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25 giugno A Few Of My Favorite TwistsThough I've avoided reviews (but I have heard that it's awful), M. Night Shyamalan's "The Happening" has made me revisit my piece on some of my favorite cinematic twist endings. Here are a few of my favorite twists:
What makes for a true twist ending in a movie? Is it merely a shocking jolt of amazement? Is it that moment of recognition the movie was seeking? Is it... "Rosebud?" It can be all these things and more, provided the picture's story is greatly altered by the final, shocking disclosure. It should also smack audiences with a "never saw that coming" wallop. And it should never be abused. M. Night Shyamalan, who's so well known for the twist ending that he's become almost an irritating brand, has promised no such thing with his latest, Lady in the Water, but then, is that the twist? Is he deceiving us? Or is it because the movie blows? I don't know yet. As for now, I've listed 10 of my favorite twist endings. Some are classic, some are new and some are probably surprising. And for "Memento" and David Lynch fans, please understand, those Chinese Box of movies (the brilliant "Mulholland Drive" especially) deserve their own special twist list, so unique are their visions. Don't yell at me for not including them. And that's right, "The Usual Suspects" did not make the cut. Hey, I said these were twists. And be warned: Spoilers lurk below. How could they not? 10. "The Others" (2001)
9. "Suspicion" (1941) 8. "Charade" (1963) Read my entire list here. --posted by Kim
19 giugno Baby Boom That being said, this story (about 17 girls getting pregnant at one high school) is so nuts Hollywood better get to writing the movie version stat.
From Time Magazine:
"As summer vacation begins, 17 girls at Gloucester High School are expecting babies—more than four times the number of pregnancies the 1,200-student school had last year. Some adults dismissed the statistic as a blip. Others blamed hit movies like 'Juno' and 'Knocked Up' for glamorizing young unwed mothers. But principal Joseph Sullivan knows at least part of the reason there's been such a spike in teen pregnancies in this Massachusetts fishing town. School officials started looking into the matter as early as October after an unusual number of girls began filing into the school clinic to find out if they were pregnant.
"By May, several students had returned multiple times to get pregnancy tests, and on hearing the results, 'some girls seemed more upset when they weren't pregnant than when they were,' Sullivan says. All it took was a few simple questions before nearly half the expecting students, none older than 16, confessed to making a pact to 'get pregnant and raise their babies together. Then the story got worse. "We found out one of the fathers is a 24-year-old homeless guy,' the principal says, shaking his head."
Read the entire story here.
--posted by Kim
List-O-Mania Wow. AFI places "Cat Ballou" as the number ten western of all time. I adore "Cat Ballou."
A few words for one of Fonda's finest:
Though many might think it's a fun romp for sure, and she's hot as hell, but didn't Lee Marvin win the Oscar for this picture? And isn't this "Barbarella" -- era Jane? As in, not so serious Jane? Well, sure it is, but that doesn't downgrade one of her most charming performances in one of her most lovable movies. Like her father, who easily straddled drama with screwball and whose weight even heightened his more comical roles, Jane is a funny vixen with wit — a once mild-mannered schoolmarm who turns feisty, vengeful Cat Ballou after her father is killed. Fonda showed that this kitty not only had claws but commanded the big screen. Working the Western spoof and wearing her cowboy hat very, very well (did we mention how hot she is in this movie?), Fonda mixes beautifully with co-stars Michael Callan, Dwayne Hickman, Tom Nardini and the ever-wonderful Marvin. It's not easy making a pouting, hot-to-trot near cartoon so lifelike, but Fonda's poignant Cat ("You won't make me cry! You'll never make me cry!") does. Tuned to the songs of Stubby Kaye and Nat King Cole, Jane makes her Cat unforgettable. Read their entire list of 10 greats in multiple genres here. It's list-crazy and, as usual, there's a lot missing and a lot to disagree with but...that's what lists are for. --posted by Kim Not So Loose Are They?OK, so this is only movie related because the harsh words were used against a movie star but...I'm with Joan Rivers on this one. There are larger problems in the world and the supposed, uh, "Loose Women" need to live up to their show's title.
