Sunday, June 24, 2007

Revenge of the Star Wars Kid

He gets back at all those people who mocked him. 

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Belarus Money

What They Want You To Live In

The crypto-marxist greenies like to talk about how unsustainable our culture is and how we take up too much space, etc. etc. We’ll here’s an example of the kind of homes they would approve of. Except that they aren’t communal. But you get the point. 

Hi There

Winner of the ugliest dog contest this year.

It’s Official

San Francisco is the nexus of insanity in the universe.

Is city water better than bottled water? Mayor Gavin Newsom thinks so. Newsom has issued an executive order banning city departments from buying bottled water, even for water coolers. The ban goes into effect July 1, and will extend to water coolers by Dec. 1. The move was billed as a way to help stem global warming and save taxpayer money.

Although bottled water is largely a big scam, governments have no business telling anyone they can’t buy water the way they choose. And the way he is justifying this has fighting global warming should clue those of you siting on the fence, what the inherit evils of this global warming BS is. It will be used as a justification for everything, to take away people’s freedoms and choices. It’s not a joke. There is no evidence humans cause world-wide climate change. But there’s plenty of evidence that stupid bureaucrats like to tax people and take away their liberties. And they are always looking for reasons to do it. 

He’s Back

Filming is finally underway on Indiana Jones 4. Harrison Ford looks pretty damn good for 64 years old. But we’ll see how he does in the film. 

Friday, June 22, 2007

Bizarre

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Duck You Sucker

One of my favorite films was released on DVD recently. I have been waiting a long time for this.

Duck You Sucker is a 1972 feature directed by Sergio Leone, famous for the Clint Eastwood “Dollars” films. It’s less well know, but is a more sophisticated piece of work than his earlier movies. This was his second to last film and his first to delve into the world of politics. This new DVD is fully restored with remastered audio. It’s restored to the original length which was never shown in the American theaters. Many of the scenes added back in change the context of the film in a big way, especially the final flashback. It’s pretty amazing and I like this version much more than the one I am used to.

Here’s a capsule review:

A different sort of Sergio Leone Western, this one takes place during the Mexican Revolution, with more politics than usual. But there’s still plenty of action, with Rod Steiger as a cigar-chomping peasant who robs banks to liberate political prisoners, and James Coburn as an Irish terrorist trying to flee from his bitter past. They team up to thwart a sadistic officer and help the cause; redemption for the more subdued Coburn provides added depth. This contains the longer uncut version (released in Italy) known as Duck, You Sucker, featuring more flashbacks, more politics, and a more unsavory Steiger. But it’s terrific fun, with Ennio Morricone’s moody score and Coburn’s most underrated performance. --Bill Desowitz

I love Leone’s films. He is my favorite director. And his work is gaining more appreciation as time goes by. This is really a masterpiece. More importantly, with the added footage we see the political statement he was trying to make. It is a critique of the “revolution” talk people were making in the early 70s. Leone’s heroes are basically anarchists. His father was a Socialist, but this film criticizes leftism by showing the end result of revolutions. It’s not pretty.

The film is rather dark, though it has a sense of humor. It’s also a visual masterpiece.

I got it in a new boxed set which also has the Dollars films. Each disc has a remastered movie with a second disc of bonus features. You can really get a new appreciation of Leone’s work once you watch the featurettes and learn about the thought and effort he put into each one. Leone only made six films, but each one is excellent. If you haven’t seen these films or seen them in a long time, you owe it to yourself to check this out. 

Images that Shook the World

Lots of famous, iconic images. It’s amazing how one picture can have so much social impact. Sometimes they can give the wrong idea.

The one of the naked girl running in Vietnam is popular with anti-war people. But where did that girl end up and is living today? You guessed it. America. Gosh, why would she come to live in a Capitalist oppressors country after all that? Maybe its because Communism sucks?

The one where the Vietnamese officer shoots a man in the head, that officer ended up in the US also. He had a liquor store in Orange County until he died a few years back. 

8 Minutes of Die Hard

They’ve released the first 8 minutes of the new Die Hard movie on the web. I am looking forward to this. It looks fun.