1) First, I apologize for not doing my job. TCM on their late night Friday cult movie slot just showed obscure Jabootu subject Heavenly Bodies. I didn’t notice this until the movie actually started, and thus was unable to alert everyone. Sorry.
By the way, TCM on Wednesday morning (the 21st) at 7:15 EST will be showing The Chapman Report, a film I’ve always wanted to take a look at. So anyone with a burner who was wondering what to get me for Christmas, feel free.
2) Although I see very few new movies these days–I believe this entire year I’ve only seen Thor and Captain America in theaters (I went to see The Muppets one night, but it was sold out), I liked the earlier Mission: Impossible films, and planned to see the latest one. Well, good gosh, the film has a 95% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, so that’s a definite yes, then.
I’m not the only one uninterested in Hollywood’s modern fare, by the way. The box office is slumping something fierce lately, and considering the catastrophic drop in DVD revenues, the industry is going to be in a world of hurt if things don’t turn around soon. In fact, the DVD thing means they are in a world of hurt even IF things turn around soon.
Which they won’t, in the long run. As with broadcast TV (and as I’ve argued many times before), the business model used by Hollywood is inanely out of touch with whatever moviegoing culture is left. Basically Hollywood has alienated everyone who isn’t a teenager from going to see films, aided by theaters that a) don’t even try to keep the theatergoing experience from sucking, vis a vis yakkers and cell phone users and people bringing tots into non-tot movies, and b) aligning with Hollywood’s blockbuster mentality by having 30 screens in a theater but only showing like four or five different movies.
Hollywood, of course, isn’t trying to deal with the situation, other than looking desperately for some gimmick to replace the DVD revenues that for a decade have papered over the industry’s inherent business model problems. Here’s a hint; it won’t be 3-D.
3) Denzel Washington is mulling starring in a big screen translation of The Equalizer. Whatever. I mean, it’s not the worst idea ever, but just seems as lazy and pointless as 98% of what Hollywood does these days. Not to mention bewildering. The Equalizer is a show I really liked back in the day. However, it’s both obscure and generic enough conceptually that it’s one of those deals where you wonder why they bother stamping that name on it, rather than just making a new but similar ‘original’ version. Hell, Fox’s recent Human Target series was basically The Equalizer.
4) One reason to hope that David Fincher’s Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a huge hint is it might help him get the $50 million he wants to produce his animated The Goon movie. I posted this test footage awhile ago, but what the heck:
We can only hope the movie includes this scene:
5) Joe Simon, the co-creator of Captain America back in the ’40s, passed away this week. Mr. Simon was 98.
6) The next skein of The Amazing Race will start on Feb 19th. The last iteration was just OK, although the steeple chasing rabbits were awesome.
7) Please, for the love of Pete, stop shakin’ the fricking camera for this one:
No Seagal, which I think suggests exactly how big of a wad he is.