TGIF! presents...trailer for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"!

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Separated at Birth? Hailee Steinfeld and Sydney Penny.

Steinfeld plays the title role in the True Grit remake, starring along Jeff Bridges (the Coen Brothers said their version was more a retelling of the book and not a remake of the original which starred John Wayne...whatever). Penny starred in one of my favorite Clint Eastwood film, Pale Rider.

"PREACHER?!?!"

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TGIF! presents....Happy 40th Anniversay, MASH!

Love the movie. Love the series. Classic. Bravo...and Encore! Oh, it's airing on AMC this evening.

Hawkeye Pierce: Would you say that she (Hot Lips) was a moaner, Frank? Seriously Frank. I mean, does she go "ooooh" or does she lie there quiet and not do anything at all?

Frank Burns: Keep your filthy mouth to yourself.

Hawkeye Pierce: Or does she go "uh-uh-uh"?

Frank Burns: [Frank leaps over the table and attacks Hawkeye]

Hawkeye Pierce: Get him off me! I've got glasses. Get him off me!

Duke Forrest: What's going on, Frank? That lesson one?

Hawkeye Pierce: Frank Burns has gone nuts! I'm wearing glasses, for God's sake.

Trapper John: Watch out for your goodies, Hawkeye. That man is a sex maniac; I don't think Hot Lips satisfied him. Don't let him kiss you, Hawkeye.

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TGIF! presents..."Robin Hood" featurette!

Opens today. As an avid archer, I WILL see this movie.

So it is: yet let us sing,
Honour to the old bow-string!
Honour to the bugle-horn!
Honour to the woods unshorn!
Honour to the Lincoln green!
Honour to the archer keen!
Honour to tight little John,
And the horse he rode upon!
Honour to bold Robin Hood,
Sleeping in the underwood!
Honour to maid Marian,
And to all the Sherwood-clan!
Though their days have hurried by
Let us two a burden try.

- excerpt from "Robin Hood. To a Friend" (1820), by John Keats

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My favorite still from "The Graduate".

Continuing on with my "Graduate" jag, this is my favorite moment of the film. It begs "what did we just do?" or "what do we do now?" I have this friend in my life that I feel this way about - uncertainty.

What does it mean to you? Kazu Watanbe publishes the blog, Naive Cinema, and he wrote about "The Graduate". Here are his thoughts on the picture above:

The most curious scene for me is the last one in which Benjamin and Elaine get on a bus to escape and sit in the back. The shot duration lasts a little longer than expected and instead of embracing or showing some sign of affection, Benjamin and Elaine sit and do not look at each other, but rather smile slightly. It's an ambiguous image which does not fulfill the romantic notions of their escape nor entirely discredit them. In one sense, it could seem that their riding a public bus reinforces the idea that they are actually not in control after all, but rather are being moved forward by society, which the public city bus could certainly embody, in the same way Benjamin is being moved by the conveyor belt in the airport at the beginning of the film. In another sense, Benjamin's abandonment of his parents' car for the city bus can be seen as his final cutting off (along with the church scene) which finally establishes his removal from his parents' world.

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TGIF! presents...trailer from Boorman's "Excalibur" (1981).

The greatest movie on the Arthurian legend ever made.

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Wisconsin Governor Jim "Dopey" Doyle says "no thanks" to $400,000.

And in the process, myself and every other actor in Wisconsin got fucked. And we sorta got fucked by Johnny Depp, director Michael Mann (who studied at the University of Wisconsin-Madison), and Universal Pictures as well. That's our dipshit governor (above).

Obviously my head's been up my ass because the shit hit the fan in June 2009; I moved back to Wisconsin in September 2009; and I just found out about this yesterday. My optometrist told me, which I then verified through my cousin, Arthur Ircink (who's a filmmaker - Wisconsin Foodie, Milwaukee's WISN Channel 12). I ran to the computer and found a couple recent articles online - both in AVClub/Milwaukee and The Milwaukee Business Journal.

Let me back up. A few years ago, Wisconsin finally got in on the action of granting tax incentives to film production companies in the hopes of luring Hollywood to Wisconsin. The original package, which was signed into law by Governor Dopey Doyle in 2006 and became effective in 2008, included "a credit of 25 percent of wages paid to company employees for services rendered in Wisconsin".

In 2008, with incentives in place, the state lured eight feature films, 16 television shows, three national commercials and other work, including "Public Enemies", the John Dillinger biopic starring Johnny Depp, which was released in Los Angeles on June 23, 2009.

"We've had a great experience filming in Wisconsin and, on behalf of everyone connected with the film, I thank you," said director Michael Mann.

Did you, Mr. Mann? Did you really have a great experience in Wisconsin? Then why is it that the producers of “Public Enemies” were paid $4.6 million in tax credits, yet only spent $5 million in the state during production shoots at various state locations? When these figures came to light, questions were raised regarding the incentives’ true impact and the state Department of Commerce’s administration of those incentives.

