Letterman to Receive Kennedy Center Honors

It was announced that David Letterman will be one of the Kennedy Center Honorees this year. The award, given to those who have contributed significantly to the cultural life of our nation and the world".

Also honored will be Dustin Hoffman, Buddy Guy, a ballerina and Led Zeppelin. Interesting.

Read more about it here. The ceremonies will air December 2nd on CBS.

IMDB 250 8.2 - Papillon (1973)

Papillon (1973)

"Welcome to the penal colony of French Guiana, whose prisoners you are and from which there is no escape."

As two prisoners are being transported to the penal system in French Guiana and make a deal. Papillon (Steve McQueen) will protect the more fragile Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman) and, in exchange, Dega will finance Papillon's prison escape.

The plot sounds like "The Great Escape" but it's actually closer to "Lawrence of Arabia". It's long, it's big and it's long. There are long sequences portraying long stretches of solitary confinement in a dark cell. There are long sequences portraying the attempted escape from prison. There are long sequences depicting what happens after that (not spoiling anything). And there are long sequences showing what happens after that. Like "Lawrence of Arabia", this movie has an "epic" feel to it - they're going to tell you a larger than life story and it doesn't matter if it takes longer than life to tell it.

The main strength of this movie is the acting. Dustin Hoffman is always good but Steve McQueen is phenomenal. Here, he gets to display a huge range of emotions and states from "old age" to "crazy" to "sick and at the point of death". And you'll never catch him "acting". Every second feels authentic. I was already a fan going in, and this movie only made me more of one.

For the first half of the movie one might think it's about the human spirit and human determination. But by the end, one can't help but wonder if it's really about obsession and insanity. And where does one draw the line?

7/10.
Total Top "250" Movies Seen: 363.

Dustin Hoffman and Robert DeNiro

They're two of our most legendary living actors and they appeared together to promote their new film.

[Video Deleted]

In the thirty years that Dave has had a talk show, Robert DeNiro has NEVER been on. And it's easy to see why. He may be the only living person who, if asked the question, "What's the meaning of life?", would give a Yes or No answer. From what I can tell, it's extreme shyness - if he was interviewed by someone he knew well he might give actual answers, but as it is, it's two words and OUT. This highly-edited clip cuts out 99% of the awkward silence (as usual) but that's a shame because Letterman is great in these moments. He knows he's dying on stage, his back is to the wall and he lets loose with some fantastic zingers.

Of course, DeNiro was the first guest on Jimmy Fallon's first show but I think the "publicity stunt" nature of the idea was generally lost on people. Saying that one's first guest on their first show is going to be Robert DeNiro is the same thing as saying, "On my first show, I'm gonna escape from an underwater safe." In either case, you're going to see someone die on stage.

BONUS FACT:

Amaze and Impress Your Friends at Parties with this one:

Robert Deniro is actually 25% Italian. He's mostly German and Dutch.