Studios last ditch power grab

Warner Bros is forcing Netflix customers to wait 28 days before renting movies that the studio produces.  I think this is ridiculous, and it won't last for long.  People are not going to rush out and buy DVD's.

Very few people feel the need to own movies, with the exceptions for movies that are watched often.  In my case, this may be 3-5 total movies.  With music, people can listen to a song multiple times a day, so ownership makes sense.  But the public has made it pretty clear that they are content to rent movies, and Netflix has come out on top.

I predict that customers are going to complain big time to Netflix and possibly the studios.  With the only option to buy the movie (its not like you can walk into a Blockbuster anymore, with most of them closed) or wait 28 days, I'll wait 28 days.

Review: Inglorious Basterds

Inglorious Basterds is a great movie, one that I would recommend to any fan of Quentin Tarantino, or of action/western type movies with great dialogue.  I don't want to give too much away, but the premise is a group of American Jewish soldiers who want to kill as many Nazis as possible during World War II.  Brad Pitt is their leader.  Need I say more?

I give it 5 stars.

Food, Inc.

I watched Food, Inc several weeks ago, and it has made a big difference in the types of food I have consumed since. I always have tried to eat natural foods when possible, and organic when it is a good deal but after watching this movie I realized it is very difficult to avoid certain things, like corn, especially high fructose corn syrup.

I'm happy to say that in the past two weeks, I have not consume any meat other than fish. I'm not against eating meat, I just don't want to eat corn fed industrial farmed meat. Which does leave me a lot of choices, most notably bison (sometimes called buffalo) a grass fed animal that is mostly carbon neutral.

It is especially disheartening to learn about the big push to silence critics of the food supply, as if this is some type of god we ought to deify, leaving aside the impacts to all of us.

One criticism I have of the "healthy food" movement is the reluctance (or outright opposition to) food irradiation. Food irradiation has the potential to make our food supply much safer and more efficient, whether it be killing salmonella or helping fruit stay fresh for much longer without preservatives, and thereby lowering costs for consumers.

I recommend that everyone watch this film, the trailer is below.

Film Review: Religulous

Religulous is a great documentary/comedy starring Bill Maher.  Absolutely no religion is spared his wrath, be it Scientology, Islam, Christianity, or Judaism.  The core point he strives to make, which I agree with, is that anyone who follows one of these religions and believes in the stories and rituals is a bit nuts.  

Whether you believe that earth was created by aliens who unleashed nuclear weapons (Scientology), that it is a sin to tie a knot on a Saturday (Judaism), or that your prophet requires you to wear magic underwear (Mormonism), do the details really matter?  

No, they are all nuts. 

 It is especially scary that our elected leaders believe in these types of fairy tales and that it guides their policies.

The film concludes with a skewering of religion in general, and the central point that "Religion must die for mankind to live."

Sacha Baron Cohen's new movie

The start of Borat will soon have a new movie with his gay Austrian character "Bruno."  It sounds like Ron Paul got punked in this new movie, when "Bruno" tries to have sex with him.  Ron Paul's reaction?  "This guy's a queer!"

Movie Review: Milk

Milk is a great film about Harvey Milk, the first openly gay politician in America and possibly the world.  He and the mayor of San Francisco were assassinated in city hall, so as would be expected, this film shows his rise to power and early death. 

It is also a movie that delves into the gay rights movement of the late 70's, and it is sad that things have not changed very much since then.  There are still many ignorant, and bigoted people out there who possess the same backwards views that existed in the time of Harvey Milk.  These are the same assholes that brought us prop 8.  In one scene of the movie, they are discussing how the Nazis took away gay rights in the 30's, and people across the US did it again in the 70s, when anti-discrimination laws were struck down.  

Unfortunately this has happened a lot this decade, with anti gay marriage ballots passing due to the same ignorant people, or perhaps their ignorant children, who fought against Milk.

Regardless of the politics involved, this is a truly great film, and definitely in the top 10 of 2008.

The 81st Oscars

I watched most of the Oscars last night. Was not a big fan of Hugh Jackman as the host. There have been worse, and there have been better.

I liked Sean Penn's acceptance speech. His win, for the portrayal of Harvey Milk, was a surprise. He started his speech with: "You Commie, homo-loving sons of guns.... I know how hard I make it to appreciate me, often."

I'm glad Heath Ledger won for playing the Joker in The Dark Knight. He would deserve it even if he was still alive.

Never underestimate the power of the Schwartz

The Lions hire the Tennessee Titan's defensive coach Jim Schwartz.

May the Schwartz be with you.

Actor Dead, Salad Dressing Lives On

RIP: Paul Newman

Paul Newman died today of lung cancer, he was 83.  Known for starring in many movies, such as Cool Hand Luke, he is perhaps better known today for his Newman's Own line of products, ranging from the original salad dressing to popcorn.  It will be interesting to see for how long the brand will outline the man, but there was a good amount of succession planning done prior to today.  His daughter will take over the company.  The fact that most know that all profits are donated to charity means that it is still a winning sales pitch.

Burn After Reading - A Quick Review

Burn After Reading is a great new film by the Coen Brothers.  If you liked their other works, such as Fargo or The Big Lebowski, you'll like this one too.  I did.  

A story about some real societal fuckups, who do fucked up things.  Very funny, black comedy.

Starts: John Malkovich, George Clooney, Frances MacDormand, Brad Pitt.  

Trailer below:

Don Lafontaine Dies

The voice behind countless movie trailers passed away today.

Dark Knight a fantastic movie

The Dark Knight is a fantastic movie, all of the buzz surrounding it is well deserved.  Without a doubt, this is the best Batman movie ever.  Go see it.

Dark Knight looks awesome

The trailer for the new Batman Movie: The Dark Knight looks like its going to be a great movie.  It is coming out on July 18.  Heath Ledger is cast as the joker in his last role (he passed away in January).  There is even talk that he may get an Oscar nomination from his role as the demented clown.

Director Christopher Nolan filmed the movie partially in IMAX and we can also expect it to be much more like an action movie and much less like a comic book.  Batman Begins was easily the best Batman yet and this looks even better.  

Add this to your must see list for the summer.