i-heart-art Blog

R.I.P. Yvonne De Carlo

i-heart-art — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 20:29:00 GMT

One of my icons died today. I realize that Yvonne De Carlo was much more than just Lily Munster, but "The Munsters" and "The Addams Family" are two of the main influences from my youth that set me on the path to Gothdom. Yvonne De Carlo was a beautiful woman, period, but Lily Munster had some great costumes. I know this post may sound a bit superficial - I do not mean for this to be so (I happen to be home sick with a fever, so I am a bit delirious). Yvonne was in the original Ten Commandments and Roots and so many more noteworthy projects. Her beauty and spirit will live on in my heart and many others, I'm sure.

Not my Dukes of Hazzard

i-heart-art — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 05:59:00 GMT

One of my fondest childhood memories is from when I was very young - every Friday night, my parents and I would get takeout from the best Chinese restaurant in Chicago (I was born there) - I do not know if the restaurant still exists, but I still remember the name of the place and the perfection of their BBQ pork & shrimp foo young (my 2 faves from there) and I have not had food from there since I was 7 or 8 (I'm 31 now) - that's how good it was...I digress. Every week, we'd bring our Chinese feast home and watch Friday night TV together, as a family - "Dukes of Hazzard", "The Hulk", and "Wonder Woman", if I'm not mistaken (maybe "The Six Million Dollar Man" was part of the Friday night lineup and either "The Hulk" or "Wonder Woman" was not). I feel that Hollywood relies too heavily on remakes as it is, but I just was appalled when I learned that they cast Jessica Simpson as Daisy Duke for this movie - Daisy Duke is a brunette and she has a nice ass; Jessica Simpson didn't dye her hair and I don't see the point of having her wear Daisy Dukes - a nonexistent ass does not equal nice. Did we not learn from Goldilocks and the Three Bears that some things have to be not too big or too small but "just right"?

Borat is not a good movie. . . . . . . . .NOT!

i-heart-art — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 04:52:00 GMT

So, I took some time out from studying for finals to go see Borat the other night, even though I broke my own rule of not seeing overly hyped films for a very long time if I don't see them within the first 2 weeks of release (I must admit that I kinda wish that I had waited because I have read so much about the film that there were few surprises, but I think that Sacha Baron Cohen is a genius - actually, he literally is a genius - and I have loved his work for the past several years). I had every intention of seeing this film during the opening weekend, but battling a nasty cold and keeping up/catching up with school prevented me from doing so. I own nearly every Ali G release (UK & US versions; the movie Indahouse & the TV series), so I am very familiar with Borat. I cannot wait for the feature film of his other character, Bruno - the gay fashion correspondent - he's not entirely unlike Borat, so I hope that film doesn't suffer because of all of the Borat controversies. Seeing an entire 90 minutes of Borat's cringe-inducing behavior was intense, though. I watched more of this film through my fingers than any scary movie, but I tend to respect comedians that hold a mirror up to their audiences and make them think about serious social issues while still making them laugh, so I have to say I liked it. I can't really say much about this film that hasn't already been said - it's certainly not for everyone - like Kid Rock, for instance. I really couldn't care less about Pamela Anderson or Kid Rock, but useless celebrity gossip is pretty hard to escape in our society and I absorb all kinds of useless trivia in case I find myself on a game show or something someday (I do pretty well at trivia-based board games too). [In case anyone reading this hasn't heard the rumor, this movie is allegedly what sparked the imminent divorce between Pamela & Kid Rock; supposedly, he called her a slut while watching a private screening of this film.], so I did find myself waiting to see what was so scandalous about Pamela's involvement in the film and I couldn't figure it out - I even sat through the credits to see if there was something incriminating afterwards, but no. Maybe their divorce really has nothing to do with Borat and the rumor is just a ruse - everyone else is getting their 15 minutes of fame by being mad at the producers of Borat, so why not Kid Rock? [You can argue that he has already experienced some fame, but not in my world...]

The Best TV Show EVER

i-heart-art — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 04:23:00 GMT

It's just my personal opinion, but I feel very strongly that "Six Feet Under" was the best thing that ever happened to television (if I had to pick only from network television shows, I'm not sure what I'd pick, but most cable TV shows are eventually accessible to everyone on DVD these days, so I think it's fair game). I was lucky enough to have premium cable long enough [I'm a student now, had to cut back to basic...] to see every episode of SFU from the pilot to the end (I bawled for 2 weeks after the last episode - seriously). I mourn the loss of the show, but I also have great respect for the producers' choice to quit while they were ahead - I'll take 6 quality seasons of a great show over 1 or 2 good seasons of a show followed by endless mediocrity (or worse) any day. I have to admit that there was one season that I felt was weaker than all of the others, but the entire last season was phenomenal and they really ended on top. From the very first episode, I was blown away by how real these characters were. I laughed and cried with them every week for a long time. I personally identified with many aspects of Claire and Nate, but a good friend of mine would always call me "Claire" while the show was still running (for the way I talk and think, I guess). I really don't mind the comparison. I miss the show and it feels like I lost my best friends, but someday I'll have enough money to bring them all home...

don't mess with perfection

i-heart-art — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 07:26:00 GMT

I happen to live in the town that premiered the stage musical version of Hairspray before it went on to Broadyway and won lots of Tonys. I used to be a theatre major and I do enjoy a more than a fair amount of musical theatre (some of it can be quite grating also). I don't begrudge the success of the stage version of this show - it was great - but I do protest the fact that they are now making a movie version of the stage version of this classic film. This also recently happened with The Producers and as much as I like Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane (I would have eagerly seen them perform the stage version if I'd had the opportunity), I just could not bring myself to see their movie version. Perhaps it's because I feel that Hollywood relies too heavily on remakes as it is that I feel this way, but it really does seem extra absurd to do a movie adaptation of a theatrical production which was an adaptation of a film (and a great one, at that).

