Screen Actors Guild Awards Results

So the SAG Awards were last night, no they're not for women who have grown old gracefully, but rather they award (booming Patrick Stewart type voice) ACTING!

Here's the results

Current Splice favourite No Country For Old Men done the business as did The Sopranos and 30 Rock, two of the best things on telly this last year. And also the entire cast of the American version of The Office got an award, so all in all some good stuff.

And since this is the only Yank show allowed to use union writers it may be the best of the bunch. Not that the Oscars are ever that great anyway!

Great* Lines From The Movies *Interpretations of "great" may differ from mines, Part 7

"They all float down here."

As if it wasn't bad enough that It's Pennywise is a shapeshifting, child devouring clown, he goes and brings balloons into the equation. Shudder!

No Country For Old Men: Red's Take

I'm second to this one thanks to Ruud obviously typing his review at lightning pace. I'm the old Tommy Lee Jones figure here struggling to keep up! The fact that there is two of us meant that there was the scope to do reviews for the same movies, this is going to be the first time. Obviously it gives two different perspectives on the film, which is a good thing in my book. Anyway here we go with Splice's second review of No Country For Old Men.



It's been a while but it's great to see the Coen Brothers back. Not just from the unusually long layoff since their last film but back on form too. If it took a slighty ropey remake of The Ladykillers to get them to this place then that former film suddenly shoots up in my estimation.

Truth be told I was starting to worry a little about the Coens. O Brother Where Art Thou was the last time I truly enjoyed one of their offerings, The Man Who Wasn't There was slightly underwhelming no matter how brilliantly Film Noir was channeled, convoluted plot and all. The last two were comparable to Kraftwerk's Tour De France album, it may be by the masters but it's like it was done by one of the less talented copyists. In truth the Coens were on auto-pilot.

Thankfully the break seems to have done the trick. Somewhere during the time off they seem to have remembered what made visceral debut Blood Simple such a thrilling film and decided to in a way revisit it. Again we have Texas, though it's mainly shot in the daylight this time around, the Coens capitalising on a larger budget to really show the beauty of this arid place. And most importantly of all we have a brutal storyline that doesn't protect its lead characters in any way. Just because you get to know them doesn't mean it'll turn out alright in the end.

Some of the Coen trademarks are there. There's a period setting (1980) and a certain accent that brings lots of little ticks and colloquialisms for the actors to master. And there's the humour. Due to the storyline it only surfaces occasionally and at times it may be little jokes thanks to editing (the chicken farmer's death) as opposed to a hitman with asthma. The scene in which Llewelyn is trying to book a room at a motel is a great example. Less than thirty seconds and with no real point, it's only in there because the Coens couldn't help themselves. The same goes for Carla Jean's mother's dialogue. Then of course there are the visual metaphors that invite you to mull over them for ages like the significance of Tom's hat in Miller's Crossing. The ones I noticed from the one viewing I've had so far are trails of blood, dogs (mainly dead) and feet.

It may sound like hyperbole that we may have already seen 2008's best film before January is out but it's going to take one hell of an effort to supplant this. That's not to say it's perfect. At two hours it is a smidgen too long. And then there's the ending. Obviously I'm not going to ruin it for you but for many it will be the thing that dictates their true feelings over Old Country. It essentially peeters out, but for me the ending works, it may not tie everything up but that was never the point of the film. To recount as to why the ending may be a problem I serve up what happened at the screening I was at. The screen cut to black, the credits rolled and many people audibly groaned. On the way out the guys behind me had this conversation:

Guy 1: "What was that about then?"

Guy 2: This referred to something that happens at the end so I won't recount it here if you haven't seen the movie. Suffice to say it involves Kelly McDonald's character and the fact that like many things in the second half of the movie something isn't explicitly shown which caused confusion.

Guy 3: "Totally, I'm guessing there'll be a sequel."

Guy 2: "Could be right there. Well we've seen a ton o' crap movies recently!"

Guy 3: "Aye another rubbish one you've dragged us to."

Guy 1: "They haven't all been bad. Hitman was excellent."

Guy 2 & 3 : "Aye it was."

You can draw your own conclusions on that one if you wish.

