BRENDAN GLEESON IN CALVARY

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SXlRonuuUbI/VAK6HlvefBI/AAAAAAAAi8o/CSLrV3wq-n0/s1600/Calvary-35902_003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SXlRonuuUbI/VAK6HlvefBI/AAAAAAAAi8o/CSLrV3wq-n0/s1600/Calvary-35902_003.jpg" width="113" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2014 rating: ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> You can learn about how certain professions are viewed in pop culture by how they’re depicted in movies or TV shows…<br /> <br /> Anytime there’s only “one good” something or rather, it usually means that that particular group has more bad elements in order to select only a single protagonist to stand above the rest… A good cop, a good lawyer – hell, there’s even a good serial killer out there… So now we have an honest priest who must pay the price for his colleague's sins… and he has a week to live, possibly…<br /> <br /> The first scene catapults the rest of CALVARY, as Brendan Gleeson’s Father James, during an ominous confession, is warned on Monday that on the following Sunday he will be shot dead… This person is unseen and unnamed, making the rest of the film – with title cards marking off each day – a combination of brooding character-study, quirky dark comedy and a mellow slowburn mystery: the lead character and audience has to figure out who, of an eclectic bevy of oddballs within a small Irish town, is the inevitable grim reaper... Although this aspect doesn’t own the story. It’s really about the good priest visiting various troubled souls, ranging from a guiltless businessman to an imprisoned murderer to his very own daughter… Thus CALVARY centers on life and death, and one man existing in-between: It's in this purgatory state that Gleeson, best known for supporting roles, gets to shine in the forefront while still absorbing the people around him. And while some of the residents are more interesting and realistic (and less contrived) than others, our doomed hero's expressions and reactions are always worthwhile.

2014, brendan gleeson, chris o'dowd, m. emmett walsh, quirky

BRENDAN GLEESON IN CALVARY

2014 rating: ***1/2 You can learn about how certain professions are viewed in pop culture by how they’re depicted in movies or TV shows…...

REVIEW OF AS ABOVE, SO BELOW

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-59v9bwAfj-4/VADNUjXjykI/AAAAAAAAirI/epMHZWFmuPc/s1600/AASB-Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-59v9bwAfj-4/VADNUjXjykI/AAAAAAAAirI/epMHZWFmuPc/s1600/AASB-Poster.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2014 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> Although many credit the PARANORMAL ACTIVITY franchise  for the <i>handheld video</i> device, it was THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT that put this shaky style on the map… And now we go full circle with AS ABOVE, SO BELOW, where the characters literally run around in circles, often winding up in the same place they started. Basically, the BLAIR WITCH gets lost in the Paris catacombs…<br /> <br /> That’s an underground tomb with an abundance of tunnels and skulls… And like in WITCH, our heroine is a bossy know-it-all forcing her reluctant laidback guy/friends to venture deeper into the Gothic maze to learn about, in this case, an eternal life giving “philosopher’s stone”, or something. <br /> <br /> Scarlett, played by Perdita Weeks, really does know everything – way too much. Her learned expository hinders the suspense... it's like being in a haunted house with the homeowner as tour guide. Meanwhile, her team of fellow twenty-somethings are introduced decently in the setup, but once the ball gets rolling, the dizzying camera makes all humans an afterthought: when their individual time is up it hardly matters.  <br /> <br /> Audiences itching for bombastic horror will get a few neat scream-worthy jolts, yet ABOVE is really a mind-trip experience. Some of the elements…. like a burning car and a broken piano… are too weird/random to be genuinely frightening. The rest seems like chapters in a choose-your-own adventure book. And this one's not written very well, on any level.

2014, body count, handheld, horror

REVIEW OF AS ABOVE, SO BELOW

year: 2014 rating: ** Although many credit the PARANORMAL ACTIVITY franchise  for the handheld video device, it was THE BLAIR WITCH PRO...

PIERCE BROSNAN IN THE NOVEMBER MAN

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_OIxy6m8TEQ/U_6Z-Xjp-mI/AAAAAAAAh_M/wGui3ELYcBM/s1600/the-november-man.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_OIxy6m8TEQ/U_6Z-Xjp-mI/AAAAAAAAh_M/wGui3ELYcBM/s320/the-november-man.png" width="232" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2014 rating: **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> As the prettiest of former James Bonds, making dapper Roger Moore seem like the rugged Sean Connery in comparison, Peirce Brosnan, aged into a timeworn Sam Neill exterior with a grim, world-weary countenance, has a lot to prove as a guy you’ve seen in many espionage flicks: an ex-CIA operative is brought back into the game and this time, "It’s personal"…<br /> <br /> THE NOVEMBER MAN starts with a subtle action sequence more befitting an established cable series than a motion picture… The characters are so comfortable with their banter and gunplay, it feels like we entered halfway through – or are experiencing the beginning of a sequel with characters already familiar to the audience.  <br /> <br /> Maybe this is intentional since we learn each step as the story unfolds. Brosnan’s Devereaux is a cold-blooded mentor to an aloof and deadly young agent named Mason (a Paul Walkeresque Luke Bracey). But this isn’t a buddy picture… Much of the screen time has a roving, gun-blasting Devereaux protecting a beautiful Olga Kurylenko as Alice, a woman who… well… films like this shouldn't be spoiled, although many elements are downright predictable. Just know that NOVEMBER initially overloads on specifics to provide a bloody, breezy ride for the last half. Bottom line, the less we know about these people, the better. Just watch the things they do and forget about their all-too-familiar reasons or motivation… As a mediocre espionage thriller, it's not a bad testosterone-driven action flick.

2014, action, espionage, olga kurylenko, pierce bronsan, thriller

PIERCE BROSNAN IN THE NOVEMBER MAN

year: 2014 rating: **1/2 As the prettiest of former James Bonds, making dapper Roger Moore seem like the rugged Sean Connery in comparis...

