Smoking Pipes. “Pure Imagination”. A young boy stuck in his mind.

I will use lines of the song as chapter titles and the chapter will center around the message in the title.

I will give full credit of the song to Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley at the end.

This is a little reminiscent of my dad’s screenplay “World Next Door” by how the character is influenced by his mind but I am not taking from my father. I was listening to “Pure Imagination” one day and a story came to me. I am not going into more detail mainly because I have not got it fully fleshed out yet but also because I do not want my story stolen. ^_^

A few months ago I had the idea of a story where the main character is in a mental hospital but does not know. The whole story seems like a normal life and at the end, we see that he is actually in this hospital… I might take that idea and mix it with this one but I will let you know.

THE SONG:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pure_Imagination

Oh, well, then you know all about it and what a terrible country it is. Nothing but desolate wastes and fierce beasts. And the poor little Oompa Loompas were so small and helpless, they would get gobbled up right and left. A Wangdoodle would eat ten of them for breakfast and think nothing of it. And so, I said, “Come and live with me in peace and safety, away from all the Wangdoodles, and Hornswogglers, and Snozzwangers, and rotten, Vermicious Knids.”

Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder) in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory on IMDB

I’m in the mood for a movie that touches my heart center.  The holiday season is almost here, and I need a jump start to help me balance the bad stuff in the news.  One of the reasons (one of about a million) that I love films is that a good one can reach us and resonate with all that is good and pure.  Here is one you may have seen years ago and forgot about it.  Or, if you haven’t seen it, you’ll smile for the rest of the day..or week. 

THE LITTLE PRINCE (1974)  is a musical adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s book.  A wandering chld from Asteroid-B612 and a pilot stranded in the Sahara Desert share encounters that remind us that life is indeed fun and enchanting and filled with discoveries.  Lerner and Lowe provide the musical score.  Gene Wilder’s interpretation of the fox is amazing, and Bob Fosse’s dance as the Snake is a signature performance.  Give yourself a little present and see this film.

The pairing?  Get the book.  If you took French in high school or college, you may have read the book in its original French.  If not , then be sure to get the Katherine Woods translation of this little gem.  I believe that you will underline quotations in the book or copy them on stickies and post them near your computer or on your bathroom mirror.  

I really hope I made your day a happy one.

Gilda. Love. Patron saint. Heroine. Gar. I can’t talk about it. If the name only faintly rings a bell for you, she is the late great funny lady who was the queen of comedy in the early years of SNL. She was the first Not Quite Ready For Primetime player officially cast on the show. Noteworthy character creations that have had lasting cultural impact were Roseanne Rosannadanna and Emily Litella.

Roseanne Rosannadanna

Emily “Nevermind” Litella

This Music Moment comes from her 1979 special “Gilda Live!”. a one-woman Broadway musical and comedy revue. Song starts around :35, because it was the opening number and she gets such a huge standing o that she can’t even calm people down enough to be heard until then.

A rooster says, “Good morning”
With a, “Cock-a-doodle-doo” – “Good morning!”
A horse’s neigh is just his way
Of saying, “How are you?”
A lion growls, “Hello!”
And owls ask “Why?” and “Where?” and “Who?”

May I suggest you get undressed
And show them your wazoo? – Ohhhh,

The animals, the animals,
Let’s talk dirty to the animals.
Fuck you, Mister Bunny.
Eat shit, Mister Bear.
If they don’t love it, they can shove it.
Frankly, I don’t care! – Ohhhhh,

The animals, the animals,
Let’s talk dirty to the animals.
Up yours, Mister Hippo!
Piss off, Mister Fox.
Go tell a chicken, “Suck my dick,” and
Give him chicken pox. – Ohhhhhh,

The animals, the animals,
Let’s talk dirty to the animals
From birds in the treetops
To snakes in the grass – But,
Never tell an alligator, “Bite my…” (No!)
Never tell an alligator, “Bite my…” (Yes!)

Never tell an alligator, “Bite my snatch!”

