Beltmann

I'm a public school teacher, and I turn my phone off while at work. In all seriousness, I don't even think about my phone between the hours of 7am and 4pm. There's nearly zero opportunity for checking messages. Maybe I'll check during lunch if I'm expecting some kind of emergency message, but otherwise I leave it untouched in my bag. (Lunch, far from being a break, is actually one of the most frantic periods of the day: In 20 minutes I need to eat, check work email, set up for the next class, and literally sprint down the hall to use the bathroom, if there's still time.) Wasting time on t

The premise is indeed ridiculous, but rather than suppress it, the movie embraces and thrives on that fact. Realism is not achieved nor attempted; it's probably closer to fable than anything else. In its own way, The Host, too, seemed to comprehend its own absurdity. Bong Joon-Ho is a director who often weaves that thread, and I'd especially recommend Mother and Memories of Murder.

I'm very eager to see that documentary. Isn't it released on Blu tomorrow?

I caught Snowpiercer over the weekend. It works very well as both adventure and parable. But what I admired most was its singular tone, which maintains an impressive balance between sincere and outlandish. The clever premise--and allegorical elements--could easily have been heavy-handed, but instead the movie carries its freight very lightly, making room for over-the-top absurdism and knowing winks at genre conventions. With its stylized violence, it often resembles a gonzo Korean actioner, but its tantalizing production design keeps us focused on the subtext rather than the blood. Each n

I haven't seen that yet, but in general I really like David Wain's singular brand of non-sequitur humor. Plus, I'm pretty much always in the mood for a satire taking aim at overworked romantic movie cliches, from the team responsible for Wet Hot American Summer.

I've been waiting for both Locke and We Are the Best! to arrive in Milwaukee. I've been a huge fan of Moodysson ever since Show Me Love (1998), and it's great that he seems to finally be back in the groove. Also, Snowpiercer opens here today, so that's on my priority list.

Yeah, that was a great kicker!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=332eiA6SX1c Peter Stormare in Minority Report.

I can still see it in slow-motion closeup: Sloppy meatballs sliding across the dorm room floor. It was sixth-grade camp, a longstanding West Bend tradition that involved new middle schoolers spending a weekend at a local campground. Like everyone, I had eagerly anticipated this event for several years, and the first day lived up to every expectation and rumor. Volleyball, hiking, floor hockey, campfire songs, totally rad counselors who were (cool!) high school seniors. Best of all, dinner was one of my favorites: spaghetti and garlic bread. Eventually it came time to hit the pillow. We

I'm not sure why, exactly, but I've been asked to provide a cover blurb for a novel by a new author that will be published this fall. I start reading this week. After that, I'm going to jump into Cymbeline, in my quest to read at least one Shakespeare play each summer until none are left. Only nine more to go!

If we can have a running list of strong albums, why not movies, too? Here are my favorites of the year so far, based on availability in southeast Wisconsin: 1. The Past / Asghar Farhadi / France 2. The Wind Rises / Hayao Miyazaki / Japan 3. The Selfish Giant / Clio Barnard / UK 4. The Grand Budapest Hotel / Wes Anderson / USA 5. Ida / Pawel Pawlikowski / Poland 6. Caesar Must Die / The Taviani Brothers / Italy 7. The Immigrant / James Gray / USA 8. The Rover / David Michod / Australia 9. Museum Hours / Jem Cohen / Austria 10. Life Itself / Steve James / USA Asghar Farhadi has a rare gift a

The albums that have found a serious spot in my psyche: Lydia Loveless, the Eels, Jack White. I'm surprised by the lack of enthusiasm for Jack White in this thread. I think Lazaretto improves upon Blunderbuss, which was strong but perhaps a tad monotonous. Each track on the new one has a distinct, catchy personality, and plenty of unusual stuff going on without ever losing sight of the distinct melody. To these ears, it's the best thing Jack's done since Get Behind Me Satan, the Stripes album that this new record most resembles.

Welcome! I lurked for a long time, too, before officially joining!

Love the Elbow cover of that, too.

I saw the terrific Milwaukee show, so I'm trying not to be envious... but "Radio King" and "Laminated Cat"? Jealous!

Fountains of Wayne. They were a terrific band even before "Stacy's Mom," and sometimes I wonder whether they regret that song--whatever its merits, that song came to define them, for good and a lot of bad. I adore the Eels, but I never thought of Mark as someone who ever had a "hit." Was "Novocaine for the Soul" really a breakout? I suppose the video did get lots of airplay on MTV in '96. Nice call on Better Than Ezra, too. I wouldn't have remembered that one, but I really liked that album.

That was my first thought, too!

Yes! I scored two excellent tickets for Milwaukee in today's pre-sale.

Milwaukee! Yes.

I find that appealing, too. Knowing it was a limited time commitment is one of the reasons I decided to give the show a chance.

I finished watching the latest episode about ten minutes ago. Best one yet; the ironies are piling up in a very satisfying way.

Fargo is much, much better than I expected. I'm happy that it eschews imitation, offering instead unfaithful variations of characters, situations, and themes from the movie, but at times that's distracting--I keep finding myself thinking about how things have been re-arranged into unexpected permutations. That'll wear off, I think, once it sinks in as its own thing.

I attended one of the shows. A-man, I remember you being slightly miffed that we didn't meet in person that night. Sam Jones paid me $1 to film me standing in line. He filmed a bunch of people for the planned DVD. I still have that dollar bill somewhere...

Indeed.