Actually, I should probably make that four, since the rather sweet photo above is one of a series at NextMovie to welcome in the new season of "South Park," actually the second half of - amazingly - season 15, which opens tonight.
Never ones to shy away from anything, if I have things right, tonight's episode, titled "Ass-burgers," will indeed poke fun at something no one ever should, Asperger's syndrome, and almost certainly with no mercy. I can't wait.
And, being of course a tribute to the Dude, it's also a segue into the first wild and potentially great thing I noticed this morning, the Coen brothers making the trip into TV. I'd probably just dismiss this as a waste of their time and considerable talents, but the project sounds just about perfect for them and apparently won't really take up too much of their time.
The duo has collaborated with "Cedar Rapids" scribe Phil Johnston to co-create "HarveKarbo," an upcoming hourlong comedy for Fox on which the Coens will serve as executive producers. The show, which will be written by Johnston, will follow the title character, an ill-tempered LA private investigator whose cases frequently involve the depraved doings of the Hollywood elite, and his deadbeat friends in Los Angeles’ El Segundo.
That certainly sounds like it has some Dude-esque potential, and if you've never seen "Cedar Rapids," I count it as one of the better big-screen comedies of this year, a sweet little flick starring Ed Helms and John C. Reilly that had just enough funny and knew exactly when to quit. This is definitely one to keep your eyes on.
And speaking of potentially great TV, but something I still think is much less likely to happen, there's a new development in the "Arrested Development" saga, aka "The Longest Tease."
After Jason Bateman once again relit the movie/return to series fuse on Sunday at the New Yorker Festival's "Arrested Development" full cast reunion, there was word that Netflix and Showtime were both at least slightly interested in bringing the show back for 10 episodes or so to lead in to a movie.
You can still count me as a doubter, but what would make this more likely than a good, old-fashioned bidding war, right? Well, we may just get one, according to the always-reliable Vulture, as Netflix and now streaming rival Hulu are apparently very interested in at least the new episodes.
I promise not to bring up every single tiny development in this already rather ridiculous tale, but this one sounds promising, so stay tuned ...
And thirdly (or fourthly) today, the best album I've heard this year (at least in Adele's considerable wake) has to be "Rome," by DJ Danger Mouse and the Italian composer Daniele Luppi. The album, which just trust me is fantastic, is a tribute to the music of spaghetti westerns, and features vocals from Jack White and Norah Jones. Now comes word that video director Chris Milk, who has done great work with Arcade Fire, among other bands, wants to turn the album into a movie somehow. More on that in a sec, but first enjoy this audio-only clip from "Rome," "Season's Trees" featuring Norah Jones.
I love that song, and the whole album is just the perfect thing for a lazy Sunday morning. As for the movie itself, while apparently at least underpinned and inspired by the album, it will also be based on the science-fiction/horror novel "The Reapers Saw the Angels" by Alden Bell, which I have not read but is apparently about a girl living in a post-apocalyptic world.
I've frankly had enough of those types of flicks, but the involvement of the Danger Mouse stuff in this somehow makes me think this could turn into something fantastic.
And, finally today and as a little treat for anyone who made it this far (and because still being almost a thorough Luddite, I'm still amazed that it's legal to put complete movies on the Internet), enjoy the full movie "Synecdoche, NY," embedded here for the pleasure of anyone who happens to find it. The Charlie Kaufman oddity is really just the perfect thing for a Wednesday, and it looks great imbiggened to full screen, so enjoy. Peace out.
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
Three crazy - and potential great - things that caught my eye this morning
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Sunday thoughts, of "Moneyball," Katherine Heigl (yes, really) and more
Considering the first poster for Bruce Robinson's "The Rum Diary" was just a picture of Johnny Depp in a fedora (probably enough to market a movie), the one above is certainly an improvement, and hopefully visual proof that Robinson's big comeback will play everywhere once it finally opens on Oct. 12.
Why should you care? Well, Robinson, before pretty much disappearing from the face of the Earth, managed to direct at least one perfectly entertaining movie with "Withnail and I," an oddity well worth tracking down if you've never seen it. After about 10 years off from directing any kind of feature films whatsoever, I'm thinking he'll have a winner on his hands with this one, starring Depp as a rather debauched American journalist in Puerto Rico and based on the novel by Hunter S. Thompson.
Can't wait to see how all that turns out, but in the meantime I can tell you, as many critics already have, that this weekend's "Moneyball" is a pretty great little flick and one of a definitely dying breed: The grand baseball movie. It combines enough of a rah-rah story with what's essentially an action movie in which the words are the weapons (thanks to Aaron Sorkin) and a buddy movie in which Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill are just extremely funny.
So, why isn't that enough to knock "The Lion King" from the top of the box office? It still might, but the tracking I saw has "Moneyball" coming in a fairly close second. Please, people, just trust me: Even if you're not a baseball geek like me, this movie is just thoroughly entertaining.
And word has come down this weekend that Pitt is now being courted for something else that could be a lot of fun. Doug Liman, who way back in the day directed "Swingers" and much more recently "Fair Game," is set to helm a flick based on the Japanese novel "All You Need is Kill," with Pitt in his sights to play the lead. So, what's it about? Per Comingsoon.net:
There's one thing worse than dying. It's coming back to do it again and again. ... When the alien Gitai invade, Keiji Kiriya is just one of many raw recruits shoved into a suit of battle armor and sent out to kill. Keiji dies on the battlefield, only to find himself reborn each morning to fight and die again and again. On the 158th iteration though, he sees something different, something out of place: the female soldier known as the B*tch of War. Is the B*tch the key to Keiji's escape, or to his final death?
Sounds like pretty trippy stuff, and Pitt hasn't made a bad movie (at least that I'v bothered to see) in quite a while now, so stay tuned.
OK, on to a short clip show, starting with "60 Minutes," which I only bother to watch when I know in advance they have something I'll be interested in, and tonight that should certainly be the case. As you'll see from the clip below, tonight's show will feature "South Park" creators Trey Park and Matt Stone, giving a glimpse of how they put together (and voice just about all the characters for) what is still one of the most scathingly funny shows on TV, now rather amazingly about to enter the second half of its 15th season in early October. Enjoy this preview clip.
Next up, a slew of clips from what should be the silliest movie of this fall season, but hopefully one that will be as fun as any movie apparently based on the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots game should be, "Real Steel." That alone should tell everyone all they need to know about this, which stars Hugh Jackman and somehow the great Anthony Mackie, too. Enjoy these clips courtesy of Collider, and keep an eye out for the movie, which will definitely dethrone "The Lion King" on Oct. 7, if nothing else has accomplished that feat in the meantime.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Ron Howard to explore dark side of Mormon history, and more cheery stuff
I'm usually not one to get too excited for simple movie posters, but the movie fall is getting so close (at least in my sun-fried mind) that I can already envision it, and "Let the Right One In" director Tomas Alfredson's take on "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" is certainly one of the movies I'm most looking forward to for the rest of this year, so just wanted to share this. As you can see from the poster above, these will be some rather star-packed spy games when this opens hopefully wide enough to reach my little corner of the world Nov. 18.
