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1-20 of 24 articles from 2009 « Prev | Next »
Box sets for Christmas | Gift ideas
28 November 2009 4:07 PM, PST
| The Guardian - Film News
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Stumped for what to buy your friends and family this year? Forget the socks and chocs and bubble bath – our critics have chosen 40 of the best music, film and TV box sets
Pop by Kitty Empire
1 The Beatles Remastered Stereo Box Set (Parlophone)
At £145, the Beatles box set probably costs roughly what a small car did in the early 1960s. But the startling detail on these CDs will repay the outlay for Beatles nerds and mere mortals alike. Its sister release, The Beatles in Mono – 1960s scooter prices, at a guess – is even more desirable, audiophiles reckon.
2 Kraftwerk The Catalogue (Mute/Emi)
Eight albums by the electronic Beatles, dating from 1974's Autobahn, all gleamingly remastered. Costing considerably less than one of Ralf Hütter's beloved bicycles, this is the master text of most electronic genres – electro, techno, even hip-hop – today.
3 Spiritualized Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space Deluxe
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Austin Film Fest 09: I laughed till I was Thor. Review of Thor At The Bus Stop
28 October 2009 1:58 PM, PDT
| QuietEarth.us
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Year: 2009
Directors: Jerry Thompson & Mike Thompson
Writers: Jerry Thompson & Mike Thompson
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: Rick McGrath
Rating: 8 out of 10
C/U of a road from the front of a moving car’s Pov. The yellow line flickers. Thunder roars in the distance. We hear a voice:
“I’m just saying it’s weird, man, that’s all.”
“Ok, big deal, it’s weird. So what.”
“So, it’s sad, man, I mean there’s a lot of interesting things going on, but we’re so isolated, so detached that we can’t even tell… and what’s worse? We can tell, and we don’t even care. Nobody cares, and that’s exactly the problem”.
The car slows as it passes what appears to be a big lumberjack partially dressed as a Viking. The suggestion is made that, for example, this guy may be interesting.
“So, what are you suggesting?
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This Week In DVD: October 27th
27 October 2009 10:00 PM, PDT
| FilmSchoolRejects.com
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Rob Hunter loves movies. He also loves working for the BBC where his job entails erasing old show master tapes because they don't have the foresight to know that people may want to watch them again someday. These two joys come together in the form of cash money payments that he receives every week and immediately uses to buy more DVDs. So join us each week as he takes a look at new DVD releases and gives his highly unqualified opinion as to which titles are worth BUYing, which are better off as RENTals, and which should be AVOIDed at all costs.
Click on any of the titles below to magically head over to Amazon.com and pick up the DVD. And don't forget to check out Neil Miller's hilariously titled This Week In Blu-ray column for reviews on the latest high definition Blu-ray releases!
Monty Python: Almost the Truth
Pitch: The surviving members of Python
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- Rob Hunter
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Review: iTunes 99p Rental – And Now For Something Completely Different
21 October 2009 9:57 PM, PDT
| HeyUGuys.co.uk
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As well as music, iTunes does films too, to buy or rent. Rentals usually cost £2.50 to £3.50, but every week those nice chaps (or chapesses) hand select one to be available at a much lower 99p. Every week i review the selection, ‘cos quite often it can be a little obscure…
This week, to celebrate 40 years of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, they’ve chosen the first Python movie 1971’s And Now For Something Completely Different.
Straight off, i should mention that, despite the fact it was released as such, it isn’t actually a movie. To capitalise on their popularity, they re-recorded 90 minutes of their sketches, put a title on it, and released it in theatres. As just a longer collection of their usual tv sketches, with no narrative of any kind weaved through it, it’s impossible to review it as a film.
There are three types of people.
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- Barry Steele
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Cleese: 'Chapman Should Have Been Fixed'
21 October 2009 6:36 PM, PDT
| WENN
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Funnyman John Cleese has opened up about tragic Monty Python pal Graham Chapman in a new documentary, suggesting the late comedian "should have been sent back to the factory and fixed".
Cleese created the comedy troupe with the Life of Brian star, who lost his battle with cancer in 1989, but he now admits he never really understood his friend and found him tough to work with, especially when his well-documented heavy drinking became a real problem.
