Category: Humor (Page 45 of 74)

Comic-Con 2008: Day Two – Entertainment Weekly’s Visionaries: The Filmmakers

July 26, 2008 /

The filmmakers involved in the final part of Entertainment Weekly’s three-part series of panels may not all be visionaries, but they are responsible for some of the most highly-anticipated films of the next six months. That is, except for Frank Miller, whose upcoming adaptation of “The Spirit” looks so stupid that it might just kill his career as a filmmaker before it even begins. Of course, since this panel was staged a little differently than others (essentially, it was just an open forum for fans to grill Kevin Smith, Judd Apatow, Zack Snyder and Miller about all things geek), and my recorder was unable to capture most of the sound over all the laughing, I’ve done my best to compile a few of the more memorable moments from the night. Enjoy, and be sure to check back later for a similar deconstruction of Smith’s annual 90-minute talkfest that followed.

 

Moderator: Comedy is such a subjective art. How much do you rely on audience testing, or do you just follow your gut?

Judd Apatow: Well, I like to test the movies… I feel that if a crowd isn’t laughing it’s pretty clear they aren’t working at all. Sometimes it’s not even laughing you’re tracking, sometimes you’re watching a movie and you’re tracking how much penis you can show in a movie without clearing out an entire room of people.

Kevin Smith: You stole all my cock jokes. Well, I tend to go with the gut, but my gut is prodigious, so that’s good. But my gut has lied to me many times in the past, cause my gut was like “’Jersey Girl’ is a good idea.”

 

Audience Member: In terms of mainstream Hollywood, do you think they allow for more creative freedom now as opposed to ten years ago, or do all the studios have all you guys by the balls?

Zack Snyder: By the balls.

Frank Miller: By the balls.

Judd Apatow: I might have their balls. Or at least one ball.

Moderator: Anyone else?

Kevin Smith: Me? You’ve gotta have balls to grab, and I don’t.

 

Audience Member: Because of your experience with Superman, I was wondering how you felt about the current situation and if you think a reboot would be a good idea?

Kevin Smith: Did you not like the last one, “Superman Returns”?

Audience Member: No.

Kevin Smith: Alright. I like Bryan Singer a lot… The Superman movie I was just hoping would be a little more gayer than it was. Um, I just thought there was ample opportunity… I’m all for the reboot. I’m all for giving it another take, or another shot. I don’t think Superman’s dead by any stretch of the imagination. I know they weren’t very happy with how it grossed… but it was a Year One story, and I always thought that “Superman Returns” was like “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” which is just a bunch of shots of the fucking Enterprise – like 45 minutes of it. But for people that were into the Enterprise, it was like porn.

Comic Con Blog 2008, Comic-Con, External Movies, Humor, Movies

Jekyll and Hyde…Together Again

July 11, 2008 /

Here’s a little piece of nostalgia that’s got a small but rabid cult following, due mostly to repeated airings on “Night Flight,” an ‘80s variety show responsible for unleashing all manner of depravity on late night TV viewers back in the day. “Jekyll and Hyde…Together Again” is not your typical retelling of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic. No, instead it’s basically one big cocaine joke. Dr. Jekyll (Mark Blankfield) is so devoted to the world of science and surgery that he barely even notices his society girlfriend Mary (Bess Armstrong). One wonders if they’ve ever even had sex. Late one night in his lab, as he tries in vain to perfect a miracle drug that will benefit mankind, two of his powders inadvertently mix together. In a sequence that must be seen to be believed, he falls asleep and accidentally snorts the new chemical (through a straw, no less), Mr. Hyde is unleashed, and Blankfield gives his real performance in the film. He sprouts hair in new places, a leisure suit, gaudy jewelry and even grows a coke nail. Instant swinger! Hyde goes out on the town to find Ivy (Krista Errickson), a hooker and former patient who briefly transfixed Jekyll earlier in the film. They have an insane night before he reverts back to the good doctor, and of course the cycle repeats itself several times before it’s all over. The third act, set in England and featuring an extensive sequence shot in black and white, is far more inventive than it probably needed to be. But the same can be said for much of the film: It’s a one-joke movie with dozens of priceless gags. Before the final credits roll, the camera pans down into Stevenson’s grave to catch his corpse spinning round and round.

“Jekyll and Hyde…Together Again” is by no means great cinema, but it is a hell of a tasteless good time, and I laughed out loud more times than I can count on two hands. It’s a relic of another era, and much of its success is due to Blankfield’s dual (dueling?) performances. Here’s a guy who’s all but fallen off the map, although his last IMDB credit is as Dr. Miller in the first season “Arrested Development” episode, “My Mother the Car.” A subtle nod to his doctor in this underground classic? If so, props to Mitch Hurwitz and Co. There’s a place for Blankfield in the movies of today, it just hasn’t yet been carved. The movie is an easy recommendation to anyone looking for laughs off the beaten path. If it still seems like a backhanded compliment, then there’s the added bonus of Tim Thomerson playing a closeted homosexual…in a totally non-P.C. manner, of course. Those wacky ‘80s!

