Beltmann

I've been meaning to get to this... I was thinking about going tonight, but I'm going to see Paprika instead. (That's one of my most eagerly anticipated movies of the year. I think Kon Satoshi is one of the most important filmmakers working these days.) Just finished the Japanese version of Dark Water. Not bad, but--I'll probably lose my film badge for saying this--I much preferred the American remake.

Earlier today I was browsing through the June 29 issue of Entertainment Weekly, which had a list of "100 Stars We Love Right Now." Perched at #62 was Wilco, with one of the largest spreads--more than a full page--of anyone cited on the list. Included were some comments regarding how the Entertainment Weekly reviewer compared SBS to the Eagles:

I refused to buy The Search more than once just because I'm a Son Volt fan. This is very common now. It also drives me nuts. The fans who are already willing to shell out money for the CDs shouldn't be asked to buy doubles or triples of most songs just to complete the set. Essentially, that marketing tactic squeezes your fans, which is like punishing them for being your biggest supporters. I can certainly understand the desire to sell more CDs. But the tactics should be based on rewarding, not punishing, the CD shopper. SBS is a positive example, because those who purchased the CD were

A collection of five early avante-garde films by Kenneth Anger. Perhaps I wasn't in the right frame of mind, but only one--1950's Rabbit's Moon--really struck a chord with me. For the most part, I felt myself appreciating these short works more than actually enjoying them; unlike, say, Stan Brakhage, who I readily identify with, Anger strikes me as a great artist for other people.

I'm not totally sure what I think about this one; the tone is certainly unique, and I was completely engrossed by it.

Count me among the fans of Miseducation... I'm definitely interested in hearing this new track.

I'm looking forward to Ratatouille. I've already seen Lifted, the included short, when it screened as part of a collection of Oscar-nominated shorts. It was great Pixar... but it also felt like typical Pixar.

Thanks everyone! Much appreciated! Didn't do anything special today--just taught summer school, took the kiddo to the park, and am watching baseball right now. We celebrated last night by going to Miller Park to see Yovani Gallardo make his major-league debut (the kid looks like he might be very special indeed). It was also the first MLB game for my three-year-old daughter. We had terrific seats--just a few rows behind the Brewers dugout--and she had great fun cheering for all of her favorites: Hardy, Fielder, Hall. But she was even more thrilled by seeing the sausage race in person, an

I'm watching the Brewers game and just saw the "You Are My Face" VW ad. It's the first time I've actually seen one of these on TV. I found the experience rather disappointing--the earth did not shake and my sense of disillusionment was totally dwarfed by the awesome fact that Ben Sheets had just made Barry Bonds look like an amateur.

My wife likes Wilco but I wouldn't call her a fan, exactly. I remember taking her to a Wilco show (2003?) and during the ending distortion of "Poor Places" she leaned over and asked, "Is it supposed to sound like that?"

Let's throw Thomas Hardy into the mix. Any of his novels will do, but I'm partial to The Mayor of Casterbridge.

Coolage.

I believe in the validity of the horror film, but this recent trend in torture porn is a little troubling... it generally feels like we're meant to enjoy the violence, which means we're asked to identify with the killers rather than with the victims. They aren't about exploring fear; instead, they celebrate sadism.

My mother hasn't yet recovered from the years-ago discovery that I vote Democrat--if I dropped the F-bomb on her, she'd probably blow up.

My mom still doesn't let me see R-rated movies.

I don't know what's worse... exposing kids to violent imagery, or teaching them that it's okay to waste their time and money on crap.

Tradition? I know some special educators who call it "job security."

Away From Her / Sarah Polley / Canada Earlier in the day I caught Pirates 3, the polar opposite of Polley's movie, which has only a few characters and takes place in only a few rooms. Still, Away From Her swings for the fences in a way that Pirates never does. The movie, which charts how a marriage is consumed by Alzheimer's, achieves an emotional intensity early on and never lets up--but unlike Pirates, which just piles on more and more just to, well, have more--Away From Her deepens, growing both more sad and, paradoxically, more beautiful.

I think I like the idea of the drone more than I like the drone itself.

You want to see Bono's schlong?

Double feature today: First up was Jafar Panahi's Offside, a comedy about several Iranian girls trying to sneak into a pre-World Cup match even though females are banned from the stadium. Most impressive are the long takes that are perfectly choreographed to reveal information only as we need it, which intensifies both the comedy and the suspense. It also has a climactic scene of sports jubilation--a mix of staged action and actual crowds mobbing the streets--that ranks among the best of its kind. Next was John Carney's Once, a movie that appears to be about the connection between a Dublin

That's a fantastic movie... I'm actually a big Wong Kar-Wai fan, especially this one, Chungking Express, Ashes of Time, and 2046. If I made a list of movies I'm most eagerly anticipating in 2007, My Blueberry Nights would be near the top.

The first thing I think of is how much I like it. Then the Conan performance. The VW ad doesn't even make the list, although the threads about it might, if I cared to think about that when listening to music.