tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73280446352452111882024-02-21T04:54:13.564-08:00Film & Discussionweepingsamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11885871104310819374noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-56220660740404111252010-01-12T15:41:00.000-08:002010-01-12T16:17:31.461-08:00Imagine my Claude Rains Voice...[Oops - meant to put this at <a href="http://listeningear.blogspot.com/2010/01/imagine-my-claude-rains-voice.html">my place</a> - I'll leave it here, no harm done...] <br /><br />Mark McGwire admits to using steroids. This is shocking news, huh? I have never been a Mark McGwire fan - nothing to do with steroids, really, it's just that - without steroids, he would have been a one dimensional slugger, a new Dave Kingman - with them, he set records and was mistaken for one of the all time greats. A problem in part because it overshadowed <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bondsba01.shtml?redir">people</a> who probably were among the all time greats - and I remain fairly convinced, drove <span style="font-style:italic;">those</span> <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/clemero02.shtml">players</a> to the same expedients that made McGwire seem like more than he really was. And so people act as though Clemens and Bonds, to name names, were just chemical byproducts, instead of two of the best who ever played. And McGwire's part in this goes deep - we shouldn't forget that he and Canseco (and probably a few others, but mostly the bash brothers) were instrumental in moving steroids from a dirty little secret of the game to front and center, the engine of the game in the late 90s and early 00s. I didn't like that style - I like pitching and defense and line drives and walks - I may only be able to play slow pitch softball, but I don't want to watch it.... But that is how the game was built, and it was very popular, and restored the game to new heights after the labor problems that almost ruined it.<br /><br />But all that aside - this <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AgV5xMsGprmYFsrJG8peYm85nYcB?slug=ap-steroids-mcgwire&prov=ap&type=lgns">confession</a> would be enough to get me to vote for McGwire to the hall of fame. I don't care if it's cynical and fake-sentimental and years too late for something - the fact is, he's the first major star of the era to state the obvious without being forced to. (Unless you count Canseco, though his was even more cynical and self-serving; and a bit pathetic.) McGwire is catching hell for it - sanctimonious shits like <a href="http://tv.gawker.com/5445825/brian-williams-slams-mark-mcgwire-on-nbc-nightly-news-over-steroid-admission">Brian Williams</a> pontificate away, mewling about the "magical stuff" of the summer of 1998 (not magic - science!) - ugh.... Look - it was possible to look at Bonds, know what kind of player he had been all his career, and sort of imagine that maybe, if he gave up trying to run and just bulked up, he could hit those home runs - wishful thinking maybe, but still... But not McGwire, and not Sosa - they were steroids players, playing a steroids game - with the tacit (at least) approval (even encouragement) of the owners and league officials - not to mention the people who played the business up on TV. The only other explanation for all those homers that ever had any validity was that the sport was juicing the balls - it was the baseballs or the players or both, but something was getting juiced...<br /><br />And people enjoyed it. Why not? they enjoyed it then, and are enjoying it now, cause they get to play the victim - oh, we were fooled! - and huff and puff and bask in their own righteousness and the convenient amnesia about what kind of dope the old timers were using. And McGwire - going first - will get the worst of it. Just like A Rod got it worse than Manny and Manny got it worse than David Ortiz last summer.... every player who admits this will get just a little less crap about it, and by the time Bonds or Clemens gets around to it, they'll be able to brag about it. And - I'd wager - by summer, McGwire will be getting more cheers than boos - and maybe - who knows, in time this will look like what it is - a misguided era in baseball history, creating some odd offensive stats that require some on the fly translation to understand (at least until everyone 'fesses up and the statisticians can start trying to parse out what, exactly, steroids changed) - it will be something like the dead ball era that you just have to count around. No one will ever win 42 games again; probably no one will hit 73 home runs; both are products of how the game was played at the time....weepingsamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11885871104310819374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-70672108258465965962010-01-10T09:52:00.000-08:002010-01-10T09:55:15.806-08:00Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12960561846743844018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-1115312412318735172009-08-29T11:57:00.000-07:002009-08-30T08:56:18.598-07:00Star SightingsI was off of school for a couple of weeks and needed to get out of the city. I drove up to Bolinas, a northern California town that is difficult to get to, all windey roads on cliffs overlooking the Pacific. Gorgeous, but stomachache producing. And that's the only way to get there.<br /><br />The beauty of the town and beach is matched by the pride of the people who live there and have prevented it from becoming a tourist attraction. The downtown has about 6 buildings: restaurant, bar, grocery, surf shop, gift shop, art gallery. When signs are put up on the highway indicating where the city is, residents take it down, so the state has stopped putting them up.<br /><br />Oona and I were there on a glorious afternoon. It's a large, long beach, and there were about 15 people on it. It was sunny and somewhat warm, but the wind was whipping off the ocean. Oona and I were throwing rocks into the water and listening to the resonance of their kerplunks. As I was standing behind her, watching her throw, I glanced to my right and saw Francis McDormand and John Turturro walking toward me, looking very relaxed and simply chatting. Francis looked at me, gave me a very warm smile, and said, "hi." John did not look. I like Francis, but I really love John's acting. Behind them were Joel Coen and a very pretty woman who I now know is Turturro's wife. Their children were tagging along behind. As an aside, I looked on IMDB and Francis has nothing listed in production. She did two things in 2008 and that is it. Now, how much of a shame is that?<br /><br />It is the perfect place for people like them. People barely noticed them, I saw no one stop them. They were allowed to be people walking on the beach. I was happy for them.<br /><br />Here's the beach:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgieJv_Z4NCh9PWO5rjQPWFrvtoS7JBD8CfnOB0eq8VlP-BcurPG5_A9xr-jvViq2W0oLtUZ-Q2aMB500zDJx8Tfw9E1Q37DQ1cNAP_Ysl5jUWpWLLUGJwq51Wo30NG2XLVBjFY9RqSQww/s1600-h/Bolinas.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 148px; height: 111px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgieJv_Z4NCh9PWO5rjQPWFrvtoS7JBD8CfnOB0eq8VlP-BcurPG5_A9xr-jvViq2W0oLtUZ-Q2aMB500zDJx8Tfw9E1Q37DQ1cNAP_Ysl5jUWpWLLUGJwq51Wo30NG2XLVBjFY9RqSQww/s400/Bolinas.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375786191826835602" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-54688291313223485992009-08-29T11:45:00.000-07:002009-08-29T11:57:41.432-07:00Grey GardensRented the film first and then watched the documentary. <br /><br />Wow. Fascinating on so many levels.<br /><br />First, the documentary. The real women are, of course, more engrossing. I could not take my eyes off of Little Edie. There is no question that the woman possessed charisma in spades, even without hair and with haphazard clothing. There is a genuine sweetness to her that makes you adore her. All of the unfair things that happened to her in her life, and she has very little bitterness and only shows anger (appropriate anger, by the way) once in the film. Her clothing, though odd, shows great creativity and has a certain panache to it. Her speaking style is mesmerizing with a slow cadence, a wonderfully creative vocabulary, and an unusual accent. It is my belief that she cannot fully distinguish between the past and the present, maybe because the present is so awful, she can only live as things were the same. At one point in the film, she talks about how the washing bins used to be in the servants quarters, then repeats, "The washing bins are in the servants quarters." She pauses and then says, "It's very difficult to keep the line between the past and the present. You know what I mean? It's awfully difficult." <br /><br />The elder Edie had no charm for me. She came off as dangerously selfish and self-absorbed, and her disgustingly dirty bed almost made me wretch.<br /><br />Second, the film. What performances by Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange. Truly amazing. I mean, it is a lot easier when you have so much footage to copy, but still, they were amazing. I wish there were more roles for Jessica Lange, she always was one of my favorites.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-39812506237192507452009-08-29T11:34:00.000-07:002009-08-29T11:45:17.595-07:00Ted KennedyWe put to rest one of the most important politicians of our generation. He never served as president, but afterall, a president only serves 4 years, and Ted served 47--he got way more done as a senator than I think he ever would have as president.<br /><br />A flawed human being for sure, and MaryJo Kopeckne will never be forgotten. I do think that he was drunk that night, and that informed his decision making. Is that an excuse? No. But, I do think it allows us to see him in another way besides a monster who simply let her die. How many of us have been drunk like that and not really in control of ourselves?<br /><br />But as a senator, I think we will never see the likes of him again. He was from a generation that is now gone. A generation where if you were given riches, you had a duty to help others. People simply don't think that way today. If you are rich, you flaunt it and there is never enough. They simply want to amass more. Ted Kennedy wealth was one of the reasons he could be trusted as a senator. He couldn't be bought by a lobbyist--he had enough of his own.<br /><br />In looking at photos from the funeral, I was struck the the photograph below. A man, sitting alone and obviously early out of respect and reverence--waiting.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dTR6x0A9S7w/Spl2KHKobyI/AAAAAAAAAAM/sFqoNz8_2VE/s1600-h/JackTedKennedy.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 271px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dTR6x0A9S7w/Spl2KHKobyI/AAAAAAAAAAM/sFqoNz8_2VE/s400/JackTedKennedy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375457546337808162" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-29628515652464596882009-04-25T15:08:00.001-07:002009-04-25T15:09:34.195-07:00Bea ArthurI know we've got some fans hanging around - a sad day - <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jWJzbpz6W3uiITeCx7dd5OlB33DAD97POEBG0">Bea Arthur</a> has died. One of the coolest figures to ever grace a TV set, let's not kid ourselves...weepingsamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11885871104310819374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-56524490739229030482009-02-23T08:22:00.000-08:002009-02-23T08:30:55.290-08:00Dresses at the OscarsHi Guys: I hope you're all doing well. I'm so busy with school and Oona that I don't get here much, but when I do, you guys have always posted quality things that I enjoy reading. You guys really ARE the best discussion buddies. So insightful. . . .<br /><br />Anyway, you wanted my take on the Oscar dresses, right? You knew I'd come through.<br /><br />First of all, wasn't the show GOOD?? I loved Hugh Jackman (is there anything that man can't do? Talk about a triple threat.), and I also really loved the way they gave out the lead and supporting roles, with an actor for each nominee talking about them. What I really wonder though, is if it was their own words. Most were so heartfelt. One that was really wooden and empty was Halle Berry--does she feel for others? I thought it was an excellent show, and I really enjoyed it. Loved the musical numbers, except Beyonce. She's not that talented, and she's freekin' everywhere. Can't someone else sing?<br /><br />So, about the dresses. My pick? Peneolope Cruz, no one even close. She looked like a dream come true in vintage Balmain. A Spanish queen. She was simply lovely, lovely. So elegant. I have always found her to be stunningly beautiful and vastly talented. I am very happy for her win. Second place was Marisa Tomei in her origami Versace. That is a work of art walking, and she wore it well. Honestly, everyone else paled in comparision to these two. The few awful ones were Beyonce (she has to stop wearing her mother's clothes, even if this wasn't one of her mother's clothes) and Sophia Loren. Sophia Loren just made you cringe, it was so sad to see her looking so bad. Her stylist should be fired immediately. Everything was wrong. Everything.<br /><br />For the men, honestly, I feel sorry for them having to wear the same damned thing like a bunch of penguins. I wish they'd get a little risky and put a little color or something into their tuxes. Oh, well.<br /><br />This show was so good, I can't wait for next year.