Half-Year Movie Report
Current mood: all talk and no blog
Category: all talk and no blog Movies, TV, Celebrities
Tune in for the next installment of The Three AMovIGOerS tonight on BlogTalkRadio where Oscar, Oscar! host Jason O'Brien is joined by both myself and Jamey Duvall of Movie Geeks United.
Tonight at 11 pm eastern we will be discussing what we think are the ten best films of 2008 so far.
Will Iron Man flatten the competition?
Click here to listen live tonight. Or if you're reading this after the show is over you can click on the link to listen to it in the archives
Forgotten Film Classics: A Response to the EW List
Current mood: listless
Category: listless Movies, TV, Celebrities
Entertainment Weekly published their 1000th issue this week and filled it with lists of "The New Classics" selecting the 100 Best of the last 25 years, and of course their list of the best films is not going to satisfy every cinephile. I went ahead and comprised a list of the ten films missing from the list that most deserved to be included, but first here are the ten titles that did make the list that I think can be removed to make room for my ten selections:
Ranked at: 28. Wings of Desire (1988) A lovely film, but not a "new classic." 36. Spider-Man 2 (2004) If a comic book sequel belongs here, it's X2: X-Men United. 54. Fatal Attraction (1987) It was just as stupid 20 years ago as it is now. 55. Risky Business (1983) Would this be on the list if it weren't for just one scene? 74. Drugstore Cowboy (1989) Nothing wrong with this movie, but not right for this list. 75. Out of Africa (1985) There are better Best Picture Oscar winners that didn't make the cut. 80. Michael Clayton (2007) Not even if it were the 100 Best Films of the last five years. 89. Breaking the Waves (1996) Lars Von Trier did better with Dancer in the Dark and Dogville. 92. Menace II Society (1993) Instead of Boyz N the Hood? 94. Full Metal Jacket (1987) The boot camp segment is fantastic, but not so much the rest of it.
The Ten Substitutions: 1. The Princess Bride (1987) This didn't make the list? INCONCEIVABLE! I'm not saying it should rank above Pulp Fiction (they at least picked the right title to top the list) but this certainly belongs in the top ten of a list of "new classics." 2. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) The definitive sleeper hit of the 90's, and one of those movies that can suck you in every time when you come across it while channel surfing. 3. Amadeus (1984) The best of the Best Picture Oscar winners not on the list. The three runner-ups would be Dances With Wolves, American Beauty and Platoon. 4. Beauty and the Beast (1991) With the exception of Toy Story, this title belongs on the list more than any of the other animated selections (The Lion King, Shrek, The Incredibles). The same could be said for Finding Nemo, also missing from the list. 5. Traffic (2000) The best film of this decade. Other great films from this decade that are missing include The Pianist, Letters From Iwo Jima and Sin City. 6. Groundhog Day (1993) One of the finest film comedies ever made. 7. Batman (1989) The film that made the comic book movie boom begin again. 8. Defending Your Life (1991) Just as good or better than any romantic comedy on or off the list. 9. Field of Dreams (1989) There's something wrong when the closest thing to a sports movie on the list is Jerry Maguire. I know this movie really isn't about baseball, but it's still closer to a sports movie than Jerry fuckin' Maguire. They could at least have included The Natural, Bull Durham or even A League of Their Own. 10. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) One of the holiday films that I watch practically every year, just like Scrooged, Home Alone and Sleepless in Seattle, which are all missing from the list.
Currently
listening
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Viva La Vida
By
Coldplay
Release date: 2008-06-17
Enter the Manchild Zone this weekend and nominate DJ Southern Belle
Current mood: information overload
Category: information overload Friends
**!!!Manchild Zone CD Release Party Bonanza!!!** Red Saw Gallery 585 Broad St.
Newark, NJ 9 PM Fri May 30
FREE SHOW (gallery donation is encourged) Take PATH to Newark Penn Station $5 cab to gallery or 15 minute walk Get ill w/Manchild and the Planet People (PVD, DVD and the P57 Cyborg)...
New website exhibition followed by a live performance.
CD's and T-shirts will be available!!
Check out their MySpace profile for a sample of their creative genius.
And then take a few minutes online to nominate DJ Southern Belle for the 2009 SEA Awards.
Click here to visit the website to place your nominations.
illustration by Matt Baier This is the ninth and possibly penultimate installment of The Radiohead Covers, a weekly series featured at Gingers is the Watchword of my impersonations of different artists, celebrities and fictional characters performing songs from different Radiohead albums. Thank you to the dozen or so readers who have been giving me feedback on the previous entries; your comments are greatly appreciated.
