News at The Lyceum Theatre...

So, "Is He Dead?," the critically acclaimed, and utterly hilarious, Mark Twain Play, is sadly closing, March 9th.

And once that closes, the also critically acclaimed Macbeth Revival, starring Patrick Stewart, is moving into the Lyceum, where "Is He Dead?" was situated.

Sad/Good News.

And The Best Picture Is....

Yes, we all knew "No Country For Old Men" would win Best Picture, but I'm sure there were many people who didn't want it to win.

Me included.

Let's get this straight. "No Country" is an excellent movie. It really is. It's in my Top 5 of 2007, most definitely, but, it's not at #1. That spot belongs to the glorious epic that is "There Will Be Blood."

Also, "No Country" was getting ALL of the precursor awards, and when I say all, I mean a lot of them. In my opinion, I thought it was time for a change, but, shwatever, what can you do?

I'm not upset, I'm just saying, I would've preferred "Blood" to have won.

Also, Jon Stewart was a very good host.

That's it for the Oscars. See y'all next year.

Coming soon,

Cracka Slam, Into a Matrix: A Musical Retrospective.

Oh, Oscar Obviousness....

I really should have picked the people who were actually going to WIN the Oscars, instead of who I WANTED to win. Here's my reaction to the winners....

BEST FOREIGN FILM- THE COUNTERFEITERS- Knew it was going to win. Didn't pick it. Don't know why.

ANIMATED SHORT- PETER AND THE WOLF- Exact same thing as above.

LIVE-ACTION SHORT- THE MOZART OF PICK-POCKETS- Um, shwatever.

DOCUMENTARY SHORT- FREEHELD- See above.

SOUND EDITING- THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM- No comment, that's it.

SOUND MIXING- THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM- Nice job with your sound, Bourne film.

MAKEUP- LA VIE EN ROSE- Of course.

F/X- THE GOLDEN COMPASS- I guess in the end, armored polar bears defeat transforming robots.

DOCUMENTARY- TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE- Yep.

COSTUMES- ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE- Way to go, Elizabethan times.

ART DIRECTION- SWEENEY TODD- This is freakin' awesome! Sweeney Todd is officially an Oscar-winning film!!!

CINEMATOGRAPHY- THERE WILL BE BLOOD- Not my choice, but glad to see "Blood" win more than one Oscar.

EDITING- THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM- Really? Really?

ORIGINAL SONG- FALLING SLOWLY- The only thing I really like about "Once," and thank goodness, it won an Oscar.

ORIGINAL SCORE- ATONEMENT- The parallels to "Babel" just keep getting more apparent!!

ANIMATED FILM- RATATOUILLE- Obvious, and of course, I didn't pick it.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY- NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN- See above.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY- JUNO- Obvious, anyone?

SUPPORTING ACTRESS- TILDA SWINTON- Yeah, for me, this came out of nowhere, but good for her.

SUPPORTING ACTOR- JAVIER BARDEM- See "Original Screenplay."

ACTRESS- MARION COTILLARD- I really should go with my brain, not my stupidity.

ACTOR- DANIEL DAY-LEWIS- HELLS YEA!!!

I'm sorry, I'll amke a huge post about Best Picture tomorrow.


Gotta go

BYe

Tonight's the Big Night...

It all ends here. Who will take home the coveted "Best Picture" Oscar?
Unfortunately, I won't be able to give live coverage, but I will give a full report after the ceremony.

Happy Oscars Day, everybody!

Saturday Night Live Returns...

And it was a pretty good episode.

For me, the highlight was the "There Will Be Blood" parody, a TV show on the food network, hosted by Daniel Plainview, called "I Drink Your Milkshake."

[Link]

If you've seen the movie, it's quite hilarious, so yeah.

Welcome back SNL!

I FINALLY saw "Michael Clayton...:

And I REALLY liked it!

Way better than "Atonement," and I fin it hard to compare to "Juno," since they are completely different films, but, "Clayton" would be my third choice to win the Oscar, right under "No Country," and "Blood."

The Wacky Circumference: Oscar Predictions!

Hold on to your hats, boys and girls. We're two days away from the biggest night ever. Even bigger than "Big Night '05."
After much thought, and deliberation, here are my predictions for all 24 categories of the 80th Annual Academy Awards...

DOCUMENTARY SHORT- Don't know, don't care.

LIVE ACTION SHORT- See above.