$5 million? With a production budget of $100 million??

Changes to the program were proposed, including a limit of $1.5 million. But in June 2009, when Dopey Doyle signed a new state budget, he used his veto authority to slash the limit to $500,000 a year.

And the phone calls from Hollywood have slowed to a drip.

Matter of fact, Film Wisconsin cut ties with its executive director, filmmaker/producer Scott Robbe, who led the effort to draft a slate of film industry tax credits and incentives that helped attract film industry projects to the state, because it can't afford to keep him on staff.

Doyle and the "Public Enemies" slouches share in the blame. As does Wisconsin's film industry tax credit program (or the remnants of one, at least). According to Meg Hamel, director of the Wisconsin Film Festival, the state needs to invest in a solid foundation of industry-folk in order to attract...the industry. In an interview that was printed in Isthmus - The Daily Page, a Madison, WI newspaper, Hamel stated, "It seems elementary that a successful statewide film industry would begin by developing local skilled crew and increasing space-and-equipment rentals that are specific to film...With a solid base of experienced, skilled crew, it becomes much more plausible for a film production to be in the state, since they can hire local crew and not fly them in."

So when all is said and done, someone explain to me what's so bad about a $400,000 profit for the state of Wisconsin? If it entices film companies to shoot here, why the Dopey Doyle veto? I mean, maybe with its structure it wasn't the perfect tax credit program. And yeh, it sucks that Mann and Depp & Co. didn't spend more money here (that's pretty douche baggish), but are Wisconsin's coffers in any shape to scoff at almost a half million bucks AND the potential to lure more movies to this state? Or is Dopey Doyle going to raise cigarette taxes one more time before he leaves office to induce the Wisconsin deficit?

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Separated at Birth? Phillip Alford & Robert Drivas.

Alford (top) is best know for his portrayal as Jem Finch in "To Kill A Mockingbird" (1962). Drivas looks unmistakeably like Alford - but all grown up. I had to take the screen shot of Drivas off "Cool Hand Luke" (1967) via YouTube because I couldn't find any decent shots of him.

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Tim Burton's movies getting scaringly tiring.

I won't see Burton's latest flick, Alice in Wonderland. I'm gettin bored of Burton's dark, brooding take on everything he puts his hands on. But I realize that's Burton's MO. I'm also sick of his girlfriend, Helena Bonham Carter. Same dark, brooding, psycho in every movie she's in. And she's in every movie of Burton's.

Didn't see Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (heard it sucked), Big Fish (heard it was great), Planet of the Apes (horrible), Sleepy Hollow (liked), Mars Attacks! ("C"), Ed Wood (liked), Batman Returns (liked), Edward Scissorhands (liked), Batman (liked), Beetle Juice (liked), and Pee-wee's Big Adventure (liked).

I guess I liked most of his earlier films. Christopher Lee's in Alice though. Lee rocks.

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Separated at Birth? Johnny Depp & Elijah Wood in "Alice in Wonderland".

Donovan & Maria and I were talking about Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" (coming out early March) and Maria said, "oh, that's Elijah Wood (in the lead role)." D and I were sitting in the front seat and we turned to each other. "Ahhhh...no. It's Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter." I bet Maria $10. She was soooo confident. 'Til she checked Imdb.com.

Truth be told, I can see where Maria thought Wood was Depp.

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Separated at Birth? Carl Fredricksen from "Up" and Spencer Tracy.

Carl (left) and Wisconsin native Tracy. Saw "Up" for the first time yesterday. Fabulous movie.

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Scream "the Wilhelm scream"!

The Wilhelm scream is a frequently-used film and television stock sound effect first used in 1951 for the film Distant Drums. he effect gained new popularity (its use often becoming an in-joke) after it was used in Star Wars and many other blockbuster films as well as television programs and video games. he scream is often used when someone is either falling to their death from great height or from an explosion.

The Wilhelm scream has become a well-known cinematic sound cliché, and is claimed to have been used in over 149 films. The sound is named for Private Wilhelm, a character in The Charge at Feather River, a 1953 western where the character is shot with an arrow. This was believed to be the second movie to use the sound effect and its first use from the Warner Brothers stock sound library.

Watch this video on the history of the Wilhelm scream.

Research shows that actor and singer Sheb Wooley, best known for his novelty song "Flying Purple People Eater" in 1958, is likely to have been the voice actor who originally performed the scream.

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I fell in love today...

...with actress Loretta Young. Saw a bit of a Busby Berkeley film today called, "She Had To Say Yes" (1933). The second I laid eyes on Young (I didn't know it was her), I thought, "wholly shit - she's hot".

Young was nominated for two Academy Awards and is best remembered for her role in "The Farmer's Daughter" (1946), for which she won the Best Actress Oscar. The same year, she starred in the delightful fantasy, "The Bishop's Wife", with David Niven and Cary Grant, at TV staple during the Christmas holiday season. Latter in her career, Young sequed to television and won three Emmy's.

