R.I.P. 2009

Bea Arthur
1922-2009
Actress:
Fiddler On the Roof (1964) Broadway
Mame (1968) Broadway
Maude (1972-1978)
Mame (1974)
The Golden Girls (1985-1992)

Dom DeLuise
1933-2009
Actor:
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Silent Movie (1976)
Sextette (1978)
The Muppet Movie (1979)
Fatso (1980)
History of the World: Part I (1981)
The Cannonball Run (1981)
The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas (1982)
Haunted Honeymoon (1986)
Spaceballs (1987)
Going Bananas (1987)

Koko Taylor
1928-2009
Singer

Michael Jackson
1958-2009
Singer

Karl Malden
1912-2009
Actor:
Kiss of Death (1947)
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
I Confess (1953)
On the Waterfront (1954)
Baby Doll (1956)
Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
Gypsy (1962)
How the West Was Won (1962)
Dead Ringer (1964)
Patton (1970)
The Streets of San Francisco (1972-1977)
Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979)

Molly Sugden
1922-2009
TV Actress:
The Liver Birds (1971-1978)
Are You Being Served? (1972-1985)
Come Back Mrs. Noah (1977-1978)
That's My Boy (1981-1986)
Grace & Favour (1992-1993)

John Hughes

1950-2009
Writer, Producer, Director
Vacation (1983)
Sixteen Candles (1984)
The Breakfast Club (1985)
European Vacation (1985)
Weird Science (1985)
Pretty In Pink (1986)
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
Uncle Buck (1989)
Christmas Vacation (1989)
Home Alone (1990)
Home Alone 2: Lost In New York (1992)
Beethoven (1992)
Dennis the Menace (1993)

Mary Travers
1936-2009
Singer
Peter, Paul & Mary

Captain Lou Albano
1933-2009
Pro-Wrestler
Cyndi's Dad

David Lloyd
1934-2009
TV Writer:
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1963-1970)
Mary Tyler Moore (1973-1977)
Phyllis (1976-1977)
The Bob Newhart Show (1976-1977)
Rhoda (1978)
Lou Grant (1977-1982)
Taxi (1979-1983)
Amen (1986-1987)
Cheers (1982-1993)
Frasier (1994-2001)

Dan O'Bannon
1946-2009
Screenwriter:
Dark Star (1974)
Alien (1979)
The Return of the Living Dead (1985) (also Director)
Lifeforce (1985)
Invaders From Mars (1986)
Total Recall (1990)

Brittany Murphy
1977-2009
Actress:
Clueless (1995)
Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)
Girl, Interrupted (1999)
Don't Say A Word (2001)
Little Black Book (2004)
Sin City (2005)

See It 12/20

The Hindenburg (1975)
Directed by: Robert Wise
Written by: Michael M. Mooney; Nelson Gidding
Starring: George C. Scott, Anne Bancroft, William Atherton, Roy Thinnes, Gig Young, Burgess Meredith, Charles Durning, Rene Auberjonois, Katherine Helmond
Chronicles the events that lead up to the 1937 Hindenburg disaster in Lakehurst, NJ, where a German passenger zeppelin burst into flames upon landing, killing most of the passengers and crew. Solid performances from an all star cast make this disaster film masquerading as a historical drama memorable. B



The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)
Directed by: Uli Edel
Written by: Stefan Aust; Bernd Eichinger
Starring: Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek, Nadja Uhl, Stipe Erceg, Niels-Bruno Schmidt
Complex, riveting film depicting the actions and exploits, and eventual trial, of the Red Army Faction, the infamous terrorist group that plagued Germany with bombings, robberies, murders and kidnappings throughout the 1970's. It's fascinating, and scary, stuff. A-