CAGED MOUSEKETEER: SHERRY ALBERONI DRIVE-IN INTERVIEW

<div style="text-align: left;"> <table 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/-IFILLu13XAU/U_u3w_lBf7I/AAAAAAAAhgQ/EXFmob5O68Q/s1600/T9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IFILLu13XAU/U_u3w_lBf7I/AAAAAAAAhgQ/EXFmob5O68Q/s320/T9.jpg" width="257" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sherry Alberoni Interview</td></tr> </tbody></table> </div> <i>In the 1970's, two low-budget exploitation flicks with a similar premise... a group of lovely young ladies being politely coerced and then suddenly abducted and violently terrorized by a male antagonist... featured Sherry Alberoni, a former child starlet who began as a MOUSEKETEER and provided her voice in JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS. And now we'll go with Sherry down memory lane as she recalls two particular low budget movies...</i><br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NjvJwPso6hc/U_u2GnkENbI/AAAAAAAAhf4/tnBaAHvHbsA/s1600/T2.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NjvJwPso6hc/U_u2GnkENbI/AAAAAAAAhf4/tnBaAHvHbsA/s320/T2.jpg" width="268" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1974 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> <i>The first being <b>TERROR CIRCUS</b> aka <b>NIGHTMARE CIRCUS</b> aka <b>BARN OF THE NAKED DEAD</b>, where a carload of women get stranded in the middle of nowhere, and soon enough a seemingly friendly stranger named Andre, played by Andrew Prine, lends a helping hand... A hand that will soon wield a fierce, cracking whip: For Andre has his very own “circus” within a dilapidated barn where he keeps his captive ladies tied up... </i><br /> <i><br /></i> <i>Soon enough, Sherry’s character, Sheri, is part of this torturous time capsule escapade that is 90-minutes of raw, unbridled, tedious, classless, insane, inane, amazingly horrendously entertaining drive-in style exploitation while Andre either plays mind games or beats his subjects, or sets wild cats or poisonous snakes after whoever he really despises...</i><br /> <br /> <table 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://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ETn0gKE8s4M/U_u6hBKuOyI/AAAAAAAAhgs/lokg6YUN1nw/s1600/T6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ETn0gKE8s4M/U_u6hBKuOyI/AAAAAAAAhgs/lokg6YUN1nw/s200/T6.jpg" width="161" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interview with Sherry Alberoni</td></tr> </tbody></table> <b>Sherry, how did you get the role in TERROR CIRCUS aka NIGHTMARE CIRCUS?</b><br /> <br /> I had gotten married in 1971 to my one-and-only husband, Richard Van Meter, who was in his 2nd year of medical school at UCLA. Since I was the “bread winner” at that time, I wasn’t particularly choosy about the parts I accepted, so when I was offered the part, I took it.<br /> <br /> In 1972 I had done my first “horror film,” SISTERS OF DEATH, and had a fun time with the cast and so I thought it would be another fun experience (which it was for the most part). I had been working in this business since I was 4 years old so to me, it was just another gig.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ylzb1kg6Lug/U_u6p37ZWgI/AAAAAAAAhg0/zHPEuNe_nVg/s1600/T4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ylzb1kg6Lug/U_u6p37ZWgI/AAAAAAAAhg0/zHPEuNe_nVg/s200/T4.jpg" width="145" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrew Prine</td></tr> </tbody></table> <b>You and several women are locked up in a barn and the dialogue is frantic and edgy… What was it like acting in this type of creepy setting with so many actresses caught in such a nightmare? </b><br /> <br /> Well, a set is not really a creepy setting – no scary music or dim lights to put you in the mood. I was never a “method actress” (I think a few of the others were – or wanted to be!). I just read the script and said my dialogue the way it was written with and all emotions that entails.<br /> <br /> <table 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://3.bp.blogspot.com/-upGhMj7bUmE/U_u_O6mrpGI/AAAAAAAAhis/gg24jWfN2_E/s1600/T7.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-upGhMj7bUmE/U_u_O6mrpGI/AAAAAAAAhis/gg24jWfN2_E/s200/T7.jpg" width="142" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sherry Alberoni</td></tr> </tbody></table> When the scene is over, I tend to walk away without a second thought of what I said or did – if the director liked it then that’s it. If he wanted more tears or fear or laughter or whatever, we did it again and I have him what he asked for.<br /> <br /> I guess that comes from doing so many different parts for so many years – it was always my job… not my life.<br /> <br /> I don’t mean to be flippant or blow it off like it’s not of some value, I was just taught, from a young age, to be professional but not take it too seriously (because it could all go away in a heartbeat). Be on time, know your lines and then come home to reality. If the part called for me to laugh, I laughed. If it called for me to cry, I cried – but it was all “play acting.”<br /> <br /> I live a very normal life because my parents taught me from day one that if I get the part, it’s not because I’m better or more talented than the girl standing next to me… it’s because God wanted me to get the part… and it worked the same in reverse – if I didn’t get the part, it wasn’t because I wasn’t good enough – God just didn’t want me to get the part.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q8DWql45-OE/U_u6xmgUmXI/AAAAAAAAhg8/IksdOw5Q8Ls/s1600/T11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q8DWql45-OE/U_u6xmgUmXI/AAAAAAAAhg8/IksdOw5Q8Ls/s200/T11.jpg" width="162" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrew Prine</td></tr> </tbody></table> <b>Describe a little about working with Andrew Prine, who plays the antagonist? </b><br /> <br /> He was nice enough but I never really got involved with him off screen – like I said, do your part and then walk away. I had a really solid life outside Hollywood so I wasn’t into much else. I’m sounding awfully boring, aren’t I?<br /> <br /> <b>Your director, Alan Rudolph, went onto bigger things... What was Alan like as a director? </b><br /> <br /> I really liked him – he was the first director I ever worked with who didn’t “look” like a director! He had really long dark hair and looked like a hippie! He was very handsome in spite of the “look” and his friendly, nice personality was a pleasure. I remember we had another director at the beginning and I don’t know what the problem was but they brought in Alan to replace him. Alan was very confident, not intense, and had such a pleasant attitude.<br /> <br /> Like I said, I wasn’t used to directors like him so it was all a bit “new age” for me, but I really enjoyed him. <br /> <br /> <table 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://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Dl78xIPWLwo/U_u65mnr_OI/AAAAAAAAhhE/caU9QKYYYCs/s1600/T1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Dl78xIPWLwo/U_u65mnr_OI/AAAAAAAAhhE/caU9QKYYYCs/s200/T1.jpg" width="183" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrew Prine</td></tr> </tbody></table> <b>There is a scene where your character, Sheri, gets horribly beaten by Andrew’s sinister Andre... What was this like, reacting to such a horrible situation? </b><br /> <br /> I remember being really ticked off that he didn’t have complete control of the whip he was supposed to be whipping me with, and it scared me when he came way too close to me with it. I kept thinking, “Geez, I could loose an eye for a dumb movie!”<br /> <br /> I don’t remember if that scene was filmed with the first director or with Alan – I think if it were with Alan, I would have gone to him and talked to him about it because he was so open.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QrakAN0kCEc/U_u7CVhxkFI/AAAAAAAAhhM/61IJvQ18rzI/s1600/T8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QrakAN0kCEc/U_u7CVhxkFI/AAAAAAAAhhM/61IJvQ18rzI/s200/T8.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sherry Alberoni</td></tr> </tbody></table> <b>Nowadays, with Quentin Tarantino and others celebrating exploitation movies, the genre has been glorified... But what did you think of drive-in flicks when you were doing them? </b><br /> <br /> As I said, at the time it was “just another gig” but not something I was used to doing, so it was interesting to me to see how the violence, etc. was filmed...<br /> <br /> There was a topless scene in the movie and I remember being a little “shocked” (I had led a very sheltered life – very Disney!!) I lived at home with my family until I got married at 25, and never saw this kind of scene being filmed: The set was cleared of all extraneous people, but some of the crew had put up a ladder on the outside of the barn and let me climb up to their peephole for a look – and I remember there were two girls (a blonde and a brunette) sitting on a patch of hay on the floor and I thought “No way!” <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5a5qD6p2rOE/U_wzXkMYWbI/AAAAAAAAhjI/KlfiVCQ5ypQ/s1600/s11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5a5qD6p2rOE/U_wzXkMYWbI/AAAAAAAAhjI/KlfiVCQ5ypQ/s200/s11.jpg" width="147" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Claudia Jennings</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <i><b>SISTERS OF DEATH</b> aka <b>DEATH TRAP</b> aka <b>DEATH TIME</b> aka <b>DEATH TIME HOUSE</b> stars Claudia Jennings as the survivor of a ritual shown in the spooky prelude. Filmed in 1972  and released in 1976, it's a cult flick that even got the Rifftrax treatment...</i><br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <table 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/-ZlHS7lfDM7E/U_wyORt5uLI/AAAAAAAAhi8/9Ozgumvj4pY/s1600/Picture%2B2.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZlHS7lfDM7E/U_wyORt5uLI/AAAAAAAAhi8/9Ozgumvj4pY/s200/Picture%2B2.png" width="182" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1976 rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> <i>Plot centers on Claudia's Judy and several of her friends, including Sherry Alberoni as Francie, who are called upon for a mysterious reunion, and eventually get trapped within a rural mansion surrounded by an electric fence thanks to their captor Edmund, played by veteran actor Arthur Franz, who holds a dark secret – and a reason to torment and torture the ladies, resulting in their all-night quest for survival.  </i><br /> <i><br /></i> <i>Compared to the tedious and claustrophobic TERROR CIRCUS, this is a pretty decent drive-in venture. The characters aren't just lumped into a dire situation for the sake of exploitation. There’s enough background and set-up as we get to know each individual, and the suspense builds along with the mystery of an ominous get-together. And in this group, Sherry’s Francie is the most confident and outspoken. </i><br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SqGr7DDkPzI/U_u7gswuNUI/AAAAAAAAhhc/k27Pw7EDqn0/s1600/s4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SqGr7DDkPzI/U_u7gswuNUI/AAAAAAAAhhc/k27Pw7EDqn0/s200/s4.jpg" width="191" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Claudia and Sherry</td></tr> </tbody></table> <b>You co-starred with the now legendary cult starlet, Claudia Jennings, in SISTERS OF DEATH... What was Claudia like to work with? </b><br /> <br /> Oh, I loved Claudia! There was no Internet back then, so it wasn’t so easy to learn everything about everybody with just a push of a button… but I had heard through the grapevine that she had been in Playboy so I don’t know exactly what I expected of her but I know I didn’t think she would be as nice and down-to-earth as she was. She wasn’t as “glamorous” as I figured she would be – she was very pretty but didn’t “live” in her make-up. <br /> <br /> She was a lot of fun, had an infectious laugh and was truly a “sweet girl.” I was shocked and extremely saddened when I heard on the news that she had gotten killed in a car crash – if I recall, she was dating Tommy Boyce (or was it Hart?) and it was all so sad to me because I knew her and really liked her.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <table 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/-3ed9oCObEeA/U_w2ZrgWVRI/AAAAAAAAhjU/Uch-hhO6u9U/s1600/s1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3ed9oCObEeA/U_w2ZrgWVRI/AAAAAAAAhjU/Uch-hhO6u9U/s200/s1.jpg" width="136" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red, White & Blood</td></tr> </tbody></table> <b>Your character stands out from the others with her American flag hat – did you have anything to do with selecting your own wardrobe? </b><br /> <br /> We wore our own clothes and yes, that hat was mine! I had made several trips to Vietnam in 1968-69 and was/am extremely patriotic and that was one of the hats I wore on stage over there (when I did a musical medley asking the audience which states they were from).<br /> <br /> I was supposed to be the little, quirky, bubbly, more innocent of the girls so I just wore what I normally wore, and I guess the director felt it was “me” and went with it. <br /> <br /> <b>Like TERROR CIRCUS, this movie has a group women captured and terrorized by a man in a contained setting (albeit a much nicer setting this time)... What was like particular location like, working at the rural mansion?  </b><br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nOXRpm7uZWA/U_u7wPb8BJI/AAAAAAAAhhs/vTXjXpjQ3gE/s1600/s2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nOXRpm7uZWA/U_u7wPb8BJI/AAAAAAAAhhs/vTXjXpjQ3gE/s200/s2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Misleading Sign</td></tr> </tbody></table> I always loved “location” filming – I had spent several months in Spain filming THE THREE WORLDS OF GULLIVER and I loved going on location, so this one was filmed near Paso Robles at some big old house in the middle of nowhere!<br /> <br /> I’m sure the mansion was lovely at one time, but it was a bit “tired” when we filmed there – I don’t know if the set director made it “tired” or not, but it was a great property...<br /> <br /> It was nice to be “so close and yet so far” from L.A. because my husband was able to drive up there to see me when he got a free weekend from school. <br /> <br /> SISTERS was a lot more organized and professional than CIRCUS and I loved the cast – all very nice people who were fun to be with and we had great camaraderie both on and off the set.<b> </b><br /> <br /> <table 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/-Gja08C0KovY/U_u8AZAh4BI/AAAAAAAAhh0/VW6V7cIKbM4/s1600/s7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gja08C0KovY/U_u8AZAh4BI/AAAAAAAAhh0/VW6V7cIKbM4/s200/s7.jpg" width="167" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe E. Tata</td></tr> </tbody></table> <b>What was it like working with Arthur Franz, who played the antagonist/captor?</b><br /> <br /> Nice man (are you seeing a theme going on here? Ha!)... I didn’t have a lot of screen time or off time with him, but I do remember him being kind and nice. <br /> <br /> <b>How about Joe E. Tata, who played one of the good guys, and later had an important role on the long-running BEVERLY HILLS 90210? </b><br /> <br /> LOVED him! I always though of him as “Sad” and when Claudia told me his wife and child had died in a car crash, I knew why. I was very happy to see him become such a beloved and successful actor. It was one of those “I knew him when!” things. <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JEzBROE0sDg/U_u7XqFhlSI/AAAAAAAAhhU/QpHp1VUFgHE/s1600/s8.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JEzBROE0sDg/U_u7XqFhlSI/AAAAAAAAhhU/QpHp1VUFgHE/s200/s8.jpg" width="144" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Smart chick..."</td></tr> </tbody></table> <b>Your bit of dialogue (the only line transcribed on imdb, by the way) about wanting to be clean to be closer to God... a play on cleanliness is next to godliness... leads to your death in the shower/bathroom – any memories of that scene where you have a knife in your back? </b><br /> <br /> Not sure if that was my last scene filmed – it never goes in order… But I was appalled when I was there was a glass shower door – milky glass, but still glass! I was supposed to be a non-see-through shower curtain!! I never did a nude scene and wasn’t planning on starting then! <br /> <br /> My first thought was to call my agent and then the union but before I did that, I spoke with the wardrobe lady – together, we came up with a sort-of bikini made out of gaffer’s tape covered with body makeup. I wore my robe onto the set and didn’t take it off until I was inside the shower and my back to the shower door. We filmed the scene and no one ever knew what her and I had done, but I screamed bloody murder back in my dressing room when I pulled that damn tape (and my skin!) off. <br /> <br /> <table 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://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1VfFZtjUaVE/U_u8PMe72iI/AAAAAAAAhiE/-ozuBen0eA0/s1600/022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1VfFZtjUaVE/U_u8PMe72iI/AAAAAAAAhiE/-ozuBen0eA0/s200/022.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sherry was Alexandra, far right</td></tr> </tbody></table> <b>You were Alexandra in the classic cartoon, JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS... What was it like bringing characters to life with your voice compared to physically acting out a role?</b><br /> <br /> I started doing voice-overs when I was pregnant with my first child… our daughter Casey, since I couldn’t do on-film in my condition. I really enjoyed it; such a happy time and I loved being with Casey Kasem (we did all those years of JOSIE plus SUPERFRIENDS and several other shows – my daughter, Casey, was named after him). <br /> <br /> It was great and easy work because the entire cast was very professional and everyone knew what they were doing: so it was go in, quick read-through, record, and go home. Probably only 4 hours at the most.<br /> <br /> Speaking into the microphone, there’s a lot of arm-waving, quietly jumping up and down and emoting without moving… acting standing still. If the director wanted more, he told us and we gave it to him. We recorded that show for so long and knew each other (and our characters) so well that we just did it!<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ozanyX9eTNw/U_u8YhxUPUI/AAAAAAAAhiM/TByTOaBeEJ0/s1600/00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ozanyX9eTNw/U_u8YhxUPUI/AAAAAAAAhiM/TByTOaBeEJ0/s200/00.jpg" width="155" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Way Back</td></tr> </tbody></table> <b>As a MOUSEKETEER, you were part of a group of kids – what was it like performing with other children, and what was your favorite part of the show? </b><br /> <br /> My brother, Roy, had originally gotten the casting call and he was a drummer and tap dancer. After his audition, the casting director told him that they loved him, but they already had their drummer, Cubby O’Brien, and asked if Roy played any other instruments.<br /> <br /> Roy said “No, but my little sister can play the trumpet and tap dance at the same time!” They asked my mom to bring me to the studio the next day – I played the trumpet as I tap danced: nearly knocked out all my teeth, but got the job!<br /> <br /> <table 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/-ri0dpdneirw/U_u8g0KLdbI/AAAAAAAAhiU/nP_ZRKcvKCU/s1600/02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ri0dpdneirw/U_u8g0KLdbI/AAAAAAAAhiU/nP_ZRKcvKCU/s200/02.jpg" width="125" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M-O-U-S-E</td></tr> </tbody></table> At the time, none of us realized how important and iconic the Mickey Mouse Club would become to so many people and that it would become a lifelong job (next year is the 60th Anniversary!). Cubby and I still do shows on the Disney Cruise ships and also with Doreen, Tommy, Bobby and Karen we do shows and appearances at Disneyland, Disney World and the Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. <br /> <br /> I was on MMC for a year, when Lou Costello brought my contract from Disney for me to play “Bootsie” (his adopted daughter) in DANCE WITH ME HENRY, the last film he made with Bud Abbott. Lou used to watch the MMC with his young daughter, Chris, and she pointed me out to him on the show, and said she liked me. <br /> <br /> Filming the MMC with other kids was great fun – we were only allowed to be at the studio for 8 hours per day: 4 filming (or in wardrobe, make-up, hair or rehearsing), 3 in school and 1 at lunch/recreation… We all loved to sing and dance and play-act so it was always fun and still is to this day!

