Tag: Courtney Cox

HBO’s Friends: The Reunion

by natewatchescoolmovies, posted in Film Review

As someone who watched Friends casually, in the background, when it was on cable in my kid and teenage years, tuned in absentmindedly but never became and active, engaged fan of the series, I have to say that Friends: The Reunion is kind of brilliant and can be greatly enjoyed by someone who isn’t quite a hardcore disciple of the show itself. Friends is a lynchpin sitcom that meant and still means a lot to a lot of people who fell in love with these characters, watched every week and got swept up in the cultural phenomenon of a sitcom that became a way of life. So, what made this such a hit for someone like me who isn’t a super fan? It’s the way they go about this reunion, that being the key word. This isn’t a reboot, continuing season, cap-off feature film, animated series or otherwise fictional addition to the canon, it’s simply a loving documentation of these six actors having a catch-up, an emotional, totally unscripted trip down memory lane on detailed recreations of the sets they lived, worked and made core memories of for decades and I think the format here is kind of a stroke of genius, really, and that employed just right for any show’s reunion will be a showstopper. Jennifer Aniston, Matt Leblanc, Courtney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry and eternally lovely Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe was always my personal favourite character) have come such a long way since Friends, their lives are very different now but watching them get together in the same sacred space where they changed the history of television feels like they never left their evening cable slot and really just brought me back to former times in my life when I’d get home and watch Friends, That 70’s Show and others all in a giddy lineup. This reunion spends a reverent opening segment just letting these actors play, rediscover their characters and touchstone areas of the set that hold significance to them while clips from the show are spliced in in parallel fashion. There’s also a more formal, organized part where they sit and discuss various things by that iconic fountain and yes this sequence is hosted by that James Corden dude and yes he’s annoying as ever but oh well. There are some shocking celebrity cameos that no doubt come from a place of love as they’re mostly people who would have themselves grown up with the show but I much preferred video testimonials from fans all over the world who give their thoughts and feelings on why the show was so important and what it means to them personally. Say what you want about Friends, I know it’s become one of those things that it’s just cool to hate on (never a good look, honey) but there’s no denying the fact that it pioneered a subculture of television and pop culture, and did a lot of good for a lot of people who may not have had much else in their lives to hang onto at the time. This reunion is a loving testament to that, a life affirming, blessedly nostalgic and just plain happy look back for six actors whose careers were defined by it.

-Nate Hill

HBO’s Friends: The Reunion

by natewatchescoolmovies, posted in Film Review

As someone who watched Friends casually, in the background, when it was on cable in my kid and teenage years, tuned in absentmindedly but never became and active, engaged fan of the series, I have to say that Friends: The Reunion is kind of brilliant and can be greatly enjoyed by someone who isn’t quite a hardcore disciple of the show itself. Friends is a lynchpin sitcom that meant and still means a lot to a lot of people who fell in love with these characters, watched every week and got swept up in the cultural phenomenon of a sitcom that became a way of life. So, what made this such a hit for someone like me who isn’t a super fan? It’s the way they go about this reunion, that being the key word. This isn’t a reboot, continuing season, cap-off feature film, animated series or otherwise fictional addition to the canon, it’s simply a loving documentation of these six actors having a catch-up, an emotional, totally unscripted trip down memory lane on detailed recreations of the sets they lived, worked and made core memories of for decades and I think the format here is kind of a stroke of genius, really, and that employed just right for any show’s reunion will be a showstopper. Jennifer Aniston, Matt Leblanc, Courtney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry and eternally lovely Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe was always my personal favourite character) have come such a long way since Friends, their lives are very different now but watching them get together in the same sacred space where they changed the history of television feels like they never left their evening cable slot and really just brought me back to former times in my life when I’d get home and watch Friends, That 70’s Show and others all in a giddy lineup. This reunion spends a reverent opening segment just letting these actors play, rediscover their characters and touchstone areas of the set that hold significance to them while clips from the show are spliced in in parallel fashion. There’s also a more formal, organized part where they sit and discuss various things by that iconic fountain and yes this sequence is hosted by that James Corden dude and yes he’s annoying as ever but oh well. There are some shocking celebrity cameos that no doubt come from a place of love as they’re mostly people who would have themselves grown up with the show but I much preferred video testimonials from fans all over the world who give their thoughts and feelings on why the show was so important and what it means to them personally. Say what you want about Friends, I know it’s become one of those things that it’s just cool to hate on (never a good look, honey) but there’s no denying the fact that it pioneered a subculture of television and pop culture, and did a lot of good for a lot of people who may not have had much else in their lives to hang onto at the time. This reunion is a loving testament to that, a life affirming, blessedly nostalgic and just plain happy look back for six actors whose careers were defined by it.

