IN THE LOOP: The Film Babble Blog Review

IN THE LOOP (Dir. Armando Iannucci, 2009)

Picking up comparisons to DR. STRANGELOVE and geared aesthetically as an "anti-West Wing", Armando Iannucci's directorial debut posits people in power treading water in a sea of political spin. It all comes from a misspoken statement by the British Secretary of State for International Development played by Tom Hollander. Off the cuff, he says that a proposed war in the Middle East is "unforeseeable" on a radio talk show and that causes what one staffer calls "a catastrofuck".

Already strained relations between UK and US officials come to a boil. Hollander finds himself getting in deeper as obscenities fly at a ferocious rate from the Prime Minister's press secretary Peter Capaldi (reprising his role from Iannucci's TV series The Thick Of It), misdirections come from diplomat handlers (Chris Addison and Gina McKee), and then there are the astute observations of James Gandofini (The Sopranos) as a gruff general who when attempting to strategize finds himself musing: "At the end of a war you need some soldiers left, really, or else it looks like you've lost."

The large intertwined ensemble cast also includes Chris Addison (also from The Thick Of It), Steve Coogan, David Rasche, and an all grown up Anna Chlumsky (MY GIRL). With literally over a hundred great lines (most of them coming from the foul mouth of Capaldi) and a wickedly wry tone, IN THE LOOP has enough laughs for several movie comedies. It's a window into the tangled tortured world of policy makers and those who toil in the trenches beneath them. They're all caught in a massive web of manipulation woven from competing self-serving ambitions and it's all rooted in cold sad reality. Such pungent political satire doesn't come around often so this is definitely one to look out for.

More later...

WATCHMEN: The Film Babble Blog Review

WATCHMEN (Dir. Zack Snyder, 2009)

Darker than THE DARK KNIGHT and raunchier than any other Superhero movie ever, WATCHMEN busts out of development Hell into theaters today and it’s sure to be #1 this weekend. Knowing nothing of the source material, I sat transfixed and alternately baffled at what I saw at a late screening last night. Set in an alternate America in 1985 in which Nixon (played with a cartoon-ish prosthetic nose by Robert Wisden) is still president, a group of Superheroes has been disgraced and placed under governmental control. When The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a power player with a crusty charisma is murdered, Superhero turned vigilante Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) focuses on tracking down the killers. Among the not-ready-for-the-Justice-League heroes are Nite Owl II (Patrick Wilson), Silk Spectre II (Malin Ackerman), Ozymandias (Matthew Goode), and Billy Crudup as the completely CGI crafted Doctor Manhattan.

Much of this film feels like a Frankenstein monster of a movie with pieces from pop culture classics stitched together – the rain drenched neon-lit dystopian cityscapes from BLADE RUNNER and the War Room set reproduced exactly from DR. STRANGELOVE for instance. For an over the top action movie it’s really exposition heavy at times which works better than expected especially the soft spoken Crudup, who somehow makes a giant naked blue man animation into a study in eloquence. As for the action, the fight scenes lack edge and urgency, but the overall thrust is engaging if not transcendent. As Rorschach, complete with a cool morphing ink blot mask, Haley is the stirring standout showing how far he’s come from pitching for the BAD NEWS BEARS. A sequence involving Rorschach in stir is absolutely gripping with Haley stealing the movie away from his co-stars and the scores of expensive bombast.

As I mentioned above I have not read the original beloved graphic novel on which this is based so I can’t judge how faithful it is, but it certainly felt like a true comic book movie. It was almost as if bold panel edges and invisible establishing text were present while Crudup’s Doctor Manhattan looked like he had literally walked off the printed page. The soundtrack is quite unorthodox for a Superhero epic – an opening montage set to Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’” sets the tone with odd choices like Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”, Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sounds Of Silence”, and Nena’s “99 Luftballons” following suit. Unfortunately, despite all these eccentricities and that it's leaps and bounds better than Snyder’s 300, the film is way too long with a number of plodding parts that don’t gel. As a better than average popcorn flick it’s sure to have many fans, but it had ambitions way above that. Despite that WATCHMEN doesn’t soar to the heights it aims for, its intense intent and wicked sense of self is nearly intoxicating enough.

More later...

