gdp's Comments

Big Hollywood : Like A Boss: Springsteen Says US Needs to Be More Like Sweden

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 19:06:18 +0000

What kind of America does Springsteen want to see? Why, an America that looks more like Sweden, of course... “Exactly! That’s my dream! It’s written between the lines. But you have to listen very closely,” he told a Swedish newspaper.

Meanwhile:

After Germany and Austria, Sweden has the highest rate of antisemitic incidents in Europe, although the Netherlands reports a higher rate of antisemitism in some years.[5] A government study in 2006 estimated that 15% of Swedes agree with the statement: "The Jews have too much influence in the world today".

Mr. Springsteen has odd friends...

Big Hollywood : Big Movie Flashback: 'The Taking of Pelham One Two Three' (1974)

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:11:19 +0000

Agreed. The ending was nothing to sneeze at.

Big Hollywood : Madonna Targeted for Being Older and Female

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 19:30:51 +0000

Targeted for being "Older and Female"? No. Whoring around while being older (regardliess of gender) that's the problem. In extremis, see Mae West in Sextette, wherein the octogenarian star was still playing an elemental force of sexuality with lines like "I'm just a girl who works for Warner Bros. all day and Fox all night." I've never met a straight man who can sit through this without groaning in horror. (Those of you who are not straight men, we do not expect you to get this.) And every day and in every way, Madonna reminds me of West....

Big Peace : University of Pennsylvania Hosts Conference Promoting Campaign to 'Boycott, Divest, and Sanction' Is

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:28:13 +0000

PennBDS? Who knew there was an actual named organization for Bush Derangement Syndrome? It's like they say: the first step to recovery is admitting the problem lies within one's self. "Practical effects, of course, aren’t really the intent of BDS,...."

Big Hollywood : Big Movie Flashback: 'The Howling' (1981)

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:23:45 +0000

Yeah, I didn't quite get "The Howling may rely on old-school movie make-up" in the article. At the time it came out, the effects were very much not old school. (Paul Naschy at the time -- that would've been old school.) (Personal note: I took my mom to see The Howling when it came out. We were both old school supernatural horror fans, so we really got into this. By the end it seemed like all kinds of people were turning into werewolves. While we were reading the end credits, I finished the last of my Coke and popcorn and let out a low, long belch. It sounded like a growl. Mom lightly slapped me. "Don't you start, too!" she exclaimed with a giggle...)

Big Hollywood : Daily Call Sheet: Underrated 'Battle Los Angeles', Bob Seger's Back, and Happy New Year

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 01:23:44 +0000

The wife and I watched B:LA last night. First time we'd seen it. I'm ex military and got all white-knuckly watching the first half hour. (Going into a fight is always an adrenaline rush.) I sure as hell liked it better than Independence Day, which bored me silly with its predictable cliches. Yeah, there were cliches in B:LA, but there was something fresh about how they were presented. I don't bother with new movies very often anymore because I usually don't feel rewarded for the effort. B:LA worked. And I figure it worked for others, too. In the end, it's not so much that B:LA was underrated; it's more like the old guard journalist/critics are overrated.

Big Hollywood : Daily Call Sheet: National Film Registry Chooses, Cheetah Dies, and Links Galore

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 21:10:19 +0000

Generally agree. As an old B movie fan, I am very fond of craftsman-like filmmakers who could get inventive entertainment out of small bucks. (e.g., John Carpenter, Rodriguez, Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson, James Cameron...) Some mature with bigger budgets; some don't.

Big Hollywood : Five Offbeat Christmas Cult Classic Movies

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 14:43:12 +0000

I think I can stand behind what I said about BC last week. Meanwhile, for offbeat I would suggest Bernard and the Genie (1991). That's "would." Can't really. It's warmly awesome but nowadays its pop references are so distractingly dated...

Big Hollywood : Top Five Christmas Films for Non-Christians

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 20:34:56 +0000

BLACK CHRISTMAS is one of the most influential horror movies ever made but sadly few even know about it. I often hear about how influential BC is/was. I saw it not long after it came out, and what I certainly recall was: it was pretty much like every other horror movie at the time, only with a dumber ending. I think the bulk of other horror movies out there at the time were more influential. (For example: Bob Clark did not invent "killer's POV" in BC. I wish I had a dime for every time some sophomoric kid fan tried to convince me that Carpenter was doing an homage to BC in Halloween because it also had a killer POV.)

Big Hollywood : Top Ten Most Overrated Actors/Actresses of All Time

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 07:23:58 +0000

(checking calendar) Funny, didn't know it was 1 Apr already. Where does the time fly?

Big Hollywood : Daily Call Sheet: The End of Film, 11 Great Films You've Never Heard Of

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 07:28:40 +0000

First time my friends and I saw Brotherhood Of the Wof was in our home after it came out on DVD, and it was a laugh riot for us. Why? Because when the attack of the first victim was shown, one of my friends -- who loves shark movies -- shouted, "Something is eating me!" From that point on, more derisive Jaws comparisons followed. As for Split Second, I think seeing it once was plenty. (To tell the truth, I've kinda lumped memories of this one with I Come In Peace (a.k.a. Dark Angel)).

