More than a few good men

The Daily Kos currently has a link to a report by the Pentagon's Defense Science Board. Some choice excerpts:

· Muslims do not "hate our freedom," but rather, they hate our policies. The overwhelming majority voice their objections to what they see as one-sided support in favor of Israel and against Palestinian rights, and the longstanding, even increasing support for what Muslims collectively see as tyrannies, most notably Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan, and the Gulf states.

· Thus when American public diplomacy talks about bringing democracy to Islamic societies, this is seen as no more than self-serving hypocrisy. Moreover, saying that "freedom is the future of the Middle East" is seen as patronizing, suggesting that Arabs are like the enslaved peoples of the old Communist World -- but Muslims do not feel this way: they feel oppressed, but not enslaved.

· Furthermore, in the eyes of Muslims, American occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq has not led to democracy there, but only more chaos and suffering. U.S. actions appear in contrast to be motivated by ulterior motives, and deliberately controlled in order to best serve American national interests at the expense of truly Muslim selfdetermination.

· Therefore, the dramatic narrative since 9/11 has essentially borne out the entire radical Islamist bill of particulars. American actions and the flow of events have elevated the authority of the Jihadi insurgents and tended to ratify their legitimacy among Muslims. Fighting groups portray themselves as the true defenders of an Ummah (the entire Muslim community) invaded and under attack -- to broad public support.

· What was a marginal network is now an Ummah-wide movement of fighting groups. Not only has there been a proliferation of "terrorist" groups: the unifying context of a shared cause creates a sense of affiliation across the many cultural and sectarian boundaries that divide Islam.

I mentioned weeks ago that the reckless policies of the Bush administration would continue to alienate fiscal conservatives. It now appears that the same can be said for members of the military, which had begun protesting Bush even in the early days of the Iraqi invasion. These people are informed and experienced in the dynamics of nations and cultures in ways that failed businessmen from Connecti...er...I mean Texas are not. Despite Bush's win, his blowhard talk of "political capital" and "mandates", and his efforts to quickly clean house of anyone who disagrees with him, these people have laid out their case and told him straight out that all of this doesn't change the fact that he's still wrong.

For those who are about to be shipped out and shut up, we salute you.

In the Age of Vinyl

Here's another spell of nostalgia thinly disguised as a substantive blog post. Oh well, if I can't be indulgent here, where can I be? The following is a list of the record albums (yes, actual vinyl) that I listened to a lot when I was a little kid. Some were purchased specifically for me while others were borrowed from my parent's collection.

"Walt Disney's Happiest Songs", "The Wildest Show at Tahoe", "The Empire Strikes Back: Original Soundtrack", "The Big Bands Theme Songs", "Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: The Sting", "Bing & Satchmo"

Twenty Films for 2005

For the benefit of my meager readership as well as myself, I've had a look at the release calendar over at Greg's Previews page to see what the movie world has in store for audiences in 2005. The release dates, of course, are very fluid and are subject to change. I've picked twenty films that I'm looking forward too, and have categorized them according to the letters bellow:

(A) Is a remake of a film
(B) Is a sequel/prequel to a film
(C) Is based on a TV show
(D) Is based on a popular book
(E) Is based on a comic book series

January - This is usually a very lean month for films. Speaking of lean, the one notable film opening in January is "Assault on Precinct 13" (AA), a remake of the 1976 John Carpenter classic of the same name (which in turn was based on the 1959 John Wayne classic "Rio Bravo", thus the second "A"). There's a lot about this movie that reminds me of 2003's "Dawn of the Dead": It's a remake of a cult classic concerning a group of people fending off a siege. And like the remake of "Dawn", this one is working with a lower budget and smaller actors than most other films. I was totally wowed by the "Dawn" remake, and I also have high hopes for this one. Being released in a slow month, it could become a sleeper hit.

February - The upcoming comic book adaptation "Constantine" (E) brings to mind "The Matrix" in a lot of ways, not least of which from it starring Keanu Reeves. There's a lot of mindblowing effects strung together in the trailer in very much the same fashion as the original "Matrix" trailer. Let's just hope that as far as Keanu Reeves Sci-Fi films go, this is more "The Matrix" and less "Johnny Mnemonic".

March - As I mentioned in my review of "The Bourne Supremacy", if a book that is successfully made into a movie already has a second book continuing the story, then a second movie is a natural progression (as opposed to solely cashing in on the success of the first). Elmore Leonard's "Get Shorty" was a fun flick, and "Be Cool" (BD) promises more of the same. At the very least, it forced Travolta to drop those extra pounds he's been sporting lately. The result: The promotional photographs of him appear like he hasn't aged a day in the nine years since "Get Shorty". Very cool, indeed.

