Numbers for People!

People are more important than numbers, just ask The Prisoner, or a Secret Agent Man!
Let me say it again, humans are more important than numbers! Numbers are symbols. Numbers should work for people. Today is St. Valentine’s Day, otherwise known as Lupercalia.
In a salute to all of the gods, including monotheists and economical/ecological rationalization, we, at Liberty Hall Video, offer you 1/2 off all your Late-Fees, from 2:10 PM on the 14th of February until 11:00 PM on the 28th of February.

While you’re paying your Late-Fees, you’re also donating to Haiti. We will take 1/2 of whatever you pay, and give that to Partners in Health.

Let’s say you have a $10.00 Late Fee.
We only charge you $5.00.
Of that $5.00, we take $2.50 and donate it to Partners in Health.

That’s the deal. It goes for two weeks, until the end of February.
So, what’s the catch?
Well, the usual conditions: all info must be complete & up-to-date; no breaks for lost or damaged items (If we sent you to the credit bureau already, we don’t have anything for you, Mac!); and we don’t want plastic. We want cash only, especially when it comes to the nickel-and-dime action.
I think it’s a good deal. It shows you got a heart for Haiti, and a sense of self-preservation and the common good. I hope you act on it. -permazorch
Idea: Bombardier.

Oscar FAIL!

Academy Award winners for Best Picture 2000-2009:

2000- Gladiator – DreamWorks – Douglas Wick, David Franzoni, Branko Lustig
2001- A Beautiful Mind – Universal, DreamWorks – Brian Grazer, Ron Howard
2002- Chicago – Miramax – Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, Craig Zadan, Martin Richards
2003- Lord of the Rings: Return of the King – New Line Cinema – Barrie M. Osborne, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh
2004- Million Dollar Baby – Warner Bros. – Clint Eastwood, Albert S. Ruddy, Tom Rosenberg
2005- Crash – Lions Gate Entertainment – Paul Haggis, Cathy Schulman
2006- Departed – Warner Bros. – Graham King
2007- No Country for Old Men – Miramax, Paramount Vantage – Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
2008- Slumdog Millionaire – Fox Searchlight, Warner Bros. – Christian Colson
2009-???

Out of the past nine Best Picture winners, only one shows up on my top ten of the decade list. In fact, Crash was one of my least favorite movies of the past ten years. How do the Oscar winners hold-up when compared to your list? I look at these movies and only see three, maybe four movies with any chance of retaining the status of great films of the 21st Century. The Academy should note that four out of ten is still failing—what best picture will The Oscars give us for 2009? Will Up In The Air or Precious steal the win from more deserving films, like Inglourious Basterds, A Serious Man, and Where the Wild Things Are? The only thing I’m sure of is if Avatar wins I’m going to murder myself.

For the Oscars ceremony this March, the Academy has recently made the decision to increase the Best Picture nominations from five to ten. Whether you agree with this, it will certainly have an impact on the outcome of the winner, and chances are that that winner will still be the wrong choice. Let’s just hope that the five extra nods will allow films that are less involved (or less crafty than Harvey Weinstein) in the politics of Hollywood to be recognized by their peers and acknowledged by the general public.

Cheers,
Billy Gay Cyrus

Please note: I enjoyed AVATAR.

BILLY GAY’S TOP 10 OF THE 2000z (WITH BONUS LISTS!)

Ten favorites of the 2000s:
1. Punch Drunk Love – (PTA!) – SHUT. SHUT. SHUT THE FUCK UP!
2. There Will Be Blood – (PTA!) – DRRRRRRRRRRAAAIINAGE!
3. Where the Wild Things Are – You won’t see a movie like this in the multiplex for another 20 years. My top movie of 2009.
4. Royal Tenenbaums – If you don’t like this movie, then we will never be friends.
5. No Country for Old Men – There were several Coen Bros movies that could have made it on my top 10, this one is still my favorite.
6. George Washington – If you have not seen this, go check out the Criterion DVD right now.
7. Lost in Translation – Best opening shot in a movie ever.
8. The Squid and the Whale – This is not a good first date movie (just ask Profesta).
9. Let the Right One In – Dear Twilight series, This is what a real vampire movie looks like. Go fuck yourself. Love, Billy Gay
10. Sexy Beast – Ben Kingsley gives his best performance ever (in your face Gandhi).

honorable mentions: The Hurt Locker, American Splendor, Inglourious Basterds, A Serious Man, Cache, Synechdoche NY, Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN, Adaptation, Diving Bell and the Butterfly, etc.

Top 10 TV Shows (must start after 1999!)
1. The Wire (duh)
2. 30 Rock
3. Battlestar Galatica
4. Mad Men
5. Eastbound and Down
6. Arrested Development
7. Breaking Bad
8. Deadwood
9. Tom Goes to the Mayor
10. The Colbert Report
honorable mention: The OC
(shows starting in 1999 that I wish I could have included: The West Wing, Freaks and Geeks, Futurama, and Strangers with Candy)

The 5 films I saw from 2000-2009 with the least redeeming qualities:
1. Epic Movie
2. After the Sunset
3. Charlie Bartlett
4. A Good Year
5. Ultraviolet

Kisses,
Billy Gay Cyrus

Broadzilla’s Top 20 of the Decade; because who can pick just 10?