California Suite (1978)
Directed by: Herbert Ross
Written by: Neil Simon
Starring: Jane Fonda, Alan Alda, Maggie Smith, Michael Caine, Walter Matthau, Elaine May, Herb Edelman, Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, Gloria Gifford, Sheila Frazier
Four separate comedic story-lines all take place within a posh Los Angeles hotel. We follow an actress and her gay husband on their way to the Oscars, a vacationing group of friends from Chicago, a divorced couple in town to discuss custody of their child, and a philandering man who tries to hide a hooker from his unsuspecting wife. Maggie Smith and Michael Caine are the standouts here, but the rest is pretty vanilla. B-

Skip It 12/16

The Stepfather II: Make Room For Daddy (1989)
Directed by: Jeff Burr
Written by: John Auerbach
Starring: Terry O'Quinn, Meg Foster, Caroline Williams, Jonathan Brandis, Henry Brown, Mitchell Laurance, Miriam Byrd-Nethery
Madman who is obsessed with finding the perfect family escapes from an insane asylum, somehow cons his way into becoming a neighborhood marriage councilor, and worms his way into a single mothers life. Terry O'Quinn is still pretty good as the creepy conservative, but the story lacks any suspense and is pretty contrived, even for a horror sequel. D+



The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)
Directed by: Chris Weitz
Written by: Stephanie Meyer; Melissa Rosenberg
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke, Ashley Greene, Anna Kendrick, Michael Welch, Justin Chon, Christian Serratos, Jackson Rathbone, Michael Sheen, Jamie Campbell Bower, Peter Facinelli, Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, Dakota Fanning
Annoying characters, horrible acting, a deliriously bad story and a cheesy script help make this 'vampire' movie one of the worst of all time. This makes the first one seem amazing. It still boggles my mind why anyone would find this boring, anti-female series entertaining in any way. F



Scanners (1981)
Directed by: David Cronenberg
Written by: David Cronenberg
Starring: Jennifer O'Neill, Stephen Lack, Patrick McGoohan, Lawrence Dane, Michael Ironside, Robert A. Silverman
Interesting premise about a secret government plot to corral a select few who have the power to control peoples thoughts never really gets off the ground. The main problem is the lead actor, who is absolutely awful. The scene that the film is most famous for, the head explosion, occurs within the first ten minutes, and the film plods along from there. C



Land of the Lost (2009)
Directed by: Brad Silberling
Written by: Chris Henchy and Dennis McNichols
Starring: Will Ferrell, Anna Friel, Danny McBride, Jorma Taccone, John Boylan, Matt Lauer
Remake of the cheesy 70's kids show goes the ironic route in it's attempts at humor. Permanent man-baby Will Ferrell runs around acting like an idiot when he and two others get sucked into an alternate dimension filled with dinosaurs, hairy men, lizard people and magic crystals. It tries to be irreverent and subversive, but ends up being pointless and forgettable. D-

See It 12/6

Thirst (2009)
Directed by: Chan-wook Park
Written by: Seo-Gyeong Jeong, Chan-wook Park
Starring: Kang-ho Song, Ok-vin Kim, Hae-sook Kim, Ka-kyun Shin, In-hwan Park, Dal-su Oh, Young-chang Song, Mercedes Cabral
A priest gets a blood transfusion and becomes a vampire. Soon he takes an abused girl under his wing, and they plan to murder her husband. Things get crazier from there. This is probably the best vampire movie in years. It's gory, gripping and the acting is excellent. In the age of glittering vegan vamps, it's nice to see real vampires who aren't afraid to suck some blood and snap some necks. A-



Good Hair (2009)
Directed by: Jeff Stilson
Written by: Lance Crouther, Paul Marchand
Starring: Chris Rock
A really interesting documentary about black women's hair. It's a look into a world that I really only had an inkling of knowledge about. We learn about relaxer, weaves, wigs, hair shows, and we're even shown where the human hair used in weaves comes from. Filled with great interviews conducted by Chris Rock with Nia Long, Al Sharpton, Eve, Sandra Denton, Maya Angelou, Raven-Symone, Tracie Thoms and many more. B+



Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans (2009)
Directed by: Werner Herzog
Written by: William M. Finkelstein
Starring: Nicholas Cage, Val Kilmer, Eva Mendes, Jennifer Coolidge, Brad Dourif, Fairuza Balk, Michael Shannon, Shawn Hatosy, Denzel Whitaker, Irma P. Hall, Xzibit, Vondie Curtis Hall, Tom Bower
Nicholas Cage's best performance in nearly a decade. He plays a drug addicted cop who gets in too deep with drug dealers and other assorted lowlifes in balmy post-Katrina New Orleans. Much more interesting, and entertaining, than the original with Harvey Keitel. But really, they're such different movies it's almost pointless to compare them. A-

Skip It 12/5

Lesbian Vampire Killers (2009)
Directed by: Phil Claydon
Written by: Stewart Williams, Paul Hupfield
Starring: James Corden, Mathew Horne, MyAnna Buring, Vera Filatova, Paul McGann, Silvia Colloca, Lucy Gaskell, Louise Dylan, Ashley Mulheron
If 'Twilight' is barren, boring 'erotica' for teenage girls, then this unfunny, juvenile mess is a 13 year old boys wet dream. Two homely blokes go to an old village and run into a clan of big breasted lesbian vampires who explode into white goo when killed. Not one joke works and the acting sucks. F



Xanadu (1980)
Directed by: Robert Greenwald
Written by: Richard Christian Danus, Marc Reid Rubel
Starring: Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly, Michael Beck, James Sloyan, Dimitra Arliss, Katie Hanley
A young artist meets a Greek muse and they decide to open up a roller rink. They fall in love in the process. Horrible musical numbers, terrible acting, and a lame story make this one of the most famous failures in movie history. Personally, I didn't find it bad enough to be 'so bad it's good.' It's just bad. F



Leonard Part Six (1987)
Directed by: Paul Weiland
Written by: Bill Cosby, Jonathan Reynolds
Starring: Bill Cosby, Tom Courtenay, Joe Don Baker, Moses Gunn, Pat Colbert, Gloria Foster, Victoria Rowell, Anna Levine, David Maier, Grace Zabriskie
One of the most bizarre star vehicles I've ever seen. Cosby plays a secret agent who must stop an evil vegetarian's plan to rule the world with her animals. It's supposed to be funny, but it's just awful. Why Cosby did this at the height of his TV success is a mystery for me. F



The Queen of the Damned (2002)
Directed by: Michael Rymer
Written by: Anne Rice; Scott Abbott, Michael Petroni
Starring: Aaliyah, Stuart Townsend, Marguerite Moreau, Vincent Perez, Paul McGann, Lena Olin
The Vampire Lestat (played by Tom Cruise in 'Interview With the Vampire) is now a rock star. He wakes the oldest vampire in the world with his music and she comes looking for him. That's basically the crux of the story. Two of Anne Rice's books were jammed into one film, and it's a total failure. Every decision the makers of this movie made, from the script to the costumes to the music, was wrong. But instead of being a fun bad movie, it's just lifeless. F

See It 10/30

Taxidermia (2006)
Directed by: Gyorgy Palfi
Written by: Lajos Parti Nagy; Gyorgy Palfi, Zsofia Ruttkay
Starring: Csaba Czene, Gergely Trocsanyi, Piroska Molnar, Adel Stanczel, Marc Bischoff, Gabor Mate, Zoltan Koppany
This sick, vile, disgusting film tells the stories of three generations of men in Hungary. One a soldier in WWII who ejaculates fire, the next, his son, an overweight competitive eater born with a pig tail, and his son, a taxidermist who wants to stuff his own torso, who takes care of his massive elderly father and his obese cats. Not many films these days elicit sickness while watching, but this did it all right. Just bizarre, foul, and unpleasant but strikingly original, surreal and entertaining. A-



