Billy's Reviews
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The Simpsons Movie
20th Century Fox Film Corp
July 26, The Grove,
Rated PG-13
Some violence, language, near bestiality, rock group drowning
Fox has been known to take a popular movie
and make a TV show (MASH), but here
we have the venerable TV Simpsons clan and the townsfolk of
feature movie debut. Much is familiar - Itchy and Scratchy, the
mangling the English language, but there's more.
Grandpa Simpson has either a religious
vision or senior moment which foretells the
epic struggle that the Simpson family and the entire town of
Spider Pig.
It's an irritatiing truth the damage and the
toll that pollution can wreak on the planet, and
Lisa and her new Irish beau try to instill on the town. And they succeed!
Well almost.
Homer and his new porcine friend manage to ruin all that Lisa and the town
achieved by stopping
waste dumping in
what they did after Katrina - not too much except for sealing off the town.
Spider Pig
Things get so bad Homer and the family are
ostracised, nearly lynched and barely escape
the irate other citizens of
Homer has had a plan B all his life for just such an emergency. Move to
However, Marge and the kids decide they must
go back and help leaving Homer to undergo
a personal epiphany (whatever that is). Homer then races to save his
family and the town.
This was a great 90 minutes and was better
than watching 4 regular episodes back to back.
(there were way fewer commercials). The Simpsons Movie was funny, pleasing and
satisfying
or as Bart says about Homer "the man knows me". Oh…. and whatever
happened to Spider Pig?
(4.4 out of 5 stars)
-
Ringo Starr's All-Star Band
June 24, 2006
Palmdale - I believe this is the 9th
rendition of Ringo's semi-annual All-Star bands. Or as I like to think, they are kind of a revolving Rat-Pack of some pretty
top-flight artists who happen to have several months available when Ringo looks
thru his rolodex.
This is 4th one I've seen,
and the other shows had the likes of Joe Walsh, Todd Rundgren, Jack Bruce, Burton
Cummings, Simon Kirke, Randy Bachman and Zak Starkey. This crew is just as reknown with Edgar Winter, Rod Argent,
Billy Squire, Richard Marx and Sheila E. Richard
Marx even joked that Ringo really wanted the guy next to him on the rolodex – Ricky Martin - and
got Richard Marx instead!
Even if Ringo had not been
a member of that 'other' group, he's had his own solid career with gold records and top-10 hits and when you hear him add his
signature songs from
the Beatles days - 'Yellow Submarine' and 'A Little Help From My Friends',
Well, you just have to love
the guy and appreciate his role in the Beatles. He's also a pretty good showman. I'd love to see him host a gameshow, awards or
variety show. And he has quite the affection for 
It's not that he needs to pay the rent or anything, he just loves to play and every 2-3 years finds some pals to go out with him. The show opened with 'It Don’t Come Easy' and this lineup really did it well, especially Edgar Winter's sax and great vocals all around.
After 2 more Ringo songs
the rest of the band gets one or two of their songs, then more Ringo then another round and so
on. Edgar Winter's song's included 'Free Ride' and 'Frankenstein', and besides having some serious flashbacks to high
school high days, I
really enjoyed Edgar's mastery of sax, keys, and percussion, especially his
timbales and Sheila E's drum kit work on 'Frankenstein'.Billy Squire was the
lead guitarist the whole night and is pretty good actually. His did his biggest hit 'Everybody Wants You' and a nice old Robert Johnson blues
song as a duet with
just guitar and Edgar on piano.
Rod Argent was the primary keyboardist and his songs were 'She's Not There' and 'Hold Your Head Up'. I had only ever heard Santana's version of 'She's Not There' and this one was a treat. It really had the English mid-60's feel of a band like Hermans Hermits or the Turtles.
Richard Marx I had heard of but
never listened to thinking he was just an 80's pop guy. His songs rocked. His voice is
terrific and the songs were very much like Byran Adams or Don Henley. Maybe back then I heard them
but thought it was Bryan Adams or Don Henley.
Shelia E. has one song I've heard a few times and another that I think I know. She is a fantasic percussionist and has chops I could kill for. Though behind a kit she sounds a little stiff and mechanical more often that not. She solos really well as she showed on 'Frankenstein'.
If you ever watch one of
those benefit concerts or rock star jams for some charity, you might notice
there are two people on the planet who can tell Eric Clapton to finish his solo
so the song can go on.
One is Paul McCartney and the other is Ringo. In towns like
The full house of about 3500 at the Gibson Amphitheater at Universal in
.bs.
