9.27.2008

RIP Paul Newman

Last night another one of the greats died. He was 83.

This is another loss of a super-talented actor. Butch Cassidy is like the only Western I actually like. The Sting is an exceptionally great movie. Cool Hand Luke, The Color of Money, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Verdict.... He will be missed.

9.24.2008

Project Runway: Rock n'Runway

Note: Didn't feel like blogging PR last week. Let's just say I'm glad Jerell won and glad Joe went home.

Five designers left... ideally Suede will go next, and then Kenley. I don't like Korto, but at least she's not awful like Suede or obnoxious like Kenley. Plus Kenley swapped out her model. WHAT! LeAnne swapped models?! Karalyn was great and it really bugs me that LeAnne dropped her. What craziness.

The challenge: Design an outfit for another designer based on a specific musical genre. This should be epic.

The genres each designer are paired with are pretty funny. Can't wait to see Kenley's design for hip-hop, or how Korto looks in a country outfit.

See, here's the difference: Suede takes Tim's critique completely to heart, as most do. But then we have Kenley, who insists on criticizing Tim's taste. She needs to be much more respectful to Tim. "What does Tim know about hip-hop, anyway?" Maybe not a lot, but he does know what the judges will and will not like.

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9.23.2008

'The Mentalist' a 'Psych' Rip-off?

Recently one of my friends introduced me to the wonderful show 'Psych.' If you don't watch it, you should. If you do, then no doubt you'll agree that this new show, 'The Mentalist,' looks exactly like 'Psych,' minus any humor. And we know humor is what makes 'Psych' great. But come on, a fake psychic who uses his ability to notice minute details and put them together? It's not really even a subtle nod to 'Psych,' it's a genuine rip.

Here's the Mentalist trailer (of course, like always, I can't find the short commercial I've seen on TV a hundred times where he describes his 'power' more in-depth. Here is a weak alternative):

9.19.2008

Movies to Study: The Savages

In my original review of 'The Savages,' I stated: "Both of our protagonists are intelligent, yet fail to grasp on to the essentials of traditional happy living. Raised by their irritable father and abandoned by their mother, Wendy is trapped in an affair with a married man, while Jon can't commit to marrying his girlfriend from Poland, even though that means her visa will expire and she has to leave the country. These characters have a good heart, but are simply unaware of how to use it." 'The Savages' is a film about dealing with dementia, but the subtext here is the story of Jon and Wendy's realization that they have more in common than just their father.

The film begins with mellow music and a montage of elderly people dancing, swimming, playing golf, riding bikes. First impressions: Is this a musical disguised as a drama? No, no it is not. It's us being shown what Lenny Savage is missing since he is confined in his home not by his age, but his illness.

The film is a lesson in subtlety. Notice how in the first scene, while Lenny's longtime girlfriend Doris is being dressed by the home care technician, he does not put her ring on her ring finger, but her pinky finger. A small sign of things to come, and one that is easily overlooked because of common assumptions that, A) old people living together are married, and B) we saw the photograph on the fridge moments earlier. And sometimes the subtlety plays into the comedy of later scenes, like when Wendy takes Lenny's suspenders and hat off because they're "not your style," and then when he stands up on the plane... well, you can guess what happens.

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9.17.2008

Vote: WALL-E / EVE

Inevitably as it comes closer to the time of election, everyone over the age of 18 will be asked: "Who are you voting for?" And if you agree with the asking party, you'll be praised, and if you disagree, expect either a long debate or a long stare of disapproval.

In times like these, there's really only one safe way to vote. And that vote is:



But why? A candidate should not be voted on strictly because of his or her cuteness and emotional appeal. We, as voters, should take into consideration a candidate's policy on all fronts. But unsurprisingly, WALL-E and EVE dominate both Obama/Biden and McCain/Palin.

Environment

We all know that we're wrecking the Earth. Whether you believe in global warming or not, it's hard to deny that all the trash we make and energy we waste will be a problem eventually. But no one knows that better than WALL-E, the candidate with first-hand experience with this issues. WALL-E is an everyday man, going to work with his lunchbox just like the rest of us. He has lived through what the other candidates only predict will happen.



WALL-E's running mate, EVE, is a female Vegetation Evaluator. Have any of the other candidates spent their whole lives searching for and rescuing plants in order to restore life to its home planet? I think not. How can they compete with this?

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9.15.2008

TV Review: True Blood

I waited a week beyond the pilot so I could accurately gauge this show. Now, having seen the first two episodes, I have a better idea of what to expect.

