Jeez Jon

At Home Film Festival: Awards Screener Edition

The Screen Actors Guild gives out awards every year.  Every year, they randomly select a small amout of the 100,000 members of the union to be on the Nominating Committee, who is charged with coming up with the nominations for the awards.  Then, after the nominations are announced, then the entire body of the union gets to vote on the awards.  Well, after 11 years in the union, I've been selected to be in the Nominating Committee.  And, as you can imagine, I'm pretty psyched. And I'm also wicked busy.

I've been working on a new Spike show -- Flip Men, Tuesday nights at 10:30pm, check it out! -- which has been taking up a lot of my time.  I'm also taking classes with Steppenwolf, which is awesome and kicking my butt in all the right ways.  That eats up time too. So, in my meager downtime, I've been seeing movies.  The above picture shows the amount of screeners I currently have at home right now.  I'm due to get more in the mail too.  I'm also going to a lot of screenings as well, and those are gobbling up time too. I've become a movie-watching machine lately.

Of what I've seen so far, my three favorites (in alphabetical order) are Albert Nobbs, Beginners, and Bridesmaids.  All three are must-sees for different reasons: Albert Nobbs is a great little film showing a rich world of gender-bending Irish women fighting against poverty, Beginners is an assured film that will make you laugh and cry in equal measure, and Bridesmaids is a hilarious film that has way more going for it than you think.  While I'm not surprised that both Albert Nobbs and Beginners are getting the awards push, the fact that Universal is doing the same for Bridesmaids just makes me smile. It comes across at first like a gross-out goofy comedy, but at the heart of it Bridesmaids is really sweet and sharp movie about how we sell ourselves too short and how we have to be better people.  Its screenplay is one of the most well-constructed pieces of writing I've come across in a long time, and the acting is just amazing.  All around.  Comedy tends to get the short-shrift during awards season, so the fact that Bridesmaids is getting any love this time of year says something. 

Out of all the movies featured in the above picture, I've seen only seven of them.  I also have at least 7 more screenings I have to go to.  I have to watch everything and put my votes in by December 12th.  So, if you e-mail me and I don't get back to you promptly, it's because I'm either working on a TV show, working on my acting, or seeing and evaluating movies.  Send help.

[PS.  Since I'm an avid rule follower, all of my screeners are not leaving my apartment building, will not be posted onto the web, and will not be sold by me. I like my union and I'd like to stay in it, thank you very much]

At Home Film Festival: Watchmen

One of the best Christmas presents I received as a teenager was the graphic novel of Alan Moore's Watchmen.  A pretty imaginative take on alternative history, the story takes place in 1985 in a world where costume superheroes exist... and because of them, Richard Nixon is still President.  I had stopped collecting comics a few years beforehand, and as a high school junior, this twisted take on superheroes weighed heavily on my mind.  The graphic novel is dense, brutal, and unsparing in its take on how man can be so inhumane and in all the depravity of life, there are bright spots.

When the film version came out last year, I was very excited.  I saw it with Tom and some friends at the shmancy Arclight Cinema in Hollywood, and I was pretty impressed.  At times, director Zach Snyder uses the graphic novel as a storyboard, replicating Moore's book frame-by-frame.  This slavish attention to the material is also Snyder's downfall, as the film is too long, too ponderous and a bit overly purple for its own good.  Snyder also shows that he's not an actors' director; some of the actors acquit themselves well (Patrick Wilson and Jackie Earl Haley both come to mind) and some others really don't (I'm looking in your direction, Matthew Goode and Malin Akerman).  But overall, the film's potency does win out in the end.  It's not a perfect film by any stretch of the imagination, but its strengths outweigh its weaknesses. 

