Famed movie critic Roger Ebert might have lost the ability to speak, but he certainly hasn't lost his voice.
The iconic face of film criticism made his triumphant return to television Friday night in his PBS show 'Ebert Presents at the Movies.' With the help of a facial prosthesis and a computer-generated voice, the TV veteran was as exuberant and opinionated as ever.
He described the prosthesis as "a pleasant reminder of the person I was for 64 years" and said his doctors did a "pretty wonderful damn job" creating it.
Beside him were co-hosts Christy Lemire of The Associated Press and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of Mubi.com. The show was taped where Ebert and the late Gine Siskel filmed their original reviews 35 years ago.
Ebert lost part of his lower jaw to thyroid cancer in 2006, taking away his ability to speak or eat. The lifesaving procedure definitely introduced new obstacles into the 68-year-old's life, but he never wanted want to be pitied.
He returned to work in May 2007, publishing his weekly reviews in the Chicago Sun Times and actively writing for his website. In 2010, he published a cookbook, despite the fact he can no longer enjoy eating, which is one of his favorite past times.
Ebert's first review Friday night was a glowingly positive one of the animated film 'My Dog Tulip.' The movie is about the relationship between a man and his dog, and Ebert cleverly closed out the segment reminding us that, "Sometimes life is a b*tch."
Ebert's been married to Chaz Hammel-Smith, an attorney, for the past 18 years. The two reside in Chicago. Ebert's dry wit and candid reviews have garnered the critic over 300,000 followers on Twitter.
Only weeks ago, Ebert was up in arms over the censorship of 'Huck Finn,' which was met by significant criticism from opposing viewpoints.
Showing posts with label Return. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Return. Show all posts
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
The Return of 'Fringe' Recap: 'The Firefly' Glowed With Love, Loss, and Christopher Lloyd
Fringe returned in its new time period on Friday night with “The Firefly,” an exemplary episode designed to bring joy, deep satisfaction, and uneasy fears to the hearts of its fans. I’ll deal with the joys and satisfactions first.
The hour began not with a previously-standard pre-credits, scare-case-of-the-week introduction, but rather a beautiful scene between Walter and Peter that had those elements of comedy and poignance that Fringe combines like no other current television. Peter came upon Walter in the lab, the latter preparing to inject himself in his leg with something concocted to “make myself smarter,” the better to replace the missing parts of his brain (I know I’ve just lost every non-regular-Fringe viewer reading this with that phrase; sorry) and to approximate the intelligence of Walternate. Peter gently warned his father to recall that Walter had asked William Bell to snip out those brain-parts “because you were afraid of what you were becoming.”
Then, cut to a nursing home in Boston, where a patient who would prove to be guest star Christopher Lloyd was seen on security cameras conversing with an unknown hospital visitor. The patient was Roscoe Joyce, the former keyboardist for Walter’s favorite rock band, Violet Sedan Chair, and the stranger was Joyce’s dead son, Bobby, come to deliver a message. Bobby, who’d died in 1985, joined up with our most familiar Observer (Michael Cerveris), who told Bobby that, with his brief mission accomplished, “I’ll take you home now.”
Once Fringe Division is called into this scenario because the cameras also picked up the presence of the Observer, it was bliss to see Walter’s reaction when he realized that the drawn, haggard ex-rocker before him was Roscoe Joyce. Lloyd’s hopeless demeanor was as perfect as his wardrobe — the no-shirt vest plus jewelry get-up of a man who indeed looked like a refugee from a decades-old, now-defunct (art-? prog-? psychedelic-?) rock band. Walter’s elation at meeting one of his heroes, even in this fallen, sedated state, was tempered by the Observer sighting: “Every time the Observer appears, it has something to do with you,” he said to Peter, worry creasing his face. “Something bad.”
But soon after, we saw two Observers discussing Walter, not Peter. Our Observer says to his colleague, “I think he has changed.” The other one disagrees. Most of the Observer scenes in “The Firefly” were mysterious, confusing, until the end of the hour. Shortly before this our Observer foiled a jewlry store robbery and saved a woman tied up during the burglary by locating her asthma inhaler, from which she desperately needed a dose. He pocketed the inhaler. It was very cool to see an Observer in an action scene — catching the robber’s bullets, disabling the thief with a series of sharp elbows and in-close punches. But… to what end?
