I just read an article about how the MPAA (That’s theMotion Picture Association of America for those of you who don’t pay any attention to those letters at the bottom of the screen) want to either reform the “NC-17” rating or eliminate it all together for a “Hard-R” rating.

According to the article I read the Hard R would deal with stuff at the “raunchier” end of the allowable spectrum:

According to an article in today’s Variety, MPAA chairman Dan Glickman is trying to find a new rating that will group together the movies that currently tip the dirtier scale of the R-rating — the ‘hard R’ films that contain copious amounts of nudity, the f-word every three seconds, or gruesome torture-horror imagery, for instance.

The article went on to state that the move has been motivated by parents who are outraged over what is currently being allowed in R-rated films. Well, for what it is worth, for years I have been calling for a rating akin to the PG-13 to take the higher end of the scale.

To understand the ratings you have to understand that there initially was no “X” rating. Further, the MPAA trademarked all of the ratings except the “X” because they felt that it wasn’t necessary. Then the Porn industry essentially invented the XXX rating and forever turned X into a pejorative.

Finally, some two decades after it was ruined (remember Last Tango in Paris, Fritz the Cat, and Midnight Cowboy were Hollywood films that were rated X before the rating was ruined by the porn industry and Cowboy won an Oscar).

Now there are some that say that NC-17 solved that, I say it didn’t because NC-17 simply became the new X and most legit theater chains won’t carry the films and Blockbuster video won’t handle the video/DVDs. You see the problem is that it is a new (read “different” rating. By making a Hard R (call it R-18) you identify it with something that parents, Hollywood, and theater owners already understand.

Just like “PG-13 ” is an “older” PG film, so too would an “R-18” make people understand that this film is targeted for an older audience. Personally, I’m for this type of distinction, and I further believe that it is high time that we all simply get our heads around the difference.

The Perfessor

Does anyone remember the musical Paint Your Wagon? it was a 1960s musical that became a film (staring Clint Eastwood, of all people). Well, there was a song in that film called Talk to the Trees. Well, after watching this vid — entitled Forest Love — which is part of a very Racy Greenpeace Video Campaign against illegal logging, you’ll think that simply talking to trees is just foreplay.

Now you know why they call them “Tree Huggers” eh?

The Perfessor

Come this August, filmmaker Oliver Stone (Platoon, Wall Street, Nixon, Born on the Fourth of July, JFK and others), will release his latest outing, a little film that is guaranteed to toss something of a money wrench into the electoral process. The film’s title?

W.

Since last we spoke I have seen a number of films, and I’d like to talk to you about some of them now. These films include the independent film The Wackness, the second TV-to-film upgrade for The X-Files: I Want to Believe, and the song and dance fest, stage-to-film Mamma Mia!. So, read on if you must, but still consider to go out and see some of them.

continue reading "Movies, Movies, and more Movies"

This just in!

Tell me that you want to be in the cell with this guy:

Batman star Christian Bale arrested by London police on suspicion of assault

By Nico Hines

Christian Bale, the actor who plays Batman, was arrested today for allegedly assaulting his own mother and sister before last night’s premiere of The Dark Knight.

The Welsh-born actor was in custody at a central London police station today being questioned over the incident which is thought to have taken place in his Dorchester Hotel suite on Sunday night.

Bale’s mother and sister, Jenny, 61, and Sharon, 40, made a formal complaint against the Hollywood actor yesterday.

The two women, who live in Dorset, went to a Hampshire police station to make their allegations. The complaint was then passed to the Metropolitan Police for further investigation.

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said: “A 34-year-old man attended a Central London police station this morning and was arrested in connection with an allegation of assault. He currently remains in custody.”

Bale is alleged to have lashed out in his suite on Park Lane two days ago but police allowed him to attend the European premiere of the latest installment of the Batman films in Leicester Square last night. Bale, who also starred in American Psycho and Empire Of The Sun, joined co-stars Sir Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Aaron Eckhart on the red carpet.

This morning he voluntarily attended a police station in London, where he was arrested and questioned.

The new Batman film has already attracted a great deal of interest because it contains the final complete performance by Heath Ledger. The 28-year-old Australian actor gave an Oscar-tipped performance as The Joker before he died from an accidental drugs overdose in January.

(Via Times Online)

I’m totally sure that this is the kind of press that Warner Bros wants the film to attract, eh?

The Perfessor

Personally, I think that this is very cool, as it will ensure that more funnybook films will be made, and that the producers of the film will (hopefully) be faithful to the mood and design of the comics themselves (no more “Pow!” “Bam!” “Zap!” of the Batman TV show. No more bat suits with nipples and codpieces, and no more stunt casting of comedians because these are “funny” books.

In spite of my Spider-Man leanings, I am a fan of The Batman (especially when he is done right), and this time he is is done very right. For my take on the film, check out Suspension of Belief, my film column.

The Perfessor

Having part of the day off today, I figured I’d take in the midnight showing of THE DARK KNIGHT and after getting out at the lovely hour of 3AM this morning, figured sleep was the better part of valor and my initial thoughts about the movie got lost in slumberland. The result of all this being that this quick review isn’t quite the “first impression” that my other Quick Reviews were.

You know how the website RottenTomatoes will come up with a stellar review for a movie and you’ll discover that you didn’t agree with the consensus of movie critics as to whether the movie was good or bad? That’s the way I am with this movie.

THE DARK KNIGHT was a fantastic movie that I did not enjoy. Well, certainly as much as I should have.

For obvious reasons I won’t go into details as to why I wasn’t thrilled with this movie, but I do think you should give it a watch.

Film school students will write term papers about this movie. Psychologists will pen their thoughts on this movie, comparing the events in this to those in real life. In short, this will end up being an important movie, and it’s one that will easily stand the test of time. It will be remembered as one of the more memorable super-hero movies ever made, right up there with the first Superman movie.

The movie isn’t cheesy. Dragging in parts, but only if you think movies should be no longer than 90 minutes. This movie is long, and deservedly so. If you do go see this, there’s not any real good slow spot to leave to go to the bathroom, so be warned. Not because there’s non-stop action — no, it’s because you won’t want to miss what’s going on up on the screen. (EDIT: I take that back, the scene with the Police Van being chased underground is five minutes too long, and you can time a break then.)

Do not take your children to see this movie. It’s not a super-hero movie for them. It’s not the visuals that will frighten them. It’s the theme of death and honor that they just won’t understand.

Do not see this movie if you didn’t really pay attention to the previous Batman movie. The plot and motivations are completely based on BATMAN BEGINS. This movie simply expands most of the concepts and takes them to their next phase of development. Psychologically, the movies are joined.

I went with a jazzed up crowd that were ready to hoot and holler at the screen, and it turns out very few did.

The movie is serious, and the characters in the movie know this, and make a point of telling you this. At the end of the movie, a group in one corner figured they had to start applauding, but the applause did not catch on.

A lot of folks will talk about various performances, and this movie will certainly be up for an Oscar nomination or three.

It’s probably the best movie I ever saw that I wish I could un-see.