Why do I mention him now?

It lacks reason, but Child's Play, the film for which the awesome Dourif lends his voice, is getting a remake. No word if the 7th Heaven mom will return.

Here's what I said back on 7/24/06:

One of the greatest and most fun actors our nation has to offer and he is still mostly a B list character actor; recognizable but not known. The first time I took real notice and needed to learn the name Brad Dourif was his
brilliant and creepy performance in The Eyes of Laura Mars.

You may recognize him from a myriad of places: As the voice of Chucky, as the doctor on Deadwood, as Wormtongue in Peter Jackson's most inspired bit of casting in Lord of the Rings, in David Lynch's Dune and Blue Velvet, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, as the Gemini killer is the flawed but worth renting Exorcist 3, in one of the best X-Files “Beyond the Sea”, and other tv shows like Star Trek, Tales from the Crypt, and Wild Palms.

In short, he has had an awesome career and I can't wait to get his autograph at a nerd convention. (Which, by the way, if anyone knows when one is in the NY area, let me know).

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Posted on February 16, 2009

Why do I mention him now?

I was a bit harsh on old Franco about his career path, but since then, things have been looking up. I am still waiting for the status of Pineapple Express to go from “very long wait” to “shipping today” but from what here his hipped pants performance is one that will have me falling in love all over again.

Here's what I said back on 2/5/07

This chiseled face would have completely slipped by my radar if it hadn't been for Freaks and Geeks. Sure he's still a babe as Harry Osborn in Spiderman, and I've heard he played a mean James Dean, but his current career path of one boring overwrought war/romance/manly men doing cliche manly things has left me cold.

I hope one day he gets to play a part as complex, funny, and attractive as the freak high school bad boy Daniel Desario. I dare anyone to watch the Noshing and Moshing episode and not feel their heart flutter.

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Posted on February 16, 2009

Why do I mention it now?

While there is no official released version yet, Antony Hegarty has performed a blistering, heart breaking version of this dance hit. He wrenches out the sadness hidden behind the lyrics.

Here's what I said back in 6/25/06:

If there is one thing I am not as up on as the rest of the world (well, after the bible and sports) it's the latest in popular music. Blame it on not listening to the radio anymore, but it took me three years to actually hear Crazy in Love in its entirety (thanks to a birthday CD from Mike and Shaun) and learn what young teenage girls aching to be older already knew. Basically that Beyonce Knowles rules and even causes me to almost dance-ish in the car.

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Posted on February 16, 2009

Why do I mention it now?

The spectacular and spectacularly underrated and seen Honeymoon Killers was recently screened one night only at the Film Society at Lincoln Center last month. For those many of us that missed it, I thought it was a great time to re-recommend a rental.

Here's what I said back on 5/21/07:

Movies like this one are the reasons Criterion Collection is so fabulous: here's a b-grade exploitation film that turned out light years better than it needed to be with excellent performances (Shirley Stoler where are you?… what? Pee Wee's Playhouse?); sophisticated filmmaking despite a small budget; and a cutting edge plot featuring serial killers as protagonists.

This movie can't get out from under the weight of its low budget completely and it seems almost like an industrial film at times–to its advantage–and even Criterion couldn't do much of anything with the terrible audio, I recommend watching with subtitles.

The story is based on the true life drama of two outsiders, Martha Beck and Ray Fernandez who fell in love, swindled widows out of their money, and sometimes killed them too. They were executed in 1951 for their crimes.

Scorsese was initially set to direct, but the honor went instead to Lawrence Kastle, and he did an amazing job. Really a masterpiece that predates Taxi Driver and the less thanstellar Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. But even masterpieces can't always be for everyone.

If you look for a positive outlook on humanity in your films, I would steer clear. This is one nasty, cruel little movie, about nasty cruel people, so don't let the campiness of the poster fool you. No one comes out looking good in this film. Even the victims. And by the time one of them does evoke our sympathy, we witness her moment of realization that she's going to die with an unflinching, seemingly unending closeup of her terrified eyes. It's rough stuff and way ahead of its time. Also worth noting is the interesting soundtrack with music by Gustav Mahler.

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Posted on February 16, 2009

Post porn modernist Annie Sprinkle has been a grand figure in the movement to demystify and embrace sexuality as a healthy part of human life; a former porn star and prostitute she has since worked as a performance artist and an educator.

In a recent performance in France, she was inspired by the space's winding staircase and, in homage to Marcel Duchamp, she and partner Elizabeth Stephens disrobed. Sprinkle had this to say: ??br/>

As we had not appeared nude in public since gaining some extra pounds, it would take some courage to show our new bigger bodies. We were in the Yellow Year, the Year of Courage, and Year of the Belly. So there was no doubt that we had to do it. Sometimes we love our big bellies, sometimes we don't. But when we do performance art, we always love our bellies exactly as they are.

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Posted on February 9, 2009