Wednesday, September 30, 2009
I am a gadfly flapping around in the wind of public opinion or somewhat, so needed Kate Harding to remind me that Roman Polanski drug-raped a child and was then a fugitive from justice for thirty years, not a victim of cruel and unusual prejudice. She presents some especially inglorious highlights from the 'OMG!!1! Will no-one think of the poor persecuted rich artist who has been able to get on with his career in Europe' crowd. She points to Joan Shore at HuffPo who, in what I hope is a satirical piece, says that while she doesn't mind about the Swiss Banks holding on to all that looted Nazi gold what she can't stand is their police seizing a rapist. A surprising number of film directors and producers seem to share this view, including Henning Molfenter, who is quoted as saying "There is no way I'd go to Switzerland now. You can't watch films knowing Roman Polanski is sitting in a cell 5km away". Then there is Whoopi Goldberg, who doesn't think nonconsensual sex with a minor is rape. Bernard-Henri Lévy manages to sum up the issue in the pompous manner we all love the French for, We ask the Swiss courts to free him immediately and not to turn this ingenious filmmaker into a martyr of a politico-legal imbroglio that is unworthy of two democracies like Switzerland and the United States. Good sense, as well as honor, require it. Yep, it's dishonourable to pursue a felon for a crime they pleaded guilty to. Fortunately not everyone on HuffPo wants to give a pass to artists.
There's more from Kate Harding here.
If you like that sort of thing, there's a Facebook group here.
There's more from Kate Harding here.
If you like that sort of thing, there's a Facebook group here.
Labels: art, Europe, movies, rapists, United States
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Telstar
The second entry into the terribly exclusive canon of 'films about dead gay men with four letter surnames that begin with 'M' and end with 'K'', Telstar seemed to vanish from the cinemas surprisingly quickly for a film that had posters up in the underground. Still, the Prince Charles had one showing this weekend and I found out just in time, popped along and got a ticket for only four pounds, which is what they charge all non-members. I'd been there before, years ago, for 'Jeremy Hardy Versus the Israeli Army' but for ticket prices like that, I must pay more attention to them in future. Support independent cinemas!
'Telstar' is the story of the productive and final few years of the life of Joe Meek, a talented but unstable record producer from the middle of the last century. From the flat over a shop that he converted into a recording studio he produced songs that would become genre classics, only to finish it all bankrupt, paranoid, depressed and with a shotgun bullet through the back of the skull.
'Telstar' starts with about twenty-five minutes that is comedy gold as we see the chaos Meek already lives in, and ends with forty-five harrowing minutes as we see his total mental collapse, fuelled by drugs, the homophobic era he lives in, bad luck and his galloping ego pushing away almost everyone who could have saved him. However, it would be charitable to say the script is uneven and badly paced, through the first half of the film we have several flash-forwards towards what happens near the end, at the end we have some flash-backs towards some events in his childhood, both are unnecessary and disrupt the flow, especially the flash-backs as they are just an illustration of something Joe describes earlier in the film about a childhood encounter with phosphorous. I know biographical films have always chosen to concentrate on some key point in their subject's life but 'Telstar' never really gives much of a suggestion that Joe Meek didn't just magically appear on the Holloway Road in his early Thirties. Interestingly, despite the fact that the script keeps Meek in his studio for the bulk of the film no effort is made to suggest a claustrophobia to this, sure people throw things about every now and then but it generally seems a pleasant environment even when Joe is trying to summon the devil or is smashing and burning all his possessions. However, without those closest to Meek available to give their opinions of the man and those still going (like Chas from Chas and Dave) unlikely to be favourable, an endeavour like this is bound to be more writer's guesswork than grounded in verifiable fact.