andrew prine, body count, claudia jennings, exploitation, seventies, sherry alberoni

CAGED MOUSEKETEER: SHERRY ALBERONI DRIVE-IN INTERVIEW

Sherry Alberoni Interview In the 1970's, two low-budget exploitation flicks with a similar premise... a group of lovely young ladi...

IF I STAY... REVIEWED BY A GROUCHY GROWNUP

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-On-iKoiKgg4/U_ocBRusIpI/AAAAAAAAhew/H8F8s1XHt-A/s1600/If-I-Stay-fanmade-poster-if-i-stay-36948086-408-619.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-On-iKoiKgg4/U_ocBRusIpI/AAAAAAAAhew/H8F8s1XHt-A/s320/If-I-Stay-fanmade-poster-if-i-stay-36948086-408-619.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2014 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> What a romantic teenage vehicle like IF I STAY has in common with a horror movie is cause and effect… Scary flicks will cause kids to scream, and they go for that reason… So it's not much different when a movie promises to jerk tears from an audience of young girls, all ready for that particular effect... <br /> <br /> Unfortunately, for impatient adult viewers, STAY has two teen characters with  zero chemistry... She, being Chloë Grace Moretz as Mia, and he is yet another misunderstood rebel who channels his powers through Rock N Roll…<br /> <br /> At first, Jamie Blackley plays Adam with little emotion, leaving the Afterschool Special type melodrama to Moretz’s character, in spirit form after a terrible car accident with her family – begging the purgatory question and the reason for the title… If she does stay, what’s to live for? <br /> <br /> <table 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://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pVwBSA34jDE/U_odqA921NI/AAAAAAAAhfA/PO_W2-863gY/s1600/if-i-stay-chloe-moretz-stacy-keach.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pVwBSA34jDE/U_odqA921NI/AAAAAAAAhfA/PO_W2-863gY/s200/if-i-stay-chloe-moretz-stacy-keach.jpg" width="168" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Stacy Keach</td></tr> </tbody></table> Scenes where Mia’s limbo ghost follows friends and family around the hospital are traded off with memories of her mom and dad, who are the kind of hip/progressive parents all kids would... die for. But the real backdrop consists of Mia, a concert cellist with a possible scholarship at Julliard, falling deeply in love with the perpetually whining Adam, whose band sounds like grungy elevator music.  <br /> <br /> Moretz can be a decent actress, but in the purgatory state she doesn’t convey enough emotion to befit the horrendous tragedy, which is almost unfathomable given the eventual body count. And since her romance with Adam has zero obstacles… other than her own neurotic reluctance while pontificating like a 35-year-old intellectual… it’s hard to feel for the living Mia or the dying one: neither seem to care much about anything. Thankfully Grandpa, played by veteran actor Stacy Keach, shares a heartfelt scene or two to make Mia more human: thus giving her a reason, other than a quirky best buddy and a moody boyfriend, to possibly stick around.

2014, chloë grace moretz, stacy keach, teen

IF I STAY... REVIEWED BY A GROUCHY GROWNUP

year: 2014 rating: ** What a romantic teenage vehicle like IF I STAY has in common with a horror movie is cause and effect… Scary flicks...

REVIEW OF THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RcrZyv1tOU4/U_lyJwFe7_I/AAAAAAAAheg/tlm5V7pvaCE/s1600/om-puri-in-the-hundred-foot-journey-movie-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RcrZyv1tOU4/U_lyJwFe7_I/AAAAAAAAheg/tlm5V7pvaCE/s1600/om-puri-in-the-hundred-foot-journey-movie-4.jpg" width="195" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2014 rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> Food porn version of THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL, only here a family from India moves to Europe and finds their own little paradise… and not without a few roadblocks…<br /> <br /> Enter our leading lady who is really the main antagonist... Although Helen Mirren plays French restaurant owner Madame Mallory with such hateful precision you know she’s bound to melt. Thankfully it’s not a contrived transition as the Indian family, headlined by an optimistic yet stubbornly grouchy patriarch, Papa, played by scene-stealer Om Puri, and his talented son Hassan, the head cook for the makeshift restaurant opened right across the street from the Madam's elegant small town mainstay, become her new competition... <br /> <br /> So the most fun is had during scenes where Mallory and Papa wage war, playing dirty tricks to mess up each other’s business: his from growing and hers’ from remaining the most popular. This story, highlighted by Puri’s subtle yet hilarious performance trumping Mirren's limited stonewall, narrows down into young Hassan’s venture from smalltime cook to a hopeful master chef.  <br /> <br /> While American-born Manish Dayal is likeable enough as the buried lead, you might cringe as he annoyingly sideswipes Papa’s humor with constant whining, and the budding romance with Mallory’s head chef is unrealistic – French actress Charlotte Le Bon is much too pretty for the role, and the chemistry is just not there. But the main problem with Hassan’s story is it just doesn’t know when to end, making this HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY about twenty minutes too long.<br />   <br /> The humorous dialogue and picturesque locations aside, what really works is what's left out: that being political or religious banter, excessive swearing or anything polarizing. It’s a universally appealing family film, for the most part, although mostly recommended for parents and grandparents who enjoy an old fashion cinematic meal with style and class... and plenty of lightweight sarcasm.  

2014, food, helen mirren, india, om puri

REVIEW OF THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY

year: 2014 rating: *** Food porn version of THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL, only here a family from India moves to Europe and finds thei...

FRANK MILLER'S SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FersMWKCy2k/U_bsekO65vI/AAAAAAAAhdY/ytjvM1lUuK8/s1600/Sin-City-A-Dame-to-Kill-For-Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FersMWKCy2k/U_bsekO65vI/AAAAAAAAhdY/ytjvM1lUuK8/s320/Sin-City-A-Dame-to-Kill-For-Poster.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2014 rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> “I was born at night,” Josh Brolin’s gritty Dwight tells the title femme fatale. “But it wasn’t last night.”<br /> <br /> That’s the kind of  pulpy camp delivered in Frank Miller’s graphic novel Film Noir purgatory, which is extremely graphic. But all the limbs flying and blood gushing, bathed in a surreal backdrop even stranger than Mickey Rourke’s abundant Dick Tracyesque jawbone, doesn’t seem very real, and that’s a good thing – escapism reigns in SIN CITY. <br /> <br /> Consisting of three intertwined tales, the best has Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Johnny, a young idealistic card shark who takes on the super nefarious Senator Roark (Powers Booth) – learning all about luck and experience the hard way. The main story centers on Brolin, who falls desperately hard for the DAME TO KILL (and/or die) FOR... Although Eva Green’s Ava isn’t entirely spellbinding, and it’s never really clear what the fuss is about. And least entertaining for last: Jessica Alba as Nancy, a stripper with a heart of golden vengeance, headed after the Senator, who has more than earned his villainy at this point... he's the Bill to Kill. Meanwhile, Rourke's muscular Marv serves as bodyguard for the vulnerable and needy. <br /> <br /> The action scenes are fun, involving, explosive, and completely over the top. But in a world where excess is commonplace, it all makes perfect sense even though the characters, intentionally befitting their dime novel personas, aren’t as memorable or significant as the trouble they quickly get into and out of. In this particular venture, once again directed by Robert Rodriquez and creator Frank Miller, it's more about the path than the journey.

christopher lloyd, franchise, james brolin, joseph gordon-levitt, mickey rourke, neo noir, powers booth, sequel, stacy keach

FRANK MILLER'S SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR

year: 2014 rating: *** “I was born at night,” Josh Brolin’s gritty Dwight tells the title femme fatale. “But it wasn’t last night.” Th...

REVIEW OF INTO THE STORM

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dpF9cRkzP9s/U_JDMhkzTtI/AAAAAAAAhcA/39gj1DHxTbU/s1600/into_the_storm_ver2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dpF9cRkzP9s/U_JDMhkzTtI/AAAAAAAAhcA/39gj1DHxTbU/s320/into_the_storm_ver2.jpg" width="190" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2014 rating: **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;">If TWISTER and FINAL DESTINATION had a baby with a video camera, its named would be INTO THE STORM... </span><br /> <br /> The device popularized in THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and legitimized in the PARANORMAL ACTIVITY flicks and more recently, CHRONICLE and EARTH TO ECHO, is all the rage, and can drive you up a wall. But STORM has enough characters within the small town, ravaged by a number of menacing tornadoes, so the documentary technique isn’t all shaky: Each group of characters has their own method of recording their lives within the roving catastrophe…<br /> <br /> The best (least annoying) group is a military unit that is much like Helen Hunt's band of scientific hippies from TWISTER, only much less quirky... With an armoured vehicle that can plant itself into the earth without moving, their technological vantage is the most steady. Along the ride is a lady who becomes a possible love interest to a high school principle with two sons.The eldest son, in love with a beautiful high school environmentalist, provides the worst tale as the couple are stuck underwater, trapped within a building and spouting their last words. This takes us away from the action of the storm chasers, who deserve our complete attention. Then there’s comic relief in the form of two daredevil white trash idiots (wannabe JACKASS types), dying to go viral on YouTube. <br /> <br /> The special effects are all right. Nowadays anything can look real with computers. Although there are times when the twisters look straight out of SHARKNADO sans the killer fish. But what makes INTO THE STORM a fairly entertaining disaster film is that it’s really a campy character-driven adventure that, especially during an 11th hour climax with the survivors hunkered-down in a sewer, is a decent way to spend 90 minutes with people that aren’t completely likable, but at least their cameras don’t get in the way of their stories. 

