Oh, yeah, I agree - Gosford Park was awful. But I liked Austin Powers 2. Meat, poison, etc etc and so on.

As Elaine turns to leave, her left arm seems to swing out more than normal, almost brushing George's "thing". Always wondered if that was deliberate…

heysoos, I saw Zelig alone in the theatre too. I wonder if it was the same theatre. Or even the same screening.

great points by ZMF and uptowngbv. And most of Clooney recent movies feel like Lumet movies - Michael Clayton, Goodnight and Good Luck, Syriana. And George was the pilot in the tv remake of Fail Safe.

That actually makes Hollywood sound sane.

Hi rickster: I think you got mixed-up there - Python predates the Goodies by about 10 years. And I like the Funky Gibbon 'nall but I don't even think Tim Brooke-Taylor would compare Python and the Goodies favourably, nevermind use them in the same sentence.

At Close Range was almost too mannered, though, don't you think? The camera work, the lighting - it was beautiful but too distant.

I'll make a case for Michael Clayton as a neo-noir that isn't trapped by 40s-era style. It certainly has the ambivalent morality and an excellent modern femme fatale.

alurin I know it sounds as if it should be mesopotamian but there's a section about Gilgamesh wandering the world, way beyond the known borders, and finding a vast forest - has to be northern Europe, right?

I love Gilgamesh - it really feels ancient and almost alien. And there's a real sense that the world is young, without that many people in it. The description of the endless European forest is awesome, literally.
And that spider freaked me out…

That was him? I thought Malcoms Dad/Breaking Bad guy took it out. (Out. It. Yesirree, Bob.) Or was he the Dentist?
God, I'm so lazy, I could have just gone to IMDB, instead of wasting my lunchbreak…

"Mr. Data—nicely done"
honestly, how good is Stewart? That scene is A+ and Brent Spiners straight-face response is excellent, too - how many actors would want to throw in some small reaction. Nicely done, indeed.
And the Gilgamesh scene is fantastic too - made my little sister ask me to tell her the story. My heart…

Thanks Whovian, didn't get that. Makes more sense now.
And Fast Zombie, I'm going to try to use "douche-on-douche violence" in a sentence today. Brilliant.

Shania Morissette
That Alanis "You oughta know" video is hilarious - it's like a mash-up of three different Shania videos. At least Shania didn't pretend to be anything more than a pop product.
And you say "Alanis haters relished pointing out how many of the examples of irony in the lyrics to "Ironic" were, in fact,…

It would - then it would actually mean something. Instead, they've just made me ponder the difference between "minimalist" and "bland".

As someone who lived through 70's Dr. Who, tread very, very carefully - there's some terrible stuff in there. Usually, it was only the lead (Baker/Pertwee/etc) that made it worthwhile. The wobbly sets, slumming RSC actors, lonnnnnnng stories, cack sfx… I have a vague memory of the Tom Baker Leela stories being good,…

Excellent, thanks. (Interesting process in m'head, trying to place the voice: "Early Aretha? no… Sarah Vaughan? no… not deep enough for Nina… could be Dinah Washington…")

End credit song
Anyone recognize the song on the end credits? And generally, does AMC list those credits? I don't see them on their blog. (Would love to find that muzak version of "Do you want to know a secret?")

Will Eisner said that comparisons between them aren't fair because "Jaimie is a sprinter and Gilberto is running a marathon."
Once again, Eisner is the smartest guy in the room.

Rod the Mod
Good call on Rod Stewart. And he pretty much admitted it, in a tv interview a few years ago. He was asked why he doesn't write songs anymore (which is pretty much the good Rod) and he said "cos it's really hard." I believe he was standing in his Hollywood mansion as he said this, admiring his new wife.
ps…