One of these strengths is the portrayal of the nuclear-powered Dr. Manhattan.  Here's a snippet of how mild-mannered physicist Jon Osterman (exquisitely played by Billy Crudup) became the world's most powerful man:

Watching the movie for a second time on Blu-Ray this weekend, Dr. Manhattan's backstory -- done in a non-linear style that reflects Manhattan's new perception of time -- is the most effective and affecting portion of the film.  Not only is it beautiful to behold, it's heart-wrenching as well.  The film Watchmen is definitely worth seeing (and keeping for some great visuals and fantastic scene work) but it serves itself best as a companion piece to the graphic novel.  I suggest you read it first, then see it.  You may not love it, but it will stay with you.

And P.S.?  Still the best trailer I've seen in ages.  In fact, let's watch it again, shall we?

Marvelous...

At Home Film Festival: V For Vendetta

Looking back on it now, I really wish I had seen V For Vendetta in a theater.  I have only seen in at home on my telly (as the Brits say), and even on that small-ish screen, the film absolutely pops. Based on Alan Moore's graphic novel of the same name, Vendetta is set in a dystopian England some 50-ish years in the future where an arch-conservative totalitarian regime is in control of the country.  This regime, led by the High Chancellor (played expertly well by John Hurt), came to power due to a series of terrorist attacks.  Due to all of this, England has a strict curfew, homosexuality is illegal, and the citizens are always being watched. 

After setting the stage, our ingenue Evie (played very ably by Natalie Portman) sneaks out during curfew to meet up with her boss.  Below, Evie bumps into some of the scuzzy secret police who try to rape her.  Then, out of the dark, emerges a man in a mask.

His name?  V.  His raison d'etre?  Taking down the High Chancellor's government, in a very violent manner.  All the while, the Chief Inspector (The Crying Game's Stephen Rea) is trying to put the pieces together of how V is tied into the High Chancellor and the terrorist attacks that happened many years ago.  V's actions are... very extreme and yes, he can easily be called a terrorist.  As he ramps up his attacks on the government, the High Chancellor responds.

Coming out in 2005 in the height of the War in Iraq and well into George Bush's 2nd term, V For Vendetta resonated with a lot of people... and became pretty controversial.  The film clearly puts the audience with V, showing all his actions as justified.  So, is he a freedom fighter?  Or is he a terrorist?  Is V correct?  Back when I first saw this, I would answer "Hell yes, he's in the right."  And I'd still say the same now.  With obvious nods to 1984 and the fascistic symbolism, this version of England is a ultra-right-wing nightmare, which scared the bejeezus out of a lot of us lefties back in 2005.  With the Patriot Act and warrantless wiretapping and demonizing all things Islam, V For Vendetta was a fun-house mirror of our worst fears for our own country at the time.  Now a mere 4 years later, that kind of future world does seem less likely.  While we are dealing with the worst financial crisis to hit the world since the Great Depression, we are more positive now then we were back then.  And frankly, I can't see many tea party activists quoting V in their rallies, can you?

What really hooks me into the movie every time, though, is Natalie Portman.  Ever since I saw her in The Professional, I've been a fan.  I think she's a damn good actress, and here she shines.  While Portman's British accent is a bit generic at times, her performance is pitch-perfect.  You see Evie's growth in the film,  from being a regular girl into a politicized agent.  And since we never see V's face in the film (spoiler!), it's through Portman's performance that we get to see the human side of V. 

Made by the Wachowski brothers, V for Vendetta has a great look to it.  I picked it up on Blu-Ray using a birthday present gift card from a buddy, and I'm very glad I did.  Check it out sometime: love it or hate it... it sure is pretty.

Recession Help: Tuesday Night Movie Club

This started months ago, I believe in October. Tom and the cadre of neighbors we hang with were bandying around some ideas of how to entertain ourselves during these tight economic times.  They struck on the idea of watching our DVD of Clash of the Titans one Tuesday night.  We all gathered at Sue's, did a potluck dinner and watched 80's camp fantasy unfold in front of our eyes.  We'd all seen it before, of course, but it was great watching it again, especially in a group setting.  So, the idea came to make it a weekly ritual.  We'd get together on Tuesday nights, and watch an 80's fantasy (then Sci-Fi) film with a potluck dinner and lots of company.  The film had to be rather campy.  So, we ruled all ruled out The Dark Crystal, deeming it too good.  After Titans, we watched Legend.  And The Beastmaster. Then Excalibur. Then The Last Starfighter. And Flash Gordon. Etc.