And in the closest thing to fresh movie news in this post, Ron Howard, having lost his multi-layered production of "The Dark Tower," has now set his sights on Mormons, but not the cute, cuddly kind that won "South Park" masterminds Trey Parker and Matt Stone the top Tony.
Instead, Howard will team up with scribe Dustin Lance Black ("Milk" and Clint Eastwood's upcoming J. Edgar Hoover biopic) for a movie based on Jon Krakauer's "Under the Banner of Heaven." As many probably know, Krakauer is also the author of "Into the Wild," which Sean Penn turned into easily one of my favorite movies of the last five years or so.
"Under the Banner of Heaven" tells the story of a double murder committed by two Mormon Fundamentalist brothers, Ron and Dan Lafferty, who insist they received a revelation from God commanding them to kill their blameless victims. Beginning with this "divinely inspired" crime, Krakauer continues on for an investigation of the Mormon faith as a whole. Heady stuff that, and should it happen to drop just as we might have a Mormon running for president? Stay tuned ...
And speaking of unsavory characters (behold the power of the segue!), Kevin Costner has already made it easy to hate him through the years, but it seems he'll take this to a whole new level with Quentin Tarantino's next movie, "Django Unchained."
Having read the script for this (which is uniformly excellent), I can confirm that the character he'll play, Ace Woody, stands out as the most vile person in a cast packed with them. Woody trains the mandingos who fight for the pleasure of Candyland ranch owner Calvin Candie, to be played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Which makes the only missing piece in Tarantino's sprawling "Southern" finding an actress to play Broomhilda, and with the truly great Kerry Washington up for this, things are rounding into shape in very good, if truly odd form (by the way, I've said it here many a time before, but "Night Catches Us," a '70s period piece of sorts set in Philly and starring Washington and Anthony Mackie, is a can't-miss video rental.)
But getting back to "Django Unchained," if you can get past the racial language that permeated the script and I have to assume will make it on screen, it's as witty as anything Tarantino has written and truly epic in scope too. The movie will tell the story of a German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) who teams up with a freed slave, Django (Jamie Foxx, bizarre), to take out slave owners and eventually work to free Django's wife, Broomhilda, who works at Candyland. Just picture how wild all that could be, and I think you'll agree that if he somehow pulls all this off, QT should deliver quite the movie present on Christmas day of 2012.
And all I have left after that today are a couple of videos that caught my eye this morning. Having just finished the U.K. run of "Torchwood" and watched the first Starz-produced installment of "Torchwood: Miracle Day," I just have a hankering for more witty and smart sci-fi. In recent memory, very few TV shows delivered that combo better than Joss Whedon's way-too-short-lived "Firefly," so here, courtesy of Sci Fi Wire, is a clip compiling their 25 best quotes from the series. Enjoy
And what better way to wrap things up on a Wednesday morning than with zombies being bludgeoned back to death? Like the zombies themselves, this wordless promo for the second season of "The Walking Dead" is probably a bit ripe by now, having premiered during Sunday's return of AMC's "Breaking Bad," but I like it, so enjoy, and keep an eye out for the show returning in October. Peace out.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Wednesday clip show: Will there be anything good on TV this fall?
Actually, before we get into any of that, just a bit of movie news, because anyone who's been here before knows that "The Other Guys" was my favorite comedy of 2010, and now comes word that stars Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg will be teaming up again.
This time out it will be for something called "Turkey Bowl," a Warner Brothers comedy in which they will play rival football coaches of small-town teams whose big showdown is a Thanksgiving Day game.
Sounds like pretty typical Ferrell sports-related fare and a chance for Marky Mark to shout a whole lot, but out of love for "The Other Guys," I'll probably spring for a matinee ticket for that.
And now rather quickly on to the clips today, since I'm already behind (it is Wednesday, after all), starting with a couple of movie clips and then, as promised, a look at some of what's coming to TVs this fall (and a warning, even though Zooey Deschanel appears, it isn't all pretty).
First up comes the first trailer I've seen for "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn," the first, I believe, in at least a planned trilogy and set to come out just in time for Christmas. This is just a teaser, but it does raise hopes that Steven Spielberg has indeed come up with a pretty grand adventure for the young Belgian detective, but I have at least one quibble: Does the kid at the end of this clip look anything like the beloved cartoon character created by Hergé? I think not. Enjoy the clip, anyway.
I have to say, of all the wide-release offerings coming this summer, I think J.J. Abrams' "Super 8" has risen to the top for me. Perhaps its clever marketing or I'm must feeling nostalgic for some good, old-fashioned '80s-style (dare I say Spielbergian?) fun. Anyways, enjoy this clip from the movie, which sets up the big crash that unleashes ... well, I don't know, but I can't wait to find out on June 10. Enjoy.
OK, moving on to TV, I try against steep odds to remain optimistic, so let's start with the good and work our way down. Keeping with J.J. Abrams, though he's not directing the pilot, his Bad Robot company is behind Fox's "Alcatraz," starring Jorge Garcia, Sam Neill and somehow Parminder Nagra of "Bend It Like Beckham," too. As you'll see from this promo clip, it involves the titular prison, time travel and some really bad dudes. Sounds like the perfect mix for escapist TV, so I'm in. Enjoy the promo.
I haven't watched "Napoleon Dynamite" for years, but I'm fairly confident that in movie form, at least, it will stand up over time. As an animated series? Not so sure. I have, however, given up on almost all animated offerings now on TV ("South Park" is the lone holdout, but I don't think I'll ever really be able to quit that), so there's a potential hole to fill. Anyways, as you'll see from this Fox promo clip (didn't realize until now that it's all Fox today), all the original cast members return for this, so I guess everyone needed the work. Enjoy the clip, and then stick around for something that never, never should have happened to poor Zooey Deschanel.
OK, instead of saving the best last, I've just put the worst off as long as I could (and hey, I did suffer through a Helen Mirren-less "Prime Suspect" clip, too, but I spared you that). If you told me Zooey Deschanel would be getting her own sitcom and that her character would sing a lot, I'd be hooked. Until I saw this. It just looks excruciatingly (sp?) awful, even though she's a game player in it. "Enjoy" this promo clip for the upcoming Fox show "New Girl," and have a perfectly endurable Wednesday. Peace out.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
A Wednesday chock full of fun news
There's a lot of movie stuff that caught my eye this morning, but the two best bits come from Fox's fall TV schedule, so let's just start there.
Along with killing off five shows that I never bothered to tune in for, the network also added two that I'll definitely give a chance to next fall at its upfronts.
First up is "Alcatraz," which comes from J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot company and is a crime drama revolving around a team investigating the mysterious reappearance of the prison's 1960 inhabitants in the present. Sounds like a pretty serious mindf%$#, and it will star Jorge Garcia of "Lost."
