[CinemaRatty] Lattest Articles

Check out 12 clips from Mamma Mia!

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:32:32 +0000

Are you ready to take a trip down the aisle you’ll never forget? Phyllida Lloyd’s big-screen version of “Mamma Mia!” opens everywhere July 18, 2008, and if you’re a big musical fan and can’t until then, check you these 12 brand-new short clips just below!

Starring Amanda Seyfried, Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard and Julie Waters, the film tells the story of a future bride who’s trying to find her real father. I’m not necessarily a huge fan of musicals in general, but I have to admit “Mamma Mia!” looks incredibly entertaining. Let the celebration begin!

Critiques

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 09:54:22 +0000

"I'm having problems with the characterization of Ferrett," I said. "Why would someone described as 'a life-long oversleeper,' someone who 'spent his days struggling against the tide of sleep dragging him back under' suddenly start waking up at 5:45 a.m. every morning just because he's at some workshop? He's operating on four hours of rest every night; I see him more as the sort of person who'd need an alarm at this point. I just didn't buy it."

Happy Independence Day!

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 09:34:31 +0000

I am willing to put aside the fact that my birthday has always been overshadowed by the fact that it is Independence Day in the US (even though I still live in Canada) but I wanted to find a unique way to offer my respects as that friendly neighbour to the North and still manage to capture the spirit of Movie geekery. You like our Hockey, Beer and Bacon, we like your TV. Its all part of the free trade agreement.

So today I came upon this webcomic as I do everyday. I consider Scott Kurtz’ PVP strip a must read. He captures pop culture and wit in a way that is unrivaled in his field. I tip my hat and offer a reverse nod to the man and offer up today’s strip for you folks in the U.S of A. Happy Independence Day!!

Go visit PVP Online every day and have yourself some BBQ and Fireworks!

No title

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:53:00 +0000

Week of June 16th:

Gate of Flesh (1964): Garish post-WWII madness from crazed auteur Seijun Suzuki. The reigning idea is that of the society of whores standing in for late-'40s Japan as an ugly expression of the free market, with everything and everyone for sale; yet, however predatory, it still functions as a society with carefully coded rules until true anarchic lawlessness shows up in the form of Jo Shishido. Film gets the full force of Suzuki's visual imagination, yet unlike a lot of the '60s-era color films I've seen of his, it never loses sight of the story. The sweaty ambiance and seedy fluorescence on display here hearken forward to the golden age of Japanese artsploitation -- films like Sex and Fury and Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 clearly owe Suzuki a debt of gratitude. Pair with The Marriage of Maria Braun for a joyfully decadent evening. Grade: B+

The Machine Girl (2008): Manufactured by the Asian-extreme fanboy crowd for the Asian-extreme fanboy crowd, which isn't as surefire an idea as you might think. I would have thought that a film with geysers of blood, ninjas, chainsaws, a killer brassiere and a psychotic Japanese schoolgirl with a Gatling gun for an arm as its heroine could at the very least exude a sense of fun. Instead, this would-be cult readymade exhibits all the wit and charm of a steel-gray Toledo office building. I envision the filmmakers as grim-faced types, ruefully checking off items on a list entitled "Things That Tokyo Shock DVD Buyers Seem to Like" as they stand ankle-deep in rubber limbs and crimson Karo syrup. Takashi Miike or the much-maligned Lloyd Kaufman might have made something of this, since they tend to work in thematic resonance and emotion with their cult-approved frameworks; the people responsible for this, on the other hand, don't appear to have any artistic purpose beyond filling a mythical audience niche that even they don't believe in. Grade: C-

Mamma Roma (1962): Heavy metaphor abound in this early feature from Pier Paolo Pasolini, which finds him splitting the difference between the neorealism that got him noticed and the allegorical narratives that he would explore further to great effect later in his career. Anna Magnani IS Mother Rome, both as a character and as a stand-in for the city, trying desperately to care for her offspring and adapt to a mercantile society after years and years of getting fucked (by johns, by Fascists, it's all the same). Unfortunately, while Anna's volcanic performance is a striking asset, Pasolini isn't so lucky with the younger members of his cast, most of whom slouch and mumble to little use. Furthermore, the craft of the film itself is ragged; while such looseness feels appropriate for, say, The Canterbury Tales, here it just feels sloppy. Uneven, full of great moments (Magnani and son quasi-incestuously dancing to a jazz record; Magnani and son ripping around on a motorcycle) without ever really cohering, yet possessed with enough vitality and thought to mark it as a promising move from a man who would later make better films than this. Also: Christ symbolism! Grade: B-