“I’m not so funny. Gilda was funny. I’m funny on camera sometimes. In life, once in a while. Once in a while. But she was funny.” — Gene Wilder

Official site of Gilda’s Club, a “community meeting place for people living with cancer, their families and friends. There are 22 open clubhouses and nine in development in North America. Gilda’s Club was founded by Joanna Bull, Gilda Radner’s cancer psychotherapist during the time she had cancer; Radner’s husband, Gene Wilder; and broadcaster Joel Siegel. … The organization takes its name from Radner’s comment that cancer gave her ‘membership to an elite club I’d rather not belong to’ ” (the wiki).

You can make financial donations into an earmarked fund so people have a place to stay while their loved ones are getting treated, or you could send blankets and books and toys for kids to play with in the waiting room. Maybe old ipods and stuff, even, actually. Or think about donating time and creativity. Draw a comic book, cross-stitch “I’m sorry your wife is going to be bald for a while” on a tea towel with a sad face; you know, do something Gilda would approve of. Think outside the box!

“It is so hard for us little human beings to accept this deal that we get. It’s really crazy, isn’t it? We get to live, then we have to die. What we put into every moment is all we have.” — Gilda.

Young Frankenstein

Frankenstein

Old Frankenstein

REALLY Old Frankenstein

Då har samlingen växt till sig med ytterligare några filmer, och samtidigt börjar bli lite smånervös för den dagen när jag måste köpa om allt i HD format.

Snatch

Guy Richie´s bättre filmer, en av 2 dvs. Stjärnspäckad actionkomedi med imponerande roll-lista med bla Benicio Del Toro & Brad Pitt. Vi får ju självklart inte glömma bort att Jason Statham & Vinnie Jones är med och förgyller denna guldrulle. Ett självklart givet köp för varje filmälskare, även om den rullat stadigt på TV de senaste 6-7åren. Det spelar ingen roll, för den skall stå i arkivet i alla fall.

Snatch: 8/10

Köp: 49.-

Lock stock, and two smoking barrels

Guy Richie del 2, här är den andra bra Guy Richie filmen, ja den med det långa namnet som jag hädanefter kommer att kalla enbart för Lock Stock. Filmen är hyllad i stort sett världen över och visst är den bra! Inte lika stjärnspäckad såklart som Snatch eftersom detta är filmen som gav honom en karriär i Hollywood, men det hindrar inte oss från att få återse Englands badboys på film igen, dvs Jason Statham & Vinnie Jones. Denna filmen har också en självklar plats i hyllan och står fint brevid Snatch, Layer Cake & Revolver.

Lock Stock: 8/10

Köp: 59.-

Thelma & Louise

Klassisk “Fuck it all” film med 2 damer som säkert har inspirerat en hel generation med hemmafruar att säga ifrån och leva livet istället för att behaga alla andra. Vad vet jag, en bra film är det i alla fall och vem glömmer inte slutscenen?

Både Geena Davis & Susan Sarandon blev Oscars nominerade för bästa kvinnliga huvudroll med denna filmen och jag förstår varför, en riktigt bra film som sagt. Filmen fick förövrigt hela 6st Oscars nomineringar och vann kategorin Bästa Manus för film.

Thelma & Louise: 9/10

Köp: 59.-

Det våras för Sheriffen

…det är vad de flesta kallar den för i alla fall, “Blazing Saddles” som den heter egentligen, är en av de bättre Mel Brooks filmerna om ni frågar mig. Jag har alltid varit ett stort M.B fan så att just denna filmen hamnar i hyllan hos mig är ingen skräll. Gene Wilder var också en tidig favorit hos mig, mycket på grund av just denna film.

Blazing Saddles: 9/10

Högt betyg? Ja kanske, men nu jämför jag med andra komedier från den tidsperioden, dvs när komedier var komedier inte en orgie i kiss och bajshumor. Jag minns än idag hur jag som liten filmnerd såg denna film om och om igen på ett inspelat VHS band från TV. Oavsett vilket, det är en film man bör ha sett i alla fall.

Köp: 59.-

Young Frankenstein
the ring 3
india vs australia live cricket match
allostreaming
CDOT
costume store
benjamin martin
india vs australia 3rd odi live
collegeboard sat scores
texas tech football
1959 – It Was a Very Good Year – Onward!

Well.

It is officially Halloween Eve-Eve-Day. Can ya FEEL IT?!?

