When I was in junior high school, teachers there talked a lot about Idi Amin.
They made him out to be some sort of small-scale Hitler; a ruthless dictator who slaughtered his own countrymen in pursuit of personal and political gain.I didn't get it, really. I saw Amin on the news from time to time, and he was always sort of a goof. Eccentric. A bit silly, even.
Some time later I read that Amin had killed over 300,000 of his people, tortured political opponents and murdered many who he thought opposed him.I suppose that resume qualifies Amin as an evil totalitarian dictator. Forest Whitakar won the 2006 Academy Award for his portrayal of Amin in The Last King Of Scotland.
And the trophy is well deserved. Whitaker's performance is inspired, and focuses often on the erratic behavior of the Ugandan president. Nicholas Garrigan is a young Scot fresh out of medical school who craves adventure and excitement. After traveling to Uganda to provide medical care to the country's impoverished citizens, Garrigan ends up meeting President Amin soon after Amin's military coup. Amin takes a shine to the young doctor, and appoints Garrigan his personal doctor.
Well, of course that was a mistake. A big mistake. Garrigan suddenly had an inside view of how the country is being run: through intimidation and superstition. Decisions are made to satisfy Amin's paranoia. And Amin became so erratic that even Garrigan--whom Amin called "my most trusted advisor"--feared for his safety on a daily basis.The Last King Of Scotland is a good film made better by the incredible performance of Whitaker. Without Whitaker, the film is so-so. But with him, it's riveting.
The Frontline documentary Country Boys moved me like no documentary I've seen before when I watched it for the first time last Fall. It tells the stories of Chris and Cody, two male teens living in Eastern Kentucky, struggling against poverty and circumstance to carve out a place for themselves in the world.It moved me so much that I check the film's website from time to time to see if their stories have been updated. Filmed in three parts, you can watch it online at this link.
I can't recommend Country Boys highly enough.
There was no way Raising Cain could miss, I thought. No possible way.
Written and directed by Brian De Palma? Starring versatile actor John Lithgow and boasting a thriller-type plot that centered on child abuse and the effects of psychological trauma? In 1992 Raising Cain was a movie I was jacked up to see.
I mean, c'mon. De Palma! The genius behind Scarface, and Body Double, two of my all-time favorite films. Not to mention Carrie, for god's sake.
I forgot, though, that he was also the mastermind behind duds like Casualties Of War, Wise Guys and Blow Out.
Raising Cain was worse.
It was 90 minutes or so of the most confusing, senseless cinematic jacknuttery I had seen to that point. And perhaps since.
So confusing, in fact, that I can't even describe the plot. All in know is, Lithgow played four characters, "Carter" "Cain" "Dr. Nix" "Josh" and "Margo."Oh wait, that's five. See? Confusing.I'm still haunted by it.
The conversation happened while waiting in line at the Scooby-Doo Haunted House. It's always The Film Geek Family's first stop at King's Island Amusement Park, and typically a hot-spot for debate. The line's long, after all. And it's air conditioned. So, it's a great place to chew the fat.
I'm pretty sure she started the debate because she grew tired of my new bit; morphing the voice of Scooby-Doo with the lyrics of Fergie. Yeah, the Black-Eyed Peas Fergie. You know, Fergalcious.
"My rody rays riscious
I be rup in da rym
Just rworkin' on my ritnes
Re's my rwitness"
Well, it's funnier when sung in the Scooby voice...
Anyway, a conversation started regarding if and when the television show Scooby-Doo jumped the shark. Both Mrs. Film Geek and I believe it did. We disagree, however, on when. She believes strongly it jumped when guest stars were used; episodes with Sonny and Cher, The Harlem Globetrotters, and even Batman and Robin.
Man, that was some classic Scoob to me!
I think it jumped with the addition of Scrappy-Doo. In fact, I believe firmly that Scrappy can be linked to the downfall of modern television cartoons. I freakin' hated that damn pup! He was the embodiment of commercialized, lazy story telling in cartoons.
"Puppy Power" ?!?
Pffftt...
Anyway, we couldn't agree on just where the show jumped the shark. So I thought I'd ask you.
Did the crew in the Mystery Machine ever jump the shark? And if so, when did it happen?
I’ve always been a pretty good daddy, I think.
I mean, I’ve always loved to spend time with my kids, getting them to laugh at my funny faces and the Pull My Finger bit that still slightly annoys my wife after 16 years, but makes the kids laugh until they can barely breathe. I loved being daddy; digging through the dirt for worms with three-year-olds, pushing them on the swing just high enough to make them squeal and laughing at them because they can’t figure out which hand the It’s really hidden in.
