Its always sunny

A conversation

Girl: I look awful

Jen: Yes, honey you do. Too much cheap makeup

The Worlds most famous crime scene

Inauguramos a partir de hoy una sección con monográficos sobre cine. Así, cada sábado hablaremos de algún film de culto, analizaremos alguna saga o criticaremos películas míticas. Hoy, vamos con el Batman fílmico…

Para empezar a hablar del cruzado de la capa, hay que remontarse a los mismos años 60, época en la que una serie Camp basada en el personaje, congrega a miles de fans ante la pantalla. Si, hablo de aquella mítica teleserie en la que las onomatopellas de los golpes copaban la imagen: Pow, Biff…

Viendo el enorme éxito que tuvo esta serie, el paso era lógico. Había que llevar a Batman Y Robin al cine. Y así, el productor William Dozier se decide a filmar un episodio largo con estos protagonistas de excepción. Pero claro, es una película y no un capítulo. Quieren tirar la casa por la ventana y fichan a todos los villanos importantes. Joker (Cesar Romero) Pingúino (Burguess Meredith) Enigma (Frank Gossin) y Catwoman (Lee Meriwether, sustituyendo a Julie Newmar, la catwoman de la serie, liada con otro proyecto). Batman (Adam West) y Robin (Burt Ward), deberán enfrentarse a tal atajo de viles y viciosos villanos.

El tono Camp de la serie está presente desde el principio, quedando para el recuerdo la escena de Batman corriendo con la bomba, o la del tiburón de cartón piedra que mordía la pierna del héroe.

En aquellos tiempos la imagen que la mayoría del mundo tenía de Batman, era ésta. Un Batman ciertamente tripudo y siempre metido en situaciones inversímiles y estúpidas. En DC Comics, la editorial que publica el personaje se llevaba las manos a la cabeza. Necesitaban devolver a Batman al origen. A las sombras…

Pasan los años y en las oficinas de Warner Bros se empiezan a oír entre susurros rumores sobre un nuevo proyecto con Batman. Tom Mankiewicz, asesor creativo en Superman the movie (Richard Donner 1978) propone un guión, pero no cuaja. Se parece más a James Bond, personaje del que había escrito libretos, que al propio Batman.

Se van sucediendo los rumores, hasta que el anuncio es oficial. Batman vuelve al cine. La gente del comic tiembla ya que durante años han estado dando una imagen oscura al héroe para que ahora lo arruinen con un film tan camp como aquel de Adam West. Pero pueden estar tranquilos. Se elige a Tim Burton como director. En aquella época, Burton tan solo había dirigido dos films y un puñado de cortos, acordes a un estilo que le va a caracterizar durante el resto de su carrera. Burton lo tiene claro. En su mente, ya sabe quién es Batman. Michael Keaton.

Los fans y el propio Bob Kane, creador del héroe ponen el grito en el cielo y empiezan a llover las quejas. Que si el tipo es bajito, que si ¿qué hace un actor de comedia en un proyecto como este? que si….. Pero da igual. Burton no cede. Lo tiene claro. Ya ha trabajado con el actor en Bitelchus, y le gusta cómo interpreta.

Por el camino, Keaton suelta alguna perla que deja al personaje en no muy buen lugar, lo que cabrea más al ejército de fans. Para el papel del villano parece haber más unanimidad. Alguien del estudio propone a Jack Nicholson. Nadie tiene nada que decir al respecto. Es el maldito Nicholson. Todo un puntazo. Hasta Bob Kane asiente al oir la elección. El actor de Chinatown, no lo duda. Acepta a cambio de fines de semana libres. Y así, junto con Kim Basinger, se empieza a rodar BATMAN.

1989 por fin es el año en el que Batman llega a las pantallas grandes. Tras ver el film, ya nadie recuerda a Adam West. El tono oscuro de Burton (presente en toda su obra) el genial Joker a medio camino entre un asesino psicótico y un payaso de feria, el tema musical de un Danny Elfman desatado y Keaton. Keaton calla a todos los fans. Es el mejor referente visual de Batman que existe. Y nadie puede negarlo.

El film revienta las taquillas de todo el mundo. Y da lugar a un fenómeno: La Batmanía. Mires donde mires, el símbolo del murciélago está ahí. En los cereales, en los refrescos, en las hamburgueserías…..

Burton se frota las manos. A pesar de los agujeros del guión y ciertos momentos tensos ha terminado. Lo ha logrado con nota, así que ya puede dedicarse a otros proyectos. Pero volvería a Gotham.

Con Batman por todas partes, y viendo el éxito del film, que Warner Bros quisiera una secuela era algo que estaba cantado. Así que nada, a llamar a Burton otra vez, que venía de dirigir Eduardo Manostijeras.

Para este nuevo film, se cambia todo el diseño de producción. La película no va a ser para nada un calco de BATMAN. Así, para este Batman Returns se crea un enorme set con la plaza principal de Gotham, el cementerio de la ciudad y el zoo. Todo ello cubierto bajo una espesura blanca causada por la nieve. Poco a poco va tomando forma un proyecto que estará llamado a ser el más Burtoniano de la saga.

