The Hobbit (Parts 1 & 2)

So, the fat Spanish dude is going to replace the fat dude from New Zealand. You can read more in Variety, but it's now official: Guillermo del Toro will direct two feature films based on The Hobbit. The Hobbit is a kinda-sorta prequel to The Lord of The Rings trilogy, even though the tone is different.

I do have faith in Del Toro. When Jackson was first announced by New Line to direct a series of live action adaptations of The Lord of The Rings, it seemed ludicrous. But I thought about what he did with Heavenly Creatures, particularly the fantasy elements, and I was confident he knew what he was doing. This time around, I've got Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth to bolster my confidence. Plus, Peter Jackson is executive producer, with his company WETA along for the ride.

The real question is: who will play Bilbo? Is Ian Holm too old?

Choke!

So, this might not be the newest of news, but I've been away for a bit. My friend Brandi pointed this out to me over a week ago, but here's the run-down from the Hollywood Reporter. Apparently, BAM does a run of the highlights from the recent Sundance Festival (May 29 - June 8). The one I'm most excited about is Choke.

It's based on the Chuck Palahniuk book of the same name, and stars Sam Rockwell. I'm of the opinion that Sam Rockwell is a fine actor and have been a long fan of Palahniuk's work. So I guess you could say I'm excited at the prospect of seeing this well in advance of the official release.

Random tangent: Choke is being distributed by Fox Searchlight. Fight Club was also distributed by 20th Century Fox. Fox also made and distributed the Russ Meyer masterpiece Beyond The Valley of the Dolls. (which, in case you didn't notice, is where the title of this blog originated) Beyond The Valley of the Dolls and Fight Club have to top my list of Movies-That-Were-Inexplicably-Greenlit (And-I'm-Eternally-Grateful-For). It's a cumbersome title, but apt. Let's see, an X-rated epic by a nudie-cutie director who never helmed a studio film. Then we have a movie following the charismatic leader of an underground boxing club, which grows into an anti-capitalist terrorist organization. I love both these films. The first time I watched both of them, I was simply amazed that a major studio financed and put out these two subversive films. It's kinda like the adage about a monkey behind a typewriter...

I hope I'm not building up my expectations for Choke.

...and another thing...

Shine A Light really stuck with me. Apparently, I'm not alone. An astute analysis at Movie Maker precedes their list of the Ten Greatest Rockumentaries Of All Time. Their words. Neat stuff though.

...while we're on the subject...

After the movie on wed, we all came back to my place for more booze and Rolling Stones talk. You just can't watch that movie and then go right to sleep!

Through the course of the night, I thought of my favorite use of a Rolling Stones song in a movie. There's so many great choices by Scorsese (among others), but my personal favorite has to be what Wes Anderson did in Rushmore. The song he uses is I Am Waiting off of Aftermath. It starts 57 minutes and 30 seconds into the movie. (a minute or so into chapter 16 on the Criterion release) The song plays under a montage showing Max Fischer taking the bus to work, cutting hair at his father's barber shop, and avoiding all outside contact. Basically it's the rut that Max's life has gotten stuck in. The movie as a whole is a testament to Wes Anderson's skills, as well as Jason Schwartzman's acting talent. How can you make a spoiled private school kid so sympathetic? But that montage sums up so much about the film's core ideas; about Max trying to find his place in the world.

Anyone else out there have any favorite uses of a Rolling Stones song in a film? Don't be shy!

Shine A Light

Like I said in my last post, I saw Shine A Light at the Lincoln Center Loews IMAX. Martin Scorsese directed this mash-up of two concerts from late 2006 with some vintage interview clips thrown in. While not as deep as The Last Waltz, the live performances have an undeniable immediacy and power to them.

I must admit to a certain personal bias. I'm a big fan of The Rolling Stones, in particular their musical output from 1966's Aftermath through 1972's Exile On Main Street. I'm also a big fan of Jameson Irish Whiskey. So the bottle of Jameson I brought into the theatre, along with some classic songs from the Exile days, made for a great experience. I counted four songs from Exile On Main Street alone. I was glad to see more obscure songs played, as I could go the rest of my life without having to hear Satisfaction again.

If you have any interest in the band, you will love this movie! The Rolling Stones have so much energy live, and it's hard not to get caught up in it watching this. I found myself singing along a couple of times. (again, I'm going to point my finger at the Jameson) I feel this will be a much better viewing experience in the theatre. Somehow I don't think it will be the same, nestled up at home on the couch. So while this won't have the lasting power of Gimme Shelter, it was a great document of the Rolling Stones live today.

And I had a great time! Recommended in IMAX.

The Waiting Game

With work, I haven't been able to watch anything in the past couple of days. Nada. Tomorrow I'm going to see Shine A Light in IMAX, so I'm sure I'll pass along my thoughts on that soon enough. I'm a big fan of some early Rolling Stones, so I may be a bit biased.

In the meantime...



November will be cool.

...and Birth Of A Nation is a real HOOT!

I watched most of that 1925 silent Wizard of Oz that I recommended earlier in the week. I'm sorry, but I was wrong. It's bad. Real bad. I've updated my earlier post accordingly.

The Godfather...finally

I know. Technically, the Godfather has already been released. I just read this item here and here. It seems that Paramount has finally decided to jump into the 21st Century and give The Godfather Trilogy the restoration it deserves. I love the first two movies in that series, but have always shied away from purchasing them due to the image quality. The high grain, particularly in low-lit scenes, is distracting.

Thought I'd share.

original music, anyone?

A short one for today. Sorry, things are busy.

