Ken Lowery Presents: Ringwood

In Theater: The Vampire's Assistant

2009-10-23T09:47:00.000-05:00

John C. Reilly is just about the last guy you’d think to cast as a vampire. He’s older, pockmarked, plays mostly goofy roles and is blessed with a mop of loose, curly hair. (And then there’s that slightly muppet-like voice.) It’s a pleasant surprise, then, to see him own the role of Crepsley the vampire, a tired and cynical old soul who puts on a kind of magic show with the traveling Cirque du Freak. Reilly is a talented performer, which aids him well: he’s good enough to be great without really trying, a fitting style for such a downbeat and aged character.

(more...)
(ken-lowery.com)

In Theaters: Where the Wild Things Are

2009-10-16T09:35:00.000-05:00

With just ten sentences and a handful of beautiful artwork, Maurice Sendak made a timeless children’s tale in Where the Wild Things Are. Max, Mr. Sendak’s wolf costume-bedecked young hero, escapes a scolding mother to become king of a horde of monstrous-looking Wild Things until it’s time to go home again. And in those scant few pages, Max’s brief journey becomes a celebration of the essential wildness of a child’s imagination.

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(ken-lowery.com)

In Theaters: Zombieland, The Invention of Lying

2009-10-02T08:48:00.004-05:00

Zombieland:

Well, this was inevitable. Between the time I wrote this and the time you read it, thirty zombie movies were produced in North America. Zombies are the poor horror filmmaker’s shortcut to social relevance and easy gore, and the genre now finds itself so overworked that any new zombie film that throws in a dash of genre bleed—say, the “alternative lifestyle” faux-doc like American Zombie or the Norman Rockwellian Cold War spoof Fido—is heralded as a minor work of genius before disappearing mere months later into merciful obscurity.

(more...)

(ken-lowery.com)

The Invention of Lying:

With The Invention of Lying, Ricky Gervais (creator and star of the originalThe Office and Extras) seems to be making a bid to be a soft-hearted Woody Allen. The opening titles cards are a familiar white-on-black text, and almost immediately Gervais begins his narration with a bit of snarky meta-commentary on the credits themselves. Gervais gives us the premise: he lives in a world where lying was never invented, and everyone is brutally honest with everyone else all the time. It’s just the sort of modern fantasy premise that would feel snugly at home in an Allen movie.

(more...)

(ken-lowery.com)

In Theaters: Jennifer's Body

2009-09-18T08:50:00.001-05:00

Jennifer’s Body is the kind of teen horror movie that wants us to believe that bona fide blonde babe Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia, Mean Girls) is in fact a dumpy loser. Of course, as the movie’s written by the overbearingly hip Diablo Cody, you’d be forgiven for thinking this is some kind of intentional dig at how the Teen Movie genres operate. (Seyfried even sports glasses and pinned-up hair, which for time immemorial has been code for “ugly duckling.”) Surely Cody knows what she’s doing? Surely she’s taken even a passing glance at the genre she’s diving into, and the discussions surrounding it?

(more...)

(ken-lowery.com)

In Theaters: Big Fan

2009-09-11T09:51:00.002-05:00

Paul Aufiero has one love in his life, and that love is the New York Giants. It’s the kind of love recognizable to any fan (sports or otherwise), the kind of love that engenders a love of trivia and no sense of nuance. Paul sees everything and yet sees nothing. His love is deep and very personal, but that’s not to say it’s monochromatic; to a certain kind of fan, despairing over your beloved thing is almost as much fun as adoration.

(more...)

In Theaters: Cold Souls

2009-08-21T08:52:00.000-05:00

“This isn’t an exact science,” says Dr. Flintstein (David Strathairn) to one of his clients. He’s referring to the thornier details of his company’s work, which is to remove souls from people who’d rather not deal with the emotions and the baggage their soul inevitably accumulates over a lifetime. Time and again, Flintstein reminds his client that there’s so much about the soul nobody knows—what it’s made of, why each person’s soul looks the way it does, and so much more. Flintstein merely presents the option of soul extraction and soul rental; the larger ramifications he leaves to the individual to discover.

(More...)

(ken-lowery.com)

In Theaters: Funny People

2009-07-31T08:28:00.000-05:00

It’s a simple truism that funny people are often angry people, and angry people are often sad people. Humor, to funny people, is a coping mechanism; if the world can be made into a joke, if something horrible or offensive can be deflated without violence, then life becomes manageable.

(more...)

In Theaters: Orphan

2009-07-24T09:34:00.001-05:00

There’s something unusual about Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman), or so the ad campaign for Orphan more or less says. She’s a charming young girl with a faint Slavic accent and a hypnotizing stare. Other kids don’t seem to get along with her, but that may be due to her apparent maturity; she speaks with a clarity and depth that outstrips most adults. She’s also a gifted painter and pianist, and likes to dress herself in frilly princess dresses. What aspiring parents wouldn’t want to adopt her?

(more...)

(ken-lowery.com)

In Theaters: The Hurt Locker

2009-07-10T09:41:00.002-05:00

French director Francois Truffaut is often quoted as saying that it is impossible to make an anti-war movie, as the filming of war will inevitably glamorize the violence by exciting the audience. I respectfully submit that Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker succeeds, at last, at portraying war as a brutal and endless game of attrition.

(More...)

In Theaters: Bruno

2009-07-10T09:22:00.000-05:00

Bruno is the kind of movie that has 90% of the audience howling with laughter while the other 10% hurriedly exits the theater. This is not speculation; I witnessed this happen several times during the screening, and could only wonder what, exactly, these people thought they were getting themselves into. Bruno, a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashionista, is the second Sacha Baron Cohen character to get the big screen treatment, trailing behind the 2006 release Borat. But you knew all that, didn’t you?

(More...)

In Theaters: Public Enemies

2009-07-01T09:36:00.001-05:00

Michael Mann’s Public Enemies begs a comparison to Heat, his masterful crime film starring Robert De Niro as a bank robber and Al Pacino as the cop who’s pursuing him. In Public Enemies, those roles are occupied by Johnny Depp (as John Dillinger) and Christian Bale (as FBI agent Melvin Purvis), along with a myriad B-cast that covers much the same range as the secondary players inHeat. It’s a shame, then, that Mr. Mann, who gave us such masterful characterization and intense action in Heat, can only give us a shallow and ultimately unsatisfying glimpse at the final exploits of Dillinger.

(More...)

(ken-lowery.com)

In Theaters: Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

2009-06-24T08:32:00.002-05:00

Michael Bay is not a director; he is a general. He marshals resources, lashes together vast armies of cast and crew, travels the world and blows ten kinds of hell out of every landmark he sees. He innovates in the state of his field’s technological art to wreak havoc and chaos on his opponents, and in the style of excess heaps bombast on them until they submit. The good news is that he is technologically proficient. The bad news is that his opponents are the audience.

(More...)

(ken-lowery.com)

In Theaters: Whatever Works

2009-06-19T09:14:00.000-05:00

In many ways, Larry David is an ideal Woody Allen protagonist. He’s articulate in his rants, often funny, occasionally hilarious. What he lacks in Allen’s nebbishness he makes up for in pure aggression: there’s a hostility to David’s demeanor that’s more a challenge than a passive observation. It’s not that, as with most Allen performances, life is stupid, vain, and silly; with David it’s that you’re stupid, vain, and silly for carrying on with life.

(More...)

(ken-lowery.com)

In Theaters: Up

2009-05-29T09:03:00.001-05:00

Compared to last year’s cosmic Wall-E,Up is a more humble film, but no less interested in the triumph of courage and the human spirit.

As with previous Pixar movies, the characters who find their courage are unlikely—in this case, old widower Carl Fredricksen (Edward Asner) and young Russell (Jordan Nagai), a Wilderness Explorer scout with a lot of enthusiasm and few friends. Unlikely heroes are the stock-in-trade of animated features, but Up is triumphant in finding humanity in the archetypes of the cranky old man and clueless youngster even as it puts them in progressively wilder adventures.

(More...)

Speaking in my capacity as a professional critic...

2009-05-14T07:54:00.002-05:00

...I give Joseph P. Larkin's response to negative criticism of his book Arcade of Cruelty a D-.

Which should only earn me a light maiming, I think.

In Theaters: Next Day Air

2009-05-08T08:57:00.000-05:00

If you get the idea you’ve seen Next Day Air before, it’s because you have. There is not one scene, not one line of dialogue, not one character arc or joke or conceit that does not have an ancestor in a Guy Ritchie or Quentin Tarantino film, and if you’ve seen enough of those you’re going to be spending your time picking them out. Even the “two guys opening a trunk” POV shot makes an appearance.

