With NPR launching its jazz page, A Blog Supreme (the title is a play on John Coltrane’s signature recording), I thought for the next week or so we’d highlight some great jazz moments from classic, or at least interesting, movies. For whatever reason, some of those may involve beautiful women.
Today, we’ll lead off with a scene from one of the movies we’ll be highlighting in an upcoming Bullz-Eye feature on Denzel Washington. This is Cynda Williams in my favorite sequence from Spike Lee’s beautiful, problematic follow-up to “Do the Right Thing,” 1990’s “Mo’ Better Blues.” You’ll see some very familiar faces pretending to play instruments, but that’s really Cynda’s voice we’re hearing. (You’ll also see those fake musicians uttering brief Italian phrases via the magic of cinema — you take what the the great god YouTube has to offer.)
It may be another slow week in the world of Blu-ray, but while you won’t find too many titles worth owning on the New Release shelf, there are a few movies that are at least worth a rental. Today’s catalog selection is also pretty lackluster (“Predator 2,” really?), so just consider this week another welcome opportunity to save up for the months to come.
Of course, one movie definitely worth purchasing is Clint Eastwood’s no-frills drama about a Korean War veteran whose neighborhood has become overrun by a community of Asian refugees called Hmong. Easily one of the best films of 2008, “Gran Torino” also managed to become a surprise hit at the box office. I’m not sure how (it’s a great movie, but it doesn’t exactly scream “mainstream”), but it’s just nice to see audiences embrace such a low-key drama. The movie also features Eastwood in one of his best performances to date – somehow making an unapologetic racist seem remarkably charming – but is biggest contribution is in casting of Bee Vang and Ahney Her, two relative unknowns who do an incredible job standing toe-to-toe with the acting veteran. The Blu-ray is pretty low-key itself, but fans will enjoy “The Eastwood Way,” an exclusive featurette about the making of the movie.
Though I still have yet to actually see the lukewarmly received crime thriller, it’s hard not to recommend “The International” based solely on the involvement of Clive Owen and Tom Tykwer, director of the cult film “Run Lola Run” and the hugely underrated “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer.” Though it’s been called anti-climactic by many, it’s hard to deny the appeal of both men, not to mention the inclusion of Naomi Watts as Owen’s partner in crime. Still, movies don’t just get delayed or divide critics for any old reason, so you might want to approach “The International” with caution. If nothing else, at least you’ll get a decent collection of extras to browse through including a director/writer commentary, a making-of featurette and a look at recreating the Guggenheim for the film’s climactic shootout.
There is absolutely no doubt that the way we watch movies is changing, and changing fast. The film business has managed to avoid the wholesale slaughter of the music industry because of the higher bandwidth needed to convey a movie and the importance (to some of us, anyway) of picture and sound quality. Still, it’s only a matter of time before movies become easily available online, and distinctions between computers and TV sets as entertainment delivery systems is breaking down rapidly.
Hulu has become huge overnight by breaking down the barrier for TV shows and a limited but interesting selection of films despite sometimes erratic technical performance issues (at least on my iMac). Disney/ABC, Universal/NBC and, of course, the brain eating aliens are involved, though the enterprise was started by a force far more sinister and implacable: Rupert Murdoch’s NewsCorp.
Mashable’s Ben Parr today writes about Epix, which he describes as a joint venture of Paramount, Lionsgate, and MGM. Parr was allowed an early look at the site and, as a film fanboy, it sounds pretty great. If I understand it correctly, you would get the service as part of your cable TV or satellite package and would then be able to choose from a Hulu-like library to view either on television or via computer. If you’re into this stuff, you really should read for yourself. For me, one interesting aspect is that it’s unclear how deep that library would be, both because of marketing issues and because of the various confusing deals that have been struck over the years for MGM’s huge back catalog. (If you’re a masochist or just dig this stuff, here’s a Wikipedia taste.)