ANIMATED SHORT- So, I've seen all of the nominees for this category except for "I Met The Walrus," which is the one that I think is going to win. Crazy, no? Well, "Madame Tutli-Putli" has awesome animation, but is confusing as hell. Same goes for "My Love," times 1000. "Even Pigeons Go To Heaven" is moderately amusing, and "Peter and The Wolf" is awesome as well. If it were out of those four, I would say "Peter." But I've heard good things about "Walrus," so, we'll see.

SOUND EDITING- I ain't no sound editing expert, but since this is the only sound-related nomination that "There Will Be Blood" got, I'm going with them.

SOUND MIXING- Ratatouille?

F/X- "Transformers."They TRANSFORMED!! Many times, even!!!!

MAKEUP- Hells no, "Norbit" is not getting a freakin' Oscar, so, "La Vie En Rose."

DOCUMENTARY- Other than "The King of Kong," I haven't really seen any documentaries this year. But, let's just let Michael Moore have his cake, and eat it too, with "Sicko."

COSTUMES- "Sweeney Todd." Awesome film. Awesome costumes.

ART DIRECTION- See above.

CINEMATOGRAPHY- I loved the whole look of "The Diving Bell and The Butterfly," so, yeah, that one.

EDITING- Of the 3/4 of "Into The Wild" that I saw, the editing was very good, so, that.

ORIGINAL SONG- As much as I hated "Once," the song "Falling Slowly" was it's only highlight, so, I'm counting on that to win.

ORIGINAL SCORE- Can someone please tell me why the hell "There Will Be Blood" isn't here??? Shwatever, "Atonement"'s score was pretty good, but I also liked the score from "Ratatouille." Dun, Dun, Duuuuuuuuun.

FOREIGN FILM- I don't have such an extensve knowledge of the nominees, but I'm going with "Beaufort." Rock on Israel! Rock on!

ANIMATED FILM- Yeah, Yeah, I know. Ratatouille's awesome, there's no way it can't lose. Au contraire. "Persepolis" was an amazing film, that I believe could possibly upset the mighty Pixar rat!

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY- As cool as the "No Country," and "Blood" screenplays were, my money's on "Diving Bell."

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY- J-U-N-O, what does that spell? I'm not even gonna tell you! Figure it out on your own!

SUPPORTING ACTRESS- No one is gonna mess with Cate Blanchett on Oscar night. Except in the leading actress category, She ain't got a chance there. But supporting? Hells yea!

SUPPORTING ACTOR- Oh come on! Who REALLY thinks Javier isn't going to win? No one, that's where.

ACTRESS- This one's up in the air. There's Julie Christie, the supposed front runner, Marion Cottilard, the other lead apparently, Ellen Page, the awesomest of awesome, Laura Linney, who might be the upsetter of all upsetters, and Cate Blanchett. It's a mystery to me.

ACTOR- If you have an Oscar, and I have an Oscar, and my performance is better than yours by a mile, I, WIN, YOUR OSCAR!!!!

I WIN IT UP!!!!

(That was D.D-Lewis, by the way.)

DIRECTOR- The Coen's are awesome, but Julian Schnabel directed the hell out of "Diving Bell," and he deserves to win for his outstanding achievement.

PICTURE- Um, crap, this is a toughy.

Sure, "No Country" is awesome, but that's too easy. Didn't we all think "Brokeback Mountain" was gonna win? I know I didn't. But the point is, Atonement was boring for the majority of the film, Juno is way to light to be awarded "Best Film of '07," I haven't freakin SEEN Michael Clayton yet, but I promise you, I will see it before Sunday, and No Country is just to obviousof a choice to pick, as weird as that sounds. This award belongs to the masterpiece of 2007. The film that is truly the best, that film being "There Will Be Blood."

You'll see..

You'll ALL see!!!!

"Company" airing on PBS tonight!

The Tony-Award Winning, John Doyle directed, Raul Esparza acted, revival of the amazing Stephen Sondheim show, "Company" is airing on PBS tonight!

Check your local listings for airing times.

Also, either tomorrow, or Friday, full Oscar predictions!

Promoting the Best of Broadway!

You people out there who might be thinking that when you come to New York, you should go see "Wicked," or "The Little Mermaid." If you are reading this, I want you to know that you should NOT see those shows. There are far better shows on Broadway in my opinion, and I will be happy to promote those shows that everyone should be going to see rather than the big blockbusters you all think are so good....


