In 1937, the screwball comedy Nothing Sacred was a critical and commercial smash, and it helped make Carole Lombard the highest-paid actress in Hollywood. Five years later, the 33-year-old actress was killed in a plane crash near Las Vegas. Watch the legendary star in what might be her best film by clicking here (YouTube version) or here (IMDB version).
© 2010-2026 grouchyeditor.com (text only)
If you read enough Agatha Christie or watch a lot of whodunits, you tend to get pretty good at deciphering clues. Often, you can predict who, exactly, done it. (Unless — heaven forbid — the story cheats.) To lure in the savvy mystery fan, a smart TV crime series comes equipped with two extra weapons: atmosphere, and great characters. Advantage: Brits.
Here is my take on three British mysteries now airing on BBC America.
State of Play — Everything is messy in this political thriller, including a marriage, old friendships, journalistic ethics, and police-press relations. But the direction, acting, and script are crisp and compelling. This might be the best “reporter drama” since All the President’s Men. Bill Nighy, as a crusty newspaper editor, has the juiciest lines.
p.s. Don’t confuse this 2003 miniseries with its 2009 Hollywood remake starring Russell Crowe (not bad, itself). Grade: A
Cast: John Simm, Kelly Macdonald, Bill Nighy, David Morrissey, Polly Walker Premiere: 2003
**
Whitechapel — Jack the Ripper, the original serial killer, never gets old. Jack is just one of the legendary murderers resurrected in Whitechapel, which seems to prove that violent death is an eternal side effect of living in London’s East End.
Rupert Penry-Jones stars as a rookie detective inspector who does battle with his own insecurities and a host of copycat killers whose murderous role models include ripping Jack and the notorious Kray twins. When the show focuses on life at the police station the material is a bit clichéd, but once the action moves to the foggy, seedy streets of the Whitechapel district … watch out. Grade: B
Cast: Rupert Penry-Jones, Philip Davis, Steve Pemberton, Alex Jennings Premiere: 2009
**
The Hour — Imagine the love triangle in Broadcast News. Now subtract the comedy, add a plot involving Cold War spies, and you have The Hour, an arresting mix of suspense, romance and, sadly, a distracting dose of political correctness. As it depicts the story of three young Brits striving to produce a current-affairs TV show, The Hour tends to clobber us over the head with “you go girl” feminism and topics including the death penalty and civil rights — worthy dramatic material, certainly, but hot-button issues in 1956? But the period settings and costumes are a hoot, the lead actors are engaging and, as is customary with BBC productions, everything is oh-so smart. Grade: B+
Cast: Ben Whishaw, Romola Garai, Dominic West, Anna Chancellor Premiere: 2011
Warning for American Viewers: All three of these shows feature at least a few characters with heavy British accents. It can be a challenge for the viewer (at least for this viewer) to follow a complex plot without frequently reaching for the rewind button — or resorting to subtitles.
Another Warning: It appears that these programs have been edited, i.e., censored, for content, including language.
© 2010-2026 grouchyeditor.com (text only)
I read that Michael Fassbender’s (above) acting in the sex-filled Shame is “fearless.” I’ve seen that adjective used to describe performances by actresses like Michelle Williams and Halle Berry. “Fearless” is critic-code for “He/She gets naked a lot in this movie.” Rooney Mara, no doubt, gives a fearless performance in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
*****
Irritating Codger of the Week: Tom Brokaw
Brokaw’s mush-mouthed, incomprehensible delivery made for painful viewing back when he was anchoring the news. Then he managed to alienate Baby Boomers and most everyone else with his “greatest generation” hogwash. (Apparently, widespread racism and sexism during the 1930s-’60s were just minor flaws, in Tom’s opinion.)
Now Brokaw is popping up on the talk-show circuit as some sort of “elder statesman.” Sorry, dude, but you ain’t Walter Cronkite — and you look ridiculous in that robe (above).
*****
Here you go, Bush, this is your legacy:
*****
Simon Cowell says that new America’s Got Talent judge Howard Stern is “not stupid,” and that Stern will have to curb his outrageousness for NBC’s family-friendly show. “If he goes too far, he’ll be kicked off,” Cowell says. Hmmm … a tame Howard Stern? Doesn’t that pretty much defeat the purpose of hiring him?
*****
From E! Online: “We want to hang out with Charlize Theron, like, right now. Seriously, could she be any friggin’ cooler?” E! Online then uses a quote from actress Elizabeth Reaser to explain what makes Theron so friggin’ cool: “She [Theron] is also very potty-mouthed. Everyone else I know says ‘fuck’ and ‘shit’ every other word, but she is just so unabashedly herself.”
