One of my favorite scenes from Reno 911.
Category Archives: Film & TV
W. C. Fields: The Memory Expert
We Were Never Born
WE WERE NEVER BORN from Dosnoventa on Vimeo.
I’m not a big fan of the 30 second commercial (I’m referring to TV spots here since I don’t remember the last time I heard a radio spot). I find most advertising mindless and insulting. Not all, but most. But I love it when a company finds a way to touch me that leaves me feeling good about myself (and the company/product).
The video above (4 minutes) –produced for Dosnoventa Bikes– includes “a haunting, Johnny-Cashlike voiceover by James Phillips and beautifully curated music by Pink Floyd and Cash himself.”
Dark Universe
“With astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson as your guide, go beyond the night sky and into deep space to find out how discoveries over the past 100 years have led us to two great cosmic mysteries: dark matter and dark energy. You’ll hurtle through Jupiter’s atmosphere, peer at the web of dark matter holding galaxies together, and watch the colorful remains of the universe’s beginnings unfold.”
I was fortunate to experience this at the Hayden Planetarium (part of the American Museum of Natural History in New York). The most amazing and wonderful thing I have every seen.
Secrets of the Vatican
This Frontline documentary was… damning. I’m sure “defenders of the faith” have ready responses to every charge although I’m not sure what one would say to 8-year-old Monica Barret who was raped by her priest (“If You Tell Anybody, Your Parents Will Burn in Hell”). A middle aged woman now, Ms. Barret’s dry-eyed account of that event was chilling and heart breaking.
I suppose you argue that the producers and Frontline and the media (and all non-Catholics?) are out to ‘get’ the Catholic Church. Fuck if I know. Has anyone said, “I don’t want to be part of this. I’ll find another place worship. Call me if you get your shit together.”
Sounds like the new Pope might be trying to make some changes but the corruption runs deep and high and any real house cleaning is gonna be ugly.
MITT
“Whatever side your on, see another side.” That’s the tag line for the Netflix documentary MITT, written and directed by Greg Whitely, and it’s a good one. I don’t do reviews but I’ll share a few impressions, in no particular order:
- Some unresolved daddy stuff going on for Mitt
- He didn’t really want to be president. He wanted to be elected president
- There must have been times when the family and/or the campaign said, ‘Stop filming. Please leave the room.”
- The decision to have no narration was a good one
- Some of the shots looked like they were from a GoPro strapped to the family pooch. I liked that quality throughout the film
- Mitt and Anne don’t know any poor people. Sure, they’ve met some in their public life, but they seem incapable of grasping what it would be like to be poor.
- Karl Rove and Roger Ailes threw up 5 minutes into this film
- No politician will ever again agree to this kind of access
August: Osage County
I was expecting August: Osage County to be a chick flick. Steel Magnolias with dash of The Big Chill. I was not prepared for the venom that soaked almost every scene. The trailer — and much of the marketing — pitches this as a comedy. I found the humor grim and painful. If you want a happy ending, slip out and watch whatever’s showing in the next theater. You ain’t gonna get one with this movie and the bottom is a long way down.
“Good thing we can’t see the future. We’d never get out of bed.”
The main characters were women so I was surprised to learn that Tracy Letts (who adapted his stage play for the big screen) was a man. Not that men can’t write great women’s parts, but… just see the movie.
I found the profane dialogue powerful and real. Hard to believe Mr. Letts didn’t grow up listening to people who talked that way. This was not the first time Julia Roberts said “Eat the fuckin’ fish!”
Nothing I can say about Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts you haven’t heard or read, but every every actor brought their A game.
No need to rush out to the theater to see this one, it will be just as powerful on your TV. Might be fun to get everyone in the living room after Thanksgiving dinner and watch this as a family.
Steve Cutts: In the Fall
Keloid
“In a not too distant future, societies of all countries come to rely on an intricate network of artificial intelligence devices designed to bring efficacy to man’s life. Yet, man continues to devour himself in useless wars. A strong political hierarchy now divides all powers into three factions, and A. I. devices rapidly gain ground as efficiency becomes a priority.”
“As social revolts grow worse everyday, authorities seek ways to control their citizens. They decide to carry out a series of tests that will determine not only whether some crucial powers can be transferred to non human entities, but also whether man is ready to yield those powers.”
“The world has become a cell for all men and women, who withstand and endure their lives, rather than living them. Machines might have found a solution.”
“From now on, you are set free.”
Going Clear
Going Clear grabbed and held (and disturbed) me as few (non-fiction) books have. “Couldn’t put it down” is usually a cliche, but…
Reading this incredible story is as close to being in a cult as I’m ever likely to be. For my money, Scientology is far more frightening (and dangerous) than the Taliban.
Tom Cruise figured prominently in the second half of the book so I had to go back and take one more look at this video.