This week’s BingeViews is a special, one film edition for The Disaster Artist. Fresh off a screening, Chad C joins me to discuss his thoughts on The Room, The Disaster Artist biography by Greg Sestero and the film it’s based off of.
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This column will introduce you to the most popular movies that are coming out in theaters this weekend and why you should go see them. Which one will you see?
Reasons to see this:
The Dressmaker is about a woman who returns to her small rural town to right some wrongs, as well as transforming the local women with her dresses. Starring in this drama is, Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth, Hugo Weaving, Judy Davis, and more. The director and screen writer is Jocelyn Moorhouse, who has directed Proof and How to Make an American Quilt. I guess Moorhouse likes her sewing. Now, make your way to see The Dressmaker.
Reasons to see this:
Goat tells the story of a 19 year old student, pledging for a fraternity that his brother is a part of. However, the hazing during the pledge is very extreme and may come between the brother’s relationship. The two brothers are played by Ben Schnetzer (Warcraft: The Beginning) and Nick Jonas. Yup, a Jonas brother. James Franco is also in this movie as well as one of the producers. Directing this fraternity drama is Andrew Neel. Neel has directed several shorts and documentaries. If you’re not pledging this weekend, go check out Goat.
Reasons to see this:
Denzel in a Western? Go to the theater now. Ok, I’ll write a little more. This is a remake from the original 1960 film. The story is about seven gunmen who join forces to help a poor village against thieves. The cast includes, Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Byung-hun Lee(I Saw the Devil), Peter Sarsgard, and more. Directing this western is Antoin Fuqua. Fuqua has directed Training Day, Shooter, The Equalizer, Southpaw, and many more. This will be the 3rd film Fuqua and Denzel have worked together. Go see this magnificent movie seven times in the theater.
Reasons to see this:
This animated feature film is about Storks, who are now delivering packages instead of babies. However, when a baby order comes in, the birds must fix the error by delivering the baby. Lending their voice, we have, Andy Samberg, Jennifer Aniston, Ty Burrell, Kelsey Grammer, Key, and Peele. The two directors on this animated flick are Nicholas Stoller and Doug Sweetland. Stoller is the writer of Storks and has directed Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek, Neighbors 1 & 2. Sweetland has animated for Toy Story 1 & 2, A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles. Don’t be a dork, go see Storks this weekend.
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You didn’t really think that simply because it’s a new year I’d get rid of that logo, did you?
Happy New Year and welcome to the first 2015 edition of Working the Weekend with Luke here at Binge Media. The holiday season is now over so take the damn lights and tree down and get your ass ready to go back to work. I’ve had somewhat of a busy week with my kids and a little travel for the New Year, but that didn’t stop me from watching 29 episodes of Breaking Bad. Yes, I know I’ve got a problem but AMC had a marathon and I don’t sleep that well these days. But you certainly don’t need a breakdown of that, so I was looking for something to write about this week to really get 2015 off to a strong start, so I figured it was time to get to this…….
But instead of just giving you a few quick opinions on the flick and moving on, I thought it might be nice to have somebody actually interview me about The Interview. And seeing how this is an obvious take on when Dennis Rodman visited North Korea, I’ve brought in our brilliant writer from Binge Sports to interview me about…..well, The Interview.
SPOILERS AHEAD….THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING!!!
BS: Thanks for bringing me in for the first 2015 Working the Weekend with Luke. It’s really nice to be here.
WTWWL: And I thank you for taking the time to be here. I really enjoy reading your stuff. I dug The Best of 2014 piece. I mean, it seemed a little lazy that you couldn’t come up with something completely original for an end of the year piece, but it was fun enough and completely agree with your pick for sports story of the year.
BS: Yeah, I know it wasn’t as good as that kiss-ass Thank You piece that you wrote last week, but I do my best. Did you at least vote for the NFL and College Football Playoff winners over the past week?
WTWWL: I did. I never miss a fan vote.
