cult film freak: October 2013

Written by James M. Tate / 10/31/2013 / No comments / christopher lee , hammer films , horror , peter cushing , seventies , stephanie beacham

SINKING FANGS INTO THE UNDERRATED DRACULA A.D. 1972

christopher lee, hammer films, horror, peter cushing, seventies, stephanie beacham

SINKING FANGS INTO THE UNDERRATED DRACULA A.D. 1972

Year of Release for DRACULA A.D. 1972: Take a Wild Guess Dracula, revamped by Hammer film staple Christopher Lee, returns to England dur...

Written by James M. Tate / 10/29/2013 / No comments / battlestar galactica , fantasy , interview , richard hatch , science-fiction , seventies , zeroes

RICHARD HATCH ON THE OLD AND NEW BATTLESTAR GALACTICA

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_p5wjD7w5WA/TgwKOaVkaNI/AAAAAAAABBc/cSJV8PD_n8s/s1600/40.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623881277383141586" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_p5wjD7w5WA/TgwKOaVkaNI/AAAAAAAABBc/cSJV8PD_n8s/s200/40.jpg" style="float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 155px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard Hatch</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i>RICHARD HATCH is legendary in the BATTLESTAR GALCTICA universe, having starred in the original as “Captain Apollo” and a recurring role in the popular revision series, ultimately appearing in the same amount of episodes on either show...</i><br />
<br />
<u><span style="background-color: white;">What’s your favorite episode of the original series?</span></u><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xchtuBM7zNs/TgwKAjQ4W-I/AAAAAAAABBU/rZOR3_mEC00/s1600/43.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623881039261228002" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xchtuBM7zNs/TgwKAjQ4W-I/AAAAAAAABBU/rZOR3_mEC00/s200/43.jpg" style="float: right; height: 176px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 200px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">from THE HAND OF GOD</td></tr>
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"The  Hand Of God" because I just like the essence that there was a message  from Earth. I loved being up in the Star Chamber… I loved the whole  feeling of it. It wasn’t an Apollo episode necessarily, but I just liked  the episode a lot, I thought it kind of left with this kind of mystical  feeling of hope, of something greater out in the universe. I love the  feeling of that. And I thought the original two-hour movie was quite  extraordinary. I thought that was really quite well done.<br />
<u><br /></u>
<u><span style="background-color: white;">You’re  prominent in the episode “The Lost Warrior,” where Apollo’s forced to  land on a planet and helps a mother, her son, and their small town  against a lone Cylon and his human master…</span></u><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ueO2iQjWhFE/TgwHGAF86oI/AAAAAAAAA_8/AiQEjzt91fU/s1600/apollo_lastwarrior.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623877834364480130" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ueO2iQjWhFE/TgwHGAF86oI/AAAAAAAAA_8/AiQEjzt91fU/s200/apollo_lastwarrior.jpg" style="float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 162px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lost Warrior episode</td></tr>
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The  “Shane” episode… That was a nice episode. It gave me a chance to do  something a little more: and obviously they followed on the footsteps of  dealing with his… Apollo had a son… I actually begged for them to leave  my son in Battlestar, at the beginning with Jane Seymour, because I  just felt like the Starbuck character, and all these other characters,  were getting more interesting things to do, and I thought I needed  something to hold onto, I felt, that would give my character an  opportunity for some dramatic possibilities.<br />
<br />
And one of  the things I thought would open up at least an area of interest was to  have a son, which nobody else on the show had, so, I really wanted them  to keep Noah Hathaway in the show, even though I think they were talking  about exiting that character... I asked them to keep that character in.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hDauoBW6Bps/TgwdM1k4wtI/AAAAAAAABCM/MOSRcqSYfrQ/s1600/vellapuppis%2B23-39-06.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623902141056336594" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hDauoBW6Bps/TgwdM1k4wtI/AAAAAAAABCM/MOSRcqSYfrQ/s200/vellapuppis%2B23-39-06.jpg" style="float: right; height: 150px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 200px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lost Warriors</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And  the “Shane” episode, again, he deals with the mother and the son and  that whole relationship thing that, you know, that’s a good place for  Apollo to show himself a little bit, find out a little about who he is,  because he’s kind of like… Just like Adama… You know… He’s that father  that we all wished we had… and Loren Greene was the father we all wished  we had and Apollo was kind of a version of that, so I think that was  smart to do.<br />