Los papeles principales están cogidos. Michael Keaton vuelve a ser Batman. Kim Basinger lo deja en favor de Michelle Pfeiffer que va a ser la mejor Catwoman fílmica jamás vista. Por su parte Danny DeVito se une al cast para interpretar al Pingüino, villano de la función junto con Cristopher Walken que interpreta a Max Shreck (un guiño Burtoniano a Nosferatu).

Al ver el principio del film, se ve que todo es distinto. No tiene que ver nada con el Batman anterior. El film es Eduardo Manostijeras pero con Batman de protagonista. Hasta en la banda sonora, otra vez de Elfman, se nota que las garras de Burton han llegado lejos.

Finalmente la película triunfa, pero los resultados no son tan espectaculares como los de su predecesora. No obstante, en Warner están contentos. La secuela tiene luz verde.

Entre medias de lo que todavía se llama Batman 3, aparece Batman animated series, la mejor recreación del personaje en la pantalla pequeña y que durará cuatro temporadas y serviría para que se creara un universo animado en torno a los héroes de DC.

Las cartas están lanzadas. Batman 3 es una realidad. Pero no va a ser lo que se espera de ella. Burton se mantiene como productor, pero no como director, labor que recae en Joel Schumacher. En cuanto al papel principal, Keaton dice que ya no quiere ser Batman; el guión no le gusta, se vuelve sutilmente al Batman de los 60 y eso no va con él. Así que Schumacher le ofrece el papel a Val Kilmer que acepta, para luego dar mil millones de quebraderos de cabeza a todo el mundo en el set.

Se va viendo que la película tiene más colorines que las dos anteriores. Una cosa decisiva al respecto: En este film sale Robin. Chris O´Donell será el chico maravilla.

Todo es distinto, nada es igual. Se rediseña Gotham, con más colores, más pulp todo. Se cambia el precioso Batmovil que diseñara Anton Furst para BATMAN y se ridiculiza a los villanos hasta puntos insultantes. Dos Caras, interpretado por Tommy Lee Jones, es un estúpido, un calco del Joker, solo que con media cara desfigurada. El otro villano de la cinta, porque en esta película todo pretende ir a lo grande, es Enigma, al que da vida Jim Carrey. Probablemente Carrey es el único que está algo metido en el papel, pero no lo suficiente. Nicole Kidman hace las veces de chica en apuros con diálogos estúpidos como nunca vistos en el cine… Lo peor de todo, no hay duda, son los dichosos pezones. El Bat-traje tiene pezones!!!!! Sin duda un film para olvidar.

El film, estrenado como Batman Forever,  recauda lo suficiente para que Warner siga frotándose las manos. Quieren Batman 4. Lo peor está por llegar.

Schumacher hizo suya la franquicia de Batman. Pero lo hizo para mal. Si ya en este Forever, Gotham se teñía de colorines lo que está por venir, es el ridículo a la enésima potencia…

(Continuará…)

Title:
My Cousin Vinny (PG-13)
Written by:
Dale Launer
Directed by:
Jonathan Lynn
Starring:
Joe Pesci as Vinny
Marissa Tomei as Mona Lisa
Fred Gwynne as Judge Chamberlain
Ralph Macchio as Billy
Mitchell Whitfield as Stan
Austin Pendleton John Gibbons
Lane Smith as Jim Trotter III
Bruce McGill as Sheriff Dean

By Scott Knopf from He Shot Cyrus

Pre-screening memories: Take one part Family-Friendly Home Invader, one part Rookie Martial Artist, and one part George Costanza Fantasy Object and you’ve got the formula for a movie Young Scott would have drooled over. And did. No distinct “initial Cousin Vinny screening” memories to speak of but I have plenty of memories of the film since then. My favorite Vinny memory is when I talked My Conservative Mother into watching this R-rated film with me with promises that probably sounded like “There’s nothing bad in it, maybe a little language.” My Conservative Mother enjoyed the movie then but denies it now.

Pesci and Tomei’s characters are incredibly unforgettable. The thick accents, Years after having seen it last, the most memorable scenes are undoubtedly the most mundane. Discussions on regional mud or how to properly prepare grits not only make for humorous dialogue but each play a pivotal role in the court case at the center of the film. Macchio, on the other hand, plays a not-so-memorable character whose friend and co-defendant is even more so. But they all serve their purpose and at the end of the day, you’ve got a movie that Scott, young and old, drools over.

New memories: The writing is so tight! Every little scene you think is unimportant or menial turns out to be a part of this gigantic puzzle. Vinny is right up there with that episode of “Law & Order” where those people stumble upon a dead body at the beginning. Herman Munster (his human name escapes me) is fantastic as the Southern judge with a distaste for shenanigans.

And of course, this movie is famous for the Oscar award that followed. The Academy and I haven’t always seen eye-to-eye (Diane Lane in Unfaithful. Anyone? Anyone?) and with all the trash talk aimed towards them over Tomei’s win, I figured that the list of her competitors would be shocking and undeniably more deserving of statues. That’s what I figured until I read this list:

• Miranda Richardson – Damage
• Joan Plowright – Enchanted April
• Vanessa Redgrave – Howard’s End
• Judy Davis – Husbands and Wives

First, I have no idea who Miranda Richardson is.

Second, never heard of Damage either

C. Joan Plowright was great as Mrs. Wilson in the Dennis the Menace movie.

D. What’s Enchanted April?

Fifth, I won’t way anything bad about Vanessa Redgrave but Howard’s End is a 140-minute period piece romance taking place at the turn of the century. Which century, you ask? Not the twenty-first, I can tell you that.

