Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Television Conan names new show "Conan"
Posted by Curt Holman on Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 12:34 PM
Late night talk show host and twittering folk hero Conan O'Brien has announced that, after hosting "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien," his new TBS show will be simply titled "Conan." The clip below reveals his creative process in naming the show and his realization that it will debut in November of this year.
Incidentally, I love his tweet from yesterday: "I may be jumping into this whole Muslim controversy a little late, but really? He's going to call himself Kareem Abdul Jabbar?"
The Televangelist / Television The Televangelist: Back To School Viewing
Posted by Allison Keene on Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 10:54 AM
If you're going to have to revisit high school, I would suggest considering someone else's. Preferably fictional. Believe me, it's a lot more fun. And though television's obsession with youth culture, usually fixating on those tricky late-teen years, has produced more than its fair share of schlocky hokum (like the fleeting amusements of "90210" -the original and the new one- "Gossip Girl" and "Popular"), there have also been series with superb writing that tackle difficult themes (such as "Freaks and Geeks" and "Friday Night Lights," arguably two of the greatest series ever made, high school or no).
From among the latter set, I've gathered a few selections to consider (or reconsider) for the rental queue that almost make you wish you were back enjoying those (potentially frightful) times. They're bold, well-conceived ... and just down right fun:
- bbcamerica
"Skins"
The opening montage of this highly successful British series introduces viewers to a Ferris Bueller-like character, Tony Stonem. Tony is seen pulling a multitude of elaborate pranks on his father, one of which is to aid his younger sister as she comes home from what is clearly a wild night out. Booze, sex, drugs and constant partying is the name of the game among a close-knit group of Bristol teens, each of whom is given their own point-of-view episode throughout the season.
Instead of falling into familiar trite and outrageous patterns, the show has an astonishing amount of well-wrought humor and pathos. The actors, too, are appropriately aged - no 30-year-old high school juniors here. Now starting its fifth season, "Skins" boldly changes up the complete cast every two years, so don't get too attached. Nah, forget it, you won't be able to help yourself. Dive-in. As a bonus, the first two seasons are currently streaming on Netflix Instant.
Running Dialogue Running Dialogue, episode 15: Centurion, Machete, The American
Posted by Web Editor on Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 10:00 AM
On the latest installment of Running Dialogue: A Podcast About Movies, /Film's Russ Fischer, Collider's Matt Goldberg and Creative Loafing's Curt Holman mark the transition from the summer to fall movie seasons with the fast, schlocky violence of 'Centurion' and 'Machete' vs. the meditative, existential violence of George Clooney's 'The American.' 'Machete' not only inspires a discussion of the best and worst trends of 2010 cinema so far, but prompts the guys to name some of the favorite revenge flicks.
Download now, or listen after the jump.
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Monday, August 30, 2010
Television "Mad Men" Season 4, Episode 6
Posted by Marc Schultz on Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 11:56 AM
- Michael Yarish/AMC
- Young Don and Young Roger will be played tonight by Old Don and Old Roger
Yes, this episode marks another defeat for the forces of subtlety in the Mad Men universe, but the show continues to entertain like nobody’s business. This one managed to be laugh-out-loud funny throughout, balanced against unexpected moments of suspense and pathos.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Movies Fall film preview, 2: Movies that might probably be good
Posted by Curt Holman on Fri, Aug 27, 2010 at 4:06 PM
Just because summer is ending, doesn't mean the sequels and remakes are going away. Among the big movies this fall are Oliver Stone's Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Tron: Legacy and the Coen Brothers' True Grit - which they emphasize is not a retread of the John Wayne movie, but a fresh adaptation of the original novel. The cineplex will still find room for original stories, but don't be surprised if many of them look a little familiar.
A Woman, A Gun and a Noodle Shop (Sep. 24) The Coens aren't just remaking movies this year, they're being remade, as superb Chinese director Zhang Yimou transplants Joel and Ethan's first film, Blood Simple, from the badlands of Texas to the wilds of the Gansu province. Like the Coens, Zhang Yimou has crafted masterful film noirs such as Ju Duo, but A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop also reportedly includes "cross-dressing, hip-hop dance routines, and outrageous noodle-spinning sequences." I don't remember M. Emmet Walsh or Frances McDormand doing any of that. This trailer plays up the connection to the original film:
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Fruits of the Interwebs Blondie speaks! (Yes, that Blondie)
Posted by Debbie Michaud on Thu, Aug 26, 2010 at 3:32 PM
Local production company Half Pint Productions is working on doc about Atlanta's, and daresay I, the world's, favorite beer-crushing stripper Blondie. Today, filmmaker Jon Watts sent over a clip from the forthcoming AKA Blondie. In it, the stripper wistfully recalls her first time visiting the Clermont (should the rest of us only be so lucky): "I didn't order a drink...something told me not to." Really? I've had the complete opposite reaction every time I've visited.