In No particular order:
1.Fantastic Mr. Fox. Long story short, I love stop motion animation, and I’m a big fan of Wes Anderson; does this make me pretentious? Perhaps.
2. Let the Right One In. This movie shows that you can end a sentence in a preposition, you can!
3. Hurt Locker. It’s a real, non-romanticized look at war, and I like that.
4. Where the Wild Things Are. Kids are cool, fun soundtrack, beautiful picture, ‘nough said.
5. The Triplets of Belleville. Animation! I could watch this movie over and over again until I died, and then in heaven I would request it.
6. Darjeeling Limited. I enjoy colorful movies.
7. Grindhouse. Kick-ass girls kicking ass. Kick ASSSSSSS!!!!
8. Spirited Away. I thought anime was geeky, and then I watched this and realized that I was a geek.
9. No Country for Old Men. It’s just good, Friendo.
10. Squid and the Whale. This relationship makes me wish that everyone was like this, for the people watching.
11. Inglorious Basterds. Funny and gory just go together.
12. Billy Elliot. One of those inspiring movies that doesn’t make me want to hurl.
13. Little Miss Sunshine. I like to watch this movie when it’s raining outside.
14. A Serious Man. Whenever I’m down I just think, “Just look at that parking lot”.
15. Star Trek. If I had a thousandplex movie theater, I would put this in every theater.
16. Cache. Classic whodunit in a very different way.
17. The Lives of Others. I’m a German major, deal with it.
18. Royal Tenenbaums. Wes Anderson again.
19. Pan’s Labyrinth. This movie really touched me, in a good way…….. Don’t be gross.
20. There Will Be Blood. Just Plain Good. I drink your mikshake.

There it is and it’s done, feel free to judge me anyway you want.

Yoshi’s Top Ten Movies of the Last Ten Years

In no particular order…

1. Children of Men – I had the idea for this movie 2 years before it came out, and spent them paralyzed by the fear that someone would think of it and write it before me. As it turns out the book was published 10 years before I thought of it (14 before it was made into a film).
2. There Will Be Blood – Should have won best picture but everyone loves the Coen Brothers. Whatever. I’m a bastard in a box. I drink your milkshake.
3. Dancer in the Dark – Saw this in Kansas City before I moved to Lawrence. Felt like puking after it was done – the mark of a great movie.
4. The Royal Tennenbaums – Classic Wes Anderson. Duh. Go Mordecai!
5. Spirited Away – It’s like being in a child’s dream: it makes sense but it doesn’t make sense. I keep saying Ima be NoFace for Halloween, but haven’t done it yet.
6. Synecdoche, NY – I mainly just like the word “synecdoche.” One of the few times being an English major has paid off in the real world.
7. Lost in Translation – I loved The Virgin Suicides (maybe even better than Lost in Translation). Whatsherface proved promising after this role (and the shot of her b.c. in the opening title), but what can you do?
8. Ostrov (The Island) – Beautiful movie about Orthodox Christianity. It’s like reading the lives of the saints on film.
9. Let the Right One In – Swedish. Check. Vampires. Check. PERFECT.
10. The New World – Haunting. And just enough dialog to keep Collin Farrell from ruining it. Underrated.

That’s them in a nutshell. Check out my blog for a more complete commentary on each film, coming in the next coupla’ days.

TNX. -Yoshi

Two Can! Tou Cannes? Fruity Toot-Toot!

There can be only two! Well, for now there are only two movies I think are Very Important in our last 10 years of movie-going. Actually, there are scads and scads of ’em, but only two I want to talk about right now.
1) Memento
If you profess to like film and you don’t have this on your best of the decade, I have to wonder what the fuck you think film means, I guess. Do you give a fuck about human existence, objective vs. subjective reality? Just asking. And accusing. Memento is the best film about film about you and what you think you heard, yet made. Christopher Nolan’s next three movies could have been total trash, and I’d still think he was a great filmmaker.

2) Spirited Away
I don’t think I need to say more, because you’ve seen it several times, already. If you have an aversion to animated film, I pity you, for you are a fool. Me, I’m daft & buggy.
-permazorch

Décennie de films étrangers favoris – De la Femme Allen

1. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Le Scaphandre et le Papillon
2007, France, dir. Julian Schnabel

2. Amelie
Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain
2001, France, dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet

3. Talk to Her
Hable con Ella
2002, Spain, dir. Pedro Almodóvar

4. The Man on the Train
L’homme du Train
2002, France, dir. Patrice Leconte

5. City of God
Cidade de Deus
2002, Brazil, dir. Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund

6. Pan’s Labyrinth
El Laberinto del Faun
2006, Spain, Guillermo del Toro

7. Spirited Away
Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi
2001, Japan, dir. Hayao Miyazaki

8. Kitchen Stories
Salmer fra kjøkkenet
2003, Norway, dir. Brent Hamer

9. Kung Fu Hustle
Kung Fu
2004, China, dir. Stephen Chow

10. The Triplets of Bellville
Les Triplettes de Belleville
2003, France/Belgium/Canada, dir. Sylvain Chomet

Honorable Mentions: THE LIVES OF OTHERS (2006), NO MAN’S LAND (2001), LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (2008), THE MAN WITHOUT A PAST (2002), A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT (2004), CACHE (2005), ITALIAN FOR BEGINNERS (2000)

Yes, I do not speak the French, no? Thank you. – Allen Mme.

