Episode 6
This Week in Movies #6 with Thomas Ian Nicholas
Sundays at 8pm PDT
Our guest on this week’s show was Thomas Ian Nicholas of “American Pie,” “Rules of Attraction” and “Please Give.” Hosts are Farrell Roth, Roger Erik Tinch and Lon Harris.
Intro
Farrell was wearing a white dress that Roger compared to a Lady Gaga outfit and Lon said was reminiscent of David Bowie’s alien form from “The Man Who Fell To Earth.”
Trailer Talk!
The hosts discussed two trailers today. First up was “Catfish,” an alleged documentary that made a splash (ugh…I’m sorry…) at Sundance.
The hosts compared the “Catfish” trailer to “The Blair Witch Project” and theorized whether or not it’s an actual documentary or a fictional film posing as a documentary.
Next up was the trailer for the new Woody Allen film, “You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger,” starring Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Gemma Jones, Freida Pinto, Naomi Watts and Anthony Hopkins.
Though all hosts agreed that a decent Woody Allen film is better than no Woody Allen films, Lon expressed the opinion that a lot of Allen’s recent films feel kind of half-baked, and if he produced less output, he might be able to make the films that did get made stronger. All hosts agreed that “Match Point” and “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” were good recent examples of Allen’s oeuvre.
In Theaters
“The Girl Who Played with Fire”
Roger and Farrell both discussed the so-called “Millennium Trilogy” of adaptations of Stieg Larsson’s novels being produced in his home country of Sweden. “Played with Fire” is the second book of the series, following up “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”
Both hosts liked the new film, though Farrell noted it was very different and a lot less epic and large-scale than “Dragon Tattoo.” Roger liked the shift from the more dramatic story about a family to a pulpy look at the Swedish criminal underground.
“Girl Who Played with Fire” trailer
Farrell enjoyed some aspects of “Dinner for Schmucks,” the big summer comedy from Jay Roach (director of “Meet the Parents”), particularly the chemistry between leads Paul Rudd and Steve Carell.
She did feel that the film was derivative and could have been just as easily called “What About Barry?” (a reference to the Bill Murray comedy “What About Bob?”) She also felt that the movie was too long and would probably be better if you were stoned.
Farrell also feels that Zach Galifianakis, a supporting player in the film, is being overexposed now and has grown tiresome. She felt Jemaine Clement of “Flight of the Conchords” was more effective and funny in the film.
Hollywood Headlines
- Rihanna to star in “Battleship!” for Peter Berg
Yes, they’re making a movie out of the “Battleship” board game. And yes, pop sensation Rihanna is set to star in it opposite Alexander Skarsgard and Taylor Kitsch. Farrell thought the move was genius because she’s now curious to see what Rihanna will be like in a movie. Lon expressed nothing but shock and dismay that this will be an actual film.
- Daniel Craig to star in the English-language Stieg Larsson films for director David Fincher!
Former James Bond Daniel Craig will allegedly take on the role of journalist Mikael Blomkvist in the English-language adaptations of Larsson’s “Millennium Trilogy” of novels. David Fincher has apparently signed on to direct all 3 films. The hosts discussed whether there was a need for 3 new films, as the Swedish adaptations have just come out, but Lon argued that most Americans just don’t want to watch subtitled films.
They also discussed rumored actresses to take on the role of Lisbeth Salander, including Kristen Stewart, Ellen Page and Mia Wasikowska.
- Casey Affleck accused of sexual harassment by second woman
This case has heated up as a second woman has now come forward claiming to have been harassed by the actor and filmmaker during the making of “I’m Still Here: The Lost Year of Joaquin Phoenix.”
DVD
Roger discussed “Mother,” from South Korean director Joon-ho Bong, whose previous work includes “The Host” and “Memories of Murder.” The story concerns a mother frantically searching for the man she believes has framed her son for murder.
Roger loved the film, and urged the audience to go in without knowing anything. He felt that, though the film takes the form of a murder mystery, it’s really centered on the relationship between the mother and son, and the social stigma the mother must endure as her son’s only real defender.
Lon also highly recommended Bong’s “Memories of Murder,” another crime drama that focuses on the impact a serial killer has on a small Korean village over the course of several years.
Interview with Thomas Ian Nicholas
Actor Thomas Ian Nicholas fronts the Thomas Nicholas Band and starred in films like “American Pie,” “Please Give” and, of course, “Rookie of the Year.”
He discussed his first few acting jobs – including playing the part of young Tony Danza on “Who’s The Boss” – and his roles in various ads and TV shows. He then spoke about getting cast in Nicole Holofcener’s film “Please Give,” and navigating a lot of jokes casting him as the ineffectual “short guy.” Thomas also won Farrell’s “Fame Game” trivia challenge (with a little help from Lon.)
Thomas Nicholas Band performs “Turn Me Off”
Cage Match
In the “Cage Match,” Lon and his brother, Jonathan Harris, each choose a Nicolas Cage film and then rate the level of insanity of the Cage performance on a scale of 1 Cage (meaning a not-at-all-insane performance) to 10 Cages (meaning a completely ludicrous Cage performance).
This week, Jonathan watched the 1995 crime thriller “Kiss of Death,” a remake of a classic noir film directed by Barbet Schroeder. He gave it a Cage Score of 6.5
Lon watched 1999′s “8 MM,” a film he recalled as being more Cage-y than it actually was. (The film itself is rather low-key and troubling.) Lon recommends everyone watch the Paul Schrader film “Hardcore,” which is similar to “8 MM” but features a very Nicolas Cage-like turn from George C. Scott. That film gets 8 Cages.
