Gypsy (1962)

The Flicks:

Bette Midler dazzles in this made-for TV fitting of the Broadway musical Gypsy, a whopping 12 years after its box premiere.

The Story:

Based on the memoirs of stripper Gypsy Lee Rose, with music by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim, this lengthy musical with some of the most recognizable tunes going, actually focuses on the overbearing stage mother, Mama Rose (Bette Midler). The story begins with Mama as a three times single mother with two girls, Baby June and Louise, who is living with her father (Ed Asner). The pushy loud mouthed mama is determined to keep her two daughters in showbiz. Angelic, blonde June is so talented and saccharin sweet that you want to slap her. Louise is the black sheep, with no talent, who usually ends up in the back of the number, often dressed like a boy. Mama meets Herbie (Peter Riegert), who she persuades to represent her girls in showbiz. Of course, Herbie thinks she’ll eventually marry him. Flash a good decade ahead, and Mama is still unwed, leading Herbie on, and still struggling to keep her girls in the limelight. It becomes too much for June, who runs off and gets married. Now there’s just Louise. Cynthia Gibb, best known for a stint on the TV series Fame and her role as Karen Carpenter (a role that should have gone to Karen Carpenter look-alike Karen ALLEN, instead of Cynthia in a bunch of bad wigs), plays Louise, who still has no talent. But Mama won’t accept that. When Herbie accidentally books them at a theater that caters to live girlie shows, Louise at last comes out of her shell…and her clothes. It looks like Mama may be deserted once again as he final hope becomes a famous stripper.

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I’ve no frame of reference to compare this version of Gypsy. I never saw the original movie, and haven’t seen a stage performance. I saw this when it aired in 1993, and still enjoyed it as much now. It definitely has a storyline that doesn’t get old and could go into revival for years. The music is instantly memorable, including what are pretty much standards at this point, like “Let Me Entertain You,” “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” and Together (Wherever We Go).” While the story does get a bit long and the movie is slow at points, the performances—including numerous dance numbers, several with the younger cast of children in the beginning hour—keep you, well, entertained. Cynthia Gibb is a natural as the innocent girl who matures over time while her relationship with her mother changes, and she carries her own vocally. The big stretch is Peter Riegert, whose voice comes off as more of a montone drone when he’s coupled for harmony with the Divine Miss M. Bette is at her best—a role she was clearly meant to play…and one she almost turned down, which would have been a shame, because this is the one piece of celluloid that will forever capture her true essence. Her voice is at its finest, and she camps it up perfectly. She simply puts her heart and soul into her final number, “Rose’s Turn.” It’s a performance on screen that will make you feel like you are actually in the first row during a stage production. Extraordinary. If you’re a fan of good musicals or Bette, this performance alone is reason enough to have this fine adaptation in your DVD collection.

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& Conquer 4 Trailer Covers Pre-Order Bonus Mission

Command & Conquer 4 developer EA Los Angeles has issued a trailer for its licit-at all times policy follow-up revealing the limited pre-order bonus mission 'Tenebrousness Moves.'

Night Moves is a prequel mission kicking off twelve hours before the start of the main campaign, putting players under the command of a Nod separatist who insists upon assassinating Nod's leader Kane using its iconic 'Obelisk of Light' laser tower. Because every diabolical villain needs a plan that's sheer elegance in its simplicity.

Wrapping up the 'Tiberium Saga' storyline started by the original Command & Conquer way back in 1995, C&C 4 will be released for PC on March 16. The full soundtrack and a signed photo of Kane himself, the actor Joe Kucan, are also packed into pre-orders.

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New ‘Prince of Persia Trailer’ Expands the Time-Rewinding Action


Movies based on video games are notoriously uneven, which is a trim at work of saying they're almost always bad. In the background studios have in the offing always optioned up games that are average so they can sell tickets on the name unescorted, as opposed to developing games that lend themselves naturally to a feature. Walt Disney may nothing but condition that trend, however, with their
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
adaptation starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton and Sir Ben Kingsley synchronize for release this May 28th.

