8.  It's separate seating:  Republicans and Democrats

7.  Secret Service codename for the Mezvinskys:  "The Machatanim"

6.  Pretty sure you just saw Jimmy Carter dancing the Horah

5.  Blessing over the Challah is made by the Secretary of Agriculture

4.  Hope to G-d that Bill isn't wearing the same yarmulke he wore at the Rabin funeral

3. Nothing cooler than CIA agents using the words: Shmorg, Chuppah, Yichud room

2.  Dancing with the Stars: Bill & Hillary dance the Mezinka!

1. When wishing Mazal tov, someone confuses Mezvinsky with Lewinsky

THE TERMINATOR!

Throughout his extraordinary, legend in his own time career, James Cameron has done very little that cannot be legitimately considered well ahead of its time. He maneuvers through Hollywood with the confidence of a prophet. In the 1980’s alone, Cameron, via his own brand of brainy technique and force of nature will, ignited one world class franchise (with 1984’s The Terminator), carried on the legacy of another (1986’s Aliens), and (if you can forgive the unforgivable final ten minutes) created a self-contained masterpiece of human drama and science fiction (1989’s The Abyss). We can track Cameron’s remarkable success and unparalleled risk taking from that decade all the way to the Avatar-obsessed present. His uncanny ability to introduce and establish the next big thing, whether in the realm of effects (T2 and True Lies), acting (Titanic’s Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio) or gargantuan budgets that pay off, has been consistently met and complimented by his devotion to storytelling. James Cameron will never be as bold or accomplished a filmmaker as, say, a Steven Spielberg, but, pound for pound, the director can go head to head in the arena of cinematic innovation with anyone, and the few times where he loses it’ll be close.

Although The Terminator was not Cameron’s feature debut (that honor goes to 1981’s Piranha Part Two: The Spawning) the time traveling, apocalyptic, cyborg-centric mindfuck of a movie about Kyle Reese, a man sent back to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor, the mother of an unborn resistance fighter, from a relentless robot killer (and Reese winds up being the child’s father!) needless to say marks the beginning of James Cameron’s tremendous run. The Terminator, because of its impact and staggering concept (the script was written by Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd), immediately made Cameron a contender, certainly evidenced by his subsequently being trusted to direct the sequel to Ridely Scott’s 1979 classic Alien. And Cameron, despite being on the fast track, did not leave his Terminator cast in the dust. With the film having become a modern classic, James Cameron essentially made the careers of Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, and even arguably Arnold Schwarzenegger. The first two actors are left with B caliber résumés outside of their work with Cameron (Biehn also was featured in Cameron’s Aliens and The Abyss, Hamilton in the first two Terminator movies). This is not to suggest that neither star earned their keep for Cameron. Biehn, all wild-eyed, raw, rugged manliness as Kyle Reese grits his way through the film, providing a very sturdy and memorable hero to root for. Biehn infuses his performance with the perfect mix of sensible determination and lunatic madness. His pain and experience in the bleak future oozes from his every gesture and slightly offbeat line reading. Hamilton’s Sarah Connor, more or less a generic damsel in distress with horrific 80’s feathered hair in The Terminator, transformed herself (likely under Cameron’s ubiquitous iron fist) into the survivalist fighting machine mom who dominates the screen with such gravitas in T2.

Schwarzenegger is an 80’s conversation all his own. Along with Stallone, Schwarzenegger represents the paradigmatic 80’s action hero – impossibly inflated, larger than life, inarticulate, and surgically precise with a monotone “Fak You, Azzhole.” The Austrian giant already had a couple of Conan movies under his belt when Cameron utilized his brawn for the first of the three films they would eventually work on together, and Ahnold clearly would have made it regardless (after all, you don’t become the Governor of California without the right kind of savvy), but it was The Terminator movies that legitimized the actor. The quality of the film and his considerable contribution to its excellence made Schwarzenegger the actor relevant. The Terminator compelled audiences to take Schwarzenegger seriously. The public would eventually learn that if James Cameron believes in something or someone and bets on them, well, that’s smart money. And Schwarzenegger, as the titular Terminator, delivers the goods. For someone who was well known at that point as a noble heroic type on screen, the level of menace Schwarzenegger brought to his character is quite impressive. His intimidating physicality along with superior makeup effects supplied by the maestro Stan Winston helped him create one of the most terrifyingly believable villains of all time (and that comes to include the Terminator concept in general, a tradition continued brilliantly by Robert Patrick in T2). Perhaps because Schwarzenegger is permitted to speak so sparingly, and because the actor’s accent and delivery are so identifiable with his persona, The Terminator, of all Schwarzenegger performances, is most easily separated from the actor (moreso for this reason in T1 over T2 or T3). The character in the first of the series, a merciless, souless murdering devil, truly lives and exists on its own terms, which is the greatest gift an actor can give to a movie. 