Perhaps even better, Fox has also picked up something called "The New Girl," a comedy starring Zooey Deschanel, who I'll certainly watch in just about anything. This show is about a "quirky female teacher" (Zooey, natch) who becomes roommates with three guys: A man-child, a player and a cynic. Bring it on.
And in one final bit of TV news, I saw a few reports this morning that led with the headline "Martin Freeman leaving 'The Hobbit'," but reading into it just a bit revealed it's just for a short while and so he can work on more "Sherlock" with Benedict Cumberbatch. Bully, because the three episodes they showed a short while back on PBS with Cumberbatch as the titular detective and Freeman as his pal Watson were fantastic.
OK, like I said, a pretty busy day of good movie news, so I'll just get to it briskly before some fun videos, and at least one that's simply bizarre.
First up, now that, thankfully, Darren Aronofsky won't be wasting his time on yet another movie about "The Wolverine," he's now hitched up with George Clooney for something that sounds much more interesting.
According to Vulture, he's now at work on a science fiction movie titled "Human Nature," which will star Clooney as a man who is cryogenically frozen, only to wake up in a future where humanity has become pets to another species. That's all I know about that, but it certainly sounds like a perfect Aronofsky mind-bender.
In other news, Niels Arden Oplev, who made one of my favorite recent thrillers with his take on Stieg Larsson's "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," has now set his sights on a genre thriller with a great cast.
The movie, called "The Last Photograph," is a revenge story starring one Sean Penn as a special ops soldier who goes to Afghanistan to track down who murdered his brother, and Christian Bale as a photographer who documented the killing. Sounds like juicy stuff.
Moving quickly (I do have an actual job that still pays me something, after all), there are few genres of movie I love more than boxing flicks, and it sounds like "The Devil and Daniel Johnston" director Jeff Feuerzeig is putting together a potentially sweet one.
Naomi Watts, Liev Schreiber and Christina Hendricks will star in "The Bleeder," based on the true story of former New Jersey heavyweight boxer and womanizer Chuck Wepner, who boxed 15 rounds with Muhammad Ali and apparently inspired Sylvester Stallone to pen 'Rocky.' " Fun stuff, that, and I assume Schreiber would play the fighter.
And in a final bit of news before we move on to the videos, it's already known that, in a more-than-slightly odd change up, Tyler Perry will be playing Alex Cross, the role already played twice by Morgan Freeman, in "I, Alex Cross." And now comes very welcome word that Frenchy Jean Reno is joining the cast too.
This time out, James Patterson's creation is squaring off against a psychotic mob hitman to be played by Matthew Fox. No word yet on what role Reno will play, but he can class up just about anything except that remake of "The Pink Panther," so this could be fairly great.
OK, now on the videos. Not surprisingly, what Pedro Almodovar has cooked up now looks as bizarre as it will hopefully be entertaining, as I almost always find his movies to be. "The Skin I Live In" reunites the director with Antonio Banderas, and is a revenge tale that tells the story of a plastic surgeon (Banderas, I have to assume) on the hunt for the men who raped his daughter. It's in competition this year at Cannes, but for now enjoy this very short clip to whet your appetite.
Next up comes a bit of fun courtesy of MTV News. As everyone probably knows, there's another pirate movie starring Johnny Depp coming out soon (May 20), called "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides." I'm still on the fence about seeing it, although the presence of Penelope Cruz cutting up is certainly a plus. What I did like, at least, was this bit of Legos fun. Enjoy.
I assumed that this week's "South Park" would be all about Osama Bin Laden, but it seems I'm wrong once again (don't worry, I'm used to it). Instead, in something that could be wickedly funny, they take on the royal wedding, which in Trey Parker and Matt Stone's warped minds actually involves a Canadian princess. By the way, NPR is streaming the "Book of Mormon" soundtrack here, and it's just perfectly profane entertainment. Enjoy that and this brief clip from tonight's episode.
And finally today, how better to start Wednesday than with a free movie? I know it has its detractors, but "O Brother Where Art Thou" is still my favorite Coen Brothers' movie, and you can now watch it in its entirety on YouTube. This looks good at full frame, and watching it certainly sounds like a lot more fun than working. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
If at first you succeed ... plus a big Wednesday clip show
Well, if you're Aaron Sorkin, if you've done something exactly right the first time (even if it was severely under appreciated), just do it all over again almost exactly the same way.
Does anyone remember "Sports Night"? It was a truly great Sorkin show that ran for a couple of years simultaneously (I think) with the early years of "The West Wing." As you may remember, it was about a sports news show hosted by two dudes and produced by two women, with another producer as a rival for one of the hosts' affections.
Just believe me, it was a whole heck of a lot better than I'm making it sound here. In the original version, the two hosts were Josh Charles and Peter Krause, the producer was Felicity Huffman and the associate producer was the sorely-missed Sabrina Lloyd. I frankly can't remember who played the other part, but you get the idea.
Now, fast forward about 10 years or so, and Sorkin has sold something called "More as This Story Develops" to HBO, and with the exception that it's about a news rather than sports show, it sounds like pretty much exactly the same thing, with pretty much the same cast dynamic taking shape (and although it may sound like I'm complaining, I'm really not ... "Sports Night" was fantastic.)
This time around, if all the pieces fall into shape, Jeff Daniels will play the host, Marisa Tomei the producer (and following the "Sports Night" model, probably unrequited love interest), Alison Pill of "Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World" will play the associate producer and Olivia Munn will play a business news reporter and undoubtedly rival for Daniels' affections. I could be wrong of course, but that certainly does sound familiar, no?
Either way, I'll definitely be tuning in when this hits HBO, perhaps sometime this fall.
And in just a bit of movie news, it seems that Russell Crowe is reuniting with the source of his best movie so far, "L.A. Confidential," for his first directing effort.
Crowe would also star in "77," based on a James Ellroy script that is apparently being rewritten by someone else. Best as I can tell, per Deadline, it's about the unsolved murder of an LAPD officer, and the nationally televised shootout in South Central L.A. between the Symbionese Liberation Army and the LAPD, as seen through the eyes of two police partners, one black and one white.
Sounds like typically juicy Ellroy stuff, so stay tuned. And now, on to the clips ...
OK, today, these are pretty much in descending order of funny until the end, a plug for tonight's premiere of the 15th (really!?!?) season of "South Park." First up, courtesy of The Onion, comes an interview with the screenwriter of "Fast Five," 5-year-old Chris Morgan. Now, I have nothing against the Fast and Furious flicks (that Tokyo one is some pretty seriously satisfying Saturday afternoon viewing for a half hour or so), but this is seriously funny. Enjoy.
Today Now! Interviews The 5-Year-Old Screenwriter Of "Fast Five"
Next up is the first red band trailer for Kristen Wiig's "Bridesmaids," courtesy of Myspace, and having watched it, I'm now certain the ladies are going to bring a whole lot of funny when this drops May 13. You do have to feel more than a little bad for Melissa McCarthy, who is apparently going to be one running fat joke in the flick, but she does at least seem to be in on the joke. Enjoy.