10 Rarely Seen Deleted Scenes Not On DVD

"If this was a movie, you'd be on the cutting room floor"
- Second Hood (Jon Polito) THE SINGING DETECTIVE (Dir. Keith Gordon, 2003)

Nearly every DVD has some deleted scenes on the special features menu. Most of the time with few exceptions we can see that they were deleted for a good reason. But what about those scenes we hear talk of and maybe see a random clip or photo of here or there but are currently unavailable on DVD? The ones that have some cache of history or interest that may actually make them worth seeing? Well I decided to round up some of the most interesting cinematic suspects right here:

1. The Infamous War-room Pie-Fight Extracted From DR. STRANGELOVE (Dir. Stanley Kubrick, 1964) "Gentlemen! Our gallant young president has been struck down in his prime!" General Turgidson (George C. Scott) exclaims after President Merkin Muffley (Peter Sellers) gets hit in the face by a pie. This moment occurring in the pie-fight that was originally intended to end DR. STRANGELOVE was thought to be potentially offensive to the Kennedy family for obvious reasons. The original test screening of the film was slated for November 22, 1963 and had to be re-scheduled, again for obvious reasons but that wasn’t the only problem : Kubrick said that the scene was “not consistent with the satiric tone of the rest of the film” and others thought that the actors covered in cream pie were indistinguishable – therefore ineffective. The pie-fight, which would be replaced by a stock film sequence of nuclear explosions, is well known to fans and film buffs because photographs of it have shown in the bonus features of nearly every edition of the DVD but the scene itself remains missing in action.

Wikipedia reports that “the only known public showing of the footage was in the 1999 screening at the National Film Theatre in London following Kubrick's death” but then there’s that telling [citation needed] notation. So will this scene that Kubrick once called “a disaster of Homeric proportions” ever see the light of a DVD player’s laser? Probably not any time soon though I think when they’re preparing the 50th Anniversary edition on whatever format will be popular at the time – it’ll be a prized bell and whistle selling-point.


2. Luke Bonding with Long-time Buddy Biggs Edited Out Of STAR WARS (Dir. George Lucas, 1977) When I was a kid I was perplexed by the pictures (including the one above) in THE STAR WARS STORYBOOK (Scholastic 1978) – which I still have by the way - of 2 scenes that weren’t in the movie I saw many times at the theater. The stills were of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamil) viewing the space battle the movie opens with on his binocs and his chat with Biggs Darklighter (Garrick Hagon) that helped inspire his adventuresome spirit. Lucas has said that he cut the scene because he wanted the film to center on the droids' mission from their point of view so we as an audience wouldn’t meet Luke until the droids met Luke. It would be nice to have the full sequence of Luke on Tatooine pre-C3PO & R2-D2 as a bonus on a non-special edition 1977 theatrical cut of STAR WARS (not calling it A NEW HOPE damnit!). This would be great because apart from Biggs we would all get to see some of Luke’s other friends – Deak, Camie and Fixer. Camie, incidentally was played by Koo Stark – later a British soft-porn actress who dated Prince Andrew.

The footage known as "the Anchorhead scene" (because it took place at the Toshi power station in Anchorhead - got it?) was screened for the first time at the San Diego Comic Con in 1998 and released at the same time on a CD-ROM “Behind The Magic”. Now it can be found in many different cuts on YouTube – I would link it here but Lucasfilm constantly cracks down on copyright violations so it probably wouldn’t last long. Just type in “Luke and Biggs” in the YouTube search engine and you’re bound to find it. Just why this isn’t available on any of the many editions of STAR WARS is unknown. When the bank calls and tells Lucas they’ve located another vault in which he can store more money – he may consider its release.

3. Steve McQueen As Sam Spade On The Cutting Room Floor - THE LONG GOODBYE (Dir. Robert Altman, 1973) In the short documentary “Rip Van Marlowe” on the DVD for this Altman should-be classic the words “deleted scene” flash on black and white production stills of McQueen, Elliot Gould, and Altman while Gould reminisces :

“The first day when I walk in to see what was going on – I think Sam Spade was going up in an elevator and I think some of this may have been edited…”

Wait Elliot, sorry Mr. Gould - are you saying McQueen had a cameo as Sam Spade?!!? Are you kidding? No research on the internets will confirm or deny this and I doubt this scene will ever surface because it’s most likely destroyed like much Altman footage of that era so I can only sigh.