Halloween has always held a special place in my heart. I’m not “goth” by any means, but a holiday based around the macabre warms my heart for some reason. I love the supernatural. I love that “other world” that rests just slightly to the left of ours, here, but not here – yet always in danger of letting something loose into our dimension…something different, something Not Quite Right. Shapes and creatures that shift and ripple, always staying just out of focus to to the human eye – because if they ever did come into focus, the mere sight of them would loosen your mind from whatever moorings held it in it’s place, sending it floating away like a boy in a balloon (topical!), while blood poured from your nose and your hair turned to white.

I love scaring people and being scared. I love horror movies. The gorier the better. The gruesomer the better. I don’t know why – maybe I’m morbid. Maybe I’m not. Because I’m not alone in my love for these films. And the more violent and ridiculously over-the-top, the better.

It’s schlock. It’s camp. It’s not real.

And it’s fun. Key-word, there. FUN.

What does Christmas have, after all? Family? Reindeer? Goodwill towards men?

Psssh. Give me Bruce Campbell cutting down hordes of the undead with an arm made out of a chainsaw anyday. Give me corny one-liners from Freddy Krueger as he tears some kid apart with one clawed hand. Pumpkin pie? Give me Pumpkinhead. Freshly fallen snow? I’ll take an extra dose of freshly spilled blood, please. (Created by a special effects team with just the right amount of corn syrup and food dye, of course.)

Let’s revel in madness for a bit…and, just to make sure you can make your way back, let’s throw in some good old fashioned laughs with that good old fashioned terror while we’re at it.

Here’s a rundown of yesterdays bottom six:

10. The Frighteners. (1996)

Michael J. Fox sees ghosts for fun and profit – until things, inevitably, go horribly wrong. Jeffrey Coombs shows up briefly, but memorably, to be awesome.

9. Dead Alive (Brain Dead). (1992)

Peter Jackson gives us a heaping helping of over-the-top, ridiculous, gory camp. And god bless him for it.

8. Beetlejuice. (1988)

Michael Keaton steals the show from Tim Burton, and just about everyone else, in this goofy supernatural comedy.

7. Return of the Living Dead. (1985)

Zombies head off in search of brains – with hilarious results!

6. Re-Animator. (1985)

Jeffrey Coombs is back to raise hell, and the dead, in this Lovecraftian horror. With hilarious results!

5. Shaun of the Dead. (2004)

Two slackers take on the zombie apocalypse in this very funny, very, original, very British film

And now…let’s get bloodier! (But we’ll play if for laughs, so it’s totally okay.)

Four: An American Werewolf in London. (1981)

John Landis, the used-to-be brilliant comedy director of such classics as “The Blues Brothers” and “Animal House”, tackles the horror genre – and brings some laughs with him. Griffin Dunne and David Naughton star as Jack and David, two Americans lost in the English countryside, who disbelieve the frightened townspeoples warnings about full moons and werewolves until it’s to late.

A funny movie, with great performances from the two leads, sure…but the real star here is Rick Baker’s Acadamy Award winning make-up work. David’s initial transformation from uncouth American to uncouth-er werewolf is a treat to behold. Keep in mind, this was before the advent of CGI, and long before that technology was allowed to run amuck – much like the werewolf in this movie. Practical effects are where it’s at, folks, and ths movie is a wonderful showcase for them. And, soon, I’m sure these classic films will be the only place we can still witness those effects.

Three: Evil Dead 2. (1987)

Ash is back, baby. And this time – it’s personal.

Part sequel, part remake, “The Evil Dead 2″ is a genuine cult favorite – and for good reason. It’s bizarre, gory, hyperkinetic, and, perhaps more importantly, slapsticky enough to resemble a Three Stooges film…and all thanks to the genius of writer/director Sam Raimi. His style is original, his ideas, batshit crazy. From Ash’s prolonged battle with his own severed hand, to his eventual prosthetic replacement (a chainsaw), this movie showcases some truly unique sight gags and visual stimuli.

Which is all very well in good. Yeah, it’s original. Yeah, it’s over-the-top funny. Yeah, a chick gets raped by a tree. But we all know there’s more to this movie’s charm than that. Precisely One Thing More.

