Do you want to believe?

The new X-Files movie opens in about 10 days. Reporters in Texas are apparently trying to give it a boost. This is from Saturday's Ft. Worth Star-Telegram:

Federal Aviation Administration radar appears to confirm the presence of unidentified aircraft on Jan. 8 over the Stephenville-Dublin area, with at least one appearing to head toward President Bush’s Crawford Ranch, the same night that dozens of people reported seeing UFOs, according to a report released Thursday by a national group that studies reports of unidentified flying objects....

Dozens of people around Dublin and Stephenville — about 70 miles southwest of Fort Worth — have reported seeing something in the sky on or about Jan. 8 that did not move like conventional aircraft. Some witnesses said the objects were accompanied or followed by military aircraft.

Descriptions varied. Some told of objects up to a mile long and hundreds of yards high. Others reported seeing two to eight lights that flew in formation, changed color and shone with intensity greater than a welding flame.

The story also includes some analysis and quotes from a Mutual UFO Network report, but I won't trouble you with that.

Apparently, this is a link to the most credible video from the January 8 sightings.


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Film as condiment

As long-time readers know, I watch a lot of films, mostly on DVD. Summer is not a particularly good season for film, though I occasionally catch a good one that I missed in the winter. Starting next week, I'm also teaching "Global Politics Through Film" again.

Recently, I read a review that was not at all kind to summer "popcorn movies." Indeed, in the June 16 edition of The Nation, Stuart Klawans wrote disparagingly of films like "Speed Racer":

And how does it feel to be the chimp, watching this nightmare of saturated primary colors? Save your money and find out at home. Have someone squirt ketchup and mustard into your eyes for two hours.

I missed that movie, but Klawans also turns his attention to one that I did catch -- the latest Indiana Jones. In fact, Klawans asserts that director Steven Spielberg's earlier "Jaws" "first laid the hot dogs on the grill" for such "filmmaking-by-condiment."

Even more vitriol is reserved for colleague George Lucas, as Spielberg is partly redeemed by films like "Munich" and "Minority Report."

Here are two specific criticisms worth noting in Klawans's critique of the latest Indy:

1. "Crystal Skull" revives a techno-Aryan-occult fantasy of the 1970s: the notion that pointy-headed visitors from Beyond must have built the ancient civilizations of South America, since the natives there are too stupid to use toilet paper.

2. To put forth an image of flaming youth, Lucas and Spielberg have reverted to their own, making Shia LaBeouf into the leather-jacketed, motorcycle-riding rebel they admired fifty years ago when they saw "The Wild One." For the aging auteurs, he's cinematic Viagra.

I didn't like the film all that much, so I'm going to grant Klawans the last word. The latest Indy, he writes, is "new movie trash" that "comes out feeling old."

My summer pick of the week: "The Savages." The voters at IMDB give it a well-earned 7.5. The new "Indy" is rated 7.1, but I suspect that will go down in the long run. Indy enthusiasts seem the most likely to vote early (and often?).


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McMurtry and Escovedo

Last Wednesday night, my wife and I went out to see James McMurtry and Alejandro Escovedo. Though Escovedo played last, we were more interested in McMurtry's set and the crowd seemed to be mostly his as well. Lots of people were singing along to McMurtry's songs, the club was somewhat less crowded during Escovedo's set, and the biggest cheer of the night came following McMurtry's delivery of these lines from "We Can’t Make It Here":

Should I hate a people for the shade of their skin
Or the shape of their eyes or the shape I’m in
Should I hate ‘em for having our jobs today
No I hate the men sent the jobs away

According to a story I read in The Washington Post while on vacation,

Stephen King called McMurtry's first foray into political songwriting the best American protest song since Bob Dylan's epochal "Masters of War."

Escovedo's band was first-rate (including fiddle player Carrie Rodriguez) and his set was very entertaining.

More than twenty years ago, before I'd ever heard of James McMurtry, I used to listen to Escovedo's "cowpunk" band, Rank and File. Yes, I still own the vinyl records.

I'm not sure Headliners was filled to its 600-person capacity, but it was very crowded and I kept running into people I know -- a colleague from Sociology, another from my Department, a DJ friend, and a couple of former students.

It was a fun night.


