Affirmative Links

Bill Maher: Real Time May 18th 2007

Not the greatest show for Maher this time, although, it’s very guest (as opposed to host) dependent.

Bradley Whitford: Hey, if you’re gonna make a fool of yourself stammering and stuttering (“uh, uh, uh”) try not to complain to the resident conservative about the 20 million uninsured in this country – because you might sound foolish when he jumps in to correct you.  It was pretty clear Whitford came with some pre thought out 30 second sound bites, and then just tried to ram then in for applause, whether they were appropriate or not.

Loretta Sanchez: a bit touchy feely, grabbing the other guests, didn’t do much for me.

John Fund: Wall Street Journal-ist with the creepy grin, actually was much better spoken than Whitford, but of course resorted to Republicanisms such as “rising tide lifts all boats”…etc.

Best Line of the night came during the Russell Simmons portion.  Simmons is proselytizing for yoga as the cure for insomnia, clearing your mind, etc., when Bill asks:

How do you have a completely empty mind and not be George Bush?”

Biggest laugh of the night too.

Best Pun title for a New Rule: the Romney should wear a funny hat segment called “Top O’ the Mormon”

Michael Moore, Ben Afleck and P.J. O’Rourke should make for a better panel next week.

[See also: Free Association, The Dupont, and the last new rule]

Rambo 3 vs. Spiderman 3

In 1988, Rambo III was the most expensive movie ever mad with an estimated budget of $63 million.  Nineteen years later, Spiderman 3 has an estimated budget of $350 to $500 million.  (Add the extra $150 mil if you want to count marketing.)

Other Bloggers, Similar Subject: The Movie Blog, Meaninglis, Liz & Darrow, The Moviezzz Blog.

This Film Is Not Yet Rated: Movie Review

Netflix recommended that I queue Dick Kirby’s documentary “This Film Is Not Yet Rated,” and I obliged.  I do tend to gravitate towards non-fiction after all.

And I think everyone has sometimes wondered why “This Movie” got a PG-13 rating, when it was much more bloody, violent, foul mouthed and had sooooo much more nudity than “That Movie,” which got an R. 

Well, it’s the Motion Picture Association of America that decides, and this documentary wants us to know more about the process and the members themselves.  The MPAA is the secret governing body that determines when X number of thrusts in a sex scene is OK, but X+1 isn’t.  Unless, it’s a female, or a gay scene, in which case you can have fewer, or is it more, or…well, nobody really knows what the ‘or/or else/or’ is.

We hear from various directors that were shocked to find that their film received an NC-17 rating, when they know good and well that the Studio expects them to put out an R feature.  What’s worse, the Studios basically can’t market an NC-17; it will end up as a direct to video flop.

Kirby generously provides many scenes that had to be cut to make an R rating, so of course, when he submits his documentary, it too gets an NC-17.  After all, if ‘they’ have objected to these scenes in other films, certainly they can’t let Kirby get away with showing us a montage of them.

But who are ‘they’?  Well, we’ve never been allowed to know.  According to several clips of Jack Valenti, their anonymity protects the process.  But isn’t their something offensive, almost fascist to this secret body? 

And in some ways, Kirby’s eventually successful attempt to unmask the MPAA member’s secret identities provides the film’s most satisfying moments.

I struggle with a rating for “This Film is Not Yet Rated,” because it is one of those pics where intense interest in the subject matter itself would exponentially increase enjoyment of the film. 

Hollywood

has always been in love with movies about movies.

Personally, I enjoyed the film, but perhaps my obsession with the subject matter is not as high as those directly involved in film making: two and a half out of four stars.

Other Blogs with reviews: Resist Media, E Marketing Performance, Green LA Girl, DV Guru, And Now For Something Completely Different.