Category: film rants

A special-edition DVD of Office Space is scheduled to release on Nov. 1, 2005—just in time for my birthday, although that is not a hint for a suggested gift. (The Astaire-Rogers boxed set, on the other hand …) The DVD will include an audio commentary from Mike Judge as well as some deleted scenes. The big question is whether the DVD will include the old animated “Milton” shorts that Mike Judge created before he developed the movie, but I can’t find any info on that yet.
Austinites seem to get a particular kick out of this movie because we find ourselves shouting, “Hey, that’s the apartment where my friend Chris lived!” or “Hey, that’s Metric Blvd!” or “Isn’t that the Alligator Grill?” I think a friend of mine once worked in the building where they shot the office exteriors (Greg, correct me if I am wrong). But what’s really funny is that the road the guys are driving into work in the beginning of the movie is actually in Dallas, not Austin. Helluva commute.
I’ve always felt that Office Space was half a good movie. Unfortunately the plot gets too tangled, loose ends are never tied up (when does he stop being hypnotized? if ever?), and some of it is just lame. Still, my boyfriend bought the DVD a few months ago when it hit rock-bottom prices and it’s an enjoyable late-night fluffy movie.
I get a kick out of the way some guys at the office actually do stuff out of the movie and think they are being ironic. For example, you would not believe the number of guys—and it is in fact the guys … this is not a female thing at all—who wear Hawaiian shirts to the office on Fridays. We considered chipping in to get our boss a red stapler (the story behind the red Swinglines is fascinating, by the way) but we decided it was a bit mean.
And we really do have TPS reports. The manager who devised them had never seen Office Space and didn’t understand why everyone hooted and howled in the meeting where the new reports were unveiled. However, our TPS reports do not require a cover sheet. Thank heaven for small favors.
[DVD news via The Digital Bits.]

We don’t have cable TV. It’s expensive, especially when you add in the TiVo or the DVR or whatever you crazy kids are using these days to catch the shows later when you’re not home for them. We’re also a little bit afraid that if we get cable, we’ll end up vegging in front of the TV all day long, wearing out the buttons of the remote.
Usually when something really good is showing on cable that I can’t live without, I send out a general begging email to a bunch of friends and someone records it for me. I try not to abuse this goodwill.
It’s going to be difficult this month, though, because Turner Classic Movies is showing a lot of movies that aren’t available on DVD (at least not in the US/Region 1, anyway) as part of their Summer Under the Stars lineup. I wouldn’t have known, because of the no-cable thing, but I found the info on Out of Focus.
I couldn’t look up every single movie to see its availability on DVD, but I did look up a bunch that I thought were interesting. The following list may be heavy on Katharine Hepburn movies and Thirties comedies, but it’s a sample of some good movies you might want to catch on TCM. Or persuade other people to record for you. Check the TCM site for times, etc. I wish I had time to include delightful descriptions of these movies, but that’s what the Web is for.
(Note to friends: the only one I will probably beseech you to record is Theodora Gone Wild. Well, one of the very few, I promise. Well, maybe we should call the cable company.)

Continue reading still not on DVD … but cable’s got ’em

More tidbits:
Holiday (again)—Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is showing one of my all-time favorite movies next week, Holiday. It’s showing at midnight on Friday, August 5, which according to their scheduling means the midnight between Friday and Saturday. But I think that’s EST so for me, it would be 11 pm on Friday. I don’t have cable, and some nice people recorded the movie for me the last time it was on, plus I’m thinking about getting the Region 2 DVD. I’ve got plenty of Holiday.
Seriously, this is a wonderful movie, much better than The Philadelphia Story. My boyfriend would argue that it is better than Bringing Up Baby, but I think that might be going a little far. Besides, the two movies are entirely different in tone—the only thing they really have in common is that they both star Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. I’ve always preferred the Hepburn-Grant pairing to the later Hepburn-Tracy pairing.
For those of you who are wondering if I am going to push this movie at you every single time it airs on TV … yes, I am, until it is released on DVD in the United States. Sony/Columbia owns the DVD rights so I’m not holding my breath.
(The Paramount showed a lovely print of the film last year that had been restored by UCLA. I don’t know if that’s what TCM is showing, and I don’t think that’s the print they used for the UK transfer. So if you get a chance to see the restored print of Holiday in a theater, go.)
By the way, I think Holiday would make an interesting double-feature with Igby Goes Down, which shows a clip from Holiday at the beginning of the movie. You could argue that Igby Goes Down is a remake of Holiday, updated for contemporary situations. Also, it is fun to watch a movie in which Susan Sarandon is as mean as a snake.
Reel Paradise—I saw this movie at SXSW and I am happy to learn that it has found theatrical distribution. If you visit the movie’s Web site, you can find a list of the release dates for theaters in various cities. Mostly it is playing in Landmark Theaters, with staggered release dates from Aug. 17 to Nov. 6. Dobie will start showing the movie in Austin on Sept. 30.
My review of Reel Paradise from SXSW is here. This is a quite enjoyable film, especially if you are a film geek. The Piersons were at the screening I attended and John Pierson noted that he still had the keys to the Meridien 180 theater in his pocket; if anyone wanted to go over there and show movies, he’d gladly hand over the key. I had a fleeting moment of temptation. [Via the Austin American-Statesman]

