TV And Films

The shows and movies I like (or don’t).

Kill Bill

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Prairie and I watched Kill Bill this weekend — the whole thing, renting Volume One Saturday night and going out to see Volume Two on Sunday. I’d seen the first half already when it was in the theaters, but Prairie hadn’t, and it was quite fun to watch them both back-to-back. I’ve got to say that I think that Kill Bill is easily the best work I’ve seen from Quentin Tarantino.

Violent? Well, of course — it’s Tarrantino. After watching Kill Bill, I don’t think Tarantino could film someone getting a paper cut without attaching a spurting jet of blood to it (which, to me at least, is a fairly amusing mental image). It was all extremely over-the-top, though, to the point where it’s extremely difficult to take seriously (I joked at one point that the Kill Bill movies could be subtitled “Quentin Tarantino goes balls-out nuts”).

Watching Vol. 1 the second time, I was struck by how perfect of a decision it was to flesh out O-Ren Ishi-i’s backstory with anime, as it allowed Tarantino to present what is really one of the most disturbing storylines in a manner that’s in some ways actually more intense than he would have been able to do it had he tried to make it a live-action sequence.

Elle Driver is easily one of my favorite characters in the film, I think. Of the five members of the DiVAS, much of the time she struck me as the most snake-like: cold, unfeeling, and vicious — which made the few moments when she broke that mold (her moment of pouting after Bill tells her to leave the bride alive in the hospital towards the beginning of Vol. 1) that much more amusing.

The fight with Elle in Budd’s camper was wonderfully done, too, with Elle constantly unable to draw her sword out of its sheath due to the cramped quarters. I’m quite curious if that’s an intentional movie reference by Tarantino that’s been missed on the Kill Bill References Guide, specifically to the trailer fight in the Coen Brothers’ Raising Arizona. Not to mention that the bride’s final blow to Elle really caught me off guard — a perfect way to end the fight, but entirely unexpected (and cringe-inducing).

What really surprised me about Vol. 2 was the end, which was far more touching and tender than I ever would have expected from Tarantino. After around three and a half hours of violent, bloody revenge, to wrap it all up with sequences that manage to tug at the heartstrings without being schmaltzy was a surprising and perfect way to end the film.

iTunes: “Steamroller” by Pigface from the album Preaching to the Perverted (1994, 2:10).

Nightline on Friday

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As I don’t do the TV thing I won’t be watching this, but for those of you who do, this Friday’s Nightline is looking to be a doozy.

From their daily e-mail update for today, April 27th 2004:

Now I want to tell you about this Friday’s broadcast. We’re going to do something different, something that we think is important. Friday night, we will show you the pictures, and Ted will read the names, of the men and women from the armed forces who have been killed in combat in Iraq. That’s it. That will be the whole broadcast.

…Whether you agree with the war or not, these men and women are serving, are putting their lives on the line, in our names. We think it is important to remember that those who have paid the ultimate price all have faces, and names, and loved ones. We thought about doing this on Memorial Day, but that’s a time when most media outlets do stories about the military, and they are generally lost in the holiday crush of picnics and all. We didn’t want this broadcast to get lost. Honestly, I don’t know if people will watch this for thirty seconds, or ten minutes, or at all. That’s not the point. We think this is important. These men and women have earned nothing less.

Wow. Powerful stuff.

(via Atrios)

iTunes: “Legion” by VNV Nation from the album Empires (2000, 5:11).

Donnie Darko coming back to Seattle!

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How incredibly cool — Donnie Darko, which disappeared from most theaters practically before it was released, has become such a cult favorite that its studio is going to be re-releasing it to theaters, starting right here in Seattle!

“Donnie Darko,” which made a paltry \$517,375 when it was released in October 2001, will get a second chance.

Newmarket Films, which holds domestic distrib rights, is looking to cash in on the pic’s growing cult status by rereleasing a director’s cut this summer.

New cut, which includes 21 minutes of footage not in the original release, will premiere May 29 at the Seattle Film Festival.

Newmarket topper Bob Berney said the company then plans to release the pic on about 10 screens in the city as a test run for a wider national release.

“I want to see if we can play it in the malls and multiplexes,” Berney said, adding that the company planned TV and print ad buys commensurate with a big-budget release.

Newmarket says it will use the results of the Seattle release to determine the pattern for a national rollout.

Count me in on this one!

(via LJ Seattle)

iTunes: “Velvet Pants” by Propellerheads from the album Decksandrumsandrockandroll (1998, 5:47).

TV got your brain

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The last car I owned had three bumper stickers on it, all dead-center on the rear end, one above the other.

DIE MTV DIE

KILL YOUR TV

TELEVISION IS DRUGS

It appears that my sentiments now have the backing of scientific research showing that television causes ‘attention problems’ in young children.

Early television exposure in children ages 1-3 is associated with attention problems at age 7, according to a study from Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle published in the April issue of PEDIATRICS. The study revealed that each hour of television watched per day at ages 1-3 increases the risk of attention problems, such as ADHD, by almost 10 percent at age 7. The study controls for other attributes of the home environment including cognitive stimulation and emotional support.

… The AAP recommends parents avoid letting their children under the age of 2 years watch television and that parents exert caution — such as setting limits on TV viewing, helping children develop media literacy skills to question, analyze and evaluate TV messages, and taking an active role in their children’s TV viewing — in children over the age of 2.

A Seattle P-I editorial mentions that some 3 year olds in the study were watching 12 or more hours of television a day.

Twelve or more?

My lord.

I wish I still had a copy of this, but years ago I saw an editorial cartoon called “The Pacifier” that showed a toddler sitting on the floor with dazed, glazed-over eyes, with a pacifier created from a television crammed into his mouth. I ended up turning that cartoon into a t-shirt (which I still have — the cartoon is by Jim Morin of the Miami Herald, unfortunately I can’t find a date on the cartoon to see if a copy might be available online anywhere). People who treat their children like this — and I’ve known more than a few — have always disturbed me, and while I’m sure I whined about it when I was younger, I’m very glad parents kept stricter controls over the viewing habits of my brother and I when we were growing up.

iTunes: “Light (Fat Back)” by K.M.F.D.M. from the album Light (1994, 7:29).

Rockypalooza

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This is more than a little tempting: This year’s Rocky Horror Picture Show convention, Rockypalooza, will be here in Seattle next month.

Rockypalooza II: Forbidden Palooza draws Rocky Horror fans from all over this end of the continent. It’s an excuse to share our fabulous obsession through shows, preshows and, ahem, post shows. It gives us an opportunity to get to know other people that perform in the area and to share a larger, more elaborate experience with theatergoers. We can find and share Rocky memorabilia. Also, we can settle that whole being-turned-to-a-pillar-of-salt/ getting run out of town by a pitchfork n’ torch mob thing once and for all.

(via LJ Seattle)

Upcoming movies

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Every so often, Prairie and I will go through Apple’s movie trailer page, checking out what’s coming up in the next few months and seeing what interests us. Here’s today’s batch of possibilities (in no particular order)…

