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KPBS Film Club of the Air - March 19, 2008

March 20th, 2008 by Scott Marks

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Is Horton pro-abortin’?


Appearing monthly on These Days, the Film Club of the Air features local film critics Beth Accomando and Scott Marks discussing films in San Diego theaters.

audio_mp3_button.jpg Film Club: Horton Hears a Who!, Chicago 10, Funny Games, Married Life, Snow Angels

March 19, 2008
Tom Fudge: We’re going to begin this Film Club talking about a bit of news that sprang up around last week’s opening of a new movie called Horton Hears a Who! Dr. Seuss fans will no doubt recognize the name of that famous children’s book, which has been made into a feature film starring the voice of Jim Carrey. The theatrical opening of this new movie was remarkable because its premiere attracted a group of anti-abortion protesters.Why? The protesters latched onto one of the famous lines from the book which, of course, is also spoken in the movie. The line comes when Horton, the kindly elephant, says “A person’s a person, no matter how small.” The abortion protesters handed out flyers after the film, telling folks that Horton, in that statement, tells us why we need to protect the unborn. Dr. Seuss, real name Ted Geisel, lived in San Diego where his widow, Audrey, still lives.Audrey is actually a buddy of our political correspondent Gloria Penner. Gloria got on the phone with Audrey just yesterday to ask her about the politicization of Horton’s proclamation.

Chicago 10 is the name of a new documentary film about the protests at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. Several men, normally called the Chicago 8, were arrested and charged with inciting riot at the convention. Film Maker Brett Morgan calls his movie Chicago 10, because he thought the lawyers who defended these guys should get a little credit, too.Chicago 10 is a documentary that relies on 40-year-old film footage to show us what happened in the streets of Chicago during the convention. To tell the story of the trial, the film uses animation and the voices of a few famous actors. The dialogue in the trial is taken from official transcripts. The film is filled with music, much of it contemporary rap and rock.

Our next movie is called Funny Games. It’s directed by German film maker Michael Haneke. In fact, this is a remake of a German-language film he made about ten years ago. In this movie, a wealthy family of three is vacationing along the coast when they are visited by a couple of unfriendly neighbors. These neighbors are clean-cut 20-something guys, who may look innocent, but in fact they break into the house, hold the family hostage, and start to terrorize them by threatening to kill them and so forth.

Married Life is the name of a movie, set in late Forties America. The action takes place in an unnamed big city where a successful businessman, played by Chris Cooper, is thinking of leaving his wife. He confides this fact in an old friend, played by Pierce Brosnan. First, the husband’s plan is to divorce his wife, and move in with a young sweetheart. But after time, the man decides the best plan is to kill his wife. This is does not tell his friend. He decides killing is wife would be more merciful, because it would save her the suffering the divorce would bring. It’s an odd form of compassion.Over time, the murder plan takes shape, and the husband takes steps to get the job done. What happens next is not something I’m allowed to tell you. But I think I can say the end of Married Life was surprising, to me at least. Married Life is directed by Ira Sachs. It also stars Patricia Clarkson and Rachel McAdams.

The last movie we’re going to talk about today is Snow Angels. Snow Angels is set in a small town, and the opening scene of this film kind of sets the tone. We’re watching a high school marching band rehearse when shots ring out from some nearby woods. The movie then goes into a couple weeks flashback to show us the events that lead up to those gunshots.

Snow Angels is a slice of small town life, in which we’re introduced to many different kinds of people with varying degrees of happiness and hopefulness. Director David Gordon Green has made a few other movies, some of which have gotten critical praise. They include George Washington and All the Real Girls. Snow Angels features the actors Kate Bekinsale and Amy Sedaris.

Guests
Gloria Penner, political correspondent and host of Editors Roundtable for KPBS. She also writes a weekly political blog for KPBS.org.
Beth Accomando, KPBS film critic.

Scott Marks, author of the film blog Emulsion Compulsion.
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KPBS Film Club of the Air - January 23, 2008

January 24th, 2008 by Scott Marks

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Appearing monthly on These Days, the Film Club of the Air features local film critics Beth Accomando and Scott Marks discussing films in San Diego theaters.

