The Screening Room

No pressure or anything: Steve Weibe goes barrel jumping as Walter Day looks on (Picturehouse)

So tell us: what's your favorite '80s video game, and why? I'm still a Centipede guy (which is not to say I'm any good); every time I shop at Good Records I get a few games in on the free play machine. But I love me some Tron too.

From books guru Mike Merschel:

The discussion about great movie lines reminds me of a Writers Guild ad campaign from years ago, where they cited scenes from great movies and added, "Somebody wrote that." For example:

"Remember the movie where Steve McQueen is thrown in the cooler of this prison camp, and he keeps whipping this baseball against the wall, PLINK-PLANK-PLONK-SMACK, PLINK-PLANK-PLONK-SMACK? Yeah right, like those Nazi dudes ever had a chance. Somebody wrote that."

You can see the whole series here: http://scottroeben.com/somebody.htm
And in particular, check out the story about the story behind that "Great Escape" ad here: http://scottroeben.com/article5.htm

Ah, Thursday. Around here, that's the busiest day of the week, as we frantically try to put together our movie coverage for our fine readers. Not to mention, we're facing a three-day holiday weekend, and you know what that means? More frantic work to get everything done today so you can sneak out early tomorrow.

SO! In an effort to entertain without actually doing anything, let's have a quote-off. Share your favorite movie quote below.

Keep it clean, though. Remember: I possess the mighty power of delete. So to kick it off, I offer just one of my many many favorite Mel Brooks' quotes, from History of the World, Part I:

Don't get saucy with me, Bernaise.

Go.

I am slaving away on our back-to-school-themed fall movie preview - ask for it by name this Sunday - and staring at one of the clever classroom categories we're using to group upcoming releases: Literature. I haven't seen any of the book-to-movie attractions we're spotlighting (Beowulf, No Country for Old Men, Reservation Road, The Kite Runner and Lust, Caution), but I got to thinking (never a good idea): what makes a successful literary adaptation? Some would say slavish devotion to the source material, an argument with which I strongly disagree. A movie has to live and breathe as a movie, not a book on film. Yet the spirit of the book still has to come across onscreen. As that Hamlet guy once said, there's the rub.

What we want to know from you is: what book you love became a movie you hate? Or, an even tougher one: what book you didn't care for took on bold new life in the movies? I can't think of an immediate example for the second question - I never did read The Godfather - but I know I'd be a happier man if Brian De Palma had kept his hands off The Bonfire of the Vanities.

Going back for refills
A question: Did you all really like the movies that were already out, or were the new movies just not that appealing? Last week’s top three movies remained unchanged (though The Bourne Ultimatum did leapfrog Rush Hour 3) as Superbad retained the title with $18 million. That brings this starless wonder’s total to an impressive $68 million.

Today's mid-week treat? Balls of Fury, starring one mightily bewigged Christopher Walken. My records show that this film was originally slated to open here on Jan. 26. Usually an eight-month delay doesn't bode well for a film. So you can imagine my surprise when it brought in a respectable C+, which means it actually fared better than The Nanny Diaries (C), Mr. Bean's Holiday (C) , The Eye of the Dolphin (D) , September Dawn (D) and War (F).

[Insert shrug here] Shows what I know. I think that film owes a LOT to the Great Mr. Walken, though. But I'm just speculating.

Have you seen it? What did you think?

For a heartfelt and personal take on a king-size tragedy check out Still Waiting: Life After Katrina at 8 tonight on KERA (Channel 13). Dallas filmmaker Ginny Martin spent countless hours with local resident Connie Tipado, a New Orleans native who did yeoman's service in providing refuge and assistance to extended family members who evacuated St. Bernard's Parish in the aftermath of Katrina. As the family begins to trickle back to the Crescent City, the film dramatizes a chilling question: Can you go home again when home and community as you knew them no longer exist?
The Katrina debacle still reverberates far and wide with intimate stories; this one is well worth a look.

Robert Benton ruminates (DMN file: Mei-Chun Jau)

I've been thinking about Bonnie and Clyde - the movie, not the real people - ever since I hung out with Waxahachie and Oak Cliff's own Robert Benton late last week. Benton co-wrote the 1967 film that further immortalized the Texas-born bank robbers; his new film, Feast of Love, opens Sept. 28.