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Culture Update: "The Visitor"

Earlier this evening, I saw a very good film with global political overtones: "The Visitor." This is the description from the Internet Movie Database:

Walter Vale (Jenkins) is a widower who teaches economics at a Connecticut university. No longer motivated by his work, he lives alone, struggling to find passion and meaning in his life. In New York to present a paper at a conference, he goes to the apartment that he has kept since his wife was alive (but hasn't visited for some time) only to discover a young couple living there, having been duped by an acquaintance who "rented" it to them. Despite their great cultural difference, Walter befriends Tarek (Sleiman), a Syrian citizen and drummer, and gradually builds a friendship with Esi (Gurira), his girlfriend from Senegal. One day, when returning from Central Park with Walter, Tarek gets arrested for jumping a stuck subway turnstile, despite the fact that he had paid. The police discover he does not have legal papers and transfer him to an immigrant detention center in Queens. Feeling responsible for and connected to Tarek, Walter stays in New York to help and support him. Not hearing from her son, Tarek's mother arrives from Michigan to find out why, and she and Walter support one another while they attempt to free Tarek.

The movie is a painful illustration of the inhumanity of the post-9/11 immigration policies and procedures. At the same time, it beautifully illuminates the wonders of friendship, kindness, reaching out, exploring life and finding meaning in a challenging world.

In some ways, the film reminded me of "Lost in Translation." In that movie, the lead character (a white late-middle-aged American man) makes a connection in Japan with a young woman from the US. In this film, the white late-middle-aged American makes a connection inside the US with characters from Senegal and Syria. Until those links are established, the protagonist is alienated from the larger world.

Towards the end of the movie, the widower becomes enraged at public officials from his own country who treat him like a child -- protecting him from a non-threatening friend, making him move away from a service window when no one else is in line, etc.

It is a powerful film.

Thumps way up!


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Ducking out

Lately, at the Duck of Minerva, I've blogged about some topics that might be of interest to my regular readers:

• Yesterday, February 28: "Sage advice from the Prez." President Bush offered Turkey some advice about its military "incursion" in Iraq.
  
  
• February 20, I blogged "Cuba: El Tiante's pitch." The former pitcher Luis Tiant offers his view of the Cuban embargo.
  
  
• February 14, I wrote "PTL returns," which is about the latest Indiana Jones movie, forthcoming in May.

Enjoy.


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Dress up day

Apparently, today is officially "dress-up" day on the presidential campaign.

Drudge is highlighting a photo of Barack Obama from one of his foreign trips a couple of years ago. To some eyes, it might seem like a Taliban Halloween costume.

Drudge claims that the photo was circulated by Obama's main Democratic rival -- even as he points out the hypocrisy of such an act.

Indeed, if this was from Hillary Clinton's campaign, then someone will probably be fired for distributing it.

Take away the mudslinging angle and this is an opportunity to enjoy the costumes.

For example, take a look at this snapshot of Clinton with Benazir Bhutto in 1995. Here she is with one hat or another.

While those are good, I think they compare unfavorably to this one of cowboy Obama.

One thing is certain. It is too bad that Rudy Guiliani cannot be considered for this competition.


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Where's the beef?

In the 1984 election cycle, former Vice President Walter Mondale (the well-known and well-funded establishment candidate) faced insurgent charismatic newcomer Gary Hart. To stress that Hart's impressive-sounding ideas lacked substance, Mondale jokingly used a line from a popular Wendy's commercial: "Where's the beef?"

In her effort to stop the Barack Obama juggernaut, Hillary Clinton's campaign has borrowed this tactic from Mondale's 1984 campaign. To my ear, it's not as simple or elegant:

"That's the difference between me and my opponent. My opponent makes speeches. I offer solutions. It is one thing to get people excited. I want to empower you," the New York senator said....

"Now, over the years, you've heard plenty of promises from plenty of people in plenty of speeches. And some of those speeches were probably pretty good. But speeches don't put food on the table. Speeches don't fill up your tank, or fill your prescription, or do anything about that stack of bills that keeps you up at night," Clinton said.

I put the most incendiary sound bite in red -- look for it in Republican commercials next fall.

Based on the economic content Obama added to his stump speech today, I do not expect this charge to stick.


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Union busting?

Each Monday through Thursday since they returned to the airwaves, I feel guilty tuning in to "A Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and Stephen Colbert.

Worse, the shows are just not as good without the crisp writing -- though Colbert is holding up better than Stewart in my view. Before the strike, I found Stewart's show to be superior. Colbert's bit with Lou Dobbs on Thursday was fantastic, but I am getting very tired of the string of Republican guests on Stewart. Sigh.

The strike was definitely having an economic impact since ratings were down dramatically.

Cartoonist Ted Rall had a great cartoon about Stewart and union busting on January 17. Check it out.

Readers, are you showing more solidarity for the writers? Who is watching and who is skipping?


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Movies of 2007

I watch a lot of movies, though most are viewed as DVDs on my television. Because I do not see that many films in the theater, it can be difficult for me to write a post on the best movies (of 2007, or any other year).

Indeed, many of the best films I saw this past year were 2006 films that I missed in the theaters. Some were even older.

