Since I last wrote about the presidential election in this blog (which was August), too much craziness has happened to keep up. Suffice it to say that those who thought Donald Trump would turn into a serious-minded candidate were wrong. As polls show him losing big to Hillary Clinton, the unhinged billionaire is going off … Continue reading Celebrities For and Against Trump
HERE COME THE GRANDPARENTS. THERE GO THE RULES. Artie and Diane Decker (Billy Crystal, Bette Midler) agree to babysit their three grandchildren in Atlanta; since their parenting philosophy differs a lot from their daughter’s (Marisa Tomei), they rarely see the kids. A surprisingly big hit at the box office, which is nice for two older … Continue reading Parental Guidance
The Oscars are on tonight, with Chris Rock as host. It’s the 88th annual event since the first Academy Awards were handed out in 1929. The “show” looked decidedly different then – it was in fact a dinner, the ceremony itself took 15 minutes and the awards had already been announced three weeks earlier. There … Continue reading Highlights from 88 Years of Oscars
SCHOOL NEVER LOOKED THIS SCARY. This prequel to Monsters, Inc. (2001) takes us back to school; the story has our two monstrous heroes meeting for the first time as students attending Monsters University. They take an instant disliking to each other, but are forced to work together as a team when they’re close to getting kicked … Continue reading Monsters University
Neil Patrick Harris is hosting next year’s Academy Awards. Anyone who has seen him helm the Tonys or the Emmys knows that this is good news. I’ll soon get to why, but let us first kick off a list of who’s hosted the past seven years and how they merit: 2008: Jon Stewart – This was … Continue reading The 7 Most Recent Oscar Hosts Rated
There were plenty of jokes about the Emmys airing on a Monday last night. Being bumped from a Sunday because of football is sad – and the show was largely a tepid affair. Even Seth Meyers’s opening monologue was low on big laughs, even though I did like the dig at Duck Dynasty as “the most … Continue reading The Emmys 2014 (Or Was It 2013?)
CAN TWO FRIENDS SLEEP TOGETHER AND STILL LOVE EACH OTHER IN THE MORNING? Rob Reiner’s first idea for a film was rejected by Nora Ephron. They had just had a lunch meeting in New York City together with producer Andrew Scheinman. The purpose was to come up with a project, but it didn’t result … Continue reading When Harry Met Sally: It Had to Be You
I just finished Billy Crystal’s autobiography “Still Foolin’ ‘Em: Where I’ve Been, Where I’m Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys?”, published last year. It comes almost as a companion piece to his one-man play “700 Sundays” where the star goes through the ups and downs of his career and personal life. Much like … Continue reading Crystal Still Foolin’ Us
Today, we celebrate two great talents – Sir Michael Caine, who turns 80, and Billy Crystal, who turns 65. The clip above is a lesson from one of the silver screen’s great actors, Michael Caine, taped in 1986. It’s a workshop on how to act in front of a camera, and Caine is spellbinding, eagerly … Continue reading Caine and Crystal’s Big Birthdays
Christmas Day will see two grand comebacks in theaters… and a battle between the comedies they’re starring in. Barbra Streisand and Bette Midler will duke it out in The Guilt Trip and Parental Guidance. The good news is that neither film is a sequel. The bad news is that neither trailer looks very encouraging. In the … Continue reading We Deserve Better, Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand
Filmmaker and writer Nora Ephron passed away recently at the age of 71. Many were the stars (Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, etc.) who had very nice things to say about Ephron who seemed to have been a pleasure to work with. Movies like When Harry Met Sally… (1989), Sleepless in Seattle … Continue reading When Nora Ephron Was on Top of Her Game
Dredd – Judge Dredd (1995) was a poor adaptation of the comic-book character, featuring Sylvester Stallone. This reboot wants to be better, but the trailer looks like another chapter of the Underworld franchise or some similar second-rate series. Not promising. Karl Urban and Olivia Thirlby in the leads. U.S. premiere: September 21. Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy’s novel … Continue reading New Trailers: Dredd, Anna Karenina, Monsters 2, Django Unchained
2008 was the year when Joaquin Phoenix announced to the world that he’d give up acting and become a rap artist; apparently, this was also a time when he stopped shaving and showering. Eventually, the whole thing was revealed as a stunt for this faux documentary that aims to show how artists are not allowed … Continue reading I’m Still Here
