Links: Vocal Mimicry, Fearless Reprises, and Kick Lines

Web Slinging hear Tom Hiddleston's impressions of Samuel L Jackson, Owen Wilson and Chris Evans. He's a talented mimic. And funny, too.
My New Plaid Pants gratuitous Byung-hun Lee
Pajiba acknowledging the nameless lineless secretaries on Mad Men. Hey, at least they get to wear the insanely great costumes of Janie Bryant.
LoveFilm asks which Brad Pitt film haircut is the most iconic? How to choose? Surely the best male follicles in Hollywood.

Monkey See on long term investments in TV shows and whether or not they pay off (via New Girl and Smash) 
Boy Culture has the rumored set list for Madonna's MDNA tour. Sad I'm not going but it'll be fun to read about and see clips from
Rope of Silicon Care to see a sneak peak of The Lizard from The Amazing Spider-Man? I'm avoiding spoilers which is frankly silly since we're in reboot territory but whatevs. I love Spider-Man, easily my favorite superhero film franchise. Though I'm still not excited about this one. 
Daily Musto The Avengers when they were young
Cinema Blend release date shuffling strikes. No Gravity in 2012. Sniffle. Guess I have to update my Oscar charts asap 

Playbill Yes, Julianne Moore accepted the Piper Laurie "Margaret White" part in the new film version of Carrie. She's brave that one, but stepping into another actor's iconic shoes (slippers in this case?) is tough work. See also Julianne Moore in Hannibal. I'm not sure she shoulda done it but now I have to see the movie. Damn you Juli, you fearless minx!
The Film Experience <--- yes, we already discussed this.
 Movie|Line has a candid interview with 90s teen star Devon Sawa... hadn't heard that name in awhile
The Incredible Suit 'is it just me or...' (seeing double) 
Empire Channing Tatum may star in Roland Emmerich's next noisy action picture (oh dear) White House Down 
The Wrap Hollywood learned nothing about Taylor Lautner's lack of film-carrying talent from Abduction (oy) and he's getting another action picture called  Tracers.
The Film Experience <--- yes, I actually wrote about Abduction. I am a masochist. 

Finally via SuperPunch, which always finds neat things to share, a supercut of just the kicking from Jean Claude Van Damme's Kickboxer...

Mad Men @ The Movies: Megan, The Actress

In Mad Men @ The Movies we talk about the show's movie references. Mad Men happens to love the movies and we happen to love Mad Men.

Megan Draper: My father won't care if he finds out you read James Bond.
Don Draper: You know what? It's a good book. You should read it. 

poll by twiigs.com

Eyebrows were raised recently when it was announced that Jessica Paré would be submitting herself in the lead actress category at the Emmys for this season of Mad Men. Over the show's interminably long hiatus she graduated from guest star to... well, the new Mrs. Don Draper fits the "Lead" description in every way. Not only does Megan gets key storylines in every episode but her energy, impulsiveness, and partial foreignness is something like a youthquake for the show, especially since all the other characters are aging quicker than they'd like to.

In "At the Codfish Ball" and "Lady Lazarus" Megan's decisions continue to cause aftershocks with Don, Peggy, Roger and more who all seem to interpret Megan's decisions through their own narcissistic lens. Her parents visit, she saves a major account (Heinz Baked Beans) proving her natural aptitude at advertising but instead of celebrating she announces her resignation. She secretly still wants to be an actress and has been attending auditions on the sly.

Movie grammar and a pinch of Hitchcock after the jump...

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Smash: "Tech" & "Previews"

Smash recently announced that its creator and season 1 showrunner Theresa Rebeck was moving on. and Josh Safran (who ran Gossip Girl) is moving in for Season 2. What this means for the show we'd rather not speculate because Smash is such a fragile series. Tweak it this way it becomes a great series rather than a good one. Tweak it that way and it all falls apart. Expectations were too high to avoid studio interference but what the show needs is someone who embraces the core of its appeal and doesn't worry about appealing to every demographic. (Even Marilyn Monroe herself was hardly a universally beloved / respected movie star.) Shows that know themselves first and foremost tend to be the ones that people come to and adapt to, not shows that try to adapt to that  mythical monolithic audience.

