President's Day Movie-thon 2008

Over the past few years, I have developed a personal tradition of attending as many Oscar nominated films as opssible on President's Day.

It all started under a previous employer who insisted we all take the day off - even though it was in the middle of sweeps.

By far the most interesting edition was the year I saw SIDEWAYS, MILLION DOLLAR BABY and THE AVIATOR in succession and learned that broken noses appeared prominently in all three films.

But I digress.

This year's marathon consisted of THERE WILL BE BLOOD, ENCHANTED and CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD was underwhelming for me. Didn't care for it - and I usually like Important Films. More on Daniel Day Lewis' performance at the end...

ENCHANTED was sweet. It was surprising to see Disney poking fun at itself. Nicely done, but I don't see the nomination for Amy Adams. It wasn't a very complicated role. Loved her, but wouldn't have nominated her for it.

CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR was fun. Anyone who was born after 1980 should probably see this film - just to get a taste of the Cold War. I liked it a lot - even though it was written by Aaron Sorkin. the 'true events' nature of the story prevented Sorkin from preaching too hard, allowing his crisp dialog to shine.

Tom Hanks was great as usual, but the actor of the day for me was Phillip Seymour Hoffman. His CIA operative was a dead pan marvel. Loved it.

Meanwhile, was it just me, or was Daniel Day Lewis channeling SMALLVILLE's Lionel Luthor in THERE WILL BE BLOOD? I'd bet a meteor rock enhanced milkshake on it.

Random Thoughts 070907

It's been a while since I've posted anything - been a bit busy with the new real-life gig and a loooong drive south for the 4th.

My last post blasted the marketing department for giving away the ending of EVAN ALMIGHTY. It turns out, maybe they did us all a favor.

Ken Levine, writer of M*A*SH, CHEERS and lotsa other TV, reports that EVAN was assembled from two completely separate scripts - each written by a two person team. Those scripts were mashed together by a fifth writer, selected by the film's director. This movie never had a chance.

When one of the teams challenged their lack of a screenplay credit, they also lost their story credit.

I sincerely apologize to the marketing team that chased me away from the steaming pile of celluloid.

Thank you.

Meanwhile two interesting happenings struck me this weekend.

One is a bit political, so it's here.

The other may ultimately be much more important in the scheme of broadcasting. Peter Liguori has been bumped up at FOX. His replacement is Kevin Reilly, formerly of NBC. More formerly of FX.

The two guys who built FX into an attention getting cable channel are now picking the shows at FOX.

NBC fired Reilly one week after the fall schedule was announced. They've really got their stuff together over there, huh?

Meanwhile, THE PRICE IS RIGHT is searching for a new host. There was a brief flirtation with the idea of Rosie O'Donnell getting the gig, but I must point out that Bob Barker was quoted as saying he didn't have a problem with a lady getting the job.

That automatically ruled out Rosie. She may be many things, but a lady, she's not.

Now there's buzz that ESPN's Dan Patrick may be getting the job. He announced his August resignation today on his radio show.

Before it goes any further, I have a suggestion. I know a fellow who's making his career as the host of a popular music show and L.A. DJ. He's modeling his career on that of his own idol, Dick Clark (who hosted THE $20,000 PYRAMID for decades), the little old ladies love him.

Ryan Seacrest.

Those big girls from Fiji would crush him.

What say you?

Don't forget to head over the Jelly Beanz for more on LIVE EARTH.

Letters from Pan's Labyrinth

Over the last few years, I have developed the tradition of spending President's Day in the cinema.

I try to squeeze in as many Oscar contenders as possible during the week before the Oscars. It can make for quite a long day of 'important' films, but I'm better for it. I think.

Two years ago I managed to see SIDEWAYS, MILLION DOLLAR BABY and THE AVIATOR in one long, butt-numbing day. By seeing all three of these films back to back to back, I discovered they all shared one plot element in common - someone broke a nose in each film. Had I seen these films months apart, I might never have made the connection to what makes a film 'important.'

This year the local pickings were a bit slimmer. I was only able to see PAN' LABYRINTH (Best Foreign Film Nominee) and LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA (Best Picture Nominee).

Apparently, this year's measure of importance comes in subtitles.

Yep, I read two movies Monday. One in Spanish, one in Japanese. OK - that's facetious, I really have no complaints about subtitles. loved CROUCHING TIGER, love Hiro's scenes on HEROES, as well as Sun and Jin's scenes on LOST - and LOVE anything by Kurosawa.

As for this year's films, the real link was the amount of gruesome violence depicted. While I knew what I was getting in IWO JIMA, the level of sheer meanness displayed in LABYRINTH was hard to digest - and that's what makes the film brilliant.

LABYRINTH is almost a kid's flick. A little girl who lives in a harsh world finds a magical world to which she can escape. It is the harshness of her world that was surprising. Not going to give anything away, but it's very easy to understand why this Dorothy would want to escape to Oz.

As for IWO JIMA, war is hell. And the Japanese soldiers who are forced into sacrificing their lives for their 'beloved' Emperor go through enough levels of Hell to write their own epic poem. Clint Eastwood does a masterful job of directing this film. The muted colors (except for the brilliant scarlet reds) echo the dispair of the young men sentenced to die for a cause they don't really believe in.

The echoes of FLAG OF OUR FATHERS are brilliant.

All in all, my day was well spent. I saw two brilliantly photographed films. Both told a story of young people who are no longer in control of their future or their destiny, surrounded by untold violence.

Good stuff.