coming up: Pink Panther 2
Posted by: onyxx on: February 11, 2009
after almost 3 years, steve martin’s second outing as the criminally befuddled Insp. Closeau is about to knock us off our collective derriere once again heheh. Pink Panther 2 is set to make its bow in local theaters in about a week or two. and despite the thrashing that Pink Panther has largely received from critics, i still can’t wait to watch this film.
joining steve martin are jean reno, john cleese (as the long-suffering and eternally envious chief insp. dreyfus), andy garcia, alfred molina, aishwarya rai, emily mortimer, and lily tomlin. this feature isn’t likely going to be as potent as the early Pink Panther movies, but what the hey. i’m a big steve martin fan, and with a cast like this what’s not to like?
a year-end note
Posted by: onyxx on: December 19, 2008
early this year, to tame my spiralling expenses i made a mental note to cut back on my book purchases. for the first 10 months, rather to my surprises, i actually managed to make good on this promise — well, except for one occasion when i gave in to buy Collected Stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
my unusual restraint started to crumble last november. the first time it happened was when i caught sight of Susanna Clarke’s The Ladies of Grace Adieu. of course, being a certified Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell fan, there was no way i could have walked away from that. (and i consider that money well spent, because ms. clarke doesn’t disappoint.)
then a few minutes later, i inexplicably reached for this Jane Austen fanlit title (These Three Remain) and handed it to the cashier before i could change my mind. i really have no excuse for it, except that i was feeling nostalgic i guess. like every Jane Austen fan, i’ve always wondered what happened to elizabeth bennett and mr darcy before, during and after the events that transpired in Pride & Prejudice. i suppose, if nothing else, buying that book ought to warn me not to raise my expectations too high, and to steer away from fanlit pulp.
then, a couple of weeks ago, i succumbed to temptation again and bought a copy of Valerio Manfredi’s The Last Legion. at the moment i’m plowing deep into various resources to learn more about the Roman legions, so i enjoyed the book for its entertainment value. i also managed to dip into Cressida Cowell’s delightful Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III series. this time i snapped up How to Twist a Dragon’s Tale. as always, i find myself vastly amused and entertained by its sly humor. it’s geared for male juveniles, but if you go beyond the obvious it’s still a whole lot better than most books intended for grown-up readers.
the one book that has eluded my grasp so far is Naomi Novik’s Victory of Eagles (book V of her Temeraire series). i am sooo tempted to buy the hardbound copy, but i think i’ll hold off for a while. at least until 2009.
bring on the Tropic Thunder
Posted by: onyxx on: August 10, 2008
i’m counting the days till i can watch Tropic Thunder and the biggest reason for this breathless anticipation is robert downey’s droll protrayal of Kirk Lazarus, an Aussie actor who goes through a skin color-changing procedure so he can play a black dude in “Tropic Thunder” — a movie-within-a-movie storyline that could easily pall on the viewer if it weren’t so funny.
Tropic Thunder tells the story of a cast of self-absorbed actors who have signed up to star in a war movie for various reasons (mostly to prop up their career), and their hapless, irate director who finally decides to continue filming in Southeast Asia to inject a sense of realism into the story. the only problem was, the cast stumbled into the lair of bad guys who mistook them for the real thing.
aside from robert downey, Tropic Thunder also stars ben stiller (who happens to direct this movie), funny guy jack black and brendan jackson. rounding off this improbable mix of cool stars and incongruously funny plot is an array of incredible cameos from nick nolte (as the vietnam vet/author), matthew mcconaughey (as the talent agent) and tom cruise (as the balding and expletive-spewing Hollywood exec).
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