Movie Review: The International February 28, 2009
Posted by judylobo in Movie Reviews, Movie Trailer.Tags: Movie Review: The International
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 Movie Review: The International
Alternate Title: Kill All the Bankers Story: Sadly, this film had all of the ingredients to be a well made international thriller but it never takes hold. It had fabulous locations, a fine cast but the story had no focus and much of it was incomprehensible. As they say – there was simply no there, there. Director Tom Tykwer (Run, Lola, Run) knows how to make a stylish thriller but he lost his way. Perhaps much of writer Eric Warren Singer’s film ended up on the cutting room floor. Who knows? It seems that the big bad international bank (International Bank of Business and Credit) got enormously rich by laundering money for organized crime and terrorist groups. Now they want to broker arms deals and control lots and lots of debt (or something like that). Our disheveled hero, Louis Salinger has been chasing these banker crooks for two years and he teams up in a cockamamie unexplained way with an Asst. DA out of NYC, Eleanor Whitman. They run, they take trains, cars, cabs and planes to try to outwit, outlast and capture these bad guys. People are dying left and right and assassins are rampant. There is an omnipresent depressing quality to the film as we discover how many people are wrapped in the tentacles of this bank. The best scene takes place in a recreated NYC’s Guggenheim Museum (recreated in an abandoned railway roundhouse in Berlin). The shootout is almost 15 minutes long and was vastly entertaining, not at all believable and great performance art. Bottom line is this film could also have been called: Actors in Search of a Plot. Watch the trailer but keep in mind that some of this action ended up on the cutting room floor: Acting: Clive Owen as the disheveled Interpol agent is always fun to watch whether he is in a bad film or a good one. Naomi Watts as the NYC DA could have been replaced by any Jane Doe. Her talents were wasted. Armin Mueller-Stahl always plays an excellent bad guy and Brían F. O’Byrne as the assassin was okay. Trivia: In the original theater production of “Closer” Clive Owen played the character Dan. In the film version he played the other prominent male character, Larry, while Dan was played by Jude Law. He only got the the role of King Arthur after Russell Crowe, Mel Gibson and Hugh Jackman turned it down and after producer Jerry Bruckheimer vetoed the director’s choice of a then comparatively unknown Daniel Craig. Naomi Watts is best friends with Nicole Kidman, since a casting call for commercial when they were girls. She has a Yorkshire terrier named Bob. Predilection: I like thrillers but this was not very thrilling. Critters: None Food: I can’t remember. I saw this over a week ago. Sex Spectrum: No sex – too much running. Blatant Product Placement: In an ironic product placement the logo of Citibank was seen. Opening Titles: An exciting teaser of an opening. Visual Art: Milan, Turkey, Berlin, NYC all look mighty fine. Theater Audience: Five guys and me. Weather: It was inclement enough for our hero to always wear a raincoat. Drift Factor: I looked at my watch often. Predictability Level: Moderate to did not care. Tissue Usage: 0 Oscar Worthy: No Big Screen or Rental: Rental would be fine. Length: Two hours. LOBO HOWLS: 5
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Change is a Comin’ February 27, 2009
Posted by judylobo in Animal Stories, Animal Videos, Links, Photography, Politics, Videos, Zoos, wildlife.Tags: Bobby Jindal, Budget, Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, Nate Silver, Orangutan, Taxation without Representation
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Remember why we all voted for Barack Obama? If you had forgotten in all of this month’s messy talk about the stimulus bill (now the recovery act) we were jolted back to the long long campaign and the promises he made by yesterday’s delivery of the new 10 year budget. To simplify what Obama intends to do, try to erase the 30 year’s of Reaganomics where we saw the decline of the middle class, the dizzying rise in our health care costs (I pay almost $900 per month) and the inequities in income and taxation of the very rich to the rest of us. It is a bold plan that will finally address global warming, change the tax code to shift more costs to corporations and the wealthy, enlarge the Federal Government’s role in education and the most important thing of all – address healthcare and its rising costs that have eaten away at most people’s incomes. It will be a long, hard fought battle with Congress to get this past but we have a 78 seat majority in the House and if we could finally seat Al Franken will have 59 votes in the Senate we can do it. Yes, we can. The Obstructionist Repugnants who were drunk with spending during the Bush years will be loudly denouncing this plan in front of every camera they can find. Stay tuned.
- If you have some extra time on your hands and want to take a look at the budget check it out here.
