back in the '70s (or when it was briefly revived, or on DVD), you know that this was the signature phrase from the brilliant "Love of Chair," a satire of soap operas that was conceived by head writer
. Every installment of this sketch ended with the narrator saying, as the organ music dramatically paused, "And...what about Naomi?"
It was an inside joke. The real Naomi was Children's Television Workshop staffer
, who years later gave birth to the two young stars. What does this have to do with
? Well, it gives Jake Gyllenhaal a few extra points with me even though this movie somehow falls short of what it could be. He seems like a sincerely good fellow, and even took the time to appear in promos and on talk shows to promote this film, something that some stars who cash huge Disney's paychecks don't bother to do.
VHS tapes. Jake earns his abs in scene after scene. It's a shame that the script did not offer him as much of a challenge. We never really get to know, or really care much about, the lead characters. The first 30 minutes is almost solid exposition, overloaded with political business and intrigue, before the fantasy of the magic dagger and the romance of the lovely and independent Princess and Dastan get underway.
The two leads seem to have some chemistry but an awful lot of epic furniture gets in their way. I have to wonder how the script must have been before it was meddled with by all the chefs, concerned about the obviously huge budget paying off and making sure the kitchen sink wasn't left out.
.
Maybe the summer was too hot here in Florida for me to find the film's setting very appealing. The short documentary included with the DVD (the Blu-Ray also includes a deleted scene and an interactive feature) tells us that the temperatures were over 100 degrees and this discomfort comes across in the film -- though apparently producer
stayed nice and cool in the studio where he taped his comments with a superimposed background behind him!
WE ROCK, YOU ROCK, THEY ROCK, WE ALL ROCK
Blog, TV
Posted on Sep 14 2010 by Greg
My kids and I get a kick out of how things are promoted and advertised, especially on TV. My wife and I are big on media literacy, since kids are exposed to advertising almost as soon as they're born.
Anyway, whenever a sequel to something approaches, the marketing department types tend to force "points" into things whether they fit or not. In the case of
Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, their "strategy" was to make it clear that the second film is bigger and better. It's not exactly groundbreaking thinking, but you hear it all the time. So for the last several months Disney Channel has been having their stars tells us how this new
Camp Rock is "so much more (insert word here)." My kids laugh at this because of how it infers that that original is somehow inferior.
Of course, that's what advertising types must do -- always go for the new and improved. Curiously,
Camp Rock 2 seemed to me to be better than the first film -- but not so to my kids.
I liked the big, exuberant musical numbers. Clearly this film feels the influence of past phenoms like
High School Musical and
Glee. There's a lot more highly choreographed set pieces here and it's great stuff if you like MGM musicals and
Annette movies, which of course I do. The songs are more classic Hollywood "out of nowhere" than in the first film, where they were confined primarily to onstage settings.
My kids like musicals too, but they were missing the gentle, simple story of the first
Camp Rock. It was basically a cross between Cinderella (a prince seeking a voice rather than a shoe) and the
Mickey Mouse Club "Annette" serial (mean girl accuses nice girl of stealing).
The new movie really is bigger. All three
Jonas Brothers have key roles this time around, with the most endearing song sung by Nick.
Daniel Fathers as the camp leader is more of a plot focus also, as he competes with a rival camp led by an old rock rival (played by
Daniel Kash, an actor whom we were sure was related to
Tony Shalhoub in look and voice and still, we think, must be a distant cousin).
Therein may have been what lost my daughter in particular. The story was about ambition and business rather than boy meets girl -- or at least the romance took a backseat to the main plot. Don't get me wrong -- she likes the film and watched it again but prefers the first one.
The one thing we all agree on is the talent and likability of the star,
Demi Lovato. She had to carry the first film on her shoulders and delivers a strong presence and performance again. She has a
Sally Field quality and we hope she takes her life and career in the best possible dircctions. She's the real deal and we wish her well in the mine field of being a young star in show business.
The DVD does not offer more than a sing along (excuse me, a "rock along") option. The Blu-Ray disc also includes interviews.
THE VERSION OF SHERLOCK HOLMES YOU SHOULD BE HEARING ABOUT
Blog
Posted on Sep 03 2010 by Greg
It doesn't star
Robert Downey Jr., so it's not making big headlines, but
Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes deserves more attention, one reason being that it actually comes across much better than you might expect when you first hear the title.
First of all, the idea of the battling cat and mouse living in the home of a noted human harkens back to classic MGM theatrical cartoons, like
Johann Mouse, in which Jerry danced to the music of Strauss. In this DVD feature, the duo are Baker Street co-residents and provide slapstick shtick in the course of a Victorian London mystery.
Say what you will about revivals of vintage cartoon characters, the issue is really whether the people behind the scenes care about the heritage and emotional value of the characters enough to make them appeal to young audiences but not forget the fans that made them beloved in the first place.
This film succeeds because the talent did indeed care. Veteran writer and acclaimed animation historian
Earl Kress brought his expertise to the script, adding nods for fans and blending in
Droopy and other great but not as well-known MGM characters such as
Spike,
Tuffy and
Butch. The Tex Avery cartoon
Red Hot Riding Hood is celebrated not only by including the libidinous
Wolf but by making
Red a major character in the story.
Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts will also get a chuckle out of the name of a character: "Brett Jeremy," a reference to
Jeremy Brett, who is one of the definitive actors to play Holmes along with Basil Rathbone. And speaking of actors,
Michael York is superb as the animated Holmes, with
Malcolm McDowell as Moriarity and
John Rhys-Davies as Watson. Voice actors include
Jess Harnell, Jeff Bergman, Grey Delisle and, doing a particularly accurate Tuffy voice,
Kath Soucie.
And, as it should be, Tom and Jerry do not speak in the classic tradition of the original cartoons, all of which were directed by
William Hanna and
Joseph Barbera and won seven Oscars.
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