To make a 2007 list, I scanned the top 150 grossing movies of 2007, as well as IMDB's most popular titles for 2007 (and their most popular by average vote list). These were the only 2007 films I saw this year, so far as I know. Those marked with asterisks were viewed in a theater:

The Lives of Others
Michael Clayton **
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead **
Charlie Wilson's War **
Sicko **
Breach
Starter For 10
Zodiac
The Hoax
The Bourne Ultimatum **
Ratatouille **
The Simpsons Movie
Superbad
Eastern Promises
Hot Fuzz
Knocked Up
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story **
Enchanted **
The Astronaut Farmer
Live Free or Die Hard
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix **
Fracture
Meet the Robinsons
Music and Lyrics **
Ocean's Thirteen
Smokin' Aces
The Last Mimzy


And here's the annual list of movies I intend to see in the near future (but probably in 2008): American Gangster, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Atonement, Dan in Real Life, Darjeeling Limited, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Gone Baby Gone, The Great Debaters, Grindhouse, I'm Not There, In the Valley of Elah, Into the Wild, Juno, Lars and the Real Girl, A Mighty Heart, No End in Sight, No Country for Old Men, Once, The Savages, Stardust, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Talk to Me, There Will Be Blood, 3:10 to Yuma and Waitress.


Note to the readers who have recently clicked through my links to Powell's Bookstore: Thanks! The DVD links above will direct you to Powell's too.

Powell's is a great independent bookstore -- always a highlight of my trips to Portland -- with union representation, tremendous selection, and reduced-price used books.


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Music of 2007

My friend, Michael Young, who hosts the local Americana radio program "Roots 'N Boots" has posted his top 20 recordings of 2007. You can hear his show on WFPK every Sunday night at 6 pm ET.

As per usual, I do not own very many of the CDs Michael highlights. He gave me a copy of John Fogerty's latest (#11 on his list), I exchanged a redundant Christmas present for the Alison Krauss and Robert Plant CD (honorable mention) and my wife picked up Bruce Springsteen's Magic (ruled ineligible for the list by Michael, but apparently worth noting). That's it.

For the most past, I don't buy much new music because I have a hard time listening to what I already own. Michael lists new disks by Wilco (#7), John Mellencamp (#13), Steve Earle (#14), Ryan Adams (#15), Lyle Lovett (#18), and Lucinda Williams (honorable mention). I possess at least 25 recordings by this handful of artists. Do I really need another one just because it is the latest?

I also own one or two CDs by a lot of the other artists making the list: Ry Cooder (#17) and Nick Lowe (#20), plus honorable mention artists Son Volt, Billy Joe Shaver, John Prince, The Gourds, and Southern Culture on the Skids. Oh, and my wife and I own more Bruce Springsteen recordings than we could play in a day.

Given my reliance upon radio for new music, I won't even try to list my top 5 or 10 recordings of the year. I would note, however, that in August I received XM satellite radio as a birthday present and thus now regularly listen to Americana music on X Country (channel 12), as well as on Michael's show.

Did I mention that I don't own an iPod?

I think my favorite single of the year is "Snake Farm" by Ray Wylie Hubbard.

Apparently, it came out in 2006.


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Charlie Wilson's War

I saw "Charlie Wilson's War" on December 25 and was thoroughly entertained.

The film is a sharp satire and offers a long-term critique of American foreign policy. Before reading further, be warned that this review includes plot spoilers.

Texas Representative Charlie Wilson was apparently fairly liberal on domestic social policy, but he was a vehement cold warrior. During the early 1980s, he literally and politically climbed in bed with a wealthy member of the religious right, Joanne King Herring (the sixth richest woman in Texas). For ideological reasons, Herring helped convince Wilson to support the mujahideen in Afghanistan.

Arguably, Charlie Wilson was a neocon.

The film clearly demonstrates that cynical neocon foreign policies can have counterproductive -- even disastrous -- consequences.

While the mujahideen's insurgency against the Soviet military undoubtedly contributed mightily to the red army's defeat in Afghanistan, the end of the cold war had multiple and complex causes.

The movie, in fact, reveals many of the dubious alliances the U.S. made during the cold war. In the case of Afghan policy, the U.S. teamed with Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. As many cold warriors used to say, "They may be bastards, but they are our bastards."

In the film, as in real life, American officials simplistically characterize other states as good or evil -- and the designation seems arbitrarily to turn on a dime.

The average viewer of the movie may be tempted to cheer through the scenes when U.S.-supplied Stinger missiles shoot down Soviet jets and helicopters. However, by the end, the filmmakers clearly signal that America turned its back on Afghanistan and invited the blowback that led to 9/11.

Charlie Wilson's war didn't end the cold war -- and in many ways, his war continues to rage in Afghanistan.


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