|
|
|||||||
|
||||||||
|
Alone Tomorrow I might see Mission: Impossible 2. I might see some more of the 3-D movies in the next couple days. Wednesday the Roxie is showing some very B noir movies. One starring Hugh Beaumont (Mr Cleaver). And it all came true! Wednesday I saw Mission: Impossible 2 with my friend Benita. It was only okay. I liked the first one a lot. This one had three very funny lines; sloppy, dullish plotline; lots of Woo action. Then I went and saw two of the three B-movie noirs at the Roxie: The Lady Confesses -- with Hugh Beaumont as a psychopathic killer and you don't find out he's a killer until late in the movie! And Behind Prison Walls. About a father and son of differing economic beliefs ending up in prison together. Actually, practically a comedy with some very funny bits. Especially a great comic performance from Tully Marshall. It was also his last performance... Tully Marshall was born William Phillips on April 10, 1864 in Nevada City, California. He intended to pursue a legal career until he tried a dramatic course at Santa Clara University. He started stage work in San Francisco in 1883; moved to New York in 1887 where he played in various roles on Broadway and on the road. After a few small roles in films he was given the roll of the 'High Priest of Babylon' in the film classic, Intolerance in 1916. One of his finest rolls in silents was that of an old Frontiersman in another classic The Covered Wagon in 1923. When Talkies arrived he was very much in demand, and he worked for nearly every major studio. He died on March 10,1943 in Encino, California at the age of 79. His other films include This Gun for Hire (1942), A Yank at Oxford (1938), Stand-In (1937), A Tale of Two Cities (1935), Black Fury (1935), Diamond Jim (1935), Murder on the Blackboard (1934), Red Dust (1932), Grand Hotel (1932), The Unholy Garden (1931), the first widescreen film The Big Trail (1930) and three films for Howard Hawks: Scarface (1932), Sergeant York (1941) and as one of the professors in Ball of Fire (1941). Thursday I saw 8 1/2 Women at the Castro. I don't know why I continue to see these Greenaway films, but -- okay I do, it's because of the nudity. Greenaway makes these films that would be maddening if they weren't so detached. Of course he has a cult following, because if he didn't he wouldn't be making movies. Most people don't know what to make of them. Rich old man's wife dies. The son comes to hang out with the grieving father. They get naked and compare penises and stuff. Very weird. Then they slowly fill the house with women (8 and a half of them) that they can, well it's sort of a brothel. A bordello. These women include Amanda Plummer as a women who loves farm animals -- and I mean that, she LOVES them. If you know what I mean. Yeah, exactly. She's naked a lot. On horseback. Giving a large pig a bath. I've never really cared that much for Amanda Plummer. She was Nancy Travis' crazy sister in So I Married an Axe Murderer. Toni Collette -- an Australian actess that I just can't get to like -- plays, well, a a nun of some sort. She has relationships with the father and son and they give tons of money to Catholic charities or something. Toni Collette was in Muriel's Wedding. I think she was Muriel. Anyway, she was the main star of Muriel's Wedding. My mom didn't like Muriel's Wedding. That's about all I can remember. Interlude: My mom has this thing where she hears of certain things, she always thinks of one thing to say about the thing and she says it, but I've hung out with this lady a lot, and so I always know what she's going to say. For instance: Muriel's Wedding. "Oh I didn't like that." For instance: The Thin Man. "You know what? They were alcoholics in that!" For instance: Joel Conger. "Oh, I don't like him! He was mean to you!" Joel Conger was a friend I had in 4th-5th grade. He did something mean to me once I guess and foolishly I mentioned it to my mom and she remembers it. For instance: Camille Paglia. "You know what? I like her! You wouldn't think I would but I do!" Mom is a hardcore Republican. She likes Camille Paglia because... I don't remember why. I forget. I should like to point out that it wasn't so much Nora Charles (Myrna Loy) that was an alcoholic as it was Nick Charles (William Powell). End of Interlude. Most importantly about 8 1/2 Women is that Polly Walker is in it. She is photographed nude. And her beautiful green eyes are on display in well-lit close-ups quite often. I liked Polly Walker, but now I love her. She was born in 1966. Green eyes. Black hair, often cut something like Louise Brooks. Her other films include: Emma (1996), Restoration (1995), Sliver (1993), Patriot