Notes:

I'm taking some "working vacation," which means I'm still at my desk, but only 6-8 hours a day instead of 16. So I should be here with breaking news

Movies:

I have not seen a screener or a bootleg of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, so I have no pictures to share (there is some pretty sweet nudity), but I really liked the movie, and wrote a lengthy commentary.

 

Other Crap:

Movie Reviews:

Yellow asterisk: funny (maybe). White asterisk: expanded format. Blue asterisk: not mine. No asterisk: it probably sucks.

"The Edukators"

The Edukators (2004) is a German film which IMDb labels a Comedy/Crime/Drama/Romance. I think I will stick with drama, even though it does include humorous elements, acts that are, in fact criminal, and a love story of sorts. Berlin student Jule (Julia Jentsch) is hopelessly in debt to Burghart Klaußner, after hitting his new Mercedes on the autobahn. Her circle of friends are self-styled revolutionaries, out to topple the rich for exploiting the poor. Her boyfriend Peter (Stipe Ercig) and his roommate Jan (Daniel Brühl), unbeknownst to her, are the edukators. They break into homes of the rich while they are away, rearrange their furniture, and leave a note saying, "Your Days Of Plenty Are Numbered." They feel it is sort of psychological warfare against these people who exploit the poor to earn more money than they can possibly use.

Peter takes a trip to Spain, but Jule is unable to go with him, as she must clean the apartment she has been evicted from, and Jan helps her. The two begin to become infatuated with each other, Jan lets her in on the secret, and the two do Klaußner's house. When they realize she left her cell phone somewhere inside and return for it, Klaußner catches them. So, they kidnap him, and take him to a remote cabin owned by her uncle. They convince themselves that this is a revolutionary act, at least for a time, but were not prepared for Klaußner taking their political views seriously, or the fact that he had been an SDS member in the 60s. Things really begin to fall apart when Jan and Jule become sexual.

This was a very fast 127 minutes for me. The former 70s radical becoming rich establishment is exactly true to life, and the parallels between him and the three kids were fascinating. While the cause had changed, the attitudes and methods had not, and, we suspect, the ultimate outcome will also be the same. Julia Jentsch shows breasts and partial buns early in the film. IMDb readers say 7.8. It won numerous minor awards. Metacritic shows 62% positive. It is in German with optional subtitles. This is a C+. I am sure you already know whether or not you want to see it.

Julia Jentsch

"Rikki & Pete"

Rikki & Pete (1988) is an Australian comedy film about a brother and sister. Their mum was run over in a cross walk by a police chief. Pete is tormenting him, when he isn't busy inventing gadgets and annoying his rich father. He is also a 30 something paper boy, delivering the papers with a contraption that folds and sails them to the porches as he drives by. Rikki annoyed her father permanently when she dropped out of law school and switched to geology and he is not fond of her moonlighting as a singer/guitar player. Rikki finally decides that Pete is going round the bend due to his father's influence, and is in danger of being caught by the police chief, she they take their mothers Bently and head outback to a remote mining town. Pete meets a lovely aboriginal girl, Tetchie Agbayani, and Rikki opens her own mine. Of course, Pete can't stay out of trouble forever.

Tetchie Agbayani shows breasts in two scenes. This film ambles seemingly without purpose for most of its running time but I so enjoyed the characters I really didn't mind. IMDb readers say 5.8. This is a uniquely Australian genre that I am overly fond of, and it is a very good one. It is a C+. IF quirky comedies appeal to you, you should love this one.

Tetchie Agbayani

Today we start with our weekly update on "Rome" (2005): Episode III : An Owl In A Thornbush.

Caesar continues his risky march on Rome while his sister Atia and her family prepare for the worst when their house is attacked by Pompey's followers. The angry mob doesn't manage to get in and leaves after a while. Meanwhile her daughter Octavia (Kerry Condon) is seeing her ex-husband again in some rendez-vous house. Kerry shows breasts and buns in a short scene here.  

Atia doesn't approve of her daughter's relationship and has her head of security who also guards her body take care of this problem. And not by negotiating of course. Polly Walker briefly shows a breast as she gives the order. 

Furthermore centurion Lucius Vorenus tries to patch up things with his wife Niobe while his pal Titus Pullo heads back out of town to free a girl tied to an ox-kart. Lucius, Titus and their men crossed her path earlier but had to give priority to their mission. When Titus searches the kart he discovers the gold of Rome's treasury that was supposed to travel with Pompey and the rest of the Senators who had fled Rome, or proceeded to a tactical retreat as they called it.

