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Pretty eventful night here as a tornado cut a swath through my town. It completely leveled a True Value Hardware, destroyed many homes, took off many a roof, and caused millions in damage to other homes, businesses, and our college campus (Kansas State University). Debris is everywhere. There was very little in the way of injuries, although I heard a tornado destroyed 80% of the buildings in another town, and killed two people.

My family lives about two miles north of where the tornado hit. And playing against stereotype, the tornado avoided the trailer parks and hit nice neighboorhoods.

Glad you're all OK mystery. That must have been frightening. Terribly sad about the Boy Scouts in Iowa.

My house is on a crawl-space, so we have a hollow concrete cylinder half-buried beside the house that we huddled in. It fills with water when it rains, too. It was nerve-racking, but a lot of people experienced some genuine terror. I certainly have nothing to complain about.

The Boy Scout tragedy is heartbreaking.

An Oscar for Spike? I dunno...

Miracle at St. Anna trailer:

http://movies.yahoo.com/premieres/8290153/standardformat/

Spike and Clint both nominated for Best Director would certainly give the media a good storyline.

If that was to happen, I wuld put money that some kind of truce would be worked out. They would be photgraphed whaking hands and having lunch.

But I feel this year's offering from Swint Eastwood will be a non-starter. It didn't get across-the-board raves out of Cannes. And let's face it, the only reason people talk about Flags is because Iwo Jima is held in such high regard. (Personally, I thought both movies were mixed-to-negative.)

I suspect Jolie will get the nomination she should've got for A Mighty Heart.

Spike's newest Joint looks really interesting. I did smile when the trailer flashed, "From Spike Lee, Director of Inside Man," I guess Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X are officially outdated.

Miracle at St. Anna and W are the 2 movies I'm most waiting forthis summer.

Also heartbreaking: Theaters blacklisting "War, Inc." for political reasons.

Pic was to have expanded this week to Philly and D.C. Arthouse chain Landmark Theatres had it booked for their 2 D.C. locations but it was pulled with no warning. AMC and Regal may have banned the movie -- there are at least a dozen AMCs and Regals that could have used it this week.

No Uck: that's not heart-breaking. Only tragedies should be heart-breaking. Comparing a crap film that should be out on DVD right now to people dying... is a bit silly even for you... Captain of the Totally and Utterly Ridiculous.

"No Uck: that's not heart-breaking. Only tragedies should be heart-breaking."

"Uck"...?

IOIOIOI...lots of things that aren't tragic are heart-breaking. And tragic doesn't always mean death (what about the tragically hip? death for them would be nice in most cases, but it's not a common occurrence). Lighten up just a little. For someone whose posting name is THAT close to the refrain from "Old MacDonald Had a Farm", why lecture silliness?

Yours in Christ,
-'Lick

I find it interesting in the new trailer for The Dutchess that they actually show Princess Diana. How very... forward of them.

teehee, I'm reading an interview with Jamie Bell atm and there was a bit that I thought you guys might find amusing:

"It was tough. I mean, I was on it for a year. At this point, I’ve made a bunch of films, so I know how it should go. And I felt after a while, Why didn’t anyone tell me [Doug Liman] was a nutcase?"

We'll be married some day...

Chucky do you have anything to back up that War, Inc. is being Blacklisted. The film will open in DC two landmark theaters in two weeks and it is more likely that the tiny tiny distributor is having trouble making enough prints than it being banned politically. Regal and AMC are simply packing their screens with films that have 50 million dollar advertising campaigns behind them. The Regal just outside of DC has 20 screens playing 9 movies.

Anybody got anything to say about The Fall? It is playing at the old school theatre here in my town. Reviews are mixed but it sounds intriguing.

Thanks in advance for your input.

The Fall is worth seeing on the big screen. It's singular in intent and execution. Inapplicable to anything else.

Totally worth seeing, Direwolf, at least according to me. Imperfect (Tarsem sometimes seems like he's taking pictures, not filming sequences), but often beautiful.

WAR, INC has drawn grassroots support from soldiers in Iraq, who sadly claim that it's all too true:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/iwar-inci-cusacks-savage_b_106837.html

The daily e-mail from Huffpost.com even includes a pic of an armed solder in camo fatigues holding a handmade placard saying "GO SEE WAR, INC".

The Fall is definitely worth a look Direwolf.

Was I dumbfounded amazed? hardly.

But it's visually just a jewel to watch even though the story is a mish mash of so many others. but go see it.

Hallick: Uck is being silly once again. You also apparently failed to get what the nick is based on. SO please keep your personal attacks to yourself. Be cool.

Friday afternoon and a triple crown of big stories break ...

