Long-time readers might recall I’m fond of Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. It makes me nostalgic for a time and a government that probably never existed. Usually leaves me depressed because it reminds me how venal our real-life congressmen are. I’ve posted clips from the movie going back years and decided to put them all in one post. Just watch the movie.
Category Archives: Film & TV
Category: Best End-of-Movie Shoot-Out
My nominee is L. A. Confidential (1997). Lots of longer, high-explosive endings, but I have to put LAC on the short-list. If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll remember a scene where Russell Crowe’s character is in a bar, talking to some tough guy, when he (Crowe) reaches down and grabs the guy by the family jewels. I couldn’t help but wonder if the scene wasn’t inspired by Mississippi Burning (1988). Gene Hackman got a similar grip on Michael Rooker. For 100 Bonus Points, can you name other movies where somebody grabs somebody (else) in this sensitive area?
PBS’ New Tech Times (1984)
This short (5 min) video is a segment of PBS’ New Tech Times that aired in the spring of 1984.
Jon Stewart wails on former Learfielder
“First, host Jon Stewart mocked WTWO-TV (Terre Haute) GM Duane Lammers for his reaction to Stewart’s earlier mocking of a WTWO promo for its weather team. Stewart had made fun Monday of the ad, which bragged that WTWO’s weather team had 45 years of combined weathercasting experience vs. 30 years for competitor WTHI. Stewart marveled at a weather “attack ad.” Lammers, who came up with the spot, apparently responded in a local paper to the mocking, saying people in the industry love the ad, though he said that Thursday’s airing will be its last because it has run its course.
Wednesday, Stewart reiterated his earlier comment that the ad was “fucking retarded,” and then called Lammers the cable equivalent of a wussy for not airing NBC’s Book of Daniel in January.” — Broadcasting & Cable
I only mention because Duane worked at Learfield (the company I work for) many years ago. Just down the hall.
CBC special on the future of media
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Newsworld has produced a series call The End, in which they explore the forecasted looming death of television, print, and radio. I think a more apt title might have been “The End of Radio As We Know It.” I don’t think anyone thinks radio or TV or newspapers (well, maybe newspapers) are really going away. They’re just undergoing big changes. You can watch the special on the CBC website (about 25 min). Look for the little video icon on the right side of the page. [I Love Radio]
Thank You for Smoking
Saw Thank You for Smoking and was disappointed. Spend the 90 minutes reading Christopher Buckley’s novel, if you haven’t. Giving Nick Naylor a son was lame-to-sappy. Deadwood fans will spot Kim Dickens (Joanie Stubbs) as Naylor’s wife.
And for the record, The Weather Man (Nicholas Cage) is not a comedy. Had I taken the time to check out the IMDB description (“A Chicago weather man, separated from his wife and children, debates whether professional and personal success are mutually exclusive.”) we could have skipped this wrist-slitter. But Hollywood loves Cage. He has half a dozen movies in post-production or on-deck.
Movies I’d Like to Watch with George Bush
Let’s add V for Vendetta –the new film by The Wachowski Brothers– to the top of my list of Movies I’d Like to Watch with George Bush (GoodNight, and Good Luck; Dave; Mr. Smith Goes to Washington; 1984; Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room). The wonderful vocal performance by Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith from The Matrix) carries the movie. Everyone who is more “terrified” by the people running our country than all the crazies in Islam, take one step forward.
Update: Review by Joshua Tyler, Cinema Blend.
Too young to retire
Barb says Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ new series (The New Adventures of Old Christine) sucks. As did Watching Ellie (2002). Same for The Michael Richards Show (2000) and both of Jason Alexander’s short-lived series: Bob Patterson and Listen up.
My first reaction to these sad efforts was, “Give it up.” But I’ve change my mind. These three actors gave us some of the best moments in television comedy. Yes, the writing on Seinfeld was great but the actors were damned good, too. If they want to do another series –or half a dozen– they’ve earned the right. Even if they suck. And a few stinkers won’t tarnish my memories of their Seinfeld performances. Those are in the vault.
Thank You for Smoking: The Movie
I mentioned how much I enjoyed watching Maria Bello pull on her unders in the film, Duets. I failed to mention that she will be appearing in an upcoming film based Christopher Buckley’s Thank You for Smoking, a very dark and funny novel. No idea if the movie will live up the the novel but you can listen to an interview with Buckley here. The film stars Aaron Eckhart with supporting roles by Bello, Rob Lowe, Katie Holmes and William H. Macy.
Duets
Netflix is just one more example of “the long tail.” I wanted to watch Duets last week but the guy at the video store looked at me like I was crazy. “We don’t stock the really old movies.”
If you work at Blockbuster, 2000 probably seems like eons ago. So I had Barb move it up on her Neflix list and the DVD arrived in yesterday’s mail. IMDB users rate the movie 5.7 out of 10 but I loved it both times I’ve watched it.
Huey Lewis plays a professional karaoke hustler who reconnects with his daughter (Gwyneth Paltrow) and a bored suburban businessman (Paul Giamattie) turns outlaw karaoke singer. But the most amazing performance was Andre Braugher’s.
Huey Lewis obviously performed his songs and it sounded like Paltrow did. But can Andre Braugher really sing that well? Probably not.
Favorite line: “Sorry, I’m going out for a pack of cigarettes.”
Most erotic scene: Maria Bello pulls on her undies. Sweet Jesus.