If you’ve been anywhere near the internet this week, you’ll have seen this fantastic, Disneyfied re-imagining of Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver by filmmaker Bryan Boyce. But posting it again can’t hurt, especially if you have contrived to miss it. Quite frankly, it’s the best thing Robert de Niro’s been in for years, and an excuse to link to our article from last year asking if de Niro has now been crap for longer than he was great, and if so, does it matter? You can read the article HERE.
Click HERE for the best set of ‘Before They Were Famous’ snaps I think I’ve ever seen. Not all film stars, but lots in there, including this bunch. Can you guess who they are?
A big hat tip to the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw for this one.
Why? Because. That’s why.
Why it’s great: Because when I bring the subject up at dinner parties, surprisingly few people know that it’s based on this completely fucking outrageous piece of acting from Ice-T in New Jack City.
Why it’s great: Because look at Jon Lovitz’ (and everyones’) clothes.
Why it’s great: Because just listen to the way Tim Curry says the word “quota”.
Why it’s great: Because of what William Shatner does at the fish tank.
Why it’s great: Because of the line “Got anything larger?”. And look at Emilio Estevez’ hair.
Why it’s great: Because the editing is world class.
In conclusion: Absolutely one of the most underrated comedies of the 1990s, in my humble yet almost certainly correct opinion. Also brilliant for the way in which Emilio Estevez unhinged performance pretty much predicted how Mel Gibson would end up in real life. So, so good. They don’t make them like this anymore.
Wow. Click HERE for a staggering vid of one guy rattling through 75 years’ worth of Best Supporting Actress impersonations, from Hattie McDaniel to Anjelica Huston. Credit to blogger The Lost Boy for the spot, and YouTuber THEDOOMSDAYDIARIES for actually pulling this shit off. Hilarious.
You might have noticed PPH has been a bit quiet recently; this lack of activity can be attributed to a nasty combination of extreme business in other areas and le flu d’homme (translation: quite a bad cold that won’t go away).
However, PPH will return with exciting new content next week, and I’m also excited to say that we (by which I mean, I) will be present in my Permanent Plastic guise at the 5th BFI Future Film Festival next weekend (18-19 February) running blogging workshops. More information will follow, but it would be great to see you down there at London’s BFI Southbank, so mark it in your diaries!
In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this amazingly, ridiculously brilliant clip from the unsung comedy genius Fred Willard in Christopher Guest’s A Mighty Wind. “I CAN’T DO MY WERRRK!”
But kudos to Gerard Butler for branching out; this looks like it could be a painful role.
Go on. I dare you not to cry with laughter:
(via drownedinsound.com)
It’s never been in doubt that the best thing about Be Kind Rewind, Michel Gondry’s bittersweet ode to home videos and rental stores, was the “sweded” movies. These cheap yet charming remakes of the pop film canon filtered through the memories of Jack Black and Mos Def’s characters stand today as some of the most potent demonstrations of the French filmmaker’s boundless inventiveness and adorable D.I.Y aesthetics.
To mark the recent Parisian premiere of Martin Scorsese’s latest – the family-friendly Hugo – the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind director delivered this cracking Christmas treat; a lovely lo-fi version of Marty’s most iconic (and least PC) work, Taxi Driver… with coloured pencils for bullets and en français s’il vous plait. Profiter:
As you might have guessed, PPH is pretty busy at the moment, so in lieu of a proper post here’s a couple of my favourite vids, in fact probably the best two vids on YouTube; Arnold Schwarzenegger quote heaven. Watch, and watch again. (All credit goes to the redoutable hh1edits). Normal service will be resumed next week.
For some Friday Fun™ on Permanent Plastic Helmet, here’s an oldie (at the time of writing it’s only had a mere 2,284,155 views) but a goodie; a trailer for Stanley Kubrick’s classic 1980 chiller The Shining recut to resemble an uplifting family comedy. If the clip doesn’t make you howl with laughter, then some of the YouTube comments wildly missing the point certainly will. Credit goes to PPH contributor Guillaume Gendron (about to embark on journalism school in Paris – do wish him luck) for reminding me of it, and YouTuber neochosen for the upload in the first place. Enjoy:
Permanent Plastic Helmet 