Famed film critic Joel Siegel died June 29th of complications from colon cancer. I've never seen a Joel Siegel review, but have read his cheesy one-line reviews of films which were rather groan-worthy.
At my college graduation ceremony, Joel Siegel was there to give a speech. There were several odd things about this. One is that he was offered an honorary doctorate when my college didn't offer doctorates to begin with. Another is that he gave a smart-ass negative speech which wasn't really appropriate for an audience of collegiate students ready to move on to their next phase in life.
This is more or less what Siegel said: "It is often said that college is the best time of your life. So it's all gonna be downhill from here."
I realize that Siegel was speaking in a sarcastic tone, but was still somewhat offended as his remarks and found them rather crass. I'm sad that he's dead, but won't forget him for making a college graduation ceremony memorable in a not so good way.
Joel Siegel, 63, Movie Critic Who Instructed and Amused, Dies -- NY Times
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Buffy Musical Rocks Portland's Casbah
OK, so late last night I went with some friends to see a touring theatrical screening of the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Once More With Feeling." They gave out props and everything, making it like a slightly more organized version of seeing Rocky Horror Picture Show in a theatre.
Although I've seen only all of Season One and a smattering of other random episodes, I was very familiar with this musical episode. It was really nice that they had a short pre-show program, but some of it was not needed, particularly a schmaltzy YouTube music video focused on Buffy's mother.
Low point of the evening had to be an annoying guy in the audience with a loud, raspy laugh who "Har, har, harred" his way through any joke, no matter how bad. Buffy can be funny, but if you laugh at every single line in such a horrid manner, you're just trying to focus attention on yourself.
Buffy Musical on the Big Screen
Although I've seen only all of Season One and a smattering of other random episodes, I was very familiar with this musical episode. It was really nice that they had a short pre-show program, but some of it was not needed, particularly a schmaltzy YouTube music video focused on Buffy's mother.
Low point of the evening had to be an annoying guy in the audience with a loud, raspy laugh who "Har, har, harred" his way through any joke, no matter how bad. Buffy can be funny, but if you laugh at every single line in such a horrid manner, you're just trying to focus attention on yourself.
Buffy Musical on the Big Screen
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Robocop Dark Justice Not Bad TV Take
I just finished watching Robocop: Dark Justice, the first part of a four-part made for TV miniseries, Robocop: Prime Directives.
It's not bad, but its TV budget shows. Dark Justice has a lot of flashbacks of Alex Murphy in his pre-Robocop phase, which feels like a cheap police procedural drama from TV. The plot has a lot of setup with a nice pay-off in the end and has a villain that it delightfully comic-bookish in an over the top fashion.
Oddly enough, the best part of it managed to be the snarky news segments which are hilarious yet accurate in their portrayal of a CNN-style station. Every brief clip is over-run with stock quotes, text advertisements, and lasts no more than 15 seconds.
It ends on a cliff-hanger, so I'll rent the second part, Robocop: Meltdown, to see if it improves at all. I'm hoping for a little bit more Robo-action next time around.
It's not bad, but its TV budget shows. Dark Justice has a lot of flashbacks of Alex Murphy in his pre-Robocop phase, which feels like a cheap police procedural drama from TV. The plot has a lot of setup with a nice pay-off in the end and has a villain that it delightfully comic-bookish in an over the top fashion.
Oddly enough, the best part of it managed to be the snarky news segments which are hilarious yet accurate in their portrayal of a CNN-style station. Every brief clip is over-run with stock quotes, text advertisements, and lasts no more than 15 seconds.
It ends on a cliff-hanger, so I'll rent the second part, Robocop: Meltdown, to see if it improves at all. I'm hoping for a little bit more Robo-action next time around.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End a Nice Conclusion to Johnny Depp's Wild Piratey Adventures
After watching Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, I have to admit that it's much better than the 2nd film, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. It has more piratey stuff going on, but still remains a somewhat bloated film with an ending that sets things for for a 4th installment in a cheap way.
***SPOILER ALERT***
One thing the flick does well is hold off reintroducing Captain Jack Sparrow, which makes his surreal intro all the more satisfying. The range of environments this time around is a lot more visually appealing, from the run-down Chinese pirate hideouts to the chaotic finale at sea. Hans Zimmer does a more varied job with the score, making something interesting instead of jamming leitmotifs of "He's a Pirate" in every other scene.
What's not so hot? Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightley are a bit of a bore, their waifish features failing in their attempt to distract from their lifeless line readings. The whole Calypso subplot is built up to a crabby end that seems kind of cheap and there are a few too many double-crosses in the plot. Late in the movie they introduce a concept of different Pirate Lords from different countries, which is interesting, but nothing is ever done with it. A movie dealing with Zulu African Warlord Pirates fighting against Mexican Pirates would have been something different at least than fighting against the evil squid beasties.
Still, Pirates 3 is much better than Spider-Man 3 and worth it for fans of the franchise.
***SPOILER ALERT***
One thing the flick does well is hold off reintroducing Captain Jack Sparrow, which makes his surreal intro all the more satisfying. The range of environments this time around is a lot more visually appealing, from the run-down Chinese pirate hideouts to the chaotic finale at sea. Hans Zimmer does a more varied job with the score, making something interesting instead of jamming leitmotifs of "He's a Pirate" in every other scene.
What's not so hot? Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightley are a bit of a bore, their waifish features failing in their attempt to distract from their lifeless line readings. The whole Calypso subplot is built up to a crabby end that seems kind of cheap and there are a few too many double-crosses in the plot. Late in the movie they introduce a concept of different Pirate Lords from different countries, which is interesting, but nothing is ever done with it. A movie dealing with Zulu African Warlord Pirates fighting against Mexican Pirates would have been something different at least than fighting against the evil squid beasties.
Still, Pirates 3 is much better than Spider-Man 3 and worth it for fans of the franchise.
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