tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84927072774446592372024-10-08T19:24:19.483-07:00Musings on movies, music, TV, books and other cuckoo curio.cuckoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094987779247283743noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-20010298844227092592018-02-07T12:00:00.000-08:002018-02-07T12:00:27.227-08:00

“Curiosity killed the cat.” "Yeah, I heard that cat had that shit comin' to him." Following the story of two not-so lucky in life private investigators in San Diego, FX's Terriers sounds like the type of program I would never usually check back with on a weekly basis. Only this time around it was the names attached to the crew that caught my attention. Created by Ravenous scriptwriter Ted

cuckoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094987779247283743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-57051439113887169992018-02-05T12:00:00.000-08:002018-02-05T22:57:50.741-08:00

See #15-11 HERE#10- TULIP FEVER (2017) Director: Justin Chadwick After sitting on a shelf for two years, director Justin Chadwick's period drama Tulip Fever finally saw the light of day in 2017.  Sadly it was a complete misfire and in turn buried the recognition Danny Elfman deserved for the gorgeous score he supplied.   Led by a smalls string ensemble, a collection of

cuckoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094987779247283743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-16676253875335125092018-02-02T12:00:00.000-08:002018-02-02T12:00:38.602-08:00

Pierced noses.  Purple mohawks.  Smoking pot.  Shooting heroin.  Self-inflicted cuts.  Pedophilia.  Sucking cock for money.  Anal fisting.  And of course shit-covered titty-fucking. It's all part of NOFX front-man "Fat" Mike Burkett's punk-rock musical Home Street Home.  Co-written by Fatty's now ex-wife Soma Snakeoil and Avenue Q's Jeff Marx,

cuckoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094987779247283743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-14517132246757289072018-01-31T12:00:00.000-08:002018-02-01T17:32:01.016-08:00

"I'll see you in my dreams." "Not if I see you first." “Who killed Laura Palmer?” became one the most asked questions in the land of water cooler conversations for a very brief time in the early 1990's.  Created by Hill Street Blues' head-writer Mark Frost and Blue Velvet director David Lynch, Twin Peaks' legacy grew into a pop culture phenomenon that would go on to influence many

cuckoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094987779247283743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-35234434422458022232018-01-29T16:57:00.000-08:002018-02-05T20:39:43.606-08:00

Ever since 1985's Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, composer Danny Elfman has been the leading musical voice for director Tim Burton's vast filmography of Gothic goofiness and somber beauty. From the spooky roller-coaster zaniness of 1988's Beetlejuice to the fairytale elegance of 1990's Edward Scissorhands to frightening old-fashioned grandeur of 1999's Sleepy Hollow and right up to the

cuckoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094987779247283743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-46040186180961242612018-01-23T22:35:00.000-08:002018-01-23T22:35:56.136-08:00

10 YEARS LATER......and it's time to give The Cuckoo Clock a bit of a wind-up! Hurrah!  Rejoice!  Give your snuggle-bunny a sexy lick! Now with that out of the way; come join me, gentle reader, as we travel back into the deepest, darkest and possibly smelliest regions of the cuckoo clock I call my mind & heart.  You may have noticed there have been a few changes

cuckoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094987779247283743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-15588261069517258902013-10-22T22:46:00.000-07:002013-10-22T22:46:30.497-07:00

As dedicated horror movie fans, we all love the Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Omen or Scream series but you can only watch those films every October the 31st so many times until you're looking for something new. After being asked on several occasions for a recommendation (because I watch too many movies), I thought I might share a list of horror films that don't always get mentioned

cuckoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094987779247283743noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-36318435840928730262011-12-07T15:48:00.000-08:002011-12-07T15:48:59.148-08:00

Britain does 3 things well.  1. Bad weather.  2. Movie bad guys.  3. Science Fiction film.  I’ll be focusing on the 3rd while watching the 1st through my window. Danny Boyle has never been afraid to reference his influences and pay homage to his peers and they’re starkly obvious this time around.  Sunshine is the illegitimate child of 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-4481141610533318212011-12-05T22:41:00.000-08:002011-12-05T22:41:44.353-08:00

