What "Flicker Show" Did John Coffey REALLY Watch In "The Green Mile"? (video)

 

 "I ain't never seen me a flicker show..."

That's what condemned prisoner John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan) tells his two sympathetic prison guards in "The Green Mile." 

But what "flicker show" did they really show him? 

 

Video by Porfle Popnecker. I neither own nor claim any rights to this material. Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!

 

What "Flicker Show" Did John Coffey REALLY Watch In "The Green Mile"? (video)

DRAGNET: COLLECTOR'S EDITION -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 Originally posted on 10/16/18

 

I've heard several people over the years say that they liked, or even loved, the 1987 feature comedy adaptation of the classic TV cop series "Dragnet" starring Dan Ackroyd and Tom Hanks. To those people I would recommend Shout! Factory's new Blu-ray release DRAGNET: COLLECTOR'S EDITION, which features a new 4K HD scan and an assortment of bonus features.

The film certainly is lively and full of blustery comedic action that people not all that familiar with the TV show can enjoy without a lot of bothersome comparisons to it.

Basically it's the story of a very straight-laced, by-the-book cop (Dan Ackroyd as Sgt. Joe Friday) and his flighty, fun-loving, all-rules-barred new partner "Pep" Streebek (Tom Hanks) having to work together--while constantly getting on each other's nerves--to stop a growing organization of deranged criminals bent on citywide chaos.

For these viewers the film offers a wealth of one-liners and raucous situations as Friday and Streebek must overcome their "odd couple" differences and eventually develop a grudging mutual respect.  The investigation into the crime group known as "P.A.G.A.N." (People Against Goodness And Normalcy) also yields wild car chases, lots of stunts, gorgeous babes, some romantic schmaltz, and a constant barrage of generic action-movie stuff to keep us occupied.

That said, as a longtime devoted fan of the actual TV series (both in its 1950s and 1960s incarnations), I find the movie as a whole to be consistently problematic.  (That's the first time I've ever used that word!)

As a parody of the series, the movie is surprisingly unsimilar to it despite the usual references to "just the facts, ma'am" and other tropes ("This is the city...I work here, I carry a badge", "The story you are about to see is true", etc.) and Friday's unyielding adherence to the rules and loyalty to strict civil order in general.

Ackroyd is actually playing the original Joe Friday's nephew, but his character is meant to be a carbon copy of his late uncle.  It's troubling, then, that he is so far off base in capturing Jack Webb's intonations and body language, instead doing a sort of generic stiff-backed type with clipped speech and no sense of humor.

The more human and even, at times, casual aspects of Webb's portrayal are lost in Ackroyd's robotic interpretation. It often seems as though he's doing more of a take-off on Robert Stack's Elliot Ness from "The Untouchables" than Webb's more haggard, world-weary cop.  And while the old Joe might occasionally hit a bad guy with a long, rapid-fire verbal scolding, this one tends to speechify every other time he opens his mouth.  

As for Hanks, still at the age where he looked like a big, goofy kid, he plays a new character whose main trait is a childlike disregard for propriety and is designed simply to clash with Joe Friday's dogged conservatism in comic ways.  Mostly it works, although the two are at such odds that we miss the teamwork and comradery of Friday and his loyal partners Frank Smith (Ben Alexander) and Bill Gannon (Harry Morgan) from the TV series.

Speaking of Morgan, he plays the same character as before, now promoted to captain.  His devotion to his late partner doesn't carry over to the nephew, hence Captain Gannon spends much of the film bellowing at Friday and threatening to take away his badge (which he eventually does at the insistence of shrewish police commissioner Elizabeth Ashley).

The plot itself is a convoluted affair that bears little resemblance to the usual "Dragnet" investigations.  Friday's traditional "just the facts, ma'am" questioning of a civilian witness is represented by an unfunny exchange in which venerable comic actress Kathleen Freeman must portray a grotesquely foul-mouthed old lady who even has Streebek shaking his head along with Friday.

