Sunday, September 17, 2006
MORE UPDATES
Now that we're caught up on movies, here are a few other things that have happened since my last post. Just in case there's actually anyone who still reads my blog here anymore.
THE "SLEEP" THING
Well, I went for another sleep study session. This involved another night in the hospital being hooked up to electrodes and having a machine with a breathing mask fastened to my head. This time seemed to go a lot better. The technician didn't wake me up as much during the night (which makes me think the machine's settings were more helpful this time around) and I had a few vivid dreams (which I take to be a good sign). The next step is to get my own machine for home in a couple of weeks, which I'm hoping will put an end to the vicious cycle I'm caught up in.
Basically, sleep apnea is worse when you're overweight. But if you're waking up 100 times an hour due to bad breathing when you sleep (like I am), there is no way you can ever fall into a deep sleep (or even get sufficient REM sleep), so you're going to be tired all the time. If you're tired all the time, you're not going to be too motivated to get exercise and break the cycle. So I'm hoping once I get the machine, I'll have better sleep, be more energized, and then use that energy to lose weight.
Wish me luck.
ANOTHER TV INTERVIEW
Recently, I was also interviewed by TV horror movie hostess Penny Dreadful for an upcoming special/documentary she is doing about old horror movie hosts. Basically she let the camera roll as I reminisced about the old days of hosts like The Ghoul and Simon's Sanctorum on Boston television. Penny was really cool (so was her camerawoman Rebecca) and it was a really fun time. The movie may be even entered into some film festivals, so I'm pretty psyched.
We also filmed a bit featuring my alter ego Cornelius Badmonk (a character I created for the Gross-Out Contest at the World Horror Convention of 2005) for her television show. She has a cast of characters who peform where commercials would be in the movies (she's a witch, there's also a werewolf character, Garou, and vampire hunter Manfred von Bulow) and the bit I did with Cornelius may pop up in a future episode the next time they show an ape-related movie.
More on the documentary and Cornelius's television debut when I learn more. Penny's show is currently on several cable-access channels throughout Massachusetts. So if you live in the area, you might want to look for her show. It's a lot of fun.
TV
Well, most of the summer shows are done for now. DEADWOOD's third season came to an end, and while it was another great season, it was also the last, so the ending was bittersweet. I really hope that HBO sticks to its promise to turn out two final Deadwood 2-hour movies to tie things up. Also, the new HBO "adult sitcom" LUCKY LOUIE also came to an end, and I really love this show. I hope they renew it. Although there's no news yet.
Another good new show is THE MINOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF JACKIE WOODMAN, which just ended its (short) first season on the Independent Film Channel (IFC). This one stars comedienne (is this still the right term? I notice actresses are called "actors" now) Laura Kightlighter, who I've liked for a long time (she's also in the cast of LUCKY LOUIE), as a slacker wannabe screenwriter who lives in L.A. but doesn't own a car (her friend drives her everywhere) and who is pretty much a loser, albeit a very funny one. I hope IFC renews this series as well. Kightlinger has been a great stand-up comic for a long time and she deserves her own show. And JACKIE WOODMAN is pretty funny.
The new fall season is coming soon. Some shows have already started early, including PRISON BREAK , the second season of which is really good so far. If you aren't watching this show yet, you should be (it's on FOX on Mondays at 8pm). NIP/TUCK, the plastic surgeon melodrama on the FX channel (Tuesdays at 10pm), has also started its new season and it's as wild as ever. This might be one of the most outrageous shows on television and it's worth checking out as well.
OTHER STUFF
MOVIES I WON'T BE SEEING: I'm a big James Ellroy fan, and I loved the film version of his book L.A. Confidential, but I probably won't be seeing the new Ellroy adaptation, THE BLACK DAHILA. The new film, directed by Brian DePalma, has been getting pretty dismal reviews, and frankly I'm not too eager to see a bad Ellroy adaptation. Also, I'm on the fence about whether to see THE LAST KISS starring Zach Braff. I dig Braff in SCRUBS (maybe the most underrated show on TV), and I really liked Braff's directorial debut GARDEN STATE , but LAST KISS isn't directed by Braff and sounds kinda whiny. Maybe I'll break down and see it before it leaves theaters. Maybe not. As you can see, I'm not in a rush. And I can always wait to rent the DVD.
MOVIES I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE: Well, first off, I can't wait to see ARTIE LANGE'S BEER LEAGUE, which is currently only in limited release in a few cities (New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles). For those who don't know, Artie is a regular on The Howard Stern Show on Sirius radio, and he's a terrific comedian. He started out in the first cast of MAD TV and also was a regular on Norm MacDonald's underrated (and totally hilarious) old sitcom NORM (also known as THE NORM SHOW) on ABC.
BEER LEAGUE looks like a hilarious "slob" comedy in the spirit of classics like ANIMAL HOUSE, and I really can't wait to see it.