-Nate Hill

*shirt not included by Kent Hill

by Kent Hill, posted in Podcast

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In 1986 Matthias Hues came to Hollywood without a shirt . . . or, little more than the shirt on his back. And it is without a shirt that he has built a career that continues to not only grow, but evolve. Like his predecessors, peers and the now emerging class of action stars, the mantra has really become adapt, or fade away. But really…it has always been that way.

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Shirtless in Hollywood charts its course through the movie world that is at once bright and shining, as well as being dark and loathsome. Matthias has seen the incredible heights and the deep, lonely valleys which await everyone looking to get their hands on a slice of the pie of stardom. Through it all he has remained grounded. Warmed by those whom he trusts, sharpened by those with whom he has shared the screen, and tested by fame and fate at each and every turn.

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Matthias’s book is compelling because it is not merely a tale of the glamorous life of a movie star. Instead it is a very human story for which his memoir’s title carries a double meaning. He came with little but the shirt on his back and then set about forging a career out of his physical gifts, to the point where esteemed action director Craig R. Baxley said, “If anyone is going to take their shirt off, it’s going to be Matthias.”

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He has thrived alongside resident action men like Dolph Lundgren, Ralf Moeller, and Alex Nevsky. He has been mistaken for Fabio and a star of a film he wasn’t even in (Die Hard). He is a real salt-of-the-earth kinda guy, that hasn’t let it all go to his head and hasn’t let it all come crashing down as the cinematic landscape changes.

Matthias is still an imposing figure, and it was a thrill to chat once again with a Hollywood idol who I think is going to have a great resurgence – if indeed the project that he discussed with me gets off the ground.  Still, as much as he has overcome, Hues is man of quiet satisfaction who has found that real paradise does not exist between ‘action’ and ‘cut’. This huge Liam Neeson fan has gifted us all with his incredible tale and take on a business that can chew you up and spit you out . . . but only if you let it.

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Shirt on, or shirt off, I think Matthias Hues is a legend . . . so kick back and join us as we take it all off and dive into the memoir of a grand gentleman of the old school who’ll still tell you, “I come in peace.”

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Greg Harrison’s November 

by natewatchescoolmovies, posted in Film Review


Greg Harrison’s November is one of those frustratingly opaque, reality bending sketchy thrillers where a metaphysical shudder is sent through someone’s fabric of existence, in this case that of photography professor Courtney Cox. Driving home late one night, her husband (James LeGros) runs in to a Kwik-E-Mart to grab her a snack right at the same moment a burglar (Matthew Carey) brandishes a gun, and then open fires. After he’s killed, you feel like the film is in for a run of the mill grieving process as she visits a therapist (Nora Dunn). Events take a detour down Twilight Zone alley though when a spooky photograph shows up amongst one of her student’s portfolios, a snapshot of that very night at the store, apparently zoomed in on her husband. Who took it? Is the man actually dead? Will the film provide the concrete answers that some viewers so fervently salivate for in these types of films? Not really, as a heads up. As soon as things begin to get weird, they pretty much stay that way for the duration of the exceedingly short runtime (it clocks in under eighty minutes!). Cox’s character revisits that fateful night from many different angles and impressions, either reliving it, recreating it or simply stuck in some sort of alternate time loop chain. There’s a policeman played by Nick Offerman who offers little in the way of help, and she’s left more or less on her own through this fractured looking glass of garbled mystic confusion. The tone and aesthetic of it are quite something though, a jerky, stark Polaroid style mood-board that evokes ones like The Jacket and Memento, with an art house industrial touch to the deliberately closeup, disoriented visuals. It’s a bit maddening from the perspective of someone only looking for answers, and if that’s why you came, you’ll be left wringing your hands and losing sleep. If you enjoy the secrets left unravelled, and are a viewer who revels in unlocked mysteries left that way, recognizing the potent energies distilled from unexplained ambiguity, give it a go.

-Nate Hill

Back to Graceland: An Interview with Demian Lichtenstein by Kent Hill

by Kent Hill, posted in Interviews

If you have seen the restored Lawrence of Arabia then there’s a chance you’ve seen the extras on the second disc? One such extra is an interview with Spielberg, in which he recounts sitting down with David Lean for a screening of the film. As they watched, Lean provided what Spielberg describes as a ‘live’ director’s commentary, pontificating about all aspects of the production while the pair sat through the movie.

