Remake The Third Man? No Way!!!

The web site First Showing is reporting that actors Leonardo di Caprio and Tobey MaGuire are involved in a project to remake film noir classic The Third Man. Alex Billington, who reported the story, concludes: “It's a true noir classic that really can't be topped.”

Hard to disagree with this assessment. Leonardo di Caprio and Tobey MaGuire are good actors, but none of them have the presence, diction, or talent of Orson Welles, a giant among giants (see Citizen Kane, if you already haven’t done so).

What is it with certain Hollywood types who can’t leave something perfect like The Third Man well enough lone, but must submit to their massive egos, thinking that they can do better, or their new “interpretation” would be more relevant. It’s simply bullshit built on vanity and money.

I personally hope the project never comes to pass.

And for those who haven’t seen The Third Man, here’s the trailer:



If you are intrigued, I highly recommend watching the DVD from Criterion, which is filled with extras only a ciniphile would love. The Third Man is a film film, I would be very disappointed if you did not enjoy it it.

Reading Update

This is only my second reading update for the year. Back in the day, I use to write this feature monthly, now it is more intermittent. For some reason or another, I’m reading less than I use to, which is kind of strange given the fact that I’m currently unemployed and have more free time then I know what to do with. Perhaps I’m becoming senile with age, or getting more distracted. I don’t know. Nevertheless, the following books I have started and plan to complete by the end of the year:

• House of Cards by William D. Cohan
• The Great Gamble by Gregory Feifer
• The Seekers by Daniel J. Boorstin
• Every Man a Speculator by Steve Fraser
• The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
• Magical Chorus by Solomon Volkov

That’s a lot on my plate, and only two months to finish it all. Wish me luck.

Review: Marx for Beginners

Rius. Marx for Beginners. New York: Pantheon, 2003. 160pp.

Many people know about Karl Marx and what he stood for, but how many people, including his many admirers and critics, actually understood the man and his revolutionary ideas? In my opinion, not many, including those who unabashedly call themselves “Marxists.’ Not surprisingly, Marx’s ideas are impenetrable by even the most intelligent of people. Very few understand Marx, and even fewer who successfully translated his thinking to the general public: reading and comprehending Marx is simply beyond the ability of mere mortals. Marx’s ideas are a knotty mess of philosophy and economics, written in the turgid, confusing prose that is the hallmark of many intellectuals. So a book like Marx for Beginners is a welcome antidote, as it explains Marx in the simplest way possible—through cartoons.

The book is illustrated and written by Rius, a pseudonym used by famed Mexican cartoonist and left-wing political activist Eduardo del Rio. The book is only 160 pages or so, but Rius encapsulates Marx’s ideas in a tight, unsparing format, not wasting time on ephemeral matters but focusing on main ideas that made Marx an icon of the left. Rius gives us a biography of Marx, his influences, explains the philosophical underpinnings of Marx’s ideas, and Marx’s blueprint how the proletariat (the “working” class) can seize power. Naturally, Marx was no lover of democracy, which, for him, was a bourgeoisie concept.

Though this edition was published in 2003, the book was originally published in 1975. This explains the many references to Chile and snide attacks on the United States. Obviously, the author was bitter about the overthrow of Salvador Allende in Chile and American imperialism in South America in general. Never mind that Allende was planning to turn Chile into another Cuba. But that’s a debate for another day.

Marx for Beginners is not intended to be a comprehensive, or even an exhaustive, look at Marx. That is just not possible. This book is a primer, of sorts, a kind of jumping off point. Because to understand the man there is no going around reading the man's various works. A bit of a warning: reading Marx is only for the heartiest of souls and not for the faint of heart. And I'm not writing this review as a supporter of Marx. Hardly. But you cannot deny the man's influence on history; and to understand the world today you have to understand Marx.

Toy Story 3 Trailer

It is finally here: the official trailer for Toy Story 3:

Looks really good. Can't wait to see it!

(h/t: FirstShowing)

Gee This Blog Sucks...

As everyone well knows, I’ve blogged very little om the past few years. Mostly, I’ve just lost all interest, contributed by the fact that my writing was increasingly becoming repetitive—hence boring. I know I have this blog, but I’ve written only 400 posts in nearly three years; when in my hey day I use to write over 500 posts a year.

I have also noticed that the quality of my writing has deteriorated exponentially. Just read posts from my old blogs (here and here). I swear I didn’t write any of it, but I did. What the hell happened?

