If you don’t know that Kevin Smith has a tendency to get a little geeky with his pop-culture pursuits, then I can only presume that the sentence you’re reading at this very moment is the first time you’ve ever heard of Kevin Smith. Seriously, the man’s all about geek culture, and he’s not afraid to liberally pepper the dialogue of his films with comic book and sci-fi references…and by “liberally pepper,” I mean that, as often as not, you’re knee deep in the stuff. As such, it really shouldn’t surprise anyone that his latest endeavor finds him serving as the executive producer of a new AMC reality series – their first in the genre – called…

The series takes place in Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, the comic shop Smith owns in Red Bank, NJ, and revolves around the guys who work there – Walt Flanagan, Bryan Johnson, Michael Zapcic, and Ming Chen – as they go through their daily routine, much of which…at least for the purposes of the series, anyway…will involve the people who bring items into the store in hopes of selling them.

Yes, that’s right, go ahead and figure on every review of “Comic Book Men” featuring some reference to the series being like “Pawn Stars,” except geekier. This is in no way an inaccurate comparison. In fact, to hear Smith tell it, his pitch for the series actually involved the words, “Let’s do ‘Pawn Stars’ in a comic book store.” But, look, I’m just gonna tell you outright: that sentence alone would’ve been enough to get me to sign up for a season pass on TiVo, and having now actually watched a rough cut of the first episode, I see no reason to backpedal on that theory. Not only do we see some pretty cool shit coming into the store – like, say, a still-boxed Six Million Dollar Man figure with bionic “scope” eye – but there’s a lot of incredibly geeky conversation, too, like the guys’ deepest superhero crushes. (For the record, mine was always Tigra. Just sayin’.)

By the way, speaking of Smith, you probably noticed that I didn’t mention his name as one of the guys who works at the Secret Stash. This, of course, is because he’s got better things (relatively speaking) to do with his time. Don’t worry, though: he’s still in every episode, since the goings-on in the store end up being discussed on the group’s podcast, of which Smith is a part, and the recording sessions have been filmed and are spliced into the proceedings.

Read the rest of this entry »

Following last week’s barrage of new releases, it’s relatively quiet on the Blu-ray front this week, with only a handful of movies and TV shows (like the PBS series, “Downton Abbey”) to choose from. I haven’t gotten around to watching the award-winning period drama, but I’ve heard good things about it. Disney is also releasing “The Lady & the Tramp” for the first time on Blu-ray, and although I remember loving it as a kid, it’s been so long since I’ve seen the film that I honestly don’t know what I could say about it. But don’t fret, because there are a few Blu-rays out today that I’ve actually seen this decade.

Harold and Kumar’s second outing, “Escape from Guantanamo Bay,” was such a major letdown that I wasn’t really looking forward to another installment. But thankfully, the stoner buds’ third adventure is a much-improved sequel that hews a lot closer to the spirit of the original film – which is to say that despite all the absurdity, it isn’t without a certain level of tact. Stars John Cho and Kal Penn have an undeniable chemistry that’s great fun to watch, and if the pair wanted to, they could probably make these movies for the rest of their lives. I’m sure the exact same thing was said about Cheech and Chong back in their heyday, but that stoner duo wasn’t fortunate enough to have a secret weapon like Neil Patrick Harris, who once again steals the show in an extended cameo as himself. And although it’s the last movie you’d expect to see in 3D, director Todd Strauss-Schulson utilizes the technology so effectively that it’s arguably one of the best 3D movies since the gimmick’s revival.

Blu-ray Highlight: Warner Bros. has offered up a few extras – including an extended cut of the movie and some deleted scenes – but there’s not a single one that’s worth your time. A featurette about the film’s 3D effects would have been a nice addition, or at the very least, an audio commentary by John Cho and Kal Penn, but that clearly wasn’t in the budget. Heck, they couldn’t even afford to put the DVD version on a separate disc.

