Are 3D Movies Really Worth $17??

A big sarcastic 'thank you' needs to go out to the 3D movie-going public who have been throwing their money away on every three-dimensional movie Hollywood has tossed at you within the last year. Because of you, the major movie theater chains are jacking up their prices all because you told them with your wallets that you were more than happy to pay $14.00+ to see movies instead of the $10 you could have paid in 2D.

Not only did you screw yourselves by causing them to jack your 3D prices by up to 25%, but you screwed the rest of us too. The regular 2D prices also went up this past weekend due to you wasteful clowns.

See, since so many of you guys don't even flinch when the guy at the counter says "$29, please" for two tickets and a couple of pairs of plastic glasses, the theater chains figured that you really wouldn't mind paying $22 for all those movies that aren't offered in 3D. Gee, thanks.


The ONLY good news that came out of the weekend was that the film that they decided to premier their higher 3D prices with, "How To Train Your Dragon", underwhelmed at the box office and left them all scratching their heads. It also resulted in Dreamworks' stock losing 9% of its value on Monday. So much for that great idea...

Unfortunately, wishing for lower prices to now return is as futile as putting toothpaste back in the tube. Prices in this line of business never go back down. We're stuck with new higher ticket prices, already sky-high concession prices and even some brand spankin' new rules from theater chains like AMC that now officially prohibit any outside food or drink -- all happening at a time when our economy is in the crapper.

It would be nice to think that there is limit where people will simply refuse to pay X-amount of money to see a movie in 3D -- or in any 'D' for that matter. Is there really a point where will people will say that paying $100 to take their family of 4 to the movies is just too much and paying $9 for a Netflix membership and $3 for a box of microwavable popcorn is just a better deal?

I admit that I'll really be rooting against this coming week's 3D offering, "Clash of the Titans". In this instance, they didn't even film the movie with the intent to show it in 3D. The 3D-ness was actually thought up in post-production and was basically added as a simple corporate cash grab. Even so, I have no doubt that plenty of suckers will be paying $15, $16 and $17 each just to see a mediocre movie that wasn't even filmed with them in mind.

The APRIL'10 soundtrack! Θα'ναι σα να μπαίνει η Άνοιξη

Άντε άντε να τελειώσει το Πάσχα (που απορώ γιατί δεν έχει καταργηθεί ακόμα) για να είναι όλα back to normal!
Η άνοιξη έχει μπει κανονικά και μας μεθάει με τις απίστευτες, μαγικές μυρωδιές της, τα χρώματα, τα λουλούδια, τα ζωάκια που έχουν συνέχεια καυλίτσες (:-p). Και please μην πατάτε τις κάμπιες, μπορεί να είναι τριχωτές και ίου αλλά μην τις εμποδίσετε να γίνουν πεταλούδες.
Καλό μας μήνα με χαρά και πολύ πολύ μουσική! Όπως βλέπετε και πιο κάτω υπάρχει οργασμός νέων κομματιών και κυκλοφοριών! Enjoy!