  • The United States of Leland: Can Jena Malone be in a bad movie? Everything I’ve seen her in so far has impressed me (Contact, Donnie Darko and The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys), and now I keep seeing her in trailers for movies that catch my eye (Saved, and now Leland). Add Kevin Spacey and an interesting looking trailer, and it definitely goes on the “potential” list.
  • King Arthur: So far, I’ve got mixed feelings on this one. If they can do the story well, then I’m all for it (one of my favorite retellings of the Arthurian saga is Jack Whyte’s Camulod Chronicles, which take a very realistic non-magical approach) — but something about the trailer isn’t quite grabbing me. All the stars look much to “pretty” on first blush, like they’re trying to aim for a cast full of Viggo Mortenson-as-Aragorn to pull in the teen girl contingent. On the other hand, Keira Knightley looks supremely drool worthy in her battle garb, so maybe I’m not one to talk….
  • The Village: M. Night Shyamalan is a bit of an enigma to me. So far, each of his films has been great upon first viewing, but has absolutely no replay value afterwards (with the sole exception of The Sixth Sense, which was fun to watch a second time just to see all the subtle hints you missed the first time), and I found Signs to be a letdown at the end. As with the rest, the trailer for this one has me going “Oooohhh…” — but will he finally be able to craft a movie that stands up to multiple viewings?
  • Raising Helen: Okay, this one was definitely a Prairie pick. ;) Looks to be a cute little comedy — but it’s got Kate Husdon (yum) and Joan Cusack, who I’ve always enjoyed when she pops up in a film. Probably a renter rather than one to beeline for in the theater (at least in my estimation).
  • Connie and Carla: The first part of the trailer had me cringing. Then the drag queens showed up, and suddenly I was fine with it. Which probably says something about me, but I’m not sure I want to go there….
  • The Notebook: Again, sappy romantic stuff is generally more along Prairie’s tastes than mine, but if I’m in a mood for it, this looks like it could be good, and it’s certainly pretty. We’ll see when it comes out.
  • The Last Shot: I’m most intrigued by the fact that this is apparently based on a true story about a guy hired by the FBI (without his knowledge) to direct a movie (that will never be released) in order to run a sting on the mob. The trailer has some cute lines in it (though these days, often those are the only good lines in the entire film)…reserving judgment on this one for the moment.
  • Godsend: This one I’d never heard of before tonight, but it’s rocketed right the top of my “potential” list. After a couple loses their son in an accident, they’re approached by a doctor who offers to inseminate the mother with a clone of their son, essentially allowing him to be “reborn.” Once the new son hits the age that he died, things start to get all sorts of freaky. Looks to be quite cool.
  • Garden State: This trailer caught my eye when Prairie, Kirsten and I went off to see Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Very little idea what the movie is about, but the imagery in the trailer is enough to catch my interest. I am amused by the link on the trailer page to the trailer’s music on the iTunes Music Store, though — hadn’t seen that trick before!
  • The Stepford Wives: I’m really unsure about this one. While I’ve not read the book, I’m a fan of the (dated, but still creepy) original film version, and the fact that this is listed as a “comedy” makes me wonder about it. Of course, with Nicole Kidman (yum) and Christopher Walken in the film, it can’t be all bad, right?
  • Godzilla: The orignal — UNCUT. UNCENSORED. UNDUBBED. I am so there.

iTunes: “Kooler Than Jesus (Electric Messiah)” by My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult from the album Confessions of A Knife (1990, 4:12).

Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?

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Sesame Street's original cast

Wow — Sesame Street has been around for 35 years.

My two most present memories of Sesame Street (see if you remember them too…)

“Yup, yup, yup, yup yup yup yup yupyupyupyupyupyupyup TELEPHONE!”

“Around…around…around…around…over, under, and through!”

There’s even a 35^th^ anniversary trivia game on their site, which I did horribly at.

This entry was brought to you by the number 7.

iTunes: “Sesame’s Treet (12″)\” by Smart E’s from the album Sesame’s Treet (1992, 5:12).

Exploring Hitchcock

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About three weeks ago, a reader of my site surprised me with the gift of a new biography of Alfred Hitchcock. I didn’t start it immediately, as I was in the middle of another book, but when I lost that book along with my bookbag I started reading the Hitchcock biography.

So far, it’s fascinating, and I’m only about a third of the way through (up to Hitch moving to America and working on Rebecca, his first American-made film). I did, however, realize that while I’ve certainly enjoyed what I’ve seen of Hitchcock’s films, I’ve actually seen very few: Vertigo, Psycho, and The Birds are the only ones!

So, in an attempt to rectify that situation, I’ve gone through and added every single Hitchcock DVD available to my NetFlix queue. In chronological order, no less.

Admittedly, I added them to the end of my queue, so I won’t actually start going through them unless I take the time to rearrange my queue, but still, they’re there, so at some point in the future, I’ll be able to drastically increase my Hitchcock knowledge.

iTunes: “Wandering Minstrel, The/Jackson’s Morning Brush” by Ennis, Séamus from the album Wandering Minstrel, The (1974, 5:34).

