Rants of a Diva

Thursday, November 15, 2007

In the Mood for Truffaut

Mrs. Lajoie: What is this movie business? Where everyone sleeps with everyone! Everyone lies. Do you think it's normal? Your movie world...

Ferrand (off camera): You're a very good actor. No one's private life runs smoothly. That only happens in the movies. No traffic jams, no dead periods. Movies go along like trains in the night. And people like you and me are only happy in our work.

I've been in a real François Truffaut mood lately. Earlier this week, I gave a small presentation about him in my French class (entirely in French...it was pretty amazing). I've only seen three of his films but Truffaut is one of my favorites. The 400 Blows and Day for Night are masterpieces through and through and even if I didn't completely "get" Jules et Jim (I think it's one of those films that I will understand better when I'm a bit older) I have to admit that it was an ambitious film and there were some great things in it.

These two shots above are from Day for Night, a film about the making of a film. Unlike most films about the making of a film, Truffaut's isn't bitter or cynical. Instead, Day for Night is a love letter to the process of getting a story onto film. For a man who once asked "Is the cinema more important than life?", Day for Night seems to answer it with a resounding yes. Even when things go bad (and they definitely do), Ferrand (the director in Day for Night, played by Truffaut) still loves what he's doing.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Get out of My Dreams (and Go Back to Making Crappy Movies)

A couple of nights ago, I had this really random dream involving a certain C-List actress that was just plain nuts. We were in one of the suite-connecting bathrooms at my school and for some reason Heather Graham was there helping me with some kind of costume (for some reason, I think I was dressing as Mark Wahlberg...totally random, I know). She hands me pair upon pair of tattered, baggy jeans and khakis that I just wasn't feeling. In between trying clothes on I tell her, "I really liked you in Boogie Nights" (which isn't a lie because I did) and she smiled and said thanks. Then, for some reason, I go on and tell her, "You were in Austin Powers as well" (as if she didn't know already) and she then kind of rolled her eyes, not in an annoyed way but in a way as if there was more to the story than she wanted to tell.

And then the dream ended. Crazy, non? I don't even like Heather Graham, but there she is invading my dreams.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

"Golden Girls" Moment: A Little Shakespeare

[Dorothy and Blanche have been fighting over Stan's brother. When Dorothy realizes what a jerk he is, she confesses to Rose about how she doesn't know if Blanche will ever forgive her. Blanche, unknown to Dorothy, had been talking with Rose beforehand and hid somewhere when Dorothy came in.]

Dorothy: ...Blanche is never going to forgive me.

Blanche: I forgive you.

Dorothy: Honey, where did you come from?

Blanche: Oh, I was hiding behind the drapes.

Dorothy: What is this? Hamlet?

Friday, November 9, 2007

Posh the Actress! Plus, Updates on the Spice Girls Reunion

Last night, Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham made an appearance on Ugly Betty. I didn't catch it because I'm too far behind on the show, but I'm super excited about catching it later on. Why? Well, I'm one of the five people on the planet who loves Spice World (I know it's technically a horrible movie, but it's a ton of fun) and I think Posh gives the best performance in it. Don't get me wrong, she's no Meryl Streep or anything (hell, she's hardly Jessica Alba), but she had great comedic timing in that film. With such a banal script, it takes someone with a bit of talent to deliver lines like "Hold on to your knickers, girls!", "This dress is dry clean only, Melanie!", "I'm not that desperate, thank you" and "What do you think about manta rays?" Going by this, and the fact that she's such a publicity whore (but an interesting one, unlike Paris Hilton), her cameo should be an interesting one. If anyone did watch last night, let me know what you thought.

Speaking of Spice World, apparently a 10th Anniversary Edition is being released at the end of this month. It seems a bit strange to re-release a film that no one particularly cares for, but I'm guessing they're doing it to coincide with the impending Spice Girls reunion tour. If the DVD comes with a couple of really great extras, I will definitely be picking up a copy.

As for the Spice Girls reunion, here's the brand new single that premiered last week. The song is called "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" and is actually pretty good. I don't love it yet, but it's bound to grow on me as I listen to it more and more.

As an added bonus, here's the video for Victoria Beckham's "Let Your Head Go" from a few years back. I was in a Mommie Dearest mood yesterday and while looking on its Wikipedia page, I ran across this link under the Pop Culture References section. The video is amazing and another example of how funny Posh can be.

"Golden Girls" Moment: Motown Reunion

[After the girls fired their maid Marguerite, they run into a string of bad luck and start to believe they have been cursed. In order to reverse this, they decide to woo her back to reverse the curse. During this process, however, Sophia returns from a trip and is introduced to Marguerite.]

Sophia: So what are we celebrating? Did The Supremes get back together?

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Best Album Cover Ever?

A couple of days, I got a hold of the ABBA discography and while I was loading them into my iTunes, this cover appeared for their Super Trouper album. Needless to say, I immediately fell in love with it. If you know anything about the title song, you know it fits in perfectly (My favorite and the most telling lyric: "Facing 20,000 of your friends/How could anyone be so lonely?") with the theme. Plus, it is so divalicious with the obnoxious white spotlight shining directly on the group and drawing all the attention away from the people in the crowd. Très amusante.

Along with this album cover, I think I've discovered ABBA's best non-greatest hits album: Voulez Vous. Not only does it contain three of my top 10 favorite ABBA songs, but it also has such brilliant "fillers" (they're so much more than that) as "The King Has Lost His Crown" and "As Good As New."

God I love ABBA.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

"Golden Girls" Moment: Traitor?

[Blanche and Dorothy have just discovered that they have both entered a dance marathon with a $1000 prize without telling each other when Rose also shows up.]

