Pajama Guy

Kiss Off

2008-07-26T00:32:00.001-07:00

"I Kissed A Girl" by Katy Perry is a solid hit. But I don't think it compares to the classics--like "I Kissed A Girl" by Jill Sobule.

Oh! Darling Nikki

2008-07-26T00:02:00.000-07:00

Nikki Finke's usually perceptive Deadline Hollywood blog hit a snag this week. Reporting from San Diego's Comic0-Con, she writes:

20th Century Fox snuck in Hugh Jackman to its Comic-Con presentation and presented WOLVERINE footage. All very last minute and top secret. Said a studio insider, in a hilariously dated reference: "It was like The Beatles."

A Beatles reference dated? Hmm. It just so happens that the Beatles released an album, 1 (shortest link ever), in 2000--same year Fox's first X-Men film came out. And how did this album from an antique band, 30 years after they broke up, making available songs that had been released several times before, do? It only became the fastest selling album ever. It's also the top selling album released in this decade, and one of the top 20 of all time.

It continues to sell a fair amount of copies, week in, week out, since its release. So even if Beatlemania doesn't exist, I don't think the reference is dated.

RIP to RP

2008-07-25T13:12:00.000-07:00

Randy Pausch of "Last Lecture" fame has died.

You could find worse ways to spend 76 minutes and 27 seconds than watch the lecture.

Tactical Disadvantage

2008-07-25T00:14:00.000-07:00

I see new episodes of Scare Tactics are on the SciFi Channel. I'd figured the show was sued out of existence years ago.

The basic concept is a turbo-charged Candid Camera, where they put regular people into fake situations--situations where they have every reason to believe they're about to die, or at least suffer serious harm. Then they're told it's all a joke, and the friend who set them up comes out and they all have a good laugh. (Here's an average example: a young woman panicked by vampire bikers.)

I can't believe anyone would sign a waiver after that, much less stay friends with the jerk who set them up. (Yet I watch it. What does that make me?)

One note: the new host is Tracy Morgan, who seems wrong for the tone of the show.

Block That Metaphor!

2008-07-25T00:13:00.000-07:00

In this review of a recent production of Damn Yankees, we come up against this monstrosity:

Base-hit jokes are pitched like fastballs, making it into the catcher's glove as often as they don't [....] Everything works in the most basic of ways, but only the songs sail over the plate with the greatest of ease - nothing of the remainder could be mistaken for a grand slam.

So are we trying to get hits or pitch strikes? This isn't a mixed metaphor--it is all about baseball. The trouble is we don't know which team we're rooting for.

New Questions

2008-07-25T00:02:00.000-07:00

Many readers of Jane Mayer's The Dark Side believe the Bush administration should be tried for war crimes. I think, then, it would be useful to know how the candidates feel. Here are some questions they should be asked.

1) Do you believe the Bush administration is guilty of war crimes?

2) Should America should set up a tribunal to try them? Or a commission to investigate these charges?

3) Would you oppose President Bush pardoning members of his administration for these alleged crimes? Would you oppose any President pardoning them?

4) How would you respond as President if a member of the Bush administration were arrested on foreign soil and tried for war crimes?

If I could only ask one question, it would be the last.

Rielle Bummer

2008-07-24T10:56:00.000-07:00

I bet John Edwards wished he lived in the UK.

Good News For Nerds

2008-07-24T00:33:00.000-07:00

...this one anyway.

I saw a trailer for season three of Heroes, and caught a flash of Ali Larter. I thought her character died last season, but they don't die easily on Heroes. Now it's been confirmed--she's coming back.

Perhaps Niki wasn't the greatest character, but I think the show's better with Ali around. Besides, it looks like she has a new personality.

LA Culture

2008-07-24T00:24:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of Pinkberry? If you don't live in LA, probably not, but they've been sprouting up like mushrooms around here. You may see it in your neighborhood soon, since it feels like the next Starbucks.

Pinkberry is an upscale yogurt franchise. I can think of about ten within a five-mile radius. They have a unique, spacious design and a simple menu.

Some friends wanted to go so I figured I'd check it out. Yes, it's healthier (I suppose) than ice cream, but it's not cheap and isn't so great that it's worth the expense. But man are these places always packed. (There's one I know that's just around the corner from Pink's. Now there's a combination.)