And now for something completely different. I'm taking you the Land of the Rising Sun for my next two clips. The feature is called "Kekko Kamen Returns" (2004) and is originally based on a manga animation theme. Don't worry, I won't be showing you cartoon clips. Someone in Japan had the luminous idea of bringing the Kekko Kamen theme to life with real actors. You will be asking yourself, "What is all this mumbo-jumbo leading to?"  

Well let me inform you that Kekko Kamen is a female fighter against injustice. Kekko, played by Misaki Mori, is wearing a very minimalistic outfit. A red mask, red boots and a small red cape. That's it. Nothing else. Japanese censorship laws prevent Kekko from doing a complete full frontal attack but you can't really complain when she takes out a baddie by doing the Big V. Just watch my clips and you'll see what I mean. According to an interview on the DVD Misaki's opponent and the film crew did get quite an eyeful here. And this isn't the only fight scene in the feature. 

In this episode Kekko comes to the rescue of some high school girls during a swimming course on a remote island. (1, 2) The facility is run by some real bullies, so it is very handy for the girls that a certain Kaori Wakatsuki is also on their team, even if they don't realize that Kaori turns into Kekko when needed. Sort of like Kent Clark and Superman, minus the clothing.

You may already have realized that this feature never takes itself seriously, which would kill it, but chooses the path of mockery and parody. The link with Dark Water is obvious even for western eyes, but most of the other hints will be lost by a non-Japanese audience (like me). In case your curiosity got tickled by all this I've got good news for you. It's simply available on region 1 DVD. It is not a masterpiece by any standard, but it's still good for a few laughs. Besides it makes a nice difference from those panty or blouse pulling disks you may have laying around somewhere, not to mention bus or train molester DVD's or even octopus porn. No, this is fairly normal stuff, both to Japanese and non-Japanese audiences.

It's time now to leave the Land of the Rising Penis and to return to God's own country where Clint Eastwood gets more than he bargained for when he got involved with Jessica Walter in this clip from "Play Misty For Me" (1971).

WORST CELEBRITY KID NAMES
Call Me "Q" - In a GetLive entertainment website poll, Moon Unit Zappa was voted the most bizarre celebrity offspring's name. Her brother Dweezil was 7th, but siblings Ahmet Rodan and Diva Muffin didn't make it. Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter Apple was #2. Other top finalists included Misty Kid, Geronimo, Heavenly Hirani Tiger Lily, Zowie Bowie, and Elijah Bob Patricius Guggi Q (Bono's son).

* Giving his kid that name is kept Bono from winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
* Everyone agrees, "Apple" is weird to the core.
* And yet, celebrities lecture us about the evils of child abuse.
* Bruce Willis and Demi Moore demanded a recount.

"ALIEN" NOT WELCOME IN CREATOR'S HOMETOWN
Alienated Artist - Artist H.R. Giger was told by officials in his hometown of Gruyeres, Switzerland, to remove a large sculpture of his most famous work: the mucus-dripping creature from the "Alien" movies. It's outside his museum, and he uses it to attract visitors. The mayor said the town wants him to stay and agrees he's an internationally-recognized artist, but having scary aliens out in public is just not good for the town's image.

* That's what the French said, and it touched off riots.
* On the bright side, it's the only statue the pigeons stay away from.
* It attracts visitors? Seems to me it would keep visitors away.
* They told him if he refuses to remove it, they'll send in Sigourney Weaver to take it out.

SNOOP DOGG LAUNCHES SNOOP HOT DOGGS
Made From Dead Rappers - Lee Iococca's golfing buddy Snoop Dogg has signed a deal to endorse the first line of celebrity hot dogs: "Snoop Doggs." Asked to describe the foot-long wieners, Snoop's brother Bing Worthington told the Boston Herald, "Imagine a long, skinny hot dog just like Snoop." All these endorsements may harm his street cred, but his brother said, "Snoop takes advantage of everything. This rap money isn't long. Just ask MC Hammer."

* Hey, Hammer sells hot dogs, too! He's got his own cart!
* MC Hammer can't even buy a hot dog.
* I'd think having a foot-long wiener named after you would give a guy all kinds of street cred.
* With the name "Bing Worthington," Snoop's brother has no street cred at all!