One more level of “meta” and my head will explode. (Always great to see people really having fun on set. Too many people missed the memo about this shit being a blast — in spite of all the stress, challenges, etc … )
Arkansylvania: On Del Close … I was lucky enough to be among the final folks who got to study improv with Del at the ImprovOlympic in Chicago. I know I’m just adding my voice to an overwhelming chorus when I say he was a brilliant creative mind and just a wonderful wonderful man. Still, as he was a close friend of yours, I thought I’d take the opportunity to express my admiration for him.
Gotta agree with Sean on the original O11. New version is fluff but the original is Highlander-2-Bad.
And I just gotta add that though this is television and not film: The most inconceivably excellent remake of all time has to be the new Battlestar Gallactica. The new show took a superb concept squandered on a campy 80s mess and made 2-3 years of the best scifi ever. (I coulda done without the last two seasons or so and despised the finale … I know that is an unpopular viewpoint).
Kitty, I can’t agree about disliking the original Wonka…. But, I will say this: that thing scared the living shit out of me when I was little. I had seen movies like The Howling and The Thing … and I enjoyed the “thrills” but never got upset.
Then: the FUCKING OOMAPH LOOMAHS.
I mean, come on: weird, orange slaves that emerge from the bowels of a mad man’s factory and SING AS THEY GREASE CHILDREN TO EXPLODE!?!? I saw the thing at day camp and told a counselor how upsetting I found it … and she said “well she was being greedy.” I left, nodding. But felt MUCH worse deep down. Cause, hell, I’m greedy sometimes.
I’m surprised there’s no Get Carter. And sad not to see the Bad News Bears.
I’d tell anyone to give the original Bears a re-watch. It’s a really great movie. The comedy is crass, hysterical, offensive and yet that always totally goodhearted; I kinda think Tanner is the spiritual father of Eric Cartman. Even more surprising is that the damn flick is subtle and affecting in dramatic moments — in particular the way it deals with the relationship between the driven coach and his son (which culminates in a moment of violence) is just brilliant.
Of course, sitting through the remake was like watching Paris Hilton play Lady Macbeth. Or something.
This stuff is all 100% new to me. (Forgive me coolness for I have sinned). I threw on a bunch of tracks as I got shit done today and have pretty much loved them all. So thanks. It’s fairly f-ing spiffy to get a list like this. And, yeah: “Forest Whitaker” is bizarre and excellent in the extreme.
In case you don’t know about it — there’s a no-drugs-needed way to make your Alice Cooper more … intense(?)
ENJOY ALICE here: http://tinyurl.com/owjhgk
And if anyone wants to f@ck any other content that’s on Youtube just go to: http://www.yooouuutuuube.com
and give the page the youtube url.
PS: I ran into this lady in an elevator and she said James comes of like a prick these days – not at all like she remembered him from school. Dunno what that was all about.
To me, Terminator 2 is the best movie that should never have been made. … Don’t jump on me yet, I swear I really like T2 and wish it no ill. No that it need fear me what with it’s mimetic poly-alloy endo-exo-evro-skeleton.
It’s just that the elegance and tin-drum-tightness of T1’s premise and execution are rather inspiring to me; the original did something often attempted and rarely achieved; it made us accept that EVERYTHING rides on the outcome of a brief, clearly defined struggle told from the perspective of a very average person thrust into the roll of hero. To wit: On an ordinary LA night in 1985, a meek, work-a-day waitress becomes the indispensable hero in the FINAL BATTLE of makind’s ultimate war. Our hero’s “mission” is simple, primal, and urgent: survive. All will be won or lost TONIGHT; There is no stopping the war; there will be no more battles: THIS IS IT.
So, when a sequel was announced I felt like someone walked in and said : “oh, yeah, there was also ANOTHER last battle … and we CAN stop the whole war thing (cause frankly thinking about that thing is a downer).” I was a pissed off little jewboy.
I know that I sound like Kathy Bates in Misery: (“He didn’t get out of the cockadoody car!”). Don’t mean to but I can feel it happing … (Cockadoooody!). I’m glad T2 got made; it’s a cool action flick with some great ideas. I don’t wanna change the timeline or nothin’ so that it was never made … although I wouldn’t mind going back in time to degauss Sarah Conner’s voiceover tracks ..