As I said for me the ending worked with the movie. The performances are universally excellent and the violence is almost beautiful in it's suddenness and brutality. Obviously as it's the Coens the dialogue and directions great, it almost goes without saying when it comes to these two. No Country For Old Men is a tough film but one that is ultimately rewarding, cyclical or not. And thankfully looking at the amount of projects the Coens have lined up on IMDB it looks as if the spark may well have been reignited. The Coens are back and all is well with the world.

No Country for Old Men: Ruud's Review

So here it is, my review of the first film i have seen this year and you know when i was watching it I had a feeling that there would a race to get the first review of it up as, after all, it is the new Coen Brothers film which is titled above and it we are both big fans of the Coen chaps so hopefully i have stolen a march on the lad with his teeth in a shite (admittedly never seen it but proud) John Travolta film and got mine in first but im still intrigued to read his views.

As i say, Coen films are a shared interest for me and Red, many afternoons we spent walking to the train station in the pishing rain talking about the fact that The Big Lebowski was one of the funniest films ever made, Jesus Quitana was the bestest kiddy fiddler and, and, and, erm. Shut the fuck up Donny! yeah, that's it, best comeback for any comment ever.

But The Big Lebowski was years ago, in the time in between The Ladykillers remake was pretty mince though when I went to the cinema to see it it was in one of the silver screen old folk afternoon matinee type things and I was the only person who was in knots at the creative use of swear words on offer, so in truth the experience was a happy one and the films obvious failings fade in the memories. and though Intolerable Cruelty was alright, they really pale in comparison to the 90s stuff.

Which brings me back to No Country for Old Men, which if i was hackneyed i would describe as being a triumphant return to form or something else pretty lame, no, i will simply tell you that i thought that the film was great. Reasons for this appraisal start with the performance of Javier Bardem, the Spanish actor playing the bad guy Anton Chigurh; fantastically. Chigurh's choice of weapon are cracking too, a shotgun with a silencer (what the fuck?) and a compressed air cattle gun which is cool as fuck. Cool dialogue, Woody Harrelson is in it, a Ruud favourite. Josh Brolin is good, no great in it and how his character deals with a dog is masterful, it is hard to beleive that this guy who is ultra cool throughout in my opinion was the older brother with an old sock or something tied around his head in the Goonies however. And, it lasts around two hours, none of this 142 minutes or something mince.

Plotwise were talking Brolin's character finds a drug deal gone wrong with plenty of dead mexicans, he also finds 2million bucks which he takes. He returns to the scene after worrying about the barely alive Mexican he left begging him for water, he gets caught out and chased by bad guys with a dog, he gets away. Bardems bad guy comes to get his 2 million bucks and finds out its gone, and who has it.

At this point i need to explain the dog bit, as i have mentioned it twice and basically cant hold it in. He is chased to the river and so dives in and swims to safety, however the bad guys send the dog in after him, and a chase in the water ensues, and god is it exciting, Brolin gets out and the dog is hot on his heels, Brolin pops out the bullet casings and tries and tries to get the gun ready to shoot, as the dog exits the water and runs toward him. tension building he gets the gun fixed just as the pooch makes a jump for his face, bang the dog gets it, just in the nick of time. I love a bit of creative cinema! Man shoots dog in self defence in one of the tensest chase scenes in recent memory, priceless, no?

After Chigurh finds who has it, a cross Texas chase ensues as Brolin looks to keep the cash and Chigurh wants it, Tommy Lee Jones plays the disenfranchised Sheriff who is on the case trying to pull the clues together. And thats about it, some more characters come in (Harrelson for one) and some gruesome stuff happens in the middle but mainly its a kind of three way hunt for each other.

This is something of a novelty for me, seeing a film on th Oscar list for best picture before the ceremony, the last time that happened was probably LOTR but then every man and his dog saw that, so by default it is now my favourite to win, but i would like to qualify that by saying anything else in the catagory would have to go some to beat this and if they did then they must be very good films indeed. Also on the Oscars area, why is Bardem in the supporting actor catagory, he is the main character, bad guy or not, he is the main man, i dont understand why he doesnt squeeze into best actor, really dont, in this day of age everyone knows the antihero is best! back to the film now, No Country for Good Men passed all my criteria for great film, cool dialogue, good performances and the fact that you dont check the time when watching it, a wee thing to look out for when watching a film there, how many watch checks, less=great films, persistant checks=not that good, possible lulls in the action or something. Anyway as i was saying, hardly checked my watch so in the Ruud book its a cracker.