BS: Well good. Let’s get to the topic at hand. The Interview. What did you think?
WTWWL: Well, I keep going back and forth with it. I thought it had some really funny parts to it, but it also dragged at points. And if you really know me, then you know I really want to punch James Franco in the face.
BS: Oh, I know what you mean. You know, I think you and I have a lot in common. I know I gave you shit just a minute ago, but I swear that sometimes when I read your column, I think to myself that I would’ve written exactly the same things. But let’s move on. You can’t tell me that you didn’t love the very beginning of the movie.
WTWWL: The beginning may be the best part. I mean, you get the little girl singing the hilarious song about America and it really does get your attention quickly.
BS: You’re right, but you know that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the Eminem scene.
WTWWL: No, I figured that’s where you were going and that’s what I was really referring to. It is absolutely hysterical. I’m really happy that I didn’t know about that scene going into it. Even if I had hated the rest of the movie, this scene made the watch worth it.
BS: And did you see the stuff that they had on the screen?
WTWWL: That was almost as funny as the dialogue itself. “Cleaning Out His Closet: Finds Himself”. Awesome.
BS: And they follow it up almost immediately with the Rob Lowe interview from the trailer.
WTWWL: Well, it wasn’t immediately. They first go to that 1000th episode party where my disdain for Franco comes into play. I know the last part of that scene is necessary to bring the whole “serious journalist” thing into play for Rogen, but the whole Lord of the Rings thing that comes before that just annoys me. Actually, there’s way too many references throughout the whole movie, but that’s just me and my dislike of the franchise, I guess. But yes, the Rob Lowe scene was still pretty funny.
WTWWL: The other one that made me laugh for no particular reason was the Joseph Gordon-Levitt cameo. He didn’t even say one word and I laughed my ass off. I mean, he’s just sitting there in a cage with puppies. I do love how Rogen can get these guys to come in for a day for stuff like this.
BS: That was pretty damn funny. I read that somewhere there was a Kevin Federline sighting in the movie too. Did you spot him?
WTWWL: I did not, but I really have no comment on Kevin Federline anyway. Maybe I’m still holding a grudge.
BS: Let it go brother. You can’t still be into Britney after all these years, can you?
WTWWL: No comment. Let’s just get back to the movie, shall we?
BS: Hey, I get it. You may have some issue there, but hey, I’ve still got a thing for Britney too. There’s no need to be embarrassed about it. And speaking of hot chicks, how do you like Lizzy Caplan?
WTWWL: I like her, but I always think she’s a Deschanel sister. Every time.
BS: Yeah, I can see that too. How’d you like her in the flick?
WTWWL: I thought she was okay. Obviously, the CIA is necessary for the storyline, but through no fault of hers, I didn’t think the scene at the CIA Headquarters was funny at all. And even before that, when she and her partner first show up, were we really shocked that we had to listen to Rogen and Franco talk about drugs? Or that we went through a couple of pointless scenes of them partying? You like drugs. We got it. And we’ve gotten it for years. Anyway, yeah, the CIA scene isn’t funny. But I’m glad that using ricin to secretly kill somebody isn’t just a Breaking Bad thing. Okay, they probably ripped that off too.
BS: So you’re basically saying that there were at least ten minutes where you didn’t laugh?
WTWWL: Oh, there were more than ten. But yes, those ten were consecutive. But things did pick back up a little once they got to North Korea.
BS: So they finally arrive in Pyongyang. Was the airport scene funny?
WTWWL: Not in the least. I think it’s just the Franco thing here for me.
BS: Okay, just quickly explain your Franco problem for those who don’t know.
WTWWL: I said it earlier, but I just want to punch him in the face. I just don’t think he can act. Sure, he stepped outside of himself for 127 Hours, which I thought was fantastic, but other than that, he hasn’t done much to impress me. I’m betting he’s just an arrogant, self-involved prick that brings nothing to the table.
BS: Do you think that’s maybe why he worked so well for This Is The End and this movie as well?
