Anthony King: 2008

MOVIE #9 - As everyone has been saying, the first 30-40 minutes...

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 12:13:00 -0400

MOVIE #9 - As everyone has been saying, the first 30-40 minutes of this movie are truly amazing. But once Wall-E is fully sucked into Mike Judge’s Idiocracy, the movie loses its charm. I think that may be because Pixar, at its best, takes huge themes (like loss, longing, desire, discovery, individuality, etc.) and merges them seemlessly into impossibly unique characters and stories. In Wall-E, the themes of the movie never fully connect with our main character. Wall-E is a high-tech Rosencrantz or Guildenstern. And while Stoppard wrote a brilliant satire starring those two characters, he never asked us to actually care about them.

Pixar is breaking new ground with this bold, dark animated satire, but they can’t help begging the audience to also love what they’ve created. Sadly, those conflicting goals result in a movie that is neither as biting as a satire should be, nor as touching as a true love-story could be.

Of course, it sure is nice to be able to have a nuanced, thoughtful - if ultimately somewhat negative - response to an animated film. Just the trailers for Madagascar 2, Bolt, Fly Me To The Moon, and Beverly Hills Chihuahua are a full-scale attack against a civilized humanity.

Seriously, the theatrical release of Beverly Hills Chihuahua may be the moment future historians pinpoint as the end of America, Inc. as a superpower.

PLAY #6 - This weird, dark, touching, surprising, and wonderful...

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:25:00 -0400

PLAY #6 - This weird, dark, touching, surprising, and wonderful little musical is only playing for a few more weeks. It’s not frivolous entertainment, but worth seeing if you’re looking for something to chew on. I particularly liked an idea expressed near the end of the show by my Gravid Water pal, Nick Offerman’s, character (paraphrased from memory):

“Do you think they’d go to all the trouble to make a soul and only use it once?”

BUD & DOUG: Fort Worth, TX

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:17:00 -0400

BUD & DOUG: Fort Worth, TX

MOVIE #8 - I probably never would have seen this movie if not...

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 12:14:54 -0400

MOVIE #8 - I probably never would have seen this movie if not for the awesome trailer. Problem is - the trailer gave away all of the best sequences (save one very cool and insane sequence on a train). So, in the end, I feel swindled: Movie got my money, but I wanted more.

BOOK #15 - TC Boyle is a clever writer. And I mean that in the...

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 12:06:21 -0400

BOOK #15 - TC Boyle is a clever writer. And I mean that in the worst way possible.

"I miss you already, chicken fingers and baked potato."

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:38:00 -0400

“I miss you already, chicken fingers and baked potato.”

- Pat Baer, dealing with the news that Ranch 1 on the corner of 28th and 7th is no more

The latest in the Songs In The Key of Craigslist series: ...

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:07:26 -0400

The latest in the Songs In The Key of Craigslist series: Blanket Fort

My Kind of Town

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:17:00 -0400

I’m in Chicago for the opening of GUTENBERG!. The man in this picture is an asian representation of Scott Brown eating deep-dish pizza at Geno’s East. (Presumably, I would be the incredibly obese Turk who took this picture - and also ate deep-dish pizza at Geno’s East.)

Other Chicago-ey things we’ve done so far:

-Rode the Elevated Train!
-Saw a show at The Second City!
-Taught a cab driver how to spell the word “ladle”

I’m also pretty sure that during our conversation with that cab driver he used the word “salad” for the first time in his life. He then repeated the word “salad” at least ten times and told us that chicken is “monderful.”

BUD & DOUG: Hudson, NY

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 07:30:47 -0400

BUD & DOUG: Hudson, NY

DVD/DVR #28 - This movie was basically the Fail Safe to Swimming...

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 23:43:00 -0400

DVD/DVR #28 - This movie was basically the Fail Safe to Swimming With Sharks’ Dr. Strangelove (with a pedophile instead of a producer).

Yawn.

DVD/DVR #27 - I’m not completely sure this was supposed to...

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 20:07:35 -0400

DVD/DVR #27 - I’m not completely sure this was supposed to be a comedy.

I know everyone’s already reblogging this, but it made me...

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 17:19:59 -0400

I know everyone’s already reblogging this, but it made me cry too, so I’m reblogging anyway. It’s nice to be reminded from time to time that we’re all human.

patbaer:

I’m fucking crying right now.
I am an emotional mess, and this video is awesome.
purns:
caseydonahue:
I DARE you not to smile watching this.
fine, caught.

DVD/DVR #26 - I love paranoia thrillers and this one is pretty...

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 17:28:18 -0400

DVD/DVR #26 - I love paranoia thrillers and this one is pretty great (based on the same source material as Dr. Strangelove). The series of shots of normal NYC life just before the unsettling climax are really arresting. Nice job, Sidney!

P.S. Not Walter Matthau’s funniest performance.

"‘The Love Guru’ is downright antifunny, an experience that makes you wonder if you will..."

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 08:43:45 -0400

“‘The Love Guru’ is downright antifunny, an experience that makes you wonder if you will ever laugh again.”

- from A.O. Scott’s review in the NY Times

BUD & DOUG: Chicago

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:52:10 -0400

BUD & DOUG: Chicago

BUD: Vancouver, BC

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:51:21 -0400

BUD: Vancouver, BC

BUD & DOUG: Houston, Texas

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:50:00 -0400

BUD & DOUG: Houston, Texas

BUD & DOUG: Washington, DC

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:48:00 -0400

BUD & DOUG: Washington, DC

BUD & DOUG: Salt Lake City, Utah

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:47:40 -0400

BUD & DOUG: Salt Lake City, Utah

BUD & DOUG: Off-Broadway (NYC)

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:46:29 -0400

BUD & DOUG: Off-Broadway (NYC)