For Your Consideration (2006)**
While there are many funny moments in this picture, after it is all over you get the impression that this was not a comedy at all. Maybe it was Catherine O'Hara's brilliant performance that seems to take over the tone of the film. Kind of a disappointment.

Variety.com - Schulman pumps up Mandalay
"A highlight of the Mandalay Pictures’ slate at Universal is the remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s 'The Birds', scheduled to be in production by early fall. 'We think we have a very contemporary take' Schulman said. 'In the original, the birds just showed up, and it was kind of like, why are the birds here? This time, there’s a reason why they’re here and (people) have had something to do with it. There’s an environmental slant to what could create nature fighting back.'"

Um...you know, Cath, the pointlessness of the birds' behavior in the original is PRECISELY why the picture is a masterpiece. To change that and just make it some sort of slasher picture with crows...oh never mind. What an ass.

Kurt Vonnegut 1922 - 2007
"I say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. I am then asked if I know of any artists who pulled that off. I reply, 'The Beatles did.'

"It appears to me that the most highly evolved Earthling creatures find being alive embarrassing or much worse. The funniest American of his time, Mark Twain, found life for himself and everybody else so stressful when he was in his seventies that he wrote as follows: 'I have never wanted any released friend of mine restored to life since I reached manhood.' That is in an essay on the sudden death of his daughter Jean a few days earlier. Among those he wouldn't have resurrected were Jean, and another daughter, Susy, and his beloved wife and his best friend, Henry Rogers.

"So it is not one whit mysterious that we poison the water and air and topsoil, and construct ever more cunning doomsday devices, both industrial and military. Let us be perfectly frank for a change. For practically everybody, the end of the world can't come soon enough."

Excerpted from Timequake.

Americans offered 'aggressive patrols' in Iranian airspace | Iran | Guardian Unlimited:
"In the first few days after the captives were seized and British diplomats were getting no news from Tehran on their whereabouts, Pentagon officials asked their British counterparts: what do you want us to do? They offered a series of military options, a list which remains top secret given the mounting risk of war between the US and Iran."

But I'm sure they exhausted all diplomatic options first, right? That might have taken the first day or day and a half maybe. God help us. If you want to know just how close we came to war with Iran, read the whole article. Scary, scary stuff.

Stranger Than Fiction (2006)**
I did not enjoy watching this film, except for the performance of Dustin Hoffman. However I give it 2 stars because any film that has me thinking about it for several days after I see it deserves at least 2 stars. I just had the feeling that, while it had a lot of nice ideas in it, you have to do more than just throw ideas on the screen. I was not drawn to the characters at all and never found them believable. I never understood whose story was being told so I could never get involved with the narrative. It is possible that that was the intention, that this was some sort of meta-movie about the whole idea of film itself or the human need/desire for narrative but the film never resonated with me at all. So I admire those ideas, ideas which I often find in the works of Charlie Kaufman who CAN create intricate, detailed, tightly wrapped meta-narratives expressing those ideas and be entertaining at the same time. But having a good idea is not enough.

Wilco - Sky Blue Sky (2007)*
Suffers from the same problem as Lucinda Williams' latest: repetitive sameness. Same tempos, same subject matter. Even the best song on the record, "Impossible Germany" runs out of ideas halfway through its 6 minute run time and dissolves into a Steely Dan-ish instrumental. We are a far cry from "Summerteeth" and "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot". Very disappointing.

The Science of Sleep (2006)****
Charming, involving, inventive dream-state movie. Fine performances all around, but Alain Chabat nearly steals the picture. One of the saddest happy endings ever.

Marie Antoinette (2006)****
Kirsten Dunst delivers a tremendous performance as the last queen of France in this thoroughly entertaining, interesting, beautiful and touching film. We knew Sofia Coppola was particularly adept in her use of a soundtrack, but the framing and pacing of this film is indicative of a director at the height of her powers. A bold, risky and rewarding picture. This would make an interesting twin bill with The Queen.

Casino Royale (2006)**
Might have earned a third star if about 45-60 minutes were trimmed. This is WAY too long for the material. The producers apparently wanted to go the way of the Bourne series and sort of started that with the previous Bond film. This is a box office move and I think it will work. Although there is something to be said for a 90 minute comic-actioner along the Spy Who Loved Me line. It might be interesting to take a Daniel Craig and put him in a Roger Moore era production and see what that gets you.

Son Volt - The Search (2007)****
"Underground Dream" alone would force me to give at least a 3 star rating for this fine piece of work from Jay Farrar and company. Even better than their previous effort. More hooks, stronger melodies, more expansive sound, less "experimentation". Can they be surpassing Wilco?

Sic Semper Tyrannis: Feltman as Dealbreaker?
"This deal over Lebanon was clearly at the expense of Syria in that a conviction might occur that would require party or parties unknown to be sacrificed in Damascus as well as Beirut. This worked for the negotiators. After all, it was a zero sum solution at the expense of the Syrians. This is comprehensible for them and for the Bush primitives. This should have 'worked.' An American envoy waited 'in the wings' while the talks were held. This envoy was briefed by the king when the deals were made and returned to the White House to explain. The result? The Palestinian deal is unacceptable to the Bush Administration. The Lebanon deal is unacceptable to the Bush Administration. (It gives something to the 'opposition.' Evidently, anything would be too much.)"