April - Rejoice! The first film to not have any letters! Of course, that doesn't guarantee that "The Interpreter" (none) will be any good. Still, some very intelligent actors such as Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn and Catherine Keener are being directed by Sidney Pollack. The international intrigue vibe in the trailer is giving me flashbacks to Pollack's "Three Days of the Condor", and that is a very good thing. Watch for it.

May - Although I loved the book "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" (AD), I'm unsure of the film. I wasn't as impressed as others were by the BBC adaptation that was done in 1981. It left me a feeling that this work should stay in printed form. We'll see if that opinion changes. "Kingdom of Heaven" (none) also has no letters to burden it, but it also has the distinct possibility of being a brainless Hollywood spectacle if handled incorrectly. Don't get me wrong. I've been waiting for a big film on the Crusades and that's why this is on my list, but I'm trying to stay grounded. Oh, and some film called "Star Wars: Episode III" (CCCCC) is opening, too.

June - "Batman Begins" (E) goes in with a lot of baggage. I only gave it an "E" because it is technically a new story, and therefore not a sequel, prequel or remake. Still, audiences might view it as such after seeing this character so often in the past fifteen years, played by three different people. Of course, that never hurt James Bond. I look forward to seeing what director Christopher Nolan ("Memento") and actor Christian Bale ("American Psycho") can do with this franchise. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Also, the Steven Spielberg/Tom Cruise collaboration on "War of the Worlds" (AD) will be released. Lord knows that after "Independence Day" did so well in 1996, Summer has become a great time for alien invasions. Let's see what two old pros like Spielberg and Cruise can do with this familiar story.

July - Although I was initially wary of the movie version of "Bewitched" (C), I then learned that the film's plot concerns the filming of a movie based on the series with a real witch cast as Samantha. It sounds like a more comedic version of "The Shadow of the Vampire", and that's a very weird vein to tap for such a mainstream movie. Still, it has me intrigued and wanting to see more. Then there is Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (AD), starring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka. For me, the unconventional casting of Gene Wilder was the best thing that the original film had going for it. As much as I love Johnny Depp, I'm not so sure about his casting. I'll take solace in the fact that he'll be getting back to Captain Jack Sparrow really soon. Finally, yet another comic book film, this time it's "The Fantastic Four" (E). It looks to be another adventure-type film in the vein of the "X-Men" series. That's a high standard to live up to.

August - Move along, people. Nothing to see here.

September - "The Mask of Zorro" surprised a lot of people as a really fun swashbuckler. So much so that we forgave it's occasional cliche as when all the heros run like hell from the big-ass explosion near the end. "The Legend of Zorro" (AB) will be reuniting all the principles, and I'll be pleased to see them together again. "Serenity" (C) is a feature film based on the now cancelled Sci-Fi series "Firefly". I have been meaning to borrow the DVD set from a friend of mine as I have heard such good things about the TV show. I'll be endeavoring to get caught up on the storyline before the film hits theaters.

October - As my wife and her grandfather will attest to, Nick Park is brilliant. His "Wallace and Gromit" shorts are pure genius, and his first foray into a feature length film, 2000's "Chicken Run", showed that he excelled even outside of his most famous characters. But that cheese-loving Brit and his hyper-intelligent dog are who we love most, so the approach of "The Wallace & Gromit Movie" (B) is very closely watched by many of us. We have every confidence that Nick won't let us down.

November - And speaking of unbroken track records of brilliance, we have Pixar's entry to the 2005 movie season: "Cars" (none). A short preview of this was shown before "The Incredibles" and it looks pretty good. Also upcoming are the rapidly maturing students at Hogwarts in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (BBD). Having not read past the second book, I won't pretend to have an informed opinion on this fourth installment. Instead, I'll just hope that it's at least as entertaining as the first three. Finally, that master of fantasy Terry Gilliam, who has been in hiding since his aborted "Don Quixote" three years ago, returns to the fold with "The Brothers Grimm" (D). To keep the studio suits from getting too nervous, Matt Damon and Heath Ledger star. Gilliam is currently directing a film called "Tideland" and after that...well...I've heard a lot of people voice their hope that he may soon take over a certain magical franchise.

December - The increasing popularity of fantasy films for the Christmas season was cemented over three straight Decembers with the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. It's therefore appropriate that Peter Jackson's next project, "King Kong" (AA), also gets a December bow. People think Peter can do no wrong right now, but I'm under no such delusions. It's not that I wish him ill, but a remake of the B&W classic is not a sure thing. Here's hoping he pulls it off. Finally, there is the release of "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe" (AAD), Disney's attempt to cash in on the "LOTR" success by bringing another beloved fantasy literary classic to it's full CGI splendor. Though "Lion" is considered the best of the books, I'm sure that Disney is very pleased that there are many other books to look to if this becomes a hit.


