Hollywood
Posted at 9:09am on May 5, 2008 Iron Man
By Ben Domenech
I saw Iron Man over the weekend. Not once, but twice. I'll review it later - but suffice it to say that this is a truly awesome superhero flick that leaps beyond the other onscreen Marvel franchises with ease, and is easily the equal of Spider-Man 2, their previous best. Favreau's anti-CGI sentiments serve him well, and he keeps a gadget-heavy flick from feeling like special effects pr0n.
But even a movie that takes a second-tier Marvel character with and turns them into one of the top ten box office openings of all time is going to have haters, and in this case we have this crappy little review by Kyle Smith at Pajamas Media which displays a complete ignorance of the Iron Man storyline, and joins the New Yorker as one of the few places to notch a negative for a movie with a 95% RT rating. The plot line is absolutely parallel to Iron Man's character arc - Tony Stark's crisis of belief following the discovery that his designs were being used for great evil, his anti-communism and patriotism leading him to hunt down those who would turn his weapons on innocents, his appointment as SecDef, and his pro-registration stance in Civil War - all reasons why he's got such a strong military following. It's no coincidence that the first full screening anywhere in the world was an exclusive for American soldiers overseas, with Favreau and Downey, Jr. (himself an ex-liberal), on hand to watch it with them.
Go see it. Oh, and stay after the credits.
Posted at 10:23am on Apr. 28, 2008 Girls Will Be Girls
By BobParks
This was supposed to be the “Year of the Woman”, that is, until Hillary Clinton cried. But Lindsay Lohan, Randi Rhodes, Britney, Jamie Lynn Spears, Naomi Campbell, and Paris Hilton have showed us that some high-profile women have a long way to go when it comes to being our national inspirations.
Destiny’s Child
According to the Associated Press, Miley Cyrus, the “Hannah Montana” teen superstarlet, is unhappy with some of the pictures included in her Vanity Fair photoshoot by Annie Liebovitz.
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Posted at 2:08pm on Apr. 25, 2008 Damon Wayans Advocates Black Genocide
By Warner Todd Huston
-By Warner Todd Huston
There is an old joke that goes "Comedy isn't pretty" and I believe that "comedian" Damon Wayans has really gone out of his way to prove the truth to this old saw.
He has a little project named wayoutTV with which he produces his "comedy" sketches for YouTube and other on-line video services. Recently he unleashed one called "Abortionman." Remember this is supposed to be comedy.
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Posted at 3:47pm on Apr. 24, 2008 Obama Raising Cash and the Dead
By Brandozilla
Actor Roy Scheider has been able to overcome his status of being dead and donate some cash to Obama's campaign. Here is the scoop.
Sen. Barack Obama does come from the Chicago school of politics, where historically voter turnout has been unusually high for residents of certain graveyards. And he has been unusually successful raising money.Actor Roy Scheider in his Jaws role as the local policeman He died Feb. 10 at the age of 75 but somehow one month later donated $50 to the presidential campaign of Illinois Democratic Senator Barack Obama of Chicago
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Posted at 10:59pm on Apr. 22, 2008 Robert Downy, Jr. Turning Politically Conservative?
By Warner Todd Huston
-By Warner Todd Huston
Let me first say that I don't often care much about the goings on of the denizens of Hollyweird, so this "gossip" time at my Publius' Forum RedState blog isn't something you should get used to. But, Sonny Bunch is reporting over at the Weekly Standard blog (inventively called "The Blog") that bad boy actor Robert Downey, Jr. is saying that his personal troubles of drug addiction and jail terms has turned him toward the conservative viewpoint.
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Posted at 2:16pm on Apr. 21, 2008 Lions for Lambs
By whiskeyboarder
I originally penned the following for an outside blog that I maintain mostly for personal fulfillment. However, upon finishing the product, I immediately recognized it to be something that I would want to share with like-minded individuals. I would hope the community here would be receptive and kind enough to respond with your own reactions / sentiments, etc.
What follows is a sort of literary salad. While it is, at heart, a personal reflection encouraged by the viewing of a popular film, it is also a dialogue into the major topics presented by the film. These topics are pertinent today, especially on a site such as this. At its most mundane, the following is also essentially a movie review – but, again, I hope the method it which it is fashioned will provide significance atypical of a common review.
The piece culminates greater than 2,000 words, so a highlight follows. Should your appetite demand, the text in its entirety is available after the break.
Since assessment of Cruise’s character is left somewhat ambiguous at the conclusion of the film I will excuse the production for any Leftist propaganda that may have been intended. Surely, it could have been directed much more explicitly. All that being said, given the very passions of the character, I could see how the Senator could very well be the individual whom my Mom saw my personality embodied.
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Posted at 1:18pm on Apr. 16, 2008 TV Reviewer Attacks O'Reilly... For NO Reason
By Warner Todd Huston
-By Warner Todd Huston
Here is the sort of liberal bias that is easy to see even by those out there who might try to pretend that liberal bias doesn't exist in the media. Kevin McDonough writes a TV review column for United Feature Syndicate called "Tune in Tonight."
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Posted at 1:19pm on Apr. 14, 2008 Iraq Movies: Why They Fail
By Chris Jones
In his latest column, NY Times Op-ed writer Frank Rich gets it wrong (as usual) when talking about Iraq. This week in particular Frank misses the mark with his explanation of why movies about the Iraq war do so poorly at the Box Office.