In a new U.S. TV documentary series, marking the 40th anniversary of Monty Python's Flying Circus, Cleese reveals, "He just didn't work properly... The simple stuff - getting the lines right, hitting his mark, he just was not an efficient creature... He was always late."
Chapman's former partner David Sherlock insists Cleese was "most uncomfortable" around the funnyman after he discovered Chapman was gay.
In the documentary, Month Python, Almost The Truth (The Lawyer's Cut), Sherlock says, "He discovered he'd been working all this time with someone he thought he knew, but now discovered he didn't know."
Cleese admits, "We were all surprised... We didn't mind that he was gay, but we were very, very surprised and I think Graham, sometimes, took the surprise for disapproval."
And Cleese wasn't the only member of the comedy troupe who struggled with Chapman.
Terry Gilliam says, "Graham was just a frustrating person. I never could make out who Graham was."
And Terry Jones adds, "Graham was a mystery... The only times I had lunch with him, we really hadn't got much to say to each other, really."
Michael Palin admits Chapman's drinking problem was a real issue. He recalls, "Sometimes he'd be quite funny and other times... he'd just irritate people for the sake of it."
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Watch This: Eric Idle and The Roots 'Always Look On The Bright Side'
17 October 2009 4:02 PM, PDT
| Cinematical
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I'm not known to be the sentimental type, but occasionally even I can get a little choked up (and trust me it can come at the oddest times). Well, the other night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon I had one of those moments when that goofy little girl I used to be and the goofy grown woman I am today came together to watch Eric Idle perform Always Look on The Bright Side of Life with Fallon's house band, The Roots -- who to my delight joined in on the trademark whistling refrain. The troupe was on Late Night to celebrate their NY Reunion show to mark the 40th anniversary of the comedy troupe and to promote the Pythonathon on IFC this Sunday.
Watching The Life of Brian as a child guaranteed that most of the jokes went right over my head, but it's effect was lasting, and I
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- Jessica Barnes
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And Now For Something Completely Different
16 October 2009 6:00 AM, PDT
| Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
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Monty Python fans rejoice, airing on IFC beginning Sunday is Monty Python: Almost The Truth (Lawyer's Cut), a six-part documentary on the legendary Brit comic troupe. A very thorough examination of the six members (with new, refreshingly frank, interviews from all five living members) directors Bill Jones, Ben Timlett and Alan G. Parker leave no stone unturned as they examine everything from the troupe forming while writing sketches for David Frost, how they came up with the name Monty Python, their fights with the BBC, George Harrison fronting the money to make Life of Brian, and finally what they've done since Python.
IFC also plans on airing episodes of Flying Circus next week as well as their films The Holy Grail, Life of Brian and
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- Jason Guerrasio
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Iiiittttt's....Monty Python's 40th Anniversary
5 October 2009 3:37 PM, PDT
| GetTheBigPicture.net
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And now for something completely different...
Monty Python's Flying Circus, the masterful absurd sketch comedy series, first aired on BBC 40 years ago today. The first episode (October 5, 1969) contained the famous "Funniest Joke in the World" sketch, and two weeks later came "Nudge Nudge." It would be almost two full months before the legendary "Dead Parrot" sketch, one of Python's signature moments.
The series would run for four seasons, after which the ensemble turned their attention to movies, including two undeniable classics, Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Life of Brian, both of which featured the late Graham Chapman in leading roles.
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- Colin Boyd
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Movie Review: The Invention of Lying (2009)
2 October 2009 5:09 AM, PDT
| Rope of Silicon
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Jennifer Garner and Ricky Gervais in The Invention of Lying
Photo: Warner Bros.
Someone told me after watching The Invention of Lying they didn't think the filmmakers knew exactly what kind of film they wanted to make. I don't believe this is the case. Instead, I think co-writers/co-directors Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson knew exactly what kind of film they wanted to make, but instead of taking that idea to the head of the class they stayed in the back row and everything just unraveled.
The idea behind The Invention of Lying is an alternate reality in which not only do people instinctively always tell the truth, they simply have no filter whatsoever. Without reason or request, anything negative about someone will be pointed out at random. No matter how long people have known each other and no matter how cruel. It's a glitch in the premise that does offer some early comedy,
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- Brad Brevet
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The Beatles: Four Fab Performances For Screens Large And Small
9 September 2009 12:00 PM, PDT
| MTV Movies Blog
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I'm not really sure that The Beatles were ever "bigger than Jesus," but they were still kind of a big deal. They made music that will be remembered through the ages and they were the focal point of what we nowadays think of offhandedly as a "pop culture phenomenon," one of the earliest really. Before "Twilight," before Britney Spears, before Michael Jackson... there was Beatlemania.