All in all, Coen Brothers, i salute you, welcome back, its been dull without you.

Over to you Big Red.

Ruud Kerouac.

Happy Birthday Paul Newman

I like your sauce.

And those jars of stuff you put on food aren't too bad either!

Eh? Eh? Ach, forget it!

Great* Lines From The Movies *Interpretations of "great" may differ from mines, Part 6

"I like men now".

Ralph Wiggum questions his lifestyle choices after noticing Bart skateboarding in The Simpsons Movie.

The Razzies

Sometimes i am so glad i dont get to see much of what comes out over the calendar year. It all seems to me to be a better idea to wait till DVD, especially if this is what can happen!

2008 Razzie Nominees

Worst Picture
Bratz
Daddy Day Camp
I Know Who Killed Me
I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
Norbit

Worst Actor
Nicolas Cage, in Ghost Rider, National Treasure and Next
Jim Carrey, The Number 23
Cuba Gooding, Jr., Daddy Day Camp and Norbit
Eddie Murphy, Norbit
Adam Sandler, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry

Worst Actress
Jessica Alba, Awake, Fantastic Four, and Good Luck Chuck
Logan Browning, Janel Parrish, Nathalia Ramos AND Skyler Shaye, Bratz
Elisha Cuthbert, Captivity
Diane Keaton, Because I Said So
Lindsay Lohan, I Know Who Killed Me

Worst Supporting Actor
Orlando Bloom, Pirates of the Caribbean
Kevin James, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
Eddie Murphy, Norbit
Rob Schneider, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
Jon Voight, Bratz, National Treasure September Dawn and Transformers

Worst Supporting Actress
Jessica Biel, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
Carmen Electra, Epic Movie
Eddie Murphy (as Rasputia), Norbit
Julia Ormond, I Know Who Killed Me
Nicolette Sheridan, Code Name: The Cleaner

Worst Screen Couple
Jessica Alba & either Hayden Christensen in Awake; Dane Cook in Good Luck Chuck; or Ioan Gruffudd in Fantastic Four
Any Combination of Two Totally Air-Headed Characters in Bratz
Lindsay Lohan and Lindsay Lohan in I Know Who Killed Me
Eddie Murphy (as Norbit) & either Eddie Murphy (as Mr. Wong) or Eddie Murphy (as Rasputia) in Norbit
Adam Sandler & either Kevin James or Jessica Biel in I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry

Worst Remake or Ripoff
Are We Done Yet? (remake of Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House)
Bratz (A rip-off if there ever was one)
Epic Movie (Rip-off of every movie it rips off)
I Know Who Killed Me (Rip-off of Hostel, Saw and The Patty Duke Show)
Who's Your Caddy (Rip-off of Caddy Shack)

Worst Prequel or Sequel
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
Daddy Day Camp
Evan Almighty
Hannibal Rising
Hostel: Part II

Worst Director
Dennis Dugan, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
Roland Joffe, Captivity
Brian Robbins, Norbit
Fred Savage, Daddy Day Camp
Chris Siverston, I Know Who Killed Me

Worst Excuse for a Horror Movie
Aliens vs Predator: Requiem
Captivity
Hannibal Rising
Hostel: Part II
I Know Who Killed Me

My first thoughts are, what the hell is Fred Savage up to, after a right stupid rumour about Marilyn Manson starring in The Wonder Years he goes and directs Daddy Day Camp. Actually, what is Daddy Day Camp! Wait now i have it, its nominated for worst prequel so it must have something to do with Daddy Day Care. Which was baws incidentally. A fair shout of John Voight because i have seen Transformers and he is mince in it but starring in Bratz is unacceptable and he deserves all he gets.

