'Best of TBH Politoons'
Baron Dave Romm
Ikiru and 2046
By Baron Dave Romm
After the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, says the terrific commentary on the DVD for Ikiru, stomach cancer was the #1 cause of death in post-war Japan. The protagonist of the story, Kanji Watanabe (superbly played by Takashi Shimura) is a minor functionary who discovers he has less than six months to live. His life hasn't been a success, by his standards, and he vows to change. His journey of self-examination and determination drive the title. Ikiru: To Live.
Made in 1952, Ikiru was directed and co-written by Akira Kurosawa between his more well-known films Rashamon and The Seven Samurai. I kept spotting it on various Best of lists and since I've never seen a Kurosawa film that wasn't at least good, I popped it on my Netflix queue. Boy, I'm glad I did.
The film explores many topics, from the collision of Japanese and American culture to the relationship of a father to his son. Mostly, it's about a man waking up to his life and determining what he can change and what he can't. As an optimistic film, Ikiru is more honest than the effective but cloying It's A Wonderful Life. As the story of a dying man, the film is more optimistic than All That Jazz.
The 143 minute film is slow and deliberate, especially at first, in Japanese with English subtitles, and it took me several tries before I just sat down and watched the whole thing. Then watched it again with the commentary. Kurosawa's cinematography and sound design have been copied and may not be astonishing and groundbreaking half a century later, but all the techniques are used to great effect: There are no tricks, just storytelling.
So be prepared for a film that wouldn't get made in today's Hollywood. That being said, I highly recommend Ikiru. On the Shockwave Radio Theater scale of 9 to 23, Ikiru gets a 23. Whatever I might have felt about knocking a point or two off for pacing is more than made up by an intelligent commentary by Stephen Prince, author of The Warrior's Camera: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa.
2046 is in theaters now, at least some of them. The most striking thing about 2046 is the odd cinematography. Cuts in the middle of shots cause a jump, smoke curls upward in slow motion, people hang out in parts of the frame... this seems to be part of the narrative structure for a film that leaps around in time.
2046, in Japanese with English subtitles, is a lush film about a hack writer who doesn't know what he wants. To be blunt: He's an idiot. Chow Mo Wan (played by Tony Leung Chiu Wai, who insisted on growing a mustache so he wouldn't be too much mistaken for his character in the previous Kar Wai Wong movie) manages to woo and win some of the most beautiful women on the planet. But he doesn't want them. Except when he does. Or not.
Much of the dialog in 2046 is said twice, once by Chow and once later (earlier?) by one of the women. Indeed, the narration at the beginning and ending of the movie are repeated... almost. I'll leave it up to the viewer to determine meaning, if any.
I don't mind confusing movies -- heaven knows I've written enough non-linear radio plays -- but at some point the audience should be given enough hints to get it. "Of course you can have subtlety in cinema," said Frank Capra (I think), "but you have to be obvious about it."
2046 is not really science fiction, though there are science fiction elements, and the allegory is either too heavy handed for me or simply doesn't work. Maybe it's just another movie about stupid people doing stupid things, in which case I can live without it. Maybe it's just an excuse to put beautiful women on the screen in various erotic situations, in which case it's playing in the wrong theaters but I appreciate the effort. Maybe it's I'm missing something, in which case I've missed it and the movie hasn't made me care enough to find out what. On the other hand, I kind of liked it. There was enough there on which to hang several post-movie discussions. The cinematography is annoying at times but memorable. The acting is good, though it's hard to tell since I'm not sure what they were trying to convey. I'm not going to give a blanket recommendation nor tell you to avoid the thing and anyone's reaction to it is likely to be subjective so I'm going to give it a very wide rating: On the Shockwave Radio Theater scale of 9 to 23, I'd put 2046 somewhere in the 14-19 range.
Poltical quick thoughts for August, 2005:
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia with a radio show, a Live Journal demi-blog, a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. Dave Romm reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E , and you can hear the last two Shockwave broadcasts in Real Audio (scroll down to Shockwave). Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
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Another Repug Flip-Flop
Re: Katherine Harris
Hi,
Katherine Harris is at it again.
~ Colby in a Frost-proof place
Thanks, Colby!
What a compassionate, flip-flopping bitch.