The bulk of the films come from our individual libraries, so it's not like we're spending oodles of cash every week.  We also try to theme the food we're eating to the film we're watching.  For Flash Gordon, we did a Mongolian-style stir fry.  Since the setting of The Last Starfighter is a trailer park, we did a lot of trailer trash cuisine (which meant a lot of mac-'n-cheese  w/franks).  Frequently, we'll make too much food for the group (which ranges in size each week from 5 to 9, depending on who's available), so we'll have plenty of leftovers to eat throughout the week. 

We exhausted the 80's sci-fi with the one-two punch of the seriously obnoxious, smug, boy-it-doesn't-hold-up-well Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai. We all universally hated it.  I didn't remember digging it too well when I saw it on cable way back in '85, but yeesh, it's awful.  The following week, we sat through Heavy Metal, the boobtastic "adult" animated fantasy film.  It's not a good movie, and it did not go over well at all.  Frustrated by all the boob and no peen action, our neighbor Mitch said she'd take care of the film for the following week... which was the excellent Forgetting Sarah Marshall. So now, we are each taking turns surprising each other with our movie selection.  Last week, Shawn brought us Slither, which was pretty awesome.  The week before, Sue put on The Wizard of Oz... but set to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. The best section is when Dorothy lands in Oz and arrives in Munchintown, and... well, just watch.

Pretty amazing, no? 

The whole point of this is that you can entertain yourselves cheaply and thoroughly by just going through your own movie libraries, venturing into your kitchen, and calling some friends.  Pretty easy... and tons of fun.

At Home Film Festival: Blazing Saddles

Back around 1982, I came across Blazing Saddles on cable.  A good deal of the jokes went over my prepubescent head, but the silliness and the zaniness captivated me.  And then, Harvey Korman came on the screen.  His performance as Hedy (that's Hedley!) Lamarr was just jaw dropping to me.  So extravagant, so full, so deliciously fun.  During his second scene, I thought to myself "That is what I want to do.  I want to do that for the rest of my life."  And that planted the seed in my brain to become an actor. He was playing the villain with such elan, verve and lip-smacking joy that I couldn't help but smile every time he came on screen. 

So, you can imagine my dismay when I heard the news that he passed away.  I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me.  To commemorate Harvey, my neighbor Susan and I split a bottle of wine, some chips and salsa, and broke in her new flatscreen TV with a screening of Blazing Saddles.  We laughed so much, said the lines along with the film, and did several toasts to Mr. Korman. 

Thank you, Harvey.  Thank you very much.

At Home Film Festival: Sleeper

During junior high school, I happened across A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy on cable.  From that point (until a few years ago), I was hooked on Woody Allen movies.  As a skinny, non-athletic, smart alec kid with glasses, the sight of a film protagonist being skinny, non-athletic, smart alec adult was huge to me.  From junior high through college, I devoured Woody's movies.  While Sleeper isn't my favorite (that would probably be Hannah and Her Sisters), it's still flat-out hilarious.  Coming out a few years after The Omega Man and Solyent Green, Allen's satire of sci-fi futuristic films is funny, warm, and genuinely  goofy.  From the  take on science's reversals of dietary standards ("What? No hot fudge?  No deep fat?") to the mechanization of sex and drugs to the scientific manipulation of produce (the obscenely large bananas and celery stalks), Sleeper actually packs a bit more punch now than it did back in '73.  Just a damn funny film. 

