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Rating stuff is a great way to pass short amounts of time, like 37 second seconds, for instance, and it's a great excuse to fondle small numbers.

Wha? You can only rate 5 things? Blast! *mutters* You escaped me this time, Dirty Work, this time.

I haven't handed out a splat yet, it feels awkward, like maybe if I don't soon, it will have been too long and it will be noticable. There's a load of shit out there that would probably rate as a splat, and some movies too, but it never occurs to me to rate them. One thing stops me. What mass mayhem would ensue if here... a splat? Stock markets might shift by whole fractions of a point at a time, buildings might disassemble spontaniously because they don't know any better, or maybe just to spite their namesake, and other. stuff. But you never know, maybe it will all be ok, and it's just a... splat, after all. I doubt it. The word splat disgusts me. I loathe it. I want to rape it, wait for it to have children, and then kill it with its children. A splat to splat.

On an unrelated note, I had my nostrils equipped with automatic shutters, back in the 80's, to prevent potentially offensive and noxious gases from sneaking in after sundown and throwing their nasty little cocktail parties in my nasal passages. I sat up in bed one morning, bewildered, as 15 gallons of vomit shot out of my left nostril like a firehose trying to put out some gigantic fire in my crotch, which incidentally was on fire. That was the last straw.

Someone recently posted a thread asking people to name their favourite movie comedy of the 1960's, and I immediately found myself short-listing four films I couldn't deny the honour. Apart from The Beatles in the endlessly magical A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, the remaining choices were all vehicles for Peter Sellers' genius: DR. STRANGELOVE, A SHOT IN THE DARK, and THE PARTY. Fast-forward to the 70's, and Sellers again proves an incomparable comic talent with his pitch-perfect portrait of the simple-minded Chauncey Gardiner in BEING THERE, a film that is at once uproarious and sad, simple but thought-provoking, cynical yet poignant; a truly remarkable performance from a confoundingly original performer.

Hi. I haven't updated this thang in awhile. These days, if you're looking to read my brief reviews and thoughts, you can find my scribbles in The Film Discussion Thread, which is the embodiment of good vibes and intelligent conversation in GD, basically what the whole forum should be condensed into one. I know Kurosawa Fan, Heist, and bubba already post there with regularity, and I encourage anyone who hasn't stepped foot in the thread to contribute to do so. Elephant Shoes, I am glaring right at you.



Intimate Strangers is a very sophisticated, mysterious, and elegantly composed film about two middle-aged lost souls who meet via an accidental encounter and develop a unique bond. There are definitely sexual undertones, but the focus of the film is how communication, trust, and intimacy can foster a thriving romance far more than graphic sex. A gradual unpeeling of the plot keeps the viewer guessing as to what is real and what is fabricated, and adds to the tension and suppressed air of desire that is churning between the two leads. Generally keeps its somber tone throughout, but manages to add in considerable humor. Although the ending may be predictable and polished, the idea here is that it's not the destination, it's the journey, and the reward can be wholly satisfying.

This film is definitely French. Great score, too. Anyone who liked Man on the Train should give this one a whirl (even though it's not quite as good).

Being There is the story of an illiterate gardener named Chance (wink, wink) who gets kicked out of his house and hit by a car and ends up meeting the president of the United States, adivising him on domestic economic policies, becoming a media obsession, being a close friend to a dying man, sexually attracting his wife, and disillusioning everybody he meets through no fault of his own. It's a lot like Forrest Gump. Peter Sellers, in a very restrained performance, plays the direct, slow-speaking, half-wit lead, and it's now one of my favorite turns from him. It's a light-hearted satire on politics, media, race relations, and takes tiny stabs at how we as people believe what we want to believe and nothing more. Obviously an implausible premise, but it never becomes too extravegant, although the running time could have been shortened by about 20 minutes or so, as the story wears thin towards the end. The writer of Easy Riders, Raging Bullsseemed to have a hard-on for Hal Ashby, and now I can see why. I look forward to renting more films from him.