But a wee message of support to Dennis Dugan who i love. Nominated for I now Pronounce You Kiddy-on Gays or whatever its called i have heard is mince but the man brought us Happy Gilmore, The Benchwarmers and Problem Child (81 minutes of perfection) so if there is such a thing as bouncbackability then it will surely happen to this cinema hero!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qlwnZqyKk-Q

Heath Ledger Dead!

Fuckin' hell!

What this means for the Dark Knight no one knows.

RIP

Oscar Nominations Are Out

Look here!

Quite a few aren't actually out here yet so I'll reserve comment, except to say that Bourne got the usual snub for anything that isn't editing or sound, Disney are dominating the best song (did they see Walk Hard?), Surf's Up got a nomination (personal HUZZAH!) and there's the usual non-Yank snub in most of the main non-acting categories. Also after the whole BAFTAS creaming themselves over Atonement it may have been the usual pro-Brit pish from them or what I just described from Oscar.

Anyway it appears to be going ahead no matter how the writer's strike is going. Up to you if that's a good thing, but John Stewart's involved so it can't be all bad.

Oh and I'd do the Spliceys but let's be honest, awards are crap really so who cares.

Venus

Venus must have been a tough sell for its makers. It's the story of an old man that falls in love with a young woman and his not entirely innocent infatuation. Of course the Daily Mail bait plotline aside, the film is actually quite a moving riff on the idea of what it is to be alive, and not just the breathing, shitting and sleeping alive, but what it is to actually live.

Peter O'Toole acts his arse off in what may be the final great performance of a great career. In some ways he's playing a less successful version of himself in Maurice, now reduced to playing the dieing guy on Casualty (at least he's not a corpse in Taggart) and spending his days pissed as a fart reminiscing about how great his life was while he was young performing Shakespeare and being adored by all the bright young things. He does this with old friend Ian, played rather excellently by Leslie Phillips proving what a good actor he can be when not living up to the stereotype he's created for himself. Ian's problem is that he is a hypochondriac and spends what's left of his life worried about every little bad feeling, that this time it'll be the thing to finish him off. In short neither is enjoying the time they have left.

Enter Ian's niece Jessie (another great performance from Jodie Whittaker) who is doing about as much of that there living stuff as the two old yins even though she's only twenty. Life hasn't been great to Jessie. Maurice, being the dirty, well, man that he is falls for Jessie and they all learn a lesson about life, The End.

It sounds a bit twee really. But Venus is anything but. O'Toole and Phillips have a real chemistry as two lifelong friends who essentially drink and swear a lot, much like my mates and me really. The first thing that'll really strike you is how much it plays like comedy show Still Game, just with more fucks and cunts where flips and fuds had to do on the BBC and a lot less of the kooky Asian shopkeeper. Obviously the subject matter also detracts from the fluffy nature of the synopsis. Maurice feels alive because a young woman lets him touch her. She allows it because of an inner deadness brought on by an abandonment of all around her. As I said Venus is anything but twee.

The thing about Venus is that it's a bit of a confusing experience to watch. At times it's very funny and there's some heartwarming moments, but on the flipside it's also a desperately sad movie, not in a tearjerker sort of way, it never stoops to those levels. Instead there's this overreaching sadness not only in those old walking corpses or the empty shell of a girl using an old duffer to feel wanted in the way he's using her to feel somewhat young again but in the prospect that while the film could be read as a group of people learning about what it is to live it can also be read that the only way they were able to do it is through using someone for a shallow sense of happiness.

It's this confusion that stops Venus from being a truly great film and it's present not only in the script but also the style of the film. At times it strives to be gritty and realistic, while at other times it becomes quite stylised in its camera work. The filmakers seem to be a little unsure themselves quite how Venus is meant to play and as such there is an unevenness to the film. It's still a very moving film but it could have done with some stronger decisions behind the camera and in the writing process so it was able to live up to the bravado performances of O'Toole et al in front of it.

What Is Cloverfield?

Turns out it's a movie.

Resolutions

Off the back of Ruud's New Year's Resolutions, which he has already began to fulfill, on yersel big yin, I thought I'd post some of mine;

1) Get myself to the cinema more and catch up on the dealio.

2) Finish the review for Venus I've been struggling with for ages (difficult film to write about).

