I’m finally getting around to watching the remake of The Lion in Winter with Patrick Stewart and Glenn Close. I’m halfway though and it’s phenomenal. That’s tough for me to say. I know (and adore) the original backwards and forwards the way some folks know Shakespeare. My family and friends have been known to quote it at the drop of a hat. (more…)
Christopher Eccleston has been cast in the new GI Joe movie.
*thud*
Went to see Transformers with Bill and Paulie last night, and all I can say is *fuck yeah*. They did not screw this one up.
So I’m hearing that the transformers movie is product placement laden cgi-fest filled with shallow 2-d characters. Um, duh? I loved the show back when I was a kid, but a lot of my generation seem to be forgetting that this and almost every other after school cartoon of it’s time was just one huge ad. Yes, they would slap a heartwarming good vs. evil or socially redeeming moral at the end of the show, but these shows (Transformers, GI Joe, Thundercats, Jem, etc…) existed purely to make. us. buy. toys.
Transformers is unique in that is has occasionally risen above it’s source material (Beast Wars comes to mind) but (and I may be in the minority here) going back and watching original episodes makes me do nothing so much as cringe. The plots are simplistic, the technical production values were low, the artistic style looked exactly the same as every other cartoon on TV, and with a few exceptions the voice talent was not that good. This show and most others of it’s time talked *down* to us. Until I was older and discovered Ralph Bakshi, the only cartoons that didn’t treat me as though I was brain damaged were Looney Tunes. (Hardly contemporary fare for the time - they stopped production in 1969.)
In spite of this, I really do have fond memories of the show and it’s brethren, and I’ll probably go see it. (or I’ll wind up renting it) Sometimes, a big mindless summer movie is *exactly* the thing one needs. Kinda like an ice cream cone.
Watched 300 last night…. I haven’t been this affected by the pure *visuals* of a movie since I saw Heavy Metal for the first time. Just…. damm.
Tomorrow we’re going out for a friend’s birthday. Last night the junkyard next door caught fire. No, not joking. It’s amazing how many people *don’t* notice a big-ish fire when it’s 2:00 AM. Today was just for me, so I rented some more movies.
The Wicker Man (2006 remake). Well, it didn’t precisely suck, but I’m a fan of the original - this felt like a remake just for the hell of it. And watered down to boot. The lack of Chrisopher Lee was in no way made up for by Ellen Burstyn, *gorgous* woman and kick ass actress though she is. Very pretty women abounded, but mixing a cult like take on ultra-womynist celtic wicca with some wacky ideas of insect social structures…. really doesn’t do it for me.
Moving on….
Secretary. No dissapointment here *at all*. James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal…. I’m amazed I never found this movie before. I’m even more amazed that my local white bread Blockbuster had a copy. I’m listening to the director’s commentary right now, and that doesn’t even suck. (Usually I want to spork out an eye when I listen to directors talk about their work.)
Look kiddies… someone made a remake of The Lion in Winter. With Patrick Stewart. Neat.