It's been a long time since I last fell in love with a musician or band. And I don't want to think about how long it's been since I've been to a concert (but damn, I saw some really great ones).
My musical taste, as eclectic as it is, runs toward older stuff these days. I like very little modern pop, simply because it's overplayed to death (the fact that I can still listen to Beyonce's "Single Ladies" without throwing up is a testament to the girl's genius). And most of today's indie music is crap (if I hear one more song off the Juno soundtrack, I WILL throw up). And let's not even talk about Lady GagMe; Miley; Xtina or any of the other bio-engineered pop stars out there (and God bless Joel McHale for letting me who these crazy biatches are, on his marvelous little basic-cable program).
Anyway - to the point. I recently discovered these guys when someone (and forgive me for being too lazy to look it up) posted a fan-made video for their song "Two Weeks." They are Grizzly Bear and the more I hear of their stuff, the more I want to hear more. Funky, moody, weird and so listenable. Here's a repost of that gorgeous papercraft-animation for "Two Weeks:"
I just love that song! Then today, the always insightful JA at MyNewPlaidPants posted this video of his favorite song from their latest album:
How to describe these guys and their sound? The visuals in their label-produced videos, like the one above, are certainly striking and somehow, oddly appropriate. Even more surreal is the video for the song "Knife," from their earlier CD, Yellow House:
That's an amazing song! I'm finishing this post and going to Amazon to buy Grizzly Bear CDs. I suggest you do so, as well.
This post was almost entitled "...an' she Black." And I will tell you why in a moment.
My sister, who lives just outside of Tampa, is a self-described "Disney Dork." She loves all things Disney; especially weird, behind-the-scenes stuff (to which I must admit a fondness of my own). I sent her a link to an NYT story about how Disney is displaying rare and long-unseen artifacts at what they hope will be their ComicCon, the D23 Expo, and she writes back how she's been reading about it for months on the official Disney Newsletter she gets. Then I found out that a Facebook friend (and one-time castmate) is attending said Expo and Facebooking about seeing Betty White and Robin Williams. Betty Effing White, ya'll! Who doesn't love Betty White? And you won't see BFW at ComicCon, I'll promise you that.
Anyway, it all seemed rather synchronicitous that just Saturday, a friend related an amusing story about Whoopi Goldberg on "The View"* from Disney World. She was introducing a clip from this movie:
Ms. Goldberg, whom I love and admire as both a performer and a human being, finished her intro with the words: "...an' she Black!" which just seemed so silly and superfluous and completely contrived. And please don't get me wrong, it's high time Disney had an African American Princess (though I have other issues with the whole Princess thing...), but it seems to me that the way to make it work is not to make a big deal out of it. Big deals shouldn't have to be made about social progress. Social progress should speak for itself and no one should have to say "Look at what a progressive inclusionist I am!" But I digress.
* In full disclosure and further Mouse-influenced programming, "The View" appears on the Disney-owned ABC television network.
To complete the cycle, this morning I was trolling my usual sites and I came upon a clip from an animator who was better and more creative than Walt would ever be, Max Fleischer. The clip (I believe it was here) was linked because it features a vocal performance from the late, great Cab Calloway. It caught my eye because of the subject matter. Four years before Disney made his masterpiece, Fleischer gave Betty Boop the lead in his version of "Snow White." Watch it here. You can see why Danny Elfman and the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo (link may be NSFW) loved Fleischer's work. Just in case you are some musical Philistine or under 30, and aren't sure who or what Oingo Boingo was all about, here is their biggest hit. Oh, Kelly LeBrock, where are you and your lips, now. And yes, Dharma is his sister-in-law.
I still prefer Universal Studios, anyway. So now my question to you is: If my sister is a Disney Dork, does that make me a Universal Unicorn? Unitarian? Unionist? U2? UB40? R2D2? Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi! You're my only hope!
Please respond with your own alliterative suggestion in the "Comments" section. I always want to hear what you have to say!
Don't ask me what Mitt Romney has to do with it (other than Mormon homophobia, I suppose), I just thought it an amusing image -- but that has nothing to do with this post, which is about celebrating all things gay. And by all things, I mean silly gay boys doing silly things on camera and posting them on YouTube.
For me, the trend really started with Shane Mercado and his racy bedroom version of Beyonce's Single Ladies., which I talked about in my very first "Gayest Thing" post, way back when. It's a great song that I never tire of hearing or of seeing new versions and parodies.