For all its narrative ambition and the heavyweight presence of Schwarzenegger, The Terminator would have remained a profoundly distressing film experience for a separate reason that in fact is very 80’s.

The machines have not yet taken over, but the ominous vision of the future that Cameron depicts through the haggard, desperate countenance of Kyle Reese and his manic efforts to save Sarah Connor, appeared to be in motion back then. Though technology in many, many ways makes our lives better, there is good reason to be paranoid, and one can imagine what the 80’s felt like to someone as gifted as Cameron, who gazes at the horizon and sees beyond it. While the TV commercials were promoting wonderfully useful inventions like Apple IIes and Teddy Ruxpin, Cameron closed his eyes and shuddered. Instead of a home computer and a taperecorder bear, he saw Cyberyne Systems and Skynet coming online.

If you want to add matches if you were at the party -or if you were NOT even at the shindig, just add a quick name and add your pic, and search or let people search for you! If you like someone who likes you - we set you up!

just go here achshav:  http://tubav.jewster.com/tubav/

Rock out

bangitout

Thanks so much for coming out last night and celebrating Tubav once again with Bangitout.com!

Lot of Fun.  You will get an email by Thursday Night if you matched with anyone at the party!

Please feel free to tag and post pictures on Facebook to allow for more people to get in touch with more people.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=190873&id=14870771654&ref=mf

ton more pics on bangitout here:  http://www.bangitout.com/photosb/?level=album&id=33  (feel free to comment on anyone you are intersted in!

We came, we celebrated an ancient Jewish holiday, we raised a lot of money for charity, we drank a heck of a lot of beer, and hopefully we met someone cool. 

thanks,

Bangitout.com

When: Monday Night 07-26-2010 (8:00 PM - 3:00 AM)

Where: Hudson Beach Cafe in RIVERSIDE PARK (enter park at 103rd street follow signs to bar) (take the 1 train to 103rd street and walk to RIVERSIDE PARK, follow the signs down the stairs until you hit the bar)

Description:

Get your white outfit all set, because coming Monday July 26th   is the

ANNUAL TUBAV PARTY in RIVERSIDE PARK!

Come celebrate the amazing Jewish Holiday of ROMANCE in Riverside Park at the Hudson Beach Cafe. Everyone wears WHITE! There will be 800 jewish rockstars coming for one thing: To meet someone like you.

Here is how this night works:

1. you slip into something, anything, that is white. (socks are acceptable)

2. you get a cheesy match number sticker with your name on it

3. you get a match card

4. (this is important) you get a free drink

5. you actually talk to someone of the opposite sex! (everyone at this shindig is here to meet someone new, so this is litereally your night to talk to someone you might actually like!)

6. you write down any of the people you like on your match card!

7. If they write you down, we set you up!

(this shtick actually works, weve had over 15 matches from this idiocy)

There will be a DJ, cocktails, it is on the water and will be awesome.

Cost/RSVP: $20 online http://tubavparty.eventsbot.com/ - as always, a significant portion of the proceeds will go to a Tzedaka!.   STAY TUNED!

(RAINDATE is Thursday JULY 29)

Contact Information: events@bangitout.com

Category: Jewish Party

A sequel to 1981’s mega-smash serial adventure epic Raiders of the Lost Ark was inevitable, and in 1984 it was released in the form of pulpy, inconsistent, and inappropriately gruesome Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. But also in 1984, equally indebted (or beholden) to Raiders, and certainly competing for its level of unbridled fun in the jungle was Robert Zemeckis’ Romancing the Stone. The first and only script written by Diane Thomas who was killed in a car accident a year after her hit film was released, Romancing’s method, tone, and demeanor embody the pitch “Raiders, but contemporary” (and in fact Thomas had spent some time working on a draft of an actual Raiders follow up).

