Archive for April, 2009
April 30th, 2009
… then this bit of news might be interesting to you: On April 24, Steve Wiebe, the hero of that movie, has set a new record on Donkey Kong Jr. From the official Twin Galaxies Web site:
The new World Record mark was accomplished on March 14 and verified by Twin Galaxies Chief Referee David Nelson. Steve’s new World Record mark of 1,139,800 points takes the Donkey Kong Junior crown from fellow Washington state native Ike Hall, who was crowned the DKJ World Champ in August 2008 with a score of 1,033,000, taking the crown that Billy Mitchell had held on the game since 1985.
Way to go, Steve!
And if you haven’t seen KING OF KONG, you really should. Here’s the trailer:
April 30th, 2009
Courtesy of the Robert De Niro Film Collection (via this post from Hollywood Elsewhere), here’s Bobby D’s hack license, circa 1976. Gee, I wonder what movie he might have been working on around then?
April 29th, 2009
Turner Classic Movies recently compiled a list of the most influential movies of all time. Over at Slashfilm, they’ve compiled a list of the 10 most influential films of the last 10 years, and it’s an interesting collection. Naturally, THE MATRIX is there (and not for positive influence, according to the Slashfilm folks), but so are some non-blockbusters like RUSHMORE and CHILDREN OF MEN and a few out-and-out flops, like SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW ( a movie I enjoyed quite a bit, though not one without a few major flaws).
Any thoughts?
April 28th, 2009
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post celebrating the 10th anniversary of THE MATRIX. Well, a lot has changed in that decade, not the least of which is the appearance of MATRIX co-creator Larry Wachowski. Here’s a photo from years ago, with his brother, Andy (Larry is on the left)…
and here, from Us Magazine of all places, is a current photo…
I don’t care if you’re a man or a woman, Larry/Lana. I just never want you to make another movie like THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS, OK?
April 28th, 2009
It’s been 25 years ago since the summer of 1984, but over at Cinematical, Scott Weinberg makes the case that, as far as fun summer movies go, that one was tough to top. Here are just a few of the flicks that hit screens back then:
SIXTEEN CANDLES
THE NATURAL
INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM
STAR TREK III
GHOSTBUSTERS AND GREMLINS — which, amazingly, opened on the same day, June 8
THE KARATE KID
TOP SECRET! (a very underrated comedy from the guys who made AIRPLANE! — and Val Kilmer’s movie debut)
THE LAST STARFIGHTER
REVENGE OF THE NERDS
THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI…
RED DAWN
C.H.U.D.
Admittedly, few of those are true cinema classics, and some of them are outright stinkers. But even the bad ones are fun in a distinctly “summer movie” sort of way. I’m guessing the summer of 2009 doesn’t have a chance of topping 1984.
April 27th, 2009
It’s not a good movie, but it is an interesting one — here’s my review of Frank Miller’s 2008 bomb, a failed adaptation of the classic 1940s comic book hero, The Spirit. The print version can be found here…
And the video version — with some really strange clips from the movie — can be found here.
April 24th, 2009
Here’s the trailer for Judd Apatow’s new movie, FUNNY PEOPLE. It stars Adam Sandler as a hugely successful stand-up comedian who learns he’s dying and decides he’d better make some human connections before he goes.
Sounds like a standard feel-good movie plot, but the cast is solid, Sandler can do drama (check out PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE) and the buzz is strong. Critics are comparing it to the work of James L. Brooks (BROADCAST NEWS, TERMS OF ENDEARMENT). It’ll be interesting to see how audiences react when it opens July 31.
April 24th, 2009
Just because it’s so danged funny, here’s a bit of W.C. Fields doing what he does best in perhaps his greatest movie, THE BANK DICK…
And yes, that’s Stooge Shemp Howard as Joe the bartender.
April 24th, 2009
If you’re willing to stay up very late tonight (or, to be more specific, early tomorrow morning), you can catch a strange slice of film history on Turner Classic Movies. The cable channel will be airing a pair of vintage exploitation films starting at 1 a.m.
ROAD TO RUIN (1934) is described by the station as “a devastating attack on teen promiscuity,” and ESCORT GIRL (1941) is “full of the kind of stuff no respectable movie would dare touch, sloppily put together, and unyieldingly entertaining.” Both of them are pretty tame stuff in the early 21st century, but they were hot stuff once upon a time, and seeing characters behave badly in such old movies can be a lot of fun. If you have a lot of coffee, a little insomnia or – easiest of all, a DVR — tune in for this antique, oddball double feature.
For more information on the movies, check out the excellent TCM Underground site here.Â
April 23rd, 2009
Kathleen Byron as a crazy nun in BLACK NARCISSUS
You might not have heard of him, but cinematographer Jack Cardiff revolutionized the use of color in film, creating unforgettable images that seemed as much like paintings as film frames. In his collaborations with Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger in such classics as THE RED SHOES, A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH and BLACK NARCISSUS, he created color palettes that reflected the characters’ emotional states, lifting the movies themselves to the level of expressionistic art.
He also worked on THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA, THE AFRICAN QUEEN, THE VIKINGS and, believe it or not, RAMBO: PART II (which, for its many flaws, is a great-looking movie).
Here’s his obit from the Los Angeles Times. If you’re curious for more, rent BLACK NARCISSUS or one of his other films. They’re all worth a look. As a bonus, the Criterion DVD of BLACK NARCISSUS has “Painting with Light,” an excellent feature on Cardiff and his work.
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