Being There (1979)
Directed by: Hal Ashby
Written by: Jerzy Kosinski
Starring: Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden, Richard Dysart, Richard Basehart, Ruth Attaway
Peter Sellers plays a middle aged gardener who had never stepped foot outside his employers home and received all impressions of the outside world through television. When his boss dies he leaves and eventually befriends a powerful and wealthy man, who thinks the gardeners simple, ignorant statement are genius, as do all the other important people around him, including the President. Sellers is fantastic in this. B+



Deconstructing Harry (1997)
Directed by: Woody Allen
Written by: Woody Allen
Starring: Woody Allen, Richard Benjamin, Kirstie Alley, Hazelle Goodman, Billy Crystal, Judy Davis, Bob Balaban, Elisabeth Shue, Demi Moore, Robin Williams, Caroline Aaron, Eric Bogosian, Mariel Hemingway, Amy Irving, Julie Kavner, Eric Lloyd, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tobey Maguire, Stanley Tucci
Ingmar Bergman's 'Wild Strawberries' on a joint rolled with weed and laced with crack, chased down by a whiskey and acid chaser. Woody Allen plays a writer who is invited to receive an honor at his old alma mater. He reminisces about his multiple marriages and affairs, and the books he wrote fictionalizing his life, while making the trip with his young son, who he kidnapped from his ex-wife, a black hooker and a dying friend. A large, talented cast play the real life characters and their fictionalized counterparts. Of the large cast, Kirstie Alley is the standout. A-

See It 10/24

In the Loop (2009)
Directed by: Armando Iannucci
Written by: Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannuci, Ian Martin, Tony Roche
Starring: Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander, Gina McKee, James Gandolfini, Chris Addison, Anna Chlumsky, Enzo Cilenti, Mimi Kennedy, Alex Mcqueen
Bitingly hilarious satire of government features some great performances. When an inept low level British government official slips and accidentally says a war in inevitable, all hell breaks loose. Soon the American's are involved, trying to use this official for their own political gain. It's all very fast paced and dry, and sadly realistic. A-



Precious: Based On the Novel Push By Sapphire (2009)
Directed by: Lee Daniels
Written by: Sapphire; Geoffrey Fletcher
Starring: Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd, Lenny Kravitz, Stephanie Andujar, Chyna Layne, Amina Robinson, Xosha Roquemore, Angelic Zambrana
A poor, overweight, illiterate, sexually abused girl in Harlem is kicked out of her school when she gets pregnant for the second time (by her abusive father.) When she attends an alternative school, she begins her ascent from her horrible home life and her horrifying past. But it's not all inspiration and feel good scenes from there. Powerhouse dramatic performances from comedian Mo'Nique as Precious' monster of a mother, and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe make this a must see. A-



Broken Embraces (2009)
Directed by: Pedro Almodovar
Written by: Pedro Almodovar
Starring: Lluis Homar, Blanco Portillo, Penelope Cruz, Jose Luis Gomez, Ruben Ochandiano, Lola Duenas, Tamar Novas
A filmmaker reminiscing about a lost love, and an event that caused his blindness. Despite strong performances and some great sequences, the plot lines all seem to hang there, and things get a little boring. Despite that, the acting is wonderful, and the film looks great. But 'Bad Education' and 'Volver' were much better. B



Black Dynamite (2009)
Directed by: Scott Sanders
Written by: Michael Jai White, Byron Minns, Scott Sanders
Starring: Michael Jai White, Kym Whitley, Tommy Davidson, Kevin Chapman, Arsenio Hall, Miguel A. Nunez Jr., Salli Richardson, Nicole Sullivan
Hilarious spoof of 70's blaxsploitation films. A great cast is game with a ridiculous plot about dick shrinking malt liquor that takes detective Black Dynamite from the ghetto all the way to the White House. Imagine all the most absurd elements of films like 'Shaft,' 'Superfly,' and 'Coffy' and you'll get... Black DynAmite. B+

