QPORIT

qporit -- Quick Previews of Random Interesting Things

Thursday, December 12, 2013

SNL -- DEC 14, 2013 -- HOST: JOHN GOODMAN with musical guest KINGS OF LEON

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

 
SNL -- DEC 14, 2013

HOST

JOHN GOODMAN

  with Musical Guest 

KINGS OF LEON

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/

This was kind of an iffy show.  Too much seemed under-written, under-rehearsed or mis-directed.  This was kind of disappointing since Goodman is such a versatile, energetic, big resource, and because several shows recently have been refreshingly almost dud-less.

But there were some funny sketches, and some very funny moments.
 
SEE THE RECAP BELOW...


JOHN GOODMAN
It feels like John Goodman has been in almost everything lately.  He is great in the hilarious AMAZON show ALPHA HOUSE. He's in the (currently running) INSIDE LLEWIN DAVIS (for which there were lots of ads on the show tonight). He was in THE ARTIST and in ARGO.  

 
JOHN GOODMAN IN WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Goodman


JOHN GOODMAN IN IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000422/


ALPHA HOUSE WITH JOHN GOODMAN
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/11/alpha-house-at-amazon.html


KINGS OF LEON
KINGS OF LEON is a Nashville Rock Band that made their name in England before coming back to the US.  Their last album, Mechanical Bull, was released in September.


KINGS OF LEON IN WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_of_Leon

  AMAZON   Search JOHN GOODMAN ON AMAZON


Search KINGS OF LEON ON AMAZON



and... KINGS OF LEON'S LATEST ALBUM:  MECHANICAL BULL...




RECAP

COLD OPEN -- Obamasigns.  Obama talking about recent troubles on his recent trip.  Then a SIGNER came to hilariously interpret Obama's speech.

MONOLOG -- Goodman's standup was just OK, but then the song was great Goodman.

GUY FIERI / FOOD NETWORK -- This "promo" was a mess.

JOHN PAUL GAUTIER -- This real ad was so over the top it was a winner.

DEARBORN COMMUNITY PLAYHOUSE / DANCE OF THE SNOWFLAKES -- A good concept: the private thoughts of players doing a stupid snowflake dance.  The start of this routine brought to mind some classic Sid Caesar sketches, like the automated clock.  But Alas!, this was under-developed, under-written, not funny or interesting, and it finished by being too "sentimentally soft."  

THREE WISE GUYS -- Stallone, Goodman, and DeNiro as US wiseguys on camels, coming to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  A few good (if not original) jokes, but delivered at such a slow pace, it was mostly excruciating to watch and listen to.

KINGS OF LEON -- Straightforward renditions of their songs.

WEEKEND UPDATE -- Some good jokes, some lame.  But BLACK SANTA was very funny and sharp.  DRUNK UNCLE was neither.

SEXISM -- John Goodman as a sexy woman suing because she was fired for being too hot. When (finally, at the end) s/he started to dance, the scene picked up nicely.

HOLIDAY FIRE SAFETY -- This sketch attacks the age-old question of the dangers of Santa landing on the roof and coming down the fireplace.  

HALLMARK CHRISTMAS MOVIES -- Lame ideas for Christmas movies.

TCM / THE CHRISTMAS WHISTLE -- Again, channeling the old Sid Caesar parody movies; again falling short; this tells the "inspiring" story of the man followed by the whistle of an "angel".

H&M  -- I'm actually not sure if this was a bad parody ad, or a real ad in the form of a bad parody ad.

LAST CALL -- The last two patrons of the bar at night looking for a way to hook up.  They found an energetic way to connect!

The best sketches were the SIGNER on the Cold Open, BLACK SANTA on Weekend Update, the HOLIDAY FIRE SAFETY presentation and LAST CALL.

Here are links to some other SNL stories on QPORIT:

SNL - DEC 7, 2013 -- HOST: PAUL RUDD with musical guest ONE DIRECTION
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/12/snl-dec-7-2013-host-paul-rudd-with.html

SNL - NOV 16, 2013 - LADY GAGA with musical guest LADY GAGA
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/11/snl-nov-16-2013-lady-gaga-with-musical.html

SNL -- OCT 5, 2013 -- HOST: MILEY CYRUS with musical guest MILEY CYRUS
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/10/snl-oct-5-2013-host-miley-cyrus-with.html 

SNL -- MAY 18, 2013 -- HOST: BEN AFFLECK with musical guest KANYE WEST -- SEASON FINALE
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/05/snl-may-18-2013-host-ben-affleck-with.html

SNL -- MAY 11, 2013 -- HOST: KRISTEN WIIG with musical guest... VAMPIRE WEEKEND (Fun Show!) 
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/05/snl-may-11-2013-host-kristen-wiig-with.html