- In other stains we need to clean up after the insanity of the past years. Pay attention to the lifting of the ban on photographing the coffins of the returning dead soldiers:
- Will Taxation without Representation finally be over or will this ultimately go to the Supreme Court for review? On Tuesday, the Senate achieved cloture (broke a filibuster) on S.160, the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2009, which would (1) permanently expand the size of the House from 435 to 437 members and (2) give one of these additional seats to the District of Columbia. This measure is quite likely to formally pass the Senate soon, be followed up with a vote in the House, and be signed by the President. Unless it is struck down on a Constitutional basis (and it will certainly be challenged), it will become the law. Nate Silver wonders if he will have to change the name of his website from 538 to 539
- Here yesterday in 100 seconds:
- If you missed the pathetic response to Obama’s speech the other night by Governor Bobby Jindal, check it out here in two parts:
- And here is part two:
- Chris Matthews makes me laugh. When he gets passionate about a subject he gets more and more animated. Watch his take exception to Rep. Darrell Issas use of the term Democrat to describe the Democratic Party. I think the Democratic Party calls itself the Democratic Party. Not the Democrat Party. Do we have to do this every night? Why do people talk like this? Fighting words to get the name wrong? complained Matthews.
- Bonnie, a 30-year-old female orangutan living at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C., began whistling a sound that is in a humans, but not an orangutans, repertoire after hearing an animal caretaker make the sound. Bonnie is the first-known orangutan to imitate a sound from a human’s vocal repertoire.
Yes, We Can! February 25, 2009
Posted by judylobo in Animal Stories, Links, Photography, Politics, Videos, Zoos, wildlife.Tags: Rachel Maddow, Maureen Dowd, SF Chronicle, Northern Turst of Chicago, Hilda Solis, Bobby Jindal, Primates as pets
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Wowzer! Our Salesman-in-Chief is back. Last night’s pep talk to the Joint Session of Congress was terrific. There was not a whole lot of detail but if his goal was to instill confidence in the American ‘can do’ philosophy – he hit a home run (perhaps with the bases loaded). He has an amazing capacity to actually make you believe him and believe in his dream and his plan (however vague). It is fun to watch the camera break away to focus on some of the Obstructionist Repugnants who have worked hard to defeat any stimulus plan other than tax cuts. Boy oh boy – it is nice to be in charge. We have been in the wilderness for a long time and the sunshine feels really good. Go Obama.
- The wacky Governor of Louisiana, young Bobby Jindal, delivered the wimpy Repugnant rebuttal address. My loudest laugh last night was from MSNBC when Jindal was about to deliver this speech an audible ‘Oh God’ could be heard ( I say it was Keith Olbermann).
- This is funny – check out Rachel’s reaction to Jindal’s speech:
- The New York Times today addresses the issue of ‘Primates as Pets’ in today’s editorial page. As I said last week. The only primate that belongs in your home is you. ‘the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the Captive Primate Safety Act, which would ban the interstate transport of primates as pets’. If you really need to see an exotic primate – go to your local zoo. They need your support right now anyway, as funds re being cut across the board to cultural institutions.
“The recent chimpanzee attack in Stamford, Conn., was a tragedy for the woman who was horribly mauled. It was also a reminder that primates should not keep other primates as pets. The obvious reason is the danger involved. No matter how tame they may sometimes appear, chimpanzees are vastly stronger than most people realize. And no matter how socialized a chimpanzee seems, it is still in exile from its kind, its way of being. Travis, the 200-pound chimp in Stamford who was shot and killed by police, was marginally legal. Had his owner registered him — as required in Connecticut for primates over 50 pounds — he would have been fully legal. But Travis had been exempted, largely for good behavior. At present, there may be as many as 15,000 primate pets in the United States. Only 20 states prohibit keeping them as pets, and there is no federal law against it. But there may soon be a law that makes it much harder to obtain them. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the Captive Primate Safety Act, which would ban the interstate transport of primates as pets. The Senate should quickly follow. The legislation poses no risk to federally licensed facilities, such as zoos and wildlife sanctuaries. Unfortunately, chimpanzees are only a small part of the global exotic pet trade, which is fueled by greed, curiosity and a misplaced, often wildly sentimental interest in animals. It’s only natural to feel empathy for a chimp that has been orphaned, one way or another, into the human world. But chimps belong with other chimps — in proper wildlife sanctuaries — and not living as if they were nearly human among humans”.
- File this under ‘it’s about time’: Senate confirms Hilda Solis as Labor Secretary.The Senate voted 80-17 to confirm Hilda Solis as Labor Secretary. The vote is a defeat for anti-worker conservatives, who have been stalling her nomination since Obama nominated her on Dec. 19.