OK, these next two I'm a little more dubious about, but I like the stars of both, so here goes. Paul Rudd, who can be really funny when he allows himself to be (just trust me, "Role Models" is a minor comedy classic), stars as the titular idiot in "Our Idiot Brother," set to come out Aug. 16. Zooey Deschanel, Elizabeth Banks and Rashida Jones all play his sisters, so here's hoping this will be a whole lot funnier than I'm expecting. Enjoy.
And for the last of our trailers, there isn't a comedienne working today who deserves a great starring role more than Anna Faris. She's just a natural wit (and yes, I even love "House Bunny"), but I don't think the role she's been waiting for arrives with "What's Your Number?", for which the titular question seems to be addressing how many rom-com cliches can be stacked into one two-minute or so trailer. Oh well. "Enjoy" this trailer, and then stick around for a much better look back at her career so far, courtesy of the New Yorker.
And finally today, Trey Parker, Matt Stone and friends are indeed back tonight, and only those guys could combine Steve Jobs, the iPad and ... well, just watch the clip to see. I'll just say it's expectedly both disgusting and simply hilarious. "South Park" returns to Comedy Central (and my DVR) tonight at 10 p.m. Enjoy the clip, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Two crazy rumors, one to laugh about and one to hope for
You know, I would suggest someone try to shame The Sun if it had even an ounce of it left, or the folks who put it out just clearly didn't have so much fun f***ing with the entire world.
The British's tabloid's latest creation, as I've dutifully documented above by sharing the photo, is the immediately shot down but still very funny rumor that one Robert Pattinson would be playing Kurt Cobain in a biopic to be titled "All Apologies." And, as you might be able to tell, that's Scarlett Johansson in the photo as Courtney Love, who Love has supposedly and rather immodestly suggested should play her.
All I can really say about all that is great title, and I'd imagine that last bit about Courtney Love is probably the only thing approaching truth in it. But it's still just a heck of a lot of fun.
And, in a rumor that I would much more readily get behind, the co-creators of "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" - which along with "Coraline" shares the distinction of being one of the two 2009 animated movies that were better than Pixar's "Up" - are eyeing a sequel in the form of "Pickles to Pittsburgh," the soon-to-be-released followup children's book by Judith Barrett.
In the new work, according to Publisher's Weekly, the townspeople of Chewandswallow find themselves still cleaning up all that food rained down by Bill Hader's Flint Lockwood. In what should make for a globe-trotting adventure, they come up with a global food distribution plan, hence Eggplants to Ecuador, Chili to Chile and the titular "Pickles to Pittsburgh."
I'm laughing at that already, so here's hoping this somehow happens, and soon. And in the meantime, Comedy Central has released a short clip of next week's episode of "South Park," which will be the rather seriously amazing 200th one. Never strangers to excess, as you'll see from the clip, co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are bringing back every celebrity who has been mercilessly mocked during the show's run for a class-action lawsuit against the city. Nothing but funny there, especially the return of Mecha Streisand. Enjoy, and have a fantastic rest of the weekend.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Conan's revenge may come sooner than you think, on screens big and small
You know, I love Conan O'Brien, but not nearly enough to pay $115 or so to see him on the closing night of his comedy tour at the Fabulous Fox Theater in Atlanta. Now, however, it seems he might be bringing the show directly to all kinds of cheapskates like me.
It seems that filmmaker Rodman Flender (who I had never heard of, but has apparently directed both "Idle Hands" and "Leprechaun 2" along with a lot of TV, in case that means anything to you), is about to sign on to make a feature film from the 30-city Legally Prohibited from Being Funny tour.
I'll certainly watch that, and in even better news, it seems likes Conan to Fox as soon as this fall is almost a done deal. According to the L.A. Times, key Fox executives, including Satan Murdoch, are on board with the plan and would like to finalize a deal the network could announce at its fall lineup unveiling on May 17.
Details are still being worked out, including that Fox would spend about $60 million annually on the show, as opposed to NBC's $90 million earmarked for Conan's "The Tonight Show," but at least one more really funny thing could come out of all this. Fox is apparently looking at leasing the old "Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien" set for the new show, which NBC spent $50 million renovating. Now, I realize this would put more revenue in NBC's pockets, but if Conan were to somehow kick Jay Leno's ass sort of on his old turf, how frigging sweet would that be?
Conan is prohibited from being on TV until September, but that certainly doesn't keep him from plotting that return as soon as possible. Stay tuned ...
And, since it's almost all about funny here today, Amy Heckerling seems to be cooking up something that could really be so with "Vamps," even though, like much of the world over the age of 16, I really have just about had enough of the undead.
Remember Amy Heckerling? Among her very funny films are "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "Clueless" (admit it, you like that silly little movie as much as I do.) For her return to writing and directing, Heckerling is reuniting with "Clueless" star Alicia Silverstone for "Vamps" and pairing her with Krysten Ritter, who was just as funny as Jay Baruchel in the surprisingly much better than awful "She's Out of My League" (yes, I watched that.)
The duo will play a pair of beautiful young (do they really have ages?) vampires who are living it up in NYC until, of course, love enters the picture and mucks things up. Sounds more than a little meh, but I'm still betting on pretty seriously funny, especially with this latest bit of casting news.
Sigourney Weaver, late of a little movie called "Avatar," has signed on to play a vampire queen who turned the two young ladies into creatures of the night. Filming will start in April, and with that cast, you can be pretty much sure I'll turn out to see what comes of all this.
And, speaking of funny that's going to come much, much sooner, was there ever any doubt that Tiger Woods would find himself the star of tonight's new season premiere of "South Park"? Of course not. Here's the premise:
The nation's top scientists come together to put a stop to the recent phenomenon of rich, successful men who suddenly want to have sex with many, many women. After extensive testing, some of the fourth grade boys in South Park Elementary are diagnosed as sex addicts.
I'm laughing at that already, and as you'll see from the brief preview below, they either simply obtained the audio tape from Tiger's "press conference" or found a dead voice ringer. Enjoy.
And finally, when it comes to stand-up comedians, they really don't get much better at all than Valdosta, Ga's own late, great Bill Hicks. If you've never seen him perform, get yourself caught up on Youtube and I guarantee you'll laugh. His most frequent targets are advertisers (he's known to open shows with "if you're in advertising or marketing, kill yourself"), but he really spares no one guilty of hypocrisy. And now, thankfully, directors Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas have made a documentary about his too-short life, "American: The Bill Hicks Story," which just played the SXSW fest and will hopefully be coming to a theater or DVD player near me very soon. Enjoy the trailer and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Richard Pryor to be played by ... a Wayans brother?
I really enjoy reading about all this stuff, even more than I do writing about it when I first wake up in the morning, because very often you just get one of those wtf moments that make me start the day with a smile.
To first give all credit where its due, this info comes directly from Hitfix, and I see no reason to take it as anything but fact.
In February, it was announced that "Dreamgirls" director Bill Condon was going to make a biopic about Richard Pryor (rather imaginatively titled "Richard Pryor"), and Eddie Murphy was going to be the star. Fair enough all that, but apparently not so.
Now comes word that though Condon is still on board, Marlon Wayans will be stepping in to play Pryor, and oddly I see this a potentially really good move.
Don't get me wrong. I can't criticize anything the Wayans brothers have generated as a unit in recent years because I haven't bothered to see anything they were all involved in since the first "Scary Movie," but I did of course way back when see "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka." And I did see and quite enjoy the Marlon variety of the Wayans in both "Requiem for a Dream" and "Ladykillers" (yes, "Ladykillers," and I like that movie quite a bit.)
Mostly, though I'm sure Murphy would have loved to do this, this move takes out all that ego and places a potentially very funny guy (as long as he and his brothers aren't behind the camera) in the role of the best comedian (except for maybe Bill Hicks) of all time.
Well, more than enough about that, really, but apropos of just about nothing, here's Wayans in a very funny - and extremely foul - clip from "Ladykillers" to get your Wednesday started right.
Selick out at Laika
Anyone who saw and enjoyed "Coraline" as much as I did (and since it made $75 million domestic, there must be a few of you out there) knows that this is a pretty dark day for Laika, the studio that generated it.
Henry Selick, the "Coraline" director and a master of stop-motion animation, is leaving his post as "supervising director for feature film development" at the studio. Rather ironically, I guess, despite that title, he's leaving because his contract is up and he still didn't have any feature film in sight to direct.
Laika is set to announce its next feature within the month, but here's hoping that Selick finds a new home where his talents can be put to their proper use very soon.
Lauren Graham back on TV?
As a big fan of "Gilmore Girls" (yes, really), I have to say it's just been depressing to see Lauren Graham not be able to find any really good roles - on the big screen or small - since that show ended. Now, however, it seems she's found something that will at least probably last a few years.
Graham is about to step in for Maura Tierney in NBC's upcoming drama series "Parenthood," based at least loosely on the movie of the same name that I just couldn't stand. Tierney had to drop out because she is battling breast cancer.
And why would the TV show be any better than the rather wretched movie? Well, first of all, it was created by "Friday Night Lights" showrunner Jason Katims, and already has a pretty strong cast, including Peter Krause and Craig T. Nelson (as an aside, I just finished watching "Sports Night," and that show was so good I'm surprised it even managed to last two years.)
The show, if it actually makes it in on the air, is set to debut as a midseason replacement.
Another "Vacation"?
As sequels go, I think this one just might work because of the sheer craziness of it. According to The Hollywood Reporter, it seems that "Wedding Crashers" director David Dobkin is considering producing and directing (yet another) sequel of sorts to "National Lampoon's Vacation."
Yes, there have already been umpteen spinoffs (I think the only one I've seen was "European Vacation"), but this would instead be a "reboot" (what an awful word), with Rusty now taking his own kids on a similar trip to the original, perhaps to Wally World again for all I know.
Now, National Lampoon is no longer involved (but when's the last time they generated anything genuinely funny?) and no word yet if any of the original cast would be either, but just thinking of that goofy movie again made me smile, so here's hoping something seriously funny comes out of all this.
And speaking of seriously funny, "South Park" is finally back on the air again tonight for what I have to assume will be another seven-episode stretch. Here's the description of tonight's episode from Comedy Central:
"The boys bring in professional ghost hunters to investigate evidence of paranormal activity in the Broflovski house. Powerful forces are tormenting Ike. He’s freaked out and the stress could kill him. Kyle and the boys are doing everything they can to save him, but the poltergeists won’t leave Ike alone."
What that doesn't tell you is that the episode is titled "Dead Celebrities," and as you can see from the very brief clip below, they take their inspiration from a rather obvious source. Enjoy, and have a none-too-bothersome Wednesday. Peace out.
Friday, April 10, 2009
I knew "South Park" was powerful, but ...
If you happened to tune in for Wednesday's "South Park" episode, you know that - as the best ones do - it starts out sanely enough with Jimmy writing "the greatest joke in the world" about fishsticks (on the 8-year-old level from which I sometimes view the world, it was indeed pretty funny) before spiraling all over the place and ending with Kanye West singing about the joys of being a gay fish.
It was pretty inspired satire of someone who surely deserves it, and surprisingly, it seems that Mr. West - in his own way - has sort of gotten the message, which I never would have guessed possible.
In his blog, the "rapper" (quotations added only because I can't stand his music, mind you) had this to say about it:
"SOUTH PARK MURDERED ME LAST NIGHT AND IT'S PRETTY FUNNY. IT HURTS MY FEELINGS BUT WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM SOUTH PARK! I ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN WORKING ON MY EGO THOUGH. HAVING THE CRAZY EGO IS PLAYED OUT IN MY LIFE AND CAREER."
Now, the caps alone (which certainly weren't added by me) show that he hasn't really completely gotten over himself, but I suppose it's a start. The whole thing, which you can read here, is actually a hoot, and this would have to be easily the best line: "I GOT A LONG ROAD AHEAD OF ME TO MAKE PEOPLE BELIEVE I'M NOT ACTUALLY A HUGE DOUCHE, BUT I'M UP FOR THE CHALLENGE."
OK, since he also actually posted the video of South Park's gay fish song, I should probably just stop the hating. Here's the video, in case you missed it:
In another bit of TV news, according to Entertainment Weekly, Aaron Sorkin is actually considering another return to TV, and more incredibly a return to yet another "show about making a show."
According to writer Lynette Rice, along with working on two screenplays (one for a Facebook movie [yawn, but yes, I'm on it] and one for a courtroom drama about Guantanamo Bay that sounds much more promising), he's also considering the idea of a new TV drama that takes a behind-the-scenes look at a cable news show.
Man, does that sound like nothing but meh. Now, don't get me wrong, "Sports Night" was pure gold, but his second attempt, "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," was just almost completely devoid of any heart or soul, and lasted much longer than it should have. Given the set of this new show, if it were to happen, I'd imagine the politics he would cram down our throats week after week might be just about unbearable.
And in "The Office"-related news, it seems that Jan (Melora Hardin) is getting a starring role in an upcoming FX series that actually sounds really promising. Called "Lights Out," it will be about a former heavyweight boxing champion (Holt McCallany) who suffers from pugilistic dementia and is forced to take a job as a mob legbreaker to support his wife and three daughters. Hardin will plays his wife, an orthopedic surgeon. That all sounds great to me.