Another movie I can't wait to see is BORAT. The title is actually much longer, but that's all you need to know. Basically, British comedian Sasha Baron Cohen has three "alter egos" on his HBO show DA ALI G SHOW. One is white rapper Ali G, another is foreign journalist (who can't speak or understand English very well) Borat, and the third is a gay German fashion journalist. Ali G is probably his most famous character, but Borat just might be the funniest, and the movie devoted to him looks absolutely terrific. The joke is that all of these characters either interview or interact with real people who think they're real as well.
BORAT has already been getting tons of great buzz at film festivals and sounds like it could be the funniest movie of the year. So go rent the ALI G SHOW DVDs beforehand, so you'll know what you're in for, and then you'll probably become as rabid a fan as I am for BORAT.
FINALLY: I just picked up the new comedy CD from one of my favorite comedian, Norm MacDonald called RIDICULOUS. It's basically a bunch of silly sketches (not stand-up -except for one classic bit at the end) covering everything from how the Fantastic Four got their names, to the 12 Days of Christmas (!) to the story of the first two gay guys ever (featuring Will Ferrell). The CD is pretty funny, and if you're into comedy you may want to pick it up. MacDonald is one of my all-time faves, and I was really happy to see this CD come out, especially since it's rumored to have been in production for years.
That's all for now. Until next time...
Infernally Yours,
>~LLS
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS - FACTOTUM, EDMOND, ETC.
Well, the cross-posting of my blog continues. These new posts can also be read on my page on MySpace , so if you're member there, check it out. And if you read this blog and you're in MySpace, add me to your friends list if you haven't already!
It's been awhile since my last post, so I figured I'd get caught up. First off, here are some quick reviews of movies I've seen recently:
FACTOTUM
Matt Dillon as Charles Bukowski. When I first heard it, I didn't think it would work. But Dillon isn't half bad as Bukowski's alter ego, Henry Chinaski. Factotum is the first book by Bukowski I ever read, so I've always had a special affection for it. It's basically about Chinaski's going from job to job, none of them lasting very long, just providing enough cash for him to keep drinking and to write his stories and poems. I'm always excited when a new Bukowski film comes out, because he's one of my favorite writers. Previous film adaptations include: BARFLY (with Mickey Rourke as Chinaski), TALES OF ORDINARY MADNESS (starring the great Ben Gazarra) and LOVE IS A DOG FROM HELL.
I liked the movie, but it's far from perfect. It's also very minimal, almost Zen, in its tone. This is in large part due to director Bent Hamer, who is from Norway. His previous film was KITCHEN STORIES, which played briefly in art theaters.
The acting is great (especially Dillon and Lilly Taylor). And I actually think Hamer does a good job emphasizing the kind of soul-sucking squalor Chinaski endures every day, working horrible, menial jobs. However, there's one thing that's sorely lacking in the film - passion.
In Barbet Schroeder's BARFLY, for example (which shares many similar scenes with Factotum), Mickey Rourke hammed it up a little in the role, but he also really seemed to capture Bukowski's swagger and passion for living. And there's not much of that in Hamer's FACTOTUM.
The point was, despite the awful jobs and poverty, Bukowski was vibrantly alive and creative during this period of his life (all of his books are semi-autobiographical).
I liked Hamer's film and the existential dread that permeates it, even if it didn't completely work for me. But I still prefer BARFLY, which Bukowksi actually wrote the script for.
EDMOND
Director Stuart Gordon, known mostly for horror movies (and H.P. Lovecraft adaptations) like RE-ANIMATOR, DAGON and CASTLE FREAK, takes a stab at filming an early David Mamet play, with mixed results.
William H. Macy gives a terrific performance as Edmond, a guy who suddenly realizes one day that he's unhappy with his lot in life. He's got a good job, a good wife and a fancy apartment. But it's not enough. In fact, none of it satisfies him. So he leaves. He just tells his wife (Rebecca Pidgeon), that he's going to pack up and go. And he does.
When he meets a stranger (Joe Montegna, a Mamet staple) in a bar, the man tells him what he needs is "some new pussy." So he gives Edmond a card for a "gentlemen's club" and Macy goes on a strange late-night adventure which takes him to a strip club, a peep show, and a brothel. Strangely, though, poor Edmond can't get laid. There's a running joke about every girl he meets in these places asking for too much money (which he refuses to fork over), which reminded me a bit of Stanley Kubrick's EYES WIDE SHUT, in which Tom Cruise's character also tries to cheat on his wife and yet can't seem to consummate his lust with anyone.
Edmond also gets involved in some violence along the way. First he gets beat up by some street thugs after he argues with them after a three-card monty game. He then buys a big knife in a pawn shop (after pawning his wedding ring), which he later uses on a pimp who tries to rob him.