- When will they learn? Yesterday’s news that Northern Trust of Chicago threw a mega-party in California made some eye-balls pop. Read what Maureen Dowd had to say today.
- In more bad news for the newspaper business – The San Francisco Chronicle joined the lengthening list of imperiled newspapers Tuesday as its owner set out to purge the payroll and slash other expenses in a last-ditch effort to reverse years of heavy losses.
- Here’s February 24, 2009: The Day in 100 Seconds:
Tuesday Tumult February 24, 2009
Posted by judylobo in Photography, Politics, Videos, Zoos.Tags: Hillary Clinton, Jonathan Jarvis, obama
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President Obama will address the nation tonight. It is not a State of the Union speech – but it might as well be – since the State of our Union is tanking. As Salesman-in-Chief he will speak about the economy, stimulus, jobs, jobs and more jobs. It is going to be another big picture, cheerleader type of speech. I’ll be listening. I am also watching the troubling decisions trickling out of this administration that smell of Bush and that does not make me happy at all. The Obama administration is siding with the Bush administration in trying to kill a lawsuit brought by watchdog groups that seeks to gain access to Bush White House emails. Is this change we can believe in? Stay tuned.
- In a Bushy kind of way, Obama is also holding some other policy stinkers:
- For those that are still confused about what happened to out economy, I found these two visual presentations called The Short and Simple Story of the Credit Crisis, By Jonathan Jarvis as part of his thesis work in the Media Design Program, a graduate studio at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. The goal of giving form to a complex situation like the credit crisis is to quickly supply the essence of the situation to those unfamiliar and uninitiated. These two videos are worth the ten minutes of your life.
- Part One:
- Part Two:
- If you were sleep walking yesterday because you stayed up too late Sunday night watching the Oscars, check out what happened:
- And who is having more fun than Hillary on her world wide tour. You go girl!
Oscar Review and Winners February 23, 2009
Posted by judylobo in Film Awards.Tags: Oscar Review, Oscar winners
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It was ‘Slum’ enchanted evening, wasn’t it? I have not enjoyed Oscar night as much in a very long time. It is hard to be cranky, clever and snarky when I laughed and smiled so much during the award show. While always long, it even ended the same day that it began – four minutes shy of midnight (on the east coast).
The good news is that I thought Hugh Jackman was terrific. He never fails to put on a terrific heartfelt performance and as he said on the hard to watch, sappier than sap, Barbara Walters special prior to the awards show, he wanted to emphasize a little more ’show’ and a little less ‘biz’ into the event. It worked for me.
I liked how they attempted to present the awards in the manner in which a film is made – from concept to post production. Perhaps it even helped some people understand the difference between sound editing and sound mixing. Who knows?
So, in no particular order, her are some of the high lights and low lights of last night.
- The Jocelyn Wildenstein cosmetic nightmare award goes to: both Goldie Hawn and Sophia Loren.
- The Barbra Streisand Most Earnest Speech Award goes to: Dustin Lance Black after winning best screenplay award for Milk.
- The Barbra Streisand Best Political Speech Award goes to: Dustin Lance Black after winning best screenplay award for Milk.
- Most Overdue Award (in the form of an honorarium) goes to: Jerry Lewis (I, like the people of France, am a BIG fan)
- For the second year in a row, the actress I missed least was: Sharon Stone (following as close seconds: Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz and Kirsten Dunst).
- Award for the palest person in the room: Nicole Kidman (a shocking shade of vampire) with a close second going to Ann Hathaway.
- The third annual Ben Stiller most annoying presentation skit goes to: Ben Stiller
- Biggest surprise of the night goes to: Best Foreign Film, Japan’s Departures. I was sure it was going to be Waltz with Bashir, with a close second going to The Class. This is one of those categories where a voter MUST see all of the films in order to vote. I guess it must be a great film and if it is ever released, I will check it out.
- A tie for FUN acceptance speeches goes to: Philippe Petite’s Oscar nose balancing act and Kate Winslet’s father whistling hello from the audience.
- Happiest winner of all: Sean Penn. I thought he was gracious, funny, self-deprecating and yes, I am one of those ‘Commie, homo loving’ voters who was hoping he would in.
- The one moment that made Lobo tear up: seeing Paul Newman at the end of the In Memorium montage. Queen Latifah’s singing was a nice departure from the usual somber music played during this segment each year.
- Most over-rated, camera hogging star of the night: Ann Hathaway
It’s a wrap. Here’s to a very entertaining 2009 year at the movies.
