Atonement Worth The Ticket

We saw "Atonement" this weekend which means I've now managed to see all five of the Oscar nominees for Best Picture. This one is a solid choice.

This is a movie whose previews were a bit misleading regarding the plot, at least for me. It's the story of how someone, especially a child, can misconstrue what it is they're seeing based on their limited understanding of the world and the consequences that can bring to bear throughout life.

The acting is fantastic. The main character is played by three separate actresses and each of them does a wonderful job. What's more is that each one has a striking resemblance to one another which helps keep the flow going nicely.

Much has been made of the performance of Keira Knightley and it's all deserved. She did a wonderful job as did everyone involved. I was a bit surprised at the shortness of time we see Vanessa Redgrave on screen given her stature and the pre-movie press.

I had male friends who commented that they weren't in a rush to see this as it was presented as a bit of a love story and mainly for couples or women. That's an unfair assessment. There is a love story but it's not really about that at the heart of the movie. It's much more about the consequences of past actions and having to live with them. It is a period piece taking place around the second world war. That has an impact on the look of the film but not to any detraction.

The story starts off very strongly grabbing you almost at once and keeping your attention through the first third of the film. Then things get a little slow in the middle before closing with a very strong, very memorable finish.

Of the five Best Picture nominees this one should be near the top of the list. I don't think it has a chance to win though. First, it's heavily British and that turns off a lot of viewers. Second, this seems to be the year for either "No Country For Old Men" or "There Will Be Blood". I would take this over both of those any day of the week. While both of those movies are interesting they both, in my view, have major flaws that keep me from thinking of them as "best picture" material. "Atonement" wouldn't be the best of best picture winners but it's solid from start to finish.

Stimulus Shenanigans

Interesting day today. CNN ran a story that caught a number of people by surprise and sent links to people they knew. When we went to read the story, the part that caught their interest had actually been removed. The story noted that the stimulus package had been approved and was on its way to President Bush. What it also stated, by way of a quote from the Treasury Secretary, was that the funds represented an advance on next year's tax returns.

This was entirely new information. Until that point everyone assumed that the word "rebate", which had been used quite heavily, meant it was a rebate on 2007 taxes. It would add to the national debt and we'd end up paying for it over many years.

I called my Congressman's office and the initial call back confirmed CNN's original quote. This would indeed be nothing more than an advance on any funds due next year. In other words, if you get $1,200 as a couple and owe taxes next year, you're also going to owe $1,200 more on top of it.

Why does this stink to the high heavens? First, it's going to do very little to help the economy. Second, it reeks of election year politics. Give the public "extra" money to go spend/blow and then, after the election is over, pull the rug out from under everyone. Third, the only reason this would have been pulled from the story, it seems to me, would be pressure from above not to report this fact to the public. What's up CNN?

Romney Drops Out And So Do The Conservatives

Well Mitt Romney just brought his campaign to an end with a speech filled with all the standard rhetoric and misinformation. Lots of erroneous comments like, "The Democrats want to declare defeat and run away from Iraq." No Democrat is going to have a press conference and say, "We have been defeated in Iraq and it's time to retreat." THAT is declaring defeat. Making up definitions for this isn't the same thing.

Anyway, it's funny to see what's going on now. All the radio shows are filled with confused conservatives who are now saying they are so against John McCain that they're thinking of voting for Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. At the very least they're saying they won't be voting at all.

Good. This party deserves what it's getting right now. When you spend years spitting out raw hatred and fear at every turn as the conservative shows, on radio and TV, do daily this is what happens. When you put up a buffoon for a candidate, get him elected and then support his every move regardless of its incompetence, this is what happens. These pundits have spent so much time vilifying John McCain because he didn't kiss George W. Bush's ass that now conservatives know no other way but to think as they've been brainwashed to think. So what that he worked with Ted Kennedy and Russ Feingold. He's a Senator. Senators often co-sponsor bills with peers of the other party. So what that he was for campaign finance reform. Are you seriously going to sit there and tell me that the structure we have now doesn't need attention? At least he tried. That's more than you can say for 99% of the others in Congress.

McCain = Bad. That is all they know at this point. Little did these pundits realize that they'd done such a great job that conservatives would end up viewing McCain as being worse than the arch-enemies over on the Blue team. Nice job there guys.

I loved it yesterday listening to Sean Hannity try to come up with the most ridiculous comments on all this. When pressed as to his support of Rudy Giuliani he tried to suggest that Giuliani was a victim of having inherited all those liberal policies in New York and was powerless to do anything about them. You know, he was only the Mayor. He then actually said, "Except for marching in the Gay Pride Parade, Rudy didn't do anything to support the gay movement." That's like saying that except for having gay sex with men on the turnpike, former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey didn't do anything gay. Are you kidding me?