Say what you will about Roland Emmerich’s ludicrous piece of revisionist history, because while the conspiracy theory at the center of his film may be a load of bullshit, it doesn’t make “Anonymous” any less entertaining. Okay, maybe a little, but the period drama is still an incredibly well-acted movie that features some great performances by Rhys Ifans as the Earl of Oxford (and the supposed true author of Shakespeare’s work) and Joely Richardson and Vanessa Redgrave as a younger and older version of Queen Elizabeth I, respectively. The film is also so passionate about trying to convince the audience that there’s some truth to the story that you almost want to believe it; and Emmerich might have succeeded if the movie didn’t devolve into a Shakespearean tragedy itself in the final act. Whether or not you buy into the director’s speculation is a moot point, however, because “Anonymous” is a lavishly-produced guilty pleasure that you’ll enjoy whether you’re a history buff or not.

Blu-ray Highlight: I didn’t receive a review copy in time, but I have to imagine that the audio commentary with director Roland Emmerich and writer John Orloff will be worth a listen, especially for those interested in hearing the reasoning behind the duo’s theory.

HBO has an incredible track record when it comes to their original films, but I certainly didn’t think that a movie about two guys sitting around an apartment talking for 90 minutes could be so compelling. Based on the Cormac McCarthy stage play of the same name, “The Sunset Limited” is an example of a stage-to-screen adaptation done right, retaining its stripped-down production values in order to keep the spotlight on the actors themselves. Though I’ve never seen the play performed onstage before, it’s hard to imagine anyone outshining the fantastic performances that Tommy Lee Jones (who also directed the film) and Samuel L. Jackson deliver in this acting masterclass. In fact, the two screen veterans are so great in their respective roles that it’s kind of surprising they haven’t received more recognition. Some people probably won’t like the bleak subject matter (it’s essentially one big debate on God, culture and the meaning of life), but at least it makes you think.

Blu-ray Highlight: The audio commentary featuring director/co-star Tommy Lee Jones, co-star Samuel L. Jackson and writer Cormac McCarthy isn’t as fascinating as I had hoped, but despite getting off to a fairly slow start, the trio eventually settles into a nice groove with talking points ranging from philosophy to various aspects of the production.

David Steinberg began his career in comedy with Chicago’s Second City, quickly gaining fame as a stand-up through his appearances on “The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson” while also courting controversy by performing comedic “sermons” on “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.” In 1981, Steinberg began to shift his focus from performing to directing, starting with the Burt Reynolds film “Paternity,” and has gone on to become one of the more prolific sitcom directors in the business, but he recently stepped back in front of the camera to host the new Showtime series, “Inside Comedy,” which airs Thursdays at 11 PM. Steinberg spoke with Bullz-Eye about his new gig, detailing the trials and tribulations of securing classic clips to accompany his interviews, while also discussing some of his past efforts as an actor, director, and stand-up comedian.

[NOTE: All photos appear courtesy of TheDavidSteinberg.com.]

Bullz-Eye: This is certainly not your first time hosting a show where you interview comedians: you also brought us Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg. Not that there isn’t still plenty of material yet to mine, but what inspired you to take another crack at it?

David Steinberg: I felt that I hadn’t really done it the way I wanted to. That’s why we first started this as a film. Starting it as a film was really good, because then you get so much material, and it’s sort of looser or whatever. And then I settled on this notion of putting two people together and how they connect, but not in any specific ways. They just go together by what they’re talking about. And once I arrived at that, I thought, “This is gonna be good!” [Laughs.] Of course, making it that good…it was time consuming, but it was great, great fun. I worked with some incredible editors, and there was a lot of archival stuff that we talk about that…well, they know that they’re talking to another comedian. That’s the bottom line. And then, archivally, I didn’t just do the clichéd version. I handpicked the clips that I wanted and then begged people to let me use them. [Laughs.] Archival stuff takes so long to get people to sign off on.

BE: Was there anything you wanted to use that, even with all of your pleading, you still couldn’t get?

