Arts & Culture

Robert Downey Jr. forges a head.

Dennis Hartley — Thu, 15 May 2008 11:21:39 -0400

Although it’s about a month too early according to my calendar, the season of popcorn has now been officially thrust upon us with the release of Iron Man, the latest live-action “issue” produced from the seemingly inexhaustible stable of Marvel Comics superheroes.

This marks the fourth feature film and the second fantasy-adventure in a row from director-writer-actor Jon Favreau (Made, Elf and Zathura: A Space Adventure). Despite his growing list of director’s credits, Favreau the actor is probably still most recognizable for his role as the neurotic, lovelorn stand-up comic in Doug Liman’s 1996 cult film Swingers. Favreau also wrote the screenplay for that film, which means that you can credit (or blame) him with being the party who is responsible for adding the now ubiquitous catchphrase “Vegas, baby, Vegas!” to the pop culture lexicon.

For his new film, Favreau turns screenwriting chores over to Mark Fegus and Hawk Otsby; but those who are paying close attention will catch a brief, clever visual homage to Swingers in the opening sequence, which takes place in (you guessed it) Las Vegas. Favreau casts himself as one of the nattily attired security men for wealthy inventor/industrialist Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) who is in town to accept a recognition award for his ingenious achievements in the advancement of weapons technology. Stark is a cocky eccentric who enjoys the typical pursuits and distractions of a rich playboy, when not ensconced in the high-tech basement laboratory of his (movie fabulous) cliff mansion in Malibu. He is attended to by a beautiful and trusty gal Friday, Pepper Pots (Gwyneth Paltrow). In other words, he’s living the uber-geek’s fantasy life.

In NYC? Live liberally!

SEDER — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:58:21 -0400

On Saturday, May 10th, Living Liberally invites you to
join friends, supporters, bloggers, members of Congress and assorted
left-leaners at ou Annual Celebration and fundraiser.

Liberal drinks
(open bar), liberal food (sustainable, of course, provided by Eating
Liberally) and liberal fun -- as we support and strengthen our national
organization.

This year, we'll be honoring Becky Bond of
Working Assets / CREDO, for the organization's work building
progressive infrastructure, defending the Constitution and helping us
live liberally every day.

The event will be Saturday, 8-11pm at the
historic DCTV Firehouse at 87 Lafayette Street in Lower Manhattan --
get your tix: http://livingliberally.org/5.10.08/

VOICES OF A PEOPLE'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES

SEDER — Fri, 09 May 2008 11:51:02 -0400

The great Howard Zinn is working on a documentary of his People's History of the United States. Here's a special sneak peak at the trailer... here

Also from Tomdispatch.com, the following essay and short video on A People's History of
American Empire

Empire or Humanity?

What the Classroom Didn't Teach Me About the
American Empire
By Howard Zinn

With an occupying army waging war in Iraq and Afghanistan, with military
bases and corporate bullying in every part of the world, there is hardly a
question any more of the existence of an American Empire. Indeed, the once
fervent denials have turned into a boastful, unashamed embrace of the idea.

However, the very idea that the United States was an empire did not occur to
me until after I finished my work as a bombardier with the Eighth Air Force in
the Second World War, and came home. Even as I began to have second thoughts
about the purity of the "Good War," even after being horrified by Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, even after rethinking my own bombing of towns in Europe, I still did
not put all that together in the context of an American "Empire."

The Comedies Of Terror

Dennis Hartley — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:51:01 -0400

The Comedies Of Terror

Crazy rhythms: The Visitor doesn’t miss a beat

Dennis Hartley — Thu, 01 May 2008 10:25:13 -0400

If Richard Jenkins doesn’t get an Oscar nod for his amazing performance in Thomas McCarthy’s new comedy-drama, The Visitor, I will personally picket the Academy. Writer-director-actor McCarthy’s previous effort was the critical favorite The Station Agent, and once again he draws us into an extended family of very believable, warm-blooded characters, generously giving all of his actors plenty of room to breathe.

Paranoid Park

Dennis Hartley — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:12:58 -0400

Gus Van Sant’s name has become synonymous with a genre tagged as “northwest noir”, and, true to form, his latest film cozies right up alongside some of the