CliqueClack

Throwback Thursday: A Life in the Theatre offers a unique perspective about aging & acting

“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.”

I’ve always found that quote from William Shakespeare to be very profound, but it took a movie such as A Life in the Theatre for me to fully wrap my brain around those infamous words. A TNT original movie aired in 1993, A Life in the Theatre stars Jack Lemmon as an aging stage actor named Robert and Matthew Broderick as John, a younger actor who is taken under his wing. I’ve always held both men’s volumes of acting work in greet esteem. I had never heard of this movie, so I decided to give it a look when it was graciously provided by the Warner Archive Collection. I wasn’t disappointed.

Jack Lemmon plays a richly complex character in A Life in the Theatre. Robert is eager to impart his knowledge of the craft he has spent many decades perfecting, but at the same time, I think he also fears his own obsoletion. He knows he is aging and is maybe not quite as capable of delivering performances as well as he used to. He starts to flub his lines more and more, perhaps due to a faulting memory. Other mishaps happen involving faulty props, missed cues and hilarious antics probably only a true theatre buff could spot and enjoy. Continue reading 'Throwback Thursday: A Life in the Theatre offers a unique perspective about aging & acting' »

Win free passes to see Non-Stop in Indianapolis

All passes for this event have been claimed. Please follow @CliqueClack on Twitter for contest alerts, news and reviews.

CliqueClack has partnered with Universal Pictures to offer readers in the Indianapolis area an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the new action thriller Non-Stop starring Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Scoot McNairy, Michelle Dockery, Nate Parker, Corey Stoll, Lupita Nyong’O, Linus Roache and Anson Mount.

During a transatlantic flight from New York City to London, U.S. Air Marshal Bill Marks (Neeson) receives a series of cryptic text messages demanding that he instruct the airline to transfer $150 million into an off-shore account. Until he secures the money, a passenger on his flight will be killed every 20 minutes.

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Could Amazon’s The After be the new X-Files?

UPDATE: Amazon announced on March 11 that The After and three other pilots, Mozart in the Jungle, Bosch, and Transparent have been picked up for series.

Amazon has been trying desperately to get into the original programming biz while watching Netflix take the lead in the new era of television with their hit original programs House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, and the resurrected Arrested Development. Amazon has tapped major talents and launched a few shows, but none of them have had the buzz of any of the Netflix originals.

Amazon hopes to change that with the return of Chris Carter, head guru of the beloved The X-Files, to the world of television. Or this brave new world of television, as it were. Carter has created a new pilot for a proposed series called The After, and if anyone has the tiniest hope that it could be the new X-Files … I’m sorry to say their hopes may be dashed after watching the pilot.

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Game of Thrones, Nurse Jackie and more come to home video

It’s a big week for TV on DVD (and Blu-ray) with the release of Game of Thrones Season 3 just ahead of its Season 4 premiere. Another cable series, Nurse Jackie, has its fifth season on the way to home video as well. A cleverly timed release of Pompeii: Doomed City hits DVD before the new theatrical epic hits the big screen, and a collection of animated, Easter and classic TV shows and movies also arrive on February 18. For a list of the highlights, have a look at our handy shopper’s guide and click on a link to make a purchase or to get more information.

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New home video releases for February 18

This is a strange week for new home video releases with no major theatrical films coming to DVD or Blu-ray. However, the Oscar nominated Nebraska and Spike Lee’s remake of Oldboy are getting early digital releases this week. The bulk of the notable releases are catalog titles getting spiffy new high def releases including The Fantastic Mr. Fox (coming from the Criterion Collection) and the first-time Blu-ray releases of Darkman, Foreign Correspondent and a Bad Dreams/Visiting Hours double feature disk. To see highlights of the titles due on February 18, have a look at our handy shopper’s guide and click on a link to make a purchase or to get more information.

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Dallas Buyers Club on Blu-ray is worth watching, but not for the extras

Last year there was a lot of acclaim for the based on a true story movie Dallas Buyers Club, in particular the performances of Jared Leto as a transgender woman and Matthew McConaughey as a man slowly dying from AIDS. The movie tells the story of Ron Woodruff, a real life rodeo cowboy who contracted AIDS but began smuggling drugs to help sufferers with medicines not available in the US due to the FDA not approving their use. Although the movie can at times be difficult to watch, it is truly is an excellent film that successfully dramatizes Ron’s struggles against corporatism, bureaucracy, and bigotry.

