Archive for August, 2008
August 29th, 2008
Glenn Erickson, aka the DVD Savant, has a great column up over at Film.com discussing DVD menus and the way companies seem to deliberately try to annoy us with annoying animations, insulting anti-piracy screeds and asinine forced content. (As someone who is constantly screening Disney discs for his princess-obsessed daughter, I can agree that the Mouse is the worst offender for forced content. “Fast Play” my ass.)
Check out his column here. Glenn worked for MGM in the early days of DVD, and he’s one of the best writers on the format anywhere on the Web, so he knows of what he speaks.
In one aside, Glenn mentions that studios often hype unrelated trailers as “bonus content.” I remember back in the late 1990s, when DVD was still a pretty exotic format, that Entertainment Weekly raved about the bonus feature of foreign language audio tracks on an Arnold Schwarzenegger disc, saying it was a kick to hear the (not yet then) governator speaking Spanish. Ah, those were the days.
August 29th, 2008
And no, I’m not talking about the festival that’s currently dominating downtown Rockford. I’m talking about the 1954 movie. Here’s the most famous scene…
August 28th, 2008
Off the top of my head, here are some comedies of the last 25 years that Entertainment Weekly forgot:
RAISING ARIZONA — The Coen Brothers second feature is one of their funniest, with perfectly over-the-top performances by Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter (and the rest of the cast) and an endless series of classic lines, scenes and character moments.
BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN — I don’t think I’ve laughed as loud or long at a movie in the last quarter century. Maybe ever. I wasn’t always proud of myself for laughing, but I laughed anyway.
GROUNDHOG DAY — A truly great (and even profound) comedy starring Bill Murray as a nasty weatherman forced to live a single day over and over (and over and over) until he gets it right. Trivia note: I read somewhere that screenwriter Danny Rubin considered Murray to have spent the equivalent of 10,000 years living Feb. 2.
RUSHMORE – Bill Murray’s other great movie of the 1990s was this Wes Anderson comic-drama about a student (Jason Schwartzman) desperate for greatness. One of my all-time favorites. Two of Anderson’s other movies — ROYAL TENENBAUMS and THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU — are great too, but they’re more drama than comedy.
GROSSE POINTE BLANK — Forget HIGH FIDELITY or SAY ANYTHING, this is John Cusack’s best movie, a razor sharp action comedy about a hitman forced to grow up a bit when he attends his high school reunion. Bonus points for including Dan Aykroyd’s best work in years.
IDIOCRACY – It barely got released, even on DVD, but this dark satire from Mike Judge is smart and funny. In fact, it might be too smart to be too funny — parts of it seem to have already come true.
BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD DO AMERICA — Speaking of Mike Judge, where’s the love for his big screen take on his infamous teen twosome? It wasn’t SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER AND UNCUT (few movies are), but it was still funny.
ELECTION — Matthew Broderick plays a gone-to-seed version of Ferris Bueller battling teen-queen Reese Witherspoon (in one of her best performances). Very smart satire of politics, high school and otherwise.
SWINGERS — Let me get this straight: EW includes the lesser Vince Vaughn comedies OLD SCHOOL and WEDDING CRASHERS, but omits the slacker classic that made him a star. Idiots.
WAG THE DOG — One of the best political satires in decades, this look at a war sparked to distract from a scandal was smart, funny and featured one of Dustin Hoffman’s best performances (aping legendary producer Robert Evans). Too bad it bombed at the box office.
OK, now you tell me — what did I forget?
August 28th, 2008
Have nothing better to do than put the wrong movie on the cover of the Fall Movie Preview issue, the culture vultures over at Entertainment Weekly have compiled another list, this one of the “Funniest Movies of the Past 25 Years.” Here are their picks, with my inevitable comments:
1. GHOSTBUSTERS — Lots of great moments, but the funniest movie of the past 25 years? Really? It’s not even the best Bill Murray comedy of the last 25 years. (That would be GROUNDHOG DAY, in case you were wondering.)
2. NATIONAL LAMPOON’S VACATION — Definitely the best of the VACATION films, though it definitely peaks too early and the ending — despite the best efforts of John Candy — drags. Watching people ride a rollercoaster isn’t much fun.
3. BEVERLY HILLS COP — Not as good as Eddie Murphy’s best movie, which is sitting down there in the No. 15 spot. It has its laughs, but boy is it dated.