Little-known fact: Young had a love child with Clark Gable. She died in 2000.

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TCM Remembers...to those who've passed.

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TGIF! (on Monday) presents...Trailer for "Jeremiah Johnson" (1972)!

I love this film. Maybe 'cause we've had so much snow here in Wisconsin and we're getting psyched for our bow & arrow pheasant shoot next Sunday. Anyway, this was filmed entirely in Utah - various locations - some of it right on Redford's property at Sundance. Simple story about a simple man. Or was he? Directed by Sydney Pollack. Worth the watch.

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"Gone With The Wind". OMOROA.

In the texting world, that's Overly Melodramatic Over-Rated Over-Acted . I've never seen the film from start to finish. Still watching but I'm bored. This "classic" has it's moments. The over-acting falls particularly on Vivian Leigh's shoulders (and Leslie Howard's). Could be the style of acting in the late 1930's. I mean, my brother and I were laughing at times. A beaut though...Leigh. A real good-looking dame.

Oh - and Butterfly McQueen's character (Prissy) should've been written as a mute.

Signed, NIFOC. Look it up.

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Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" receives 10 nominations???

Yep. Broadcast Film Critics Association's 15th Annual Critic's Choice Movie Awards. Among the notable nominations, the only one I feel it deserved was Best Supporting Actor (Christoph Waltz). The movie was not good. By contrast, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced its nominations for the Golden Globes. "Basterds" received 4 - including Waltz. You can read my review of it here.

The scene above was at the start of the flick and is one of the two best scenes in the movie. Unfortunately, I could only find this snippet.

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Loved "Pineapple Express". Rosie Perez sucks.

Saw this flick for the first time. Loved it. But Rosie Perez sucks. Never liked her. Two words: annoying & grating. Her gutteral accent (based on her turn in White Men Can't Jump, the only movie I've seen of her's) makes me want to rip out my own larynx.

At first glance, one might blame her dialogue...which was for shit. However, as much as Apatow and Seth Rogan have relied successfully on the use of improv as part of their filmmaking process, one would think Perez had ample opportunities to flex her chops. She didn't. Lines like, "You sexy motherfucker" made me wanna throw a brick through my roommate's television - then choke on my own vomit. Thank God the movie, rest of the cast and script were worthy of my 112 minutes (I joined the movie in-progress, so....maybe 100 minutes)?

Incidentally, I know an actor who was in a movie with her (not an extra). The actor told me she's a bitch (but the actor used another word).

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You know why I've always hated the movie, "The Running Man"?

It's Arnold's co-star - Maria Conchita Alonso. Yep - Arnold has some pretty crappy lines in the movie as well (which has become a cultish hit flick I believe). But with Arnold, we're used to that. I swear to God, every time I stop to watch this movie, there Alonso Conchita dipshit is, with the whining and the bitching and not listening to Arnold and screwing up everything and yelling while slipping back into her native tongue which has NEVER been done before with a Mexican or Spanish actor/character. Never fails. Every time I see it. There she is.

I know - it's the character she's playing. Wrong. I hated the character Bruce Dern played in The Cowboys - especially after he killed John Wayne. But I love Bruce Dern. I have nothing against a slew of famous actors who played villains and were eventually gunned down by the Duke or Clint Eastwood in their respective flicks. Nothing at all.

I just can't stand Maria Conchita Alonso, that's all. Or Julia Roberts. Or Sandra Bullock. Or Renee Zellwegger. Or Joan and Melissa Rivers. Or Kathy Lee Gifford. I don't know any of them. Maybe it's their acting style or their screen persona. Whatever...when I see them on the screen I flip the channel.

Now Richard Dawson, on the other hand, as the bad guy, game-show host in The Running Man...who doesn't love Richard Dawson? His outtakes and anything else that ended up on the cutting room floor while acting on Hogan's Heroes as Corporal Newkirk were better than anything decent Alonso does in this film.

I just can't stand Maria Conchita Alonso.

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A couple observations regarding Natasha Richardson's death.

Her freak skiing accident this past Monday and her subsequent death is just horrible. She was only a year older than me. But she's gone - and it's those she's left behind that I feel the most sadness for...her husband, two children, mother, etc. This song is for Liam and his boys, in the hopes it offers them some solace.

Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (Thats An Irish Lullaby) - Bing Crosby

Two things immediately came to mind upon hearing of Richardson's death. Her ordeal happened over St. Patrick's Day - the national holiday of her husband's - Liam Neeson - native Ireland. The anniversary of any death is bad enough. For Liam to have remember his wife's passing every St. Patrick's Day is ironic.

Secondly, I understand Neeson will take on the role of Abraham Lincoln in an upcoming movie. Lincoln's life was filled with tragedy - two of his four sons died, his wife suffered from depression and migraine headaches (she was later committed to a mental institution for a time) and he had to deal with the Civil War. A competent actor doesn't need to have experienced tragedy to play a tragic character. In his role as Lincoln, however, Neeson won't have to act.

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