We all know that for decades Hollywood has been creating preachy, leftist films all with the sole intention of annoying conservatives.  Conservatives have responded with numerous complaints, and then with complacency.  We now tend to ignore the liberal themes and watch the movies anyway, cheering on the hero, regardless of whether or not we actually believe in his ultimate goal.  Recently, however, Hollywood has pulled another weapon out of its arsenal to annoy conservatives, but it is destroying comedy in the process.

As the readers of Big Hollywood know too well, Hollywood began its attacks by ridiculing those of us who hold our values dear—claiming a pluralistic high ground that all beliefs are equal and we shouldn’t judge others (unless you happen to be one of those white, bigoted, hillbilly Jesus freaks).  Now that pluralism no longer seems to ignite conservatives with the same fervent anger, Hollywood has turned to nihilism; because, after all, when everything is true, nothing is true.  With no truth, Hollywood can no longer give its heroes any reason to mature or chase after dreams because lives and journeys have no meaning, draining the enjoyment out of their films. (more…)

Russell Brand is only on the first few ticks of his 15 minutes of fame, but he’s already a tough sell to conservative audiences. The British comic unleashed a crude anti-Bush tirade while hosting the MTV Video Music Awards last year, all the while begging viewers to vote for then-Sen. Barack Obama.

Brand proves he isn’t the Molotov cocktail-throwing comedian he appears to be in his new stand-up comedy DVD, “Russell Brand In New York City: Extended and Uncensored.”

He’s actually the male Kathy Griffin. (more…)

Some of the biggest movies of any year aren’t in wide release until January, so some of us don’t see all them until much later. As of this week, I think I’ve seen what passes for “everything” from 2008. Herewith, my list of the Top Ten for the year just passed:

10. Sex Drive. Hilarious, under-seen, low-budget comedy starring the creative partner of the funny Michael Cera. Defeated at the box office because of its name, it features a few show-stopping scenes with Seth Green and a live-action pair of Beavis-and-Butthead types who steal the whole thing. This’ll do great on DVD. (more…)

The Academy Awards for 2008 have been handed out, and the “popular kids” have Oscars on their mantles, but the dirty little secret about winning awards is that you’ve gotta campaign for them. Thousands of dollars were spent by the distributors and filmmakers behind Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), Milk (Focus Features), The Reader (Weinstein) and other assorted winners and nominees, but not all performances received that sort of big money backing.

I am an unabashed lover of the acting craft. I see virtually every movie, large and small, that passes through the US marketplace, and, taking nothing away from Sean Penn, Kate Winslet, Penelope Cruz and Heath Ledger, not all of 2008’s best performances have been recognized. I’m not going to be obvious here. Clint Eastwood was snubbed for Gran Torino, but he received lots of acclaim for the role including being named Best Actor by the National Board of Review. My goal is to highlight 10 performances from last year that have received virtually no acclaim in the US. Many of these roles can be found in hardly-seen, under-appreciated movies that came and went without much notice. Each and every one of these movies deserve a spot in your Netflix (or Blockbuster) cue. (more…)