BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN’S NEW ALBUM IS HIS ‘ANGRIEST’ YET
Like a new Stephen King novel, I miss being excited about upcoming Springsteen albums, and now even the ones I did enjoy (pre-2001) sound a little silly and simple. I haven’t even bothered to listen to his last few releases. Never thought that would happen. And it’s not Springsteen’s obnoxious politics, either. He just bores me, kind of like Wes Anderson’s “sensibility.”
Sinatra. Everything you need to know about life, love, youth, growing old, and what it means to be a man is found in the combined works of one Francis Albert Sinatra.
FIVE NEW POSTERS FOR STAR WARS: EPISODE I THE PHANTOM MENACE 3D
Unless the tagline reads: Watch It Suck In a Third Dimension!, a class action false advertising suit is imminent.
This captures some of the problem:
Indeed, I’m not actually sure The Iron Lady does have any meaning, and would rate it primarily as a simply a striking replication, hamstrung in its ability to be much else. It skips across themes of power, struggle, loss, aging and personal conviction but audiences aren’t going to get any depth, because they’re too distracted by the novelty of Meryl Streep’s uncanny makeup.
If you want movies with genuine character that offer affecting tales of strong female outsiders overcoming great difficulties you can watch, say, An Education, Whip It, Hanna or The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, to name a few diverse flicks of recent vintage. All of them are built around fictional lead protagonists but have way more soul, substance, human heart and authenticity than The Iron Lady.
I fear that we lose the theatrical magic of moviemaking if impersonations and cold replication are deemed to be more important than telling stories, exploring the human condition and relaying emotion and ideas to audiences. Filmmaking shouldn’t be a karaoke contest where creativity is stifled and human spirit and depth are secondary. If this trend carries on so fervently, the film industry will be damaged as it becomes a stagnant scene crowded with statues, urging personality cults over imagination and the infinite richness of fictive worlds.
Biopics such as “The King’s Speech,” “Blind Side, ” Walk the Line,” “Ray,” “The Fighter,” “Seabiscuit,” and “Moneyball,” that are about overcoming adversity and aspiring, are usually pretty memorable and do quite well at the box office.
HULU CEO JASON KILAR: WE NOW HAVE 1.5M PAID SUBSCRIBERS
Hey, almost as many viewers as that cultural phenom “30 Rock!”
CINEMARK THEATERS TO OFFER HEALTHY SNACKS
Great news. Now we’re gonna get price-gouged for food that doesn’t taste as good and less of it:
[Cinemark] is introducing a 450-calorie snack pack called Lite Bites, containing a “calorie counter” portion of Orville Redenbacher popcorn, a Jamba Fruit and Nut Trail Mix, and a 16 oz. cup of Coke Zero. In a statement, Bob Shimmin, head of food and beverage for Cinemark, said that the exhibitor recognizes that “moviegoers want options, and we continue to seek out lower calorie, lower fat, and smaller portioned alternatives.
Makes sense, actually. We’re paying more for less satisfying movies, so why not have concessions follow suit.
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LAST NIGHT’S SCREENING
Warrior (2011) and The Whistleblower (2010): Reviews coming.
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SCOTTDS’ EPIC LINKTACULAR
STUDIO BEHIND ‘TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY’ WATCHED AND WAITED BEFORE EXPANDING DISTRIBUTION
OPEN LETTER TO THE PRODUCERS OF ‘EVIL DEAD’: NICE SCRIPT! NOW GO EASY ON THE CGI!
VISUAL EFFECTS PIONEER DOUGLAS TRUMBULL TO RECEIVE HONORARY OSCAR
‘MAD MEN’ INSPIRES SPECIAL 1960’S ‘NEWSWEEK’ ISSUE
‘THE PERSONAL PROPERTY OF JOHN WAYNE’ DVD NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
TRAILER FOR WES ANDERSON’S NEXT FILM, ‘MOONRISE KINGDOM‘
HUGO SCREENWRITER JOHN LOGAN TO PEN MOVIE VERSION OF ‘JERSEY BOYS‘
TIM BURTON CONFIRMS HIS INTEREST IN DIRECTING ‘BEETLEJUICE 2′
‘CHICAGO’ DIRECTOR ROB MARSHALL TO BRING STEPHEN SONDHEIM’S ‘INTO THE WOODS’ TO THE BIG SCREEN
‘STRANGER THAN FICTION’ WRITER ZACH HELM TO ADAPT PATRICIA HIGHSMITH’S ‘DEEP WATER‘
BRITISH SCIENTIST CLAIMS BOND FILMS RESPONSIBLE FOR NUCLEAR POWER’S PUBLIC IMAGE
WHAT WAS IT LIKE FOR AN ACTOR FILMING ‘SAVING PRIVATE RYAN’S’ OMAHA BEACH SCENE?
10 GREAT DOCUMENTARIES ABOUT FAMOUS FILMS
PJ MEDIA TAKES A LOOK AT COLIN QUINN AND HIS SPECIAL ‘LONG STORY SHORT‘
20 UNDERAPPRECIATED MOVIES CURRENTLY PLAYING ON NETFLIX INSTANT
HOW STANLEY KUBRICK INVENTED THE MODERN BOX-OFFICE REPORT BY ACCIDENT
WHY GOOD MOVIEGOERS CHOOSE TO SEE BAD MOVIES
SOME OF TV AND FILM’S FUNNIEST SELF-SATIRES
39 THINGS WE LEARNED FROM THE ‘DARK CITY’ COMMENTARY
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CLASSIC PICK FOR SATURDAY, JANUARY 14
TCM:
5:15 PM EST: Bound For Glory (1976) — True story of folk singer Woody Guthrie, who rose to the top while fighting for the rights of migrant farm workers. Dir: Hal Ashby Cast: David Carradine, Ronny Cox, Melinda Dillon. C-148 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format.
Not only is this one of the greatest biopics ever made, but the legendary Herman Wexler’s Oscar-winning cinematography makes “Bound for Glory” the most beautifully photographed film not shot in black & white or Technicolor.
I would buy this on Blu-ray in a heartbeat.
Carradine is nothing short of amazing in the central role, and the fact that he wasn’t nominated for an Oscar is a notable snub. Not to take a thing away from the field of nominees that year, but I not only would’ve nominated Carradine, I would’ve handed him the win.
Very special film that transports you to another place and time, casts a storytelling spell, and never lets go.
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Please send comments, suggestions and tips to jnolte@breitbart.com or Twitter @NolteNC.
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