A common complaint I heard from parents last year who took their kids to see Where the Wild Things Are was, "It was too dark for a kids' movie." To these parents I say, "You are fucking morons." The only kids for whom this movie is too dark are stupid and ordinary kids, and who cares what they think anyway. For me, Where the Wild Things Are was the latest oddball entry in Spike Jonze's increasingly awesome canon. Don't rent it; buy it. The same goes for the latest from grand master Hayao Miyazaki, Ponyo. In fact, while you're at it pick up Totoro and Kiki's, too. 2012 is disposable garbage, but if you're in the mood for that you could do worse. Cold Souls might have been considered a brilliant movie if it had come out before Being John Malkovich. Instead, it's just derivative (but still pretty good). Who will stand up and end the MILF onslaught?
DVD Tuesday: I'll Be Where the Wild Things Are
LAist Film Calendar: Conspiracies Real & Imagined (Plus Spies! In Technicolor!)
I can't tell you where or how I first learned of Damon Packard, but his experimental-nostalgic-acid-horror-collage Reflections of Evil melted my brain forever. Packard excels at melding "borrowed" footage from '70s TV, science fiction & God knows what else with his own paranoid fantasies for pure cinematic psychosis.
TV Junkie: Thursday
The much hyped Lipstick Jungle makes its debut tonight. The networks are desperate to get a Sex In The City lift but how typical to go after a show format that premiered a decade ago instead of coming up with something new and original. Reviewers who received a preview from NBC have said that Lipstick Jungle is "not as bad as Cashmere Mafia" - a Pyrrhic Victory at best.
TV Junkie: Big Wednesday
5:00pm CNN/You Tube Republican Debate CNN - Get ready to look at a bunch of middle-aged white guys, the one and only true face of the United States of America. 8:45pm The Wrong Box TCM - (1966) Two borthers try to outlive each other to get the contents of a cash hoard in Victorian London. Starring, among others: (Hello, my name is) Michael Caine, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Peter Sellers. TV Junkie Pick O' The...
We're Giving Away LA Phil Tristan & Isolde Tickets
LAist has a pair of tickets for the April 18th complete showing of the opera, Tristan & Isolde at the Walt Disney Concert Hall featuring the LA Phil, Peter Sellers and video artist Bill Viola. This is no regular opera, this something else: "Tristan und Isolde is a tale of a love so overwhelming and intense it transcends mortal bounds. This project represents an exciting opportunity to collaborate with fellow artists Peter Sellars and...
The Other Casino Royale Trailer
Here's a trailer for the original Casino Royale cut as if it were a present-day Bond film. The 1967 Casino Royale AKA Charles K. Feldman's Casino Royale (not to be confused with last year's Casino Royale) was a spy spoof that starred Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, and David Niven, and featured a host of Hollywood personalities such as Orson Welles, Woody Allen, Deborah Kerr, William Holden, John Huston, Jean-Paul Belmondo, and Jacqueline Bisset in a mind-boggling assortment of roles.
TV Junkie: National College Football Champtionship; Colbert & Stewart Back From Vacation
A Word or 39-ish: So whadyathinkof "the Apprentice: LA"? Was it LA-flavored enough for you or did it perpetuate the idiotic stereotypes all over again? It might have been better if they had manage to quarantine that thing to the East coast. Tonight - Monday - January 8th, 2007 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. the Florida Gators (FOX, 5:30 p.m.) This is it, the "BCS National Championship" football game Oilers @ Kings (Fox Sports, 7:30...