<br /><br />KarynUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-77326759552557245402009-02-20T17:29:00.000-08:002009-02-20T17:53:13.310-08:00Who Can Explain This?I should probably leave this alone - <a href="http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20259843,00.html?xid=rss-movies-25+greatest+active+film+directors">EW's 25 Greatest Active Film Directors</a>. (The <a href="http://obensonreport.blogspot.com/2009/02/print-entertainment-weekly-lists-top-25.html">Obenson Report</a>, for instance, provides a handy list version; <a href="http://weblogs.variety.com/thompsononhollywood/2009/02/top-25-active-directors-did-ew-get-it-right.html">Anne Thompson annotates</a>, for some reason.) <br /><br />I can't exactly say I'm offended by their choices. It's different. It's like - they are using words I recognize ("greatest" - "film" - "directors"), but they are using them in ways that are completely alien to me. It's not even just that they're just talking about Hollywood, or American, or whatever it is - because they have Almodovar on the list (and Del Toro, and Ang Lee, who split time...) So foreign languages are allowed... so - what? I can't imagine any definition of greatest, film, or director that involves Zach Snyder in any capacity. Judd Apatow? he's a director? Even "active" is a bit dubious when you look for James Cameron's last film... All of them ahead of Clint Eastwood! who at least made the list, which gives him the ups on David Lynch or Woody Allen or Spike Lee. I'm not going to pretend they're supposed to care about Godard or Wong Kar-wei or Manoel de Oliveira, aged 100 and going strong, or even Werner Herzog, who has became a fairly mainstream documentary director these days...<br /><br />So I don't know. I can't do anything with it but marvel. I'd have to add that I don't think I could muster a very good version of the list for myself - because it's harder than it looks to find ways to combine "greatest" and "active" in a meaningful way - how do you balance lifetime achievement, recent achievement, etc? Not to mention, how do you balance influence, maybe success, with the quality of the films (over the career or now.) All very difficult, unless you pile on the qualifiers.... <br /><br />The list, in case anyone wonders:<br /><br />1. Steven Spielberg<br />2. Peter Jackson<br />3. Martin Scorsese<br />4. Christopher Nolan<br />5. Steven Soderbergh<br />6. Ridley Scott<br />7. Quentin Tarantino<br />8. Michael Mann<br />9. James Cameron<br />10. Joel and Ethan Coen<br />11. Guillermo del Toro<br />12. David Fincher<br />13. Tim Burton<br />14. Judd Apatow<br />15. Sam Raimi<br />16. Zack Snyder<br />17. Darren Aronofsky<br />18. Danny Boyle<br />19. Clint Eastwood<br />20. Ron Howard<br />21. Ang Lee<br />22. Paul Thomas Anderson<br />23. Paul Greengrass<br />24. Pedro Almodóvar<br />25. Jon Favreauweepingsamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11885871104310819374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-31262090437117722482009-02-14T13:15:00.000-08:002009-02-14T13:16:49.802-08:00Random Movie Report: The Call of Cthulhu<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCprLQ-tjpwlg9Ejae6p2ULJgrhuMXEVTB9q9NzGpnSQqFBovll8S5meFWLW3iaGOmZDOYitA8G9MWi2643-giXLRLD1oJn-U0jugKJZiC041XKTK_s7zfzQcAsoKO1giEUl0G5Sz0A/s1600-h/51EyIRBANAL._SS500_.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCprLQ-tjpwlg9Ejae6p2ULJgrhuMXEVTB9q9NzGpnSQqFBovll8S5meFWLW3iaGOmZDOYitA8G9MWi2643-giXLRLD1oJn-U0jugKJZiC041XKTK_s7zfzQcAsoKO1giEUl0G5Sz0A/s320/51EyIRBANAL._SS500_.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302764952713954914" border="0" /></a><br />The movies have not been kind to H.P. Lovecraft; though he’s considered one of the most important horror writers of the last century (at least in English), there has yet to be a significant film adaptation of his work. The closest we’ve gotten so far is the psychedelic 60s version of THE DUNWICH HORROR and Stuart Gordon’s RE-ANIMATOR. The rest is direct to video trash, mostly, taking advantage of the dubious copyright status of Lovecraft’s work and paying little attention to what he was actually writing about. THE CALL OF CTHULHU is an interesting attempt to do right by the author, and a neat conceptual experiment overall; it’s a silent film, shot in the style of something from the late twenties, when the short story of the same name was published. Running at a mere 47 minutes, this not-quite-a-feature is surprisingly effective and atmospheric, though the retro filter does soften some of the impact.<br /><br /><span style="display: inline;" id="fullpost">Matt Foyer is the protagonist, a nameless man telling a nameless listener (John Bolen) about the discoveries he pieced together based on papers left by his deceased uncle (Ralph Lucas.) His story is divided into three acts. First we see his uncle’s contact with an artist suffering feverish dreams of an ancient city inhabited by an indescribably horrific being. These dreams, which inspire mad carvings, take place over the month of March 1925, when by coincidence a great earthquake is detected at sea. The second piece of the puzzle revolves around the uncle’s chance meeting with a police inspector who, decades ago, disrupted a mad human sacrifice ritual in the Louisiana bayou, perpetrated by cultists of the Great Old Ones, deities from the stars, and in particular the octopus-headed Cthulhu, who is said to wait slumbering in the lost city of R’lyeh. When the stars are right, he will rise, and humanity will be doomed. The third act tells of a ship lost at sea after a storm, and its crew attacked by cultists and stumbling upon a mysterious and uncharted island.<br /><br />My major concern going into this movie was that the silent movie approach was a pretty big gimmick, and it seemed like it had a chance of overwhelming the proceedings and not doing justice to the material as a result. Usually, horror works because it makes us believe in the horrible things it’s showing us, but the silent film inherently has an air of the unreal and artificial (for those of us who can hear, anyway.) Of course, silent films don’t get made much anymore and it’s hard to revive a lost art. On top of it all, this is a fan project, made by the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society, so there’s a high risk of kitsch and in-jokiness (there are a couple in the unskippable copyright warnings, but I'll let that slide.)<br /><br />Fortunately, the filmmakers insist on playing it straight and trying to make the film as good as it can be, given a low budget. It helps that they’re going for an Expressionist look similar to what was popular at the time; the sets are obviously sets and just a little plywoody, but it doesn’t matter because what they stand for is so clear. The only places where this approach falls down are in some overly stiff and pantomimed action sequences, and what we see of Cthulhu himself; the film takes care not to give us clear prolonged shots of the beast, which is a good approach seeing how much effort Lovecraft went to in describing the indescribable, but the stop-motion model we do see is a little spindly and roughly textured, not quite conveying the bulk or power of the beast.<br /><br />This is a pretty faithful adaptation, and the short length means they don’t feel compelled to pad out the story. There’s a good amount of dialogue and narrative text, but somehow the captions don’t feel like an intrusion as they often did in over-written silent films. The performers do a good job of emulating the heightened emotional style of silent acting without going over the top. All in all it’s a very well-balanced picture, and so succeeds at what must have been its primary goal of being really goddamn creepy. Perhaps a truly great Lovecraft adaptation is still yet to come, but this is defiinitely a film worth seeing.<br /><br />Based on the short story by H. P. Lovecraft<br />Screenplay by Sean Branney<br />Directed by Andrew Leman<br /><br />Grade: A-</span>Evan Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17263250766060234515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-41213661862201943432009-02-09T12:49:00.001-08:002009-02-09T12:51:09.119-08:00Top 10 of 2008 and Assorted Miscellany<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheJsXKSarfDHiTlH2qE7ksthndSMNaPxekquXukFauZj8u5wugE5VN4JBGXY6I3hzo6qO8DfA2h7qDZZIVG5qVdfXpMIf2WDAcjP2EzWKLl3pQrAuFUl7qiykQyusvEIYEz2GgWnCFXA/s1600-h/speed-racer-dec1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheJsXKSarfDHiTlH2qE7ksthndSMNaPxekquXukFauZj8u5wugE5VN4JBGXY6I3hzo6qO8DfA2h7qDZZIVG5qVdfXpMIf2WDAcjP2EzWKLl3pQrAuFUl7qiykQyusvEIYEz2GgWnCFXA/s320/speed-racer-dec1.jpg" alt="Speed Racer image found at Danimation.com" title="ART, people." id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300902608778934226" border="0" /></a><br />Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's the top 10 list that you may have been interested in a month ago. I like to take my time, but I've either seen or waited too long to see all the films I wanted to last year, so let's do this thing.<br /><br />As film years go, 2008 was, well, decent. Not bad, by any stretch, and with some interesting highs, just with some dry patches. It was, for whatever reason, a year when the blockbusters aimed for artistic glory and occasionally achieved it, but the holiday season was kind of anticlimactic and short on cheer. This was also a year in which we got two well-made dark comedies, which may tragically be a record. So here's how things shook out for me in the year of change, crisis, and I’ll try to think of something else starting with “C”:<br /><span style="display: inline;" id="fullpost"><br />1. WALL-E. Let’s stack this all up, shall we? Brilliant evocation of character through minimal dialogue and faces with limited expression, expert animation loaded with detail, a decidedly chipper take on dystopian sci-fi, an environmental message that isn’t the least bit judgemental or scolding, an affirmation of willingness to change, all topped with ultracute robots. Also, Fred Willard. We have a winner.<br /><br />2. THE DARK KNIGHT. A well-oiled engine of a crime thriller with the framing of the superhero genre and the spectacle of an action movie, managing to be a great example of all three. Heath Ledger reinterprets the Joker as a ragged genius who won’t be happy until everyone is as savage and destructive as he is, creating one of the most weirdly compelling villains seen in a long while. The story moves in unpredictable ways and defies obvious structures, the characters are never sure of themselves, the visuals are pristine, and the action isn’t nearly as confusing as it’s been made out to be. A triumph.<br /><br />3. SPEED RACER. Okay, show of hands, who anticipated this being half as good as it was? The Wachowskis take on a vintage Japanese cartoon known mostly for inspiring parodies on every animated show known to man, and create a visually dazzling and surprisingly heartfelt story of a family fighting the system. This is one of those fantasy films that wraps you in an inviting and tantalizing world which promises more awesome things than you can pick up at once, eschewing any kind of restraint in favor of ninja fighting and random appearances by Shaft. On top of that, it’s a nice reminder to modern filmmakers that it’s okay to have multiple colors on screen at one time.<br /><br />4. MILK. The energy, the dedication, and the urgency of the Seventies pro-gay movement all course through this film, placing the viewer at the center of a civil rights struggle that’s rarely given its proper place in history. Sean Penn captures Harvey Milk’s charisma and political acumen, while a splendid supporting cast help bring his world to life. Not quite up to THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK, but another take on the material is welcome.<br /><br />5. THE WRESTLER. This one has grown in my estimation since I first saw it, a sign of just how subtly effective the movie is. Mickey Rourke is a powerhouse, Marisa Tomei is beautifully conflicted, and the world of small ticket pro wrestling is rendered with brutal honesty and admiration. The more conventional parts of the story are made believable by Darren Aronofsky’s deliberate eschewing of obvious movie trickery and slow development of emotional intensity.<br /><br />6. IN BRUGES. Part black comedy, part morality play, part throwback to Hieronymous Bosch; this unique crime picture defies categorization but never ceases to entertain. It’s got a story that’s better constructed than it looks, actors who are putting in more effort than they seem to, and characters who may or may not be as damned as they think they are. Moving and hilarious in equal parts.<br /><br />7. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. The grimiest and most stylish of heartwarming indie crowd-pleasers; part of me wanted to declare the whole thing overrated and overhyped, but it’s simply too well-made to dismiss. The story may be simplistic, its portrayal of India inaccurate, and some of its elements underdeveloped, but it is the story being told and the filmmakers do a damn fine job telling it. And I really hope more films start doing closing dance numbers.<br /><br />8. BURN AFTER READING. The Coens follow up Oscar-winning respectable bleakness with an almost deliberately offputting farce that’s just as nihilistic, but has the courtesy to have a sense of humor about it. Like FARGO it focuses on people’s ability to let short term compulsions and a lack of critical thinking foil their ambition and make things very messy very quickly. As comedy it’s an unusual taste, but I couldn’t but laugh.<br /><br />9. PINEAPPLE EXPRESS. As overexploited as the “dumb white guys face the long-delayed onset of maturity” subgenre of comedy is becoming, I can’t help but appreciate the blending of this material with nostalgic callbacks to stoner comedies and 80s buddy pictures, complete with excessive gunplay and a theme song by Huey Lewis. The revelation that James Franco is a great comic performer helps catapult this onto higher ground, no pun intended.<br /><br />10. TROPIC THUNDER. Feels weird to put these two movies right next to each other, but there you go. A fun satire of the Hollywood movie machine and the actors caught in its gears, not pointing in any one direction but still funny and possessed of a manic energy. Inspired and strangely uplifting.<br /><br />Films I missed: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Waltz With Bashir, Doubt, Let The Right One In<br /><br />Most Underrated Film of the Year: SPEED RACER. There’s really no contest here; the Wachowskis labored to bring us a bouquet of sheer Technicolor joy, and it was tossed to the ground because... I don’t know. The dialogue scenes are kind of longish. The editing style takes some getting used to. Um, it’s based on an old cartoon. In the end it amounts to looking at Michaelangelo’s David and bitching about imperfections in the marble. You’d expect either the critics or the public to miss the point but both at once requires some spectacular bad fortune.