The strength of the film, and boy is it really a strength, is the performances. Everyone is superb. Con O'Neill as Meek is wonderful and has to be, his performance rounds out a character that, on paper, doesn't have much depth. His performance sends him right round the block, sometimes funny, sometimes terrifying, loving, casually-cruel, bloated with self-importance, racked by self-doubt. As a gay man before homosexuality was decriminalised he has the de rigeur arrest for public indecency which seems to end up with a gang of young men waiting outside his flat to throw abuse at him and anyone connected with him with no apparent attempt made to do anything about them. Some of the criticisms about 'Milk' was that the film whitewashes Harvey's sex life so as to try not to lose the sympathy of monogamous straight people who might be turned off by the truth of his lifestyle. British queer films back to 'Prick Up Your Ears' have tended to be a little bit more honest and we have Meek sloping off to Hampstead Heath (about two miles up the road for anyone unfamiliar with North London geography) and cottaging in the capital's public conveniences. His one apparently serious relationship is with Heinz Burt, played by JJ Feild.
Burt is the main comic relief of the film, apparently willing to be seduced and cosseted by Meek, Burt isn't the sharpest tool in the box and ends up following the same career trajectory as Meek, only quicker due to his lack of talent and able to jump off before reaching the tragic end. Feild plays him as a cockney spiv of the type that should be able to talk without moving their mouth. Blind to his lack of talents Meek puts a lot of his time and money into trying to make Burt a star in order to win his love, when it doesn't work it has to be the fault of everyone including Meek, not Burt. At an early gig Burt has a tin of beans emptied over him and doesn't have the wit to realise that his attacker, a teddy boy, has a knife, so his bandmates have to ridicule him in order to save his life and defuse the situation. He then lashes out at them because he doesn't understand the danger he was in.
James Corden and Ralf Little through in admirable turns as the long-suffering Tornados, session musicians for Joe and backing band for Burt. Little played Peter Hook in '24 Hour Party People' and plays another guitarist, Chas Hodges, though I don't know what it says about him that he's only willing to walk out on Meek after he's lost it to the point that he uses a gun to try and threaten the performance he wants out of artists. Tom Burke plays the tragic Geoff Goddard, a painfully shy man who loves Meek from the moment they meet but is never appreciated by Joe who is far more obsessed with Burt. Often unable to meet the gaze of other characters Goddard tries to give Meek a gift to celebrate eighteen months of 'their professional relationship', only to have Meek toss it aside carelessly and break it in seconds. The film positions him as being the person most responsible for transferring a demo tape of Meek's tuneless humming into what would be their biggest hit, 'Telstar', but the film then takes such a confused gallop through Meek's professional life it's hard to see what Goddard hangs around for, other than to be a verbal punching bag.
Rounding off, Kevin Spacey manages a performance as Meek's financial partner, Major Banks, that despite being a fusty old traditionalist, avoids becoming a parody. He hangs in long after common sense would dictate to bail on Meek and is genuinely disappointed that Meek is determined to follow a path that can only lead to self-destruction. Pam Ferris as Meek's very long suffering landlady Mrs Shenton tries her best but when the script requires her to do little more than complain about the noise and that the rent is late she is wasted, and by the end that becomes true in more ways than one.
So the film is certainly worth seeing, though desperately uneven. To it's credit it's not about a self-destructive gay man, it's about a self-destructive man who just happened to be gay. How close it is to the truth is probably impossible to tell, but Con O'Neill gives such a performance it doesn't matter, and it's worth recommending it on that alone.
'Telstar' is the story of the productive and final few years of the life of Joe Meek, a talented but unstable record producer from the middle of the last century. From the flat over a shop that he converted into a recording studio he produced songs that would become genre classics, only to finish it all bankrupt, paranoid, depressed and with a shotgun bullet through the back of the skull.