With Roscoe brought to Walter’s lab, the scientist tried to draw out the musician’s memories, and in the process, Walter explained that he’s made a “liquid base to aid in the process of bran-mapping.” Roscoe Joyce observed wryly that Brain Mapping would make a great name for an album. Walter had mixed the liquid with milk “as a bonding agent,” and put it in his fridge in an ordinary milk bottle. Uh-oh…
The Observer appeared to Walter and asked to talk. What followed was the crux of the episode. The Observer and Walter discuss “various possible futures” and how “every action causes ripples.” He told Walter a story that gave the hour its title and was, we thought as we watched, a metaphor: It was about Peter as a boy catching a firefly, which caused another child to not catch one and go wandering off. Her father went looking for her in his car, skidded and hit and killed a boy. The Observer broke off from his story to ask Walter for his help: “When the time comes, give him the keys and save the girl.” Walter was baffled by this apparent non sequitur.
But then Walter went back to the lab and Roscoe had remembered something: Bobby called him years ago to tell him about a dream which involved a bald man and a nursing home; Roscoe said it was their last conversation, because shortly after, Bobby was fatally hit by a man driving a car. Walter realized that, in a roundabout way, he was responsible for this death (because of his Peter catching the firefly) and Roscoe comments that the grief over Bobby’s death is the real reason Violet Sedan Chair broke up. So Walter is also responsible for the break-up of his favorite band! I’d have cheered at this cleverness in the script by producers J. H. Wyman and Jeff Pinkner had I not been so moved by the multiple unhappinesses that were caused in what the Observer called actions-causing-ripples. “That man lost a son because I was unwilling to lose mine,” is how Walter will boil it down a few minutes later to Astrid. Walter also realized that the Observer “wants me to help him un-do all the damage… But in doing that I would lose [Peter] all over again.”
The Observer’s non sequitur to Walter made sense when the Observer caused an auto accident and the woman with asthma was again placed in jeopardy. At the scene of this accident, Olivia chased after the Observer; Peter told Walter he wanted to go help Olivia but that Walter should stay with the young woman and that he needs their car.
“Give me the keys and save the girl,” Peter says to Walter. Thunderstruck, Walter realizes this had been the Observer’s plan all along. “They’re going to take you from me!” he cried out in anguish. Yet Walter cannot allow the asthmatic girl to die. He handed over the keys and improvised a cure for the woman. This delayed him from getting back to the lab, where Peter, thirsty, reached in for the milk and went into a seizure — a reaction to Walter’s brain-mapping elixer. A frantic Olivia called Walter, who guided her through an anti-coagulant injection.
Later the Observers spoke about all this. “You were right, he’s changed. He was willing to let his son die,” is what they conclude. “Yes, and now we know: When the time comes, he will be willing to do it again.” Fade to black.
But wait! There was the night’s other plot: Olivia received a book in the mail, If You Meet The Buddha On The Road, Kill Him! (This is an actual book, published in 1972 by Sheldon B. Kopp, that carries the subtitle, “The Pilgrimage of Psychotherapy Patients.”) At first, Olivia was put off by this, handing it off to Peter as being intended for “her” — i.e., Altivia. But then Peter explained, with a lovely sincerity and earnestness, “The book wasn’t meant for her. It was meant for the Olivia Dunham that I’ve spent the past couple of years of my life with… You’re the person I wanted to share it with.” It was meant to help explain why he can be so distant and disengaged. If The Buddha is about finding one’s own path, altering the narrative of one’s past, and commences with a section that’s very apt for this music-minded episode of Fringe: “Take From No Man His Song.” With its chapters about “spoiled identity” and “a search for belonging,” this book is something I’m going to have to dip into further. I’ll keep you posted on what I find; let me know if you’ve read it yourself.
“The Firefly” stands among the finest Fringe episodes. The pull of family; the knotty complexity of romance; the way sci-fi can provide fresh metaphors for the most frequently explored ideas and emotions; the way we encounter humor and surprise even in the midst of anguish and regret — this is the stuff of which Fringe is made. Hallelujah.