Thank You, Glenn

2008-07-24T00:19:00.000-07:00

J.R. Jones of the Chicago Reader is not worth wasting too much ink over. Still, the opening sentence of his Dark Knight review is an impressive non sequitur:

As the Bush era drags on, I seem to be developing an irrational hatred of summer blockbusters, those gas-guzzling, road-hogging, radio-blasting Hummers of the entertainment business.

He continues, trying to make sense of it all, but merely going from nutty to nasty:

The fact that they get worse and worse and still make tons of money doesn’t say much for the national character. New York Times columnist Frank Rich recently conjured up an image of Americans flocking to the movies this summer to escape their woes, as if we were all dust bowl farmers hoping to banish the Great Depression from our thoughts with flickering images of Clark Gable and Mickey Mouse. But while our leaders are waging preemptive wars, torturing innocent people to death, tossing out habeas corpus, and gutting the Fourth Amendment, we probably don’t need to escape as much as the rest of the world needs to escape from us.

The website allows comments. Most of them were about how he shouldn't have had spoilers in the review. I agree, but only because the spoilers were used for more lamebrained philosophizing. Happily, there's someone called Glenn Fancher, who said what needed to be said:

Please include more left wing talking points and Anti Bush rhetoric at the top of your reviews. Frankly, they add an intellectual weight to cinematic discourse. At the same time confirming that we are an evil country with an evil president that has stripped us all of our civil rights. Thanks for framing the nature of the summer blockbuster against the dark times of the Bush era

Strategery

2008-07-24T00:02:00.000-07:00

The National Review offers advice to McCain on how to beat Obama. Their main idea seems to be a full frontal assault on Obama's qualifications. Not too surprising, since this is always good advice, particularly against a relative newcomer. (The public may proclaim its opposition, but negative campaigning won't stop as long as it works. Anyway, it never seems negative when you agree with it.)

But there's one part of their advice I don't get. They suggest a good idea would be "making a one-term pledge during his speech at the Republican convention: a commitment to place fixing Washington above personal or partisan interest."

I've heard the one-term pledge idea before, and I don't get it. How is promising you'll leave early, no matter how good a job you do, a positive thing. Yeah, I know, he's old--so fine, if we think he's too old in four years, we'll vote him out. And note NR isn't bringing up the age thing, but apparently saying this'll make him look selfless. And this is selfless why? What if after four years McCain hasn't solved all the problems in Washington? He should say "I gave it my best shot" and then pack it in?

Ben Ben

2008-07-23T00:37:00.000-07:00

Siskel died in 1999 and Ebert has been MIA for a few years now. They were the main reason to watch At The Movies, since it's now easy to see previews and opinions on films about to open.

So I'm not too broken up about the end of the Richard Roeper era. I suppose I may check out the new version with Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz, but if this show completely disappeared, I don't think anyone would notice.

Phantom Menace

2008-07-23T00:30:00.000-07:00

The Senate voted Tuesday to move ahead with a Democratic plan to curb speculation in oil markets that has been blamed for some of the recent run-up in oil prices.

Well, that's one idea to deal with high prices, but I have a better one. Those guys up in Washington control the mint. Why not print up some more money and send everyone a million dollars? Then we could all easily afford to buy gas.

PS In more serious news, this is from further down in the article:

To a remarkable degree, the energy debate has been dominated by the question of whether to open up more Outer Continental Shelf waters to oil exploration.

Why is this debate "remarkable"? Drilling is 1) controversial, 2) partisan and 3) one of the few solutions being discussed that would actually make a difference.

(The article continues--and remember, this is the AP, not an editorial:

For Republicans, the drilling question is one of the few issues where they have an edge with voters, and they're pressing it to the hilt. Even though new offshore leases wouldn't deliver oil to the marketplace for a decade or so, some Republicans say simply opening up new coastal areas to exploration would lower prices now.)

Unmoved

2008-07-23T00:18:00.000-07:00

I wrote a few days ago that, even if you pay attention to the polls (don't until after the conventions), Obama is solidly ahead, and you shouldn't think there's any major change based on the ups and downs of general counts. Instead, if it's really tightening up, expect some toss-up states to move from Obama to McCain.

Well, a friend just told me the Rasmussen poll says Ohio is now for McCain by 10%. Ohio is THE swing state, and a McCain victory there, even if it weren't by a wide margin, would be huge. However, this is just one poll, and an outlier at that. If you see several different polls over the next few weeks giving it to McCain, then you should be impressed. Until then, nothing has changed.

