Movie time!

Kick-Ass. I am interested!

Kick-Ass - Red Band Trailer | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

Kick-Ass - Theatrical Trailer #2 | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

The Hangover: Instant classic

Saw The Hangover the other day, and loved it so much that I am compelled to write the very rare, much-sought-after CIT Movie Review on it.

Hilarious. Best comedy since Superbad. Better than Knocked Up and 40 Year Old Virgin. Easily earns "instant classic" status. We'll be laughing over this one for years.

Everyone in it is great. Bradley Cooper is as instantly likable as he was instantly unlikeable in Wedding Crashers. The seemingly omni-present Ken Jeong (the outrageously uptight OB/GYN in Knocked Up) shows up again and reveals a lot more than his comedic timing. Heather Graham does well with limited screen-time. Mike Tyson completely recaptures his pop-culture cool factor with a single word: "Niiice!"

As the events from a forgotten night of debauchery are revealed to a threesome of severely hung over groomsmen, the laugh-out-loud moments come one after another. I was actually disappointed when the gang is reunited with the lost groom, not because it was poorly done, but because I was hoping the chase would last another hour or so.

The Hangover is not for everyone. There is more male nudal frontity than female, and none of it is attractive in the least. The gross-out factor is very high, with at least 3 on-screen, very realistic chunk-blowing incidents bringing groans from the full house. The language is off the charts, with more f-bombs per dialog line than anything since Pulp Fiction.

If you can fight through all that, along with a boat-load of boys-will-be-boys-especially-in-Vegas cliche, you will love this movie. I laughed throughout and am still laughing two days later. That's all I need to know.

Movie greatness

I caught Schindler's List on HBO last night. It was certainly not the first time I've seen it, as it is required viewing for any Jew over the age of about 13 - it may have been incorporated into the Bar Mitzvah process, and if it hasn't, it should be.

This was probably the fifth or sixth time I sat thru Spielberg's masterpiece, and with this level of familiarity, I noticed some new things this time around.

Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler is pitch-perfect throughout. He has the physical presence to portray a man who will, alone and without hesitation, enter the gates of Auschwitz to pull "his people" back from the abyss. He completely sells the transformation of Schindler from womanizing snake-oil salesman to great, compassionate, righteous human - a man who starts as all flash becomes substantial enough to comfort with a gentle kiss the traumatized Jewish maid/punching bag of a concentration camp commander; a man who begins the film with no significant visible morality is, by film's end, capable of such moral clarity and strength that he is able to turn his back on everything he had professed to be interested in and care only for the victims he sees around him.

Casting Neeson was a masterstroke.

The rest of the cast is equally exceptional. The music is perfect. The little use of color in the film is perfect. Sets, continuity, staging, photography - all exactly right.

All this is to point out the perfectly obvious: Steven Spielberg is the greatest maker of movies in the history of movies.

Schindler's List is clearly his masterpiece, and, given the subject, may be the greatest movie ever made. Add to that his other spectacular success - Saving Private Ryan, ET, Close Encounters, Raiders of the Lost Ark (Indy in general), I could go on and on and on - my God, what a talent.

Sure, AI gave me a headache. Catch Me If You Can and 1941 were trifles (but entertaining trifles), and I'm still not sure what to make of Minority Report. No one hits a home run every time. Except Pixar, but that's another story - call me when they match Spielberg in longevity and production, and we'll compare notes.

I said to myself a number of times during last night's viewing, and have repeated it a number of times since: How fortunate are we to be around to see this guy's work as it happens.

The great news is he shows no signs of losing grip of his powerful gifts. Nor does he show any inclination to stop doing what he does so masterfully.

Thank you, Mr. Spielberg. Here's hoping you spend many more years embellishing your record as the greatest ever at what you do.

Something to look forward to....

My son and I have been wandering around in a daze, without purpose, without meaning.

Now we have both:




Why not have some fun, eh?

Long-lost documentary looks at Neiman Marcus circa 1983

Dad, you might be interested in this one.

The Great Wilonsky posts on Unfair Park today regarding a late entry into the AFI International Film Festival (to be held in Dallas in a couple of weeks): A forgotten film by documentarian Frederick Wiseman, shot in 1983 and entitled The Store.