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Posted at 1:12am on Apr. 11, 2008 ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’ and Got REALLY hot!
By Warner Todd Huston
-By Warner Todd Huston
Remember the iconic 1951 Cold War era film, “The Day the Earth Stood Still”? It was a black and white film starring Michael Rennie as Klaatu, an alien who came to Earth to warn our warring nations that a galactic police force had deemed the world a “danger” to intelligent life everywhere and that we faced annihilation unless we acted nice. It was one of the classic, dystopian films with a utopian message. If only we could all just get along! Well, true to the axiom that there isn’t anything new in Hollywood, it is being remade as a Keanu Reeves vehicle (that’s Hollywood talk for “starring Keanu Reeves").
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Posted at 11:56am on Apr. 7, 2008 Charlton Heston, A Personal Note
By lesliecarbone
The world lost a class actor this weekend with the passing of Charlton Heston.
Charlton Heston was a great actor, a gracious man, and a citizen committed making his country a better place.
His commitment to justice led him to switch to the Republican Party in 1964. Echoing Ronald Reagan, another of Hollywood's rare gracious and conservative men, Mr. Heston explained: "My politics haven't changed -- it was the Democratic Party that changed." Over the years, he became a strong defender of the Second-Amendment right of the people to keep and bear arms.
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Posted at 1:51am on Apr. 6, 2008 Charlton Heston Passes Away
A great actor and a believer in inalienable rights
By Ben Domenech
Here's my Charlton Heston story.
When I was a teenager, and a lowly intern for Human Events, I spent my days writing about all sorts of topics that were, let's face it, not interesting enough to the editors to assign real, paid journalists.
Once, I wrote an article about gun rights, and an attack on them via a bill before the House of Representatives. It was a slightly different attack than those usually employed by the gun-grabbers, as I recall, but the details are lost to me. In any case: I went to a few hearings, I talked to a few staffers, and I wrote about it.
About a week after the story ran, I came back to my desk to find a pink "While you were out" note from the office secretary. Someone from then-National Rifle Association President Charlton Heston's office had called, the note said, asking for copies of my article. Please return call for address.
I dialed the number. A man picked up. And I heard Charlton Heston say, "Hello?"
I was stunned into silence for a moment. I glanced at the note - it was a California area code. I realized it did not say Charlton Heston's office had called - that had been assumed. No, it was the man himself. I had no idea what to say.
"Uh...Mr. Heston, I'm calling from Human Events, and I heard you were interested in copies of my article?"
"Oh, yes!" he replied. Could I send a few copies of the issue over to him, he asked? But of course. He gave me his address, ending with, "and that most hideous of zip codes, 9-0-2-1-0."
I still didn't know what to say, but figuring this was the only time I'd end up with the actor on the phone, I just added: "And sir, let me say as a fan, thank you so much for all the amazing work you've done on screen."
He laughed, and said "No, thank you, I appreciate it."
Made my week, that did.
R.I.P.
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Posted at 6:29pm on Apr. 1, 2008 It's no April Fools Joke: I kinda like Oliver Stone
By Ben Domenech
Captain Ed goes after Oliver Stone for this report on his Josh Brolin-starring biopic of George W. Bush. But for all its reported flaws, I actually find it interesting, and it might make for a very watchable, entertaining film.
Oliver Stone is a lefty, yes, like everyone else in Hollywood. But he's also a guy who's quite talented when he wants to be, and when he's got a good editor. I'd challenge anyone to find lefty politics in his World Trade Center film. And let's face it: W's story of flawed black sheep alcoholic who, post-conversion, makes a tough if wrongheaded leader is the sort of thing that Hollywood craves in these thin-scripted days. Stone may make him out to be a bumbling blue-blood president, yes - he may make him out to be a smirking fool - the early script seems to bounce back and forth. But if Stone has guts, and I think he still has a little left after that whole scrap about the 9/11 miniseries (where he defended a miniseries that was highly favorable to the President), this could be a film that is at the very least worth watching.
I mean, it has Elizabeth Banks in it. That has to count for something.
Posted at 5:46pm on Mar. 31, 2008 W: The Movie
By sayers
That's right. Oliver Stone is making a movie about George W. Bush:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117982971.html?categoryid=13&cs=1
I'm sure the whole thing will be chock full of lies and conspiracy theories.
Worse, it will probably win an Oscar all the while the media and liberals praise Stone's bravery in "speaking truth to power" and standing up to those evil and oppressive right wingers.
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Posted at 3:59pm on Mar. 20, 2008 "Oscar-Winning Actor Paul Scofield Dies"
By Feddie
Posted at 12:25pm on Feb. 26, 2008 Boo-ray For Hollywood
By BobParks
So much for the Oscar ceremony nobody watched. Let’s be honest, Hollywood could care less. The sponsors lost money, but the network got paid, the production crew got paid, and the celebrities got more of the attention they crave.
It’s redundant to say, “Hollywood doesn’t get it”. They continue to create message movies that talk down to their audiences. They continue to assume that because they play military personnel and spouses in movies, they’re qualified to lecture the rest of us lowly patrons about how wrong all war is. They continue to believe once we know whom they support for president; we’ll admire their wisdom and vote in a similar fashion.
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