<br /><br />Slight runner up though this one actually made some money and wasn’t slated that badly at first but Internet flaming reached really annoying proportions: INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL. I realize that suspension of disbelief has its limits but if your major point of contention with this film is that silly and implausible things happen in it, I wonder what genre you thought this picture was. (Also: CGI is not your enemy.)<br /><br />Saul Bass Honorary Award for Best Opening Credits Sequence: QUANTUM OF SOLACE. Thank God for the Bond series, otherwise I may not have bothered to give this out. (THE WRESTLER had a nice one too, though.)<br /><br />Worst Title of the Year: NICK AND NORAH’S INFINITE PLAYLIST. I know that was what the book was called, but seriously guys.<br /><br />Performances that impressed me (a forever incomplete list):<br /><br />Elissa Knight, WALL-E<br />Macintalk, WALL-E<br />Heath Ledger, THE DARK KNIGHT<br />Aaron Eckhart, THE DARK KNIGHT<br />Michael Caine, THE DARK KNIGHT<br />John Goodman, SPEED RACER<br />Dev Patel, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE<br />Anil Kapoor, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE<br />Sean Penn, MILK<br />Emile Hirsch, MILK<br />James Franco, MILK<br />James Franco, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS<br />Mickey Rourke, THE WRESTLER<br />Marissa Tomei, THE WRESTLER<br />Colin Farrell, IN BRUGES<br />Brendan Gleeson, IN BRUGES<br />Ralph Fiennes, IN BRUGES<br />Robert Downey, Jr., IRON MAN<br />Gwyneth Paltrow, IRON MAN<br />Jeff Bridges, IRON MAN (in a cave with a box of scraps)<br />Frances McDormand, BURN AFTER READING<br />John Malkovich, BURN AFTER READING<br />George Clooney, BURN AFTER READING<br />J. K. Simmons, BURN AFTER READING<br />Frank Langella, FROST/NIXON<br />Michael Sheen, FROST/NIXON<br />Tina Fey, BABY MAMA<br />Amy Poehler, BABY MAMA<br />Robert Downey, Jr., TROPIC THUNDER<br />Daniel Craig, QUANTUM OF SOLACE<br />Gemma Arterton, QUANTUM OF SOLACE<br /><br />... “crashes!” That’s it!<br /><br />What was I trying to do that for again?<br /></span> <span style="display: none;" id="showlink"> <p><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="'javascript:showFull(">Read More...</a></p> </span> <span id="hidelink" style="display: inline;"> <p><br /></p></span>Evan Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17263250766060234515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-60118570060322886112009-01-22T22:39:00.001-08:002009-01-22T22:41:46.925-08:00Oscar Nom Nom Noms<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp_erZy069mBLOreaZESDfG2gUGJdtZPy1JESKrZkvLv7DuEXoiv6qeoTCFCilkdcxtKmdBw5I2FUVyR8efx9P_T2oxhFzLD1q-pyGmgNBb_a1Kw1ZLkWQcdzwB_gbqM8I5nfT_fM3Kg/s1600-h/wall-e_2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 302px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp_erZy069mBLOreaZESDfG2gUGJdtZPy1JESKrZkvLv7DuEXoiv6qeoTCFCilkdcxtKmdBw5I2FUVyR8efx9P_T2oxhFzLD1q-pyGmgNBb_a1Kw1ZLkWQcdzwB_gbqM8I5nfT_fM3Kg/s320/wall-e_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294375279579971602" border="0" /></a><br />The <a href="http://talkingmoviezzz.blogspot.com/2009/01/oscar-nominees-are.html">Oscar Nominations are in</a>, and as usual, they’re kind of disappointing. The Academy has long taken the position that it’s better to mildly disappoint everyone instead of really outraging anyone, and while genre fans will most likely be rightfully pissed at THE DARK KNIGHT not getting a nod for Best Picture or Director, that’s actually not the biggest sin. Now, I haven’t seen some of these movies just yet and I have yet to post my finished review of dark horse/favorite SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (short version: It’s really good), but I feel qualified to rant on some of these.<br /><br />As mentioned above, THE DARK KNIGHT did not get a Best Picture nomination. It was a bit of an outside shot, but definitely worthy, so it’s disappointing but not outrageous. However, the big prize also passed over WALL-E, one of the very best films from the consistently awesome Pixar and so, by definition, better than anything you could possibly have seen last year.<br /><br />Both snubs have their reasons. THE DARK KNIGHT is a superhero movie, and it made lots of money so it technically doesn’t need Oscar validation. WALL-E also was reasonably popular, but more importantly, it has a nomination and almost certain win in the Best Animated Picture category. I kind of approved of that category back when it meant that SPIRITED AWAY got an Oscar, but now it’s clear that it’s just an excuse for the Academy to avoid the seeming indignity of giving Best Picture to a cartoon. It’s the first step towards a Grammy-style segregation of genres, and further dilutes the chance of animated features actually getting the full recognition they deserve. Imagine if there had been a “Best Comedy Feature” category when ANNIE HALL was up for nominations.<br /><br />There’s also THE WRESTLER, which I need to see, but given how positive the reviews have been I’m starting to wonder just who Darren Aronofsky has pissed off in the business.<br /><br />In the outside track, we instead have THE READER, which may well be a fine picture, but with a Metacritic score of 58 (RottenTomatoes lists no score due to some technical error on their part) it’s hardly a critical darling. And, you always hate to bring this up, but it is a Holocaust movie and you wonder if it wasn’t chosen simply because the subject matter was worthy. I’m also not really sure why THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON is such a favorite, seeing as its reception has generally been warm rather than superheated.<br /><br />Also, can I just say how incredibly unbelievably bored I am by the nominations for Best Art Direction? This is a category that’s been a problem for a while, because the people who nominate films for it consistently show a bias towards meticulously researched costume dramas over any other kind of movie. Some of the films that have NOT won Best Art Direction include BLADE RUNNER, THE WIZARD OF OZ, BRAZIL, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, THE FIFTH ELEMENT, FORBIDDEN PLANET, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, any of the Universal horror films, anything by David Lynch, anything by Terry Gilliam, an entire host of imaginative creative work passed over in favor of recreation. Don’t get me wrong, the challenge of expressing creativity and arranging images within the bounds and conventions of an established period is significant, but surely setting those bounds and conventions yourself is also challenging. WALL-E was a triumph of design and composition, and the same can be said of SPEED RACER, HELLBOY II, and arguably SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE despite the high levels of location work involved.<br /><br />Finally, though this is another film I have to get around to seeing, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN was not nominated for Best Foreign Film despite a swarm of good reviews. The reason, yet again, is that its country of origin, Sweden, didn’t submit it on time, and apparently it didn’t even play theaters there in time to make the cutoff. Between this and the CITY OF GOD fiasco, I think it’s clear that we shouldn’t let the countries decide for us what movies we should look at, and just pick the best from the entire world market.<br /><br />There were some pleasant surprises- Robert Downey Jr. won a Best Supporting Actor nomination for a great comic performance in TROPIC THUNDER, though the late Heath Ledger is almost certain to win. (It’s always a shame when an acting award is a foregone conclusion, though it’s tragically inevitable here.) Amy Adams also gets another nod, and though I haven’t seen DOUBT I’m sure she deserves it because she is cool. IN BRUGES gets a screenplay nod, and though it deserves more it’s a miracle the Academy even remembers it was released last year. Still, I have a feeling that Hugh Jackman will have to work hard to liven up these proceedings.<br /><br />But then, it wouldn’t be the Oscars if they didn’t frequently get things horribly wrong, now, would it?Evan Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17263250766060234515noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-38470702447624135632009-01-19T11:44:00.001-08:002009-01-19T12:06:08.142-08:00I'm HelpingNew Neko Case material is always a reason to celebrate. Her latest single, 'People Got a Lotta Nerve', has been released on the interwebs. It's a quick, infectious ditty that I think is either about men who demonize strong women, or about how Steve Irwin had it coming.<br /><br />Evidence to support Theory B: for every blog that posts the song, Neko's record label donates 5 bucks to the Best Friend Animal Society. So here it is:<br /><br /><div style="width:300px;"><object width="300" height="110"><param name="movie" value="http://media.imeem.com/m/V2M2d8b4D1/aus=false/"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://media.imeem.com/m/V2M2d8b4D1/aus=false/" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="300" height="110" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><div style="background-color:#E6E6E6;padding:1px;"><div style="float:left;padding:4px 4px 0 0;"><a href="http://www.imeem.com/"><img src="http://www.imeem.com/embedsearch/E6E6E6/" border="0" /></a></div><form method="post" action="http://www.imeem.com/embedsearch/" style="margin:0;padding:0;"><input type="text" name="EmbedSearchBox" /><input type="submit" value="Search" style="font-size:12px;" /><div style="padding-top:3px;"><a href="http://ads.imeem.com/ads/banneradclick.ashx?ep=0&ek=V2M2d8b4D1"><img src="http://ads.imeem.com/ads/bannerad/152/10/" border="0" /></a><a href="http://ads.imeem.com/ads/banneradclick.ashx?ep=1&ek=V2M2d8b4D1"><img src="http://ads.imeem.com/ads/bannerad/153/10/" border="0" /></a><a href="http://ads.imeem.com/ads/banneradclick.ashx?ep=2&ek=V2M2d8b4D1"><img src="http://ads.imeem.com/ads/bannerad/154/10/" border="0" /></a><a href="http://ads.imeem.com/ads/banneradclick.ashx?ep=3&ek=V2M2d8b4D1"><img src="http://ads.imeem.com/ads/bannerad/155/10/V2M2d8b4D1/" border="0" /></a></div></form></div></div><br/><a href="http://www.imeem.com/nekocase/music/4qP2w2HM/neko_case_people_got_a_lotta_nerve/">People Got A Lotta Nerve - Neko Case</a><br /><br />This is from her album 'Middle Cyclone', out on March 3. I can't wait. Digging around on YouTube, one can find some poor-quality iPhone camera footage of Neko performing new material, such as this:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1_QDUJMuJ2k&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1_QDUJMuJ2k&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Sounds good to me! I'm biased; Neko's been my favorite singer since I purchased half of her albums the day after a friend played the song 'Deep Red Bells' for me. I can't talk about music with much authority -- I don't have the vocabulary for it -- but Neko's the rare singer for me whose lyrics, melodies and arrangements are equally powerful in their own right. I listen to the same song multiple times to focus on each element separately. Also doesn't hurt that she has a preternaturally beautiful singing voice. She packs more meaning into a two minute song than most artists have in their entire output. I'm gushing.<br /><br />Here she is performing my favorite song, 'Knock Loud':<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/y0CpPS2cwKE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/y0CpPS2cwKE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />And for those who wish for the polished studio sound, here's 'Deep Red Bells' played over someone's personal camcorder footage (ignore that part):<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0DPfrOv4fqM&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0DPfrOv4fqM&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Mike Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618828720030868498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-19663739086764097652009-01-13T18:12:00.000-08:002009-01-13T19:00:58.633-08:00New Year's Resolutions, Only Two Weeks in<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghLWPgVrErl-_wTd0tmFxa-Eqf_x0BFFd24h_S_peLTBLtesgeBfx38OuR1JxOWl58-vBWPrfRhmwlJyxpVJAb-niXnmVKl7SBCcSJPoc_cXQPMNszAY5BWaz1d5YiKLosCzTKo8WWGk0/s1600-h/Writing.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghLWPgVrErl-_wTd0tmFxa-Eqf_x0BFFd24h_S_peLTBLtesgeBfx38OuR1JxOWl58-vBWPrfRhmwlJyxpVJAb-niXnmVKl7SBCcSJPoc_cXQPMNszAY5BWaz1d5YiKLosCzTKo8WWGk0/s320/Writing.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290978437135332050" /></a><br /><br />Back at the beginning of the year, Adam Ross at DVD Panache made up a <a href="http://dvdpanache.blogspot.com/2008/12/new-year-movie-resolution-meme.html">meme</a> - nine movie related resolutions for 2009. Ah yes. Our very own Moviezzz got tagged, and actually <a href="http://talkingmoviezzz.blogspot.com/2008/12/end-of-2008-and-resolutions.html">did it</a> - which is certainly more than I can say about the last couple times I've been tagged for things. Meanwhile, <a href="http://evanwaters.blogspot.com/2009/01/2009-jupiter-and-beyond.html">Evan</a> did his own resolution post - last week now... we're two weeks into the freaking year... I have stopped writing 2008 EVERY time I write the year...<br /><br />Anyway: I am a resolution maker, of sorts - though most years it amounts to, spend less money, eat more greens, see more movies and post more often... no exceptions this year I guess. But - in the spirit of film, discussion, Making a Clean Start to the Year, and the End of the Decade (ooh! lists!), I shall now undertake this very meme for your reading and perhaps discussing pleasure! <br /><br />Nine film (and blogging) resolutions:<br /><br />1. As every year - aim to watch at least 250 movies. That's a good number.<br />2. Turn over a Netflix film every week. MOre if possible. This is a bad habit - letting them sit there for a month at a time... this would not be so bad except for the next resolution - <br />3. Watch the DVDs I buy. Just found a used copy of <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0102816/">Centre Stage</a>! Maggie Cheung! at her youthful finest! Will I ever watch it? will I at least attach a screen cap to this post?<br />4. Take a film class - I miss writing about films where there's something at stake - I need the discipline now and then. With luck, the discipline translates to more general writing - and more posting - with luck...