Monday, April 30, 2007
Yesterday I saw Kiss Kiss Bang Bang on DVD. If I tell you that it was directed by the writer of Lethal Weapon then you'll probably get a good idea of whether or not you'll enjoy it.
If you're interested in genre, as I increasingly am, there are interesting things about it. But more importantly, there are exchanges between Bobby Downtime and La Valentine like this:
Perry: Look up idiot in the dictionary. You know what you'll find?
Harry: A picture of me?
Perry: No! The definition of idiot. Which you fucking are!
Brilliant.
I particularly liked that Robert Downey Jr. and Michelle Monaghan, despite all visual evidence to the contrary, were supposed to be old school friends.
But Jane thought it was rubbish, so maybe you will too.
I remember now that I've always had a soft spot for Downo. Here I claim that my hero lies between him and Jonathan Ross. But that was written two years ago.
How little we change.
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If you're interested in genre, as I increasingly am, there are interesting things about it. But more importantly, there are exchanges between Bobby Downtime and La Valentine like this:
Perry: Look up idiot in the dictionary. You know what you'll find?
Harry: A picture of me?
Perry: No! The definition of idiot. Which you fucking are!
Brilliant.
I particularly liked that Robert Downey Jr. and Michelle Monaghan, despite all visual evidence to the contrary, were supposed to be old school friends.
But Jane thought it was rubbish, so maybe you will too.
I remember now that I've always had a soft spot for Downo. Here I claim that my hero lies between him and Jonathan Ross. But that was written two years ago.
How little we change.
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Friday, April 20, 2007
Good to see Guillermo del Toro is making Hellboy 2 after the disappointment of Pan's Labyrinth. The first was great, though too much of the budget was spunked on the leads, leaving unconvincing villains and support; still, John Hurt!
Hard to believe that Luke Goss will be much of a replacement.
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Hard to believe that Luke Goss will be much of a replacement.
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Thursday, April 19, 2007
The Times on the box office failure of Grindhouse.
Things got even worse last weekend, when figures revealed that audience members were walking out halfway through the movie, unaware that it was a double bill.
Who are these people? Does anyone go see a film they know nothing about?
How, pundits asked, can a moronic sword’n’sandals romp such as 300 make $400 million at the box office, while a smart cine-literate action parody such as Grindhouse completely dies? The New York Times suggested that this wasn’t the end for the Weinsteins, just a bump in the road. But Business Week announced that it should be a lesson for Hollywood, and that dumb audience-friendly movies such as 300 and Ghost Rider were the way of the future.
So, a "smart cine-literate action parody" is beaten by a homoerotic, violent action film with no stars; and by a fading star playing a motorbike-riding skeleton that... I don't know, solves crime?
So, the kids choose two films by unknown directors - but which look cool - over a big-budget vanity piece by two established directors. They're all about the thrills, the kids.
300 and Ghostrider, that's your grindhouse double bill.
Pastiche schlock beaten by honest schlock.
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Things got even worse last weekend, when figures revealed that audience members were walking out halfway through the movie, unaware that it was a double bill.
Who are these people? Does anyone go see a film they know nothing about?
How, pundits asked, can a moronic sword’n’sandals romp such as 300 make $400 million at the box office, while a smart cine-literate action parody such as Grindhouse completely dies? The New York Times suggested that this wasn’t the end for the Weinsteins, just a bump in the road. But Business Week announced that it should be a lesson for Hollywood, and that dumb audience-friendly movies such as 300 and Ghost Rider were the way of the future.
So, a "smart cine-literate action parody" is beaten by a homoerotic, violent action film with no stars; and by a fading star playing a motorbike-riding skeleton that... I don't know, solves crime?
So, the kids choose two films by unknown directors - but which look cool - over a big-budget vanity piece by two established directors. They're all about the thrills, the kids.
300 and Ghostrider, that's your grindhouse double bill.
Pastiche schlock beaten by honest schlock.
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Tuesday, April 17, 2007
"I shall not cause harm to any vehicle nor the personal contents thereof, nor through inaction let that vehicle or the personal contents thereof come to harm. It's what I call the Repo Code, kid. Don't forget it--etch it in your brain. Not many people got a code to live by anymore."
He's got a point.
The repo business is a little flat, so I was thinking about samurai:
Samurai were expected, though not required, to have interests in other arts such as dancing, Go, literature, poetry, and tea.
Pretty much there already; may as well make it official. Samurai-other-interests club: it's on.
UPDATE! I have not seen Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. I hope I won't be tarred with its cool brush - it was out ages ago. This is more about the drinking of tea, the playing of Go, and the reading of books.
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He's got a point.
The repo business is a little flat, so I was thinking about samurai:
Samurai were expected, though not required, to have interests in other arts such as dancing, Go, literature, poetry, and tea.
Pretty much there already; may as well make it official. Samurai-other-interests club: it's on.
UPDATE! I have not seen Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. I hope I won't be tarred with its cool brush - it was out ages ago. This is more about the drinking of tea, the playing of Go, and the reading of books.
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Monday, April 16, 2007
I have a lot of sympathy for this comment about Facebook; but I'd have more if it didn't seem so: "I was there first, it was better in the old days, now just anyone can join I'm outta there."
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Went to see Sunshine last night. I really liked it, but then, I'm rapidly becoming a colossal geek. It may be the best thing Danny Boyle's ever done; it's definitely the best thing Alex Garland has been involved in. And it's much better than 28 days later, which has its moments, but is a bit rubbish.
Mostly though, it was great to see a British film with ambition.
"Shall we adapt this George Eliot novel?"
"No, let's make a film about flying a giant bomb into the sun."
"That was next on my list."
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Thursday, April 12, 2007
Seriously, can we all stop trying to "engage" with the "YouTube generation"? Teenagers are ignorant and self-obsessed. That's fine, it comes with growing up. But pandering to it is not going to help them grow out of it. We should adopt the time-tested point and mock.
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I call here for a moratorium on discussion of Beatles albums and, more importantly, use of the word "orientalism".
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Wednesday, April 04, 2007
I went to this last night, a debate about reality television. I can’t remember the last time I was so enjoyably enraged.
Even in a panel containing George Galloway and Jade Goody, the Endemol guy came off the worst.
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Monday, April 02, 2007
I did some bestman-ing at the weekend: pretty stressful, but I did score some monkey-picked tea, so it was all worth it.
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