<![CDATA[[CinemaRatty] Lattest Articles]]> http://cinemaratty.com Mon, 13 Oct 2008 02:21:00 +0000 iRatty Engine http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss <![CDATA[Tonight on the Tube: Chuck, Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Heroes & My Own Worst Enemy]]> http://cinemaratty.com/article/f39544f478a9f941a87f78f960d9433d http://cinemaratty.com/article/f39544f478a9f941a87f78f960d9433d News & Notes

Get Chuck Episodes via Amazon Video On DemandTonight, ABC has the second season premiere of Samantha Who? and NBC has the series premiere of My Own Worst Enemy.

Over on cable, HBO has a Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery and TLC has the fifth season premiere of Little People, Big World.

In late night, Spike has a UFC 89 Countdown: Bisping vs. Leben special.

There is no Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles or Prison Break tonight due to baseball coverage on FOX.

The latest episode of the TV times Three Podcast is available. We talked about spoilers and how we don’t really like them and why. What is your opinion on spoilers? Listen to the podcast and let us know what you think.

TVaholic’s network and cable printable schedules were updated over the weekend and if you are reading this via email or RSS, you can find the links at the bottom of this article.

Prime Picks

Chuck (NBC): New. Bryce is back and Chuck isn’t so happy with his return and must deal with Bryce and Sarah going undercover as a couple. This is another great episode.

Heroes (NBC): New. Claire is on the trail her first villain. Hiro tries making friends with Daphne and Ando doesn’t like it. Nathan is told by Linderman to stay with Tracy. Plus, we are supposed to see who the leader of the villains is and the father of Nathan, Peter and Gabriel.

My Own Worst Enemy (NBC): Series Premiere. A family man turns out to also be a spy, but he doesn’t know it. I really liked it and you can read why.

Solid Selections

The Big Bang Theory (CBS): New. Raj gets mentioned in a magazine and the publicity goes to his head and he makes a play for Penny.
How I Met Your Mother (CBS): New. The gang was thinking about having an intervention for Ted about his engagement to Stella, but called it off. Ted learns of this and makes them do it anyway.

Two and a Half Men (CBS): New. Charlie is taking a shot at Alan’s sweet receptionist.
Samantha Who? (ABC): Season Premiere. Cybill Shepherd guests as Regina’s nemesis, so Sam teams up with her mom to compete in a dance competition.

CSI: Miami (CBS): New. The team has to deal with the Russian mob after a double murder in the Everglades.

Cable Choices

Army Wives (Lifetime): Repeat. Last night’s episode, “Transition,” replays.

The Closer (TNT): Repeat. Episode four from this past season, “Live Wire,” replays, where the team is investigates the murder of a man wearing a wire.

Raising the Bar (TNT): New. Jerry agrees to a bench trial for his client. Judge Kessler has to help out with problem with another judge. Plays again later.

Other Options

  • Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives (Food Network): New. Guy takes you to places that are a good place for “Grabbin’ a Sandwich.” A repeat episode follows. Both play again later.
  • Gossip Girl (The CW): New. Blair and Serena are fighting, so Serena heads for a visit to Yale instead of Brown like was planned. Yale being Blair’s dream school.
  • One Tree Hill (The CW): New. Lucas heads out on his book tour. Haley continues to try and help a student in need.
  • Unwrapped (Food Network): New. Marc Summers takes a look at “Peanut Butter Bites.” A repeat episode follows. Both play again later.

Sports Notes

  • ESPN has Monday Night Football action with the New York Giants at the Cleveland Browns.
  • FOX has Game 4 of the MLB NLCS.
  • TBS has Game 3 of the MLB ALCS.
  • Versus has NHL hockey action.

Late Night

  • Bones (TNT): Repeat. “The Finger in the Nest” from earlier this season replays.
  • The Starter Wife (USA): Repeat. Last Friday’s two-hour series premiere episode, “The 40-Year-Old Virgin Queen; The Diary of a Mad Ex-Housewife,” replays.

TV Marathons

A&E has 20 hours of The Cleaner episodes.
ABC Family has 14 episodes of George Lopez late.
MTV has 11 episodes of America’s Next Top Model.
Oxygen has nine episodes of Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood.
Sci Fi has nine episodes of Friday the 13th: The Series early.
TLC has five hours of Little People, Big World episodes.
Travel Channel has 12 episodes of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.