SONGS OF THE MONTH

# 3OH!3 feat. NEON HITCH Follow me down

# ADAM LAMBERT Voodoo

# AIRSCAPE L’esperanza

# ALLISON Tik tok (acoustic version)

# ALPHABEAT 365 degrees

# AMY MACDONALD Spark

# ANGUS & JULIA STONE Walk it off

# BANANARAMA Love don’t live here <---POP SONG OF THE MONTH

# BENJY DAVIS PROJECT Stay with me

# BOYZONE Gave it all away

# CANDIE PAYNE & ST.VINCENT Every drop of rain

# CHARLAINE Love reality

# CYNDI LAUPER & TORI AMOS Why don’t you love me?

# DIANE BIRCH Fools

# DIORAMA Ignite

# ELLIE GOULDING Under the sheets

# EVANESCENCE Together again <---BALLAD SONG OF THE MONTH

# FRUIT BATS When you love somebody

# GOLDFRAPP Dreaming

# INNA No limit (Love clubbing by Play & Win)

# JANUARY I’d rather

# JASON DERULO Whatcha say (WAWA radio edit)

# JENNIFER RUSH Betcha never <---LATIN SONG OF THE MONTH

# JES Same mistake

# JONSI Tornado

# LADY GAGA feat. BEYONCE Telephone <---BEST SONG OF THE MONTH

# LIFEHOUSE Falling in

# LOVERUSH UK feat. CARLA WERNER Give me your love (Matt Lange club mix)

# MARINA & THE DIAMONDS Shampain <---ALTERNATIVE SONG OF THE MONTH

# METRO STATION Where’s my angel?

# MIKA Kick-ass

# NICKI MINAJ feat. LIL WAYNE I get crazy

# PAPER AEROPLANES Lifelight <---ACOUSTIC SONG OF THE MONTH

# RECKLESS The end

# ROBYN Fembots

# ROUS Κόκκινο φως

# SCHILLER mit KIM SANDERS Under my skin <---CHILL SONG OF THE MONTH

# SCORPIONS Sting in the tail <---ROCK SONG OF THE MONTH

# SIA Clap your hands

# SIMON CURTIS Delusional <---DANCE SONG OF THE MONTH

# SNOOP DOGG feat. THE HUSTLE BOYZ Check yo self <---R'N'B SONG OF THE MONTH

# SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR Bittersweet (Freemasons mix) <---CLUB SONG OF THE MONTH

# SOPHIE ZELMANI I’m the rain

# SUGABABES Wait for you

# TANTO PROJECT Fly away

# THE DITCH Hypnotized

# TOKIO HOTEL and KERLI Strange

# TORI AMOS You’ll be taken care of

# VITA CHAMBERS Young money

# YOAV Safety in numbers <---ELECTRONIC SONG OF THE MONTH

# ΑΛΚΗΣΤΙΣ ΠΡΩΤΟΨΑΛΤΗ Δυνατά σιωπηλά

# ΓΙΩΡΓΟΣ ΑΛΚΑΙΟΣ & FRIENDS Opa

# ΓΙΩΡΓΟΣ ΚΑΡΑΔΗΜΟΣ Πολεμάω

# ΕΛΕΝΑ ΠΑΠΑΡΙΖΟΥ Γύρνα με στο χτες

# ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΙΑ ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΙΟΥ Kέντρο του κόσμου

# ΜΑΡΩ ΛΥΤΡΑ Elevator love (English version)

# ΜΕΛΙΣΣΕΣ Κινέζος

# ΝΑΤΑΣΣΑ ΜΠΟΦΙΛΙΟΥ Το μέτρημα <---GREEK SONG OF THE MONTH

# TAMTA Ό,τι είχα ονειρευτεί

# ΧΡΗΣΤΟΣ ΔΑΝΤΗΣ Όμορφος κόσμος

# ΧΡΗΣΤΟΣ ΧΑΤΖΗΝΑΣΙΟΣ Illusion

BEST ALBUMS OF THE MONTH

# Simon Curtis 8BIT HEART (pop) (9)

# Yoav A FOOLPROOF ESCAPE PLAN (electronic/acoustic) (8.5)

# Άλκηστις Πρωτοψάλτη ΦΑΝΕΡΑ ΜΥΣΤΙΚΑ (έντεχνο) (8.5)

# Tamta ΘΑΡΡΟΣ Ή ΑΛΗΘΕΙΑ (greek pop) (8)

# Νατάσσα Μποφίλιου ΕΙΣΙΤΗΡΙΑ ΔΙΠΛΑ (έντεχνο) (8)

# Paper Aeroplanes THE DAY WE RAN INTO THE SEA (indie pop/rock) (8) *ΑΝΑΚΑΛΥΨΤΕ ΤΟΥΣ!*

# Scorpions STING IN THE TAIL (rock) (8)

# Μέλισσες ΜΥΣΤΙΚΟ (pop/rock) (8)

# Tanto Project PERFECT COLORS (dance) (7.5)

# Diorama CUBED (synthpop) (7)

# Rous ROUS (greek rock) (7)

# Charmaine LOVE REALITY (pop) (7)

# Jonsi GO (indie pop/post-rock) (7)

# Jennifer Rush NOW IS THE HOUR (pop) (7)

# Angus & Julia Stone DOWN THE WAY (indie/acoustic) (7)

# Visage THE FACE: THE VERY BEST OF (synthpop/electronic) (7)

# Soundtrack YOUTH IN REVOLT (acoustic/indie) (7)

THE REST

# Boyzone BROTHER (pop) (6.5)

# Έλενα Παπαρίζου ΓΥΡΩ ΑΠΟ Τ’ΟΝΕΙΡΟ (greek pop) (6)

# Soundtrack ALMOST ALICE (various) (6)

# Goldfrapp HEAD FIRST (synthpop/electronica) (6)

# David Byrne & Fatboy Slim HERE LIES LOVE (alternative) (6)

# Schiller ATEMLOS (new age/ambient) (6)

# Madonna STICKY & SWEET TOUR (pop) (6)

# Diane Birch BIBLE BELT (soul/blues) (6)

# Amy MacDonald A CURIOUS THING (rock) (6)

# Μαρία Ιακώβου ΓΙΑ ΣΕΝΑ ΑΝΑΣΑΙΝΩ (λαικό/pop) (6)

# MGMT CONGRATULATIONS (psychedelic rock) (6)

# Laura Marling I SPEAK BECAUSE I CAN (folk/acoustic) (6)

# Kimberly Caldwell WITHOUT REGRET (pop/rock) (6)

# Lady GaGa THE REMIX (pop/dance) (6)

# Joyo Velarde LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING (soul) (6)

CRAP

# Jes HIGH GLOW (electronic/dance) (5)

# Monica STILL STANDING (r’n’b/soul) (5)

# Craig David SIGNED SEALED DELIVERED (soul/pop) (4)

# Rufus Wainwright ALL DAYS ARE NIGHTS: SONGS FOR LULU (acoustic) (4)

# Sharleen Spiteri THE MOVIE SONGBOOK (pop/acoustic) (4)

# Chew Lips UNICORN (electro) (4)

# Χρήστος Δάντης ΣΚΟΤΩΝΩ (greek pop/rock) (4)

# Aura Dione COLUMBINE (alternative pop) (4)

# Gabriella Cilmi TEN (pop) (3)

# Alizee UNE ENFANT DU SIECLE (pop) (2)

# Salina SALINA (greek pop/rock) (2)

HOT

RICKY MARTIN: Ένα μεγάλο μπράβο στον Ricky που δήλωσε ότι είναι gay! Πολλοί δεν έχουν τα αρχίδια να το κάνουν, και το παίζουν str8! You go boy! Διαβάστε τις δηλώσεις του εδώ!

LADY GAGA: Ό,τι και να λένε, όσα και να κάνει, η γυναίκα είναι ό,τι καλύτερο έχει δείξει η ποπ μουσική τα τελευταία χρόνια, για να μην πω δεκαετίες. Από την Madonna και την Kylie είχε να βγει τέτοιο pop icon. Το τελευταίο της video “Telephone” είναι απλά θεικό! Κάτι σαν “Kill Bill” meets “Austin Powers”. Ήδη έχει κάνει ρεκόρ στο youtube στο επίσημο κανάλι της με πάνω από 23 εκατομμύρια views!

ΓΙΩΡΓΟΣ ΚΑΡΑΔΗΜΟΣ: Έκανε την καλύτερη εμφάνιση στην βραδιά επιλογής του τραγουδιού μας! Φοβερή φωνή, ζεστή και αβίαστη, γλυκειά παρουσία, ερμηνεία, και το καλύτερο τραγούδι αντικειμενικά! Μακάρι να βγάλει κι ένα νέο album αντάξιο της φωνής και της παρουσίας του.

ΑΛΚΗΣΤΙΣ ΠΡΩΤΟΨΑΛΤΗ: Μετά την ελεεινή διασκευή στο “They don’t care about us” του Michael Jackson, έρχεται η «εκτέλεση» του classic “Malo” της Bebe, με τίτλο «Μ’άλλον μοιάζεις». Τουλάχιστον έβγαλε ένα εξαιρετικό νέο album και μας θύμισε την παλιά καλή Άλκηστις, οπότε συγχωρείται!

GOSSIP: Επιτέλους οι Gossip έκαναν single και video για το αγαπημένο μου “Pop goes the world”!

SIMON CURTIS: Έβγαλε ένα από τα καλύτερα pop albums της χρονιάς! Και μάλιστα μόνος του, στο internet! Κατεβάστε δωρεάν από το site του το cd εδώ και θα με θυμηθείτε!

COLD

ΔΕΣΠΟΙΝΑ ΒΑΝΔΗ: Το καινούριο της φεμινιστικό ψευτομανιφέστο «Κορίτσι πράμα» απλά δεν ακούγεται! Απαράδεκτο τραγούδι! Ελπίζω στο νέο album να’χει κανένα καλό αλλιώς θα πάρει την πιο κάτω βόλτα από αυτή που έχει πάρει τώρα.

ΕΛΕΝΑ ΠΑΠΑΡΙΖΟΥ: Γιατί έχει χαλάσει τόσο η φωνή της κι έχει χάσει τη μελωδικότητα της? Γιατί αντί να ωριμάζει, παρακμάζει? Κρίμα! Πάντως το νέο της album δεν είναι κακό, χωρίς όμως να είναι και κάτι το ιδιαίτερο! Κι έλεος πια με αυτόν τον χαλκά στη μύτη!

EMIGRE: Είναι δυνατόν να προωθούν τόσο πολύ στα ραδιόφωνα αυτό το γκρουπ? Η τραγουδίστρια άφωνη, αγγούρι, ατάλαντη και φτηνή απομίμηση των C:Real. Το πόσο άθλιοι είναι φάνηκε στο live της βραδιάς επιλογής του τραγουδιού μας για Eurovision, που έκαναν by far την χειρότερη εμφάνιση!

