So...
I go with my good buddy Martin to catch a movie the other night. There wasn't really much showing I hadn't already seen that held any interest for me, so I told him what films I had yet to take in and deferred the selection to him. Martin, a comic book fan dating back to the days of his youth (of course, I guess it would be a bit odd to suddenly become a comic book fan at some random point in one's adulthood), chose The Incredible Hulk as our evening's entertainment. Hey... great, no problem! I have never really been into the Hulk thing over the years, but I certainly have no objection to two hours of mindless fun and some cool special effects. Plus, I must admit, I was a little intrigued to see a film that had previously been made only five years earlier (2003-Universal Pictures' Hulk, starring Eric Bana, directed by Ang Lee)... was another "interpretation" really necessary after only half a decade??? Anyway, I was right about a couple of things... the effects were pretty good... and it was certainly mindless. It wasn't bad, but I won't be renting the DVD when it hits the shelves. It got me to thinking about what exactly constitutes contemporary "entertainment", and it how compares to what delighted movie-going audiences in days past. Take this clip... an impressively precise, yet playful dance number featuring the legendary Fred Astaire and the (very regrettably) seemingly mostly forgotten Eleanor Powell. It is from the film Broadway Melody of 1940. Enjoy!
Absolutely fan-freaking-tastic!!! Quite honestly, that short little clip, all two minutes and change of it, is endlessly more entertaining than the last five theatrical releases I've seen... COMBINED! And Eleanor Powell... what a babe! No CG special effects... no $200 million budget... no crying Liv Tyler... just a couple of extraordinarily talented entertainers, hoofin' it like few have hoofed before... and certainly since. C'mon Hollywood... how about a nice "golden age" revival?
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