4. The Original Audrey II Eats Everybody Ending From LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (Dir. Frank Oz, 1986) Many demographic-tested endings have been changed through the years but none more notorious than this one. It is the definitive “alternate ending” – a 23 minute sequence which cost 5 million and was true to the stage production’s narrative – Seymour (Rick Moranis) is defeated by the ever-growing plant and even feeds Audrey II the dead Audrey (Ellen Greene) before getting eaten himself. Audrey II and its many clones take over the planet as the song “Don’t Feed The Plants” serenades or better yet - warns the audience. This sequence was actually released in black and white without sound or special effects on a Warner Bros. Special Edition in 1998 but yanked off the market by producer mogul David Geffen. Early this year according to Wikipedia – “Warner Bros. hinted that a DVD re-issue featuring the original ending may be on its way” so it looks like we may be able to finally see the mean green mother from outer space in all its destructive glory at some point on the horizon.

5. Kevin Costner As The Dead Guy In THE BIG CHILL
(Dir. Lawrence Kasdan, 1983) - The most significant character in this baby boomer cinema standard we never see. Well, we see parts of his body as it is being dressed for the funeral but never his face. So what was to be Costner’s big break turned out to be extra-work as a corpse. He was cast as Alex – the charismatic college glue that all the other characters (including William Hurt, Glenn Close, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Jeff Goldblum, Tom Berrenger, and Jo Beth Williams) are forever stuck to. He was supposed to be seen in flashbacks but those were cut and despite much protest were not included in the 10 minutes of deleted scenes on the 20th Anniversary Special Edition DVD. Even if you hate Costner, and I know that many of you do, I think it would be interesting to see how he relates to that particular ensemble cast. Maybe he didn’t live up to his character’s implied charm and his deletion helped better ground the movie – I dunno. 25th anniversary maybe? Post-note : Kasdan cast Costner in his next film SILVERADO to make up for the Alex omission.

6. Halloran’s Death Done Differently Deleted From THE SHINING (Dir. Stanley Kubrick, 1980) According to the IMDb :

“Halloran's (Scatman Crothers) death scene as filmed is not the one we actually see. The one filmed depicts a much longer, much more graphic death. In its entirety, the scene lasts almost seventy seconds, and is full of gore. Rather then just run up and hit him as seen in the released version, Jack (Jack Nicholson) runs up, hits him in the back of the head. Halloran screams. Jack pulls the ax back, and then slams the spike on the back of the ax into the base of Halloran's spine. Halloran screams and recoils, and then Jack slams the ax into his back and he falls down. Halloran rolls onto his back and is looking up, and Jack starts to beat him with the ax before he "hears" something and leaves.”

This is a scene I believe we will be soon able to appraise because the 2 disc Special Edition DVD will be released October 23rd this year. With hope we will also be able to see the scene that was originally at the end where Wendy (Shelly Duvall) is told her husband’s body was never found. This scene actually appeared when the film was first released but cut by Kubrick a week later.

7. Odd Promotional Photo Indicates Odd Outtake From ANNIE HALL (Dir. Woody Allen, 1977) None of Allen’s movies on DVD have any extras other than a trailer so the prospect of ever seeing anything resembling a deleted scene is pretty slim. Too bad because this photo issued as a publicity still to promote ANNIE HALL implies some juicy cut material. No dialogue is known but it looks like it takes place during Alvy and Annie’s first break-up when Alvy is randomly questioning people on the street about their love lives and they all have great one-liner answers. Can’t imagine what this guy's was. Funny how a shot from a scene unused in the movie makes the rounds as advertising but even funnier that 30 years later a blogger like me would assign such significance to it. Another sigh.

8. Alternate Jim Garrison Wins The Clay Shaw Trial Ending - JFK (Dir. Oliver Stone, 1991) According to Robert Sam Anson in Esquire Magazine (November 1991) as “a joke” Oliver Stone filmed “a not-to-be used scene showing Shaw’s (Tommy Lee Jones) jury bringing in a guilty verdict.” In complete contrast to Woody Allen, Stone has had his DVDs loaded with extras – director’s cuts, commentaries, documentaries, and scores of deleted scenes so where is this gem? It would be rather amusing to see Garrison (Costner *) triumphant from the victory of being the first person to bring a trial in the murder of John Kennedy. With all the special editions of the film we’ve seen so far it’s pretty likely that we will one day see this “joke.”

* Funny how somebody whose average movie is 3 hours long still makes me want to see more footage! Long live Costner!

