Happy Birthday Python

Today is Eric Idle's birthday! Therefore this week I suggest you rent a Monty Python film like 'The Holy Grail' or the brilliant and often underrated 'Life of Brian,' (where Idle plays 9 parts!).The Monty Python star and hilarious comic turns 63 today.

Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story

Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story
~ Because everyone loves an accurate period piece ~

What exactly is "A cock and bull story"???
Meaning
A fanciful and unbelievable tale.
Origin
- It is widely reported that the phrase originated at Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire, England.
Coaches between London and Birmingham changed horses in the town at two of the main coaching inns - the Cock and the Bull. The banter of the rival groups of travellers, from England's two largest cities, resulted in exaggerated and fanciful stories.
- The first citation in English is from Robert Burton's 'The anatomy of melancholy', 1621:
"Some mens whole delight is to talk of a Cock and Bull over a pot."
---source "The Phrase Finder" at www.phrases.org.uk
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The Film - Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story

This is the film adaptation of Laurence Sterne's novel, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman.Deftly directed by Michael Winterbottom (9 Songs, 24 Hour Party People). Here's a great quote from imdb.com in the comment section: "Michael Winterbottom loves a challenge. This British director has jumped from genre to genre throughout his career; creating imaginative, idiosyncratic films with remarkable speed and ingenuity. However, an adaptation of Laurence Sterne's famously 'unfilmable' 18th century novel 'The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman' was surely even beyond his capabilities. This book - in which the title character attempts to tell his life story but, through a series of digressions and tangents never even gets around to describing his own birth - is an amorphous blend of bawdy humour and non-consecutive storytelling which seems the least promising material for a movie. Nevertheless, Winterbottom has taken a novel approach to tackling this material and the result is one of his most accomplished and entertaining films."

Steve Coogan is absolutely brilliant here, delivering a performance which has several layers to it - playing himself playing the character Tristram Shandy. Coogan is an actor with the ability to tease himself while in the very process of acting, which we saw him do recently in Jim Jarmusch's excellent indie/art film Coffee and Cigarrettes (2003). Coogan's particular skill here lies in how he is a good enough actor to be able to show us behind the scenes 'bad acting,' as we see in the hilarious scene with the hot chestnut down his pants.

The rest of the cast follow suit, with equally excellent performances (and there are far too many to mention them all), including Rob Brydon (MirrorMask), Shirley Henderson (YES), and a surprisingly transformed Gillian Anderson (The X-Files).

Steve Coogan (very partial) Filmography:

Marie Antoinette (in post production)
The Alibi (2006)
Happy Endings (2005)
Monkey Trousers (TV -2005)
24 Hour Party People (2002)
Alice Through the Looking Glass (1998)
* Also in several performances as 'Alan Partridge' - a spoof/comedy DJ persona he has adopted and revived several times on British radio and TV as well as an upcoming film, Alan Partridge: The Movie, (2007) -- more info on this hilarious and crazy persona of his at www.alan-partridge.co.uk

- comments? questions? - shawn@grandcinema.com

I'm in love with Miranda July!

It's true. Her brilliant film "Me and You and Everyone We Know" is out on video, and it's one of those rare films that just gets better with every screening. I saw the film's opening at the Seattle International Film Festival last year, and since then have seen it more times than I even know - if you're reading this locally, you likely recall that we had the film at the Grand for several weeks.

If you haven't seen this film - you truly owe it to yourself to see it. Even if the film's quirky-ness isn't your cup of tea, you still ought to see it for its historic relevance. I rarely do this, but here goes: 'mark my words' - this film will be in film history textbooks at the end of this decade, as an example of two things: Artists crossing over into film (July is a performance artist and 'Me and You...' is her first film) and more importantly, it will be marked as one of the strongest examples of the new direction film is heading in the new millennium (I share the belief that the era of Post Modernism is indeed dead, and a new era has begun). Not enough time has passed for this new era to really be fully accepted and even understood, but it is happening, and it's films like July's which are leading the way.