ΧΡΗΣΤΟΣ ΧΑΤΖΗΝΑΣΙΟΣ: Ο Χρήστος Χατζηνάσιος είναι η ζωντανή απόδειξη ότι μια καλή εξωτερική εμφάνιση δεν αρκεί αν δεν έχεις καλή φωνή! Κρίμα που το είπε τόσο χάλια το “Illusion” γιατί είναι πολύ όμορφο κομμάτι.

DIONNE WARWICK: Ακυρώθηκε η «αρπαχτή» της Dionne Warwick στο Μέγαρο, γιατί λέει η κατάσταση που επικρατεί στη χώρα μας θα έθετε σε κίνδυνο τη ζωή της! Έλεος! Και σιγά πια την μεγάλη τραγουδίστρια! Λέτε γι’αυτό να μην έρχεται η Lady GaGa και να μας έρθει όταν πλέον θα’ναι Lady GiάGia?

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Martorial elegance # 40

Yes :



No :



You don't need to take a Scott Hall survey to able to deduce that 9 out of 10 breezies who attempt the Anna Wintour bob end up with a 'do which is more reminscent of post-Jaws Richard Kiel, but if we're feelin' in the mood for a Polish sex slave-turned San Francisco artfag chick with the hair of Randy Quaid in Kingpin then that chickenhead from the What Are You Wearing Today? thread on SuperFuture.com never fails to give us one of Larry's Pant-Tents after turning our todgers into Peter Crouch :









Her male WAYWT? accomplice really needs to wind his neck in, though. If he's not goin' ham posing with his gob agape around various industrial locations in his lounge-around-the-house-eating-Dorritos vest and standard Goth-Ninja attire, then he's espousing cringeworthy cerebral cortex-belches masquerading as profound philosphical musings on his blog :

March 19th, 2010

when i think back on my life as a thing, mostly it comes in a series of fragments, different people, different times, different places. it is as if through variety i have been several different people.

when i take a breath and let my thought slow down, i see the constant that runs through the different experiences, everything feels more connected, one long ribbon.

it is when my mind is quiet that i am reminded of childhood when i was only known by my nickname.

Man, it's been over 10 years since Tony asked Melfi Whatever Happened To Gary Cooper? in the first episode of The Sopranos, but the question seems more poignant than ever.

Zombie Holocaust (1980)

It's no shock that b-movies and zombies go together like peanut butter and jelly, death and taxes, Ray Dennis Steckler and Cash Flagg (you'll probably have to look that last one up to get it).

In fact, if you Google the words "zombie" and "movies", you'll end up getting 10 and a half million results, many of which are lists of same and some disturbing FX pics - so don't Google this after you've eaten.

The fact of the matter is, you can't love b-movies (like I do) without having seen at least two or three zombie flicks. Or even OWNING a couple.

Which brings me to the late Seventies. Why? Because it was then that George A. Romero, the grand-daddy of the zombie film (what with Night of the Living Dead and all), came out with his even-more classic sequel Dawn of the Dead - which was not only a decent example of the undead attacking the living, but also a nice little allegory about modern society and consumerism, with a little bit of political commentary thrown in for good measure. Oh, that George....

And with the hype and word-of-mouth, Dawn certainly made the public at large realize that zombies had their place, and it was right there on the silver screen - in bloody color.

With the release of Dawn came even more zombie flicks, a lot of which came from overseas. Italy, in fact, was even more famous for their zombie exports than they were their Westerns; this gave both writers and directors a chance to be artistic and creative on a canvas of the surreal, the horrific and the nightmarish.

You have you Lucio Fulcis, your Joe D'Amatos, your Bruno Matteis (oh brother), your Marino Girolamis, your....

What's that? Who's Marino Girolami? Why, he's the man who came up with the little gem lumbering slowly up to us now - Zombie Holocaust (or Zombi Holocaust, depending on which title guy you get for your copy). This is a special bird, this film, and not without its own quirks and abnormalities.

Side story: many many years ago, when my family had one of those big satellite dishes the size of a silo roof, we got thousands of channels that we (meaning: I) watched endlessly - this was back in the days before everything was scrambled. One of them was some station in the Caribbean, which showed just about everything under the sun, some things which even I had never heard of before.

One of them was this movie, with a disclaimer before warning the viewer of the "dusgusting nature" of said film. I love small-time Caribbean satellite stations.

Anyway, this was my first exposure to Zombie Holocaust. And from the moment I saw someone dive from a window and their arm fly off as they hit the ground (not unlike a mannequin, oddly enough), I knew this was one I had to seek out.

Ever hear of the Video Nasty List? This is a famous (or infamous) list of movies deemed as unacceptable by the United Kingdom and therefore banned from viewing and/or purchasing overseas. Or, if they ever were seen, they were edited pretty darned well. Of course after several years most of these movies were released, uncut, and life went on.

