PopMatters: Jack Black in "Gulliver's Travels"

My thoughts on a new Jack Black trailer at PopMatters:

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/130707-mixed-emotions-on-the-gullivers-travels-trailer/

Movie Review: Get Low (2010)

The fact that Get Low is almost watchable at times is a testament to Robert Duvall's unparalleled acting abilities. There is very little from a narrative, visual, or thematic standpoint to keep the viewer engaged in this dull and painfully slow film. I spent much of the movie's running time waiting patiently for Duvall to do something clever or naturalistic. Most of the time, I didn't have to wait long.

Get Low is purportedly set in the American South of the 1930s, although it is conspicuously devoid of identifiable regional details. Duvall plays Felix Bush, a much-aligned hermit shrouded in mystery. The storied actor has come full circle now, since he started his illustrious career playing another loner, the creepy Boo Radley in To Kill a Mocking Bird. Bush has the odd idea of throwing a "living funeral" for himself. He hires Chicago-born funeral parlor owner Frank Quinn (Bill Murray) to make the "arrangements." The intention is for local townspeople to come together and tell everything they know about the eccentric Bush. In reality, Bush has a thing or two to tell the townspeople, namely while he has become a hermit. The film sets itself up for a great Shayamalonesque twist ending once Bush reveals to the local people, and the audience, the deep, dark secrets of his past. The movie's denouncement, though, comes off more lame than revelatory. We are left shrugging our shoulders and muttering 'this is it?'

Nevertheless, I can't emphasize enough that Duvall truly is in prime form. He has never been more truthful and honest in his acting as he is now. I just wish the film's script and visual style could better support his remarkable work.

Memorable Moments At the Movies

On August 14, 2010, At the Movies, the revolutionary movie review show pioneered by legendary film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, aired its final episode. The show's demise is indicative of changes in America's film culture. The days in which full-time professional critics dominated the cinematic conversation are over. Television coverage of movies leans heavily towards gossip and celebrity news and away from cinematic discussions. While the end of At the Movies was met not with a bang, but a whimper among the general public, many cinephiles watched the final installment with lumps in their throats. For years, Siskel and Ebert demonstrated that the medium of television is not merely a vast wasteland of depravity, but may also serve as an edifying tool. The two newspaper men from Chicago arguably taught a generation how to think critically and intelligently about film. Siskel and Ebert were not overly didactic, however. They entertained the public while simultaneously educating them.

While the magic of Siskel and Ebert's glory days has never been fully recaptured in the show's later years, final hosts A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips brought integrity back to the program following the disastorous reign of Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz, showbiz personalities who demonstrated little sense of intellectual curiosity or competence. At the least, Scott and Phillips were able to facilitate the kind of honorable swan song the show deserves.

Since the airwaves will no longer be blessed with the presence of Siskel and Ebert's glorious brainchild, it is a perfect time to revisit some of the great At the Movies moments from the recent and distant past.

Following are a few brief clips from (or related to) the show that never failed to make film lovers smile:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvMiW5wWrGE&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Siskel and Ebert review Martin Scorsese's GoodFellas (1990)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jga_yqTiqhI&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Siskel and Ebert disagree about the merits of David Lynch's Blue Velvet (1986)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGyADDahm54&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Siskel and Ebert on the Tarantino Generation (1992)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8NV8H-uXMA&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Siskel and Ebert talk to David Letterman about The Right Stuff, Terms of Endearment, and some truly terrible films (1983)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U7xtlqtWok&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Roger Ebert talks to Larry King about the death of Gene Siskel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHfMpq7H9qQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Roger and Gene play themselves (animated, at least) on an episode of The Critic

http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkwVz_jK3gA&feature=youtube_gdata_player
A collection of At the Movies bloopers from the 1980s. Note: This video contains explicit language.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed_2JIyyTEY&feature=youtube_gdata_player
The final moments of At the Movies with A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips