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New releases not
mentioned below. Sweet
and Lowdown is Woody Allen's fictional
recreation of the jazz age, featuring a famous
guitarist named Emmett Ray, played by Sean Penn.
Although Ray never existed, filmed commentary
from such notables as Nat Hentoff and Woody Allen
himself, coupled with real names and places from
the era, and the documentary presentation style
provide an aura of plausibility to the story, and
make Ray seem like an obscure but real talent
known only to aficionados. The story is really
about the difference betwen a musician and his
music. Ray is a superb musician, possessing an
angelic and instinctive grasp for the poetry of
the guitar. But he himself is a simple and vain
man of the basest character. He occupies his time
with pool, booze, and womanizing, and his idea of
a good time is watching trains go by, or shooting
rats in the dump. He transforms into a genius,
however, when he picks up his guitar. I suppose
Woody Allen is the right man for the story, since
he himself has always maintained a distance
between himself and his own creative output. I
like this movie. I like it because Allen is a
literate and imaginative storyteller, and a
dedicated filmmaker with a love for this era and
its music. I like it because Sean Penn himself is
also a genius not unlike the character he plays.
Whatever you may have heard or read about Penn's
private adventures, I just don't see where he is
anything short of a master when the camera starts
rolling, and he is so deep inside this character
that you believe every bit of it, even when it
gets silly and implausible. The character is a
braggart ("first time I had sex - 7 years
old") and a cad and completely
self-absorbed, and yet Penn reaches inside to
show more dimensions, a hidden sensitivity, with
little more than shrugs and facial expressions. I
was especially impressed by the way he
transformed when he played the guitar. I don't
have the knowledge to evaluate Penn's guitar
mime, but he sure convinced me, and many of the
scenes are shot with Penn's face in the shot with
the guitar. However they accomplished this, I was
impressed. Both Penn and Samantha Morton were
nominated for Oscars for their roles in this
movie. It's not a movie to everyone's taste, but
if you like the premise, track down a copy.
A couple more new
releases tomorrow, but nothing earth-shattering
this week.
"Inferno",
from Johnny Web
What happened to Ray
Liotta? Wasn't he just a young rising buck about
10 minutes ago. Wasn't he the central character
in "Goodfellas", a movie chosen by many
as the best picture of the 1990's? Liotta appears
here in an low-rent 1999 Grade B cops-'n-robbers
story. I think it was made for the USA network.
When the movie begins, Liotta wakes up in the
desert heat, with no idea of who is is or why he
is there. The rest of the movie is his attempt to
figure out the details without getting himself
killed. It turns out he was bad guy who
double-crossed some other very bad men, so his
attempts to find his memory are filled with
people who want something from him, or are trying
to kill him, or whatever. It isn't such a bad
film, not great or memorable, but a way to pass a
late evening when you need a new watch. Strange
ending, not very emotionally satisfying. I expect
arthouse cinema to end without neatly tying off
the plot threads, but when you watch a grade b
you don't expect one of those unresolved endings.
Usually the lovers get the stolen money and go to
the Caymans, or they are gunned down in a bloody
shoot-out, or something definite, but this movie
is inexplicit. The film might not hold your
attention with a typical Grade B star, but Liotta
really does a good job at drawing you into the
character. I don't know why he's been exiled to B
World.
The only nudity comes
from two anonymous strippers in a tiny club in a
forgotten part of Mexico.
First Stripper Second Stripper
"Love
and a 45", from Johnny Web
A hybrid: take one part
NBK and one part "Pulp Fiction" and get
this tale of lovers on the lam for murder. It
incorporates gory violence with grotesque humor
and colorful extreme characters. The film was
made in 1994, but just recently released to DVD.
Rene Zellweger showed some panties and wore
short-shorts throughout the movie, but there was
no outright nudity. The overriding comedy device
of the movie is a fictional TV network that
broadcasts "all crime all the time",
and apparently has a permanent rating near 100.
Renee Zellweger (1,
2,
3,
4)
"Gunshy",
from Johnny Web
Liam Neeson is an
undercover agent who has lost his nerve. Sandra
Bullock is the medical technician who, together
with his shrink and his therapy group, restores
order to his life. OK movie, nothing special. I
think it's kind of uninspired and derivative, but
it has enough entertainment value and big enough
stars to hold your attention if the premise
sounds OK to you. Why didn't you guys have Sandra
Bullock on that poll for prettiest face? I think
her face is money. The only nudity comes from
live statues at a mob shindig.
Miscellaneous (1, 2, 3, 4)
"Kentucky
Fried Movie", from Tuna
Looks like we have four
thumbs up for this one. From Tuna today.
Yesterday from Snappy Pappy and Junior. The
fourth is from me. I've always loved it. Saw it
first-run.
Tuna's thoughts: Kentucky Fried Movie caps are
dedicated to Snappy Pappy and Scoopy Jr. who
expressed a love of this film in yesterday's
edition. Rather than repeat what has already been
said about this comedy masterpiece, I will share
some personal notes on one of the actresses.
Lenka Novak is my former sister-in-law. She was
born in Sweden to a Czech immigrant, and started
her career as a figure model in Europe. An
unauthorized photo spread of her appeared in the
European edition of Penthouse. After coming to
the US, she continued to model (I remember one
Cosmo cover of her), and started a film career.
She stared in an exploitation film shot on very
low budget in the Philipines with the most
exploitive title ever -- Teenage Vampire Hookers.
IT is very hard to find and very forgettable. I
lost track of her when she divorced my
brother-in-law, who is a successful Hollywood
special effects expert (Chuck Comisky) after a
very forgettable acting career..
TU_KentuckyFriedMovieth001 thumbnails
Lenka
Novak Marilyn
Joi Novak, Mann, Genson (1,
2,
3)
Sharon Kaough (1,
2,
3,
4,
5)
Tara Strohmeier (1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9,
10)
Ursula "Uschi" Digard (1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9)
In addition to the pictures that go with these
daily member's bonuses every day, the
subscription area now has two years' worth of
back issues of the Fun House, plus the rasslin'
babes site, the fakes, the Fun House, the
Encyclopedia, and the Mardi Gras pics. Click
here to sign up or get info
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