Games (1992) and Enchanted April (1992). The girl who looks like Gwyneth Paltrow was working at the concessions stand again. This was the second time I've seen her. I like Gwyneth Paltrow just fine. The reason I like this girl isn't that she looks like Gwyneth, it's because I like her. She's thin (a pre-requisite), but very, oh, I don't know what. She reminds me of a 70s girl. She seems very laid back. She may have spent a total of $2.50 on her entire outfit. She seems somewhat underground/alternative, but she doesn't wear black and a lot of white make-up. She's... special. Of course, I said nothing to her. That's not true, I said "Medium popcorn, medium Coke" and "Thank you." She was gone when I left the theatre. I should have come up with some snappy patter. Nope. "Medium popcorn, medium Coke." This week: I went to see Shanghai Noon with Owen Wilson, Jackie Chan and Lucy Lui at the 1000 Van Ness at 1:15pm on Saturday, but it was sold out! Monday I went to Le Video to return some films. I had rented four and only got through three and half, so I felt guilty, but I still decided to rent some more. So... I went... inside. I'm in the Crime section and I hear some man say, "Ted!" but it is a voice I do not know, so I figure some dude is looking for his buddy Ted who happens to be in the store too. Then I hear it again! "Ted!" So I turn around and there's this guy standing there, but not looking at me, so I turn back around. Then he says "Ted!" again, so I turn around and realize who it is... It's Bob Roath! That's right, Bob Roath from high school and junior high and before that. So, we get to talking about people we're still in touch with (Pete Crooks and Tim Meany and Bud Porter, Steve Abrams and Stu Hanson) and slowly drift into the Musicals and Family section for no apparent reason, when guess who walks right by us! Mike Doyle! Mike Doyle from high school, etc. So we're talking and guess what. He's getting married to Jennifer McDermott! That's right from high school and junior high, etc! And guess what! She's in the store! So we say hello to her too! It's crazy! All of us in Le Video at the same time! So, I send Mike and Jennifer home with Manhattan Murder Mystery, and Bob with Rear Window and Kingpin, and I rent A Bullet for Joey (Edward G Robinson, George Raft), The Outfit (Robert Duvall, Robert Ryan), Savage Wilderness (directed by Anthony Mann, with Victor Mature) and a video of some Robert Benchley short films. Although Bob kept trying to pawn off a movie with Mac Davis called Possums. In the tradition of Rudy, Bob was line producer on it. As I write this, I'm talking to Bob on Instant Messenger! He loved Kingpin! Tuesday I walked down to the Opera Plaza Cinemas and saw a movie that no one would have heard of. It's called Croupier. British. Not bad. This guy's a writer with writer's block and an ex-gambling addict. Takes a job as a croupier in a casino. It stars Clive Owen, Alex Kingston (the English woman on E/R) and Gina McKee (the woman in the wheelchair in Notting Hill). Ms. Kingston gives us a brief taste of what "full frontal nudity" is really all about. I went to see Shanghai Noon with Owen Wilson, Jackie Chan and Lucy Lui at the 1000 Van Ness at 1pm on Wednesday. It was only okay. Owen Wilson was funny, Lucy Liu was unbelievably beautiful, Jackie Chan was... Jackie Chan. And then, Wednesday night, I walked down to the Lumiere and saw a documentary on the rave subculture called Better Living Through Circuitry. It was pretty good. Almost everyone I know has had at least some involvement once in the rave scene, techno, dancing, ecstacy, etc. It's funny, people over 40 or 50 think it's some kind of subculture, but most people under 35 think it's just another scene, baby, you know? The Lumiere popcorn is really great. There is a new film of Margaret Cho's stand-up act coming to the Lumiere soon. Listen, people, stay the hell away from that thing. The preview SUCKS. She sucks. She thinks she's like a genius. I don't think so. She's not even funny. And she's fat! On Thursday I saw Beau Travail at the Opera Plaza. It was at the Castro for a week. It's highly touted I think. Film Comment has a cover story on it this issue. Directed by Claire Denis. Sort of a version of Melville's Billy Budd. These guys are French Legionnaires in Madagascar. It's mostly visual with a lot of voice over. The emotions these guys feel are brought out largely through the style, the photography. In some ways, not much happens. There are a lot of what I percieved to be homoerotic undertones. Or overtones. The film stars Denis Lavant as a warped sergeant. I have never cared for Lavant. He's in Lover's on the Bridge with