Burn After Reading

The next Coen Brothers film is coming soon:

Frames of Reference

Jim Emereson over at Scanners featured this cinematic clip show in a post on Thursday. It really is a superb piece of work by Jonathan Lapper of the Cinema Styles blog. Check it out.

He can have lunch with Jon Voight. He knows all about it.

Once upon a time, when an artist agreed to get paid a lot of money for a low quality product, it was termed "selling out". These days, the hipper term is to say that said artist's "gotta eat". However, there are multiple degrees of this that I think get glazed over in the use of this catchphrase.

For example: It's unfair to state "Johnny Depp's gotta eat" in reaction to Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Yes, it was a noisy inferior sequel, but at least the original was damn good, and it would have been weird to see someone else as Jack Sparrow after that great performance. Johnny went in with high hopes for continuing a great character for two more films (shot simultaneously), so it wasn't just money motivating the guy.

On the other hand, when I saw today that John Turturro is going to reprise his ridiculous role of Agent Simmons in the Transformers sequel, then I think we can be safe in assuming his careful planning of meals.

The LEGO Dozen

While sorting through my LEGO recently (and as my fellow LEGO maniacs know too well, life is just one endless LEGO sorting job), I noticed that I now possessed an even dozen flesh colored heads. Most of these came with the two giant Batman sets I purchased six months ago.

Given that I like my LEGO men to have the traditional yellow heads, I wondered what I could do with these. Then I remembered recently seeing a LEGO rendering of the characters from Team Fortress and that gave me an idea. So, here for your enjoyment, are the members of my own LEGO band of misfit figures, each with their own distinct weapon! Enjoy!

Top row: The Barbarian (with spear), The Witch (with wand), The Cook (with hatchet), The Punk (with Tommy Gun)

Middle row: The Yakuza (with Katana), The Gambler (with revolver), The Mechanic (with wrench), The Cowboy (with rifle)

Bottom row: The Fireman (with circular saw), The Indian (with bow and arrow), The Diver (with harpoon), The Driver (with machine pistol)

So long, Sydney.

Over the weekend, I watched Out of Africa for the first time and loved it. Such epic romances these days don't dare to be as quiet as this one, and it was all the more enjoyable for it.

And it is for this reason, and countless others, that the death today of director Sydney Pollack is such a tragedy. Rest in Peace.

Skippy of the Day: Liz Trotta

Via Think Progress:

"And now we have what some are reading as a suggestion that sombody knock off Osama — Obama. Well, both, if we could."

Such a Skippy post demands a reasoned and thoughtful response.

Hey, Liz: FUCK YOU!

MTV is obsolete

Given how sucky MTV had become by the time I parted with Cable TV seven years ago, I'm guessing that hasn't improved much. No matter. When a giant media conglomerate is willing to post videos on YouTube for free, the usefulness of MTV has come to and end. An end of an era, yes, but at my age I'm getting used to ends of eras.

Here's a nice random playlist from the 90's (They don't allow embeding, so their "heartless corporation cred" remains intact):


Weezer - Buddy Holly

Beck - Loser

Rufus Wainwright - April Fools

The Cranberries - Linger

Nine Inch Nails - The Perfect Drug

Primus - The Devil Went Down To Georgia


Now, if we could only get Kennedy to introduce each video...

Whither JFF 2008?

Well, the Jacksonville Film Festival has come and gone for another year and I... didn't see a damn thing.

A number of factors played into this, but mainly I was simply underwhelmed by the festival as a whole. I've already spoken my peace about them excluding the San Marco locations this year, but in addition to this was a slate of films that simply didn't inspire me. Add to this the fact that I already got my Film Fest fix earlier this year in Maitland, and the whole JFF became a non-event for me.

I did attend the short film fest at the Main Library, which showed my "Blast Reynolds" short to a largely appreciative audience. But, as Scott points out, they weren't listed in the JFF schedule as in previous years. In yet another area, JFF disappoints. (Incidentally, you can see me in the background of the picture on Scott's blog post. Don't I cut a dashing-yet-lumpy figure?)

So, will I attend next year? We'll just have to see what changes they make and what they decide to keep the same. Much to Mrs. Mosley's chagrin, I've expressed interest in doing the out-of-town thing again. Maybe it's time I expand my horizons a bit, festival-wise.

It's always a great way to get me out of the house.

Hammerin' away

Huh?

