Thursday
Jun192014
Oh What a Night! What's on your cinematic mind?
Thursday, June 19, 2014 at 12:11AM 
What movie are you thinking about? Please do share. Summers never have the unifying film experience that winter does (i.e. the Oscars). So I have no idea what anyone is interested in.
What's on my mind? I need to see the second half of 22 Jump Street (long uninteresting story but I've only seen half of it) and I just got out out Clint Eastwood's Jersey Boys. More soon on that one though for now I'll just stay positive and say that I'm in love with Erich Bergen (who plays one of the members, the songwriter) and I thought I was going to be in love with Renée Marino (who plays Franki's wife) but we broke up before the end of the movie. Christopher Walken is wonderful but you'd know that even without seeing it I suppose.
Reader Comments (26)
I've been stalking Erich Bergen on social media ever since seeing him in the LA production of "Anything Goes." He's got a nice voice and is easy on the eyes.
Edge of Tomorrow is still rolling around in my head. Loved it so so much.
How I was quite taken by a recent viewing of Her, which reinforced by opinion that Spike Jonze is one of our most gifted and intelligent film auteurs.
Disappointed that How to Train Your Dragon 2 isn't doing well at the box office -- it's such a lovely film! Even if I agree with that article you linked to that said the film does fascinating things with Valka only to shunt her aside in the 3rd act, the overall film is still wonderful.
• Mike Nichols' Master Class
• The Montgomery Clift biopic that isn't getting made (yet)
• Ditto for James Baldwin
• Footlight Parade (1933), which I saw this evening on a big screen at the glorious Orpheum in downtown LA. What a bananas movie with pre-code charismatic Cagney, Blondell, Keeler and (Dick) Powell, and over the top, sometimes offensive Busby Berkeley numbers
The last movie I've seen is on my cinematic mind. It was Clarence Brown's Anna Christie from 1930. Now someone needs to tell Anne Marie that Greta doesn't die in this one either.
Paul you'd make a lovely James Baldwin.
After reading a USA Today article about how INTO THE WOODS is being toned down for the Disney audience, I'm anxious to see a trailer. I imagine it should be coming soon....
Aside from all of the theatrical releases I've missed this year (SO MANY), my mind's been stuck on Andrzej Zulawski's "Possession" ever since watching it a few weeks ago. "Committed" doesn't even begin to describe Isabelle Adjani's performance. I can't imagine that film not being an influence on something like "Antichrist", another emotionally unsettling, allegorical, and deeply personal piece of film making. What really separates the two, I think, is that Zulawski has much more compassion for his female protagonist than Lars von Trier, which is weird because LVT's female characters always seem to be the ones he identifies with the most.
I don't know what I'm saying.
I'm thinking about Beetlejuice, which I just introduced a 10-year-old to, and how much I love Geena, Catherine and especially Winona in it.
Winona 4ever!
My cinematic mind is still very distracted by that damn photo in your sidebar...
I've been thinking how Faye Dunaway is probably on suicide watch after the news about Master Class.
And about how wonderful it would be if Audra could reprise her role from B'way, even though she is a bit too old for it. I need the Meryl Streep of the movies and the Meryl Streep of Broadway to join forces so I can die content.
I saw a stage version of How to Succeed in Business Without Trying last night and loved it! So now I've been thinking I've got to revisit the film version which I haven't seen in years to see how it measures up.
Jane Fonda. Just watched Barefoot in the Park the other day, and Julia last week. The AFI tribute has pushed her to the first of the windmills of my mind. I don't have TCM or TBS anymore, so will somebody, ANYBODY post the telecast on YT.
I NEED to see Jersey Boys. Ms. Julie Andrews presented the Tony for Best Musical to the producers. THAT is and endorsement.
And as always--Jennifer Jones, Greer Garson
Regarding Master Class: Does Meryl have to play every role from actresses over 60? Faye should be playing Maria. Period. And I'm still regretting that Jessica Lange did not play Violet in the screen version of AOC.
@brookesboy - Wasn't Maria Callas in her 50s when she died? Technically neither of them should be playing her.
Then again, if JLaw can steal work from 30 year old actresses I guess it's cool to sorta see the opposite happening.
Hi tfj! I am shamefully unaware of Maria Callas' history, but love your comment about JLaw...it would be poetic justice if ageism could be reversed and older actresses could play younger parts without fear of reprisal. James Brooks, when approached by Jennifer Jones to direct Terms of Endearment, the book of which she had the rights to, went to Paramount and told them to buy the rights from her because she was too old for Aurora. What an asshat!
I'm just biding my time until Tammy comes out.
3rtful, thanks. I actually did (on stage in the mid-to-late '90s).
I saw Heli yesterday, and so should everyone! Premiere Mexican filmmaking.
Sally Field played Mary Todd, a character a lot younger than her actual age in Lincoln.
The movie I'm looking forward to is 'The Toy Soldiers' which is currently looking for distribution this movie could be an Oscar contender great performances all around
Jersey Boys is rather appalling. A complete waste of all that talent and material. Personified by at least three scenes that tell us how great of a singer Frankie Valli's daughter was, but did they never think to have a duet between the two? Why are musical scenes cut halfway through including one cut in half for a fifteen-minute flashback? Why not get Walken dancing - we know he can. So many pointless scenes. Ugh. It takes two hours and five minutes of a two hours and 15-minute movie to get to a musical scene with a pulse.
The last time we did this I wrote that I was wondering about the movie ONE DAY. I still am. I listened to the audiobook and thought it was terrific but I've heard the movie sucks. I don't have a problem with Anne Hathaway, even faking British, but the guy in it is supposed to be overwhelmingly charismatic. And they went with Jim Sturgess?! (Is that his name?). Did anyone see it?
Speaking of Anne, I finally saw the third Batman movie. You shouldn't have to force yourself to continue watching a lighthearted cartoonish movie, correct?
Dave -- i'm confused. you thought a Chris Nolan Batman movie was "lighthearted"? Um...
Glenn, that's a bummer. I was really hoping Clint would pull this off. His last stab at a musical was acting and nonsinging in Paint Your Wagon. Maybe his latest will cast PYW in a better light. Maybe Lee Marvin and Jean Seberg are somewhere smiling.
(Weekend at Bernie's...that's hysterical!)
Just watched about a half hour of The Wolverine. Man what a flat-out de-humanizing move the choice to filter literally everything through Wolverine is. Seriously, I know it's his solo film, but RoboCop still knew they couldn't filter the entire movie through the lens of RoboCop and mostly used Nancy Allen's Detective Lewis and Kurtwood Smith's Boddicker as the primary audience perspective characters after his rebirth. Still, I'll give points that for a PG-13 Wolverine film it's shockingly semi-honest about the character (something that can't be said for the total abject failure that is Man of Steel). Still, I'm pretty much sick of it's dehumanizing stupidity, so I think I'll stop.