February 22, 2009

They’re doing a tribute to Jerry Lewis. That’s amazing. I haven’t seen him in 40 years. I remember how funny he was when I was a little kid, and then he did that telethon every year. Coke Commercial: “Good taste is anything that makes a statement. It’s all about being bold, flashy, and fabulous. But […]

Will Smith is a master. But I’ve just learned that this is going on for another hour and a half. No wonder I’ve never watched it before. If I hadn’t napped for four hours this afternoon I’d be asleep by now. (That happens to me when I’m on the road so much). So it looks

Much too angry and simplistic. His god has not made him very nice. But I’m glad there are people who continue to remind us of religious hypocricy. We need to hate that even more than we hate it when people talk about it. Since the former will never go away we’ll always need the latter.

I like the way they bring five people out at a time. I wish we could do that with the Paideia Prize winners. Fly them all to the banquet to stand behind the next winner. Think how impressive and weighty that would be. Truth “keeps us unsettled, unsure, and enthralled in our uncertainty.” Aristotle would

Nice tribute to the musical. I wonder if it’s possible to do these in a way that isn’t overtly sexual. I have a mixed reaction because there’s a style to musicals that is quite amazing. But the impact of jazz on musicals makes me ponder. I have to admit I found Mama Mia a pleasant

Natlie Portman has become quite lovely. Ben Stiller better come through, because so far he looks like a high school skit gone bad. Nope, didn’t work. He’s just a distraction, as demonstrated by the fact that the camera had to pull back from what it was trying to do. Even if he were funny, his

Love. Yes, things have got much more complicated. The appetites have a way of doing that. The more suffering we create the more drama we get out of it. Hollywood has a vested interest in these complications. On the one hand, it helps some people get in touch with their feelings, but on the other,

Now we’re behind the scenes, looking at the production. I like this stuff. It shows how incredibly hard people work to make these movies and how they have to be controlled by a common idea or they’re sunk. Art Direction and Set Direction: Benjamin Button. I haven’t seen this either. Is it any good? What

McDonald’s commercial underscores the problem with globalization: nobody can escape pop culture.

This movie the Reader looks really interesting. Have any of you seen it? Slumdog Millionaire could be interesting but looks stereotyped. Hey! It won for adapted screenplay, so I’m sure I misread that. Congratulations to Simon Beaufoy (I like that last name; it means “good faith.”) Here come Jennifer and Jack. Witty, but not as

Funny opening with the typing, but man, Steve Martin is hysterical. I love this guy. Especially because sometimes he makes such incredibly bone-headed mistakes. “Every writer starts with a blank page.” Hey, now they’re advertising Lost Tools of Writing and they probably don’t even know it! Steve Martin is proof that the best thing to

I’m watching for the first ime in my life to see what the big deal is and to see if I can learn anything about how to plan a banquet. Since I watch about 10 movies a year I’ll have great insight on this. I guess you open with a song. Perhaps that would be