Timmy Loves Julie

connorratliff: THE COMPLETE PEANUTS: 1987 TO 1988 It almost...

Mon, 20 May 2013 07:14:47 -0400

THE COMPLETE PEANUTS: 1987 TO 1988

It almost goes without saying that Charles Schulz’ Peanuts is one of my favorite things ever, one of the most popular and acclaimed works of art of the 20th Century. It was also, most importantly, a deeply personal work of art: made by Charles Schulz, alone, every day for 50 years. Sure, there was tons of merchandise and TV shows and movies and all sorts of ancillary Peanuts material, but the comic strip was his and his alone.

Schulz retired from Peanuts in 2000 and then promptly died before the syndicate had even finished publishing his final strips.

But one of the things that made Peanuts so great was also a big part of why it got deeply odd in the last 10 or 12 years of him doing it. I grew up reading it in the newspaper and reading reprints of the 1950s-70s strips in little cheap paperback books, and all that stuff was terrific. Then, in the late 80s and early 90s, I started to feel like the strip was getting strange. There were strips that made no sense at all and there were strips that seemed like they made sense unless you spent an extra 5 seconds to realize that they were completely insane.

In the latest volume in Fantagraphics’ Complete Peanuts series, things are just starting to get weird. The characters are beginning to shift slightly from their distinctive early personas to be more like a bunch of surrogates for Schulz himself. I guess that was always the case, but they seem less and less like adult-sounding kids and more like a bunch of cranky old people complaining about what’s on TV.

For instance, Sally Brown is supposed to be in 1st or 2nd grade, right? Yet by this point, she is reading Tess Of The D’urberviles for school. In a lot of cases, it almost doesn’t matter which characters say something, you could substitute Charlie Brown and Sally for Linus and Lucy or Patty and Marcie and it would make almost no difference.

The above strip feels oddly out-of-place— Schulz rarely gets political. It’s a good example of how, at this point, Schulz was just using the characters to say stuff he wanted to say; their personalities don’t matter, they are often just mouthpieces for Schulz who happen to look like Peanuts characters.

Why is Charlie Brown not at all bothered that his dog is carrying a machine gun? (This comes at the end of a sequence in which the Snoopy was accidentally issued a driver’s and then a fishing license instead of a dog license.)

This isn’t even the weirdest example. I’ll post some other ones as it gets weirder and weirder in this and the coming volumes.

Timmy Loves Julie: UNDERRATED COMEDY: THE MOTION PICTURES: THE LIST

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:29:35 -0400

Timmy Loves Julie: UNDERRATED COMEDY: THE MOTION PICTURES: THE LIST:

davidbluvband:

timmylovesjulie:

Last night Dave Bluvband and I brought up comedies that we thought were underrated (or wrongfully critically maligned or just forgotten). We then decided we need to make a master list. Feel free to add on to this list but show your work.

1. THE LONELY GUY: The Jerk is a great movie but I would…

Timmy and I had a great conversation last night, and it took me all day to compile this list, but I think it’s a good one.

1. THE LANDLORD: Hal Ashby’s directorial debut (he later directed Harold & Maude and Being There). I LOVE Hal Ashby movies, and this one is always my default for top ten favorite films of all time.

2. BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE: Timmy mentioned this last night, and I was so happy someone else had seen this movie, and then we both realized we were shocked because no one else we knew had seen it. This was one of those movies that made me want to become a filmmaker. Everyone around UCB should watch a Paul Mazursky film. They are all funny, and dark, and just wonderful all the way through. This one is his first and it’s really good.

3. A SHOT IN THE DARK: A Peter Sellers classic. The only Inspector Cleuseau film that’s not Pink Panther related. If you have some time, watch the first Pink panther movie, and this one in succession and just have a good time.

4. THE HOSPITAL: Another one of my default top ten favorite movies. Written by Paddy Chayefsky and starring George C. Scott. This one is also a pretty dark comedy about the inner workings of a Manhattan hospital, and how the chief of medicine (Scott) has to deal with personal problems like his wife leaving him, and a string of sudden deaths of doctors and nurses. I’m a huge fan of Chaefsky’s writing, and this movie just nails it on every angle.

5. WORLD’S GREATEST DAD: Granted, I tend to like “darker” or “weirder” comedies, so I get why this might be people’s cup of tea, but I love this movie. I saw it twice in theaters when it came out, I’ve seen it twice on netflix since then. I think it’s a really fresh and original comedy, and people should give it more love. Bobcat Goldthwaite is one of my new favorite writer/directors right now, and I can’t wait for his next movie.

Those are my five! Keep this list coming! I want to add more things to my netflix queue.

