Friday, December 22, 2006

Thursday, December 21, 2006

How low can you get?


I'm not sure if you followed that story, but a few days ago, it was announced that Miss USA, a very pretty 21 year old, would keep her crown. She had been spotted in bars, drinking when she was only 20, which is forbidden in the USA (as a reminder for our foreign readers).
Well, it turns out Donald Trump owns the "Miss USA" beauty pageant, and he declared she deserved a second chance. The following day, on the view, Rosie O'Donnell expressed her thoughts about the whole situation. The Donald didn't wait and lashed back at her on "Entertainment Tonight".

You can watch their argument right here.



As for me, my two cents are as followed: both Rosie and Trump are media whores, desperate for attention. It's always been true of Donald Trump, who had the chance to see a great reality series land on his lap ("The Apprentice"). And ever since she got on the view about 2 months ago, Rosie's only purpose has been to go on very quotable rampages against so and so. BUT, she's always said what she thinks, and I've agreed with her most of the time. She stays respectful while usually defending good values.

You need only to watch this once, though, to realize how disgusting and vile is Donald Trump. The only good thing to come out of this story is that Miss USA's face is now all over. Including here :)

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

The Worst of 2006 - This post is rated R

Haaa, do I love lists. Yes, I do. Even when there's only two items on the list, as for this "Worst movies of 2006" post. It doesn't mean that most movies were great this year, far from it. It probably means I can spot a bad movie before watching it!
For example, I haven't seen Santa Clause 3: The escape clause, and I don't plan to.



(sorry)
But let's move on to the list:

- Miami Vice (Michael Mann)

It's hard to say what exactly was so bad with this movie. The truth is, it could have been great. An amazing director and a great star (Jamie Foxx), who had already collaborated on a Masterpiece (collateral, the year before). The adaptation of a fantastic TV Series, with its own style and vibe.
Only there's this: Miami Vice has a huuuuuuge rythm problem. Michael Mann is usually a pro with creating moody pieces with their own pace, with highs and lows whispering a little like a jazz set. That's exactly what made Collateral so great. But here, the lows are bottom-of-the-well lows, and the highs don't fit at all with the rest of the piece, lingering for too long and in a anti-climatic, slo-mo-million-dollar-man kind of way. Add to that Colin Farrel, who this year managed to make even Terrence Mallick look bad.

End result: I don't think I've ever been more bored. If it wasn't for Gong Li and the gorgeous photography, I'd have left the theatre early.

More Gong Li please.



Thank you.

- Superman Returns.

This is really hard. I had so much expectations and ended up being so frustrated. Superman Returns is not only bad, it's horrible. There is nothing, I repeat, nothing to save this movie.

The script sucks, the actors are zombies, the direction totally meaningless. Seriously, dear "but-i-liked-it" reader, was there anything in this movie that put it above any episode of the new adventures of Lois and Clark? I'll take Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher any day over Brandon Routh and Kate whatever her name is she has no freaking presence.

Worst of all for a comic-book adaptation, the characters have absolutely no depth.
Compare it to masterpieces like Batman Begins or the two Spidermans: where are the hero's conflicts about good and evil, about being worthy of his powers, about protecting his love ones? Where are the metaphors and allusions to a man's inner conflicts, to our eternal struggle between helping the world and helping ourselves?

A scene looking through the window at Lois having a family life? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? GET RID OF THAT FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT BRYAN SINGER AND GIVE ME A REAL FILMMAKER! COMIC BOOK ADAPTATIONS ARE GOOD MATERIAL, STOP FUCKING WITH IT!!!!!!


Your turn dear reader: what was the worst of your 2006? Did you like superman returns? Do you want to be blocked from this blog (don't worry, I don't actually have enough visitors to do that)?
As for me, I'm gonna do what I do every time I'm really pissed. Eat.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

New Blog

Quick word to let you know I've started a new blog, in French. It's not gonna replace this one, it's more like a diary, with stupid and un-interesting comments. Its main goal is to channel people to here, so don't feel like you've got to visit it. And speaking french might help :-)
http://benjhinny.blogspot.com

Thursday, December 14, 2006

A Bad Belgian Joke

We interrupt this program, with an exceptional second post in one day (!!!!) to tell you about what happened in Belgium yesterday night (Thanks to Gregg for the heads-up).