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]]> Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:12:16 +0000 repeat episode cable repeat cable tv schedule cleaner episodes episodes episode nights episode worst enemy Tonight on the Tube: Chuck, Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Heroes & My Own Worst Enemy <![CDATA[The Haunted Screen]]> http://cinemaratty.com/article/db481b324ddd0cef1ce2971ec1dd8fdb http://cinemaratty.com/article/db481b324ddd0cef1ce2971ec1dd8fdb

If I took the many film books I have, from the general movie history books to biographies to those dealing with specific genres, and ranked them according to what I learned from them, The Haunted Screen, by Lotte Eisner would easily be in the top three. I've had almost as long as I've had movie books and read it in bits and pieces on a regular basis. What you'll find here is not a review, exploration or analysis, simply a recommendation. If you want to learn more about German film from the early 20th Century there is no other book to have. And if you love German film from this period and do not have this book, your studies are incomplete.

The Haunted Screen: Expressionism in the German Cinema and the Influence of Max Reinhardt was written by Lotte Eisner and published in France in 1952 (L'Ecran Demoniaque). The copy I have was printed in 1977 and by then it had long become a revered classic. It covers practically every film made in Germany from 1919 through the early thirties and offers rich, detailed analysis as well as multiple offerings of scene by scene breakdowns. Eisner even analyzes and explains her own title in the forward for the English language edition explaining, "The word demoniac (German damonisch) is used in its Greek sense - as it was understood by Goethe ... 'pertaining to the nature of supernatural power'; it is not used in the usual English sense of 'diabolical.'" She wanted to make sure nothing was lost in the translation.

And nothing was. I own few film books that could match The Haunted Screen for its thorough and more than capable analysis. And I still use it as a guide for the films I want to see from that period, even though many are still unavailable outside of the biggest works from Lang, Pabst and Murnau. But aside from this it offers a dizzying array of stills from the period, many from behind the scenes such as the construction of the set for Frau im Mond (Woman in the Moon - Lang, 1929) below.



Like I said, this isn't a review, more of a gushing recommendation. Werner Herzog was also a huge fan of both the book and the writer. He walked 425 miles from Munich to Paris in 1974 when he heard news that she might die soon due to illness. The idea he had was that somehow she would recover in the time it took him to walk it, that she would not die before he could complete his journey, and in fact she did not. She died in 1983 at the age of 87.

You can read her all too short biography on Wikipedia here, which mentions her fleeing Germany in 1933 to avoid Jewish persecution but then being sent to concentration camp in France before the war ended. I don't know a lot about this period of her life but would love to learn more. Wikipedia offers little more than the details I just gave.

The Haunted Screen will always occupy a favored place on my bookshelves and in my heart. It opened up the world of German Expressionist Cinema to me long before VCRs, Cable and later DVDs and Netflix came on the scene to lend a hand. It's a great work and a must have for any serious student of film. As the Times Literary Supplement wrote, "... arguably the best book on the cinema yet written." That was in the fifties and for me, it's a case that can still be argued.

]]> Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:00:00 +0000 love german film german film film film books cinema offers wikipedia offers german expressionist cinema lotte eisner The Haunted Screen <![CDATA[DVD REVIEW: SLEEPING BEAUTY Platinum Edition (1958)]]> http://cinemaratty.com/article/41b9d1fcc88407821fcbc89ac3ce2248 http://cinemaratty.com/article/41b9d1fcc88407821fcbc89ac3ce2248
When it comes to Video and DVD releases, Disney has one of the smartest strategies.

Since the days of VHS, they would release a title for a limited time. Then, they take it off the market for several years (it used to be seven years) and wait for demand to rebuild. It is then released again, to almost a whole new generation waiting to rediscover it.

DVD has been around long enough that we are beginning to see some of these special editions getting a second release.

SLEEPING BEAUTY has now been released in a Platinum Edition, 2 DVD set.

The film is classic Disney. While it may not be as popular as SNOW WHITE or PINOCCHIO, it does contain one of their most memorable songs in “Once Upon A Dream” and the climactic race to the castle, with the battle with the dragon, is a stunning sequence no matter how many times you see it.

Previously released in 2003, I still have that edition and was happy with it. I thought this new release was for those who didn’t already own it.

I was wrong.

The film has been beautifully restored. Not only restored, but the film’s aspect ratio has been adjusted a bit, revealing even more picture information on the sides.

How does the transfer look? Here are a couple of screencaps I made (click on them for more detail).

Here is the 2003 version.


And here is the new Platinum Edition.


Notice the extra space on the sides of the frame, and how the squirrel’s tail is cut off in one.