True Blood is a new series on HBO created by Alan Ball -- writer of American Beauty, creator of the show Six Feet Under (which I have not seen [though wanted to]). The premise is that vampires do exist (they are not the Dracula cliches we've come to expect), and thanks to bottled blood (True Blood), they live among humans. But the world is not at ease with this. There is a blanket of discrimination against vampires, so much that news anchors won't even debate directly with a vampire -- he requires a third party.

This is not a vampire Sex and the City. The series takes place in backwater country where half the setting is swamp and everyone in town knows one-another. Anna Paquin plays Sookie, a server at a local restaurant. When a vampire shows up to town for the first time, well, ever, Sookie is the only person to not judge him so quickly (there is no hiding of allegory here). Sookie saves Bill the vampire from two rednecks who were trying to drain his blood (vampire blood sells for a lot, and naturally this kills the vampire). This is all an interesting take on the vampire genre.

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Blog URL

As some of you may or may not notice, the blog has been put to a URL.

http://kidwaltz.blogspot.com will still forward to the new address, but from here until the next year the site is going to be youbettereffinloveit.com.

I think the URL name speaks for itself.

9.14.2008

Review: Burn After Reading

Burn After Reading (2008) || IMDb

It seems the Coen Brothers waste no time between their dominance of the Oscars (No Country for Old Men) and their next film. Burn After Reading is a spy movie that twiddles between traditional, situational comedy and the sadistic, dark humor avid Coen fans have come to love. The film may not always be 'working,' but in the end, it all works just well enough.

The plot here is scatter-brained and seemingly haphazard. There's a government analyst named Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) who is blackmailed by Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand (two employees and trainers at the gym Hardbodies) when they find a disc containing his financial information in the female locker room. Their names are Linda Litzke and Chad Feldheimer, which itself should hint that this film has no shame in the occasional cheap gag. Their motivation? McDormand wants the money for some plastic surgeries, and Pitt wants to find out what all these documents and figures are about. It seems like Pitt's character doesn't have much of a personal life, so this is his chance to practice his spy routines.

Then there is George Clooney, playing Harry, a charming man obsessed with flooring. He sleeps with every female in this film, and is also a former government employee. He carries a pistol with him all the time, though he's never had to discharge it in twenty years. Guess if he has to in this film? I wouldn't dare spoil it for you, though.

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9.10.2008

Project Runway: What's Your Sign

Fresh off Stella going home and LeAnne winning, I doubt tonight's episode will live up to last week's. But, we'll see....

Wow, this season seems so long. The previously eliminated designers came out and I didn't recognize half of them. This show needs to be on three nights a week like Big Brother.

The challenge: Avant-garde look based on the zodiac sign of one team member. I'm a Sagittarius, so let's see who else is. Daniel, Terri, Jerell, and Suede. I guess it could be worse. Sweet, Jerell is actually using Sagittarius. Go, him.

After all these seasons I still don't know how the designers find what they want in Mood in 30 minutes. It looks huge, with thousands of rolls of fabric just piled up. Ridiculous.

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9.09.2008

This is Awesome

I've hated on the film 'Disturbia' (not to be confused with the highly addicting song by Rihanna) ever since I heard about its premise because I don't like Shia LaBeouf and it's a plain ripoff of 'Rear Window.' And who would want to remake 'Rear Window?' It's a perfect movie.

In this post I call it out, as well as show similarities of the director's next project to 'North by Northwest.'

Today, /Film reports that Spielberg and DreamWorks may be sued over 'Disturbia' for its resemblance to 'Rear Window.' I like Spielberg, and I like DreamWorks, but I don't like this film or director or Shia, so this is great.

9.07.2008

Review: Love and Other Disasters

How can one pass up a movie with a title so epic as 'Love and Other Disasters?' Doesn't that sound like potentially the best romantic comedy of all time? Unfortunately, the movie opens very strong but cannot risk falling into traditional cliches and frustrations of the genre. A tip to the writer, Alek Keshishian: Even if you acknowledge something as a formula or a gimmick in your film, it's still a formula or a gimmick.

But let us begin with the good.

Brittany Murphy, always charming, can never seem to quite fit into a great role. We either get the 'Clueless,' 'Sin City,' or '8 Mile' Brittany, or we get the 'Just Married,' 'Uptown Girls,' 'Little Black Book' Brittany. Here, in 'Love and Other Disasters,' she falls somewhere in-between.

The movie is about Love, as well as a few Other Disasters. One of those disasters is that Brittany Murphy's character Jacks (short for Jackson) is stuck on an ex-boyfriend who she sleeps with in order to "fill a void. Literally." Another Disaster is the abundance of gay stereotypes portrayed in the film. Her gay best friend Peter (Matthew Rhys, of TV's 'Brothers & Sisters') enjoys living in fantasy relationships because every time reality hits, it hits too hard and too real. Funny, charming, and entertaining these all are. Yet somewhere around the beginning of Act II the film loses its touch.

