For Liberty Lovers ‘We The Living’ Arrives on DVD

An extraordinary film just came out on DVD which couldn’t be more timely.  It’s about a fiercely outspoken, beautiful woman trapped in a country rapidly descending into socialism, with the government steadily ratcheting up control over all aspects of life.

No, it’s not The Ann Coulter Story.

The movie is We The Living, based on the Ayn Rand novel of the same title.  Rand said that We The Living “is as near to an autobiography as I will ever write.”

Conservatives and libertarians have long lamented the scarcity of movies that depict the evils of communism.  Let’s see, there’s Doctor Zhivago, The Killing Fields, The Lives of Others, and… and, well, now there’s We The Living — a long-lost classic filmed in 1942, and now available on DVD for the first time ever.

WTL takes place soon after the Bolshevik takeover of Russia (which Rand experienced as a young woman).  The stunning Alida Valli plays Kira, a fiery college student who detests the communists ruining her country.  (Valli is perhaps best known to American audiences for her indelible performances in The Third Man and The Paradine Case.) (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Alida Valli, Ayn Rand, Bolsheviks, Censorship, classic movies
Posted Oct 30th 2009 at 4:03 pm in Film, Politics, Reviews | 25336234 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/aleigh/2009/10/30/we-the-living-for-liberty-lovers-and-for-our-time/For+Liberty+Lovers+%27We+The+Living%27+Arrives+on+DVD2009-10-30+23%3A03%3A20Andrew+Leigh

A Great Chinese Thriller…Pass!

I thought about writing a script about China – thriller, action, intrigue.  The last film that dealt with China would be “Red Corner” which a Wikipedia review said, “…more the movie’s subtext swallows its story, until all that is left is Gere’s superior virtue, intermixed with his superior virility — both of which are greatly appreciated by the evidently under-serviced Chinese female population…”  The film was banned in China.  But it’s fertile ground for material.  Imagine the conversation with a Studio Executive…

Me: So, I found this article by Secretary of Defense Gates: “China Could Undermine U.S. Military Power in the Pacific.”  China is expanding its navy in the Pacific to secure disputed territories in the South China Sea with lots of oil and gas.  A Tom Clancy/Harrison Ford thriller.  I’ve followed the Chinese military since the nineties and it’s a central plot of my novel, “Stealing Thunder.” (Shameless Plug! 600 pages long; waiting for Amazon jerks to come through with the darn discount price…).   Think “Clear and Present Danger,” “Hunt for Red October”…

Executive: Liked ‘Sum of All Fears.’ (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: "China", Censorship, Government censorship, hollywood, movies
Posted Oct 18th 2009 at 5:48 pm in Politics | 22806614 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/mmandaville/2009/10/18/a-great-chinese-thriller-pass/A+Great+Chinese+Thriller...Pass%212009-10-19+00%3A48%3A10Michael+Mandaville

‘The Dark Knight’: Year One

What is the difference between art and entertainment?

There is, obviously, some overlap: Not all art entertains (though some does); not all entertainment is art (though some is).  At bottom, it seems, the difference is one of intent – the artist seeks to connect us with larger meanings, larger truths about the world, about ourselves.  The primary focus of art is therefore to illuminate, with any entertainment had in the process merely a bonus.

The goal of the entertainer, on the other hand, is perhaps less sublime, though no less worthy – to distract, to tickle, to stimulate the fancy.  Entertainment is at bottom diversion, and I say this without a trace of disdain – often it is the quality and quantity of our diversions which makes the difference between a joyful life and a merely bearable one.

