Brick, Netflix, Danzig... And Sammi Curr!

Brick!

Brick, Sundance fave and cinematic debut from writer/ director Rian Johnson (wait, someone does does spell "Ryan" like that? People who ask me if my name is spelled that way aren't just idiots?), is one of the best flicks I have had the pleasure to devour in recent memory. It also carries with it the distinction of being the first movie I received after joining Netflix (yes, very 2002 of me, I know).

The movie is a beat-by-beat, shot-by-shot homage to Film Noir, but set in the present day (at a high school!) and nevertheless filled with the requisite femme fatales, big character introductions, bosses and beautiful unshaken camera shots. Johnson's camera direction lets the movie breathe, meditating on one beautiful scene after another while his dialogue -- all of it faithful Noir-speak! -- is so snappy and nuanced it demands a Shakespearean-adaptation level of rewind-button savvy. And it is worth it. In fact, since we can keep it as long as we want, we'll probably watch it again. Check out the trailer.

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Netflix Vs. Blockbuster
Speaking of Netflix and their fantastic service, they are suing Blockbuster. 'Flix says the video giant stole their (very much patented) ideas, namely, having an online service that allows you to keep a movie as long as you like and automatically sends you the next movie in your queue after you've returned its predecessor. Blockbuster, for their part, says, "Hey, Netflix didn't invent the idea of online DVD rental." I can see the logic in both arguments. And I also recall something about Blockbuster building their corporate headquarters on sacred American Indian land or something, so I'm siding with my new friends. (Anyone know if that American Indian bit is true, by the way?)

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Tom Freston Follow-Up

Remember my last blog about MTV cofounder Tom Freston being pushed out of Viacom? Apparently it fits a pattern that puts him alongside Tom Cruise and the guy's own son, among others, who have fallen prey to Sumner Redstone's wrath. Eerie. The good news to report is that not only did Freston get a multi-million dollar parachute, but a nice sendoff from loyal staffers. Once again, cheers Tom, I barely knew ya' (literally).

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Star Trek Turns 40!

Fresh from Comedy Central's roast, his Shatness chats with Wired Magazine. Awesome.

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To Tube ... Or Not To Tube

YouTube is all the rage but they still haven't figured out a way to make money. And the bad news for all of us is that it looks it will soon be so cluttered with advertising that you may not want to bother digging through it. All I know is that it's the only place where I can find Sacred Reich at Dynamo, Samhain playing the Misfits "Die, Die My Darling" in like 1984 and Raid playing "Words Of War" at the 1991 Memphis gathering of vegan wannabe radicals.

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More Danzig

Speaking (as I often do) of his Glenn-ness more details have emerged regarding his 2-disc "Lost Tracks" courtesy of MTV News Chris Harris.

What the article doesn't mention is the song called "White Devil Rise" which Danzig told me is "a response to Louis Farrakhan."

Oh, he elaborated: "I mean, I agree with him on some stuff, but we disagree on a lot." I'm sure Louis can't wait to hear it. (And I'm sure many of the juicy quotes I'm leaving out will show up in the Revolver Halloween issue... Get it!) *Ahem. Crazy.

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There is already an awesome movie by that name, but...

My friend Mike Dougherty is going to direct his first major motion picure! One of the two writers behind "Superman Returns" and the much more excellent "X2: X-Men United," Mike is getting behind the camera to direct what looks to be "Pulp Fiction set on Halloween night" from one of his own screenplays. The only bummer here is that he's calling it "Trick Or Treat." Yes, I have tried to tell him about Sammi Curr and Eddie Weinbauer, but he paid me no mind. I mean, he ain't a metalhead, but he's a great dude.



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Power to the People (And Bill)

Bill Power of Zambooie has launched his own online television show. If the intersection of religion and politics interest you (as it does me) give it little viewing here. It's worth your valuable time.

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