Smash: "Musical Chairs"

"Smash", the confused conflicted self-sabotaging TV Show rife with behind-the-scenes drama is about "Bombshell", a  confused conflicted self-sabotaging Stage Musical rife with behind-the-scenes drama. The TV series has gone so meta lately it's now devouring itself live. Which is turning it into must-see or at least can't-look-away television again.

Backstage at "Liaisons," another show within the show, slumming movie star (Just Jack) has read the online bitching about the show he's starring in and turns to Ivy (Megan Hilty) his supporting actress...

That's "Smash" in a perfectly nutty nutshell. more...

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Visual Index ~ Forgotten Masterpiece / Forbidden Games

I realized after reading the collected articles on René Clément's Forbidden Games that Hit Me With Your Best Shot sometimes works best when you (i.e. the reader) have already seen the film in question. Which presents a problem for me as the host because I love to see pictures I'd never seen (like this one). So I've included the "best" shots, according to our wide-eyed blogging collective, after the jump so you can "see" the best shots after you've watched the movie. Which I urge you to do.

It's available on Instant Watch and it's only 85 minutes long. Well... 95+ because you have to account for the crying and the recovery and such.

After the jump, the film's best shots in linear order. Click on the picture and you'll be staring right at the corresponding article.

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First & Last: Love

first and last puzzles
the first image and the last line from a motion picture

I'll show you the internationally infamous free love crawl. It's a little stroke I picked up out in space."

Can you guess the movie?
If you're stumped the answer is after the jump 

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Best Shot: "Forbidden Games"

On the occasion of writer/director René Clément’s centennial I thought we’d take a look back at his award winning 1952 film Forbidden Games. This drama about children and grief during World War II won the NYFCC foreign film prize, BAFTA’s best film honors and a special Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (before the category was permanently introduced). Though Clement made other important pictures (Purple Noon, The Walls of Malapaga, Is Paris Burning?) let's just say this one comes with a fair amount of prestige baggage.

it's hard to remember prayers when you're hungry

I had never seen the picture but given my long history covering Oscar’s foreign film prize, where World War II and stories about children are both privileged frequently whether or not they’re “special”, my expectations weren’t enormously high. But the film more than lives up to its lauded reputation. more

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Beauty Break: Horizontal Lovelies

From top to bottom chronologically: Natalie Wood, Jane Fonda as Barbarella, Burt Reynolds as The Cosmopolitan Man, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia Organa, Miss Piggy, La Pfeiffer as Catwoman, Rollergirl of Boogie Nights fame, Charlize Theron as Aeon Flux, and Dame Helen Mirren.

P.S. If you would like to replay this post at maximum volume, might I suggest queueing up the Velvet Goldmine soundtrack whilst doing so?