Big Hollywood : 'Iron Lady': Thatcher Hit Job or Worthy?

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 08:45:34 +0000

Daily Mail, huh? They have a reputation for leaning right when it comes to British politicians, but they also cram in a lot of junk science and crap entertainment/celeb articles. This could go either way for them. The conservative bet would be on the "Hollywood sucker punch."

Big Hollywood : 'Family Circus' Creator Bil Keane Dies at 89

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 11:35:22 +0000

By coincidence, I was thinking about Keane the other day, or more exactly, a reference to Keane in Pinky and the Brain. During an episode, one of this cartoon's characters becomes famous after complaining about things in general, including Family Circus not being funny anymore. By the end of the episode, the character is brought down in a scandal set up by a shadowy, mysterious figure in a trenchcoat and hat. In the dénouement, the mysterious antogonist reveals himself to a group of reporters. When he takes off his hat, we can see that he looks like the dad from the Family Circus. "Bill Keane?!" exclaims a shocked reporter. The writers probably had some pleasant fun setting this up with Keane, just as the rest of us had pleasant fun looking at Keane's regular work.

Big Hollywood : No Jelly Beans Were Injured During the Making Of This Very Cool Music Video

Fri, 4 Nov 2011 10:08:02 +0000

Older cult film fans might recall this stop motion mix of actor and objects, done with a much smaller staff and budget....

Big Hollywood : ‘In Time’ Review: Worth a Few Minutes of Your Day

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 08:55:53 +0000

Niccol both wrote and directed the film. There’s been some scandal over whether the premise was his or borrowed from a short story....

Yeah, reading the synops gave me a sense of deja vu. Twice.

Big Hollywood : 'Attack the Block' DVD Review: Aliens No Match for Gritty Inner City Gang

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 09:36:25 +0000

Am reminded of some dialogue in Casablanca

Strasser: Are you one of those people who cannot imagine the Germans in their beloved Paris? Rick: Not particularly my beloved Paris. Heinze: Can you imagine us in London? Rick: When you get there, ask me. Strasser: Well, how about New York? Rick: Well, there are certain sections of New York, Major, that I wouldn't advise you to try to invade.

Big Hollywood : Your Unofficial Guide to AMC's Fearfest

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 07:39:20 +0000

I concur with the others in this thread who don't watch AMC anymore. I remember when they went to their "butchered for television" format a few years back during a Halloween-a-thon. Commercial breaks were ads for AMC, which was trying to brand itself as a channel for movie people. (Y'know, real movie people want to see the darn movie, not cheap commercials with shallow losers gushing about how much they like movies.) My dislike of the "new" AMC reached the pont that I don't even watch their original shows. Nowaday I'll set my DVR for obscure movies they show that I've never seen, and that's plenty rare. Ah well. There's still TCM. And the THIS network.

Big Hollywood : Morning Call Sheet: Dawn for 'Red Dawn', My Favorite X-Rated Movie and the Look on John Wayne's Face

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:53:02 +0000

Re Midnight Cowboy: Saw it at TCM Film Festival last year. Decided it's like an inverse Of Mice And Men -- Lenny's taking care of George, trying to get him to a promised land. Jon Voigt explained a few things about the movie before its presentation, including why the director requested an X rating and how the "I'm walkin' here!" line was improvised. Tough competition for favorite X movie; there's also Clockwork Orange....

Big Hollywood : TCM Classic Film Festival: April 28th - May 1st in Hollywood

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 12:24:05 +0000

Not so bad. The footprints at the formerly Chinese theater and the stars on the sidewalk are fun. I went to this event last year. Aside from the very true observation from Vanity Fair (Comic-Con for the martini set), there were some things that made me glad I went. For examples Every evening there was a pass-holders' only get together at the Roosevelt Hotel. Kinda swanky, but it gave movie heads from all over a chance to meet each other between shows. Red carpet event for an almost restored copy of A Star Is Born. Attendees were encouraged to dress appropriately. Can't say I'd ever dressed nicely for a movie before. Kinda fun. John Voigt introduced Midnight Cowboy; he answered a few questions about how that movie got made -- AND he scored a couple of conservative poitical points, one by way of Rich Little, who was in the audience. Ernest Borgnine was at a screening of Jubal. He did an interview with Leonarn Maltin immediately after the show. This was pure awesome. This was one of Tony Curtis's last public appearance. It was kind of sad to see him in the state he was in, but it turned out to be his last chance to do what he seemed to love best: Indulge his fans. This was very much right crowd for Casablanca.

Big Peace : Truly Bizarre: Chinese Man Creates Fake Army Unit In Los Angeles

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 09:31:44 +0000

Minor quib: I think instead of Stripes for the article image, Which Way To the Front? (1970) might have been more apropos.