Friday, November 30, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Vertigo : The McKittrick Hotel
Viewers and critics concerned with narrative logic of VERTIGO focus on the McKittrick Hotel scene, where Madelyn apparently enters the hotel without being seen by the desk clerk and then vanishes without being seen by the clerk or Scottie.
Was the hotel clerk part of Elster's plot? Did Madelyn sneak out by a back stairway? More likely, this scene introduces an irreducible "uncanny" element to Madelyn. From another perspective, the hotel scene is an example of Hitchcock's "icebox factor": an anomaly that, assuming the director has done his job well, won't be noticed by the audience until the movie is over and they're discussing it in the kitchen.
Former Henry J. Fortmann Mansion location, as seen in 2002. Corner of Eddy and Gough Streets.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Friday, November 23, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
Rant of the day
I understand that Scissors can beat Paper, and I get how Rock can beat Scissors, but there’s no f u cking way Paper can beat Rock. Paper is supposed to magically wrap around Rock leaving it immobile?
Why the hell cant paper do this to scissors?
Screw scissors, why can’t paper do this to people?
Why aren’t sheets of college ruled notebook paper constantly suffocating students as they attempt to take notes in class?
I’ll tell you why, because paper can’t beat anybody, a rock would tear that shit up in 2 seconds.
When I play rock/ paper/ scissors, I always choose rock. Then when somebody claims to have beaten me with their paper I can punch them in the face with my already clenched fist and say, "Oh shit, I’m sorry, I thought paper would protect you, you asshole."
Why the hell cant paper do this to scissors?
Screw scissors, why can’t paper do this to people?
Why aren’t sheets of college ruled notebook paper constantly suffocating students as they attempt to take notes in class?
I’ll tell you why, because paper can’t beat anybody, a rock would tear that shit up in 2 seconds.
When I play rock/ paper/ scissors, I always choose rock. Then when somebody claims to have beaten me with their paper I can punch them in the face with my already clenched fist and say, "Oh shit, I’m sorry, I thought paper would protect you, you asshole."
Sunday, November 18, 2007
I hope ya'll can support this filmmaker.
Morgan was a client of mine a few years back and a real good guy. Try to catch this film if you can.
What Would Jesus Buy?
A documentary directed by Rob Van Alkemade
Produced by Morgan Spurlock
Opens Friday
Cinema Village
22 East 12th Street
( wwjbmovie.com)
If you want to give someone you love a present this holiday season, take them to see “What Would Jesus Buy?” The new documentary from producer Morgan Spurlock, of “Super Size Me” fame, makes the most compelling case for consumption reduction I’ve seen since my last MasterCard statement.
“WWJB” is the true-ish story of Reverend Billy, a pompadoured preacher who travels the United States in a biodiesel bus packed with red-robed disciples, spreading the message of “stop shopping” to all who will listen (and a few who won’t). He makes a persuasive — and urgent — case. According to the filmmakers, Americans spent $455 billion during the Holidays last year and our combined credit card debt now exceeds $2.4 trillion. (Full disclosure: I’m responsible for approximately $35,000 of that. And counting.)
Reverend Billy is the altar ego of actor and activist Bill Talen, who created the character on the San Francisco stage more than a decade ago. Like a modern “Meet John Doe,” Talen’s comic creation morphed into a very real anti-corporate gadfly on the streets and in the chain stores of New York City. His “retail interventions,” cash register “exorcisms” and frequent run-ins with the NYPD have made him a folk hero in an increasingly folk-free city.
The film, ably directed by Rob Van Alkemade, is an old fashioned road comedy, with Talen setting off on a journey across a country that is desperately in need of saving — and savings. He is accompanied by his wife Savitri and the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir, a diverse collection of talented singers and musicians who appear to have chugged Reverend Billy’s homemade Kool-Aid by the gallon. Their mission begins at St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery and takes them through small town tent revivals, an unwelcome appearance at the Mall of America, an exorcism of Wal-Mart’s corporate headquarters and, finally, Christmas Day at Disneyland. Along the way there are arrests (of course), accidents, unplanned hospital stays and the largest collection of confused law enforcement officers since Mack Sennett decommissioned the Keystone Cops.