Bruce Campbell.

If schlock horror B-movies had a chiseled, heavily chinned face – it would be the face of that man. Bruce. Campbell.

The dude is the greatest living embodiment of B-movie horror greatness, and the Evil Dead films were the perfect outlet for him to perfect his cult idol status. And he damn well knows it. And relishes it.

If you haven’t seen any of the Evil Dead films, you are missing out.

Two: Young Frankenstein. (1974)

Gene Wilder might just be the greatest comedic genius of all time. There. I said it. And this movie certainly supports that statement.

Along with co-writing the script with comedy legend Mel Brooks, Wilder stars as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein – who, despite being a member of the dreaded Frankenstein clan, really has no interest in reviving dead tissue, thank you very much.

But when a solicitor arrives with news of his inheritance (his family’s estate), the old Frankenstein spirit resurfaces, and he resumes his families morbid business with zeal – aided by his two new assistants, the lovely Inga (Teri Garr) and the bizarre Igor (Marty Feldman.)

The cast is fantastic. The aforementioned Wilder, Garr and Feldman hit all the right notes, and Cloris Leachman and Peter Boyle as the Monster only add to the lunacy. Throw in Kenneth Mars as the ridiculous Inspector Kemp, and an unexpected cameo by Gene Hackman as a blind hermit, and you’ve got one of the most perfect casts every assembled for a comedy movie (the number one movie on this list has an equally impressive cast.)

The jokes come fast and furious, spoofing Universal horror movies, musicals and even (at least then) current events at a breakneck pace, all while leisurely circling this absurd cast of characters.

While not particularly frightening, it’s one of the most impressive comedies I’ve ever seen, and will always remain a favorite. Mel Brooks may not be the genius he once was, but this is a prime example of him, and Wilder, at the top of their game.

One: Ghostbusters. (1984)

What else?

“Ghostbusters” changed my life. I’m dead serious. This movie stands out as a landmark to me. As a film enthusist, as a comedian, as a writer, as a goddamn human being – this is it. This is the big one.

“Ghostbusters” is a nearly flawless film.

The cast is unbelievable. Bill Murray, Dan Ayckroyd, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis…it’s like a who’s who of comedy elite. Throw in some Sigourney Weaver, some Ernie Hudson, and some William Atherton (who would make a very fine living in the ’80s playing assholes) to round out the cast, and you’re golden.

The music, the writing, the ghosts. Again, no reliance on CGI. And they still look great. The Staypuft Marshmallow Man – iconic. The lines…Murray’s ad-libbing is ridiculous, gelling well with the script, and the other actors. Venkman, Stantz, Spengler, Zeddemore…names that will live in infamy forever. These guys are the real deal. Real dudes fighting ghosts. Wearing volleyball pads on their elbows and sporting equipment that is untested and designed by themselves. Brilliant.

Scary? No. Hilarious? Always. The movie still holds up to this day. None of it seems dated in the slightest (alright, maybe the dog-demons at the end look kind of sketchy). The cast has amazing chemistry, and bounce off each other like pros. (Which, I guess, they were.)

This is one of my all time favorite movies…definitely one of my top comedies of all time, and clearly, my favorite comedy horror of all time.

Who you gonna call?

Well.

There you have it. Agree, disagree? Let me know. There’s a lot out there, for sure. In fact, here’s some more Honorable Mentions:

Arachnophobia. (1990)

Gremlins. (1987)

Army of Darkness. (1992)

Tremors. (1990)

So that’s it for me this week – and until Monday…

Happy Halloween, from the Tabby-ban!

*cue spooky laughter.*

Pretty scary, eh?

]]> http://illwatchanything.com/2009/10/30/young-frankenstein-an-old-new-classic/ Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:26:39 +0000 sdoob http://illwatchanything.com/2009/10/30/young-frankenstein-an-old-new-classic/

Har precis betat av min tredje Allen-film nu, “Everything You Always wanted to know about sex, but were to afraid to ask” (1972). Nu börjar jag känna lite att jag kanske har underskattat den lilla neurotiska mannen. Han har faktiskt humor. Filmen är uppdelad i olika “kapitel”, men den som roade mig mest var den sista delen. Den utspelar sig i en manskropp och vi får följa med hur det går till när en man ska få utlösning. Maskinister pumpar upp penisen till erektion, nervösa spermier, tungkontrollen osv. Ofattbart roligt och att klimaxet går till tonerna av The Battle Hymn of the Republic är fabulöst kul.