Click to buy “Jekyll and Hyde…Together Again”

Actors, Humor, Movie Comedies, Movie DVD Quicktakes, Movie DVDs, Movies, Reviews

Edward Norton takes on the Hulk

June 13, 2008 /

Edward Norton has been under fire from the press lately (first it was the final cut debacle, then the snubbed writing credit, and now his refusal to do interviews), but you’ve gotta admire his willingness to film this “Hulk” parody for “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

Many will point to his comment about Wall*E as the funniest moment of the clip, but listen more carefully to hear Norton totally burn Ang Lee’s 2003 rendition of the Big Green Guy.

Action Movies, Actors, Humor

The Office: “Goodbye, Toby”

May 16, 2008 /

You may (or may not) have noticed that I didn’t blog “The Office” the last couple of weeks. This is due in part to a relative lack of things to write about. With Jim and Pam getting along swimmingly, there really wasn’t a “will they or won’t they?” vibe going on anymore and I found myself simply scribbling down my favorite lines and transcribing them for you. It is much easier to blog a serialized drama where there are obvious things to talk about – season-long storylines, cliffhangers, mysteries to solve, etc. – but comedies can be tough. (I know, cry me a river, right?)

But tonight’s episode definitely warrants a post. It was the season finale, and the writers didn’t let us down. Once Pam and Jim got together, I was worried that the show would lose that heartwarming feel that offsets some of the mean-spiritedness of some (or most?) of its characters. But this season has been just as funny, and one of the season-long story arcs was Jim’s decision to propose. This almost came to a head tonight, but Andy beat him to the punch. I wish I could say that I was surprised, but they sort of hid Andy for most of the episode, and as soon as I saw him sitting there at the party with that big, goofy grin, I knew he was going to ruin Jim’s moment.

I didn’t like the fact that Pam was a little upset (or was it disappointed?) with the fact that Jim didn’t propose. Does it not run through her mind that, once Andy makes an ass of himself, Jim may have wanted to propose but couldn’t because Andy just stole the show?

A while ago, I pondered (on this blog) about the reason why Michael hates Toby so much and I hoped that they’d eventually reveal the back-story. A reader wrote that he thought it was simply because Toby is the HR guy and his role is to tell Michael when he’s crossed the line, essentially sucking the fun out of working at Dunder-Mifflin (as far as Michael was concerned). I honestly thought that there was more there, but tonight’s episode revealed no new information on that front, so I guess I was wrong. I will say that Michael’s song parody of Supertramp’s “Goodbye, Stranger” was pretty cool. (And I’m aching to hear “Beers in Heaven” as well, even if it is a bit sexy.)

But back to the romance angle, it was a disappointing episode for Michael, who finally found a girl that seemed to like him for him. By the way, Holly, the new HR rep, was played by Amy Ryan, who recently finished up her role as Beadie on “The Wire.” She also has a burgeoning film career, with recent roles in “Gone Baby Gone” and “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead,” as well as “Dan In Real Life,” in which she co-starred with Steve Carell. Was that how she came to be on “The Office”? Hmmm.

Anyway, there I am, rooting for Michael not to mess it up with Holly, and Jan rears her ugly head. Don’t get me wrong, I think Jan is hilarious, but how she manages to rope Michael back into her life after refusing to use his sperm to get pregnant is beyond me.

As we look forward to next season, I wonder if Holly will be a recurring character and if that romantic triangle will be a season-long storyline. If so, I think it has potential.

In other news, it was great to see Jim messing with Dwight at the beginning of the episode. I think there should be a rule that every other week, the show has to open with Jim playing some sort of prank on Dwight. That’s great stuff. I also enjoyed Kevin the Mentally Challenged Accountant. Holly’s interaction with him was hilarious.

Lastly… Moes!

Now, for a few great lines:

Michael: “I should make you a mix.”

Ryan: “Congratulations. Congratulations on doing your job. Now enter the order on the website.”

(By the way, it was hilarious to see the cocky Ryan being escorted out of the DM HQ in handcuffs.)

Michael: “I think I love her.”
Jim: “You can think that, but you don’t say it out loud and you definitely don’t tell her.”

Pam: “Don’t tell him this, but I always thought that Toby was kind of cute.”

And then, of course, the tag…

Dwight and Angela hooking up in the office!

External Entertainment, External TV, Humor, The Office, TV, TV Comedies

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