Funny Film Download
Merlino Riviere
That scattered struggle is difficult to resonate on film without drowning in sorrow, but the tonal balance of I Used to Be Funny is thoughtful, folding in laughs with serious subject matter that never at any point feels manipulative or punishing, but rather relatable and therapeutic.
Reviewing a comedy can be a tricky business, because the question of whether the comedy was "good" or "bad" depends almost entirely upon whether or not the reviewer was amused. Laughter is quite often an involuntary reaction: If I laugh at something and you don't, no amount of my logic is going to convince you that it was funny.
Martin Scorsese's "The King of Comedy" is one of the most arid, painful, wounded movies I've ever seen. It's hard to believe Scorsese made it; instead of the big-city life, the violence and sexuality of his movies like "Taxi Driver" and "Mean Streets," what we have here is an agonizing portrait of lonely, angry people with their emotions all tightly bottled up. This is a movie that seems ready to explode -- but somehow it never does.
That lack of release disturbed me the fist time I saw "The King of Comedy," back in January. I kept straining forward, waiting for the movie to let loose and it kept frustrating me. Maybe that was the idea. This is a movie about rejection, with a hero who never admits that he has been rejected and so there is neither comic nor tragic release -- just the postponement of pain.
I walked out of that first screening filled with dislike for the movie. Dislike, but not disinterest. Memories of "The King of Comedy" kept gnawing at me, and when people asked me what I thought about it, I said I wasn't sure. Then I went to see the movie a second time, and it seemed to work better for me -- maybe because I was able to walk in without any expectations. I knew it wasn't an entertainment, I knew it didn't allow itself an emotional payoffs, I knew the ending was cynical and unsatisfactory, and so, with those discoveries no longer to be made, I was free to simply watch what was on the screen.
What I saw the second time, better than the first, were the performances by Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Diahnne Abbott and Sandra Bernhard, who play the movie's most important characters. They must have been difficult performances to deliver, because nobody listens in this film; everybody's just waiting for the other person to stop talking so they can start. And everybody's so emotionally isolated in this movie that they don't even seem able to guess what they're missing.
The movie stars Robert De Niro as Rupert Pupkin, a nerdish man in his 30s who fantasizes himself as a television star. He practices down in his basement, holding condescending conversations with life-size cardboard cutouts of Liza Minnelli and Jerry Lewis. His dream is to get a standup comedy slot on the late-night talk show hosted by Lewis (whose name in the movie is Jerry Langford). The movie opens with Rupert's first meeting with Jerry; he barges into Jerry's limousine and is immediately on an obnoxious first-name basis. Jerry vaguely promises to check out Rupert's comedy routine, and the rest of the movie is devoted to Rupert's single-minded pursuit of fame. He arrives aty Jerry's office, is politely brushed off, returns, is rejected again, arrives at Jerry's country home with a "date" in tow, is ejected again, and finally decides to kidnap Jerry.
This sounds like an entertaining story, I suppose, but Scorsese doesn't direct a single scene for a payoff. The whole movie is an exercise in cinema interruptus; even a big scene in a bar, where Rupert triumphantly turns on the TV set to reveal himself on television, is deliberately edited to leave out the payoff shots -- reaction shots of the amazed clientele. Scorsese doesn't want laughs in this movie, and he also doesn't want release. The whole movie is about the inability of the characters to get any kind of a positive response to their bids for recognition.
"The King of Comedy" is not, you may already have guessed, a fun movie. It is also not a bad movie. It is frustrating to watch, unpleasant to remember, and, in its own way, quite effective. It represents an enormous departure for Scorsese, whose movies teemed with life until he filmed this emotional desert, and whose camera used to prowl restlessly until he nailed it down this time. Scorsese and De Niro are the most creative, productive director/actor team in the movies right now, and the fact that they feel the freedom to make such an odd, stimulating, unsatisfyng movie is good news, I guess. But "The King of Comedy" is the kind of film that makes you want to go and see a Scorsese movie.