And there's your twenty. Of course, there are other just as big films coming up that I haven't included due to complete lack of interest. This includes some movie spinoffs ("Elektra", "Beautyshop"), sequels nobody asked for ("Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo", "Son of the Mask", "XXX: State of the Union", "The Fast and the Furious 3", "Jurassic Park IV"), remakes nobody asked for ("The Pink Panther", "Herbie: Fully Loaded"), another TV show based film ("The Dukes of Hazzard") and a big-budget adaptation of a 1983 arcade game (The Rock in "Spy Hunter"). There will also be little films that sneak under the radar: Independent and foreign films that no one saw coming. Let's hope enough of these will make it to the googoplexes so that our sanity may be kept in 2005.

Review: "Richard III" (1995)

"Othello" on a High School basketball court. "Macbeth" in a fast food burger chain. "Love's Labor Lost" as a 1930's Hollywood Musical. Updating the Bard has become a popular pastime for screenwriters. Although purists like to put down such endeavors, they are truly missing out on some great work. After all, it's the stories as much as the language that make Shakespeare's plays memorable, and new interpretations only keep these stories alive for new audiences. Recently, we've had some commendable attempts at updating his plays for the times, with one in particular that I consider a modern classic.

In director Richard Loncraine's "Richard III", the story of the disfigured and vengeful royal is transported from the 15th century to an alternate reality circa 1930's England. In this version of history, a civil war has just ended with Richard's brother Edward crowned as King of England. Richard, however, has other plans for his family, his friends, his enemies and any other living soul that gets between him and the throne. Soon, we see the rise of Richard and his supporters that mirrors a similar regime in Germany at about the same time.

This particular interpretation of the play was first created by McKellen for the stage, where it was a success. When the opportunity arose to make a film version, he was given the chance to reprise his role as Richard. This would become his first staring role in a major movie production long before American audiences knew him as Gandalf the Grey. The charisma and intelligence he would later bring to his "Lord of the Rings" role is in evidence here. And as he would later prove when playing Magneto in the "X-Men" films, McKellen gives such life and passion into his villains that we are on the edge of our seat in anticipation of what he will do next.

Of course, placing the villain as the main character and asking the audience to connect with him is a dicey proposition. As is intended by Shakespeare in his scene between Richard and Lady Anne, we are meant to dredge up some sympathy for this poor miserable cripple, despite his heinous acts. The creators of this film decided to do Shakespeare one better by having Richard directly address the audience and bid us to follow him. We become complicit in his crimes and share in his elation when he finally attains a fleeting happiness. Right down to the memorable last frame of the film (and the perfectly chosen song that accompanies it), we are right next to Richard and are glad to be along for the ride.

The rest of the cast is a crowd of familiar faces including Kristin Scott Thomas, Nigel Hawthorne, Jim Broadbent and Maggie Smith. Two Americans, Robert Downey Jr. and Annette Bening, play two characters that have been scripted as American interlopers into the royal family. Since both actors were new to Shakespeare, a lot of critics pointed to their roles as miscasting. I think this is unfair, as there are British actors in the cast as well who are new to the Bard and do not receive similar criticism. Bening and Downey do just fine in their roles, and none of the cast deter the production.

Set design and costuming are superlative, with locations chosen to perfectly evoke the period of the film. Cinematography captures incredibly vivid colors with lots of reds and blacks (the colors of Richard's crest) filling the frames in both exciting battle scenes and also the quieter moments. Though some modern Shakespeare films choose to ditch the language entirely, this film manages to retain the basic language while still paring down from the original play. Any resulting anachronisms of the original text are slyly dealt with. The film even comes up with an ingenious way of including the "A horse, a horse" line without it sounding out of place.

It is a common misconception that Shakespeare is not for the masses when the opposite is true. The intriguing characters, dialogue and plotting are all there waiting to be seen by anyone new to his plays. If that means that modern Hamlets will deliver their soliloquies in video store aisles, then so be it. The more attempts that are made, the more likely a superior film will come to light. Then maybe, maybe we'll get to see a work that matches McKellen's brilliance.

Ten out of Ten

Skippy(s) of the Day: Viacom and Gary Cass

The latest story on the liberal blogs is the refusal by CBS and UPN (both owned by Viacom) to air a commercial for the United Church of Christ. It is the start of a new ad campaign to let people know about the UCC's philosophy of acceptance. The following is the statement issued by CBS on it's decision:

"Because this commercial touches on the exclusion of gay couples and other minority groups by other individuals and organizations," reads an explanation from CBS, "and the fact the Executive Branch has recently proposed a Constitutional Amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, this spot is unacceptable for broadcast on the [CBS and UPN] networks."