They've picked a video game title that not sole has enough name recognition (the series has been around since 1989) but a person whose recent re-incarnations are cinematic in their own right. Plus, a plot plunk in ancient times involving a divine artifact that allows its alcohol (Gyllenhaal) to scram back the sands of time is certainly a prime candidate for a number of celebratory effects extravaganzas befitting of a hip day blockbuster. As far as possible marketplace successors for

Pirates of the Caribbean

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It's got the total you'd expect from a movie of this ilk, including the requisite fight between hero and consequential cat that superficially must occur in all Hollywood-made films set in ancient times. Does the operations work, though? You reprove us.

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This is a sexy, nuanced, beau…

This is a sexy, nuanced, beautifully controlled examination of how a quartet of people are defined by their naughty impulses and inhibitions.

Imaginatively presented opening intercuts the embarrassed therapy confessions of young wife Andie MacDowell with the impending arrival in town of James Spader, a mysterious stranger type who was a college chum of MacDowell’s handsome husband (Peter Gallagher).

Given MacDowell’s admissions that she and Gallagher are no longer having sex, it would seem that Spader is walking into a potentially provocative situation.

He drops a bombshell by revealing that he is impotent, seemingly scratching any developments on that end. Meanwhile Gallagher has been conducting a secret affair with his wife’s sexy wild sister (Laura San Giacomo).

Pic is absorbing and titillating because nearly every conversation is about sex and aspects of these attractive people’s relationships. Several steamy scenes between Gallagher and San Giacomo, and some extremely frank videotapes featuring women speaking about their sex lives, turn the temperature up even more.

Lensed on location in Baton Rouge, La, for $1.2 million, production looks splendid.

1989: Nomination: Best Original Screenplay

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The Nativity Story (2006)


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"…means to tap into nostalgia for the studio?s traditionally quick musicals of the 1990s, but it may have picked the wrong year to do so."

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This 2003 documentary motion …


This 2003 documentary motion epitome from director James Cameron was originally shown in 3-D on gigantic IMAX theater screens across the country. Although squeezing down the remnants of the Titanic to a TV screen in a 1.74:1 correspondence and watching it in regular 2-D is a mite disappointing, it’s more the most beneficent we can hope for. Fortunately, the disc’s THX-certified image and secure hold up their share of the lot.

Appease, it’s not like the theatrical ordeal. Of headway, no available-theater viewing experience is like watching a conceive of on a big movie wall, but “Ghosts of the Abyss” is something of a one of a kind letdown. Despite Cameron’s use of the most-modern deep-sea diving equipment, submarines, and remote-controlled undersea cameras, the homewards mesh produces a outcome not unlike that which a mortal physically can see about any incessantly of the week on the National Geographic, Origination, Technique, Experience, PBS, Learning, or Nature channels.

This is not to denigrate the film in any scope, construe. The picture’s beauty and Cameron’s staggering photographic develop still provide much fulfilment. It’s just that throughout the documentary there is the feeling that we’ve been there and seen it all first. But as I say, this is at bottom because we’re watching it on the relatively small home screen and not the monster theater screen on which it was meant to be seen.

Anyway, Cameron is an old cuffs at filming at sea. “The Abyss” (1989) and “Titanic” (1997) were enormous cinematic sea-story successes, while “Piranha, Part 2″ (1981) and “Expedition Bismarck” (2002) also touched upon things in the water. Just keep dark prevent your hands out of the water while the piranhas are around. It’s not such a expand to realize why Cameron’s filming of the wreckage of the Titanic is so good, but I’m not positively sure it needs to be a must-buy on everybody’s DVD want list.

The two-disc DVD set offers the sixty-mini model of the moving picture as seen in theaters and a newly reconstructed ninety-minute version using additional notes not seen in the original. I surmise this is a good idea, but I would doubtful the necessity of the layout. I mean, by altogether issuing the extended version alone and then putting an asterisk in the chapter index for the new, appended scenes, the movie would participate in been fit enough inasmuch as me, above all as it could set up freed up the remainder of a only disc in requital for the several perquisite items any more set on a help disc. But I presume having two discs in the set is a part of the marketing ploy to sell the DVD combine, even though two DVDs seems like more of a prestige thing than a practical issue. In any case, utilizing two discs allows both motion picture versions to be transferred at a low compression rate and leaves plenty of leeway on disc two for the not many extras the set has to offer.

