Robert Redford patronizes America

Rating: C+

Lions for Lambs is Robert Redford’s latest cinematic creation. It is all about the problems concerning the war in Iraq and tries to simplify the complexities by making it an argument on three fronts:
The first level in this film is centered on an interview of an influential senator (portrayed by Cruise), during which a prominent reporter (Meryl Streep) attempts to separate the truth about a new strategy from all the political BS. The second subplot is that of two army rangers in Afghanistan who are embarking on the aforementioned mission to finally “step on the terrorists’ throats” and thus finally win the war on the Taliban. Redford’s character occupies the final narrative thread, where he is a professor trying to teach his most promising student the need for political activism in today’s youth.

The problem is, the discourse is so superficial that it practically insults the viewers’ intelligence. The mistakes made by the current administration, as well as the media’s wholehearted embrace of the post-9/11 frenzy has already been widely discussed – anyone who has seen an episode or two of The Daily Show, will have known this for years. It’s simply old news – we know Bush was wrong, people want out of Iraq. This discussion was basically over even before Petraeus’ report before congress in September (just look at national polls).

The two soldiers’ subplot was probably added to remind the audience that Redford isn’t attacking the troops – he’s attacking those in charge. This can more seen most clearly when he quotes a German general’s line “Never have I seen such lions led by such lambs”. This subplot merely distracts from the main discourse.

The supposedly bright young students in Redford’s class, don’t seem all that bright. In fact the rhetoric seems juvenile and thus won’t strike a chord with anyone who is not two weeks into their freshmen year in college. In fact, this is the film’s major flaw – it tries to teach us all the lessons we already know by using logic is too simplistic to convince us had we not known them in the first place. Preaching to the converted is one thing, but this film even manages to offend those of us who would agree with Redford’s basic arguments in the first place. We are not school children, so please give us a more nuanced view of what’s going on in the Middle East (by the way, not a single frame of film was used to show what the local population of Afghanistan was going through). In the mean time, remake this movie into a cartoon and ship it off to grade school, where it’ll reach the hearts and minds of its intended audience.

Deaccession

So we made this movie for a film festival and I still love it. Anyone is gives a crap about me will go to my YouTube video and click on it a thousand times. Thank you!

Shocking Cats!

I know this is old…but not to me. One of my old buddies passed this along from you’re the man now dog! 

On a more serious note, I will have a post up with actual ‘content’ soon.

Alone Again Or?

This thing is so awesome. I love car crashes its like a thing of art!!!

Californication: Lets Get Moody!

This 12-part series has been phenomenal. I remember when it was introduced earlier in the summer; my friends were a little skeptical. After all David Duchovny hasn’t done anything in a while- except the TV Set, which I want to see. This show reminds me why I want to be a writer. David Duckovny’s character, Hank Moody is a burned out member of the literati. His better half, or lack there of, is Karen Van Der Beek (Natascha McElhone) and she is about to get married. His biggest fan is his precocious daughter Becca Moody (Madeleine Martin) and his sullen agent Charlie Rumkle (Evan Handler).

Together these character highlight the very best and worst of Hank Moody. He is a charming father and role model, when he is there. He is brilliant, but tremendously unproductive. And, most importantly, he is a raving sex fiend. Ah- after all, what would a late night premium channeled series be without full on nudity. Another important character is California itself. The show takes places in Venice (an area in and around Los Angeles) and it is beautiful. All the characters live by the same zeitgeist: do what is meaningful, say what you feel, drink and be merry. If only life were that easy?If you haven’t caught any of the show, I suggest you start to TiVo it or find a friend who has Showtime. There are three episodes left and don’t worry- the show has signed off on a second season.

Remember Showtime isn’t Fox.

The Illini are dead, long live the Illini!

For years basketball has dominated collegiate sports in Champaign, Illinois. Not hard to imagine in a year when our basketball team ties the record for most wins in a season and reaches the championship game during march madness in 2005. Our football team on the other hand was a combined 4-19 during the last two seasons.

Of course, anyone even remotely following college sports this year will have heard about the resurgent illini. Last Saturday we defeated Nr.5 Wisconsin and became the 18th team in the nation (we hadn’t been ranked sine 2001) and people around here are starting to get used to the fact the we now go to a bonafide football school. Its become impossible, for instance, to get tickets for home games, when before you could get them for free, if you knew the right guy, and even homecoming games would play with over 10,000 empty seats. Now $10 student tickets go for over $50 on facebook marketplace, a popular venue for scalpers.

The bar scene doesn’t seemed to have changed much yet. People would always watch some of the games at the bars, even when we were losing, and the streets don’t seem that much more congested with cars or rabid fans. But if we make it to one of the more prestigious bowl games, we may have a celebration on our hands comparable to those of 2005, which culminated with an emphatic “F**k Sean May” chant on the quad. We can only hope.

Emmy Awards

According to transworldnews.com Ryan Seacrest revealed that the awards show will be opened with a musical number and he may be one of the performers. For my sake and yours I hope he does… he’s always gallivanting around ‘American Idol’ judging singers, now let him be judged

Little Manhattan

“I just saw Little Manhattan today, it came out last year and I quite enjoyed it. I’m planning on moving to NYC someday and the movie helped me discover and get a real feeling for Upper West Side.”

Rating: C

Little Manhattan is your typical romance drama. In it, one ten year old boy named Gabe ( Josh Hutcherson) ‘discovers’ the opposite sex- her being Rosemary (Charlie Ray). Neither is a newbie to child stardom, Hutcherson has been in several big screen films including: Zathura, The Polar Express, RV and Kicking & Screaming (think of him as the unprecocious/ unpretentious version of Sixth Sense’s Haley Osment). Mrs. Ray has less experience and it shows.

The story is your typical ‘boy falls in love — boy falls out of love’. Largely the plot is uneventful and boring. What keeps the movie together for me is the set– beautiful Upper West Side New York. The writer painstakingly describes ‘little Manhattan’, mapping out all its major sightings and basic geographies. However, this doesn’t negate the fact that two tweensome children shouldn’t be roaming the streets of NY freely- terrible parents these two have

Flavored Condoms

Anyone out there with at least a rudimentary knowledge of prophylactics will have heard of, if not purchased and used, flavored condoms. On the other hand, many of you may wonder what purpose banana flavored condoms might have in sex. I for one cannot imagine why anyone would need them unless they plan to have oral sex with a prostitute (and wants to reduce the risk of disease).

Apparently condom-makers in India have caught on and put out tobacco flavored rubbers reportedly targeted specifically at those women of ill repute. The implication is that Indian sex workers would rather suck on a cigarette than a strawberry or chocolate – interesting. On the other hand, as one blogger on no-duh.com put it, flavored contraceptives taste like butt. Even before you use them. I’ll take her word for it.

-Enrique

The best thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time-
Abe Lincoln

Flight of Concordes

This show is just hilarious. I thought Enrique would like this being in France and all.

The best thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time-
Abe Lincoln