E. Judy Davis? For Husbands and Wives? Thanks for trying, maybe next never.

So, these were the women who everyone thought should beat Marissa Tomei? The early 90s were an odd time for us all but this is just silly.

Download Natsukashi’s ‘My Cousin Vinny’ podcast right here

or make your case right on the site bu listening below:

Our featured guest: Director Jonathan Lynn

We once again welcome Jonathan Lynn, who actually knows a thing or two about law, having earned his degree years prior to his involvement in entertainment. Here, he chats about the casting process of Vinny, the prospective of an Englishman directing culture clashes between the States’ North and South, who was originally supposed to play Vinny, and the various rumors that have surrounded the film.

Find out about Vinny’s legacy as well as Lynn’s favorite scene in this particular podcast, and we are thankful to Mr. Lynn for hanging with us once again.

***THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS***

After last week’s abysmal episode, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is back in top form with “The D.E.N.N.I.S. System.”

In this episode, Dennis explains to the gang his method for female seduction, a method called “D.E.N.N.I.S.”  The system, although hilarious, is something douchebags would use; we all know that Dennis is a douchebag, so it is quite fitting. After learning about D.E.N.N.I.S, each character tries to replicate the system, with great comedic results.

I found myself laughing the most in this episode, moreso than “The Waitress is Getting Married,” an episode I raved about. As said above, the D.E.N.N.I.S. method of seduction is devilishly funny. The characters make the method even more humorous because their attempts to use it are desperate; Sweet Dee tries to use it against her soldier boyfriend from “The Gang Wrestles for the Troops,” and Charlie attempts to use it on the Waitress.

Speaking of the characters, they are all in top form, though this time Dennis stands out amongst them all. I have been waiting for an episode where Dennis trumps everyone else and this is it. Frank is quite awesome here as well. He starts out in the background but comes into focus as the episode progresses. Charlie is once again underutilized, and it is sad because I really miss him; he could have been given so much more to do in the episode. Mac and Deandra are both equally mediocre; I do not think Kaitlin Olson will be a standout again this season.

“The D.E.N.N.I.S. System” marks the sixth episode in the season that I like, making this an average season. This is currently not good enough for me to want to purchase the season when it comes out on DVD, but if the next two episodes are great, I may end up doing just that.

It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia

Distributia:

Gen: Comedie

despre …

Un umor de calitate, consistent, nu tras de par ca in alte seriale, cu patru personaje carismatice si inteligente  care incearca sa tina un bar in Philadelphia prin orice mijloace.

In vârstă de 64 de ani Danny DeVito, a părut foarte încântat de ideea scenariştilor de a apărea complet gol. După filmarea scenei, actorul a declarat: “Le-am spus de la bun început că nu am limite. Dacă facem un show care are acest gen de nebunie, atunci vreau să trec peste toate limitele”. Amuzat, acesta a povestit momentul în care a rămas fără haine: “Stăteau toţi acolo, aşa cum nu i-am mai văzut niciodată şi eu umblam ca şi cum aş fi fost un porc uns cu grăsime. Prima dublă a fost puţin ciudată”.

Its.Always.Sunny.In.Philadelphia-A.Very.Sunny.Christmas.2009-TA.torrent Download

Size: 430.88 MB

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – Seasons 1-4 Download

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WORD

jive [jahyv] n. 1. swing music or early jazz 2. the jargon associated with swing music and early jazz 3. Slang. deceptive, exaggerated, or meaningless talk: Don’t give me any of that jive! ∞ v. 4. to play jive 5. to dance to jive; jitterbug 6. Slang. to engage in kidding, teasing, or exaggeration 7. Slang. to tease; fool; kid: Stop jiving me! ∞ adj. 8. Slang. insincere, pretentious, or deceptive

BIRTHDAY

Frank Calder (1877), Soichiro Honda (1906), Gordon Lightfoot (1938), Martin Scorsese (1942), Lauren Hutton (1943), Danny DeVito (1944), Lorne Michaels (1944), Gene Clark (1944), Stephen Root (1951), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (1958), Jeff Buckley (1966), Sophie Marceau (1966), Daisy Fuentes (1966), Kimya Dawson (1972)

STANDPOINT

Short and sweet today. I’m really quite annoyed with the all the goddamn Christmas ads, sales, etc. that are all ready all over the place.

Despite my misanthropic tendencies, I’m really kind of a softie in some ways. I like the holidays. I do.

But this time of year has been kind of tainted, for me, by all the commercialism. Even those of you out there who possess the unending optimism I enjoy frowning upon know this to be true.

For lack of a better, more definitive sentiment: BAH! HUMBUG!

QUOTATION

There are about five things to write songs about: I’m leaving you. You’re leaving me. I want you. You don’t want me. I believe in something. Five subjects, and twelve notes. For all that, we musicians do pretty well. → Elvis Costello

TUNE

I know. I’m beating this HTC commercial thing into the ground. I just like it. Really like it. More than I like most people. For those of you wondering what song is actually playing, it’s a remix of “Sinnerman” by Nina Simone. One of the comments on YouTube simply reads, “Futureproof.” Sums it up.