Peppered throughout the narrative are ominously funny interviews with actual clergymen, shopping addiction experts, debt-ridden parents, over-gifted children and the mall workers who handle thousands of dollars each day for a minimum wage. When asked the rhetorical question of the film’s title, a salesperson at a video game store deadpans, “He’d probably buy a Wii. Or an Xbox 360 if there weren’t any Wii’s available.” It’s nice to know that the Lord doesn’t have any more pull at GameStop than we do, even on His birthday.
Hilarious interstitial animations, done in the stop-motion style of Terry Gilliam’s work from “Monty Python,” keep the pace fast and funny, and the co-opting of the unmistakable Disney typeface would make even Grumpy smile. All of this creative garnish bears the unmistakable satiric imprint of producer Spurlock, who’s near-suicide by supersizing resulted in one of the most watchable documentaries of recent years. A tip of the mesh trucker cap must be offered also to Michael Moore, whose anti-establishment classic “Roger and Me” informs every frame of this film.
But the real star here is Talen, who has all the Good Book-thumping charisma of the equally fraudulent clergyman Marjoe Gortner, star of the seminal 1972 Oscar-winning documentary “Marjoe.” Unlike the cynical Gortner, who used his powers of prayer in the service of Mammon, Talen appears to have truly embraced his calling/act. And his willingness to reveal his failings, slip-ups and frustration at missed opportunities create a nuanced portrait of a performer so consumed by his role that he might end up buried in his white clerical collar, as Bela Lugosi was in his black Dracula cape.
Towards the end of the film, Talen and his wife (the real brains of the organization) collapse on a motel bed in Bentonville, Arkansas after a comically impotent attack on the heavily guarded Wal-Mart H.Q.
“I need for what we do to have an impact on someone soon.” she sighs.
For my money — or at least what’s left of it — soon is now.
What Would Jesus Buy?
A documentary directed by Rob Van Alkemade
Produced by Morgan Spurlock
Opens Friday
Cinema Village
22 East 12th Street
( wwjbmovie.com)
If you want to give someone you love a present this holiday season, take them to see “What Would Jesus Buy?” The new documentary from producer Morgan Spurlock, of “Super Size Me” fame, makes the most compelling case for consumption reduction I’ve seen since my last MasterCard statement.
“WWJB” is the true-ish story of Reverend Billy, a pompadoured preacher who travels the United States in a biodiesel bus packed with red-robed disciples, spreading the message of “stop shopping” to all who will listen (and a few who won’t). He makes a persuasive — and urgent — case. According to the filmmakers, Americans spent $455 billion during the Holidays last year and our combined credit card debt now exceeds $2.4 trillion. (Full disclosure: I’m responsible for approximately $35,000 of that. And counting.)
Reverend Billy is the altar ego of actor and activist Bill Talen, who created the character on the San Francisco stage more than a decade ago. Like a modern “Meet John Doe,” Talen’s comic creation morphed into a very real anti-corporate gadfly on the streets and in the chain stores of New York City. His “retail interventions,” cash register “exorcisms” and frequent run-ins with the NYPD have made him a folk hero in an increasingly folk-free city.
The film, ably directed by Rob Van Alkemade, is an old fashioned road comedy, with Talen setting off on a journey across a country that is desperately in need of saving — and savings. He is accompanied by his wife Savitri and the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir, a diverse collection of talented singers and musicians who appear to have chugged Reverend Billy’s homemade Kool-Aid by the gallon. Their mission begins at St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery and takes them through small town tent revivals, an unwelcome appearance at the Mall of America, an exorcism of Wal-Mart’s corporate headquarters and, finally, Christmas Day at Disneyland. Along the way there are arrests (of course), accidents, unplanned hospital stays and the largest collection of confused law enforcement officers since Mack Sennett decommissioned the Keystone Cops.
Peppered throughout the narrative are ominously funny interviews with actual clergymen, shopping addiction experts, debt-ridden parents, over-gifted children and the mall workers who handle thousands of dollars each day for a minimum wage. When asked the rhetorical question of the film’s title, a salesperson at a video game store deadpans, “He’d probably buy a Wii. Or an Xbox 360 if there weren’t any Wii’s available.” It’s nice to know that the Lord doesn’t have any more pull at GameStop than we do, even on His birthday.