This list was fun to do! Thanks for those that also threw in their input ( Kevin Hines! Jon Bershad! Dave Bluvband! and more) I thought of a few more!

COLD TURKEY - a Norman Lear film starring Dick Van Dyke and Bob Newhart ( as the antagonist) a small town takes the challenge that they will all quite smoking for a month and if they do, the town will win a tax free check of 25 million dollars. Great movie, really funny performances and a great Randy Newman song in the begging.

STRANGE BREW I need to revisit this but I remember loving it.

THE SEVEN LITTLE FOYS I think this is the best of the Bob Hope “solo” pictures. ( the Crosby/ Hope road ones can’t be beat)

DOWN WITH LOVE great play on the Doris day/ Rock Hudson/ Tony Randall comedy but shot through a modern lens.

THERE’S MORE BUT I NEED TO REMEMBER THEM!

Talking Comics with Kevin Hines: Plot vs Characters

Tue, 14 May 2013 17:52:30 -0400

Talking Comics with Kevin Hines: Plot vs Characters:

talkingcomics:

“They’re missing the full spectrum of these character’s emotional lives. The most important thing is the long, involved soap operas. It’s a type of narrative that you don’t get anywhere else except on very long-running soap operas, where characters can go into depth. 20 pages every month going…

"Plan B" - Timmy Loves Julie - YouTube

Mon, 06 May 2013 15:27:00 -0400

"Plan B" - Timmy Loves Julie - YouTube:

In honor of our 2 year wedding anniversary watch our favorite sketch that we did together.

Improv and Sketch Comedy Menu curated by Timmy Wood

Mon, 06 May 2013 11:31:47 -0400

These are the teams I regularly perform with. Think of this as a Comedy Menu and order whatever you like.

RAMONA
A very spicy dish and not for the feint of heart. You may at first start to feel like a heart attack when Ramona starts (again Spicy!) but these are trained professionals who have been in the game for a long time and know what they are doing. As soon as Ramona has commenced you will be begging for a second helping.

REGIONAL BOXES
This is like a nice Veal or Lamb Chop. Young, full of energy, and refuses to take no for an answer. This team was just thrown together blindly and randomly at Indie Cagematch and went on to win, TWICE.

TIMMY AND MARK EAT FOOD
A slow, quiet intimate meal. Mark Dowling and I eat real food while doing improv. I love doing this show because 1) I am often hungry while doing improv and 2) Mark is a crazy good improviser.

TIMMY & A.J.
This is not an Improv team. A.J. is my hilarious and charming writing partner and we host tons of improv shows. TONS! We may even host yours if you wish. We have been called “The Best!” (by Julianne Cross) and “Wow, you guys actually planned something and didn’t phone it in.” (by Anthony Apruzzese) We promise to be charming and funny and not take up too much time. How annoying is it when the hosts go on and on and on forever? Super Annoying!

FORD MODELS PRESENTS THE DRAMATIC IMPROVISATION SORÉE
A very expensive dish. This is actually my cousins team. He goes by the name of “ə” and he is a model. No jokes during this set. All pure dramatic improvisation. Prepare to feel catharsis!

Those are my regulars. Book us, Danno.

UNDERRATED COMEDY: THE MOTION PICTURES: THE LIST

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:14:38 -0400

Last night Dave Bluvband and I brought up comedies that we thought were underrated (or wrongfully critically maligned or just forgotten). We then decided we need to make a master list. Feel free to add on to this list but show your work.

1. THE LONELY GUY: The Jerk is a great movie but I would say that Lonely Guy is just as good, plus Charles Grodin who I always loved is also great as a “Lonely Guy”. There are so many great jokes in this film. If you like The Jerk then watch it.

2. AFTER THE FOX: A Peter Sellers vehicle in which he plays a thief posing as a film director in order to steal gold that will be imported into a small Italian village. They tell the town they are shooting a movie and the town gets super excited. Quite funny and has been cannibalized quite a bit. I see jokes stolen from this movie all the time.

3. THE OTHER GUYS: I know a lot of us (comedians) like this movie but almost every other person I talk to hates it or dismisses it by saying “I heard all the funny parts where in the trailer”.

4. TOYS: An INSANE surreal film that I am surprised ever got made. It’s no wonder that this was considered a flop. Anyone remember the SNES game?

5. The BROTHERS SOLOMON: A bad movie, yes. Lot of the jokes don’t work but the few that do are very very funny.

6. NIGHT AT THE ROXBURY: Wrongfully accused of being the worst SNL film, everyone knows that It’s Pat is the worst SNL film. (Sorry It’s Pat fans)

7. SAVING SILVERMAN: A movie that should be terrible but the co-stars Jack Black and Steve Zahn save it. THEY SAVE A MOVIE. This is right before Jack Black blew up and he is great in this.

8. JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS: I fully admit that I am biased because I ~~had~~ have huge crushes on both Rachel Leigh Cook and Rosario Dawson but there are some clever jokes in here.

9-10 BACHELOR PARTY and THE ‘BURBS: Tom Hanks is very funny in Bachelor Party. It’s really dated and some of the jokes about sex and drugs are a very much of their time, but again Tom Hanks kills every line he has. The Burbs is just a cool Twilight Zone-ish comedy.

11. THE CABLE GUY: The best movie Jim Carrey made during the height of his peak. Yes, as kids we all thought Dumb and Dumber and Ace Ventura were funnier, but as an adult Cable Guy shines the brightest.

There are more I am sure but I need to ponder on them. What are some of yours?

connorratliff: Posters for every movie written & directed...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:07:14 -0400

connorratliff:

Posters for every movie written & directed by Albert Brooks.

His debut, Real Life, was a movie I “discovered” on TV on a Saturday afternoon. I knew Brooks from Broadcast News and I knew Charles Grodin but I had no idea what this movie was, and as it unfolded I remember the feeling that I could not believe that this movie was allowed to exist, it was so bold and so comedically unlike anything I’d ever seen before.

Modern Romance is my default answer for all-time favorite film, but Lost In America is equally great, Defending Your Life manages to be just as good as his first three but ALSO, somehow, a totally crowd-pleasing romantic comedy. Mother is not quite at the level of those first for but it still has a lot of great stuff in it. His two most “recent” features (although neither of them is as recent) both have things in them that make me laugh, and they’re both ambitious. I hope he finds a way to make another feature. I feel like maybe if Judd Apatow produces and really pushes for something to happen, maybe a new Albert Brooks film can get a green light?

FOOTNOTE: A few years ago, Anthology Film Archives had an Albert Brooks week where they tried to show his 1980s masterpiece Lost In America but Warner Brothers NO LONGER HAS A PRINT OF IT.

Modern Romance was such a great movie that even Stanley Kubrick was a fan.

improvlogos: REPORT TO THE JAM.

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 13:11:41 -0400

improvlogos:

REPORT TO THE JAM.

Chris Griswold: Thoughts after seeing Jurassic Park in 3D

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 15:24:45 -0400

Chris Griswold: Thoughts after seeing Jurassic Park in 3D:

uncannybrettwhite:

timmylovesjulie:

1. Why was the triceratops sick?
2. Jeff Goldblum is the best.
3. John Hammond should have died at the hands (or jaws) of the beasts, Dr. Frankenstein style.
4. I really wish we could go back in time and re-do Jurassic Park 2. There was a lot of potential for this as a…

I loved “Lost World” when it came out. I was in middle school and not a discerning viewer. It had dinosaurs and was a sequel (this was well before sequels were assumed; only a few films got sequels!). By the time JP3 came out, I was older (senior in high school maybe?) and I started to see sequels as more of a cash-in than stories that needed to be told. I hated JP3 as a senior in high school, have not seen it since.

The thing is, I don’t think that “Juarssic Park” was set up to become a franchise! Or even a trilogy! The first movie is the definition of a complete story. Unlike Star Wars and all of the Marvel movies, which are set in universes where danger and bad guys and weird things can literally happen every where, the action and plot of “Jurassic Park” is entirely hinged on this one island. The only way to keep the action going is to have people continually keep going to this one island over and over again.

Plus “JP1” totally says pretty much everything that needs to be said about the dangers of the dinosaurs and the philosophies behind playing god and what not. So not only do the sequels, by nature, have to tell more stories about more people going back to a random island in the middle of nowhere, they have to do so with much less intelligence and grace than “JP1” because “JP1 kind of used up all the smarts gas. The debates in the first half of “JP1” are so well written and acted, and by the end, every single person leaves the island with a “Yep, that was a dumb idea” attitude.

Then there’s the fact that sequels demand actors to return which, after “JP1”, it’s nearly impossible to get any of those survivors back. You immediately think those people are stupid for going back to dino island! They seemed to have learned something! I guess they didn’t? I read the summary of “JP3” last night, and seriously, Alan Grant goes back to the island because they promise to fund ANOTHER dig of his? Seriously?! That’s just the same reason as in “JP1”! I can’t remember why Malcolm goes back in “JP2.”

“Jurassic Park” is not a world or a universe, it’s one weird corner of “our planet” that is so separate from the rest of the world that return visits and sequels have so many logical leaps to make, they don’t really have a right to exist.

