Sep 30 2009
I just made it through a preview of "Zombieland" without throwing up, but I'm glad I did -- make it through, I mean. It was funny, when I could watch.
A preview at Comic-Con in July made me realize that I would have trouble with the horror/comedy/adventure film. I've never done well with films that revel in gore, and this is one of them. Luckily for me, after opening credits that sent blood and guts splattering onto the screen, there were only two or three other unwatchable moments -- at least for those of us with queasy stomachs. And there must be a reason why rodents must appear in every film I see. It's just one teeny, tiny moment but I mean, honestly, unless it's Mickey Mouse or Ratatouille (and I had some trouble with that, too), why must there be rats in every film ever made.
Gore and guts and rats aside, the vast majority of "Zombieland" was very entertaining.
I'm sure someone besides Woody Harrelson could have played Tallahassee, but I can't think of him. As a zombie-killer extraordinaire, who dispatches flesheaters with unbridled joy, the rugged Harrelson is sublimely anti-intellectual. A fellow with nothing to lose who has learned the hard way to enjoy the little things in life. if only he could find just one Twinkie in this zombie-infested USA . . .
Harrelson couldn't have been more a polar opposite to Jesse Eisenberg's Columbus, an acknowledged nerd with a rule for every move. Emma Stone (below, with Eisenberg) is the con artist who melts his willing heart. All the while, zombies are drooling blood and chomping on the few survivors who haven't got Tallahassee around to protect them.
As in the film, Eisenberg seemed somewhat in awe of Harrelson even as they sat on the same panel at Comic-Con in San Diego.
Sep 26 2009
I was glad to see that Game Stop in Squirrel Hill was boarded up just as a precaution for the G-20. My son has Halo ODST on order, and we both want Scribblenauts.
Also glad to see that Conan O'Brien is OK after suffering a head injury on set. I had DVRed last night's ep. and when I got a rerun instead, I wondered what was up. AP filed this report:
LOS ANGELES — Conan O'Brien is expected to be back on the job Monday after hitting his head during a "Tonight Show" stunt.
NBC said in a statement Saturday that O'Brien was resting comfortably at home.
The network says the accident Friday halted production of "Tonight." The network did not say what the stunt entailed.
O'Brien was examined at a hospital and released.
A "Tonight" rerun with guest Jeremy Piven aired Friday. According to NBC's Web site, The scheduled show was supposed to include Teri Hatcher and Seth McFarlane.
Sep 24 2009
It's been so long since I've been on a PAT bus, I can't recall the
previous ride -- probably five or six times in the past 25 years, when
my car and my husband were not available. It's amazing when you
consider I grew up in Brooklyn and rode a bus and two trains to high
school and spent hours and hours on public transportation from the time
I was a preteen.
I never owned by own car when I lived in New York, and when I
moved here in 1980, when I was 22, I live on Fifth Avenue in Shadyside,
so a car seemed like an unnecessary luxury. I rode the bus everywhere
for more than a year, when I finally bought my first car, a light blue
VW Rabbit. Loved that car.
But I digress . . . The point is, I
started the day on a bus, the 61C, Greenfield to Stanwix and Boulevard
of the Allies. It took about a half-hour instead of the usual 10-15
minutes by car, but it was still quite pleasant. The crowds were
obviously way down, but the driver was very nice to all of us
irregulars who asked a million questions, and it was an easy drive,
with just a slight delay at the Downtown checkpoint at Fifth and Ross
that become much busier later on.
What I saw along the way . . .
The
Carnegie Mellon football team was practicing at 8 a.m. -- there's
dedication. But nothing unusual until we were slightly further along,
approaching the main CMU campus on Forbes. A young man behind me was
telling his seatmate that he was going Downtown to greet the president,
but he wasn't quite sure when or where. He got off at the campus, where
about two dozen vans were lined along the street, and joined other
Asian students in boarding the vans. Wonder where he wound up today.
