An interview with the writer/director of Squirrel, and a presentation of the short film.
An interview with the director of My Dead Dad's Porno Tapes and a presentation of the short film.
An interview with actor Adam Scott, star of The Overnight and Parks and Recreation.
The latest on Netflix, On Demand, and Blu-ray, including "All is Lost," "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," "Frank," "Honeymoon," "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Godzilla."
A guide to new releases On Demand and through streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and Fandor.
Marie writes: yet again, we have intrepid club member Sandy Kahn to thank for the following find. She sent me some links devoted to automata and how I ultimately discovered the amazing work of artist Keith Newstead...
Marie writes: some of you may recall reading about the Capilano Suspension Bridge in North Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. (Click to enlarge.)
The Grand Poobah writes: Unless we find an angel, our television program will go off the air at the end of its current season. There. I've said it. Usually in television, people use evasive language. Not me. We'll be gone. I want to be honest about why this is. We can't afford to finance it any longer.
To read the full story, visit "The Chimes at midnight" on the Blog.
You're going to be seeing a sufficient number of lists between now and the end of 2009 -- on that you can rely -- but the most middling of all movie lists has at last been composed by filmmaker David Wain ("Role Models," "Wet Hot American Summer"):
"David Wain's Middle Ten Neither Best Nor Worst Movies of the Decade."
"Obviously," he writes in an explanatory foreword, "there were A LOT of great contenders over the last decade. But only 10 can be in the middle, so here are my picks..." When mediocrity is the chief criterion, questions arise: Are these really the most moderate accomplishments of the '00s? How strongly do you feel about that? Is today Tuesday? And now, as @davidwain tweeted: "Let the discussions begin!"
(Full list after jump...)
Psychologists say that depression is rage turned inward. Stand-up comedy, on the other hand, is rage turned back outward again. (I believe George Carlin had a routine about the use of violent metaphors directed at the audience in comedy: "Knock 'em dead!" "I killed!") In the documentary "Heckler" (now on Showtime and DVD) comedian Jamie Kennedy, as himself, plays both roles with ferocious intensity. The movie is his revenge fantasy against anyone who has ever heckled him on stage, or written a negative review... or, perhaps, slighted him in on the playground or at a party or over the phone or online.
"Heckler" (I accidentally called it "Harangue" just now) is an 80-minute howl of fury and anguish in which Kennedy and a host of other well-known and not-well-known showbiz people tell oft-told tales of triumphant comebacks and humiliating disasters, freely venting their spleens at those who have spoken unkindly of them. At first the bile is aimed at hecklers in club audiences (with some particularly nasty invective for loudmouthed drunken women), then it shifts to "critics" -- broadly defined as anybody who says something negative about a figure whose work appears before a paying public. Some of the critics are actually interested in analysis; some are just insult comics who are using the Internet as their open mic. It gets pretty ugly, but it's fascinating -- because the comics, the critics and the hecklers are so much alike that it's no wonder each finds the others so infuriating.
Great Movies
