Posts Tagged ‘Jean Dujardin’

Dogs aren’t allowed on the (red) carpet

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

No no, there's dog hair in the carpet now!

Scooping up another seven awards, this time at the BAFTAs, French-directed silent film The Artist is getting a heap of well-deserved attention.

But you’d be surprised to know that the uproar hasn’t come from their smashing of the award circuit, but that Uggie, the adorable Jack Russell dog that co-stars with Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, is not allowed at the Oscars.

At first you would think that’s a silly request. Letting a dog in to any upper-class place seems peasant-like. Hygiene issues would be a problem, though they have let some dirty people in there too.

The Oscars, filled with very rich people who probably pay for their dogs to be taken care of, are snubbing an animal that may just be on the same level of acting depth as the rest.

Maybe it’s for competition, who knows?

I wonder if they had just as many problems getting Buddha (Clyde) in from Every Which Way but Loose, or Beasley (Hooch) from Turner and Hooch.

I’d like to give a shoutout to another famous Jack Russell, Soccer. Though it’s fair to say I only know him as Wishbone.

If you weren’t aware of this dog, it’s because it was a 90′s kid show about a dog with a great imagination, dreaming up classic tales from novels like Sherlock Holmes and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, while his young teenager owner goes through the troubles of school life and not working.

I won’t attach any more than a cute photo of Wishbone, as I know anyone who gets the theme song stuck back in their heads are in a world of hurt.

The reason why I still have good memories even after succumbing to a YouTube ‘Search of Sadness’?

Aww, look at him.

He's robbing my heart.

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Posted in Funny Stuff!, Television, movies | No Comments »

Silent, but deadly (cute)

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

Adorable, the both of you.

The Golden Globes have handed out their trophies and created the crazy buzz that will eventually be the more glamourous Oscars. Ricky Gervais wasn’t as harsh as people were hoping to be, but at least was present.

But inside I was hoping for just one of those awards to be handed over to Michel Hazanavicius and his film The Artist. As with all golden statue-related ceremonies, most nominations are films with a particular focus that makes them stand out. No one saw Green Lantern as a nomination because it was predictable, like Thor, though I preferred Thor.

The usual picks are those with topical issues, or those that if you said you didn’t like, would label you inferior. This is common with films that ‘break barriers’ or ‘pay homage’ to a particular celebrated aspect of film.

For me it was The Artist. Filmed as a black and white movie set in the times where the ‘talkies’ were just becoming a thing in cinema, it starred a familiar face from OSS 117, the French spy film I talked about last year.

But the real star in that film was different. No, not the gorgeous co-star, nor was it the list of cameos that made you say “Ohh cool! ***** **** is in it!”. It was Uggie the dog.

Don’t know him? Watch this:

There were plenty of clips to see, but I just wanted to show you that the dog does indeed have a sponsor on his skateboard.

He already won the Palm Dog award, the animal equivalent of a Palm D’Or, but his list of films is pretty large. He was in Water for Elephants as well, and more than likely a better actor than Robert Pattison.

Any animal you’ve seen in a movie that has stolen the show?

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Don’t be afraid of foreign films

Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

'OSS 117: Le Caire Nid d'Espions'

Every once and a while we see a film that really captures our attention, and makes us want to yell on top of the mountaintops, educating the masses on something they’re missing out on.

It becomes a little more difficult if the category is under ‘foreign’ or ‘international’, because people only read:

‘Subtitles’

Convincing your friend that there is another echelon of entertainment beyond your nation is a hard sell. Again, mentioning the reading part.

Take for example a French secret agent named Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, codename ‘OSS 117′. Based off of France’s version of a James Bond character (and created four years before Ian Fleming), OSS 117 went from novel from the ’40s to parodical portrayal of spy films. But it is only through the film OSS 117: Le Caire Nid d’Espions (OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies) that I found a comedy I wanted everyone to see, but got the ol’ eye roll.

Another French film titled Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis (Welcome to the Sticks), was one of the biggest hits in all of France. It had such an effect, that there were talks of Will Smith bringing an American version of it over to English-speaking audiences. But like most remakes, I’m sure the jokes wouldn’t translate well. Given the storyline made jokes about the people of Northern France, the comedy is still there to be seen, understood, and laughed with.

Amelie was another great flick (another French film, yes, but it was one of my majors in university, d’accord?), but also made its way to international shores with great acclaim.

I won’t go into the importance of international influences on cinema (unless you want me to), but as you might’ve come across at some point, trying to convince another to watch ANYTHING can be difficult.

So here’s what you do:
1. Find out the title in English (or an equivalent).
2. Invite them over, and set everything up.
3. Don’t mention it’s from another country.
4. Once the film rolls, your friends will feel either too rude to get up and leave, or too intimidated to look stupid in front of you.

Ever been faced with problems convincing friends to watch films? Any particular films you thought were amazing or hilarious, but fell flat on its face amongst friends (oh, I’ve been there many times before)?

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