Then there are the colors. While the 2003 edition looked fine for a 50 year old film, this new one would look amazing for a new animated film. Throughout the film, I was just awed by the colors, especially the reds and blues.

This is one title that makes you seriously consider upgrading to Blu Ray. If it looks this good on standard DVD, how does the Blu Ray DVD look? Disney has thought of this and are selling one edition of the film with the standard DVD as well as the Blu Ray DVDS. That way, you can watch the standard edition and have the Blu Ray waiting for when you upgrade. Great idea.

The rest of the extras on the DVD are also upgrades from the 2003 release, even though they cover similar territory. Both the audio commentary and the making of documentary are different than on the previous release. The new making of goes into even more detail on the animation process, and the designers involved.

The new DVD contains the wonderful widescreen live-action short GRAND CANYON, based on “The Grand Canyon Suite” as well as an episode of the Disneyland TV series featuring “The Peter Tchaikovsky Story” that were on the previous release.

There are deleted scenes and songs (mostly pencil tests with audio) as well as art galleries and even a trip through Sleeping Beauty’s Castle at Disneyland.

Disney knows that they have two different audiences for their films and they wisely divide the material up. There is a section for the serious extras, and then another area for the games for kids (played with the remote control). Like in the 2003 version, they have a music video performed by a current star. In 2003, they had a group called No Secrets singing “Once Upon A Dream”. Here, it is HANNAH MONTANA’s Emily Osment.

If you own the previous version, this is definitely worth an upgrade. If you are a Disney fan, this definitely belongs in your library.

One of the best things about the release, there is a trailer that the next Disney classic to get a rerelease is none other than one of my favorites, PINOCCHIO. It will be out next Spring. I can't wait to see how that one looks.

]]> Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:00:00 +0000 dvd edition platinum edition dvd releases blu ray dvd blu ray blu ray dvds standard dvd previous release DVD REVIEW: SLEEPING BEAUTY Platinum Edition (1958) <![CDATA[Last Year at Marienbad (1961)]]> http://cinemaratty.com/article/8d502afeb2cfdf39a1fc57767974e5d6 http://cinemaratty.com/article/8d502afeb2cfdf39a1fc57767974e5d6 Last Year at Marienbad is a movie I’ve wanted to see for years. It’s a movie that sharply divided opinion when it was released in 1961, and it’s a movie that continue to annoy people who dislike any semblance of artiness in their movies. And Last Year at Marienbad is certainly arty. I fact it’s the apotheosis of the European art film.

At some unspecified time a group of people are staying at a hotel. These people are curiously devoid of emotion and indeed seem hardly alive. One man, whose name we never learn, tries to convince a woman (also unnamed) that they had a love affair a year ago, at Marienbad. Or at least it may have been Marienbad. She has no memory of the affair. He tries to persuade her to leave with him. There is another man, who may be her husband. Or possibly not her husband. The guests spend their time playing games, including an odd game played with matchsticks, or cards, or any objects at all. One of the guests tells the others he could lose at this game, but he never has.

If it sounds enigmatic to begin with, it steadily becomes more enigmatic. Who are these people? Are they real? Did the unnamed man and woman really meet a year ago at Marienbad, or possibly somewhere else? This is a movie that doesn’t just reject conventional narrative, it rejects conventional characterisation as well. Alain Resnais, who directed the film, had created something of a sensation a couple of years earlier with his debut feature, Hiroshima Mon Amour, while scriptwriter Alain Robbe-Grillet went on to direct movies himself. Last Year at Marienbad could be described as hardcore New Wave.

While it is on the surface lacking in emotion, it is deeply disturbing and strangely affecting. The black-and-white cinematography is absolutely gorgeous, and the settings (it was filmed I believe at a castle in Germany) are magnificent.

The Region 2 DVD includes an introduction to the film and a documentary, both of which are fascinating and illuminating and shed light on the many different interpretations of this film. One interesting suggestion in the documentary is that Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining could almost be considered to be a remake of Last Year at Marienbad. The more I think about it the more I tend to agree. This is a movie that you may find exasperating, or intriguing, or utterly fabulous. I adored it.]]> Mon, 13 Oct 2008 06:11:06 +0000 marienbad film european art film people movie annoy people enigmatic movies reject conventional narrative Last Year at Marienbad (1961) <![CDATA[SHARKS IN VENICE: THE REVIEW]]> http://cinemaratty.com/article/57de566fd478946e8b14380d134112a2 http://cinemaratty.com/article/57de566fd478946e8b14380d134112a2


Got my PAL DVD in the other day, immediately popped it into my region-free DVD player, and...