3) In relation to 1), more reviews, not just of current stuff but of older films as well (currently looking at The Lives Of Others and The Science Of Sleep, but I mean older).

4) Look at some telly shows like The Sopranos and The US version of the Office (as Ruud would say, surprisingly un-shite).

5) Continue ongoing things like The Greatest Lines In Movies and I Love... (plus adding I Hate... for those inexplicably popular things that are pish).

6) Get in a lather about Machine Girl, only to find out it's utter crap when it finally arrives!

7) More big articles. Looking at things like retrospectives of directors (Coens, Peter Jackson, Hayoa Miyazaki), proper grown-up serious stuff (such as a look at the horror genre today in a return to my dissertation subject, just need to force myself to read that again!), and funny ones too (a tribute to an 80's guy we all know and love, just don't put him in the corner).

8) More videos. And I mean self-produced. At the moment all I have personally is a camera phone (as you can tell from the three videos so far posted it's shit) but would like to get a decent digital one and maybe do some video material, such as reviews and skits, or just general stream of consciousness rambling.

Basically what I'm saying is 9) Make Splice better. It'll be 1 in March and I'd like to believe that by then every attempt is being made to make this a cracking wee film blog site.

Thanks for listening,

Big Red

P.S. 10) Get Colin's Bear Movie made into a major motion picture!

Enchanted

this may seem like a strange film to be my first Splice review considering anyone who knows me or has read my other stuff will know that im a bit of a mans man and all that type of guff but i shall plod on regardless.



the reason i am reviewing this is basically cos its new(ish) and i have seen it, and this doesnt regularly happen. generally they are on itv2 before i get seeing them or have sat in cellophane on my dvd shelf for months before i feel like i have the time to watch a film, take a shower, make my dinner and generlly fuck about before i have to go to my work. not that i dont watch many films but i always feel time is constraining me. i digress.



the reason i have seen it is actually the reason i dont get to see many new films, wrap your mind around that one sports fans. basically the girlfriend wanted to see it, and that is a rarity cos she hates the cinema, so in an effort to do something i like i take the opportunity and go. at this point i can point out that i have seen some total trash in my time visiting my local odeon, sweet home alabama, dire because a film about the deep south had no rednecks, legally blonde 2, might have been alright had i seen the first one, aye right, it was pish, van wilder: party liason, actually this was my pick but i am blaming the girl because she offered no static to going meaning she probably wanted to see it too. its total garbage by the way. you must see a pattern emerging, the dreaded chick flick. so enchanted falls into this area of expertise quite easily, also i had an alterior motive, i had been working non stop all week so thought i could get some kip at the pictures and also if she gets to pick this time then i get next pick (within reason of course, im not evil!)



enough of the explanations here, down to the film, enchanted when all is said and done is surprisingly unshite, in fact i actually enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone. i havent lost my bollocks by the way, they are still intact, i still like football and fighting and making things from wood, you know manly stuff but enchanted ist half bad.

its the story of a girl who is to marry her prince in a cartoon land called something i cant remember but she is called gisele i remember that. the prince is called edward, see i definitely saw it! this would be princess is duped into believing a wicked witch and is pushed into a well which spits her out into modern day new york. and here it gets good because basically its funny as anything. the things that are acceptable in the cartoon world is laughable in new york the singing is a pish laugh and her attempts at cleaning are quality, but her clothes making skills are fantastic, the full thing is a fantastic mcikey take of the princess films disney have been famous for for decades.

but the prince, oh the prince, he is priceless, when he comes to save the day in real life new york it is brilliant, his gallantry and regallity dont come accross too well there, in fact he cames accross as a arrogant prick and its fantastic to watch, he calls everyone peasants which i though was great.

the acting in it is quality, amy adams should get the oscar for playing gisele because she is wonderful. james marsden as the prince is also great and hams it up brilliantly, i really didnt want to like him since i think he is uber pish in everything else he does so a pleasant surprise. patrick dempseys good, the weans good, timothy spalls good, the chipmunks good, they are all good, the films good. except susan sarandon who is hardly in it but is mince when she is.

in fact susan sarandon as the queen/old hag is the let down of the film as the ending featuring her is pretty mince, but i suppose its a kids film and needs to be wrapped up in a manner they understand and the adults are just their to get the subtle pisstakes of the genre and pay for the tickets and the popcorn! i did both.

all in all its good and pretty funny. i think my orginal description sums it up perfectly so i will use it again. Enchanted: surprisingly unshite.