We Lost It At The Movies

2008-07-23T00:02:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting essay that I don't quite agree with. It's about Pauline Kael and the film era she helped usher in--one that tossed aside the earnest middlebrow and created an appetite for trash.

First, of course--and the essay as much as admits it--Kael spotted the trend, but didn't create it. Spectacle, even when it comes at the expense of plot, has always been popular, and with better technology and the threat of TV, it's no surprise Hollywood went for more pyrotechnics.

Second, the mainstream has changed, but, as Kael would probably agree, most of the change is good riddance to bad rubbish. Plenty of respectable, mainstream successes in the pre-Bonnie And Clyde age were actually pretty dull. Furthermore, we'll always have the great decade that followed Bonnie And Clyde, where the rules were changed. If it didn't continue, it's probably because it was a transitional time, when Hollywood was unsure and taking chances, and a lot of talent, raised on film, was ready to take advantage.

Third, trash is usually trash, but a lot of great films that would never have been noticed before, or perhaps even made, have come out and enriched our screens. And it's hardly all that's out there. If anything, there's more choice available than ever before. Maybe we could use a little more of an earlier "tradition of quality" to ground our films, but the truth if you really want to see it, it's there--a lot of it transferred to television, which is actually in a golden age for drama. Truth is, if we ever did go back to the older, more limited choices, we'd feel stifled.

Is There Anything Obama Can Not Do?

2008-07-22T11:45:00.000-07:00

Things were going along ok in Afghanistan -- could be better, could be worse. Obama shows up for one visit and BAM!, huge progress within days. I guess our commanders on the ground just needed a properly inspirational leader. . . .

Fixing The Malfunction

2008-07-22T00:39:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness some judges have finally thrown out the huge fine levied against CBS for airing Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" at the 2004 Super bowl.

They declared the FCC action was arbitrary and capricious since, in the past, the fines were never this large and were imposed for pervasive actions, not a fleeting moment that occurred on a live show. The commission owed warning if they're going to change their policy, as well as a better explanation after the fact.

Still, the damage has been done. The real problem is this fine happened at all, and was allowed to hang over broadcasters heads for four years.

PSA

2008-07-22T00:33:00.000-07:00

Starbucks is closing 600 shops. If you want to know if your local is shuttering, check out this list.

I don't really go to Starbucks, so this has no effect on me. But I do notice that the two closing in LA (only two?--we must love Starbucks) seem to be in South Central.

I also see the one on Groesbeck and Utica out in the Detroit metro area is closing. Used to live around there.

A Sign Of The Times

2008-07-22T00:28:00.000-07:00

Everyone is talking about The New York Times refusal to run John McCain's editorial about Iraq after they ran Obama's. (They're talking mostly thanks to Matt Drudge, who is about as big as the Times, covering the story--this is truly an example of how the internet has changed the game.)

The Times claims Obama's piece was news, laying out his plans, while McCain was merely responding to and attacking Obama. Having read both editorials, I find the argument plausible (while most conservatives I know don't), though it does leave one to wonder if the results would have been the same if the names were reversed.

Regardless, I still have to ask why isn't McCain's piece significant enough to run anyway? I understand the Times opinion page is valuable real estate, but do they get that many editorials from major party nominees running for President in the last few months of the election? Are they afraid this will set some sort of bad precedent? Couldn't they run this, and if they're suddenly flooded by 700-word essays from McCain and Obama, then they could declare a moratorium.

Something To Stay Up For

2008-07-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

Jay Leno leaves The Tonight Show May 29th next year, and Conan O'Brien takes over June 1st. The fun will start when Jay gets a new show, which is his for the asking. He's out at NBC and can't go to CBS, which leaves ABC (unless he wants to go the syndication route). I guess that means bye bye Nightline and see ya in a half hour, Jimmy.

Letterman's ratings haven't been great for a while. (And he does seem tired--I think his show has been going downhill since he decided to stop doing remotes himself.) Conan does okay for his time slot, but he doesn't even always beat Craig Ferguson. Jay, meanwhile, is the king of late night (though I admit I don't regularly watch). NBC wants to stay ahead of the curve, and keep the younger Conan happy, but getting rid of a huge hit sure seems like a bonehead play to most people.