IS HE DEAD?- A very funny play "written" by Mark Twain. It has a hilarious cast, and is worth the visit. It says that it is in it's "final weeks," but that could mean anything.

PASSING STRANGE- The most intelligent, rocking, new musical to hit Broadway in years. This really needs to build a big fan base, to support it through hard times. Come on guys, start your own group, like, I dunno, "The Passing Strangers," "The Stew Crew," something along those lines.

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE- The most beautiful show on Broadway, from the greatest composer of all time, Stephen Sondheim. It is truly a work of art, this show. No pun intended there.

XANADU- The most fun you can have on Broadway. Period.

I really hope all you tourists visiting New York don't conform with the crowd, and instead, go see these shows. They really are worth seeing.

Really.

Imaginariums make the World go round....

So, "hit-and-miss" film director Terry Gilliam, is making this new film, "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus."


Even the title creeps me out.
From the sound of it, it seems like a throw back to his old films, like "Baron Munchausen," and "Time Bandits." But there's one problem. Filming isn't finished, and the star of the film was Heath Ledger.

Yeah.

But get this. Apparently, within the world of the film, Ledger's character traveled to other dimensions, or some crazy crap like that. So, what they're now doing, which in my opinion is awesome, is they have three other actors, doing their own little tributes to Heath, playing his interdimensional characters.

But who are these Elite Three? None other than, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell.

Now, Johnny Depp is just plain awesome, so this will be cool. Jude Law is not bad either. And Colin, despite what people might think, is ok for what he is.

It's sort of a Heath Ledger version of "I'm Not There," except.... not.

Wicked cool, and such.

Passing Strange Review!

When shows like "Passing Strange" come along, the thought arises of, how is this show going to do financially? If we lived in a perfect universe, where good shows actually made money, then Passing Strange would make a hell of a lot of dough!

This show defies the conventions of what a rock musical can be. It takes you on a journey through the life of Youth, played by the brilliant Daniel Breaker, and how he tries to find "the real." He is surrounded by an amazing supporting cast, made up of de'Adre Aziza, Eisa Davis, Colman Domingo, Chad Goodridge, and Rebessa Naomi Jones.

The real star of the show is Stew, who wrote the book, lyrics, music with Heidi Rodewald, and he plays the role of the Narrator as well. He is able to carry us through this fantastic journey, which involves awesome songs, awesome lighting, and a really cool "light wall."

When you see this show, make sure you bring earplugs, because it is loud as HELL! But still, it's a great, original, new show, that will hopefully have a healthy run on the Great White Way.

Entertainment Stuffums!

Finally, David Spade does something funny!

This is a hilarious impression of Daniel Day-Lewis' performance in "There Will Be Blood," and I applaud you for that.

In sadder news, animator Ryan Larkin died of cancer this past Thursday. For those of you who don't know, Ryan Larkin was a Canadian animator, who created the Academy-Award nominated short film "Walking," and "Street Musique." He was also the subject of the recent animated short film "Ryan," which won the Oscar for Best Animated Film.

He will be missed.

R.I.P Ryan.

Shrek The Musical News!

If you told me a few years ago that "Shrek The Musical" was coming to Broadway, I would've laughed in your face. Now, I'm actually quite excited for it.

The NY Post reports that the score by Jeanine Tesori (of Caroline Or Change fame) "show off her musical intelligence." I'm pretty damn sure that's a compliment.

I'm just curious about who the hell is going to play Shrek and Donkey.

Time will tell.

Fortune cookies won't.

Entertainment Stuffs.

So, the Writer's Strike is finally over, so, that's always good. This means that The Oscars will be happening, and all our favorite TV shows will be back within the next few weeks.

Also, Christopher Sieber, Sutton Foster, and Kecia Lewis-Evans are all in Shrek The Musical.

Yay?

The Wacky Circumference: BAFTA Winners Announced....

Alright, Let's get this figured out...

[Link to Winners]

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR- Javier, of course. He's got it in the bag, unless there's a surprise upset by Holbrook or Affleck.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS- Tilda Swinton, quite a surprise there. Gives her some hope for the Oscars. But can she take down Blanchett?

ANIMATED FILM- Ratatouille. No surprise, since it was up against The Simpsons and Shrek. But I'm still rooting for Persepolis.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY- The Diving Bell And The Butterfly. Pretty awesome, I believe. But will this affect the Oscars?

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY- Juno. Nicities.

BEST ACTOR- Daniel Day-Lewis. The Oscar is his.

