*squeals of glee*

I was greeted by the most amazing surprise upon waking up:

Yup, that'd be the trailer for The Darjeeling Limited. Tell me why I didn't try to get an internship at Fox Searchlight again....?  I'm so psyched for this.

Dear eBay Sellers,

A shirt from Bruce Springsteen's 2003 tour with the E Street Band is NOT vintage.  Nor are the shirts clearly screenprinted in your basement.  Buyers are not stupid.

Now how about lowering the price on one of those nifty red and white baseball shirts from '81?  I'm desperate to own a shirt that's 4 years older than me.

Love,

Me

Just so long as it's better than Maladroit....

Weezer's recording a new album!  Yaaaaaaaay!!

And what are YOU doing tomorrow?

Yeah, it's kind of a big deal.

Moooooooose

From Pete Abraham's Yankees blog:

Don't know if YES showed it, but Moose was wearing a t-shirt that said, "Prepare to Die." That, of course, is a line from the great movie The Princess Bride.

Gotta love him.

13>12

Of the many summer three-quels, Ocean's Thirteen is the best. Unlike Pirates and Spiderman, Ocean's Thirteen doesn't feel an hour too long or painfully self-indulgent or completely nonsensical. While the plot may not be much clearer than the air on a hot LA day, it makes enough sense to keep the audience engaged. Money needs to change hands (out of Wally Bank's and into Danny Ocean's) and casino games shall be rigged - the details don't matter. Especially not when Soderbergh (director and DP) photographs Vegas so wonderfully that you can't help but start planning a trip there as you watch Brad and George stroll along the Strip.

Al Pacino does some quality scenery chewing as this installment's villain, and Eddie Izzard gets more screen time (although not as much as he should) then in 12. All that being said:


Dear Steven, George, Brad, et. al.,

Thank you for making Ocean's Thirteen not suck. Granted, you didn't have to do much better to beat the lame excuse for a movie that was Party at George's Italian Villa Ocean's Twelve, but you realized that you fucked up and got back on your game. Kudos.

Love,
Christina

Third Time's a Charm...

...for posts involving Liev Schreiber in the last 24 hours, so:

Snap Judgement: Liev Schreiber Still Without Wedding Ring, Theoretically Still Available
[link via Jezebel]

Thoughts on inhaling his secondhand smoke during Talk Radio still forthcoming. Sigh.

Conspiracies and brainwashing and incest, oh my!

I'm typically not fond of remakes,* especially when the movie being remade was really good, really distinctive, or really a product of its time. As interesting as it was to see Vince Vaughn play Norman Bates (even more interesting now that he's established himself as a comic actor rather than continuing to take roles in crappy dramas), Gus Van Sant's shot for shot remake of Psycho was pretty much a disaster. Even when filmmakers take a not-so-great movie and try to make it better - Fun With Dick and Jane, anyone? - there usually isn't much success.

All of that is a long way of saying that for me, the deck is stacked against a remake going in. Especially the remake of a movie as good as The Manchurian Candidate. But despite my hesitation, I thoroughly enjoyed the 2004 remake. I don't think it's as good as the original, but it's not bad at all. It utilizes current events in the original film's formula way better than it has any right to, and it fares far, far better than Jonathan Demme's previous attempt at a remake, The Truth About Charlie (a remake of Charade). Also, the casting is dead on. Meryl Streep is clearly - and hilariously - channeling Hillary Clinton, Denzel Washington is reliable as always (seriously - has the guy ever been in anything that he wasn't great in?), and Liev Schreiber manages to be both cold and robotic and and oddly touching. And Jeffrey Wright! His part is small, but he's one of my favorite under-the-radar actors working today, and I love to see him pop up in the most unexpected places (Casino Royale, anyone?).

Demme's technique of having the actors look into the lens is off-putting and unsettling, a perfect effect for a film where many characters are unsure of what is going on in their own minds. And the vagueness of the film's conspiracy actually works to its advantage, allowing viewers to draw their own parallels to the current machinations of the US government.

I haven't seen the original in a few years, so my memory's a bit fuzzy, but I completely forgot about the vaguely not so vaguely incestuous subplot between Raymond Shaw and his mother. Liev Schreiber has chemistry with Meryl Streep that's too good for a mother/son relationship. It's like smoking cigarettes - you know it's quite wrong, but it just looks so good on screen.