WTWWL: I know why you would think that, and you may be right. But I loved This Is The End in spite of James Franco, not because of him. Danny McBride was the star of that movie.
BS: I read somewhere that Seth Rogen was actually looking for other actors to play the Dave Skylark role in The Interview.
WTWWL: Funny, I read that too. The name I saw was Matt Damon. That could have been freaking epic. I just think there were so many options here. I think this could have been so much better with somebody else because the script is great. But hey, it is what it is and we just have to deal with it.
BS: Fair enough. Back to the movie. So we’re now in North Korea.
WTWWL: Okay, so we’re now at the compound and the first few minutes are great, especially when the guard eats the ricin strip. I thought that, along with the ensuing questions about his health were great. But then the tiger scene happens.
BS: What’s wrong with the tiger scene?
WTWWL: It’s not funny.
BS: Care to elaborate?
WTWWL: Okay, I take that back. Most of it isn’t funny. There’s one line from it that made me laugh and it’s when Seth Rogen is first putting the new ricin strips up his ass. Now, overall, that really isn’t that funny. But when Lizzy Caplan finally chimes back in with, “The tip is the worst part. Trust me on this”, I admittedly laughed out loud. It’s easily the funniest thing she says in the movie.
BS: Agreed. And then we finally get to the arrival of Kim Jong Un, played by Randall Park, who I thought was great.
WTWWL: I thought so too and he brought it right out of the gate. The introduction to Franco was done to perfection. He’s talking to himself. He’s flustered. It was hysterical.
BS: And the scene in the tank?
WTWWL: Well, it sets up the rest of the movie and gives us some of the best stuff in the movie, but again, it comes from Park. It doesn’t come from Franco. He may get an assist here, but Kim Jong Un is the draw here. I mean, come on, he’s singing freaking “Firework” by Katy Perry. But I will give Franco credit for a perfect delivery on one of the best lines in the movie: “If liking Katy Perry and drinking margaritas is gay, then who wants to be straight?” That shit was funny.
BS: And then we’re on to the scene that in my mind, the entire movie was based on anyway. And that’s the scene at the basketball court. Skylark and Un do actually engage in some actual conversation here and Un’s manipulation of Rodman…..err, Skylark begins. He gives him some more drinks and then really sucks him in with all the women. And I’m betting he got Rodman the same exact way.
WTWWL: Oh, I know that’s how he suckered Rodman in. But the script is really strong here. It actually does portray how Un manages to manipulate people. Everything I’ve ever read, even an article yesterday by an actual North Korean viewer, says that this is what the regime does to impress people. They give no hint that the country is in disarray or that the people are suffering and scared. The image that they like to put off is exactly what is shown in the film. They nailed it here. And they nailed it just a short time later when Un gets drunk and starts spouting off about he will kill a billion people to show the world he’s the man.
WTWWL: And as Franco begins to wise up, the relationship between Rogen and Sook begins to heat up.
BS: I’m surprised we hadn’t gotten to that yet.
WTWWL: Well, I forgot. Sue me.
BS: Did you know that the actress who plays her, Diana Bang, is actually Canadian?
WTWWL: Yeah, I know how to read IMDB too. Can I finish?
(silence)
WTWWL: Thank you. Where was I? Oh yes, the sex scene with Aaron and Sook. A Rogen sex scene is always a fun subject to tackle. Actually, she makes this scene funny. With the “hairy like a bear” and “use your big, fat American teeth” comments, I thought she was a riot. And then Franco comes in and ruins it. I’m kidding on that one, but it was an easy one to take. Actually, he comes in and has arguably the truest conversation in the movie. It’s really short, but it does ring true.
“Kim must die. That’s the American way.”
“How many times must the U.S. make the same mistakes?”
“As many times as it takes.”
BS: Wow, that’s a little….
WTWWL: What? Anti-American? Is it really? Actually, it’s right on the money and I’m glad they wrote that in. There’s actually a few instances where they bash America and I’m okay with it. In a controversial movie like this, you have to be able to show both sides and I think they do that very well.