Juliette Binoche. He is grotesque. The ugliest person ever. Sort of weaseley. However, if for nothing else, I recommend the movie for the final scene alone. It's worth it for that. Lavant is pretty good in this scene I'm talking about. That's all I can say. See it; you'll thank me later. Then, Thursday night I saw It Happened Here with my friend Deren. It was sort of a low budget film from England in the 60s. It was what if the Germans had won WWII: what would England be like. Interesting. A bit amateurish, but not near as heavy-handed as it could have been. Hasn't ever been seen in this country till now. I had popcorn. Deren had a Hanson's Cherry Vanilla soda that he thought was really good. The theater was really crowded and the manager announced that due to the popularity of this film there will be a few more showings next week. Thursday night was to have been it's last night. Halfway through an annoying woman sat down right in front of me. Her head was blocking me and she kept changing positions so I had to keep moving. Then I started to blow on her, to see if it would make her leave. It didn't. Sunday night I went to see Winter Sleepers, one of the year's best films, thus far. It was directed by Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) and stars a cast of Germans. The lives of five or six people intertwining up at a ski resort; relationships. New Series! The Classics: Great Movies That You've Probably Never Heard Of: Ice Cold In Alex -- despite the wording of the title, this is not Vanilla Ice's foray into porn. No, no. This is a British film from 1958, taking place in WWII 1942, about a small handful of allies -- possibly a Gerry spy! -- trying to make it across the smoldering Lybian desert, to an ice cold beer in Alexandria. Directed by J. Lee Thompson (the original Cape Fear, The Guns of Navarone); with John Mills, Sylvia Syms, Anthony Quayle, Harry Andrews. Tuesday I went to see Groove at the Embarcadero because the sfgate website said it was playing there. It's not. It starts Friday. So I went to the Lumiere to see Erick Zonca's The Little Thief. Zonca directed last years' The Dreamlife of Angels. It was pretty good. About this youth, a French Ryan Phillippe, who turns to crime, but figures it's not the life for him and goes back to working in a bakery. He came to that conclusion after a couple of incidents. Incident 1: His crime boss makes him open his mouth and he puts the gun in his mouth and forces him down on the floor. Then the boss unzips his pants and puts his "domain name" in the guy's mouth. He comes pretty quickly -- thank God -- and then the guy is on the floor spitting up semen. Incident 2: In an outstandingly realistic and truly horrifying moment of screen nastiness, his throat is cut! But first was a short (34 minutes) film by Zonca called Alone. About a girl who loses her waitressing job and is kicked out of her apt for not paying rent for three months. She starts living on the streets. Becomes extremely withdrawn and sort of loses her mind. At the end the cops take her away. Effective, if a little obvious. Wednesday I saw Grass at the Castro. It plays until the 14th or 15th and then a new Castro calendar, which I'm excited about. I think the Red Vic has a new calendar out too. Grass was exactly what you'd expect. "A satirical look at the US government's..." lame attempts to ban marijuana. Narrated by Woody Harrelson. You know what I mean? We've all heard all the arguments. It wasn't that funny. But it was slightly informative. I guess we're supposed to believe the statistics of $$$ spent on the war on drugs. Who really thinks that drugs -- marijuana especially -- shouldn't be legalized? We are spending way too much on this insane war on drugs. More people are dying from abuse, overdose and crime related to it than people would if it was legal and sold in drugstores. People! But the problem with Grass -- the movie -- is that who's going to see it that already doesn't support it's use? Plus the fact that the movie just wasn't funny enough, or on the other hand deep, informative, researched enough. Wednesday night I got in a serious motorcycle accident (not my fault) and couldn't see any movies on Thursday. Friday night I saw Groove at the Embarcadero. It was good. An inside look into one night in the San Francisco underground rave scene. Young 20-somethings -- like me (for another few months anyway) -- get into that Funk Soul Brother groove, techno, dance, ecstacy, bottled water. You know the scene. Directed by Greg Harrison Sunday I was going to see Road Trip at 1:25pm at the Evil Sony Metreon Theatres with my buddy Tim. Tim was going to call me at noon to make final plans. But