I also loved hearing him talk about how he's all about substance. Meanwhile nothing he says has any. Remember that this is the guy who told us all that if the Democrats got control of Congress in 2006 that the next two years would be nothing but impeachment hearings. Well Sean? Where are all these endless hearings you prognosticated? He does this time and again. He's re-invented a completely fictional Ronald Reagan (along with the other pundits) to describe how his perfect candidate should be. Mr. Substance talks about how fiscally responsible Reagan was but neglects to mention that he raised taxes in his second term more than he cut them in his first. He talks about how this candidate should be against amnesty for illegal aliens when Reagan signed an amnesty bill into law. He talks about how strong this candidate should be with respect to defense and Iraq when Reagan cut and run from Lebanon. Reagan certainly had a hand in pushing the Soviets towards the brink but he hardly did it alone.

Don't get me wrong. I liked Reagan. Reagan took a country that had lost its way along with its confidence and he gave us both. However, he was far from the messiah that these conservative pundits would have us believe. However, in building up this fictional being these pundits have created a God that no real candidate can measure up to and now they have a great candidate in John McCain but their own rhetoric has blinded the base from being able to see it. McCain has a an actual track record for being a uniter. That was just a nice line for the current President but it's actually true of McCain. However, the vitriol over having even said "hello" to Ted Kennedy prevents conservatives from even considering this.

If you're a fan of Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly or the other conservative talking-heads then understand you are out of the mainstream. These people have erroneously convinced you that they speak for the majority when they never did. It is you who are out of touch with the rest of the country (and the world) and the majority has had its fill of your lunacy. You had nearly all of your "experts" railing against the Dems in 2006 and yet the elections went entirely in the other direction. Hannity said that "it was worth dying for" to keep Nancy Pelosi from becoming Speaker of the House (not that he was offering up his neck). They almost all were against McCain as a candidate and yet here McCain ends up the choice. Don't you people get it? You're entirely on the wrong side of the equation. Wake up. How many more issues do you have to hear these people comment on and have it go in the other direction before you catch on? When you find yourself thinking that you might vote for Hillary Clinton, as a conservative, it's time to admit things are very, very wrong.

I, for one, am glad to see these people finally getting what they deserve.

What's A Conservative To Do?

It's been heaven lately listening to conservative talk radio or watching Fox News. These people really don't know what to do with themselves any longer.

On the obvious hand you've got Barak HUSSEIN Obama gaining steam for the Democrats and the right just can't figure out the allure. The thought of some young black guy getting into office just runs entirely counter to their way of thinking. Plus, they seem confused that people haven't derailed his campaign over the rumor that he's a Muslim.

Of course if Hillary Clinton gets in they're all going to just move to Jonestown and drink Kool-Aid together. If you're too young to know the reference, look it up. I can't do everything for you. The idea of four to eight years another another Clinton is more than any of them could handle.

Then on their own side they're just as confused. They have John McCain leading the pack. McCain has been so vilified by them over the years that now they can't see past their own bullshit any longer and just can't fathom having this guy be the choice. Doesn't he have a black baby? heh heh

That only realistically leaves Mitt Romney. Sean Hannity was nearly going into convulsions trying to spit out reasons to support Romney over McCain. It was like trying to find the upside to burnt toast. Romney is all the conservatives have left but, oh my God, speaking of God, he's a Mormon and aren't they all nut cases? This guy actually believes in God, like entirely and seriously as in he expects to actually meet him when his time is up here. He doesn't just act the part like the rest of them. Who does this guy think he is? What's more interesting is that he was governor of the capital of liberalism, Massachusetts. He also once was registered as an Independent and has said he once voted for a Democrat for President.

Meanwhile I'm fine, at this point, with any of the four we have left. Perhaps I'll change my mind as the election gets closer but I can think of worse options than these four. Thank God they all dropped out recently.

Charlie Wilson Worth It

We saw "Charlie Wilson's War" last night. This is a movie starring Tom Hanks that I've been meaning to see since December and just couldn't get to. It's worth more of an effort.

While the movie isn't an Oscar contender it's a bright, witty, entertaining movie that really does make you think about how our government works and how one person can still make a difference within its confines.

The entire acting crew does a tremendous job in it. Most impressive is the always great Philip Seymour Hoffman in yet another perfect role for his style. There's also the, of late, rare appearance by Julia Roberts who looks at once like a typical middle-aged upper-class elitist and again a complete sexy bombshell. In fact, if anything a scene where Roberts strips down to a bikini is a bit distracting as it doesn't seem to fit the character she's playing but she looks so good in a bikini that I really don't care. It's a solid performance regardless. We also get to see Amy Adams who seems to be in every movie lately and that's also fine by me. Hanks is, of course, Tom Hanks so he does this sort of role in his sleep.

I'm not sure how true-to-life the story is and I'm sure that the title character was far more complex than the one we see presented here but I would love to know what degree of realism was involved. It's certainly believable that everything shown could have happened fairly closely to this.

The most impressive thing about this movie, truth be told, is that it has really made me re-think my position on current day Iraq. The movie is about how we managed to defeat the Soviets in Afghanistan and then, by completely abandoning it at that point, created the very problems we have today there. Had we just followed up with investment to rebuild the schools and infrastructure, perhaps it would have turned out better for us.

This movie is worth it if for no other reason than to make you wonder about such things as well.