Movies Archives - Page 49 of 84

Happy Birthday Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn Bridge 1899 May 24 is the anniversary of the 1883 opening of the Brooklyn Bridge connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn across the East River. At the time, the building of the Brooklyn Bridge was seen as a great human achievement, resulting in the longest suspension bridge by more than 50% over any existing bridge. Well over a century later, it is still beautiful and fun to walk across.

The bridge has appeared in a number of movies, such as Moonstruck (1987), The Siege (1998), Godzilla (1998), and I Am Legend (2007).

Despite the Brooklyn Bridge’s iconic status, the Manhattan Bridge has stolen some of the more classic New York bridge movie scenes. That bridge is featured in classic scenes in Woody Allen’s Manhattan (1979)) and in Once Upon a Time in America (1984).

The Brooklyn Bridge still has a pretty good movie record, and you may also check it out online with a live videocam. The bridge also appears in songs. For example, Frank Sinatra sang the song, “The Brooklyn Bridge.” Similarly, the bridge recently appeared in Lee Dewyze’s jazzy “Brooklyn Bridge.”

Below is Sinatra’s “The Brooklyn Bridge,” which was written by Sammy Cahn. The song was recorded for the movie It Happened in Brooklyn (1947), which also features Sinatra on the Bridge. The song was released as a B-side in 1947.

For more about the Brooklyn Bridge and its historical significance, a History Channel documentary in their Modern Marvels series tells the story of the bridge. [2015 Update: Unfortunately, that video is no longer available on YouTube, but below is a preview for the Ken Burns documentary about the bridge.]

If you prefer a much shorter video, you can check out another one that has 10 Amazing Facts About the Brooklyn Bridge.

Photo of Brooklyn Bridge in 1899 via Brooklyn Museum. What is your favorite image of Brooklyn Bridge? Leave your two cents in the comments.

When Dean and Jerry Reunited on the MDA Labor Day Telethon

Movie Lovers Should Join The Important Cinema Club (Podcast Review)

The House I Live In: Josh White’s America

Death in Movies That Remind Us to Enjoy Life

Bob Dylan Croons “I Could Have Told You”

Frank Sinatra: “That’s Life”

(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

7 Things About “Star Trek: Into Darkness” (Short Review)

Here are seven spoiler-free things about Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013).

1. You already know whether or not you will enjoy Star Trek: Into Darkness. If you are a Star Trek fan or like action movies in space, you will see the movie no matter what I say. And you probably will not be disappointed. For a Star Trek fan like me, it is a very entertaining movie and the most fun I have had at the cinema in awhile.

2. Director J.J. Abrams continues with our heroes in an alternate time-line from the 1960s series and the William Shatner movies. In this first sequel to J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (2009) reboot, where time does not need to be wasted on the set-up, we are starting to see the brilliance of having the freedom to change the events of the “past” while also connecting to the stories we know.

3. While the first film took me awhile to adapt to the new actors in the classic roles, by now the actors fit well into their roles. Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, John Cho and others have become the characters we know. Benedict Cumberbatch does a good job as the bad guy too.

4. There are several references to the old TV and movie series. I will leave it to you to decide whether the movie overdoes it. On one hand, one might conclude there was a little too much old and not enough new — while also wondering if this alternate universe storyline really makes much sense for the characters. But on the other hand, the connections did make for an entertaining and clever movie.

5. As Slate has noted, the new film has a little something to say about the U.S. war on terrorism, making the movie relevant in the way the old series was. The Atlantic, however, finds the message is not so ambiguous. There is a lot to discuss on this point, which makes the movie even more memorable.

6. While many speculated about the identity of the villain prior to the film’s release (and which I will not spoil here), I was pleasantly surprised by the appearance of one of these (warning: clicking on the link will give you a minor spoiler).

7. Conclusion? If you liked past Star Trek films, you should see Star Trek: Into Darkness. But I probably did not need to tell you that.

What did you think of Star Trek: Into Darkness? Leave your two cents in the comments.

“Star Trek Beyond” Gets Back to Basics

“Star Trek Beyond” Tribute to Leonard Nimoy

The Strange Coincidence With the Ending of “Wrath of Khan”

Two Spocks and an Audi

“That, My Lad, Was a Dragon” in the New Hobbit Trailer

“First” Interracial Kiss on TV

(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

Watch “Mel Brooks: Make a Noise”

PBS premiered as part of its American Masters series a new documentary about the legendary filmmaker and funny guy Mel Brooks called Mel Brooks: Make a Noise (2013). The informative movie follows Mel Brooks’s early career through his classic movies like Young Frankenstein (1974) and Blazing Saddles (1974) and through his Broadway hit The Producers. The documentary also delves into his childhood and personal life, including his marriage to actress Anne Bancroft.