Skip It 10/22

Little Ashes (2009)
Directed by: Paul Morrison
Written by: Philippa Goslett
Starring: Javier Beltran, Robert Pattinson, Matthew McNulty, Marina Gatell, Adria Allue, Simon Andreu, Ruben Arroyo
A biopic where the supposedly brilliant real life characters go around constantly spouting supposedly brilliant things. In other words, a real snore. D-



Tormented (2009)
Directed by: Jon Wright
Written by: Stephen Prentice
Starring: Alex Pettyfer, April Pearson, Dimitri Leonidas, Calvin Dean, Tuppence Middleton, Georgia King, Mary Nighy, Olly Alexander, James Floyd
A bullied teenager comes back from the grave to terrorize and kill the popular clique who tormented him while alive. None of the character are likeable, and the film doesn't offer any twists or innovations on this familiar plot. But if you're looking for a fast paced, brainless revenge teensploitation flick, seek this one out. C+



Scenes From A Mall (1991)
Directed by: Paul Mazursky
Written by: Roger L. Simon + Paul Mazursky
Starring: Woody Allen, Bette Midler, Bill Irwin
A middle aged couple in Los Angeles visit the mall on Christmas Eve and confess to eachother their infidelities. Then they argue, make up, bicker, fight, make up, have sex, becker some more and get drunk, all the while being stalked by an annoying mime. Allen and Midler are both alright, but things are pretty predictable and by the end you've just watched Bette yelling for an hour while Woody spouts out little Woody-isms. C



Funny People (2009)
Directed by: Judd Apatow
Written by: Judd Apatow
Starring: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman, Aubrey Plaza
Unfunny, overlong, self-indulgent movie about a megastar comedian who finds out he's dying. It's like a Lifetime movie with dick jokes. So far, the most disappointing movie of 2009. D

See It 10/20

The Addiction (1995)
Directed by: Abel Ferrara
Written by: Nicholas St. John
Starring: Lili Taylor, Edie Falco, Annabella Sciorra, Christopher Walken, Paul Calderon, Fredro Starr
Unique twist on the vampire mythos features Lili Taylor as a newly turned vampire struggling with her addiction to blood. It's more of a drug addiction movie than a vampire movie. Sciorra and Walken also play vampires. In black and white. B+



Interview With the Vampire (1994)
Directed by: Neil Jordan
Written by: Anne Rice
Starring: Brad Pitt, Christian Slater, Tom Cruise, Kirsten Dunst, Antonio Banderas, Stephen Rea
Decent adaptation of the novel. Brad Pitt is awful though, and nearly ruins the movie. Despite his terrible acting (and wig) there are enough things to recommend about this film to any horror/vampire fan. B-



Wolf (1994)
Directed by: Mike Nichols
Written by: Jim Harrison + Wesley Strick
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, James Spader, Kate Nelligan, Richard Jenkins, Christopher Plummer, Eileen Atkins, David Hyde Pierce, Om Puri
Instead of focusing on gore and transformations, this werewolf film focuses on the human aspect of things. It gets a bit slow every now and then and the makeup effects are dated, but the chemistry between Nicholson and Pfeiffer is great, and Spader makes a great villain. B+



Nadja (1994)
Directed by: Michael Almereyda
Written by: Michael Almereyda
Starring: Elina Lowensohn, Nic Ratner, Karl Geary, Peter Fonda, Martin Donovan, Galaxy Craze, David Lynch
Weird black and white quasi-remake of 'Dracula's Daughter' walks the fine line between the weird and sublime. Peter Fonda is fucking nuts in this as Doctor Van Helsing. It often has a cheap film school look though, which takes away from the overall effect of the film. B


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Listening to: John Barry - The Knack
via FoxyTunes