The Pink Panther
with Steve Martin, Kevin Kline, Jean Reno, Beyonce Knowles
20th Century Fox Special
Advance Screening - The Majestic Crest Theater -
Feb 8, 2006
When I first heard that MGM
was remaking the Pink Panther, my first thought was why?
After all, the original series
of movies from the 60's and 70's were genuine classics and
made Peter Sellars a
star. Though I'm happy to say that this rendition stands well enough
on it's own while paying just
enough homage to the original.
From the opening titles
there's no doubt this is going to be a Pink Panther movie with the
Henry Mancini theme and
animated pink feline. Clocking in at 99 minutes, the plot has
the murder of a famous soccer
coach and the theft of his equally famous Pink Panther
Diamond ring.
he will place an incompetent
village gendarme named Clouseau (Martin) in charge but only
as a decoy to take the public
attention away from the real investigation.
Of course there is no
shortage of suspects and Clouseau pays each one a visit with his partner
Ponton (Reno), and he
demonstrates a new twist on the good cop/bad cop police interrogation
method, and briefly teams up
with a member of Her Majesty's Secret Service (not THAT one).
His suspicion finally focuses
on the pop-singer girlfriend of the slain coach (Knowles) and he
follows her to
This Clouseau while still a
bumbling, idiot, is not quite the imbecille of Sellars' Clouseau and
after his digrace he uses his
home computer to make a breakthough. Kline does well as Dreyfuss
but is not quite the manic
madman of Herbert Lom, though does get his share of injuries inflicted by
Clouseau. Perhaps if there are
sequels Dreyfuss will drift into that hilarious kill-Clouseau mentality.
There were many laugh out
loud moments throughout the entire movie, though there were not any
single scenes with
side-splitting, can't breath, full body laughs that were almost a signature of
the
earlier movies. Martin
co-wrote the screenplay and there appears to be a real affection for the
original
and Sellars. This should
be an enjoyable movie for everyone, whether or not they've seen the originals.
Rating 3.8 -- 5
Billy
Ozzfest
August 21, 2005
I learned
many things during the 7 hours I spent at the annual world gathering and summit
of heavy metal bands also know as Ozzfest. Thanks to my friend Terri's
phone dialing skills,
we had 10th row seats stage left courtesy of KLOS-FM,
It's been 10 years since Ozzy Osbourne was denied a spot in Lollapalooza and he said "####-you all, you ####-suckers, I'll start my own ####ing show." And to his and Mrs Svengali's (aka Sharon Osbourne) credit, Ozzfest is a monster success while Lollopalooza is now a footnote-a-palooza.
I learned the double-bass drum setup is essential to todays brand of heavy metal as I'll be hearing thumpa-thumpa-thumpa-thumpa at 180 beats a minute for weeks. Long hair is no longer a pre-requisite, but if the band does have long hair, each member must still rock their heads and hair back and forth in unison.
Also I learned that I don't have near enough tattoos. Though it was moving to see leathered-clad, pierced, tattooed parents bring their young children to pass down their love of metal. It really was pretty cool. And I leaned how Brits pronounce the word for women's breasts - 'tit-tees'. Oh yeah, honest to goodness heavy metal belongs to the English.
The first band on the main
stage was In Flames from
The next three acts, Shadows Fall, Slipnot and Mudvayne, were very much a blur. Not because of any chemical imbalance, but the songs after awhile just seemed to be the same one. Pounding drums, bass, exceptional guitar exhibitions and screaming vocals. Pretty much everything you'd want. I was blown away by the musicianship and the actually quite intricate arrangements. But it was a blur nonetheless.
Slipnot visually was an all together different experience. They are dressed in black and wearing hoods and masks. Most of them looked to be from Pulp Fiction (the Gimp) though one had the Hellrasier thing going on with dozens of spikes in his hood. They also had two extra drummers who played identical rigs set up with marching toms and beer kegs. Yes, miked beer kegs that were occaisionally whacked with baseball bats. And 2 of them played marching snare drum on one song. Somehow I get the feeling they met in drum and bugle corps.
Things really got interesting when Iron Maiden took the stage. They were immediately pelted with water, beer, eggs, and other debris. I thought that may have been a tradition sort of like seeing the Rocky Horror Picture Show at a midnight showing. I really enjoyed Maiden. They were the 1st act where the words the vocalist sang where decipherable, and the 3 guitarists
played some marvelous harmony lead parts thoughout. The Iron Maiden set got interesting when the stage power went out three times over 4 songs. The singer somehow got the crowd behind him and hinted at the sabotage and egg-pelting. When their set ended the emcee on the microphone immediately started chanting "Ozzy, Ozzy,Ozzy…" I thought that to be a little rude. Then Sharon Osbourne takes the stage and pronounces how much she likes the Iron Maidens band and crew, but she called the singer an insufferable little prick. Hmmm? Now I know how 3 dozen or so eggs were 'smuggled' in through the security that took my effin lighter. I'm now curious how the next few shows will work out.