SHARKS IN VENICE REVIEW
]]> Mon, 13 Oct 2008 06:03:03 +0000 region-free dvd player venice review pal dvd sharks immediately day SHARKS IN VENICE: THE REVIEW <![CDATA[Review: My Own Worst Enemy - Series Premiere on NBC]]> http://cinemaratty.com/article/27e9e53509863892bb6f768792918132 http://cinemaratty.com/article/27e9e53509863892bb6f768792918132 Get My Own Worst Enemy Episodes at Amazon Video On DemandShow: My Own Worst Enemy (NBC)
Episode: “Breakdown” - Series Premiere (Season 1)
Premiere Date: Monday, October 13th, 2008
Rating: 3.0 out of 4 Stars

Quick Synopsis:

Long Synopsis: A man with a wife and kids that works as an efficiency expert, has an alter ego that is a highly trained secret government agent who speaks 13 languages. He has no recollection of any of his missions, until during one he switches from the agent back to the family man. This leads to some potentially serious consequences.

Review: My Own Worst Enemy is very good. It has action, a little humor and some interesting characters. Two of those characters just happen to be played by one person.

Christian Slater (Mindhunters, Broken Arrow) is outstanding in the dual role of super agent Edward Albright and family man Henry Spivey. These two characters couldn’t be more different and he plays them both very well. He even has to switch mid scene on occasion. This also means that he is in pretty much every scene as one of them and that is a lot of work for one actor to take on.

Am always a little worried when you hear about shows recasting roles late in the game, but things seemed to have worked out well here. Madchen Amick (Gossip Girl, Freddie) is good as Henry’s wife Angie. Alfre Woodard (Desperate Housewives) plays Mavis Heller and is solid, as always, as the head of the secret project. Other faces you will recognize are Saffron Burrows (Boston Legal) as Henry’s therapist and Mike O’Malley (Yes, Dear) as a fellow agent.

The story arc of the first episode makes for a great introduction of the characters, especially Edward and Henry. But, it did leave me with some questions about why all this is taking place. They explain what has happened, but I was still left wondering. I don’t really want to say anymore, cause I don’t want to spoil anything. Maybe it will be explained in future episodes, but it seemed like it should have been addressed in the opener.

Action and humor wise, it looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun, especially with the added tweak of the one character with two personas. The action is well done and it has some great comic moments to break things up.

Overall, My Own Worst Enemy is the best bet in the third hour of primetime on Monday nights. Its network competition is ABC’s Boston Legal and CBS’ CSI: Miami. Over on cable is TNT’s Raising the Bar. Enemy is better than all of them. I really enjoyed the episode and am looking forward to more.

My Own Worst Enemy premieres tonight, Monday, October 13th on NBC.

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]]> Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:06:32 +0000 worst enemy enemy cable premiere agent series premiere secret government agent cable tv schedule tv schedule Review: My Own Worst Enemy - Series Premiere on NBC <![CDATA[Jamie Stuart's NYFF46, part 4.]]> http://cinemaratty.com/article/8928a73e093245f9409c22cb4e682edd http://cinemaratty.com/article/8928a73e093245f9409c22cb4e682edd "In Jamie Stuart's final episode from his New York Film Festival series, Mickey Rourke reflects on the bad time in his career while Jamie learns the present is the best place to be," notes Filmmaker's Jason Guerrasio.

As noted earlier, Ann Hornaday's talked with Jamie for the Washington Post.

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]]> Mon, 13 Oct 2008 03:40:44 +0000 jamie jamie stuart jamie learns mickey rourke reflects jason guerrasio final episode notes filmmaker comments bad time Jamie Stuart's NYFF46, part 4. <![CDATA[WEEKEND BOX-OFFICE: "BODY OF LIES" BOMBS]]> http://cinemaratty.com/article/2d026f6e42db7b1de3781769f76cebe6 http://cinemaratty.com/article/2d026f6e42db7b1de3781769f76cebe6

The heavily-hyped Ridley Scott spy thriller Body of Lies top-lining Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe opened far below studio expectations with a gross of only $13 million. It was hoped the film would nab at least $20 million. The pic was upstaged by Beverly Hills Chihuahua in its second week and the low budget horror film Quarantine. Click here for Nikki Finke's evaluation of the grosses.