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(ken-lowery.com)

In Theaters: Observe and Report

2009-04-13T09:21:00.001-05:00

What a strange comedy. If you were to go by the TV ads for Observe and Report, you’d expect something fairly typical out of a movie about a mall cop played by Seth Rogen: stoner antics, absurd vulgarities and a core of indelible sweetness. These things are all present, yes, but in many ways they are inverted. Two days later I still don’t know quite what to make of it.

(More...)

(ken-lowery.com)

In Theaters: Sin Nombre

2009-04-03T13:41:00.001-05:00

When considering Sin Nombre, writer-director Cary Fukunaga’s first feature-length film, I’m forced to consider that old dichotomy typical of festival-favorite films: do I gauge the film by its strength as a story, or by its value as an educational tool for festival audiences, namely middle-class white folk like myself?

(more...)

(ken-lowery.com)

In Theaters: Knowing

2009-03-20T09:35:00.002-05:00

Knowing is a frustrating film. It begins somewhere near the territory of The Number 23 and various “Bible Code”-style prophecies when astrophysicist John Koestler (Nicolas Cage) sees patterns and predictions of calamity in a list of numbers written by a schoolgirl fifty years previous. It then shifts abruptly into Signs territory, with no less than two conversations about whether the events of our lives are shaped by design or by sheer chance.

Elements from director Alex Proyas’s own Dark City rear their heads in the form of pale, menacing men in black (the main one is even billed as “The Stranger,” as the alien villains in Dark City were known.) From there, Knowing lurches abruptly onto a cosmic scale only obliquely hinted at in the movie’s first half. In trying to be so many things, Knowing ultimately becomes nothing.

(more...)

(ken-lowery.com)

In Theaters: Miss March

2009-03-13T10:03:00.001-05:00

Here’s a culture shock: I’m 28 years old, and filmmakers are now making “road trip to have sex” movies about guys younger than me.

When the young versions of straight-arrow Eugene and raging horndog Tucker (adults played by Zach Cregger and Trevor Moore, two of the creators of The Whitest Kids U Know) discover a Playboymagazine for the first time, it’s a familiar Pamela Anderson cover, from around the time I figured out how to work a dial-up connection. Playboy’s pictorial offerings ceased to have any value shortly afterward, as it soon would for almost every other heterosexual male in America. The end of an era.

(More...)

(ken-lowery.com)

Today's Terrible News, Feb. 27, 2009

2009-02-27T10:18:00.001-06:00

Yes. "Winning."

Two women told Moscow police they bet [Sergey] Tuganov $US4300 that he wouldn't be able to satisfy them during a non-stop half day sex marathon.

The mechanic died of a heart attack minutes after winning the wager, Moscow police said.

More.

Today's Terrible News

2009-02-20T14:54:00.004-06:00

Dozens of fresh graves crowd the Granville Cemetery in Harare, Zimbabwe, a grim reminder of the health epidemics that grip the nation. (from United Methodist News Service)

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 2.4: Framesplicer

2009-01-19T09:34:00.000-06:00

Episode 2.4 - "Framesplicer" is now LIVE at www.joevsken.com!

Film Editor Jake Patton (Jimmy Neutron, The Ant Bully and the upcoming Tales of the Black Freightertie-in to Watchmen) sits in for Ken.

We explore his unique history in film and get a glimpse at movie watching from his point of view.

New episodes every Saturday and Wednesday! (usually)

This Wednesday : NOTHING. Joe is in rehearsal every night since his play opens this week.

In the next episode: The Superman Retrospective begins!

Remember that you can always add us to your iTunes subscriptions by clicking the little link on the page.

In Theaters: Last Chance Harvey

2009-01-16T09:29:00.001-06:00

January is a grab bag of movie releases. As if hung over from December’s release of often depressing Oscar bait, movie studios tend to release lighter fare in the early months of the new year, mixing paint-by-numbers romantic comedies in with oddball movies of variable quality and the occasional award-worthy winter movie that only sees greater national exposure a month or two after its New York/Los Angeles premiere. Last Chance Harvey, with its dual Golden Globe nominations for leads Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson and decent buzz, seemed to be the latter.

(More...)

(ken-lowery.com)

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 2.2: Joe vs. Ken vs. the Golden Globes

2009-01-09T14:44:00.000-06:00

Episode 2.2 - "Joe vs Ken vs The Golden Globes" is now LIVE at www.joevsken.com

Joe and Ken run down their picks for this year's Golden Globe Awards.

Check out the list of nominees, then send in YOUR picks to stepladder@hotmail.com or ken@ken-lowery.com for your chance at winning one of the hottest selling DVDs out there.

In the next episode of Joe vs. Ken - More movie reviews and obnoxious rants.

New episodes every Saturday and Wednesday!

Remember that you can always add us to your iTunes subscriptions by clicking the little link on the page.

Joe vs. Ken DOUBLE SHOT: Episodes 30 and 31

2008-12-22T15:08:00.000-06:00

It's a Joe vs. Ken DOUBLE SHOT today.

Our last two episodes of the year go up today...

Episode 30 - "Everybody is Ken" is now LIVE at www.joevsken.com

Joe sits back this time around while Ken runs down 5 movies he got to check out in the past week. Reviews include Nobel Son, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Valkyrie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Bedtime Stories. One of these movies just doesn't belong. Can you guess which one?

In the next episode of Joe vs. Ken - Joe will talk about the BD Live event with Christopher Nolan and the guys will run down their "Top 10 Movie of 2008".

Speaking of which...

Episode 31 - "Top Ten of 2008" is ALSO now LIVE at www.joevsken.com

Joe quickly describes the BD Live The Dark Knight screening event with Christopher Nolan before he and Ken run down their "Best of" for 2008.

In the next episode of Joe vs. Ken - the guys will ring in the new year with a look at the Golden Globe nominations.

New episodes every Saturday and Wednesday! (starting back up in January)

Remember that you can always add us to your iTunes subscriptions by clicking the little link on the page.

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 29: Straight Up

2008-12-15T09:31:00.001-06:00

Episode 29 - "Straight Up" is now LIVE at www.joevsken.com

Joe and Ken look back on past Punisher films before reviewing the latest Punisher: War Zone starring Ray Stevenson.

Amazingly enough, this takes up most of this episode. Add a little bit of "what comic book property would you like to see made into a movie next?" and you got Joe and Ken getting back to what they do best.... straight up.

In the next episode of Joe vs. Ken - I promise we'll get to Ken's review of Nobel Son as well as his thoughts on Valkyrie and more. Joe will sit quietly and inject an "uh huh" or "yeah" once in a while.

New episodes every Saturday and Wednesday!

Remember that you can always add us to your iTunes subscriptions by clicking the little link on the page. Because you deserve it.

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 28: Mayhem Remembered

2008-12-10T13:20:00.000-06:00

Episode 28 - "Mayhem Remembered" is now LIVE at www.joevsken.com

No comic talk. No movies in this episode of Joe and Ken. Fellow station employee and friend, Chris, joins the guys as they remember a fallen friend on the 4th anniversary of his death.

We'll get back to the usual stuff Saturday.

In the next episode of Joe vs. Ken - A review of Punisher: War Zone and Nobel Son.

New episodes every Saturday and Wednesday!

Remember that you can always add us to your iTunes subscriptions by clicking the little link on the page.

Joe vs. Ken, Episodes 26-27

2008-12-08T09:58:00.001-06:00

Episodes 26-27 - "The Bat Retrospective Part 2" is now LIVE at www.joevsken.com

With The Dark Knight DVD/Blu Ray release just one day away, Joe and Ken take you down memory lane with a quick analysis of previous incarnations of Batman in film since 1966.

In this first part of a 2 part series, the guys discuss Batman: The Movie (featuring Adam West and Burt Ward), Tim Burton's Batman from 1989 and the 1992 follow-up Batman Returns.

In this second part of a 2 part series, the guys discuss Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever and Batman and Robin and Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins.

Special guests Chris Sims (from The Invincible Super Blog) and Ted from the station join Joe and Ken for some analysis and a lot of laughs.

In the next episode of Joe vs. Ken - A review of the newest reboot of The Punisher in film and Bryan Singer's Valkyrie.

New episodes every Saturday and Wednesday!

Remember that you can always add us to your iTunes subscriptions by clicking the little link on the page.