The
saddest sight I saw was just up the road, where the windows and
fountains at the Forbes/Craig corner of the Carnegie Museum of Art were
protected and the statues outside the Carnegie Music Hall were covered
by tarps. Giant, friendly Dippy looked so exposed on the opposite
corner.
When we turned off Forbes along Bellefield, there were
three ambulances (McKeesport, McCandless, and was that Kiski?) from
different neighborhoods stationed right in the center of the street.
For several blocks on Fifth, up to the PAA block, the parking meters
were covered and warned of no parking, and the entrance to Bigelow was
blocked by a barracade.
After that, it was a straight shot on
Fifth, with few passengers and little or no traffic until we reached
the checkpoint at Fifth and Ross, where buses began to back up while
police checked vehicles.
The friendly driver said it was "quieter than usual."
If only it's the same when I go home tonight.
Sep 21 2009
Wish I'd rememberd to say in print how fabulous Alyson Hannigan ("How I Met Your Mother") looked at the Emmys last night. Overall, it was a great night for glamor. But I can't wait to read today what the fashionistas are saying about Olivia Wilde and January Jones' looks. Not sure what to make of them even after a night to think about it.
Sep 13 2009
One of the joys of a Saturday night in Pittsburgh is sitting on the deck at
the Hofbrauhaus on a nice night, away from the raucous noise inside. And I don't
even drink beer. It's always party time inside, where the music and the revelers
make it impossible to have a conversation. But on the deck, it's still
boisterous without being ear-splitting. And even with all the nearby
construction, you can still catch a glimpse of Downtown, marvel at the modern
buildings across the river or watch a huge coal barge move smoothly along the
Mon.
There was live music at the Works, too, in the street in front of the cinema,
and all the restaurants seemed to be overflowing with patrons.
And I was home in time to catch the first episode of the third and final
season of "Robin Hood" on the BBC.
I'm still stunned by the death of Marian at the end of last season, and at
Guy's hands, but it gave the first episode renewed purpose. It's hard to believe
that Robin wouldn't kill Guy when he had the chance. But when Guy begs for death
instead of his hell on Earth, I guess it makes sense that Robin would hold back
,
for now.
Killing the love of Robin's life when he's a young man (the earnest
Jonas Armstrong) is just one way the BBC series turns the legend on its ear. The
series left Will Scarlett back in the Holy Land last season and Saturday night
introduced a monk name Tuck -- the strapping black actor David Harewood. It's
Tuck who reminds Robin how important he is to the hopes of the people of
England, still suffering under the thumb of Prince John and the devilish Sheriff
of Nottingham. Another newcomer to the series, Kate (Joanne Froggatt ), joins Robin's team next week.
I'm eager to see how it plays out. I like that it takes chances and that
they're not drawing it out past this season, as many series seem to overstay
their welcomes.
I've set a series recording on my DVR -- just in case future Saturday plans
keep me out past "Robin Hood's" 9 p.m. starting time.
I suppose I should take this time to admit that the 1938 "Adventures of Robin
Hood" with Errol Flynn, silly tights and all, is one of my favorite adventure
films. And the BBC series will tide me over until Russell Crowe's "Robin Hood"
is in theaters. It's scheduled for the summer blockbuster season, the second
week of May.
Sep 13 2009
So you thought the Emmys were next Sunday? Well, the live broadcast of the "major" awards is Sept. 20, with Neil Patrick Harris as host.
But a bunch of Emmys were given out Saturday in L.A.
Being a guest on "Saturday Night Live" payed dividends in Emmy gold for Tina Fey, who won for best guest actress in a comedy for her impersonation of Republican vice presidential contender Sarah Palin. She's also up for best actress in a comedy for "30 Rock," an award she won last year. Justin Timberlake, a gifted guest host and partner in comedy for Andy Samberg on "SNL," won best guest actor in a comedy series.
Their wins were jammed into the Creative Arts Primetime Emmys, which recognize technical and other achievements for the 2008-09 season. Fey has the chance for more awards.