Dabney Coleman plays softcore sex magazine magnate Jerry Caesar, giving the film an excuse to be fully stocked with bikini babes, and Jack O'Halloran, the big, dumb member of the evil Kryptonian trio in SUPERMAN II, plays a big, dumb P.A.G.A.N. henchman who menaces the good guys.

Alexandra Paul is the button-cute Connie, a kidnapped virgin meant as a sacrifice in the bad guys' big pagan ritual but is rescued by the good guys and eventually develops romantic feelings for fellow virgin Friday. (Again, Jack Webb's Friday was a low-key sort of guy but he was never portrayed as either nerdy or virginal.)  The most surprising bit of casting is Christopher Plummer as a pious TV evangelist who may have a darker side.

But as I said before, all of these misgivings stem from my affection for the TV show and desire to see a more faithful parody of it.  As for everyone else, this "Dragnet" spoof may be a perfectly adequate and perhaps even gutbusting comedy romp.  If so, DRAGNET: COLLECTOR'S EDITION should prove an ideal way to enjoy it. 

Special Features:
NEW "A Quiet Evening in the Company of Connie Swail": An Interview With Co-Star Alexandra Paul
NEW Audio Commentary with Pop Culture Historian Russell Dyball
"Just the Facts!": A Promotional Look at Dragnet with Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks
Original Theatrical Trailers & Promos
Photo Gallery 

Buy it from Shout! Factory

DRAGNET: COLLECTOR'S EDITION -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

THE GREEN MILE -- Movie Review by Porfle

 

 

 Originally posted on 5/8/16

 

 

Four years after 1994's THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, Frank Darabont once again tapped master storyteller Stephen King (in addition to his own screenwriting talents) for another prison tale, THE GREEN MILE.

I recall the novelty of reading King's tale when first published not as a lengthy single volume but as a series of small paperbacks released in serial form a la Charles Dickens. I was skeptical when I heard that this riveting but highly unusual tale would be turned into a movie, a skepticism that Darabont proceeded to dash into smithereens by creating what I consider to be his finest and most thoroughly accomplished work to date.

The story takes place on Death Row in a Southern prison circa 1935, where head guard Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) strives to treat the condemned men with a fair amount of dignity and compassion until their date with "Old Sparky." Brawny, reliable Brutus "Brutal" Howell (David Morse) is his right hand man, aided also by the other guards Harry Terwilliger (Darabont regular Jeffrey DeMunn) and young Dean Stanton (Barry Pepper, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN).

Paul's biggest headache, besides the occasional psycho prisoner such as fiend killer "Wild Bill" Wharton (Sam Rockwell, GALAXY QUEST, GENTLEMEN BRONCOS), is a cruel, cowardly weasel of a guard named Percy Wetmore, brilliantly played by one of my favorite actors, Doug Hutchison (MOOLA). As the spoiled nephew of the governor's wife, Percy threatens to tattle on Paul whenever he doesn't get his way or is caught abusing the prisoners. It's Hutchison's best role since that of inhuman super-creep Eugene Tooms on "The X-Files."

While his connections could secure any job he wishes, Percy remains on Death Row because he aspires to be lead guard during an execution. Anxious to be rid of him, Paul grants him this opportunity. But it turns disastrous when Percy deliberately botches the electrocution of a hated inmate, turning it into a horrifying, agonizing ordeal (which Darabont stages with exquisite aplomb) both for him and the mortified onlookers in the film's most grueling, deliciously Grand Guignol sequence. (The SPFX as the ill-fated inmate's smoking body jerks, spasms, bursts into flames, and finally roasts alive are gruesomely convincing.)

While all this horror is going on, the Green Mile--named for its faded green linoleum--receives its strangest guest yet, a monstrously huge but mild-mannered black man named John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), convicted of murdering two little girls but seemingly unable to hurt a fly. Duncan, whose only previous film credit was in ARMAGEDDON, sought the services of an acting coach for the role and this paid off handsomely when he delivered a bravura performance as the doomed behemoth with the mind and heart of a child.

