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Flick Wit - December 2007

I Just Don't Like Her

December 28th 2007 18:33
She has earned fame and fortune as an actor, director and producer; she has been the muse of Woody Allen, won almost every major acting award, and been in some of the most memorable movies ever made. She is Diane Keaton, a superstar and extraordinarily talented woman. But I just don’t like her.

Diane Keaton
With feminine clothes and layered hair - a whole other Diane. Image courtesy of askmen.com


Why? The truth is, I’m not at all sure. I know she’s a gifted actress and by all accounts she’s a lovely person. I have a sneaking suspicion it’s the ‘slacks’ and ‘blouses’ – Lord but I hate those words! – or the ties and bowler hats, but I hope I’m not that superficial.

Could it perhaps be her affair with Allen? He’s a genius, for sure, but can she be forgiven for stroking more than Woody’s ego? It’s hard to know.

Annie Hall
Diane and Woody in Annie Hall - she actually pulled off the masculine look back in 1977, which is more than I can say for Woody. Image courtesy of gonemovies.com


I thought that maybe I’d just gone off her because of her films over the last decade. Although I feel for aging actresses, who often get the cold shoulder from Hollywood once their boobs drop below their armpits, Keaton has done remarkably poorly in recent years. Hanging Up, which she also directed, was a travesty, as was Town and Country. She did well in Something’s Gotta Give, although I wasn’t particularly fond of it, and alright again in The Family Stone, despite the movie being rather average. Her latest film, Because I Said So, was a total mistake.

The Family Stone
In her tux at the premiere of The Family Stone - Image courtesy of celebritywonder.com

But it’s not just her most recent work that puts me off her. She annoyed me in The First Wives Club and The Father of the Bride, and even though I can recognise that she was brilliant as Annie Hall, I was rather less than enraptured by her even then.

Diane Keaton
Very strange indeed - Image courtesy of thebosh.com

She is definitely kooky, but I love kooky. So why don’t I love her? What do you think of Diane Keaton? And why in God’s name does she have to wear the ugliest clothes in existence?

Michaelie Clark
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It Has Been Jolly Good So Far

December 23rd 2007 19:33
I have just realised that I have been so busy* that I have not written a single thing for a whole week! Alas, this realisation has done little to prompt me into action. In fact, it has been an hour since I wrote that first line, and in that time, all I have done is smuggle a handful of my dad’s cashews and eat them furtively while watching Extreme Hollywood. This is hardly productive, but it’s Christmas and I’m staying with my parents and have thus reverted to childhood.

Anyway, the post must go on, but seeing as I am far too tired* just now to write anything decent, half-decent, or indeed, indecent, about movies, I will instead endeavour to overcome my weary* ways and say Merry Christmas and thank you to all the Orblers who have made my first four months here so amusing, interesting and fun.

Christmas Pudding
Have some pudding, but mind the shrapnel. Image courtesy of photobucket.com

Thanks and best wishes to everyone! Including but not limited to: Cibb, Fog, Holly, Techno, Norm, David, Mrs M, Vixter, Melissa, Patricia, Rosemary, James, Ash, Chic, Amy, Eva, Kleo, Damo, Brenton, DeAnne, Epiphanie, Mis, Lily, Hope, Harry, Meggie, Mitchell, Chris, Rose and Charles.

And extra special thanks and the bestest best wishes to:

Tracy – Our very own Catherine Zeta - but sweeter.
Jo – The wise and witty yummy mummy.
MNG – The nicest Nice Guy I know.
Lara – The lovely lady of Love Speaks.
Dusk – Devi-lish and delightful.
Louie – ArkX action heroine.
Aimz – Making the world a more beautiful place.
Jon – Jon can help. Michaelie is helpless. See Jon help?
JD – Discussion, discourse, disagreement - it's all a delight.
Kylie – Even better than chortling about Brit.
Katyzzz – A ‘liquorice allsort’ of many intriguing layers.
Crystal – Not at all crystal clear but very compelling.
Bryn – Darkly droll and entertaining.
Lilla – Enviro-educator extraordinaire.
Toni – Truly terrific - no prompt necessary.
Raven – My favourite igloo dweller.

Looking forward to blogging with you all in the New Year, and in the mean time:

HAVE A FABULOUS CHRISTMAS!

Michaelie Clark

* Lazy
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Movie Menagerie

December 17th 2007 18:33
They don’t earn millions, they don’t make Oscar speeches, they don’t have run-ins with paparazzi, and their mating rituals aren’t reported in every magazine – and yet they are the ones that often steal the show. Below are some of the films where creatures have leant their animal magnetism to make the fans go wild.

Babe
Was there ever a cuter piglet than he?

Babe
Babe and his 'mother'. Image courtesy of dreamagic.com

Also: Charlotte’s Web (2006).

