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Saturday, June 5, 2010

“Review: Best Worst Movie - Examiner” plus 3 more

“Review: Best Worst Movie - Examiner” plus 3 more


Review: Best Worst Movie - Examiner

Posted: 03 Jun 2010 07:31 PM PDT

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BEST WORST MOVIE (6/04/10 / Documentary)
SCR/DIR: Michael Stephenson
George Hardy, Michael Stephenson, Darren Ewing, Jason Steadman, Jason Wright, Claudio Fragasso
MPAA: NR
1 hour 33 mins

It's been said that it's equally difficult to make a terrible film as a great one. Clearly, the filmmakers, cast and crew who made Goblin (later released as Troll 2) in 1988, had no idea they were making Hollywood history at the time.

To be fair, it wasn't always the most adored cult movie of all time. For a while, as the movie languished on video store shelves and played repeatedly on HBO, it was a source of absolute embarrassment for all concerned. But over time, the sheer awfulness of Troll 2 gained a rabid cult following with midnight screenings and devoted fans who consider virgin viewings a rite of passage.

For the record, Troll and Troll 2 have nothing in common and the details of the plot are best discovered on your own. It's part of the whole, um, experience. The worst movie ever? Yeah, that's entirely possible if the clips are any indication. As a former video store owner, I'll admit that we missed out on the whole experience: we never carried Troll 2 but it was a hoot to see it in stocked in the "Holy F--king Shit" section of a small video store in the film. 

The doc's director is Michael Paul Stephenson, the child actor who played the kid lead in Troll 2. One sense that Best Worst is going to purge a lot of demons, so it's refreshing to find how much goodwill exists among the reunited cast. Well, except for the batty woman who played the mom. Oh, and then there is the intense "actor" who was actually an inmate in an insane asylum.

George Hardy is the successful dentist who played his father and if there is living person more ticked by the film's cult status, I'd be surprised. This guy not only knows how ridiculous it all is, but has no problem sharing it with the world. He's also the window into the world of the kind of post-career convention trolling (pardon the pun) that becomes the path of the has-been. After awhile, it becomes a little uncomfortable watching him peddle himself and this movie to anyone who will listen.

On the other hand, Claudio Fragasso, the Italian director who made Troll 2 has no idea how pretentious he is or why his film is considered so funny. At screenings, he's combative even while drinking in the (backhanded) praise. In on-camera interviews, he defends the movie in such an artsy-fartsy way, you'd think he was talking about a Felini flick, which of course makes him hilarious.

Best Worst Movie goes down a lot of roads but emerges an affectionate valentine to a most terrible, much-loved movie. Ed Wood, watch your back. Plan 9 From Outer Space has got nothing on the vegetarian goblins in Troll 2.

For more info:  Dennis Willis' is the author of Flick Nation: 2010 Movie Yearbook.

CONNECT WITH DENNIS ONLINE: 

DennisWillis.net - Flick Nation - Examiner.com - Twitter - Facebook

 

 

 

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Register for golf, movie event - The Oakland Press

Posted: 03 Jun 2010 07:38 PM PDT

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The registration deadline is June 5 for a family fun evening of golf and a movie for ages 5 and older beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday, June 12, at Red Oaks Golf Course, 29600 John R. Family group must include a parent or guardian. Bring chairs, blankets or towels to sit on during the movie. Cost is $20 per person to participate in golf, barbecue movie and popcorn; carts extra. Cost is $5 per person if only enjoying barbecue, movie and popcorn. To register, visit the Events Calendar online at www.destinationoakland.com.

 — Special writer Katie Bontinen 

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MOVIE CLOCK - Times Union

Posted: 05 Jun 2010 01:56 AM PDT

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Mount exhibit focuses on stage, screen adaptations

More than 50 adaptations of Edith Wharton's work are the focus of a new exhibit at The Mount, "Dramatic License: Edith Wharton on Stage & Screen."

The exhibition offers a look at some of the adaptations produced from Wharton's day to our own, including screen, stage, radio and opera. Props, costumes, posters and other artifacts, as well as video clips, will be on display.

"Edith Wharton has proved irresistible to adaptors for over 100 years," said Executive Director Susan Wissler. "We hope visitors will enjoy this encounter with famous (and forgotten) adaptations -- and also think about the intriguing process of adapting a written work for the stage or screen."

One of the best-known Wharton adaptations is Martin Scorsese's award-winning 1993 film, "The Age of Innocence," with Michelle Pfeiffer, Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder, parts of which were filmed in Troy. The exhibit showcases items lent by Scorsese, including Day-Lewis' gloves.

Designed and built by Edith Wharton in 1902, the Mount, in Lenox, Mass., is both a historic site and a cultural center.

For information, go to http://www.edithwharton.org.

Writers guild seeks short story submissions

The Hudson Valley Writers Guild is seeking entries for its annual short-fiction contest.

All contestants must be residents of New York state. Current members of the guild's board of directors and their families are not eligible. Entries must be postmarked by Aug. 31.

All themes are acceptable, but submissions must be unpublished. Short stories must be no more than 5,000 words and typed (double spaced, 12-point type, no fancy fonts). The name of the writer should not appear anywhere on the story. A cover letter must be included with the submission and should include the name, address, phone number and e-mail address of the author, as well as the title of the story and its word count.

Three copies of each submission must be sent by mail, with an entry fee of $10 for members and $15 for nonmembers, to: The HVWG Short Fiction Contest, c/o Mimi Moriarty, Box 222, Clarksville, 12041. E-mail submissions will not be accepted.

The writing contest alternates genres annually. Winners and honorable mentions will be invited to read their winning story at a special guild program in the fall of 2010 or the winter of 2011.

Results will also be posted on the guild website, http://hvwg.org.

Chamber concerts slated for Bard College

The Hudson Valley Chamber Music Circle series at Bard College will present three concerts in June. Grammy-award-winning guitarist Sharon Isbin will open the 60th concert season on June 12, performing with Brazilian organic percussionist Gaudencio Thiago de Mello. Titled "Journey to the Amazon," the program includes Enrique Granados' Spanish Dance No. 5, Antonio Lauro's "Seis por Derecho," Laurindo Almeida's "Historia do Luar," and Thiago de Mello's "A Hug for Pixinga."

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Movie review: 'Raajneeti' - Los Angeles Times

Posted: 03 Jun 2010 07:45 PM PDT

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The Indian political saga "Raajneeti" is high melodrama that, while forgoing its characters breaking into Bollywood-style numbers, certainly displays a healthy appetite for the choreography of skullduggery, electioneering and familial revenge. Set amid the backdrop of party-dominant democracy, it chronicles the wealthy Pratap clan and a fight for control of its political party between warring sets of cousins: scrappy Veerendra (Manoj Bajpai) and low-caste secret heir Sooraj (Ajay Devgan) against rakish Prithvi (Arjun Rampal) and intellectual Samar (Ranbir Kapoor).

Loosely based on the ancient epic Mahabharata and its tale of princes angling for a kingdom, producer-director-co-writer Prakash Jha aims for something trenchant about thwarted destiny and ugly ambition in modern Indian democracy but mostly winds up with a convoluted and tonally awkward "Godfather" rehash, with nary a character worth rooting for. Tracking the moral descent of Samar from family outsider to ruthless power player — this movie's Michael Corleone — is meant to be the film's searing throughline. But Kapoor's performance is stony rather than calculating — especially jarring compared to the histrionic turns around him — while the third act shift to tit-for-tat violence feels less like inevitably tragic fate than an all-too-late adrenaline boost.


"Raajneeti." MPAA rating: Unrated. Running time: 2 hours, 47 minutes. In selected theaters.


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