I watched the ninety-hot extended understanding, which is prefaced by this statement: “The following film has been significantly modified from its original 3D offering. Varied images cause been reformatted for 2D viewing.” Fair satisfactorily. Now, on with the give away.

The talking picture chronicles Cameron’s expedition in 2001 to motion picture the remains of the Titanic, corroding away some 12,500 feet beneath the sea. Employing the latest deep-sea submarines (MIRs), or submersibles, and the latest in remote underwater cameras (ROVs), Cameron gets in and about every nook and cranny of the old sybaritism liner. A huge lighting chandelier called “Medusa” is lowered down to explicate much of the outside of the ship, while each of the various underwater exploration vessels has its own high-frequency-powered beams.

The result of all his time, labor, and expense is some of the most revealing footage ever shot of the well-known wreck. But why, ask the filmmakers, is the Titanic so fascinating to deep-sea explorers and the general in the same manner? They resolve it was the biggest dispatch of its day, it was on its maiden voyage, the president of the company was on accommodate, as was the ship’s builder, and there was a boatload of drama as the ship sank slowly into the lots, killing over 1,500 passengers. It’s become a romance, and the ship’s remains are now a memorial, one that at its present rate of crumble on the profusion storey may not pattern much longer. Accordingly, the present movie becomes an effective historical document.

While Cameron does a part of the narration himself, a particular of his stars of “Titanic,” Invoice Paxton, goes along on the dives as an observer and narrates much of the film, too. Perhaps Paxton is exactly imitating some of his own movie characters, but as he goes down in the bantam sub for the start with stretch, he acts typically whiny and worried. I’m not sure his “gee-whiz” attitude and surprise toward everything he sees is in every respect necessary.


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Who’s the Man? (1993)

Movie: Those of us who swotting dominant taste bequeath irrefutably remember the whole fluctuate of In Proceed as promoted by MTV over a decade ago. The music was a synthesis of rap, trip the light fantastic toe, and a army of other styles that were common to the African American, but also mainstream, experience in return then. Much of the current urban music scene was based on this genre and lots of exploitive low budget movies came alibi back then to be effective advantage of the trend. One movie that stands out as almost a documentary of hot musicians of the time, Who’s The Man, also provided a stepping stone by reason of a numbers of actors to bigger and better things.

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The movie centered on a couple of really bad barbers played by Ed Lover and Doctor Dre who hit on hard times. Stuck in Harlem with few prospects, they are forced by their boss Nick (Jim Moody) to find a new career, as police officers. Nick calls in a few favors and the two pass the test, no matter how hard they try to fail. Bringing their own style to the police department, they bumble through and eventually hit the streets as full-fledged cops.

The minimal plot revolved around a greedy land baron trying to cheat the residents out of their land and murder as the duo strut their stuff in a hostile world. Okay, if you’re looking for a highly structured plot and well developed characters, you’re going to be disappointed but if you’re in the market for a ballsy, funny comedy that pokes fun at police, street hoods, and the ghetto lifestyle, you’ll be overjoyed with this one.

Further, from Ice T, Salt & Pepper, Run DMC, and just about every important musician on the scene at the time it was made, the movie provided a stage for all of them to get some exposure to a larger audience. It also had hilarious performances by Denis Leary (who stole the show in every scene he appeared in), Colin Quinn, and the leads, Dre and Ed. The director had worked with each of them while at MTV and was a life long friend of Leary before his untimely death a while back. The chemistry between these seemingly disparate performers was obvious from the first moments of the movie and even the weakest moments were better than most ethnic/cop movies ever made. Leary’s roll call Sgt had me in stitches as did the duo’s shooting exhibition in the police academy and those were but two of the many moments of joy here.