I think I'm going to read the book this summer. Cause who isn't up for a little Oedipal Complex action while you relax by the pool in Disney World?




*I should clarify that for me, a remake doesn't include many adaptations of a book that is or practically is public domain (e.g., I don't think Baz Luhrman's Romeo + Juliet is a remake of the 1969 Franco Zeffirelli version), or a foreign film done in another country (Infernal Affairs/The Departed)**, even though in the latter case, the original foreign film is usually better, like with a remake.

**I don't actually think this applies to The Departed. But it is the most well known example of a foreign film remade as an American film of late.

The Ten

Forget all the sequels and blockbusters. The movie I'm most excited for this summer?



The Ten.

I can't decide which I think is funnier: Paul Rudd's reading of the cast list at the end (Blah blah blah blah blah blah... and Jessica Alba!) or Liev Schreiber's character karate chopping his wife at the very end. Either way, it's all brilliant.

"I am drunk and wearing flip flops on Fifth Avenue"

If you could only see my list of posts that haven't made it beyond a first draft. Currently in rough draft stage are posts on Eddie Izzard, women's baseball apparel, our old beer fridge, transvestitism in rock music, the TV movie Pirates of Silicon Valley, and baseball movies. Add to that list my thoughts on the play Talk Radio, which I saw this Saturday.

I think my problem is that I just have incredibly high standards. I won't let myself "publish" a shitty piece so it keeps getting rewritten and such until I decide it's okay or get so sick of it I abandon it. Or in lieu of all that, I just space out while I listen to Peter Bjorn and John, my latest musical interest. Because I've got nothing to do and the entire summer to do it.

Sunset Cantina makes some badass espresso martinis. Also, I graduate tomorrow, and I'm totally not ready.

I'm not posting about baseball anymore. I think I'm a jinx or something.

My boys are back on track

Mussina tosses gem, Jeter drives in 3 to control Rangers

With Great Box Office Haul Comes Great Responsibility

Why was Spiderman 3 so baaaaaad (with the exception of Bruce Campbell, of course)? You fell into the Batman "too many villains" trap, Sam Raimi!

I am so unbelievably hungry right now and really craving some In-N-Out burger.

Hot Fuzz: This shit just got real.

I read the Hot Fuzz script. I had seen countless clips. I met Edgar Wright. I spent all day on the 19th pulling overwhelmingly positive reviews. I felt as if I had seen the film, without actually seeing it. And still, none of that could have prepared me for how amazingly funny and brilliantly violent the film was.

You know the premise. You know that it pays homage to Point Break and Bad Boys II. You know that an old woman gets kicked in the face (and that, my friends, is some funny shit). But trust me, there's more funny shit than they can show in the commercials. And it's so ridiculously over the top violent and absurdly silly and well written and directed that it works way better than the movies it spoofs, even when it crosses from action movie spoof to action movie actuality at the end. Edgar Wright has quite a knack for directing action scenes.

There's just so much that works so well, not the least of which is the cast. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost pretty much reprise the relationship dynamic that worked so well for them in Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, and... real life, as all the pre-Fuzz interviews reiterate. What's also awesome about Hot Fuzz is the supporting cast. Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Timothy Dalton, Paddy Considine (who was unexpectedly hilarious to someone who had only seen him in In America), Martin Freeman, cameos by Cate Blanchett and Peter Jackson... basically a dream cast of wonderful British character actors.

On a side note, I think Simon Pegg is on the verge of breaking out into a big-ass star, and I couldn't be happier. Best evidence of this? My rather mainstream roommate saying to me: "So I was on IMDB this morning trying to find out if Simon Pegg was married..."

I really think that Hot Fuzz is one of those movies that affirms your love of movies. Not because it's good (even though it is), but because it was written and directed by two people who are making movies because they love movies. And you've gotta love that.

When Bad Movies Attack

I watch a lot of random bad movies on cable. Frequently, I'll find some way to justify watching something bad - "oh, it has Gary Oldman/Christopher Walken in it" (I use that one a lot) or "come on, it's Billy Madison, how can you not love Billy Madison." But I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why I got sucked into watching Rumor Has It.

