Bizet is back

In a previous entry, I reviewed the 1976 Bad News Bears and wondered if the remake also would incorporate Bizet’s Carmen in the soundtrack. (I believe the use of that opera in the original movie is absolute genius.)
I dug around the Web and found this SoundtrackNet article about the remake soundtrack, which was arranged by Ed Shearmur. From the article:
“As with the original 1976 film, in which composer Jerry Fielding adapted Bizet’s Carmen to fit the action on screen, Shearmur as well is arranging the classic opera for this new remake. In addition to that, though, he wrote original music to balance against it, using ethnic instruments such as the ocarina, and recorders.”
I am totally intrigued by this remake. Usually I have nothing good to say about remakes but I might actually want to see this one.
And I am happy to hear about the possibility that another generation of kids might walk around humming Bizet. Hee.

Man with the Screaming Brain (2005)

Man with the Screaming Brain: 2005, dir. Bruce Campbell. Seen at Alamo South (July 5).
Poor Beau. He’s so nice about accompanying me to all kinds of films, as long as they aren’t bawdy, advertised as Motion Picture Events about the Triumph of the Human Spirit, or independent films about poetry.
Last month I dragged him to The Forbidden Zone. Last night I dragged him to The Man with the Screaming Brain, a film directed by Bruce Campbell for the Sci-Fi Channel. Bruce Campbell, whom some of you might know from the Evil Dead movies, was at the screening to answer questions and sign his new book, Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way. So you could say it was a motion picture event, but the fun kind, not the begging-for-Oscars kind.
Man with the Screaming Brain is a goofy, intentionally bizarre little movie that I think would probably play better on TV than it does in a theater. It wasn’t bad, but it might be more fun to watch in your living room with a group of Bruce Campbell-lovin’ friends and a case of beer and maybe some pizza.

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twelve six-minute reviews

All right. For every job that must be done, there is an element of fun … find the fun, and then just do a half-assed job. It’s the American way. Or something.
I want to write 12 movie reviews on which I have been procrastinating dreadfully. So I’ve made a game of it. I have 6 minutes to write something about every movie, and that will be my review. The exception is the Enron movie because I already wrote a chunk of it and I just have to finish it (and maybe take out some of the old text since it was written while I was in A Mood about corporations).
I wrote down all the movie titles on little slips of paper, so we will randomly select the order in which I will review these movies. Now, let’s see how this will work. My boyfriend has kindly offered to draw out the first slip of paper …

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