SNL -- APR 13, 2013 -- HOST: VINCE VAUGHN with musical guest... MIGUEL
 http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/04/snl-apr-13-2013-host-vince-vaughn-with.html

SNL -- MAR 9, 2013 -- HOST: JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE with musical guest... JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
 http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/03/snl-mar-9-2013-host-justin-timberlake.html

SNL -- FEB 9, 2013 -- HOST: JUSTIN BIEBER with musical guest... JUSTIN BIEBER
 http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/02/snl-feb-9-2013-host-justin-bieber-with.html

SNL -- JAN 26, 2013 -- ADAM LEVINE with KENDRICK LAMAR (Great show! & lots of clips!!)
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/01/snl-jan-26-2013-adam-levine-with.html

SNL -- JAN 19, 2013 --JENNIFER LAWRENCE with THE LUMINEERS
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/01/snl-jan-19-2013-jennifer-lawrence-with.html

SNL -- DEC 15, 2012 -- MARTIN SHORT WITH PAUL MCCARTNEY
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2012/12/snl-dec-15-2012-martin-short-with-paul.html

SNL -- DEC 8, 2012 -- JAMIE FOXX WITH NE-YO
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2012/12/snl-dec-8-2012-jamie-foxx-with-ne-yo.html

SNL -- NOV 10, 2012 -- ANNE HATHAWAY WITH RIHANNA
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2012/11/snl-nov-10-2012-anne-hathaway-with.html

SNL -- OCT 20, 2012 -- BRUNO MARS
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2012/10/snl-oct-20-2012-bruno-mars.html

SNL -- SEP 22, 2012 -- JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT WITH MUMFORD & SONS
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2012/09/snl-sep-22-2012-joseph-gordon-levitt.html

SNL -- SEP 15, 2012 – SEASON PREMIERE! -- SETH MACFARLANE WITH FRANK OCEAN
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2012/09/snl-sep-15-2012-season-premiere-seth.html

 

SNL OFFICIAL SITE

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/

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Labels: John Goodman, Kings of Leon, Saturday Night Live, SNL

# posted by QPORIT @ 1:22 AM 0 comments

Saturday, November 16, 2013

ALPHA HOUSE AT AMAZON

The new series of political comedy videos ALPHA HOUSE, starring John Goodman and created by Garry Trudeau (from Doonesbury) for Amazon are very funny. Very very funny. 

Some Senators, Democrat and Republican, are serious, intelligent, well-informed and valuable lawmakers.  The Senators in Alpha House not so much.

Three (roughly) half-hour episodes are available on Amazon now, free to all.  More episodes, coming once a week on Fridays will be available to subscribers of Amazon Prime.  (Given the other benefits of Amazon Prime, this may be the tipping point to join.)

In addition to being very funny, the episodes are great to look at: expertly shot, acted and edited.  It's terrific.

Note: Watch for Yara Martinez to break out from this show as a new young sexy very beautiful star.

UPDATE FEB13, 2014 -- I've watched the entire first season now.  It is terrific. From the first show to the last, each episode is smart, interesting, and has sections that are absolutely hysterically funny. (Warning -- do not try to eat or drink while watching this show as food or liquid may spurt violently from your mouth (or worse) at some very very funny moment!)

 
ALPHA HOUSE ON IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3012160/

ALPHA HOUSE ON AMAZON

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Labels: Alpha House, Amazon, Doonesbury, Garry Trudeau, John Goodman

# posted by QPORIT @ 11:06 PM 0 comments

Thursday, October 18, 2012

"ONLY WHEN YOU WIN" - FLIGHT AT NYFF 50

Paramount Pictures Presents

FLIGHT

Starring Denzel Washington

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

Written by John Gatins

CAST:               

Denzel Washington – Whip Whitaker… the pilot,

Don Cheadle… his lawyer

Kelly Reilly… a friend

John Goodman… his dealer

Bruce Greenwood… his friend and the Pilots’ Union rep

Melissa Leo... the investigator

Denzel Washington in the (dark) cockpit
As the pilot, Whip Whitaker
FLIGHT
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures and NYFF

FLIGHT, starring Denzel Washington, begins as thriller, then morphs into serious drama. The closing night film at the 50th New York Film Festival (NYFF 50), it is entertaining, interesting, and exciting. 

A pilot, after a long night sleeping with a stewardess, with little sleep, lots of alcohol and some cocaine, steps into the cockpit of a commercial airliner, braves his way up into the sky through rain and turbulence, then brilliantly saves almost all the "souls" on board when the airplane malfunctions and begins to fall out of the sky.

About twenty years ago, walking past the open cockpit of a commercial airplane, when that was still possible, the pilot invited me inside to look around.  At the time, I was inventing and developing a multimedia computer game and, impressed by the lights and dials and switches and style, I remarked that this cockpit would make a great video game.  Not missing a beat, the pilot replied immediately: "Only when you win."

