Tag: movies

Who’s your favorite?

kirksWriter Ken Levine did this, picking his favorite performer for a variety of roles. I can do that. Who is your favorite:

Felix & Oscar? I saw the television show, with Tony Randall and Jack Klugman first. The movie, with Lemmon and Matthau was great. But the room for the characters to develop through over 100 episodes on TV makes Tony & Jack my favorites. I did enjoy the short-lived version with Ron Glass as Felix and Demond Wilson as Oscar. Always wondered what the Sally Struthers/Rita Moreno version was like. Just read that ” Matthew Perry will be starring, co-writing, and executive-producing a remake…[which] will start airing in midseason 2015 on CBS. Perry will play Oscar Madison, a known slob; the role of his clean freak roomie Felix Unger will be portrayed by Thomas Lennon.”

James Bond? I STILL have not seen in a theater a James Bond movie. I’ll pick Sean Connery, because I did see some of his films on TV.

Superman? I suppose it’s Christopher Reeve, the guy from the movies c. 1978. Though George Reeves on the TV, and even the Fleisher cartoons voiced by Bud Collyer were under consideration.

Batman? (Michael Keaton? Really?) Sure, why not Michael Keaton, if only because he was better than I expected. And he was in the only movies I saw, except for the one with Adam West.

Lois Lane? Terri Hatcher from Lois and Clark, though Noel Neill from the early TV show also gets consideration.

Sherlock Holmes? The current TV show with Jonny Lee Miller

Dr. Who? I only watched the Tom Baker period with anything approaching regularity.

Darrin Stephens? Dick York, the original husband on Bewitched.

Hawkeye? Again, years of playing a character, in this case for over a decade, gives Alan Alda a real advantage over Donald Sutherland.

Host of THE PRICE IS RIGHT? While I had admiration for both Bill Cullen and Dennis James, and I’ve only seen Drew Carey a few times, I’ll go with Bob Barker, the long-time host.
***
Who else could we compare?

Alex Trebek has been doing it for the last 30 years, and I’ve gotten used to him. But I liked the jovial Art Fleming as host of JEOPARDY!, and he appears in the Weird Al video.

Clearly, I’ve spent WAY more time with the original Star Trek cast than the newcomers (seen only the first film of the reboot), so that’d be no contest, thus far. BTW, those are the Captains Kirk above.

Best presidential pair with a common surname: Roosevelt over Adams, I reckon. Don’t think Harrison, Johnson or Bush are really in the running.

One could take on music groups:
Which Van Halen lead singer? David Lee Roth
Genesis with or without Peter Gabriel? Each has its qualities
Which iteration of Fleetwood Mac? Ditto, though a lesser bands sans Christine McVie
Which group of Temptations? I actually preferred them after David Ruffin left and was replaced by Dennis Edwards before Eddie Kendrick left, the beginning of the psychedelic soul period.
Which Beatles drummer, Pete Best or Ringo Starr? OK, I was kidding with the last one.

Give me more!

MOVIE REVIEW: Kill the Messenger

In Kill the Messenger, Gary Webb’s big story slowly begins to unravel, due in no small effort of the rivals of the Mercury News, such as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post, to smear him.

jeremy-renner-kill-the-messenger-posterThe cover story of the October 9, 2014 issue of Metroland, the “Capitol Region’s Alternative Newsweekly,” was Return of the Messenger, about how a new film starring Jeremy Renner will serve as a belated vindication of an investigative journalist. The movie starts with clips of US Presidents from Lyndon Johnson to Ronald Reagan extolling the virtue of fighting the scourge of illegal drugs.

“Kill the Messenger… is the true story of Sacramento-based investigative reporter Gary Webb, who earned both acclaim and notoriety for his 1996 San Jose Mercury News series that revealed the CIA had turned a blind eye to the U.S.-backed Nicaraguan Contras trafficking crack cocaine in South Central Los Angeles and elsewhere in urban America in the 1980s. One of the first-ever newspaper investigations to be published on the Internet, Webb’s story gained a massive readership and stirred up a firestorm of controversy and repudiation.”

The first part of the movie was like “All the President’s Men,” the movie about the Watergate affair that toppled the presidency of Richard Nixon, but on steroids, with hard-working Webb going out on a limb to nail this story. But his big story slowly begins to unravel, due in no small effort of the rivals of the Mercury News, such as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post, to smear Webb, thus undermining the narrative.

This is an engaging story, but depressing in terms of both the government’s actions and the media’s complacency. Ben Bradlee, the executive editor of The Washington Post from 1968 to 1991, who died recently, backed his reporters, Bob Woodward, and Carl Bernstein when they investigated Watergate; the San Jose Mercury News eventually was less supportive of their reporter. The Washington Post’s actions in 1972 through 1974 were courageous and served the country well; the Washington Post of 1996, at least in regard to this story, was cowardly and petty.

At least some of the less positive reviews (75% positive on Rotten Tomatoes) suggest this movie also takes some liberties with the facts. This MAY be true – I know not – but it’s also possible, as The Myth of the Free Press by Chris Hedges suggests, that “these [CONTINUING!] attacks are an act of self-justification… an attempt by the mass media to mask the collaboration between themselves and the power elite.” In any case, the overarching narrative is probably accurate. Others suggest that the ending is unsatisfying; so it was, but that’s the way it really played out.

The Wife and I, who saw it on a recent Sunday afternoon at the Spectrum Theatre in Albany, thought it was well worth our time.

Jan Hooks, Elizabeth Peña, Alan Hauser

jan-hooks Mark Evanier tells a story about Jan Hooks, his friend, and a member of the cast of Saturday Night Live from 1986 to 1991, who died on October 9 at the age of 57 (!). The story also features some lying multimillionaire schmuck who she had tried to make nice with.

