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Stephen Colbert’s Trip to Iraq: "A Country So Nice We Invaded It Twice"

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These past two weeks have included two landmark events in late night television. The first being Conan O’Brien’s debut on the “The Tonight Show” (as well as the short time I can enjoy without Jay Leno on television). The second being “The Colbert Report”‘s four day special taking place in Iraq for our troops fighting overseas. What makes it so special is that it’s the first time a full-length, non-news show has been shot, edited, and broadcast in a combat zone. Stephen Colbert can’t seem to do anything these days without breaking new ground. 

The one real dilemma faced by Colbert for this overseas trip is how to control his character. Would his angry, ignorant, Bill O’Reillyesque character be a little too tasteless for a war zone. Well, as the first episode last night showed, he could still bring along his character and entertain the troops. Instead, Colbert used the more egotistic and childlike side of his character as he declared victory in Iraq and then said he thought the war had ended because the news media wasn’t talking about it much anymore.
The show began with a throwback to old USO shows, as Colbert stood in front of a 50s style mic and did a stand up routine, throwing out some great zingers about Saddam Hussein and North Korea. The show continued with Colbert’s famous “The Word” sequence, but then he decided  to break away from his show’s typical format and showed a digital short. This short involved Stephen going through some basic training for the army, and his spoiled self was certainly no match. It was a hilariously delightful sequence, one that felt like a throwback to Colbert’s days as a correspondent on “The Daily Show.” He’s certainly come a long way since then.
The most talked about part of this episode will most likely be the cameo by President Obama (via satellite). In a very funny and self-deprecating cameo, he ordered General Ordierno to shave Stephen’s head so as to complete his basic training. And yes, he did it. This was just another reminder that just a few laughs can truly go a long way. And in this case, all the way to Baghdad.
Here’s the video of Stephen in basic training:


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Stephen Strong: Army of Me – Basic Training
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Movie Review: The King of Comedy

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“Better to be king for a night than schmuck for a lifetime.”

-Rupert Pupkin
Comedy. That word doesn’t often come to mind when thinking of Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro. But after seeing “The King of Comedy,” the next time you think of De Niro or Scorsese, the word comedy will never quite feel the same again.
“The King of Comedy,” like almost every other Scorsese movie, takes place in New York City. Rupert Pupkin (De Niro) is a loser beyond even the typical standard of a Scorsese movie loser. Pupkin is in his late 20s and still lives with his mother. He might not even have a job, but he certainly has ambition. Pupkin idolizes comedian Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis), who has his own late night talk show.
Pupkin dreams of being just like Langford, to a creepy, obsessive point. He begins to stalk Langford, in hopes that Langford will listen to one tape of his stand up material and feature him on his show. Langford ignores him, and Pupkin won’t take any of it. I don’t want to reveal how exactly Rupert finally gets Jerry to let him on the show, but lets just say, as the movie puts it, he got a little “tied up.” You’ll see.
I might not want to call “The King of Comedy” a comedy. It’s more about comedy than an actual comedy itself. Nevertheless, the movie is filled of many humorous moments. It could best be defined as a dark comedy, a very dark comedy. It’s the kind of dark comedy that might make a film by Todd Solondz or the Coen Brothers movie look more like an Adam Sandler comedy.
The humor sometimes lies in funny dialogue, but it mainly lies in the directing and editing. Scorsese, who usually uses these things to make his movies as dark as possible, has found a way to use them to make his movie as funny as possible. Editor Thelma Schoonmaker does a particularly great job tricking the audience, especially in one scene which involves a seemingly real exchange between Langdon and Pupkin. We cut to reality to find it’s all in Pupkin’s imagination and now he’s reciting everything he’d say in that particular situation. We get a great laugh out of the scene but in it filmmaker has succeeded in tricking the audience and filmmaker now has the audience under his control. By this point, the movie could go anywhere and you wouldn’t be able to predict it.
This movie is a Scorsese movie. Even if it’s a comedy, you’ll see Scorsese from the very first frame. In fact, Pupkin is not to different from most other Scorsese characters. I saw him as a less thuggish Johnny Boy and a slightly more obsessive Travis Bickle. Pupkin remains more like Bickle though, very much an outsider to society who seems to have no problem showing his insecurities yet somehow makes himself out to be a human being who is more important than anybody else on the planet.
As usual, De Niro gives an amazing performance, proving that it is possible for one guy to portray a wife beater, a murderous gangster, and a standup comic all in one career. But De Niro is no ordinary actor, he is one of the great method actors of all time. I don’t know what he did to prepare for this role, but whatever deep character study he did certainly worked. As with every character he has ever played, De Niro truly embodies Pupkin and everything about him. No matter how pathetic he is, you almost feel bad for the guy and don’t want to laugh at him; maybe with him.
Providing another great performance is the legendary Jerry Lewis. Lewis isn’t his normal, crazed comic self. His performance as Langford carries much restraint. It is almost more of a straight man performance, yet that straight man performance somehow manages to be endearingly funny. Lewis’s performance reminded me something of the funny straight man Jason Bateman embodied as Michael Bluth in “Arrested Development.” It’s the kind of character that is funny not because he is trying to make you laugh, but because he has such a feeling of superiority above everyone else that he almost takes himself way too seriously in such ridiculous situations.
In the end, despite being something of a comedy, “The King of Comedy” becomes a dark meditation on modern society on the same level as “Taxi Driver.” Like “Taxi Driver,” it is, in an ironic way, mocking the people society turns into heroes by praising them at the same time. It shows someone’s rise to fame and then asks, “how could someone like this ever become so famous?”
The simple answer is a mocking look at modern day celebrity worship, a tale that still holds up almost 30 years later. The likes of Paris Hilton could learn something from this cautionary tale of both the people who become famous just for the attention and those who obsessively follow celebrities like they are gods when, in reality, they are no more human than you or I.
I once saw Scorsese as something of a God amongst directors, but despite his great talents, he is human too.
Overall, “The King of Comedy” is one giant self-reflexive punch line that wraps around itself in a punchline in its final moments. And the joke’s on you.
Recommended For Fans Of: Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, GoodFellas, Dog Day Afternoon, Mean Streets, Fargo, Reservoir Dogs, Network 