DS: Yeah, for Jonathan Winters, I had a clip of him in an old Dean Martin roast where he’s roasting (Ronald) Reagan, and in it there’s a wide shot where you could see Dean Martin, Reagan, (Don) Rickles, Phyllis Diller, and… [Sighs.] You know, it’s generally not the original inheritors of the celebrity estates that are the problem. It’s the grandchildren, who don’t even know or understand what it means to be celebrating Jonathan Winters. They asked for so much money everywhere that we couldn’t use it. I ended up having to go with just a tight shot of Jonathan instead. So, y’know, just stuff like that drove me nuts. For the most part, though, I got everything I wanted. Some were just so exorbitant that I just couldn’t do it. But I’m happy with it.

BE: Speaking of Jonathan Winters on Showtime, he also appeared on The Green Room with Paul Provenza not so terribly long ago. It’s great to see people as yourself and Paul continuing to give him the props he deserves.

DS: That’s right, yeah. I will say that the younger comedians tend to look after the older ones. Richard Lewis goes out to Santa Barbara and spends time with him, and Sarah Silverman has done that with Phyllis Diller. It’s very interesting, the comedy community. It’s more surprising and tight-knit than you would imagine.

Read the rest of this entry »

There doesn’t seem to be as much thought put into when a movie is released on Blu-ray compared to when it’s released in theaters, because some weeks are a lot better than others when it comes to the number of titles to choose from. Granted, quantity doesn’t necessarily equal quality, but there are several high-profile films out today that, although they’re not all winners, should still find an audience if they haven’t already.

Though I wasn’t that impressed by Nicolas Winding Refn’s previous films, they have an undeniable visual flair and originality that you don’t see very often. “Drive” takes those qualities and applies them to a conventional Hollywood thriller, resulting in a movie that feels much more mainstream without abandoning Refn’s art house sensibilities. The film is as beautifully poetic as it is strikingly violent, while Ryan Gosling has never been better as the soft-spoken yet brutally intense protagonist. For as much attention as the film’s graphic violence has received, however, it’s the opening sequence – an edge-of-your-seat car chase packed with tension so thick you could cut it with a knife – that is undoubtedly the biggest highlight. And when a movie can start so brightly and continue to build on it like “Drive” does (thanks in part to great supporting performances from Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston and Albert Brooks), it’s no wonder why so many people love this film.

Blu-ray Highlight: The single-disc release doesn’t offer as many special features as I would have liked, but there’s an excellent 25-minute interview with director Nicolas Winding Refn that is definitely worth checking out. In addition to discussing the origins of the film (including a funny anecdote about his first meeting with Ryan Gosling), Refn talks in length about securing independent financing, casting the actors and more.

It’s admirable of Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. to recognize that John Carpenter’s “The Thing” didn’t warrant a remake, but there are so many similarities in this mostly unnecessary prequel to the 1982 cult classic that it feels like a retread anyway. Though fans of Carpenter’s version will undoubtedly get a kick out of some of the Easter Eggs that have been planted throughout (including a potential clue to the mystery surrounding the ending of the original), the 2011 edition doesn’t deliver the same kind of suspense. For a movie that supposedly wants to honor its predecessor, it also fails to adhere to the same set of rules. Perhaps the most annoying difference is that Heijningen’s Thing doesn’t even try to assimilate its prey with any stealth, but rather makes a big scene out of every transformation, presumably to show off its flashy CGI makeover. But for as silly as some of the original film’s old-school effects look today, they’re still creepier than anything this movie throws at you.

Blu-ray Highlight: The U-Control picture-in-picture feature is probably the disc’s best asset, but the audio commentary with director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. and producer Eric Newman is actually pretty interesting. Along with discussing the more obvious aspects of making the film, the duo reveals some of the other ideas that were never used, including a short-lived plan to have MacReady’s brother as the main protagonist.