audio_mp3_button.jpg Film Club: Oscar Nominations, David Elliott, There Will Be Blood, Cassandra’s Dream, War/Dance, The Waterhorse
January 23, 2008
Tom Fudge: The first new film we’re going to talk about during this film club of the air is There Will Be Blood, which was just nominated for eight Oscars. This movie is loosely based on a novel by Sinclair Lewis called Oil. The film is written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, who’s known for making Boogie Nights and Hard Eight.There Will be Blood tells the story of a fictional oil man, named Daniel Plainview, who is portrayed as a pioneer in the American industry. He begins as a miner out West, but soon discovers that oil will become, by far, the most profitable of all the earth’s bounties. He works with a small crew putting up makeshift derricks. He eventually gains skill and a wide reputation, and he ends up in the oil fields of California. Along the way, he adopts the son of one of his workers who was killed in a mine, and in the town of New Boston, he strikes it rich with a huge gusher.Along the way, Plainview develops a relationship with an ambitious preacher, who worships money as much as any oilman. The preacher gets involved in a complex land deal with Daniel Plainview. In the end, let’s jut say that Plainview becomes very rich but very happy. This movie stars Daniel Day Lewis in the leading role, and newcomer Paul Dano as the preacher.There Will Be Blood is currently playing in area theaters.The next movie we’re going to talk about is a documentary about life among refugee children in Uganda. It’s called War/Dance. Most of the activity in War/Dance takes place in a refugee camp in the northern part of the county. The main characters are children from villages that are in the grip of war. Many of them had been abducted, or have seen their family members murdered by soldiers in a vicious rebel group called the Lord’s Resistance Army.

We see these children, and we hear their stories. But the overarching story in this documentary is about music and dance. The kids in the camp are preparing for a trip to Kampala, where they will take part in a national music and dance competition. In the course of the movie, we see them practicing, performing, and otherwise living life and enjoying life as best they can.

War/Dance opens at Landmark’s Ken Theater this weekend.

Our final movie is a family and children’s movie called The Water Horse. It’s a story that takes place in Scotland during World War II. A young boy lives in a manor house that is managed by his mother. His father is away at war. The boy marks dates on the calendar to keep track of the time he expects it will take for his dad to return.

The boy lives along the shore of Loch Ness, and one day he finds an oblong rock that turns out to be an egg. As you may have guessed by now, the egg contains a baby water horse, known to most of us as the Loch Ness monster. The baby monster hatches from the egg and adopts the boy as a parent. The monster grows and grows until he has to be returned to the Loch.

But there’s trouble in store for the monster, since the boy’s village is home to a British artillery unit, that’s looking for German subs. Is it possible the army gunners will think that the monster is actually a German sub, that’s arrived from the sea? This movie stars Alex Etel as the little boy. You’ll remember him if you saw the recent movie called Millions.

The Water Horse is currently playing in area theaters.

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Scott Marks talks about “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “The Lemon Drop Kid”

December 24th, 2007 by Scott Marks

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Les…

(Dolores Hope’s version of Silver Bells plays softly underneath)

It’s not often that I step out of character, but what the hell? It’s Christmas. You know ladies and gentlemen, no website is a failure that has friends. And I mean it. When I see the look on the faces of those kids who visit Emulsion Compulsion every day to study my reviews, read my rants and know the true meaning of 2 Girls 1 Kup, I tell ya’ it gets me right here. You have my utmost fondness and appreciation.

And to the man behind the curtain, my buddy Charles who called me up one day and said, “I read your crappy AOL blog. I’d like to build you a website that people will actually come to.” For a Republican who lives as far north of Chicago as possible while still being in Illinois and hasn’t been inside a movie theater since we saw 54 together in ‘98 you see things in me that confound your average aesthete. Your advice on how to make this site tick has been invaluable. Beyond all else, you are one of the most loyal people on the planet. Who needs Scorsese when I can talk to you everyday? You’re a great man, Charles, and one that I both value and love. Thanks!

And now before we all start vomiting blood from the sugar overkill, this is a piece that I did for KPBS -Radio’s These Days that I am particularly proud of. For a guy who never had a tree in his living room, I sure do have good taste in Christmas pictures!

Leave it to a Jew to point up the cynicism inherent in Frank Capra’s beloved holiday chestnut and leave it to a die hard Frank Tashlin devotee to champion a Bob Hope obscurity over the more familiar holiday DVD stuffers.

And speaking of people that I value, I pretty much owe my life on San Diego radio to Angela Carone. Like Charles, she not only gets me, but Angela unleashes me over the public airwaves. Listen to how brilliantly this piece is put together. She’s my personal Thelma.

Take it away Tom…

Tom Fudge: When the 1946 movie It’s A Wonderful Life entered the public domain in the 1970’s, practically every television station began broadcasting the film during the holiday season. The story is a familiar one. Jimmy Stewart plays George Bailey, who looks back on a lifetime of dashed dreams and personal sacrifices. One day, after a string of bad luck, he decides he wants to end it all. But before he can, a bumbling angel named Clarence shows him what life would be like without him. And he convinces George that he really does have “a wonderful life.”

Some argue that Frank Capra’s film is sentimental and even a little cheesy. But our Film Club of the Air’s Scott Marks has a different take on it. He stopped by the studio to give us his impression of It’s a Wonderful Life and to tell us about one of his favorite holiday movies starring Bob Hope.

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