I stopped being only daddy on Tuesday, April 20, 1999. The events that occurred that day at Columbine High affected me deeply. I was home from work with the flu, and watched the horrible tragedy unfold. My oldest daughter was then three years old, and I couldn’t stop thinking of her. How the actions of those two kids—monsters, sure, but still kids—changed her future forever. They changed how I will view the friends she makes over the years, and the groups that she (and her younger siblings) will join. I’ll nervously eye-up each school they attend to make sure that all the necessary safety requirements are there, and be hyper-observant about possible bullying behavior from classmates.
Sure, those are all things a parent should do, I agree. But since that day in 1999 I do them in an obsessive manner. With an urgent diligence which just didn’t seem that necessary before.
That anxiety changed me, too. Because the behavior doesn’t really fit the term daddy to me.
It’s more like Father.
I’m saddened by this eighth anniversary of the Columbine tragedy, and that the incident seems to have sparked a generation of similar events in public schools, private schools and now higher education. But as my kids progress through those academic systems, I can’t help but be angry at the changes that are the result: the heightened security, the transparent book-bags, armed guards and on-site police. Plus, the fear. That always-present, ever-gripping fear…
And because even though they still call me daddy, I’m just not that guy anymore.
While catching the TMNT flick this weekend with the kids, we saw the first trailer for Underdog, due for release on August 2, 2007.
Here it is, via YouTube.For those of you waxing nostalgic (and complaining about the modernization of the super mutt), compare it to the original, from 1967.
Before TMNT:
Griffyn:
"Dad, how about Meet The Robinsons instead in engine turtles."Me: "They're ninja turtles. And we gotta see the turtles. We just gotta."
Griffyn: "
Firehouse Dog?"
Me: "Turtles."
Maddisen: "You could let me see Are We Done Yet, while you take the little kids to the super-hero turtle movie."Me: "No."Jaden: "Can I get some popcorn now?"
After TMNT:
Me: "Well, what did you think, kids."Griffyn:
"I liked Rapheal best."Maddisen: "It was pretty good, I was surprised I liked it."
Jaden: "Who would win in a fight: Spider-man, or one of the turtles?"Me: "I'm guessing you think Spidy."Jaden: "Yeah. I'd wrap the turtle up in a web."
Me: "
May 4th is coming, bud.
The Keith-Albee will host the the annual Appalachian Film Festival Thursday April 19 through Saturday, April 21, 2007.According to the story in Huntington's Herald-Dispatch, "The contest is open to all residents of the 13 states in the Appalachian Region, which includes: West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. The films include documentaries, music videos, features and short films, and four guest speakers will host workshops at the festival."And the price is right: $2 per person!Anyone wanna go? The festival schedule can be found at this link.
I'll be the geeky looking guy at the popcorn stand.
The Robert DeNero-produced-and-directed The Good Shepard tells the story of the building of America's Central Intelligence Agency. Recruited by the government for covert work while still a Poetry student at Yale, Edward Wilson spends his entire adult life helping shape the world's political climate during the 1940's, '50's and 60's. The character serves as a metaphor for the Nazi-huntin', commie-fightin', Cold War particpatin' America that's all about being nothing but the Red, White and Blue.
It should be a fascinating look into a lifetime of intrigue, international espionage and action.Instead, it's the kind of stuff that would make up a couple of good sessions on the therapy couch.Wilson's father, who is a Navy Admiral, commits suicide when Wilson is a young child, and there are hints that Wilson has significant confusion regarding his sexual orientation. He eventually falls in love with one woman, only to marry another who becomes pregnant with his child after a one-date encounter. Time and time again he sacrifices family and personal needs to satisfy what he thinks--or is told--are the needs of his country. The Good Shepard is a perfect example of how a terrific story can easily go bad while being made in bloated, big-studio Hollywood. The cast is all wrong: Matt Damon (who plays Wilson) is just not believable as a man in his mid-to-late 40s and the father of an adult son. And Angelina Jolie doesn't have the range to play his wife Clover, who seems seriously selfish and immature one moment, then wise and caring the next. Joe Pesci adds some welcome color to the film for the whole 45 seconds or so he's on screen, and Alec Baldwin as FBI agent Sam Murach is a welcome sight, but he's in the flick for far too few scenes. And this in a movie that runs two hours and forty-seven minutes.2:47!That's at least 50 minutes too long.The Good Shepard is a nice try. Somewhere along the way to getting made it all just went bad. Very, very bad...