Collateral -- disappointing, especially in the final act. Ho-hum.

Harold & Kumar go to White Castle -- never would've seen this if my sister hadn't dragged me. Funnier than I thought, albeit incredibly retarded. Being stoned out of your gourd while watching it is the only way to go.

Tonight I am watching Nashville, as I've been neglecting Robert Altman in my string of rental from the 70s. The Phillies suck a big fat dick and I have turned the page on their season already. Go Eagles!

This is one of the movies that's perfect for pop culture/current events geeks like me. It's goofy, tender and has some powerful messages. It also includes one of my fav musicians - Oteil Burbridge - in a very atypical role.

Comments pending.

The problem with Scanners is that it's almost the complete opposite of The Brood. All the good ideas that could've come out of the initial premise (gory telepathy) are somewhat lost in unnecessary plot and character development and special effects which feel like they're in the movie simply because the project had somewhat of a proper budget. Beside the introduction of Michael Ironside's character and the final duel, there isn't much worth watching for anyone expecting Cronenberg's usual display of his favorite theme, the relation between flesh and mind. In fact, the best way to describe this movie is by calling it Cronenberg-Lite or Finally, a Cronenberg flick for the whole family. Well, sort of. Still, as his, the story is
watchable, the acting is good enough and, as I said, there are two scenes that are absolutely worth watching.

Being There is a wonderful film starring my favorite actor Peter Sellers. This a film adaptation of Jerzy Kosinski's short comic novel about a gardener named Chance who was raised in isolation with only television as a means of education, as a result he has become a simpleton. Fate deals Chance a bad hand one day when his employer dies and he is thrown out of his home. Without knowing where life was to take him or where he should go from there, Chance takes to the streets with his only friend... the television remote. However, fate decides to deal Chance good fortune when the wife of a wealthy man accidentally hits him with his car. After being invited to her mansion he meets wealthy business men, doctors, and even the President of the United States. Chance's simple expressions and language are mistaken for genius and he becomes sensation seemingly over night all across the country.


This is an amazing film if you are a fan of Peter Sellers. Being There was Sellers' dream project, he had an odd connection with his character, Chance. Sellers was a wonderful actor that had an amazing talent as an actor. He could inhabit his characters so well, but inside his talent tore him apart. All of these personalities he had created over the years had begun to take over, Sellers became frightened and confused because he no longer knew who he was. Unable to indentify himself as a person after losing his personality to the "voices" as he called them, he was able to connect to Chance because he too did not have a personality of his own. In a way I guess you could say this was Sellers' dream project because he finally got to be the one person he had struggled to find for so many years... himself.


Now, onto the game of the day. Voodoo Vince is a fun little title, it's not amazing or revolutionary, which seems to be a requirement these days for a game to be enjoyable, but it's fun and that is all that matters. You play as a voodoo doll named Vince (duh) and you must fight off the evil Ginger Dead Men. As a tiny voodoo doll you have no weapons other than yourself. Yes, Vince is a masochist. To kill wave after wave of enemies you must inflict voodoo magic on Vince.


For example: Cutt off Vince's head with a chainsaw, summon alien's to blast him, or stab him every which way with pins.After such a magic power is used on Vince, the magic travels to the surrounding enemies and Vince's death is reinacted onto them... only they really do die.


The story is very cute and witty. Anyone who is a fan of Pixar would love this game because it just oozes the same wit and cuteness.