Actress Scarlett Johansson is desperate to launch her album of Tom Waits covers - because she's anxious for the singer/songwriter's approval. Johansson, 23, will make her album debut with a compilation of the singer's hits when her record Anywhere I Lay My Head is released in the U.S. next week. The album will feature vocals from David Bowie - who has praised her musical talents - but Johansson admits she has yet to receive approval from Waits himself. She tells the New York Post, "When I was presented with the idea, the ultimate goal was to not get chased down by Tom Waits and get my ass beat in a bar. I've heard from people who are friends with him that he's very pleased with it. He's been really supportive - not from the sidelines, but from a far, far distance. It was constantly in the back of my mind that if we did something Tom Waits hated, he'd come at me with a hammer."

Well, she's probably got that right, given Waits' history of protectiveness of his songs. But it appears that he's given her his blessing. Yet the clips available on it's Amazon page show the songs to be very new age-y and barely recognizable as Tom Waits tunes (not that that's a requirement, but still).

I would have preferred that she just go with some of his early melodic stuff. Bette Midler once did a great cover of "Martha", so I could see Scarlett doing a nice sultry version of "Depot, Depot". She could do maybe seven songs like that and then, just to throw people off, do a balls-out version of "16 Shells from a Thirty-Ought-Six".

That's too much to wish for, I suppose. As it is, if I'm inclined to check out the musical debut of a beautiful actress, I think I'll go with Zooey Deschanel.

Cleared for Docking

The Docking Station, which is a local cyber cafe a friend of mine started up back in 2000, has closed its doors. After eight years of just breaking even, they have decided to hang it up. I wish I could say I went there more often than I did, but it's location in Regency was never a convenient spot for me to just "drop by".

A very informal wake was held yesterday afternoon where we sat and talked about the history of the place. One longtime employee stated how a generation of teenagers that had come there to game have now either gone off to college or gotten married and had kids. Though the business will be no more, it's nice to think that it has a permeant place in the hearts of one local age group and will live on in that fashion.

Parts of the place already look dismantled, and they're looking to unload a lot of computer equipment and furniture at drastic discounts before they move out at the end of the month. Anyone interested can call them at 722-3625.

So long, old friend.

Must be the brown acid.

So every summer, the Florida Theatre downtown does the Summer Movie Classics series every Sunday afternoon. In previous years, I've taken in A Man for All Seasons, The Sting and a number of others. It's a great theater and a great way to see a classic movie (and at $6.00 per adult, it kicks Regal's ass).

The lineup for this year was recently released and had some great choices such as An American in Paris, To Catch a Thief, The Searchers, and ... Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band?

You mean the one with George Burns and the friggin Bee Gees in it? Really? Really?!?!?

OK. I'm going out on a limb and guess that either film prints were really hard to come by this year or one of the people in charge of choosing the films was a hard core Peter Frampton fan.

One year and over one million hits later...

Strictly speaking, this isn't really a one year anniversary of "100 Movies 100 Quotes 100 Numbers". I originally posted the video at YouTube on February 19th, 2007. In the first 86 days after it was posted, the video had been viewed just over 4,000 times. Then on Tuesday, May 15th, the video was featured on the website I Am Bored, and all hell broke loose.

A flood of people found my video and from there posted links to it on their own sites. It was quickly picked up by such websites as Neatorama, Digg, Metafilter, YesButNoButYes, EW.com, and a number of different movie blogs. It even made it onto the top of IMDb's hot on Friday the 18th, which meant that it stayed on that list all weekend long.

The hits went through the roof, and I got comments from all over the world about how they loved it. Professional film critics Peter Bradshaw and Roger Ebert mentioned it on their websites. It was featured on the Very Short List website as well as the Colin Murray Show on BBC Radio 1.

I wish I had something profound to say about it. Getting comments is still very cool after all this time and has motivated me to make more videos (I'm working on a direct sequel to "100 Movies" to be finished sometime this summer). Mainly, this post is just a way to mark the occasion and thank the hundreds of thousands of people who have helped make the video a success.




And now I promise to finally shut up about it.

Fore!

Mrs. Mosley's jaw dropped when I relayed to her this story from last night:

President Bush sure does feel for U.S. troops, doesn't he? First he told soldiers in Afghanistan how envious he is of them for their chance to do something "exciting" and "romantic," and now, in a recent interview, he revealed that he has given up golf in solidarity with their families.

