Movie Friday: Cabin In the Woods

I recently watched The Cabinin the Woods, having heard that it was something more than just a horror movie.  The fact that JossWheedon is associated with the project was definitely in its favor.  Anyone who calls back the stars of The Avengers just to film an after-the-credits gag showing them sitting around a table eating shawarma is OK by me.  And of course there’s Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog, Firefly, etc., etc. 

Turns out Joss produced and co-wrote this with the director, Drew Goddard, and it definitely has his fingerprints all over it.  First of all, it’s really a deconstruction of the horror genre, with explicit attention paid to the clichéd archetypes (jock, slut, virgin, etc.), while adding some humorous counterpoint with the control room people—particularly BradleyWhitford (of The West Wing fame, not the Aerosmith guitarist) and Richard Jenkins, the latter being one of my all-time favorite character actors.  Stir in some thought-provoking material on society’s attitudes towards the young, torture porn, religion, and half a dozen other topics, and you have a fairly brilliant commentary on our modern entertainment-industrial complex.  It’s also hilarious.  See this movie if you have the chance.

Learn to Let Go

There's a lot of angst here about the current impasse regarding the new arena for the Oilers, with a not very hidden implied threat in the form of a trip by Katz group staff to Seattle just when they announce plans for a new arena.  One of the main sticking points seems to be a request for a $6M subsidy from the city even after all arena revenues are given to the Katz group, an apparent add-on that was not part of the original agreement.  I agree that it's odious behavior from someone who represented himself as an Edmonton booster when he acquired the Oilers.  But no one should be surprised when it plays out this way.  Professional sports franchise owners, with a few key exceptions, are billionaires used to operating in a climate in which every advantage must be seized.  Indeed, not exploiting every chance to squeeze that last drop out of the taxpayers probably seems immoral in a world where downsizing, outsourcing, and pension raiding are considered good business practices that are rewarded with higher stock prices.  For a timely reminder, one needs only look at the current officiating fiasco in the NFL.

So, in the current paradigm, one should assume that professional sports owners will behave like assholes, with no regard for the loyalty shown by longterm fans.  In the case of the Oilers, yes, this team is a civic institution whose loss would be a major blow to a city that has a lot of self esteem issues already.  But if people recognize this for what it is--unethical, manipulative tactics designed to maximize annual profit and the overall value of the franchise--maybe they can find it in themselves to assign a little less significance to the question of whether or not a team happens to be using their city's name.  And if it relocates, most people will probably find that life goes on just fine.

Running Behind Movie Friday: Looper

Incredibly hectic week, with no let-up in sight.  Still, it wouldn't be complete without Movie Friday.  This week, I want to highlight Looper, a very interesting sounding sci-fi movie with (once again) Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  It was very well-received at TIFF, and is currently running at 96% at Rotten Tomatoes.  The writier/director, Rian Johnson, previously did Brick, another Gordon-Levitt vehicle that I have commented on previously.

The description of this film also vaguely reminds me of the ultra-indie Primer, a truly messed up time travel movie.  I recommend it, but with the proviso that it will confuse and upset you.

Dreddful: Movie Friday

Here's a cheesy looking movie that I will probably have to go see:

I never saw the first Judge Dredd, in part because I was consciously avoiding Stallone's ouevre by that time,* and in part due to its awful reviews.  But this one looks much more promising.  I've been a fan of Karl Urban for a while--he was especially amusing in Star Trek and RED.  In this film, he seems to be channeling a sort of post-apocalyptic Clint Eastwood.  (Question:  was Eastwood ever in any sort of science fiction film?  Not that I can remember...)

*Update:  To be fair, one of my guilty pleasures is Demolition Man.  That movie never fails to make me laugh.  And it actually has a decent score on Rotten Tomatoes.

UVa Presidential Coup

Via Jeremy, here is an excellent article on the debacle last summer involving the removal and reinstatement of the University of Virginia's President.  The explanation for the inexplicable actions of the Board of Visitors comes down to the usual one:  incompetent or evil?  This article suggests incompetence was the problem.

Online University Courses

A little over a month ago, there was a bit of a brouhaha on Jeremy's blog about the new Science Dean's blog post regarding online delivery of university course content.  This morning, CBC had an hour-long program on the topic that was quite informative and thought-provoking.  I recommend listening to it.

U of A In the News

Congratulations to Biochemistry's Joel Weiner and his student Matthew Solomonson for their PNAS paper on pyranopterin cofactors in molybdenum-containing proteins.

Movie Friday: Cloud Atlas

Not a lot to talk about this week, despite the start of classes.  So, let's turn to an upcoming film that I am very excited about, Cloud Atlas:

This movie, which premiers at TIFF, is based on the acclaimed book by David Mitchell, which I am currently reading.  It's interesting to note that he considered it unfilmable when he finished it, but he, too, is very excited about this adaptation.

Finally, I am interested to see what the Wachowskis can come up with.  Their output has been sporadic since V for Vendetta, consisting mainly of the inexplicable Speed Racer.  But based on the trailer, I think this has a lot of potential.