Doctor Dolittle
Rex Harrison is the perfect eccentric, but it’s the many animals he talks to who make this film so wonderful.

Doctor Dolittle
Doctor Dolittle with the Pushme-Pullyu. Image courtesy of imdb.com

Also: Dr Dolittle and the Tarzan films.

Black Beauty
It’ll never beat the book, but it’s hard to pass up Sean Bean.

Black Beauty
Sean Bean and Black Beauty - Image courtesy of fullofbeans.net

Also: Seabiscuit and The Horse Whisperer.

Stuart Little
I don’t like the mouse, I don’t like the kid – I only like Hugh Laurie and that naughty, fluffy cat.

Stuart Little
That wicked cat - Image courtesy of thecia.com.au

Born Free
The beautiful but heart-wrenching true story of Elsa, an orphaned lioness cub, raised by human parents.

Born Free
Elsa doing what cats do - Image courtesy of answers.com

The Adventures of Milo and Otis
It started out at a Japanese film, but was Westernised to the sound of Dudley Moore. Whatever its origins, it’s still about the sweetest animal tale around.

Milo and Otis
Milo and Otis - Image courtesy of idolator.com

Also: Lassie, Old Yeller, Beethoven and 101 Dalmatians.

Whale Rider
Incredibly moving Maori film which covers a lot of themes and explores the magic of the right whales.

Whale Rider
Whale Rider - Image courtesy of cqcn.com

Also: Free Willy and Flipper (1963 and 1996)

Special mention goes to these most famous film critters:

Orangey – the cat who starred in Rhubarb, The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Diary of Anne Frank, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and more.

Orangey
Orangey with Audrey Hepburn - Image courtesy of answers.com

Higgins – the dog who starred in Petticoat Junction, Mooch Goes to Hollywood, and the Benji films.

Pal and his descendants – the dogs who have played Lassie, and Lassie’s descendants, in Lassie productions for film and television.

Cheeta – the chimpanzee who starred in the Tarzan films, Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla, and Doctor Dolittle. Cheeta celebrated his 75th birthday this year.

Cheeta
Cheeta at his birthday party - Image courtesy of theage.com.au

And to Frank Inn, who won over forty Picture Animal Top Star of the Year (PATSY) Awards, with the animals he took in and trained, because he couldn’t stand the thought of them suffering or being needlessly put down.

Michaelie Clark
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'Sex' Could Have Ended Badly

December 13th 2007 18:12
Now that the Sex movie hype has reached fever pitch - thanks to The Trailer, I thought it would be a great time to look back at the series, and see where the movie could have been taking off from had it ended any differently. I wasn’t completely happy with the Sex and the City finale: I wanted Carrie and Big together but I felt the writers indulged in too much sentimentality, deviating from the edgy humour the show had previously been renowned for – but as I have discovered, it could have been a lot worse.

Sex and the City
The gals of Sex and the City - Image courtesy of canmag.com

[ Click here to read more ]
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Only In The Movies!

December 10th 2007 19:25
I mean it. Not at work, not at the shops, not even in the privacy of your own bedroom. I’m talking about a particular breed of movie stunts, boys and girls, which you should never try at home. They are horrifying. They are terrifying. They can be downright dangerous. They are the hairstyles of film.

That’s right, the Hollywood hair-dos that are civilian hair-don’ts. The frenzied follicles, the stressed tresses, the shocking locks that should only be seen on screen, and sometimes not even there. Have a look-see at these twenty mad, mangy or moronic manes


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My heart leapt higher than Carrie’s Manolos when I realised the Sex and the City trailer was out. I didn’t breathe at all for the forty-nine seconds it took to watch it. And then I hyperventilated. And that’s not all: I’ve got quotes from cast interviews and news from Michael Patrick King on just where we can expect the Glossy Posse to be at.

Sarah Jessica Parker
The Ingrate, SJP - Image courtesy of dailymail.co.uk

[ Click here to read more ]
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'Jane Eyre' Gets Some Flair

December 6th 2007 18:59
There is nothing at all “poor, obscure, plain [or] little” about this Jane Eyre – a two-part BBC film series directed by Susanna White. Instead, it is a production of rich distinction, a lustrous and most grand adaptation of a beloved Brontë tale.

Ruth Wilson
Ruth Wilson as Jane Eyre - Image courtesy of bbc.co.uk

[ Click here to read more ]
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'Sex' Spoilers... And Sequels?

December 3rd 2007 18:49
Word on the cyber street is that Sex and the City is set to become something of a franchise. According to In Touch, script ideas for a further four or five Sex and the City movies are being thrown around, pending the end of the writers’ strike. Each of the principle cast members has a sequel option in their contract, which producers can take advantage of should the current film – presently in production – prove to be the expected massive box-office success.

Mr Big
Soon-to-be daddy Chris Noth - would he be able to keep it up as Big for another decade of films? Image courtesy of answers.com

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