With this being my umpteenth viewing, I think my favorite scene is when the rebellion against the Orwellian American government is trying to reverse the brainwashing done to Miles (Woody's alter ego).  Miles has an "episode" and suddenly shifts into the personality of Blanche DuBois.  In order to calm him down, Diane Keaton plays Stanley Kowalski, doing a spot on Brando impersonation.  Hilarious.

An Incredible(s) New Year

A new year, a new leaf.  2007 wasn't the best year for me but it wasn't the worst.  There were some great highs and some awful lows -- some of which didn't make it to this blog.  But trust me when I say that there were some stretches during 2007 where I was really freaking out, money-wise.  The one-two combo of the commercial and the long gig on the Makeover show have helped stem any money freak-outs, so that's good. 

I am really looking forward to what the year can bring.  A great manifesto for approaching the new 365 days ahead of us was written by the brilliant scribe to the north, bstewart.  His entry Try Hard With A Vengence very eloquently and evocatively sums up how I feel about... well, pretty much everything.  Thanks, Bret, for typing what I'm thinking. 

My actual New Year's Eve consisted of Tom and I watching a huge swath of our Disney DVDs:  Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Bambi, Dumbo, a collection of shorts from World War II, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast.  We ended it all with probably my favorite Pixar film, The Incredibles. 

Growing up with a healthy collection of comic books, this movie is definitely up my alley.  But what I always gravitate towards is the message -- how one has to not be afraid of being different, of being special, of being dynamic.  So much of what we are taught as kids is about being a citizen in society, which is necessary and great.  But what is lacking is nurturing of creativity, of nurturing and supporting excellence.  In a world where kids get participation ribbons instead of trophies 'cause no one wants to hurt people's feelings, The Incredibles really hits home.  Also, it's just a damn good movie.  Between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve, I've run across The Incredibles at least 6 times on cable.  And I've stopped to watch it every single time.  Not only is the action fun and the characters great and the music awesome, but it just... well, speaks to me.  I can't think of a better way to kick off 2008 than with a family of superheroes who gleefully fight against fear and cynicism. 

Well, that and a good glass of wine.

At Home Film Festival: Aliens

In my mind, Aliens is the best action movie ever made. Period.  No other action film that I've seen has had a better grasp of character, story construction, propulsive editing, or just kick ass fun as this one.  Ripley is just simply a fantastic character.  She's smart but humble, attractive but approachable,  honorable but not perfect.  Ripley is a little rough around the edges -- she can be short with people, flippant -- but she acts out of what she feels is right.  At no point in the film do we not completely sympathize with Ripley or not see her point of view.  As the audience, we are right there with her.  This serves as a testament not only to the ultra-tight screenplay and James Cameron's direction, but ultimately to Sigourney Weaver's amazing performance.  With all of her Yale training, Weaver fills every moment as Ripley.  You can tell what she's thinking from one moment to the next, and that gives the movie its real thrust.  You are there with Ripley until the end.

In addition to how awesome Sigourney Weaver is, the acting in the movie is just great.  From Paul Reiser's weaselly Burke to Carrie Henn's pensive Newt and Bill Paxton's apoplectic Hudson, all the performances in the movie are pitch-perfect.  And so many quotable lines! "Somebody wake up Hicks." "Oh, game over, man!" "You can just bill me."  "Did IQ's plummet while I was away?" And, of course..."Get away from her, you bitch!"

Tom and I watched this with Mitch over at Ken's  & Susan's place Sunday night, so while it wasn't at my home, it was indeed at someone else's home.  So, this qualifies I think as part of the At Home Film Festival.  I've seen Aliens at least 15 times, and there are portions that still scare, portions that still thrill me, and overall, it rocks my world.   

At Home Film Festival: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

As a shock to absolutely no one, I'm a Trekker.  I prefer Next Generation to the Kirk series and I do enjoy DS9, and a few episodes of Voyager. As a Trekker, I do ascribe to the Even Number Theory when it comes to the Trek films.  The better Star Trek movies are the even numbered sequels:  Wrath of Khan (Star Trek II -- the one with Ricardo Montalban), The Voyage Home (Star Trek IV -- the one with the whales), First Contact (Star Trek VIII -- the one with the Borg).  Along those lines, I'm a fan of number six.