Oh yes, those uneasy fears I mentioned at the top of this piece. I do fear — with great delight — for the future implications of the Observers’ ominous exchange and what it means for Walter later in the season. Walter undergoing another traumatic challenge about the possibility of losing a son seems almost too much for the man to bear. It will also make for great drama.
Fringe benefits:
• The episode title was also, of course, a nod to Fringe‘s new Friday night Fox death-trap time period, once the quicksand-grave for Joss Whedon’s Firefly.
• It’s rumored that the Violet Sedan Chair’s album Seven Suns exists, and can be found in various independent record stories throughout the country. From what I’ve heard, Chair music is less psychedelic than I’d thought the band would be — more influenced by American British-invasion-influenced bands ranging from the Beau Brummels to The Three O’Clock. In other words: Fab.
• How many of you initially thought, as I did, that Bobby wasn’t a transported-from-1985 Bobby, but the alterna-Bobby, from the Other Side?
• The Observer shooting Peter with his “magic air gun” — wish I had one of those.
What did you think about the return of Fringe and “The Firefly”?
The hour began not with a previously-standard pre-credits, scare-case-of-the-week introduction, but rather a beautiful scene between Walter and Peter that had those elements of comedy and poignance that Fringe combines like no other current television. Peter came upon Walter in the lab, the latter preparing to inject himself in his leg with something concocted to “make myself smarter,” the better to replace the missing parts of his brain (I know I’ve just lost every non-regular-Fringe viewer reading this with that phrase; sorry) and to approximate the intelligence of Walternate. Peter gently warned his father to recall that Walter had asked William Bell to snip out those brain-parts “because you were afraid of what you were becoming.”
Then, cut to a nursing home in Boston, where a patient who would prove to be guest star Christopher Lloyd was seen on security cameras conversing with an unknown hospital visitor. The patient was Roscoe Joyce, the former keyboardist for Walter’s favorite rock band, Violet Sedan Chair, and the stranger was Joyce’s dead son, Bobby, come to deliver a message. Bobby, who’d died in 1985, joined up with our most familiar Observer (Michael Cerveris), who told Bobby that, with his brief mission accomplished, “I’ll take you home now.”
Once Fringe Division is called into this scenario because the cameras also picked up the presence of the Observer, it was bliss to see Walter’s reaction when he realized that the drawn, haggard ex-rocker before him was Roscoe Joyce. Lloyd’s hopeless demeanor was as perfect as his wardrobe — the no-shirt vest plus jewelry get-up of a man who indeed looked like a refugee from a decades-old, now-defunct (art-? prog-? psychedelic-?) rock band. Walter’s elation at meeting one of his heroes, even in this fallen, sedated state, was tempered by the Observer sighting: “Every time the Observer appears, it has something to do with you,” he said to Peter, worry creasing his face. “Something bad.”
But soon after, we saw two Observers discussing Walter, not Peter. Our Observer says to his colleague, “I think he has changed.” The other one disagrees. Most of the Observer scenes in “The Firefly” were mysterious, confusing, until the end of the hour. Shortly before this our Observer foiled a jewlry store robbery and saved a woman tied up during the burglary by locating her asthma inhaler, from which she desperately needed a dose. He pocketed the inhaler. It was very cool to see an Observer in an action scene — catching the robber’s bullets, disabling the thief with a series of sharp elbows and in-close punches. But… to what end?
With Roscoe brought to Walter’s lab, the scientist tried to draw out the musician’s memories, and in the process, Walter explained that he’s made a “liquid base to aid in the process of bran-mapping.” Roscoe Joyce observed wryly that Brain Mapping would make a great name for an album. Walter had mixed the liquid with milk “as a bonding agent,” and put it in his fridge in an ordinary milk bottle. Uh-oh…
The Observer appeared to Walter and asked to talk. What followed was the crux of the episode. The Observer and Walter discuss “various possible futures” and how “every action causes ripples.” He told Walter a story that gave the hour its title and was, we thought as we watched, a metaphor: It was about Peter as a boy catching a firefly, which caused another child to not catch one and go wandering off. Her father went looking for her in his car, skidded and hit and killed a boy. The Observer broke off from his story to ask Walter for his help: “When the time comes, give him the keys and save the girl.” Walter was baffled by this apparent non sequitur.