9. Enid Sleeps With Josh – No Film At 11:00! - GHOST WORLD (Dir. Terry Zwiggof, 2001) This scene, which comes directly from the Daniel Clowes graphic novel the film was based on, takes place in the third act according to the published screenplay after Seymour (Steve Buscemi) and Rebecca (Scarlet Johanssen) shun Enid's (Thora Birch) company one sad day. She shows up at Josh’s (Brad Renfro) meager hotel room/apartment and shyly but slyly seduces him. It seems this was omitted because we would have even less sympathy for Enid as she goes on to sleep with Seymour causing a harmful ripple effect. Still since the GHOST WORLD DVD has such inessential deleted scenes involving incidental characters it would be nice to see such an actual major discarded plot point. The movie has never been re-released in any form so its official appearance it still a possibility but I’m not holding my breath.

10. Myrtle and Beryl – The Spiderwomen Removed From TIME BANDITS (Dir. Terry Gilliam, 1981) There was a lot in the published screenplay – evidenced in Gilliam’s doodles, production stills, and full pages of dialogue that were not used in TIME BANDITS. This is typical of his work – all the published Python scripts are the same way (MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL has page after page crossed off in crayon) so this is no surprise but where is the actual footage? Especially of the scene from the Time of Legends sequence in which the time travelling dwarfs encounter 2 spinster spider-women (Myrtle and Beryl *) who knit webs in which to catch passing knights. Gilliam recalls:

"That was another desperate moment, mainly because that sequence was an afterthought. Mike Palin and I had originally written another whole sequence about two spider women who ensnare some of the bandits in their web. We actually filmed this - and it was marvellous. But it now required a scene on either side to get us from the giant to the fortress, and we had run out of money.”

Fairly certain this bit will show up – Gilliam never seems to throw away footage (or any idea) and the many formats in the years to come will have special feature capabilities beyond our wildest dreams (or at least beyond mine) so I bet this will someday make the cut.

* The spider-women are named Myrtle and Beryl according to many sources but only Myrtle Devenish as Beryl is credited on the IMDb which makes me think that this is incorrect info. Devenish plays a game show contestant on the game show satire "Your Money Or Your Life" seen early in the film on a background television. It’s conceivable she also played one of the spider-women but the names seem off. Anybody know the deal here?

I know this is only scratching the rarely seen scenes surface so please leave your comments below or email:

boopbloop7@gmail.com

This post is dedicated to Merv Griffin Merv as a broadcaster wore many hats – game show host, talk show host, real-estate magnate, pop-crooner, etc. and while he did relatively little film work Film Babble would like to highlight his clever cameo as himself (billed as the Elevator killer) in THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS (Dir. Carl Reiner, 1983). Dr. Hfuhruhurr (Steve Martin) confronts him right after a killing and asks “why?” Merv’s answer:

“I don't know. I've always just loved to kill. I really enjoyed it. But then I got famous, and - it's just too hard for me. And so many witnesses. I mean, everybody recognized me. I couldn't even lurk anymore. I'd hear, "Who's that lurking over there? Isn't that Merv Griffin?" So I came to Europe to kill. And it's really worked out very well for me.”

Merv Griffin (1925-2007) R.I.P.

More later…

DVD Disses & More

Today our growing panel of film pundits looks at DVD technology and some recent DVDS are given the once or twice over. Starting with my :

DANNY'S DVD DISSES - 10 SPECIAL FEATURE PET PEEVES

Doncha just hate :

1. DVD's that don't let you skip trailers for other movies to get to the menu
2. Films that have their special features on a second one sided disc. There's no reason not to use both sides of one disc! Do we really need double disc editions of movies like Duplex or Eight Crazy Nights? I don't think so.
3. DVDs that are so packed with extras - documentaries, deleted scenes, interviews, etc. But for some reason don't include the original theatrical trailer.
4. DVDs that only include the original theatrical trailer as a "special feature".
5. Does anyone care whether a DVD has a "collectible booklet" or not? Ever hear anyone ever say anything along the lines of "man, the special edition of Goldfinger has an awesome booklet inside"? I didn't think so.
6. Chapter Selection listed as a "special feature".
7. Photo galleries and written bio/filmographies. Uh - we have the internet thank you.
8. DVDs that have special features listed in their menus but when you go there it says "for special features insert disc 2". I mean come on!
9. That off setting pause while a layer switches during play. Some discs its less notable than others but damnit it foreshadows another better format on the horizon I feel.
10. When directors talk about material in the commentaries that should be included on the DVD but isn't. For Example - Airplane! had a lot of outtakes re-inserted in it's network TV debut but it is stupidly absent from the DVD, Roger And Me showed on PBS with a half hour sequel of sorts - a short called Pets Or Meat in which Michael Moore follows up on what happened to the people presented in the movie. It feels like a criminal act not to include it on the DVD.
One final mention - the original Simpsons shorts from the Tracy Ullman show. Why weren't they part of the 1st season Simpsons DVD set? Why?!!?