David Carradine: Actor, Kung Fu Legend, Dead at 72

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I first encountered David Carradine when I had my first encounter with a true moviegoing experience: in 2004 after viewing the “Kill Bill” saga. In “Vol. 1,” Carradine appeared as just a voice without a face, yet still remained a dominating force. It was not until “Vol. 2″ that he showed a performance worthy of Brando and Bogart in their finest days.

On Wednesday June 3, David Carradine was found dead in his Bangkok hotel room. He was in Thailand shooting a movie; the actor was found hanging naked with a rope around his neck. He was 72.
Carradine’s legacy hits both the movie and TV screen. He was a Golden Globe and Emmy nominated actor. He appeared in highly acclaimed films such as “Bound for Glory” and less acclaimed films like “Children of the Corn V.” He made small appearances here and there (such as a very memorable cameo in “Mean Streets”), but his career would be defined by his role in the TV series “Kung Fu.”
I consider Carradine as one of the finest actors out there, even though I’ve seen so little of his work. His role as the sadistic yet sometimes reasonable Bill in “Kill Bill” represented everything that set him apart from other actors: that he could make someone as sadistic as Bill seem reasonable and even sensitive.
Rather than make Bill a one dimensional villain, he was a complex character. He smiles and yells “Gotcha!” after shooting a bullet at Beatrix. By the end, Bill is still a villain and his actions horrible, yet we see why he did what he did. It was not so much out of sadism but rather out of heartbreak.
And it breaks my heart to see Carradine go. His death might’ve been suicide. It might’ve been murder. But, that’s not for me to judge. What I am to judge is his legacy, and his legacy is certainly a fine one, one that will remain even as time goes by.
Below is Carradine’s monologue about superhero mythology from “Kill Bill.” It’s one of the best monologues ever put on film:

Just A Reminder: Conan Returns

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Tonight, June 1, 2009 will mark the beginning of a new era. Tonight, the era of “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” will begin. And it couldn’t come any sooner. TV just wasn’t the same without his brilliant one-liners and sophisticated immaturity. And with the promise of a return of Triumph, The Year 2000, and other characters, I could not be any happier about Conan’s return to late night. 

Oh MTV, Where Art Thou: The MTV Movie Awards

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The MTV Movie Awards are still going on as I write, and even though they haven’t ended yet, I must tell you that I am both shocked and offended.