Vote in the poll below to determine what impersonation and cong combination will be featured in next week's installment. If more than 20 votes are received I'll keep the series going.
If the poll won't let you vote for some reason please leave a comment letting me know.
Gimme Summer Movies
Current mood: in sync-o de mayo
Category: in sync-o de mayo Movies, TV, Celebrities
I just posted a brief list at Gingers is the Watchword of a dozen summer releases I'm looking forward to this year. You can check it out by clicking here. I may post the more traditional lengthier summer movie preview here sometime next week if enough people leave me comments motivating me to do so.
Hancock is sure to be a whale at the box office
Tonight I will be part of 3 Guys & The Movies, a new monthly feature on the Oscar, Oscar blogtalkradio broadcast in which host Jason O'Brien is joined by both myself and Jamey Duvall of Movie Geeks United. Tonight we will be discussing the summer movie releases. The brodcast begins at 11 pm eastern time, at which point you can click here to tune in as well as participate in the chat room.
The new season of Fantasy Moguls is also underway and there are still spots left in the UMMpire league I created for the Ultimate Movie Moguls game (the league I created for Box Office Moguls - Dick in a Box Office - is already full). The deadline to sign up is Thursday and it only takes five minutes to create a studio.
Fake Plastic American Trees
Current mood: solitary, man... forever in blue jeans
Category: solitary, man... forever in blue jeans Movies, TV, Celebrities
This latest installment of The Radiohead Covers over at Gingers is the Watchword is done as a tribute to Neil Diamond's appearance on American Idol this week. Next week will be my impersonation of Eddie Vedder singing Planet Telex, the opening track of the same album. There will also be a poll for what selection should be featured in the tenth and possibly final installment that will appear the following week.
Also, in honor of Neil Diamond's appearance on American Idol, here is the setlist of Lionel Diamond, a character I debuted in a standup comedy routine at The Comedy Store in San Diego on May 16, 2004. It's a fusion of Lionel Richie and Neil Diamond.
Hello Hello Again Say You Say Me I Am I Said Ballerina Girl You'll Be a Woman Soon Red Red Wine All Night Long Stuck On You Got To Me Do It To Me Sweet Caroline Endless Love On the Rocks Sail On Solitary Man I Got the Feelin' Dancing On the Ceiling Song Sung Blue Just To Be Close To You I'm a Believer Running With the Night Cracklin' Rosie Three Times a Lady
After my 3 minute set that featured Lionel Diamond (which wasn't received nearly as well as I had anticipated) I went to a friend's house to watch the new episodes of The Sopranos and The Simpsons that night, as was tradition. Over the closing credits of The Sopranos was Lionel Richie singing Three Times a Lady, and over the closing credits of The Simpsons was Neil Diamond singing America. Now, this week Neil Diamond is on American Idol, and on Sunday they are reairing the season 19 premiere episode of The Simpsons that features Lionel Richie. I feel like I'm in the twilight zone, with a great soundtrack.
I Will find The Rainbow Connection
Current mood: green
Category: green Movies, TV, Celebrities
Click here for my impersonation of Kermit the Frog singing I Will from Radiohead's 2003 album Hail to the Thief. You'll also find a hilarious (and rather disturbing) video of Kermit singing NIN's Hurt.
This was chosen as per the poll results from last week's entry, and is Vol. 7 in the ongoing series The Radiohead Covers at Gingers is the Watchword. Vol, 8 will be Neil Diamond singing Fake Plastic Trees, and will be posted earlier in the week to capitalize on Neil Diamond's appearance on American Idol. After that will be Eddie Vedder singing Planet Telex which placed second in last week's poll, and will also include a new poll for what should be featured in the tenth and possibly final installment.
Click here to visit the webpage where you can hear my impersonation of Sammy Davis Jr. performing Myxomatosis from the 2003 Radiohead album Hail to the Thief. There's also a great video there of Sammy doing some of his own hilarious impressions. Be sure and check it out.
This is the latest (Vol. 6) in The Radiohead Covers series over at Gingers is the Watchword, a great blogspot site I sometimes contribute to that deals with all things pop culture.
You can vote in the poll below to determine which impersonation and song combination gets featured in next week's installment.
Subterranean Homesick Ziggy Stardust
Current mood: floating round my tin can far above the moon
Category: floating round my tin can far above the moon Movies, TV, Celebrities
pop art Louis Armstrong by 
David Bowie by