Well, Zombie Holocaust never got on this list...but as you will see, it wasn't for a lack of trying.

The story has a rash of cannibalistic dismemberments and disembowelings occurring in a New York City hospital and one of the medical assistants Lori (Alexandra Delli Colli) is sent on an expedition to an island in the East Indies to find a doctor (Donald O'Brien) who may hold the secret to the mysterious god Kito worshipped by the cannibals responsible. Little does Lori know that she and her entire expedition are in greater danger still....

I'll admit that I'm a sucker for movies like these. None of it makes a lick of sense, there's nudity, stage blood, fake entrails and bloody effects to spare, not to mention dire warnings, foreboding jungles, well-placed outboard motors, chanting cannibals and even a few zombies here and there. Gotta love a movie with chanting cannibals in it.

Which reminds me: for this movie being titled Zombie Holocaust and all, there are only three or four zombies in it. Maybe five. This is the same thing as in The Beyond, where the zombies were put in as an afterthought, because this is really a movie about cannibals, cults, medical procedures and all the gore you can possibly shove into one movie. But of course, this being from the same time period and probably wanting to enjoy maximum playability in Germany - which, as you may remember from my review for The Beyond, was going through a frenzied want of zombie movies - added them effortlessly into the film so as to guarantee fandom in Deutschland.

Acting ability is not the point - it never is in movies like this one. Giving the audience what they want is the whole point in these "blood-and-guts" movies, let's call them. This is the kind of film that the kids both back then and nowadays watch in groups, seeing who will be the first to barf...how long can they watch what's happening onscreen? Can you guess what gross thing will happen next?

Gotta hand it to director Girolami; he stands by the old tried-and-true horror movie conceits that his contemporaries did, by filming every scene in a stark, realistic manner and making sure every scene is lit well enough that the uninitiated would think they were seeing a snuff film...even if the blood is brighter and more colorful than real human blood would be. Thanks for that, Technicolor.

I have to give props to the special effects team for Zombie Holocaust: Gianetto Di Rossi, Rosario Prestopino and Maurizio Trani, all of whom do their level best to make it really look like actual human bodies are being chopped up, operated on, ripped apart, gouged and feasted upon. Small wonder that for most, they would only be able to enjoy such a sight through their own fingers or from behind a pillow.

Of course, for the true, dyed-in-the-wool gore hound, this is literally a feast for the eyes, and such stories exist truly for them. Italian film-makers know this and that is why they concoct stories which can only serve to be a clothesline from which to hang assorted body parts. This particular one (written by director Girolami and Fabrizio De Angelis), does this quite well, and its many and varied details I will leave for the viewer to discover. After all, if you've read this far along wanting to find out more about the movie, then you're probably also going to want to find a copy of Zombie Holocaust for your own. Why spoil any of the details for you?

And as far as the seasoned pros who already have seen, own and know every detail about this movie, Zombie Holocaust is a prime jewel in their collection, sitting on the shelf proudly with Night of the Living Dead, Lucio Fulci's Zombie and Peter Jackson's Dead Alive...and with company like that you'd expect a wild experience. And you'd be right.

Maybe even a dusgusting one.

One final thing - this was initially released in the States under the moniker Dr. Bucther, M.D. (Medical Deviate), with a poster that held no bearing on the movie itself, indeed no one on the poster even looked like anyone in the movie. The beginning of the Dr. Butcher version even had a zombie rising up out of a grave and stumbling around: a zombie clipped from an altogether different film (Tales To Rip Your Heart Out) that doesn't even look the same as any of the other five zombies in this film.

What does that have to with my review? Nothing - but as long as nothing else about Zombie Holocaust is going to make sense, why should the last lines of this review? Just keeping it all consistent for you.

No problem, glad to.

At Long Last Love (1975)

All right, kids; it's time to say a fond "hello" to your friend and mine: the OOP movie.

OOP, as any regular reader will tell you, stands for Out Of Print, as in out-of-print movie, which means any film that has yet to have a studio release on VHS or DVD, or sometimes both. And many times, it's for good reason.

You see, there are different determinants for every OOP movie: sometimes it's a matter of securing rights with studios and/or producers, other times an actor or director will be deceased and their estates won't release those particular films, other times still it's simply a matter of the movie being so bad, so embarrassing and so without merit that no one connected with said project ever wants it to see the light of day.

Which brings me to Peter Bogdanovich.