This isn’t about film, it’s about TV. Yes, I do actually watch non-movie TV once in awhile, although I quit watching Sesame Street when my boyfriend moved in and developed hives from close proximity to the show. (There was an awful lot of Elmo, so I can’t blame him.)
The first season of The Muppet Show will be released on DVD on August 9. I have all the old Time-Life DVDs of Muppet Show episodes, so I’m not sure if it would be overkill to buy this DVD set too. On the other hand, I want to support this kind of DVD release. I’ll have to think about that.
Muppet Central has a very helpful article about the DVD release that lists all the special features. It does sound tempting.
Muppet Wizard of Oz is releasing on DVD on the same day. I have to confess I haven’t seen the movie, although I did tape it when it was broadcast. My Muppet-watching time certainly has decreased in the past few years.
Thanks to this news, “Mah-Na-Mah-Na” will probably be stuck in my head all afternoon.
(One more thing: You know what I wish someone would release on DVD? The segment from an episode of Martha Stewart Living in which Martha makes cookies with Cookie Monster. It is bizarre, bordering on sexually perverse, and as chaotic as a Martha Stewart show could ever get. Apparently Martha and Frank Oz are neighbors. I have a crappy copy on VHS and I would pay good money for a quality copy on DVD.)

I should feel so very guilty. I bought a ticket in advance to see Me and You and Everyone We Know last night, and then I didn’t go. I got stuck in a meeting, it was storming pretty badly, I was exhausted from a personal training session at the gym at lunchtime, I hadn’t eaten, I accidentally had taken some medication that might have made me drowsy, I had a ton of stuff to do because we’re going to San Antonio today. Excuses, excuses.
So I didn’t post a review on the day the movie opened in Austin, which is a little sad, especially because I haven’t posted anything this week. Oh, the guilt.
I don’t feel too guilty, though, because at least the money I spent on the ticket I didn’t use went to a good cause (CinemaTexas), and it turned out I did in fact need the rest. The movie is playing at Arbor Great Hills all week and hopefully I will see it eventually and even write about it.
I probably won’t see any movies this weekend, though, because I’m going to be in San Antonio with my immediate family. My sister expressed an interest in seeing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but I have no idea if any San Antonio theaters are near the area where we’re staying. San Antonio does have an Alamo Drafthouse but it isn’t near the actual Alamo.
Before I go, I wanted to let y’all know—well, at least let the Austinites know—that Alamo Downtown has posted its August schedule on the Web. Looks like a good line-up, including Antonioni’s Blow-Up, Oldboy, Tell Them Who You Are (the documentary about cinematographer Haskell Wexler, made by his son Mark), and even The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, if you’re into early Kurt Russell.
My sister will be terribly jealous because on August 21, Alamo is showing all three Lord of the Rings movies back-to-back (it starts mid-morning) with an all-day Hobbit menu. I wonder if we could sneak her back into town for this. Well, I wish we could, anyway, although she would probably want Orlando Bloom for dessert.
If you are in Austin this weekend you can see Dr. Strangelove or A Hard Day’s Night at the Paramount, Fast Times at Ridgemont High or Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle at Alamo Downtown, and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie for free at Alamo South Lamar.
Also, March of the Penguins is opening at Arbor Great Hills and my boyfriend and I may be weirdly tempted to see that in the next week. And I will see the Miranda July film. And catch up on my movie reviews. And finally write about my theory on the alleged box-office slump (now that it’s allegedly over). And not feel guilty when I fail to do all of the above.

In a previous entry, I reviewed the 1976 Bad News Bears and wondered if the remake also would incorporate Bizet’s Carmen in the soundtrack. (I believe the use of that opera in the original movie is absolute genius.)
I dug around the Web and found this SoundtrackNet article about the remake soundtrack, which was arranged by Ed Shearmur. From the article:
“As with the original 1976 film, in which composer Jerry Fielding adapted Bizet’s Carmen to fit the action on screen, Shearmur as well is arranging the classic opera for this new remake. In addition to that, though, he wrote original music to balance against it, using ethnic instruments such as the ocarina, and recorders.”
I am totally intrigued by this remake. Usually I have nothing good to say about remakes but I might actually want to see this one.
And I am happy to hear about the possibility that another generation of kids might walk around humming Bizet. Hee.