It all sounds great to me, except, just as there may be with Hulu, much as I enjoy the service it provides, it strikes me that there could be some anti-trust issues here. Or not. I’m only a lawyer in my mother’s fantasies. Cord Bloomquist, however, has a good rundown of the situation vis a vis Hulu from a libertarian perspective, but I’m no libertarian when it comes to megabusiness. I’m really more of a latte-sipping Hollywood (well, Anaheim) librul who thinks that media consolidation is perhaps the single most serious issue underlying all the other issues we deal with, so I’m a bit suspicious of all the studios getting into bed together for these kind of things.
Short version: Bob the liberal is wary, but Bob the movie geek is intrigued. And, let’s face it, one way or another, this the direction we’re going in. I’d just like to see more flowers blooming.
No, this is not a reference to last night’s Tonys. True, the movie-inspired “Billy Elliot” did take the night, continuing a “trend” for B-way musicals that go back to the classic film era, and it’s also true that host Neil Patrick Harris is a winner both for his show-closing/show-stopping musical summation, and because Empire Online has announced a couple of movie gigs for the still up-and-coming Doogie Horrible. (h/t Whedonesque).
However, it seems that the battle for the #1 box office spot discussed on my last post actually had a somewhat different result than we thought. It’s important to remember that those numbers I talk about on Sunday are really only estimates, though they are treated by press-sters as just this side of gospel. The upshot is Varietyis reporting that both “The Hangover” and “Up” did better than expected business yesterday, but the former did just a little bit better better business, if you follow me. Sayeth the big V’s Pamela Mcclintock:
Final figures will show that “Hangover” grossed $45 million from 3,269 runs. “Up” should finish at $44.3 million to $44.4 million from 3,818 theaters.
I don’t suppose it really matters that much in the final analysis; nobody’s going broke here. (Well, I can’t speak for degenerate gamblers. Someone, somewhere, just lost a big bet.)
Tonight, for just a few hours, the show business center of gravity shifts back to its old home of New York City for the Tony Awards, tonight hosted by Neil Patrick Harris — a guy just talented enough to get me to break my usual one-award-show-per-year regimen (Oscars, naturally). But we still have some box office news to report…
After yesterday’s b.o. surprise, the world has set itself right on its axis and Disney/Pixar’s PG-rated, family (if not toddler and kindergartner) friendly “Up” managed to nose out this week’s genuine sleeper, Warner’s “The Hangover,” $44.2 to $43.3 million. And, hey, it’s no revelation to say that “Up” appeals to people of all age groups and genders, but can someone make Nikkie Finke and the Hollywood denizens she writes for stop calling it a “four quadrant” film? They could say it was a film that appeals to “all audiences” or that it attracts, say, “everyone,” but then people might understand what they’re talking about.
Of course, where there are winners, there are losers, and that would be what Variety perhaps laughingly refers to as a Will Ferrell “laffer,” “Land of the Lost.” The picture was apparently avoided by more grown-up audiences as one would avoid a Sleestak with digestive issues, netting a subpar $19.5, about one-third shy of the studio’s expectations. (Those seeking an extra bit of schadenfreude need only see the comments by Dave, Jason, and Will on yesterday’s afore-linked “Hangover” surprise post.) Another, even less surprising, loser was “My Life in Ruins,” which netted a horrendous $3.2 million from 1,164 screens, coming in at the #9 spot in its first week. How many quadrants would that be?
A movie like “Ruins” really can be hurt by reviews, which is why it’s interesting to note that the week’s highest per screen average of $35,750 was achieved by “Away We Go,” the small Sam Mendes-directed comedy written by Dave Eggars and the alliterative Vendela Vida, and starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph, I eluded to on Friday. As Anne Thompson pointed out in a post which I think I’ve linked to multiple times for multiple self-serving reasons, the film doesn’t seem to have the kind of reviews required for an indie hit, so I’m expecting this one to fade as it goes into wider release. Not that there might not be an audience for the film, which, going (unfairly, I’m sure) by the trailer, looks like a sweetened-up version of David O. Russell’s 1996 farce, “Flirting with Disaster” (am I borrowing this thought from someone?). Personally, I’ll take the tangier version.
Of course, where there are winners, there are losers, and that would be what 