GALLIMAUFRY

→ Oprah Winfrey and Sarah Palin were on the same stage and no one thought to do the proper thing and plant explosives. Christ, people, do I have to think of everything?

→ In what’s becoming sadly commonplace, another celebrity has died young. Ken Ober, the host of the late-80s MTV game show “Remote Control,” passed away yesterday at the age of 52. As of yet, no one’s sure how.

→ All right, on a personal note, here’s a picture of my favorite piece of art – “Woman with a Water Jug” by Johannes Vermeer. It’s only 18 in. by 16 in. The detail is amazing. Best part is that the painting currently resides in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Sunny crew has given us a straight-to-video special episode titled “A Very Sunny Christmas,” and what a Sunny Christmas it is.

I love the Christmas holiday, but I love Christmas-themed films and television episodes more because many get you into the holiday spirit, even if you are feeling blue. Well, you can add “A Very Sunny Christmas” to the list of those that do.

The premise of the episode is as follows: Dennis and Dee are sick of Frank being Scrooge-like to them every Christmas, moreso during their childhood, so they set out to try and change him, while Mac and Charlie try to capture the holiday spirit.

When I say that “A Very Sunny Christmas” brings the funny, I absolutely mean it. The entire episode is packed with humor; the opening scene alone should be enough to keep you interested, unlike some of season five’s wretched episodes. During the episode we learn about the characters’ Christmas pasts and how it affects them now and it is hilarious to watch. There is even a parody of A Christmas Carol. What makes the humor work is that the gags do not seem forced. The writers stepped up their game for this special and it really shows.

The entire cast produces laughs, but it is Frank and Charlie who come out on top. Frank is hysterical and he has a shocking scene that most certainly would not make it on television. The same goes for Charlie as well; his best scene in the episode would not get past network executives. David Huddleston, of The Big Lebowski fame, guest stars as Frank’s ex-business partner, who has seen the error of his ways. He is tasked to help Sweet Dee and Dennis. Mac’s mother and father make a small appearance and so does Charlie’s mom.

“A Very Sunny Christmas” is a step above all of season five’s current episodes. It is a sight to behold, a joy to watch, and it should put you in the Christmas spirit, even though it is only mid November. Remember, if you saw Santa Clause coming into your house when you were a child, he may not be there to cheer your mother up.

American actor Danny DeVito will appear nude in the Christmas episode of his show, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”.

The 64-year-old Danny seemed very excited about the writers idea to appear completely naked. After filming the scene, the actor said: “I said it from the outset that I have no limits. If we do a show that has this kind of madness, then I want to go over all limits”.

Amused, he told about the moment when he remained without clothes:

“I thought it was really great and I was gung-ho about it and then you realize that you’re doing in front of two hundred background atmosphere extras. And you don’t know them and walk out greased and you know, slipping and sliding with your butt out and everything.”

So much has been said about the girls over the years. But we have never found an answer. It didn’t matter in the end how old they had been, or that they were girls… but only that we had loved them… and that they hadn’t heard us calling… still do not hear us calling them from out of those rooms… where they went to be alone for all time… and where we will never find the pieces to put them back together.

– Narrator

Sofia Coppola’s feature film debut The Virgin Suicides has flew under my radar for years. With the subtle title like this, you know there will be multiple characters that will commit suicide. The review will have spoilers to explain the entire story. At the end of story, what was the message of the movie?

Based on the novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, the action takes place in the summer of 1974 where the hypercritical, ultra-conservative Catholic parents Mr. and Mrs. Libson, (James Woods, Kathleen Turner) have been overly protective on their five daughters; Cecilia, Lux, Bonnie, Mary and Therese (Hanna Hall, Kirsten Dunst, Chelse Swain, A.J. Cook, Leslie Hayman).

Giovanni Ribisi narrates the movie after the fact. He tries to piece together the events that lead to the titular suicides of that particular summer.

The youngest daughter, Cecilia is found in the bathtub with her wrists slit. Found beside her is a tarot card of The Virgin Mary with the movie number inscribed on it, “555-MARY.” The neighborhood is gossiping about why she did it. The family is sent into a tailspin. Cecilia is sent to therapist, Dr. Horniker (Danny DeVito) to figure out what is wrong with her.

The doctor concludes that her suicide attempt was a cry out for help. He suggests having a social gathering outside of school. The parents relent to have a small party in the basement of the house. The party in her honor, but Cecilia is still not having fun and wants to be excused. Few moments later, Cecilia finally kills herself by impaling herself on the iron fence in the front yard.

The parents think that overprotect the girls from the world would help them be safe, but their actions are driving them away. Lux is the rebellious girl out of the group. She wants to be like the typical teenager, but she can’t. The popular guy at school, Trip Fountaine (Josh Hartnett) wants to be with her. She plays coy.

Until one day at the prom, they hook up. The parental units put the girls under makeshift house arrest. With nothing to do, the girls were left with no other choice.

Not being aware of this plot of the movie, except for the title, I thought that there would be a pact between the kids to commit suicide. That didn’t exactly happen. The aesthetic on the movie was reminiscent of the seventies with the golden yellow hues filling the frame. I appreciated that. What’s up with the extreme close-ups of Kirsten’s Dunst’s face? Was there supposed to be a correlation between the diseased trees getting cut down in the neighborhood and the suicides? Subtle. I have one final question. When Lux and Trip hooked up, did they have sex? ‘Cause the title wouldn’t apply to her.