The Orphanage (2007): Lovely, lyrical opening shot, which promises something along the lines of Lucille Hadzihalilovic's gorgeous poison pellet Innocence. Shame about the rest of the film then. J.A. Bayona is a talented man with a solid visual sense and a way with mood. But if there's a point to this film beyond his need to show everyone just how much J-horror he's been watching lately, I must have missed it. Guess being a friend of Guillermo Del Toro helps get your half-assed horror project some respect from people who wouldn't give Infection or A Tale of Two Sisters the time of day. Grade: C

Regular Lovers (2007): Clearly a response film to The Dreamers, not only in the dig at that film's director but in intent. The Bertolucci film is a film about idealism, and if Michael Pitt eventually departs from Eva Green and Louis Garrel at film's end, it still ends on a tide of revolutionary fervor. Phillipe Garrel's film reads more like idealism curdled; it starts with the '68 riots and follows past that to a sense of aimlessness, the confusion that comes once you've revolted. When you've positioned yourself in opposition, where do you go from there? In particular, Garrel the director (as opposed to Louis, Phillipe's son, who stars here as the flipside to his character in The Dreamers) draws a clear contrast between the one or two genuine revolutionaries in the loose artistic collective that provides the film's central focus and the pretenders who bitch, smoke hash and generally use the revolt as a pretext to do nothing. When one disillusioned fellow splits, he leaves a note calling out the others on their inability to affect change; "They're losing the revolution indoors" is the key line in this note, and it catches the spirit of the film quite well. Rich black-and-white cinematography, convincing performances, stellar sense of time and atmosphere; a long sit but worth the numb cheeks. Grade: B

Tonight on the Tube: Fourth of July Holiday TV Marathons & Fireworks

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:13:59 +0000

News & Notes

Happy Fourth of July! Tonight, CBS has the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular and NBC has the Macy’s 4th of July Spectacular.

Over on cable, check out the list below for a load of holiday TV show marathons. There are some really good ones today, like Food Paradise on Travel Channel, The Next Food Network Star on Food Network, That ’70s Show on ABC Family, The Twilight Zone on Sci Fi and many others.

Prime Picks

Dance Machine (NBC): New. More contestants compete for a chance at $100,000.

Macy’s 4th of July Spectacular (NBC): New. Natalie Morales and Tiki Barber host the festivities, as fireworks explode over New York. Scheduled to perform are Natasha Bedingfield, Kenny Chesney, Katharine McPhee, Gavin DeGraw and Jordin Sparks.

Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular (NBC): New. Hosted by newly minted U.S. citizen Craig Ferguson (The Late Late Show). The Boston Pops play while fireworks explode over the Charles River.

Solid Selections

U.S. Olympic Trials (NBC): Swimming. There has already been like two world records broken during the trials, which is amazing. One woman held the record for just a few minutes, as the previous holder took it back in like the next heat.

Numb3rs (CBS): Repeat. Don and the team are investigating a slew of restaurant robberies and find that the criminals are swiping credit cards to funnel money overseas, in “Take Out” from season three.

20/20 (ABC): Repeat. Investigative reports.

Cable Choices

Good Eats (Food Network): Repeat. Alton is “Going Dutch.” Plays again later.
Rachael Ray’s Tasty Travels (Food Network): Repeat. Portland is visited. Plays again later.

Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives (Food Network): Repeats. Guy goes “Where the Local Go” and then tries “Something Different.” Both episodes play again later. I was talking with a friend at work last night about where I had eaten that day, which was a buffet, and we decided that if I had a show on Food Network, it would be called BBQ, Bakeries & Buffets.

Paula’s Party (Food Network): Repeat. Paula cooks up some chicken and ribs. Plays again later.

Sports Notes

ESPN2 has NASCAR racing with the Nationwide Series: Daytona 250.
Golf Channel has second round coverage of the AT&T National.
NBC has Wimbledon tennis action with the men’s semifinals.

Fourth of July Holiday TV Marathons

ABC Family has 17 episodes of That ’70s Show.
AMC has Jaws, Jaws 2, Jaws 3 and Jaws the Revenge and then they each play again.
Animal Planet has five episodes of Raw Nature.
Biography has 12 episodes of City Confidential followed by eight episodes of Crime Stories.
Bravo has the five-part 100 Funniest Movie Moments.
Cartoon Network has 24 episodes of Chowder.
Comedy Central has 24 episodes of Comedy Central Presents.
Discovery Channel has 15 episodes of Dirty Jobs.
Discovery Health has eight episodes of Trauma: Life in the ER.
Food Network has the first five episodes of the present season of The Next Food Network Star.
FOX Reality has 15 episodes of Paradise Hotel.
FX has 18 episodes of King of the Hill.
G4 has 30 episodes of Cheaters.
Hallmark Channel has movie Westerns all day.
History Channel has 10 episodes of The Revolution.
History International has 12 hours of Washington’s Generals.
Military Channel has The Revolutinary War playing all day and night.
MTV has 12 episodes of America’s Next Top Model.
The N has six hours of Degrassi: The Next Generation episodes.
Science Channel has 18 hours of How It’s Made episodes.
Sci Fi has The Twilight Zone episodes all day and night.
Spike has 12 hours of Steven Segal movies.
Style has five hours of Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane episodes.
TLC has 14 episodes of What Not to Wear.
TNT has 16 hours of Law & Order including the two-hour Exiled: A Law & Order Movie starring Chris Noth.
Travel Channel has 13 hours of Food Paradise episodes.
truTV has 20 episodes of Beach Patrol.
TV One has eight episodes of Family Reunion followed by 24 hours of Martin episodes.
USA has five episodes of JAG early followed by eight episodes of NCIS.
VH1 has nine episodes of I Love New York.
WE has six episodes of Secret Lives of Women.