But then Walter went back to the lab and Roscoe had remembered something: Bobby called him years ago to tell him about a dream which involved a bald man and a nursing home; Roscoe said it was their last conversation, because shortly after, Bobby was fatally hit by a man driving a car. Walter realized that, in a roundabout way, he was responsible for this death (because of his Peter catching the firefly) and Roscoe comments that the grief over Bobby’s death is the real reason Violet Sedan Chair broke up. So Walter is also responsible for the break-up of his favorite band! I’d have cheered at this cleverness in the script by producers J. H. Wyman and Jeff Pinkner had I not been so moved by the multiple unhappinesses that were caused in what the Observer called actions-causing-ripples. “That man lost a son because I was unwilling to lose mine,” is how Walter will boil it down a few minutes later to Astrid. Walter also realized that the Observer “wants me to help him un-do all the damage… But in doing that I would lose [Peter] all over again.”
The Observer’s non sequitur to Walter made sense when the Observer caused an auto accident and the woman with asthma was again placed in jeopardy. At the scene of this accident, Olivia chased after the Observer; Peter told Walter he wanted to go help Olivia but that Walter should stay with the young woman and that he needs their car.
“Give me the keys and save the girl,” Peter says to Walter. Thunderstruck, Walter realizes this had been the Observer’s plan all along. “They’re going to take you from me!” he cried out in anguish. Yet Walter cannot allow the asthmatic girl to die. He handed over the keys and improvised a cure for the woman. This delayed him from getting back to the lab, where Peter, thirsty, reached in for the milk and went into a seizure — a reaction to Walter’s brain-mapping elixer. A frantic Olivia called Walter, who guided her through an anti-coagulant injection.
Later the Observers spoke about all this. “You were right, he’s changed. He was willing to let his son die,” is what they conclude. “Yes, and now we know: When the time comes, he will be willing to do it again.” Fade to black.
But wait! There was the night’s other plot: Olivia received a book in the mail, If You Meet The Buddha On The Road, Kill Him! (This is an actual book, published in 1972 by Sheldon B. Kopp, that carries the subtitle, “The Pilgrimage of Psychotherapy Patients.”) At first, Olivia was put off by this, handing it off to Peter as being intended for “her” — i.e., Altivia. But then Peter explained, with a lovely sincerity and earnestness, “The book wasn’t meant for her. It was meant for the Olivia Dunham that I’ve spent the past couple of years of my life with… You’re the person I wanted to share it with.” It was meant to help explain why he can be so distant and disengaged. If The Buddha is about finding one’s own path, altering the narrative of one’s past, and commences with a section that’s very apt for this music-minded episode of Fringe: “Take From No Man His Song.” With its chapters about “spoiled identity” and “a search for belonging,” this book is something I’m going to have to dip into further. I’ll keep you posted on what I find; let me know if you’ve read it yourself.
“The Firefly” stands among the finest Fringe episodes. The pull of family; the knotty complexity of romance; the way sci-fi can provide fresh metaphors for the most frequently explored ideas and emotions; the way we encounter humor and surprise even in the midst of anguish and regret — this is the stuff of which Fringe is made. Hallelujah.
Oh yes, those uneasy fears I mentioned at the top of this piece. I do fear — with great delight — for the future implications of the Observers’ ominous exchange and what it means for Walter later in the season. Walter undergoing another traumatic challenge about the possibility of losing a son seems almost too much for the man to bear. It will also make for great drama.
Fringe benefits:
• The episode title was also, of course, a nod to Fringe‘s new Friday night Fox death-trap time period, once the quicksand-grave for Joss Whedon’s Firefly.
• It’s rumored that the Violet Sedan Chair’s album Seven Suns exists, and can be found in various independent record stories throughout the country. From what I’ve heard, Chair music is less psychedelic than I’d thought the band would be — more influenced by American British-invasion-influenced bands ranging from the Beau Brummels to The Three O’Clock. In other words: Fab.