In Theaters: Frost/Nixon, Nobel Son

2008-12-05T09:44:00.002-06:00

Nobel Son:

Nobel Son is aggressive in many ways: its humor is aggressive, its violence is aggressive, its sarcastic tone is aggressive, even its omnipresent score is aggressive. This approach can work if you handle it with a sharp world-weariness; if, as the great sage once said, you “act like you’ve been there before.” But handle that same level of aggression with the awkward look-at-me showiness of someone playing around with Big Boy tools for the first time and a movie can quickly become unbearable, wearing out its welcome within minutes of the opening titles. Nobel Son is that latter movie, so intent on proving itself that you scarcely have time to breathe. Or care.

(More...)

(ken-lowery.com)

Frost/Nixon:

When President Richard Nixon resigned from office, he refused to give what many thought was their due: an admission of wrongdoing, and an apology for abusing his power. Nixon’s sins were numerous, and many news organizations were clamoring to get the first post-resignation Nixon interview.

(More...)

(ken-lowery.com)

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 25: There Was No Anal

2008-12-03T10:53:00.000-06:00

Episode 25 - "There Was No Anal" is now LIVE at www.joevsken.com

Ken revisits his Netflix argument and also shares a recent PC World blog post that may very well confirm his Blu Ray prediction from almost a year ago. The guys get to put on their smart-guy hats and talk about the future of media for a bit.

Also, more vampire talk (can we please stop!?) with a review of Let the Right One In. And this one will shock you... they bitch about a few movie theater patrons.

On the next Joe vs. Ken: In honor of The Dark Knight hitting video next week, Joe and Ken take you down memory lane with a Batman retrospective.

New episodes every Saturday and Wednesday!

Remember that you can always add us to your iTunes subscriptions by clicking the little link on the page.

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 24: They Actually Disagree

2008-11-26T10:02:00.001-06:00

Episode 24 - "They Actually Disagree" is now LIVE at www.joevsken.com

In a Joe vs. Ken FIRST.. the guys actually disagree on something (it only took 24 freakin' episodes). Some healthy discussion about the New Xbox Experience with all of it's bells and whistles. Is it better than the old marketplace system?

Joe finishes Fallout 3 and gives some final impressions and Ken discusses his experiences with Fable II.

Coming Saturday: Joe and Ken review Let the Right One In (we mean it this time) and Joe will recap his adventure at the Mall late Thursday night.

New episodes every Saturday and Wednesday!

Remember that you can always add us to your iTunes subscriptions by clicking the little link on the page.

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 23: I'll Be Back

2008-11-24T10:52:00.001-06:00

Episode 23 - "I'll Be Back" is now LIVE at www.joevsken.com

In this latest episode, Ken reviews The Lost Bo... errr... I mean Twilight and re-lives his memorable night with Ben Stein at the world premiere of Expelled. On the whole, it's hard to say which experience was more traumatic for Ken.

Some Quantum of Solace talk and Joe nerds out over Fallout 3.

Coming Wednesday: Joe reviews Let the Right One In and the boys share a very special Thanksgiving message.

New episodes every Saturday and Wednesday!

Remember that you can always add us to your iTunes subscriptions by clicking the little link on the page.

In Theaters: Twilight

2008-11-21T09:32:00.001-06:00

What the hell happened to vampires?

(More...)
(ken-lowery.com)

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 22: Crossed Lines

2008-11-17T09:27:00.000-06:00

Joe and Ken return but what's with that crazy cross talk we're hearing? Sounds like another signal is trying to break on thru. (.... to the other side. Sorry. Couldn't resist.)

Ken reviews Frost/Nixon and Slumdog Millionaire while Joe gives his quickie rundown of this year's Wizard World Texas.

The guys also bitch about the lack of quality they're seeing in upcoming movie trailers. Know a shit lookin' flick that we left out? Let us know!

Coming Wednesday: An in depth discussion about Quantum of Solace and Joe will FINALLY get to talk about Fallout 3.

New episodes every Saturday and Wednesday!

Remember that you can always add us to your iTunes subscriptions by clicking the little link on the page.

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 21: Where Everybody Knows Your Name

2008-11-14T10:06:00.001-06:00

Episode 21 - "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" is now LIVE at www.joevsken.com

It gets political up in this bitch, yo! Joe and Ken get all hetted up over California's Prop 8.

Joe reviews the comedy Role Models and even shares a bit of geeky role play history while Ken dazzles us with his take on Quantum of Solace - the latest James Bond flick.

Coming Saturday: Ken gives his reviews on Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon and the latest from Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire. Joe runs down his Wizard World Texas experience and some general bitchings about the crap we're seeing in recent movie previews.

New episodes every Saturday and Wednesday!

Remember that you can always add us to your iTunes subscriptions by clicking the little link on the page.

In Theaters: Quantum of Solace

2008-11-14T09:52:00.002-06:00

The answer to your first question is: No,Quantum of Solace is not as good asCasino Royale. It’s less interested in material goods, doesn’t much care for exotic locales (much of the film is set in Haiti, the poorest nation in the western hemisphere), and its plot unfolds whip crack fast, versus the more leisurely, measured mystery of its predecessor. Its action, too, is more interested in kinetic energy. Where Casino Royale’s action gradually builds itself into stunning, breathless sequences, Quantum gives us brief bursts of quick-cut violence.

But there’s a flipside to that. Quantum is a trim, fast-paced piece of work, a Bond experience that eschews its more extravagant tropes for something altogether leaner. I suspect many comparisons will be made to the Bourne movies, but Quantum may have more in common with a Mamet movie: the players all know what they’re doing, and they’re sure as hell not going to sit around explaining it to each other. The audience is expected to keep up.

(More...)

(ken-lowery.com)

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 20: The Late Halloween

2008-11-11T10:29:00.000-06:00

Episode 20 - "The Late Halloween" is now LIVE at www.joevsken.com

Okay, so maybe the title doesn't have the same "pop" as the Loeb/Sale book.

We recorded this one on October 31st but then Joe went on vacation and we had to wait a week before he got back and posted it.

There was an early screening of Quantum of Solace but the plan fell apart and one half of our dynamic duo was left out. (MYSTERY!)

Some Kevin Smith talk and Joe gets all stupid introspective about Clerks II. (INTRIGUE!). And with the release of W., Ken breaks down some Oliver Stone. (THRILLS!)

Coming Wednesday: The guys are gonna break down Fallout 3, talk some audio trailer contest and an upcoming team up with the Married Gamers.

New episodes every Saturday and Wednesday!

Remember that you can always add us to your iTunes subscriptions by clicking the little link on the page.

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 19: It's a Geek Fest

2008-10-28T10:17:00.001-05:00

(As opposed to the other, totally non-geeky episodes...)

Episode 19 - "It's a Geek Fest" is now LIVE at www.joevsken.com

Jeremy drives up from Austin to join Joe for a comic book convention where they met Bruce Campbell. Some talk of the show and Bruce's Q and A.

Ken talks superhero comics (ready your souls for the end of days are among us) and a whole LOT of City of Heroes talk on this special bonus edition of "Joe vs. Ken."

Coming Wednesday: A spoiler FILLED review of Quantum of Solace.

New episodes every Saturday and Wednesday!

Remember that you can always add us to your iTunes subscriptions by clicking the little link on the page.

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 18: Joe Would Be a Terrible Spider-Man

2008-10-27T09:49:00.001-05:00

Episode 18 - "Joe Would Be a Terrible Spider-Man" is now LIVE at www.joevsken.com

Back together again in the studio, Joe and Ken discuss Bond movies as they prepare for a preview screening this Wed.

Ken uncovers a disturbing article that references GTA IV and Joe confesses that he's become bored with "The Force Unleashed".

Special bonus episode tomorrow where Joe, Ken and special guest Jeremy discuss Bruce Campbell and City of Heroes.

Coming Wednesday: A full spoiler FILLED review of Quantum of Solace.

New episodes every Saturday and Wednesday!

Remember that you can always add us to your iTunes subscriptions by clicking the little link on the page.

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 17: Bits and Pieces

2008-10-20T12:41:00.000-05:00

With Ken out celebrating his mom's birthday, (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOMMA KEN), Joe flies solo as he takes you on an audio journey through some of his favorite moments both on the Joe vs. Ken podcast and behind the scenes with some random audio bits.

Coming Wednesday: Ken returns with a stick up his ass. (I dunno... his words.)

New episodes every Saturday and Wednesday!

Remember that you can always add us to your iTunes subscriptions by clicking the little link on the page.

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 16: In a World

2008-10-17T10:15:00.000-05:00

Episode 16 - "In a World..." is now LIVE at www.joevsken.com

Joe and Ken recap Kyle's bachelor party where they bowled under black lights, racked up a $455 check and ended up in a karaoke bar.