That said, the Fab Four weren't just musicians. That's what they were known for, sure, but the sort of fame they achieved has a tendency to open doors to other opportunities. Through the years, the four Beatles have all worked in Hollywood to varying degrees. And so, in honor of today's highly anticipated release of "The Beatles: Rock Band" -- not to mention the re-release of their entire catalog, newly remastered -- I give you these four fab screen performances from the Fab Four.
Paul McCartney
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- Adam Rosenberg
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question of the day: What film would you ban, and why?
12 August 2009 7:25 AM, PDT
| www.flickfilosopher.com
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The Independent runs down the list of films that have been banned around the world for such reasons as extreme violence, religious blasphemy, explicit sex, and other outrageousness. They’re all the usual suspects you’ve probably heard about before as controversial: A Clockwork Orange, Monty Python's Life of Brian, Caligula, and so on. I’m not sure what prompted yet another iteration of this list -- perhaps all the hullabaloo that Lars von Trier’s Antichrist is causing; the Times of London even asked last month whether the film should be banned. (The film is currently in theaters in the U.K.; it arrives in the U.S. on October 23.)
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- MaryAnn Johanson
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Monty Python Reunion: The Bright Side of Life
9 July 2009 2:38 PM, PDT
| ScreenRant.com
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Well before the advent of the blog, there was Monty Python. Before the Internet, before video games, before the Walkman, before me, there was Monty Python.
In 1969, Monty Python debuted on BBC with six members: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. In the 40 years since, they have released several films, including The Life of Brian, and The Quest for the Holy Grail, to name a few, not to mention albums, stage productions, and solo endeavors.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the dawn of that new age of comedy. To commemorate this (slightly holy) event, The Independent reports the remaining members of the troupe, sans Cleese, will reunite at the Royal Albert Hall in in the Knightsbridge area of the City of Westminster, London, on October 23rd. Cleese will be unable to attend due to previous engagements, and Graham Chapman passed away in 1989 of spinal cancer.
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- Jacob Waldman
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Monty Python’s Life Of Kickass Comedy To Be Celebrated This Fall
8 July 2009 12:00 PM, PDT
| MTV Movies Blog
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British comedy troupe Monty Python is turning 40 this year! Damn that’s a long time. I didn’t exactly grow up with the Pythons since I wasn’t even a twinkle in my parents’ eyes when they formed. But I discovered “Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail” at a young age and have since voraciously devoured every bit of their material that I could lay my hands on.
To celebrate their waning youthfulness, four of the five members of the troupe will reunite this fall for a musical adaptation of “The Life of Brian.” It won’t be a straight reproduction of the movie for stage, but rather a tweaked musical along the lines of the hit Broadway “Grail” spin-off, “Spamalot.”
The Independent reports that Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam will premiere “Not The Messiah (He’s a Very Naughty Boy)” at London
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- Adam Rosenberg
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Monty Python Turns 40, Plans Reunion and DVD Series
7 July 2009 7:29 PM, PDT
| FilmSchoolRejects.com
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It seems fitting that I was just spending the afternoon the other day watching several hours of behind the scenes features on my Blu-ray copy of Monty Python's Life of Brian, as news from the Python camp today is that the gang is getting back together to celebrate their 40th Anniversary later this year.
According to The Independent, four of the main six stars -- Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam -- will get together for the first time in over a decade to take part in the musical adaptation of Life of Brian, called Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy). John Cleese will be unable to attend due to a previous engagement and as you probably know, Graham Chapman died in 1989.
Idle, who stars in the production which he co-wrote with composer John Du Prez, said: "It is rare you get to be silly on a mass scale. It
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- Neil Miller
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Monty Python Turns 40 & Reunites This Fall
7 July 2009 4:02 PM, PDT
| Cinematical
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Where has the time gone?