One year ago this weekend, a beating black heart pulsed in summer’s midst: The Dark Knight.  It was big-budget, comic book based franchise movie, made for popcorn eaters seeking suitable summer diversion.  And It delivered beyond the filmmakers wildest expectations – the masses were so entertained that they lifted it up into the box office stratosphere in grateful recompense. (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: aesthetic theory, Art, batman, Bruce Wayne, Chris Nolan
Posted Jul 17th 2009 at 6:47 am in Film, Politics | 183118108 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/mpatterson/2009/07/17/the-dark-knight-year-one-run-friday/%27The+Dark+Knight%27%3A+Year+One+2009-07-17+13%3A47%3A26Matt+Patterson

Bulls-Eye: ‘Bruno’ Hits Hollywood Hard

“It’s such a fine line between stupid and clever.” –David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap (1984) 

When it comes to humor I’m super picky. I physically cringed at all but one of the multiple fart jokes in Pixar’s Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. I still don’t get The Three Stooges. Call me uptight. Slapstick without redeeming intellectual humor, toilet jokes, sexual references, and ”shock” scenarios do nothing for me.  So how is it possible that I laughed myself sick while watching Bruno? That’s easy. Because, goofy as it pretends to be, it is a pretty smart film. 

You’ve probably heard that this film is about homophobia, but the story arc is about what it takes to become a celebrity.  Frankly, both facets are hilarious. 

This satire has real teeth, and it’s also fair. I completely disagree with the reviews that claim it mocks middle America, puts “innocent” people on the spot or casts them in a bad light. If anything this film ruthlessly savages Hollywood. The scenes with stage mothers are so appalling that the audience collectively gasped and groaned. One hopes that this exposure will, at the very least, lead to interventions from Social Services and cause us to rethink some of the “entertainment” exemptions from child labor laws. Cohen introduces us to women who are willing to have their babies/toddlers strung up on crucifixes, dressed like Nazis, subjected to bees/wasps, and driven in cars at high speeds without restraints. (Personally, I hope this leads to actual arrests). One toddler’s mother adds that she’s okay with all of that, “if he’s got the job.”  (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Bill Hicks, Bruno, Film, Gay, Howard Stern
Posted Jul 16th 2009 at 5:03 am in Entertainment, Featured Story, Politics | 18232262 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/mflynn/2009/07/16/bulls-eye-bruno-hits-hollywood-hard/Bulls-Eye%3A+%27Bruno%27+Hits+Hollywood+Hard2009-07-16+12%3A03%3A38Maura+Flynn

The Power of Language

In the 1930’s, when world audiences were asked to name the capital of the U.S.A., one answer was high on the list: “Hollywood.” That was the location listed at the end of every amazing movie: “Made In Hollywood.” How could such magic not come from America’s capital?

Such is the power of a single word.

That power has not diminished but only increased with an ADD, multi-channel, hyperactive media-centric world. The silver screen has long given us immortal dialogue which now blends so deeply into the culture that people may not know their origin, but we know the meaning.  A wise man I know said, “Image creates perception, perception creates reality.”  It couldn’t be more true in the film business.

–

In a media-centric world, from motion pictures to internet to phones, we are pounded with images, forming our perceptions and then creating our reality. How fast did the Internet meme “Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys” become a daily reference at the coffee klatch, in your email, or on phone calls?  Not long.  We forget how powerful words can be when written in a clever and pithy way.  The masters of dialogue like Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond, and the Epstein brothers, knew irreverent and immortal lines.  And as producers, writers or just Americans who appreciate a good, nimble turn of a phrase, we should excel at creating phrases that demonstrate the values we hold dear.  Don’t understand?  “What we have here is a failure to communicate!” (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: "Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys", "China", activism, Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond, Charles Brackett
Posted Jun 2nd 2009 at 11:11 am in Political Humor, Politics, Video | 145802No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/mmandaville/2009/06/02/daily-dialogue/The+Power+of+Language2009-06-02+18%3A11%3A46Michael+Mandaville

Bond Forever, Bourne Forgotten

In a new listing of film and TV’s coolest heroes, James Bond emerged in the top spot — while rival spy Jason Bourne was MIA — finishing behind the likes of young Harry Potter and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

In its 20 All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture rankings, Entertainment Weekly listed 007 #1 — a move not likely to please fan’s of every hippie’s favorite spy (other than Valerie Plame), that assassin with a conscience, Bourne. In fact, if EW was going to run a Top 2 All-Time Most Cheesed Off Folks right now, it might rank Bourne’s cinematic creators –Team America star Matt Damon and United 93 director Paul Greengrass — in that order.