Tim called at more like 12:45 and said he just got up. That was cool with me as I was still in bed too. So, we decided we'd see the 4:25 matinee instead. We'd meet at the theatre at 4. I got there and bought the tickets at about 4:10. Problem is I was looking at Friday's paper which had the 4:25 as a matinee price. Well, it was Sunday. "Eighteen dollars." "Ch-rist! Isn't it a matinee?" "Only Monday through Friday." Eighteen dollars to see Road Trip in a theatre packed with retards at the hellish, nowhere to park (even on a motorcycle!), madhouse Metreon. At 4:35 I gave Tim's ticket to the lady in the Guest Services box and went in and saw Road Trip. The film ends up working because (1) it has an extremely likeable cast, (2) is fast-paced and never succumbs to sentimentality, and (3) is, in fact, funny. Born March 25, 1976, and raised in Topanga Canyon, in Southern California, the gorgeous Amy Smart plays Beth. She was also in Varsity Blues and Starship Troopers, and on television in the mini-series The 70s and Felicity (as Ruby). Seann William Scott plays E.L. You may remember him from his unforgettable portrayal of Stifler in American Pie. He's also in Final Destination, and the upcoming Dude, Where's My Car? The latter film's plot outline from imdb.com is: "Two potheads wake up from a night of partying and can't remember where they parked their car." The great Breckin Meyer (Go, The Insider, Can't Hardly Wait, 54, Touch, Prefontaine, The Craft, Escape from L.A. and Clueless) plays the lead as the guy who accidentally mails his girlfriend the tape of him having sex with Beth. With Fred Ward, Andy Dick and, of course, Tom Green. Monday: That was a little too close for comfort. I so almost just went and saw Frequency at the 1000 Van Ness. It's all that's left. Except Gone in 60 Seconds which is supposed to suck too. But I'm planning on seeing that with my buddy Tim tomorrow night. It was like 12 noon. And I'm online and it says Frequency at 1:20. So, I'm like I'll need to leave by 1:05. So a little later I take a shower. Then I get out. Then it's 1:05. I'm not dressed yet! The phone's ringing (UPS)! So, I'm like: mad dash. Then I'm dressed and my other clock says 1:05. So, I can make it. Then I think: Do I really want to sit through this movie? Dennis Quaid? It's ridiculous premise causes me to worry about suspension of disbelief problems. It's technically not possible. I think they proved that in the 50s. Not possible to go BACK a few decades and mess with stuff THAT'S ALREADY HAPPENED. You can't change it; it's already happened. It took Einstein and Jung to prove that you couldn't mess with it or something. So there's that. I mean just because I've been seeing a lot of movies lately, you know, keeping the webpage (http://www.tedstrong.com) fresh, doesn't mean I have to see EVERYTHING. I mean I'm certainly not seeing Dinosaur. You know? Shaft starts Friday. Tuesday I did in fact see Gone in 60 Seconds with my buddy Tim. It was not good, but it wasn't actually bad. But it was not good. It went quickly enough so I didn't sit there thinking about other stuff. Like: my swollen foot, my recent jaw/ear-is-in-pain development, should I have said something to that girl who I had serious eye contact with yesterday when I came out of Grammophone Video, what's up with my bike, how badly did I sunburn my arms today, is Real World on tonight, what did I eat today, etc. Nicolas Cage was fine. Timothy Olyphant and Delroy Lindo were good as the cops. I like Timothy Olyphant. He's in Go and Scream 2. Scott Caan was in it. Scott Caan is short, and not at all attractive, but he keeps turning up in things. He's not a bad actor. He has an energy of sorts, like dad. Interestingly, James Caan made The Godfather with Robert Duvall 28 years ago, and now Robert Duvall was in this movie with James Caan's son.Wednesday was the hottest day of ever I think. So I ducked into the Roxie for a couple hours midday. Two 1930's Pre-Code pix. Pre-Code means that it was made before the industry started to censor itself in 1933 with the self-imposed Hayes Code. Before that there was occasion racy dialog, the hinting of sexual promiscuity, criminals getting off easy, realism. The Moral Majority crowd couldn't deal and were up in arms. The first film was Billion Dollar Scandal with this ex-con and his petty criminal buddies going up against big business white collar crooks. One of his buddies was a dumb boxer, who kept crossing his eyes, and saying stupid stuff; he was practically retarded. A bit preachy. The second film was Sinners in the Sun starring Carole Lombard and Chester Morris. Morris was goofy, but likable. Lombard is one of the cinema's