Sen att både Gene Wilder och Burt Reynolds är med i filmen är ett stort plus i kanten.

Mel Brooks films never get old.

Mel Brooks’s take on Hollywood Westerns follows the tortured trail of freed slave Bart, who’s elected sheriff of the racist town of Rock Ridge. He must foil a land-grabbing governor (Brooks) with help from a washed-up, pot-smoking gunslinger (Gene Wilder).

Let me just start off to say that this is what comedies, I don’t care modern or old, comedy in general should be. Everything that has to do with this film, for some may seem too dumb, but for me was just way too funny.

The film is basically a parody of the western film genre. And it’s not one of those parodies where they basically just try to be like the other film, and make fun of it, no, this film is making fun of certain elements with adding in their own little touches as well.

The jokes in this film come in very fast, and sometimes the irony isn’t brought up in these jokes and you sort of have to think about the jokes. The comedy of this film goes from slapstick, to dialogue-humor, to absurd humor, and a little bit of lewd crude humor. Many jokes will just pass you by or you won’t get, or the jokes you will understand and make you laugh your ass off.

Blazing Saddles is actually pretty smart in it’s message with such a daring look at racism in Hollywood. The black protagonist is called the “n” word several times to his face,, but shakes it off as nothing has happened, and many of his lines are just so stereotypical and funny that you just forget the message, but soon realize this is all true.

The only problem I had with this film was that by the end of the film the comedy started to dry off a little bit and get kind of stale. Many humor in the beginning of this film was pretty straight laced comedy, then by the end it started getting dry and trying way too hard to get some laughs out.

Consensus: Blazing Saddles is a classic, that is funny in all ways, that is amazingly witty and can be watched over and over again.

9/10=Full Pricee!!!

 Esse é certamente um dos filmes mais engraçados que já assisti. Cegos, Surdos e Loucos, conta a história de dois estranhos, Richard Pryor (cego) e Gene Wilder (surdo) que acidentalmente testemunham um assassinato. O problema? Acham que foram eles que cometeram tal ato.

A partir disso, já podem imaginar a tamanha confusão. O longa é uma obra-prima dos anos 80. Pra quem costumava assistir o “Cinema em Casa”, deve ter visto esta pérola.

Falando sobre o longa, não há como não parabenizar todas as camadas que participaram do filme. Da direção até o roteiro, tudo se encaixou perfeitamente. Não é um uma produção que se encaixe nos critérios esquisitos do Oscar, mas certamente, se encaixa em algo chamado “sentimento”, entretenimento, risadas e uma bonita mensagem de algo que precisamo constantemente nos lembrar: AMIZADE.

Percebam que tenho falado muito disso ao escrever nessa coluna, não é? Simplesmente, porque a amizade é fundamental para todos.

O longa tratou disso de uma maneira cômica, mas mostrar isso com deficiente físicos, foi simplesmente sensacional. Mostra que todos, apesar de limitações, não importam como sejam, somos capazes de realizar grandes feitos. Tudo na vida, depende apenas de como queremos encarar o que está diante de nós.

Portanto, arrisquemos mais. Sejamos mais ainda.

Não há limitações para o coração daquele que quer o melhor e o mais alegre nas suas escolhas. Cegos, Surdos e Loucos não foi apenas um filme, foi uma lição de vida. É claro, sem sensacionalismo ao extremo.

Para quem quiser, uma boa alma deixou o filme todo legendado no youtube.

Guilherme Jr.

so, so great…

Word broke yesterday that the upcoming biopic RICHARD PRYOR: IS IT SOMETHING I SAID? is at long last coming together, and with an unlikely and exciting choice to play Richard: Mister Marlon Wayans. Personally, I dig the sound of this. But in honor of a man who is, to an extent, inimitable, today’s ‘Watch/Rewatch’ is devoted to one of Richard’s best, Arthur Hiller’s SILVER STREAK.