From IMDB:
"Comedienne Joan Rivers has revoked her apology for swearing on live British television on Tuesday.The outspoken star sparked outrage in the U.K. after she called actor Russell Crowe a 'f*****g s**t' while speaking to co-hosts of daytime talk show Loose Women.
"The flustered presenters immediately apologised for Rivers' foul language while giggling about the slip-up, but show bosses weren't quite so light on their guest - they asked Rivers to leave the set during the commercial break.Rivers issued an apology for her expletives - but has since revoked it, insisting the British public have overreacted.
"She says, 'Lemme get this straight. Bin Laden's top man has been released. The price of petrol is through the roof. There's inflation, depression. And people are hysterical because I said f**k?'
"'I was having a great time and everybody was laughing. Then these people - these idiots - came running onto the set and ripped me off my seat and dragged me off."They were saying 'Let's go, let's go, let's go'. I thought I was being arrested.'"
--posted by Kim 18 giugno Cyd Charisse: 1922-2008 Sad news. Actress, dancer, long-legged beauty Cyd Charisse passed away at age 86:
"One of the greatest female dancers in the heyday of the Hollywood musical, she starred in such big-screen extravaganzas as 'Brigadoon' (1954) and as a young Vicki Carr in 'The Silencers' (1966). While she strutted her considerable stuff on the screen, her singing was invariably dubbed.
"Though she didn't often spend much time on the screen, her scenes made dramatic impact. Outfitted in the most splendid costumes, she wowed audiences with her dance moves in such 1940s entertainments as 'The Harvey Girls,' 'Three Wise Fools,' 'Till the Clouds Roll By,' 'Fiesta,' 'The Unfinished Dance,' 'Words and Music' and 'The Kissing Bandit.' "Her final dancing turns were in the '50s in such films as 'Brigadoon,' 'It's Always Fair Weather,' 'Invitation to the Dance' and 'Silk Stockings,' a musical remake of 'Ninotchka' that reteamed her with Astaire."
I love Cyd Charisse in "Bandwagon" (and Nicholas Ray's "Party Girl") but my favorite performance was her slinky mobster moll sexing up Gene Kelly in that green dress (and those endless legs!) in "Singing In the Rain" -- pure bliss.
--posted by Kim A Real Doll Of A Bird Thanks to a kind reader who sent me this link, I have now discovered another movie item I must have.
The Melanie Daniels (aka Miss Tippi Hedren -- not Naomi Watts) Doll -- murderous attack birds included.
Christmas is coming...in about six months...but, still.
--posted by Kim
16 giugno Ready For Prime Time Players
MSN's John Moe on "Saturday Night Live" movies. Good? Not so good? You decide: "When it comes to 'Saturday Night Live,' there are a few constants. Everyone will always talk about how it used to be funnier, everyone will wonder why it's still on the air, everyone will always watch it anyway, and cast members will depart the show to launch movie careers. Sometimes these leaps work out quite well; other times it turns out that what worked on a small screen late at night for a few minutes doesn't really hold up for two hours at the multiplex. "In compiling our list of the top 10 successful leaps from Studio 8H to the silver screen, we included only performers who used the show as a springboard and who first made a name for themselves on "SNL," omitting those who caught on well after departing as well as those who were famous coming in. Therefore, no Billy Crystal, Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. (yep, Iron Man was a cast member once), Sarah Silverman, Janeane Garofalo or Christopher Guest." Read his list here. --posted by Kim
Baldwin On Parenting Speaking of notorious papas...Alec Baldwin on the press and penning a book on fatherhood:
From the New York Post:
"'Well, if you have four bad days in four straight years, then all four of them are depicted in the media, then yeah. The other 360 days of the year, when you're just handing out lollipops and riding unicorns through cotton-candy forests and everything's so magical, they don't report that.'
"He says his relationship with daughter Ireland, now 12, is 'great,' despite the ongoing custody battle.