The contemporary part is what makes Romancing the Stone such 80’s gold. The 80’s loved a good light romantic comedy adventure with an edge almost as much as a stirring power ballad, and Romancing the Stone struck the perfect balance. Between Michael Douglas’ mullet, a synthesizer heavy score, and Kathleen Turner shining in her blink and you missed it prime, Zemeckis’ movie is truly time capsule worthy.

Thomas’ story is best when setting up the playfully artificial Indian Jones moments as opposed to actually executing them. Turner plays Joan Wilder, a lonely, hopeless romantic who expresses her desire for a noble man and a fantastic voyage through her internationally bestselling novels. On the verge of releasing another heart-swelling page turner, the soft, sensitive Wilder gets wrapped up in fortune hunter intrigue, murder, and mayhem straight out of her own fiction when her sister becomes a hostage in Columbia and Wilder is asked by the kidnappers to bring a treasure map to the corrupt, treacherous country or the sister dies. From there, a series of lucky accidents brings Wilder into the company of Douglas’ Jack T. Colton, an American thrill seeker with a keen survival instinct, a loner’s mentality, and one hell of a winning smile. Not precisely the man of Wilder’s dreams, but when you’re thirtysomething and your most intimate relationship is with your cat, a sturdy anti-hero who can ably handle a shotgun and a one-liner will do.

Naturally, she drags him into a situation he never expected, and the odd couple banter and eventual sparks that fly between Wilder and Colton (and perhaps between Douglas and Turner who made three rather memorable 80’s movies together in five years, including 1985’s The Jewel of the Nile, a far inferior sequel to Romancing the Stone) provides the heart and soul of the movie. Danny DeVito, who also tagged along in the subsequent Douglas/Turner capers, adds the requisite comic relief by combing a conniving, sinister agenda in a fast talking, physically amusing package.

Ironically enough, the weakest player on this team is an unripe Robert Zemeckis, arguably the most talented and ultimately successful participant. The same man who one year later would erupt with the phenomenal Back to the Future and then go on to direct Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump, Contact, and What Lies Beneath among other splendid achievements, often loses focus in his sophomore effort. My guess is that he was too new to the game to push his artistic program without studio interference. Hence,  interesting, well paced scenes like when Wilder and Colton spend the night burning marijuana to keep warm in a rotting fuselage in the jungle and bonding, are followed by inane, unintelligible moments seemingly edited with a machete where, for example, the unlikely duo slip behind a waterfall to collect the coveted treasure. Because the “chemistry” between the leads is so potent, the locale so lush, and the hang loose, good time 80’s vibe so vibrant, the audience will remember the Romancing experience very fondly without recalling that none of it made a lick of sense, nor did it care to.

The ludicrous final scene takes the cake. Although we are happy when Colton pulls up to Wilder’s apartment in a yacht wearing a fresh set of crocodile boots (get it!) to sweep her off her feet, as the credits role, our smile should fade just a bit as we realize that we've been had…80’s style.

Leave it to a film with an inexplicably frustrating title to provide one of the most frustrating film experiences of the 1980’s. 1987’s Some Kind of Wonderful had all the ingredients to become the crown jewel (along with The Breakfast Club) of the 80’s teen angst opus; a genre so prominent, venerated, and well executed in that decade. Its director, Howard Deutch, was a hot commodity coming off his rookie effort, the Molly Ringwald hit Pretty in Pink; Wonderful’s writer, John Hughes (z’l), had been cranking out quality teen themed cinema for four years and gotten the task down to a weird science; its attractive stars, Eric Stoltz, Lea Thompson, and Mary Stuart Masterson, were fresh faced, talented, and had not yet been overly used and abused in this sort of fare. What a firecracker Some Kind of Wonderful should have been. And although it remains so at times, it is only in tantalizingly fleeting moments.