'Telstar' starts with about twenty-five minutes that is comedy gold as we see the chaos Meek already lives in, and ends with forty-five harrowing minutes as we see his total mental collapse, fuelled by drugs, the homophobic era he lives in, bad luck and his galloping ego pushing away almost everyone who could have saved him. However, it would be charitable to say the script is uneven and badly paced, through the first half of the film we have several flash-forwards towards what happens near the end, at the end we have some flash-backs towards some events in his childhood, both are unnecessary and disrupt the flow, especially the flash-backs as they are just an illustration of something Joe describes earlier in the film about a childhood encounter with phosphorous. I know biographical films have always chosen to concentrate on some key point in their subject's life but 'Telstar' never really gives much of a suggestion that Joe Meek didn't just magically appear on the Holloway Road in his early Thirties. Interestingly, despite the fact that the script keeps Meek in his studio for the bulk of the film no effort is made to suggest a claustrophobia to this, sure people throw things about every now and then but it generally seems a pleasant environment even when Joe is trying to summon the devil or is smashing and burning all his possessions. However, without those closest to Meek available to give their opinions of the man and those still going (like Chas from Chas and Dave) unlikely to be favourable, an endeavour like this is bound to be more writer's guesswork than grounded in verifiable fact.
The strength of the film, and boy is it really a strength, is the performances. Everyone is superb. Con O'Neill as Meek is wonderful and has to be, his performance rounds out a character that, on paper, doesn't have much depth. His performance sends him right round the block, sometimes funny, sometimes terrifying, loving, casually-cruel, bloated with self-importance, racked by self-doubt. As a gay man before homosexuality was decriminalised he has the de rigeur arrest for public indecency which seems to end up with a gang of young men waiting outside his flat to throw abuse at him and anyone connected with him with no apparent attempt made to do anything about them. Some of the criticisms about 'Milk' was that the film whitewashes Harvey's sex life so as to try not to lose the sympathy of monogamous straight people who might be turned off by the truth of his lifestyle. British queer films back to 'Prick Up Your Ears' have tended to be a little bit more honest and we have Meek sloping off to Hampstead Heath (about two miles up the road for anyone unfamiliar with North London geography) and cottaging in the capital's public conveniences. His one apparently serious relationship is with Heinz Burt, played by JJ Feild.
Burt is the main comic relief of the film, apparently willing to be seduced and cosseted by Meek, Burt isn't the sharpest tool in the box and ends up following the same career trajectory as Meek, only quicker due to his lack of talent and able to jump off before reaching the tragic end. Feild plays him as a cockney spiv of the type that should be able to talk without moving their mouth. Blind to his lack of talents Meek puts a lot of his time and money into trying to make Burt a star in order to win his love, when it doesn't work it has to be the fault of everyone including Meek, not Burt. At an early gig Burt has a tin of beans emptied over him and doesn't have the wit to realise that his attacker, a teddy boy, has a knife, so his bandmates have to ridicule him in order to save his life and defuse the situation. He then lashes out at them because he doesn't understand the danger he was in.
James Corden and Ralf Little through in admirable turns as the long-suffering Tornados, session musicians for Joe and backing band for Burt. Little played Peter Hook in '24 Hour Party People' and plays another guitarist, Chas Hodges, though I don't know what it says about him that he's only willing to walk out on Meek after he's lost it to the point that he uses a gun to try and threaten the performance he wants out of artists. Tom Burke plays the tragic Geoff Goddard, a painfully shy man who loves Meek from the moment they meet but is never appreciated by Joe who is far more obsessed with Burt. Often unable to meet the gaze of other characters Goddard tries to give Meek a gift to celebrate eighteen months of 'their professional relationship', only to have Meek toss it aside carelessly and break it in seconds. The film positions him as being the person most responsible for transferring a demo tape of Meek's tuneless humming into what would be their biggest hit, 'Telstar', but the film then takes such a confused gallop through Meek's professional life it's hard to see what Goddard hangs around for, other than to be a verbal punching bag.
Rounding off, Kevin Spacey manages a performance as Meek's financial partner, Major Banks, that despite being a fusty old traditionalist, avoids becoming a parody. He hangs in long after common sense would dictate to bail on Meek and is genuinely disappointed that Meek is determined to follow a path that can only lead to self-destruction. Pam Ferris as Meek's very long suffering landlady Mrs Shenton tries her best but when the script requires her to do little more than complain about the noise and that the rent is late she is wasted, and by the end that becomes true in more ways than one.