Eventually, Edmond ends up in a bar where he meets waitress Julia Stiles and they strike up a conversation. He ends up in her place. Things seem to start out well, he finally gets laid and she's certainly responsive to his rantings, but then it all spirals out of control as his anger gets the best of him.
Edmond is an interesting film, and the acting is top-notch, especially Macy, around whom the film revolves. There's only one part – a section toward the end that takes place in prison – that seems especially cliché. It's a big chunk that I felt I'd seen a hundred times before, though, and it kind of ruined the flow of the movie for me.
Gordon does a good job tackling a non-horror film (although there are some horrific moments). This isn't the first time, though. Another recent film by Gordon, KING OF THE ANTS, was also unusual – a story of a man getting vengeance after being brutalized by thugs – and shows that the guy still has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. And Mamet's script, for the most part, is pretty riveting. The typical "Mamet-speak" (a kind of stilted, staccato way of speaking), that is common in almost all Mamet films and adaptations, is present here as well. It's an artificial way to deliver dialogue, but it kind of works, and Macy especially pulls it off well.
Aside from the end part, I thought the movie worked pretty well, and is worth checking out. Macy's acting alone is enough for me to recommend it. This guy is one of the best actors we've got. And he more than shows that here.
THE OH IN OHIO
I was really disappointed in this one. Parker Posey (who I really like, and who has been in tons of indie movies over the years) gets a rare starring role in this movie about an ambitious career woman who has never had an orgasm. Paul Rudd plays her high school teacher husband who is convinced that, despite always being an adept lover before her, that he's failed as a man because of his wife's "problem." So they're both pretty miserable.
Suddenly, Parker's character decides it is time for her to see what all these women are talking about when they talk about "coming." So she buys a vibrator.
Suddenly, her life is transformed.
Meanwhile her unhappy hubby is having an affair with one of his students, who makes it clear that the failings in his marriage weren't his and that he's still a virile man...
Oh brother...This movie was very stupid, and the script seemed on the level of a bad sitcom. We've seen this same plot a thousand times before. And it all seemed more of a waste of Parker Posey's talents than anything else. Not only is the role embarrassing for her, it's just plain lame.
It's telling when her character, when asked if she masturbates, proclaims "Oh, no, I never do THAT!" You know right off the bat that this poor girl is repressed as hell. When she becomes addicted to her vibrator – which finally makes her feel like a woman – it's somewhat funny, but not very original. When she tries to find a man who will make her feel like her vibrator does, she sleeps with a ton of guys – with no luck – including Toby Radloff (from AMERICAN SPLENDOR) – before she ends up with Danny DeVito who always seems to be acting in a sitcom rather than a movie. He's one of the higlights in this mediocrity however – even if his relationship with Parker Posey never really seems believable.
Paul Rudd's character is a whiner who is never very likable. In fact, none of the characters in this movie deserve your attention, except, barely, Posey and DeVito, and that's only because their acting is better than this script deserves.
I left the theater wondering how such an dumb, unoriginal script ever got made and how they got such otherwise talented people to be in it. Especially when so many other superior small films never make it to the big screen.
Even if you're a Parker Posey fan, like I am, avoid this dumb-ass movie. It might be worth watching on cable. But even then I'd feel ripped off.
UNLEASHED
Saw this one on cable. Somehow I missed it in the theaters. Probably because I thought it was just another dumb martial arts movie. But it's actually pretty cool.
Jet Li plays a guy who has been raised from a young age to be a killer. Bob Hoskins plays a ruthless gangster who uses Li to collect debts for the mob. Hoskins treats Li like an animal, even making him sleep in a cage, and has totally stunted him emotionally. When rival gangsters try to kill them, Li escapes and ends up with nice guy Morgan Freeman, who is also blind. Freeman takes him in (some of their scenes actually reminded me of the blind man sequence in BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN), and Li becomes part of a family with Freeman and his daughter, who are in London so she can go to music school.
Of course, Hoskins isn't dead either and when he finds out Li is alive, he wants his "dog" back.
The whole "human dog" storyline is pretty twisted and makes this an above-average martial arts movie. It also is a good showcase for Li, who shows that, despite not being fluent in English, he's a strong actor with real charisma. I can't imagine Jackie Chan being able to pull off a role like this. And the fight scenes are more than adequate when Li's character is forced to fight to the death in an underground gladiator pit.
Hoskins is excellent as the vicious thug who thinks he owns Li. Sure the British gangster role is kind of typecasting for him, but he's so damn good at it. And Morgan Freeman is just good in anything he's in.
For this kind of movie, UNLEASHED is above average, because it actually has a decent storyline and isn't all mindless action. So if you're a fan of Jet Li, or martial arts movies in general, you could do a lot worse. I dug this film a lot. It's not a masterpiece, but it's above-average for its genre.