In the early Seventies, Peter was riding a wave of critical and audience acclaim. He started the decade on the success of The Last Picture Show and wrote and/or directed such well-received offerings as Paper Moon and What's Up, Doc?, both of which were beloved by critics, raked in money and earned Bogdanovich a reputation for taking old styles of film-making and turning them into crowd-pleasing money earners that gave their studio (20th Century Fox in this case) reason to believe in their director and his creative genius.

Just like United Artists did with Michael Cimino. remember?

Anyway, Bogdanovich continued to play his "paying-homage-to-classic-Hollywood" card when he directed/wrote and produced what was to be his first (and to date his ONLY) movie musical.

Nothing wrong with that; musicals were nothing unusual at that time. Thing was, movie musicals already had their day around the same time The Sound of Music had its time in the sun - and yes, that was in the mid-to-late Sixties. Since then, such bad examples trying to ride on TSOM's coat tails came about as Finian's Rainbow, Camelot, Star!, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Man of La Mancha, Song of Norway, Mame and Lisztomania.

It's not Bogdnovich's fault that At Long Last Love came out in the middle of this big plop of opportunism; but it didn't help matters that rather than being an exception, this movie was part of the problem.

Before I get into that, though: the movie takes place in the 1930s with millionaire Michael Oliver Pritchard III (Burt Reynolds) meeting and falling in love with singer Kitty O'Kelly (Madeline Kahn). At the same time, stubborn socialite Brooke Carter (Cybill Shepherd) meets Italian gambler Johnny Spanish (Duilio Del Prete) and they also fall in love. Both couples then meet and become fast friends. Eventually, Brooke's sassy maid Elizabeth (Eileen Brennan) falls in love with Michael's valet Rodney James (John Hillerman). After all this is set up, then things take a decidedly soap opera-ish turn as Michael and Brooke fall in love, Kitty and Johnny fall in love, everyone fights, everyone makes up, there is romantic tension all over the place...

And did I mention the Cole Porter songs?

Yes, this story is just a framework on which to hang 16 Cole Porter songs for the four main stars to sing and dance to. You heard me. Singing and dancing. Two things that no one in their right mind would equate with Cybill Shepherd OR Burt Reynolds OR Madeline Kahn OR Duilio Del Prete...

Okay, I had to stop a minute and look this guy up for the benefit of myself and anyone else who would ask, WHO IN THE HELL IS DUILIO DEL PRETE??? Well, aside from being a successful actor in his native Italy, he had parts in two other non-Italian movies besides this one: one was - surprise - Peter Bogdanovich's adaptation of Daisy Miller (starring Cybill Shepherd again) and Joseph Losey's The Assassination of Trotsky. This triptych accounts for Del Prete never stepping foot out of Italy again for the rest of his career. And to his credit, he didn't try singing again either.

Back to At Long Last Love: speaking of the 1930s, Bogdanovich tried something else in this movie that had not been attempted since the days of musical film-making from the 1930s...he filmed all of the singing scenes live. Live, as in recorded without any post-production dubbing or lip-syncing or masking of the fact that not a one of these people have any singing talent whatsoever.

That was only ONE bad idea, though, especially seeing that there are also dancing scenes wherein no choreographer was in evidence. But when you combine the two ideas, you get this:

Cybill gets tangled up in curtains as she sings "I Get a Kick Out of You", Burt stumbles around the edge of a moving limousine while singing "Poor Young Millionaire", Madeline Kahn wiggles around on a stage full of guys in caveman makeup as she sings "Find Me a Primitive Man" and Duilio simply walks around, wrapping his thick Italian accent around songs like "Tomorrow" and "From Alpha To Omega". Then there are more cluttered, clumsy scenes with the stars struggling their way around other Cole Porter classics as "You're the Top", "Well Did Ya Evah?", "Let's Misbehave", "Friendship" and "It's De-Lovely".

You may notice that one of these songs is NOT a Cole Porter song, even though this is supposed to be a Cole Porter-influenced movie. Seems that Bogdanovich, auteur that he was, couldn't resist creating a new song just for the movie itself, with the help of music supervisor for the film Artie Butler. Which one? Oh no; if you're a Cole Porter fan, you already know. I've said too much about the music already....

So this was a bad movie idea. And a bad musical idea. And even worse still that Bogdanovich populated the cast with comic talent and not singing-and-dancing talent. Oh, there are plenty of funny moments in this movie; Bogdanovich was always good at being funny, no question. And there are a lot of small moments throughout this film that are very good as far as laughs go. And Burt and Madeline have proven themselves as past masters at making audiences laugh.

Cybill...well, to tell the truth, she got her start in movies by being the paramour (that's girlfriend, for anyone who's familiar with William F. Buckley-speak) of Bogdanovich, and he at least cast her in some good films...for the most part. Here, she just seems to be distracted and annoyed most of time, like she can't wait to get off-screen.