We announce our first contest and even try it out ourselves a few times.

All that and some comic talk and you got yourself another episode of the greatest podcast without it's own website.

Coming Saturday: On a very special Joe vs. Ken. Ken has a mysterious illness that's slowly killing him and it's up to Joe - the rebellious, snarky doctor with the bum leg - to save the day....and his life... but also the day.

New episodes every Saturday and Wednesday!

Remember that you can always add us to your iTunes subscriptions by clicking the little link on the page.

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 15: This is the Fifteenth Episode

2008-10-13T09:19:00.001-05:00

The latest podcast "Episode 15 - 'This is the 15th Episode'" is now LIVE at www.joevsken.com

The guys talk about how a bachelor never realizes how uncool (or unclean) his place is until he has a girl over.

With the announcement of some new guests added to (and some other guests dropping out of) Wizard World Texas, Joe and Ken talk comics. Some discussion about superheroes and the recent Stephen King novel-to-comic book adaptations.

Coming Wednesday: Joe and Ken talk about Kyle's bachelor party. Beef, bowling and bad karaoke.

New episodes every Saturday and Wednesday!

Remember that you can always add us to your iTunes subscriptions by clicking the little link on the page.

In Theaters: How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

2008-10-10T09:50:00.001-05:00

Like Wedding Crashers and The 40-Year-Old Virgin before it, the story engine operating at the core of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People is that of a romantic comedy: fish out of water, meet-cute, adorable shared animosity, and then the protagonist ultimately gives up enticing but hollow pursuits to go with the person they should be with. It’s just that, as with those movies, that lead is now male.

(More...)

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 14: It's a Fight

2008-10-08T10:33:00.001-05:00

The latest podcast "Episode 14 - 'It's A Fight'" is now LIVE at www.joevsken.com

Joe and Ken discuss the current voting climate in one of the hardest polls in history. (tee hee) Tensions RISE!!!

Also reviews of Appaloosa, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People and Burn After Reading.

Joe can't wait to see Max Payne and Ken can't wait to slap him in the face.

New episodes every Saturday and Wednesday!

Remember that you can always add us to your iTunes subscriptions by clicking the little link on the page.

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 13: "Exhibit A"

2008-10-06T10:32:00.002-05:00

The latest podcast "Episode 13 - 'Exhibit A'" is now LIVE at www.joevsken.com

Jon joins us to talk about his recent experience watching Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 for the first time. Also discussion of other DVDs Inside, High Tension, Frontiers and The Crippled Masters.

We also discuss the dirty underbelly of gaming and ponder whether or not there is a moral difference between playing games like Super Columbine Massacre RPG and playing GTA IV.

New episodes every Saturday and Wednesday!

Remember that you can always add us to your iTunes subscriptions by clicking the little link on the page.

In Theaters: APPALOOSA

2008-10-03T08:53:00.002-05:00

Watching Appaloosa, it’s clear this is actor Ed Harris’s first stab at writing/directing: There’s simply too much that goes on that isn’t connected to anything else. As it so happens, I’ve been reading David Mamet’s Bambi vs. Godzilla: On the Nature, Purpose, and Practice of the Movie Business, a collection of brief essays from the master writer/director. And just one hour after Appaloosa I come across this paragraph:

When, again, is a scene superfluous? When it does not advance the progression given at the outset as the film’s purpose. What happens during this side trip? The audience’s attention wanders. They have been jolted out of participation, and the filmmaker has lost his most important ally: their uncritical, which is to say, engaged, participation.

(More...)

(ken-lowery.com)

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 12: The Ultimate Tease of 2008

2008-10-01T09:40:00.001-05:00

The latest podcast "Episode 12 - 'The Ultimate Cock Tease of 2008'" is now LIVE at www.joevsken.com!

We make up for lost time with a handful of new reviews.

Ken gives us the verdict on Ghost Town and Eagle Eye.

If you plan on seeing Righteous Kill be warned that there are spoilers within. There are spoilers, of course, but once you hear the whole of it you find the spoilers don't really matter. Surprisingly, I think we get a lot of good analysis out of an aggressively mediocre film.

Also a review of Spike Lee's Miracle at St. Anna and a healthy heaping of bitching about our fellow audience members for that one.

COMING SATURDAY - VIDEO GAMES! This time we'll examine the "seedy underside" of gaming with titles like JFK Reloaded and Super Columbine Massacre RPG. Is there a difference morally between playing those games and playing something like GTA IV?

New episodes every Saturday and Wednesday!

Remember that you can always add us to your iTunes subscriptions by clicking the little link on the page.

Enjoy!

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 11: Reunited

2008-09-29T11:06:00.004-05:00

The boys are BACK with a new episode of the Joe vs. Ken podcast, titled "REUNITED"! Joe's been to NYC and Ken's been to Arkansas, and both have come away from it... changed men. I even manage to make myself sound smart talking about sports, which never, ever happens.

Be sure to hit "Subscribe" so your iTunes gets updated with each new episode automatically.

In Theaters: Miracle at St. Anna and Eagle Eye

2008-09-26T09:33:00.002-05:00

MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA:

Miracle at St. Anna is many things at the same time: an old-fashioned war movie, a meditation on racism in America in the 1940s, and a sober examination of what constitutes a miracle. This is not a "Christian movie," per se, but it is nonetheless fascinated by demonstrations of faith when all seems lost. Never has the term "grace under fire" felt more appropriate.

(More...)

(ken-lowery.com)

EAGLE EYE:

Jerry (Shia LeBouf) has a problem: He’s a loser in a dead-end job distanced from his rigid father and his ace Air Force twin brother. He bluffs his way through poker hands with coworkers and picks up pretty girls on the El Train (he lives in Chicago, as do most Americans in movies these days) with quick sketches he’s made of them.

(More...)

(ken-lowery.com)

Dear nerds,

2008-09-22T11:57:00.005-05:00

The purchase and support of the following products does not make you hip, or cool:

1) iPhones/iPods/Anything Apple

2) Red Bull

3) Wii's

4) Threadless shirts

5) Starbucks

6) Liquor, esp. scotch or whisky

Further, aggressive advocacy and a smug belief in your superior choices in the following is equally ludicrous:

1) Music

2) Movies

3) Television shows

4) Authors

Note that it is perfectly fine to sincerely enjoy these things, but trumpeting your predictable matrix of consumer product choices does not make you a rebel. It merely marks you as someone who can be convinced that purcashing consumer goods or partaking in mass-produced entertainment is some kind of exercise in individuality. Please be advised that you are being played even harder than the people around you. You know, the "squares."

Kisses,
Ken

(With an assist from Birdie and Lartigue Feel free to add your own in comments.)

In Theaters: Ghost Town

2008-09-19T09:13:00.001-05:00

You may know someone like Bertram Pincus, dentist and sourpuss. If you’re like me, you may even be him from time to time.

Bertram (Ricky Gervais) is scathing in his reflexive distaste for all things social, a man who prefers peace and quiet, and likes his job because his patients can’t talk while he’s working. Bertram is funny, in his way, but there’s a meanness to his humor that any friend of sarcasm can identify as a mask for pain. Unfortunately, that kind of pain can easily become self-perpetuating, something Ghost Town knows well.

(More...)

(ken-lowery.com)

In Theaters: Righteous Kill

2008-09-12T09:34:00.001-05:00

It’s weird and depressing to see Robert De Niro and Al Pacino inhabit roles like this: tired, plot-driven, unimaginative and clichéd. Weird because we know they’re both capable of better performances, even on their worst days; depressing because the lead characters in Righteous Kill—brokedown cops with shaky morals and failing faith—are a third-generation Xerox of the kinds of characters both actors made a career out of defining. It’s a little like watching The Clash cover My Chemical Romance songs.

(More...)

(ken-lowery.com)

Oh, the Heartland.

2008-09-10T15:42:00.002-05:00

A little perspective on the GOP's professed love of the Heartland, via the Wall Street Journal's Thomas Frank. Here's a graf I found especially revealing:

A few days ago I talked politics with Donn Teske, the president of the Kansas Farmers Union and a former Republican. Barack Obama may come from a big city, he admits, but the Farmers Union gives him a 100% rating for his votes in Congress. John McCain gets a 0%. "If any farmer in the Plains States looked at McCain's voting record on ag issues," Mr. Teske says, "no one would vote for him."

What's commonly missing from the GOP's invocation of noble people sending their teenagers off to war while working two jobs is why those noble people are doing so: Because they can't afford to send the kids to college, or to work only 40 hours a week.