Last year, I expressed anger and annoyance towards the ceremony for awarding Michael Bay. This year, I had high hopes for the awards. There was a wide range of good nominations, including a Best Picture winner (“Slumdog Millionaire”). The ceremony hasn’t ended yet, but I can tell you right now that “Twilight” will, without a doubt, be carrying home the Best Movie prize. Why? Because, it’s “Twilight.” More on that later.
One bright spot of the ceremony was host Andy Samberg. Samberg did his best to make it seem like he was having a good time, and lightened the mood with his great comic abilities. His opening sequence, spoofing this year’s biggest movies was nothing short of hilarious (besides the constant cheering every time the name Robert Pattinson was mentioned). Also worth mentioning was the group of Grammy winners who sang quips from the many great songs from The Lonely Island, followed by Forest Whitaker singing “D–k In A Box.”
The hosting wasn’t the problem, it was the awards themselves. For you see, the MTV Movie Awards don’t award talent, they award popularity. How else could you explain a fight scene from “Twilight” beating both fight scenes from “Pineapple Express” and “The Dark Knight”? How else could you explain Robert Pattinson winning best newcomer over Dev Patel from “Slumdog” (who nearly got an Oscar nomination), or the real best newcomer of the year, Bobb’e J. Thompson (“Role Models”)?
Another great atrocity: The Boss, Bruce Springsteen, and his masterful “The Wrestler” losing to Miley Cyrus? Clearly, America does not know talent.
There is not much more to convey than disappointment. MTV, the network once responsible for “Beavis & Butthead” and great music, has died. A new MTV has been born, an MTV that lives and breathes off of the lowest forms of entertainment. I know the MTV Movie Awards are not to be taken too seriously, but it is one of few awards shows that the people, not random voters, vote for. So I ask now: why don’t the American people have better taste in movies?
Note: I cannot emphasize this further; this piece is not at all meant to attack the comedy of Andy Samberg. He has been totally vindicated from the criticism presented in this article.

Movie Review: Up

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The geniuses at Pixar have done it again. They’ve exceeded my expectations and created yet another masterpiece. This time, with “Up.”

The previews for “Up” have made it seem like a simple tale of an old man (Ed Asner) and a young boy scout (Jordan Nagai) heading on a fun-filled adventure in a house carried by balloons to South America. Believe me, the story runs way deeper than that.
“Up” begins in what can be assumed is sometime in the 1920s or 30s with a “News on the March” type reel, very similar to the opening minutes of “Citizen Kane.” It is footage of a daring explorer (Christopher Plummer) who discovered a place in South America called Paradise Falls (which highly resembles Angel Falls in Venezuela). He was never seen again.
The young boy we see watching this movie is Carl (Asner). After seeing it, he meets an equally adventurous girl whom he later marries. They live, like in any fairy tale, happily ever after.
However, “Up” is no ordinary fairy tale. And if it is, it is one grounded more in reality than magic. As they age, Carl’s wife gets sick and passes. He is left totally alone as the area surrounding his quaint home is turned into a new building complex.
In his mourning, Carl realizes he doesn’t have much left in the States and should therefore complete the journey to Paradise Falls that him and his wife always hoped to do. He attaches thousands of baloons to his roof, and with the help of boy scout Russell (Nagai), heads off to Paradise Falls.
I will not reveal the rest of the plot from here, so as not to give away the real magic of the movie. What really needs to be discussed is everything that makes “Up” so masterful.
Of all the Pixar films, “Up” may be the darkest and most intense. It deals with matters of life and death, ultimate greed, love, and the meaning of youth and age. These dark themes are not the ones you’d expect out of a kids movie, and something you probably won’t see in “Ice Age 3.” But this is the thing that makes “Up,” and nearly every other Pixar movie so great: it’s a movie made for kids that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. “Up” is an adventure made for kids constructed by someone with the wisdom and experience of both age and childhood.
One of the things that makes “Up” so masterful is simply the way it’s shot. One of the final shots of the house, balloons and all, as it descends through the clouds and eventually disappears into oblivion is stunning, the kind of the thing that even great CGI couldn’t produce.
“Up” differs from Pixar’s other fare because it is one of their only films in which it is told from a human point of view. “Up” proves that the studio can tell a human story just as well as a story of a toy, robot, or mouse.
While in most of Pixar’s films humans are nothing but caricatures, “Up” allows them to come to life. Each character has their own dark side and motivation behind each of their actions. Just to prove how much they care about their characters, directors Pete Docter and Bob Peterson pay attention to every tiny detail, down to each facial hair and red cheek, with stunning perfection.
Of course, “Up” doesn’t fail to give voice to those who usually have none. The story includes a pack of talking dogs who provide a large amount of the film’s comic relief. They are not as wise as the rats of “Ratatouille,” but they say exactly what you’d expect a dog to say if it could talk. Another of the plot’s human-like non-human characters is a beautiful bird who becomes a key part of the story.
“Up” represents another turning point for Pixar. As last year’s “Wall-E” proved, Pixar represents a band of filmmakers who have no problem straying away from the usual fare studios think a child enjoys. They understand films are not just about entertaining, but teaching; they open the door to magical new worlds while still keeping the door to reality open. “Up” perhaps carries a very anti-consumerism/materialism message that is much more subtle than that in “Wall-E.”
Despite the newfound maturity, “Up” still contains the one theme essential to every Pixar film since “Toy Story”: that a friendship can flourish between any two people (or things), no matter how different they may be.
Many elements of “Up” may seem implausible, but these small things are totally forgivable in such an awe-inspiring movie. “Up” simply asks the audience to forget reality for two hours and focus on this sublime fantasy. It is not just a sublime fantasy, but a “real” fantasy; the kind of real fantasy that contains realistic people going through realistic struggle in a world where anything can happen. This is without a doubt one of the best films of 2009.