Damon or Greengrass seem obsessed with attacking the James Bond films and the character himself every chance they get. Mixing up a bitter soup of professional envy at Bond’s legacy and success, personal insecurity at producing movies beholden to Bond and (of course) self-righteous political arrogance, both artists froth at every opportunity to brand Ian Fleming’s creation a soulless killer. Ignoring Bond’s efforts to battle terrorism and global crime, they stamp him a militarist imperialist misogynist. (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: 007, Bond, Bourne, Film, heroes
Posted Mar 30th 2009 at 1:44 pm in Entertainment, Featured Story, Politics | 92242One Commenthttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jslewinski/2009/03/30/ews-hero-ranking-bond-forever-bourne-forgotten/Bond+Forever%2C+Bourne+Forgotten2009-03-30+20%3A44%3A49John+Scott+Lewinski

The Newsrape Emails – #1

My Dear Scudworm -

Congratulations on the fine work you did with the recent Hollywood hoopla thing.  What are those golden statues called again…Arthurs?  Oscars?  Ollivers?  No matter.  The fine art of idolatry is becoming your forte, my dear nephew.  With the powers of a willing media and the brilliance of commercialism prevalent, it’s no wonder the masses turn to your town for direction and meaning.  I chuckle with delight to see how real meaning and substance is more and more becoming passé, and overlooked for the sizzle and bling of the ephemeral.  You make your uncle proud to see that you are once again the year’s big producer for thirty years running…and gaining even more new customers every month.

Your work on the special interest groups is particularly impressive.  You are keenly aware that, pound for pound of effort, this is where we gain the most purchase in our clawing scramble over the human psyche.  Continue to stress their inherent oppression and victimization, so that our aims may be met.  Nothing makes a poor soul feel more empowered than believing itself to be a part of a large, aggrieved and neglected group.  Build on their individual sense of outrage and anger, along with their helpless sense of futility.  Remind them that they are being victimized, and must demand their rights!  I know you are laughing right now, as am I.  But drive the seriousness of their indignant and violated pride, and demand restitution for the wrongs perpetrated upon them.  (As for the specific nature of these ‘wrongs’, either real or imagined, simply fill in the blank; a group is a group, and we can use any and all of them for our purposes.) And good that you can work the golden idols into so many hands that help legitimize our work. That Penn character is an excellent poster boy.  In fact, increase the irreverence, step up the hatred of our Enemy and brighten the public celebration of him, as his flippant outrageousness masquerades as gravitas.    We can trade on his magnetic popularity, and draw the proverbial moth to the flame.  Continue your brilliant work in framing his disrespect and hatred of Judeo-Christian ethics and traditional values as hip and ‘progressive’.    (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Christina, insidious influence, Islam, Kaballah, movies
Posted Mar 24th 2009 at 1:59 pm in Media Criticism, Politics | 88270One Commenthttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ggraham/2009/03/24/the-newsrape-emails-1/The+Newsrape+Emails+-+%2312009-03-24+20%3A59%3A51Gary+Graham

Introducing Parcbench

Today is the first Monday of Spring, the season that inspires fresh hope, renewed energy, and thoughts of new beginnings.  And so it is appropriate that today a colleague and I have launched Parcbench, a pop-culture and lifestyle brand whose central feature is an online daily magazine at www.parcbench.com.   

Parcbench does not profess to be like most other publications, although we have derived much inspiration from Big Hollywood and its founder, Andrew Breitbart, who has agreed to join our Board of Advisors.  And we believe that we share a common mission.  Specifically, we strive to bring people pop-culture that reflects mainstream America.   (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: architecture, Art, book, breitbart, fashion
Posted Mar 23rd 2009 at 1:23 pm in Celebrity News, Entertainment, Politics | 8742626 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bjoshpe/2009/03/23/introducing-parcbench/Introducing+Parcbench2009-03-23+20%3A23%3A28Brett+Joshpe

Downed Pilot Survives Crash and Cannibals

Have you ever watched an Indiana Jones movie and said to yourself, “There is no way anyone could survive that!?”  Well guess what…you’re wrong.  Watch the movie “Injury Slight…Please Advise,” and you’ll see exactly what I mean.  

COL Charles Sullivan “Sully” had no movie magic to help him navigate when his plane crashed into the New Guinea jungle behind Japanese lines in September of 1943 during WWII.   Sully managed to survive the crash and survive the harsh jungle conditions for 30 days before finding an Allied Australian troop encampment. During his thirty-day jungle adventure, he encountered hostile natives whose initial welcome quickly turned into frustration and suspicion, causing Sully to flee for his life.  Searching for Allied help and scrounging for food and shelter; Sully’s fortitude and grit and pure determination to return to his young bride kept him alive during those harsh, grueling thirty days.  Being rescued should have been the end of Sully’s adventures however, even more calamities occur, from which Col Sullivan emerges with humor, dignity and with the spirit of a true American hero. (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: air force, col charles sullivan, GI Film Festival, josh baxter, Military
Posted Mar 19th 2009 at 5:19 pm in Entertainment, Military | 841109 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/gifilmfestival/2009/03/19/downed-pilot-survives-crash-and-cannibals/Downed+Pilot+Survives+Crash+and+Cannibals2009-03-20+00%3A19%3A39G.I.+Film+Festival

Will Hollywood Allow Us Heroes Again?

The new Stephen Sommers-directed G.I. Joe movie headed to theaters this summer kicked the U.S.A. out of the bunker and put “The Real American Hero” under international command. The thinking at the time by Hollywood execs held that the U.S. was hated by the rest of the world and could no longer be seen as heroic.

Superman Returns screenwriters Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris shortened Superman’s call to arms to just “Truth and Justice” because “The American Way” was supposedly not worth fighting for anymore. They then proceeded to transform The Man of Steel into a simpering, self-absorbed drama queen.

Why has Hollywood worked so diligently to remove well-focused, admirable heroes from American movies? The primary reason was George W. Bush’s presence in the White House and the primary focus of his administration — the war against Islamic militants. (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Evil, good, heroes, hollywood, movies
Posted Mar 12th 2009 at 9:11 am in Entertainment, Media Criticism | 7677883 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jslewinski/2009/03/12/will-hollywood-allow-us-heroes-again/Will+Hollywood+Allow+Us+Heroes+Again%3F2009-03-12+16%3A11%3A23John+Scott+Lewinski

Where Have You Gone, Alvy Singer?

How did they do it? 

Let’s face it, liberals didn’t take over our schools, the entire American education system by protesting. Sure, they made a lot of noise with their complaining, their picketing, but did that do the trick? Did that turn the tide? Did that transform what was once a learning environment that inspired inquisitiveness and curiosity, into a showplace for materialism – where we once taught respect for our men and women in uniform, rather than offering extra credit for flag burning – where teachers once encouraged independence, rather than reliance – where we once taught the lessons of history, rather than condemning it – where we once instilled responsibility, rather than simply handing out condoms?  How did they change what was once a morally conservative, patriotic institution, proud and respectful of our military, our flag, our constitution, our history and our culture into something that can only be described as Liberals gone wild?  (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: alvy singer, annie hall, beverly hills, diane keaton, gadgets
Posted Mar 8th 2009 at 10:23 am in Entertainment, Media Criticism, Video | 74342125 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smann/2009/03/08/where-have-you-gone-alvy-singer/Where+Have+You+Gone%2C+Alvy+Singer%3F2009-03-08+18%3A23%3A55Schizoid+Mann

Overlooked: The Top 10 Best Performances of 2008 that you may not have heard about!

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…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: "Traitor", 2008, academy awards, acting, alan rickman
Posted Mar 1st 2009 at 2:10 pm in Celebrity News, Entertainment, Featured Story | 7013043 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/03/01/performances/Overlooked%3A+The+Top+10+Best+Performances+of+2008+that+you+may+not+have+heard+about%212009-03-01+22%3A10%3A58Steve+Mason

Good Parents Wait a Few Decades For a ‘Thanks, Dad!’

There is a public service announcement that runs on TV from time to time, I can’t remember what organization it is for, but it goes like this:

A man sits in his easy chair reading the paper. His tween-age daughter comes downstairs in a skimpy outfit and tries to walk out the door. The father says sternly, “Young lady–you’re not going out dressed like that. Get back upstairs and change your clothes.” (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: bonnie and clyde, dad, disney, hollywood, movies
Posted Feb 14th 2009 at 2:03 pm in Media Criticism, Politics | 4880284 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/tshillue/2009/02/14/thanks-dad/Good+Parents+Wait+a+Few+Decades+For+a+%27Thanks%2C+Dad%21%272009-02-14+22%3A03%3A37Tom+Shillue

The Real Battle of Algiers, Part II

This is the second of a two-part commentary. You can read Part One here.

We continue exploring Alistair Horne’s, Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962. All the time, bearing in mind that the movie, The Battle of Algiers, conveniently eliminates vital facts regarding the sickening methods codified by the Algerian terrorists. For the truth would negate the film’s foundational purpose: to spread Jihadist propaganda under the guise of the always safe and fashionable anti-colonialism.

Who were these leaders of the Battle of Algiers, these men who were so willing, so anxious to spill oceans of innocent blood? This is not an academic question, for as we shall see, the cast of characters bears little relationship to the romantic images presented by Gillo Pontecorvo in The Battle of Algiers. (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Battle of Algeria, Islamic Terror, Islamists, Israel, movies
Posted Jan 20th 2009 at 7:10 am in Entertainment, News | 2028538 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ravrech/2009/01/20/the-real-battle-of-algiers-part-ii/The+Real+Battle+of+Algiers%2C+Part+II2009-01-20+15%3A10%3A23Robert+J.+Avrech

Fake Crash Pilot Obviously Not a Movie Fan

Hey, Marcus Schrenker (formerly the missing pilot guy), what were you thinking? You want to disappear off the face of the earth and go into hiding, and this is how you do it? Let me get this straight; Your plan was to parachute from your jet aircraft, allow it to go down in flames in a residential area, ask a cop for directions, and check into a motel. Then, when you were caught, you were holding a road atlas and campground directory. Way to go “off the grid,” buddy.

This guy is an embarrassment to all men. Women probably don’t know this, but all of us have sketched out elaborate plans in our head as to what we would do if we ever had to go “dark” and vanish for a while. Don’t worry, we are not planning to, but we’ve got to be ready just in case.

Some guys would walk into the woods with nothing but a rucksack and a hunting knife, other guys would go the Swiss bank account/Jason Bourne route, just speed-walking around Europe occasionally having to deck effete policemen using Tae Kwon Do. Personally, I prefer the former, as I like to avoid confrontation.

But one thing you never, ever want to do is create such a splash with your escape method that it gets the attention of Greta Van Susteren and Nancy Grace. Show some subtlety, brother! You are giving us all a bad name. Remember the Scout motto: Be Prepared. (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: alcatraz, escape, movies, papillon, Paul Newman
Posted Jan 17th 2009 at 12:15 pm in Entertainment, News, Video | 1797332 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/tshillue/2009/01/17/fake-crash-pilot-obviously-not-a-movie-fan/Fake+Crash+Pilot+Obviously+Not+a+Movie+Fan++2009-01-17+20%3A15%3A55Tom+Shillue

Make it Stop: When Will Hollywood Stop Glorifying Hip-Hop Thugs?