Two promising trailers
I have to admit that this one caught me just about completely off guard. I really like Sam Rockwell and love old-fashioned sci-fi (which Danny Boyle tried to fashion with "Sunshine" but just failed spectacularly), so "Moon" looks like it will be right up my alley. It's being distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, which hopefully means it will somehow play wide enough to reach my little corner of the world when this hits theaters June 12. Enjoy.
And finally, here's the international trailer for Michael Mann's "Public Enemies," which looks much, much better than the teaser he put out earlier this year. You can tell from this clip that what he's cooking up will be as much an epic romance between Johnny Depp's John Dillinger and his mol Billie Frechette, played by Marion Cotillard, as it will hopefully be just a really fun gangster pic. Enjoy, and have a great weekend. Thanks to the largess of two of my old friends, Cory and Kaori, I'm going to watch the Braves beat down the evil Nationals Saturday night (yes, Facebook can really be great sometimes), and before that see Jody Hill's "Observe and Report." Peace out.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Demko's DVD shelf: A truly packed week
"It would be like me going to ['No Country for Old Men' author] Cormac McCarthy and going, 'I have an idea for a [sequel]: You write a book, and I'll write a movie, and you can release it. You'll win a Pulitzer; I'll win an Oscar. It'll be awesome. The attitude toward comic books, they show their hand a little bit. They would never say that about a real novelist, but they would about a comic book."
- Zack Snyder in The New York Times
The rather meager $55 million opening of "Watchmen" will hopefully put the kibosh on any talk about a sequel, and judging from that quote above I'd have to assume Mr. Snyder at least wouldn't be on board. At least until the dumptrucks of money pull up to his door, anyway.
I will say this about anyone who would dare to pen a "Watchmen" sequel, which would really be just about the worst cinematic idea short of a big-screen remake of "The Wizard of Oz": He or she would have to have some serious huevos.
But enough about that. Let's just assume for now that it's never going to happen and move on to a much happier subject: This week's rather seriously loaded DVD shelf. There's a ton of new titles, and at least six that are well worth a rental. These include "Milk" and "Synecdoche, NY," but because I still don't get paid to do this I'm just gonna have to brush over those and simply say check them out if you haven't already (even if Charlie Kaufman's conceit, unfiltered, does wear out its welcome a bit by the end.)
And there's a 12th season of "South Park" (and, much better, a new season beginning tomorrow night, huzzah!), but I just checked Hulu and all 14 season 12 episodes are indeed available there, so why not just watch them for free? A good starting point would be the "Breast Cancer Show Ever," 'cause there really are few better ways to waste 20 minutes or so than by watching Cartman finally get his ass thoroughly kicked by Wendy. Priceless.
But there are four other titles out this week that are so good they're worth a full mention, starting with the best vampire movie I've seen in many, many years. I had no expectations at all going into "Let the Right One In," which probably helped it grow even higher in my estimation, but mi hermano has seen it and raves about it just as much as I do, so I know this time I'm right.
Director Tomas Alfredson's flick, based on the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist, is in fact at least as much a coming-of-age tale as it is a horror movie. Set in frozen Sweden and making full use of its smothering setting, it tells the story of 12-year-old Oskar, who is bullied by his stronger classmates and is pretty much just all-around miserable until he meets new neighbor Eli, who resembles a pale young girl, but, well you can probably figure out the truth. Watching what happens as Oskar does too is easily one of the biggest cinematic pleasures of 2008, and I guarantee you won't soon forget what happens when Eli steps up to fight for Oskar. I've ranted about this before, but it's so sinister an idea that it's worth mentioning again, only as a word of warning: "Cloverfield" director Matt Reeves' plan for an American remake, to be transported to snowy Colorado, is now far enough along to have an IMDB listing. Stop this madness now if you somehow can, or at least just trust me and watch the original now that you have another chance.
"Cadillac Records"
Anyone who's been here before (and I'm still amazed there appear to be a few of you out there) knows that I have nothing but love for Darnell Martin's flick, and I'm happy to sing its praises for what might be the last time now that it's out on DVD. Rather than the straightforward story of Chess Records, Martin just makes her movie all about the music, the mood and the 'tude, and she's helped out by - with all apologies to "Milk" and "W." - the best ensemble cast of 2008. If you think you haven't heard Beyonce sing Etta James' "At Last" by now, you're probably wrong, because its just everywhere. But as beautiful as that is, the real joy in Beyonce's performance (and yes, I am serious) comes in the pain she mines in James' story. Just as good are Jeffrey Wright, who is just a simmering pot of pride and anger as Muddy Waters, Columbus Short, who wrings all the life out of Little Walter, and finally Mos Def clowning it up in full ham as Chuck Berry. All Ms. Martin has listed now on her IMDB sheet since this thoroughly fun flick is three episodes of "Law and Order," but here's hoping she finds real movie work again soon, because she certainly deserves it.
Rachel Getting Married
Be warned before you watch it: Jonathan Demme's flick is the most claustrophobic one I've seen since "Margot at the Wedding," but - on screen, at least - I like my family life served up with a big helping of dysfunction, so they both just worked for me. I was really hoping Anne Hathaway would win the Oscar for this, because she really is as good as all the hype would have you believe as the unwelcome guest at her sister Rachel's wedding. My parents were surprised by this one because they heard a "Fresh Air" interview with Demme in which he called it a "romantic comedy." It's far from that, but you won't get very many flicks that take a more perceptive look at the family dynamic, and Rosemarie DeWitt (Don Draper's hippie mistress on the first season of "Mad Men") is every bit as good as Hathaway as the titular Rachel.
"Happy-Go-Lucky"
I'm not sure I was supposed to find Sally Hawkins' Poppy easily the most annoying lead character of 2008, but it's one of the biggest strengths of Mike Leigh's flick that I was still rooting for her from the start. Hawkins' Poppy is indeed so cheerful that you might want to throttle her, but it will certainly make you think when she encounters someone who might just be ready to act on that understandable impulse in combustible driving instructor Scott, in an unforgettable turn by Eddie Marsan. Like most of Leigh's movies its just an enjoyable little snapshot of working life, with the bonus this time that it just might make you think a little about how you look at the world around you (hokey I know, but true.)
So, there you have it. If you rent any of these, I certainly hope you like them as much as I did. Peace out.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Easily the funniest thing I've seen all week
One of the joys about working where I do (and with layoffs constantly looming, there are less and less of them) is that I'm surrounded by a pretty good set of geeks who know what I like and send me cool things in the e-mail. The above image, apparently created by someone named Evan Shaner, was sent to me by the Telegraph's Web guru, Ryan Gilchrest, and as you can see it's pretty priceless in mashing up "Watchmen" with the "Peanuts" gang.
My favorite thing would have to be Snoopy as Rohrschach, but Charlie Brown makes a pretty darn funny Dr. Manhattan too. And Lucy's chaste version of the Silk Spectre costume is just perfect.
Beyond that goodness, here today it's about what's upcoming in TV, and whether or not there will be anything new or returning worth watching as the silly season kicks up next month. The short answer, of course, is I have no idea since I haven't seen any of these, but here are a few that have caught my eye, with their premiere dates.
