R.I.P. Philip Seymour Hoffman

Another one of the greats is gone. It's heartbreaking to see someone this talented leave us too soon. Our thoughts are with his family during this impossibly difficult time. His legacy will live on in the movies.

How To Be Dee Dee (aka Annette Funicello)

Dee Dee (played by Annette Funicello in the beach party movies) is a fun-loving girl who can often be found hanging out at the beach with her friends. In honor of our darling Annette, I'd thought I'd write up this little how-to so you can bring a little carefree beachy-breezy style into your own life!

Step One: Oh I'm sorry, did I say carefree? I meant that you'd better have your big teased sprayed 60s hair on, beach or no beach!

Step Two: That goes for makeup too. You'd better be wearing it!

Step Three: Thou shalt not wear a bikini. EVER. You are allowed one tiny strip of skin and a wee bit of cleavage. That is all.

Step Four: Dee Dee is always up for a challenge. Try something that scares you a little, like sky diving! It'll be a great story to tell later, if nothing else!

Step Five: Brush up on your performing skills. You may need to break into song at any moment. And make sure you know the Rock-a-Cha!

Step Six: Be pointlessly jealous of the girls around your boyfriend. Wait around patiently for him to finish flirting with whatever new girl comes along, and be there for him when he decides to come back.

You know what? Screw that. You're too good for him, Dee Dee! I say you leave Frankie's ass in the sand and go hang out with your girlfriends. You don't need that slob!

And try all you want, but you just won't reach this adorable perfection. 

R.I.P. Annette

R.I.P. Roger

A few months ago when I heard about the death of film critic Andrew Sarris, I stopped for a moment to reflect on the ways in which Mr. Sarris had changed the world of film criticism. An hour ago when I heard about the death of Roger Ebert, I nearly wept. Had I not still been at work and in the presence of co-workers and customers, I probably would have let the tears flow. I wanted desperately to relate this horrible and tragic news to everyone within earshot, but down inside I knew that they would either not know the name or (even worse) not care. But then why should they care? They have no personal connection to the man. I on the other hand, would not be who I am today without him.

Roger Ebert has touched my life in so many ways. He was the first critic to recognize greatness in my favorite director Martin Scorsese way back when both men were just starting out. He also wrote the screenplay to the camp-classic Beyond The Valley of The Dolls which became a seminal film in the lives of 'Becca'lise and I after a viewing early in our relationship. The commentary track he recorded for Citizen Kane helped me to better appreciate that film for the classic that it is. And most importantly, his Great Movies series inspired the creation of this very blog.

If you've noticed, all the reviews on here are of movies we love deeply and want to share with the world. That came directly from Roger Ebert and his Great Movies essays. If you have the opportunity to check out any of the three published volumes of these pieces, please do. They can also be found digitally on his website. Read any one of these deep-diving explorations and you will begin to understand the mantra by which he guided his life in criticism: A movie is not about what it's about; it's about how it's about it. Those words go through my head every time I sit down to type an entry.

God Bless you Roger Ebert for sharing your love with all of us. You were a true original and will absolutely never be forgotten. See you at the movies.

The Hunger (1983)

Miriam (Catherin Deneuve) preys on urban clubgoers with her vampire lover John (David Bowie). When John suddenly starts aging, Sarah (Susan Sarandon), a doctor who researches premature aging suddenly becomes very imporant.

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I'd been meaning to see this film for years. I grew up with Top Gun and love love love True Romance. Its a shame that it took Tony's untimely death to get me to see this great film. The style in this film is so dense. The opening scene with Bauhaus is a thing of beauty that would make Nicolas Roeg smile. Though some might argue that the style is attempting to make up for a lack of substance, I on the other hand feel that it allows this film to be something we rarely see - pure cinema. While there isn't really a narrative in the traditional sense, it makes cinematic sense. Like David Cronenberg's Crash, you're not really sure how you got from A to B but you were completely riveted the entire time. This film is also a perfect double feature with brother Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. Made within a year of each other, both films deal intensely with mortality and the desire for life. Could this have anything to do with the 1980 death of their brother Frank? A lot to chew on for a movie from the guy who directed Top Gun. Rest in peace Tony.

Funeral For A Friend

When the American Cinematheque decided to screen a digital print of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey at their Aero Theatre in Santa Monica a few weeks ago, I knew something was up. The coup de grace came when I saw that The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences would be screening the same movie on film as part of their depressingly titled: Last 70mm Festival.  I should have seen the writing on the wall when Cal State Long Beach stopped holding their annual Widescreen Film Festival. Or when the shoe-box sized theater near my childhood home converted to digital projection. Having in my own lifetime seen digital imaging evolve from Chuck & Buck to Hugo, I knew deep-down that it was inevitable. The LA Weekly even told me so. I just didn't realize that when the end finally came, it would hurt this much. And while it's heartening to see filmmakers  like Christopher Nolan and Paul Thomas Anderson out there trying to keep the format alive, it can't help but feel like a bandaid on a bullet wound. Even Martin Scorsese has jumped ship. So why don't we just call it a day and say: Here lies film, 1895 - 2012. Rest In Peace old friend. You will not be soon forgotten.

Peter Falk (1927 - 2011)

99.9% of the obits for Peter Falk will feature the name of a certain detective he played for years on TV. This will be the one exception. Falk was so much more than that. He was a cornerstone of the John Cassavetes gang in countless films, he was everyone's grandpa in The Princess Bride and maybe most aptly, he was an angel who chose to live life among us in The Wings of Desire. Rest In Peace sir. It's time to go back home.

Sidney Lumet 1924 - 2011

The film industry lost a great today with the passing of legendary director Sidney Lumet. Beginning as a respected TV director in the 50s, Lumet easily transitioned to feature films with the masterful 12 Angry Men. Though his career did falter at times with bombs like The Wiz and the Vin Diesel vehicle Find Me Guilty, his career is filled with an inordinate number of film classics such as Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Murder on the Orient Express and the immortal satire Network. Though nominated 5 times, Lumet never received an Oscar until he was awarded an honorary statue in 2005. He leaves behind one of cinema's great bodies of work through which he will be remembered for decades to come.