• How many of you initially thought, as I did, that Bobby wasn’t a transported-from-1985 Bobby, but the alterna-Bobby, from the Other Side?
• The Observer shooting Peter with his “magic air gun” — wish I had one of those.
What did you think about the return of Fringe and “The Firefly”?
Jennifer Hudson Set To Return With New Album ‘I Remember Me’
Jennifer Hudson, last seen making Oprah shed tears at the Kennedy Center Honors, will release her sophomore album in two months, says her website. I Remember Me will be out March 22, and features work by such writers and producers as Ryan Tedder, Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz, Rich Harrison, Ne-Yo and Stargate. Also on board is R. Kelly, who co-wrote the LP’s first single “Where You At.”
“I’m excited about this album because it’s almost like a renewal for me, reflected through the chapters of my life,” Oscar and Grammy winner Jennifer says on her site. “I’ve called it I Remember Me because of the journey I’ve been on. I’ve learned that life constantly surprises you, no matter your plans. My fans have been so loyal, I feel like they have been on this journey with me and I can’t wait for them to hear the new album.”
A short clip of “Where You At” is streaming here, and those who pre-order the I Remember Me album get a free download of the single on January 24.
“You said you’d be that shoulder for my eyes to cry on, so you would be the one that I depend on,” J-Hud sings on the ballad, which prominently features a piano, thick beats and melodic backing vocals.
Are you excited for the return of J-Hud?
“I’m excited about this album because it’s almost like a renewal for me, reflected through the chapters of my life,” Oscar and Grammy winner Jennifer says on her site. “I’ve called it I Remember Me because of the journey I’ve been on. I’ve learned that life constantly surprises you, no matter your plans. My fans have been so loyal, I feel like they have been on this journey with me and I can’t wait for them to hear the new album.”
A short clip of “Where You At” is streaming here, and those who pre-order the I Remember Me album get a free download of the single on January 24.
“You said you’d be that shoulder for my eyes to cry on, so you would be the one that I depend on,” J-Hud sings on the ballad, which prominently features a piano, thick beats and melodic backing vocals.
Are you excited for the return of J-Hud?
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Wild's Backstrom Earns Shutout in Return from Injury
Niklas Backstrom returned from a hip injury to make 37 saves for his second shutout of the season in the Minnesota Wild's 6-0 victory over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday.
Backstrom, in goal for the first time since Dec. 31, has 21 career NHL shutouts.
Martin Havlat had two goals and an assist, John Madden, Chuck Kobasew and Cal Clutterbuck each had a goal and an assist and Mikko Koivu also scored. Kyle Brodziak had three assists, and Andrew Brunette added two.
Coming off victories over Vancouver on Sunday night and in Edmonton on Tuesday night with Anton Khudobin in goal, the Wild have won three straight and seven of their last 10 to pull within a point of Colorado and Chicago Blackhawks for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Minnesota took a 2-0 lead in first 6:04.
Havlat opened the scoring at 3:25, blasting a shot over Miikka Kiprusoff's left pad, and Koivu doubled the lead on a power play, snapping a shot through traffic past the screened Kiprusoff.
Madden scored late in the second, and Clutterbuck, Kobasew and Havlat added goals in the third.
Backstrom, in goal for the first time since Dec. 31, has 21 career NHL shutouts.
Martin Havlat had two goals and an assist, John Madden, Chuck Kobasew and Cal Clutterbuck each had a goal and an assist and Mikko Koivu also scored. Kyle Brodziak had three assists, and Andrew Brunette added two.
Coming off victories over Vancouver on Sunday night and in Edmonton on Tuesday night with Anton Khudobin in goal, the Wild have won three straight and seven of their last 10 to pull within a point of Colorado and Chicago Blackhawks for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Minnesota took a 2-0 lead in first 6:04.
Havlat opened the scoring at 3:25, blasting a shot over Miikka Kiprusoff's left pad, and Koivu doubled the lead on a power play, snapping a shot through traffic past the screened Kiprusoff.
