The Movie Thread

[RGMike]

It's The Runaways: The Movie! Yes, it's about the band. Kristen Stewart of Twilight will play Joan Jett...

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/twilight-star-stakes-out-joan-jett-role/

[RGMike]

Just came from seeing Cadillac Records, which I very much enjoyed. Great music and terrific acting all around (Jeffrey Wright RULES, and even Beyonce is good). Yes, it follows the standard template of the genre (humble beginnings! drugs & alcohol! chart montages!) but for a movie that traffics in so many musical-biopic cliches, it's pretty nimble, and at just an hour & 45 mins, it whizzes by.   

Fun fact: I never knew that Etta James claimed her father was pool player Minnesota Fats!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etta_James

[RGMike]

Headline of the week, from a hollywood-elsewhere.com article about how horrendously bad the remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still is:

"Klaatu Barada Ix-nay"

Well, it made *me* laugh, anyway...

[mshray]

I saw Milk & loved it, but apparently the Hollywood Foreign Press did not, as it was shut out of the Golden Globe nominations revealed today.  As widely expected, Heath Ledger got a supporting nom for Dark Knight, but I didn't expect Tom Cruise to get one for Tropic Thunder.

[RGMike]

I saw Milk & loved it, but apparently the Hollywood Foreign Press did not, as it was shut out of the Golden Globe nominations revealed today.  As widely expected, Heath Ledger got a supporting nom for Dark Knight, but I didn't expect Tom Cruise to get one for Tropic Thunder.

They did nominate Penn, but yeah, quite a shutout otherwise, ignoring Van Sant and Josh Brolin.

Weirdest OMGWTF, though, is Best Song for Springsteen, who apparently wrote the title song for the Mickey Rourke film The Wrestler.

[Gazoo]

Weirdest OMGWTF, though, is Best Song for Springsteen, who apparently wrote the title song for the Mickey Rourke film The Wrestler.

Springsteen and Rourke are longtime friends - I just learned this last week when listening to some stuff at his site.  (Didn't hear the Wrestler song, though.)

As for Milk - I deeply enjoyed it.  I'm not the film buff most of you folks are, so my observations are a little elementary, but one thing I really appreciated about Gus Van Sant's direction and whoever did the casting was that they didn't try to excessively beautify the principal players.  Harvey Milk and Cleve Jones were funny-looking guys like me, and the movie respected and reflected that.

I was also intrigued - and I hope this doesn't count as a spoiler - by Van Sant's sugestion that Dan White's homophobia resulted from he himself being a closet case, and moreover, having some amount of attraction to Harvey.  I hadn't heard this hinted at before.

So I saw two movies in theaters this year, and James Franco was impressive in both of them.  Is he really that good?

[mshray]

So I saw two movies in theaters this year, and James Franco was impressive in both of them.  Is he really that good?

I think that's what we're finding out.  Sure seems to have the chops.

[RGMike]

So I saw two movies in theaters this year, and James Franco was impressive in both of them.  Is he really that good?

I think that's what we're finding out.  Sure seems to have the chops.

I have never seen the TV movie where he played James Dean, but he's said to be quite impressive in that too. And I love that the Golden Globes nominated him for Pineapple Express. 

"I’m glad I dipped in your ink, bro'."

[RGMike]

there are 49 (count 'em) songs eligible for the Best Original Song Oscar this year... how many of these ditties can you hum? (besides "the unholy mess", that is)