Last up of course was the prince of f--king darkness himself Ozzy Osbourne and the original Black Sabbath. I was never a heavy metal type but as they played I had fond memories of high-school and college years. If you were to look up the origins of 'head banging' music in the encylopedia, you will probably see Sabbath. If the genre of heavy metal began with Zeppelin you'd have to place Black Sabbath 1st or 2nd among the direct descendants. I'm thinking the speed-metal style developed because you can't improve on the orginal metal like Sabbath.
Tony Iommi was the ultimate
of cool in a long black jacket, playing his SG's loud and beautifully. Much
more soulful than the
'hot-shot' speed metal guitarists from the earlier sets. Geezer
This Ozzfest stop at Glen-Helen pavllion had upwards of 50,000 fans, Wonder what Lollopalooza is drawing this year?
Ladykillers *** of 4
Coen Bros Production. Starring Tom Hanks, Marlon Wayans
April 15, 2004
Picture a cross between the Ocean's 11 remake
and Woody Allen's 'Small Time Crooks' with an Edgar Allen Poe-quoting, refined
southern PHD as the ringleader, along with a pretty damn funny group of
accomplices trying to rob a Mississippi River gambling boat.
Old Mrs. Munson (Irma Hall) is a widowed,
God-fearing, church going, talks-to-her-dead-husband black lady that somehow
finds it to send
Mrs. Munson's house is on the river just up
from the local gambling boat and Goldthwait Higginson Dorr III, PHD (Hanks)
shows up as a music scholar on sabbatical to rent a room from Mrs. Munson and
just adores her root cellar - allegedly for rehearsing Rococo and Renaissance
music with his own motley crew - the homeboy (Wayans), the exiled Vietnamese
General who is a tunneling expert, the blockheaded football player, and the
aging hippie freedom rider-demolitions expert who came to Mississippi in 1964
and never left.
Our gang tunnels through the cellar to the
gambling boat while playing tapes of pre-recorded music to provide their
cover. Highlights are the generals
smoking habit and the explosives safety demonstration by the freedom rider.
After the job, Mrs. Munson comes home early
from Sunday services and discovers the the plot. Hanks tries to convince her to
accept a donation from the heathen, scoundrel gambling business which is
insured anyway, while Mrs. Munson tries to convince them to give the money back
and come to church. Here the movie
takes a mood swing that borders on the macabre with a very slapstick type vibe.
All-in-all this was a fun movie, well worth
the 8 bucks.
'Mighty Nice' - Paul Zaloom - Highways, Santa
Monica. CA
6/5/03
Finally at 42, I saw a puppet show. And I saw a somewhat manic, socially and
politically observant and just
get-all-out funny (even the puns), one man performance by Paul Zaloom called
'Mighty Nice'.
The Thursday show was intimate and awesome. I sat 20 feet from stage zero
and to see the man who entertained and educated millions as "Beakman"
from the multiple award winning "Beakman's World",
was the most fun I've had in a while. This three-act set begins with Officer
O'Reilly. O'Reilly is a east coast transplant to LA, and is assigned to LAPD - Ramparts Division, and his job is drug
education and awareness. DARE?
In this show, DARE is for pussies. O'Reilly's shpiel is DON'T, and he goes
through the
After intermission, Zaloom takes the audience to the year 2222 where,
honestly, things aren't really that
different save the global warming that make this county the United States of
Kansas. Hey, one state is better than
none eh? Using props found in yard sales, Zaloom is hilarious (the palm trees
rocked) and he describes an Ashcroft
laden futuristic world. Utopia it ain't, but if Zaloom is there, we got hope.
The Jerry Springer Show
Well even though I never lived in a trailer, you can count me as a fan of The
Jerry Springer Show. It provides an insight to the great-unwashed masses in
My biggest problem though is the violence. Like when the nice looking 19-yr.
old is talking about how she has slept with her husband's brother, father, and
sister (and the occasional golden retriever.) Just when the story is getting
really good someone gets up and slaps someone, or throws a chair and all hell
breaks loose.
That just ruins the mood...I mean show. Yeah, it just ruins the show for me. If
they will curtail the needless violence, this show will go down as a monumental
tribute to television and our society.
