the pod bay door

:: As posted to Blogcritics.com.

The Village, the new film by M Night Shyamalan, is a bit of a mess. One review I read tagged it as an extended episode of The Twilight Zone. I found the film ultimately disappointing. However, the performances by the cast members are uniformly superb, including Brendan Gleeson (who like Brian Cox, appears to be in every second film these days), despite having very little to do in the film. Leading the way are, ostensibly, the two leads: Joaquin Phoenix and Bryce Dallas Howard, daugher of Opie/Richie Cunningham.

There is one scene with these two actors that deserves special mention, however, and I wish to describe it here. Therefore, if you haven’t seen the film, please note the following as a spoiler.
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:: Haven’t been in much of a writing mood lately. This is a long weekend in Alberta. I saw Ripley’s Game last night, on DVD. Directed by Liliana Cavani with a score by Ennio Morricone, it is an overlooked gem of a movie from 2002, starring John Malkovich as Tom Ripley, the character created by Patricia Highsmith, and featured in four movies to date. It’s a very good movie, and I have no idea why it didn’t receive a wide general release in North America. What a shame.

:: The Stanley Kubrick Exhibition is on in Berlin. Wish I could attend. I’ve e-mailed to ask about purchasing the catalogue. Available for viewing now, in pdf, is Matthew Modine’s Full Metal Diary, written while filming Full Metal Jacket. Included are a number of his photographs from the set.

Upcoming this weekend is the folk music festival. My brother Chris, and friends Tony and his daughter Claire, will be staying at my place while they attend the festival. Chris is also volunteering. Expect little if any blogging this year week. I am otherwise uninspired these days.

:: The Emmy nominations overlooked Ian McShane for his outstanding work on Deadwood, but the Television Critcs’ Association righted that wrong by giving him the award for Individual Achievement in Drama. And ya gotta love The Daily Show winning the award for Outstanding Achievement in News and Information, which prompted Jon Stewart to say the following: “We’re not real,” Stewart said. “There must be some kind of mistake.”

:: Derryl sent a link to this brilliant parody of album covers, from the Photoshop Phriday page on Something Awful:.

Imagine a world where music is marketed in an honest fashion, where instead of pretentious titles you get a straight and accurate description of what you’re getting, where there is truth in advertising. Now imagine you have a million dollars and you’re giving it all to me. I believe in the power of imagination, and thusly I believe I’m going to be rich. But until all that money arrives, take a look at these handsome images contributed by our pristine collection of forum goons. They decided to strip away the fancy titles by yesterday and today’s top artists and say what’s really going on. I think they have a better handle on the music than even some of the musicians.

:: So, the sixth season of The Sopranos won’t appear until 2006.

:: In anticipation of the upcoming release of the remake, I watched the original 1962 version of The Manchurian Candidate tonight. A highly respected and regarding political thriller, I had to stop and rewind the tape occasionally to review the dialogue, often turning on the closed captioning to ensure that what I thought I heard was correct. The strangest conversation has to be when Major Marco (Frank Sinatra) meets Rosie (Janet Leigh) on a train, and after she lights a cigarette for him, and they begin talking, standing between two of the cars. They discuss football, US states, her name, and railroads. Early on, Leigh, speaking about the railroad, says, “I was one of the original Chinese workmen who laid the track on this stretch.” It’s an absolutely bizarre line in the script, and is left hanging for the remainder of the movie; are they speaking in code to each other? The complete transcript of this scene is on this page. Roger Ebert alludes to this odd exchange in a 1988 review of the movie. It’s a great film, and I’m looking forward to the new version. Other movies seen in the past few days: Anchorman, The Clearing, Spider-Man 2, Before Sunset, The Jack Bull.

:: Remember Live Aid? Twenty years later, it will finally be released on DVD.

:: I am still searching for meaning. I’m not sure what matters anymore. Do you have any brilliant insights? I’d be thrilled to hear from you…

:: Some of the latest news on Fahrenheit 9/11 and Michael Moore:

• Fahrenheit 9/11 has set a number of box office records, and continues to do great business in its third week.
• Craig Unger, who appears in F9/11, and is the author of House of Bush, House of Saud, responds to Michael Isikoff of Newsweek, with How Many Mistakes Can Newsweek’s Michael Isikoff Make?, in partial response to Isikoff’s June 28, 2004, Under The Hot Lights column.
• A stunning photo of Moore is featured on the cover of the July 12, 2004, issue of Time. Featured articles include:
  – The World According To Michael;
  Taking aim at George W., a populist agitator makes noise, news and a new kind of political entertainment
  – The Moore Method
  – The Cultural Campaign
• Moore now has a blog.
  

:: I saw Fahrenheit 9/11 last night at the local stadium-seat theatre complex. I went to the 9:50 show, having bought a ticket earlier in the day. The show was sold out. I can’t remember the last time a documentary received such a wide release, and then proceeded to sell out on its first night in Canadian theatres. I look forward to reading the weekend US movie grosses. The film has already broken single-day records in at two NYC theatres. One East Villlage theatre showed the film every 45 minutes, and then decided to show it all night long.

Moore is facing a barrage of criticism, and is responding to some of it with Fahrenheit 9/11 Facts. Christopher Hitchens, for example, spares him no quarter. Then again, others aren’t sparing Hitchens much, either. Chris Parry, of Hollywood Bitchslap, rips Hitchens’ comments apart piece by piece.
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:: Bored? Need a jolt of wackiness? Watch Leonard Nimoy singing “The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins”

:: Congratulations to my friend Darcy, who posted the 1000th comment on my site.

:: Super Size Me is playing in Edmonton, and I saw it yesterday. I haven’t consumed any fast food from McD’s, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, etc., for months, but after watching this movie, I wonder if I’ll ever do it again. (My one weakness is pizza from Papadopolous in Edmonton.) In the film, director Morgan Spurlock eats three meals a day at McDonald’s for 31 days, with three doctors, a nutritionist and an fitness counsellor monitoring his body weight, blood, cholesterol, caloric intake, etc.

Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock hit the road and interviewed experts in 20 U.S. cities, including Houston, the “Fattest City” in America. From Surgeon Generals to gym teachers, cooks to kids, lawmakers to legislators, these authorities shared their research, opinions and “gut feelings” on our ever-expanding girth.

During the journey, Spurlock also put his own body on the line, living on nothing but McDonald’s for an entire month with three simple rules:

1) No options: he could only eat what was available over the counter (water included!)
2) No supersizing unless offered
3) No excuses: he had to eat every item on the menu at least once

It’s compelling viewing, if a bit skewed – who would eat 93 straight meals from McDonald’s, or any fast food outlet? Also of interest: his girl friend is a vegan chef, and prepares a vegan detox diet for Spurlock, whihc helps him quickly restore his liver function and cholestrol level when his month-long Mac Attack is over.

:: Nashville is six days away, and I feel completely unprepared for the trip. I’m hoping to change that this afternoon by getting a few things in order.