The book is great too

i-heart-art — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 10:21:00 GMT

As a result of watching this film, I read and fell in love with not only this book, but Frank McCourt's other autobiographical novel, Tis. I have not yet read Teacher Man, his latest book, but if the other 2 are any indication, I'm sure that it's fantastic.

An official "bah" to the Director's Cut

i-heart-art — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 09:17:00 GMT

I have wracked my brain to think of any other films that I feel that the Director's Cut was actually worse than the original release and I'm sure that there are some, but this is the only one that comes to mind quickly. I first saw Donnie Darko on DVD and my friend that rented it and I wound up watching it twice in a row because it was so weird and especially twisted at the end that we decided to give it a second viewing to see if it made any more sense and to make up our minds as to whether or not we really liked it. Overall, I decided that I liked it well enough - it does have a great soundtrack - but that the end was a bit weak, however, the Director's Cut edited out my very favorite part of the original - the best lines from Patrick Swayze's motivational speaker character (it's been too long since I've seen the original to remember the exact line that I am thinking of, but I know that it was part of the "Contolling Fear" video). There are lots of other strange changes - like changing the soundtrack around (songs places in different scenes and such) - so I strongly advise anyone who has not seen this movie at all to see the original and not bother with the Director's Cut and for anyone who has only seen the Director's Cut to make a point of watching the original to see if you might enjoy it more.

My secret fave in the Holy Trinity of Ringwald...

i-heart-art — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 06:03:00 GMT

Ah, The Breakfast Club...where to begin? Let's see: I have a self-imposed restriction on myself against watching this movie in the presence of other people because I have this obnoxious-yet-uncontrollable habit of reciting every line of this movie aloud, as if it were karaoke cinema. I love Pretty in Pink and Sixteen Candles (the other two movies in what I have dubbed "the Holy Trinity of Ringwald") as well, but this one was always my favorite and I seem to be the only person that I know that feels this way. I was in middle school when this film came out and I was a good kid - never had detention (it was much later before I learned firsthand that "being bad feels pretty good") - so it wasn't as if I really related to the characters. I can only sum it up thusly: 1) I love(d) the Brat Pack & every John Hughes movie that featured them, 2) for most of the 80s, I wanted to be Molly Ringwald (what girl didn't?) - in fact, Claire (her character in this film) is the whole reason that I ever tried sushi, which is now my favorite food, and 3) I just plain wanted Judd Nelson from the moment I saw this film - I never had a thing for that guy that played Jake in Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink wasn't out yet (but Andrew McCarthy did get a piece of my heart from then on...).

The perfect tour

i-heart-art — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 17:03:00 GMT

I hate to admit it, but I've never been to New York. It is particularly embarrassing because I used to be a theatre major and there are so many reasons that I've always felt drawn to NYC, mostly related to art (in all forms) - it probably started the first time I heard Frank Sinatra sing "New York, New York" (not to mention the first time I heard Al Jarreau sing "On Broadway") when I was little and it has continued throughout the years. Everything from hearing NY hip hop artists shout out their love to their 'hoods (or to all five burroughs) to reading about what's going on on (& off) Broadway or reading any book, newspaper, or magazine about New York to seeing almost any film in/about New York City pulls on my heart strings and sets off the little voice in my head that tells me to go, but I also have gained a lot of fear about New York - NYC, in particular - as I have grown up. I grew up on the West Coast and not only have I never been to New York, I've never been farther east than Detroit, MI (I was born in Chicago, have relatives in the Midwest). As I have grown up, I have been taught that the East Coast is very different from the West Coast - mostly by people who have lived or spent considerable time on the East Coast - and I have grown afraid that my casual, slower-paced West Coast personality/attitude/mentality will just get crushed or eaten up in NYC (this is me talking in terms of wanting to live there, not just visit). The other reality is that NYC is expensive, so even if/when I overcome my fear, I am far from being able to afford to live there and I will have to save up for some time to have a really decent vacation there...which brings me back to blogging about this film - it really is a beautiful tour. Even though I realize that he is no longer a tour guide, I would love to have Speed Levitch show me around when I do finally set foot in New York City. He may be eccentric, but he has beautiful, mind-expanding observations. I also love him in Waking Life, which is one of my favorite films EVER.

R.I.P.

i-heart-art — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 10:56:00 GMT

I am generally not as sad when I hear news of someone dying at a ripe old age (generally anywhere near or over 80), especially if they had fame/fortune or in some other way lived a full and fulfilling life. However, I cannot help but be sad when a great talent shuffles off of this mortal coil. I'm not sure if I really have anything to blog about Short Cuts at this time, except that I think that it was the first Altman film that really grabbed my attention and made me cognizant of him, once I was old enough to be aware of the director's role in the filmmaking process and I began becoming more of a fan of specific directors than actors.