]]> Mon, 13 Oct 2008 03:39:00 +0000 beverly hills chihuahua lies russell crowe million leonardo dicaprio nikki finke studio expectations gross hoped WEEKEND BOX-OFFICE: "BODY OF LIES" BOMBS <![CDATA[Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) 08, 10/13.]]> http://cinemaratty.com/article/65ef4d77a596e237f17f5b5544a90412 http://cinemaratty.com/article/65ef4d77a596e237f17f5b5544a90412 "Quarantine delivers the heebie-jeebies with solid acting and perfectly calibrated shocks," writes Jeannette Catsoulis in the New York Times. "Cleverly working his claustrophobic setting (and the adapted script from the Spanish movie [REC]), [John Erick] Dowdle keeps the action tight and the injuries nasty."

More from John Rogers: "It's been a damn long time since I've been in a packed theater where people screamed their asses off and cheered/fist-pumped/went NUTS when the survivors fought back."

Continued reading Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) 08, 10/13....

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]]> Mon, 13 Oct 2008 02:21:54 +0000 scary monsters super creeps writes jeannette catsoulis john erick dowdle spanish movie rec comments quarantine delivers survivors fought action tight Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) 08, 10/13. <![CDATA["The Express": A goal line fumble]]> http://cinemaratty.com/article/1339882f2ebf70fde815a50acf673fdf http://cinemaratty.com/article/1339882f2ebf70fde815a50acf673fdf
I knew Gary Fleder's flick about Ernie "The Express" Davis wasn't going to win the box-office weekend, but can anyone tell me how in the world it ended up finishing sixth with a seriously paltry take of $4.7 million (with those talking rat dogs on top for a second week in a row.)

Being such a solidly entertaining flick about college football, it certainly deserved a much better than fate than that. I've given up even wishing that movies can have a second-week rebound given our atrociously short attention spans, but if any movie deserves it this one certainly does.

As is the case when I'm watching movies, my mind always drifts to the ones already stored there, no matter how good the flick unfurling in front of me happens to be. In this case, Gary Fleder's "The Express" inevitably made me think of the basketball flick "Glory Road," and I can state definitively that Fleder's flick is superior to that crapfest in every way imaginable.

The main virtue of "The Express" is that it treats the huge role that race played in the story of Davis, the first black player to win the Heisman Trophy, with earnestness, but never lets that get in the way of telling a rousing tale.

Though Rob Brown gives it his all as Mr. Davis, he's playing a character so nice by design that he gets overshadowed by the many great supporting performances turned in for this one. Baltimore's own Charles S. "Roc" Dutton is perfect as Davis' grandfather "Pops," and in smaller roles Nelsan Ellis (Lafayette on the seriously satisfying "True Blood") shines as Davis' brother Will and Omar Benson Miller - who is having a banner year with this role and his work as the "chocolate giant" in Spike Lee's "Miracle at St. Anna" - makes the most of all his screen time as big Syracuse lineman Jack Buckley.

Fleder's flick is at its best when the two primary forces of race and football collide on the actual gridiron, as they do at their most combustible in Morgantown, W. Va., and Dallas, Texas, in the Cotton Bowl. And it's in this volatile cauldron that the character of Syracuse coach Ben Schwartzwalder, played with spirit by Dennis Quaid, comes to the fore.

Fleder resists any impulse to make Schwartzwalder into anything approaching a saint, never forgetting that he was a very practical man much more interested in winning than advancing any kind of cause when he brought first Jim Brown and then Davis into the Syracuse program. How he uses these players is an insightful window into the factory nature of college football that clearly still persists and thrives today.

Which, with all that good mojo going for it, makes the final act of Fleder's flick such a horrendous disappointment. Now, just in case you're among the many, many people who haven't seen this one yet, I don't want to tell you exactly how Davis' story comes to an end, but let's just say it's easily one of the great personal tragedies in all of sport.

In the hands of Fleder, however, it's amazingly sort of swept under the rug, just brought up casually in the last 15 minutes or so and dismissed without any change in tone or approach. It's as if Fleder looked at his watch (as I would have been if I ever wore a watch, with the Georgia-Tennessee kickoff quickly approaching) and just said to himself "OK, this has already gone for about two hours, so let's just wrap it up." Which is in itself a minor tragedy.

That said, for the first nearly two hours Fleder's flick delivers a solidly entertaining tale, which is a sight more than you can say about a lot of the other movies out there this year. And, not having seen the latter, I still have to be fairly certain that it has to be better than that talking rat dog flick, so just see it already.]]> Mon, 13 Oct 2008 02:21:00 +0000 fleder gary fleder flick flick delivers rat dog flick fleder resists basketball flick hours fleder davis "The Express": A goal line fumble