<br />5. Speaking of which - post 3 times a week - make at least one of them substantive. This should be such an easy target - yet I go ages without posting anything worth the trouble. Alas! The brain is a muscle - if you do not use it, it becomes flabby and weak! etc. <br />6. Comment 3 times a week - or something like that. Enter conversations! post, comment, whatnot, here! and elsewhere! [I have not, contrary to appearances, resolved to use more exclamation points. There may be <a href="http://hcl.harvard.edu/hfa/films/2009janfeb/mackendrick.html#whisky">spiritual influences</a> at work, however.]<br />7. Make things - films or videos maybe - whether this means vlogs or animations or home videos or <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0799934/">swedes</a>, make them, post them. Before the the <a href="http://alsolikelife.com/shooting/?p=955">Lawyers</a> arrive en masse especially if there's sweding involved.<br />8. do Piper's <a href="http://lazyeyetheatre.blogspot.com/2008/01/my-dinner-with-blank-meme.html">dinner with X meme</a> he tagged me with sometime back in the 90s, I think it was. In an ideal world, this would combine with #7. More likely, this will be part of my 46 resolutions for 2046 post....<br />9. Rather than another blogging resolution (which might get me to 46, before I'm done) - try this: go to an out of town film festival. NY - Toronto - something. Takes some planning, and some money, but - something like that. This or leave the country. For a while anyway. On principal. <br /><br />I guess that's it. If anyone want to feel tagged - go for it! For Maggie's sake...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1yV6n8GWKGfL6ihO96wcMMUZIYmTOReh0BkkDIKcWqchK-xJqDP9jeUdgn4oJ2bgK8RRDsCGFy4MV-RS_dw5CprEsQR04J98E1bQPqZMvBCzpTrcZJrWB_GMgRRkSl10AKiDQ0KZ_tBs/s1600-h/Maggie.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1yV6n8GWKGfL6ihO96wcMMUZIYmTOReh0BkkDIKcWqchK-xJqDP9jeUdgn4oJ2bgK8RRDsCGFy4MV-RS_dw5CprEsQR04J98E1bQPqZMvBCzpTrcZJrWB_GMgRRkSl10AKiDQ0KZ_tBs/s320/Maggie.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290978612332962258" /></a>weepingsamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11885871104310819374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-68200564723858123072009-01-08T08:36:00.000-08:002009-01-08T08:40:38.204-08:00Hi & "Best Taglines EVER"Hi Everyone! On winter break, so I can actually read and post a little bit here. I hope everyone is well. (I do miss the social aspect of our old posting sites. . . .) I thought you'd enjoy this article as much as I did. Original found at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/07/DD7B153UOO.DTL&type=movies.<br /><br /><div class="articleheadings"> <div class="headlines"> <h1>Peter Hartlaub Pop Culture</h1> <h2>Drink from me and live forever - the art of the movie tagline</h2> </div> <p class="byline"><a href="mailto:phartlaub@sfchronicle.com">Peter Hartlaub</a></p> <p class="date">Wednesday, January 7, 2009</p> </div><!--/.articleheadings --> <!-- types/article/articletools.tmpl --> <div class="tools tools_top"> <div class="hr"><hr /></div></div><div id="bodytext_top" class="bodytext bodytext_top"><div id="fontprefs_top" class="georgia md"><p><em>When he pours, he reigns.</em></p> <p><em></em>I remember the first time I noticed a tagline for a Tom Cruise film, on an advertisement for his 1988 bottle-flipping bartender romance "Cocktail." From that moment on, I became a lifelong fan - not of Cruise's acting but of the snippets of text that appear on his movie posters.</p> </div></div> <div id="articlebox"> <div class="hr"><hr />There was <em>Cruise like Thunder</em> for "Days of Thunder," <em>Drink from me and live forever </em>promoting "Interview With a Vampire" and <em>Expect the impossible ... again </em>for "Mission Impossible II." And even as the actor's career continues into the 21st century, he can still bring it. <em>Many saw evil ... they dared to stop it </em>on the poster of the current release "Valkyrie" isn't as overwrought or self-referential as Cruise's best work. But it's still the product of a man who, after more than a quarter century in the business, is near the top of his game.</div> <!-- /templates/types/article/object_lib.tmpl --> <!-- end /templates/types/article/object_lib.tmpl --></div> <p>Taglines are the promotional lines for a film, usually anywhere from a few words to three sentences in length, that appear on movie posters and other advertising. They're often more entertaining than the film itself. I haven't paid to see a Steven Seagal film in a theater since 1995, but I eagerly await each of his taglines, which remain among the best in the business. </p> <p>Taglines are also proof that in the minds of Hollywood marketing executives, the IQ of the average moviegoer is about 63. Either that or the IQ of the average tagline writer is 63. How else to explain this sentence on the poster of the 1977 movie "Suspiria": <em>The only thing more terrifying than the last 12 minutes of this film are the first 92. </em>Or this gem, from the 1982 action film "Silent Rage": <em>Science created him. Now Chuck Norris must destroy him.</em> Other taglines seem painfully obvious (See "The Matrix Revolutions") or intentionally cryptic. I'm still trying to figure out what this tagline means, from the 1998 film "Urban Legends": <em>It happened to someone who knows someone you know ... you're next. </em></p> <p>Not all taglines are campy or laughable or just plain bad. Lines such as <em>Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water </em>and <em>They're back</em> remain part of the lexicon decades after everyone has forgotten the bad sequels that spurred them. (New journalism rule: Every time a lazy columnist, blogger or editor in the American media uses a variation of "They're ba-aaack," he or she gets a week's suspension without pay.)</p> <p>But all too often, it would be better to say nothing at all. Sequels in particular seem to get the most negligent tagline treatment. Search on IMDb.com and you can find more than two dozen sequels where the tagline writer did nothing more than add "... again!" to a line from the original film. A sampling: </p> <p>"Hellbound: Hellraiser II": <em>It will tear your soul apart ... again!</em></p> <p>"Home Alone 3": <em>It's bad news for bad guys .... again. </em></p> <p>"Alien 3": <em>Start running .... again.</em></p> <p>"Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh": <em>Dare you say his name 5 times ... again!</em></p> <p>"Poltergeist III": <em>They're back ... again.</em></p> <p><em></em>Academy Award-caliber movies tend to play it safe with their marketing. Still, there's little relation between the quality of a movie and its corresponding tagline. There was absolutely nothing good about the 1986 Sylvester Stallone movie "Cobra" except the tagline, <em>Crime is a disease. He's the cure</em>. If you look at the 11 films on my all-time-best tagline list accompanying this article, six were panned by critics.</p> <p>But there are definitely good years and good eras for taglines. Despite a few memorable entries ("The Happening": <em>We've sensed it. We've seen the signs. Now ... it's happening</em>), the year 2008 doesn't match up with anything in the late 1980s, when Arnold Schwarzenegger, Patrick Swayze, Stallone and Cruise were each good for at least one memorable tagline per year. </p> <p>And there are good and bad tagline actors. Tom Hanks may have more Oscars, but his taglines will never be as awesome as Swayze's.</p> <p><em>The dancing's over. Now it gets dirty.</em> </p> <p>Now, if that doesn't make you rush home and put "Road House" in your DVD player, nothing will.</p> <p> </p> <h3 style="">The best taglines </h3> <p>Here are my choices for the all-time-best taglines, judged for their ability to sell the movie, not for campiness or so-bad-it's-good qualities. I was born in the 1970s and watch a lot of bad science fiction and horror films, so your picks might differ. Add your favorites to the online version of this story at SFGate.com.</p> <p><strong>"Texas Chain Saw Massacre"</strong> (1974): <em>Who will survive and what will be left of them?</em></p> <p><em></em></p><p><strong>"Rocky"</strong> (1976): <em>His whole life was a million-to-one shot</em></p> <p><em></em></p><p><em> </em></p> <p><em> </em><strong>"Jaws 2"</strong> (1978): <em>Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water ...</em></p> <p><em></em></p><p><strong>"Alien"</strong> (1979): <em>In space, no one can hear you scream</em></p> <p><em></em></p><p><em> </em></p> <p><em> </em><strong>"This Is Spinal Tap"</strong> (1984): <em>"Does for rock and roll what "The Sound of Music" did for hills</em></p> <p><em></em></p><p><em> </em></p> <p><em> </em><strong>"Poltergeist II: The Other Side"</strong> (1986): <em>They're back</em></p> <p><em></em></p><p><strong>"Jaws: The Revenge"</strong> (1987): <em>This time, it's personal</em></p> <p><em></em></p><p><strong>"Predator 2"</strong> (1990): <em>He's in town with a few days to kill</em></p> <p><em></em></p><p><em> </em></p> <p><strong>"Army of Darkness"</strong> (1992):<em> Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas.</em></p> <p><em></em></p><p><em> </em></p> <p><em> </em><strong>"Volcano"</strong> (1997): <em>The coast is toast</em></p> <p><em></em></p><p><em> </em></p> <p><em> </em><strong>"Monster's Inc."</strong> (2001): <em>You won't believe your eye</em></p> <p><em></em></p><p><em> </em></p> <p style="">- Peter Hartlaub </p><p> </p> <p class="dtlcomment">E-mail Peter Hartlaub at <a href="mailto:phartlaub@sfchronicle.com">phartlaub@sfchronicle.com</a>.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-21438745313079874962009-01-04T18:30:00.000-08:002009-01-04T20:29:16.418-08:002008 Lists<span style="font-weight: bold;">FILM</span><br /><br />It's a confusing year for top ten lists. Two of my favorites of the decade, <span style="font-style: italic;">Flight of the Red Balloon</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Silent Light</span>, were on my 2007 list, but keep appearing on '08 lists. The paltry distribution most foreign films received outside of film festivals are leaving critics confused as to whether some of their favorites qualify as '08 releases. I've decided not to be shackled by silly rules. No one's gonna whip me for including a film on my list that I saw at a film festival, are they? The following ten films were seen by me, one way or another, in a movie theater during 2008:<br /><br />10. <span style="font-style: italic;">Gran Torino</span> (dir. Clint Eastwood)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWqr86ouBgY6JL3Pu9Qiy8x34Ij3eAlTUV1asaFjaK7TCJgN5Q5ZJw4sAfjIDnnkqX_3rwc5yglF_eh6mV5qLUV4eVXxNthXKbJ3YOwa-xr_rNKb1MPLHLuJx_bUpNTuar6ECtMdHJw2L/s1600-h/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagran.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWqr86ouBgY6JL3Pu9Qiy8x34Ij3eAlTUV1asaFjaK7TCJgN5Q5ZJw4sAfjIDnnkqX_3rwc5yglF_eh6mV5qLUV4eVXxNthXKbJ3YOwa-xr_rNKb1MPLHLuJx_bUpNTuar6ECtMdHJw2L/s400/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagran.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287632549470551458" border="0" /></a><br />9. <span style="font-style: italic;">La France</span> (dir. Serge Bozon)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvLDVcm1s1KMsYw6fwCoRieo9wad7SDNmcziBCCAD-SR3hT26IlrPJ2GMrr6m7sVb3XLh6z4ZjlTd_64dGVSdQUEr0LbYNMkbAeN7nZ5awCXltXA1GHp6mL2fNQ74PTrW7gD6IFxajiGcC/s1600-h/aaaaaaaaaaaaalafrance.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvLDVcm1s1KMsYw6fwCoRieo9wad7SDNmcziBCCAD-SR3hT26IlrPJ2GMrr6m7sVb3XLh6z4ZjlTd_64dGVSdQUEr0LbYNMkbAeN7nZ5awCXltXA1GHp6mL2fNQ74PTrW7gD6IFxajiGcC/s400/aaaaaaaaaaaaalafrance.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287633092095024722" border="0" /></a>Set during World War I and inspired by the early war films of Samuel Fuller, Bozon follows a troop of French soldiers through the countryside, joined by a woman in drag (the incomparable Sylvie Testud) searching for her husband. They walk, they fight, and the men occasionally burst into songs sung from a female perspective. When motives are revealed and a distinct aimlessness to the journey becomes apparent, the film begins to feel like a vision of purgatory. Weird and fascinating in the best possible ways.<br /><br /><br />8. <span style="font-style: italic;">My Blueberry Nights</span> (dir. Wong Kar Wai)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Y3NPiOm3e5m8NLBDpAcxTJ8YrmBmTJDjWuih6vxeomKl8cYkaV08O2e_ksq59MoCIRAZgsnPEGjU8nDTkxeg0t9KJatn9B6bjD4kcFWe5XfxdKtA_XQ4BSyMZU55_3FCTeHTkOFaMLcm/s1600-h/MY_BLUEBERRY_NIGHTS-0.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Y3NPiOm3e5m8NLBDpAcxTJ8YrmBmTJDjWuih6vxeomKl8cYkaV08O2e_ksq59MoCIRAZgsnPEGjU8nDTkxeg0t9KJatn9B6bjD4kcFWe5XfxdKtA_XQ4BSyMZU55_3FCTeHTkOFaMLcm/s400/MY_BLUEBERRY_NIGHTS-0.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287633963733255138" border="0" /></a><br />7. <span style="font-style: italic;">Transsiberian</span> (dir. Brad Anderson)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv4c0ij-lOuZX7XVZFebYSpZmhyphenhyphens0mTnc9Ch8Q6Z9n5HckD5JnDhlGDghT4HGry4-ZzZEbZutZa6GkTy5byv51gFTGNSUigUi6-l3Gq1bTLhu0OVv9g8O1EmsRSubQDG5NL6on1LF5WnZh/s1600-h/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaTranssiberian03.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv4c0ij-lOuZX7XVZFebYSpZmhyphenhyphens0mTnc9Ch8Q6Z9n5HckD5JnDhlGDghT4HGry4-ZzZEbZutZa6GkTy5byv51gFTGNSUigUi6-l3Gq1bTLhu0OVv9g8O1EmsRSubQDG5NL6on1LF5WnZh/s400/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaTranssiberian03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287634882101683330" border="0" /></a><br />6. <span style="font-style: italic;">Encounters at the End of the World</span> (dir. Werner Herzog)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6CiU7Y4C2Wa-VYZAclMsTKoPtN0oeErhlU_7DMEfLhEFQQDK9Y1zqDu6iuIgT-X0LypdKQ93T5TU3PuF5Nqh6mjuOd67QZhrfGrKXCQqAYgI1ZlsPLlYLQ-B2l9R_-fZ8RlmGgcryd1J/s1600-h/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaencounters_at_the_end_of_the_world_movie_image_werner_herzog__2_.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6CiU7Y4C2Wa-VYZAclMsTKoPtN0oeErhlU_7DMEfLhEFQQDK9Y1zqDu6iuIgT-X0LypdKQ93T5TU3PuF5Nqh6mjuOd67QZhrfGrKXCQqAYgI1ZlsPLlYLQ-B2l9R_-fZ8RlmGgcryd1J/s400/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaencounters_at_the_end_of_the_world_movie_image_werner_herzog__2_.