Free Subscriber Downloads:

Printable Summer 2008 TV Schedule v1.03 (PDF) - Last Updated: 6.29.2008 - Get a look at the game and reality show heavy summer offerings on the networks.
Printable Summer 2008 Cable TV Schedule v1.02 (PDF) - Last Updated: 6.29.2008 - Get a look at the some of the major offerings on cable this summer. Sci Fi has moved Charlie Jade to late night Mondays.
Printable Fall 2008 TV Schedule v1.01 (PDF) - Last Updated: 6.29.2008 - Get a preliminary look at the upcoming fall schedule with premiere dates that have been announced. Added CBS premiere dates.

The Dark Knights Batman, Joker Entertainment Weekly Cover

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 07:45:06 +0000

The latest issue of Entertainment Weekly features Batman (Christian Bale) and the Joker (Heath Ledger) on the cover and includes a feature that looks at the tragedy and triumph of The Dark Knight. The exclusive interview inside EW with Christopher Nolan has The Dark Knight director reflecting on Heath Ledger’s performance: (more…)

Abusing the Privilege

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 07:37:00 +0000

It was during the Fourth of July weekend twenty-five years ago that I was taken by my parents to my first R-rated film in the theater. Of course, we’d already had cable for a while which means that it wasn’t the first R-rated film I’d ever seen. Why it took them even longer to let me actually go to see one in the theater is a mystery that will probably never be solved. Meanwhile, at a multiplex somewhere right now I’m sure a kid in preschool is going to see WANTED. But anyway, the film I was taken to see at the late, lamented Scarsdale Plaza at that time was John Badham’s helicopter epic BLUE THUNDER. Remembering this anniversary caused me to take another look at the film. It never really seems to follow through on some of the serious themes it brings up but all things considered it hasn’t aged that badly.

After a portentous title card (THE HARDWARE, WEAPONRY AND SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS DEPICTED IN THIS FILM ARE REAL AND IN USE IN THE UNITED STATES TODAY.) setting us up for a serious examination of technology’s role in modern society we meet Frank Murphy (Roy Scheider) a police helicopter pilot in L.A. who is a bit of a loose cannon, continually monitoring his own sanity which is clearly connected to his own Vietnam flashbacks (Didn’t Clint Eastwood’s FIREFOX have a similar character trait for the lead?) After following him on a shift with new partner Richard Lymangood (Daniel Stern) where, after the pair spies on a young woman doing yoga in the nude--something I probably enjoyed back then but now just seems creepy--a routine call leads to an attack and ultimate murder of a prominent city councilwoman, Murphy is selected to pilot the prototype for Blue Thunder, a military-style super helicopter to be used for survailance and in case of terrorist activity (the then-upcoming ’84 Olympics are referred to). The military man in charge of Blue Thunder, Col. Cochrane (Malcolm McDowell) is actually Murphy’s old nemesis from the war (and I know that I hate when I have to deal with my old nemesis) and Murphy soon becomes suspicious what Blue Thunder’s real purpose may be.

BLUE THUNDER, screenplay credited to Dan O’Bannon and Don Jakoby, moves along at such a fast clip that it’s easy to forget that some of its issues are pretty much glossed over in favor of the helicopter stuff. Not that I’m complaining that much. Some of the aerial footage is genuinely dynamic and there’s some pretty good action too. However, it does seem like the movie is caught between the grittier, conspiracy-minded films of the 70s and the spectacular, throw-logic-out-the-window mindset of the eighties—the footage of helicopters flying through Century City in DIE HARD came to mind. The movie deals with racial relations, government conspiracy, post-traumatic stress disorder, even a mention of the Munich massacre (I’m sure that sailed over my head back then) and it blends a little uneasily with elements which, frankly, I suppose were designed to appeal to me at the time. There’s no other way to explain the amount of time spent on things like Candy Clark’s car chase antics, something it feels like the movie is ultimately more interested in than in clarifying the more serious elements of what the bad guys are up to. The amount of destruction which occurs in downtown L.A. is so huge that it’s hard to imagine that no one was killed in the climax but the film does its best to imply otherwise. Hey, if they say so. The Get-the-tape-to-the-media subplot feels left over from the PARALLAX-type paranoia of the 70s as well, but things definitely turn out better here than they did in BLOW OUT.