Much has been said especially on Jared Leto, deservedly so, as his performance as Rayon, a transgendered individual suffering from the disease is truly extraordinary. Naturally, McConaughey and the other actors do more than okay here, although there are one or two mildly cartoonish caricatures. The story feels both inspirational and depressing, but it is certainly a movie worth your time if you can take the difficult subject matter and some mildly graphic scenes in hospitals. Jennifer Garner does mostly decent work here as a doctor who is trying to toe the line between good practice and ethics.

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Winter’s Tale is a bewildering mess that’s mildly acceptable

Adaptation is difficult, that should have no argument. The most common adaptation tends to be book to movie, which ties into my underlying thesis, which is this: Just because you have a supremely willful desire and heartfelt drive to turn your favorite story into visual magic does not mean you will do it justice. Sometimes that love for the material is what causes the final product to suffer. Look at Watchmen, where Zack Snyder certainly saved the movie from being a complete abomination (by intervening with the studios), and yet fell prey to all manner of problems in tone, character, visual aesthetic, and structure. I still say Darren Aronofsky would’ve done it justice, but then again, I say that about all movies (I may be a bit of a fan of that guy).

When we’re kids, it’s easy to be caught in the magic and imagination of stories, and that becomes something different as adults, nostalgic love for the past and a deep seated desperation to feel that way again. Perhaps you might be able to do so by showing off your new movie. But that doesn’t mean the rest of us will be able to see through the haze of adaptation failure.

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Endless Love makes me almost wish I’d loved with reckless abandon in my youth

I’m not going to go into this review by bashing Universal Pictures’ Endless Love for being a remake of the 1981 movie of the same title. I had never really seen the original Brooke Shields movie until this week when I watched it on Netflix out of curiosity. And if you want my honest opinion, I think I actually prefer the remake because the original movie was just too bizarre and pointless with its plot for my tastes (but I’ll harp more about that later).

Starring Gabriella Wilde and Alex Pettyfer as star-crossed, doey-eyed lovers Jade Butterfield and David Elliot, Endless Love is about two teens who fall madly in love with each other with the reckless abandon that can only be found in youth, much to the concern of their parents. The movie begins with the two just graduating from high school. Apparently David has been watching Jade from afar, though she never knew it because she’s been socially withdrawn since the sudden death of her older brother several years earlier. The two get to know each other better and embark upon a whirlwind romance that moves more rapidly than Jade’s rich, somewhat conservative parents (especially her father, played by Bruce Greenwood) would like.

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Win passes to see Pompeii in Maryland, DC or Virginia

This offer is closed. Please follow @CliqueClack on Twitter for contest alerts, news and reviews.

CliqueClack has partnered with Sony Pictures and Allied Integrated Marketing to offer readers in the DC, Hunt Valley, MD, and Richmond and Chesapeake, VA areas an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the new action film Pompeii starring Kit Harington, Carrie-Anne Moss, Emily Browning, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jessica Lucas, with Jared Harris and Kiefer Sutherland.

Set in 79 A.D., Pompeii tells the epic story of Milo (Harington), a slave turned invincible gladiator who finds himself in a race against time to save his true love Cassia (Browning), the beautiful daughter of a wealthy merchant who has been unwillingly betrothed to a corrupt Roman Senator. As Mount Vesuvius erupts in a torrent of blazing lava, Milo must fight his way out of the arena in order to save his beloved as the once magnificent Pompeii crumbles around him.

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Win passes to see 3 Days to Kill in Baltimore or DC

This offer is closed. Please follow @CliqueClack on Twitter for contest alerts, news and reviews.

CliqueClack has partnered with Relativity Media and Allied Integrated Marketing to offer readers in the Baltimore and DC areas an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the new action thriller 3 Days to Kill starring Kevin Costner as a dangerous international spy determined to give up his high-stakes life to finally build a closer relationship with his estranged wife and daughter, whom he’s previously kept at arm’s length to keep out of danger. But first, he must complete one last mission – even if it means juggling the two toughest assignments yet: hunting down the world’s most ruthless terrorist and looking after his teenage daughter for the first time in 10 years while his wife is out of town. The film also stars Amber Heard, Hailee Steinfeld and Connie Nielsen.

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