-travel disease is related to length of island exposure so Charlotte has been first (we have been led to believe she was raised on the island), Miles second (although we can theorize that he is the son of Dr. Candle, apparently he is unaware of this), Juliet next (since she came to the island months before the Oceanic crew) and presumably Locke and Sawyer are on their way with Faraday bringing up the rear. It seems Faraday knows of no cure for this sickness other than focusing on a constant point (as Desmond did by focusing on Penny when he was afflicted) but since they are jumping around a period of fifty years, presumably it is hard to find such a constant. Hopefully they figure this problem out soon!
So now that we have hopefully lost those seeking to ruin their viewing experience, let's get to the shocker. What we were all hoping for in our hearts but would not dare to hope for out loud came true - Jin is alive (and currently being aided much to his surprise by a young, pregnant Rousseau). Now while I love, love, love, love that Jin lives to time travel another day, I have to admit I'm a bit confused as to how that's possible. Jin was last seen jumping away from the blast on the freighter so presumably, even if he managed to escape the blast, he would at least be within the immediate vicinity of where the freighter last stood. It was my understanding that the freighter was outside the reach of the island since you had to use Faraday's special bearing to get the helicopter from one to the other and since time was running differently in the two locations. Thus, even if Jin was floating in the ocean alive, I'm not sure how he could have gotten sucked in by the island's time traveling ways. Faraday was in the motor boat when it happened but he was definitely still within the island's radius so he got sucked in but does anyone else think that Jin was too far away? Please share your thoughts on this as well as your gratitude that Jin has returned.
To give you time to let that sink in and look away, let's start with the basics. The Oceanic 6 are slowly coming together in L.A. as they evade those who seek to harm them. Essentially, Kate went on a wild goose chase to see who wants to tear Aaron away from her and while Claire's mother was a nice red herring, of course the entire thing was a ruse by Ben to get her running again (and aid his cause of getting her to go back to the island). Sayid doesn't trust Ben but is willing to chauffeur him around. Hurley is going to be released from jail on what to me sounds like ridiculous circumstances but TV never does law very well. Jack still believes in Ben although his thoughts may be changing now that Ben revealed he was behind the Kate/Aaron blood test and once Sun comes charging out of her car waving a gun in Ben's face. But once someone picks Hurley up from jail, our band of brothers will be all accounted for so I think the journey back will start soon.
Of course, this leaves out that Desmond is making his way to L.A. (not by boat let's hope) to talk to (we assume) Mrs. Hawking so hopefully next week we'll get back to that story line (I guess Desmond needed the week off to get from London to L.A.)
Meanwhile, on the island there is still no sign of Rose and Bernard (this is seriously bothering me!) although it was nice to see Sawyer is still thinking about them (Is anyone here? Rose?!? Bernard?!?) The peculiarities of island time travel apparently lead the survivors to confront people and things they already know - the drug airplane crash, meeting Alpert, Widmore and possibly Faraday's mom in the 1950s, running in to Ethan in the jungle, seeing their own present past and now traveling back to the 1980s to run into Rousseau and her not too long for this world French brethren. It would be fun to see them travel to places in time they know nothing about and learn a little something about the history of the island (although learning about the bomb was a nice kicker). Perhaps they did at least go one place of which they have no knowledge, namely, the future when they found their camp in tatters and found evidence they had been invaded by canoes oared by Indian airline travelers. EW's Jeff Jensen (no relation) is speculating that perhaps those were the canoes of the returned Oceanic 6 but why would the Oceanic 6 start shooting when they know they could be hitting their own? Sawyer thanked the lord when they were removed from the canoe shooting only to renege his thanks when they landed in the 1980s storm that stranded Rousseau in what was the funniest moment of the night but the most touching moment of the night had to be when Sawyer came to tears watching Kate help deliver Aaron - we knew he had a heart.
There is also the pesky island time-travelling problem of brain sickness, first manifested by nose bleeds. Faraday theorizes that the onset of time-travel disease is related to length of island exposure so Charlotte has been first (we have been led to believe she was raised on the island), Miles second (although we can theorize that he is the son of Dr. Candle, apparently he is unaware of this), Juliet next (since she came to the island months before the Oceanic crew) and presumably Locke and Sawyer are on their way with Faraday bringing up the rear. It seems Faraday knows of no cure for this sickness other than focusing on a constant point (as Desmond did by focusing on Penny when he was afflicted) but since they are jumping around a period of fifty years, presumably it is hard to find such a constant. Hopefully they figure this problem out soon!