I'll share more of my ideas on this new era of film soon. For now, go rent 'Me and You and Everyone We Know.' And watch for the subtle differences this film has to most other art films you may be familiar with. That's the thing about this new direction in film - the differences aren't glaringly obvious at first. But if you watch for it, you just might see what I'm talking about.

Until next time -

-shawn@grandcinema.com

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Courtroom

Some of the guys from the Enron movie are on TV. Isn't it weird when art imitates life? Just kidding. But you saw it at the Grand first, and now Ken Lay and a few of his pals are all hopping around in the frying pan, and it's gonna get hot! At least, we can only hope so.

I have always despaired at how often we hear of something on the news, and then it just kind of disappears from sight. Well, this one is back, and we can hope that justice will be served. If you remember the film, you're probably still mad as heck. I am.

If you didn't see the film, rent it. Then you'll be mad as heck, just like me!!

Suggestions anyone?

I want to make sure everyone knows that I always welcome you suggestions for films. Usually when someone suggests a film to me at the theater, I already have it scheduled or am working on it - (great minds think alike). But sometimes a person suggests a film that I have overlooked, or (heaven forbid) I haven't heard of yet. And I love it when that happens. (Not the overlooking part, but the great suggestion part!) So please, feel free to put in your two bits about upcoming movies.

Also ~ if you have any comments or ideas regarding the films we play, again, please feel free to let me know. Your voice matters! And your feedback is greatly appreciated.

See you at the movies...

Academy Awards Party a HUGE Success!!!

First off , THANK YOU to all of our wonderful sponsors:

- The Weekly Volcano - provided three weeks of free ad space!
- The Swiss - served some great hot appetisers and treats!
- Corina Bakery - Ahhhhh - Corina, I'm in love. This is the best bakery of all time!
- Just Right Printing - They not only gave us our posters and postcards for this event, but did an amazing job!
- Stadium Video - As always, Stadium is there! The best video store in town!
- Cafe by the Bay - Pan Asian treats and appetisers got us started right! I eat here every week. Yum!

Your contributions made this event possible. THANK YOU!!!

Ok, I'm kind of over-doing it on the exclamation points, but they all deserve it.

And I would like to encourage everyone who supports the Grand to also support these excellent local businesses. They gave their support to us without a second thought. Tacoma is such a great little town! This wouldn't happen in a big city, and again, support your local businesses because they supported us!

Many thanks also to our many donors, who gave to our raffle:

Buzzard Records
Chopstix
Galanga Thai
Gary's Steak out & Bar
Gateway to India
Il Fiasco
Meconi's Pub & Eatery
Pour at Four
Primo Grill
Rosewood Cafe
Southern Kitchen
Vin Grotto
The Swiss
Embellish Salon
Hob Nob & The Harvester Restaurants
Meadow Park Golf Course
Puget Sound Pizza

Wow - look at how many great places in Tacoma want to help us out. Help them out by paying them a visit. :)

A big thanks to everyone who participated in tonight's Oscar Party! I was very impressed by how many people in Tacoma are happy to be a part of this event. Hurray for Tacoma!

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

I'm tempted to list all the winners from tonight's Oscars, but you can find them easily at - www.oscars.org

It was a night of a few surprises, and I was surprised mostly by the winner for Best Picture - CRASH. Wow. To me this means two things:

1. The Academy can remember a film that came out at the beginning of the year. This actually means a lot, because sometimes a studio will wait to release a film so it will get a chance at an Oscar. Maybe, just maybe, this will help allow good films to be spread out over the year.

2. A 'difficult' film with a lot of depth and some less than pretty characters can win Best Picture. Hollywood has proven it is willing to support a film that is a real challenge to watch/enjoy/understand. Crash was a film that, like the French New Wave films of the 60's, one must be actively engaged in the film to truly get it. Bravo to the Academy. Bravo!

I would also like to thank the Academy... just kidding.

Thank you once again to everyone who participated in this year's Academy Awards Party. See you next year, and as always, see you at the movies!!

shawn@grandcinema.com