<br />
But I did think the original show needed  to get more into exploring the life and death challenges of surviving in  space, every day, and get into the community of Battlestar, rather than  just being on the ship and running down to this planet or that planet,  which is fine to do but I think the best shows in the beginning, that I  loved the most, are where we were trying to help people survive, and  dealing with the ups and downs of trying to rebuild communities, and  trying to deal with the logistics of surviving and all the stories that  would come from that.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KFDGmF9ii04/TgwYuzx2V9I/AAAAAAAABBs/HMgfr_JCe0k/s1600/screen_three_f.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623897227131246546" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KFDGmF9ii04/TgwYuzx2V9I/AAAAAAAABBs/HMgfr_JCe0k/s200/screen_three_f.jpg" style="float: left; height: 171px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 200px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starbuck & Cylons</td></tr>
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I  wish we’d gone more into that, but again, too many cooks in the  kitchen, people who really didn’t love science fiction didn’t get the  sci-fi audience, and I think that it really made it difficult for those  wonderful writers back then to maybe write all the stories they wanted  to.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MeLSms0HNdM/TgwI7N7HC0I/AAAAAAAABAs/JWsOj7GhVOQ/s1600/12.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623879848121797442" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MeLSms0HNdM/TgwI7N7HC0I/AAAAAAAABAs/JWsOj7GhVOQ/s200/12.jpg" style="float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 195px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard Hatch</td></tr>
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The  first couple of episodes didn’t have that problem because Apollo… You  know, listen… I know the show’s not just about Apollo, it’s about all  the characters, and everybody deserves their time in the sun, and  everybody deserves to have interesting stories and things to do – my  frustration was I felt, in the beginning, obviously because we’re having  the original catastrophic event happening and then obviously this is a  time when Captain Apollo can be most appreciated, why?<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V1A1_S3a5xc/TgwEc2WW0zI/AAAAAAAAA_U/MM08dtasJsg/s1600/13.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623874928351040306" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V1A1_S3a5xc/TgwEc2WW0zI/AAAAAAAAA_U/MM08dtasJsg/s200/13.jpg" style="float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 190px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard Hatch</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Because in a weird way, he’s kind of like the hero, <span style="font-style: italic;">the </span>hero,  the guy who comes and saves you, right? He’s the guy that, when all  else is failing, and everyone wants to give up, he’s the guy who comes  and doesn’t give up. And that’s very much who Apollo was… He’s the guy  who will lead everybody into danger, and inspire them to do the things  they didn’t think they could do.<br />
<br />
And so those early  shows allowed the Apollo character to blossom a little bit, and you  could appreciate that character more in those original episodes.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R8ZYveioe2A/TgwEMmQAf0I/AAAAAAAAA_M/85W2O6xNZxY/s1600/2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623874649151536962" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R8ZYveioe2A/TgwEMmQAf0I/AAAAAAAAA_M/85W2O6xNZxY/s200/2.jpg" style="float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 185px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starbuck & Apollo</td></tr>
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Once  we got past that, and just kind of got into the every day living in  space and dealing with that, where it didn’t seem we were in such  danger, then I think slowly but surely the emphasis got switched and,  again, the story’s not about Apollo, I just felt that Apollo didn’t have  much to do.<br />
<br />