Judgment: An interesting take on teenage angst, but it leaves you confused.

Rating: **1/2

It was too good to be true. After four consecutive excellent episodes, season five of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has given us yet another horrible episode.

The synopsis for “Mac and Dennis Break Up” can be deduced by simply following the episode’s title to its logical conclusion: Mac and Dennis are spending too much time together and they decide to take a break. The problem is that this type of plot line is a cliché.

The episode could have been funny, but it failed spectacularly. Mac and Dennis’s interactions are not humorous and it was distressing trying to sit through the episode. Even Dee’s potentially great subplot, which consisted of her adopting a cat, kept me bored and offered no redeeming values. Mac and Dennis’s time apart was equally unfunny and boring. Frank and Charlie, who are usually great together, are simply not with it in this episode. The things they do that are supposed to be funny are not. I became uncomfortable watching their attempts at humor.

The performances from the entire cast do not save the episode; they look uninspired. I think the problem lies with the material they were given. Scott Marder and Rob Rosell, the episode’s writers, did a fantastic job with “The Gang Wrestles for the Troops” and it is a let down that they wrote this abomination.

To sum up the episode in five words, I came up with the following: This episode is complete crap.

Best Lines in the Episode
There are none.

Everyone has their roles on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.  Sweet Dee is the lonely spinster (now a creepy cat lady), Charlie and Frank are the “Gruesome Twosome,” Mac and Dennis are platonic married couple.  Last night we saw what happens if you try to change any of those relationships.

Dennis and Mac show up at Dee’s apartment in search of a big bowl for the movie night popcorn.  While they are there Dee brings their relationship into question.  She points out that they are always together, and when they aren’t they have a constant need to know what the other is doing and where that other one is.  Of course they dismiss Dee, because she bought and cat (thus the crazy cat lady) and she looks like a bird.

Back at Dennis and Mac’s place Mac is freaking out when Dennis walks in with their movie for movie night.  Mac has called and texted Dennis multiple times and Dennis never responded.  Dennis explains he was in a conversation with the video store clerk and didn’t answer.  He also tells Mac that he didn’t get Predator as was planned for their movie night but instead took the video store clerk’s recommendation of watching The Transporter 2.  Mac is getting jealous and the two break up.

Mac heads over to Frank and Charlies place where he finds the two sitting on the couch.  Charlie is eating Cheetos, and Frank is cutting his toenails with a steak-knife.  Mac is disgusted and starts to pick up around their apartment.  Dennis meanwhile is over at Dee’s hoping to watch the movie with her.  She’s not all that interested because her can is stuck inside her wall, so Dennis calls Charlie over to watch the movie.

When Charlie arrives, still eating Cheetos he don’t want to watch the movie either instead becoming engrossed with Dee’s cat problem.  his solution is to place another cat inside the wall with a string tied around it, hoping to engross the first cat enough it will follow the second cat out when the string is pulled.  Of course the string doesn’t stay tied and now there are two cats.  Dee leaves to go get a bird to draw the cats out, leaving Charlie with the problem and Dennis with no one to watch the movie with.

Back over with Mac and Frank, Frank is getting a little fed up with Mac as well.  Mac tries to convince Frank that they could fit another bed inside their huge closet and it’s not necessary from Frank and Charlie to share a bed.  Frank doesn’t like this one bit, he likes his current sleeping arrangement and he bails on Mac as well.

Dee decides to go out and get Mac and Dennis back together and to get a bird.  She sets up the pair by telling them that they were going to meet a huge breasted woman for dinner.  Mac and Dennis make up.  When Dee returns with the bird her apartment is full of cats, and the hole is much bigger.  After she loses the bird in the wall she makes the whole Charlie created bigger and goes in herself to get the cat.  Of course she gets stuck and Frank and Charlie leave her inside the wall.

Thoughts and Observations:

• Another solid episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and second week in a row there was an appearance or mention of “huge breasted women.”  I guess we knows what drives Mac and Dennis, or all men really.
• Cats follow Charlie around, and Frank eats cat food.  Interesting.
• Was that the same restaurant that Charlie ordered the milk steak in?
• Mac has convinced everyone that apple peals contain toxins and the only way to save yourself after ingesting apple seeds is to smoke a pack of cigarettes, since the smoke suppresses the bacteria.
• Frank cuts his toe open with his toe-knife and needs trash to stop the bleeding.  When Mac suggests using a suck, Charlie things it a waste of a perfectly good sock.
• I loved Frank and Charlies little pelvis trusting dance every time they called themselves the “Gruesome Twosome.”

I am so excited. Here is a really fun experiment. I was going through some very, VERY old drawings and I came up with a neat idea. I decided to take a drawing of character I did as a kid and draw it again now. This way I can demonstrate to all of you naysayers that I have indeed matured into a well rounded adult; or, in fact,  further demonstrate my infantile nature. So without further adieu, I picked these really sweet drawings that I did of Danny DeVito as the Penguin, from Batman Returns. Keep in mind, I drew these both when I was in 1oth grade, nearly, GULP, 18 years ago.

PRETTY SWEET, HUH. Yeah, you couldn’t have done these. These took TALENT, HAHAHA. Yeah, they’re mediocre. Like I said, I was 16. Cut me a little slack.

