Month: September 2009 (Page 13 of 29)

Loose ends

September 17, 2009 / Bob Westal

I haven’t been paying quite as much attention to the cinephile end of the movie blogosphere as I should lately, so we’ll start there.

* It’s never too late to check out the Brian DePalma blogathon that wrapped up yesterday at Tony Dayoub’s Cinema Viewfinder. I’m actually not a member of the DePalma cult that includes everyone from the late uber-critic Pauline Kael to Quentin Tarantino and probably 70% of the male cinephile population. I dig a few of his movies a great deal and the oddball horror/suspense musical satire, “Phantom of the Paradise” has a special place in my heart. On the other hand, I have serious problems with even some of his most well-regarded films including, or perhaps especially, especially “Blow-Out.” There’s a cheapness to his films and tendency to wallow in despair that I can’t support.

Of course, that’s just me and Dayoub wrapped up yesterday in grand style with a fairly personal piece about “Scarface” (vastly overrated by many; I’ll take the Howard Hawks “Scarface” over it any day) and “Carlito’s Way” (which I think is underrated and overall just a solidly good movie). Anyhow, stroll around the site and you’ll see pieces by some of the true superstars of cinephilia.

* Speaking of great film lovers, you won’t find detailed appreciations of DePalma coming from The Self-Styled Siren — nor of Michael Mann or Sam Peckinpah. Her bailiwick is classic era films (ending roughly around 1965) with an eye towards melodrama and comedy. Though her identity remains a secret, her fans are legion and definitely includes your humble host.

Her latest post is an attention grabber: “Ten Melos the Siren Would Watch Instead of Mad Men” which is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a fascinating list that males who want to expand their minds beyond the usual guy movie obsessions should definitely contemplate. And, yes, there’s a vigorous debate over “Mad Men” in comments, as well as an unsolicited cocktail recipe from me. If you’ve been looking for the inevitable backlash over the acclaimed series, which I personally love as much as anyone, there’ll be no more enjoyable place to find it.

Some news after the flip….

Action Movies, Entourage, External Entertainment, External Movies, Mad Men, Movie Dramas, Movies, New Media, News, Reviews, TV Comedies, TV Dramas

Al Pacino Atonement Blow-Out Brian De Palma blogathon Brian DePalma Carlito's Way Christopher Hampton Cinema Viewfinder Dangerous Liasons Jeffrey Katzenberg Mad Men Michael Mann Night at the Museum Nikki Finke Oprah Oprah Winfey Pauline Kael Phantom of the Paradise Quentin Tarantino Sam Mendes Sam Peckinpah Scarface Sean Penn the Hollywood Reporter the Self-Styled Siren THR Tony Dayoub Variety

If you don’t watch the premiere of “Community” tonight on NBC…

September 17, 2009 / Will Harris

…then you’ll be missing the best new show of the fall season.

You may recall from my Fall TV Preview that I said of the pilot for “Community,” “When I watched it, I was convinced that I was watching the funniest sitcom of the new season. I was not wrong.” Now, granted, I was predisposed to like the series before I’d even put the screener of the pilot into the DVD player – I’m a fan of Joel McHale’s work (I’ve got a TiVo season pass for “The Soup”) and Chevy Chase’s work in virtually every film that he made during the ’70s and ’80s (though, to be honest, the only film he’s done since then that I still enjoy revisiting is “Memoirs of an Invisible Man”) – but it certainly didn’t hurt seeing “Daily Show” correspondent John Oliver turn up in a meaty guest role within the first few minutes, and it didn’t take long for me to fall for the ensemble as a whole.

Here’s a rundown of the characters:

* Jeff (McHale), a fast-talkin’ lawyer whose degree has been revoked
* Pierce (Chase), a man whose life experience has brought him infinite wisdom
* Abed (Danny Pudi), a pop culture junkie
* Britta (Gillian Jacobs), a 28-year-old dropout with something to prove
* Troy (Donald Glover, a former high school football star trying to find his way
* Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown), a sassy middle-aged divorcée
* Annie (Alison Brie), a high-strung perfectionist
* Señor Chang (Ken Jeong), a slightly unhinged Spanish professor

When I arrived at the TCA summer press tour, I was a man on a mission: to interview as many members of the cast of “Community” as I possibly could, so that I might do my damndest to get people to watch the series. Not that it necessarily needs my help, given the incredible promotional push that the network is putting behind the show, but, still, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a sitcom that’s this funny and has this strong an ensemble from the word “go” (seriously, I think I’d have to go back to “NewsRadio”), and I wanted to do whatever I could to get the word out. In the end, I ended up chatting with five of show’s regulars during the tour (McHale, Pudi, Brown, Glover, and Jeong), catching up with two more by phone after making back (Jacobs and Brie).

Sadly, Chevy Chase was surrounded by hordes of my peers through his time at the tour, and attempts to secure a phoner with him prior to the run date of this piece were unsuccessful. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that we’ll be able to talk to Chevy sometime in the near future…and, y’know, don’t be afraid to drop NBC an E-mail and ask them to try and make it happen for us…but in the meantime, click here (or on the above graphic), then sit back and enjoy these conversations with the rest of the cast.

When you finish, I’ll be very surprised if you don’t run straight to your TiVo and order yourself up a season pass for “Community.” It’s that good. I swear. And if you don’t believe me, here’s proof:

Finally, check out Chopard, one of the most recognized watch and jewelry brands in the world.

Actors, Actresses, Celebrities, External Entertainment, External TV, Fall TV Preview, Interviews, News, Pilots, TCA Press Tour, TV, TV Cartoons

Alison Brie Chevy Chase Community Community review Danny Pudi Donald Glover Gillian Jacobs Joel McHale Ken Jeong Yvette Nicole Brown

Top Chef Las Vegas: roughing it

September 17, 2009 / Mike Farley

Last night on Bravo’s “Top Chef: Las Vegas,” the remaining 12 contestants were asked to rough it, literally. But first, a unique quickfire challenge that would be judged by special guest Tim Love, who was a contestant on “Top Chef Masters” and owns Lonesome Dove Western Bistro and The Love Shack in Fort Worth, Texas. The challenge, as voted on by TV viewers, was to cook something using a unique ingredient–cactus. Thankfully this beat out the other two possibilities–rattlesnake and kangaroo. (ewwwww).

External TV, Reality TV, Top Chef Masters, TV

Ben Folds Bravo cactus cooking competition Fort Worth Gail Simmons kangaroo Kris Kringle Las Vegas Lonesome Dove Western Bistro Love Shack Padma Lakshmi rattlesnake Texas Tim Love Tom Colicchio Top Chef Top Chef 2009 blog Top Chef 2009 recap Top Chef blog Top Chef Las Vegas Top Chef Las Vegas blog Top Chef Las Vegas recap Top Chef recap Top Chef Season 6 blog Top Chef Season 6 recap

RIP Henry Gibson

September 16, 2009 / Bob Westal

I was going to cover some of the usual folderol I cover here today, but, sadly, we have another passing to note with the death at 73 of Henry Gibson from cancer.

Gibson — whose stage name derives from an early character he did with roommate Jon Voight — was a personal favorite of mine. Not a large man, he was the kind of actor who might have one or two scenes in a movie, but was pretty much guaranteed to bring something detailed and memorable to his usually hilarious scenes; a relatively recent case in point was his great turn as the befuddled shocked clergyman towards the end of “Wedding Crashers.” He’s also familar to fans of “Boston Legal” as one of the show’s recurring judges.

With his eccentric but unassuming air, he gained his greatest fame as a cast member on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,” a faster paced, but more shtick-laden late sixties/early seventies forerunner of SNL. His signature bit involved him reciting absurd, vaguely counter-cultural, poetry in his ultra deadpan style while holding a giant flower and bowing with exaggerated politeness at the end. (He was famously spoofed on the show by John Wayne, who brought his own unique socio-political sensibilities to his verse.)

Numerous movie and TV roles followed, including probably the closest Henry Gibson ever got to a leading film role, cast brilliantly against type as a controlling and hypocritical country music patriarch in Robert Altman’s masterpiece, “Nashville.” Later, he’d play out-and-out villains, but usually in more comical contexts. Fans of eighties comedies have a special affection for his commanding role as the patriarch of a very strange family who loom in Tom Hanks‘s fevered imagination in Joe Dante’s comedy horror homage, “The ‘Burbs.” He was also the head neo-Nazi in “The Blues Brothers.”

All in all, the loss of Gibson at the relatively young age of 73 is a sad one and hit me personally a bit harder than expected. I’ve loved Gibson’s work since childhood and, whether he was playing a Napoleonic villain or a gentle preacher totally out of his depth, there was an abiding soulful quality to his work that made him all the more funny. Truly original performers like him are few and far between.

****

My friend, Zayne, has a very nice remembrance of Mr. Gibson at More a Legend than a Blog, and Edward Copeland shares my appreciation of his work as country music legend Haven Hamilton.

There’s less of him than I’d like on YouTube, but I did find a few fine moments of Gibson, which you can check out after the flip.

Actors, External Entertainment, External Movies, External TV, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movies, News, TV, TV Comedies, TV Sci-Fi

Boston Legal Haven Hamilton Henrik Ibsen Henry Gibson John Wayne Jon Voight Kentucky Fried Movie Lynda Carter Nashville Robert Altman Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In The 'Burbs The Blues Brothers Wedding Crashers Wonder Woman

Basterds in Israel

September 16, 2009 / Bob Westal

I’ve been referring to the controversies swirling around “Inglourious Basterds” since this post from nearly one month back. And if you really want to dig in to all the pro-and-con back among the cinephile crowd, I refer you to the endlessly lengthy, endlessly intriguing discussions conducted by Dennis Cozzalio and Jim Emerson among others. And now, there’s more.

In fact, Dennis scooped me slightly on the video below without even watching it — correctly guessing that it would be worthwhile. It brings home, in a very direct way, the whole issue of whether or not Tarantino’s flirtations with black comedy and playful way with history is appropriate in light of the Holocaust. A big chunk of Israel’s population are descended from European refugees and survivors of Nazi persecution. Some of them actually are those refugees and survivors. If they can take this movie, the rest of us should have no problem.

This 34 minute video is literally shaky. (The person who posted it on Vimeo confessed to typing with one hand and holding the camera with the other.) But it’s riveting and entertaining stuff with, naturally, spoilers galore. Featured are Quentin Tarantino, polylingual newborn international star Christoph Waltz, and Tarantino’s longtime producer, Lawrence Bender. Guess who does most of the talking.