Next, was this fellow's bath towel-clad version of Kelly Clarkson's I Do Not Hook Up. Classic and very funny, especially as he continually needs to adjust the towel.
Then, a few weeks ago, (via) I saw this fan-made vid for Miley Cyrus' "Party in the FIP," by several scantily-clad silly gay boys on Fire Island:
I guess they're sort of cute. They sure look like they were having fun. the song itself is sort bland, though. Everything one might expect from Billy Ray's girl (and as you know, Billy Ray sported the most magnificent mullet in all of redneck history).
Then a friend sent me a video by a group of silly gay boys in Asbury Park, NJ (which is quickly becoming the Fire Island/Provincetown/New Hope of New Jersey. Here is the gay version of Ms Hot Mess Whitney Huston's Million Dollar Bill:
Okay. There were some cute silly gay boys in that video, too. And s lightly better song. I hate most of today's pop music, so what do I know? Further proof of my looming obsolescence, I suppose.
Then today, (also via) comes news of group from South Central L.A., gayin' up the slums. Here is Spice Boys 5 performing Stop:
Oh, dear. Grim and not adorable at all. What's wrong with the silly gay boys in da hood? Still, pretty gay, eh?
And to end on a not-so-gay note, a movie I have waited nearly two years to see is finally being released on DVD; dircetor Michael Dougherty's horror anthology Trick 'r Treat. Those have seen it, rave about it (and I hate them). Anyway, Yahoo Movies has the newest trailer here. I can't wait!
On 9/17/09, I will opening in a play that I hate. No, maybe hate is too strong a word. Dislike, is probably better. I have been in one other play by this author, and it still ranks among my Top 10 Favorite Roles (that post soon, I promise).
But this is a very different sort of play; exceptionally specific in setting, form, style and period. My character serves as essentially a Greek Chorus, something which in Greek theatre is played very differently than in modern drama. Unlike most characters in modern drama, the Chorus is simply there to impart the tale and comment on why you should heed it's lessons. He wants nothing more or less and achieves that goal simply by doing what he does. In most modern dramas, any given character wants a specific goal, but has to find a way to achieve it.
I also have problems with reconciling my own point of view with the play's, probably because I don't understand the kind of person who doesn't understand what the phrase "a life unexamined" means.
The director is one of my dearest friends, and she knows about my concerns. As does my longest (chronologically - not dimensionally), sweetest friend and fellow cast-member, both of whom are doing their best to help me through this weird disconnect I seem to be having.
Honestly, I think it boils down to my dislike of the piece, itself. Not everyone likes everything and not every work of art resonates with every person.
As for the acting part... there are many theories and styles of acting. I (as do many of my friends and fellow actors) am what you call a "combination" actor. Combination actors tend to pick and choose among the varying schools of thought, employing whatever seems appropriate for the play, character and scene. At this point, I am unable to do that, and am solely relying on just one acting style to get me through. And while there is nothing wrong with doing so (the great Olivier was only and ever a "classically" trained technical actor), for me it seems a cheat. The last time I relied solely on technique to see me through a show was a piece I disliked even more than this. For me, it feels forced. It's reaching down into the bag of tricks and pulling out the same tired rabbit we've all seen before. And, truth be told, that's not fun - just easy. And there's nothing worse for an actor than easy. For one, it makes learning lines pure hell.
I can only hope a gayngel will rescue me and tell how to make this work.
Sorry to bitch, but isn't that 99% of blogging, anyway?
I'm pretty certain I've done a Favorite Horror Movie post, but that was probably more than a year ago. Taste changes; new movies come out; opinions reform; new blogging technical skills are learned (slowly, but surely); a new list is born.
Horror movies are enormously popular and usually win whatever weekend they happen to open in late summer, fall and February, so obviously lots of people are going to see them (and not just 18 to 24 year-olds, thank you Hollywood a**holes). True Horror fans will sit through just about anything, hoping to find that occasional spark of brilliance that elevates a movie above its genre. Though we are often scorned by the critics and sissy-baby-wusses who can't look at fake blood and cow intestines, we are loyal and waiting to be scared (and not just startled by a screeching cat leaping through a window). Horror movies are also required to have comic relief. There has to be some humor to allow us the release of tension, otherwise, we'd never be able to take it. Comedy as horror is often best, but those are rare. My list contains the movies that I think embody everything done right in a Horror movie.