Well, that was then; and this is now. As you can see, like most of my illustrations now, I have thrown realism right out the window and went for something a little more decorative. So I guess in a way, I approach my artwork from a much more silly, less serious point of view now. Does that mean I have become more mature in the last 18 years. I’ll let you be the judge. Anyway, I will probably do this experiment again. It was a hoot.

Another week, another wonderful episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.  Season five of It’s Always Sunny has been consistently great.  I’d argue that it’s one of the most consistent shows on TV.  Week in and week out you can count on Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton, Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olson, and of course Danny DeVito to produce 30-minutes of TV worth watching.

From the cold opening alone, with Charlie’s video for Kitten Mittens I knew that I was going to spend the entire episode laughing.  Charlie hears about a merchandising convention coming to town and he wants to Market his kitten mittens to sell at the bar.  The rest of the gang gets in on the idea and starts thinking of ways to market Paddy’s Pub.  Sweet Dee is excited because in her contract she get’s all of the proceeds from any Paddy’s marketing.  The problem is that Mack eats her contract.  Dee and Charlie decide to go see their lawyer friend, Dee so she can find out if her contract is still valid and Charlie so he can put a patent in Kitten Mittens.

Dennis comes up with the Paddy’s Thing, for men; Mack comes up with the Dick Towel (you can actually check it out and watch an awesome video over at DickTowel.com); and Frank comes up with an idea of a gun that shoot booze in your face, oh and it has something to do with a busty model.  Dennis and Mack decide to steal Frank’s idea, or tweak it as they see it.  They use a shotgun instead of a revolver.  When they can’t figure out how to make the alcohol come out of the gun they decide to leave it up to the “brainiacs in China.”

After being rebuffed by the lawyer, Dee and Charlie decide to stake him out.  Not being the smartest, they hide in his car when he is outside a seedy motel.  They assume he is “banging his secretary,” but in reality he is getting a divorce and has been kicked out of his house.

Realizing they can’t pay him, Dee and Charlie bring a hooker to the lawyer’s office, to help him get over his wife, as a form of compensation.  Mack and Dennis show up to get a patent on Frank’s gun idea and on the outrageously large breasted woman they are with.  Frank shows up with his large breasted woman and has figured out a way to get the booze to shoot out of the gun by adding the booze to the bullet.  Eventually the lawyer agrees to help them all if they promise never to bother him again.

At the merchandising convention Dennis and Mack show their horrible video for the Dick Towel, The Gun Shot, a nudie pen featuring Dennis’ shirt coming off, and Egg.  It doesn’t go well and no one is interested.  Charlie on the other hand does sell his Kitten Mittens, but when the lawyer walks in he rains on their parade by telling him that the contracts he drew up and had them sign gives him ownership of all their ideas and even puts a restraining order on the gang.  Mack grabs the contact and eats it the same way he did Dee’s contract.  The moment when the lawyer tells him that he made hundreds of copies of it and Mack spits the piece of paper out was priceless.

Thoughts and Observations:

• FX is pretty smart with their merchandising.  You really can buy the Dick Towel.
• I love that Frank keeps on pushing his idea for an egg to sell at the bar.  You can put it on your dashboard or your desktop.
• The Kitten Mittens video really was awesome.  After the episode was over I rewound the whole thing just so I could watch it again.
• In order to get into the lawyers office first Dee and Charlie lock his secretary in a closet, and the second time they duck tape her to a sink.
• Who owns the bar?  I’m trying to remember back to the first season.  Do Charlie, Mack and Dennis own it with Frank?

Favorite Lines:

• “I’ll just regress, because I feel I’ve made myself perfectly redundant.”- Charlie trying to be a lawyer
• “You’re very busty, your breasts are very large, but we wanna go weird with it, we wanna get really freakish.”- Dennis to Frank’s model
• “Think there’s no answer? YOU’RE SO STUPID!”- Charlie in his video.
• “Egg”

The latest episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has the gang looking to create marketable merchandise for use in their pub. Dee ends up joining forces with Charlie to market his idea while Mac and Dennis work together, and Frank has help from some ladies.

Episode eight of the season continues the current trend of great to outstanding succeeding episodes. The merchandise the gang tries to market is great; but the funny thing is that I am sure items like them already exist even though they are ridiculous as hell. The point of the episode is exactly that: one can come up with stupid crap and people will still buy it.

The cast is in top form and for once Dennis is actually humorous. I am still on the fence about Charlie. As stated in one of my previous Sunny reviews, Charlie’s boisterous behavior has disappeared. He still provides great comedic entertainment, but it is not the same Charlie. I do not like nor understand this change. Mac, Dee, and Frank are their usual selves. It is great that Frank is not as ridiculous as he was in earlier episodes.

There are only four more episodes left in the season, but we will have a direct-to-video special titled A Very Sunny Christmas. It will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on November 17, 2009. I’m looking forward to it, and so should you.

Best Line in the Episode
Mac: That’s a big monster dick; that’s the biggest dick you’ve ever seen.

I gemelli è un film del 1988 diretto dal regista Ivan Reitman con Arnold Schwarzenegger e Danny DeVito.