So the film is certainly worth seeing, though desperately uneven. To it's credit it's not about a self-destructive gay man, it's about a self-destructive man who just happened to be gay. How close it is to the truth is probably impossible to tell, but Con O'Neill gives such a performance it doesn't matter, and it's worth recommending it on that alone.
Labels: Flickr, gay, London, movies
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Seriously, Who Thought Making A New Star Trek Movie Would be A Good Idea?
This is why drugs are bad, especially in the creative process.
Now, I should make it clear I did intend to go see Star Trek: Nemesis in the cinema. I based this purely on a very effective poster and only my shitty time-management skills stopped me. This turned out to be lucky as when I finally got round to watch it it was on DVD and for free, so I didn't feel the need afterwards to go and pummel the undeserving cinema staff until I got my money refunded.
After watching the trailer for Star Trek By The Bell (a.k.a. Sarek Valley High, That's so Romulan, erm... The Naughtiest Girl in the Starfleet, give me a second and I'll think of some more...) I'm trying to work out how much Paramount would have to pay me so I didn't feel cheated after watching it.
Luckily we'll mostly be spared over here as I doubt the great British public will be much interested in this pile of toss. Sure, everyone knows who James T. Kirk is in the same way that they know who the Daleks are, but just because Doctor Who made a comeback don't expect the same for Star Trek, I'm not even totally sure as to whether Enterprise was ever shown right to the end on terrestrial TV. I doubt the prospect of young Kirk will be much of a pull for non-Star Trek fans and possibly those of us who like to look down our noses at enthusiasts who actually speak Klingon or who think the Federation is a nice place to live (oh don't get me fucking started sunshine...).
So that leaves the fans, who are about to be given a film which the creator is taking pains to say he isn't writing for them, he doesn't know much about the universe and he's creating a movie for people who won't be interested in it. The closest thing to a star name it has over here is Simon Pegg, again Lost isn't big news over here. And when a series set in the franchises own past doesn't even last long enough to make it to the seven year marker like the rest of it's sister shows, what insanity is it that makes people think "let's make a film on that same concept!"? This will hopefully land Star Trek into the creative hiatus the whole franchise needs until it can think of some new ideas.
(Got it, Degrassi Junior Hirogen).
Now, I should make it clear I did intend to go see Star Trek: Nemesis in the cinema. I based this purely on a very effective poster and only my shitty time-management skills stopped me. This turned out to be lucky as when I finally got round to watch it it was on DVD and for free, so I didn't feel the need afterwards to go and pummel the undeserving cinema staff until I got my money refunded.
After watching the trailer for Star Trek By The Bell (a.k.a. Sarek Valley High, That's so Romulan, erm... The Naughtiest Girl in the Starfleet, give me a second and I'll think of some more...) I'm trying to work out how much Paramount would have to pay me so I didn't feel cheated after watching it.
Luckily we'll mostly be spared over here as I doubt the great British public will be much interested in this pile of toss. Sure, everyone knows who James T. Kirk is in the same way that they know who the Daleks are, but just because Doctor Who made a comeback don't expect the same for Star Trek, I'm not even totally sure as to whether Enterprise was ever shown right to the end on terrestrial TV. I doubt the prospect of young Kirk will be much of a pull for non-Star Trek fans and possibly those of us who like to look down our noses at enthusiasts who actually speak Klingon or who think the Federation is a nice place to live (oh don't get me fucking started sunshine...).
So that leaves the fans, who are about to be given a film which the creator is taking pains to say he isn't writing for them, he doesn't know much about the universe and he's creating a movie for people who won't be interested in it. The closest thing to a star name it has over here is Simon Pegg, again Lost isn't big news over here. And when a series set in the franchises own past doesn't even last long enough to make it to the seven year marker like the rest of it's sister shows, what insanity is it that makes people think "let's make a film on that same concept!"? This will hopefully land Star Trek into the creative hiatus the whole franchise needs until it can think of some new ideas.