So now that we have hopefully lost those seeking to ruin their viewing experience, let's get to the shocker. What we were all hoping for in our hearts but would not dare to hope for out loud came true - Jin is alive (and currently being aided much to his surprise by a young, pregnant Rousseau). Now while I love, love, love, love that Jin lives to time travel another day, I have to admit I'm a bit confused as to how that's possible. Jin was last seen jumping away from the blast on the freighter so presumably, even if he managed to escape the blast, he would at least be within the immediate vicinity of where the freighter last stood. It was my understanding that the freighter was outside the reach of the island since you had to use Faraday's special bearing to get the helicopter from one to the other and since time was running differently in the two locations. Thus, even if Jin was floating in the ocean alive, I'm not sure how he could have gotten sucked in by the island's time traveling ways. Faraday was in the motor boat when it happened but he was definitely still within the island's radius so he got sucked in but does anyone else think that Jin was too far away? Please share your thoughts on this as well as your gratitude that Jin has returned.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Get Ready for Lost Tonight
with another great episode of Totally Lost in which EW's duo posits that Mrs. Hawking is not only Daniel's mother but Ellie the other from last week's episode. Can't wait to see what happens tonight!
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid9774638001/bclid9783698001/bctid9867127001
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid9774638001/bclid9783698001/bctid9867127001
Ticketmaster's Evil Plans
When I noticed this article on Yahoo today I was glad to know that I was not alone - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090204/ap_en_mu/springsteen_ticket_glitch. I too tried to buy tickets to Springsteen's May New Jersey shows on Monday to no avail. Ticketmaster had sent an e-mail late last week saying that tickets would be on sale at 10am yet when I went to the site at 9:50, the tickets had already been on sale and were already gone. After getting multiple error message screens, I too finally got a screen saying there were no tickets left but offering resale tickets for over $200 for the upper deck.
I'm sorry but if Ticketmaster is going to have a monopoly on the sale of tickets for big shows, something should be done to ensure that the tickets are actually getting in to the hands of individual buyers and that Ticketmaster doesn't get to screw its own customers so that its resale company can profit. Start writing your legislators now.
I'm sorry but if Ticketmaster is going to have a monopoly on the sale of tickets for big shows, something should be done to ensure that the tickets are actually getting in to the hands of individual buyers and that Ticketmaster doesn't get to screw its own customers so that its resale company can profit. Start writing your legislators now.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Flight of the Conchords - Not Quite the Same but Still Pretty Good
I will be the first to admit that so far, Flight of the Conchords isn't grabbing me quite the same way it did last season. However, this week's episode was definitely the strongest thus far and featured a hilarious song about how rappers can have hurt feelings (why can't your friends just compliment your profiteroles? and the day after my birthday is not my birthday mom) as well as a perfect parody of "Cool" from West Side Story (featuring the funny special guest star Seymour Cassel):
Let's hope the rest of the season keeps up the pace of these numbers and I will be very happy.
Let's hope the rest of the season keeps up the pace of these numbers and I will be very happy.
Artistic Rage: Christian Bale Edition
So I heard part of this audio clip on the radio this morning (you can catch the whole thing at http://www.tmz.com/2009/02/02/bale-went-ballistic/ - it is definitely Rated R for language) and I'm not quite sure what to think. Essentially, during the filming of Terminator Salvation, Christian Bale went off on an F bomb tirade for a few minutes when the DP went to check a light on set and ruined a scene. Although at some point in the rant he calls the DP a "nice guy," he still rants about how he is unprofessional and threatens to walk off the set if the DP messes up again. As Bale starts to wrap up, the DP stokes the flames a bit by trying to explain what he was doing which only unleashes the bombs all over again. Then apparently the director tried to get everyone to take a minute but Bale screams that they should just keep going.
Now everyone has good days and bad days and it seems to me that Bale is the kind of actor who gets caught up in a scene and every little distraction (such as someone walking around to check a light) is a major irritation. However, this rant pushes the line very far and it also seems as if Bale may have some serious anger management issues (which were brought to light last year when he was accused of verbally abusing his mother and sister). Does anyone have a strong opinion on the artistic temperament vs. common courtesy debate? I'm interested to hear what people think.
I'll say one thing - it's moments like this that make me glad I don't work on film sets.
Now everyone has good days and bad days and it seems to me that Bale is the kind of actor who gets caught up in a scene and every little distraction (such as someone walking around to check a light) is a major irritation. However, this rant pushes the line very far and it also seems as if Bale may have some serious anger management issues (which were brought to light last year when he was accused of verbally abusing his mother and sister). Does anyone have a strong opinion on the artistic temperament vs. common courtesy debate? I'm interested to hear what people think.
I'll say one thing - it's moments like this that make me glad I don't work on film sets.
A Little New York Humor
to start your day going. From the New York Times site, a very imaginative abstract rendering of images of New York in legos. http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/i-lego-ny/
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