Castle, ABC, March 9
Is a likable star enough of a reason to tune in? This series will put that to the test with Nathan Fillion (a k a Captain Mal and that woo-pitching doctor in "Waitress") in the title role as a crime novelist who, natch, solves actual crimes. Sounds nothing but tired, but Fillion's enough to get me to tune in to yet another Monday night show for at least a few episodes.
South Park, Comedy Central, March 11
What's to say about this one except that mssrs. Stone and Parker did some of their best work with two episodes in the most recent season, "Major Boobage" and "Over Logging." The Heavy Metal tribute in "Boobage" was just especially cool. It's pretty amazing that these guys are not only still on the air but also now at least a billion times funnier than "The Simpsons." Bring it on.
Kings, NBC, March 15
Along with "Deadwood" vet Ian McShane (or as one clever journalist called him the other day, Ian Swearsalot) in the lead role of the king, this show has a pretty clever premise going for it too. It takes the story of David, complete with Goliath and all, not only into the modern world but into some kind of parallel realm called Shiloh. It sounds entirely too crazy for TV, so I give it about a month, but I'll tune in for at least the two-hour premiere March 15 to see just what this madness looks like.
Parks and Recreation, April 9
If you're a regular viewer of "The Office" (and if you're not, why not?), you've seen so many promos for this show that you might already be sick of it more than a month before it even premieres. And, frankly, I can normally only take Amy Poehler in small doses (though she was great as that psycho R.A. in "Undeclared"), but here she's surrounded by very funny people in Rashida Jones and Aziz Ansari, and since this comes from the minds of "Office" creators Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, I'll at least have to give it a chance.
Sit Down, Shut Up, April 19
Definitely saving the best for last, I'm jazzed for this animated offering from "Arrested Development" mastermind Mitch Hurwitz, which will soon be entering Fox's Sunday night lineup (unfortunately to replace "King of the Hill," but that great show had a much longer run than I expected, so I suppose it's time to move on.) This oddity is based on a New Zealand (not Australian, as several commenters have told me) sitcom about high school teachers who are at least as self-absorbed and pretty much useless as their students. As you can see from the preview below, it also features several "Arrested Development" vets in the voice cast, so this should really be nothing but fun. Enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant Saturday. Peace out.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
When. W. met Laura: A video sneak peek
I would spend more time talking about the movies opening this weekend, of which there are - surprisingly - two I actually want to see, but I have to work every day but Sunday so will only be seeing one theater movie anyway (yes, laboring on Labor Day, but it means time-and-a-half, so I'll take it.)
Were I not stuck toiling for the man (and, Sunday evening, drafting my fantasy football team), I'd definitely be seeing both "Hamlet 2" and "Traitor." 
I was already pretty psyched for "Hamlet 2" because - in small doses at least - I find Steve Coogan to be a very funny guy, but I became thoroughly sold when I found it was written and directed by Andrew Fleming and "South Park" vet Pam Brady. It may not be a classic comedy, but Fleming's flick "Dick," starring Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams as two ultra-ditsy teens who supposedly uncovered the Watergate scandal, is surprisingly funny. And even better, Brady shared writing credit with Trey Parker and Matt Stone for "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut," so the songs in "Hamlet 2" should be as fun as they are simply outrageous.
As for "Traitor," it sounds like a pretty standard thriller, but I'll see just about anything with Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce (though I can't really see myself checking into the "Hotel for Dogs" with Cheadle next year.) So I'll probably see "Hamlet 2" Sunday and save "Traitor" to savor next weekend.
In the meantime, here - courtesy of CNN - is a clip of Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Banks in Oliver Stone's W. No matter how bad this flick really turns out to be when it drops Oct. 29 or so, I can tell that Brolin and Banks will be fun to see as America's reigning couple. Enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant Labor Day weekend.
Friday, August 15, 2008
And yes, I do have a pet rock
After taking the week off to engage in a none-too-pleasant or fruitful war with the phone company, I am now pleased to report that I have entered the late 20th century and have finally gotten a digital internet connection. I still don't have a cell phone, but I suppose there's always hope for that.
And it also means I get to sever all ties with America Online, so it really is a day of liberation and celebration around here.
The main thing I've discovered is Hulu.com, which the rest of the world probably already knows is just a goldmine of free TV and some movies. For example, you can watch every single episode of "South Park" and, even better, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" (before they're even out on DVD.) I realize this is turning into a straight-out plug, but I can't help it.
Amazingly enough, you can even watch one of my all-time favorite films there for free, Whit Stillman's "Metropolitan." A look at the rather empty lives of young, upper class Manhattanites during the height of debutante season, it's actually a whole lot better than I'm making it sound here and just a great bunch of witty fun. Stillman pretty much disappeared after directing the mildly diverting "Barcelona" and the simply disappointing "Last Days of Disco," but he's rumored to actually be making a comeback as the director of a flick based on Christopher Buckley's satire "Little Green Men."
But enough of that. The order of the day is Ben Stiller's "Tropic Thunder," which I'm going to see this afternoon and am really looking forward to. And I know there's some controversy brewing about Stiller's frequent use of the word "retard" (what would you prefer, "touched"?), but I certainly think that the Academy Awards insistence on showering Oscars on just about anyone who plays a person with any kind of handicap is certainly a ripe target for spoofing, even if they do go a bit too far.
The real reason I'm more than a little psyched for this one is that it falls into my favorite subgenre of flicks: the "movie within a movie." Most often presented as comedies so directors can poke fun at themselves, they're just almost always enjoyable. So, in honor of "Tropic Thunder" and my return to posting anything at all, here are my 10 favorite movies about making movies (and television, since I make the rather loose rules here):
Spinal Tap
There are certainly more productive (and fun) things to do in college, but the set of dudes I ran with then spent way too much of our downtime quoting lines (pathetic, I know) from Rob Reiner's extremely quotable flick about the world's worst heavy metal band. As you can from my bio entry at the top of this site, I just love this flick.
A Cock and Bull Story
Steve Coogan, while probably more than a bit of an asshole in real life, is still very entertaining when he plays one in movies (which he almost always does.) As this list takes shape, I'm realizing it's gonna be as much about failing to make movies as it is about making them, and Michael Winterbottom's flick about a Quixotic attempt to adapt the "unfilmable" novel "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman" is just the perfect portrait of comic futility.
Adaptation
When Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman collaborated for this flick about ... well, sort of, Charlie and his twin brother, Donald ... what they came up with is still one of the strangest movies I've ever seen. Spike is currently doing battle with Warner Bros. about what his "Where the Wild Things Are" will look like if it ever hits theaters, and those of you lucky enough to live in a city much bigger than mine will fairly soon be getting Kaufman's directorial debut with "Synecdoche, New York."