I thought of this again for a moment when the idea of the cockpit as a video game arose in FLIGHT, the new Denzel Washington vehicle (pun intended), closing the New York Film Festival 50th season.

But my pilot's remark actually goes deeper, and could be the tagline for the whole film, which describes how a pilot (a super-pilot actually) flying under the influence of drugs and alcohol lands a crippled airliner with consummate skill, saving almost all the "souls" (as they are called in the film) aboard, making him a hero and a potential felon at the same time.

The "soul" of the movie is the character of Whip, and the dynamic is the conflict between the role of Whip as a hero, for his spectacular accomplishment in saving the lives of almost everyone on the plane; and the dark side of his life with drug and alcohol abuse, which has repercussions, as flying under the influence is a felony.

The first part of the film describes the flight, and it is truly thrilling to watch. And it is extraordinary filmmaking, with every detail of the complex effects expertly executed.

The second part of the film describes Whip's personal demons, manifested not just in his drug and alcohol abuse, but in all his behavior.  Denzel gives full life to all his character's dark shadings, in a terrific performance.

The last part of the film provides a fine resolution to the plot but, as suggested by the conspicuous use of the word "souls" for the passengers, tries for too much spirituality with too little good writing.

In FLIGHT, the film's plot ends in the most honest, natural way, I think.  The resolutions is almost predictable -- but in a good way -- because it seems clearly determined by the situation.  However, the speeches (specifics would be spoilers)  that are given to Denzel's character seem to me completely inconsistent with his nature (as well as being very general, unoriginal, and  unnatural); and could only be justified if he were being as insincere and dishonest then as he had been throughout the film.  However, the way the film is made suggests that the character is supposed to be sincere.

Note: Last year at NYFF, the recurring theme seemed to be catastrophe, with two megadisaster films:  4:44 LAST DAY ON EARTH -- a messy film about the end of life on earth -- and MELANCHOLIA -- a brilliant, completely controlled film about the end of life on earth and, for good measure, the end of all life in the entire universe as well.  This year the repeated theme -- in the Opening Night film LIFE OF PI and the Closing Night film FLIGHT -- seemed to be a kind of lazy spiritualism.

Two more mostly irrelevant notes:  First, it should be noted, for the record, that after TRAINING DAY and UNSTOPPABLE, Denzel here completes the trifecta... of planes, trains, and automobiles.

Second: A curious phrase in the end titles, that says that no payments were made for the use of tobacco products, raises the question of whether there were other product placements.  In particular, I think I remember Rolling Rock beer and Bushmills Irish Whiskey getting their close-ups.  Denzel seemed to almost turn the beer so the label would show.  But sometimes I think I see things in movies the first time I see them that seem inconspicuous on the second viewing, so perhaps I am just overly suggestible.  (I did go home and have a Bushmills Irish Whiskey that night.  It's very good!)



FLIGHT is an entertaining, exciting film that begins as action and continues as drama.  Denzel is excellent, and the (distinguished!) supporting cast is also terrific.  The early airplane action scenes are breathtaking.



TRAILER FOR FLIGHT



LINKS NYFF 50
www.filmlinc.com


FLIGHT – WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_(2012_film)

FLIGHT – IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1907668/

Director Robert Zemickis with Denzel Washington On the set / location FLIGHT Courtesy Paramount Pictures and NYFF
ROBERT ZEMECKIS
ZEMECKIS – WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Zemeckis

ZEMECKIS – IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000709/

CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW FOR ITEMS FROM AMAZON
RELATED TO ROBERT ZEMECKIS

DENZEL WASHINGTON

Denzel Washington at the Press Conference for FLIGHT
At NYFF 50.
Photo by Eric Roffman

DENZEL WASHINGTON – WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denzel_Washington

DENZEL WASHINGTON – IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000243/

CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW FOR ITEMS FROM AMAZON
RELATED TO DENZEL WASHINGTON




MORE CAST LINKS...

 

John Goodman at the Press Conference for FLIGHT
At NYFF 50
Photo by Eric Roffman

JOHN GOODMAN – WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Goodman

JOHN GOODMAN – IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000422/


DON CHEADLE – WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Cheadle

DON CHEADLE – IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000332/



MELISSA LEO – WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissa_Leo

MELISSA LEO – IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0502425/



KELLY REILLY – WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Reilly


BRUCE GREENWOOD - IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0339304/

Labels: Bruce Greenwood, Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, FLIGHT, John Gatins, John Goodman, Kelly Reilly, Melissa Leo, Paramount Pictures, Robert Zemeckis, Whip Whitaker

# posted by QPORIT @ 8:44 PM 0 comments