boogie nights Tagged Articles at Cinematical

There are a lot of things I love about Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights (the sight of Don Cheadle in a Stevie Wonder wig is worth the price of admission alone), but if I simply had to choose, the scene of a botched drug deal with Rahad Jackson (Alfred Molina) probably ranks as one of my favorite movie moments of all time. Why? Between the Night Ranger soundtrack and the sounds of Cosmo's cherry bombs going off in the background, I was right there with Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly) on the couch wanting to get the hell out of that living room. I get film geek goose pimples all over as the camera settles on Dirk (Mark Wahlberg), watching his face gradually realize how far he'd fallen. At the time, it even managed to convince me that Wahlberg might be an honest to goodness actor -- a notion he's been working hard to dissuade me from ever since.

Boogie Nights fun facts:

• Paul Thomas Anderson intended for further scenes involving Rahad Jackson (Molina) that would have had him going out in a blaze of gunfire when the cops arrived on the scene.
  
  
• There are numerous references to John Holmes in the film, but this sequence is loosely based on the infamous Wonderland murders that centered on Holmes and gangster Eddie Nash in real life.

First, he gets a mainstream comic actor to act in a contemplative art house narrative with Punch-Drunk Love. Now, he's putting two of them on a stage. According to cigarettes and red vines, Paul Thomas Anderson has written and directed a play in Los Angeles with Saturday Night Live stars Maya Rudolph (Anderson's partner) and Fred Armisen. It premieres at the Largo on August 5, but specific details about plot remain unrevealed. Still, the prospects of seeing Anderson's eerily detached style in a live performance are intriguing, to say the least. As Slashfilm points out, the production has a few logical attachments to the filmmaker's past: Anderson directed a short film for SNL back in 2000, and Rudolph starred in Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion, which Anderson may or may not have ghost-directed in parts.

Now that Anderson has proven he can craft epic period pieces of the raunchy (Boogie Nights) and morose (There Will Be Blood) kind, he's reached a point where audiences will basically allow him to take them wherever he wants to go. The dynamics of the stage, however, differ greatly from those of the cinema. Since the name and subject matter are a mystery, there's a lot left to the imagination. Will Anderson allow Rudolph and Armisen to unleash their comic potential? Or is that a milkshake I hear brewing?

Just caught There Will Be Blood on DVD last weekend, and though it's after the fact, I'm pretty convinced now that it should have won Best Picture. I haven't yet explored the DVD (which comes out on April 8), but I definitely encourage you to pick this flick up and watch it again, or watch it for the first time. In my opinion, one of the best films in the past 10 years. Without a doubt. But anyway, came across this very cool Paul Thomas Anderson tribute video today and thought we'd share it with you. It's six minutes long, and covers only five films (Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood), but it's cut brilliantly and worth a watch if you, like me, are a die hard PTA fanboy. Whoever cut this must have gotten their hands on a copy of the There Will Be Blood DVD (no, not me -- this would've taken me five years to cut together), so in case you want to go into that film fresh, you may want to skip this.

Additionally, this dude also made videos for Quentin Tarantino and The Coen Brothers, among others. Check them all out if you have some time to kill.

Since the holidays are upon us, and since I've finally decided to pick a side in the HD format wars (as I'm sure a lot of you will be doing come later this month) I felt it was appropriate to not only ask you which format you prefer better (blu-ray, HD-DVD), but also ask for some advice. For awhile now, I've remained in the "wait until there's only one format" camp. I cannot stand the fact that some movies come out in blu-ray, while others come out in HD-DVD, and so the penny pincher in me had been against shelling out money for one when there was a chance it could become obsolete in the next year or several. But that all changed earlier this year when I finally received my first ultra-awesome flat-screen HD TV (a 46-inch Sony Bravia, in case you're wondering). Now I'm hooked on HD. It's like friggin' heroin. And if I can't watch something in HD, I throw a fit. It's pretty lame.