As far as science fiction movies go, Andrew Niccol’s “In Time” features one of the more intriguing premises in recent years, which only makes its poor execution that much more disappointing. Although the idea of a future where time is literally money is ripe with potential, Niccol’s heavy-handed sociopolitical message never really gives the film a chance to develop beyond the initial setup. It’s hard to imagine that the movie was greenlit based on an actual script (and not just the idea), because most of the story is spent aimlessly following Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried around a not-so-futuristic city as they get stuck in a monotonous cycle between having too much time and not enough. And for a film about making the most of every second, “In Time” is nothing but a waste of about 6,540 of your own.

Blu-ray Highlight: None. The sole featurette on the disc – a faux-documentary called “The Minutes” that tries to sell the idea that the characters from the movie have agreed to appear on film to discuss the anti-aging gene – is incredibly lame, while the included deleted and extended scenes are small bits that don’t really add anything to the story.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sara Paxton is best known for roles in horror flicks like the 2009 remake of “Last House on the Left” and “Shark Night 3D,” as well as comedies such as the teen romance “Sydney White” with Amanda Bynes and “Aquamarine,” in which she starred as a mermaid. The critics have largely been kind, and the admitted fan of Goldie Hawn and distant cousin of star Bill Paxton, whom she has never met, has earned comparisons to Reese Witherspoon. Even so, it was her down to earth, low-key goofiness which drew the attention of writer-director Ti West for “The Innkeepers,” a surprisingly scary blend of classic ghost story horror and contemporary indie comedy. (It opens in select theaters nationwide this Friday after a month-plus run on VOD.)

It turns out that the 23-year-old Ms. Paxton was born to play the world’s cutest nerd/slacker-cum-asthmatic ghost hunter, and she does it extremely well. What attracted West was the very unglam, slightly geeky and goofy nature she exhibits in real life, which somehow seems to fit with the reality that she is, at 23, a highly experienced professional actress whose earliest gigs included contributing child voices to “SpongeBob SquarePants.” (She is also one of the child “singers” of the long-running Nickelodeon cartoon’s theme.)

And so we bring you five questions with every nerd’s dream girl: Sara Paxton.

1. There was apparently a bit of weirdness [probably not actually ghost related] happening around the set of “The Innkeepers” and the movie was somewhat inspired by creepy things that happened on Ti West’s prior film, “The House of the Devil.” What really scares you?

Sara Paxton: I’m a big baby. Ghosts scare me. If I go see a movie with killers who break into your house, that doesn’t scare me. In the moment, I am scared [because] of the suspense in the movie, but when I go home I don’t think about it. I’m not thinking, “That killer’s going to come in.” But after a ghost movie, I’m like [in a scary voice], “The ghosts are everywhere.” People think I’m ridiculous. I kinda am.

2. So you were perfectly cast for this movie! Now, you’ve done a few horror films. You’ve done some, like this and “Shark Night 3D,” that were more in the fun or even silly category. You’ve also done the kind of horror film where, if the audience isn’t actually traumatized when they walk out the door, they don’t feel like they’ve gotten their money’s worth. Would something like “The Innkeepers” actually scare you more than “Last House on the Left”?

SP: Yeah, “The Innkeepers” scared me. I watched it at South by Southwest [SXSW] in the huge theater with everyone else. That was the first time I saw it because Ti wouldn’t let me see anything, which I’m fine with. Yeah, it scared me. It scared me because it’s unlike any scary movie that I’ve ever seen. Normally, when I see a scary movie, even though it does scare me because I’m a big pansy, I know when it’s coming. I’m ready. I wasn’t ready for this, so it really scared me. I wasn’t prepared [even though I was there when it was shot]. The way he puts it together afterwards makes it scary.

3. Both of your parents work in dentistry. [Paxton's mother is a dentist and her father manages the practice.] Can you talk about the importance of teeth in the performing arts?