In the drama category, Michael J. Fox won the guest actor award for his turn on "Rescue Me," and Ellen Burstyn was honored as best guest actress for "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."
Neither Timberlake nor Fox were on hand to accept, the AP reported.
Kathy Griffin was host of the nearly four-hour ceremony. An edited, shorter version of the ceremony will air Friday on E! at 1 p.m.
The top network winner was HBO with 16 trophies, followed by NBC with 11. Fox and ABC each won eight awards, with CBS, PBS and Cartoon Network each with six.
PBS’ "Little Dorrit," an adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel, was the most-honored program with four awards. Several shows, including the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and "American Idol," received three creative arts trophies. More at www.emmys.org
Sep 09 2009
Fox has announced that Ellen DeGeneres will replace Paula Abdul as the fourth "Idol" judge next season. There had been speculation that Victoria Beckham, who will be a judge during the audition phase of Season 9, would get the regular gig. But it'll be Ellen in the power seat when the new season opens in January.
DeGeneres said, "It's a dream job" in a statement. She didn't say anything about having a music background that would help her judge the singers, although she does dance into her chair to start her daytime talk show. Certainly, the banter between the comedian and Simon Cowell, or anyone else, should be more, well, comprehensible, than it was at times with Abdul.
Guest judges for the audition phase of the competition include Beckham, Mary J. Blige, Shania Twain, Avril Lavigne, Neil Patrick Harris, Katy Perry and Joe Jonas.
Sep 09 2009
The release date of "The Road" has been moved again! Now it's scheduled for release on Nov. 25.
Sep 09 2009
While I lament that I will probably miss Hugh Jackman and Daniel
Craig on Broadway in "A Steady Rain" -- Wolverine and James Bond as
Chicago cops! -- it was announced today that the 2010 Tony Awards will
be held Sunday, June 13, at Radio City Music Hall.
No word yet on
a host. Last year's talented MoC, Neil Patrick Harris, will be the host
of the Emmys this year, and he's producing, too.
The awards show, honoring the best of he 2009-2010 Broadway season, will be telecast live on CBS from 8 to 11 p.m.
The
Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, which present the show,
say the cutoff for nomination eligibility will be April 29, 2010. No
word on what date the nominations will be announced.
Sep 09 2009
Having trouble keeping up with all that there is to see and do, what
with the NFL preparing for its big kickoff concert practically right
outside the doors of the Post-Gazette and the G-20 Summit looming large
in the near future.
But I did get a chance to spend a few minutes
on the phone yesterday with Sandy Duncan, who's in Jennerstown at the
Mountain Playhouse to star in "The Glass Menagerie" with her son,
Jeffrey Correia. Sandy talked a lot about something dear to my heart,
the mother-son relationship, and how it is as a mother to watch a son
achieve his goals -- especially when his career choice mirrors your
own.
She said she's been able only recently to divorce herself
from "that mom thing" when she watches Jeffrey perform, and see him as
an interested audience member. It's brave for them to take on the roles
of Tennessee Williams' Amanda and Tom Wingfield, a mother and son with
issues that analysts are still trying to sort out, and two people who
"can really push each others buttons," Sandy said. They discussed it
and hopefully worked out any issues before rehearsals began for the
play, which opens with student matinees Sept. 15 and has its official
opening Sept. 17.
Quite coincidentally, I was watching a DVR of
Jason Bateman on "Inside the Actors' Studio" on the same day I spoke to
Sandy. I had just written that she appeared in TV's "The Hogan Family,"
starting in 1986, when series star Valerie Harper walked away from the
show. Bateman was her co-star, playing her nephew on the show for its
five-year run. Talking about that time, he said, "Sandy Duncan is still
one of my favorite people."
More on the Mountain Playhouse production with Sandy Duncan and Jeffrey Correia in the PG's Sunday Magazine on Sept. 13.
More Posts
Next page »