BS: Fair enough. So Franco’s been duped and now he’s back. The plan is starting to come together as Sook has turned and she and Rogen and Franco begin to devise the plan for the actual interview.
WTWWL: So it’s safe to say they’re all on Team America?
BS: Oh, you’re clever.
WTWWL: Fuck you. That’s funny.
BS: Okay, let’s just finish this up. This is starting to get out of hand.
WTWWL: I know it is. But hey, at least it’s not like listening to a three or four hour podcast. Seriously, who does that? But about the actual interview portion of The Interview, I thought it was done very well, minus the scene in the control room. I know they needed some violence somewhere, but the biting of the fingers? I mean, more Lord of the Rings? Really? But I will admit that I was impressed as Franco flipped the interview. For one brief moment, I bought into it. And then the nonsense started again. It was more Katy Perry (still funny), but then more “pee and poo” jokes.
BS: You didn’t find any of that funny throughout the movie?
WTWWL: For about two seconds early on. But moving on, it was pretty awesome when Franco got shot. I knew he had the bulletproof vest on, because if This Is The End taught us anything, it’s that the big scene at the end of their movies are already told to us earlier on. So I knew that was coming and I knew the rest was coming. The tunnel, Seal Team Six, the boat, the whole thing. And the whole thing with the dog was just stupid.
BS: What about the actual death of Kim Jong Un?
WTWWL: I thought it was done pretty nicely. I really dug the camera work as it swung around for the badass shot of him standing and looking down. And the death itself was quite hilarious. The slow version of “Firework” as the rocket approaches the helicopter. Nice.
BS: And that’s pretty much it.
WTWWL: Throw in the scene at the end when Franco is reading from the tell-all that he wasn’t supposed to write and yep, that’s it.
BS: Okay, so give me the overall feeling because you were just all over the place with this.
WTWWL: I know I was, but it’s almost as if I’ve got two different opinions on the matter, so you can’t blame me for that. Part of me really wants to think it’s the funniest movie in years, but my hatred for Franco just won’t let me do it. I think the script was pretty good. Yes, Rogen gives us pretty much what we’ve come to expect and although I think he’s got more range than he lets on, it works here. But replace Franco with somebody like Damon and I would have enjoyed it so much more. The cameos are great, but there are too many dry spots to consider it a great comedy.
BS: So put a number on it for me. You know that’s what the people want.
WTWWL: I’m going to have to go with a 6.5/10. It’s nowhere near as good as This Is The End, but it’s still twice as good as Pineapple Express, which was just absolutely stupid and awful.
BS: You mean as awful and stupid as the idea to do this interview was?
WTWWL: Worse….and that’s pretty damn bad.
Thoughts? Comments? Give me your take on The Interview or this interview below or as always, hit me up @THElukenorris. Happy 2015!
Welcome to the September 28th edition of Working the Weekend with Luke. Hopefully, your part of the world is as beautiful as mine has been this weekend. Leaves are turned and falling to the grass which makes for some nice piles for my daughters, yet it’s warm enough to put on the shorts. So I hope you’re making the best of the good weather if you have it. I know I’d like to, so I’ll get to a few things and let you be on your way.
NEIGHBORS
So I finally got around to watching Neighbors last night. Between two kids and work and the outrageous pricing, I really don’t get to the theater much anymore, so even as excited as I was when I saw the trailer earlier this year, I decided to wait until the DVD release. Now, the way it usually goes with me and comedies is that they continue to get funnier with more viewings and I’m hoping this one follows that same recipe, because the first showing left me wanting a little more from it.
I should have known better than to expect something different than usual from Seth Rogen’s acting, so that one is on me, but it’s starting to get a little tiresome. Even Adam Sandler breaks out of his normal style occasionally, but hey, if I was making that kind of money doing the same shit over and over, why change it up?