It turns out that Wiseman produced a four-hour doc on Neiman Marcus in it's heyday.

Now, this is of some note on general purposes. Neiman Marcus was, for many years, Dallas' major redeeming feature. As much as, and probably more than, that stupid TV show, NM symbolized the glitter of Dallas, and put it on the international map. This film captures NM towards the end of the "We Have a Marcus (Richard) In-House" years, before the company was bought, and watered down, by General Cinema. In those days, everyone who was anyone in this town did a stint as a salesperson or assistant buyer in the joint. As such, The Store is worth seeing by anyone and everyone who lived, or who wanted to live, in Dallas in the halcyon days of the mid-80s.

But there is more at work here than general purposes. In 1983, the elder Curmudgeon (Curmudgeon Emeritus, if you will) was at the height of his long run as NM's Executive VP of Just About Everything At One Time or Another, and yours truly was indulging in a bit of shameless nepotism, working in various menial, but highly educational and entertaining, positions in the underbelly of the company.

So, one would think that a lot of folks either he knew, or I knew, or both, would make an appearance in this one.

I doubt I'll make the show (it's on a Monday afternoon), but I might check it out on video...

Daily YouTube: The most out-of-control car chase ever filmed

From To Live and Die in LA, before William Petersen grew that friggin' beard. Hang on to your keisters, boys and girls!

Daily YouTube: Who's on first

The classic, in its entirety:

Daily YouTube: We're goin' to charge Beersheba, mate

From the sadly underrated Lighthorsemen, here is the climactic charge of Beersheba.

It suffers (a lot) on a tiny screen and crap sound. If you get a chance to see this one on a larger screen and with some kick-ass speakers, you'll thank me for it.

Daily YouTube: The Batusi

In honor of today's smash opening of The Dark Knight, we present The Batusi:

Daily YouTube: Celebrities speaking on Burma

I normally have about zero patience for "celebrities with causes". I mean, what the hell does Pam Anderson really know about fur? Do you think Lindsay Lohan knows a frickin' thing about the science behind the global warming debate? C'mon.

Lately, a LOT of celebrities have have spoken about a story I follow closely: Burma. Now, do I really think Sarah Silverman knows anything about the history between the Karen and the Shan? Do I think Will Ferrell knows (or cares) about the role Buddhism has played in the subjugation of the population?

Of course not. They're celebrities. By definition, they don't know what they don't know. In this case, however, it doesn't matter.

Rarely does the real world resemble some random work of fiction. And, by that, I mean rarely is the world really white and black, good vs. evil. In Burma, however, it really is that clear. The "government" of Burma, that paranoid clique of superstitious, narrow-minded, and sociopathic senior military men, is so clearly evil, so clearly the "bad guys", that even empty-headed actors, singers, and other entertainers really can express valid opinions.

There's not much we can do about what's been happening, continues to happen, and will continue to happen in Burma. Keeping it up front, in conversation, in people's minds is really it. Everyone, including celebrities, needs to do his/her part.

Diatribe over. On with the video clip:

Speed Racer: Better than you would expect

Saw Speed Racer with Drew (and my dad) the other day, and it was better than the media blowhards would have you expect. A pleasant surprise.

First and foremost, it looks frickin' fabulous. I don't know how those Wachowski boys did it, but the colors are nothing short of stunning, the CGI is brilliant, everything just POPS off the screen. You have never seen anything like it, I guarantee.

The action, also, is fantastic. The race scenes in the mountains and the desert especially will keep you on the edge of your seat. The massive, four-wheel-steering powerslides thru the turns do get a little tiresome, as do the mid-air spins and barrel-rolls (these are supposed to be race cars, not Wizzers or T-38s, or are they?), but that's pretty nit-picky. It's good fun.

The characters and acting? If you have to ask about those things, you are totally missing the point. Matthew Fox is good as Racer X, Goodman and Sarandon are perfectly serviceable as the cartoon parents, and everyone else does their job. Believe me, they are NOT what this movie is about.

