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I’ve also just reviewed the new 30th Anniversary DVD of the classic Network, and the movie is still excellent, but I was struck by how wildly off-the-mark this allegedly "prophetic" movie really is.
Network takes a pretty harsh view of long-running trends in television programming, and I think most of us would share a similar disapproval [...]

Last week I reviewed the new DVD release of All the President’s Men, and I try not to inject too much of my politics into my reviews for The DVD Journal, so I wanted to expand on some new thoughts here.
First of all, I need to preface this by saying that the lack of overt [...]

Yesterday was traumatic and profound at the Dorr household, as my daughter Maggie and I both faced signifcant trials of maturity.
Maggie moved from her crib into a real bed and, amazingly, had no difficulty adjusting to the change. She fell asleep quickly last night and, mostly, stayed in one place. Today for her nap she [...]

Just thought I’d link to the good news for all you Chili Pepper heads: New double(!!) album hitting stores May 9th
The boys are back with their old producer Rick Rubin, and both Flea and Anthony Kiedis have described the recording process as idyllic. Oh, and they are in talks to tour both with [...]

An interesting clash between religion and science is taking place over the (un)controversial fact that Native Americans are not Jews. (Really. I mean, have you ever seen the properties on a reservation?)
Mormons enter a doubt spiral.

We have confirmation on the gender of The Swede. We enter final negotiations on the name. Now is the time to lay your final wagers….

We learned a while ago that one of the funniest shows on television, Arrested Development, was being cancelled at the end of this season. After that announcement, one very funny episode took several jabs at its network, Fox, (as well as other networks that have declined to rescue the show) and it completely disappeared from [...]

I really, really, really don’t like music aimed at kids. It drives me crazy, and is usually complete crap. I’m sure the logic behind it is that parents don’t want their kids exposed to adult ideas, but also aren’t going to be picky about quality for their kids, so any old crap with a happy [...]

On the subject of Hollywood’s masturbatory fantasies, while working on my review last week of
Repo Man: Collector’s Edition, I came across a particularly delusional example of the exaggerated self-importance of filmmakers. In a supplemental featurette, Repo Man director Alex Cox, who fancies himself quite the subversive, was asked if he would be allowed to make [...]

Over at Kausfiles, Democrat blogger Mickey Kaus questions the conventional wisdom that Brokeback Mountain has made any impact in "red state" film markets (I’m quoting the whole entry, because his blog doesn’t allow linking to one item):
Stick Clovis in your Plano, Brokeback-in-the-heartland spinners! Clovis, New Mexico is just the sort of heartlandish town that’s supposed [...]

I’m the gorilla your dreams:
THE Soviet dictator Josef Stalin ordered the creation of Planet of
the Apes-style warriors by crossing humans with apes, according to
recently uncovered secret documents.
Moscow archives show that in the mid-1920s Russia’s top animal
breeding scientist, Ilya Ivanov, was ordered to turn his skills from
horse and animal work to the quest for a [...]

Some recent DVD spins for your diversion:

Repo Man: Collector’s Edition
National Lampoon’s Barely Legal
Thumbsucker
Broken Flowers

Those out of the way, the best movie I’ve seen in recent weeks was 40
Year Old Virgin. Not as impressed with Wedding Crashers, but it was
still charming, just not really funny. As I wrote in an e-mail to PRN
recently, I think this [...]

Those of us who grew up and Tigard and don’t make it back to our local shopping mall, Washington Square, very often may be in for a shock if you stop by on a whim. Although as recently as last year it was included in a list of the best malls nationwide (or so my [...]

Eric wrote:

It’s ridiculous, sure; but as gay-friendly as Hollywood is, it is novel that the studios have put out a movie (and released it in Nebraska) that focuses solely on a tortured, passionate love affair that happens to be homosexual. Have they done this before, using A-list Hollywood actors? Nothing comes to mind for me [...]

Now that "Brokeback Mountain" has dominated the Oscar nominations, I am all the more convinced that I don’t need to see it. I can’t recall all of the films that have won best picture in the last 10 years; but I’m ready to wager that I disliked 7 of the ten. One [...]

I didn’t see many movies this year that haven’t already made it to video, but I did take Amy out to see the latest Pride and Prejudice
just a few weeks ago (along with Nate and his wife). We had a lovely
time, but not only was that not a good adaptation of the Jane Austen
novel, Kiera [...]

A great example of how bad the Bush administration is at communicating about (and defending) its policies is its terrible job of explaining the legal authority for the NSA surveillance of domestic communications connected to known Al Qaeda associates.
In the past week I’ve heard Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and other administration spokespeople defend the program [...]

I haven’t seen Brokeback Mounthim, but from everything I hear it is a lovely movie and likely deserves its Oscar nominations today, but why is its nomination being heralded as a momentus occasion worthy of celebration?
I mean, it’s not like Hollywood has long been a bastion of virulent anti-gay sentiment and has finally seen the [...]