Final Award Tally: Slumdog = 8. Benjamin Button = 3. The Dark Knight = 2. Milk = 2. The Reader = 1.
And the Oscar winners were:
Performance by an actor in a leading role
* Sean Penn in “Milk”
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
* Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight”
Performance by an actress in a leading role
* Kate Winslet in “The Reader”
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
* Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Best animated feature film of the year
* “WALL-E” Andrew Stanton
Achievement in art direction
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
Achievement in cinematography
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Claudio Miranda
Achievement in costume design
* “The Duchess” Michael O’Connor
Achievement in directing
* “Slumdog Millionaire” Danny Boyle
Best documentary feature
* “Man on Wire” James Marsh and Simon Chinn
Best documentary short subject
* “Smile Pinki” Megan Mylan
Achievement in film editing
* “Slumdog Millionaire” Chris Dickens
Best foreign language film of the year
* “Departures” Japan
Achievement in makeup
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
* “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
Best motion picture of the year
* “Slumdog Millionaire” Christian Colson
Best animated short film
* “La Maison en Petits Cubes” Kunio Kato
Best live action short film
* “Spielzeugland (Toyland)” Jochen Alexander Freydank
Achievement in sound editing
* “The Dark Knight” Richard King
Achievement in sound mixing
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
Achievement in visual effects
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
Adapted screenplay
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy
Original screenplay
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black
Independent Spirit Award Winners February 22, 2009
Posted by judylobo in Film Awards, Photography, Videos.Tags: Independent Spirit Awards, Mickey Rourke's acceptance speech
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Last night the Independent Spirit Awards were held. It was live, uncut, uncensored, with no commercials (unlike tonight’s Oscar presentations). It was vastly entertaining. I did not vote for Mickey Rourke to win tonight, but it sure would be delightful if he did.
Here are last night’s winners:
Best Feature: Darren Aronofsky, The Wrestler
Best Director: Tom McCarthy, The Visitor
Best Actor: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Best Actress: Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Best Supporting Actor: James Franco, Milk
Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best Screenplay: Woody Allen, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best First Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black, Milk
Best First Feature: Charlie Kaufman, Synecdoche, New York
John Cassavetes Award: In Search of a Midnight Kiss
Best Cinematography: Maryse Alberti, The Wrestler
Best Foreign Language Film: The Class
Best Documentary: Man on Wire
Someone to Watch Award: Lynn Shelton, My Effortless Brilliance
Piaget Producers Award: Heather Ray, Frozen River
Truer Than Fiction: Margaret Brown, The Order of Myths
Robert Altman Ensemble Award: Synecdoche, New York
Mickey Rourke’s acceptance speech was extremely entertaining. Penelope Cruz’ acceptance speech was also hilarious but I cannot find it to share.
Collective anger, guilt and shame February 22, 2009
Posted by judylobo in Animal Stories, Animal Videos, Dogs and cats, Photography, Politics, Videos, wildlife.Tags: Aln Keyes, Frank Rich, Geronimo, Loki, Maureen Dowd, Mickey Rourke, Obama's first month, Rachel Maddow, Skull and Bones, Socks the First Cat, the dog
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So why is everyone yelling? We, ‘Americans,’ like to point the finger of blame at someone and get moving along. This collective economic mess we are in is very difficult to pinpoint a specific blame. Everyone is mad at the banks, rich people and politicians. The middle class is simply scratching their heads and wondering what the heck happened and how come their house is not worth 18 times as much as they paid for it. The poorer folks are just mad. The collective greed and self-indulgence, regardless of the scale – whether it was insane bonus’ or stampeding over a young man to get tube socks at Wal-Mart on Black Friday, is shared. ‘We’ like quick fixes, but sadly, this mess we are in, is going to take quite awhile to smooth itself out. I think we should regulate, regulate and then regulate some more. The ‘Free Market’ needs to be punished, along with the greedy bastards that are still in charge. Yes, we need to see some heads roll for this economic mess and the mess that the previous administration created in the raping of our Constitution. Frank Rich addresses the issue of our economy and our ‘cultural pattern of denial is hardly limited to the economic crisis. That ‘pound of flesh’ is awaiting, says Maureen Dowd today.
- A fond farewell to Socks the Cat. Former First Cat Socks, one of the world’s most famous felines, died Friday at the age of 20 after battling throat cancer since November. A stray cat rescued by, Chelsea, Socks lived in the governor’s mansion in Arkansas and later moved with the family to the White House. He has lived with Clinton’s White House Secretary Betty Currie since the Clintons left the White House. ‘Socks had an incredible life. Betty cooked for Socks,’ noting the cat loved chicken. He was also the subject (along with the family dog) of a book by Hillary Clinton titled Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids’ Letters to the First Pets. Another passing of note: Mickey Rourke’s beloved dog Loki has passed away. The Chihuahua died on Monday night at the age of 17. Loki (who is a look alike to my dog, Benny) was featured on Rourke’s video about the importance of spaying and neutering, the pet shop industry, and the commitment required in caring for animal companions.
