DVD KELSEY GRAMMER THE BRAINY BEAST OF 3RD `X-MEN'.Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor It's not easy being green -- or blue, apparently. Ask Kelsey Grammer Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is a six-time Emmy and a two-time Golden Globe-winning American actor best known for his two-decade portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. , who plays the furry blue Dr. Henry McCoy, otherwise known as the Beast, in ``X-Men: The Last Stand,'' the third installment of the popular comic-book-to-screen franchise that is out on DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. today. ``I've worn a nose before,'' notes the actor, who is best- known as TV psychiatrist Frasier Crane Dr. Frasier Winslow Crane (b.March 10, 1952) is a fictional character on American television sitcoms Frasier and Cheers. He was played by Kelsey Grammer for twenty years, tying the record for the longest running character on prime-time American television with . That appendage appendage /ap·pen·dage/ (ah-pen´dij) a subordinate portion of a structure, or an outgrowth, such as a tail. epiploic appendages see under appendix . was easier to get on than it was to endure the 21/2 hours he spent each day becoming beastly beast·ly adj. beast·li·er, beast·li·est 1. Of or resembling a beast; bestial. 2. Very disagreeable; unpleasant. adv. Chiefly British To an extreme degree; very. during the shoot. The 6-foot-1 Grammer says Matthew Vaughn, who was the original director, ``apparently sold them on me as the Beast. I think he was on to something. I'm kind of a big guy, and I'm known for what would be an intelligent approach to the work. It was a good match.'' And all that fur didn't prevent Grammer from having a good time while making the Brett Ratner-directed film, thanks to an outstanding cast. Patrick Stewart This article is about the actor. For the American soldier, see Patrick Stewart (soldier). For the actor who is sometimes credited as "Patrick Stuart", see James Patrick Stuart. Patrick Stewart was an old friend who had worked on ``Frasier,'' plus there was Ian McKellen and Halle Berry Halle Maria Berry (IPA: /ˈhæliː ˈbɛriː/) (born August 14, 1966[1]) is an American actress. , among others. ``We had the best times,'' he laughs, ``under six layers of latex.'' Grammer says the film was reviewed as though it were slicker than it should have been. It was the heart of the story -- which involved mutants being ``cured'' by a vaccine -- that attracted him. ``The Beast is a guy faced with a very difficult choice. He's a man who acquired his blueness, and his mutancy is very obvious and extreme. But his fascination with the possibility of him looking human again is something that is a real dilemma for him. I was drawn to that.'' But the actor -- who has been spending his time behind the camera recently producing and directing TV shows -- also had fun in the film's climactic battle scene. ``It was like a bunch of boys playing big games. ... When you had to duck from a flaming car, there was a sense of urgency about it.'' It's a far cry from the stage, which Grammer admits is his first love. But he, like millions of others, was a fan of ``X-Men,'' too -- ``the second movie more than the first. What's great about the story is that, whatever you are, you can probably decide that's what the characters are. ``You can relate if you are gay, or an arty type, or a nerd, or have been teased in school. If you ever felt like an outsider, then you identify with the mutants, and you can identify with the X-Men. So every human being on the planet can identify with the X-Men.'' In ``Thank You for Smoking'' Aaron Eckhart plays Nick Naylor Nick Naylor is the protagonist in satirist Christopher Buckley's 1994 novel Thank You for Smoking. In the novel, Naylor works in public relations as chief spokesman and vice president of the Academy of Tobacco Studies, Washington's tobacco lobby. , big tobacco's chief spokesman or ``the Yuppie Mephistopheles.'' While on a business trip with 12-year-old son Joey (Cameron Bright), he explains that his job ``requires a moral flexibility that goes beyond most people.'' A few minutes earlier, he had demonstrated the fine art of winning, important for a man essentially representing a death squad. What ice cream do you like? he asks. Joey chooses chocolate and proceeds to defend his choice. Nick -- who has picked vanilla -- then proceeds to undermine the boy's argument, noting that it's better to have variety in life. When the boy concedes the point, Nick announces he's won. How did you win? Joey asks. You didn't prove vanilla's better. I don't have to, Nick shoots back, I just have to prove you're wrong. This is a strategy employed by far too many pundits and politicians these days -- put your opponent in a box, attack him, shift the focus to his failings and ignore your own. At least in ``Thank You for Smoking'' it's amusing. And Eckhart is well-suited to the role. He's a good-looking guy, but somehow he seems far more adept at playing someone somewhat unsavory rather than a hero. Directed by Jason Reitman, who also adapted the screenplay from Christopher Buckley's biting satiric novel, ``Thank You for Smoking'' has a lot of amusing touches in its casting. Craggy crag·gy adj. crag·gi·er, crag·gi·est 1. Having crags: craggy terrain. 