And did you know she recorded an album full of Cole Porter songs prior to this movie's attack...I mean, release? What; you didn't know she had an album because you didn't know she could sing? Well, she did...though she couldn't...and she can't. In album form OR movie form.

In fact, the best performances belong to Hillerman and Brennan, as the respective personal aides of the piece - they certainly provide the most dependable humor in At Long Last Love and even do moderately well in terms of singing. Their contributions to "Friendship" and "But In The Morning, No" are palpable to their extended talent. Not to mention the fact that the screen brightens immeasurably when they share time together on it.

Oh yeah; Mildred Natwick's in this thing, too. Yeah, Mildred Natwick. Why, you may ask? For all I can gather...she was available.

The look of At Long Last Love is impeccable; and why not - seeing as how the cinematographer was none other than the legendary Laszlo Kovacs, a man who had worked with Bogdanovich in the past and had an enviable career despite having provided a sleek, professional sheen to films like The Last Movie and the Sylvester Stallone ego trip Paradise Alley (another review for another time...).

As far as everything else goes, however.... This film did so badly that it barely earned back less than a third of its $6 million budget, garnered scathing reviews by every living reviewer in 1975 and prompted Bogdanovich to release a nation-wide newspaper apology to reviewers, movie-goers and the world in general. I mean, when Ethel Merman bad-mouths your film, maybe you should have gone back and paid the extra money for real singers.

In the end, almost everybody got out of At Long Last Love alive; Burt had a successful career, Cybill left Bogdanovich and went on to triumphs big and small, Madeline spent most of her career associated with Mel Brooks and fared far better for it, Duilio stayed in Italy and enjoyed a prosperous career, Hillerman and Brennan enjoyed extended careers in small roles in movies and television.... In fact, the only one who really suffered the most for At Long Last Love was Peter Bogdanovich himself.

Never again would he have a financially-successful movie, nor a movie as heavily-promoted as this one - most of his work lately has been regulated to TV movies and an episode of "The Sopranos". Even a sequel to The Last Picture Show (Texasville) came and went with only moderate fanfare and is now largely forgotten, a far cry from his heyday when a Peter Bogdanovich film was a major event in Hollywood.

See what one bad film can do to you?

As far as my opinion on the film; At Long Last Love was cute, the badly-sung songs had a kind of charm like a bunch of rich socialites getting drunk on karaoke night and doing foolish things they won't remember the next morning.

The whole movie ends up like a really expensive goof on Thirties musicals put on by people who THOUGHT they could sing and dance but really can't - a lot like watching the first round of eliminations on "Dancing With The Stars", only the stars didn't have a chance to train first.

That probably wasn't the kind of reaction Bogdanovich and company were looking for but hey, Pete - take what you can get, man.

Cybill sure did.

dw dw dw

peter philip's, the genius behind chanel (their global creative director) has brought out another perfect collection: paris-shanghai. matte black and shimmering gold -- I love it.

here's what "the cut"(one of my favorite sites) has to say:

Illusion D’or is a clear polish with subtle gold sparkles (looks mores intense in the bottle), while Gold Lamé has a sexy coppery feel. Unlike its sister Black Satin, Black Velvet is the polar opposite, in an inky matte black. Simply put, Ligne et Ombre de Chanel (matte black eyeliner and sparkly gold shadow) is absolutely stunning.

dw dw dw

peter philip's, the genius behind chanel (their global creative director) has brought out another perfect collection: paris-shanghai. matte black and shimmering gold -- I love it.

here's what "the cut"(one of my favorite sites) has to say:

Illusion D’or is a clear polish with subtle gold sparkles (looks mores intense in the bottle), while Gold Lamé has a sexy coppery feel. Unlike its sister Black Satin, Black Velvet is the polar opposite, in an inky matte black. Simply put, Ligne et Ombre de Chanel (matte black eyeliner and sparkly gold shadow) is absolutely stunning.

Rakin' In The 'Lo with Zhigge

The U.K really is an ass-backwards place to call home. The highest teen pregnancy rates in Europe? Presenting Blade to the world as an example of how we could do that rap music stuff too? High court judges and F.A officials who let cunts like Steven Gerrard get away with physically assault scot free? All seem like minor examples of the machinations of our retrograde little country when we compare them to having to wait until this past monday for season 2 of Twin Peaks and the Definitive Gold Box Edition of both seasons to receive a dvd release here.