Today’s Sign of the Apocalypse

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Ever heard the expression “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”? Well, nobody ever told 20th Century Fox that. The studio plans to make a remake of the 1979 classic “Alien” (despite the countless sequels in recent years that no one saw).

What is the reasoning for this? “Alien” has just hit the 30 year mark this year, and the FX and frights still hold up well. The sight of the alien popping out of that man’s stomach is still as shocking and terrifying today as it ever was.
Why is it that studios can’t come up with original horror or sci-fi blockbusters anymore? It’s not as hard as one may think; there are no doubt hundreds of out-of-work screenwriters who’d be more than willing to share their ideas. For once, will they listen?
The film will reportedly be co-produced by Ridley Scott. Scott, a pioneer of the modern sci-fi genre, directed the original “Alien.” Why is he remaking his own masterpiece? Doesn’t the man behind “Blade Runner” and “American Gangster” have any better ideas up his sleeve?
Read More About It Here

Bruno Gets a Second Trailer

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This week the second trailer for “Bruno,” what will likely be the best movie of the summer, was released. It’s not much different from the first trailer (with the exception of some more footage of his visit with Ron Paul and time on a talk show), but just seeing some footage from “Bruno” is enough to make my day. Already I see the velcro suit as a possibility for one of the funniest bits of slapstick comedy in years.

I will try my best not to overhype this thing. Then again, the trailer is just three minutes out of what is likely to be a 90 minute movie; so who knows what madness could ensue in the remaining 87 minutes. Lets hope that madness is filled with laughs and not yawns. Knowing Sacha Baron Cohen, it will likely be filled with laughs.
Here’s the second trailer:

And, here’s a classic clip from Sacha Baron Cohen’s Ali G:

Weeds is Coming Back

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I can’t believe I’ve neglected this story for so long but I felt it was necessary to share some exciting news: a new season of “Weeds” is just around the corner. Yep, Showtime’s twisted comedy is getting a new season.

Seasons one through three of “Weeds” was a “Blue Velvet”/”American Beauty” like satire on suburbia. Season four took a sudden turn by abandoning the comfy gated community of Agrestic for the more harsh life of a town right next to the Mexican border. Nancy (Mary-Louise Parker) got herself into a whole new mess of trouble and as usual, got her whole family mixed up in it as well. The question is, will she be able to get herself out of this complete mess this time around? The utterly intense final minutes of season four saw Nancy pondering the possibility of death before saving herself with…pregnancy. But, is she really pregnant? And what will this mean for her drug dealing days?
“Weeds” season five begins Monday, June 8 at 10 p.m. on Showtime. For longtime fans, be ready. For newcomers, you’ve still got two weeks to catch up! And, let’s hope this season gets “Weeds” back into the Emmy spotlight.
For more information visit http://www.sho.com/site/weeds/home.do