Thinking Out Loud

  • 2001: A Space Odyssey on the big screen at New York’s Ziegfeld theater

    2001: A Space Odyssey on the big screen at New York’s Ziegfeld theater

    One of the best movies ever made, on one of the biggest screens in New York. What could be better?

    It’s taken me many years and many viewings to realize that the movie is actually very, very funny. Perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising for a movie that directly followed Dr. Strangelove, but the sombre serious air about the film disguised some of the comedy to my young mind watching the movie almost every year, running uncut on a local Philadelphia TV channel. Just a few of the many huge “jokes” packed into the film: the entire human condition condensed into chimp pantomime, fantastic visions of the future punctured by hilariously closed-minded humans more interested in sandwiches, and the most naked human emotions shown on screen coming from apes and computers as opposed to supposedly evolved humans.

    2001 On the web: Kubrick 2001 presents an elaborate, though sometimes silly, animated explication. Then there’s The Underview, helpfully including the complete Zero Gravity Toilet instructions. [update: link no longer available]

  • The Dork Report for March 20, 2006

    The Dork Report for March 20, 2006

    A third 2,500 year-old sarcophagus (no longer online: us.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/03/20/cyprus.coffin.ap) found in Cyprus, with illustrations from Homer. The US and Britain each already have one; who gets to cart this one home?

    Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blogge (no longer online: houseoffame.blogs.friendster.com/my_blog). (guest submission by Dave)

    In what can only be evidence of cosmic karma, one cat will get to experience life as a mouse. (spotted on Boing Boing)

    If anyone can appreciate a killer attack of the absurd, it’s Neil. (spotted on Boing Boing)

    Hearteningly, Bush has been deemed unfavorable by, get this, Fox News! (since about October of last year)

    I don’t even like South Park, but Trey Parker & Matt Stone’s recent statement is a work of comic brilliance.

    The New York Times notes a trend towards nattering in feature-film animation.

    Shall I compare thee to a nerve-wrackingly insane-making scripting language (no longer online: heavyflash.com/poetry/Shakespeare_Sonnet18.html)? (guest submission by Dave)

    Snakes on a Mutha&$%#in’ Plane! The new teaser is rockin’ blogs all over the web, so why don’t I just post it here too (no longer online: www.tagworld.com/snakesonaplane). I am SO proud to work for New Line.

    It’s about time, yadda yadda. Doctor Who finally premiered in the US on March 17. Too slow, suckas! I already got my region 1 dvd from Canada! A few choice press pieces culled from the fantastic Outpost Gallifrey (no longer online: gallifreyone.com/news.php): The New York Times, The Village Voice, Time Out New York, The Hollywood Reporter, and Entertainment Weekly.

    More good examples of how bad Microsoft’s imminent patent-dodge (no longer online: baekdal.com/articles/Technology/microsoft-ie-activex-update/) will suck for everyone. (spotted on Kottke.org)

    Blogging 4 Books (no longer online: joshilynjackson.com/mt/archives/000468.html).

  • Peter Bogdanovich’s Mask (Director’s Cut)

    Peter Bogdanovich’s Mask (Director’s Cut)

    I vaguely recall seeing Mask when I was a kid, but only recently learned A) it was directed by Peter Bogdanovich and B) there’s a well-regarded director’s cut available on DVD.

    The film is very unconventional for the genre of disabled-person-beating-the-odds. Roy, doomed to die from Craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, loses his friend, his girl, and dies in his sleep never fulfilling his dream of traveling Europe. And yet, it is nevertheless moving and even uplifting. I think one reason is the sympathetic matter-of-fact presentation of a biker gang, a group often maligned or at least treated condescendingly by Hollywood.

  • Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal

    Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal

    Oops. I should have let The Dark Crystal live on in my childhood memories as a Good Movie. Seeing the brilliant Mirrormask reminded me how much this movie affected my childhood, but seeing it again as an adult I find it has not aged well. The special effects of course cannot rival contemporary digital epics, but I was surprised to find the storytelling stilted and overly dumbed-down. Recent kids’ movies are pitched at a more sophisticated level, not feeling the need to start with a lonnnnng opening expository narrative and pause every 15 minutes or so to do a plot recap.

    Still, you have to admire Jim Henson’s sheer bloodymindedness at spending five years pulling off this difficult-to-make film. And it scores points for just being so weird.

    And a quick word about the DVD: cheap menus and a horrendous print. What’s up with that?

  • The Dork Report for March 17, 2006

    The Dork Report for March 17, 2006

    Who ever said labels were misleading?

    A surprisingly good article on the digital future of movies in Time. All the right filmmakers are interviewed, with lots of interesting (and sometimes bitchy) things to say: Mann, Shyamalan, Lucas, Rodriguez, Soderberg.