And I had multiple lunches with the  writers; it wasn’t about being the star of a particular episode, as much  as it was having interesting themes to play and interesting dramatic  situations that would challenge the Apollo character and bring challenge  for everybody in the show.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jjdTGbIg_vU/TgwHfkjo05I/AAAAAAAABAM/WJ-F2Xq-6rY/s1600/29.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623878273649398674" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jjdTGbIg_vU/TgwHfkjo05I/AAAAAAAABAM/WJ-F2Xq-6rY/s200/29.jpg" style="float: left; height: 196px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 200px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starbuck & Apollo</td></tr>
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<u><span style="background-color: white;">So did you feel they gave more screen time to “Starbuck” (Dirk Benedict) throughout the series?</span></u><br />
<br />
Why  do the girls always go for the bad guy or the naughty guy? I think  writers love to write for deliciously bad characters or flawed  characters, and when a character is kind of the, you know, good guy,  they’re not as interested.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8B9jzxswHAU/TgwJcQ8zZ5I/AAAAAAAABBE/SwI73inUTuU/s1600/8.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623880415869888402" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8B9jzxswHAU/TgwJcQ8zZ5I/AAAAAAAABBE/SwI73inUTuU/s200/8.jpg" style="float: right; height: 196px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 200px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard Hatch</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And obviously they did their  best [for Apollo] but it’s a little frustrating for the actor because  you want more conflict, and more edge, and more things to deal with.<br />
<br />
But  unfortunately, the good guys, or good girls, are so overlooked and  unappreciated and it’s an interesting kind of thing that people are  always, in a sense… They want more of the bad thing, they’re always  attracted to the dark side, and I guess that’s where our culture is.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8UBkfYWDbTs/TgwHyfwYzBI/AAAAAAAABAU/c5nQkJbG7wQ/s1600/32.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623878598778211346" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8UBkfYWDbTs/TgwHyfwYzBI/AAAAAAAABAU/c5nQkJbG7wQ/s200/32.jpg" style="float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 190px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dirk Benedict</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The  Starbuck character is kind of the free-roaming bad boy, naughty boy,  and a little bit irresponsible, and the Apollo character is very  responsible, so they wanted to make the Apollo character a little less  responsible and make the Starbuck character a little more responsible.  Not take away who they were, but just to bring a little more balance  into the characters. So I think that was in their thinking – in their  plotting – of where they wanted to go.<br />
<br />
<u><span style="background-color: white;">Onto  the new “Battlestar Galactica,” in which you played an important  character, "Tom Zarek"… What are some differences between the two shows?</span></u><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2dZ29frsDaY/TgwFYRAa2II/AAAAAAAAA_k/JONf3gsx938/s1600/richardhatch.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623875949119068290" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2dZ29frsDaY/TgwFYRAa2II/AAAAAAAAA_k/JONf3gsx938/s200/richardhatch.jpg" style="float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 186px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hatch in New Series</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
To  create dramatic possibilities, you’ve got to throw these characters  that you’ve grown to love into very challenging circumstances, where  they get tested, and sometimes something happens between them, and then  they fight, they argue, they separate, and then they find out that they  did the wrong thing, or they wish they hadn’t, and they come back and  they become even better friends...<br />
<br />
And that’s the whole story arc of  drama: that you create controversy, you throw gasoline on the fire  because you want to build the drama – so you’re always looking for  conflict.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EO4HO1Yegvc/TgwEtzSlyfI/AAAAAAAAA_c/qUJT67gMPCE/s1600/28.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623875219587713522" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EO4HO1Yegvc/TgwEtzSlyfI/AAAAAAAAA_c/qUJT67gMPCE/s200/28.jpg" style="float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 156px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Captain Apollo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But  again, we [the original series] started out with the show developing  characters that won you over, that had great relationships with each  other, the father/son relationship, everything in there was a great  relationship between these characters.<br />