"Later this year he is publishing a book on the subject of "paternal alienation" entitled 'A Promise to Ourselves: Fatherhood, Divorce and Family Law.'"
Did Eric Bana's Hulk in Ang Lee's movie (not Edward Norton's Hulk and yes, it made boffo box office over the weekend) ghost write that one? God, I am so buying that book.
--posted by Kim Five Fantastic Flawed Fathers One of my favorite dads in cinema is one of the most obvious -- Gregory Peck’s Atticus Finch in "To Kill a Mockingbird." The picture of patience, justice, tolerance, intelligence and grace, he’s so damn perfect that it’s almost maddening. Where in life would one ever have a father like that? And how could one make their own father act accordingly? If Atticus is even partially based in reality, Harper Lee was a very lucky girl.
But Atticus isn’t the only memorable movie patriarch who’s moved me -- positively or negatively. There is, among many others, Max Von Sydow in "The Virgin Spring," Victor Mature in "Kiss of Death," George C. Scott in "Hardcore," Lamberto Maggiorani in "The Bicycle Thief," Mel Gibson in "Mad Max," Donald Sutherland in "Ordinary People" and "Don't Look Now," Seymour Cassel in "Rushmore," and Geppetto in "Pinocchio." Thinking about all these good dads led me to other dads, dads who weren't so perfect (but dads who, in some cases, I love just as much as Mr. Finch). With that, here are five screen dads who’ve touched me, confused me or, in the case of Max Showalter in "Lord Love a Duck" blew my freaking mind. Nicolas Cage in "Raising Arizona"
So he’s not really a traditional father in this movie --- he’s the father of a kidnapped baby. But when it comes to Nicolas Cage’s H.I. McDonnough in Joel and Ethan Coen’s brilliant "Raising Arizona," I’m not going to split hairs. In spite of a few stumbles along the way, H.I. really does love his wife Edwina (Holly Hunter) even when they learn that, as H.I. states, “her womb was a rocky place where my seed could find no purchase." Nabbing a baby from Nathan Arizona (of Unpainted Arizona) seems like the right thing to do, or at least Edwina thinks so, but the plan goes seriously awry in many screwball and unforgettabel ways. I’m going to assume you’ve seen "Raising Arizona" so I’m not ruining anything when I say that I kind of always wish they could have kept that kid. Their devotion is pretty remarkable -- especially when the new daddy is shopping for Huggies.
Read the rest of my flawed fathers here. --posted by Kim 12 giugno My One And True Only Hulk
I love "Hulk" -- and no, not that Hulk -- not the one with Edward Norton opening this weekend. I'm talking Ang Lee’s "Hulk." A movie I revere with loneliness, this criminally underrated, unfairly maligned comic book picture managed to be serious and seriously fun. Musing on that green, mean Marvel comic fighting machine, Lee took a repressed Eric Bana and turned him into a frightening vision of male rage haunted by paternal alienation (via a crazed Nick Nolte). Shooting with exaggerated close-ups and with a keen eye for nature (something Lee's expert at -- check "The Ice Storm" and "Brokeback Mountain") Lee purposefully created a CGI Hulk that ran through cement, sand and dirt with the agility of Shrek (Hulk trips around a lot). Lee made one of the first truly artistic comic book adaptations -- Shakespearean, really. Mark my words -- "Hulk" will be better appreciated through the years. And...if you watched me Tuesday gabbing on the STARZ documentary Comic Books Unbound (8 PM PST and 10 PM ET -- I'm sure it will air again soon), I might have been praising it to the holy high heavens. Unless they cut that part. I hope not. --posted by Kim Heigl Rejects Emmy Bid I know Katherine Heigl's gonna catch hell for this from other bloggers and media musers (who does she think she is, accept your nomination gracefully, don't be so damn outspoken you actress, you just want attention, blah, blah, blah...), but I think it's kind of awesome. If George C. Scott can do something similar (though a bit more dramatic) all those years back, so can Miss Heigl.
