Thursday, December 18, 2008

The Muppets Retake Manhattan

A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa
Earlier this year, I had written about how Disney was finally producing new content for the Muppets franchise it purchased ages ago this year with a series of YouTube videos and a few guest spots on the Disney Channel. But clips and appearances are one thing--it's been ages since they did a fully scripted story.

Well, it looks like they haven't lost their old charm. I saw a clip of Miss Piggy promoting the New Muppets Christmas special on The Today Show and was hoping I'd be able to see it on Hulu. So for those who missed it, here it is, until December 31.




And here's the Miss Piggy clip

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

It's a Wonderful Life Day, Chewbacca

I thought George Lucas had found and burned all copies of the Star Wars Holiday Special an attempt to wipe this fabled episode from our collective memories, but I was wrong. Hurray for the internet!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Bollywood meets Kung Fu

East meets East in Chandni Chowk to China
Americans have had serious Kung Fu envy for a long time, with story lines about white boys magically endowed with martial arts abilities (The Forbidden Kingdom) or Asian folks finding their next great warrior in the good ol' U.S. of A (Bulletproof Monk). It was only a matter of time before India got in on the fun.



Chandni Chowk to China is an action comedy about an Indian cook (played by Akshay Kumar, looking like a cross between Sacha Baron Cohen and David Blaine) who is mistaken for the reincarnation of an ancient Chinese warrior by the residents of an oppressed village. After being revealed as nothing more than a lowly vegetable scrubber by the local baddie (played by Gordon Liu of Kill Bill fame), he studies kung fu to redeem himself and the village.

As someone who is neither Chinese nor Indian but who is dying to try Gobi Manchurian, I'm intensely curious. If these two Asian powerhouses can find common ground in cinema and comedy, who knows what will happen in international relations? Also, who doesn't want to see a Bollywood musical number in full imperial getup? The movie is out in the U.S. on January 16.
 
Copyright 2008