Entertainment & Sports: July 2003 Archives
According to the WaPo, Mel Gibson's upcoming release "The Passion" left some members of an elite preview audience in tears.
Yesterday when the lights came up, many in the audience -- who were required to sign a confidentiality agreement before being admitted to the screening room -- were in tears. Some were sobbing, we hear.Well it is a compelling story, and based on a best-selling book."Heartbreaking," Michael Novak told Gibson. "The Exorcist" author William Peter Blatty called the movie "a tremendous depiction of evil." MPAA President Valenti was perhaps the most enthusiastic. "I don't see what the controversy is all about," he told fellow audience members. "This is a compelling piece of art. I just called Kirk Douglas and told him that this is the movie to beat."
Some people who weren't allowed into the movie weren't as enthusiastic.
The influential Anti-Defamation League, which monitors incidents of anti-Semitism, has been especially critical, pointing out on its Web site the long historical relationship between passion plays and attacks on Jews: "ADL has serious concerns regarding Mr. Gibson's 'The Passion' and asks: Will the final version of 'The Passion' continue to portray Jews as blood-thirsty, sadistic and money-hungry enemies of Jesus? Will it correct the unambiguous depiction of Jews as the ones responsible for the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus?"Everyone reading this should know that I'm a huge supporter of Jews and Israel, &c., but I'm not exactly sure what the ADL wants. Would they be satisfied with a portrayal of 1st century Jews as described in the New Testament of the Bible, or would they only be appeased if the movie shows Jews from a politically correct 21st century perspective?
Someone over at Disney had a really bad idea: making movies based on Disneyland's more popular rides. If someone had presented this idea to me I would have told them they were nuts. What a cheesy, stupid idea. I know everyone loves Pirates of the Caribbean the Ride, and everyone would be sure to be disappointed by whatever lame movie got based on its "premise".
And, I would have been wrong. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was actually lots of fun and very subtle at times. The plot made me think a bit and held together tightly. The actors were all convincing, and Johnny Depp was magnetic; I couldn't take my eyes off him; in a very heterosexual sort of way, mind you. Keira Knightley is beautiful, and I'm probably going marry her; her face is incredibly expressive, and I could hardly take my eyes off her, either. I want to marry an English girl with good teeth, and hope my kids grow up with cute little English accents.
The costumes and scenery were immersive, and the CGI that was used for the skeleton pirates was masterfully done. There were wenches, piles of gold, walkings of planks, deserted islands, piles of gold, cannons, swordfights, parrots, monkeys, freaking skeleton pirates, and piles of gold everywhere. The dialogue and background provided enough allusions to the ride to keep me alert, but not so many that it came off as cheesy or pandering (unlike references in the recent Star Wars movies to the earlier trilogy).
The plot was a little twisty, and it worked really well. There were a few moments where the characters seemed to be taken aback by the stereotypes they were playing out, but there wasn't any slapstick or campiness to distract from the piratey atmosphere.
One surprise came early on, before the movie even started: a preview for The Haunted Mansion, apparently based on the ride by the same name. On the severe downside, it stars Eddie Murphy, who hasn't made a decent movie since... since... hold on, I'll think of one... uh... ok, 1988. The preview was amusing, but I think the movie's going to be pure slappity-slap-slap. Oh well. Maybe I'll be wrong again.
Bill Hobbs mentions that the Christian music industry is appealing to its listeners' moral values in an attempt to curb music sharing.
I'm not heavily involved myself, but some of my close friends are deep into the Christian music scene here in LA (and local independent music in general). We've talked about pirating and what the various bands they know think of the practice, and the answer has been pretty much unamimous. Of the dozens of Christian bands that my friends know, every single one of them prefers the additional exposure that pirating brings to whatever marginal revenue is lost in sales.
I go to shows occassionally, and I remember specifically telling my friend who took me to see Eleventeen: "I'd better not tell Josh that you burned me a copy of their last CD."
He just laughed. "He doesn't care, he'd probably be glad to hear that I like them enough to make you listen. Now you're here at the show, and paying for that."
Yesterday I went to Lighthouse Christian Bookstore in Long Beach, and I was stunned that all the music I was interested in was $6-$8 more than it is at Tower Records. It used to be that you couldn't find any of the indie/Christian stuff anywhere but at a Christian store, but that's not the case anymore; I wonder if they'll be able to stay in business?
If you've got a few minutes to kill, I highly recommend checking out the Stickman Murder Mysteries.