Ruud Kerouac

coming soons

i love these at the beginning of films. though now your a bit older and read the paper and magazines you can more or less guess whats coming up, it was all so much simpler and more enjoyable as a pup when going to see Spiceworld: the movie (alright i wasnt that young) or mighty Ducks, which was actually called we are the champoins when i went to the pictures to see it, or other such films i went to the pictures to and flung sweeties about like a brat. anyway, this isnt about that, tho it possibly should be.

this is actually about what is coming up from ruud kerouac in the coming month.

reviews of enchanted (surprisingly unshite), grindhouse (finally) i am legend (miby) and some more.
my overview of christmas telly films (1 film)
a breakdown of sports films (if i can be fucked)
the forty best 80s films as voted by viewers of channel 5 and some paper i cant remeber which; the verdict.

and also i memorable think back to things i remember going to the pictures to see when younger. some lovely anecdotes ahoy. my wee introduction has got me in the mood.

it may have came toyour attention that i provide a scant amount of subject matter on this site and so my promises are probably being laughed up the sleeve at (surely thats not a phrase?!) but worry ye not, new yr new ruud.

good day.

ruud kerouac

Please Make This!

Early contender for film of the year, Pixar better raise their game:



atticusbird182's description on the video page on YouToss:

To all those who are wondering, Colin got an A in this course.

This is my friend Colin's bear animation. And this video is genius I can't stop laughing. So here you can laugh too. You have to listen to it with sound, and watch it twice cause the second time is way better.

So this video was created by a third year Game Development student at UOIT. This is the final animation for an Animation Arts class. My friend Colin used all the techniques that were taught by this professor. And as you can see, he made the best animation with what was taught. Seriously, it's genius.

The song is "Funky Monkey Dance" from Mother 3

This was not for an Animation program. It was one class, for one semester.

Just imagine that lasting 90 minutes!

Cheers to Samtaco on the MST3K Discussion Board for this gem!

The Bourne Invincibility

So did Jason Bourne get some kind of implant in his neck to prevent whiplash? Watch how many times he deliberately smashes into other cars at speed:



Maybe he had a Q type figure after all! The fourth Bourne film will involve ejector seats, breathing apparatus and a bald villain with a cat. There's a good chance than that Paul Greengrass won't be directing.

Teeth Trailer

I just don't know what to make of this:



Something is wrong with Dawn O' Keefe,
Turns out her fanny has teeth!

Again, thanks to my mate Euan!

For Your Consideration

There's something about For Your Consideration that just doesn't work. Christopher Guest films are usually immense fun combining quirky characters with mundane situations such as dog shows and community theatre. The acting troupe that appears in them is also universally excellent at both comic acting and improvisation.

With For Your Consideration we have a slightly higher concept for the setting, Hollywood, and in particular the making of a shoddy film that has Oscar buzz connected to it. As for the characters, most are pretty ordinary. There are no Gerry Flecks with his two left feet in For Your Consideration. Rather there's a collection of journeyman actors, the older ones never that good at their craft and bitter and disappointed that their dreams never quite came true, the younger ones clearly starting out on that same path. The other characters are given so little time that even if there is quirky potential, Guest's awful director Jay Berman, John Michael Higgin's clearly unstable Corey Taft, it ultimately ends up unfulfilled.

Another problem lies in that some of the best comic performers in the group are left with minimal screen time. Jennifer Coolidge, Jim Piddock, Ed Begley Jr. and Michael McKean are barely seen, Piddock and McKean's characters are utterly forgettable, while Begley gets left with the gay makeup artist, a one-note, lazy creation. In Whitney Coolidge has to play the same character she did in Best In Show and A Mighty Wind, so while there are some excellent moments from her, we've seen it all before.