Not sure why we’re supposed to worship the dead thug, hip-hopper Christopher “Biggie Smalls” Wallace a/k/a “The Notorious B.I.G.”  Is it because he’s a fat guy who was successful?

Either way, the best part of “Notorious “–the movie, out today, that whitewashes and glorifies this sleazebag–was when Wallace was shot and killed.  “Just die already,” I thought in the critics’ screening I attended last week.  I couldn’t believe people were actually crying at the end of this movie over this waste of a human vessel.  I walked out thinking that I guess this is the new civil rights:  If you’re gonna make a hero out of White (Larry Flynt) and Latino (Ernesto “Che” Guevara) scumbags, then I guess the new “equality” is to do the same for a Black scumbag . . . on the eve of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  Kids who get the day off can celebrate the new civil rights by seeing this two-hour celluloid ode to America’s worst.  Lowlifes ‘R’ Us.

Here’s my full review and those of most of this weekend’s other new releases , including “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” (loved it), “Defiance” (loved it, despite writer/director Ed Zwick’s reluctance to have an ounce of courage and denounce Islamic terrorism ), and “Last Chance Harvey” (not bad).

Oh, and don’t forget, one of Barack Obama’s most visible supporters, Sean “Diddy” Combs, was responsible for making “Biggie” a star.  Welcome to Obama’s world of low expectations.

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: movies
Posted Jan 16th 2009 at 2:31 pm in Celebrity News, Entertainment, Reviews | 2166940 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/dschlussel/2009/01/16/make-it-stop-when-we-hollywood-stop-glorifying-hip-hop-thugs/Make+it+Stop%3A+When+Will+Hollywood+Stop+Glorifying+Hip-Hop+Thugs%3F2009-01-16+22%3A31%3A12Debbie+Schlussel

The Feel Good Post-Holocaust Dr. Mengele-Twins-Experiment Jewish Exorcism Thriller Movie of the Year

Wow, I never thought I’d be writing about the Feel-Good Nazi-Twins-Experiments Jewish Exorcism Movie of the Year.  But that’s the basics on the absurd movie, “The Unborn,” out today.  It’s possibly the most absurd and laughable horror movie of the decade.  Not sure what’s up with Hollywood, but this must be the Demented Take on the Holocaust year for movies.  It’s not just “The Reader,” in which we’re supposed to be sympathetic to a Nazi SS Guard because she had hot sex scenes with a 15-year-old and liked to be read high-brow books.  It’s this one.

Oh, and then, there’s “Rabbi” Gary Oldman (dude! nice knitted yarmulke)–hilariously reading transliterated Hebrew–in this one.  (And, of course, for the Jewish exorcism, you need an Episcopal Priest in tow.)  As my friend, reasonable liberal movie critic Corey Hall of Detroit’s “Metro Times” joked, “With all the Jews in Hollywood, they need to cast Gary Oldman as the rabbi?”  More like, with all the good scripts in Hollywood, they need to make this exercise in laughing gas?

Example of a great thriller invoking the image and deeds of Nazi Dr. Josef Mengele:  “The Boys From Brazil.” Example of a bad one:  This movie.  Gives new meaning to the phrase, “Never Again.”

Read my full review of this and the other new releases at the box office this weekend, and guys, make sure to skip “Bride Wars” at all cost.  You’ll thank me. . . or dread that you didn’t listen.  Makes “Sex and the City” and “Mamma Mia” look like exciting male action hero films.