I will say that I enjoy Dave Franco much more than his brother. He’s got some really good scenes in the movie and any chance I have to take a shot at James Franco, I’m going to take it. So that’s really all for that.
The most pleasant surprise of Neighbors, however, is Zac Efron. I think he makes the entire movie work and is just straight up hysterical. From the opening to the dance-off (which is a really good scene overall) to the end, he played this part perfectly. Hopefully, he continues to keep doing things like this, because I think he’s got a real knack for it.
Overall, I did like Neighbors. I just don’t think I love it yet. But hey, it won’t keep me from watching it over and over until I do.
BINGE MEDIA SPORTS IS NOW ON TWITTER
If you’re new to this column, then you may not know that I’m also the writer for Binge Media Sports. Actually, I wrote a little piece on some MLB topics just yesterday and if you missed it, just click HERE to check it out.
The big news today is that this morning, Binge Media Sports now has its own Twitter account. So if you’d like to add a little more social media to your life, look no further than @BingeSports. I’ll keep you posted on the world of sports and when I can, send out some live tweets during the big events. Binge Media Sports. All the balls. All the time.
TRILOGY COUNTDOWN
After taking a week off, the trilogy countdown continues today with #4. On a quick side note, I want to thank all of you who took the time to read last week’s edition. If you missed it, I wrote about the two year anniversary of my father’s passing and did a Top 10 list about the movies that I connect to him. You can check it out HERE.
But now on to the countdown.
#10-THE INFERNAL AFFAIRS TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE
#9-THE NAKED GUN TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE
#8-THE LECTER TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE
#7-THE MAN WITH NO NAME TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE
#6-THE KARATE KID TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE
#5-THE BACK TO THE FUTURE TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE
#4-THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY
BATMAN BEGINS, THE DARK KNIGHT, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
If you know me, then you know I prefer DC to Marvel, even with all the success Marvel is having right now. It’s mainly due to my infatuation with Superman, but there’s no Superman trilogy so I’ve got Christopher Nolan’s trilogy at #4.
After the monstrosity that was Batman & Robin which gave us Batnipples and the third Caped Crusader in four movies, the franchise was in desperate need of a reboot and we got a good one. But who would be the new Bruce Wayne? Who had the face and the talent to play a rich guy with a secret?
Patrick Bateman…err, Christian Bale was the answer. We got an all new origin story in Batman Begins and early on, we knew that this was going to be a lot darker than the previous versions we’d seen. And we got some Liam Neeson and Ken Watanabe to boot, not to mention Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman.
And I haven’t even mentioned Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon, which really revived his career, and I think we can all be thankful for that. Throw in Cillian Murphy’s chilling portrayal as Scarecrow and you’ve got yourself one damn fine opener.
So how do you follow up a good movie? With a great one, of course. The Dark Knight is probably the best of the trilogy and gives us a few new problems to deal with. He wouldn’t have been my first choice, but Aaron Echkart did a great job as Harvey Dent a/k/a Two-Face. Christian Bale continued to do a great job as Bruce Wayne/Batman, although I can’t understand why he continued to talk in the Batman voice to Rachel, but I suppose that’s neither here nor there. But let’s be honest. What makes the movie great is the guy that nobody wanted for the villain.
Remember when word got out that Heath Ledger had been cast to play Joker? Remember how many people hated the choice? Oops. Ledger was brilliant and there’s not much more to say than that.
Now, I know most people were disappointed with The Dark Knight Rises? I will admit that it wasn’t as good as the second film, but I really enjoyed it. Maybe it’s because I could look at this all day…..
….or maybe it’s because Tom Hardy is a straight-up badass as Bane…..
….but I thought this was a great ending to a great trilogy. Are there a few questions that may need answering? Sure. But as a whole, The Dark Knight Trilogy was beautifully written, perfectly cast, and greatly executed. It’s got the ability to stand on its own as a story and you really don’t have to compare it to any other Batman that we’ve seen. But we all know that’s not going to happen as we know what we’re getting next year.