"Katherine Heigl won't be chewing her manicure at this year's Emmy ceremony: She says she didn't seek a nomination because 'Grey's Anatomy' failed to deliver the goods for an award-worthy performance. Heigl, who was honored as best supporting actress in a drama last year for the ABC series, declined to put her name in consideration for a bid, a spokeswoman for the actress said Wednesday.
"'I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization' decided against competing, Heigl said in a written statement provided by her publicist, Melissa Kates, who was contacted by the AP.
"'In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials,' added Heigl. She plays Dr. Izzie Stevens on 'Grey's Anatomy,' which slipped in the ratings this past season but remained a top 10 show."
Wonder what words Isaiah Washington uttered about this.
--posted by Kim
10 giugno Ledger's Joker Brings The Mayhem According to Christopher Nolan, Heath Ledger's Joker is 'terrifying':
"'The Dark Knight' director Christopher Nolan has paid tribute to the dark acting skills of late actor Heath Ledger - branding his performance in the movie 'terrifying.' The Brokeback Mountain star filmed his final scenes as the Caped Crusader's nemesis The Joker for the forthcoming Batman film last year , just weeks before his tragic death in January. "And Nolan states the actor's final film sequences are spectacular - likening him to a shark who expertly brings 'chaos' and 'mayhem' to the evil role."
Read more of the impressive evil here.
--posted by Kim Clint McCain Vs. Spike Obama? Huh. Considering our presidential candiates are a well respected elderly man (well, not to everyone, but McCain has been embraced by both the right and the left) and a younger black man (who infuses those voting for him with hope), this feud is a little more interesting to some.
"In the Eastwood-Lee feud Lee clearly has historical accuracy on his side. In establishing scenes on Iwo Jima with hundreds of extras Eastwood whitewashed the black soldiers unloading munitions on the beach. Along with telling Lee to "shut his face," Eastwood went on mischaracterize Lee's complaint. 'The story is Flags of Our Fathers, the famous flag-raising picture, and they didn't do that. If I go ahead and put an African-American actor in there, people'd go: 'This guy's lost his mind.' I mean, it's not accurate.'
"Lee responded: 'I never said he should show one of the other guys holding up the flag as black. I said that African-Americans played a significant part in Iwo Jima," he said. "For him to insinuate that I'm rewriting history and have one of the four guys with the flag be black ... no one said that. It's just that there's not one black in either film. And because I know my history, that's why I made that observation.'
"What is typical in this discourse is the white accused of racism not fully understanding the relative subtlety of the black complaint. Full understanding wasn't helped by the fact that the criticism came from Spike Lee, famous for his unvarnished talk. What Clint is missing here is that Spike has mellowed considerably as he's grown into one of the most interesting filmmakers working today (along with Mr. Eastwood). Yes, Spike was young and wrong when he complained about Eastwood tackling Charlie Parker in 'Bird,' but that was back in 1988."
Read his entire take here.
--posted by Kim
Love To Love You Angie
Though Robert Siodmak's 1946 version of "Ernest Hemingway's The Killers" is superior, I love Don Siegel's 1964 "The Killers." I love the cars, the Cassavetes, the Clu Gulager (oh, how I love him in this movie), the cool Lee (that's the endlessly cool Lee Marvin), the cruel Reagan (as in future president Ronald, and a man with a great head of hair), the kind Claude Akins, the cretinous Norman Fell (as in future "fairy" teasing landlord Mr. Roper) and the comely, comely Angie Dickinson. Having just watched the picture on the big screen (and meeting the charming Miss Dickinson) while presenting at the Palm Springs Noir Festival, I'm still thinking about Siegel's fast moving auto-erotic slap fest.
Read my entire post here. --posted by Kim
09 giugno Girls With Heat Bad boy blogger/cat lover who pens the fabulous Starlet Showcase serves up a buffet of beauties packing heat. I love it.
But...where's "Gun Crazy's" Peggy Cummins? (A pistol packin' mama I wrote all about here).
Anyway, too obvious?
And I'm still not sure what to make of this post Mister Man. Flattered? Insulted? Hmmm...
