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Hustling & Flowing away
I will be heading to Memphis for a week to visit some friends, so I will be away from the blog for a while. That being the case, I wanted to leave you with some recommendations.
IN THEATERS
With the five-year anniversary coming up, it’s the ideal time to catch World Trade Center. To those who still have qualms about seeing it, I understand, but please bear in mind that if you let it, the movie can do a world of good. Odds are you’ll feel better coming out than you did going in.
For those who are looking for something offbeat, Little Miss Sunshine lives up to its billing as the indie/sleeper hit of the year. Like a lot of Sundance movies, its whimsy occasionally feels a little forced, but the journey of an oddball family has something for the oddball in all of us. Steve Carell in particular is a standout — he completely made me forget he was once the 40-Year-Old Virgin. Or Paul Lynde, for that matter.
I hope to catch Hollywoodland next week, about the mysterious death of George Reeves, TV’s first Superman superstar. I’ve always had a thing for Hollywood on Hollywood tales, as you’ll see below, and this should make a nice warm-up for The Black Dahlia.
ON TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES (my fav-oh-rite channel of all time)
9:30 a.m. Sept. 1, 12 Angry Men: Best courtroom drama ever made. Well, OK, just outside the courtroom.
8 p.m. Sept 4 : Sullivan’s Travels: One of the best Hollywood-on-Hollywood movies, by the peerless Preston Sturges. This movie also gave birth to the title O Brother Where Art Thou?
2:30 a.m. Sept. 5. Peeping Tom: Ultra-disturbing drama about a serial killer who uses his camera to murder, in more ways than one. Directed by Michael Powell of The Red Shoes fame.
10 p.m. Sept. 6, Sunset Blvd.: More Hollywood on Hollywood, and the best of the sub-genre. Listen for references to Dayton. With William Holden and Gloria Swanson. Directed by the great Billy Wilder.
2 a.m. Sept. 7, Network: Proof positive that writer Paddy Chayevsky was a seer, this movie predicted flashy TV news and reality TV by decades. William Holden again, with Faye Dunaway. Directed by Sidney Lumet, who also made 12 Angry Men.
11:30 a.m. Sept. 7, Good News lives up to its name for lovers of MGM musicals, and watching it will make for a nice tribute to the recently deceased June Allyson. Written by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, who also penned Singin’ in the Rain and On the Town.
12:15 a.m. Sept 9, The Ladykillers: Did you see the Coen Brothers remake with Tom Hanks? Catch the original with Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers. Even better.
Happy viewing!
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Sir Critic muses
Comments
By SRCputt
September 1, 2006 6:09 AM | Link to this
Be careful out there, Eric. ‘Cause you know, it’s hard out there for a pimp.