Conan will probably move out to LA, where bigger stars are available, and use the Johnny Carson studio. Will that increase his appeal? Not much, I'd guess. The bigger question is will his show become less quirky and more mainstream. He'll be followed by Jimmy Fallon, which doesn't sound that enticing--like Letterman before him, I look forward to Conan at 12:30, and now that slot may become a wasteland.

Will viewers follow Jay to ABC? I don't see why not. He'd do the same show, and it's only a click away. Meanwhile, while there might be some initial interest in checking out Conan, it seems that his style would compete more with Letterman. If Leno does jump over, the big winner might end up being Jimmy Kimmel, who'd get a great lead-in.

Da Dark Knight

2008-07-21T00:43:00.000-07:00

Like everyone else, I saw Dark Knight over the weekend. Parts of it were clearly filmed in Chicago.

I'm sorry, Batman should not be in Chicago. He just doesn't fit there.

PS: Some claim Gotham is Chicago. Sorry, I don't accept that.

The Corporate Puppet Masters Will Be Pleased

2008-07-21T00:35:00.000-07:00

I disagree with The New Republic's Jonathan Chait (a fellow Michigan grad) on the effects of globalization, but I still think it would be worthwhile to hear him debate the issue. Naomi Klein, on the other hand is, well, nuts. I don't understand how anyone takes her seriously on economics.

So it is nice to see Chait, who might be expected to have some sympathy for her position, do an in-depth takedown.

Latest On The Race

2008-07-21T00:05:00.000-07:00

According to USA Today polling, a majority believe Obama's election would make race relations better in America. If they think this is because he has better ideas on race, then I'm not sure if I agree. But if they think things'll be better because of his skin color, then I fear they'll be very disappointed if he wins.

Racial problems, and their solutions, arise from the ideas and perspectives that people have. No matter how groundbreaking they believe Obama's election is, I don't think blacks, whites, or any other groups are going to support solutions they'd otherwise disagree with just because Obama has a black father.

No Top Hat

2008-07-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

Entertainment Weekly has named the top 25 movie musicals of all time. EW's website makes you click to a new page for each title--I hate that--so here they are all in one place.

1. “The Wizard of Oz,” 1939
2. “West Side Story,” 1961
3. “Singin' in the Rain,” 1952
4. “Cabaret,” 1972
5. “Mary Poppins,” 1964
6. “The Band Wagon,” 1953
7. “A Hard Day's Night,” 1964
8. “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut,” 1999
9. “Meet Me in St. Louis,” 1944
10. “Love Me Tonight,” 1932
11. “An American in Paris,” 1951
12. “Swing Time,” 1936
13. “On the Town,” 1949
14. “Grease,” 1978
15. “Hairspray,” 2007
16. “A Star Is Born,” 1954
17. “Chicago,” 2002
18. “The Busby Berkeley Disc,” 2006 compilation
19. “The Sound of Music,” 1965
20. “Funny Girl,” 1968
21. “Beauty and the Beast,” 1991
22. “Gigi,” 1958
23. “The Music Man,” 1962
24. “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” 1954
25. “Once,” 2006.

Let's work our way up and start with Once. A critics' favorite, and an attempt to keep the list current, but the film did nothing for me. It also makes one ask just what is a musical? Is it characters who stop to sing a song, or do the numbers have to further the plot. And does the percentage of the film spent on the songs matter? Whatever the answer, I wouldn't put Once on a list of good musicals, much less the top 25.

Seven Brides For Seven Brothers is a classic movie musical, and this list needs more of these.

I don't know if The Music Man is a great "movie" musical--like so many adaptations, almost everything good about it comes from the stage version--but just preserving Robert Preston's performance is worth something. (I have a friend who rates this in his top five films of all time.)

Gigi was a huge hit--really the last big splash of MGM's Freed unit--but it's never done much for me. A safe choice, I guess.

Beauty And The Beast puts animated films on the table. Okay, why not. But there are plenty of others I'd take first from Disney, including modern choices like The Little Mermaid or Aladdin. Before them, you really should pick something from the Golden Age, such as Snow White or Pinocchio--perhaps EW's editors are afraid of too much old stuff.

Funny Girl--a prestigious, well-adapted stage hit that made Barbra Streisand a movie star and does nothing for me. Anyway, there are a ton of musicals actually written for the screen that excite me more (and a bunch of adaptations that are more fun, while we're at it--speaking of which, I wonder if Wall-E will bring back interest in the film version of Hello, Dolly!).