--posted by Kim 'Panda' Power "Jack Black's Po the panda outgunned Adam Sandler's Zo the hairdresser. Black's cartoon comedy 'Kung Fu Panda' pulled in $60 million in ticket sales to debut as the weekend's No. 1 movie, while Sandler's salon romp 'You Don't Mess With the Zohan' opened in second place with $40 million, according to studio estimates Sunday."
Apparently...you don't mess with the Panda.
Here's the top five movies over the weekend:
1. "Kung Fu Panda," $60 million. 2. "You Don't Mess With the Zohan," $40 million. 3. "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," $22.8 million. 4. "Sex and the City," $21.3 million. 5. "The Strangers," $9.3 million. --posted by Kim
Reel News --Spike Lee vs. Clint Eastwood: "We're not on a plantation."
--Jessica Alba finds birth an Honor.
--"Brokeback Mountain" is becoming a musical. Great. The lame jokes will start all over again.
--Walt Disney Studios unveiled the plan for 10 new animated feature films from Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios to be released through the year 2012.
--When Werner Herzog says his film is not a re-make, I believe him.
--posted by Kim 05 giugno Worried About 'Women'
So the remake of George Cukor's "The Women" is a reality. I finally woke up.
The classic 1939 woman's picture (adpated by Anita Loos from Clare Boothe Luce's play) that reveals female bonding and bitchiness in its purest form needs no update. Yes, a lot of things have changed since then but enough to deepen the picture? Or make it funnier? Or more relevant? I guess the ladies can prattle on about sex...yawn.
The original film stars Norma Shearer as a devoted wife to a cheater (his mistress is the brilliantly catty, gold-digging Joan Crawford) who learns the awful news through gossip in the beauty parlor. Aiding and/or sabotaging her pride is her circle of friends, Paulette Goddard, Mary Boland, Joan Fontaine and the loud-mouth, drama-loving Rosalind Russell. Wonderful for its spiky dialogue and reflections on female friendships and marriage, it's simultaneously delicious and intelligently biting. It's also incredibly funny. Even better, there's an all-color fashion show mid-way through. How are they going to handle that in the remake? Turn the film to black and white?
Anyway, here's the trailer for the newest version starring Annette Bening, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Candice Bergen, Jada Pinkett Smith, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Bette Midler and the great Cloris Leachman.
So OK, I suppose I have to accept this has happened, but it looks awful.
Alright -- it has to at least be superior to "Sex and the City." And, I like some of the cast memebers (but Eva Mendes in Joan's role? No!), but here's my question: Where the hell is Faye Dunaway? Of all these women, only she can achieve te Herculean, shoulder-strutting style of Crawford, Russell, Clare Booth Luce and Cukor. Bring back Faye!
--posted by Kim Julianne Moore Drops The Other 'F' Bomb I adore the gorgeous and talented Julianne Moore.
I adore her delivering a speech entirely pant-less (in "Short Cuts"). I adore her spouting cocaine addled rambling Amber Waves-isms to Rollergirl (in "Boogie Nights"). I adore her suffering the toxic chemicals of a hideous '80s perm and dancing uncomfortably to Kenny Loggins (in "Safe"). I adore her in all of it -- even her performance in the otherwise disapointing "Freedomland" -- I love her.
So her latest, uh, performance on "The Late Show With David Letterman" has made me discover even more reasons to adore Julianne Moore.
Mooning? Who knew the delicate, winsome Miss Moore was so earthy?
--posted by Kim 04 giugno Do You Feel Lucky? "We were both politically moderate. We just thought we were making a detective story, but later on, we were told we were the vast right-wing conspiracy," Eastwood says, playing to today's obviously more liberal audience of journalists.
"In the old days, people wouldn't accept it on that level. I guess people didn't like the idea of a detective who was so dogmatic he would go to all extremes to solve the case and get the criminal off the street."
--Clint Eastwood telling the audience who came out to see a revival showing of "Dirty Harry," which was just released in a special edition containing all five films on DVD.
Read more here.
--posted by Kim
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