ABCs at the Movies: The Doubles Round!

[southendmd]

Southendmd:  Did you actually see UNDERDOG?!  At the theatre?!! I heard it should have been called UNDERDOG'S BREAKFAST, lol!

Hey Gil, brilliant find with V&V!  Who knew?

No, I didn't reallly see Underdog, but I loved the cartoon when I was a kid.  Leslie's right:  a beagle won best in show at the Westminster Dog Show, so it was topical. 

[southendmd]

From IMDb:  After the uproarious zaniness of WHAT'S UP, DOC?, Streisand's follow-up picture, the decidedly bizarre UP THE SANDBOX, confused much of the film-going public and the film became the star's first flop at the box office. However, this poor reputation has only added luster to the film's appeal today, and UP THE SANDBOX has become a film that is very special to Streisand's many fans. The film's new-found appreciation is largely due to Streisand's beautifully restrained performance, which is full of warmth, nuance, and believability. When she's taking on the routine banalities that were typical of the seventies' housewife, Streisand never fails to make the mundane appear so radiant and lovely.

The film is further enhanced by director Irvin Kershner (best known for directing THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK), who gives the film an eerily abstract, almost European-like feel. This lends UP THE SANDBOX an usual art house-style vibe that remains unique to this day, and manages to completely offset the somewhat dated women's liberation issues that the picture addresses - although there are many scenes, including a terrific monologue that Streisand delivers to Fidel Castro in one of the film's many fantasy sequences, that are even more timely today. The much-lauded fantasy sequences not only function as the perfect counterpoint to the central storyline (as they were intended to do), but they also remain delightfully abstract and entertaining in their own right. A criminally underrated film that has been frequently punished for being different, UP THE SANDBOX works on many levels, but mostly as a vehicle for Streisand, as it allows the actress to showcase the quieter side of her brilliance.

[Meryl]

[MaineWriter]

==from the UNLV Short Film Archive==

Zen and the Art of Landscaping is a comedic short film about an unsuspecting landscaper who goes by the name of Zen (Greg Haberny). Zen finds himself in the middle of a domestic crossfire with a suburban dysfunctional family after being lured away from the sanctuary of the front lawn by the lonely housewife (Kathleen Garrett). Hilarity ensues.

David Kartch cast himself as writer, producer and director to make this 17-minute film shot in color. They choose to shoot the movie on 16mm film and then blow it up to 35mm. "Although video is constantly improving, I knew I wanted to work with film," he says. "I still don't feel comfortable lighting video. In the past, I worked in 16 mm format, but found that to be a bit limiting due to the aspect ratio and sound quality for projection. I would have loved to shoot directly on 35 mm if it was affordable. We opted to shoot in Super 16 (for a wide-screen aspect ratio and bigger image area)." It was his master’s thesis film at Columbia University.

The short is a huge success, it not only appeared in dozens of film festivals including winning the Short Filmmaking Honorable Mention Award at the 2001 Sundance Festival, it won the 2001 Gold Medal in the Narrative category at the Student Academy Awards.

[MaineWriter]

For this next round, let's have a redux round, and I am sure everyone will know why I picked it....

1979

As a refresher, these are the 1979 movies that have already been played:

Round 1979

Alien
Being There
China Syndrome, The
Dracula
Electric Horseman
Force of One, A
Going In Style
Hair
In-Laws, The
Just You and Me, Kid
Kramer vs. Kramer
Life of Brian
My Brilliant Career
Norma Rae
Onion Field, The
Prisoner of Zenda, The
Quintet
Rose, The
Seduction of Joe Tynan, The
Time to Die, A
Ultima noapte de dragoste
Villain, The
Warriors, The
Wildcard X: The Main Event
Yanks
Zoo Story

From the special rounds:

Breaking Away
David
Escape from Alcatraz
Quadrophenia
Zulu Dawn

Wildcard X is in effect. Have fun!

Leslie
GameMistress

[southendmd]

Rest in Peace Roy Sheider 1932-2008

[oilgun]

From one of my heroes, David Cronenberg.  He wrote this after a bitter divorce and custody battle.

[MaineWriter]

==comment==

If you are in the mood for a laugh, read some of the comments over at IMDb for this movie. Ai yi yi....LOL

L

[Fran]

[southendmd]