I just kinda think it’s interesting (and very cool) that movies/stories can end up being pretty great in defiance of crassly commercial, creatively impoverished or wrongheaded origins. I can’t imagine why that would interest me, living in Hollywood.
I imagine the next category has to be best remakes BUT…
After that ….
Best Movies from TV? The Fugitive was stunningly good and, EVEN MORE:
I have always marveled at what the sceenwriter did with THE BRADY BUNCH. Some idiotic exec decides to make the film and a screenwriter does something that brilliantly funny!?!? Come’on! Wow!
In fact: best movies that should never have been made is another category … and brady bunch is right up there.
Oh, I trust you.
And I further trust you’ll forgive me if I don’t run out and see the film to test your theory. Sounds like you wouldn’t wish the thing on your worst enemy … (In fact, if it is truly worse than Highlander 2, suggesting a viewing is probably a violation of the Geneva Convention. And Dick Cheney you are not.)
I hear ya James. I will point out that there is a “Jewish guilt” vs. “Catholic Guilt” problem here.
Allow me to explain… (mutherfucker am I pretentious):
You see, both Jewish and Catholic guilt ends up in the same place: You are Shit. However, catholic guilt is aimed at “look at how close to the pit of hell you are” … where as Jewish guilt is aimed at “Look How Far You are From Being a True Mensch.”
Both have the same result: feel like crap, kid: you’re tooooo low on the ladder that God wants you to climb. (Ain’t it grand what we do to the kiddies?)
So, returning to sequels: You are looking for the gap between the first and second films, thus, the measure is relative … And, therefore, the gap can be caused in two distinct ways: (i) the first film is heavenly and you CAN’T live up to it (Jewish guilt) or the sequel is pure HELL(Catholic Guilt) and the first film SEEMS brilliant by comparison . Thus, The Two Jakes is perfect because Chinatown is a transcendent film. On the other hand: HIghlander 2 is UNFATHOMABLY stupid — a complete non sequitor and almost incoherent; in short: pure f-ing hell to watch. Therefore, the original Highlander need only be slightly above average to make the disparity HUGE.
As I said earlier: I was priviledged to have forewarning about The Two Jakes. So I can’t speak to that. Might well be the worst. And now that somebody mentions Hannibal … that’s up there too. (Though the book Hannibal was worse than the movie, believe it or not … {{{{Hannibal and Starling get MARRIED in the book!}}}}…
In any event, I was totally inspired to pontificate in your general direction. I apologize for the length and girth of my remarks.
Thanks for the love, James. I never saw Two Jakes because I was warned and loved Chinatown so much… couldn’t sully it.
I thought of an odd one. And it’s a real fu*k!ng spolation of a great little film: CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK.
Pitch Black was a kinda brilliant little scifi story about something real (redemption from a horrible choice). The sequel was a sprawling shitmess of stuff that made me want to crawl out of my skin and stab knitting needles through my eyes.
PG PORN: HIGH POON Behind-the-Scenes Video
May 27th, 2009 at 12:42 pmOne more level of “meta” and my head will explode. (Always great to see people really having fun on set. Too many people missed the memo about this shit being a blast — in spite of all the stress, challenges, etc … )
The 11 Best Remakes of All-Time
May 19th, 2009 at 4:55 pmArkansylvania: On Del Close … I was lucky enough to be among the final folks who got to study improv with Del at the ImprovOlympic in Chicago. I know I’m just adding my voice to an overwhelming chorus when I say he was a brilliant creative mind and just a wonderful wonderful man. Still, as he was a close friend of yours, I thought I’d take the opportunity to express my admiration for him.
The 11 Best Remakes of All-Time
May 18th, 2009 at 5:00 pmGotta agree with Sean on the original O11. New version is fluff but the original is Highlander-2-Bad.
And I just gotta add that though this is television and not film: The most inconceivably excellent remake of all time has to be the new Battlestar Gallactica. The new show took a superb concept squandered on a campy 80s mess and made 2-3 years of the best scifi ever. (I coulda done without the last two seasons or so and despised the finale … I know that is an unpopular viewpoint).