2014, disaster

REVIEW OF INTO THE STORM

year: 2014 rating: **1/2 If TWISTER and FINAL DESTINATION had a baby with a video camera, its named would be INTO THE STORM... The dev...

REVIEW OF THE GIVER STARRING JEFF BRIDGES

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4ovXVywVnN8/U_I9VIGFD7I/AAAAAAAAhbw/Ldrobds65cA/s1600/The-Giver-Odeya-Rush-character-poster-690x1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4ovXVywVnN8/U_I9VIGFD7I/AAAAAAAAhbw/Ldrobds65cA/s320/The-Giver-Odeya-Rush-character-poster-690x1024.jpg" width="215" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2014 rating: **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> Think of a movie where a snowy sled represents lost youth… No not that movie… Now there’s another… And this particular youthful reverie is not only lost, but non-existent... <br /> <br /> In the kind of future liken to those politically correct children’s baseball leagues where no one keeps score, THE GIVER is set in a perfect world utopia on what seems like an island surrounded by clouds – and King Kong is nowhere in sight. Seriously speaking, it’s a pretty neat place without any hatred, vengeance, vanity, jealousy or... freedom.<br /> <br /> Well that last thing is what young and gifted Jonas (wielding all the powers at once ala DIVERGENT) discovers when he’s given the occupation as the community’s Receiver of Memories... His job is to ride a bike to a lonely place near the cloudy Cliffside where The Giver, played by a Kris Kristofferson-looking Jeff Bridges, provides him with memories of the past to help guide the Elders, led by a monotonic Meryl Streep, with decisions, or something. Yet what Jonas learns is all about the good things absent in the steely paradise: from kissing his girl/friend (Odeya Rush), to riding that sled to some things not so nice, like flashes of war, hunger and rioting.  <br /> <br /> The story is mysterious and builds nicely until about halfway through when the plot becomes a message so clear, the creative use of B&W cinematography, in gaining various hues, gets too preachy and predictable for its own good. Ironically enough, THE GIVER is far more vibrant without any color.

2014, jeff bridges, katie holmes, meryl streep, odeya rush, science-fiction

REVIEW OF THE GIVER STARRING JEFF BRIDGES

2014 rating: **1/2 Think of a movie where a snowy sled represents lost youth… No not that movie… Now there’s another… And this particula...

REVIEW OF LET'S BE COPS

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-InD9jJWe2aw/U-9Kyxy0YiI/AAAAAAAAhbQ/jq9BReEygJ4/s1600/MV5BMjI3MDY2ODQwNF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNjUzNjE4MTE%40._V1_SX214_AL_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-InD9jJWe2aw/U-9Kyxy0YiI/AAAAAAAAhbQ/jq9BReEygJ4/s1600/MV5BMjI3MDY2ODQwNF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNjUzNjE4MTE%40._V1_SX214_AL_.jpg" width="135" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2014 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> There are buddy movies, and there are buddy cop movies…  Buddy movies center on two opposing friends who can’t do without each other, while buddy cop movies usually have a white guy partnered up with a black guy... And here, both sub-genres collide…<br /> <br /> LET’S BE COPS starts with two likable 30 year old losers discussing a pact to leave Los Angeles if their dreams haven't materialized. But Jake Johnson’s Ryan, a has-been football player and the most optimistic of the duo, wants to stay put while the pessimistically neurotic Justin, played by Damon Wayans Jr., thinks it’s time to split. <br /> <br /> Ryan doesn’t only know how to party, but he’s completely aware of the movie’s title and premise. And since Justin works at a software company, trying to get his cop videogame green-lit, he happens to have two uniforms and, long story short, the boys wind up donning the attire for a masquerade party, right down to bulletproof vests. <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <table 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/-Ii0BJ-3Yl68/U-9MWw0BUcI/AAAAAAAAhbg/DWAZs5cAu10/s1600/lets-be-cops-movie-poster-23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ii0BJ-3Yl68/U-9MWw0BUcI/AAAAAAAAhbg/DWAZs5cAu10/s200/lets-be-cops-movie-poster-23.jpg" width="116" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Teamup</td></tr> </tbody></table> Soon enough they're mistaken as actual cops and treated like kings. The ruse sticks, and the partners hit the streets, winding up with a real cop car... and the laughs have just begun! <br /> <br /> Well not exactly. The second part of the tagline: <i>Fake Cops, Real Trouble</i>  causes the potentially hilarious premise to be sidelined by a group of villains led by a nefarious tattooed thug straight out of… something not very humorous… <br /> <br /> So while Johnson and Wayans have the right amount of Oscar/Felix chemistry, there’s simply too much of the violently dramatic aspect far too soon, turning these fake COPS into actual crime fighters whose only problem is staying alive as opposed to remaining funny. Thanks to the vicious bad guy, Justin's perpetual whining, and an overlong scene involving a dreadlocked gangster, the promotional trailers pack more belly-laughs than the actual movie.

2014, comedy, cop, team-up

REVIEW OF LET'S BE COPS

year: 2014 rating: ** There are buddy movies, and there are buddy cop movies…  Buddy movies center on two opposing friends who can’t do ...

SYLVESTER STALLONE HEADS UP THE EXPENDABLES 3

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ovsN7hY6cqo/U-2flfo9IzI/AAAAAAAAhZc/idwHzJMkHlM/s1600/expendables1.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ovsN7hY6cqo/U-2flfo9IzI/AAAAAAAAhZc/idwHzJMkHlM/w235-h400/expendables1.jpg" width="235" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>year: 2014</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> It wasn’t long ago when Jason Statham, Randy Couture and Terry Crews were the young EXPENDABLES… But now it seems, they’re all old timers…<br /> <br /> Thanks to Mel Gibson’s dirty rotten Stonebanks, a founding member of the titular mercenary team who went rogue in a bad way. Following a gallant introduction of a jailbreaking Wesley Snipes, the group, blundering a mission intruded upon by our new lead villain, is considered sloppy and over the hill. So Sylvester Stallone’s Barney Ross seeks out a whole new group of gung-ho dynamos, all kids in comparison to the old (but some still kinda young) familiar faces. <br /> <br /> It’s always fun seeing characters being introduced in this sort of drawn-out montage fashion: With the help of Kelsey Grammer’s soldier-salesman, Barney hires the young warriors, all taking part in various fights and exercises, visually pronouncing each member’s skill... <br /> <br /> <table 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://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C6VYeCZ7x5o/U-2frRvZ-vI/AAAAAAAAhZk/WmFDdnZJTmk/s1600/expendables2.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C6VYeCZ7x5o/U-2frRvZ-vI/AAAAAAAAhZk/WmFDdnZJTmk/w235-h400/expendables2.jpg" width="235" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> This leads to the first of two missions to kill and/or capture a lecture-spouting Mel Gibson, thriving with energetic dialogue to make up for his initial lack of hands-on action… Most of that goes to Barney and the kiddos, wherein Statham, Dolph Lungren and the newly resurrected Snipes take a reluctant, shortlived sabbatical.<br /> <br /> Filling out the elder positions are Harrison Ford as a benign CIA head who winds up getting dirty along with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s passive coordinator, and yet another pointless Jet Li walk-on. Meanwhile, a motormouth Antonio Banderas, trying way too hard for comic relief status, winds up even more annoying than he’s supposed to be. And yet, despite the surrounding ensemble, Ross, given his personal vengeance for Gibson's heavy, seems more in it for himself... Rambo would be proud!  <br /> <br /> The action sequences are involving enough, and between gunplay there’s the usual pulpy banter rooted in 80’s action nostalgia when sarcastic one-liners, limitless ammo and tons of testosterone meant pretty much everything. So if mindless doesn't matter, you won't be disappointed. But anyone expecting a fleshed-out espionage thriller, which this attempts to be, should have known better. 

2014, action, arnold schwarzenegger, ensemble, harrison ford, jason statham, mel gibson, sylvester stallone

SYLVESTER STALLONE HEADS UP THE EXPENDABLES 3

year: 2014 It wasn’t long ago when Jason Statham, Randy Couture and Terry Crews were the young EXPENDABLES… But now it seems, they’re ...

RAMIS DIRECTS ROBIN IN CLUB PARADISE

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hsS1fzaj3m8/U-xMMgCfvbI/AAAAAAAAhYc/abz_v30RI1Y/s1600/club_paradise_86_cinetext_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hsS1fzaj3m8/U-xMMgCfvbI/AAAAAAAAhYc/abz_v30RI1Y/s1600/club_paradise_86_cinetext_b.jpg" width="143" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>1986 rating: ***</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <i>This post was written after the death of Harold Ramis and Peter O'Toole and reblogged in memory of Robin Williams... And we begin with Ramis, best known as the brainy third banana in GHOSTBUSTERS or Bill Murray’s reluctant sidekick in STRIPES... He was also a terrific comedy writer, co-scripting ANIMAL HOUSE, MEATBALLS, BACK TO SCHOOL, STRIPES and GHOSTBUSTERS... </i><i> </i><br /> <br /> <table 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="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7vUYdxyb5BE/WlabLkHQFLI/AAAAAAAA0T4/LeW0N7kcUak-DKycHES1vNjZVmYhM3g-wCLcBGAs/s1600/e745a05e63a1c57ee32cd9cb2d60fa13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="322" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7vUYdxyb5BE/WlabLkHQFLI/AAAAAAAA0T4/LeW0N7kcUak-DKycHES1vNjZVmYhM3g-wCLcBGAs/s320/e745a05e63a1c57ee32cd9cb2d60fa13.jpg" width="223" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Perhaps a Lawrence nod?</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <i>Along with writing and acting, Ramis directed such quotable classics as CADDYSHACK and NATIONAL LAMPOON’S VACATION... </i><i> </i><br /> <br /> <i>But this particular vehicle from the mid-80's is both maligned and neglected: a dark horse comedy that never quite made a splash, or even a puddle<b>. </b>In fact, Robin Williams himself said he tried to "save it"... </i><br /> <br /> CLUB PARADISE stars Williams as Jack Moniker, a Chicago fireman injured in the literal line of fire, who goes into early retirement, residing within a small Caribbean island named St. Nicholas. It’s a strange premise and an even stranger side-cast including Jimmy Cliff as local musician Jimmy Reed, owner of a run down, tax burdened hotel, and Peter O’Toole... who around this time starred in a string of quirky light comedies including CREATOR, HIGH SPIRITS and MY FAVORITE YEAR... as Englishman Anthony Cloyden Hayes, who spends most of his time at the local pub seducing a pretty critic (Joanna Cassidy). <br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ce1Ug1_gpKA/Uw8AriXvseI/AAAAAAAAdN4/H7WfuCJObBg/s1600/clubparadise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ce1Ug1_gpKA/Uw8AriXvseI/AAAAAAAAdN4/H7WfuCJObBg/s1600/clubparadise.jpg" width="184" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Williams and O'Toole</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Robin’s Moniker helps Jimmy renovate the hotel, and some of the more involving scenes are in montage form as our underdog hero, with the help of girlfriend Phillipa (Twiggy), turns this molehill into a slightly neater looking molehill that, through misleading ads centered stateside, resembles a luxurious haven, and thus the plot’s underway…<br /> <br /> With an obvious attempt to tone down Robin Williams' frantic spontaneity while toning up his body, he's more of a leading man than a hyperactive clown, and with Cliff and O’Toole aside, this is an ensemble bringing together an assortment of Second City vets including Rick Moranis, Eugene Levy, Joe Flaherty and Andrea Martin  (the only one missing is John Candy, who was beachside in SUMMER RENTAL).<br /> <br /> Moranis and Levy are the Cheech and Chong of the group although they can't seem to score: After two sexy tourists ask the boys for local ganja, the unlucky duo travel around the back-beaches, searching and searching in vain... And after this "skit" plays out, Moranis winds up windsurfing, getting caught up in a hurricane. While Levy connects with a shy Mary Gross, we sporadically cut to Moranis lost at sea: A dependable, reoccurring punch-line...<br /> <br /> <table 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/-kuLKqPj3OPA/U-xTGVf2SjI/AAAAAAAAhY4/eLMwi8OaU9Y/s1600/2.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kuLKqPj3OPA/U-xTGVf2SjI/AAAAAAAAhY4/eLMwi8OaU9Y/s320/2.jpg" width="209" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>A Good Sign</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Meanwhile, Andrea Martin and her uptight husband, played by NEWHART grouch Steven Kampman, can’t catch a break inside their grungy room: Through this mundane couple we learn just how bad the hotel is. And Robin Williams, whilst battling local chieftain Adolf Caesar in a semi-serious subplot, has to run around making sure everything works perfectly: of course nothing does and predictable havoc ensues.<br /> <br /> CLUB PARADISE is a prime example of a comedy film that’s more entertaining than actually humorous. And the SCTV connection aside, it’s difficult attributing this particular vehicle to the Harold Ramis canon...<br /> <br /> Lacking the memorable one-liners of CADDYSHACK, the engaging adventure of VACATION or the delicious depth of GROUNDHOG DAY, perhaps the late "Buddha of Comedy" wanted to try something new, or to get a busman’s pass, filming in the Caribbean instead of Chicago or New York... Like his main character, he might have needed a break from the routine: who doesn't? Either way, this CLUB, while being far from PARADISE, isn't entirely shabby. Proving that even some of Harold's misfires were <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2013/03/moreentertainingthanfunny.html">at least entertaining</a>.

comedy, eighties, harold ramis, peter o'toole, robin williams

RAMIS DIRECTS ROBIN IN CLUB PARADISE

1986 rating: *** This post was written after the death of Harold Ramis and Peter O'Toole and reblogged in memory of Robin Williams.....

WOODY ALLEN'S MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S9eJ2jqpjkk/U-hsPxk6CHI/AAAAAAAAhSs/NhE0cyh2-ZI/s1600/Magic-In-The-Moonlight-Movie-Poster-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S9eJ2jqpjkk/U-hsPxk6CHI/AAAAAAAAhSs/NhE0cyh2-ZI/s320/Magic-In-The-Moonlight-Movie-Poster-4.jpg" width="177" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2014 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> Throughout the years, Woody Allen has made mincemeat out of faith and religion, and yet he often treats physics and mediums with a degree of… reverence, sort of…<br /> <br /> In eclectic films ranging from BROADWAY DANNY ROSE to CELEBRITY, lady fortunetellers are hardly the dolts of his Christians and Catholics, or even pretentious intellectual atheists. The seers often drive the plot by foretelling events and basically know what they’re doing. So here we have a collision of The Occult and God, which, to believe in either is downright preposterous…<br /> <br /> Well that's the opinion of one of the most cynical characters to cross into Woody cinema for years. Enter Oscar winning Colin Firth as Stanley, a man who knows a thing or two about what’s fact and fiction... With a penchant for Nietzsche and a cold distrust for all things mystical, he’s a renown magician/illusionist during the late 1920s, a dreamy aura where MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT is set, resembling an F. Scott Fitzergerald novel or the nostalgic universe from MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, only for real this time. <br /> <br /> <table 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/-kmpTpAlAwnk/U-hs6SmYlPI/AAAAAAAAhS0/XH57_7v1UIo/s1600/magic-in-the-moonlight-movie-poster-1.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kmpTpAlAwnk/U-hs6SmYlPI/AAAAAAAAhS0/XH57_7v1UIo/s200/magic-in-the-moonlight-movie-poster-1.jpg" width="190" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"This sure isn't Manhattan."</td></tr> </tbody></table> The plot is unveiled quickly after establishing Stanley’s big stage act – he’s called upon to "unmask" a possible charlatan who could be taking advantage of a rich family, including and especially a one-dimensional sap madly in love with the pretty young psychic, Emma Stone’s Sophie. With such an incredible gift at seeing into people’s past, she eventually makes a believer out of Stanley…<br /> <br /> Yet with all the ingredients intact, MOONLIGHT fails as a romantic comedy, twofold: Firth’s perpetual sarcasm blots out any trace of likable humor while Stone lacks the necessary quirky charm for either character to be interesting enough for the audience, much less each other. Even during a thunderstorm, when the soaking wet duo find shelter in a stargazing observatory ala Woody and Diane Keaton in MANHATTAN, their combined MAGIC is practically nonexistent.   <br /> <br /> The only highlight is a clever twist ending, leaving just enough time for the odd couple to realize what's been  apparent the whole time. If not for love, why would these dull people be in a movie at all? Or perhaps they exist to spout Allen’s philosophies, which we’ve experienced in other projects in a far more entertaining fashion.

