So imagine my surprise last night when I signed in to update my queue and found out that suddenly Macs were part of the elite club now and were capable of handling instant plays. Apparently, it's been like this for about a month, someone tells me. I guess I've just been behind the times.
I'm excited I can finally watch some things. They don't have many newer releases on there; in fact, it's mostly older movies that aren't really in high demand. But it will clear space on my queue and be just one less thing for which I need to check the mail. And that's always a good thing.
Of course, I decided to test this new player last night. It worked pretty well; in fact, it detected when my Internet connection slowed and adjusted the movie accordingly. The picture was clear, and after a bit of time loading, I didn't really have any other problems.
In fact, the only situation I encountered was my own fault. I decided to watch "Becoming Jane," even though I've seen it several times before and it wouldn't really change my queue. I was just in the mood for it. But it does make me an emotional wreck, and although my first experience with the Netflix instant-viewing thingamajig was a success, the night ended in tears.
Oh well.]]>
The drawback to the frenetic approach is that the chases risk merging into one another. Comic relief is in short supply. We don’t have any boffins introducing new gadgets.
Craig’s Bond may still sweet talk receptionists, but he doesn’t spend much time about it.
I think it's somewhat disturbing Geoffrey McNab talks about these things as if they were missing from the film. Mr. McNab, I don't think these things belong in the Bond we know now, in the way Daniel Craig plays the character. Therefore, there is nothing lacking, there is nothing to lack. This sounds like a rock solid addition to the Bond collection.
The thing I liked the most about "Casino Royale" was that it didn't fall into the Bond cookie-cutter. Things weren't done "because that's Bond," they were done because it makes a good script, and a great film. There were no "obligatory" scenes or sequences. And that, believe it or not, is what Mr. McNab wants to see! Incredulous!]]>
Above, actress Gemma Arterton is covered in crude oil — oil will be central to "Quantum of Solace's" plot — in a recreation of the character Jill Masterson's death in 1964's "Goldfinger."
]]>She said: ‘I couldn’t move. I couldn’t see, I couldn’t breathe or hear because it went in my ears. It was unpleasant, but it’s something I’ll always remember and it will be an iconic part of the film.’
On that last one,
]]>David Lynch is the master of the eerie, which has also been called the uncanny, and his strongest films successfully deliver shock-horror at the conclusion of scenes that are either comically mundane or traditionally suspenseful. Many filmgoers remember “Mulholland Drive” mainly for Robert Blake’s creepy performance or for the lesbian subplot with Laura Elena Harring and Naomi Watts, but the film’s signal moment comes in the Winkie’s scene, which uses a highly traditional location (a diner) and traditional suspense tricks (P.O.V. shots, menacing background music) as prelude to one horrible moment. One respondent to the in-office survey put it this way:
I have seen the movie many times, and every time my chest tightens up and it occurs to me that I might actually die.
He’s not alone. Retrocrush.com selected this scene as the scariest moment in the history of film.
Now Disney is giving it another go by revving up the full power of its culture-creating engines. Instead of the take-it-slow approach, this time the Muppets are getting the “Hannah Montana” treatment, being blasted into every pop-culture nook and cranny that the company owns or can dream up.
Yes, Disney. Beat people over the head with a brand, and they'll come running to your stores in malls everywhere.
Although, Kermit as an anchor on "Nightline" sounds pretty interesting. ]]>
With its complexly interwoven stories, political backdrop and the central presence of a bearded George Clooney, the film comes across a bit like “Syriana for Dummies,” though given the original this seems somewhat redundant.
Manohla Dargis liked "Burn After Reading" less than Crack AP Reviewer Christy Lemire, and perhaps just as much as Entertainment Weekly.
I'm still interested to see it, though.
Also, Dargis, it seems, plainly detests the Coens, or at least thinks nothing of them as filmmakers.
]]>The Coens in turn have made their careers with impeccable technique and an exaggerated visual style — they sure love their low-angle shots and traveling cameras — but it’s a wonder they keep making films about a subject for which they often evince so little regard, namely other people.
The weird thing was that both times the DJs described the movie, they called it a new film "starring Tea Leoni and Greg Kinnear." No mention of Gervais whatsoever, even though he is the main star. Yes, Leoni and Kinnear both are in the film as the other major characters, but it's Gervais' film through and through.
Now, maybe I'm just being a snob about this, but isn't Gervais pretty well known? I know not everyone has seen his work in the original "The Office" or "Extras," but the American version of "The Office" was widely touted as a remake of Gervais' original. HBO showed "Extras" as part of its regular lineup, and Gervais has been nominated for and won Golden Globes for his work. E! even interviewed him last year on one of its red-carpet shows (not that that means a whole lot, but they deal with celebrities, therefore implying that Gervais is a celebrity). He also gave a hilarious interview on Letterman recently.
So even if someone has never seen those shows, do the majority of people at least not recognize his name or his reputation as a great comedian? For someone like Gervais who has created brilliant characters and successful entertainment, leaving him out of a promotion is just ignorant. And really, are Leoni and Kinnear that much more popular than Gervais as to force the need to bill them above him on a radio stunt? Please.]]>
“Disturbia,” a kind of adolescent “Rear Window,” is nowhere near as clumsy or grandiose as its title.
From The Boston Globe, also published April 13, 2007.
There's probably a way to do "Rear Window " as a seen-it-all thriller about a 17-year-old under house arrest, but "Disturbia " isn't it. The movie disdains the mounting suspense of Hitchcock's movie. The nominal thrills hit our heads like Acme anvils.
Even The New Yorker concurs in this April 23, 2007, brief.
Judged as an adolescent, suburban version of Hitchcock’s extraordinarily sophisticated 1954 urban thriller “Rear Window,” this movie, written by Christopher B. Landon and Carl Ellsworth and directed by D. J. Caruso, can rightly be called a travesty.
Heck, A.O. Scott and Richard Roeper say it's a "Rear Window" update in "At the Movies!" Film evidence!
Am I the only one "Shocked, shocked!" that there is a lawsuit alleging plagairism?]]>
The Associated Press: NY lawsuit claims 'Disturbia' copied short story
]]>NEW YORK (AP) — A lawsuit claims Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures Corp. ripped off "Rear Window" when they made the movie "Disturbia." The 2007 thriller "Disturbia" stars Shia LaBeouf as a kid who spies on neighbors, including a man he suspects is a serial killer.
The copyright infringement lawsuit, filed Monday in Manhattan, says "Disturbia" copied a short story Cornell Woolrich wrote in 1942 and the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock movie that starred James Stewart and Grace Kelly and was based on the story.
Woolrich died in 1968. The rights to "Rear Window" were sold to Sheldon Abend, who died in 2003. His estate brought the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages.
Representatives for Spielberg, DreamWorks and Paramount said they don't comment on pending litigation.
I love Canadians, but I'm just surprised at how I was duped into thinking this guy was British. It blows my mind. All those years of watching "The Sound of Music" and listening to him spout Shakespeare in "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" fooled me through and through. At least it solves the mystery of why he didn't have a British accent in "National Treasure."]]>
Don LaFontaine, Voice of Trailers and TV Spots, Is Dead at 68 - Obituary (Obit) - NYTimes.com
Mr. LaFontaine wrote most of his voice-overs and, sometimes with collaborators, came up with familiar phrases like “a one-man army,” “one man, one destiny,” “from the bedroom to the boardroom,” and “nowhere to run, nowhere to hide and no way out.”]]>