Monty Python Live (Mostly) One Down, Five to Go (2014)

Another one I forgot to write about, and, of course, we loved this variety show by the five surviving members of the troupe. The "One Down" of the title refers to the late Graham Chapman. You can guess what they meant by "Five to Go."

Of the five, only John Cleese and Terry Gilliam have been in the blog, for The Big Year and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, respectively. The others are Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin, all brilliant comedians with good work behind them and more to come, we hope, for all five.

Apparently, despite the Pythons' successful solo careers, they owed a huge amount in royalties after losing a 2013 lawsuit by to the producer of Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) because so much of the stage musical Spamalot was derived from that movie. So this live London stage show was born of necessity. Eight months before the curtain went up, tickets sold out in in 43 seconds,. They added nine more shows and the last was streamed live in the UK and selected movie theaters on July 20, 2014. We like matinees, so seeing it five hours ahead of British Summer Time wouldn't have been an issue for us three years ago.

I found it tonight streaming for free two ways. One website, putlockertv, advises pausing the video 5-10 minutes to buffer before playing. I set my timer for 10:00 and it started right up after that (I haven't tried to see the whole thing so can't vouch for its entirety). Or you can watch with it an Amazon SeeSo free trial.

If you want to contribute directly to the Python legal fund, you can buy the DVD from them (with extras) or Amazon or iTunes (to rent it on iTunes, click View in iTunes on the same link).

It's not rated on Rotten Tomatoes but I assure you, it's a must-see for fans.

In case you're wondering how I managed to remember something we saw three years ago, last week I noticed that, though we had seen the latest Spider-Man, I hadn't written about it. I looked at my AMC Stubs membership (it's not free but pays for itself for frequent moviegoers like us) because it keeps a record of every ticket bought, and I found the date. Later, I went through the entire list, which runs for six years and counting, cross checking with my index, and found White House Down and this. Check check check.

The Big Year (2011)

We rather liked this comedy with Jack Black, Steve Martin, and Owen Wilson as competitive birdwatchers, even though reviews were awful (40% critics/54% audiences on rottentomatoes). There's a robust supporting cast, including Dianne Wiest and Brian Dennehy as Black's parents, JoBeth Williams as Martin's wife, Rosamund Pike as Wilson's wife, Rashida Jones and Andrew Wilson (Owen and Luke's brother) as fellow birders, Kevin Pollak and Joel McHale as Martin's business associates, and cameos by Anjelica Huston, Tim Blake Nelson, Jim Parsons...the list goes on, and Jack correctly identified a voiceover as John Cleese of Monty Python fame. I don't remember Black's film debut in Bob Roberts (1992), though the movie was great, but did like him in a number of pictures, including High Fidelity (2000),  Shallow Hal (2001), The School of Rock (2003), King Kong (2005), Margot at the Wedding (2007), and Tropic Thunder. I wrote about my favorite Owen Wilson roles in Midnight in Paris and Steve Martin in It's Complicated, and all three are believable as the obsessive birders.

Directed by David Frankel (Miami Rhapsody (1995), The Devil Wears Prada (2006), Marley & Me (2008, I didn't see it), and some TV) from a script adapted by Howard Franklin (The Name of the Rose (1986), Someone to Watch Over Me (1987), more) from the book The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession by Mark Obmascik, the movie features great locations (mostly Canada, plus some Atlanta), wonderful sets, and, of course, beautiful photography of birds by Lawrence Sher (Kissing Jessica Stein (2001), Garden State (2004), Dan in Real Life (2007), The Hangover, The Hangover Part II, among others).

The music is also good, with eight songs, including Black's ringtone, listed here, and if you scroll down on that link, you can hear samples (click on the little arrows next to $0.99) of the excellent soundtrack composed by Theodore Shapiro, who scored State and Main (2000), Old School (2003), Prada, Tropic Thunder, and Dinner for Schmucks, among his 50 credits.

If you see only one movie a month, perhaps you should pick another, but if you like birds or any of the cast members, check this one out, still playing in very limited showtimes here, with a possible DVD release set for February.