The day before I heard about her death, I had just happened to have watched a segment of Saturday Night Live featuring her and Paul Simon. I really haven’t watched the show much this century, but I watched it religiously before that. I’ve long thought the best SNL cast may not have been the original troupe (John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, Gilda Radner, et al.) but the group of the late 1980s, with Jon Lovitz, Dennis Miller, Nora Dunn, Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, and Jan Hooks.

I also watched her on shows such as Designing Women and 30 Rock.

Here are some nice recollections in the Huffington Post and the New Yorker.

Her former SNL co-star Victoria Jackson also wrote an article. Considering that Ms. Jackson has become a bit of a lunatic, I believe it was surprisingly pleasant.

SamuraiFrog noted the passing of actress Elizabeth Peña on October 14. I thought she was older, mostly because she plays the mother of the character played by Sofia Vergara (42) on the TV show Modern Family. But he was only 55(!) herself. (The death of people younger than myself usually gets the (!) response.) Ms. Peña was in my favorite John Sayles movie, Lonestar, and she is a voice in probably my favorite animated film of the last half-century, The Incredibles. But she also appeared in a number of other projects I’ve watched, going back at least to LA Law.

I read before I saw any confirmation in news stories, that vocalist Tim Hauser of Manhattan Transfer has died on October 16. I have some of their music, going back to the days on vinyl. Chuck Miller wrote a very nice piece, complete with links to MT music.

10 Glamorous Oscar de la Renta Gowns.

Ben Bradlee, the legendary Washington Post editor, dies at 93.

 

Antics of comic books and film

Marvel can (and probably will) bring back the Fantastic Four, because, as someone who read the four-color items for three decades, almost nothing is permanent in the comic books.

FourEverI was, as noted, very happy that Jack Kirby, co-creator of the Marvel Universe (at worst) won his legal action with Marvel Comics. But it points out how much money must be involved, a rumored $30 million to the Kirby heirs.

It appears that Marvel Comics is canceling the Fantastic Four comic book, one of its flagship titles, and it’s likely it’s because of too little money, not from the comic book, but from the movies.

Before the superhero-movie renaissance, a struggling Marvel sold the FF’s film rights (along with those of the X-Men) to 20th Century Fox at terms very favorable to Fox. Fast-forward to now: Fox is rebooting the Fantastic Four film franchise and Marvel gets hardly any money out of the movie, unlike the insane cash it makes on flicks made by its own studio (Avengers, Captain America, and the other titles in that universe) and the Spider-Man franchise (owned by Sony, who cut a good bargain with Marvel a while back)…

So, it would seem, if Marvel cancels the comic book, the movies won’t do as well. If Fox stops making movies, the rights to the movie portrayals revert to Marvel. THEN Marvel can (and probably will) bring back the FF, because, as someone who read the four-color items for three decades, almost nothing is permanent in the comic books.

Now Marvel can’t very well dump the X-Men, their most successful comic book for decades. But they could, as noted X-Men scribe Chris Claremont wrote, forbid writers from creating new characters lest they become the property of Fox. This does not serve the comic book well, I believe.

My only horse in this race is that once upon a time, I edited magazines about the X-Men and the Fantastic Four (and Spider-Man), so I have a historical affection for the characters, though I haven’t read much of them in two decades.

As this infographic suggests, the movies of both Marvel and DC are very important.

John Green tells why he hates Batman. But if you’re in the Albany area, check out Batman’s 75th Anniversary Celebration at Albany Public Library branches this week.

MOVIE REVIEW: Dolphin Tale 2

How can Sawyer go when the dolphin Winter’s status at the hospital is still in doubt?

Dolphin_Tale_2One of the useful functions of the blog is that it helps me remind me of events. In this case, it was Columbus Day weekend three years ago when The Daughter, The wife and I saw the movie Dolphin Tale, the first theatrical film the three of us ever saw all together. I liked it; the Daughter was even more fond.

The Daughter really wanted to see the sequel, the cleverly-named Dolphin Tale 2. We trekked to Colonie Center near Albany on a Sunday afternoon to whatever chain theater is out there to discover an annoying fact: 3 p.m. is the demarcation line for matinee prices, and it was the 4 p.m. showing we wanted to see. So it goes.

The plot is that Winter, the dolphin with the artificial tail, who has become a big hit at the facility where she lives, has an aging playmate. What happens when the older creature dies? USDA regulations require that marine mammals have a companion. Another dolphin is rescued. Why can’t this be the solution?

Dolphin Tale 2 is…nice. I’m not sure I would have known who all the human characters were, and their relationships had I not seen the first film. Sawyer Nelson (Nathan Gamble), the young man who first found Winter in the last film, is still working at Clearwater Marine Hospital. The facility is headed by Dr. Clay Haskett (Harry Connick Jr.), and assisted by a number of attractive young adults, plus his now teenaged daughter Hazel (Cozi Zuehlsdorff). Loraine Nelson (Ashley Judd) is trying to get her son Sawyer to decide on an incredible educational opportunity, but how can he go when Winter’s status at the hospital is still in doubt? Dr. Clay has to make tough decisions, with his dad Reed (Kris Kristofferson) lending support. Can Dr. Cameron McCarthy (Morgan Freeman) save the day again?

Any real drama in the movie takes place in the last third of the film. However, I did enjoy the ethical dilemma Dr. Haskett found himself in during the middle of the narrative. Also present in a cameo is Bethany Hamilton, a noted surfer, who came to national attention after her left arm was bitten off by a tiger shark back in 2003.

If you have an 8 to 14-year-old who wants to see it, I recommend renting the first movie and watching it, for it is the stronger film. THEN watch this one.

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial