Asta 2

Weekend Wrap Up

I saw Woody Allen Hugh Jackman’s latest, Scoop, this afternoon. If you’re a big fan of Hugh as I am, then, yes, I would recommend going to see this in the theatre. He looks really, really good. And there are a few genuinely funny moments, but there were also many plot problems that I would have taken far more issue with had Hugh not been in the movie. Poor Ian McShane is totally wasted. Don’t let the commercials fool you; he’s probably not even in ten minutes of the film. When he does appear, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Woody is typical Woody though, thank God, he’s playing the fatherly role here. Scarlett was pretty good, showing a decent, if not spectacular knack for the comedy and didn’t seem as oddly paired with Hugh as I feared she may.

Oh, and in one of the final scenes who should appear but…Anthony Head! My fandoms are colliding again.

A pretty decent selection of trailers ran before the film. The Prestige cannot come out soon enough. Curtis Hansen’s latest takes place in the Las Vegas gambling world. Lucky You has Eric Bana playing Texas Hold Em against Robert Duvall. According to imdb, Robert Downey Jr also stars. Shuffle up and deal me in! (Sorry, I had to do it. ;) And there was The Last Kiss with Zach Braff which looked interesting, but I kept thinking about writteninstars lined up for the first showing. ;-)

Saturday night I watched Kingdom of Heaven on HBO. I’m glad I saved my money and skipped this in the theatres. Granted, I was doing other stuff while it was on, but it seemed pointless, nothing more than a series of battles strung together. The films one saving grace was that Orlando looked the best I’ve ever seen him.

I might talk more about this later, but my new boss started this past Monday. The universe decided to get in one last laugh - he has the same first name as the last #!&%!! boss. The good news is that is where all similarities, thus far, seem to end. New boss is nice, polite, respects personal space, has a sense of humor that we can all understand, and OMG IS DOING WORK! After one week he’s already sat down with most of us, begun learning what we do, and set about fixing problems. I’m going to have to get use to working for someone who knows what they are doing again.
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    petzipellepingo
    I watched Kingdom of Heaven on HBO. I’m glad I saved my money and skipped this in the theatres. Granted, I was doing other stuff while it was on, but it seemed pointless, nothing more than a series of battles strung together. The films one saving grace was that Orlando looked the best I’ve ever seen him.
    He did look nicely scruffy didn't he? I saw it this morning in between doing things as well. And you are right about there not being much of a point other than pointing out that people are still fighting over the same damn piece of sand.
    asta77
    I liked the bit of writing that appeared at the end that stated nothing really had changed in a thousand years. No! Really? I had no clue. ;)

    It would seem that the Director's Cut is far superior to what we saw. I may have to check that out.
    raffaella
    Woody is typical Woody though, thank God, he’s playing the fatherly role here.

    Heh. I love how all the reviews make a special mention of that. The NYT critic was very grateful that Allen "had finally understood that people really didn't want to see him pawing young actresses" (there was even an "eww" thrown in there, which cracked me up). I think I'll see it, in part for Hugh Jackman, and in part because the feel of the trailer reminded me of Manhattan Murder Mystery, which was the last Woody Allen film I truly enjoyed. You know, a lighthearted whodunit with a central female character too curious for her own good. Of course, MMM had Diane Keaton and Alan Alda, but you can't have everything. :)

    As for Kingdom of Heaven, I remember thinking that it was a potentially good film when I saw it in the cinema -- lots of good elements (and a lot of caricatural stuff too)-- but that it didn't quite add up. But I recently saw the director's cut, and it makes a huuuge difference. I know that director's cuts are often marketing ploys, but it's obvious that the film I saw in the cinema suffered from the commercial cut and was not what the director wanted to show. Some of the issues I had with the film remained, but the director's cut actually makes for a fairly good film.
    asta77
    Woody did touch Scarlett a few times, not in an inappropriate manner at all, but part of my mind chanted 'Please don't go there...please don't go there...'. ;)

    Hugh wet in swim trunks is worth the price of admission. :-)

    I heard that the Director's Cut of KoH was considerably better. I think the studio mandated cuts for time and Ridley Scott was not happy with the theatrical product. Which Director's Cut did you see? Aren't there two now with the latest being the definitive addition? Maybe when I have a free afternoon I'll see about renting it. The movie definitely had potential to be good.
    raffaella
    There are two of them? Seems like a bit much. Or maybe there's one director's cut and two editions of the DVDs with different features aside from the film, because I have a hard time seeing Ridley Scott releasing his prefered cut, then only a few months later, going "oh wait, this is the real director's cut. The other one was just an intermediary version." *g* Even the LOTR people didn't dare do that, and they milked the DVDs for all they were worth. In any case, it's a DVD I bought two months ago, and it's easily 45-50 minutes longer than the theatrical version.

    Hugh wet in swim trunks is worth the price of admission. :-)

    I saw a PICTURE! Very hot! I'm really glad that he seems to have a series of good to excellent films coming in the next months, because much as I like him, I couldn't bring myself to watch Van Helsing and I still resent him for Swordfish.
    enterlinemedia
    If you saw the theatrical cut of Kingdom of Heaven, the director's cut just buries it and stomps the theatrical cut into the ground. the additional 50 minutes in the DC makes KOH a classic. I wish they released the Director's Cut to theaters instead. The DC adds so much characterization missing from the TC.

    Read my DVD Review of the DC DVD:
    http://enterline2.tripod.com/kingdom_of_heaven_dc.html
    asta77
    CCharacterization was sorely lacking in the version I saw leading the film to be pointless in my opinion. I wasn't even sure if Orlando suceeded or failed in his mission for salvation for himself and his late wife. I'll need to check out the Director's Cut at some point.
    Re: Ian McShane
    asta77
    I've seen an ep here and there, but could never get into it like so many others have. I have seen almost every episode of Lovejoy though! :)
    lynnb
    Thanks for the review of Scoop. As much as I like Hugh (and I was encouraged by the trailer), I'm disappointed that Ian McShane has so little to do. He's been a favorite of mine since Lovejoy, and was the best looking Judas (Jesus of Nazareth) I've ever seen ;) And Tony Head was in it? Hmm, I think I'll check it out when it comes on cable - Woody can be funny when he isn't acting like a perv ;)

    I'm glad your new boss seems like a good guy. You deserve that. I hope he continues to be.
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