Beltmann

I can understand this. I can't resist listening to live bootlegs along the way--it's fun to observe the evolution--but I won't seek the leaked album. I'll wait until I actually have the CD in my hands.

I found it distracting for about 15 minutes, but only because I know that's not DiCaprio's real voice. But once I became absorbed in the story and in his performance, I didn't really notice anymore. You really find DiCaprio lacking as an actor? I know he's got the whole pin-up image problem and the Titanic backlash problem, but the dude's got chops and is only getting better. When separated from hype, his work speaks for itself.

There are many qualification rules, but the date requirements involve this: A movie must be shown commercially for seven consecutive days in Los Angeles County, and that run must open between January 1, 2004 and midnight of December 31, 2004. Basically, a movie qualifies if it screens for a week in at least one LA theater during the calendar year. Both Children of Men and Pan's Labyrinth met those requirements before starting their nation-wide distribution.

"Blasting Fonda" followed by "Cars Can't Escape."

I saw Wax Fang open for MMJ in November, and I've been listening to a few mp3s ever since (including this morning). Really good stuff.

One of the great things about Herzog docs is that he doesn't--can't--leave his stomach out of it.

Alan Keyes is joining the Steelers?

Nice list--there's not an unworthy film on there. Here's my list, as it stands now: 1. Children of Men 2. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada 3. L'Enfant 4. Pan's Labyrinth 5. Requiem 6. The Prestige 7. The Queen 8. Sophie Scholl: The Final Days 9. Old Joy 10. Fateless The Next Ten: A Prairie Home Companion; United 93; The Puffy Chair; Tristram Shandy: A Cock & Bull Story; Thank You For Smoking; The Death of Mr. Lazarescu; Workingman

I chose those two examples because they are the most famous, but mostly because the 30-year spread shows the strategy's age. But they aren't the only examples... just two years ago the Broadway production Lennon cast 9 actors in the title role. Granted, most other multiple casting examples offer some kind of literal justification for it within the story

Welcome! This is a great and generous place. Don't know for sure, but if history is any indication, I think you can count on it.

The Top 40 is soma.

I think I'm Not There has terrific potential, especially since its director, Todd Haynes, is a genuine artist with a proven track record. To these eyes, Safe and Far from Heaven are two of the richest American movies of the last 15 years. The concept of employing various actors in a single role may not be conventional, but it's also not particularly new or strange. Considering how Todd Solondz recently used the technique for Palindromes and how Luis Bunuel used it for That Obscure Object of Desire way back in 1977, Haynes' decision to use different actors to metaphorically embody the vario

Today I took in a double feature of Pan's Labyrinth and Letters from Iwo Jima. I'm not a huge fantasy fan, but I was spellbound by Pan--I'd much rather watch it a second time than any of the LOTR flicks. For at least an hour, Iwo Jima feels like any other recent war movie, but it definitely accumulates power, especially as it takes on metaphorical meanings that can be readily applied to our current zeal for launching wars.

I agree about the performance of the judge--it's a little jarring, especially considering how measured the rest of the film is. More interesting is the Gestapo investigator, who just can't comprehend why Sophie doesn't see how the Reich has been so good to him and to her.

I think the difficulty of writing a great pop tune is vastly underappreciated, and both of these bands bring a great deal of craft and intelligence to the endeavor. That's probably why I often think of them as belonging to the same plane, but I agree with you: Guster sticks to the ribs more than FoW does.

One of my high school students loaned me her copy of the Plain White T's, on the grounds that they are the "bestest band" right now. I had to shut it off after about 4 songs... it was painful. I think it may have been the worst thing I heard all of last year. Fortunately, one of my other students recently turned in a creative project that involved painting a visual representation of a song. Her song choice? "No Depression" by Uncle Tupelo. See, there's hope.

I remember when that happened... that's classic Herzog. Good stuff.

Did anybody else see Incident at Loch Ness? It's a fake documentary about Herzog traveling to Scotland to shoot a documentary about, well, you know. Although the movie swiftly dispenses with credibility--to amusing effect, I think--Herzog, who plays himself, remains its believably aggrieved center. The man behind such gravely ambitious films as Aguirre and Fitzcarraldo exhibits the lightest, most amusing touch of his career. By the end you might be convinced that Herzog's rep as a humorless tyrant is the real hoax. Most of the buzz surrounding Rescue Dawn has been, as far as I can tell, ra

That's a great tune... best on the album, in my view.

Kamikaze Hearts - Oneida Road

Sorry if this has already been posted... Obama Announces Something

I was thinking about the Milwaukee show Feb 28, but it probably won't happen. But that's mostly due to my graduate thesis, which is systematically sucking the life out of me.