I'm well aware that what I'm about to say is blasphemous, but I'll say it all the same: I don't consider Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes tales to be very good mysteries. They're great stories, to be sure, full of wonderfully crafted characters, but as pure mystery tales, they fall short. To paraphrase S. S. Van Dine, in a good mystery tale, a reader must have the same chance of

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-52941847543053757432011-05-15T07:28:00.000-07:002011-05-15T07:43:07.806-07:00

Note:  If Nadia appears in italics it’s the film I’m referring to, any other instance is the titular character. Vampires used to be scary, monstrous and dangerous predators.  Then Hollywood made them sexy and enchanting, darkly seductive but still dangerous.Lately they’ve been sparkly and twee.  Occasionally they are arthouse.  Tony Scott’s wonderfully dreamy The Hunger (1983

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-88716235279582411132011-04-27T21:41:00.000-07:002012-01-02T11:37:44.639-08:00

Better late than never. In my defense, some of professional and respected score reviewers just posted their lists in the past few weeks. Without further ado: 10. CLINT MANSELL (and Pyotr Tchaikovsky) / BLACK SWAN A fascinating mixture of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake masterpiece stirred into Clint Mansell's distorted and unsettling sonic manipulations. Not for everyone but without a doubt one of

cuckoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094987779247283743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-29417694292713205622011-04-23T12:29:00.000-07:002012-01-02T11:39:52.919-08:00

If you went anywhere near a magazine stand, the television or the cinema last year, director Darren Aronofsky’s psychological thriller Black Swan needs no introduction whatsoever. One of the most anticipated films of 2010, Swan was one of the few films to actually live up to the buzz it generated before it’s release. The film graced us with wonderfully disturbing performances, beautifully

cuckoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094987779247283743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-64316752644767668852011-04-20T23:49:00.000-07:002011-04-27T21:35:08.097-07:00

I should start off this review by stating this is not the original album I was going to scrutinize as my next review. In fact I was planning on ripping apart Steve Jablonsky's uninspired Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen score from 2009. I was planning on treating it to a very poor rating and bury it in my cat's litter box to see if the cat shit improves the quality anymore. That was until

cuckoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094987779247283743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-25384087823379259022011-03-03T13:09:00.000-08:002011-03-03T13:09:32.513-08:00

Cashback is a little gem of a film albeit with some very visible flaws when held up to the cold light of criticism.  I don’t know how many of these films get made each year (too few) but I do know that most of them fall under the radar due to a lack of promotion.  Large studio films often achieve a profit due to their extensive promotion, even when they don’t have the substance to

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-34882049306768127862011-02-28T23:45:00.000-08:002011-04-20T23:45:38.517-07:00

2010 had a lot great films and the scores to coincide with them but nothing took me by surprise like DreamWorks Animations' fantasy/adventure How To Train Your Dragon did. Loosely based upon the children's series novels written by Cressida Cowell, How To Train Your Dragon tells the story of a forbidden friendship between a viking boy and his dragon. Filled with adventure, comedy, action,

cuckoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094987779247283743noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-44418707991281215542011-02-26T21:59:00.000-08:002011-04-21T12:08:43.333-07:00

Like the past three years, I'll do a short review of 4 of the nominees and a complete review of my pick of what I think should be the winner. 127 HOURS - A.R. Rahman The story of 127 Hours is about being stuck between a rock and...well..another rock. It's based on the true events involving thrill-seeker Aron Ralston's struggle to survive after he suffers a brutal accident leaving him

cuckoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094987779247283743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-46229292381575133942011-02-21T07:02:00.000-08:002011-02-21T07:04:29.876-08:00