Leggi altre notizie su: | Commedia | Ivan Reitman | Arnold Schwarzenegger | Danny DeVito | Kelly Preston

When in Rome è un film di Mark Steven Johnson del 2010

Leggi altre notizie su: | Commedia | Romantico | Mark Steven Johnson | Kristen Bell | Josh Duhamel | Danny DeVito

Iedere liefhebber van het fantastische werk van Tim Burton moet ‘m straks in huis hebben: de ‘Burtonbijbel’. Voor het eerst wordt al het artwork dat Burton heeft gemaakt (privé en voor al zijn projecten) gebundeld in een 430 pagina’s tellend boek.

Liefhebbers opgelet: de Burtonbijbel gaat verschijnen! (c) Tim Burton.

The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy
Meer dan duizend illustraties laten de sprookjesachtige wereld van de schepper van Jack Skellington, Frankenweenie en Edward Scissorhands zien. In het boek tref je artwork aan van onder meer de volgende films en projecten: Alice in Wonderland (2010), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory en Corpse Bride (allebei 2005), Big Fish (2003), Planet of the Apes (2001), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Mars Attacks! (1996), Ed Wood (1994), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Batman Returns (1992), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Family Dog (1987), Batman (1989), Beetlejuice (1988), Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985), Frankenweenie (1984), Vincent (1982) en Hansel & Gretel (1982). De Burtonbijbel bevat ook nog ander tekenwerk. Zo wordt er werk getoond uit het eerder verschenen boek The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories (1997). Ook is er plek voor grafisch webwerk (The World of Stainboy).

Ook deze 'gedrochtjes' staan in de Burtonbijbel. (c) Tim Burton.

‘Beroepsdracula’
Het boek bevat tekstbijdragen van ‘mevrouw Burton’ Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp, Danny DeVito, huiscomponist Danny Elfman, ‘beroepsdracula’ Christopher Lee en Winona Ryder. Wanneer het boek gaat verschijnen en wat het gaat kosten, is nog niet bekend. Wel zeker is dat de Burtonbijbel deze herfst het levenslicht gaat zien. Wie meer wil weten en wie nu al een exemplaar wil reserveren, moet de supergeweldige website van Tim Burton maar checken!

Last night, I watched the HBO Documentary Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags.  (Schmatta is a Yiddish word for rag).  It was about the garment district in New York City.  It told the story of the vibrant role played by the garment industry in New York City for so much of the last century, and included the good, the tough, the unbelievably ugly.  (Read a review here).

For example, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911 killed 148 of the sweatshop workers, many of whom jumped to their death because the exit doors were locked to keep the workers in,and thus spurred the growth of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union. I think I might have joined a union for better working conditions after that.

Sadly, that tragedy was practically duplicated in Bangladesh in 2000, where young girls were working in sweatshop conditions, and were also looked in, and died in a fire.  (Death toll – 48).  And, yes, they were making clothing for consumers in the United States.

But the documentary was primarily about the loss of jobs in the garment district.  Here are the astonishing statistics:

In 1965, 95% of the clothing Americans wore was made in this country.
In 1975, it went down to 80%.
It was just 70%, in 1985,
50% in 1995,
and currently only 5% of our clothing is manufactured in this country.

And the documentary clearly argues that the loss of jobs in the garment industry is the “canary in the coal mine,” representing the loss of so many other manufacturing jobs in this country.

I, and many others, have wondered, just what jobs will be available in this country,  especially for the non-college-educated among us.  (Of which there are so very many).

The documentary reminded me of the premise in the 1991 movie Other People’s Money.  Andrew Jorgenson (Gregory Peck) gives a speech in a losing effort to save his company.  Here’s an excerpt:

God save us if we vote to take his paltry few dollars and run. God save this country if that is truly the wave of the future. We will then have become a nation that makes nothing but hamburgers, creates nothing but lawyers, and sells nothing but tax shelters. And if we are at that point in this country, where we kill something because at the moment it’s worth more dead than alive — well, take a look around. Look at your neighbor. Look at your neighbor. You won’t kill him, will you? No. It’s called murder and it’s illegal.
Well, this too is murder — on a mass scale. Only on Wall Street, they call it “maximizing share-holder value” and they call it “legal.” And they substitute dollar bills where a conscience should be. Dammit! A business is worth more than the price of its stock. It’s the place where we earn our living, where we meet our friends, dream our dreams. It is, in every sense, the very fabric that binds our society together.

You can hear and read his speech here at the wonderful American Rhetoric site, and you can watch the “winning” speech delivered by Lawrence Garfield (Danny Devito) here.

I’ve watched that movie, paid careful attention to those speeches, and have to admit – I would vote to close the company.  But in doing so, would I participate in the destruction of American industry, and would thus be a participant in a long, long painful reality of unintended consequences?  That is the question raised not just in the fictional company of Other People’s Money, but in the very real world of actual workers  in the garment district.

I think this is a really, really big question in and for this country.  I encourage you to find a way to watch the documentary Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags.  It will make you think.  Will it help us act – and, how do we so act?

Here’s a brief clip:

After a rough start, season five of Sunny keeps getting better and better. “The Gang Wrestles for the Troops” is top-notch.

The episode’s title tells us what it is about: the gang wrestles for the troops. Dee has been chatting online with a soldier in Iraq and she decides to meet up with him when his platoon returns to the states. Mac, Dennis, Charlie, and Frank decide to salute the platoon by holding a wrestling event. As is tradition with this show, things do not go according to plan.

