Last night's Tony Awards were as stellar as ever, and while Liev wasn't there or nominated for anything it was cool to see a screenshot of him from a roundtable discussion he did for the American Theatre Wing about being a Leading Man with Jeff Daniels, Brian Dennehy and Kevin Spacey back in 2007 that you can check out here. I'll post more about the Tony's later, because they were wonderful, and I'll most likely be listening to the Billy Elliot Film Soundtrack a good part of the day.
Scrubs is back for it's 8th and final season, which will be airing on ABC. The show is just as funny as it was when it began I stand by that statement since I've been a fan since the first time they ever played the opening theme song "...I'm no Superman." So much so that people used to refer to me as "Dr. Cox," (actually I think I may have made them do that, but since I was so "intimidating" they gave in,) I call one of my best friends [a Pakistani med student] "Brownbear," I think "Elliot" is actually a really cool name for a girl & I expect every Janitor's real name or their name tag to at least read "Janitor". Plus the show introduced me to the brilliance that is Zach Braff. Of course his broad comedic skills are fantastically displayed on the show, but it also gave him the chance to actually produce and shoot, one of the greatest films of our generation "Garden State," which he wrote, directed, starred in and produced the sountrack for (which he won a Grammy for- random right? But totally an awesome movie & soundtrack.)
I love ZeeB's so much (that's the elongated version of ZB by the by,) that I once followed him down the street after Kelly, Abdul, Amy and I saw "Monty Python's Spamalot." He was with his dad, so I didn't want to approach him, and tell him how much I respect and adore him, and that he's the Jewish boyfriend I always wanted. We made eye contact though, which was good enough for me, and I guess left me a little light headed, because right after I was almost hit by a taxi and some woman pulled me out of the way. Worst case scenario ZB could have used the medical skills he's "learned" on Scrubs to save me... come to think of it I've never actually seen him do any real doctoring on the show.
Anyhoozie, here's a great interview with creator Bill Lawrence and Zach where they answer questions people submitted on ABC.com, from why they changed networks, to what to expect throughout the season. It's adorably entertaining and there's an awesome prize offered at the end! The episodes will probably be available on the ABC website soon enough, but they're also re-airing the first 2 episodes of season 8, tonight. They were so hilarious I'll probably watch them again, plus Courtney Cox is guest starring as the new Chief of Medicine and the unbelievably hilarious Aziz Ansari(you may have seen him on Best Week Ever or Human Giant) plays an intern.
Mouth was my favorite song off of their second album, Razorblade Suitcase, but the remix (which was featured in an An American Werewolf in Paris- hence the weird/whack vid) was more rockin/radio friendly. Oddly though it's the only vid who's embedding codes weren't disabled, so you'll have to click on the links to actually listen/watch the other songs.
All this Danny Boyle love I've been sharing made me think of "A Life Less Ordinary" but mainly the soundtrack and the Beck song Deadweight. Sadly the embedding request has been disabled but you can still check out this totally genius vid directed by Michel Gondry!
I must preface this review by writing that Slumdog Millionaire is possibly the best movie I've seen in years. Now that I've had a few days to let it ruminate and a chance to gain some perspective on this utterly beautiful film, there is certainly nothing else I can compare it to and can do nothing more than to tell you to go see this movie as soon as possible. Though if you need a better idea of what it's about, I've posted the trailer below, but basically it's a bildungsroman love story, vividly and lusciously told through vibrant cinematography, glorious acting and masterful directing. Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 million rupies on the Indian version of "Who wants to be a Millionaire," but before he can answer the final question he is accused of cheating and the plot of the film is how he was able to come up with the answers and is told in flashback intercut with present day.
I have been a fan of director Danny Boyle since "Trainspotting" came out, though I was too young to see it I was intrigued by him as a director and was forever a follower of his thanks to "A Life Less Ordinary," then "The Beach." More recently people may be familiar with his work on "28 Days Later" but Danny takes independent filmaking to a whole new level (as he always does) with this gem of a picture. I was hesistant about Dev Patel's performance, who plays Jamal, prior to the seeing film since he's so incredibly awkward and comedically brilliant on the British drama "Skins," but he was wonderful, as was every child actor who played the main characters in different points of their life. I must also mention Freida Pinto, who is not only gorgeous, but a discovery Danny Boyle likens to when he cast Kelly MacDonald in Trainspotting.
Finally I must add that M.I.A's music is featured throughout the film and after the constant bombardment of "Paper Planes" in the "Pineapple Express" trailer, I went off the song completely, though A R Rahman created a phenomenally modern and accessible score and soundtrack that features "Paper Planes" to perfect effect to the point where you want to travel to India. My rating: 10/10
"Choke " is the film adaptation of Chuck Palahniuck's novel, that's gotten rave reviews at every film festival it's premiered at since January. i'm really hoping this is the film that launches Sam Rockwell's career to unknown heights (i was hoping "Charlie's Angels" would but i guess i was the only one who noticed his brilliance...also check him out in almost everything he's done, he's divine.) even though Radiohead won't be scoring the film, the soundtrack still looks (and most likely sounds) fantastic. also a dear friend of mine (and the father of modern economics Adam Smith) worked on the film and swag is pitch perfect, so with all those factors working in it's favor, the movie is will hopefully be as awesome as everyone says it is. Choke opens Friday, September 26th, 2008.
"Children of Men" is on right now and I can't help watch at least part of it (though I did watch it last week.) I feel compelled to post about this utterly brilliant futuristic, sci-fi, drama because not only is it full of subtle incredible nuances, like the use of Radiohead's "Life in A Glass House" in the background during the "Strawberry Cough" scene (which would have made the song 26 years old,) but Clive Owen's performance is just stellar, especially in the moments when he's a downright louse. Though another reason I had to post is because Alfonso Cuaron is a down right genius and I also caught most of "Great Expectations" (which has a killer soundtrack) this morning, while getting ready for work. This man is a brilliant craftsman and is able to have his actors create strong and powerful characters that jump off the screen and into your heart in every one of his films, and his ever constant yet subtle use of the color green is truly remarkable and beautifully executed (seriously he's gaga for the green it's everywhere.) Anyway I highly recommend all of his films he is amazing.
"Children of Men" is on right now and I can't help watch at least part of it (though I did watch it last week.) I feel compelled to post about this utterly brilliant futuristic, sci-fi, drama because not only is it full of subtle incredible nuances, like the use of Radiohead's "Life in A Glass House" in the background during the "Strawberry Cough" scene (which would have made the song 26 years old,) but Clive Owen's performance is just stellar, especially in the moments when he's a downright louse. Though another reason I had to post is because Alfonso Cuaron is a down right genius and I also caught most of "Great Expectations" (which has a killer soundtrack) this morning, while getting ready for work. This man is a brilliant craftsman and is able to have his actors create strong and powerful characters that jump off the screen and into your heart in every one of his films, and his ever constant yet subtle use of the color green is truly remarkable and beautifully executed (seriously he's gaga for the green it's everywhere.) Anyway I highly recommend all of his films he is amazing.
