Author: Bob Westal (Page 119 of 265)

Writer guy Bob Westal was literally born in Hollywood and has commented on the worlds of movies, popular culture, politics, and food ever since. His interest in cocktails is more recent, but he made up for lost time with hundreds of “Drink of the Week” blog posts for Bullz-Eye. In addition to writing and editing, Bob also talks a lot.

Live from TCM Fest

April 23, 2010 /

Yes, I’m typing this from the lobby of the Beautiful Hollywood Roosevelt and rushing to make the 3:15 screening of the soon to see the rediscovered western, “Jubal.” But here are two very quick news bits.

Ryan Reynolds is * We have two new major releases this weekend, “The Back-Up Plan” (which our own David Medsker hated, particularly on behalf of those who have given birth or been associated with those who have) and “The Losers.” Neither is expected to hit the #1 mark. That will be either “Kick-Ass” or, once again, “How to Train Your Dragon.”  In limited release, we also have not another superhero-related comedy, but I take it more of a superhero related drama or dramedy, definitely a tad more sensitive than “Kick-Ass,” “Paper Man.” It’s yet another film which has Ryan Reynolds doing the long-underwear hero thing.

* Thanks to my friend, once and, I hope, future blogger and all-around good guy Zayne Reeves, I heard about the revelations regarding an “Alien” prequel that Ridley Scott told MTV News, Onion A.V. Club has the short version for hurried people like you and I. Basically, it’s about the dead “space jockey” the original crew of the Nostromo found all those years back.

No leave me alone, I’ve got movies to see!

jubal_03

External Entertainment, External Movies, Horror Movies, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, News, Sci-Fi Movies

It is not dying

April 23, 2010 /

It’s apparently just a movie called “Enter the Void” from director Gasper Noe which divided viewers at Sundance this year. In my gore-phobe cinema chicken hood, I’ve avoided seeing Noe’s infamously ultraviolent and/or disturbing art-house sensations, “Irreversible” and “I Stand Alone.” This time, however, I’m not imtimidated and ready to have my mind blown, or the opposite.

Certainly this new film is no less a love-it/hate-it/respect-it-but-vow-never-to-see-it-again proposition than past Noe films. However, this time the issue is not so much violence, or even the apparently frequent sex scenes (not a problem for me), so much as the fact that even critics who love it warn that you may well be thoroughly bored. Another writer was so negative that Noe asked if he had raped his mother (presumably the answer is “no”) but even he admits Noe is an enormous talent and even provided the trailer below.

Devin Faraci of CHUD, in a highly qualified rave, tells us that “Enter the Void” is in some way based on The Tibetan Book of the Dead, the ancient spiritual text about the afterlife which was rediscovered in the sixties by acid guru Timothy Leary and alluded to in the creepiest and most brilliant of John Lennon-penned Beatles acid tunes, “Tomorrow Never Knows.” Watching the trailer below — both subtly headache inducing with its strobe visual effect (at least I think that’s what’s going on) and very, very beautiful — I can’t but think just a bit of another oddly experimental film that not everyone can sit through from Noe’s favorite director, Stanley Kubrick “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

In any case, I definitely think everyone whose old enough should check out this trailer. It’s not something you see every day.

We’ve got a very special bonus video for you all, right after the flip.

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External Entertainment, External Movies, Movie Dramas, Movies, News, Sci-Fi Movies

Previews of coming TCM Fest attractions

April 22, 2010 /

I’m busy today preparing to hit the TCM Classic Film Festival, which opens tonight in Hollywood, California with a gala screening of a digital restoration of the 1983 restoration of the 1954 “A Star is Born.” Also screening tonight is the 1931 Frank Capra obscurity, “Dirigible,” an underrated Howard Hawks science-fiction comedy starring Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, and a newcomer named Marilyn Monroe, “Monkey Business” as well as an outdoor screening of 1949’s silly but fun (if memory serves) “Neptune’s Daughter.” That one features swimmer turned musical comedy star Esther Williams alongside a very, very pre-Khan Ricardo Montalban and comedian Red Skelton. The cool part of this is that Ms. Williams, and a real-live water ballet, are included with the price of admission. (I should add that single entries for the fest are very much on the pricey side, starting at $20.00. Students get in for half-price, so I suggest enrolling quickly.)

That’s just tonight. Below are trailers for a some shows I’m personally looking forward to catching. We’ll start with the closing night screening of probably the most significant film of the festival, the new and finally fully restored version of the original science fiction extravaganza, Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis.” (I’m slightly bummed to see this, like “A Star is Born” will be screened digitally. Assuming that celluloid prints of the new version exist, which may or may not be the case, that’s really how it should be shown.)

More after the flip.

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Action Movies, Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External Movies, Horror Movies, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movies, News, Sci-Fi Movies

Michelle Yeoh, wire-fu, and flaming swords

April 22, 2010 /

Pretty much everything I can ask for in a movie.

“Reign of Assassins” is a collaboration between relative newcomer Su Chao-Bin and John Woo, the past master of such classic Hong Kong modern day action epics as “The Killer,” “Hard Boiled,” and “A Bullet in the Head,” who recently returned to Hong Kong to make the acclaimed period epic like “Red Cliff” (which I still desperately need to see). Now he’s back with this still-in-production blend of Wuxia madness and romance, also starring Jung Woo-Sung alongside international treasure Michelle Yeoh. This promotional trailer has been making the blog rounds of some of the better sites, and for very good reason. Looks promising, indeed.

H/t Anne Thompson

Action Movies, Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External Movies, Movie Dramas, News

Hitler is right!

April 21, 2010 /

Yes, this avid and genetically predisposed consumer of matzoh balls and knishes knows a strong argument when he hears it. And, while I usually like to consider the source, as the saying goes, even a racist genocidal maniac is right two times a century, or something like that.

Anyhow, in case you haven’t heard about it yet, Constantin Films, the company that released the excellent historical drama, “Downfall,”  has been going after those often extremely funny videos drawn from that film in which the great German actor Bruno Ganz as Hitler reacts — as only a fascist with serious, serious anger issues really can — to all kinds of pop cultural events.  PopEater summarizes the situation quite nicely.

Of course, we’ve already seen the inevitable meta-rants in which Hitler complains about all those videos of him saying stuff he surely would never say and caring about things he would never care about. Yesterday, the usually very cool Karina Longworth was apparently so tired of this ‘net meme that she all but sided with that particular “Downfall” Hitler and the cutting-nose-to-spite-face tactics of Constantin.

Anyhow, today she returned to form and saw the sweet reason of an argument posed by, of course, Adolph Hitler, who really describes the situation far better than I can.  Let’s see how long it stays up. (I’m hoping they’ll keep the audio up at least.)

I’m sorry, but at least 50% of these make me laugh quite a bit. Guess I’m a sucker for a Hitler joke.

Actors, External Entertainment, External Movies, Humor, Movie Dramas, Movies, New Media, News

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