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 10: Laura Dern Eats Babies

2008-09-10T09:37:00.002-05:00

The latest podcast "Episode 10 - 'Laura Dern Eats Babies'" is now LIVE at www.joevsken.com

The last podcast for a couple weeks before the boys go on vacation. Joe and Ken talk about the upcoming Wizard World Texas line-up. Ken talks politics while Joe absently nods his head. Joe talks Madden while Ken checks his watch. Special guest appearances by Joe's horrible fake Southern accent and Richard Neal from Zeus Toys and Comics.

New episodes (almost) every Saturday and Wednesday! (once we get back from vacation)

Remember that you can always add us to your iTunes subscriptions by clicking the little link on the page.

Enjoy!

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 9: Blah Bluh-Blah Bluh-Blah

2008-09-08T12:52:00.001-05:00

Wherein Joe and Ken are so very tired, and spend way too much time talking about glistening torsos and Vin Diesel. Up now at http://www.joevsken.com. Hit "Subscribe" to auto-update, as we always have new eps up on Saturday and Wednesday.

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 8: I Didn't Know House Did Bukkake Either

2008-09-04T10:28:00.003-05:00

Joe, Ken, and April get into the nuances of fan fiction. That's all I gotta say.

Right here, of course. Click SUBSCRIBE to get new eps every Saturday and Wednesday!

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 7: No Girls Allowed

2008-09-02T11:38:00.001-05:00

The latest podcast "Episode 7 - No Girls Allowed'" is now LIVE at www.joevsken.com

Wherein we introduce April, old relationship drama is resolved (or at least revisited), and a defense of Jason Statham is presented.

Be sure to click on "Subscribe" so you get all new episodes AUTOMATICALLY, 21st-century style.

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 6: F@#k Jason Statham

2008-08-28T11:11:00.002-05:00

The latest podcast "Episode 6 - 'F*&K Jason Statham'" is now LIVE at www.joevsken.com

We get back into movies as we discuss Hamlet 2 and Tropic Thunder. Ken talks about Man on Wire and I give my thoughts on Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

There's a nice little Jason Statham rant and a comparison of camp done right (Doomsday) and camp done horribly wrong (Death Race).

We update every Saturday and Wednesday. Be sure to subscribe so your iTunes updates automatically. Because you're worth it.

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 5: Back to Basics

2008-08-25T13:41:00.003-05:00

Just Joe and I this week, and we step away from the movies -- I know, I know -- to talk about another pastime: video games. Did I mention we're nerds? We're nerds.

Check out the podcast here, and be sure to subscribe so your iTunes automatically makes with the download. Because you're worth it.

I'm not even all that neurotic. Right? Am I? Hmm...

2008-08-24T19:33:00.000-05:00

Your result for The Director Who Films Your Life Test...

Woody Allen

Your film will be 62% romantic, 41% comedy, 30% complex plot, and a $ 22 million budget.

Be prepared to have your life story shot entirely in New York City -- though lately Woody's been loving shooting in London. Also, your music soundtrack is all jazz from before 1949. Filmography: Annie Hall, Manhattan, Stardust Memories, Everyone Says I Love You, Match Point, Scoop, etc. Woody has released one film per year consistently for the past 35 years. For the past 15 years he's been trying to make films like his older, funnier ones, just like characters in his Stardust Memories film suggest throughout. Regardless of his personal life, his films are American classics.

Take The Director Who Films Your Life Test at HelloQuizzy

Hamlet 2

2008-08-22T10:42:00.003-05:00

Hamlet 2 is what happens when you mash up a genre spoof with one of those character-study comedies that derives its laughs from mercilessly filming ridiculous people who can’t help but make asses of themselves—think of it as a Christopher Guest movie informed less by This is Spinal Tap and more by the sensibilities of co-writer Pam Brady, who’s spent the majority of her writing career working alongside Trey Parker and Matt Stone of South Park fame. Brady wrote the movie with director Andrew Fleming, whose resumé seems comprised mostly of journeyman writer-director work and plenty of paying-the-bills fare. So there’s that, too.

(More...)

New Joe vs. Ken, the problem with immersion in horror movies, and Clone Wars

2008-08-18T13:42:00.003-05:00

First, Joe vs. Ken Episode 4: And Scott Makes Four, part two. Where the boys get salty.

(More...)

Radio Free Id: The Trouble with Expectations:

So last night I got to thinking about horror movies after having a moment many a horror fan can relate to: walking down a hallway in my home that was very dark and thinking “now is when the monster grabs me.”

(More...)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars:

Set between Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars follows Obi-Wan Kenobi (voiced by James Arnold Taylor) and Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) as they try to keep the Republic together while Count Dooku’s (Christopher Lee) Separatists chip away at their forces. Palpatine (Ian Abercrombie), as always, plays both sides against the middle for his own gain.

(More...)

The Problem with San Diego Comic Con

2008-08-14T23:05:00.007-05:00

It's no secret that nerd cultures can be tricky or outright hostile places for women. Nowhere is this more evident than at conventions, be they professional affairs or fan-run. San Diego Comic Con is no exception, despite its increasing profile in mainstream society.

I've never been to SDCC, but I know it's the Big Deal in the world of comic books; it is arguably the biggest deal. So the notion that this convention, which straddles the line between fan celebration and professional trade show, has no policies in place regarding sexual harassment is simply unacceptable. Below is an account by John DiBello, and it's worth reading in its entirety.

Please spread the word by digging or Stumbling or Twittering John's original post, linked below. Crosspost onto your own blog, LiveJournal, MySpace, or what have you. We want SDCC to be a safe, fun place for all fans and professionals.

--

Overheard at San Diego Comic-Con while I was having lunch on the balcony of the Convention Center on Sunday July 27: a bunch of guys looking at the digital photos on the camera of another, while he narrated: "These were the Ghostbusters girls. That one, I grabbed her ass, 'cause I wanted to see what her reaction was." This was only one example of several instance of harassment, stalking or assault that I saw at San Diego this time.

1. One of my friends was working at a con booth selling books. She was stalked by a man who came to her booth several times, pestering her to get together for a date that night. One of her co-workers chased him off the final time.

2. On Friday, just before the show closed, this same woman was closing up her tables when a group of four men came to her booth, started taking photographs of her, telling her she was the "prettiest girl at the con." They they entered the booth, started hugging and kissing her and taking photographs of themselves doing so. She was confused and scared, but they left quickly after doing that.

3. Another friend of mine, a woman running her own booth: on Friday a man came to her booth and openly criticized her drawing ability and sense of design. Reports from others in the same section of the floor confirmed he'd targeted several women with the same sort of abuse and criticism.

Quite simply, this behavior has got to stop at Comic-Con. It should never be a sort of place where anyone, man or woman, feels unsafe or attacked either verbally or physically in any shape or form. There are those, sadly, who get off on this sort of behavior and assault, whether it's to professional booth models, cosplayers or costumed women, or women who are just there to work. This is not acceptable behavior under any circumstance, no matter what you look like or how you're dressed, whether you are in a Princess Leia slave girl outfit or business casual for running your booth.

On Saturday, the day after the second event I described above, I pulled out my convention book to investigate what you can do and who you can speak to after such an occurrence. On page two of the book there is a large grey box outlining "Convention Policies," which contain rules against smoking, live animals, wheeled handcarts, recording at video presentations, drawing or aiming your replica weapon, and giving your badge to others. There is nothing about attendee-to-attendee personal behavior.

Page three of the book contains a "Where Is It?" guide to specific Comic-Con events and services. There's no general information room or desk listed, nor is there a contact location for security, so I go to the Guest Relations Desk. I speak to a volunteer manning the desk; she's sympathetic to the situation but who doesn't have a clear answer to my question: "What's Comic-Con's policy and method of dealing with complaints about harassment?" She directs me to the nearest security guard, who is also sympathetic listening to my reports, but short of the women wanting to report the incidents with the names of their harassers, there's little that can be done.

"I understand that," I tell them both, "but what I'm asking is more hypothetical and informational: if there is a set Comic-Con policy on harassment and physical and verbal abuse on Con attendees and exhibitors, and if so, what's the specific procedure by which someone should report it, and specifically where should they go?" But this wasn't a question either could answer.

So, according to published con policy, there is no tolerance for smoking, drawn weapons, personal pages or selling bootleg videos on the floor, and these rules are written down in black and white in the con booklet. There is not a word in the written rules about harassment or the like. I would like to see something like "Comic-Con has zero tolerance for harassment or violence against any of our attendees or exhibitors. Please report instances to a security guard or the Con Office in room XXX."