Dorothy: Et tu Judas?

Rose: No, it's me Rose.

Rants on "American Gangster"

I hate to be prejudiced towards American Gangster, because there is nothing here in Ridley Scott's gangster epic to excatly poo-poo on, but The Departed is superior in nearly every way to this film. I know I shouldn't be comparing films as crudely as this, especially when one is as brilliant and perfect as The Departed, but I can't really help it- the comparisons are practically begging to be drawn out.

But that's not to say that American Gangster, based on it's own merits, is necessarily a bad film. On the contrary, it's a well-made film, with an interesting and, at times, intense script and some good quality acting. The story may seem a bit familiar, but writer Steve Zaillian does an amiable job making it seem fresh and, even at 2 hours and 40 minutes, the film whizzes by.

But, unfortunately, there are those pesky comparisons The Departed that really start to take away from this film. The first thing that jumped out at me were the dimensions of characters in both films. In The Departed, you had real characters that were both entertaining and thought provoking: Sullivan, the bad guy posing as the good guy; Costigan, the good guy posing as the bad guy; Costello, the over-the-top, maniacal ringleader; and Dignam, the foul-mouthed, scene-stealing bad ass. Plus, these men were all three dimensional and weren't either "black" or "white." In American Gangster, both Denzel Washington's Frank Lucas and Russell Crowe's Richie Roberts are practically old-fashioned sterotypes of what is "wrong" (selling dope) and what is "right" (saying no to corruption). Unfortunately, this carries over into their performances. I thought Washington did a fine job, but the fact that he was the "bad" guy the whole time really took something away. And Crowe was basically meh- not much of a character on paper and he didn't really try to add anything to make him a character on screen.

Another thing that bugged me about American Gangster was the fact that Harlem, which Frank Lucas was supposed to represent and love, wasn't shown with the same love that Boston was given in The Departed. While you could tell that The Departed was filmed in Boston, American Gangster might as well have been shot in a back lot in Los Angeles, that's how far removed from the city it was.

So what did I like about American Gangster? As with Into the Wild, the ending shot was a big redeeming factor- ambiguous and affecting; that scene where Washington shoots the other gangster in the middle of the street had me jumping out of my seat; Roger Bart's Dignam-esque cameo towards the end of the film as the U.S. Attorney who bitches out Russell Crowe when he goes through the plane arriving from Vietnam was an exciting jolt of energy and made me wish he was around longer; the quick pacing; Ruby Dee bitch slapping Denzel Washington.

In the end, I guess it was high expectations that really killed American Gangster for me. Maybe another viewing with slightly lowered expectations will make this film stand out more.

My Rating: *** 1/2

"The Happy Working Song" from "Enchanted"

Is it sad that I'm really excited for this movie? The more I hear about it, the more I am just dying to see it. And doesn't Amy Adams do a brilliant job with this song? Love it! I can not wait until November 21st to see Adams, my James Marsden singing again and Susan Sarandon playing an evil diva witch.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Happy Birthday Kathy Griffin!

I can't believe the whole day went by and I'm just now acknowledging that it is the Queen of the D-List's, Kathy Griffin, birthday today! She has had quite a year with a ton of highs (her Emmy win and another successful season of her Bravo reality show) and some lows (the passing of her father and the Emmy speech backlash) and I wish her all the best in the world. So here's a happy forty---

Well, a true diva never reveals her age, so we'll just leave it at that.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Random Top 10: Best Britney Songs

In honor of Britney Spears' new CD being released today (I'm picking up my copy in a couple of hours!), here are my 10 favorite Britney songs:

10. "I Love Rock 'N Roll" (Britney)

Not as great as the original, but trashy enough to be spectacular.

9. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (Oops!...I Did it Again)

Ditto the above. In sixth grade I loved this song so much I played it for about four hours straight. I recognize that the Rolling Stones' version is a TON better, but damn this is a good time.

8. "Gimme More" (Blackout)

Forget about the now infamous VMA performance back in September and this truly awful video: "Gimme More" is one of the few songs out right now that I will stop everything and sing and dance to no matter where I am.

7. "Overprotected [Darkchild Remix]" (Britney)

The album version is definitely not bad, but I love the grittier Darkchild remix better.

6. "...Baby One More Time" (...Baby One More Time)

Back to where it all began. It's hard to imagine this was only 8 years ago.

5. "Oops!...I Did it Again" (Oops!...I Did it Again)

I like the song well enough, but this music video is truly fantastic. That red jumpsuit, the instantly memorable choreography, that diva-licious entrance; she had me at "Oops!"

4. "Stronger" (Oops!...I Did it Again)

Such an empowering song and probably Britney's best vocals to date (which isn't really saying much, but I think they're great here).

3. "I'm a Slave 4 U" (Britney)

I loved this song the minute I saw Britney dance with that boa constrictor around her neck at the VMAs. I've even done my own embarrassing interpretation of it.

2. "Toxic" (In the Zone)

This is probably Britney's strongest single. Instantly catchy and one of the greatest dance songs ever. Plus, this is the song that redeemed her after that lackluster duet with Madonna.

1. "(You Drive Me) Crazy [The Stop Remix!]" (...Baby One More Time/Drive Me Crazy Soundtrack)

I know it's not her greatest song per se, but it's the one I've always loved the best. The song is a great improvement over the lackluster album version. This video was on all the time back when I watched TRL everyday after school and every second is a pure nostalgia trip: the emerald green top, the choreography, Melissa Joan Hart, the word "CRAZY" in big red neon letters, the way in which she screams "Stop!" and everything does. Britney was such a diva in this video and I wish her all the luck in the world in trying to find that side of her again.