Author archives
This just came out on the news…even I’m not sure whether this is an April Fool’s Day thing or what! Your thoughts?
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tv/story/2008/04/01/air-farce.html
I’ve had a bad few weeks trying to post here… for some reason I just couldn’t get into the Panic Manual. I couldn’t sign in, nothing was saving…I was driving Ricky crazy with troubleshooting messages. It’s too bad, because a friend sent me a link to this little gem last week and I was worried that it would get old to all you web-friendly folks out there.
But I just can’t resist…it still has me cracking up. Apparently the actors who do the voices for Spongebob Squarepants did a little re-voicing of some classic movies. Enjoy.
Oh yes…and here are some interesting fire photos from Torontoist. RIP Duke’s and Suspect Video.
http://torontoist.com/2008/02/massive_fire_hi.php
I came across this little site today…and even if you’re not American…it’s pretty interesting. It’s a quiz that asks you about your top issues in the U.S. Presidential election. Then it pairs you up with candidate who shares your values.
It’s not exactly scientific, but it’s kind of cool and it only takes a few minutes.
Oh yeah…and I’m 86% like Mike Gravel. The Democratic candidate from Alaska, who’s a YouTube sensation for videos like this:
(…and oil, lots of shouting, moustaches, probably an Oscar or two). 
When I saw this on Saturday, I thought I had a pretty fair idea of what it was about. It’s the early 1900s, and there’s something brewing between a psychotic oil man (Daniel Day-Lewis) who has a bone to pick with everyone and a small town preacher (guy from Little Miss Sunshine) who claims to stand up for the poor ranchers about to be ripped-off. Of course, with any flick worth its salt, nothing’s quite that simple.
It turns out this preacher has a barely controlled ego and his wild sermons seem like a way of duping the people rather than helping them. On the other hand, the oil man who grimaces his way across the country in search of bumpkins he can cheat out of their land somehow has you rooting for him. He can be funny even when he’s mistreating someone…and when he is vulnerable and hurting is often when he is most cruel. It’s a strange thing to feel a lot of compassion for such a horrible man…but there is something about him that feels more real and understandable than the preacher. Both are twisted, frustrated men…but one definitely has more swagger and the snappier lines.
They both have some success in their fields before a downward spiral and an inevitable showdown. But the blood referred to in the title isn’t just about the abundant blood lust in this movie…drilling oil is a gruesome, violent business and there are many squeamish moments in this movie. Also this may be a stretch here…but family ties play a big role in this movie…blood….get it? eh? eh?
This movie was pretty fantastic…my only problem with it is that it tries to fit in so many things that I was left a bit overwhelmed. The director is P.T Anderson…the guy that did Magnolia, and I found that movie about an hour too long. I don’t feel that with this…but I thought maybe he could have focused on some simpler aspects of this story. I’ve heard that people are counting on him to make the “Great American Epic”, whatever that is. I thought Gangs of New York (another Daniel Day-Lewis movie) was supposed to be like that…and it never really got there. Maybe Anderson is feeling the pressure to do better…I don’t know.
Besides that one complaint, I highly recommend this. It’s shot beautifully and the soundtrack (Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead) keeps you tense and on the edge of your seat. Daniel Day-Lewis was amazing, but the actor who plays his adopted son sort of blew me away. This quiet, thin-lipped observer who sees and is put through so much made me feel the film’s impact even more.