Next New York based writer and sometime comedian Bertie Shafer gives us some yaking about so-called "alternate endings" feature on a lot of them there DVDs :

THE END...OR WAS IT?

Anyone with a casual interest in film knows that sometimes a movie has more than one ending shot. Sometimes as an afterthought but most of the time after initial test screenings were greeted with negative reactions. Fatal Attraction is a classic example. In the original version Michael Douglas's adultery committing-ass is hauled off to prison after the suicide commiting crazy lady Glenn Close frames him for her murder. Wham! Right? But no - supposedly audiences couldn't take such a downer ending in which the supposed male protagonist "hero" is done in by his evil deed. No let's give it a more conventional slasher ending with Close assaulting Douglas and wife Anne Archer and with a cliched she's-dead-no-she's-not-dead mentality driving it and audiences will love it! Well actually they did. Fatal Attraction was a huge hit for Paramount even making the cover of Time Magazine so maybe they played their cards right. Actually adultery as a social issue in the news was the real factor behind it's success I believe so the ending would've resonated more in it's original incarnation I believe as well. The special edition Fatal Attraction DVD (Paramount) contains the alternate ending so all is not lost.

Shortly before that the remake of The Little Shop Of Horrors was retinkered with to give it a happier ending in which Seymour (Rick Moranis) and Audrey (Ellen Greene) win the battle against gigantic killer plant Audrey 2 and run off happily to the suburbs and wedded bliss. The 1986 movie was based on the stage play that comically reworked the campy 1960 Roger Corman flick into a twisted '50's'sci-fi musical. The play on stage retained the original movie's ending in which Audrey 2 ate Seymour, his girlfriend Aubrey and everybody else then growing big enough to demolish New York and proceed to make a feast of the entire planet. There was even a song that accompanied this - "Don't Feed the Plants". Apparently test audiences disliked this ending and the happy ending was made and it was the only one ever after. To this day the original ending is a rare disc extra. A 1998 special edition of the film had it included but it was recalled (!) by David Geffen who hadn't given permission to use the footage to Warner Brothers. So don't look for it on DVD now but maybe it'll surface someday.

Also notable for being absent on what would be an excellent special edition DVD release is the alternate pie fight ending to Dr. Strangelove. That's right - a pie fight in the war room. Not that I've seen it. Only photos of it on one DVD edition. Too bad - it would be so nice to view that footage. Also Oliver Stone talked of filming a different ending of JFK in which Jim Garrison actually wins his case in court implicating one of the conspirators. Where the hell is that?

Of course you'll find as you click on the alternate ending feature in your DVD menu that some are not really alternate at all. In the case of Thelma and Louise is an extended ending in which nothing different happens - it's just a different longer take. The conclusion of Arlington Roadis only changed by the point of view shots of one character - the outcome and fates are still intact. 28 Days Later likewise is different only by the exclusion of a character in the editing. An alternate ending first and only is the 1984 board game inspired but Murder By Death retread Cluein which 3 separate endings revealing different muderers were released theatrically simultaneously meaning you'd see a different ending depending on what theater you went to. The gimmick didn't pay off - the flick flopped and all video releases contain all 3 endings. According to the IMDB a 4th ending was shot but never shown.

"They said to me on the phone 'you know if you had a happy ending on this movie we really think we could go through the roof with it - it would be a great cmmercial movie' and I said 'look that's the movie. The only reason I made the movie is because of the tragic ending otherwise I wouldn't have made the film" - Woody Allen on The Purple Rose Of Cairo

Nobody knows what the Woodman is talking about more than Terry Gilliam. The well documented struggles over his 1986 classic Brazil make clear the implications of a comprised ending by committee. The alternate ending on the so called Sid Sheinberg version (he was the Universal executive that demanded changes to the film especially the bleak ending) caps an alternate movie in full. Butchered beyond the grasp of the intended thematic crux this Spielbergian "happy version" is sadly the TV version. Meaning its the only version a certain segment of the populace will ever experience. The horror...The Horror!

