Do you know how many minutes there are in a year? If you answered 525,600, then you probably know Jonathan Larson’s musical Rent and its signature song, “Seasons of Love.” I myself am a fan of the Chris Columbus movie from 2005, but I know there are others (no doubt more obsessed Rentheads than I am) who aren’t. Those folks should be glad to know that Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway, which played in theaters in 2008 is now on DVD and Blu-ray. As Broadway fans know, very few stage productions are commercially released, and often the shows get made into mediocre movies that make some people wonder what the fuss is about. Face it, we’re fortunate that we’ll have both a pretty-darn-faithful movie and a stage production on both DVD and Blu-ray DVD, and in my mind the fact that the movie has almost all the original principals sets it apart from most other Broadway-based movies. To see Anthony Rapp leading “La Vie Boheme,” or to see the cast singing “Seasons of Love” or “No Day but Today” is incredibly moving. On the other hand, this new version gives us a talented young cast in a live stage environment, singing all the music that was cut out of the movie (watch the first 8.5 minutes below). It’s an embarrassment of riches! Then again, few musicals would deserve the double treatment better than Rent, which defined Broadway for an entirely new generation.
You know how when people ask you what you watch on TV, and the talk turns to acclaimed and well-made stuff that you’re proud to be associated with: Battlestar Galactica, 30 Rock, Breaking Bad, Lost … you know what I’m talking about.
Well, I’m going to own it: I’m watching the just-launched season of Make Me a Supermodel, and it’s awesome! (See it free here.) It’s a “reality” show, so there are no pesky scripts — just beautiful people who have to frequently disrobe, make and endure Zoolander-ish statements and lust after/loathe their competition. You know, ’cause that’s what models do, right? As I write this, I’m streaming an episode called “Eye Candy” from Amazon Video On Demand, and it’s literal: the contestants must “embody” sugary delights with the help of body paint, glitter and attitude. In the previous episode, they had to create intimate (but not too intimate) moments in a giant clear cube elevated by a crane. Last season, they had to pose underwater with giant snakes (I am not making this up!), so I can only imagine what the future holds.
Come on, admit it: What’s your guilty pleasure? (American Idol counts, as far as I’m concerned.) – Stephanie Reid-Simons, Amazon Video On Demand
Whether you are a Netflix customer who prefers the disc through the mail approach, the streaming content service through your computer or other devices, or a combination of both, in my opinion the one thing that customers can probably agree on is that browsing for movies on the Netflix site leaves something to be desired. I’m sure that the powers that be over at ‘Little Red’ are aware of this, at least I hope that they are. You would think that they would have done something about it already, but not really. Personally I resorted a long time ago to using other sites to browse for movies, then when I have a title I want I search Netflix by name. This is just a guess on my part, but with the jump in subscriptions that Netflix has seen due to the expansion of their streaming functionality it looks as if they have decided to rely on other sites to help customers as well. The following from Michael Hart, Director of Engineering at Netflix on the Netflix blog: Read more…
What it is: The 22nd 007 film, Quantum of Solacewhich picks up just minutes after the death of Bond’s love, Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale. Through an on-the-edge-of-your-seat, heart-racing car chase involving the Italian countryside and a beautiful Aston Martin, we are introduced to a very different, very dark Bond. Magnificently played once again by Daniel Craig, James Bond is hell bent on revenge as he tracks down the people who were responsible for Vesper’s death. After capturing and interrogating, Mr. White; M and Bond make a startling discovery involving the secret organization, Quantum. This leads him to Haiti where he meets the mysterious Camille (Olga Kurylenko) whose motives for revenge are one in the same with Bond. He is ultimately forced to abandon M’s (Judi Dench) orders and act on his own accord. With MI6 following his every move as he is now considered a major threat to friend and foe; the trail takes Bond to Bolivia and finally Russia where he learns the truth behind Quantum and the death of Vesper.