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287635550282622610" border="0" /></a><br />5. <span style="font-style: italic;">Tulpan</span> (dir. Sergei Dvortsevoy)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFJ8fUkc6kmYXwKTfqnsTZq55eHonKeb-b5Xj6CTbr9UbI1IETYklK8QWlZ7NSKknU4K6GIfOrJVs-TUjyY9TS9xKlNwqcS-Rrg_peugNki_xe9vQJ7XP5Hpjgym_JM59Wha17U4FLquWI/s1600-h/10301-tulpan.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFJ8fUkc6kmYXwKTfqnsTZq55eHonKeb-b5Xj6CTbr9UbI1IETYklK8QWlZ7NSKknU4K6GIfOrJVs-TUjyY9TS9xKlNwqcS-Rrg_peugNki_xe9vQJ7XP5Hpjgym_JM59Wha17U4FLquWI/s400/10301-tulpan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287636561112212930" border="0" /></a>Life on a steppe in Kazakhstan may not sound like an exciting subject for a film, but in my mind, there was no moment more thrilling in 2008 cinema than watching a mother camel wailing in despair as she chased after a jeep that drove off with her injured child<span style="font-style: italic;"></span>. A close second would be seeing a baby sheep born in one long take. Then there are the awesome lightning storms, miniature tornadoes, and the little girl who sings at the top of her lungs to defy her father. Dvortsevoy's film focuses on sensitive sailor Asa's attempts to woo the titular bachelorette, one of a handful of women available to marry on the steppe. A broader scope and a deeply felt outlook on life develop thanks to the documentary style and constant, welcome peeks into the day-to-day goings on in the life of a Kazakh sheepherder. Not to be missed.<br /><br /><br />4. <span style="font-style: italic;">Shotgun Stories</span> (dir. Jeff Nichols)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_NytCSQ5B3JmxFRV-rhik2sEOYG1GaiSc_gjCm5W1D3Y6JBCS8wqt0ZQow_3HE8gD_AKfmxo7pXlNO6xXi9O0UaOwPoOoq0Yav7Y5hWo-QjpAikCjTgBKjU-VQw57UTIP1eb__8GvOeLY/s1600-h/SHOTGUN+STORIES.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_NytCSQ5B3JmxFRV-rhik2sEOYG1GaiSc_gjCm5W1D3Y6JBCS8wqt0ZQow_3HE8gD_AKfmxo7pXlNO6xXi9O0UaOwPoOoq0Yav7Y5hWo-QjpAikCjTgBKjU-VQw57UTIP1eb__8GvOeLY/s400/SHOTGUN+STORIES.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287637157760074338" border="0" /></a><br />3. <span style="font-style: italic;">WALL-E</span> (dir. Andrew Stanton)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_o-KgF8GjUR0z4M5qd5C-LJ09nDQ9rpZaVd0I2DLLUc2hyexKdjBDU8cCjx8T-_2hozXVlqBraNYAFHYLHO24jInSDJSrsHp8ttJhCcydHfopyVaFxi820E1WWrZQy-UolIkX_XEQCwj8/s1600-h/111wall-e-4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_o-KgF8GjUR0z4M5qd5C-LJ09nDQ9rpZaVd0I2DLLUc2hyexKdjBDU8cCjx8T-_2hozXVlqBraNYAFHYLHO24jInSDJSrsHp8ttJhCcydHfopyVaFxi820E1WWrZQy-UolIkX_XEQCwj8/s400/111wall-e-4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287637743678779042" border="0" /></a><br />2. <span style="font-style: italic;">Happy-Go-Lucky</span> (dir. Mike Leigh)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWK_7hDPtMJ1niyQWAjc50YihPK7lsSxql2IVgYggZMbGtwx4DRErKEtEgjfTVowzPYqnhs3B0tNPy3BNNr_mIXHcCsodckb9W2mn-5TDz8qpCnB_hAevE2bP9Gt6YoOWN4-oDETG_Uu0-/s1600-h/001happy-go-lucky-8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWK_7hDPtMJ1niyQWAjc50YihPK7lsSxql2IVgYggZMbGtwx4DRErKEtEgjfTVowzPYqnhs3B0tNPy3BNNr_mIXHcCsodckb9W2mn-5TDz8qpCnB_hAevE2bP9Gt6YoOWN4-oDETG_Uu0-/s400/001happy-go-lucky-8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287638803377534162" border="0" /></a><br />1. <span style="font-style: italic;">Synecdoche, New York</span> (dir. Charlie Kaufman)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwQPi5BSssrQl8ZN8eSxD2uO84VHCxnBMTEdXoa1RbUSG1MZJ3IjTiwKSL2Y3taB-VQX-Fpo-jNYLhngtApcnRO6Siqd3FS4iC9jglM-CdNMtzHKrY1KLm_0-5LjyLtTDyQZvNshBnb1v8/s1600-h/000synecdoche460.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwQPi5BSssrQl8ZN8eSxD2uO84VHCxnBMTEdXoa1RbUSG1MZJ3IjTiwKSL2Y3taB-VQX-Fpo-jNYLhngtApcnRO6Siqd3FS4iC9jglM-CdNMtzHKrY1KLm_0-5LjyLtTDyQZvNshBnb1v8/s400/000synecdoche460.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287640069678662114" border="0" /></a><br />My Fantasy Acting Award Nominations:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Actor</span><br /><br />Clint Eastwood, <span style="font-style: italic;">Gran Torino</span><br />Michael Shannon, <span style="font-style: italic;">Shotgun Stories</span><br />Mickey Rourke, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wrestler</span><br />Sean Penn, <span style="font-style: italic;">Milk</span><br />Chiwetel Ejiofor, <span style="font-style: italic;">Redbelt</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Actress</span><br /><br />Sally Hawkins, <span style="font-style: italic;">Happy-Go-Lucky</span><br />Emily Mortimer, <span style="font-style: italic;">Transsiberian</span><br />Rebecca Hall, <span style="font-style: italic;">Vicky Cristina Barcelona</span><br />Meryl Streep, <span style="font-style: italic;">Doubt</span><br />Michelle Williams, <span style="font-style: italic;">Wendy and Lucy<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Supporting Actor</span><br /><br />Michael Shannon, <span style="font-style: italic;">Revolutionary Road</span><br />James Franco, <span style="font-style: italic;">Pineapple Express</span><br />Josh Brolin & Emile Hirsch, <span style="font-style: italic;">Milk</span><br />Brad Pitt & Richard Jenkins, <span style="font-style: italic;">Burn After Reading<br /></span><span>Eddie Marsan</span><span style="font-style: italic;">, Happy-Go-Lucky<br /></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Supporting Actress</span><br /><br />Viola Davis, <span style="font-style: italic;">Doubt</span><br />Dianne Weist, <span style="font-style: italic;">Synecdoche, New York</span><br />Hanna Schygulla, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Edge of Heaven</span><br />Vera Farmiga, <span style="font-style: italic;">Quid Pro Quo</span><br />Frances McDormand, <span style="font-style: italic;">Burn After Reading<br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">MUSIC<br /><br /></span>Rather than list my favorite albums of the year, I'm gonna give you a little tracklisting of the songs I had on repeat throughout 2008. I'd appreciate you doing the same, as I'm always looking for new tracks on the mp3. No particular order of preference:<br /><br />1. "You'll Find a Way", Santogold<br />2. "Family Tree", TV on the Radio<br />3. "The Rip", Portishead<br />4. "Acid Tongue", Jenny Lewis<br />5. "Up!", M83<br />6. "Kids", MGMT<br />7. "Human", The Killers<br />8. "L.E.S. Artistes", Santogold<br />9. "Too Late", M83<br />10. "Things Ain't Like They Used To Be", The Black Keys<br />11. "Don't Hold Me Close", Spiritualized<br />12. "Valerie Plame", The Decemberists<br />13. "Buzzer", Dar Williams<br />14. "Panama", The Cat Empire<br />15. "You, Me & the Bourgeoisie", The Submarines<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>Mike Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618828720030868498noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-73920209299169016302008-12-21T15:51:00.000-08:002008-12-28T17:42:50.431-08:0020 ActressesIn my fine tradition of lagging far behind the blogging pack, I'm just now ready to participate in the '20 Favorite Actresses' meme started at <a href="http://filmexperience.blogspot.com/2008/12/where-my-heart-lies-and-yours.html">The Film Experience</a>. I love a good excuse to dip into my pool of collected screengrabs (17 of the following 20 images came from my hard drive), and even though I could probably list 20 different names tomorrow, today it's the following ladies that entertain, awe and fascinate me the most, even if some of their filmographies are more impressive than others.<br /><br />Note: The list of films following each name contain the performances by each actress that give me the most pleasure, and are not necessarily the finest films on that actress' resume. (But just try and argue with me on the merits of <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Skeleton Key</span>. I dare you.) The first film listed for each actress is the film pictured. Here we go:<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgygtAABZXfEXqOB8P3FvOey9ArP9QAv5xDMoQVL1P6VbmB6AAOmrce_o9BFqNFu0G6iqQbQg9bXX1Gt44aiEbXMKPqUByHwZCisy7SLL6RKpqi_dMR3igcCtOHYCzHX-pgYvGzGG7epVAH/s1600-h/aaaaaaaaaaaaaangela.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282404534695716098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 262px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgygtAABZXfEXqOB8P3FvOey9ArP9QAv5xDMoQVL1P6VbmB6AAOmrce_o9BFqNFu0G6iqQbQg9bXX1Gt44aiEbXMKPqUByHwZCisy7SLL6RKpqi_dMR3igcCtOHYCzHX-pgYvGzGG7epVAH/s400/aaaaaaaaaaaaaangela.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Angela Bassett</span> - <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Strange Days</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">What's Love Got to Do With It</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Sunshine State</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwu62WyXWNfOKYeGa1ESWTsoFlR0r3n0EHGtg-EhhDawt8mqjY8jJiCbt1WwWx6HTGHQcbbSgk8wA4ehVwWeHCfGfnwL_RgqboElDjvlSyax-dTRw5vl75ejnnHMqPfIPSSrCtk2dB1Ktu/s1600-h/DARK_CITY.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282397183896924818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 225px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwu62WyXWNfOKYeGa1ESWTsoFlR0r3n0EHGtg-EhhDawt8mqjY8jJiCbt1WwWx6HTGHQcbbSgk8wA4ehVwWeHCfGfnwL_RgqboElDjvlSyax-dTRw5vl75ejnnHMqPfIPSSrCtk2dB1Ktu/s400/DARK_CITY.bmp" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Jennifer Connelly</span> - <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Dark City</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Requiem for a Dream</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Dark Water</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"></span><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Career Opportunities</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMQ9R6RclJ_KWGwecSu3e13cyfnAGBQkx_7q7cmNsaVHxtP1DyvDMMHJssFKT4TddS-Q7xa5jXouBx2Tqv2WqQuI5mqcIgJleS2-g3QYCib7A8ejbljAI2CsiPq2DEf2TyAh-dHfW0conP/s1600-h/ALLABOUTEVE-0.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282395867971854962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMQ9R6RclJ_KWGwecSu3e13cyfnAGBQkx_7q7cmNsaVHxtP1DyvDMMHJssFKT4TddS-Q7xa5jXouBx2Tqv2WqQuI5mqcIgJleS2-g3QYCib7A8ejbljAI2CsiPq2DEf2TyAh-dHfW0conP/s400/ALLABOUTEVE-0.bmp" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Bette Davis</span> - <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">All About Eve</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Jezebel</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">What Ever Happened to Baby Jane</span>?<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZU09aFhuXupiOOm9xVx7w1-R_wFLRVINFMhKbYnh82G-rjgP0PvbntWfe0T_5xTE4fbYTWQkfuOOmtTroiymPcRFKFiIll8kdxIKw9xMCXAL8IhKR6xIrJxmiqwdgcWrw2ndLcHWFDPV4/s1600-h/LOVE+AFFAIR.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282400114579965762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZU09aFhuXupiOOm9xVx7w1-R_wFLRVINFMhKbYnh82G-rjgP0PvbntWfe0T_5xTE4fbYTWQkfuOOmtTroiymPcRFKFiIll8kdxIKw9xMCXAL8IhKR6xIrJxmiqwdgcWrw2ndLcHWFDPV4/s400/LOVE+AFFAIR.bmp" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Irene Dunne</span> - <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Love Affair</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Awful Truth</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">My Favorite Wife</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHtoG-6rzB5j66WYbiOV_3AI7tJm2xkJwVBXXEG_R1CMrAP91BNFkuq05EgBJMi5wtXdSu4z4rJjN_QLfP-7lfD2_i2wztNNY_lDQfoZukRJwxL2UfJyz3PBhHyikUZFKXPRXglbB-QJDC/s1600-h/FUNNY+FACE.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282398350603005250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 225px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHtoG-6rzB5j66WYbiOV_3AI7tJm2xkJwVBXXEG_R1CMrAP91BNFkuq05EgBJMi5wtXdSu4z4rJjN_QLfP-7lfD2_i2wztNNY_lDQfoZukRJwxL2UfJyz3PBhHyikUZFKXPRXglbB-QJDC/s400/FUNNY+FACE.bmp" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Audrey Hepburn</span> - <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Funny Face</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Wait Until Dark</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">My Fair Lady</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Charade</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiypTCjIBs2sIKna52cH7ppE-vsFbXjg08J5AYasVtIJuQ0X9uNpu1bRgG2f_ZefTnj8qqoFn65-IEbdoJIKBEFrl_LQ3M-paryi4V0nOe0rQ4ZD_U4-uLY25VgzlHohzPvLQ4_3m-pz6O/s1600-h/aaaaaaaaaaakate.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282404724813004690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiypTCjIBs2sIKna52cH7ppE-vsFbXjg08J5AYasVtIJuQ0X9uNpu1bRgG2f_ZefTnj8qqoFn65-IEbdoJIKBEFrl_LQ3M-paryi4V0nOe0rQ4ZD_U4-uLY25VgzlHohzPvLQ4_3m-pz6O/s400/aaaaaaaaaaakate.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Katherine Hepburn</span> - <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Stage Door</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Bringing Up Baby</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Adam's Rib</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Holiday</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATs-0Xg6s2AKHYyPeA5W49HZtpAzgBpg7QuxQpMfDeuq6lAFbSYc3phssMrh6JmEBJ33k2rQmSpXzvg0UU0SB_lpKkuY_Zi33BwCa4Nht_K8CObs0KIMdytGwArsOcLL_A_XD9nY3YxYx/s1600-h/CLUE.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282396881732424338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 225px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATs-0Xg6s2AKHYyPeA5W49HZtpAzgBpg7QuxQpMfDeuq6lAFbSYc3phssMrh6JmEBJ33k2rQmSpXzvg0UU0SB_lpKkuY_Zi33BwCa4Nht_K8CObs0KIMdytGwArsOcLL_A_XD9nY3YxYx/s400/CLUE.bmp" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Madeline Kahn</span> - <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Clue</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Paper Moon</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">What's Up, Doc?</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Blazing Saddles</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Young Frankenstein</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">High Anxiety</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Cheap Detective</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLHwGMBrp-dbkrx3Cx1QYIcCriFhJIBXjJFr_8px2EDRpALLZwWN-h-_IKgnySnKtQKrnBlfSDjcxLO0i47yGdKAoV6J1ZVxhnhVXrPeTCDmFw9pR9eEETMafLsE0cG8AgJqPesXnDJhpk/s1600-h/BLACK_NARCISSUS_V3-0.