10. The Haunting (1963) - Director Robert Wise adapted Shirley Jackson's novel "The Haunting of Hill House" into one of the scariest movies you will ever see. It helps that Wise assembled a rnather amazing cast: award-winning stage and screen actress Julie Harris, Claire Bloom (The Illustrated Man) and Russ Tamblyn (West Side Story) in a tale of a parapsychologist who brings a team of "sensitives" into a supposedly haunted mansion with a sordid past. The Haunting is an intense and terrifying lesson in building tension without resorting to shock and gore. The simplest of visual effects (a door that bends inward) and spine-shivering sounds (something is sniffing around outside the bedroom door after having boomed its way down the hallway) add up to one scary ride. I double-dog dare you watch it alone in the dark. Here is one of the film's most effective scenes:
9. An American Werewolf in London (1981) - John Landis' masterpiece about a young American student (former Dr. Pepper shill, David Naughton) bitten by a werewolf on the moors, while backpacking through Great Britain. Like most great Horror, American Werewolf is at heart a tragic love story. When pretty nurse (Jenny Auguter) falls for teh cute American as he recovers from his wounds. Things are even worse for the kid's best friend (the hilarious Griffin Dunne) who, like all of the kid's subsequent victims, is doomed to roam the Earth as a spectre until the kid is dead and the curse is broken. As Dunne continues to decompose before our eyes, his one-liners get funnier and funnier, especially when all of teh kids victims gang up on him in a porno theatre with helpful suggestions as to how he can off himself.
8. Bride of Frankenstein (1935) - James Whale's far-superior sequel to 1931 original, introducing us not only to Mary Shelley herself in a prologue, but to Professor. Preatorious, a madman who makes miniature people of a sort and who conspires with Frankenstein to build a mate for his monster. Also see the brilliant biopic about Whale in his later years, 1998's Gods and Monsters, starring Ian McKellen and Brendan Fraser.
7. Saw (2004) Say what you will about the films sequels (the first of which is actually quite good), but Saw is one of the few modern horror movies with a "surprise ending' that actually surprised me. More than anything, this first ever film from director Lames Wan and writer/star Leigh Whannel is creepy and suspenseful and full of surprises (and look for a "Lost" star as a red-herring). Saw started both a lucrative franchise and Horror sub-genre that will hopefully run its course, soon. Embedding for every version the clip I wanted to use has been disabled on YouTube, but you can see it here.
6. Dracula (1931) Director Tod Browning's best film, Freaks, was actually banned for a long time in many countries, because it was deemed too disturbing and exploitative. His 1931 version of a popular stage play version of Bram Stoker's Gothic tale of love, lust and blood not only made a star out of Hungarian stage actor Bela Lugosi, but is an exemplar of the creation of mood and tension through the manipulation of light and shadow.
Interestingly, a surprisingly moodier (and some critics say better) version shot on the same sets at night, in Spanish, for the Latin American audiences. The host of this segment is kind of a tool, but he's gone after a few seconds.
5. Aliens (1986) - Some will argue that James Cameron's sequel to Ridley Scott's classic is a Sci-Fi Actioner. I say that without a doubt, it is a roller-coaster horror movie about a woman who will go to any lengths to protect the child she loves from seemingly unstoppable monsters.
4 Shaun of the Dead (2004) Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's hilarious homage to the films of George Romero hits the nail on the head every time. Whether parodying the sameness of everyone's day-to-day or making fun of bad music and the genre, itself, Shaun of the Dead works on just about every level.
3. Dawn of the Dead (1978 & 2004) Both George Romero's original and Zack Snyder's remake strike all the right chords with his zombie fan. I may prefer my zombies slow and shambling (see my screenplay, Army of the Dead), but Snyder's fast zombies are just a bit more terrifying, even if his version lacks the social commentary of Romero's version. Here's a scene from Snyder's more action-oriented version:
2. The Fly (1986) - Another movie that many may consider Sci-Fi, but which fulfills all the requisites of Horror (and then some). Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis give two astounding performances in this David Cronenberg remake which grossed out millions and inspired an opera. It also contains a phrase which I use again and again, just because it is so appropriate to so many situations: "Be afraid... Be very afraid."
Before I get to my #1 pick, I must talk about a film that was just bumped from this list - not because it isn't worthy, but because while it will always remain a favorite, something recently came along to replace it. And while it may well have made the #2 Spot, I think rather I shall here and forever place it as my first ever entry into the Caliban's Revenge Horror Movie Hall of Fame. And that movie is:
Dead Alive/Brain Dead (1986) - An early Peter Jackson effort, this hilarious, gross and exceptionally gory tale of a young man whose domineering mother destroys his life like no other mother in the history of cinema (nope, not even Angela Lansbury in The Manchurian Candidate). Man, I adore this movie:
Other honorable mentions include: The Descent; The Hunger; Fright Night; Frankenstein; A Nightmare on Elm Street; Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?; Scream; The Serpent and the Rainbow.