Stylish Ways’ TOP MOVIES OF 2009

I saw some movies this year and here’s what I liked.  Deal with it:

Best war movie- The Hurt Locker (haven’t seen The Messenger yet)

Best horror movie- tie-Drag Me To Hell/Paranormal Activity

Best action movie- Avatar (more mindless than Star Trek/D9 but better action. )

Best sci fi movie- tie-  Star Trek/District 9

Best foreign movie- Gommorah

Best documentary- Anvil!: The Story of Anvil

Best animated movie- Ponyo

Best comedy- Eastbound and Down (not a movie, but I’m sick of everything Judd Apatow)

Best movie- Inglourious Basterds (could have topped so many other categories, but that’s why it’s the shit)

Worst movie- The Happening (let’s hear some theories about those honey bees)

So bad it’s good- Knowing

Toplikar’s Tip Top 25 Films of the Decade

Adaptation
Almost Famous
Amelie
American Splendor
The Aviator
Brick
Catch Me If You Can
Children of Men
City of God
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
The Corporation
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Forty Year Old Virgin
High Fidelity
I Heart Huckabees
Idiocracy
The Incredibles
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Memento
Punch Drunk Love
O’ Brother Where Art Thou?
Ocean’s 11
Requiem for a Dream
The Royal Tenenbaums
Waking Life

As it Happens

Well, the ‘funny picture contest’ didn’t quite blow up the way I’d hoped. I thought it was a good idea. We only got THREE entries. That’s the bad news. I’m personally disappointed that @BARRR and @benasmith didn’t participate. Those guys do everything, everywhere, all the time (for everyone), yet had no time take a picture of their genitalia with whipped cream and a red bow (or something). The good news is: every one of the entries we received was decent and honorable, and each one amused me personally. For that, I thank you all, but particularly @chewyfally for her encouragement at the outset of this campaign. So, thanks!

Who has won, and what have they won, Johnny?

@nesbik is the Grand Prize Winner!
Not a Reindeer.
I simply can not imagine a better holiday photo, without it providing blood, smoke and full-frontal nudity. The ambiguity and asymmetrical nuance of this (seemingly) casual photo celebrate the best parts of our myriad Winter Solstice holidays at their most secular and profane (note the single white glove).
@nesbik wins:
The Liberty Hall Holiday Combo Gift Pack, containing:
-A Liberty Hall Passport (good for cinema and video-store, but no concessions or special events).
-A Liberty Hall t-shirt (size; color and design options are limited).
Plus, I’ve included a DVD-Taken, a movie that hates Albanians and Arabs but only makes me sad because each moment I see him on screen, it reminds me these are the last pictures we’ll see of Liam Neeson before his world is crushed in real life. R.I.P. Natasha Richardson.
-A Frisbee.
The Tucker Max DoucheBag Pack, containing:
-A “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell” utility bag. Included inside the bag is a black t-shirt (extra large) emblazoned with “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell”, and a bumper sticker saying same.  There is also a wristband reading WWTD? (What Would Tucker Max Do?)

1st Place – @chewyfally
A Fun Day at Sears.
Easily the smartest, most purposefully funny of the photos, it loses by a hair to our champion, above. It just doesn’t contain the same sense of mystery, and to some, is a little too real; too familiar, and evokes a sense of guilt in the finding of amusement in this replica of holiday-cheering schlubby antagonists. Don’t laugh at my Aunt Vida, please!
@chewyfally wins:
-A digital copy bonus disc of The Hangover, a movie the majority of people I encounter enjoy more than I.
-A Frisbee.
-Bubble wrap.
The Tucker Max DoucheBag Pack, containing:
-A “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell” utility bag. Included inside the bag is a black t-shirt (large) emblazoned with “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell”. There is also a wristband reading WWTD? (What Would Tucker Max Do?)

2nd Place – @TylerBranson
Nobody was Really Sure What Happened.
I know what happened, I know why there was screaming. That muscle-bound, pasty skinhead-guy stole the other man’s shorts.
@TylerBranson wins:
The Tucker Max DoucheBag Pack, containing:
-A “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell” utility bag. Included inside the bag is a black t-shirt (extra large) emblazoned with “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell”. There is also a wristband reading WWTD? (What Would Tucker Max Do?)
-A Frisbee.
-Bubble wrap.

3rd Place – @BNoomrick
I’ll Be Dead Soon.
Ah, mortality! The lessons snowmen have for us are timeless. It’s funny, and it’s true. This individual was the only one to enter after the deadline was extended. Thank you!
@BNoomrick wins:
-A wristband reading WWTD? (What Would Tucker Max Do?)
-A Frisbee.

Well, that’s it, for now. Come claim your prizes at the box-office. You might bring I.D., please, no big deal.
-permazorch