If you are anywhere near my age you will remember watching Walt Disney educational films back in school. (My personal favorite was the one about fire safety with Jiminy Cricket.) But chances are you never saw VD Attack Plan before. The really amazing thing about this movie is that is was made in 1973.
But it’s not as controversial as Song of the South.
This is an open thread.
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How many “straight to video” movies manage to pull down an Academy Award nomination? This one stars Chris Reeves and Morgan Freeman as a homicidal pimp.
This category of movies are the ones you end up watching by accident or because there is nothing else on, then you end up thinking, “Hey, this is a pretty damn good movie!”
What movies do you think are underrated?
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Ken Gruberman at HuffPoop:
Not only am I The Tech Daddy here on the Huffington Post, but I’m also Quill Music; I’ve worked as a music copyist and orchestrator in the professional music community of Los Angeles for over 40 years. I’ve even worked on a few Academy Awards shows. And I’ve watched the show every year since 1958. So I can say, with a certain degree of authority, that this was the worst show EVER.
The idea to use actors as hosts instead of a bon afide “entertainer” was a risky one, to be sure. Anne Hathaway was adorable and definitely put a lot of energy into the show. James Franco was… sincere… but he’s not funny. Or spontaneous. Or even engaging, even after all that rehearsal time they had. He still managed to speak in a monotone most of the time, and seemed to be sometimes lost in a world of his own. Occasional attempts at being “wry” didn’t work either. Stick to acting, James.
But the real problems with the show this year were not with the hosts. Rather it was with the producer/director Don Mischer — who really should know better — and the writing staff. There were PAINFULLY awkward moments in the show, odd transitions that didn’t make sense, continuity problems, lack of info to the viewing public, and really bad presenter “banter.” TRULY bad. Like the byplay between Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law — totally inappropriate. Did the world really need to be reminded of Downey’s previous debauchery? Is that supposed to be funny? Or Matthew McConaughey and Scarlett Johanssen’s stunningly un-funny banter (“sound!”) There were so many bits that just went nowhere, such as Franco’s walk-on as Marilyn Monroe.
I haven’t been watching the Oscars as long as Mr. Gruberman, but I’ve seen more than a few shows over the years. I can remember some of the memorable moments from the 60′s and 70′s, like John Wayne’s acceptance speech for True Grit, the streaker in 1974, Vanessa Redgrave’s anti-Zionist acceptance speech and when Sacheen Littlefeather showed up to reject Marlon Brando’s best actor award for The Godfather.
People do not tune in to the Oscars to listen to the half-witty jokes. While a funny host can keep the evening moving, that’s not what the show is all about. It’s not an entertainment show either.
People tune in to watch clips of the nominees’ performances and for the unscripted moments. So what two things were in short supply? Clips of the nominees’ and unscripted moments.
First there was the two-hour red carpet pre-game show. Borrrrrring. And stupid. And lame.
Then it went downhill from there.
Seth McFarland was, without a doubt, the worst Oscars host ever. The highlight of his portion of the show was a musical number titled “We Saw Your Boobs” with the Los Angeles Gay Mens Chorus. It wasn’t really a highlight, it was more of a “least-lowlight”.
We spent nearly fifteen minutes before the first winner was announced and that was for Best Supporting Actor. That was the last major award for a couple hours. In between there were several musical numbers that had nothing to do with any of the current year’s movies.
How bad was the show? It was easily the worst Oscar show ever before Michelle Obama came on to deliver the coup de grace award the Best Picture Oscar. Yeah, that’s right. FLOTUS gave out the biggest award of the evening. Nancy Reagan never did that, and she was a member of the Academy. So was Ronnie.
To quote our Oscars’ Pool winner:
Are you effing kidding me? #Oscars. American society has officially reached its nadir.—
Angie (D) (@TheAngieNC2) February 25, 2013
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Who will win? More importantly, who will win the TCH Oscar Pool?
Follow along here.
angienc (D), on February 24, 2013 at 8:57 am said: Edit Comment
OT — Last chance before the broadcast starts to get in/change your picks for our Oscar pool — Pool name is “TCH” password is “crawdad”
http://www.funofficepools.com/joinpool.php?Passed_Pool_Key=216134f2e46
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Just a reminder that it’s only two weeks until Oscar night and our annual Oscar Pool!