My guess is that the same people who are bashing Affleck are the same ones who were bashing Ledger. But that’s another topic for another day.
That’ll do it for this week’s edition of Working the Weekend with Luke. Make sure to check back next week as the countdown gets animated next week with #3. Again, don’t forget to start following Binge Media Sports on Twitter and while you’re there, hit me up @THElukenorris.
But before I go, you know you want your Beverly Hills, 90210 clip of the week. Yep, it’s from the pilot and yep, Brandon’s hair is dope.
This week was re-watch city for yours’ truly. Between the flurry of family gatherings (seriously, why do these things come in waves every year?) and the work/school schedule, it’s amazing I managed to check these out. But here we go:
I had the great pleasure of revisiting one of my all-time favorite films, Glengarry Glen Ross, this past week. If you haven’t seen it, Glengarry concerns a group of salesmen and the “hell” they live in, essentially sweet-talking people into real estate purchases for a living. Based on the play of the same name, there is one crucial difference between the original stage play and the film, and that difference is Alec Baldwin. I’ve written about Baldwin on this site before, singing his praises in this film, but his one scene almost overshadows all the great things going on after he departs. When your cast consists of Kevin Spacey, Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alan Arkin and Ed Harris, you can’t help but expect great things. Fortunately for us this film delivers, giving each actor his moment to shine by the end of the flick. It’s always great to revisit a movie that you loved at some point in your life but, for whatever reason, haven’t experienced in a long time. This movie did that for me in spades. See it now, and Always Be Closing.
The Strain has finally been unleashed, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the season opener. I’m a fan of the book (haven’t read books 2 or 3 yet) and feel they really nailed the casting, especially for Abraham. Maybe it’s just because I love the actor but he really conveys that world-weary, I-don’t-give-a-fuck attitude perfectly. I also like how brutal the one kill we see is. I know that vampires have been watered down in recent years and us fanboys have been clamoring for someone to make them into soulless killing machines again. The good news is I think the show-runners understand Del Toro and Hogan’s story well enough to appreciate that aspect, so we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief (for now). Here’s hoping it continues to entertain.
You see the smile on Quint’s face? That’s the look of a satisfied man. That’s the look of a pimp gettin’ paid. That may be my favorite frame from Jaws, a flick that I got to project at a cookout this past weekend for friends and family. While I’ve seen this way more than Glengarry, this flick never fails to solidify its spot high on my list of all-time favorite movies. Like a good piece of art should, it challenges me, as a viewer, to constantly find new and interesting things about it. I think more than anything I noticed the brilliant “aww-shucks” performance of Roy Scheider. I used to consider his arc to be sort of telegraphed in but there’s a lot more subtlety to what he does than Shaw or Dreyfuss that people tend to miss. Anywho, great film and a great time. P.S.: Don’t every try to hook up a projector and speakers after you’ve drank eight beers. It’s way harder that way.
Whenever I see a film that I consider truly great, it always takes me some time to appreciate and understand it for what it is. I remember walking out of the theater when I saw There Will Be Blood and spending most of my next few days really absorbing and interpreting the flick. That movie ended up ranking as a top-10 favorite film for me. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (DOTPOTA for short, kinda) had a lasting impact on me that has me still thinking about the film. Science fiction, at least quality science fiction, might be my favorite overall movie genre because of how bold and unique the stories can be. The original Planet of the Apes is unquestionably a great film that is still entertaining today. The sequels, as well as the subsequent tv show, cartoon and remake all focused on the kitchyness of dressing up a bunch of actors as apes without really using the premise to say anything worthwhile with the themes or tone of the stories. Cut to 2011, I’m sitting in a crowded theater and the credits begin for Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I was intrigued, admittedly, by Andy Serkis’ involvement with the flick and really nothing else, so the girlfriend and I went out opening night to see the flick. I expected some good CGI and maybe a good action scene or two. What I got was a poorly acted (sorry Franco, love you anyways) but very well laid out plot that seemed at once logical and realistic. Gone was the ridiculous undercurrent of apes taking over the planet. By focusing on the disease aspect of the pandemic, it made the film seem more adult and more plausible than any of the other spinoffs and sequels. But Rise had to be a fluke. After all, studios can’t make 7th or 8th sequels of films and have them be good. Or can they?
