“There were two actors who managed to perform in The Ten Commandments without disgracing themselves — Yul Brynner and Edward G. Robinson. He realized the perverse comedy in the part of Dathan. DeMille was completely baffled by what Robinson was doing, and wanted to fire him. if it hadn’t been location shooting I suspect he … Read more
Milo Yiannopoulos vs. Larry Wilmore (“You can go fuck yourself, all right?”) with Bill Maher moderating and Rep. Jack Kingston, Malcolm Nance and Leah Remini costarring.
Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel have snagged nine nominations each. The first year in Oscar history with eight Best Picture nominations, and only four of these boast Best Director noms. Selma makes the Best Picture roster, but David Oyelowo doesn’t make the Best Actor cut and Selma helmer Ava DuVernay also denied. And Whiplash … Read more
It’s been eight months since I first saw Damien Chazelle‘s Whiplash so I figured I’d give it another go this morning at the New York Film Festival. It’s just as gripping and screwed-down and possessed as ever. It certainly contains Miles Teller‘s best performance so far. I’ve noted previously that J.K. Simmons‘ performance as a … Read more
From my 1.17.14 review: “Damien Chazelle‘s Whiplash (Sony Pictures Classics, 10.14) is a raging two-hander about a gifted drummer named Andrew (Miles Teller). Enrolled at an elite Manhattan music school and determined to be not just proficient or admired but Buddy Rich-great, Andrew is a Bunsen burner. We can see from the get-go he’s going … Read more
Every time someone asked me what my Sundance favorites were, I started off with Whiplash. Each and every day: “Well, definitely Whiplash and also, uhhm…” The other person always said in response, “Yeah, hearing that a lot.” Over and over and over. So what a slap-down shocker that Damien Chazelle‘s manic, sweat-stained drumskin flick won … Read more
My head is spinning from the mere effort of trying to make sense of Nick Schager’s summary of the allegedly jumbled, gravity-free, Jasper Johns-like, geek-splattered plot in James Gunn‘s Superman (WB, 7.11). Schager’s leaked Daily Beast review posted yesterday before being hastily taken down. Imagine trying to follow or make sense of this Warner Bros. … Read more
Several years ago I stated that the following 15 films were the best of 2000, and in this order: Yes, Ridley Scott‘s Gladiator is a worthy, grand-scale film, but I don’t think it was good enough to include among the top 15. I’m sorry but I don’t. Mainly because I found Joaquin Phoenix‘s Commodus an … Read more
The Gotham Award nominations were announced at noon today, and hoo boy…talk about an organization and a community that lives in a deep mine shaft within its own secular planet…nominations that represent an elitist bubble of urban progressive sensitivity that could choke a plowhorse…a mindset that frequently spits upon Joe Popcorn cinema and enforces a … Read more
In a 6.28 letter, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences has announced it is inviting 398 artists and executives to join. Below are the actors who’ve been invited. If you subscribe to the view that invitations should be based upon the value and importance that artists bring to the Academy and not flash-in-the-pan … Read more
…will be performed on the 3.12 Oscar telecast. A racially charged dance-off between exuberant natives and haughty whites. Equal to if not surpassing the pure joy of the “Tonight” ensemble numher in West Side Story (Robert Wise or Steven Spielberg version), or the “America” dance-off on the rooftop in the Wise. Except like RRR itself, … Read more
A while back I tried to sell my Paramount homies on a special Top Gun: Maverick HE advertorial. The idea had already been written and posted on 1.13.23 — I just wanted to repeat it with a little Paramount dough behind me. The piece was titled “A Film That Saved Hollywood Could Also Save The … Read more