Why The Cleveland Brown Aren't Going Anywhere

Why the Cleveland Browns will suck this year (they are already off to a 0-and-3 start!): the players hate head coach Eric Mangini. Why? For crap like this:

First there were the reports of Browns coach Eric Mangini requiring a mandatory bus trip to work for free at his football camp. There were the rumors that Mangini slapped a curfew on players attending "voluntary" offseason workouts. And there was the talk that Mangini screwed Josh Cribbs out of an agreed-to contract renegotiation.

Now Yahoo!'s Michael Silver is reporting that the Browns fined a player $1,701 for drinking a $3 bottle of water out of the hotel minibar during a road trip without paying for it at the front desk upon leaving.

Mangini has practiced poor leadership here. Players have already filed grievances against him. There is no reason to treat professional football players like children. A $1,701 fine over a $3 bottle of water? Come on!

And it doesn’t help that he doesn’t name his quarterback until the last minute.

A coach is like a general. If soldiers cease to listen or respect him, he is useless and must be replaced by someone who inspires confidence. Obviously, Mangini has lost the confidence and respect of his players. It’s time for him to go.

Yahoo Mail's Redesign

Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) has updated its e-mail interface:



It has a cleaner, less cluttered look; and fewer ads. Yahoo has also decided to add a new application window containing many of its applications just a click away. All in all, I really like it.

Varnam Is Moving On Up

For those who don’t already know, JK has joined the cabal of do-gooders over at National Interest, hence his blog has a new address:

http://varnam.nationalinterest.in

Update your bookmarks and RSS readers accordingly. Congratulations to JK, this move will be a step-up in terms of more exposure for his blog. Just beware of the haters out there. Don’t let them get you down.

The Lost Symbol Is Finally Here!

Guess what's in my hot little hands?



Digging into it as I write this.

Never, Ever Forget

It is hard to believe that eight years have passed since the attacks of 9/11. Like many anniversaries, it is a good time to take stock of what happened, what is happening, and what will happen.

I am dismayed by the fact that 9/11 has quickly become ancient history for many people, especially the pundits, bloggers and the rest of the commentariat. Many are complaining about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The war in Iraq, whatever its outcome, is a boondogle and never should have been undertaken. There was no al-Qaeda or weapons of mass destruction; so whatever its supporters say, it was a strategic failure. There is no arguing this point.

On the other hand, the war in Afghanistan is a "just" war, which has been treated like a neglected step-child, especially by the Bush Administration and their misguided "War on Terrorism". Underfunded and undermanned, the war in Afghanistan has been floundering for awhile now. The Taliban, it seems, is getting stronger by the day. Osama bin Laden has yet to be found. And our chief ally in the region, Pakistan, has been wishy-washy at best.

The time has come to rethink this war and the war on terrorism.

We can quibble over how to go about it, but leaving Afghanistan is not an option. We need to fight smarter. After all, the price of peace is eternal vigilance.

Coming Soon: Up In the Air

Walter Kirn's delightful Up In the Air - about a "downsizing" expert (he fires people for a living) and his quest to be the ultimate frequent flier - is coming to the silver screen, starring George Clooney. Here's the trailer:



I'm so looking forward to this film.

Video On-Demand Cures Boredom

Was perusing TVGuide.com to see if there was anything worth watching tonight, but found absolutely nothing that interested me.

I need to watch something! Reading at night is not an option for me (I prefer to read in the morning), and I have no hobbies to speak of. And listening to music for the sake of listening to music is not my bag. I need visual stimulation, and television is the only effective delivery system.

Then I realized I have video-on-demand through my cable company. So I’ve decided to watch a couple episodes of No Reservations I somehow managed to miss. So the night is not a total loss at all. Thank you, Anthony Bourdain and video on-demand

How Brett Favre Is Like A Girl...

Want to know why the Minnesota Vikings have put up with Brett Favre’s passive-aggressive behavior?

It’s quite simple, really. Think of Favre as a really, really hot-looking girl who not only has issues – both physical and mental – but has the maturity of a petulant teenager. It’s funny what some guys will put with if the girl solely if she is hot.

This is the Minnesota Viking/Brett Favre relationship in a nutshell.