BEST ACTRESS- Marion Cotillard. This category is still a mystery to me, as to who will win.

BEST DIRECTOR- The Coen Bros. They will probably win, but I still wish it went to Julian Schnabel.

BEST PICTURE- Atonement. Apparently, the Brits liked this movie. I'm a Brit, and I didn't like this movie, so, shwatever.

What effect will this have on the Oscars? Who knows?

Full Oscar Predictions, Coming Soon.....

I Still Need To Stress This.....

Everyone, MUST, see "Sunday In The Park With George."

It is the PERFECT show that is currently on B'Way at the moment. It is fantastic, amazing, beautiful, and, well, yeah.

See it!!!!!

Sunday In The Park With George Review!!

If you want to see a Broadway Musical that is touching, beautiful, humorous, enchanting, tremendous, spectacular, well-acted, innovative, and flat-out remarkable, then why the hell are you going to see Legally Blonde The Musical??

You should be going to see the new revival of the Pulitzer-Prize winning Stephen Sondheim musical, "Sunday In The Park With George," based on the recent London Revival.

This production stars the original two actors from the London production, Daniel Evans as George, and Jenna Russell, as Dot. Both are amazing, and give stand-out performances. They are accompanied by an amazing supporting cast, including Ed Dixon, Alexander Gemignani, and Anne L. Nathan.

Since it is Sondheim, of course the music and lyrics are amazing, including what I think is the most beautiful song ever written, "Sunday."

Please, go see this show. The turnout was amazing actually, the theatre was basically full, which I find to be amazing, and I hoep this trend continues.

And I believe there are special $20 tickets for people between the ages of 18-35. So, that's awesome and such.

If you are able to really appreciate fine art, you will love this show!

Broadway in 2004: Recent Thoughts I Would Like to Share

Broadway Musicals in 2004. As the documentary "Show Business" shows us, it was an amazing year for theatre.

The documentary covers four musicals. I would like to talk about three of them, excluding the Boy George Musical, "Taboo." The other three are...

AVENUE Q
CAROLINE, OR CHANGE
WICKED

These were three very important musicals.

Wicked is the big, overblown, blockbuster musical. Not saying it's bad. Not saying it's good. It's basically a live action Disney movie, which kind of makes sense, since it has a score by Disney regular Stephen Schwartz. It has become the highest-grossing show on Broadway currently, and has unfortunately bred a new generation of little girlie theatre fans.

Avenue Q is the little show that could. Goin up against the "Wicked" Juggernaut, it managed to win Best Score and Best Musical at the Tony's. And it's a great show, with a good heart. And puppets!!! Who doesn't love puppets?

And Caroline, Or Change. For those of you who are not familiar with this show, Caroline, Or Change is the underrated, amazing musical from the minds of Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori. I usually call this a "play set to music," rather than a musical, because it's not really like a "conventional" musical, because nothing really happens. But it's still amazing.

Gotta fly. Later peeps.

NY Giants win the Superbowl!!!

Being a New Yorker myself, I guess it would be illegal to not be happy.

So,

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Superbowl '42; Not Very Interesting

I'm not a football fan. I find the sport to very boring, and not interesting at all.

I usually watch for the commercials, but guess what?

None of them are good!!!!

Aside from two of them, one involving Justin Timberlake and Pepsi, and the other involvign a giant mouse and Dorito's, none of them are good at all!!!!

Come on advertisers!! Don't you WANT to sell products?

Strike Nearly Over?

According to the LA Times, an outline for a new contract for the WGA is being agreed upon by both parties.

Happy News, hopefully.


-New video post coming soon.

Look out for that, interweb!

Persepolis Movie Review

I read the biographical graphic novel that the film "Persepolis" is based on. I found it to be an amazing read, and I was very curious as to what the results would be for the film adaptation.

Let's just say, it was amazing!

This film not only has various points of hilarity, but also many points of gripping drama, and the beautiful hand-drawn animation is a great example of how computer animation is still not the domineering form of animation.

Many people believe that "Ratatouille" has the Best Animated Feature Oscar in the bag, but on Oscar night, I'm hoping that "Persepolis" gets the award instead.

Video Blog...

So, I gots a new blog, but this time, it's in...

VIDEO FORM!!!

Don't worry, I'm still doing written blogs, but just so you know, I'm REALLY lazy, so no more analysis of the Oscars. When the time comes, I'll give you all my predictions.