Monthly Archives: February 2019
RIP Albert Finney
English actor Albert Finney has died at the towering age of 82.
Albert Finney was an accomplished actor who was nominated for an Oscar five times during his long career. He was in ‘Scrooge,’ ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ from 1974, ‘Skyfall’ and, my personal favorite, the imaginative ‘Big Fish.’
At this point, we are all thinking the same thing. So instead of delaying the inevitable, here is that scene from ‘Big Fish’ that everyone who was a fan of Albert Finney is thinking of right now.
It’s the magic of life celebrated the way we see it.
RIP Albert Finney.
The Apotheosis Countdown
Sitting in the studio audience during the pilot–an unforgettable experience with my dad back in the spring of 2007–‘The Big Bang Theory’ was immediately clear for take-off into the stratosphere of successful network television sitcoms. And it’s still a smash success more than a decade later in 2019.
This NASA-like launch was significantly helped (perhaps fittingly) by eventual NASA astronaut on the show Howard Wolowitz, who is played by the very funny Simon Helberg. His character’s introduction into the show is simply among the best in sitcom history.
And Penny’s intro, played by the funny and beautiful Kaley Cuoco, falls into the very same category, just for slightly different reasons.
Well, I made sure to save this scene for my blog.
Now in its twelfth and final season, the show about men and women who are equal parts science geniuses and socially awkward nerds (plus Penny and Zack) is reaching its summit with less than twelve new episodes remaining.
After tonight, the official count is nine new ‘Big Bang Theory’ episodes.
And there are still plenty of questions to be answered regarding current storylines for major and supporting characters. These lingering unresolved questions will help ensure a thoroughly entertaining final stretch for the show. Relating back to the pilot, there are key questions that need to be answered before the show takes its final bow:
- What is Penny’s last name?
- Why has Howard been wearing an unexplained alien pin on his shirt during every single episode of the series?
Before we discover these fun tidbits in the next couple of months by sitcom royalty Chuck Lorre and Co., let’s venture to a preview of tonight’s episode. Amazingly, I was in the audience for the taping of the following episode, “The Donation Oscillation,” with my mom and dad just a couple of weeks ago!
‘The Big Bang Theory’ is just as funny and entertaining live as I remembered it to be:
Witty and laugh-out-loud hilarious.
Bazing–
It’s getting a little tougher to say it without getting teary-eyed.
‘The Big Bang Theory’ airs on CBS on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET.
The Wilder Side of Life
Gene Wilder died on August 29, 2016.
His death still hurts and remains tragic because of the comedic characters he played, most especially Willy Wonka on the silver screen. And what made his portrayal so memorable and beloved by millions of kids and adults alike is that he possessed a very real three-dimensional quality (and bizarre new dimensions that looked other-worldly in some scenes) that was projected through a wacky two-dimensional character written in a book and screenplay.
Like his famed–and sadly fictional chocolate an candy factory–there was always something more there. There was something genuine lingering above the circus-like atmosphere and quintessential ’70s sets.
Back in March 2007, Gene Wilder gave an interview about his life and career. Portions of this conversation were animated into a condensed video series for PBS Digital Studios called “Blank on Blank.”
The reason for posting this interview today of an actor who died in 2016 is the same as why we will spontaneously watch ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’ that was released theatrically in 1971:
A random curiosity for wonder and reassurance of this thing in life called pure imagination.
Lloyd Christmas Is About To Lose His Mind Again
The Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy-led ‘First Man’ from 2018 revisited the historic Apollo 11 mission that culminated in the United States landing on the moon on July 20, 1969. The film’s director Damien Chazelle and his set crew beautifully recreated the moon’s surface and chronicled the first step by Neil Armstrong as well as a surprise, deeply reflective walk that personalized a grand moment that is now–impressively–more awe-inspiring.
Hollywood can dramatize and expertly recreate historic events. And yet a documentary tells a true story in masterful, artistic ways that are, at times, indescribable.
‘Apollo 11’ is one of these realities.
Director Todd Douglas Miller and major motion picture distributor Neon aims to do just that with its recent official trailer.
An exact release date has not been determined for ‘Apollo 11.’ Although it’s fair to say that people will surely mark their calendars when this exciting and informative documentary finally takes off into a theater near you.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 