Monsters is an independent British film from first time film director Gareth Edwards and it’s one of the better films to come out of Britain for a very long time.  I’m allowed to say that because I live there.  Edwards worked in TV for some years before moving into film and he carries that TV ‘get the job done as inexpensive as possible’ attitude with him.He wrote the script, he

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-785900935520655842011-02-19T23:04:00.001-08:002011-02-27T03:19:16.693-08:00

Some people don't like having their senses attacked and beaten into a pulp. I do. So naturally writer/director Shinya Tsukamoto's frantic Tetsuo sci-fi/thriller series appealed to me from the get-go. The industro-punk trio of films carry themselves like a '70's era David Cronenberg film overdosing on amphetamines, with elements of twisted, campy humor and stomach churning erotica

cuckoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094987779247283743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-64636083989289957382011-02-18T10:52:00.000-08:002011-02-27T06:25:48.464-08:00

Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989, 67 mins) Summary: You’re a regular metal fetishist.  You like to cut yourself and insert bits of metal into the wound.  Hey, it’s a crazy world, right?  You are minding your own business, walking down the street enjoying your own private and harmless perversion when some fool messes up your day with his car.  What do you do? My first thought after

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-33873463024292910412011-02-12T19:56:00.000-08:002011-02-20T15:56:42.986-08:00

Cannibalism is weird. It's even weirder the way it's portrayed in the 1999 horror/black comedy Ravenous, by English director Antonia Bird, based loosely on the cannibalistic murders of the infamous Donner Party incident. Ravenous was a narrative mess that is never quite sure what sort of film it's supposed to be, meandering back and forth between pure horror and oddly misplaced comedic

cuckoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094987779247283743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-44342610127664658442011-02-12T19:54:00.000-08:002011-02-15T11:55:50.983-08:00

1982 saw the release of the groundbreaking, Disney sci-fi cult film TRON, written and directed by animator Steven Lisberger. The animator was inspired to create the digital world, known as The Grid, after getting a sneak peek of the revolutionary video game known as Pong in 1976. Leading the cast was Oscar winner Jeff Bridges as protagonist Kevin Flynn and Babylon 5's Bruce Boxleitner in

cuckoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094987779247283743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-46659344457429090262011-01-31T00:36:00.000-08:002011-01-31T10:55:31.235-08:00

I am sad to say that the film score community has lost one of it's last true greats this morning. Composer John Barry suddenly passed away from a heart attack at the age of 77.He was the composer of the iconic James Bond theme and other classics such as The Black Hole, Midnight Cowboy, Chaplin, Out Of Africa, The Lion In Winter and Dances With Wolves.Barry will be missed and remembered dearly,

cuckoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094987779247283743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-35964370741924703822011-01-02T00:33:00.000-08:002011-05-18T07:32:28.336-07:00

Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) needs a passionate and beguiling ballerina to play the lead in his newest Swan Lake adaptation.  His former “Little Princess” is out of the running and some new blood is needed.  Enter Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) whose virginal qualities make her a perfect fit for the fragile White Swan.  However the production demands that the White Swan also

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-81979842272558243482010-12-17T18:52:00.001-08:002011-02-26T21:50:48.521-08:00

AVATAR - James Horner Avatar. Where to begin? It's not one of the greatest cinematic achievements of our time, like Hollywood would like you believe. Nor is it one of the worst films made, like bitter internerd fanboys would like you to believe either. It's simply an evenly told adventure story, that tries a little too hard to preach eco-issues to the audience. Visually and technically

cuckoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094987779247283743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492707277444659237.post-22000277680712991162010-03-27T12:11:00.000-07:002011-05-03T07:05:41.691-07:00

Good people do good things and bad people do bad things, or more often than not bad people get someone else to do it for them.   Ink is such a person, or thing, sent on an errand by a higher power to kidnap an eight year old girl as she sleeps seemingly safe in her bed.  And despite the combined efforts from a number of strangers, he succeeds in snatching little Emma.  His

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0