Tuesday

Body Heat (1981)

The Silver Anniversary Special Edition DVD of Body Heat has now been released. Lord a'mighty, can 25 years really have passed so quickly? The disc includes the remastered film, vintage interviews with Hurt and Turner, and new featurettes which again feature interviews with Turner and Hurt as well as Kasdan himself. Most interesting to those of us who love this film, the DVD also includes five fully-finished scenes which were excluded from the final theatrical cut. What a treasure!

Body Heat is one of the most widely imitated films in history. Just about every contemporary straight-to-vid "erotic thriller" seems to be a variation of this film. Soft-core sex films copy it. Murder mysteries copy it. Even hard-core sex films borrow from it. Even the name is copied. There have been five videos named Body Heat since 1989!

In fact, Body Heat itself was not really original, but was a brilliant revival of a long-dormant genre. The "duplicitous woman noir" was a popular B&W genre in the 40's and 50's, but disappeared for a while until Lawrence Kasdan brought it back in color, with his own flourishes, in 1981, casting Turner and Bill Hurt in the roles formerly reserved for Barbara Stanwyck and Fred McMurray.

Hey, I'm not so impressed that this was Kasdan's first attempt to direct. I mean any schmuck can make a great directorial debut if he has a script written by on of the greatest screenwriters in history. Kasdan simply hired the guy who had written Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Empire Strikes Back, the two best films of the preceding year. Hell, the only thing Kasdan really accomplished was being lucky enough to hire that guy. Of course, finding him wasn't that hard. He only had to look in the mirror. Kasdan would go on to earn three Oscar nominations for films written after this one: The Accidental Tourist, The Big Chill, and Grand Canyon.

Kasdan did an especially good job at recreating the "sassy dame" dialogue from the 40s. Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler would be proud of this, their step-child.

"You're not too bright, are you? I like that in a man."

"What else do you like? Ugly? Horny? Lazy? I have it all."

"You don't look lazy"

The plot twists were unpredictable when this film came out, although we've seen it copied so many times that it seems formulaic now. The fundamental requirement for a good femme fatale picture is that the woman has to make the patsy do her dirty work, but both he and the audience have to think it was all his own idea. If she pushes him into it, he will realize he's being set up, and we will lose the pleasure of the ultimate surprise. Therefore, the spider really has to do her homework on the fly's weaknesses, and she has to spin her web subtly and slowly, so as not to appear obvious. In this case, Ned Racine (Bill Hurt) really was intellectually lazy and incorrigibly horny, just as he claimed to be, so those were the faults that Matty exploited. (Although I don't think women would agree with that part about Hurt being ugly.)

The film also includes some of the hottest, sexiest build-up of sexual tension in film history. Who can forget the scene when Turner and Hurt first make love? The wind chimes tinkle gently in the sweltering evening. Hurt can see Turner through the locked glass door. Hurt grabs the chair from the porch, shatters the door, storms through, and takes her. She is more than willing.

Finally, I have this on my short list of films where the casting director should have gotten a special Oscar. (The Outsiders, The World According to Garp and Bridget Jones's Diary also come immediately to mind.) The casting was sheer genius, right down to the minor roles. Check out Ted Danson of Cheers as the D.A. who really wanted to be a dancer. If only they could have obtained the musical rights to the dance classic written especially for him. I refer, of course, to "You Make Me Feel Like Danson."

What are you waiting for? If you haven't seen the film, do so. If you already love it, get your hands on the new special edition DVD and watch the deleted scenes.

  • Film clip (Zipped .wmv) - all the Kathleen Turner nudity from the film on one clip.
  • Film clip (Zipped .wmv) - deleted scene #1. Turner walks around in a negligee. Meh. Nothin' special, and too dark.
  • Film clip (Zipped .wmv) - deleted scene #2. Here's the winner. This one is a must-see. Turner walks around clad only in her panties and a see-through bra.