2014, colin firth, emma stone, romantic comedy, woody allen

WOODY ALLEN'S MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT

year: 2014 rating: ** Throughout the years, Woody Allen has made mincemeat out of faith and religion, and yet he often treats physics ...

ROBIN WILLIAMS IN BICENTENNIAL MAN & JUMANJI

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X2aM8xD_HX0/U-rFH2yv0DI/AAAAAAAAhWc/6VPZkqt80-U/s1600/MV5BNzkyNTI2NzQ3M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwMDg3Njg2._V1_SX640_SY720_.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X2aM8xD_HX0/U-rFH2yv0DI/AAAAAAAAhWc/6VPZkqt80-U/s1600/MV5BNzkyNTI2NzQ3M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwMDg3Njg2._V1_SX640_SY720_.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1999 rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> <b>BICENTENNIAL MAN:</b> The worst thing about this heartwarming comedy starring Robin Williams as a robot serving a rich family who eventually accepts him as one of their own… is exactly what you just read – which is not what the movie is about.<br /> <br /> But the trailer, commercials and posters promote it this way. Instead it’s a somewhat melancholy yet entertaining science-fiction film (based on a novel by Isaac Asimov) about a robotic butler who has humanistic elements. He eventually leaves the family and goes on a journey to discover a robot like himself, but to no avail. Although he does find a doctor who has an answer for all his problems, giving him/it the means of becoming a real person, which is much too easy <span style="font-style: italic;">and</span>  creepy (a robot having sex?). <br /> <br /> The first hour, as William’s “Andrew,” a top-of-the-line android who resembles an educated Iron Man, works for Sam Neill, teaching him about philosophy and art, is the most involving. Eventually, Andrew falls in love with Neill’s daughter’s granddaughter, both played by the lovely Embeth Davidtz: This second half falters – every fifteen minutes there’s a title card reading MANY YEARS LATER, feeling as if things are rushing towards a conclusion. And although this is not a comedy, director by Chris Columbus, who served up Williams in the hilarious MRS. DOUBTFIRE, throws in some humor for levity.<br /> <br /> <table 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://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MN7KE0tFJrY/U-rFzLBWjmI/AAAAAAAAhWk/DQoaDTIuTP4/s1600/tumblr_m4hxjhAAoW1qz52aeo1_1280.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MN7KE0tFJrY/U-rFzLBWjmI/AAAAAAAAhWk/DQoaDTIuTP4/s320/tumblr_m4hxjhAAoW1qz52aeo1_1280.png" width="175" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1995 ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> <b>JUMANJI: </b>Completely entertaining kid's flick (that adults can enjoy) about a board game bringing safari animals to life: first pillaging a mansion and then a small town: including lunatic monkeys, liken to the protagonists in GREMINS, along with a bevy of bats, mosquitos, rhinos, elephants, and a lion.<br /> <div> <br /> The special effects, right after JURRASIC PARK's CGI paved the way… are manned by Speilberg student Joe Johnston, directing Robin Williams as a grown-up who, when younger, was sucked into the board game: this where the movie begins.<br /> <br /> A crazy, bearded and inspired Williams joins two present day kids to finish the game – each move bringing more and more animals, and one lethal hunter, into frantic reality. The pace never lets up, but there are essential pockets of downtime to build the characters: investing you in their, and the game's, outcome. </div>

nineties, robin williams

ROBIN WILLIAMS IN BICENTENNIAL MAN & JUMANJI

year: 1999 rating: *** BICENTENNIAL MAN: The worst thing about this heartwarming comedy starring Robin Williams as a robot serving a ...

