I must admit that I was upset when I heard that another film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby was due out this year. It is one of my favorite novels of all time and it’s already been loused up a handful of times including the 1974 film starring Robert Redford Continue reading
Just about a year ago I posted an article on my complete collection of the City Lights Pocket Poets Series. I continue to add to the collection and replace near fine copies with finer examples. It remains one of my proudest collective achievements. The above was an unexpected Continue reading
Jonny J was kind enough to take point on LCD Soundsystem’s documentary which played for one night only in select theaters this past week. A big thank you is in order for Jon as he purchased a pair of tickets for him and I to the last show as an early birthday present for me last spring. I shared the concert with someone great!
I was fortunate enough to see LCD Soundsystem’s rock-doc in Astoria’s Museum of the Moving Image, where the theater acoustics were the most perfect I have heard in any theater to date. The concert segments made you feel you were actually at the show, superbly recorded in audio and film.
Comic actor Fred Willard was arrested on suspicion of committing a “lewd act” at the XXX Tiki Theater in Hollywood on Wednesday night. The 72-year-old actor was detained after a routine, uniformed LAPD inspection of the theater (yes, apparently pornographic theaters are patrolled routinely).
Aside: I had no idea that XXX theaters still existed Continue reading
Amy Heckerling’s Clueless (1995) should be on everyone’s Top 10 Teen Comedies list. First of all, it might be the best adaptation of a Jane Austen novel (Emma). Second, the film is solely responsible for the popularization of phrases like “Whatever!” and “As if!” which (regrettably in hindsight) remained a major part of teenage girl vernacular for the better part of two years. But most importantly, Clueless is a zeitgeist flick that Continue reading
I went to see Friends With Kids a week ago after dinner with my parents because my mother felt like seeing “something light” after doing schoolwork all day. I lioned an antipasto and the better part of a sausage, olive, mushroom pizza and so something light was probably the only thing I could have stomached.
Aside: “Something light” as defined by my mother = rom-com. “Lioned” as defined by my friend Steve = my primal consumption by volume of food when hungry.
The only thing that I had heard about the movie prior was that Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation), Maya Rudolph (SNL, Bridesmaids) and Jon Hamm (Mad Men) were part of the cast. All good things. Continue reading
Tim and Eric sure can make a great television show. It started with the peculiarly animated Tom Goes To The Mayor, and carried over to their later venture, Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job! They certainly could fill a 15-20 minute block of time with wacky loops and awkward conversation. There was no shortage of celebrity cameos either. I was a big fan of Awesome Show for the majority of its run. I even saw their live show, which was the second sold out show of the night when they played the Wilbur Theater in Boston. They opened that particular show with a song about diarrhea. Actually, it was about fifteen minutes long, and consisted of them simply repeating the world “diarrhea” over and over again. Since I bought my tickets late, on a whim, the seats were towards the back. I overheard a conversation between two ushers at the Wilbur, which went something like this:
With Oscar Fever running rampant, I thought I might try to see a few more of the movies up for nomination this year prior to the Academy Awards. After buying my buddy Brad dinner a few weeks ago (yes, the same Brad that reviewed My Week With Marilyn), a movie man-date on his coin was mandated. After getting home late from a long, shitty day at work, 100 minutes of escapism sounded just about perfect last night.
Neither of us had seen The Artist and we had both heard good things. Here are some of the reviews that I heard: “It’s very good.” “It was pretty good.” “I thought it was really, really good.” “It’s a silent movie. But, it’s good.” With such ‘good’ endorsements, I figured it had to at least be a ‘should see.’
The Artist, from director Michel Hazanavicius, covers the Continue reading
A quick snippet about reRun theater…
reRun Theater, located in Dumbo Brooklyn, NY, shows independent films in a single theater that seats about 60. Said seats are reclaimed car seats…I hope you like upholstery. There is a bar in the theater. A bar! A bar that serves gastropub fare including popcorn sopped in all kinds of interesting fat. Amazing. Conceivably, one could check out an indie flick, grab a hot dog and some duckfat popcorn and get shlocked simultaneously. I kept myself in check Continue reading
the self-hating hipster 