But 3 nights spent in the company of Dale, Lucy, BOB, and the Log Lady require a Zack Morris time-out this evening to reminisce on some early 90s Random-Rap courteousy of the Harlem 5-piece Zhigge, who included Salaam Remi (AKA him who hooked up Nas with a bunch of played-out but undeniable samples for 4 of the 9 great songs he made from 2000 - 2009) amongst their ranks as their Dre or RZA type superproducer figure. Think of this post as a triple-header of staples here at The Martorialist; a textual Chimera with a Reasons I Love Youtube edition where I salivate over finding a video I never knew existed for one of my favourite early 90s singles as the first head of the beast, a Martorial Elegance post where we gaze lovingly at the gear the rappers are wearing in that video and their other main video as the beast's second head, and an installment of Great Songs From Forgotten Rap Albums with a song from their album which was dedicated to their sartorial shopping habits as the third and final head of our beast all rolled into one.

Zhigge - Rakin' In The Dough (Headboppers mix)



This is one of those songs which sounds like it was written especially with a video in mind as every verse is a mini-narrative for each member to provide evidence that, yup, they're definately Rakin' In The Dough as they go about their business dipped in the finest Ralph Lauren Polo of the day. The contrast between this mix and the album version are subtle, but the additions of the DO THE UPTOWN BOUNCE refrain and the horns sure do make one helluva difference with this superior remix, and that "don't let the doorknob hitcha where the good lord splitcha in your rear, dear : get outta here" was pretty damn fresh. Why the Ego Trip crew didn't include this or Zhigge's other single in their 1992 singles list in the Rap Lists book instead of the odious Jump Around (which they ranked higher than Know The Ledge, Hand On The Pump, Ill Street Blues, Head Banger, Just Like Compton and Who Got The Props FFS) and cack like Age Ain't Nothin' But A # by Chi-Ali, and Back To The Hotel by N2Deep I don't know. Let's surmise that they were making the same kind of critical decisions which saw Y.N go from putting together an n.W.o dreamteam of blog posters on the old XXL site (plz forgive me Miss Elizabeth for tainting your memory by assigning Tara Henley your role in another lazy n.W.o analogy) and doing a rather fine job of blogging himself, to chronicling inane gossip about Rick Ross and posting the latest videos by Slaughterhouse and Kid Cudi on RapRadar the day they put together that best singles of 1992 list.

Zhigge - Toss It Up



Can you believe that there are numbskulls out there who genuinely prefer Zhigge's other single here to Rakin' In The Dough C'mon now. Heck, let's not even ponder such puzzling taste and just sit back and appreciate Zhigge's get-ups in both videos and suck our teeth at the height they're wearing their jeans around their stomachs on some ol' Margaret Sheridan in The Thing From Another World type shit.

Zhigge - Some Ol' 'Low Life Skit



I can't deny that Thirstin Howl III has had a few joints here and there over the years, but, realistically, he's a better interview and vintage photo displaying classic Polo pieces than he is a rapper, so it's no suprise that Zhigge's official ode to 'Lo and the Lo Life lifestyle remains rap's defintion track on the subject. Special Ed was the first rapper I know of who sported Polo, but how come no Brooklyn rappers were penning tributes to Ralph and the art of shoplifting? Kind've ironic that a Harlem group boosted the concept and beat every Brooklyn rapper to the punch, really.

* BONUS BEATS *

Zhigge - Drop The Beat, Salaam!



Even Eric B. & Rakim had deserted the token dedication to the producer/dj album track by 1992 with Don't Sweat The Technique being their first LP to not feature an Eric B _____ (is probably on the john droppin' logs as someone else does all the studio work) track so it was left to Zhigge (and EPMD) to uphold the tradition. It's impossible to hear this and not wanna do the Ed Lover dance, but it's a pity they didn't throw in a few choice vocal samples, scratches and chants on this one or they could've found themselves with a 90s club classic of the Party Groove or Let Me Clear My Throat calibre.

Buddah Nation - Buddah Nation



Another example of rap songs about weed being better than smoking weed and all the grubbiness it entails by a pot-themed, Uptown-based supergroup of You Won't Be Around Next Year rappers including Downlow, Zhigge, and Figures Of Speech, plus the slightly more successful, pre-DITC Ghetto Dwellas. The B. side of Downlow's forgettable Hands On Ya Pumpz 12", this gem more than makes up up the lackluster A. side. Stretch & Bobbito apparently agreed as they all but ignored Hands On Ya Pumpz and rinsed Buddah Nation on their radio show in '92.

Weirdly, this one was hooked by UK citizen and former Wild Bunch/Major Force producer Milo Johnson, who also co-produced a couple of songs on the Zhigge album. There's some weird UK-to-NY connection between Milo and Salaam Remi (after running out of Incredible Bongo Band samples for Nas to rap over he went on to produce for Ms. Dynomite and Amy Winehouse) which I can't figure out. Who knew an obscure little group like Zhigge would be the crucial link in a game of 6 Degrees Of Seperation between Hiroshi Fujiwara and Blake Fielder-Civil, though, eh?