Admittedly, the movie wasn't horrible - I've seen worse romantic comedies (Runaway Bride and Forces of Nature immediately spring to mind). In case you're unfamiliar with the plot, a young woman (Jennifer Aniston) returns home to Southern California for her younger sister's wedding, where she realizes that her mother and grandmother may have been the inspiration for Mrs. Robinson and Elaine in The Graduate. So she seeks out Beau Burroughs (aka Benjamin Braddock - played by Kevin Costner) and ends up sleeping with him and freaks out, because she thinks he may be her father. This much of the film is actually not that bad in theory, but the execution is questionable. Jennifer Aniston is cute enough (although suspension of disbelief is required to figure out why someone as attractive as her can't meet men), but I haven't found Kevin Costner attractive since Bull Durham and even that's only because of the "Well, I believe in the soul..." speech* he gives to Susan Sarandon's character. Now I really want to watch Bull Durham...

Anyway, because having Jennifer Aniston end up with a man old enough to be her father is vaguely icky, there is another character. Enter Mark Ruffalo, whose character is completely superfluous. He plays Jennifer Aniston's fiance and is basically only there at three key points in the film: the beginning, to establish their relationship; the middle, to tell her that the engagement is off because she's fooling around with Kevin Costner; and the end, to tell her that he accepts her apology and wants to marry her. I adore Ruffalo as an actor, but there is nothing interesting about his part in the film. I guess Rumor Has It gets points for having a cute idea, but unfortunately, it still... sucks.

And yes, I am fully aware that I devoted nearly 500 words to a crappy romantic comedy. I'm sorry. What do you want from me?



*Well, I believe in the soul, the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman's back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days.

*swoon*

See You at the Grindhouse

Sometimes, you go to a movie and come out feeling enlightened, educated, like a better person for having seen it. Sometimes you admire the technical achievements of a film. And sometimes, you just come out thinking "Damn, that was fun."

Grindhouse is obviously the third option. It's been so long since I went to see a movie and marveled at how much fun I was having. I mean, Blades of Glory was funny when Will Arnett and Amy Poehler had center stage, Zodiac was gripping and thrilling, and Reno 911: Miami was entertaining but ultimately rather disappointing, to name a few recent movie escapades. But Grindhouse was just plain fun. Gross-out, jump-out-of-your-seat, grip-the-chair-arms-in-terror, laugh-your-ass-off-when-it's-done fun. It's clear that Tarantino and Rodriguez really love the genre to which they're paying homage.

I liked Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror for its sheer awe-inspiring intentional badness. The plot makes no sense (is there a plot?), the dialog is hokey and the movie is horribly underlit. But it's all in good fun, and when you're not cringing at the extreme gore, you're probably laughing at the absurdity of it. "It's a no-brainer," Josh Brolin says of a head that has... well, no brain. And even though it's quite possibly the most obvious pun on the planet, it's really fucking funny. Rodriguez only shoots on digital these days, and he used that to good effect, scratching up the "film" to an occasionally unwatchable degree, which just adds charm.

Death Proof, Tarantino's contribution to the film, could stand alone as an actual good film. Whereas Rodriguez's installment only really works as part of the Grindhouse gimmick, Death Proof is good - well-acted and genuinely suspenseful, with a great cast of characters. So what if Tarantino likes to have his characters sit around and talk? The banter is witty and engaging, and he writes interesting characters. The girls are sassy and feminine and assertive. Kurt Russell's "Stuntman Mike" is simultaneously seductive and scary, and then batshit crazy, in an awesome way, of course. And then when the car chases start... holy shit. The stuntwork and driving are mindblowing.

And then there were the faux-trailers. Would it surprise you to hear that Edgar Wright's was my favorite? Didn't think so. Plus, Will Arnett did the voice over for it. One of my favorite actors working with one of my favorite up-and-coming directors? I only hope they collaborate again in the future. The other trailers were good too, but I don't want to spoil too much of the amazingness.