This reminds me of Entertainment Weekly’s recent love letter to Hollywood has-been Ellen Barkin (below), in which EW readers were informed that the profanity-loving actress is “our new Twitter obsession.” And why is that? Because “Anyone who reads Barkin’s profane, blunt, and hilarious Twitter feed knows that there’s definitely no filter on the 57-year-old actress and mother of two young adults.” And what, exactly, makes Barkin so funny on Twitter? She swears. A lot. I guess if you’re 57 and a mother, that’s considered hilarious.
Listen, I’m no puritan, but whoever said that people who swear a lot are compensating for a lack of imagination was onto something. Cursing, by itself, is not particularly funny. So go fuck yourselves, Charlize Theron and Ellen Barkin.
On the other hand, I would like to hang out with Theron, especially at the beach (below), although not because of her vocabulary.
© 2010-2026 grouchyeditor.com (text only)
Fans tend to get upset when Hollywood decides to remake a treasured movie, but I don’t see much harm in it if the reboot is well done. Fright Night, the 1985 cult-classic horror-comedy, was not exactly Shakespeare, but it was a lot of fun. Fright Night, the 2011 version, is not as witty as its progenitor, but it, too, is a lot of fun.
Director Craig Gillespie and scripter Marti Noxon get a lot of things right in their remake, and they even toss in an improvement or two. The story’s new setting, a cookie-cutter suburb of Las Vegas, is ideal for a vampire movie. Already hellish, this bland chunk of isolated real estate is ripe for a monster invasion.
The film also retains the original’s sense of humor. Anton Yelchin, as an awkward teen who suspects that his new neighbor might be a blood sucker, is an inspired piece of casting. Yelchin is utterly believable as a kid struggling with high school horrors and, once Jerry the vampire (Colin Farrell) moves in next door, much, much more. Charley is such an innocuous Every Kid that, five minutes after the film ended, I doubt that I could have picked him out of a police lineup — and that’s a compliment.
But Fright Night version II can’t quite top the original. David Tennant, as monster hunter Peter Vincent, is no Roddy McDowall. Baby-faced Farrell is much better than I expected as the hunky vampire, but when the time comes for him and his fellow undead to enact the titular “fright night,” the results are a bit of a letdown. Special effects can only do so much. Grade: B-
Director: Craig Gillespie Cast: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Toni Collette, David Tennant, Imogen Poots, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Dave Franco, Reid Ewing, Sandra Vergara, Emily Montague Release: 2011
Watch Trailers and Clips (click here)
© 2010-2026 grouchyeditor.com (text only)
I’m a Jeff Bridges fan, but I’ve grown a bit weary of his “good old boy” routine. Yeah, yeah, Bridges is “The Dude,” and critics love it when he plays rednecks and drunkards. But I know Bridges is capable of other things – like playing a smooth villain (or is he?) in the 1985 thriller, Jagged Edge. This movie, co-starring Glenn Close, has one of the best “gotcha!” moments I’ve seen on film (it involves a typewriter keyboard). Watch it for free by clicking here.
© 2010-2026 grouchyeditor.com (text only)
Book me on a flight, pronto, to the recently discovered, Earthlike planet with a temperature of — heavens be praised! — 72 degrees. A bonus: no TV on this planet, hence no more Republican debates.
*****
I’m tired of hearing from that New Jersey whale, Chris Christie. He is much too fat to be president. Christie is too bloated to be an elected official, period. Fat people sweat like pigs, and their odor offends me.
Do those comments sound cruel and bigoted? Good, because they are meant to be. I am a smoker, and I hear that kind of crap every day. Because I am expected to take it, I will also dish it. Fatso.
*****
Fans in St. Louis are weeping over the loss of their beloved baseball hero, Albert Pujols (above). Tough titty. I sneer at you fans. Serves you right, suckers.
Pujols, who bolted to California for $250 million, was demonstrating loyalty — to Albert Pujols. Sports organizations like the St. Louis Cardinals love to preach “fan loyalty.” But loyalty to what, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous? It’s always a one-sided relationship with clubs and players on one side, fans on the other. And fans are the ones who get dumped.
We have the same issue here in Minnesota, where a spoiled brat named Joe Mauer (below) plays when he wants to (not often) and pouts to the media whenever anyone dares question what he’s done to justify his budget-busting salary.
*****
“The 14-year sentence is so excessive,” griped MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, lamenting the prison sentence handed to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Boo hoo hoo. The problem with our legal system is that white-collar crooks like Blago routinely escape with light sentences, or no sentences, while small-timers get screwed. It’s heartening to see the mighty fall — if only on occasion.
