midnight run Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Cinematical Seven: Movies to Watch While Stuck in an Airport
Filed under: Action », Classics », Comedy », Cinematical Seven »
Can everyone guess where I am right now, and what I'm doing? I'm very thankful that the New Orleans airport has free wireless available while I wait for an airplane crew to show up for my flight, so I can return to sunny Austin. In the meantime, I have a laptop and Internet access and a stack of DVDs to watch. I am prepared. I can watch movies indefinitely if necessary, especially if I can get Hulu or Netflix's Watch Instantly cranked up.
I have a few suggestions for packing / purchasing / (legally) downloading movies to watch on your laptop or other device in an airport or on a plane. Pick at least one or two movies that are old familiar favorites. Sometimes when you're stuck in a terminal with poor food choices, a "comfort movie" can be your very best friend. In addition, I find it difficult to listen clearly to movies on an airplane or even in a noisy terminal (you don't want the sound too loud, so you can hear updates on your flight's delay), so it's best to pick something where you already know what's going on and don't need to catch every last nuance of dialogue. Big goofy action films and physical comedies have an advantage over talkier films where you have to pay attention.
In compiling this list of specific recommendations, I tried to avoid the overwhelmingly obvious choices for watching movies in airports -- personally, I don't want to watch disaster films at times like this, or even spoofs of disaster films like that timeless comedy Airplane. The Terminal and Snakes on a Plane also a little too close for comfort. I thought instead of lighter fare, with scenes that emphasized the fantasy world of airline travel, good or bad, and the magic of escapism. Next time, I'm tucking a few of these in my laptop bag myself.
Celebrity Arrest of the Day: Dennis Farina
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy », Newsstand »
The always-enjoyable Dennis Farina was arrested when a loaded gun was found in his carry-on luggage at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday. Farina, who's best known for being awesome in everything, was caught with a .22-caliber handgun in his briefcase. The actor claimed he forgot he had it on him when bail was set at $25,000, but then raised to $35,000 when cops learned the gun wasn't registered. 1) How do you accidentally forget that you have a loaded gun in your briefcase? 2) Why are you carrying around a loaded gun that's not registered? 3) Are there a lot of people out to get Dennis Farina -- so much so that he has to bring an unregistered loaded gun to the airport?And when the airport security asked Mr. Farina if he was traveling with a gun in his briefcase, did the actor turn and deliver one of his trademark replies? "You kiddin' me? What? I can't carry a f**kin' gun in this country anymore. Look, Idiot #1, tell Idiot #2 that I'm Dennis F**kin' Farina and I can do what I want. You gots?"
Speaking of ... we need to get Midnight Run on Blu-ray. Can somebody make that happen? They were smart enough to stick that sucker on HD-DVD, but I want to watch one of my favorite comedies ever on Blu-ray, like, now. And then I want them to include a commentary track from Farina, and I want him to talk about getting arrested in an airport with a loaded gun. I'd love to hear what that sounds like.
Sound off ... your favorite Dennis Farina role? (For me, it's a toss up between Midnight Run and Get Shorty.)
Universal Sues Lionsgate for Stealing Alonzo Mosely
Filed under: Comedy », Lionsgate Films », Universal », Celebrities and Controversy »
I was one of the hardy souls who endured the recent Larry The Cable Guy atrocity Witless Protection, and when I wasn't bleeding out the eyes or praying aloud for the sweet release of death, I was noticing something peculiar: The film has an FBI character named Alonzo Mosely, which was also the name of an FBI character in Midnight Run. In and of itself, that could be a coincidence. But take into account that both Alonzo Moselys are played by the same actor, Yaphet Kotto, and that both are responsible for tracking down on-the-run witnesses who are supposed to testify against the Mafia, and you realize this was done on purpose. So that's cute, I thought. I figured they probably hired Kotto, realized how similar the character was to the one he played in Midnight Run, and renamed the new character as a little inside joke. Universal Pictures isn't laughing, though, and not just because they watched a Larry The Cable Guy movie. According to The Hollywood Reporter's law blog (not written by Bob Loblaw, unfortunately), they're suing Lionsgate for copyright infringement and seek to stop all further distribution of Witless Protection, including the DVD release scheduled for June 10.
That's right: If Universal wins the case, the movie will be taken out of circulation. Regardless of the legal ramifications, I see this as a victory for society.
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