SP: When I was a little kid, and I would do commercials and stuff, when I started losing my baby teeth, my mother would make me a little fake tooth. I wouldn’t get parts because of it, because casting directors would be mad. “We want real kids with [real teeth].” I never understood that. “I don’t wany to show my gap tooth.” Teeth are important, I guess you need good teeth, although sometimes they want the real deal — gritty characters with gnarly teeth.

4. You’ve said that Claire from “The Innkeepers” is probably the closest character you’ve ever played to yourself. Ti West describes you as “a charming goofball.” Is that easier or harder than playing somebody who’s very different from yourself?

SP: It’s easier. It is, because I don’t have to control it. You know what I think is the hardest thing? Playing sexy. Doing sexy roles and sex scenes — that terrifies me. Because I’m so nervous about it and so self-conscious about it that makes me not-sexy. Because I’m like [does an adorably bad quasi-Mae West impression], “This is me being sexy,” you know what I mean? I’m like “Oh, let’s do it!”…I have problems playing the [bad sexy English accent] “Come hither into my boudoir” kind of scenes. When I get those auditions, I panic.

5. You’ve been working fairly successfully as an actress since you were six. Do you ever fantasize about having a low-pressure, dead-end job like Claire in “The Innkeepers”?

SP: I wouldn’t say I fantasize about it, but some people think my job is a lot more glamorous than it is. I’m not like this big, famous movie star. Not that that’s what my goal is. At times you feel like, “Is this what I’m supposed to be doing? Should I do something else?” Obviously, I don’t because I love what I do, but it’s a hard industry to work in. It’s easy to get discouraged. You feel trampled on sometimes. When you’ve had three auditions, and you waited for them for an hour just to be treated like garbage or something, it gets too sad sometimes. But I think that it’s worth it if you love it, and I do. Just gotta keep pushing forward.

For as much abuse as January receives for being a bad movie magnet, February isn’t any better, especially when you factor in the bombardment of cheesy chick flicks being unloaded in time for Valentine’s Day. In fact, with the exception of maybe one or two releases, there isn’t anything even worth getting excited about – unless you’re a really big “Star Wars” fan, in which case, keep reading. January was by no means a great month for moviegoers, but it was a heckuva lot better than what February has in store.

Who: Daniel Radcliffe, Janet McTeer, Ciarán Hinds and Emma Shorey
What: A young lawyer travels to a remote village where he discovers the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals.
When: February 3rd
Why: There’s no way in hell that I’m going to see this movie – not because it doesn’t look like it might be good, but rather because there are few things that scare me as unconditionally as creepy old ghost women from horror movies. (Despite really enjoying last year’s “Insidious,” I couldn’t sleep for weeks afterwards.) And that’s a shame, because “The Woman in Black” looks like it might actually rise above the typical horror trash that populates this time of year (see: “The Devil Inside”). Adapted from Susan Hill’s novel of the same name (which was also turned into a successful stage play), the script was written by Matthew Vaughn’s go-to scribe Jane Goldman and stars Daniel Radcliffe in his first post-Potter role. The actor undoubtedly had plenty of offers on the table, so the fact that he chose this Hammer horror film certainly speaks of its potential.

Who: Michael B. Jordan, Alex Russell, Dane DeHaan and Michael Kelly
What: Three friends gain superpowers after making an incredible discovery, only for their friendship to be tested when one of them embraces his dark side.
When: February 3rd
Why: I didn’t even know about this movie until a few months ago when a friend sent me a link to the trailer, but consider me cautiously intrigued. Though I’m just as sick of the whole found footage fad as everyone else, “Chronicle” is set up in a way that it doesn’t have to adhere to the normal rules of the genre. For starters, since the main characters have superpowers (namely, telekinesis), they can put the camera pretty much anywhere they want, allowing for a more dynamic range of shots beyond the trademark shaky cam. The trailer also seems to suggest that there will be a healthy dose of action, so as long as the story isn’t a complete mess and director Josh Trank can keep the movie’s mystery a secret, this superhero “Cloverfield” could be the first surprise hit of the year.