great gifts. This was 1932, before her genius at comedy was discovered (see: To Be Or Not To Be, Mr & Mrs Smith, Nothing Sacred, My Man Godfrey and Twentieth Century) and what we have is a tale of the classes. Poor and rich, rich and poor. It was one of Cary Grant's first films and I realized that this was the first time I saw him in a film when I was older than he was on screen. Cary Grant is the best, and has been my favorite actor since I was a kid. He was 28 when this was released. Cary would go on to star with Carole Lombard in In Name Only, a stark divorce drama from 1939. Carole would die in a plane crash in 1942. This week: Nothing yet. But I've rented Dirty Dingus Magee (silly), The Servant (outstanding), A Dandy in Aspic (dull) and Monte Walsh (somber, fatalistic). Well, I still haven't seen Shaft, but this week for sure. My very good, and sexy, friend, Liz has a small part in it. I've rented some more movies; three with Sarah Miles: Ryan's Daughter, The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea, The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing; and two Monte Hellman pictures: Flight to Fury and The Shooting -- both with Jack Nicholson. The Servant was so good, and Sarah Miles so good (and sexy) in it that I had to see what else she was up to. Some pretty hot, and rather infamous sex scenes with Kris Kristofferson in The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea. AMC has had a Hitchcock marathon going for like four days now. It's pretty wonderful. New remastered prints of Rear Window and Vertigo, letterboxed Psycho and The Birds, Frenzy uncut. Right now I'm watching To Catch a Thief. Grace Kelly is jaw droppingly beautiful and Jessie Royce Landis is funny. But it's Cary Grant who steals it. It's so Cary. He's so cool. He's so funny. He's so charming. He's so handsome. In one scene, Grace has been cold to Cary all evening, then she kisses him -- out of nowhere -- and turns and closes the door. Cary just sort of stands there. Then he turns around, faces the camera, and smiles very slightly. Then he turns and walks down the elegant hotel corridor. He's 51 in this. He doesn't even look real. He's so perfect. His posture, the way he walks, his voice, his demeanor, his tan, his gestures. As David Thomson once said, he has "an unrivaled sense of timing, encouragement of fellow actors, and the ability to cram words or expressions in gaps so small that most other actors would rest. Grant could not be the demanding portrait of man that he is but for a technical command that is so complete it is barely noticeable." Nothing for over a week! And then Friday I saw Humanité at the Lumiere. I got popcorn. And a small Coke (Pepsi). But here's something interesting. There was a really cute girl working the concessions. Really cute. I think. Her face was anyway. For fun I tried to make strong eye contact with her and be very polite and cool. She was a little shy I think. But that's all that happened. If I see her there again, I will have to do a little more. Speaking of that, the cute girl in my Flash came wasn't there for the second class! Anyway, this concessions girl was kind of sweet looking, and she seemed young. Maybe early 20s. But I couldn't figure out why she was working there. I mean sometimes cool, smart people work the concessions, but they are usually self-imposed slacker/genX types -- people like friends of mine. But she seemed different. The only bad possibility is if she's really dumb. But I hope she's not. Anyway, Humanité was pretty good. It won some major Cannes stuff. Two and a half hours. Small northern France town, some really kind of weird people, a brutal murder, a rather simpleminded policeman, in love with an unattractive woman who he lives next door to. But she's married or has a boyfriend. They have explicit sex. Kind of sad, a couple of very funny moments (although I'm not sure they were supposed to be, I was the only person laughing). The director keeps the camera on everything for a real long time, that's why it's 2 and a half hours. So, at one point the policeman is sitting down eating an apple, staring off into nothing (as usual), and after a while of this, he starts choking. So he goes to the kitchen sink and just stands there coughing so loud for SO LONG, and the camera is behind him, not moving, so you see the kitchen and his back and you hear him coughing. Hilarious! I couldn't control myself. Then halfway through, some lame old man with a ridiculous comb-over hair style with loud crunching bags filled with garlic(!) comes and sits down right in front of me! Then at the climax of the movie he gets up and goes out for a little while. People!
|