Our good friend Angienc has kindly volunteered to set it up for us:
The name of our pool is “TCH” and the password is: crawdad
CLICK HERE -> Fun Office Pools
If you are a virgin this year you will have to register first (IT”S FREE!) but once you are registered you just need sign in and make your picks.
This year’s winner gets a free dinner with Michelle Obama. (Second Place gets two dinners.)*
It’s fun and free. Sign up now!
*Just kidding
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I went to see Zero Dark Thirty yesterday. The movie focuses on a young CIA analyst (Jessica Chastain) and her relentless effort to find Osama bin Hidin. (Spoiler Alert: Osama is killed at the end of the movie)
The movie has been controversial since it’s inception because many on the right feared that because its original planned release was to be just before the election that it would be a puff piece intended to let Barack Obama “spike the football” regarding the death of Osama. Those fears turned out to be unwarranted because the movie wasn’t released until December and there is barely any mention of Obama in it.
The current controversy is over the positive portrayal of torture. The early part of the movie depicts suspected terrorists being beaten and waterboarded for information which is used as a starting point for tracking him to his hiding place in Abbottabad, Pakistan. There is also a controversy over whether the Obama administration gave unauthorized access to classified information to the movie’s producers.
The movie is a docu-drama that is loosely based on real life events. As a documentary it sucks. As a drama it’s pretty good if you like that genre. Not a great movie, just a pretty good one.
That’s my verdict. YMMV
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Every year there are certain “Christmas” movies I like to watch around this time of year:
2. It’s a Wonderful Life
3. A Christmas Carol (with Alistair Sim)
4. Miracle on 34th Street (original)
5. Bad Santa
What holiday movies are on your “must see” list?
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I love finding classic movies on YouTube. The Giants play at 5:00 but Twilight New Moon premieres on FX at 4:00.
What are you up to this evening?
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The Raiders have a bye week so I won’t be watching much football, and the Giants games are in the evening. I was thinking about catching a movie.
What do you think?
This is an open thread.
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Okay, I saw it. It’s a good movie but not a great one. I’m not spoiling anything by saying it’s a campy remake of the original soap opera. It is literally a dark comedy. I’d give it a “B+”.
Like all Tim Burton movies the funniest parts are in the first half. He treats the original story line as a guideline not a straight-jacket. Eva Green (Angelique) steals the show from Johnny Depp which isn’t easy to do. Look closely during the scene where they hold a ball at Collinwood and you’ll see cameos by Jonathan Frid and a couple other original cast members – they play guests.
As far as previews the only one I look forward to seeing is Snow White and the Huntsman but I’ve always had a lech for Charlize Theron.
This is an open thread.
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It was a nice day today and I was feeling pretty good so I decided to break down and go to the movie theater for the first time in years to see Hunger Games. I never read the book(s) but I had a pretty good idea what to story line was gonna be.
I got to the multi-plex theater at 12:25 for 12:30 showing for the second showing of the day (sixth if you count four midnight premieres) and there was no line. My ticket cost $7.75 but the Diet Pepsi I bought at the concession counter as nearly as much. I had a choice between a small soda for $5.00 or a large (w/free refills) for $5.75. It turns out I didn’t need the refill. I didn’t want to take out a loan so I skipped the popcorn.
The theater I was in was about 10% full. The place is about 10 years old and has stadium seating and fold-down armrests with drink holders. I like stadium seating because you don’t have to worry about Shaq sitting in front of you and blocking your view. I hate packed theaters so I didn’t mind the emptiness.
They showed four or five previews. The new Chris Rock movie (What to Expect When You’re Expecting) and Snow White and the Huntsman both looked decent.
Finally the main feature began. It started kinda slow then picked up steam. I’m not gonna go into lots of detail about the plot. It was a pretty good movie but not a great one. I was expecting to be blown away but only got my hair ruffled. I might have liked it better if I had read the book.
It’s mostly a drama with a decent amount of action. The special effects are minimal and there isn’t much gore and no profanity, nudity or “adult situations”. It’s not a tear-jerker but emotional types might need one or two kleenexs. I’d say it’s more of a date movie than a chick flick. YMMV.
This is an open thread.
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In my house watching It’s a Wonderful Life is a holiday tradition.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM THE CRAWDAD HOLE!
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Can you name all the movie stars and movies in the clip above?
Free Drinks for every correct answer. This is an open thread.
Make the jump for the answers:
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