Hilarious interstitial animations, done in the stop-motion style of Terry Gilliam’s work from “Monty Python,” keep the pace fast and funny, and the co-opting of the unmistakable Disney typeface would make even Grumpy smile. All of this creative garnish bears the unmistakable satiric imprint of producer Spurlock, who’s near-suicide by supersizing resulted in one of the most watchable documentaries of recent years. A tip of the mesh trucker cap must be offered also to Michael Moore, whose anti-establishment classic “Roger and Me” informs every frame of this film.
But the real star here is Talen, who has all the Good Book-thumping charisma of the equally fraudulent clergyman Marjoe Gortner, star of the seminal 1972 Oscar-winning documentary “Marjoe.” Unlike the cynical Gortner, who used his powers of prayer in the service of Mammon, Talen appears to have truly embraced his calling/act. And his willingness to reveal his failings, slip-ups and frustration at missed opportunities create a nuanced portrait of a performer so consumed by his role that he might end up buried in his white clerical collar, as Bela Lugosi was in his black Dracula cape.
Towards the end of the film, Talen and his wife (the real brains of the organization) collapse on a motel bed in Bentonville, Arkansas after a comically impotent attack on the heavily guarded Wal-Mart H.Q.
“I need for what we do to have an impact on someone soon.” she sighs.
For my money — or at least what’s left of it — soon is now.
Put yourself in Phil Spectors shoes
A clip from Amazing Stories that features John Cryer and Lanna Clarkson.
The Photo Albums
For years I have had two photo albums that I picked up while visiting L.A.'s Chinatown. While I was few years too late to see Faye Dunaway toss a glass of her own urine into Roman Polanski's face I was right on time when it came to buying these albums. (Notice how I tied a little known fact about the filming of CHINATOWN with my picking up useless crap IN Chinatown. Neeto huh?)
So these little albums have been lurking around for a while.
They looked cute. One is a travel photo album the other is a wedding photo album. Nothing odd in that.
It is the little poems on the covers that are too much.
Lets take a look at the travel album.
First off its called TRAVEL WINK. Now is the girl on the cover called Wink or is it TRAVEL "WINK"? You know... Like you say you are traveling but really you are in prison for armed robbery and assault with intent to kill and you had a minor as an accomplice.
Or is it Travel (Word that isn't even close to the meaning they wanted to convey)
Now lets get to the meat of things baby!
In the event you cannot see the image above I will now use my toddler typing skills so you can enjoy this little poem:
Travel
Wink
Life 's made up
of little things,
no great sacrifice of duty,
But smiles and many
a cheerful word fill up
our lives with bearty.
Touching isn't it. My life's filled with BEARty.
The other Album is equally if not more confusing. While the Album does say HAPPY WEDDING the poem seems more fitting for Sen. Larry Craigs wife.
Happy
Wedding
The dew of the morning
sunk chill on my brow-
It felt like the warning
Of what I feel now.
Thy vows are all broken,
And light is thy fame:
I hear thy name spoken,
And share in its shame.
Now that is a happy wedding indeed!
So these little albums have been lurking around for a while.
They looked cute. One is a travel photo album the other is a wedding photo album. Nothing odd in that. It is the little poems on the covers that are too much.
Lets take a look at the travel album.
First off its called TRAVEL WINK. Now is the girl on the cover called Wink or is it TRAVEL "WINK"? You know... Like you say you are traveling but really you are in prison for armed robbery and assault with intent to kill and you had a minor as an accomplice.
Or is it Travel (Word that isn't even close to the meaning they wanted to convey)
Now lets get to the meat of things baby!
In the event you cannot see the image above I will now use my toddler typing skills so you can enjoy this little poem:
Travel
Wink
Life 's made up
of little things,
no great sacrifice of duty,
But smiles and many
a cheerful word fill up
our lives with bearty.
Touching isn't it. My life's filled with BEARty.
The other Album is equally if not more confusing. While the Album does say HAPPY WEDDING the poem seems more fitting for Sen. Larry Craigs wife.
Happy
Wedding
The dew of the morning
sunk chill on my brow-
It felt like the warning
Of what I feel now.
Thy vows are all broken,
And light is thy fame:
I hear thy name spoken,
And share in its shame.
Now that is a happy wedding indeed!
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