Hey All,
I'm baaacckkk! Ready or not here it is. I first caught this movie on cable but I wasn't able to catch the whole thing. So, I decided to rent the movie called, "Being There" and I just got it in the mail. This is an amazing movie in the writing and acting. I would suggest this movie to any one. I first heard of "Being There" in the movie "Life and Death of Peter Sellers". I could understand why Peter Sellers fought for this movie to be made. "Being There" is about a simple man who is a gardener for a rich man. All the simple man's life is just gardening and television. When the rich man dies, the simple man has to find a new life but he's unequipped for the task. Through a turn of events, he ends up in another rich man's house. As a mistaken identity the gardener is thought as a high power business man who is down on his luck. The kind heart rich elderly man and wife take him in and think the simple man is saying more than he really is. As "Being There" progresses the simple man becomes a guru of sorts just by doing nothing at all. There are some very funny parts but it expects the audience to think. On the DVD there isn't very much of Bonus Features. That's okay though. This is still a great movie. Please see what you think.
Fritz ;)

Strange. Perfect. Intense, yet funny. This movie is incredible. It is mesmerizing. It is a very serious movie that is entertaining and very funny in a shy way.

A delight that's filled to the brim with ideas and satire. It illustrates the devastative effects being sheltered from human interaction, and how skewed a reality one can glean from television. Chance is a shell of a man, whose only ability to relate to the world around him is through gardening, his only outlet, and television. Thankfully, the movie is not condescending towards his character. Chance does have a sense of youthful bliss through ignorance, but so often he's simply unable to relate to more profound human emotion and desire, as with Eve. He is simply able to replicate what he sees on television; he is unable to think for himself. The execution is masterful in illustrating how deadening obsession over the boob tube can be.

There's also the dichotomy of Chance's interaction with the Rands. Their emotional reactions illustrate how remedial simply one's presence can be. However, it also shows their willingness to accept Chance because he is an inoffensive, docile supporter, who blindly accepts their choices. Unbeknownst to them is that he simply doesn't know how to react. This is reinforced in Chance's interactions with the President and the media. We likely hearing what we want to hear, and are willing to put people in places of prominence who do so, even if it is gobbledygook, as Louise mentions while fittingly seeing Chance on television.

Also brought up is how easily people are ascribed authority and respect, simply because of their sphere of influence. Within a matter of days after his happenstance encounter with the Rands, he becomes an economic guru, expounding a yeoman's wisdom, and being heralded as brilliant, as a revelation, while possessing no knowledge whatsoever, simply issuing feel-good platitudes. Those behind the scenes in the media recognize his immediate popularity by association with Mr. Rand and the President, and exploit it to garner more television viewership. It was the media that first referred to Chance as an advisor to Mr. Rand, no one else. How quickly people are manipulated to feed the viewer's need for "experts".

At the end of the picture, we see how those with the real power - those in association with Mr. Rand's business affairs, in this case - are readily willing to use Chance as a reassuring, easygoing figurehead to obfuscate their real goals. This has both socialogical and political implications - notice how Mr. Rand, and Chance by association, exert a level of influence in the President, and in turn, politics in Washington. The final shot perfectly illustrates how a simple man can be used as a marionette to perform parlor tricks to serve those who require an ample distraction. He's the new hot topic... he's the second coming of Christ!

Shirley MacLaine and Melvyn Douglas give very good performances, making their reliance on Chance as a confidant and romantic interest both believable, and ridiculously absurd when necessary. There are two instances, one between Chance and Eve, and another between Chance and some social dignitary at a political party, that hilariously outline Chance's inability to relate when they both make sexual advances at Chance, desiring the neophyte's authority and self-apparent refinement, as his proclamation of "I like to watch" is randily misinterpreted. Peter Sellers is deserving of high praise for making an inherently nondescript character compulsively watchable. Other great artistic touches include the use of "Thus Spake Zarathustra" mingled with the disco-funk of late-70s television as a symbol of Chance's first exposure to the world, and the picturesque cinematography of Caleb Deschanel, particularly of the beauty of the Rand estate. Being There is both a subtly humorous and biting satire of gullibility, and the willingness to nurture and embrace a comfortable charlatan instead of the truth.

PS. Note that during Chance and Eve's initial encounter, her license plate reads ER. ;)