<br />
The new show  kind of had every character being complex, very flawed, morally  conflicted, and it took a while to get into those characters and like  them because they seemed to have so many issues and problems. But  as the show went on, we got to see their humanity, we got to see a  deeper part of who these characters were, and then we slowly bonded to  these characters, and fell in love with these characters as well...<br />
<br />
So in a  sense they started out making the characters very conflicted, and in  some cases unlikable, and then we grew to love them, and we grew to love  the relationships. Whereas the original show started  out with us loving these characters, they were not so flawed, and we  could bond with them immediately.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XRHvD5i8otQ/TgwH-laTJ-I/AAAAAAAABAc/YuEzLBYAFC0/s1600/23.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623878806454609890" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XRHvD5i8otQ/TgwH-laTJ-I/AAAAAAAABAc/YuEzLBYAFC0/s200/23.jpg" style="float: left; height: 195px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 200px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jane Seymour & Richard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But  then I think had the show gone on, we would have had to go the  direction of the new show and these characters would have to be put into  edgier circumstances, because every show seeking drama is going to find  conflict for their starring characters.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8iiJRbWOBRg/TgwIj41C9pI/AAAAAAAABAk/ADzg2JX-7eQ/s1600/main.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623879447322228370" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8iiJRbWOBRg/TgwIj41C9pI/AAAAAAAABAk/ADzg2JX-7eQ/s200/main.jpg" style="float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 176px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard Hatch</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We  just started on one side, they started on the other side, and  ultimately we probably would have met in the middle.... <br />
<br />
Although both  stories obviously had different mythology and backgrounds but, again, I  love both shows.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dVYaX8Ui6EU/TgwHYDTH4uI/AAAAAAAABAE/U51uAKT25N4/s1600/9.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="194" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623878144462676706" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dVYaX8Ui6EU/TgwHYDTH4uI/AAAAAAAABAE/U51uAKT25N4/s200/9.jpg" style="float: left; height: 194px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 200px;" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">Apollo & Boomer</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u><span style="background-color: white;">Back  to the original… The game “Triad” was very interesting... How was it  playing this particular sport with your co-stars in those awesome  uniforms?</span></u><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Well  we evolved that... People don’t realize that they had a basic thought or  idea of what the game might be, but when we got out on the court, we  kind of evolved how it would play...<br />
<br />
There was a court, it looked like a  basketball court; it was a combination of football and basketball and  soccer and there was a whole thing of trying to get it through and we  figured out the logistics of it... We kind of played with it with the stunt guys and we evolved the way the whole game’s played, so that was fun to be part. And the spandex was a little painful, but other than that…<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jRuc7UdJW4w/Wd-xLRvlU9I/AAAAAAAAzQk/5bfwj4zvdyQE6CaKH4-JiVTXfoy8UbwcgCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-10-12%2Bat%2B11.13.42%2BAM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="835" data-original-width="1600" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jRuc7UdJW4w/Wd-xLRvlU9I/AAAAAAAAzQk/5bfwj4zvdyQE6CaKH4-JiVTXfoy8UbwcgCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-10-12%2Bat%2B11.13.42%2BAM.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard Hatch, Herb Jefferson and Dirk Benedict about to enter the Arena</td></tr>
</tbody></table>