The film plunges full-bore into the supernatural when it's discovered that Coffey has miraculous healing powers which he uses to bring life back to the pet mouse of fellow condemned man "Del" Delacroix, an eccentric Cajun (Michael Jeter), after Percy cruelly stomps on it. (The mouse, "Mr. Jingles", will be a crucial element of the story in unexpected ways.)

After Coffey heals his painful bladder infection as well, Paul suddenly gets a wild, farfetched idea upon which he's willing to stake not just his job but his very freedom--that perhaps, somehow, John Coffey might be able to heal the dying wife of his boss and friend, Warden Hal Moores (James Cromwell). But if Coffey is capable of doing this, how in the world can Paul preside over the man's execution? Especially now that he's convinced Coffey is actually innocent?

It's a dilemma to haunt the viewer for some time to come, as impeccably rendered by Darabont with the skills of a master screen craftsman. Here again he tells the story unhurriedly and in a formal, old-school fashion that evokes the satisfaction one feels delving into a fine novel. Beautifully designed sets and another ideal prison location, this one with a distinct Gothic atmosphere, combine with gorgeous cinematography to create a film whose period ambience is intoxicatingly effective.

Hanks is at his best here, as is Morse, both portraying the kind of good and stalwart men you'd want in such positions. (Ditto for actors DeMunn and Pepper as their fellow guards.) Duncan gives the performance of his career and earned the Oscar nomination he received for it. James Cromwell and Patricia Clarkson, as Warden and Mrs. Moores, help make their strange encounter with John Coffey unforgettable, while always likeable Bonnie Hunt provides endearing moral support and domestic romantic interest as Paul's wife, Jan.

Gary Sinise (FORREST GUMP), Eve Brent, and SHAWSHANK alum William Sadler appear briefly as well, and in the film's wraparound segments, an older Paul Edgecomb is portrayed by none other than the great character actor Dabbs Greer in one of his juiciest and most high-profile roles ever.

As in THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, Darabont and King present prison inmates who are more like members of a social club than hardened criminals in order for us to more easily accept and identify with them. The first one to walk the Green Mile is Graham Greene's Arlen Bitterbuck, who gets one wonderfully poignant scene in which he wistfully recounts his happiest moment in life to Paul. 

 

 Michael Jeter is profoundly effective as Del in his scenes with Mr. Jingles the mouse, which never fail to have me blubbering like a baby even more than the film's powerful finale. As Wild Bill, Sam Rockwell is both repellent and perversely hilarious. Harry Dean Stanton is also funny in a smaller role as a prison trustee.

THE GREEN MILE ultimately becomes not only a highly absorbing tale of life on Death Row from both sides of the bars, but also a fascinating and moving morality tale that mines some of our deepest and most profound emotions. Darabont achieves a perfect balance here between the story's darker, uglier aspects, which manage to hold us in morbid fascination even at their most repellent, and the joyously uplifting passages that radiate with the compassion, empathy, and love which human beings sometimes display in the unlikeliest of circumstances.


Read our review of THE FRANK DARABONT COLLECTION

 

THE GREEN MILE -- Movie Review by Porfle

GUMP-PLANE! (video)

 

I was sitting around one day thinking about the bench scene from "Forrest Gump"...

...and noticed the similarity between that and the old lady scene from "Airplane!"...

...and since, as usual, I didn't have anything important or worthwhile to do...

...this is the result!


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!

GUMP-PLANE! (video)

The Lone Ranger Vs. Forrest Gump (video)

The Lone Ranger Vs. Forrest Gump


"HI YO, SILVER!"

"RUN, FORREST, RUN!"


