Is the End in Sight?

Screening Room
November 27, 2007 | 1

The siege may soon be over. That’s right, the WGA strike may be over by Christmas. If this is indeed true, it’s unclear who “wins” in this scenario, other than TV viewers, who won’t have to sit through any more reruns, and all the non-writer people who make a living in TV. Rob Long thinks the strike (and the effects of emerging media, in general) might make Hollywood find a more efficient way of producing content. That remains to be seen.

In the meantime, the strike has produced some interesting sideshows, like the writers of “The Daily Show” taping a YouTube “webisode” outside Viacom headquarters, and the cast of “Saturday Night Live” performing an unaired episode of the show, complete with indie it-boy host Michael Cera and musical guest Yo La Tengo, to benefit the show’s crew. The SNL performance used skits that couldn’t make it onto the air, either because they were too raunchy or because they simply weren’t that funny (Considering the quality of recent season of SNL, one has to wonder just how bad these skits really were). What does this mean for those of us living in Los Angeles? Well, on the plus side, the economy won’t collapse. And there are likely to be more seats at the local coffee shop, as well. On the other hand, this might mean more episodes of “Cavemen.”

Peace, but at what cost?

is a staff writer for The Millions. Patrick has worked in the book business for over seven years, including a two-year stint as the webmaster and blogger for Vroman's Bookstore. He is currently the Community Manager for Goodreads.com. He's written book reviews for Publishers Weekly, and he's spoken about books and the internet at the LA Times Festival of Books, the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association spring meetings, and the 140 Characters Conference. He writes the sporadically entertaining Tumblr blog The Feeling.

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Screening Room Staff Picks

Staff Pick: This is England

Screening Room Staff Picks
August 25, 2010 | 2 min read

Unlike the last time I reviewed a film, when I felt compelled by virulent dislike so to do, I was moved and surprised by This is England, Shane Meadows‘s 2007 movie about restless 80s youth in a shitty northern town.  At the start, the film’s world is shaped by Thatcher and the Falklands and council housing and having no money; the youth, as is their wont, are acting out and wearing silly clothes.  

Twelve-year-old Sean, whose father died in the Falklands, is left with a young and loving (if kind of dotty) mother, a pair of uncool jeans, and a big hole in his heart. Finding refuge from his various neighborhood persecutors, he becomes the little brother and mascot to a group of lovable non-racist skinheads (the sharp-dressing reggae kind, which were apparently a thing, not the white power murderous kind). Together, they get up to minor destruction and harmless hijinks.  Then a couple of old friends show up, newly minted ultra-nationals fresh from a stint in jail.  Lines are drawn, choices are made, and suddenly the film gets stops being carefree and comic with a cheerful Specials and Toots soundtrack, and the threat of violence immediately becomes ever-present and terrifying.

The movie has a couple of problems, namely the “sad music” selection accompanying some of the serious scenes, and its abrupt denouement.  I would have liked the film to be longer and to see what happened to everyone, mostly because I was so engaged by the incredible performances–especially by Tom Turgoose, who plays the young feller Sean, and Stephen Graham, who plays Combo the nazi–as well as the great, if sometimes unintelligible dialogue and the glimpse afforded into this particular zeitgeist.  It reminded me not a little of David Mitchell‘s wonderful novel Black Swan Green, if only because of the Thatcher and the Falklands and the dialogue and the teen angst.  

Basically, it’s a movie about the dangers of poverty and powerlessness, the aching hearts of youth, and the horrors of prejudice.  Since, in my crude estimation, 20% of every story ever told is about these things, as a film This is England doesn’t break new ground on the human experience.  But it is mesmerizing in its specificity, and the acting is spectacular.  And, unfortunately, although the film’s milieu is now almost three decades old, the rampant unemployment, the ignorance, and the attendant nativism it relates are not unrecognizable today.

