December, 2009 Archive
George D. Allen | Movie Buzz, Movie Buzz Podcast
James Cameron's got some big shoes to fill: his own! Having steered the mighty Titanic to box-office and Academy Award glory over a decade ago, the self-styled "king of the world" is unleashing an epic sci-fi saga that fuses his vivid imagination to mind-boggling cinema technology. Is Avatar about to change the movies? Has Cameron managed to defy (already high) expectations once again...or, are his fans about to turn on him with all the hatriolic fury of a prequel-trilogy-bashing Star Wars junkie? Let's turn to Movie Irv for his verdict:
Brian Sieck | Unsung Stars
Sure, she may not be a household name, and while she does have plenty of fine supporting roles on her resume, Molly Parker has managed to carve out a career as a primarily lead actress, and an incredible one at that. Sadly, Parker has never really gotten the credit she deserves… until now.
Perhaps the first film example that proves Parker not only has chops, isn’t afraid to take chances with lurid subject matter and is also capable of instilling respectable human qualities into flawed characters is the movie that put her on the map. Parker teamed with director Lynne Stopkewich for the film Kissed, a stark tale about a young woman’s complete obsession with death that eventually evolves into necrophilia. Obviously, this is material that’s extremely delicate to say the least and doesn’t lend itself to positive feelings for viewers. However, Parker handles the role with immense sensitivity, and despite the alternative and distasteful lifestyle of someone who engages in such an act, viewers may be amazed by the amount of empathy and understanding they have for the character.
Read More »
Irv Slifkin | Ask Movie Fanfare
Question: When, oh when are Arthur Hailey's Hotel and the TV series of The Ghost & Mrs. Muir ever going to be introduced on DVD?
Answer: Good questions that, unfortunately, we don’t have all the answers to. With respect to Hotel, if you are talking about the 1983-1988 ABC TV series produced by Aaron Spelling starring James Brolin and Connie Sellecca, we’ve got the first season available, but no news on when subsequent season will be released by Paramount. The DVD appearance of the 1967 film with Rod Taylor, Catherine Spaak and Merle Oberon is more likely, a perfect candidate for a future Warner Archives release. As for The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, the popular show that ran on NBC and ABC from 1968 to 1970 with Hope Lange and Edward Mulhare, its rights are owned by Fox. According to a company spokesperson, “it is not on our schedule.” So it will remain invisible to video fans for a while longer.
Read More »
Jerry Frebowitz | New Releases This Week
New DVD Releases for this week include Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock, Disney's animated hit, G-Force and one of this year's funniest movies, The Hangover; see Mike Tyson in a whole new light. And if raunchy, outrageous comedy is your thing, The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard won't disappoint. Documentaries and Foreign films round out the slate of this week's new releases, including a vintage rarity: a pre-Stalin Soviet Union silent movie where Westerners are shown as the "terrorists" against the U.S.S.R. -- using germ warfare, no less!
Read More »
Jay Steinberg | This Week in Film History
December 19, 1909: The first use of freeze frame for dramatic effect is employed by D.W. Griffith for the film A Corner in Wheat.
December 14, 1939: Seventy-five years after General Sherman set it ablaze, the city of Atlanta is lit up again-- for the world premiere of Gone with the Wind.
December 19, 1940: The comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello brings their vaudeville banter to the screen in One Night in the Tropics.
December 15, 1966: The most famous name in family entertainment, Walt Disney--animator, producer and multi-Oscar-winner--dies of a heart attack at age 65.
Read More »
Irv Slifkin | In the Star's Trailer, Movie Buzz
Here lizard, lizard, lizard.
No, it’s not a new Taco Bell commercial. But is the return of the Broken Lizard comedy troupe, coming to a movie theater near you with their first film project in a few years.
It’s called The Slammin’ Salmon, and the quintet of yuksters who gave us such cinematic efforts as Super Troopers, Club Dread, Beerfest and the 2005 Dukes Of Hazzard film are up to their old tricks again, offering wacky characters, raunchy comedy and themselves in a cast peppered with familiar names and faces.
The story revolves around the title establishment, a Miami seafood eatery owned by a boisterous former boxer named Cleon “Slammin’” Salmon, played hysterically by—of all people—Michael Clarke Duncan. The ex-champ needs thousands to settle a wager owed a yakuza gangster. In order to pay off, Salmon asks his manager to raise the funds, who, in turn, runs a contest with his wait staff to see who can dig up the most loot by the end of the night.
The film comes to in theaters in early December, offering a reprieve of sorts from the family-oriented films and Oscar contenders out there in the multiplexes. In addition, Broken Lizard—whose members met when they were attending Colgate University in the early 1990s—has several projects in development, including Super Troopers 2, Potfest (a sequel to Beerfest) and an Animal House-like collegiate comedy in which the Lizards play university professors.
But it was in mid-November that the five members of Broken Lizard parked their bus in Philadelphia for a set of live shows at Philly’s Trocadero Theater and to talk about their new movie and other topics with Movie Fanfare.
Read More »
Jason Marcewicz | Create-A-Caption
You know the drill. Below is a classic movie photo with Jason’s caption.
You’re encouraged to leave your own suggestion in the comment section below!
Rare sighting? Julia Child in a fowl mood!
George D. Allen | Movie Buzz, Movie Buzz Podcast
Irv and Brian B. have heard all of Sammy Claus’s jokes before (see his “comedy” act in the first installment of our holiday podcast), so they decide to compare notes on their favorite unusual Christmas-themed hits. How many have you seen? How many must you own? How many are you going to want to give out as presents? There’s only one way to find out:
Jerry Frebowitz | New Releases This Week
New DVD Releases for this week include Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, Johnny Depp as Public Enemy Number One in Public Enemies and Julie & Julia along with other theatrical newcomers and for admirers of director Akira Kurosawa's achievements, a new boxed set is being offered with 25 of his most popular films. In addition, documentaries take center stage this week with Leonard Bernstein, Knut the polar bear and a story about the "Lost Boys" of Sudan. And for those out there who join the myriads of Johnny Mercer fans, Warner Brothers has compiled a thoroughly enjoyable commemorative documentary, Johnny Mercer: The Dream's On Me, narrated by Clint Eastwood.
Read More »
Jay Steinberg | This Week in Film History
December 7, 1919: Director/actor Erich von Stroheim, "The Man You Love to Hate," makes his directorial debut with Blind Husbands.
December 11, 1930: A protest of All Quiet on the Western Front by members of the Nazi Party in Berlin will lead to the banning of the film from Germany.
December 9, 1937: In a poll conducted by gossip columnist Ed Sullivan, Clark Gable and Myrna Loy are crowned "King and Queen of Hollywood."
Read More »
2 Comments »