The plot of the film is a thinly-vieled take on Glasnost.  In the original series, the Klingons were the Russian stand-ins -- a militaristic, ugly crew who were all about domination and aggression.  The Undiscovered Country starts with a Chernobyl-like disaster. Praxis, the Klingon moon that supplies the bulk of their energy resources explodes and severely damages the atmosphere of their main planet, Kronos.  The Federation then comes to help them, and this starts to bring the end of 70 years of galatic war.  Furthering this, there are a lot of lines that make this analogy fairly obvious.

Spock:  There's an old Vulcan proverb. Only Nixon can go to China.

Klingon General Chang:  All warriors in space are cold warriors.

The ending of the cold war is a good metaphor to frame the action of the movie, which is about a conspiracy to end the war between the Klingons and the Federation.  But the film is entertaining first, and cold war screed second. It moves very well and quick enough.  The acting is hammy where it needs to be and restrained for the rest of the time.  While it's rather obvious the budget on the film is rather meager in sci-fi terms, the film looks good and is designed well.  And it's the only film I can think of that features some alien flirting between Leonard Nimoy and a pre-Sex and the City but post-Porky's Kim Catrall as the new Vulcan helmsman.  And since his mom was the casting director, Christian Slater pops up in a 3 line role as an ensign serving under Sulu on The Excelsior. 

It's fun, it's funny at times, thrilling in others, and hey, they quote a lot of Shakespeare.  What's not to like?

At Home Film Festival: Erasure Live: The Tank, The Swan & The Balloon

Oh my word, this DVD of Erasure on tour in 1992 represents the best concert I've been to ever. Okay, I haven't been to that many.  4 to be exact, three of which were in 1992.  The first was a WXRT free 4th of July concert with They Might Be Giants and Squeeze.  The second was The Violent Femmes and the B-52's.  This was number three. Four was Bjork in 1998.  But trust me, once you see Andy Bell cavorting in thigh-high silver boots, dark blue hot pants and a blue ABBA jacket, dancing and singing S.O.S., it's something you want to savor.

Now, Ms. Krystyn was with me for three of those above-mentioned concerts, this Erasure one included.  The night captured for all eternity was from the concert in Manchester, England and not where we saw it at the Chicago Theater (in Chicago, natch), but it was the same concert.  And Erasure put on a great show.  They did all their hits (Chains of Love, A Little Respect, Who Needs Love Like That?) and we danced up a storm, smiling the whole time, even when some a-hole above us spilled his beer. 

I'm not sure if it's how the sound has been recorded but all the songs sound just so damn good here.  The different audio productions and arrangements they do for their songs make them sound fresh and fun, even (gulp) 14 years after the fact.  I prefer this live version of Chorus to the album version, as well with Love Is A Loser and S.O.S. The twin Martinque backup singers harmonize perfectly well with Andy's lovely vocals, and it's a show, y'all.  Costume changes, set changes... he comes in riding a mechanical swan, okay? The synthesizers all live in a big tank, and there's a balloon (hence a title).  Couple that with Andy in a huge hoop dress done up as a globe, wearing ruby slippers while singing Over the Rainbow, and the above-mentioned silver boots, and you can just picture the wonderful costume orgy of it all. 

This concert also represented the only time I can all teen fanboy about a band.  I got tickets in line at a Coconuts Records. I dropped over $100 (back in 1992 when I was a college student, mind you) on merchandise at the concert.  I drove out to Michigan to pick up my friends Darryl and Evan to drive them to the concert and back. I bought a lighter to put up and sway during the ballads.  It was me, in fact, that started the lighters during Over the Rainbow. You're welcome. It was just a fantastic night, a fantastic time, and every time I've popped this DVD in, I just grin from ear to ear.