Quick Review: Cedar Rapids

Posted in movies by - Feb 25, 2011
No Comments

I like bad movies, probably as much as I like good ones. What’s harder for me to appreciate are the movies that fall in the middle – not inept enough for mockery but not excellent enough to admire. Unfortunately for all involved, Cedar Rapids is one of those middling films.

In the vein of aging manchild films like The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, Cedar Rapids concerns itself with the late-life coming of age of a rural Iowa insurance salesman named Tim Lippe. Like Carrell’s virgin, he’s earnest and kind-hearted but heartbreakingly dim. His social life consists almost entirely …

Read More

Quick Review: Just Go With It

Posted in movies by - Feb 19, 2011
No Comments

There’s very little point in reviewing an Adam Sandler movie. You already know, probably have known for more than a decade, whether or not you find him compelling. You already know if you are the kind of person who wants to see his work. So, I’m not going to bother telling you whether or not it’s worth seeing “Just Go With It.” Instead, I’m going to highlight the part of the movie that left me scratching my head for a full 24 hours.

What Adam Sandler has done here borders on amazing. On the one hand, “Just Go …

Read More

Thanks, Google Books – The entire run of Spy Magazine is now online

Posted in Uncategorized by - Feb 18, 2011
No Comments

Spy magazine occupies a hallowed space in my memory.

When the first issue rolled off the press, I was a sixteen-year old malcontent. I was bookish, pop-culture obsessed and stuck in a smallish town where snark wasn’t particularly celebrated. Access to the larger world of culture and letters and what I’ll call “Constructive Dickishness” was limited, and you had to work hard for what you got.

I don’t remember how I got my hands on my first issue. It was likely on a trip to Tacoma, which was to sixteen-year-old me some sort of stand-in for a city. It was …

Read More

Atlas Shrugged: Coming to a Theater Near You. Three Times.

Posted in Uncategorized by - Feb 12, 2011
No Comments

Not a lot of writers are less cinematic than Ayn Rand. The best movies are usually made from short books that are longer on action and imagery than dialogue, and there’s just no one who’s longer on dialogue and shorter on action than Rand. Some of the lectures her characters give literally go on for ten or more pages – as if you could actually browbeat someone for that long before they left the room or slipped into a coma. Her novels aren’t about theater of the mind as much as they are about philosophical evangelism. Regardless of their artistic …

Read More

Quick Review: Sanctum

Posted in movies by - Feb 12, 2011
No Comments

Sanctum looks expensive. There are all kinds of massive sets built to look like the interiors of impossibly gigantic caves, and they are routinely flooded with what must be most of the water in Australia. Somehow, they did this for 30 million dollars. Jim Cameron (exec producer credit) probably has that much in his couch cushions, but whatever the film’s faults, it looks like a movie that cost three times that amount. Maybe they got free use of JC’s Titanic-era diving goodies? Sanctum looks good enough, in fact, that I was a bit distracted sometimes trying to …

Read More

Life After Cable Recommendations: Netflix Streaming Edition

Posted in life after cable by - Feb 10, 2011
2 Comments

So I’m still sans cable package, and I’m not convinced I’ll ever go back. The financial constraints that first prompted this lifestyle shift haven’t improved in any measurable way, so I wouldn’t change it right now, but even if I could I’m not sure I see the value any more.

I do spend money on two services – Hulu Plus and Netflix. Even taken together, they’re way less than I used to spend, and they make up the bulk of my viewing. Hulu Plus is on notice with me, as they’ve been very slow to expand their offerings away from …

Read More

The SAG Awards should reconsider HD

Posted in movies by - Feb 01, 2011
No Comments

Look, I love hearing actors prattle about their craft as much as the next man. I love seeing them try to act humble and surprised when they win, and magnanimous when they don’t. Showbiz awards shows are, in many ways, right up my alley. But this year, I am troubled. This year, I believe we have a national crisis to face. This year must be the year we stop shooting really old people in HD.

HD is great for nature shows. The higher resolution can be great for movie special effects, and for sporting events. What it isn’t great for, however, …

Read More

I May Be a Little Late On This One – Portlandia

Posted in life after cable by - Jan 22, 2011
No Comments

Just a quick recommendation for anyone with access to IFC – Fred Armisen of SNL and Carrie Brownstein of the immortal Sleater-Kinney have a sketch show about Portland that is worth your attention. A certain amount of hit and miss like any sketch project, but a very coherent and bracing piss-take of the city that is in so many ways Seattle’s pretentious but charming little sister. The video below opens the series, and it’s a good representation of Portlandia’s sideways energy and puckish tone. Check it out if you get the chance – I think it deserves an …

Read More

British Library launches iPhone, iPad app

Posted in gadgets by - Jan 10, 2011
1 Comment

File this under the heading of “Tractor Beam Apps,” the kind of cool ideas that suck three dollars out of me before I even feel it. Let’s hope it’s better than some of the lame art appreciation apps I’ve bought. Will report back in a reasonable timeframe.

British Library launches iPhone, iPad app: “British Library launches iPhone, iPad app”

(Via Macworld UK.)

Read More

Mood Music – "Golden Lady" by Stevie Wonder

Posted in Mood Music by - Jan 10, 2011
No Comments

The gray season is long here. The gloom makes us dreamy, and it keeps us indoors. It’s cold tonight and the thaw is a long way off, so I’m gonna put on my headphones, lay on the floor and listen to Innervisions.

If you’re feeling a little melancholy, you can too.

“Golden Lady” is probably my favorite track on this record – it’s sweet, and subtle, and a little psychedelic. It’s perfectly wedded to the early 70s, but also a little timeless.

The album is crazy great all the way through, but I’m happy to provide a little YouTube sampler of my …

Read More
« Previous Page
Next Page »