{"id":169,"date":"2006-03-09T11:45:14","date_gmt":"2006-03-09T16:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/?p=169"},"modified":"2022-08-31T16:15:41","modified_gmt":"2022-08-31T20:15:41","slug":"thank-you-for-smoking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/thank-you-for-smoking\/","title":{"rendered":"Thank You for Smoking"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A wicked contemporary satire, and a distant cousin to <a href=\"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/lord-of-war\/\">Lord of War<\/a>, if a little less urgent. The level of public anxiety over Big Tobacco isn&#8217;t terribly high at the moment, but the larger theme of corporate and governmental spin is a timely one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also like Lord of War, it kicks off with insane energy: one of the best opening title sequences I&#8217;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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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&#8217;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: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5572,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,2],"tags":[1327,1329,1328,961,807,153,742],"class_list":["post-169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-4-stars","category-movies","tag-aaron-eckhart","tag-jason-reitman","tag-katie-holmes","tag-maria-bello","tag-robert-duvall","tag-satire","tag-william-h-macy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/03\/thank-you-for-smoking.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa9lhB-2J","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":130,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/lord-of-war\/","url_meta":{"origin":169,"position":0},"title":"Lord of War is a Nicolas Cage treasure hidden in plain sight","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"January 27, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"I initially dismissed Lord of War when the trailers and posters first appeared. In other words, it got caught in the crude mental filters that routinely handle my first-pass \"ignore\" of all the crap that flows through my eyes and ears all day every day. But when my regular email\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;4 Stars&quot;","block_context":{"text":"4 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/4-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lord of War","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/01\/lord-of-war-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/01\/lord-of-war-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/01\/lord-of-war-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/01\/lord-of-war-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/01\/lord-of-war-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1909,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/pod-people-film-festival-body-snatchers\/","url_meta":{"origin":169,"position":1},"title":"The Pod People Film Festival: Body Snatchers (1993)","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"October 12, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Yet another remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers might seem an odd project for iconoclast director Abel Ferrara, known for gritty urban crime sagas centered around profoundly compromised protagonists. In stark contrast, the lead in Ferrara's most conventional movie is a good-natured teenage girl, a world apart from the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;2 Stars&quot;","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Body Snatchers","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/body-snatchers-1993.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/body-snatchers-1993.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/body-snatchers-1993.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/body-snatchers-1993.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/body-snatchers-1993.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":173,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-ice-harvest\/","url_meta":{"origin":169,"position":2},"title":"The Ice Harvest","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"March 13, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;2 Stars&quot;","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Ice Harvest","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/03\/ice-harvest.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/03\/ice-harvest.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/03\/ice-harvest.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/03\/ice-harvest.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/03\/ice-harvest.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1248,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/w\/","url_meta":{"origin":169,"position":3},"title":"Oliver Stone skips over the defining moments of George W. Bush&#8217;s life in W.","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"October 23, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"I had the same issues with Oliver Stone's W. that I do with every biopic. As virtually every feature film biography attempts to do the job of a book, they inevitably fall into the same trap: they become highlights reels that merely illustrate key moments in a real-life figure's life,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;2 Stars&quot;","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/oliver-stone-w-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/oliver-stone-w-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/oliver-stone-w-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/oliver-stone-w-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/oliver-stone-w-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":923,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/malcolm-mcdowell-plays-public-school-war-games-in-lindsay-andersons-if\/","url_meta":{"origin":169,"position":4},"title":"Malcolm McDowell plays public school war-games in Lindsay Anderson&#8217;s If&#8230;.","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"July 24, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"If.... is the first in director Lindsay Anderson's trilogy of films featuring Malcolm McDowell as the Mick Travis, whose misadventures continue in O Lucky Man! and Britannia Hospital. Everything I read about the trilogy repeats the same word to descibe Travis: \"everyman.\" On the evidence, I take this instance particular\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;4 Stars&quot;","block_context":{"text":"4 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/4-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/if-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/if-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/if-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/if-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/if-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1716,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/australia\/","url_meta":{"origin":169,"position":5},"title":"Australia is Baz Luhrmann&#8217;s Gone With the Wind","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"April 9, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Strictly speaking, Baz Luhrmann has made only one musical, the guilty pleasure Moulin Rouge (2001). But, last seen directing Puccini's opera La boh\u00e8me on Broadway, he can't seem to resist the genre. Strictly Ballroom (1992), Romeo + Juliet (1996), and now Australia all incorporate key elements of the musical: exaggerated\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;2 Stars&quot;","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Australia","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/australia-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/australia-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/australia-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/australia-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/australia-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5573,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169\/revisions\/5573"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}