The 10 Worst Remakes of All Time
May 14th, 2009 at 3:01 pmKitty, I can’t agree about disliking the original Wonka…. But, I will say this: that thing scared the living shit out of me when I was little. I had seen movies like The Howling and The Thing … and I enjoyed the “thrills” but never got upset.
Then: the FUCKING OOMAPH LOOMAHS.
I mean, come on: weird, orange slaves that emerge from the bowels of a mad man’s factory and SING AS THEY GREASE CHILDREN TO EXPLODE!?!? I saw the thing at day camp and told a counselor how upsetting I found it … and she said “well she was being greedy.” I left, nodding. But felt MUCH worse deep down. Cause, hell, I’m greedy sometimes.
The 10 Worst Remakes of All Time
May 14th, 2009 at 1:34 pmJames: You never see the new Get Carter and I’ll never get anywhere the Two Jakes. If we stick to that, it’s proof that blogging saves lives.
The 10 Worst Remakes of All Time
May 14th, 2009 at 1:11 pmI’m surprised there’s no Get Carter. And sad not to see the Bad News Bears.
I’d tell anyone to give the original Bears a re-watch. It’s a really great movie. The comedy is crass, hysterical, offensive and yet that always totally goodhearted; I kinda think Tanner is the spiritual father of Eric Cartman. Even more surprising is that the damn flick is subtle and affecting in dramatic moments — in particular the way it deals with the relationship between the driven coach and his son (which culminates in a moment of violence) is just brilliant.
Of course, sitting through the remake was like watching Paris Hilton play Lady Macbeth. Or something.
The 100 Greatest Underground Hip Hop Songs of the Last 15 Years
May 13th, 2009 at 7:14 pmThis stuff is all 100% new to me. (Forgive me coolness for I have sinned). I threw on a bunch of tracks as I got shit done today and have pretty much loved them all. So thanks. It’s fairly f-ing spiffy to get a list like this. And, yeah: “Forest Whitaker” is bizarre and excellent in the extreme.
My 22 Favorite Rock Artists, According to My iPod
May 11th, 2009 at 5:17 pmThat twitter link was unintentional. I have no idea who ck is. I was just being prudish about writing FUCK. (fuck, fuckity, fuck, fuck, fuck).
My 22 Favorite Rock Artists, According to My iPod
May 11th, 2009 at 5:13 pmIn case you don’t know about it — there’s a no-drugs-needed way to make your Alice Cooper more … intense(?)
ENJOY ALICE here: http://tinyurl.com/owjhgk
And if anyone wants to f@ck any other content that’s on Youtube just go to: http://www.yooouuutuuube.com
and give the page the youtube url.
PS: I ran into this lady in an elevator and she said James comes of like a prick these days – not at all like she remembered him from school. Dunno what that was all about.
The 15 Best Sequels of All Time
May 10th, 2009 at 3:28 pmHey, thanks Linda! For the CockadoodyCompliment and makin’ a great site run schmoov.
The 15 Best Sequels of All Time
May 7th, 2009 at 10:54 pmTo me, Terminator 2 is the best movie that should never have been made. … Don’t jump on me yet, I swear I really like T2 and wish it no ill. No that it need fear me what with it’s mimetic poly-alloy endo-exo-evro-skeleton.
It’s just that the elegance and tin-drum-tightness of T1’s premise and execution are rather inspiring to me; the original did something often attempted and rarely achieved; it made us accept that EVERYTHING rides on the outcome of a brief, clearly defined struggle told from the perspective of a very average person thrust into the roll of hero. To wit: On an ordinary LA night in 1985, a meek, work-a-day waitress becomes the indispensable hero in the FINAL BATTLE of makind’s ultimate war. Our hero’s “mission” is simple, primal, and urgent: survive. All will be won or lost TONIGHT; There is no stopping the war; there will be no more battles: THIS IS IT.
So, when a sequel was announced I felt like someone walked in and said : “oh, yeah, there was also ANOTHER last battle … and we CAN stop the whole war thing (cause frankly thinking about that thing is a downer).” I was a pissed off little jewboy.
