Posts Tagged ‘Arnold Schwarzenegger’

  
Monday, May 25th, 2009

The Bigger Picture: In Defense of McG: Or, Why I’m Not a Movie Critic

by Arend Anton

terminator-salvation1When our esteemed editor and retired slow jam artist Jeff Giles first asked me to contribute to this site, he wanted me to contribute as a movie critic. I believe what he wanted was a “Chuck Klosterman of movies.” Certainly all of my friends would have thought me a perfect fit, but I told Jeff I’d rather do something a little different.

Popdose currently has two fine critics in Robert Cashill and Lance Berry. These are two gentlemen whose opinions I respect and enjoy. Many times, however, I find myself in serious disagreements with them.

I don’t consider myself a critic, though I have agreed to do the occasional DVD review here. Though I argue with my friends incessantly about film, to the point where they are often surprised when I actually like a movie, I don’t want people to think of me as a critic. Often my opinions stem more from feeling than actual critical thought, which may or may not be a good thing.

Say the name “McG” out loud. Sounds pretty stupid, doesn’t it? Now allow your natural reactions be displayed when I tell you he brought us Charlie’s Angels and Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. Are you vomiting yet? Now that you know all that, check out this little movie he just made based on the cult, critical, and fan favorite Terminator movies. (more…)

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Posted in Film, The Bigger Picture | Comments

Friday, April 17th, 2009

Summer Movie Preview: Ten Films I May or May Not Be Looking Forward To

by Lance Berry

Normally Bob Cashill does a top-ten list of films he’s looking forward to each summer and fall. As he’s “out of town” this week (which, in the writing industry, is code for “on a bender and can’t be found”), I’ve been asked to step up to the plate and cover for him while he’s “away.”

I’ve chosen ten summer films — well, nine as far as Hollywood’s definition of summer goes (the beginning of May all the way to Labor Day weekend), so forgive me for cheating with my first choice.  I will now give my reasons as to why I’m either looking forward to these films or hope they die miserable, lonely deaths at the box office. Please be aware that while the majority of release dates have been locked down, film studios are sometimes fickle, and some later dates may be subject to change.

1. The Soloist (April 24), starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr., directed by Joe Wright.

I’ve been looking forward to this film, based on the true story of celloist-violinist Nathaniel Ayers, an extremely talented musician who suffers from schizophrenia, for quite some time in spite of the semi-mediocrity of its trailer. While I’m certain the film will deliver the expected highs and lows of the friendship between Foxx’s Ayers and Downey Jr. as the reporter who befriends him, all replete with the expected script beats (pg. 50: “Have characters realize they’re more alike than different in spite of their dissimilar backgrounds”), the real reason to see this movie is for the act-off between two great thesps, and to begin the debate about which one will deserve to walk home with a statue come next year’s Oscars.

2. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May 1), starring Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber, directed by Gavin Hood.

Yes, this film’s already hit the Internet, so most of you have probably already seen it. I’m waiting till it actually hits theaters, though, because I’d prefer to see the completed effects, thank you very much. Although I don’t understand the fascination with Schreiber (overrated in my book), the real reason for me to see Wolverine is that it’ll be cool to see Jackman as the title character once again. Fanboys and fangirls who vowed to boycott this Fox film due to the studio’s lawsuit brought against Warner Bros. for partial rights to Watchmen profits will more than likely shut the hell up and see it regardless; it could very well be one of the biggest actioners at the box office this year despite its illegal release on the Web. I’m borderline on the story and characters, but I’m looking forward to Jackman’s Wolvie taking a long list of names while he kicks ass.

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Posted in Featured, Featured - Frontpage, Film | Comments

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009

Sugar Water: Break On Through (To Another Side of Acting)

by Robert Cass

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“A liar lies and a thief steals from you, but a hustler gives you something that you don’t mind parting with your money for. You’re entertained by the meal or the sex or the impression that something is going to happen. You’re given a sense of well-being….” –actor Val Kilmer describing porn star John Holmes, who he portrayed in 2003’s Wonderland

Val Kilmer wants to be the next governor of New Mexico. In fact, as he told the Associated Press in a recent interview, “If I run, I’m going to be the next governor.”

