The Red Violin<\/cite> at tracing the history of a single instrument over many centuries, Paramount has unveiled a summer blockbuster tracing a single 1948 Hudson crankshaft as it passes from car to junkyard, to auto repair store, to car, to junkyard, and finally to art gallery. The decision to create a soundtrack for the movie out of classic \u201970s grooves is bizarre but inspired.<\/dd>\r\n<\/dl>Jim\u2019s original review of Anna and the King<\/cite> involved an in-joke, so I\u2019ve revised it, and added a couple of my own.<\/p>\r\n- Anna and the King<\/cite><\/dt>\r\n
- In this update of the famous Russian novel, young immigrant Anna Karenina discovers a hidden cabin where the 65-year-old Elvis Presley has been living the Buddhist life for over two decades.<\/dd>\r\n
- The Sixth Sense<\/cite><\/dt>
- Brilliant romantic comedy about a young lexicographer trying to figure out how many meanings there are to the word \u201clove.\u201d<\/dd>\r\n
- Lone Star<\/cite><\/dt>\r\n
- John Sayles\u2019s slow, boring science fiction epic about a yellow sun that drifts out of the galaxy, and its efforts to return.<\/dd>\r\n
- Where the Heart Is<\/cite><\/dt>\r\n
- Interesting but flawed remake of classic film Fantastic Voyage<\/cite>, about a tiny \u201cspaceship\u201d navigating a patient\u2019s veins and arteries to remove a blood clot; in this version, the patient can\u2019t be moved, so the entire operation takes place in a Wal-Mart.<\/dd>\r\n
- Sphere<\/cite><\/dt>\r\n
- In Michael Crichton\u2019s film version of the classic mathematical-thought-experiment book Flatland<\/cite>, a daring circle ventures forth into the mysterious and dangerous third dimension.<\/dd>\r\n<\/dl>\r\n
In a similar sort of vein, my sardonic pal Jack Mantis provides some reviews excerpted from his book Mantis at the Movies.<\/cite> I suppose I should note, for those of you who missed watching television in the \u201980s, that Brandon Tartikoff\u2014youngest network president ever, when he became head of NBC in 1980 at the age of 31\u2014used to use the term \u201chigh concept\u201d to describe a show that could be summed up in ten words or less. I believe that the high-concept series-summaries, especially for sitcoms, were what popularized the phrase \u201chilarity ensues,\u201d as in \u201cHilarity ensues when messy guy and neat guy become roommates.\u201d Jack figures that the phrase has been sadly underused since Tartikoff left NBC ten years ago, and has set himself the task of rectifying that lack. He doesn\u2019t, however, restrict himself to ten words per review.<\/p>\r\n\r\n - Jason and the Huguenots<\/cite><\/dt>\r\n
- Deranged killer falls in with a group of early French Protestants. Hilarity ensues.<\/dd>\r\n
- Mr. Washington Goes to Smith<\/cite><\/dt>\r\n
- The first president of the USA disguises himself as a female student in order to attend a women\u2019s college in Massachusetts. Hilarity ensues.<\/dd>\r\n
- Pinokia<\/cite><\/dt>\r\n
- An elderly engineer discovers that his cell phone has come to life and wants to become \u201ca real little toy.\u201d Hilarity ensues.<\/dd>\r\n
- Princess Pokemoke<\/cite><\/dt>\r\n
- A human girl raised by incredibly cute cartoon characters must play a collectible card game to decide the fate of humanity. Hilarity ensues.<\/dd>\r\n
- Sheepless in Seattle<\/cite><\/dt>\r\n
- Big-screen update of classic children\u2019s story, with Meg Ryan as Bo, a rural shepherdess who feels lost in the big city. Hilarity ensues.<\/dd>\r\n
- The Spider House Rules<\/cite><\/dt>\r\n
- Spider (Tobey Maguire), the head of a wacky frat house, falls for Buffy Muffett (Charlize Theron), the ditzy but endearing leader of the neighboring (and rival) sorority. When Buffy gets pregnant, hilarity ensues.<\/dd>\r\n
- Wilde Wilde West<\/cite><\/dt>\r\n
- Witty gay Victorian playwright becomes an agent for the American government, using gadgets, fisticuffs, and poetry to stop evildoers. Hilarity ensues.<\/dd>\r\n
- You\u2019ve Got Bail<\/cite><\/dt>\r\n
- Tom Hanks stars as a bail bondsman who strikes up an online romance with serial killer and hardened ex-con Meg Ryan. Hilarity ensues.<\/dd>\r\n<\/dl>\r\n
And, finally:<\/p>\r\n
\r\n - Hilarity and Jackie<\/cite><\/dt>\r\n
- Jacqueline Onassis Kennedy takes up a new career as a standup comedienne and cello player. Hilarity, of course, ensues.<\/dd>\r\n<\/dl>\r\n
Haven\u2019t had enough yet? Take a look at these descriptions of mid-season replacements<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-6-uuuppercase-3"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2797"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18367,"href":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2797\/revisions\/18367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}