Tag Archives: Movies

What we’re listening to today — Harry Nilsson

Image from LorberFilms.com

Just saw a really good documentary last night via Netflix streaming on singer/songwriter and soft rock superstar Harry Nilsson called Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him)?. As implied by the title, Nilsson is somewhat forgotten today but was fairly omnipresent in the late 1960s throughout the 70s, with several big hits recorded by him or written by him and recorded by other artists. You’ll probably recognize his tunes if not his name, which fall into what I lovingly call the “Crap Rock” genre (America, Player, Ambrosia, Bread, Bob Welch, etc). His own breakthrough was the theme song from 1969’s Oscar-winning downbeat classic Midnight Cowboy, “Everybody’s Talkin'”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz6GzKWiIAs

Although “Everybody’s Talkin'” was ironically not actually written by Nilsson, it was clear a major vocalist had arrived on the scene after many years of cult status earlier in the 60s. Of his own material, “One” is arguably his best known and also most successful single.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nB5VxPOoio

Even so, it wasn’t a huge blockbuster for Nilsson but rather for AOR staple Three Dog Night (as well as a ton of artists subsequently). Their signature blues-rock version reached #5 on the Billboard charts.

Having established himself in a short period as a hot commodity, Nilsson went on to have a huge commercial and critical success of his own with 1971’s Nilsson Schmilsson. Continue reading →

RIP Philip Seymour Hoffman, 1967 – 2014

We’ve lost one of our finest American actors. The brilliant and gifted Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead on February 2nd in his West Village apartment of an apparent intravenous drug overdose, most likely heroin. In addition to his many highly praised film roles, Hoffman was an accomplished stage actor and director, winning special acclaim for his lead work in excellent revivals of True West, Long Day’s Journey Into Night and Death of a Salesman. He was also a co-artistic director of the LAByrinth Theater Company in New York City. Part of Paul Thomas Anderson’s informal repertory company, Hoffman appeared in 5 of his 6 films to date, including the title character in last year’s The Master. He also won the Best Actor Oscar for his uncanny portrayal of Truman Capote during the In Cold Blood years in the 2005 film Capote. He was always a standout from his first big breakthrough as the no good prep school kid alongside Chris O’Donnell and Pacino in Scent of a Woman; to his irreverent priest matching wits with Meryl Streep in Doubt; to his wonderfully touching work in Tamara Jenkins’ underrated The Savages alongside Laura Linney. In fact, his standout parts are too numerous to do them justice here so I hope you’ll explore his filmography to see what a wonderful actor he was (see below for links) even if it hurts to think that we’ll see no more from him. You’ll probably also be surprised at how prolific he was.

He leaves behind his wife Mimi O’Donnell and their son and two daughters. Just an ineffably sad day for those who admired his work and his creative spirit. We are all truly poorer for his premature passing because you never really knew what delightful thing he was going to do next.

Philip Seymour Hoffman’s full Wikipedia bio is here.

His IMDB page is here.

Gorgeous Lady of the Week — Margot Robbie

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Yes, at 23 this stunning Australian beauty is a little younger than the ladies we normally go for here at MFL. But c’mon — who can resist that face and, well, all the rest? She strikes us as a bit like the second coming of Grace Kelly, who was also a very young breakout sensation in her day. And we wouldn’t be surprised if a wealthy prince whisks her away someday either. But we’re in good company in being enchanted by such a youthful beauty — one has only to check out her sizzling work in The Wolf of Wall Street to see that Martin Scorcese is just as smitten with this blond bombshell. And he’s a hell of a lot older than us!

Margot-Robbie Pan Am

After making it big on the Aussie mega-soap Neighbours, Robbie split for LA and landed a prime role in ABC’s 2011 retro series Pan Am as a rookie flight attendant. While it seemed that Pan Am would also capture that magical 60s zeitgeist so successfully mined by Mad Men, the show was cancelled after only one season. But it’s hard to keep a stone looker with Margot’s kind of talent down and after a supporting part in 2012’s About Time, Ms. Robbie scored the plum role that any aspiring young actress would give their eye teeth for: the ultra-sexy party girl Naomi LePaglia who tames Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street.

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Trust me: you’ll need a cold shower after watching their sex scenes.

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With a great photo shoot for Esquire under her belt and currently illuminating the various red carpets of awards season, Margot Robbie is one of the fastest rising stars in Holywood. She’s now shooting Violent Talent and will co-star in the upcoming Will Smith vehicle, Focus, so we’re definitely not the first to peg her as a sure thing for a long and successful Hollywood career.  With a face and bod like that, and talent to match, she’s a slam dunk… and definitely the stuff that lupine dreams are made of.

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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year’s Eve, folks, and if you are going to tie one on tonight (as you bloody well should) this clip from 1942’s classic musical comedy Holiday Inn shows you how to do it with style and elán as only the great Fred Astaire can.