 

 

Kathleen Turner in the film:

 

 

 

Kathleen Turner in the deleted scenes:

 

 

 

 

Third party videos:

 

  • Maria Bello in Auto Focus. Maria has come close to the A-list in the time since this film was released, and you just have to love a sex scene involving Colonel Klink. "Ho-o-o-gan!"   (Zipped .avi). Fairly entertaining movie, but a complete dud at the box office, with two million total gross. Tuna pointed out quite incisively that it is a movie about the evils of sexual addiction, but the true believers for that message are not going to be very pleased by the fact that the film is loaded with the kind of sensational sex and nudity that those addicts would crave! So we suppose the target audience is sexual addicts who are ashamed of their addiction. Pretty small group. (Movie House review.)
  • We've seen some collages of red-hot Martina Stella in the Italian mini-series La Freccia Nera. Now, here is the film clip.  (Zipped .avi).

 

 

OTHER CRAP:

 

(Note: this is a comedy item). To Catch A Congressman
  • "Congressman Mark Foley was caught by NBC's 'To Catch A Predator' long before the scandal broke, but had the footage buried. Now it has leaked out, and we have it!"

The official page for ::SHORTBUS::, a film noted for its visual beauty and extreme sexual explicitness. It was directed by the same guy who did Hedwig and the Angry Inch

  • "Numerous New York City-dwellers come to the exclusive club Shortbus to work out problems in their sexual relationships. Rob (Raphael Barker) and Sophia (Sook-Yin Lee) are a happily married couple, except for the fact that she has never experienced sexual climax. This irony follows her to work, because she is a couples counselor who frequently has to deal with the sexual issues other couples have. Two of her patients are Jamie (PJ DeBoy) and James (Paul Dawson), a gay couple who have been monogamous for five years and counting. James wants to bring other men in to the relationship, and his own history with depression may hint at an ulterior motive. Ceth (Pronounced like Seth, played by Jay Brannon) may be the perfect addition to their family, but Caleb, a voyeur from across the street, may have his own ideas about that. At the urging of the two Jamies, Sophia visits Severin, a dominatrix with secrets of her own to reveal."

Neil Young, live in concert, 2-27-71

See, it's not all bad news in the world: Women Can't Sue After Flashing Breasts

SEINFELD GOES TO BAGHDAD, TO VISIT THE ‘WAR ABOUT NOTHING’

The trailer for Big Nothing, a new comedy starring David Schwimmer

  • "Charlie (Schwimmer), a frustrated, unemployed teacher decides to take revenge on life by embarking on a 'fool-proof' blackmailing scheme by joining forces with an unpredictable scammer and his ambitious ex-girlfriend. When absolutely nothing goes according to plan, things rapidly go from unimaginably bad to worse in Jean-Baptiste Andrea's stylish and darkly-comedic, 'Big Nothing.'"

Snipes to continue filming in Namibia

"The sudden ascendancy of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has many Democratic Party regulars afraid that a White House win by the charismatic politician would destroy a proud losing tradition that has taken years to build"

I rarely link to a serious article, but I found this interesting: Kids in the Baltic states want to leave. 66% of young Lithuanians would rather be elsewhere. Unlike most places where people want to leave, Lithuania has a low unemployment rate and rapid GDP growth.

Song Parody: SIMON AND GARFUNKEL’S ‘THE BOLLIXER’

"Warm and fuzzy cold war memories" A vintage Dave Barry column written in 1994.

Hillary Clinton foe says she would look hideous if not for plastic surgery

"Paris Syndrome" leaves Japanese tourists in shock

MovieJuice! gives the satirical treatment to The Prestige

What did people say about books 500 years ago, shortly after Gutenberg made them possible?

Letterman on Jon Stewart's old talk show in 1995

Watch the first four minutes of Borat's movie

The President is calling on all Americans who oppose terror to avoid Borat in person, on TV, and on the big screen This is post-post modernism. Borat himself is a put-on, and this article is putting Borat on.

The Prestige, as reviewed by The Filthy Critic

Here's something that tell you a lot about Eyes Wide Shut

  • Critic's rating: 87/100. Voter's rating 16/100. I wonder if that is the all time record for such a gap in perception.