2. Rugged and uneven: a craggy face. Sam Elliot plays a sort of Marlboro Man who is causing a stir because of his revelations of lung cancer lung cancer, cancer that originates in the tissues of the lungs. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States in both men and women. Like other cancers, lung cancer occurs after repeated insults to the genetic material of the cell. . Robert Duvall is the Captain, the tobacco tycoon, who sends Nick out to Hollywood to get cigarette smoking back into the movies. There he meets super-agent Jeff Megall (Rob Lowe), who sees himself as a ``facilitator,'' and proposes a film with Brad Pitt and Catherine Zeta-Jones having a post- coital co·i·tus n. Sexual union between a male and a female involving insertion of the penis into the vagina. [Latin, from past participle of co smoke in a futuristic sci-fi film where every objection can be explained away. Jeff, like Nick's ``merchants of death'' pals -- Polly Bailey (Maria Bello), an alcohol lobbyist, and Bobby Jay Bliss (David Koechner), a gun lobbyist -- is just another man with moral flexibility. ``Thank You for Smoking'' is not a smooth film -- it lacks cohesiveness, but there are a lot of funny scenes, which are right on target. STRICTLY BOGART Bogie bo·gie 1 also bo·gy n. pl. bo·gies 1. One of several wheels or supporting and aligning rollers inside the tread of a tractor or tank. 2. fans should be happy with ``Humphrey Bogart -- The Signature Collection, Vol. 2.'' The set includes the three-disc special-edition classic ``The Maltese Falcon'' and the World War II-related films ``Across the Pacific,'' ``Action in the North Atlantic Action in the North Atlantic is a 1943 war drama, featuring Humphrey Bogart as a merchant marine first officer. ,'' ``All Through the Night'' and ``Passage to Marseille,'' which is the best of the lot. OK, the others are merely serviceable, but, hey, they all have Bogart. `STARGATE' CRASHER ``Stargate SG-1 -- Season 9'' found Ben Browder being sort of reunited with his ``Farscape'' co-star Claudia Black, which added some zing to the show that lost some energy after original cast member Richard Dean Anderson Richard Dean Anderson (born January 23 1950 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American television actor. He played the eponymous hero in the television series MacGyver and, more recently, Jack O'Neill in Stargate SG-1 left after season eight. They are not romantically linked as they were in ``Farscape,'' but at least it was an attempt by the producers to add some new direction to the series. They were partially successful -- fans stuck -- but the Sci Fi Channel Sci Fi Channel may refer to:
Rob Lowman, (818) 713-3687 robert.lowman(at)dailynews.com NEW FILMS ``X-Men -- The Last Stand'' (Fox; $29.99, Stan Lee Collector's Edition, $39.99) ``Thank You for Smoking'' (Fox; $29.98) ``Edmond'' (First Independent; $26.99) ``The Woods'' (Columbia; $24.96) ``Changing Times'' Koch Lorber; $29.98) OLDER FILMS ``The Little Mermaid -- Two-Disc Special Edition'' (Disney; $29.95) ``Humphrey Bogart -- The Signature Collection, Vol. 2'' (Warner; $59.98) ``Scarface -- Platinum Edition'' (Universal; $29.98) ``Point Break -- Pure Adrenaline Edition'' (Fox; $19.98) ``Body Double'' (Columbia; $19.94) ``Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels -- Locked 'n Loaded'' (Universal; $19.98) ``21 Grams'' (Universal; $19.98) TELEVISION ``Stargate SG-1 -- Season 9'' (MGM MGM in full Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. U.S. corporation and film studio. It was formed when the film distributor Marcus Loew, who bought Metro Pictures in 1920, merged it with the Goldwyn production company in 1924 and with Louis B. Mayer Pictures in 1925. ; $49.98) ``Midsomer Murders -- Set Seven'' (Acorn; $49.99) ``Forever Knight -- The Trilogy, Part 3'' (Columbia; $59.99) ``Medium -- The Complete Second Season'' (Paramount; $54.95) ``Three's Company -- Season Eight'' (Anchor Bay; $29.98) ``Penn & Teller Bullsh*t -- The Complete Third Season'' (Showtime; $29.98) CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Hugh Jackman as Wolverine wolverine or glutton, largest member of the weasel family, Gulo gulo, found in the northern parts of North America and Eurasia, usually in high mountains near the timberline or in tundra. and Halle Berry as Storm in ``X-Men: The Last Stand.'' |
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