The first step to preventing such harassment is giving its victims the knowledge that they can safely and swiftly report such instances to someone in authority. Having no published guideline, and indeed being unable to give a clear answer to questions about it, gives harassment and violence one more red-tape loophole to hide behind.

I enjoyed Comic-Con. I'm looking forward to coming back next year. So, in fact, are the two women whose experiences I've retold above. Aside from those instances, they had a good time at the show. But those instances of harassment shouldn't have happened at all, and that they did under no clear-cut instructions about what to do sadly invites the continuation of such behavior, or even worse.

I don't understand why there's no such written policy about what is not tolerated and what to do when this happens. Is there anyone at Comic-Con able to explain this? Does a similar written policy exist in the booklets for other conventions (SF, comics or otherwise) that could be used as a model? Can it be adapted or adapted, and enforced, for Comic-Con? As the leading event of the comics and pop culture world, Comic-Con should work to make everyone who attends feel comfortable and safe.

--John DiBello

Mark Twain's "The Mysterious Stranger"

2008-08-12T20:12:00.002-05:00

As told by your worst nightmares. Seriously, this is frightening.

(Found by Leah.)

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 4: And Scott Makes Four

2008-08-11T09:01:00.004-05:00

Clone Wars, Midnight Meat Train, and more--including perhaps the most accurate review of Hell Ride you will ever hear, touch, or smell. Be sure to hit "subscribe" to get Joe vs. Ken on your iTunes automatically every week. Because you're worth it.

We are usually NSFW with the audio, but this one is more so.

Here.

Hell Ride

2008-08-08T10:22:00.000-05:00

Here’s something that hasn’t happened in a long time: I didn’t care about anyone in this movie. Not a single character. And if you don’t care about the people, it’s damn hard to care about what they’re up to.

(More...)

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 3: Return of the Superfriends

2008-08-04T15:39:00.002-05:00

Radio, superhero movies, and special guest star JOHN THE BAPTIST!

Actually his name is just John.

SPECIAL BEHIND THE SCENES COMMENTARY: I'm halfway through a summer flu in this one, and I sure sound like it.

(Here.)

You stay classy, Wal-Mart.

2008-08-02T10:05:00.003-05:00

Ahem:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Friday it has warned U.S. store managers in recent weeks about the possible consequences of a labor-friendly bill backed by Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama that would make it easier for workers to form unions.

But the retailer, which has kept its U.S. stores free of unions, stressed it was not telling employees how to vote.

The Wall Street Journal reported that about a dozen employees who attended meetings in seven states said executives had told them that unionization could force Wal-Mart to cut jobs as labor costs rise, and that employees would have to pay hefty union dues and get nothing in return.

Believe me, Wal-Mart, the largest corporation on Earth, can afford rising labor costs. But they are notoriously cheap, even to their own executives. I guess the idea of giving employees benefits or raises in accordance with rising cost of living just terrifies them.

This is the best part, though:

"If anyone representing Wal-Mart gave the impression we were telling associates how to vote, they were wrong and acting without approval," Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar said.

I like that. "No, we're not telling them how to vote. But we're telling them that if this one guy wins we might fire them." Honestly, is anyone fooled by this?

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

2008-08-01T09:33:00.000-05:00

There are only two things you need to know about The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. The first is that Stephen Sommers, writer-director of both The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, is neither writer nor director. (IMDB lists him as the uncredited screenwriter, way back in 2001.) His replacement, Rob Cohen, has to his credit titles like xXx, Stealth, and The Skulls, a list that does not instill confidence in your average movie critic. The second thing to know is Rachel Weisz does not reprise the role of beautiful librarian and adventuress Evey O’Connell. That role is instead played by Maria Bello, one of the finest actresses in the movie business today. I wonder if she’s as eager to forget this movie as I am.

(More...)

Here's another adaptation we didn't need.

2008-07-28T10:23:00.004-05:00

Max Payne, starring Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis. Now, Kunis is a foxy fox fox and I wouldn't mind watching her wield some phallic objects, but this is just fucking silly, guys.

The whole idea behind the video game is that it's an amalgam of no-holds-barred revenge films, the Dirty Harry series being the most obvious inspiration. It is, in short, an homage of an entire genre of films, done up with Rockstar Games' customary over-the-topness. (Also: the game is lousy.)

So now they are adapting a video game that is in itself an adaptation (of sorts) of movies. This is some through-the-looking-glass shit here, people.

Question: Why not save the cash spent licensing and just make a regular movie with this style of plot, if that's all it's about?

Answer: Because no one needs to see this kind of movie anymore. The adaptation gives it the necessary "twist" to have a green light. Being an adaptation is the only reason this movie can exist. That the process of adaptation makes the whole exercise absurd seems to have escaped notice.

So silly.

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 2: Back to School

2008-07-26T23:28:00.005-05:00

Wherein Joe and I discuss school, Hellboy, the Wall Street Journal and Step Brothers.

Also, I talk directly into the mic. Yay!

(Go here.)

Step Brothers

2008-07-25T09:31:00.001-05:00

I have a confession, dear reader: There are some movie reviews where I, your faithful critic, only want to type out a few words and send the review off for print. It’s a simple truism that some movies simply aren’t worth several paragraphs of developed critique, and when writing about those movies my self-imposed word count requirement looms over me like Death’s scythe. But then I wasn’t brought on board to write “Eh” and call it a day… much as I’d sometimes like to. Step Brothers is one of these movies. Enjoy the flailing.

(More...)

The Dark Knight

2008-07-18T09:26:00.001-05:00

The new Batman movie series, helmed by Christopher Nolan, deviates most strongly from previous incarnations of the Caped Crusader in how seriously it takes its subject matter. Every adaptation from the Adam West TV show to the popular animated TV show of the 90’s to Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher’s feature-length films have had some element of camp attached, as if the material could only be taken with a wink.

(More...)

You know all those jobs immigrants are stealing?

2008-07-17T11:22:00.003-05:00

Those much-loved jobs, stolen from good, hard-working (and blue-eyed) Americans go something like this:

The Rev. Catherine Quehl-Engel, the Episcopal priest who brought the plight of the relief workers into the public eye, participated in the press conference. Quehl-Engel is chaplain at United Methodist related-Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, where the immigrants were first housed. In an article in the Cedar Rapids Gazette, she had reported incidents of workers traveling on a bus for 14 hours without food, tetanus shots, bedding or towels for showering.

In the press conference, she described the workers as “the calloused hands of Christ” during Iowa’s time of need.

The workers received $15 a day for food and expenses and less than minimum wage compensation, according to Quehl-Engel, who also participated in the July 10 press conference. She said workers toiled in "toxic environments" 14-hour days, seven days a week, and had to pay back a temporary employment agency $49 a week for the school bus gas needed to get to the worst flooded areas in Iowa.

Got to love that Heartland. While New Orleans people were whining, our beloved blue-collar workers were pulling themselves up by their bootstraps! Or, rather, hiring immigrants to pull up their bootstraps for just a shade over $50 a week.

It's good to see this got media coverage, though. I mean who doesn't read the Cedar Rapids Gazette?

Joe vs. Ken, Episode 1: Joe and Ken Get Naked

2008-07-16T10:11:00.002-05:00

So my buddy Joe and I are trying our hands at a podcast, and we recorded the first 45-minute session last night.

Not bad, if I do say so myself, though obviously the first few shows we'll be figuring out how to do things...

Such as how to host the damn thing...

But for now it's available in chunks via wickerempire.com. The little intro bit, and 5 more segments that run about 8 minutes apiece. Give it a listen and let me know what you think.

(NSFW language in some segments, of course...)

From the Deep, Burning Regrets Dept.

2008-06-27T16:55:00.002-05:00

I have this inkling that some day, perhaps very soon, two children from England are going to regret that this picture made its way onto an international news website.

Just a thought.

Wall*E

2008-06-27T09:20:00.000-05:00

According to its early trailers, Wall*E was conceived at the same Pixar lunch that gave us Toy Story, A Bug’s Life and Monsters, Inc.—some of the best animated features ever produced. Wall*E, however, may be the best of the lot. It’s as sweet and heartfelt as previous Pixar films, and maybe their most daring.

(More...)

RIP George Carlin

2008-06-23T00:57:00.001-05:00

Holy fuck.

As far as personal heroes go... yeah.

Jesus Christ.

Kill All Parents!

2008-06-21T10:15:00.001-05:00

Kill All Parents! has a nice, simple premise at its core: one mad scientist sees the terrible future and moves to prevent it by creating a whole host of superheroes. You can probably guess how. Heroes need tragedy to become who they are, he reasons, and all the better if that tragedy is something that occurs during childhood—when the hero is helpless and vulnerable, and can never find anything like closure. At least, not through superheroic violence. It’s a damn good premise, worth at least one surprised-bark of a laugh.