Now Spielberg himself doesn’t do commentaries, but a lot of directors do. Of course I have a list of films that to date, do not boast a commentary track which I wish, so badly, that they did. Near the top of that list are a pair of movies that stick out. One is John Milius’s Farewell to the King and the other is Demian Lichtenstein’s 3000 Miles to Graceland.

But now for something really cool.

At the close of 2016 I had the chance to chat with Demian, and what eventuated was quite extraordinary. I was working my way through my questions when, all of a sudden, Demian started to unload his fantastic tales from the production, and it just kept getting better. As I listened, I imagined Spielberg listening to Lean, receiving first-hand all of those astonishing insights, and here I was in a similar situation getting the good oil on the production of Graceland.

It has become a cult film with the passage of time, but there remains no chance of Demian ever being gifted the ability to go back in and retool his movie. Perhaps in some small way set certain things to right.

I was tired when we spoke, it was 3am here Down Under, but, by the time we were through, I was energized and so sat back and re-watched 3000 Miles to Graceland with fresh eyes. Demian’s stories swirled in my head. When we were talking, just when I thought it was over, he went on. I received scene-specific commentary and even insights into scenes that were written but never shot.

It was a genuine thrill, along with being a great and one of the most surprising interviews I’ve ever done.

3000 Miles to Graceland is out there waiting for you to watch it again or to discover it for the first time. It makes me proud as a fan to think that this interview may serve as the bonus material we never received. A director’s commentary of a splendidly intricate and playfully unique movie with great anecdotes, favorite scenes and even deleted scenes in the form of unrealized story elements.

So, for all you fans and even the first-timers, the journey of 3000 Miles back to Graceland begins here, for your listening pleasure.

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Ace Ventura: Pet Detective: A Review by Nate Hill 

by natewatchescoolmovies, posted in Film Review

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective shouldn’t really be as funny as it is. It’s random, head scratching and just deeply juvenile, and happens to be one of the funniest films ever made. Why? Jim Carrey. The man is spun gold on camera, and he sells every outlandish minute of this gonzo Looney Toons goofball of a flick. It really wouldn’t work without him. I mean, could you imagine, say, Dustin Hoffman, or John Travolta trying to pull of this kind of malarkey? Ok, I did just laugh really hard picturing that, so it would be funny, but only in an embarrassing way. No, it had to be Carrey, and he’s an engine of unbridled comic mania the entire way through. One acting technique involves basing your performance off of the mannerisms of an animal, and I’ve heard that he chose a cockatoo as the blueprint for Ace. The head bobs, squirrelly movements and that epic, instantly recognizable ocean crest of a hairdo. Makes sense, and I couldn’t unsee it after hearing that. Ace is probably the most eccentric, beloved character Carrey has ever fashioned, and for good reason. He’s like a cannon loaded with jokes, quips, pop culture references, personal space invading antics, a complete lack of inhibitions, a treasure trove of rubber faced muckery and a deep love for any and all creatures of the animal kingdom. Those are pretty much all of the qualities one should look for in a human being. I say that now, but I feel like after spending ten minutes with the guy I’d look for the nearest exit. Ace is on the case, when he’s not goofing off, which is always. Somehow he finds time to search for the missing mascot of the Miami Dolphins, an actual dolphin named Snowflake. The story dimly unfolds in the background of all his tomfoolery, and includes Dan Marino, a suspicious billionaire (Udo Kier, whose exasperation at Carrey’s behaviour looks very un-faked), and an ice queen of a Police Chief played by Sean Young, with an arc that  goes to some pretty disturbing places for this kind of light fare. He also finds time to have hot jungle love with Courtney Cox,  and speak to people through his asshole like a deranged Muppet, among many other things that will have you questioning why you’re watching it, only to realize it’s like your twentieth viewing and you have no plans to ever stop. It’s Carrey’s show, and he takes it into orbit, never letting the mania subside for a nanosecond. He’s borderline certifiable, which comes in handy when he has to infiltrate a mental facility, because the guy halfway to belonging there anyway. There’s just so many cherished little moments, mannerisms and scenes that don’t ever get old, for those of us that love this character. Carrey shaped the landscape of comedy a lot during this portion of his career, and the mile markers that he released stand tall and undiminished to this day, bringing hilarity to all. The sequel is genius too, and one of those rare follow ups that is just as solid as the first.