R. Kelly acquitted on all counts in a "kiddie porn" trial ...

Tim Russert drops dead of a heart attack in the NBC News bureau in D.C. ...

Willie Randolph could be fired as New York Mets manager this weekend ...

Days like this are why I don't blow off work early on Friday during the summer.

Tim Russert dying sucks. The gravitas he brings to election coverage and nights, can simply not be replaced. He also loved baseball with every fiber in his being. All around good guy in terms of the way he got things across with politics that few ever have. So here's three huzzahs to him... huzzah... huzzah... huzzah.

I liked Russert. He was tough, but fair. Sorry to hear.

Russert is a shocker. He was one of the best out there - I feel - and I also feel he gave issues their proper weight, unlike some commentators who would go nuts over bullshit and then not cover the more serious material as they waited for the next "blue light special" atop the Drudge Report.

And Randolph has so much talent on that team and, I feel, has squandered it through bizarre managing choices (who decides to bench players during a hot streak?!). If anyone manager in baseball has earned a pink slip over the past couple of seasons, it's Randolph who should've been fired at the end of last season.

Just my two cents.

But yeah, after so many, many years, an R. Kelly acquittal is pretty surprising, though it also feels somewhat preordained. All those machinations behind-the-scene seemed to suggest that was what they were designed to do. Wacky that it goes down this way the week HBO puts out "Wanted & Desired."

Russert was a entertaining interviewer, but WAAAY to cosy with the DC power structure for my taste. Both Obama and McCain have released emotional statements saddened by the loss of their friend. His passing is sad, but so is the beltway fishbowl that Russert epitomized.

Wrecktum bring it all to a screaching halt. Wrecktum everybody!

Well, I thought I struck a good balance between respect for his passing and honesty of my opinion, so I'm cool with it. Better than the "TIMMEH SUX!" stuff I've seen elsewhere.

Only someone with a name like "Wrecktum" could make an assholish comment like that.

Russert may have been "cosy" in that he was on the beat for so many years. You try hosting Meet The Press for that long and not having a decent relationship with a lot of those people.

Regardless of his familiarity, I think most of the people commenting on the air are saying how tough of an interviewer he was. He may have been comfortable around these people, but it didn't stop him for digging when he needed to.

It'll be a bizarre historical footnote to this year's primary season as he - really - was the one who declared Obama with that "we know who the candidate is going to be" MSNBC report that made the rounds of the internet for days. If he wasn't so respected and his words given so much weight, that quote wouldn't have caused the same sensation or feelings of finality as, say, if Chris Matthews had said it.

Yikes, attacked by thin-skinned lazarus. Sorry I made your pussy hurt.

I swear, whenever anyone famous dies, you gotta say "hugz and prayers for his family" or get smacked down by the Condolence Nazis. F that.

Classy as ever Wrecktum.

In the immediate aftermath of passing, the decent thing to do is look at the bright side, positive side of someone's death.

When we heard of Sydney Pollack not too long ago, I didn't make the point to state my real feelings on The Interpreter.

that's a very good point SJR. And in the ensuing weeks it'll be curious what NBC news does to find a replacement for Russert. Will we still have the Senate debates we did in '06? Will the candidates be as eager to go on?

Sad day for us political junkies. I was not always the biggest fan of Russert's tactics, but its hard to deny (and based on the teary eyes over at NBC right now) that on a personal level he was a great man.

In my opinion, the time of ones passing is the perfect moment to discuss all aspects of their life. Good and bad. As long as your respectful in your statements (and I think I was initially) I really don't see what the big deal is. There is absolutely nothing wrong with saying you didn't like The Interpreter, no matter how soon after the director's death.

No, Wrecktum. You were not respectful. If you claim that you were, you are either a fool or a liar. I don't think you're a fool.

On the other hand: At the risk of sounding even more disrespectful: Who replaces Tim Russert in the MTP chair? Keith Olbermann? Chris Matthews? Tom Brokaw? Brian Williams?

I'm sorry. I crafted my first post very carefully (obviously not carefully enough to spell cozy right) to strike a proper balance. I guess I missed the mark. Must make me a fool.

It's called being CLASSY, Wrecktum. It would seem you and your generation has no idea what the term means.

I am watching MSNBC, and I love the way Jon Meacham of Newsweek described Tim Russert's interviewing technique: a "civil confrontation." Yes. "Civil confrontation." Little of that here and elseswhere on the web, alas. I must admit: There are times when I fear that prolonged exposure to the toxicity in many net postings can really be harmful to your soul.

"It's called being CLASSY. It would seem you and your generation has no idea what the term means."

i swear the images of joan blondell and ann southern just popped into my head.....

"It would seem you and your generation has no idea what the term means."