Read the rest of this entry »

Although it ran for 14 seasons and 31 episodes, Fox’s “Mad TV” never delivered the kind of instant name recognition that the alumni of its Saturday night competition on NBC tend to get, but dedicated viewers will no doubt recall the faces of Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele from such recurring sketches as “Coach Hines,” “Funkenstein,” “The Superstitious Knights,” and more. Now, the duo are reuniting for their own sketch comedy series on Comedy Central, and thanks to advance clips from the show going viral, the buzz about “Key & Peele” is tremendous. Bullz-Eye talked to Key and Peele about how they met, the origins of their comedic collaboration, what and viewers can expect from the first season of their series.

Jordan Peele: We’ve done a couple of these so far, Will, and I’ll just go ahead and pre-empt your request to have us announce our names…

Bullz-Eye: I don’t know what you’re talking about. It never would’ve occurred to me to ask you to identify yourselves before speaking.

JP: [Laughs.] Well, this is Jordan speaking, and…I guess I’m the one that sounds more like Bert. And he’s the one that sounds more like Ernie.

BE: I’ll try to remember that during transcription.

Keegan-Michael Key: [Laughs.] Yeah, just put B for one, E for the other. That shouldn’t be too confusing.

BE: Yeah, especially not when “BE” is the abbreviation for Bullz-Eye.

JP: [Laughs.] Well, just to be safe, we’ll keep announcing ourselves, anyway. You can also identify me as the tired one. I’m Jordan.

BE: Right. If someone’s slurring, it’s probably Jordan.

KMK: He’s Eeyore, I’m Piglet.

JP: Piglet? Oh, come on. You’re Tigger.

KMK: Oh, God, what am I talking about? Of course I’m Tigger. [Laughs.]

BE: So you guys obviously worked together for many years on “Mad TV,” but did you know each other at all prior to that series?

KMK: We did. Yeah, we met in Chicago when Jordan was at Boom Chicago, which is an improv theater in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. [Laughs.] As opposed to Amsterdam in New Mexico or something, right?

JP: Hey, there’s also an Amsterdam in New York.

KMK: All right, all right. [Laughs.] Anyway, I was at The Second City, and our casts had a swap. There’s two theaters at the Second City, so one of our casts went to Amsterdam, and Jordan’s cast from Boom Chicago – which is just a really incredible theater – they came to Chicago. So they flipped, and that’s where we met: I was performing on the second stage at Second City, and Jordan’s cast had come in to visit us for a week.

Read the rest of this entry »

Blu-ray enthusiasts have plenty to be excited about this week with MGM’s reissues of Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall” and “Manhattan” and a trio of films from Alfred Hitchcock (“Rebecca,” “Notorious” and “Spellbound”). None of these titles arrived in time for review, however, so maybe I’ll do another short column later in the week after I get a chance to check them out. Thankfully, there are several other titles worth discussing, including Shawn Levy’s best movie to date and a comedy about cancer. No, seriously.

I didn’t have very high expectations for Shawn Levy’s robot boxing drama when the project was first announced, but after being invited to visit the Detroit set back in August 2010, it became a lot clearer that “Real Steel” was going to be more than just “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots: The Movie.” That’s not to say that the robot-on-robot action isn’t great, because it’s more fun than your average Transformers melee, but it’s nice to see a movie that doesn’t lose sight of its human characters amidst all the shiny, CGI-fueled action. The father-son relationship between Hugh Jackman’s down-on-his-luck fight promoter and Dakota Goyo’s spritely kid doesn’t just drive the story – it gives the movie its heart, with the actors striking up an excellent onscreen chemistry reminiscent of films like “Paper Moon” and “The Champ.” Granted, it’s just as predictable as every other underdog sports drama ever made, but it doesn’t make “Real Steel” any less the entertaining crowd-pleaser that it aims to be.

