An article in The Verge discusses two television comedies about, well, death. I’m a fan of “The Good Place,” with Kristen Bell and Ted Danson in the story of a young woman who mistakenly ends up in heaven. It has some complex and thoughtful things to say about life, death, the afterlife, and the overall existential questions of purpose and meaning. One of the characters is even a former professor of ethics and philosophy. The Verge correctly calls it “conceptually ambitious.”
I am not a fan of the other show, “The Last Man on Earth,” which the Verge describes as “the high watermark of gallows humor, a release valve for our end-times anxieties.”
The end of the world scenarios are explored in dramas and comedies and mixtures of both from “The Leftovers” to “The Walking Dead” and “You, Me, and the Apocalypse.” And premiering this week, “No Tomorrow.”
What does this say about the state of the world? Are we terrified or evolving?
MetroWeekly Interviews Jeffrey Tambor about “Transparent”
Posted on October 9, 2016 at 3:42 pm
Actor Jeffrey Tambor calls his Emmy and Golden Globe-winning role on “Transparent” “the role of a lifetime — and the responsibility of a lifetime.” He plays Maura, a transgender woman in her 60’s.
I’ll be very blunt, I think it’s made me a better person. I think it’s made me more present, certainly more aware. I think it’s made me a better daddy, a better husband, and ultimately, I hope, a better citizen. It certainly has made me an ally….I can only speak for Maura, but Maura’s on a journey trying to find out who is Maura, what is Maura? Where does she live? Who are her friends? What are her duties? Not only how do you do this, but how far do you go? You have to understand that even when she goes to the LGBTQ center, most of the kids she works with are not of her age. She’s just trying to find home base. That’s what she’s trying to do. She’s trying to find her community. She’s trying to find her friends. Who can you trust? She wants to know if she can ever have romantic love, and what gender will that romantic love be, and will her heart ever have that again?
Copyright Disney 1937Jerry Roberts and Doug Heller are hosting a new podcast called “The Cave of Wonders,” a loving tribute to the special magic of Disney films. Episode one “looks into the tao of Disney and what it means to us and to our culture. Then, a discussion of Disney’s first animated feature, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Roberts and Heller answered my questions about the podcast.
What do you mean, the “tao” of Disney?
The ‘tao’ of Disney refers to the fact that Walt’s vision seems to have written the universal language for the animated feature. What has sprung from it is the central core of how animated features are made and ultimately what we come to expect from them. In truth, there’s Disney and then there’s everyone else. It seems to stand above the other studios in terms of their output.
What elements of Walt Disney’s original vision are most evident in the studio’s productions today?
Today they are still holding on to the emotional levels and character developments that Walt put into place. The original vision of Walt Disney can be seen most evidently in his first five animated features; Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi. The emotional levels are present even in films like Frozen and Zootopia but also the desire to go the extra mile. It’s the writing that has maintained Disney’s vision. Characters and ideas come first, not just the desire to jump onto whatever is popular at the moment.
You can tell me — who is your all-time favorite Disney animated character? Live action character? Song?
Uh-boy. The Disney company is 93 years old and they’ve made how many movies? I really can’t even begin to list the characters and songs that are my favorites. There isn’t one, there’s shouldn’t be. Disney has such a rich history with its characters and its music that choosing just one is impossible.
Will Disney ever return to hand-drawn animation?
At this point, no. Disney tried nine years ago to test the market to see if it would work again with The Princess and the Frog but it didn’t do as well as they had hoped. CG is the new landscape and it doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.
Which Disney movie is the scariest?
For me, the scariest Disney picture was always Pinocchio. Concept terror, of course. I can’t imagine a more frightening scenario than bad children being turned into donkeys and sent off to work in salt mines and circuses. That’s a horrifying idea! They are punished, essentially, forever. They can’t talk so their parents think that they have effectively disappeared off the face of the Earth. I didn’t see this film when I was a kid, but if I had the message would have been with me forever. Behave yourself!
The movie that made people cry?
I’m going to say Bambi for the death of his mother, but I can’t imagine anyone not being touched by Dumbo’s late night visit to his mother’s cage after she’s been locked up. At the moment moment when little Dumbo wipes his tears on his mother’s trunk I defy anyone with a heartbeat to keep a dry eye.
How do you do a podcast about such a visual medium?
Conversation and lots of it. You speak as if the listener knows what you’re talking about. Doug and I assume that our listeners have already seen the film that we are talking about. We speak of the visuals in a specific way, I don’t think there’s quite a difficulty in that. It’s like talking about movies with your friends.
If you could inspire your audience to check out one overlooked Disney gem, what would it be?
The Rescuers Down Under. I know why the movie was overlooked in 1990 but I’m not sure why it continues to get overlooked today. Most people don’t know that this film came out between The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, and even fewer know that it had the sad misfortune of opening on November 16, 1990, the exact same day as the release of Home Alone. That’s really too bad because this movie works on so many levels, I hate to think that anyone is overlooking it. The animation in this film is gorgeous, and the story is beautifully told as well. It’s a great adventures. It’s got great action scenes, a great villain voiced by George C. Scott, the backgrounds are breathtaking. It’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s a fantastic adventure film. Why are we overlooking this one?
Bonding over their love of music, three grade schoolers from Brooklyn spend their weekends playing heavy metal/speed punk in Times Square as “Unlocking the Truth.” When the band’s internet fame explodes and the music industry comes calling, Alec Atkins, Malcolm Brickhouse, and Jarad Dawkins feel like anything is possible, but are soon confronted with the realities that come with being rockstars. Breaking a Monster chronicles the first year as the band goes from three kids just playing the music they love to the very adult world of touring, managers and a $1.8 million record contract – all in pursuit of living out their heavy metal dreams. “Breaking a Monster” chronicles the break-out year of the band, and follows 14-year-old members as they first encounter stardom and the music industry, transcending childhood to become the rock stars they always dreamed of being.
It will be released on digital, VOD and DVD on Oct. 11, 2016. We are delighted to present an exclusive clip.
Rated PG for rude humor throughout, language and thematic elements
Profanity:
Some schoolyard language
Alcohol/ Drugs:
Social drinking (adult)
Violence/ Scariness:
Some peril, sad off-screen death of a child, parental abandonment and marital break-up, cartoonishly exaggerated adult villains, some misbehavior including vandalism and mayhem
Diversity Issues:
Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:
October 7, 2016
Date Released to DVD:
January 2, 2017
Amazon.com ASIN:
B01LTHWXX4
Copyright Lionsgate 2016
This just might be the most accurate movie title of all time. Middle school is pretty much the worst years of everyone’s life. Terrible stress and tragedy happens at all ages, but it is the years from 12 to 14 where the internal turmoil and agonizing uncertainty are so acute that we still wince remembering them decades later. This film, based on the series of books by mega-bestselling author James Patterson (with Chris Tebbetts and illustrations by Laura Park) has some delightfully satisfying moments of fantasy revenge against a tyrannical, rules-obssessed principal and a borderline-abusive potential stepfather. But it sneaks in some quietly touching and surprisingly wise insights about loss and working with a “new normal.” Bright direction and an exceptionally engaging cast of kids make this film a genuine fall family treat.
Rafe Khatchadorian (Griffin Gluck) has been expelled from two schools (we never find out why) and has just one more chance. He would rather stay home all day and draw pictures in his notebook, where he has created a whole world of monsters and aliens, charmingly animated. “There’s a big world out there,” Rafe’s mother (Lauren Graham) tells him. “There’s a big world in there, too,” he says. And it is clear that is the world he prefers.
He does not even make it inside the building, though, when he meets the new school’s Principal Dwight (Andy Daly), who cares about just two things: his rules, and the school’s test score ranking. Dwight’s rules basically outlaw anything that is fun, friendly, expressive of individuality, or likely to keep the school from the #1 test score ranking Dwight cherishes so deeply that he has cultivated a number 1 bush by topiary in front of the school. Dwight’s consigliere/enforcer is Ida Stricker (“Parks and Recreation’s” Retta). So, bright, patterned shirts, talking in the hallways, even drawing in a notebook — all banned. There’s also a school bully who threatens to give Rafe “a wedgie so bad you’ll be able to taste your underwear.”
But there are three bright spots. Rafe’s best friend, Leo (Thomas Barbusca), is always there to make him laugh and spur him on. There’s a friendly girl named Jeannie (Isabela Moner), and a kind, sympathetic teacher (“Happy Endings'” Adam Pally) who uses the Drake and the Wu-Tang Clan to teach the class about macroeconomic trends. Rafe decides to take on Dwight by breaking every rule, with Leo’s help. Meanwhile, Rafe’s mom is getting serious with the boyfriend Rafe and his sister call “Bear” (Rob Riggle in his usual role of a walking Axe body spray).
The revenge fantasy is funny and satisfying, mostly about making the pompous Principal Dwight look silly. And it gives Rafe a way to begin to make new friends, to resolve issues with the school bully, and to think through the other problems in his life.
The film is bright and fun, like its sparkling soundtrack of pop songs. The young actors are refreshingly natural and Barbusca has great comic timing. Rafe’s sister Georgia (Alexa Nisenson) and love interest Jeanne (Isabela Moner) are real characters, smart and capable. When the more serious issues arise, it is organic and sensitively handled. The pranks are signed RAFE, which stands for “rules aren’t for everyone.” But this movie is.
Parents should know that this film includes schoolyard epithets, potty humor, references to death of a child, parental abandonment, and marital breakup, comically exaggerated adult villains, cartoon-style peril, and tween misbehavior including driving and mild vandalism.
Family discussion: What is the best way to challenge unfair rules? What school rules would you like to change?
If you like this, try: “Harriet the Spy,” “How to Eat Fried Worms,” and the book series that inspired the film