In typical Hughes fashion, the story is about a shy teen (Stoltz, strong but at 26 too old to be playing a senior in high school) from the wrong part of town who pines for a girl named Amanda Jones (Thompson, so engaging and effervescent) and a life that does not conform to his predetermined means. He spends his free time – time normally reserved for high school kids to conduct reckless adventures - working in a garage so his family can afford him college. His best friend is a tough leather clad chick with lesbian hair and the succinct name Watts, (Masterson, a tad too softly beautiful for the role). She of the icy facade and cloaked vulnerability is clearly stifling a major crush on the dude. Their relationship, while fleshed out and visually developed, remains somewhat of a screenwriter’s invention even as the closing credits ascend. Meanwhile, Amanda Jones (the name, an excuse to pump some Rolling Stones onto the soundtrack) is glamorous, built for daydreams, and dates Hardy Jenns, the rich poofy haired jerk who rules the school. But she also exhibits some redeeming qualities (you see, she does not come from as affluent stock as the crowd she runs with). Also in typical 80’s teen fantasy fashion, the outsider and the untouchable goddess link up due to an odd twist of fate; a classic combination of revenge, daring, and timing. And Stoltz’s enigmatic Keith Nelson (who is certainly no geek, just mature and introspective) manages to charm Amanda while at the same time teaching the popular girl something about her self-worth. He also confronts the bully with the help of other bullies, and, naturally, but still presented in a startlingly brutal manner, rages against his

dad who doesn’t understand him.

Some Kind of Wonderful separates itself not only by the eclectic cast (which includes a memorable supporting team of John Ashton, Elias Koteas, and Scott Coffey), but also because it seems to refuse to play by the rules of its predecessors. For what ostensibly was meant to be just another by the numbers entry in a profitable of-the-moment genre, Deutch’s film takes surprising risks. Hughes was never averse to throwing a curveball, but it was always of the predictable variety. Hughes was a curveball pitcher, but it was always that lazy curve. He made the kind of “interesting” choices that an audience potentially saw coming. Some Kind of Wonderful at some turns appears to throw out the rule book, and that becomes its strength but also its ultimate weakness.

Keith’s passion (or perhaps whimsy) for Amanda and her eventually falling for him, nothing more than a high school caliber affair (which of course is immensely powerful and as Hughes always revealed so respectfully, should never be underestimated) is taken to mind-bogglingly dramatic extremes. The kind of extremes that allow for individual scenes of heartbreaking eloquence and intensity, but also when strung together, the affect is general disbelief in the overall proceeding. If Hughes had one limitation, it was his inability to consistently depict that middle ground where the reality of life and the sur-reality of high school blended together. He preferred, rather, to make “fun” movies that mix both styles in separate batches, where almost opposing storytelling techniques were edited together, intermittently and randomly representing each unique flavor. When Some Kind of Wonderful aims for true emotions and purity, which it does more often than not, it excels; when it scrapes the barrel of high school flick cliché, conventional characterizations (with a particularly egregious example in Craig Sheffer’s Hardy), and wild plot devices, it by necessity disappoints. Throw in the whole uncomfortable and virtually indigestible best friend/crush dynamic which builds to a ridiculous and rushed climax, and the film’s potential is sapped down to a still very worthwhile core, but nothing compared to what might have been. A movie that could have been something wonderful, winds up only kind of.

Perez Hilton

The two apparently met a while ago in L.A. but things started to get serious within the last month.  Mazal Tov!

We can't wait till Lilo get's her ankle monitor off for them to take off to hit the Namal club scene!

BIG BROTHER this season has contestant ANDREW GORDON who is frum, shomer shabbos and kosher. (oy veh, is that pot fleishig???)
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/big_brother/cast/12/andrew/ 

maybe he'll find his bashert with this heebette, las vegas waitress/chemistry phd student, Rachel.

we're looking forward to see how this plays out inside the chabad house of Big Brother

Big Brother Cast - Andrew

Name: Andrew Gordon
Age: 39
Current Residence: Miami Beach, Fla.
Occupation: Podiatrist
Three adjectives that describe you: Stubborn, spontaneous and sneaky   
Favorite activities: Video games, poker, watching football, swimming and going to "Toys R Us"
What do you think will be the most difficult part about living inside the Big Brother house: Not seeing my daughter is always hard, but the most difficult part of living inside the Big Brother house will be not watching ESPN daily  
Strategy for winning Big Brother: My formula: Kaysar + Will + George and Russell's (from Survivor) game plan = Andrew
What types of people would you NOT choose to live with you in the house: Politicians, lawyers, rude people and anyone with an IQ of an idiot
A recurring theme on Big Brother is "expect the unexpected." How would you handle "the unexpected:" I