Madden scored late in the second, and Clutterbuck, Kobasew and Havlat added goals in the third.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Eminem Plans a Return to the Big Screen, But Can He Forge a Successful Acting Career?
Nine years after his electrifying performance in the semi-autobiographical '8 Mile,' Eminem is planning his return to film in the upcoming thriller 'Random Acts of Violence.'
The reclusive rapper, whose 2010 album 'Recovery' was the best-selling album of the year, continues to work his way back into the national consciousness with a series of upcoming film roles. In addition to 'Violence,' the rapper is currently in production on the 3-D horror film 'Shady Talez' and the boxing-themed drama 'Southpaw.'
But as fans of both hip-hop and film know, the confluence of emcees and movies is not always the best fit. For every Mos Def in 'The Woodsman,' there's DMX in 'Cradle 2 the Grave.' For every Ludacris in 'Crash,' there's, well, Ludacris in 'Fred Claus.'
"I think it's a good role for Eminem," says Jake Paine, editor-in-chief of influential hip-hop website HipHopDX.com. "But I think we're all skeptical about 'rapper movies.' Still, Eminem, more than almost anybody in the last 10 years, has the potential to follow in the Fresh Prince [Will Smith] or Marky Mark's [Mark Wahlberg] ascent to legitimate acting."
Smith and Wahlberg have long solidified their presences in Hollywood and shed -- or matured, depending on your point of view -- their former careers. But both had all but retired from hip-hop when their acting careers began. (Smith would later reboot his musical career as a solo artist in 1997, but only after firmly establishing his acting career.) Juggling music and acting simultaneously is a much more difficult endeavor.
"I thought it was about time," admits Mecca, editor-at-large of hip-hop magazine The Source. "It's all he needed to complete a successful return. The script and storyline seem strong and expanding his resume with films is a great look."
According to Vulture, 'Random Acts of Violence' began as the cinematic equivalent to 'Grand Theft Auto,' the ultraviolent video game that emerged as one of the decade's most popular games. But 20th Century Fox shifted tone and brought in 'Californication' director David Von Ancken, who ditched the cars and created "a thriller more akin to 'The Town' or 'The Departed.'" The rapper will play an ex-con torn between his past partners in crime and the FBI agents hoping he'll wear a wire to bring them down.
The reclusive rapper, whose 2010 album 'Recovery' was the best-selling album of the year, continues to work his way back into the national consciousness with a series of upcoming film roles. In addition to 'Violence,' the rapper is currently in production on the 3-D horror film 'Shady Talez' and the boxing-themed drama 'Southpaw.'
But as fans of both hip-hop and film know, the confluence of emcees and movies is not always the best fit. For every Mos Def in 'The Woodsman,' there's DMX in 'Cradle 2 the Grave.' For every Ludacris in 'Crash,' there's, well, Ludacris in 'Fred Claus.'
"I think it's a good role for Eminem," says Jake Paine, editor-in-chief of influential hip-hop website HipHopDX.com. "But I think we're all skeptical about 'rapper movies.' Still, Eminem, more than almost anybody in the last 10 years, has the potential to follow in the Fresh Prince [Will Smith] or Marky Mark's [Mark Wahlberg] ascent to legitimate acting."
Smith and Wahlberg have long solidified their presences in Hollywood and shed -- or matured, depending on your point of view -- their former careers. But both had all but retired from hip-hop when their acting careers began. (Smith would later reboot his musical career as a solo artist in 1997, but only after firmly establishing his acting career.) Juggling music and acting simultaneously is a much more difficult endeavor.
"I thought it was about time," admits Mecca, editor-at-large of hip-hop magazine The Source. "It's all he needed to complete a successful return. The script and storyline seem strong and expanding his resume with films is a great look."
According to Vulture, 'Random Acts of Violence' began as the cinematic equivalent to 'Grand Theft Auto,' the ultraviolent video game that emerged as one of the decade's most popular games. But 20th Century Fox shifted tone and brought in 'Californication' director David Von Ancken, who ditched the cars and created "a thriller more akin to 'The Town' or 'The Departed.'" The rapper will play an ex-con torn between his past partners in crime and the FBI agents hoping he'll wear a wire to bring them down.
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