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

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Quite simply, a must-see, and I’ll be very surprised if another film bests it this year. That may sound a little odd at not quite three full months into the year, but yes, the movie was that damn good.

And that’s all I’m going to say for the moment, as it’s best to go into this movie with as little foreknowledge as possible.

Trust me on this one.

iTunes: “Mea Culpa” by Enigma from the album MCMXC A.D. (1990, 5:03).

New I, Robot trailer out

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There’s a new trailer for the movie I, Robot, based on Isaac Asimov‘s writing. I’ve been looking forward to this for a while, but, as with all movie properties based on works that I’m a fan of, there was some definite trepidation.

On the one hand, not only were they adapting the stories of one of my favorite authors, but they also tapped one of my favorite directors, Alex Proyas (The Crow, Dark City). On the other hand…Will Smith stars. Nothing against Will Smith personally, as I generally enjoy the films I see him in, but I’ve never seen him do much serious work — his strengths seem to have been in comedic and action vehicles. Asimov, on the other hand, while often extremely funny, has more of a cerebral, often punnish sense of humor to his writing, and his works are generally far stronger on dialog and concepts than they are on action.

I, Robot screencapture

Now that I’ve seen the new trailer, I have to say, I’m more than a little worried. I was hoping for more strong, “thinking-person’s” science fiction along the lines of A.I., Contact, Gattaca, or Dark City (four of the best sci-fi films in recent years, in my opinion). Instead, what I got was…well, a Will Smith action-comedy, from the looks of it.

Admittedly, I’m basing this solely on a two-minute trailer, but I don’t think I’m entirely unjustified in being worried. Opening with shots of Smith’s Detective Spooner riding his motorcycle through the city streets of Chicago, we follow him into the offices of “the richest man in the world” as a murder investigation starts. The businessman offers Spooner coffee, then asks if there’s anything he can to do help.

“Sugar.”

“Sugar?”

“For the coffee.”

“Oh…”

“Oh, you thought I was calling you ‘Sugar’? Hey, you’re not that rich.”

From there, we move to quick shots of the investigation, as Spooner interviews the robot suspected of killing a human. Interspersed with the clips are Asimov’s famous Three Laws of Robotics — kind of.

Asimov himself often said that his Three Laws were probably the most famous lines he had ever written, out of his entire body of work, and have served as inspiration for many of today’s top robotics theorizers and designers as our technology progresses to the point where humanoid robotic creations are becoming more and more possible. The laws, as Asimov originally wrote them, are:

  1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
  2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
  3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

The laws as given to us in the I, Robot trailer, are now:

  1. They cannot hurt us.
  2. They must do what we say.
  3. They can protect themselves.

Okay, the essence is still there, and it’s entirely possible (and I’m hoping that) the original laws are quoted and expounded on in the film, and that these are merely the two-second screentime trailer versions. It was still enough to make me cringe.

I, Robot screencapture

From there, we move to quick action clips interspersed with dialog. In one, a robot jumps out of a window, flips over a couple times, and falls to the pavement, landing with a pavement-cracking jolt in a pose that could have been lifted straight from either of the trailers for the recent two Matrix movies or from the trailer for Underworld. Okay, it’s a cool shot and a good pose, but do we need to see it in every action movie trailer to hit the screen?

A few more clips later, we’re treated to an apparent robot mob in full attack mode, complete with smashing through doors, Aliens-style scuttling across walls and ceilings, robots backhanding and attacking people, and general mayhem, with all the robots suddenly sporting glowing red eyes and torsos (which gave them an amusingly ET-like look to me).

I will freely admit that the trailer looks good visually, and the effects look like they’ll be quite good. I just wish I wasn’t as worried about what had been done to the work of one of my favorite science-fiction authors.

I guess I’ll be able to form my final opinion July 16th, when the film opens. Until then, I’ll just be keeping my fingers crossed.

iTunes: “Darkness III” by In Absentia from the album Blood and Computers II (1994, 3:25).