WOW!

I loved this movie. An intelligent (and well-thought-out) story, tight directing, good acting...wow. Very good. It was like Enemy of the State (the movie, not the FPW book) meets Frequency with a bit of Laura (1944) thrown in (yes, seriously!). I can already see this joining my Untraditional Time Travel Movie Festival (which includes Timeline, Frequency, Minority Report, Kate & Leopold, and other movies involving time travel minus flying cars or Morlocks).

I especially loved this after the high-aiming (but largely-lacking) The Fountain.

Other thoughts?

I saw the extraordinary Jay Johnson on Broadway last night in his one man show, "The Two and Only." Sadly, it's closing tonight, not because the show isn't marvelous, but apparently because it wasn't marketed well enough. They just didn't fill the seats.

I'm writing about it because if Johnson should take his show on the road to your town, do whatever you can to see it.

Some of you may remember Jay Johnson and Bob from "Soap," the ground-breaking 70's TV sitcom. Johnson played the ventriloquist whose dummy (a word he won't use for his wooden partners), Bob, was supposed to be his alter ego. He knew the writers of the show were nuts and knew nothing about ventriloquism when he read the script and saw "Bob" as the same for his dummy. No ventriloquist would give his partner a name that began and ended with plosives, sounds that require the lips to move.

The show is a history of ventriloquism, Johnson's personal history in ventriloquism, hilarious bits with his puppets and partners, and the most extraordinary display of ventriloquism that I will ever see. I just did not expect to be blown away by this show. He was so funny, so adept, so witty and wise, and so damn good, that I just had to let you know.

It's a shame the show is closing. If you go to the show's website,

http://www.thetwoandonly.com

you'll see Johnson's blogs. He wrote how hard it was to do the show knowing that it's closing tonight. I'm honored I got to see him working so well under such duress.

Christian Bale has done it again--created a mesmerizing character for the big screen. Not since The Machinist (thanks, Gerald, for the recommendation) has a character of Bale's caught me by the psyche.

Harsh Times deals with an East Los homeboy, played by Bale with some incredible insight into the mind of a Chemo (Ch from Cheerios and the emo from demo).

This is not a stereotypic "cholo" from the "barrio" pic as many Hollywood pics depict L.A. Eastsiders; it is the gang member who owns a home, has bills to pay and a family to support, but is also locked into his gang lifestyle (tattoos must be covered up during those job interviews).

As producer, Bale does not let this movie sink into the stereotypic "latinos," but neither does he fear aiming the camera into that mirror called East L.A.

Bale also captures the languages of the family, friends, the streets, each a variant of Spanish, Spanglish, English, Pachuco, Chemo, Hip-Hop, and TV-Speak. Someone did an excellent job of researching the various uses of language by Latinos in East L.A. I never thought I'd hear the language I speak with my brothers and friends so accurately captured.

Bale also shows Boyle Heights without a Romantic smear of vasoline on the camera lens. This is the everyday East Los that I meet old friends in, that I have lunch in, that I travel on my way to East L.A. College to teach in. (Compare the Boyle Heights from The New Centurians or the fictionalized Lincoln Heights from The Flashlight by Eldridge Cleaver).

And it is also a very good movie in the tradition of Training Day. Don't give this movie a pass. Hepa!

AC

Hi all, I’d like to discuss fine edged weapons like the Spyderco Endura depicted in the later FPW’s RJ novels. I’m a big fan of this particular knife and want to find one that has been converted to automatic. There are a few other edged weapons that can be mentioned in the same class, Kershaw, Columbia River Knife Tools, Benchmade and believe it or not Surefire the flashlight people. It’s my opinion that Jack has picked the best knife on the market, I personally like other knives like CRKT but love my stainless steal Spyderco Endura. I’d like to hear what other knife aficionado’s have to say on the subject.

I'm on a beach, and I'm digging a hole in the ground. I jump into the hole. A friend then buries me up to my neck in the sand. They put a ball on the ground about four feet away from my head, and then they make a running start, and kick it with an upwards motion. See how high up it went? That's how this movie was for me. Waaaaaaaaaaay over my head.

Far too many metaphors and too much symbolism, resulting in too much for the audience to figure out for themselves. Good performances, interesting concept, and pretty to look at. Otherwise, I was left with my head cocked off to the side and going, "Huh?"

Your thoughts?

Anyone else following this season of Smallville. Great stuff. I'll definitely be buying this dvd collection.

Bad guys from the Phantom Zone have escaped, but not only criminals from Krypton--also criminals from other planets. In the last episode, Clark was about to be snapped in two by one such criminal when this stranger kills the guy. Clark watches as the stranger takes flight.

Damn if the stranger didn't look like Martian Manhunter. So far, Flash, Aquaman, and Green Arrow have made appearances on the show. Do I hear Justice League?

AC

Since having stumbled upon "Conspiracies" in August I have devoured every one of the RJ books up to "Infernal" as well as "The Keep" and "Sims", and I have "Midnight Mass" at the ready. But I was wondering how long it would be before "Harbingers" will be out in paperback. Not that I am too cheap or broke to buy the hardcover, but I have a lot of books, too many. And with very little space in my humble apartment I try to buy paperbacks as opposed to hardcovers.

Will there be a long wait or should I just put Harbingers on my Xmas wish list?

:confused:

From Robot Chicken: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA64g3pi97M&eurl=

I've talked several times about what the human body is capable of under stress, and how difficult it is to use firearms in the middle of a confrontation.

Words are fine, but video does a better job. Seeing can be believing. So, I submit the following....

http://www.break.com/index/cop_owned_by_boxer.html

I just opened a new browser window and saw this very sad news - Robert Altman has died at the age of 81. Story Here.

Altman was an artist in the independent, sometimes quirky "Show Me" tradition of other such great Missourians as Mark Twain and Robert Heinlein. How sad that he is gone.