Joe Cocker : Three Big Ones

Joe Cocker, renowned British blues who parlayed an appearance at Woodstock into a career spanning over forty years, died today after a lengthy battle with lung cancer at age 70.

On a normal day, I might grouse that "we're losing all the big stars, there's no one coming up to replace them". And believe me, that is a valid point. In fact, if we lose too many more stars in the coming months and years, I can see pop culture devolving into an ongoing celebrity deathmatch starring Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Peter Noone, and a cockroach, hosted by William Shatner.

But I digress with my stab at late night humor. In the mood of the holiday season, let's just let three of Mr. Cocker's greatest performances wash over us:

First, the Woodstock breakthrough in 1969 :








The open hearted slow jam to end all open hearted slow jams :



 Because I am a Gen Xer after all, I just have to add this one. Schmaltzy though it may be, the Oscar-winning Up Where We Belong at least conveys the feeling of the slow-building romance of the film it supports, 1982's An Officer and a Gentleman (yes folks, Richard Gere was once young and brooding. So was Tommy Lee Jones, believe it or not, but I'll get to that in my next post. Joe and Jennifer sell the hell out of those lyrics!



And let's end on an alright note shall we?



Happy New Year everyone! A little extra...still miss Dick Clark :






How did Mick and Keith wind up in the tags? Let's do one more!








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3 Things To Love About The New Star Wars Trailer

1) Everything onscreen appears as if it was shot live not drenched in added-later CGI (save for the Millenium Falcon). Kudos to Kevin Smith for hinting at this during a Q & A a while ago after visiting the London set.

2)The human character in the trailer exhibits something called a genuine human emotion.

3) True to the JJ Abrams stylebook...although we see...we do not know.

And here's a bonus:

4) No.  Jar.  Jar.

From Cinema Blend:




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Peanuts A-OK?

I know it's a little early to pass judgement on Peanuts, since it doesn't come out till Christmas 2015. But based on this trailer, I'm willing to give this a favorable look (after all, I said to myself, "Who's going to watch a movie about Lego?" And that turned out great.) All the familiar elements are there. And as long as nobody tries to "explain" or psychoanalyze Charlie Brown, Lucy, Snoopy, Woodstock, or anyone else, everything should be fine. I know I really DON'T want to know the deep dark reason that Linus clutches that blanket and sucks his thumb. The animation has been updated and is obviously CG, but not so much as to be jarring.

Good on you, Blue Sky Animation! Too bad it will probably wind up opening at number 2 right out of the gate. No way is JJ Abrams gonna surrender the top spot to anything but his Star Wars reboot.

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How NOT To Do An Interview

The kind of ambush-let's-get-em journalism I would never do. It is career suicide for a journalist to assume that:

a) Actors are exactly like the characters they portray in the movie they are promoting.

b) Journalists speak rudely or snidely to actors, as though addresing the characters they play in the film. Jonah Hill is absolutely right, in that although Superbad or any movie needs to be promoted. Most of it is done through the LA/New York/Toronto marketing machine. These 5-to-7 minute interviews are usually  quickies done with and for the markets inbetween, and while usually pleasant (if somewhat rote) for all concerned, not entirely neccessary. And if this was the 20th interview in a row, no wonder nerves are frayed. No one asks to be born fat, or to become fat, and it's almost as if this ass assumes the opposite.

Oh well. In the decade simce, Hill's been nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Wolf Of Wall Street. Wonder if the Brit hack is still working?


And...there is absolutely no excuse for THIS...



I bet her friends NEVER let her live that one down at parties, between shots of tequila.

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Eastwood Pays Tribute to Garner

After over a month of trying to adequately sum up James Garner's career, I finally found this great tribute from his friend and  Space Cowboys costar Clint Eastwood (yup, I love Clint...get over it) for Turner Classic Movies  Big thank you to the UK's Clint Eastwood Archive for the original post.

James and Clint...they sure don't make actors like them amy more! And TCM is an oasis where we can enjoy them again and again!




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Bonus: Lauren Bacall Interview

An interview with Miss Bacall around the time of the publication of her first memoir. She sets the record straight as only she could!

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Remembering Lauren Bacall

Kelsey Grammer missed his calling. Had he been born around the turn of the last century, he would probably have been an excellent film noir actor. Here he translates some of that confidence into a brief overview of the career of Lauren Bacall, who passed away earlier this week at age 89. Grammer also infuses the overview with a profound  admiration for Bacall's work. No wonder. They sure don't make movie stars like that anymore!

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