DOTPOTA is what all of us movie buffs want out of a summer flick. It has a good cast, a logical chain of events, some amazing effects, a truly incredible character in Caesar, and, ultimately, expands on the first film in a lot of great ways. While the first film laid the foundation of the apes background and Caesar’s development, this one focuses on the apes civilization and their inevitable conflict with humans. Matt Reeves did a phenomenal job making every scene count and getting the most out of what he had to play with. I can’t recommend this film highly enough, see it if you haven’t.
That’s it for this week, True Bingers. Be sure to keep an eye out for The Strain commentaries starting this week as well as our sports round-ups, the rest of the boys’ blogs and maybe a review or two. Binge on!
That’s right. Until I can figure out something else to lead with, you’re going to keep getting the BREAKING BAD version of my name, so just learn to live with that. Welcome to the second installment of “Working the Weekend with Luke”. If your weekend is going well, great. If not, then get better friends. Luckily, I have some good ones and spent the first part of my weekend playing golf, drinking beer, camping, and drinking more beer. I suppose I can spend the rest of it here.
SEINFELD: 25TH ANNIVERSARY
Okay, I should have covered this last week to be closer to the actual date, but I was busy with the intro and all that, so sue me. But we’ll go ahead and celebrate the fact that this month 25 years ago, SEINFELD premiered on NBC, which was actually called THE SEINFELD CHRONICLES at the start. Now, there are two kinds of people in this world. There are people who like SEINFELD and people who don’t. I, for one, have always loved it. Whether you like it or not, you know you’ve seen it. For you young folks, just turn on TBS in the evening. I still catch it from time to time and I still think it’s funny as hell. Okay, Michael Richards turned out to be a racist and Jason Alexander tried 48 more sitcoms after this one, but Julia Louis-Dreyfus (who is still hot) is doing some great shit with her life. And honestly, I still think Elaine is the best female character in the history of the sitcom. Okay, the finale was fucking awful, I’ll give you that one. But this show was actually ahead of its time. They pulled off an entire episode about jerking off….in the 90’s before TV threw all their rules out the window. I know what some of you say…it’s just a group of selfish, sociopathic people that don’t give a damn about what happens to anybody outside of their circle. Sound familiar?
Exactly. And if you took nothing else from SEINFELD, take this. Among the numerous guest stars throughout the nine seasons, you may notice one that used this show as a springboard to a decent career.
Happy 25th Anniversary SEINFELD!
HONEST TRAILERS
Okay, I know I’m late to the party on this one, but for the first time this week, I discovered HONEST TRAILERS on Youtube. Holy shit, are these fucking great or what? I’m not one to spend countless time on the Internet just watching clips and reading memes, but I couldn’t stop. I came across it while reading a quick article about the 20th Anniversary of FORREST GUMP, which I was going to write about, but I’m not going to cover two anniversaries in one column. So I started with that one and just kept going. There is a ton of them on there. From the DARK KNIGHT to FROZEN and so many others, just check it out. If you haven’t seen them, here’s the one I started with and you can just take it from there.
GONE GIRL
Speaking of trailers (kick-ass segue), the new trailer for David Fincher’s GONE GIRL hit this week. I’m a huge fan of Fincher’s work. Obviously, FIGHT CLUB is awesome, but even the dramatic stuff like THE SOCIAL NETWORK or THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON is really solid. Hell, I’m still pissed that they don’t seem to be moving forward with the sequels to THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. I just like the way the guy tells a story. I’m sure this one will be great as well. And yes, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are back with the music.