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282396185445744130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLHwGMBrp-dbkrx3Cx1QYIcCriFhJIBXjJFr_8px2EDRpALLZwWN-h-_IKgnySnKtQKrnBlfSDjcxLO0i47yGdKAoV6J1ZVxhnhVXrPeTCDmFw9pR9eEETMafLsE0cG8AgJqPesXnDJhpk/s400/BLACK_NARCISSUS_V3-0.bmp" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Deborah Kerr</span> - <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Black Narcissus</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Innocents</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXlt0iFQDXOZn8QKhqvEsTYjV4grXvgn8Sj1hyphenhyphenq59Gj-8lOmFrI4Q7u9mlThKP_KsC_KCCkCaMO2myl8fySLHwzH_5l3YB-oh78gV4r3I-0SDaJ5YVJA_sUB3o01Bi6bWArUtUKwDHilo-/s1600-h/EXISTENZ.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282397542297325154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 225px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXlt0iFQDXOZn8QKhqvEsTYjV4grXvgn8Sj1hyphenhyphenq59Gj-8lOmFrI4Q7u9mlThKP_KsC_KCCkCaMO2myl8fySLHwzH_5l3YB-oh78gV4r3I-0SDaJ5YVJA_sUB3o01Bi6bWArUtUKwDHilo-/s400/EXISTENZ.bmp" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Jennifer Jason Leigh</span> - <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">eXistenZ</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Short Cuts</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Hudsucker Proxy</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Anniversary Party</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Margot at the Wedding</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4dZWEC5rhIMJoDqCjldNde9PRZ6myI5X3G7ByEyYXTKpVz8ScHSW2teVzyaWT1DAr-k3cHBmuJH__43AuX_SdvaBamK46_x_Kf32O_91NUUwt09j_c95FTBPSfcE6vOxEQwJJowgZhr7b/s1600-h/SOME+CAME+RUNNING.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282402107540457874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 225px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4dZWEC5rhIMJoDqCjldNde9PRZ6myI5X3G7ByEyYXTKpVz8ScHSW2teVzyaWT1DAr-k3cHBmuJH__43AuX_SdvaBamK46_x_Kf32O_91NUUwt09j_c95FTBPSfcE6vOxEQwJJowgZhr7b/s400/SOME+CAME+RUNNING.bmp" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Shirley MacLaine</span> - <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Some Came Running</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Apartment</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Children's Hour</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Steel Magnolias</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">In Her Shoes</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-2BFY0Rlmf2rFqy5RKBoGlrobgp2vbwpCb-6xCABqXWVxqFzyksH-V7-7u1YldDmTH1wXsi0i5Ruu8D492aiJn5zI0CoFgRHirVYfbNrZCmMo37IKcbyJ29EmoC02dkHQXas4MwrTuTRS/s1600-h/NIGHTS+OF+CABIRIA.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282400956039473074" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-2BFY0Rlmf2rFqy5RKBoGlrobgp2vbwpCb-6xCABqXWVxqFzyksH-V7-7u1YldDmTH1wXsi0i5Ruu8D492aiJn5zI0CoFgRHirVYfbNrZCmMo37IKcbyJ29EmoC02dkHQXas4MwrTuTRS/s400/NIGHTS+OF+CABIRIA.bmp" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Giulietta Masina</span> - <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Nights of Cabiria</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">La Strada</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_dc9xzHHOfwzTmgRUKiSYf101uXX0Am4qpVdx1f89hURa-CmkZlnm5R8e18GUw0hQxgkQbu_Vuj18Pxiaf1U0MyfRfR7HEzoO5uYmnRFtkZkSPEMbDHn-NiPRfNBc-FSoTNmzRZiEjru/s1600-h/BRIGHT_YOUNG_THINGS-0.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282396498869026802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 225px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_dc9xzHHOfwzTmgRUKiSYf101uXX0Am4qpVdx1f89hURa-CmkZlnm5R8e18GUw0hQxgkQbu_Vuj18Pxiaf1U0MyfRfR7HEzoO5uYmnRFtkZkSPEMbDHn-NiPRfNBc-FSoTNmzRZiEjru/s400/BRIGHT_YOUNG_THINGS-0.bmp" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Emily Mortimer</span> - <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Bright Young Things</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Lovely and Amazing</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Lars and the Real Girl</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Transsiberian</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg77wmbm72JFMuiBZuLRbc-mYCupF4ocPhXq7CZw2MaKMMnrDjrf-LeBNXiS5WTRGLLMmofh4jZlljAEzVUIasuq7w3NCBRDkOxg_jsCNhJAJfBOcsq_hjCH44orttDkdcSqVR4Uwq5JHHh/s1600-h/NO_SUCH_THING-0.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282401299725837090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg77wmbm72JFMuiBZuLRbc-mYCupF4ocPhXq7CZw2MaKMMnrDjrf-LeBNXiS5WTRGLLMmofh4jZlljAEzVUIasuq7w3NCBRDkOxg_jsCNhJAJfBOcsq_hjCH44orttDkdcSqVR4Uwq5JHHh/s400/NO_SUCH_THING-0.bmp" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Sarah Polley</span> - <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">No Such Thing</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Sweet Hereafter</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Go</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Adventures of Baron Munchausen</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Guinevere</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdc5UOJUmv_6SZrAILmr9EXaa_jgGQtGA5r-7r3UE_OsjXIP_MHKWq_5cnSfhcC_1icSPuYpvGZ-P3cJZGB-qYvVDoZvhWMy4bDggQJvRJ8D8ovtcZKkEqpt-023FnHWBZuRCBcXkejQjf/s1600-h/PICKUP+ON+SOUTH+STREET+2.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282401717207755202" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdc5UOJUmv_6SZrAILmr9EXaa_jgGQtGA5r-7r3UE_OsjXIP_MHKWq_5cnSfhcC_1icSPuYpvGZ-P3cJZGB-qYvVDoZvhWMy4bDggQJvRJ8D8ovtcZKkEqpt-023FnHWBZuRCBcXkejQjf/s400/PICKUP+ON+SOUTH+STREET+2.bmp" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Thelma Ritter</span> - <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Pickup on South Street</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Rear Window</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">All About Eve</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBpu_LKv4yREtvDE7O7npZE0s2NEu6eyCkgx87x0mo0DwMbuGNj2EaeRp4kM72lsqkPtFiKzjRV2_4aUAvaaZnvtR6WJNwZcYJW9_Z3PZas8Q8ZGq3YC_xQBE77Iz7kfTsD5Dn6xlxfJBW/s1600-h/THIS+SPORTING+LIFE.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282402622817001186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 225px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBpu_LKv4yREtvDE7O7npZE0s2NEu6eyCkgx87x0mo0DwMbuGNj2EaeRp4kM72lsqkPtFiKzjRV2_4aUAvaaZnvtR6WJNwZcYJW9_Z3PZas8Q8ZGq3YC_xQBE77Iz7kfTsD5Dn6xlxfJBW/s400/THIS+SPORTING+LIFE.bmp" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Rachel Roberts</span> - <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">This Sporting Life</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Saturday Night and Sunday Morning</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">O Lucky Man!</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Picnic at Hanging Rock</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZKCeBrghyphenhyphenaXSSZXoWqeCHOyumUBpskoprdXUSW9SBuWkJaZoQb7aWuA0GnAqFQdxiXBVkFv7Nje-gc1W_wY8QmJ3oUCapcZiyOumbq44mslILdWs7keKsH-WDQKcYLxGl1w3RIY5_a5e/s1600-h/aaaaaaaaaaagena.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282404630868708082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 218px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZKCeBrghyphenhyphenaXSSZXoWqeCHOyumUBpskoprdXUSW9SBuWkJaZoQb7aWuA0GnAqFQdxiXBVkFv7Nje-gc1W_wY8QmJ3oUCapcZiyOumbq44mslILdWs7keKsH-WDQKcYLxGl1w3RIY5_a5e/s400/aaaaaaaaaaagena.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Gena Rowlands</span> - <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">A Woman Under the Influence</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Faces</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Minnie & Moskowitz</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Love Streams</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Skeleton Key</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0p7bRRstU3xnGVmpnIta0l_UVaEYiblXARJZc5FK30NRiHsXkEIzpsMQXIGIH_esHFhweX3Z3hKd0GowbiWwTqB8Dsm197WV2taEDHSFJTsFgg7FwrSQyf7Y3fBZwh9ZLFNm9DE5o4n3T/s1600-h/HIS_GIRL_FRIDAY-0.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282398741286501602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0p7bRRstU3xnGVmpnIta0l_UVaEYiblXARJZc5FK30NRiHsXkEIzpsMQXIGIH_esHFhweX3Z3hKd0GowbiWwTqB8Dsm197WV2taEDHSFJTsFgg7FwrSQyf7Y3fBZwh9ZLFNm9DE5o4n3T/s400/HIS_GIRL_FRIDAY-0.bmp" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Rosalind Russell</span> - <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">His Girl Friday</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Women</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Trouble with Angels</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtAQXL2VcmIUVB53nTew28alfSQBTpB0Y3aptnIZ_fBLpJoHWUCjqAYaCjk0EA65QSkRAdLEiCXYwycV1dkqAayifO5HtciYJ8Q-smmUAt58_Od3jPDnYELcPvO68tpWOi60jcmlTy3LTh/s1600-h/I_SHOT_ANDY_WARHOL-0.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282399055994247074" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 225px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtAQXL2VcmIUVB53nTew28alfSQBTpB0Y3aptnIZ_fBLpJoHWUCjqAYaCjk0EA65QSkRAdLEiCXYwycV1dkqAayifO5HtciYJ8Q-smmUAt58_Od3jPDnYELcPvO68tpWOi60jcmlTy3LTh/s400/I_SHOT_ANDY_WARHOL-0.bmp" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Lili Taylor</span> - <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">I Shot Andy Warhol</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Say Anything</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Girls Town</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-VryBjD4MbbGcLys42epwpJNiTwLf6KjyUc_IwbUW4Poq8R_s22KeZv_cSk7rE6O-Ejp7U6dZkomWk9JcS9G3KfLAY3faZbpYJCEYv3q35QSU1ah4YU1FVp8DFuZ8wB3A7TH0w0xfioPt/s1600-h/FEAR_AND_TREMBLING-0.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282397946477678722" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 225px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-VryBjD4MbbGcLys42epwpJNiTwLf6KjyUc_IwbUW4Poq8R_s22KeZv_cSk7rE6O-Ejp7U6dZkomWk9JcS9G3KfLAY3faZbpYJCEYv3q35QSU1ah4YU1FVp8DFuZ8wB3A7TH0w0xfioPt/s400/FEAR_AND_TREMBLING-0.bmp" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Sylvie Testud</span> - <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Fear and Trembling</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Murderous Maids</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Beyond Silence</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Chateau</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">La France</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7UqahPQp9UQXVk1ETiEA9F8zGuuXKNZ0IPo8hBR5Xi6E0FKl4dPspwl0w-Oy1QiYs4PLdzCl1eqisMLZkt9hZD0bP3bxVgPPZnzuHSfOXbPI8u6KxtfoW0Yn3cKbfKH9v7zn6QQ0r-uN4/s1600-h/MY_BLUEBERRY_NIGHTS-0.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282400558774454050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 225px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7UqahPQp9UQXVk1ETiEA9F8zGuuXKNZ0IPo8hBR5Xi6E0FKl4dPspwl0w-Oy1QiYs4PLdzCl1eqisMLZkt9hZD0bP3bxVgPPZnzuHSfOXbPI8u6KxtfoW0Yn3cKbfKH9v7zn6QQ0r-uN4/s400/MY_BLUEBERRY_NIGHTS-0.bmp" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Rachel Weisz</span> - <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">My Blueberry Nights</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Shape of Things</span>, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Fountain</span>Mike Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618828720030868498noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-56214915023427937642008-09-08T18:38:00.001-07:002008-09-08T18:58:45.894-07:00Holy Grail ListThere's a <a href="http://thedancingimage.blogspot.com/2008/08/another-dirty-dozen.html">meme</a> going round - <a href="http://itsamadmadblog2.blogspot.com/2008/09/produced-and-abandoned-12-must-sees.html">Joseph</a> has done it, I just managed a <a href="http://listeningear.blogspot.com/2008/09/wish-list-meme.html">post</a> - and - well - tagged YOU! Us, Whatever. Basically, the idea is this: name 12 films you 1) have not seen; 2) are not available through Netflix. <br /><br />A list of participants, so far, can be found <a href="http://thedancingimage.blogspot.com/2008/08/holy-grail.html">here</a>.<br /><br />Anyway - my <a href="http://listeningear.blogspot.com/2008/09/wish-list-meme.html">post</a> is rather long and inefficient - here is the condensed version: 12 films.... heavy on the Japanophilia, but that shouldn't surprise anyone...<br /><br />1. Anything (besides Yi Yi and Mahjong) by <a href="http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0945981/">Edward Yang</a> - soon to be <a href="http://hcl.harvard.edu/hfa/films/2008septoct/yang.html">rectified</a>.<br /><br />2. <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0029314/">Humanity and Paper Balloons</a>, by Sadao Yamanaka.<br /><br />3. <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0046851/">Chikamatsu Monogatari</a> - Mizoguchi.<br /><br />4. <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0093278/">Ishtar</a> - Elaine May. (Yes, it's listed on Netflix; no, it's not "available" on Netflix.)<br /><br />5. <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0246135/">Out One: Noli me Tangere</a> - Rivette - the 13 hour version.<br /><br />6. <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0068380/">La Cicatrice Interieure</a> - Philippe Garrel.<br /><br />7. <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0120543/">Keep cool</a> - Zhang Yimou.<br /><br />8. <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0122187/">Timeless Bottomless Bad Movie</a> - Jang Sun-woo<br /><br />9. <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0049010/">Bigger than Life</a> - Nicholas Ray. (I'm not alone.)<br /><br />10. <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jean-Luc-Godard-Histoire-Cinema/dp/B0015VI3DY">Histoires du Cinema</a> - Godard. (This either... but I've been hearing about these films forever. Where are they?)<br /><br />11. <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0002844/">Fantomas</a> - Louis Feuillade. Thanks to David Bordwell.<br /><br />12. <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0012631/">Souls on the Road</a> or the <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0021652/">Red Bat</a> - a very early Japanese film, and a well known Chambara.... blame Noel Burch.