#24 This is Spinal Tap

Today, watching 1984’s Rob Reiner comedy classic This Is Spinal Tap – a movie that feels far older than its born on date – one is instantly struck by how familiar the whole mockumentary genre  has become. In fact, and feel free to call me a heretic, Spinal Tap will come off to a sophisticated filmgoer as sort of stale. The reason is actually quite the compliment to its central players. In the two decades since This Is Spinal Tap hit theatres and ignited a cult phenomenon, Christopher Guest and company have mastered the formula that was on display in quite a raw format in ’84. Since that time the Guest crew which has grown into a reliable family has churned out far superior and more artistically focused productions like Waiting For Guffman (1996), Best In Show (2000), and For Your Consideration (2006). And there have been a slew of imitators (Borat, The Office, Parks and Recreation) who would be lost without Spinal Tap. The original suffers upon review simply because its novelty has worn off. But being the first mainstream feature of its kind, it deserves due reverence.

In the film, Spinal Tap is the name of a fictitious self-deluding British hair metal band that is pathetically holding on to a semi-successful past and attempting an American tour in anticipation of a doomed album release. As we learn the history of the band it becomes apparent that the trio has conformed to every passing music fad since they were teenagers. It just so happens that the 80’s calls for long hair, obscenely suggestive lyrics, tight feminine attire, and stuffed crotches. The band members along with their harried manager seem to be sublimely oblivious to their washed up status, and almost hoping to will success through sheer irrational optimism. We find them about to embark on the tour as a film crew follows and records every terribly awkward moment. From gigs being cancelled, to empty venues, third class accommodations, to technical snafus on stage, to band member dysfunction - it’s all captured and accompanied by interviews of the relevant players relating to the action in real time. One thing that has vastly improved in the decades since is the actors’ improvisational technique. The interviews that break up the narrative and allow for immediate and absurd reflection, also meant to deepen the level of humor, don’t work as readily as they do in Guffman and beyond. The gimmick is brilliantly conceived and when handled properly can be highly amusing, but the leads in Spinal Tap (namely Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer), while trying very hard to be funny or outrageous, often seem to be content with just showing off the gimmick. The interviews can become a series of extended silence with looks of “I wonder who will say something outlandish next” shared between castmates.

All this is not to say Spinal Tap misses the mark entirely. There are hysterical bits, mainly involving visual humor and the uncannily proportioned Shearer whose mere presence is a laugh. It’s also a cool way to spot some future stars like Billy Crystal and Dana Carvey in meaningless walk on rolls. 

Spinal Tap will always be remembered by those who saw it first run as an ingenious, game changing riot that combined the irreverence of Monty Python with the ambition of Woody Allen. It took another decade for the filmmakers to bring the concept to its fully realized potential. To take the ten that is Spinal Tap and begin making movies at eleven.

a.) Films released in the 1980's

b.) Films where the story takes place in the 1980's and

c.) Films that generally reflect 80's culture.

Do I make myself clear? All respond: Crystal.

Jordan Hiller, Bangitout.com Senior Movie Editor

#25 The Karate Kid

Though John G. Avildsen did not create the working class underdog makes good through combat sport genre by directing both 1976’s Rocky and 1984’s The Karate Kid, he certainly can take credit for two of the most memorable stories of overcoming the odds ever to shine on screen. Rocky Balboa gets the gold medal for superior cultural relevance, retains a grander legacy, and issued a host of noteworthy sequels, but Newark native Daniel LaRusso and his quest to negotiate California culture, win the girl, and earn the respect of psychopathic bullies is nothing to sneeze at. Perhaps tainted by an inconsistent (though entertaining) Part II, a dreadful Part III, and a too little too late spin off starring a novice Hillary Swank, The Karate Kid still remains a minor miracle of adolescent fantasy filmmaking with enough heart to jumpstart Mrs. LaRusso’s station wagon.