2009 NCAA College Football Rankings

College football season is a mere few days off from kick-off, and both the AP and USA Today polls have been released:



[via ESPN]

No real surprises if you ask me, but things never turn out the what these pre-season polls predict. In 2008, for example, Georgia was ranked number one in both polls, only to quickly falter as the season progress. This can be chocked up to the fact that Georgia plays in the powerhouse SEC, where every game is a toss up.

Enough of this chitchat. Let’s play some football.

Review: Inglourious Basterds

Who hasn’t dreamed about killing fascists at least once in their life? I know I have. I want to massacre the bastards by the truckloads, moral and legal constraints be damned. But thanks to Quentin Tarantino’s new revenge fantasy flick, Inglourious Basterds, I can vicariously live the experience without getting my hands dirty or suffer moral qualms.

The movie is about a fictitious squad of Jewish-American servicemen whose sole purpose is to slip behind enemy lines in occupied France in order to kill (and sometimes torture) as many Nazis as possible. Body count is important here. Led by a Tennessee hillbilly named Lt. Aldo Raines, played by Brad Pitt, they rampage through the French countryside, ambushing German soldiers, scalping them like Apaches. No prisoners are ever taken, but a token survivor is always left behind as a living monument, with a swastika carved into their forehead, to scare the shit out of the Germans. And believe me, the Germans are scared shitless, including the Fuhrer himself.

Quentin Tarantino being Quentin Tarantino, naturally, this movie does not work as a conventional narrative, but in the patented Tarantino style of going forwards and backwards. His movies often read like novels, and Inglourious Basterds is no exception.

But in addition to the novel-like elements, Tarantino has added another storyline that complements, but does not compete, with the first. The movie opens up on a French farm, with a farmer cutting wood. He is met a by a charming German SS officer named Col. Hans Larda, who is called the “Jew Hunter” for his single-mindedness to rid France of all Jews. Col. Larda is played with such evil joy by Christoph Waltz; he alone is worth the price of admission. You want to like him but are reminded that his is a Nazi, and a ruthless one at that. Col. Larda suspects the farmer of hiding Jews. With wit and the interrogation skills of an experienced detective, Col. Larda manages to squeezes the truth out of the farmer. No violence is used in the process, but the Jews, on the other hand, their fates were sealed by a hail of bullets.

There was a lone survivor of the massacre, a young girl named Shosanna Dreyfuss, played by French actress Melani Laurent, who manages to escape to Paris, where she ends up running a movie theatre playing nothing but Nazi films. All the while, Shosanna nurses a grudge that eventually develops into full-blown homicidal rage: the targets of which, of course, are Nazis, a theatre full of them, in fact.

The film is derivative like many of Tarantino’s films and include his trademarks: long dialogue scenes about philosophical issues and meditations about German films of the 1920s, unconventional camera angles, and his trademark penchant for violence. It should be said, however, that Tarantino-style violence is not the cartoonish violence that are is found in bonehead Steven Seagal and Chuck Norris films. On the contrary, it is never gratuitous. One of the more interesting aspects of the film is that more than half the movie is in both French and German. For moments, I thought I was watching a foreign film. Surprisingly, it did not detract from the enjoyment of the film at all.

But why did Quentin Tarantino decide to make a film about a Jewish revenge fantasy in the first place? It this article published in Atlantic magazine, he explains why:

“Holocaust movies always have Jews as victims,” he said, plainly exasperated by Hollywood’s lack of imagination. “We’ve seen that story before. I want to see something different. Let’s see Germans that are scared of Jews. Let’s not have everything build up to a big misery, let’s actually take the fun of action-movie cinema and apply it to this situation.”

It is true that most—some might even say all—films about the Holocaust focus on the persecution of Jews. The Holocaust was very bad for Jews; this is an immovable fact of history. But Tarantino isn’t wrong to suggest that the cinematic depiction of anti-Semitic persecution can become wearying over time, particularly for Semites.

I feel the same way any book I read or any movie I see on the Holocaust, Jews are always depicted as defenseless victims. They never fight back, accepting their fate because it is God’s will, for punishment of sins, real or perceived. It is so maddening. This is one of the reasons why I admire Israel, at least it fights back whenever it is attacked.

The problem, I suppose, is both a philosophical and religious one, so I will leave it there.. Nevertheless, Inglourious Basterds is a welcome addition to both World War II and Holocaust genres, if only for its cathartic effects. The thirst for revenge must be slaked once in awhile, in my opinion, even if it is only on the silver screen.