KILL OR BE KILLED: BRENDA CURRIN DOUBLE BILL INTERVIEW

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nTK1WeAiYz8/U_eEqtmqrlI/AAAAAAAAheA/1mYUUtbFU-A/s1600/c2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nTK1WeAiYz8/U_eEqtmqrlI/AAAAAAAAheA/1mYUUtbFU-A/s1600/c2.png" width="156" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Brenda Currin in GARP</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <i><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">What epitomizes a great actor or actress is range, and BRENDA CURRIN brilliantly embodies two polar opposite characters, one in a dark biopic and another a dark comedy: playing a killer's terrified victim in the haunting IN COLD BLOOD with Robert Blake... And as equally haunting killer in THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP, targeting Robin Williams, Brenda makes a double mark in cult cinema.. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i><br /> <i> </i><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">How was it filming the scene in which your character is murdered in IN COLD BLOOD?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /> <br /> <table 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/-X-TFThww44Q/U-lo_L93aaI/AAAAAAAAhT0/gc6iPvMQtZM/s1600/what+memories+do+you+have+of+the+intense.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X-TFThww44Q/U-lo_L93aaI/AAAAAAAAhT0/gc6iPvMQtZM/s1600/what+memories+do+you+have+of+the+intense.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">As Nancy, IN COLD BLOOD</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Richard Brooks directed me to turn and face the wall at the moment that Perry Smith [Robert Blake] was about to pull the trigger. Mainly what I remember is the high emotion at this point of the filming: The filming of the murder sequence took place over an entire week at the actual Clutter house. All the windows had been blacked out to create nighttime. Conrad Hall used only the light of a flashlight to shoot every horrific scene. It was completely claustrophobic in the house... When picturing that moment you ask about, it hurts me and feels terribly private because it represents the moment before an awful death for the real human being, Nancy Clutter. It was a simple and true direction for Brooks to give me. There was a point made by the real killers themselves, the Clutters never screamed or struggled.They kept thinking if they were nice, the killers would leave the house and the family unharmed.</span></span><br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ptEe94gLVCU/U-mTcHuT5-I/AAAAAAAAhVE/12qXT4rVUlo/s1600/001d48e6_medium.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ptEe94gLVCU/U-mTcHuT5-I/AAAAAAAAhVE/12qXT4rVUlo/s1600/001d48e6_medium.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Brenda Currin</span></span></span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <b><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">How were you selected for the role of Nancy Clutter?</span></span></b><br /> <br /> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">After auditioning actors in New York and Los Angeles and still not able to cast key roles, Richard Brooks, the director, and a contingent from Hollywood came to the theater department at the University of Kansas to try and find “real Kansans”. I was from North Carolina but no matter.</span></span><br /> <br /> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">We auditioned as a group, doing improv, etc. definitely not from the screenplay. Brooks who wrote the screenplay adaptation was very secretive. Brooks approached me after a long session of auditioning and said for me to be sure and send him my picture and some information about myself. I did not have a “headshot” and sent him my high school graduation picture. I didn’t hear anything and as the months went by, I forgot about it.</span></span><br /> <br /> <table 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/-CWjMZX-Z6bk/U-mTjDsRpOI/AAAAAAAAhVM/pbGVeHJm7eA/s1600/In-Cold-Blood-1967-Brenda-Currin-pic-5.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CWjMZX-Z6bk/U-mTjDsRpOI/AAAAAAAAhVM/pbGVeHJm7eA/s1600/In-Cold-Blood-1967-Brenda-Currin-pic-5.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">As Nancy Clutter</span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <b><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">What were your favorite scenes to film involving the Clutter family?</span></span></span></span></b><br /> <br /> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">All of the Clutter family scenes on the Saturday leading up to the murder were to show the normal activities of their lives. I liked the scene where I (Nancy) ride bareback the beloved mare Babe up to the house with my (Nancy’s) best friend, Susan played by Mary Linda Rapelye. We get off and I tell her Bobby (Nancy’s boyfriend) is coming over to watch TV tonight. The scene was shot late in the afternoon, the sky was darkening in mood, Brooks directed me to turn my head slightly and gaze toward the tree-lined drive leading to the house. There is of course the foreboding of the killers who later would cut the engine off in their car as they approached the house from that tree-lined road.</span></span></span></span><br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nlFZvE05oYI/U-mUBB-4QII/AAAAAAAAhVU/gGzcIaMCKmA/s1600/images.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nlFZvE05oYI/U-mUBB-4QII/AAAAAAAAhVU/gGzcIaMCKmA/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Robert Blake as Perry Smith</span></span></span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <b><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">What memories do you have of the intense scene with Robert Blake in the bedroom?</span></span></span></span></b><br /> <br /> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">It certainly was intense. Both actors playing the killers made a point of not speaking to or even making eye contact with any of us playing members of the Clutter family. They wouldn’t even stay in the same motel where everyone else involved in the film stayed.</span></span></span></span><br /> <br /> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Blake and Wilson were either downright unfriendly or ignored us. That afternoon Brooks and cinematographer Conrad Hall were shooting the scene with Perry Smith in Nancy’s bedroom, with the camera on Perry only: The film was shot in the actual house of course because her bedroom was so small they had to remove her twin bed in order to get the camera in there. Brooks called me upstairs to be on the other side of the camera so that Perry could direct his lines to me. This was the first encounter with Robert Blake and I was nervous.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">There was no hello or anything between us. Just as the camera started to roll, he began hurling the most abusive invectives I had ever heard. There was such hatred in his voice, I was blindsided and broke down sobbing. Brooks immediately said, “Action!” and Perry says in the gentlest of voices as he looks at the pictures, “Do you like horses?”</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /> <br /> <table 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/-DjPdBWpL6ns/U-mUPTT0RQI/AAAAAAAAhVc/yhJtmyynRKM/s1600/Scott-Wilson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DjPdBWpL6ns/U-mUPTT0RQI/AAAAAAAAhVc/yhJtmyynRKM/s1600/Scott-Wilson.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Scott Wilson as Dick Hickock</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Afterwards I went into the mother’s room down the hall and sat on the bed to collect myself. Bobby Blake came in and sat down beside me. He said in that sweet voice he has, “You’re a nice actress.” We were friends from that point and in fact, became very close.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /> <br /> <b><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">What about the next scene in the same bedroom with Scott Wilson?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b><br /> <br /> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Similarly, the first contact I had with Scott Wilson playing Dick Hickock was when he sits down on my bed (my hands and feet are tied up) and asks with this sickening grin, “Have you ever had a man, Honey?”</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /> <br /> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">When Blake as Perry Smith with his leg hurting bursts into the room and with a fury stops Wilson/Hickock, I as an actress and Nancy felt humiliated, terrified, terribly relieved and grateful to Blake/Smith.  </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">And you're a cold-blooded killer in THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP... how was this scene, in which your character shoots Robin Williams, filmed?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XaXAJeiy5yk/U_eEHX_CIzI/AAAAAAAAhd4/c3X3xM3Nz1E/s1600/c1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XaXAJeiy5yk/U_eEHX_CIzI/AAAAAAAAhd4/c3X3xM3Nz1E/s1600/c1.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Brenda Currin as Poo</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">I was to enter the gym on a small staircase, wind my way through the boy wrestlers towards Garp...</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /> <br /> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">When I am in close range, Robin Williams looks up, sees me and says, “Pooh,” and I shoot point blank and all the boy wrestlers are to jump me and wrestle me to the ground.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /> <br /> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">George Roy Hill told the cameraman to shoot the rehearsal. The camera was aimed at my feet coming into the gym with the ominous nurse’s shoes. This was my first shot in the movie, which unnerved me because I’m self-conscious about my feet. It went perfectly and Hill called it a “take” which was a huge relief to me because it was very intense being wrestled to the ground. But after a quick review it was noted that one of the boy wrestlers had smiled during the take and we had to do it again. I turned to the boys with my gun pointed and asked “Who smiled?” We did it again.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /> <br /> <table 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://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MqOlPheTxJ0/U-lt2Fo4lDI/AAAAAAAAhUk/IvbuzI8bCtY/s1600/garp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MqOlPheTxJ0/U-lt2Fo4lDI/AAAAAAAAhUk/IvbuzI8bCtY/s200/garp.jpg" width="124" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Robin Williams</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <b><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">How did you prepare for this role as Garp's personal nemesis, Pooh?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b><br /> <br /> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">There was so little character development opportunity for Pooh; she was more of an iconic persona. Just the image of her lets you know there is going to be trouble. This was a big scene to orchestrate because the whole auditorium (filmed at the New School, I believe) was filled with Ellen Jamesians.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /> <br /> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">My memory is more of John Lithgow’s character and my excitement about his performance and his presence at the funeral.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /> <br /> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">There was a lot going on: Amanda Plummer as Ellen James herself, Robin Williams in drag so he could attend Jenny’s funeral, etc.  I was given minimal direction. I thought of Pooh as single-minded in her hatred of Garp and her devotion to the Jamesians, so much so that her senses were highly developed.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZApgTnwqCOo/U-lrLr4mb5I/AAAAAAAAhUU/7uegU7G0qkQ/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZApgTnwqCOo/U-lrLr4mb5I/AAAAAAAAhUU/7uegU7G0qkQ/s1600/Picture+1.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Brenda in two eerie roles</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">The scene for me was about focus, literally where I was looking and what I was truly seeing (not acting as if I’m seeing).</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /> <br /> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Pooh is on edge anyway, she thinks she sees him, she DOES see him and it is her duty to expose him immediately. She is an accuser. That’s how I thought of it. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <b><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Both movies are based on famous books... Had you read either before filming? </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b><br /> <br /> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">I had read IN COLD BLOOD while at college in the bedroom I rented from a grad school married couple. The bedroom was located at the top of the stairs and Capote’s description of Nancy’s terror after hearing two shots fired and footsteps running up the stairs towards her bedroom.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /> <br /> <table 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/-g5q49gk5kL0/U-lpeg-5vDI/AAAAAAAAhT8/zN59Gk0p_oI/s1600/Garp44.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g5q49gk5kL0/U-lpeg-5vDI/AAAAAAAAhT8/zN59Gk0p_oI/s1600/Garp44.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Robin Williams in GARP</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">I had anticipated the exact thing I would be called upon to act in the filming of the movie…</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ReoYnuJpMeU/U-l4qYH71YI/AAAAAAAAhU0/i-TeIBcJ-D8/s1600/philip-seymour-hoffman-robin-williams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ReoYnuJpMeU/U-l4qYH71YI/AAAAAAAAhU0/i-TeIBcJ-D8/s200/philip-seymour-hoffman-robin-williams.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">RIP Capote PSH and RW as Garp</span></span></span></span></span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">GARP I had tried to read and couldn’t get into it. After being cast in the role I definitely got into it...</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">I thought Steve Tesich’s screenplay was a fantastic adaptation capturing the essence of the book. I also admired Brooks’ adaptation of Capote’s tightly constructed book. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /> <br /> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><b><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">And how would you describe Robin Williams? </span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /> <br /> <span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Manic, kind, compulsive entertainer. Between takes he would do a stand-up routine for the crew or anybody who watched... A good actor; an inspired choice to play Garp. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><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/-KK9-2pGYDOQ/Wf6Dd8U5qzI/AAAAAAAAzds/Wox2cKEWjSIDB6s16S183NiG8Ey6FT9EACLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-11-04%2Bat%2B8.18.52%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="840" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KK9-2pGYDOQ/Wf6Dd8U5qzI/AAAAAAAAzds/Wox2cKEWjSIDB6s16S183NiG8Ey6FT9EACLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-11-04%2Bat%2B8.18.52%2BPM.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Our person fav Robin Williams movie, GARP, was never mentioned during his suicide's news coverage</span></span></u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <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/-8BrXu0Sx4rk/Wf6Fc8kvNmI/AAAAAAAAzd4/wSGtGZZH2hkcWoIp_upyLtshiYQOplz2wCLcBGAs/s1600/23231255_391629911266191_7276282219222308053_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="960" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8BrXu0Sx4rk/Wf6Fc8kvNmI/AAAAAAAAzd4/wSGtGZZH2hkcWoIp_upyLtshiYQOplz2wCLcBGAs/s1600/23231255_391629911266191_7276282219222308053_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Brenda Currin as Nancy Clutter looking into the distance in what feels spooky, eerie IN COLD BLOOD</u></td></tr> </tbody></table>

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KILL OR BE KILLED: BRENDA CURRIN DOUBLE BILL INTERVIEW

Brenda Currin in GARP What epitomizes a great actor or actress is range, and BRENDA CURRIN brilliantly embodies two polar opposite cha...