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

The Lone Ranger Vs. Forrest Gump (video)

"CALIFORNIA TYPEWRITER" -- Gravitas Ventures Acquires Documentary With Tom Hanks, John Mayer, Sam Shepherd, and More

GRAVITAS VENTURES ACQUIRES ‘CALIFORNIA TYPEWRITER’ DOCUMENTARY

TOM HANKS, JOHN MAYER, SAM SHEPARD AND MORE STAR IN THE CINEMATIC LOVE LETTER

Doc set as Cleveland International Film Festival opening night film Wednesday, March 29, 7pm.

CLEVELAND (March 28, 2017) — Gravitas Ventures has announced the acquisition of U.S. rights to California Typewriter, which is set to show tomorrow evening at Tower City Cinemas as the Opening Night Film of the 41st Cleveland International Film Festival. The critically acclaimed documentary launched at the 2016 Telluride Film Festival. It will open theatrically in Los Angeles, New York and a dozen additional markets in the late summer.

California Typewriter is named after one of the last remaining typewriter shops in Berkeley, Calif., which plays a major role in the film. Run by Herbert Permillion III and his family, the business is depicted trying to balance financial security with its decades-long passion for selling and restoring typewriters.

“The film was a real labor of love for everyone involved and we couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with Gravitas and their team,” said Director Doug Nichol, who made the self-funded film over a period of five years.   

With the rise of computers and smart phones, typewriters are teetering on the edge of obscurity — much to the chagrin of nearly everyone profiled in this emotionally moving and entertaining documentary. The film masterfully interweaves stories including artist Jeremy Mayer, whose “typewriter assemblage sculpture” uses typewriter parts to assemble intricate, human-like works of art, and expert Martin Howard, who's collected typewriters for nearly 30 years and is on a quest to add a legendary, rare Sholes and Glidden machine to a collection that holds typewriters dating all the way back to 1880.

Nuanced typewriter testimonials from super fans Tom Hanks (who has over 250 machines in his collection), musician John Mayer, playwright Sam Shepard and author David McCullough add incisive perspective. California Typewriter is a love letter to the enduring societal, historical, creative, and artistic value of these machines.

“In exploring the history and fondness people still carry for the typewriter, we are forced to confront an even larger question of how technology factors into our lives and what it’s pushing away,” stated Gravitas Founder and CEO Nolan Gallagher. “It is timely in this age of growth in tech to bring these thought provoking stories to the big screen.”

California Typewriter was directed by Doug Nichol (Sting: Ten Summoners Tales) who also photographed and edited the film. Nichol produced with John Benet (All God’s Children Can Dance). Executive Producers are Charlotte Chatton, James Redford (Paper Tigers) and Dana Schwartz (The United States of Detroit). The deal was negotiated by Nolan Gallagher for Gravitas and Kevin Iwashina and Zac Bright from Preferred Content on behalf of the filmmakers.

ABOUT GRAVITAS VENTURES
Gravitas Ventures is a leading all rights distributor of independent cinema. Founded in 2006, Gravitas connects independent filmmakers and producers with distribution opportunities across the globe. Working with more than 500 content partners, Gravitas Ventures has distributed thousands of films into over 100 million homes. Recent releases include Katie Holmes’ feature directorial debut, “All We Had,” Jonathan Hock’s “Fastball,” Colin Hanks’ “All Things Must Pass,” “Being Evel” from Academy Award® winning director Daniel Junge and producer Johnny Knoxville, “Backstreet Boys: Show ‘Em What You’re Made Of,” and “For The Love of Spock” from Director Adam Nimoy.

For more information, please visit gravitasventures.com, and sign up for the e-newsletter, follow @GravitasVOD on Twitter and @gravitasventures on Instagram.

"CALIFORNIA TYPEWRITER" -- Gravitas Ventures Acquires Documentary With Tom Hanks, John Mayer, Sam Shepherd, and More

Tom Hanks and Emma Watson in "THE CIRCLE" In Theaters April 28th

TOM HANKS AND EMMA WATSON IN
"THE CIRCLE"

IN THEATERS NATIONWIDE APRIL 28TH

The Circle is a gripping modern thriller, set in the not-too-distant future, starring Emma Watson ("Harry Potter"), Tom Hanks ("Sully") and John Boyega ("Star Wars: The Force Awakens").