4. THIS IS SPINAL TAP — Now this I could see in the top spot. Brilliant, groundbreaking and endlessly rewatchable.
5. OFFICE SPACE — Or this one. A true classic. Lots of funny characters, biting humor and a drop-dead perfect portrait of modern office life.
6. SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER AND UNCUT — Or, frankly, this one. Very funny, shockingly profane and actually about something. And, don’t forget, it was nominated for an Oscar (for the song “Blame Canada.”)
7. THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY — It has its moments (most of them involving Matt Dillon), but the Farelly Brothers best movie remains KINGPIN. Now there’s a comedy classic!
8. THE BIG LEBOWSKI — It’s very good. As a die-hard Coen fan, I don’t dispute that. But I’ve never loved it enough to become part of the whole Lebowski cult. Me? I’m a member of the HUDSUCKER PROXY cult. The only member, probably.
9. A FISH CALLED WANDA — I’d almost forgotten about this movie, but yes, it’s pretty damn funny. Especially Kevin Kline (who won an Oscar for his performance).
10. DAZED AND CONFUSED — Good pick. Very funny and a great portrait of the mid 1970s.
11. THE 40-YEAR-VIRGIN — Another good pick. The funniest parts involve the guys acting like, well, like guys, but the whole movie has laughs, and the “Age of Aquarius” ending fits perfectly.
12. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY — What? Really? Only if all the Woody Allen movies have been rented at your local video store. Not funny. Painful, in fact — except for the scene where they’re playing Pictionary and (the late) Bruno Kirby guesses “Baby fish mouth!” Now that’s funny.
13. WAITING FOR GUFFMAN — Very funny. This and No. 20 should come closely after THIS IS SPINAL TAP, considering they all come from the mind of Christopher Guest (and his talented casts).
14. WEDDING CRASHERS — Disappointing. I’d hoped for a movie with lots of wedding crashing, and I got a movie with a little bit of wedding crashing and a lot of boring romantic comedy (that wasn’t funny).
15. TRADING PLACES — Very good, but like I said in a recent Video Vault column, if you cut the whole train sequence, it’s a much better movie. Also, this is one that shows up on cable all the time, but also one that needs to be seen uncut. The profanity is a big part of the laughs. Seriously.
16. SUPERBAD — Good pick. I laughed constantly through this one.
17. TROPIC THUNDER — This has been out for what? Two weeks? I haven’t seen it yet, and I hear it’s good, but really, can’t we let it stand the test of time for a couple of months at least?
18. NAPOLEON DYNAMITE — Very funny. Slightly overhyped and people are probably sick of it by now, but when I saw it way back when in the theater, I laughed a lot.
19. CLUELESS — Not that funny. Couple of good lines, and it’s always nice to see Dan Hedaya, but this one’s a bit overrated. It does, however, give you a look at the old-model Brittany Murphy, who’s barely recognizable here.
20. BEST IN SHOW — See entry for WAITING FOR GUFFMAN. When Fred Willard said that line about putting a Sherlock Holmes cap and pipe on the bloodhound, I almost choked to death laughing.
21. CLERKS — Good pick. It’s poorly filmed, poorly (for the most part) acted and nothing much happens, but man is it funny.
22. OLD SCHOOL — It has a few good moments, but anyone who compares this to ANIMAL HOUSE in any way is a complete idiot.
23. AUSTIN POWERS: INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY — At least they picked the funny one of the three, though that’s not saying much. If we have to include a Mike Myers movie, how about WAYNE’S WORLD? Now that legitimately deserves a spot on this list.
24. THE NAKED GUN — Solid pick. It’s no AIRPLANE! (few movies are), but it’s consistently funny from beginning to end. Plus — OJ!
25. WITHNAIL AND I — Haven’t seen this British cult comedy, though I keep hearing great things about it.
Coming later today (because this post is long enough as is): Movies EW forgot!
August 27th, 2008
I just took one of those dopey online personality tests, “The Director Who Films Your Life,” and according to them, Sofia Coppola would be the perfect choice to bring my life story to the big screen.
Hmm. I did like LOST IN TRANSLATION and think THE VIRGIN SUICIDES is a forgotten gem. Haven’t seen MARIE ANTIONETTE yet, but I suppose I will one of these days, when it’s on HBO and there’s nothing else on. She’s a talented director, no doubt about it, but I don’t know if I see her filming my — admittedly pretty mundane — life story.