While the movie was structurally flawed, it was also hugely funny and I only wish it had better extras to correspond to the movie itself. I’m going to rate this as a guilty pleasure and give it a Recommended. It had great replay value and fans of the crew will fondly remember their many exploits on television.

Picture: The picture was presented with a choice of either a 1.85:1 ratio non-anamorphic widescreen or a 1.33:1 ratio full frame version, both in color. There was some pattern noise and grain but it looked pretty good for a low budget movie. The fleshtones were accurate and the detail good so I’d say the picture quality was as good as the content of the movie.

Sound: The audio was presented with a choice of either a remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround English track or a regular 2.0 stereo track, both with optional English subtitles. While neither choice was exactly stellar in terms of quality, there was some separation between the channels with the vocals and music fairly well defined.

Extras: Trailers and a weblink for DVD-Rom were all that came on the DVD.

Final Thoughts: There was a lot of biting social commentary as well as the usual silly humor you’d expect from Dre and Lover. The technical qualities were pretty solid for such an older movie and if you can overlook the plot loopholes, you’ll have a lot of fun watching this comedy.

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Terminator 2: Judgment Day review

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Bat Thumb review

Bat Thumb is the newest Thumbation quick smokescreen from Steve Oedekerk: other films in the series count Thumb Wars, Thumbtanic, and The Blair Thumb. While I expected Bat Thumb to be mostly a kid of the 1989 drawn in film, it also spoofs a certain extent a bit of the archetype Batman dim from 1966. As with the other “Thumb” films, the characters are thumbs that have been dressed in costumes and have computer animated facial features.

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When No Face returns to terrorize Gaaathumb City, the Commish calls Bat Thumb, who is, by day, billionaire Wuce Bane. To make matters worse, No Face has captured his alter ego’s girlfriend, Vicki Nail, and is also threatening to maim the citizens of Gaaathumb City with his toxic gas. Now Bat Thumb and his wussy sidekick, Blue Jay, must rescue the girl and save the city.

Bat Thumb is one of those films you either like or hate, thanks to the sometimes obscure and frequently strange humor. Personally, I thought it was fairly enjoyable, but a few of the jokes go on way too long, which really works against a film that runs for less than half an hour. Bat Thumb also boasts some incredible set design and some pretty cool CGI shots.

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“I’m in Personnel,” he tells …

“I’m in Personnel,” he tells people. “Oh, you hire people?” he’s asked. “Well, it’s more like I fire them,” he explains.

Frank fires them by shooting them, usually in the head. He’s the designated hit man for a small Polish crime family far from the hot action in Vegas or New York. He — and his masters, the Krzeminskis — are stuck in Buffalo, where since the stakes are so small, the action is really intense. The Krzeminskis are losing their turf in John Dahl’s acerbic, mordant noir tickler “You Kill Me.” But Frank has more intimate problems, namely the quart of warm gin he drinks — every half-hour. When he sleeps through a hit, the benevolent Roman Krzeminski (Philip Baker Hall) orders that he be sent to San Francisco to dry out in a 12-step program.

That’s the black joke at the center of “You Kill Me,” expertly written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely: If AA can restore fallen sinners to sainthood, it can also restore fallen saints to sinnerhood.

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In San Francisco, Frank (the great Ben Kingsley) gets a job (helped by smarmy Dave, played by Bill Pullman) in a funeral home, where it turns out he has a gift, not merely for ending life but for manipulating the corpse so that he or she looks better. At one service, Frank meets Laurel (Tea Leoni), a woman who has been around the block a time or 200, and she likes Frank’s directness, while he likes her unflappability. This is one of the greatest screwball relationships in years.

Dahl is a wonderful filmmaker with a number of equally small-scale but superior crime-based entertainments. (See Film Notes on Page 36.) More commonly they’re about predatory sociopaths and the innocent fools who get in their way. (”The Last Seduction,” with Peter Berg, Linda Fiorentino and Pullman, was the best.) His foray into big-budget filmmaking with “The Great Raid” was well executed but entirely lacking in personality. With “You Kill Me,” he’s back where he belongs, in a completely amoral world delivered with wit and incisiveness, and great twists.

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