- Rachel Maddow on a host of issues, but mostly about torture:
- File this under wacky, but not surprising, news: Descendants of the Apache leader Geronimo have sued the ultra secret society, Skull and Bones, over rumors that the society stole his skull in a grave robbery detailed in society lore.
- Rachel tells us what Obama did during his first month in office. Sorry about the annoying 30 second ad for Sprint before the video.
- For those that miss all of those right wing wing-nuts — here you are:
- My cat, Madison, can do none of these things:
What a difference a week makes February 20, 2009
Posted by judylobo in Animal Stories, Animal Videos, Dogs and cats, Film Awards, Photography, Politics, Videos, Zoos, wildlife.Tags: Chimpanzees, Jonathan Turley for Suprme Court, Keith Olbermann, Nancy Pelosi, Oscar Predictions, primates, torture
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I have been off the grid for a week. I have rebooted my brain and it is time to return to a rant, however short it might be. What a difference a week makes. I noticed this morning as I walked my little dog Benny, that it is no longer pitch black at 6 AM. That slight hint of dawn created a bounce in my step that has been missing during these past cold, dark winter mornings. Spring must be right around the corner. On March 8th we change to daylight savings time.
- One more thing – what do I think about that hullabaloo over the cartoon in the New York Post? It is a cartoon. Get over it.
- Speaking of chimps. That tragic story out of Connecticut involving the attack of the chimp should never have taken place. Chimpanzees do not belong in your home. Period. The only primate that belongs in your home is you.
- In case you are behind the news a bit, here is what happened yesterday in 100 seconds from Talking Points Memo. I love this little review:
- Nancy Pelosi gave an interview to Rolling Stone Magazine where she hints that she could foresee a scenario in which senior members of the Bush administration are actually prosecuted. Do I believe her? No. I think she is stalling and the statute of limitations clock is ticking away on certain issues like torture. Here is Keith Olbermann speaking with my guy, Jonathan Turley on the issue of torture:
- Check out my Oscar predictions here.
- I know that I said you should not have monkeys in your home, but this is very, very cute and it is a temporary foster care situation. Enjoy.
Lobo’s Oscar Predictions February 19, 2009
Posted by judylobo in Film Awards, This 'n That.Tags: Oscar Predictions
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This is a tough year. I did a lot of guessing. The Oscars could go in several directions or weighted heavily on one or two films. Oh, the excitement builds. Here are my picks. Look for my Oscar review in this space on Monday.
Performance by an actor in a leading role
* Sean Penn in “Milk” (Focus Features)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
* Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.)
Performance by an actress in a leading role
* Kate Winslet in “The Reader”
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
* Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Best animated feature film of the year
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton
Achievement in art direction
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Achievement in cinematography
* “Slumdog Millionaire” , Anthony Dod Mantle
Achievement in costume design
* “The Duchess”, Michael O’Connor
Achievement in directing
* “Slumdog Millionaire” Danny Boyle
Best documentary feature
* “Man on Wire”
Best documentary short subject
* “Smile Pinki”
Achievement in film editing
* “Slumdog Millionaire” Chris Dickens
Best foreign language film of the year
* “Waltz with Bashir”, Israel
Achievement in makeup
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, Greg Cannom
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
* “Slumdog Millionaire” A.R. Rahman
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
* “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
Best motion picture of the year
* “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best animated short film
* “Lavatory – Lovestory”
Best live action short film
* “New Boy” (Network Ireland Television),
Achievement in sound editing
* “The Dark Knight” Richard King
Achievement in sound mixing
* “Slumdog Millionaire” Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
Achievement in visual effects
* “The Dark Knight”
Adapted screenplay
* “Slumdog Millionaire” Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy
Original screenplay
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black
A Non- Political Happy Valentine’s Day February 14, 2009
Posted by judylobo in Dogs and cats, Photography, Zoos, wildlife.Tags: Valentine's Day
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A very happy V day to all of you. Go out today and kiss a furry, feathered or finned critter. Better yet, go out to your local Zoo and support their loving conservation efforts. I know that we will be visiting the San Francisco Zoo today. What a good day to view their new baby giraffe, right?
