Posts filed under 'Uncategorized'
February 15th, 2008
Given recent news events, it seems a little silly to talk about movies today. But then again, movies always have a purpose, even if sometimes it’s just as a way to escape the grim reality of daily life. So today, if the mood strikes you, post a comment listing a favorite movie or two that makes you feel a little better when you’re feeling down. Here are a few of my favorites:
DUCK SOUP (1933) It’s no wonder that, in HANNAH AND HER SISTERS, this Marx Brothers movie is what reminds Woody Allen that life is worth living after all. It’s funny, it’s silly and it’s like no other movie I’ve ever seen. Plus, it’s got none of those annoying romantic subplots or boring musical numbers that can be such a drag in other Marx movies.
THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938) Movies don’t get more romantic (in every sense of the word) than this old-fashioned Technicolor adventure starring Errol Flynn as Robin and Olivia de Havilland as Maid Marian.
STAR WARS (1977) C’mon, it’s STAR WARS — what more do you need to know? Do yourself a favor and pick up the DVD with the original version that omits all that computer-generated bric-a-brac Lucas insisted on sprinkling all over the so-called “special editions.”
THE HUDSUCKER PROXY (1994) This Coen Brothers movie is both a love letter to old-style moviemaking and a brilliant piece of cinema in itself. Tim Robbins arrives in The Big City, gets appointed president of Hudsucker Industries, invents the Hula Hoop, then plunges 44 floors to the pavement (45, including the mezzanine). It’s funny, it’s visually spectacular and it has a heart, too.
 OK, those are mine. How about yours?
February 13th, 2008
Here’s the official announcement from the Writer’s Guild of America:
“On Tuesday, members of the Writers Guilds East and West voted by a 92.5% margin to lift the restraining order that was invoked on November 5th. The strike is over.”
I know for the last several days it was pretty much over, but now the strike is definitely, absolutely, positively over. Writers are back to work today, pounding out new episodes of ACCORDING TO JIM, ‘TIL DEATHÂ and other brilliant TV fare. Thank god for that.
On the plus side, A DAILY SHOW will be THE DAILY SHOW again, and programs like THE OFFICE and 30 ROCK might return again before the summer rerun season hits. Best of all, LOST might actually deliver more than the meager eight episodes we were going to get if the strike had continued. According to executive producer Carlton Cuse, the goal is to produce five more episodes for season 4 (the current one). That’s not a full season, but it’s better than nothing. And apparently seasons 4 through 6 will still have 48 episodes total, meaning we’ll get more shows in seasons 5 and 6. So, to sum up, we eventually get the same amount of LOST we would’ve gotten without the strike, but we’ll have to wait a bit. I can live with that.
Plus, the writers got at least some of what they wanted, and the giant corporations had to fork over a tiny bit of their colossal profits. That might mean a few less solid-gold backscratchers for the CEOs this Christmas, and that’s a victory in my book.
Not a movie-related post, but there’s more to life than movies — there’s TV!
(And the strike, had it continued much longer, would’ve had a bit impact on the 2009 movie season. But it looks like that bullet has been dodged. Now the writers can start working on GOOD LUCK CHUCK II: BETTER LUCK CHUCK!
January 25th, 2008
And the title of the next James Bond movie is … drum roll please … “The Quantum of Solace.”
Confusing? Sure. Intriguing? Maybe. Better than “Octopussy”? Definitely.
Apparently, the title comes from one of Bond author Ian Fleming’s old short story collections. Truth is, the title barely matters. All people need to know is that it’s the new James Bond movie, and that Daniel Craig is back as 007. Who cares what it’s called?
The stories never have much to do with the movies anyway — if you don’t believe me, read “The Spy Who Loved Me” and try to find the character with the steel teeth named “Jaws.” In fact, try to find James Bond in the first half of the book. Good luck.