battlestar galactica, fantasy, interview, richard hatch, science-fiction, seventies, zeroes

RICHARD HATCH ON THE OLD AND NEW BATTLESTAR GALACTICA

Richard Hatch RICHARD HATCH is legendary in the BATTLESTAR GALCTICA universe, having starred in the original as “Captain Apollo” and a r...

Written by James M. Tate / 10/28/2013 / No comments / 2013 , catherine keener , comedy , jackass , johnny knoxville , lisa maley

JACKASS PRESENTS 'BAD GRANDPA' STARRING JOHNNY KNOXVILLE

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qurN6ob-qag/Um7duqF_bHI/AAAAAAAAbNE/iuhQJwWbQIQ/s1600/bad-grandpa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qurN6ob-qag/Um7duqF_bHI/AAAAAAAAbNE/iuhQJwWbQIQ/s400/bad-grandpa.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>year: 2013 cast: Johnny Knoxville, Jackson Nicoll rating: ***</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Resembling Art Carney after a crash diet, Johnny Knoxville plays Irving Zisman, a crabby, accidental-prone coot with permanent beer-goggles who gets reluctantly stuck with his tubby grandson...<br />
<br />
The plot, like any road movie, is simple enough: Irving drives young Billy to live with his father, a drug dealer looking forward to a hopeful $600 a month government child support; but when Jackass is concerned, does a plot really matter? Well it does and it doesn’t as expository scenes where Irving and Billy are alone, not shocking the normal people (supposedly being) filmed in secret, are somewhat awkward… and yet the characters are cushy and likable... Billy, played by Jackson Nicoll, is perfectly cast. He looks like the kind of kid you’d never imagine starring in a movie… The last child left at an orphanage. In fact his dull, droopy-eyed, monotone personality serves as a constant punchline: asking strangers blunt questions, sharing secrets about his drug addict mother and helping Grandpa with con games.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bSYxp4DB6ps/Um7dyWn0UYI/AAAAAAAAbNM/av4b-NlRu-I/s1600/bad-grandpa.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bSYxp4DB6ps/Um7dyWn0UYI/AAAAAAAAbNM/av4b-NlRu-I/s400/bad-grandpa.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sure it's a bit overly BORAT at times, but you should have fun with it...</td></tr>
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The big trailer-spoiled stunts, from Irving crashing a mini-helicopter ride through a store window to being practically mangled in a mechanical bed, seem very contrived and aren’t that funny…<br />
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Meanwhile the finale, taking place in a children's beauty contest, is straight out of LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE… Yet what’s really humorous is Knoxville’s dead-on performance as an old guy who sees every woman as drop-dead gorgeous. And the subtle cantankerous lines that, even in this completely exaggerated role, aren’t far from how certain old men (you may even be related to one) behave: using their advanced age to get away with just about anything – a perfectly suited Jackass scheme that results in an engaging, and surprisingly laidback, experience.<br />
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2013, catherine keener, comedy, jackass, johnny knoxville, lisa maley

JACKASS PRESENTS 'BAD GRANDPA' STARRING JOHNNY KNOXVILLE

year: 2013 cast: Johnny Knoxville, Jackson Nicoll rating: *** Resembling Art Carney after a crash diet, Johnny Knoxville plays Irving Zi...

Written by James M. Tate / 10/26/2013 / 1 Comment / 2013 , brad pitt , cameron diaz , javier bardem , michael fassbender , neo noir , ridley scott

RIDLEY SCOTT DIRECTS THE COUNSELOR

2013, brad pitt, cameron diaz, javier bardem, michael fassbender, neo noir, ridley scott

RIDLEY SCOTT DIRECTS THE COUNSELOR

year: 2013 cast: Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, Penélope Cruz rating: *1/2 In the prologue of Ridley Scott’...

Written by James M. Tate / 10/25/2013 / No comments / 2013 , benedict cumberbatch , biopic , chiwetel ejiofor , michael fassbender , paul dano , paul giamatti , steve mcqueen director

12 YEARS A SLAVE

2013, benedict cumberbatch, biopic, chiwetel ejiofor, michael fassbender, paul dano, paul giamatti, steve mcqueen director

12 YEARS A SLAVE

year: 2013 cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Paul Dano, Benedict Cumberbatch rating: **1/2 The best thing about 12 YEARS A S...