So last night I watched it for umpteenth time, keeping in mind the ways in which it changed the way we look at violence in the movies. As A.O. Scott argued in the New York Times a few weeks back, B&C paved the way for the mixture of savagery and humor that defines Quentin Tarantino's work; it was also the first big movie to show a bullet being fired and entering its victim in the same shot. (Of course, The Wild Bunch made this idea seem quaint just two years later).

But I kept coming back to something Benton told me. What he remembers as revolutionary and unnerving is not the violence so much as the "Just folks" behavior of the characters who commit the violence. For instance, when C.W. and Blanche drive over to pick up dinner for the gang - they're eventually tailed from the chicken restaurant, leading to a bloody shoot-out - they discuss their respective religious denominations. Much earlier, Bonnie and Clyde win over a farmer by letting him shoot out the windows on the home he has just lost to the bank. (Remember, this was the Great Depression).

In other words, we can like and relate to these killers. We cheer for them as they escape to the jovial bluegrass of Flatt & Scruggs. This is disturbing - and somehow ingenious.

If you haven't seen the movie in a while, please revisit. In the meantime: What movie's violence got under your skin? And a more troubling question: Did you like it?

Read about it.

Turns out Bridgette was right: Boy Culture really is the best movie evar.

I was already sold on the eye candy prospect. (You don't even want to know how many times I watched Queen of the Damned for a leather-pants-clad Stuart Townsend.) One of the glories of my job is spending quite a bit of time tracking down photos and trailers, so I had a pretty good idea of what to expect:

Shiny pretty yay.

It delivered the yay. But the story was more than worthy too. Maybe you can't identify with a gay hustler who is secretly pining for his male roommate. But really its about the risks we take to find love, and what we're willing to give up for it. And that's really pretty universal.

Take me to Lower Greenville or suffer my wrath: Robocop digs on Dallas (MGM/Fox/Orion)

The producers chose Big D to play "New Detroit" for its tripped-out techno skyline and sleek architecture. The coolest parts of the movie play the skyscrapers against the more industrial streets of West Dallas (actually one chase looks like it was shot down on Industrial or nearby, not far from Reunion Tower, which sticks its head up in the near distance). In another scene, The I.M. Pei-designed Fountain Place (otherwise known as that beveled glass building downtown) can be spotted in all its modern glory. (Incidentally, the building opened in 1986, one year before Robocop came out).

So: What's your favorite movie that made good use of our fair burg?

So the annual Asian Film Festival of Dallas kicked off last night with Justin Lin's mockumentary, Finishing the Game. (Read more about it here, thanks to Mr. Vognar.)

The screenings start in earnest today, going from noon to midnight (later, actually; the final screening begins at midnight). Check out the full schedule at the official site.

So talk: what do you think so far? What do you recommend? What are you excited to see?

Headed out to a screening of Leonardo DiCaprio's environmental doc The 11th Hour last night, and, as much as it pains my environmentalist heart to say it, it was boring. Which sounds sort of strange to say: making a boring movie about the end of civilization is quite an accomplishment, but it seems that Leo, et. al. have done it. Which is not to say that there are not some important lessons in there. It's just that it covers so much of the same ground that An Inconvenient Truth covered: Global warming is a real problem, the only way to fix it is to find cleaner energy sources, and the only way to do that is to elect officials who aren't in bed with the auto and energy industries.
That's all good information for those who go into The 11th Hour without having seen An Inconvenient Truth. But my Spidey sense tells me that the vast majority of those seeing the new movie have already seen the original. So this isn't the great unwashed here -- these are people who already know what's what and are interested in taking the conversation further. Toward the end of the 95 min. movie, it seemed like just that was going to happen. But what resulted was really a tease of what The 11th Hour should have been -- there were lightening quick references to a new Bank of America building in New York that is now the most energy efficient building in the world, a building in San Francisco that uses a ventilation system instead of air conditioning and a dance club that powers itself through the movement of people on the dance floor. Those are all things that sound cutting edge and exciting and would actually get environmentalists excited about the possibilities out there.
Instead, 11th Hour spends most of its time convincing viewers of what they already know -- the Earth is in trouble and we need to fix it now. It's a good message, but unfortunately it's one we've already paid once to hear.

Lot's to see this weekend, but not much great. Stephen Becker already warned you that we're reaching the lean season. So this might not be a bad time to revisit some of the summer's earlier offerings.