See It 11/13

(500) Days of Summer (2009)
Directed by: Marc Webb
Written by: Scott Neustadter + Michael H. Weber
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Geoffrey Arend, Chloe Moretz, Matthew Gray Gubler, Patricia Belcher, Clark Gregg
A plodding, routine story is saved by the two leads, who are great to watch, and an interesting non-linear structure. B



Julie & Julia (2009)
Directed by: Nora Ephron
Written by: Julia Child, Alex Prud'homme; Julie Powell; Nora Ephron
Starring: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina, Linda Emond, Helen Carey, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Jane Lynch
This would have been so much better if it were only about Julia Child, instead of jumping back and forth between the 50's and the 00's. The storyline with Streep is really entertaining, and I would have liked to see more of it. B



Aisha Tyler Is Lit: Live At the Fillmore (2009)
Directed by: Kerry Asmussen
Written by: Aisha Tyler
Starring: Aisha Tyler
Tyler is hilarious in this filmed performance in San Francisco. It's not as funny as one of Wanda Sykes or Kathy Griffin's numerous specials, but it's definitely up there. B+

Happy Halloween!

In honor of my favorite holiday, I've watched five horror movies back to back on Hulu.


Black Sunday (1960)
Directed by: Mario Bava
Written by: Nikolai Gogol; Ennio De Concini, Mario Serandrei, Marcello Coscia
Starring: Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Andrea Checchi, Ivo Garrani, Arturo Dominici, Enrico Oliveri

Atmospheric chiller about a family haunted by the presence of an evil centuries old vampire, who on the anniversary of her death must resurrect herself and claim the life of her descendent. This creepy black and white film is a must see. A-



Moon of the Wolf (1972)
Directed by: Daniel Petrie
Written by: Leslie H. Whitten; Alvin Sapinsley
Starring: David Janssen, Barbara Rush, Bradford Dillman, John Beradino, Geoffrey Lewis, Royal Dano

A woman is found clawed to death and it is up to the local sheriff of a backwater Louisiana town to find the murderer. He gets more than he bargained for when he discovers a werewolf may be the culprit. If this run-of-the-mill TV movie had a bigger budget, better actors and a more compelling storyline, this could have been better. Instead it's just a dull murder mystery where we don't see the "werewolf" until the last ten minutes. F



The Spell (1977)
Directed by: Lee Philips
Written by: Brian Taggert
Starring: Lee Grant, Susan Myers, James Olson, Helen Hunt, Kathleen Hughes, Barbara Bostock

A chubby girl grows tired of being terrorized by her classmates at school and ignored by her parents at home, so she uses her supernatural powers to get revenge. This made for television movie, a rip-off of 'Carrie,' is unintentionally hilarious campy fun. F (A)



Fright Night (1985)
Directed by: Tom Holland
Written by: Tom Holland
Starring: William Ragsdale, Chris Sarandon, Amanda Bearse, Roddy McDowall, Stephen Geoffreys, Jonathan Stark, Dorothy Fielding

Fun horror comedy about a teenage boy who suspects his new neighbor is a vampire. He soon learns that his suspicions are not unfounded when he is confronted by the vampire neighbor, so he enlists the help of his friends and a local late-night horror host to destroy him. B+



Scarecrows (1988)
Directed by: William Wesley
Written by: William Wesley, Richard Jefferies, Larry Stamper, Stephen Gerard, Marcus Crowder
Starring: Ted Vernon, Michael David Simms, Richard Vidan, Kristina Sanborn, Victoria Christian, David James Campbell, BJ Turner, Dax Vernon

A group of thieves hijack a cargo plane and end up in the Mexican jungle. They soon discover that they are being murdered one by one by a group of supernatural killer scarecrows. Some decently creepy shots of scarecrows can't save this run of the mill movie, which is basically a zombie movie without the zombies. D



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Listening to: Kate Bush - Hello Earth
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Listening to: Bionic Boogie - Chains (Extended)
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