"I don't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the Commander-in-Chief playing golf. I feel I owe it to the families to be as -- to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal," Bush said. "I remember when de Mello, who was at the U.N., got killed in Baghdad as a result of these murderers taking this good man's life. And I was playing golf -- I think I was in central Texas -- and they pulled me off the golf course and I said, it's just not worth it anymore to do."

It actually turns out that the day Bush refers to was not the last day he played. The man he refers to as de Mello is Sergio Vieira de Mello, who was the U.N.'s top official in Iraq. He was killed when the world body's headquarters in Iraq was bombed in August 2003. But according to records kept by CBS News, Bush played his last round of golf in October 2003.

Though he would never, ever want to admit that such a man affected his view of things, I had to wonder whether the much repeated clip from Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 motivated his decision to not appear like a crass prick anymore. And here comes the kicker: Apprently, even when Dubya makes the shallowest of gestures, he's lying about it:

Also, as Warren Street at Blue Girl, Red State points out, at the time he apparently stopped playing golf, he was also dealing with knee problems that had forced him to stop his running routine.

That's My Bush: The Movie

And you thought The Reagans was controversial:

Oliver Stone is flinging open French doors inside an enormous brick mansion in Shreveport, La., inspecting locations for his new film about the 43rd President of the United States. ''This one is too small,'' he says. ''This one looks like George Tenet's bedroom. Where did we decide to put Bush's bedroom? It's around here somewhere, isn't it?''

Shooting begins in less than two weeks on W (or dub-ya, as it's spelled out in the initial sketches for the poster), but not everything is exactly where it should be, and not only here in the house where the First Family's residence will be re-created. The 32,000-square-foot soundstage the production is renting across town stands empty, waiting for the Oval Office and Cabinet Room sets to get trucked in from Los Angeles. The screenplay still needs work too. It's gone through two rewrites since an earlier draft leaked to the press last month (some skeptics took it as an April Fools' joke), but Stone would still like one more pass at it (''It's evolving,'' he says). And while most of the cast has been assembled and outfitted with prosthetic noses and hairpieces — Josh Brolin will play President George W. Bush and Elizabeth Banks will star as Laura — there is one major character still in search of an actor: a heavy named Dick Cheney.

In a sense, Stone is the perfect person to direct it. Some might have preferred that someone less controversial have done it, but why bother. Those few that still love Dubya are going to be inclined to despise the film no matter who directs it. And, in my view, Stone did a fine job at humanizing and providing a sympathetic view of the most unpopular Republican president before Georgie came along. In that light, Dubya's fans should be damn grateful that Stone is at the helm.

And if it is a little skewed against him, then I would consider it Cinematic Karma. Five years ago, a shameless hagiography of Bush came out before the presidential election. Now, before this next election where the Bush legacy will be buried and eulogized, Stone will present us with the story of the man who did become King ... at least for eight years.

Glory be.

The only cast member who shares the same nationality as the soundtrack.

Though I have impressed my wife over the years by my enjoyment of "chick" entertainment (Notting Hill, The Vagina Monologues, The entire oeuvre of Jane Austen), there are some things I have been reticent to see. The musical Mamma Mia falls into this later category. As much as Mrs. Mosley has been eager to see it, the whole goofy aura combined with the ABBA music has turned me off.

Ah, but now here comes the movie. We had a chance to see the trailer in the theater a month ago. Having now seen a little of the plot, I'm a little less reluctant. But there was one thing that bothered me about the trailer.

The story involves a mother (Meryl Streep) and her newly engaged daughter (Amanda Seyfried) planning their wedding. Having never met her father, the daughter tracks down the three men who dated her mother at the time of conception and invites all three to the wedding. Wackiness, as they say, ensues.

The three men are played by Colin "Mr. Darcy" Firth, Pierce "Mr. Bond" Brosnan and Stellan... er... "Bootstrap Bill" Skarsgard. In the trailer, Firth and Brosnan are announced by name along with Streep, but Skarsgard is not. This is a great shame. I'm assuming that, for the sake of suspense, the story doesn't favor any of the three so that the audience is kept guessing until the end. In which case, even though two of the three are world class sex symbols, they should have spared a few extra seconds in the trailer to highlight Stellan.

C'mon, guys. He's a great actor who's done fabulous work in Good Will Hunting, Ronin and a butload of Swedish films. Give him the highlighting he deserves!

Blast Reynolds in Terror at Moon Base Alpha

The project is finished and has finally been posted to YouTube. Have a look:



As for myself, I'm calling it a week and signing off for a few days. See ya later.

"I Simply Am Not There."