This is yet another technical tour-de-force by the Wachowskis. Remember how you felt walking out of The Matrix for the first time? You had never seen anything like it before. I know, since then you've seen all that stuff a hundred times. Remember the first time you saw it? That's how you'll feel walking out of this one.

See it in digital. See it on a big screen. It's fun. Really fun.

Brits launch new military satellite, should have thought of a better name

The Brits are nearing completion of their new military satellite comms system. They've encountered some difficulty and had to postpone the launch of the third, and last, bird, but they'll get it into orbit in short order.

Big deal, right?

I agree, except why did they have to name it "Skynet"?

Movie review: Two thumbs up for Iron Man

Nana and Pops took the kids last night (THANK YOU!), so Robynne and I went out to the show. Sorta surprisingly, she was hip to the idea of seeing Iron Man. Turns out a buff Robert Downey Jr is big stuff. Who knew?

Well, whatever it takes - I'm glad we went. It was good fun.

Downey has always been great at making unlikeable characters likeable. Julian in Less Than Zero, Blake in Two Girls and A Guy, Agent Royce in US Marshals, all colossal jerks, but you like them anyway. And none of those movies are his best work.

Tony Stark (Downey) is an arrogant a-hole. But he's funny, laid back, and difficult to dislike. Of course, he goes thru a major change in perception and perspective, and gets easier to like as the movie goes on. But the first scene of the movie, Stark is at the top of his a-hole-ness, and it's his funniest bit in the movie.

The CGI is well above average, there are some great, great shots (Iron Man throwing a leaping overhand right, giving just a squirt from the jet-boots to get a bit more into it - it's the best comic book art come to computer-generated life you can imagine), the dialog is real, there are a couple of neat cameos (director Favreau puts himself into a swell little comic role, and Stan Lee gets what may be the most-fun-to-film 2-second film appearance ever), and it doesn't ever slow down for long.

It's probably too much for the kids (it's rated PG-13 for a reason), but it's a hoot. Go check it out.

Daily YouTube: Darth Vader has the blues

I don't remember this from Return of the Jedi, but maybe it happened while I was out getting popcorn or something...

Daily YouTube MAXIMUS: Summer movies

With Iron Man out today, it looks like summer movie season is upon us. Here's a collection of trailers from those I am already making appointments to see:

The Dark Knight



Speed Racer



The Incredible Hulk



Hancock



Tropic Thunder



Pineapple Express



You Don't Mess With The Zohan



Get Smart



Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull



It ought to be a kick-a** summer!

Iron Man: DMN says its a good

The DMN review of Iron Man is in, and it's a good one.

I, like my co-blogger, am so in on this one. The trailers look great, Downey looks to be in top sardonic form, the effects look fantastic. Look for me in line for tickets soon!

I know what my son and I are doing this summer!

Dude -- seriously -- this looks awesome!!



If I wore panties, I would imagine that they would be wet right now.

Just imagine if you put Walt Whitman in the suit -- oh the possibilities!

ABBA drummer dies in the garden

In a very Spinal Tap-esque moment, former ABBA drummer Ola Brunkert managed to creatively kill himself in a somewhat bizarre gardening accident over the weekend.

Apparently, he managed to crash thru a window with his melon, then sliced his neck on the glass shards. Spanish authorities (he lived in the south of Spain) are calling it an accident.

But, one can't help but remember how John "Stumpy" Pepys bought it, and wonder if it isn't something about drummers...

Fascinating photo of Helen Keller as young girl

From MSNBC today: Here's a photo of young Helen Keller and her teacher, Anne Sullivan, taken in 1888. This would be less than a year after Keller and Sullivan's big breakthru, wherein then-7-year-old Helen first comprehended the meaning of language (the big "water" scene from The Miracle Worker - you know you saw it)

I am fascinated by this picture and what it represents. Since I was a little kid, the story of Helen Keller has interested me. I cannot even begin to imagine what it would be like to be 5, 6, 7 years old, with no way to communicate, isolated in a dark and silent world. How breathtaking must it have been to suddenly "get it", or to watch her make the connection between words and things.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is called "adding a bit or perspective to your day".

Daily YouTube: Worst movie scenes ever

Warning: Some of this is funny, but not terribly kid-friendly.