Jethro Tull at the Greek Theater,
Seeing Jethro Tull Sunday evening was great on several levels. The Greek
Theater is in
The Greek is a nice, intimate outdoor amphitheater similar to Chastain in
Led by Ian Anderson and original guitarist Martin Barre, the band sounded crisp
and clear and took crowd though a guided history of their music. Tull pioneered
the use of a flute in rock music and
But one shouldn't let that eclecticism make you forget that these guys can rock
with the best of any bands in the world. Thankfully,
Billy
Death to Smoochy 2002 ***-1/3 out of 4
http://deathtosmoochymovie.warnerbros.com/mustdie/index.html
Starring Robin Williams,Ed Norton,Catherine Keener, Danny DeVito
I finally figured out something about
Robin Williams plays
Where was I? Oh....
Naturally (helps the plot too), Smoochy becomes a smash hit and
Meanwhile back at Kid-Net TV, a mobbed-up programmer and Smoochy's agent are
in trouble because Norton won't play ball with the Italian mob who used to get
a piece of Randolph's show. The Italian Mob sends a hit team to kill Smoochy.
And
Also in the plot is a budding romance between Keener and Norton, and the Irish
Mob has a cousin who is a little slow after years of heavyweight boxing who is
befriended by Norton and even gets a role on the Smoochy show. There is also
sadness, and redemption invloving several of the players. And the whole movie
climaxes - (where else?) at the Smoochy on Ice extravaganza.
I liked Smoochy alot. Williams is great as slightly mad ex kids show host
with a chip on his shoulder. Keener isn't a great beauty but she has a hot
little sensuality to her. And Norton is good playing a tofu and wheatgrass
eating do gooder who really wants to make the world a better place. After all,
even if you can't change the world - you can make a dent.
* Review of Happy Texas to be released later.
Live From
Starring Michael Keaton, Helena Bonham Carter, Bruce McGill (D-day from Animal House again)
Now we're getting close to our recent careers. I wasn't old enough to be in
So when HBO made a movie about the beginning of Gulf War and the TV news coverage, I was definitely going to check it out.
Robert Wiener (Keaton) is a CNN producer sent to
Arriving in
There is competition between between the various news networks for stories
and access. ABC is kicked out then let back, and they all vie for a Saddam
interview. CBS gets one the CNN gets one. Right before the war CNN
correspondant Peter Arnett (McGill) arrives, as does does
The day before the the bombing begins, some journalists get word about the 'sniffles', meaning that the shit is about to hit the fan. Most of the other news groups flee, but Wiener and 1/2 his group plan to stay, the other 1/2 plan to go. But that night...
In the late evening the skies of
Wiener's relationship with the Iraqi Minister gave him the only phone line working that night. And during the night the ABC man on the scene tells Wiener "you own this war".
The Dish (PG-13) *** Australian, 2001
Do you remember where you were the weekend of July 18, 1969? Usually that would be just a few days in another hot mid-summer, but there was something special that weekend - 3 Americans were on the way to the moon where 2 would walk and the entire world watched.
The TV images that the world saw on July 20 were relayed from a huge radio
telescope in the small sheep-farming town of
Some of the characters are: the site manager who is proud to be part of the team with NASA but is still hurting from the loss of his wife; the quirky yet able mayor whose daughter thinks the moon mission is a CIA plot and his 9 year old son who rattles off intricate details about the Apollo and lunar spacecraft; the site security guard who will remind you of Barney Fife; and the rest of the site crew, townspeople, a NASA observer, American ambassador, Australian Prime Minister and, yes the occasional sheep. All of these characters provide differing and often humorous perspectives of the event.
A great treat is the soundtrack. Many great songs from the late 1960's
provide a rich canvas, as does actual footage from the TV coverage of the day.
One of the best moments is during a gathering welcoming the American
Ambassador, the emcee announces the
Of course the real star is the 64-meter Parkes radio telescope itself which continues to support NASA missions to this day. This is a neat, sweet, funny movie that reminds us of both man's humanity and knack for exploration.
On a personal level the movie made me proud of the
If I were stuck in a deep mine with a VCR and 5 tapes they would be (in no particular order)
Ghandi: F--ck the rupees, let's get rid of the British
Three Days of the Condor: F--ck the CIA and I get to do Faye Dunaway and befriend the world class killer who missed me (ha ha).
Monty Python and the Holy Grail: "An African or European Swallow?"
Midway: F--ck the Japs, you missed our carriers (ha ha)
The Kids Are Alright: The Who rule!!!
I gotta go,
.bs.
