New ending to Return of the Jedi
Star Wars fans, put all sharp objects out of reach. You don't want to hurt yourself or anybody else after you see this... the new ending for Return of the Jedi.Read more
Star Wars III gets a (boring) title
I'm back from a weekend of 103-degree heat in Portland, Oregon, where I did just what I said I was going to do (sans the beer-drinking) with friends and family... I lounged, I read, I sipped coffee, I ate UNBELIEVABLY SCRUMPTIOUS desserts at Papa Haydn's (something you should add to your DO BEFORE I DIE list), I saw Anchorman again and laughed even harder, and I enjoyed some brief but deep sleep in a small air-conditioned hotel room at the new Jupiter Hotel. At Powell's Book Store, Portland's pride and joy, I purchased many heavy volumes, including a new English Standard Version Bible... the first time I've picked out and purchased a Bible for myself. (My parents always kept me in Bibles when I was growing up, and I've never been in need of one.) I also purchased my first SACD (surround audio cds) for my new home system... Peter Gabriel's Passion and Shaking the Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats, along with Beck's Sea Change and Bob Dylan's Oh Mercy. This week, our house is going to rock until the windows crack.
And I return, eager to hear about the exciting things that happened in Movieland over the weekend. What do I learn?Read more
Friday with Chesterton
It's Friday. I don't feel like talking about Catwoman. In fact, I plan to spend the weekend lounging around and having cold beers and rich desserts with friends... obeying God's harsh order to rest on the Sabbath.
So, rather than griping about the news or the movies, let's hear from someone gifted in raising spirits:Read more
How to review Catwoman
UPDATE: My review is now posted at CT Movies.
Well, there's the easy route: you can write a review of Catwoman by finding the most readily available derogatory metaphor relating to cats.
"It's the pick of the litter box..." for example.
Or,Read more
Changes come
On Changes Come, Over the Rhine sounds like a band playing their last concert, pouring every last ounce of energy and passion into making these songs as brilliant as they can be. The result is a performance so intense, soulful, soaring, and astonishing that it will make everyone hope this is actually not the end, but the beginning.Read more
Add Another Fellow to My List of Heroes
In the last month I've:
- read up on the life of Dana Gioia,
- perused his poetry,
- shouted "Amen!" over and over again while reading his book Can Poetry Matter?,
- and interviewed him twice.
I've got to say that he's becoming one of my heroes. He's about as qualified an individual as you'll find on the planet to head up the National Endowment for the Arts. He's doing a fine job.Read more
U2 robbed!
I don't like posting rumors... unless it has to do with titles or casting, just because it's so fun to imagine and speculate and argue.
Remember when we were told that the new Star Wars film was going to be called THE CREEPING FEAR?! Man, that was one of the happiest days of my life. I still have a wild, passionate, deep-down hope that this will indeed be the title of the film rather than something as boring as Birth of the Empire.
Anyway... to the point... now U2 fan sites are reporting that another title is "in the running" and another domain name has been secured for the upcoming album.Read more
I, Robot
I'm giving I-Robot a B-.
The story is decent, focused, stronger than I expected. The film is basically a collision of Minority Report, A.I. (Artificial Intelligence), and Enemy of the State. It's not as good as any of those movies, even though its has a more solidly constructed plot than A.I., and a more satisfying conclusion than Minority Report. It doesn't hold a candle to director Alex Proyas's previous foray into science fiction, the brilliant Dark City.Read more
Happiness is...
...being assigned to see and review the movie A Cinderella Story and then having your friend Peter Chattaway tell you he'll gladly go in your place, setting you and your evening free.Read more