Past her prime breeding years and no daughter to worry about.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
DOUG THOMPSON: Bush's Obscene Tirades Rattle White House Aides (capitolhillblue.com)
"I'm not meeting with that goddamned bitch," Bush screamed at aides who suggested he meet with Cindy Sheehan, the war-protesting mother whose son died in Iraq. "She can go to hell as far as I'm concerned!"
Vets Aren't Buying Bush's B.S. (capitolhillblue.com)
George W. Bush should realize he is trouble when veterans wear bullshit protectors to avoid hearing his attempts to justify his war in Iraq.
Laura Barcella: Never Enough (AlterNet)
In his book American Mania, a psychiatrist urges us to stop our endless quest of accumulation -- unless we want to witness a mass psychological and economic meltdown.
McFacts about the McDonalds Coffee Lawsuit
McFact No. 5: A McDonald's quality assurance manager testified in the case that the Corporation was aware of the risk of serving dangerously hot coffee and had no plans to either turn down the heat or to post warning about the possibility of severe burns, even though most customers wouldn't think it was possible.
Reader Tip
Bobo's World
Weekly church-related crime update, August 21- 27
Thanks, Tim!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still hot, but not as brutal.
The kid was fixated on the Weather Channel tonight. He even went to bed early & set his alarm so he can be back in front of the tube as Katrina hits the coast.
Had a great time on Erin's show last night - as usual.
Posted all the links I used on her show (and then some) on the Erin Hart Show Links page.
Winner's List
2005 Video Music Awards
2005 Video Music Awards Winner's list:
Video Of The Year
Green Day, "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams"
Best Male Video
Kanye West, "Jesus Walks"
Best Female Video
Kelly Clarkson, "Since U Been Gone"
Best Rock Video
Green Day, "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams"
Best R&B Video
Alicia Keys, "Karma"
Best Dance Video
Missy Elliott with Ciara & Fat Man Scoop, "Lose Control"
Best Rap Video
Ludacris, "Number One Spot"
MTV2 Award
Fall Out Boy, "Sugar, We're Going Down"
Best Hip-Hop Video
Missy Elliott with Ciara & Fat Man Scoop, "Lose Control"
Best Special Effects In A Video
Gorillaz, "Feel Good Inc."
Best Pop Video
Kelly Clarkson, "Since U Been Gone"
Best Group Video
Green Day, "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams"
Best Choreography In A Video
Gwen Stefani, "Hollaback Girl"
Best Art Direction In A Video
Gwen Stefani, "What You Waiting For?"
Best Editing In A Video
Green Day, "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams"
Best New Artist In A Video
The Killers, "Mr. Brightside"
Best Cinematography In A Video
Green Day, "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams"
Breakthrough Video
Gorillaz, "Feel Good Inc."
2005 Video Music Awards
Charges Dropped
'Raging Grannies'
Charges have been dropped against the "Raging Grannies," five women accused of trespassing after they tried to enlist at a military recruitment center to protest the war in Iraq, a city prosecutor said.
The five women tried to enlist on July 13, saying they wanted to go to Iraq so their children and grandchildren could come home. Recruiters called police.
Their group, dubbed the "Tucson Raging Grannies," includes members ranging in age from 65 to 81 - decades older than the maximum age for recruits. They have protested at the center every week for three years.
City Prosecutor Laura Brynwood said Friday the trespassing charges were dropped earlier this month because they would have been difficult to prove.
'Raging Grannies'
Variety At VMAs
Swag
Few people can resist the lure of free stuff. Especially celebrities.
Jessica Alba, Nick Cannon, Lil Jon, Shaquille O'Neal, John Singleton, Christina Milian and numerous other stars made their way to The Sagamore Hotel from Friday to Sunday to visit The Style Villa, where they could scoop up a variety of swag: lingerie, satellite radios, jeans, video-ready cell phones, free haircuts, even monogrammed boots.
When asked what he liked most about the Style Villa, Jadakiss replied: "Everything. I ain't gonna lie."
The gravel-voiced gangsta rapper sat to have anti-wrinkle cream slathered on his hands and carried a $200 Bratz backpack - complete with doll, MP3 player and videogame - for his children.