We desperately need leadership that understands the word "negotiate". Please. At the very least.

Old Yeller (1957)***
Good family film about a Texas family in the late 1800's and the "yeller stray" dog that comes into their lives and manages to save them from all sorts of peril. Tommy Kirk in his debut does a surprisingly good job as the oldest boy who starts off resenting the dog but comes to appreciate and love him, after all. A bit over the top, but the film redeems itself by its un-sugar-coated ending.

Lucinda Williams - West (2007)*
I like Lucinda Williams. I thought her last record, World Without Tears was one of the best of 2003. This one, however, is nearly unlistenable. The only track I liked is "Learning How to Live" and it is starting to wear thin. All the rest are mind-numbingly repetitive, not just musically, but lyrically. The first track, "Are You Alright?" is mainly that phrase repeated endlessly, relentlessly. There is very little songwriting going on here. I understand she has been through a great deal of pain and feels her music helps her get through that, but it seems as though in this instance she's merely pushing the pain onto us instead of transforming it for our benefit. Very disappointing.

Why all the hate for Little Miss Sunshine? - By Matt Feeney - Slate Magazine:
"By now, [Time critic Richard] Corliss' thesis is more than valid. It's obvious. You might even say it's formulaic. The critics have a point, which they sometimes make with noticeable bitterness, that many independent films are stale and mannered. But for some of these films, this critical dismissal is a strange fate: to be faulted for pretense, preciosity, and stylistic calculation when their real achievement is to reintroduce an enjoyable sort of broad humor into American cinema. You may not find the next Bergman at Sundance, but you might well find some fancy poop jokes."

I gave a poor review to LMS also not because it was pretentious, precious and stylistically calculating, but because those traits seemed OBVIOUS to me in viewing the film. I loved Miranda July's "Me and You and Everyone We Know", which was at least as pretentious and precious as LMS, but the film didn't proclaim that fact in every frame. The story, as quirky as it was, seemed to flow more evenly, characters seemed to be real people. I don't exactly know how Ms July did that and Dayton-Faris did not, but to my eyes, there was a big difference between her film and LMS.

(Thanks to kottke.org for the link!)

Apples In Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder(2007)***
There's just too much filler to put this album into the 4 star category. I mean, "Energy" and "The Sun Is Out" sound nice and bouncy and all but come on give us more than a half of a verse and a chorus repeated over and over. Plus I'm not a big fan of "experimental" and "linking" tracks of which there are plenty. And although I am a big ELO fan, let's use their songs as an inspiration not a blueprint next time. "Same Old Drag" sounds like "The Diary of Horace Wimp, Part 2". "7 Stars", "Sunday Sounds" and "Open Eyes" are among their best work however.

Dynasty Restaurant ****
A recently added restaurant on the Modesto dining scene, Dynasty finally brings good Cantonese/Hunan Chinese food to the locals. I haven't tried the full dim sum menu but if it is anything like their mu shu pork, spring rolls, lemon chicken and Mongolian lamb, it should be very tasty. These are dishes you will see in the typical low end Chinese food place of which there are a few in town, but they are done here with care, fresh ingredients, attention to detail and subtle variations. The sauces are not overpowering and enhance rather than dominate the dish. I can't wait to try some other offerings on their 109 item menu. Located in the Coffee - Standiford shopping center, the same one that houses the remarkable Sushi Garden Japanese restaurant. Eating out in Modesto keeps getting better!

David Fincher - Zodiac - Movies - New York Times:
"Robert Downey Jr., impeccably cast as a crime reporter driven to drink, drugs and dissolution, called Mr. Fincher a disciplinarian and agreed that, as is often said, “he’s always the smartest guy in the room.” But Mr. Downey put this in perspective.

“Sometimes it’s really hard because it might not feel collaborative, but ultimately filmmaking is a director’s medium,” he said. “I just decided, aside from several times I wanted to garrote him, that I was going to give him what he wanted. I think I’m a perfect person to work for him, because I understand gulags.”"

The eternal struggle between actors and directors as played out in David Fincher's new film "Zodiac". I find it interesting how some directors like Fincher, Kubrick often do dozens and dozens of takes in an effort to get the performance they want from an actor, and others, like Clint Eastwood for example, manage to get good results with a handful of takes. I mean, why would you need 70 takes of a scene? Kubrick it seems, often wanted a certain stylized portrayal difficult for most actors to do. Maybe dozens of takes made this possible. I don't know much about Fincher or his films but he is critically respected and his films are popular. Actors do want to work with him.

Free File Home - Your Link to Free Federal Online Filing
Yeah it's free all right IF you make less than $52,000/year. This really pisses me off. I can't imagine any reason, other than protecting their bureaucratic fiefdoms, why ANY taxpayer has to pay to electronically file their tax return. Not only that, but the IRS should be providing the tax preparation software also free of charge. After all, we all pay for the IRS. Providing this software and allowing for free e-filing would reduce their expenses. It is mind-boggling and insulting. California has this capability already. It is a readily doable thing. Argh.

Nacho Libre (2006)*
I can handle dumb, goofy comedies as well as the next guy, but this reaches a new low. It's just not funny nor particularly interesting.

Chris Brown - Now That You're Fed (2006)****
Lush, beautiful, exquisitely polished pop gems. "April" is a stunning tour de force of songwriting. Some Dylan-esqe and Buckingham-esqe flavors to the tunes. In a very good way.