    A for Alan, Part Two. You can cut the irony with the Ripper’s scalpel: “By asking DC to take my name off V for Vendetta and stop giving me the money for V for Vendetta, all I’m asking for is for them to treat me in the same way they’ve been completely happy to treat hundreds of much greater comics creators than I over the decades. I’m asking them to say to me the same thing they said to Gardner Fox and Jack Kirby and to all those other guys, just say to me you are not going to see a penny for any kind of future reproductions of your work and we’re not going to put your name on them.”

    Reported on the same site is this absurdity, which is too bizarre not to make The Dork Report. Unfortunately, it has a disappointingly rational (and capitalist) explanation [no longer online: comicon.com/thebeat/2006/03/chinas_toon_ban_explained.html].

    Not through with Alan yet. The Gray Lady covers the V for Vendetta dispute.

    Saw on Neil Gaiman’s blog that Dave McKean’s next feature film will be an adaptation of Varjak Paw for the Jim Henson Co. Also spotted this older profile on Apple.com.

    It’s a foggy day in the cosmos today, so be sure to use your lo-beams. (guest submission from Andrea – smart chicks are hot!)

  • The Dork Report for March 15, 2006

    The Dork Report for March 15, 2006

    Part one of a massive interview with Alan Moore about his extreme decision to take his name off every comic his publishers own (spotted on Boing Boing). Moore makes reference to being cheated out of ownership of Watchmen and V for Vendetta but doesn’t clarify; I’ve read (can’t find the source at the moment) that they promised ownership would revert back to him and the artists when the books went out of print, which of course hasn’t happened for 20-some years.

    Um, gosh, E.

    The last thing I need: more fonts. 25 Best License-Free Quality Fonts (no longer online: alvit.de/blog/article/20-best-license-free-official-fonts) and 15 Best License-Free Pixel Fonts (no longer online: alvit.de/blog/article/25-best-license-free-pixelfonts). (spotted on Kottke.org)

    And in related news, the best (by leaps and bounds) font manager for the Mac is finally finished. And FREE.

    Speaking as both a designer and as one also afflicted with Apple Lust himself, this is a really clever marketing idea.

    Here we go again (no longer online: appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1587). Is it a tablet, a proper video iPod, or a typically frenzied buildup of increasingly unfounded rumors and speculation (no longer online: thinksecret.com)?

  • The Ice Harvest

    The Ice Harvest

    I think, but I’m not sure, this is supposed to be a comedy. Honestly, The Ice Harvest is one of the worst movies I’ve seen in a long time. It apparently aspires to be a comedy of villainies along the lines of Bad Santa, extending even into the casting of Billy Bob Thornton, but it decidedly lacks the x-factor that can twist violence & mean-spiritedness into satire.

    No matter how much I hated it, it nevertheless narrowly misses a one-star rating, which is reserved for true crimes against humanity, like Polar Express.

  • Lizzie and Darcy deserve each other, in Pride & Prejudice

    Lizzie and Darcy deserve each other, in Pride & Prejudice

    Pride & Prejudice: The timeless love story between Miss Elizabeth Bewitching-yet-Blind Bennet and Mr. Darcy, Earl of Wetblanket-Upon-Broadchestshire. In the most romantic way possible, they truly deserve each other.

  • Thank You for Smoking

    Thank You for Smoking

    A wicked contemporary satire, and a distant cousin to Lord of War, if a little less urgent. The level of public anxiety over Big Tobacco isn’t terribly high at the moment, but the larger theme of corporate and governmental spin is a timely one.

    Also like Lord of War, it kicks off with insane energy: one of the best opening title sequences I’ve ever seen, followed by flurry of pop-up infographics, freeze-frames, and ironic subtitles. Too bad that after the first half hour or so, it settles down into fairly straightforward family melodrama.

  • The Dork Report for March 8, 2006

    The Dork Report for March 8, 2006

    Willie sez: Mama, don’t let your kids grow up to be cowboys: Cowboys are Frequently, Secretly (Fond of Each Other) (no longer online: secretcowboys.com)

    Yes, Mistress! Faithful K-9 and spunky journalist/cutie-pie Sarah Jane Smith return just in time to rescue the very fabric of the universe from the deadly hand of the ultimate evil of doom!

    You too can Own the Underground (no longer online: shatnerdvdclub.com) with Captain Kirk for a mere $47.99 a year!

    Time Style & Design (no longer online: time.com/time/style) is comprised of approximately 95% fashion, 5% industrial design, and 0% graphic design. Even worse, it used to just be called Time Design.

    Dave McKean (no longer online: dreamline.nu) interviewed for Mirrormask by FilmFocus and TimeOut.

    Skip this one unless you’re a web designer/developer: An absurd patent lawsuit (no longer online: news.com.com/Microsoft+updates+IE+after+patent+spat/2100-1032_3-6044418.html) by opportunist Eolas against Microsoft will add a significant annoyance (no longer online: macromedia.com/devnet/activecontent) to one of the technical aspects of my job, but more seriously, will also sour the experience of most web users. Mozilla’s response is quite insightful.