*****
The film community is atwitter because New Yorker critic David Denby violated an unwritten rule when he published an early review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo — after he agreed not to do so. Tattoo producer Scott Rudin called Denby’s action “lousy and immoral” and vowed to ban the critic from future screenings. Denby responded with whines and lame excuses. Shut up, Denby.
As for the review itself, I’m a bit surprised by Denby’s praise for star Rooney Mara. After watching Sweden’s Noomi Rapace (above) in the original film, I can’t imagine any other actress portraying Lisbeth Salander.
*****
Playboy’s photo spread of Lindsay Lohan has leaked to the Internet. I figured I should do my part in sharing this big news with the world. Sure, the pictures look artistic, but the problem with celebrity Playboy spreads like this one is that, once the stylists, art directors, and airbrushers finish their work, the actual woman is barely recognizable. Well … her fanny looks real enough.
© 2010-2026 grouchyeditor.com (text only)
by Michael Pollan
For the most part, Pollan pulls off a neat trick. He turns a book about feed corn, fungi, and fertilizer into a compelling page-turner – but only for about two-thirds of its length. At a certain point, his chapters become detail-heavy and repetitive, with endless stretches of tedious facts interrupted by short bursts of unpleasantness. Pollan is a gustatory George Plimpton – sometimes humorous, sometimes snobbish – but his book is simply too long.
The “omnivore’s dilemma” is this: deciding what to eat that is best for the mind, body, and soul. After reading Pollan’s descriptions of the horrors to be found at America’s slaughterhouses and processing plants, it’s tempting to eat nothing at all and opt for starvation. In America, there are too many consumers and too much money to be made by mass producing our food in less-than-ideal conditions. (Becoming a vegetarian or vegan does little to change our entrenched system, and it turns out that “organic” franchises like Whole Foods are nearly as ecologically unfriendly as Walmart.)
So … what is the solution to the omnivore’s dilemma? Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be an easy answer – not if we don’t want to starve to death.
© 2010-2026 grouchyeditor.com (text only)
It’s the holiday season, and no holiday movie gets a better rating on Rotten Tomatoes than that crusty chestnut, Babes in Toyland. I watched about ten minutes of it and had to turn it off; I couldn’t handle it. Then again, I can’t handle that other holiday favorite, It’s a Wonderful Life. But you are not me. You are not Scrooge, and you want to see Laurel and Hardy do their thing. So click here to watch them for free. And one more thing: Bah, humbug.
© 2010-2026 grouchyeditor.com (text only)
I liked Joy Behar’s show and I’m sorry to see it go, even though, as a straight male, I don’t believe I was ever in its target audience. (Watching it, at times I felt like odd man out at a Girls & Gays happy hour.)
My problem with the show was the fact that Behar herself was rarely on it, resulting in an endless stream of guest hosts or repeat episodes. But Behar’s guests, often fringe celebrities we had not seen in a long time, were a refreshing change from the usual gang of idiots found on other talk shows.
*****
Newlywed life doesn’t seem to have done much for Daniel Craig’s disposition. Earlier this year, the temperamental James Bond star complained to Entertainment Weekly that promoting his movies was not his thing: “I can’t do tits-and-teeth stuff,” Craig sniffed. (See the Weekly Review, July 31.)
Now Craig has leaped onto the anti-Kardashian bandwagon, grousing to the British GQ, “You see that [Kardashians on TV] and you think, ‘What, you mean all I have to do is behave like a fucking idiot on television and then you’ll pay me millions?’” If The Grouch ever retires, Craig is more than welcome to assume the reins of this Web site.
*****
Roger Ebert informed readers of his blog that “Most people have bladders the size of oil drums, but I usually have to pee at least once during a movie.”
Am I the only one who thinks that this is disturbing news coming from a film critic?
Assuming that the average bathroom break takes at least five minutes, then how many crucial scenes and plot developments must Ebert have missed during the course of his career?
*****
Bill O’Reilly and Newt Gingrich discussed immigration and “sanctuary cities.” That got me to thinking (admittedly, always a dangerous thing): Why don’t we establish sanctuary cities for smokers? As the United States, oddly, tilts more and more toward legalizing marijuana, it continues to ostracize cigarette smokers. Hey, just give us a place of our own, perhaps Las Vegas, and we’ll leave the rest of you alone.
© 2010-2026 grouchyeditor.com (text only)
Back in 1951, announcing the “gayest” musical of the year (see above) didn’t have quite the same meaning as it does today. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen anyone dance on a ceiling recently, either. See Fred Astaire’s famous rotating-wall routine, free of charge by clicking here.
© 2010-2026 grouchyeditor.com (text only)