That’s the spirit! After all, Arnold Schwarzenegger had never held public office before he became governor of California in 2003, and by most accounts he’s done an admirable job in that post. But Schwarzenegger was always more of a movie star than an actor, and one reason he got to be such a huge international star was because he was a smart businessman (and, by extension, politician). He promoted action films like Total Recall and comedies like Twins with equal amounts of salesmanship and hyperbole, appearing on as many talk shows and in as many entertainment magazines as he could. He knew he wasn’t a great actor, and he knew his fans didn’t want to see him try anything Oscar-worthy, which is why the clip of him playing a pyrotechnic Hamlet in 1993’s Last Action Hero is the best joke in that otherwise misbegotten attempt at melding Schwarzenegger’s two favorite genres. (“To be or not to be,” he says before deciding on “not to be” and detonating the royal castle.)

Kilmer, however, is much more of an actor than a movie star, despite matinee-idol looks and brief brushes with superstardom in blockbusters like Top Gun (1986), in which he played one of Tom Cruise’s rivals, and Batman Forever (1995), where his Batman was overshadowed by Jim Carrey’s Riddler and Joel Schumacher’s campy direction. (To be fair, 2005’s Batman Begins is the only Batman film that focuses more on the title character than the villains. Even last year’s critically adored The Dark Knight gave more screen time to the Joker and Two-Face.) Kilmer decided not to reprise his role for 1997’s Batman & Robin. This probably pleased Schumacher, who returned for the franchise’s fourth installment and told Premiere magazine in ‘97 that “Val is the most psychologically troubled human being I’ve ever worked with. The tools I used to work with him — tools of communication, of patience and understanding — were the tools I use on my five-year-old godson. Val is not just high-strung. I think he needs help. I say this to you only because I have said it to him.”

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Posted in Current Events, Sugar Water | Comments

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

Political Culture: Marriage? Keep It Gay!

by Jon Cummings

Last week, Republicans half a world apart (in more ways than one) showed us the difference between rational, reasoned political thought and unthinking absolutism. In Israel, on the 60th anniversary of that nation’s founding, George W. Bush removed his drool cup just long enough to read a speech equating the diplomatic initiatives favored by Barack Obama with Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement of Hitler in 1938. Meanwhile, in California, the Republican-appointed chief justice of the state’s Supreme Court used a close and nuanced reading of the state constitution to overcome his own reservations, and wound up serving as the swing vote in a 4-3 decision that overturned the state’s ban on marriage rights for gays and lesbians. That same day, governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, also a Republican, said he wouldn’t fight the ruling or support a constitutional amendment that would restore the ban.

This column isn’t about Iran or Obama, so let’s jettison that topic by noting that Bush, like that dope on “Hardball” last week, probably couldn’t pass a pop quiz about 1930s Europe, and almost certainly couldn’t tell you where the Sudetenland is. There is, however, a point to make about tossing around references to Hitler, particularly in Israel. (For Bush to have introduced Hitler into the U.S. presidential campaign in mid-May is like pulling out a “yo momma” insult too early while doin’ the dozens.) Nazi references are a surefire way to cut short a debate, rather than resolve it; they tend to eliminate the potential for rational disagreement, and lead to bouts of outraged name-calling, as we saw last week.

I bring this up because the debate over gay marriage too often begins and ends with this sort of name-calling. Proponents of gay rights are viewed by conservative Christians as “sodomites” who are acting “against God’s will” and are surely “doomed to hellfire.” Opponents of gay marriage are “bigots” who are “on the wrong side of history” and will someday find themselves “in the dustbin of history with Bull Connor” – and even, yes, Hitler. Both sets of characterizations are intended to disparage the morality, even the humanity, of the opposing side – and while they are a natural temptation, they serve only to stifle the debate rather than move it in one direction or the other. (more…)

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Posted in Current Events, Political Culture | Comments