When Mae (Emma Watson) is hired to work for the world's largest and most powerful tech & social media company, she sees it as an opportunity of a lifetime.

 

 As she rises through the ranks, she is encouraged by the company's founder, Eamon Bailey (Tom Hanks), to engage in a groundbreaking experiment that pushes the boundaries of privacy, ethics and ultimately her personal freedom.

Her participation in the experiment, and every decision she makes begin to affect the lives and future of her friends, family and that of humanity.

                          Watch the Trailer


#TheCircle
Facebook.com/WeAreTheCircle
Twitter: @WeAreTheCircle
Instagram: @wearethecircle

Tom Hanks and Emma Watson in "THE CIRCLE" In Theaters April 28th

Tom Hanks to Receive Icon Award at 28th Annual PSIFF Film Awards Gala

TOM HANKS TO RECEIVE THE ICON AWARD AT 28th ANNUALPALM  SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL FILM AWARDS GALA

Palm Springs, CA (November 10, 2016) – The 28th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will present Tom Hanks with the Icon Award at its annual Film Awards Gala for his performance in Sully. The Film Awards Gala will be held Monday, January 2 at the Palm Springs Convention Center and hosted by Mary Hart. The Festival runs January 2-16.

“Tom Hanks delivers yet another career-defining performance bringing to life the heroism of airline pilot Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner.  “This is sure to be remembered in his long list of iconic character roles, including those in Forrest Gump, Captain Phillips, Castaway, Philadelphia, Saving Private Ryan, the Toy Story films and so many others.  The Palm Springs International Film Festival is honored to present this year’s Icon Award to Tom Hanks.”

Past recipients of the Icon Award include Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall and Meryl Streep. In 2014, Hanks received the Festival’s Chairman’s Award.

The film Sully is from Oscar®-winning director Clint Eastwood, starring Oscar® winner Tom Hanks as Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger.  On January 15, 2009, the world witnessed the “Miracle on the Hudson” when Sullenberger glided his disabled plane onto the frigid waters of the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 aboard.  However, even as he was being heralded by the public and the media for his unprecedented feat of aviation skill, an investigation was unfolding that threatened to destroy his reputation and his career. The film also stars Aaron Eckhart and Laura Linney.

Tom Hanks is an award-winning actor, producer and director.  He won back-to-back Best Actor Academy Awards® for his work in Jonathan Demme’s Philadelphia and the title role in Robert Zemeckis’ Forrest Gump.  He also won Golden Globe Awards for both films, as well as a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award® for the latter. His other feature credits include Bridge of Spies, A Hologram for the King, Captain Phillips, Saving Mr. Banks, Cloud Atlas, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Larry Crowne, The Ladykillers, The Terminal, Catch Me If You Can, Saving Private Ryan, Road to Perdition, That Thing You Do, The Green Mile, You’ve Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, A League of Their Own, Apollo 13, The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, Inferno, Splash and the animated Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, Cars and The Polar Express.  His next film will be James Ponsoldt’s The Circle.

About The Palm Springs International Film Festival
The Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) is one of the largest film festivals in North America, welcoming 135,000 attendees last year for its lineup of new and celebrated international features and documentaries. The Festival is also known for its annual Film Awards Gala, an upscale black-tie event attended by 2,500, honoring the best achievements of the filmic year by a celebrated list of talents who, in recent years, have included Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem, Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper, George Clooney, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Matthew McConaughey, Julianne Moore, Brad Pitt, Eddie Redmayne, Julia Roberts, David O. Russell, Meryl Streep, and Reese Witherspoon.

For more information, call 760-778-8979 or 800-898-7256 or visit www.psfilmfest.org.

Tom Hanks to Receive Icon Award at 28th Annual PSIFF Film Awards Gala