You meet the coolest people when you get yourself 15 minutes of fame. Take Andy McClelland, for example. He's a graphic designer in the UK who saw my numbers video and asked for some help on a project. He had one numbers-themed clip that he needed a second to pair up with. I found one that he agreed was perfect.

In the end, he actually ended up using a different pair altogether: A Clockwork Orange and American Psycho. I wasn't too disapointed, though, once I saw the finished project. My only regret is that I can't see it in person. Go have a look at the rest of his work on his horizontal website. This guy is good.




And incidentally, on the miniscule chance that a UK employer looking for a graphic designer sees this, HIRE THE GUY!

You go, Laura!

Recount concerns the 2000 Election fracas here in Florida. Parts of the film were shot right here in Jacksonville and, as an added bonus, HBO Films will be premiering it at the Jacksonville Film Festival about a week before everyone else gets to see it on HBO.

I won't be going to the premiere, myself. The reason has more to do with crowds than the painful subject matter. No doubt I'll eventually see it, if for nothing else than to see the dead on impersonation Laura Dern does of Katherine Harris.

Lesson Learned

I'm still working on my next video for YouTube, but I'm in the home stretch and hope to have it done by Thursday.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share this: I had the TV on yesterday to PBS while I was working and saw a preview of a biography that they'll be airing soon on President Bush (Senior, that is). There's a section on the first Gulf War and a shot of James Baker stating "Everybody would come up and ask me why we didn't advance into Baghdad. (pause) They don't ask me that anymore."

Don't look for David Carradine. He ain't there.

Of late, I have really been enjoying the great value and hidden treasures of the Mill Creek Entertainment box sets. I own five of them so far, and a sixth is on it's way to me in the mail. It's 1,739 minutes of entertainment in a $9.47 package!

Snooty cinephiles without a sense of humor (or of the absurd) need not apply. They are mostly crappy transfers of crappy films, but they still manage to entertain. They represent to me a time capsule to the times in which they were made. Here's the list of the (cough) classic titles I will soon be enjoying:

The Big Fight

Black Cobra

Chase Step by Step

Deadly Duo

Death Machines

Four Robbers

Hands of Death

Image of Bruce Lee

Infernal Street

Ninja Champion

Ninja Death I

Ninja Empire

Ninja: The Protector

Return of the Kung Fu Dragon

Shadow Ninja

Shaolin Deadly Kicks

Shaolin Temple

The Snake, The Tiger, The Crane

The Street Fighter

Weapons of Death

These six box sets will have cost me a total of about $50 dollars, which ends up being about fifty cents a movie. It's not a bad deal any way you slice it, and it's a great way to spend a weekday evening.

Giancarlo Esposito Quote of the Month: May 2008

The unique concept behind Jim Jarmusch's Night on Earth was to connect five separate stories (all of which take place in a taxi) through their happening during the exact same hour in different parts of the world. There are some great moments here and it's one of the director's best films.

Giancarlo's segment takes place (natch) in New York City. When the only cab he can hail is driven by a newly German immigrant who has poor English and even poorer driving skills, Giancarlo's character Yoyo gets in and eventually ends up driving the cab himself to Harlem. In the meanwhile, they have a conversation as best they can.

Yoyo: "What's you name, man?"

Helmut: "Helmut Grokenberger. [pointing to his cab license] Here, you can read it. That's me."

Yoyo: "Helmet?"

Helmut: "Helmut."

Yoyo: "That's your name?"

Helmut: "Yeah."

Yoyo: "Ha ha ha ha ha. That's a fucked up name to be namin' your kid! Helmet! See, 'cause in English, a helmet would be like, you know, like something you would wear on your head, you know? You a... a helmet! Ha ha ha! In English, that would be like callin' your kid, uh, 'Lampshade' or some shit like that: 'Hey, Lampshade! Come here and clean up your room!' Ha ha ha ha ha!"

Helmut: "So, what's your name?"

Yoyo: "Yoyo."

Helmut: "What?"

Yoyo: "Yoyo. That's my name."

Helmut: "...is Ihr Name?"

Yoyo: "What? Yoyo."

Helmut: "Yoyo. Yoyo. [laughing] Yoyo. Yoyo, das ist Spielzeug für Kinder."

Yoyo: "It ain't got nothin' to do with that. It's my name. Yoyo."

Helmut: "It's a toy for kids, Yoyo."

Yoyo: "Ain't got nothin' to do with that, man."