<br /><br />And - anyone interested - hop in! create your own post, add to this one, put it in comments, here or at <a href="http://listeningear.blogspot.com/">The Listening Ear</a>.weepingsamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11885871104310819374noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-10460385273317242982008-09-02T19:29:00.000-07:002008-09-03T11:31:38.079-07:00Don LaFontaine, voice of movie trailers, dies<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/09/02/entertainment/e102033D49.DTL">Don LaFontaine dies.</a><br /><br />Hi Everyone:<br /><br />Been busy with school and summer vacation, but I come here and read your excellent posts.<br /><br />I thought you'd be interested in the above obituary. I can't tell if he's the guy with the REALLY low raspy voice or not. I youtubed him, and I couldn't tell. I think it's him. The guy I am thinking of totally dominates trailers.<br /><br />KarynUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-49568287911586535112008-08-14T17:24:00.000-07:002008-08-14T17:37:19.538-07:00Movies About MoviesThis is too good not to post about - Andrew Osborne at <a href="http://www.nerve.com/CS/blogs/screengrab/">Screengrab</a> runs through a five part series on Movies about Movies. Great series. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.nerve.com/CS/blogs/screengrab/archive/2008/08/14/the-top-20-movies-about-movies-part-one.aspx">Part One</a><br /><a href="http://www.nerve.com/CS/blogs/screengrab/archive/2008/08/14/the-top-20-movies-about-movies-part-deux.aspx">Part Two</a><br /><a href="http://www.nerve.com/CS/blogs/screengrab/archive/2008/08/14/the-top-20-movies-about-movies-part-three.aspx">Part Three</a><br /><a href="http://www.nerve.com/CS/blogs/screengrab/archive/2008/08/14/the-top-20-movies-about-movies-part-four.aspx">Part Four</a><br /><a href="http://www.nerve.com/CS/blogs/screengrab/archive/2008/08/14/the-top-20-movies-about-movies-part-five.aspx">Part Five</a><br /><br />And - since I have to contribute something - all of Osborne's top 20 in one place:<br /><br />American Movie<br />State and Main<br />The Stunt Man<br />The Big Picture<br />Day For Night<br />Hearts of Darkness<br />The Player<br />Contempt<br />Sunset Boulevard<br />Singin' in the Rain<br />Mulholland Drive<br />Barton Fink<br />Living in Oblivion<br />Davd Holzman's Diary<br />BAADASSSSS<br />Demon Lover Diary<br />Ed Wood<br />Gods and Monsters<br />Bombshell<br />Los Angeles Plays Itself<br /><br />Not had to come up with more - someone in comments started in with <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0056801/">8 1/2</a> - oh yeah, that... I'm inclined, quickly, to think of <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0015324/">Sherlock Jr.</a> or <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0033945/">Never Give a Sucker and Even Break</a> - or any of the host of films made about the early days of cinema, from <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0116344/">Forgotten Silver</a> (which definitely has to be pretty close to any best 20 films about films, I'd think), or <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0156849/">Of Freaks and Men</a>, or - going really obscure - <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0120371/">Tren de Sombras</a> (or <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0099845/">Innisfree</a>, for that matter). There are plenty more - what do you guys think?weepingsamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11885871104310819374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-74022021482883950742008-07-25T10:46:00.000-07:002008-07-25T11:47:29.727-07:00What's Worth Your Time<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju2fIN8B_6xUknsvmnqKvy9jeNxE5yr_PCTwK7MrtBBz6iuVfy4jtXJPGoUo741Esvtv1-_vknMVn2fpkJS6d6iQYR9AF3nk5CeHH20_wihx33Ri3p_g2qOmsGAnTF1WmsS_UoCEh9sWky/s1600-h/aaaaaashotgun.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju2fIN8B_6xUknsvmnqKvy9jeNxE5yr_PCTwK7MrtBBz6iuVfy4jtXJPGoUo741Esvtv1-_vknMVn2fpkJS6d6iQYR9AF3nk5CeHH20_wihx33Ri3p_g2qOmsGAnTF1WmsS_UoCEh9sWky/s400/aaaaaashotgun.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227024953602554642" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">ON DVD</span>:<br /><br />Perhaps you'll recall the minor rumble in the blogosphere caused by Armond White's assertion that critics were ignoring Jeff Nichols' <span style="font-style: italic;">Shotgun Stories</span>. It was an odd claim -- at the time, you couldn't look at any film review venue without seeing a positive notice for the film -- but all the back-and-forth about who liked it first shouldn't distract from the actual work. It's an excellent debut film, about the feud between half-brothers over their recently deceased father.<br /><br />Three brothers -- named Son, Boy and Kid -- resent the indifference of the man who left them with an unfeeling mother, found Jesus, and raised four more boys with another woman. They crash his funeral, say some harsh words, and set off a chain of events that slowly escalates into violence. At the film's center is an expertly restrained performance by Michael Shannon as the eldest of the abandoned sons, whose stern face has an uncanny ability to express all the longings, regrets and anger of his character with barely any movement.<br /><br />Then, for those cinematic adventurers who've been dying to take a crack at Bela Tarr's legendary 7-hour opus, here's your chance: Facets has just released a 4-disc package of <span style="font-style: italic;">Satantango</span>! Read Michael Atkinson's write-up at IFC Films <a href="http://www.ifc.com/film/film-news/2008/07/satantango-eagle-shooting-hero.php">here</a>. Through some bizarre mishap on my Netflix queue, disc 1 is already on its way to me. Maybe I'll pull my head out of my ass and write about it...<br /><br />Also, I just watched Wong Kar Wai's <span style="font-style: italic;">Happy Together</span> for the first time, and it's so friggin' good I feel the need to recommend it to everyone.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ON TELEVISION</span>:<br /><br />With the second season of <span style="font-style: italic;">Mad Men</span> approaching, I decided to catch up on what I'd missed with my cable's OnDemand service. Yadda yadda yadda, it's as great as everyone says, but what I most look forward to in every episode is catching a glimpse of Christina Hendricks as Joan Holloway:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicFBZXYgnS0UdypyQlLPBKNR-fOb6jqrvVmM-jGbCabOwBbShLL5P5qiQFj0yvA9j27gNfvLpaP4MxsjhRLULSgNWrMNHtKYMHqMI0wdBKD-wCz7eTC1dlLTUuaave0cmpgcMx_FxjSOvi/s1600-h/aaaamadmen.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicFBZXYgnS0UdypyQlLPBKNR-fOb6jqrvVmM-jGbCabOwBbShLL5P5qiQFj0yvA9j27gNfvLpaP4MxsjhRLULSgNWrMNHtKYMHqMI0wdBKD-wCz7eTC1dlLTUuaave0cmpgcMx_FxjSOvi/s400/aaaamadmen.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227024278022238002" border="0" /></a>It's impossible to take your eyes off her, what with her bright outfits, fiery red hair and wicked grin. Forgive me for being a drooling man here, but WOW!<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ON THE INTERWEBS</span>:<br /><br />After reading <a href="http://www.avclub.com/content/feature/random_roles_teri_garr">this interview</a> with Teri Garr at the Onion AV Club, I felt the need to share it with any and everybody. Following decades in the business and recently surviving an aneurysm that, as Gawker put it, "severed her give-a-shit nerve", she's ready to let loose with a heaping spoonful of candor that you pretty much never see in celebrity interviews.Mike Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618828720030868498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-70351016796122380542008-07-20T09:10:00.000-07:002008-07-20T09:58:33.101-07:00Forums R UsHas anyone here heard of an internet forum called "Silver Screen Oasis"? I tried to wiki it, but no articles showed up for it. It might be fairly new, or just little known. I've found a great site for discussing jazz, allaboutjazz.com, and one for soccer at bigsoccer.com, and had long wished to find a similarly-templated forum with moderators, etc. for art film discussions, but a lot of searching in the past turned up nothing. I thought, do all we want to do is blog?<br /><br />But now, I may have found a suitable one at silverscreenoasis.com, that advertises itself as the place to discuss "classic" films--I don't know if that means "art films" or particularly B&W Hollywood "classics". But a keyword search on their site turned up names such as Bresson as topics for discussion. So this may be the place for me, if there are enough like-minded fans on there.<br /><br />This blogspot here is a lot of fun too, and I'll continue to post here from time to time, but I've long wanted a place where a lot of feedback could be expected, and where registered users are on a more egalitarian plane, and if that's what you want also, then perhaps you should check this site out.<br /><br />I don't know if discussion is allowed for modern would-be classics, though. I understand it probably doesn't want to descend into discussion about all the latest first-run features, which could make the website top-heavy in a way they wish it not be.Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12960561846743844018noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-64058319855509567042008-07-08T11:59:00.000-07:002008-07-08T12:01:09.518-07:00In Theaters: Wall-E<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY6gR_fYnomnfTMz1v3nXNz_mZv44aTsN4XbHf5kUwDUEKRjL2VkZRHxSFEp2DEnyw91L8Z8FDoRTiUXqQRoRgvmNQV7HaZdlvLZyZUxwW6XO9uZgfh4WflG8ESlJXoBe12lyyzp0BVQ/s1600-h/wall_e_ver2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY6gR_fYnomnfTMz1v3nXNz_mZv44aTsN4XbHf5kUwDUEKRjL2VkZRHxSFEp2DEnyw91L8Z8FDoRTiUXqQRoRgvmNQV7HaZdlvLZyZUxwW6XO9uZgfh4WflG8ESlJXoBe12lyyzp0BVQ/s320/wall_e_ver2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220720020388241058" border="0" /></a><br />WALL-E is not only possibly the best picture of the year, it’s the best science fiction film in a year and a half at least. It’s getting kind of boring to talk about Pixar delivering yet another great animated epic, but even by their standards they may have created something special here. It’s a film that’s almost as dialogue-thin as 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, that tugs on the heartstrings as much as E.T., and that manages the level of social commentary of just about every science fiction film of the early Seventies, but without the unbearable preachiness. Despite all these comparisons, it’s unique. It’s original, something we don’t see enough of from the major studios, and it even defies some of the conventions that Pixar itself is associated with. Above all, though- look at ‘im! He’s adorable! Aww!<br /><br />Wall-E (voiced, in a sense, by veteran sound effects creator Ben Burtt) is the last of a group of clean-up robots tasked with squaring away the litter of a terminally polluted Earth. Mankind has long since abandoned the planet, and Wall-E is left alone to crush garbage into cubes and stack it in giant towers. In his isolation he has gone a little eccentric; he preserves objects he finds interesting, makes friends with a cockroach, and listens to showtunes as he works. One day, however, his routine is disrupted by the arrival of an Apple-sleek, vaguely feminine robot named EVE (voiced by Elissa Knight), whose mysterious directive involves zooming around scanning the landscape. A friendship of sorts is kindled, and Wall-E has often longed for someone to hold hands with, but when he shows her a plant he discovered, her directive kicks in. A probe ship takes her and the plant away, Wall-E in tow, heading towards the Axiom, a giant worldship carrying all of humanity. They’ve been waiting for Earth to become habitable again for 700 years- at least that’s the mission statement, but in the meantime the species has become entirely fat and sedentary, whizzing about on floating chairs and cared for by the ship’s computer and countless helper robots who really run the Axiom. Worse, when Eve is brought up to the computer to make her report, the plant has gone missing. Eve and Wall-E get carted off as malfunctioning robots, and an unintended prison break has them chased by robot security guards and still trying to find out the fate of the missing plant.<br /><br />Critics so far have expressed a preference for the film’s first act, in its wordless simplicity and desolate beauty as Wall-E and EVE form a relationship. To be sure, it works brilliantly in and of itself. But the rest of the film shouldn’t be dismissed as lesser, not by a long shot. The shift of tone when we reach the Axiom is jarring, but we end up in the midst of a sparkly, shiny dystopia dominated by consumerism and inactivity, a surprisingly sharp bit of social criticism for a children’s film. But here’s where it gets interesting; the film is not callous towards humanity, even after it’s trashed its home and locked itself in stasis. During his visit Wall-E manages to knock a few people out of their slumber, and when they wake up and look around, they’re not scared by reality, they embrace it. The people in this film aren’t selfish, and as a matter of fact, I’m not sure any character in the film fits that description. What they are is locked in a pattern, and this holds for the robots as well. It takes a force like Wall-E, a new element, to shake them out of it.<br /><br />The animation continues to extend Pixar’s high standards, with a number of shots that would work perfectly well for a live action feature. The level of detail is utterly amazing, whether we’re dealing with the junk-encrusted Earth or the sparkling Axiom. Weirdly enough, there’s even some live action in the picture, seen on electronic video screens and billboards.<br /><br />The film mostly forgoes the familiar tradition of having well-known actors and actresses voice the major parts. Burtt “voices” the main character (and several other robots) through his use of sound effects and voice modulation, and the ship’s autopilot is voiced by Apple’s Macintalk text-to-speech system. Sigourney Weaver, Kathy Najimy, and Pixar vet John Ratzenberger all have parts, but they’re outshone by the nearly wordless protagonists. There’s also the immortal Fred Willard appearing in the live action pieces as the President of the world-dominating Buy-N-Large corporation.