February 2008

There were 28 posts published in February 2008 (this is page 2 of 4).

Congratulations, Once

Once battled against the steep competition of three Disney songs and took the the Oscar tonight, which I thought was pretty great. Because Once was a great movie and Enchanted looked, well, a bit pants. Aside from that, any really shocking awards? Tilda Swinton was somewhat surprising, I guess. Golden Compass got best special effects… I dunno, despite 2007 having a bunch of great films, the Academy Awards weren’t really that exciting. I thought John Stewart did fine, just fine.

You Name It, We Shoot It


Be Kind Rewind
3 stars
If you’re looking for a fun time at the movies this week, I would recommend seeing Michel Gondry’s new film, Be Kind Rewind. The chain of events that set the movie’s plot in motion, is certainly a little ridiculous, but once Jack Black and Mos Def decide to remake a bunch of the movies that Black has erased, hilarity ensues. I thought watching Jack Black and Mos Def recreate all these shortened versions of all these classic films was very funny stuff, and Black and Mos Def have pretty good chemistry together. The last quarter or so of the movie wasn’t really anything that original (especially for a director like Gondry) and certainly would never happen in this day and age. But hey, movies are pure escapism, which is definitely something that this film emphasizes. So if you’re looking for a somewhat simple movie, with a lot of laughs check out Be Kind Rewind.

Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous


So as a gag my mom picked up a few of those terrible tabloid magazines today and I can’t believe some of the stuff they write about. “Doc Warns Dr, Phil; ‘You’re Going to Die'” “Farrah Fawcett: Weeks to Live” Now I don’t know any of these celebrities personally but c’mon “weeks to live?” If a celebrity was going to die any day now wouldn’t we hear about on the news? It’s not really giving yourself much elbow room if you’re wrong either. I see it all the time, they just lie and make all sorts of shit up and people still buy it. It isn’t the first time I’ve seen this either, I remember seeing “Bob Hope’s Last Days” a good 4 years before he died, the same goes for Jack Lemmon. I mean sure they died but it certainly wasn’t their “Last Days” when these articles were written. Yet these magazine keep on selling. I guess I don’t understand the fascination for any tidbit that “might” be true about a celebrity. I like them for their work, not their personal lives. For instance, it would certainly appear that Mel Gibson’s got some major issues but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop seeing his movies. Celebrities are just rich people why should anyone be care if they hear “Is Nicole Richie Going to Have a Panic Attack” or “Zac Efron: Gay?” Hopefully they just think it’s a big joke like me, but I’m sure there is a fair share of people who take it seriously as well.

So that’s it, thought I’d just write anything I could think of for this Friday post. See you all at “Be Kind Rewind” and make sure to mourn for Dr. Phil.

T3: Bill Murray Movies

Sorry this is up so late, I had a lot of driving to do today.

Here are the rules this week: Bill Murray had to play a starring role (Ed Wood and Royal Tenenbaums don’t count), I have to have seen the film.

Bill Murray is perhaps my favorite actor. His style of comedy really works with me, and I think he’s made a lot of great films over the years. Here are the 10 best:

10. Kingpin
1996

Look, I know that Bill Murray doesn’t get the most screen time in this movie, but he does play the main villain. And Scrooged just doesn’t belong on this list. So deal with it. King Pin isn’t the greatest movie, but it does have some jokes that warrant a laugh and Bill Murray’s funny in it, at least. It’s not bad.

9. What About Bob?
1991

Perhaps not the defining work of Bill Murray’s career, What About Bob still provides plenty of laughs by pitting the intellectual psychiatrist Richard Dreyfuss against an obsessive-compulsive Bill Murray. The situations are amusing, both actors do a fine job, and you know, it’s fun to watch.

8. Stripes
1981

Harold Ramis and Bill Murray take on the military in this comedy classic. While most people seem to forget that there’s more to this movie that the parts in boot camp, the whole film is hilarious. Whether its Bill Murray leading the troops with “Do Wah Diddy Diddy,” or John Candy mud-wrestling, this is a lot of fun.

7. Broken Flowers
2005

Ah, modern Bill Murray. While it looked like this would just be some really depressing story about midlife crisis, its actually just a kind-of depressing story about midlife crisis. Don Johnston sets out on a journey to meet five women that could have mothered his child years ago. The journey we take is an emotional one, but it still has plenty of laughs. Why don’t you check it out, I did rank it higher than Stripes.

6. Caddyshack

1980

I had a tough time deciding whether or not this film counted. I think in the end, though, despite the strength of the rest of the cast, Bill Murray gets mentioned a lot when people talk about this film. So I put it on here. But to be fair, I kept it out of the top 5. And you know what? There’s nothing you can do about it. Seriously though, if you haven’t seen this movie, might as well go do it. It one of the golden comedies, like Animal House.

5. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
2004

How controversial! I loved this movie. A lot of people did not. This is definitely one of those movies you either get or you don’t. It seems like the majority don’t. But you know, this is my list. I probably shouldn’t have ranked it so high, but it’s because of you haters out there that it ended up this far back. I making this a rule from now on, if it’s #5-1 on this list, you should see it.

4. Lost in Translation
2003

Bill Murray does Japan. His name’s Bob Harris this time around, and he’s an American actor doing commercials in Japan while going through midlife crisis. Scarlett Johansen is staying in the same hotel with her husband. She meets Bob and we get to see a very interesting love story unfold. Waist-deep in Japanese culture, comedy, and romance, Lost in Translation is one of those movies that really sticks with you.

3. Rushmore

1998

Arguably Wes Anderson’s greatest film so far, Rushmore pits Bill Murray against Jason Schwartzman in a contest to win the affection elementary school teacher Olivia Williams. This is a brilliant little film that totally blew me away the first time I saw it. It was also the starting point of Murray’s “second career” in more tragic comedy films.

2. Ghostbusters
1984

Do I even need to give a reason for this? Nope.

1. Groundhog Day
1993

One of the funniest films ever made, I have watched this dozens of times and enjoyed each viewing. The story is a classic, the characters are great, the execution is phenomenal. If you didn’t like this film, I don’t know what the hell is wrong with you. Maybe you hate movies. You jerk. I hate you. Damn, sorry about that. It’s just that Groundhog Day kicks ass. Watch it. If you’ve seen it before, watch it again.

Another list, complete. Go out and get your Bill Murray on!

Western Betrayls

Eastern Promises

The one-two punch of David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen
proves to be another deadly combination in Eastern Promises. This time, Mortensen is a driver for the Russian mafia operating in London. Naomi Watts is a midwife who’s concerns about a baby’s fate lead her down a dangerous path.

What unfolds is an exciting, interesting and violent story that will keep you satisfied all the way through. Talking about the plot further could ruin the fun, so I’ll just say the whole cast is very talented, the action is just as brutal as History of Violence, and not a scene is wasted. It also really deserves its R rating. I haven’t seen too many of Cronenberg’s films, but this is my favorite. I really recommend you give this gruesome film a chance.