For me? I think I'll give The Nanny Diaries and The 11th Hour a shot. Plus, I've still got about a half-dozen to catch up on.

What are you guys heading out to this weekend?

The Nanny Diaries (C) | Trailer

Resurrecting the Champ (C+) | Trailer

The 11th Hour (B+) | Trailer

Lady Chatterley (B) | Trailer

2 Days in Paris (B) | Trailer

Illegal Tender (C+) | Trailer

Mr. Bean's Holiday (C) | Trailer

The Eye of the Dolphin (D) | Trailer

September Dawn (D) | Trailer

War (not screened) | Trailer

So I'm in the midst of a three-screening day: Eastern Promises and Into the Wild, both of which will be at The Toronto International Film Festival next month, and a new Western, 3:10 to Yuma, which will bring Peter Fonda to Dallas Friday on his publicity horse. It's Good practice for Toronto, where four-a-days are common. And it beats roofing. Or ditch digging, for that matter.

The Question: What's the most movies you've ever seen in a day? And did they all start globbing together in your brain after a while?

Javier Bardem has a gas with Old Men (Miramax)

Feel free to ask any questions about the largest fest in North America, which also happens to be a heck of a good time in bustling, friendly city (think of it as a clean New York). In the mean time, here are a few highlights from the most recently annouced titles:

The Walker: Paul Schrader directs Woody Harrelson as a well-heeled man about town for hire in Washington, D.C.

Man From Plains: Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter will be in town for Jonathan Demme's doc about the former president.

Redacted: Brian de Palma goes to Iraq in search of the Black Dahlia. OK, everything is true except the Black Dahlia part.

Previously announced fest titles include the Coen Bros. No Country for Old Men (shot partially in Marfa); Michael Clayton, starring George Clooney as a lawyer who grows a conscience; and Ang Lee's Lust, Caution. We could keep going, but with 349 films it might take a while. We'll touch the ground opening day, Sept. 6. Look for frequent and dazzling dispatches here in the Screening Room.

Yes, I've been away from my post, taking in the awesome sights and hairpin turns of Highway 1 in California. It's a drive everyone should make before they die (and keep your eyes on the road or you might die before you actually finish the drive).

Speaking of finishing, I just visited with Justin Lin. He's the director of the new comedy Finishing the Game, a mockumentary about the quest to find a replacement for Bruce Lee after Lee died during the shooting of Game of Death. It kicks off the 6th annual Asian Film Festival of Dallas 7 p.m. Thursday at the Magnolia.

Lin has played the indie/Hollywood shuffle the last few years, following up the Asian stereotype-busting Better Luck Tomorrow with a pair of big action flicks, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Annapolis. He's been around the block, and he wonders how much things have really changed for Asians in film since the days when Lee was launching his spin kicks.

"The only time Asian-American actors usually get to show up is when the script says 'Asian,'" he says. "I know how talented and versatile my actors are, and they sound as American as anyone. But when they go read for a part they have to do fake Asian accents. Color blind casting is still very rare."

Look for more on Lin and the festival Thursday at guidelive.com.

... Boy Culture .
Now don't freak out about the subject matter. It's not nearly as graphic as it could be. And, honestly, Derek Magyar and Darryl Stephens make delightful eye candy no matter what they're doing.
What surprised me was how good the movie actually is. It's a pretty cool love story as well. I was all drawn in with the ups and downs of X, the main character, and his room mates.
Hey, did I menition the eye candy thing? Good flick, snappy dialogue, believable characters, but did I mention the eye candy?

For you local writerly types, Ken Levine will be the guest speaker at this month's Dallas Screenwriters Association meeting. Mr. Levine is an Emmy-winning writer who has worked on shows like Cheers, M*A*S*H, Frasier, The Jeffersons and The Simpsons. You name it -- if it's funny, he's written it.
The meetings will be held Friday from 7-9 p.m. at KD Studios, 2600 Stemmons Frwy, Suite 117. It's free for members and $10 for nonmembers.

I guess Superbad has been a popular movie for teenagers to try to sneak into. My husband and I went this weekend at Stonebriar Centre and were warned, not once, but twice that they might check our IDs at the door (once when we bought tickets, once by the ticket-taker).

However, they didn't. Not because they weren't checking, but because we have gray hair and stuff.