But not too busy. This afternoon I watched The Descent. (I know. About time, right?) And yes, watching horror movies in the middle of the day is kind of a cop-out. But it was really overcast, so I didn't think it would kill the atmosphere.


I'm mildly claustrophobic, so I'm probably a little biased. I thought it was a tight little movie. It took it's time building up and most of the characters were well-written. It got me to bump Dog Soldiers higher up in the queue.

One thing did stick out to me. Did anyone else notice the John Carpenter-esque music cues. They sounded straight out of The Thing. Which wasn't a bad thing. (seriously, no pun intended) They worked into moments with mounting tension and paranoia, and The Thing is a case study in mounting tension and paranoia. So I thought it was a pretty clever nod. But when I heard it again, I started to wonder: Is this an homage, or is that the exact same "doong doong" from The Thing? And how do you copyright "doong doong?" Anyone else notice this?

It's a Global Closet Thing...

Trapped In The Closet is brill-tarded.


The lovely burlesque performer Gigi LaFemme coined the term "brill-tarded" last year at a Brooklyn Wasabassco show. For the slow ones here, brill-tarded is something that is simultaneously brilliant and retarded. And of course, I'm not referring to mental retardation when I say "retarded." I'm referring instead to its common usage on America's playgrounds, as something devoid of merit or status, something backwards. Trapped In The Closet is a text-book example of brill-tarded. It is nearly artistically void, relying on a growing number of stereotypes and cliches with each passing chapter. And yet, it is ... well, brilliant.

I'm not going to give a plot synopsis here. It would ruin the fun of watching this for yourself. Besides, if you NEED to know what's in store for you, read imdb's list of plot keywords for Trapped In The Closet. Trust me, the story doesn't get much deeper than that list.

Most chapters build up to a "cliffhanger", milking the melodrama for all it's worth. But it's not the story arc that deserves attention, rather the way the story is presented. R Kelly sings all the dialogue and blocking, while different actors lip-sync and go through the motions. This would be a good time to mention that R Kelly plays several of the characters himself.

I know, it sounds like a train wreck. Just bear with me.

As I watched this for the first time, I must admit I was laughing at the absurdity of the whole thing. But slowly I warmed to it. I actually was impressed with how he gave the different characters a distinct voice. Sometimes, as is the case with the fat, Southern white girl Bridgette, he goes deep into parody. But I was already along for the ride by then. As dumb as this may sound, there is a certain earnestness to it that pulled me in. If you listen to the commentary on chapters 1-12, you realize he is very serious.

This might be a good point to address the commentary track. Unlike traditional versions, you actually see Kells viewing the movie, a la Mystery Science Theater 3000. He spends as much time talking as he does smoking a cigar, and it takes him a while to warm up, but MAN! It is worth the wait. So post-modern!

So, in short, this is the most campy fun I've had since watching the Adam West Batman as a kid. You owe it to yourself to check it out.

More Wizard of Oz...

As you might have guessed from my earlier post, I own a copy of The Wizard of Oz. When looking for it on the secondary market, I had the choice of a single disc edition, a 2-disc edition, and a 3-disc edition. As usual, I stopped off at DVDBeaver to do a little comparison shopping. That knocked out the single disc immediately. And after further research, the price jump from the 2-disc to the 3-disc was small enough that I decided to go for broke. After some carefully timed bidding/sniping, I picked up a used copy of the Super-King-Daddy-3-disc-Uber-Edition Wizard of Oz DVD on eBay. Hooray!

Then it sat on the shelf. And sat. I pulled it out last week to confirm some of the things I said in my earlier post on synchronicity, then returned it to the shelf.

Well, last night I pulled it out to check out the supplemental material. Disc 2 had stuff related to the 1939 film. There were some interesting anecdotes, but it was PR fluff for the most part. Then I put in Disc 3...


Disc 3 is mainly devoted to pre-1939 film versions of the Wizard of Oz. Surreal stuff. Most of the silent films remind me of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation. It's like a bunch of kids with dopey but inspired costumes stole their neighbor's camera. Let's make a movie! While charming, it's the 1925 silent feature and the 1933 cartoon (both titled Wizard of Oz) that kick the whole thing into overdrive. Since they draw inspiration from the same illustrations as the 1939 MGM film, there's definitely similarities. But it's fascinating seeing these familiar characters that aren't using Judy Garland & Co. as a springboard. I love the somewhat slinky Dorothy in the cartoon.

I wish that third disc was available as a stand-alone purchase. Then I would recommend it to everyone.

And by the way, I haven't forgotten about that Trapped In The Closet review...

UPDATE

So, I finally watched the 1925 silent Wizard of Oz. On the plus side, you get to see Oliver Hardy take a crack at being the hero, or rather the Tin Man. Cons; well, there's a few. Most of the film is a vanity project for the writer/director/actor: Larry Semon. He plays several characters in the film, and basically builds the story around himself. Who knew The Wizard of Oz was all about the Scarecrow? As well as being subjected to his lame slapstick, he throws every racial stereotype in the book at the screen. I let the first couple go by and just rolled my eyes. It's from 1925, there's bound to be some out-of-fashion humor. But by the time the Cowardly Lion was revealed to be the lazy, watermelon-stealing black dude; I decided I'd had enough. I shut it off before he could do more harm. What if the Wizard turned out to be a Grand Wizard of the KKK?

Watching this right after the R Kelly commentary on Trapped In The Closet was too much. I felt pretty dirty. I'm going to have to watch all of the 1933 cartoon, but I'm backing down from my endorsment of the 1925 feature.

On the flip side, the movie does have more gay subtext and double entendres than Top Gun! The 1925 Wizard of Oz. Top Gun is still a lot gayer than Trapped In The Closet.