When it comes to ideal mates, it’s easy to get caught up in the pretty people on screen. After all, who can be satisfied with Mr. Darcy on the page when you can watch him right in front of you, swelling violins and all? For me, my ideal fictional mate was always a cross between Han Solo (the cocky bantering) and Mr. Knightley (played by Jeremy Northam) from Emma (I literally wanted to transcribe his proposal and hand it to my husband-to-be, saying “Read this. Don’t even come up with your own.”). Now, if I just wanted to pick a fictional date (not a mate), one of those flings you know won’t last, I would easily pick Jack Foley from Out of Sight. Or Doug Ross from ER. (Or maybe just anybody played by George Clooney). Read more…
In celebration of the DVD release of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Amazon.com, Dreamworks Animation, and the San Diego Zoo have teamed up to bring you the Escape to Africa Elephant Cam (above).
Bad weather? No Zoo in your town? Grab the kids and sit back and watch the elephants of the San Diego Zoo live.
It’ll be a while before we have new episodes of Mad Men to watch (looks like this summer). So I recommend you occupy yourself with some notable guest shots by the show’s stars. It’s a kick to see them outside the confines of the Mad Men era. I’ll start with a certain painfully handsome fellow showing his comedic side:
Jon Hamm, aka Don Draper. On the latest episode of 30 Rock, “Generalissimo,” Hamm is as funny as he is handsome, and that’s saying something. He walks into Liz Lemon’s life, and he’ll leave you saying, “I want to go to there.” He also hosted on Saturday Night Live this season (be sure to catch the Mad Men parody, featuring a number of actual cast members).
Christina Hendricks, aka Joan Holloway: Hendricks adds spice to unusual detective drama Life as the object of desire for Adam Arkin’s character (and really, all those who see her). Must-click episode: “Did You Feel That?,” in which she helps Arkin’s character cope with an unusual post-earthquake injury. And Firefly fans will tell you that she did some of her best work on that show (must-click episode: “Our Mrs. Reynolds”)
Maggie Siff, aka department store heiress Rachel Menken: Siff lets her hair down on Sons of Anarchy, which you can watch now here (, playing a doctor who returns to her hometown and finds herself wrapped up with her golden-haired ex, who just happens to be the Hamlet of biker gangs.
Rich Sommer, aka Harry Crane: Sommer pops up on The Office (Weight Loss Parts 1 & 2) as one of Pam’s art school friends. Not as substantive as the other appearances, but still entertaining.
Watching back to back commercials for Frost/Nixon and Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (which opens in theaters today), I mentioned to my husband that it was amazing that the guy wearing the floppy ‘do and sideburns in the former could also be the raging muscular werewolf in the latter. He asked me what I was talking about, that there was no way they were the same actor. I had to go to IMDb.com to prove I was right.
That’s a credit to the chameleonic (and awesomely hairpieced) Michael Sheen, who currently plays David Frost in Frost/Nixon (a role he played on Broadway) and also stars as the lycan Lucian in Underworld (a role he played in the other two films alongside his ex, Kate Beckinsale, with whom he has a daughter. Ironically, Kate is now married to Underworld 1 & 2’s director Len Wiseman. That had to be a little awkward). Sheen also received a lot of acclaim playing Tony Blair to Helen Mirren’s Elizabeth II in the terrific The Queen. He’ll have to get used to the heavy makeup; Sheen will next play the Cheshire Cat in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland.
Exercise is Essential: Exercise is a must for a healthy body, and it’s one of the first things I do each day. Even if you’re busy make sure to set aside time. This doesn't mean you have to hit the gym for two hours, just make sure you get up and moving for at least 10-12 minutes a day. My new DVD, Get Fit Daily Dozen targets all the right areas of your body in just 12 minutes, your minimum daily exercise requirement! Remember, exercise burns calories and releases endorphins, so get happy now!
Will Two Lovers be the final big-screen perfomance of Joaquin Phoenix? I hope not. But he has said that he’s done acting, and that he is a (wait for it) rapper now. We’ll see. If Two Lovers is goodbye, it’s not a bad way to go. He plays a man torn between Gwyneth Paltrow (Miss Wow) and Vinessa Shaw (Miss Right), bringing his trademark complexity and passion to the role. The film, which got some love at Cannes last year, hits U.S. theaters in February. But you can see it now — only at Amazon Video On Demand. Just click here, and enjoy. I’m also attaching a video about the movie, featuring interviews with Shaw and director James Gray (We Own the Night).
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