Gene Wilder and Marlon Wayans, aboard the SILVER STREAK

Today, the term ‘genre filmmaking’ is one used to describe some of my favorite films: those that implement spectacle to actively involve the viewer; in other words, ‘action movies.’ And SILVER STREAK, in that regard, should be classified as a genre film. But where that term fails (or fails by 1970’s American film standards,) is that SILVER STREAK excels as an example of multiple genres: suspense, romance, comedy, and yes, action, but it can’t be described accurately as just one of these. It is a total entertainment.

The plot involves Harry Caldwell (Gene Wilder,) a passenger on the Silver Streak train from LA to Chicago, who becomes enwrapped in a scheme to steal the long lost letters of Rembrandt. Got it? Good. I’m glad. What’s interesting about SILVER STREAK is that as comedy, it plays its cards close to the vest, taking time to build, and then pay off humor. Compared to modern “broad” comedies, of, let’s say, the Apatow school, this film seems beyond subdued. The first fifteen minutes hardly contain a joke. Gene Wilder, the greatest spaz in the history of cinema, (nay, of all history period,) starts off charming and dry – think Cary Grant in NORTH BY NORTHWEST – which makes his first expletive-laden outburst all the more hilarious.

From there, director Hiller continues to slowly crank up the funny. There aren’t any superfluous wisecracks. Wilder lets the escalating situations realistically wear away his composure, with a performance notable as much for what is held back as for what is shown; and it allows for Pryor’s entrance to properly bring  down the roof. When he arrives, Pryor becomes the wild Id to Wilder’s Ego. In a way, Pryor’s Grover Muldoon is the first real comic character in the piece.

It’s surprising just how late Pryor enters the film, (at the 63 minute mark,) as if he truly is the reward of its second act. And shit, is he rewarding. “We the man!” he shouts, speeding a stolen cop car through a police blockade. As Grover, Pryor’s the thief who doesn’t run away; he takes on Caldwell’s adventure, it seems, out of a sense of justice, and a sense of fun. He enjoys the chance to be the Man – and stick it to the Man. No, he’s not Sweet Sweetback, but for a studio film, he might as well be. Frankly, his role is pretty cliché, today: the street smart (read: Black) rake, lobbing jokes left and right at uptight authority figures (read: Crackers.) But it’s easy to forget that such a cliché was forged in a much different time, and Pryor, as Muldoon, is one of the first and best popular examples of the black man who thumbs his nose at the Man – and gets away with it.

Richard Pryor coaches Gene Wilder on how to be less like Gene Wilder and more like Richard Pryor, in SILVER STREAK, starring Richard Pryor, and Gene Wilder

That’s not to say that SILVER STREAK can or should be classified as race comedy. It’s not – not fully, at least – though it does contain perhaps the funniest single white-guy-pretending-to-be-black scene ever, with Wilder coached by Pryor in a train station bathroom on how to jive in order to evade police. I was interested to read that this scene was altered, after the notoriously temperamental Pryor stormed off the set and refused to return. Originally, a white man was to enter the bathroom, and be fooled by Wilder’s routine. Pryor requested this be switched to a black man, who easily sees through the act. It’s a seemingly slight change, but it makes all the difference: the black man is empowered at scene’s end, instead of the white man being oblivious to the very obvious difference between blacks, and whites imitating blacks. The latter could be read as reinforcing the same stereotypes SILVER STREAK otherwise boldly bucks. Thanks for standing firm on that one, Richard.

With a noteworthy supporting cast, Jill Clayburgh, Ned Beatty, Patrick McGoohan, and Scatman Crothers (as a porter with a great line towards the end: “The brake lines have been cut!” “Damn hippies,” he responds,) and an actually quite intense climax, this film works in a way few modern equivalents do. It resembles Hitchcock more than anything, though it’s funnier than any of Hitch’s films, because nowhere in his filmography will you find two more brilliant comics than Wilder and Pryor. They’re both at the top of their games here, and I think the strength of SILVER STREAK can be said to carry some of the popularity of their later collaborations. This is certainly the most accomplished of the four.

This was scary enough going forwards but reverse it and it is a totally different level of hell.

Source: Topless Robot