*Unfortunately, this video has its embedding disabled but click over to YouTube for this terrific performance–you won’t regret it.

We should all be so charming when we’re blitzed.

Wishing our loyal readers all the very best in 2014 and we hope you’ll keep hanging around our ever-evolving blog!

And of course, be careful who kisses you come midnight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gBalU46KqKI

Merry Christmas, Part II

And for those who prefer their Christmas entertainment traditional, there is probably no better cinema Christmas Carol than the 1951 Alastair Sim version directed by Brian Desmond Hurst. This adaptation is every bit as faithful and moving as Dickens could have wanted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ERtv_CC_nY

Merry, Merry and how’s that goose coming? I’m starved!

Gorgeous Lady of the Week — Amy Adams

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With her girl next door good looks, peaches and cream complexion and megawatt smile, Amy Adams is a born ingenue and the stuff that Holywood dreams are made of. But she’s more than just a wholesome all-American girl with a decidedly pretty face. Ms. Adams can flat out act.

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After struggling in Holywood in the early 2000s for several years without much to show for it, Amy Adams broke through to widespread critical recognition in 2005’s indie hit, Junebug. Her irrepressible Ashley Johnsten in that film earned the then-30-year-old a Best Supporting Actress nomination. And she has’t looked back since.

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In 2007 she was Princess Giselle in Disney’s megahit Enchanted and quickly followed that up with starring roles in the underrated Sunshine Cleaning and another critical success alongside Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia, which hinted at something more in her than just sweetness and light. She explored her tougher side further in David O. Russell’s excellent The Fighter as boxer Mickey Ward’s tough-as-nails and fiercely protective working class girlfriend, Charlene Fleming. After a return to perky form with The Muppets, Ms. Adams continued to mine a darker vein as the manipulative power behind a cult leader in P.T. Anderson’s grim The Master.

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With major roles in this past year’s Man of Steel as a fair haired but pitch perfect Lois Lane and another David O. Russell success, the recently released Oscar contender American Hustle, Amy Adams is now securely on Hollywood’s A-list for leading ladies and it would seem that the hard working 39-year-old’s best work is yet to come. With a smile that can melt the most cynical heart and an inner toughness that can tame the most unruly leading men, it’s certain that Ms. Adams is determined not to let her wholesome looks typecast her as just another good girl. Which suits us just fine — there’s nothing we like more than a little spice with our sugar.

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Gorgeous lady of the week — Gina Carano

Gina Carano in Berlin 15.02.2012

Gina Carano, the sexy former MMA champ, burst — and ran, and punched, and kicked — onto the scene in Steven Soderbergh‘s underrated Haywire in 2011, where she smoked Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender and Ewan McGregor’s asses as deluxe super agent Mallory Kane. Take a look-see here what you get for treating Ms. Carano poorly, as Fassbender finds out the hard way (note: this clip contains spoilers):

Despite some controversy about her voice being altered (read: deepened) in post, Gina can walk with her held high for her work in that demanding and satisfying action epic. She manages to be tough, smart and vulnerable at the same time as she deals with a mission gone south and treachery from her former boss. And did I mention that she kicks everyone’s ass pretty much all the time in emphatic fashion?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6UTRX8SajY

Since Haywire, Ms. Carano has acted in Fast & Furious 6, the soon-to-be-released In the Blood and rumor has it that she will be playing the title character in an adaptation of the comic book Avengelyne, which seems like perfect casting for that scantily clad avenging angel.

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Sure, it takes a certain kind of confident man to squire a lady around town who can probably take you in a throwdown. But here at MFL we think keeping company with a stunner like Gina is a no-brainer and we can check our macho at the door for the privilege. Besides, when it comes to the ladies, we’re lovers not fighters.

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Gorgeous lady of the week — Gemma Arterton

GemmaArterton-1After bursting onto the scene as Strawberry Fields, the sexy spy destined to die drowned in oil in 2008’s underrated Bond entry Quantum of Solace, the dark and lovely Gemma Arterton found herself in great demand in Hollywood. And no wonder: with her curvy figure and expressive deep brown eyes, Gemma is one of the sexiest British imports since the Astin Martin Vanquish.

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Trained at RADA, the talented chestnut-haired ingenue has appeared at the Globe in Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost and on BBC TV in the title role of Tess of the D’Urbervilles. But her quick wit and stunning good looks have also made her a hot property in high concept Hollywood blockbusters such as Prince of Persia, Clash of the Titans and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters.

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With several smaller scale projects either shooting or in post production, it should be interesting to see if the lovely 27-year-old Ms. Arterton can find material that will help evolve into a consummate actress as opposed to simply a super sexy super heroine. Then again, whatever roles she chooses, she’s probably always going to be super sexy. The girl can’t help it.

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