JAMES FRANCO
Seriously, I can’t be the only one that thinks this guy is just a pretentious douchebag. Now when I first saw him as James Dean back in the day, I thought he was awesome.
But now? I can’t fucking stand him. Sure, 127 HOURS was good and I will admit that THIS IS THE END was awesome, but not because of him. And the latest news from Franco this week is that he has now released a collection of poetry. I have nothing against poetry. I’ve actually been published in a couple of poetry collections myself (okay, now maybe I sound like the pretentious douchebag), but have you read any of his shit? It’s really, really awful, especially the one concerning Heath Ledger. It’s just the latest awful thing to come from this guy. I don’t tell people who to like and who not to like, but if you think this guy is talented, then I’ll tell you the same thing I would tell to James Franco himself: OPEN YOUR FUCKING EYES!
And now, a big reveal. If you know me, you know I’ve got a few guilty pleasures in life. I will share with you the most embarrassing one. The 90’s are by far my favorite decade in pop culture since I’ve been alive, so I will admit that I watched all ten seasons of BEVERLY HILLS 90210 and I know for a fact I’m not the only one here at Binge Media that digs it. So to close each week, I’ll give you the “90210 Clip of the Week”. We’ll start with the opening credits from Season 1. Don’t fucking judge me.
Look for new stuff at Binge Media Sports this week as I cover the MLB All-Star Game and I’ll be back again next weekend with more of whatever this is. Comments? Questions? Judgments? Leave them below or follow me and tweet @THElukenorris.
You gotta be careful with a flick like THIS IS THE END, because it’s easy to fall into the trap of prematurely calling it a classic. The concept, the cast, cameos and even the stakes at play all promise a film that could easily be a total disaster. Instead it soars. It’s one of the funniest comedies I’ve seen in forever, and really pulls the pants down on the tired formulaic schtick that flicks like THE INTERNSHIP keep serving up. This will almost certainly turn out to be the best comedy of the year.
The set up is simple. Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel meet up for a hang out day in L.A. then move onto a party at James Franco’s new house that evening. Tension is set up early with the easy going Rogen just wanting to party and get along; while Baruchel, who comes across more and more like a vacuum packed Christian Slater, is increasingly uncomfortable with the glossy veneer of tinseltown. Before you know it however, petty frustrations have to take a back seat as the Apocalypse, more or less as described in the Bible, starts.
If you’re worried I’ve spoiled anything don’t be; that all happens in the first 20 minutes. After a delightful massacre of a slew of celebrity cameos that includes a memorable turn by Michael Cera playing himself as a coke addled fucktard, we settle into the the core cast, and how they deal with being stuck in a house with limited resources facing the end of the world. James Franco, Craig Robinson, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, Rogen and Baruchel defy the odds by playing hyper-realistic versions of their perceived personas. It could have been a one trick gag that got old quick, but instead they play it perfectly.
The cast gamely allow themselves to be the butt of all manner of jabs, but never fall into caricature. It’s difficult to express how important that is to the film’s success. Nobody’s getting any Oscars from this flick (though we get many a MONEYBALL reference to take the piss out of Hill), but make no mistake. There is a very fine line these guys have to walk for their performances to work, and to a man they do so perfectly.
I want to tread lightly here, because a lot of the joy of the film is discovering its many surprises. Some have already been spoiled in trailers and interviews. Suffice to say a film about the apocalypse should ultimately be pretty epic, and THIS IS THE END does not disappoint in that regard. Quick shout out to the f/x crew who do a better job than some summer blockbusters at making the insane events at play feel grounded.
Of course, the only thing that really matters is how funny it is, and it’s really damn funny. I saw this at a matinee with a theater that was only about a quarter full and found myself lulzing a lot. In a packed theater I expect it would play even better. You’ll miss a ton of jokes because of the laughing, but hey, this is one you’re gonna want to rewatch a ton on DVD anyway to catch all the subtle nods and inside jokes.
So is this the birth of a classic? I think so. Pro tip though, show up early if you want concessions. That line is going to be a long one.