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: movies
Posted Jan 9th 2009 at 1:47 pm in Entertainment, Reviews | 1335321 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/dschlussel/2009/01/09/the-feel-good-post-holocaust-dr-mengele-twins-experiment-jewish-exorcism-thriller-movie-of-the-year/The+Feel+Good+Post-Holocaust+Dr.+Mengele-Twins-Experiment+Jewish+Exorcism+Thriller+Movie+of+the+Year2009-01-09+21%3A47%3A42Debbie+Schlussel

Questions for “Defiance” Movie Writer/Director

Today, I have a phone interview with Ed Zwick, writer/director of “Defiance” and a number of other movies and TV shows.  The interview focuses on “Defiance,” starring Daniel Craig.  As you may know, it’s the story of the Bielski brothers, Jewish partisans who fought back against the Nazis and saved hundreds of Jews.  They are true heroes, and the movie captures that.

The movie is also important because it betrays the myth that Jews willingly went to the ovens and didn’t try to fight back–an allegation with which anti-Semites often confront me.  The Bielskis and the Warsaw Ghetto uprising are the two most famous instances of many such efforts to stop Nazi evil.  I’ve always said, Jews with guns are my favorite combo.  And I especially love it on the big screen.  Hate to paraphrase America’s most famous porn star (Paris Hilton), but “That’s hot.”

I’ve not yet posted my review of the movie, which I’m barred from doing by the studio, until the movie releases in Detroit.  But I liked it, and I’ve written about it here.  And, as a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, I voted for it as one of the year’s best pictures, best ensembles, and Liev Schrieber as one of the year’s best supporting actors, as Zus Bielski.  Zus’ son, Jay (who served in the IDF and is a New York doctor), wrote me that the movie captured his father perfectly.

So, what questions would you suggest I ask Zwick?  Please post them in the comments section, and I’ll consider them for use in the interview.  I’m posting the trailer [below the foild] as a refresher, but the movie is in nationwide release, next week.

One thing I plan to ask Zwick:  Why do the Jews in Hollywood love portraying the bravery of Jews fighting tyranny 65 years ago, but can’t bring themselves to show the bravery of Jews fighting it in Israel today (and instead villainize them)?  I know the answer, but I want to see what he says.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: movies
Posted Jan 9th 2009 at 11:05 am in Entertainment, Video | 1300936 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/dschlussel/2009/01/09/questions-for-defiance-movie-writerdirector/Questions+for+%22Defiance%22+Movie+Writer%2FDirector2009-01-09+19%3A05%3A30Debbie+Schlussel

Ten Best Movies (I Screened) in 2008

Here’s my list to of the ten best movies I screened in 2008.

I have to admit that I did not see one contemporary release that comes close to the quality and passion of these older films. And keep in mind that most of these classic movies were produced on modest budgets, never intended as studio blockbusters. These ten products of Hollywood’s golden age are what Hollywood used to do best: solid, unpretentious entertainment.

10. The Man From Down Under, (1943) starring Charles Laughton and Donna Reed. Billy Wilder once stated that Charles Laughton was the greatest living actor. Who am I to argue with the legendary director? Laughton was certainly methodical in his research. Tapped to star as Captain Bligh in MGM’s blockbuster Mutiny on the Bounty, (1935) Laughton went to the original London tailor shop that made the real Bligh’s uniforms and had them copied to wear as his wardrobe. Anything for a true performance. Here, Laughton brilliantly portrays a rough and alcohol sodden Australian soldier who adopts two Belgium orphans, rescuing them from the ruins of World War I. This could have been a dreadful exercise in melodrama, but Laughton’s acute commitment to the crude but sensitive Aussie character raises the movie to an unexpected emotional pitch. Robert Z. Leonard—real name Robert Zigler Leonard—directed this little gem. Leonard is one of those great studio directors who are sniffed at by film cultists because he didn’t have a “personal signature.” But Leonard’s signature, like the great Clarence Brown, was rock solid professionalism and the highest levels of craftsmanship.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: classic, hollywood, movies
Posted Jan 7th 2009 at 1:10 pm in Entertainment | 935333 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ravrech/2009/01/07/ten-best-movies-i-screened-in-2008/Ten+Best+Movies+%28I+Screened%29+in+20082009-01-07+20%3A10%3A09Robert+J.+Avrech