Category: External Movies (Page 239 of 336)

Raquel Alessi talks “Miss March,” posing for Playboy

August 11, 2009 / Jeff Giles

To celebrate the arrival of her comedy “Miss March” on DVD and Blu-ray, Raquel Alessi is out doing the publicity rounds — and she was good enough to make a stop at Bullz-Eye, where she chatted with Anthony Stalter about such crucial topics as how she got her big break in showbiz, who she’d like to work with in the future, and (of course) whether she’d ever actually follow in the Playboy centerfold footsteps of her character in the movie.

BE: Now you play a Playmate in the movie, but there’s no nudity in your role. Is modeling for “Playboy” in your future? I think our readers would have my head if I didn’t ask.

RA: (laughs) Um, I don’t think so. I think it’s great for whoever wants to do it, but I don’t think I have the nerve to do it to be honest. I would be nuts during the day I had to take all my clothes off and stuff. I couldn’t imagine having that set of nerves! (laughs)

Try not to let the disappointment get you down, fellas — Raquel may not be bound for the pages of Playboy, but she has just done a spread for the readers of Maxim, and if you’re in the kind of relationship that requires a certain amount of rom-com attendance, you can look forward to seeing more of her:

BE: Not that you ever want to be typecast as an actor or actress, but what role do you think best fits your personality? What roles do you look forward to playing?
RA: Romantic comedy – for sure. In real life, I’m outgoing and funny and whenever someone looks like a certain way sometimes you think, oh, they never get bitchy or bad girl parts. I kind of think that I have this sweetness in me that when I act, it comes out. So when I do those romantic comedy types of roles, I think people really like it. I think that’s kind of my niche.

To read the rest of Raquel Alessi’s chat with Bullz-Eye, just follow this link!

Actresses, External Entertainment, External Movies, Interviews

Maxim Miss March Playboy Raquel Alessi

Sticks and stones

August 11, 2009 / Bob Westal

“G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” director Stephen Sommers, from an interview with Michael Fleming:

I don’t think the mainstream critics are relevant here, they have criticized themselves into irrelevancy.

I make the kind of movies critics love to hate. They love dark and depressing movies…All the internet movie haters love this movie.

These critics have become a dying breed, and part of it is how much more vicious and personal they’ve become. They attack the directors, personally.

Glenn Kenny has some wise words on the whole “wither the critics/wither the kids” thing.

Action Movies, External Entertainment, External Movies, Movies, News, Reviews, Sci-Fi Movies

critics G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Stephen Sommers

Michael Jackson movie deal finalized

August 10, 2009 / Bob Westal

I’m sure I’ll be seeing the film, but something about this makes me feel unclean, and I’m not even sure exactly why. I’m sure it’ll be a hell of a show.

I certainly can’t disagree with Nikki Finke’s characterization below:

Randy Phillips, president and CEO of AEG Live, ghoulishly boasted to The Associated Press he had “more than 100 hours of footage that could be turned into live albums, a movie and a pay-per-view special. He was our partner in life and now he’s our partner in death.”

Some of the footage will be in 3-D. According to Variety, like the unpresented Jackson show, the film will be directed by Kenny Ortega (“High School Musical,” “Newsies.”)

Documentaries, External Entertainment, External Movies, Movies, News

final show Kenny Ortega Michael Jackson Randy Phillips This Is It

“Almost Famous” director’s cut…worth your time?

August 10, 2009 / John Paulsen

After reading Bill Simmons’ tribute to “Almost Famous,” which he deems the quintessential movie of the aughts (a.k.a. the ’00s), I felt compelled to track down the “Bootleg Cut” (a.k.a. “Untitled”) to see what the hullabaloo was about. Here is what Simmons had to say about the extra footage in the DC.

Best four extra scenes from the director’s cut: Russell and William talking music before the first Stillwater concert; Jeff Bebe’s interview with William during which he utters quote No. 23; Penny’s birthday cake scene; and Russell and Jeff making up at the end and botching their man-hug. There’s also an 11-minute scene in which William makes his mother listen to “Stairway to Heaven” — yes, the entire song — in an attempt to get her to understand rock ‘n’ roll. It’s indescribable. I loved it; some hated it. Crowe couldn’t get the rights to the song, so it didn’t matter. More importantly, how is this not on YouTube? Wasn’t YouTube invented for stray clips like that?

FYI, quote No. 23 is…

Show me any guy who ever said he didn’t want to be popular, and I’ll show you a scared guy. I’ve studied the entire history of music. Most of the time, the best stuff is the popular stuff. It’s much safer to say popularity sucks, because that allows you to forgive yourself if you suck. And I don’t forgive myself. Do you?

A few thoughts…

– The version I saw had a running time of 2:41 and didn’t include an 11-minute scene where William plays his mother “Stairway to Heaven” in order to convince her that he should be able to complete his assignment for Rolling Stone. I’ve only been able to find that scene here, and since Cameron Crowe was unable to get the rights, the viewer has to play his own copy of the song. I always felt that it was out of character for William’s mother to let him go on tour with a rock band with so little discussion, and this great “Stairway to Heaven” scene fills in some of these blanks. In the version I saw, Elaine’s decision still seemed rushed.

– I have mixed feelings about the other four scenes that Simmons mentioned. I thought Penny’s birthday cake scene was terrific, especially towards the end when Jimmy Fallon’s character broke the news that she wasn’t going to with the band to New York. Kate Hudson’s reaction was a nice bit of acting and the movie is better as a whole because it’s clear that inside the tough exterior of Penny Lane, there is just a normal girl — and she’s in love. I also thought Bebe’s quote about popularity was insightful but not crucial. The other two scenes — Russell’s first interview with William and Jeff and Russell’s make-up scene — were extraneous. Russell’s eagerness and availability to talk contradicted the sense throughout the remainder of the movie that William wouldn’t be able to get his interview with Russell.

I’d recommend “Untitled” to fans of the original that haven’t seen it in a while. Jeff’s problems with Russell seem more fleshed out and the relationship between the two has more closure. In fact, all of the various storylines seem a little deeper, and that’s no surprise since the DC runs about 38 minutes longer.

Does it make it better? I’ll let you be the judge. The movie worked really well in its original form, but after watching the DC, I certainly wouldn’t say that the extra footage hurts the film.

Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External Movies, Movie DVDs, Movies

Almost Famous Bootleg Cut Almost Famous Director's Cut Almost Famous Director's Cut review Almost Famous review Almost Famous Untitled Cameron Crowe Kate Hudson

The definition of a slow Monday morning in Hollywood

August 10, 2009 / Bob Westal

We’ve only got news on one remake, one sequel, and few odd cultural jeremiads on the same theme.

* I’ve just barely finished my decades-long personal boycott of the original, and now there they’re talking about a remake of John Milius’s “Red Dawn”. The 1984 film may seem a bit quaint now that it’s old enough to be ready to finish grad school but at the time it seemed to me an irresponsible act of cultural provocation with potentially catastrophic impact if people took it too seriously. Fortunately, few did and most took its absurd plot about a Soviet land invasion as the balderdash that it was. Back then, Republicans and Democrats alike knew that World War III would last about 90 minutes and result in the destruction of most everyone and everything. (This was before the tinfoil ~~hate~~ hat era of Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin.)

As political propaganda, the prior year’s “War Games” proved far more effective and possibly even affected movie-bred President Reagan’s thinking on the topic as well. In any case, a film about a Chinese-Russian co-invasion (don’t they still hate each other?) seems just bizarre now and, again, pretty much impossible — assuming it doesn’t end with something very close to complete annihilation.