The Independent reports that Monty Python will celebrate their 40th anniversary this October. As part of the festivities, Royal Albert Hall will host a one-night-only performance on the 23rd of Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy). You may have heard of this -- it's Eric Idle and John Du Prez's wildly funny 1-hour oratorio based on Monty Python's Life of Brian. But this one-night-only deal is even more irresistible than usual -- Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, and Terry Gilliam will perform in it. Unfortunately, John Cleese can't make it, which is a damned shame.
Nevertheless, here I thought that I was lucky that Idle's first cousin is Toronto Symphony Conductor Peter Oundjian, which led the world premiere to happen right in the T-Dot.
As Idle describes the oratorio: "It ranges in reference from Handel, through a naughty Mozart duet, to the Festival of Nine Carols,
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- Monika Bartyzel
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Pythons to reunite for 'comic oratorio'
6 July 2009 4:50 AM, PDT
| digitalspy
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Four members of the Monty Python team will reunite for a "comic oratorio" based on 1979 movie Life Of Brian, it has emerged. Eric Idle will be joined by Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam, as well as Carol Cleveland and Neil Innes, to perform Not The Messiah (He's A Very Naughty Boy). However, fifth surviving Python John Cleese is unable to attend because of prior commitments, The Daily Telegraph reports. Of the new piece, Idle said: "It ranges in reference from Handel, through a naughty Mozart duet, to the Festival Of Nine Carols, (more)
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- By Mayer Nissim
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Jack Black: 'Year One' is historical document'
20 June 2009 4:46 AM, PDT
| digitalspy
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Jack Black has revealed his belief that new comedy Year One is a "historical document". The Tropic Thunder star said that his upcoming biblical movie, which revolves around two hunter-gatherers deported from their village and summoned upon a voyage through the ancient world, pays homage to Monty Python's Life Of Brian. "It's a big historical document, this movie. I'm in there as this primitive man," he told The Late Show With David Letterman. Black joked: "We filmed it in primitive Shreveport, Louisiana. And in New Mexico, that looked biblical. (more)
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- By Adam Silverstein
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Jack Black Likens Year One to Monty Python's Life of Brian
15 June 2009 5:21 AM, PDT
| Reelzchannel.com
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This morning, Jack Black and Michael Cera were on the CBS Early Show to promote Year One, which will be in theaters Friday.
When asked about the plot, Black made good on his well-known arsenal of musical trivia and referenced a few notes from a Genesis song (get it? Genesis ... movie about prehistoric times?). He then likened the Harold Ramis-directed comedy to another well-known comedy from 30 years ago:
So we're cavemen ... prehistoric dudes, and we're just sort of wandering through Biblical times. A lot like, you know, one of the old Biblical comedies like Life of Brian, in that flavor.
It would probably be foolish to expect Year One to deliver the same level of hilarity as the 1979 movie. That's a tough act to follow. On the other hand, we have to admit that the costumes and set design look very similar.
Compare the two trailers to see what
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- Rich Z Zwelling
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Doc Filmmaker Havana Marking's Top Ten Films of All Time
1 June 2009
| ioncinema
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- Have you ever wondered what are the films that inspire the next generation of filmmakers? As part of our monthly Ioncinephile profile (interview with filmmaker with an upcoming theatrical release), we ask the filmmaker the incredibly arduous task of identifying their Top Ten list of All Time Films. This month, Havana Marking (the documentary filmmaker behind Afghan Star - Zeitgeist Films 06/26/2009) gave us her list (in alphabetical order). We present Havana Marking's Top Ten Films of All Time as of June 2009.Bio: Afghan Star is Havana Marking’s first feature documentary, shot over the 4 months in Kabul. She has produced TV docs (both factual entertainment and one-off polemics) for over 10 years now, although directing is relatively new to her: before As she directed The Crippendales (2007)– a 30min film about the first troupe of disabled strippers winning the Channel 4@Sheffield scheme for New Talent.
Etre at Avoir – Nicholas Philibert
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King Of Kings Tops Jesus Film Poll
12 April 2009 4:05 PM, PDT
| WENN
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Movie legend Cecil B. Demille's The King Of Kings has topped an Easter-flavoured poll to find the best film about Jesus' life.
The 1927 film, starring H.B. Warner, beat director Nicholas Ray's 1961 remake and 1964's The Gospel According to St. Matthew to top Time magazine's new list.
Also making the top 10 are Godspell, The Last Temptation of Christ, Passion of The Christ and even Monty Python's Life of Brian.
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