Swag
Goethe Prize
Amos Oz
Israeli writer and peace activist Amos Oz accepted the prestigious Goethe cultural prize from the German city of Frankfurt for his life's work.
Oz picked up the award, which carries a 50,000-euro (61,400-dollar) cash prize, at St Paul's Church in the German business capital on the anniversary of the birth of the German poet in 1749.
Oz said in an acceptance speech that he attempted in his work to understand the views of others as an "antidote to fanaticism and hate".
Oz's work, including the novels "Black Box" and "To Know a Woman," has been translated into about 30 languages. He is an outspoken advocate of a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Amos Oz
Wedding News
Levin - Downey
Actor Robert Downey Jr., the Oscar-nominated star of "Chaplin" whose struggles with drug addiction drew attention in the late 1990s, married producer Susan Levin on Saturday.
Downey, 40, and Levin, 31, married at a private home in the Hamptons, People magazine and the TV news magazine Entertainment Tonight reported Saturday.
The marriage is Downey's second. He and actress Deborah Falconer have an 11-year-old son, Indio.
Levin - Downey
Soars Across U.S. Border
Human Cannonball
David Smith Sr., who already holds a world record for the longest distance traveled by a human fired from a cannon, added to his list of cannonball coups Saturday by shooting across the U.S-Mexico border.
The feat was the brainchild of Venezuelan artist Javier Tellez and is part of a series of public art projects in the two border cities.
Smith climbed into the barrel of the cannon Saturday afternoon and flashed his U.S. passport as about 600 people applauded.
He took flight from a popular beach in Tijuana, Mexico and soared about 150 feet over a line of black metal poles about 20 feet high and spaced six inches apart. He landed uninjured in a net in Border Field State Park in San Diego with U.S. Border Patrol agents and an ambulance waiting nearby.
Human Cannonball
Reuters Soundman Killed in Baghdad
Waleed Khaled
A Reuters Television soundman was shot dead in Baghdad on Sunday and a cameraman with him was wounded and then detained by U.S. soldiers.
Iraqi police said they had been shot by U.S. forces. A U.S. military spokesman said the incident was being investigated.
Waleed Khaled, 35, was hit by a shot to the face and at least four to the chest as he drove to check a report from police sources of an incident involving police and gunmen in the Hay al-Adil district, in the west of the city.
U.S. armoured vehicles blocked off the scene. After a brief inspection of the car, they allowed Reuters staff and the dead man's family to have it towed away. One soldier said there were no suspicious items in the car. Colleagues and relatives were handed a military body bag to remove the corpse.
As Waleed's tearful relatives inspected the body at the scene, a U.S. soldier said: "Don't bother. It's not worth it."
Waleed Khaled
Another Ad Together
Agassi & Graf
Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf are continuing their doubles play with a financial services company that is promising to support their charitable works.
Genworth Financial said it will debut a third print and television advertisement Monday featuring the husband-and-wife duo, and will announce an extension of the sponsorship agreement through 2007.
The new ad coincides with the start of the U.S. Open in New York. Agassi and Graf first appeared in a Genworth commercial in June 2004.
Agassi & Graf
Accused of Violating Probation
Mindy McCready
Country music singer Mindy McCready is accused of violating her probation on a drug conviction, authorities said.
A spokeswoman for the Pinellas County sheriff's department said McCready was jailed Friday on an arrest warrant issued earlier this month.
According to the warrant, McCready left Tennessee without getting permission from her probation officer and didn't report to the officer during July.
Authorities said it is McCready's second probation violation, which means she cannot post bail this time and likely will have to serve time in jail.
Mindy McCready
Search Is Called Off
'Spooked' Gator
Reptile wranglers searching for an alligator let loose in a southern California lake have given up the hunt - at least for now.
The alligator was spotted Aug. 12 in Harbor City's Lake Machado, and since then hundreds of visitors have flocked to the South Los Angeles park for a glimpse.
However, the reptile has not been seen since Aug. 21.
"We are considering this halftime," Tim Williams, a 30-year gator handler from Florida, said Friday when the search was called off. "He's won the first half."
Two men, one a Los Angeles officer, were arrested this past week for conspiring to release the alligator in the 56-acre lake.
'Spooked' Gator
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