I was a wrestling fan back during the Attitude Era in the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), when Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, and Chris Jericho were in their prime. You can imagine my surprise when finding out what the episode is about after watching the opening scene. The episode really touches on how ridiculous professional wrestling is and how some people think it is real and some know it is not. The episode also makes it apparent that a lot of wrestling fans yearn for blood and not much else.

Artemis and Rickety Cricket return for this episode and two guest stars make an appearance, one in particular who portrays the wrestler Da Maniac, who Mac, Dennis, Charlie, and Frank hire. Artemis and Cricket are great as always but the real surprise comes from Da Maniac. One can argue that his performance and role in the episode is to parody Randy “The Ram” Robinson from the unfortunately subpar Darren Aronofsky film The Wrestler.

The main cast is great but Frank stands out the most between the five, I think. The wrestler persona he creates is priceless. Mac, Dennis, and Charlie create personas as well, but it is a bit too ridiculous, even though one of their scenes is quite hilarious.

Episodes like the past three make It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia worth watching.

Best Line in the Episode
Frank: I knew this shit wasn’t fake.

… of the not smoking project is underway.

I figure that if I have a good head of steam for the no smoking thing happening, then by my b-day (late Nov.) I’ll be A-OK.

Good thing is that I don’t want to, and I’m feeling a little hardheaded about it.

We’ll see how that goes.

On a side note, it appears that one of my best buddies has found him a little honey to love up on. Good news there.

And, as for me, since this is my blog, I plan to have some other good news to share in the not-so-far-off future.

So, yay.

And Heh heh heh.

Today is St. Crispin’s Day.

Although I’m not sure what St. Crispin’s Day is all about, William Shakespeare made sure it would be never forgotten in Henry V.

This clip is from the movie Renaissance Man.

With the sixth episode having aired we have seen something new this season: two episodes aired back-to-back that are great.

“The World Series Defense” sees the gang having their day in traffic court over a ticket Dennis received the previous year during the 2008 World Series. Why is the entire gang present? Well, they are there to corroborate Dennis’s story; and what a story it is. The premise for the episode is that while the gang was trying to get into the Phillies’ game, Dennis received parking tickets totaling $1,300. The story is told in a similar fashion to season four’s episode “The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell,” i.e. flashbacks, and it is just as funny.

Extreme Frank is spot on in the episode. The writers did not make him over-the-top like they did in episode four of the season; his hair is not as disheveled, he is not overdrinking, etc. Charlie once again assumes the role of a lawyer, like in the first episode, and he still thinks he knows what he is doing. It is fun to watch his imitation. Green Man makes another appearance and it is so much better than the on in season four’s “America’s Next Top Paddy’s Billboard Model Contest.” Mac is in top form. As usual he continues to lie about his own abilities, even when called on it. We learn that he has a man-crush on a baseball player and has been trying to get a hilarious letter he scribed to the player. Dee is a bit underused in the episode, which is a downer after last week’s episode, but she delivers her lines with comedic touch. Dennis is, well, Dennis. He is arguably the weakest link in the episode; there is not much humor in his role. He has shined in the past but not here.

We have another solid episode of It’s Always Sunny. Let us hope that next week’s episode makes it three episodes aired back-to-back that are excellent.

Best Lines in the Episode
Frank: Oh… oh… balls!
Charlie: Ladies and gentlemen of the court! These were dire times and dire actions were needed to get those tickets.
Dee: Oh, shit. There’s stickers.

The showdown between a nurse and a patient. Let the games begin.

Implacable rabble-rouser Randle Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) is committed to an asylum and inspires his fellow patients to rebel against the authoritarian rule of head nurse Mildred Ratched (Louise Fletcher).

The film has one of the greatest feuds between 2 characters I have ever seen on film. A nurse and a patient doesn’t seem so heavy you say, but after you see this then you will question no more. Nurse Ratched is all about order and discipline. Randle on the other hand represents everything anti-establishment, who is in the nut house pretending to be crazy to escape being in incarcerated.Both feud and show dislike towards one another and its surely something great to see.

The film has a great sense of the human qualities to it. Randle treats these patients as if they are normal old human beings and not some drugged out nut cases that have to follow a same routine everyday. This makes you think and makes you feel about life in a great and wonderful way of who you really are.

There are scenes that are just simply unforgettable much of due to the charisma of the stars portraying these characters. They all seem so real in a creepy kinda weird way. Jack Nicholson gives an amazing performance that is too great to be true and brings all of the energy to the film. Having Louise Flecther playing the quiet but very strict nurse is totally effective as she is a lady that doesn’t talk too loudly and wants everything done her way but when that flip switches, oh god it sure as heck switches. The rest of the cast do very exceptional jobs as many will see great debut films for such stars as: Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, and Brad Dourif.

The mixes with comedy and drama throughout but ultimately is the most effective tragedy of all-time. The on-going feud between Nurse Ratched and Randle are simply one of the greatest feuds on screen of all-time and set the grounds for many more effective feuds in cinema history.

There is nothing bad I can say about this film other than it truly is a wonderful American Classic. All should see if you want a film that will make you laugh, cry, think, and overall be happy about your own life, and not many films nowadays do that.

10/10=Full Price!!!