Alright - you've patiently waited for me to choose my Favorite Horror Movie of all time. And to be honest, I had a hard time picking just ten. But just this past year, one movie made this jaded Horror fan flinch, scream and garb onto my companions more than any other in recent memory. And that would have to be Sam Raimi's gypsy curse thriller:
1.Drag Me to Hell(2009) - Eschewing the profanity and nudity so prevalent in modern Horror, Raimi instead relies on story, acting, and shocks galore in his glorious return to the genre. It's the first movie I can remember in a long time that had ne squirming in my seat and clutching at my film-going companions. Justin Long's expression in the film's last shot says it all. Drag Me to Hell provides the most satisfying Horror experience in a very long time. "Here, kitty, kitty!"
Agree? Disagree? Did I miss one of your favs? I want to know. Comment away.
Sorry about that silly title. Okay, no I'm not. You know I loves me some nonsense. As proof, below is an actual line of dialog I wrote for a custom murder mystery (something I did briefly in the 90's to try and make an extra buck and fund my regular theatre company). The character was a diabetic who had been poisoned with sugar and became incoherent just before her death.
Her final words -- I'm almost ashamed to admit (but not ashamed enough to not post them) -- were:
Those of my friends who read this (and my sister)* who took part in those custom shows, are either the most wonderful and amazing and trusting and insane friends or members of a mind-control cult led by yours truly. In this same production, which was a Hollywood spoof called "Whatever Happened to Mr. Ed?" I had two sisters named Hedy Lamour and Dorothy Lamarr. Dorothy was a paraplegic and Hedy her sadistic care-giver. We actually convinced the kitchen staff to serve a rubber rat under a tray -- which they promptly and hilariously trumped by pouring gravy over it!). It was also the first of only two times I've done drag - my character died and then his "Identical Twin Sister" showed up. So scary... And so much for my early writing career...
*Who will laugh and not be offended by that link - she knows I don't actually think of her in that way (and she is still the only person who always gets me).
Anyway... I visit about a dozen or more websites and blogs daily, and maybe another 8 or 10 that I visit weekly. Most of the sites I visit offer links to all kinds of weird, wild, wacky and wonderful things (and who doesn't love a healthy dose of comedic alliteration? W's and K's are always funny) and I often get ideas for Caliban's Revenge from them. Anyway, when I'm really desperate, I visit YouTube, FunnyorDie and Hulu. Occasionally, they provide with little gems that can inspire some ramblings.
Tonight, because I had posted a few of clips previously, YouTube suggested that I view another one. So I did. And here it is (language NSFW):
I love the abso-friggin-lutely off his rocker mad look in Tim's eyes in that video. It sort of reminds me Terry Jones at the organ on Python.
Then, linked to that video was this clip which almost made me wet myself laughing:
Personally, I don't get the Harry Potter thing. I read the first book on a flight from Philadelphia** to Tampa and still had time to take a nap. I thought Rowling was an "Okay" writer who liked having fun with words, but I'd much rather read King, Straub, McCammon, Barker or Gaiman for my doses of Fantasy. Though more than one of my dear friends are avid Potter fans, my reaction is "meh." My interest was only piqued when Rowling made this shocking announcement:
While not enough to warrant it's own "The Gayest Thing" post (if only because it's old news), it's gay enough to be included on this blog.
So, what does any of that have to do with each other? No farging clue, my dears. Stream of Consciousness is often a very scary (or at least, moderately disturbing) thing. Damn you, James Joyce!
And my motto, of course: "A little nonsense now and then / Is cherished by the wisest men." I hope the rest of your holiday weekend is is silly, safe and satisfying (there goes that damned alliteration again!).
I cannot believe that it's been more than a year since my first post here on Caliban's Revenge.
And I cannot believe that I missed my 1 year Anniversary. That's so typical of me.
Of course, at this point in my life, I keep track of my past based on what show I happened to be doing at the time.
My first post was on July 9th, 2008. I was about to start work on my production of Thornton Wilder's "The Skin of Our Teeth." I had no photos, no links and no embedded videos. It was just my own humble opinion.
Well, maybe not so humble.