(Got it, Degrassi Junior Hirogen).
Labels: movies, science fiction, Star Trek
Monday, September 08, 2008
Frost/Nixon
I've been waiting impatiently to see this since I realised I'd missed my chance to see it on the London stage. While I know that the point of a trailer is to make a film seem exciting this looks like it's going to be a blast.
Labels: movies, United States
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
'Welsh tart' mayor wants to lift the ban on showing The Life of Brian in Aberystwyth.
"Given what's on TV now I think it's amazing a ban in Aberystwyth still exists," said [Sue] Jones-Davies, who played Brian's love interest, Judith Iscariot, in the film.
"Given what's on TV now I think it's amazing a ban in Aberystwyth still exists," said [Sue] Jones-Davies, who played Brian's love interest, Judith Iscariot, in the film.
Labels: Christianity, Monty Python's Flying Circus, movies, religion
Friday, July 18, 2008
We may not get the film sequels to The Golden Compass. This is, apparently, because of nasty Christian fundamentalists and not that the first film wasn't very good.
What? Me defending the Christians? These really must be the End Times...
Still, it's a shame if these films don't get made. Seeing as the third book has two under-age protagonists recapitulate the Fall From Grace of Adam and Eve only with more sex, if that got made it might have made a gratifying number of heads explode like an all-night Scanners broadcast.
What? Me defending the Christians? These really must be the End Times...
Still, it's a shame if these films don't get made. Seeing as the third book has two under-age protagonists recapitulate the Fall From Grace of Adam and Eve only with more sex, if that got made it might have made a gratifying number of heads explode like an all-night Scanners broadcast.
Labels: Fundamentalists- Christian, movies, Philip Pullman
Friday, June 20, 2008
Christopher Orr insists that M. Night Shyamalan's new movie, The Happening, is so bad that he must, by necessity, spoil it like crazy in order to remove any mistaken desire his readers might have to go see the film. Frankly I didn't like The Sixth Sense or Unbreakable that much, so I got off the Night Crazy Train a long time ago, those of you still aboard might want to read this...
I want to see this, unless it turns out that we're just getting a reverse-order Jack.
I've not seen much news over recent days but it does seem as though the press has largely ignored the Iowa floods in favour of discussions over whether the black woman on Big Brother really had a hardcore crew of 'niggaz' ready to maim any housemates that voted her out and why David Davis is so hardcore and brave that he should become the next Doctor Who or something. Here's some big photos from flood central, my favourite being the first one, taken right next door to a twister.
[main links via Kottke.org]
I want to see this, unless it turns out that we're just getting a reverse-order Jack.
I've not seen much news over recent days but it does seem as though the press has largely ignored the Iowa floods in favour of discussions over whether the black woman on Big Brother really had a hardcore crew of 'niggaz' ready to maim any housemates that voted her out and why David Davis is so hardcore and brave that he should become the next Doctor Who or something. Here's some big photos from flood central, my favourite being the first one, taken right next door to a twister.
[main links via Kottke.org]
Labels: movies, nature, photography
Monday, May 05, 2008
Iron Man
I went to see Iron Man today and thought it a satisfactory movie. Not great, it wasn't X-Men 2 but it certainly wasn't Fantastic Four or Hulk. Robert Downey Junior was probably the best thing in it but he didn't get too many chances to shine, though he did have the best line of the entire film, when Pepper catches him taking the proper Iron Man armour off for first time.