The footage is a little rough, but it does include plenty of slow-mo black-and-white shots of Blondie dancing in a netted dress. The film is slated for release next year.
Documentary Uneasy Does It, 2: Harry Shearer (in his own words) on Katrina, the Army Corps of Engineers, Randy Newman
Posted by Gabe Wardell on Thu, Aug 26, 2010 at 7:01 AM
- The Notions Dept Inc
- Just a Guy
The bio under Harry Shearer's by-line for his Huffington Post column reads like a Tweet: "Just a Guy." A modest understatement. Given his Zelig-esque versatility, and the plethora of projects in which he participates—from voicing a dozen+ characters on "The Simpsons," playing Bass for Spinal Tap and the Folksman, writing a column for Huffington Post, creating LeShow a weekly NPR satire program, producing touring art exhibitions, and (for the first time ever) directing a feature documentary—he thought it best to keep it simple. With Sheraer's documentary, The Big Uneasy, premiering in theatres across the U.S. for One Night Only event on Monday August 30th, the ever modest guy agreed to step into the spotlight to answer a few "Uneasy" questions.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Documentary Uneasy Does It, 1: Atlanta's Tom Roche Edits Harry Shearer's New Orleans Doc
Posted by Gabe Wardell on Wed, Aug 25, 2010 at 5:27 PM
- Tom Roche
- Director Harry Shearer and Atlanta-based editor Tom Roche engineer a look at Post Katrina New Orleans
For the past few months, Roche has been working in New Orleans with actor, artist, musician, and satirist Harry Shearer on The Big Uneasy, a feature documentary that exposes engineering failures as the true cause of the Katrina tragedy and how it could have been prevented.
With The Big Uneasy set to screen for one day only on Monday, August 30th at 7:00pm & 9:30pm at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, I reached out to Tom to talk politics, docs, music, radio and the importance of the French article "le."
Trailers Fall film preview, 1: These! Are! Serious! Trailers!
Posted by Curt Holman on Wed, Aug 25, 2010 at 9:05 AM
It's getting on that time of year again, not only when leaves fall from the trees, but the tone of movie trailers makes a precipitous drop from light to heavy. With the end of summer the Academy Award contenders start coming out in earnest, so it's like the makers of movie trailers crack open paint cans of Patina of Importance. Some of the following are total Oscar bait, while others simply try to steamroll potential audiences with their gravitas - if you don't see these movies, you're clearly a shallow person. (Incidentally, if you can find a trailer for Clint Eastwood's Hereafter, let me know.)
The Town (Sept. 17) Fans of Gone Baby Gone should note that Ben Affleck directs (cool!) and stars in (hmmm...) this action-thriller about a victim of bank robbery (Rebecca Hall) who finds herself torn between a federal agent (Jon Hamm) and a scruffy tough guy (Affleck) with a connection to a string of high-profile robberies. Said connection is spoiled by the trailer. It looks a little too car-crashy to be a big Oscar movie, but it features Best Actor nominee Jeremy Renner in his first high-profile role since The Hurt Locker.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Recap City / Television 'True Blood:' season 3, episode 10
Posted by Debbie Michaud on Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 4:31 PM
- John P. Johnson/HBO
- WHO DO YOU TRUST? This guy?
Now to the good stuff: Sookie's a fairy. "How fucking lame."
Her words, not mine. And while my initial reaction was to agree wholeheartedly, the more I thought about it, the more the idea grew on me. Sookie now has the potential to actually grow into to someone/something complex and interesting. We can hope at least. Her "lyin' ain't right" sermons are dull, dull, dull and lead to that annoying kind of drama most people try to leave in high school. Plus, I don't think we can technically call her a waitress anymore. When was the last time she showed up for a shift anyway? I'm sure Arlene would know.
According to the all-powerful Wikipedia, notions of fairies range from sweetly stubborn Tinkerbells to demonic hobgoblins. While it's likely Sookie skews more Tink than troll, it seems that there are kind of no set rules when it comes to defining a fairy's character, motivations and power. Given that the season finale is Sept. 12, I doubt we'll get too much into what fairy-dom means for her besides making her that much more enticing to vampires. But it could turn out to be pretty awesome to watch her learn to harness her Jedi fairy powers — surely the light palm is only the beginning. She'll need a teacher, of course, and in the grand tradition of "True Blood," let's hope it's a hot new shirtless season 4 man-fairy instead of Claudine.