I started this piece on alternate endings as a list - something like Best Alternate Endings on DVD but I kept coming up short. Instead of a cool DVD curio the alternate ending feature seems more and more to say "artistic differences in view" or "compromises may seem bigger than they appear". Of course if the DVDs for such titles as Identity, Runaway Jury, or Matchstick Men had alternate endings that were actually good and less contrived I'd be more excited about seeing this feature in the menu. Nevertheless here's some of the most notable DVDs that have more than one ending to offer the discriminating viewer :

TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA

SE7EN - Not really an "alternate ending" - it's the test screening ending. I mean the same thing happens just with different shots.

AUSTIN POWERS : INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY - 2 endings labeled "original ending 1 and 2" on the DVD. Too bad neither is very good.

SPY GAME

UNFAITHFUL

FROM HELL

BANDITS

JOY RIDE - "4 shocking new endings!"

UNDERCOVER BROTHER - DVD box boasts "outrageous alternate ending!" Of course it was nothing of the sort.

NOT ANOTHER TEEN MOVIE

COLD CREEK MANOR

ENTRAPMENT

Yeah - those last few entries were really going for quality control huh? You can see that the best movies (with a few exceptions) benefit by sticking with one definitive ending.

- Bertie Shafer


If you have any favorite or notable "alternate endings" that you'd like to share? Email the Film Babble fun bunch at :

cookieco@sprynet.com

Again here's Sarah Warner with her unique brand of list fun. Enjoy :

You know my personal God Woody Allen gets dissed for a lot of reasons. One of which really always irked me - if his movies are supposed to be the epitome of "quintessential New York" where the Hell are the black people? So let me clear this up - there have been black people in the Woodman's films even back in the 70's. Here are the top 5 -

African Americans In Woody Allen Movies :

1. Frank Adu - Love And Death : As the Russian drill sergeant in Woody's Tolstoy spoof Adu delivers a non-stereotypical authority figure who berates bumbling soldier Allen. Bootcamp follies ensue!
2. Annie Joe Edwards - Purple Rose Of Cairo/Bullets Over Broadway : Okay at first these seem like obvious Gone With The Wind maid caricature roles but Edward actually rises above that with A. Some of the best lines in the script and B. Then sense that she's the smartest person in the room.
3. Hazelle Goodman - Deconstructing Harry : Okay skeptics said something like "the first major black role in a Woody Allen movie and it's a hooker!" But damnit the character is written as a black womnecessarilyily - just a woman with a colorful past and realist approach. Goodman also appeared in Woody's 9/11 short-film shown at the Concert For NYC (2001)
4. Anthony Mason - Celebrity : Charlotte Hornets NBA player who makes a brief appearance as himself shows up protagonist Kenneth Branaugh before skirting off on another passing cloud.
5. Ties - Emme Kemp, Clark Gayton, Marcus McLaurine - Sweet And Lowdown : Many dismiss the back room scenes early on as token extra casting in Sweet and Lowdown but you gotta give Woody props for trying to assimilate into black jazz culture in some way even it feels like a throwaway background device.

Honestly I wanted this to be a top ten list but could only come up with 5. Whoa - maybe the Woodman's critics have a point!

Nah - I just think Woody writes what he knows and black culture or any other culture away from Jewish, NY, jazz-minded, etc. is a different world for him. But give him props for trying!

For Danny's Film Babble Blog this has been List Queen Sarah Warner

And now this editions DVD review corner :

COLD CREEK MANOR (2003) - Bertie Shafer's bit on alternate endings is apt in appraisal of this dud. The DVD has an alternate ending but it hardly matters considering that this is just another trip down the Shining/Cape Fear/Kalifornia predictable thriller path with even some Blair Witch and The Ring thrown in for some kind of measure. You know the story - well to do family moves out to the country to escape the dangers of the city but finds the supposed home of their dreams has a dark gruesome past. Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone are the high powered long married couple who uproute their kids and careers and settle for a country mansion once owned by Stephen Dorfe. Dorfe immediately recalls Brad Pit's white trash murderer in KALIFORNIA. Dorfe's waitress girlfriend played by Juliette Lewis drives home that reference. Snakes mysteriously appear, clues to a possible murder conveniently pop up, and marital strife adds friction - wife Stone admits to coming close to cheating on husband Quaid in a EYES WIDE SHUT manner. There isn't an original bone in this old school creaky manor to be found! A number of critics were let down by the complete lack of supernatural elements and I agree - you might as well have an ancient Indian burial ground if your gonna have all these other cliches that are literally from Hell! Makes the formulaic and contrived WHAT LIES BENEATH look like ROSEMARY'S BABY
- Edward Callistan

Keep on keepin' on. Film Babble will return...