The Sound Of Music is an Oscar winner, the biggest hit of all time in its day and the one Rodgers and Hammerstein choice on the list. Can't say it does much for me.

The Busby Berkeley Disc? EW used this slot as a chance to insult the films they appeared in, saying we should just enjoy the amazing numbers on their own. But plenty of those Warner Bros. musicals from the 30s are entertaining all the way through, and even when the dialogue scenes are a let down, I'd rather watch them then half the stuff on this list. Actually, the top 25 should have a handful of these classics--at the very least 42d Street deserves its own spot. Of course, a proper top 25 would have about 10 musicals from the 30s, and that would never do for an EW list.

Chicago was an Oscar-winner, but so were two better film, Oliver! and My Fair Lady, and I don't see them on the list (and they shouldn't be).

I'm not entirely sure if the 1950s A Star Is Born is a musical, and, as it's overblown and overrated, I'm less sure if it's even a good movie.

Hairspray?! Boy, those editors really insist on modern films that won't make the list in 20 years.

Grease was a huge hit, and while it's kind of fun, it shouldn't even make the top 25 cinematic adapatations of hit musicals list.

On The Town is considered a breakthrough classic, but it's not as great as advertised. True, they filmed on location (for a couple days), and it's fun, but they cut out a lot of great Bernstein numbers (this is still the 40s, before they started respecting the original sources) and there are about five Gene Kelly musicals that are better.

Swing Time is the biggest mistake on the list. Oh, it should be on it, but it's the sole representative of the Astaire-Rogers musicals, ten films that alone justify the existence of Hollywood. Swing Time does have songs and dances that are equal to any others in the canon, but this list should have at least three or four from the series. Also, EW calls it the "sweetest" and "lightest" of their films, which is nonsense, the kind of thing you hear from people who have picked up that critics have switched their allegiance over from Top Hat. Actually, Swing Time is one of the heaviest films that Fred and Ginger made, full of strained George Stevens comedy.

An American in Paris--another Oscar winner. Not bad, but once again, overrated. Putting it on this list is another critic's reflex.

Love Me Tonight. An unorthodox but fun choice. I'm not sure if it should be this high (especially since the script, not bad, doesn't really come up to the Rodgers and Hart score), but at least one Lubitsch musical should be on the list, even if it's not by Lubitsch.

Meet Me In St. Louis. Once again, not bad, but another overrated Judy Garland film. Hard to complain about it being on the list, though.

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. I know they're trying to shock us, but it is a pretty good film, and definitely a musical. Okay, maybe not top 25 material, but I could see it being on the top 100.

A Hard Day's Night--once again, perhaps it isn't a musical. But since it may be the best film on the list, I'm not complaining.

The Band Wagon. We need at least one Gingerless Astaire film and this is his recognized Freed unit classic, so I'll play along.

Mary Poppins. A lot of fun, but a classic musical? I don't know. Certainly not top ten material.

Cabaret. Highly respected, considered a rare masterful adaptation of a stage hit, not just a stuffed and mounted production. Still, I've never warmed to it. Maybe I need to see it again.

Singin' In The Rain. Gotta be on the list. Probably should be higher.

West Side Story. Another Oscar winner, and one of the most overrated films of all. Some nice moments, but the story seems ridiculous on screen. I'll take the honest melodrama of 42nd Street over the strained melodrama of this one any day.

The Wizard Of Oz became a beloved classic through TV. In its day, it was a huge MGM production that grossed less than the much cheaper, black and white Mickey and Judy "let's put on a show" musicals coming out at the same time. It is a classic, though--great lead, great score, great vaudeville turns. I'd put it up there, though not #1.

Jo Stafford

2008-07-20T00:21:00.000-07:00

I heard Jo Stafford interviewed on Fresh Air last week. I didn't realize she'd just died and this was a tribute.

She was one of my favorite pre-rock singers. But my first introduction to her voice was rather odd. I went to see The Kentucky Fried Movie and over the credits was the bizarre version of "Carioca" sung off-key and out of rhythm. Turns out it was by Darlene and Jonathan Edwards, pseudonyms for Stafford and husband Paul Weston, who did intentionally bad versions of standards. In fact, they won a Grammy for Best Comedy Album in 1961.