<br /><br />Of course, much of what makes Wall-E work is in the simple appeal of the main character. He’s cute, he’s humble, he’s friendly and curious. He’s attracted to EVE first out of his loneliness, but soon sees the virtue of her “directive” and works to preserve the life of the little plant that holds the key to mankind’s future. I’m not sure he ever fully understands what this is all about, but he knows that it’s EVE’s mission and seems to have a respect for all living things.<br /><br />WALL-E is an extremely intelligent picture that manages to be very simple and fun at the same time. It’s a film with many layers, but it can be engaged with on the most basic level as the story of a lonely robot in love. It has just the right combination of passion and elegance, sweetness and sophistication. Definitely the picture to beat for overall excellence this year.<br /><br />Written and Directed by Andrew Stanton<br /><br />Grade: AEvan Watershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17263250766060234515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-56928608787750391172008-06-26T17:21:00.000-07:002008-06-26T19:10:23.753-07:00Mad geniuses<span style="font-size:85%;">I've picked out 3 films that almost killed their creators, either literally or figuratively so. And the directors who made them had to be quite mad, as they pushed their craft to the very extreme in one way or another.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The first one is Jacques Tati's <em>Play Time</em>. Now this is a movie that is unlike any I have ever seen in my life, and I don't know how much I even like it, but yet I find it fascinating to no end. In it, there is not much dialogue at all, no main characters, and just about every shot is wide-angle. I think Tati detested closeups. His sets were so elaborate and with so many things going on at the same time, you have to watch it several times from different parts of the theater to catch everything. Its very nature was sort of off-putting to many audiences, so maybe that's why I haven't seen very many immitators. It's like seeing the Grand Canyon, if you consider yourself a true cinephile, you must see this film at least once in your life. It's quite a spectacle. I think he even said it was like this film came from another planet. In such a way I think it's quite inspiring by showing us different possibilities with cinema. </span><span style="font-size:85%;">This film was a real budget-buster, too. Tati created this whole futuristic city for a set, outside of Paris, they called "Tativille", and this project ate up so much money that he even resorted to using cardboard cutouts for extras at times. Incidentally, this movie put Tati into financial ruin.</span><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LGv3FrXIToI&hl=en"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LGv3FrXIToI&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The second film I've chosen to mention is Terrence Malick's <em>Days of Heaven</em>. He filmed this thing on the southern Alberta plains, and drove everybody up the wall during filming, I've heard. After shooting was over, he had to reshoot some scenes, and spent about two years editing the thing, which included overlaying a lot of the spoken dialogue with Linda Manz's voiceovers, and so forth. Two years of editing! I don't think he made the producers very happy, but the world should have no complaints because all that madness produced what I think is one of the most seamless and beautiful films I've ever seen in my life. I think this film comes as close to perfection as any film ever has. Incidentally, this film must have taken so much out of the director that he didn't make another film for the next 20 years. I guess that's called suffering for the cause. But I'll take one Days of Heaven over 20 Woody Allen films. And I like Woody Allen a lot.</span><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VNiAotywulc&hl=en"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VNiAotywulc&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">And the final film I'll mention is.....can you guess it.....yeah, Werner Herzog's <em>Fitzcarraldo</em>. Of course. This film was one of the most daring projects any director ever set out to make. I think Klaus Kinski almost murdered Mr. Herzog over it, or maybe I'm exaggerating, but it wouldn't have been a surprise if he did. I don't think any director in history has had more cahones than Herzog. He was quite demanding. There are no "special effects" in this film. They really did pull a ship up a mountain. He just had to do everything authentic, didn't he? There is a companion piece to this film, a documentary on the making-of, directed by Les Blank, that is equally as fascinating to watch, or moreso. Here is a clip I don't remember seeing before, but I'll use it because it really makes the point:</span><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MPKODzv1PD4&hl=en"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MPKODzv1PD4&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Erikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12960561846743844018noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-77360323922322283352008-06-23T10:33:00.000-07:002008-06-27T16:32:10.416-07:00New ClassicsTo celebrate their 25th anniversary, Entertainment Weekly has posted several lists of "New Classics" -- that is, the best of everything that's debuted within the last 25 years.<br /><br />Obviously, the <a href="http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20207076_20207387_20207063,00.html">movie list</a> doesn't dare to be different. It's full of titles most people have seen and chatted about, and 94 out of 100 are English language films. Clearly, it's a list of broad popular tastes, and I'm not gonna waste energy criticizing EW for doing exactly what it always does. But I think we can do better.<br /><br />There are nine contributors to this blog, so let's each list nine of our own New Classics. The only guidelines are: feature-length films released in 1983 and after. No need to create a new post, simply edit this one to add your titles.<br /><br />As with any list, mine could completely change tomorrow depending on my mood. Here's what I feel the need to add right now:<br /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">MIKE DOC'S LIST</span><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">After Hours</span> (Martin Scorsese, 1985)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Dancer in the Dark</span> (Lars von Trier, 2000)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Death of Mr. Lazarescu</span> (Cristi Puiu, 2005)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Double Life of Veronique</span> (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1991)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Flight of the Red Balloon</span> (Hou hsiao-hsien, 2007)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Flirting with Disaster</span> (David O. Russell, 1996)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Sweet Hereafter</span> (Atom Egoyan, 1997)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Syndromes and a Century</span> (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2006)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Thin Blue Line</span> (Errol Morris, 1988)<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">EVAN WATERS' LIST</span><br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Brazil</span> (Terry Gilliam, 1985)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Videodrome</span> (David Cronenberg, 1983)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Ed Wood</span> (Tim Burton, 1994)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Rushmore</span> (Wes Anderson, 1998)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Requiem For A Dream</span> (Darren Aronofsky, 2000)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Children of Men</span> (Alfonso Cuaron, 2006)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Lord of the Rings</span> trilogy (Peter Jackson, 2001-2003)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Aviator</span></span> (Martin Scorcese, 2004)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Spirited Away</span></span> (Hayao Miyazaki, 2002)<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Weepingsam's List</span> (promoted from comments)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">City of Sadness</span> (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1989)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Inland Empire</span> (David Lynch, 2006)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Fallen Angels</span> (Wong Kar-wei, 1995)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Yi Yi</span> (Edwards Yang, 2000)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Satantango</span> (Bela Tarr, 1994)<br />Vanda's Room (Pedro Costa, 2000)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Peking Opera Blues</span> (Tsui Hark, 1986)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Brazil</span> (Terry Gilliam, 1985)<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">O Brother Where Art Thou?</span> (Les Freres Coens, 2000)<br /><br /><strong>Erik's list</strong><br />Russian Ark (Alexander Sokurov, 2002)<br />The Sweet Hereafter (Atom Egoyan, 1997)<br />Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)<br />Magnolia (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1999)<br />Gosford Park (Robert Altman, 2001)<br />Adaptation (Spike Jonze, 2002)<br />GoodFellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)<br />Taste of Cherry (Abbas Kiarostami, 1997)<br />Lost in Translation (Sophia Coppola, 2003)<br />9/11 (Gedeon & Jules Naudet, James Hanlon, 2002)<br /><br /><br />Joseph B's List<br /><br />(if nothing more than personal favorites.. I have such a damn hard time seperating 'favorite' from the abstract idea of 'important')<br /><br />1. Casino<br />2. Magnolia<br />3. Heat<br />4. Laws of Gravity<br />5. The Big Lebowski<br />6. Goodfellas<br />7. The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford<br />8. The Double Life of Veronique<br />9. The Thin Red LineMike Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618828720030868498noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7328044635245211188.post-82766397216832119402008-06-22T12:00:00.000-07:002008-06-22T12:33:47.559-07:00Sports Post and PollIt's been a tough couple weeks for baseball managers - John McLaren in Seattle, John Gibbons in Toronto, Willie Randolph of the Mets were all fired in the last couple weeks - and the <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AoCIU6ROROx.CIbS0j22ptARvLYF?slug=ti-tradedeadline061908&prov=yhoo&type=lgns">trade rumors</a> are starting: whither CC Sabathia? Matt Holliday? Jason Bay? And so Im putting u another poll, for you baseball fans: which of the dreadful underachievers are <span style="font-style:italic;">most</span> likely to turn things around in the second half?<br /><br />There have been some dreadful underachievers: The Mets, at least compared to their image of themselves; the Tigers and Indians, by pretty much any standard, have been huge disappointments; The Mariners wanted to think they were contenders, and acted like it,trading prospects for Eric Bedard; both the Rockies and Padres have been awful, after being in the playoffs last year... The Blue Jays, Dodgers, etc., all had dreams of contention, which aren't very likely now. <br /><br />But - if I had posted this a couple weeks ago - I could have included the Yankees: a winning streak later, they're over .500 and only 5 out; The Brewers were mediocre for a long time - now - 6 1/2 out, but moving up on the Cubs; good lord - even the Orioles are over .500! So - who else can turn it around? I'm going to limit the choice to the teams that both have a shot at the post-season - so no Mariners, they won't come back from 18.5 out, and were supposed to be good, and were good last year, but have been lousy this year. Those teams are:<br /><br />Detroit and Cleveland - both very good last year, supposed to fight for the top of their division, if not the league, this year - both very bad this year. Though lately the Tigers are hot - and both are still within range of contention, and both have bunches of established players who have not been performing - they are prime candidates to make a run.<br /><br />Rockies and Padres - playoff teams (sort of) last year, awful this year - but close enough to make a run, and - maybe... <br /><br />Throw the Dodgers in there too, since they fit the bill pretty well.<br /><br />And finally - the NYMets - <a href="http://tomwatson.typepad.com/tom_watson/2008/06/not-the-jackie.html">they're</a> the ones <a href="http://alicublog.blogspot.com/2008_06_15_archive.html#7186158353120792729">getting</a> the <a href="http://lancemannion.typepad.com/lance_mannion/2008/06/my-second-mets.html">attention</a>, of these sad <a href="http://lefarkins.blogspot.com/2008/06/how-much-are-mets-underachieving.html">underachievers</a>. The joys and perils of being in one f the big media cities. And of spending a ton of money and playing to the tabloids every offseason - which seems to me to be a big part of their problem. They have been making the big splash almost every year of the Minaya era - signing Beltran, Martinez, trading for Santana and so on - all fine and good, except they haven't bothered to put a team around the stars. Take away Wright, Reyes and Beltran, and that is one sorry lineup. It's interesting to compare them to the Phils - what's the difference? comes down to this - the Phils' stars are playing at or above expectations (except for Rollins), while the Mets stars, while doing okay, have not been up to their standards; and the rest of the Phillies lineup is competent major leaguers who stat on the field - Victorino, Werth and Jenkins, Feliz - nothing special, but they give you something. The Mets? not so much...<br /><br />Anyway: we'll see how this goes... maybe next we can ask about which of the overachievers (Tampa, Florida, the Pale Hose, those over .500 Orioles, etc.) can keep it up.weepingsamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11885871104310819374noreply@blogger.com0