Written by James M. Tate / 10/23/2013 / No comments / bess armstrong , creature , dennis quaid , franchise , lea thompson , louis gossett jr. , sequel , shark , simon maccorkindale

DEFENDING THE DISASTER OF JAWS 3D

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BOvLtKEUe-E/UmeKD2HIF9I/AAAAAAAAbJ8/SVKIOF_heJA/s1600/jaws3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BOvLtKEUe-E/UmeKD2HIF9I/AAAAAAAAbJ8/SVKIOF_heJA/s1600/jaws3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1983 cast: Dennis Quaid, Bess Armstrong, Simon MacCorkindale, Lea Thompson rating: ***</td></tr>
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Just when you thought it was safe to go back to… Sea World! A Deadly New Attraction, indeed, and who’d have thought the third JAWS would abandon the cozy mainstay of Amity Beach and take place at an oceanic theme park, relying on 3D to make things like dolphins, killer whales, spear guns, and sea monster decorations come at you on the big... or in this case, small screen...<br />
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Directed by Joe Alves, the former production assistant who brought the shark to life in the first two outings, this isn’t as bad as the maligned reputation. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C5Gs1iWi7zQ/Umc8u5T-czI/AAAAAAAAbH8/C7qIlybGRC8/s1600/j2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C5Gs1iWi7zQ/Umc8u5T-czI/AAAAAAAAbH8/C7qIlybGRC8/s1600/j2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I see a script... THE RIGHT STUFF... Man I should start filming because this is nowhere."</td></tr>
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The character template coinciding with the original 1975 summer blockbuster are as follows…<br />
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Dennis Quaid is the Roy Scheider, not only because he’s in charge of the park the way Chief Brody partially ran Amity Island, but he’s Mike Brody, the oldest son who dog-paddled in the estuary/pond while his coach got eaten.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r8_yArKNXDg/Umc8069ja5I/AAAAAAAAbIE/iAzW8v7j8dc/s1600/j9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r8_yArKNXDg/Umc8069ja5I/AAAAAAAAbIE/iAzW8v7j8dc/s1600/j9.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Oh my God... I can't believe we're starring in this movie!"</td></tr>
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Richard Dreyfuss, the shark expert Hooper, returns in the form of Bess Armstrong as Dr. Kay Morgan, who lives with Mike... Instead of being into sharks, she's "in dolphins"... <br />
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Kay’s the ringleader who, with the help of real Sea World trainer Liz Morris, makes the jovial dolphins leap to cheering crowds… She also replaces Lorraine Gary, who played the Chief’s wife…<br />
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And as a headstrong female character, Kay's something to admire... When the time comes to kill the shark after the theme park is under attack, she's the man!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vvsxHmry2RY/Umc86ENQ_xI/AAAAAAAAbIM/_y0XHKXumiQ/s1600/j5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vvsxHmry2RY/Umc86ENQ_xI/AAAAAAAAbIM/_y0XHKXumiQ/s1600/j5.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Call that a shark? ... Now that's a shark!"</td></tr>
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Murray Hamilton’s selfish Mayor has morphed into Louis Gosset Jr. as entrepreneur Calvin Bouchard… No matter what kind of threat lurks, or how many employees go missing, Calvin wants to keep his theme park open for financial gain...<br />
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And while Captain Quint, played brilliantly by the scene-stealing Robert Shaw, was the shark hunting rogue, we have Simon MacCorkindale’s ambiguous hot shot Philip FitzRoyce, who will do anything for a buck and most of all, media coverage… Think of FitzRoyce as Captain Quint combined with Geraldo Rivera… He's the kind of guy you're supposed to love and hate.<br />
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Also included is Mike’s little brother… You might remember him making faces at daddy during the heartfelt dinner scene in the original… <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J5iPLxyUNRA/Umc89yt4ItI/AAAAAAAAbIU/88y-xDarE3o/s1600/j3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J5iPLxyUNRA/Umc89yt4ItI/AAAAAAAAbIU/88y-xDarE3o/s1600/j3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Mom, dad, his name's Calvin... Calvin Brody."</td></tr>
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Mike's now in his twenties and, visiting his brother at the theme park and still afraid of the water (because of the sailboat-caravan trauma in JAWS 2), he quickly hooks up with Kelly, the cutest water-ski girl of the lot… <br />