(More...)

The Promotion

2008-06-13T09:18:00.001-05:00

Mainstream comedies tend to be pretty loud affairs, quick and eager to flash some genitals and make some scat jokes to secure the most precious of commodities in a theater setting: the contagious belly-laugh. I think we can successfully credit (or blame, depending on your tastes) the Brothers Farrelly for the modern guffaw-fest, with emotional refinements brought in by the Judd Apatow posse and (God help us) Sex and the City. Everybody wins: the audience has a good, cathartic time, and big laff fests generate a lot of buzz, even if comedies are excluded almost by rule from any kind of awards recognition.

(More...)

Because apparently NO ONE EVER REMEMBERS ANYTHING

2008-06-02T22:15:00.000-05:00

Anyone within shouting distance heard me recite a variation of this sometime last week:

"Sex and the City will make a lot of money opening weekend.

Not a lot of money by summer blockbuster standards. A lot of money by comedy standards. But considering its budget: a fucking lot of money.

People will notice.

There will be earnest articles and, quite possibly, a cover story in.. say... Entertainment Weekly, and if not that, at least a column, about this surprise phenomenon and the lack of appealing movies for women.

Experts-- that is, people who make a lot of money and/or get a national platform because it is their job to notice these things--will throw up their hands and say WHO KNEW??? Because discovering that 51% of the population might like some movies that occasionally appeal to them, too, is an arcane fucking art.

There will be stern Lessons Learned.

Studio execs will go right back to fielding movies aimed almost exclusively at 18-35 year-old males, with the occasional bullshit romantic comedy starring Kate Hudson thrown as a bone to that 51% of the population. Always released during low points of the movie year. (Valentine's, late August, post-Christmas Day.)"

Guys, it's not hard. I first learned this lesson working at a movie theater when the first Charlie's Angels--abominable piece of shit that it was--came out. We sold out all the Friday showtimes on Wednesday. Considering this was a relatively boutique theater with only 4 showtimes for any movie on a given day, this was completely unprecedented, and never happened again.

Who was buying those tickets? Large groups of women. Usually professionals. 25 and up. They liked our place because we had tables and served varieties of alcoholic drinks right inside the theater. It was Girl's Night Out, in other words, and you better believe each large group dropped at least a hundred bucks. To see a movie.

Same thing this weekend at my local Angelika: three screens, one show beginning every hour on the hour, and large groups of women (and gay men) waiting for their showtime. The Angelika, being wise, offered a "Cosmo and cupcake" deal at their bar, and of course you could bring your drinks into the theater if you wanted.

Full lines. Large groups. Sold-out showtimes.

At 1pm.

On a Saturday.

At an art house theater.

If you've ever worked at a theater of any kind, you know that is insane.

Money. In. The. Bank.

But we won't hear about it again for another two years, and sure enough, all the commentators will once again act surprised when history repeats itself.

WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO REMEMBERS THIS SHIT?

The Strangers

2008-05-30T10:22:00.000-05:00

The Strangers claims to be based on a true story, a disputable fact that is ultimately irrelevant. (So irrelevant I have not bothered to expend the thirty seconds on Google necessary to verify.) If it’s true, it’s precisely true enough to 1) have some “this could happen to you” resonance, and 2) not true enough to require paying anyone for the rights to the story. “Cheap” is how modern mainstream horror movies roll, and so long as you’re going for that 1970’s feel—which The Strangers most assuredly does—“cheap” verisimilitude is just fine. Part of the fun, even.

(More...)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

2008-05-22T11:18:00.001-05:00

Here’s the question that stuck with me, going into the fourth installment of the Indiana Jones franchise: in an age of digital wonders, where a man in a metal suit dogfights with jet fighters and a kid in a race car slaps the laws of physics around with casual mastery, can a movie franchise with ambitions that seem somehow quaint in comparison hold its own? In short, can a pulp hero hold his own in a world of superheroes? And on the heels of that: Would Messrs. Lucas and Spielberg, worried about this potential inadequacy, turn their aging action hero into some kind of superman, a la John McClane in Live Free or Die Hard?

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Radio Free Id: Serious Business

2008-05-19T09:39:00.001-05:00

I come here, not to bury Speed Racer, but to defend it.

As you may recall, I liked it quite a lot, an opinion that put me in a distinct minority. Critics panned it with a personal intensity that suggests the movie had insulted their mothers (witness professional laughingstock Armond White likening its racing scenes to friggin’ Nazi parades), and box office returns were limp compared to this summer’s so-far darling Iron Man. Even as a fan of the film, I had to acknowledge—thanks to the accursed rating system on the other site I write for—that Iron Man was the superior film. (I gave SR 3.5 stars out of 5, and IM got 4. Both are pretty rare from me.) And conventionally speaking, Iron Man is the better film: great actors, tight script, buckets of gee-golly action and special effects laced with humor and buoyed by just enough drama to keep the whole thing from floating away.

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Comics: Welcome to Tranquility vol. 2

2008-05-17T09:36:00.001-05:00

Enough with the zombies.

Yeah, zombies. You know, the horror movie staple that now graces the cover of at least one comic every damn week. The gimmick Marvel Comics got ahold of and—in true Marvel fashion—figured that if it works one time, it should work a hundred more times over the course of several years. (This mentality should suit them well in Hollywood.) Even the “joke” of it became questionable with repetition; exactly why do audiences want to see their favorite superheroes disemboweled and rotting over and over and over again? The zombies are good for one meta-joke, though: blatant symbols of a trend that simply will not die, no matter what good-meaning people do to put ‘em six feet under. This crap just keeps on coming.

And this from a guy who adores zombie movies.

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The best thing I have read in quite some time.

2008-05-15T12:49:00.001-05:00

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO:

"SAN FRANCISCO - The California Supreme Court has overturned a voter-approved ban on gay marriage, paving the way for the state to become the second in the United States where gay and lesbian residents can marry.

The justices released the 4-3 decision Thursday, saying that domestic partnerships are not a good enough substitute for marriage in an opinion written by Chief Justice Ron George.

Outside the courthouse, gay marriage supporters cried and cheered as news spread of the decision."

Dorian advises caution:

"Yes, but...

While there are some good things here, including a notation that calling them anything other than marriage is unacceptable, which should avoid the cluster-fuck that happened in New Jersey, and the ruling does go into effect immediately, Arnie has been a bit of a flip-flopper on the issue, and there is an upcoming ballot initiative to amend the state constitution to ban gay marriage, civil unions and partner benefits. And the LAST anti-gay marriage measure that was on the state ballot passed by a landslide."

The stupidest thing I have read in quite some time.

2008-05-14T12:47:00.003-05:00

(And that is really saying something.)

Michael Medved, world-class douchebagel:

In today’s ruthlessly competitive international economy, the United States may benefit from a potent but unheralded advantage: the aggressive edge sustained by the inherited power of American DNA.

IT GETS BETTER.

Nevertheless, two respected professors of psychiatry have recently come out with challenging books that contend that those who chose to settle this country in every generation possessed crucial common traits that they passed on to their descendents.

Hey, Medved: Psychiatrists =/= Geneticists.

And yes. He is saying we have a genetic legacy for greatness, which is not at all similar to a belief in Aryan superiority.

In “American Mania,” Peter C. Whybrow of U.C.L.A. argues that even in grim epochs of starvation and persecution, only a small minority ever chooses to abandon its native land and to venture across forbidding oceans to pursue the elusive dream of a better life. The tiny percentage making that choice (perhaps only 2%, even in most periods of mass immigration) represents the very essence of a self-selecting group. Compared to the Irish or Germans or Italians or Chinese or Mexicans who remained behind in the “Old Country,” the newcomers to America would naturally display a propensity for risk-taking, for restlessness, for exuberance and self-confidence –traits readily passed down to subsequent generations.

And in case you forgot this was being posted on Town Hall, let's slide in some conservative values in a discussion of freaking genetics:

The United States also benefited from our tradition of limited government, with
only intermittent and ineffective efforts to suppress the competitive, entrepreneurial instincts of the populace. Professor Whybrow says: “Here you have the genes and the completely unrestricted marketplace. That’s what gives us our peculiar edge.” In other words, “anything goes capitalism” reflects and sustains the influence of immigrant genetics.

Later, Medved slips in something about how Obama and Clinton want to enlarge the government. Because if there's any single policy reflective of the past 8 years in D.C., it's been "less government."