Bill Maher - New Rules, October 20 edition

See a smoker in Omaha? Dial 9-1-1

 

 

 

 

Movie Reviews:

Yellow asterisk: funny (maybe). White asterisk: expanded format. Blue asterisk: not mine. No asterisk: it probably sucks.

 

The L Word Season 3 Episodes 5 through 8 (2005)

These episodes contain few surprises. Dana is diagnosed with breast cancer, has a mastectomy with a less than favorable prognosis and drives Laura away from her. Alice will be her caregiver, but Alice has a vampire in her life. Helena bought a movie studio, and has hired Tina to run it. Good thing, because Bette still isn't working. Helena wastes little time seducing a film maker, and Tina also starts a relationship with a film maker, but a man this time. A publisher decides to publish Jenny's novel, giving her delusions of adequacy, and Moira has started the process of becoming Max. Kit is having a mad affair with a much younger man, and is starting into menopause. Dana cheats on Carmen with Rosanna Arquette. This is proving to be a dark season for fans of the characters.

As a cancer survivor, it is interesting for me to watch Dana's character in dealing with this. While I can't relate to her pushing those close to her away, one bit rang very true. She was given a choice of reconstructive surgery at the same time as her mastectomy, but that would delay the surgery. Her immediate reaction was, "I want this off of me." I, and everyone I know who has dealt with cancer, has had exactly that reaction. "Get this out of my body right fucking now." In fact, for me, waiting for surgery was much harder than surgery itself.

The breast exposure this third season seems to be greatly increased over last year, but we have few buns and no bush so far. I will finish the season in tomorrow's edition.

 

EPISODE 5 has breasts from Erin Daniels, Leisha Hailey, Erica Cera, and Katherine Moennig as well as  pokies from Rosanna Arquette.

 

Erin Daniels

 

 

Leisha Hailey

 

 

Erica Cera

 

 

 

Katherine Moennig

 

 

Rosanna Arquette

 

 

 

 

EPISODE 6 has breasts from Katherine Moennig in a mirror.

 

Katherine Moennig

 

 

 

There is no nudity in EPISODE 7

 

 

EPISODE 8 has breasts from Erin Daniels, Rachel Shelley and Alexandra Hedison.

 

Erin Daniels

 

 

Rachel Shelley

 

 

Alexandra Hedison

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today is a "Hankster Light" day with an unknown (just kidding, but it was true then!) Charlize Theron in "2 Days in the Valley."  Caps and a clip (zipped .wmv) of a very sexy Charlize.

Watch out for that last cap.  Very bloody. And I said this was a "Hankster Light" day!
 

 
Dann reports on The Break-Up:

You've likely heard about this 2006 comedy/drama/romance, but it was probably more because of the romance between stars Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn than because the movie was great. It's not bad; it's just not what you'd expect.

A couple that bought a luxurious condo in Chicago together come to a parting of the ways. She breaks up with him. Neither wants to give up their part of the condo, so they continue to live together, but in separate rooms of the apartment. As time progresses, things get meaner and nastier as each tries to run the other one off. Brooke (played by Aniston) actually wants to reconcile, but her way of doing it is to have lots of dates to make him jealous, which only succeeds in him doing the same, so instead of bringing them together she drives them further apart.

While there is some romance, and some comedy, this movie is actually heavier on the drama. If you're looking for a light romantic chick flick with a feel good ending, you're in the wrong place. If you're in the mood for a comedic drama that realistically shows two people struggling through a break-up, with neither wanting to admit they've done anything wrong, you're there, dude. Oh, and happy endings? ... Well, you decide.

Jennifer Aniston

 

 

 

 

 

Notes and collages

Laura San Giacomo in The Stand

A cute lady with a phenomenal natural chest.

 

 

Kathryn Herrold in Into the Night

The full scene of Harrold adjusting herself in that swimsuit.   

 

 

 

 

It's difficult to compete with RokWatch in a tit-off when his champion is Laura San Giacomo, but here's my humble effort. Patricia Arquette with the perfect combination: Dolly Parton's breasts in Nicole Richie's blouse.