It’s also interesting as an L.A. movie, which some pretty amazing aerial photography of the city (especially when compared to similar stuff in HANCOCK which, well, doesn’t compare—why does a movie like that look so ugly in comparison?). The cinematography by the late, great John Alonzo uses a lot of colors available in the various dusk shots of the skyline whether they make sense or not. There’s a lot of detail seen throughout, making it enjoyable to figure out what part of the city they were flying over. I kept looking out to see if my own building would make an appearance, but no luck. Geography is a little wonky though—at one point Scheider and Stern are patrolling over Westwood (looks like MOMMIE DEAREST is playing) when they are called to an armed robbery at Circus Liquor in North Hollywood (address correctly given as Burbank and Vineland). I know they’re in a helicopter, but wasn’t anyone closer? The long gone Pickwick Drive-In also turns up (address incorrectly given as Riverside and Victory—how would it have ever fit there?) making me wish that a drive-in still existed in the valley.

It’s easy to imagine that Roy Scheider took on this role because of the character, not realizing at first just how much he would be overshadowed by the technology. But the fact that he always seems like a human being who can feel genuine pain makes him an ideal counterpoint. Because of this, Scheider almost manages to make us believe it at the end when he--well, I guess I shouldn't give it away. It's ridiculous, but it's still pretty cool. And is the final shot an intentional echo of the end of THE SEVEN-UPS? Either way, it's an ideal beat to end on. After everything that's happened, the actor has earned the way he takes back the frame in that final image. Warren Oates, who died before the movie was released, gets all the best lines, fully expressing how all this newfangled technology means dick to him. “You’re supposed to be stupid,” he tells Daniel Stern when the rookie tries to take the blame for something. “Don’t abuse the privilege.” Malcolm McDowell is pretty bad but in fairness it’s a pretty terribly written, thinly drawn bad guy role anyway. His one good moment comes when he has to radio in after a helicopter has gone down and dryly intones, “It seems we have a ship down somewhere in the Watts area.” Every now and then I got the feeling McDowell was trying to add little bits to amuse himself, but there’s only so much you can do with repeating “Catch ya later!” ad nauseum. Gee, what do you think the kiss-off at the end of the movie’s gonna be? On the other hand, you could probably find somebody who hasn’t seen this movie for twenty years and I’ll bet “Catch ya later!” might be the only thing they remember, so there’s something to be said for that. Daniel Stern has the Daniel Stern role as Scheider’s gawky partner, Candy Clark is Scheider’s on-off girlfriend who at least gets something to do and Joe Santos plays another helicopter cop, maybe to try and convince us that we’re actually watching an episode of THE ROCKFORD FILES.

Ultimately, the movie seems to exist for the thrill of the helicopter chases so while I could complain that the more serious elements wind up half-baked there’s no denying how much the action is pretty damn cool--it's well-staged, well-cut and does all the right things to make this an ideal popcorn movie. Those are actual helicopters flying over L.A. and even if there is some use of miniatures it all works just great. The movie resists extensive comment partly because it ultimately becomes more about the hardware than what that hardware represents. But there are far, far worse things in this world than a genuinely exciting movie with helicopter battles. That sort of thing worked for me as a kid and it still works for me now.

“Catch ya later…”

High School Musical 3: Senior Year First Peek (Picture)

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 07:25:19 +0000

People has this great first peek picture from High School Musical 3: Senior Year. Check out Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) and Troy (Zac Efron) mid-song/dance at their prom.

High School Musical 3 hits theaters October 24.

This Week's Free Tor Book: Flash by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 06:55:50 +0000

Tor's latest batch of freebies includes:

Free Book: Flash by L. E. Modesitt, Jr. (Available in HTML, MobiPocket, and PDF versions.)

This week's Free Wallpaper:
- Chris McGrath's cover art for Red by Jordan Summers.
- John Harris's cover art for Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi.

These are only available for one week, so don't wait to snag 'em.

So Wrong, It's Right [5/5?]

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 05:53:43 +0000

Title So Wrong, It's Right
Author troatie
'Verse Grey's AnatomyxPrivate Practice
Claim/Characters/Pairing (whatever applies) Addison Montgomery
Rating T
Warnings (inc. Spoilers) Femslash.
Disclaimer I don't own any of these characters.
Summary Important conversations, more muffins, conspiracy theories and someone being slightly paranoid.
Table/Prompt Slash/Study (exchanged for "Fur")

Chapter 5 here @ findthemagic