Thankfully there's the, what Guest calls, the "Willard Factor". Fred Willard again steals the show as the presenter of an E!-type programme, along with the wonderful Jane Lynch. These two are such expert performers that they play off of each other brilliantly. Their scenes are the funniest of the movie. Also with the more serious storyline about jaded actors having their hopes raised by internet buzz Catherine O'Hara, Harry Shearer and Parker Posey are all excellent. Much had been made about the casting of Ricky Gervais, but he is completely forgettable thanks to, as he admits himself, being poor with improvisation. the inspired casting of a British stand-up comes in the form of Nina Conti. She's only in the film about three minutes, but thanks to the fact that she is playing a weather girl with a monkey puppet, which is actually her stand-up act, she injects the bizarre so obviously missing from the film. She is a riot because she's allowed to do her own thing. In the deleted scenes on the DVD she is given two scenes where she does just that to an even greater extent than she does in the film. The second is about five minutes of her just performing with the monkey puppet to camera. It's easily the funniest thing on the whole package.

And it is in these deleted scenes the real problem with For Your Consideration is brought to the forefront. They turn out to be funnier than pretty much anything actually in the film. The reason for this is that like previous films from Christopher Guest the performers are allowed to just let go. He turns the camera on and they improvise. Too often during the actual film this does not happen. It's telling that Guest claims to have spent a year editing For Your Consideration. The result is that the film is too tight. Guest's movies tend to benefit from being loose affairs, allowing the performers room to create, this is evident with the success of Guest influenced Knocked Up. It appears that Guest has tried too hard with For Your Consideration. Fair play to him for maybe having the desire to do something different but this is not a big enough step away from his other stuff, rather it just plays like a mis-step version of the usual type of film he makes. As it stands For Your Consideration just isn't funny enough.

The Simpsons Movie Redux

So now for a proper review of it after my slovenly attempt after having seen it at the pictures. This is a review of the DVD as a whole as there are many interesting little things in there.

Shameless cash in vid:



See it's tie-in crap like that that ruins movies. Oh, and here's my "Simpsonized" version:

That's the power of advertising for you!

The cash ins. The test audiences. Many people have complained about The Simpsons Movie and if you want to find what went wrong those are two things that spring to mind after listening to the DVD commentary. It's a movie designed for the casual fans, the sort of people who eat Burger King because The Simpsons told them to or sit in test audiences.

Ah, the test audiences. They caused that awful original version of Blade Runner. They cocked up MST3K: The Movie, depriving us of seeing the finest scene in it. Time and again during the commentaries on The Simpsons Movie DVD the writers and directors talk about alternate scenes and lines cut from the film because they didn't play well with the test audiences. The problem is that many of ideas sound hilarious. But ah well, at least with a shiny disc that can contain hunners o stuff we'll get to see all of those bits cut out. Nope. The disc seems to have been created for the same casual fans, and as such there are only about five minutes of scenes, the only one that's good being when Homer gets a lift back to Springfield in the back of a sausage truck. The joke's obvious but thanks to Hank Azaria it's hilarious. The disc is exceptionally light given the usual bundles of extras found on The Simpsons season sets. Like someone who would sit in a test audience would watch deleted scenes anyway. The stuff that was animated should have been put on there. Too many concessions were already made during the film (President Schwarzenegger instead of Wolfcastle anyone?).

But what of the actual film as it stands. From what I've already written it sounds like I hated it. That is untrue. I've now seen it three times and have found myself in hysterics each and every time. The simple fact is that the film is brilliantly funny. It's also tightly scripted with pretty much every seemingly throwaway joke coming back to prove it's worth with a payoff, such as pretty much every incident in the first twenty minutes. Many have complained about the fact that the actual is taken away from Springfield, but this is a movie and so the script needed something bigger. Nobody complained when South Park descended into Armageddon being brought on by a war between Canada and the USA.

Yes it has its faults, most characters are barely seen even though the incidental are just important to The Simpsons success as the eponymous family, and too much sway was given to the test audiences and the people who won't get the Springfield Gorge crashed ambulance joke. But at the end of it all it's a very good, very funny movie and it appears that a lot of the backlash against it has come from people who have been waiting nineteen years for this. With that sort of build up there was no way it could live up to those expectations.