Screening Room Staff Picks
| 2 min read
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One comment:

  1. Not living in L.A., and only watching a couple hours of T.V. a week (non-news time shows), I haven't noticed much of a difference. Maybe I should stay up late and watch more T.V. Na, I'll stick to the books.

    Thanks for the update!

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If Every Day Were Really Like Sunday…

Screening Room
April 7, 2009 | 2

…I’d have to bite the bullet and get Tivo, because in the last few weeks, the Christian Sabbath has become a televisual feast day for people of the book. The 8 p.m. time slot currently offers a difficult choice between NBC’s quasi-Biblical Kings (recommended by Emily) and HBO’s The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (filmed in Botswana, a country that has fascinated me ever since I read Mating). Then, at 9 on PBS, there’s the Masterpiece adaptation of Dickens’ Little Dorrit, a Wire-like whirligig of plot and thespian energy that in many ways excels the novel.The rest of the week, alas, continues to be wall-to-wall reality show, and while the new Vivica A. Fox vehicle Cougars sounds intriguing, I guess I can hold off on the DVR. I have no expectation that the current embarrassment of riches on Sunday night is anything but a fluke.

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Everybody Needs Moore Health Care

Screening Room
June 25, 2007 | 1 2 min read

Overboard, sensational, witty, funny and not-so-objective Sicko is a Michael Moore classic. It is also a lesson in how to take a not-so-controversial issue (providing health care to all) and turn it into a provocative subject (by suggesting that Cuba, France and Canada’s universal coverage works wonders).But there is something inherently good about Sicko’s provocative approach: it prompts debate about universal health care in the context of a government’s duty to its citizens. Moore questions the humanity of denying care to patients on financial grounds, i.e., your insurance plan. Private insurance companies are in the health-care business to make a profit and can only do so at the expense of the sick, Moore contends. Then, he embarks on a tour of Canada, the UK, France and Cuba to debunk theories that government-based, free care is detrimental to the well-being of society and health professionals.Along the way, Sicko visits families and individuals whose lives were deeply affected – emotionally, physically and financially – because of the for-profit system in the U.S. Moore asks why America, the world’s wealthiest country, is incapable of providing a service that a range of other countries – from similarly minded Western allies to Caribbean foe Cuba – regard as a birth right.Moore blissfully ignores certain aspects about other countries’ national plans for a more favorable view of their virtues to amplify his message. Inevitably, this leaves Sicko vulnerable to attacks from the director’s opponents and risks reducing an otherwise meaningful movie to preaching to the choir (e.g., Botched Operation, Crazy Moore Offers Wrong Prescription, says the New York Post).But whether you like him or not, Moore definitely shines a light on an issue that needs and deserves public and political attention in the U.S. – dare I say, a la Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. No wonder Moore was at Capitol Hill flanked by more than 10 Democrats Wednesday, all screaming and kicking for universal health care. (Yes, I wrote about it here.)As per usual, A.O. Scott of the New York Times nails it in his review. So, I’ll stop my gibberish now. Before I depart: I expected the Post’s criticism to stick, but after seeing Sicko I came to think that one has to be heartless and inhuman not to be moved by – or at least think about – the issues Moore raises.Sicko opens in the U.S. Friday, June 29. See it for yourself and let me know what you think – don’t worry, it’ll be worth your 10 bucks, you’ll get a laugh out of it as well as some food for thought.

Screening Room
| 1 2 min read
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Book to movie news

Screening Room
April 4, 2005

Scott Rudin the Hollywood producer known for bringing adaptations of contemporary literature to the silver screen – he was responsible for Wonder Boys and The Hours, for example – may be on his way out at Paramount. This means that several forthcoming literary adaptations could be in jeopardy, including big screen versions of three new books: Ian McEwan’s Saturday, Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men. Farther along in their development are The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon and, of course, Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections. Though adaptations can be a risky proposition, I do hope that some of these end up getting made if only to satisfy my curiosity. Here’s the story from the Hollywood Reporter.

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