The story is also okay. This is probably because it is the same story that they have used in Spiderman and, broadly, Hulk. Peter Parker/Tony Stark meets his friends father/has his father's friend Norman Osbourne/Obadiah Stane. Unfortunately Norman/Obadiah have nefarious plans of their own and when they discover our heroes secret Peter/Tony/Bruce is forced to fight his patriarchal figure who uses an enhanced version of our heroes invention/ability against them. Iron Man also makes the same mistake as the first Fantastic Four movie in that 90% of the film is the origin story, with the last ten or fifteen minutes being saved for the final confrontation with the baddy. Certainly the Tony/Obadiah face-off is a better fight than the Four/Doom tiff but it's hardly epic. I don't know whether it's the danger of being into comics, I've never read Iron Man but already know the basics of where he comes from. So my heart sinks when we have another origin film. It's perhaps unavoidable with the other characters but I'm not sure it's needed with Iron Man. I think the first film could have happened presenting Iron Man as more or less already being around, having Obadiah as a forgotten face from his past that turns up in a second film, making Tony deal with self-doubt (we don't see substance abusing Tony in this film, so no doubt as War Machine is not so subtly mentioned, we've got those two things to look forward to inSpiderman 2 Iron Man 2) and then explain how he was captured by Al Qaeda, working for Obadiah. Marvel comics always have to work as though the company will fold tomorrow because there's a chance they will, and Hulk was probably them doing what they thought was an experiment and it failed but if they keep regurgitating the same few stories for each film then the cash fillup from the movies will be gone.
That said, the graphics are as you would expect, you can't tell where the props end and CGI starts, so as a near brainless way to pass an afternoon the film just about passes muster. And after waiting through the interminably long credits for the final scene we're left to wonder whether they can do the fairly unlikely and rein in actors egos long enough for an Avengers film. I always assumed that either that or a Justice League of America film would be impossible without replacing the A-list stars with C or D-listers. Would Downey sign up for an Avengers movie? Would Bana or Jackman?
The story is also okay. This is probably because it is the same story that they have used in Spiderman and, broadly, Hulk. Peter Parker/Tony Stark meets his friends father/has his father's friend Norman Osbourne/Obadiah Stane. Unfortunately Norman/Obadiah have nefarious plans of their own and when they discover our heroes secret Peter/Tony/Bruce is forced to fight his patriarchal figure who uses an enhanced version of our heroes invention/ability against them. Iron Man also makes the same mistake as the first Fantastic Four movie in that 90% of the film is the origin story, with the last ten or fifteen minutes being saved for the final confrontation with the baddy. Certainly the Tony/Obadiah face-off is a better fight than the Four/Doom tiff but it's hardly epic. I don't know whether it's the danger of being into comics, I've never read Iron Man but already know the basics of where he comes from. So my heart sinks when we have another origin film. It's perhaps unavoidable with the other characters but I'm not sure it's needed with Iron Man. I think the first film could have happened presenting Iron Man as more or less already being around, having Obadiah as a forgotten face from his past that turns up in a second film, making Tony deal with self-doubt (we don't see substance abusing Tony in this film, so no doubt as War Machine is not so subtly mentioned, we've got those two things to look forward to in
That said, the graphics are as you would expect, you can't tell where the props end and CGI starts, so as a near brainless way to pass an afternoon the film just about passes muster. And after waiting through the interminably long credits for the final scene we're left to wonder whether they can do the fairly unlikely and rein in actors egos long enough for an Avengers film. I always assumed that either that or a Justice League of America film would be impossible without replacing the A-list stars with C or D-listers. Would Downey sign up for an Avengers movie? Would Bana or Jackman?
Labels: comics, DC comics, Marvel Comics, movies
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Uwe Boll Will Quit Making Movies with One Million Signatures.
Ladies and Gentleman, we finally have a chance to rid the cinematic world of a cancer. Uwe Boll the German director behind such horrid video game adaptations as House of the Dead, BloodRayne, Dungeon Siege and Postal, has recently admitted that he would retire from making movies if enough people want him to stop. When FearNet mentioned to Boll a petition online signed by 18,000 people requesting that he cease making films, Boll responded that "18,000 is not enough to convince me." So how much would be enough? "One million," Boll said.
Ladies and Gentleman, we finally have a chance to rid the cinematic world of a cancer. Uwe Boll the German director behind such horrid video game adaptations as House of the Dead, BloodRayne, Dungeon Siege and Postal, has recently admitted that he would retire from making movies if enough people want him to stop. When FearNet mentioned to Boll a petition online signed by 18,000 people requesting that he cease making films, Boll responded that "18,000 is not enough to convince me." So how much would be enough? "One million," Boll said.