Before the producing team of Simpson and Bruckheimer entrenched themselves as the over the top arbiters of mainstream cinematic taste (a phenomenon from which we have not yet recovered), in a year that proved to represent the last gasp for movies like The Karate Kid to be made with the natural, airy, fluidity of an earlier era, Avildsen crafted an inspired movie with the perfect mix of 80’s bravado and 70’s artistic integrity.

No one would of course confuse The Karate Kid with an art film or an independent. After all, who can forget a tenderized Ralph Macchio in his first and only significant lead role wearing camouflage pants and aviator sunglasses cruising to school on his bike with Bananarama’s Cruel Summer slicing through the humidity like a roundhouse. Who would dare deny the laughable hackneyed malevolence of Martin Kove’s John Kreese as he demands that his Cobra Kai show no mercy. And who would ever consider the penultimate karate tournament montage backed by Joe Esposito’s You’re the Best anything but a cheesy narrative device. But only a fool who thinks wax on wax off, sand the floor, and paint the fence are simply menial chores would dismiss The Karate Kid as a fluff piece. There is plenty of depth to accompany the surface frivolity.

We begin with extraordinary casting. Pat Morita, his resume dating back to the late 60’s mainly in bit parts, played the enduring character Mr. Miyagi - a sometimes kind, sometimes surly handyman burdened with a tumultuous Okinawa past who becomes the father figure to lonely Daniel LaRusso - and earned a signature character and Oscar nomination for the work. The younger cast, however, were all talented newcomers participating in their first major film, and all carrying substantial roles. The world was an open book for these kids and the audience is physically energized by the actors’ own personal marvel and awe as they tend to sparkle in every scene. Their gestures and choices as actors are so real and embodied that they seem almost improvised. Their unpretentiousness and glaring lack of polish is truly a breath of fresh air after witnessing the last two decades of high school kids on film increasingly act and talk like middle aged Ivy League educated writers trying to stifle their intellect while fulfilling unrealized sexual yearnings.

Macchio, who delivers a vanity-free, subdued, exceptionally charming performance (think early Shia LaBeouf), is utterly believable as a New Jersey mensch dealing with some tough breaks in a strange new world. Ralph Macchio, enjoying a momentary resurgence in conjunction with the release this weekend of a remake, carries the film on his thin, bronzed shoulders. Watching Macchio, cute enough but certainly not sexy, exude a sensitivity and vulnerability rivaled only by his virtuoso ability to reflect great pain and great joy in those baby browns, makes a movie fan quickly realize and lament that they just don’t make kid actors like him anymore. Elisabeth Shue, radiantly zaftig, effortlessly portrays the sweet and sincere high school dream girl with a smile that could launch a thousand row boats. The chemistry between her and Macchio is for the ages (and the fact that Part II opens with news that they broke up so that she could date a college guy, while plausible, is indicative of this saga’s downward spiral). And finally there is sneering maniac Johnny Lawrence played by the infinitely detestable Billy Zabka, who was to assholes what Sir Laurence Olivier was to Shakespearian leads.

While it is undoubtedly the performances that raise this film to a level it never would have otherwise reached, Robert Mark Kamen’s insightful, clever, and even imaginative script doesn’t hurt. The straightforward story didn’t take a genius to concoct and there are plenty of contrivances and head scratchers to go around – Shue’s Ali would never have dated Johnny, the bullies are a bit too intent on killing LaRusso, the introduction of a basic looking kick that allegedly has no defense, Mr. Miyagi’s curious ability to heal by slapping his hands together and vigorously rubbing them and the fact that he is not much more than an offensive stereotype – but just when you think Kamen has settled into a generic groove and is going through the motions, he tosses in a surprising gem that his actors do wonders with. Whether it is LaRusso ruminating over Ali’s beauty, Mr. Miyagi’s frustration when Daniel-san fails to understand, or Johnny’s impromptu concession line after losing the tournament, Kamen takes the mundane and elevates it.

The Karate Kid was a hit upon release and now serves as a nostalgic treasure for many, but above all it is of a rare and underappreciated vintage quality. It’s not a perfect specimen by any stretch, but between the uplifting finale, the valuable lessons, and the captivating performances by a bunch of wide eyed kids, The Karate Kid achieves a sacred balance Mr. Miyagi would be proud of.

(please leave comments below)

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