It's interesting to note the deliberate wording by Viacom. The Church and their commercial is stressing their view that Jesus believed in acceptance. The statement issued by CBS avoids the positive word "acceptance" or any variation thereof in lieu of linking the church to the negative word "exclusion". There's a mind process going on behind this statement that such infantile wordplay may actually end up tarnishing the church while defending the networks. However, none of this disguises the basic message of the company, which is: "Because the UCC is pointing out the bigotry of others, including the President, we are uncomfortable with this statement of truth and choose not to acknowledge it".

Don't give me any crap about the "liberal media" when this stuff is going on. In the same month that Viacom rejected a simple message of tolerance, the Washington Post accepted a bigoted message of falsehoods. The cultural trend that began with Dubya's campaign of so-called "values" is continuing and will only snowball in the next four years. Bush and company have said that all they want to do is ban gay marriage, but he has made homosexuality itself the issue for his supporters to focus on. He has knowingly empowered these people to finally act on their impulses to strike down and rub out people that make them uncomfortable. They will not be satisfied with keeping homosexuals out of positions as Arabic translators and Scout masters. They wish to make them a much larger pariah on the level of child molesters and rapists.

Which brings us to Gary Cass. In this news story, he voices his view that after Bush's anti-gay rights campaign, his supporters expect more than just a ban on gay marriage:

"Do you want to take your children to a National League baseball game for instance and have homosexuals showing affection to one another? I don't want my kids to see that," he said.

After reading this, you have to wonder what exactly he's getting at here. Is he advocating the rounding up of homosexuals and putting them into camps? Farfetched and absurd, though the venom in his words seem to indicate he may have fantasies to this end. However, a simple ban on gay marriage is not a ban on displays of homosexual affection. What he really wants is a cultural shunning of homosexuals so they become in all practical terms second-class citizens.

Cass goes on to say that God's wrath will be inflicted upon the nation if the government is seen as tolerant to homosexuals. When a victorious football player claims God's grace as the reason for his victory, I have to wonder at the intelligence of a man who thinks a supreme being really gives a rat's ass if the Podunk Hurricanes won their division or not. But just as a mind will actually believe that God wanted their team to win (and, consequently, wanted the other team of god-fearing Christians to lose) so will they believe that God will bless a nation and just as quickly damn a nation for the government's treatment of human beings as...well...human.

Beware anyone who views their own salvation in terms of the punishment and destruction of others. Such people believe strapping explosives to their body and killing a busload of people will send them straight to paradise. Republicans may find that analogy offensive, but I believe it fits. Cass's beliefs may not drive him to the lengths of a suicide bomber in Israel, but that's only because he wishes to fight as long as possible. Click on that link and read the article, and you'll see his passion for erasing homosexuals as equal to that of anyone fighting over the West Bank.

Postscript: After writing all this, I found a second story on how ABC and NBC have also refused to air the spots. ABC gives the reason that they do not "...accept paid advertising that espouses a particular religious doctrine", which is at least a reason that has some logic and validity. On the other hand, NBC states that it "...violates their policies against running ads that take positions on matters of public controversy", which is absolute nonsense. The commercial does not show the UCC ordaining the marriage of two homosexuals, but rather simply welcoming them into a church. Greeting someone is now controversial. If you think for a moment that the Republican attacks will stop at gay marriage, then you've got another thing coming.

Yaphet Kotto Quote of the Month: December 2004

I regret to inform you that this will be the last Yaphet Kotto Quote of the Month entry. If I were to do it for another year, I'd be revisiting the same movies over and over again. Instead, since I originally used this feature to showcase a little known yet great actor, I will be changing to another actor in the new year for my Quote of the Month. As to who that actor will be, well, you'll have to tune in January 1st to find out.

For my last Kotto Quote I have chosen one of his few starring roles and a great unknown movie in its own right. "Across 110th Street" is a crime drama that matches a young black cop, Lt. Pope (Kotto) with an older white cop, Capt. Mattelli (Anthony Quinn) in order to investigate the murder of some mobsters and theft of a large sum of their money. In essence, it's "In The Heat of the Night" mixed with a blaxploitation film which didn't descend to camp (even with the presence of Antonio "Huggy Bear" Fargas in the cast). By the way, if the title sounds familiar, the title song was used in the beginning and end credits of Quentin Tarantino's "Jackie Brown".

There's a scene where Kotto comes into an interrogation room and finds Quinn beating the crap out of a suspect, who's laid out on the floor bleeding and unconscious. Here's the quote:

Lt. Pope: This kind of thing went out with prohibition. You can't go around belting people.

Capt. Mattelli: Look! I'm sick and tired of your liberal b*llsh*t! You better make up your mind: Are you a cop or one of them social workers?

Lt. Pope: ALL RIGHT, CAPTAIN! Go back to 1940! Pull out the powderkeg; blow up the whole g*dd*mn community!

Capt. Mattelli: Look, the way I work gets results.

Lt. Pope: (motioning towards suspect) I don't hear him saying a g*dd*mn thing.