I suspect I'm older than you and I don't think you're using that word properly.

I respect Tim Russert's years of experience and much sympathy to his friends and family, but that doesn't put him on a media pedastel.

I wonder how Dennis Kucinich felt when Mr. Russert smirkingly asked him about his alleged UFO sighting, in an obvious attempt to short-circuit his candidacy -- which that helped to do. Russert did indeed represent the Washington circuit and that's not disrespecting him to point it out.

Peace!

Christian: Russert came down equally hard on everybody. Did you ever see him grilling Bill Richardson on MTP? Trust me -- after that, Richardson didn't have a chance.

Joe: of course it does, but you do not have to post. You do not have to read it. You can just move on. I do find it funny that this place has a whole slew of regulars, who have posted her for years, and lack any sort of comradery on a grand scale.

That aside Wreck: if you assume you are older than me, then here's to me still having a sense of wonder, an inner-child, and a sense of whimsy. If I am older than you. Well, I can be a grandiose asshole on this thread or in real life but I have enough class,that I will never ever spit on anyone's (figuratively of course) memory the day they died. Especially if it was someone like Russert, that made politics and election nights all the more exciting and interesting. If you are pissed at him about Kucinich and the UFO thing Christian, that's not bullshit. You just need to get real.

"If you are pissed at him about Kucinich and the UFO thing Christian, that's not bullshit. You just need to get real."

Define "real" -- and it would have been great had Russert then turned to the other candidates to say, "Mr. Obama, speaking of UFO's, do you really believe in a great spirit in the sky that controls our destinies?"

Now that would be keepin' it real. Especially from the network that failed to "grill" this administration about its bullshit illegal war in 2003.

io -- i love your "inner child" and "sense of whimsy"....unfortunately, your "inner idiot" and "sense of stupidity" always win out.... now, quit telling people what they NEED TO DO....you NEED to get a handle on your life and quit worrying what others are doing.....

Yes, we all need to stop telling scooterzz that he is annoying.

Scoot loves me. He really really does.

I just jumped in here to say that the two hour season finale of Lost and the last three episodes of Battlestar Galactica are better than anything I've seen in the theater this summer, so far...

The LOST finale was better than almost any movie I have seen this year. While BSG just did another freakin "WAH WAH WAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah" cliffhanger episode. I liked it. I liked the misdirection. I just hoped this show did not need such a silly misdirection.

io, no 'battlestar' spoilers please, some of us haven't even seen season three yet!

wait, thx, are you talking the last episodes of series 4? the last season...isn't it? is it? i thought it was

Leah, to answer your question about Battlestar (spoiler free)

In the states, essentially they ended the first half of Season 4, the final season.

But they concluded the story arc with a definitive ending that was what IO referred to as a silly misdirection, but is really just a "twist" (and a decent one at that imho) and as they are quite common in story structure, should be taken as such since Battlestar is such a serialized show and the whole series is essentially one story with very very few stand alone episodes.

I don't think you can compare Lost and Battlestar, but I will say what impressed me about the final episode before the mid-season break was it was essenitally an awesome character piece that wrought so much tension with very little to no action.

It was all in the writing and the story.

That episode reminded me of what one of my screenwriting instructors told me in college:

He told me if I really wanted to learn how to write for Movies or TV, I should just study
The Twilight Zone" backwards and forwards. Because they put so much imagination and character in every episode. They didn't have any money for the show so the "Special Effects" were all in the writing. And after all these years, they still hold up as epic story telling. (A strong similar argument could also be made for the original Star Trek)

Wow, I just re-read what I wrote and I don't think I really made sense.

The 4th season mini-story arc that plays into the OVERALL story, is what concluded at the mid-season break here in the States.

There is still 10-13 episodes left in the show to conclude the overall story.

And what I meant by Star Trek, is it's the writing and the actor's interpretation of it, that made that show what it is and brought back from the dead and made it the franchise it is today
(like The Twilight Zone)

The LOST finale was actually all about the characters. While the BSG finale was just about the BSG cop-outs established over time for certain characters. These cop-outs are not overly annoying, but they are annoying nonetheless. I will state that RDM established something that can easily make for a great and satisfying ending to this show too bad it will not air for another FREAKIN NINE MONTHS! YOU SICK AND SADISTIC SCI-FI BASTARDS!

made sense to me, thanks for 'splaining it, thx

Sorry, chaps. Tim Russert was a perfumed prince of Babylon, careless of the truth and servile to power. Why else would Bush and Cheney praise this talking head in death?

Because they don't have Asperger's like you do.

Jeff, that's really insulting to Asperger's sufferers. They deserve better than to be lumped in with Charles like that.

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