Blu-ray Highlight: Although the Second Screen feature offers a lot of great behind-the-scenes info, the last thing I want to do while watching a movie is have an iPad or laptop sitting around to distract me. Instead, I was more impressed by the “Making of Metal Valley” featurette, which offers an in-depth look at the various departments involved in filming the junkyard sequence, including production design, visual effects and stunts.

Jonathan Levine’s “50/50” is everything that Judd Apatow’s “Funny People” aspired and ultimately failed to be – a well-balanced dramedy about the Big C that has you laughing one minute and holding back your tears the next. Though I don’t think that the film is quite as amazing as some would lead you to believe (then again, I also thought that “Bridesmaids” was vastly overrated), it’s a really good movie anchored by some excellent performances. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has hardly put a wrong step forward over the last five years (save for perhaps “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”), and he’s at the top of his game here with an incredibly realistic portrayal of a young man stricken with cancer. Seth Rogen is a lot more tolerable than usual as Gordon-Levitt’s best friend and Anna Kendrick lights up the screen as his grief counselor/love interest, but the real plaudits go to screenwriter Will Reiser, who managed to turn his own bout with cancer into a movie that actually feels sincere.

Blu-ray Highlight: I never received a review copy and therefore couldn’t sample any of the bonus material, but fellow BE critic David Medsker singled out the disc’s audio commentary by Seth Rogen and Will Reiser in his review, claiming that “when you give Rogen and his best friend microphones and press ‘record,’ funny stuff will follow.”

Sex, torture and violence in Eastern Europe is usually a recipe reserved for the horror genre, but that isn’t the case with “The Whistleblower,” a political thriller that will make you sick to your stomach – not from any graphic visuals, but because it shows humanity at its most vile. Though Larysa Kondracki’s directorial debut is a relatively by-the-numbers message movie, the subject matter – based on the true story of Kathy Bolkovac, a former cop who uncovered a sex trafficking ring in post-war Bosnia involving UN peacekeepers and local police – will make your blood boil. What separates the film from the various made-for-TV and direct-to-DVD movies that cover similar ground is its talented cast, particularly Rachel Weisz as the resolute Bolkovac. Vanessa Redgrave and David Strathairn also pop up in small supporting roles, but it’s Weisz who makes this otherwise vanilla thriller worth watching with another of the kind of solid yet unflashy performances that she’s built a career around.

Blu-ray Highlight: There’s only one special feature on the disc – “Kathy Bolkovac: The Real Whistleblower” – and it’s not exactly what you’d call a highlight. While several of the film’s cast and crew (as well as the real-life Bolkovac) sit down to discuss the movie, they’re unable to go into a whole lot of detail in the paltry five minutes provided.

If you like badass babes, you’re going to love Gina Carano. She’s a Strikeforce MMA fighter and she’s starring in “Haywire” which opened this weekend. Check out Bob Westal’s positive review of “Haywire” in our movie channel. Her character in this film will definitely be a candidate if we do another Badass Bracket.

We put together a slideshow of some great photos of Gina from the film. If you have a thing for girls with guns, you’re going to like some of these shots. The first shot is from Gina’s Maxim shoot, so check it out for some other great photos from our friends at Maxim.

Now that I’m back from the January 2012 TCA Press Tour, I’m very, very tired…and, trust me, if you knew how much work I’d done during the course of the tour – January 3 – 15 – then you’d understand why I’m so very, very tired. I tried to attend as many of the panel coverage of the next six months of television as I possibly, but given that I was bouncing between one-on-one interviews throughout the day and trying to round up a few more every night, I’m not going to pretend that I was able to attend them all. I attended enough of them, however, that it doesn’t take a great deal of effort to produce a collection of my favorites quotes of the tour. That’s not to say this is all of them, mostly because some of the panels (like, say, “Archer”) were very much of the you-had-to-be-there variety, but it’s enough to give you an idea just how entertaining the last two weeks have been.

Tiring as hell, but definitely entertaining.