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Kelly's played by a pre-fame Lea Thompson... She and Mike hit it off way too fast, and while Lea provides dandy eye-candy to the proceedings (Bess is more of the thinking man's hottie), little brother is the most annoyingly disposable character.<br />
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The 3D device aside, the movie has a large scope with a grainy, slick dynamic… Almost as if it were filmed in the wide-screen 70’s… And this is not the usual JAWS style venture despite the similar character template, but more of a Disaster Film, setting up the “perfect” location that, despite all the work and ambition, is doomed from the start… Or rather, doomed by the shark… <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bmeXWYf43yc/Umc9E7D0C0I/AAAAAAAAbIc/bj4n3tghsaw/s1600/j1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bmeXWYf43yc/Umc9E7D0C0I/AAAAAAAAbIc/bj4n3tghsaw/s1600/j1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Eat them up, yum..."</td></tr>
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The formidable Carcharodon carcharias, in the film’s vapid intro, beheads a fish...<br />
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Unlike the groundbreaking prologue of the original, when Chrissie gets pulled around like a rag doll... or the divers being attacked in the sequel... this is one of the worst openings in film history…<br />
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And yet, despite the maligned reputation, there are worthy aspects to this third JAWS including a decent setup for the characters, each having an important part of the storyline.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xqgwqGNKWRI/Umc9LPntQnI/AAAAAAAAbIk/yyfeUQXUDyY/s1600/j4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xqgwqGNKWRI/Umc9LPntQnI/AAAAAAAAbIk/yyfeUQXUDyY/s1600/j4.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No, this isn't a scene from an underwater version of TRON...</td></tr>
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The near-future Sea World has an underground structure allowing people to see normal sized sharks and other big fishes swimming around… In one scene Mike and Kay investigate a sunken boat by use of a mini ("we all live in a") yellow submarine...<br />
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Meanwhile, up above, montage sequences of bikini girls waterskiing (during practice and the real thing) and stock footage of dolphins and killer whales bring you right into the location, making for an assortment of filler moments that are relaxing and, albeit pointless, fun to watch.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FDGnIhaX90w/UmiIyLcDDAI/AAAAAAAAbKM/R-pEh-taB9k/s1600/j8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FDGnIhaX90w/UmiIyLcDDAI/AAAAAAAAbKM/R-pEh-taB9k/s1600/j8.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big bad mama stalks the theme park's underwater structure</td></tr>
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Okay so this isn’t much of a review… For a movie that’s been deemed one of the worst sequels ever, it’s not that horrible.<br />
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The main problem is the often dull script, which meanders at times, leading to a wannabe Irwin Allen climax... The action sequences (when our heroes go after the shark) are edited shoddily, and the body count victims beforehand are killed in an uncreative, awkward fashion…<br />
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And while it's good to not see the shark too much, but in this case, he... or rather, she... needed much more screen time!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vgcn31UPSc0/Umc_FIESM6I/AAAAAAAAbIs/BdT7DInTvDw/s1600/j6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vgcn31UPSc0/Umc_FIESM6I/AAAAAAAAbIs/BdT7DInTvDw/s1600/j6.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Son of a Sheriff is thinking: "Smile you son of a..."</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2jI6CpzHMcE/Umc_K6L9uwI/AAAAAAAAbI0/f47BWLrWFlk/s1600/j7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2jI6CpzHMcE/Umc_K6L9uwI/AAAAAAAAbI0/f47BWLrWFlk/s1600/j7.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Liz Morris is not only cute, she's an actual Sea World employee</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4bUkkk_VOb0/Umc_SLZgZlI/AAAAAAAAbJI/QfoLHfZhA_k/s1600/j13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4bUkkk_VOb0/Umc_SLZgZlI/AAAAAAAAbJI/QfoLHfZhA_k/s1600/j13.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And the real star of the movie...</td></tr>
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bess armstrong, creature, dennis quaid, franchise, lea thompson, louis gossett jr., sequel, shark, simon maccorkindale