Happy Birthday.... Mr. Director ♫

1.13 "Tech"
Despite various complaints about the direction of Season 1 I think the show actually has a pretty good handle on forward momentum. more after the jump.

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Mad Men @ The Movies: Born Free, Feeling Trapped

In this series we explore the connections between Mad Men and the cinema. Season five has, thus far, not used the movies as much as they have in previous seasons. Though it's also possible that blogging concurrently with airings could result in missed references. Needless to say, I am behind so let's discuss the past couple of weeks of Mad Men.

Driving lessons for sad Pete Campbell

5.5 "Signal 30"
This episode focused on Pete, one of the show's least likeable characters who has, over the course of five years, grown more sympathetic and even more admirable while not really becoming more likeable per se. It's a nifty balancing act that actor Vincent Kartheiser performs tremendously well. Other than fame and fortune, this has been a thankless character for him as his fellow cast members have reaped abundant nominations (if strangely no wins) and increased big screen traction. If they have any sense this will be Kartheiser's Emmy submission episode for Season Five. A repeating motif in which Pete had to watch those old scare-tactic car crash documentaries they used to show in Drivers Ed courses was also stealthily employed. (Now that he's a suburban husband, he has to learn to drive.) Even though Pete was foolishly attempting to cheat on his wife Trudy (so charming even Don Draper is a fan!) with a teenager, and even though he got a well deserved beat down (literally) from Lane, the episode managed the miraculous feat of making you feel altogether bad for him as he struggles to grow up; Pete still looks like a little boy but he no longer feels like one.

Mrs Ken Cosgrove, Mrs Pete Campbell, Mrs Don DraperAging has been a theme of this season, from fatigue to illness to a widening gap between the younger and older characters mindsets. Great, great episode that even managed to thread in a B plot for the oft underused Ken Crosgrove (Aaron Staton) and also a key one for Janie Bryant's always thrilling costume design. (Fact: Janie Bryant never winning the Emmy for Mad Men should be a true embarassment to the entire television industry.) A 

 5.6 "Far Away Places"
Movie Theater Scene Alert! It's always a delight when Mad Men takes us inside a movie theater. Don Draper used to play hooky there in the early seasons and last year he and Lane got drunk and went to a monster movie together. Strangely the very next movie theater scene within the series also involves a character behaving badly. The cinema corrupts them!

The episode begins with Peggy fighting with her boyfriend who wants to see a movie that night. 

poll by twiigs.com

PUBLIC INDECENCY AFTER THE JUMP ... The Naked Prey indeed.

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Smash: "The Movie Star" & "Publicity"

So much to discuss to catch up. Smash is playing up the movie angles with Actors Studio & sequel jokes, Uma guest starring, Bollywood numbers, multiple Monroes, and the general lame practice of stunt casting when movie stars hit the stage. The show feels more than a little keyed up all of a sudden with the unstable presence of Rebecca Duvall (Uma Thurman) in the mix.

1.11 "The Movie Star" 
The episode begins as the dancers greet Karen (Katharine McPhee) who is uncharacteristically dressed up for a sweaty rehearsal to impress Rebecca (Uma Thurman)

Bobby: Oh you reallly bumped it up a notch, didn't you?
Jessica: Ah, she dressed up for the movie star."

This could also double as an introduction to a show that seems to be trying a little harder now that they've got some genuine starlight in the mix with Uma flouncing about being a pain in the ass. Of course the big problem with Smash is not that Uma's character can't sing (we know she'll eventually quit the show, don't we?) but that TV show itself still wants to convince us that Marilyn should be played by Karen within the show. But Katharine McPhee is such a poor excuse for a Marilyn when Megan Hilty is standing right there deserving the part. Argh. McPhee isn't even convincing as Marilyn when she's handed those full makeup fantasies because she feels and looks nothing like her in face, physique or temperament.

Her Day Will Come?Brando & Dean jokes,

Brando and Dean jokes and Bollywood strangeness after the jump... It's the biggest SMASH post ever.

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