“When (Johnny Carson and I) talked, after 12 years of writing him, in 2002 he finally actually called me, and I thought it was a joke when on the PA it said “Peter, Johnny Carson on 601.” And he said, “Peter, it’s Johnny Carson. I want to tell you, you write a damn fine letter, but I’m not going to participate in anything on my life because, you know what? I don’t give a shit.” He said, “One day something may get done, and you know what? You’re probably the guy to do it. But it will never happen while I’m alive. I’ve done everything I’ve wanted to do. I’ve said anything I want to say. There is nothing more.” – director Peter Jones on trying to secure an interview with Johnny Carson for the long-gestating “American Masters: Johnny Carson”

“To be honest, it’s one of two minutes in a 90 minute episode, and it’s pre the 9 o’clock BBC watershed. There is nothing that you see. It’s very suggestive. It’s very clever camerawork, and it’s just a character device. It’s not about nudity being displayed in ‘Sherlock.’ She’s a dominatrix. Nudity is nothing to her, but it was no mean feat for me to shoot it being naked for eight hours in just a pair of Louboutin shoes. (It) was a challenge…and one I’ve never met before.” – Laura Pulver on her nude scene in “Sherlock II”

“One of the things that is amazing is to look back at a song that is so inevitable, like ‘Over The Rainbow.’ That’s like a folk tune. We all know it so well. And I discovered that (songwriter) Yip Harburg was having trouble coming up with an idea for the words that proceeded ‘rainbow.’ ‘Somewhere beyond the rainbow.’ ‘Somewhere near to the rainbow.’ It just didn’t feel right. And then he came up with ‘somewhere over the rainbow’ because, as a lyricist, he realized that the ‘o’ sound sang well, and it was a pleasing for a singer. And, technically, it worked right, and it gave him the right setting for the word ‘rainbow.’ ‘Somewhere over the rainbow.’ And then I discovered that, the end of that song, they were having trouble with it.

“Yip Harburg and Harold Arlen, Arlen being the composer and Harburg being a lyricist, they were having trouble with the last line of the song. And they were working at Ira Gershwin’s house, and they couldn’t come up with the idea to end the whole thing. They’d gone through the whole song, and they couldn’t come up with the end. And they were working for hours at Ira Gershwin’s house, and he was tired, and he wanted to go to bed. So he said, ‘What about ‘Birds fly over the rainbow. So why can’t I?’ And they said, ‘Hey!’ And he gave him the idea, the whole end of it, and then he came up with this: ‘If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh, why can’t I?’ And when Mr. Gershwin was alive, I said, ‘Ira, why did you meddle in somebody else’s songwriting?’ He said, ‘Because it was late and I wanted to get to bed.’” – Michael Feinstein on “American Songbook II”

“I had great Italian American family that were in the grocery business. And it was during the Depression, and we were all very, very poor. The whole country, the majority of the country was really, really poor, a lot worse than it is today. And so my father died when I was ten and my brother and sister and I would entertain my family because my family all my uncles and nephews and aunts and relatives they all would come over on a Sunday and make a circle around my brother, sister, and I. And they were so knocked out with trying to make my mom feel good because she had to work on a penny a dress to raise three children, and the whole family felt so much for her, but they wanted to show her how much they loved her children. And they treated me and my brother and my sister with so much love, and they I remember at a very early age, they said to me, ‘Look at the way he makes us feel good, you know, and he’s so happy, and he’s always doing something to make us feel good, and look at the way he paints flowers and all that.’ I remember very clearly saying, ‘This is who I am. My family is telling me that I sing and I paint,’ and they created a tremendous gift in my life to continue that, and each year it’s become stronger and stronger. I will never retire, and, you know, if my voice goes, I’m still going to paint. I just want to keep improving as I go on, and it’s just taught me what a beautiful life it is to be possessed with. It’s not that I want to do it. I have to do it. And it will always be that way. I will never retire.” – Tony Bennett on the secret to his longevity

Read the rest of this entry »