OH WAIT THAT'S RIGHT.

My favorite, absolute favorite quote:

Aside from the varied immigrants who now make up nearly 15% of the population, the forebears of today’s Americans journeyed to this continent from Asia, Africa, Latin America and every nation of Europe.

Yes: Except for the immigrants, America is made up entirely of immigrants. I wonder which group he might be singling out with his statistic?

Hat tip to Dave for finding this. The poor bastard.

Speed Racer, Iron Man

2008-05-09T08:38:00.002-05:00

(Iron Man review originally posted last week... but I wasn't around to pimp it, so here it is.)

Iron Man:

You might have forgotten this under the onslaught of Serious Business superhero movies like Superman Returns, Batman Begins, the Spider-Man trilogy, Daredevil, et cetera, but superhero stories are supposed to be fun. A good time. Something that makes you say “wow” at least a few times. The term “escapism” has come to have a negative connotation in recent years, but sometimes escapism can be a good thing: if only, for a couple hours, to step into the world of the near-possible. That’s Iron Man, a superhero movie that drops the albatross of intense emotional angst and replaces it with wit and a hero that remains charming even in his flaws. I’d forgotten such things were possible.

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Speed Racer:

I asked myself “are they really doing that?” no less than six times throughout Speed Racer, most of those within the first twenty minutes. (After that I found my groove.) Don’t get me wrong: It was a happy question, asked a little disbelievingly. You may think you’re ready for the sheer kinetic craziness of the movie’s style after seeing the trailer, but brother, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

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Harold and Kumar: Escape from Guantanamo Bay

2008-04-25T11:32:00.001-05:00

The best gauge for a comedy is to see how much fun the cast appears to be having with it. That’s a subjective measure, to be sure, but if you see enough comedies you can get an idea if the people making it are into it. Ask yourself: Does it look like these people start laughing when the camera stops rolling? Are they approaching this material like something to enjoy, or something to get done?

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And it is with great sorrow...

2008-04-21T13:47:00.007-05:00

That we mark the passing of comics blog Dave's Long Box.

I understand that the people who actually still read this blog don't come from a comics blogging background, so I'll lay it out for you.

Dave was funny. Really funny. No, really, he was fucking funny. He was an endlessly inventive comedic presence in the comics blogosphere, forcing others to step up their game and still others (like myself!) to just get the hell out of the way. And it paid off: the guy once got mentioned in motherfucking Newsweek.

On top of that, he was also a nice guy. Gracious. Never mean. "A class act," I guess you'd say. He mentions Mike Sterling, Neilalien, and Graeme MacMillan as major inspirations... though I would easily say he belongs in that pantheon. They, too, are class acts who define what it is to be a comics blogger and commentator.

Dave's still going to be around, of course. He's doing his paying blogging gig for ABC, pretending he likes Desperate Housewives for phat studio cash, and soon (so he says) he'll be opening up a more general-interest blog that's not so comics-centric.

I look forward to it. Despite what Rorschach above (spoiler alert!) might think, this is not a funeral. This is a victory lap.

Yeah, pretty much.

2008-04-16T11:20:00.000-05:00

One quibble: I'm not that down on the older forms of church; I commissioned a rosary, after all. But I do believe that a failure to grow means death in relevance, if not literal death.

What's your theological worldview?
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Emergent/Postmodern

You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology. You feel alienated from older forms of church, you don't think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each other, and so learning takes place in dialogue. Evangelism should take place in relationships rather than through crusades and altar-calls. People are interested in spirituality and want to ask questions, so the church should help them to do this.

Emergent/Postmodern

79%

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan

71%

Modern Liberal

68%

Classical Liberal

64%

Neo orthodox

54%

Roman Catholic

46%

Charismatic/Pentecostal

43%

Reformed Evangelical

18%

Fundamentalist

Radio Free Id: John Carpenter Appreciation Week

2008-04-14T10:35:00.001-05:00

This past week became the unofficial John Carpenter Appreciation Week at Casa de Lowery. It started with a late-night viewing of They Live, that awesome ode to blue collar revolt against crushing Reaganomics circa 1988. It wasn’t on purpose—I was, in fact, about to go to bed, as it was 11:30 at night and I had work the next morning—but They Live just isn’t the kind of movie you can turn away.

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In Theaters: Street Kings

2008-04-11T10:14:00.000-05:00

When we first see him, Detective Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves) is a lone, drunken wreck. He wakes up, vomits, cleans up, and grabs some liquor on the way to work. ‘Work’ turns out to be a straight drug deal: Ludlow taunts his buyers into assaulting him and stealing his car, then tracks the GPS locator on his car to find their hideout. He takes them out, recovers the drugs and a couple kidnapped schoolgirls, and becomes a hero. His CO Captain Wander (Forest Whitaker, loud and brash) and his fellow detectives congratulate him, pleased as punch. Another headline-grabbing caper for the LAPD. Ludlow’s old partner Washington (Terry Crews), still wearing blue, is less than impressed and smells something dirty on him.

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On DVD: The Host

2008-04-09T10:15:00.001-05:00

Hey, now this is how you make a big-monster movie: Get that big monster out there early and don’t be afraid to show it. If your material is good and your actors hit the notes, if the scares are solid and you build actual tension, then “the big reveal” doesn’t have to be the climax of your film to which all other content is subservient. (I’m looking at you, Cloverfield.) Get us attached to the people. Make us care about something more than what the monster looks like. Give us some laughs and choke us up. Make us afraid for these people. This is what people are referring to when they call a movie a “ride.”

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LOLCarpenter

2008-04-08T23:26:00.002-05:00

I love In the Mouth of Madness. I love it. I take note of its every stumble, its every clumsy expositional infodump, its every groaner... and I love it. Love it. Love it. It's shabby as hell, but it has that lovability common to all of Carpenter's best work.

Watching it now for the first time in 7 years or more, I can see how it fed and/or created so many of my current storytelling obsessions: the hold that art has over both audience and artist, the breach of the divide between story and reality, and the postmodern notion that something does not have to be factual to be true. Hell, those notions seem to have a hold over John Carpenter, too; it's something he revisited for his contribution to the Masters of Horror series.

Reality is what you and the people around you make of it. (And fuck if it's not a bad scene when someone seriously bent gets a disproportionate amount of control over "what we make of it.") Five years ago I would've thought a statement like that was Flake Central, or worse, a pretentious broadcast from Philosophy 101 as interpreted by 18 year-olds who listen to Pavement. But I think I get it now.

No, I can't explain it. I don't think it's something to be explained. Sorry.

Radio Free Id: The Death of the Local Critic

2008-04-07T09:49:00.001-05:00

In the past few weeks, a couple critics I greatly admire have bitten the critical dust: David Ansen of Newsweek and Nathan Lee of the Village Voice. Lee was a pretty recent addition to the Voice, and his original voice was one I greatly admired. (Never have I felt more “I wish I’d said that!” moments than with some of his best work.) Ansen was a bit more mainstream, a bit more staid, but unerringly sharp and a master wordsmith. Anyone who’s seen This Film Is Not Yet Rated knows that Ansen’s wit and insight isn’t confined to his writing.

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Comics: X-Men: First Class - Mutant Mayhem

2008-04-05T11:38:00.002-05:00

Here’s how revolutionary X-Men: First Class is: I bought it.

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In Theaters: Shine a Light

2008-04-04T13:20:00.000-05:00

Early in Shine a Light, Martin Scorsese’s concert film of the Rolling Stones performing over two nights at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, a special guest asks to visit with the Stones before the audience files in. That special guest is former president Bill Clinton, Hillary, and Hillary’s mother. The lot of them gather on stage for photo ops—Scorsese watches with a bemused expression from his control room—and mug for pictures. Here is a concentration of Baby Boomer power unlike anything you’ll see anywhere else: Clinton, the Stones, Scorsese. What’s even more fun is the subtle power dynamic at play. It’s Clinton asking for the photo op, and the Stones gamely playing along. Scorsese watches at a distance, but even he’s subject to the whims of the band’s schedule… and after all, without them, he has no film. It’s the Stones’ show.

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Comics: Strangeways: Murder Moon

2008-03-29T11:23:00.002-05:00

You don’t see a lot of Westerns in comics anymore, and you see even fewer werewolf stories. Westerns in comics (save Jonah Hex) have largely been relegated to the artier publishing houses, just as it seems the only Westerns that show up on the silver screen anymore are arthouse productions. Werewolves get even less play, I guess because they’re not sexy like vampires and unlike zombies they’re not a threat to civilization on a macro scale.

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