PBS has made the documentary available online for a limited time, and you may find out more on the PBS website. Below is the trailer.

Robert Trachtenberg wrote, directed, edited, and produced Mel Brooks: Make a Noise. You may read reviews of the film on the A.V. Club or in the Los Angeles Times.

What is your favorite Mel Brooks film? Leave your two cents in the comments.

New Documentary About Guy Clark

“The Staircase” Is a Fascinating Real-Crime Documentary

The Modern Prometheus Published

“Paul Williams Still Alive” (Missed Movies)

Searching for Sugar Man (Missed Movies)

Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop . . . Being a Jerk?

(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

Human Beings Have This Miraculous Gift: Creed in The Grass Roots

I have been watching the U.S. version of The Office since it first premiered, and I was sad tonight to see the series end. Finishing a good book or ending a long-running T.V. series can do something that movies cannot accomplish by making you feel like you are losing a life-long friend. There will be plenty of articles critiquing The Office finale and comparing it to other series’ final episodes. I might think about those questions at some point, but tonight I just enjoyed seeing the characters one last time. Right now, though, what amazes me is that I watched the series all these years and did not know that the character Creed Bratton, played by Creed Bratton, had been in the Grass Roots. How did I miss that?

The final episode noted that the character Creed had been in the Grass Roots. And then when he sang at the end while playing guitar, it made me realize that they were not joking.

After searching for the lyrics (along the lines of “I saw a friend today . . . we forgot each other’s names” and “all the faces that I know have that same familiar glow”), I found that it is indeed a Creed Bratton song, “All the Faces.” Here is a live version of Creed singing the song he sang on The Office finale. Nice.

Creed Bratton joined the Grass Roots in 1967 and played guitar on songs like the classic, “Let’s Live for Today.” Creed is the guy in this video in the striped shirt on your left.

Bratton quit the band two years later, and his life did not go so well. By the nineties he was doing catering jobs, but then he got a big break when he got a job in 2005 on The Office playing someone with the same name as him.

During the run of the series, the real-life Bratton continued to work on his music. At least in one deleted scence from The Office, his character even got to jam out at least one time. In a deleted scene from the “Booze Cruise” episode, he picked up a guitar and even revealed his Grass Roots past. I am not sure why they saved the reveal about his past for so long. Viewers would have assumed it was a joke, but it did make a beautiful touch to the final episode.

Creed is releasing new music with Tell Me About It, a three-part “audio biography.” Check out “Faded Spats.”

Two members of the Grass Roots — Rob Grill and Ricky Coonce — have passed away. In addition to Creed, Warren Entner is still alive. The two are still good friends.

In tonight’s episode of The Office, near the end, the character Creed talked about how life is “arbitrary” in the way things happen in one’s life. But, he explains, no matter where one ends up, “human beings have this miraculous gift” to make a place their home.

With a life of ups and downs, the real Creed Bratton found a home on The Office and now is using that home to go on to other things. Although he will always be that odd guy on The Office to me, he is of course much more than that. It looks like we haven’t heard the last of Creed Bratton.

What is your favorite Creed moment on The Office? Leave your two cents in the comments.

Love, Sex, Death, and Springsteen’s “Sha La La”

SNL Brings Together “The Hobbit” and “The Office”

“That One Night” by The Hunted: So Wrong, So Right

Todd Packer Looks Back on “The Office”

A Web Series Says Goodbye to “The Office”

The Return of David Brent from “The Office”

(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

Lost in Space: Trailer for “Gravity”

In the category of upcoming films I can’t wait to see, I would have to include Gravity (2013). The movie is directed by Alfonso Cuarón, whose last feature film was the excellent Children of Men (2006), which was about a crumbling future society where humans stopped reproducing. Gravity is also in the science-fiction category, but this time Cuarón goes to space.

Gravity stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as two astronauts on a space shuttle mission where the shuttle is destroyed, leaving the two stranded in space. It is an interesting casting choice, especially considering that it looks like the two leads will have to carry the film. Clooney has already been in a very good creepy space science-fiction film with Solaris (2002), and Bullock is an excellent actress.

The trailer makes me think the movie might give me nightmares, but the cool kind of lost-in-space nightmares, not the scary-monster nightmares. Check it out.

Gravity is scheduled to be released October 4, 2013. Mark your calendar.

What fall movies are you looking forward to? Leave your two cents in the comments.