I know that I sound like Kathy Bates in Misery: (“He didn’t get out of the cockadoody car!”). Don’t mean to but I can feel it happing … (Cockadoooody!). I’m glad T2 got made; it’s a cool action flick with some great ideas. I don’t wanna change the timeline or nothin’ so that it was never made … although I wouldn’t mind going back in time to degauss Sarah Conner’s voiceover tracks ..
I just kinda think it’s interesting (and very cool) that movies/stories can end up being pretty great in defiance of crassly commercial, creatively impoverished or wrongheaded origins. I can’t imagine why that would interest me, living in Hollywood.
The 15 Best Sequels of All Time
May 7th, 2009 at 1:09 pmI imagine the next category has to be best remakes BUT…
After that ….
Best Movies from TV? The Fugitive was stunningly good and, EVEN MORE:
I have always marveled at what the sceenwriter did with THE BRADY BUNCH. Some idiotic exec decides to make the film and a screenwriter does something that brilliantly funny!?!? Come’on! Wow!
In fact: best movies that should never have been made is another category … and brady bunch is right up there.
The 22 Worst Movie Sequels of All Time
May 7th, 2009 at 10:58 amOh, I trust you.
And I further trust you’ll forgive me if I don’t run out and see the film to test your theory. Sounds like you wouldn’t wish the thing on your worst enemy … (In fact, if it is truly worse than Highlander 2, suggesting a viewing is probably a violation of the Geneva Convention. And Dick Cheney you are not.)
The 22 Worst Movie Sequels of All Time
May 6th, 2009 at 11:18 pmI hear ya James. I will point out that there is a “Jewish guilt” vs. “Catholic Guilt” problem here.
Allow me to explain… (mutherfucker am I pretentious):
You see, both Jewish and Catholic guilt ends up in the same place: You are Shit. However, catholic guilt is aimed at “look at how close to the pit of hell you are” … where as Jewish guilt is aimed at “Look How Far You are From Being a True Mensch.”
Both have the same result: feel like crap, kid: you’re tooooo low on the ladder that God wants you to climb. (Ain’t it grand what we do to the kiddies?)
So, returning to sequels: You are looking for the gap between the first and second films, thus, the measure is relative … And, therefore, the gap can be caused in two distinct ways: (i) the first film is heavenly and you CAN’T live up to it (Jewish guilt) or the sequel is pure HELL(Catholic Guilt) and the first film SEEMS brilliant by comparison . Thus, The Two Jakes is perfect because Chinatown is a transcendent film. On the other hand: HIghlander 2 is UNFATHOMABLY stupid — a complete non sequitor and almost incoherent; in short: pure f-ing hell to watch. Therefore, the original Highlander need only be slightly above average to make the disparity HUGE.
As I said earlier: I was priviledged to have forewarning about The Two Jakes. So I can’t speak to that. Might well be the worst. And now that somebody mentions Hannibal … that’s up there too. (Though the book Hannibal was worse than the movie, believe it or not … {{{{Hannibal and Starling get MARRIED in the book!}}}}…
In any event, I was totally inspired to pontificate in your general direction. I apologize for the length and girth of my remarks.
Love,
Wolves
The 22 Worst Movie Sequels of All Time
May 6th, 2009 at 4:40 pmThanks for the love, James. I never saw Two Jakes because I was warned and loved Chinatown so much… couldn’t sully it.
I thought of an odd one. And it’s a real fu*k!ng spolation of a great little film: CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK.
Pitch Black was a kinda brilliant little scifi story about something real (redemption from a horrible choice). The sequel was a sprawling shitmess of stuff that made me want to crawl out of my skin and stab knitting needles through my eyes.
The 22 Worst Movie Sequels of All Time
May 6th, 2009 at 2:12 pmOoops, thats: http://twitpic.com/4o7k9 . But I still feel all hella.
The 22 Worst Movie Sequels of All Time
May 6th, 2009 at 2:11 pmI can’t believe you didn’t use my Highlander graphic http://tinyurl.com/cyqwm2. I feel hella-unloved. Hella.