At 8:20 PM, heart of prime time, Belgium most important French-speaking TV Network, the RTBF, interrupted their programs with a "urgent news alert", saying The Flandres, the Flemish-speaking part of the country, had proclaimed their independence, and that the Kingdom of Belgium was no more. According to them, the royal couple had even fled out of the country.
This broadcast was incredibly professional, featuring their big-star news anchor and plenty of journalists and personalities giving their take on the situation. They even hired extras to organize a fake demonstration in front of the parliament.
You can take a look at a quick montage by following this link (in french):
http://www.lemonde.fr/web/panorama/0,11-0@2-3208,32-844527@51-845391,0.html

Well, all that was fake - but you wouldn't know it, since only a few seconds-long "this might not be fiction" card had appeared, before the broadcast, on the air.

The reaction was tremendous. People started reacting all around the country, old people collapsed crying, everyone was in shock. I'd understand them. Imagine learning in the middle of watching American Idol that the former separatist states just proclaimed their independence at the senate!!!!!!

But what I want to write here, is HOW DUMB AND TOTALLY IMMATURE, NOT TO MENTION DANGEROUS it was from a national network to do such a thing. According to their chairman, the point was to prove to Belgian people how united they really are.

Should we remind TV Networks that their role is not to judge, not to create the news and even less to plunge a whole country into chaos? Their role is to INFORM AND ENTERTAIN.

Networks have a lot of power, it's a fact. They can influence the opinion of the majority of a country, but it's also their duty to always seek the truth and look for a balance in their opinion pieces and other broadcast - and never abuse their position and power.

What the RTBF did yesterday would be considered in other part of the world to be nothing less than a coup, going far beyond its rights. It is as morally doubtful as OJ's latest book project, and far more dangerous in its consequences: docu-fiction is an existing genre - just ask the folks from the History channel - they contain countless "if"s and a clear mention that everything is fiction. Yesterday's RTBF piece did not. I do believe people responsible for this should be prosecuted.

Coming Soon...

Alright, we're gonna have a little fun, and I'm going to incite you guys to post comments!

Very soon, you'll find here the list of my top movies for 2006 - the ones I thought stood above all else, and my bottom movies for 2006: those I thought were some of the worst I've ever seen!

While I'm (not too) seriously thinking about it and catching up on what I haven't yet seen, I would love to hear what your top and bottom lists are! You don't have to justify your choices if you don't want to, although a few words (like "because it wasn't good" or "because I was high when I saw it") would be appreciated.

Woohoo, here you go!!!

Sunday, December 10, 2006

The Fountain



I HAVE to share this. Yesterday, I saw The Fountain, by Darren Aronofsky. It's the most staggering movie I've ever seen. I'm in complete shock, and awe. And since there's no way I can describe what is so good, or why it's so good, I'll just stop here.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Lights of the Studio

I don't have enough time right now to say all the good I think of Aaron Sorkin and his "Studio 60 on the sunset strip". Yesterday's Christmas episode (which was also kind of an anti-Christmas episode), was funny, moving and smart at the same time. The way little things within an episode or season connect is absolutely fantastic. Yesterday was the fall finale, and it is clear that it was written in case the show got canceled. The last line "we do leave here now" would have been a perfect ending, as it reminds us of the pilot's ending itself. When a show manages to come full circle, with that much emotion, so fast, you got a winner. Thank God though, the show's been picked up for a full season. Thank you NBC execs for being smart (a little like Jack and Wilson White in this episode, and their rant against the FCC. I myself am preparing one. Stay tuned, faithful readers... reader... mom).

I will add that the fact Matt Perry and Brad Whitford have completely disappeared behind their characters is a another proof of the quality of the writing, acting, and direction (lost my rhyme, sorry).

But the best part in this episode was the last 4 minutes, with Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews and his band, playing "Holy Night", in a homage to New Orleans (he himself is from New Orleans). I'm no fan of Christmas music, but the arrangement and the playing was so wonderful I would go and buy the piece in a heartbeat if it was available.

You can watch the clip right here (be careful, there are some spoilers as the action continues while the band is playing).



As for Trombone Shorty, his website's right here:
http://www.tromboneshorty.com

Enjoy!