My pick? Well, Kubrick is dead, so he’s out, though I’d love to see my school years framed in that rigid style of THE SHINING or FULL METAL JACKET, all perfectly staged compositions and tracking shots. Scorsese would be just right for handling the narration — ala GOODFELLAS, maybe my wife could chime in partway through — and he’d be great at picking the music. (Just not “Gimme Shelter” again, Marty — please!) Others I’d like to see take a crack would be Billy Wilder (he’s dead, though), David Fincher (think of the detail he’d bring to my 1970s childhood) and even John Hughes (I did go to high school in the era of SIXTEEN CANDLES and THE BREAKFAST CLUB, after all.)
But Sofia Coppola? I’m going to have to think that one over.
Take the test yourself by clicking here, then share your results in the comments section. I’m dying to see if anyone gets Takashi Miike, Dario Argento or Guy Maddin. Now those are biopics I’d like to see!
August 25th, 2008
The funniest thing in the Aug. 7 issue of THE ONION wasn’t one of the made-up headlines (though, admittedly, “Steer, Slaughterhouse Worker Make Awkard, Last-Second Eye Contact” was pretty good). No, it was the blurb on the ad for PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, supplied by Rolling Stone critics Peter Travers.
Allow me to quote it in its entirety:
“This is like if SUPERBAD met MIDNIGHT RUN and they had a baby, and then PULP FICTION and TRUE ROMANCE met FREAKS AND GEEKS and UNDECLARED and they had a baby, and by some miracle those babies met — this would be the funny movie they birthed.”
Italics his, by the way. Bold too.
Here’s my blurb for that blurb. Attention Rolling Stone and any movie posters using this blurb (and believe me, Travers writes his reviews so he can get his name on movie posters) — feel free to post this above that:
“This is like if a movie critic who doesn’t know what he was talking about and hasn’t written an insightful sentence since 1980 met a magazine that paid him a wad of money to write inane collections of meaningless drivel that sound hip but really aren’t — sort of like that magazine itself — then they had a baby – this would be the unfunny movie blurb they birthed.”Â
(By the way, this is not meant to reflect on PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, a movie I haven’t seen but figure I’d probably like. )
August 25th, 2008
Over at his Secret Fun Blog, Kirk Demarais shares some great portraits of famous film families. My favorite? The Torrances. Don’t they look happy?
 
Click on the Secret Fun Blog link to see similar portaits of The Freelings, the Lundegaards and the Griswolds.
August 25th, 2008
Here’s the video version of this week’s column, a review of the final season of HBO’s top-notch drama, THE WIRE.
Get the Flash Player to see this player.
And, if you want to read the written version (more detail, fewer clips from the show), click here.
August 22nd, 2008
Here’s a great little bit of film clip editing from Matt Zoller Seitz (the guy behind the excellent House Next Door blog) with expository scenes from everything from JAWS to PSYCHO to THE MATRIX. (Link courtesy of Jim Emerson’s Scanners blog.)
I have to admit, it’s been a lot of years (and a lot of bad movies) since STAR WARS, but I still get a little chill when Alec Guinness explains what the heck The Force is. And Reese’s suitably intense description of The Terminator to a terrified Sarah Conner is a sci-fi classic. Hammiest bit? No contest — it’s the late Richard Crenna chewing up the scenery as he tells the cops what a tough guy John Rambo is. A billy goat puke? Really, Col. Troutman? Really?
August 22nd, 2008
Because Warner Bros, has announced that it plans to reboot the franchise and ignore what’s come before.
Says Warner Bros. Group President Jeff Robinov in the Wall Street Journal: ” ‘Superman (Returns)’ didn’t quite work as a film in the way that we wanted it to. It didn’t position the character the way he needed to be positioned. .. Had ‘Superman’ worked in 2006, we would have had a movie for Christmas of this year or 2009. … But now the plan is just to reintroduce Superman without regard to a Batman and Superman movie at all.”
Robinov is referring to the long-rumored SUPERMAN VS. BATMAN movie that’s had comic book geeks salivating for years. Turns out it’s not going to happen — but that doesn’t mean there won’t be plenty of capes on movie screens in the years to come.
Here’s a surprise — Warner Bros. plans for the next wave of super-hero movies (as many as 8 by 2011, the article says) will be grim and gritty, just like this summer’s THE DARK KNIGHT. You don’t suppose that has anything to do with it becoming the No. 2 American box office champ, do you?
In the same article, Robinov mentions that HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE was moved to July 2009 because the studio needs a big summer release. In other words, exactly what I said here. Where’s my big Hollywood paycheck?!?
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