The Who at the Hollywood Bowl,
Having seen The Who 5 times before, I didn't plan on attending this show. However, John Entwistle's death on June 27 and the band's decision to go on with the tour beginning in LA made this a must see show. I joined 18,000 other fans who came to pay their respects to John, and with the top tickets at over five hundred dollars, there was much paying indeed. More on that later.
For the 1 plus hour trip and pre-concert tailgating I brought 4 Who cd's and an amber colored 'beverage'. This time, I cranked up the bass knob on the cd player a bit extra, to really focus on John's work. Instead of 'out of my brain on the 515', I was out of my brain on the 101 Freeway and loved every second of it. It finally dawned on me that the original Who didn't just play their instruments, they assaulted them. It's as if they were saying 'hop on and hold tight mates, we're going on a ride.'
The show was billed as a tribute to John Alec Entwistle. A few days earlier there were rumors of maybe some special guests, but that was only rumor. The line up was Roger Daltry, Pete Townshend, Zak Starkey (Ringo's son) on drums, John Bundrick on keyboards, Pino Palladino on bass and Pete's brother Simon on backing guitar.
At 8:45 sharp the band opened with 'I Can't Explain', which was fitting as it was their first single. 'Substitute' and 'Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere' followed. After those tunes from their initial success in the mid-60's, then they jumped ahead to their last several albums with songs from 'Who Are you' and 'It's Hard', and back though the rest of the catalog. A pleasant surprise was hearing 'Bargain' from 'Who's Next'. Having Simon's backup guitar and Bundrick's synthesizer gave the live version the texture and feeling of the album version. Very nice indeed.
Zak Starkey plays a very good role in this lineup. With his white silk shirt, mop haircut and loose style of drumming, it's almost scary how much he reminds one of Keith Moon.
Truthfully, from listening to older live albums, Moon definitely had his off nights, Starkey, in the several times I've seen him, is always in top form. John 'Rabbit' Bundrick has been with the band since 1979. His playing is simply marvellous whether it's a 60's Hammond Organ w/Leslie speaker sound or the signature synthesizer parts of Who's Next.
Simon Townshend stayed in back providing acoustic guitar backing on about 2/3 of the set. Several years ago Roger and John toured and Simon was the guitarist and did credible job, though here he is content to back up big brother Pete.
Every eye was on Pino Palladino at times. I don't know much about his previous work, but he nailed the songs for the most part. He wore all black, played a black bass and stood the entire time in front of his bass rig. Very reminiscent of, and almost a bit of a ghostly image of John.
Surprisingly the band did not play any songs written or sung by Entwistle. When the band played "My Generation' you could feel the crowd's anticipation of the bass solo. Palladino did not disappoint, though he hit the 1st three bars well, the last bar lacked somewhat. He was warmly received, and that was probably the biggest tribute to John Entwistle of the night.
Roger Daltry was as solid as ever and Pete Townshend was in terrific form playing a Stratocaster the entire night. Each spoke a sentence or two thanking the crowd for their support and their feelings for John. Pete said that starting off in LA was probably best as this crowd in the entertainment capitol would appreciate the 'show must go on' aspect of the business they are in.
Some have questioned the band's continuing the tour so soon after John's passing. The ticket prices are among the highest ever seen and the tour will indeed generate tens of millions of dollars. Personally, I'm glad they did, and 18,000 other Angelinos who stayed on their feet for most of over 2 hours were too. Though I never met John Entwistle, I know he loved music and loved to play. I'm certain he would approve - in fact he was there in every song.
The Gathering Storm - Showtime **
5/22/02
Starring Albert Finney as Winston Churchill and Vanessa Redgrade as Clementine Churchill.
This movie covers the pre-WWII years in
Finally Winston gets help from a high-level source in the foreign office who provides 'most secret' information to help raise public awareness. The movie can drag a bit but those who like history won't mind. My personal highlight was that in 80% of the scenes, Winston has a 'beverage' in his hand.
Billy
"The Path to War" - HBO ***
5/22/02
Starring Michael Gambon as LBJ, Alec Baldwin as Robert McNamara, Donald Sutherland as Clark Clifford.
The title should be 'Be careful who you hire'. Lyndon Johnson's biggest
mistake regarding
Initially the only voice of dissent is Asst. Sec. State George Ball (played
By Bruce McGill - 'D-Day' from Animal house). LBJ eventually brings in Clark
Clifford as an advisor who agrees with Ball that it is bad - really bad to go
in there full bore. But LBJ listens to McNamara (come on now,
Finally after getting LBJ to commit over 1/2 million troops and tens of
thousands killed, does McNamara realize we can't win. What an ASSHOLE! McNamara
was a numbers weenie from the business world who thought
Billy