Needless to say, the casting was an inspired choice. Paul Giamatti excels as Paul Hunham, the despised teacher of Ancient History at an American boarding school, filled with what he views as conniving, privileged kids born with a silver spoon firmly in their hands. Giamatti manages to capture a complete, almost Dickensian (think Scrooge if the spirits came in the form of a grieving dinner lady) transformation in character.
Not only do I think it is the perfect film for a cold January (it is full of idyllic snow-filled shots of the New England landscape), but there is also a warmth that shines through so vividly. A comedy that tries drama always has to earn those moments of seriousness. You cannot just go from slapstick humour of a chase scene around the halls of a prep school to quite damning scenes about grief and abandonments unless those scenes lay the groundwork for this to happen. The underlying sense that no one is happy, and everyone is simply trying to make the most of it pulsates throughout the first half of the film, surrounded by the humour.
Lauralee Farrer was the director and the main writer along with Jonathan B. Foster in this funny and touching film. The stars were Tony Hale, K Callan, Brigid Brannagh, and John Kapelos. The film was mostly shot in Siera Madre with some scenes from Hollywood.
I had watched part of the movie before and when I came across the title a few days ago I decided to watch the whole film. It turned out I had watched it with my wife and we had turned in off after half an hour. We must have been sleepy. I watched the film by myself and then over breakfast mentioned the film to Peggy, who had just done the same thing. We were both surprised and thrilled. My favorite scenes and her favorite scenes were duplicates. As they say, Great minds . . .
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No one who saw Borat should claim to have been surprised by the election of Donald Trump, or the general social climate of the country today. Spinning off from his brilliant Channel 4 and HBO series, prankster genius Sacha Baron Cohen criss-crosses the United States in the guise of Kazakhstani journalist Borat Sagdiyev, saying and doing offensive things which, in turn, causes the real-life Americans he interacts with to say and do things that are even more offensive, precisely because they are real. In terms of committing to the role, Baron Cohen outworks any Method actor you can think of; last we checked, Jared Leto does not have a naked hotel brawl on his rsum.
Bridesmaids is way more than just a lads comedy with the genders switched. Sure, there are some of the bad-taste trappings, but it more than outgrows them with its silly-but-smart script and the lively direction from Freaks and Geeks legend Paul Feig. Even better, though, is the note-perfect casting. Kristen Wiig's performance as Annie is raucously hilarious (her impersonation of a penis is a highlight), as is Rose Byrne, whose deadpan performance as Helen is severely underrated. Mostly, though, it works because the relationships between the women feel real and honest.
Based on Jane Austen's Emma, Clueless follows Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone), a teenager obsessed with shopping and clothes, as she guides newbie Tai (Brittnay Murphy) through high school. It's much more than a teen movie, however - for a film that's nearly 30 year old, Clueless still holds a lot of cultural clout, whether it's inspiring music videos, fashion trends or on-going cries of 'As if!' Mostly, though, it's that stellar performance from Silverstone that gives this film so much charm and wit.
When Cady (Lindsay Lohan) moves from being home-schooled by her parents in Africa to an American high school, she has rude awakening. Confronted by the school's hierarchy where popularity means everything, she finds herself infiltrating the girl clique The Plastics. Loaded with laugh-out-loud moments, the script, penned by Tina Fey, is filled with zingers. It's a film that provides genuine insight and empathy as well as a hefty dose of putdowns and comeuppances.
We went to see this (British) film today, and I can give it a glowing recommendation. It's about a Poison Pen letters case from 1920 or so, in Littlehampton, and illustrates how downtrodden women were back then -- and some of the primitive aspects of everyday life for poorer people (shared toilets anyone?!).
It has a clever script, and is helped by stunning performances, including from acting 'royalty' Olivia Colman & Timothy Spall (I still remember him in Auf Wiedersehen Pet!).
There are some procedural glitches -- the court case features a black judge, and UK had none for several decades after WW2, let alone a year or two after WW1, it also has a black policewoman, who is more to show the prejudices in society than historical accuracy. But they're just artistic licence, to help with the story, which is generally very funny, whilst telling quite a sad tale.
OH, ONE THING :- it is packed FULL of bad language!! Not just in the letters, but from quite a few of the characters, though it's all part of the story, is done in context, and soon becomes quite funny, like a teen with Tourette's?!