We Wuz Robbed

I don't do politics much on this blog, but when Gabe Wardell blogged this I knew I had to share. It's Spike Lee's short film We Wuz Robbed.

We Wuz Robbed


I was a voter in Florida in 2000 and it still hurts. Regardless of your party affiliation, it was a huge mess that led to an even bigger mess. It's a period in our history of which I don't think any American can be proud. Hopefully we can do better in 2008.

I don't think I actually need to comment on this.

Day of the Dolphin
Originally uploaded by Grendel 72

But I will. Best. Movie Poster. Evar.

Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in brief

Saw this tonight with a bunch of film fans at the Alamo South Lamar; the optimal viewing experience as far as I'm concerned.

I'm not sure where the backlash is coming from on this movie. If you had to make a 4th Indy movie, this would be about as good as you could do it. I really enjoyed myself, more for the spectacle and creep-out factor than for the acting -- everyone was great, but c'mon: giant ants! Heroes plummeting over waterfalls! Ancient ruins with intricate death traps! It's really all about the set pieces. Harrison Ford and Karen Allen still have great chemistry, and Cate Blanchett looks like she's having a ball. Shia Lebouf isn't who I'd pick as the heir to the hat, but he performs admirably.

The last 20 minutes are definitely the weakest, but by that time the flick has built up so much good will it's hard to find fault with much. Nothing can compare to the original Raiders of the Lost Ark, but Kingdom stands shoulder to shoulder with the latter two films, and we can all breathe a heavy sigh of relief. Finally, a return to a beloved franchise that doesn't completely blow chunks.

Stomp Tokyo: The Cult Movies Podcast episode 52

...aaaaaand we're back.

This episode: Iron Man, cool docs from the last year or so, and speculation about upcoming flicks. Nothing earthshaking, but at least the damn Blu-Ray/HD-DVD conversation can be laid to rest.

Listen to episode 52 of Stomp Tokyo: The Cult Movies Podcast now.

Geek Alert - extended interview with BSG's Ron Moore

Geeks, stop what you're doing now and read this huge interview with the (re)creator of Battlestar Galactica, Ron Moore. Among other fascinating topics, his extended critique of the original show, including this priceless tidbit:

The show was about an apocalypse. The show opens with a genocide, an apocalyptic destruction of 12, count em, 12 planets. Billions of human lives are lost. The survivors heroically run away, fleeing an implacable enemy that is determined to destroy them no matter what, and they're looking for a mythical place called Earth.

And the first place they go is the casino planet.

There's more to it than that, of course -- Moore has a lot of affection for the original show, but he used the franchise as a Trojan Horse to tell the kind of science fiction story he wanted to tell. I don't think it's going too far to say that sci-fi TV is richer as a whole for his efforts.

Just a handful of episodes left.

Read the full interview with Ron Moore on Wired.

Japanese SUVs just got a little sexier

Concessions Speech

Dave Stinton at The Simon ruminates about the food he's eaten in movie theaters, and along the way produces this gem about B-Fest and the fact that food is against the rules. It's probably the greatest unenforced rule ever.

Technically, you’re not supposed to bring food into the theatre. But this rule is a quaint little relic that brings wistful smiles to the faces of audience members laden down with coolers. “There’s no outside food allowed in this room,” the host will announce, yelling to be heard over the rustles of hundreds of bags of Doritos.

Read more about B-Fest and the rest of Stinton's Concessions Speech.

Video Covered the Radio Star

After hearing yet another cover of "Video Killed the Radio Star," I set about figuring out just how many covers are out there. Turns out there are a lot. A perfect use of Amazon's new MP3 widget! I think the Minipops Kids version is my favorite.

Wall-E on the streets of LA

Wall-E Spotted in LA! from Blink on Vimeo.

Via Cabel.

When life hands you lemons...

Hate Vista? XP Computers in Stock sign, Joliet, Chicago, IL.JPG
Originally uploaded by gruntzooki

From the photostream of Cory Doctorow.

The Giant Pool of Money

I'll admit, the sub-prime mortgage disaster was largely a mystery to me -- I understood in vague, abstract terms that a lot of bad loans had been floated to people who couldn't afford to pay them back, and that eventually the whole system collapsed. What wasn't clear to me was exactly why this had happened, or what inspired the lenders to such madness.

Fortunately a recent episode of This American Life (one of, if not the best radio show currently on the air) took a comprehensive look at the whole mess, delving not only into the lives of those losing their homes and the fortunes of those at the top who represent the tip of the iceberg, but at every link in the chain in between. It's a fascinating and depressing story of mass collusion -- hundreds if not thousands of people looking the other way as they aid in certain financial disaster.

I'm no financial wizard but I'm a heck of a lot better informed now than I was before. If you have those same feelings of vague uncertainty about the whole sub-prime mortgage mess as I did, you should give it a listen. You'll probably end up feeling bad, like I do, about Ira Glass' laryngitis, but it's worth suffering through briefly to get to the story.

Listen to "The Giant Pool of Money" at the This American Life web site.

Karl Rove goes all journo on us

Karl Rove recently joined the ranks of the media, appearing on Fox News (duh) and writing for both Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal.

[Newsweek Editor Jon]Meacham said Mr. Rove had been received surprisingly well in the magazine’s newsroom, where he has been a reliable colleague who files his articles on time and works diligently with fact checkers.

“After one editor dealt with him,” Mr. Meacham said, “the editor called me and said, ‘This just complicated my world view. I may like Karl Rove.’ ”

Read That Pundit on Fox News? An Upstart Named Rove in the New York Times.

Queenie in Trouble

The things filmmakers used to be able to get away with... this excerpt from Dogway Melody.



Thanks to Mitch O'Connell for bringing this to my attention, and for pointing me to some historical context as well.

Spider

Saw this short at the Marfa Film Fest this past weekend -- I particularly like the Ione Skye song at the end.