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9.03.2008

Project Runway: Double O Fashion

Why would I watch the Republican National Convention when I can watch Project Runway instead? The presidential election is huge for America, yes. But fashion is Universal.

This season is going by so fast. Only 9 designers left. Where has the time gone? And LeAnne's model Karalyn is beautiful (still).

Blayne is hilarious. "I want every challenge to be involving Mary-Kate Olsen. I want to marry Mary-Kate. Who doesn't? Besides Tim Gunn." I like him more every episode. Except he called Mary-Kate Olsen a fashion legend. What?

Is it bad I don't know who Diane Von Furstenberg is? Kenley's crying, so it must be a big deal. But Diane thinks Marlene Dietrich is one of the most glamorous women in the world, so obviously she knows what she's talking about. Wow, the movie 'A Foreign Affair,' which I haven't seen, was directed by Billy Wilder (my favorite). I'm slacking and need to see that film stat.

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Big Brother 10: Update

Yes, I have been keeping up with Big Brother 10 (which you can watch for free on the CBS site).

I'm really excited that my alliance of four is in the final five. Unfortunately Jerry won HOH this week. I really, really dislike him. He's such a jerk and a hypocrite. But hey, Ollie and Michelle and April and Libra and all these people I don't like got booted, so it's okay.

I'm hoping for a Dan/Memphis/Keesha final three, with Dan/Memphis final two and Dan winning on votes (which is unlikely since he pissed off lots of people). But then again, maybe they will admire Dan's great game play. Doubt it, though.

9.02.2008

'Remember the Titans' Was a Good Springboard

Yesterday I caught a showing of Remember the Titans on TV, and once it was finished and the credits started, I was surprised how many of the child/young actors that are now big names appeared in this film. It seems like this was a first role, or at least starting point, for numerous careers.

In IMDB Order:

Donald Faison, who is best known these days as Turk on Scrubs, had a significant part here. I can't really count him, though, because he was put to fame for his work in the timeless 'Clueless.'

Kip Pardue, whom I love for his role as Victor in 'The Rules of Attraction,' has this as one of his first credits. He was also in the humorous 'But I'm a Cheerleader' (which starred the gorgeous Clea DuVall, but that's another blog post).

Hayden Panettiere, who I affectionately refer to as Kairi (from Kingdom Hearts), has a large part in this film. It was far from her first gig, but I think it was her first major bit. You can see her now on Heroes, and also the cover of almost every teen magazine.

Kate Bosworth has a small part here as the judgmental girlfriend. It's hard to recognize her -- I knew she looked familiar but couldn't tell it was her. There's a huge difference between her at 17 here and her at 19 in 'The Rules of Attraction.' Most recently she did 'Superman Returns,' which was decent, and '21,' which was awful.

Ryan Gosling had a small part as one of the players. IMDb shows a bunch of TV credits, but this looks like his first serious film role. He's gone on to make 'The Notebook,' as most know, but has proven himself a great actor in 'Half Nelson' and to a lesser degree 'Lars and the Real Girl.'

Denzel Washington.... Just kidding. He's long been famous and great. Still is.

Watch the movie now, if you haven't seen it recently, and you'll notice what I did. This movie really is a gem.

Don LaFontaine Dead at 68

/Film reports that Don LaFontaine has died. This is a real big deal. Let's think about how much this man has done.

Thousands and thousands of movie trailers have used Don as their voice. He's been doing voice work for years and years, meaning his effort has shaped the movie-going experience significantly. He started work in the late-60s/early-70s, which brings him to and through a revolution of the movie promoting industry. Imagine how different trailers would have been over the years without him, and perhaps how many studios would have made millions and millions less dollars. Think of all the trailers that will now come out and have the voice-over done by someone else.

Movie trailers were his forte it seemed, but Don also did thousands of commercials, among other things. I feel like his death will have a more significant impact on the film industry than most think. Maybe it will be more subtle, but it will be there.

Blog Cleanup

Because I took a nap earlier I'm far from tired. In an attempt to lull myself to sleep, I'm going to go through and clean up the blog. This includes, but is not limited to: re-labeling posts, deleting posts (note: nothing will be deleted, just permanently moved to Draft format), editing titles, fixing typos, removing posts that are short rants, killing irrelevant topics, and rewriting history.

Just kidding -- anything involving predictions or statements that are now proven incorrect will be left intact. I'm not that insecure.

9.01.2008

In the Spirit of Soundtracks....

In light of my post about the Narnia soundtracks, another film with a great musical score is Pan's Labyrinth. Conveniently you can listen to the soundtrack in its entirety on the official movie site.

Also, if you haven't seen the movie, you should do that, too.