Day for Night
A rather obvious choice I know, but how could you possibly leave off Francois Truffaut's valentine to making movies? You can't find it anywhere online for free, but if you can manage to find Richard Brody's "Auteur Wars" article from the April 7, 2008, edition of The New Yorker, it's just essential reading about Truffaut and Godard.
Living in Oblivion
Steve Buscemi as the director of a nonbudget indie flick that's just falling apart by the minute? This one from writer-director Tom DiCillo is almost as good as that premise promises, and James LeGros' turn as the preening star is just a hoot. A look at DiCillo's IMDB resume reveals this is the only flick of his I've seen, which I'll have to remedy very soon.
Ed Wood
If this list were done in proper order, I'd probably have to put this one at or near the top. Making a movie about the world's worst filmmaker (at least at the time ... he's surely been lapped in that category many times by now) is a ripe target for Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, and perhaps the best proof that when Burton sticks to original material rather than his wretched remakes, he's a heck of a good filmmaker.
Lost in La Mancha
Johnny Depp again, but why not? If you doubt that any of the stories you've heard about Terry Gilliam's obstinance and ego are true, you won't after watching this doco about his doomed attempt to make a movie of "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote." This also features an appearance from one of my favorite actors, Jean Rochefort, looking perfectly piqued at Gilliam's shenanigans.
Bamboozled
This one is about TV not movies, but until it just jumps way into overkill in the final act it's easily one of my favorite flicks from Spike Lee. A very biting and bitter satire, it has Savion Glover and Tommy Davidson starring in a blackface minstrel show, and it's often even more outrageous than it sounds on paper. And you heard it here: I predict, from the limited clips I've seen so far, that Spike's "Miracle at St. Anna" will finally get him the Best Picture nomination he's clearly deserved for many, many years now.
Boogie Nights
Yes, it can get rather tawdry, but Paul Thomas Anderson's flick about Marky Mark's adventures as a '70s porn star is also just a great ensemble and period piece. And I dare you to try and find anything funnier than Don Cheadle trying to sell eight-track players while decked out in Country-Western attire as Buck Swope.
The Late Shift
Whew ... last one! I'm not sure this was the first movie that HBO ever made, but it's certainly the one that started to get the train rolling. It's been years since I've bothered to tune in to either David Letterman or Jay Leno, and I certainly won't give any of my time to Jimmy Fallon, but this insider's look at the late-night war that erupted after the retirement of Johnny Carson is just about pitch perfect.
Silliness from Rainn Wilson
I'm fairly certain the "The Rocker" with "The Office" star Rainn Wilson is going to be a good late-summer laugher, and he's definitely doing his part to make sure people turn out to see it. For the flick's viral (what an odd word) marketing pitch, he's teamed up with cutie Jenna Fischer for some extreme silliness at the Web site Free Jenna Now. I'll leave you with one sample clip, but I recommend visiting the site for a few laughs to make your Friday just a little more bearable. Peace out.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
The fine art of satire .. and going way past the line
For the record, I'm a rather big fan of satire, and I was fairly certain there was nothing left in the world that would offend my sensibilities. And I certainly never thought it would be the rather urbane "New Yorker" magazine that would be the culprit. (That "South Park" joke about the woodland critters searching for someone with AIDS to piss in the eye sockets of Strawberry Shortcake, for example, still just makes me laugh out loud every time I see it.)
Just in case you (mercifully, I would think) live in a realm that's not invaded almost constantly by the buzz of 24-hour news, I've included a picture of the magazine cover that - I will admit - made me laugh for a second before it made me just want to vomit.
Now, I try to keep politics out of this as much as possible, but I'm on the record to anyone who knows me as a pretty big supporter of Barack Obama, having given his campaign a rather sizable chunk of my time already and planning to offer plenty more before this rather fascinating race comes to a close.
And I'm not really sure where to start in criticizing the "New Yorker" cover by artist Barry Blitt. In discussing it at work yesterday (and the fact that I work with very literate and often very funny people almost makes up for the fact that I'm paid on the scale of a 16th-century peasant), the thing that struck us as the most offensive - among many things to choose from - was the way they made Michelle Obama look like Pam Grier in "Coffy." 
My bottom line beef with the caricature, however, is that it's not satire. When you just take every hateful rumor you can find and put it into one drawing, you're at best simply out to garner attention (mission accomplished, obviously), and at worst feeding the prejudices you're trying rather unsuccessfully to ridicule.
Now, I've come down from the ledge I was on yesterday of thinking about cancelling my "New Yorker" subscription (to be honest, I'm fairly certain it was a Christmas gift anyway, so I don't even pay for it), and - ironically, I think - I'm rather looking forward to reading the two articles about Mr. Obama that come inside this rather tawdry package.
I just wanted to get a little bile off of my chest before starting the day, so thanks for letting me vent (if you bothered to make it this far), and now - I promise - I'll move on to a couple of much more enjoyable subjects.
More "Mad Men" hype for the Emmys
I have no idea who writes the Hollywood Reporter's "Past Deadline" blog (I couldn't find a name on it anywhere), but I'm extremely jealous of that lucky scribe. Whoever it is managed to get her or his hands on the first two episodes of season two of the simply brilliant "Mad Men" (returning to AMC on July 27) and had this to say:
I just got through watching the first pair of episodes from season two of AMC's "Mad Men," which premieres on July 27. My first observation is one of surprise - not because the quality is still there, but because it actually builds on the breakout promise of season one without painting its vivid characters into caricatures. This is a huge credit to the show's creator, showrunner, head writer and chief neurotic, Matthew Weiner, who clearly hasn't allowed the buzz that's transformed his series into an iconic weekly must-see to go to his head. Indeed, he seems to have pulled back significantly on the soapy elements to guard against that very pitfall. It's more than admirable; it's also rather brilliant.
If it's possible, now color me even more stoked for season two to begin (and I'm certainly going to ask the Telegraph's TV Guy if he managed to get his hands on those episodes and is willing to share.)
The "Past Deadline" blog went on to predict that, when the nominations are announced Thursday, "Mad Men" would walk away with 16 or 17 nominations. That may be wishful thinking, but if it doesn't at least snag a nod for best dramatic series and one for the rather remarkable Jon Hamm it will be a high crime.
"Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog"
I can't count this as an endorsement since I don't have a computer capable of watching such things at home, so just take this as a heads up that the first of three installment's of Joss Whedon's "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" is online for free here.
So, what is this rather oddly named creation? Well, all I know so far is that it's a rather silly little Web-only creation by Whedon and his brothers that stars both Doogie Howser and Captain Mal Reynolds. I'll know more after I get to work and finally get to watch this (rather than, of course, working.) Enjoy, and have perfectly pleasant Wednesday. Peace out.
About Me
- Reel Fanatic
- When I was very young, my father brought home a little movie called "Spinal Tap," and I have never been the same since. Along with being a movie junkie and a devoted fan of the hapless Baltimore Orioles, I have recently returned to the town I grew up in, Salisbury, MD., to work for The Daily Times newspaper.