Seeing Grindhouse at the movie theaters at The Grove - with their leather seats, stadium seating, and computerized snack bar ordering system - was probably antithetical to the whole grindhouse experience. Regardless, there's something about the shared moviegoing experience - the hushed whispers during the coming attractions, the smell of popcorn, the feeling of anticipation as the film begins - that makes me think that Grindhouse won't translate quite as well to DVD. The individual films, perhaps, especially Tarantino's. But Grindhouse as a whole is an experience that you've got to get off your ass and go to the theaters to see.

Lemon, what happened in your life to make you believe people are good?

I'm a bit surprised I'm saying this, but I think that I might like 30 Rock more than The Office. Nothing against Michael Scott and company, but the sheer absurdity of 30 Rock's asides plus Alec Baldwin plus Kenneth the Page is just too good. And when you throw Will Arnett into the mix? We're talking almost Arrested Development levels of amazingness.

Revisiting 30 Rock's first season on DVD, you can see how it found itself and developed into a worthy successor to Arrested Development as the most under-appreciated comedy on television. The show may have started off on rough footing, but even when it was struggling, it showed signs of the truly brilliant show it has the potential to become. And it did become that show, thanks in part to stellar performances all around, great guest casting, and awesomely geeky Star Wars references, my personal favorite being:

Liz: The Hair asked ME out.

Jenna: What? THE The Hair? Well, what did you say?

Liz: I had to say yes. I mean, he looked at me with those crazy handsome guy eyes... it was like the Death Star tractor beam when the Falcon--

Jenna: No, Liz, do not talk about stuff like that on your date. Guys like that don't like Star Trek--

Liz: WARS! 

My favorite episodes of the first season would have to be Fireworks, Black Tie, and Jack-Tor, with Blind Date and The Head and the Hair getting honorable mention.  Fireworks and Black Tie feature some great guest appearances by Will Arnett, Rip Torn, Isabella Rossellini, and Paul Reubens - a random assortment of actors if you've ever seen one.  Jack-Tor features some of Alec Baldwin's funniest moments in a montage of his character filming a promotional video.

And there are just so many awesome little touches, like the names of the ridiculous sketches on The Girly Show (30 Rock's show within a show), Jenna's obsession with her sexuality, Tracy's entourage of Griz and Dot Com, Jack's uptight personal assistant, and Liz's moments of sheer nerdery.  Plus, the movie references are plentiful. 

And for what it's worth, I totally identify with Liz Lemon. Although I'm not sure I could fall so desperately in love with the city of Cleveland.

Baseball season is here!

YankeeGirl247: i'm so bummed i'm going to be missing andy pettite's opening game tomorrow
lawnwranglergirl: what time is the game?
YankeeGirl247: 1
lawnwranglergirl: well i'll be watching the gameday.... which is to watching the real game what methadone is to heroin
YankeeGirl247: .....right

I Am an Unabashed Will Arnett Fangirl

Let's Go to Prison was supposed to show the world as a whole that Will Arnett was the funniest man on the planet. But, it wasn't very good,* and no one went to see it, and the genius that is Will Arnett remained hidden to everyone except those who worshiped Arrested Development. That's okay. Because along came Blades of Glory. Ostensibly, Blades is Will Ferrell and Napoleon Dynamite-- I mean, Jon Heder's show, and as unlikely as it may seem, Will Arnett and Amy Poehler totally steal said show. Between skating to Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch's "Good Vibrations," laying on a bearskin rug, and just being all out over the top ridiculous, Will Arnett was clearly the audience favorite during the 8:15 show at the Grove.

The film itself was funny - not in the same league as Anchorman or Zoolander, though. There are some lapses in logic/abandoned plot threads that you're willing to overlook in the name of being entertained, and I don't particularly think that Jon Heder is funny, but he didn't invoke anger in me the way that he did in Napoleon Dynamite. And sure, the two are funny in that "oh man they are acting so gay - not that there's anything wrong with that" sort of way. But Will Arnett and Amy Poehler (and to an extent, Jenna Fischer - who, I must say, looked totally hot) were just so wonderfully over the top and inappropriate, they easily stole the show. An ice skating routine dramatizing the relationship between Marilyn and JFK? So beautifully absurd. And incest, when played by a real life husband and wife, is just funny.


*It did have a few extremely funny moments. Will Arnett singing "Move This" definitely qualifies, as does... okay that was it. Will in general was quite funny. Dax Shepard? Eh... not so much.