Monday, January 07, 2008
"Bruce Campbell is the greatest actor of his generation!"
I don't think I've looked forward to a movie so hard for I don't know how long.
My Name is Bruce.
Labels: movies, The Bruce Campbell, YouTube
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Hello you. Just back from a pleasant afternoon in the pub meeting new peeps. I've got some thoughts on Beowulf over here.
Labels: movies
Monday, October 08, 2007
Yippee-kay-ay motherfucker!
Monday, August 06, 2007
Ouch
Originally uploaded by Loz Flowers
My legs ache for some reason. I blame the heat. I was following the London Walk round the Campden Hill/Holland Park/Kensington area and had intended to follow that with one that goes along the top end of Hyde Park but in the end had to give up and head home. I'm not in pain, just stiff. I suppose that just shows I'm not a young man any more ;).
Tomorrow, lunch with a couple of the women from where I used to work (nothing too exciting, it'll probably be the greasy Chinese restaurant over the road) and then probably a film in the afternoon, there are several I vaguely fancy seeing in the cinema even though I hear they aren't that good (Simpsons, Transformers, I hear that Earthsea looks pretty but the actual storyline has been truly bollocksed with), then on Wednesday afternoon my friend S is up from Brighton so we'll hopefully be able to meet.
Thursday and Friday I'm back at work, then it's down to my parents for a couple of days for the get together of the clan on my Father's side of the family. And before I forget, my thoughts and sympathy go out to Patrick and his family...
Labels: Flickr, London, movies
Monday, July 23, 2007
Subconsciously or not, it's easier for the audience to laugh at the fat person if they know that the actor underneath is actually trim. Eddie Murphy in "The Nutty Professor" remakes; Julia Roberts in "America's Sweetheart"; Martin Lawrence in "Big Momma's House"... But to the overweight person sitting in the audience, the experience must be similar to a black person watching an old blackface minstrel show. When the character is presented as mean-spiritedly as Mike Myers' Fat Bastard character from the "Austin Powers" movies or scary-thin Courteney Cox-Arquette's Fat Monica from flashback episodes of "Friends," it becomes outright torture.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
The New Game
1. Post some comments about the film The Queen . This may actually involve you getting hold of a copy of the film but it's by no means bad, so you'll have a pleasant couple of hours.
2. See how long it takes for Lorraine Grimes to find your review and, if she feels you have been unsatisfactorily complimentary to Helen Mirren's workwomanlike performance in the film, chide you for missing the point.
No, I have no idea who Ms. Grimes is either, or why she feels a need to big up Helen Mirren round the webternet but then I do Nirpal Dhaliwal Watch, so I'm definitely casting no stones here.
2. See how long it takes for Lorraine Grimes to find your review and, if she feels you have been unsatisfactorily complimentary to Helen Mirren's workwomanlike performance in the film, chide you for missing the point.
No, I have no idea who Ms. Grimes is either, or why she feels a need to big up Helen Mirren round the webternet but then I do Nirpal Dhaliwal Watch, so I'm definitely casting no stones here.
Labels: internet, movies, Royal Family
Sunday, June 24, 2007
[via Pandagon]
Also, it has not escaped my attention that I've been tagged. Bit busy at the moment, I'll get back to you on this one.
Labels: gay, movies, queer, YouTube
Friday, June 22, 2007
Found myself at London Bridge at lunchtime, so popped into Borough Market to get the constituent parts of lunch, then strolled along the South Bank. Passed Billie Piper doing more Belle Du Jour filming in her Belle Du Jour coat by the National Film Theatre, then finally went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 3 which was certainly fun but suffered from a middle section the point of which seemed to be to have people change allegiance amongst themselves regardless of reason. The climactic battle scene was well-staged.
Labels: actors, London, movies