Another Way to Die” from “Quantum of Solace”
“Barking at the Moon” from “Bolt”
“The Boys Are Back” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“Broken and Bent” from “Role Models”
“By the Boab Tree” from “Australia”
“The Call” from “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”
“Can I Have This Dance” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“Chase the Morning” from “Repo! The Genetic Opera”
“Chromaggia” from “Repo! The Genetic Opera”
“The Code of Life” from “My Dream”
“Code of Silence” from “Save Me”
“Count on Me” from “The Women”
“Di Notte” from “The Lodger”
“Djoyigbe” from “Pray the Devil Back to Hell”
“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E”
"Dracula’s Lament” from “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”
“Drive” from “Fuel”
“Forever” from “They Killed Sister Dorothy”
“High School Musical” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“Gran Torino” from “Gran Torino”
“I Thought I Lost You” from “Bolt”
“I Want It All” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“In Rodanthe” from “Nights in Rodanthe”
“It Ain’t Right” from “Dark Streets”
“Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire”
“Just Getting Started” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“Just Wanna Be with You” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“Little Person” from “Synecdoche, New York”
“The Little Things” from “Wanted”
“A Night to Remember” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“Nothing but the Truth” from “Nothing but the Truth”
“Now or Never” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire”
“Once in a Lifetime” from “Cadillac Records”
“Right Here Right Now” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“Right to Dream” from “Tennesee”
“Rock Me Sexy Jesus” from “Hamlet 2”
“Scream” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“The Story” from “My Blueberry Nights”
“Sweet Ballad” from “Yes Man”
“Too Much Juice” from “Dark Streets”
“The Traveling Song” from “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”
“Trouble the Water” from “Trouble the Water”
“Up to Our Nex” from “Rachel Getting Married”
“Walk Away” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“Waterline” from “Pride and Glory”
“The Wrestler” from “The Wrestler”
“Yes Man” from “Yes Man”
“Zydrate Anatomy” from “Repo! The Genetic Opera”

[princessofcairo]

there are 49 (count 'em) songs eligible for the Best Original Song Oscar this year... how many of these ditties can you hum? (besides "the unholy mess", that is)

I'm officially out of it. I've never heard any of those songs. I haven't even seen any of those films. I've never even heard of most of them!

[mshray]

there are 49 (count 'em) songs eligible for the Best Original Song Oscar this year... how many of these ditties can you hum? (besides "the unholy mess", that is)

I'm officially out of it. I've never heard any of those songs. I haven't even seen any of those films. I've never even heard of most of them!

If you haven't heard of High School Musical then you are indeed out of it.

[RGMike]

there are 49 (count 'em) songs eligible for the Best Original Song Oscar this year... how many of these ditties can you hum? (besides "the unholy mess", that is)

I'm officially out of it. I've never heard any of those songs. I haven't even seen any of those films. I've never even heard of most of them!

If you haven't heard of High School Musical then you are indeed out of it.

besides "the unholy mess", I've heard the WALL-E song and "Rock Me Sexy Jesus"

[princessofcairo]

there are 49 (count 'em) songs eligible for the Best Original Song Oscar this year... how many of these ditties can you hum? (besides "the unholy mess", that is)

I'm officially out of it. I've never heard any of those songs. I haven't even seen any of those films. I've never even heard of most of them!

If you haven't heard of High School Musical then you are indeed out of it.

besides "the unholy mess", I've heard the WALL-E song and "Rock Me Sexy Jesus"

I'm assuming "the unholy mess" is the Bond song? What's so bad about it (I haven't heard it)? And while we're at things I haven't heard of until now, what's this Iraqi shoe business?

Unfortunately, i have heard of High School Musical, but, fortunately, I haven't seen it.

[RGMike]

I'm assuming "the unholy mess" is the Bond song? What's so bad about it (I haven't heard it)? And while we're at things I haven't heard of until now, what's this Iraqi shoe business?

Yes, the Bond theme. I think it's just, well, a mess (Jack & Alicia don't mix, IMHO).  You really *are* out-of-touch if you haven't seen/heard/read the shoe story... it knocked Blagojevich off the front page.

[princessofcairo]

I'm assuming "the unholy mess" is the Bond song? What's so bad about it (I haven't heard it)? And while we're at things I haven't heard of until now, what's this Iraqi shoe business?

Yes, the Bond theme. I think it's just, well, a mess (Jack & Alicia don't mix, IMHO).  You really *are* out-of-touch if you haven't seen/heard/read the shoe story... it knocked Blagojevich off the front page.

"Blagojevich". I'm drawing a blank there, too...Off I go to the BBC...

ETA: Oh, that was a good laugh (the shoe)!! W is still quick on his feet!
I knew the Chicago story, just didn't remember Blago's name. Now I'll have to listen to "the unholy mess", I guess.

ETAL: It sounds like a mess alright.