Okay - my own very opinionated view of how I think the world should work.
Anyway, since it's been almost 14 months since I started sharing with the world, I thought it high time to re-share that first post, though this time with pictures and videos and and all the doo-dads I've learned to use since then. And maybe a little more insight into what I was feeling back then.
So, here is my updated version of Ten Fantasy/Horror/Sci-Fi Movies that Should Be Re-Made:
1. Something Wicked This Way Comes – The terrific Ray Bradbury novel (one of the first novels I learned to dissect and still one of my all time favorites) about a carnival of soul-stealing spectres who feed on fear, is diluted and dumbed-down in the Disney film adaptation starring Jason Robards, Peter Billingsly (A Christmas Story) and a then-unknown Jonathan Pryce. As a kid who loved carnivals (and an adult who still does), the novel both terrified and fascinated me. The superb BBC program "Torchwood" adopted part of its premise for an excellent season-two episode.
3. Fahrenheit 451 – Frank Darabount (The Mist; The Green Mile; The Shawshank Redemption) is scheduled to remake another Bradbury classic, originally adapted in 1966 by French auteur Francios Truffault as a stark and sterile vehicle for Julie Christie and Oskar Werner where, in a dystopian future, books are illegal and 'Firemen' are dispensed to burn caches of contraband literature. The original, while fascinating, is just a bit too 'artsy' to capture Bradbury's homespun story-telling style.
4. The Shining – Neither the Stanley Kubrick original, nor the Mick Garris-helmed TV version satisfyingly adapts Stephen King's terrifying novel about a haunted Colorado hotel and the alcoholic playwright who brings his family to spend a winter taking care of it. Kubrick's version is more about the nature of madness than a ghost story, while the TV version (written by King) is forced by the limitations of the medium (and the network censors to omit important details. The best version, though has to be this one.
5. Sisters – An early Brian DePalma film about formerly conjoined twins (played by Superman's Margot Kidder), one of whom is a psychopath. A fascinating premise, disappointingly executed on a very low budget.
6. Last House on the Left – Horror icon Wes Craven (The Hills Have Eyes; A Nightmare on Elm Street) made his name in the early 70's with this tale of a family's revenge against the men who raped their daughter. Famous for the tagline "Keep telling yourself: 'It's only a movie,'" Last House… is supposedly scheduled for an updated remake in 2009.*
*Update - the far inferior re-make was derided by critics and disappeared from theater screens faster than one can say "Jack Robinson."
7. The Exorcist– Yes, William Friedkin's amazing film adaptation of William Peter Blatty's novel was a sensation in its day (people literally fainted during screenings and lines formed for blocks) and can still scare the Faithful, but the advancement of CGI special effects make this story of a young girl possessed by a demon ripe for remaking. In the hands of the right production team, a remake could have people fainting, puking and lining up all over again.
8. The Haunting – The original 1961 film version of Shirley Jackson's novel "The Haunting of Hill House" is one of the most frightening movies ever made, all without its audience seeing a thing. And it features an astonishing performance by the always amazing Julie Harris. The execrable late-90's remake, directed by Jan de Bont, is simply an excuse to exploit CGI effects and the talents of actors Lily Taylor and Liam Neesom. A truly frightening remake is certainly in order.
9. The Hobbit – An animated version of J.R.R. Tolkien's prequel to The Lord of the Rings, made by Rankin/Bass Studios (best known for holiday stop-motion fare like Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer), confusingly reduces Tolkien's fantasy tale to its basest elements (and ends halfway through the story). Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy; Pan's Labyrinth) has been signed to direct the live-action version, as well as a 'bridge' film which further connects the story to Peter Jackson's astonishing LOTR trilogy. Thankfully, Jackson is signed to produce both films, though I have no qualms about Del Toro's abilities as a director of fantasy fare.
10.Logan's Run – This 1970's cheesefest, based on the novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson, won an Academy Award for Special Effects, but time has not been kind to the film which starred Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Peter Ustinov and the late Farrah Fawcett. Obvious miniature sets, bad robotic effects and terrible acting all add up to a Z-grade (at best) movie about a futuristic society which values youth above all. A faithful adaptation of the novel, aided by modern CGI FX, has been bandied about for years, with names like Schwarzenegger, Cruise and Pitt attached at various times. It is apparently scheduled for a 2010 release, according to IMDb.
There you have it; my first post, updated.* Keep reading and commenting. You know I love hearing from you. What movies would you like to see re-made?