That being said, with Christmas upon us, I finally decided to take the plunge and choose a side; if only so that at least I could watch some movies in HD. The route I took? Playstation 3. Yup, this way I get the games and the blu-ray player. Worse comes to worse, at least I'll always have a gaming system. But here's my dilemma: What film do I premiere? When I first bought the TV, I opted to premiere Boogie Nights (because when you upgrade your screen, the first thing you want to check out is nudity). The film I wanted to premiere in HD was The Bourne Ultimatum (until I found out it was only coming in HD-DVD form). So now I'm stuck. I'm throwing a little 'Davis Goes HD Launch Party" and I need a good film (available in blu-ray) to premiere. So this poll asks two questions: Which format do you prefer, and which film should I premiere? Any and all help is appreciated.

One of my favorite moments from the film Boogie Nights is when John C. Reilly and Mark Wahlberg are in the recording studio trying to throw together a hot single. They're all hopped up on whatever, and in their minds they're creating the greatest song in history. After watching Reilly in that film, he instantly became one of my favorite actors at the time ... and still is. (I won't go into why I'm totally furious over the fact that the man wasn't nominated for a best supporting Oscar for Boogie, but obviously someone had their head up their ass that year.)

Since Boogie, the man has been in a slew of films (his roles in Chicago, The Good Girl, Gangs of New York and Talladega Nights were all fine performances), but I'm still waiting for him to take on another memorable character -- one that sticks with me the way Reed Rothchild did (okay, that sounded a bit weird). Reilly will next be starring in Walk Hard which -- get this -- will spoof all of those recent musician biographies that have flooded the scene, as well the past few Oscar ceremonies. Now, before you scream out, "Man, I hate those f**king spoof movies, they all suck," do keep in mind this particular film will not be coming from four of the twelve writers of Scary Movie. Oh no, the script was co-written by Jake Kasdan and Judd Apatow, with Kasdan taking on directing duties. If you're looking for a connection between the two writers -- both of them penned episodes of Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared back in the day. Kasdan went on to direct Orange County, as well as the upcoming The TV Set and Apatow, well, is the genius behind The 40 Year Old Virgin. Feel better now?

When we first reported on this film back in August, there was no word on a start date. Well, now we're happy to inform you the pic will begin shooting sooner than expected -- this January -- and so there's a good chance it will arrive in theaters late next year. In Walk Hard, Reilly will play the fictitious music legend Dewey Cox. The character is a cross between Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Waylon Jennings and, in case you were wondering, Reilly will be performing all of the songs himself. Okay, I'm officially hooked -- who's with me?

It's inevitable, over the Thanksgiving weekend: At some point, you're going to be full. And I mean full -- loaded up with happy memories and a whole bunch of pie. What better time to throw on a long, long movie? I always wind up watching something huge during Thanksgiving weekend -- I particularly recall a carb-coma afternoon with Spartacus washing over me like a river of gravy, rich and flavorful -- and this year is no exception. I don't think I'm going to have enough time to watch The Best of Youth again -- I don't think I have that much time -- but I have been circling my copy of Nashville with a certain avaricious eye towards re-enjoying it. (Oh, and to the commenter yesterday who noted that A Prairie Home Companion is a film more worthy of Best Picture consideration than Crash, well, I have film on my teeth more worthy of Best Picture consideration than Crash. And maybe it's just my hatred of Garrison Keillor, but Prarie Home Companion drove me mad. ...) Then again, I might throw on Boogie Nights for the umpteenth time -- or even the Criterion disc of Dazed and Confused. Much like Nashville, they're both American stories, too. ...

What are you planning to watch over the Thanksgiving weekend? And what's your secret for pumpkin pie?

J.

Yay for Valentine's Day! If you're like me, you woke up this morning, threw open the closet and dusted off that crusty old red sweater you save solely for this day. Your day. You shine in your red sweater and, even though most of the people you talk to despise this semi-holiday, you love it...if only because everyone else hates it so much.

There's that one girl who wears all black in an attempt to protest the commercialism of chocolate covered flowers, so you make sure to wish her a happy V-Day a good 20 times throughout the day. That's right, you're the kind of person who sends flowers to your mailman's granddaughter because it's just so sweet. That's you - Captain Valentine!

Now, for those that actually have real dates (ie: human beings) tonight and are thinking about vegging on the couch with a groovy flick in the DVD player, I must warn you that only certain films are acceptable for Valentine's Day viewing. The following are a few movies that, no matter how great the night is going, you must keep far, far away from your Valentine today...