I’ll see “JP4,” but like, it should be called “Jurassic Park IV: We Keep Going Back To This One Island That Has Dinosaurs On It.” Also, I know there were two islands. Having two islands filled with dinosaurs was such a ridiculous justification for “JP2.”

I think several movies have made a sequel work despite having a nicely wrapped up story of the first film. “Alien” “Frankenstien” and “Gremlins” all have endings but they found ways to make the sequels both work AND be awesome AND still stand alone on their own merits.

(I love Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Don’t hate.)

There is a lot of potential with Jurassic Park 2 that was set up in the first film. The rival company Newman was selling eggs too, the Dinos changing their sex and laying eggs (Life Finding a Way…A WAY OFF THAT ISLAND!)

It could have been great.

Thoughts after seeing Jurassic Park in 3D

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 08:56:21 -0400

1. Why was the triceratops sick?
2. Jeff Goldblum is the best.
3. John Hammond should have died at the hands (or jaws) of the beasts, Dr. Frankenstein style.
4. I really wish we could go back in time and re-do Jurassic Park 2. There was a lot of potential for this as a log running franchise and that film really bungled it. There’s a good JP sequel yet to be made.

Marcello Mastroianni in 8½ I wish I wore glasses. I would be...

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 17:15:49 -0400

Marcello Mastroianni in 8½

I wish I wore glasses. I would be ripping off Mastroinni ALL the damn time. It sucks having perfect vision guys. *Sigh*

Ask me anything. In the meantime, here is a picture of...

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 17:05:00 -0400

Ask me anything.

In the meantime, here is a picture of Terry-Thomas.

balnibarbi: e a s y by Birmingham Phil http://flic.kr/p/74VNoe

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 15:54:42 -0400

balnibarbi:

e a s y by Birmingham Phil http://flic.kr/p/74VNoe

Photo

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 14:57:53 -0400

nevver: Dedication

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:43:39 -0500

nevver:

Dedication

mudwerks: I love this tumblr.

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:39:49 -0500

mudwerks:

I love this tumblr.

beautyandterrordance: Vincent Price

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:37:20 -0500

beautyandterrordance:

Vincent Price

collegehumor: If People Talked About Seinfeld Like They Talk...

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:35:59 -0500

collegehumor:

If People Talked About Seinfeld Like They Talk About Girls [Click for more]

Do you watch Seinfeld? Do you like it? REALLY?! Ugh, I mean it’s fine, I guess, I just think it has A LOT of problems.

The whole thing just seems SO self-indulgent. Seinfeld stars a comedian named Jerry Seinfeld who plays a comedian named Jerry. Wow. Really, Jerry? He also created the show and writes it. It’s like he can’t give up control of anything.

Sometimes it seems like he’s just using this show as an excuse to play out his fantasies, y’know? Every show opens with him performing stand-up to a great crowd that loves every one of his jokes. And he’s constantly having sex with these beautiful women. Like, WAY too beautiful for a schlubby guy like Jerry. Even George, who’s like short and fat, and Kramer, who’s just kind of gross, both also have sex with these beautiful women. It’s like, yeah, okay, Jerry. I guess enjoy the dream while you can.

He really seems to think he’s funny. Do you think he’s funny? I don’t think he’s funny. Like, the critics say it’s a funny show, but the comedy is kind of weird. And nothing ever HAPPENS. It’s just these privileged white people (and I mean, they’re ALL white) living their lives in New York. The only non-white characters are wacky immigrant cab drivers and soup vendors. Oh, hilarious: they can’t speak English well — what’s so groundbreaking about that? Continue

lefthandedradio: RESERVE YOUR TICKETS NOW It’s the show...

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 10:06:42 -0500

lefthandedradio:

RESERVE YOUR TICKETS NOW

It’s the show written round robin style by tons of NYC comedy writers! @JonBershad got me drunk right before I wrote my page of this show. So, sorry to everyone who came before and after me.

“I never suspected that [El Topo] would be seen. All Mexico was...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 14:02:49 -0500

“I never suspected that [El Topo] would be seen. All Mexico was against it, they wanted to kill me—they thought I was making a black mass! I was like an alien to them. I had to play the cowboy figure in El Topo because nobody else wanted to. They were scared to act in something so weird. George Harrison wanted to play the thief in Holy Mountain. I met him in the Plaza Hotel in New York and he told me there’s one scene he didn’t want to do, when the thief shows his asshole and there is a hippopotamus. I said: ‘But it would be a big, big lesson for humanity if you could finish with your ego and show your asshole.’ He said no. I said, ‘I can’t use you, because for me this is a sin.’ I lost millions and millions—stars are good for business but not for art, they kill the art.”

Alejandro Jodorowsky
Born February 17, 1929